"Post No. 534"

*Tsk! Tsk!* I figured at least one person would get the correct answer to yesterday's little "Pop Quiz", but...I guess not. So here now is the answer.

The reason why those two comics from the early 1990's are relevant today is because they both contain interior AND cover artwork by one of the biggest names in the comic book business: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS!

Yes, that's right! Before his run on such titles as Alias, Sam & Twitch, Ultimate Fantastic Four/Spider-man/Marvel Team-Up, Daredevil, Powers, ("etc., etc."), Bendis was a comic book artist, rather than a writer. Fact is that the pictured issue of The Realm #4 was his last issue for Caliber before moving on to Millennium's H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu (whose first issue was #2 rather than the #3 pictured, but he didn't do the cover for the second issue). And now you know.

So before you pass over those seemingly unimportant alternate press publications sitting there lonely on the rack next to the empty spaces where books published by Marvel, DC, Image and other hot companies occupied, think again and give some of these other guys a chance for a change. You never know what future "big name" writer/artist may be lurking within those pages. For many of the people that are well-known in comic creator circles today, had their start just like Bendis. People like Dale Keown, whose artwork graced the pages of Aircel's Dragonring and Dragonforce, Eric larsen who was in Megaton Publications' comic of the same name,
Mike Baron and Steve Rude who worked for Capitol Publications, and many, many more including people such as Jim Starlin and Frank Miller whose work appeared in fan-zines! Even Mark Evanier will admit to starting out in fan-zines (or does he forget Ah-Choo!?)


And now on to other tidbits...

I read Marvel's Ultimate Fantastic Four #'s 4 thru 9, 11 & 12 over the past couple of days, and although I wasn't a big fan of the way Bendis ("speak of the devil") re-wrote "Peter Parker/Spider-man's" history in the first 12 or so issues of Ultimate Spider-man, I did in fact quite enjoy this first storyline in a re-telling of the origin of The Fantastic Four, as well as Warren Ellis's second storyline giving us a version of the FF's first battle with "Dr. Doom".

There's 4 issues in that run I don't have but--the other issues (plus the recaps of those I missed) filled in enough gaps to make these tales read smooth enough for me to keep continuity.

I fully confess that as a child of the 1950's and 60's, I don't care for change when it comes to my comic book icons. However... I will admit that, at times, it is a necessity to make characters in comic books relate to the larger buying audience, less sales falter and the title becomes discontinued. Yes. I DO miss the idea that Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben no longer took that spaceship up trying to beat the commies, and that gamma rays had no part in the creation of their powers. I miss the various villians such as The Skrulls, The Miracle Man, and Sub-Mariner, who came before Doctor Doom in the original run. I can't say that I care for the idea that Doom has metamorphed into a metal being, or the fact that now he is decended from "The Dracula Clan".

But, 'cha know....?

I've got plenty of issues of that original run (OR reprints of the same) to keep me from missing that which I can read anytime I think it's all too overboard. So my opinion? Didn't care for The Ul.Spidey, but really think the Ul.FF is pret-ty-damn-good. (I wanna read sum more of dem!) X^D

And today I found that I was that much closer to finally completing a run of Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan series. I had previously won the first 4 TPBs (which collect issues 1-24), then I won a run of 27 thru 60 save for issues 25, 26 & 31, and then I won the two specials. So when all of that comes in I'll only need those 3 issues to read the entire series! (And Warren Ellis, since you see all, darn you to heck, you outta just SEND me those 3 issues I need PLUS sign an extra one for all of my trouble of liking your work so much!

(And, finally...)
"The Price Of Gas In France": A thief in Paris planned to steal some Paintings from the Louvre. After careful planning, he got past security, Stole the paintings, and made it safely to his Van. However, he was captured only two blocks away When his van ran out of gas. When asked how he could mastermind such a crime And then make such an obvious error, he replied, 'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings.' ... I had no Monet ... to buy Degas ... to make the Van Gogh.' . Yes, I've had De Gaulle to tell this to you, and "the reason" I told it is because I figured I had nothing Toulouse.