Broken Frontier

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Guiding Lines! My name is William Gatevackes. Let’s take a look at the comics arriving in stores tomorrow, July 25, 2006.

Jack of Fables #1 marks the first spin-off to come from Vertigo’s Fables series. The new title stars Jack, as in “and the Beanstalk”, an irascible fairy tale character who has been one of the most popular characters to come from Fables.

Fables came at a lull for the Vertigo line, as it had been a while since the imprint had a series go over 25 issues. Sure, long-time favorite Hellblazer was still going full steam and 100 Bullets and Lucifer were into their third and second years in existence, respectively. Of those two, one is still around and one just recently ended. But the other Vertigo books at the time didn’t really catch the reader’s interest. The Crusades would be gone within five issues, Codename: Knockout within ten and Hunter: The Age of Magic within fourteen.

However, Fables was a hit from the start. The first 6 issues of the title sold out and became heavily sought-after back issues. Its concept was simple: take famous characters from fairy tales and show them in a modern bent. It was an idea that could provide endless stories and the writing by Bill Willingham touched a chord with readers. The title is popular enough not only to last going on five years and over 50 issues, but also to support a spin-off series.

Some of my favorite comic books of all time have come from the Vertigo line, and I’m sure Jack of Fables will join that list. It is co-written by Bill Willingham, so what I like about Fables most certainly will be in this title as well.

I’m sure many of you thought that I would be leading off this week’s column with Black Panther #18. After all, it is the culmination of one of the biggest events of the summer, the wedding of Black Panther and Storm. It would have been had a Vertigo title I was excited about not come out the same day.

To some people on the internet, the wedding is a non-event. They believe it is a crudely manufactured stunt that tries to generate excitement at the expense of continuity. In the interest of fairness, I have not read either the Storm mini-series or all of the issues of Black Panther leading up to this one. But in most of the reviews I read about these editions, the criticism is that Marvel is trying to make us believe that this is a relationship made in the stars, that these characters were destined to be together. Alas, they aren’t doing much to convince us of such.

The main criticism focuses on Black Panther. The Storm series has been acknowledged as trying to establish a back-story for the characters’ romance. But the main complaint about the way the wedding is being set-up in Black Panther is more of a “tell, don’t show.” Really, the title hasn’t done enough to flesh out the bond between T’Challa and Ororo.

Comic fandom is notoriously attentive to past continuity. Since Black Panther and Storm had one small part of Marvel Team-Up #100 that established this “bond,” and nothing else for over 25 years, fans and critics want something more to make the wedding more believable. And apparently, the events of the Storm mini-series aren’t enough.

The problem lies mainly in the fact that Marvel is promoting the union as one of love and destiny. In the real world, there are arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, and even marriages where both parties happen to be in Las Vegas at the same time and are looking for some kind of excitement. If Marvel went to another reason besides love for the nuptials, they might not have had as much quibbling. Of course, if they did that, the event would lose some of its perceived meaning.

I would like to present you with the solicitation for Marvel Previews for Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1 (bold font placed for my own emphasis):

“As the public turns against Marvel's heroes, the gears of Civil War threaten to crush Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways. But when Allan Heinberg's Young Avengers offer their assistance, how can the Runaways believe they're on the same side? Don't miss this Civil War tie-in that promises to have lasting repercussions for both popular teams!”

Notice how Marvel features both Brian K. Vaughan’s and Allan Heinberg’s names prominently in the solicitation? Neither is writing the series (Zeb Wells is), but their names are still used as a selling point. I believe this goes to show the renewed power of the writer. 

In years past, the writer took the back seat to the artist when it came to popularity. If Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane or Rob Liefeld were drawing a book, fans came running. They became so popular that they eventually took over the writing chores on their books, making the writer almost superfluous.

Nowadays, a book written by Brian Michael Bendis or Mark Millar will bring in the readers. Sure, there are still superstar artists around, but there has been a shifting in the power structure.

I know some might say Vaughan and Heinberg were mentioned because they are the only creators, until now, who have written the characters. You may be right. But still, I think the fact that they generate buzz whenever their names appear also had a little to do with it.

As a fan who actually likes reading comics, I like this change. In an ideal world, I would like my favorite books to have a superstar writer AND artist. But if I had to choose, I’d pick a good story over pretty pictures any day.

Daredevil #87 sets to rest an issue that has set the internet buzzing. In this issue, we will finally find out who the second Daredevil is. For those of you not reading the comic, Matt Murdock, who we all know is really Daredevil, is in prison. However, Daredevil is still patrolling the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.

Who is this new Daredevil? That’s what a lot of fans are waiting to find out. Speculation is ripe on the internet, with many Marvel heroes picked to fill the red outfit. Among those mentioned were Iron Fist, Hawkeye, Ben Reilly (the clone of Spider-Man), Shang-Chi, and Nick Fury.

I like it when stories generate this kind of excitement. Brubaker and Lark have been doing a great job after taking over from Bendis and Maleev. This issue might not be the ideal jumping on point, but if you stop by to see what all the fuss is about, you might stay around for longer than you originally thought.

Big Bang Presents #1: Protoplasman is the first issue of a new anthology series from Big Bang Comics. And if you think that guy on the cover looks more than a little like the Quality/DC character Plastic Man, you would not be mistaken.

Big Bang Comics are dedicated to comics of days gone by. They feature thinly veiled pastiches of famous characters, usually in retro-style tales that would feel right at home in the Golden, Silver or Bonze ages. They pay homage to the stories, creators and characters of these eras.

The line is the brainchild of Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker and has been published by Caliber and Image in the past. Big Bang Presents marks the foray of the title into the world of self-publishing. If you feel nostalgic for the comic books of yesteryear, you might want to give this issue a try.

Castle Waiting Volume II #1 comes to us from Fantagraphics. The title, written and drawn by Linda Medley, tells the tale of a young woman named Lady Jain. Pregnant and looking for refuge from an abusive husband, she stumbles across the castle where Sleeping Beauty once laid. The attendants, left with nothing to do after their charge woke up and left, welcome the woman into the castle and the story goes on from there.

Castle Waiting has traveled from company to company over its lifetime. It started as being self-published to being published by Jeff Smith’s Cartoon Books (home to Smith’s Bone series) to being self-published to Fantagraphics.

Much like Fables, it draws its stories from the world of Fairy Tales. However, unlike Fables, it is suitable not only for adults, but also for members of the Teen and Pre-Teen set. The first volume of the series was collected last month into a hardcover collection by Fantagraphics, making it easy for new readers to get up to speed.

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William Gatevackes is a writer living a fairy tale like existence in Mamaroneck, NY with his lovely wife, the fair Princess Jennifer of Armonk. Next to Guiding Lines, he writes the periodic comic review at PopMatters.