LIFESPAN: COMICS
07.08.04

Here's the stack as it stands today:

Planetary Volume Three Hardcover (Ellis/Cassaday): The oldest issue in here dates back to 2001, so a re-read is definitely in order. This will be housed on the shelf, when done, next to Hardcover Volumes 1 and 2, and not in the basement where that "Crossing Worlds" collection lies in punishment for not being as good as the regular series.

Loki #1 (Rodi/Ribic): This looks nice, and I've never read anything by Rodi (that I can remember), so #1 gets a shot.

Fused: Canned Heat (Niles/Lee/Rader/Templesmith): This has a foil cover... that's funny to me, how about you? Never read the series, we'll see.

The Ballad of Halo Jones Books One, Two and Three (Moore/Gibson): These are the Titan Editions from the '80s. These will probably get read this week.

The Collected Jack Kirby Collector Volume 2 (Morrow): I generally like the TwoMorrows stuff, although I have never read an issue of the Kirby Collector Magazine, so we'll see where this falls. It'll probably stay on the stack for several months unless I pick it up and find an immediate groove.

Stranger Than Fiction (Chuck Palahniuk): This is really a chore, which I'm surprised by, since I like his fiction so much. I’m toughing it out, but have already started skipping stories.

Exterminator 17 (Bilal/Dionnet)/Gods in Chaos (Bilal): No movement.

The Incal 1, 2 (Moebius/Jodorwsky): No movement.

Found (Rothbart): No movement (though this gets picked up and flipped through often).

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 1,2,3,4 (Miyazaki): No movement, and five is out this week (need to pick it up), so I should probably get started on these, huh?

Chronicles of Conan 2, 3,4 (Thomas/Windsor-Smith/Kane/Buscema): No movement.

The Moth #2,3 (Rude/Martin): No movement. At this point, I'd probably need to re-read #1 and the Special, which doesn't fill me with joy, or make these any more appealing to move off the stack.

Human Target #11 (Milligan/Chiang): No movement.

Here's what's leaving the stack this week, and where it's going:

Hench (Beechen/Bello): If you don’t have anything nice to say (particularly with this publisher), don’t say it all, right?

Sure. One thing though: if you're going to insert artistic homage to recognizable artists like Steranko, Kirby, etc., at least try to work in their style.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

The Gray Area (Brunswick/Romita Jr.): After Paul Smith, JRJR is my favorite-X-Men artist, because he was THE guy when I was buying Uncanny from the Wheaton Pharmacy as an awkward youth. He's a solid, interesting, and fantastic comic book artist. This needs a new scripter though.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles 1 (Various): Love it. Wish it was a little cheaper ($14.95 would be better, but I understand why they went out at $20) and had more in it (it really gets rolling in the last quarter when Goodwin's stories appear). I'll be all over Volume 2. Now, someone needs to do the same for Creepy and Eerie (only there, I’d do Best Of’s and not chronological collections).

This is heading to the basement, but to the bookshelf I keep down there for overflow.

Sword of Dracula 1-4 (Henderson/Scott/Belk): Liked #’s 1 and 2 a lot, and then the artist changed with #3 and the story went south on me. It's a 6 issue thing, so if #’s 5 and 6 find their way to me, I'll finish it out, but so far, the "promise" of 1 and 2 are negated by the execution and decline of 3 and 4. I would check out other stuff from (writer) Henderson though.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

1963 #'s 1, 2, 4,5 (Moore/Various): Great (dark) fun, and like “real” silver or bronze age comics, the ads and editorial pages are worth the price alone. I wish the Essentials and Archives and all such reprints would reprint the original ads… never happen, but still.

Back down to the keep stacks in the basement.

Lucifer #51 (Carey/Gross): Part 1 of a four part arc; lovely art by Peter Gross; interesting story by Carey. I’m back on board.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Seaguy #2 (Morrison/Stewart): I liked this a lot more than #1, and was buoyed by that PopImage Morrison article where he talks about doing more Seaguy; still would have preferred the originally-planned OGN format (happy, Matt?).

Back to the basement until issue three comes out, then to the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

X-Statix #24 (Milligan/Allred): It’s like every other issue is entertaining, and this was that “other” issue; I liked it. Won’t miss it when it’s cancelled though, as I think it’s said all it has to say over the last, what, three or four years?

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Sleeper Season Two #1 (Brubaker/Phillips): Excellent stuff. Everyone should be reading this; Better reviewers than I have told you so.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Infiltration #22: Fun stuff, always an enjoyable read.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Here’s what popped on the list, then jumped right off due to being quickly read (I love stuff that fits this category:

Powers #1 (Bendis/Oeming): I was late to Powers (and Bendis in general) and disliked Who Killed Retro-girl immensely upon first read. I revisited the series with a chunk of the trades last year, and found myself really liking it.

This? This is too early in the new arc to tell, but it’ll probably end up, overall, an enjoyable read. The personals at the end though? They gotta go; I’m embarrassed for those people.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Ultimate Spider-Man #62 (Bendis/Bagley): I skim this every month, not my thing.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Supreme Power (Straczynki/Frank): If it were me? I’d go back to the original Squadron mini and have Gary Frank re-draw it (and add all the gratuitous nudity), but leave the Gruenwald plot and script completely in tact… because that series RAWKED! This series, not so much (it’s been 11 issues, has anything REALLY happened?)…

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Fantastic Four #515 (Waid/Kesel/Medina): When did Kesel become co-writer? And did Medina draw that last issue? These developments surprised me when I was flipping through (maybe I missed the last issue). Anyway, Waid writes a great FF, but this arc isn’t doing it for me.

This is heading to the basement, amid the stacks of stuff to get rid of, somehow... someday.

Here's what needs to go on the stack, but then the stack would be perilously tall:

Lone Wolf and Cub (Koike/Kojima): Still committed; still haven’t started.

Palomar (Hernandez): Ditto

Joseph Rybandt has been working "professionally" in the comics "business" for close to 14 years. He lives in the mountains of Northern PA with his wife, daughter and companion Cosmo. His thoughts and opinions are, mercifully, his own.