Mean Streets 8 Notes

I am going to remain mostly mum on this one, other than a brief shout-out to explain the battle between Mr. Mayor and the government agents. One thing I left out of earlier chapters and should have made more clear was that the US intelligence community doesn't have quite the hands off policy the US government claims to enforce. Mr. Mayor is a usual target of strikes like these, but none have came close to success.

Oh, and this bit was a backdoor pilot for another series I am developing, Suicide Blonde. You can expect it some time in the next year or so.

Obscure Heroes: Wildstar

Wildstar: Sky Zero was one of the initial “second wave” of Image Comics. Created by Al Gordon and Jerry Ordway, it stood next to Dale Keown’s Pitt, Sam Keith’s The Maxx, Larry Stroman’s Tribe, Keith Giffen’s Trencher, Mike Grell’s Shaman’s Tears. Like most of those stories, Wildstar lasted for only a four issue run. Unlike the others, that was all that was planned.

Al Gordon’s previous writing credits included fill-ins on Legion of Super-Heroes and Timber Wolf, so a story about time-traveling metahumans seems right up his alley. He comes in alongside legendary Superman artist Jerry Ordway to produce a new book about an aging hero from the future known as Wildstar. It seems he is stuck in a time-loop, but for most of the series, we are not sure why. But once again he travels in to the past in an attempt to stop the post-apocalyptic badlands of his current existence.

In the past, he comes across a government agency responsible for alien tech as well as Mickey, the son of the agency’s head. But Wildstar didn’t time-jump alone and he has a half-dozen other metas to make his way past. Wildstar and Mickey become inexplicably linked as he tries to escape attack from the other time travelers and their duped government allies.

By the end of issue three, our hero is dead, but as in so many comics, it is a death that won’t last.


Wildstar would later return for a ongoing series that would last only three issues and a guest shot in Rob Liefeld’s best Image title, New Men, before returning again fairly recently in the pages of Savage Dragon under the new name of Soulstar. It seems a copyright dispute left the character without a name... and those old issues unsaleable. It’s a damn shame too. Whatever his name, he was a damn fine comic character.

Not Quite Super-Powered Comics: Iron West

Doug TenNapel is one of the most fascinating creative minds of the last few years. He is almost certainly most famous as the creator of the oddball character Earthworm Jim, star of three video games of variable quality. But for the last few years, he has regularly been producing graphic novels at Image. Of these Iron West is by far the best.

Iron West doesn’t do costumed superheroes, but it does do pretty much everything else! A small town grifter named Preston Struck stumbles upon an invasion force made up of ancient alien robots that take on the likenesses of the population around them. Struck becomes a reluctant hero as he does the boy who cried wolf routine back in his hometown. Things heat up as he finds himself forced to look out for someone other than himself as the life of his beloved Miss Sharon falls in to danger.

I don’t want to ruin too much of the story for you, but I will say things get crazier after that. Expect to see robot Indians, Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster... suffice it to say, the story is heavy on the weird.

So if you want to see something super-powered but still crazy and far different than the usual fare, be sure to go searching for Mr. TenNapel and give Iron West a try. Recommended.

Super-Powered Comics: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

One of my goals when I originally started this blog was to not only focus on the superhero in every form of fiction, but also to focus on the superhero as portrayed by independent creators. The usual Marvel and DC talents are often great, true talents, but they get enough focus in my humble opinion.

So my first stop on my look at independent talent is... Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil.

Yes, it’s a DC book, but its creator is far from a mainstream name. Or, perhaps he is a mainstream name, considering the sales of the Scholastic re-releases of his seminal indy comic, Bone.

Inspired by the forties-era serial of the same name, The Monster Society of Evil shortens the original tale and combines it with Captain Marvel’s origin. But Dr. Sivana, the talking gators, giant robots, and Mister Mind remain.

While somewhat short on traditional Captain Marvel action, Shazam! still gives us solid story that looks at Billy and Mary Batson in a new light. Recurring allies Mary Marvel (in a fascinating new form) and Mr. Tawky Tawny (also revised for realism) make appearances, and both serve as stalwart allies as Billy searches for a way to save the city from Mister Mind’s malicious plot.

As anyone who has seen Bone would know, the art is absolutely gorgeous. Smith is a master of his craft, able to combine realism and animation styles in to a style absolutely perfect for Captain Marvel and company.

This series was overlooked for any number of reasons when it was originally released. But now that an affordable trade paperback edition is now available, no one has an excuse to pass up one of the finest super-powered limited series of the last few years.

Super-Powered Comics: Wednesday Comics #1

I picked up DC’s inaugural issue of their fourth weekly title Wednesday Comics (fifth if you count the old school excellence of Action Comics Weekly) and I found the results somewhat lackluster. Yes, we have some big name creators on great DC properties, but most of the stories fall flat on their face, almost if the creators have no idea what format they are working in.

Batman and Teen Titans seem to be produced by people unaware that they have only one page an issue as next to nothing happens in their stories.

Supergirl, Sgt. Rock, The Demon/Catwoman, Deadman, Green Lantern, and Superman all have one thing in common: lackluster starts that do not inspire much in the way of story (although all are pretty to look at). The prettiest is Kyle Baker’s Hawkman, which takes on a new style for the enigmatic creator. But though great art-wise, the story offers little to no actual plot to where the storyline will go.

Wonder Woman’s art and writing were interesting, but left me confused as to where the book might be going.

The comics that worked out best are the ones that grasp that they are channeling the old school comic strip format made famous by Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant. Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s Metamorpho (two creators and one character I love and the reason I bought this issue in the first place) have it, as do Deadman, Kamandi, and the always great Paul Pope’s Strange Adventures (starring Adam Strange, of course). DC bigwig Dan Didio teamed with classic artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez for a fine start to a comedy serial.

But the true story that seems ready to break out is Karl Kerschl & Brendan Fletcher on Flash. They hit on the intriguing idea to split their page in half. The top half is a classic adventure strip starring the Fastest Man Alive, while the lower half of the page is giving us a Apartment 3G style scenario starring Iris West. The two half pages offer more intrigue for the next week than pretty much the entire rest of the package.

Wednesday Comics holds potential, but for near $4 a week they will need more than potential to succeed. Here’s hoping that in the next few weeks, the other creators can grasp the serialized format for what it is. Mildly Recommended for fans of the creators.