Digital Comics Netbook/Crunchpad Ready Now

Two weeks ago we posted about new developments in hardware, such as a netbook and crunchpad, and web based delivery systems that were all ready set and ready to bring digital comics to such devices. This week we'll expand on that theme with "hosted" digital comics, up on the web right now, that will be extremely easy to navigate to with your new netbook or crunchpad.

You won't need software (mac and Linux users rejoice), or anything other than a browser to read them and best of all, with a small, light weight portable device they can now be read anywhere there is an Internet connection (like the john).

I want to point out that there is no order here, they are all great sites with great content listed in the order I found/ or remembered them.

I would also point out, I'm resisting the urge to "review" these books as I've read all of them and find them very well put together comics that I'd purchase at a comic shop if given the chance but I'll leave you to discover them on your own...

THE AMALGAMATED ARTISTS



The Amalgamated Artists is a very clean and easy to use flash based digital comic book displayer/ reader set up by a group of talented comic creators. While the "About Us" page has little in the way of info on the group them selves, there are detailed sections on each creator.

One of their comics...
YULETIDE



UNTRUE TALES

To tell the truth I had never heard of UNTRUE TALES before setting up this blog post. I asked for suggestions in my twitter stream and this came up. It seems well put together and well respected. The site is easy to navigate and fast to load.
One of their comics...

The Trouble With Uzis



THE RETRIEVER



The Retriever introduces a new genre of comic books. It may sound cheesy, but Noir-Fu is the best name I could think of for it. Inspired slightly by the lengend of the Monkey's Paw and my desire to explore irony and the unexpected, The Retriever blends crime noir and the kung-fu genre to explore these themes in a new light.
- Daniel Fu, Creator
CRANKY OCTOPUS

The three creators who make up CRANKY OCTOPUS are die hard comic book lovers. CRANKY OCTOPUS started, if I'm not mistaken, from a very well put together X-Men fan fiction web site with hundreds of readers /contributers each month...

One of their comics..
ROCKET & BOUNCE



The sibling super heroes' first mission as a crime fighting duo: foil a gang of bank robbers. Sounds easy enough, right? Right? Hmmm...
- Cranky Octopus

SUPER SEED




In a world where super powered beings are a feared, yet revered minority, International Andrology & Cryobank CEO Dr. Michael Billings plans to profit by selling the promise of extraordinary gifted children through his Super Seed Program.
- Tyler James, Creator

Each of these are Web Device ready right now. There is more out there as well, many more...

Have a great weekend!

~Caine

How Do You Write?

If you've come here today for another one of Pierre's awesome articles on animation, then you may be in for an unpleasant surprise, as this post is from me (Jim) not Pierre.

Where is Pierre? Well, he's on a Top Secret animation gig in Canada. I say Top Secret, because I can't remember if he told me what the assignment was or not. I'm hoping he's keeping a detailed journal about his experience so he can tell us all about it in future blog posts.

The animation gig has a rigorous deadline and he's been really busy, so, I've decided to give him a bit of a break on his Wednesday posts today.

Which brings me to the title of today's posts. Twice in the last two weeks, I have been asked How Do You Write?

At first I was going to just throw together a post on the subject, but both people who sent me the question included their regimen for writing which I found very interesting and helpful.

So it occurred to me that perhaps the better thing to do would be to ask everyone who reads this blog, how do you write/create? What is your process?

If you aren't a creator, I'd like to hear what you look for in writing. After all, what your audience wants in a story is just as important, if not moreso, as what the writer wants in a story. :)

Answers to the question can be as long or short as you wish. I'll post any answers I receive either via email or blog posts here on my blog next Wednesday.

Golden Age Spider Man?

So while reading the adventures of Captain Marvel, Golden Arrow and Ibis yesterday in an issue of Whiz Comics, I came across a story with a character with a rather familiar name...



Now while I don't necessarily think Marvel has anything to worry about, it might explain why Spider-man has a hyphen in his name when so many other superheroes don't.

Anyway, here is the comic where this Spider Man character appears...



[ Whiz Comics 89 ]

And another one from the Fawcett library of comics:



[ Whiz Comics 87 ]

Both comics contain stories with Captain Marvel, Golden Arrow and Ibis, so download and enjoy!

- Jim

Bronze Age Spotlight: Honor Among Thieves

As a kid in the 70's, there were several things a comic could have on the cover that would guarantee I'd buy it. One was Robots. The other was Gorillas.

So when The Secret Society of Super Villains number 1 showed up in May 1976 with it's cover of Gorilla Grodd shoving a bunch of JLA robots into a trash can, it's a safe bet I was digging into my Toughskin jeans pocket hoping to find .30 in change.

Fortunately for you, I did, so today I can tell you why SSoSV was not only a fun, zany bronze age comic, but also a template for how comic stories would eventually evolve into what we have today.

But let's back up a bit. For those of you not familiar with the series, a brutally quick summation is this: A clone of the Simonson/Goodwin Manhunter rounds up a bunch of DC villains (Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, Star Sapphire, Sinestro and Copperhead) to form a Secret Society.

It is soon revealed that Manhunter is actually following the orders of Darkseid who wants to use the society to help cause something he refers to as EarthDeath. However, this Manhunter is just as noble as his predecessor, so he pulls a double cross and convinces the team to try and stop Darkseid. Working together, the rogues defeat the ruler of Apokolips. Afterwards, they agree to remain together as a team.

Now one might ask - what prompted DC, whose bread and butter was superhero comics, to start publishing the exploits of a team of villains? Well, as it turns out, DC was simply riding a wave of antihero interest in popular culture that had most likely started with the Arthur Penn's 1967 Bonnie and Clyde movie and culminated in 1972 with Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. At the time, public fascination with antiheroes/villains was at a level not seen since the James Cagney shouted out to his Ma in White Heat.

In the comics world, Marvel had begun exploring antihero stories with Super-Villain Team Up, a comic which started as a set of two giant sized annuals featuring Dr. Doom and the Sub-Mariner. Not much of a stretch actually as both characters had been featuring in books before, Dr. Doom in Astonishing Tales and the Sub-Mariner first in Tales of Suspense and then in his own title.

No, it was actually DC who was taking the new surge of antiheroic interest and using it to a better advantage. Their first attempt was the half-hearted Joker comic which could have been a very interesting comic had it not been hamstringed by an editorial mandate to soften the Joker. As a result, the series, which had some fun moments, was generally incongruous with reader expectations of the Joker and ended up getting cancelled after 9 issues.

On the flipside, the SSoSV was not burdened by this same editorial mandate, or if it was, it wasn't as obvious. Originally helmed by writer Gerry Conway and artist Pablo Marcos, the SSoSV had a bit darker tone than the Joker series. The first issue ends with Copperhead getting shot and left stranded in the sea by Gorilla Grodd. This sets the tone for the entire series under Conway's watch as characters come and go very quickly, often dispatched in violent ways. During the course of the first few issues, there are several "deaths" of characters:

Hi-Jack is magically vanished by the Wizard in 04
Manhunter sacrifices himself to kill Darkseid in 05

It would have been interesting to see where Conway took the initial plot line, as he must have had a grand scheme in mind. However, he left the title by issue 2 and he remained off the book until issue 8. During his absence David A. Kraft wrote 2 issues (3 and 4). Then Bob Rozakis would take his turn for issues 5 through 7.

While Kraft did an admirable job picking up the story set forth by Conway, Rozakis' turn on the book was quite different. After finishing up Conway's storyline with Darkseid and Manhunter, his next issue was a rather Silver Agey piece that played off the novelty of having 3 villains with Captain in the names. Issue 7 involves Lex Luthor wanting to defeat Superman on the set of the Superman movie. Both of these stories feel like fill ins and are probably the weakest issues in the series (despite having some fine Rich Buckler art!)

Fortunately, with Conway's return in 8, the book regained more of its original feel. By issue 9 everyone is plotting against each other again and Gorilla Grodd is stomped nearly to death by a Dragon.

Despite the handicap of having writers shuffled on and off the title, there were quite a number of places where the stories excelled. For its time, SSoSV featured more violence, faster pacing, more character intrigue than other comics being published by DC. Most likely this is because SSoSV featured villains as the main characters, which gave the writers more latitude in their storytelling.

There are certain corporate expectations to be met when you write a comic featuring a character licensed out to Underoos. However, the suits don't bat an eye if if Captain Boomerang gets beat to a pulp by Darkseid - or just hangs out by the pool and eats some fast food.

I've mentioned the violence that was abundant in the series, but what was really novel was the non-violent moments. In issue 3 The crew is indeed just sitting poolside enjoying a meal from MacDonald's. It's a rather mundane scene that humanizes the characters in a way that you would never see in the pages of JLA at the time. This presentation of the more human side of the villains is definitely something new the series brought to comics.

Another nice non action scene is in issue 11 when the Wizard finally dispatches Funky Flashman (a tiresome Stan Lee stand in created by Jack Kirby.)

Issue 15 ends the series and it's a shame it ended there as the level of intrigue was definitely growing amongst the team members. There is an interesting scene with Star Sapphire and Professor Ivo and a nice bit with Mirror Master and Copperhead. It's the issue that best captures the feel of Conway's original vibe.

In a way, the SSoSV with its flawed characters and their exaggerated human foibles and higher level of violence could be seen as a template for how comics would progress into the modern age.

When readers get tired of the normal faire of superhero comics, the industry often reacts by devoting a title to some super villain. Eventually this leads them amping up the level of violence and humanity of their A-list heroes.

The SSoSV was the first example of this, but over the years the formula has played out time and time again. In the 80's we got the fantastic Suicide Squad by John Ostrander. In the 90's we saw Venom get his own comic. Currently, one of Marvel's bestselling titles is Dark Avengers - a title that features villains.

In the 90's the success of a bloodthirsty Punisher led to everyone wearing leather jackets. Then there was a backlash against the badass character and the pendulum swung back - but not all the way back. Usually once you've given Aquaman a hook and a beard to make him a badass, it's hard to go back to your 1950's Arthur Curry.

So there you have it - you want someone to blame for all those horrible leather jacketed heroes in the 90's? Look no further than Gerry Conway and the SSoSV! :D

Need further proof?

He's was also responsible for the Punisher as well.

Have a great weekend!

- Jim

Thoughts on Golden Age Characters

It would seem that Jim and I have a disagreement.

No… no… don’t worry…. It is something very minor, almost nothing….. So small that no one could notice unless we come out and actually mention it.

So don’t worry… it will not lead to something like when Jack Kirby left Marvel because of some disagreement with Stan Lee.

No… nothing like that.

But it is there nonetheless.

And it is about the use of Golden Age characters.

Or more specifically… public domain Golden Age characters.

Jim already mentioned his views on the subject… so I guess now it’s my turn.

The Golden Age of comics first caught my attention when I read “The Great Comic Book Artists” by Ron Goulart.

I was vaguely aware before that that there was this distant era far in ancient comic book history called the Golden Age.

Heck I even knew that some characters like Captain America, Namor, the Human Torch, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc…. came from that era.

I even had some comics showing those characters at the time of the Golden Age like the Invaders comics from Marvel. Or the Superman VS Wonder Woman comic that I had from DC (AWESOME comic masterfully drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez). Or heck… even a reprint of the first Superman tale from action comic #1.

But I did not really know much about that time… until I read the “The Great Comic Book Artists”.

Then I discovered characters like the Green Lama, the Spirit, and the Golden Age Daredevil.

I loved this character right from the start.

Loved how he looked.

But also, I finally saw where the design for Marvel’s 3D-Man came from. I loved the 3D-Man character, although I only had very few comics with him… but when I saw the Golden Age Daredevil … I fell in love again.

Also I was a big fan of the Wallace Wood Daredevil. Although it had little in common with the first Daredevil… I really got a kick to see that it was not the first character to bear that name.

As I got to know more about them old characters, and as I discovered the concept of “public domain”… I could not help but think that something should be done using them…. Some new stories maybe?… especially with that Daredevil fellow.

Some like Alan Moore already had dipped their toes in that “public domain” well. Also Dynamite seemed to have some success with various “old” characters like Zorro or the Lone Ranger. But what I had in mind was a little different.

What I had in mind at some point was to use the “public domain” Golden Age characters to populate the Flashback Universe of the 40s or 50s. To essentially populate OUR Golden Age with them characters.

I had this crazy idea to make a story that would have some repercussion in the Golden Age Flashback Universe.

I dubbed it “Time Crisis” at the time.

Imagine if you will and inter company crossover done in a single issue (I know it has just been done recently…. Yes I AM looking at you Kirkman ;)). A “Crisis on Infinite Earths” type of story told in a single comic if you will.

But to do that…. we needed a lot more characters in the WW2 FBU then what we already had.

We already had the Fearless Five, the Wildcard, the Crimson Cossack, Frostfire, the Purple Puma, the Paladin and his partner the Squire… but that was less the enough. So more were needed.

MORE I SAYS!!

And the solution was simple… either I come up with a truckload of new characters… or I use some of those that already exist that are public domain characters.

Being a lazy bastard… I opted for using them public domain characters. Also it would finally give me the opportunity to use the Golden Age Daredevil.

Not as a parody… or to make fun of… but simply because the more I learned about them characters… and the more I loved them characters.

There is a charm in those characters that I can’t quite properly explain.

Jim even contributed to me wanting to use some of them old characters with is Free Monday comics.

Heck lately it made me discover amongst other characters the Golden Age Catman.

SHAZAM!!! (or something like that ;))

It’s like I was struck with lightning. I loved them Catman comics.

I was familiar with the DC version of Catman. I thought that DC had simply created an EVIL version of Batman to serve as one of his nemeses. That they had created some sort of Reverse-Batman. Not unlike Bizarro… or Professor Zoom; the Reverse-Flash.

But in my ignorance… I had NO idea that what they had done was use an actual character from the Golden Age. One who I am sure is seen as little more then a Batman rip-off, and they turned it into a Reverse-Batman in the DCU.

Already I got a kick out of the DCU Catman… especially lately in the Villains United, and the Secret Six comics.

But that new layer added to the Catman character makes it even more cool to me.

Odds are that you will see more Catman comics in the future. Mouahahhahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Anyway…

But at some point in time… what had to happen happened…. There was a comic book that was announced called Superpowers… later renamed Project: Superpowers.

I was happy and crushed at the same time.

They were using MY characters. MINE!!

Okay maybe not mine… but I was planning to use at least some of those characters.

Damn!!

But I still got a kick out of reading Project; Superpowers… or even The Twelve (although odds are that we will never see the end of that series…L). But I was a little disappointed too.

I wanted to see tales set in the Golden Age. But to make a long story short… them characters were put on ice and ended up in modern times.

Which made me a little sad… but also very happy.

Happy since they did not use MY idea of telling tales in the past with those characters. ;)

Heck with The Twelve, I naively thought that they would show us good old fashion heroes to show the contrast to the dark and gritty heroes that Marvel seems to have right now.

But I should have known better. JMS seems to want to show us that the heroes from the past are as flawed… heck if not MORE flawed then the current ones that Marvel has.

Oh well.

Even Image… or at least Erik Larson in Savage Dragon… used the “lets put the GA characters on ice to bring them to modern times” device.

So I guess that MY idea of keeping them in the past is safe… for now. ;)

Now all I have to do is convince Jim to make that “Time Crisis” comic. ;)

Although we do have an upcoming tale set in the Golden Age. It should be a first step for us in using them Golden Age characters.

And then… who knows?

Who knows where that tale shall lead us too??

We shall see. ;)

Early Leader Sketch

We are running a bit behind on new Mister Crimson episodes so to tied you over I present this early sketch of the Leader by Diego Tripodi.

We should have a new episode of Mister Crimson ready to go next week.

Thank you.

Free Comics Monday: Miss Victory vs a Nazi Gorilla

During the Golden Age, many titles were anthologies featuring one character on the cover, but with multiple characters and stories in the book. In most cases, some of the characters inside the book never got a cover. A perfect example of this is Miss Victory who appeared in the pages of Captain Aero.

From Wikipedia...

The original Miss Victory was created in Captain Fearless #1 (Aug. 1941) by an unknown writer and by artist Charles Quinlan in an untitled, five-page story generally indexed with its opening words, "Introducing Miss Victory". She went on to appear in the second and final issue of Captain Fearless, and subsequently in Holyoke's Captain Aero Comics, beginning with issue #1 (Dec. 1941).

Given no formal origin story, it was left unexplained as to how Miss Victory was able to survive explosions, break free of ropes, or knock down walls. But is clear that in her introduction she had superhuman strength and durability.

She remained as star of a backup feature in the sporadically published Captain Aero Comics through that title's final issue, #26 (Aug. 1946). In 1984, she was revived by writer Bill Black and penciler Mark Heike in AC Comics' Femforce Special #1 (Fall 1984).

In this issue - Miss Victory does indeed fight a Nazi Gorilla



[ Captain Aero 15 ]

Now I usually turn a blind eye to the some of the more rediculous stuff I find in these Golden Age Comics. I consider them to be part of the charm of the comics. However, every once in a while, I uncover something that I can't ignore. This is the case with Captain Aero 17, wherein we find a Japanese Ghost pilot.

How do we know he's Japanese? Well, because his ghostly skull has slanted eyes...

Anyway, in Captain Aero 17, Miss Victory is pursuing a villain who is intent on of Leonardo Da Vinci's secret inventions to win the war. It's an interesting story as it highlights one of the problems with Miss Victory as I see it in that the writers seem to have a hard time pinning down exactly how tough she is.

At one point she is knocked out because she runs into a door. Later, a vase to the skull takes her out. In the end she survives a point blank explosion. Seems like someone wasn't reading the Holyoke Handbook entry on Miss Victory when they were writing that story. ;)



[ Captain Aero 17 ]

- Enjoy!