Dave Talks Comics - Episode 17

Click the image to go to the podcast page for episode 17.

Free Comic Book Day - May 4, 2013

I went to two stores today. Both had sales, one had big name comic book creators. Guess which one was mobbed and had a block-long line just to get in the store? Guess which one I didn't get in to?

Store #1: Third Eye Comics (Annapolis, MD) - I had heard of but never been to this store before today. The line to get in the place was incredibly long and was barely moving. As I was walking past the front door towards the end of the line I saw that they were closely regulating how many people they would allow in the store at a time. I waited for five minutes at the end of the line before deciding I would rather be at a less crowded store.

Store #2: Barbarian Comics (Wheaton, MD) - The atmosphere was considerably more subdued at this store. There were no comic book artists or writers to meet and there was no line to get in the store. It was a little busier than usual but for the most part I had no difficulty moving around the store. I can only imagine what it must have been like inside Third Eye Comics.

My Dalek t-shirt sparked Doctor Who talk with the owners. We basically agreed to disagree as to who was the best Doctor from the new series. I prefer David Tennant and don't care for the Matt Smith era. I characterize it that way because the person on the show who really brings the show down is Amy Pond.

I wanted to buy Scalped Vol. 6. They didn't have it in stock so I asked them to order it for me. I looked around for a long time before I found something else on my short list of books to read: The Spirit Vol. 2 by Darwyn Cooke. All trades were 20% off. I considered also buying Powers Vol. 14: Gods, but decided one book was enough.

The Spirit v1: Batman/The Spirit

Crime Convention
by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (storytellers), J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

Batman and the Spirit travel to Hawaii to save Commissioners Gordon and Dolan from a gang of super villains.

The story looks great. Cooke, Bone, and Stewart do not disappoint. There are some beautiful splash pages.

It feels as if there is a little too much in this crossover special. At 40 pages it is almost double the length of a standard comic book. Every one of those pages is crowded with words, plot, and characters.

Even though it won an Eisner Award, this story doesn't compare favorably to the other stories in this collection. It is a jumbled mess. Some plot points are over explained. Not all the transitions work. On the whole the story feels very rushed.

The Spirit v1: #6

Almost Blue
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

This story breaks the mold, if there was one. It doesn't feel like any of the previous stories or even like a typical Spirit story. It feels like noir blended with science fiction.

Despite the heavy use of narration, especially in the first few pages, the panels do not feel crowded. Cooke has done a great job of balancing the text and the pictures. They don't clash with one another, they sing together.

Once again the Spirit takes an unexpected detour in his continuing search for Alvarro Mortez. Even though this series is a collection of one-shots they each have their own special flavor. This is possibly, probably the most satisfying story to date.

The Spirit v1: #5

Media Man
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

The spirit battles gangsters who are using his image to sell cans of pork & beans.

There has to be a hidden message beneath this story. It is a little too weird for there not to be. Possibly it is a comment on the advertising industry.

The visuals towards the end feature some smashingly great sequential art. Cooke out does himself with the last 7 pages. Most if not all of the word balloons (sparsely distributed as they ate) are unnecessary as the pictures tell the story.

The Spirit v1: #4

Silk Satin
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

This story is all kind of awesome. From the first page to the very last the story unfolds. There is no padding or filler. There is a fair amount of dialogue and narration which is paired with appropriately sized panels and drawings. Dave Stewart uses different color palettes very effectively as the story changes tone and setting.

The Spirit captures Hussein Hussein in Central City. After the con man escapes police custody the Spirit teams up with CIA agent Silk Satin to recapture him.

The Spirit v1: #3

Resurrection
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

A tip jars the Spirit's memory and he thinks back to the day Denny Colt died and was born again as the Spirit. This is his origin story. It unfolds as he digs up the grave of Alvarro Mortez, another man who is rumored to have come back to life.

Most of the story is a flashback. It is narrated by many people: the Spirit, Ebony, Commissioner Dolan, Ellen, an unnamed villain. The look and feel of the flashback are quite different from the bookends that surround it. The lines seem thinner, but harder and angular; and there are more pastels and day-glow colors.

On the whole this story it has a very different feel than the first couple in this series but is no less gripping, intense, or thrilling. It is an open-ended one shot. The ending is both satisfying and frustrating.

The Spirit v1: #2

The Maneater
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

There's nothing new here. This story has been told before. It is a tale of revenge. P'Gell seeks justice. The Spirit seeks to uphold the law. Is he misguided for doing what he does? Is she evil for doing what she does? Is life a zero sum game?

Moral quandaries aside, what stands out is the art. Cooke and Bone tell the story with a very light touch. The coloring by Dave Stewart is divine. The wordless panels aren't plentiful but well placed and say so much.

The Spirit v1: #1

Ice Ginger Coffee
by Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone (inks), and Dave Stewart (colors)

The Spirit rescues television anchor woman Ginger Coffee after she is kidnapped by gangsters.

The story is beautifully drawn and colored but what really stands out is the humor. Much of the funny stuff is driven by a misunderstanding or a lack of information. She knows something that he does not. Additionally, she knows he doesn't know but prefers to keep him in the dark.

Taking a sideways glance at the story what stands out is the contrast between the Spirit and Ginger Coffee. She isn't wearing a physical mask but seems to be wearing one whenever she speaks. Her words ring as hollow and somewhat robotic. He is wearing a mask but all it hides is his face, his words come across as very honest and uncensored.

What I Bought - Nov 27, 2010

I was hoping to find cheaply priced ($1 or less) issues of various series from DC Comics from the mid-to-late 1970s at the Shoff Comic Show (Crowne Plaza, Tysons Corner, VA). I came home with several the last time I attended a Shoff Show, over the summer.

This time around there were some dealers there with dollar bins and I spent some time digging through them without finding anything from the era that I was hoping to find. What comics I was able to find from that era cost $3 or more. Being stingy and not desperately in need of reading material I didn't buy any of those comic books. Instead I came home with a trade.

I wouldn't have bought anything if I hadn't won a $10 door prize. I spent a considerable amount of time mulling over what to spend it on. I didn't want to buy a trade. I've got plenty of them sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read but in the end that's what I bought, specifically The Spirit: Femmes Fatales by Will Eisner. It seemed like my best bet appropriate purchase given what I had to choose from.