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NEWS
[12.18.04]
John Byrne's pencil art (inked with a Sharpie) for his new upcoming DC Comics series, Blood of The Demon. The notation next to his signature which reads "after Kirby" refers to the fact that this cover is an homage to the original cover done by the legendary Jack Kirby when he created the series in the early 70's.
REVIEWS
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 Marvel
Essential Defenders #1 |
For
those of you not familiar with the "Essential" line Marvel
has been releasing in recent years, they are phonebook-style reprints
of early and generally hard-to-find issues older classic comic books
titles and characters. The most attractive aspect of these books
is the bang-for-the buck, as you typically end up with a couple
of dozen comics for somewhere around $15. That's less than a dollar
an issue for reprints that may easily cost you over $15 per issue
if you were to buy the originals! It is a great way to catch up
on the early history of characters that you probably weren't around
for unless you've been collecting since the 60's and 70's. One important thing to note, however, is that these are all printed on low-quality newsprint-like stock in BLACK and WHITE. Many may see this as a drawback, but personally I find that seeing the art in black and white gives you a whole new level of appreciation for the craftsmanship at play. Marvel offers color reprints in the form of their Masterworks series, but be prepared to pay top dollar for the higher grade glossy paper and recoloring job. If you aren't picky about this sort of thing though, stick with the Essentials and catch yourself up on the facinating and wildly creativity early years at Marvel. |
The Essential Defenders book focuses on Marvel's first "non-team" of super heroes and how they came to form in a crossover of their respective books. The core of the group is comprised of Dr. Strange, The Hulk and Sub-Mariner--so naturally we have issues from all of the respective titles documenting their first encounter. We also have some issues from The Avengers included as well chronicling the relatively historical Avengers/Defenders clash (which was a precursor of sorts to books like Contest of Champions and Secret Wars). The most appealing thing about The Defenders as a book was the fact that the team really did not get along, and were more apt to fight amongst themselves than tackle bad guys. But really, what did you expect having The Hulk and Sub-Mariner on the same team? Subsequent members joining the squad included The Black Knight, Valkyrie, Hawkeye and The Silver Surfer. And naturally, having such a weird and off-beat collection of teammates lead to the group having extra-bizarre adventures against aliens, demons and monsters rather than your garden-variety would-be world-beaters. I won't pretend that these issues are necessarily the greatest I've read, but really The Defenders wasn't a great book when all is said and done. However, it's still worth the money for the diamonds in the rough contained therein. You also can't help but enjoy the mindblowing pages Gene Colan contributed (which ALWAYS look superior in B&W) as well as Sal Buscema's work as the definitive Hulk artist. |
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This
96 page Elseworlds hardcover by DC Comics tells the story of Superman
if he had landed in Britian instead of America. The result is a
young Colin Kent who grows up in a repressed English society and
ends up ironically working for a tabloid hellbent on tearing down
the up-and-coming super hero. Predictably, there are many Monty Python in-jokes to be discovered within these pages. Fans of the series should definitely pick this up just for that fact alone. The main reason I was interested in this book was that it was penciled by my favorite comic creator, John Byrne. Mr. Byrne is one of the most famous writer/artists in the field, having popularized The X-Men back in the 80's, completing a definitive 60+ issue run on Fantastic Four and most famously "rebooting" Superman with the Man of Steel mini-series over twenty years ago. Byrne's artistry is better than ever, expertly adding a cartoony element to his work when appropriate to capture the over-the-top nature of Cleese's humor. Mark Farmer's inks give the pencils a very smooth and glossy finish which is very pleasing to the eye. Highly recommended. |
Superman:True
Brit |
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Current
Pull List: Blood of The Demon Fantastic Four Iron Man Green Lantern Uncanny X-Men |
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