From: [slacker 01] at [aol.com] (Slacker 01)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: SLACKER: T H E S L A C K E R F I L E S 002 (Part A)
Date: 4 Dec 1994 05:20:10 -0500
T H E S L A C K E R F I L E S 002
Welcome back to The Slacker Files! For those not familiar with
it, TSF is an almost-weekly file of News, Views and Reviews
featuring the best of the comics industry. If you'd like to be on
the E-mail list, just drop me a line and I'll put The Slacker Files
in your mailbox every week.
Sorry this edition ships so late -- the combination of the
holiday, along with upcoming law school finals, have conspired to
invoke the "almost" part of our "almost-weekly" schedule. I've made
it a double-sized again for two-weeks worth, and will do so again
in the next TSF about two weeks from now. After that, look for the
regular-sized weekly editions to start appearing again every
Sunday.
Just a quick note before we start: I want to say thanks to all
of the wonderful response folks gave for the first Internet
installment of The Slacker Files. I appreciate your kind words very
much and I'll be happy to keep writing these as long as people
continue to enjoy reading them.
A whole lot of news this week....
* N E W S *
* As reported last time in TSF, and extensively throughout the net,
Marvel Comics will downsize up to 30% of its current line and
dismiss as many as 20 of its in-house editors. Marvel expected to
make a formal announcement shortly before the holiday, but either
because of the brevity of the work week, or because of the holiday
itself ("Happy Thanksgiving, you're fired"), Marvel had apparently
delayed its announcement a short while.
It now appears that Marvel may reconsider the staff cuts, and
may instead reduce the number of its comic titles without
widespread staff reductions. Joey Cavaleri and his assistant (whose
name escapes me) had been the two editors who were certain to
receive walking papers; and longtime editor Danny Fingeroth had
also been mentioned as a likelihood. Some editorial downsizing will
still likely occur, but Marvel staffers remain uncertain of exactly
what will happen, or when.
On the comics side, Marvel will go ahead with its plans to
scale back its lumbering comics line into a more focused and
dynamic array of books. The nets have speculated extensively on
which books will receive the cuts; TSF has compiled a list from
what it considers the most reliable of its sources, but cautions
that some of these names still remain formally unconfirmed.
Titles most likely to receive cancellation: BLACKWULF; BLADE;
DARKHAWK; GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY; all MARVEL MEGAZINEs; MIDNIGHT
SONS UNLIMITED; MORBIUS; NAMOR; NIGHT THRASHER; NIGHTWATCH; SECRET
DEFENDERS; SILVER SABLE; and THUNDERSTRIKE.
Titles which Marvel will also probably cancel: MARVEL COMICS
PRESENTS; RAVAGE 2099; the MARVEL MASTERWORKS series of hardcovers;
and WARLOCK AND THE INFINITY WATCH.
Titles which have been rumored to be cancelled, but which
Marvel will continue to publish, include: BLAZE; NOVA; and WAR
MACHINE.
Marvel will also scale the down The Punishers titles, but the
exact format remains uncertain. Marvel will almost certainly cancel
PUNISHER WAR ZONE; although some reports indicate that PUNISHER WAR
JOURNAL will survive with a female Punisher in the lead. Other
reports suggest that Marvel will cancel both ancillary Punisher
titles and restart the flagship PUNISHER book at issue #1.
Another rumor indicates a shift on the title WHAT IF?, from a
monthly book to a series of occasional specials, done in a prestige
format along the lines of DCs ELSEWORLDS books.
And finally, the 2099 line, which had been rumored to be on
the chopping block, will continue on with only one or two titles
cancelled (Ravage, and perhaps one other -- possibly PUNISHER
2099). The Slacker Files does note that 2099 editor Bobbi Chase
handles many of the to-be-cut titles listed above.
On a related note, Marvel has dismissed the entire accounting
and legal departments of Malibu Comics, either as part of its new
efforts to streamline or as a natural consequence of the recent
takeover.
-----
* Rob Liefeld has signed on some of the industry's top writing
talent for the New Order of Extreme titles which will survive the
"end of Extreme" event that comes this January. Among the talent:
Alan Moore, Chuck Dixon, Jo Duffy, Keith Giffen, Marv Wolfman, and
Tom and Mary Bierbaum. The writers will either handle new titles or
revamp existing ones.
Also, contrary to previous reports, Extreme will not cancel
its entire line of comics and restart them; only PROPHET begins
renumbering, at #1, with his first seven issues now called a
"miniseries".
In addition, Jim Valentino will begin meshing his activities
with Liefeld, whom he tutored when the young artist first broke
into the business. Valentino will become the regular writer on
Extreme's flagship title, YOUNGBLOOD, while his ShadowHawk
character becomes a regular cast member of the Extreme team,
Brigade.
The new writing assignments include:
CATWOMAN writer Jo Duffy on a new GLORY series; Punisher and
Batman writer Chuck Dixon on PROPHET; Marv Wolfman, of NEW TEEN
TITANS fame, as the new writer for BRIGADE; Keith Giffen on THE
LEGEND OF SUPREME; Alan Moore on a BADROCK/VIOLATOR miniseries; and
Tom and Mary Bierbaum on a new title called MARK 5, who appears to
be a Dr. Fate-type of character.
Another new book, titled KNIGHTMARE, does not yet have a
writer, but will be drawn by Marat Mychaels; while new comics
writer Brian Witten, who has worked extensively in Hollywood on
films like Predator, Lethal Weapon, and Die Hard, will write a two-
part CHAPEL miniseries.
Liefeld will also begin publishing a series based on Dave
Cockrum's FUTURIANS, which appeared as a Marvel Graphic Novel in
the early 1980s and which had been based on designs that Cockrum
planned to use as part of the all-new, all-different X-Men.
-----
* The God of Thunder will herald the first appearance of a Marvel
character in a storyline of the newly-acquired line of Malibu
Comics, when Thor makes a major appearance as part of the
Ultraverse's upcoming GODWHEEL event. Malibu has also slated a
major Marvel villain to appear in the series, but both Malibu and
Marvel are keeping his identity a mystery.
Thor will remain part of the Ultraverse for most of 1995, with
repercussions affecting both the Ultraverse and the Marvel
Universe.
-----
* After revitalizing the flagging sales of the series, writer Dan
G. Chichester has been fired from Marvel Comics's DAREDEVIL.
Chichester's last issue will be #342, although he may remove his
name from the credits before then.
Chichester says that the title's new editor-in-chief, Bobbi
Chase, fired him when the book's editor, Marie Javins, went on
vacation. Daredevil will return to his red costume shortly after
Chichester's last issue.
Chichester was responsible for last year's "Fall From Grace"
storyline, the first issue of which became one of the most sought-
after comics of the year. He will now write an upcoming MOTORHEAD
series for Dark Horse as well as do a MARVELS one-shot for Marvel.
-----
* Other personnel changes on several books:
--- Alan Davis will leave CLANDESTINE after issue #8,
complaining that he could no longer tolerate Marvel's capricious
support and failure to improve the book's production values after
he received several assurances from Marvel that it would address
his concerns.
--- Popular science fiction writer Lawrence Watt-Evans will
leave Tekno*Comix after PRIMORTALS #4, complaining of creative
differences. Watt-Evans has worked on PRIMORTALS and GENE
RODDENBERRY'S LOST UNIVERSE.
According to Watt-Evans, Tekno*Comics functions more along the
lines of Hollywood scriptwriting, in which story changes are
routinely made from numerous sources up until the last minute;
while he had been accustomed to greater independence as a novelist
and freelance writer. He described the differences as simply a
misunderstanding in the creative relationship and described the
split as amicable.
Tekno*Comix has gone through a number of creator changes in
its early development, including departures by writers Mark
Wheatley, currently of RADICAL DREAMER fame, and SF writer Kate
Whorley.
On a related note, expect a third Neil Gaiman series from
Tekno*Comix sometime in early 1995.
-----
* The Los Angeles Times reports a deal for a Spawn live-action
movie to accompany an animated series on HBO sometime late next
year. The Slacker Files offers no suggestion if it will be released
as a double-feature with the Doom's IV film and the Youngblood
cartoon....
* V I E W S *
* While its normal that were all interested in the upcoming
cuts at Marvel, we should also remember that, for some of the
folks involved, these cuts represent the end of a substantial
portion of their livelihoods. Since this is the holiday season,
Id like to take a moment to wish the best of luck to the
upcoming pink-slipped editors and freelancers who did their best
-- not always successfully, but at least sincerely -- to
entertain us.
---
* I read Peter Davids "But I Digress" column a few weeks ago, in
which he reviewed and analyzed the latest Tim Burton film, "Ed
Wood". For those unfamiliar with Wood, he holds the singular
distinction of being historys most relentlessly incompetent
filmmaker.
I agree with Peters assessment that Ed Wood deserves a type
of surreal, existential respect for having such sincere enthusiasm
while remaining so systematically inept; a sort of true creative
visionary in need of some seriously thick glasses. But at the same
time, I think Peter misses one of the most salient observations,
especially in the context of the comics industry: That aside from
the fact that the comics person is not also a heterosexual Angora
transvestite, Ed Wood is -- Rob Liefeld.
If youve ever spoken with Rob or read an interview with him,
it becomes clear that hes just full of good ideas -- some of them
even his own -- but that hes just entirely unable to translate
them into good comics storytelling. Like Ed Wood, Rob is a person
taken with the "big picture" of his idea, without the attention to
the details of seeing it through.
In a way, Rob is the person who breaks the conventional wisdom
about what will and wont succeed in the comics industry: As a
writer, Rob is the fan who wants a job coming up with cool ideas
without having to be the person who turns them into stories; as an
artist, Rob is the kid in the portfolio line with a sketchbook full
of spandex poses, without any backgrounds, everyday normal objects,
or panel-to-panel continuity. Hes the person whom editors tell to
go back home and put in some more work... but who has ignored their
advice and managed to succeed anyway.
On the one hand, I want to recognize that Rob, perhaps, isn't
actually the joke that everyone thinks he is, and instead
represents the fact that someone can still succeed in this business
based on the sheer determination to do so. On the other hand, I
want to note that Ed Wood eventually settled into making avant-
garde porn films once his SF/horror films turned out to be
failures; and can only I wonder what Rob Liefeld will be doing 10
years from now.
As always, all IMHO.
* R E V I E W S *
* THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT #2
I have to confess that I've never heard of Bryan Talbot before
this; and quite frankly I'm embarrassed to admit it. I can't help
but think that with all the comics I read, I should certainly have
picked up something by this wonderful talent somewhere along the
line. THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT is not just phenomenal comic book
storytelling, it's phenomenal storytelling, period. It gets my
highest possible recommendation.
The story here doesn't have anything to do with our
traditional notions of comic books; nobody's getting bitten by
radioactive spiders, yelling at each other about combat mission
specs or walking around in moody black capes. In fact, the lack of
anything out of the ordinary is what makes this story so powerful:
these are the kind of things that happen to people every day.
The story involves a teenage girl who's run away from her
sexually-abusive father, and her occasional retreats into the
fantasy world of Beatrix Potter and the children's stories she
remembers from the last time that she felt innocent. I've never
read the Beatrix Potter stories, but I didn't need to: It's the
imaginary animals who are giving her comfort, and the people who
should be giving her comfort that are the true animals.
This story also makes perfect use of comic book storytelling,
and I say that not because this would make for a good movie, but
because it /wouldn't/ make for a good movie. Here, it is the reader
who actually sets the pace: I found myself reluctant to move on to
the next panel or page because of the tough life of the
protagonist, and I would continue reading only after I had
adequately prepared myself for what might come next.
Talbot also manages this exceptional story with an extremely
simple narrative style; whole sections go by in which you don't
realize you've just read eight or nine pages of story with only
four words of dialogue. Talbot's also capable of a chilling array
of facial expressions, such as the small-panel moment of unbridled
anguish in which the abused girl finally decides to shear herself
off from her past life.
I'd mark this series as one of the books to look out for at
awards time. This isn't probably the type of title that would
quickly sell out, so if you can still find the first issue, I'd
make every effort to do so.
RATING: * * * * * (Highest Possible Recommendation.)
-----
* HELLSHOCK #4
HELLSHOCK #1 was the most stunning, gorgeous, and
intellectually sophisticated 14 pages that Image Comics ever
charged $1.95 for. While I was pissed off that the book contained
more house ads than story pages, I also had to admit that it was 14
pages of very different and very cool stuff, and 14 pages that I
would have probably paid $1.95 for anyway.
I also gave Jae Lee a lot of credit for handling the criticism
of the short first issue like a professional: when people
complained that the length of the first issue's story didn't even
reach the staples, he didn't blame Peter David or Marvel Comics or
the distributors or suggest that the whole thing was planned or
ignore that it happened -- he simply apologized, and told readers
he'd work harder to deliver better storytelling in the future.
Well, I have two words for young Jae Lee: APOLOGY ACCEPTED.
This has been one of the best series that Image has ever produced,
and could practically qualify for a Vertigo comic if the artwork
weren't so dynamic. Yes, I know that some people think Jae Lee inks
his books with more sepia anarchy than a psychotic Jackson Pollock;
but like any other style, that's a matter of taste. As a matter of
storytelling, Jae Lee's got a fantastic grasp of the exciting that
has made me a big fan of this bright young man.
This issue doesn't rely so much on the high-contrast
background photos that Jae used to get himself back on schedule,
but I didn't mind those either -- even when they're used here, for
instance, they're used appropriately and in a smooth dovetail with
the inked artwork. (Check out that gun muzzle -- if you're not
looking, you can hardly tell it's a photocopy with the half-tones
removed.) Jae also makes effective use of "white" inks, a trick he
picked up from Bill Sienkiewicz, and which gives an appropriately
unusual and unearthly feel to the book. (Sienkiewicz, in fact, does
one of the issue's two covers.)
As for the story, it's a gripping parallel tale between the
title character and two young boys who Jae Lee make look menacing
or innocent at his whim. It sets up what will hopefully lead into
a regular ongoing series, and one for which I'll most certainly be
along for the ride.
RATING: * * * *
-----
* WETWORKS #4
I've never quite understood why Jim Lee has become the
yardstick against which other Homage artists have been judged.
Whilce and Jim rose to prominence almost exactly at the same time,
and Whilce's work on X-books actually predates Jim's by 40-some-odd
issues. But beyond the actual style of the artwork, Whilce remains
a far better storyteller. He has an instinct for paneling and
camera shot that leaves Jim Lee holding the lens cap, and Whilce
can focus the action in a single clean pose which Jim Lee would
have cluttered with excessive detail to mask the inadequacies of
his layout.
Make no mistake: I think Jim Lee is a damn fine artist. I just
think Whilce is better, and WETWORKS makes that difference clear.
Wetworks has been a great book, and I suspect it will make a great
series once the miniseries runs its course next issue. (Which, I
see now, will have the obligatory confrontation with the
WildC.A.T.s. Do me a favor and compare a Whilce WildC.A.T.s fight
scene with one done by Jim Lee when you get the chance).
I don't know exactly how long Whilce will stay on the book,
but I want to point out that I think Wetworks will stay a fine book
even after Whilce leaves. Aside from the great-looking artwork,
Whilce has crafted an eclectic, interesting story, with a mix of
aliens, vampires, werewolves, rock stars, psychic cyborgs and
black-ops mercenaries that would sound like something out of
Buckaroo Banzai if they weren't threaded together so seamlessly.
If I have any real complaint about the overall series, it
would be, surprisingly, with the lavishly illustrated computer-
generated colors that seem to have become the staple of Image
books. Joe Chiodo does the colors with great technical skill, but
without very much philosophy: details in the background get as much
computerized attention as details in the foreground, and this gives
the panels the strange effect of seeming both flat and three-
dimensional at the same time.
This particular issue is a bit off on the pacing, and not so
much focused on the action, because it sets up the big fight for
next issue; but beyond that, this has been a strong, well-told
series.
RATING: * * * 1/2
-----
* ARCHIE LOVE SHOWDOWN SPECIAL #1
Okay, what the heck is an Archie book doing in The Slacker
Files? Well, not only does this book feature Jughead, the all-time,
tin-crowned, King of Slack (hey, he's even got a big "S" on his
shirt!), but it represents the culmination of the historic
storyline in which Archie Andrews, our carrot-topped bundle of 50-
year-old teenage checkerhead testosterone, finally picks between
Betty and Veronica.
The final results are that he does, and he doesn't, and the
ending is expected but not predictable (but you'll have to read the
book to find out; I'm not telling here!). In that respect, the
Archie creative gang has managed the tricky task of producing an
"event" book that still keeps the reader guessing, which is more
than can be said for the Big Two's books like Superman #75 or X-
Men: Alpha.
Not only that, but the end result is a whole lot of fun. The
story revolves around a slutty redhead co-ed named Cheryl Blossom
who shakes her ass at every Riverdale High guy between Jughead
Jones and big Moose. But when Cheryl the Red shoehorns her way
between blonde Betty and brunette Veronica to dig her hooks into
Our Man Archie, the pair of longtime rivals team up to conspire
against their mutual enemy to win him back.
Sure, parts of this book are dopey Archie stuff, but parts are
also a surprisingly great amount of fun. (My favorite line: Archie
wakes up from a dream set in the future in which Betty had married
Cheryl's creepy brother Jason, and Archie exclaims, "It was just a
dream! Betty and Jason haven't had any grandchildren yet!" Archie's
startled mother, standing nearby, replies, "What?! I /knew/ that
trip needed chaperons!")
I have to say that my exposure to Archie has largely been
limited to Batton Lashs Punisher crossover and my sisters stack
of comic books at summercamp, which I leafed through when I had
finished reading my copy of Micronauts #11 for the 27th time. And,
chances are, I'm probably not going to become a regular reader now.
But for a one-shot stop into the freckled world of Archie Andrews,
this book is a great snapshot.
RATING: * * *
-----
* JINK #1
With JINK, Wendy and Richard Pini make their first real effort
to break free of the mold of traditional Elfquest. They succeed,
but....that's part of the problem.
The problem with JINK is that it's not really Elfquest at all
-- it's just a brand-new story with only some loose (and somewhat
contrived) ties back to Cutter and the Wolfriders. And, in fact,
Wendy had even created JINK's companion title, THE REBELS, before
she and Richard had created Elfquest. Sure, there are some
Elfquest-style references, but they all ring hollow, sort of the
way Image established its "universe" by having everyone shout, "Is
he a Youngblood?" whenever a new character came onto the scene.
What it really comes down to is that it's just science
fiction, and not very good science fiction at that. The art reads
like a bad Malibu comic from its pre-Ultraverse days, and the story
focuses primarily on humans, who happen to represent the least-
interesting type of character in the Elfquest universe. The one
character who actually threatens to become interesting (Jink
herself) is made so inaccessible by the plot that she seems more
like a story MacGuffin than a title character. Sure, there's a nice
John Byrne flip cover, and there are a couple of interesting story
threads set up, but there are also a couple of predictable ones,
and I'm just not sure how long I'm going to stick around waiting
for the payoff.
I know that all this probably just amounts to a complaint of
"it's not Elfquest," in somewhat the same way that New Blood
critics carped, "it's not Wendy." Perhaps that's a valid
observation; but, at the same time, JINK's association with
Elfquest is pretty much the reason that it's come to people's
attention. In that respect, the creators of JINK are somewhat
inviting comparison.
I'd also distinguish this book from those critics who simply
refuse any new Elfquest titles because "it's not Wendy." This book
is not only "not Wendy," but it's not Elfquest; and, standing on
its own, it's just not all that good, either.
RATING: * *
-----
* And for the Turkey of the Week this past Thanksgiving holiday...
PRIME SEGA EDITION #1
I don't expect anyone will pay the ticket price for a Sega CD
game just to get the comic book, but I do suspect that this book
will start showing up on dealers' walls along with their ashcan
books, so I thought it might be worthwhile to give the comic book
a review.
The problem with this comic book is that it's not really a
comic book: it's more like an introductory guide to the video game.
Prime fights bad guy robots on one level; Prime crashes through the
ceiling to fight mutant creatures on the next. Theres even a panel
where Prime uses his "special" power in which you can just see the
Sega game-jocks hitting their "B" buttons. There's simply not any
decent story here.
The second half of the problem lies in Joe Stanton's artwork.
It's not that I think Joe's a bad artist; I just think he's a bad
superhero artist. He can pull off a parody like E-Man, and he can
/almost/ get away with doing something near-parody, like a Joker
story (see the latest LDK arc for that), but the suspension of
disbelief invariably breaks down when the more realistic elements
of the story intrude.
Malibu plans on doing multi-media crossovers between the video
games and the comic books, in which the storyline started in the
game continues on in the comic books. I'm all for that idea, and
I'm presuming those comics will actually be better than the ones
packaged in the video game.
RATING: *
-----
* OTHER RECOMMENDED READING: MACHINE #1 (First issue of Dark
Horse's cyberpunk Frankenstein); SHADE: THE CHANGING MAN #55 (A
neat series with a great jump-on point for new readers, like me);
and SHADOW CABINET #8 (Milestone's offbeat covert team book by
great new talent, writer Matt Wayne).
-----
* NEXT WEEK: A convention report from Image Con, here in San Diego;
and a special TSF announcement about Gen13!
Thanks again, and hope you enjoyed it. As always: Slack on!
Best,
---Slacker01/AOL