Post by Administrator on Nov 6, 2005 17:12:09 GMT -5
Andrew A. Smith, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely are the debut creators on “All Star Superman” ($2.99), a new series by DC Comics promising – like its sister publication, the awkwardly named “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder” – to present iconic stories about universally known characters without regard to continuity.
That is to say, these highly sought-after creators – the “all stars” of the title – can tell any sort of story they want about Superman and Batman without having to be consistent with the characters’ appearances in other comics or media.
So it is that these two Glaswegians are tackling the ultimate American immigrant in a 12-part story promising to touch “on all the classic aspects of the Superman mythology.” DC is pretty tight-lipped on what that might mean, but I have enough confidence in Morrison and Quitely’s track record that I think it’s going to be a pretty satisfying read. Enough so to name “All Star Superman” the Captain’s Pick of the Month, sight unseen.
But that isn’t my only recommendation in a month bursting with funnybook fun. Elsewhere in November:
Batmania I: Somebody’s gone batty in the Warner Bros archives. This month sees the release of the “Batman Begins Two-Disc Deluxe Widescreen” DVD ($31.97), featuring this year’s hit movie; the “Batman vs. Dracula” DVD ($24.98), an animated film based on the current cartoon; and the “Batman: The 1943 Serial Collection” DVD ($29.95), collecting the Dark Knight’s first movie serial (of two).
But the big one – literally – is the “Batman: Motion Picture Anthology” set ($79.92), a gi-humongous boxed set containing two-disc versions of “Batman,” “Batman Returns,” “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin.”
OK, some of those movies weren’t very good – but no Bat-collector should be without them.
Batmania II: Speaking of the Dark Knight, fan favorite writer/artist Matt Wagner has embarked on a re-imagining of two of Batman’s earliest adventures. “Batman & the Monster Men” No. 1 (of 6, $2.99) is a modern spin on a creepy story from “Batman” No. 1 (1940).
It will be followed by the six-part “Batman & the Mad Monk,” revisiting another creepy story from “Detective Comics” Nos. 31-32 (1939).
This is pre-Robin material from Batman’s earliest incarnation as a “weird creature of the night,” and his foes were pretty weird, too.
Saddle up: One of DC’s greatest Western characters returns in “Jonah Hex” No. 1 ($2.50), an ongoing series starring the hideously scarred, saturnine bounty hunter whose “only companions are death and the acrid smell of gunsmoke.”
Alert Cartoon Network viewers may remember Jonah’s guest appearances on “Batman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League,” but for a real education, DC is thoughtfully providing 528 black-and-white pages of the gunslinger’s earliest appearances in “Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex” Vol. 1 ($16.99).
Echo of Thunder: Speaking of history, this month DC will release the sixth Archives volume collecting the old “T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents” from the ’60s. That fondly remembered series combined superheroics, spy stuff and working-stiff blues, and this Archives completes the set.
Mutant mania: Last month I told you about “House of M,” the shakeup at Marvel Comics that will alter the X-Men franchise irrevocably by drastically reducing the number of mutants X-tant.
This month follows the fallout of this X-cision in various X-titles, including the pivotal “X-Men: Deadly Genesis” No. 1 (of 6, $3.99), that will virtually rewrite some long-standing X-history. If you think you know the X-Men, you may want to think again.
Something Blue: One of the greatest stories of the ’60s was the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. In celebration of the couple’s 40th anniversary, Marvel will reprint that 1965 story in “Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special” (along with some modern stuff to make it worth your $4.99).
Doomed: The guy who tried to bust up that ceremony was a certain Victor Von Doom, who also had a star turn in the “FF” movie. It’s an anniversary for him of sorts, too, so he gets his own miniseries this month. “Books of Doom” No. 1 (of 6) will give us the long-awaited tale of how a starry-eyed Latverian lad became one of the world’s greatest fictional villains.
And, believe me, it’s bound to be a lot more convincing than “Revenge of the Sith.”
Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com or www.captaincomics.us/forums.
Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely are the debut creators on “All Star Superman” ($2.99), a new series by DC Comics promising – like its sister publication, the awkwardly named “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder” – to present iconic stories about universally known characters without regard to continuity.
That is to say, these highly sought-after creators – the “all stars” of the title – can tell any sort of story they want about Superman and Batman without having to be consistent with the characters’ appearances in other comics or media.
So it is that these two Glaswegians are tackling the ultimate American immigrant in a 12-part story promising to touch “on all the classic aspects of the Superman mythology.” DC is pretty tight-lipped on what that might mean, but I have enough confidence in Morrison and Quitely’s track record that I think it’s going to be a pretty satisfying read. Enough so to name “All Star Superman” the Captain’s Pick of the Month, sight unseen.
But that isn’t my only recommendation in a month bursting with funnybook fun. Elsewhere in November:
Batmania I: Somebody’s gone batty in the Warner Bros archives. This month sees the release of the “Batman Begins Two-Disc Deluxe Widescreen” DVD ($31.97), featuring this year’s hit movie; the “Batman vs. Dracula” DVD ($24.98), an animated film based on the current cartoon; and the “Batman: The 1943 Serial Collection” DVD ($29.95), collecting the Dark Knight’s first movie serial (of two).
But the big one – literally – is the “Batman: Motion Picture Anthology” set ($79.92), a gi-humongous boxed set containing two-disc versions of “Batman,” “Batman Returns,” “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin.”
OK, some of those movies weren’t very good – but no Bat-collector should be without them.
Batmania II: Speaking of the Dark Knight, fan favorite writer/artist Matt Wagner has embarked on a re-imagining of two of Batman’s earliest adventures. “Batman & the Monster Men” No. 1 (of 6, $2.99) is a modern spin on a creepy story from “Batman” No. 1 (1940).
It will be followed by the six-part “Batman & the Mad Monk,” revisiting another creepy story from “Detective Comics” Nos. 31-32 (1939).
This is pre-Robin material from Batman’s earliest incarnation as a “weird creature of the night,” and his foes were pretty weird, too.
Saddle up: One of DC’s greatest Western characters returns in “Jonah Hex” No. 1 ($2.50), an ongoing series starring the hideously scarred, saturnine bounty hunter whose “only companions are death and the acrid smell of gunsmoke.”
Alert Cartoon Network viewers may remember Jonah’s guest appearances on “Batman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League,” but for a real education, DC is thoughtfully providing 528 black-and-white pages of the gunslinger’s earliest appearances in “Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex” Vol. 1 ($16.99).
Echo of Thunder: Speaking of history, this month DC will release the sixth Archives volume collecting the old “T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents” from the ’60s. That fondly remembered series combined superheroics, spy stuff and working-stiff blues, and this Archives completes the set.
Mutant mania: Last month I told you about “House of M,” the shakeup at Marvel Comics that will alter the X-Men franchise irrevocably by drastically reducing the number of mutants X-tant.
This month follows the fallout of this X-cision in various X-titles, including the pivotal “X-Men: Deadly Genesis” No. 1 (of 6, $3.99), that will virtually rewrite some long-standing X-history. If you think you know the X-Men, you may want to think again.
Something Blue: One of the greatest stories of the ’60s was the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. In celebration of the couple’s 40th anniversary, Marvel will reprint that 1965 story in “Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special” (along with some modern stuff to make it worth your $4.99).
Doomed: The guy who tried to bust up that ceremony was a certain Victor Von Doom, who also had a star turn in the “FF” movie. It’s an anniversary for him of sorts, too, so he gets his own miniseries this month. “Books of Doom” No. 1 (of 6) will give us the long-awaited tale of how a starry-eyed Latverian lad became one of the world’s greatest fictional villains.
And, believe me, it’s bound to be a lot more convincing than “Revenge of the Sith.”
Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com or www.captaincomics.us/forums.