Weekend Reading: Frazetta, Viz, Carl Barks and Facebook

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,

You know it’s going to be a bad week when one of the most beloved fantasy artists passes away. He was absolutely one of my favorite artists and one of the first artists who, like Jack Kirby, could get me to buy pretty much anything with his name on it.

Tom Spurgeon has an excellent overview of the late artist’s career. “Frazetta’s art on the Warren Magazines Creepy, Eerie and eventually Vampirella combined some of the pulp tendencies for which he was soon to become very well known with a sense of classic horror. They remain some of the company’s most iconic pieces of art.”

Viz Media: I often post job listings here for Viz Media, the longtime manga publisher in San Francisco – longtime as in they’ve been doing it since it wasn’t quite so cool to do it. So I was saddened to hear that they let go more than 50 of their staffers. That’s, I think, the largest layoff of comics professionals that I can remember and certainly the largest in recent years. I hate to see that kind of thing happen, and I wish everyone the best as they figure out what to do next. Heidi MacDonald at Comics Beat recently posted this link from Dan Blank’s website; I’ve practically memorized it.

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NICK CARDY: Bat Lash, Aquaman, The Teen Titans

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews,

One of my favorite artists of all time is Nick Cardy. His name on the credits always meant a visually interesting comic book, and he drew one of my favorite comics of all time: the original Bat Lash, written by Sergio Aragones and Denny O’Neil.

DC Comics is doing me a huge favor this July by collecting the Bat Lash comics in a new trade-paperback, Showcase Presents: Bat Lash.

It’s a great example of Nick’s abilities and I’ve already pre-ordered my copy. The volume will include Bat Lash’s first appearance, Showcase #76, all 7 issues of his original series, plus the Bat Lash stories from DC Special Series #16, Jonah Hex #49, 51 and 52. It’s not an all-Cardy all-the-time collection - other artists represented in the book include Mike Sekowsky and Dan Spiegle - but it’s enough Nick for a solid fix. And Showcase #76 + Bat Lash #1-7 are enough to make it fanboy heaven. Cardy had a dynamic storytelling sense and was equally adept at drawing super-heroes (Aquaman), regular people, cowboys (Bat Lash) and Jungle Lords raised by Apes (Tarzan). He was part of the generation of comic book artists who also knew how to draw people with hats, and could draw a horse or a car with the same skill he could draw Aquaman riding a seahorse into an underwater battle with some guy made out of coral.

One of his great skills was as a cover artist and he was one of DC’s mainstays in the 1960s and 1970s. His bold, dynamic, and imaginative covers seemed to always scream: “Buy this issue! Now!”

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DC Comics Review: Batman #684

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

This issue is part two of the Denny O’Neil storyline “Last Days of Gotham”. This story was very disappointing. After months of reading Grant Morrison, I was looking forward to a good old fashion comic book story by one of the greats in Denny O’Neil. This issue was uneventful and the story as a whole was pointless.

The story follows Nightwing - Dick Grayson - as he battles a criminal posing as Two-Face and his cohorts. The story also deals with an actress who was abused by these criminals prior to the earthquake that hit Gotham. By the end of this story we aren’t left with much except Harvey Bullock and Commissioner Gordon moping around about the disappearance of Batman and Nightwing feeling as if he’s a rank amateur who can’t fill the shoes of his mentor Batman.

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DC Comics Review: Batman: Confidential #24

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Right now this is my favorite Batman story being published.  I was underwhelmed by Denny O’Neil’s “Last Days of Gotham” and I’m confused with what Grant Morrison is doing over in “Batman”.  So this story has been a nice cleansing of the palette.

As per my previous blog on this story arc, it’s written by Andrew Kreisberg; mostly known for writing various television shows over the past few years.  The story he’s crafted is fantastic.  It’s tight and each issue has ended with me wanting more.

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DC Comics Review: Detective Comics #851

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

This month’s issue of “Detective Comics” continues the post-Batman: RIP storyline; a “Last Rites” tie-in entitled “Last Days of Gotham”.  It’s part one of a two part story which features the return of Batman veteran writer/editor: Denny O’Neil.

It’s funny in my blog on “Batman” #682, I hoped that the return of Denny O’Neil would mean the return of a Batman story that was much more easy to follow than Grant Morrison’s stuff, but O’Neil’s story is a little bit confusing as well.

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DC Comics Review: Batman #682

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Another issue of “Batman” by Grant Morrison that has me going, “What the #$@&?!!”  Although I’m a bit confused, I think I got a grasp of what’s going on.  I think. 

This is part one of the storyline “Last Rites”.  The solicitation for this issue reads, “In his last hours, Alfred the Butler tells the life story of the Batman as you’ve never seen it before in this two-part adventure, which bridges the gap between the events of “Batman R.I.P.” and FINAL CRISIS. Learn the secrets of Batman’s early years! Witness the nightmare of a Gotham City where Batman never existed!” 

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