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Just a quick note to let everyone know that there will not be a new comic tomorrow. New strips will resume on Monday
I realize I have missed a bunch of comics as of late and Tuesday you will get an explanation as to what is going on.
Thanks and see you Monday.
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties, Please Stand By…
on January 10, 2012 at 3:38 pmPosted In: Blog
I just want to let everyone know that due to some massive computer issues (stupid Windows Vista), there won’t be any new New Book Day comics the rest of the week.
Hopefully (keep your fingers crossed), I can get everything sorted out and new comics will return on Monday, January 16th. And then I will get to work on building a buffer of comics so this NEVER happens again.
Thanks for you patience everybody.
When it was first announced that the characters that made up Vertigo (Shade, Swamp Thing, John Constantine) would be reintegrated into the DC Universe as part of the New 52, I was not a fan. How would somebody like John Constantine function in a Superman or Green Lantern comic? Or could you picture Swamp Thing costarring in Wonder Woman? I know I couldn’t.
Then I fell in love with Scott Snyder and his work on Batman. I was talking about this to my local comic shop guy when he told me Snyder was also writing Swamp Thing, a book I hadn’t read since the underappreciated Mark Millar/Phil Hester run. So of course I pick up a second print of issue one and boom, I fell in love all over again.
With issue #5, Snyder continues The Rot storyline as Alec Holland and Abigail Arcane face off against her brother and his undead killing machines. It also marks the return of Yanick Paquette to the art duties after a one issue break.
While Batman has been my favorite New 52 title since issue #1, Swamp Thing has been more of a slow burn. Hell, we haven’t actually seen the actual Swamp Thing since issue #1. Snyder has let the story slowly build and build, ratcheting up the tension as we go. Seeing Alec use the power of the Green to save Abby is a great moment and gives the reader the payoff they deserve. And the funny part is that this really does feel like a Vertigo comic. With fellow Vertigo alumni Animal Man, the two titles have cornered the market on creepy and scary in the New 52.
Paquette’s art is a perfect fit for a comic like Swamp Thing. He gives the visuals the weight they need while using some unconventional panel layouts to keep things interesting. Not all artists can do horror, but Paquette is proving he is more than capable. Plus his covers are just gorgeous. I really hope DC includes them in any future collected edition.
Swamp Thing should be on everybody’s pull list, no question. It’s a smart, scary read that any Vertigo fan will fall in love with.
Matt Fraction is a writer that… confuses me. Why is it that I can’t stand his work on Invincible Iron Man and just don’t get what people see in that book, yet I loved Fear Itself and have really enjoyed his writing on the new Mighty Thor title. Maybe it’s me, I don’t know…
Anyway, I honestly haven’t enjoyed a Thor comic this much since the heyday of the Walter Simonson era. Fraction is doing the same thing that legendary writer/artist did and is making The Mighty Thor a book about all of Asgard and not just Thor. Sure, the focus will always be on the Thunder God, but by allowing the rest of the cast to shine (especially Loki), we get a more fully fleshed out reading experience.
With issue #9, Fraction continues the dense, multilayered storyline he started in issue #8. The All-Mother continues to transform Asgard into the new republic Asgardia, Tanarus hangs out with the Avengers, Loki tries to understand why he is the only one who remembers his brother and, oh yeah, Thor shows up for a couple pages. Like I said, dense. There is a lot going on in this issue and keeping track of it all can be a problem, but a good kind of problem. In a day and age when most comics can be read in minutes, I can really appreciate Fraction wanting to do a Machiavellian political thriller that a reader might have to reread a couple times in order to get the complete story.
On the art side regular penciller Pasqual Ferry is teamed up with Pepe Larraz. While I’m not familiar with Larraz, their styles are compatible enough that it doesn’t affect the flow of the book in the least. A couple panels could use some more backgrounds (the Avengers sequence in particular) but on the whole the art works and Ferry’s pencils are gorgeous as always.
As I said above, this is a multifaceted, complex story that Fraction is telling here. If you have some patience and pay attention, there is a lot to like in The Mighty Thor. Give it a read and see if I’m right.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope everybody has a great holiday. New Book Day will return with all-new comics December 28th and some special announcements after the New Year.
Happy Holidays!
