Unfair Treatment

OK, so I wrote I while back about my Top Ten Comics of All Time. Since then, I have expanded my horizons, and I think I would like to revise, or rather, suplement the list I created.

My first revision: Venom is now number 3, the Surfer is number 1. There, I feel better.

OK, now to the additions, in no certain order:

Superman
Surprising? Yeah, me too. I was never a fan. However, on the advice of a friend (Doug) I picked up Superman for All Seasons. A most excellent addition to my library. It depicts Superman as the 'everyman,' not the all powerful, cannot-be-touched hero that always comes to my mind. It really gets into the 'why' of Superman. Why does Clark Kent use his powers for good, rather than furthering his own means? How does he balance his 'mild-mannered reporter' persona against the 'all-powerful' hero? This gave me a new lease on the life of Superman, and I suggest anyone, nay everyone, give it a read.

Zayne Carrick
Yes, its another Star Wars character. Dark Horse comics have some of the best story-telling in the saga. Zayne comes from the KotOR era (for those of you just tuning in, that's Knights of the Old Republic) and stars as a bumbling Padawan falsely accused of killing his classmates. It's a lovely coming-of-age story, and the scene where Zayne vows to his former masters, upon discovering that they were the actual murderers, that he will hunt them down and kill them one by one, gave me chills. Zayne has become my new favorite character in SW continuity.

Spider-man: Noir
This guy rocks. A wonderful rethinking of the original story. This Peter Parker is darker and rougher. Set in the Great Depression, Peter is almost like a freedom fighter against the big wigs in a corrupt government. The way he obtains the spider powers is...interesting. The first Spider-man I've been able to get into for quite some time. Can't wait to check out Daredevil: Noir now.


Vash the Stampede
What can I say about Vash? Pacifist, master gunslinger, goofball...you gotta love Vash. Plus, his red trench is completely stylish. And he kicked a cannonball. A CANNONBALL. With his foot. HIS FOOT. He has guns built into his arms, he has guns in his holsters, he has a gun capable of destroying humanity, he has a lot of guns. But he never kills anyone. Its priceless.

That's enough for now. As I think of more I'll continue to post them. Until then, peace.

A Real Gem

OK, go ahead. Click on the title of this post. You know you want to.

"What's this?" you ask as the lovely crimson website loads. I can answer that. That, my friend, is Nuklear Power, homepage to one of my favorite independent writers, Brian Clevinger.

Who is Brian Clevinger? Well, he is most well known for a little sprite comic he's done over the years called 8-bit Theater. It's a completely ridiculous look at the world of the original Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Entertainment Center. I followed this comic for years, and it more than anything inspired me to get into the comic biz myself. I fell off for the past few years, but he keeps on chugging out episodes.

The other day, while at home on sick leave (Crohn's disease is pleasant), I decided to catch up. Not a small task, as there are over 1100 episodes now. I think the episode I had left off on previously was around 480-ish. I'm on Episode 1001 now, but that is not the point of this post.

Click on that tab that says Robo.com. I stumbled upon this little piece of work while perusing the site in between episodes. It's an actual print comic done by Mr. Clevinger. I was sceptical at first. 8-bit Theater is a romp in the ludicrous, and while good for a weekly update, I just couldn't see myself picking up a trade filled with page after page of lunacy.

I went on Amazon and searched. I found Volume 1: Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne. I read the reviews. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Person after person compared Atomic Robo to Hellboy. HELLBOY. If you haven't read Hellboy, stop right now and go do so. I'll wait.











OK, you done? Excellent, isn't it? Now you see why I held such disbelief. But it was ten bucks, so I decided to give it a try. Sweet Cinnabon, I'm glad I did. The art is unique and the characters are fun. The humor was there, but not the ridiculous 8-bit humor. Plus I enjoy a good alternate history, ala Hellboy, so this was a fun stomp in that neck of the woods. It has a real B-movie feel to it.

So anyway, go pick this up. Heck, you can borrow mine. I really like it when I find something outside of the norm, from an independent writer I can really get behind. Here's hoping this one succeeds.