“Oh, The Villainy!” TTSL Style, Take Three : “Harley Quinn” #1

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

So, I’ve saved the worst for last.

Oh, sure, there are plenty more DC “Villains Month” books that we could talk about, but I counted up earlier today and between this site and Geeky Universe I’ve reviewed an even 10 of these things, and that’s enough for me. After this, I’m out.

Anyhoo, in recent weeks, in case you haven’t been following the comics industry scuttlebutt, DC has come under fire for having an open submission contest for new artists. What’s so wrong with that, you ask? Why, nothing — it’s great to find new “talent” to replace the already poorly-compensated average comic book penciller, I suppose. You don’t like drawing Justice League for 80 bucks a page, no health insurance or pension, and little to no royalties per copy sold? Fine. We’ll find some new kid to take your job who’ll work for 60 bucks a page and won’t complain. It’s the American way, right?

So what’s this got to do with Harley Quinn #1, or Detective Comics #23.2, as the official record-keepers would have it? Well, the “sample page” DC wanted their next generation of potential suck — err, freelance non-contract employees to submit was a scene depicting super-villain Harley Quinn, best known as the Joker’s on-again/off-again girlfriend, sitting naked in a bathtub and slicing her wrists open. Sex n’ suicide — again, the American way, right?

As insanely offensive at worst, tone deaf at best as the theme for this “new talent contest” was, however, it ain’t squat compared to what Harley does in this book. This whole “villains month” fiasco has already given us a mass shooting in a hospital in the pages of Desaad #1 and a workplace mass-murder/ suicide in the pages of Solomon Grundy #1, both of which would lead one to suspect that none of the suits at DC have been following the news for the past, I dunno, decade or so, but here, writer Matt Kindt (who was also responsible for the aforementioned Solomon Grundy, and who’s capable of soooooo much better, as his work on Dark Horse’s Mind Mgmt. series shows) has the psychotic villainess, in between flashback sequences to her pre-evil nutcase days as a psychiatrist at Gotham City’s infamous Arkham Asylum, engineer a senseless mass slaughter of innocent poor children by giving away booby-tapped video game systems at a local orphanage. When she flicks a switch, the Nintendos or Segas or X-Boxes or whatever all go “boom!” and the kids all get killed.

And after that, she’s recruited by Deadshot to rejoin the Suicide Squad, a team of hard-luck “anti-heroes” who work for the government. You know, the very same government that should be locking her ass away in prison for life for just having killied hundreds of children for no reason whatsoever.

Artist Neil Googe does a decent enough job illustrating this senseless and thoroughly tasteless tale of depravity, but that’s just trying to stitch a silk purse out of a sow’s ear when your subject matter is this out-and-out vile. I don’t blame him for the overall tone of the book, but shit, I honestly wouldn’t care how badly I needed to eat, I’d have refused this assignment if I were in his shoes.

But hey, who knows, right? DC’s playing pretty fast and loose with continuity these days, maybe we’ll find out this whole sorry spectacle was just a delirious fever-dream that naked Harley was having while she killed herself in her tub.

“Oh, The Villainy!” TTSL Style, Take Two : “Two Face” #1

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Not sure what to really say about Two Face #1, or as it’s known to the more officious Batman And Robin #23.1 (even though, say it with me, “Robin’s dead again these days”), apart from the fact that it probably has the neatest of the 3-D holographic covers that have adorned any of DC’s “Villains Month” books. And since that’s the only selling point this comic seems to have going for it, maybe I should just leave it at that and call it a day, right?

Nah. The folks behind this travesty don’t deserve to get off that easy.

And by “folks,” I should say that I mean specifically writer Peter J. Tomasi. The art by Guillem March on this one is actually pretty good — even really good for the first few pages, before settling into a “competent enough to get the job done” kind of groove. The story, though, is a complete and utter waste of time.

Figuring everybody already knows the origin of former Gotham City D.A. turned criminal boss/mastermind Two Face, Tomasi opts to skip the detailed backstory and just waste time for twenty pages. We see Two Face flip his infamous scarred coin a lot, threaten fellow baddie Scarecrow, settle a few old scores from his days on the right side of the law, and reminisce about some past events, and that’s it. At the end he flicks his coin once again to see whether or not he’ll raise hell now that Batman’s supposedly out of the picture (“dead,” it would seem, along with the rest of the Justice League, in the limp and predictable-to-a-fault Forever Evil mega-crossover mini-series) or chill out and watch his fellow crazies do the job for him. We don’t get to see the result of the toss, and it doesn’t really matter because, well — the rest of the book didn’t, either. Tomasi has taken a page from Seinfeld, it would seem, and given us a comic where more or less nothing actually happens.

I dunno, I’ve felt generally ripped off, snookered, and otherwise suckered by more or less every one of these “Villains Month” issues, but this one might take the cake in terms of being the most overtly pointless of the entire rancid bunch. Which is kind of shame when you stop and think about it because Two Face, as a character, is (or at least was, prior to this whole “New 52” thing) at least a somewhat interesting and compelling figure, and he probably still could be. But he’s not here. Shit, Tomasi doesn’t even put in enough effort to make him actively dull in this book, he’s just sorta — there.

But your four bucks won’t be if you’re foolish enough (as I was) to buy this rag.

“Oh, The Villainy!” TTSL Style, Take One : “Joker” #1

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Okay, first things first — for those of you (assuming there are any) who have been wondering wondering just where the hell I’ve been hiding the last couple of months, rest assured, I’ve been writing as much as ever — maybe even moreso. Just not about movies. And just not here. Which may come as a relief, I’ll bet, to some. But for those among you who just have to have an explanation —

I’m currently in the midst of two comics-related series over at http://www.geekyuniverse.com, which I’ve been — ahem! — “re-presenting” over on my own “main” site — http://trashfilmguru.wordpress.com — as well. One, entitled “Just Pay Ditko!” is an exploration of the questionable (at best) ethics of the current comic reprint craze that’s seeing the works of some of the industry’s greatest talents packaged in high-quality, expensive hardcovers — with no compensation being directed toward the artists and writers whose work is contained in these hefty tomes. As you might gather from the title, I’m paying special attention to this unfolding dilemma as it relates to Spider-Man and Doctor Strange’s real creator, visionary artist Steve Ditko, but the scope of the articles has expanded somewhat to include other creators, as well as other creator’s-rights-related issues. I can’t imagine the average Through The Shattered Lens reader would find all this terribly interesting, but for those of you who want a glimpse into comics’ sorry ethical and legal practices, you may want to hop on over to GU and take a look — right now I’m up to part 12 in the series and will probably be looking to wrap it up somewhere around part 15 or 16 in the next few weeks.

The other ongoing “concern” I’m immersed in, however, might be of at least slightly more concern to you good folks here, though, and that is my continuing evisceration of DC’s uniformly sorry and uninspired/uninspiring “Villains Month” books. For those (blissfully, I might add) not in the know about this, throughout the month of September the House That Superman (or, more accurately, Siegel and Shuster) Built is turning all their regular monthly titles over to the bad guys, and throwing flashy 3-D holographic covers on each of the issues (at an extra buck a pop) , to boot. Quite clearly this is nothing but a cheap publicity stunt to gin up sales in the short term, but then so is everything that DC and Marvel does these days. As you’d expect, this being the current “New 52” take on these characters, the results are pretty dire. But given that I’ve droned on about these books for a few weeks already over at GU and that’s I’m an equal-opportunity kind of guy who wishes to spread the miser— err, wealth — around a bit, I thought I’d save my last few entries in this series for the readers here at TTSL and give you all a little taste of what you’ve been missing if you’ve wisely chosen to ignore these comics.

And so, without any further ado, let’s take a look at Joker #1 — or, as it’s officially numbered, Batman #23.1 — shall we?

In short, despite having better art, courtesy of Andy Clarke, than most of those other “Villains Month” quick-cash-grabs, this book still pretty well sucks, and that’s entirely down to the lame script by Andy Kubert, who’s turning out to be nowhere near the writer-artist his legendary father, Joe, was.

Kubert starts off with some possible flashbacks to the Joker’s origins — never a good idea for anyone to tackle unless their name is Alan Moore — then segues into, I guess, the present day, wherein the Clown Prince Of Crime decides to expand his inner circle by liberating a gorilla from the Gotham City Zoo, naming the hapless creature Jackanapes, and raising it as his own, well, child, I guess.

Oh, sure, it’ll all end in tears, but the limp nods Kubert makes toward Grant Morrison-era Doom Patrol-style surrealism are so ham-fisted and ill-considered that it makes for a downright excruciating read even if Clarke’s pencils and inks are generally pretty pleasing to the eye. For a “special” issue, the whole thing has the feel of a good, old-fashioned “inventory” story that’s been sitting on the shelf, unpublished (for good reason) for a couple of years. It’s all over as quickly as it is predictably, which is probably its’ one saving grace (at least only five minutes of your life will be wasted on it), but at the end of the day all you really are for your $3.99 investment is, well, a little bit more broke. You already knew the Joker was crazy, you already knew that he has a habit of making irrational decisions, and you already knew he was capable of acting utterly without conscience. Giving him a pet ape doesn’t change any of that, nor does it do much to “shed new light” on his character, motivations, you name it.

I think it’s safe to assume that you get the picture here, but just in case you don’t, I’ll make it real easy — avoid at all costs.

Kid Midas

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Viktor VonGlum

I was thinking that the Marvel Universe is in dire need of a new villain instead of constantly rehashing mega events with the same old people or promoting villains like Norman Osbourne to a world wide threat.

I believe Dr. Midas from Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy series would fit the bill for a major world wide threat. He’s a ruthless perversion and amalgam of Iron Man and the Fantastic Four. Everyone from his minions to his own daughter are mere stepping stones to him. Sure he *spoiler*ended up on some immaterial plane of existence at the end of the miniseries*spoiler* It’s comics so there’s always a way to bring him back.

My Idea:
Auric Midas is the cloned son of Dr. Midas. He is the designer baby developed in information-rich nutrient artificial womb and programmed with the memories of the original Doctor Midas. He was awakened after the death of his “father” and before he could reach physical maturity. Kid Midas resumed control of the Atlas Corporation and used a Ghost Box to acquire the vast technological resources available across the Multiverse. He is eager to end Noh-Varr’s life for the shame that he has brought the Midas name in addition to retrieving his original cosmically enhanced self from the Mindless One’s home dimension. Kid Midas will be shocked to discover that Dr. Midas has moved pass his petty pursuit of power from his time in the Mindless Ones’ dimension and is now reformed (along the lines of Kang mellowing out and become the philosophical Immortus). There will be a mind switch and Kid Midas will gain the Cosmic Man body.
Skills:
Adept in multiple human and alien martial arts.
Proficient in the use of mechanized armor.
Fluent in numerous Earth and alien dialects.
Technology:

SMGH is a variant of Mutant Growth Hormone created from cellular samples extracted from deceased and captured Super Skrulls. It temporarily grants the user shape shifting abilities in addition to post human abilities.
The Midas amulet is based on Darla Deering’s Thing Ring and contains the Midas Suit in its unstable molecules state.
The Midas Suit is an unstable molecule variation of the Thing Exoskeleton derived from a damaged sample of Dr. Midas’ cosmically irradiated and enhanced flesh. Its design is based on Anthony Stark’s Iron Man Armor Model 42. Its molecular template retains the Cosmic Earth properties, its Cosmic Fire properties are stabilized by Pyronanos circuitry, and its Cosmic Air property was replaced with ghost technology derived from Omnisapient Systems. It is powered by a Kirby Battery, a portable derivative of The Marvel’s Kirby Engine.

Midas Suit Properties:
It greatly magnifies the user’s strength, durability, stamina, and sensory perceptions.
The repulsor beam system has been modified to discharge fiery cosmic flames.
It propulsion system has been enhanced by the Pyronanos and grants hypersonic flight. Its stealth technology grants invisibility and intangibility.
A concealed alien weapons array consists of Badoon particle rays, Skrull Photon Blasters, Nega Missiles (projectiles containing explosive Negative Zone energy), Shi’ar Raptor Armor concussive cannons (containing darkforce energy) and self-repair functionality.

The Original Dr. Midas by J.G. Jones

Iron Man Armor Model 42 by Greg Land

Artist Profile: Dave Johnson

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Arleigh

Dave Johnson has earned the reputation of being one of the comic industry’s preeminent cover illustrator. His work has graced the covers of such titles as Vertigo’s 100 Bullets (where he creates the covers to all one hundred issues and the 11 trade paperback collections) and Marvel Comics’ Punisher MAX series. Dave Johnson’s work as a cover illustrator has won him one of the top awards in the comics industry with his 2002 Eisner Award for “Best Cover Artist”.

Born on April 4, 1966, Dave Johnson continues to work as a cover artist for all the different publishers from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and a slew of independent houses.

Artist Profile: Joe Chiodo

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Arleigh

Joe Chiodo is a name not unknown to comic book aficionados. The youngest of four boys, Chiodo would grow up to be one of the comic book industry’s most sought after cover illustrators and colorists. His popularity rose during the 1990’s as he contributed cover illustrations for the group of artists who would form the indie publishing, creator-owned company of Image Comics (especially the Wildstorm and Cliffhanger brands).

Chiodo’s pin-up style lends well to the so-called “bad girl” style of comic book characters such as Vampirella, Lady Death, Witchblade and a host of others. His pin-up style was reminiscent of classic pin-up and cheesecake artists such as Dave Stevens and Gil Elvgren. He would add a certain Disney cartoon-style to the mix that would become the unique Chiodo-style fans have come to admire and love.

Joe Chiodo continues to do cover illustrations and coloring for comic book artists and companies. He has also released his own series of artbooks that focuses on his cover works and original art and painting throughout the years.

Here Are The Winners of the 2012 Rondo Awards

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the winners of the 11th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, honoring the best of 2012. You can find out more about the Rondos by clicking here.

– BEST MOVIE: CABIN IN THE WOODS

— BEST TV: WALKING DEAD

— CLASSIC DVD: A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN

— CLASSIC COLLECTION: UNIVERSAL MONSTERS ON BLU RAY

— RESTORATION: DRACULA (1931)

— COMMENTARY: David Kalat on Criterion GOJIRA/GODZILLA

— DVD EXTRA: Universal Monsters ORIGINAL HOUSE OF HORRORS booklet

— INDEPENDENT FILM: HOUSE OF GHOSTS

— SHORT FILM: FALL OF HOUSE OF USHER (animated)

— DOCUMENTARY: BEAST WISHES

— BOOK OF YEAR: RAY HARRYHAUSEN’S FANTASY SCRAPBOOK

— BEST MAGAZINE MODERN: RUE MORGUE

— BEST MAGAZINE CLASSIC: SCARY MONSTERS

— BEST ARTICLE: Christopher Lee: A Career retrospective, by Aaron Christensen, HORROR HOUND #34

— BEST INTERVIEW: Michael Culhane talks with original DARK SHADOWS cast, including Jonathan Frid’s last interview, FAMOUS MONSTERS #261

— BEST COLUMN: It Came from Bowen’s Basement (John Bowen), RUE MORGUE

— BEST THEME ISSUE: Tie, MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #30 (Vincent Price); VIDEO WATCHDOG #169 (Dark Shadows)

— COVER: Jeff Preston’s Phibes cover for LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29

— WEBSITE: DREAD CENTRAL

— BLOG: COLLINSPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

— CONVENTION: MONSTERPALOOZA

— FAN EVENT: Rick Baker gets star on hollywood Walk of Fame

— HORROR HOST: Svengoolie

— HORROR COMIC: WALKING DEAD

— MULTIMEDIA (Audio/video): FRIGHT BYTES

— SOUNDTRACK/HORROR CD: ROSEMARY’S BABY

— TOY, MODEL OR COLLECTIBLE: Jeff Yagher’s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN scene

— WRITER OF YEAR: Tim Lucas

— REVIEWER OF YEAR: David-Elijah Nahmod

— ARTIST: DANIEL HORNE

— FAN ARTIST: MARK OWEN

— HENRY ALVAREZ AWARD FOR ARTISTIC DESIGN: RAY SANTOLERI

— INTERNATIONAL MONSTER FAN: Rhonda Steerer (operates Boris Karloff ‘More Than a Monster’ site from Germany)

— MONSTER KID OF THE YEAR: SIMON ROWSON (for work in Japan unearthing lost footage in HORROR OF DRACULA)

— HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:

— J.D. LEES — Editor/publisher who helped popularize kaiju scholarship with G-FAN, now a giant-sized100 issues old.

— COUNT GORE DE VOL: Still going strong in multimedia, 40 years later.

— TED NEWSOM: Opinionated but with good reason — he was there researching and interviewing long before most others.

— STEVE BISSETTE — Writer’s love of the genre has spread across all genres, from comic books to deep research.

— JESSIE LILLEY: From Scarlet Street to Famous Monsters and Mondo Cult, she has expanded the outlook of fandom.

— And the late GARY DORST: One of fandom’s founding forces, gone far too soon.

Listen here, Maggott

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Viktor VonGlum

Had an idea for one of the most overlooked X-Men, Japheth aka Maggott. For those who never encountered the character, he was created by Scott Lobdell & Joe Madureira. He appeared around the same time as the Magneto clone, Joseph. He had a history with the real Magneto, “Erik” freed the slugs from Japheth’s body and revealed that he was a mutant. He served as an X-Man after the Zero Tolerance event and he was demoted to Generation X after Hank McCoy suggested that he needs more training. He was eventually captured by a reformed Weapon X program and murdered in the Neverland death camp, resurrected as magical techno-organic zombie during the Necrosha event, and apparently teaches at the Jean Grey School

He was billed for having the strangest mutant powers ever! His digestive system manifested as twin biomechanical slugs that exited his abdomen to consume and returned when their meal was over. They transferred energy to him, changing his skin blue & granting him superhuman strength. He also possessed psychometry and it allows him to draw psychic residue from his environment. The slugs were sensitive to magic and mystical energy. His main weakness was, he couldn’t be separated from the slugs too long or he would starve.

My idea involves Mojo and particularly Spiral and her Body Shoppé. Mojo sees great rating potential in Japheth but he believes that he first needs a makeover. Spiral abducts him, modifies him based on Mojo’s orders, and dumps him in the Savage Land. His slugs (the slug experimented on by Nathaniel Essex and the remaining one) were integrated on a molecular level and dispersed throughout his body. His mutant digestive system had evolved into a tactile consumption aura. Japheth can now feed through touch. His stomach cavity contains a biomechanical battery that stores the energy gained from eating and augments his enhanced state. He can expel the excess energy as a corrosive energy burst. His psychometry and the slugs’ sensitivity to magic grew to the point of Parker’s ESP.

Pusher Man Returns (only in my head)

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Viktor VonGlum

I have been toying around with Pusher Man reintroduction ideas.

**Those who haven’t read Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways should skip this, it contains spoilers**

The Pusher Man was a drug dealer that sold MGH, mutant growth hormones. Mutant Growth Hormones is a drug that granted normal human superhuman abilities (usually based on the donor’s ability) or amplifies a posthuman’s super power. He also possesses a pair of gloves derived from the Fistigons. Fistigons are a pair of mechanical gauntlets created by the Steins; they allowed the user to project and manipulate flames. The Steins were a part of the Pride, a powerful criminal organization that had dominated the West Coast. The LAPD were in their pocket & no super villain or evil entity dared enter California. PM was fooled into believing the Pride was recruiting him by Chase Stein. His mistake resulted in his death at Kingpin’s order.

The first idea involves Pusher Man using Mr. Immortal-derived MGH before Kingpin’s goons arrived. It allowed him to survive the savage encounter. His damaged Fistigons were repaired and upgraded by former Atlas Corporation engineers. The gauntlets are bionic systems powered by designer MGH. The vials are integrated into the gloves and function as nanofactories. Raijin is a tetrawatt electrical projection. Brute is gravity field manipulation utilized to simulate superhuman strength. Sprite is molecular intangibility. Jotunn is gamma radiation enhanced size magnification. They also possess chameleon circuitry that allow them to replicate Stark’s repulsor beam technology, Von Doom’s shield system, and Death Head II’s bladed weapon.

The second idea involves the Pusher Man’s next of kin, Pusher Man II. PM II is the 17 year old cousin of the first who plans on avenging PM’s death and revolutionizing the MGH business. He developed a more potent form of MGH which he sells to criminal organizations like HYDRA and AIM for a greater profit. Pusher Man II installed a nanomachine failsafe in his MGH batch to prevent HYDRA and AIM from recreating his formula. He used his wealth to hire former Atlas Corporation engineers to construct an advanced version of the Fistigons. This version has the same functions as the one defined in the previous idea. The only differences are the dimensional storage device used to transport MGH shipments and the ability to transform into ring-like devices when inactive.

Multiversal Savior

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Viktor VonGlum

The Dystopian Reality:

I have been toying with the idea of a reality traveler story. A cataclysm wiped out the super hero population: every mutant, artificial posthuman, radiation empowered being, alien, synthetic life form, cyborg, magic user, supernatural entity, and deity died on that day. An extremist group composed of AIM, HYDRA, and followers of Chthon created a Nihil Cube, a variant of the cosmic cube, designed to eliminate every superhuman hero. The bomb was prematurely detonated and eliminated both heroes and villains. The wide scale death attracted the attention of Thanos, who acquired the cube and enhanced its ability. The Mad Titan used to extinguish all life including the cosmic entities like the elders of the universe and the Celestials. Despite his accomplishment, Death still rejected him. An enraged Thanos then travels to parallel realities to repeat his rampage. His actions attract the attention of a higher reality, which sends a champion to defeat him.

The Hero:

He hails from a utopian reality where all of the science heroes used their intellects to usher in a golden age. His signature weapon is a Richardtech recreation of Noh-Varr’s Kree Weapons Band. It is composed of unstable molecule alloy and is the amalgamation of his reality’s Heroic Age weaponry. It assumes the form of repulsor revolver based on Starktech, Parkertech impact webbing pistol, and a beam axe derived from Weapon X. It possesses a mobile force field generator constructed from Nathan Summers’ Cone of Silence, the Ghost’s intangibility circuitry, and modified Ultimate Nullifier built to destroy the Nihil Cube. He also possesses technology from the World: a nanite-based Greylock and bacterial variant of James Howlett’s healing factor. A dimensional transportation spell from the Book of Vishanti is implanted in his mind.

Technology:

The Greylock is a variant of the Doomlock based on Nate Grey’s former dimension crossing ability. It protects the user reality friction.
The impact webbing is a web pellets that releases tendrils which ensnare the target upon impact.
The beam axe is based on the energy claws used by Strike Force X.