Percy Carey’s Comic Book Corner: Dwayne McDuffie
DROP IT LIKE IT’S HOT
The hottest releases from the week of 10/8/08, chosen by Percy Carey.
[Assisted by comicbookpage.com]
SIMON DARK #13
Written by Steve Niles
Art & Cover by Scott Hampton
If you’ve heard the buzz about Simon Dark'Gotham City’s strange guardian'but never gave the series a try, then grab this special stand-alone issue spotlighting Simon’s exploration of the dark city in which he dwells.
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #30
Written by John Rozum, Jim Alexander and Tom Warburton
Art by Scott Jeralds, Ethen Beavers, and Maurice Fontenot
Cover by Jay StephensIn a Secret Saturdays adventure, Zak and Fiskerton wish they weren’t stuck with a boring babysitter and get way more than they expected! Plus, Aku tries to destroy Samurai Jack’s reputation.
32 pg, FC, $2.25 US
YOUNG LIARS #8
Written by David Lapham
Art and cover by David Lapham
From the red dust planes of Mars to the hopping party grounds of Midwest trailer parks, this arc will take the YOUNG LIARS in a direction you never saw coming! The only thing standing between us and complete brain takeover is a lonely little alien girl obsessed with the nighttime radio programming of glam rocker Danny Duoshade.
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US, MATURE READERS
STAR WARS OMNIBUS EARLY VICTORIES
Written by Terry Austin, Darko Macan, Ryder Windham
Art by Bret Blevins, June Brigman, Dave Gibbons, Roy Richardson
Covers by Angus McKie, Dave Stewart, and more
Following the destruction of the first Death Star, Luke Skywalker is the new, unexpected hero of the Rebellion. But the galaxy hasn’t been saved yet-Luke and Princess Leia are finding there are many more battles to be fought against the Empire and Darth Vader! This latest Star Wars Omnibus reprints many of the early tales of the rebellion. First, we have Shadow Stalker, Tales from Mos Eisley, and River of Chaos, all of which are long out of print and have never before been collected! Then, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, a story created by George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster before there were plans for any films past Star Wars: A New Hope. And last is Vader’s Quest, in which Vader learns the secret kept from him by Yoda and Obi-Wan: that he has a son!
FC, 336 pages $24.95 TPBB, 6 x 9
PREVIOUS
Thom October 8, 2008 at 6:13 pm
This is my favorite new column. Keep them coming Percy!
I'llbedat October 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Milestone was the truth! Never forget, my dudes!
butt October 9, 2008 at 12:06 pm
the static shock cartoon was slept on. they need to put that on toon disney or boomerang asap.
Brittney B October 9, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Hurrah Percy! Hahah see you in my class tonight:)
Kitty October 10, 2008 at 2:54 am
It was good seeing you again in class. As always excellent stories. And I think that is very good advice for writers because I used to think if I strayed from the main story I was passionate about and write about something else, I would lose my train of thought or momentum, but all stories are stories about humanity and life so it all works out in the end very well.
John Mayer October 14, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Mr. McDuffie is dead on about Little Lulu being the best comic ever. The art was deceptively simple, which made it easier for anyone to identify with the characters, while the humorous storylines could be quite labyrinthine, seeming to start out with one concept and taking unexpected twists to end up somewhere entirely different. I’ve gone into comic shops asking for Golden Age Little Lulus only to be told, “Well, we don’t have Little Lulu, but we have Little Dot.†As though all titles about little girls with “Little†in them were equivalent. They’re not. And Lulu’s pal Tubby was the first anti-hero I encountered as a child (an anti-hero is not the same as a villain as the word is often used; it is someone more like Woody Allen, a dweeb with little courage or power, often self-serving and disloyal). Shopkeepers are often perplexed that I would be interested in anything but superheroes; I’m a pretty big guy, and keep fairly fit through MMA training. All of which, I guess, helps me not to care what people think of my tastes in comics.
The second best comic was Uncle Scrooge. Both Carl Barks and his successor, Don Rosa (who is very popular in Europe, where he is now on tour, seemingly all but forgotten in the states), imbued each issue of this title with more plot, more character development and more exotic and historical atmosphere (with, plainly, a lot of research) than an entire year of a modern, meandering, continued, made-up-as-it-goes-along superhero series.
In fact, superheroes have, in my view, almost destroyed the creativity in comics. The genre used to incorporate so much more: horror, sci-fi, crime, war, historical, kids’ stories, piracy, even an old EC title about psychotherapy. Now there is very little but superheroes.
I’m glad that black artists and writers (far more important than a single token black superhero) have broken through. Now I’d like to see them use their singular insights to take comics into new directions, away from the, ironically, effete field of superheroes, into real self-expression. How about a comic book about real, everyday black experience, in the ghetto, in white culture – in the presidency? That would be a REAL breakthrough.
BTW, if any black folks in the comics industry ever get into Knoxville, we’d love to interview you on our predominately black CTV call-in show, Open Dialogue.
Enrique October 15, 2008 at 4:13 am
Percy, just want to say thanks for all the wisdom you have bestowed upon myself and others. Please keep living life the way you have beend and keep those stories coming. Much love man, good to know you.
Andrew Escalante October 15, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Percy, I really enjoyed your blog. It was very passionate and insightful for someone like myself who is a novice in comic books. I really enjoyed having class with you last week and look forward to seeing you again tomorrow night. Thank you.
Meagan W. October 16, 2008 at 3:50 am
Hey Percy,
I finally figured out how to post a comment on here :) But i wanted to say thank you for coming to our class two weeks ago. I really enjoyed listening to you, hopefully we’ll see you again soon!!!
Matt C. Bowser October 16, 2008 at 1:04 pm
The Care Bears might be tough, but they would fall to the all mighty hooves of My Little Pony.
See you in class P.C.