Mart Gray Supergirl Stamp Gifts!

I'll get by with a little help from my friends.

Long time friend Mart Gray sent me a wonderful gift from across the pond. So here are some UK stamps from the Royal Mail Group! Royal Mail Group is a British multinational postal service and courier company, originally established in 1516 as a department of the English government.

 Here is some internet coverage about this from Bleeding cool: https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jim-cheung-draws-dc-comics-superheroes-for-british-royal-mail-stamps/

There is a lot to love about this sheet. Love that it is the Justice League with Wonder Woman front and center. I think it is great for Jessica Cruz as the Green Lantern. 

And, of course, how great that Supergirl is on the sheet. I think it is great that Supergirl is part of this Justice League, even if it is just on some merch.

Review: Legion of Super-Heroes Millennium #2

Legion of Super-Heroes Millennium #2 came out this week and was another walk down the new DC timeline, establishing a new order of events which culminates with a new age of heroes, the gleaming 'world' of the Legion.

The Legion being prominent in the title and the cover is a bit of a lure as the team is barely seen in the book. But this is definitely their introduction into the DCU proper. And, since they are the future of the DCU, we need to get there. And now we know that Kamandi predates OMAC who predates the Legion. For a DC continuity nut, I actually like having a little order among the chaos.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis tells the story through the eyes of the newly immortal Rose and Thorn. But one thing that is clear is that Bendis has done his homework. The different future times are all ripped from the DCU but sound and look right. And, much like last issue when he honored Supergirl by making her president, he gives Kara a nice moment here as well, albeit in memory.

And the art work on the book is stunning. It is a true murderers' row: Nicola Scott, Jim Cheung, Jeff Dekal, and Ryan Sook. Each 'chapter' is brilliant. And each has an art style which perfectly fits the tone of that period.

I have to say this was built for a long time DC reader, filled with memories and nostalgia. Toss in the introduction of the Legion and I was grinning.

On to the book!

Review: Year of the Villain

It seems like every other year since Dan Didio took over DC has been labeled (or at the very least feels like) The Year of the Villain. From the overall tone of the DCU to an event like 'Forever Evil' to 'Future's End', we seem to have had a darkening and a coarsening of the heroes of the DC Universe for about a decade. And just when you think things were getting better, just when Rebirth sort of reset things in a brighter and more classic way, the pendulum swings back.

So I wasn't too surprised, given these last years, to find that we literally have a Year of the Villain event in the DC books coming up. Scott Snyder is bring in Perpetua, the Anti-Monitor's mother, to rewrite reality. Brian Michael Bendis is ripping apart the political landscape in Event Leviathan. And the Batman who Laughs is lurking around every corner it seems.

This week a teaser of all those events came out for the small price of two bits. DC's Year of the Villain Special #1 hit the stands with stories from each of those writers whetting our appetite for the major plotlines around the corner. Add luscious art by Jim Cheung, Alex Maleev, and Francis Manapul and you have a great bargain for comic readers. Throw in a few articles and process art in the back and you basically have a steal.

For me, this already feels a little different than those prior peeks into the minds of the bad guys. The Leviathan story feels very fresh and looks like it is going to impact everyone. The Perpetua story is a Crisis-level event which probably will have the grandest of scopes. I just don't think I am going to see a ton of hands being chopped off here, a sort of marker I have for what mess I am in for. This seems better.

Too be honest, the Leviathan arc is the one I am most interested in. I have theories. So I will be covering that mini-story the most here. On to the book and a reiteration of my theory.

Review: Justice League #7

Justice League #7 came out last week, the conclusion of 'The Totality' arc. As has been the case with this title, there is a lot of action and a lot of big comic book ideas that rapidly fly by. It has been almost dizzying in execution and definitely confusing in some places. I feel I really have been flying by the seat of my pants here. But 7 issues in, I actually wouldn't mind a little exposition now.

I think Grant Morrison and his books. A lot of big ideas came and went in his books. But often, they were in the background or were minor details to the plot. I could roll with them because Morrison often times built a foundation for the main storyline that was solid. Here? Those crazy ideas are the main plot.

Now that isn't to say I haven't liked this title. It is bonkers and sometimes I need that in my comic runs. And the art, this issue by Jim Cheung, is gorgeous.

But if the next plot hinges on the ending of this Totality arc, I can only hope that we get some more solid background. A shaky foundation helps no one.

On to the book!

Sales Review: June 2018

The sales (orders) numbers for June have come out and, as always, ICv2 does a great job laying out the numbers and talking about the market as a whole. Here is a link to the month's numbers:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/40801/top-500-comics-june-2018

 It seems like DC has been riding something of a creative crest lately. DC Metal was a huge hit. Scott Snyder/Jim Cheung/Jorge Jimenez are on one of many new Justice League books coming out in the aftermath of Justice League:No Justice. Brian Michael Bendis is on the DC side of the border and spearheading a Superman era. Tom King has been steadily bringing us excellent Batman stories. Joshua Williamson is redefining the Flash family. And other big projects like Heroes in Crisis, G. Willow Wilson on Wonder Woman, and Grant Morrison on Green Lantern are all in the wings.

It has the feel of a post-Legends DCU with so much unbridled creativity exploding onto the shelves but with the added feel that many of these things will stick.

So how did things sell?

Happy Anniversary! Top Ten Supergirl Commissions!

I continue my semi-self-congratulatory tenth anniversary of Supergirl blogging by looking back at my every growing collection of commissions. I am pretty lucky that New England has a good convention scene that allows me the opportunity to run into creators on an annual basis. And I am also lucky enough to have a job where I can moonlight an extra shift to fund a convention season, allowing me to at least try to get commissions.

As I write this, I have just under 100 commissions in the collection. Initially I got them on separate Bristol board and would frame them. But I quickly ran out of wall space in the comic area of the basement. It also was kind of hard to share the collection. So a while back I switched to sketch books which I now bring to conventions. It has served me well. I know have a portable art gallery. And artists who I do commission seem to like flipping through the book themselves.

As part of this 10th anniversary celebration, I have been looking at some Top Tens and figured my commission collection was a natural for such a list. The problem is I love all my sketches. So picking a top ten feels like I am rejecting the others. So I am presenting the top ten commissions that stuck out to me today. Ask me tomorrow and I might pick a different 10 all together. And these are listed unranked and alphabetically by artist. This is just the top ten.

If you love any of my commissions, please drop me a note. In the mean time, on to the list,.

Boston Comiccon Roundup and Jimmy Cheung Commission

This last weekend was the Boston Comic Con and even though I was only able to go on Saturday, I had a great time.

The big acquisition was the Jimmy Cheung commission posted above. Cheung was a really nice guy to talk to. The commission is absolutely stunning. The degree of shading and variation of gray tones is spectacular. The detailing of the hair and cape is perfect. And Kara looks so intense. This has to be one of the premiere pieces in my collection. If only I had had the money to upgrade from a bust shot to a 3/4 figure. But go ahead and stare ... I have been for a day now.

I also got to meet and grab some signatures from Paul Gulacy, Mike Allred, and Whilce Portacio. All were really friendly.

As for back issues, I was able to grab some Silver Age Supergirl issues including some of her appearances with Batgirl (World's Finest #176, Detective Comics #509) and with Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman #177). I might end up reviewing that last one. I also am close to having all of Supergirl's Adventure Comics run, missing just 4 issues.

And ... I even saw a decent copy of Action Comics #252 (!!!) for $450. If only my friends ... if only!

So all in all a very good day. Now to sign up for some moonlighting to recoup the losses.

Boston Comicon and Paul Gulacy Commission

I am pretty excited about the upcoming Boston Comic Con, a mere 10 days away! Here is their link for anyone local: http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/

As a Boston guy with tough commitments, it is pretty hard for me to get away to the big conventions. Even a day trip to the NYCC is difficult to pull off.

So I am pretty pumped about this new convention which has been going on for the last couple of years. I have met some big names in the past here: Jim Steranko, Carmine Infantino, and Bernie Wrightson to name a couple. I also have met a lot of local artists like Paul Ryan, Norman Lee, and Scott Wegener to name a few.

The good news is that this Boston convention seems to be growing. Next month's is 2 days!

And look at the big name guests! Something for everyone! Here are some brief resumes.

Mike Allred is most famous for Madman but also has done X-Statix.

Whilce Portacio has done Spawn, X-Men, Wetworks, and other WildStorm issues.

Jim Cheung has done New Avengers, Young Avengers, and The Illuminati.

Paul Gulacy is most famous for his run on Master of Kung Fu but has also worked on Batman and Catwoman.

Add to that a lot of other guests and it looks like I might need to moonlight a bit to make some extra cash to spend.

I really like Jim Cheung's art and so I am going to head to the con early in hopes of grabbing a commission from him.

Of all the guests, Gulacy is my favorite. I have always loved his art. Here is a commission of Supergirl that I already have from him.

This is probably the most cheesecake-y commission in my collection. It is not the usual style for my collection but I would expect nothing else from a master of the female form like Gulacy. This is really a great piece. The scan does not do it justice. The shading and grey tones really give it a 3-dimensional feel and some energy.