2007-03-14 - ODDS AND ENDS: THE SAGA CONTINUES

With the multi-part She-Hulk marathon now behind us, it feels like it's time to cleanse the palate, with another edition of our old breath-catching standby around these parts, Odds and Ends. And by the way, for those of you looking for some reaction to some current books, specifically, 52, CIVIL WAR, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, THE SPIRIT, CAPTAIN AMERICA and JSA, well, please bear with us if you will; thanks to an especially brutal (but productive) freelance writing schedule of late, I'm currently about six weeks or so behind in my comics reading. However, with scripts now finished and on their way, that's a fact I hope to remedy in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Now then. Where to begin?


STEPPING IT UP

There had been scuttlebutt before the new fall season that the animated THE BATMAN series would be ratcheting up the quality this season, bringing in new writers and introducing some familiar characters to the show. Sure enough, there have been several extremely strong episodes broadcast in recent weeks, episodes which still may not live up to the Timm/Dini/Burnett heyday of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, but are damn good in their own right. The episode "Artifacts," written by Greg Weisman, takes us first a thousand years into the future, as archaeologists discover the remains of the legendary Batcave, then a mere 20 years into the future, giving us a glimpse of a decidedly Frank Milleresque DARK KNIGHT RETURNS-inspired Batman battling an even more powerful version of Mr. Freeze, with some assistance from Nightwing and a wheelchair-bound Oracle.

While it's not quite as satisfying as the episode of TNBA we had a few years back that brought to like Miller's battle between Batman and the Mutant Leader nearly line for line and panel for panel, it's still an unexpected treat.

Following that up was "Two of a Kind," which introduced Harley Quinn to the universe of THE BATMAN, in an episode scripted by Harley's creator Paul Dini. Here Harley is cleverly rethought as a TV pop-psychiatrist whose show is cancelled after she ambushes guest Bruce Wayne with tales of his bad dates, and is taken in by a smitten Joker, who promises to tell her what makes him tick. Joker and Harley's inaugural criminal rampage through Gotham is naturally, set to music, in a wacky little number entitled "Setting the Woods on Fire." It's something to be seen: Check it out:



Hynden Walch (who played Starfire on TEEN TITANS and Ace on the late, lamented JLU) does an outstanding job here of channeling the quintessential Harleyness created by her original voice actor Arleen Sorkin. As for the Harley design, thankfully, it's not changed much to fit with the series' more anime-influenced style. The one misstep was in removing the pupils from the eyes of Harley's mask.

So much of Harley's expression came through the eyes, that much of the character's subtle acting that the animators were able to imbue in BTAS and TNBA is either lost or much harder to express. Minor quibbles aside, this was probably the best episode of THE BATMAN to date (definitely the best I've seen), and with the recent news that THE BATMAN has been picked up for another season, let's hope this one is the model to follow.

IT IS DETECTIVE COMICS, AFTER ALL

Speaking of Batman, one shouldn't overlook the outstanding job writer Paul Dini is doing over in the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS, focusing the book on done-in-one whodunits. It can't be easy writing single-issue mysteries every month, especially when the temptation must be there to go for the long, padded-out overblown epic that nicely fits the trade paperback instead. Dini has also re-introduced a now-reformed Riddler as a running supporting character, often competing with Batman to solve whatever case Batman's working on.

Dini's not afraid to shake up the format, though, such as the recent chilling issue in which Robin is by sheer chance picked up and kidnapped by a just-passing-by Joker, and forced to tag along on the Joker's bloody spree of vehicular manslaughter. Creepy, creepy stuff.

With the recent word that Dini will be spearheading DC's next giant weekly series, COUNTDOWN, as well as introducing his own creator-owned character, MADAME MIRAGE, it looks like we'll be getting a lot more Dini comics in the future. Which can only be considered a good thing.


YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD GHOUL DOWN

Let's hear it for Gemstone Publishing, for their recent outstanding collections of the seminal comic books of the 1950s, EC's TALES FROM THE CRYPT, WEIRD SCIENCE, SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES and TWO-FISTED TALES. Probably the most influential batch of comic-books ever published, shaping the fragile psyches of millions of Baby-Boomer kids who would grow up to become the creative forces behind the genre literature of TV, movies and books of the next forty years, these comics helped shape the work of everyone from Stephen King to John Carpenter to Steven Spielberg. Just taking a glimpse through these stories, you get a sense of just how much of what the modern viewer thinks of as horror really stems from these comics, the work of writers and artists like Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Graham Ingels and many more, under the stewardship of publisher Bill Gaines.

And besides all that, these are just great comics, wickedly funny morality tales and downright creepy ghost stories, bloody revenge yarns and quietly ironic sci-fi wanderings, all told with an economy of line and word that everybody working in comics today could learn a lot from. At about 40 to 50 bucks a pop, they're admittedly not cheap, but considering what you'd pay for the originals, it's pretty reasonable, especially for books of this quality. If you can only get one, I'd recommend SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES, which gives you a war story, a horror story, a sci-fi story and one of what they called their "preachies" (a little something to think about with your murder and mayhem) in every issue.

THE HELM OF NABU? SHAZAM!

I could fill up a whole column with all of the cool new toys and collectibles that were premiered to the press at the International Toy Fair in New York last month (and odds are you'll see much of it in these pages over the next 12 months, to be honest), but two things in particular caught my eye, both from DC Comics' in-house toy company, DC Direct. First up is this amazing new entry in their line of full-scale prop reproductions: Dr. Fate's helmet and amulet!

Can you believe this bad boy? DC showed this off at Comic-Con several years ago, but it hasn't been seen since, and I was afraid it had been lost to the ages, sent off to the Island of Misfit Toys. No idea what it's gonna cost, I'm afraid. Still, this might mean that there's a slight chance of getting my own "Starman's Cosmic Rod" someday.

And if Fate's helmet isn't obscure enough for you, I've got four words for you: Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.

Yep, an entire line of Marvel Family figures are on the way in '07, including the Big Red Cheese, Captain Marvel Junior, Mary Marvel, Dr. Sivana (with Mr. Mind, naturally), Billy Batson and Hoppy (a funny-animal version of Captain Marvel that actually met up with the good Captain every now and again). As much as I'm amazed we're getting Hoppy, I must confess that Mr. Tawny the talking tiger would have been a much better choice. And I guess Uncle Marvel and the three Lieutenant Marvels would have been too much to ask. Pretty hard to complain about this, though. Between this, DC Direct's JSA figures and Hasbro's upcoming Captain America and Bucky figures, if someone would just lock down the rights to some 6-inch-scale Airboy and the Airfighters action figures, I'd be one happy Golden-Age fan.

HOLY MOLEY!

And speaking of Captain Marvel, check out this, the latest in DC Direct's line of 13-inch action figures. Wow.

They've been doing these for a while now, with mixed results in terms of quality. While they all look pretty sharp, some, like the Green Lantern or Flash have had some QC issues, specifically threadbare costumes on GL and broken wingtips on Flash. Captain Marvel, on the other hand, is just about perfect, with an absolutely dead-on head sculpt, and an amazingly detailed costume, with a gold-trimmed cape that hangs on Cap's shoulders almost exactly the way C.C. Beck used to draw it.

As if that wasn't enough, he also comes with an in-scale Golden-Age-style Mr. Mind, complete with eyeglasses and radio.

Just awesome. If you're a Captain Marvel fan at all, you need to grab this up.

PLEASED TO MEET YOU, HOPE YOU GUESS MY NAME

Finally, for those of you in the Southern California area, if you'll be heading out to Wizard World Los Angeles this weekend, make sure to stop by the Earth-2 Comics booth on the floor and introduce yourself. We’ll be hosting plenty of creator signings all weekend. Here's a look at the schedule:

APPEARANCE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY:

ALL DAY: Acclaimed tattoo artists Andy Brodsky and Bok will be at the Earth-2 booth, with a live demonstration of their work in progress!

Noon - 2pm: Scott Tipton will be in the house to sign copies of his SPIKE and ANGEL: AULD LANG SYNE comics, talk about his upcoming work on KLINGONS: BLOOD WILL TELL, and even put on his COMICS 101 hat and answer your questions about all things comics!

2pm - 4pm: Artist Benjamin Roman of THE CRYPTICS and I LUV HALLOWEEN fame will be signing comics and doing sketches!

3pm - 5pm: Writers Deric A. Hughes and Ben Raab will drop by to sign copies of their "Supervillains-in-Witness-Protection" miniseries, LIVING IN INFAMY!

SATURDAY:

ALL DAY: Acclaimed tattoo artists Andy Brodsky and Bok will be at the Earth-2 booth, with a live demonstration of their work in progress!

Noon - 2pm: Marvel creators Craig Kyle and Chris Yost will be around to talk mutants and sign copies of their X-23 and NEW X-MEN comic!

2pm - 4pm: Writer Dwayne McDuffie (JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, FANTASTIC FOUR) has just taken the reins of Marvel's premier super-team! Stop by, get your comics signed, and see what he's got planned!

SUNDAY:

Noon - 1pm: Scott Tipton will be in the house to sign copies of his SPIKE and ANGEL: AULD LANG SYNE comics, talk about his upcoming work on KLINGONS: BLOOD WILL TELL, and even put on his COMICS 101 hat and answer your questions about all things comics! Joining him will be writer Brian Lynch, of SPIKE: ASYLUM fame and the upcoming SPIKE: SHADOW PUPPETS, and IDW's Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall, who will be there to sign some of the many comics he's written, like THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW and TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE PREQUEL!

1pm - 4pm: Comedian Brian Posehn and writer Gerry Duggan will be here to sign copies of their darkly hilarious graphic novel THE LAST CHRISTMAS!

Come on by and say hey, won't you?

Scott Tipton has wanted Marvel Family action figures since he was about 10 years old, so he's pretty stoked right about now. If you have questions about all things comics, send 'em here.

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