Comics

Weekly Comic Pull Review

I know, I know, it’s late- give me a break, though, I’ve been sick and petsitting. It’s a pretty slim week, anyhow.

Deadpool #37- Marvel


Oh, look, more SIXIS tie in nonsense. (I still refuse to call it AXIS. That logo sucks.) This is one marvel event that is leaving me feeling grossly underwhelmed- “ooh, look, good guys are bad and bad guys are good! What a twist!” Even the other parts of this issue were a bit meh- the stale bullet in the turkey gag especially. It was nice to see the whole cast having Thanksgiving together, though, and it was fun seeing Batroc and the Trapster riding the subway. Everyone has off days, I guess, and I’m mostly blaming SIXIS.

 
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Weekly Comic Pull Review Returns!

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted one of these. But hey, I can finally afford my comics again! Yay employment!

 

(Lady) Thor #2

I was genuinely skeptical about this series. I was a reader of Thor: God of Thunder for its entire 25 issue run, and I loved the hell out of it. Some of the best art of any superhero comic, a truly epic aesthetic, time travel, and Gorr the Godslayer, Voldemort’s bigger badder brother. So when they announced that Thor was becoming unworthy and being replaced, I pretty much dismissed it as another gimmick, like any superhero death or depowering. But I’m swiftly changing my mind. The God of Thunder storyline is picking up where it left off, but in a very new way. We still don’t know who Lady Thor is (though I feel that it should be obvious to readers of God of Thunder), but she brings a whole new style to the hammer. She’s less single knockout blow, more hurricane of fists, lightning, and hammerblows. Regardless, Jason Aaron and Co are keeping there momentum going at full throttle from Thor: God of Thunder, with the added bonus of being a great starting point for new readers.

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A few brief thoughts on thought bubbles.

The 90’s have a lot to answer for when it comes to comics. One of the offenses committed then was the overabuse of thought bubbles. Thought bubbles had been slowly drifting into disfavor for decades, but after the 90s, thought bubbles became nearly taboo in the comics industry.

A major part of the problem was misuse of thought bubbles. They were used as exposition devices more often than not. Comics are one of the best places to show instead of tell, so characters explaining things to themselves that they already knew in their own thought bubbles gets annoying fast. It’s not as bad as the old “as you know” exposition, but it isn’t far off.

The loss of thought bubbles is just one of the many parts of the backlash against 90s comics, but it has survived some places, notably in Deadpool. The primary reason for their success there is the conversational tone they take. Batman and the Bat-Family also get away with it, usually through using thought bubbles to plan actions. (I should note that I differentiate between protagonists narrating a comic in their head and thought bubbles, they’re very different things in my book). So there are ways to do them well, and some comics have kept them alive. (Almost universally as rectangles, though).

And do you know what? I’m totally in favor of bringing them back more often- in the right scenarios. Just keep exposition in thought bubbles to a bare minimum.

Review: Shattered With Curve of Horn

So I got the backer reward for one of the projects I backed on Kickstarter last year!
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This original graphic novel, written and illustrated by Max Miller Dowdle, is fantastic. It’s definitely a cerebral story that you need to pay close attention to. The majority of the story happens within a single hotel room, so don’t expect any huge action scenes. The characters are absolutely stand-out, the pacing is phenomenal, and for a comic that moves around so (relatively) little and has so few characters, the tension was palpable.
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Unique Power Sets and Superhuman “Copyright”.

Anyone want to listen to me complain more about super heroes? No? Bah, too bad.

Part of the draw of super heroes involves their uniqueness, e.g. they’re the only ones who can do these things, and it can’t be replicated. Well, usually. You’ve got plenty of exceptions, like the Green Lantern Corp, but they all have their own self-selecting criteria for inclusion; ranging from the Corp/Guardians selection process, hereditary powers, inherited mantle, etc. (The Dial Wielders from Dial H for Hero/ Hero/ Dial H, where the only limitation is possessing a dial, are a ton of fun, and a great example of how to do it.) So: in order to maintain the hero’s status as special/ unique, you need to have some way to limit the imitation of their powers.

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