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Issue #5
The First Page
A woman reading a comic book is NOT an urban legend. I see them in my local comic book shop browsing and buying for themselves and not for their boyfriends/husbands/other male friends.
Not only are women reading comics, but there are some amazing female comic book authors and artists churning out amazing stuff month after month. If not for some of these women, comics today wouldn’t be quite what they are and they deserve recognition for succeeding in what’s a big-time male-dominated culture.
Margaret Stohl has worked with one of my favorite characters, Captain Marvel, for Marvel Comics. Former Batgirl artist turned that success into her own series, Motor Crush at Image Comics. Jill Thompson drew some variant covers for Black Hammer #1, which is reviewed near the bottom.
There are way too many others to mention, but Gail Simone, who has worked at both Marvel and DC deserves some recognition as does Sara Pitre-Durocher, Amanda Connor, the woman behind much of the DC Rebirth Series and finally Maurgerite Saubage who did a lot of work on one of my favorite series of all time, DC Comics Bombshells.
The reason I bring this up is that the writing in comic books has become amazing. No disrespect to Stan Lee or the other pioneers of the comic realm, but the writing in comic books has gotten to be nothing short of amazing.
I believe that family time can include comic books because I believe that if you only spend a little time perusing the shelves of your local store, you’ll find something to like. From My Little Pony and Jem & the Holograms to books geared towards teens and adults, there is really something for everyone.
If you think, “Eww. Comic books? No thanks, I like to read books,” then the newer versions of characters from classic books such as Olivia Twist from Dark Horse or Grimm Fairy Tales, stories of Wonderland and Van Helsing from Zenescope could be right up your alley.
Make comic books a family thing and spend time reading together and sharing. There are some great life lessons to be picked up in some of these stories and as a parent I can tell you that it’s never too early to start with those.
One tip–if you have a red-headed daughter with an attitude, probably best if you don’t introduce her to Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a sword. Doing so may only increase your problems. (see pic under J.R.’s Weekly Pull List)
New This Week
Aquaman Justice League Drowned Earth #1 DC
Action Comics #1005 DC
Batman Kings of Fear #4 (of 6) DC
Books of Magic #2 DC/Vertigo
The Warning #1 Image
Stranger Things #3 Dark Horse
House Amok #3 IDW
Sonic the Hedgehog #11 IDW
Looney Tunes #246 DC
Daredevil #612 Marvel
Black Panther #6 Marvel
Spider Girl #2 (of 3) Marvel
Barbarella #12 Dynamite
Revenge of Wonderland #5 Zenescope
Hitting Shelves Soon
Female Furies #1 DC
Bully Wars #4 Image
Freeze #1 Image
Rick & Morty VS Dungeons & Dragons #3 (of 4) IDW
Martian Manhunter #1 (of 12) DC
Green Lantern #2 DC
Shazam #1 DC
Defenders Immortal Hulk #1 Marvel
Marvel Knights 20th #3 (of 6) Marvel
Merry X-Men Holiday Special Marvel
J.R.’s Weekly Pull List
Red Sonja #23 Dynamite
Aquaman Justice League Drowned earth #1 DC
Batgirl #29 DC
Batman Kings of Fear #4 (of 6) DC
The Flash #59 DC
Black Panther VS. Deadpool #2 Marvel
Fantastic Four #4 Marvel
Revenge of Wonderland #5 Zenescope
Review
Iceman #3 Marvel
Bobby Drake is one of those characters that people kinda know, but not really. He was a founding member of Stan Lee’s X Men in 1963 and has been both part of the X Men, a solo hero and also gets by with a little help from his friends, as he does in Iceman #3.
Hitting shelves on November 7, I was anticipating the midway point in this short 5 book series, but I didn’t know how much I was anticipating it until it was in my hands.
As a child, I remember Saturday mornings filled with cartoons and one that I remember was Spiderman and Friends. The friends were Iceman and Firestar. Imagine my surprise to be handed the contents of my pull list and see Firestar and Spidey on the cover with Iceman. It was like being a kid again.
I had writing to do when I returned home, but I immediately sat down and read it. Some people call it being lazy, I call it research for a future column.
Bobby Drake is your average twenty-something in New York City. He teaches mutants at Professor Xavier’s School for the Gifted, is a member of the X-Men and has recently come out of the closet and is trying to start a dating life.
One thing we find out in the book is that Bobby has his standards set high on a date. As he tells Spider-Man and Firestar after their big battle, he had to dump his date because “It’s never okay to jump into the fray for a selfie.”
Words to live by my friend.
If you’re looking for something fun and also a short series that you don’t have to invest a lot of money into, I highly recommend this series. It’s a great comic book story with amazing comic book action, but it’s also light-hearted and fun.
One of the best things about this series, at least through the first three issues, is that it’s a bonus Marvel Digital Edition. What does that mean? Enter the code from inside the book into the Marvel app and you can read it on your tablet, phone or computer and you can take the collection with you, as I do.
Iceman #4 hits shelves December 19.
Character Profile
Arthur Curry—The Aquaman
As I mentioned in the Iceman review, I grew up watching cartoons on TV and at my age that meant the 70’s era Superfriends. I’ll be straight up and say that I wasn’t a huge fan of Aquaman.
To me, he seemed like his only superpower was talking to fish and letting them do the heavy lifting. I can think of worse superheroes, just not many.
But then the Justice League movie came out and we were introduced to a new Aquaman. This Aquaman is light years better than the Superfriends era hero and he does a lot more than talk to fish.
Arthur Curry was born to a land-dwelling, yet seafaring human father and a mother who was an Atlantean queen. He would come to rule Atlantis with Mera at his side, but he also has Justice League responsibilities, his own arch enemies to fight and also a few sea gods from other planets to send home.
This iteration of Aquaman in the comics, which according to my collection is now up to issue 42, is as good as any other Aquaman series out there and this current Aquaman is definitely a hero worth getting behind.
Preview
Black Hammer Chtu Louise Dark Horse Comics Release Date December 12, 2018
From the pages of Sherlock Frankenstein comes this tale of Lovecraftian teenage angst. This story is part superhero, part sci-fi and part horror, but all kinds of cool!
Louise is a monster living the dream in Spiral City. Actually, it’s not as much a dream as it is a nightmare. It can’t be much fun living as a monster in a human world and having to attend school with others that are different from you.
In trying to find a way to not be different, Louise stumbles upon some interesting twists and turns, none of which I’m willing to share at this time.
My suggestion is to grab a copy on December 12 and check it out for yourself. If you’re a fan of things quirky, odd and interesting, you’ll love this book!
The Back Cover
Being a writer I really look at and get into the story of a comic book and how it’s written. That’s probably why I enjoy reading the Grimm Fairy Tales series as well as Van Helsing which has its roots in the 1897 novel Dracula, Robyn Hood, a modern spin on Robyn Locksley and now a new series, Olivia Twist.
That’s the great thing about having a local comic shop where the owners and staff get to know you. They can make recommendations for you based on what they know you already like to read. I was in my local shop on Wednesday to pick up my weekly stash and the owner asked if I had ever heard of the Olivia Twist series.
I mentioned that I had simply heard of it but didn’t know anything about it, so I grabbed issue #1 to read when I got home. I’m not reviewing it here, but let’s just say that Gale once again knew what I would enjoy and I will be going back to grab issues 2 & 3 and then adding this series to my pull list.
Friday night is Nerd Game Night (my name not theirs) at Comic Force and I’ll definitely be picking up the next two issues of Olivia Twist when I’m there rolling the dice and slaying some goblins.
Putting things like my love for comics and Nerd Game Night in print may be part of the reason I don’t date. I may have to talk to my psychologist about that…
Speaking of Superfriends, there is a Wonder Twins short series coming out right after the new year. I jumped all over that and can’t wait to see how this plays out.
Do I sound like a true nerd about this? If so, sorry. It’s not often that cool stuff from your childhood comes back in an affordable form.
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Photo credit: Aquaman & Female Furies photos courtesy DC Comics. Iceman photos courtesy Marvel Comics. Black Hammer photo courtesy Dark Horse Comics. Red Sonja photo courtesy Dynamite Comics.
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