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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Free Trade Guerrilla: Superman: Secret Identity (TPB)

Intro time: My name is Oscar and where once I was a rabid collector and all-around comic fiend, I have had to calm my obsession down to where I now visit nationwide bookstores and happily use their cafés to help me catch up on what's happening in the comic book world through trade paperbacks. Not the most precise way to stay in the scene, but it sure is economical!My last such trip saw me pick up Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek & Stuart Immonen.This limited series starts with a rather ridiculous idea, what if there was a kid by…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Comment: Giving the People What They Want

Marvel EIC, Joe Quesada, and his main partner in crime, Brian Michael Bendis, caused a minor tempest in a teapot a couple of weeks ago during Newsarama's "Quesadarama" PR stunt that gave Quesada "control" of the site for the week. He posted an entertaining mix of informative and self-indulgent interviews with the likes of Kevin Smith, Allan Heinberg and, in a series of five installments, Bendis. During the third installment, the duo hypocritically riffed on the state of online journalism and the merits of Rich Johnston's rumor column, Lying in the Gutters, as well as the signal-to-noise ratio on various…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Review: Greg Rucka, Novelist

I first came across Greg Rucka's work in Gotham Central, during his Eisner Award-Winning "half a life" story arc (issues #6-10). In it, he puts his protagonist, Detective Renee Montoya, through the ringer in a well-paced, character-driven story of obsession and revenge. I'd only returned to comics less than six months prior at that point and was blown away by the difference in quality and style from the men-in-tights comics I'd grown up on and had initially sought out. Better yet, because Gotham Central takes place on the fringes of Batman's world, it was quality storytelling without the condescending pretension…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Retro: The Sentry (TPB)

I was still out of comics back in 2000 when Marvel pulled off its Sentry hoax, pretending to have discovered a Silver Age creation of Stan Lee's that pre-dated even the Fantastic Four, and getting that bastion of reputable comics journalism, Wizard, to go along with the stunt. Purportedly their answer to Superman, but with the personal foibles that were Marvel's forte, even Lee played along, claiming to remember shelving the character because he was "so powerful, he could very well have destroyed the entire Marvel Universe and everything we were planning." They even created, and then killed, a fictional…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Indie Spotlight: February 2005

[From the ridiculous to the random to the superb, a quick roundup of notable indie comics (aka, not Marvel or DC proper, though Vertigo, Icon, Image, et al, do qualify) I picked up in the past month. Release dates may vary.]Realizing a few weeks back that I didn't have a single Image title on my regular pull list, I decided to shine the spotlight squarely on them this month, taking a look at five of their newest books: Beyond Avalon, Freedom Force, Mora, and, via their Two Bits sampler, previews of The Imaginaries and Lullaby. A mixed bag overall, qualitatively…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Interview: Dabb on Atomika

Andrew Dabb is a busy man. Between writing Megacity909 and Mu for Studio Ice/Devil's Due, and Ghostbusters for 88mph Studios, you'd think his plate was full enough. But starting this March, he teams up with artist Sal Abbinanti for Atomika, "a groundbreaking story of men, supermen and the forces that shape our reality," set in an alternate future where Russia won the space race, the arms race, and eventually, the inevitable war with the USA, and where technology is God. I caught up with him online... Comic Book Commentary: Atomika - the 30-second pitch? Andrew Dabb: Atomika is an alternate…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Interview: O’Reilly on Arcana Studio, Part I

In the midst of my ever-growing pull list, there is an elite group of comic books that rank as Must-Buys, even if it means eating Ramen for lunch all week! Two of the books currently in that group are published by Arcana Studio, the fledgling Canadian indie that is home to 100 Girls and Ezra. "Arcana Studio was formed in 2004 by Sean Patrick O'Reilly...with a vivid dream and much ambition." Coming off of a successful first year, I caught up with O'Reilly online last night, still recovering from his trip to this weekend's Emerald City ComiCon. Two hours later,…

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