Thursday, July 24, 2008

Comic Con - Kevin Smith on "Batman: Cacophony"

During the DC Nation panel, DC Editor Dan Didio introduced Kevin Smith as the writer for a 3-issue miniseries called "Batman: Cacophony". Smith was entertaining stating that issues 1 and 2 would come out in 2009 with issue 3 coming out years later. He addressed his issues with being good at putting out #1 issues and not following through. He assured the audience that issues #1 & 2 have been scripted and he's almost completed with #3. The artist is a good friend of his and is done with 22 pages so far. Didio stated that issue #1 would be out in November. Smith feigned surprise at that statement.

As quickly as he came in...he left. As I've been picking up the Bat-titles lately, I'll probably pick this up just to see Smith's take on the character.

Comic Con - Chatting with Freddie E. Williams II

I won't bore you with the long day I had before I even made it to Comic Con, but let me just say sitting in traffic on I-5 South for 4 hours isn't fun.

I got to the Con pretty late and headed to my favorite spot - Artist's Row. There sitting at the far end was "The Flash" artist Freddie E. Williams II. He was a very personable guy. I remember when he first came onto "The Flash" I was excited but then initially disappointed with how his art was being colored. Well, I think in the last few issues he really hit is stride....just in time for DC to move in a new direction. I discussed this with him and surprisingly there was not a note of bad feelings. He said DC asked him what he'd like to do next. He said he'd like to work on a young, caped hero that can have a dark side. To his surprise DC offered him to come back to "Robin". He had a bright smile on his face as he talked about it.

I'm looking forward to his last issue on "The Flash" as he said that DC allowed him to "cut loose" on the character. He said that he wanted to go out with a bang on the last issue. During our discussion he was sketching a pretty neat little Flash and it was interesting to see him draw. Freddie is a good guy from the great state of Missouri. He even talked with me about my son's art and told me to drop him a line when my son was old enough to start thinking about the biz.

If you make it to San Diego, go to artists row and check out the great personalities there. No lines and good conversation. It is neat to pull back the curtain a bit and see what makes these talents tick.

Thanks for the chat Freddie.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Nightwing #146

When writer Peter J. Tomasi hopped onto "Nightwing", it was like he was shot out of a cannon. This first arc has been a wonderful read, establishing Nightwing as a major player in the DCU. He's come a long way from almost being killed off in "Infinite Crisis". I hope that Tomasi has a character to work with after With what is happening to Dick over in Morrison's "Batman R.I.P.". Everytime Tomasi has Nightwing talk with Superman, I dig it. Tomasi can really nail dialogue between these two.

Art: 2 out of 4
Story: 3 out of 4
Overall: 3 out of 4

The art in this issue was passable. I liked Rags Morales previous issues much better. The fill-in artists, Don Kramer and Sandu Florea, just didn't capture the strength or grace of Nightwing like Morales can. While I'm not a big fan of fill-in artist, I do appreciate DC keeping this book on time. The closing chapter of the "Freefall" story arc wasn't as good as I would have hoped, but in the end Tomasi accomplished getting Nightwing back into the DCU at large. Tomasi's dialogue makes this book. If you didn't pick this up in floppies, I'd recommend the TPB when it comes out.

Billy Batson & the Magic of SHAZAM! #1

Aritst/Writer Mike Kunkel breathes life into Billy & Mary Batson. Kunkel crams a lot into this first issue. He quickly lets the reader know that this is a continuation of the Captain Marvel that we read in Jeff Smith's "Monster Society of Evil" miniseries. Kunkel sticks with the kid-like Billy & Mary and that really goes a long way in making this book kid friendly. He has a humorous take on the beginning adventures of Captain Marvel and he got a few chuckles out of me while I read this book.

Art: 4 out of 4
Story: 4 out of 4
Overall: 4 out of 4

Kunkel's art is stylistic and matches the tone of the story. I don't think he could cram any more panels onto the page. While many first issues cover little ground, Kunkel sets up Billy & Mary's living situation, school, Billy's job, the villain, and the relationship Billy has with the wizard Shazam. Along with a train saving adventure, this comic was well worth the price tag. My only concern is that there is so much dialogue on the page that younger readers may skip it. I hope they don't because this book is a breath of fresh air.