Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Wildstorm

Crushing Krisis: Blog of Tomorrow (a Patreon launch event)

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Behind-the-Scenes at the Patreon Introduction Video

Behind-the-Scenes at the Patreon Introduction Video

patreon-squareWelcome to a very special month of Crushing Krisis, which I have dubbed “Blog of Tomorrow”!

Why is it so special? I’m glad you asked!

I am marking my ten-year anniversary of using WordPress with the launch of a Patreon campaign. Patreon allows readers to become Patrons who cover the costs of running CK.

Rather than tempt you to pledge your support with promises of future content you can only imagine (and that I might not be able to produce), I’m bringing you the real thing – along with the 16 years of blog posts and comprehensive Marvel Collecting Guides you already love.

For the next 30 days you’ll get a future vision of what I think CK could be a year from now with your regular support and interaction, and with my full non-parenting attention on blogging. It’s something I’ve never had the opportunity to do before. My hope is that if you love it, you’ll become a Patron to help me make this a reality for CK.

Here’s a glimpse of the content you’ll read on CK this month:

I want you to feel the need check Crushing Krisis every single day the way you would all your other favorite websites. The difference is that I’m doing this all on my own without other contributors, artists, editors, or advertising dollars. And, while posting won’t remain at this insane intensity come December, it will still feature regular content just like what I’m producing this month.

Here’s my pitch video from Patreon, where I’ll be making another series of almost-daily posts to explore behind-the-scenes details of running a 16-yr-old blog.

At the end of the month, commenters, mailing list subscribers, and Patrons will help me decide what future content to focus on first. We’ll unlock new and regular features as the pledge total rises.

Want Wonder Woman and Maurice Sendak readalongs instead of Image and Dr. Seuss? Want more original music and less music essays? Wish I’d talk more about movies? I’ll be asking you at the end of the month.

Read on for more of the backstory on this unprecedented month of content. [Read more…] about Crushing Krisis: Blog of Tomorrow (a Patreon launch event)

Crushing Krisis Comics Read-Along Schedule

November 2016: WildStorm Universe – Debut through WildStorm Rising (1992-1995)

wildstorm-portacio-coversNovember 1: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #0-4

November 2: Stormwatch (1993) #1-3 & 0

November 3: Deathblow (1993) #1-4 (optional: Cybernary flipbook stories)
(Also, if you’d like to read it prior to Killer Instinct, Cyberforce (1992) #1-4)

November 4: WildC.A.T.s Special 01 & WildC.A.T.s Trilogy (1993) #1-3
(optional: WildC.A.T.s Sourcebook (1993) #1)

November 5: Stormwatch (1993) #4-5 & Special 01
(optional: Stormwatch Sourcebook (1994) #1)

November 6: Killer Instinct: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #5, (optional: Cyberforce (1993) #1), WC6, CF2, WC7, CF3

November 7: Stormwatch (1993) #6-8

November 8: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #8-9

November 9: Union (1993) #1-4 & 0
(this features Stormwatch in such a way that seems to necessitate reading it prior to #9 (and, really, before 6))

November 10: The Kindred (1994) #1-4 (it fits directly after WildCATs and Stormwatch #8)

November 11: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #10-13

November 12: Stormwatch (1993) #9, 25, 10

November 13: Gen13 (1994) #1-5 & 1/2

November 14: Deathblow (1993) #5-9

November 15: Stormwatch (1993) #11-13

November 16: Wetworks (1994) #1-3 (optional: Wetworks Sourcebook (1994) #1)

November 17: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #14 & Savage Dragon #13
(optional: WildC.A.T.s Sourcebook (1993) #2) (and, if you’re bored, go back for DEATHMATE!)

November 18: Stormwatch (1993) #14-16

November 29: Backlash (1994) #1-5

November 20: Deathblow (1993) #10-12

November 21: Team 7 (1994) #1-4

November 22: WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (1992) #15-19

November 23: Wetworks (1994) #4-7

November 24: Warblade: Endangered Species (1995) #1-4 & Grifter: One Shot (1995) (& Maul story from WildStorm Rarities)

November 25: Stormwatch (1993) #17-21 & Special 02

November 28: Backlash (1994) #6-7

November 27: Deathblow (1993) #13-15

November 28: Union (1995) #1-3 & Gen13 (1995) #0-1

November 29: Team 7: Objective: Hell (1995) #1-3

November 30: WildStorm Rising
(optional: Wildstorm Universe Sourcebook (1995) #1)

WildStorm Rising #1
WildC.A.T.s #20
Union (Volume 2) #4
Gen 13 (Volume 2) #2
Grifter #1
Deathblow #16
Wetworks #8
Backlash #8
StormWatch #22
WildStorm Rising #2

December 2016 Read-Along Schedule

Topic TBA!

DC New 52 Review: Voodoo #1

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Busty woman have always been a part of the draw of comics, but in the late 80s and 80s it went completely overboard.

Already attractive female characters has their breast sizes increased to the point of physical impossibility as their waists collapsed and costumes became increasingly skin-tight (or, just skin). This trend was perpetrated hugely by Image’s superstar artists, so of course when they launched their own line of books they featured a bevy of those scantily dressed females.

The problem (beyond the obvious objectification) is that when female characters are babes from the concept stage, their origin stories become intertwined with their curves. Voodoo was originally conceived as a regular girl with the super gift of seeing aliens in human bodies … who happened to be an exotic dancer. Her tight outfits, slick figure, and crazy boots were part of her identity.

When a female hero was conceived as a vapid sex symbol, does she really merit their own titles? Like anything else, it has to do with good writing. DC’s relaunch already pilfered a large part of Voodoo’s prior origin – they handed her ability to see aliens walking around in human skin to the rebooted Grifter.

Art previews of the issue revealed many scenes set in a strip club. Did scribe Ron Marz find any other aspects of Voodoo to write about, or are we getting a book about a stripper who … strips?

Voodoo #1

Written by Ron Marz, art by Sami Basri

Rating: 1.5 of 5 – Weak

In a Line: “We don’t need to be doing it from a ringside seat.”

#140char Review: Voodoo #1 wastes intriguing setup & capabilities of Sami Basri art on too many pages lingering in a strip joint. Embarrassing to read. Gross

CK Says: Skip it.

Voodoo #1 is an embarrassing waste of an interesting character concept and an artist who is clearly capable of so much more than nudie pinup pics.

The blame rests mostly on writer Ron Marz’s shoulders. Yes, we get that part-alien Voodoo is a stripper because men can’t resist her and she wants to study their behavior. That doesn’t mean we need to spend an entire issue in a strip club with panels so revealing that I was terrified of reading this comic on the bus.

I choose not to implicate artist Sam Basri too much – he’s just drawing what he’s told. There are only so many non-lascivious ways you can draw a piece of script that must have read, “Voodoo crawls forward on the stage, her bosom practically escaping her skimpy bikini top.” Although, I guess when the background of a panel has a man waving a dollar bill at the ass of a woman hanging from a stripper pole that’s mostly the artist’s prerogative – so I suppose he’s complicit.

When Basri gets a break from drawing cheesecake, his clothed figures are really super – they have the illustrated-from-life effect of the art of Buffy without looking traced from photo references.

There is a story beneath the grossness here, and it’s potentially interesting. A pair of secret agents have been tapped to keep an eye on the clearly otherworldly Voodoo, but one of them is a little impatient to get to the bottom of her mystery.

Unfortunately, the getting to the bottom takes the literal form of a pages long lapdance.

That’s the entire problem with this issue. You can set a story in a strip club without it being disgusting and exploitative. There are panels here that never needed to be seen, even with the script staying entirely intact.

I can’t call this terrible, because of Masri’s engaging artwork and the interesting core concept of Voodoo as a character. I’ll probably check back in for a second issue based solely on that and hope that Marz and Basri have cleaned up their act, but based on this introduction I don’t have a lot of hope for their take on Voodoo.

DC New 52 Review: Grifter #1

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Jim Lee set up an intriguing team in his 90s Image Comics classic creation WildCATs, a group of alien-human hybrids caught in a extraterrestrial culture war. Lee pilfered seemingly every comic origin out there to assemble a team full of clawed men, androids, amazons, shapeshifters, teleporters, dwarves, and strippers.

The team vigilante was Grifter, a half-Gambit half-Punisher hybrid of athleticism and gunplay with a Wolverine healing factor who seemed out of place on the spandexed team. Later, readers discovered Grifter was actually closer to the core of Lee’s new superhero universe than anyone imagined, having been experimented upon while he was in the army, and granted with psychic powers that later burned out.

Of all Lee’s heroes, Grifter makes the most sense to support a solo book – but which elements of his history would get picked up in this port to the mainstream DC Universe?

Grifter #1

Written by Nathan Edmondson, art by Cafu & Jason Gorder

Rating: 3 of 5 – Good

In a Line: “I think there’s one of them on this plane.”

#140char Review: Grifter #1 goes back to basics with the Wildstorm char, taking us to his origin. Thrilling little story, if too fast a read. Good, by a hair

CK Says: Consider it.

Grifter has a slight script that introduces several points of conflict into the life of former military man, current professional con artist, and newly minted unwitting-vigilante and alien psychic-receiver Cole “Argent” Cash.

See, that sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

In a brief, fun read, writer Nathan Edmondson combines swift action with a hint of alien intrigue to make a strong case for picking up a second issue, yet Grifter has several significant handicaps. The guns-blazing cover has nothing to do with the story inside. It’s not about an established DC character or mythology. It features its lead character out of uniform for almost the entire book. It is definitely decompressed, with some pages that could have been single panels as they repeat similar perspectives. It makes at least one verifiable mistake on the scale of minutes, hours days. There are a few points requiring major suspension of disbelief, such as an unattended midnight hat stand.

Cafu’s art is modestly strong throughout, with finely detailed faces but a few gawky bodies. His Grifter is slick but muscled, though occasionally comes off as a blonde Wolverine. I don’t think he’s earned the one-word moniker yet. Edmondson wisely reminds us of Cash’s special forces training via a subplot that will yield further conflict rather than a piece of kludgy dialog, which helps contextualize his many action-hero feats on re-read.

I think the issue was more successful than not. From the shocking murder that opens it to the hints we get about Grifter’s character, this has all the makings of a super-sized, high-gloss adventure free from the entanglement of the majority of the DC Universe.

The series and character might just live up to its WildStorm predecessor, though its still unclear how much of his history this new edition will share.

DC New 52 Review: Stormwatch #1

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I was a major Image Comics fan in the 90s, and not just for the hyper-kinetic art of departed Marvel artists like Jim Lee. I loved Image because it frequently broke free of typical save-the-world tropes to explore superheroes as a separate society running in parallel to every day life.

Wildstorm Productions was Jim Lee’s imprint at Image, and it was home to every one of my favorite titles and stories. In 1999 Lee allowed DC to acquire the rights to the company so he could focus less on administration and more on creating. Twelve years later, Lee is DC’s co-publisher and penciling their flagship book.

As for the Wildstorm universe, it’s very much alive in DC’s reboot with Stormwatch and solo titles for WildCATs mainstays Grifter and Voodoo –  and they’re all more integrated with DC’s continuity than ever before.

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DC Comics Stormwatch #1, released September 7, 2011.

Stormwatch #1

Written by Paul Cornell, art by Miguel Sepulveda

Rating: 3.5 of 5 – Great

In a line: “Do we look like ‘super-heroes’? They’re amateurs. We’re the professionals.”

140 char review: Stormwatch #1: Almost too many chars to keep track, but Cornell teases mysteries w/o sacrificing exposition. Love the psychedelic overlays!

Plot & Script

Paul Cornell successfully juggles a debut issue featuring a team of seven extra-powered beings, their super-powered quarry, a mysterious assailant, an extra-dimensional space station, a giant Himaylayan cornucopia, a claw in the moon, and one very giant eyeball with tentacles. Cornell manages to be amusing without resorting to all-out humor, and expository while only dropping a few utter bricks of dialog to explain the fast-paced plot.

Of three stories across four locations, it’s the team on the ground in Moscow that’s the 4-color thriller. A reticent would-be-hero does all that he can to evade a somewhat forcible recruitment by the Stormwatch away team of Jack Hawksmoor, Projectionist, and Martian Manhunter.

As for Martian Manhunter’s export to this title, his membership in JLA is mentioned offhandedly, but not explained – other than to say he’s a superhero there, but a “warrior” when he’s in Stormwatch. Does that mean he will show up in Justice League’s year one intro arc?

Artwork

I loved the unusual artwork in this issue. It’s not your typical ultra-gloss of a superhero comic.  I’m especially a fan at the unsubtle, realistic face work – particularly Projectionist mugging in false humulity while Martian Manhunter first shows his green face. Many images include psychedelic overlays – I’m not sure if they’re the work of Sepulveda or colorist Allen Passalaqua, but they’re fantastic.

There were only a few minor disappointments. I like the scope of the cover – showing the core cast, rather than a frame from the issue, but it’s unflattering. Not sure if that’s a penciling or a coloring issue, but I feel like it’s ugly compared to the interiors. A few faces look flat, possibly a coloring issue rather than art. Projectionist’s power showing us an on-panel page of YouTube was perhaps a bit too on-the nose. And, a minor quibble, but the bold blue-on-blue lettering of the presence in the moon was a turnoff. It felt more like a computer read-out than a mysterious evolutionary force.

CK Says: Buy it!

Stormwatch feels decidedly alien, and not just because of star Martian Manhunter and a station in hyperspace. The conceit of extra-dimensional heroes in suits who sneer at the the caped set feels more like Ellis’s superb Planetary than the DC I’m used to skimming.

Cornell is an oddball writer, and he didn’t have enough room to stretch out in Marvel’s great (but decidedly terrestrial) Captain Britain & MI:13. This fast-paced amalgamation of erstwhile-Wildstorm and reinvented-DC is a better fit.

Did he put too many balls in the air for a first issue? I say there’s no such thing. This is exactly what I was hoping for from Justice League – a brisk issue with more questions than answers, hints at multiple threats, and enough plot threads that I’m left pouting for a second issue right away.