Prog 1950 of 2000AD sees the title with its strongest line-up in quite some time: in addition to the start of a new Judge Dredd story by creator John Wagner and Colin McNeil (featuring the return of long-running threat P.J. Maybe, at that), there’re also returns for Brass Sun, Defoe and Peter Milligan and Brett Ewins’ classic Bad Company, with Rufus Dayglo taking over art reins for this go-around. In theory, it’s as good a jumping-on point for the series that there’s been in years, and yet, I’m not sure how inviting it actually is for new readers.
(For those who haven’t heard the latest Baxter Building, scroll down to find it. For everyone else, click through and find me fretting.) Continue reading →
Previously on Baxter Building: We are, sad to say, in the downslide of the Lee and Kirby run of the title, with the series having peaked around #48-68 or so. Since then, the series has shown flashes of its old fire while displaying less of the invention and boldness that characterized its best issues, instead relying on existing threats and recycling stories fans had already read. Sadly, that’s not going to change anytime soon…
0:00:00-0:01:15: Instead of the usual cold open, I break with tradition to introduce Aaron Redfield’s alternative Baxter Building theme. That’s right: someone made us an alternate theme, you guys. It’s a beautiful thing. Continue reading →
Hey! Remember that Hawkeye series where we saw what Clint Barton was up to when he wasn’t an Avenger? You know, the series that was more of a crime series with laughs but also a melancholic core? No, I’m not talking about the acclaimed (though not especially punctual) series from Matt Fraction and David Aja and others, I’m referring to the eight issue series from 2003 by Fabian Nicieza and Stefano Raffaele (and others).
The lastfew weeks, I’ve discussed the short-lived run of Skull The Slayer, a Marvel series from 1975 in which a Vietnam Vet is plunged into a dinousaur ridden, alien-bespangled Bermuda Triangle and learns that the secret to success is how you dress. (I also covered the two issue wrap-up to the story in Marvel Two-In-One.)
In the course of finding out whatever happened to good ol’ Skull after his story concluded in MTIO, I ended up reading the first six issues of the Nicieza series and—well, I talk about it after the jump in its proper chronological order but…it’s pretty good! As long as you accept that Nicieza, no matter how witty he can be, is no Fraction and Raffaele, no matter how Euro- his work looks, is no Aja, and that it’s a crime book that’s more influenced by Carl Hiaasen than The Rockford Files, you might dig it.
As I said, I talk about it after the jump as I wrap things up for Scully and me in this third and final installment about Skull The Slayer.
You can read my thoughts on X-Men ’92 after the jump, or we can just let that book’s Creepily Sexualized Sinister Bald Lady ironically kinda summarize my thoughts. Whichever is fine with me!
“Still Hated. Still Feared. Still Standing.” That’s the header for the PR that Marvel sent out today, advertising Extraordinary X-Men, the appallingly named new X-Men title launching as part of the All-New All-Different Marvel relaunch next month. The PR contained three pages of the first issue of the series, by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos, which convinced me that this series was most definitely not for me. Continue reading →
You know, late last week when I was telling Graeme about all the crazy crap that had come up in my life and how it was going to delay our recording of the latest Baxter Building, he actually said, “Okay, I’ll write a post and let people know it’ll be delayed. Should I tell them your post is going to be delayed by a week?”
And I said something goofy like: “What?! No! It’ll be fine! I don’t post until Sunday! I’ll have plenty of time to write something up.”
And now it’s Sunday, and I’m serving myself a nice big slice of dumbass pie. There’s been some very minor health stuff going on with me, and some far less minor (though not life-threatening stuff) stuff going on with an in-lawswhich required a certain amount of last minute travel this week. And although I’ve been fine with getting my comic book reading in, I’ve just spent the last two and a half hours working on the post I wanted to write and it’s not coming together at all. Part of it is, I think, that I’ve wrong-footed my way into the post altogether, and I need to wait and take a step back to figure out what I’m doing wrong…and part of is while Ive been doing my comic book reading, I really haven’t been Too Busy Thinking About My Comics; in fact, I’ve barely been thinking about my comics at all. I’ve got a few unformed thoughts about Super-Villain Team-Up, and a theory about why I’m so delighted with Takuma Morishage’s My Neighbor Seki, and some concluding thoughts about Skull The Slayer that seem even more incomplete than when I started writing about the character a fortnight ago.
So I apologize, but I’m going to go sit on the couch now and do some Baxter Building prep and hope I’ll get a chance to finish that post and finish it right. My ten year wedding anniversary is coming up which means another out-of-town jaunt, followed by a trip up North for the annual Wait, What? Creative Summit, so it might be entirely possible this post could be very late? Or maybe it’ll be posted this week and then I’ll blow the one for next Sunday? I don’t know yet, but I think it’s best to let you know in advance, so you can shrug and go check out another corner of the Internet…at least until Graeme’s post later this week.
Anyway, yeah. My apologies, and I hope you’re well? You look good. Did you get your hair cut or something?
You guys, wow. What a seriously great week of comics, as long as you like Kieron Gillen and/or Star Wars and/or Batman comics of an artsy/literary/social bent and/or Rob Liefeld putting out what might be the legit worst comic I’ve read in like a decade (Bloodstrike #2, fact fans!) and/or more goddamned Secret Wars tie-ins and/or the return of Bitch Planet and/or like dozens of other really cool things!
Man! This is the kind of week you really dream of, as a comics fan — just a ton of really good, really varied work, with plenty of good grist for the ol’ internet content mill I work in.
So, logically, I’m gonna write about a Dr. Who book that came out half a year ago instead — a franchise I know nothing about. Come and see!
So, I got the first five issues of Micronauts: The New Voyages from the local comic store during its latest 50% off sale (because, really, if you can’t buy mid-period Peter B. Gillis/early-ass Kelley Jones for $1.50 an issue, when can you buy it?). My thinking was pretty much, hey, I like Mantlo’s Micronauts and I remember reading some of this at the time and thinking it was too trippy for the 11-year-old I was at the time, so I’ll love it now, right? As you might expect, the answer is “no.”
You have to feel for Gillis, though; he inherited the series from its original writer, and Bill Mantlo has pretty much run the Star Wars-esque hi-jinks and adventure formula into the ground by the time he stepped away. Even if the title hadn’t been relaunched to return to the newsstands — presumably, sales on the direct-market Micronauts title were tanking badly enough that Mantlo’s departure seemed like time for an intervention — he would have had to do something pretty drastic to turn the book around and make it his own. Continue reading →
And then, sometimes shit happens and plans go awry.
To wit, the plan to record the next episode of Baxter Building this Thursday, and release it next Monday has gone awry, thanks to circumstances very much outside of our control. This isn’t as bad as I’ve just made it sound — what it really means is that we’re bringing our planned skip week ahead a week, and that Baxter Building Episode 9 will go up 9/21, instead of 9/14, before everything returns to normal(-ish) with a very special episode of Wait, What? on 9/28. See? No big deal at all.
I know, I know — you’re upset at having to wait seven extra days to find out what makes Galactus return to the Fantastic Four book, not to mention whether or not the F.F will wise up and make Wyatt Wingfoot leader of the team in Reed’s supposed absence (Spoilers: Mr. Fantastic doesn’t really leave the book, sadly). We promise that we’ll try and make the episode worth the additional wait, and also that it’ll be better than the last episode because we won’t be talking about the Fantastic Four movie at all.
In the meantime, expect more written posts on this here site, and also more activity on the Tumblr this week, too; these text pages from the run of Steve Englehart’s Coyote I picked up this weekend are practically begging to be shared with the Internet. (Also purchased for cheap this weekend: the first five issues of Micronauts: The New Voyages, so if I fire up the scanner sometime, expect pages from that, too.)
And if you haven’t already listened to the latest episode of Wait, What? — in which we really do manage to answer questions! — then scroll down. We get through a surprising number of queries for once. Take that, people who thought it’d take us 31 episodes to get through all the questions! (You know who you are.)
First, big thanks to Ed Corcoran for providing the perfect title for this episode!
Second, here we are! This episode is a little early due to: the holiday weekend, some weird scheduling, and the desire to get a jump on the coming week which promises to be a bit of a sledge hammer. So let us begin, shall we?
00:00-12:51: Greetings from Graeme “Cheers” McMillan and Jeff “Dora the Explorer” Lester, who are here once again for you! Not only do we mention those two TV shows in the first two minutes, we also talk about Spider-Gwen #1, as read recently on Marvel Unlimited (under threat of physical violence)! Although we both enjoyed the first issue, we talk about Jeff’s impressions of the book based on later issues, whether the book’s appeal rests solely with the creative team or not, whether or not the term “What-If’ing” is a thing or not, and more. And this is also a fine time for Jeff to gripe about the Spider-Verse hardcover he got for super-cheap during an Amazon pricing SNAFU. Did Marvel take passive-aggressive revenge on the advance order pilferers? Or is it just that a lot of the stories at least semi-terrible? Discuss!
12:51-45:06: Then, our whistles whetted, it’s time for us to Q our little A’s off, with part two of our Q&A ‘cast, answering questions submitted to us by our mighty squad of patrons! First up is Chris Carfora, who asks: “1. Discussion Point: Have we reached the end of the age of Superhero comics? Seems like superhero movies are going through a bit of a golden age but i can’t say the same for the comics. With the reboots coming every two years now it just feels like the creators are constantly going over old territory and rehashing old ideas. Is there just not anything left to say about Superheroes? With the rise of independent comics and the availability of self-published comics through comixology and the like, do you foresee a shift away from superhero comics? 2. What would be your dream creative collaboration on your dream comic? Just to clarify, it can be past creators or current, so if you want Grant Morrison and Jack Kirby on Challengers of the Unknown go for it. 3. What cancelled or lapsed title would you most like to see resurrected? 4. In what way has the rise of marvel unlimited, comixology and other digital platforms changed the industry? Is this change a good thing?”
(Whew!) Discussed: the Direct Market; Jim Lee’s 1:5000 variant for Dark Knight III; Marvel’s troll response with a Deadpool variant cover; creator participation; Starbrand and Nightmask; the illusion of change versus the illusion of the illusion of change; Irredeemable, Incorrigible, Incorruptible, Incontinent, and Insufferable; Graeme not understanding Jeff at all; crazy lists of dream teams for his dream comics including the Steve Gerber comic in heaven; Jason Aaron and Jason Latour on the amazing Marvel character, Razorback; Al Ewing and Henry Flint on Fantastic Four; the sequel to last year’s Judge Dredd epic, Titan, again by Rob Williams and Henry Flint; Aimee Bender and Pascal Ferry on Machine Man; Graeme summarizes the short but lively run of DC’s The Chosen; the crazy price discrepancies between some digital trades on both Marvel and Comixology (such as the Skull The Slayer and Weirdworld trades which are $10 cheaper on the Kindle); and more.
45:06-58:27: Carlos Aguilar asks: “1. Let’s say Image was formed in the 80s instead of the 90s, what 7 artists would you like to have seen leave Marvel (and if you want, DC) to form Image about ten years earlier? 2. Tons of Star Wars news coming out, so, Let’s say you got to pick creative teams for 4 different Star Wars books. What would the four titles be, and who would you have working on them? 3. Who would you like to see run the new incarnation of Heavy Metal instead of Grant Morrison?”Discussed: Miller, Byrne, Perez, Golden, Simonson, Chaykin, and Art Adams (or Dave Cockrum?; the WaP! newsletter and Creator Bill of Rights crowd; being burnt out on Star Wars on the eve of Force Friday; Marvel’s Darth Vader series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca; Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba on Boba Fett; Jason Shiga on C-3PO and R2-D2; Richard Corben on Chewbacca; the return of Walt Simonson to Star Wars; Brandon Graham editing Heavy Metal; Douglas Wolk editing Heavy Metal; Warren Ellis editing Heavy Metal; and more.
58:27-1:04:09: Max Brown asks: “It’s been a little while since Jeff has posted or talked about Jason Shiga’s Demon- and since it was Jeff that got me and a bunch of others reading it, it would be great to hear his thoughts on how the book has gotten 10000000x more insane and awesome since then, and on the recent announcement that First Second will be publishing it in collections. Thanks!”Discussed:Jason Shiga’s Demon. [Please note: Jeff actually screws up his issue numbers by one. The amazing chase sequence is in issue #15 and the existential malaise is in issue #14.]
1:04:09-1:36:16: Kevin Moreau asks, “1. What other podcasts, comics-related or otherwise, do either/both of you listen to/recommend? (Aside from Rachel and Miles and Into It, although please feel free to plug those, as well.) 2. What are your go-to sites/publications for comics news, insight, etc., other than your own website and Graeme’s various employers? 3. What are Marvel’s biggest problems today, and what can be done to correct them 3a. Are Secret Wars/All-New-All-Different and the continuing push to make Inhumans happen signs of creative bankruptcy? 4. I know I’ve read (Wait What mascot/patron saint) Steve Englehart comics over the years, but what would you point to as his most important/must-read work, or where should someone start in order to gain a greater appreciation? 5. Would you ever consider a Wait What Facebook group as a place for fans of the show to gather together and talk comics and related interest?” Discussed: House to Astonish; Silence!; Comic Books Are Burning in Hell; Travis Bickle on the Riviera; the Nerdist Writer’s Room; the Guardian’s political podcast; 538’s What’s The Point; a Slate podcast called Working; Serial; Bleeding Cool and its recent trend for crazily biased news stories; The Outhousers; the terrific comics analysis columns by Paul O’Brien and Marc-Olivier Frisch; the surprising read that is comicbook.com; the surprisingly apt metaphor to describe DC’s new relationship to the Direct Market; the Steve Englehart stories you should start with; and more.
1:36:16-1:41:18: Paul Lai asks, “Seems we’ve thrown up our hands after Golden, Silver, Bronze, and the unfortunately named Modern Ages. Should we take for granted that comics are so diverse, diffuse, and mainstream now that maybe marking eras like that will be impossible/irrelevant? Or what about calling it a “Spectrum Age” where all that can really be taken for granted is the diversity?” (Paul actually had a long article he’d written about this that wasn’t accessible when Jeff tried to read it beforehand but it’s up now and it’s a pretty great read that makes a pretty compelling argument.)Discussed: Our less compelling arguments.
1:41:18-1:44:53: John Kim asks, “There are a lot of resets to the status quo in comic (Spiderman, Batman) after said comics try something different. Are the reasons for the resets mainly fan backlash and low sales? Here I am trying to sneak in another question… Are there any good legacy characters in comics?”Discussed: Wally West, Wally West, and Wally West; Batman: Year Zero; and more.
1:44:53-1:57:46: Lewis Smith asks, “Of all the aborted story-lines, new directions, and false starts you guys have read in superhero comics, what was the one you really wanted to see play out?”Discussed: Firestorm as a fire elemental; Steve Englehart’s Fantastic Four and West Coast Avengers runs; the Amazing Spider-Man and headcanon; does Marvel need a reboot; and more.
1:57:46-2:08:12: Ed Corcoran asks, “In a couple of previous episodes, you’ve mentioned the effect the library market has on how trade paperback collections are made and marketed. Can you talk a little more about the economics of that? What kind of comics rely so heavily on libraries? What do libraries look for? Also, are there any plans to collect the Avengers read-through into one big mega-episode?” We’ve tied this in with Drew Meger who asks, “It feels like every episode we hear a mention of some comic or other borrowed from your local library. As a librarian who buys comics for his library, I need to know: What comic titles would you want to see in your Ideal Library? Should we focus on the critical Top 10 list darlings and easy entry points for new readers or should we go obscure and get the titles readers might have been interested in, But not 30 dollar hardbound trade interested?”Discussed: how little we actually know about the economics of graphic novels and the library market; Kate Beaton, Vertical, Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly and Pantheon; a bad maritime metaphor from Jeff, and more.
2:08:12-2:15:48: Paul Spence asks, “Would the Whatnauts offer their views on Kirby’s Marvel series The Eternals. I read The Eternals for the first time this year courtesy of marvel Unlimited and it provoked a mixed response from me. The mythology appeared to be Fourth World Lite mashed up with some of the ideas from Kirby’s 2001, and a serving from Erich Von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods. The Fourth World of the New Gods becomes the Fourth Host of the Eternals and DC’s Orion becomes Ikaris in The Eternals. This does appear to be a case where Kirby was recycling ideas. My second Kirby related question pertains to the Joe Casey penned Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers. You covered the early issues in the series on the podcast and expressed both hope, and some trepidation, that it could be a masterpiece, or it could become a train wreck. Now that the mini-series has finished what do you think of the entire run?”Discussed:The Eternals by Jack Kirby, and Joe Casey’s Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers; and not much more.
2:15:48-2:22:55: Louie Whitford asks, “Why didn’t Eclipse or First Comics survive? Or: What’s your favorite Eclipse series?”Discussed: quick shout-outs for books like Badger, Aztec Ace by Doug Moench and Dan Day; Alec by Eddie Campbell; Sabre by Don McGregor and Billy Graham; Destroyer Duck by Jack Kirby and Steve Gerber; the end of First and Eclipse; and so on.
2:22:55-2:33:01: Michael Loughlin asks, “1) In your opinion, what recent comics (2000s & 2010s) will be regarded as classics in the future? 2) Of all the writers who never worked with him, which writer would have made a good scripter for Jack Kirby? Feel free to choose one of his contemporaries or a current writer.”Discussed; our weird handwringing about the term “classic,” Al Ewing’s Loki and Kieron Gillen’s Journey Into Mystery; Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim; and more.
2:33:01-end: Closing comments! Due to some crazy real-life events, I’ve cut out our talk of upcoming episodes and gone straight to Graeme telling you where you can find us on the Internet. Stitcher!Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! Tumblr! And, of course, on Patreon where, as of this count, 109 patrons make this whole thing possible! Speaking of which, Jeff has an apology that, thanks to an incisive email from Steve H, we have been tardy in providing the “recommend a book for us to read” perk to long-time patrons. We are in the process of getting organized and it is coming….soon!
Whew! Okay, so we hope you enjoy this episode, keep an eye on this space for what’s coming next, and remember: keep reading those comic books—you never know when you’re going to spend two and a half hours talking about them!
0:00:00-0:01:15: Instead of the usual cold open, I break with tradition to introduce Aaron Redfield’s alternative Baxter Building theme. That’s right: someone made us an alternate theme, you guys. It’s a beautiful thing. 
So, I got the first five issues of Micronauts: The New Voyages from the local comic store during its latest 50% off sale (because, really, if you can’t buy mid-period Peter B. Gillis/early-ass Kelley Jones for $1.50 an issue, when can you buy it?). My thinking was pretty much, hey, I like Mantlo’s Micronauts and I remember reading some of this at the time and thinking it was too trippy for the 11-year-old I was at the time, so I’ll love it now, right? As you might expect, the answer is “no.”
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