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 12, 2006.

Marvel brings us Ghost Rider #1 tomorrow. This new ongoing series comes hot on the heels of last year’s successful Garth Ennis/Clayton Crain miniseries and arrives several months before the character’s movie, directed by Marc Steven Johnson and starring Nicholas Cages, hits theaters in February.

I’d imagine the movie coming out had more than a little to do with this new series being green lighted. After all, this is at least the sixth series to feature a version of Ghost Rider. He is one of Marvel’s most popular characters, but has yet to carry a title beyond 100 issues.

Perhaps this time things will be different. After all, if the movie is popular, people might search out the book. And if they like what they see, perhaps they might stick around for the long run. But if Marvel wants to keep these potential new readers, they had better provide consistently good stories.

Artists Mark Texeira and Javier Saltares are no strangers to Ghost Rider. They were responsible for a healthy chunk of the artwork in the 1990-1998 series, so this title’s artwork is in good shape. However, what is in question is the writing. While the series takes over directly from Ennis’ mini from last year, he is nowhere to be found. Instead, the writing chores are handled by Daniel Way.

I have found his writing to be hit or miss. I liked his work on Bullseye: Greatest Hits, but I found his recent work on Wolverine lacking (although his Wolverine: Origins shows potential). So, the success of the book depends on which Daniel Way we get. Ghost Rider is a character with a great deal of potential. If the creative team can’t tap into this potential, the title might be gone before the movie arrives.

All signs point to the fact that Spider-Girl #100 will be the last issue of that series. The title has been on the brink of cancellation five times in the past (after issues #12, #17, #38, #50 and #61) but has managed to survive each time. But this time it looks like the end will be permanent.

Spider-Girl was created as part of the MC2 universe, an alternate future created almost wholly by Tom DeFalco. It was by far the most successful and longest lasting of any of the MC2 titles and has one of the most active and vocal fan bases around. 

Type “Spider-Girl” into any search engine and you’ll find a number of websites dedicated to the character. This community was instrumental in averting the title’s cancellation numerous times in the past. This time around, petitions were again circulated, letters were written and ads placed in the Previews catalogue, but to no avail. Spider-Girl is not to be seen again.

Or is it? Rumor has it that this cancellation is only temporary, and the title will be re-launched several months from now. Others say that a new title will rise from the ashes focusing on Spider-Girl’s father, the MC2 Spider-Man.

Either way, I hope for fans of the series that it does come back. Unfortunately, comics are a business. And as loyal as the Spider-Girl fans are, their number is not large enough to justify the current series to continue to be published. However, re-launches often draw more readers to low-selling books. If this does happen, perhaps the second volume of Spider-Girl might be successful enough so her fans can dedicate their time to enjoying the book and not constantly trying to save it.

The Escapists #1 comes out tomorrow from Dark Horse. This is the latest comic to spin out from the characters and ideas of Michael Chabon and his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. While this book has now become sort of a cottage industry for Chabon with all the comics that have been published and a major motion picture in pre-production, I believe it still stands as something that helps comics reach an air of legitimacy with mainstream America.

The July 10, 2006 issue of Time magazine ran an article on novelists who could potentially be the voice of our current generation. Chabon was mentioned, as was Jonathan Lethem. While Time thinks their age rules them out as being this voice, it admits that they are some of the best novelists being published today.

What these two also share is a love of comics. Comics are fundamental parts of their works. Lethem’s breakthrough 2004 novel was entitled The Fortress of Solitude, as a reference to Superman’s arctic base and Kavalier and Clay are creators of a fictional Golden Age character called “The Escapist”. Both Chabon and Lethem have either written or are in line to write for comics. To have two writers that have garnered so much respect from the critics and mainstream media embrace comics is a way for the art form to gain a similar respect.

I am constantly annoyed by the common attitude people have that comic books are exclusively for kids. You may not believe that many people still hold this to be true, but when a majority of mainstream articles about comics feature some variation of “Pow!” or “Bam!” in their title, that mindset still exists.  More damaging, a Texas state prosecutor helped to convict a comic store employee of obscenity charges for selling an adult comic book to an adult police officer by telling the jury in her closing statements, “I don’t care what type of evidence or what type of testimony is out there, use your rationality, use your common sense. Comic books, traditionally what we think of, are for kids.”

With this type of dangerous thinking out there, anything that can convince the public that comic books are a serious art form, and not one exclusively for children, is okay with me.

If this is not enough for you to support The Escapists #1, here are some other things that might convince you. It is written by Brian K. Vaughan and has art by Phillip Bond. It also acts as a sort of a sequel to the novel as the limited series deals with two young creators who try to revive Kavalier and Clay’s Escapist character for today’s audience. On top of all that, the first issue is being sold at the special introductory price of $1.00!

X-Men #188, like last week’s Uncanny X-men #475, is the debut of a new creative team and a shake up of the book’s line up. Mike Carey takes over the writing and Chris Bachalo moves from Uncanny to take over the art duties. And they have a pretty diverse team to work with.

Their X-Men team is composed of heroes (Iceman and Cannonball), anti-heroes (Cable), heroes who were once villains (Rogue), heroes who might still be villains (Mystique), and heroes that should still be villains (Sabretooth). It’s an interesting mix to be sure, but how will it fly? Mystique and Rogue have a rich history together which could provide story fodder. Cable and Cannonball have less of one, but enough to generate some plots.

Carey is a talented author, and it should be interesting to see what he makes of this team.

Superman #654 marks a new creative team for that title as well. Kurt Busiek takes over solo writing chores on the title and is joined on art by Carlos Pacheco, fresh from his stint on Green Lantern.

Busiek is becoming the main Superman writer (he is co-writing Action Comics with Fabian Nicieza) and I couldn’t think of better hands for the franchise to be in. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Busiek’s writing. His work on Marvel’s Avengers and Thunderbolts featured some of the best comic stories of the last 20 years.

Busiek imbues his writing with knowledge of comic continuity. He uses tales and characters from the past to craft entertaining stories of today. I look forward to him bringing this talent to the Superman books.

Snakewoman #1 is the next book to come from Virgin Comics, a company I profiled in more detail last week. This title features an American bent, notably in its creators. Working from an idea from Virgin Comics co-founder Shekar Kapur, the series is written by Zeb Wells (Peter Parker: Spider-Man, New Warriors) and illustrated by Michael Gaydos (Alias, The Pulse).

The book tells the story of Jessica Peterson, a waitress from Los Angeles who becomes a mass murderer. The book bills itself as a mystery, so I’d imagine there is a rather interesting story behind Jessica’s transformation.

Adding a book set in the U.S. with U.S. creators is a good idea for the burgeoning company. The United States might not be Virgin Comics’ primary audience, but it doesn’t hurt to have one book in your line that might appeal to the country.

Finally, we come to Screwtooth #1 from Slave Labor Graphics. This book from a creator called Black Olive seems to be uniquely macabre. The title tells the story of Plum, a wheelchair-bound, sickly little girl who wishes for something wonderful to happen to her while she is alive. Nothing does, well, not until she dies. Then her journey through the afterlife becomes an adventure of a lifetime.

The comic seems to be a twisted take on fairy tale conventions. It takes the darkness found in many Brothers Grimm stories to another level while at the same time it appears to be, in a way, uplifting as well. It is the type of inventive story that could only take place in the world of independent comics. If you are looking for something unconventional, you may want to give Srewtooth #1 a try.

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William Gatevackes is a writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. Next to Guiding Lines, he writes the periodic comic review at PopMatters.