the next big team-up movie?

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how to disappear completely

"City Hideout," from Dutch design studio OOOMS, is a portable temporary dwelling made to fit one seated adult. The collapsable metal box resembles the kind of streetside sheds that commonly house electrical devices such as streetlight controls, new-age parking meters, and small generators. The hideout can be easily assembled on any corner or rooftop as the ultimate urban camouflage. I saw this on boingboing.

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Justin G reads too many comics

Hellboy: The Island #1 (of 2)
Dark Horse Comics

I have really enjoyed the various BPRD series, but it's quite a treat to see Mike Mignola return to author and pencil his creation that started it all. The often teased "next chapter" in Hellboy's life seems to be gearing up here after his two year long slumber at the bottom of the ocean. Impressively open and expansive panels with a nice yellow wash. I'm assuming that the next Hellboy trade will collect "The Third Wish" story arc along with this two issue tale of "The Island" which begs the question, will the Hellboy shorts from the Dark Horse Books of the Dead, Witchcraft, etc. ever be collected anywhere? Grade A.

Conan #17
Dark Horse Comics

Not much to say here except that Conan is just good comics. Barbaric cunning, thievery, flirtation, and fighting. Busiek has the "sound" of Conan down pat and Cary Nord's art is stunning. As the beginning of the "City of Thieves" arc, this is a great jumping on point for new readers. Grade B.

Queen & Country Declassified: Volume 3 #1 (of 3)
Oni Press

Whew! That title is a mouthful, which is a nice segue to my main concern. And let me say that I am deeply concerned for my favorite title. Queen & Country is now chronically late, I don't remember where the last issue of the main series left off and there doesn't seem to be any hope on the horizon for when the next ish is due out. This is now the third spin-off series, the second of which is also very late and lingers unresolved. Rumors of movie deals and more novels abound. This issue marks the first in the title's history not written by master scribe Greg Rucka. Nick Poole, a second tier character at best, is supposedly the headliner of this spin-off, yet is hardly seen at all. No complaints on the art as fans have all grown accustomed to the wildy different styles of the rotating artists. On the writing front, I didn't feel very engaged by the story or any of these characters, which was further hindered by the lack of the usual roster page. What's going on here guys? Let's get Q&C back on track with some focus. Grade B-.

Shaolin Cowboy #3
Burlyman Entertainment

I'm almost speechless, this is simply breathtaking. Darrow's detailed and eclectic style is an absolute joy to wander through and find little hidden gems. I so look forward to this book, which is really picking up steam and not losing a bit of quality along the way. Buy it today. It's guaranteed fun. Grade A+.

Supreme Power #17
Marvel Comics, MAX

This series is the most intelligent analysis of the superhero paradigm that I've seen since Watchmen. Yeah, it's that good. Flawless execution of writing, penciling, inking, coloring, and a general sense of dramatic plausability. This book has tremendous attitude and a dark tone, yet is simultaneously thoughtful and insightful with a twinge of hope. Probably my favorite Marvel Comic in the last 10 years. Grade A+.

Girls #2
Image Comics

My fault for missing the first issue and not knowing what's going on here, but... I don't know what's going on here. And shouldn't the mark of a good comic be that it passes the test of "any issue of any series could be somebody's first and should thus be accessible?" That aside, I do have a general concern with this series based solely on what I've seen here. I'm really not digging the nudity. Surprising, I know. But it just seems so intentionally unrevealing. As if the figures are deliberately drawn so that an out of place wisp of air or oddly posed arm will cover up a nipple or some razzle dazzle. It's distracting. Either keep it PG or go straight for the R, this in between pseudo-titillation is not clicking. However... based on the stregnth of their Ultra series, I will bear with the Luna brothers and see what happens here. Grade C.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #20
Marvel Comics

After some hiccups last issue, we're back on track here. Characterization? Check. Humor? Check. Action? Check. Creepy Villain? Check. Mining past continuity with a modern twist? Check. Big brother Dan here at Hijinx totally called this one a couple weeks ago; Ultimate Mad Thinker, complete with Android! All in all, a fun little arc from Mike Carey and Jae Lee. They absolutely pulled this one out. Grade B+.

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savage chickens

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Drawn! The Illustration Blog

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Disneyland report

I've been meaning to post this since I got back from Disneyland almost a month ago, but I haven't been in the mood. Until now, that is! I went for a weekend with my main squeeze Christine, who is the queen of all things Disney and was the main instigator of the whole trip.

We had more fun in two days than I thought was possible, thanks to the new fast pass system in place at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, which is right next door, and we both agreed had better rides than Disneyland proper.

Somehow we managed to ride almost every major attraction on both parks in two days, some of them twice! We even fit in the monorail and the train ride around the park, as well as the riverboat ride. We only missed a couple of second tier rides, but I was most bummed out about Space Mountain, which is undergoing repair work and is closed until July 15th. This made me sad, as it's my very favorite ride in the park.

Overall we had nothing but a good time, and not even a tenth of the time I expected to wait in line. California adventure was a nice surprise, as the lines aren't as long and the rides are all newer and better than Disneyland. But then again, they don't have Pirates of the Carribean!

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Justin G thinks comics are keen!

Aside from a major plot inconsistency (expressly stating that GI Joe is a strictly covert, classified, and top secret organization designed for counter-terrorism then two pages later sending them to a very public emergency management scene with no presumable connection to terrorism), this was a fairly engaging read (thanks to Joe Casey) with surprisingly cool and consistent pencils from Stefano Caselli. Priced beautifully at only 25 cents. As long as Devil's Due can keep the cast small, quality high, and avoid market saturation, this could really work in the still lingering 80's revival niche. Grade B.

Powers #11
Marvel Comics, Icon

Some things remain the same. Brisk dialogue. Quick moving scripts, sans dialogue. Reading better in trade format than single issues. Some things change. Great paper quality. Does Oeming's art look a bit rushed now? Why does it look grainy in spots? Obviously attributed to the attainment of powers, but wow is Deena's out of character behavior jarring. And why am I not enjoying the shameless self-promotion and no holds barred letters column like I used to? Is it me dear readers or is this title slipping a tad? Grade B.

Wildsiderz #0
DC Comics, Wildstorm

A little thin on story even for a $1.99 promo book, but looks fun enough. Pretty interesting interview describing Campbell's process of layering the holographic art page over the traditional pencils. Fans of Danger Girl, come on down! Grade B-.

Ex Machina #12
DC Comics, Wildstorm

This book just keeps getting better and better. Big fan of the Christopher Priest style headers that shift the narrative backward and forward in time. Loving the rhythm and cadence of the speech patterns: "It's not my fault the ****** threw his flare gun into the drink while I was landing his dumb-*** whirlybird!" Digging all of the strongly developed characters. Tony Harris' pencils are excellent. Inking and coloring is near perfect. The comic references, the nudity, the plots, the designs and backgrounds, the premise, the politics, and the cliffhangers. I am so on board with every aspect of this book. Brian K. Vaughan's strongest work. This book should be selling millions of copies. Yes, I'm talking about you. Buy it. Use the Hijinx Book Club and buy the first trade. Buy it today. Tell your friends to buy it. Give it to your Dad for Father's Day. Trust me, he'll love it. Mine did. Grade A+.

The Black Diamond: On Ramp
AiT/Planet Lar

Tired of selling less than stellar work, I admire Larry Young for taking matters into his own hands and just starting a (insert expletive here) publishing company. That creative entepreneurialism is so what the industry needs and he'll forever have my respect for that. But... aside from the initial Astronauts in Trouble books and selected issues of the recent Demo series, not much from AiT/Planet Lar has really clicked with me and this is no exception. Decent enough high premise, weak on execution. Great cover design and colors, really difficult to interpret pencils on the interior. The 60's Mustang Fastback suddenly morphs into a 1980's Mustang II. Really confusing inking in spots. Cool layout, but repetitive and boring interview. Young prides himself on innovative marketing, but leaves me confused. Is it a flip book, a promo book, a #0 issue, will it be collected in trade form, all of the above? The one title that looks really intriguing with a wonderful 9 page panel, Five Fists of Science, receives a mere two page spread. I'm not feeling it, but if you keep publishing Lar, I'll keep trying them all. Grade C.

Battle Hymn #3
Image Comics

This title represents the hope of the "new" Image to me. The Erik Larsen, let's try anything, we're-based-in-Berkeley-now-Image. Still a very engaging read, strong balance of 1940's era publicly hopeful posturing with a seedy and realistic underbelly. Grade B+.

Street Angel: Volume One
Slave Labor Graphics

This trade collects issues 1-5, the initial Princess of Poverty arc. So wonderfully eclectic that it nearly defies categorization, it rides the line between indie praise and mainstream critical adoration. Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, who offered up the much loved Afrodisiac in Shock-A-Con in Project: Superior, really have something fun, unique, and insightful on their hands here. We'll be keeping our collective eye on the careers of these two. The best offering from San Jose-based Slave Labor Graphics. Ever. Grade A-.

War's End: Profiles From Bosnia 1995-96
Drawn & Quarterly

As far as I'm concerned, anything from Joe Sacco is worthy of attention and praise. Really, they should be using his books in collegiate level courses. The perfect mix of political commentary, documentary style, journalistic intrigue, travelogue, self-deprecating humor, and amazing art. I'm in love with his thick, lush lines and the overall non-preachy attitude of the material. Grade A.

Negative Burn: Winter 2005
Image Comics, Desperado Publishing

Like the Caliber Comics anthology that came before it, this volume of Negative Burn is a plethora of mediocrity seldomly punctuated by a piece that really stands out. I got that sinking feeling on the very first page when I discovered 2 typos in the intro piece that was written by anthology Editor and Desperado Publisher, Joe Pruett. In order of appearance, the pieces rated B, C, D, C, D, F, C, D, F, D, C, F, D, C, B, F for a grade point average of D-. And what's with the IDW-inspired front cover?

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Justin Giampaoli & the Magic Reviews

Regular readers of the Hijinx reviews will know that I believe strongly in UFF as the prototype of a successful modern comic. Perfect blend of diverse age appeal, honoring the past, looking ahead, and strong skills of rotating writers and artists. But, despite my fondness for Mike Carey and Jae Lee, this really didn't click for me. Really odd dialogue choices, such as turning the Las Vegas strip into "loose chippings"(?) and "nobody do the bronco"(?). This coupled with a bad characterization of Ben Grimm and some very jerky panel to panel transitions that forced me to go back and re-read the previous panel in an attempt to see who was talking and what they were referring to. Big fan of Jae Lee's Inhumans work, but his strong art chops just felt like a mis-match for this title. His is a dark, introspective, and moody style and UFF is primarily bright adventure and hopeful fun. Thankfully only a 2 issue arc, but I can still only go as high as a B-.

Stray Bullets #38
El Capitan Books

Lapham's opus seems to be chugging right along. Difficult to fully appreciate in single issues as the seemingly disparate elements all typically coalesce wonderfully in collected form. The master of uncomfortably realistic moments. Grade A-.

Tom Strong #33
America's Best Comics

Who the heck is Ben Oliver? Sign this guy up for a multi-year deal as an artist somewhere and I'll buy whatever title you stick him on! Really consistent stuff. Dynamic poses, interesting camera angles, great facial expressions and details on close up shots, very clean and balanced long distance shots that are just a joy to take in. Really dug Casey's take on the life form discovery and the "creation" moment. I think that when you add a little Warren Ellis to a little Alan Moore, you get Joe Casey. Really cool blend of grounded deconstructionism with manic and adventurous sci-fi wonderment. I'm diggin'. Grade B+. Eh, Wot? Why the B+ you ask, sah? Yeah, Solomon the talking ape has always bugged me.

Fables #38
DC Comics, Vertigo

It's not even my place to say, but I'm really proud of guys like Bill Willingham and Mike Carey. All those who have marched off in the direction that Neil Gaiman set with The Sandman and produced these long sprawling epics like Fables and Lucifer that blend existing literature, mythological references, fairy tales, and religion with their own visions. Fables is consistently strong and Mark Buckingham's clean lines have never looked better. Really enjoying the character of Winter. Grade A-.

The Stardust Kid #1
Image Comics, Deperado Publishing

And suddenly, Desperado is everywhere. This week witnesses not only the return of Abadazad creators JM DeMatteis and Mike Ploog, but the resurrection of the Negative Burn anthology, which looks promising. Honestly, I had high hopes for The Stardust Kid and was a bit underwhelmed. Art seems a little fuzzy with more of an unfinished feel than I remember their previous work having. Scripting felt very dense, to the point that I stopped, looked around the page, and sort of sighed at all the text boxes to come. I'll give it another shot, but for now, B-.

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batman begins

I saw a sneak preview of Batman Begins last night, but I don't have any pictures of the movie since everyone was searched for camera phones on the way in! Not that I have a camera phone, but I still like to think of Adam West as the real Batman anyway. I can't be the only one out there that wants to see a Dark Knight Returns movie starring Adam West, can I?

As for the movie, Batfans as well as the uninitiated will all love this movie, as it is the best screen adaptation of Batman since the original animated series. It finally puts to bed the sickening legacy of Joel Schumacher's work on the last 2 cinematic abortions with a bat signal stuck to them.

I'm not going to post any spoilers, because there were some great twists on the villains and they worked perfectly. The performances were all above average, with particularly great acting by Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

This is by far the best Batman movie ever, and one of the best super hero movies of all time. It leaves plenty of room for sequels, and I'm already excited about seeing them. We give this one a solid A.

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Toby Craig's DIY book binding

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Justin G sure likes him some comics

I tell my friends from the East Coast that the easiest way to tell they're not from the Bay Area is when they refer to San Francisco as "San Fran." Only out-of-towners talk like that about "The City." I guess I just expect more from Morrison. That minor quibble aside, this issue was all over the place and I loved it. Ryan Sook's art is off the charts, channeling a sort of restrained version of Sam Kieth on the original run of The Sandman with an undercurrent of 1970's House of Mystery. Great self-referential mention of The Invisibles as well as lots of tidbits surrounding the somewhat nebulous DC mystical continuity. Enjoying the ride. Grade B+

House of M #1
Marvel Comics

I really dug Olivier Coipel's pencils on the still-never-collected Legion of the Damned & Legion Lost arcs some time ago, but his work here really lacks consistency. Odd facial expressions, weird blocky heads and stiff angular poses, and a general lack of clear panel to panel storytelling in spots. And who knows what's going on plot-wise, some odd characterization amidst a fabricated dilemma which is relatively minor considering the threats The Avengers and X-Men face daily. Grade D+

The Intimates #8
Wildstorm

I think I'm officially throwing in the towel on this series, just isn't clicking for me. Another couple neat references to the Joe "Casey-verse" with a halo.net email address and some pseudo-fictitious cancelled titles, such as Aromatic Kraka (ie: Automatic Kafka). But, not enough to keep me interested after 8 months of waiting. Grade C

Superman/Batman #20
DC Comics

Never really a big fan of McGuinness's art. Not really into the Bizarro thing. Never really got into the running jabs at The Avengers knock-offs or the Disassembled bits contained here. Aside from a brief Captain Atom cameo, I didn't see a reason to come back. Grade C-

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chicken pants

Not much more I can say about this story I saw on boingboing, except that if I ever own chickens, they'll be rocking solid threads.

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comics delayed for Memorial Day

God bless America!

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