My problem with Scott Snyder

Provocative title much?

Indeed. But I do actually have points to make. I have read every issue of his New 52 Batman run, and I have never been that amazed by almost of his issues. Looking back, I cannot think of anything beyond the two big events, and then I actually look back and see, well, that is all his run has been. Really long events that have left me bored, with no change between issue 1 and 18. No status quo change, no lasting impacts that did not happen in other titles and no new additions beyond one, who seems to have people divided.

But then I look closer, and find some individual stories tucked away inbetween his far too long, gruellingly long really, stories. Issues 12, the Annual and 18 all were self-contained stories, and were far better for it. They told a story, got to the point and then let you move on to the next tale. Shame the next tale was then long, tied into most of the Bat Family titles - though not Batwoman, which in its run has had much in the way of change in the same amount of time, working with multiple characters and superheroes and yet not impacting on any other books.

Now, this piece is not about Batwoman, but considering the very similar premise, the fact they have been running for the same amount of time (circa New 52) and yet one, even at its worst, would never be something I considered boring. Her cousin gets attacked, maimed and has to retrain to be a superhero. She gets enlisted into a government agency. She sort of cheats on her girlfriend. There is a team up with Wonder Woman. She reveals her identity and proposes to her girlfriend. Her crazy sister comes back from the dead. All with little to no fanfare from the hype machine.

Unlike Batman.



Nothing happens between issue 1 and issue 18 that is a direct change in the status quo, even when teased and said otherwise. Batman is still Batman, Nightwing is still Nightwing, Batgirl is still Barbara and not Steph or Cassandra (no, I will not let that go, especially with something I talk about later). No girlfriend or otherwise interested party to work in his personal life. Everything is left how it began, the pieces back into their starting positions.

Even Teen Titans, a title that went from very good (pre -New 52) to one of the worst (but hilarious in a terrible way) series, has managed to change the status quo. Characters have changed, come and left etc, even if it has been in such a mishandled and terrible way. But hey, back to Batman.

Not only does nothing seem to change, of the two stories told so far, because that is all there has been, both Night/Court of the Owls and Death of the Family have the same structure. Just look back at them, they have the same structure, the same conventions, the same threat. They seem to know who Batman is, how to target him, to involve his Bat Family, to have a secret in his past. And so on.

Repetitive. And what is repetition if not boring?

Well, it might be recursion. Oh ho ho. With that terrible joke out of the way, we shall move on to my next topic - women.

Or,  more specially, women in the New 52 Batman. How many can you name? Two, and one of them is Batgirl? Who guest stars less than any of the Robins (including Nightwing), in maybe part of an issue or two and she wears heels, something she does not wear in her own title. Because, as we all know, women in comics have no calf muscles.

Minor quibbles with artwork aside, the fact that the title is so, well, male dominated is a bit strange actually. Yes, a male focus is fine, desired even. It is Batman after all. And there it is, this is Batman. He is known to be involved with many women, some not for long, others for a while. In 18 issues there has not been a hint of his personal life in that direction that I can remember. Nor almost anything of a personal life at all.

This is a series with even less than Nolan's trilogy, which while having people of both genders popping up, it feels really quite an asexual environment, even when there is romance. Anyway, a slight diversion really.

The lack of personal developments does seem to be hindrance - Bruce is not Batman 24/7, even if Batman is the real man. Why not feature more on his personal interactions, on his relationship with Alfred? Something we are just assumed to take for granted. Not something I am comfortable with, not when this is meant to be a reboot.

Imagine an issue or two with a love interest for Alfred. It would build more on the dynamic, test the waters between the two. Someone who is dating something in his house, who has no interest in Bruce. Could he trust her, would he push her away to keep Alfred to himself? Could it show a new side to Bruce that would be interesting to see once?

Or perhaps a story of Batman on the streets, just a night in his life. The people he sees, the darkness of Gotham, and perhaps a smidgeon of light, engulfed by the monster that is the city?

But nope. We get two big stories and two single issue breaks. Wonderful. Both of which feature the only other female character in Batman - Harper Row. Someone who, while interesting, does feel rather similar. Some names ring bells, some no longer among us.
Jason. Tim. Steph.

Why does she seem so much like an amalgamation of them? Especially when not all of them currently exist.

And that they both also act as another character looking at Batman. And these are the most interesting issues? They have a personal connection, dealing with a family, the stuff inbetween. Not just one fight, one event after another.

Oh, and the amount of things that are impossible? According to Batman, those pancakes would be. And the brownies.



As a brief summary, no, I do not think Scott is a bad writer. But he needs to write shorter stories, actually change the dynamics round, which Harper might end up doing and focusing more on the future and not the secrets he keeps inventing for Bruce to have done or kept?



Wait, what is that? His next arc is a 10 part look at Batman's past?



Oh.



Well, never mind then. This is going to suck...

A post?! And a story?!

Oh what? A post? From me? And it is late anyway?

Yeah, sounds about right.

I recently wrote a story about the end of the world, while in-between writing a novel and some comics. The novel is slightly behind, but has three finished chapters, three over half finished chapters and plenty more left to write. I started in September and have been writing steadily since. But this is about my short story.

It can either be read below, or on my deviantArt here. Please do provide feedback.

- The Ending Star -

On a day of peace and quiet, in the town of West Hamplington, a star screamed and fell to the Earth. Ploughing through rock and hill, nesting itself within Compton Woods.

From across a neighbouring field came two young boys running towards it, having gazed upon the fire in the skies. Hopping over the fence, they slowed down, approaching that bit more cautiously.

"Don't touch it. It'll be really hot." said one.

"You're being daft Seth. It'll be really cold." the other replied, correcting his friend.

Still, they ignored their better sense of judgement and continued their approach towards the fallen star.

Deep within and without came a light, flashing and cascading from the stars core, engulfing the approaching boys. As the light died, so did those caught within. Bodies hungrily eaten by the star, it balefully glowed, looking out over West Hamplington.

- - -

Deep within the ground, across the oceans and within the forests, up mountains and down canyons, past the moon and from the hearts of humanity came the stirrings of creatures from a lost age, another time, when the world was smaller.

They stirred and awoke, for the chains holding the star at bay had broken, and they all knew what that meant. Almost all of magic kind had agreed to the sacrifice, to keep the end contained. But now all would need to aid, for the last time it had not been enough. Perhaps the newer races might also be able to lend a hand.

"Send the letters." said the shadows flitting across the world to a man dressed in Victorian garb, smoking a pipe. Briefly fading out of reality, the man picked up a mailbag, spun on his heels and vanished.

- - -

Groggily waking up halfway through the morning, alarm blaring, Sandie Lane rubbed her eyes, still laying in bed, still tired, not moving beyond  her arms. Yawning, she threw her hand at the alarm clock, mashing her fingers on the buttons, struggling to shut the damn thing up.

Failing to stop the incessant yelling of the machine, she grabbed the alarm and yanked it out of the wall, throwing it against the wall. It shattered against the metal panel she had left lying there from the last time she had smashed an alarm, a smile across her face as the pieces spread across the wall.

"Well, that's only the second one this year." she muttered, finally picking herself up from her bed. Dropping her legs from the side of the bed, thin metal necklace clinking as she moved, Sandie sidled her feet into her slippers laying there, wiggling her toes in comfort.

She was past her teenage years a few years ago, and was of average height and weight, of average belief and craziness, Sandie had long curly and frizzy brown hair, which was very much suffering from bed hair at this time. Rubbing her deep blue eyes again, she got up and began her daily routine. She went to the toilet,  happily drying her hands thoroughly on the nice, warm and fuzzy towel, before she made her way to the kitchen and made breakfast. Such things were far more important to her than showering. Flicking on the TV, she sat down and slowly ate her cereal and drank her smoothie while watching whatever kids show was on the telly during the middle of the morning.

Going back and washing up what she had used for breakfast, Sandie walking past her front door, spying newly arrived post in the basket underneath the letterbox. Flicking through the envelopes, uninteresting and uninspired mail one and all save one, one most unlike the rest. Gleaming in golden writing was just her name, no address or stamp. The writing curled and twisted as she looked at it, and she swore she could hear faint laughter from the inside.

"Curiouser and curiouser." she said, grabbing her letter opener from within the basket she plucked open the letter. Unfolding out from the envelope came a short swish of wind, the scent of roses trailing back to its sender. Reading through the brief note, her eyes rereading it again and again, unsure as to what it meant.

"Miss Sandie Lane,

You are cordially invited to the end of the world council for the prevention of said event.

Please arrive promptly at 1600 by the ford of split intentions.

Yours sincerely,
Jack Robinson
Secretary of the Council"

"Ach, damn." she muttered, still not entirely sure as to what was asked of her, and yet, she knew entirely what was asked of her. "Guess they'll want me dressed up then." she said unhappily as she rubbed her head in confusion. Putting the letter down on the shelf by the door, she went to her bathroom and started running a bath.

Tipping in some bubble mixture, she grabbed her current book and placed it by the side. Closing the door and locking it, for even though she lived alone you could not be too careful. Hanging up her bed clothes, top first on one peg and bottoms next on the other, she slid off her slippers, leaving her necklace on and slipped herself into the bath. Delving herself into her book, she lost herself for a while. For if it was the end of the world, like hell she would miss out on the ending.

After finally turning the last page she smiled, satisfied with the ending presented to her, the water having long turned cold, she pulled herself and began to dry herself. Having finished with that, Sandie wiggled into a pair of one of her old boyfriend's boxers. Or were they ones she had bought afterwards, because oh geez were they the most comfortable thing she had worn down there. Unsure of what else to wear, she went over to her doorless wardrobe, and pondered on what to wear.

Choosing things that she supposed would be smart, probably what others would want her to wear. And there she was, dressed in a suit and skirt, high heels clicking as she walked, her hair in an uptight bun. Walking past her full length mirror, she stopped and gazed at herself. Frowning, she continued to look before yelling in disapproval.

"Nope, nope. Not doing it." she said, quickly messing up her hair into something far more normal for her, free and wild. Kicking off her shoes at the wall, she watched them bounce off and hit the floor, probably making another dent in the wall as she did. Throwing off the rest of the clothes, still in a highly particular order from top to bottom, she returned to find something far more comfortable, leaving her clothes strewn on the floor, wandering around in boxer shorts, past an abandoned wheelchair and some spare bike parts she kept meaning to swap over.

Quickly, and a bit randomly, Sandie choose an assortment of clothes and started putting them on. A plain black choker, something her last girlfriend gave her before the accident. Rubbing it fondly, reminiscing on only a few weeks prior, on better days. Necklace still worn, as well as a wooden African charm necklace she had picked up on a holiday a few years ago. Two tank tops, red over black and an open sleeveless brown jacket. Squeezing her way into some white baggy trousers that the waist was just never right for, and tying a multicoloured patchwork scarf around her waist as a makeshift belt, she considered herself far more ready. Grabbing a pair of trainers, she put them on upon the stairs before heading to the toilet one last time before heading out. The ride would probably take a couple of others, and this would be the last time to have hot running water for the day.

Heading back to the kitchen, she delved in and stocked up on snack food, as well as preparing a pack lunch. Plenty of sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, a couple of apples, packet of crisps, the last slice of funeral cake and and a chocolate bar, before pocketing the letter. Palming a knife, she dropped it in her bag then slung it across her shoulder, doing up the clasps and fidgeting till it was comfortable. As she looked out over her place before leaving, fiddling with her necklaces, still a bit unsure on what she was doing. As she left, she gave the front door a good slam, making sure it was closed properly.

"Man, I really ought to get that looked at." she said to no-one in particular, before shrugging. "If we survive that is." Pulling out her cycle gloves from her jacket, she did them up, plucking her bike keys out from a separate pocket, undoing the various padlocks she had on her bike, her rather sporty and very rusted bike. Wheeling it out from under the cover, she hopped on and began to peddle, cycling to a council at the end of the world.

- - -

"So then, Mr Robinson - why her?" asked Odette, Queen of the Birdsong, lounging on a couch.

"And why not her?" he replied, tipping his top hat to his questioner before vanishing, as if he was never there, off to deliver the next set of invitations. He had only managed up to L, and as such it was to be a rather busy day for the Spring Heeled Jack.

For Odette herself had only heard the news of the council because of the connections to her new beau, a man who put Nicholas to shame. Sighing, she contented herself to playing on some form of handheld games console, for the council was not due for another twelve or so hours.

- - -

A creaky sign on a crooked building. An oulde time pub lost from the ages, come once more when the signs bode poorly. A wild and scattered red headed manager leans on his stool, legs over the bar, cane resting there as well. His eyes show wisdom and weariness, yet his body speaks of youth and mirth. Spying a couple of new arrivals, he threw his cane over his shoulder, but otherwise stayed where he sat.

"Welcome to the Sleeping King my friends. What perchance will you be drinking this eve?" he asked. As they replied, money exchanging hands, he tapped his cane across the taps, twirling a couple of glasses across it and filling them up without moving, the black oak cane doing all the work. "And there you go. Have a merry end of the world." he said as he finished, throwing their drinks across the bar to directly in front of them, not a drop spilt.

Twirling his cane, the barman resting it across his legs and turned his head to the conversation of a couple of drunk ogres peaking his interest, their conversation not suitable for any time.

"I hear they've brought a woman in." said a drunkard greedily slurping away on a tankard of really rather potent ale, belly hanging well over the stool.

"And an attractive one at that." chimed in a second drunken voice, his chin bathed in froth.

"I fail to see how that is relevant." replied the bartender, his eyes locking on both of theirs at once in annoyance.

"And we neva asked you in, arm, barman chappy." came the second voice, stumbling over his words.

"Hey, what did'cha say your name was again anyway?" said the first ogre, voice rising in anger.

"I didn't, and if you take that tone with me again boy I'll cast you out naked into the frost." the bartender sternly replied, cane pointing fiercely directly at them, still leaning on his stool and yet rising in stature far beyond what would be considered physically possible.

"Oh, and you can call me Merlin." he continued, his voice suddenly becoming flippant and full of mirth once more, cane slamming on the ground, the drunkards stool legs suddenly turning to water, collapsing the foolish ogres to the floor. Looking at each other in puzzlement and confusion, they turned back to the barman, who did not say a word, just looked fiercely at the pair. Their nerves failing, they ran out of the pub, tripping as they did so.

"Clean up by the bar please." the barman said to a closed door, ownerless brooms wandering out and beginning to clean up the mess he had made. Tapping his cane back on the floor, the stools picked themselves up and fixed each other. Soon there was no trace of altercation in the Sleeping King.

- - -

All across the woods arrived creatures from some corner of another. Some were by themselves represented their species all by themselves, while others come in attendance with others, for either moral support, or the fact they did not truly trust one another. Just because they were out to prevent the end of the world did not mean they were friends at all.

Wolves became men and women, ghostly sprites flew out of rocks, foxes and badgers came out of nearby warrens and trees walked themselves into a better position. All species were invited, for what occurred next involved every species upon, below and above the ground.

- - -

Still lounging in his bar, cane tapping in time to the music now playing, Merlin spied a man pop into existence to the side. Tweaking his cane, he pulled out a beer he had already prepared and threw it to Jack, who effortlessly caught it.

"You were expecting me then?" he asked, taking a sip of the drink offered.

"Indeed I was." Merlin replied, hopping off his seat. "But I'll be a while longer, it's not closing time yet, see? And don't wordy bout that drink - it's on the house." he continued, giving the cash register a couple of taps before leaning on his bar. Hitting the overhanging bell, he decided not to observe Jack as he left, on the road to another council member. Surely not his sister though? For once in his life, Merlin was unsure. He could not remember what happened next, nor the time after.

- - -

"I still can't believe they never got it. I practically signed my name. Morgana Le Fay. Idiots, one and all." said the first voice of the faey, bored of waiting for all the others to arrive.

"Indeed auntie." said the second voice, Mordred, irritated.

Their wings were draped around them as cloaks and dresses, some, like Morgana's elegantly fitting their form, while others like Mordred's thrown about, indifference to their manner of dress. Their hair was wild, plants and animals, even a bird living within. One behind Morgana and Mordred plucked a spider out of her hair and chomped down on it, licking her lips as she finished. Deep black eyes gazed around the still assembled council, the pure blackness not betraying where their gazes fell. Flowing green and golden tattoos written across pale skin glinted and shone in the baleful light of the contained star.

Looking up in puzzlement, Morgana felt a magic she had not felt in a long time.

"Meredith has arrived." she said, as the next emissaries landed.

"Oh wonderful, it's the tooth." said Mordred scornfully.

"Hello cousins." came the obviously false joyous reply from Meredith, aloft on hummingbird wings, before turning to her attendants to dismiss them. "Nipper, Fang, leave us. I think we're going to be having a long discussion with out relatives before the council. How wonderfully pointless." she continued, fake enthusiasm showing through.

"Enough, all of you." said Morgana, irritated at her whole family.

"What did you expect sis?" came a nonchalant voice from above, flitting around them all, flicking his red hair out of his face as he landed.

"Merlin." she said tersely.

"Morgana." he replied. "It's been too long." he said, smiling, embracing her in a familial hug.

"Indeed it has." she replied as they hugged, smiling. "How is he doing?" she then asked.

"Still sleeping, still awaiting. Very noisy snorer." answered Merlin, letting go of the hug and twirling his staff. Tapping his staff on the ground, an armchair growing in the spot. Slumping down into it, he grinned. "So, when do we start?"

- - -

"Humans. Running late as always." came the scornful remark of Anubis as he sorted between various feathers he kept lined in his coat.

"Actually, I think she's right on time." replied the excited voice of the brer rabbit, returning his pocket watch to his jacket, before continuing to check the multitude of wristwatches strewn about his arms.

"Yeah, that'll be me you're talking about." said Sandie, as she strolled into the assembled gathering, pushing her bike along side her. "It's a hell of a time finding this place, but good thing I got this old thing." she continued, leaning over the handlebars, finally taking into appreciation the assembled masses. "Had to get off for the last bit though. Funny set of stiles you got back there."

"This is right weird." she muttered, seeing all eyes gazing at her, a human, the first human to attend a council since Arthur Pendragon himself. At least, before he became something else.

"The last has arrived. We shall now begin." boomed the voice of Bahamut, last of the lizardkin, seaborn of a lost age.

- - -

"We have failed, and the judgement is now upon us." moaned Gamayun, flying through the crowds as she spoke. Bird wings flapping furiously as her beautiful eyes roamed across everyone she flew past.

"Nonsense - the auguries have held true so far. We can prevent the end again." came the quiet but commanding voice of Odin, Scion of Norsica, dressed in brown robes, snow white beard nesting two black ravens, wolf to either side of him, simple branch staff held in his hands, his single eye rapidly flicking between attendees.

A thousand voices screamed and pleaded the opinions of a thousand species, and a thousand voices fell upon two-thousand deaf ears.

"Enough." roared Bahamut, bringing the council to order. "One at a time, we must have order."

And so began the council discussing the best method to chain the star back up, this time as a far more permanent solution.

"Perhaps we could bind it with runes, and then Merlin could use some of his alterations on them, create some ever shift runes?" asked Odin.

"I could try that, but I don't think it'll work. After all, we tried that last time to no avail." replied Merlin.

"Unless we mixed the runes up with orbic chains of binding?" added Horus.

"What, and then combine it with underworld ropes?" asked Hades.

"No, won't work." replied Anansi. "But maybe we could retell a story, rewrite what the star was?"

"Could you do it though?" asked Rama.

"Well, no. Not alone, maybe with the powers of everyone else? added Anansi.

"And you're sure you're not just trying to get our powers for yourself?" replied Odin, obviously wise to Anansi's game.

"Er, partially, I think, maybe. No. But it would be nice." stammered Anansi.

"Moving on." said Bahamut, steering the conversation back on track.

"Could we not just drop it in the ocean?" asked Sandie, who soon felt two thousand eyes upon her, scornfully looking. "OK, OK. Stupid question then." she replied to their accusative glares, hands up in mock apology.

"Unfortunately, that will not work. It has only taken the form of a star." added Susanoo.

"It is more of a malevolent force of nature, trying to exorcise all of reality, including itself." said Merlin.

"Why would it want to do that?" replied Sandie.

"Because it's nature." replied Odin gruffly.

And so it continued. None could form of agreement of a plan that would assuredly contain the problem. And yet they persisted, for if they failed, there would be no world anymore. Something would have to be done, and it would have to be far grander than what had gone before.

"Wait, what is it doing?" asked Sandie, panic in her voice, spying a glow arising from the star.

A harsh light, stronger and fiercer than before, a maleficent hue growing larger, rising in tempo as it beat as heart, thrashing against invisible chains.

"No, not yet!" came voice the voice of Morgana, now truly fearful for her life.

Beating his cane against the floor, Merlin began additional spells of containment. The brer rabbit unleashed temporal bindings, Bahamut gave a stream of frost, Odin throwing his staff into the blaze, Morgana's writings travelling across the air, Meredith loosing arcs of memories. Bolts and spells flew from all manner of creature, all in the council understood the peril, for all was escalated quicker than foreseen.

Chants rose and songs befell the star, psychics threw their cards and golems surrounded it, a pair of ogres striking with old weapons. Zeus' lightning struck true, Horus and Anubis' staves whispering, Susanoo unleashed torrents of the sea upon it. Rama fired golden arrows as dragons rose and struck out, Arthur awakening, knights from across the lands answering his call. Ishtar and Ares fought side by side as Gamayun cried out in despair. Anansi spun his web as the monkey king tried to trick the star with a hair.

Even Sandie pulled out her knife and made an attempt at stabbing the star, a snark filled comment of the folly of her actions lost in the blaze.

It was a time of legends at that finest.

All tried to contain the wrath of fire.

But it was all for nought.

Cracking against the walls of reality, the very fabric of existence tore apart as the star unleashed its last and final effort. Finally free from the shackles the council had imposed upon it, it lashed out, starlight engulfing them all. Flares reached out as it truly reignited, the heat poring across the cracks, streaming out across the Earth.

And then the world died.

Half of the 52

Right, so, this will be where I comment on the New 52. So far I have read 26 of them, so I am exactly half way. Without further ado, I shall begin!










Action Comics. Well, OK, this one was a disappointment, and from Grant Morrison, that is a big deal... Maybe it was Superman not acting like Superman and more like his Superdickery covers, maybe it was the story that has been done to death. Who knows? Anyway, I will give it one more issue, just because it is Grant Morrison...

Animal Man. Now this was a pleasant surprise - the cover was horrible, did not like it. But the art inside, well, that was my kind of art. And the story was interesting, and somewhat new. Nice to see a family man superhero still works in a universe where Superman throws people off buildings...

Batgirl. Oh boy, this was the make or break for DC. As I think everyone knows, I really enjoyed Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, and Bryan Q. Miller was a great writer. Then he looses his writing gigs at DC, and remove Steph, and put Barbara back. With someone who is always held in high praise on the internet, but I personally have never enjoyed as a writer, Gail Simone. And yeah, this was no difference. The explanation of her paralysis?
http://youtu.be/fr8DIg3oHFI?t=1m28s
Lesson learned: I am never reading another Gail Simone comic. I have given her more chances than digits on my right hand after all...

Batman and Robin. Grant Morrison wrote this book brilliantly, and whoever took over after him, I was just interested. This new version has another new writer (or carrying over from doing a few issues after the first replacement to Grant), and has a completely different dynamic as well. It is no longer Dick and Damian, but Bruce and Damian, and well, it does not work. Damian is back to being a complete dick, no idea what has happened with Bruce's timeline, why Dick is no longer with Damian, did Bruce even sort of but not really die? And the story itself, well, it was OK. Only bit I liking was Bruce deciding to stop honouring his parents death, but instead their life. Still, nothing special whatsoever...

Batwing. Well, I feel the artwork on this book mixed, but generally above average, and I liked the story. The ending was intriguing enough to wonder where Judd was going with this, and the character seems like he has an interesting though (spoilers) short lived supporting cast. That is, if he himself is not, dun dun dun, dead. But of course he is not, that would be silly. Still interesting enough.

Batwoman. I have been looking forward to this one for over a year now. Did it slightly disappoint me? Unfortunately yes, in the this is better than a normal good issue of an average comic, but not at the high point of its game. But the art is lovely, the character dynamics are interesting and a natural evolution of what has happened previously without being too bogged down in specifics. Plus we have more material for the Batman/Commissioner Gordon slash fiction I know is out there somewhere.

Deathstroke. This was pretty poor. In the first couple of pages Deathstroke is said to be a bad-ass twice. He kills his allies for no reason. His mission is unknown and does not seem interesting. And doing the Pulp Fiction unknown briefcase contents does not work when you are not Pulp Fiction.

Demon Knights. I went into this book not expecting anything special, but it was very enjoyable. Vandal Savage as an ally? Shining Knight, Jason Blood, Madame Xanadu, dragon and dinosaurs in the Dark Ages? Hilarity ensured, and it ensured well. Colour me impressed Paul Cornell, though I really ought to expect that from him.

Detective Comics. OK, I am going to be honest here - I remember nothing from this issue, even forgot the 'shock ending' for a bit. It really was that kind of issue, not good, not bad, just bland. Which is not good from a flagship title, and one that is the second longest running comic ever. Not good at all…

Frankenstein - Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Since this is the picture I used for this post, can you guess what I thought of this issue?
That is correct, I really liked it. Mad science, whacky concepts, quick but not a full back story of the main character and the premise to get you interested, and good art. Yeah, this is my kind of book.

Green Arrow. I have never liked JT Krull's work, but this, well, it was above average. Not sure on where we stand continuity wise (we jump in with new characters etc) in Seattle, of all places, but it was alright. No silly magic forest now, but still no Black Canary. Green Arrow stumbled on the Road to the Altar, was good again when Judd Winick returned, but then Cupid happened. And Brightest Day. This is better than Krull's last GA, but is by no means brilliant.

Green Lantern. I really do feel I need to come up with a name for this symptom. Of course it was Geoff Johns title that did not feel the reboot at all. Of course this issue irritated me on that level. But also, not much happened. And what did happen, well, it just sort of, well, did. Nothing special, and not interesting.
IJF, or Irritable Johns Fatigue?...

Grifter. Rushed and interesting, telling a back story the character probably has had told better before this. And why this guy of all people gets a comic? Not, say, someone better from the Milestone universe, instead of the silly WildC.A.T.S (yes, that is actually their name. Urf, so 90's it hurts), like, I do not know, Icon? Hardware (who gets a cameo in Static), Donner & Blitzen (I so want a comic starring them) or Iron Butterfly? Pass.

Hawk and Dove. Sterling Gates does good work, as always, but why, oh why, did he get paired up with that buffoon Rob Liefeld. I just do not understand how that guy still has a job. Oh well, if you enjoy a good story, pick this up. But the art, well, it needs no explanation…

Justice League. Four characters? Four measly characters? And one of them for two pages? And the other not even a superhero yet. Yes, this is just another Geoff Johns love letter to Green Lantern. Am I slightly bitter? Yes. This was better than Green Lantern though. Was more entertaining, a bit more happened (though still not much), and had a couple of amusing parts. But still, this was not a good introduction to the new universe, nor this series as a whole. A team book has to introduce the whole team, period.

Justice League International. Now, this, unlike Batwoman, was a big disappointment. Sure, there were a couple of good bits, but unlike Generation Lost, I just did not like it. And who is this Godiva woman? Yes, I know she was in Flashpoint, but I did not read that, and this is meant to be a reboot, so you have to tell the audience who all these characters are. No one seemed to really have much to do, even though I like the majority of the characters from before. Such a shame.

Legion Lost. The story was not really that interesting, explains nothing on who these characters are (again with the not explaining who these people are DC?), the villain had no personality and did not really appear, and the reason these guys were chosen is unexplained. And the mysteries hinted at, well, I just do not care. Pass.

Mr Terrific. Well, this was a better than average book. It flowed well, though seemed a bit too quick to play the race issue (it played it twice in one issue), which does not bode well. Still, interesting plot, a good summary of the character (though not the best), and some potentially good hooks. A good start to his solo series. Still bummed by the lack of a JSA though...

O.M.A.C. This is probably the best book I have ever read by Dan Dido himself, and that is saying something. It was an alright book, but did not at all introduce us at all to what O.M.A.C. is (before the reboot, I knew, no, who knows?), nor his personality. He was like an even more underdeveloped proto-Hulk. And I do not like the Hulk. Pass.

Red Lantern. This book went nowhere, nothing really happened, and just was all round boring. Sorry for the short one here, but I cannot think of anything more to say.

Resurrection Man. Now this was good. Potential angels trying to kill someone who will not die, causing mayhem while they do so, a plot which does not say at all where the arc will be going, and good art. Unlike Frankenstein or Demon Knights, I went into this one hoping to like it (after these guys last go on the character), and it went well. Probably at the same level as this months Batwoman.

Static Shock. And then the ball drops again. This character has been floundering ever since after the TV show, and, well, this never really picks up. Stuff happens, some alright bits, but the action was pretty uninteresting, the character was unexplained for new readers, and things just did not click. All in all, it was slightly below average. Such a shame, I wanted to like this one.

Stormwatch. This was alright, maybe slightly above average. I just did not really get into it, the art was not clear what was happening a couple of times (like how Martian Manhunter took down Apollo before calling him the most powerful man on the planet), and the plot itself seemed inconsistent. And this completely reboots Apollos/Midnighters relationship to never even having met. So, not only does Superman loose the love of his life, so does Apollo? Er, DC, what are you doing here?

Suicide Squad. Eh, this was another one of those I just do not care books. It was nothing special at all, tried and failed to introduce us to the characters, and was (spoilers) mostly, sort of, a dream. Lame. And what have they down to Harley?

Superboy. Rose Wilson is still around? Huzzah! Oh, this is a comic about Superboy being born in a lab (again). And if Rose survived, where is Cassandra Cain? And Stephanie Brown?
Wait, getting off track here *ahem*. This is a Superboy comic, which could have been told in about four pages. It was alright, but seemed padded as hell, and for a number one, that does not bode well.

Swamp Thing. And now to finish on a bad review. Lame lame lame. This was uninteresting, I am still getting distracted by Superman's silly cybernetic costume, the plot did not seem to make sense, and I thought in the reboot Clark Kent did work at the Daily Planet? I am unsure, this reboots timeline is messy already. Not good. Still, nice art by Yanick Paquette, who I am glad has something now that Batman Incorporated has been canceled/delayed until 2012.

And there you have it. My ratings on the first three weeks on the DC reboot. All in all, the books I enjoyed could have been told without this reboot, the books that were rebooted I did not like, and mostly I am just left wondering why DC did this. It was nothing special at all, and has been filled with stupid decisions all round…

Two pence on the DC Reboot

I know, I am terrible posting anything to a schedule. This is my first, in what, a year? Anywho, DC Reboot time. Woo, I am so not excited at all for this. And here is why:

Action Comics - Grant Morrison on Superman? I love All-Star Superman, and I love Grant's work, so yeah, I will give this a shot.

All-Star Western - I never cared for the Jonah Hex book, so, yeah, this does not hold any appeal for me.

Animal Man - Having seen the cover for the first issue, I have been put off completely from this. Shame, as I do not dislike the character, but with a cover like that, I wonder who it is amained for.

Aquaman - Regardless of anything else, it is Aquaman, I have to buy this.

Batgirl - So, I really like the current series, with Steph in it, and I like Cassandra too. But Barbara as Batgirl? No, she was always better as Oracle, and become a far more interesting character because of this. Now, with none of the others in sight, and being written by Gail Simone, who people say is a good writer though I have never experienced one good story written by her, and this is the most disappointing change here. My favourite series, and a constantly highly rated one at that, gone? Yeah, way to go DC.

Batman - I picked up Batman when Judd Winick was writing, and tried to get into Tony Daniel, but could not, and promptly dropped it. And I have no ideas of picking it up again any time soon.

Batman & Robin - Bruce and Damian instead of Dick and Damian? Just does not seem right, I really liked the Dick/Damian aspect of this series.

Batman: The Dark Knight - I never cared about this series before, and I am not going to start now.

Batwing - Maybe, I do not know. They seem to be marketing this as "Look, this Batman is black", which is not a good strategy. Maybe Judd Winick will make this work, I will give it a flickthrough.

Batwoman - Whenever this finally comes out, as I have been waiting over a year for this, hell yes. This is one of the few titles I am guaranteed to buy straight away, no hesitation, because I actually want to read it.

Blackhawks - Pffft, yeah right. No.

Blue Beetle - I like the character, but it is odd to have Jaime and not Ted. Personally, I would have had both, doing a mentor style book, as they do not have one of these now, now that they got rid of titles such as Batgirl (yes, I am still going to go on about that).

Birds of Prey - Whatever, by this point I just do not care anymore...

Captain Atom - JT Krul and a character I am not a fan of, I think not.

Catwoman - Not a real fan of the character, but it is written by Judd Winick. Maybe.

Deathstroke - Costume looks, how do we say, interesting? But the Titans run with him in does bode well for this, so no.

Demon Knights - No idea about this, so no.

Detective Comics - I only bought this when Batwoman or the Question was in it, and without either of those, and with Tony Daniel writing, this is a big no.

DC Universe Presents - Nothing about this screams interesting, so no.

Flash - I have never been a Flash fan, so nope.

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE - Only time I have seen him was in Final Crisis, and from that, I muster up a meh.

Fury of Firestorm - I do not really care about Firestorm, and it is written by Gail Simone, so, this is a no for me.

Green Arrow - I really do not like JT Krul, but it is Green Arrow, and so, like Aquaman, I have to get this...

Green Lantern - I got fed up of the Green Lantern storyline, it just seemed as though Geoff Johns was burnt out, and I cannot bothered to give it another go.

Green Lantern Corps - Same story here.

Green Lantern: The New Guardians - And here.

Grifter - Something else that I know nothing about...

Hawk & Dove - Birds of Prey and Brightest Day made me dislike these characters. I did mind the inclusion of them in BoP, but as I said above, I do not enjoy Gail Simone's work. So this one is a no.

I, Vampire - Who, what, huh? No.

Justice League - I never buy these individually, only as collected editions, so I shall see if it is worthwhile then. Suffice to say, I do not expect much, as I was enjoying James Robinson's League, and this just, well, most of the original League again. But, Aquaman is in it…

Justice League Dark - stupid name, few characters I care for, meh.

Justice League International - Now, this, on the other hand, looks interesting. A diverse set of lesser-known characters, including Vixen, I think I will give it a go.

Legion Lost - See below.

Legion of Superheroes - I got a bit fed up in the last series, and gave it up. Going to keep with that for this one.

Men of War - No idea what this about, so probably not.

Mister Terrific - The costume is horrible, I am not hugely interested in the character, and I have no idea who Eric Wallace is, so, no.

Nightwing - That costume is just bad. Plain bad. And where the hell does this DC reboot make any sense on established characters? Yes, I know it is a reboot, but what that really means is that it is just another screw in continuity.

OMAC - I think I share my opinions with most people: avoid any comic written by Dan Didio.

Red Hood and the Outlaws - Pffft, after what DC did to Roy Harper and his family, and how I dislike Starfire, I will be avoiding this. Also, a baseball cap? Really?!?

Red Lanterns - Yeah, just no.

Resurrection Man - Well, this was a surprise. I liked this in DC One Million, so I might give this a go.

Savage Hawkman - Written by Tony Daniel? No thanks...

Static Shock - I sortof like the character, but never bought his book, and the TV show was alright. Doubtful I will pick it up.

Stormwatch - Gay Superman/Batman and Martian Manhunter? Odd choice of team-up there, but hey, it seems slightly interesting. Flickthrough.

Suicide Squad - What the hell happened to Harley? Just looks so so stupid, and nothing about this looks good, so no.

Superboy - Never cared for the character, know nothing about the writer, so no.

Superman - As for the main Superman book, never really been a fan of the character, except mostly in Elseworld titles (All-Star, Red Son, etc), so no.

Supergirl - Silly costume, though the writers have done some good stuff. Doubtful I would actually buy this though, maybe it will get a flickthrough.

Swamp Thing - I really could not care less about it.

Teen Titans - Those costumes are, well, stupid. And I do not care for the writers really. And there is no Miss Martian or Ravager in sight.

Voodoo - I do not know anything about this, so doubtful.

Wonder Woman - I do not tend to read WW, only flicking through it on occasion. And I cannot say I have read anything by Brian Azzarello either...

4 series I will be getting, and 6 flickthroughs. That is not good, as it is highly doubtful I will actually buy any of the ones I flickthrough. Plus, DC have almost entirely lost all my goodwill, what with Batgirl going and Bryan Q. Miller (also of Smallville fame), not getting a replacement book. In fact, the only thing I am actually looking forward to, what with Geoff's treatment of Aquaman etc, is Batwoman, and as I said before, I have been waiting over a year for that. Not good at all...

And this is not getting started on what I feel about reboots (bad idea), the removal of things like the JSA (another bad idea), or putting characters how they were when they first created (again, a bad idea). Spot a trend there?

The Good, the Bad and the horrendously terrible…

I got comics! At long last, I have in my hands the last months worth of comics. All 35 of them. I shan't be reviewing them all, but if anyone is interested in any of them, let me know and I'll say my piece...

Scarlet #1
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by Alex Maleev

Batgirl #12
Written by Bryan Q Miller
Drawn by Lee Garbett & Pere Perez

Namora [One-Shot]
Written by Jeff Parker
Drawn by Sara Pichelli

Great Ten #9
Written by Tony Bedard
Drawn by Scott McDaniel

Justice League: Generation Lost #4 & #5
Written by Judd Winick
Drawn by Keith Giffen & Aaron Lopresti

Human Target #6
Written by Len Wein
Drawn by Bruno Redondo

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1
Written by Allan Heinberg
Drawn by Jim Cheung

Batman Beyond #1
Written by Adam Beechen
Drawn by Ryan Benjamin

Joker's Asylum II: Killer Croc [One-Shot]
Written by Mike Raicht
Drawn by David Yardin & Cliff Richards

Green Hornet: Parallel Lives #1
Written by Jai Nitz
Illustrated by Nigel Raynor

The Mighty Crusaders #1
Written by Eric S. Trautmann & Brandon Jerwa
Drawn by Julian Lopez

Young Allies #2
Written by Sean McKeever
Drawn by David Baldeon

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2
Written by Jim McCann
Drawn by David Lopez

Birds of Prey #3
Written by Gail Simone
Drawn by Ed Benes & Adriana Melo

Husk #2
Written by Stephane Louis
Drawn by Arnaud Boudoiron

Batman and Robin #13
Written by Grant Morrison
Drawn by Frazer Irving

Green Hornet #5
Written by Kevin Smith
Drawn by Phil Hester & Jonathan Lau

Green Lantern Corps #49
Written by Tony Bedard
Drawn by Ardian Syaf

Green Lantern #55
Written by Geoff Johns
Drawn by Doug Mahnke

Legion of Super-Heroes #2
Written by Paul Levitz
Drawn by Yildiray Cinar & Francis Portela

Red Hood: Lost Days #2
Written by Judd Winick
Drawn by Pablo Raimondi & Cliff Richards

Joker's Asylum II: Clayface
Written by Kevin Shinick
Drawn by Kelley Jones

Kato: Origins #2
Written by Jail Nitz
Drawn by Colton Worley

Batman #701
Written by Grant Morrison
Drawn by Tony Daniel

Green Hornet: Year One #4
Written by Matt Wagner
Drawn by Aaron Campbell

Gotham City Sirens #13
Written by Tony Bedard
Drawn by Peter Nguyen & Andres Guinaldo

Sky Doll: Spaceship Collection #2
Written by Barbara Canepa
Drawn by Allessandro Barbucci

Zatanna #2
Written by Paul Dini
Drawn by Stephane Roux

Detective Comics #866
Written by Dennis O'Neil
Drawn by Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs

Teen Titans #84
Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Drawn by Jose Luis

Titans #25
Written by Eric Wallace
Drawn by Fabrizio Fiorentino

Brightest Day #5
Written by Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Drawn by Ican Reis, Ardian Syaf & Joe Prado

Green Arrows #1
Written by J.T. Krul
Drawn by Diogenes Neves

Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal
Written by J.T. Krul
Drawn by Geraldo Borges, Kevin Sharpe & Fabio Kansen

New comics

Are going to be bought later today, so expect a review of em all by Monday/Tuesday. Busy weekend, as it was my birthday yesterday, and got a BBQ and stuff to do with the folks over the weekend. But it shall be sweet, and I shall have a months worth of comics to read. Gonna be alot :) - pretty everything that you guys have already read, but ain't it always good to get another opinion?

And in case nobody saw it (cause I hadn't until now), we have the Green Lantern costume revealed. So, um, yeah? Not the greatest I've seen tbh...




















See you guys then, er, then

Quick excuse

OK, well, I was pretty bad at not doing this last week. Hayfever is a right pain, and then I ended up staying at my folks longer, then my hayfever hit again, then someone called me up for a party which was unexpected. So yeah. I didn't get any drawings done. Whoops - I've done the Aquagirl one, but I ain't happy with it, so I'll probably end up redoing it. And I haven't started the Question one yet, but I've got it planned. So apologies to my loyal readers, I'll jus do a couple of quick three sentence or less reviews to appease ya all (and I'm totally not stealing X's idea at all) :D

Atlas #2 - an improvement over last months effort, though still not a fan of the 'Zombie' storyline at the back of the book

Batgirl #11 - always good. One sentence only needed as this is the standard verdict of everyone who reads this comic

Batman #700 - a pretty bog standard Batman story with seen before character hoping. Not Grants finest work... Good look in the Batcave though

Birds of Prey #2 - good story, Penguin being a perve, and 'White Canary' wielding a really weird-ass weapon. Might have to pick up Gail's old BoP run

Dream Logic - a rather weird sketchbook. Lots of nudity. Interesting though

Great Ten #8 - I'm the only one who reads this I think, but I like it. Do wonder what happened to issue 10 though...

Gotham City Sirens #12 - comedy, supervillains and a crazy lady killing cats and nuns = win

Skydoll - unexpected French lolita sex robot morality tale among others. Pretty cool. Popular with my non-comic reading friends too

Titans #24 - sortof alright but nothing really special. Much preferred Ink to this...

The Spirit #3 - interesting little thing. Predictable but enjoyable story

So yeah, those are some choice reviews of some of the comics I read. Some of the others I've read have had my opinions on them spilled on other peoples blogs, and I'm too lazy ta find em to copy them. Yep, avoiding the lazy method with a different lazy method. Anywho, cheerio for now chaps and chappetes

[Insert relevant title here]

After going out a couple of nights, having a few days of hayfever induced aggravation, my drawing mood has finally returned. My schedule is completely wack, but hey, it's my comic, I'll do it when I feel like it damn it. It's a shame the mood came at 2 o'clock in the freaking morning! Arf. So yeah, I spent about 2 hours researching, and then drawing. Only did two characters, and one was an afterthought really (and actually, a bit of a shiptease really, considering these two are never a couple. But hey, I'm shipping my own story. That's pretty bad...)
















I still have the urge to draw now, but no ideas. Plus it's 3:30 in the morning. Fargnuggets (unusual swearing much?)... So yeah, I think I'm gonna go to sleep now, thankyouverymuch.

So, from the poll, it seems I'll be drawing Aquagirl. Excellent, good choice everyone. I'll chuck a quick male one here, then, I'll have it so these polls finish in 4 days after I've posted them, meaning I do a man and a woman pretty much every week. Maybe I can keep to that schedule. Who knows?

Lastly, I stumbled across these two things as dress making programs. Yep, I'm pretty sad. Still, I think I made some cool designs using em (well, of course I do. I designed em using what they provided ;))

1 - The first one
2 - The second (and last) one

I think they're pretty cool maker programs, anyone interested in design should give em a go.

Proto cover

No new comic today - instead, you get the proto cover for Knighthood, featuring the five main characters (Omega, Starlite, Gaea, Johhny and EVGA X-18). It's nowhere near finished yet, but I thought I show I haven't been a completely lazy arse today! ;)

A contest and two polls

Right, so two things are happening in this post. One relates to my story, and the others relates solely to my drawings. There is a contest to design a character for my story, a chance to decide what superhero you want to be drawn as, and the other is to decide on a character who I'll draw this week as well. Yep, I'm stealing from the wonderfully talented Falisha now. Shock horror! We're all a bunch of thieves here anyway, aren't we?

Part 1 - The 'contest'

In a superpowered world, everyone needs some form of protection. Some are villains, others are just cillivians. Regardless, if you need a job doing, and you need it done with style and so many consequences, you can totally hire, The. Seven. Deadly. Sins. All are deadly killers, if you are in need of such a task. They are bodyguards, mercenaries, former military and child soldiers. They'll accept any task, so long as you pay them.

Listed below are 5 of the 7 Sins. All are related to their Sin name in some way, albeit either inverse or completely in line. Come up with a character, and it may be put in. Just no silly characters - this is a serious group, for serious people, in a serious England, on a serious Earth...

Pride
Leonard Prisky
Muscular black male, gauntleted hands with half finger gloves, armoured vest and t-shirt, armoured boots, sword on back, guns on hips, knives in holsters around forearms
Leader of the group
Biological nanobots provide enhanced strength, resilience, stamina, senses and total recall

Greed
x
x
x

Lust
x
Busty white female, flowy but revealing costume
Wields a bow with poisoned arrows

Envy
x
x
x

Gluttony
The Mannequin
Thin figure white male, completely covering costume, clear data input helmet
Four additional arms with web shooting capabilities, mind control through his dolls with the targets DNA on

Wrath
X
Standard figure white female, sensible flight costume, slightly flowy but sealed trousers, armoured torso, mechanical legs and wings for flight, with additional tail, four breather tubes going to backpack
Slight combustion powers

Sloth
x
Standard figure black female, tight full costume with half finger and open palm gloves, green leather with darker green highlights
Power, memory and skill absorption through touch

Part 2 - The first poll

Simple enough - provide a picture of yourself, or a description if you'd prefer, and a superhero/villain you want to be. Then I'll draw it. Simples

Part 3 - The second (and final) poll

What character should I draw? They're listed on the right, shame I can't get the pictures on em :( Ah well, ya win some, you loose some...

Temporialis - 4

- Temporialis - part 1 - page 4 - Tuesday 8th June 2010 - 5:15 pm -

Viewable on DeviantArt as well [here]

Commentary

Well then, today is brought to you by the letter S. As is sorry for slipping up, being shit at keeping to a schedule, and just generally be rubbish at this whole comic thing... Not that anyone reads the comic anyway, and therefore nobody reads the apology, and therefore nobody cares. Wahehy! As you can tell, I'm in a bit of an apathetic/feeling crappy mood. Oh well, sometimes it happens. I'm sure it's just the fact I don't have a job, and will be sitting on my arse for many months... Quite possibly that.

Anywho, I digress. On to the important stuff, like the commentary. Yes, this one is a bit of a rush job, and I may or may not get the last part of the Temporialis intro out today as well (here's hoping). I jus don't know yet. And yep, this does delay Knighthood, but hey. That's generally how it goes around here. Of course, I'm quite tempted to just write Temporialis and Knighthood, and leave Vampire's Reign for the time being. I have a guest artist who is going to do a couple of pages for that one, so I'm tempted to alternate between those two, and Night Watch instead. Just see how it goes and all that. But this last week and a bit wasn't the best time to start doing the comic really - preparing and entering a Warhammer 40K tournament over the weekend, up in Nottingham, well, kinda hard to do a comic along with that...

On the comic itself, you may have noticed that I can't truly define Skeletron right now - I have the idea in my head, but the idea doesn't include shoulder width description, so I'm still experimenting with it atm. The third/fourth panel I'm really not happy with. I feel it's a good idea with a bad execution - it's meant to show Skeletron talking to Herbert, crossing sides, and as his face disappears behind Herbert when we look behind him, his face changes to what Herbert is seeing of him. This is because Skeletron wears a holographic device that makes him look human. I'll explain more about this in the actual comic, but suffice to say, as the dialogue implies, he hasn't been like this for too long. It's new, he's getting used to it, roadtesting his new body. Hopefully you got that in the comic itself...

I'm actually quite proud of the second panel depiction of Skeletron - I think it's a winner when it comes to his basic design and proportions. Of course the design itself is still pretty damn hard for me to illustrate, but I think I'm getting there. Hopefully the page meant sense, and my laziness didn't impact too much on the story. Let me know, I really need the feedback on everything here.

Thanks for reading everyone

Temporialis - 3

- Temporialis - part 1 - page 3 - Thursday 3rd June 2010 - 9:50 am -

Viewable on DeviantArt as well [here]

Commentary

Yep, I slipped up again. Well, I'm getting used to this schedule, so it's bound to be cacked up in the first week or two. Still, I'm already improving it - just like how I paint, I like breaks in the middle of the drawing. I'll be doing some in the morning, then finishing it off in the evening and posting it then. We'll see how that goes, and whether it works. I expect it'll be better once the tournament is done, and I won't be traveling to my friends house. Instead, I'll just be drawing and being a lazy bum.

Now, I know what I said yesterday about backgrounds, but I'm really not doing very well with the whole schedule thing, and was getting quite fed up with drawing last night. Not at all happy with 'yesterdays' page, not one bit... Still, at least I did it I suppose.

This page was an odd one anyway, as it was the last page I scripted, but the third I drew. I'm just not a fan of fight scenes. I'm terrible at drawing them, and unless they're really well done, they just seem like padding to me...

Now, pay attention to the symbol on the guy's back - this isn't important in it's own right, but I'm giving everyone a free notice at a Lantern Corps reference. There will be others, along with other DC/Marvel/Dynamite/other webcomic references.

Anywho, I can't really concentrate any more. There's builders in the house, and it's damn noisy...

Temporialis - 2

- Temporialis - part 1 - page 2 - Wednesday 2nd June 2010 - 11:20 am -

Viewable on DeviantArt as well [here]

Commentary

Ok, so yeah, I've already slipped on my schedule. Suffice to say yesterday was very busy, traveling between separate places, back and forth. Anywho, today is better, I got my scheduling sorted out. Anyway, since I missed yesterdays, you do still get todays as well. That'll be up in the evening, with it's own commentary. Promise.

On the actual comic itself, well, this went through alot of revision. Originally 5 panels, and in a completely different layout to how it actually ended up being, this is something I'm learning when scripting and drawing a comic. It gives me a feel of both ends, and therefore I become a better writer - knowing where panels look better bigger or smaller, which ones make the better action shots - that kind of thing. Of course, it's still not perfect. Panel one is kndof redundant, what with it being highly similar to panel 4 of page 1. But hey, I'm still learning. And yes, I know I cocked up the fourth panel of this page. It was meant to be a zoom shot, and I just completely cocked it up, 'timesuit man' (names generally come to me during the post production process, which isn't a good habit when you think about it) and all. I'm sorry

When I wrote the script for this issue, I figured it would be in colour, and so the box-outs would be in different colours. Now, due to me now not colouring them, I needed a new representation. Obviously little pictures are the classic solution, but being at half a cm wide, they're a bit too big. It's a learning curve, and you'll see this comic evolve along with my ability to both write and draw it.

Now, I'm not sure how regular comic/web-comic artists do backgrounds, but I feel they're best left till last, as they aren't as important as the foreground stuff, where all the action takes place (obviously). But some artists on the web do cop out a little, which is a shame. I understand perspective can be hard, but it really does give you a feel of where you are, even if it's just small things. I'm terrible at them myself, but I feel the area I designed has enough 'action' in the background as it is. Plus I do leave huge areas of blank space, as I'm just not that good at the whole design an environment thing. People, yeah, sure thing. Places, well, erm... Not so hot on.

Oh, and I'm hating drawing that chair and bookcase. I wish I'd never put em in here... And I'm sure it's highly inaccurate of German design during the Third Reich, but, well, the sticklers who really love historical accuracy will just have to deal with it. As I'm more of a mythological accuracy (if such a thing exists) kind of person myself.

Temporialis - 1

- Temporialis - part 1 - page 1 - Monday 31st May 2010 - 10:30 pm -

Viewable on DeviantArt as well [here]

Commentary

Right, so here we are. My comic, on the internet, at last! This, my friends, is Temporialis, a time travel comic. It's part Doctor Who, part Stargate SG-1, and part Skins. And this is chapter 1, page 1. Good lord, it's nice to have done this. If I continue to do things like this, well, we might get my schedule up to five times a week. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Well, due to a major cock-up on Adobes part, making Photoshop not the ideal thing for me to use for my comics, unless I start by drawing it straight on Photoshop. As you might have guessed, I thought this was very stupid, and so I gave up on the whole Photoshop thing for the comic. I'll give it some more tries in the next few days, but I have a feeling that it'll continue to be a useless bugger. So you'll have ta suffer these photo quality pictures. Sorry

Something I was tempted to try out, but decided against (because it looked stupid in my head) was to make the vortex effect the only thing coloured on the page, another reality seeping into this comics reality. Instead, I showed things touched by the vortex temporarily changing, morphing and warping before snapping back as the vortex pulls back in on itself.

Now, as the story itself will iterate, traveling in the vortex is a damn nightmarish experience - it'll rip flesh to shreds, it defies physical boundaries, it's mentally unnerving. Plus, who knows what else exists within it?

The expanding comic panel effect I used here was something that came to me when actually drawing it, *not* when doing the scripting process. In the script, it was just four equally sized panels with the 'camera' drawing back away from the T junction of the corridor.

The beginning of a new era

Now, as all my readers know (all three of them anyway), I love to tease you guys about my story, what's gonna happen in it, and all that. Well, for all those who hate me for that, good news! You only need to hate me for a few more hours. As, for the next three weeks only, I shall be writing and drawing every Monday to Friday, giving you 15 comic pages for everyone to drool over. Aren't I generous like that?




















So, due to the way I'm terrible at deadlines and all that (as anyone who knows me knows), I'm really forcing myself to do this. They're not gonna be coloured, but should well be inked. And now, for the important thing: the scheduling. Now, what's that I hear you say, you already told us the schedule. Or did I?

Week 1 (May 31st - June 6th)
Monday to Friday: Temporialis
Saturday-Sunday: Offline due to a Warhammer tournament

Week 2 (June 7th - June 13th)
Monday: Temporialis cover
Monday to Friday: Knighthood
Saturday: Knighthood cover
Saturday/Sunday: optional sketch dump

Week 3 (June 14th - June 20th)
Monday to Friday: Vampire's Reign
Saturday: Vampire's Reign cover
Sunday: optional sketch dump

Week 4 onwards (June 21st)
Tuesday: Temporialis
Thursday: Knighthood
Saturday: Vampire's Reign
Sunday: optional sketch dump

Around Week 6 (July 5th)
Thursdays become a double day, sharing it's place with Night Watch

Around Week 8 (July 12th)
Vampire's Reign comes to a temporary end, and is replaced with Lone Wolf Origins. This is a limited series, showcasing Odin's beginnings. When that arc is over, Vampire's Reign returns in full force!
This is also my birthday week, so hopefully that won't impact too much on my writing

Week 15 (August 30th)
My time at my current house comes to an end, I start needing to go back to university in September, and I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen. How I think it'll work though is that I try and write Temporialis, Knighthood and Night Watch during the week, and then chuck em all up on the weekend. Vampire's Reign will come to an end for this time quite likely, concluding in a spectacular Temporialis/Knighthood crossover, starting a new era and evolution for all my stories

Ta-daa. And actual, official from me, written in keypad and posted online (as opposed to stone, which is pretty hard to make legible), an actual hard schedule. Now, as an explanation for this schedule - the first three weeks are setup weeks, giving people a brief look at the characters involved, how their world works, all that kind of thing. Then it cuts to them being once a week as their stories truly happen, in who knows what ways? There will be twists and turns, laughing and crying, life and death, and all the bits in-between. But until then, I leave you with what I suppose will be my sign off from now on (everyone seems to have one of those):

"Try not to die."

One Review, An Explanation and A Schedule

Right, now, as everyone who follows me at all might know that I've been VERY bad at getting back to people, letting conversations slide and all that. Well, the reason for that is very simple. I've been very knackered, and jus haven't got round to replying >.< I have about 30 posts to comment on, all in their own window, so I will get round to it, at some point. And yes, I know it is a slappable offence.

Anywho, I will be better at replying from next week - I finish work at the end of next week, and so from Sunday I will be free to do whatever I please. Which means lots of booze, gambling and hookers. *Beat* No wait, it'll be clothes designs, comic writing and maybe taking a holiday to the States. I haven't decided yet where or when, but if anyone has ideas or wants to meet up, let me know and we can see what we can arrange. Jus look out for the guy with long red hair and a fedora.

And now, finally, onto the review, and it will only be one, because the entire week disapointed me so much (Brightest Day was lame, with what, not even a page of Aquaman, some really confusing ass Martian Manhunter stuff, etc etc. Urge), Atlas (erm, so who the hell is this 3D-Man and why should I care? I wanted to read about the Agents of Atlas dammit) and my actual review. The good though were The Spirit (mediocore really, but enjoyable enough), DCU Legacies (enjoyed the stories on this, people living in a superhero world, good premise and all), Legion of Super-Heroes (passable, though when did Saturn-Woman have kids [though not any more, haha. It's like a dead baby joke...] and there were a few confusing moments, but it was alright) and Zatanna (tad disappointed, could've been so much more). But now, without further ado, it's on to the actual review, and if you read my blog at any point, you know what's coming. It's X-Men Pixie Strikes Back by Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli. Fun times all round.

OK, now, this comic was just painful to read. Really, physically painful. I think I've got a brain injury from reading it. The plot makes sense, in a consistent sense anyway. But the way it's structured, the way the characters act, they way they talk is all wrong. And it's not just this series - Kathryn should not be writing comics in my opinion. Both Runaways and this have been utter disasters when she's been writing, hampered by her complete and utter inability to write something of any sense. The plot is just stupid, the writing is bad, characters don't act as they should do, scenes and segways are bad, everybody talks in the same disjointed style that Felicia Henderson of Teen Titans uses, I think they went to the same school of BAD WRITERS. URGH

And finally, on a final note on the writing on the final bit of the issue - so Pixie thought she was going home with her mom, but her mom things being with the X-Men is her home. OK, fair enough. But it's badly written and took me three attempts before I realised this. Before I just thought it was sounding stupid writing. Maybe it's my annoyance at Kathryn, I don't know, as I generally get this stuff straight away. It's just all horrible.

And now, on to the artwork. I suppose it's passable in a way, but I think that's more due to the colouring than anything else. I'll give credit where credits due, and the colouring is done in an offbeat, non usual comic standard, and I really think it works. Good work Christina Strain. But now, on to the bad, and first things first: where the hell have Pixie's wings gone? Erm, HELLO? WINGS people, WINGS!
And you know what else? It's comical the size of the breasts on the women in this series. Emma, both Masterminds and Psylocke. Just, wow. So much silicon and plastic in those things eh?

And now, before I pop multiple blood vessels, I'm gonna to stop right here and not review it any more. So, now that that mini-series is over and done with, maybe we can have some competent writers writing Pixie (and the X-Men I suppose). I do have to say with Kathryn writing both the on hiatus Runaways and this series, I did think that with the revelation of Jason being Pixie's dad, I thought she might run away from the X-Men and become a Runaway. But apparently not. I suppose it does save me from watching as Kathryn butchers Pixie some more.

So, and this is the final note, my ending statement, WHERE WERE PIXIE'S WINGS?!? ARGH!

Have you felt the fear yet?

OK, so admittedly, this is ill timed due to Falisha's excellent Scarecrow week having ended for to make way for her Poison Ivy week (still great drawings, just not a fan of the character ;)), but hey, timing was never my strong point ;) So, here's a character from my story I just quickly did a few sketches of, as I've been stuck inside all day due to the weather :( - got jobs that need me going outside dammit!

Anywho, here he is, a twisted sick individual whose story shall not be divulged here, as it is a true mystery story that will be unveiled over time in the tale itself. Suffice to say, the first arc this character appears in is under the working title of "Knighthood: Formidilosus Gaea", with one of the chapters being known as that classic of titles, the entering of the villain, "Enter: Frightmare". But that's all I'll say of that for now. It's an early tale, and hopefully it'll have a truly creepy vibe while being a decent mystery story.

By now I'm sure you're all fed up of my rambling, and so I'll leave you with my drawing. Not a fan of the head though, gas masks and bent witch/scarecrow hats are hard...

Two Weeks of Reviews

OK, so after curb-stomping the volcano (no picture for it :P), I've got myself two weeks worth of comics. Now, I know, it's a lot, so I'll just review em by week, in alphabetical order. So, without further ado, because these have been delayed for enough as it is, let's get on with the reviews.

- Last Weeks -

Blackest Night: Directors Cut
So, unlike what JT said, I bought this. And it was OK. But then I'm a sucker for anything involving sketchbooks and the like. Though the sketchbook was disappointed when compared to Final Crisis' sketchbook, which had a lot more of the design process and all that. Plus, there was no Jean Loring, Ralph and Sue Dibney or ones like Air Wave and the like. Which was odd. And only two, maybe three at the most, unused characters. Shame really, cause I really like that kindof thing. But that's me, the designer ;) The rest of the stuff was pretty useless really, save the two unused scenes, which I can see why they weren't used, though the Rainbow Raiders one was pretty damn funny.

Green Lantern #53
OK, so, like my GLC review down below, which I wrote before this because it was more fresh in my mind, and because I had it in front of me while this one is at home, I felt this one was just a set-up issue. I mean, sure, it was fine for what it was, setting up the Lantern plot points for the next few issues and all that, but the artwork was eh, not a lot really happened and Indigo-1 didn't appear at all. Oh, and Saint Walker (with SAINT BARRY, shamelessly stealing from X here) in all of 2 pages I think. But Larfleeze with his Guardian, now that, well, slightly creepy there, you know? Though a tad odd. Gives Luthor up, then comes back right away and sees him again. Erm, did I miss something here?

Kato: Origins #1
OK, so this was a nice little tale that's going to be happening for a while - part mystery, part origin, all period. It's nice, gives some background on Kato, who, being part of the whole Green Hornet stuff, I know nothing about, so it's all good to me. I do wonder how much this actually is accurate to the original stories - does anyone know?

The Spirit #1
I thought I would give this one a go, having never read any of stuff on the Spirit before, not seeing the movie (which I'm told was beyond pondscum on stuff you don't want near your eyes). It was alright as a beginning tale, but nothing brilliant. It did leave me wondering why the crooks couldn't catch the Spirit when he was having a meal with the commissioner in broad day light… And the Second Feature was just, er, odd. Not a fan of the art style, and I just couldn't really tell what was happening.

X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #3
Now, this is the big un of last weeks stuff - the series where they're butchering one of my favourite characters. But, and it seems odd saying this, it wasn't too bad. The story makes more sense, there seems to be an actual tale involved in making her father a villain and her mum a weird ass fairy chick woman. I mean, I could actually tell what was happening for the most part, though whether it was just me or not but the artwork seemed a tad different, not as good as the last two instalments. The X-Men were still written strangely, and Rockslide just looked off in this one, especially on the final page. Oh, and X-23 just annoys me SO very much. You don't get to say that, you don't get to act like she's a horrible person and you're just an annoying character who either just insults others or smashes things because she's emo. That's the only two things I've ever seen her doing, and she just annoys me.

- This Weeks -

Detective Comics #864
OK, now this one I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I was disappointed to learn that Batwoman would not be in Detective Comics anymore, and yet forced to continue reading the Question even as Renee was destroyed as a character in the Second Feature story. But, the main feature was actually quite good - some good moments with Arkham threatening people, although still no explanation for his wacky ol' Black Mask antics. Or how Dick figured it out using the bullets (I still don't get that you know). The Second Feature did just annoy me, I'm not liking where they're going with these characters, but at least it was better than before, and they don't just reveal their identities to every single damn smuck, villain and hired hit-man that comes their way. And I suppose it's always nice to have Vandal Savage, as he hasn't appeared in that much (from my knowledge) - Final Crisis: Revelations (was that the name? I never read it myself), Outsiders: The Deep and now this. Not a truly unique character, but an immortal who isn't emo - now that's unique ;)

Gotham City Sirens #11
Ok, so I called the bit with the Hyenas, Ivy was acting even more of a bitch than normal (surprise surprise there), and this was the normal strong, enjoyable Sirens story with the usual art. If you've been following anyone who read this blogs blog, you'll know this is a good and consistent series which you're already reading.
Does seem a bit odd that this one has been going on for almost a year, but it deserves it - it's a good series, and totally deserves it's own spin-off TV show ;)

Green Hornet #3
OK, part 3 of Kevin Smith's tale of Green Hornet, that was gonna be a movie at some point. Well, I liked this story, though it was a tad predictable after the main even happened. Seems a bit of a shame, but it had some good moments, although it did use the standard old man kicks ass trope. But it did it well, so I suppose that's alright then. The artwork seemed a bit off on a couple of panels, like someone else had done it. But apparently not, so, hmm, just a bit odd.

Green Lantern Corps #47
This was a pretty good setup/ending series, concluding the Blackest Night stuff and beginning the Brightest Day story. And anyway, it was worth the price of admission for seeing Arrisa and the Guardians. Not as good as Red Robin curb-stomping Damian, but it was a good scene.

Husk
Now, this was an impulse buy that I saw on the stands, had a flick through and it looked interesting. It's a French made comic translated into English, and I gotta say, either something was lost in translation, or someone was taking advice on how to write a story by Grant Morrisson and Felicia Henderson. I mean, sure, the story was good, just confusing, and it was all self contained in it's 48 page goodness. Artwork was passable, nothing truly special.

Teen Titans #82
OK, still no impressed with this series. And it seems as if the writer doesn't actually like Aquagirl - she lists Wonder Girl, Raven, Bombshell, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, Miss Martian, but not Aquagirl or Static. Er, what? And that's on the second page. Plus she wasn't on the cover, yet Static was. Though Cyborg wasn't. And it just gets worse from here. Usual stilted and bad dialogue, unexplained and confusing panel changes. What did Beast Boy turn into to save the Titans - the Phoenix Force? And a Dragon later on? Since when could Gar do mythical animals? And all of them and they couldn't stop fat Superman T-shirt wearing man? Man, these Titans are seeming lamer and lamer each issue… Wasn't impressed with the Ravager Second Feature bit - just no.

The Rise of Arsenal #2
Urgh, do we have do this? I'd much rather read Pixie Strikes back having a baby with Final Crisis then this. Now, I now that's an odd metaphor, but at least those stories made a form of sense of where they were going, and that's saying something, considering my disdain for the direction Marvel are taking with Pixie. So, what happened with this atrocity anyway?
Roy's on drugs, dreaming of failing Lian, pissed off with Ollie for killing Prometheus when he should have done it, annoyed with Mia for not keeping Lian alive, he gets his robot arm then decides he's gonna break his bow because he can't shoot straight and then get attacked by Cheshire because he let Lian die.
A by the numbers idiot plot that I pretty much predicted would happen because I could see straight away the idiotic direction DC are taking with the Arrowclan, and I knew that any old writer could write this awful stuff. It's not a good idea, it's not a good plot, and it's just a damn stupid direction for many a character. I suppose ending my reviews on this horrible horrible comic, and so here's some more and good news. Well, maybe for me anyway. You'll see what I mean when ya read em ;)

Now, I was having a bit of a money spending splurge, which was a really bad idea considering my bank account, but hey, I wanted a sortof treat, and they have looked interesting for quite a while. And so I've bought the Mystic Arcana series (Magik, Black Knight, Scarlett Witch and Sister Grimm). Now, I haven't read it yet - just haven't yet. I've already read seven comics today, and wanted to just do the reviews and have a nap ;)

Now, on a final and completely different note, the releases of the pictures for the new X-Men seem quite quite odd. Have you seen the line-up? Just over half of them are actual mutants, huh. Novel… Still, least Psylocke being a member is always good.





















Oh, and the actual final note. We get Iron Man 2 a week earlier than you guys in America. Ha ha - sucks to be you :P Cause I'm seeing it tonight perhaps, and then on Sunday and Tuesday with some different mates I know. Two to three times, and you won't have seen it once. Now that's a two finger salute that would really annoy you Americans. Ha ha :P