Mister Miracle #11

It's been a week since Mister Miracle #11 hit the stands and so my hope is I am near the spoiler event horizon.

I have been a fan of this series since the beginning. King and Gerads have really done this spectacular job of making this a truly complete story of the duo of Mister Miracle and Big Barda. We open with some drama and sadness as Scott seems to have tried to kill himself. We then have Scott enter into a new war with Apokolips as a general, ascend to the title of Highfather, all while navigating married life, family politics, and being a new dad.

Throughout the series, panels have been warped as if the original shifted in the copy machine or the signal was breaking up on an old antenna television. And while at times this has been a very sad book, there was somehow this undercurrent of hope. Even when covered in the blood of his enemies after days of nonstop combat, the love and respect Scott and Barda have for each other was a foundation for something better.

The plot twists and the opening suicide and the warped panels (the biggest 'interference' happening in panels discussing death and pain) all made folks wonder just what was this story.

Was it 'real'?
Was it purgatory?
Was it a near death experience?

I myself kept saying I thought it was something like 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge', a potential future that Miracle was running through his mind in a second before he was in danger of dying.

But then the end of Mister Miracle #11 happened. Spoilers ahead.

Rhode Island Comic Con

This Sunday, I'll be heading to Rhode Island Comic Con, the last convention of my con 'season'. This is a huge con with celebrities and comic creators which has grown over the years to now fill the RI Convention Center and the floor of the nearby Providence Civic Center.

I have been heading to this con since the beginning and have grabbed some great commissions and signatures in the past (including Stan Lee!). This year I'll only be there for one day and so I doubt I'll luck my way into a commission. That means that the main goal is signatures. It is a shame because there are some huge favorites of mine that are going to be there, artists I haven't seen at other cons. But, c'est la vie!

Probably the biggest name for me that is going to be at the convention is Chris Bachalo, an artist whose work I have loved forever. For me, he is always going to be the main artist of the Pete Milligan Shade, The Changing Man book from the 1990's. I loved that book!

Bachalo has also done runs on other books in my collection that I love - Death, X-Men, New X-Men, etc. If I could get a Bachalo sketch I would be absolutely thrilled. But I can't imagine it happening. Instead I had to pare down a big stack of books to a manageable size for signatures.

But look who else I'm hoping to meet.

Mitch Gerads And The Granite State Comicon

I went to the Granite State Comicon two weekends ago, a convention that I have loved attending the last several years.

The convention has grown gently over the last couple of years, getting more comic creators, moving to a bigger hall in the venue they have used, and getting great dealers. This is the convention where I usually end up (gasp) buying comics. Last year felt bigger than the prior Granite State cons as the guest list was long and had both writers and artists. I obtained a bunch of commissions and bought a ton of comics. But unlike Boston, it was cozier. It was small enough that I could still spend decent time with the creators I wanted to see and thumb through long boxes.

This year's con had a different feel to it. The comic creator list was much shorter and the celebrity guest list was much longer. The con boasted the most Game of Thrones stars assembled which seemed to be the biggest draw. But there weren't many comic stars here, and many who were there were staples at this con, creators I have met before.

There was someone there I was very interested in meeting -  Mitch Gerads, current artist on Marvel's The Punisher. I like his style and wondered what a Supergirl by him would look like. So I got on his commission list and dropped of my sketch book.

Now I usually specify which costume I want but I forgot this time. And so I got this absolutely great commission of the New 52 Supergirl. It is the lower part of this costume I dislike, so this head and shoulders commission works great. I love everything about this -her hair, her expression, the baggy feel of the costume, and even the cape works. The grey tones add depth making this just a beauty.

I am so glad I got this commission from Gerads. It is a great addition.

Now as I said, the celebrity guest list was longer and the comic creator guest list was shorter.

That same feel seemed to carry through into the dealers. There just weren't as many comic dealers as I am used to seeing at this convention. And there were many more dealers of 'stuff' - movie posters, wooden weaponry, toys, flasks, etc.

In less than a full day, I had thumbed through all the comics and met all the creators I wanted to.So I was glad I didn't get a 2 day pass.

Now don't get me wrong. I had a great time when I was there.

For one, the youngest Supergirl has decided that this was the year that she was going to all the cons with me. Here we are banded and ready to get in. She enjoys seeing the costumes, looking at the cool stuff, and joining in some shopping.

In the end she didn't find any comics she wanted. But she did get a tiny Pacific Rim Cherno Alpha Jaeger toy. It is now the Black King on her chess board. I know I could 'drift' with her.

I feel blessed that my three girls all share some of my interests.

And then I got the usual stack of $1 box joy. I love that Firestorm cover and used to own that issue. So I was glad to finally find it. And the other stuff was gravy.

I do love that DCCP issue with Black Canary. Great issue with great art.

And I even found a $3 box with some silver age joy. These issues are pretty beat up, not worth bagging. But Superman exposed on Candid Camera? The introduction of Karate Kid, Projectra, Ferro Lad, and Nemesis Kid? How could I not buy them??

But the big 'get' at this convention was the Gerads commission. That thing was a steal!!