Uncanny X-Force - Rick Remender & Jerome Opena

I've never really been that into super-hero comics.  Batman is of course the exception to that rule, but if he ever starts shooting lasers from his eyes I might have to reconsider my loyalty.  I'm not sure why I've been steering clear of hero comics this long, but if I had to guess I'd say that the movie "Spiderman 3" played a pretty big role.

Thankfully, I don't hold grudges for too long, so after a short hiatus from Marvel, I was willing to give them another chance.  After reading "Uncanny X-Force," I can't help but thinking I waited too long to get back on board.  Without a doubt this is one of my favorite current series', and one that I think everybody should be reading.


First of all, if you are going to make a superhero team, this might just be the perfect formula.  You've got the tough guy, the hot babe, the wise cracking joker, the leader with an inner struggle that might destroy him, and the French guy.  Ok, well it's an ALMOST perfect formula.  Joking aside, even though I went into the story without a clue as to the mysterious Fantomex (aka the French guy), I found myself actually enjoying his character and how he fit in with the rest of the more well-known players.  Each hero fits into the story, has a unique voice, and plays well off of the others.  Plus it has Deadpool...on a team.  How can you not read that?

Even though Remender is working with an all-star cast, that doesn't guarantee a Grammy.  In the last few months I've read quite a few comics that "could have been awesome."  Great concepts and characters don't always amount to a great comic book.  Fortunately, in this case, Remender knows his way around a script, and has put his amazing cast into an equally amazing storyline.

The first story arc is one of the best things I have read in quite a while.  It is an epic adventure surrounding the rebirth of Apocalypse, and brings the X-Force into some nasty battles against his current horsemen lineup.  It immediately brought me back to my younger days as a kid watching X-Men cartoons on Saturday mornings, and the epic Apocalypse battles from back then.  Of course, as I grew up, so did the comics.  If Remender's version was made for TV they would probably have to leave Fox and go to HBO.  But that only adds to the appeal for this adult reader.

Adding to the "grown up" feel of the story is the amazing artwork.  I really enjoy the look of the series, and the way that Jerome Opena illustrates it.  It is dark and bloody, and goes well with the characters on the team.  They are all killers with messy pasts, and the artwork masterfully reflects that aspect of the story.

While I can't completely say that I've made the jump to being a super-hero junkie, I will say that "Uncanny X-Force" has opened the doors of possibility a little wider.  Due to my love for this series I have already gone out and started to read some other Marvel hero series', which is a pretty big endorsement in my book.  If you are looking for an engrossing story, with one of the better teams of heroes out there, this is definitely the place to start.

Morning Glories - Nick Spencer

I have to admit, when I first heard about "Morning Glories" I was a little bit less than enthusiastic about reading it.  Reading a comic about six gifted kids at a prestigious prep school seemed about as appealing as a trip to the dentist.  I spent four years in high school, and believe me, I'm not in any rush to go back.  Unfortunately, every trip to my comic store had me passing "Morning Glories" on the shelf, trying to avoid eye contact.  It didn't help that everyone I talked to told me I needed to be reading it.  I was starting to have flashbacks to 1997 when "Titanic" came out and peer pressure led to one of the bigger mistakes of my twenty-nine years.  Was I really about to read something made for teenage girls, just because everyone said it was good? 

As I've already mentioned, "Morning Glories" takes place inside a prestigious prep school for gifted teens.  The story follows six new students as they arrive at school, get situated, and start to experience all that their new home has to offer.  Almost immediately they realize that things are not exactly what they expected.  They discover they all have the same birthday, which just happens to be on the exact day they were brought to Morning Glory Academy.  They also soon realize their past lives have been completely erased; not even their own parents remember them.  As panic sets in, the students are confronted with a harsh truth: they are prisoners in their own school!  The entire staff of Morning Glory Academy seems to have some dark ulterior motive for the students, but that motive is a complete mystery.  As this newly formed alliance of six begins to oppose the authority of their captors, they embark on a mission to reclaim one of their members from unknown horrors, and to try to answer the biggest mystery of them all – why were they brought here in the first place?

After reading through the first six issues in one sitting, I can tell you that I am in a much better mindset than when I exited the movie theater after "Titanic" in 1997.  The great thing about "Morning Glories" was that it shattered all of my preconceived notions.  I was expecting "The Breakfast Club," and instead I got a well written, beautifully illustrated, intricate, dark , sci-fi mystery, that just happened to take place in a high school.  There's no better feeling than when something goes above and beyond your expectations, and "Morning Glories" did just that.

The other thing that got me excited about "Morning Glories" is it's a fairly new series.  I believe they are on comic 8 or 9 right now, so catching up is really pretty easy.  As I mentioned in some of my other posts, trying to jump in on a well established series can sometimes be daunting, but that isn't a problem here.  The first six issues are available in paperback trade form for only TEN BUCKS!  That's a fantastic deal, and really allows you to check out this great series without much of an investment.  Although, if you are like me, that initial ten dollars might quickly turn into an extra four each month.  Whether you're a fan of high school or not, take a chance on "Morning Glories."  I think you'll find high school to be a lot more interesting this time around.

Dutch Bros. Freedom Fighters - Jeff Egli

If you've been anywhere in Oregon, you probably are familiar with Dutch Bros. coffee.  Down here it's all about the Dutch, and "that other brand" is almost a curse word.  What you might not know, is that they have a brand new comic series that just premiered this past week, and is available for FREE at any Dutch Bros. stand.  The comic represents a collaboration between two great local businesses here in Grants Pass, Dutch Bros. and Iguana Comics.  If you've been following my blog for any length of time you know how much I love Iguana Comics, so I was really excited to hear about this project.  Double bonus is that the comic is actually illustrated by all around great guy, and co-owner of Iguana Comics, Jeff Egli.  Over the past couple of months I've got to know Jeff a little bit, and recently he was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions about the project, comics, and life in general.  Here's what he had to say...

How did you get involved in the Dutch Bros. comic project?  

Jeff:   Waaaay back in 1992 when I originally opened Iguana and Dutch Bros started up (they seem to have been a bit more successful with their business) my twelfth box subscriber was a skinny twelve-year-old kid named Brant Boersma.  I believe he signed up for X-Men adventures.  Fast forward to 2010 after re-opening Iguana after a 12-year hiatus, Brant comes in, all grown up, asked for his original box number and approached me with the idea. 

Comic books are quickly moving out of geek culture and into mainstream society. Why should someone unfamiliar with comics consider taking notice?

Jeff:  The main reason is that the majority of comic books are written by amazing writers with mature, well thought out and gripping storylines aimed at mature, smart, and witty readers...they're not just for kids these days.  The scripts are so good, they continue for years, sometimes with the same writer, the same artist, and then get developed into TV series and movies.  If you take the world's best writer and they collaborate with the world's best artist what you would get is the world's best comic book.  Now days, you see something like this happening, you have writers like Stephen King, Joe Hill, Bill Willingham, Robert Kirkman teaming up with artists with 20, 30 years of experience, they make amazing books!

What other projects can we look forward to seeing from you in the future? (Any more local collaborations?)

Jeff:   I just finished a kid's book with a local writing team, it should be available for purchase at Iguana on April 9th as well as online.  (You can see a bit more at Inaripress.com).  I am also working on a creator-owned project, as well as a few collaborations with other local talent.  Keep an eye at the web page and Iguana.  I have also been told there will be several more Dutch Bros comics.

What advice can you give to aspiring artists/comic writers?

Jeff:  If you truly want to break into the comic book world, simply write or draw as much as you're able.  The best advice I ever heard was:  Writers write, artists draw!

 If you could stop being Jeff Egli, and take on the identity of one character from the comic world, who would you be? Why?

 Jeff:  Superman...the father of all superheros.  He is one of the most powerful heroes of all time, plus, I would love to be able to fly!  Spiderman is one of my favorite superheroes to read, but it would be a lot easier to save people from a burning building as Superman.

What's the best thing about owning/running/being a part of Iguana Comics?

Jeff:  Our Customers!  Every week we see some of the most well-read, insightful, and downright fun people in the valley — that just plain rocks!

Any other amazing information you would like my readers to know?

Jeff:  Our one-year Anniversary party for Iguana will be April 9th, we'll have all kinds of great stuff going on at the shop including creator signings for the Dutch Bros book.  Don't forget to come by the shop for Free Comic Book day on May 7th plus....we're in the process of opening a second Iguana location in Medford, we will be opening on May 4th - Woot!

Thanks again Jeff for taking the time to answer my questions!  Congratulations on a great project, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future!  

To all my readers, be sure to visit Iguana Comics here in Grants Pass.  It really is an awesome business, full of wonderful people.  Iguana also has a monthly comic book club that I am part of, and it's a great way to get introduced to some of the amazing books that are out there.  You can visit them at 329 NE 6th Street Grants Pass OR 97526, or online at their Facebook page!

The Walking Dead - Robert Kirkman

Maybe it's because my friend Jeff is so convincing, or because I'm reading an impossibly frustrating novel at the moment (one day ill post on it), but for whatever reason my blog is about to get a whole lot more illustrated.  Scott Pilgrim planted a seed, Locke and Key watered it, and now I have a full blown shrubbery growing out of control.  You see, my blog is a little outdated.  After discovering the joys of comics last month I've been on a mission to read every comic I can get my hands on.  Now my mission is to put them down long enough to update this stupid blog (which is on my bad list for making me put my comics down).  So here goes nothing...

The Walking Dead is all about the imminent zombie apocalypse — trust me it's coming, and sooner than you might think.  Unfortunately, the zombie theme has been done so many times, it's in the running with vampire stories for winner of "genre that has been beaten to death", so I was a little hesitant going into the first page.  The story starts out with the main character, Rick Grimes, waking up alone in a hospital bed.  Not exactly a groundbreaking start in the zombie genre, and Kirkman keeps a healthy dose of tired cliches coming.  There is a reason these cliches have become tired, and it's because they work so well!  Just like Pepsi would never change their recipe (Crystal Pepsi?  Doh!) the zombie cliches are part of the fun!  What makes The Walking Dead special is that it mixes an expert story and strong character development into the cliche formula.  The dialogues between characters are what really draw the reader in.  Kirkman explores the delicate mental psyche of the people dealing with the complete destruction of everything they knew as reality.  Despite the obvious appeal of guns, axes and gruesome zombie dismemberment, there is a real focus on what an event like this does to the people involved.  Exhaustion, mental deterioration, animal instincts, and the fight for survival are all parts of the formula.  The characters grow, change, deteriorate, and fight to stay alive, and they take us along for each part of the gory ride.

On the surface, you can look at The Walking Dead and say "been there done that".  There are a ton of cookie cutter zombie moments that have been used a million times in a million other zombie works.  At the same time, The Walking Dead breaks new ground on the zombie genre by taking it to a deeper level and exploring the human side of the apocalypse.  Each living person, as well as each zombie is a character of the story.  With every zombie that dies (and there are thousands) Kirkman takes you through the excitement of the action, as well as the pain of seeing a human life lost.  The humanity of each zombie is felt, and you share in the pain and internal conflict that each human character is forced to deal with.  In the end, despite all the familiarity, The Walking Dead breaks ground like a decrepit hand rising out of the grave to bring something new and exciting to the once beaten to death zombie genre.