Someone Should Start a Kickstarter Project to Create a New Comics Distributor

Reading more about how Diamond Comic Distributor has such a ridiculously bad monopoly as a distribution company for the comics industry, watching a youtube video recently where a comic shop owner tried to question a couple people from Diamond at a panel and was treated very rudely and with such weird contempt, talking to someone from my lcs in which they get tons of damaged product from them. There is even a subreddit about how Diamond sucks.

Diamond seems like one of the worst businesses and I do not understand how they have a monopoly the way they do. I can understand how it might be difficult for someone to step up and start a whole new distributor, there used to be another distributor but they went into bankruptcy years ago.

What I am wondering though is that with how bad Diamond is, if there did happen to be another distributor that came up, Diamond would lose so much business so fast just because I can't see people really wanting to stick with them with how they've been treated over the years. As soon as some other company came up, so many comic shops would drop Diamond immediately I would think.

I can see it being difficult starting up a new distributor but why don't some people interested in starting a new distribution company get together and start a Kickstarter project for it? Can you imagine the number of people that would support such a thing? So many comic readers, collectors, so many comic shops, just everyone who knows how there is such a need for this and it would reach it's goal in less than a week probably. You could set the goal to be raised at like a million dollars and they would still get it within a week I bet. If not, it would surely reach it's goal within a month.

The people involved would have to know what they are doing but I am sure if the right group of people wanted to do this, they would be heavily supported by the comics community. And can you imagine just how many comic shops would pop back up if they were not having to deal with Diamond who has put so many comic shops out of business over the years with how they keep sending crap products, charging shops to send back damaged crap, and one of the worst things, forcing shops to order a minimum amount of product every month. If the new distributor just cut out that part of the situation, they would definitely have people jumping ship to them. Me personally, I would like to start a comics shop at some point but I wouldn't as long as Diamond are the only distributor for the majority of comics.

Doom Patrol #2 Review

Doom Patrol #2

Publisher: Young Animal/DC

Writer: Gerard Way

Artist: Nick Derington 

Rating: 10 

I am really enjoying the way Doom Patrol is rolling along. This second issue is better than the first. I like how the first issue was a bunch of fragments about some of the characters involved with this new group and this second issue continues with that and includes a few others. Larry Trainor gets into some weird situation with some street toughs. I also like the Niles Caulder scene, another random, quirky scene kind of out of nowhere. He is in another situation by himself, kind of and it's just funny how kooky his situation seems to be. Casey seems to be the one that is very involved with getting everyone together. Being an ambulance driver and coming across a few of the characters in their own messed up ways and in this issue we find out that Danny is communicating with her through the dispatch system. Some villainous robot-looking things come for Cliff. Cliff and Trainor meet again. There is a scene that shows Trainor turning into Negative Man. Casey and her coworker get in trouble for having the ambulance on their day off in which Danny has them going around the city. Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery shows up. And it ends with Casey going to what appears to be a very happy place. I love how this comic is just all over the place. It's such a jumbled mess of goodness.

I am only a little familiar with some of the characters in previous series' so I am not sure which characters are recurring like Cliff, Trainor, Danny, and Niles but the others might be new?

The artwork with this is also really good. All kinds of colors kind of popping out all over the pages and I really like how the characters are drawn. Kind of an 80's, early 90's cartoonish feel to them. Nick Derington is a really good artist. I should really check out more of their other work if there is any.

I can't wait for the third issue, with how some of the group met one another in this issue, the next one should finally, hopefully get them all together and from there we will see what kind of crazy things they get into.

Wonder Woman #8 Review

Wonder Woman #8
Publisher: DC
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Bilquis Evely

Rating: 9.5

The newest issue of Wonder Woman and it's all about the beginnings of Cheetah whose name is Barbara Ann Cavendish. Wonder Woman doesn't appear in this issue at all, that I am aware of. Who knows, with her powers, maybe she is lurking somewhere in the background. This story veers off to a degree by what has been going on with Wonder Woman teaming up with Cheetah but it's a good story and I like that Cheetah gets a whole issue. The beginning shows her as a child and her interest in Greek myths. Her dad was lame of course and tried to pressure her away from it but it didn't stick. Later it shows her trying to find out more about Amazons, where they might have lived.

Barbara Ann is an awesome character, she is a mix of both Indiana Jones and Marion even more so from Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. She drinks a lot, argues with assholes, is mostly on her own doing her thing. She goes on expeditions with people who are more than skeptical about her work and they try to ruin her findings. She goes from one place to another, trying to find out more. She eventually finds evidence of a twelfth queen, Lysippe which means there might possibly be eleven other queens with shrines of their own somewhere. Going from one place to another trying to figure out the key to what she is trying to find. Eventually she finds an uncharted island and believes it to be the island of Amazons but doesn't find anyone there so she is not sure if she actually found it or not.

I really liked this issue. I kind of hope there could be a spin off series or some one offs of Cheetah/Barbara Ann at some point because I can see there being so much that can be done with this character and all the stories of things she could get into, even before she became Cheetah. It is cool that a whole issue is devoted to her.

And with every issue of Wonder Woman, the artwork is one of the things that I always look forward to. More than any other comic, Sharp, Scott, and now Bilquis Evely who is new to this series, the artwork is always amazing. This newest series of Wonder Woman has been a total treat when it comes to great writing and great visual art.

Black #1 Review

The first issue of Black and I like it a lot. There is supposedly a lot of faux-controversy about this comic which is pretty funny. Too many people complaining about how racist this is and supposedly how there is bad symbolism, or people cashing in which is absurd. To clear things up, the only part of this comic that is racist in any way is in the very beginning where three racist cops shoot black kids. That's it! There is no other racism in this comic. I read somewhere one person's claim that every single white person in the comic is depicted in only an evil way which is definitely not true. That kind of bias and dishonesty is ridiculous. The degree to which so many people do not like this comic shows just how backwards and racist this country is. If a comic writer has a problem with racism, that doesn't make them a racist. If a comic book writer wants to bring up racist issues, that does not make them racist. Weird to explain just basic things but when it comes to racists, people who want to turn a blind eye to racism, or even more absurdly claim that people who bring up racist issues are being racist. I've already heard too many bad strawman arguments about this comic that are really just empty and nothing but people who want to continue turning a blind eye to racism. I am amazed at the amount of ignorance about this comic. People who are giving it very low ratings but to feel like they are not racist, complain about how it's because of the writing not being that good or that they don't like the artwork but it seems pretty weak. You can say that about any comic really with how little dialogue there is or about any style of art but when people rate it at like a 2 or 4 out of 10 it makes you wonder why they actually have a problem with the comic.

Now to the actual comic. I really like how it blends realistic issues like racist cops along with fantastical elements of the super hero genre. It does this very well and the fantastical elements are pretty funny. The person who shows up out of nowhere to help the main character who just got shot, he is sitting in a chair that just popped up along with him. I found that very amusing for some reason and it kind of sets the tone for the super hero element of it in a way really well. Another thing that is interesting with bringing up realistic racist issues up in a comic book is that with the sequential art form.  With how racist people can be and completely out of nowhere someone can find themselves in a whole lot of trouble in just the tiniest of moments, just driving their car, walking down the street, etc. and with how happens all the freaking time, in just a few frames this can be executed very well, which the artists have done with this comic. It's interesting how a lot of other realistic scenes can't be summed up in such a small amount of space but racist situations are literally that ridiculous and in just the shortest amount of time. 

Another thing that I like about the comic is that there is an actual reason for why there is so much aggression and murdering that is always going on with how racists treat black people. Only black people somehow are able to gain super powers and no one is completely sure why. Reminds me a little of the movie Unbreakable in which a character has tragic accidents happening to find people who are incapable of getting injured in any way. And this makes a whole lot more sense than the reality of the situation in which racists mistreat and kill blacks because they are so afraid of them or want to treat them like they are beneath them. I really like how there is this kind of reason in the comic for why there are these kinds of tensions. And how some people are treated like they are beneath others, it creates an interesting dynamic and idea that is interesting to explore.

In just one issue so many things going on with the comic and the cast of characters is set up so well. And I really like the artwork with this issue. Jamal Igle did a great job. And it's interesting that it's done with only black, white, and grey colors.  

The only thing I didn't like about the comic was a comment by the main character Kareem Jenkins describing a woman as fine or whatever. Seemed completely unnecessary and weird to have him objectifying someone in that kind of way. Hopefully the character doesn't keep that kind of shitty attitude.

Black Hammer #3 Review

The third issue of Black Hammer and it's another good issue. There is so much that I love about this series and this is what got me into checking out more of Jeff Lemire's work. With this issue we find out more about Barbalien. Their back story and how they came from Mars and their current situation of feeling like they don't fit in anywhere.

I really like how with this being a comic about golden age super heroes that it is also incorporating elements of martians. We now know that there are not martians but in the past during the golden age, there was more excitement and things going on with the sci-fi genre that people liked to believe that there were martians. Maybe they knew back then that there weren't either but people liked to think about it a lot it seems and I like that it's a part of this series. It has some of the fun elements that I like about stories with martians and the unknown about that planet. I also like the variety with this group of characters, there are earthlings, a robot of some sort, and a martian.

Barbalien was known as Mark Markz on Mars, his father had united the Red Tribes on Mars but he is looked at as a coward there. A spaceship from NASA lands on Mars which worries some there so Mark is sent there to check it out and is how he came to inhabit Earth. His first day on earth he stops a couple criminals and takes on the appearance of a police officer, he seems to be able to change his appearance and it looks like he has kept the cop who actually happened to get shot and killed by one of the criminal's.

Also in this issue Abe and Tammy's relationship is escalating even though it's kind of a complicated thing because of his “family” back at his place. Also in the present time Barbalien goes to church for the first time, has a little run in with Tammy's ex Trueheart, the sheriff. Gail and Barbalien chat for a bit about how they don't really fit in. And at the very end, it looks like a satellite or ship of some sorts has landed on earth and a new character named Dr. Trigg might know where it came from.

I really like how the beginning of this series is giving us bits of information about people's back stories, some of what was in the past back in Spiral City, what is happening now with this group in this small town, and other things going on in the present time and I am super excited about where this is going and how it's going to play out. It feels like there is going to be a big collision of sorts with all these stories happening.

At the end of this issue, Dean Ormston who continues to do such a great job with the artwork goes into part of the process with designing the cover, putting in elements of Mars and Barbalien. I do hope there is more about Mars and seeing Ormston's depiction of Mars with the architecture and environment.

There is also big news recently about how there is going to be an annual for this series coming January 18^th in a few months. Seems like Dark Horse is investing in this comic a good amount and they are bringing a lot of people on board for the annual. I am happy that Nate Powell (March, Any Empire) will be doing some of the artwork. I know him more as the tall lanky dude with the awesome band Soophie Nun Squad that isn't around anymore. Dustin Nguyen (The Authority), Matt Kindt (MIND MGMT, Dept. H), and Ray Fawkes (The People Inside) are also involved.

I am so curious about what the annual is going to be about. Maybe it will be the big moment when more information is given about Black Hammer or that they are finally reunited with this group. Hopefully with a few more issues coming out, more might be known about what to expect from the annual.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #12 Review

The newest issue of Squirrel Girl! I don't know why more people are not reading this comic. Every issue is hilarious, Squirrel Girl really actually is unbeatable, and you learn random facts as well. In this issue I learned that squirrels are color blind when it comes to red and green.

In this issue Squirrel Girl, Tippy, and Nancy visit Squirrel Girl's mother Maureen in Canada. Her mother is renting a log cabin out in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity. Squirrel Girl is worried that she will die from boredom but Maureen does have a mystery that needs to be solved and it's connected to what is going on back in NYC. The issue in New York is that Squirrel Girl's friend Brain Drain who helped them capture some bank robbers in the beginning of the issue are having problems with a villain named Enigmo who first appeared in 1994 and has been in a few other comics.

I really like the new friend Brain Drain, a silly character made up of a brain inside a robot body. He seems kind of new in dealing with humans but he seems like a fun, cool character.

The humor in this issue is hilarious like always too. Love the picture of boring "cabin-ish" magazines in Canada. Magazines about bird watching, gardening, and painting called Painting Quietly with silly headlines on the covers. I also really love the artwork with this series too. Erica Henderson and Rico Renzi do such a great job with it. I really like how there are a lot of solid colors used, a nice aesthetic that compliments this series very well.

Reading Squirrel Girl always puts me in a good mood. It's like a superhero version of Archie comics or something.

Black Hammer Giant Sized Annual Coming Out in January!

I am excited about this and so happy that Dark Horse is putting more into this awesome comic. It's only three issues in but it is by far my favorite comic already. I'm also excited that Nate Powell is doing some of the artwork. I've been a fan of his since his Soophie Nun Squad days and so happy that he is doing so well making comics! And Jeff Lemire is my favorite writer and artist. I just finished Vol. 1 of Sweet Tooth the other day and just picked up issues #13, 14, and #15 today. There are a ton of other people involved with this issue too including Matt Kindt which is super nice as well.

I'm curious to know what the annual is going to be about. Maybe this will be the moment when Black Hammer finally appears? No matter what it's going to be good. Only three more months and it's coming out January 18th to be exact.

More info. can be found here.