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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Friday, October 14, 2005
My subscription copy of COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1612 arrived at Casa Isabella on Wednesday. Inside that spooky cool cover by Jason Orfalas, you'll find an interview with BATMAN: GOTHAM COUNTY LINE writer Steve Niles, a history of horror comics, Craig "Mr. Silver Age" Shutt's trivia contest, and the usual gathering of columnists and reviewers. My contributions to the January-dated issue consist of my regular "Tony's Tips" column (six pages of views and reviews) and "Tony's Back Page" (wherein I kiss and tell).
While you're waiting for your local comics shop or bookstore to get this issue, you can soothe your CBG cravings by visiting the magazine's website at:
www.cbgxtra.com
I don't mention this as often as I should, but, every Monday, I write a new exclusive installment of TONY'S OTHER ONLINE TIPS for the CBG forums. This week, I reviewed WALT DISNEY'S WORLD OF THE DRAGONLORDS. Given the whole "exclusive" thing, the only way you can read these TOOT reviews is by visiting CBGXTRA. Come on by and chat with CBG's columnists and editorial staff.
Moving right along, and cognoscent of the odds and ends which have been piling up on my desk, let's see what else I have for you in *this* column.
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ARCHIE NEWS
Looking over the Archie Comics schedule for January releases, here's a few items which seemed worthy of special note...
Two new stories in ARCHIE DIGEST #223 [$2.39; ships January 25] represented something new and something old. Reality TV puts its cameras on Archie in Mike Pellowski's "The Real Deal." Then, Archie and Reggie reinvent vaudeville in "Jess Who?", also written by Pellowski.
School budget cuts which force Riverdale High to keep the heat down are an element of Kathleen Webb's "Warming Trends." This tale with a topical note will appear in BETTY AND VERONICA #215 [$2.25; also shipping January 25].
KISS gets semi-spoofed in "Band Together" by writer/artist Dan Parent. One lucky Riverdale teen will win the chance to rock and roll all night with the band in BETTY AND VERONICA SPECTACULAR #73 [$2.25; ships January 4].
Finally, in the landmark ARCHIE'S PALS-N-GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #100 [$3.59, ships January 11], the editors have fashioned an all-new story by using screen grabs from the original Archie animated series of the 1960s.
Watch for more Archie news in future TOTs.
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ATLAS MASTERWORKS
I have often expressed my longing for Marvel Comics to reprint the best of its pre-Fantastic Four material. So I was thrilled to learn that those fabulous floodgates are opening - just a little - in the new year.
January will see the publication of MARVEL MASTERWORKS ATLAS ERA: TALES TO ASTONISH VOL. 1 [$49.95]. The hardcover volume will reprint the first ten issues of the title which eventually became the stomping grounds of Ant-Man, the Wasp, the Incredible Hulk, and the Sub-Mariner. Those heroes won't be appearing in these reprints from 1959 and 1960, but readers will get to enjoy fun stories drawn by the likes of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jack Davis, John Buscema, Matt Baker, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, Dick Ayers, Al Williamson, Doug Wildey, and others. And, if this volume sells well, it could lead to more such volumes, featuring even rarer material.
Also coming in 2006: the first MARVEL MASTERWORKS volumes for SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOES and for the early 1960s revamp of THE RAWHIDE KID by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Kudos to Marvel for finally getting this material back into print.
On a related note, there's a cool interview with MASTERWORKS editor Cory Sedlmeier at the MARVEL MASTERWORKS RESOURCE PAGE. You can read it at:
www.marvelmasterworks.com/news/int_cs_1005.html
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
Everybody's favorite one-eyed sailor is the featured player in today's examples of crossovers and self-referential humor in comic strips. In MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM for July 22, Mike Peters looked at domestic discord between Popeye and Olive:
On September 30, in his own comic strip, POPEYE entertained a visitor from DC Comics:
Okay, maybe it's not *the* Black Lightning, but it is *a* bolt of black lightning. Veteran TOT readers - or just those who have had to listen to my war stories for lo, these many years - should recall that a black lightning bolt did play a role in my creation of Jefferson Pierce's costumed identity. I'll give you the weekend to think about it.
Look for more COMICS IN THE COMICS soon.
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CONSTRUCTION NIGHTMARE
If you read Tuesday's TOT, you know that a [expletive deleted] contractor has turned my Sainted Wife Barb's dream project - a new family room addition to our house - into a nightmare. For several weeks now, this has weighed heavily on my mind and, as a result, I haven't been sleeping well. But, until two nights ago, this stuff hadn't actually given me nightmares.
Picture your Tipster entering the kitchen in the middle of the night to find ninjas with big and nasty-looking swords massing in the unfinished addition. As the ninjas prepare to slice and dice me, the Human Torch burns/flies into the addition and attacks these unwelcome guests. As I stand there petrified, I decide the Torch looks like the Kirby/Sinnott version of the character.
The Torch is trying not to set my house on fire, but he's also trying to avoid all those swords being swung at him. It's the odor of swords being fused to the ninjas' flesh in the heat of the fight that unfreezes me. I wake up Barb and the kids and get them out of the house, then go back in to see if I can help the Torch. This is not a good move as I can't see a foot in front of my face because of all the smoke. I can only feel the heat.
That's when I woke up. I think I even heard myself let out, not exactly a scream, but a startled grunt.
Maybe I better buy some more fire extinguishers.
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TONY POLLS
Every Tuesday, I post new TONY POLLS questions for TOT readers to have fun with. The questions for the last week of September had as their starting point the fact that comics based on live-action TV shows used to be a mainstay of the industry.
Here are the results of your voting...
Omitting shows which have already been done or announced as comics, which of these current genre (horror, sci-fi) shows would you most like to see as a comic book?
LOST.....15.79%
Charmed.....12.03%
The 4400.....11.28%
Dead Zone.....8.27%
Supernatural.....3.76%
Threshold.....3.76%
Medium.....3.01%
Invasion.....1.50%
Ghost Whisperer.....0%
Surface.....0%
None of the above.....38.35%
Other.....2.26%
I think Lost is too tightly-plotted to allow for a meaningful comic book series. I based my vote on what series I thought would make good comic books because, even if they had ongoing stories on TV, they also had room for complete-unto-themselves tales. From a list of four shows, including The Dead Zone, Supernatural, and the 4400, I went with CHARMED.
I don't think I've ever seen more than one complete episode of CHARMED. I based my vote on the show having three courageous and smart women as its stars. I'd like to see more comics like that on the market.
As per usual, I never receive as many OTHER votes via e-mail as there are people who choose that option. I got one this time. The reader wanted to see a KOLCHAK comic. He was delighted when I told him Moonstone has been publishing pretty good KOLCHAK comics for a few years now. I live to serve.
Which of these current crime shows would you most like to see adapted as a comic book?
VERONICA MARS.....20%
Monk.....10.37%
Law and Order.....6.67%
Cold Case.....3.70%
Crossing Jordan.....3.70%
Numb3rs.....3.70%
Prison Break.....2.96%
Law and Order: Criminal Intent.....2.22%
Bones.....1.48%
NCIS.....1.48%
Without a Trace.....1.48%
Killer Instinct.....0.74%
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.....0.74%
Criminal Minds.....0%
Reunion.....0%
None of the above.....40%
Other.....0.74%
This was a no-brainer for me. Several of the shows have good characters and good potential for satisfying stories, but none of them came close to the potential of VERONICA MARS.
Which of these current live-action dramas would you most like to see as a comic book?
THE WEST WING.....10.77%
Desperate Housewives.....7.89%
House.....6.92%
Over There.....6.92%
Gilmore Girls.....3.85%
Las Vegas.....3.85%
Nip/Tuck.....3.08%
ER.....2.31%
Grey's Anatomy.....2.31%
Boston Legal....1.54%
E-Ring....1.54%
Rescue Me.....1.54%
The OC....1.54%
Commander-In-Chief.....0.77%
7th Heaven....0%
Everwood....0%
Just Legal....0%
One Tree Hill....0%
None of the above....43.85%
Other....0%
In this category, I look for shows that would allow the kind of satisfying stories I've mentioned above and whose subject matter wasn't well-represented in current comics. I went with OVER THERE because the story of our fighting men and women overseas, risking their lives in a war which history will surely recall as the most grievous fraud *ever* perpetuated on the American people by their president, is the most compelling story of our time.
Which of these returning sitcoms would you like to see as a comic book?
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE.....9.30%
That '70s Show.....7.75%
Arrested Development.....6.20%
Bernie Mac.....4.65%
Stacked.....4.65%
The Office.....4.65%
Two and a Half Men.....2.33%
Joey.....1.55%
The King of Queens.....1.55%
Will & Grace.....1.55%
All of Us.....0%
George Lopez.....0%
Girlfriends.....0%
Hope and Faith.....0%
Living With Fran.....0%
Reba.....0%
Rodney.....0%
Yes, Dear.....0%
None of the above.....55.04%
Other.....0.78%
I surprised myself in this category by voting for JOEY, which I've only watched twice. I was looking for something which would make a good comic and decided the show's Hollywood background would offer lots of possibilities for funny stories...because Lord knows the show itself hasn't explored them.
Which of these new sitcoms would you most like to see as a comic book?
MY NAME IS EARL.....26.19%
Everybody Hates Chris.....11.90%
Kitchen Confidential.....4.76%
How I Met Your Mother.....3.17%
Hot Properties.....0.79%
Twins.....0.79%
Freddie.....0%
Love, Inc......0%
Out of Practice.....0%
The War At Home.....0%
None of the above.....52.38%
Other..........0%
Another no-brainer as MY NAME IS EARL is the best new series of the season *and* comes with a premise that's just made for done-in-one comic-book stories.
This week's TONY POLLS question are on SERENITY (the movie), FIREFLY (the TV series), and video games (the great sucking vacuum into which perfectly good time is going). These questions will be active until sometime after midnight Monday night and you can vote on them at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back on Monday with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 10/13/2005 | 10/14/2005 | 10/17/2005 >>
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Tony's Online Tips, P.O. Box 1502, Medina, OH 44258
Recent Columns:
| NEWEST | Busy! (07/18/2008) |
| 07/16/2008 | The Tony Poll results for how you rated this summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Incredible Hulk, Get Smart, Wall*E, Hancock, Speed Racer, and Wanted. |
| 07/15/2008 | I bring your attention to The Zombie Pop-Up Book. |
| 07/14/2008 | I review 52 Aftermath: The Four Horseman, Action Comics #864, Action Comics Annual #11, Bat Lash #5, Cartoon Network Action Pack #24, Gen13 #19, Hellblazer #243, Metal Men #8, The New Dynamix #3, The Programme #10, Rann-Thanagar Holy War #1, and Salvation Run #6. |
| 07/11/2008 | I review Batman Confidential #14-15 and Batman and the Outsiders #5. |
| 07/10/2008 | I review The Un-Men #8 and The Vinyl Underground #7. |
| 07/09/2008 | "Thanks...I think." |
| 07/08/2008 | The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films gave out its 34th Annual Saturn Awards on June 24. Prior to that gala event, we asked our Tony Polls to cast their votes in each of the Saturn categories. Here's how you voted. |
| 07/07/2008 | I discuss Mid-Ohio-Con and review The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics, Justice League Unlimited #44, Wonder Woman #18, World of Warcraft #5, All Star Superman #10, and American Splendor Volume 2 #1. Also, Celebrating Jack Kirby and Comics in the Comics features Mother Goose and Grimm, Reality Check, and Pearls Before Swine. |
| 07/04/2008 | I review The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder, America's Greatest Comics #6, 100 Bullets #89, Action Comics #863, and All-New Atom #22. |
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Tony's Online Tips
P.O. Box 1502
Medina, OH 44258
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