With EJ never being around when Alex is, and vice versa, John is beginning to think the other two komikeros are actually (dramatic pause) THE SAME PERSON!  Keep listening to Tres Komikeros to get to the bottom of this chilling mystery.

Oh also we read some comics: Blackest Night #5, Image United #1, and New Avengers #59.  After an audience review and a round of quick shots, the boys played a healthy game of thumb warfare.

Lastly, a sensitive topic is tackled in this week’s panel discussion — Comic Book Elitism.  Yeah.

You know who you are.

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By Robert Kirkman (writer) Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd Mcfarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri & Jim Valentino (artists)

The Story: Super-villains are attacking major cities around the world simultaneously, setting the greatest Image Comics heroes on a course that will bring them together for the first time in over a decade!  Youngblood.  Savage Dragon. Spawn.  Cyberforce.  Witchblade.  Fortress.  Shadowhawk.  They’re all here, each penciled by their individual superstar creators!

What’s Good: Kirkman does an admirable job here, but by admirable, I don’t necessarily mean good. What I mean is that it’s obvious that he tried his best.  The writer has a marked appreciation for these characters and this era of comic publishing and that affection gives this first issue a lot of positive energy. It’s fair to assume that Kirkman didn’t have an easy task before him on this project.  Trying to write a cohesive story and service the fact that he’s writing for six different artists and six different franchises is enough to bring any solid writer down, and though he does prove somewhat susceptible to that weakness, there still manages to be some fun to be had with his execution.

Now, no matter how good Kirkman’s plot is, what everyone really cares about with this comic book is the artwork.  While this is certainly not the first time the gimmick of different artists working on the same page has been done, this is certainly the first time such high-profile artists have done so.  That fact alone makes this worth checking out.  Well, provided you’re a fan of at least a few of these artists.  I was surprised that, overall, the mixture of six different styles never really distracted me much from the flow of the story.  An interesting experiment…

What’s Not So Good: Well, if you read between the lines of my “What’s Good” section above, you’ll notice that the best I could say about this comic book was that no one ruined it.  That obviously doesn’t mean that it’s very good.  Let me put it another way.  This comic book would have kicked my skinny little ass when I was in high school.  I would’ve eaten it up and come back for seconds.  Unfortunately, it is not 1992 and, also, I had a pretty shitty sense of what was good back in high school (Except for The Good Son.  I’m standing by The Good Son, you hear me?!).  I don’t even see this appealing to the kids of today as it’s very much of it’s time and most of these characters haven’t exactly been bank-breakers for a very long while.  This might have been a momentous occasion ten years ago, but now?  Too little , way too late.

To further cement my opinion here, let’s list a bunch of stuff within these pages that High School Joe would have overlooked, but Early 30’s Joe can’t help but groan at.  Spawn’s cape (Which is mammoth!  I mean, it’s, like, his whole costume.) disappearing between pages.  One second it’s there, the next, gone.  This is not okay.  How about an explosion knocking everyone off their feet, but the only character who’s literally knocked on her ass so that she can lie in a sexy pose is the hot chick wearing a metal bikini.  Hot?  Well, yes.  Okay?  Not really.  Everyone standing in exaggerated poses while they’re talking to each other and often screaming things through gritted teeth like, “We are all going to die!”, when the person they’re speaking to is, oh, six feet away.  Obnoxious and lazy?  Yep.  Okay?  Nope.  Sound effects spelled “GOOM!”  “Goom”?  “Goom”?  Is this the sound of a goat exploding?  I understand that boom can get old pretty quickly, but there’s obviously a reason it’s lasted so long, people. “Hey, that bomb’s about to go off!”  “GOOM!”  So not okay.

Conclusion: There’s an exchange around the midpoint of this issue between Badrock and the Savage Dragon that goes like this:  Badrock:  “This is going to ROCK!”  Savage Dragon: “Grow up,  already.”  Those two lines perfectly summarize everything to be said about this comic book.

Grade: D

-Joe Lopez

HEY GUYS! Know who’s a comic book great?! That’s right!

ROB LIEFELD!

Because this video says so:

Just to let you know, I don’t hate Rob Liefeld or anything. He seems like a nice enough guy with genuine enthusiasm for comics. But comic book great? Because X-Force #1 sold 5 million copies??? I think that has more to do with the polybagged trading cards than with anything else. But watch these videos, and enjoy the awkward repartee between Liefeld and Stan “The Man” Lee.

Thanks to The Comic Alliance.

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The more I surf the comics community of the internet, the more sick I become of some common motifs. The most common theme I have found in almost every comic book themed website is the bashing of Rob Liefeld. I am sure I don’t have to explain who Rob Liefeld is, but for those who are unfamiliar with the 90’s comic icon he was one of the leading creative forces behind comics. He is also one of the most hated artists in comics and a current trend (or at least one I have noticed) is to bash on Rob Liefeld. I am not going to lie that I haven’t made jokes about the man. He has done some bad art, but I feel that bashing him for no real reason other than to get an easy joke is counterproductive.

You can analyze the man’s work and critically (which does not equal with snark) comment on it. That is the whole point of reviewing a comic. It is when someone decides to just make fun of his work for no real reason that just frustrates me. The Liefeld jokes are now becoming more rampant on the sites I frequent thanks to the work of Linkara and Spoony One. Now Linkara and Spoony actually make some true critiques and don’t rely on his art for cheap laughs. It is the people who are fans of Linkara who haven’t actually read the Liefeld comics that are annoying. They don’t look into what the guy has done for the industry but instead just laugh at him and blame him for the sad state of comics in the 1990’s. I am not going to turn this into an In Defense Of Robert Liefeld article (I do plan on doing one in the near future), but the guy is not the sole cause of the bubble bursting. There are more factors that go into the 1990’s comic bust than just Liefeld’s art.

I guess it is because the man is synonymous with the 90’s that he is blamed for it. I, and I guarantee many more, are just sick of seeing what amounts to “Liefeld, Lol” on the internet. My fellow comic reviewers do not rely on the easy jokes and cheap gimmicks but instead actually critically analyze the work and do a true review of something. Reviews do not have to be funny. Reviews are meant to be analysis of the work you are discussing.

In summary, I am just tired of the bashing. I feel it is counterproductive to the grand scheme of things.

Thanks for reading.

Pneumonia knocked me out for all of the last two weeks. The site redesign took all weekend to get right. Things just got out of hand. I plan to have In Defense of Identity Crisis done tonight sometime, but until then here is another episode of Comic Book Greats, this time with Rob Liefeld and Stan Lee. Sit back and enjoy.

Got to love Stan “The Man” Lee’s comments about the shoulder pads and yes, X-force #1 sold a bunch of copies. You can actually see a review of that comic here: http://cboproductions.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/adjectiveless-comic-review-x-force-1/

Also you can check out another episode of Comic Book Greats here: http://cboproductions.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/the-comic-book-greats-stan-lee-liefeld-and-mcfarlane-create-overkill/

Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it. See you all later with In Defense of Identity Crisis.

• Beginnen wir gleich mit einem Rob Liefeld Interview, dass G-Man von Comic Vine mit ihm geführt hat. An sich nichts Schlimmes, aber wie es aussieht war seine Ankündigung einer Lady Deadpool für Merc with a Mouth #7 doch kein Witz… (Tja, Twitter-User wissen mehr…) Warum muss Marvel jetzt zu jedem männlichen Helden ein weibliches Pendant rausbringen? Sollen sie doch eigenständige Heldinnen erschaffen!
• Ein paar neue Infos zu Wolverine 2 hat MTV parat
• Laut MTV sind Robert deNiro (ja DER Robert DeNiro) und Jude Law für den Thor Film im Gespräch
• Kirkman spricht mit CBR über den neuen DARK SPAWN der im Rahmen des Image United Events erstmals auftauchen wird.
• Mit dem Ableben von Joe Rosen und George Tuska sind kürzlich 2 Legenden von uns gegangen (Newsarama)
• Laut Comic Vine wird sich der Green Lantern Film verzögern
• dafür aber Jackie Earle Haley die Rolle des Sinestros übernehmen
• Newsarama bringt einen guten Artikel über die Anfangszeit von Image Comics und deren Entwicklung
• Wie jede Woche kann man die Moments of the Week auf Weekly Crisis bestaunen. Ja, wer diese Woche Hercules nicht gekauft haben sollte, hat wirklich was verpasst…
• Ist glaub ich schon älter, aber Weekly Crisis hat sich auch die Mühe gemacht die Top10 Writers by the Numbers of August aufzulisten
• Topless Robot hingegen präsentiert eine witzigen Auflistung der besten und schlechtesten Comic-Transportmittel aller Zeiten
• Das ist mit Sicherheit schon ein älterer Artikel, aber es wäre schade ihn nicht zu verlinken: Voll schwule Superhelden – Homosexualität in Comics Teil 2 (ComicGate)
• Erst durch die Kommentare auf den Comic-Kollektiv Artikel bin ich auf diese neue, deutschsprachige Seite gestoßen, die sich auch mit US-Comics beschäftigt
• Weekly Crisis beschäftigt sich nicht nur mit Top-Sellern, sondern auch mit dem Anthology Dilemma
• …und stellen ihren Lesern die Frage wer nun der populärere Typ sei: Batman oder Superman?
• Collected Editions macht sich jetzt schon Sorgen wie man Blackest Night am Besten in TPBs sammelt
• Bei I Fanboy weiß man hingegegen gar nicht mehr ob man sich Comics überhaupt noch leisten kann
• Everyday is like Wednesday macht sich ein paar Gedanken über Deadpool
• Und weil ich ihn einfach toll finde, gibt’s zum Abschluss noch den Dark Spawn Teaser:

Issue Credits

Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Covers: Dave Johnson
Assistant Editor: Jody Leheup
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics

For $4.99, this issue would have to do quite a bit in order to justify its cost. Thankfully, it more than delivered. While I was really hoping it would be all-original content, my only real frustration at there being a reprint in the back (Deadpool Team-Up featuring Deadpool and Widdle Wade) is that that was one of about a half-dozen Deadpool comics that I already own from the 90s–and which I’d spent several hours just last weekend digging through 18 longboxes to find.

As-is, this is far from the “typical” Deadpool comic–nothing here seems to be in-continuity in the sense of advancing either of the main plots for the first two Deadpool ongoings. However, this faux-anniversary issue is a great “primer” for new fans, and presumably quite a treat for old fans. There may not be any real throughline in the book, but we get seven short stories starring Deadpool, but different creative teams new and old that give the character a chance to shine.

And the number is a nice play on the recent re-numbering Marvel has done with its various titles (I do wonder if Deadpool himself might have appeared in 900 comics through the years, which would me nicely appropriate).  It definite fits the character to play with the numbering–and I surprisingly don’t mind for this one character, as it seems an obvious riff on things rather than a serious numbering bit.

I really enjoyed Liefeld’s art on the Joe Kelly story–there was just something to it, perhaps simply the knowledge that the art’s by the guy that created the character. My favorite story of the bunch was Swierczynski’s riff on a certain tv show about crime scene investigators. Having enjoyed these shorts as I did…if Marvel ever decides to move the Deadpool books to the $3.99 price point, I would hope they’d consider having new original content such as these included after a full-length “main” story.

As these stories are not part of any of the ongoing stuff, if you simply enjoy the Deadpool character or are curious, this is a fantastic single issue to pick up. The original content alone is really worth the cover price (particularly compared against Marvel’s standard-sized $3.99 books!), and you get a reprint of an issue from the 90s that you’d be lucky to find by itself for the price of this issue, these days.

Long-time fan, new fan, or just curious about who the heck Deadpool is…I highly recommend this issue!

Close Encounters of the @*#$ed-Up Kind
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciler: Chris Staggs
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Colorist: Marte Gracia

This story sees Deadpool beamed onto an alien spacecraft, where he is subjected to the aliens’ probing. However…Deadpool being Deadpool, the tables are quickly turned with a chewed-off arm (his own) and turning the aliens’ machinery against them. Rather than simply delivering a carload of dead guys where he was headed…he delivers a bunch of dead guys and a ship of dead aliens.

This is definitely an over-the-top sorta Deadpool story–the bit with the arm I’m beginning to sense may be a running gag with the character. The art’s not my favorite depiction by any means, but definitely gets stuff across quite well in an indie-comics cartooney sort of way.

Silent But Deadly
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Dalibor Talajic

This story opens with a bang…or rather, if we get technical, a “Boom” as Deadpool’s caught in an explosion. Though his eardrums’re blown out by the explosion, it doesn’t take away from his ability to kick butt, facing 3…well, I actually thought of The Joker’s minions, but that’s a whole other sort of thing. They seem to have some sort of invulnerability, at least to Deadpool’s swords. Once he switches to guns…the fight’s basically over. The “punchline” of the story was rather amusing, and seems typical of the character as well.

The art’s not bad, but not what I typically associate with the character. Still, no complaint with it, really–in a quasi-”anthology” such as this issue, I don’t really expect a consistent visual style nor for every visual interpretation of a character to be my personal ideal.

Deadpool: Shrunken Master
Writer: Mike Benson
Artist: Damion Scott
Colorist: Lee Loughridge

With a couple of “light” stories out of the way, this one goes down a much darker path. Here we see Deadpool at a psychiatrist, having an apparently typical-for-Deadpool session. We see the smart-aleckiness of the character, and it’s actually quite interesting seeing him interacting with someone like this, being analyzed and even doing some self-analyzing. However, there’s a twist toward the end as we see that Deadpool’s motive is not to seek counciling, but rather see some justice done.

This was another story that to me comes across as what I can only really describe as “indie”–it’s not typical/mainstream super-hero fare…or at least, none that I’m used to associating with such. Yet, it really carries the mood quite well, and does exactly what it should. Again, not my favorite depiction, but for very well-suited to this particular story.

Pinky Swear
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Rob Liefeld

This was the story I was most looking forward to for this issue, after having read the Marvel Spotlight: Deadpool issue last week. We find Deadpool in the midst of a battle, with a pretty woman hanging on for dear life. We have some…questionable (but fitting) inner dialogue from Deadpool’s voices. Before long, Deadpool is reminded of a date he’s gotta keep–with an old friend from his school days. The boys had a bet over whether his friend would marry someone in particular by a certain time, and mid-battle (with the battle following him) Deadpool finds the guy, and the bet is settled.

I normally don’t care all that much for Liefeld’s art, but it worked quite well here–likely for nostalgia, knowing this is Deadpool as visualized by the character’s creator. The story itself seems to really fit the character–that even in the middle of a gun battle and with an attractive woman at his side trying to stay alive, Deadpool would keep some childhood promise where other ‘dates’ may not be kept. The bet itself really makes it work, as it seems so trivial, and yet Deadpool makes it into this huge thing.

What Happens in Vegas…
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Shawn Crystal
Colorist: Lee Loughridge

This story quickly becomes a rather obvious riff on the tv show CSI. Deadpool’s very much aware here of the “real world,” and the formula of the tv show. The fact that anyone would pronounce him dead and yet he’s cognitive–both of his surroundings and of where the reader might be looking–is an interesting use of narrative further illustrating the character’s nature. As it turns out, the story itself is Deadpool trying to get a particular reaction from one of the investigators–inserting himself into the “mythology” of the show, given the typical, cheesey one-liners. And of course, not getting the intended reaction, Deadpool reacts violently, before explaining to the reader what he was going for.

Not all that thrilled with the art on this one, but it fits the story. The investigator characters are pretty much recognizeable, knowing who they’re supposed to be…without being actual likenesses of the tv actors/actres. As said earlier, this was my favorite story in this issue…it took me by surprise, but the fact that I’m aware of the show and the bit Deadpool’s going for…I just really enjoyed it. All the more because of the pun Deadpool’s going for being right up my own alley humour-wise (though of course I do not condone the violence!).

Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea
Writer: Victor Gischler
Penciler: Sanford Greene
Inker: Nathan Massengill
Colorist: Dave McCaig

This was a rather amusing short. Basically, Deadpool’s on vacation on a cruise ship, and his typical, violent nature is most assuredly NOT compatible with the typical vacationer. Unfortunately for Deadpool…Dr. Octopus is also present, and does not take kindly to the mercenary’s presence. Deadpool suggests some “vacation code” (typical that he’d have something like that in mind, whether or not anyone else even KNOWS of it or recognizes it). The ending’s darkly amusing, playing with scene transition in a way that works very well in this medium.

The art is very cartooney, but that works well for this story. This actually may be one of the least-violent Deadpool stories I’ve read, and it looks entirely possible that–while severely inconvenienced–no one in the story actually dies. Really just an entertaining story.

One Down
Writer: Charlie Huston
Artist: Kyle Baker

This story has a bit of typical Deadpool as the character ultimately continues to break the “fourth wall” since he’s fully aware that he is a comic character. It also serves as some strong commentary on the current/contemporary nature of comic characters, especially from Marvel and DC. There’s also a hint of Jay & Silent Bob here at the story’s ending…or at least, I thought of that film with the way it ended compared to this.

We see Deadpool conversing with the voices in his head as he gets up and around for the day, going through all the stuff he needs to in order to reach a particular target. The identity of the target is what brings the whole story together. Once again, a rather dark place for the story to go…quite morbid, actually. And yet, it puts a certain depth and seriousness to Deadpool that I think I’d actually be very interested in seeing explored.

I’m not all that familiar with Baker’s art, though he’s one of the view names I recognize amongst the artists for this issue. The style works very well for the story. The visual and written aspects work very well in a way that really wouldn’t work in anything BUT a comic, even while this piece itself comments on comics.

This one wasn’t as “fun” as the CSI riff…but next to that, I think this was my other favorite of the issue.

Deadpool and Widdle Wade

Well…actually, this is a whole separate issue, deserving of its own review. Its inclusion here obviously beefs up Deadpool #900, especially as it was already a special by itself.

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Deadpool stories by some of my favorite writers?! Needless to say, I have some pretty high expectations for Deadpool #900.

“Close Encounters of the F*cked-up Kind”

By Jason Aaron (Writer), Chris Staggs (Pencils), Juan Vlasco (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

The Story: Aliens abduct Deadpool. You probably know what happens next.

The Good And The Bad: “Close Encounters of the F*cked-up Kind” is a basic, predictable “aliens abduct someone they can’t handle” story. Regardless though, it still manages to be pretty fun. Chris Staggs’s pencil work, while a bit rough, is mostly impressive and compares favorably to Paco Medina’s work on the ongoing series. Jason Aaron’s dialogue is humorously immature at times, but it works well enough and fits the story.

Grade: C+

“Silent but Deadly”

By Fred Van Lente (Writer) and Dalibor Talajic (Artist)

The Story: Deadpool fights a trio of mimes.

The Good And The Bad: While there isn’t a whole lot of dialogue, Fred Van Lente’s story about mimes that have the power to make their miming actions a reality is one of the best things about Deadpool #900. Artist Dalibor Talajic does almost all of the hard work and definitely does Van Lente’s script justice. Talajic’s art tells the story extremely well, though a few panels are a bit hard to follow because of how the powers being used work. A sword fight without swords cannot be an easy thing to draw, so I give all the credit in the world to Talajic for making the scene work far better than it has any right to.

Grade: B

“Shrunken Master”

By Mike Benson (Writer), Damion Scott (Artist), and Lee Loughridge (Colors)

The Story: Deadpool sees a shrink in order to work through some issues.

The Good And The Bad: Mike Benson’s Deadpool story is definitely the oddest one of the bunch. It’s dark, surprisingly serious, a bit psychological, and somewhere between gritty and surreal (not to mention very “indie”) visually. Personally, I think it’s compelling and very well executed. That said, there’s no question it seems a bit out of place among the lighter stuff in Deadpool #900. One thing’s for sure though: Damion Scott and Lee Loughridge make a great team.

Grade: B+

“Pinky Swear”

By Joe Kelly (Writer) and Rob Liefeld (Artist)

The Story: Deadpool looks to cash in on a bet.

The Good And The Bad: I’m not going to bother with the debate about Rob Liefeld’s art style. Why? Because his work for “Pinky Swear” sure as hell isn’t going to change any minds. As for the story, Joe Kelly does a nice job of delaying the whole point of the story for comedic effect. Had the story been even a page longer though, I probably would have lost my patience with the whole thing. Kelly’s dialogue is funny, but the story drags on for longer than it should.

Grade: C

“What Happens in Vegas…”

By Duane Swierczynski (Writer), Shawn Crystal (Artist), and Lee Loughridge (Colors)

The Story: A crime scene investigation… Deadpool style.

The Good And The Bad: In order to get the most out of Duane Swierczynski’s Deadpool story, you have to have some familiarity with the whole crime scene T.V. show fad. If you do, you’ll probably find Swierczynski’s script to be pretty damned funny. Stereotypical investigators, talk of sex crimes, a bloody crime scene…it’s all there. It wouldn’t work nearly as well if Shawn Crystal’s artwork didn’t capture the vibe of Swierczynski’s script, but, thankfully, it does in every way.

Grade: C+

“Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea”

By Victor Gischler (Writer), Sanford Greene (Pencils), Nathan Massengill (Inks), and Dave McCaig (Colors)

The Story: Deadpool goes on a cruise and disrupts Dr. Octopus.

The Good And The Bad: While the bright and colorful artwork by Sanford Green and his team is a bit jarring, it’s certainly not bad in any way. It gets the job done and helps make “Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea” one of the more enjoyable reads in Deadpool #900. Victor Gischler’s script is nothing special, but it definitely makes good use of the Doc’s arms.

Grade: C+

“One Down”

By Charlie Houston (Writer) and Kyle Baker (Artist)

The Story: A “meta” Deadpool story in which the character wonders about his life.

The Good And The Bad: “One Down” is a pretty trippy story all around. From Kyle Baker’s bizarre visuals (Deadpool Vs. a pirate Fin Fang Foom anyone?) to Charlie Houston’s “meta” script, nearly everything about “One Down” is strange. It works, but the story certainly isn’t for everyone.

Grade: B-

“Deadpool & Widdle Wade: Turning Japanese”

By James Felder (Writer), Pete Woods (Pencils), Walden Wong (Inks), and Shannon Blanchard (Colors)

The Story: A reprint of an older Deadpool story, “Deadpool & Widdle Wade” is the largest story in Deadpool #900. It’s about Deadpool dealing with a Japanese mobsters Deadpool clone.

The Good And The Bad: I’m a bit torn about “Deadpool & Widdle Wade.” On one hand, it’s creatively decent and pretty fun all around. On the other, it’s a reprint that’s taking up space that could have been used on other new Deadpool stories.

Grade: C

Conclusion: Deadpool #900 is a great value, but none of the stories in the book fall under the “must read” category. Pick it up if you are a fan of the character.

Overall Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

super awesome, noir style cover

now that is one hell of a cover. a new action packed super huge 104 page comic from Marvel, all focused on our favorite merc with a mouth, Deadpool. Look at this fucking line-up:

Written by: Jason Aaron, Mike Benson, Victor Gischler, Charlie Huston, Joe Kelly, Duane Swierczynski, Fred Van Lente
Art by: Kyle Baker, Shawn Crystal, Sanford Greene, Rob Liefeld, Damion Scott, Chris Staggs, Dalibor Talajic

…kinda awesome. Look for it October 14th.

You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing to you the full story…of Jesse.

Our story begins with Nostradamus predicting Jesse’s birth in a quatrain that has also been interpreted as predicting the career of Vanilla Ice. This is doubly prophetic in that Jesse holds the world record for most Vanilla Ice concerts attended: 2…. Coincidentally, Vanilla Ice holds the world record for most Jesse concerts attended: 10.

As foretold, the birth occurred on July 7th 1547. What the quatrain fails to mention is that he was immediately tossed into the North Sea. No reason for this can be found. Subsequently, the infant was frozen in a chunk of ice, as happens all too often when a human body comes into contact with cold Nordic waters.

Time marched on, and time still marched on. Improbably, baby Jesse was discovered by the Avengers, becoming only the third person to be discovered in ice and revived by a team of superheroes. Having no place for a super-infant, the Avengers sent him to a “School for Gifted Youngsters.”

It was at this point that I encountered the young mutant. We were asked to leave the school shortly before a certain encounter with a certain “Master of Magnetism” at a certain Air Force Base. The details are certainly ugly and sealed by certain court orders. Suffice it to say this “school” had no use for the mutant powers of being excessively tall (Jesse) or ridiculously hirsute (me).

After many (potentially copyright infringing) adventures, Jesse and I parted ways. He wanted to fulfill his dream of playing jazz tuba for Jethro Tull; I was needed for Golden Girls. Our paths crossed again when we met up in a bar down in old Soho after I was booted off the show and Jethro Tull stopped being about the jazz instruments. The rest, as they say, is fish-story.

Jesse says that I am the funny one; the truth is somewhat stranger. Best I can figure, using instruments I modified from stolen e-Meters, we actually feed off of each other. A feedback loop is created and insanity ensues. In the same way Conan can be funny without Andy, but not vice-versa, such is our friendship. My life would be a string of failed tv pilots without Jesse.

I end this story/ homage with a final little known fact to illustrate the true awesomeness of this human being: Jesse is one of two people still subsidizing the career of Rob Liefeld. Congratulations, my friend of friends, on your week of non-stop posting and the improbable outcome!

I fully intended to write about Black Hole by Charles Burns today:

But then I came across this list:

21 Artists Who Changed Mainstream Comics

which is a list of 21 ‘influential’ comic book artists of what looks like the last 30 years.  The list itself is pretty meh, as anyone with a passing interest in comics could have come up with those names, and wrote a small paragraph about them.

However, THAT site led me to this site:

Progressive Boink

And now I have no choice but dedicate this space to trying to rationalize this man’s 15 minutes of fame.

That site above has the 40 most egregious drawings by one Mr. Rob Liefeld.  Here’s a taste of his early 90s contribution to the art world:

That’s number 40 on the ProgressiveBoink list.  There’s 39 more of these things.

You know how in disaster movies or TV shows there are those characters that stand around, looking at the ruins/wreckage and whisper “how did this happen?”  ”why didn’t anyone do anything to stop this?”

That’s how I feel looking back on the early 90s.  I feel like I’ve just survived some horrible-man made disaster, and there are no answers to why all these horrible things were allowed to happen.

And it isn’t just the drawings.  This man was published.  By Marvel.  For YEARS.  And people wanted more!  MORE!

Look at this!

What the hell were you thinking, Marvel!?

Sadly, I know what you were thinking:

Marvel exec:  ”This is terrible.  What happened to Cap’s arm?  Was it amputated?  We can’t publish this!”

Exec 2:  ”Did I mention his last issue sold so well, I bought a new jet, yacht, and your first born son?

Marvel exec:  ”Fuck it, let’s get this bad boy on the shelf.”

This is the only scenario I can allow myself to accept.  I refuse to believe the people in charge really believed this stuff was pleasant to look at, and only put it out because of one reason:

Everyone buying comics in the 90s had Mad Cow disease and didn’t know any better.

If it wasn’t so ridicurous, yes ridicurous, I’d be disgusted with society.  This guy made loads of money, and was absolutely EVERYWHERE, while a phenomenal artist like Jim Woodring, no one’s ever heard of.  I certainly wouldn’t have if not for my sleuthing for interesting comics.  And I went to a school FOUNDED on cartooning.  I’d be willing to bet most of the people I went to school with haven’t heard of him either.  I’ll have a post on him sometime.

But back to Liefeld.

Damn.

Just damn.

It was a beautiful day outdoors today. Almost cool enough for a bike ride… Almost, right?  Halloween props are beginning to go up around the neighborhood and it’s beginning to feel like my favorite part of the year…. Anyway….

I didn’t get a whole lot of work done today, but that’s okay. About all I did art-wise was draw some doodles and I did a ‘funsy’ logo. Someone on Rob Liefeld’s Forum was requesting a logo for their comic and I did one since I wasn’t doing anything at the moment except surfing the net… I get sidetracked easily. 

It’s not anything great. I was just passing the time I guess. I didn’t really follow any instructions that the guy provided other than to use the words. I don’t follow the lines on the floor very well, either.

On a side note: I can’t believe I’ve had 14000 hits the last 2 months, after having a thousand the first 3 months. Today I told that to a friend of mine and was asked “and you can make money on that how?”

” I dunno.”

It’s all for fun at this point.

Legendary Cardboard is honored to have cracked the WordPress Top 100 for the first time, and we are ecstatic to see the random synchronicity of the company that we are keeping at the present moment.

Who would have ever imagined that one day Jessica Alba and Rob Liefeld would be that close?

Rob Liefeld did the first Deadpool in 1991. Now he is breaking big news about the Deadpool motion picture.  Since the Marvel Superstars Trading Card Game is featuring the art and the mythology of the silver screen versions of each featured character, the intensity of this information is amplified exponentially.

Now we know that our cards will be donning the best mask in the business while he breaks the fourth wall and grabs us by the guts.  Rob Liefeld has dropped three major Deadpool movie bombshells that are detonating anticipation storms all over the world.

• Deadpool will be wearing his costume in the movie.
• Deadpool will be speaking directly to the audience, maintaining his comic book mastery of the fourth wall.
• Cable may appear in a future X-Men film.

Yes, he said Cable. The time traveling fan favorite will eventually have a shot at a cardboard incarnation in Marvel Superstars. It is something that was not considered possible before last week, and we are happier than a kid in a candy (dead) pool to start preparing for it.

Thanks Rob Liefeld, here’s to the future!

O mercenário falastrão Deadpool foi criado nos quadrinhos pelo desenhista Rob Liefeld, ao lado do roteirista Fabian Nicieza, na série dos Novos Mutantes em 1991. Faz sentido, portanto, que a produtora Lauren Schuler Donner tenha procurado Liefeld para discutir o filme do personagem – e no Twitter o quadrinista conta como foi a conversa.

“Eles entendem Deadpool. Será um bastardo engraçado, metidinho, torturado, com muita ação. Ele estará com o uniforme e conversará com o público. E vai ter muita matança”, disse Liefeld, confirmando o que o ator Ryan Reynolds já havia comentado sobre a quarta parede.

O desenhista ainda disse que Schuler Donner tocou no assunto Cable, mas o mutante só deve aparecer no cinema em um futuro filme dos X-Men, não em Deadpool.

E por enquanto é isso. O filme ainda não tem roteirista contratado, nem cronograma definido.

I’m not going to lie – I hate Rob Liefeld especially after he ranted on about not being homophobic because Shatterstar (a lame sword-swinging x-man) couldn’t be gay because he’s a “Spartan and Spartans weren’t gay”. Yeah… right.

Anyway, I came across this page today when I gearing up for my next “Rob Liefeld is a Hack” post:

Click to Enlarge

You know what my problem is with this scene – it’s ok to ridiculous gay (x-)men and make them into cross-dressing cocksuckers but it’s not ok for them to be warriors and have loving homosexual relationships.

Again Mr. Liefeld – fuck you.

Click to Enlarge

Rob Liefeld’s ability to steal great comic ideas and created terrible bastards never ceases to bring me pure and utter joy. Whether it is the Ultimates (as seen above), Supergirl,  Captain American, Hulk, Justice League, or the Authority – this hack has them all.

Honestly his characters always seem like bad forum avatars – he thought Superman was cool so he created his own lifeless version called Supreme and thought no one would ever tell the difference *side eye*.

I guess I’m just really disappointed after 25 years in the comic industry he still try to pass off recycled ideas as original thought. To be fair, I don’t have a problem with homages at all but there comes a point when it isn’t a homage – it’s a ripoff.

Urgh I still can’t believe they are making a move out of his Avengers/JLA/X-Men/Teen Titans rip-offs. If only someone would give him the “shaft”.

from here.

Disney bought Marvel comics!

from here.

What that actually means in business terms. It’s interesting stuff. One thing: Payoffs, big time.

The top 70 Marvel comics panels of all time.

Sand castle codes.

Brian Jones’ death to reexamined.

The cinema of romantic revenge.

“I don’t know what color your eyes are, baby, but your hair is long and brown…”

What you need to know about one of the greatest comics ever, Love And Rockets.

Chris Brown blames Larry King for what happened with Rihanna.

Africans “under siege” in Moscow.

The five faces of Two Face and Rob Liefeld.

One of my favorite comics ever, Young Liars by David Lapham, presented to you in 17 panels.

Stray Bullets, also by David Lapham.

The future of contextual advertising.

William Golding, author of The Lord Of The Flies, was an attempted rapist.

How to deal with annoying friends.

Batshit nuts pastor prays for Obama’s death.

A remembrance of Sharon Tate.

India abandons their moon mission.

Jack Kirby and the severed head of Superman.

from here.

Symbolism and the $1 bill.

The sequential art version of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.

Where science fiction gets serious.

Grant Morrison and Clive Barker.

New Batgirl. And you know I like Batgirl.

Someone is actually adapting Shhh! by Jason into a film. Nice.

Akiva Goldsman to write a reboot of those shitty Fantastic Four movies.

Science ponders zombie attack. The gist of it: We lose.

Turns out in the early 90’s Stan Lee hosted a show that featured various artists talking about their craft and usually doing a sketch or something. Several of these episodes were made, and they were presented as direct to video. Though I knew of its existence, I never really watched an episode of this series until one my friends on the spoony experiment forums sent me a link to an episode that featured both Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld.

Now Liefeld did his own episode, as well as McFarlane, and I will get to those in the future, but today I am going to present to you  The Comic Book Greats Featuring Stan Lee, Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane creating a character named Overkill.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 (credits)

I have to admit it is impressive they created a character in twenty minutes based solely on a name. Other than that the art is definitely early Liefeldian. Big Shoulder pads (which Stan Lee quips about) and the disproportionate body. The arms look like solid tree trunks, and the legs make no sense. We also get McFarlane’s love of chains, rivets, and bullet holes.

Overkill just looks plain silly. I do love Stan’s questioning over how is he going to move, how does he suit up, etc. McFarlane’s only excuse is that it’s a comic you have to “suspend…reality”. In the end, it was an intriguing insight into the minds of Liefeld and McFarlane during the early 90’s and how they believe kids love all of the stuff they did. The truth is they probably did.

Oh well, I hope you enjoyed this look into the past. There will be more of these to come in the later weeks with such greats as Claremont and Romita Jr. Thanks for watching and reading. Thanks also goes to Pike at TSE forums for the suggestions.

This article was originally titled Adjectiveless Comic Review: X-force #1, but was renamed to fit the series that it was more suited towards.

Well today is another big day for celebration here at CBO Productions. We turned a month old yesterday . I know this may not seem important to most people, but a lot has happened in this past month. We went from a small, inconsistent readership to a medium-sized, steady daily readership, we had an article win Awesome Blog of the Week over at TGWTG.com, and we added a new member to the staff here at CBO Productions. I will talk more about him later, but all you need to know is that he is more behind the scenes and will be posting content sometime in the future.

Enough of that. I am not here today to talk about the workings of CBO Production, I am here today to review a comic that you can probably find in any shop that sells back issues. That comic is X-force Vol. 1 #1

X-force vol.1 #1

Credits:
Written By: Fabian Nicieza & Rob Liefeld
Pencils & Ink By: Rob Liefeld
Letters By: Chris Eliopoulos
Color By: Brad Vancata
Editors: Bob Harras
Editor-in-chief: Tom DeFalco

I was saving this comic for another review series, but we have been a site for over a month and yet to post a Adjectiveless Comic Review. The name is in the header after all. So in honor of the 1 month anniversary I busted it out of its plastic wrapping. I guess I should explain that real quick.  Back during the 90’s almost every major first issue of a comic that might be big was wrapped in plastic and called a “collector’s item”.

Notice the plastic bag around the comic.

This led to the increase in speculation of the value of comics and more people buying them as an investment. Unfortunately, this led to the collapse of the comic book industry in the late 90’s. There is more to this story, but that is for another day. We are reviewing a comic that started a long franchise and introduced major characters in the X-men universe.

Let’s start this review by examining the cover.

We are given this simple wrap around cover.  I admit wrap around’s are a great idea in principle. Expand the size of the cover to allow more art. Problem here is that the art is bland at best. As you can see by the signature on the cover, this cover was illustrated by Rob Liefeld. His trademark art style is all over this cover. Bulging muscles, shoulder pads, disproportionate appendages, squinty eyes, and pouches abound. My God the pouches. Cable has 3, Boom Boom (the girl in pink) has 3, Shatterstar (man in white) has 4 and what seems to be a super pouch across his waist, and Domino has 3 visible. Another thing that sticks out is the weird headgear on Domino and Shatterstar. At first I figured Shatterstar’s must be from the Mojoverse (his home dimension), but Longshot (another Mojoverse character) doesn’t have such head gear.

Longshot

So why does Shatterstar wear such a pointless article of clothing? At least Domino’s seems to be for function as it has a head set. Shatterstar’s just looks silly. I guess at the time it was meant to look cool, but either it looked silly then or didn’t age well.  Speaking of poorly aged characters look closer at Boom Boom. She looks like some random punk rock chick. The big sunglasses and hair that can only be seen in an Aqua-net commercial.  I know this comic was written in 1991, but dang don’t ever make a character design that immediately dates your character. I could write pages just about how silly everyone looks on this cover, but I won’t. We would be here all day if I did, and I best be moving on to the actual comic itself.

Now a bad cover can be saved by a great book, but this isn’t the case with X-force #1. The book is mediocre at best. Here is the entire plot synopsis:

Cable and the rest of X-force attack the Mutant Liberation Front headquarters in Antarctica for no real reason other than to stop them and their leader, Stryfe. They battle the MLF’s henchmen and beat them firmly into the ground. Stryfe  notices defeat is looming and proceeds to blow up his own base. Cable tries to chase down the MLF leader, but Stryfe teleports away with the rest of the MLF goons before the hero can catch him. Meanwhile in a separate, unrelated plot, two characters, Gideon and Sunspot, are talking about the thrilling world of business. We learn they are going to buy out a company. Then the story jumps back over to Plot A with Commander Bridge and his group of SHIELD agents looking over the wreckage of the MLF  base explosion. Bridge identifies Cable’s weapon among the wreckage and alerts SHIELD HQ of Cable’s actions and the threat he poses to the world.

The story location jumps to X-force’s HQ in a former Sentinel base. Cable acts mysterious and reveals only a small part of his back story to Cannonball. After Cannonball leaves, Domino walks in and catches Cable using his telekinetic powers. Domino warns Cable about using his powers in the open and tells him to be more discreet with his past. The story then jumps back over to Plot B, with Sunspot and Gideon, as they are going to the meeting to buy out the company discussed earlier. The owner of the company brings in her muscle, Tom Cassidy, to prevent the buy out. The comic ends plot B with a cliffhanger as Cassidy announces that he is holding Sunspot and Gideon hostage for “Scads of Money”. The comic jumps one last time over to plot A as Commander Bridge tells Colonel Fury about the situation with Cable. Fury orders Bridge to call in Weapon X, and with that issue 1 of  X-force ends with two cliffhangers.

It seems like a lot is going on in this comic when in reality there isn’t really anything happening. There is one scene of any real action, and that happens in only 10 pages of this 33 page comic. This is a book that was billed as an action title back in 1991, and it fails to deliver the goods. There are almost as many pages devoted to the “Sunspot and Gideon business world” subplot as there are to the action pages. Instead of action we get pages upon pages of vague dialogue and narration.

The writing is the real crime of this comic, not the art. Look at this gem of a first page right here:

Got to love the narration in the first panel.  It is like Nicieza was trying to add some depth to this comic by making the heroes seem troubled by their actions and what they are about to take part in, but no. They are just waiting for the sensor scans to come in before they attack. They don’t seem hesitant at all. Actually, they seem to want to go in there and bust some heads. I do love the last line from Cable, “Today, the terrorist actions of the Mutant Liberation Front… COME TO AN END!”  Nothing really bad about it. Just funny how the last part of the sentence is screamed and the art reflects it so well.  The comic continues with the bland writing throughout the book, and it doesn’t help how the plot is paced. The rough cuts between the separate plot lines is jarring and unsettling to the mind. One minute you are in Antarctica and the next you are in New York, often on the same page. It is like the team behind this book didn’t understand the basic premise of spacing the locations out on two separate pages.

Now some books can alternate between two locations and it works, but that is because the two locations contain two sides of the same plot and it adds dramatic effect. Take this quick sample I just threw together:

Setting: The Hero, Jim, has confronted the sinister villain, Mastermind about his fiendish plot. The villain has captured Jim’s girlfriend Alex and placed her somewhere with a bomb attached.

Panel 1:

Jim is standing before Mastermind.

Jim:

MASTERMIND! Where is Alex?!

Mastermind:

Well Jimmy boy, that is for me to know and you to find out.

Panel 2:

Alex is lying on the floor with a gag in her mouth. She is incapacitated and is surrounded by kegs of gunpowder. On top of one of the barrels is a clock wired to the barrels. The clock is counting down from 1 minute.

Caption (Mastermind):

I will tell you this. She is about to have a blast. Muahahaha!

Panel 3:

Jim is clutching Mastermind by the shirt. A countdown timer is in the corner.

Jim:

You sick freak. You better tell me where she is or I will…

Mastermind:

Or you will, WHAT!? You and I both know you don’t kill. So what threat do you pose to me? I am going to prison as it is, might as well take someone out before you put me away.

Mastermind:

And who better than your…

Time Caption

00:30

Panel 4:

Alex is waking up to discover the powder kegs surrounding her. Her face shows the look of fright and horror as she discovers her predicament. The clock face is visible and shows only :25

Caption (Mastermind):

Precious little girlfriend!!

Alex:

Someone, anyone, HELP!!!

Panel 5:

Jim has his fist glowing with the red energy of his rage. Mastermind is just leaning back, laughing. The timer is still in the corner

Mastermind:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Jim:

You bastard! I will kill you if you harm her! Now tell me where is she!

Mastermind:

Well if I have to say right at this moment…

Caption (timer):

00:05

Panel 6:

Just a picture of the timer stating 00:04

Panel 7:

Timer stating 00:03

Panel 8:

Timer stating 00: 02

Panel 9:

Alex is looking up at the clock with tears running down her face. The Clock states 00:01

Panel 10:

An explosion of the location holding Alex.

Caption (timer):

00:00

Caption (Mastermind):

IN HELL! HAHAHAHA!!!

That simple page conveyed more drama and intensity than X-force has in its whole 33 pages. It jumps between location on the same page for a reason. Not like X-force where they jump mid-page because they have to show a couple extra panels of unnecessary dialogue . The fact that the writing is just dull and boring really hurts this book more than its artwork.

That is not to say the art is fantastic. It is early Liefeld. I already stated some of his signatures, but here is some of the interior art. See if you can spot what is wrong with these pictures.

Picture 1

Have you noticed what is wrong in this picture? Well Picture 1, suffers from a severe disproportionate figure. The scale for a human body is based on head length and width. The shoulders are meant to be two “head widths” wide, and here they are at least four.  I can’t tell for sure actually considering the angle of the pose. Another problem in the first picture is that he seems to have thighs the size of bowling balls and the arms of a t-rex.  That is just bad style and skill.

Picture 2

Picture 2 doesn’t fare much better. The eyes are almost non-existent, and to quote Linkara, Cable is suffering from “Young Bloods’ disease”. This does make some sense as Liefeld created and illustrated Young Bloods, and here you can see his trademark style shining through. This still is not the worst of it. That belongs Picture 3.

Picture 3

Picture 3 looks like a joke. His legs are almost twice as long as his torso. His arms have no elbows and look like some sick steroid experiment gone horribly wrong. His torso isn’t facing the same direction as the rest of his body, or at least that is what the deformed up musculature implies. His body is over eight “Head lengths” long. The body is supposed to be around six to seven “head lengths”. His width is left to our wildest imagination as the art fails to convey any real depth. The knee pads are not the same size. The left arm is longer than the right. His hair is funny. His cheek bone looks like he is a crack head. Then, there is the pouches. I already talked about that some when we looked at the cover but damn, there is more here than the cover.  There is 11 total pouches shown but we can assume there is at least 2 more on the other side of that thunder thigh.

The sad thing is that there are at least four other characters who have poses much like the third picture, and the book is filled with art similar to the other two pictures. This is just pathetic, but I blame this more on the editors and the people over the artist. They should have told Liefeld what not to do, but for some reason they let it go. The consumers apparently bought it up too. So there is no one to blame for the continuation of this art except yourselves, but I better stop before I turn this into an “In Defense” article on Liefeld.

In summation, X-force Vol. 1 #1 is a mediocre comic at best. The art is horrendous, and the writing is just bland.  I found the writing to be the part that ruined the comic. The writing makes the comic forgettable. It didn’t offer any real story, and only one thing happened during the whole book. That one thing happened in the first ten pages. The rest of the book feels much like filler. At least bad art is memorable, but bad writing has no excuse. This comic is just a piece of trash and not worth the fifty cents I payed for it. If you see this comic in a bin at the local comic shop, pass it up and buy X-men #1 instead. At least that had Claremont writing it.

Thanks for reading and join us later today when we will have another blog up.