Glad to hear it.

How was mine?

Oh you know, My FF workshop was the buzz of the internet for a weekend, Brian Azzarello, Jill Thompson and Matt Fraction tried to convince me to get engaged during a panel and Hayden Panettiere is really, really short.

Here’s a breakdown of my weekend including the full story that I promised earlier on my infamous Team Spirit The FF workshop.

Thursday

The crowd at the FF Workshop

I get to the building and try to help out. My main contact with Hobbystar, Kevin Boyd, looks wrecked already but is in good spirits. Word starts filtering in Ethan Van Sciver is not coming. Due to a misspelling of one letter of his name (and his ticket being paid for by a third party), Ethan was given the full security mistreatment by United Airlines. By the time he got done, there was no flight to be had.

I make my way up to Team Spirit: The FF workshop. The workshop was designed as a way for those interested in the collaboration process and wanting to get into comics, how collaborations work. The Toronto Cartoonist Workshop let me have the honor of moderating it. And I mean that. I got to do a panel with Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting and Marko Djurdjevic. All are guys I respect, Epting especially is one of my current favorite artists.

There are a ton of versions floating around the net about what happened next with artist Marko Djurdjevic. I can tell you only a few of them are sort of right. I posted a very brief version a few days ago but here’s my full account.

Here’s what happened.

I entered the room, Marko was the first artist there. We spoke briefly (I asked him how to pronounce his name as I had been given 4 versions by different people). Steve Epting arrived. Hickman is nowhere to be seen; I later learn his flight was late.

I start the panel and we go through a few questions for both men and to be completely honest, I’m unsure how we got to the subject of Marko’s contract ending but it came up; I think just before Hickman got there.

Marko gave his opinion on why he left the Marvel gig, JMS (the infamous toilet paper comment did occur) and redesigns.

At no time was the panel hijacked.

The panel was about collaboration and Hickman hadn’t arrived yet. Marko started explaining his views, I let him go. I felt it was very fair to show the good side and the bad side of collaborating and Marko’s views were every bit as valid as mine, Hickman or Epting’s. In fact Hickman discussed with Marko openly about what could have been done differently.

If Marko had been so rude and uncaring towards the other panelists or myself, why would Hickman or Epting bother to ask him questions? I also think that the description of “tense” that’s being thrown around is also a little misleading. MTV, CBR and Bleeding Cool might all want to check back the audio versions of the workshop because you will probably hear me laugh numerous times.

Despite the fact I write for this site, I would have happily given my side of the story (which was offered to Bleeding Cool).

Friday

Friday was fairly uneventful.  I met up with Shelly Smarz to go over questions for our panel called The Four Colour Marriage. Basically there happened to be a number of married couples who work in comics at the convention and the panel was to talk about what it was like when you and your spouse work in the same industry and sometimes on the same projects.

It was a fairly standard panel, maybe even a little on the dry side due to the subject manner.

Until the panelists got bored. It started with Brian Azzarello.

“What’s hard about that…UnMarried Guy”

Matt Fraction quickly perked up too “yeah, I have a question for Mister I’m Afraid of Commitment down there”.

And then the dog pile was on.

I made the mistake of telling them I was saving up for a ring, Jill Thompson suggested I go to artists alley and buy one. Kelly Sue DeConnick suggested the panel should plan my wedding, Jill Thompson agreed and then suggested we call my girlfriend on my cell. Azzarello sat there watching with a slight smile on his face as if to say “that’s what you get for not getting into 100 Bullets sooner”.

Despite the fact the entire panel was made up of industry vets that I respect…. I deflected them on to Shelly and her impending marriage the first chance I got.

I should note that all the participants were cool to deal with, especially Jill Thompson and Brian Azzarello. Jill did have a few really good ideas for proposals that I may use. It should also be noted that despite the fact I weigh about two of Brian and have a couple of inches of height and reach on him, I never ever want to be in a fight with him.

I then headed over to Women in Comics sketch off which honestly was one of the best sketch offs I’ve ever been to. If you ever see Katie Cook at a convention panel STAY FOR IT! She has the best idea for a Batman one shot ever.

That night I headed out for a non-official convention outing called The Questys. It’s kind of like the Razzies for comics.  Beyond the awards there was stand up performances by Andrew Iviemy and Gavin Stephens as well as musical performances from Nerds With Guitars and Kirby Krackle (whose new album I’ll review next week). Great performances by all and the money from the door went to a good cause.

Kyle from Kirby Krackle with Nerds with Guitars

Saturday

Not much to report actually as it was my day off.  I wandered the floor, had a few people ask me about the FF panel, that was about it. I was amazed at that even though the con was still super busy, I still didn’t want to punch anyone in the face.

While walking around with Ed Campbell, we noticed that the horror section had shrank significantly this year.  I discovered my good friends at Anchor Bay have gained the rights to Battle Royale! Sweet!

Sunday

Final day of the con and I run into Kevin Boyd who somehow looks better at the end then he did at the beginning. I ran into the guys from Geek Hard and Andrew and I were both comparing the “who hurt more, who was more tired” notes. Yet Kevin, who I know for a fact was running around more than I was, looked like he could go another two days. I believe this is what he sleeps in:

Depiction of Kevin Boyd's rejuvenation chamber. Not Pictured, Kevin Boyd

Later in the afternoon I got to host a round-table on Captain America featuring Jason Aaron, Steve Epting, Steve McNiven and Bob McLeod. It was a fun little panel just meant for talking about Cap (although Jason Aaron did let slip he is writing the regular universe Cap in something in the near future) as opposed to scoops.

More than anything else that I took away from the panel was how the two Steve’s expressed their admiration for the work of McLeod (especially his work with Mike Zeck) and after the panel made sure to go over and let him know that they were fans.

Speaking of which, both Steves were pretty awesome. Steve Epting had to put up with me twice and was nothing but cordial both occasions.

And that was the end of the weekend. Just a few leftover notes.

Retailers, US cover is no longer a deal at cons. I regularly get US cover, you want my business, you’ll have to do better than that.

The biggest surprise of the weekend would have to be the brief appearance of director Guilermo del Toro on Sunday.  Apparently the appearance was kept a secret as convention organizers weren’t positive he would show up. But show up he did and signed for an hour. Apparently he will be in Toronto for the next year working on Pacific Rim. Mr. del Toro, I know of a great podcast that would love to have you on.

To Hobbystar/Fan Expo: I actually have nothing bad to say this year. As readers well know, I’m not one to mince words but honestly not a single complaint that I can attribute to you and as you may know I’ve had some harsh words for you in the past.  In fact my only real complaint about the con at all is that the fanboy stench on Saturday was pretty bad but I can’t blame you for that. Hell, you allowed the Axe people in there handing out samples of body wash so in essence, you did try and combat it.

That being said, I do have a few guest requests for next year: Matt Wagner, Kevin Eastman, P. Craig Russell and Walt Simonson are a good start.

As for best costume, there were a few but in the end this guy won me over.

OH......

YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Writer: Matt Fraction

Pencils: Stuart Immonen

Colours: Laura Martin

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Cover: Stuart Immonen; Steve McNiven

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Things don’t appear to be going very well for Marvel’s heroes over in the main Fear Itself title. Their biggest and strongest have all been transformed, chosen to wield mystical hammers that have transformed them physically beyond anything imaginable. They have also experienced great loss on top of it all, adding more weight to each blow as they come. This week we’re checking in on the fifth issue of Matt Fraction’s mini-series, so saddle up and mosey your finger over to whatever apparatus you use to scroll down the page.

The Road So Far…

There’s nothing to fear except fear itself. In this case, the characters of the Marvel universe are faced with their worst fears as the Serpent slithers into their lives. Those fears are made reality as one by one they lose their own, and one by one they realize they may not win this battle. The Serpent has risen, and the tide of the battle may have swung forever against their favour.

Thor takes on Angrir and Nul, better known as the Thing and Hulk.

What’s the Story?

It’s hammer time in the streets of New York. The transformed incarnations of Hulk and Thing stand toe-to-toe with Thor, swinging their hammers wildly as they decimate each other and the entire city block they call their battleground. As their fight continues, the city landscape incurs greater devastation. With Thor on the ropes and Ben Grimm rushing him, Thor summons Mjolnir and delivers a destructive strike to Grimm’s chest, proclaiming his like for Grimm and the sadness that accompanied the blow’s delivery. He notes, however, that he doesn’t harbour the same feelings of comradeship with the Hulk. After some tense moments, Thor and Hulk clash one final time, with Hulk coming out on the short end of things as he’s sent literally into orbit; around the earth. During his disposal, Franklin and Valerie find Ben badly wounded, forcing Franklin to break a promise he made to his parents in order to save Grimm. Elsewhere, Tony Stark attempts to strike a deal with Odin to do what he does best: make weapons. He requests access to Odin’s workshop in order to help turn the tide in their favour. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers’ return as Captain America is greeted by Skadi, who gloats about killing Bucky. They battle for a moment before the Serpent arrives, proclaiming dominion over the earth just as the Avengers assemble on the scene. They’re quickly dispatched, with the final insult to injury coming when Rogers hurls his shield at the Serpent, who easily catches it and destroys it with his bare hands.

Cap and Skadi face-off

The issue primarily featured the three principle members of the Avengers: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Thor. With Thor’s piece of the story taking precedence, a fair portion of the issue centered simultaneously on his continued defiance of his father and his desire to protect earth from the present threat. I enjoyed the aura of duty and nobility inherent in how Thor acted combined with the remorse he felt in hurting his friend. It’s an interesting dynamic to the story where one of the Marvel universe’s strongest characters came across as dutiful and noble in every sense of the word, and I feel that’s a testament to Fraction’s writing. He’s additionally being written in such a way where he’s prepared to sacrifice himself to save the world, which further complements those qualities. Where the other two components of the trinity are concerned, there was a rather intuitive dynamic between both Rogers’ story and Stark’s. On the one hand, it would appear that the destruction of the shield is very much symbolic of ultimate defeat with the tide having turned decisively against Rogers and his crew. On the other hand, this part of the story is contrasted against Stark’s request to Odin. Stark asks permission to gain access to Odin’s workshop, whereby he intends to devise weapons of his own to use against the Serpent. This almost instills a sense of hope in the story, that as bad as things are going, there’s s still a glimmer of sunshine left in their darkening days.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Iron Man tries to cut a deal with Odin to turn the tide.

Immonen’s work is top-notch from beginning to end, not letting up at any point concerning the level of quality of his pencils nor the overall action. The art nicely complements Fraction’s dialogue. I feel like the battle between Hulk, Thor and Thing was told very well in the opening pages where the dialogue is effectively a foreign dialect and a series of grunts. Here we see each character swinging their respective hammers, with Hulk ultimately connecting with Thor in one panel, and then in a series of panels in the middle of the page, we find Thor hitting the ground hard. As he’s there though, what would be the middle-right panel is broken up into three vertical panels displaying a close-up of Thor calling Mjolnir, another of the Asgardian hammer stirring, and then a final one as it arrives in his hand. Elsewhere, I thought the sequence of panels featuring Steve Rogers going against Skadi was nicely paced and highlighted the hostilities moment-by-moment. Beginning with them at a distance, the two face-off and converse, leading Skadi to proclaim with her arms outstretched that Thor is as good as dead. Immonen then draws the panel back into Skadi’s face, followed by a charging Rogers and ending with a close-up of the famed Super Soldier as he pushes on. I really enjoyed the page where Rogers hurls the shield at the Serpent. Beginning once he picks it up, he throws it directly at the Serpent who effortlessly catches and destroys it in a fantastically drawn and remarkably coloured page. As a whole, the artwork was as solid as it’s been throughout the entire series, even ending nicely on a visibly ominous note as Rogers and Hawkeye woefully stare off into the distance at the destruction.

The Serpent breaks the heart of America.

Final Thoughts

Issue five of Fear Itself was one of the better issues of the series, brimming with action and fantastic artwork, while posing some interesting twists and plot development. Stark’s request to Odin is curious, albeit sensible considering the way their battle against the Serpent and his Chosen is going. I don’t know if I like the potential for the plot development though. Although I doubt Fraction will create similar weapons to transform Marvel’s heroes, I suspect something will be created to help turn the tide. If the former is the case though, that’s a jokey plot device that works fine for the villains, but is ridiculous if we supplant the concept to the heroic figures of the story. Regardless, I liked the breaking of the shield as it serves as a nice accompanying plot device to the Stark story, again highlighting that although things are really, really bad, there’s still a chance to succeed. Thor’s story is developing rather nicely, and it would appear the Asgardian warrior will go out on his “shield” if we believe the previews at the end of the issue. The most peculiarly interesting part of the story though was Franklin Richards’ use of his powers, which considering their immensity, may very well be the thing the heroes need to succeed. Overall, issue five was a very good installment which definitely picked up the story’s pace, while developing some interesting elements as the mini-series enters its final two issues.

Writer: Matt Fraction

Pencils: Stuart Immonen

Colours: Laura Martin

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Cover: Stuart Immonen; Steve McNiven

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Issue two of Marvel’s huge summer blockbuster series is upon us. I felt the first issue was a little underwhelming, but let’s see if this installment improves the mini-series’ stock among this summer’s biggest books. Forward we go!

Synopsis

There’s nothing to fear except fear itself. In this case, the characters of the Marvel universe are faced with their worst fears as the Serpent slithers into their lives, while Skadi rises with her hammer in tow to reign fear upon the Marvel universe.

Thor returns to Asgard along with the other Asgardians

What’s the Story?

With the Asgardians having returned to their plane, Odin moves to prepare for the coming onslaught from Skadi and the Serpent. However doing so includes imprisoning Thor after he questions the authority of his father’s decision to return the Asgardians to Asgard. Odin has Thor shackled and then delivers a speech to the Asgardians, telling them that he has witnessed the rise of the Serpent before, knows what to expect, and knows how to defeat him. Meanwhile on Earth, prominent and physically strong Marvel characters are possessed by entities after touching various hammers that had fallen to earth. They’re infused with god-like capabilities and are completely overtaken by the entities. Elsewhere the Serpent moves his forces out from their Antarctic stronghold and begin to terrorize earth’s citizens, as Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter and Maria Hill watch helplessly from the Shield Helicarrier as events unfold around the world.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Immonen comes through in this issue with some solid pencil work, shining his brightest during the early pages while on Asgard and during the sequences where Marvel characters are possessed once taking ownership of any one of the eight stone hammers scattered around the earth. Martin’s colours add to Immonen’s pencils to create a more cosmic, wondrous element to the book’s art which is otherwise fairly straight-forward. These scenes which take up much of the issue are central and entertaining in their own way, ranging from Juggernaut trashing the Raft, to Hulk’s pseudo-intellectual presumptions about the harmlessness of the hammer, to Absorbing Man’s failure to pick up what would be another’s property. Each contained their nuances which tell their own stories beyond Fraction’s explicit dialogue. Overall I was impressed with the artwork.

Asgard upon the Asgardians' return

Overall Thoughts

Although the first issue was rather lackluster, the second issue of Fear Itself delivered. From Odin’s rallying call and speech to the Asgardians about the forthcoming threat, to the possession of some of the Marvel universe’s physically strongest characters, to the feeling of sheer helplessness Marvel’s brightest are faced with, the issue offers enough punch to carry the story forward. The issue instills a sense of dread for these same characters when faced with the realization that some of their best hopes for success in this battle have been unceremoniously recruited to the other side by the Serpent. With the Marvel heroes’ hands tied, it’s evident the Asgardians will play a central role in saving Earth from the God of Fear and the Serpent’s growing army. This issue creates senses of immediacy and urgency within the characters and the reader, instilling a very real possibility that things couldn’t possibly get worse for these characters, and yet with five issues left, there’s plenty left to fear. After a sluggish start, Fraction’s summer mini-series is off to the races and seems to at least at this point be a worthwhile read that promises an epic battle in every sense.

Hobbystar has really pulled out all the stops to make sure that the customers are getting the most out of the now 4 day convention. Announced earlier today, the guestline up is quite the who’s who of the comic world. Check out the list below:

FEATURED GUESTS

• JEFF SMITH (artist/creator – BONE)
• JOE KUBERT (Legendary Artist)
• ANDY KUBERT (artist – FLASHPOINT, BATMAN)
• ADAM KUBERT (artist – ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE)
• TONY MOORE (artist – THE WALKING DEAD, VENOM)
• MATT FRACTION (writer- FEAR ITSELF, THOR, IRONMAN, UNCANNY X-MEN)
• STEVE EPTING (artist – FANTASTIC FOUR, CAPTAIN AMERICA)
• JONATHAN HICKMAN (writer – FANTASTIC FOUR, S.H.I.E.L.D, PAX ROMANA)
• STUART IMMONEN (artist – FEAR ITSELF)
• OLIVIER COIPEL (artist – THOR)
• JASON AARON (writer- ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA, WOLVERINE)
• JAMES ROBINSON (writer – SUPERMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)
• STEVE McNIVEN (artist – CAPTAIN AMERICA, NEMESIS)
• SHANE DAVIS (artist – SUPERMAN EARTH ONE)
• RON GARNEY (artist – ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA)
• MARKO DJURDJEVIC (artist – THOR, FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN)
  
• JIMMY CHEUNG (artist- AVENGERS:THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE)
• BRIAN AZZARELLO (writer – FIRST WAVE, 100 BULLETS, JOKER)
• ETHAN VAN SCIVER (artist – THE FLASH REBIRTH)
  
• MARK BROOKS (artist – UNCANNY X-FORCE)
  
• DAN SLOTT (writer – AMAZING SPIDER-MAN)
  
• ALEX MALEEV (artist – MOON KNIGHT, SCARLET)
  
• DALE EAGLESHAM (artist – ALPHA FLIGHT)
  
• FRANCIS MANAPUL (artist – THE FLASH)
  
• KATHRYN IMMONEN (writer – WOLVERINE & JUBILEE)
  
• DALE KEOWN (artist – HULK, PITT)
  
• JEFF LEMIRE (artist – SUPERBOY, SWEET TOOTH)
  
• KATIE COOK (artist – GRONK, STAR WARS, FRAGGLE ROCK)
  
• DOUG SNEYD(Legendary Playboy cartoonist)

Off the top of my head I’m beyond excited to see that Jeff Smith and Jason Aaron are going to be there. Jeff Smith has long been one of my cartooning heroes and Jason Aaron has yet to write something I didn’t like. (For more on Mr. Aaron check out Brent’s column about Scalped, probably one of the best series being written right now.)

More creators also attending are:

• Kei Acedara
• Attila Adorjany
• Sam Agro
• Adrian Alphona
• Kalman Andrasofszky
• Andy Belanger
• J. Bone
• Kent Burles
• Scott Chantler
• Bobby Chiu
• Michael Cho
• Charlene Chua
• Aaron Costain
• Wes Craig
• David J. Cutler
• Willow Dawson
• Valentine DeLandro
• Anthony Del Col
• Michael Del Mundo
• Jason Edmiston
• Nick Evans
• Ray Fawkes
• W. Scott Forbes
• Mike Gagnon
• Agnes Garbowska
• Holly Halftone
• Clayton Hanmer aka C-Ton
• Scott Hepburn
• Greg Hyland
• Raffaelle Ienco
• Jesse Jacobs
• Eric Kim
• Leonard Kirk
• Shane Kirshenblatt
• Scott Kowalchuk
• Annie Koyama
• Drazen Kozjan
• Jessie Lam
• Marvin Law
• Alvin Lee
• Kurt Lehner
• Leo Leibelman
• Nimit Malavia
• Steven Charles Manale
• Steve Mannion
• Marvin Mariano
• Nick Marinkovich
• John Martz
• Richard Maurizio
• Conor McCreery
• Brian McLachlan
• Kagan McLeod
• Diana McNally
• Alex Milne
• Vicki Nerino
• Richard Pace
• Dan Parent
• Ramon K. Perez
• Alex Perkins
• Nick Postic
• Gibson Quarter
• Peter Repovski
• Ethan Rilly
• Benjamin Rivers
• Hugh Rookwood
• Dave Ross
• Riley Rossmo
• Salgood Sam
• K.T. Smith
• Fiona Smyth
• Steve Sprayson
• Diana Tamblyn
• Ty Templeton
• Kelly Tindall
• Marcus To
• J. Torres
• James Turner
• Alina Urusov
• Eric Vedder
• Joe Vriens
• Tigh Walker
• Ken Wheaton
• Kurtis Wiebe
• Britt Wilson
• Steve Wolfhard
• Howard Wong
• Tory Woollcott
• Wowee Zonk (Patrick Kyle, Ginette Lapalme, Chris Kuzma)
• Craig Yeung
• Richard Zajac
• Jim Zubkavich

Some publishers and studios were also announced as attending, including:

• DC Comics
• Marvel Comics
• Image Comics
• Archie Comics
• Udon Entertainment
• DK Canada
• Koyama Press
• Imaginism Studios
• Transmission-X (TX Comics)

as well as

• The Joe Kubert School
• Toronto Cartoonists Workshop

We’ll keep you posted as more announcements are being made!

4 O'Clock on a Friday at the Fan Expo

Fan Expo is absolutely crazy. Usually Friday is the dead day, the day that you don’t have to worry as much about the crowds. This was definitely not the case. Luckily it’s Canadian comic crowds so everyone is really nice, and you hear lots of “excuse me’s” and “sorry’s” as they barrel through you.

Having switched from the Metro Convention Center’s South Building to the North Building actually seemed to have worked out quite well, with less congestion due to a more well thought layout.

Steve McNiven and Ian Churchill

Marvel’s booth plays six pretty horrible top 40 songs over and over and over, and there’s not a lot going on there except for a few signings (I caught up with a few friends as they were in line for Steve McNiven and Ian Churchill.) Arune Singh and CB Cebulski are hanging out there and it seems like a few people are dropping by to say hi – do the same, and then see if they’ll maybe put on some different music.

DC’s booth is the same layout as last year, with tables squared off and a bunch of free swag on the tables. I walked by and saw Dan Didio and Jeff Lemire chatting.

It’s a pretty good show so far, I’m hoping to take more of it in tomorrow as I spent most of today digging through various comic book bins looking for back issues to find. (I’m looking for the oversized Runaways Hardcovers and any obscure stuff that catches my eye.) I sat in on a few panels – the highlight so far Blake Bell‘s panel on Bill Everett – of whom he’s written an upcoming book on – and Steve Ditko – whom he’s written on in the past.

So if you’re at Fan Expo tomorrow and you see this dashing figure cutting a swath through the corridors, come on up and say hey!

Pete DeCourcy is EiC of ComicBookDaily.com. He tumbls over at You Practically Rock and writes for The Simple Art of Crime. If you have any questions or demands of him, he can be reached via email at pdecourcy[at]comicbookdaily[dot]com. He’s pretty immature.

Gene Colan could use a bit of help

Gene Colan is one of the masters. Tomb of Dracula is one of those books that up and coming artists should be handed before drawing anything horror related. Due to his eye sight it takes him a while to finish a piece but when he does…wow. Unfortunately Gene suffered an injury not too long ago where his shoulder was broken. Unlike us Canadians, he doesn’t have a public health care system to help him out. Not only that, broken shoulder means no drawing for Gene which means no income for what’s estimated to be three months. But if you have a couple of bucks to spare you can help out and maybe score yourself so cool stuff.

For auction info go to

http://genecolan.blogspot.com/

And for updates on Gene’s health

http://www.thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/

Image United…not so much

So according to Rob Liefeld, Image United is a disappointment (due to shipping), Erik Larsen concurs but says when it’s all out, everyone will forget about the lateness and the story will standout. The lateness doesn’t surprise me. The statement from Larsen doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is public distention in the ranks. Originally when this whole thing was coming out it was very much an all for one attitude and now we’re just one step away from name calling.

Capcom vs Marvel 3

Marvel VS Capcom 3 Captivate 2010 Trailer
Uploaded by FrenchGamers. – Discover more gaming videos.

This might not mean much to some people but a lot of gamers perked up and took notice with this announcement. The first two Capcom vs Marvel games are often noted as two of the best fighting games of the past generation. The difference this time is when the last two games came out, Marvel was more of a minor player. All you have to do is look at the characters in the previous games, Blackheart is a character for pete’s sake. Now Marvel is a bigger player and there’s a chance we’ll get a line up of premium characters for this version. Yes I’m a nerd.

DC…what are you doing?

My problems with DC’s trade program are very well known at this point but the more I read about DC’s publishing ideas the more I have to question what the hell they are thinking. Anyone else notice that DC has no digital delivery system of any sort? Yes I know that Marvel’s shiny new Ipad app isn’t perfect but at least they have something, even before that Marvel had a really crappy online subscription service. IDW has a decent delivery system and they’re realistically half the size of DC.

Nemesis on hold?

On hold indefinitely? Late for a few months? Conflicting reports about how much damage a kidney stone and a bad back has done to Steve McNiven’s schedule but I’ll be honest, as someone with knowledge on the kidney stone front, can’t blame him. But an official word from Marvel might be nice.

Casanova puts the moves on Icon

Matt Fraction’s creator owned book has moved to Marvel’s Icon imprint. Interesting move but not unexpected on either end. Matt Fraction is one of Marvel’s solid writers, you could trust the guy with pretty much any character and he’d make a solid book out of it. Icon tends to be a little bit of a reward system for Marvel; if you do good by them, they do good by you. And I tend to agree.

Brent Chittenden is a Canadian freelance writer who also happens to write humorous things for Bite TV’s blog. If you have need of his services you can reach him at bcchittenden@gmail.com, twitter at @BCNerdhole and his podcast Two Assholes Talking About Nerd Stuff. Feel free to become a fan of him at his Facebook group Brent Chittenden: The Writer.

According to Rich Johnson over at Bleeding Cool is announcing that Steve McNiven – suffering from a bad back and a kidney stone – has let it be known that “Nemesis #2 has been indefinitely delayed, as he’s still trying to complete the pages.”

While we all expected that Nemesis will be late (I can’t really think of one Millar project that managed to have every issue ship on time) this leaves the project completely up in and air, hopefully Mr. McNiven will start feeling better and as his health improves and he’ll be able to get to work on the project so that I can purchase the inevitable hardcover collection.

While this story was based on reporting by a Bleeding Cool contributor talking to McNiven at C2E2, Mark Millar has repudiated the report on his board. Millar writes;

NEMESIS #2 IS ALMOST FINISHED HOPEFULLY OUT IN A FEW WEEKS TIME

People have got in touch and asked what’s happening as some nonsense online about Nemesis delayed indefinitely. Steve had a couple of health problems that slowed him down, but he’s almost finished issue two and isn’t doing anything else until he’s finished issue four (the series finale). I don’t know where this started (perhaps Chinese Whispers at Chicago), but issue two will be out in a few weeks and we’re probably looking every two months for the remaining two issues.

PS We have our director and the deal is being ironed out this week. He’s literally my number one choice and all the mods, who know who he is, are very excited. I’ve finished the comic series and the scripts are now in the hands of the director who will start adapting next month. HUGELY EXCITING!

I don’t really care though.

Oh, I’m not really in a rush – I figured I’d eventually pick it up, but not without reading the first issue.

So here’s my take on Nemesis:

It’s Millar’s attempt to do one of Warren Ellis Avatar stories.

It’s even got all of Ellis’ writing tics.

Everyone is brilliant and everyone name drops people that are equally as brilliant but fairly obscure. the villain is not afraid of ultra-violence  and it ends on a note that’s on par with one of Ellis’ zero issue teases.

Look, I could be way off base, but thus far this is the vibe I’m getting from it. Millar is a skilled writer who can be pretty lazy when it comes to plot. He’s more known for his moments than for actual storylines. (With maybe the exception of Superman Red Son ..which has one of my favourite endings in any comic ever.)

Leave comments below and tell me how crazy I am.

Well, it’s happening now. The auction will benefit the charity that Mark Millar’s brother, the doctor, works with, caring for handicapped children in Scotland. Mark is quoted in the eBay listing saying;

My older brother, Dr. Bobby Millar, works with these children every day and he explained to me what a difference it would make if they could get a new bus. Resources are tight at all schools and hospitals in the current economic climate, but we had a great success with the Kick-Ass auction and feel hopeful that comic-book readers will dig deep again and they can build towards this pretty hefty amount of cash they need for the vehicle. Steven and I have had an amazing run of luck with Civil War and Old Man Logan and we’re hoping “Nemesis” will be similarly massive. To star as a comic-book hero is pretty cool and the intense movie-studio and production-company interest for “Nemesis” before the book even hits the stands should bode well that whoever wins this auction will get their name out there in many other media too, just like Dave Lizewski. I really hope people get behind this as the staff at the school do a terrific job and the kids would be delighted with this nice, new bus everyone has their eye on.

So there you go then. Dynamic Forces has helped organize the charitable aspect of the auction. Which is live as of…. now. Click here to bid.

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6 (Oni Press)

Written and Drawn by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Over the course of five volumes O’Malley has managed to tell the story of Scott Pilgrim – the best fighter in the province – and his quest to date Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams by defeating her seven evil ex-boyfriends. Volume #5 is the best written, most confidently executed installment of the series yet, and this is one of those things that is written about each volume as it comes out.

The fact is, it’s not only an amazing comic book, it’s just a great story. Characters live and interact as real as you and your friends do – take away all the anime nods, the nintendo boss fights and it’s saturation and debt to nerd culture and you’re looking at a simple story about a guy getting his life together and growing up. Scott is – at first – completely likeable and intriguing – but as the books progress, we realize that Scott may be the main character, he’s not the hero, no one is. They’re all just people living and trying to figure out who they are.

Battling Boy (First Second)

Written and Drawn by Paul Pope

When I was putting together this list last year I put Battling Boy down as the book I was most looking forward to. I remember seeing the pictures that Paul Pope was putting on his blog and I was totally blown away. This was Paul Pope at his most raw and unleashed. Bringing the Kirby influence to the lessons he learned toiling away at the Kodansha Manga Studios creating an epic fight scenes that will possibly bring a new language to how we view how fight scenes could be read and laid out.

“In Batman Year 100, I had room for a couple of long fight sequences, but I felt cramped even with 200 pages. This fight scene from BATTLING BOY alone is about 50 pages. It’s liberating to have no page restrictions. I wish Kirby could’ve had 50 pages for one fight scene, imagine what he would’ve done.

The extended cinematic sequence is one of the best gifts we’ve inherited from manga. ”

Pope himself describes the series as such: “Battling Boy is aimed at kids and it’s coming out from First Second in 2007. It’s a kind of a fairytale kid Beowulf, or a Peter Pan with teeth. It’s set in a mythical city called Monstropolis, a city the size of a continent that’s overrun with monsters.”

Well, unfortunately it didn’t come out in 2009. But that’s fine – I mean, we got plenty of good reads – like the runner up on the list Asterios Polyp and Parker: The Hunter. But I cannot wait to see just what happens when this book finally drops and the influence it will have on future works.

Nemesis (Marvel)

Written by Mark Millar

Drawn by Steve McNiven

What is Joker had all the resources of Batman? What if Batman was the Joker?

The storyline doesn’t matter – it’s a set piece book. It’s Mark Millar writing insane scenes of hyper violence and operatic super-villainy for McNiven to draw in brilliant, beautiful detail. Millar is only as good as his artist and with McNiven he’s found a wonderful partner for these sorts of high-concept, low thought process stories. Say what you will about Old Man Logan – there’s one thing people agree on, it’s beautiful. McNiven isn’t a fast artist, and that’s fine – we don’t want him on a monthly any way, we want him doing what he does to the best of his ability, don’t expect an issue a month, just be greatful to get it when we get it.

Nemesis is an excuse for Millar’s faith in McNiven’s imagination and skill to take off and go to darker and more widescreen places, and that’s what we’re going to get with Nemesis.

Pete DeCourcy is Editor in Chief of Comic book daily. He also manages Blue Beetle Comics in Barrie, Ontario. You can find more of his writings at the Simple Art of Crime and You Practically Rock. 2009 has been a good year for him, and he’s excited to see what 2010 brings.

Finally got to read Old Man Logan.

Yeah, I know, about a month late.

I must admit, it was worth the wait.

The end.

I’m just kidding. Although maybe if Comic Book Daily lets me, maybe I will start writing three line reviews.

But regardless, I still stand by it.

Mark Millar is one of those writers who I either love his work or read it once and forget about it. Love his time on The Authority and The Ultimates, completely forgot the fact that he had written Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and Wolverine.

Steve McNiven on the other hand, I love. I loved his work on Cla$$war, I loved his work on Ultimate Galactus. What I’ve seen of Civil War is pretty good. Hell, I watched him in a sketch off at Fan Expo where he drew Two Face and it was awesome. So McNiven drawing Wolverine sounded great to me.

Now the popular comparison seems to be “It’s Wolverine meets Unforgiven” and it is a fair one. Old Man Logan shows us a future where the villains won after staging a mass assault against the heroes. The bad guys had strength in numbers (it’s even pointed out that there are at least five villains for every hero) and murder most of them.

Something happened to Wolverine, something so bad he vowed never to pop the claws again or to fight or to kill.

Then a blind Hawkeye shows up and wants Logan to help him bring something cross country. It is assumed to be drugs.

This trip allows Millar to bring out his best Grant Morrison. There are dinosaurs, venom dinosaurs, mole men, hillbilly hulks all of which are expertly drawn by McNiven.

We do get to see what banished Wolverine from the world of violence and we also get to see who was behind the huge take over.

And the story is told really well.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not Citizen Kane. But it’s a great action story. To keep in the movie theme, this is not a Micheal Bay movie, it’s a good John Carpenter film. Escape from New York comes to mind. Solid, simple story backed up by great visuals.

And it leaves such an awesome universe for later exploration. A simple comment The Red Skull makes really makes me curious what happened to Europe. It’s never shown, nothing specifically is mentioned, we just know it’s been hammered pretty bad.

Not to mention Mark Millar manages to stick to his character’s guns. It’s a Wolverine story where for 50% of the book, Wolverine doesn’t punch, stab or kill people. Okay well Old Man Logan doesn’t, we do however get to see him murder a lot in flashback.

Speaking of which, McNiven draws a great Red Skull, can we get him on a Cap mini or one shot? During World War 2 maybe? Please?

McNiven is perfect for a book of this scale. He can draw dinosaurs. He can draw characters and his pacing and panels are great.

In terms of where it sits in the Wolverine pantheon… I like it as much if not better then Claremont/Miller mini series but not better then Barry Windsor Smith’s Weapon X.

So take it for what you will I guess. Great action story, one of the best Wolverine stories in the past few years. If you like Wolverine, I’d buy it.