A Fun Comic, Less Fun Fantasy, & My November thoughts

NOVEMBER Buffet of fun
By Alex Ness
November 1, 2022

LIFE AS AN OLD MAN

The first person I looked up to as an adult male in my life, was my Uncle Leo, and when he passed in 1994 it was a dozen torpedo strikes in my thinly protected underside. I'd say to people, the sun didn't come up for me for almost a year afterward. But the point of is, I'm now the same age as that great man when he passed. I have health issues, and I am in enough pain that leaving this world doesn't sound so bad. Who knew a handsome fellow with unlimited potential would be so unfairly dealt a hand of cards of so poor quality.

A LOOK AT NOVEMBER

I am a fan of horror, so I've always seemed to write more during Halloween's month than others, and that is good, something I like doing. But I've also enjoyed the writing about comics and such, and the freedom to write as often as I like. I think most people who read this blog do so for happy reasons, no one is paying for it, no one is making me do it, it is a case of writing for those who might be interested. I'm going to post at least one if not a couple interviews in November and perhaps more. I am looking at not doing Interview week projects and just utilizing the opportunity to post whenever something comes into my inbox and is ready to go.

REVIEW:

Super Team International ‘88 #1-5
By Scott Brown and Carlos Gabriel Diaz
Provided by Sphinxgroup PR for review

This comic features a great deal of nostalgia, colored as parody, and it isn't for children, if it is also somewhat enjoyably childish in certain ways. It plays upon the superhero teams and comics from both DC and Marvel from the 1970s and early 1980s in terms of look. It touches upon the style of team comics that took the lead in the late 1980s, where teams of vastly powerful heroes gather in groups, and the makeup of the teams makes them as likely to bicker and feud within the team as they are to solve crimes and bring villains in for justice. It has similarities in particular to the JL and JLI of Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire, but, oddly, my feel for this is as much about the X-Men of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, as it uses these conflicts to push forward the story and create drama as much as the actual drama. However, there is violence that isn't for children, there are consequences of behavior that most comics ignore. So as parody I think it works more as satire, and as a homage it is less in homage as it is in the style of...

In a different art form, Country music of the 1990s into the 2000s, the band The Mavericks made music that was completely and stylistically different than other bands and performers in the genre of the day, and when they made several hits, somewhat against the grain of the hits of the day, some were puzzled how they thrived with such a different sound. When asked what they were about, one member of the band said, stylistically our music pulls from and is enhanced by the country music of the 1960s whereas current Country music sounds like it recycles rhythms and tone of 1970s hits in popular rock. The point being, sometimes the source material of the inspiration is more important than otherwise realized. The original works found in homage and satire that are mentioned above were popular to begin with, because they were homages to the past works also. That is, they evoked memories fondly, while showing in exaggerated detail, they worked on the surface level, in the present.

The 1960s X-Men were a family of young students and Professor X. They were young and teens, but they didn't fight like teens do amongst their own. The X-Men of the late 70s and beyond as written by Chris Claremont bickered and had angst. The JLA and JSA reunions and typical JLA adventures of the 1960s were lessons in friendship and teamwork. The Giffen Maguire JL was all about how they won the day, DESPITE themselves, and despite their disunity. A look at the style of art and cover designs are clearly love notes to the DC JLA comics of the early 1980s. Both stylistically unique, and growing obsolete. And I loved the close homage.

Writer/Letterer Scott Brown clearly did more than just blow a superhero team story out his ass. This was carefully constructed, intentional in the moments that are familiar, and clever in his use of darkness and light. Artist Carlos Gabriel Diaz is more than adequate in terms of creating the look, and accomplishing something that is new, at the same time as it comfortably and happily reminds the audience of what we love.

I absolutely recommend this comic, especially if you like quality in your stories rather than easy and mindless offerings from mainstream publishers.

DC: Piranha Press

While the other entries are individually considered, my outlook on the Piranha Press is that the works were not typical comics, and as they were not the usual variety of stories and images, I am going to write about what seemed to be the philosophy and quality of the works, more than the details of these works... ETC, THE SCORE AND BEAUTIFUL STORIES FOR UGLY CHILDREN were created, both written and in image for a far more mature audience than mainstream DC comics. While they were not wildly successful or popular in sales, they had a uniform quality of excellence about them. The ideas of mature considerations of life outside of the universe we live upon, codes of honor among the world of strippers and criminals, and dark stories using templates for modern audiences that would play even better in the present, are all worth exploring and these comics definitely achieved quality considerations. Sadly, I think most people of that era were interested in long term stories, with mainstream characters, and not expensive short term stories or series.

DC: Helix

SHEVA'S WAR
Christopher Moeller

The story and art both in Sheva's War are rather stunning and well done. The world shown is one where the human race has been nearly driven extinct and fights for its survival across space. It is an intelligent work, and one that has immediacy, and a better basis than most military science fiction I've read. 

THE BLACK LAMB
Timothy Truman

Less horror than dark fantasy, and not truly science fiction but speculative and thoughtful.  There are people who live in the darkness, on the fringes of society at best, underground or hidden more commonly... they are freaks, monsters, children of the darkness.  And even they have laws and guardians of their way.  Truman's writing is great here, and the art is pretty damn near perfect.

STAR CROSSED
Matt Howarth

This work is from a science fictional setting, but it plays more in a realm of fantasy and also social commentary that would seem apt for the present day. A genetically advanced woman, of enormous abilities has become drawn to and in love with a sentient asteroid.  Other life forms similar to her tell her it is vile to love a different species romantically, and she discovers that her romantic feelings don't seem to follow the borders and boundaries of others.  You could easily label this a fictional narrative that shows the outlook of new considerations being Transgender or possessing different Sexual Orientation than bipolarity of Heterosexuality. In three issues the work doesn't have enough time to explore and espouse its outlooks and p.o.v., but it has worth.

DC: Vertigo

THE EXTREMST
Peter Milligan & Ted McKeever

As might be expected within the Vertigo imprint, this series brings into view all of the darker and dangerous aspects of costumed vigilantes. In the moment of a heroic act, is the person wearing a mask nonetheless amoral, secretly pursuing acts of murder, risque sex acts, and further amorality? Does wearing the mask allow the wearer immunity from moral considerations? Can a vigilante be corrupted by the ability to do, anything? It is a great work that lingers, but one that society might ignore due to the story not being typical, easy to accept, and doesn't play with tropes and stereotypes, archetypes or stories to entertain. This series is meant to disturb. And it did just that.

INDUSTRIAL GOTHIC
Ted McKeever

What is beauty? Is beauty perfection? Ted McKeever's art style is often called post industrial, symbolist, and surreal. It isn't romantic in the least. So this series is actually two fold in the storytelling. Is the world we live upon one that confuses beauty for truth, worth, kindness or honor? Is the human body only able to become made perfect by surgery and changing it to fit modern society values? McKeever isn't the world's favorite comic artist, I get it, but the questions asked are important, and we need to find the answers. This series is among my favorites from Vertigo.

SCARAB
John Smith and Scot Eaton

In this work, the cost of being a hero is investigated, and the motives for, and ability to be a hero is also shown. The Scarab is a hero who originally was an actor in the Golden Age of superheroes, but his history is wildly different than all of the other heroes, and is investigated in ways that have relevance to the Scarab in the present. It is a work that is not hard to appreciate, the art is gorgeous and the story is detailed and intriguing. Ultimately through the 8 issue run, it had two aspects that were disappointing ... it felt at times as though there were other plot lines that were being laid, but unrealized in final form, and similarly while the work is entertaining and I got these cheap, so it was easily worth the money, it had a feeling of an unfinished quality about it. Perhaps it was a chapter, instead of a book, and if so, I wish they'd do more. But I don't think DC will.

FANTASY BOOKS/SERIES THAT DIDN'T WORK ENOUGH FOR ME

At one time I think I found it rather bizarre that readers here would want to know what I didn't like. I think, like most people probably, if I am not enjoying a work, I won't keep reading it, and there is not a chance that I'll keep buying the series. The question that inspired this short piece is, which fantasy book series did I read, but didn't really know why I kept reading, or most likely, a series good enough in the concept but not the end result or execution, or, a series that I kept reading hoping it would improve, and it never did.

DRAGONLANCE
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

I didn't hate these books, but I found them more about the setting and archetypes than characters you love or hate. They had a welcome humor about them but, that wasn't enough for me to like them. I did     like the art for the covers and all. However my taste and preferences aside, I definitely know people who read every book and series tangent, and know that they definitely loved them. 

MOONSHAE
Douglas Niles

I have liked other works by Douglas Niles. This work was less fun to read, and beyond that, I thought of it as more to show how certain narratives should be done, than a story of an epic event. I did like aspects of the story, and it wasn't a waste of time to read it. My copy was given to others when finished and the recipients enjoyed the series, so maybe I'm an idiot, or have really bad taste.

DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN
Anne McCaffery

I like dragons, and don't care the gender of the writer of books.  But this never felt epic or interesting enough to pursue very deeply. I was told it has worth, many looked at it from a perspective of dragons being more interesting than the humans. As such, it was ok.  I just never went far into Pern.

THE DUNGEON
Assorted Authors

I confess, I bought the first four books of the series entirely for the cover art. The stories were mildly interesting, and competent but the art went far beyond the prose. That I was schnookered by the art has happened more than once. And that's ok by me.

AT LAST! I PRESENT SOME ANSWERS TO NEVER ASKED QUESTIONS

MY FAVORITE POET

Ezra Pound.

MY FAVORITE STOOGE

That'd be Samuel Horwitz or Shemp Howard.

MY FAVORITE MARX BROTHER

I love Adolph later Arthur Marx a.k.a. Harpo Marx.

MY FAVORITE MONTGOMERY CLIFT MOVIE

From Here to Eternity, as if there were ever a question about it.

MY FAVORITE AKIRA KUROSAWA FILM & FAVORITE ACTOR in Kurosawa's films.

Seven Samurai.  Toshiro Mifune

MY FAVORITE BOOK BY ALAN DEAN FOSTER

Cachalot, but Midworld, Icerigger and Mad Amos are close.

To Get Reviews from Me

I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.



MY LINKS:


My Poetry blog with 5000+ poems:   AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com

All of my published Work:                AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html

An Amazon Author Page:                 Amazon.com/author/AlexNess

Cthulhu Based Horror:                     CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com

Atlantis & Lost Worlds:                    AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com

Please click upon the link below... it will take you to works that I have for sale, and there are more, but I chose to share these because you can write to me at AlexanderNess63@gmail.com and inquire after books I've written.  Not all remain in print, in fact, about half are in print still.  I have author copies to sell, so, please feel free to inquire...  FOR SALE

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