Great Back Issues: Detective Comics 572

So I've decided to enter Fully Booked's Blogger challenge, in which all we have to really do is talk about Batman. I was thinking of passing on it, because, as you guys know, I'm not really the biggest Batman fan — which is actually the reason why I finally decided to actually do it. I'll do the X-Men next, somehow.

I'm not gonna try to be creative here. Fully Booked gave us a lot of questions we can possibly answer, and I'm just not that creative. Among them:

• What kind of cake would you bake for Batman? (Nothing. Batman doesn't eat cake. It would ruin his crimefighting regimen.)
• What meal would you prepare for Bruce Wayne? (Nilagang baka. Because that's what I would prepare for anyone.)
• Who is your favorite Batman villain? (The Joker. There's not really much else I can say about that that I didn't say already here.)
• What would Batman do if he were a citizen of the Philippines? (He'd quit being Batman, knowing he could actually do more good as Bruce Wayne.)

No, Batman isn't one of my favorite characters, at least not these days. These days, I love Nightwing, Batwoman, the Joker, Scarface and the Ventriloquist — but not the Masked Manhunter, no. It's hard for me to think of a Batman story in recent memory that I've really loved, one that actually focused on Batman and not one of his many, many side characters.

Well, that sounds like a good excuse to talk about the Batman story I love the most, doesn't it? I kept thinking about what it was, and I remembered, went through my longboxes and dug it up, and realized there was no contest. My favorite Batman story of all time is Detective Comics #572, "The Doomsday Book." It's written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Alan Davis, Terry Beatty, Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino, Al Vey,  and ER Cruz. Here's the house ad that DC ran to promote it back in the day, which I always thought was really cool whenever I saw it in a comic when I was younger.

I never actually got to read it as a kid, though. That had to wait until I was in college and I saw it on eBay going for a cheap price, at which point I snatched it up immediately. See, I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan, so when I was reminded that this comic, you know, existed, I just had to pick it up.

Comic Odyssey Is Moving

Howdy, Cubers from Manila! This is just a newsflash telling you that today is the last day you will find Comic Odyssey at Robinsons Galleria in the spot it has been for over a decade. Sandy is moving Comic Odyssey to the basement tomorrow. It's the level below the food court, and you'll find it next to JRS and Abensons.

This is also where Free Comic Book Day will be held, on the first Saturday of May.

Make a note of this and go pay him a visit, Cubers!

She Is Screaming in the Shower: FELL Review

She Is Screaming in the Shower is a column written by Robert Leichsenring for The Comics Cube! Click here for the archives!

A HeartFELLt Review

by Robert Leichsenring

Hello again. I'm back and this time with a slightly different topic. Let’s call it "cheap shots."

I would like to introduce you to FELL, a crime book by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith with a $1.99 price tag on each issue. Interested? No? I don't care, you're still going to hear about it.

FELL is a project of my dearest Warren Ellis, and is a dense but cheap comic that can be enjoyed as single issues without a demanding overall metaplot. The series received Eisner nominations for Best New Series and Best Continuing Series, for those of you who actually care about this.

Detective Richard Fell is a good cop. Maybe too good. So his superiors send him from "over the bridge" to the fictional city of Snowtown. Snowtown is one nasty bitch of a town. The people have given up, crime is everywhere, and the police is understaffed and stuck with a boss who would make Arkham inmates feel a bit uncomfortable. Oh, and he only has three and a half detectives.

Detective Fell is thrown into this town and confronted with the worst human nature can offer. Murder, abuse, corruption, and worst of all, a city with no hope for tomorrow. A city with citizens who have no compassion for each other, no respect for others or themselves. To be honest, I think what we fear most in a human is not someone doing a bad thing because he is enraged or madly in love or just plain crazy. The people that just don't give a f$#k — that's really scary. People doing bad things because they do not care anymore. People that have lost their connection to humanity.

Richard Fell is a very unusual hero, not afraid of doing the dirty work and bending or breaking the law for something he believes is right. His only tools are a sharp mind (as sharp as it gets, actually), a Sherlock Holmes–like observational skill, a camera that he takes everywhere, and of course, a gun. I know that we have seen a lot of characters like this, but Fell feels different as there is a felt line that is not really defined but you know it's there. He might be breaking the law, but never to do harm (he seems to be the only one to ever get hurt, except for the dead guys). He goes out of his way quite some extent to help people, and you know he does it because he cares. That’s the simple truth about Richard Fell. He cares.

Every issue contains a standalone story which can be read on its own, but of course we have development with Richard Fell as it becomes clearer with each issue that he is going to stay for good and that he has no intention of leaving Snowtown's problems lying around on the street. We have Mayko, a bar owner, who is slowly closing in on Fell and the reason why he has been sent to Snowtown and why he cannot go back over the Bridge. Mayko is one of the few people in Snowtown still in her right mind, which you will learn means nothing in this city. If you search for a romantic side plot you have to go look somewhere else. FELL is a no-nonsense series without any warm fluffy feelings appearing in your guts (or anywhere else).

Okay let's talk about the art, shall we?

Ben Templesmith, man, I love this guy. You probably know him from 30 DAYS OF NIGHT or the DEAD SPACE comic. This man is blowing me away every time I open a book he penciled. His style is a natural fit for this crime story with bits of noir and elements of horror (if you tell me that you are not freaked out by the nun, I will call you a liar and tell your mother). TEMPLESMITH is using his very unique style to create an atmosphere of danger and threat combined with a feeling of helplessness. The only "real" characters seem to be Fell himself and Mayko. The usual sketchiness of Templesmith's drawings brings a lot of life and a certain vibe to Snowtown and fills it with dark corners, abandoned warehouses, and a nun with a Nixon mask. And don't be fooled by the first look. He can crank up the detail without you even noticing or changing his style. The man is awesome.

Ellis uses the 3 rows with 3 panels each and so is giving us, the customer, a good balance between art and plot and gives Templesmith a lot of space to indulge in his drawings and do what he does best. TEMPLESMITH is on top of his game in FELL and author and artist build a very intriguing comic book for the $1.99. Check out the extras in the back: letters, scripts and so on.

BUT!! (yes there is a but) Unfortunately, FELL is on hiatus since 2008 thanks to a crash of ELLIS' computer with all the finished scripts on it. There are 9 issues out right now and it has been announced that FELL will return, but no one knows when (kinda like DESOLATION JONES ... it ain't dead but it ain't breathing either).

So folks, if you like a good crime story, or Templesmith's art, get going and buy this, or borrow it from a friend or whatnot. Hopefully we will have new issues coming by 2012 to follow Detective Fell on his more than stony way through Snowtown. Don't forget to get your protective Snowtown tag or else you might not enjoy the ride.

For more babbling about Warren Ellis or Ben Templesmith, check out the ICS, Earth's Mightiest Facebook Group, or send me love letters via my profile.

Signing out

Robert "Nemo" Leichsenring

CB Cebulski to Visit the Philippines and Look for Talent

Wow, the news just keeps coming in. CB Cebulski, Marvel's VP for Creator and Content Development, is coming to the Philippines.

You aspiring artists may get a chance to get your portfolios reviewed!

For more information check out National Book Store's Facebook page.

Good luck!

Matt's Mentionables: The DC Reboot

Matt's Mentionables is a column written by Matt for The Comics Cube! See his archives here.

The DC Reboot

by Matt

Contrary to some, my expectations of the DC universal reboot did not hedge on a list of esoteric erotica or general confusion about characters. There were many things I didn’t like about the reboot, but those areas have been well covered by others. I wanted to, for a shocker, point out where I’ve seen as some surprising successes over the past 6 months.

I am continuing to read Green Lantern titles and my lone way to get my Booster Gold fix, but none of those books make my cut. All of the titles that follow are ones I wasn’t reading before the reboot, so I guess DC has something to be, mildly, proud of about their efforts. None of these titles are among those canceled in the recent DC announcement, so I might be on to something.

BATMAN

There may be 15 different titles featuring Batman out there, and I may confuse several of them (like DARK KNIGHT/DETECTIVE COMICS/BATMAN/BATMAN AND ROBIN), but by issue 5, I’ve managed to sort out which ones I am enjoying and which ones I just don’t get. For me, BATMAN — you know, the one with the story right now about Owls (which in the comic sadly travel in courts, not parliaments) is the best. I enjoy the story mixture of detective work and action. The issues make great use of Gotham as a plot element/character, something essential to who Batman is to me. Tight storytelling and art that enhances the story rather than makes up for it makes Batman a success.


AQUAMAN

Aquaman is frequently the chum bucket of DC books. A guppy in a shiver of sharks. The Flying Dutchmen of superheroes, wandering the seas of obscurity until he loses a hand or grows a beard. Enough with the bad sea metaphors, this book is actually enjoyable and understands that Aquaman belongs to the sea, is connected to it, and is conflicted by his upbringing. I like that this take on Aquaman acknowledges that Arthur is torn between being on land (i.e., where everything else happens in the DC universe) and belonging to the water (where his powers matter). You can see it in the mild frustration he has with people not knowing why he’s around and what he’s doing.


RESURRECTION MAN

Clearly not an A-list hero and not a comic aimed at the 10–12 age group, but Resurrection Man is a great introduction to character not many people are going to know or have a deep familiarity with. I certainly didn’t know much more than the basics about Mitch Shelley (I didn’t know his name, for instance), but the short intro and the comic's ability to show and tell drew me in. The story holds my attention and I am willing to read more, surely the praise DC is looking for, right? The character also presents a creativity challenge for writers and artists: every time Mitch dies, they’ve got to come up with something new.


TEEN TITANS

While I may have harbored a secret liking of Aquaman, I never really cared for the JL Angst edition I always thought of when people mentioned the Teen Titans. But, given the chance to not be dragged down by years of confusing continuity (see LEGION OF SUPERHEROES if you want that), I gave TEEN TITANS a shot. I have been pleasantly surprised by the story thus far. I like the idea of introducing some characters I know with plenty I don’t. Even if they are a little goofy and have big, purple boxing gloves. Frankly, I’m also enjoying the speed at which the Teen Titans are being assembled (more so than the Justice League). Tim has a clear plan in mind, is acting like a Bruce-lite know-it-all, and there is enough conflict and confusion to create a clear sense of urgency.


WONDER WOMAN

I have always been a sucker for Greek myths and legends. They serve as a stark reminder about why continuity and logic shouldn’t matter in a good story. The aspect of Wonder Woman I always liked was the potential for it to use Greek myths to tell stories and move along the character growth of Diana. You get rampaging gods, an angry Hera (always a plus in my book), and a serious, kickass female lead. What’s not to like? It also has an art style that works with the motifs of the themes to enhance the story. I look forward to seeing how Zeus’s 435th illegitimate child comes along and how Diana deals with the (persistent) Amazon fallout.

David Finch is Coming to Manila

Well, local Cubers, it's official. David Finch, artist of, among other things, BATMAN REBORN, AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED, and CYBERFORCE is coming to Manila. The event will be sponsored jointly by Fully Booked and Comic Odyssey, and there'll be book signings, talks, and art competitions galore. Here's the official press release.

EVENT TITLE: The Dark Knight Reborn: Fully Booked Presents David Finch
EVENT DATE: March 11-13, 2012
VENUES: Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, Fully Booked Katipunan, College of St. Benilde (CSB), and the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Diliman

Canadian-born comic artist and writer David Finch is in possession of a career that is both noteworthy and diverse—to say the least. Before bagging his current stint as an artist exclusive to powerhouse comic publisher DC Comics, he started out with Top Cow Productions, ably taking the reins from comic industry stalwart and Image Comics creator Marc Silvestri on the Cyberforce series.

Finch went on to work on a number of other projects, including Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers, and Moon Knight, working with such greats as Brian Michael Bendis and Charlie Huston. Crossovers such as Marvel and Image’s Witchblade/Elektra, among others, are also part of his repertoire. Finch has also dabbled in album art creation, working on nu metal act Disturbed’s third studio album Indestructible. He is also credited with creating the concept art of the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen.

Finch’s latest—but not the first time—work aptly involves the comic character first featured in DC’s Detective Comics series: the Batman, re-launched as part of DC’s New 52.
Finch would specialize in inking Batman’s Dark Knight persona, creating art that would inspire one of the best Batman film adaptations to date: The Dark Knight (2008), which features Christian Bale as The Dark Knight and what many consider the late Heath Ledger’s most powerful and memorable role as the Joker. It is with much anticipation that Dark Knight aficionados await the next Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, which is slated for release in July of this year; again helmed by Christopher Nolan with Bale reprising his role.

Finch is currently working on the second volume of the Dark Knight story arc (to be released in September 2012), which begun with Dark Knight Vol. 1: Golden Dawn, which he inked and penned (with Grant Morrison). Finch’s remarkable attention to detail is evident in both his writing and art, and reveals much of the Caper Crusader’s dark side; a testimony to his brilliance as one of the finest comics writer/artists of this generation. This March 11-13, David Finch will be visiting Manila for the first time. Fully Booked is holding a series of events, entitled “The Dark Knight Reborn” for Batman aficionados of all ages.

On March 11 (Sunday) there will be a Book Signing at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street at 3:00 p.m. On March 12 (Monday), Finch will be giving a talk with a Q&A portion, which will be followed by a Book Signing at the College of St. Benilde at 1:00-4:00 p.m. On March 13 (Tuesday), he will do the same at U.P. Diliman from 1:00-3:30 p.m., which will be followed by a Book Signing at Fully Booked Katipunan at 4:00 p.m. For Book Signing mechanics and guidelines visit http://www.fullybookedonline.com/davidfinch.

David Finch will also be part of a panel of judges for the Batman Art Contest, which is comprised of three age categories: Bat-Mite (ages 4 to 10), The Robin Round (ages 11 to 15), and Caped Crusader (ages 16 and above). Winners of the Bat-Mite category will win Batman merchandise, while winners of the Robin Round and Caped Crusader categories will get to dine with David Finch.

The deadline of submission of entries for all categories to Fully Booked’s Metro Manila branches is on March 1, 2012 (Thursday). While the deadline of submission for Fully Booked’s provincial branches is on February 23, 2012 (Thursday). For complete contest mechanics, visit http://www.fullybookedonline.com/davidfinch, or see posters for details. This event is brought to you in part by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., DC Comics, and Bonifacio Global City.

*Updates will be posted on the Fully Booked website (www.fullybookedonline.com/davidfinch), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/fullybooked), blog (lucylovesfullybooked.blogspot.com/), and Twitter account (twitter.com/_fullybooked)—use the hashtag #DavidFinchInManila for Batman trivia and for special updates. (—GRT)

I'll try my best to be there to cover the event, but I wish all of you joining the art contests the best of luck!

Enjoy, Cubers!