Picks of the Week – April 17, 2013

It’s been a rough week for everyone.  As we keep Boston in our thoughts and prayers, we can at least have a little bit of a release this week.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Picks of the Week – April 10, 2013

Has it been one of those weeks… again?  At least you have some new comics to check out this week.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

If I Were Creating My Own Comic Company

Before I start with tonight’s topic, I took a few moments (okay, hours) to catch up with a few shows, and one half hour I should not have caught up with.

How I Met Your Mother needs to be cancelled now, it is gotten that lame.

And now….

Every comic reader has the dream, to write his or her own comic, create their own character to stand among the Pantheon of the great comic characters like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four (sorry Spider-Man, you’re still on my crap list).

I, however, dreamt a bit bigger.  I think it was because I really liked creating characters… lots of them.  Enough for an entire universe of comics.  With that much under my belt, it would seem only fitting that I would not want to create just one comic, but a comic company around these characters.

Granted, it helps to have a game plan as to what I would publish.  Naturally, I would want to start small, but huge.

The Team Book

The flagship book would be my team book.  This team would have some set characters, along with a rotating cast of others that come and go as needed.  For me, this team book would revolve around the team I used in my fourth NaNoWriMo, and the first story arc would be an adaption of that NaNoWriMo story.  Given the nature of the team book, it would be possible to cover citywide crises as well as small time crimes.

If you have ever seen the old 1980s cartoon MASK, it would be similar to that, with superheroes instead of tech heroes.

Anthology Book #1 – Superheroes

While the team book would give an idea of what this comic universe is like in one city, the first anthology book would broaden the scope.  Each issue would feature three or four stories, some multi-part, some stand alone, all of which would look at the adventures of heroes beyond the team book.  In practice, I would try to keep the main characters of the team book out of this anthology, if only to maintain some degree of continuity.

This book would be like the old bi-weekly Marvel Comics Presents in nature, before it started to feature only popular characters that were already in three other books.

Solo Hero Book

The solo hero book would feature a character outside of the city where the team book was set.  This character would be more of a street level hero, one akin to the old pulp heroes that Dynamite Entertainment has been working with as of late.

Anthology Book #2 – The Dark Side

This anthology would feature the darker side of this comic universe.  It would feature a headline story based off a government/superhero conspiracy idea that I have been ruminating for quite some time, and would feature a couple of back-up stories of demon hunters, vampire slayers, and werewolf fighters, along with other creatures of the night.

Anthology Book #3 – Galactic Level

Strange worlds, alien creatures, and technologies undreamt of would be the focus of this anthology.  One of the characters I would feature has actually appeared on this blog, that of Tempest Solaris, but other stories would relate tales of galactic wars, explorers of forbidden worlds, and strange life on alien worlds.

Anthology Book #4 – History Book

One of the ideas I came up with when I was thinking about my comic universe was the concept that there were other generations of heroes.  This anthology would explore the back story of the world I created.  A rotating stories of pulp heroes of the 1920s and 1930s, the dark era of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the sporadic appearances of heroes throughout the ages would be featured, all expanding on the history of the world that is the setting for all of these books.

 

As you can probably gather, I am a big fan of anthologies.

Picks of the Week – April 3, 2013

It’s a new month, and Easter is behind us.  Time to check out some new comics.

Starting this month is DC Comics’ WTF month.  Each of their New 52 books feature a fold out cover with the special shocking revelation.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Superheroes and Aging

It’s something we all get to look forward to: growing older.  At least, it’s something we get to look forward to if we are not on a comic book reality.  And, last time I checked (ten minutes ago), we weren’t.

It is an issue that really never comes up in comics.  This is mostly because it is possible to take a full year to tell a story that happens in one day in the comic.  The very nature of comics prevents aging from coming into  play, except in a severe long-term fashion, or for story effect (“Superman, you aged 300 years in 30 seconds, and Lex Luthor is attacking!”)

For those of us who wish to create our own comic world (thus keeping control over our ideas), we can either follow the lead of the majors, or we can adopt our own ideas in dealing with aging.  After all, it is quite possible that and creator could create the hero that readers will want to follow for years, or even generations.

So, beyond just ignoring aging entirely, what can a reader do to deal with it.  Surprisingly, there are a number of options out there.

Picks of the Week – March 27, 2013

Easter is just around the corner.  A good way to fill that Easter basket is with some new comics.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Picks of the Week – March 20, 2013

Has it been one of those weeks?  Had March come in like a lion and looks like it’s going to leave as a lion with rabies?  Has a once popular social media site become completely uncool?

Well, at least this Wednesday, you have a bunch of new comics to read.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Picks of the Week – March 13, 2013

It’s been one of those weeks.  A short weekend along with a long work week.  And, I discovered that a former co-worker is on the same dating site I’m on (or used to be on, if I decide to, well, run).

At least it’s Wednesday, and I have a bunch of new comics.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Picks of the Week – March 6, 2013

It’s been a busy week across the country.  Wild winter weather has socked much of the U.S., and the Catholic Church gets ready to pick a new Pope.

At least there are some new comics to bide the time while we wait for the weather to clear.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Picks of the Week – February 27, 2013

Once again, it’s Wednesday.  Time for a fresh new batch of comics to read.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD