Monthly archives: November, 2008

Nov112008November 11, 2008November 11, 2008NoCommentby Doom DeLuise

Book of Doom:
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman

Posted in books of doom by

justice society of america kingdom come special supermanI had a hard time deciding which comic to choose for this week’s Book of Doom. Mostly, I wanted to choose something I was planning on buying anyway, so as to tighten the belt and save a few extra bucks; yet, I’ve been following the storyline that’s been going through the JSA fairly closely, and I knew that I wouldn’t buy this special issue unless I forced myself to.

So, I’m forcing myself to.

Everything that’s been going on in the pages of Justice Society of America has been far more interesting than it was, say, a year ago, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this whole Gog business eventually culminates. This coming from a guy who thinks that Alex Ross is an overrated hack and Kingdom Come is as boring as a dental appointment.

Do come back on Saturday, though, and see how we all like this issue. And, hey, if you’re really enterprising, pick up a copy for yourself and send your reviews in to doomkopf@doomkopf.com, and we’ll let your voice be heard with the rest of us in the roundtable. We don’t actually have a table.

Here’s what DC has to say about this issue:

Written by Alex Ross; Art and Cover by Alex Ross; Variant Cover by Dale Eaglesham and Nathan Massengill
Spinning out of the “One World, Under Gog” storyline, the Kingdom Come Superman’s struggle with his place in the world brings a final conflict between the Supermen of Earths 1 and 22! Feeling the weight of his own world’s loss on his shoulders, the transplanted Superman searches for answers to the mystery of his life’s seemingly cursed existence and encounters “old acquaintances” on the way. This is the first fully written and illustrated adventure by KINGDOM COME co-creator Alex Ross, building to the storyline’s conclusion in JUSTICE OF SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22!


Nov102008November 10, 2008November 10, 20087Commentsby Doom DeLuise

Predicting the Future of The Batman

Posted in news, rants & nostalgia by

batman 683 coverBatman RIP, the epic tale of deconstructing the Batman, is nearing a close, and as we’re getting closer to the final issue, we’re starting to see hints at what might be coming next for the Caped Crusader and the other members of his Gotham City posse. About a month ago, I predicted that Dick Grayson is the Black Glove, and I’m still fairly convinced that I’m correct.

Beyond that revelation, though, we’re left with trying to figure out where everybody fits in to the post-RIP era. The events of Final Crisis are taking place after Batman RIP, and, so far, we haven’t seen either Robin or Nightwing in that series other than in the one splash page where the heroes were all called together by Jay Garrick. Either that’s a mistake, or those aren’t Dick and Tim in their costumes, or the events I’m about to predict don’t take place until after Final Crisis. And, hey, there’s no rule that says anybody other than the readers know who the Black Glove actually is. The rest of the DCU could be left in the dark, no pun intended.

And, to just further solidify my argument for why I think Dick Grayson is the Black Glove, let’s take a look at the solicitation for the next issue of the series, Batman #681:

The final, heartrending confrontation between Bruce Wayne and Jezebel Jet. The final fate of The Dark Knight. And the horrifying and shocking truth behind the Black Glove. With The Joker, the Club of Villains, Robin, Damian, plus an ending you’ll never see coming!

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Nov092008November 9, 2008November 9, 20081Commentby Fin Fang Doom

Wonder Woman:
Bootylicious

Posted in news by

Wonder Woman Bootylicious

A sign of things to come? Let’s hope not.


Nov082008November 8, 2008March 16, 2009NoCommentby Fin Fang Doom

Book of Doom:
X-Men and Spider-Man #1

Posted in books of doom, reviews by

X-Men Spider-Man 1Welcome once again to the Book of Doom. This week we’ll be reviewing X-Men and Spider-Man #1, Marvel’s latest attempt to milk $4 out of it’s readers with a needless mini-series featuring its A-list characters. But y’know, sometimes these needless mini-series turn out to be a good read.

This week there’s four of us trying to decide into which category X-Men and Spider-Man #1 falls. In addition to the regular gang, Jason @ Legend Comics sent us a review, and since I’m such a nice guy I’m going to let him kick things off.

Jason @ Legend Comics: X-Men and Spider-Man #1 is not a book I would normally read given the X-Men and Spider-Man are Marvel’s most overused and tired properties. See the 30 million X-books, of which only Uncanny is even readable. The less said about Spider-Man post-One More Day the better. This is an attempt by Gage and co. to do the “retrofit continuity story”, in this case pre-Gwen Stacy’s death and pre-Amazing Adventures #11.

Spider-Man and the X-Men meet up to fight Kraven, who has been hunting Spider-Man to “bring him to justice”. The problem is that this book doesn’t really know what it wants to be-is it a fun, light hearted romp with Spidey and the original X-Men or is it a set-up to something bigger as suggested by the minor “twist” ending (featuring one of Marvels lamest villains)? It does not succeed at either.

Gage clearly is not on the level of a Brian Bendis when it comes to stories like this-Bendis is the unquestioned master of the “retro fitted story”, especially when it comes to dialogue. The art is passable but not great-like so many pros these days, Mario Alberti is good at backgrounds and action sequences but his faces are average to awful. (more…)


Nov082008November 8, 2008November 8, 2008NoCommentby Jim Doom

Local news – Nov 8, 2008

Posted in news by

• Local artists Louis Simpson and Doug McCoy are previewing their new book “PUPPY LOVE” today at Krypton Comics from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Local artist Kathleen Clark will debut her new comic at Krypton on Saturday, November 22nd, also from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Jason of Legend Comics will make his Book of Doom debut today. This week’s “Featured 500,000 Comic of the Week” at the Legend online store is Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (1972). At the physical store, Legend is still offering 25% off all back issues every Saturday and Sunday for the rest of 2008.

• This week’s Capes Comic Book Lounge newsletter includes columns on the overpriced toy phenomenon and Dark Horse’s latest attempts at franchise revivals. You can subscribe to the newsletter at CapesComics.com.

Don’t forget “Ladies Night” each Thursday at Capes, which means women get 20% off everything in the store starting at 4 p.m. Capes also has 20% Tuesdays, in which all comics on the wall are on sale.

And again, Capes has begun featuring the Doomkopf.com Book of Doom in the shop. Capes customers and Doomkopf.com readers are encouraged to email us your review of the weekly pick to have it included in Saturday’s roundtable.

• Finally, happy birthday to my sister, who will never ever see this site.

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.


Nov072008November 7, 2008November 8, 20083Commentsby Doominator

Batman sues Batman … only one will win

Posted in news by

Click

Not a superhero with supernatural abilities, or a person wealthy enough to buy high-tech toys to fight evil, but a simple human being named Hüseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of the southeastern city of Batman, declared war against his city’s namesake superhero, Batman.

“The royalty of the name ‘Batman’ belongs to us … There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us,” Kalkan told to the Do?an news agency. Batman is a centuries old city, taking root in the Neolithic age but becoming significant when oil was found in the region at the end of 1940s. Almost a decade before that, Batman was created as a comic hero. Kalkan is going to sue Christopher Nolan, the director of the latest Batman movie “The Dark Night,” not DC Comics, the creator of the superhero.

I’m not sure there’s much else to say.


Nov072008November 7, 2008November 7, 20081Commentby Jim Doom

The Adventures of Blake & Mortimer vol. 4: The Francis Blake Affair

Posted in library of doom, reviews by

By Jean Van Hamme (W)
and Ted Benoit (A)
Published by Cinebook, 2008; 68 pages; $15.95

The Adventures of Blake & Mortimer is a reprint series of comics starring characters created by Belgian writer / artist Edgar P. Jacobs in the 1940s. The first three volumes issued by Cinebook were works created by Jacobs. After Jacobs passed away in 1987, the series was revived by other creators. Volume 4, The Francis Blake Affair, is the first post-Jacobs entry among the Cinebook translations.

In this volume, Captain Blake is working with MI5 to uncover a secret spy ring in England. Blake confides an ironic suspicion to his friend, Professor Mortimer, that there are moles within the British military. This theory is quickly proven true, as Blake is caught on camera making a dead drop for another spy. Blake’s treason becomes national news, as he escapes with the captured spy and goes underground. Professor Mortimer, meanwhile, finds himself under suspicion as Blake’s closest friend. He becomes a fugitive himself as he escapes surveillance and attempts to discover what’s really going on.

Throughout the action and various twists, the duo’s paths converge, including a requisite run-in with arch-nemesis Olrik. Although first published in the 1990s, the story is placed firmly in the mid 20th century, in both the story and the delivery. It’s presented in a “retro” style that manages to be charming without being kitschy or campy.

It’s also somewhat deceptively satisfying for only being 68 pages. This thing is dense. I realize I’m risking making myself sound like an idiot, but I have become so conditioned to the relatively light breeze of reading mainstream superhero comics that I seriously had to stop myself and start over several times to adjust to the density of this storytelling. I just counted, and there are more than 330 words on the first page; there are 66 words in the first panel alone. It’s rare to find a page in this book with fewer than 10 panels. There is a lot of story packed into those 68 pages.
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Nov052008November 5, 2008November 5, 2008NoCommentby Fin Fang Doom

Trinity #23

Posted in 52 / countdown / trinity by

23In the lead: Commander Hall supervises all the disturbances around the world from the JSI HQ in NYC. Ragman’s dealing with a feline Catwoman in Gotham while Green Arrow’s in Star City…just where he’s always been? Also, Black Adam’s mysteriously shown up in Washington D.C. and taking his frustration out on Ares’ invading minions, while Tomorrow Woman is defeating the Ultra-Humanite in Metropolis. Brainwave reads Firestorm’s mind and sees a world where the Trinity existed, but Hall still doesn’t believe it. Gangbuster and Tarot split up outside of the JSI HQ; Gangbuster is going to deliver Khufu’s scroll to Hall while Tarot has business in Opal City. And while the JSI is distracted by all these changes in the timeline, Enigma and Morgaine Le Fay have conquered most of Europe.

In the back-up: Jon Stewart is in deep space trying to gain control over the Void Hound that he’s been infected with since the start of the series, but ends up accidentally opening a wormhole to Earth. As Kanjar Ro flees Earth to regroup, it’s revealed exactly when he replaced Despero (issue #4). But he didn’t finish off Despero, who’s formed an army and is headed to Earth to take revenge on Ro. GL, Ro and Despero all converge on the wormhole, as Krona looks on: “This is…interesting.”

My take: Boy, Busiek & Co. sure managed to squeeze a lot into this issue. Pretty much every existing plot thread got a bit of play this week. I’m especially glad to see the real Despero back in the picture, as it’ll probably throw a wrench into just about everyone’s works. (more…)


Nov042008November 4, 2008November 4, 2008NoCommentby Fin Fang Doom

Book of Doom:
X-Men/Spider-Man #1

Posted in books of doom by

X-Men Spider-Man 1Man this does not look like a good week for comics. Not a whole lot to get excited about and even less that is an easy jumping-on point. So who wins when the comic readers lose?

Marvel, apparently.

X-Men/Spider-Man is a mini-series that I was considering investing in. The art I’ve seen looks pretty damn good, and the last time I bought a “Spider-Man through the decades” mini-series I was very pleasantly surprised (2005’s Spider-Man/Human Torch). Odds are that due to budget restrictions I wouldn’t have bought it on a big Wednesday. But with my stack as small as it’ll be this Wednesday, it’s a lot more likely to happen.

Here’s what Marvel has to say about the issue:

X-MEN/SPIDER-MAN #1
COVER BY: MARIO ALBERTI
WRITER: CHRISTOS N. GAGE
PENCILS: MARIO ALBERTI
THE STORY:
Christos Gage (THUNDERBOLTS, HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS) is joined by international superstar-tist Mario Alberti (Redhand) to bring you the most misunderstood team of all time meeting the most misunderstood super hero of all time in a 4-part mystery that starts in the early days of the Marvel Age and winds it’s way through to today!
In Part One, Kraven the Hunter and the Blob attack the world’s strangest teens while deep in the background an even greater threat watches…and waits.


Nov042008November 4, 2008November 4, 20082Commentsby Jim Doom

The Doomino Effect for Oct 29, 2008

Posted in reviews by

I set here writing this comic review in hopes it will take my mind off the impending election results.

Speaking of fearing a takeover of hate-filled creatures, I’ll start off with Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns. I almost chose this as our Book of Doom, but we have been doing so many Geoff Johns books lately (completely unintentionally, but consistently nonetheless) that I opted not to.

Right off the bat, this is probably my least favorite thing I’ve read by Johns, but it might just be Lantern fatigue. I realize this is dangerously early for Lantern fatigue, given what’s coming, but the Red Lanterns just didn’t click with me like the green and yellow ones did.

Doom DeLuise and I were both reading our copies of this over lunch last week, and he commented on how the Yellow Lanterns were so intimidating at first because the yellow rings assembled such an all-star cast of villains — Cyborg Superman, Superboy Prime, the Anti-Monitor and even Batman for a moment. The Red Lanterns just seem like such a group of b-listers by comparison, and it’s a comparison that isn’t aided by the fact that they have a cute and fluffy blue kitten of fury in their ranks. And then there’s their power. They fly around puking blood on people, which set their victims on fire. Sinestro is just airing reruns of his speeches from last year. By the time I got to the surprise revelation of the Blue Lantern, I believe my response was something along the lines of “Oh Jesus.”
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