Shelfdust

Now on Shelfdust! "Ornery, Dusty, and Gross: The Oddball Jonah Hex Comics of DC’s Vertigo Imprint", by Robert Smith

"When, in mid-1993, less than six months after Vertigo launched, Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo blasted on the scene, it was easily the grossest thing in the entire line.

This was not the gorgeous intimacy of Peter Milligan’s Enigma and Shade comics, or the hot sweat of Rachel Pollack and Linda Medley’s Doom Patrol. There were no Constantine charms or the Endless possibilities of the Sandman’s family. It didn’t even have the seething repression of the Sandman Mystery Theatres.

Instead, Two Gun Mojo was just full of the ugliest people in the comics, with sweat and dirt and mud on every page. It does have Hex dosed up on drugs at some point, because it is a mature readers comic from the 90s, but his hellish trip stays mostly inside his ornery skull. A lot of people die very badly and the never-ending carnage brings instant flies and rapid decomposition, and the great bounty hunter Jonah Hex will literally hide in some manure if it’ll keep some bushwhacker from getting him while he sleeps. Assorted scum often accidentally shoot their own kin in the head."

Supergirl Goes Global in Action Comics #285! – Shelfdust

"The brick wall of reading a somewhat-saccharine series where nothing changes almost led to me giving up on the original run of Supergirl. And if I’d done that? I would’ve missed out on the greatest moment of catharsis I’ve ever read in superhero comics.

Because, three years after her debut, Action Comics #252 finally has Supergirl reveal herself to the world.

And it’s not by accident either: as the previous issue says when revealing what’s going to happen: “it won’t be an imaginary tale, a dream or a red kryptonite hallucination!” Instead the issue, by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney, offers a celebration of everything in Superman’s world as Supergirl is announced officially to the world, championed through the streets, and cheered on by all her friends.

Three years of sitting around as a reader and hoping for something to happen give way to a single issue where EVERYTHING happens for Supergirl."

NEW on Shelfdust! Shelfdust’s Year of Evil: Joe Chill

"There’s a fine and noble tradition in comics, one which has existed since the day that the first human stood back from their cave painting and thought 'oh, actually I’d better just wash off that extra mammoth from the last panel, it breaks the reader’s immersion in my story'.

That fine and noble tradition, of course, is to meddle with something that should be left alone.

When Batman first showed up in comics, which were being printed on paper now rather than daubed onto stone walls, he didn’t have a huge number of recurring villains. The first one to have any kind of lasting power didn’t show up until Detective Comics #36, in fact, which was the issue where Hugo Strange debuted.

Yes! That’s right: Huge Strange showed up before Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, or any of those other familiar faces from Batman’s Rogues Gallery. But if we want to be really serious about things, there is ONE other villain who technically showed up before any of the others, even though he didn’t have a name at the time.

And that came as part of Detective Comics #33..."

Next To Godliness: Gerber’s Foolkiller and the Irony of Vigilante Purity

There have been multiple versions of Marvel’s lesser-known vigilante. The first three iterations were all written by Steve Gerber –first with artist Val Mayerik in 1974, then Jim Mooney in 1977, and the third with J. J. Birch in 1990. One thing these characters have in common is their so-called purification gun – passed from one to the next – that can turn someone to a pile of ash in a flash of light. The other is that their victims aren’t just the traditional villains like those targeted by other noted vigilantes like the Punisher. The second Foolkiller, Mark Salinger, ordered his victims to “live a poem – or die a fool!”

And the third, Kurt Gerhardt, sums up his mission thusly: “Actions have consequences.”

NEW on Shelfdust! Little Symbiote Syndrome: Venom: Lethal Protector #1

"Venom is a lot of gigantic things all at once, which is what happens when the creator most associated with your existence is none other than The Toddfather; The Mac Daddy himself, Todd MacFarlane. Clearly a bit of a dry run for what would ultimately become Spawn, Venom embodies all the stylist ideals of his creator, alongside being toyetic, dynamic, and over-the-top in all the ways that Marvel needed him to be during the tough times of the late 80s. First appearing in-full as part of Amazing Spider-Man #300, the symbiote with the symbi-most was a pretty immediate hit with fans, giving the series a sense of energy as it took over first Peter Parker and then his rival, Eddie Brock.

Having waited a decade or two since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the original run of villains for the web-head, fans finally got a new character they could get behind, and Venom’s popularity first as a suit and then as a monstrous steroid-rage given life made it pretty clear to Marvel that this was something they needed to capitalise on. But with Todd moving on to form his own publisher and Venom-esque antihero, they were down one of their two co-creators. Instead, they turned to both David Michelinie, the writer who penned Venom’s first appearance, and Spider-Man stalwart Mark Bagley, who can pencil a page faster than you can boil a pot of carrots.sybmi

Venom: Lethal Protector debuted in 1993: a mere, erm, five years after the character first appeared. But here was a character the readers enjoyed seeing, getting a series in the spotlight. Was it big? Was it bold? Was it EXTREME enough to match half-wits with Image Comics and everything that was taking over comics in the early 90s?"

But Who? Is The Artist: The Kenny Who Trilogy and The Reality of AI Art; by Tom Shapira

"Kenny Who? arrives from Calhab (Scotland) to Mega City One (America) hoping to find a job at the local comics industry. Alas, when Kenny arrives at the company, after many humiliating encounters with the people of America, he gets rejected rather swiftly.

Going to the bar to drown his sorrows, he glimpses a television segment touting Big1’s new star artist – a certain ‘Jimmy Who?’ whose style he recognizes: “Big1 has stolen my talent!” he rushes to the company’s offices swinging an axe where the big boss takes him to see ‘Jimmy Who?’

It’s a computer – not even one of Mega City One’s humanoid robots, just a big box spawning pages, to which Kenny’s portfolio was fed as he waited to be interviewed the first time. When Kenny cries foul, which brings us back to the scene described in the opening of this article, the manager simply replies “We stole none of your drawings, merely copied your style – and artists had been doing that since the dawn of time.”

🚨NEW on Shelfdust today! Little Fables with Big Scares in the FOBIA Horror Anthology, by Alice Dezo

"When explaining Fobia, the Kickstarter-funded horror anthology, curator Derrick Acosta said “I wrote Fobia because I believe horror should be weird, personal, and a little punk rock”. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything more “punk rock” than introducing Feminist and mental health undertones to a comic book audience via little scary tales.

To the average reader, these short stories might seem like twisted scenarios or spooky situations, but from a woman’s perspective they bear similarities and resemblances to everyday life. For me there’s a beauty in the way Fobia’s first volume bridges second-wave feminism with now fourth-wave feminism by using physical and digital issues as a vehicle to bring these topics back to the forefront of conversation, with almost no-one being the wiser."

Read now on Shelfdust!

Now on Shelfdust! Acts of God: John Ostrander’s Mission in The Spectre #13, by Margot Waldman

"I do think that this Spectre elaborates on an idea only hinted at in the early Superman: the notion that if justice is self-evident perhaps that can justify its mercilessness. The Golden Age Superman is fond of declaring to no one in particular that the gangsters he’s brought down “don’t deserve saving” – but then he will, you know, save them anyways. The Spectre will not. And he will smile."

Read the full article on Shelfdust today!

Now running on Shelfdust! Die, Die My Darling! On Rumiko Takahashi’s The Laughing Target, by Kayleigh Hearn

"The Laughing Target has stuck with me for twenty years, Azusa’s maniacal cry still echoes in my head when other voices – other comics, other manga – have retreated into silence. How can I describe its power over me, this minor, early work by a generation-defining creator who has published over 200 volumes of original work that have sold over 200 million copies worldwide?"

Read now on www.shelfdust.com!

Bona To Vada: How John Smith Mastered Queer Code Switching In Comics – Shelfdust

Now Running on Shelfdust! Bona To Vada: How John Smith Mastered Queer Code Switching In Comics

"For an author whose most well-loved work was arguably published between 1987 and 1995, John Smith is the perfect example of this: an out-of-the-closet gay man, some of whose following – still to this day – is convinced that he was married to a woman, and whose queerness was simply a signifier that he was “different”, “odd”, or — my favorite — queer in “the other way”.

What makes this so true, though? I’ve talked before at length about the thinly veiled line between the two meanings of “queer” when it comes to Smith’s work, and just how prevalent the themes of queerness and the feelings of being out and gay are strung all the way through his lyrical scripting. So how exactly do we land with a fair sum of Smith’s old-school fandom still coming up with the idea that he was as straight as an arrow and could never ever possibly stray from their idea of what his writing meant? It all comes back to the greatest trick queers have ever pulled, and one that Smith managed to pull for the majority of his bizarre and delightful career. The simple truth is, whether intentional or not, John Smith mastered the art of code switching."

Plastic Fantastic: Plastic Man Gets Tangled Up by Hairy Arms in Police Comics #9 | Patreon

If the last issue of Police Comics didn't have much going on, then issue #9 offers the opposite problem. Where you you start with such a dense and chaotic story?

As the first ten-pager in Plastic Man's flourishing career as a superhero comic, the issue presents readers with the unique blend of insanity and inspiration which makes Jack Cole such a fascinating cartoonist to follow. We begin with the first overt mention I can remember of the War - yeah, that's something we need to think about, World War II is literally going on as this comic is being published! - and ends up with a mad scientist's underground base, with complicated death traps and killer robots to boot.

🚨 NEW on Shelfdust today! Shelfdust’s Year of Evil: Galactus 🚨

Is evil what it used to be? The most popular villains in comic book history are almost all characters who debuted half a century ago, their terrifying legacy and merciless reputation continuing onwards through countless reboots and relaunches around them. Shelfdust’s Year of Evil heads back to the first time iconic villains showed up on the comic page to explore: are they still the same character that they used to be? Or have changing times changed what it means to be evil?

Steve looks back at the first coming of Galactus to see how much of that original characterisation still exists within today’s Galactus!

Unlimited Color: The Force Behind Cam Kennedy’s Star Wars Art – Shelfdust

Now running on Shelfdust! Unlimited Color: The Force Behind Cam Kennedy’s Star Wars Art

Chloe Maveal may not be a major Star Wars fan, but there's something about Cam Kennedy's art on comics like Dark Empire which is undeniable. This May 4th, celebrate Star Wars with a look at some of the most stunning Star Wars art ever put to the comics page!

Perfect Things and Diamond Absolutes: The Dark Knight Returns #1 – Shelfdust

NEW on Shelfdust this week! Perfect Things and Diamond Absolutes: @rhidaneelolivaw looks back at The Dark Knight Returns #1

The achingly metatextual Dark Knight Returns is a nuclear comic, playing with what you think you know, and with what you’re too young to remember.

Read Rhi's full article here about it on Shelfdust now!

NEW on Shelfdust today!

Style Is Substance And Action Is Character: Ginger’s Revenge – Shelfdust

Santos’s visual storytelling instantly grabbed me, with its tone-heavy black & white foundation bolstered by a strictly limited color palette. There’s a pleasantly indefinable comic book-y feel to this story – it has the kind of art that makes me want to pay attention, and a vibe that makes me think that if this were printed, it wouldn’t be too bad to roll it up and put it in my back pocket when I’m done. It makes me think of old horror anthologies, ’80s crime manga, and ’90s crime comics too. It feels like it’s part of a greater tapestry of crime fiction. That isn’t quite the indefinable feeling, but it’s part of it. It’s a good yarn.

The pages are satisfyingly dense, too. Some are wordless, some are full conversations, but the nature of the art makes me want to slow down and pore over panels as I read, especially when Santos gets very granular with the action. The action scenes are exciting and creative, kinetic without being frenetic. Style is substance, and action is character. 

Truth, Justice, and Yakitori: Superman vs. Meshi, Volume One – Shelfdust

Arguments about the relative merits of manga and American comics are tedious and beside the point, but there is one area in which manga inarguably whips international ass: food.

Even non-food-centric manga often feature drool-worthy scenes of cooking and eating. And the food manga! This vast category includes two of the longest-running manga series: Cooking Papa, which has been running since 1985 and currently clocks in at 169 volumes and counting, and Oishinbo, which managed 111 volumes in its 31-year run.

And then there’s Superman vs. Meshi, by writer Satoshi Miyagawa and artist Kai Kitago, one of several recent manga from Kodansha featuring characters licensed from DC Comics. American superhero movies are popular in Japan, while manga is popular in the U.S., so it makes sense to attempt some international synergy.