365 Comics...59: Marvel Super Hero Contest Of Champions #2 (1982)

A couple weeks ago I was flipping through a "just in" box of comics at a local used book store when I flipped past this on my way to finding a copy of an old Tower T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (which is pretty much what I was hoping to find).  But after finding my prize, I went flipping back, because there was something about that title, that cover... I had that book.  I also got rid of that book in a 5 cent lawn sale I held when I was eight or nine... where I sold some of my comics for 5 cents.  I don't think I made much more than a dollar.   

While often revisiting things from my childhood only wind up in disappointment, in cases like this, where I had pretty much forgotten all about said thing, a cascade of memories wash over me.  Terribly vague, non-specific memories mind you, but accompanying those memories is the sense of familiarity and the comfort of youth.  This second issue (the only one I had of the series) is a dose of rediscovery, a constant barrage of "hey I kind of remember that", but moreover I remember reading it in my bedroom, the one I had before we moved just before I turned 11, with the orange low pile carpet and the configuration of my bedroom desk, dresser and bed.  I remember my clock radio and the red curtains and my closet. It just spirals out, thinking of my sister's room and her white wicker furniture, the upstairs hallway light (which I used to read by after "lights out" and probably ruined my eyes, just like my mom said it would).  I remember the stairwell where I used to play He-Man and the stereo cabinet which always had stuff on top of it so we couldn't listen to records easily.  There's so many things I start thinking about having nothing to do with the comic, things I haven't thought about in 25 years. 

Comic books for me have unbelievable power, they're a time portal to my past as much as they are entertainment and sometimes-obsession.  That could very well be the reason why I've never stopped reading them, they're like storage devices for little nuggets of myself.  Time capsules to perhaps be reopened and discovered once again years down the road.

365 Comics...58: Marvel Team-Up #97 (1980)

I didn't grow up a Marvel kid. I've likely spent more time in the Marvel U in the past decade than in the previous 2 combined.  There were Marvel characters I liked but mostly it was aesthetically rather than having anything to do with their actual adventures and personality.  Those characters were: The Thing, Jack of Hearts, Nightcrawler, Rom, and Spider-Woman.  As I've grown older and dove deeper I've developed other favourites through actual prolonged exposure to them, but that original group I've steadfastly had a fascination for.

Spider-Woman I've always preferred to Spider-Man with no logical reasoning beyond I think her costume is cooler.  If you were to ask me what Spider-Woman's alter ego was though, I couldn't tell you.

Marvel Team-Up #97 is a recent $1 pickup if only because my 3 year old is obsessed with the Hulk and I'm still drawn to Spider-Woman.  It's a story by Steven Grant and Carmine Infantino, one a writer at the beginning of a long career, the other an artist at the tail-end of his.  Infantino is a favourite of mine, partially out of nostalgia and partially in genuine appreciation for his distinctive style of compressed or elongated figures, his lantern jawed men and cats-eyed women.  Grant's script is typically (for the era not for Grant) over-written with explanatory dialogue and thought balloons.

"Hulk feels... like he is changing... into Bruce Banner! That ray... must have stimulated the pleasure centers of the Hulk's brain...Relaxed him... But... the Hulk was practically invulnerable ... and I'm totally defenceless..."

Hulk for his part is still talking like Captain Caveman, a particularly silly trait he finally grew out of in the '90's.  Infantino's rendering of him is not great, he looks ... I don't even know how to describe him.   Like a cross between Shrek and Tracy Chapman (look it up young people) perhaps.  Spider-Woman however looks amazing.  Nobody draws big hair like Carmine.

The story is like most random team ups from the 70's/80's... a very random sequence of events that lead into a team up.  This one features a quasi Doctor Moreau and a host of creatures for the Hulk to fight while Spider-Woman makes a phone call. Actually after further review, Hulk and Spider-Woman never appear in the same panel together. It's like Joan Van Ark and Lou Ferrigno's schedules just never algned.

Meanwhile Captain Marvel saves Earth from an invasion with Hostess fruit pies (R.I.P.)

365 Comics...57: Axe Cop: President of the World #1 (2012)

I thought my affinity for Axe Cop had passed... I tried reading this fist issue of President of the World 3 times and still hadn't completed it.  The third trade paperback is still unfinished somewhere in the house, where its resided for months now (I'm not sure where I left it anymore).  Does it have to do with Malachai Nicolle getting older, more cynical as he nears closer to being a pre-teen?  Is the bizarre anri-continuity that I once loved now driving me away?  Was Axe Cop jus a kind of meme or fad that finally played itself out?  Or, perhaps I just needed a little break, and to finally play Munchkin Axe Cop and rekindle my affection for the series.  Time to take another stab (or is it "hack"?) at President of the World.

365 Comics...56: Action Comics #893 (Free Preview)(2010)

Over the past 30 or so years I have literally read hundreds of comics starring Superman, and you know, I can't think of a single Jimmy Olsen story that stands out among them all.  I think Jimmy's fine, and he's part of the mythos, but I've never seen Jimmy as being much more than a very, very minor player in Superman scheme.  Clark sort of acts as his mentor, Lois treats him like a dutiful kid sibling, and he's as close to a sidekick as Superman gets, except this sidekick is always getting into trouble and needs Big Blue to bail him out.  I don't ever recall Jimmy being fleshed out much outside of his role at the Daily Planet.  I seem to recall at one time he dated Lois' sister who got turned into Bizarro or something.  Okay, I don't really recall.  There was another time I may or may not recall Jimmy drank some of Elongated Man's gingold stuff and reacted badly... but again, that was just a story where Jimmy does some dumb shit and Superman bails him out.  Hell of a character trait.

So beyond the signal watch, red hair, freckles, and bow tie, there's not much to Jimmy Olsen.  In the New 52 Jimmy seems to be a contemporary of Clark's, rather than his junior, which should be a step up, but they're still trying to establish Superman, never mind his supporting cast, not that I'm really paying attention (see 365 Comics #52).  But just prior to the Flashpoint reboot, while experimenting with the new $3.99 price point by way of 10-page back-up features, Jimmy Olson finally came to life.  And I missed it.

You bet I missed it, because I didn't care.  OH! So they're introducing a character from that TV show I barely like (yet secretly really enjoy... see 365 Comics #37 and #9), I didn't really care.  So Jimmy Olsen is starring in an ongoing story for the first time in decades, yeah, cared even less.  But good words were coming out that back-up feature, this Nick Spencer guy... really talented.  Everyone was saying so... well, maybe not everyone, but still the reaction was really strong.  It was on my radar, and I decided to trade wait.

And wait.
And wait.

Still waiting.

Nick Spencer's become one of my favourite writers.  He finds a very human angle to surreal characters.  T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was my first exposure to him, then Ultimate X-Men, then Morning Glories, and now a whole bunch of other stuff.  He's good and worth following.  But I'm still endlessly curious about that Jimmy Olsen run.  Why is it not in trade?

I was cruising the "free comics" in Comixology and found this free preview of Action #893 (the full first Jimmy Olsen 10-page backup), and it's every bit as good as I'd been led to believe.  Jimmy, still Superman's pal, but now he's got a supporting cast of his own, a nemesis, a maybe girlfriend, and both major swagger and a lack of self-esteem.  Spencer cuts to the root of Jimmy Olsen, a man empowered by being a pal to the mightiest being on Earth while at the same time left lacking his own identity without him.  Brilliant.  It's everything I expect out of a Nick Spencer story, and far, far more than I ever expected out of Jimmy Olsen.

Still waiting.
I want that trade.

365 Comics...55: Deathmatch #3 (2013)

What's better than the Oscars? Deathmatch #3 that's what. This issue is a little hammy with excess exposition, but compared to Seth McFarlane it's a Tarantino script. Okay, I'm not going to compare a comic book to an awards ceremony any longer. Things get more intriguing this month as certain remaining heroes decipher who their captors are... or, at least they think they did. I came to the realization this issue that so many of these charaters wear masks and it would be so easy to plant a faker in their midst. It's not even hinted at but with Rat convinced he's seen the men behind the curtain I realized how many of these heroes even really know Rat, who seems very explicitly a loner. Beyond that, the "who's who" bio of Meridian in the back pages further lends credence to the idea that everyone's identity could be suspect. I enjoy this book so much, awkward dialogue and all.

365 Comics...54: Model A #1 (2012)

Silent comics invariably feel like a bit of a let down because they're so quick to read, especially when the art is so smooth and the storytelling so clear.  But at the same fine it can be so easy to overlook the incredible skill and craftswarship required to tell a story only in pictures.

Model A is a book l came across in the free section of Conixology, a 24-page book from SLG following a robot fresh off the assembly line who discovers independence after a knock on the dome.  Its a simple story of self discovery but delightful and masterfully rendered by Jef Bambas.  There are currently only two subsequent issues  but for 3 books at less than $2 it's a steal.

Without the distraction of words, Bambas' art really starts out. It is an exceptionally clean cartooning style with simple designs but expert shading. Bambas infuses a wonderful amount of physical expression (as well as creative panel layouts) to compensate for his one-eyed robof protagonist's lack of facial expression (or face).

There's the spirit of WALL-E and Owly (and other all-ages material that treads in wordless waters) in this which especially younger novice readers should key into.  I'd like a trade collection for the kids but maybe it's just time to expose them to the App.

365 Comics... 53: Arrow #1 Special Edition (2012)

So what's the best costumed vigilante series on TV right now?  Fricken' Person of Interest, for sure.  But they don't make (or haven't yet) POI comics so I guess I'll just have to talk about Arrow.

Actually, I've been pleasantly surprised by Arrow, despite its overtly CW tendencies towards family melodrama, oversimplifed romance, and plenty of beefcake (or so I'm told, I don't actually watch all that much CW... not that there's anything wrong with that...).

I think after Smallville having a weekly comics-derived superhero live-action series that aurally has some semblance of a plan, takes itself relatively seriously and understands character and story development is refreshing, em if it's not the greatest television ever.  It is generally entertaining, has added its own unique fruit on a B-level superhero without overtly betraying the core of the character, and...
... and...
Aw fuck, who am I kidding?  The Show is a guilty pleasure through and through.  If it weren't loosely tried to characters I grew up with as a kid I wouldn't give it a second look.  And yet each week I pull it eagerly from on-demand and, cocktail in hand, enjoy myself immensely.  I'm particularly fond of Paul Blackthorne as Laurel Lance's police detective Daddy... he cracks me up, Chris Walken style ... he's got such great presence.  And I do hope they create an original costume and moniker for Diggle, that'd be great far them to contribute something back to the comics.

The comic listed in the post title above,if I had to guess, was probably made as a promotional book for the Convention circuit and as a digital freebie which it remains.  It took 4 writers (Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns & Grey Berlarti) and it's a solid 10 page introduction to Oliver Queen of the past and the daring Hood he would become.  The action sequences or the show are actually very good but you can obviously do things in comics that you just can't realize on  a CW budget.  It's a template for the digital-first series that followed, unnecessary but still not bad if you're a fun of the show.