News! "New Jeff Lemire project: The Underwater Welder"

Well this looks just delightful (first noticed the story on Robot 6). Sweet Tooth rocks, still have to check out Jeff Lemire's older stuff.

News! "Batman comic book beats Superman at auction, sets record"

Eat it, Boy Scout!

"Just three days after auction site ComicConnect.com claimed to break world records when it sold an original Superman comic for $1 million, Batman stole his thunder.

A rare, high-quality copy of Detective Comics #27, which marked the first appearance of Batman in 1939, sold for $1,075,500 on Thursday. Heritage Auctions of Dallas sold the comic book to an unnamed bidder on behalf of an anonymous collector."

News! "It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's a $1 million comic book"

Missed this the first time around.

"Zurzolo and Fishler posted a rare copy of Action Comics #1 on their site Monday morning. It was the issue where the Man of Steel made his debut in 1938. They were selling it on behalf of an unnamed collector. Within one minute, Zurzolo said, another unnamed collector bought it for $1 million."

Choker #1

Very glad I picked this one up, last minute grab before I checked out. I was initially attracted by Ben Templesmith's name. I like his sketchy, jilted pencils and murky, dark, moody finishes. He doesn't disappoint here. Nice touch with the "How It's Done" art tour at the end.

But the real surprise is McCool's writing. You know, the fact that it's good. I don't mean that to sound uppity - I love comics, superhero & otherwise, but even some of my favorite writers tend to have a tin ear. McCool has a natural rhythmic and alliterative flow that makes for immersive reading & perfectly complements Templesmith's art (compare the writing here with this month's Blackest Night #7 - I spend so much time trying to make the stilted dialogue sound right in my head, I'm totally taken out of the book).

The story itself is familiar. Johnny Jackson seems like your typical (former) bull cop, now scraping by as a sleazy PI in a shitbox city. But he's just so fucking charming: "No, thank you, Ms. Gaynor. I'd rather fuck a faulty toaster." Righteous. McCool adds a nice twist to the premise, what with all the mutant citizens and genetically enhanced "Man Plus" monster cops. And the vampires. Weee! I'm totally along for the ride. Shotgun!

Joe the Barbarian #2

Joe the Barbarian does not read well as individual issues. The same could be said for a lot of what Grant Morrison writes. I don't know if that's a criticism or not. Every time I want to be snarky about Morrison, I remember how fucking awesome he can be. Everyone's got their favorites of his; I like Seaguy, Doom Patrol, and We3. Two issues in, I don't like Joe the Barbarian. After eight, chances are I will.

Sean Murphy continues to draw his balls off. Some of his panels are honestly kind of muddled and confusing, but that totally suits the writing, intentional or not. Overall, though, the art is the book's strongest point so far.

As for plot, more of the same. There's nothing terribly interesting or original yet to dissect. We can assume that Joe is suffering through fantastical hypoglycemic hallucinations & his rodent pal Jack here serves as quasi-guide through the abyss. Lots of straws to grasp at, nothing satisfying yet.

I don't like this kind of book. If I'm going to like Joe the Barbarian at all, it probably won't happen until the entire series is done and I can read it through as one story. In the mean time, it's a book that I'll probably drop money on every month & kind of regret it. I should wait for the trade! But I won't!

Supergirl #50

I like this issue. Not because it's any good because, by god, it's not. I like it because it lets me know it's okay. It's okay not to buy every comic that has a number in a red shield on the cover. I probably won't miss too much. It's okay to not buy every comic with "Super" in the title. They're probably not all necessary anyway. It's okay to not buy Supergirl because she is, after all, just a girl. Okay so that's not right.

I actually do like Supergirl, and I've liked the last several issues of the title. Just not this one. Cliff Chiang draws awesome, though, and I'd love to see him on regular cover/interior art duties. Everything else here feels a little disjointed and uneventful. Which is weird, because flipping through again, I see lots of explosive & gory events. Oh well, flat to me. The Superfamily space saga has been going on so long now, individual issues don't really stand out to me. This one doesn't. But it's okay!

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14

Wow, this is a surprisingly dark issue for a Johnny DC all-ages book. Still righteous, but dark nonetheless. It's Valentine's Day and Batman & Huntress are tailing a maniacal Mr. Camera, who is actually pretty creepy in a demented paparazzo stalker kind of way. Huntress is distracted, and we follow Bats in assuming it's due to her unrequited V-Day love ("Gotham City is my mistress. Fighting crime is my romance." So perfect).

Really, it's her birthday. And he forgot. He's not a very good friend. And he fucked up the case - Mr. Camera isn't after the Gotham Film Preservation Institute after all! He's after the poony lovin'! Huntress' poony lovin'! Batman, you fool!

So it's an action-packed issue, wonderfully written by Walker & delightfully drawn by Jones (great colors by Heroic Age). And it's creepy. Just like Valentine's Day! So perfect.

Tiny Titans #25

Noooo! Stay away, Geoff Johns! Don't do it! Oh, fuck my cock. He did it.

Blackest Night touches the Tiny Titans this month. Boo. I mean, Art Baltazar and Franco remain the driving force behind the issue, so it's still Aw Yeah awesome, but it's not the same. It's...less than.

I guess the setup is cute and all - the Titans get their hands on some technicolor lantern rings from "Mr. Johns's Sidekick City Pawn Shop and Bubblegum Emporium," try them on & float around. Then the Guardians & Green Lantern show up & take'em back. Hrmpff. Much like an actual Blackest Night tie-in, where goodies and baddies get their hands on technicolor rings, try them on & float around (killing each other) to similar non-effect.

Stay away! Not from this issue, which you still must read because it is, after all, still Tiny Titans. I mean Geoff Johns. Stay away!

Beasts of Burden

Evan Dorkin writes animals better than most writers write people. I mean that two ways. The animals of Burden Hill have such clearly recognizable voices and personalities & Dorkin accomplishes a lot of their characterization in a very few pages, making his furry sleuths as immediately sympathetic and endearing as the animals I remember from Homeward Bound. But even if you ignore the fact of their four legs & look at them each on a basic character level, they're still more completely developed on an individual basis than many human characters on the comic stands today. I get more out of two panels of Beasts of Burden than I do out of two full issues of Joe the Barbarian, and that's resident deity Grant Morrison. So Dorkin is impressive.

And Jill Thompson is phenomenal. She has this classic-looking watercolor painted style - I don't know enough about art to say exactly what she uses, maybe it'd be obvious to someone with art smarts, but whatever she does, it looks delightful. The art almost has a kind of 40's Disney feel - it's cute and cartoony, but it's also amazingly detailed and expressive. So everyone looks totally cuddly and adorable, instant love.

And then something comes along, say, a giant frog, and devours some hapless pup and then the giant frog regurgitates its own insides and then the giant frog explodes into tiny regular frogs after the Burden Hill gang tears out its tongue, severing its spiritual anchor. You know, 'cause it was an aggregate demon. The giant flesh-eating frog. Aggregate. Demon.

Oooh riiight, Beasts of Burden is really about a crazy fucking crew of paranormal animal detectives investigating X-Files-level insanity in the picturesque & sinister town of Burden Hill. Fucking awesome. Four issues out so far, and a couple stories printed back in those hardcover Dark Horse Book of the Dead anthologies. Aggregate demon frog!

Red Robin #9

Weee! I love this book. Except for the Red Robin title and costume. I mean I get why Tim is rocking the moniker, but I can't wait until he gets his own identity. How fucking cool was Nightwing? Tim needs that.

Chris Yost does a really nice job with Tim's voice - he's sensitive without being a giant vagina & he's flippant and witty without being a Peter Parker knock-off. I also appreciate how Yost is handling Tim's relationships. He's really just a kid, so his friendships past and present kind of define his entire character. I guess you could say the same for anyone, but Tim has grown up, and is growing up, entirely around superheroes. He's a great counterpoint to Damian.

I dunno who actually handles the pencils - cover says Bachs, interior says To - but I like'em. McCarthy inks & Major colors. They three make cute Kryptonian puppies and pretty boy hair. Make a pretty new costume for Tim! And aawww, Tim and Conner hug! Wow. I am a giant vagina. But aawww!

Daredevil #504

Diggle & De La Torre's takeover of DD has been pretty seamless so far - if you weren't paying attention to the credits, you might just see #504 as more of the same gloriously gritty underworld machinations. Diggle's writing is just as taught & compelling as Brubaker's, and it looks like his plans for the title are even more epic. I love the idea of Matt using the Hand to police the police & Kingpin's plot to play his enemies against each other - I mean I guess that doesn't sound shockingly original, but the execution has been delightful.

De La Torre and Hollingsworth create some really striking images here. Daredevil sitting atop his underworld throne, ensconced in candlight, smoke, and shadows is perfectly diabolic. Diggle's battlefield speeches may be a little over the top, but I like seeing Matt lead his soldiers into a hail of moonlit gunfire. Also there's the whole Shadowland thing. You know, Matt's indy prison in the sewers. The new shithole where he'll lock up Osborn's dirty cops? Shadowland. Wait, wha...? Awesome.

Grimjack: The Manx Cat

I feel like Grimjack is the refined product of an idea dreamed up by a deranged seventh grader rotting in detention & clandestinely scribbled down on torn spiral bound notebook paper. And by refined, I mean still deranged and rotten, only with quality writing and art.

Manx Cat has been my righteous introduction to John Gaunt. Guy dresses like a gypsy legionnaire & acts like a bastard amalgamation of Conan and Jonah Hex thrust through time and space like John Carter. This book is as over the top as Over the Top, but Ostrander & Truman never let it run away. It represents everything that was gaudy and excessive about the 80's & a bit of what's missing from whatever the fuck you call decades in the 2000's. It's fun without being frivolous & gritty without being self-indulgent or hyper-serious. You should read it. You need an asshole on your side.

Secret Six #18

I feel like the arrival of the Black Lanterns in full force really killed the momentum of this run. The last several issues of Secret Six have been fucking outstanding. I'm late to the book, just started with Ostrander's Deadshot story in issue #15 (also amazing), but Simone & Ostrander have definitely sold me on catching up with the series. Love to get some older Suicide Squad stuff, too - the Blackest Night one-issue revival was actually great.

But all of those issues were leading up to this moment, I suppose, when the Six & the Squad throw down with the dead. There's just not a whole lot to do with this shit, though - every issue, every week, every month, heroes fight zombies. Should be awesome, but it's actually getting really stale. In my mind, the plot development is staggeringly slow. Bring on Brightest Day & some good old fashioned people-killing!

Batgirl #7

So good! Bryan Q. Miller has a sure command over the individual personalities of the Bat clan, and the guy has a delightful sense of humor. There's such a pleasant, casual, easy flow to his dialogue. I love how Barbara and Dick are playing mom & pop - or at least big sister & brother - to Stephanie and Damian, who exchange witty banter as they frolic through Gotham's underbelly.

I'm also really enjoying the art by Garbett, Scott, and Major. They have a playful touch to match the tone of the book, and they do a nice job with the action scenes that dominate the plot. I particularly like the panels with Dick flitting away from a bombed Devil's Square & Phosphorus choking Dick (there's probably a way to write 'Dick flitting' & 'choking Dick' without sounding dirty, but why?). Also, Damian always reminds me of Watterson's Calvin, a similarity which I find endlessly entertaining. He's totally a member of G.R.O.S.S.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #29

The "Five Stages" arc with Cupid & Dark Arrow concludes here. Got a little stale for me. I kind of wish this title was handled more like Daredevil over at Marvel - Ollie's always seemed a little goofy to me, so I'd either like to see him channeling badass Matt Murdock, or prancing around like his Brave and the Bold cartoon counterpart. The tone right now isn't serious enough to be truly exciting nor sharp enough to be truly witty. So no shocks & no funnies, for the most part. Although Ollie pins Cupid's hand to dam with an arrow, so it's got that.

And it's got Sienkiewicz! He handles the finishes over Norton's layouts. His inks are fucking dazzling, even though the action is mostly ho-hum. Well, except for the aforementioned arrow-to-the-hand bit, there's always that. I would love to see Sienkiewicz go balls out with his own layouts. I feel like he doesn't do so much. What the fuck, Bill?

Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #20

I would have no complaints if this title took the place of the regular Marvel Universe Avengers books. Maybe I'll get my wish in May when The Heroic Age brings back lighter & friendlier fare. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the dwindling Marvel Adventures line when that kicks in - I mean, MA is basically what HA promises to be.

Anyways, Paul Tobin does good with the script. He and his predecessor, Jeff Parker, know how to work the funnies into dialogue without forcing the issue. Comics aimed at the younger crowd - and a great deal of all-ages comics, for that matter - push the kind of bland comedy that makes me blanch like the awkward pause before the laugh track kicks in on half-assed sitcoms. I do miss the Hulk's delightfully round wit, but Thor gives me the giggles, too. I like the line-up - Black Widow & Nova are nice additions to the team. Excellent colors & strong page layouts here. Also, nothing beats Cap wearing his shield like a schoolbag.

Batman and Robin #8

A few issues ago this was a refreshingly straight superhero crime comic - or as straight as Grant Morrson gets, which is pretty fucking twisted, but in a good way - but more recently Batman and Robin feels like a complete return to RIP, though not in a good way. I'll reread the storyline when all is said and done and I'll appreciate it then, yes? In the mean time, not so much.

Siege #2

I can't believe I'm enjoying this so much. I mean it's nothing fantastic, but it's fun and, for my money, well executed so far. And at two issues, it's already half over! I've been avoiding most things Marvel for a couple years now. I'm generally not a fan of writing by Bendis or Millar or art by Hitch, and I feel like they touch nearly everything Marvel puts out. That may not even be remotely accurate, just feels that way. But I like Siege. Seems like it's designed to have the same impact on the Marvel Universe as Blackest Night on the DCU, yet it's moving along at ten times the speed.

Laura Martin's coloring is pretty awesome. I'm okay with Coipel's pencils here, but his layouts really shine. Great match in pacing and tone to Bendis' script. Although the impact of the two page team splash is destroyed by the 'meet the Avengers' roll call. The Ares/Sentry fight makes up for it - I was genuinely surprised by the rending of limb from limb. Nasty.

Considering the players involved and the gravity of the plot, Bendis' writing is down to earth and endearing. Does that make any sense? In the big event bubble, Bendis is writing his characters while Johns is writing his plot. Blackest Night is a blurred smorgasbord of evisceration, which should be terrific, I'm just not feeling anything. On the other hand, I want to hug the Thor/Maria/Jason scenes.

That said, the final four panels sold me on Siege in general and Siege #2 in particular. Incoming!

Sweet Tooth #6

I feel like The Unwritten is the Vertigo book getting more press fellatio lately, but I kind of despise it. I mean I'm probably supposed to adore it because I was an English major in college & I like books and all, but there it is. Sweet Tooth is righteous, though. Lemire's scripts are bare bones but engaging, Gus is adorable, and Jepperd is a leathery badass. Also he may be kind of a bastard.

This one begins the new "In Captivity" arc. So after Jepperd's apparent betrayal, Gus finds himself in a militia pen with a cluster of mangy mutants & a not so bright future ahead of him. Interesting to see the disparate levels of cognizance among the animal kids. Jepperd's back story takes the forefront here and it's pretty wrenching. Creepy final page. I mean it's terribly sad. But creepy.

Oh and Lemire's art is fucking outstanding. I'm torn between commenting on Villarubia's equally delightful coloring or just leaving off with 'fucking outstanding.' Here we go. Villarubia's coloring is fucking outstanding. Win!

Jonah Hex #52

Hex wrassles a gator! Bernet is a great artist. Gray & Palmiotti continue to be a great team. And Bernet is a great artist! Hex looks a little Clint Eastwood here, and the plot actually reminds me of an Eastwood flick whose title I don't remember - he gets shot with an arrow and coaches his traveling companion, who I believe is a nun, through its extraction. With a whiskey bottle. And fire. Surgery is less exciting in this comic, but still. Brings me back.

Gray & Palmiotti manage consistently to write throwback Westerns that are vaguely moral without being sickeningly saccharine. Just sickening. I feel like if I ever impregnate my life partner & she spawns me a son, I shall forgo traditional fathering and entrust his development to the manly lessons learned in this book. Hex kills a kid with a rock!

Daredevil #500

I'm sorry I missed this one when it first came out, might be my favorite single issue of '09. I haven't kept up with Daredevil over the last year, but this one is easy to break into. Also it carries the delightful "Previously in Daredevil" recaps, which are pretty comprehensive. Brubaker closes shop with a tight & taught script leaving DD holding the Hand, Kingpin with his dick in the wind, and Owl in line for a handicapped parking permit. The art from Lark, Gaudiano & Co. is right on - they have this way of limning moments of frenzy with touches of serenity - I love how when DD tosses his billy club, there's only the faintest indication, if any, of flight until it knocks someone upside the head.

And the main story isn't even the best part! Diggle gets a few pages of promo for his upcoming run - I like the writing, not so much Tan's pencils. Nice setup though. Nocenti & Aja's bit is fucking great. I thought for a second it wasn't going to have any real dialogue, just sound effects and ass kicks, and I was totally fine with that - Aja is ridiculously good, pitch-perfect for Nocenti's story (so I'm glad there was dialogue after all!), nice classic feel with Hollingsworth's colors.

Next up is a pin-up gallery - really like Geof Darrow's "Hi Frank," but Rafael Grampa's is the bee's knees for me. I don't think I'm familiar with his stuff - reminds me a lot of Paul Pope.

But the best part! DD #191.

Jesus fuck, Frank Miller.