Todd Klein's Blog, page 117

Incoming: AQUAMAN, SWORD OF ATLANTIS Book One

Image © DC.

Arrived today, nice to see they’re reprinting this series that I enjoyed lettering starting in 2006. What I remember best about it now is that I created two new fonts for it. One, a rough scratchy one for King Shark, has been in almost constant use since on a wide variety of projects. Pretty much any time I need a rough, scratchy voice. The other, a watery font with bubbles created for undersea creatures, has hardly been used since. I also recall that the art and writing were both great. If it’s not out yet, it should be soon.

And Then I Read: ARCHIE ’55 #1

Image © Archie Comics. Written by Brian Augustyn & Mark Waid, art by Tom Grummett, colors by Glenn Whitmore, letters by Jack Morellli, this cover by Aaron Lopresti.

I like the idea of this series, putting the Archie characters into a time and place where interesting things are happening. In this case, that’s the birth of rock and roll music, 1955. Archie, Reggie and Jughead have a band that plays the dull music required for school dances, but break out with a hot rock number like the ones they’re hearing on the radio. That gets them fired from the gig, but gains the interest of a local rock DJ, if they can manage to record something he can play. The story ties in to the blues music being played on the other side of town by artists of color, which Archie goes to hear with a friend, and Veronica Lodge’s father might take a financial interest.

I have two problems with the way this story is presented. First, by making the characters look more realistic and modern, they lose the feel of Archie for me. I understand this is the trend for a lot of recent Archie material, and I’m sure it’s fine for new fans, but it doesn’t seem like Archie Comics to this reader.

Second, a lot of song lyrics are on display as Archie and others play their music, but they are songs I’ve never heard, and I think all made up for this comic (I could be wrong). That only works for me when I either know the song and can fill in the melody in my head, or if, as in a song parody, the melody is a given. I don’t see any easy way to solve this in a comic unless you include a link to the actual songs or something. And the lyrics here, while perhaps much like early rock, are not brilliant poetry.

A for effort, nothing wrong with the art or writing, but not to my taste.

Baltimore Comic-Con 2019

Photos by Andrea Bergner and Todd Klein except as noted.

This year’s Baltimore Con at the Baltimore Convention Center was great fun. It’s my third year in a row having a table there, and each year I’ve sold more prints and things than the one before. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, the focus is mainly on comics and comics creators, and the staff and attendees are friendly and helpful. What more could one ask?

I drove there from my home in southern New Jersey, it’s an easy drive that can take as little as two hours forty minutes, but I usually stop once or twice, so I do it in about three hours. As a guest of the con, my room at the Sheraton was paid for, and I arrived there around 11:30 AM. After checking in I headed to the convention center to get my badge and set up my table. I was ready by 12:30, and the show opened at 1 PM.

My table assistant, Andrea Bergner, met me there. Three years ago I asked on Facebook for someone to help at my table, and she volunteered. Andrea turned out to be an excellent choice: she’s a great salesperson with a cheerful personality, and having someone else to help handle things makes it much easier to be at a table. I give her a commission on our total sales which she uses to buy comics art. Andrea’s husband and my wife Ellen are not into comics or sitting at con tables, so this arrangement has been a win for both of us.

At the table to our left was writer Brian K. Vaughan, hidden here by some family members, and someone came dressed as his character Lying Cat from Brian’s great series SAGA. I didn’t get a good photo of Brian, but we were able to chat a bit, though he was very busy signing. On our other side was inker Bob Wiacek, and just beyond him letterer John Workman and his wife Cathy, so that was our row. We faced an open area at the edge of the exhibit hall rather than another row of booths. I didn’t take any other photos on Friday, but we were busy at the table, and it was a fine start to the show.

On Saturday John Workman and I visited with former DC editor Jack C. Harris, who also drives over from New Jersey for the day. He’s very much the same as when we worked together in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Walking around I also chatted with artist Mike Manley who works on The Phantom and Judge Parker newspaper strips as well as editing DRAW magazine.

Carla Speed McNeill told me about a class she’s teaching in Baltimore where they are going to use my book on how to letter as part of it. (“The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering”.)

I had a good talk with artist Kevin Nowlan, who I haven’t seen in many years, shown here with a just-finished Doctor Strange sketch. He told me he does quite a few shows in the midwest, but not many in the eastern U.S. He’s so talented.

Heidi MacDonald of comics news website “The Beat” stopped by at my table to chat, always great to see her.

Something new I had for sale this year was Logo Sketch Cards. I drew logos at the top of comic-size pieces of art paper, leaving room for the artist of your choice to draw a character sketch. I didn’t know how they would sell, but they did well. This was the first finished one I saw with terrific art by Russ Braun, who was at the table right behind mine. The buyer brought it back to show me, and I added the word balloon Russ suggested. Perfect!

Here’s Russ and I with the buyer. We all enjoyed doing this, and I hope the idea will spread.

The ‘Ringo Awards, named in memory of beloved artist Mike Wieringo, were held Saturday evening at the Sheraton. It was great to catch up with old friends and workmates like Jerry Ordway, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Walt Simonson and John Workman, above.

Jose won a well-deserved lifetime achievement award, which pleased him, and we talked about working together on the DC Style Guide in the early 1980s. There’s talk of doing a new printing of that for fans, I hope it happens. Jose’s art for it, seen on all kinds of licensed products for decades, is wonderful and iconic.

Here are Louise Simonson, John Workman and Walter Simonson, three nicer people in comics it’s hard to find. Louise is recovering from a broken ankle, and it was touch and go whether she’d be able to attend. We were all glad she did, especially Walt, who had been keeping the secret that she’d won the Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award! She had no idea, and was delighted.

I think this photo by Andrea of John and Cathy Workman came out very well, and many Facebook friends agree!

I won the award for Best Letterer for the third time in a row. It’s always much appreciated, but let’s give someone else a chance next year! There are many worthy candidates. Photo above by Bruce Guthrie.

The award itself in better light in my room later, with Mike Weiringo’s fine art.

I also accepted the award for Best Presentation in Design for ABSOLUTE SANDMAN OVERTURE from DC Comics. I lettered the book, but the design work was by DC staffer Lou Prandi. The awards people will forward it to him in Burbank.

Sunday I brought the lettering award to my table, where it sits among the prints I sell.

Two more finished Logo Sketch Cards turned up Sunday, and I added some word balloons to this one for the buyer. Fine art again by Russ Braun.

This one has art by Adam Hughes. I designed this Black Cat logo in 1994 for the Marvel character, and they used it again on a new series this year.

Andrea was thrilled with the commission art she got from Sarah Woolley late Sunday depicting Totoro with Andrea’s two cats. I had headed home by then so didn’t see it in person, but it looks cool. Thanks again for your help, Andrea!

It was a fun show, but I’m happy to be home again. The Logo Sketch Cards did very well, I sold 38 of them. I have 49 left that will be up on my website’s BUY STUFF page soon. Keep an eye out there, they may be up by the end of the day today. Print sales also were strong, and I sold a few other one-of-a-kind art pieces too. I’m not sure if I’ll be back next year, but I will certainly be there if I’m invited. Thanks again to con creator Marc Nathan and staffers Brad Tree, Randy Tischler and many others for making their 20th show a great one for me. Thanks also to the other friends and workmates I’ve neglected to mention, it was good to see you, and thanks especially to the fans who make it a pleasure to be there.

And Then I Read: MARVEL COMICS #1000

Image © Marvel.

I was sent one of these because I lettered a single page in it (Miracleman). Celebrating the 80th anniversary of the company, it contains 80 one-page stories and a few other short things. Each story is labeled with a year and event from 1939 to 2019. Some of these pages work together to tell a complex story about a powerful mask that threads through Marvel history and is connected to a number of characters. I found that only mildly interesting. About two-thirds of the pages are one-off character moments, some humorous, some serious, and creators there include a large number of well-known Marvel writers and artists from the past to the present. I thought those were more fun to read. In a way, this book hearkens back to the beginnings of comics which often reprinted Sunday newspaper comic strips, each self-contained on a page, or in the early days of original comics material, imitated that idea too. I like longer stories generally, but this was a pretty good read, and it was fun to revisit some of the Marvel moments of the past that I recall from my own comics reading. I also thought it was kind of cool that I worked on this as well as DETECTIVE COMICS #1000, out recently, which has a more legitimate claim to the issue number.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN #12

Image © DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, art by Liam Sharp,
colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Tom Orzechowski

Hal Jordan faces his evil anti-matter version, the Qwa-Man in this final issue of GREEN LANTERN for a while. Hal is on the planet Weirwimm in the No-Zone, where Green Lanterns are not supposed to be. Despite that, he has a small group of Lanters with him that have not fared well against their powerful opponent. Some help is provided by the anti-matter version of Sinestro, but will that turn the tide? More help is on the way from the United Planets Superwatch if it can arrive in time, and there’s even a Zeta-beam in play. In the end, a dying Hal Jordan is offered the chance for a new affiliation if he wants to stay alive. The issue ends with little resolution.

The cast and conflicts of this series have grown ever more complex, and I’m no longer able to keep track of it all. This issue is mainly fighting, which is not my favorite kind of story, but it’s well done. Certainly the dialogue, art, coloring and lettering are all excellent. The story will continue in a new BLACKSTARS series, and later a new “season” of GREEN LANTERN will follow. My inclination is to pass on the former and wait for the latter.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR SEASON TWO #1

Image © Ahoy Comics

Just in time for Halloween, a new issue of this amusing horror title arrives in my mailbox. The main story is “The Tell-Tale Black Cask of Usher” written, pencilled and lettered by Dean Motter, inks by Alex Ogle, colors by Julie Barclay. Motter manages to combine at least a dozen Poe stories in this humorous adventure of the author himself. “What will turn up next?” I kept wondering, and each page brought a new smile even while the story itself is full of horror for the protagonist. Nicely done.

Hunt Emerson returns with more of “Poe and the Black Cat,” a funny two-pager along the lines of “Spy Vs. Spy,” and the issue is filled out by some illustrated poems and a text story. Oh, and a great cover that has nothing to do with the contents, continuing that Ahoy tradition.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: LYONESSE: THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS by Sam Llewellyn

Cover art by Jon Foster

Idris Limpet lives in coastal Westgate, a town in the sinking island of Lyonesse. In times past, walls were built around the island to keep the sea out, but in places it is now crumbling. There are also deep wells in the town of Wellvale where poisonous water erupts periodically, gradually killing parts of the island. From those wells, monsters are fished out that have surprising properties: if they dry out they become highly flammable fuel. The monsters are intelligent, and have unusual mental and physical powers.

Idris knows little of this until he is branded a Cross — a mix of monster and human — and slated for death. A stranger rescues him and brings him to his castle in Wellvale. The rescuer is Ambrose, a magician, who at first Idris takes for an enemy, but soon comes to see as his rescuer and friend. On the way to Wellvale they are joined by a girl Idris’ age, Morgan. The youngsters are to be trained as Monster handlers, something Idris proves good at, but his true destiny is far more important and dangerous.

This is the strangest version of the Arthurian legends I’ve ever read, based on versions told in the Isles of Scilly off the southern coast of England, the home of the author. It seems like a mix of those old stories with elements from Harry Potter and movies like “Monsters, Inc.,” an uneasy mix that works sometimes, but pulled me out of the story at others. Still, the writing is good, and I enjoyed the characters and setting. I will probably look for the sequel, thus far there’s only been one.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE DREAMING #13

Image © DC Comics. Written by Simon Spurrier, art by Dani, colors by Mat Lopes, letters by Simon Bowland, cover by Yanick Paquette & Nathan Fairbairn.

This is another fill-in issue of sorts, a departure from the main story and characters, though written by regular Simon Spurrier. The artist is named only Dani. I quite like the art this time. Very different from Evely, loose but with strong skill beneath it.

We are brought to a meeting of a support group in Brighton, England for mythological entities who are nearly forgotten. They are fading away, and not happy about it. Parallels are clear to many other kinds of fading traditions in British society. For instance, The Green Man, once a fertility symbol and pagan nature god, has been reduced to a beer-swilling Charlie because he’s mainly remembered on signs for pubs. The viewpoint character is Nikki, a sea goddess whose idea of fun is pulling swimmers to their deaths, but when she tries that now…it doesn’t work at all. One of the group declares they need to be seen to be remembered, and suggests an LGBTQ parade as the place to do it. Will that help them stay around?

The writing on this issue reminds me more of Neil Gaiman in tone than anything in the title so far, a neat blend of melancholy for lost things, humor, human insight, and obscure myth. It worked perfectly for me.

Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katharine Arden

Published in 2017, this first novel is fantasy with an unusual historical background, taking place in Russia in the fourteenth century, a time and place I knew very little about. Russia as a nation did not exist then, it was a collection of city-states and land owners under the general rule of The Golden Horde, the Asian invaders that swept into eastern Europe led by Genghis Kahn two hundred years previously. In the book they are off-scene and referred to as the Tatars. There is also the influence of the Eastern Orthodox church, which has a large presence in the area, holding positions of power in the cities, and with priests and monks in the countryside presiding over small churches.

The family of Pyotr Vladimirovich lives on the outskirts of the northern forests, where the old pagan gods and elemental creatures are still worshipped alongside the new Christian god in an uneasy partnership. Pyotr is the lord of his village and surrounding lands, but his family is not lordly. They work the fields, hunt and celebrate the seasons alongside their friends and fellow villagers. In addition to worshipping in their small church, they leave offerings to the local spirits of the house, the yard, the stable, and so on. Pyotr’s three sons and a daughter are surprised to learn that their mother is pregnant again. She is old and frail, and Pyotr thinks she will not live through her pregnancy, but Marina is determined to do so because her own unspoken powers sense her new daughter will have strong powers too. Marina gives birth to Vasilisa, called Vasya, but does not long survive her.

As Vasya grows, she comes to understand that the unusual creatures and powers inhabiting their home and land that she can see and talk to are not visible to others. In the forest she meets more dangerous beings, but manages to avoid their clutches. When Pyotr takes a new wife, Anna, it turns out she also can see the spirits, but to her they are demons, and she is frightened of what she sees, and spends as much time as she can in the church. When she realizes Vasya can see and talk to these spirits, Anna is sure she is a dangerous witch.

A new priest, Konstantin Nikonovich, comes to the village church, and he and Anna conspire against Vasya. After a while, Konstantin is seduced by a dark power that wants to destroy the village, while Vasya is befriended by another old god who tries to protect her and help her save the village and her family. As these warring elements clash in an escalating battle for the hearts and minds of the people, Vasya begins to discover her own magical abilities, but will they be enough to save her?

I enjoyed this book, and will buy and read the rest of the trilogy. I had some problems at first with the names because each person has two or more versions, and it makes keeping track of who is who confusing, but I found both the characters and the plot engaging and exciting. While this is largely a familiar battle between good and evil, there are many twists and turns that kept me guessing, and the magic and fantasy elements are fresh and unusual.

Recommended. Thanks to Andrea Bergner for the suggestion.

And Then I Read GREEN LANTERN #11

Image © DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, art by Liam Sharp,
colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Tom Orzechowski.

In some cases I’ve found it’s possible to enjoy the hell out of a series without really following the big picture. The overall plot of this comic is quite complicated, involving multiple universes, new-to-us Green Lanterns from some of them, also alternate versions of heroes like Superman, likewise an alternate Star Sapphire, a golden giant guarding a lonely outpost, Sinestro, and a hideous villain. The art, coloring and lettering are excellent, the characters’ dialogue is entertaining, the relationships and personalities are appealing. So what if I’ve lost track of the structure? This is the penultimate issue of this version of GREEN LANTERN. I look forward to what comes next.

Recommended.