Our Top Ten Comics?

From now on, the Comics Corner will be a team effort between myself, Christopher Hoerdemann, newcomer Wesley Humphrey, fellow newcomer Drew Browne, and final newcomer Adam Adrian! With a fleet of fellow comic book nerds pushing me to think more about comics, it's safe to say that this site will be updated much more frequently from now on! Plus, we all have our own style of writing. For example, I like uppity and cliche sayings, and Adam has that stream of consciousness thing going for him.

Our first task we decided upon is very general: name your top ten favorite comics of all time, and give a short explanation of why they make your list. And away we go (THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS AWAITING YOU!).......

Christopher's list

1) Y: The Last Man #58

After 58 issues where you've come to care about a character, it's very painful to watch that character die. Bravo BKV for making the death of a fictional character so meaningful (I don't want to spoil this because it really might take away from the experience of reading it first hand).

2) Dark Knight Returns Book #4

The Dark Knight defeats Superman, as drawn and written by Frank Miller when he still really knew what he was doing.

3) Invincible #13

One of the most brutal fights I've seen in a comic. Omni-Man beats the pulp out of his son Invincible, and the brightly colored art just adds to the brutality of the situation.

4) Green Lantern Rebirth #4

Hal Jordan finally puts the ring back on for real, and Geoff Johns's Green Lantern Saga really starts to gain momentum. Plus, Ethan Van Sciver draws some darn good super heroes.

5) Walking Dead #48

The death of what felt like the entire supporting cast, topped off by the brutal shooting of Lori and her infant make this one of the best, and most discomforting comics I've ever read.

6) Ultimates #12

"Do you think this letter on my head stands for France," badass Thor, and the dropping Bruce Banner out of a helicopter. Nuff' Said.

7) Sinestro Corps War One Shot

Parallax, The Anti-Monitor, Superboy Prime, and Sinestro band together to form a terrifying army that will tear across the cosmos. This is where the war started, and it might be one of the greatest opening acts I've ever read in a comic.

8) Superman: Secret Identity #1

If I could, I'd pick this whole mini series, but since I can't, I'll go with issue one. This is where we're introduced to a boy named Clark Kent who somehow gets Superman's powers, and we see the ramifications of such a situation. I would go as far as to say that this is the best Superman story since Alan Moore wrote the character.

9) Justice League International #4
Only because Batman knocks Guy Gardner's lights out.

10) Runaways Volume 1 #1

This kicks off one of the most original series to come from Marvel since the late 1980's. Sharp dialogue and great art made this a maddeningly good debut issue.

Wesley's list.....

1) Dark Knight Returns Book #4
The age old question; who would win in a fight? Superman or Batman? Frank Miller dared to answer this riddle in this groundbreaking interpretation of The Dark Knight. It remains the most influential and breathtaking story that has ever been published.

2) Amazing Spider-Man #121
This controversial comic showed that good cannot always win in the world of comics. This was the first book to show that comics didn’t always have a happy ending and changed the way comics have been written since that issue.

3) Watchman #12
The exiting conclusion to one of the most beloved comic books in American History. This story wrapped up everything that happened in the series and makes me want to love villains even more than I already do. Some of the best writing I have ever seen.

4) Action Comics #1
The first superhero comic of all time. The basis for all comics after 1938. That’s that.

5) Batman: The Killing Joke
A deeper look into the origins of the Joker as well as the crippling of Barbara Gordon. Alan Moore is at his best and Brian Bolland’s art makes it even more spectacular.

6) All Star Superman #1
A Grant Morrison story I could actually follow, full of great story telling, shocking twists and superb art. I didn’t think anyone could ever tell a better Superman story.

7) Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
The death of a Kryptonian is always disheartening. This miniseries changed the DC universe forever. By Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

8) The Goon #1 (Avatar)
The first time you see him (the Goon) he is bashing a monsters head in with a lead pipe. Awesome story, and art. Kudos Eric Powell.

9) Thunderbolts #1
Just when you think all of the heroes of the Marvel Universe are gone, here emerges a group of heroes ready to fight for justice, but they are not all as they seem..... Kurt Busiek’s writing skills are as impeccable as Mark Bagley’s art.

10) Justice Society of America #1

One of the best relaunch stories I have ever read. Geoff Johns has yet to stop amazing me, bringing me characters that have a rich history in the DC universe.

Adam's List.....

1) Preacher # 49
Jesse Custer and God finally come face to face. When Jesse is told by God to beg for forgiveness Jesse spits in Gods face.

2) Hellblazer # 42
John Constantine tricks the devil into drinking a beer that is made out of holy water to save a friend's soul.

3) Transmetropolitan #4
Spider Jerusalem gets an assistant and he starts to teacher journalism. Spider also shoots the President with his Bowel Disruptor.

4) New XMen # 116
Xavier shoots and kills Cassandra Nova. “Hardcore Chuck.”

5) That Yellow Bastard Chapter One
Hartigan takes both of the Roark brats' weapons.

6) Star Wars Dark Empire #2
Luke turns to the Dark side.

7) Queen & Country #1
Great Intro to the character Tara Chace.

8) Hitman #34
Tommy plays shrink to Superman, and when Superman leaves Tommy shoots a guy.

9) Nextwave #1
The Introduction of Dirk Anger, Captian #### talking about how he met Captian America once, And Fin Fang Foom. “My Robot Brain needs Beer.”

10) Daredevil #227
The first issues of the Born Again run. Karen Paige betrays Matt and the Kingpin blows up Matt's Brownstone.

Staying On Topic #4

I was sitting in my living room, listening to a comic book podcast, drinking a nice tall glass of ice water, and playing MLB 2K8 on Nintendo Wii. The first thing that I realized during this time was that I am quite spoiled, and the second was that I love summer. School's great and all, but these first couple days of summer have been more fun then 8 months of school combined.

Now, what I really would like to say is that this next week of comics is going to be monstrous. I can't wait, and here are 15 reasons why.....

Action Comics #865

All Star Superman #11

Batman #677 (RIP)

Final Crisis #1

Fables #73

Astounding Wolf-Man #6

Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1

King Size Hulk #1

Marvel 1985 #1

New Avengers #41

Thor #9

Ultimate Spider-Man #122

Uncanny X-Men #498

X-Men Legacy #212

Green lantern #31

Even though I went on record as saying that there were only 5 titles I REALLY had to read, I can't help but get excited for a week like this. Final Crisis has me excited, King Size Hulk #1 is really interesting to me for some reason, 1985 is something I've been eagerly awaiting, and I really can't wait to read the conclusion to Whedon's Astonishing X-Men.

What a way to kick off my summer, with a blockbuster week full of titles that make me remember why I love to go to the comic book shop every week.

Every time I look at that list, I smile just a little bit more.

Here are the three things you should be doing but you probably aren't.......

1) Listen to the Streetlight Manifesto song "We Will Fall Together" (here)

2) Watch what happens to the Dark Knight on Drugs (here)

3) Read "The Beat" Blog (here)

The Image of the day goes to Greg Land drawing Ben Affleck.....

Staying on Topic #3

Somehow, I am exceeding expectations and producing more than one post a day. What could make me want to do such a thing? What has me so jazzed? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, that's what! What did I think? Well, glad you asked.....



Take these three points into consideration.....

1) I wasn't even born when the original three movies came out. I am not attached to this film through nostalgia. I have seen all three of these films, and I enjoy them all to varying degrees.

2) I have a lot of respect for filmmakers who try to make genre movies that will appeal to the mainstream, and how they are driven by the intense love of the genre they are trying to recreate. I love how guys like Spielberg take 180 million dollars and use it to produce what is essentially a love letter to the memories of his childhood. The whole idea of that makes me happy, because I want to be able to do something like that someday.

3) I went into this movie thinking there was no chance in hell that it could be screwed up.

Take those three things into consideration, and you should be able to understand why I'm mad. They had me buying everything in the entire movie, right up until the moment where a huge frickin' spaceship rose out of the ground. I enjoyed the alien angle, and I was willing to endure this transition from pulpy serial homage into a 1950's Sci-Fi movie homage. Then, they pushed it way too far. There should be no spaceships in Indiana Jones. That space ship was like an ultra concentrated Jar Jar Binks for this movie. Everything I previously enjoyed, most specifically the Mutt-sword-fight-between-two-speeding-jeeps-while-juggling-a-crystal-skull-punching-communist-bad-guys, were ruined! Why did they have to take that extra step? Why couldn't they use a bit of subtlety? Why did they beat me over the head with the fact that I was no longer watching an Indian Jones movie, but a George Lucas movie that is trying to act like an Indiana Jones movie?

I wanted to love this movie, and I almost did. I was enduring my friend's eye rolls throughout, explaining that this movie was awesome. I was wrong. They pulled the rug out from under me with the last twenty minutes, and I would much rather have made up my own ending.

Here are the three things you should be doing that you probably aren't.....

1) Watch Raiders of the Lost Ark
2) Watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3) Go to a movie theater near you, and go see Iron Man again instead of Indiana Jones 4, and if you must see it, leave with exactly twenty minutes left.

Staying On Topic #2

I've officially done what Jim Lee couldn't do on WildC.A.Ts: Produce two installments of something on a schedule! Okay, that was a lame joke that's been made a thousand times by message board fiends across the inter webs. The point is that I actually have made good on my promise! I am going to do a blog post every day! I AM! Okay, now that I'm done pep talking myself again, let's get down to business.

The first thing I would like to note is that I have discovered a new podcast! 11 O'clock Comics is a podcast put together by the folks who used to do the Bullpen Bulletins podcast. This time around though they are broadening the scope of the show to encompass all of the comic book world, and anything contained within it. Three episodes are out so far (I just discovered that a fourth is too, so I'm downloading that as I type), all were great fun, and I suggest you give them a look.

Besides finding another podcast to help fill my empty hours of summer, I have also become an Ebay nerd in terms of comics. I have been going through my collection and figuring out which sets of books I want to keep, and which ones I would want to pass on to someone else. By "pass on," I of course mean sell for a profit, because what kind of entrepreneur gives things away out of the goodness of their heart?

So, I've sold about 5 sets of books so far, and had some pretty good results. I haven't lost money on anything, and even though I had one set in particular that sold below what I thought it should, I had some others perform way better than I anticipated. So overall, it's been a very rewarding experience. I am finding the whole experience very reinvigorating. Everything I am selling would fall outside of the "top 5" category that was established in my post yesterday. It's a trimming of the fat in terms of my comic book collection, and it will end up making my collection more tidy. The first step is the hardest to take, because I was very hesitant to sell any of my stuff. However once you do it, you realize that the person buying your comics will probably get more enjoyment out of them than you would if you let them sit on your bookshelf.

That's all I got for right now. I will be back tomorrow! I will! But before I go, here are the three things you should be doing but you might not be (yet)......

1) Listen to Joe Strummer's song "Coma Girl" (here)
2) Watch/listen to the Merry Marvel Marching Society Record snippet that is posted on Youtube (here)
3) Read Mark Evanier's Blog (here)

Image of the day goes to Phil Hester Sketching Dr. Doom!

Staying On Topic #1

I always try and do this, and it never works. However, this time it will be different (I say that every time too, but this time I will try and persevere). I am going to sit down, every day, for this entire summer, and write a blog post for this very website. I am going to have a structure to each post, and I will adhere to this structure. Now, if this sounds like I am trying to give myself a pep talk about this whole thing, don't worry, I am.

I am a big fan of the iFanboy comic book podcast (www.ifanboy.com), and I think the best part about their program is that they have a structure that they follow for evvvvverrrry episode. I want to be able to do something like that, and I also want it to be interesting/entertaining. I am already submitting to the fact that not every post will be an essay. Actually, a large majority of the posts will be short and sweet. So let's see if I can do this.....

I had a realization today about comics, and more specifically the comics that I buy. I only really HAVE to read five comics. I buy 40+ titles, but there are only 5 that I really would miss if for some reason I quit comics. In no particular order....

1) Walking Dead
2) Green Lantern
3) Captain America
4) Ex Machina
5) Fables

The only problem with that list is that Fables shouldn't really be allowed on there. I am only through the 3rd Trade, and I am enjoying the hell out of it. I have heard that it gets progressively better as the series progresses, so it gets that last spot more out of speculation, because I'm not buying it monthly yet.

There's no Batman on that list, there's no Spider-Man, there's no Avengers (neither of the "Mighty" or "New" variety).

It seems like a paradox to me, because with all the money I spend on comics, I seem to only need to spend about 15 bucks a month. Will I stop buying the other 35+ titles that are on my pull list? Nope. I guess that means I have nothing to complain about. That was a good way to wrap that idea up before I started to ramble....

So the part about "structure" earlier seems unfulfilled at this point, so I think I should work something like that in here. So here it goes: At the end of every post, I will tell you three things that you should be doing that you probably aren't. If you read Warren Ellis's old column called COME IN ALONE, this might seem somewhat similar. Away we go then.....

1) Listen to Ted Leo's song called La Costa Brava (here)
2) Watch the newest episode of the iFanboy video podcast (here)
3) Read Peter David's Blog (here)

Image of the Week: Ethan Van Sciver Sketches Hellboy

Clobber-tastic Videos!

Here are a handful of videos I have shot and edited for the Clobberin' Time podcast I help out with (The sound improves greatly on the last two videos, plus those last two were shot using multiple cameras)......

Promo Piece



Awkward Story Contest Winner



"The Prodigal Joe"



"How Not to Make a List"

You Could Win Things? Cool Things......

Well, I help out with a little podcast called Clobberin' Time, where we discuss comics, pop culture, book binding, gardening occassionaly, and as of last week, Jim's physical fitness routine.

We announced on the newest episode that we would be giving away some prizes. Here's the rules, and the prize, as seen at this location on the Clobbberin' Time Blog.........

"Hi everyone, just wanted to post the details of the newest Clobberin’ Time contest. Send us an email with your own funny/awkward comic book related story and we’ll pick the best 3 to share on the air. The three winners will also get a brand-new, sealed, mint-condition DVD from stand up comic Mike Birbiglia!"

Send your stories to this email address: clobber@wesn.org.