BAD SIMIAN BLOG

UPDATE

2007-10-16T20:25:00.000-05:00

http://thatchadblog.wordpress.com/

FREE ROM

2007-10-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

Chris is championing a movement that no free man of Earth shouldn't be a part of.

Sorry for the lack of updates... studying like a mania, nearly 24/7 (had to take an Iron Fist break last week), for my NASD licensing exams.

After two weeks of this, I'm almost convinced I should've gone on to law school like mom and dad wanted... the LSATs can't be much worse than this, I tell ya.

See you all soon...tooddles.

COUPLE THINGS...

2007-09-13T08:34:00.000-05:00

All right, this....

Justice League of America: Wedding Special

...was awesome.

As many of you know, I cut pretty much all DC books from my pull months ago, but I'll admit, I've been slowly pulled back into the fold... and, until yesterday, I wasn't terribly happy about (I know, I know... it's my own fault). But seriously, Justice League of America: Wedding Special, written by my man, Dwayne McDuffie, blows the lid off and is a comic that I wouly highly recommend to everyone.

I gave Brad Meltzer's go at the book a try (mainly because of Doctor Impossible) but I just wasn't sold on it. Ignoring the mischaracterization, the continuity inaccuracies, and the unnecessary violence (Grundy's a cannibal?), the biggest reason I was put off by the book is that it just wasn't terribly fun - none of the characters seemed like they wanted to be there.

But in Wedding Special, McDuff and co. fix that problem in one shot, and do the unthinkable in this day and age: they leave me immediately wanting to read the next issue! Good job, DM! I can't wait for your run on the book to start.

Now this...

New Avengers #34

...eh? It's a different cart of apples.

Just let me say I love the Avengers and everything that comes with 'em, no doubt.

Yes, I am excited about the Secret Invasion story coming up. Invasion, according to Bendis, had seeds planted way back in Avengers: Disassembled, but the "event" ball really started rolling when the Avengers, trying to save Daredevil's ex, Echo, discovered a Skrull posing as Hand-head-honcho, Elektra, and for who knows how long?

Issues following, see the team contemplating the potential of an all out Skrullocaust, and Luke Cage growing more and more mistrusting of his team, eventually calling a time out for a day. But with #34, the team reconvenes to try and get to the bottom of some things.

So what's up with the cover?

Well, to alleviate some of the tension, Doctor Strange (who's now sleeping with Night Nurse, his sidekick from BKV's The Oath... so much for subtlety, huh Bendis?) introduces a spell to that can display the true nature of each team member, thus identifying who's a Skrull and who's not (what?). Seems like a good plan to the team, and honeslty, it makes for a pretty good visual tool.

The spell's results are pretty much what we see on the cover:

Cage sees himself as Power Man
Iron Fist is just a warrior in a long line
Jessica Jones as her former superhero identity of Jewel
Spider-man is a nerdy kid
Echo shows that she's takes her inspiration from Daredevil
Hawkeye's soul reveals he idolizes Cap
Doctor Strange still sees himself as a physician
and Wolverine reveals the spirit of a samurai

Most of these work. All except one, which leads me to this prediction: Luke Cage is a Skrull.

Not sure I buy Cage seeing himself as Power Man... something about it just seems kind of, I don't know... lazy... like nobody's really taking the right consideration's with the character (I don't know if that makes sense, and I'm not sure I really want to get into it, so...)

But another thing: when the spell is cast, Luke is conveniently holding his daughter, the newly named Danielle. We know for a "fact" that something's up with the kid because of her glowing green eyes from an issue or so back.

Yeah, it's possible I'm looking for clues where there really aren't' any, but I can't help but think it's significant that Cage is holding the kid.

Oh, and in # 32, Luke spends almost the whole issue explaining (to us) how each team member has changed, when it's pretty clear he's the most different out of the bunch. Where's the yellow shirt? The tiara? Those gold teeth? What - married? An Avenger?

Where's my Cage, honey?

I think Bendis is trying to throw us off the scent.

Oh, and maybe Doctor Strange is one too... more on this in a later post, maybe.

And there's Leinil Francis Yu's art. It's just not working for me. This isn't to say I don't like Yu's work sometimes, because I do. But I think he's a bad fit for New Avengers. The cast is too damn big for him, and when you add in Bendis's insistence on keeping the entire team together in one room (or plane) nearly every issue, it means Yu's averaging somewhere around 5 characters per panel... that'd be hard for anybody to do.

Still okay with Yu's art? Hey, that's cool. But just as a test, take a look at the last page of #34, and (ignoring the dialogue) try to tell me exactly what the hell's going on?

Go ahead, I'll wait...

DANGER ACE UPDATE

2007-09-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Danger Ace by Chris Nye, from Danger Ace #0

Several folks have recently asked me about Danger Ace, so I thought it might be good to run a quick update for those of you that bought a copy.

Yes, Danger Ace #0 is still a go, and if everything stays on track, you should have a copy in the mail within the next week or so.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and support... and your patience. Hopefully it'll be worth it.

OKAY, MAYBE THE MICHAEL TURNER COSTUME ISN'T SO BAD

2007-09-05T07:59:00.000-05:00

Kare for the upcoming season of Smallville.

"IT'S PROBABLY LESS OBSURD TO WATCH THAN FIGURE SKATING, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT."

2007-08-31T10:28:00.000-05:00

A COMIC EVERYBODY SHOULD OWN

2007-08-30T13:23:00.000-05:00

DEATHSTROKE # 7

Bad Simian: So, TCB, what's so special about Deathstroke # 7?

TCB: Well, let's see... aside from a killer cover by big Mike Zeck, it's part two of the underrated City of Assassins story that introduced the third Vigilante, Pat Trayce, so that's pretty cool.

But I guess the main reason I picked it up, originally, was for the Deathstroke/Batman fight.

BS: Batman fights Deathstroke? Wow, yeah, that sounds exciting. So how's that happen?

TCB: Essentially, Deathstroke's trying to find an assassin who's killing all of Gotham City's major gangsters, which of course, brings him face-to-face with Batman, who believes Deathstroke might be the killer... and things pretty much go badass from there.

Deathstrokes, who's kind of racing against the clock, gets tired of Batman's getting in his way, and a fight breaks out.

BS: So who wins?

TCB: Well, it's Slade's book, so who do you think? But this had been a fight fans were asking for in the letters pages for years, and Wolfman really delivered the goods. Not to give too much away, but it ends with Deathstroke telling Batman to stay down, Bats not listening and, ultimately, ending up on the receiving end of one of the greatest roundhouse kicks ever...

BS: Yikes. That sounds pretty brutal.

TCB: Yeah, it is.

WTF?

2007-08-30T12:45:00.003-05:00

Covers for Mighty Avengers # 7, New Avengers # 35, and Mighty Avengers #8

Y'know, I'm not usually one to poo poo a story before I've had the opportunity to read it, but this whole Venom symbiotes versus the Avengers thing wreaks of "But damn, we've run outta ideas."

But I think I know what happened here.

Bendis, under a tight editorial deadline, was looking through some old stuff in his office and found one of his "Cool Story Ideas For When I'm A Writer At Marvel" notebooks from the 90s (hey, I've got a few myself) and found this little gem inside, plotted and ready to go.

All he really had to do was change a few names - Sersi to Ms. Marvel, Hercules to Sentry, Black Knight to Ares, Druid to Doctor Strange, Deathcry to Wolverine... you get the idea.

That can be the only explanation, right?

WAIT, WHAT DID HE SAY ABOUT THE FALCON?

2007-08-29T12:16:00.000-05:00

MEGO-A-GO-GO!

ANYBODY ELSE EXCITED ABOUT THIS?

2007-08-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

I've started reading the book, and I'm kind of surprised by how much I like it.

Sometime last year, I was working my way through the Narnia books (for the first time, believe it or not) and while talking with a friend about C S Lewis, he suggested I read Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy before the movies hit, describing the story as the anti-Narnia.

I'd completely forgotten about it until a month or so back I saw the trailer for The Golden Compass, and now I'm on.

Anybody else read these?

A TRIBUTE TO THE UNTOUCHABLE BATMAN

2007-08-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

AS IT SHOULD BE

2007-08-22T07:56:00.000-05:00

From Superman #666, out today.

1ST BOY ON MARS

2007-08-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

"Okay, so it's like Tintin mixed with Flash Gordon..."

For the past few weeks, Phil Looney and I, along with the very talented Matthew Smith, have been working on a new project which may or may not get pitched to DC's new ZUDA comics.

It's called Kip Karter: 1st Boy On Mars and I thought it'd be cool to show off some of Mr. Smith's incredible start-up art.

Hope you enjoy it and look for more 1BoM info to come here on the ol' Bad Simian.

FANBOYS TRAILER

2007-08-20T11:50:00.001-05:00

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... JOHN BYRNE

2007-08-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

WORD OF ADVICE... DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE GIANT ZOMBIE GORILLA

2007-08-20T07:51:00.000-05:00

BS REVIEW: BOOSTER GOLD # 1

2007-08-16T14:36:00.000-05:00

This might surprise you, but I liked Booster Gold #1. Don't worry, I don't just absolutely love it, but all in all, it's pretty fun and I'll probably be picking up #2.

The truth is, I've always liked Booster Gold. It probably has to do with me occasionally confusing him for Animal Man when I was younger (those goggles, man), but even more than that, it was Dan Jurgens, Booster's creator and penciller on the new series.

Back in the day, Jurgens was a doer at DC, not just a talker. He made things happen in the DCU, and good or bad, it was always interesting. To me, Booster Gold was Jurgens' attempt at introducing a bright and shiny (literally) Silver Age concept hero into the, not just post-Crisis, but post-Dark Knight and Watchmen world, and believe it or not, when he wasn't just the butt of every JLA joke, Booster actually meant something to a lot of fans.

And if this new series keeps it up, who knows... maybe he might again.

In #1, we see that, post-Infinite Crisis and 52, Booster Gold is, yet again, low man on the superhero totem pole despite having helped save the universe (52 times, by his count).

But a misunderstood punch-up with the Royal Flush Gang puts Booster in position to win a spot on the new JLA. He gets one week to prove he's got it together enough to be a Leaguer, and he's determined not to screw up. But Time Master, Rip Hunter has other plans and soon steals Booster into the time stream which is where the series' really gets its set up.

Hunter tells us all history before New Earth is "like wet cement", and in danger of being manipulated by forces trying to eleminate Earth's heroes. Each "wet patch" is represented by a fissure in time that needs to be sealed or fixed.

It wasn't real clear to me why Hunter can't do it alone, but he ends up recruiting Booster, citing his time-travelling origins, his heroism in 52, and his inconsequential rep in the superhero community (nobody'd expect it from him), as reasons that make him the perfect man for the job. With Booster's interest peeked, Hunter goes on to explain if it works, Booster will be the greatest hero of all time... the catch being, no one will ever know about it.

After revealing that, of course, Booster turns him down.

A week later Booster meets the JLA and is welcomed into the fold. But when his membership plague morphs into a death certificate for Green Lanter Hal Jordan, Booster's eyes are opened to the troubles of a hemorrhaging time stream, and he quickly decides to join Hunter... under the condition that once it's all said and done, he'll help find a way to bring back Booster's best friend, Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle.

One thing I noticed about the issue was just how much it borrows from the Booster Gold centric Justice League Unlimited episode, The Greatest Story Never Told.

In the episode (which also has a Composite Superman reference), Booster single-handedly stops a black hole from devouring Earth while the rest of the League are fighting Modru off screen. In the end, Booster is the hero of the day and nobody really even notices... very similar to the premise of the current ongoing, I'd say.

But honestly, it's not a bad way for Booster to work and might make for some interesting motivational conflicts down the road.

One of my biggest complaints since Infinite Crisis has been DC's weird non-committal stance on what existed before the new 52 statue quo. What Krypton's the right Krypton? Was Superman ever Superboy? Did Joe Chill kill the Waynes? And if so, does Batman know? Why're there multiple versions of the Legion? All important questions, right?

Having a series that actively takes steps to clean up some of this stuff is pretty neat, I guess.

I still remain pretty suspicious of DC and maintain that they've got no idea what they're doing, but for now, I'm intrigued and on board for Booster Gold... but who knows what the future holds?

Booster Gold
DC Comics
$3.50
By Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE...

2007-08-14T09:01:00.001-05:00

Why isn't he called the Composite Batman?

Or the Composite Superbatman?

Y'know... a "Superbatman" would be unbelievably awesome, composite or not.

MIKE WIERINGO

2007-08-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

Mike Wieringo died.

It's sure to be a common blog topic today, and quite honestly, I don't have a lot to add other than to just say that Wieringo was, by far, the nicest and most genuine comics creator I've had the pleasure of meeting - EVER. He never seemed like he was trying to hard to be cool, he just was... and he almost always seemed surprised to find out that another person loved his work and was letting him know.

His almost daily updates and industry insights at his blog were always beautifully drawn (far beyond a simple sketch) and always well said... just one thing I'll miss about this incredibly talented guy.

My thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends. At 44, truly, his was a light that dimmed too soon.

PHIL LOONEY, I APOLOGIZE

2007-08-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

This is most definitely Phil at Poptown's area of expertise, so I'd like to apologize in advance for stepping on his toes a little here, but damn... what is up with this statue?

Reformation Megatron Bust
by Diamond Select

Holy cats, sports fans! This just seems like such a waste of so many things... time, money, natural resources, and the list goes on and on.

Those of you who don't recognize what's "happening" with the bust, don't feel bad. (In fact, feel good - FEEL REALLY GOOD!) But, it captures a bit of cinematic history as Megatron begins his Galvatron upgrade via Unicron from Transformers: The Movie. I'll ashamedly go ahead and admit, when I was 10, I thought it was a pretty awesome (and quite horrific) scene, but it in no way warrants a commemorative bust or anything like this.

Doesn't it bothers you that eventually the person who buys this thing for display is going to have to explain it one day? Well, for his benefit and ours, I'm suggest that from now on, Diamond Select simply affix a standard title plate to all of their statues and busts that reads:

HOLY CRAP - ELLIOT S! MAGGIN'S RUNNING FOR CONGRESS

2007-08-08T14:02:00.000-05:00

Not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story...

His politacal motto - "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

No effin' joke.

NEW FRONTIER TRAILER

2007-08-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Best part: Lucy Lawless going nuts in the recording booth as she voices Wonder Woman.

Worst part: Dan Didio's big ol' bald noggin'.

But seriously, this looks really good.

DANGER ACE PAGES 4 - 12

2007-08-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

Y'know, I always like it when guys like Jeff Parker and Matt Fraction post pencil pages on their sites, blogs, etc... So, in an effort to keep this blog going, that's what I'm doing today - here're the final 9 pages of Danger Ace # 0 for you guys to take a look at and see just how incredible Jerry Hinds is.

Oh, and keep watching this space. There might be a cool Danger Ace announcement coming later this week... fingers are crossed.

Enjoy the art.

PAGE FOUR

PAGE FIVE

PAGE SIX PAGE SEVEN

PAGE EIGHT
PAGE NINE
PAGE TEN
PAGE ELEVEN
PAGE TWELVE

IT'S A LONG STORY, BUT...

2007-07-31T21:25:00.000-05:00

...does anybody want a dog?

This morning, this miniature pinscher (who the kids next door tell me is named "TJ") zoomed past me and into my living room as I was heading out the door and on my way to work.

I caught him, took him outside and checked him out pretty good - played with him for a little while, before taking off. He pretty much hung around outside our house for most of the day, I guess, and as I type this, he's sitting right below my office window... howling. Normally I'd let him in, but I don't think my dog, Argo, is too happy with the little guy, and frankly, she was here first.

Now I'm not sure how this whole thing's going to end, but we know for a fact the dog's been on its own for days, he doesn't have a collar or tag and doesn't seem to know where home is.

So far, we've given him food, water, and a nice spot on our porch to sleep, but the truth is WE CAN'T KEEP HIM.

I've called Project Pet, the ASPCA, +and just minutes ago, talked with the Animal Protection League, and I was a LOT discouraged to find out that none of them could take him... not right now, at least.

But he's an incredible little dog with great dog manners, honestly. He's really low key, obeys commands very well, and loves riding in the car (he rode with me tonight when I went out to grab some Wendy's). Just judging by the way things have gone today, I don't think he's going anywhere, but I can't say for sure... I'd love to find him a home, so if you're at all interested, or know someone who might be, let them and me know.

STATS: I put him at around maybe 3 or 4 years old. Oh, and he has not been neutered, but we can get you free spay/neuter passes if that's an issue.

(803) 731-9049 (home)
(803) 447-4854 (cell)

GUYS, MEET WOLFMOTHER (IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY)

2007-07-29T19:51:00.000-05:00

Haven't really talked to too many people about these guys (which means I'm probably WAY behind the curve), but I've been meaning to because, DAMN, they're awesome!

You might recognize this song, "Woman", from the Guitar Hero II commercial from a few months back.

Anyway, enjoy...

MARVEL TEST PAGES, PART 1

2007-07-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

DANGER ACE FAN ART, PART 2

2007-07-29T14:13:00.001-05:00

By (comics superstar on the rise) Johnny Timmons

CRISIS AVERTED (I HOPE)

2007-07-28T07:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, at San Diego Comicon's DC Nation panel it was announced that the creative team on Final Crisis would be Grant Morrison and J G Jones. Not quite Kurt Busiek and George Perez like my buddy Matt predicted, but we'll take it.

During the panel, in response to the question "What will make Final Crisis different from all the other crises?", Morrison responded in his trademark brogue:

"This one has Anthro the First Boy on the first page,
and Kamandi the Last Boy on the last page."

Damn you, Grant Morrison for actually thinking about stuff and bringing me back into the DC fold.

DANGER ACE PAGE 10, THE ONE WHERE WE BLOW UP A MONKEY

2007-07-27T19:51:00.000-05:00

Jerry really outdid himself on this one. Just look at panel 2 and tell me it's not one of the most beautiful drawings you've ever seen.

It occurred to me this morning that I never did a Danger Ace wrap up post, and that's probably because I don't like thinking about it as being over.

Most of you probably already know this, but we didn't win Small Press Idol. We came in 5th place (out of 6) and I honestly thought we would have done a little better. But we've been able to generate a lot of "after show" buzz, which is cool, and I think everyone that pre-ordered a copy of the zero issue will be pretty happy. Everyone in Team Danger Ace will walk away from it with a really nice showpiece, and that's not bad at all.

Out of all the stuff I've worked on and developed, Danger Ace is probably my favorite and I really hope I find somewhere to continue it. I love the characters and the landscape we've built, and I'd be pretty upset if we lose it.

I was looking back over the script and the outline for the 12-pager last night, and I realized just how quick the story is. No matter the page count, I always try and give readers a lot, as I myself feel cheated by comics that don't take more than a few minutes to read. But this one, man, it truck, and while I don't think it's a bad thing, I was just surprised.

Thanks again to everyone that bought a copy, voted for us, emailed us, etc... I enjoyed hearing your comments and suggestions and the whole experience was made easier just knowing you were behind us all the way.

TALES FROM THE SKETCHBOOK

2007-07-26T18:15:00.001-05:00

"I DON'T KNOW, I'M LIKE YOUR MAIN DUDE."

2007-07-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

I'll go ahead and confess, I'm a sucker for viral marketing. And I know at least some of you have seen Transformers and will know right away what I'm talking about, but for those who haven't seen it, take a minute to watch the trailer below. I'll wait.

And that's it... No name, just a JJ Abrams' producer credit.

In addition to being easily hooked by creative (and sometimes not so creative) marketing, I'm also a fan of BIG monster movies.

A little investigating and a quick Wikipedia search turned up the working title "Cloverfield", but other than a cast listing, that's about all there officially is.

The most popular speculation is, of course, that this is some kind of new arthouse Godzilla, but Toho's (supposedly) retired big-G's franchise until 2010 or something, so who knows... personally, I kind of doubt it, but it could be cool.

Other speculation (which you can read about further at the Wikipedia entry) includes a Cthulu-themed monster, something called The Parasite, a new Rhodan, or a Lost tie-in movie.

Additional Reading:

Entertainment Weekly site reveals the one sheet...

www.slusho.jp, a tie-in site that has a lot of clues...

The "official" site...

ROM IF YOU WANT TO

2007-07-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

I swung by the comic shop tonight to pick up a few things, and started talking with the guys about the possibility that the nameless avenger kicking ass in the pages of Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith might actually be Rom, Spaceknight.

It's a rumor that's been circling the interweb for a little while now, but I didn't really pay much attention until tonight.

I think the character probably is Rom, and here's why:

Marvel recently dropped Toy Biz as their action figure company to sign with Hasbro, who coincidentally own Rom. It's not like I think Rom's so important to Marvel they'd rework a toy-license, but while they're in bed together, why not?
The book's titled Wraith, but the main character doesn't even go by that name/title. But... Rom's greatest enemies were known as the Dire Wraiths. Coincidence? Red herring? Or both?
"Wraith" is a really pale dude, with kind of glowing (almost typed piercing, but I don't love him... yet) red eyes. Rom was a really white/silver cyborg with a red visor/eye.
"Wraith" has a gun that kind of morphs into different weapons and gadgets, including a gun (!), a whip, a sword, etc... it's very similar to the way Rom's weapons had many functions and could just kind of appear out of subspace.
The stories main villains, the recently returned Phallanx, pose as Spaceknights and conquer the Kree. Why Spaceknights, I wonder?

The Phalanx are a race of aliens with shape changing abilities. The Dire Wraiths were a race of aliens with shape changing abilities.
There's just something very deliberate about "Wriath's" tunic, especially when you look at it from behind (see below).

Anyway, that's all I've got.

So what do YOU think?

Space-knight or Space-not?

DANGER ACE FAN ART

2007-07-24T12:24:00.001-05:00

By Keith Jim

THEY DID THE MATH

2007-07-24T12:20:00.001-05:00

Newsarama took a look at all the tie-in books and mini-series related to both Countdown at DC and World War Hulk at Marvel, and figured out what you'd have to spend to get everything related to each event.

The results will astound you... or maybe not.

HOW DO YOU SPELL IT

2007-07-24T11:03:00.000-05:00

Idea stolen from Phil @ Poptown.

YEAH, OKAY - WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO READ THIS?

2007-07-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

Hercules from Radical Comics.

Find out more here!

NEW INTERVIEW AT SILVER BULLET COMICS

2007-07-20T14:22:00.001-05:00

I was interviewed this morning for Silver Bullet Comics-dot-com about Round 4, Danger Ace, and just Small Press Idol stuff in general

Check it out HERE.

All for now.

MORE DC TALK - AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS TOO MUCH?

2007-07-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Jason just commented on the previous post.

Here's his comment, and my reply (my apologies to Jason if he doesn't want me sharing).

Jovial1/Jason:

"Brave & the Bold, Chad - Brave & the Bold. The whole series has rocked. Solid stuff from Waid & Perez. "

Me:

"Yeah, that's definitley what I keep hearing, but, y'know... I think I've had my day with Mark Waid and his DC Universe.

I did pick up the first two BatBs, because I wanted to see Perez drawing Green Lantern stuff, and if [DC] collect the series, I'll probably pick up the first trade.

But the whole thing really reeks of the recently-cancelled MARVEL TEAM-UP book by Robert Kirkman. I know, it's a bit of a weird comparison, but I think it works.

Kirkman broke the traditional "Spider-man + (fill in the blank)" formula of previous iterations of the book (which I liked) but tried to add a kind of pass-it-on nature to the book (which I also liked) which kind of lost some people, I thnk. Now, seeing as how I liked that book, what makes me not want to be pick up what is essentially DC's version?

Well, as much as I like the idea, I guess I think books like Team-up, Two-In-One, DC Comics Presents, and, yes, Brave and the Bold should be kind of gateway drug, if that makes any sense. I feel like they should do done-in-one stories with an existing moderately popular character, an A-lister (Batman, Superman, Spider-man, the Thing, but also Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Wolverine, Daredevil, Hulk, etc...) if you will, having an adventure with a lesser known or infrequently used character. Again, that's a lot like what's going on, no doubt, but I think what's missing is the done-in-one aspect. What I liked about these books when I was just a little guy was the option of not reading about Lobo if I didn't want to, or had just had enough of him this year (no offense to Lobo, btw), and I still wouldn't miss anything.

As a guy who was "kind of not" reading DC books, I was discouraged about the 3rd or 4th issues of Brave and the Bold when it was Batman teaming-up with the new Blue Beetle. I just realized at that point that I really didn't care about Jaime BB... and not that he's a bad character, but I just kind of don't like what he stands for and is more a result of editorial than creativity.

He may be a great character, and I know you like him a lot, but I just didn't want to be shoe-horned into reading about him when, quite frankly, I just don't care about him, y'know?

And with Brave and the Bold I could just see the pattern starting, and didn't necessarily want to let it continue. And because of the books "ongoing" nature, it almost completely excludes me from kind of reading it only when I want to... which I realize isn't in DC's best interest, but I don't work for DC... I work for TCB!

Sorry for the long winded response, but it's good to vent."

AM I READING DC COMICS AGAIN?

2007-07-19T07:54:00.001-05:00

Well, it certainly seems like it.

I bought the last three issues of the Busiek/Pacheco Superman over the weekend, as well as Action Comics #850 (thanks, Matt).

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of The Sinestro Corps., and almost threw a fit when my store didn't have the follow up issue, Green Lantern #21.

In addition to the books above, I never stopped buying Batman and All Star Superman, so, if indeed, I pick up the next issues of all these (yeah, I know Action 851 & 852 are out) I'll pretty much be back on the DC train. Not like I was before, but I think it'll be enough.

Oh, well... I can always quit again when Final Crisis sucks.

WIN!

2007-07-18T11:15:00.000-05:00

All right, I had kind of resigned myself to losing this Small Press Idol thing, but last night, I got a nice little pep talk from Scott, my wife, and God in a dream, so y'know what...?

I AIN'T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT.

So, if you haven't purchased a copy of Danger Ace # 0 yet, get on it HERE.

What's that? You're worried about not liking it? Yeah, well you'll never know if you will or not unless you order one and find out. But how about this: If you're unsatisfied with the book, I'll happily buy you another comic of equal or lesser value that you do like to replace it. That's a promise.

Just to bottomline, folks - I REALLY NEED VOTES and I NEED 'EM FAST.

There's only four days left of voting and I need at least 18 unique purchases. Honestly, that's not a whole lot in the skeem of things.

I know some of you have had a hard time ordering from the site - no doubt, it's a pain. But at this point, all I've got to say is suck it up. Try until it works, or either email me or the sites administrator, Ian, and let him know what the problem is.

Just so I don't come off sounding like a total dick, I really do appreciate all the support and encouragement you guys have given us so far... and it's not easy asking for my friends' hard earn cash. It means a lot to see you guys rallying around me, Jerry and Matt to help this thing happen. We're not there # 1 yet, but by God, we can be.

WHY?

2007-07-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

Because sometimes you just need to be reminded of how awesome Doug Wildey was.

Additional reading:

Doug who...?

More Johnny Quest...

David Wayne Dilley...

WHICH LEGIONNIARE ARE YOU?

2007-07-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

You're Andrew Nolan, Ferro!
Take this quiz!

DANGER ACE FAN ART REQUEST

2007-07-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

Danger Ace is still working it's way up and down Round 4 of Small Press Idol, and to those of you who've purchased a copy of #0, thanks-a-million. I know it's not the easiest site to navigate and place orders on, but I appreciate you guys getting in there and working through it.

As always, a special thank you to Phil and Jason who've both been pushing Danger Ace over on their own blogs. Your continued support means a lot, fellas.

Round 4 voting / pre-ordering continues all the way until Sunday (July 22) and just judging by the current standings, it's still anybody's game. We could still win, and get the four issue book deal from Dimestore, so let folks know - Danger Ace!

Now, in an attempt to try and stir up some last minute interest, I'm asking anyone who can hold a pencil to submit a piece of Danger Ace fan art to me at thomaschadbowers@gmail.com. I'm not looking for Alex Ross or Neal Adams class work here. I doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it's Danger Ace related, I'll post it here on the Bad Simian and maybe even a few will see print in the #0 issue.

If you can't remember what Ace looks like, check out a few of my earlier posts and you should be able to get an idea, and again, it doesn't have to be spot on.

Feel free to mention this on your own sites with links back to me here, or to the contest at Dimestore.

Can't wait to see what you send in, gang.

I LOVE THIS SITE!

2007-07-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

If you've never been over to Monster Blog!, then what are you waiting for?

Check it out!

2007-07-09T20:28:00.001-05:00

DANGER ACE - SPI ROUND IV, THE FINALE

Well, Round 4 kicked off today and judging by several emails and some feedback we've received over in the forums, we should do fairly well... of course, with less than a day under our belts, it's kind of hard to tell so I just might be eating those words, who knows?

Honestly, I wasn't really expecting the $3.50 cover price - that one kind of took my by surprise, and if you're anything like me, you only want to spend your hard earned comics cash on something you're pretty sure about. So, with that in mind, here's a glimpse of what's waiting for you when you decide to snatch up a copy of Danger Ace # 0...

2007-07-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

BUY MY BOOK - HELP ME WIN!

(PLEASE)

TALES FROM A SKETCHBOOK

2007-07-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

2007-07-06T21:27:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

"Now maybe you'll listen.

Now, as I was sayin -- um, hello?

Rise from the floor - your king demands it!

Uh-oh"

(Bahlactus, help.)

THE DOCTOR'S NEW COMPANION

2007-07-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, well, it's official... Catherine Tate, AKA Donna Noble in last year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride, will return in series 4 as the Time Lord's newest "fulltime" companion.

Tate's really big in the UK, and it's apparetnly a pretty big deal that they've gotten her to come on the series. When I first saw The Runaway Bride, I didn't really like her, but I guess that's kind of the point. But having let it settle a little bit, I do think she's going to be great for the series.

I loved Martha Jones, and think Freema Agyeman did a great job. I'm guessing mine wasn't the general concensus since she's not coming back for Series 4... well, not for the whole series at least (she's supposed to be in several episodes and a few Torchwoods). As much as I liked her, I do think she was maybe a little too Rose-lite, despite trying all kinds of things to make her something else...

Anyway, if you've never seen the show, Series 3 premieres tonight on SciFi at 8PM, I think... They're showing both The Runaway Bride, and Smith and Jones, so you can see both Donna's and Martha's first appearances and decide for yourself.

THE GREATEST COMIC YOU'LL NEVER READ

2007-07-02T12:48:00.001-05:00

Most of you already know this, but I'm not very happy with the current state of DC comics, and haven't been for quite some time now.

Not really sure why this did it, but today, I was reading some reviews of THE SINESTRO CORPS and COUNTDOWN, and I started thinking about Alan Moore's TWILIGHT, and how it's a shame we'll probably never get to read it.

If you didn't already know, sometime in 1987, Alan Moore pitched a mini- series to DC called Twilight of the Superheroes, but shortly after having pitched it, Moore had a pretty severe falling out with DC and broke ties with the company and scrapped any and all plans for future works.

And while I don't guess it's exaclty fair to say Twilight would've been the most incredible thing DC ever published... it would've been, and if you don't believe me, here's the pitch.

Just read it, and tell me I'm wrong.

Also, take note of just how on the money Moore's introduction is about the pitfalls of event comics... and think about how DC operates today.

DC VILLAIN TEASER

2007-07-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

Today, DC put out another indecipherable "teasers", this one from the villains POV.

For those you familiar with the master painters, you'll probably recognize some similarities right off the bat.

What's it all mean?

Well, obviously Lex Luthor is Jesus of New Earth.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

2007-06-29T01:25:00.000-05:00

"Hulk not southpaw!"

(BTW, this Friday Night Fights thing isn't by invitation only, is it?)

50 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SUPERHERO COMICS

2007-06-27T15:42:00.001-05:00

1 – The Thing is a hideously disfigured rockman in love with a blind sculptress that knows what he looks like better than anybody else.

2 – Jack Kirby

3 – Hidden gorilla cities with real gorilla problems.

4 – The Pym/Ultron Family-Tree

5 – The Ultimate Nullifier scares off damn near everybody…

6 – … and in turn, the Fantastic Four can pretty much defeat anything

7 – Krypto, the Super Dog

8 – "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

9 – The Watcher and the Inhumans are neighbors on the moon.

10 – "The jewel mountians of Krypton are splendid this time of year."

11 – The Defenders don’t take $*#@ off nobody.

12 – Superboy keeps robots of himself in the basement.

13 – Galactus wasn’t wearing pants in his first appearance.

14 – The Radical Cube

15 – In the DC universe, questions won't always get answered… but they might beat your ass in with a baseball bat.

16 – Will Magnus is an f***in’ loon.

18 – Namor barely wears clothes and is still one of the most dangerous threats to humanity.

19 – “H” Dials

20 – One time, Karate Kid used super-karate to throw Mon El into space – MON-EL!

21 – The REAL Multiverse

22 – The Radical Dodecahedron

23 – John Workman Lettering – DOOM

24 – The Hulk can pretty much smash whatever he wants.

25 – Giant Man has a fan club... and they have matching jackets.

26 – All things HYDRA, but especially the Satan Claw.

27 – In The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos turns Nova into a bunch of building blocks which he then proceeds to step on.

28 – The Vision and the Scarlett Witch

29 – Blackbolt’s real name is Blackagar Boltagon.

30 – Dum Dum’s Bowler Hat

31 – Big ol’ Wyatt Wingfoot frightens jocks more than a guy who can catch on fire (FF#51).

32 – The original Masters of Evil featured a Nazi, a radioactive Chinaman, a guy that pretty much just got really hot, and two Asgardians.

33 – Amazing Spider-man # 33

34 – Rob Liefield still gets work no matter what…

35 – Elysius Klaw can make a big pink elephant out of sound and nobody thinks that's strange.

36 – Mister Miracle breaks into his own house just for laughs.

37 – A dude called the Melter can be both sadass and badass at the same time.

38 – 80s John Byrne

39 – Flash Facts

40 – Elliott S! Maggin

41 – The X-Stinction Agenda

42 – “The lights just went out – what’s going on?”

“Everyone – stay calm… My name’s Matt Murdock. We're in the middle of a blackout, but everything’s going to be all right, okay? I’m going to get us out of this.”

“Murdock? You’re that lawyer, guy. Hey, ain’t you blind?”

“Yes… yes, I am. Now everyone follow me.”

43 – The Green Lantern Oath

44 – Night Thrasher ain’t afraid to use an uzi.

45 – Wonder Man’s acting career, or lack thereof, maybe…?

46 – 70s Marvel comics – I mean, think about it… somebody’s mom actually bought them a copy of a comic called The Son of Satan in the 70s.

47 – Zuvembies

48 – Hank McCoy, the Beast

49 – Dr. Sivana is the kind of guy who knows where to find “a million tons of dynamite” at the drop of a hat.

50 – Don Rickles!

THE MOST DISTURBING THING I'VE SEEN ALL DAY...

2007-06-27T13:10:00.001-05:00

Here.

DOES THIS MEAN THAT DAN STUCKEY WILL STOP READING MY BLOG

2007-06-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

What's your blog rated? Find out here.

Thanks, Heidi MacDonald.

THING SAYS RAISE THE ROOF, YA'LL

2007-06-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

More pitches are coming, I promise.

What's the hold up?

Well, I just got something kind of like a promotion at work, which is great, don't get me wrong. It's just been eating my comcis time alive.

Pitches yet to be posted are... (in no particular order)

New Guardians of the Galaxy

Namor Rex

Wonder Man TV

Mr. Marvel

The Masters of Evil

Warriors Reborn

Fantastic Four - T-Minus Four and Counting...

Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Call Me... Hawkeye

IRON MAN CAST

2007-06-25T11:45:00.000-05:00

L - R: Rhodey, Pepper, Tony, and the Dude

MARVEL PITCH DAY TWO (THIS ONE'S KINDA CRAZY)

2007-06-23T06:57:00.000-05:00

"If Heaven ain't a lot like Harelm, he don't wanna go."

The day Luke Cage died was one of the darkest in Marvel history... and he wouldn't have it any other way.

But dig this - just days after he bites it, some Hydra agents possessing the Amulet of Damballah (of Tales of the Zombie fame) jack my man Luke's body in hopes of using it to resurrect Baron von Strucker.

What's all that got to do with Cage's corpse? Well, the way they tell it, nothin' living can get into Hell and ain't nothing strong enough to make the trip without being torn apart in the process... 'cept, maybe, some kinda undead zuvembie with diamond hard skin.

Uh- huh, that's right - now you catchin' on.

And to make matters worse, ol' Strucker's got plans of his own. He's made a lot of friends in the pit, and if he's coming back, he don't plan on doing it alone - he's gonna blow the gates of Hell off there hinges, and bring back a mess of undead with him (and ain't ya'll had enough Marvel zombies?).

Soon, Luke's after-life's startin' to look a lot like his before-life, when he's paid a visit by the most unexpected client of all time - G - O - D. Big G asks Luke to do the unthinkable, and travel to the dark domain of hell and stop Hydra's plans. In return, God offers some pretty heavy compensation for the gig... in fact, if Cage can pull this one off, it'll be the biggest payday of his life - literally.

So fasten your chain-link seat belt, true believers, and get ready for the strangest adventure of
Harlem's #1 son - with guest-stars galore.

Mephisto!

Dr. Strange!

Hitler!

The Legion of the Unliving!

Balder, the Brave!

Ho Chi Minh!

The Watcher!

Thanos!

Death!

... and MANY more!

ANOTHER FUTURE HOUSE AD FROM THE NEW DC

2007-06-23T06:53:00.001-05:00

Don't worry. I've got another Marvel pitch worked up for tonight, but this morning, I was just playing around in Illustrator and I felt like I need to share.

MARVEL PITCH WEEK STARTS EARLY

2007-06-22T11:26:00.000-05:00

Like most wouldbe creators, I'd absolutely love to take a crack at writing something for Marvel, and I just know the days coming when ol' Joey Q's going to bust-up into my living room, all Kool-Aid man style, and beg me to helm one of his books...

So, with that in mind, I'm going to throw out 10 ideas over the next 10 days that I'd love to drop on the man (and I don't wanna see 'em anywhere else, ya leeches).

Today's pitch...

THE TASKMASTER

"He's the most dangerous man on The Initiative's payroll... and he's coming to a town near you."

Post Civil War, SHIELD in conjunction with the US government's Department of Defense have placed a superteam in every state as part of the 50 State Initiative. As a safeguard, and before the President will sign any team into action, they'll have to pass a grueling final exam administered by none other than the Taskmaster.

Now, with a government pardon under his belt, the Taskmaster travels from state-to-state, springing unexpected assaults on the resident do-gooders, making more money than he ever imagined possible just by doing what he does best - putting the beatdown on superheroes.

But, when a secret cabal of senaters deem several states' teams expendible, they set up the Taskmaster to take the fall for the "unplanned" deaths and turn him into the most wanted man in the Marvel U...

Oh, those poor stupid bastards.

"THEY HAVE THINGS THERE CALLED GANGS..."

2007-06-21T17:48:00.000-05:00

From Captain Marvel Vol. 1 # 2.

MONDAY MORNING AT THE ZOO

2007-06-20T20:40:00.000-05:00

No con report this year, but if you must have one, Phil's, Chris', and Jason's are all better than anything I would've written anyway, so head on over there.

After spending the weekend at Heroescon, I think my wife, Madelyn, had gotten her fill of smelly animals, so as a change of pace, she asked me to take her to the zoo. She's been telling me for a while that the best time to go to the zoo is early in the morning, right when the place opens up. That's when all the animals are up eating breakfast, and just kind of generally hanging out.

So that's what we did, we went to the zoo.

Now, I'll be honest, I've never really been one for animals in captivity, but having said that, my experience at the gorilla habitat was nothing short of spectacular.

The past couple times I've been to Riverbanks, they weren't really out and about, but this time... oh, my god.

Riverbanks has 3 males who live in a bachelor troop (no jokes, please). Chaka (like the ape boy from Land of the Lost) is the oldest at 23 years old. After him, there's Mike and Kimya, who Chaka apparently beats the living shit out of from time to time when he gets tired of them teasing him.

I couldn't help it, I stayed in the habitat for way too long, but it was mostly just me and Madelyn and I was just astounded... they're such amazing creatures, these guys.

Here's Chaka.

... and here's some pics of Mike and Kimya.

More comics stuff to come this week, including Genis Vel's tribute to his late father.

"EH, I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT, STRETCH-O."

2007-06-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

The Skrull rumor pool starts... NOW!

Spoilers ahead, kinda.

Earth is really a Skrull test colony started millions of years ago.
Earth's most influential heroes were replaced some years ago by Skrulls and are the REAL culprits behind Spider-man: The Other, The Illuminati (more on this later), sending the Hulk to Sakaar, Civil War, and pretty much anything written by Zeb Wells.
"Elektra" has always been a Skrull, just one that REALLY, REALLY liked ninja stuff.
Luke and Jess' kid is feeding off Skrull milk (otherwise, why the breast milk comment by Wong at the beginning of New Avengers # 31?) - hey, they've used that one before, so why not again.

So, dear reader... what do you think?

HYPE NIGHT PART 1

2007-06-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

WHAT A WEEK... AND WHAT A WEEK COMING

2007-06-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

Danger Ace. Second place. Nuff' said.

Actually, just a little more...

If you've been following the Small Press Idol contest, you know that we held the # 1 spot until yesterday. By my tally, the first place winner should be Talon. I chatted with Scott, the writer/artist on Talon, last night in Dimestore's chatroom and he seems like a good guy, and well deserving of the # 1 spot - congrats SWAT!

Official count won't be posted until after 12PM according to the moderators, but I'm anxious to see what the final breakdown looks like.

After that, we'll have to make it through the veto stage. This's kind of an after the round discussion between the three main judges where they can move projects in or out of the top six.

If we stay in, then we'll have to complete Danger Ace # 0 and have it ready for publication by July 5th, so the next few weeks should keep me very busy.

And as I'm sure most of you are aware, this is also the week before Heroescon in Charlotte, which means that all of us appearing at the Flashback booth are working our fingers bare putting together stuff to pass out and pimp.

Sims is doing t-shirts and an ISB Solomon Stone special.

I'll be working us some Danger Ace flyers, selling what's left of the first printing of Doctor Impossible #1, as well as giving out mini-comic remixes of the Doc stories that were featured in 803 #s 1 & 3.

More on that stuff this week.

RICHARD DEAN AWESOMESON

2007-06-05T08:29:00.000-05:00

Okay, can somebody explain why I’ve had the theme from MacGyver running through my head all morning?

Weird? I think so.

---

This morning's tally puts Danger Ace in 8th place (need to be in at least 6th), which means that yesterday was an enormous one for Danger Ace over at Small Press Idol. If I knew more about American Idol I’d probably try to make a comparison, but fortunately/unfortunately (circle one) I don’t.

Voting continues all the way to June 10th, which is Sunday, so if you haven’t voted yet, you have plenty of time... but why wait?

Here’s the link: http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,137/topic,2988.20/

Quick shout out to Jason Wright and Phil Looney who've both posted links to the contest in several forums they frequent, and I can’t tell you both just how grateful I am, but I promise, it’s a lot.

---

Just checked the Diamond site to see what I was getting this week and noticed Essential Silver Surfer Vol. 2 was shipping this week.

We can all figure out why Marvel’s putting this one out, I know. But unless my math’s wrong or I’m forgetting something, with the exception of maybe X-Factor and the last volume of X-men, ESSV2 will contain the most recent material of any Essential so far.

I don’t necessarily mind that we’re now reprinting large chunks of late 80s Surfer stuff. In fact, I really enjoy the Engelhart run, particularly #s 10 & 14. I guess it’s just kind of weird to think that book came out nearly 20 years ago, and now it's getting an Essential. I can remember when it first hit the rack at Davis' Drugstore. Wow... I really sounded like an old man just then, didn't I?

---

Works been kind of nuts this week, but I'm going to try and get back to posting some real content in the next couple of days.

Heroescon Charlotte happens in less than 2 weeks, and that's got me pretty excited. I'll be doing whatever guys do at cons at the Flashback Universe booth. I've mentioned that I'll be taking free comics and things, so I'll try to post some of the reworked pages just as soon as I'm done with 'em, hopefully this weekend.

PISSED

2007-06-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

Our 3 page contest entry for Danger Ace is up over at Small Press Idol.

Read it here.

Not real happy with this whole thing right now (the contest, not the work).

Voting should be open this afternoon... maybe.

Whatever.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

2007-06-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

Three things to mention.

1 - I saw Knocked Up today, and loved it. I thought more people would be excited about it, especially since it's the follow up to 40 Year Old Virgin, but not so much... haven't really heard anyone else looking forward to it. Maybe it's a married guy thing, I don't know, either way... go see it. You'll laugh. You'll cry. And Katherine Heigel's sick hot.

2 - Thanks to my buddy Scott, I've been able to watch a lot of Transformers cartoons. Not surprisingly, they aren't very good, but there's a few of them that I really remembered liking as a kid that hold up pretty well... as we get closer to the explosion-fest that will be the July 4th 2007 weekend, I might even rundown my top 10 favorite episodes. But I might not, who knows?

3 - If you're not one of the 6 people who regularly visit this blog, and/or my wife, then you might not be aware that I'm currently in a little comics themed contest called Small Press Idol. Round Three voting is going on now, and I'll be posting some voting information tomorrow for those of you who're interested.

Not to toot my own horn, but I was really happy with the way the first three pages turned out, and maybe you will be too.

More tomorrow.

2007-05-31T18:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah... that's a giant zombie gorilla.

I AM RETURNED

2007-05-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

It's been a long couple of weeks at work, at home, at blah blah blah... but things are kind of slowing down a bit, which is good. And since I had a few minutes, I thought I'd just post a little something so my six readers know I'm still alive and kicking (and working)

If you don't know, I'll be at Heroescon in Charlotte June 15th - 17th with Flashback Universe (even though I've yet to officially write anything for them), talking up Jim's awesome CBR formatted web-comics as well as my own silly stuff.

Here's a link - we're down about midway down, under Flashback Universe.

I hope to be giving away free mini-comics featuring the rescripted DOCTOR IMPOSSIBLE vs. FRANKENSTEIN's MONSTER 6-pager I did for 803 # 1, and maybe (if I have enough time) a rescripted version of Hero House from 803 # 3.

That's right... I'm going to milk both of those stories for all they're worth, but here's the thing - if you pick up a copy of Doctor Impossible # 1 (only a $2.00) at the show, and take one of the minis, you'll walk away with every Doc appearance to date, which is pretty cool, right?

I'll be displaying at least the first 3 pages of Danger Ace, so for those of you who voted and want to see what you helped create... stop by and take a look.

Also, my man Ricardo Cabrera and I plan to kick off our new webcomic this weekend, and here's an exclusive sneek peek at the thumbnails for all you Bad Simian readers out there.

It's called ARMSTRONG'S.

...AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE DC COMICS ANY MORE!

2007-05-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, my god! I kid you not - BATMAN #665 doesn't just have the best Batman line/moment of the last ten years. IT HAS TWO OF 'EM!

I'm not exaggerating and I refuse to spoil it, but if you've got the clams, put 'em on the counter and take this one home... and remember, this is coming from a guy that doesn't even like DC comics any more.

ADDITIONAL READING:

Phil at Poptown's started a little grass roots campaigning for ComicFoundry.com, who're trying to get their new magazine off the ground. Throw 'em some support, yo...

Zack inteviews the Dude over at Newsarama about the upcoming Nexus relaunch, which I'm pretty excited about. Also, Zack, count how many times Rude says the interviewers name, Zack...

ImageComics.com got a facelift - check out the new site and the free online comics...

LOSE THAT TOUPEE, BABY... CAUSE BALD JUST GOT COOL AGAIN!

2007-05-15T13:51:00.000-05:00

Nuff Said!

12, YO!

2007-05-15T10:07:00.000-05:00

Round Two ended yesterday, and we finished in twelfth place, which means Jerry and I are headed into Round Three.

Thank you to the following:

Phil Looney
Chris Sims
Tug Baker
Jim Shelley
Jason Wright
Scott Simmons
David Hamby
Meredith Hamby
Caleb Hamby
Nicholas Hamby
My mom and dad
Madelyn's mom and dad
Matt Gossett
Robert Brown
Matt Penn
Seth King
Tracy Hollingsworth
Jeff Kahrs
Brian Habing
Steven Prouse
Bruce Brown (new scribe of Image Comics' BRIT)
Ricardo Cabrera
Pedro Hermosilla
Dawn, Bethany, and Mellissa from work
Shawn Bridgers
The McCues

A special thanks to Jerry Hinds for being the coolest artist no Earth, and to his family and friends for dropping an army of little yes votes on camp Danger Ace.

Finally, I thank my lovely and talented wife, Madelyn, for being so patient and supportive these past few weeks (not to mention the last six years).

She took care of all the usual stuff - the house, the bills, the dog, EVERYTHING! - while juggling the three busiest weeks of the year at her fulltime, all while I sat in my dumb little office sending emails, making phone calls, thinking about fake people, writing and reworking scripts, etc... it's obvious to anybody that an idiot like me doesn't deserve her, but she's my everything, and I'm glad she keeps me around. Thanks, M!

THE FINALE

2007-05-13T18:26:00.000-05:00

This season... on Danger Ace.

We saw Chad Bowers and Jerry Hinds introduce their comics project, the Danger Ace, into Dimestore Productions Small Press Idol competition.

Round One went smoothly, awarding the duo quick and easy entry into Round Two.

But as the Round Two deadline approached, Danger Ace was nowhere to be seen, leading some to wonder if Chad and Jerry were going to make it in time. With one day to go, Danger Ace's five phenomonal character studies were posted and in no time, voting had begun.

After a slow start, Danger Ace began to climb in the rankings, eventually coming in at #12 (out of 60) the morning of the final voting day.

Now, with the other contestants fighting for every vote they can get, will Team Danger Ace maintain their momentum and be able to stay in the top 30 and make it into Round Three?

If you'd like to vote "YES" for the Danger Ace, follow the link below and you'll be taken to the forum at Small Press Idol.

http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,137/topic,2854.80/

You'll have to register, but it's free and easy. Once you're registered, reply to the last post in the Danger Ace forum thread and simply type "Y - E - S".

The results will be revealed tomorrow!

(Thanks to everyone who's voted this week... we couldn't ask for better friends, family, and fans.)

WAIT A MINUTE? WHAT ZONE?

2007-05-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go

Highway to the Danger Zone

Ride into the Danger Zone

Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the track
And shovin' into overdrive

Highway to the Danger Zone

I'll take youRight into the Danger Zone

You'll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You'll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go

Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity

Highway to the Danger Zone

Gonna take youRight into the Danger Zone

Highway to the Danger Zone!

Danger Ace continues to climb the SPI charts, jumping today from 31 to 18, thus breaking us into the top 30... again, a very sincere thank you goes out to each and everyone who's voted thus far, and please, continue to tell folks about us.

Voting continues all the way 'til Sunday, and we still need every vote we can get.

Again, here's the link:

http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,137/topic,2854.60/

Only registerd voters allowed... but it doesn't take much, so register, yo!

Also, a specail thank you goes out to the internet's Chris Sims for giving us such a stunning endorsement over at his cleverly disquised attempt at taking over the world, The Invincible Super Blog.

Oh, and just so you know... voting YES for Danger Ace means you can be my wingman anytime.

FROM 46 TO 31...WITH 5 DAYS TO GO

2007-05-09T08:51:00.000-05:00

HOLY CATS!
Yesterday, Danger Ace placed 46 out of 60 entries. This morning... we're at 31!

You're making it happen, guys, and words can't do justice to how much we appreciate your support... but a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to everyone who's voted thus far.

Again, the deal still stands - if you throw us a bone with a "Yes", let me know and you'll be entered in a drawing, the winner of which will have a character named after them in Danger Ace #1.

But there's still 5 days and we need to keep climbing, .

So if you know anyone that likes stories - specifically those were badass black dudes pretend to be dead white dudes, and fight zombie King Kongs, giant Nazi ant-men, and Ernest Hemingway... let 'em know about Danger Ace, cause chances are, it was made for them!

Here's the link again: http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,137/topic,2854.0/

Oops. Almost forgot to mention Phil Looney. Phil's the original indie-comics creator of Columbia, and he helped out tremendously by giving Danger Ace (and your's truly) a GIANT shout out on his blog yesterday, and I just wanted to say thanks.

Thank you, Phillip!

DANGER ACE IN 46th PLACE

2007-05-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

Danger Ace is in 46Th place, and considering we weren't even on the board yesterday, that's pretty cool.

But we still need a lot of votes, and I mean a lot of 'em. To make it into Round Three, we've got to be in the top 30, and we're 16 spots away with six days to go.

A giant THANK YOU to everybody who's voted so far.

If you haven't, here's the link again: http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,137/topic,2854.0/

Remember, you must be registered member to vote, and all it takes is simpling going into the Danger Ace Round Two forum and typing the letters Y - E - S! Once you're registered, it's the easiest thing you'll do all day - promise!

Now, as for registering... I know some of you are having trouble getting registered, and I apologize for that. It seems like Dimestore's got quite a few bugs in there system... and they lock the forums every morning to count votes, so it's looking like the afternoon and evening (east coast time) is the best time for voting.

Again, thanks for all the "Yes"s so far, but we ain't out of the woods yet... so here's the deal.

If you give us a "Yes" vote, let me know, and you'll be entered into a drawing to have a character in Danger Ace #1 named after you!

Remember: Your "YES" vote + Danger Ace = A CAVEMAN IN A LAB COAT!

(And that's all I'm saying.)

Thanks again, guys.

WE'RE A LITTLE LATE... BUT IT'S ROUND TWO TIME

2007-05-07T08:31:00.000-05:00

SHAMELESS PROMOTION AND PLEA FOR HELP

All right, I need help.

Jerry and I jumped into Round Two for Danger Ace this weekend, and with less than a week left, we need all the votes we can get.

So, if you can, go here, and register with Dimestore to vote "YES" for Danger Ace.

Yeah, it IS a total pain to register, and I'm not terribly excited about asking you guys for votes, but I guess it takes what it takes, right?

In advance, I want to thank you guys for throwing support our way.

And obviously don't just have to vote for me... or for me at all if you don't like the idea. But there're a lot of great concepts over there that need your support just as much, so take a look before you leave, and maybe you'll see something you like.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Haven't read everything I picked up, but here's what I got to and what I thought.

Spider-man: Fast Lane - Cool story, kudos to Slott and Jimenez for making it as fun as it was. I really REALLY hope Slott's the guy that follows JMS, and that he brings Jackpot and the Bookie along with him!

Umbrella Academy - Ha! This thing was a hoot. If I'm being honest, Gabriel Bá was the main reason I picked this one up. I don't know much about Gerard Way or My Chemical Romance, but I thought he did great with this one, and wouldn't mind seeing more of Spaceboy, the Rumor, and the rest of the gang... and after a quick search, it looks like there might be a mini-series slated for September '07.

Comics Festival - Very Canadian, very cool.

Transformers Prequel Thing - Eh, it was what it was... might've liked it more if the characters had faces and bodies I could differentiate. I hear the actual movies going to have a lot of explosions, and a giant robot or two... but mostly explosions.

Astounding Wolf-Man - No bad, thought it was pretty much middle of the road Kirkman. I'll probably jump on the on-going and see where it goes as it does have a wolf-man in it. We do get a brief glimpse of Bruce "Kimo" Brown's and Cliff Rathburn's BRIT on-going, which I'm looking forward to. Bruce's a friend, and he's been working his ass off since I've know him, so it's awesome to see if paying off. Good luck, Trip!

After that, I started reading Criminal, which I jumped on this weekend, but I'm still really looking forward to Eddie Campbell's Black Diamond Detective Agency story, D&Q's Activity Book, and Choose Your Weapon.

ADDITIONAL READING:

Spider-man 3 blew it up...

What Mr. Matt Fraction has to say about 52...

6 page preview for Mike Carey's Faker, and Pete Milligan's The Programme at Newsarama...

And the Stardust one sheet...

"WHAT DAY IS IT?"

2007-05-05T06:52:00.000-05:00

I love Free Comic Book Day.

When I worked at the store, I kind of hated it, and I wonder if that's not the case for most retailers. But as a fan... man, in true Old Milwaukee fashion, I doesn't get any better than this!

Here's what I plan on picking up:

Umbrella Academy Zero Killer Pantheon City 2007

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse 2007

Transformers the Movie Prequel # 1 2007

Astounding Wolf-Man # 1 2007

Amazing Spider-Man Swing Shift 2007

Tokyopop Choose Your Weapon 2007

Ape Entertainment’s Comic Spectacular 2007

The Unseen Peanuts 2007

Comics Festival 2007

Marvel Adventures Three-In-One 2007

Nexus Special 2007

Owly & Korgi 2007

Comics 101: How to & History Lessons from the Pros 2007

Viper Comics Presents: Josh Howard’s Sasquatch 2007

If I missed anything good, let me know, a'ight?

"WHAT'S WORSE THAN A FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE CROWD?"

2007-05-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Friday morning movie crowd.

Went to the midnight premiere of Spider-man 3 last night, and thought it was okay, but nothing to really write home about.

THE GOOD:

Hayden-Church as the Sandman.

Dunst's acting... she actually looked like she wanted to be in this one.

BDH as Gwen... tell me you didn't fall in love with her in every scene she was in. Shuttup, cause you're a liar!

JKS as JJJ. Am I the only person who wants a J. Jonah Jameson feature film penned by David Mamet? "And the Oscar goes to..." S'all I'm saying.

The "ring" scene at the restaurant.

Peter's black suit... not the Spidey one, but the "going out" one.

Osborn's man servant. (Hey, he made me laugh)

THE BAD:

X-TREME HARRY!!! Skyboard? Yeah! Robo-retractible goggles? Yeah! Forearm blades? Yeah! Basketball? Yeah! Omelete? Yeah! Scar? HELL, YEAH!

The symbiote's arrival.

Showing Eddie Brock's face over and over... do Venom or don't do him, I don't care, but at least commit, y'know?

Giant-sized Sandman # 1.

The final battle, and the news report leading up to it. "This could be the end... of Spider-man."

In Venom's message to Spidey, "Spider-man" is written in the 90s Spider-man logo font.

Visual effects looked a little rushed.

I give it 3 gorillas.

NOT THAT ANYONE CARES WHAT I THINK, BUT...

2007-04-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I might (BIG might) be doing a monthly column for Silver Bullet Comics called This Is Embarrassing.

If everything goes as planned, it'll work like a "Dear Abby" style advice column with me responding to light-hearted and humorous lifestyle and relationship questions sent in by actual comics guys and girls, with me creating the occasional set-up "question" so I can work in a rant or two.

I've been working on getting them something for a few weeks now, but with all of the other stuff - Doc Impossible, Danger Ace for Small Press Idol, Comic Book Challenge, etc... - I needed a way for this thing to generate content on its own instead of coming up with something new every week, so this's what I came up with.

We'll see, I guess.

WHAAAAT?

2007-04-20T22:06:00.000-05:00

So Doctor Impossible's been offered a spot in July's Previews catalog, with Chris and me following that up in December with a brand new # 1 and a quarterly Doctor Impossible ongoing.

Because of the weird timing and everything, we need to go back to print on what was previously Doctor Impossible #1, but we're retitling it Doctor Impossible Special #1. This new one will feature some preliminary artwork by both me and Chris, script pages, a few pin-ups by 2 or 3 comics pros, and (hopefully) a pull quote by the man himself, Rascally Roy Thomas.

Here's what I've worked up for the new (2nd printing) cover... did it tonight, so I don't really feel like thinking about it too much - I'll probably hate it in the morning.

Doctor Impossible Special # 1

"YEAH, BUT WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DON'T READ NEWSARAMA?"

2007-04-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Additional reading:

52 editor Mike Siglain gives fans a walk through of week 50 and WWIII.

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to read after the fact interviews to get the whole story and find out exactly how things work?

IT'S LIKE THEY DON'T EVEN WORK IN THE SAME BUILDING!

2007-04-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

My friend Jason sent me this email today.

"Just read Aquaman #51… and I have to confess I’m confused.

Aquaman must have gotten seriously gypped on his attempt to raise Sub Diego since in [this week's issue of] the ongoing series, it’s still submerged, with no mention it was ever raised. But hey, at least the people living there are still all alright, and breathing the water as fine as can be."

It's not the I don't believe Jason, because I do... but can you? I mean, in the same week that DC "issues" their cureall fix, WWIII, they publish a comic where Sub Diego is not only still under water, but it's being under water plays a part in the plot?

But y'know, maybe I'm being to hard on 'em. Who knows, maybe next week, in 52 week 51, they'll reveal how Sub Diego sank for a second time, just one week after it was raised.

Be sure to come back tomorrow, when I launch the Bad Simian's first official meme, and ask:

What Should DC's New Slogan Be?

Spread it around, invite your friends... this should be pretty good.

>AHEM<

2007-04-18T18:41:00.000-05:00

I present to you this week's DC NATION column by Dan Didio... with my own impressions of what he wrote in red.

"A confession of sorts. (Uh-oh.)

Back when we originally planned the story for our year long weekly saga 52, our goal was to explain the multiple changes in character and story that occurred throughout our line with the One Year Later jumps. (Goal of 52: Explain multiple changes in character and story that occurred with line wide One Year Later jumps. Okay, got it. Continue.)

And to tell those stories we would use characters like John Henry Irons, Renee Montoya, Ralph Dibny, Booster Gold, Black Adam and Adam Strange to be our guides through the DCU. But a funny thing happened on the way to One Year Later: (Uh-oh.) The four talented writers of 52 took hold of our guide characters and began to realize the untold potential in all of them. As their stories grew, it became clear by the second issue (...by the second issue? Way to stick to that goal, Dan.) of 52 that the series would be about them and their trials and tribulations. But, as I'm sure you're wondering, what about OYL? (Not really... but I guess that's the problem right there. I mean, I was supposed to be the one "wondering" about OYL this whole time, and here I was thinking you had it under control... y'know, since you're the Executive Editor and all. My bad, DD.)

As with any creative process, even with the best of planning (c'mon... he couldn't have possibly typed that with a straight face, could he?), things change and evolve as a story takes on a life of its own. When we all recognized that the series had taken a new and exciting turn (Issue two, remember? It was out of their hands by that point.), a summit meeting was held to discuss the new direction of our lead characters and, more important, how we would address the One Year Laters in the story as originally promised. (I'm listening.)

In reviewing all the OYL changes, we realized that most could be tied to one massive event. One thing that could affect all our heroes on a global level. (Hmmm... something like an INFINITE CRISIS, maybe? BTW, this is kind of where I lose it.) And that's where World War Three was born. You'll have to forgive my memory—I'm always at a loss for the old "who said what" —but I remember Greg Rucka discussing the implications of a World War fought by super-heroes.

(Greg Rucka, huh? I know you mentioned not really being any good at remembering "who said what", but are you sure that wasn't Grant Morrison?

Why do I ask?

Oh, no reason in particular.)

And while everyone debated how it would be fought (Surely someone suggested "with fists", I hope.), they all agreed on one thing: the war would definitely be fast (?). One week fast (Really? Because what I just read happened in more like one day, with a few standard superhero fights taking place a few days before.). One week, one issue—that's the way it works with 52 (Okay, "One week, one issue" - got it!). Unfortunately in this case, 22 pages is just not enough time to cover the full implications of a World War and all the changes forced on our heroes by this event. (Uh... wait, w-what? I mean, "one week, one issue", uh, remember? "That's the way it works with 52", right?)

That's why this week, in conjunction with 52 #50, we have four one-shots ("one week, one issue") designed to cover the deep-reaching changes the war caused. In these books, you can see the effects of the war on the Teen Titans, Firestorm, Supergirl, Batgirl, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and so many others. (And much like 52 , which was designed to cover the deep-reaching changes the Crisis caused, they each fail miserably.)

So let's go back to the old expression, "Change is good"(Screw you!)— and in this case, it's better than we could ever have imagined. Not only did we get an amazing series in 52 (Uh, still two issues left, you goon - don't count your chickens before they're done screwing over your hapless fans, Dan-O!) where we elevated some supporting characters to A-list status ("A-list status?"I mean, in as much as you're the Executive Editor and can therefore kind of decide who's going to be featured in books and who's not, yeah...), but we also created a massive, world-changing event that will have long-term implications. (Wait... do you mean Infinite Crisis, 52, or World War III?)

All in all, not a bad day's work." (Eh, depends on who you ask.)

I quite reading DC comics today.

I know, I know... there're only two issues of 52 left, but that's not quite true, is it? 52 spills right into Countdown, another mini-series that's sure to be just as unmanagable and dishonest as 52, One Year Later, and Infinite Crisis.

Go on, laugh, but I'm really hurt by it all.

I'm disappointed in DC comics. Not to be dramatic, but I kind of feel like I just found out that favorite uncle was a convicted criminal. Sure, you always thought there was something kind of weird about him, and weren't quite sure you could completely trust him, but he let you smoke, and damn if he didn't tell some pretty kickass war stories.

I've been pretty suspicious of DC for a few years now. Since Superman: Birthright, I guess. But loyalty, and a childhood fascination with comics' oldest and boldest characters kept me involved, even after the non-sensical trainwreck that was Infinite Crisis.

But now, I'm just tired of being lied to by DC.

The cover blurb of this week's 52 # 50 read, "WORLD WAR III Begins Here!" Begins AND ends, they mean. I've read comics long enough to know when I'm being had, and figured out what was going on months ago, but I feel bad for the "control group" comics readers, who, unless they were smart enough to read the issue in store or rip it off the internet, could have never guessed that WWIII simply exists to do what 4 writers, an army of artists, more than 1100 pages and $125 dollars worth of comics couldn't in a year's time.

For months now, we've watched DC talk about 52 building to this sad little four part mini-seires, embarrassingly titled World War III, and by god, if it didn't just completely blow up in all of our faces.

I'll freely admit, I'm not innocent. I bought it. I fell for it. Face first.

But you know what, Dan... you might've won a war, but you lost a reader.

DC HOUSE ADS OF TOMORROW

2007-04-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

THE CONTINUITY MYTH

2007-04-15T13:27:00.000-05:00

Over on his Poptown blog, my pal Phil talks about the relevance of superhero comics in relation to adult fans' obsession with continuity.

REALLY good post, and if you continue here without checking it out, I'm going to sound like a nut on a rant, so I'll wait...

...

See - good post.

Still, I disagree with him that superheroes are for kids, and that adults shouldn't concern themselves with continuity, and that in and of itself has started me thinking about continuity in general.

Does continuity really keep new readers out? If so, why? I mean, continuity is going to always exist, not just in comics, but in everything.

Why is it such a big deal among the comics community? Is it because comics fans are just so damn vocal about that those who aren't get tired of listening to it?

Okay... first, let's address something I call The Continuity Myth.

Make no mistake, no matter what Marvel and DC say, they want fans to pay attention to continuity.

DC's biggest (but not best) stories of the last three years have been about guaranteeing that we watch their continuity, and Marvel won't let anything "major" happen without it spinning into 50 titles, or at least get mentioned in the other books.

And it's understandable... they're both big companies that have a overhead and a bottom line just like everyone else - they've got to sell books. The problem is, they're not really being honest with us, and have perfecting turning issues about continuity around on the fans, making anyone that catches (or watches for) mistakes into a booger eater, thus sending them away in shame because MARK MILLAR WROTE IT AND STEVE MCNIVEN DREW IT - WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

My biggest continuity complaint lately has been about Superman and how his history/origin works post Infinite Crisis and One Year Later. I think it's pretty clear that DC doesn't have a good, solid idea of what's what, and the seams are really starting to show. Multiple Phantom Zones, multiple Zods, inconsistent characterizations, flip-flopping creators, etc... are all good examples of it.

But I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to Superman, no doubt, and I tend to be a little overly critical of this sort of thing... so imagine if the NBA decided to start omitting the Lakers worst games because it "made them better", or, let's take it a step farther and imagine that there were multiple teams calling themselves the Lakers, but nobody that played 'em ever mentioned it, or even seemed to notice. Basketball fans would flip the FUCK out, and everybody would wonder why on Earth the people most closely involved were pretending like it wasn't happening.

Or, imagine if several main characters on Days of Our Lives, or General Hospital, who's origins were integral to their personalities, kept referring to their individual backstories differently every time, sometimes adding or deleting established "facts" with every recollection. You know your grandma would completely loose it, and trust me, life would never be the same for any of us.

I could play this game forever, but you see where I'm going.

When it comes to entertainment and interests, adults are not strangers to complicated rules and stories when you stop and think about it. To say that adult comics fans don't have time or reason to worry about continuity because they've got a light bill or kids with a piano concert kind of ignores all of the other stuff adult men and women are into beside work and family.

Here's what I think. Comics continuity isn't a problem. However...

...talented, but jaded creators not paying attention to it, or deliberately ignoring it is.

...the big two choosing to sacrifice a loyal fan base in exchange for big name wannabes who don't think they should "waste their talent" on "doing the work" is.

...cluttering the market with multiple, somewhat pointless alternate continuities and characters instead of really digging in and focusing on the ones they've already got is.

Phil and Chris really like the Marvel Adventures line, as do I... but I realize we don't think about those comics in the same way. To me, they're sort of a consolation prize to those of us who aren't really happy with the core Marvel universe right now... a place to see the characters we love, doing things of little consequence that don't pose any real danger of breaking things. The books are praised for being "continuity free" and "new reader friendly".

But Marvel Adventures Avengers #9 featured Modoc (with a "c") and was without a doubt, the most celebrated issue of the series so far, and as much as I enjoyed it, it wouldn't really say it was new reader friendly.

"The Avengers As An Army of Modocs!" - that's one of the biggest in-jokes I've ever seen.

C'mon, I doubt any new readers "got it", but we all know that the Internet crowd ate it up... and with due right - hell, it was a fun comic.

But just because it took place in an easy to define continuity doesn't mean it's not really kind of tangentially playing in the Marvel sandbox - the difference is that this one gets to keep the good stuff and ignore the "bad" stuff without anybody throwing a fit, because the rules are different.

I can't help but think that if Jeff Parker and Co. had done this one in the 616 Marvel U, more people would've read it, those of us who love it, would love it about 1000 times more, and it would've been considered an instant classic the week it hit shelves.

But, hey... it sold out, so what do I know?

UGGGHHHHH... MUST.... POST...

2007-04-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

(ASS # 7)

Bought some comics today, and here they are (in no particular order).

All Star Superman #7

Madman Atomic Comics #1

Spider-man and the Fantastic Four #1 (of 4)

52 #49

New Avengers #29

Punisher War Journal #6

She-Hulk #17 (don't download it, yo!)

Superman # 661 (carry over from last week)

Collections and Trades:

Essential Peter Parker Spider-man Vol. 3 TP

Garage Band TP (really looking forward to this one)

Oh, and a quick blog update... I'll be sticking with Bad Simian, I guess, even though I really like the title "I Heart Comic Books".

Looks like you're safe David, but I'll be keeping an eye on you, bro (smiles).

I'M A POSTING MACHINE

2007-04-10T14:34:00.000-05:00

Wow, three posts in a day!

Guess I'm making up for lost time, but I just followed a link to a Grindhouse discussion thread over at Brian Wood's blog and thought I'd share it.

Check it out.

Am I the only one that remembers Brian Wood as the whiny, heavy-handed, emo comics guy?

I'll be up front about his work, I'm not a fan. I've given him a try several times - read Generation X, Fight for Tomorrow, Couscous Express, DEMO, Local, and tried DMZ and none of it was my thing. Didn't read his Vampirella/Witchblade story though, and I'm sure that's the one that would have probably sold me on him, but oh well...

My opinions of his comics work aside, I think he makes some pretty good points regarding Death Proof and enjoyed the discussion that it's seem to have sparked.

Still, we've all got our filters, and I can't help but wonder how much of what Wood says is said just to pander to his fan base. God, reading that just now, I realize that it sounds a lot harsher than I mean it too(and if you happen to find this and read it, Mr. Wood, don't start no shit, all right?).

I think it's real easy to zero in on Tarantino's misogyny, since it's kind of been at the forefront of his last 3 (4?) films, but let's not forget that his subject of choice is usually crime or revenge, and since most people understand that going in, what do they expect?

Several times in the above linked thread, posters throw Kill Bill to the man-eating/man-hating wolves due to the Bride's abuse (the bullet to the head, raped in a coma, etc...), but fail to mention the context in which that she and the film's other characters live - most of the cast are killers-for-hire... so are we supposed to ignore that since she turns over a new leaf.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning Tarantino's violence towards women, just like I wouldn't feel comfortable 100% condoning his violence against men, African Americans, humans in general, dogs, cars, store windows, etc....

But I do feel like Wood's argument veers slightly too close to his own biases, and it seems like they're kind of choosing to ignore about 50% of the movie(s) they're talking about.

QUICK QUESTION...

2007-04-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

Hey, real quick, I'm thinking of changing my blog again

Here's a test run of what I'm thinking about, but I need your feedback, so help me outm yo!

Should I...

A - Stay "Bad Simian Blog"!

B - Become "I Heart Comic Books"!

C - Don't make a damn to me, TCB!

ANOTHER COMIC BOOK DREAM TEAM

2007-04-10T08:43:00.000-05:00

All right, Joey Q - put yer ears on cause here's my comic dream team for...

THE MIGHTY THOR

Writer: Jeff Parker

Pencils: Chris Sprouse

Inker: Al Gordon

Yeah, I know Marvel's got a Thor relaunch on the way by JMS and Olivier Coipel, but c'mon... I can't be the only one that's a little worried about it.

Oh, sure it's going to look pretty and no doubt it's going to be structured and paced well, but I can't help but wonder, especially having read about some of the changes they're making.

But I feel confident that if Marvel put Parker in the writer's seat and let Sprouse and Gordon handle the art chores, they'd have one FOOM-tastic Thor book on their hands, and isn't that what we're all looking for?

I don't think I really need to go into why Sprouse and Gordon would be a great fit. I've loved Sprouse's stuff since I first noticed him on Batman Annual # 14 back when I was just a wee lad of 11... in fact, he's one of the first artists I remember recognizing. He's worked with Alan Moore on Supreme and Tom Strong, and now with Garth Ennis on the Midnighter, and I can think of some pretty outragous things that he's been asked to draw. Handling Asgard and everything that comes with it should be no problem for the guy.

If you read Agents of Atlas, you know Parker's got a good handle on the Marvel U, both past and present. He doesn't take his work so seriously that he can't have a good time, and that's something I sorely miss about many of the mainstream Marvel books. For instance, I LOVE Brubaker's and Epting's Captain America, but I'll admit, I can't remember the last time I thought it was a fun read.

But don't get me wrong, I don't think Thor should be a laugh-a-minute kind of book. I mean, afterall, he is the guy that had his bones shattered by the Midgard serpent, and plucked his own eyes out... so, there's that to consider. Parker has a knack for bringing in some pretty weighty stuff when you least expect it, and I have a lot of faith in his ability to find the perfect balance on a book like Thor.

Bottomline it: I want Thor to be good, and if I was in charge of the ol' Idea House at 417 5th Avenue, these would be my boys - Parker, Sprouse, and Gordon.

CAN YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN, MARVEL?

AH, NOTHING SAYS MONDAY LIKE A SILVER BULLET REVIEW

2007-04-09T14:56:00.000-05:00

And it's another "great" review at silvebulletcomicbooks.com!

This time, they take some shots at Avengers: The Initiative # 1 in their Sunday Slugfest, and even though I liked the first issue, I will admit, there are a few interesting points made here.

But out of the four reviews done, it's gotta be Thom Young's assessment of the protestor's chant that seals this up as honest to goodness SBCB review.

Thom writes...

"Anti-Initiative protestors outside Initiative Headquarters in Stamford Connecticut have problems getting the proper rhythm to their protest chant:

One, two, three, four.

Not another Civil War.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Take your base out of our state.

Despite some guy who looks like Carrot Top and who is called Slapstick proclaiming, “It’s got a beat and you can dance to it,” the rhythm of this protest chant is a mess. Granted, the first and third lines are two sets of spondees, and the second and fourth lines each have seven syllables.

However, the second line has down beats on the odd-numbered syllables and up beats on the even-numbered syllables while the fourth line is a confusion of heavy and light syllables with no discernable rhythm.

In fact, there is a variety of ways that the fourth line can be scanned."

Ummm... anyway, here's the link!

KNOW WHAT I SAW THIS WEEKEND?

2007-04-09T08:33:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I saw it. In fact, I saw it twice... well, 1/2 of it, at least.

"How's that?" you ask.

On Saturday, me, my wife and a couple of friends went to check out the 'House at our local theatre. So we get through Planet Terror ("Give him the gun... give him ALL the guns!") and just as Death Proof gets started, around the point when Girl Squad 1 sees the first Jungle Julia billboard, a big ol' cop walks in with a flashlight and starts saying something. Problem was, none of us could hear what he was saying over the movie, so he ended up having to shout.

"Everybody needs to get outta the theatre - you need to leave."

Alright. So we all got up in a very orderly fashion and began making our way out into the lobby area. Once there, Buford T. shows up again and says, "Keep moving outta the mall - ya'll need to get outta the mall." Which, of course, we did.

Most of my group had come in through the back entrance to the theatre so that's where we exited. Unfortunately, that was the side that the cops had seemingly forgotten about, because when we got outside, there was a small group of theatre-goers and mall employees just hanging out, smoking cigarettes, y'know... just chillin'.

By this time, we'd all figured out that this wasn't some Tarantino/Rodriguez-inspired movie gimmick, and that in fact, something was indeed up. Most of us had started formulating our own little theories as to what was going on, and bomb threat was #1 on everybody's list, which made us all a little nervous about being near the building.

So we all moved back a good bit and started working our way around to the front entrance where the cops and fire engines were, and to hopefully get some answers. On the way, some very nice theatre employees gave us complimentary passes to get back in when and if they opened the doors again.

Most of us had decided to just head home and come back later, but one of my friends who was visiting from Virginia had accidently left his jacket inside and was unwilling to leave it... it was a pretty cool Manchester United jacket that his sister had brought him back from London, and I wouldn't have left it either.

Anyway, long story short - it was a bomb threat, but ultimately, they never found anything and opened the mall back up later that night. I went back that night to cash in my re-admittance pass, and to see if my buddy's jacket had been picked up, which it hadn't. I went ahead and grabbed it for him, planning to give it to him the next morning before he and his wife left town. But when I went out to grab a snack, I saw him at the desk asking about it and was able to give it to him. He in turn decided to use his free pass too, so we both got to finish the flick.

Now, about the flick... I loved it.

Can't really say mcuh that hasn't been said better elsewhere, but I did enjoy both of 'em. Planet Terror was so over-the-top that I didn't know what to expect one minute to the next. And Death Proof was great fun.

I'm a huge fan of Vanishing Point and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, having watched both with my dad something like 100 times on the ol' Fox Movie Machine when I was a kid, so the '70 Charger was nice to see.

POSTING FOR POSTING'S SAKE

2007-04-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Trying to get back into posting something daily - obviously, I ain't quite there yet.

If any of you saw my Best of '06 post in January, you'll remember I'm running about two years behind on movie watching, maybe farther.

Want to see The Departed, Dream Girls, The Good Shepherd, The Prestige, Volver, Bobby, A Scanner Darkly, Science Of Sleep, etc...

I have Netflix, but I just haven't been using it like I should. Kind of wasteful on my part, I guess.

What got me thinking about movies?

I saw Kung Fu Hustle last night. Really enjoyed it, and started thinking about just how much time I spend watching crap TV instead of cool movies that, in the end, would mean a lot more to me than another episode of DATELINE: To Catch and ID Thief.

Lots of thinking going on... I've mentioned these comics here once or twice - The Family Dynamic and Outnumbered. The artists (the very talented Ricardo Cabrerra and Pedro Hermosilla) are both really busy with other projects, and don't look like they're getting a break anytime soon. I'm really proud of both stories and would hate to see them disappear into idea-limbo... trying to figure out what I need to do with those. Any suggestions?

In addition to Danger Ace, I'm working on two other comics ideas, one web-specific and another for an upcoming comics contest.

TAKE THAT, SPARTANS!

2007-04-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

Big news from the foriegn film market.

Looks like 300 was knocked out of 1st place by Mr. Bean...

...wonder if Atkinson keeps his shirt on?

EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT

2007-03-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Both Phil and Chris have pushed their eBay auctions before, so I figure, "hey, why not mention my CafePress Store?"

Right now, at www.cafepress.com/1stprize , this beautiful 100% cotton Danger Ace logo t-shirt can be yours for only $13.99 (plus shipping).

And if yellow's not your thing (or $13.99's not your price), it also comes in sparkling white for only $8.99.BONUS: For anyone who sends me a photo of themselves (or someone else) wearing one of these shirts, I'll send 'em signed copies of Doctor Impossible # 1, 803 #1 (ol' Doc's first appearance) and 803 # 3 (featuring my story Exit: The Hero House).

If you've been following Small Press Idol, you may have noticed that the site crashed on Sunday from visitor overload. I guess that's good and bad... good, in that it's great exposure for me and Jer', but bad since our stuff can't be seen right now.

Yesterday, Dimestore's head-honcho, Ian Shires (whose name makes it seem like he should be in an 80's Brit-Pop band) sent out an email looking emergency donations to help Dimestore upgrade to a new server. I sent in my $20, but haven't heard a reply yet... which makes me a little nervous, though I guess he's probably got more to do than just talk to me, especially since his site's down and he's receiving multiple donations.

JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER - TOP THAT GEOFF JOHNS

2007-03-26T19:12:00.001-05:00

Y'know, honestly, I know VERY little about Brit-comics as a whole, but I can say this:

Don't be fooled...

...Joe Dredd won't think twice about
throwing your ass in an Iso-cube.

Like many American comics fan, I was raised on a healthy dose of Marvel and DC superheroes, and never paid much attention to the comics being done in other countries until I was well into my teen years. But, as some of you may know, I've been dissatisfied with the state of DC and Marvel for a while, and have recently cut back my weekly comics load significantly.

With a big gap in my personal reading time, I decided to tour the world of comics, and my first stop was the UK... which basically means I've been reading the hell out of some Judge Dredd comics.

More to come tomorrow night.

Additional reading:

Dredd's profile from 2000ADonline.com...

2007-03-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

IDW announced this past weekend at WizardWorld LA that they'd be publishing a deluxe Terry and the Pirates collection in honor of Milton Caniff's 100th anniversary, and while I didn't pick up their Dick Tracy collection, they looked pretty awesome, and since this is going to be in the same format, I'll probably be taking one home.

In researching Danger Ace, I've been reading reprints of Caniff's Steve Canyon strip and those have been fantastic. I've read some of ...Pirates before, but never enough to get a good feel for it, so I'm really looking forward to sitting down with this one.

Not to go into "dear diary" mood, but I've been thinking lately about the number of comics I read each month and the way I read them.

Since last year, I've cut back on monthly comics quite a bit. Post-Infinite Crisis, and now Post-Civil War, I'm just not enjoying them like I probably should be to spend what I do. And it's not because things have changed at Marvel and DC, or that "new" comics don't feel like books I grew up with. I'm not opposed to change as long as it's well done and makes sense.

I think the general Marvel and DC audience has really lowered their standards, and seem to be willing to accept pretty much whatever gets sat in front of them, and I'm just kind of tired of watching it happen month after month... I don't think it's going to get better; I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I thought about spending a few paragraphs laying out exactly what I mean, but if you don't kind of get what I'm saying, I'm not sure I'm articulate enough to clear things up.

So I've cut my in-store pulllist down to roughly 10/15 titles, and I'll be reading a lot more indie comics and buying more stuff in trades, like Fables, Walking Dead, Runaways, Ex Machina, etc... I think the answer for me is to just take a break from the big two for a little while and see what else I'm missing.

Wish me luck!

WE LOVE YOU GRANT MORRISON

2007-03-18T12:41:00.000-05:00

Messing around on YouTube yesterday and found this Disinformation panel that Grant Morrison did a few years back.

There's four more parts that can find over there if you look hard enough, but I'm only posting part one, since I just needed something to post.

Enjoy.

SILVER BULLET COMICS INTERVIEW

2007-03-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

By now, I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about this contest, and I promise to get some semi-relevant content up in the coming week.

But, for the three of you that ARE interested, Jerry and I did an interview with Silver Bullet Comics this week which you can read here!

Weirdness aside, this contest has been good for us, and it's opened some doors I would never have expected it to. Some stuff's brewing on the comics front that I'm not quite ready to talk about, but even if we don't win SPI (and there's a good chance we won't), 2007 could be a very cool year.

Thanks for the support.