Highway 62

NEWSARAMA - SPEAKEASY CLOSES ITS DOORS

And then there are non-surprise surprises. The above is one of those. I'm saddened, because at its inception, Speakeasy could have actually done something. But they made some bad choices and devoted resources to anything but publicizing their line. Speakeasy grew when it wasn't the right thing to do, to their own detriment, precipitating a steady drain on their publishing line.

And yes, this is exactly why I cancelled the Strangeways deal with Speakeasy. I didn't think that they were going to be around long enough to put out the whole of the first storyline, so I took the title elsewhere. Where else precisely hasn't yet been nailed down yet. In all likelihood, it'll go out under the Highway 62 banner as an original trade (I hesitate to use the shorthand OGN.)

Best wishes to those folks who are left in the cold because of this. To Josh and the ELK'S RUN crew in particular, but also to Dean Haspiel's FALLOUT (which is so good that it should have no problem going elsewhere.)

Posted by Matt M. at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Just smile and wave...

Broken Frontier | The Portal for Quality Comics Coverage!

I was recently interviewed by Jesse Vigil of Broken Frontier regarding Strangeways and how it (sorta) came to be. Part one is up now, at the above link. Part two up...soonish, I'm told. Give it a read, won't you?

Posted by Matt M. at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Is that you?

I didn't even know that I had this. Found a box of half-read comics, mostly bargain bin stuff that I scrounged up when I was getting back into comics a couple of years ago. The above panel came from DC SUPER STARS PRESENTS: DEADMAN AND THE PHANTOM STRANGER, which featured a three chapter, novel-length epic of the evil of Quabal as he threatened to invade the earth plane. As the cover says: "It's 13 O'clock--Time for Mankind to Die--As the Demons Inherit the Earth!"

Anyways, the panel (with art by Romeo Tanghal and Bob Layton) features some of the DC writing corps of the era. Why the authorial insertion (that's Gerry Conway, the story's author, on the left with a particularly unsavory bit of portraiture) is a bit of a mystery. Oh, that's Martin Pasko next over, looking quite suave in a 1977 sort of way. Next to him, you guessed it. Paul Levitz, current top dog at DC. Next to him is the penciller of the story, Romeo Tanghar (who's largely unfamiliar to me.) And the woman at panel left is identified only as "Carla". Someone help me out here. I feel bad that I can't pin down a full ID, but c'est la vie.

Reading the story, though, there's precisely zero reason for these folks to be here. Sure, it was the last of the DC SUPER STARS issues, so maybe that's the reasoning (not unlike the Claremont insertion at the end of his MAN-THING run in 1980 or 1981). Perhaps the end of this little window into the DCU demanded some sort of visitation from the higher powers. Who knows. But it certainly makes for amusing blog fodder some thirty years later.

As for the comic itself, not so great. Some real wackiness, though. I love those pre-Vertigo DC magic comics a whole bunch. Sometimes for metatextual reasons (geez, Etrigan as comic relief? Zatanna's 80's costume?) and sometimes just 'cause you want to read something where no rational physical laws apply.

Posted by Matt M. at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And the broken glass and nails and rusty razorblades. I'm tidying up and trying to change the templates without breaking anything too horribly. We'll see how this goes.

Continue to talk amongst yourselves.

Posted by Matt M. at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wondercon - Sunday, and other musings

I spend entirely too much time keepin up on the comics business, both the creative and retail ends, I’ve decided. Mostly I figured this out ‘cause I go to panels with retailers and I pretty much know what’s going to be said. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a smart bunch, by and large, but I’m not going to learn anything at a con panel regarding retailing that I haven’t already figured out.

You’d think that I know this by now. Obviously I’m a maroon. ‘Cause I went to the Sunday morning Future of Retailing panel. Well, what else am I gonna do, go to the DC panel that I’ve seen once before in the hope that someone’s gonna ask questions that’ll flip the lids of the panelists? I could, but I instead tried to keep my finger on the pulse of the larger industry instead of just the dominant mode by the dominant player in the game.

I know that Ian’s going to be writing up something on the Retailer panel, so I won’t steal his thunder. What it boils down to, however, is that the comics business is a lot more than the DM comics that we get in the Previews catalog. However, the sad fact of things is that there’s so much product out there that keeping up on just Previews is more than most one man shops can muster, and usually takes a dedicated employee’s entire time. Not to mention anything carried by book distributors or Cold Cut or Last Gasp or whomever. Too many titles. Too many SKUs. However, some folks manage to keep abreast of it, and manage to stock further than just Previews (even the scary back section.) It all falls on the retailer and the kind of store that they want to run. Sure, there’s a lot of low hanging fruit to gather up, and that pleases one audience. But if you want to have a wider audience, if you want to capture the person on the street, you have to offer more. Thankfully guys like Rory Root know that. He’s also a charming speaker who should probably get a panel of his own. But he’d probably rather be selling books on the floor.

Sunday was significantly quieter on the show floor than Saturday was. That’s the usual case, of course. But I didn’t get the sense of any last moment crazy sales or haggling or anything like that. Perhaps folks were just too wiped out to do much of it. I looked around without too much enthusiasm, rifling through boxes sort of half-heartedly. Until I managed to come across something that you don’t see everyday. No, it wasn’t like finding a GIANT SIZED X-MEN #2 for cover price, but it was something that I’d been looking for.

Right there in the “misc K” section was KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND. It was one of those Vertigo Voices specials they did in the mid-90s, just about after the time they figured out that they didn’t want to simply be the voice of mature DC, but wanted to do their own thing (with varying degrees of success). Anyways, KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND is kinda hard to find, and laying my grubby mitts on it was a nice surprise (it’s also one of the few Morrison things that I hadn’t been able to pick up. ZENITH and NEW ADVENTURES OF HITLER remain on my list.) Haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure there’ll be a review once I do. Not like there aren’t a thousand books in line ahead of it…

Headed back upstairs, basking in the glow of my victory, to take in the Frank Miller spotlight panel. Secretly I was hoping that someone would ask him what his reasoning was behind ruining Batman (not that I necessarily agree with said statement, mind you.) The event was held in THE BIG ROOM, with the dual screens and something like a thousand seats or more. Huge, crazy. You’d think it was a religious revival or something. Apparently it was going to be held in the larger small room until someone started doing math and figured out that if the room was half full for Grant Morrison that there was no way in hell that it’d hold a Miller-driven crowd. Too bad, as I’d liked to have seen a riot break out to break up the Sunday lull.

I hadn’t seen Frank Miller at a show for something like ten years, and back then he was an unannounced guest at a panel or something that I’d attended at SDCC. So I wasn’t sure what to expect. Oh yeah, I could have guessed from his work, but that’s sometimes a dicey proposition. Particularly when your biggest work is satirical in nature. However, in this case, it wasn’t all that far off.

Miller stalked up to the microphone, gaunt though not haggard. Though his voice sounded like a talking pile of hot asphalt. His answers to Charles Brownstein’s interview questions were gruff and succinct, rarely embellishing points. Not unlike the dialogue he writes nowadays (as opposed to some of the DAREDEVIL dialogue on his run, which seems pretty overwritten by today’s standards, probably by editorial dictate). I found some of his answers interesting, like SIN CITY being the most romantic thing he’s ever written (particularly THAT YELLOW BASTARD). Can’t disagree with that notion. It’s highly romanticized stuff, even if it’s blackly so.

Oh, and he wants to write propaganda. Well, actually, he’s already writing it. It’ll be very interesting to see how it’s received. HOLY TERROR, BATMAN! >is< a brilliant title. I don’t care what anyone else says. It perfectly bridges the campy past and some kind of horrific future that we’re on the doorstep of but haven’t yet walked into. In a perfect world, he’d release it as a black and white original, but I don’t see that happening. I’m trying to imagine the book in my head, and what I’m getting is one of those WWII-era Superman books with him taking out the Axis, only featuring Batman punching out terrorists. I really have no idea how it’s going to turn out, but my gut tells me it’s gonna be misapprehended by the marketplace. As much as I like mature handling of superheroes (when done well), when you put together the wish-fulfillment power of spandex gods being thrown at contemporary events, the result is often lacking. It might be emotionally satisfying to have our folk heroes punch villains of the day, but it’s gonna be like crack. You get that hit and when you come down, what are you left with besides the same shit you were running away from? Then again, I could be wrong and he could be playing us all for suckers, expecting the right and then unleashing a devastating left. It could happen. I know I’m probably gonna get it either way.

Oh yes, Frank Miller is the Hemingway of contemporary comics. I was talking with Ken about this briefly last night and figured that you can come at it from a couple of different angles. You can look at it from the angle of a body of work that casts a long shadow over a particular field (and few cast a longer shadow than Frank Miller, even if much of that is the work of crass imitators working with only the grossest of surface details –- much like Alan Moore’s shadow in that regard.) And that’s one that jumps to mind, but that wasn’t the first comparison I thought of. When asked about where ideas for his work came from (a question every writer I’ve talked to doesn’t like to answer, because it’s usually “How do you turn them OFF?”), invariably Miller answered “I’ve lived a life.” (and that’s a paraphrase.) As an elder statesman (“You dick.”) of the craft, hopefully those sorts of words would be given more weight. Hopefully more people would come into writing with some degree of experience under their belts, in order to augment their imaginations and to give their work real bite.

This, by the way, is one of the reasons why Grant Morrison’s work of the last couple years is still engaging, though for different reasons than his crazed and frenetic earlier work (of which DOOM PATROL and ANIMAL MAN stand head and shoulders above books like ARKHAM ASYLUM, MYSTERY PLAY and KID ETERNITY.) Morrison is taking impending middle age and applying that to his characters. And if you don’t think that’s informing all of SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL STAR SUPERMAN, you’re missing something.

Back to Miller, however. Miller is a towering figure in comics, and yes, some of his work may be overrated, but that doesn’t diminish his stature. He still galvanizes an audience. And people will listen to him because he’s Frank Miller, even if they can’t bring themselves to agree with him (or disagree with him.) There were many moments with him at the microphone that reminded me of Jim Gordon’s retirement in (issue #2 I think) of DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, where Gordon speaks and makes the audience squirm and twist in their chairs and he gets strained applause in reply, as if to say “Please, just move on now.”

You want unfettered applause? Have him talk about Batman being a dick. You got it. A godlike Superman being an agent of the bad guys? A little less so.

It’ll be very interesting to see where his readership goes with #4 of ALL STAR BATMAN, etc and HOLY TERROR. I can tell you for sure that nobody but Frank Miller would be able to get these projects through DC. Nuh-uh.

There’s a lot I’m skipping here, I know. Can’t cover it all. Just not enough time. Though I’m sure there’s a transcript floating around somewhere. I have to say that his speaking made me feel even worse that I wasn’t going to be able to stay to see him comment on SIN CITY (which I still haven’t seen) or chat with him at the reception being held that night at Comic Relief. Can’t say that I agree with him, but he’s always a provocative speaker (and not just a baiter, which is really a brainless occupation better left to AM radio.)

Went to make a last run through the show floor. Was lucky enough to catch Eric Powell at the Dark Horse booth and get a quick sketch from him. I even asked (probably to his irritation) to “save a little time for THE GOON” since he’s getting so much work elsewhere that probably pays a lot better. Of course, it’s not my place to tell him what to do, and he probably should have socked me in the stomach for saying so. But, damn, I like THE GOON and hope it sticks around for some time, as long as he’s having fun doing it.

Snapped up a bunch more cheap comics, mostly some 70s SHADOW books and a copy of WEIRD WAR TALES #100 for two bucks apiece. Mostly I did this on Steve’s say so, as he raved about the Kaluta SHADOWs, particularly the issue that Wrightson inked. Okay, okay, I can fit a few more comics in the bag, I guess…

Finally signed up for my CBLDF membership, which is something that I should have (as a comics creator) done a long time ago. Yeah, chances are I’ll never need their services, but if I get myself into that sort of position, better to know them and not need them then need them and not, if you get my drift. Thought about getting my copy of KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND signed, but Mr. Morrison was signing a stack of ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1s for CBLDF and I figured that there were limits to even his graciousness.

Oh, you’re all probably wondering about the whole “Dancing with the Universe” title of this gigantic mess. Me, too.

Heh, just kidding.

Funny, but it ties in with Miller’s exhortation to have a life before you start writing it down. I sometimes get people asking me (since I’m such an unabashed fan of Morrison’s writing) if I buy all his mystical mumbo jumbo about fifth dimensions and magic and all that. The short answer is “sorta.” But not on the surface level. The whole point of magic(k) is to engage life and experience. “You dance with the universe and the universe dances back,” Morrison said, summing up a lot of his beliefs. Does that mean you have to get naked and take a lot of drugs and run around a bonfire praying to pagan gods to bring you wealth and riches?

Uhm, no. It might be a lot of fun for someone less inhibited than myself, though.

The whole point of things is to go out and do. Not to think about it or imagine it or talk about it, but to do. For awhile, I’d been withdrawn, stung by the way things had gone with STRANGEWAYS, burned out on comics, choosing to see only a reflection of my own shortcomings. Other publishers who I thought would be happy to give it a look had passed. And frankly, there’s a lot of fear in the air right now. Easy to get depressed about things and see only a macrocosm of trepidation.

Well, you project that sort of thing long enough and it’s all you see. Sometimes you need to be reminded you reap what you sow, right? Yeah, easy to forget when you work in a vacuum all the time and you relate to other strings of text and not human beings most of the time. Hey, I’ve got two kids, of course I don’t get out all that often. But this is why I like going to comics shows. I get to talk to people face to face (even about stuff beyond comics, like “What’s the best single of all time?” Graeme says “Accelerator” by Primal Scream, which is tough to argue, but I counter with “Green Onions” by Booker T, et al.) Comics are largely a solitary avocation, unless you’re lucky enough to have a store around which you can form a scene. Cons help break that a bit, foster engagement. And it’s all about engagement. Go ahead and dance, even if the universe steps on your toes. Just learn to move your feet a bit more and keep going.

Posted by Matt M. at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wondercon: Saturday

Peter’s Café in Millbrae offers a wonderful thing they call Peter’s Special Scramble, which combines the best features of eggs, spinach, ground beef, mushrooms, garlic and olive oil. Add some hashbrowns to that and a pot of coffee, and you’ve got enough power to get me moving on a Saturday morning.

Granted, my soul had already been stirred by the Dodge Challenger Daytona in the parking lot I saw on the way in. This thing was cherry, man. Hood locks, spoiler, mags, enough horsepower to send a battleship into orbit, the whole nine yards. Yeah, muscle cars are utterly impractical (he said, driving his little Prius around SF), but they’re amazing things, utterly of a time that’s nearly lost to us now, designed to do one thing and one thing only (go in a straight line really really fast). But they do it so well.

Breakfasted and drove into the city a bit on the late side. Wasn’t in any hurry. The first panel of the day was another of the three DCU panels, which seemed to be covering the same material, just on different days for the benefit of folks who couldn’t make it on Friday or Sunday. I also heard that it was pretty entertaining. Sample question: “Why doesn’t God just come down and make everything okay?” I’d like to have seen their answer to that. My understanding is that Greg Rucka fielded it. Of course, the easy answer is “God is down there. Who do you think the Spectre is, man?”

But that probably wouldn’t have made me so very popular.

The group I’d hooked up with (mostly the same folks I ran into at the Isotope the night before) headed over to the Meteron for lunch. I followed, still somehow hungry, or at least ready to eat. Not that the two are the same thing, really. Of course, I do get myself into trouble like that. Anyways, the Meteron was described to me as “a shopping mall as designed by a 14-year-old.” I suppose that’s not too far off. It’s very cool and more like a Disney ride than a shopping mall. Oh yeah, it doesn’t seem to have any public restrooms. But then again, you’re in downtown San Francisco, so perhaps that’s by design. Though the barbeque place sold a pretty decent tri-tip sandwich. And the french-fried onions looked pretty good, too, but I had a sudden attack of sensibility and ordered…salad. Yeah, I know. I’m gonna die anyways. May as well go for the gusto.

The real reason I was there on Saturday, of course, was to attend the Grant Morrison solo panel. Those are always entertaining, and you generally get a fun crowd with ‘em. This time was not really an exception, though the room was so big that it was hard to get a vibe going, as I’d seen in smaller venues.

And no, it didn’t take long for the line of questioning to run right the hell past superheroes and into fourth dimensionality, hypersigils and how Grant really didn’t encourage INVISIBLES readers to abuse themselves: just that he condoned it that one time. Like they needed his blessing…

Spoilers for a book that’ll never come out follow.

High points of the panel included his relating the utterly and beautifully absurd first issue of SEAGUY v. 2, which he’s basically written though there’s no interest in it at Vertigo right now (apparently the numbers on the first series were less than stellar, which is criminal on a cosmic scale.) Apparently our hero has been brainwashed by the agents of Mickey Eye, when he realizes that the parrot who replaced Chubby the Choona at the end of the first series is a BAD GUY. Seaguy is transformed into El Macho, world’s greatest matador! But he’s not a normal matador. See, you can’t kill bulls now, they’re sacred. So instead of poking them with a sword, you have to dress them and by doing so, utterly humiliate them. No really. The ghost of Chubby appears to Seaguy and ultimately, Seaguy follows him out of his artifically crafted life (apparently abandoning his pregnant wife.)

Of course, she isn’t pregnant. She says “Well, we just couldn’t keep him” to her round belly. Then she lifts her shawl and underneath it is not an unborn child, but a Mickey Eye.

End first issue. Cue applause.

Morrison teased the crowd with the possibility of a follow-on INVISIBLES volume, perhaps in the ENDLESS NIGHTS sort of format, to revisit the characters. I wouldn’t mind that at all. I’m not gonna hold my breath, however. And yes, there’s a rumor of something going on with JH Williams as the artist. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’ll be worth reading. No mention of LE SEXXY, which is unsurprising, but I hold out hope. Non-genre work is going to be a tough sell. And he re-confirmed the “leak” that he will be writing BATMAN. More importantly, it’s the hairy-chested love god Batman. I’m wondering if he’ll just go all out and write him as Diabolik in the DCU, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, really. Plenty of room to put him on the wrong side of lots of superheroes and use his brain to show that BATMAN IS STRONGEST ONE OF ALL. Bring back the Sci-Fi Closet!

And when the questions got too heavy, someone wisely asked “Could Hulk beat up Superman?” Cue applause and relief. I’m always intrigued how Grant’s superhero fans mesh with his batshit crazy stuff fans. Fun dynamic to watch.

Oh yes, he relayed an utterly bonkers ATOM premise/pitch that could be a lot of fun. Not sure how long it’s sustainable, but it’d make a great little miniseries. Or anthology anchor. Imagine that. Tales of the DCU, anchored by a big talent story and a couple of other smaller talents just going wild. I know. I’m a dreamer. So I’ve been told.

Waited around after the show to get my copies of FLEX MENTALLO and ALL STAR SUPERMAN signed. I know. I’m a fanboy. Duly noted. Teased out some details of upcoming stories and apparently the third issue of SUPERMAN features Samson and Atlas vying alongside Superman for Super-Lois’ love. Issue four features Superman and Jimmy Olsen in the Complex (aka the nexus of all zaniness in JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES). Superman goes bad and it’s up to Jimmy to take him down. Sign me up.

Tried to attend some of the SUPERMAN RETURNS panel, but things were running very late, and instead caught the tail end of the Pixar panel. I love Pixar, I really do. But CARS doesn’t look so good. Doesn’t help that I kinda loathe Owen Wilson’s persona (which is just about all he’s asked to play these days.) The ONE MAN BAND short that they played after the CARS clip was a hundred times better. Gimme more of that.

SILENT HILL looks like stylized by the numbers sort of spookery. Pass.

Followed the group along to the Mark Waid spotlight panel. I dunno, I’d probably have a lot more fun chatting with Mr. Waid about physics than superheroes. His writing’s never really done much for me, though EMPIRE was intriguing. He certainly proved he understood Dr. Doom better than anyone since his creators, though. And he’s an entertaining speaker, which is more than can be said for a lot of comics folks. And on that note, let me just say that I’d pay good money to see Howard Chaykin host a solo panel where you just put him down in front of a mic and let him go. He’s dominated every panel I’ve seen him on, and, sure he’s not wrtiting INFINITE CRISIS, but I’d rather listen to him than Geoff Johns.

Hit the floor for a little longer, trying to get Nora hooked up with some Wrightson art to learn from and I started rummaging around for copies of KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND and ROGAN GOSH. Didn’t find those, but I found a bunch of old Vertigo one-shots for half off (I DIE AT MIDNIGHT and SMELLS LIKE TEEN PREZ [ouch, that title!]) and some weird stuff in a dollar bin (SHADE THE CHANGING MAN #1 – the original Ditko series, not the revival). Encouraged Ian to spend a dollar on the wonderfully deranged Steve Purcell/Art Adams GUMBY WINTER SPECIAL. Got a look a the new Bob Burden/Rick Geary GUMBY series as well. Looks promising.

Oh stop snickering. Gumby is a font of absurd and surrealist goodness. You can draw a line from Gumby to Jim Woodring’s FRANK without too much trouble whatsoever. At least I can.

A word about convention attendance. Yes, it was well attended. So well attended that the fire marshall found it necessary to close entry to the show for awhile on Saturday afternoon, which I’m sure made for Very Happy Comics Fans. I wasn’t there, as I was heading out about the time that happened. But there was indeed a big mess of people waiting to get in as I left. Saturdays are crazy.

The aisles were indeed packed, but I don’t know how many people were throwing down cash for the vendors. I did hear that some of the other panels weren’t so well attended (a handful of people for the Mike Mignola and Eric Powell spotlight panels), but the big draws in the center room and the more fan-oriented shows probably contributed to that. Getting around Artist’s alley, particularly the corner where the >ahem< models gathered, was pretty tricky, though not so tricky that I wasn’t able to manage it. Even picked up a copy of DORIS DANGER SEEKS: WHERE GIANT MONSTERS CREEP AND STOMP, the deranged brainchild of Chris Wisnias (TABLOIA and OJO), as well as monster inker Dick Ayers and a great selection of monster pinups by obvious (Mignola) and not so obvious (all three Hernandez bros., Tony Millionaire, Steve Rude, Gene Colan and Mike Allred) artists. Curse my giant monster lust.

Headed out after that, more or less. Ian, Steve (Lieber) and I made our way out of the maelstrom of traffic (Lunar New Year parade on Market Street was hosing everyone in downtown) and crossed over to Berkeley for the Comic Relief 1st anniversary party. Low-key, not much to talk about. Talked The Shape of the Industry with Brian Hibbs, which is fun (but I’m sure it’s the last thing he wants to do in his downtime). Nibbled on some free cake and cookies (allergic to the free beer) and then paid for it by buying (for twenty bucks) the Walt Simonson ALIEN adaptation as well as Giardino’s A JEW IN COMMUNIST PRAGUE v. 1 on Steve’s recommendation. I must say, the party was pretty quiet, but then it seems like lots of folks don’t wander out of the city when they come to Wondercon, even though the public transport is cheap and convenient. Pity. They’re missing out.

Posted by Matt M. at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Now that’s a title. ‘Course I can’t take credit for it. Full due would have to be paid to Grant Morrison, if I were a dues paying sort. My check to him is in the mail. I promise. Scout’s honor.

Wondercon is always a fun show, but not always for the reasons that you’d expect. The first year I came to the show, I didn’t know what to set myself up for, really. I was weaned on the bigger than huge sorts of show that they put on in San Diego. Wondercon is not that. Attending the Vertigo panel that year, for instance, I found myself in a room with four other people. Two of them were on the panel. And neither of them were the scheduled presenters. I did my best to ask softball questions and help ‘em out so that they didn’t have to depend on the slideshow to keep the audience from deserting them wholesale.

The following year, I was on kind of a buzz, as I was firming up the deal for Strangeways with Speakeasy and things were looking good. I was seeding the crowd with copies of the preview book and talking to folks right and left, trying to take the measure of the business at that little window in time. Got to hang out with some people who knew what they were doing and learn some of the ropes, gathering up pearls of wisdom with my grubby little mitts. Not as easy as it looks: those little things are slippery and tend to squip right out of your hands if you mash down on ‘em too hard. Still, a good time. Crossing Howard street in the rain to scurry down to the little sushi joint and gobble down some sake (salmon, not rice wine) and miso ramen. Shivering in the cold inside the newly-moved Comic Relief playing the “which cover on this rack actually works” game (hint: very few if any did).

This year was quite different. Still shaking off the last vestiges of my regret over the whole Speakeasy thing. Remember, this time last year, I was set to have a run of Strangeways out there. This year? I’ve got a bunch of art paid for and no publisher, not to mention all preview books mailed out and printed and effort (temporarily) wasted. Sure, I got me some press coverage out of it: folks love to read about other people’s misfortunes. Schadenfreude gets the eyeballs. Always has. There’s a reason the Germans have a word for it.

What do I have now? Experience. Hooray. Maybe even I got a bloody lip. Happens. I get to swallow some blood and get back in the ring. You can swallow a lot of that without getting too sick, so I hear.

So yeah, this year had a different tone. All I have to show to folks is still a folded ashcan, which really doesn’t do the art justice and still bears the name of a company that I really don’t have anything to do with any longer. Which is about what I had last time ‘round, but it’s better than having nothing to show, right? At any rate, back into the ring for me. Ding freakin’ ding.

Started well enough. Got to the airport incredibly early. Spent the ride down listening to the heartening story of a former crank and cokehead who started on his 12 steps after hitting bottom once in Boise and once again in Vegas leading to a harrowing drive back to LA that he didn’t remember, stopping in his sister’s driveway with the needle still stuck in his arm and fingers gripped to the steering wheel so tight that it took two guys 20 minutes to get his hands free. He’s clean now, which was nice, as he was the driver. I listened to his succinct summation of his former life of iniquity as we nosed through the early morning fog of San Diego black bleaching into a cool gray blue haze. Hit the airport early. So early that I got an earlier flight up. I’m not sure why I did so. I was sorta stuck until the hall opened anyways. Ah well, seemed like a stroke of good luck at the time.

A small digression about the rental car that I found myself driving, a nearly-new Toyota Prius. Black and shiny and unbelievably clean. I swear, it was the sort of car that you imagined would be the car of the future. You start it by pressing a button. There’s no analog instrument panel or buttons. LED readout (somehow a little oldschool, but in a futuristic way). I turned on the engine and mistakenly turned it off again because it was so quiet as to be imperceptible when at a stop. I mashed controls long enough to finally get the radio going and hit the freeway. The Prius had surprisingly solid pickup (granted, it was just me and my luggage) and handled very well (short wheelbase does that). All in all, not a bad choice, if price is no object.

It was a dazzlingly beautiful and clear morning. No sign of the rain that had ruled last Wondercon. Actually, it was the kind of day that would probably have been better spent wandering the city itself and not being ordered around by stormtroopers while walking through the convention floor. But I’m silly like that. I drifted towards artist’s alley first, wanting to say hello to friend and cover artist for Strangeways Steve Lieber. Steve is, any rumors to the contrary, a consummate professional. He was already set up to sell books and take commissions within moments of the hall opening. And there were very few times that I saw him not busy with something. This, he’ll tell you, is one of the secrets to his convention success. Of course, it helps that he’s a very talented and hardworking artist who has great books to sell (and some lovely pages to look through). Steve and I went over the latest artwork from Strangeways to come in (#4 came back to me about a week before and #5 a couple nights before I hit the show.) They’re both great sets of pages, though with a little work to do yet, but nothing structural.

Moved along the aisles and came across Tom Beland, whose work I had seen, but never really read. Tried to get a copy of the first TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD trade, but he was out. Luckily, Comic Relief wasn’t. Actually had a chance to read it over the weekend and quite liked it. It’s a sweet, yet not naïve, portrait of Beland’s falling in love with a woman that by all rights he never should have met to fall in love with in the first place. If he didn’t swear it was true, I would’ve thought it made up. But I’ll trust him on it. Of course, having read the first one, I was set to read the second. Which he was sold out of by Sunday. Bother.

Spent a little time talking with publisher Ross Ritchie (he of BOOM! Studios fame), mostly about the world of publishing small press books in 2006, which is not the same as it was in 2005. Sure, the fundamentals are, but a lot of the rules have changed. I must say, it was flattering that he recognized my name. Apparently I’m “pervasive”. I don’t know what he means by that, but I’ll take it. Also snapped up a copy of ZOMBIE TALES: OBLIVION, part 2. ‘Cause, y’know, I like a fun zombie book from time to time. Normally we get nothing but serious ones. And hell, I’ve got a treatment for a relatively serious one bubbling around the back of my head. Gotta get a break from gritted teeth and decapitations sometime. Well, at least the gritted teeth part. While there, I ran into Josh Fialkov (you all are reading ELK’S RUN, right?) and chatted with him for a bit. The preview pages he showed for PUNKS, THE COMIC were delightfully messed-up and just left me wanting more. Hopefully I won’t have to wait too long on the book itself, but who knows? We’re in a weird time right now.

The Vertigo panel was somewhere in there. Karen Berger moderated, which was unusual, as she hadn’t been out to Wondercon for some years, apparently. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many projects new to the line post the SDCC round of announcements. Got to see some new cover art (when are they going to do a James Jean cover collection? I’d pay good money to get that). Got to see that lovely SLOTH image from Gilbert Hernandez. New art from THE PRIDE OF BAGHDAD, which looks great as well. Was interested to hear that DC was being very aggressive in their trades on the new series. First trade for all of them will be out a month after the sixth issue ships, or so. I can’t see retailers who depend on monthly sales to be happy about it, but it seems like a smart move. Vertigo readers seem more likely to want larger chunks of story and might want to pass on monthlies altogether. Crowd response to books like DMZ and LOVELESS read as pretty positive. EXTERMINATORS and TESTAMENT a little less so, but sometimes these things take time. Hopefully these new titles will be given time to grow and find their audience before they’re resolicited as limited series. Oh yeah, apparently there was a preview of V FOR VENDETTA on Saturday night. Wasn’t all that excited about going. The clip they showed was unwatchably dark, but I’m betting that’s the projector they used, right? Some of the images and staging looked pretty, but from what I’ve heard, the Wachowskis wussed out on the whole home-grown totalitarianism issue, which was central to the original work, and will take a lot of the heart out of it. But the publicity posters are well-designed, that’s for sure.

After consulting the program guide, I saw that I was quite nearly late for the first of many panels that I actually wanted to attend. Of course I flush any and all of my indie cred by saying that I wanted to attend the “Foundations of the DC Universe” panel, spotlighting the 52 team. INFINITE CRISIS is all about breaking stuff and exploding heads and stuff like that. I’m more curious about how everything shakes out, not the pretty explosions as it all comes apart. I’m even more interested in seeing how all four of the primary authors of the work are going to work together on things. Frankly, there’s no way in hell that this hugely ambitious project is going to stay on schedule. It’s not being written in a modular fashion, rather in a collaborative one. This might lead to some interesting and unintended results, but it’s not an efficient process.

As for the panel itself, it was okay I guess. Mark Waid is an entertaining panelist, and Greg Rucka’s intensity always adds some spice to the mix. Dan DiDio seems to have found a good public role for himself, very in tune with the crowd and quite adept at pushing its buttons. Geoff Johns was a surprise addition to the panel and fairly low-key as I recall. Grant Morrison stole a bit of the limelight with the answer to “Where’s Puma’s head?” (asked of Mr. Johns) by saying “It’s in my lap.” Well, yeah, you can see where it went from there. But I have to say that my interest in the project is still on an abstract sort of level, watching how it’s going to engage the rest of the DC universe and how the marketplace is going to react to this sort of experiment, and even if it can be pulled off in the first place. Storywise, they might have enough room to tell the story with the thousand or so pages they have planned. But something like INFINITE CRISIS? That’s an impossible task, leading to such solutions as a huge single page of exposition filling in the holes on no less than six or seven previous miniseries/event books. Crazy.

More tidbits from the panel? How about the fact that we’re NOT going to be seeing Bat-Mite in 52 or any of the follow-ons. I know. I was bummed, too. I was going to ask to see him just to make people’s heads explode. And it would have worked, judging from the crowd’s reaction. Considered asking to see Amethyst come back into the DCU so they could do some non-superhero female protagonists and reach their audience out a bit. There’s also plans to deliberately and consciously introduce more diversity into the DCU, in terms of gender, nationality, creed (to a degree—that’s always been an incredibly touchy subject) and sexual orientation. This is not an overnight process, nor will it be handled in a provocative or exploitative manner, the crowd was assured. There will be a whole laundry list of b-list and c-list heroes showing up again, many of which I imagine will be retooled, and I was more than a little excited to hear that one of the characters Grant Morrison will be focusing on is Dr. Magnus, creator of the Metal Men and Cliff Steele. Wonder if this will tie back into any of the re-introduced DOOM PATROL continuity? One can hope.

Ducked out for some lunch and headed back to the Boom! Studios panel, which was lightly attended. I suppose that’s par for the course when you’re a new publisher and you’re not staking everything on iconic characters that everyone’s known for fifty years. I’m not saying that they should, either. Just that in this marketplace, it’s gonna be an uphill battle to get attention with well-crafted entertainment out of the dominant genre. Believe me, I know. So does Ross, and he seems to be putting that knowledge to good use. Boom! Has been around for just about a year or so, longer if you count Atomeka, and they started smart, ramping up slowly instead of unleashing a full torrent of titles right from the start. They also seem to have been having some success with a perfect-bound format, which is meatier than the traditional floppy, yet not as hard on the pocketbook as publishing straight to trades. They’ve an interesting line-up and some good talent (old and new), so they should remain a small publisher to watch.

Friday at the show wrapped up without ceremony. I hit the Comic Relief booth to grab up one of the 300 hardcovers that they’d found in a back room somewhere. I’ll get to reading it…sometime… Grabbed a quick raw fish and miso soup snack, as I was heading over to the Isotope, and there the hooch flows. Going there on an empty stomach is a one way express ticket to oblivion (at least for a lightweight like me.)

Of course, to get to the Isotope, I’d have to park. Parking in Hayes Valley on a Friday night is a superhuman challenge. It took half an hour of deftly weaving and ducking, dodging reckless pedestrians and oblivious automobiles, all on choked one-way streets. Finally, I trusted in the power of the Force and simply let the car drive itself for a little while, ending up on Linden, which is this easily-missed one way alley street right next to Fell St. Lo and behold, before a festively tagged brick wall, was a quite nearly perfect parking spot, aside from the stained and abandoned brassiere and festering pile of spilled chow mein noodles.

At least I hoped it was noodles.

The Isotope was packed, and it was only going to get more so as the night let on. Luckily, I ran into Ian Brill right out front, as well as Abdicated Comics Snark King of the Internet, Graeme McMillan, and acquaintances Nora G and Andy B (names truncated to protect the innocent). Enjoyed a devastatingly-mixed Jack and Coke while chatting with folks and waiting for Mr. Morrison to show up.

He did, and was nearly instantly mobbed. He’s an incredibly patient man, I must say. I’d have freaked out and crawled right out of my skin in an effort to get away. He took it all in stride, signing books, shaking hands, downing screwdrivers and generally being the best-dressed guy in the place (though the Isotope crew acquitted themselves admirably in that regard, as they always do.) Had a chance to talk with Steve again, as well as meet the crew from JOURNEY INTO MISERY (whose names I’ve sadly forgotten, but I’m awful like that.) Was introduced to Stuart Moore, who’s ridiculously polite, perhaps too much so for comics. Have to say that I miss “A Thousand Flowers”. Come back, Stuart! We still love you!

Tried to get a word in edgewise with Mr. Morrison, but I’m simply not good in crowds. I tend to lock right up. Probably shoulda had a couple more drinks, but then I’d have to have closed the place out, and I heard that everyone didn’t go home until 3. I didn’t have the strength for it. I wandered back to San Bruno, where I was staying, and crashed out hard. As I usually do when I'm out conventioneering.

Part 2 and pictures coming later.

Posted by Matt M. at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brickshelf Gallery

Someone has way too much time on their hands. At the above link, you'll find a sanity-shattering Lovecraftian scene, crafted entirely out of Legos. Cosmic madness made out of tiny little plastic bricks. Chilling.

Posted by Matt M. at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just feel like it. Between the sinus infection and the kids and getting the script for the latest chapter of Strangeways (a happy little family drama called "Dry Heart") done, I haven't had a lot to say. And frankly, the combination of being sick and dealing with project doldrums and trying to keep up on ye comics weblogosphere/business burned me right out. I'm living the dream: don't need to be reading everything about what everyone else feels about it. It becomes onerous after a time, and the last thing I need is more onerousness in my life.

On a positive note, I'll be heading up to Wondercon, which looks to have a stellar guest list this year, even without the last moment addition of Frank Miller. James and crew are going out of their way with not only one, but two superstar events (Grant Morrison's International Guide to Living Fabulously and the Eric Powell Monster Mash) during the show, and I'm sure there's other stuff going on (last year's party at the newly revitalized Comic Relief was a high point, even if my beer allergy kept me from having a good time towards the end.) Getting out of the house and actually *talking* with people may be just what the doctor ordered. Assuming I can get past my Typhoid Mary phase and use a speaking voice that isn't reminiscent of Tom Waits' bastard child on a three day bender.

On second thought, maybe that'll give me some much-needed character when dealing with editors. If it doesn't make them cringe away from me in fear (which, oddly enough, is a standard reaction for me...)

Comics wise, haven't been reading too much. Read NEXTWAVE, though it was okay, but it's more amusing if you read it as a parody of Warren Ellis. Not unlike ALL STAR BATMAN in that regard. Immonen's art is edgy and cartoonly and expressive, which matches the script nicely.

I continue to scratch my head at all the unrestrained love that GØDLAND gets. I can't get past the aping of Kirby's work on both the writing and art levels, sorry. This book wouldn't exist without Kirby's corpse. I fail to see the subtle and nuanced commentary. There's some nice moments, but they often come across as surreal for the sake of being surreal. When I read Kirby's work, even the gloriously demented JIMMY OLSEN books, all the stuff is there for a reason. It's not crazy to be crazy, it's crazy because it's a towering monument to the King's imagination. GØDLAND's intentions are good, but I just can't accept it into my heart.

However, LONE WOLF AND CUB and SAMURAI EXECUTIONER are knocking me out. No, I haven't read most of these before (only some of the First Comics reprints that came out towards the end of the eighties). It started by my recent re-reading of Miller's DAREDEVIL work (which is more overly written than I recall, probably because the imagery is acid-etched on my memory from first seeing it a tender young age), after which, I recalled that Miller mentioned LONE WOLF AND CUB as an influence on his work of that period (more substantially on RONIN), so I grabbed the first volume of the reprint collection (of which there are something like 28 or more?). Knocked me out. This is brutal, unflinching, raw work. Yet it's tempered with a Zen-like sense of the moment in the atmospheres rendered on the page. And at its core, there's a moral certainty. Lone Wolf the assassin isn't simply a mindless killer. He wants to know the reasons why his sword is being hired. There's a reason it's a classic.

Also picking up Eduardo Risso/Carlos Trillo's CHICANOS from IDW, but I'm beginning to wonder if there's going to be a paperback collection of this, and how long the floppies are going to run. 'Cause lemme tell ya, I can get the next volume of LONE WOLF AND CUB or SAMURAI EXECUTIONER for the price of the three issues I've picked up so far. I like 'em well enough (Risso looks great in black and white), but I'd like a more permanent collection for the money I'm laying down.

Now to do something about this boring style-sheet...

Posted by Matt M. at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)