The Wednesday Comics Experience Part 4

The Wednesday Comics experience is becoming exhausting. This issue marks the one month anniversary of Wednesday Comics and the one-third completion watermark. This is the first full issue where I've not been excited to pick one up next week. My general strategy/rules for the end of purchasing for an ongoing comic is two strikes in a row and I'm out.

Of course, there are other factors that go into it, but this rule is one of the main reasons I was one of the few that stuck with Final Crisis to the end. One issue would be good, then the next one would be boring. I trusted Morrison enough that he could get things back on track. As it turns out, if the series went on for one more issue I probably would have dropped it. Ultimately though, I'm glad I stuck with it because there were some really good and intense moments on the way. That's about where I'm at with Wednesday Comics right now: Not as exciting as it was, but the highs are still really high. I trust that the six or so stories that keep me buying this thing will bring it back next week, but who knows, they could end up with Darkseid killing Batman. So yeah for right now, here are some comments on the most worthwhile strips.

BATMAN by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso
Batman hurt me the most this week. This is probably the most underrated story of the bunch, and after this week it's hard to argue for it. I would argue though that the first three pages were something of a classic in the making. Each page was like a succinct poem with each one standing on its own and dealing with specific themes and building towards something bigger.

The first page showcased Batman and Commissioner Gordon, saying a lot about their relationship to one another, their feelings towards crime, and their position within the city. Page two had a lot to say about the character of Bruce Wayne, his relationship with his parents, and his romantic relationships with women. Without saying a word, page three showed a darker side of Batman, playing the voyeur and showing his anger. By having this subplot underneath the interaction of Luna and Carlton Glass adds different meanings to the story. It becomes more than just a conversation between two people stretched over a cool, well-drawn action story.

This week's page just doesn't fit with the quality or tone of the first three pages. It departs from the wordless panels and the single page storytelling to show a dinner date between Bruce Wayne and Luna Glass. There's nothing here that we didn't already know from previous pages. In this week's page, each line of dialogue is just a double entendre without much going on other than sexual tension. This could be a turn for the worse for the comic. By focusing only on a detective plot it loses all the character and tone that made the first pages great.

KAMANDI by writer Dave Gibbons and artist Ryan Sook
Definitely the best Kamandi yet. It's quick, to the point, and really intense. It plays up the prior knowledge of the story by reusing the final panel of the last page only this time with Kamandi swinging in. Even though a lot of action happens in this page, each event that isn't glossed over and has it's own weight to it. The serious tone of the narration helps a lot. It focuses on the courage of the heroes and even the fear of Kamandi and Prince Tuftan. It makes them more than just heroic characters and this highlights exactly why their heroism is impressive. Kamandi's motive is not just to save a life, like a normal heroic character, but is rooted in a curiosity to find more out about humanity.

SUPERMAN by writer John Arcudi and artist Lee Bermejo
Like Batman this episode just treads water thematically. The first page set the tone while the next two pages explored different aspects of Superman's multi-faceted personality. Unlike Batman I think that Superman has just his a slow patch and will pick back up next week with business as usual. The prospect of seeing some Kryptonian technology is a really exciting one.

Despite it's disappointing showing this week, Superman is easily one of the better stories in Wednesday Comics. Some have complained that its lack of action has made it boring . I don't get comics fans sometimes. When anyone ever talks about Superman it's about how his powers make him unbeatable and there is no suspense, but when a comic finally changes it up and focuses on his personality people complain about the lack of supervillains. The story even plays off of that perception on page one with Superman fighting some random meaningless villain. People who are hating on this one are most likely missing the point.

STRANGE ADVENTURES by writer/artist Paul Pope
Like most people predicted, Pope has the most consistent quality comic of the bunch. This week's page is a direct parallel to last week's when Adam is stuck in prison, but it's told from the guard's perspective at first instead of Alanna's, and we're just confronted with two panels of her staring straight out at us. By not giving us her perspective while imprisoned Pope actually helps the reader identify more with Adam Strange. We're not privy to her thoughts, so we're forced to ask ourselves about her personality and have an outsiders take on her the same way Strange would. Even though Pope shows her as a hardened warrior, his spotlight on her shows her being seemingly emotionally vulnerable. The greatness of Pope's story is his art and how it adds subtle aspects of personality and emotion to a generally pretty cliched storyline.


HAWKMAN by writer/artist Kyle Baker
Quickly this went from a Hawkman solo comic to Hawkman featuring the Justice League. The addition of Hawkgirl and Batman completely change aspects of Hawkman's personality. Page one of the story established him as a loner. He came off as a general of an army that would rather be feared than respected with a "My way or the highway" kind of attitude. Now, we see him orchestrating a plan, not as a general, but as a leader and peer. Baker takes advantage of the format with small panels which add an increasing comic book feel to the story and he continues to do a good job of pacing, adding in small bits of plot and character while keeping things exciting with action.

The Wednesday Comics Experience Part 2

In reading issue two of Wednesday Comics, the initial excitement has only worn off a little. Usually the honeymoon stage for comics is about one issue and then most comics endure the dreaded sophomore slump. This week's issue carries a lot of momentum with it because it's only ONE WEEK later. The first issue hasn't really had time to settle in. When I went to read this week's issue, I actually remembered the plot of all of the story lines. If this was being released monthly there is no way it would be readable, but since it's still fresh in my brain I'm able to enjoyable juggle sixteen separate stories at once. The price tag is definitely sinking in. When I bought this and Blackest Night (which was good!) and my bill is almost ten dollars...something is wrong.

Sandy over at I Love Rob Liefeld did some number crunching and pointed out that the entire run will cost a grand total of $47.88 . There are too many stories worth reading in here for me to drop it though. Superman, Batman, Strange Adventures, The Flash, and Hawkman are shaping up to be great, while several others are very solid. There are a few clunkers, but really it's only .31 cents a story, and I can't wait for this week's issue.

BATMAN by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso
Another really solid page for Batman. The panel work and pacing are excellent. Especially the the recurring statue panel. The ending is a final, period-like ending the page but also, a sort of a twist and a lead in to next week. Mrs Glass is introduced as a one-dimensional gold digger but the last panel shifts her interests from money to darker desires connected to romance and presumably manipulation.
KAMANDI by writer Dave Gibbons and artist Ryan Sook
For whatever reason, this felt like more of an origin story than the last Kamandi page. The plot of the rest of the story is outlined which is kind of a bad sign. The story almost treads into narrative overload territory. I like the tone that the narration is striking, but too many words per panel makes things way too dense. The page works best when the words are kept to a minimum as in the second panel and the final two panels.

SUPERMAN by writer John Arcudi and artist Lee Bermejo
What happened to the art? Maybe there was a problem with the printing but the page looks washed in green. Batman is portrayed as really over the top especially in the art. I understand that they are trying to contrast the two characters here but drawing Batman like an actual demon/gargoyle is a little jarring especially after reading the Batman story first. The writing I thought was well-done again. Batman, although insensitive, is basically right and outlines what, presumably, Superman will discover through the course of the story. Even though he is right, Batman is only reinforcing Superman's problem that humans are sort of violence-loving loud mouths. Quick, smart complex stuff.
DEADMAN by writers Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck and artist Dave Bullock
The biggest surprise of Wednesday comics is Deadman. I really like the art and the page layout. The dark background gives it a Batman: The Animated Series feel. The simple plot, with the focus on Deadman's character works well. The panel with the giant green lady and the last panel are highlights.

GREEN LANTERN by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Joe Quiñones
Another big disappointment. I like the art but the layout and even the angle of the characters in the panels are boring. When it's done well it's great, like the "Holy--!" panel but others are just standard stuff or at awkward angles. I still have my fingers crossed that this ones picks up.

METAMORPHO by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Michael Allred
Ok, so they really switched it up on me here. A huge one page panel with some time lapse stuff going on in there. Gaiman seemed to dominate the last weeks page with a flopped attempt at throwback camp humor, but this week Allred's more genuine gee-whiz-like mentality shines through.

TEEN TITANS by writer Eddie Berganza and artist Sean Galloway
This one is even more bland than the last one, and the art choice really doesn't help. It doesn't give it any excitement which is pretty important for a superhero, action-based story. I still enjoy the art but it's not well suited here.
STRANGE ADVENTURES by writer/artist Paul Pope
I like Pope working in the circles in this one. The best part of this for me, is just going back and looking at the details in the art like the background blue monkey warriors and the striking facial expressions. Just another Flash Gordon-like adventure story but Pope's art elevates it to the next level.

SUPERGIRL by writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Amanda Conner
If this took anymore than five seconds to read this would be a waste of time. As it is now, it's entertaining filler especially after reading something intense like Adam Strange.

METAL MEN by writer Dan DiDio and artists Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan
Continues in the same style and similar quality as the last page. Jokes are funny and not ironic. The last panel is where the Metal Men are standing is where the art stands out. Leaderboard for favorite so far: 1. Lead 2. Gold 3. Iron 4. Tin 5. Platinum 6. Mercury.

WONDER WOMAN by writer/artist Ben Caldwell
Ok, this one lost me. I was a big fan of the previous page, but if this is going to be Finding Nemo every week count me out. There's too much work reading the thing to have such a thin storyline. It needed to go into a real storyline about young Wonder Woman hanging out on Themyscira or even sneaking off to the real world.

SGT. ROCK and EASY CO. by writer Adam Kubert and artist Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert's art is really intense when it's large. The first two panels are affecting by giving off a feeling of dread that even the panels of Sgt. Rock getting beat up don't give. Special Bonus: Easy Company portrait at the bottom!

FLASH COMICS by writers Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher and artist Karl Kerschl
The dual strip really adds a tension to the comic. Iris is seperate and has her own strip, giving her equal footing with a superhero. It wouldn't be that outrageous if they broke up and she was going on dates as the Flash was going around saving people. Time travel is introduced and, despite my normal dislike, it was done well. It's always best where no weird paradoxs are discussed and it's more like a normal thing that's just happening.

THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN by writer Walter Simonson and artist Brian Stelfreeze
Still setting up the story. Is this just going to be Catwoman vs. The Demon? I have no idea how this is going to be interesting for sixteen pages especially when they are losing me at number two.

HAWKMAN by writer/artist Kyle Baker
The art and the writing are definitely in a nice harmony. Baker interjects some humor, and it works well, but the story's real strength is Hawkman as a warrior/general. His smiling thumbs-up gives a great contrast to the complete confidence he exudes in the last panel. The tiny details in the art helps make the silhouetted panels of Hawkman breaking into the plane and bodies flying out even more compelling.

Baltimore Comic-Con 2008: David's Take

The 2008 Baltimore Comic-Con was my introduction to the world of comics conventions. Despite having purchased tickets for the whole of the two-day event, I managed to blow through my entire purchasing budget by 3:00 PM Saturday. Some highlights of the event included running into an inexplicably low-profile Richard Starkings, who graciously signed the copies of the Elephantmen: Wounded Animals and War Toys trade paperbacks I purchased and to whom it was my great honor to introduce our humble blog and especially its maiden post; getting an opportunity to buttonhole Kyle Baker and share my opinion that Special Forces is the greatest response to the Iraq War that the comics world has yet to offer; tracking down an issue of Paul Pope's elusive THB, as well as a whole slew of books by Alexandro Jodorowski that I picked up at rock-bottom prices. A particular low-light was the lackluster "debate" between Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis, in which they simply rehashed their by now familiar positions vis a vis Kirkman's manifesto concerning the issue of established creators moving to producing exclusively creator-owned comics, superfluously enhanced by Kirkman's more or less meaningless sales graphs.


David's Haul:

THB: Comics From Mars #1 by Paul Pope

Silver Surfer #2 by Stan Lee and Moebius

Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure by Walter Simonson, Michael Mignola and Bob Wiacek

The Thing: Freak Show #1-4 by Geoff Johns, Scott Kollins and Andy Lanning

Metal Hurlant #11, featuring stories by Alexandro Jodorowski and others

Doom Patrol #13 and 14 by John Arcudi and Seth Fisher

Kid Eternity #1 and 2 by Grant Morrison and Duncan Fegredo

The Incal: The Epic Conspiracy TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Moebius

The Incal: The Epic Journey TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Moebius

The Metabarons #2: Aghnar & Oda TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Juan Gimenez

The Metabarons #3: Steelhead & Doña Vicenta TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Juan Gimenez

The Metabarons: Alpha / Omega TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski, Moebius, Juan Gimenez and Travis Charest

Son Of The Gun #1: Sinner TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Georges Bess

Son Of The Gun #2: Saint TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Georges Bess

Megalex Book #1: The Anomaly TPB by Alexandro Jodorowski and Fred Beltran

Omega The Unknown Classic TPB by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes and Jim Mooney

Elephantmen: War Toys Volume 1: No Surrender TPB by Richard Starkings and Moritat

Elephantmen: Wounded Animals TPB by Richard Starkings and Moritat

Head Shots: Hard-Boiled & Sgt. Rock

When it comes to violence, there's very specific kind of superficiality at-hand in even the best and smartest movies that usually doesn't apply in comics. This is maybe best exemplified in the image Jesse talked about in his Powerful Panels post, the back-of-the-head exit-wound, the kind of violent image that can pretty much only be done in comics.

Explicitly, there's a cap on how much and how gruesome violence can be in a movie. Violence can be shown and violence can be shown realistically to a certain point and that certain point often stops at the all-too-real exit wound. There's a jagged kind of beauty to the slow-motion violence of Peckinpah or the infamous shoot-out finale of Arthur Penn's Bonnie & Clyde, but it still works within the constraints of not making the violence too-much, too-real, as to remind viewers too much of their innate fragility and morality.

Psychologically too, there's probably something in our brains that makes it more immediately rewarding and gratifying to see images related to entrance (or let's be obvious about it: penetration) than to exit. Also, damage to the face is especially disturbing because that damage alters our most "identifiable" feature and the blowing-out of the brains strips the person or character of their capacity for personal thought, another thing we hold dear and maintain, makes us an individual.

There's also a kind of conventional film grammar violation when the back of a person's head is shown. Movies have certainly shied away from the old Hollywood era of constant close-ups, but films are still about faces, even when they're shown punched up with bullets. Rarely ever will a movie reveal a bullet's exit from Otomo's angle, in part because it's particularly gruesome and also logistically, it's a rather hard thing to pull off, even with special effects. And so, doing what Otomo did in that panel violates the rule of how far violence can go and the more immediate rule of conventional dramatic impact rooted in audience identification with the character.

Think of how often older Westerns--the ones that actually are racist, not the ones people misread as racist--often show the Native American characters from the back; it's a trick done in jingoistic World War II movies as well. As a rejection and attempt to complicated film grammar,New German cinema director Werner Herzog, when questioned on placing actress Isabelle Adjani away from the camera for a particularly emotional scene, simply said: "I don't want to see the actress cry. I want to see the audience cry." A rejection of Hollywood and its melodramatic techniques.


To show the back of a character's head--as Herzog does--and to show a bullet exiting the head--as Otomo does--is something of an affront to many things we hold dear about self and identity. The exit-wound head-shot is gruesome and scary and because it's so often eschewed in films, it's shocking. This is of course, what that scene in Akira is all about, Kaneda's shocked at Kei's ability for violence, Kei shocked at her own capacity for violence, and it's all driven home in a frame that highlights the shooting precisely by not looking like every other "guy being shot" comic frame. The simple but for some reason almost-taboo act of reversing the angle does the trick.



In this iconic image from Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow's Hard Boiled, the head shot's taken to outrageous extremes but still, there's a kind of core, gut-level shock of emotion and recognition that comes with staring at that frame. Only a few moments into staring at it does one realize that it's the back of the head and then all the gory details set-in. Sure, it's fun and delightfully over the top, but it also has the same effect of seeing a particularly mangled deer carcass on the side of the road. You're okay when it's just a dead lump, but if like, a lot of blood or some rib-cage sticks out, it's way more disturbing. Darrow's picture reminds any thoughtful comics reader that flesh can be torn open quite easily, that our brains will drip, and our teeth just sit dumbly in our mouths. Darrow also adds a kind of meta level to the image, as the viewer is the one Nixon speaks to, through the hole in the guy's head and the "Sorry, I'm late." line is a kind of apology to readers that waited much too long for the oft-delayed third issue of the series.
Kyle Baker's cover to Special Forces #2 is an obvious homage to Darrow's classic image but also a kind of one-upping in terms of shock value. The head with the gun blast hole in it is Mickey Mouse's and while this has less of the immediate reality that we're flesh and bone feeling to it, it fucks with us on the level of this iconic hero of our childhood's just been blown up. Baker even flirts with Darrow's highly-rendered, mortality-realizing detail by giving us the blood edges around the blast but nothing more, presumably because Mickey's a cartoon character.
In a return to relative subtlety, there's this image from issue #3 of Joe Kubert's Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy series. Sergeant Rock has been captured by Nazis who quickly realize conventional interrogation isn't going to work, and so, in hopes to get him to talk, he's smacked with the butt of a rifle in one frame and then, held down and punched in the next few. In the second to last image on the page, Kubert reverses the "angle" as Rock's being pummeled and reveals a rather disturbing gash--the result of the rifle butt--on the back of Rock's head. Kubert does the odd but somehow perfect effect of covering the light red specks of blood with a violent slash of black ink, drops of it splattered down to Rock's neck. The black ink doesn't make any realistic sense here, but it's the perfect choice for jarring the reader into the reality of Rock's current situation. While analogous in some ways to the Otomo image, it's also significantly more self-conscious and over-the-top than Otomo and in that sense, has some connection to Darrow and Baker's images.

While I began this piece with a rather disparaging discussion of film and the conventionality of film grammar, I'd like to end it by looking at what may be the film equivalent of comics' head shots: blood on the the lens. Realistically, it's pretty impossible for a movie to show an exit wound without the aid of CGI, but the odd effect of having some blood splatter onto the camera might be the closest thing. It's an easy trick that gives the illusion of a bullet's motion and impact and like Darrow, Baker, and Kubert, because the self-conscious act is so over the top, it actually makes image more emotional and more real, even as it calls attention to the artificiality of itself. A particularly fascinating use of this effect is in Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.


The scene's crucial to the character of Robert Ford because it is the first person he kills and will in many ways, mirrors his murder of Jesse later. The blood on the lens turns the scene a little surreal and marks it as particularly significant or transcendent for the character.