GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — December 5th, 2012

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

Corrina
The comic book publishing world suffered a bit of upheaval this week as Karen Berger resigned from her position as executive editor of DC’s Vertigo imprint. Many readers probably won’t know her name but her influence in her over 30 years at DC, especially in charge of Vertigo, cannot be understated.

Under Berger’s stewardship, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman was born, as was Garth Ennis’ Preacher, Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles, Bill Willingham’s Fables and Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man, among many others. Many male comic readers will tell you that Gaiman’s Sandman was a gateway to comics for their girlfriends. In my case, it worked the opposite way. Sandmanis one of the few comics that my husband, who studied English literature at the University of Chicago, pronounced “brilliant.”

Berger’s Vertigo dealt with mature themes in grown-up ways, as violence was dealt with in a Sopranos/Scorsese way and the sex more in the tone of mature movies like The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

My favorite Vertigo title is Sandman Mystery Theatreby Matt Wagner and Guy Davis. Set in crime ridden New York, Wesley Dodds battled crime as the Sandman, armed with prophetic dreams and a gas gun. The art is realistic, the setting is even more so, and it dealt with the lowest depths of human evil but also the highest aspirations of humanity. At the center of it all is the relationship between Wesley and crimefighting partner Dian Belmont. It’s as much Dian’s story as Wesley’s, as she struggles with the restrictions placed on her by society.

It would make a great HBO or cable series, like many of Vertigo’s comics.

Given her relationship with some of the most creative people in comics, I’ll be waiting to see what Berger does next, be it a move to another company or starting her own.

Dakster Sullivan — The All New X-Men

The All New X-Men is one of the newest titles to debut under Marvel Now and I don’t know what I’m enjoying more, the art or the story. The story follows Wolverine and his team after the events of the Avengers vs. X-Men mini-series and is written by one of the series lead writers, Brian Michael Bendis.

To give you a quick summary of issue #1, Beast goes back in time to get the original X-Men team to see what they’ve become and stop their future-selves (specifically Cyclops) from making mistakes that could lead to a mutant apocalypse.

In issue #2, we see that the entire team isn’t exactly up for a field trip into the future, but since majority rules, everyone tags along. When they arrive, they find the world a very different place and some of them get to see first hand what they’ve become (Jean, for instance, sees her statue at the school and learns of her death). Wolverine interrupts their first few minutes in the future with his claws and Beast has what appears to be a heart-attack.

The issue ended with the younger X-Men being a little freaked out, but wanting to do something about the world they see and what Beast told them about their future.

I know it’s a long way off, but I’m interested to see what happens when the original team returns to their own time and have to explain to Professor X where they’ve been.

I’m also interested to see how both Jean and Scott handle what Cyclops has turned into in the future. Right now, they’re a young couple and in the future they’re not exactly the happy little family they might have hoped they become. Jean is very much in love with Scott now and in this future, she is dead and his ex-girlfriend is a psychopath.

Which makes me wonder…will Emma Frost try to screw with Jean’s head for fun and games? Will young Cyclops go nuts when he meets up with his future self and see’s what is happening or will he start to support it and go against his current team in the process? Will the future Cyclops go nuts when he sees Jean or is he so far gone that seeing her alive wont phase him?

So many questions and hopefully we will get them all answered in the coming issues. Until then, we get to play the waiting game.

Curious to know what I’m pulling this week? Check out my pull list on Comixology.

Kelly Knox – FF #1 (Marvel Comics)

After seeing a few notable recommendations for the Marvel Now! relaunch of FF #1, I decided to give it a try when I heard She-Hulk was going to be a regular in it. I’ve been a Jennifer Walters fan for a long time, so I was game.

I haven’t kept up with the Fantastic Four since they became the Future Foundation, and this first issue serves to fill in a new audience about the team and their goal of the “ongoing and never-ending education” of its members. Reed Richards and his family are planning to be gone on a trip through the space-time continuum for four minutes of Earth time, and they ask Ant-Man (Scott Lang), She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), and Medusa to fill in for them for that brief period of time. There’s also a mention of a new character, Ms. Thing, who will be joining the team, but her origin has yet to be revealed.

I have to admit to feeling a little bit lost with the issue, but writer Matt Fraction does a good job of giving new readers a footing with the characters and story. The art by Mike Allred is striking and vibrant. I’m eager to see She-Hulk in action, so I am willing to give the new FF series another issue to find out what will happen in those four minutes the Fantastic Four is gone.

Dark Horse Husbands to be released as a Hardcover Edition, March 2013

Husbands is a continuation of the much loved television series Husbands, which follows the relationship of two gay men who accidentally get married during a drunken weekend in Vegas. After deciding to give this unexpected union a try, the newlyweds receive a mystical wedding gift that takes them on an adventure of mystical proportions that threatens to tear them apart.

The mini-series was written by none other than the show’s creator and one of the lead actors, Brad Bell, who remarked that,

…switching mediums can be tricky. We didn’t want to just extend the sitcom.  We wanted to reinvent what was possible for this story and make a kick-ass comic. I think there could be no better indication that we’ve done so than receiving Neil’s wonderful praise! It’s also such an honor to have Husbands recognized by an icon like Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman, not only penned the opening to the hardcover edition, he’s also a huge fan of the show.

“As a huge fan of Neil Gaiman, I am thrilled to discover he is a fan of Husbands. Brad Bell and I wrote the show that we wanted to watch. Now, to find that people we idolize are also watching? That is beyond gratifying,” exclaims Jane Espenson.

According to the press release, issued yesterday, the hardcover addition will not only include Gaiman’s introduction, but also exclusive first draft scripts, conceptual character sketches, notes between the authors, and an all-new cover by artist Ron Chan.

Husbands, the complete collection will be available March 27, 2013, and is currently available for pre-order through your local comic book shop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and TFAW’s website.

The six-issue mini-series is currently available digitally for 99 cents.

Comic Book Projects on Kickstarter: Let’s show these creators some love!

One of the things I love seeing on Kickstarter are comic books and comic book related products. There are so many great ideas out there and it’s nice to see them having a chance at publication with the help of fellow fans.

My favorite book on Kickstarter right now is Peter Pan: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1. The sample art on the kickstarter page is nothing short of beautful and the story is one of my favorites. The story is being adaptedand illustrated by Renae DeLiz. Renae has worked on several other projects, including the New York Times Best-Seller The Last Unicorn and is also the manager of the Womanthology project. If you are a fan of the Peter Pan story and love the amazing artwork in The Last Unicorn, this is the project to help back.

Another comic book item that has been brought to my attention, is the the Magnet Comic, a custom magnetic and dry-erase comic strip board. The product reminds me of the magentic poetry boards you see in Barnes and Noble (you remember those right? brick and mortar book stores?), but instead of poetry, you create your own comic strip. I could definately see this on my desk at work or as a toy for my son to create with.

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books:

Action Comics #15 CP Animal Man #15 Batman No Man’s Land Vol. 4 TP Batwing #15 Before Watchmen Comedian #4 (OF 6) Before Watchmen Minutemen #5 (OF 6) Detective Comics #15 CP Dial H #7 Earth 2 #7 Fairest #10 G.I. Combat #7 FI Green Arrow #15 Human Bomb #1 (OF 4) I Zombie Vol. 4 Repossession TP Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 4 TP Legends Of The Dark Knight #3 Looney Tunes #210 Phantom Stranger #3 Scooby-Doo Where Are You #28 Smallville Season 11 #8 Stormwatch #15 Superman Grounded Vol. 2 TP Swamp Thing #15 Worlds’ Finest #7

All-New X-Men #3 Amazing Spider-Man #699 Avengers #1 Avengers X-Sanction TP Avenging Spider-Man #15 Daredevil End Of Days #3 (OF 8) Deadpool #3 Disney Junior Magazine #10 Fury MAX #7 Fury MAX Vol. 1 My War Gone By TP Hawkeye #5 Iron Man #3 Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #9 Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man Comic Reader #4 Marvel’s Iron Man 2 Adaptation #2 (OF 2) Moon Knight By Brian Michael Bendis And Alex Maleev Vol. 2 TP Muppets The Four Seasons TP New Mutants Vol. 7 Fight The Future TP Punisher War Zone #2 (OF 5) Red She-Hulk #60 Space Punisher TP Spaceknights #3 (OF 3) Thunderbolts #1 Ultimate Comics Spider-Man By Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 2 TP Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #18.1 Uncanny X-Men By Kieron Gillen Vol. 2 TP X-Factor #248 X-Men #39

Acronym Key:  VC = Variant Cover  / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback  / CP = Combo Pack  / PE = Premier Edition

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