#dan mora was so real for drawing bruce

[daydreamerwonderkid]

Happy Birthday to the world's wettest raccoon of a man

What a fucking mess. I love him.

[zahri-melitor]

DC Artists Tournament - Round 7

Fan submitted propaganda below:

Dan Mora:

I'm picky about comic art, but Mora never lets me down. His grasp of human anatomy is second to none, and yet his true emphasis is on character interaction and expressions. He takes every opportunity to SHOW you what the characters are thinking and feeling.

Made Bruce Wayne a dilf

Batman/Superman: World's Finest & Shazam (2023). Mora draws superhero ass superheroes in a way that really meshes with Waid's commitment to writing superhero ass superheroes. Their powers combine to evoke a nostalgia for a superhero heyday that didn't exist.

Tim Sale:

Whenever I think of the Joker I think of Tim Sale drawing those teeth so that it's half his face. Whenever I think of Poison Ivy I think of Tim Sale drawing it so the leaves are just spilling out of her head like real ivy. Whenever I think of Catwoman. Muscles.

He has some really distinct really cool art. The contrast between his art with Batman vs with Superman shows he's able to show and use light in his art really well

[therealtsk]

TSK’s thoughts on Detective Comics#1027

alright you heccers let’s review this very mixed bag.  My general thoughts before I get into the individual stories: it’s really depressing. you’d think that the people who have been working on comics for years and writing for even longer would understand that the short-story format requires genuine emotion or ingenuity to be compelling, but only 4 people got the memo. now, the individual stories themselves:  Blowback, by Peter.J Tomasi and Brad Walker. Literally just a dramatized summary of batman’s rogues gallery. No actual story, no new insights into the characters, I would have more fun reading the wiki. 1/10.  The Master Class, by Brian Micheal Bendis and David Marquez. Art was great, dialogue was not. My girl Steph was there but not my children Duke and Cass (gee i wonder why it’s not like those two are the only ones who aren’t whitewashed.) 3/10 for the occasional good line and good art.  Many Happy Returns, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. Is this...an actually good Joker story with an ending that actually has impact? My god, I’d thought I’d never see the day. 7/10, good shit.  Rookie, by Greg Rucka and Eduado Risso. Greg Rucka reminds me why i loved Gotham Central so much, highlighting the nature of Gotham and police corruption but ending on a hopeful not that we can change the broken system. 9/10, i stan Rucka Ghost Story, by James Tynion IV and Riley Rossmo. My eyes, they bled reading this. Riley can draw well but this was not one of those times, and Tynion. Enough said. The Dick Grayson disrespect was real, too. 1/10  Fore, by Kelly Sue Deconnik and John Romita. Jr. Art was terrible, writing was awesome. Maybe my favorite one. 8/10, if only the art was better this would be the clear winner. Odyssey, by Marv Wolfman and Emanuel Luppachino. Art was great, story was meh. Only noteworthy thing it says is that nazis are bad, and it’s fucking depressing that I have to list that as a positive instead of as a given. 4/10.  Detective #26, by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham. Ugly art, ugly writing. There is legitimately no point to reading this. This story has nothing to say, no reason to exist, and it has Batman kill since Morrison still thinks that’s cool. Piss off. 0/10 Legacy, by Tom King and Walter Simonson. Fuck. This. Short. Story. Using cancer as a trapping to make the audience feel sad instead of actually earning my emotions through your writing is one of the most concieted things I’ve ever seen, and bringing Dennis O'Neil into it? Fuck you. 0/10.  As Always, by Scott Synder and Ivan Reis. IDK about you guys but I’ve always wanted to read a comic where Synder basically shouts “ISNT MY BRUCE THE BEST. ISN’T COOL HOW HE ALWAYS DEUS EX MACHINA’S OUT OF THINGS BY BUILDING COOL GADGETS. DONT YOU LOVE MY COMICS.” No? In that case, 3/10, and only for the art. I don’t like public masturbation.  Generations: Fractured, by Dan Jurgens and Kevin Nowlan. I really liked the art style shift but that was the most unsatisfying ending. 5/10. A Gift, by Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora, and Tamra Bonvillian. Oh my god, Dan Mora’s art and Tamra Bonvillian’s coloring alone makes this worth reading. Markio’s writing is solid as well- the story itself leaves a little to be desired, but all things consider it’s more well-constructed then half of the stories here. 7/10.  In Summation: Mariko, Kelly, Rucka, and Matt wrote the only stories worth a damn. The rest aren’t worth your time.   

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1275

Monday, August 19, 2019

It was so hot and humid outside just now when I went to get the newspaper (yes, we still have it delivered) that it felt like I was walking into a sauna. I hope it rains to cut the humidity down. We certainly need the water as our gardens are wilting. It's been so dry that there's a burn ban in effect. I couldn't make a fire in the fire pit up at the cottage, much to my disappointment. The pleasure of sitting around a fire must be a primitive thing hard wired since we first were able to make fire.

Detective Comics #1009 – Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Christian Duce (art) Luis Guerrero (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). A new story starts here and it's a doozy. Deadshot is the bad guy and he might have been contracted to kill Bruce Wayne. The next issue can't hit the racks fast enough for me.

Event Leviathan #2 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Josh Reed (letters). I'm late to this because I had to wait on reorders. I think the identity of who Leviathan is gets revealed this issue. I'm glad it didn't take the team of the world's greatest detectives too long to figure it out.

Event Leviathan #3 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Josh Reed (letters). Psyche! Leviathan isn't who the detectives suspected it was last issue. It's still a mystery and the real deal does show up this issue. You may recall that Amanda Waller has been MIA, well not anymore. She's a big part of this thing. This story has fans talking and that's always fun.

The Amazing Spider-Man #27 – Nick Spencer (writer) Kev Walker (pencils) John Dell (inks) Laura Martin (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The new Syndicate has been hired to capture Boomerang and Spidey is forced to help his roommate Fred/Boomerang. Things don't turn out so well for the good guys. The last page has a shocking surprise that harkens back to the good old days of Stan Lee.

Powers of X #2 – Jonathan Hickman (writer) R.B. Silva (art) R.B. Silva & Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). The X in the title also represents the Roman numeral for ten. The scope of this issue is huge. We go from year zero of the X-Men to year 1000 as the mutants try to find a way to survive. There's not a lot of action but a heck of a lot of planning and strategising. I think our patience will be rewarded when Jonathan Hickman starts cooking with gas.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10 – Tom Taylor (writer) Ken Lashley (art pages 1 – 14, thumbnails pages 15 – 17) Scott Hanna (inks pages 15 – 17) Luca Maresca (art pages 18 – 20) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). The team-up with Hobie Brown, the good guy Prowler, ends with a cameo from Iron Man. I like bad guy makes good stories.

Catwoman #14 – Ram V (writer) Mirka Andolfo (art) Arif Prianto (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Hermosa Heat part 1. It's a new story with a new writer. There's a bounty on Catwoman and she going to find out who put it out there. I'm not a fan of the new cut-outs on her cat suit. I think it's just to show more titillating skin for the fanboys and that's creepy. The panels with the side boobs is what makes me think that.

Ironheart #9 – Eve L. Ewing (writer) Luciano Vecchio (art) Geoffo (layouts) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Riri goes to Wakanda in search of the mystical Wellspring of Power. She and Shuri meet for the first time and the young women's personalities clash like oil and water. Fortunately, a crisis bonds them later. A new character joins the story on the last page and she's related to someone that Ironheart fought against back in Chicago. I want to learn more about Silhouette.

Silver Surfer Black #3 – Donny Cates (writer) Tradd Moore (art) Dave Stewart (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). The planet Ego helps Norrin Radd to recover from his battle with Knull and it's a good thing because then the Silver Surfer can return the favour and cure Ego of a type of cancer. The surprise is what's causing the cancer. This weird story just got a lot weirder.

Loki #2 – Daniel Kibblesmith (writer) Oscar Bazaldua (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Loki visits Tony Stark to ask to join the Avengers. 'Tis to laugh, as they say. This issue ends in a most unlikely place and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #9 – Saladin Ahmed (writer) Javier Garron (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Is it time for Miles to be rescued from his kidnappers? Yes it is. His dad Jeff and his uncle Aaron team up to save Miles. Aaron getting a new Prowler suit might mean trouble in the future. I wonder how long Miles's mysterious kidnappers are going to stay a mystery?

Batman Universe #2 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Nick Derington (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Josh Reed (letters). I think Brian Bendis is using this book to play with all the heroes and villains in the DCU. Batman teams up with Green Arrow briefly and goes to Gorilla City. By the end of the issue he's on another planet and I don't know if the Thanagarians are going to welcome him nicely or not. Oh, and we find out who the big bad is. I groaned.

Punisher Kill Krew #1 – Gerry Duggan (writer) Juan Ferreyra (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is what I love about comic books. You can tell whatever far fetched story you want and have it beautifully illustrated. This is a spin off from War of the Realms where Frank Castle continues his war hunting down a frost giant named Kasyckla. But how is he supposed to get to Jotunheim? Wouldja believe via chariot pulled by one of Thor's goats? I wonder who is going to be in his Krew?

Once & Future #1 – Kieron Gillen (writer) Dan Mora (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). I don't know why people are speculating on this book but it seems to be the hot buy of the week. This new 6-issue mini is a twist on the Arthurian legend with it not being clear whether Arthur is a good guy or a bad guy. There's a group of people wanting to resurrect the dead king to make Britain great again. This faction will kill to get their way. Duncan gets roped by his grandmother Bridgette into stopping this group of bad guys. I like the feisty Bridgette so I will keep reading this to see what else she and Duncan get up to. It's jolly good fun.

Gwenpool Strikes Back #1 – Leah Williams (writer) David Baldeon (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I never got into this fourth wall breaking comic book character before but I read a story that she was in recently and liked how fun she was. This issue is a great introduction to this whacky character and you needn't have read any of her previous appearances to get what's going on. You will get an extra kick out of Gwenpool if you're a dyed in the wool Marvel Maniac like me though. The rest of this 5-issue mini is going on to my “must read” list.

Age of Conan Valeria #1 – Meredith Finch (writer) Aneke (art) Andy Troy (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I was not impressed with Age of Conan Bêlit because I liked the book version of Bêlit more than the comic book version. Valeria is another matter however. She fought alongside Conan in “Red Nails” my all time favourite Conan comic book story. The way Barry Smith drew her made me fall in love with her. This origin story has Valeria hunting down her brother's killer and even though she looks like Betty Cooper with a sword, I like this enough to find out if she succeeds in her quest.

Silver Surfer The Prodigal Son #1 – Peter David (writer) Francesco Manna (art) Espen Grundetjern (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Now that the Fantastic Four have gotten him off Earth, Prah'd'ghul's adventures take him into space. Where there's space, there glides the Silver Surfer. This story flashes back to when the Silver Surfer was the herald of Galactus. In this issue he's just an Uber for Prah'd'ghul.

Fantastic Four #13 – Dan Slott (writer) Sean Izaakse (art) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The conclusion of the Thing versus the Hulk fight. I won't tell you who the winner is but I will tell you that the biggest loser is the Puppet Master. You won't like him when he's angry, and the Puppet Master made the Hulk extremely angry.

Conan the Barbarian Exodus #1 – Esad Ribic (writer & art) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). This was an easy job for VC's Travis Lanham. There are no captions or dialogue other than a few Hyborian Age word balloons. This is the story of a young Conan wandering the land and surviving against man and beast. It won't take long to “read” but I spent a lot of time just taking in the beautiful artistry. Any time Esad Ribic draws a comic book it's worth picking up.

Doctor Strange #17 – Mark Waid (writer) Barry Kitson (pencils) Scott Koblish (inks) Brian Reber (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Herald Supreme part 6 is the conclusion to Stephen Strange's adventure with Galactus. This is a classic “deal with the devil” story when Mephisto enters the picture. Oh my god what a corny ending. Mark Waid also writes History of the Marvel Universe and he includes the whole thing right here. I did not finish the first issue of that chronicle and I am taking this opportunity to stop reading this title as well just because it got too maudlin.

Symbiote Spider-Man #5 – Peter David (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Here's another weak ending. There was never a doubt that Spider-Man and the Black Cat would win against Mysterio but boy was it ever done in a mundane way. I will think twice about reading this title the next time this book hits the racks.

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics:

Batman #138: I’m reading this again as this is just such a great comic. Seriously Zdarsky, well done. So many different fight details here. I particularly noticed Bruce is demonstrating super-strength on this read for some reason – he breaks both Dick’s escrima stick and Tim’s bo staff, he rips the door off a car (??!!). There are so many neat details of ‘something is seriously wrong with Bruce’ here.

Blue Beetle #2: I like the note here that Booster is taking Ted away to heal somewhere else in time. I also enjoyed that all the JLI folk instantly nominated Tora to go comfort Jaime. And finally, I am delighted to see characters finally suspicious of Victoria Kord because! I have been so sus on her! Since her first appearance in Graduation Day! Her vibes are indeed off! (And it’s not just the clear autism – I do not get nearly these levels of ‘when do you turn out to be an evil plant’ from say Dani Garrett, who is also intensely female autistic about the scarab and her grandfather)

Birds of Prey #2: The art in this comic remains immaculate. I love the x-ray, out of panel drawings for passing between the ‘real’ world and the magical world. In terms of the plot – I’m still not 100% in here trust wise, but Thompson is winning me over, issue by issue, by reassuring me she understands the characters and is making considered decisions to justify why this lineup. I really really think they screwed themselves a bit with the way they announced the lineup – the vibes in the comic itself are far more clear on who’s a long term choice (Cass, Barda) and who are more likely ‘this storyline only’ choices (Harley, Zealot).

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #2: This continues to make me so happy in its level of fun and metacommentary. I love the collection of villains, because there’s one existing rogue in each line (Beefeater, Maxie Zeus, Gentleman Ghost) and the six new ones, though admittedly Linka and King of Cats are somewhat linked to existing characters/mantles. The goof levels are off the charts (I lost it at the “Guns don’t kill people. I kill people” line) Anyway come for Bea and Tora remaining extremely ‘on a break’ as they definitely don’t date…uh…siblings, stay for the shenanigans. Maybe Bea and Tora will finally get to kiss in issue #6 (the kiss will obviously be a cheek peck or an accident during a fight scene or something)

Shazam! #4: Garguax the Distressing, Emperor of the MOON! I love him. He’s so silly. Chew on the scenery a bit more, Garguax! Also Billy manages to avoid mind control by realising he’s about to have his first ever kiss with a bee supervillain and deciding he’s not cool with that. Go you, Billy. This comic remains deeply committed to serious silliness and Silver Age vibes (Mark Waid. Dan Mora. Do we need to enforce the ‘one gorilla a month’ rule from the 1970s on you?) which is exactly what I want from the Shazamily. Also Darla appeared, my beloved.

Warlord #22: this week in Skartaris Travis was fighting a werewolf! I would pretend this was a surprise revelation on the very last page, but given someone turned up and shot a silver arrow during the very first fight scene, let’s just say this revelation was signalled.

In addition to the amusement I always get when archery occurs in this title, Grell enjoyed two full pages of serpent bondage scenes. Enjoy some assorted scenes.

Oh Mike Grell. Never change.

[angstandhappiness]

Lovely grungy old man

Happy Birthday to the world's wettest raccoon of a man

What a fucking mess. I love him.