Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2008
Who is... Michael A. Diaz?
Michael Diaz lives in Michigan, but don't hold that against him.
There he works as a Sys. Admin. while fostering dreams of one day becoming a "real" writer.
Most importantly, Michael is seriously addicted to comics, something that his wonderful wife tolerates with the patience of a saint.
He also writes this weekly column that people occasionally read.
"[O]ne of the most positive
and entertaining columns going."
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United)
WLG #230: Iron Man Awaits!
I have to get this posted right away because Iron Man just came out on DVD today, so of course I have to run right out and get it so that I can watch it, right?
Let’s face it, I thought that Iron Man was going to be the awesomest comic book movie of the year after I saw it. True, I loved Batman Begins and fully expected to love The Dark Knight when it came out, but when I left the theater after seeing Iron Man I was so impressed that I was almost CERTAIN that there could be no comic book movie this year that could possibly top it.
And then the The Dark Knight and proved itself to be one of the better movies EVER made, let alone this past summer.
Don’t get me wrong, though, Iron Man is one of the better comic book movie adaptations out there and I am just chomping at the bit waiting to see it again.
So, enough about Iron Man already, and let’s see what comics we can geek out about (and then I can go watch Iron Man); let’s see What Looks Good…
AUTHORITY #3 $2.99 (Abnett & Lanning / Simon Coleby & Mike McKone)I am just loving everything that is going on with the WildStorm Universe right now. I think I’ve already established that I have been a big fan of this Universe ever since Warren Ellis took over StormWatch, and frankly, that has a lot to do with what I am loving about this book now.
During Ellis’s run there was a group of super-powered beings that had decided that they were going to change the world for the better, whether the world wanted it or not. This group was eventually destroyed as they were perceived to be a threat by the corrupt Henry Bendix. Later, some of the philosophies of that defeated group became popular with the members of StormWatch Black, the covert-ops section of StormWatch. That group would later become known as The Authority.
However, in that group of beings there were several characters, namely The High, but more importantly for this arc, a character known as “The Eudolon”, who for years was thought to have been dead. Of course, the WildStorm Universe has been through a reboot (or two) since then, so anything appears to be fair game.
I think the reason that I love this book right now is because everything seems to be a real treat for people like me that have been following these various characters for about 10 years now. I admit it; one of the things I didn’t like about these restarts was that I wasn’t going to get a sense of closure on so many plot points from the various series. Now it’s starting to look like I am going to get the answers I’ve wanted.
SWEET!
NUMBER OF THE BEAST (Scott Beatty / Chris Sprouse) $19.99actually, in the interest of full disclosure, I already have this trade (thanks Scott!) But I haven’t read it yet (as I just got it yesterday: again, thanks Scott!).
That said, I am VERY geeked to dive right into this and find out some of what I have missed, which is apparently a lot.
Like the above raving for The Authority and pretty much any other WildStorm book that is part of the “World’s End” storyline you can probably catch on that I am enjoying the WildStorm Universe again. So much so that I am sorry that I drifted away and missed so much in this past year. Luckily, I now have the opportunity to go back and see how we got to this place and I couldn’t be happier.
Kudos to WildStorm/DC for getting these trades out so quickly as they really make it easy for a once wayward fan like myself make up for lost time.
Some of you already probably have the answers because you’ve been hanging around, but I don’t, so now that I can see how “World’s End” came about I couldn’t be happier.
AWESOME!
TOP TEN: SEASON TWO #1 (Zander Cannon / Gene Ha) $2.99Yes! Yes! Thank you! Yes!
I loved the first season of Top Ten and have been waiting for YEARS now to see the second season. Obviously things between Alan Moore and DC aren’t all that good right now, nor have they been for some time, which first meant that Alan would only focus on the ABC (America’s Best Comics) line, and then after that, nothing to do with DC at all.
That was sad for me because Top Ten was (and is) one of my favorite comics of all time. Half the fun is going through the lush background scenes and playing “Where’s Waldo” with all of the comic book, movie, TV, and pop culture references.
Seriously, I have waited YEARS to read more Top Ten. True, The 49ers was a great graphic novel, but I wanted more, MORE I tell you.
And now, I’m getting it.
Now, obviously this book is no longer being written by Alan Moore. Is there concern? Of course there is, because let’s face it, Moore wrote one heck of a book. That said, Moore worked very closely with the two main artists of the book, namely Zander Cannon and Gene Ha. Sound familiar? Well they should, because they’re the creative team of this season of the title.
There’s no question that Alan Moore is talented, but that’s not say Cannon and Ha aren’t going to do a bang-up job without him.
I wish them all the luck and I’ll be rooting for them (and reading there book) the entire time.
YES!
QUEEN & COUNTRY: DEFINITIVE EDITION TP VOL. 03 $19.95 (Greg Rucka / Various Artists)Let me say first that I am miss me some Queen & Country . I realize that the book is on hiatus and it might be a while until I see it again, but I miss it just the same. Some people talk about how all comics are about superheroes but those people just don’t really know comics. If you’re reading this column you know that comics are so much more than just books about super-powered beings. Comic books are their very own form of literature, encompassing any and all genres.
Besides, heroes aren’t just people that wear tights and capes; sometimes I hero might be a person working for the intelligence service, risking life and limb to keep the free world safe. Sometimes those people are a lot like Tara Chace, the star of Queen & Country.
Basically I am excited about this collection because I simply didn’t know that they even existed. I had considered picking up the various trades that had already been released, but when I see this on the schedule I get genuinely excited because now I have another option through which I can relive this book once again.
Three volumes @ $20 a piece is one heck of a good price, considering I probably paid close to $100 for all the individual issues after all is said and done. $60 for them all in three trade collections?
Heck yeah.
I’m getting ahead of myself here; whooping and hollering about what a good price this is without even telling you about the book. How rude of me.
For those of you that are not familiar Queen & Country is, like I said above, a book that focuses on Tara Chance, an operative with the MI6. Who are they? You’ve probably heard of them before. If you’ve ever seen a James Bond film that is who he works for. Only, Tara Chace is nothing like James Bond.
No, Tara Chace effectively works for the British version of what we call the CIA. They are an intelligence agency tasked with gathering said intelligence throughout the world. Though there are many people that work for the MI6 this book focuses on the “Minders”, the specific group of which Tara is a member. There are no superpowers (other than nations like the U.S., China, Russia, etc.) and there aren’t any capes. Also, unlike James Bond films there aren’t any super-sweet bits of technology. Sure, the MI6 does have access to some pretty cool tech, but much more of the job has to do with the skills and the training of the individual team members.
So what’s this book about? The human toll and the stresses involved when a sovereign nation does what is can to protect itself from foreign and domestic threats, both against itself and its allies (often the U.S.).
It can’t be said enough: James Bond this isn’t. Rather, as far as I can tell (without having ever been a spy) this is a realistic portrayal of what intelligence work is all about.
Yeah, I’m geeked.
Let’s put it this way: my birthday is in two weeks and I would like all three volumes.
Please and thank you!
What books are YOU most geeked about this week? Are you reading any of the WildStorm titles? Did you love Iron Man. Hit me with everything, because I want to know what YOU think people! Just stop by the WLG message boards (see link below) and share your thoughts!
See you next week!
Until then, peace!
-Diaz
Were Diaz's picks on the mark?
Have your say on What Looks Good at the Looking Good message board.