H-E-R-O

Whew! Been a while, eh? Well, I have good reason to return this fine evening. My friend Comicflipper (or Flip the Page) is doing a lil' thing over on his blog called A to Z. Basically, he's going down the alphabet bringing you reviews and tidbits about some of his favorite (or not so, as you'll soon see) comics. He was hurting for a comic for the letter D, so I jokingly suggested Dial H for H-E-R-O. Its a Silver Age comic about a young boy, Robby Reed, who finds a dial that can turn him into thousands of different superheroes. The only catch is that the choices are random, and they don't always quite fit his current situation.

The irony here is that soon after I made the suggestion, my local comic shop put their comic sets on sale for five bucks a pop. I went in to look around, and lo and behold, I saw a series staring back at me called H-E-R-O. Ever curious, I took the set home and began to read. Here's what I found:



First off, while the original series was apparently hilariously Silver Age, the new series is beyond depressing. It basically goes through the lives of different people that come into contact with the Dial, and it chronicles how it ruins their lives. The first example is Jerry, a young boy with no prospects, no girlfriend, and no hope of leaving his run-down hometown. Upon finding the Dial, he decides to use it to spice up his life a bit. Unfortunately for him, his small town doesn't exactly have a bustling crime rate.

During all of this bumbling around (including one unintentionally humorous event in which Jerry tries to stop a runaway truck, only to have it plow over him) Jerry ends up getting the girl he likes shot and hospitalized, and also obliterates his place of employment with his out-of-control flame powers. Jerry then loses the Dial, and thus begins a spiral of ruin for everyone who comes in contact with it.

The series isn't terrible. It explores some things that I'm sure the original was unable to, things like....well, I'll let the image speak for itself:

...yeah.

In this story arc, the guy turns into a female superhero, after which he seeks help from his best friend, who, like the best buddy he is, gets his guy-turned-girl friend drunk and sleeps with her. Silver Age this ain't boys and girls.

Did I mention that good ol' Robby Reed, hero of the original series, has retained some residue of his former power and is now the villain of the story? SOCKAMAGEE!

So anyway, other than being remotely disturbed for the duration of the series, H-E-R-O turned out to be a decent read. I doubt I'll be picking it up again anytime soon, however, lest I feel compelled to dance in traffic. Hope you enjoyed the review, and don't forget to check out Comicflipper's review here for a comparison with the original.

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.

That's no comic...it's a space station

Alrighty, time for another post. w00t. So the reason for this update is because of a poll I've been taking. I've been asking people who their favorite comic book character of all time is. I've gotten some pretty surprising answers, and not one of them has been the same. I'll update on that soon. However, the poll got me to do some thinking of my own. So I present to you for your pleasure:

Brandon's Top Ten Comic Characters of All Time!

Throw a dramatic echo in there for effect. Yeah, you get the idea. Now these ten fellows (yeah, they are all guys, not being sexist, just how I feel) are all based on my life experiences, and I don't expect you to agree/disagree either way. Just throwing them out there.

Number 10: Scarlet Spider

Yeah, yeah, I know. The Scarlet Spider, one of the infamous clones of Peter Parker that ultimately led to the series' demise. But Scarlet Spider, aka Ben Reilly, was different. He could've been so cool. If they had stopped with him, the clone thing wouldn't have been so bad. In fact, when he was around, I caught myself liking him better that Spidey himself. And the fact that he hooked up with Betty Brant, Parker's old flame, made him even cooler. Too bad they took it too far, and ended up killing one of the greatest comic franchises ever. Alas, Scarlet Spider, you could've been a contender.

Number 9: Violence Man

An obvious parody of The Punisher, Violence Man gave me a new appreciation for comics. He showed me that they can be witty and fun, and keep my interest without being over the top existential and such. Just a fun guy to be around, unless you are a criminal. Then you get some pain topped off with a nice one-liner.



Number 8: Hellboy

Hellboy is a fun guy. A demon summoned from Hell, he decided to shun his heritage and fight on the side of good. Which, of course, is the US of A. Another witty comic with awesome art. Hellboy takes the superhero image and turns it upside-down. In a good way. Not like Spawn. Who shall never be mentioned again.


Number 7: Dream

Neil Gaiman has always made for some spectacular reading. I was a fan of Sandman back before I even knew who Neil was. It wasn't until I had read through American Gods that I realized who I was dealing with here. That said, Dream is a compelling take on the myth of the Sandman. He had some pretty interesting conversations with Death, too. I need to finish the series to get the full respect he deserves, but so far Dream is climbing the list fast.

Number 6: The Tick

Absurd. Ridiculous. Hilarious. All these word describe The Tick, one of the greatest superheroes ever conceived. With his battle cry of "SPOON!" and his absurdly long speeches about justice and whatnot, The Tick both makes fun of and makes tribute to superhero comics of all types. Never a more noble hero was there than The Tick, and he lets you know every chance he gets. A man's man, yet also subtle, like a dandelion being cut down with a chainsaw. That, my friend, is The Tick.


Number 5: Nite Owl II

Dan Dreiberg is such a dork. He doesn't have much luck with the ladies, but he has a ship shaped like an owl's head in his basement. Poor guy, he's just go the hots for Silk Spectre II, but he only has any game when he's Nite Owl. Otherwise, you'd think he got his lady skills from a Catholic priest. Anywho, Nite Owl is one of the deeper characters on this list. He's almost painful to watch in action as Dan, and yet peerless as Nite Owl. Like Peter Parker if he had never gotten together with Mary Jane, and instead pined from afar until all hope was gone. Maybe it's sad that I relate to poor Dan more than most comic characters.

Number 4: Silver Surfer

Gotta love the Silver Surfer. He's the best thing to come out of the Fantastic Four. Once herald of Galactus, the planet-devouring force bent on binging on all the universes resources, Norrin Radd has been infused with the Power Cosmic by his former employer. Now he fights on the side of good, and has been known to oppose Galactus directly to save the planets he once was charged to doom. Plus he has a surfboard. In space. Wicked awesome.


Number 3: Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker isn't a comic character, you say? Then what about this:

"Who can have a greater appreciation of See Threepio, Artoo Detoo, Lord Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, or the Jedi Knights than the blushing bullpen that has brought you Spider-Man the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Dr. Strange, and the Silver Surfer; as well as the ever-evil Dr. Doom, Galactus, and the deadly Red Skull, among countless other bigger, better, and badder-than-life comic-book cavorters,"

Who said that? Frickin' Stan Lee said it, in the intro to Marvel Star Wars, which would kick off a nine-year run of original adventures with Luke Skywalker and friends in a galaxy far, far away. I rest my case.

Number 2: Spider-Man

Peter Parker. He's a loser. A dork. Nobody really likes him. He spends all his time in books and studies. No wonder I related to Spider-Man growing up. He was me, but he got a chance to stir up his life. Bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter's DNA mutates, giving him the abilities and strength of a spider. At school, he's a loser, but now, on his own time, he's taking down baddies like Doc Ock and the Rhino and barely breaking a sweat. The worst part? No recognition, and with guys like J. Jonah Jameson on his case all the time, the pressure was on for Peter Parker. I like Spidey because he's an everyday guy who happens to have powers. The cloning thing went too far, I'll admit. But they seem to be back on track with Ultimate Spider-Man. Here's hoping.

Number 1: Venom

Spidey's sometime villain, sometime ally. Eddie Brock has a hatred for all things Spider-Man, but can put it aside when times call for it. Namely, when Carnage goes running amok. One of my favorite characters if just for the origin in the Secret Wars. Thanks to Peter Parker's curiosity, we have all these symbiotes on the loose. Venom looks tough (and is) but he gets his priorities right in the end. Most of the time. Coolest character ever.


Well, that's that for my picks. I'll post another with some of the favorites I get from my poll. Any disputes on my list, let me know, so we can argue, dork style. Peace.