Fictional Mortality

I've been drifting back to prose lately. Most of it is fantasy. Oh, I'm still reading comic books, don't get me wrong, but Marvel keeps getting bleaker, and my interest in that is decreasing at a higher rate than my interest in DC is increasing. And my interest in the DC monthlies is primarily the surreal metafiction (Air, The Unwritten, Greek Street...) that's been coming out of Vertigo lately.

My favorite fantasy series these days are urban. Not paranormal romance so much, but adventures centered on wizards and werewolves, peppered with vampires, fae, and djinn? Sure! A little romance on the side is good too. Spices things up a bit. And then there are the reasonably strong female protagonists:

-Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville, the snarky werewolf radio talk show host, whose personal growth is pronounced as the series progresses.

-Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson, the coyote shapeshifting VW mechanic with, among other things, a great gift for finding trouble (and getting out of it.) There is also a comic book mini-series, which I would recommend. The trade is coming out in late August, according to Amazon.

-Rachel Caine's Joanne Baldwin, a Weather Warden with slightly more strength than mental acuity. To be fair, though, she has more magic than most Wardens, and I think she's smarter than she lets on. Just started reading the series, though, so I can't know for certain...

Those are my three favorite series so far, but the world of urban fantasy is still pretty new to me, Buffy and Charmed episodes of my youth not withstanding.

And then there are the more traditional fantasy series, not the least of which is George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I bring up ASoIaF because, well, let's put it this way. You learn very quickly not to get too attached to characters because NONE OF THEM are safe. POV characters are almost as vulnerable as non-POV characters, and none are exempt from the threats of mutilation, torture, death, or worse. (And believe me, there are fates worse than death in ASoIaF.) I don't think Martin will kill off all of the Starks (none of whom are named Tony or wear high-tech power armor, by the way), but you never know. The point is, I do know what to expect in terms of character death, I have since close to the beginning of the series, and I don't expect it to change.

Character death is somewhat less frequent in the urban fantasy series, but the key protagonists generally don't die, or if they do, they get resurrected pretty quickly for obvious reasons. It's okay to get attached to the leads, at least. The mortality rate for likable supporting characters is naturally higher.

But comic books. I thought I knew what to expect from Marvel, starting out. It's my own fault, really. I thought it was safe to get attached (as much as one can get attached to fictions), in spite of jumping in at the tail end of House of M, because they are comics and... yeah. I don't know why I assumed it was safe.

Of course, it's not safe. I know that now. Of my favorite trio -- I think of them as an unofficial trio, which I know I've mentioned before -- only one is neither dead nor MIA. That would be Sue Richards, who a few months ago I was almost certain they would send the way Janet van Dyne.

And I have no idea what terrible fate they have in store for Jennifer Walters. I'm not sure I want to know.

Ultimately, I'm not sure it's worth it. With the urban fantasies and ASoIaF, I know what to expect, and it's fine. The stories are good, sometimes great, and I can accept them for what they are. But the cape and cowl yarns? Story quality fluctuates depending on creative teams and editorial edicts. The constant isn't the storytelling, but the characters, and it's the characters I seem to follow. If my favorite characters go away, temporarily or (rarely if ever) permanently, then, I suppose, so do I.

Comic Shopping

So I met Kalinara for lunch today, and as it was a nice day, we went for a walk. During this walk we went to three stores, two of which were comic shops I'd never been to.

The first of these was hers. It was impressive. Twice as big as my LCS, it had a lot of merchandise, but still seemed open. It emphasized the games, I think -- they're the first things you see when you walk in -- but the comics section is pretty well organized, segregating titles by company or genre, and sorting them alphabetically. I found one issue of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four I'd missed but hadn't found. There were more than a few tall shelves of trade paperbacks. We didn't really have time to peruse them, but I have a feeling I'll be going back at some point. Oh, and the staff seemed nice enough, too. Good vibes all around.

The second shop was not impressive. Small, and disorganized, it had long boxes strewn haphazardly under gaming tables and employees that didn't seem all that interested. I'd been keeping an eye out for an issue of Marvel Adventures Iron Man (the one featuring Yay!Spider Woman). We (well, Kali) asked whether they might have it, and one of them replied, "Probably not". Maybe he knew what he was talking about, but I kind of got the impression he just didn't want to bother. Then he went back to eating lunch. On the way out, we took a look at the back issue rack. Among other things, there was an issue of Anita Blake sandwiched between The Flash and Batman and the Outsiders. Which sounds like bad slash fic, but whatever. If the store survives the recession, I'll be surprised. That is, if I notice.

Later, at my own LCS, for which I have new appreciation, I found the Iron Man issue I was looking for. As part of a digest, but that's easier to store, anyway. That made me happy. But the real find of the day occurred not at a comic shop, but at a used bookstore. I'd been to the store before, but not to its second floor which has, among other things, television and film tie-in books:


Yes! It is a novel based on a screen-play for a notoriously bad film (which I haven't seen) based on comic books that aren't bad at all. I read the first chapter tonight. It's very meta, which I guess you have to expect. And it's probably better than the movie, since you actually picture comic book Howard, not a guy in a duck suit. (I still want to see the film, though, for the score if nothing else. John Barry is very good.)

It definitely takes precedence over finishing Twilight.

Umm

This house ad appears in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #43:


I'm guessing that the answer is "no".

30-Second Recap

The following is my entry for Chris Sim's 2008 30-Second Recap Contest. I tried to take on Marvel's True Believers mini-series...




Note: I did take the cat photo myself. (She's my brother's cat. I really wish he'd name her.) Anyway, photography's drawing with light. I drew it with light myself, and then pasted it into MSPaint.

Wow. This is the second time I've done this, and the second time I've worried about disqualification.

Oh well!

Fantastic Four #562

***This review is spoilerish. You've been warned.***

I like Between Stories. You know, the pause in the action, the issue where the characters take a breather in preparation for the next attack or crisis. Fantastic Four #562 is an issue full of Between Stories, and plenty promises to happen.

Of course, it starts with Sue Storm Richards's funeral. The kicker? Sue gives her own eulogy. One thing I don't get about this scene, though, is the fact that everyone seems to assume that the Future Sue in the grave is the Official Future Sue. There may be infinite Alternate Future Sues, branching off from Official 616!Sue, with permanent microscopic tracking devices. (I picture something that looks like a cladogram.) I guess that wouldn't make the mourning any less profound, though. (Imagine, speaking at what is sort of maybe your own funeral. Yikes.)

Okay, I have to move on to the other Between Stories contained within this issue, inasmuch as overthinking Marvel's time travel logic is never a good idea.

Ben is happy (really genuinely happy) for once. Five beautiful (Bryan Hitch deserves his reputation) pages are devoted to this. Can't argue with that. Ben needs all the genuine happiness he can get his mitts on. There promises to be more for him. But where is Alicia in all of this?

Dr. Doom is in jail, and he has a word of warning. Apparently there is a villain coming that gives even Doom chills. Is this something connected to Marvel 1985? I have no idea. I haven't read it. Anyway. Doom gets to be ominous. He's good at that.

Please do not let this be foreshadowing.

Finally -- and I've been recounting this out of order -- there is Valeria's super-genius intellect, which she has just recently revealed to the rest of the family. I like this concept. I like the possibility of a future genius Invisible Girl. And in current continuity, it opens up some interesting possibilities, throwing the "family dynamic" into more than the usual "flux". Also, Franklin is jealous.

Yeah. That can't be good.

The Franklin panel appears about halfway through the magazine, and nothing afterward -- not Doom, not Ben, not Crazy Powerful New Villain -- even comes close to matching the Holy Cow Factor.

Everything in the Millar/Hitch run has been connected so far. I doubt that will change, and I look forward to discovering how, exactly, the Between Stories dovetail into Stories Proper.

Janet Lives!

So Marvel recently killed 616!Wasp. It wasn't exactly what you'd call an heroic death. I'm still hoping that I connected the dots correctly, and that Jan'll be back with a new mantle (Hank has her old one, right?) and new explosive powers and... At any rate, I'm disappointed, but what can you do, right?

And even more recently, Marvel offed Ultimate!Jan in the pages of Ultimatum. This (which you'd be wise not to click, but you will anyway) is just wrong. Count the levels! (Thanks to Kalinara for that link, by the way.)

Now, I can't get up in arms about this sort of thing. I've tried. Seriously. A fictional character, one I rather care about, has been stuffed into a miniature Maytag (twice!) and all I can think is that, well, at least she's alive and well in the Marvel Adventures Universe. Which is the Marvelverse that really ought to Count. From here on in, I'll call it the "Yayverse."

See? Yay!Jan is defending Earth against alien invaders in Marvel Adventures the Avengers #26. As Giant Girl, not Wasp, but still.

And she's having a casual lunch with Yay!Ororo in Marvel Adventures The Avengers #30. This issue also introduces Yay!Tigra, and she's treated well. It's awesome.

We even get to see prepowered Yay!Jan in Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #6. Her primary role is to cheer up Yay!Hank.

Yay!Hank needs a lot of cheering up, and that's because he's him. It's not just because of this guy:

Yes! It's Yay!Psycho Man.

Don't get me wrong. Marvel 616 can be a whole lot of fun, and Ultimate Marvel... Well, Ultimate Fantastic Four is an important title to me, and it's better right now than it has been in a long while. It's just that Yayverse titles are the ones I consistently look forward to reading. They are also the ones that consistently deliver fun. And they don't have to kill heroes (or villains) to do it.

Inspiration

This needed doing...


Panel from She-Hulk: Cosmic Collision.

Death and Dumb

It's not worth going into my thoughts about Marvel's Secret Invasion, except to say that I am disappointed and will absolutely continue to seek refuge in the Marvel Adventures universe, where characters don't get killed off. For any reason. Paul Tobin may well be a better writer than Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis combined, as measured in Fun Stories Written.

But... enough about that. Let's move on to Stephanie Meyer.

I decided to read Twilight, just to see first-hand what all the fuss is about. I have to admit, I went in predisposed to dislike the thing (I've been reading funny internet critiques, you see, thank you Willow), and... well... Prophesy fulfilled. Granted, I've only read the prologue, and the first chapter, so things may change. But I'm not counting on it, because this is "First Sight" (i.e., Chapter 1) summarized:

• Mom's a flake.
• Dad's monosyllabic.
• Bella's really pale.
• She's also a klutz.
• With a really loud truck.
• And all the boys are drawn to her.
• Except Edward Cullen.
• Who is even paler than Bella.
• And who seems to hate her.
• Which might make him the only sane person in Forks.
• Which is a terribly rainy place.
• Bella misses the sun.
• So why'd she move away from Arizona, again?
• Maybe I'll learn that next chapter.

On a brighter note, MaryJanice Davidson's Fish out of Water, a three-hour read of mindless, crude romantic comedy fluff (think mermaid sitcom on cable), was worth the read. Davidson won't be winning a Pulitzer any time soon, but I somehow doubt that's her goal. The Fred the Mermaid trilogy is probably to Twilight as the Marvel Adventures line is to anything written by Bendis or Millar. (It's a fun versus not fun thing.)

Right. Back to attempting to study now.

Another Great Moment with Susan Storm

This panel is from Fantastic Four #561:


I'm not sure why Alternate Future Sue seems so passive, but Regular Universe Sue is cutting quite a swath through the antagonists.

Take that, Dr. Banner, Jr.!

Speculation is Fun

*****

It's been weeks since the referenced comics actually came out, but this is your official SPOILER WARNING. (Particularly for Secret Invasion.)

*****

I have a theory about Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp. It's not a perfect theory, of course, as it is dependent almost completely on Hulk #7, which takes place in a pocket Loebverse that may or may not have a tenuous connection to regular Marvel. (I'm assuming that it does.)

The Red Hulk story contained within Hulk #7 begins with She-Hulk trying to get somebody to help her track down and beat up Rulk. It's a quest of vengeance. There's really not much to explain, and you don't really need to know. Beating people up is the theme of Hulk. Anyway, the key is the list:

Panels from Hulk #7

Jen finally recruits Thundra and Valkyrie, who are not on the list. But the list seems to consist of the women She-Hulk knows and would call first. Right? Ms. Marvel's a friend and colleague. Storm's part of the Fantastic Four. Jen and Sue go way back. She knows Black Widow (and it's also possible S.H.I.E.L.D. made some suggestions.) She meets Spider-Woman at that Christmas party with Santron, if nothing else. Dazzler's an old friend from her Savage days. So's Hellcat. Risque... Wait, who the heck is Risque?

Let's look her up in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #9, because it's handy and more official than Wikipedia.

Page from the All-New Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe #9

Hmm. Risque appears to be a dead. She's a mutant, which means she could conceivably be alive again, but she's not exactly high profile. More to the point, I'm positive Jen and Risque have never crossed paths. Even more to the point, she has energy projection powers.

This is where the last few pages of Secret Invasion #7 come in.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

Yes, it looks very bad for the Wondrous Wasp. Will she survive the Skrull invasion?

Scroll up and take another peak at Jen's list. Jan is as great a friend as Sue, and would be one of the first people Jen would call. She's not on the list, but Risque the Obscure Dead Mutant is right there between Tigra and Hellcat! Really?

In She-Hulk #34, the Invisible Woman joins the new Lady Liberators. She doesn't ask about Jan. What's up with that?

Panel from She-Hulk #34

I think Jan survives, and what's up is that she's just busy learning to control her new(ly enhanced) energy powers while establishing a new superhero identity.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

It's fun trying to connect the Kirby dots.

Edit: **Thanks to Mallet for listening to this on IM a few days ago. Helps to talk, er, chat it out.

Either-Or

EITHER Jen holds herself and Jaz to the very double standard they are discussing here...

... OR she is simply trying not to imagine her friend and five partners at the same time.

***

EITHER Chili is Sue's annoying long-lost distant cousin from another dimension or a mirror universe (or something)...

... OR "Chili Storm" is just a stage name with an origin we dare not try to imagine.

***

Atrea is EITHER Elle transplanted into the Ultimate 'verse...

... OR "like father, like daughter" just applies sometimes.

***

EITHER Aaron Stack is seriously warped...

... OR... or... Okay, there's no "or" here.

(Panels from She-Hulk #28, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #35, Ultimate Fantastic Four #53, and Ms. Marvel #26.)

I Want to Visit Leeds

I am on dial-up. This means that, out of necessity, I don't spend much time on YouTube. But sometimes it becomes necessary to share what I'm listening to with other people, if only to get bands like Chumbawamba stuck in their heads.

And I found this fan video. It's X-Men movie clips set to "Outsider," off the album Tubthumper, which gets much better after the title track. (No really, it does.)



Is it stuck in your head now, too?

Good.

Dear Marvel...

Dear Marvel, Dwayne McDuffie, Salva Espin and associated art team,

Please give the Chrysler Building a summer vacation special. I'm not sure he could carry a mini-series, but I absolutely want to see this guy's adventures in Japan.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. Thank you!

-Canton

(Panels from WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control #3, easily the best thing to come out of World War Hulk.)

Comics on Six Legs

Yeah, it's the same old story. I haven't really blogged in months. I haven't had much to say.

But last week I read three comic books, and all three featured insects. Or insect-like creatures. Those almost always make me happy. (There are certain contexts in which certain larval forms are unwelcome, but we don't need to go there.)

The first, Marvel Adventures The Avengers #20, features a reasonably contented, self-assured, sane Ant-Man. Dr. Hank Pym, that is. He's happy to be working in his lab, but doesn't seem to mind the occasional stint as a super-hero. The story also features giant attack ants...

...and equally giant bugs from outer space. The aliens are hostile, but not very bright, flying right into Jan's trap like that.


Next we come to WWH Aftersmash: Warbound #2, which has a cumbersome title; more hostile, giant bugs (gamma-mutated this time). . .;

. . . and No-Name of the Brood, who saves human children and is just as likable as the other Warbound companions. Not all giant alien insectoid creatures are bad!


Finally, we come to The Stranded #1. There are no bugs with gland problems here, just humanoid telepathic sleeper aliens, one of whom is no longer technically a sleeper and can control insects with her mind. So we do get swarms of terrestrial attack bees. And explosions, but that comes a page or two later. I'm not too excited about The Stranded yet, but it does have its moments.


All in all, it was a small (but good) week. Never underestimate the power of insects!

Tuesday Night Twee #5

This week's twee, because I am feeling festive, comes from the Marvel Holiday Special of 2006:

Oh, yeah, and this is going out to Mallet.

Namor will never live it down, but the Moloids will cherish the memories.

And so will Reed.

Tuesday Night Twee #4

The word "twee" does not always involve or imply romance, but it certainly can. Runaways #28 gives us the sight of a charming young lass and a dashing android boy literally dancing on air.

This is certainly a star-crossed little romance on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that relationships between androids and super-powered women do not tend to end well. Although, to be fair, Victor and Lillie seem more well-adjusted than Vision and Wanda...

Oh, whatever. Best not to overthink.

Tuesday Night Twee

So many people do these weekly things. Friday Night Fights, Thursday Night Thinking... That's all fun, but I think twee needs a day, too. And Tuesday is appropriately alliterative. Hence Tuesday Night* Twee.

I have no idea how long I'll be able to keep this up, but it does not take much thought, finding things that are excessively cute, yet somehow not nauseating. Once you know what you're looking for, that is.

This, for example, is twee:

At least, I think it is. This is all very subjective.

Anyway, this first Tuesday Night Twee was brought to you by Mythos: Fantastic Four.

*I am not technically posting this at night, but it's always nighttime somewhere...

On 19 September, 2007

It's 11:30 on Friday night, and I am very tired, and do not feel like doing things that are more important such as class work, so it's comics blogging time!

[SPOILER WARNING IS POSSIBLY APPLICABLE.]

This past week, I read Avengers books, including (and limited to)...

...Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #16, in which there is Hawkeye, true to form! Everybody thinks he's a criminal at first, but then he proves them all wrong. He also flirts with Storm and Giant-Girl, with skill that actually comes in handy.

...Avengers Classic #4, in which Captain America joins the Avengers! I like seeing the reprints in brightly colored Kirby glory, but I'm also in this for the back-up stories. And this one, naturally, focuses on Cap, and his reintroduction to life. There is a little fighting, but it is mostly just bittersweet.

...a bunch of story bites contained in...

...Marvel Comics Presents #1, in which there is a cockamamie Spider-Man story that I won't try to describe, though it is amusing; a fluffy Ben Grimm and Alicia vignette; the beginning of the Immonens' Hellcat tale; and two other Chapter Ones that are lost on me. I do not see myself following this title religiously. Will they collect the Hellcat story when it is finished, I wonder?

...Jungle Girl #0, which is all about a buxom, scantily clad woman who hunts giant aquatic beasties for a living. In other words, it's about what you might expect based on the cover. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is simply what it is. Which is not my cup of tea.

...and a triple helping of Hulk, including...

...World War Hulk #4, World War Hulk: Front Line #4, and Gamma Corps #3, in which there is a lot of smashing. Most of the smashing occurs in the main title (the Illuminati are compelled to smash each other and in front of a crowd of eager onlookers. It is naturally a disturbing, mostly-'splosion issue. Gamma Corps has somewhat less smashing. About half of it is the tragic story of Ryker and his wife (in flashback), and the rest is the Corps versus the Hulk.

Front Line, because it is Front Line, provides the reporters' perspective on war, and gives us some insight into Sally Floyd's family life. The backup stories are more fun (as usual.) "Costume Division: Death of an Android" continues, the murder investigation progresses, and Korg becomes my favorite Warbound alien. Finally, an extremely goofy "What If?" story. But the highlight of Front Line?

It's Earl! Don't go in there, Earl! You risk seriously bad karma points!

And... that was my comics week. Yes indeed...

On 12 September, 2007

[WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD]

So, yes, I am trying once again to keep up this blog. And I apparently get bored writing review-like posts the same way week after week. How do people do that? Last week I was full of thanks. This week -- well, I'm thankful this week, too (I'm always thankful for comic books) -- but this week...

Well, this past week, I read...

...Gen13 #12, in which we learn all about Percival Edmund Chang. Once upon a time, little Percy was a hard-working uber-genius who spoke formally, wore a sailor suit and got himself beat up a lot. Tired of that, he remade himself into Eddie, a slacking uber-genius who talks casual, avoids clothing wherever possible and gets himself beat up a lot. He also absorbs abilities and shows us that Fairchild's super-strength may be somehow connected to her breasts which begs the question: If she were to choose to undergo reduction surgery for whatever reason, would that be like Samson getting his hair trimmed? Anyway, this is always a fun book! It is! (Hopefully, next month there will be an adventure in outer space. There's no way we've seen the last of Doc Tomorrow in this title.) Now say hello to little Percy!


...Welcome to Tranquility #10, in which Tommy consults with Salabal the Jungle Princess who bakes hallucinogenic cookies and takes Tommy on an astral journey, where we learn that the Fountains of Youth are made possible by an evil television dance show host and that there is a key to defeating the zombies (who are still at large.) There is also a backup story in which we learn that the Liberty Snots used to be very like a super-powered Scooby Gang, complete with a cowardly dog whose current whereabouts are unknown. I think. The story involves attacking scarecrows. (There are attack scarecrows in this month's Gen13, too. Go figure.)

...Wonder Girl #1, in which Cassandra Sandsmark fights stray mythical monsters (remnants of that whole "Amazons Attack" thing); the stigma of being an Amazon (see previous parenthetical); and potential romance with Robin in a highly enjoyable, bright, animated style. All this, and a Save the Hydras protest to boot!


...Fantastic Five #5, in which an extra-mutated Franklin Richards leads his team to Doomstadt for a daring rescue attempt, most everybody gets to blow up a Doombot or three, Lyja gets to be armor, and Reed gets to have some sort of extreme mental showdown with Dr. Doom. This has been an entertaining mini-series, and I do hope there will be a sequel.


And that was my comics week of September the 12th!

Thursday Thank Yous

Thank you...

... Dan Slott and Ty Templeton for wrapping up your run on She-Hulk with a sweet goofy story that ties up loose ends without feeling rushed; for redeeming Mallory Book; and for nearly making me cry with awwww. (It is not mean-spirited either, so Kalinara might like it!)

... Rick Burchett, Cliff Rathburn, Andy Troy and Dave Sharpe for stuff like this:


... Gail Simone for Head; Panda; for not making me buy Countdown even though The All New Atom #15 is technically a tie-in; and also, Head.

... Fred Van Lente and Gurihiru for a colorful romp in Latveria; Doombots on spoked wheels; and convenient penpals.

... Brian Reed for writing Aaron Stack after Warren Ellis.

... Warren Ellis for Aaron Stack as we know him today.

... Greg Pak for balance between verbal sparring and general smashing; and Greg, Carlo Pagulayan, Jeffrey Huet, Chris Sotomayor and Joe Caramagna for this:


... Zeb Wells for the whole snake versus mongoose battle in Snakewoman: Tale of the Snake Charmer #3.