Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
© N/A
One Comicscape About Many Things
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Greetings, Maniacs, and welcome to another exciting episode of Comicscape, where we offer you, the reader, new and innovative excuses to spend yet more money on comics. For instance, next time you’re considering overspending your comics budget, just plan to sell that much more plasma the next day to make it up. If your wife complains, drag her along with you and double your take. Remember, you can always make more. Man, the things I did in college for money.
Anyway, no one complained about last week’s “shotgun column,” wherein I expounded upon a series of news items in the comic book world in lieu of devoting the column to a single topic. While that won’t become the norm, I’m repeating the format this week because my day job has crossed over into my night job and left me with little time to write, sleep, or do anything else. If I never see another Access database, I’ll die a happy man. Here we go.
A few interesting tidbits have emerged regarding some of the film adaptations scheduled to hit in the next couple of years. As you’ve probably already heard, Edward Norton will play Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, the sequel to the first Ang Lee film released in 2003. Louis Letterier (The Transporter) will direct the film, with Zak Penn (X2). I really enjoy Edward Norton’s work. Fight Club remains one of my favorite films and I thought The Illusionist was easily one of the best movies of last year. Norton brings gravitas and humanity to his roles, with a hint of acerbic wit and dry humor. As I said last week, I complain in this column a lot. But, sometimes things end well. I hope the movie works out, because I actually enjoyed the Ang Lee film. I realize I’m in the minority there, but I’ve seen it enough times to feel comfortable with that verdict. Marvel swears that The Incredible Hulk will have more action, but I hope it retains the pathos that made the first film so interesting (to me and five other people, at least).
After a couple of blurry spy pictures of Heath Ledger on the set of The Dark Knight – the sequel to Batman Begins – emerged, the Internet cracked in half with rampant speculation about their authenticity. Frankly, I found them so innocuous that I can’t help but think they’re real. They show him near his trailer with green hair. If I wanted to fake a photo, I’d put more effort into it and make it look like this. That, of course, is a fake. But, if it’s any solace to those that can’t wait, Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger have assured everyone that their version of the Joker will feel more like Alan Moore’s in The Killing Joke – twisted, crazy, and brilliant. I really enjoyed Batman Begins, though David Goyer’s script all but printed the subtext at the bottom of the screen – “Batman is a modern legend! Batman is about fear! This is how a man becomes crazy like Batman! He embraces fear!” It’s almost like he took a critical examination of the film made after the fact and crammed it into the script. Still, I thought it was a fantastic film and better than Tim Burton’s Batman, which I’m still rather fond of.
If you haven’t heard the rumor about Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer yet, I’ll repeat it: Galactus may appear as a giant cloud. If comic fans ever had a good reason to complain, this is it – no giant blue and purple guy, but an angry cloud. This reminds me of the Danger Room sequence in X-Men: The Last Stand, when we didn’t even see the damn Sentinel – a visual shortcut designed to save money. Fox drives yet another nail in the coffin of its Marvel movies. Still, Lawrence Fishburne will provide the voice of the Silver Surfer. That’s a great choice for the character, but I doubt it will overshadow some of the other predictable problems the film will have. But, I’ll see it anyway to write a review here.
DC launched its weekly series, 52, to show their universe in real time as it recovered from the aftermath of Infinite Crisis. Its main titles jumped ahead one year, while 52 continued the story from that event to, presumably, tie in neatly with the current universe. I’m still in the process of catching up with the series, having read a little more than halfway through. But, the word around the net seems to be that the series has rushed to tie up loose ends with the World War III miniseries that came out last week. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a publisher release all four issues of a limited series on a single day. I wonder why they didn’t just release it as an original graphic novel or something. Regardless, I thought the idea behind 52 seemed ludicrous when DC first announced it. Jumping ahead a year in the main universe while leaving a single series to fill in the gap seems like an incredibly convoluted arrangement – one confusing to new readers and annoying to longtime ones. However, 52 has, from what I’ve read, managed to tell a compelling story in its own right. I never thought I would care that much about a bunch of B-listers, but the coterie of writers managed to turn out an effective series on time. Whether it ties in neatly to the current DC Universe remains to be seen. Regardless, it will have been a fun ride. When the series wraps in a couple of weeks, I’ll devote a column to it. Let’s hope Countdown turns out as well.
Marvel had a title in the 1970s called The Champions. The publisher wanted to publish a new title of by Matt Fraction in August – the same name, but with a different set of characters. This incarnation of the team would be a part of the post-Civil War initiative, wherein every state gets a superhero team. Like the original team, the new version would operate in Los Angeles. But, having not published a comic with that title since the ‘70s, Marvel has never been able to reclaim the trademark. The publisher has tried to regain the trademark, but without a comic bearing the title, it was denied. However, Heroic Publishing has legally owned and used the name in its comic books and role-playing games since the early 1980s. If everything is as it appears to be, Marvel will simply have to change the name of their comic to avoid violating Heroic’s trademark. You would think that someone in Marvel’s legal department would research these things.
I also wanted to remind everyone how excited we should feel over two new Warren Ellis projects this summer from Avatar – Black Summer and Doktor Sleepless. The former concerns a superhero named John Horus who kills the president of the United States and will run for eight issues, including #0. The latter is an ongoing title and concerns the titular mad scientist. It’ll be dark science fiction similar to Transmetropolitan. Ellis has some interesting interactive stuff planned for the title, including a Wiki that ties into the story. I enjoy most Avatar titles, because their mandate seems to be to let creators write whatever they want with few restrictions. Granted they produce more variant covers than Dynamite Entertainment, but they publish some of the best writers in the business. And, I love Warren Ellis’s work, but it seems that, outside of his Marvel titles, his books are consistently late. It’s been a while since an issue of Desolation Jones or Planetary shipped. But, whatever – he’s one of the best comic writers on the planet and I’ll continue to buy his stuff.
That’s it for this week, guys. Next week, I’ll be interviewing the New Radio’s Alex Cahill about his just-released collaboration with Jad Ziade, Poison the Cure. And remember, Maniacs – read what you like and ignore variants, director’s cuts, and CGC grading.
The Spinner Rack
By Ben Johnson and Kurt Amacke
r
DARK HORSE COMICS
Little Lulu Vol 15 The Explorers TP $9.95
Ben: Finally, the wait is over.
Kurt: Does Lulu finally learn the truth about the dark forces that have manipulated her for years? Damn, I hope so.
Path of The Assassin Vol 6 TP (MR) $9.95
Rex Mundi DH Ed #5 $2.99
Usagi Yojimbo #102 $2.99
DC COMICS
52 Week #51 $2.50
Action Comics #848 $2.99
Kurt: Well, still no Richard Donner. It’s the first of a two-parter by Fabien Nicieza. Please shoot me. DC has the schedule for the “Last Son” arc with Donner and Geoff Johns scheduled in some sort of convoluted fashion.
Amazons Attack #1 (of 6) $2.99
Ben: How many “Mega-Events” can DC run at one time?
Kurt: They sell, so DC makes more.
Astro City The Dark Age Book Two #3 $2.99
Batman Confidential #5 $2.99
Kurt: Has anyone been reading this? Is it any good?
Blue Beetle #14 $2.99
Cartoon Network Block Party #32 $2.25
Catwoman #66 $2.99
Connor Hawke Dragons Blood #6 (of 6) $2.99
Ben: I hope everyone is ready for the conclusion to the most important mini-series of all time.
Crossing Midnight #6 (MR) $2.99
Exterminators #16 (MR) $2.99
Firestorm The Nuclear Man #35 $2.99
Gals Vol 10 $9.99
Ben: Ten dollars is a lot to pay for something I get for free on the web.
Kurt: That really depends on what you want those gals to do, Ben.
God Save The Queen HC (MR) $19.99
Hawkgirl The Maw TP $17.99
JSA Classified #25 $2.99
Justice #11 (of 12) $3.50
Ben: Only 18 more months until the end of this one.
Kurt: I’d actually forgotten about this series.
Justice Society of America #5 $2.99
Justice Society of America VAR Ed #5 $2.99
Ninja Scroll #8 $2.99
Outsiders Annual #1 $3.99
Kurt: So, it’s like a group bladder-holding contest?
Penguin Revolution Vol 3 $9.99
Ben: Or how Happy Feet ate the Children.
Red Menace #6 (of 6) $2.99
Ben: Kotex should take care of that.
Kurt: So, Ben Johnson has really been Al Brown all this time? I knew it.
Supergirl And The Legion of Super Heroes #29 $2.99
Ben: Because Supergirl doesn’t have to suck.
Supergirl And The Legion of Super-Heroes Vol 4 $14.99
Teen Titans Go #42 $2.25
Ben: and go with God.
Kurt: No, go with Zod.
Thunderbolt Jaxon TP $19.99
Wetworks #8 $2.99
Will Eisners Spirit Archives Vol 21 HC $49.99
Ben: Is this a spin-off of that new Darwyn Cooke comic?
Wonder Woman #8 $2.99
Kurt: Hey, I bet you never thought you’d see this happen!
IMAGE COMICS
Bucky O Hare & The Toad Menace DLX S&N Ed $17.99
Ben: And the award for name that makes me NOT want to purchase a book goes to…
Kurt: I remember this cartoon from one summer when I was a kid, but I couldn’t watch it because it came on every morning as I was leaving for day camp.
Bucky O Hare & The Toad Menace DLX S&N Sketch Ed $75.00
Ride Savannah (One Shot) $4.99
Kurt: Well, if she insists.
True Story Swear To God Image Ed #5 $2.99
Truth Justin & American Way TP $14.99
Unique #2 (of 3) $2.99
Walking Dead #37 (MR) $2.99
Alex Trebeck: Melodrama, Zombies, Melodrama, Torture, Melodrama, No conclusion.
Contestant: What are the next five story arcs for Walking Dead?
MARVEL COMICS
Agents of Atlas Premiere HC $24.99
Amazing Spider-Man 2nd Ptg Yu Var #539 $2.99
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol 1 HC $99.99
Ben: A lot of stuff available in a lot of formats for one high price.
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol 1 HC Var Ed $99.99
Cable Deadpool Vol 6 Paved With Good Intentions TP $14.99
Kurt: That’s an apt description of this series.
Civil War Fantastic Four TP $17.99
Civil War X-Men TP $11.99
Daily Bugle May Newspaper Pi
Daredevil #96 $2.99
Ben: Roses are red, violets are blue, I love Ed Brubaker, I hope he loves me too.
Kurt: Yes, Ed Brubaker’s one of those guys whose work I’ll read, regardless of whatever series he’s writing.
Dark Tower Gunslinger Born 2nd Ptg Var #1 (Of 7) (Pp #760) $3.99
Exiles #93 $2.99
Fallen Son Death Of Captain America Avengers $2.99
Kurt: The first issue with Wolverine was all right, but mostly because it had the Winter Soldier in it. He rules.
Fantastic Four #545 CWI $2.99
Heroes For Hire #9 $2.99
Ben: Now offering hourly rates.
Kurt: Available for BDSM parties, too!
New Avengers Illuminati Secret History (Pp #758) $3.99
New Excalibur #19 $2.99
Powers #24 (MR) $2.95
Punisher Presents Barracuda Max #3 (of 5) (MR) $3.99
Punisher War Journal Vol 1 Civil War Premiere HC $19.99
Runaways Vol 7 Live Fast Digest TP $7.99
Silent War #4 (of 6) $2.99
Spider-Man Black Cat Evil That Men Do TP $14.99
Kurt: Read it without the three-year gap in between issues! Read it and still be disappointed!
Spider-Man Visionaries Roger Stern Vol 1 TP $24.99
Wisdom #5 (of 6) (MR) $3.99
Wolverine #53 $2.99
Kurt: Okay, Wolverine and Sabretooth – can we finally get this cleared up and stop dragging out this arc?
Wolverine Black And White Var #53 $2.99
Kurt: And while we’re at it, can we stop publishing color issues in grayscale just to clutter the shelves with another variant? Dear God.
X-Men First Class #8 (of 8) $2.99
Ben: Bad news: This is the last issue. Good news: Marvel is re-launching it as an ongoing.
Kurt: Didn’t we already get the adventures of the first class like 40 years ago?
Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@mania.com.
