The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2411: Martian Manhunter Special #1, 1996

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on the importance of being vaccinated, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Paul Kupperberg

Artist: Mike Collins

I fully admit I have not read a lot of the solo J'onn J'onzz material. When his solo series began back in the early 2000s, I checked it out, but it didn't resonate with me, even though the Ostrander/Mandrake creative team had done some amazing things with the Spectre. I wonder if the Manhunter is one of those characters who, because of his remarkable power set, is a difficult one to write dramatically. Much like Superman, J'onzz is virtually unstoppable. Granted, his Achilles' heel (fire) is a lot more accessible and prevalent than something like kryptonite. Having a more ubiquitous weakness allows perhaps for more drama.

But I don't know why he doesn't pull me in like some other heroes. He's cut from the same cloth as a well-done Superman, or Starman, or Wonder Woman. But, I think, some characters have yet to find their personal genre, and perhaps J'onzz is one of them. While we may have had some great stories, I don't think the character has found his great story yet.

Today's story was pretty good, some spacebound conflict in which the Manhunter gets embroiled. But, as with a lot of Paul Kupperberg's work, I found it to be a competent superhero story, but not a great one.

Onward.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2384: DC Comics Presents #89, January 1986

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on the importance of being vaccinated, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Bob Rozakis & Todd Klein

Penciller: Alex Saviuk

Cover Artist: Denys Cowan

Oh, hey there. Happy December?

I've recently developed a bit of a sweet tooth for late Bronze Age Superman stuff. It's really good and thoughtful, and really trying to be what comics become in about the mid 90s or so. But it's also revelling in the weirdness that was Silver Age DC. As an advent calendar this year, my partner took 25 comics and put wrapping paper in front of the covers in the bag and taped them up to our bedroom closet door. It's awesome, and most of it is this Bronze Age Superman stuff I'm into. Though, really, it's more Bronze Age Superman and Supergirl. I've been grooving on the Superman Family book as well as DCCP. Oh, and Lois Lane in Family. The stuff written by Tamsyn O'Flynn is fucking excellent.

Gonna try to be a bit more mindful of this blog. I'm also considering moving it over to Wordpress, as that's what I use for work and I'm getting pretty good at it. We'll see.

Onward!

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2143: Midnighter #7, February 2016

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

Fucking Prometheus. I mean, it's only fitting that he show up, given that his defeat of Batman in Grant Morrison's JLA is one of the great defeats of the dark knight. Also given that Midnighter has very similar abilities to both Prometheus and Batman, this confrontation was perhaps inevitable. But how Prometheus sets our hero up is brutal. Truly, truly brutal. I loved it, and it firmly cemented Midnighter as one of the great characters in the DCU.

I know that the character of Prometheus has undergone a number of changes and shifts of identity in the years since Morrison introduced him (back in the late 90s), but this iteration of the character seemed to be the exact model that was first introduced, an anti-Batman so to speak, and I was glad to see that origin maintained. The New 52 was an interesting experiment, and it gave us some really excellent comics, but I also think it messed around too much with the origins of characters, and those origins, very often, are what define the character more than anything they go through subsequently. For instance, let's imagine that we actually knew the Midnighter's real name and origin. All of a sudden, rather than a forward-facing force for justice, Midnighter would be a backward looking character reacting to their origin. Batman, for example. To me, this would severely detract from the character. I hope we never find out. I was very much against the Wolverine: Origin series back in the day too - why do we need to know where the character came from? Isn't it what they do now, in "present time," that is important? A curious conversation. Do we need to know the origins of our heroes? If we transfer the question to our lived existence, the sad truth is that the more we know about our heroes, the less we tend to like them. People are, simply, people. But superheroes aren't always meant to be people - more often, they're meant to be legends. And the truth behind a legend is always going to be more disappointing that the legend itself. Just ask King Arthur. Or Jesus.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2138: Midnighter #2, September 2015

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

The opening of the previous issue shows someone breaking into a satellite called The God Garden (I'm convinced it's the remains of the creature the Authority dispatches in #12 of the original series) where lots of scary technology is being kept. Said tech is stolen. Today's issue features someone who has somehow acquired some of that tech, and is set to take revenge on a corporation whose negligence resulted in the death of someone she loved. The Midnighter steps in to stop her, but, as it turns out, only because he disagrees with how she's doing it, not what she's doing. And once he stops her from killing the corporate leaders, he goes on to severely injure them, and offers the tech-enhanced woman help, rather than simply incarceration.

This is a nice twist. Basically, Midnighter is a violent, gay Batman. He's awesome and charming and very, very scary. But he also has a unwavering moral compass, not often present in pseudo-sociopaths (except maybe Dexter), and, somehow, a desire to help not just those who are recipients of crime but also the perpetrators. The Authority was always a very socially-conscious comic, and it's nice to see later writers keeping that aspect of the characterization.

Also, this issue features what I think is 100% the best use of Midnighter's computer brain that lets him famously see the outcome of any fight before it's happened. Sadly, it's during an argument with his partner.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2137: Midnighter #1, August 2015

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 Warren Ellis' Stormwatch, in which The Midnighter makes his debut, and The Authority, are amongst my favourite superhero comics. Setting aside, for just the moment, the problems we now face in taking in Ellis' work, he and artists Tom Raney and Bryan Hitch created perhaps one of the best politically-inflected superhero books of the current era. Stormwatch uncovers, in a much different way than Ellis and Cassaday's Planetary, a superheroic history for the Wildstorm Universe (which is likely all moot these days, sadly), while The Authority depicts superheroes doing all of those things that I've never understood them not doing in less...um...brutal superhero stories.

Anyway, this series is great. I laughed out loud, I was surprised, I was entertained. Equal parts brutal superhero story and gay dating narrative, I'm saddened that it only runs 12 issues, but very happy that I have them all. This run was part of the large collection I bought last October, though I only opened up the chunk I'd set aside in the last few days. I'm intrigued at jumping back into this particular corner of the DCU, especially since my last exposure to this character was when he existed in a separate continuum from the mainstream DC heroes. I know he's had some run-ins with Dick Grayson prior to this series, but I'm curious to see him versus Batman (which I'm sure will never happen), or standing up to Superman. Or hitting on the Martian Manhunter. I think that'd be right up The Midnighter's alley.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2117: The Warlord #5, February-march 1977

  For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 And the secret is revealed!

A couple of months ago, I read a book called Lemuria: The Lost Continent of the Pacific, published by the Rosicrucians in the mid-20th Century. Part of the author's contention was that Atlantis was actually an offshoot of Lemuria's much earlier civilization, though removed from it for generations. The same, it seems, is true of Skataris, it being an offshoot of Atlantean civilization, post-sinking but devastated by nuclear war. Which seems to me to be a bad thing to be doing when you've got a roiling nuclear furnace burning not all that far above your head.

But, yeah, Skataris is what becomes of Atlantean society when transplanted to the middle of the planet. A cool set-up, and I'm curious how much the Atlantis connection will come into play as the story advances. Of course, the clever twist at the end of today's comic, one that sees Morgan return to the surface of the Earth just having reunited with his beloved Tara, derails everything for the moment. He will, of course, get back to the savage inner world, but how might be a much more difficult question than his previous accidental flyby.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2116: The Warlord #4, December-January, 1976-77

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 As I noted yesterday, the speed with which this initial storyline concludes surprised me. The way it is talked about in the later issues of the series that I've read, I expected at least a 12-issue long epic of the rise of a gladiator to the title of Warlord. But it actually happens here, in issue #4. And it's the revelation at the end of this issue, something hinted at previously, that makes me think that there's something much more complex going on here.

I'm more and more consumed with the idea of finding some of the old Warlord toys. I'm sure they're ridiculously expensive now, but I've had decent luck happening upon such things in out of the way places. Though COVID has kept me from wandering much in the last while. *sigh*

We are promised next issue "The Secret of Skataris," another thing I imagined would be shrouded in mystery somewhat longer. I guess we'll see.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2115: The Warlord #3, October-November 1976

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 

And apparently there was a six month hiatus after the end of the previous issue, explained by DC as a matter of waiting to see what the sales figures were before plowing ahead. An interesting tack, but definitely a frustrating one for fans.

There is a lovely recap section in the comic, comprised of extended text pieces accompanied by lavish illustrations of previous events. It reminds me of P. Craig Russell's layouts in some parts of Killraven, a comic that I have now determined I must track down in floppy format. I like to set challenges for myself.

Today's issue culminates in Morgan being reunited with his abandoned jet, now crashed and being worshipped as a deity. Travis...dissuades...the lizard people worshippers from their belief, and loots the plane before returning to his army. The weapons he salvages definitely help him to achieve the title of Warlord, something that I thought would be a more significant portion of the story. By that, I mean that the raising of an army and the leading of a rebellion happened very quickly in the story. I feel like his ascent to leader of a gladiator army would be dragged out over multiple story arcs nowadays, but Grell whips through it because he's got a totally different story in mind from what we might imagine. For Travis Morgan's story, the ascension to leadership isn't the end of his story, as it might be with others, but the beginning.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2114: The Warlord #2, March-April 1976

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 

I figured it was time to start reading The Warlord. At least for a little while until I hit up some holiday issues.

I re-read what I'd written about this series before getting back into them, and one amusing thing struck me. When I read #1, I decided I was going to get the reprint volume, rather than try to track down all 133 issues and 6 annuals.

Except then I did track them down, and that's what I'm going to read now.

It's just so good, y'know. While Travis Morgan looks a bit clunky up there on the cover (wait til we get to some of the later ones - Grell draws a sexy, sexy Warlord), the story just clips along, giving just the right amounts of exposition, mystery, drama, action, and magic. One thing I brought up in my earlier reads was the amount of creative control Mike Grell has over the page in this series. He handles everything except colouring, and the result is a comic that simply flows better than the vast majority. There's something of the feeling of the auteur in Grell's work, which perhaps also speaks to the editing talents of Joe Orlando. A good editor will know just how much rope, so to speak, to give an artist. Mr. Grell, it seems, is a brilliant climber.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2090: World's Finest #217, April-May 1975

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2088: Famous 1st Editions F-7, June-July 1975

 I can't imagine how exciting it must have been to see all of these characters gathering together in one place for early fans of the superhero. The story inside, therefore, may have been a bit disappointing. Rather than a team adventure, we basically get the guys sitting around and telling stories of their solo exploits. And while the stories are good, the Hawkman and Spectre tales in particular, it's hardly what we've come to expect from a team-up book. The closest we get to any action involving everyone is when Johnny Thunder accidentally unleashes his thunderbolt.

But...

It was a cool look at the Golden Age of superheroes, an age I don't pay a lot of attention to because I think I've only seen the mediocre stuff. There's a style we associate with the Golden Age, one that gets picked up by such titles as Big Bang or Supreme, but the variety of art styles presented in this comic show that that iconic style is only a part of what was going on. The art on the Spectre tale, in particular, with its mixture of superhero and storybook, was fabulous.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2086: DC Comics Presents #96, August 1986

       For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 With the exception of some runs by particular writers and artists, I'm not really a fan of the mainstream Superman titles. Action et al. are great comics, but to me we get the real exploration of the character in the B-list comics. I absolutely love DC Comics Presents - it pairs the Man of Steel with characters that he wouldn't often be - like Blue Devil in today's comic, a character with whom I have only the passing-est of familiarity. The story itself is a bit mediocre, but as I say it's the range of artists and writers that tend to bring me to this series. This is the second last issue of the series, which ends with a wonderful Steve Gerber tale next issue. Today's is more of an older hero mentors younger hero kind of thing.

I like this era of Superman. He's not as petty as he gets in some of the Silver Age stuff I've been reading, and seems genuinely interested in fostering a community of superheroes.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2079: Action Comics #369, November 1968

  For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

Honestly, some really rather mediocre stories today. Superman manages to screw up an alien plan to bring peace and harmony to Earth (though the aliens don't really give anyone a choice, so it's a bit weird to begin with), and Supergirl decides to use her powers to win over a womanizing toxic male because...reasons. Honestly, the guy's a total crapsack and every woman in the story thinks he's just great. Like they know he's a player but they still want to get played? It's really no wonder that we have a culture that's as fucked up about gender dynamics as we do when you see some of the nonsense that got pumped out into peoples' formative years.

There's a weird little meta moment at the beginning of today's comic, where we get a full-page shot of 5 kids gathered around Action Comics #369, debating how Superman could possibly blunder. They never reappear, and it really is a strange moment - did they need another page filled for the issue? I suppose it creates a sense of disbelief, or reminds readers of the ways in which a story of Superman making a mistake could take place, but there's surely better ways of doing that than this Greek Chorus-esque gathering of pubescent boys ruminating on how the story might unfold.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2078: Famous 1st Edition F-8, September 1975

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

Where was I?

After having sold a few comics at Purple Gorilla, I picked up some nice vintage-y stuff in exchange, including a couple of Famous First Edition Golden Age reprints and some cool Silver Age superhero stuff. I thought, as I try to wade back into daily writing (the pain has gotten much better in the last little bit), I'd do a comic from each of the major "Ages," one a day, for a while.

The delineation of ages I use comes from www.keycollectorcomics.com, and breaks down thus: Golden Age - (1934-1955), Silver Age - (1956-1971), Bronze Age - (1972-1985, Copper Age - (1986-1992, and Modern Age  (1993-Present). I don't think I've ever seen the Copper Age before, but it makes sense that we need to place something in what used to be the Modern era. I think it's a pretty good breakdown, and follows some important moments, at least in the later years.

That said, we'll start with Flash Comics #1, written almost single-handedly by Gardner Fox, and giving us our first looks at both The Flash and Hawkman. I actually really love the art for the Hawkman feature. It's very different from the usual Golden Age style, much more in keeping with the illustration-influenced work of the newspaper cartoonists. I imagine at this point in the industry there was a lot of crossover from comics to newspapers (though maybe there wasn't, I really don't know), or at the very least the newspaper strips of the previous Platinum Age had a great influence on the artists of the Golden Age. I kind of see it too in this comic in the way that the stories are structured. I can absolutely see the Flash feature filmed as an early Hollywood motion picture. The dialogue and the action put me in mind of old film serials, and I'm actually kind of surprised that no Flash serial was ever made.

More to follow. 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2004: Mister Miracle #19, September 1977

   For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 

I think I managed to say everything I wanted to say about Mister Miracle in an article I wrote for Sequart about 5 years ago - it's one of a series that I'd have loved to turn into a book, and may yet, if I can get my shit together. As I note in that article, there's a gap in Mister Miracle's publishing and then 7 issues by Steve Englehart (19 - 22) and Steve Gerber (23 - 25). I have Gerber's stuff, but Steve Englehart intrigues me, and I've got the rest of Kirby's original run (with one or two gaps), so why the heck not try to track down these last couple of issues? This one was pretty good, and very 70s. I actually can't believe how much Barda nudity they got away with on this cover. 1977 was a strange time.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Posts

On the topic of the New Gods - The New Gods.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1999: Teen Titans #20, March-April 1969

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 

Another of my Silver Age score at Purple Gorilla. Though, as with many older comics, there's no credits, the GCD tells me that this was written and pencilled by Neal Adams. Adams is one of those artists who flies at the periphery of my knowledge. I sometimes think that my lack of knowledge of the earlier greats is a huge absence in the comics encyclopedia in my brain, but that lack also leaves room for me to learn and discover new things. Like how great Neal Adams' art is. I've seen some of his later work in various Batman comics, and the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stuff he did, but this is pretty early work, less than a decade after Marvel and The Fantastic Four reinvigorate superheroes.

A weird, one-shot story about the Titans having to convince some other teens that the strange cult/protest group they've joined isn't as benign as they think. There's another crimefighter involved, named Joshua, who basically functions as a Batman stand-in, as far as I can tell, and who recruits the Titans because he's too old for the duped teens to listen to. And then there's that title, that I really feel must be a spelling error.

All that said, Mr. Adams' art is phenomenal. Crazy angles and figures constantly in motion, and only slightly stilted dialogue while trying to ape the teen lingo. Or perhaps it just feels that way because the language is so dated.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1998: Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #98, January 1970

       For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

I recently took the plunge and actually sorted out some comics from my collection to sell. You know things are getting bad economically if I'm resorting to this, but it was really very self-serving. For the mere price of a few old Claremont X-Men comics, I was able to garner enough credit at Purple Gorilla to pick up some really cool old Silver Age comics. Today's politically-incorrectly-titled issue was one of them.

(And I've just noticed, having the picture before me as I write, that Lois is looking pretty sexy in this apparently quite sheer dress she's wearing.)

Given that Lois is meant to be a perfect foil for Clark, a lot of the time in these older stories, she's portrayed as being much more flighty than we might expect of our contemporary Lois. The story from the cover, for example, is about Lois being in a play about Samson and Delilah, and Lois is tricked into believing that one of her fellow actors is actually Superman when he disguises himself. This really plays into Lois' inability to see past Clark's glasses. If she's so in love with Superman, but couldn't tell that this was just an actor playing him, perhaps she's the one who needs glasses.

That said, the stories herein are also wonderful examples of the toothless nature of Superman's stories at the time. Remember, superhero comics had fallen out of vogue a couple of decades earlier, and with the introduction of the Comics Code, stories had to both conform to a ridiculous standard while also appealing as widely as possible. This could be why many of the plots in Superman comics from this era resemble sitcom plots to me. They're very surface, mildly entertaining, and certainly not in danger of offending anyone.

Unless, of course, you're reading from the future, in which case we wonder why Lois didn't just ditch Superman and find someone who didn't gaslight her every day.

 More to follow.

 Further Reading and Related Posts

Lois's adventures continue in Superman Family, a few of which I've read.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1967 - 1974

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 Ugh. Doing my best to stay on top of my project, but apparently not the blogging. Here's what I've been reading for the last week or so.

 Back to blogging regularly with a week of Latinx creators. I'll try to keep up with it, promise.

More to follow.

Giant Box of Television: Roots of the Doom Patrol

With Season 2 of the best goddamned superhero television series of all time underway (hyperbolic, ain't I?), I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some of the specific comics that have inspired moments, or stories, in the show. I'll stick mostly to the first season, though the already pretty great (though not as great as the first season?) second season might pop up a bit. Most of these early comics are first appearances of characters who have popped up on the show. Adapted storylines are pretty much all from Morrison's run on the title, which I'll cover in the next installment.

I'm going to do this chronologically. We begin in 1963...

This has to come first, of course. The first appearance of Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, The Chief, and Automaton. Who becomes Robotman hereafter. I'm assuming that Automaton was chosen because there was already a Robotman in the DCU (such as it was at the time). I actually think I might like Automaton better, but here we are. We're given their back stories, except the Chief, and introduced to General Immortus, Niles' impetus for searching for an immortality serum in this iteration of the team. You'll note that whatever the substance was that Niles used on Rita, it was named for Immortus.

The first issue after the title switches to The Doom Patrol features a team referred to in the series but never seen, The Brotherhood of Evil. What's significant about this issue is it marks the first, and only, appearance of Mr. Morden, our erstwhile antagonist, and Rog, the giant red robot that makes such an explosive appearance in the final episode of Season 1.

Though he's not featured on the cover, this issue marks the first appearance of Steve Dayton, the superhero known as Mento. Let me be blunt: Steve Dayton in the comics is a piece of garbage. He ends up marrying Rita, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Steve is given a much nicer treatment in the show.
Seriously. He's such a dick in the comics.

A little hop into Season 2 with the first, and one of only a few, appearance of Dr. Tyme. A more sinister version than the roller-skating madman that we met recently on TV, Dr. Tyme also shows up in the Keith Giffen-scripted version of the show as one of the mad scientists inhabiting Oolong Island.

The Doom Patrol from the television series, though based in the 1950s, took a good deal of inspiration from this version of the team that debuted in the 1970s. You could probably tell that from Tempest's collar in the picture. This marks the first appearances of both Arani Desai and Josh Clay, who are resident and doctor, respectively, at the rest home Niles sets up for the Doom Patrol. In that episode, Larry asks Josh if they know each other, and asks about military service. In the comics, it is revealed that Josh deserted his unit in Vietnam after his powers manifested. He's been on the run as a deserter for years.

The other member of the television Doom Patrol, Rhea Jones, or Lodestone, made her first appearance in the 1980s version of the team, as a younger member brought in by Arani. The problem with this run on the team is that it tries too hard to be a normal superhero comic. The Doom Patrol has never been normal.

One more for today, and my last comic before we hit Grant Morrison's run, which has provided most of the inspiration for the show. This issue marks the first appearance of Dorothy Spinner, the ape-faced girl. In this version of the series, Dorothy has no relation to Niles, and, at this point, no superpowers. She's from Kansas, and her farm happens to be at the center of a battle between the Doom Patrol, assisted by Power Girl, and a Lord of Chaos. What I will say about this issue is that, of all of Paul Kupperberg's run on the team, this is the one that I think is the most "Doom Patrol." It's weird, and not afraid to be.

Next time I'll have a look at some issues from Morrison's run. And, depending on what episode 4 of the new season brings, I might have some more comics to add.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1949: Vertigo Visions: The Geek - Corruption of the Innocent, 1993

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

 

 

 

I've written of today's featured creator, the fantastic Ms. Rachel Pollack. I've always said her run on Doom Patrol is severely underrated, and the fact of her being a major creator during the early Vertigo years and also being a trans woman working in comics at that time is one of the more significant moments, to me, in the history of our beloved medium.

That said, and as I noted when I read Ms. Pollack's other entry into the Vertigo Visions series, I wasn't a huge fan of this story. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I enjoyed the story - it's a hallucinatory and twisting tale of Brother Power and his corruption by ever more brutal media, and is perhaps slightly dated in that it was written before the explosion of new media in our culture. Though in some ways that also serves the story of Brother Power, who was created as a weird hippy superhero in 1968, and who was virtually absent from the DCU in the intervening 30ish years. What I think is the problem is that it's a difficult story, as is Tomahawk, and difficult stories need to be re-read. Mike Allred is a master of metaphorical storytelling, as evidenced in his adaptation of The Golden Plates, and Ms. Pollack's deep understanding of Tarot and the way images can shape our futures combines with her expression of transness in her work to produce something remarkable. But definitely not something easy.

Vertigo, more and more, is proving itself an imprint to which one needs to come back, over and over. There was really some very sophisticated storytelling going on, especially in the somewhat heady early days. These are very weird comics, and very important.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

Vertigo Comics were one of the reason I got back into comics. I think their early period is really some of the absolute best comics gets.