That’s strange but cool at the same time. I couldn’t come up with a cool username, so I used my real name. I did notice that there was another T. Martin when I browsing on the Hot Pant: The Spirit column. Since I know that I didn’t post that message.

Yeah. That was me too - there was a period when my computer was going haywire and I was having difficulty posting under any name or working out what I had or hadn’t successfully posted. It died a week or two later. I friggin hate computers.

I know Azzerello’s always had a short-ish run in mind for the book (around forty issues, I believe) and I suspect this coupled with Azzerello’s favored son status at DC/Vertigo will at least help to secure the books future.

(Although I note that the Doug Rushkoff book was recently cancelled.)

Yeah, Ronan was the example I was thinking of, too. The story itself was the most pointless of the minis, but it was arguably the most needed, since Ronan was the “emptiest” character of the four and required some measure of set-up outside of ANNI-proper for his pivotal role to work. That, and it was the only view we got of the final battleground of Kree space before the Wave hit. I still wish Furman had used Peter Quill somewhere; Quill’s sudden appearance as the sixth protagonist in ANNI #1 might’ve seemed natural had he showed up in one of the minis (and RONAN was the best fit).

And in my opinion, CONQUEST is worse. Not dramatically, and by no stretch un-improvable (English? Huh?), but I’m not feeling WRAITH and QUASAR like I did NOVA and SURFER. If the original was an A, the sequel gets a B thus far. But all these guys have done it successfully once before, so I have faith that they know what they’re doing. Not tree-worshipping-cosmic-lesbian faith, but it has its strengths…

Vertigo 60 is my ideal too, just not in FABLES case. Unlike SANDMAN, Y, or PREACHER, FABLES has too big a developed cast to be contained under 100 issues, IMO. Sure, he could have ended things just fine in #50, but the main characters have grown beyond just Snow, Bigby, Blue, and Jack at this point. Not that I want to see FABLES #294 if the ‘inghams don’t have it in them, but I also don’t want to see them end too soon, either. FABLES is, and always was, more than about fighting the Adversary, so I don’t want that plot in particular to dictate the endpoint.

Holy crap! Baby Stick! It’s like the X-Babies, only ass-kickier!

Every now and then, I get sort of down on comics. “What’s the use?” I ask myself. “It’s all just crap anymore anyway.” And then I see big, shiny hardcover shrines to awesomeness like these and I gasp, as though thought balloons were lodged in my esophagus. “Puny human!” the thought balloon muses in booming Hulk lettering, “Comics kick your ass!” Yes they do, angry green schizoprenic figment of my dementia. Yes they do.

Cove, your posts always make me smile. Stuff like this is why.

Brilliant little book that finally makes the Original Five exciting (only took forty years!). I do wonder why it isn’t a Marvel Adventures title, though. As Randy said, the continuity doesn’t fit well enough to be a retro series (though I really wish it did, as it would go a long way to re-energizing the adult versions), so why is Marvel apparently trying to trick people into thinking it is?

Not sure why it wasn’t branded as Marvel Adventures, but it’s probably a good thing it wasn’t. The Marvel Adventures line, while good to great, doesn’t always get the sales it deserves in the direct market because it’s considered “kiddie” comics and doesn’t sell so well to the audience who want the “real” version of the characters. X-Men First Class does about twice the numbers it would do without the Marvel Adventures tag on it. A shame, because for me, the brand stands for all-ages quality, but it’s probably something they should shy away from in future in terms of the direct market. Compare Jeff Parker’s Marvel Adventures Avengers and X-Men First Class in terms of sales, and First Class handily wins, even though (much as I love First Class) Avengers is a better book.

Rereading ANNIHILATION in collection, it strikes me how much more explosive the main series was than the minis. Aside from SUPER-SKRULL, the rest were (comparatively) subdued character pieces. And then Book 3 hits and it practically burns with scope and drama. Yet you can look back and see all the pieces falling into place in the minis. A near-perfect way to structure an event, pulled off with even better execution. Finally, a crossover that lived up to itself. And good on Marvel for recognizing this and bringing the band back together (with a new drummer!) for CONQUEST.

Yep. I had the same reaction in reading the hardcovers. Even Ronan, which at the time I found near-unreadable, puts important elements into place and reads stronger when you’re reading it all as one big story. Impressive structure, and a solid event from beginning to end. And CONQUEST is actually better, in my opinion.

Randy, while I agree that Sons of Empire pales in comparison to Homelands, Arabian Nights (and Days), and Wolves, it still lives up to the FABLES Stamp of Quality. And a part of me is glad to see Willingham back off the ante-upping of the War a bit. I’m afraid that he’ll hit that epic groove too much, the book will become too driven by the plot, and he’ll run into the “endgame” phase too soon.

I’m the guy who wants every Vertigo series to end at issue 60, at the most, so that’s where I come from. Every time Willingham mentions that he has no plans to end Fables, I get nervous, because I’d rather see a good, strong story that begins and ends than one that eventually I grow to hate, possibly tainting all that went before. (See also: Powers, and to a lesser degree Strangers in Paradise). I suspect if the 100 Bullets timeline had been compressed a little, to the standard Vertigo 60 instead of the 100 mark, I might actually have read it all the way to the end, and I’m not sure now that I’m going to.

And if anyone reading this hasn’t read Jeff Parker’s MARVEL ADVENTURES: THE AVENGERS, go steal a copy from a starving, retarded, one-limbed blind baby.

You could also buy it at your local store. But Cove’s method will produce superior comics. And is relatively easy, as long as you don’t hit that 1 in 100 baby that is secretly a blind midget kung fu master trying to teach would-be thieves a lesson.

i’ve noticed that 100 bullets has come to a halt in publication, at least, and i hope, for just a few months, as has Ex-Machina. anybody knows what is going on with these titles, as well as if Loveless is due to be cancelled soon? (as you can see I’m a big fan of azzarello and Vaughan.)

I don’t know anything in particular, but as far as I know, both Ex Machina and 100 Bullets aren’t in any danger of going away. 100 Bullets was cancelled and resolicited, next issue is due out in September. Ex Machina I can’t remember, but I believe there’s an issue due in August or September. Whether it’s busy artists and writers or the workings of evil monkeys, I don’t know, but fret not, both series are safe.

As for Loveless? Also safe, at least for now. But the sales are fairly low, and I don’t know if it’s going to make it long-haul or not. I could say the same for one of my favorites, American Virgin, but the fact that Vertigo has given it two trades thus far with another one solicited leads me to believe it’s going to survive for a while. I think Loveless, with one trade under its belt and another to come, is probably in the same “relatively safe, but don’t fall too in love with it” boat.

This has been barely informed speculation theater from Randy Lander. Thank you… and good night!

Flight vol. 4 is out this week. Is it any good? How does it compared to the previous volumes?

I have only read the first story, so I can’t say for sure, but I will say that a flip-through confirms the art is as good as the other volumes.

I’m sure to have more to say in the Fat Pants for August.

You’re a T. Martin too? Cool! I review under that name at Comixfan.

That’s strange but cool at the same time. I couldn’t come up with a cool username, so I used my real name. I did notice that there was another T. Martin when I browsing on the Hot Pant: The Spirit column. Since I know that I didn’t post that message.

thank you!!!

I’m with Ovid, like both Brave & the Bold and Blue Beetle. Those two titles should get more mentioned here. I hope more titles like those are published by DC, since I’m also not a big fan of a darken DC Universe.

You’re a T. Martin too? Cool! I review under that name at Comixfan.

In fact, the one book that seems to have tried for a bit of a silver-agey vibe and failed is, surprisingly, Morrison’s BATMAN.

Yeah what’s up with that I wonder? I’m a huge Morrison fan, All Star Superman, just sings with fun and coolness. But his Batman, while it’s had its moments, just hasn’t done it for me, very surprising indeed.

the old school carefree/angsty/cheesy/melodramatic vibe is only bettered by ASS at the mo wouldn’t you agree? or is there some similarly silver-age aping funny book?

BRAVE & THE BOLD is great, IMO. So’s BLUE BEETLE (when Rogers is writing it) and Slott’s soon-to-end SHE-HULK run.

I know Randy moans about the darkening of the Big Two universes, and I’m with him on that, but there are spots of light and unabashed comic joy out there.

In fact, the one book that seems to have tried for a bit of a silver-agey vibe and failed is, surprisingly, Morrison’s BATMAN.

Nick, just imagine a poor man’s Joe Madureira with little storytelling sense and a hearty helping of Imageistic kewlisms: that’s what Roger Cruz used to be. He’s grown so much as an artist and storyteller now that it’s hard to imagine it’s the same guy. I think he’s almost as integral to FIRST CLASS as Miyazawa to SMLMJ. As for FIRST CLASS itself, it doesn’t need any more kudos than you guys already gave it. Brilliant little book that finally makes the Original Five exciting (only took forty years!). I do wonder why it isn’t a Marvel Adventures title, though. As Randy said, the continuity doesn’t fit well enough to be a retro series (though I really wish it did, as it would go a long way to re-energizing the adult versions), so why is Marvel apparently trying to trick people into thinking it is?

Rereading ANNIHILATION in collection, it strikes me how much more explosive the main series was than the minis. Aside from SUPER-SKRULL, the rest were (comparatively) subdued character pieces. And then Book 3 hits and it practically burns with scope and drama. Yet you can look back and see all the pieces falling into place in the minis. A near-perfect way to structure an event, pulled off with even better execution. Finally, a crossover that lived up to itself. And good on Marvel for recognizing this and bringing the band back together (with a new drummer!) for CONQUEST.

Randy, while I agree that Sons of Empire pales in comparison to Homelands, Arabian Nights (and Days), and Wolves, it still lives up to the FABLES Stamp of Quality. And a part of me is glad to see Willingham back off the ante-upping of the War a bit. I’m afraid that he’ll hit that epic groove too much, the book will become too driven by the plot, and he’ll run into the “endgame” phase too soon. I can see him going plot-heavy in the run up to #50, and even having a few issues of fallout afterwards, but the Sons arc and current Good Prince story feel a little culminate-y for my tastes at this stage. I’d hate to see the series lose plot-steam in the 60s, because I think there’s enough non-War material to keep it strong well into the 100s. So I welcome the “fluffy” one-offs in SoE. Especially Christmas, one of the best single issues I’ve ever read.

And if anyone reading this hasn’t read Jeff Parker’s MARVEL ADVENTURES: THE AVENGERS, go steal a copy from a starving, retarded, one-limbed blind baby. Trust me, it’s the right thing to do. It’s THE comic people will be in-joking about for years to come. You DO want in on the joke, don’t you? Or do you just want to be some lame Karl? SEE!?! IT’S ALREADY STARTING!

having already purchased each individual issue of the wonderfukl first class i have no intention of buying the hardcover also - but i must admit it makes me a little sad…yous guys didn’t mention any extra features that it has - are there script pages, preliminary art, anything like that in there?

About six pages’ worth. Cover sketches from Djurdjevic, the fun recap pages from the issues (shrunk too small to be very readable, unfortunately), character designs and unused pinups from Cruz. If you have the original issues, you’ve got pretty much everything.

the old school carefree/angsty/cheesy/melodramatic vibe is only bettered by ASS at the mo wouldn’t you agree? or is there some similarly silver-age aping funny book?

If you’re digging All Star Superman and X-Men First Class, I highly recommend checking out Godland from Image. I think odds are good you’ll like it.

i too had never heard of this cruz guy, i’ll be on the lookout for the x-brows now! one of my fav things he does is give the characterss in the panel that aren’t speaking realistic, humorous reactions to what is being said with their facial expressions alone. the old school carefree/angsty/cheesy/melodramatic vibe is only bettered by ASS at the mo wouldn’t you agree? or is there some similarly silver-age aping funny book?

Thus is the subjective world of reading comics.