It should come to no surprise that I have an odd obsession with Archie. Thankfully a seller on eBay (who’s been collecting for 30+ years!) is starting to list stuff on eBay. Long story short, I won these awesome shirts and a Veronica sweat suit. If any of you in cyberspace has any info on them, please contact me! I’d love to know a bit about them.
For years I’ve flirted with the possible idea of maybe reading a Marvel series. Growing up I’ve always been a DC. But with the new Marvel Now line I have the chance to jump into a new series without missing a beat. This past Wednesday Savage Wolverine came out. Cards, Comics and Collectibles, located in Reisterstown Maryland, had a release party for the comic with Frank Cho on hand. I figured this would be a good series to start with. After all, Frank Cho is a great writer and artist, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to get him to sign a comic for me.
The series opens with a S.H.I.E.L.D mission underway. Agent McSwiggin and his crew (which includes agents we’ll never know as well as the lovely Shanna the She Devil) are off to explore the Forbidden Island. Things don’t exactly go the way they planned and the ship crashes on the island. Eight months later Wolverine also crashes on the island mysteriously. He wakes up to a dinosaur attacking him, which ultimately leads him to a group of Neanderthals carrying a nearly dead Agent McSwiggin. In his last breath he tells Wolverine where his ship has crashed, and that’s when Wolverine and Shanna cross paths.
The first issue is a great build up to what I hope turns out to be a great comic run. Frank Chowrites both Shanna and Wolverine with such care that it’s easy for a non Marvel fan to become fans of these two. The art is also top notch, something I’ve come to expect from Mr. Cho over the years. For $3.99 I feel you’ll be getting your money’s worth, regardless if you’re a Marvel or a DC…or if you’ve never read a comic at all!
-Lauren
While on a recent outing to the comic shop Cards, Comics and Collectibles in Reisterstown, Maryland, I picked up Archie #635. It’s been a few years since I’ve read an actual ‘Archie’ comic. Over the past few years however, the Archie of my youth has evolved into a more complex universe that tackles real world problems in a way that children can comprehend and understand. The story is written by Alex Segura, who does a fantastic job of connecting these timeless characters with real world problems. Accompanying him is the very talented Gisele Lagace on pencils, who gives these characters a slight manga twist.
In this issue the occupy protests have fallen into Riverdale. Led by an Andy Martinez, the 99% are protesting the 1% of Riverdale (which apparently consists of only three people; Veronica, her father, and Reggie). Caught in the middle is Archie. While he certainly is a 99% he doesn’t necessarily agree or see eye to eye with the protests. The gang does have a few things to say. Betty mentions that her mother had to pick up a second job. Reggie says he doesn’t care, that his mind of more concerned with what luxury car he’s taking this weekend. Kevin calls him lucky and Veronica says luck has no part in being successful. Her father built his fortune on his own. Things start to get heated until Mr. Weatherbee informs everyone they are late for class, but they can pick up this conversation during detention.
The next day Archie comes across the protesters again. This time his friends have joined in as well. Kevin, Betty and Jughead all urge him to join, but Archie is still not convinced that protesting is the right thing to do. Everything starts to heat up when the media appears, followed by the 1%. Mr. Lodge gets into an argument with the leader, the mayor shuts the protest down, and someone almost gets arrested! However, this is an Archie comic, so there is a happy ending.
While the story is great, it also gives us new insights into many characters. We learn that Mrs. Cooper had to get a second job. Jughead may or may not have been in jail (since he’s “heard” the food is bad) and that Veronica needs to grow thicker skin (she’s also used to dating guys who have no money or a car). We also see that Mr. Lodge can be reasonable. In the end Kevin sums up what’s been going on in this comic and the Archie universe as a whole best:
“Riverdale’s always been about more than the one percent or the 99 percent–It’s about the 100 percent! It’s a safe place where everyone is welcome!”
Indeed it is, Kevin!
-Lauren
I hope you all like it.
-Sarah
Let’s talk about ‘American Dark Age’. I bought the comic at Asbury Park Comic Con a few weeks ago. I’m not sure what really drew me in. The black/red/silver color scheme cover, or the fact that the protagonist is a female who kicks serious ass.
The comic opens with our heroine, Katherine Brody, stabbing someone with a sword. She’s wearing fully body armor; NOTHING but her head is exposed. On her torso is a Slayer belt buckle. She mentions she’s from Oregon and that she’s a punk rocker. How exactly did she get here? Well, she tells us. Or at least begins too. One the day she decided to leave home. On that fateful day Earth fell into “The Blackout”. Everything just stopped that day. Electronics, war, peace, everything stopped. While that isn’t explained in full detail (it’s safe to assume that’s being saved for later issues) we do see a little bit of Katherine’s life. She played in a punk rock band. She lived with her father, who is her best friend. That dynamic drew me in the most. I’m rather close with my dad, so I always have a soft spot for characters who are as well (Barbara Gordon, I’m looking at you). Her mother is missing in action. Her father is trying to do what’s best for his daughter. They seem to lead a pretty normal life.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world in Vatican City, some priests are talking about this and that. One of them, Mr. Holly, is visited by an owl. The owl is clearly some kind of signal that shit is about to go down as he excuses himself from his fellow brothers. He meets up with a young man in a park, where he tells him “It is time to close the hand…” Awesome. Shit’s gonna go down. But we don’t see anything really happen yet. Issue 1 sets everything up, and we can assume everything after is going to be ten kinds of awesome.
The story telling is great. Writer/creator Jean Michel creates a believable character, within a realistic world. The art is also exceptional, with penciling by Jaqueline Taylor. The art is detailed which is a real feast for the eyes. You can find out more about the comic (including where to buy it) here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/megabraincomics/keep-american-dark-age-alive and I really urge you to check it out. I’ll be ordering issue two within the week (hey, I gotta wait to be paid).
-Lauren
On Free Comic Book Day 2012, Mike Riley of I Taste Sound (http://www.itastesound.com/) was nice enough to give me a copy of his new 24 page book, ‘I Taste Sound Presents…Peener Sticks World Cup’. It’s no secret that I find his comics to be really funny.
‘Peener Sticks World Cup’ was born out of a single panel comic he drew some two years ago, which shows three young boys toppled over in pain after hitting each other in the junk with sticks. In a not so distant future, Peener Stick teams from all across the world must compete for the Peener Sticks World Cup. We see team America battle France, Germany, and the “evil” Russians. It’s safe to assume everyone else from other parts of the globe were eliminated early on. But if you’re really wondering why Japan isn’t represented in this comic, I think you’re reading too much into this. The comic is an easy funny read. The art is much like the rest of his I Taste Sound stuff. Simple but effective. The writing style is also creative. One of the characters talks like a baby, and while I had trouble reading some of his lines at times, it adds a little bit of character to these guys. I could also point out that team America wears diapers through the whole thing. I don’t think that has any real meaning what so ever, but there you go. Diapers. There’s no real moral of this comic, other than hitting yourself in the junk with a stick really hurts.
The comic is available on the website for $3.99.
-Lauren
The story of the Big Bad Wolf is something most of us know of from our childhood. A wolf is blowing down the houses of some pigs, but at the end he fails at destroying them all. But what caused the wolf to act this way? Was there a chain of events that lead to the wolf going crazy and blowing down houses?
In this story by JD Arnold and Richard Koslowski takes place in rural Mississippi during the early 1920s. B.B. Wolf is a wolf just trying to get by for his wife and three pups. He is a farmer by day, working on the farm that have been passed down through his family, and a blues musician at night. Everything seems to be alright, until the first Littlepig shows up, informing Wolf that his property would be taken over by another pig. They had exactly one week to vacate. Wolf, unsure of what to do, goes on with his life. The day they were supposed to vacate, the wolves in the community come together and scare off the pigs. The pig claim that they will take revenge and they do. Days later while Wolf is playing in town the first Littlepig gets his revenge by burning down his home, and killing his wife and two of his cubs. This sends Wolf over the edge, who tracks down the pigs one by one, seeking vengeance for his wife and cubs.
This is a fantastic retelling of a timeless story. Only this time it’s much more believable. Events such as these were probably not too far-fetched in real life; The white man wants to take away an African American’s property, and will go at any lengths to secure it. Brutal murders, lynching, and everything else you might think of in 1920’s America is also here. This story is bleak and jarring. By the end of the book I felt bad for the Wolf. Perhaps all this time we were duped into believing his was the bad guy. This book is worth every penny, I can not recommend it enough.
-Lauren
I’ll try and post more videos in the future.
Thanks for watching 🙂
-Sarah
Exciting news! This morning DC comics announced that there will be a second Watchmen series coming out. It will be a seven part prequel, featuring different artists and writers. A sample of what’s in store…
‘Comedian’ by Brian Azzarello and JG Jones
‘Minutemen’ by Darwyn Cooke
‘Ozymandias’ by Len Wein and Jae Lee
I am both excited and nervous about this. The ‘Watchmen’ series was perfect. It had enough back story to each character without over kill. The characters were well thought out, and we knew who they were. Having a prequel might be a great idea, but Alan Moore isn’t writing any of these books. At the end of the day, only the original creator knows his (or her) characters inside and out. Watchmen has a legacy on its own for being one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. This isn’t Batman or Superman. This has not been an ongoing series for 70+ years. Sure, DC has the rights to them, but this series was untouched.
The timing of this series wouldn’t have mattered. Watchmen has always been regarded by fans and non fans alike as one of the greatest graphic novels in history. However, this may have been a better marketing ploy had they done this series before the movies release. Having it come out on the heels of the “new” 52 is fine, but it’s a little much. I don’t see this as something a non comic book reader would buy. I’ve heard from many of my non comic book reader friends say ‘Watchmen’ was already a difficult read (albeit a good one). Why would they be interested in a back story…when each character already has one in the comic?
I’ll still pick up an issue to check it out, but I’m not holding my breath for the second coming in comic books.
-Lauren
Last night I was at my local comic shop, and I was asked how I felt about the new DC logo. My reply is in the video below. If you don’t know, I’m the only girl in the video.
-Lauren
Girls With Comics 