Category Archives: comics

The Last Word On…….

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

………That Newt Gingrich comment about poor kids and work.  Of course this was forwarded to me by Gregory Adamo.

……… the Republican campaign prior to Iowa. (I thought I would REALLY miss Herman Cain, but Newt….WOW!)  This debate is gaffe-free and was on FOX News. Interesting what’s going on there.

……..The GREATNESS of this comic! (Think Tony Stark as “Doctor Who,” with a Black man’s smoothness. 🙂 )  Buy this!!!

And, speaking of buying this:

…….How happy I am to own this new book! I’m looking forward to being part of a Jared Ball 89.3 WPFW-FM radio discussion with this author on Jan. 6 at 10 a.m. EST.  JANUARY 18TH UPDATE: And here it is!

…..how Season Two of “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” is taking longer and longer to premiere.  Sometime next year. *SIGH* 😦

Mini-Reviews of "The New 52!": "Batwing," No. 1 and "Static Shock," No. 1

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

Interestingly enough, these two comics read almost exactly the same. Is it because they’re Black characters? Nope. It’s because  “The New 52” seems to be following a specific—1990s?—pattern of storytelling for No. 1: start with alotta action, then introduce plot, characters, etc. and end with an action-packed cliffhanger. (Batwing’s ending is, ah, sharp. ;))  I hope someone 12 is hooked. Because I want to support Black superheroes AND because I really like these characters AND because I  see really good potential with Batwing, I’ll be following—and collecting—their entire respective runs.

 

Graphic Novel Mini-Reviews: "Cowboys" and "99 Days"

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

Cowboys.
Script by Gary Philips. Art by Brian Hurtt.
Vertigo/DC Comics.
192 pp. $19.99.

99 Days.
Script by Matteo Casali. Art by Kristian Donaldson.
Vertigo/DC Comics.
184 pp. $19.99.

Both these books, filled with fantastic art that matches and accelerates the stories, attempt to elevate the crime comic genre, which makes it even sadder that they don’t really succeed.  “Cowboys” attempts to play with stereotypes; the white, straight-laced looking fed goes undercover in the world of gangsta hip hop/soul working for a Suge Knight wannabe, while the dreadlocked tough cop goes deep as a corporate exec, investigating his white boss. The twists are fine, and the pacing is fast, but the story, which, like “99 Days,” tries to steal from the lines between the headlines,  is quite cliche; crime noir from creators who fondly remember “Trading Places.”  Meanwhile, “Days” is a not-as-interesting update of “The Tell Tale Heart.” It alternates between individual suffering and crime drama, with an ending that needed another draft. Vertigo did much better with telling this kind of story with its dreary-but-always-compelling, “Bourne Identity”-ish update of the old DC war comic, “Unknown Soldier.” (I bought every issue and every trade.) Buy those volumes—all of them—instead.

"DC Comics: The New 52": Is This Trip Really Necessary?

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

Okay, so I read a few pages of “Justice League” No. 1, out on Aug. 31. (And boy, DC must be desperate to pull a “Harry Potter”esque midnight release!) It’s great. But at 43, do I really want to see the Justice League form AGAIN?!? Do I want to read (as in, BUY, READ AND COLLECT)  Clark Kent falling in love with Lois Lane AGAIN?!? I hope this strategy works, and I hope DC saves comics (and with it, my local comics store). I really do. But I’m only in for the Black books (and, okay,  maybe “Superman” and “Action Comics” —but only because I love the work of Grant Morrison and George Perez!—and, well, maybe…… 🙂 )