Saturday, August 21, 2004

Frank Brunner drew this sketch reluctantly, but I still think it's a very cool interpretation. It's a different look for Aquaman... and might even fit Neptune better. But it's cool, and I like it. Enjoy.

AQUAMAN
by Frank Brunner
10 November 2002
(permission to post given 11 May 2004 via e-mail)
www.frankbrunner.net

As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "F", "B" and the number "63", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.

by Tegan at 7:46 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Hubby-Eric wanted me to post a birthday wish to one of his friendly fictional characters. If you don't know who Ozma is, go read his website.

The Comic Treadmill reviews Dorothy of Oz and enjoys it as much as I did. And yes, his name was L. Frank Baum... Frank was his middle name. He didn't like his first name much, and I don't blame him.

TangognaT's compiled Eleven List has been updated. It was also linked from librarian.net on August 17th.

I made Neil's blog again, this time by reporting the numbers that Dave Sim reported to me in his form letter. The letter actually says: "Dear Neil Gaiman reader: I regret to inform you that -- owing to the inopportune vagaries of the postal system -- you inquiry regarding an autographed copy of an issue of Cerebus containing part of the Sandman parody arrived today, August 10, and not yesterday, August 9. Inopportune insofar as the one-day difference meant that your inquiry didn't arrive with the first 15 -- each of whom will be receiving an already completed short, personal reply (what we call in the business a "courtesy letter") and a personalized autographed comic book." The letter goes on to say that 109 more letters arrived on August 10th (for a total of 124), and that those 109 get an un-personalized autographed copy of a first printing of issue 164, 165, or 167 (I got 165). I'm eager to see how many people end up writing to Mr Sim for their free copy.

Garrett points to a very good takedown of Michelle Malkin's disgraceful defense of WWII Japanese Internment. How any enlightened person can not only condone, but argue in favor of collective punishment, is beyond me. I just have to guess that Malkin is pretty much a barbarian. It's sad that someone so disgusting has any audience at all.

I have found the perfect athlete to play Aquaman in the incredibly unlikely event of a live-action film or show. It would be Gary Hall Jr of the United States, the gold medalist in the splash and dash (50 meter freestyle, one length of the pool).

by Tegan at 8:25 AM Seattle time - Permalink  

Friday, August 20, 2004

Girl Genius #12: It is possible to read this book repeatedly and still miss the little fun bits that the Foglios put in. It's more than just a comic book, it's a labor of love, and it shows. This issue moves the story along nicely, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Zeetha's idea of "warrior training" is. Recommended.

Batman Adventures #17: Very very nice opening. Not what I was expecting at all. In fact, I was ready to groan and say "not again!" And although the death of the character in this one might remain a mystery for awhile longer, I cannot see how the world's greatest detective wouldn't be able to eventually figure it out. A pretty good story featuring a much under-utilized character.

DC Presents: Atom #1: Well... better than the last one. That alone wouldn't be saying much, but I actually enjoyed both the stories in this one. The first one was a nice tribute to the Silver Age without being too self-conscious of being a tribute. The second one did a great job of lauding the imagination of Schwartz without being too obvious about it. Both tales actually held together nicely as stories, too. This is the best of the tributes so far, but I still only mildly recommend it.

Still to review: Birds of Prey, Fallen Angel, and Demo.

by Tegan at 8:54 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

• Weight = X-3
  
• Change From Last Week = -1
  
• Met Exercise Goal? Yes
  Goal was fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Current Exercise Goal = fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Kept food diary? Yes.

Still hanging in there. I've done a lot of exercising this week, and I feel really good, so I think I might actually be developing *gasp* muscles! Since muscles weigh more than fat, it's ever so slightly possible that I'm not losing weight as fast as I'd like simply because I'm gaining some muscle for every bit of fat I'm getting rid of. It's a nicely comforting thought, even if it's wrong.

And in other news, the computer is now stable. I'm going to take it nice and easy, start backup up stuff I need and want, then sometime next week or so I'll do a complete reinstall of windows. I did get my antivirus software to work, and the machine is clean.

by Tegan at 11:26 AM Seattle time - Permalink  

Supreme Power #12: I've always liked stories arranged like this, with multiple concurrent tales, each with a scene on each page. This one is done particularly well, although the Doc Spectrum storyline is far more frightening in its implications than the others. One super-powered villain was bad enough. All in all, quite the story. Too bad about the wait until the next issue comes out.

JSA: Strange Adventures #1: It started with a little bit of promise, then rapidly lost it as the story attempted too much at once. It could still be very good, but I'm not counting on it. I'm a little tired of JSA stories, to be honest. Neutral.

H-E-R-O #19: What a depressing start. Heck, what a depressing end! This book is certainly going to go out with a bang, isn't it?

Astro City Special: It's got a crossword in the back. That's pretty cool. The story isn't bad, either. Makes perfect sense from start to finish, and the beautiful art helps a lot. For an Astro City tale it's about average, which makes it slightly better than most superhero books. Old soldiers never die.

Still to review: Girl Genius, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, DC Presents Atom, Fallen Angel, and Demo.

by Tegan at 8:38 AM Seattle time - Permalink  

Thursday, August 19, 2004

For these reviews I thank Steve Lieber of Mercury Studios for starting the meme, and the King County Library System for its excellent collection of books and ease with which they can be checked out.

Bone Volume One: Out From Boneville: Another one of those series that I wonder why I never bought before. I've known about it for a long time, but this is the first I've read. And it's good. It's really very good. I hope the library has the whole series, because I'd like to get the whole thing. And I think if we can afford the Scholastic reprints we'll definitely be getting those. Good stuff, recommended.

Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: While checking out Bone (literally), I couldn't resist grabbing this book. Not only does it have one of the more intriguing names in comic history, it also has a story with artwork by Stan Sakai. I was not disappointed. The main story was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the monkey. And the back-up story was also very nice. A very strong book, worth a read if you get the chance.

by Tegan at 10:58 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix: Eric checked this out of the library because he heard about a controversy with this book and the new movie just out. I don't know how this concept could be used as an end of movie plot twist. In the book, you know what is going on right away, and it's needed to empathize with the main character. Anyway, taken on its own, the book is good. It's definitely aimed at a young audience, but it's a compelling read. Nothing too special, but not a bad read at all.

Justice League Unlimited: Kids' Stuff: How annoying. I was expecting to see Hawk and Dove, but instead I get that annoying Mordred brat and four long-time JLAers instead of new team members. Ok, it wasn't a bad story, it's just that this is supposed to be unlimited, but so far we've only had one episode that had any characters besides the original six, and even then we still haven't seen Flash or J'onn. I want more heroes, darn it! I don't know if starting out the new series with one teasing episode then going back to the old routine was a good idea for general audiences, but this audience is annoyed. Anyway, as I said, not a bad story, just bad timing. Mildly recommended.

Plastic Man #9: Well... I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think I was expecting a resolution to the plotline. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get that... although I suppose it was possible to read your own resolution into it. My resolution was that this Plastic Man is clearly in a completely different universe than the regular DCU. And the cameo doesn't make me think that any less. Neutral, but at least Eric enjoys it.

Still to review: Supreme Power, Girl Genius, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, DC Presents Atom, Fallen Angel, H-E-R-O, JSA Strange Adventures, Astro City Special, and Demo.

by Tegan at 7:38 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

I've read all this week's comics, but I have been busy trying to get my computer to the point where I trust it enough to keep it going for another week or two until I can backup every file I need for the reinstall. I'm almost to a stable point, but I haven't had time to sit and write out thoughts, even the rapid reviews I usually write. Sorry.

I also have a cover letter to write, not to mention an article for the next Aquaman Chronicles that I need to finish. I'm afraid my priority is on the cover letter over everything else.

I'll post some reviews of some sort later today, but in the meantime, wish me luck while I try to get my computer to behave. I may well need all the luck I can get. At least I've been able to watch archery and swimming while I hack at my laptop.

by Tegan at 12:38 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

I am so glad I didn't know Nick Cardy lives in Florida, as I would have been a bit frantic if I'd realized he was in the hurricane's path. Thanks for giving me a heart attack, Mark.

by Tegan at 8:07 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Well, something is going wrong with my computer. I'm not entirely sure what it is. If you get an e-mail from me that you aren't expecting, don't open it. Just in case. I suspect I'll be doing a nice complete reinstall of windows and everything I've put on this thing since I got it very soon. Hopefully it'll hold out another week or two, so I can finish up my resume and stuff.

But I've been rather preoccupied with trying to fix the problems today, so I haven't written any reviews or managed any linkblogging. Sorry. I did manage to read all of the comics while waiting for reboots and scans to finish.

by Tegan at 7:52 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Angel [2-15]: Reprise: I couldn't help giggling repeatedly at the beginning, when it became apparent that what was driving the W&H lawyers dizzy was a performance review. I was also glad that the loose end from the last issue was picked up. But this one left a lot of loose ends. For Angel, this is one of the least satisfying episodes narratively, yet one of the most satisfying in its implications. This is definitely one of those "I can't wait until next week" episodes. Good thing I've got these on DVD, eh?

Angel [2-16]: Epiphany: Well now. Angel has an epiphany, brought on in part by W&H's attempt to drive him to the deepest despair. Where do we start with the philosophical implications in this one episode alone? I think I won't even try. Let's just say this was a satisfying conclusion to the hanging plot threads left all over by the last episode, and I think maybe we'll leave it at that.

A driving theme of this show is saving souls. Kicking butt and taking names is important, yes, but Angel tries to save people... even the worst kind. He saved Faith, tried to save Darla, saved Kate from herself, and in a way saved Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia. Redemption, repentence, rescue. Angel is all about giving people a second chance, and nobody on the show is perfect, or even close to being perfect. For this show, life is progression, and all the characters are striving to become something/someone better. If the show has a driving philosophy, that's it. Becoming better.

by Tegan at 12:17 AM Seattle time - Permalink  

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Ok, time to get off my lazy Olympics kick and write some nice little reviews to finish out last week's books.

Bloodhound #2: A pretty good continuation of the story started in the last issue. It's a bit violent, but I would like to find out where this character is headed. I'm more than a little disappointed that this book will be involved in a crossover with a book I don't buy so soon into its run. Crossovers tend to make me drop books, and this one is just a little too good to drop. Well, until I make a decision on the crossover, this book is still recommended.

Green Arrow #41: Decompression blues again. The events in this book could've been told a whole lot quicker without losing any of the impact. I don't notice it all the time, but I'm sure noticing it here. Mildly recommended.

JSA #64: This isn't a bad book, it's just that after reading each issue I feel like I ought to know more about the characters than I do. It's like I have to be a hardcore JSA fan in order to simply understand the book at times. I suppose that's a sign that the book is being written for the fans, which isn't always a good thing. Mildly recommended.

JLA #103: Green Lantern's turn to fail. As with the other issues in this arc, it wouldn't have been too bad alone in his own book, but here it's out of place and counter to what the JLA, DC's flagship title, ought to be. I'm finding myself less and less impressed with these issues as the "arc" moves on. Neutral on this one.

Powers #3: Wow. Deena's still got it, too bad she hasn't got any back-up in the form of good powers. This book has a good balance of plotlines, and I'm enjoying the tale being woven. Not for everyone, but I like this book. Recommended.

Coming tomorrow: Supreme Power, Girl Genius, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, DC Presents Atom, Fallen Angel, H-E-R-O, JSA Strange Adventures, Plastic Man, Astro City Special, and Demo. A pretty good week!

by Tegan at 6:14 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Tent City has moved on. The pastor at the local church that invited them to our neighborhood, the Rev. Lawrence Minder, has the final word:

"They live here because this community is safer than being alone on the streets. Unlike a shelter, where they must leave early each morning and take their belongings with them, the tent gives them a place to leave their belongings. Couples can stay together in Tent City 4 while shelters often split them up in separate living quarters. There is no curfew and they can work without co-workers casting a derogatory glance because they have to find a new place to sleep every night."

by Tegan at 2:46 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

August is a birthday/anniversary month for my family.

Happy birthday, Jordan! We'll be taking you to the game on Monday, I hope you enjoy it!

by Tegan at 10:23 AM Seattle time - Permalink  

Monday, August 16, 2004

Huh, no reviews from me today, you'll have to settle for Carlos' Scurvy Dogs review. I've got other things to blog about.

First up is the new DC solicits. They are up at Toon Zone among other places. And there's a lot of news there for the DC fan.

You know what I checked first, and here it is:

This one fails my general "simplicity is better" test, but otherwise looks pretty good. It's obvious with a closer look what the subject is, and you even get a sense of what the story might be. You would be right, too, according to the solicit, which refers to "the sunken naval bases at San Diego". That's an angle I hadn't much thought of... military installations would have gone down in the disaster. It's clear to me that Pfeifer thought through the implications of the disaster pretty well, and knew there would be plenty of plotlines to investigate. However, Pfeifer isn't writing the book any longer... this issue is by John Ostrander and the art by the fill-in team of Chris Batista & Dave Meikis.

Will Pfeifer has confirmed that he is off Aquaman, but I don't know who the new regular writer is, if there is a regular writer. Patrick Gleason will be staying on as the artist.

In other news...

• The Batman crossover is apparently ended, and even though Birds of Prey wasn't involved their solicit talks about rising from the rubble of it. Whatever.
  
• I'm not sure why, but I like the cover to Batman: Gotham Knights #59.
  
• Superman: Secret Identity is getting a trade. Those of you who were waiting for it, go wild. As you know, it sold poorly, and didn't make back the advances. So, go buy it. I recommend it.
  
• I don't know what I think about JLA: Classified. Ask me after I've done the number-crunching to figure out if we can afford to add it to our pull.
  
• Annoying crossover between Firestorm and Bloodhound. I may have to drop Bloodhound after all. Haven't decided yet, but a crossover like this on a book that's not a sure thing on my pull is very likely to make me drop it, and not at all likely to make me pick up the other book. If anyone knows whether or not this is a true crossover, ie I must read Firestorm to understand/enjoy what happens in Bloodhound, let me know.
  
• Final issue of H-E-R-O. Not entirely a surprise, but not good news at all. I was mostly enjoying the book.
  
• With Pfeifer off Swamp Thing, so am I. Hey, one less book on the pull...
  
• DC Direct has a new line of Green Lantern action figures, and while I suspect hubby-Eric would like all of them, I know the one he really wants is Kilowog.

Ok, more on DC and everyone else's solicits when Previews actually comes on. In the meantime, here's some nice Random Thoughts to get you through until I can get up the energy to finish my reviews.

Matt Peckham gives us a wonderful photo blog of the Shire.

Brian Wood reveals the author's intent in the recent issue Mixtape. Can't say I'm surprised, but I like that it could be read a number of different ways.

Mike Sterling finds a nice Dr Manhattan riff in Harvey Comics. I'm beginning to think Mike is reading too much Harvey, lately.

Be sure to check out Yet Another Comics Blog for some good reviews and another nice Eleven List. Speaking of Eleven Lists, I have been updating my version of the master list, but be sure to check out TangognaT's combined list.

Joey Manley's demonstrates a problem with current superhero artwork. I agree. That's just ridiculous.

And, to finish up, I recently answered a call for reviewers from Monitor Duty, and received Fanzing Presents: Job Wanted #1 in the mail. When I saw the cover, I recognized it as a book that I mentioned in my Oct 2003 Flipping Through Previews post as a book I wanted but couldn't afford to get. I haven't read it yet, but I will soon. I'm always happy to accept review copies.

That's it for blogging from me today. I'm going to go watch some more Olympics. I hope there's some more swimming on one of the channels. I really can't get enough of men's swimming.

by Tegan at 6:25 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

The following is from Carlos Hernandez Fisher, to whom I sent my issues of Scurvy Dogs that were generously sent to me (along with a billion other books) by AiT/Planet Lar's Larry Young. Take it, Carlos:

I've been looking forward to Scurvy Dogs for a long while. From the early buzz online from reviewers like Randy Lander, my own passion for funny, crazy comics, and my devotion to most books with the imprimatur of AIT/Planet Lar I had a feeling this was a comic for me. Unfortunately, I'm also a wait-for-the-trade kind of guy, so I've been sitting on the sidelines for this one (much as I am for Street Angel). Now, thanks to Tegan's generosity, and the second-hand generosity of Larry Young, I'm part of the party.

So, my thoughts on Scurvy Dogs. In sum, really good but not quite great. I found the book deliriously funny in parts, rivalling some of my favourites like Rex Mantooth, My Monkey's Name is Jennifer, and Barry Ween for lines and scenes that make me put down the book for laughing so hard. Concepts and lines like Vikings from the future, "pigeons of the sea," the king of the hobo mafia, and Menudo Island could only come from some sort of demented genius, and I mean that in the nicest way.

So what's bad? It's a week or two out from reading the books and I'm hard pressed to actually remember what happened in them. I can remember certain lines and riffs, and if I had friends who were reading Scurvy Dogs I'm sure we'd be quoting it at each other, but the story doesn't really stick with me. The story's in service of the jokes rather than vice versa. Which is fine, since the jokes really are great, and I'll probably track down future Scurvy Dogs books. But it doesn't transcend its jokes and offer something more -- like Barry Ween, for example and IMHO, does -- and that's what I'd really been hoping I'd find.

(PS: Stop making me jealous by blogging about CBC Olympics coverage. As a transplanted Canadian living in Portland I'm sorely missing my CBC fix. And as far as Olympic references in comics, there was some stuff in Young Justice four years ago, though they kept talking only about the "Sydney Games" in what seemed to be a trademark protection issue.)

Sorry, Carlos. I just like the fact that I can get actual coverage of the Olympics. I also remember that Young Justice story... yeah, there was a thing for awhile there where any business at all, anywhere in the world, that called itself Olympics or used the Olympic name in its advertising was being harrassed. It hit a few companies in this area, as we have an Olympic mountain range here in Washington and many companies named themselves after it. As I recall, most of the local companies got to keep their names, but it was big news for a time.

by Tegan at 2:10 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

I'm too lazy to write any more reviews at the moment, so I thought I'd instead I'd mention one major usage of the Olympics in a comic book.

This is from a story I only have on microfiche, so I couldn't scan the panels that describe the Olympics. The story was in More Fun Comics #96, from March of 1944. At this point, there had been no Olympics for eight years, and there would be no Olympics that year. The story was called "Champion in War", and described a Chinese swimmer who had "his points added to the American team" to win a Gold and beat out the evil Japanese swimmers. Now, years later, the swimmer was in an occupied area delivering messages under the noses of the Japanese using his swimming skills. Aquaman arrives and helps him when the Japanese finally get wise to the scheme.

Despite a fuzzy understanding of how the Olympics worked, the heart of the story wasn't too bad. The idea that a person who was a hero during peacetime in front of the world could also be a champion in the middle of a war doing secret work with no acclaim at all. Not too bad... although the caricatures of Japanese, both athletes and soldiers, makes me cringe in these more enlightened and supposedly less propagandish days.

I also recall a Silver Age tale in which Aquaman and Aqualad captain teams of competing fish from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in an underwater Olympics. But that wasn't a mention of actual Olympic games.

Anyone know of more references? And yes, I've been enjoying watching the Olympics. Particularly the swimmers. Particularly the male swimmers. I love the CBC's coverage, too. Much less partisan and more focused on the competition for the most part, although with 2 billion NBC-related channels showing the games, it isn't hard to watch something if the CBC stops showing competition in favor of long interviews with Canadian medalists.

by Tegan at 12:39 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Sunday, August 15, 2004

Thanks to Lieber's Eleven, I put some books on hold at the local library. My local library is part of the King County Library System, which is reportedly one of the largest library systems in the country, with over 40 member libraries which share all materials. It's very easy for me to get any book in the system... just put it on hold and it shows at my local library in a few days (or months, depending on the waiting list). While the system doesn't have everything on everyone's list, I did get a few from the lists, and a few that were inspired by the lists. Here's my first set of Eleven-inspired rapid reviews.

The Golem's Mighty Swing by James Sturm. Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow. I had always debated getting this, holding back out of fear that it wouldn't be as good as I hoped. Until I saw it on Lieber's list, it never once occurred to me to try and check it out from the library. I was only a little surprised that it actually was in the catalog, since I've seen the many reprints of it offered in Diamond. And now that I've read it... well, oh wow doesn't even cut it.

The story is set in the early 1920s, and features a fictional barnstorming baseball team, "The Stars of David" which is made up of mostly Jewish members. The manager, Noah Strauss, plays for the love of the game and a desire to not become like his father. But their gimmick is being Jews, and they cultivate that image in order to get local teams to play against them. When a promoter suggests that they add a Golem to the line-up, they discover some basic truths about racism in rural America.

There are some mistakes that a big baseball fan might notice, but for the most part this proves that baseball can be done in a comic book format compellingly. And while the story isn't just about baseball, there is a deep love of the game that sets the tone for most of the book. It's when the game becomes about more than just baseball that everything seems to go wrong. I would highly recommend this one to just about anyone.

Fallout by Jim Ottaviani and various artists. I wanted to get Suspended In Language, but the library doesn't have it. I already own and have read Dignifying Science and Two-Fisted Science, so this was the only other one I needed to look for. And, I hate to say it, it wasn't as good as the other two. Perhaps if I'd known nothing about the subject matter, or a lot more about it, I could have enjoyed the book more. But it seemed like I knew just enough to wonder and not enough to put the pieces together. The narrative wasn't as solid as in the other books I've read. I kept feeling like I was missing something important. The book was much better on the second read-through, but it was still not as good as the other two I've read. Seriously, though, that is not a detriment to this book, as the other two are two of the best graphic novels available. I'll recommend this one mildly, and urge you to pick up Dignifying Science first.

Safe Area Gorazde: "Go-RAJH-duh" With the kind of name I have, you'd think this one wouldn't throw me as much as it does. This book reminds me of Fax From Sarajevo, only it's a first-hand account. The only problem I had with it would be the way the artist draws himself. It was clear immediately who he was, as he was the only caricature. That was, in my opinion, the only fault in the book and while I considered it distracting it did serve a story purpose. In short, the author needed to distinguish himself from the people whose stories he was telling.

This book tells the story of a so-called "Safe Area" during the Bosnian war. I have a lot of trouble reading books on this type of subject. I avoided reading Maus for a long time because I knew that I would be depressed after reading it (and I was right). The same thing happened when I read Kubert's book. This time I took it slower, and it wasn't as hard to read. It is still a very painful book, but Sacco's way of telling the story as matter-of-factly as possible, from the point of view of a journalist, makes it slightly easier to take. If you know nothing about the war in Bosnia, this is a strong primer, as Sacco has included a lot of background information on why the war happened.

I have long maintained that every library needs a copy of Fax From Sarajevo, and it should be required reading in High School. I think this one ought to be in every library also. Strongly recommended.

by Tegan at 11:37 PM Seattle time - Permalink  

Happy Birthday Christine...

It was nice to see you at the Anniversary party yesterday.

by Tegan at 1:49 PM Seattle time - Permalink