Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #1

September 6, 2010

Title: The Death of Comic Book Guy Part One

Writer: Ian Boothby
Pencils: John Delaney
Inks: Dan Davis
Colorist: Nathan Hamill
Letterer: Karen Bates
Cover: Bill Morrison
Editor: Bill Morrison
Publisher: Bongo Comics

Springfield’s most disturbingly on-the-nose loser finally gets his own miniseries. The Comic Book Guy enters into a competition with the mysterious Graphic Novel Kid to become the new advertising mascot Lard Lad. The competition turns out to have much farther implications than just the chance to wear an ugly costume and carry a comically oversized donut, though – it’s a matter of life and death.

This story, like most of the Bongo Comics line, is pretty silly, but that works in its favor for the most part. Comic Book Guy is a parody of the worst aspects of being a geek, so while a lot of the readership (let’s face it) can recognize some facets of themselves in his behavior, we also get the catharsis of seeing those more destructive elements serve as his comeuppance. The ending is cute, but a bit of an anticlimax, since we know that in a comic like this one Status Quo is God, and by the end the seemingly irrevocable change will be somehow revoked.

Boothby and Delaney do have some fun with the Easter Eggs this issue, throwing in lots of gags about the greatest sci-fi and comic book death scenes, a fantastic double-page spread full of nerdtastic artifacts, and other amusing or entertaining nuggets throughout the issue. It’s fun to look at, and makes it a bit more fun to read, even if it doesn’t really give the book any added weight.

But then, nobody reading this comic book came in looking for Shakespeare either. Heck, they didn’t even come in looking for Stan Lee. They were looking for something goofy and geeky, and that’s what we got.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate X-Men #93

April 28, 2008

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Apocalypse Conclusion
Rating: T+

Phoenix versus Apocalypse!

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Art: Harvey Tolibao
Colors: Jay David Ramos
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Cover Art: Salvador Larroca
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The X-Men, complete with Phoenix-enhanced Jean Grey, face off against the menace of Apocalypse. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s like Phoenix faces Apocalypse while the X-Men stand around and ponder about how weird it is to see Jean with that much power.

The story here is totally bland. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just something we’ve seen a dozen times before. The artwork, however, is even weaker. The characters all look the same, and that’s not a compliment. And why can’t these kids afford t-shirts in a large? Every one of them is wearing a shirt not only tight enough to show off every muscle, but tight enough to show off the veins.

On his own comics, Invincible and The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman is nothing short of brilliant. Even most of his other Marvel work, like Marvel Team-Up and Ant-Man has at least had a charm to it. But with this book, I really can’t find anything to like. The change of creative teams next issue can only be a good thing.

Rating: 4/10

The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #3

The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #3 (BuyMeToys.com)
By Ben Avery, Casey Heying, Caesar Antomattei & Joe Jusko

Here’s one of those books that’s always fun, but seems to take forever between issues. Alice and Dorothy have returned to an Oz taken over by the risen Wicked Witch of the West. A confrontation between Dorothy and the witch blast the two girls to Alice’s old stomping grounds, Wonderland, where Dorothy quickly learns that the rules of magic she’s used to no longer apply. Back on Earth, the powerless Shaggy Man and Wizard of Oz attempt to find their way back to the worlds of magic to join in the fight. What I think I like the most about this series is the way Avery and Heying have so cleanly and clearly drawn the distinctions between the three realms. Oz, Wonderland, and Earth are all very different places with very different rules, and it will certainly take some adjustment for the travelers to learn what the rules of the three worlds actually are. Heying and Antomattei‘s artwork isn’t bad. They’re at their best when emulating the works of the original artists from the two series, but their “ordinary” humans (as ordinary as Dorothy Gale can be) could use a little work. The coloring job is really fantastic and helps quite a bit when it comes to selling the artwork. I do wish this would come out more frequently, because it’s a book that’s a lot of fun when you finally get to see it.

Rating: 7/10