America's Best Comics Preview (1999)

America's Best Comics Preview (March, 1999)
Story - Alan Moore
Pencils - Chris Sprouse
Inks - Al Gordon
Colors - Tad Ehrlich of WildStorm FX
Letters - Todd Klein
Editor  - Scott Dunbier
Editorial Director - Jim Lee

Yesterday we discussed the Divine Right Preview... and I thought it was a pretty fun time.  So I decided to (in between bouts of back spasms) rummage through the longbox maze I laughingly call my "front room" and look for some similar "ephemera".

What I found was... well, if the title of this blog post didn't spoil it already, the America's Best Comics Preview that came packed with Wizard: The Comics Magazine #91 (March, 1999).

Feel like this one is actually somewhat topical... what with the relatively recent additions of Promethea and Tom Strong to the DC Universe proper.

So, join me as we meet them all again... for the first time.

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We open with our main man Timmy Turbo delivering a news report about... America's Best Comics.  He introduces us to America's Best Letterer, the mighty Todd Klein.  He then takes us inside the offices, where we meet... a living carpet made up of beautiful women!  It's not what it sounds like... okay, maybe it is.  They're apparently part of Alex Ross' contract.  He is America's Best Cover Artist, after all.

Timmy takes us into the make-up room, and we meet Future American and his partner the U.S. Angel, who will have a strip in Tomorrow Stories.  Future American feels like he looks "too retro" and asks the make-up artist to remove the "Kirby squiggle" from his chin.  When they see Terrible Timmy lurking nearby they give him the boot.

Next stop, Set Design... where we can see Gene Ha and Emil Castenada putting together the set for the City of Neopolis from Top 10.  Mr. Ha is rather stressed, and Timmy decides this might not be the nook of the building to linger in.

We are next introduced to Timmy's favorite superhero, Tom Strong!  Tom has his own dressing room, and is chatting up his gorilla pal, King Solomon.  Tom immediately recognizes Timmy as "Strongmen of America Member #2059", which is pretty cool.

Outside in casting, editorial is looking to fill the role of Cobweb for Tomorrow Stories.  Timmy's excited to report that he doesn't think she has underwear.

Off to the garage, where Timmy meets up with un- er, subconscious artist Rick Veitch.  He is going to be working on the Greyshirt feature in Tomorrow Stories.  He reveals himself to be... well, rather banged and bandaged up.  He's been hard at work world building the gas-powered Indigo City... which has led to rather a few explosions!  Tentative Timmy... slinks away.

Next, Timmy actually takes us on set... where Jack B. Quick is "filming" a scene from his Tomorrow Stories strip.  This is a pretty fun bit... Jack delivers his lines perfectly, but they need to "redraw" the scene because the boom mic got into the shot.  Then, an irritated Jack lights a cigarette and complains that he's losing his motivation (and patience with director, Kevin Nowlan).

Then, the Sound Stage... where they're hard at work "dubbing" an issue of Promethea.  It's another pretty fun scene... and the look on Timmy's face is really something else.

Finally... a visit to the office of the man himself, Alan Moore.  Timmy makes his way through the creepy door (with smoke pouring out from beneath it) to find... a couple of monks?!  They appear to be praying to Alan Moore... which is pretty funny.  They explain to Timmy that "The Perfected One" has moved to a plane beyond that of the material world.  On the nose, but still pretty funny.  Especially considering Alan Moore is actually writing this.

Terrified Timmy feigns that he hears his mom calling, and beats a hasty retreat.  We wrap up our visit to the America's Best Offices with (talkative) Timmy closing out his news report.

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Another really fun "time capsule" type piece.

Ya know, I've heard a little bit of hooting and hollering online about DC deciding to bring some of these characters into the "mainstream" fold.  I guess it's cool to feel however you want... but I'm actually pretty excited about the idea.  You know me, I'm a fan of the "everything matters" approach to comics.  I feel like, the more the merrier.  Whether it's pulp heroes like Doc Savage in that FirstWave line a few years back, the Watchmen characters... or the ABC crew!  Hell, even over at Marvel... I can't say I'd be too torn up if they cross Miracleman over for a spell.

I think we've got some cool characters here, though I'll concede many of them are completely new to me.  Back around the turn of the century, my comics buying habits were... well, out of control.  I was spending upwards of a hundred bucks... a week.  I actually received a Christmas gift from my local shop one year, he told me I alone paid about four-months worth of his rent.

So, I had plenty of stuff (and crap) to read every week... and just didn't have the time nor budget to fit in the America's Best line.  I picked up a handful here and there... and I've got a few Tom Strong trades... but that's about it.  I probably ought to prioritize them as a target in my cheap-o bin dives!

With all of that out of the way... the issue itself?  Fun!  It doesn't really do much insofar as "previewing" the kind of stories we're in store for, but it was a decent enough introduction to the "heavy hitters" of the line... at least visually.  Some of the gags were a bit on the nose, but if nothing else, shows that Alan Moore has a sense of humor about how folks in (and out of) the biz might view him.

Ya know, of late I've really been diving into old comics news mags... Wizard, Amazing Heroes, Heroes Illustrated... even Diamond Previews!  Just about anything I can get my hands on.  While my motivations were initially podcast-research related, I couldn't help but to get lost in them.  A lot of folks (myself included) give Wizard a lot of crap for the way they delivered news... the way they depicted their audience... the way they'd repeatedly attempt to steer the marketplace... ya know, all that stuff.

But, then I think about the fun things they did.  I think of the pack-ins like this (and skatey-eight hundred AOL discs) and realize that so much was lost in the industry shift to digital.  Today this "issue" would almost certainly just be something on the DC Comics web-site.  I feel like it loses something that way.  It becomes "just another preview" or "just another news item" rather than something that is sitting in somebodies longbox just waiting to be rediscovered.

I feel like it being physical gives it a measure of "value"... it's somewhat less "disposable".  The digital shift in entertainment, and the "blink and you miss it" world we live in now really doesn't lend to little pieces of ephemera such as this.  So, hey Wizard... Thanks!

Now... would I recommend tracking this down?  Yeah maybe.  It's really fun... and I have come across it many times in my bin-trawls, so I know it's out there.  This story has been reprinted in America's Best Comics Special (64-Page Special) #1 from 2001, so you might be better served grabbing it there.  All's I know is reading this made me add the ABC's to my "looky list".

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Et-Cetera:

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Divine Right Preview (1997)

Divine Right Preview (July, 1997)
"First Drafts"
Story/Pencils/Editor in Chief - Jim Lee
Inks - Scott Williams
Colors - Joe Chiodo w/Martin Jimenez
Computer Color - WildStorm FX
Letters - Amie Grenier
Design - Emilio Medina
Editor - Rachelle Brissenden
Executive Editor - Mike Heisler
Special Thanks - Trevor Scott, Sal Regla & Rich Friend

Weird one today.  Remember a couple weeks back when we discussed Divine Right #1?  I kinda complained about just being dropped into the story... and had a sneaking suspicion that we had "missed something".

Well, we sorta did!  It wasn't a Divine Right #0 like I alluded to in the piece, but... the Divine Right Preview!  There's also a Wizard #1/2... but that one might not have anything to do with "backstory" and I still need to track it down.

So... before we go into the synopsis, I want to thank Jim Lee personally for reaching out and... okok, that didn't happen.  I'd actually like to thank my city for having some of the best 50-cent bins this side'a the Mississip'.

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We open with Christine Blaze infiltrating a secret base in Jerusalem.  Worth mentioning, this woman has the most interesting/infuriating hair.  It seems to go from long to short (and back again) each panel.  I didn't mention that last time, but it was a "problem" there too.  One panel she has a giant bun, the next... none!  Maybe it's all part of her secret agent (if that's what she even is...) training?  Yeah, we'll go with that.  Anyhoo, she reaches a command room called the Succubus Unit.  It is where the Creation Equation is being kept... apparently, in binary.

She kills all of the guards, then pops her thumbdrive CD-ROM into the computer tower (sure hope it's RealPlayer is up to date!).  She copies the Creation Equation... and deletes it off the server sends it to the Recycle Bin.

We shift scenes to our generic WildStorm baddies, Mr. Talk-to-the-Hand, and Cardinal Whatshisface.  They're displeased with losing the Equation... the latter even performing the ol' Darth Vader "force choke" on a nearby yes-man.

And so, they summon the "Rath"... which is the thing that would eventually emit a blue light and destroy the internet cafe Christine visited in the first issue... and boy howdy, is it's design a bit of a mess... it's like someone took a Predator action figure, a Stryfe action figure and a Warwolves action figure (are those even a thing?) and threw 'em in the microwave for a minute!

We next shift to Avignon in Southern France.  A Papal Court called the Ministers of Mercy call forth a trio of generic WildStorm heroes referred to as The Fallen.  They are Brande, Tobruk, and (sigh) Exotica... and the energy needed to summon them was enough to kill the summoner.

We wrap up with an epilogue.  An epilogue for an eight-page story?  Okay.  Anyhoo, this is where we meet our hero, Max Faraday.  It's midnight and he is woken up by his sister Jenn so he can get to work on time.  Does dude really deliver pizza at midnight?  Well I guess we'll never know, cuz that's it!

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Huh.  Well... that cleared it all up, di'nt it?

Let's start by talking about the cover.  Now, I'm not one to judge... but, we get that classic, "Mrs. Robinson you're trying to seduce me..." pose... which is always a fun visual.  Thing is, the only woman we saw with Max here was... his sister!  That conjures up some odd imagery, doesn't it?  Never mind the fact that he's also looking at porn while his sister (maybe) attempts to seduce him.  Maybe they should've called this book Depraved Right!

Okay, enough about that...

Let's talk about some of the characters we're introduced to.  Last year, Reggie and I discussed WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams #1 on the Cosmic Treadmill...




... and toward the end, we talked about how Jim Lee characters had this "stock" quality to them.  They all feel so dispassionate... I said something along the lines of "You have the generic-looking leader, you have the hulking brute, you have the badass, you have the magic girl, and you have the 'one with claws'."  They just don't feel like characters that Lee was dying to write about... just characters he knew would "work".

I feel the same way here... we don't know enough about them to say whether or not they're just 90's comics archetypes, but I'd bet dollars to dingbats that they are.  I mean, look at The Fallen.  I mean, if I were to show you that panel... you'd never be able to place 'em... they're just so generic, and could have been heroes (or villains) in any Jim Lee work from Uncanny X-Men on 'til today!

The bad guys... also stock.  Shadowy pseudo-religious organization led by a powerful man with a stubbly, chiseled face and long white hair.  Let's not even get started with The Rath.  Aye yai yai.

Now even with all that said (plus the irritating inconsistencies on the Christine Blaze model), I can't say that I'm all that mad at this issue.  It's kinda dumb, it's kinda generic/cliche... but, it's not all that bad.  I don't think I'd encourage anyone to break their backs or banks finding it... but, I wouldn't advice avoiding it either.  Decent enough mid-late 90's fun.

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Et-Cetera:

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So... let's advertise Divine Right #1... by using the cover to Divine Right #2!
Brilliant!

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Action Comics #871 (2009)

Action Comics #871 (January, 2009)
"New Krypton, Part 2: Beyond Doomsday"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Artist - Pete Woods
Colorist - Brad Anderson
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99

Today we're going to pick up where we left off... late last Summer.  For a bit of context on just what New Krypton is, go 'head and check out our discussion on the Superman: New Krypton Special #1 (2008).  For even more table-setting, check out our (more recent) chat on the Brainiac storyline.

Let's get ready to meet our new stars of Action Comics: Nightwing (not that one) and Flamebird?!

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We open with a pair of drabbly-dressed Kryptonians (Gor and Mur) walking the streets of New York.  They appear angry, and feel as though Krypton requires a measure of vengeance... from the Earth?  They're irritated that Kal-El would rather play diplomat than warrior... and consider how much different this would be if Zod were around.

We shift scenes to Lex Luthor's holding cell... where he is greeted by General Sam Lane.  He escorts Lex out of his cell, and tells him all about the Kryptonian "invasion".  He questions him about his knowledge of Kandor... which, being Lex Luthor... of course he knows about that!  We get a bit of a quick and dirty to explain that this Kandor is the real one, and it's the first time Superman has dealt with it.

Luthor is then led to where they have been holding Brainiac.  Lex asks to be unshackled... but Lane doesn't oblige.  They begin a pretty fun passive-aggressive back and forth about how both of them work so hard to gain Lois' favor... and the person she holds most dear is the "naive spellchecker" Clark Kent.

Lane responds by... well, shooting Lex in the shoulder.  Just a slight overreaction there, no?  Lex agrees to help Sam "break open" Brainiac's mind... but warns that that likely won't stop the "invasion".  Sam's all "that's okay...", after all he has more "bullets" at his disposal, such as...

Doomsday?!  Okay, we head to Metropolis where Superman is getting ready to fight... Doomsday?!  Just like that?  Just like that.

Supergirl rushes in to give her cousin a hand.  Her folks look on for a moment before deciding to get involved.  Elsewhere, the Guardian... or is that Agent Liberty... or is that Codename: Assassin... whoever he is, he's leading the President of the United States safely onto a helicopter.

The fight pours into Centennial Park, where Doomsday rips the Kon-El Memorial out of the ground and hurls it toward the Supers.

Superman manages to catch it... then decides, enough it enough... he plows into Doomsday and takes him into orbit.  The Kryptonians then dog-pile the poor murdering monster...

... until he cannot continue to fight.  Wow, y'almost feel bad for him here.

We rejoin Gor and Mur at the Fortress of Solitude.  They scan the Fortress and seem annoyed to see that Kal-El collects "trinkets" from his "terrestrial experiences".  I just wish they got a closer look at 'em!  Love seeing that stuff!

Unimpressed by their visit, Gor and Mur deduce that they're going to need General Zod... and proceed toward the Phantom Zone Projector.  Well, not so fast, kemo sabe(s)... first you're going to have to go through... Nightwing and Flamebird?!

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This was pretty fun... and a neat way to introduce the "stars" of this title moving forward (that's Nightwing and Flamebird, by the way).  I know precious little about these two, besides that they are basically the Batman and Robin of Kandor... and Dick Grayson took his post-Robin codename from the former.

I'm sure I've said this before, but I didn't stick around with New Krypton the first time through... I was out of work, and any "fun" money had to be wisely spent.  So with what little dosh I was able to get my hands on, I probably bought X-Men comics (jokes on me!).  That being said... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to, but every time I dip my toe into this New Krypton mishegoss I find myself walking away intrigued... and even entertained!

The very idea that they'd remove Superman from his two "home" titles shows how strongly DC felt about getting this concept "over"... they were going to go as "all in" as they could.  Guess that shows some guts... perhaps poor business sense, but guts nonetheless!  Gotta give'em that.

Now the baton hasn't been officially handed over to the Kandorian Dynamic Duo just yet, but it's coming... and with how they've been eased into the story, it doesn't feel terribly forced (at least not yet!).  I'm looking forward to spending some time with these two, and getting to know them better.  Really dig their designs too!

Speaking of design, this is a very good lookin' book!  Looking at it quickly, I'd have sworn this was Scott Kolins... though, that might have to do with the more pastel-y color palette.  Still... really nice looking book!

Can't say I'm a fan of jobbing old Doomsday out... but, I guess if you're going to do it... this is as good a way as any.  I mean, if Superman alone can (eventually) take him down, what hope does the monster have against a gaggle of Kryptonians?  The fight scene looked great too... awesome action, and a real feeling of destruction.

If I had to pick a favorite scene, I'd probably go with the Lane/Luthor back-and-forth.  These two are pretty great together.  You can tell they're both sickened being together in the same room... but decide to work together anyway.  The passive-aggressive mentions of Lois were pretty spectacular too.  Lex is pretty good when it comes to "pushing buttons" and he ain't shy about showing that off.

Overall... I quite enjoyed this!  Not sure I'm ready to go "all-in" on a New Krypton read-through, but I'll admit to being quite tempted!  This issue has been collected, and is available digitally.

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