Todd Klein's Blog, page 368

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN 54

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Atrocitus, the Red Lantern in this story is my least favorite character. I found the entire Red Lantern idea repulsive in previous storylines, and I don't see anything to change my opinion here, even his new feline sidekick. Moving on from that, the trio of Sinestro, Star Sapphire and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) are making a little progress in understanding the White Lantern, but it only leads to more questions. They're questions that seem worth asking, though, and they lead back into Brightest Day, which so far is holding my interest. Finally we have the mysterious hooded mastermind on the planet Daxam apparently resurrecting the Green Lantern known as Ion, if I'm reading that correctly. Since I don't think I read any stories about Ion I'm not sure if that's something I want to know more about or not, but am willing to see what comes of it. Finally, on the last page, we have the return of Lobo, never a character I particularly liked, though sometimes he's amusing when played for laughs. Doesn't seem to be the case here. A mixed bag of storylines.

Here's that blood-spitting, criminal dissolving cat. If you like that sort of thing, I imagine this issue will please you. As for me, I can only mildly recommend it.

New York Comic Con 2010 Saturday

Friday night I drove to my Mom's place in north-central New Jersey, and Saturday morning took the train in from there to New York to attend the con, just walking around and talking to folks mostly. It was an easy walk from Penn Station, one short block north and three long blocks west. From the outside the Jacob Javits Center is rather gloomy, like Darth Vader's greenhouse…

…but the lobby inside was spacious and reminiscent of San Diego. I haven't been to a New York con in quite a few years, and have never been to this convention center. It seems big enough, though one section was closed off for construction. I heard the con was sold out for the weekend, though, so maybe it's not quite big enough.

One side of the con was publisher booths and all kinds of items for sale, plus a few large media/movie/gaming exhibits, but a lot less than San Diego. When I got inside around 10:30 AM, the aisles were still easy to navigate, but they got increasingly crowded and by afternoon were packed and often at a near standstill in places.

I was here mainly to talk to friends or work partners, and the first two I ran into were at the Marvel booth: editor Lauren Sankovitch and letterer/writer/artist Chris Eliopoulis. We had a good chat. Chris also introduced me to some of the letterers that work for him in his studio, and we talked briefly about how lettering has changed since we both got started. It was nice to meet Lauren in person for the first time, we've worked on several books together. She's the only editor I ran into at the show, a somewhat surprising thing.

Also ran into colorist/painter/teacher José Villarrubia, who's keeping busy with color work for Dark Horse on lots of Conan books, as well as responsibilities as department chair at his school.

At the Avatar booth I met artist Jacen Burrows, currently drawing NEONOMICON by writer Alan Moore. I bought the second issue, which he signed for me, and we talked about working with Alan's lengthy but terrific scripts.

There seemed to be more traditional book publishers at this show than San Diego. It makes sense since many of them are headquartered in New York, and nearly all had at least some graphic novels to promote.

After some time in this area I went through the hall behind the construction zone to the other side where Artists' Alley was large and busy, with the Autograph area next to it, also busy.

Here's Adam Hughes doing a cool con sketch for someone. Lots of artists were sketching…

…including Brian Bolland, who I haven't seen in many years. We had a good talk, and exchanged emails so we can stay in better touch. Brian does most of his work on the computer now, so a sketch from him is a valued prize.

Another old friend I was very happy to see, José Luis Garcia López. We worked together on the first DC Style Guide in the early 1980s, and amazingly, he's still working on that and many other projects for DC Licensing. José is one of the best artists in the business, and his infrequent appearances in regular comics, like the recent WEDNESDAY COMICS, are always a treat.

It was lunchtime, so I headed to the lobby, passing this impressive piece of chalk art in progress. The show is also an anime festival, and while I'm not into that, there was plenty of manga art to see and buy, manga artists to meet, and manga publishers, costume vendors and so on mixed among the comics booths. Downstairs there's a food court with what looked like good vendors, but also very long lines, so I decided to walk outside to find a place for lunch.

There's nothing close to the Javits Center except a McDonalds, so I had to walk about six blocks to find other choices, one definite downside to the con, but once you get to 9th Avenue there are lots of small restaurants to choose from. On the way I saw this unusual shop. I passed by the intriguing Indian Tandoori Pizza place and had sushi at a Japanese one, then headed back to the con, refortified. My feet were already pretty sore, but I had a few more hours to spend there.

Back in Artists' Alley I found Dean Ormston, who I haven't seen in a long time, surrounded by the pinup art of his significant other Fiona Stephenson. We worked together several times, and will again in the future on a project not yet announced.

This is writer Ivan Brandon, who I've done a little lettering for on his 24/7 anthologies, one of which is shown here. Ivan's a smart guy and we talked about the challenges of working with large groups of artists.

I ran into John Clark, who I worked with for years on Disney comics for Gladstone and Gemstone. Now that the license has gone to Boom Studios, John is looking for lettering and production work, and making the rounds here.

I met José Marzán Jr. in person for the first time, though we've been working together for years. José is currently inking HOUSE OF MYSTERY for Vertigo, which I letter. There were lots of others I talked to as well, including letterer Dave Lanphear, Paul Levitz, Chrissie Zullo, and many more than I can attempt to list here, because I might leave someone out. My feet got more tired, but I enjoy the afternoon as much as the morning, even though it got increasingly hard to walk the aisles.

Line control was a problem in many places, where lines blocked aisles, and there didn't seem to be a lot on con attention to that, unlike in San Diego. DC and Marvel, at least, have their own line police. Love the shirt on this guy.

One of my last stops was the Abrams booth, where I bought a signed copy of the new biography of Jerry Robinson, and was able to thank him in person for talking to me about his designing of the Batman and Robin logos in the 1940s, which I covered in THIS article. The book looks fascinating, and I'll review it when I've read it.

At 3:30 it was time to walk back to the train station and head home to my Mom's place for dinner with her. It's always hard to leave New York, there are dozens of other places and things I wish I had time for, but I need to drive home Sunday morning and get back to work. It was a good con, don't know if I'd want to go every year, but perhaps I'll be back in the future.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH 1

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

While billed as a part of the Brightest Day storyline, this issue has none of it, which is just as well, as it needs to return Barry Allen to his role of The Flash, set up his civilian life (once again in a police lab, but a much more CSI one now), relations with Iris, and the return of old villains as well as some new ones, plus get in some thrilling Flash action. Sounds like a lot, but writher Geoff Johns handles it all with ease in this impressive story. While the preceding miniseries FLASH REBIRTH seemed rather a frantic jumble of action, here Barry Allen gets to relax a bit and settle in, between the battles.

Artist Francis Manapul is using the style last seen on his Superboy stories in ADVENTURE COMICS. It's a slightly cartoony approach in the figure work, with a soft rendering using gray washes, almost a watercolor look. Not what one would expect in an action hero, but I like it a lot; it's refreshing and charming. Manapul does a nice job with the quieter moments, but is no slouch in the action scenes either. And I like the wide variety of shot and angle choices, from very close to very wide, overhead to ground level looking up. I grew up on Carmine Infantino's FLASH, and I still like that approach, but Manapul does equally fine things in his own unique way. Good stuff and recommended.

New York Bound

I'll be at the New York ComiCon Saturday, just walking around. If you're there and see me, say hi. I'll have my camera and hope to report on it here Sunday.

And Then I Read: BRIGHTEST DAY 1

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

I'm way behind on reviewing this saga, but will start addressing that now. Having read well ahead of this particular issue, I can say I like the overall storyline much better than Blackest Night. Instead of constant battles, BRIGHTEST DAY is a collection of mysteries that unfold gradually for each of the major characters involved, so we get a good bit of character exploration, surprising twists and mysteries are uncovered and investigated, and only a moderate amount of violent action. A much better mix in my view. The central puzzle revolves around a white lantern that no one can move: obviously powerful, surely something momentous behind it, but we don't know what yet. The uneasy triumverate of Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Carol Ferris Star Sapphire, and Sinestro investigates. Deadman, no longer dead but apparently a puppet being tossed around by the power behind the white lantern, sort of ties together the disparate storylines, and his own story is more interesting than I ever remember it being before. Aquaman and Mera seem much more powerful than I've seen them elsewhere, and some of their power is strange even to them. Firestorm, J'onn J'onnz, and the Hawks (man and woman) are also involved in their own mysteries. I like this approach, it's keeping me guessing as to where things are going, and all the storylines are involving.

Another surprise is that the book has five pencillers and four inkers. I'm not sure how the art is being divided up, but probably each penciller concentrates on one or two storylines. Despite that, the art seems pretty consistent, there are no wildly divergent approaches. Has DC developed a new house style? However they're doing it, it works for me, and looks good.

Recommended.

Go Halladay!

The second post-season no-hitter in baseball history? Way to start off the Phillies' post-season! Go Phillies!

Fantastic Four "4″ design intrigue

These sketches of the costume symbol are drawn on the back of the original art for FANTASTIC FOUR #3 page 16, the issue being drawn, of course, by Jack Kirby. Several bloggers have been trying to figure out who did them and what relationship they have to the actual costume symbol that first appears in this issue. You can read about it HERE and HERE, and probably other places as well. Did Stan Lee draw them? He's still around, and might remember, though he's notorious for his bad memory about such things. Sure would be interesting if someone asked him…

And Then I Read: THE TRIAL OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Okay, lots of things waiting for reviews, and I'm starting with this one because I enjoyed it so much. I'm not a big mystery fan, but the A. Conan Doyle Holmes stories are an exception. I'd never read a comic that captured the true flavor and excitement of those stories until now. Writers Leah Moore and John Reppion start with a brilliant idea: putting Holmes himself on trial for murder, and they execute it perfectly, showing the reader the entire crime set up and aftermath except for the few minutes that Holmes was alone in a locked room with the victim. Holmes then goes on the run, but is soon caught, jailed, and put on trial. Meanwhile, Dr. Watson and Inspector LeStrade are doing what they can to investigate the crime, but against the wishes of Holmes himself. Moore and Reppion bring great insight to the supporting cast and their moral dilemmas, while keeping us out of Holmes' own head, all the while playing fair with the reader about the murder, something that is very hard to do in a comic, where any visual clue is liable to become obvious quickly. How will the great detective get out of this one? What really happened in that locked room? It's a corker!

The art, while not bad, is not as successful as the writing. Artist Aaron Campbell has a tendency to put a lot of lines on faces, especially older ones like Watson and Mrs. Hudson, but his ink line is heavy and it tends to look more like dirt than wrinkles. Another problem, not really his fault, is that all the men in the story dress essentially alike, so at times it's not clear who is who, especially in long shots. Campbell's depiction of Holmes is not very distinctive, either, it lacks the strong profile that made the character work on the large and small screens, and even on the fine cover by John Cassaday. That said, he handles the storytelling well, and his period settings and costumes look good.

If you enjoy mysteries, and especially Sherlock Holmes ones, this is terrific reading and highly recommended.

Fire on the Mountain

Today we left our "frontier cabin" in Mammoth Hot Springs. We liked it here, though if we came again we might stay in the main hotel instead.

But, hey, where else can you find Elk on your doorstep?

Our route took us down the east side of the Yellowstone grand loop road, and over Dunraven Pass, which had been closed most of the time we've been out here due to a forest fire. We could still see it smoldering in the valley below. This fire had been started by lightning, then managed by the park fire fighters into a controlled burn. We'd seen the smoke some days, but not been affected by it.

Driving past Canyon Village, where we'd seen the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone earlier we came to Hayden Valley, which we'd visited on our first day in Yellowstone. There were still lots of Buffalo to be seen. We also spotted two more Black Bears and a Coyote with them, perhaps hoping they'd provide him with food. Though we were sure of our identifications, we heard some visitors calling these beasts Grizzly Bears and a Wolf. Thus are tall tales born…

We stopped for a picnic lunch on the shore of Yellowstone Lake, where the sand is dark gray.

A close look shows why: much of it is volcanic rock, either gray pumice or shiny black obsidian.

It makes for an unusual and attractive beach.

On our first day here we'd passed by the Great Thumb Geyser Basin, so we toured it now. Perhaps the most unusual thing here is the geysers right on the lake shore.

Like others we'd seen, this hot spring was full of color.

Doesn't this look like some kind of tropical pool and coral reef? It's a detail from the edge of another hot spring pool.

Reluctantly we continued south out of Yellowstone and back into Grand Teton National Park, where we found the peaks obscured by another fire, which we later learned was again a controlled burn. They have a regular program of them every year, trying to avoid the massive fires of the last decade or two by allowing small areas to burn off. It's part of the natural process here.

The smoke-shrouded mountains and the Aspen and Cottonwood trees, now all ablaze themselves, made for some wonderful photo opportunities, and there were plenty of people taking them. This is my best one. Interestingly I found the trees looked brightest when lit from the side, as here, rather than with the sun behind me, as I would have thought.

Late afternoon we were back in the town of Jackson, where the town square is decorated in a very unusual way with these arches, one on each corner. What are they?

Elk antlers! Elk gather in large grasslands just north of town in the winter, shedding their antlers, and in the spring Boy Scouts collect them and sell them to raise money for their activities. We saw other antler structures around town, a bizarre sculpture medium.

Here's some of the National Elk Reserve. The Elk at Mammoth Springs probably won't come here, it's too far, and they have other wintering grounds to the north, but many will.

The Reserve headquarters lawn was full of Canada Geese, just like so many where we live. And like them, we'll be migrating back to New Jersey tomorrow. We've had a wonderful time here, great weather, and sights that we'll always remember. This trip was inspired by the Public TV series on America's National Parks by Ken Burns that aired last winter. The images of Yellowstone and Grand Teton convinced us we had to come, and it was worth every penny we spent and more. Come see them if you can.

Regular comics-related posting will resume in this spot tomorrow, most likely.

Group Howl

Sept. 25: We were both up early this morning, on a mission to see wildlife in the Lamar Valley, about an hour's drive east of Mammoth Hot Springs, where we're staying. We were on our way by 7:30 just as sunrise was hitting the western mountain tops. On our way we stopped to see a Black Bear near the road eating huckleberries, but it was too dark to get a picture of him.

I did get a nice picture of this Mule Deer buck crossing the road, the second we've seen on the trip.

Lamar Valley is known as one of the best places in the park to see large mammals, and it didn't disappoint.

Herds of bison were spread across the grassy valley. Some were crossing the Lamar River…

…and a few young males were sparring on the other side, doing the snorting and scratching the front hooves in the dirt thing, then pretending to butt heads, but not with much conviction.

The mammals Ellen most wanted to see were Wolves, and when we saw this gathering of watchers beside the road near the old Buffalo Station (where Bison were reintroduced to the park in the early twentieth century), we correctly surmised that wolves were nearby. Actually, just barely visible on a ridgetop with our binoculars, a little easier to see with scopes, which the Wolf Watchers kindly let us see through. This was the Lamar Valley Pack, and they live around that ridge, so crowds of hopeful watchers do too. Not great looks, way too far for photographs, but at least we saw them. And we got to hear them all howl together, too, a wonderful sound.

We also saw two more Black Bears, this being the best shot I got of one again eating huckleberries, and a distant Grizzly Bear, a fairly rare sighting. There were also hawks and other birds to watch.

Heading back west and then south to Tower Falls, we found some female and young Bighorn Sheep near the road, thus completing our large mammal quest for the trip, having already seen Coyotes, plenty of Elk and a few Moose. The feline mammals like Mountain Lion are almost never seen.

Tower Falls is impressive, with erosion-carved towers of stone around it, but the lighting for pictures wasn't so good.

Nearby this calcite cliff indicates thermal activity, though it's minor and subtle.

We also liked these cliffs showing strata of old lava flows, the column-like sections.

After having lunch there we came back to Mammoth Hot Springs to visit the Lower Terrace thermal features we'd not seen yesterday. Now, both the park information and the guide book we bought about Yellowstone paint a somewhat deceptive picture of these features, using phrases like, "always changing." In fact, large areas of the once vital hot springs and white terraced pools are now dry, crumbling away, and being recaptured by grass and shrubs. Liberty Cap, above, is the first thing you see of the Lower Terrace, and it's a good example, an ancient geyser cap, long silent.

On the east side is Palette Spring, still active and interesting to see, but many of the other Lower Terrace features are dry.

Here's Ellen studying the trail map on another blazing hot day here. "It's a dry heat," she says sarcastically, "but it will still kill you." Must have been 90 degrees in the sun.

In one shady part of the boardwalk path I finally got a picture of a Magpie. Not a great one as his head was in shadow, but you can see how handsome they are.

And in a place where the once-white terraces were caving in, a Raven had found a perch.

If you ever come to Mammoth Hot Springs, here's what I'd advise. Drive to the Liberty Cap, walk the short trail to Palette Spring, then skip the rest of the Lower Terrace. Drive to the Upper Terrace, park and walk to Canary Spring, the most active and prettiest of the terraced springs. Walk the trail to the highest point, the Overlook. Then drive the rest of the Upper Terrace, stopping at the Orange Spring Mound. The rest is not worth your time, in my opinion. Perhaps things are different in the spring, when the weather is wetter, I don't know, but in the fall that's how things are. Generally the thermal features around Old Faithful are the best in the park.

Back in town, though, the Elk Rut show was still on. Not as crazy as yesterday, with the alpha male, above, in charge of the main herd of females, and just a pretender hovering on the sidelines trying to steal a few. We listened to one of the park rangers talk about the elk and their mating season for about an hour while watching the show and listening to this bull bugling, and learned a lot. In all, the elk alone are a great reason to visit here this time of year. Oh, and the food at the hotel restaurant was the best we've had in the park.

Tomorrow we take a long drive south back to Jackson, probably making a few stops along the way. More then.