The Vault

DC Comics Goes Completely Nuts

2011-05-31T19:32:00.001-07:00

So, here we are, minding our own business, getting ready for the Green Lantern and Captain America movies next month -- and then, all of a sudden, DC Comics decides to go completely, off the reservation crazy. Sigh.

I guess we might as well dig in and try to make sense of this.

For those of you who haven't heard the news, here's the deal: this August, DC is rebooting their entire universe. Yep. New versions of all their characters, apparently with new costumes and in some cases new origins and powers as well.

And that's not all: to kick this off, they aren't going to half-ass it like they did after Crisis on Infinite Earths; no, this time around their entire line will relaunch, with every single title starting over at #1. That includes, you know, Batman, Superman, Detective Comics and Action Comics -- those last two, in case you were wondering, having maintained their current numbering system since they debuted in 1937 and 1938 respectively.

But those are just the details, because hidden beyond the character reboots and the renumbering firestorm sure to follow (which I may or may not start momentarily) is an announcement probably even more important to the comic book industry: DC is also going to begin offering all of these titles digitally, online, on the same day they go on sale at comic shops. In other words, goodbye, comic shops, hello iPad, because the future of comics is apparently here right now.

Whew. That's a lot. But wait, there's a little more: the details of the reboot, which involves Jim Lee redesigning all the characters (even though, as his atrociously fug Wonder Woman outfit proves, his designs mostly suck); a new Justice League title by the team of Geoff Johns and Jim lee, which will form the center of this new DCU; and a new lineup that will include 52 different titles. A number, of course, that has special significance in the DCU since there are 52 alternate universes -- a "coincidence" that has more than one fan or blogger already speculating that this entire new line is actually going to be just DC's version of the Ultimate universe.

So first, my knee jerk reaction: I don't care about rebooting the characters at all, in part because I don't follow current DC continuity anyway. And to be frank, it's so confusing at this point anyway -- just in the last few years we've had Infinite Crisis reshaping reality in undefined and random ways and the multi-verse returning with 52 alternate worlds, not to mention the confusing mish-mash that was Final Crisis -- that maybe a reboot is the only way to clean it up.

However, it will come as no surprise to anyone that I am opposed on all levels to renumbering Action Comics and Detective Comics, not to mention Superman and Batman. In the case of Action and Detective, I just feel that those numbers represent something important -- not comic book continuity, but continuity with our own past and the industry's history. Action and Detective and their numbering means something to comic book readers; they mean something to me; and it's unfortunate they it don't apparently mean much to Dan Didio.

Not that I expect any numbering change on those titles to be permanent in any sense of the word. I have no doubt that, by the time we get to what should be Action #1000, they will revert the numbering as yet another blatant, cheap sales ploy. But really, are they so desperate for a few extra bucks that they can't figure out a way to just keep the stupid numbering out of respect for all the creators and fans that have gone before them? What kind of legacy is that, exactly? "Dan DiDio, the guy who ran DC so far into the ground that they had to renumber Detective Comics after 74 years." Congrats on that.

I also think it's unlikely that this is an Ultimate universe situation, though the reverse may be true. In other words, 52 titles is just too big for this to anything but the main universe; heck, they're only putting out like 30 right now. But they might find a way to continue certain creator driven series like Grant Morrison's Batman titles by keeping them on as some sort of alternate world, multiverse storyline for old timey fans.

Finally, of course, the big news really is the distribution system. Comic shop owners are already pitching a fit about the fact that DC will be selling the titles digitally on the same day they come out in hard copy, as it deincentivizes people from going to the comic shop. of course, I don't think this will have a big impact at first and perhaps, as DC is hoping, it will even drive new audiences to try the comics since they will be able to just download them on their iPad or whatever instead of trying to track them down in some grubby basement comic shop filled with weirdos like you and me. I certainly hope so. Eventually, of course, I think this will have a major impact on the direct sales market, but let's face it -- it was inevitable, and by taking the lead, DC has probably done a smart thing by stealing the march on Marvel.

One thing is sure, though: after today, changes are coming, not just to the DCu but to comic books as we know them. Whether the changes are good or bad is something we'll all have to wait to find out.

Movie Review: Thor

2011-05-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, what's up. It's been a while since our last fandango, but I've been pretty busy -- you know, training for top secret missions in Pakistan, sorting through my fan mail, that sort of thing. Only, totally different. Yet even with my busy schedule, I've still managed to find the time to slip out to the theater and catch this month's biggest superhero blockbuster: Thor.

And I have to say, this film is exceedingly difficult for me to review. That's because Thor is a pretty idiosyncratic comic to begin with and it has become even more idiosyncratic up on the big screen. Though Thor rubs shoulders with his fellow Avengers in the pages of many a superhero comic, the character and the stories in his own title aren't really related to the superhero genre at all. Ever since Stan and Jack introduced Tales of Asgard to the series back in Journey Into Mystery #97, the series has been much more of a combination of high fantasy and epic science fiction than a traditional superhero comic.

All of which makes judging Thor the movie pretty hard to do considering there's not a whole lot to judge it against. As a superhero movie, well, it's downright weird. As an epic fantasy, though, it's almost weirder, because it exists within the framework of Marvel's interconnected superhero universe, meaning film fans will see characters and ideas from the Iron Man franchise pop up right in the middle of what otherwise is a fantasy movie.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Thor can only really be judged under one criteria: how good a Thor movie is it?

The answer? Pretty good.

What Thor gets right outweighs for the most part what it gets wrong. Here's a quick overview that isn't much of a spoiler since it's based very closely on comics that came out nearly 50 years ago: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gets himself in hot water because of his hot head, so Odin banished him to Earth to learn some humility and prove his worthiness. Once he does so, he regains his godly powers, returns to Asgard and fights some monsters.

And all of that is handled pretty well, though there were a few things I thought they could have done differently in terms of pacing. It was wise of director Kenneth Branagh to begin the proceedings with a quick look at Earth, but I think things would have gone better -- especially for newcomers to the Thor milieu -- if the story had just stayed on Earth for the first half instead of immediately jumping up to Asgard for 30 minutes. Not that I minded what was happening in Asgard, but there's no question that the scenes on Earth, where Thor meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), contain much more humor and, you know, fun, than the portentous action sequences in Asgard. As a result, I think the film -- which is inherently harder to get into than most superhero or action films anyway -- becomes even more difficult for newbies to get into than it had to be.

Having said that, though, if the film hasn't lost viewers by the time Thor comes to Earth, then they are likely to really enjoy the film, because it picks up in a big way after Thor meets Jane Foster and begins stumbling around New Mexico in search of his hammer, Mjolnir. Sure, Portman doesn't have a whole lot to do, but what she does, she does really well; she and Hemsworth have pretty good chemistry and once Thor returns to Asgard to deal with Loki (the excellent Tom Hiddleston), you do feel a tug at the thought of the two being separated just as they were starting to dig each other.

There were a few other minor concerns I had about the film as well. For instance, though I love the Warrior's Three in the comic, I'm not sure they really came across on the screen for non comics fans as anything more than somewhat goofy sidekicks. And, like Iron Man 2, some of the action sequences came up a bit short, particularly the big throwdown between Thor and The Destroyer, which was okay but not nearly as epic as it could or should have been.

But those are quibbles. For the most part, Thor is an entertaining, occasionally fun and perfectly competent film that any fan of Thor will enjoy.

And if you're not a fan of Thor? Well... give it a try, because if you end up liking it, there's a half century of cool stories waiting to be discovered. But Thor is just so very, very Thor that's there's really no way of knowing if you'll like it until you try.

My Grades: For Thor fans, a solid B+. For everyone else, a random grade somewhere between A- and C-. The film has good acting and solid directing, so it's not going to go below that, but there's no way of really judging this movie outside of the strictures of Thor itself. The bonus scene after the credits gets an A+ for setting up both Captain America and Avengers at the same time while also giving Marvel fans a major woody.

What Are "The Miseries of Robin Sparrows?"

2011-04-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

As one of the most influential bloggers on the internet, choosing what topics to write about is tantamount to a nation's leader setting foreign policy: with one keystroke, I could literally change the course of pop culture history. It's a weighty responsibility and one I take very seriously.

That's why, out of billions of possibilities, I have carefully selected The Miseries of Robin Sparrows as the subject of this post -- to ensure that a worthy subject receive the benefit of the fabled Vault Bounce.

So just what are -- or rather, what is -- or WTFever -- The Miseries of Robin Sparrows? Well, it's not a comic book -- though actually it might make a pretty interesting graphic novel -- but rather a new novel by up and coming fantasy author Matthew Timmins who, in the interest of full disclosure, I may or may not owe pizza money to.

Here's the scoop: described by the author himself as what might happen "if Bertie Wooster worked for the law firm of Scrooge & Moriarty," The Miseries of Robin Sparrow is a historical fantasy novel about Robin Sparrows, a lowly law clerk who gets caught up in mysterious events above his pay grade in an alternate universe Victorian England.

If that doesn't exactly sound like the vast, interchangeable mess of Twilight and Harry Potter knockoffs that are currently clogging bookstores around the country, well, it's not. On the contrary, the strength of The Miseries of Robin Sparrowa is just how highly idiosyncratic both the story and the writing style are. The book isn't designed to appeal to everyone, or even a broad, easily defined target demographic; it's the specific vision of one writer.

Of course, that also means that there's a reasonable chance it won't appeal to you personally or, you know, make sense. But if your interest is piqued, you have nothing to lose, because author Matthew Timmins has graciously posted the entire novel online for the low, low price of completely free. Yes, free. In your ear, capitalism!

So check it out right here. And who knows -- maybe you'll like it. There's no harm in finding out.

p.s. Yes, all three links go to the same place. Frikkin' sue me.

The 2011 Inkwell Awards Are Here!

2011-04-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, what's up? Read any cool new comics or anything lately? That's cool. And how's your mom? Good, good. Hey, listen, I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to come out of hibernation http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflong enough to let you know about something very important. No, it's not that Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" concert film will be coming out on Blu-ray soon, it's a little bit bigger than that even.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Yes, the 2011 Inkwell Awards are here -- and you can vote right now to honor your favorite inkers in the comic biz.

The Inkwell Awards, of course, are overseen each year by official Friend of The Vault Bob Almond. And this year, Bob has outdone himself with his tireless efforts to recognize excellence in inking.

So do yourself and the entire free world a favor and head over to the 2011 Inkwell Awards right nowhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif and vote. Because without inkers, we wouldn't be able to see WTF was going on in our comic books. It's god's work they're doing -- and now, it's your work, too.

Keep it real.

Invitation to Readers of The Vault

2010-12-19T21:29:00.001-08:00

Hey guys. What's going on? Anything cool? Done any reading recently of any comics or anything? Read any good comic book websites?

Actually, I'm guessing that last one is a big fat no considering I haven't posted anything in a dog's age. And, as usual, I have a wicked lame excuse -- I've just been too damn busy working for money to pay the bills.

But I don't want to let down all my faithful readers, especially since we've fostered such a nice community here over the last year and a half. Unfortunately, my work schedule seems to be getting busier rather than... less busy... so I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to really get back into the swing of things. Luckily, though, I've come up with the perfect guest writer to take over the blog for the time being until I can get back on track. And the name of that guest writer?

You.

Yes, you! Not the guy behind you, but you. Here's the deal: I'm throwing open the doors to any and all Vault readers to gust write your own article. Got some comic-based rant you need to get off your chest? Want to discuss the latest issue of your favorite comic? Have some obscure old series you want to wax poetic about? Well, now's your chance!

Here's how this will work: contact me either through my facebook account or at this email address and let me know what you're going to write about. Then, once I've given you the papal blessing, you'll be free to send me your no-doubt inspired comic book commentary, secure in the knowledge that literally millions of readers will be entertained and informed by it.

So get cracking, you guys. Because this site has been silent for too long and this time, if there's no cool content you're the one to blame, not me.

Marvel at Disney World: A Brief Review

2010-11-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hello folks. I know you've been in serious withdrawal since my last post, lo, these many weeks ago. But now I am finally back from vacation and have found a few moments of free time to provide a brief recap of what I saw at Walt Disney World. No, I don't mean the rides and the characters and the tens of thousands of out of shape tourists (and that was just in mirrors around the park); no, I'm specifically talking about the presence of Marvel Comics at the Disney World resort.

Or, more to the point, the lack of presence. granted, it has only been a year since Disney purchased Marvel, so no doubt many of the strategy meetings on how to best integrate the Marvel brand into the existing Disney world are still taking place. And the theme parks and their attendant resort areas are bound to be one of the trickier arenas to figure out, because frankly, the tone and style of the Marvel Universe isn't necessarily a great match for Disney World; I have a hard time, for instance, picturing am X-Men roller coaster sharing space with the Country Bear Jamboree, for instance.

Still, Disney bought Marvel for a reason, namely the fact that Marvel's superheroes are becoming the 21st century version of Disney's animated stable; in a real sense they are creating the pop mythology for this generation as Mickey, Donald and Goofy created the pop mythology for the Depression era. So there has to be a way to integrate the characters into Disney World in a way that both utilizes them properly and allows them to co-exist with current Disney favorites without affecting the successful atmosphere that has made Disney a family destination for decades.

Putting Marvel rides in the parks, however, is likely to be the last step that Disney undertakes simply because it takes years of planning to design a ride and then build it. With this in mind, then, it makes some sense that during my trip to Disney I saw only a very minimal Marvel presence -- but still a presence that could lead to bigger things.

The only signs of Marvel that I actually saw at a park was at Hollywood Studios (the most logical place for a Marvel presence, as I will get into later), this being a small side shop that used to be devoted to Disney-themed stationery but which now is basically a coffee shop with a few books in it. Among those books, however, there was a full shelf of hardcover Marvel collections for sale. Best of all, as part of the decorations there was a poster-sized reproduction of a pre-code Atlas romance cover.

I've also learned, thanks to the folks at Robot 6 (these photos also belong to them), that I missed a big display of Marvel comics at the Villains store at Hollywood Studios.

Beyond this, my only encounter with anything Marvel during my trip was a rack of Iron Man merchandise at the gift shop inside the Port Orleans resort area. I didn't have a chance to visit the shops in Downtown Disney, but my understanding from Robot 6 is that there is also a Marvel section in the World of Disney store there that sells TPBs, clothes and toys from across the Marvel line.

While this all still adds up to a pretty minor presence for Marvel at Walt Disney World, I think they are going about things the right way. After some thought, here is my three stage plan for integrating Marvel into the Disney World experience:

1) A Marvel Store at Downtown Disney Having a section in World of Disney is nice, but in order to really maximize and promote the Marvel brand -- and more importantly, begin to get tourists used the the idea that Marvel is part of Disney and the Disney World experience -- I think they need to build a whole Marvel-only store. Perhaps they could call it "World of Marvel" or something; whatever the case, having a Marvel-themed store filled with Marvel merchandize -- including, importantly, exclusive Walt Disney World Resort merchandise featuring Marvel characters -- would be a good first step towards leveraging the Marvel brand within Disney World.

2) A Marvel-themed Resort Area Disney World already has oodles of themed resorts, including stuff like All-Star Sports and the Pop Century resort. A Marvel resort area would fit right in with this. Logically it should service Hollywood Studios, but wherever located, it could become a destination resort for Marvel fans by allowing you to choose which Marvel headquarters you wanted to spend your week in, with hotel rooms inside replicas of Avengers Mansion, the X-Mansion, the Baxter Building, Stark Enterprises and the Daily Bugle. This is an experience that Universal, even with their Marvel rides at islands of Adventure, cannot offer.

3) Marvel Rides at Hollywood Studios Finally, once tourists are used to the idea of Marvel being a major part of their Disney vacation, rides should be introduced. This is the diciest part of the plan, as currently rival Universal Studios has a deal with Marvel for rides at their Islands of Adventure park. Whatever they need to do to get out of it, though, Disney should eventually plan to have Marvel rides at their Hollywood Studios, which is the only one of the four parks that thematically makes sense for Marvel rides. And frankly, Hollywood Studios is currently the weakest of the parks and could use a bit of a boost. My suggestion would be to put them at the opposite end of New York Street from the Muppet Theater; New York is a central character in the Marvel Universe and would be a good place for the Marvel heroes to hang out and sign autographs, and right now there's really nothing down at that end of the street anyway.

Lastly, an entire Marvel-themed park wouldn't be completely out of the question, but I'm not sure how viable it would be. It has been well over a decade since Disney's last new park, The Animal Kingdom, opened, so a fifth park at Disney World wouldn't be a surprise. Whether or not there would be enough interest in Marvel characters to anchor an entire theme park, well... hard to say. But in the meantime, the previous three steps I've outlined would be a good way to integrate Marvel into the Disney World experience over the period of five years or so, something that could only help Marvel in terms of expanding their brand visibility -- and help Disney begin to realize the ancillary profits they no doubt expected when they decided to buy up the stable of Marvel characters.

In-House Ad Showcase: Sabre

2010-11-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. You're probably wondering if I've been eaten by a panther or something, but calm you fears; I've just been so blasted with work that I haven't even had a chance to update the Week in Geek depsite the fact that feature's sole purpose is to allow me to present content when I'm too busy with work to do anything else. It's just been that busy.

Part of the reason it's been so busy, though, is because I've been trying to get ahead on work to clear the decks for a Disney vacation. Which I am now going on. Don't worry, once I get back I expect to be able to get back on a regular schedule and answer those questions you submitted, as well as catch up on other things.

In the meantime, in honor of my trip, I thought I'd present a special In-House Ad Showcase featuring the original ad for Sabre. For those of you who may not be familiar with Sabre, it's like this: Sabre is basically an alternate universe version of Jimi Hendrix, only with mad king-fu skills and a bunch of pirate-style weapons. He lives in a post-apocalyptic future where, alongside his main (inter-racial) squeeze Melissa Siren, he battle the forces of future-fascism -- all inside a near-exact replica of Walt Disney World.

Yep.

It was also originally released as one of the first graphic novels back in 1978 for a then-unheard of sum of $6, this at a time when the cover price on most comics was 35 or 40 cents.

So am I hoping to run into a dystopian kung-fu version of Jimi Hendrix while I'm at Disney World? Duh, of course I am. In the meantime, here's the kick-ass original ad for Sabre, from the pages of Heavy Metal, featuring art by Paul Gulacy. As always, click on it to enlarge:

Disney and Marvel Begin Cross-Marketing

2010-10-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ever since it was announced last fall that Disney was going to bu Marvel, people have been wondering just what it was going to mean for both companies. One thing has always been taken as pretty much gospel fact, though: considering how much Disney has pushed "synergy" with every other company they have purchased, like ABC and ESPN, it was just a matter of time before Dinsey began cross-promotions with Marvel. The real question was when and what form would it take.

Well, now we have at least an idea of what the future is going to look like, because Disney and Marvel have announced two new cross-promotions coming in the next couple weeks: a series of TRON Variant covers across the Marvel Universe and a series of Marvel-themed covers for ESPN the Magazine -- one for each of the 31 NBA franchises.

Of the two I have to say the ESPN covers seem like a more natural, organic fit. Yes, it does smack a little of the recent announcement that Stan Lee was going to be doing a line of NHL-inspired superhroes. But still, a comic book cover depicting each of the NBA franchises as superhero teams isn't too crazy; at best it's kind of a fun gimmick and at worst, well, what harm can it do.

Plus, some of the covers are downright fantastic, particularly John Romita Jr.'s inspired take on his father's iconic splash page from Amazing Spider-man #50. This is almost too sweet to be real:

And most important, the gimmick seems to be working on some level; just google "marvel espn covers" or some variation and you'll see ream after ream of blog and newspaper articles about the covers, with local fans for each market debating the merits of their cover. That has to be a positive thing for Marvel even in markets that don't like the covers. For what it's worth, here's my local team, the Celtics:

All in all, it's not a half bad start for the Marvel/Disney marketing team.

Less successful. on the other hand, is the series of TRON Variant covers being slapped onto Marvel books over the next two months. I just don't get the connection at all. While I'm sure on some level there was the thought that Marvel might benefit from TRON fans picking up the comics, I have a hard time seeing that happening, mainly because there's just no connection at all between TRON and the Marvel characters. I dunno. On the face of things these two marketing campaigns may seem similar, but the TRON one really seems forced to me.

That's not to say that the art isn't cool; the Ghost Rider cover, featuring him on a light cycle, is a clever idea and this Captain America cover, for example, is pretty darn awesome:

But the whole thing just seems random, like a Burger King toy tie-in instead of a natural synergy between the two companies. And actual TRON comic book? Sure. Thor drawn as though he were in TRON? That I don't really get.

My Saturday With Adam West and Barack Obama

2010-10-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I headed down to the New England Comic Con in Boston and had a chance to buy some back issues, rub elbows with creators and pop stars and, oh yeah, enjoy a visit from the President of the United States. So here's a quick recap of the festivities for those of you who didn't have the unusual experience of seeing Adam West and Barack Obama in the same hour.

This year, the NECC (which really should be sponsored by New England's traditional candy, the Necco Wafer, don't you think?) was put on by the folks at Wizard, who are responsible for Wizard World Chicago and that sort of thing. I was a little iffy about this since I mostly consider Wizard to be a tool of the devil, but on the other hand I hadn't been to a show in a long time and Mike Grell was supposed to appear so I figured, what the hell. How bad could it be?

You'll notice my mistake right up front there -- it's the part where I wondered how bad a Wizard experience could be. My trip to the show itself, though, started out just fine; held at the Hynes Convention Center, the show had the privilege of sharing the building with a rally for Governor Deval Patrick, where a certain special guest by the Name of Barack Obama was suppoed to appear. That doesn't happen every day, so I thought it might be cool to both hit the comic show and see the president, but when I arrived those hopes were dashed thanks to a massive queue of several thousand people who had apparently been camping out all morning for a chance to get into the rally. So, scratch the Prez off the want list. I thought.

My con pain began when I got to the ticket counter. See, I've been to a lot of shows in Boston and at no point have I ever paid for than ten bucks to into one. So it never even occurred to me to see what the prices for this show were going to be because, really, ten bucks isn't that big a deal.

You know what is a big deal, though? $35. Which happens to be the one-day admission for the show. I was pretty much caught the Demon and the deep blue Sea Devils at that point, though, because my options were to a) pony up, b) go stand in line for another 3 1/2 hours to see Obama or c) waste my whole day driving into and out of Boston for no reason. So I reluctantly paid up and headed into the show, hoping it would be so awesome it was worth every penny.

Which, no. The reaosn the price was so high, it turns out, is because Wizard has decided to try and emulate San Diego Comic Con in every way possible, which means tons of pop stars and whatever. But since, unlike San Diego, there's no reason to show up in Bosotn, Wizard has to pay appearance fees, meaning that my #35 helped subsidize some other random person getting an autograph from Charisma Carpenter. Whoopde damn doo.

Plus, to be honest, there just weren't a whole heck of a lot of real deal comic book dealers. There were probably a half dozen booths of dealers just selling TPBs, which is kind of sad for a comic book show in my opinion, but whatever. Add in another four or five guys just selling recent issues and you're left with basically five dealers who had authentic back issues. Only one of these, though, had the classic Comic Show Cheap Boxes, which on the one hand made it a lot easier to search for bargains but on the other hand meant I didn't actually find anything I needed.

Basically, I was a grumpy damn dude.

There were some highlights of the show, though. Firstly, official Friend of the Vault Bob Almond was on hand and was as personable as ever. He also was working hard on behalf of The Inkwell Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in comic book inking. I got to talk to Bob for a good while, which is always a pleasure, and I strongly recommend checking out his website for some learnin' on inking.

I also had the chance to meet a personal idol of mine, the legendary Mike Grell. After paying $35 for entry to the show I wasn't too psyched to find out he charges $5 for every signature after the first one, but I'm guessing it's to cut down both on people bringing entire stacks to be signed as well as those stacks then appearing on eBay. Since I rarely bring more than two or three issues to get signed (in this case I wanted one each of Warlord, Jon Sable and Green Arrow) it wasn't that big a deal. After getting his autograph I thanked him for finally tying up that goddamn Tinder storyline that had been unspooling as a subplot for over three full decades; he seemed very pleased that someone other than himself cared about that and shook my hand, so that was cool.

(As an aside, he was working on a drawing of Hawkeye when I spoke to him that was totally awesome beyond belief.)

And I did find a couple of very hard to find and quite expensive golden age comics I was looking for, namely (and you know what's coming) Boy Comics #5 and #13. I was extremely happy with the purchase of #5 in particular as it's the third issue of the series and very hard to get in decent condition.

But overall I was pretty displeased with the whole experience. I mean, Lee Majors is cool (even if I didn't actually see him) and there was a line for those Buffy people, so I guess someone gives a flying crap about them, but when I go to a comic book show I want to buy comics and I want to talk to comic book writers and artists. If I wanted to go to a pop culture TV convention I'd do that, but I don't and frankly it pisses me off that I had to pay through the nose so other people could co-opt my comic book convention experience. Even standing elbow to elbow with Adam West on my way out of the show wasn't cool enough to redeem the day.

But you know who was cool enough? The President of the United States, that's who.

So, it's like this: as I exited the convention, I ran smack into a crowd of people being ushered down a long hallway by some workers telling everyone to keep left. At this point it's like 3:30, a full hour after I thought the rally was scheduled for, so I figured, hey, these must be the people leaving the rally. So, assuming they were all being shown the exit, I joined in the mix and wandered with the crowd.

About halfway down the hallway, though, it donned on me that this wasn't leading to an exit but rather to some escalators going further up into the building -- and these folks weren't leaving the rally, they were heading in. Well, far be it from my to skip out on the President, especially since I just somehow skipped several long hours of standing in line for it. So, saying what the hell, I headed up into the convention hall.

Sure enough, there was a big stage set up (with, I might add, James Taylor playing live) and a crowd of folks waiting eagerly for Obama to come out. And we didn't have to wait long; about ten minutes after arriving, the rally kicked off, first with an introductory speaker, then the Lt. Governor, then the Governor and finally the President of the United Damn States of America. Right there, bro, no more than 75 feet away.

So that was pretty cool, though it would have been cooler if he had autographed my copy of Amazing Spider-man #583. And naturally I didn't actually stay for his whole speech; I mean, he's a great speaker, but i already knew what he was going to say and after hours of standing around the con I didn't feel like getting stuck for another hour pushing through a mob to get out. So I bailed.

All in all, the experience as a whole was surreal enough to make up for how disappointing the actual comic convention was, but next time Wizard comes around I'll be taking a giant skip on the proceedings. I only have so much money to spend on comics, after all, and wasting $35 of it for a chance to chat with James Marsters really isn't part of my fiscal planning.

Now, if they can get the President to come back again and sign this time, maybe we'll be in business...

The Week in Geek: October 3-9

2010-10-12T13:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes geek news slips through the cracks, and when that happens, I'm here to catch it in a segment I call "The Week in Geek." Yes, folks, hard to believe but it's been an entire week since my last update on everything geeky, which means you're all one week closer to death. And that should be all the incentive you need to check out this latest batch or articles, because seriously, don't you need something fun to at least temporarily distract you from the looming specter of eternal non-existence in the cold nothingness that reigns beyond our world?

Yeah, I thought so. Let's get geeky, friends!

October 6 -- Emma Stone is Having a Blonde Moment: Yes, rehead Emma Stone is playing the blonde Gwen Stacy, a reverse of last time when blonde Kirsten Dunst played the redheaded Mary Jane Watson. Apologists claim that Stone is actually a natural blonde, but whatevs. Stone is cool, but this is weird.

October 7 -- Sam Raimi is The Man Behind the Curtain for ‘Oz’ Prequel: Raimi gets a lifetime pass from me thanks to Evil Dead 2. And if they do get Robert Downey Jr. to play the wizard in this prequel, well, there's at least a small chance I might go see it.

October 8 -- Dan Aykroyd Super Pumped For ‘Ghostbusters 3′: I couldn't care less about Ghostbusters (blasphemy alert!), but you need to check this out if only to click on the link to Aykroyd's new ad for "Crystal Head Vodka," which seems like an SNL skit but is totally real. Maybe the world is the joke.

October 8 -- Noomi Rapace May Become The Girl in the ‘Alien’ Prequel: I'm only slightly more interested in the Alien prequel than I am in the Oz prequel or the Ghostbuster sequel, but this casting choice seems like a great idea.

October 8 -- ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ Loses an Entire Dimension: In the best decision of the week, Warner Bros. decided not to convert the new Harry Potter film into 3D because 3D conversion blooooooows. Very smart move, WB, thank you.

Stan Lee's NHL

2010-10-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Back when I was a kid, I thought it would be cool if there were sports themed superheros. I don't mean crap like NHL Superpro, I mean like a superhero who has the Red Sox logo for his symbol and battled the evil Yankee to preserve the forces of good. Eventually, of course, once I got a little older, I decided this was a really, really stupid idea.

Then again, I'm no Stan Lee.

Which brings us to the surprise announcement of the week: Stan lee is teaming with the NHL for the "Guardian Project," which will have him co-create a team of 30 hockey themed superheroes, one to represent each NHL franchise. I shit you not.

"This is unlike any project Stan has ever done," Guardian Project chief creative officer Adam Baratta said, using massive understatement. "We worked hand-in-hand with the NHL over the last 10 months to specifically design each character not only to look and feel like the moniker, but to be infused with the spirit that represents the fans of each hometown."

As a Bruins fan, of course, I'm curious to know what my new superhero icon is going to be like and the Boston Herald, for this one time only, has the answer. "The superpowers of the Boston superhero bear called “Bruin” include precognition, or the ability to sense trouble, and serve as the “early-warning system” for the rest of the Guardians. His powerful roar can freeze enemies in fear, and his olfactory power allows him to “smell” when someone is lying and be a strong interrogator."

In addition, the Herald claims that "Bruin will be gritty, hard-working and, since he’s Boston-educated, the most intellectual of the bunch. And, yes, he’ll have a Boston accent."

I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry or get out my checkbook.

According to the press release, which was issued in advance of today's big rollout event at the New York Comic Con, the Guardians -- who will be marshalled by a 15-year-old kid -- are set to star in a line of comics books as well as a novel, video games and NHL marketing campaigns. If that all happens and the Guardians catch on, of course, I will literally swallow my Terry O'Reilly jersey whole, but more power to 'em I guess. Good luck getting this to fly.

For the life of me I haven't been able to find any images yet of the various Guardians, but trust me, as soon as I find some, I will be posting them. In the meantime, though, it struck me that just about every NHL team already has an established superhero or supervillain that could easily represent the franchise. So with that in mind, here's my list of heroes and villains for NHL franchises:

Boston Bruins -- Ursa Major
Buffalo Sabres -- Sabre
Montreal Canadiens -- Satannish (okay, maybe that's just me)
Ottawa Senators -- Senator Harrington Byrd (I looked this one up)
Toronto Maple Leafs -- Major Mapleleaf (yes, this is a real character)

New Jersey Devils -- The Death-Defying Devil
New York Islanders -- Wonder Woman (think about it...)
New York Rangers -- Space Ranger
Philadelphia Flyers -- Night Flyer (I refuse to give them someone cooler)
Pittsburgh Penguins -- The Penguin, obviously

Atlanta Thrashers -- Night Thrasher
Carolina Hurricane -- Hurricane
Florida Panthers -- Black Panther
Tampa Bay Lightning -- Lightning Lad
Washington Capitols -- Estes Kefauver (meta commentary!)

Calgary Flames -- Human Torch
Colorado Avalanche -- Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers -- The Duke of Oil (maybe the dumbest villain ever?)
Minnesota Wild -- Wildfire
Vancouver Canucks -- Captain Canuck

Chicago Blackhawks -- Blackhawk
Columbus Blue Jackets -- Yellowjacket (only funny to me, maybe)
Detroit Red Wings -- Redwing
Nashville Predators -- Predator
St. Louis Blues -- Chat Noir (look it up, I'll wait)

Anaheim Ducks -- Howard the Duck
Dallas Stars -- Starman
Los Angeles Kings -- King of the Hoboes
Phoenix Coyotes -- Coyote
San Jose Sharks -- Tiger Shark

Come to think of it... maybe I am Stan Lee after all!

Ask the Vault!

2010-10-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

We haven't done this for awhile, so why not? Yes, it's time for the latest edition of the mind-expanding sensation that is sweeping the world, Ask the Vault! As always, the rules are pretty simple: you ask me any question you want, anything at all (though preferably about comics), and I provide the most comprehensive and intelligent answer you've ever heard in your whole damn life.

Of course, some questions have already been asked and answered, so before you submit your query, check out this list to see what kind of knowledge has already been dropped. But otherwise, the door is now open, so get your thinking caps and step through it metaphorically. Once I have accumulate enough questions, I'll answer them all with my usual flurry of timely activity.

Ready? Okay, ask away.

The Week in Geek: September 25 - October 2

2010-10-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

And we're back, folks, with another jam-packed week in geek. What kind of jam, you ask? Grape jam, baby, grape jam. Because here at The Vault, we use only the finest ingredients when we whip up our patented recipe of pure, unadulterated awesome.

But enough chit chat, let's get right to this week's highlights:

September 27 -- Mark Ruffalo: My CGI Hulk Will Be Best CGI Hulk Ever Talk about setting the bar low.

September 28 -- ‘True Grit’ Trailer: Truer, Grittier Than Ever: This has the potential to be the awesomest movie of the year, not to mention the rare remake that is better than the original.

September 29 -- ‘Sherlock Holmes 2′ Gets a Mad Man, Er, Villain: I won't feel safe until they announce Rachel McAdams won't be returning, but this sounds fine for what it is.

September 29 -- ‘Lost’ Star Josh Holloway Accepting Impossible Mission: I still think he should have been Hawkeye, but I'm happy to see him in anything. Maybe he can kick Tom Cruise's ass.

September 30 -- Hallelujah, It’s Raining Ninjas in ‘The Warrior’s Way’ Trailer: Oh look, a serious, live action version of Ninja Scroll, combined somehow with both Wild Wild West and Lone Wolf and Cub. In other words, this looks pathetically terribad.

October 1 -- San Diego Defeats Dastardly Plot to Kidnap Comic-Con: Comic-Con is staying in San Diego, which is good. Not that I have a horse in this race, I just loathe L.A. and the Inland Empire. No offense.

Breaking News: Bob Harras Named DC EiC

2010-09-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

DC announced yet another stunning bit of news today, this time taking pretty much everyone off guard with their out-of-nowhere announcement that former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras has been named DC's new Editor-in-Chief.

Exactly what this means, mind you, is a bit unclear; DC hasn't actually had an Editor-in-Chief for years. But with the recent restructuring of the company, with Dan DiDio and Jim Lee named co-publishers, the elimination of Wildstorm from the face of the Earth and the move of everything non-comics to Los Angeles, it's clear that DC has some sort of game plan they are finally implementing.

The fact that that plan leans heavily on Bob Harras, however, is still a shocker on some levels. For the past several years, after all, Harras (who was once also writer on Avengers) has been toiling in near-obscurity as the editor in charge of DC's collections department -- collections as in trades and reprints, not as in billing. That position is about as far as you could get from Harras's glory days when he presided over Marvel Comics from 1995-2000.

Just how fans are going to react the news is almost as unclear as just what Harras's role will be in relation to DiDio and Lee. Many fans remember Harras as editor most for the whole Heroes Reborn fiasco (and I use the word fiasco in terms of fan reaction, not in terms of sales, as by all accounts the event did what it was intended to do). Harras is also somewhat unfairly held responsible by many fans for the many troubles Marvel had during this time period, when the company went bankrupt. That really stemmed from things way over his head, but the trickle down effect -- and the poor quality of many of the titles he inherited during the whole 90's Image/speculation era -- have led many fans to forget all the highlights of Harras's tenure in favor of the lowlights.

Among those highlights, of course, are not just the Heroes Return relaunches, which led to such fan favorite teams as Kurt Busiek and George Perez on Avengers, but also the greenlighting of Busiek's Thunderbolts series, the creation of the Ultimate universe and the launching of Marvel Knights, which eventually ushered in the era of his successor, Marvel Knights honcho Joe Quesada.

On balance, then, Harras's hits probably outweigh his misses as he helped return Marvel to a firm creative foundation after the near disaster of their bankruptcy. How his style or experience will effect DC, with their increasingly elaborate editorial structure -- in addition to DiDio and Lee, DC also has Geoff Johns on board in the official capacity of Chief Creative Officer, whatever the hell that is -- is a big question mark.

One thing is for sure though: DC is definitely shaking things up. And judging by their sales and the vocal complaints of the internet minority, anyway, that can't be anything but a good thing. Here's hoping Harras can straighten things out.

For more on the promotion of Harras, here's Newsarama with the press release and CBR with industry reaction.

Two Weeks in Geek: September 12-25

2010-09-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's a special Double-Sized, 80 Page Giant version of Week in Geek. Unfortunately, last week's geekery was eaten by the technical problems I was having with the website, but now that everything is up and running again I've combined those entries with the all-new batch from last week to bring you a massive data dump of geekdom sure to blow your face off like a pocket atom bomb. Which, in this specific case only, is a good thing.

Here it is, your Two Weeks in Geek:

September 13 -- Noomi Rapace to Play Girl With the Houndstooth Cap in ‘Sherlock Holmes 2′: Yes, the lady from those Swedish thriller movies is going to be in Sherlock Holmes 2. She'll have to be better cast than Rachel McAdams, who was ridiculous.

September 13 -- ‘Resident Evil’ Shows No Signs of Moving Out Any Time Soon: Yes, there is going to be a fifth Resident Evil movie. No, I don't know why.

September 15 -- Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Costume Like Wearing Alec Baldwin: A bit of fluff about superhero movies from the man with two trillion abs.

September 16 -- Jon Hamm Tells Kelly Ripa ‘I Could Be Your Man of Steel’: The rumor going around is that Jon Hamm is going to play Superman. He's probably 5-10 years too old, but they might be able to make it work if it's an Earth 2 story. Oh, we could only be so lucky.

September 20 -- Renner Talks ‘Avengers’ Fashion: Is Purple the New Black?: What's wrong with purple, exactly? For some reason Renner doesn't want Hawkeye to wear purple. That's nuts.

September 21 -- True Story: Winona Ryder Joins Tim Burton on ‘Frankenweenie’: Somewhere, The Cure is weeping a single blood tear into their goblet.

September 21 -- Owls, Srsly? Ya, Rly: A 3D animated movie about Nazi owls and the few feathered heroes who oppose them? Say... WTF?

September 21 -- An ‘Inception’ Video Game? We Must Be Dreaming!: I hope to god this is an MMO, because that would just be the tits.

September 22 -- Godzilla’s Climbing in Your City, He’s Snatching Your People Up: The producers of the new Hollywood version of Godzilla swear that they will be faithful to the original. Yeah, sure.

September 22 -- ‘X-Men: First Class’ Threatens to Drain World’s Dwindling Mutant Supply: Unless Caliban is in this, I'm not going to go see it. Or unless I am bored when it comes out.

September 22 -- Scarlett Johansson Spins a Solo Web For ‘Black Widow’: Yes, Marvel is in talks to do a solo Black Widow movie. This could be... okay... maybe. But only if they figure out how to have both Ivan and Winter Soldier in it.

September 24 -- Emma Stone as Black Cat in ‘Spider-Man?’ Sounds Purr-fect: Okay, this Black Cat rumor is mostly one I myself made up, but it sort of fits with what the studio is saying, so I'm going to remain hopeful.

September 24 -- Kate Beckinsale Is Going To Suck in ‘Underworld 4…’ Blood, That Is: No. Just... no.

Breaking News: DC Shuts Down Wildstorm, Zuda

2010-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

DC Comics announced in a press release earlier today that they are shutting down Jim Lee's Wildstorm imprint and absorbing the characters into DC. The move was one of several major changes announced, including the end of Zuda Comics as well as the relocation of numerous jobs from DC's New York headquarters to Los Angeles.

Wildstorm, of course, has been one of the premiere imprints in comics since it debuted nearly 20 years ago as part of the Image launch in 1991. Under Lee's guidance, Wildstorm published acclaimed and groundbreaking titles by creators such as Warren Ellis and Alan Moore, including influential series such as Gen13, WildCATS, Planetary, The Authority, Tom Strong, DV8, Ex Machina and Top Ten. For the last few years it has also been the publisher for Kurt Busiek's Astro City.

Considering Lee is now a co-publisher of DC itself, the move isn't necessarily a complete shock, but it's still a bit of a surprise that leaves many questions unanswered, particularly the future of the many Wildstorm characters. Will they now be folded into the DCU itself? Will some of them be DCU characters and others go to Vertigo to maintain their feel? And what will happen to creator owned works like Astro City (Busiek has said on his facebook page that he hasn't heard anything from DC yet)?

The decision to dump Wildstorm came at the same time as DC's decision to dump Zuda Comics, which as you know (thanks to my reviews last year) was a digital comics experiment that for a while provided a unique platform for new creators. That's gone and in it's place is... a nebulous something that DC is working on instead; their press release indicated that Lee will now be heading the new digital initiative, but what form that's going to take is unclear.

Also unclear is how the decision to move a number of jobs from New York to Los Angeles will affect DC. One has to assume that this is a result of last year's move by parent company Time/Warner to consolidate the management of DC under the Warner Bros. entertainment banner.

In short, pretty much nothing is certain as a result of these moves other than the fact that Wildstorm and Zuda no longer exist. It appears on first blush, though, that these moves all are part of a larger plan to focus on and leverage DC's core properties -- which unfortunately may come at the expense of their more innovative and creative smaller branches.

We'll see.

p.s. The DC website where they posted the press release seems to have crashed but I'll try to get a link to it when I can. Here's an interview with DC's head honcho Diane Nelson, though, where she sort of talks about the changes.

New Comic Cavalcade: Thor, Avengers and More

2010-09-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, welcome back to another edition of New Comic Cavalcade. It's been quite a while since I reviewed new issues, so as you can imagine, I now have a metric ton of comics to read. So this time around we're going to go back to the ultra short, two-sentence reviews for all the new comics. Ready? Okay, here we go:

Astro City Special: Silver Agent #2
A surprisingly satisfying ending to the story we've been waiting for for more than a decade. If it is an ending -- I'm not what those final panels mean, exactly, but they sure were interesting. My Grade: A-.

Thor #613 and 614
I was very skeptical of this storyline when it started, but it ended up being a lot better than it had any right to be. I still don't have any idea why this Kelda characters exists, though, despite the writer's attempts to justify her. My Grade: A-.

Thor: For Asgard #1 and 2
At this point Thor is basically appearing in five series at once; this six-issue story may seem limited, but since another limited series or one shot will replace it when it ends, they might as just make a second ongoing called "Tales of Asgard" or "Journey Into Mystery." It's kind of annoying, but this story -- though I can't figure out if it's even in continuity or an imaginary tale -- has some great art, so I'll probably stick with it. My Grades: B+.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird #4
I appreciate the return of the once-heroic Phantom Rider at the end of this issue and I hope the storyline ends with the character finally being redeemed after 20 years in the dead rapist doghouse. But I still find the return of Mockingbird to be both contrived and unnecessary, as is the presence of whoever this new Dominic Fortune is. My Grade: B-.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #2
Yet again, Alan Heinberg's version of the Young Avengers turns out to be, inexplicably, the best Avengers series Marvel is putting out. I'm actually enjoying the search for Scarlet Witch despite the fact that I hate the character -- and enjoying this series despite things like the totally unnecessary Wolverine cover. My Grade: A.

Avengers #4
Could be worse; the art is good and Bendis is doing a great job of writing the future Avengers kids as a bunch of complete shits, so if they die at the end of this story I'll enjoy that at least. But let's get one thing straight right now: Kang isn't afraid of Hulk in any part, future or alternate reality. Period. My Grade: B-.

Secret Avengers #4
The first arc ends solidly, but overall this story was a little bit of a letdown, particularly Brubaker's somewhat weird version of Valkyrie and the apparently pointless inclusion of Nova. I am very intrigued by the Nick Fury stuff, though, and Brubaker has earned my trust, so I'll be sticking with it. My Grade: B-.

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #3
Not sure what the point of this series is, really, but for me it's Brubaker's weakest Captain America work ever. The Cap-reverts-to-a-weakling plot didn't help, as it pointed out how much Eaglesham's artwork looks like Al Milgrom's from the dreadful Gruenwald storyline with the same plot, which, by the way, is not a compliment. My Grade: C-.

Captain America #609
Now this is more like it, as Brubaker is still hitting on all cylinders with his return of evil Zemo storyline. I even am kinda/sorta enjoying the Nomad backup. My Grade: A.

Jonah Hex #59
Another solid story, but one of the very few in the series that seems to suffer from being a single issue story instead of an extended or multi-part arc. The big setup introducing the Grey Ghost is interesting but doesn't have any room to develop before it's forced to suddenly end amidst a different, random plot. My Grade: B.

Technical Difficulties

2010-09-15T09:33:00.001-07:00

As you can see, the design for the site has changed. This is a temporary fix caused by technical difficulties that completed exploded my old design. Once I can get everything figured out I hope to premiere an all-new, all-awesome design, but this should work for a little bit at least well enough to make the site readable.

Sorry for any difficulties this may have caused.

In-House Ad Showcase

2010-09-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. You know, reprints are kind of cool in that they allow you to get access to stories that you may otherwise never be able to find or afford and with today's trade market driving the industry, the time has never been better to pick up collections of material you've been curious about. But there are things lost when you get a collection or a reprint; the lettercolumn, the advertising, really the whole flavor of the comic itself. And maybe the biggest casualty for comics fans is In-House Ads.

These, of course, are the advertisements that companies would put in their comics promoting over titles or characters in their line. Often these are little more than just a small shot of a cover with maybe a few lines of text. But just as frequently companies would whip up promotional art, graphics and other weirdness that in some cases is better or more interesting than the comics themselves. And sadly, few of these house ads have been given nearly as much attention over the years as they deserve, because really, some of these are real gems.

With that in mind, today we kick off another semi-irregular feature here at The Vault, In-House Ad Showcase, where we'll dig up some of the more interesting in-house ads from the last 75+ years of comics so that fans can get another (or often first) look at some of these rarities and gems.

And what better way to start than with the ad that inspired this feature, a beautiful full-page splash from Jack Kirby advertising Avengers #3? I found this gem in the pages of Sgt. Fury #4, and it's a masterpiece. It's also a bit of a historical curiosity due to the fact that it features Iron Man in his all-gold armor, despite the fact that he actually was wearing his new red-and-gold armor in Avengers #3. Obivously the ad was done before the armor was redesigned. Anyway, here it is:

Next up is an early gem from another classic artist, Barry Windsor-Smith, who made a name for himself in the industry with his gorgeously detailed work on Conan the Barbarian and its related titles. Check out this great in-house ad that I found somewhere on the internet (sorry, I forget where, so my apologies to the hapless dupe I stole it from):

And we'll end with a more traditional style in-house ad, this time from DC. It's got the basic in-house ad style of presenting an entire cover along with some hype text, but what's unusual here is, well, just how awesome the cover and overall effect are. This ad is from 1973, but it's so effective that I just had to guy buy this comic as soon as I saw it -- over 35 years later. And I'm betting that you'll be on ebay with five minutes of seeing this ad yourself. Here you go:

Yes, it's a romance comic about a nun! And the guy hitting on her is a tortured Vietnam Vet trying to deal with PTSD. Don't worry, though, if you can't find your own copy (which I strongly recommend getting), some kind soul has uploaded it to the internet so you can read the whole thing here.

Next time: More Kirby! More early Marvel! More of everything you love about comics!

The Week in Geek: September 5-11

2010-09-11T11:02:00.002-07:00

I know, I know -- you guys want comics! You want to delve into those longboxes face first and come up smelling like old newsprint. I promise, y'all. Soon, very soon. For now, though, I've still been too swamped with actual work to get much writing done on the Vault side of things.

Still, some of those articles are pretty cool and a couple of them are even comic book related. So here' the latest Week in geek so you can get caught up in everything important in the world. And don't worry, comics are coming shortly.

September 6 -- Queue It Up: ‘A Scanner Darkly’ Blu-ray: Dude, I haven't actually seen this movie for some reason, but if you haven't read the book I highly recommend it. And whatever you do, make sure you see this / read this sober. You've been warned.

September 8 -- What If Clint Eastwood Were Superman?: Shocker of the week: Clint Eastwood was once a comic geek! So what classic Golden Age hero did he obsessively collect? Here's a hint: the answer makes beautiful, perfect sense.

September 9 -- ‘Hobo With a Shotgun:’ Brother, Can You Spare a 20-Gauge?: I think the title pretty much says it all, right? The fact that is stars Rutger Hauer is genius; frankly, I can't see how the movie could live up to this trailer.

September 9 -- Nikita Has Company When It Comes to Butt-Kicking Ladies: A video rundown of some of the asskickingest ladies in film and TV history. I totally should have included Gwen Cooper from Torchwood. Darnit, Hindsight Lad!

September 9 -- ‘Captain America’ Proves He’s an Easy Rider: Photos of the stunt double on Captain America riding a tricked out Army motorcycle. Pretty cool.

September 9 -- Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower:’ Just How Much of This Is There?: This is one of the craziest deals I've ever heard of, as Ron Howard is going to adapt the "Dark Tower" serious into a film trilogy and a TV series simultaneously. Good luck with that bro. Seriously.

The Week in Geek: August 29 - September 4

2010-09-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Whew. It's been a long week, but we here at The Vault have finally shaken off our post-DC Cover List doldrums and are back in the metaphorical saddle, ready to rock your socks off with amazing and astonishing new content. But before we do anything crazy like that, we thought we'd re-purpose some of last week's most interesting articles so that we can spend another few minutes in bed.

Get ready for another Week in Geek!

August 29 -- Comic Book Characters Still Available for Movies: The title pretty much says it all here. I was happy that I got to plus some of my favorite, lesser-known titles, though.

August 30 -- Queue It Up: ‘The Evil Dead’ Limited Edition Blu-Ray: If you're looking for straight laughs, I say skip this one and watch Evil Dead 2 instead. But this one certainly has more serious horror in it.

August 30 -- Talkin’ Bout Willis: Sly Wants Bruce As ‘Expendables II’ Villain Yes, there is going to be a sequel to The Expendables. No, you cannot blame me; I voted against it.

September 1 -- 'The Amazing Race' Season 17 Teams Announced: Maybe this doesn't count as geek, I dunno. But it is the best show in the history of television, so that has to count for something, right?

September 1 -- The Rock Rolling Into ‘Center of the Earth 2′: This, on the other hand, is definitely geek even though it's also a complete crap sandwich. Now who would rather watch Amazing Race? Yeah, that's what i thought.

September 3 -- Excellent! 'Bill & Ted 3' Still in the Works: Hard to believe, but it's true: the guy that played Bill is still alive. Good for him!

September 3 -- New ‘THX 1138′ Blu-ray is L33t: That's my headline, ya'll. Pretty awesome, right? This movie, of course, was the last one Lucas did that didn't ruin your childhood by simple fact that he made it before you were born.

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: The Top Ten

2010-08-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Now, here it is, at long last: the top ten covers in DC history.

10) Watchmen #1
September, 1986 -- Dave Gibbons

I originally planned to place this cover at number two on this list -- yes, even above the cover that is actually at number two. But then something happened that changed my mind -- I actually looked at this cover again. Not that it isn't a great cover, because it is -- it introduces the great design for Watchmen, with the big bold logo down the side and the iconic smiley face button and it is, of course, expertly rendered by Dave Gibbons in an almost abstract composition. No, the problem wasn't the cover but what the cover isn't -- it isn't this, more famous cover from the Watchmen trade paperback. Which presented two issues for me. Firstly, the TPB cover is much better known simply because far more people have read Watchmen in TPB than in the original comic form; and secondly, the TPB cover is also superior artistically. It's just a masterpiece of minimalist design. So as great as this actual cover for Watchmen is, I couldn't justify it any higher than tenth because it's really just a prototype for the justly revered TPB cover.

9) Justice League of America #21
August, 1963 -- Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson

The first crossover between the Earth-1 Justice League and the Earth-2 Justice Society also provides one of the great covers in DC history, courtesy of Mike Sekowsky and, of course, Murphy Anderson, who seemed to have inked just about every awesome cover DC had during the Silver Age. I love the design of this cover; there's just something fun and almost joyful about the Justice Society coming out of that cloud, even though this issue likely caused thousands of kids to horrify their parents by attempting their own Earth-2 seances. This issue also, of course, was the first of DC's many "crisis" stories, as well as the first in the annual JSA-JLA crossovers, a tradition that would last for over two decades. Just a fun, nostalgic cover for any fan of superhero comics.

8) Justice League #1
May, 1987 -- Kevin Maguire and Terry Austin

Since its publication over twenty years ago, this shot of the JLA looking up at the viewer with folded arms and grumpy expressions has been one of the most homages and parodied covers in all of comics. I would have sworn that this logo wouldn't have worked if I hadn't seen this cover, but the art and the unusual perspective are so powerful that they elevate everything, even that unfortunate font.

7) Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
October, 1985 -- George Perez

Both the DC and Marvel countdowns were filled with Pieta-style covers (such as the famous "Robin Dies at Dawn" Batman cover we looked at last week), but they all pale in comparison to this timeless cover by the master of detail, George Perez. While his covers can occasionally be accused of being too cluttered, this time around he find the perfect balance, mixing the powerful and unforgettable central figure of the weeping Superman holding his slain cousin with the background detail of the gathered heroes of the DCU looking on in mourning. Even that wonky DC 50th Anniversary banner can't detract from this indelible cover.

6) Green Lantern / Green Arrow #76
April, 1970 -- Neal Adams

While the Silver Age belonged to Marvel, in many ways the Bronze Age belonged to DC, as the company pushed the boundaries both in terms of design as well as innovation in storytelling and developing new characters. The DC revival and the Bronze Age in general -- an entire era of comics, really -- is summed up and represented in full by this renowned cover from Neal Adams. If you want to get really deep, the shattering of Green Lantern's lantern symbolizes the way DC itself was smashing their own traditions and cliches to try and form a new paradigm through stories like this one, the first of their "relevancy" comics; a symbolism, by the way, that I think Adams completely intended. Add in the fact that it's just really cool looking; brings back the classic (and much better) Green Lantern logo from the golden age; and features the new Green Arrow in full badass mode and there's no wonder that this is one of the best known comics of the past 40 years.

5) Star Spangled War Stories #138
May, 1968 -- Joe Kubert

I know I've said this before, but this time I'm serious: you have to click on this and see it at a larger resolution. As we've discussed before, War comics aren't exactly the most popular genre these days, so you may not be familiar with this cover; and though it's the first issue of Enemy Ace's ongoing series, to be honest there's not a whole heck of a lot of historical significance to it considering that series lasted less than 15 issues. Here's what is significant: this is probably the best war cover in comics history due to the fact that it's also, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, the best cover Joe Kubert ever did. Considering he's one of the greatest legends in comics history, that's saying something.l But most of all, it's just beautiful in design, detail and execution. Look at it and you'll see why it makes the top five.

4) Superman #14
February, 1942 -- Fred Ray

I've featured this cover before basically just because I wanted to look at it, so everyone pretty much knows how much I love it. It's not just one of the best and most famous war covers to come out of the Golden Age of comics, it's also an enduring and iconic image of Superman, directly associating him with America through the symbolism of the shield and eagle. What's more American than Superman, right? but when this came out, he had only been around for four years. It's covers like this -- or rather, it was this cover -- that really began to seal that link in people's minds. And it just is so damn nice to look at.

3) Batman #9
March, 1942 -- Jack Burnley

What's interesting about this cover is that just about everyone -- not just people in comics, I mean everyone in general -- is familiar with this image, it's just that most people don't know where it came from. Not that this cover has been reproduced all that much in broader media or anything, but the idea of Batman and Robin that people have in their minds was essentially generated here; this image has been so influential that it's become pervasive to the point of almost losing the origin. Basically, this is Batman and Robin. And beyond all that, of course, is the fact that's is a really sharp, effective and beautiful cover in its own right. It's fitting that it goes back to back with Superman #14, because the two covers share a DNA; not the first appearances of the character, maybe, but the genesis of the legends.

2) Detective Comics #27
May, 1939 -- Bob Kane

I actually struggled with the placement of this cover, strange as that sounds. There are so many classic, iconic and awesome Batman covers (as we've seen just over the last two days) that it's hard to pin all the importance on a cover like this one, even if it is his first appearance. On top of that, nearly every element of this cover was swiped by Bob Kane from other sources and sort of stuck together in this (admittedly very effective) pastiche. So I moved it around several times. IN the end, though, despite my reservations, I decided I couldn't justify putting this cover anywhere other than at number two (though if I had decided to make TPB covers eligible, that Watchmen cover might have snuck in). But, here it is, probably right where it belongs after all.

1) Action Comics #1
June, 1938 -- Joe Shuster

Could there ever be any other choice?

Next: What?! Where's All-Star Superman #1?! OMG!!! NOOOOOO!! Okay, calm down, dude. Relax. In a couple days I'll be posting my inevitable follow-up where I explain why stuff like All-Star Superman #1 and Justice League of America #1 didn't make the list and I'll also answer any questions or concerns that have cropped up during the countdown. So if you think I blew anything or left any important covers off, let me know now. Who knows -- I might even change something if you're persuasive enough.

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #20-11

2010-08-23T10:55:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Let's get on with the top twenty!

20) All-Star Squadron #1
September, 1981 -- Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano

This is a cover that's kind of crept up on people over the years. It's not as splashy as some of the other choices on the list, but when you ask people what their favorite covers are, it comes up surprisingly often. As a result, it's been homaged several times over the years. On a personal note, I think Hawkman looks particularly cool on this cover for some reason. Maybe it's just because you don't normally see him, you know, thinking about stuff, but for whatever reason this is just a memorable, fun image.

19) Showcase #34
October, 1961 -- Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson

As we've seen, Gil Kane turned out great covers for decades, but while he has some earlier entries on our list, to me this is the earliest prototypical Kane cover. The Anderson inks do add a different feel from the later stuff that he inked himself -- the guy trapped in the bottle seems lankier than usual, almost Kubert-esque -- but overall it's just a really fine example of Kane's striking figure work. It's also the first appearance of the Silver Age Atom and for decades has been considered by fans to be one of the best covers of the Silver Age.

18) More Fun Comics #54
April, 1940 -- Bernard Baily

Our final cover to feature the Spectre is the standard by which all other Spectre covers are judged. It has most of the elements that would later be used in other great Spectre books -- the mysterious look, the symbolically (?) gigantic form -- though it doesn't have the black background so many others would use. But this one still stands out above the rest just for sheer epicness, with the biplanes flying at him and the mass of soldiers at his feet. I particularly like the plane he's clutching in his right hand. He just looks like a truly frightening, unearthly power.

17) Strange Adventures #110
November, 1959 -- Gil Kane and Jack Adler

A personal favorite, this cover was actually one of a number of "giant hand" covers DC put out during the 50's across their genre books. but none of the others have the sheer visceral whallop of this cover, thanks in part to the coloring and inking job done by Adler. On a personal note, you know those guys at comic shows who have giant poster versions of famous covers for sale, so you can frame them as art and hang them in your den or office? Of all the covers on this (or the Marvel) list, this is the one I would most like to have a framed print of. It transcends comics for me to become a wonderful artifact of a whole era's aesthetic. Just awesome.

16) Batman #11
July, 1942 -- Fred Ray and Jerry Robinson

For the eleventy-billionth day in a row, we have our requisite Joker cover and as usual, it's backed by a nice black background. At least, what little you can see of it. Most of the cover, obviously -- and most of the reason this cover is so awesome -- is covered in playing cards, the high point of which is, of course, the fact that Robin, Batman and Joker are the face cards and Batman is punching Joker so hard he's knocking him clear off the Joker card. Obviously not the last time we'd see the card motif used for Joker covers -- we've already seen another famous example earlier in the countdown -- but the first and still the best use of this simple but visually arresting concept. Just about perfectly done here.

15) Flash #123
September, 1961 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

One of the most famous covers in comics history, Flash #123 re-introduced the Golden Age Flash to the world of comics after a 12 year absence and in the process revived the entire stable of Golden Age DC character by introducing the concept of Earth-2. Having alternate universes ended up being problematical in the long run, but the idea was never so simply explained as here, thanks to Infantino's depiction of the hapless construction worker calling for help to two different Flashes at the same time. This classic cover has been homaged too many times to count.

14) Batman #404
February, 1987 -- David Mazzucchelli

It's a shame that Mazzuchelli didn't produce more mainstream comics work, because he's arguably one of the best comic artists of the past thirty years. And though his output was small, just about everything he worked on has come to be regarded as a classic of the artform, including this simple but haunting cover, which kicked off Batman: Year One and the post-Crisis Batman reboot. This pretty much gives you the whole origin story in one striking image.

13) Superman #199
August, 1967 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Speaking of covers that have been homages multiple times, this latest collaboration between Infantino and Anderson is one of the most popular covers (and stories) in DC history. The action really plays to Infantino's strengths, as he goes an excellent job of depicting the two in motion, something he had perfected in his years of working on Flash. The black background, classic Superman logo and "Who is the Fastest Man Alive" text combine to provide energy that just about explodes right off the cover.

12) Batman: The Dark Knight #1
1986 -- Frank Miller

Earlier on the countdown we saw the fourth issue of Miller's acclaimed mini-series and here was are, back again with the first issue. Like the cover for issue 4, this is a testament to design and iconography, as Miller relies on the reader to pretty much know who the silhouette is and what the imagery means without actually spelling it out. It's also hard to look at this cover without almost hearing in your mind the crack of thunder with this lightning bolt, which is an interesting sensation for a purely visual medium; I have to say it's maybe the only cover on this list that made me think in terms of sound as well as sight.

11) Batman #227
December, 1970 -- Neal Adams

You guys have no idea how hard it was for me to keep this out of the top ten. From a pure artistic stand point, this may be Neal Adams' best cover for DC, and it is certainly one of his most famous. It was covers like this that helped return Batman to his dark roots after the years of TV show camp had damaged the character. This cover is also an homage to Detective #31, which appeared earlier on the list. It was a hard decision trying to figure out whether an homage should actually rank higher than the original, but I felt that the iconic status of Detective #31 was based in no small part to how popular and awesome this cover from Adams is. Based on that and just the sheer sweetness of this cover (which includes what I think is the best Batman logo ever) I had to rank this cover higher. One of the best.

Tomorrow: At last, the Top Ten!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #30-21

2010-08-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

We're getting close to the top now!

30) The Shadow #1
November, 1973 -- Michael Kaluta

Pretty much every one of Kaluta's gorgeously rendered covers for this short-lived Shadow series could have ended up on the countdown. The fact that this series didn't succeed says to me that the character is played out, because the presentation was just unbeatable. Of the lot, though, this first issue re-introduction is my favorite. if this couldn't sell comics, then it might be time to pack it in.

29) Flash #163
August, 1966 -- Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella

Over the last few days we've talked quite a bit about effective word balloons, as well as to a lesser extent text in general on a cover. But this one, which combines word balloons with graphic design to create an unforgettable combination, takes the cake. Quick question: can anyone think of cover dialogue from a Marvel book that is as memorable as the DC balloons from the last few days? I can come up with one or two examples maybe, but that's about it.

28) New Gods #1
March, 1971 -- Jack Kirby and Don Heck

Kirby's DC stuff may not have ever really caught on with the fans, and his writing is debatable, but he still knew how to knock his first issue covers out of the park. Everything about this cover seems to come from a different time period from anything else on the stands in 1971. From the font to just the sheer size of the logo, the way the blurbs are laid out along the top, the photo style background -- this was just beyond modern and even now looks like it comes, not from our past, but from some alternate comics publishing world that was never quite realized. One of the best examples of how DC was pushing the envelope design-wise during that time.

27) House of Mystery #174
June, 1968 -- Nick Cardy

In 1968, DC decided to suddenly revive -- or create out of thin air -- their entire line of horror comics. I'm not entirely sure what this was in response to -- perhaps a loosening of the comics code restrictions? -- but as a result, they relaunched both House of Secrets and House of Mystery as horror books. This cover from Nick Cardy marks the first issue of this new horror era, complete with a great new logo and the memorable tag line above the logo. I usually love half-frame covers like this, though this is one instance where we debatably lose something by not seeing the top of the door. Maybe that's just me. But, anyway, top of door or not, this is an awesomely evocative image that provides the perfect graphic representation of the way DC was inviting kids to try their new horror books starting with this issue. Perfect concept, perfectly executed.

26) Showcase #79
December, 1968 -- Jay Scott Pike

Less, as they say, is more, and this almost minimalist effort from Jay Scott Pike is a perfect example. This is just an artist beautifully drawing a figure and letting that speak for itself; the little frogmen on the bottom half and the bubbles in the top help balance things a bit, but even the editor's realized this is all about Dolphin and as a result they ever came up with a cool, simple, small logo to accompany the picture. They didn't want anything to detract from Dolphin and, on the contrary, everything compliments her form perfectly. Sublime.

25) Bat Lash #2
January, 1969 -- Nick Cardy

Nick Cardy is back once again, this time with perhaps his greatest creation, the pseudo-pacifist, ladies-man gunslinger Bat Lash. Each of his Bat Lash covers is worth tracking down, but of them, this is undoubtedly his masterpiece, with the white frame perfectly blending in with the white of the snow; the sharp logo; the frame again helping emphasize the native American by allowing his head to break up through it into the logo space; and most of all, the crouching figure of Lash cradling the little girl as they crouch. The tension of the figures is only matched by the snowy beauty of the scene they are stuck in. And again, another great example of a cover telling a whole story in one image.

24) Green Lantern #49
February, 1994 -- Darryl Banks and Romeo Tanghal

One of the most memorable covers of the decade, even if you aren't a fan of the story. And despite the fact that the events of this issue have since been overturned, the image still packs a visceral whallop. I mean, Hall Jordan just looks legitimately deranged on this cover, and the way he holds of the trophies from his slain brethren is disturbing at best. A cover to stack up against anything the Joker has to offer.

23) House of Secrets #92
July, 1971 -- Berni Wrightson

This wonderfully rendered Wrightson cover is notable for a few reasons. Firstly, just on an artistic level, the composition is interesting, as we get a large, central image of the girl at the mirror, with the monster relatively small in the back of the scene. It's a bit unusual, but strangely effective. Of course, this is also the first appearance of Swamp Thing, which has given this cover added significance over the years. And then there's the story behind the story, which is that the girl in this famous image was one Louise Jones. At the time, she was the wife of painter Jeff Jones (who is about to reappear on the list in just two spots); Wrightson, to hear him tell the story, had a crush on her despite her marriage to his friend, hence his decision to draw her on this cover. of course, this didn't work out well in the end for either Jeff Jones or Berni Wrightson, because Louise ended up later becoming married to third comic book artist -- Walt Simonson. Yep, that's good ol' Weezy Simonson herself on the cover. And that... is the rest of the story.

22) Detective Comics #69
November, 1942 -- Jerry Robinson

Arguably the iconic image of the Golden Age Joker, this great cover from Robinson doesn't really need a lot said about it. Like most of the others on this list, it's black; and like many Joker covers, he's more symbolic than literal. As an aside, this genie-in-a-bottle design is very suggestive of a number of Spectre covers during Jim Aparo's acclaimed revival in Adventure Comics during the 1970's. It's no surprise other artists were inspired by this cover -- it's just damn cool.

21) Wonder Woman #199
April, 1972 -- Jeff Jones

And we're back with the second of the gothic horror themed bondage covers Jeff Jones painted for Wonder Woman. Or should I say the first, as this one appeared before the cover we spotlighted earlier on the list. I'm not sure whether or not I like the choice of background colors, but the image of that hooded executioner looming over Diana's chained figure is chilling and compelling. And, as I've said before, this is my favorite Wonder Woman logo during my favorite design era, so those are bonus points as well (though again, it's maybe just a slight bit crowded up there). As for the artist, we've already hard about some of his private life in our story about entry 24 on the list; the rest of the rest of the story is that he has since had a sex change operation and is now a woman. You hear that, Frank Miller? You're next, buddy!

Tomorrow: The top 20! Be there!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #40-31

2010-08-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Here we go.

40) Green Lantern / Green Arrow #86
September, 1971 -- Neal Adams

Over the last couple of days we've discussed some of the more effective word and thought balloons on covers; this cover, like those, probably has one of the most famous lines of dialogue on a cover ever in green Arrow's shocked "My ward is a Junkie!" This cover as a whole is still one of the most shocking covers in mainstream comics and, as usual, it was expertly drawn by Neal Adams.

39) Blackhawk #259
June, 1983 -- Howard Chaykin

Okay, it's all been building to this: and by all, I mean to two previous black and yellow war covers. First we looked at a cover that showed lighting inside a plane, where the yellow and black was used to provide dramatic lighting to a person. Then we looked at a cover that showed a low angle, looking up at some planes passing overheaed. Now we have the culmination. It's obvious here that Chaykin was very familiar with the classic covers from his predecessors and he puts it all together, from the angle to the people, with every bit of extraneous coloring removed so that this is reduced to its most elemental form. I also quite like the unusual decision to make the logo transparent. A personal favorite.

38) Detective Comics #31
September, 1939 -- Bob Kane

One of the all-time classic covers from the Golden Age, this cover, which was the third Batman cover, went a long way towards defining the mood of the whole series. It's justly famous but I had quite a hard time figuring out where to rank this because part of the reason it is so iconic is that it was homaged -- and the homage is perhaps better known and better done than the original. So some of the glory for this cover is reflected glory. Which cover, therefore, gets the credit? Both were great so they both got high rankings, but in this case, despite the added historical significance of this early cover, I decided to give the higher spot to the homage. Not sure that was the right call, but there it is.

37) Teen Titans #14
April, 1968 -- Nick Cardy

This cover is pretty much perfect in every respect. I love the angle, I love the shadows casting Robin's face into despair, I love the effect used to create the ghostly look to the other Titans, I love the lettering and I love the black border. This is basically a perfect cover and more proof, as we needed more at this point, that Nick Cardy is a wildly underappreciated comic book genius. The only real question for me was whether or not this cover should have been even higher. What do you think?

36) Batman #251
September, 1973 -- Neal Adams

Another day, another great Joker cover. Unlike the others, though, this one doesn't have a black background, but it does have a symbolically gigantic Joker striding like a behemoth through Gotham with Batman tied to an oversized playing card. The cover that really re-established Joker as a major villain for a new generation.

35) Wonder Woman #25
December, 2008 -- Aaron Lopresti

One of the very few covers from the last decade to make the list, this pick is a partially a personal choice. But this image has also been quickly embraced by much of the Wonder Woman community as well for the same reasons that I think it is one of the best depictions of Wonder Woman ever. The Rockwell-esque spirit of this cover, with the little girls emulating Wonder Woman, cuts right to the heart of the character and why Wonder Woman is an icon to millions in a way that is almost totally unconnected to her actual comic books. Making her into a poster (and I appreciate the logo and issue number being part of the cover as well) just helps emphasize her status as an icon to girls and women around the world in a very literal way. I may be wrong, but I think this is a cover that will have long term staying power for Wonder Woman enthusiasts.

34) Green Lantern #1
Fall, 1941 -- Howard Purcell

This lands in the top 40 for a few reasons, most of which have to do with how little this cover looks like anything else from its time period. It has a sharp black background and, of course, the excellent classic Green Lantern logo. And the big green power battery forms a nice backdrop for the unusually fluid action scene of Green Lantern fighting a guy with a scimitar. Indeed, this looks so little like the other books DC was putting out at the time I'm inclined to think some tomfoolery was at work in its design. But however this came about, it's a striking and bold cover to launch Green Lantern. And, as a bonus, it's also one of the few golden age Green Lantern covers not ruined by the presence of Doiby Dickles.

33) The Question #1
February, 1987 -- Bill Sienkiewicz

This ultra-modern cover from Sienkiewicz is a model of design. It's got a great logo and a great series of frames and mini-frames formed by the white lines. The topper for me, of course is the big smoke ? in the middle of the cover, forming a frame-within-a-frame for the Question's noggin. Some of the fashion on display may be a little outdated now, but the rest of this piece is timeless.

32) G. I. Combat #87
May, 1961 -- Russ Heath and Jack Adler

This was another tricky cover for me to slot correctly. As has been pointed out, war comics haven't really been popular since, well, before the Vietnam War, really. Correspondingly, I did drop most of the war covers back to the bottom half of the list. But once upon a time, back when war covers were popular, this was considered one of the best war covers ever and was singled out in fan voting at the time as being their favorite of the bunch. Because of this, it still has a high profile among fans of war comics but, due to the genre's unpopularity now, not much beyond that. Regardless, it's still a strong image whether you're into war comics or not and so deserves a decent ranking, but I moved this up and down the list several times before finally settling here. I'm still not sure this is quite the right spot, but what are you going to do, right?

31) Detective Comics #38
April, 1940 - Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson

No explanation is probably necessary for this choice, but for those who maybe aren't familiar with it, I'll point out the obvious and the not so obvious: this cover, which marks the first appearance of Robin, was so popular that it became a tradition at DC for many many years to debut big new characters by having them jump through paper hoops.

Tomorrow: #30-21 brings you everything you could ever have imagined in comics... and so much more.

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #50-41

2010-08-18T11:37:00.002-07:00

The Week in Geek: August 15-21

2010-08-18T11:37:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to another Week in Geek, where we round up all the geektastic news from around the internet. That is, around my own personal internet; these, of course, are the stories I might have written about here at The Vault if I hadn't already written about them for someone giving me money. So rather than risk having one of you actually miss one of my epic posts, I'm now repackaging them in what is not even a remotely lazy weekly format.

So what might you have missed over the past week? Glad I pretended you asked:

• August 16 -- Is 'The Expendables' Sylvester Stallone's Biggest Opening Ever? : Short answer: yes, yes it is. Of course, that's due in large part to inflation and massively increased ticket prices, otherwise First Blood 2 or Rocky IV would be the answer. Time: the great unequalizer.

• August 18 -- January Jones Cast in New 'X-Men' Movie: I know what you're thinking: huh? What now? But let's face it -- 95% of comic fans just want to know if she's going to be wearing the white leather corset or not. It doesn't even matter who is inside it. Sad but true.

• August 19 -- Seth Rogen to Get Schooled in 'Boo U.' : It's always helpful to be warned of projects like this far enough in advance to make sure you can fully avoid them.

• August 20 -- Tim Burton Reunites With 'Ed Wood' Scribes for 'Addams Family' : This actually could be cool. It's going to be a stop motion feature based on the original Addams Family cartoons rather than the watered down TV show.

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #60-51

2010-08-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

So let's take a look at the covers, shall we?

60) Detective Comics #71
January, 1943 -- Jerry Robinson

Black background: check. Symbolically huge Joker: check. Classic Detective Comics logo and Golden Age design: check: Batman and Robin being overwhelmed by calendar pages: double checkmate, mofo! Actually, the design for this issue is a little unusual, as Joker stretches right up to block some of the logo; plus, the black background bleeds up into the logo box as well. Both, I might add, excellent decisions. Add in art from Jerry Robinson in his prime and you have an all-time winner.

59) House of Secrets #125
November, 1974 -- Luis Dominguez

You know, I think I've been to this house.

58) Heart Throbs #92
November, 1964

Now this is a cover you really need to blow up to full size in order to fully appreciate. The use of color, not just in sketching the outlines of the background but also in the bold yellow of the dress, really turn this basic layout into a spectacular work of art. It has a very 50's/60's minimalist Mary Blair vibe to me which, unusually, I actually like. A sharp and striking piece.

57) Superman #252
June, 1972 -- Neal Adams

Neal Adams strikes again with another wraparound cover featuring a who's who of DC heroes. This all-flying hero issue is fondly remembered by fans and it's not hard to see why; while most online sites seem to usually only reproduce the front cover, once you see the entire thing laid out it really is a pretty uplifting cover. Very nice work.

56) Strange Adventures #205
October, 1967 -- Carmine Infantino and George Roussos

Though Adams would later take over this series and put his own stamp on the covers, it was actually Infantino who drew this first Deadman appearance. I'm a big fan of this logo and I also like the somewhat unusual layout for this cover, which has the central figure aligned horizontally at the top, leaving a big patch of basically empty space in the middle of the cover. You're not going to see many covers laid out like this one, but here it somehow works.

55) Superman #233
January, 1971 -- Neal Adams

Yesterday we saw the Superman Annual #1, with Curt Swan's rendition of Superman breaking some chains. Today we see the Adams version, which fittingly comes on the cover of the first revamped and re-imagined Superman story. Starting with this issue, Kryptonite is gone (well, mostly) and Clark Kent gets a new job as a TV anchorman. Superman smashing his chains is symbolic of DC freeing him from the years of stagnation he had been trapped in and this excellent image (which you'll note echoes the earlier cover for the Wonder Woman reboot in Wonder Woman #179)

54) Kingdom Come #4
August, 1966 -- Alex Ross

Our second Alex Ross cover in as many days is an elegantly simple, haunting image of the Golden Age Superman at the end of Kingdom Come. The covers for Kingdom Come #1 and 2 are equally -- or perhaps more -- famous than this one, but as reader Rob Lettrick noted, they were both essentially homages to a Neal Adams cover from the early 1970's. And besides, this one is, in my opinion, superior in terms of composition and emotion. Just a cool, moody and evocative cover.

53) Wonder Woman #200
June, 1972 -- Jeff Jones

We'll have more on Jeff Jones later in the countdown, but this is one of two covers that Jones drew during the brief Wonder Woman revamp in the early 1970's. Fittingly, Jones incorporated Wonder Woman's bondage themes into this cover that is striking both for the way Wonder Woman's white-draped figure contrasts with the black background as well as for the horror elements, personified by the sinister killer silhouetted in the doorway. I'm a big fan of this design period, though I admit that in this case the masthead is a little cluttered; but I still think this is Wonder Woman's best logo, especially when paired with non-superhero art like this. (Also, note the use of the same gothic romance paperback font for the title that they were using on other romance/horror hybrid titles at the time.)

52) Flash #133
December, 1962 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

This cover recently appeared on the Comics Should Be Good countdown of the most iconic covers in DC history and, surprisingly, some people didn't seem to get why this cover is cool. Those people need to be examined by doctors, because this is one of the all-time goofiest covers in comic history. And no, I don't believe that it was unintentional, either; the Silver Age may not have winked at itself much but, seriously, "I've got the strangest feeling I'm being turned into a puppet" is one of the most self-aware joke blurbs in DC history. It's also probably one of the five most famous thought or word balloons in comics, as this cover has come to symbolize the DC Silver Age aesthetic for generations of fans -- whether they like that aesthetic or not. Either way, and intentionally or not, this remains one of the funniest covers in history.

51) Batman #156
June, 1963 -- Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris

Sheldon Moldoff is back, this time with a Pieta-themed cover. As reader Pat Barry pointed out, Moldoff was well known in his day as being a master of panel swiping, as he kept a file on hand of cool images to copy. However, he was actually a fine artist in his own right, which eventually led to his developing the ability to copy other artist's styles without actually referencing specific panels or drawings. This came in very handy at the time he drew this classic cover for "Robin Dies at Dawn" because as far as DC knew, this cover was actually drawn by Bob Kane. In fact, Moldoff ghost-drew all of Kane's work on the Batman titles for several years in the late 50's and early 60's, copying Kane's style and signing Kane's name to the pieces as part of a deal the two had worked out behind the scenes. It's fitting, then, that the motif for this issue is itself sort of a meta-swipe of Michaelangelo's Pieta. Unlike Flash Gordon's Alex Raymond, however, Michaelangelo wasn't around to complain about Moldoff swiping his work.

Tomorrow: The top 50 begins! Be there!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #70-61

2010-08-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

And now, the top 70. This is getting serious guys -- the big guns are really starting to come out. Case in point:

70) Superman Annual #1
August, 1960 -- Curt Swan and Stan Kaye

Classic Silver Age Superman artist Curt Swan provides this iconic image and layout for the first Superman annual. This is also, as it happens, the first DC annual, and the layout for this cover was used for basically the next decade on all the DC annuals and many of the 80 Page Giants as well; central image surrounded by small boxes containing scenes from other stories. This isn't the only -- or best known -- image of Superman breaking chains but it's one of the earliest and best. A Silver Age classic.

69) Jonah Hex #25
January, 2008 -- Rafael Garres

Okay, this is obviously a personal choice. I already discussed at some length some of the reasons there are very few covers from the last decade on my countdown, but this cover illustrates another reason: the fractured reading community. With so many titles being published and so few people reading these days, it's very difficult for a cover to be widely known enough to become iconic. Over the course of researching this list, I discovered entire titles that I never even knew were being published by DC over the past decade. Obviously, no matter how awesome the covers on those comics were, I wasn't familiar with them and this fact is further exacerbated by all the variant covers being pumped out by the industry. This Jonah Hex cover from two years ago isn't a variant, but considering only 11k people read Jonah Hex, chances are you probably have never seen it. Which is too bad, because as a Hex fan, I believe this is the best cover in the character's 40 year history. It also blew away the people I showed it to at the comic store when I bought it -- people who otherwise would never have seen it due to today's comic book realities.

68) Batman #1
Spring, 1940 -- Bob Nake and Jerry Robinson

Hey look, kids, it's Batman #1! Yes, this probably seems kind of low on the countdown, but bear with me. As I've mentioned previously, the competition for spots on this list was especially fierce for Batman titles, because the series and character have just had so many awesome covers over the year. This is undoubtedly an iconic cover, but so are basically all of the other Batman covers above it on the list, and each of those I felt was superior artistically. I will say that this cover does have a certain joie de vivre, I like the yellow background (obviously) and the almost art deco spareness of the silhouetted cityscape is sharp as well. But this is as high as the cover could make it for me.

67) Swamp Thing #7
December, 1973 -- Berni Wrightson

Wrightson didn't do a lot of superhero covers, which is too bad because we can see from this brief glimpse of batman that he probably would have killed them just as he killed everything else he drew. I love the lighting on this cover and the awesomely detailed city in the background. Plus, I always like a semi-frame cover design like this where the logo and other graphics are kept separate from the picture; it just looks clean and in this case it's complimented by a nice color choice. Very cool cover.

66) The Spectre #33
September, 1995 -- Doug Beekman

Another personal choice. The 90's were an interesting time in that the decade produced more crap than any other comic decade but also had a number of really sharp alternative series going on. One of these was Spectre, which regularly featured excellent painted covers, my favorite of which is this image from Doug Beekman. I hadn't realized Beekman did this cover until I looked up the credits just now, but it is a bit funny, as once upon a time I knew Beekman as Uncle Doug. He and my aunt have been divorced for a long time now, but when I was a kid I had the chance to see him work on a number of awesome comic covers, mostly for Savage Sword of Conan (my favorite of which is this gem from 1986). Family politics suggest I should have taken this choice off my list, but you have to give props where props are due: this is one sweet cover. Blow it up for a look at Spectre's creepy side (as opposed to his giant, looming side, which he seems to display on almost all of his other covers on this list).

65) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #4
June, 1986 -- Frank Miller

Like Batman #1, I'm going to guess some people will think this should have ranked higher, but hey: them's the breaks. Though this silhouette of Batman fighting Superman is memorable and undoubtedly a classic, it's not even the most famous cover from this four issue mini-series. I do appreciate the iconography with the illuminated logo on Superman's chest pretty much eliminating the need for any other details or colors. But I just couldn't justify it going any higher than this on the list.

64) Mystery in Space #90
March, 1964 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Don't look now, but it's another Mystery in Space cover from Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. Earlier we looked at a cover that helped define the character's dilemma of being torn between two worlds; but while that cover was cool and had a giant magnifying glass and everything, this is the true Adam Strange classic as he struggles to keep those worlds from actually colliding. It's just a great, epic visual.

63) Action Comics #583
September, 1986 -- Ed Hannigan, Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson

Despite the fact that this is signed "Swanderson" -- meaning it was done by the team of Swan and Anderson -- the comics database says that Ed Hannigan actually did the layouts. Okay, why not. But there's no doubt that it's Swan who takes center stage here; this classic cover, which fronted the equally classic story "What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" by Alan Moore, is the perfect send-off for the Silver Age Superman that Swan did more to define than any other artist. A perfectly fitting end.

62) Batman: Harley Quinn
October, 1999 -- Alex Ross

Alex Ross is one of the most popular and famous comic artists of the past 20 years and covers like this illustrate why. The Joker, like The Spectre, lends himself to dramatic covers because his white coloring pops off the page, especially when contrasted with black backgrounds and he so often is. This finely rendered painting of Joker with Harley Quinn showcases Ross's photorealistic technique and has become one of the best known Joker images of the past two decades.

61) Adventure Comics #40
July, 1939 -- Creig Flessel

The first appearance of Sandman was also the first issue of Adventure that featured a superhero instead of, well, adventure stories. And the cover reflects that, as it really belongs more to the pulp tradition than to the emerging superhero school. And this is a big plus, because while superhero books (and artists) may have had an abundance of energy, they weren't the kind of craftsman that the pulp artists, with their decade plus of experience, were. A memorable and exceedingly well drawn DC milestone.

Tomorrow: #60-51 brings you horror! Romance! Superheroics! And more Alex Ross too! Be there!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #80-71

2010-08-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Take a look at today's picks:

80) Lois Lane #80
January, 1968 -- Curt Swan and Neal Adams

Well, here's a coincidence -- two covers in a row that have characters ripping through the cover to show the interior of the comic. I particularly like this effort from the unusual team of Curt Swan and Neal Adams, as Lois tears the "Superman's Girlfriend" part of her logo off to show she's a modern woman. In fact, this isuse (and to a lesser extent the one that preceded it) is kind of the first time Lois appears modern rather than a throwback to the early 50's. In fact, let's face it, she looks really hot here, to the point where her new look has the unintended effect of making Swan's Superman look old fashioned. A clever, fun cover that also is visual evidence of DC finally reacting to changing times.

79) House of Secrets #88
November, 1970 -- Neal Adams

Another Gothic classic from Neal Adams, who seems to have enjoyed painting these covers almost as much as I enjoy looking at them. This one is pretty much a prototype for a Gothic romance/horror cover, what with the frightened and mysterious girl in white fleeing from the moon-shrouded, shadowy mansion. This cover sets and captures the mood perfectly.

78) Superman #24
October, 1943 -- Jack Burnley

One of the great early Superman covers, this patriotic effort from Superman came, as you might expect, during World War II. The black is nice, as is the fact that the entire cover isn't black; I like the (presumed) sunrise on the horizon backlighting both Superman and the modern and literally shining American city. A legitimate classic of the medium.

77) Sea Devils #2
December, 1961 -- Russ Heath and Jack Adler

Speaking of classic, Sea Devils has long been renowned among collectors almost entirely due to the series of beautifully rendered covers from Russ Heath and Jack Adler. Honestly, from my limited reading experience with Sea Devils, I have to think that these covers pretty much kept the series afloat as the stories were nothing to get excited about. But this, the best of the Sea Devils covers, is something to get excited about, as Adler uses all of his inking and coloring skills to turn Heath's always-detailed and precise pencils into something approaching photographic quality.

76) Detective Comics #476
April, 1978 -- Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin

I know what you've been thinking: where are all the Joker covers?! Well, they're finally here, starting with a cover that proves the Joker is so awesome he doesn't even need to be on the cover to make it great. The first of many Joker covers to come, this cover also has one of the best known and most effective uses of cover text on a superhero cover. Just seeing the name "Joker" written large against the backdrop of those grinning corpses is enough to give readers a shiver.

75) Mystery in Space #75
May, 1962 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Here's yet another classic Mystery in Space cover from the team of Infantino and Anderson, this time from the famous crossover between Adam Strange and the Justice League of America. By now you've probably all realized that I like covers with strong geometric design elements, especially ones that also utilize color to emphasize that design, so naturally I had to select this cool image for the countdown. I'm not sure why Roy Orbison is trying to conquer Rann, but I love the effect of the sonic waves radiating from his gong. Cool stuff.

74) All-American Comics #16
July, 1940 -- Sheldon Moldoff

Sheldon Moldoff lands his second cover in as many days, this time for the first appearance of the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott. It's a testament to Shelly that he was chosen for such high profile assignments (you may recall from a few days ago that he also did the cover for Flash Comics #1, with the first appearances of both Flash and Hawkman on it). Though this isn't the only or the best golden age Green Lantern cover on our list (spoilers!) it's an iconic image that is also a very strong cover in its own right.

73) Batman #244
September, 1972 -- Neal Adams

Three words: Shirtless. Desert. Duel.

72) Detective Comics #457
March, 1976 -- Dick Giordano

This is truly one of the greatest images of Batman ever drawn. Giordano brilliantly places the flashback to batman's origin and the murder of his parents symbolically inside Batman's head as a perfect way of setting the stage for the classic retelling of that timeless story. Really, a cover that deserves to be top twenty. Except, everything about the cover other than the drawing itself is an utter disaster. The little line across the top probably seemed like a good idea when they designed it, but they basically jammed it with superfluous and useless text and junk. Then there's the horrible decision to shrink the Detective logo and jam a Batman logo in next to it, which is not only visually disastrous but also completely unnecessary; every cover of Detective has a giant drawing of Batman on it so it's obvious that this is "Batman's" comic. I mean, if you don't recognize Batman on the cover, then the Batman logo will be meaningless to you anyway, right? They could not have bollixed the design of this cover worse if they wanted to. No justice for brilliant art.

71) The Brave and the Bold #71
May, 1965 -- Gil Kane

What was that I was saying about designs emphasizing geometric shapes and color usage? Oh yeah. Well, here's another cover from Gil Kane, who is usually better known for his dynamic figure work. This time, though, he designs the living hell out of this cover, turning what could have been a pretty boring concept into something really sweet through the use of color and shape. Top notch. I also approve of the decision to let Green Lantern's logo go across the whole cover, as usually they bunch the logos up next to each other and it looks crowded and subpar. This style works a lot better for me, at least in this instance.

Tomorrow: #70-61 brings you excitement like you've never known. Batman! Superman! And believe it or not, a cover from the last ten years! Get psyched, you comics-loving fools!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #90-81

2010-08-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Here's the next soul-crunching batch of awesomeness:

90) Our Fighting Forces #71
October, 1962 -- Jerry Grandenetti and Jack Adler

This unusual cover was actually part of a mini-trend that Grandenetti and Adler put together during their years working on DC's war books; G.I. Combat #69 and #83 are two other examples. But as atmospheric and interesting as those two covers are, this one really takes the cake, due to two tweaks; first, the addition of some color to the jungle canopy gives the image an interesting three dimensionality and second, unlike the other covers, this one features two soldiers instead of one. Two soldiers and, of course, their dog Pooch. Together their worried gazes form the intersection where realism and surrealism meet -- which is exactly where most of the best comics from the Silver Age resided.

89) More Fun Comics #60
October, 1940 -- Bernard Baily

Here's another symbolic (?) image of a giant Spectre looming over some hapless sinners, this one from the character's early days. I really like the tiny figure of the gangster blasting uselessly with his Tommy gun, but the real key to this cover is the big yellow circle behind Spectre, which really helps his frightening form pop from the background.

88) Strange Adventures #211
April, 1968 -- Neal Adams

The central mystery of the original Deadman series in Strange Adventures revolved around Boston Brand's search for his own killer. In this issue, he finally finds his killer, but in order to preserve the mystery, Adams (or someone in art editorial) decided to completely blank out the details of the killer on the cover, instead simply depicting him as an expanse of negative space. I can only imagine how much this cover jumped out off the newsstand compared to the rest of the regular stuff from April of 1968. This cover still seems modern even today; for example, here's a very similar design from 2005 that was lauded as one of the best covers of the year when it came out.

87) Tarzan #222
August, 1973 -- Joe Kubert

This cover is interesting for a couple reasons beyond just the usual Kubert excellence. The main thing that's cool about this cover is the way he uses color -- in this case skin tone -- to make both Tarzan and the priestess pop out of the cluttered mass of characters. In that respect it's actually very reminiscent of this infamous Barry Windsor Smith cover from Conan #24, which appeared on my Marvel top cover list. Both of these came out in 1973. I doubt Kubert was influenced by Smith, but it's interesting to think about what kind of shared influences might have been floating around at that time.

86) Jimmy Olsen #53
June, 1961 -- Curt Swan and Stan Kaye

Hey look, it's Jimmy Olsen, only he's been turned into a giant turtle monster that seems to be... eating... a bridge? Plus it has a nice yellow background. I kind of don't think this one needs much further explanation.

85) Brave and the Bold #85
September, 1969 -- Neal Adams

This is a key turning point for both Adams and Green Arrow, as it marks the first issue where Adams debuted the new, revamped Green Arrow that he developed alongside Bob Haney and Denny O'Neil. Out goes the bland green onesie, in comes the Robin Hood inspired ensemble complete with new goatee. Fittingly, Adams features Green Arrow front and center in a dramatic pose to show off the new direction. Some elements of this cover aren't perfect for me -- they appear to be standing on some sort of random grid straight out of Tron and Batman's comparatively bright costume cand cape distract from the central green Arrow figure -- but it's an arresting cover. I also want to give props to the very, very brief design period this came from, which featured the little white band across the top of the cover with the series title. I wish they had played with that more because I really like it.

84) Warlord #27
November, 1979 -- Mike Grell

Our second Grell cover comes from his breakout series, Warlord. Everyone pretty much knows what a huge Warlord fan I am and it was difficult for me to keep from stuffing this list with awesome Grell covers, because seriously, his run of Warlord covers is pretty much unparalleled for me. Instead, we'll have to settle for this example, which deserves to be blown up in order to get a good look at the detail work. This features a dynamic rendition of Warlord himself alongside a finely rendered -- and currently exploding -- background scene. And a bit of Warlord trivia for you: at the time this cover came out, Warlord was reportedly DC's top selling book. Now you can see why.

83) Justice League of America #138
January, 1977 -- Neal Adams

This is an interesting variation on a theme of sorts for Adams; for a few other high profile covers on this list (such as Wonder Woman #179 from a couple days ago), DC employed this reddish sunburst effect to dramatize the cover. Here Adams uses this technique again, only this time he goes with blue instead. One of the most famous Adam Strange covers ever and another example of how this second stringer had far more than his fair share of memorable covers.

82) Flash Comics #37
January, 1943 -- Sheldon Moldoff

Sheldon Moldoff was one of the most detailed artists working during the Golden Age, and this is one of his masterpieces. Yes, there are a couple of curious things about it -- for instance, Hawkman and Hawkgirl appear to be running even though they are in midair, while Modloff always drew their wings to look more like hair than feathers -- but this picture of the Hawks flying amidst a massive swarm of birds is just a great cover. It's too bad I don't have a scan of a better condition copy with sharper colors, but you should really blow this up to take a better look at it.

81) The Atom #36
May, 1968 -- Gil Kane

Kane returns to the list after a brief absence and he does it in a big way, no pun intended. Kane's Atom covers were renowned at the time for their inventiveness and sense of motion and this is arguably the best. It not only features some absolutely prototypical Kane figure work, it also has the cool meta-conceit of one Atom punching the other literally through the cover of the comic to reveal the pages beneath. Which all adds to one thing: it looks cool as hell. Even though I do have to admit I'm not a fan of the lettering work in the word balloon; that could have been done better.

Tomorrow: #80-71 brings you excitement like you've never known. Adam Strange! The Teen Titans! And... the Sea Devils! Be there!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #100-91

2010-08-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Let's kick off the top 100 in style with...

100) Limited Collectors' Edition C-51
August, 1977 -- Neal Adams

Considering this title was basically a bunch of glorified reprints, the series had a surprisingly high concentration of classic original Batman covers; besides this cover and yesterday's example (also from neal Adams), this one from Jim Aparo nearly made the list as well. In the end, though, this famous version of the battle with Ra's al Ghul ended up at the top of the Batman Limited Collectors' Edition heap. I couldn't justify placing it any higher overall, though, despite the image's popularity with those limited collectors. That's because it is a reprint -- of a comic with an even more famous cover. When the cover isn't even the most iconic version of a specific story, it's really lucky to even make a list like this in the first place.

99) House of Secrets #105
February, 1973 -- Jack Sparling

I pretty much love everything about this cover. The composition, with the tranquil scene of kids fishing in the background contrasted with the skull in the foreground, is great and is perfectly served by the muted coloring. That, in turn, contrasts with the bold red banner at the top, which is punctuated by the "double bullet" design style during the very brief time when it wasn't being screwed up by extra blurbs all over the masthead and the issue number jammed into the price point circle. Just an excellent cover all around.

98) The Flash #203
February, 1971 -- Neal Adams

This is one of the more atypical Neal Adams covers on the list, which is part of why it works so well. Usually I have a pretty strong dislike for photo covers, but the concept behind this one works great, partially because on the Flash's world Adams draws with his usual photo-realistic style (deftly colored by Jack Adler to add to the effect) and partially because the alien world is one of the few instances where Adams isn't obviously being Adams. Instead he seems to be purposely channeling Steve Ditko, whose style is about as different from Adams as possible. It adds up to a clever concept expertly executed.

97) The Spectre #9
April, 1969 -- Nick Cardy

Ah, Nick Cardy is just so damn awesome, isn't he? Here's The Spectre, making one of several appearances on this list. The Spectre is interesting because, like The Joker, his snow-white skin not only gives him an inherently dramatic appearance but also leads to a lot of black covers to better contrast with him. Plus, they both get a lot of symbolic covers as well -- except, with the Spectre, being gigantic isn't necessarily symbolic because he actually does that sometimes. This cover is a beautiful example of Cardy and Spectre at their best; I love the book of judgment with all the presumed sinners swarming over it to escape Spectre's giant hand. And I also love the fact that they contoured the logo to fit like a puzzle piece with the artwork. Classic.

96) Justice League of America #10
March, 1962 -- Murphy Anderson

We kicked off our countdown with one of the many classic Justice League gimmick covers from the first few years of that book's existence. This, though, has to be tops on the chart -- the infamous Fingers of Felix Faust cover from Murphy Anderson. Beyond the flat-out bizarre nature of this striking image, it also happens to be a yellow cover, which as you all know is my favorite, so this is a winner all around.

95) Superboy #160
October, 1969 -- Neal Adams

You're probably pretty tired of me talking about Neal Adams by now, so I'll just say that I really like both the dejected and morose pose for Superboy in the foreground and, especially, the giant Earth hovering in the background. It really drives home the isolation Superboy is expressing and also reminds us just how alien he is. Cool idea.

94) Mystery in Space #82
March, 1963 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Here's another classic from the team of Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, who combined on a number of epic Adam Strange covers over the years. Of all the cool work they did on Mystery in Space (more of which is still to come), this one probably best illustrates the central dilemma of Strange, the man of two worlds, as he has to decide between his home planet and his adopted planet, each of which is given a different dramatic death as well as its own color scheme. Throw in a giant magnifying glass burning Rann's citizens like so many ants and you have a Silver Age classic.

93) Justice League of America #75
November, 1969 -- Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Six years later, Infantino and Anderson were still churning out hits as evidenced by this great Justice League cover. The black background helps, but what really sets this apart is the unique composition, where we just get a good long look at Black Canary's signature fishnet stockings as she looms right off the top of the cover over her defeated Justice League teammates. Now that's the way to make an entrance.

92) Detective Comics #590
September, 1988 -- Norm Breyfogle

When new Batman flans flocked to comic stores in the summer of 1989 they were in luck, because it just so happened that Norm Breyfogle was in the middle of a great run as artist on Detective Comics. And the best of the bunch, from a year earlier, is this awesome image of Batman summoning his flock of bats in a decidedly unusual location -- London, rather than Gotham. A terrific mood piece.

91) All-New Collectors' Edition C-62
1978 -- Neal Adams

Holy jeez, guys, four Neal Adams covers in one day. But before you demand that I remove my lips from Neal's ass, I suggest you blame DC for assigning him this project. You see, this was originally done by Joe Kubert, but someone decided it looked a little too lean and somber, which is kind of like saying you don't like Picasso's stuff because it's too cubist. So they took his layout and had Adams redraw it, adding in a number of famous celebrities from the time period. The result is a cultural touchstone that is even more impressive if you look at the entire gatefold cover rather than just the front, which is all that is usually reproduced.

Tomorrow:It's #90-81 with Jimmy Olsen! Tarzan! Deadman! And the shocker of the century: the senator's been shot!!!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #110-101

2010-08-13T11:31:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Let's see what books round out the first fifty selections.

110) Green Arrow #1
February, 1988 -- Mike Grell

Full disclosure: I love Mike Grell. I could easily do a whole Mike Grell Top 50 Covers list without even breaking a sweat. Between his long runs as cover artist on Warlord and Green Arrow, Grell was probably the most consistently excellent cover artist ever. Unfortunately, I didn't have room to fit in nearly as many of his covers as I would like, but one that did make the cut is this symbolic painting of Green Arrow towering over his new home, Seattle, where he would remain for the rest of Grell's 80 issues on the title. A strong start to a great series.

109) Tomahawk #116
June, 1968 -- Neal Adams and Jack Adler

It's Adams again, this time where you least expect him -- on a western (though, technically, Tomahawk wasn't actually a western either... it's complicated). Aided immeasurably by the inks and color work of Jack Adler, this almost impressionistic image of a Native American bearing down for the kill sets an awesome mood.

108) Girls' Romances #108
April, 1965 -- Gene Colan

This is a solid if typical design from Gene Colan -- weeping woman in foreground, brooding love interest in the background and a nicely placed thought balloon filling some empty space. A fine if unspectacular cover. Except, somebody had the brilliant idea of just coloring the entire thing bright pink. This was perfectly in keeping with the pop art sensibilities of 1965, but wildly innovative for the usually conservative DC romance line. As a result, by being modern, this cover ended up looking well ahead of its time. A striking, memorable cover.

107) G. I. Combat #88
July, 1961 -- Joe Kubert and Jack Adler

This is an interesting example of the effects of text on cover design, which we've been discussing in the comments over the course of this countdown. There's no question that the image is perfectly powerful without any text and would work just fine -- and arguably better -- without the words. However, in this case, the text isn't added to provide information but rather to set a mood. Kubert was very into the ironies of war -- many of his stories were based entirely on this concept -- and while it's unlikely that any soldier would write "Danger Sniper!" on his helmet in giant white letters, the idea that someone with that would then be blasted through the head with what appears to be a 7 million caliber bullet is perfectly in keeping with Kubert's sensibilities. I think because of this, the cover works better with the text, but you could argue it either way.

106) The Witching Hour #1
March, 1969 -- Nick Cardy

Another great cover from the criminally underappreciated Nick Cardy, who still has several more covers to come. I love the mood of this, the composition and the awesome logo; what a great way to launch a new title. However, I did have to drop this significantly down the list for thwo reasons. The first is really just a tiny nitpick; I think they could have colored the figure of the witch on the tower in the foreground just a little more subtly in order to make her pop from the shadows more. The second is a major wtf: if you look to the left edge of the cover, you'll see what appears to be a pillar of buildings going up the side of the cover. I've studied this cover at great length and just have no idea what's going on there, it's completely incongruous with what's happening in the rest of the picture. I mean, M.C. Escher wants to know what's happening here. If I'm missing something obvious, let me know, but this one has me stumped. Luckily, the composition draws your eye away from this and towards the moon, so it's not a fatal flaw, but someone messed something up or else this might be a top 50 cover. As it is, it's still ridiculously cool despite these issues.

105) Supergirl #1
September, 1996 -- Gary Frank and Cam Smith

This cover gets props for a couple reasons, the first and most obvious being that it provides and instant and dramatic introduction to an all-new, modern Supergirl that readers can see at one glance is wildly different from the versions that have come before. it's really a very effective image. From a design perspective, though, it's almost more impressive considering that the logo for the comic, such as it is, appears only as a tiny, half-obscured sticker on Supergirl's skateboard. it's a bold decision, but it only emphasizes how powerful the image is; with just one look at the cover you know exactly who the character is and what the tone of the series will be, making this perhaps one of the strongest first issue covers in DC history.

104) Limited Collectors' Edition C-25
1974 -- Neal Adams

There's not a whole lot to say about this one other than the fact that it's a very simple design -- Batman running across a big red background -- that is executed well enough that this depiction of Batman has become iconic through posters and lunchboxes and whatever. It's just a sharp, cool looking cover.

103) Wonder Woman #1
February, 1987 -- George Perez

You're going to want to blow this one up to really appreciate the intricate Perez detail work on this cover. Plus, most of the time, when this is referenced you only get to the the front panel and not the montage on the back cover as well. This, of course, represented a major overhaul of the entire Wonder Woman mythos, from her history right down to the new logo. One of the best known images of Wonder Woman ever drawn, by one of comics most accomplished artists.

102) Legion of Super-Heroes #294
December, 1982 -- Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt

Fans of the Legion swear by the cover that preceded this one, but for my money, this Giffen image of the Legion bowing in subservience to the giant floating visage of Darkseid is the real classic. This storyline re-introduced Darkseid as a major league villain in the DCU and the swirling vortex of crimson Kirby crackles behind his head really help this cover pop.

101) DC Special #3
June, 1969 -- Neal Adams and Nick Cardy

Here's a great and unusually art pairing: Neal Adams with inking by Nick Cardy, for our second Supergirl cover of the day. The results, as you might expect, are sweet, as DC decides to embrace modernism and feminism and promote its female superheroes for basically the first time ever. The looks on the male superheroes' faces are priceless, as though they can't believe a bunch of skirts are taking over their book, but the real draw is the exuberant Adams Supergirl in the middle. I have to admit that even though I don't like the character or, really, any of her stories, I still have put together a decent collection of bronze age Supergirl comics; there's just something about a well drawn Supergirl cover that works every single time regardless of context or content. A classic as well as a personal choice.

Tomorrow: It's #100-91, featuring Superboy! Norm Breyfogle! And... Muhammad Ali? Buckle in!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #120-111

2010-08-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

The Week in Geek: August 8-14

2010-08-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Another week, another week's worth of geeky news and views from around, you know, the inside of my own head. Luckily, that outpouring of raw data has an outlet at Moviefone, so you and the rest of the universe can stay up to date on all the info you need in order to plan your life. So, without further ado, here are some of the highlights form the latest Week in Geek.

• Aug 9 -- Cillian Murphy Joins Amanda Seyfried (and Maybe Justin Timberlake) in 'I'm.mortal': This is a sci-fi movie about a future where everyone is immortal but only if you're rich enough to afford it. With maybe the most overwrought title in sci-fi history.

• Aug 9 -- Warner Bros. Hires 'Harry Potter' Scribe to Pen 'Green Lantern' Sequel: Yes, they're already working on Green Lantern 2 a full year before the first one comes out. I guess you gotta stay positive, right?

Aug 10 -- New 'Tarzan' Adaptation to Swing Into Theaters in 3-D: Good news for fans of Tarzan, as a German studio is going to do an animated 3D adaptation. Or... actually, is that good news?

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time Master List

2010-08-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Master List for the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time. Let's face it: 150 is a lot of covers to keep track of. So we have compiled them all here in one handy place. If you want to read up on the criteria used to select these covers, read the Prologue to the Top 150 DC Covers list here.

And if you want to see the actual covers and read my reasons for including them, click on the links beloew to each block of selections. Enjoy.

#150-141
150) Justice League of America #9
149) Our Fighting Forces #130
148) Wonder Woman #72
147) The Brave and the Bold #28
146) Girls' Love Stories #60
145) Superman #75
144) Showcase #22
143) DC Super Stars #11
142) House of Mystery #277
141) Flash Comics #1

#140-131
140) Our Army at War #15
139) Batman Family #17
138) Wonder Woman #179
137) Justice League of America #62
136) Green Lantern #40
135) G. I. Combat #130
134) Teen Titans #23
133) Superman #307
132) All-Star Comics #3
131) Weird War Tales #8

#130-121
130) My Greatest Adventure #17
129) Falling in Love #99
128) Animal Man #5
127) Star Spangled War Stories #151
126) Sensation #1
125) The Saga of the Swamp Thing #34
124) Adventure Comics #312
123) Our Army at War #196
122) New Teen Titans #39
121) DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6

#120-111
120) The Sinister House of Secret Love #1
119) Rex the Wonder Dog #11
118) Showcase #17
117) Showcase #4
116) Aquaman #42
115) Super DC Giant #21
114) All-American Men of War #110
113) The Witching Hour #13
112) Phantom Stranger #10
111) Green Lantern #52

#110-101
110) Green Arrow #1
109) Tomahawk #116
108) Girls' Romances #108
107) G. I. Combat #88
106) The Witching Hour #1
105) Supergirl #1
104) Limited Collectors' Edition C-25
103) Wonder Woman #1
102) Legion of Super-Heroes #294
101) DC Special #3

#100-91
100) Limited Collectors' Edition C-51
99) House of Secrets #105
98) The Flash #203
97) The Spectre #9
96) Justice League of America #10
95) Superboy #160
94) Mystery in Space #82
93) Justice League of America #75
92) Detective Comics #590
91) All-New Collectors' Edition C-62

#90-81
90) Our Fighting Forces #71
89) More Fun Comics #60
88) Strange Adventures #211
87) Tarzan #222
86) Jimmy Olsen #53
85) Brave and the Bold #85
84) Warlord #27
83) Justice League of America #138
82) Flash Comics #37
81) The Atom #36

#80-71
80) Lois Lane #80
79) House of Secrets #88
78) Superman #24
77) Sea Devils #2
76) Detective Comics #476
75) Mystery in Space #75
74) All-American Comics #16
73) Batman #244
72) Detective Comics #457
71) The Brave and the Bold #71

#70-61
70) Superman Annual #1
69) Jonah Hex #25
68) Batman #1
67) Swamp Thing #7
66) The Spectre #33
65) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #4
64) Mystery in Space #90
63) Action Comics #583
62) Batman: Harley Quinn
61) Adventure Comics #40

#60-51
60) Detective Comics #71
59) House of Secrets #125
58) Heart Throbs #92
57) Superman #252
56) Strange Adventures #205
55) Superman #233
54) Kingdom Come #4
53) Wonder Woman #200
52) Flash #133
51) Batman #156

#50-41
50) Doom Patrol #121
49) Showcase #57
48) Kamandi #1
47) Flash #174
46) Adventure Comics #73
45) The Killing Joke
44) Suicide Squad #1
43) Superman #1
42) Young Romance #150
41) New Teen Titans #13

#40-31
40) Green Lantern / Green Arrow #86
39) Blackhawk #259
38) Detective Comics #31
37) Teen Titans #14
36) Batman #251
35) Wonder Woman #25
34) Green Lantern #1
33) The Question #1
32) G. I. Combat #87
31) Detective Comics #38

#30-21
30) The Shadow #1
29) Flash #163
28) New Gods #1
27) House of Mystery #174
26) Showcase #79
25) Bat Lash #2
24) Green Lantern #49
23) House of Secrets #92
22) Detective Comics #69
21) Wonder Woman #199

#20-11
20) All-Star Squadron #20
19) Showcase #34
18) More Fun Comics #54
17) Strange Adventures #110
16) Batman #11
15) Flash #123
14) Batman #404
13) Superman #199
12) Batman: The Dark Knight #1
11) Batman #227

#10-1
10) Watchmen #1
9) Justice League of America #21
8) Justice League #1
7) Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
6) Green Lantern / Green Arrow #76
5) Star Spangled War Stories #138
4) Superman #14
3) Batman #9
2) Detective Comics #27
1) Action Comics #1

The Real Top 70 Marvel Covers: The Master List

2010-08-11T18:23:00.001-07:00

Okay, so better late than never I suppose, but here finally is the Master List for The Real Top 70 marvel Covers. If you want to read the criteria for how I selected my list, you can read the Prologue here. If you want to read my comments on how and why certain key books were left off the list, you can read the Epilogue here.

And if you want to see the actual covers and read the explanations for why I picked them, then click on the links below for each batch of ten covers. Enjoy.

#70-61
70) X-Men #50
69) Web of Spider-man #32
68) X-Men #114
67) Captain America Comics #57
66) Moon Knight #23
65) Thor #127
64) New Mutants #39
63) X-Men #1
62) Daredevil #1
61) Secret Wars #8

#60-51
60) Thor #126
59) Conan #24
58) Fantastic Four #112
57) Iron Man #76
56) Alpha Flight #12
55) X-Men #136
54) Marvels #3
53) Avengers #223
52) Marvel Mystery Comics #44
51) Captain America Annual #8

#50-41
50) X-Men #190
49) Captain America #332
48) Iron Man #128
47) Marvels #4
46) Thor #337
45) New Avengers #1
44) Daredevil #182
43) Fantastic Four #1
42) Captain America #113
41) Avengers Annual #2

#40-31
40) Conan #1
39) Amazing Spider-man #33
38) Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #13
37) X-Men #1
36) Amazing Spider-man #40
35) Avengers #16
34) Fantastic Four #49
33) Strange Tales #167
32) Hulk #1
31) Amazing Spider-man #122

#30-21
30) Secret Wars #1
29) Captain America #110
28) Amazing Spider-man #129
27) Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #6
26) Uncanny X-Men #137
25) Fantastic Four #48
24) Spider-man #1
23) Marvel Comics #1
22) Fantastic Four #51
21) Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #4

#20-11
20) Amazing Spider-man #39
19) X-Men #101
18) Hulk Special #1
17) Captain America #25
16) Incredible Hulk #340
15) Amazing Spider-man #50
14) Secret Wars #10
13) X-Men #141
12) Avengers #4
11) Marvel Spotlight #5

#10-1
10) Avengers #57
9) X-Men #58
8) Incredible Hulk #377
7) Journey Into Mystery #89
6) Captain America Comics #1
5) Giant Size X-Men #1
4) Captain America #111
3) Tomb of Dracula #1
2) Silver Surfer #4
1) Amazing Fantasy #15

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #130-121

2010-08-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Without further ado, here's your selections for Day Three:

130) My Greatest Adventure #17
October, 1957 -- Ruben Moreira and Jack Adler

The pencils here were done by Moreira, but it's Adler who needs to be singled out, as he perfected the Grey Tone effect used to make this cover such a standout. Over at the Comics Should Be Good page, their regular feature "Scott's Classic Corner" (no relation) ran a series highlighting Adler's work (which I recommend not reading until I'm done with my list otherwise you're going to be spoiled for several upcoming covers). Adler's Grey Tone covers are some of the most striking images of the 50's and 60's and really pop compared to the regular coloring techniques of the time. I suggest enlarging this one to really see the details.

129) Falling in Love #99
May, 1968 -- Ric Estrada

If any genre was ripe for an overhaul in the late 60's, it was romance, which provided the perfect place for enterprising comic artists to explore the pyschedelic movement. Unfortunately, editorial at both Marvel and DC seemed a little hidebound, as few of these examples actually made it to press, but one of the more innovative among those that did is this Estrada cover. And it's nice that someone at DC finally found a good use for those go-go checks.

128) Animal Man #5
Winter, 1988 -- Brian Bolland

Brian Bolland makes his second appearance on our chart with this classic from Animal Man. It's not quite as meta as the famous "Aparo drawing Brave and the Bold" cover (which just missed making the list), but it nicely set the tone for what was undoubtedly the most meta ongoing series in comics history.

127) Star Spangled War Stories #151
July, 1970 -- Joe Kubert

Kubert's war books were really pushing the design envelope, as we already saw back on day one of the countdown, and Star Spangled War Stories was no exception. Rather than incorporate the logo into the drawing, though, here Kubert was playing around with composition, as he changed the logo's shape, size and location nearly every issue to fit it in to whatever picture he had in mind. Besides being interesting from a design perspective, this moody and evocative cover also marks the first appearance of the Unknown Soldier.

126) Sensation #1
January, 1942 -- Harry G. Peter and Jon L. Blummer

Considering this is the first appearance of Wonder Woman, one of the most iconic superheroes in the world, you'd think this cover would be better known than it is. And actually, it's a pretty cool cover; I like the big circle behind Wonder Woman and it's certainly an action packed cover (weirdly, the figure of Wonder Woman was drawn by one artist and the rest of the cover by another). All things considered, I'm not really sure why this isn't as well known as other major milestone first appearances like Detective #27 or Action #1, but it's too bad because this is a comic that deserves to be better appreciated.

125) The Saga of the Swamp Thing #34
March, 1985 -- John Totleben

Okay, so I mentioned in my intro that titles that later became Vertigo series weren't included in my countdown, but technically this issue doesn't fall into that category because they changed the title of this series after #37. So that's the reason for that. But beyond that detail that probably nobody cares about, this cover is widely known thanks to the fact that this is the famous Swamp Thing sex issue, where he and his honey-pie ingest some kind of dope and make psychic brain love to each other. It also happens to feature a really nice cover from John Totleben; those two factors combined are enough to land this on the list despite my complete and total apathy towards Swamp Thing.

124) Adventure Comics #312
September, 1963 -- Kurt Swan, George Klein and John Forte

In a story that has been referenced and homaged numerous times, the Legion of Superheroes in this issue drew straws (well, really tiny lightning rods anyway) to determine which of them would sacrifice their life in order to resurrect Lightning Lad. The impact of this milestone story was emphasized by the bold black background shot through with lightning. It's an unusually bold cover during an otherwise boring period for covers on Adventure and at DC in general.

123) Our Army at War #196
August, 1968 -- Joe Kubert

The legendary Kubert gets his second cover of the day with this unusual Sgt. Rock design. I just love the disorienting effect that the alternating blue and white squares create behind Rock's central figure, along with the slightly skewed, forced perspective. This is also one of those few times when I think the word balloon actually adds to the image as well. Overall, this cover -- which came out in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War -- presents readers with a very different look at Sgt. Rock, one that I think is eye-catching and effective. In other words: cool cover.

122) New Teen Titans #39
February, 1984 -- George Perez

This cover from Perez is an interesting case because it seems to be an homage to a well-known cover from the first volume of Teen Titans, this April, 1970 effort from Nick Cardy. That cover just missed making the final cut for our list, but the homage, which is now the more famous of the two covers, didn't. In fact, though, while Perez himself has admitted that this cover is an homage, it's not to Teen Titans #26 at all -- but rather to Amazing Spider-man #50. We'll be seeing a couple more instances of famous homages later on the list, including one case where both the homage and the original made the cut, but in this case I felt that in addition to the Perez version being better known than Cardy's pseudo-inspiration it was also the stronger composition with the all-white background and the removal of the weird robot pentacle thing in the background. The clothing hanging from the logo is a sweet touch as well.

121) DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6
1971 -- Neal Adams

And hey, speaking of homages, it's our second in a row. To be honest, I nearly left this cover off the list entirely, because for my money the original (All-Star Comics #16) is better than the copy. I appreciate the fact that Adams has the Golden Age characters on the back cover and the Silver Age versions on the front, and the black background is nice and everything, but to me, it's kind of just a bunch of heroes standing there. Still, I've seen this cover cited numerous times by older DC fans as being a top cover; apparently it was a big deal at the time. Because of this consensus of opinion I included this cover on my list. Not my favorite, though.

Tomorrow: #120-111: Love, 1971! Rex the Wonder Dog! And The Secret House of Sinister Love? WTF is going on?!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #140-131

2010-08-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

Now, let's see what Day Two has in store for us:

140) Our Army at War #15
October, 1953 -- Irv Novick

This gem from the early days of DC's Big Five war books features typical guns-blazing action with some very atypical -- and shockingly bold -- coloring and inking. The dramatic fire on board this bomber gives Novick a chance to really play with the lighting and he does it to great effect; the fact that you can see the gunner behind him still firing at attacking fighters just adds to the tension. You almost feel like you might crash the plane yourself if you set down the comic.

139) Batman Family #17
May, 1978 -- Michael Kaluta

"Stalk the night shrouded streets with The Batman Family... if you dare!" Well, DC, when you put it that way, I think I'll just hide under my bedcovers instead, thank you very much. Luckily, Kaluta was able to contain his own fear long enough to provide this (literally) all-star look at the members of said Batman Family. Even the somewhat blah barbell masthead for the $1 comic line doesn't detract too much from this well-designed effort.

138) Wonder Woman #179
December, 1968 -- Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano

In an attempt to jump start some of their more hidebound heroes to counteract marvel's surging sales, DC revamped several icons in the late 60's including Wonder Woman. The cover for the first new issue, #178, is a fairly boring affair, but the real revamp is seen in full effect on this great cover from Sekowsky and Giordano.
The great new era logo, which replaced one of the least interesting logos in DC history, really sends this effort over the top.

137) Justice League of America #62
May, 1968 -- Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel

Speaking of Sekowsky, here's one of his best and most unusual covers. it's like the end of Seven, except you yourself are the severed head in the box. It's disturbing. And I love the expressions on the Justice Leaguer's faces. The whole thing is creepy and disorienting. How could you not buy this comic if you saw it on the stands?

136) Green Lantern #40
October, 1965 -- Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson

Kane returns with his second Green Lantern cover so far (but not his last), this time also featuring the golden age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. This is a key issue, not just for the meeting of the two Green Lanterns, but also because it reveals the origins of the Guardians of the Universe for the first time. That might be enough by itself to land the comic on our list, but luckily, it's graced by some typically smooth and fluid figure work by Kane, who drew some of the most limber and graceful heroes in comics history.

135) G. I. Combat #130
July, 1965 -- Russ Heath

Surprisingly enough, this well known cover from the Haunted Tank strip in G. I. Combat wasn't done by the usual suspect, Joe Kubert, but instead by longtime pro Russ Heath. The colorist here wisely decided to go with a monotone hue to make the giant, ghostly image of Attila the Hun seem almost translucent against the red background. A striking image made even more striking by its total incongruity (which, by the way, I addressed in an earlier edition of Ask the Vault if anyone is interested).

134) Teen Titans #23
October, 1969 -- Nick Cardy

Less than a year after Wonder Woman got the reboot treatment, Wonder Girl followed suit with this cover from Nick Cardy. Donna Troy's new design was as modern and forward as the design of the Teen Titans book in general at the time; while not as dramatic an overhaul as the new kung fu Wonder Woman, this hip and fresh take Wonder Girl made her significantly more relevant to teens of the day (and as a result, this new version was quite a bit more successful overall than Wonder Woman's revamp). I also like the nod to DC history of having Donna jumping through a poster of herself, which echoes the tradition of having new characters leap through a paper hoop like circus animals. Very nice.

133) Superman #307
January, 1977 -- Neal Adams

Don't look now, but here's the first of our slew of covers from Neal Adams. By the time Adams did this cover in 1977 he was no longer a regular cover artist for DC, but he clearly didn't miss a beat over the years. The design of this cover, with Supergirl so far in the foreground that most of her body is off the page, helps frame the shocking image of Kandor being smashed to hell and Superman's horrified reaction in the background. Excellent composition.

132) All-Star Comics #3
Winter 1940-41 -- Everett E. Hibbard

DC's version of the knights of the round table gather here for the first time to form the first superhero team in comics history. I like the nod to the concept of having them sit around an actual round table, and the classic All-Star Comics logo in front of the bright yellow background is great. The figures may just be sitting there, but they also seem like they're ready for business as they stare out at the reader. And I don't even mind the big text box roll call at the bottom either, though you have to feel bad for Johnny Thunder, as he made the list but not the team or the cover. And thus was fated to be a second banana forever. Poor sap.

131) Weird War Tales #8
November, 1972 -- Neal Adams

Another Neal Adams effort and one of many covers I decided to include before I realized they were actually drawn by Adams. What I like best about this Weird War cover is the design decision to drop the logo down from the top of the book so that the giant golem thing is peering out over the top of it. This really emphasizes his height and makes him a lot scarier than if they had redrawn the cover to allow the cover to stay at its usual place up at the top of the cover. Honestly, it makes the whole thing and turns this from just a cool image into a true top notch cover.

Tomorrow: #130-121! Romance! Horror! War! And more Neal Adams! Plus: the death of a hero! Be there!

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: #150-141

2010-08-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first day of our hotly anticipated Top 150 DC Covers of All Time countdown. If you have any questions about what criteria was used to select the covers, you can read the ground rules here in the countdown Prologue. For a complete listing of selections, check out the Top 150 DC Covers Master List. And as always, I strongly recommend clicking on the covers to see larger, better and more detailed versions of these classic covers.

On with the show!

150) Justice League of America #9
February, 1962 -- Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson

It's one of the most iconic images of the early Justice League (and Silver Age DC Superheroes in general): the heroes of the JLA slowly being transformed into trees by an alien meteorite perfectly embodies the spirit of those early Gardner Fox stories. The only reason it isn't higher on my list is that there are several other covers from the same time period that are also famous for basically the same reason. But this is still a cool cover.

149) Our Fighting Forces #130
April, 1971 -- Joe Kubert

While The Losers in Our Fighting Forces isn't as well known as Kubert's efforts on Enemy Ace or Sgt. Rock, it does feature some of his most innovative cover work. That's because, as you can see in this moody example, from #125-141 the series didn't have a logo; instead, Kubert worked a new Losers masthead into each cover, specially designed to mesh with the artwork. All of these are awesome, especially the bomb logo on #127, the sail logo on #139 and the ocean logo on #132 (which nearly made the list), but this cover, which also features a classic Kubert "trap about to spring," is my favorite.

148) Wonder Woman #72
March, 1993 -- Brian Bolland

This image of Wonder Woman by Brian Bolland was instantly iconic; from the moment it was published, it was hailed as one of the most powerful depictions of Wonder Woman ever produced. I have to admit, the hair is just a touch 90's for me, but that's a tiny nitpick; this is a strong, powerful and sexy Wonder Woman. What else do you want?

147) The Brave and the Bold #28
March, 1960 -- Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson

The first appearance of the Justice League of America, this otherwise kind of boring cover is greatly enhanced by the central presence of Starro the Conqueror. I mean, he's a giant pink alien starfish with a target in the middle. That's a striking image, and of course, this is an important comic, which has led to this being iconic despite its artistic shortcomings. It's not the best Starro cover ever (see: Justice League of America #190) but it deserves a place on the list.

146) Girls' Love Stories #60
February, 1960 -- Bob Oksner (?) and Bernard Sachs

I'm not actually sure who penciled this cover (Oksner is the best guess the experts over at CBR could come up with), but it's a great example of compressed storytelling; the cover itself has a whole story to tell without ever even cracking the pages. The moody rainstorm, the woman pounding on the door, the bus dept sign, the guy in the background coming out of his car -- it's all perfectly designed and executed. How could you not want to read this comic after a tease like that?

145) Superman #75
January, 1993 -- Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding

I don't like this cover. I've never liked this cover. And, not to put too fine a point on it, I will never like this cover. It's blocky and angular and just... ugh. I hate this damn cover. However, there's no arguing that it's one of the most iconic covers of the past two decades, not to mention in this history of Superman -- which is saying something. Millions of people who have never read a comic know this image from the media coverage surround the Death of Superman storyline. So despite my undying loathing of this cover (by Dan Jurgens, whom I usually love) I had to include it. Blah.

144) Showcase #22
October, 1959 -- Gil Kane

The first appearance of Hal Jordan, this impeccably executed cover has all the elements to be a great cover -- nice, clean design, dramatic composition and smooth figure work from Kane that still looks modern over half a century later. In fact, given all of that as well as the importance of the issue, it seems like this cover should be a lot more exciting than it actually is. I think this is a cover that everyone appreciates but nobody really loves, you know? This is one cover that logically deserves a higher ranking but just kind of falls flat for reasons I can't explain.

143) DC Super Stars #11
January, 1977 -- Gray Morrow

There are a few things I like about this cover beyond Zatanna's fishnets (which, I might add, aren't even the best fishnets to appear on our list). I like how the text curves around Zatanna's bubble to help emphasize the shape of the cover; and I also like the monochrome demons swarming over her shield, though I do wish they had picked a bolder color for them instead of that godawful hue they used. Overall, though, this cover and its one-off "Magic" logo are a high point of the late 70's, an otherwise desolate wasteland for DC covers.

142) House of Mystery #277
February, 1980 -- Steve Ditko

Nine out of ten dentists agree that this is the creepiest Ditko cover of the last thirty years. It's a shame that Ditko turned into an addled hermit, because this cover shows that he still could put out awesome work when he wasn't composing manifestos on a pre-war typewriter. Thanks to the comparatively advanced printing and coloring available in 1980, this is also one of the cleanest looking Ditko covers you're going to find. It's a shame we didn't get more stuff like this.

141) Flash Comics #1
January, 1940 -- Sheldon Moldoff

A legitimate milestone in comics history, Flash Comics #1 is woefully ignored compared to comics like Action #1 and Detective #27. This comic is not only the first appearance of Flash, but it's also the first appearances of both Hawkman and Johnny Thunder. And it features a nice cover by Shelly Moldoff, who was turning out some fantastic stuff in the 1940's. His best work, though, came on his intricately detailed Hawkman covers (later issues of Flash alternated between Flash and Hawkman covers). So as much as I enjoy the design here (yellow cover! little circles with tiny other characters in them!), the unwarranted anonymity of this cover relegates it to a lower slot than it might deserve.

Tomorrow: #140-131! Teen Titans! Haunted Tank! And the first of many, many Batman covers! Be there!

His Name... Is Gideon Cain

2010-08-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hey folks and lady folks. By this time you are no doubt pretty much thrumming with anticipation like a tuning fork over the teasers I've been posting regarding The Vault's upcoming second anniversary launch feature. And that's to be both expected and admired. But before we get to that excitement (in just two more days!) I thought I'd interrupt things for a moment to mention a little something by the name of Gideon Cain.

Chances are you're not yet familiar with Gideon Cain, which makes sense because until this morning, pretty much nobody outside of the folks working on it had ever heard of it. So here's the scoop: co-created by Official Friend of the Vault Kurt Busiek, Gideon Cain is a Puritanical demon hunter who roams the late 17th-century world searching for evil to stomp flat. And now he's starring in his first anthology, Gideon Cain -- The Demon Hunter, which is being published by the indie pulp masters at Airship 27 and which was edited by Official Friend of the Vault Van Plexico.

As it happens, one of the stories in Gideon Cain -- The Demon Hunter was written by yours truly. Hence, you know, this announcement. I haven't yet had a chance to read any of the other stories, so I'm looking forward to picking up a copy myself, but if you also want to sink your face deep into the bosom of pure darkness, you can start by ordering a copy of the book from this website, which also features some of Airship 27's other pulp offerings.

So check it out and let me know what you think. And if you're still not sold for some crazy reason (which I find hard to believe), here's the offical press release from Airship 27 about the book. Enjoy:

"Airship 27 Productions & Cornerstone Book Publishers have teamed up with noted fantasy, science fiction author, Van Allen Plexico to bring to life a brand new sword wielding adventurer; Gideon Cain – The Demon Hunter. Originally conceived on an internet forum, this swashbuckling, globe trotting avenger is the result of half a dozen creative minds pooling their ideas and imaginations into bringing forth a tortured hero cast in a classic pulp mold.

"During the famous Salem Witch Trials (1692-93) British born Puritan soldier, Gideon Cain aided the inquisitions, believing them to be just. Soon thereafter, God revealed to Cain that he and the righteous citizens of Salem had been duped by a cunning, ageless demon from Hell known as Azazel. The guilt of his actions weighs heavily on his conscience and rather than be driven mad by it, Gideon chooses to make atonement. Taking up his sword, the blade inscribed with holy runes, he bids farewell to his wife and children and departs on his sacred mission. Now he wonders the earth doing God’s work and destroying evil in whatever shape or guise it appears; his one consuming goal, to find and destroy Azazel.

"Airship 27 Productions is thrilled to be bringing pulp fans this great new character written in the tradition of Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane. Here are seven exciting, action packed tales of the Demon Hunter by Scott Harris, Brian Zavitz, K.G.McAbee, Ian Watson, James Palmer, David Wright and Van Allen Plexico. Design and interior illustrations by Art Director Rob Davis with a painted cover by Davis and Shane Evans.

"The book also features a special introduction by co-creator, Kurt Busiek. (Marvels – Astro City)

"Airship 27 Productions, Pulp Fiction for a new generation.

ISBN: 1-934935-74-3
ISBN 13: 978- 1-934935-74-3
Produced by Airship 27
Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers

Release date: 08/13/2010"

The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time: Prologue

2010-08-09T19:49:00.004-07:00

Aaaaaand we're back. Yes, a year after rocking the internet world with The Real Top 70 Marvel Covers countdown, The Vault (which means, you know, me) is back with an exponentially larger feature: The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time. Yes, 150 isn't technically exponentially more than 70 -- that would be, like 4900 covers or something -- but the task itself was vastly more difficult, given the fact that DC has been the nation's number one comics publisher for decades and as a result has vastly more covers to go through than Marvel.

But that's exactly why I wanted to take a shot at ranking DC's incredible output. Because, let's face it, DC has put out some of the greatest comic book art of all time and not just in superheroes, but in every possible genre, from mystery to fantasy to romance, from westerns to war to teen humor. It's really an incredible output covering the entire history of comics, featuring art from the greatest artists of all time.

For the next fifteen long-ass days, then, we'll be counting down the Top 150 Covers in DC history as determined by a panel of experts: me, myself and I. Like last time, I did my best to incorporate the views of others in order to make this as fair and balanced a list as possible. In particular, the folks at the Comics Should Be Good blog and the CBR forums deserve recognition, as I've been informed and enlightened by their opinions and expertise on DC comics over the past year while this list has been fulminating. Having said that, unlike my Marvel list, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much consensus or discussion regarding DC covers, meaning that this list is by necessity going to reflect my personal opinions even more than the Marvel list did.

So what makes up a "Top" cover as opposed to a "Best" or "Most Iconic" cover? "Top" is a nicely nebulous term that for my purposes encompasses both of these factors and more, as in some ways I'm comparing apples to oranges when trying to weigh the merits of a superhero cover from 1940 against a sci-fi cover from 1955, a romance cover from 1964 and a horror cover from 1971.

Here, then, are the basic criteria I used for this list, tweaked slightly from when I did the Marvel countdown:

1) Iconography. Some covers have transcended the actual image on the cover or the importance of the story within the comic to become iconic images. This can happen for several reasons – the first appearance of a major characters, the story within the comic, the issue’s collectability or just the beauty of the art itself – but the result is that the cover has become iconic not just to readers of that book, but to comic fans in general and in some instances to the public at large. If I felt a cover was iconic, I gave it more consideration than other covers of similar design or attractiveness that are not as well known.

2) Importance. This ties in to the first criteria, but some stories are so important for one reason or another that the cover image becomes ends up becoming iconic as a result regardless of artistic merit. When researching the choices, there were some covers that I personally didn’t feel were particularly great images or designs but which other comic fans cited over and over again as being a top cover primarily due to the importance of the events in the comic. Many first issues, first appearances or character deaths fall into this category.

3) Popularity. No, it's not the end all and be all, but how popular a cover is directly ties in to some of the other factors here. What makes a cover iconic or memorable, after all, is mainly the visceral response it (and the story inside the book) provokes in the reader. So while I don’t personally love all the covers on the list, I did try to incorporate other opinions and spent a good deal of time reading different messages boards and studying other people's lists (to the limited extent that I could) to see just which covers really are widely popular with the greater fanbase.

4) Art and Design. Some covers aren’t necessarily important or iconic but are so beautifully drawn that they merit inclusion on the strength of the art and design alone (though it should also be noted that some covers have also become iconic solely because of their artistic merit). Of all the criteria for my list, this is the most subjective and there are a handful of covers on my list that are basically personal preference. I tried to be as objective as possible when compiling this list, but art defies objectivity, so this cannot and perhaps should not be avoided. Whenever a cover made it on to my list solely through personal preference it will be noted in my comments. Though this is the last of the four major criteria I'm listing, it's actually the most important to me personally.

In addition, before we get started, there are a few notes specific to this DC list I'd like to mention. Firstly, as I was compiling the list, it became apparent to me that, as I suspected, DC has generally been much more bold and experimental with its designs than Marvel. Part of this, of course, is as a result of Marvel's competition; it should come as no surprise that the two periods with the most creativity in terms of cover design were the early Golden Age, when DC was still competing with a wide array of other publishers for industry dominance, and the Bronze Age -- roughly 1967-1974 -- when DC had to react to Marvel's sudden market surge. As a result, those two periods, particularly the latter, have much greater representation than other, more stagnant design eras (particularly the period from 1946-1967 when DC, safe at the top, locked into an extremely stagnant and boring design aesthetic).

One side effect of this imbalance is the unmistakable dominance of one artist, Neal Adams. Adams has two major things going for him. Firstly, he's justly revered as one of the greatest comic book artists -- particularly in cover design and execution -- ever. And secondly, the period of his greatest output coincided with Carmine Infantino being named art director in 1967. This meant that Adams (and the other artists) essentially had free reign to experiment with design elements, and Adams in particularly was massively prolific, providing dozens of covers for every genre DC was publishing, many with envelope pushing designs. So you'll be seeing a lot of him for those reasons.

On the flip side, there are three things you won't be seeing much of -- or any of -- on this list. The first is modern comics. The main strike against putting them on a list like this (though there are a few that snuck in and I did review most of them) is simply that they are, by definition, new, meaning that it's too early to say just which covers will end up being memorable or iconic once enough time has passed to judge such things, which I generally think takes a good 10-15 years at minimum. This is further complicated in my opinion by modern coloring techniques. While classic four color comic books may have been simplistic compared to today's excellent coloring, those simpler colors also provided the side effect of strengthening and highlighting the composition and design of a cover, whereas today's more subtle coloring techniques do just the opposite, often obscuring and muddying composition in service of muted tones and gradients. The result is that many modern covers, while individually beautiful and expertly rendered, are not particularly memorable; they tend to blend together. Good? Yes. Memorable? Not necessarily.

This actually is not quite as true for DC as it is for Marvel, thanks to the fact that DC is much more experimental with their design work. But that is mostly thanks to their groundbreaking Vertigo imprint, which brings me to the second thing you won't be seeing on this list: Vertigo Comics. I had originally intended to include them; however, after studying their output, I came to the conclusion that Vertigo's aesthetic was so inherently different from almost everything else DC has done that it needed to be considered separately. Comparing apples to oranges is one thing, but this would be like comparing apples to dominoes. At some point I hope to do a separate top cover list for Vertigo so we can look at some of the awesome covers they have been doing over the past 20 years, but for this list, I had to leave them off. [This also caused some issues in terms of titles like Hellblazer and Swamp Thing, which started at DC and switched to Vertigo. it's a little complicated but essentially I decided to leave those titles off the list entirely and treat them as Vertigo in their entirety]

And for similar reasons, I also left off DC's pre-hero covers. While some people seem to be under the impression that early Golden Age art is sub-par, the opposite is true; DC's mid-30's, pre-hero covers feature impeccable art from some of the best magazine illustrators of the time. But they also are completely different in style, tone and substance than anything DC did once superheros came into existence, so I decided to leave them out and look at them closer another day.

But, anyways. That's a whole ton of talk with not nearly as much action. Or Action. And after reviewing 10,000+ covers, I'm ready to actually show some of them now. So without further ado, let's stop the chit-chat and get to it: The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time.

Tomorrow: #150-141. The Justice League of America! Wonder Woman! Zatanna! And more! Be There!

And you can check out The Top 150 DC Covers of All Time Master List here.