Todd Klein's Blog, page 339

And Then I Read: BRIGHTEST DAY 22

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Hoping to finish this series this week. Issue 22 has it's entire focus on Firestorm Vs. The Anti-Monitor, as the cover blurb says. So, after months of building up Firestorm's power in the reader's mind, this character composite (two young men and one old one) face the biggest baddie of the original DC Crisis on Infinite Earths, and he's still pretty scary. Sort of like a giant, over-the-top Darkseid. Plus he has the Black Lanterns helping him.

Doesn't faze the hero, he's ready for it. I like the way Firestorm's been developed in this series, I actually believe he's up to the struggle, though it ends up costing him dearly. Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi have room to build their drama in this issue's singular focus, and they do it well. The art by Clark, Reis, Prado and Beaty looks great. In all, not a bad issue, despite being largely plot-driven, as this entire series is.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: LEGACIES 10

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

As this series draws ever closer to the present, I find less and less to interest me. Here writer Len Wein is synopsizing some of the "Final Crisis" event of a few years ago, which I didn't read all of, and didn't like much of what I read. When the focus is on the non-super characters, the family being followed from the first issue, it's more interesting, but largely predictable as some of their story arcs come to a conclusion.

The art on the main story is by two teams: Jesus Saiz and Karl Story, then Tom Derenick and Robin Riggs. It's okay, but compared to earlier issues by Garcia-Lopez and Perez, nothing special. And the framing sequence by Scott Kolins still doesn't work for me. The Blue Beetle backup by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal is better. Perhaps I should have dropped this title already, but thought it was worth reading through to the end. Is there one more issue to go, or is this it? It's not clear to me, though there are no "next issue" tags at the end of either the main story or the backup. In any case, I can't recommend this one.

Incoming: SHAME: CONCEPTION

Image © Renegade Arts, Lovern Kindzierski & John Bolton.

Just received a first printed copy of this book that I lettered, my first for Renegade. It looks great, the printing is excellent. If you're a fan of John Bolton's art (and it's hard not to be), I suggest you give it a look. Lovern's story keeps up quite well, too, I enjoyed it. Should be available now from your local shop, or from the publisher directly HERE.

Weekend Photos

We went to the beach Saturday for the first time this summer, and from that you might normally expect pics of the waves, sand, shore, maybe family shots. I did take a few of those, but these nature shots interested me more. There are storm sewer outflow pipes on the beach where we go to swim, and covering them are massive colonies of two shellfish species: barnacles (the lighter ones above) and mussels (the darker ones below). Each seems to have it's particular comfort zone and habitat.

Here's a closer look at the boundary. One can almost imagine a very slow turf war here between light and dark, an epic struggle.

Scattered along the beach were about a dozen large jellyfish, I believe the species "Lion's Mane," though I could well be wrong. The top part is a mushroom-like cap. Looking down into this one I can imagine some kind of dying alien intelligence looking back.

On the underside, in this case torn away from the cap, is a collection of anemone-like pseudopods, looking rather like a half-melted ice sculpture.

Sunday evening we went to the beach again for a fireworks display, in a different shore town this time, after a nice Mexican dinner. We brought our beach chairs and enjoyed the pleasant temperatures, also walked to the town hall to hear part of a classical music concert before settling in for the fireworks show. Here the fireworks are set off from a barge out in the water, and the show was typical, but quite fun. Who doesn't love fireworks, other than animals and war vets perhaps? And who can resist trying to photograph them, even when the results will mostly be poor. This one is the most in-focus attempt.

This one was the most colorful.

Today, July 4th, we're staying home to avoid the crowds. On our porch, Tigger and Leo are on Chipmunk watch, searching high and low, and we all saw the beast at lunch time. Other distractions like bugs are always welcome. Leo uncovered a HUGE horned beetle hiding in a crack at the edge of the porch yesterday, inside, and I greatly regret not getting a picture of it, but I have to admit I was a little freaked out myself. It must have measured at least two inches long, and I was anxious to get it outside quickly!

A few images from our holiday weekend, hope yours is good as well!

Four Years

Four years ago today I put my website online and started this blog. Still enjoying both, so no plans to change things! As of yesterday, I've put 568,683 words on the blog. Not as much about logos and lettering as I'd prefer in the past year, but when I get busy there's less time for that, so I guess it's not such a bad thing, really. Wordpress stats have recorded 756,611 views on the blog, and I didn't start using that feature right away, so I missed some. Still quite a lot, and my Logo Studies continue to get the most traffic, with Batman in the lead.

I don't really understand the stats on my website provided by Lunarpages, my web host, but the numbers are quite large. From what I can glean, there seem to be about 5,000 unique visitors a month to the entire website, and far more "hits," which are probably mostly searches that don't result in actual visits. Is that good? Seems so to me.

Recently I joined FaceBook, after resisting that social media site for years, and after an initial adjustment period, I've grown to enjoy it, and check in there frequently, posting at least once a day. Twitter is still not something I have any desire to take part in, but that could always change in the future. Is Facebook increasing my blog or website traffic? I can't tell, doesn't seem to be making a large difference.

To all of you reading this far, my fans and constant readers, thank you! I'll try to keep things interesting here in the coming year.

And Then I Read: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 11

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

This issue continues from the LEGION OF SUPER-VILLAINS one-shot, as the Legion goes after escaped prisoners set free by Saturn Queen, as part of her own escape from the prison planet of Takron-Galtos. Rimbor has some of them, and one team works there, while another is on the prison planet trying to find out what happened in the breakout. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 has his hands full as temporary leader, but soon finds himself off-duty in that job. And the big action scene is a one-on-one fight between Timber Wolf and the villain Sun Emperor in Kyoto, Japan. Lots going on, and the story is more fragmented than usual, but each part reads well, with the one-on-one the most exciting part.

The art is by Daniel HDR and Wayne Faucher, and while the storytelling is fine, I'm not liking the way some of the characters are drawn, they seem a little wooden and mannequinish at times. Perhaps the comparison to ADVENTURE brings that out, where I think the art works better for me. It's all minor things, generally the art is fine, and the story moves right along.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN CORPS 58

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Chapter 2 of the War of the Green Lanterns doesn't have as much going on as Chapter 1, in the main GREEN LANTERN book. My guess is that new things will happen there, and then the effects will show up in the other GL titles, as that's what's happening in this one. Parallax, the source of the yellow impurity that used to pester all Green Lanterns, is back in the main Power Battery, and trying to control all the Lanterns around Oa, including those two Earth chaps on the cover. This issue is mainly about that struggle, with Ganthet, the Guardian turned Green Lantern taking the worst of it.

As seen in the art above by Tyler Kirkham with inks by Batt and Rob Hunter, the Alpha-Lanterns are also out of commission. More trouble ahead, too, I'm sure, as the story begins to descend into darker places. Not as much to interest me in this one, but still generally an okay read and nice art. Recommended.

Munk Watching

As if the squirrels, birds, bugs and turtles weren't enough to keep them busy, the cats are now focused on a new visitor to the yard…

…a chipmunk! Not sure if it's the same individual we had last summer, but he zips around fearlessly right near the porch, driving the cats crazy. Tigger lodged a vocal protest with me, but I told him there's nothing I can do about it!

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN 64

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Thus begins the War of the Green Lanterns, and while I wasn't looking forward to another war, this issue does have some interesting moments. It begins with a nice one-page synopsis of Hal Jordan's origin in the Corps, then we cut to a group of GLs led by Salaak, bent on arresting Hal  as soon as they can find him. The rest of the group looks like new characters to me, though one is very froglike. The new "Green Man," perhaps?

Meanwhile, Hal and his rainbow alliance, with members from all the colors in the Lantern spectrum, are in the Lost Sector investigating Krona's activities, and they find the Book of the Black, a feature of the Blackest Night epic. What they uncover within is surprising and interesting. Back on Oa, Krona arrives with his newly acquired group of Entities, again one for each Ring color. What he does with them does not bode well for the Corps at all, especially his disposition of Parallax, the yellow entity of Fear. Things are changing fast!

The art by Doug Mahnke and a quartet of inkers is quite excellent, as has been the case on this title for some time. The colors by Randy Mayor and the letters by Steve Wands are also top quality. Okay, I admit it, I'm intrigued and want to see where this war is going. Recommended!

And Then I Read: KNIGHT & SQUIRE 6

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Class. Charm. Cleverness. Dry humor. Warmth. Like many of the British people I've met, this series has all those things, and in the final issue, it brings the characters and their American opponent full circle in a very satisfying wrap-up. Not all is jolly, lives are lost, tears are shed, but in the end the feeling I leave with is one of having a cracking good time. I only wish all the comics I try were this much fun.

The art by Jimmy Broxton is deft, precise and very sure of itself in every line and angle. The script by Paul Cornell is full of snappy dialogue as well as heartfelt emotion, and plenty of action is present, too. Of course, issue 6 of a miniseries is no place to start, but the trade paperback is out now, and I highly recommend it to you if you're not already reading the individual issues!