Terrificon Recap Part 1: June Brigman And Some Signatures

Earlier this month I had the luck of attending all three days of Terrificon , my main convention of the season and simply one of the best comic shows around. For the last 8 years, Terrificon has been a consistently fantastic show, focusing on comics with a massive array of comic creators present. 

The show has grown since I first went and now has a celebrity section as well. But it is clear the emphasis is on comics. And what I love about the show is how it respects the medium, bringing in comic legends as well as up and coming stars. From legends like Simonson, Chaykin, Claremont and Starlin to newcomers like Mahde Khene, to folks in their stride like Mark Waid, David Mack, and Steve Epting, the show sizzles. I am always impressed with the the con that show runner Mitch Hallock puts together.

I was also lucky enough to again be granted a press pass for the show. I set aside a budget for the show each year and the press pass allows me to get in a little early to talk to creators as well as shunt a little more money into the hands of vendors and creators. I think the traffic this site gets is a big reason why I get that pass, so thank you all.

As for this year, you'll be hearing all about my creator interactions over three recaps! But I'll start with my primary commission goal for this year, June Brigman.

I knew as soon as I saw Brigman announced that I would want a Supergirl sketch from her. While best known for her Marvel work on Power Pack, Brigman drew the Matrix Supergirl solo mini-series from the late 90s. It is that costume that is my favorite.

So when the doors opened, I went immediately to her table and got on her list.

I am really thrilled with this commission. Brigman and inker Roy Richardson put together this great piece. I love the body language, the scene in the clouds, the confident smile. Truly an amazing piece and a wonderful addition to the book. 

Review: Superman #17

Superman #17 came out this week, a tie-in to Absolute Power and the continuation of Superman and Zatanna's search for the Map of Mordru.

I am not getting the Absolute Power main series so much of what has led to this point is a bit lost to me. I have learned through panels in this book, podcasts, and other reviews that the Fortress is destroyed, Kandor is destroyed, and Jon is brainwashed and working for Waller. 

As for this issue, it is a Superman on the run, looking for anything to save his son and his world. Writer Joshua Williamson puts Superman through some paces here. He is powerless and walking through the chaotic magical world. It makes him a little bit of a fish out of water. But what I really love is that Superman remains proactive and heroic. He even puts a bit of an edge on our hero, perhaps showing how worried he is. This isn't our cool, collected, 'lead by example' Superman. He yells and hits and insults. Hey, his son is in danger. Anyone would be twitchy.

Jamal Campbell continues to give us polished art. It is incredibly rendered, giving it an almost CGI feel. The energy is there for sure. And between city scenes, forest scenes, and bar scenes, Campbell shows he has solid chops for all sorts of environs.

Add to this an cliffhanger involving a villain I haven't really thought about in over 25 years and you get an entertaining issue. On to some particulars.

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #30

Batman Superman World's Finest #30 came out this week and was another fun, done-in-one issue for the title. 

Writer Mark Waid and guest artists Gleb Melnikov again weave a story from the recent past, teaming up Batman and Superman with other heroes, and dusting off a seldom used villain giving them a much needed update. That has been the pattern of this book. 

But I love the little side-pattern that Waid  have been doing in which after an arc, they let the title breathe by putting out a one-issue story with a beginning middle and end. We've seen it throughout the book from a look at Robin, to the Robin/Supergirl date, to the first Lex/Joker team-up, to this story teaming up the Trinity. 

Waid has been bringing that Silver/Bronze age patina to the stories overall and what could be more old-school than 'done in one'.

This story focuses on a murder mystery on Themyscira and Diana has asked Batman and Superman to help solve the crime. That is a good hook. There is a great twist as the mystery is solved. And my guess is Waid is building towards something bigger. 

Melnikov has yet to disappoint me on anything I have seen him on. His take on the Amazons is great. They are that perfect mix of strength and presence. I know Daniel Sampere is on the main WW book but I'd love to see Melnikov drawing Wonder Woman more.

On to the specifics!

DC Comics November 2024 Solicits

The DC Comics solicits for November 2024 have been released and it seems like an interesting month. Here is a link: https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/dc-comics/dc-comics-november-2024-solicitations-covers/

I feel there is a chance that DC is hitting some sort of new stride in the main universe. I don't think I am too interested in the Absolute Universe with its dour Superman and its warrior Wonder Woman. But this month there is Phillip Kennedy Johnson/Javier Fernandez on Batman and Robin. There is Jeff Lemire/Diego Olortegui on JSA. There is Mark Waid/Dan Mora on a Justice League Unlimited book. There is an Alex Segura/Cian Tormey Question book. I'm interested in all of those. These are properties I love written by creators I trust. The artists on the books are phenomenal. There are other new books like Black Lightning and Batgirl on the racks. Is this some new explosion?

It all makes me happy. I like having a full pull list!

On to the super-books!

Action Comics #1074
Written by MARK WAID and MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY, MICHAEL SHELFER, and SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Variant covers by SEBASTIAN FIUMARA and IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA
1:25 variant cover by MARK SPEARS

Superman back in time?! Great Rao! A dying planet, a desperate scientist, a last son…it could only mean one thing: Krypton! To uncover the secrets of the Phantom Zone, Kal-El must journey back to the days of his birth planet and into the lab of Jor-El himself. What shocking secrets will link the greatest prison known to the cosmos and the nefarious villain Aeythr… and does the Man of Steel stand a chance of making it out alive? Plus, Supergirl’s mission halts as she finds herself captured and awaiting her fate at the hands of the highest bidder!

It is very Silver Age to have Superman go back to Krypton. I hope we have a noble Jor-El, something we haven't seen for a bit. I love Aethyr! So all is well.

Holding out hope Tamaki's Supergirl is good. I love Patridge's art.

And love this variant cover!

Review: Action Comics #1068

Action Comics #1068 came out last week and was another crackling good issue with two very entertaining stories in the issue.

In the opening story, writer Gail Simone and artist Eddy Barrows give us another very Bronze Age feel tale of Superman thwarting aliens who are putting Superman through a series of contests he must overcome. The reason? Gambling! Last issue was a love letter to Superman Vs Muhammad Ali. This issue continues that early 70s feel from invulnerable capes to Lois demanding to be called Ms. to Jimmy's signal watch, it screams Bronze Age in the best way. Barrows art is dynamic with more action lines than you can shake a stick at. We end on a great cliffhanger. I have loved this more than I thought I was going to.

Just as entertaining, but in a different way, is the back-up written by Rainbow Rowell with art by Cian Tormey. Last issue, Lois took Clark off the Superman beat. This issue we see the fallout .. personally, professionally, heroically. This is a great story as I can understand both sides of the professional story. I appreciate seeing how this seeps into the marriage. And it ends with another great cliffhanger. Cian Tormey brings a very thick-lined approach to this grounded story which works very well. 

No complaints here on this very entertaining issue. On to the specifics! 

Wicked Comic Con 2024 Recap

When this gets posted, I'll be in the midst of packing up to head to Terrificon. 

Last week I was able to attend Wicked Comic Con on Sunday. (Work got in the way of my attending both days.) The place seemed busy with lots of foot traffic. 

This con is young but growing each year. There was a very solid stable of creator guests invited to the show including such legends as Adam Hughes and Phil Jimenez. While I had met many of the guests at other shows, it is always good to see them again and bring any new books for signatures. In particular, I got to talk to Jimenez for some time about Historia Book One. That book was absolutely stunning and so chatting with him about process and his approach to the gods was fascinating.

But there were a couple of guests there who I hadn't met before who I was looking forward to meeting - Tom Reilly, Marco Rudy, and Dustin Nguyen.  As I had said in a prep post, I was hoping to get a commission from Reilly. 

Luckily, there was room on his sketch list on Sunday!

Check out this brilliant commission!

It was really great to talk to Reilly about the sketch. He looked through my sketch book at all the commissions and noted how there was only one sketch with Supergirl in the classic headband costume (from George Perez). That was the costume he was interested in doing.

I just love this. First off, it just captures what I love about Reilly's art. It being the headband costume makes it stand out for sure. But the other touches, the stars, the tone effects around her fist. The confident look. That classic curly 80s hair. 

It just sings! I couldn't be happier.

Review: My Adventures With Superman #3

My Adventures With Superman #3 came out last week, another solid chapter in the all ages book. 

Much like the cartoon, the comic walks a bit of a tight rope and in a good way. There is humor. There is whimsy. There is torture. There is action. It is hard to work a balance like that but somehow show runner and comic book writer Sophia Campbell is able to pull it off.

This chapter nudges the plot along. Amazo has consciousness. As a living being, even if an android, it should be spared that. So Superman is helping it while the government hunts it down. Add in some fun antics of our squad trying to keep Amazo out of the military's hands and you have fun episode.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to do a good job of keeping the feel of the show while rendering a visually active book layout. The battle scene at the end of the book in particular is well paged and paced. 

All  together, the tone of the comic continues to mirror the progressive, fun, occasionally dark tone of the show. That makes this a great arc to have happened between seasons. 

On to the book.

Review: Kneel Before Zod #8

Kneel Before Zod #8 came out this week, the abrupt ending to what was supposed to be a 12 issue mini-series. And when I say abrupt, I mean abrupt.

This whole series has been a bit interesting for me as a reader and fan. I came in a bit burned out about Zod, who seemed ubiquitous for several years there. Was I really going to want to read a year of him?

It didn't help that the early issues seemed over stuffed with many scenes of senseless violence in each issue, padding the page count. I also wondered about the turn early in the series of Zod seeming almost catatonic and morose, nudging Ursa to take over.

Somewhere in this series though, I began to really get interested. Zod, who had always seemed to be a one-note character of militaristic fascism, became a more complex being. He had fears. He was seeing visions of Jor-El. He seemed unsure about where his life had taken him. He remained a one-trick pony of violence but that seemed more a frustrated routine than any grand mission. Who is Zod? But maybe more importantly, who does he himself want to be? 

Add to the mix the rough and tumble art of Dan McDaid, bringing an almost WWI grunginess to this interstellar war comic. A couple of issues of McDaid channeling Keith Giffen only increased my appreciation of his work. 

The ending seems to set up this book to actually impact the main DCU, bringing in the UP which has sequestered Earth and stymied the Green Lantern Corps.

All this is to say that I have to top my cap to writer Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. I am truly disappointed that DC pulled the plug on this book. I am going to wonder where this was going and if Casey had some grand ending in mind for this unusually scattered Zod.

On to the book.

Interview With Landry Walker

I've been a big fan of writer Landry Walker  since his incredible work on Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade book. He is definitely one of those creators whose work I immediately put on my pull file. The works tend to be very complex and layered, with a plot pushing forward but with incredible themes and concepts bubbling along too.

When I heard he was writing a horror book called The Butcher's Boy for Image, I reached out and asked for an interview. Luckily, he obliged. Of note, The Butcher's Boy is only three issues in and well worth looking for.

On to the interview.

Anj: Thanks for doing this.

The Butcher’s Boy comes right out of the gate as pretty stark horror. Is this the first pure horror book you’ve done? (As a 50+ year old, I grew up reading DC horror comics and watching all the horror films I could in the 80s. And I loved your Mad Hatter book.) 

LW: Not the first. Several years back I authored a Manga-style original graphic novel called House of Odd, which was part of the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas series. I collaborated with Dean on that one – he provided a short plot and cast of characters, and I filled out the rest.

I also have done a couple of shorts in Eerie Magazine over the years, and dabbled with a send-up of classic horror monster movies with the Little Gloomy series that Eric and I did (that later became a cartoon series called Scary Larry).

Super-Family Mobile Toy

Some time in July I celebrated a birthday. One more trek around the sun! Still here, old friends!

One of the Supergirls has been helping me add to the Supergirl collection and gave me the best gift.

Check out this old school, tin wind-up toy of Superman, Supergirl, Streaky, and Krypto flying around the Daily Planet.

Everything about this sings! The Daily Planet globe. The catchphrase around the bottom. Super-pets! Super-cousins! The classic feel!

It all works, Just a great gift.

Wicked Comic Con Next Weekend

Wicked Comic Con Boston is happening next weekend!

I didn't think I would be able to get to this convention because I was working a later shift on Saturday the 10th,  making neither weekend day easy to attend. As luck would have it a friend needed a switch and I was able to move to an early shift on Saturday.

While it meant a Saturday con visit was out of the question, it opened up Sunday! 

So I'll be heading to the con! An extra summer treat for me!

I am glad my town has a good comic con. Wicked is young, this being it's third year in it's third venue. But each year they bring in a solid guest list and this year is no different. There are plenty of creators I am looking forward to meeting. Hopefully some of you are heading there too!

Here is a link to the con site: https://www.wickedcomiccon.com/

I don't know if I'll be able to get any commissions given I will only be there Sunday. But I hope I am able to get one from Tom Reilly .

Reilly drew Knight Terrors Superman which included that great Supergirl plot where she was haunted by older versions of herself. Reilly basically had to draw all the big Supergirl costumes in that story (albeit on zombified Supergirls). 

Reilly feels like an up and comer so I hope there is a spot on his sketch list.

But there is more!