GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche

What a wonderful tidy bow for the great gift that has been the GREEN LANTERN universe over the past year.

GREEN LANTERN, CORPS and NEW GUARDIANS have been the perfect example of tight continuity without ever forcing an upsell into the other books. Even this annual that touches on all three storylines never confuses or loses readers that choose to only partake in one or some of the GREEN LANTERN titles.

I was one of the first naysayers towards Sinestro getting the green ring at the launch of the New 52. I thought it was a fine and dandy story for longtime fans, but worried whether it would bring new readers into our great comic commune. About three issues in as I reveled in the adventures of Sinestro leading Hal Jordan around the galaxy like a dog on a leash with the puppet ring Sinny created, I decided to say fuck the new readers and just enjoy my reading.

And enjoy I did. And not just GREEN LANTERN. I reveled in Kyle Rayner’s tribulations with the other ring wielders in the emotional spectrum aboard the literal Galaxy Class Starship over in NEW GUARDIANS. I truly felt the emotional turmoil in CORPS as Jon Stewart once again killed and Guy Gardner rallied the corps around him. Everything about the GL titles was a seamless transition from old universe to new and continued to build on the deepening darkness of BLACKEST NIGHT, while giving us a brief respite of hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Until I read this annual. Get ready for the Third Army folks; it ain’t going to be pretty.

We start a heartbeat after the last issue of GREEN LANTERN, Hal Jordan is back on Earth with Sinestro and Black Hand. Johns is best with emotion, and unless you’re a heartless bastard, you will feel literal pain as Black Hand taunts Hal with the possible resurrection of his Father.

In parallel we have the Guardians of the Galaxy continuing their derailing into insanity as they come to the grand epiphany they have been mismanaging the universe for the last Billion years (sorta like Goldman Sachs). The key to control isn’t harnessing willpower like they did with the Corps, nor does it lay in creating emotionless droids like the Manhunters. No, the true path to control lies in the abolition of free will and they have a secret weapon in the First Lantern to accomplish this task.

What happens next is kind of gross, kind of creepy and all together bad news for the celestial frontier as we close out 2012. Apparently the Guardians procreate and create new life in much the same fashion I used to combine Play-Do packages until my parents would restock me. That’s right the Third Army is the Guardians…or at least the amalgam of their matter fused together and powered by the First Lantern.

Many mysteries are left unanswered after this issue, you know sorta like a serialized story should run. What will happen from the prophecy in the Big Black Book that said Hal Jordan will become the greatest Black Lantern of all time? I should mention Hal and Sinestro meet their “demise” in this tale, but we’ve been here before I have no doubt Hal will be sporting emerald again in a few months. While the future for Kyle, Guy and John Stewart seems to be steeped in battling the third army and hopefully at last knocking the little Blue Bastard Guardians off of their haughty and high galactic perch.

Oh ya, Ethan Van Sciver simply rules the page, but that’s not really news.

Optimous has successfully blackmailed fellow @$$Hole BottleImp into being his artist on Average Joe. Look for Imp's forced labor on Optimous brain child in mid-2012 from COM.X. Friend Optimous on FaceBook to get Average Joe updates and because ceiling cat says it's the right thing to do.

ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #11

Writer: Matt Wagner
Artist: John K. Snyder III
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man

Matt Wagner has really worked hard on building his world of Zorro. After 31 issues and two series we are now one issue away from his departure. He has built up so much material; I’m curious to see how much he can cover in his final issue. Everything about his time on Zorro has been slow and methodical. He took seven issues to tell Zorro’s origin and nine issues to get Lady Zorro in costume. Mind you, he does cover more than one plotline per issue, but in some way that just drags things out more. What I do foresee, as I had hoped, is the three way slugfest between Zorro, Lady Zorro and El Galgo.

This issue was one of the better ones of the series. Since Wagner has to start wrapping things up, it was more focused than his usual Zorro comics and moves at a better pace. In it, all of Alta California is trying to deal with the bloody reign of Lady Zorro, who continues to murder soldiers. While most people don’t appreciate corrupt law enforcement of the Alcalde, they are even less crazy about the bodies piling up around them. Zorro, of course is getting the blame for all this. So as Zorro works at tracking down the real killer, he has to deal with friends who are now suspect of him. Lady Zorro does have one positive effect for Zorro though. Zorro has been trying to drive the Alcalde crazy with paranoia, and nothing is doing that better than seeing his soldiers slaughtered. Unlike Wagner’s former plot lines Zorro catches up to Lady Zorro pretty quickly- rather than stretching it out for six issues. El Galgo then makes a convenient appearance so the final issue can end with a bang!

If you aren’t update with Wagner’s Sgt. Gonzales, he is no longer the fat comic relief character. Wagner portrays him as a full on thug in uniform. But being defeated and scarred with ‘z’s many times by Zorro, he has lost his post and his sanity. Dubbing himself El Galgo, he chases Zorro around like a hound- as he is named. Lady Zorro, meanwhile lost her daughter and husband to the Alcalde’s corrupt soldiers in issue #1, and has been building up for ‘Zorro’ inspired revenge ever since.

As with the past five issues, John K. Snyder III’s art, greatly enhanced by Mike Malbrough’s colors, really drives this issue home. It’s a shame Snyder wasn’t with Wagner on day one. His figure work is bold and his pages are dynamic and artistic. He also matches Wagner sensible quite well too. Snyder is a great comic book artist; I hope he gets on another regular book soon.

It really seems like these last six issues of Zorro will be Dynamite’s best. Shame it took so long to get there.

Advance Review: In stores today!

JUSTICE LEAGUE #12

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Jim Lee
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche

For the past eleven months I truly thought I had lost my mind as I have been less than thrilled with the best damn selling book all year. Everyone loves this thing and I’ve felt like a salty old bastard for not feeling the same. It’s not that I’ve hated JUSTICE LEAGUE, I just haven’t really cared. The quips from GREEN LANTERN and FLASH have been fun, the fish jokes at AQUAMAN have provided sufficient guffaws, and BATMAN’S surliness was more than appropriate, but that’s about it. Again, not bad, but this is JUSTICE LEAGUE damn it, the fulcrum for the promise of the New 52. This should be epic, gut wrenching and its events should shake all books within the DCU in some way, shape or form. Not an “event” per say, but I certainly want to see similar character development and alludes from one book to another. Also, the book is helmed by two of the biggest players in comics, but both Johns and Lee seem to have been giving their B game instead of the A+ goods.

The biggest problem, which I didn’t fully realize until this issue, is that the villains have been merely ho-hum. This is JUSTICE LEAGUE damn it, they should be dealing with cataclysms of epic proportions while they ALSO deal with their personal issues. One should never be sacrificed for the other. For anyone that wants to argue I ask how much time did Darkseid get in the first arc? Three panels? One shot of Apokolips? New readers never understood how big and bad this New God truly is and old readers only received an eighth of the badness we’ve seen from Darkseid before. Likewise, with this arc’s villain, Danny Graves, the man who blames the JUSTICE LEAGUE for the death of his family. Danny is a true delta, a man we simply didn’t spend enough time with before he turned into the villain who haunts the JUSTICE LEAGUE with the ghosts from their past. Each character in the JUSTICE LEAGUE has their own book to explore their little idiosyncrasies; this book should be more about bad events and the villains who perpetrate those events.

I’m not going to say JUSTICE LEAGUE 12 is a spectacular book, because it’s not. It’s a transition period. But I will say there were spectacular moments in this book as we build towards Year Two of the New 52, and the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA.

Most of the spectacularosity happens after the battle is won and the League saves the day. The Danny Graves story ends, and we move into the League asking, “The Battle’s done and we kinda won, so we sing our victory cheer. Oh, where do we go from here?”

Well, I’ll tell you. A sacrificial lamb, a love that could never be, and a love that should have been for the past fifty years were Johns’ FINEST moments on JUSTICE LEAGUE to date.

Our lamb comes in a shade of emerald. Remember last issue when the League tussled (again)? Well, someone filmed the event and it ran on every network from Al-Jazeera to PBS. Since this iteration of the League was always “unstructured” at best, Hal Jordan decides to bow out. It’s a tidy exit that makes sense and leaves him open for impending shit storm of The Third Army in GREEN LANTERN.

Our love that can never be is far from unrequited and this is the first time in eleven issues I felt a tonal harmony with the League version of WONDER WOMAN and the much darker character we see in WONDER WOMAN proper. She has been sort of dippy in this series, kind of like the opening scene of the Mary Tyler Moore show, spinning through the wondrous sights and sounds of the city. While in WONDER WOMAN proper she is a dark dark God slayer. It just didn’t match up and the whole five year before excuse never held water with me, sorry. So, as Steve Trevor lies bruised and battered from the fight with Graves, WONDER WOMAN basically comes to the epiphany many heroes have had over the years, my existence puts your mortal ass in danger. Except Johns writes it with an eloquent tenderness and sweetness I just can’t convey in paragraph form.

And last, but certainly not least – The Epic Super Kiss! As with real dating, the excitement and anticipation is not the kiss itself, but rather the moments leading up. Atop the Lincoln memorial WONDER WOMAN and SUPERMAN lament the unraveling of the League and both realize if it all falls apart they will lose any real and true connections to other beings. Again, don’t let my words water down the moment, Johns expertly prolongs the longing and makes the kiss a more than logical end state.

After one year I can say with solidify critiques I was uncertain on: Five years before was a mistake, whether it was in ideology or execution will never be fully answered, but I’m leaning towards ideology. JUSTICE LEAGUE should have formed organically over time like it did so many years ago. They’re joining just felt too damn random in this iteration. Although I will say it was a thousand times better than the last go round, when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman reformed the League because, you know, there’s always been a League.

Again, while I was less than enamored with this iteration, I am very hopeful for the decimation of this league and the rise of JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA coming in 2013. The team looks like a bad ass combo of DC’s most brutal players.

JL8

Writer: Yale Stewart
Artist: Yale Stewart
Publisher: self-published
Reviewer: Lyzard

When DC launched the New 52, many fans felt betrayed. The alterations to these well-beloved characters were viewed as in-authentic to some loyal readers. This is why I love JL8 (former known as Little League). Instead of changing Batman, Superman, and their fellow Justice League members, Yale Stewart takes a look at their already established characteristics. The unique twist: Stewart goes down the Tiny Toons route. JL8 follows Wonder Woman and the team in grade school.

The comic is presented in strip form, with consistent updates every Monday and Thursday. Along with key figures like Barry Allen, J’onn J’onzz, and Hal Jordan (all of the characters are spoken to by their true identities), side characters such as Alfred Pennyworth are included, and even villains like Lex Luthor and Poison Ivy appear as a group of playground bullies. My favorite cameo, though, has to be Darkseid as the gym teacher.

What makes the strip fun to read is that not only does JL8 stay true to the characters (Bruce’s timeout turns into a brooding smorgasbord), but it still allows itself to be parodic, commenting on some of the current incarnations of the Justice League. One arc involved Bruce, Clark, and Hal getting new (non-underwear showing) costumes. But at its heart, JL8 is fun. For those female readers out there (because no matter what the general public thinks, we know that we exist), Bruce using a stuffed robin as a security blanket/diary will no doubt make you (and men in touch with their feelings) go awww.

Despite the cartoony style of the strip, JL8 is aimed to the fans, beyond the obvious younger audience. Stewart’s passion for these characters comes through, not just through the content but exemplified by the character design as well. I can imagine that this is how these superheroes might have acted if placed in this setting, but how they would have been portrayed as well.

Find JL8 at on Facebook or at jl8comic.tumbler.com.

Lyzard is actually Lyz Reblin, a senior screenwriting major with an English minor at Chapman University. Along with writing for AICN, she has been published twice on the subject of vampire films.

FABLES #120

Writer: Bill Willingham
Art: Mark Buckingham & Shawn McManus
Publisher: DC Vertigo
Reviewer: Henry Higgins is My Homeboy

It Starts To Fall Apart...

Fables has been, with relative ease, one of the most impressive comic book series of the past decade. There’s been an immense number of well written and beautifully crafted comics over those ten years, but Fables has always remained at the top of the heap. Deftly blending epic adventures with beautiful interpersonal relationships, Fables does so much almost painfully easy. And one of the series most enticing prospects has been, since the infamous teaser starring Ambrose ages ago, the Cubs. The children of Snow and Bigby have slowly been garnering more and more attention from the title, and the book has been on fire because of it. The frantic search for Dare and Therese is slowed, instead focusing completely on their individual attempts to survive Toy Island. Slowly, the events force both to make terrible choices, but for opposite reasons; it’s a wonderful character study, and one of the best issues of Fables released in recent memory.

Writing: (5/5) Willingham has been consistently amazing with the diverse and varied cast of characters he’s created, but it’s always a treat to see the series focus instead on specific players. Darian is given much of the issue towards his inner struggle, coming to terms with the choice he knows he has to make but dreads all the same. As Dare limps down the beach, he struggles and plans, trying to find any other way out of his predicament. It’s heartbreaking to watch, as he defiantly tries everything he can, giving into hope, and being utterly crushed when it fails to support him. When he finally collapses in grief, fully aware that there’s only one option left, it’s the first time we’ve really noticed he’s just a child. The severity of their plight has forced the reader, if only momentarily, to forget that these are children, forced to make heavy decisions. Darian finally coming to terms with his fate is full of rightful dread.

It also exposes an interesting parallel between himself and Therese. The events have tried and tested both, and while Therese has faltered under the title of Queen and given into savagery, Darian instead stays true to his position as Pack Leader and makes the hard decisions. Therese instead worries as soon as she learns Dare is on the island, because there simply isn’t enough food for both of them. It’s a theme reinforced in the short continuation of Buffkins invasion of Oz, in the comparison between The Nome King and Buffkin. Nome King allows a seemingly forgettable event to become an insult, which soon turns into a massacre and an empty show of power. Buffkin instead possesses true, unparalleled power in the form of his golden cap. But instead of using it to become an unparalleled force, he instead keeps a great sense of caution around it.

“I don’t want to go mad and drunk with power.”

Willingham blends both themes up and around one another, converging all of it on Dare’s decision. It’s a wonderfully written look at power and the responsibility that comes with it, and how that power can just as easily bring out the best in us as it can the worst.

Art: (4/5) Not giving Buckingham full marks isn’t meant to be a slight. Rather, much of the art throughout the issue is very well done. The toys of the island retain their consistently ragged appearance. It’s done in just a way that they immediately bring to mind the lost toys of yesteryear and force the reader to sympathize with them. But Buckingham manages to also make them slightly off-putting, just enough to raise suspicions. It’s a wonderful design choice, and it conveys a certain degree of malevolence well. Darian’s walks across the beach are wonderfully understated, giving Dare and the reader an underlying sense of dread the entire time. There is nothing, nothing else on this beach. Which means there is no help, and there is no help coming. It makes a broad setting feel claustrophobic. If there’s really anything wrong, it’s just that it doesn’t feel like Buckinghams A-Game. Dares vision of an older Ambrose is much more inconsistent than the rest of the book, with beautiful stain glass esque shots next to the muddled Bigby and Snow. It’s good art throughout the issue, but some small annoyances crop up. Buckingham still does more with this issue than most other artists can do in a story, but the problems don’t go unnoticed. He does blend together seamlessly with Lee Louridge on colour, who is a marvel all their own.

Shawn McManus knocks out the Buffkin chapter, and it looks beautifully stylized and consistent. It’s short, but manages to combine a very cartoony and fluid feel with some simply fantastic character cues. Without the dialogue, the story would still move along at the same clip, the feelings and motives of the characters beautifully conveyed.

Best Moment: “The pack leader has responsibility, right?”

Worst Moment: Some of the smaller art beats.

Overall: (4/5) An awesome issue of an ungodly awesome series.

ROCKETEER: CARGO OF DOOM #1

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Samnee
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Reviewer: Masked Man

It seems that Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are a pretty prefect team. They have been knocking out great issues of Daredevil, and now they’ve turned to the Rocketeer. It’s nice to see IDW taking the plunge with a new Rocketeer series (ok, mini-series), after all the two anthologies. The Rocketeer is such a great icon character by the late Dave Stevens that he deserves to stay in print. And as great as the anthologies stories were, they didn’t have the meat that a series can have.

Now how often have you read a first issue and said, “Another boring set-up issue. Well I guess they’re all like that.” Waid proves that’s just BS with this issue. Sure it introduces the cast, setting, and basic plot- but instead of just filling out a list of ingredients like most first issues, Waid builds it more as a story right off the bat. If you want to know how to write a first issue that won’t bore your audience, well here it is.

So first we get to meet our heroes and their world. Yes, on some level it’s the same old tired cliches of Secord and Betty we’ve gotten from the anthologies. But Waid goes beyond that with other characters and early subplots, like young Sally and Mr. Feeney- what a creep. Then he jumps right into the villains, giving us a small glimpse at the ‘cargo of doom’. A real, “what the hell was that!” moment. Waid even pulls out some lesser known Rocketeer characters like the thug Werner Guptmann. Even if you don’t know Guptmann (and seriously why would you) Waid builds an interesting history into him right off the bat. More proof that Waid knows how to write a comic book better than anyone! The issue ends not only with the start of a subplot but the near completion of one as well- see not just a set-up issue. Plus the typical cliff hanger you’d expect from this genre.

Chris Samnee, who is not as polished as I’d like, delivers a good looking book regardless. Samnee’s art reminds me of Frank Robbins’s early work and Milton Caniff- though not as strong as Caniff’s work (unfair comparison I’m sure). Though unlike his Daredevil work, Samnee’s pencils seem better suited for the Rocketeer. With a superhero book I expect to see a little more flash than what Samnee’s raw pencils have (though I’m not talking as much flash as Liefeld- let’s be serious here). But in a more pulp tale, like the Rocketeer an unfinished edge works well. Samnee’s storytelling is about prefect here as well.

So for a first issue, I’d say Waid and Samnee crushed this one out of the park. And kudos to Jordie Bellaire coloring for creeping me out with those eyes on page nine!

@robertliefeld

Writer: Rob Liefeld
Artist: .jpgs & .gifs
Publisher: Twitter
Reviewer: Optimous Douche

A train wreck occurring at ground zero of Hiroshima is the only way I can describe the cataclysm that was Rob Liefeld’s departure from DC last week. I don’t know whether it says more about the state of comics or my propensity for Schadenfreude when the most engaging material last week was not AvX or BEFORE WATCHMEN, but rather the ramblings of a petulant man child on Twitter about his “mistreatment’ in the one of the greatest jobs ever created. I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but while we all toil away inside cube farms or perform manual labor, the idea of being paid to simply imagine seems infinitely more promising than filling out TPS reports all day or asking if you want an extra shot of espresso in your gigundo mocha latte.

Being a comic creator or any kind or lucrative artist is a gift from the masses. It’s an honor to receive the hard earned dollars of consumers simply for your ideas. And while artists have always been allowed to be eccentric or edgy to keep their craft well honed, at the end of the day this is a job. A job that Rob has never taken seriously as exhibited with his departure last week. Yes, he threw out the obligatory one off platitude to Didio to cover his ass, but what followed tells a very different story. In fact, as I scrolled through his tsunami of vitriol 140 characters at a time, I realized he honestly believes we should be thanking him; that corporate structures should bend to his will; and he lives behind a deflector shield from reality larger than the one on the Enterprise E.

Here’s some Tweets:

@robertliefeld
This is the 4th time I quit in the last 4 months. This time it will stick

Very professional and responsible Rob, especially when 10% of America is out of work.

@robertliefeld
I had at least 20 editorial battles and won 80% but those battles wear you down.

Oh, wait, you mean you disagreed with an authority figure at work? Well, then by all means of course you should walk away from being published and receiving a paycheck. Only a child walks away from adversity especially when that source of adversity feeds your family and pays your mortgage. And 80% is a pretty big win especially when you try to draw figures whose legs look like they were placed on by a cross eyed mongoloid (See cover of GRIFTER for my akimbo proof).

@robertliefeld
Freelancers, tell your editor he works for you, not the other way around. Routinely fire them to remind then you call the shots.

What the sweet footless pouch laden flying fuck are you talking about? In what publishing model is the editor NOT in charge? In fact, it’s the definition of the fucking word. I am going to punch the next editor in the mouth that reads these words and still hires the man. You have been warned.

@robertliefeld
Protect yourself--don't be a sheep. Remember that YOU make the books - have pride and say enough. You can make more money elsewhere

No Rob, most people can’t. I have seen a slew of creators who are immensely more talented living off of Raman noodles. You were given a gift sir and you have proven once again you are not worthy of it. You were incinerated to ashes during the meltdown of the 90s, and some will say you helped push the buttons that launched the missiles of market destruction. Despite this fact, people still followed the words of the bible, “just because a man once bloweth donkeys, allow him to once again pet your donkey, he might not blow it this time.” So we all gave you another chance when you were taken under the wing of Robert Kirkman and welcomed with open arms by your old comrade Jim Lee in 2011. After all, 15 or so years should more than enough time to learn the virtues of feet, guns with triggers, backgrounds beyond screen doors, anatomy, a hair style other than the 90’s fade, physics, not all outfits come with copious amounts of pouches, mouths have lips, and last but certainly not least…CONTI-FUCKING-NUITY…from panel-to-panel.

Alas, this was not the case. What we received was simply more of the same old Rob from the 90s, minus the pollybagging and chromium covers. Little did I know that those things weren’t marketing techniques, but rather shields from crappy material.

Now, obviously Rob is just not my cup of tea, but that’s not why I’m here to bitch. I realize style is subjective and I have had direct conversations with people who are genuine fans of his work. While I know the comic erudite generally snigger when his name is mentioned, none of us should assume that all of his 40,000 Twitter followers are there to just make fun of him. I can look past style. I can agree to disagree with those who like their mouths lipless and their dialog written like a 4th graders book report. To each their own. What I am here to attack is Rob Liefeld’s complete lack of dedication and professionalism.

Rob is not the only one to trumpet fallacies within DC’s hallowed editorial halls. Recently Chris Roberson, George Perez and John Rozum had similar laments. Even personally, I’ll admit that all 52 of the new titles were not a good idea. I have published proof where I state the entire universe should have been rebuilt using solely Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman as the fulcrum to create new ancillary characters more reflective of the 21st century. I was wrong though, characters like AQUAMAN who I truly believed was for another time period has been a damn engaging and entertaining read. Sales numbers show that the New 52 is working and creators like Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, JMS and Brian Azzarello have all been able to create phenomenal content at DC. Why is this? Are they blowing every editor at DC to get their way? Perhaps. Or are their ideas good enough and engaging enough to entice readers? That’s how an adult would look at the question and why the adult in me cringes as I read things like this:

@robertliefeld
As to LOBO, I was specifically directed not to adhere to the biker bad boy look. No leather jacket, no chains, skull, etc. Not my call.

That wasn’t the problem with Lobo in DEATHSTROKE. The problem was horrid dialog, characters that looked one way in one panel and then a complete different way in the next panel. You know, the staples of your career. No matter what direction these horrid editors gave you, the problem lieth not in the plot, but the execution.

@robertliefeld
And in case you are counting, I haven't missed a deadline on a non-ensemble assignment in 4 years. Hit all my marks.

Hitting a date is not hitting a mark. You see, when you have a job to do you’re supposed to do it well AND on time.

And you should be able to do it without driving and inking at the same time. For those that haven’t seen the YouTube watch as Rob endangers his own life and others in the name of meeting a deadline:

Cool huh?

Even though Rob has no problems with the company he quit 4 times over and he has no issues with other creators, this little gem still found its way on to the Twitter playground.

@robertliefeld
From Scott Snyder - I can assure you batman doesn't sell the way it does because it's Batman. It sells that way because of me and Greg.

@robertliefeld
Get over yourself you pretentious prick @Ssnyder1835

@robertliefeld
Been berated in DM's by @Ssnyder1835 this morning. Excuse me if I don't marvel at your amazing abilities to write Batman. Piss off.

Professionalism and composure at its finest Rob. So Scott sent you a direct PRIVATE message that you then choose to spray all over the world wide Interwebs, Scott still has a job with DC and never had a book cancelled or asked to leave because of slumping sales. Can you say the same?

@robertliefeld
The last 100 insults go like this "blah, blah, blah - learn to draw feet.." rinse and repeat... You can do better than that!

All right Rob, I’m doing better. I don’t care if you ever learn to draw feet, lips, anatomically correct forms or backgrounds. I’m asking you to grow the fuck up. I usually don’t directly attack creators, separating the man or woman from the work they do. Just because I hate something, doesn’t make the individual a bad person.

However, this is now the second time Liefeld has flipped the industry the bird and did so in a fashion to create controversy. The first time was when he left Marvel in the 90s because the corporate structure wasn’t working for him. And now here we are again, fifteen years later repeating the past. Perhaps if Rob just walked away from these titles sans fanfare, I would believe his words of trying to preserve the purity of comics. Instead this all simply reads as the sour grapes of a man who can’t recapture his former glory. A man who is basically the Jack Kavorkian of comics, only called in to help when the title is about to breathe its last dying gasp of air. Rob is proud of the fact he was able to tell DEATHSTROKE his way because it sold more than it did before he was on the title. Two times one may be a bigger number Rob, but bigger is not BIG and certainly not a sterling barometer of success.

Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Publishers should heed these words as well, lest you be the next target when Rob’s books don’t sell well.

Editing, compiling, imaging, coding, logos & cat-wrangling by Ambush Bug
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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