Still on the Shelf #71 – She-Hulk
About a year ago, Andrea Speed was kind enough to fill in for me on Still on the Shelf. She had suggested a title for the column – “What the &#^$ is Wrong With You?!” Granted, the title was a little more “explicit” than we could use on CX, but I do have to admit, it is how I feel sometimes.
We all see it – heck, almost all of us have participated in it from time to time. Austen-bashing. Who here has done a little of that? It is ok to raise your hands. We have all, at one point, complained about the work of a particular writer on a favorite series of ours. But in the end, the title that said creator is working on still sells extremely well. So the logic goes – in most cases, people hate the product, but continue to buy the book, while fantastic work by another writer continues to get low sales, and often times eventually gets cancelled (HERO, for instance, I am still so irritated by that cancellation), or worse (the fate of the entire CrossGen universe).
So my response is, “What the &#^@ is Wrong With You People?” How can it that almost nobody liked Austen’s take on X-Men, but the title still sold 5 times more copies than your average issue of Captain Marvel? No matter what reason you give, it makes almost no sense at all. If a particular writer is drawing so much scorn for his work, he should not be selling more copies of a comic than someone who is doing outstanding work on another title. At lease, in a perfect world, that is how it would go.
So then, I hear of rumors like the upcoming cancellation of She-Hulk. Is it going to happen? I really don’t know, I haven’t seen anything solid on the matter, but there is a buzz, and it is because of low sales. It is a frustrating and incomprehensible thing to watch happen, especially when you know that books like She-Hulk are so far superior to some of the books that sell over 50,000 copies a month.
So, I decided to bump my schedule a little bit and give some attention to She-Hulk. It really is one of the cleverest books on the market right now, one I think you should all be reading.
Cast of Characters
She-Hulk lived a charmed life, partying it up in the Avengers mansion, dating the sexiest men in the world, working as a lawyer by day and saving the world the rest of the time – things couldn’t be better. Until everything fell apart. She was fired from her job after a case she won was successfully overturned as a mistrial because the jury was unfairly influenced after She-Hulk saved their lives, and she was tossed out of the Avengers mansion because of her lifestyle and her abuse of Avengers privileges, things couldn’t look worse. Then she was given a new opportunity, and hired by Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg, & Holliway to work in their new superhuman law department. The catch? She was to be hired as Jennifer Walters, not the larger than life She-Hulk. She accepted, moved out of the Avengers Mansion, and began her new career.
Holden Holliway, senior partner of GLK&H, was the one who brought Jen over to the firm, and has high hopes for her, and her contributions to their new focus. The other two attorneys working with Jen are named Mallory Book, the former beauty pageant winner who is called by some “The face who never lost a case,” and Augustus “Pug” Pugliese, a former bouncer at a nightclub. Book looks down on Jen Walters, distaining her and viewing She-Hulk as little more than someone who can become tall enough to reach the top shelf and lift heavy objects when needed, while Pug rather likes Jen Walters herself, but doesn’t much like her glitzy alter ego, relating much better to the more human Walters.
Thoughts
This series is still very young, and has a great deal of potential ground left to cover. It is a clever concept – and the cases used so far in the story have been most entertaining. So far, we have seen everything from Danger Man, an ordinary worker who was doused with chemicals who sued his company for ruining his life by giving him super powers (his origin scene is a crack-up), all the way up to Spider-Man, who sued J. Jonah Jameson for libel. The different cases Jen works on gives this title a really fun feel, and provides more than enough comic relief to keep any reader happy.
But She-Hulk is about more than the humor. There is a lot going on in terms of character development here, something that can’t be said for a lot of comedy books. The life changes that She-Hulk goes through make for some of the best storylines – dealing with being tossed out of the Avengers Mansion (probably for the best, considering…), being forced to interact on the job as Jen Walters (feeling weak and insecure in that form), and beginning to balance two separate lives – one as a heroine and one as an attorney, something she really never had to deal with before as her identity is public. When I first heard about this title, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was afraid that it would be more of an action title. Thankfully, it is a good character story with the occasional humor and a large dose of “superhuman courtroom action.” There is a lot to offer in She-Hulk to be sure, and there will certainly be something here to appeal to almost any reader.
The cameos in this comic are wide-ranging and something I tend to look forward to. You get everything from Spider-Man himself to more obscure Marvel Universe characters like the Awesome Android – Slott has a wide range of options here, the nature of this title allows for virtually any character to make an appearance. So far, the cameos have been far from cheesy and have added a great deal to the fun-factor of this title.
Another interesting quirk in this title is its use of comics themselves. In She-Hulk’s world, Marvel Comics (printed before 2002) are “legal documents” which are admissible in court. This is explained by the fact that they bear the seal of the Comics Code of America, a Federal Agency. Therefore, the comics are legal documents. Silly, to be sure, but it adds just one more bit of humor to the book.
The art is pretty standard, and nothing really stands out so much that I am qualified to discuss it. We are being spoiled at the moment, Paul Pelletier did a guest stint on the title with issue 5, and I never have cause to balk at his work. Juan Bobillo is the title’s usual artist, and he will be returning to the book soon. He doesn’t have as sharp a style as Pelletier, but his work isn’t bad – he hasn’t given me much cause to complain about the art since the beginning of the title. As usual, though, I am more of a story guy, and the art does its job well enough, so I have no cause for complaint.
Don’t Take My Word For It
“I’ve been a fan of She-Hulk since the Byrne era, so I was a little skeptical of this title, but Dan Slott is winning me over. The book is very funny — although it’s a completely different kind of humor than Byrne did. Plus it’s a clever concept that will give Slott an opportunity to play with a lot of Marvel continuity, especially good at a time when most books seem to abandon continuity altogether. I’m really enjoying this title.” – Blake Petit, author and writer of Everything But Imaginary
Bottom Line
She-Hulk is yet another example of a great comic put out by one of the big two publishers that gets far overshadowed by other, substandard comics that for some reason continue to rake in the sales I don’t really know if the cancellation rumors are true, but She-Hulk sits right in that area where its sales figures are low enough that Marvel might consider the axe. And that would be a crying shame.
It is tough for people to break out of their purchasing habits, I understand this, and I am not totally immune to it myself. A lot of the reasons we buy comics is that we are fans of particular characters. Many comic readers couldn’t care less who is writing or drawing a book, they are more interested in the character themselves. They aren’t out to read a well-written story, per se, they are just interested in what is happening to Wolverine, or who the X-Men are fighting now. But if you are in-tune enough with the art form itself to complain about the writing talents of a particular scribe, I think you owe it to yourself to put your money where your mouth is. Well written titles like this one should not suffer at the expense of books that you think are poor in quality, and it is up to you, the consumer, to support titles like this one with your hard earned money.
The next issue of She-Hulk, #7, is due out next week on September 7th. The first trade should hit shelves in November if you are looking to get caught up on back issues!
Credit Where Credit is Due is
She-Hulk
Written by Dan Slott,
Drawn by Juan Bobillo, with
Inks by Marcelo Sosa,
Colored by Chris Chuckry,
Letters by VC’s Dave Sharpe,
Edited by Tom Brevoort, and
Published by Marvel Comics.
Post your comments in the Forum!
August 23, 2004
Off the Cuff: Edition 1
Off the Cuff – Edition 1
By Eric Barrett
Comics, Cartoons, and all things related
- Have you ever seen Rave Master on Cartoon Network? I love the animation – part anime and part video game. It’s simple yet complex all at the same time. However, the one thing I can’t stand is the animation style of the character named Plu. In the show Plu is described as a carrot-nosed dog. The running joke in the show is that everyone thinks it’s something else (like a cat, or a bug). Well I can’t stand how they animate it using these little squiggly lines around the edges. What’s that mean? Is it cold? Is it having a seizure? Was its animator having a seizure? I don’t get it.
- While on the topic of anime. One thing I do hate about that style of art is the dangling booger. Do we really need to see animated snot?
- Teen Titans. Most people don’t like this show, but frankly I think it’s the best superhero show currently running (okay so it’s really only competing with Justice League Unlimited, but still). One of my favorite parts about the show is that Beast Boy is always using different forms. The animators aren’t stuck with three or four generic forms. And for that I think they deserve some credit.
- I just picked up Ruule Vol 2 this weekend. I wasn’t a huge fan of the story, but that’s more because it wasn’t my style of story than anything else. I will say one thing about the story, the main ‘hero’ in the story gets into trouble and ends up in a fight. Well during this fight he rips someone’s arm off and uses it to beat up his attackers. Now that’s hardcore!
-I tried to get into Daredevil. I really tried. But I just couldn’t get past the animation style. I felt like I was trying to watch a TV show with a lot of static. That’s not really my style of art. But, I keep hearing good things about it from reviewers I trust (our own Andrea Speed for instance), so I’m going to give it one last shot. I’m going to jump aboard on issue 66, which starts a new story line. Wish me luck.
- Mark your Bat-calendars everyone. On September 11th the WB will launch a new animated series following the adventures of the caped crusader.
- Dragon Ball Z will always hold a special place in my heart (right next to my love of oatmeal) because it was this cartoon that really introduced me to the world of anime. Sure I had seen other anime and skimmed some manga before, but nothing made me want to come back for seconds. As time passed, I slowly found myself looking forward to the next episode of DBZ.
-Well, that love affair is apparently over. The show jumped the shark after the “Cell Saga”. And now Dragon Ball GT is just slow torture. I only watch it because I feel like I’ve put enough time into the DB universe that I need to see it to its conclusion.
- Speaking of Dragon Ball GT, when did Goku become a complete moron? He’s always been naïve, but it wasn’t until GT that he became an idiot.
- I don’t know about you, but I’m wary of the upcoming (and ongoing) Green Lantern book with Hal Jordan. I’ve never been a huge Lantern Corp fan. Perhaps it’s because I look at the Lantern Corp as a giant version of the UN. And since I so dislike the UN, I think it carries over. I’ll give the 5-issue Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series a shot and see how that goes. Maybe I can think of them as NATO instead.
- I have a confession to make. I love the $1.00 bin at my local comic book store. I hate to say this (I don’t want to give away good trade secrets!) but I find at least one good book per week in that bin. This week it was an issue of Dr. Strange wrapping up the Infinity Gauntlet storylines. The story itself wasn’t fantastic, but I’m a sucker for cosmic-level beings. Let me also just say, Adam Warlock juggling the solar system is cool.
- Speaking of Warlock and his juggling routine…He stops juggling and declares, “I shall let Natural Law hold sway again…so that centrifugal force may carry the planets” back to their original locations. (emphasis added)
-Pet peeve alert! There is no such thing as centrifugal force. Centrifugal force is the ‘force’ exerted on an object moving in a circular motion causing it to be ‘pulled’ outward. Think back to a time when you’ve been spinning very fast and felt yourself being pulled outward. Well, that feeling isn’t caused by centrifugal force. That “force” you feel is really a result of centripetal force fighting against the inertia of your body (because your body wants to travel in a straight line). Centripetal force is what causes you to continue traveling in your circular path. In the case of a satellite orbiting Earth, the centripetal force is gravity, and that is why the satellite doesn’t go flying off into the universe. You’d think an all-knowing and all-powerful being would know that.
Okay that ends today’s physics lesson. I feel better. Thanks.
-There’s a lot of Smallville news recently. I suppose it’s because they are gearing up for another season. I was a devoted follower of this show for the first 2 seasons. But with the start of season 3 (and in some ways the end of season2) they changed it from being a superhero story to being a teen drama involving a superhero. If I wanted to watch that, I’d be watching 90210.
- Well apparently The Phoenix will return (yet again) for a mini-series in February. Personally I think I’m looking forward to this series. Although I reserve the right to change my mind later! But what is interesting is this quote from Wizard World Chicago:
“The return of the Phoenix again — and I believe this will be the final time,” Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada said.
Okay, now everyone who believes this raise your hand. Yeah, that’s what I thought too.
- Identity Crisis: What can I say other than WOW! Great story, great art, great drama. It has it all so far. But it’s not just a comic book so much more. It has a philosophical, deep, and touching side. If more books were like this, the comic book medium would get a lot more respect. It’s just amazing. Meltzer, Morales, and Bair deserve a lot of credit for a fantastic book.
- More Identity Crisis? Sure. Looking at the first few pages of the fight with Slade, I think I might have to re-evaluate my opinion of him. I never believed he could do so much damage. Scary.
- Okay, one more: Does anyone else think that Superman’s profile in this book makes him look a little like Todd McFarlane?
Well that’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the first edition of Off the Cuff. Look for it again in two weeks. In the meantime, check out my other column Beyond Fact and Fiction at ComiXtreme. Later.
The opinions stated in here solely reflect the opinions of the author. If you would like to comment on some of the items in this article, please feel free to post in the forum or send an e-mail.
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Still on the Shelf #70 – Hard Time
DC, of the two major publishers, usually does a lot more than Marvel in promoting their new titles. At least in my opinion, that is. Even then, there are those that slip through the cracks. Not that DC didn’t promote the Focus line at all, it just didn’t get nearly the fanfare I thought it deserved. And even with the marketing that it did get, it seems that getting the word out isn’t enough for some of these books. And now a couple of solid titles might suffer cancellation as a result.
For those who don’t know, the idea behind Focus was to tell stories about ordinary people with super powers – people whose first instinct wouldn’t be to rush out and fight evil. While a couple of the titles seemed contrived and didn’t have a lot of depth, there are a couple that seem to have potential for long-term success. That is, if people buy them.
Fraction and Touch, two of the weaker titles (in my opinion), already appear to have been cancelled at issue six. That leaves my two personal favorites of the line – Hard Time and Kinetic, teetering on the edge. I know there are a few of you who read these titles when they first came out, and didn’t really connect with them (Hard Time in particular has suffered a drastic loss in readers) – allow me this chance to make a case for you giving at least one of these titles a second chance.
Cast of Characters
Fifteen year old Ethan Harrow was a student at Caulfield High School before his life was turned upside down. He and his friend, Brandon Snodd, sick of being picked on by the jocks and other popular kids in the school, decide to stage a little stunt to get even. Dressed in shirts reading “Jocks Rot in Hell,” and rubber masks, they take over the school cafeteria using guns Ethan believes are loaded with blanks. In a confrontation with the school’s star football player, Brandon snaps and opens fire, injuring the quarterback and hitting a few others. Ethan attempts to stop his friend, but a mysterious force (seemingly from Ethan), burns a hole through Brandon’s heart, killing him. Ethan is subsequently brought up on charges, and sentenced to fifty years in prison for his crimes.
Throughout the title, Ethan’s “powers” manifest themselves as a large spirit-like monster who roams the prison when he is agitated. Usually appearing when Ethan is unconscious or nearly-so, this spirit acts out on the urges that Ethan is far too weak to. Though this spirit usually does exactly what Ethan might like it to, he doesn’t know about it, and has no recollection of the spirit’s actions. He hears about the strange things that happen to people who have crossed his path, but has no idea that it is he who is causing them.
Ethan is transported to the State Pen along with three other inmates. George W. Cole, a large black man who takes an interest in Ethan. Though not willing to stick his neck out for the kid, he does take every opportunity to impart wisdom to Ethan, in hopes that he might be able to beat the odds and survive in prison. Turo Lopez is a young, Mexican gang-banger who has no fear of the prison, believing that his fellow gang members already inside will be able to protect him. Lewis Gatherwood is a nervous, unassuming man who was convicted of raping a young black girl and crushing her head in with a rock. Though Lewis seems clearly repentant about his crime, he is obviously mentally unstable, and has a serious target on his back in the prison, with other convicts gunning for him because of the nature of his crime.
Ethan’s cellmate is an older, irritable man named Curly Wallace. Curly is rarely seem outside of his cell, and works very hard to just stay out of everyone’s way. After 37 years in prison, he seems to be quite adept at surviving the prison. Though he doesn’t do much to help Ethan in any way, he always seems very happy that Ethan has managed to survive one more day in the prison.
Preacher Gantry believes himself to be the hand of God in the prison. He passes judgment on other inmates, and dishes out punishment to those he believes God has condemned. Preacher’s thoughts on Ethan radically shift over the course of this title, he sees him as either an ally of the Lord or the spawn of Satan, depending on what is going on in the prison.
“Cindy” is a young man that is probably exactly as you expect him to be by his name. He is very feminine, and is called “she” by the guards and other roommates. She shares a cell with one of the Aryan prisoners, who offers “her” protection. The Aryans use her as bait on more than one occasion, because of her unthreatening nature. Cindy gets Ethan into trouble just about every time they come in contact.
Thoughts
One of the key flaws in most of the DC Focus titles was their potential for longevity. In the case of Fraction in particular, it just didn’t seem that there was enough meat to the story to have it go on indefinitely. Those of you who read the first issue or two of Hard Time might have come to the same conclusion about this title, but over the past several issues, Steve Gerber has done a fantastic job expanding Ethan’s world in such a way that this series could go on for quite some time. In the other Focus titles, everything rests on the powers of the protagonists – how they come to grips with and use these abilities is a key aspect of the story, In Hard Time, Ethan’s abilities are nothing more than a tool that the main character occasionally uses to advance an already interesting story.
The story really is key in Hard Time – how a child could survive in an adult prison population makes a good story on its own. The powers add another dimension to the story, and allow Ethan to survive in situations where he should end up dead. His survival just serves to make things worse for him. Though there is no direct proof that Ethan is responsible for the spirit’s actions, most people believe he is linked to it, and those who fall victim to it, and their allies, seek out Ethan for revenge eventually, making his life all the more dangerous.
One thing I would be remiss if I didn’t tout for a moment is the recap page in each issue of Hard Time. It is layed out like a normal comic page might be, complete with panels depicting the major happenings of the last issue (or so), with narration boxed filling you in on key points that you need to take note of. It is a clever and effective way of handling the recap – done in such a way that even those who dislike that as a feature wouldn’t be too distracted. I can’t imagine that this hasn’t been done before, but it is the first time that I noticed it. It does an effective job of giving you everything you need to know without having to flip through the previous issue to get caught up, and reads just like the beginning of a comic might. Very well done, and very good for the new reader looking to jump oboard.
All of the books in the Focus line share a similar artistic feel. The style of drawing does vary a bit, but it is the muted colors of Avalon Studios that give the books a universal feel. I really didn’t like it so much at first, but with each issue, I find it harder to imagine the book colored any other way. In the case of Hard Time, the tone of the story itself is so dark that the coloring style is actually appropriate. The art itself is solid – the characters are distinct and easily identifiable. I did have some trouble with the look of some of the guards, as it is at times difficult to tell what sex they are. I know they are supposed to be men, but the chest is drawn in such a way on some of them so that it almost looks like they have breasts. Not that they are drawn in a “sexy” way, mind you, it is just a bit confusing to see a guard that you would swear is a woman, except for the mustache…
Bottom Line
Hard Time deserves a second chance, or a first one, if you haven’t read it yet. While I do think that DC was a bit too ambitious with the Focus line itself, Hard Time does deserve to continue on despite that miscalculation. I would love to see this title find its way over to Vertigo, I think it would be an excellent fit there.
A trade collecting the first six issues of Hard Time will be released – in October, if I am not mistaken. Hard Time #7 was recently released on August 4th, with the next issue coming out the first Wednesday in September. Check it out – Hard Time is worth a look.
Now, if I can get the Big Bossman’s theme music out of my head, I might be able to get some sleep tonight!
Credit Where Credit is Due
Hard Time is
Written and Created by Steve Gerber,
Drawn by Brian Hurtt, with
Colors by Avalon Studios,
Letters by Pat Brosseau,
Edited by Joan Hilty and Harvey Richards (Assistant), and
Published by DC Comics.
Post your comments in the Forum!
August 16, 2004
Still on the Shelf #69 – Ant
Well, I have touted this series a great deal since I read the first issue many months back. I interviewed the series creator, Mario Gully, for Comixtreme. Since then, I have made no secret in reviews and in the weekly X-World newsletter that Ant is my favorite title to come out of the very young Arcana Studio. So why haven’t I done a column on it yet? I couldn’t tell you- I don’t really have a good reason. Probably a good time to correct that problem!
Ant is unlike any “superhero” genre comic you have ever read. The very fact that you can come up with a creative twist on a storied genre like this one speaks volumes for the originality of the series. Instead of your standard “hero vs. villain” concept, you have the life of one troubled young girl, and alongside the story of her life in the comic, you find the story that she has written in her journal that helps her cope with the stress of her life. That story is Ant – and it is “the greatest story ever told.” At least, to some of those who have read it.
Cast of Characters
Hanna is a young girl just entering the fourth grade, who comes from something of a broken home. She is highly imaginative, and often delves into the stories in her journal to escape the hardships of her life. Unfortunately, sometimes it is her journal that makes life harder for her. In her journal, she writes the story of who she will become when she is older – the super-heroine Ant. Even though she keeps this story a secret, it tends to get out from time to time just what she is writing about. Adults feel that she is troubled and might need counseling, and other kids torment her about it, and call her “Bug Girl,” both behind her back and to her face.
But Hanna believes in her vision of Ant, and uses the story to escape the pain of her life. The story itself is very elaborate – when she is older, she sees herself developing a formula that would alter her cellular structure to mimic the exoskeleton of an Ant. As a byproduct, when the exoskeleton is active, she also shares the same abilities an ant has – strength, sticking to walls, the works. She can also use her antennae to block bullets, and often uses actual ants as a part of her arsenal. The suit does have its limits, though, as it is powered by her own blood-sugar. When her energy gets low, the suit crumbles. At least, until she can recharge herself.
Daniel Washington, Hanna’s father, is an ex-convict who is trying to turn his life around so his daughter can grow up in as stable of a household as possible. He was working as a construction worker, but one night, he approached his boss, Paul Hugo, about a promotion. Hugo agreed to move him up to accounting, but later that evening, Hugo was killed, and the blame was laid at the feet of Danny.
Betty, Hanna’s mother, was a stripper when she was with Danny, and continues to be one to this day. Danny left Betty when Hanna was young, since she wouldn’t stop dancing, and she eventually started dating Ryan Hugo, the son of the man Danny is accused of killing. Because of the embezzlement scandal that Danny was involved in before, she does not believe that he is innocent this time around. However, based on the events in the latest issue, there may be some doubt creeping in her mind.
Officer Inez took Hanna to school the day that her father was arrested, and continues to be involved with the Hugo case. Though most of the department believes that he is guilty, she is the one dissenting voice – the only one in the department who thinks that there is more going on than meets the eye.
Thoughts
As a first comic outing for Mario Gully, I have to say that I am impressed. The story in Ant has many levels to it, and he has an extremely imaginative concept here.
The main story in Ant really is about Danny, and not Hanna. Danny has been set up as a murderer, and it is that mystery that really drives the story. But Hanna has her role to play as well. Her part of the story mostly deals with her reactions to what she sees going on around her, and how that manifests itself in the story she tells in her journal. The troubles in her life are translated on paper into the Ant story, and the harder things get for her, the tougher things get for Ant. Even if the story, so far, isn’t really about her, the emotional roller-coaster she is going through in reaction to the actual story adds a degree of depth that makes Danny’s story all the more meaningful. I don’t know if this is what Gully had planned for this series, but it works nonetheless.
Gully also handles the art duties for this series. I don’t have much of an eye for “style,” but his work is effective for the story. There is a degree of provocative posing with the women (and the very nude adult Hanna in her Ant costume), but it is not thrown in your face so much to be off putting. More importantly, it isn’t used to make up for a weak story, so it isn’t something I would be too critical of. The characters are very distinct – you will never have any trouble knowing who is who on a panel, and they are also quite memorable. One look at Hanna’s “nemesis” from school, Carrie Wolff, and you will never forget who she is again. Gully effectively tells the story through his art, and that is the most important thing to me.
My biggest question is – what is next for Ant, after this arc comes to a close? After reading the first issue, I really felt like I wanted an Ant story with Hanna grown up. Maybe I was looking for more of a Spider-Man-type hero story? I have to say that my thoughts have changed over the next couple issues. I no longer want a traditional hero story out of this – Ant is much more effective as a fantasy. Though I do enjoy the interludes into Hanna’s imagination, Ant is not the main draw of this title, it is the very real story that Gully is telling that is the most interesting. The Ant story only serves to enhance that. Assuming Danny is eventually vindicated, I am curious to see what other life experiences Hanna will pay witness to, to be inspired to write in her journal. What is Ant like when she is happy? Mildly upset? What does she write about when she is mad at her father for punishing her? There are many directions Gully could go here, and I am curious to see what else he can come up with.
Bottom Line
Ant is really nothing at all like I expected it would be. If you look at the covers, you find a very shapely hero in a skin tight, red, ant suit, and expect your typical fan-boy drool fest. And even though that isn’t what you get with Ant, the covers are still appropriate, and I kind of like that this series defies convention like that. It is possible and sometimes appropriate to have a cover like this when the sex-appeal of a comic is not it’s number one drawing point, believe it or not.
Ant is a title that can make you think, and I appreciate that all the more. The very fact that my expectations for this story have grown with each issue I have read impresses me. How many titles can you like for one reason after the first issue, and like for a completely different reason two more issues down the line? That says something pretty positive about Ant, in my humble opinion. I think you will find that you enjoy this title just as much as I have if you give it a shot.
In addition to the Arcana Studio Presents issue released on Free Comic Book Day (if you want a free taste of Ant, and you can find one!), Ant #3 was just released recently, and could still be on the shelf at your local comic shop. It is available through Diamond, so your shop should have no trouble ordering an issue.
Credit Where Credit is Due
Ant is
Written, drawn, and inked by Mario Gully, with
Letters by Sean O’Reilly,
Script Assists by Tina Gully,
Colors by Arcana Studio – Stefani Renee, and
Published by Arcana Studio.
Post your comments in the Forum!
August 9, 2004
Still on the Shelf #68 – Opposite Forces
On one side, you have a beautiful, perfectionist, up-and-coming lawyer who doesn’t have time for anything that doesn’t fit into her schedule. On the other you have a dumpy, sci-fi loving comic book geek who is quite enamored with said woman, but is naturally too afraid to say two words to her (and she is pretty disgusted by him altogether). Give them superpowers, and make it so that their powers only work (well) when they are 100 yards of each other, and you have the making of a pretty funny comic concept.
Opposite Forces is the brainchild of sometime Disney animator Tom Bancroft. The first four-issue mini of Opposite Forces has wrapped up, but Bancroft has suggested that more is to come. What better way to encourage a return to this title than to get all of you to pick up a few issues? Yeah, I enjoyed it that much, and I think you will too.
Cast of Characters
Captain Dynamo – hero to the masses. By day he is mild-mannered photojournalist Jack Gent, but when he is needed (or there is a good photo-op), he sheds this façade and becomes the larger than life hero, with the ego to match. Dynamo possesses all of the powers and abilities that have become comic mainstays – flight, super strength, super speed, invulnerability, a healing factor, heat and X-Ray vision, to name the bulk. About the only one he doesn’t have is super-hearing, but he sure pretends that he does.
Captain Dynamo made something of an enemy of Emperor Gink of Planet Tenalp (Hey! A palindrome!), who seeks to eliminate Dynamo (not kill! He must be alive for his humiliation) so that he can send his army to invade the protectorless Earth. So, after spending years drying up all his his planet’s resources to build a super weapon capable of getting the job done, he launches his attack, only to find something has gone wrong. It seems that it was successful in removing Dynamo’s powers, but due to the addition of a foreign substance in the mix (Matzo Ball soup, to be exact), his powers were not eliminated, rather, transferred to others. The now powerless Jack Gent spends his time trapped in a sanitarium, trying to conceive anyone who will listen that he is indeed Captain Dynamo, and that this is all part of an evil plot by one of his many enemies.
Marty Knopf is your typical comic book geek. He loves sci-fi TV shows, is a web designer by trade, and collects comics and action figures (unopened, of course!). He is also extremely shy with the ladies, having an unending crush on his neighbor across the hall, Alexis Hilltop. Alexis is also your typical object of affection for a comic geek- a strong, independent woman who has a general distaste for her sometimes creepy neighbor. She concerns herself more with work than fun, living life by a very strict schedule, and setting her sights on becoming a partner at her law firm.
Of course, the geek will have his day, and he finally gets up the nerve to talk to Alexis the very same day that Gink sets his evil plan in motion. So, together in an elevator, Alexis and Marty are hit by the same blast from Gink’s superweapon that is meant for Captain Dynamo (who is currently waiting for the elevator to arrive at his floor as Jack Gent). As a result, Captain Dynamo’s different powers were divided up and “absorbed” by the both of them.
Of course, they were not the only ones affected by the blast at the elevator. Marty’s dog Bopper also gained a bit of Dynamo’s power. It seems the good Captain possessed a degree of super-intelligence, and the dog became smart and self-aware, gaining the ability to speak. Alexis’s dog was also affected by the blast, but not in a friendly way. Waggles became something of a rampaging monster, angry at Alexis for years of neglect. Though most of this story is centered on the Intrepid Two’s discovery of their powers, Waggles does serve as the main foe they must confront by the end of the series.
Thoughts
This title fits very much into the same vein as Mike Kunkel’s Herobear and the Kid, in that it is an all-ages friendly title that doesn’t talk down to the reader. I have spent a good deal of time writing about books like this, because I don’t really feel that comfortable with the sheer number of comics these days that I wouldn’t dare show a child. Opposite Forces proves once again that you can have a fun, well-made comic that an adult can enjoy with a child, and comics still needs more books like this.
It is also apparent that Bancroft has drawn some inspiration from Herobear and the Kid. Early in Opposite Forces #1 you can find a small Herobear reference in the form of a drink coaster. About this, Bancroft says “The “Herobear” reference is a tip-of-the-hat to Mike because I wouldn’t have gotten off my duff and did this if he hadn’t have gone first!”
About the only bad thing to come out of Herobear in this title is the art style. In issue #3, Bancroft switches from the clean look of inks to the un-inked pencils approach that works so well for Kunkel in Herobear and the Kid. Not that this is a bad style, but throughout the first two issues of Opposite Forces (and the first two pages of issue #3), I had grown accustomed to the inked look, and it was a hard change to get used to. Beyond that, though the series does work in pencils, I do think that this book is better suited towards the inked style. I am not going to damn this book for that change, as it is still top-notch with just the pencils, but I can’t help feeling that Bancroft should have stuck to his guns with the art style, at least through the end of this first series.
The rest of the parallels to Herobear and the Kid are not so obvious, but Bancroft does take what is best about Herobear and makes it his own here in Opposite Forces. I have already mentioned the all-ages story. Added to that is the fantasy about becoming a hero. Much like Tyler, Marty is exactly the sort of character who might daydream about donning tights and fighting evil, and is nothing short of ecstatic when he finally has the chance to do so.
I know I have mentioned Herobear a lot so far in this column, and please don’t misinterpret that as my suggesting that this title is nothing but a rip-off of that title. Many of you recall my column about Herobear and the Kid some weeks back, and I do know that there are those of you who took my advice out there and checked that title out. Knowing that you no doubt enjoy that title as much as I did, I think the comparison is important here. If you were to break up comic of all sorts into different genres by style and content, Opposite Forces would be right next to Herobear in that very small cubby hole. In short, if you like Herobear, you will damned sure enjoy Opposite Forces. That is a promise.
On its own, Opposite Forces does relate to all of us. No matter what degree of “comic fan” we are, there is something about Marty that we can relate to. Sure, not all of us are pudgy recluses who collect comics, obsess over science fiction, and ogle attractive woman, but never have the guts to talk to them. But that guy is in all of us, to some degree (save you fine ladies who enjoy the comics – I have no idea whether this appeals to you or not!), and his character is well written enough that we can understand exactly where he is coming from. Alexis, too, has her points in that regard. Having grown a bit myself, I can understand the deadline driven life that makes you avoid smelling the roses in order to succeed. The opposites are clearly defined here, and I think that there are parts of us that can relate to both points of view that these characters bring to the table. So you just gained super powers through some inexplicable force. Are you excited about it and eager to begin your life as a hero, or are you annoyed to have your life upset by these changes, and angry at anyone remotely involved with the event? In me, it would be a little of both, and I expect that is true for most of you as well.
Bottom Line
There is another similarity to Herobear and the Kid here – this title just never seems to come out! Issue #1 came out way back in 2002, and the latest issue just came out this year. This is often something of a problem with these small press/self published titles – they rarely come out, either due to a day job by the creator (I can understand that!) or some other issue. Anyone who is still patiently waiting for a new Pete, the P.O.’ed Postal Worker (I might be the only one anymore!) knows exactly what I am talking about. In this case, I think Bancroft’s real job certainly contributes to new issues of Opposite Forces being such a rare thing. It does make it difficult to really get into a title like this, but sometimes when it is worth it, you have to just suck it up and do what you can to remind the creator that you are out there waiting!
Though this first mini has come to an end, Bancroft has suggested that he would very much like to do more Opposite Forces in the future. The way I see it, the more people read the first series, the more people will demand that another one come out! As to where to pick up a copy of Opposite Forces, that might be a task. Funny Pages Press’s website is in some serious need of updating (It is still heralding the arrival of issue #3 from about a year ago!) and they don’t currently sell issues online there. I am afraid I can’t be much help to your quest, as I can’t uncover an online shop for those issues myself, but asking your local comic shop might be a good place to start. Hopefully, in the next couple of days, I will have a direct link for anyone looking to purchase back issues. No word on a trade at the moment, which may be the best way to go, so individual issues it is! I know it seems like a lot of work, but this one is worth it.
Credit Where Credit is Due
Opposite Forces is
Written and drawn by Tom Bancroft, with
Letters by John Trent, Greg Hardin and Chris Eliopoulis,
Covers by Various (Including J. Scott Campbell and Frank Cho), and
Published by Funny Pages Press.
“So Marty, even though I can talk and everything, we’re still Best Buddies, right? Then is it still ok for friends to run friends’ tummies?” – Bopper, OF #3
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