Your Panel Of The Week: 09.01.10
From Franken-Castle #20 By Rick Remender, Tony Moore, Dan Brown, and Cory Petit
I couldn’t think of stronger panel to bring this feature back with, nor to kick off its new improved version (more on that later). I’ve long been a proponent of Remender and Moore’s work on this book and the latest issue (though hobbled a bit by some fill in pages) is no exception. We see Remender’s trademark staccato take on Castle’s dialogue here, but the star, of course, is Tony Moore’s Wolverine, easily the best rendition of the character since Quitely’s in New X-Men. There are two nigh-perfect drawings of him in the issue, the one above, and this one:
I went back and forth between which one deserved the crown this week and in the end it was actually the simpler background of the first that won the day. Along with Dan Brown’s fantastic color work, it’s a really lovely little bit of almost abstract set dressing. (The issue takes place in Japan, hence the neon colors all over the place.)
And speaking of Winning The Day, I figured since this was the first week of a new month, it might be fun to make this feature a kind of bracketed tournament. At the end of the month, we’ll gather up all the entries and decide Your Panel Of The Month. And then next September, we’ll gather up all those winners and decide Your Panel Of The Year.
As always, I provide excitement for a very meager few.
Larfleeze Wants A MetroCard
So I was riding the subway the other day, musing, as I often do, about how totally awesome comics are. And my attention sort of drifted to the subway map on the wall and I was looking at all the lines and the fairly obvious hit me. So I made all these Lantern symbols into New York City Subway signs, naturally.
Whoops, almost forgot one!
CBR Review: Siege #1
Like Steve Rogers drop kicking the Red Skull out of his frontal lobe, I make my triumphant return to reviews for Comic Book Resources with a pretty loud bang: Siege #1
Thanks to the newest wave of Marvel’s writers, such as Hickman and Fraction and Remender, Marvel has become a much stranger place when the seeds for “Siege” were planted in a very young new century. The kingdom of the Norse gods is currently hovering over Kansas and is about to get invaded by the Green Goblin in an Iron Man suit. Volstagg just blew up Soldier Field. As “morally” dark as “Dark Reign” might have been on paper, it gave birth to a whole lot of crazy pulp scenarios that were light years apart from the kind of grim stuff that came out of the immediate results of “Disassembled” and “House Of M”. This makes “Siege” a much more widescreen and engaging work. It’s just a bit too crazy to get bogged down in the kind of gritty moping that previous Marvel events often fell victim to, and it’s a much better read because of it.
(Naturally, I can’t go very long without talking about all the other writers I’m enamored with at Marvel right now. C’est la guerre!)
I’m Going To Be At MOCCA This Year
Not even just at MOCCA, but like totally taking this thing over. Kevin Church, Mike Rosenzweig, and I will be at TABLE #205 at the MOCCA Art Festival in New York City this weekend, June 6 & 7, from 11 AM to 6 PM both days at the 69th Regiment Armory at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street. (Directions and everything else can be found right here.)
So if you’re anywhere New York City this weekend, seriously do not miss this. Not only will we have all sorts of cool swag, fashionable buttons, sketches from me, and pop culture referencing lobby cards. We’ll also be debuting the very first collection of my stunning webcomic The Rack:
Tons of details about the book can be found here.
We’ll also be selling a beautiful and limited edition print commemorating the show:
And last but certainly not least, LOST and Our Little Losties fans rejoice, because I’ve finally printed out some gorgeous looking prints of this:
![\](http://benjaminbirdie.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lostprint.jpg "\")
So, in all seriousness, be there this weekend. I look forward to seeing all of you!
Rebel Crisis
(After Dr. K and Kevin. So far.)
I Interviewed Pete Pantazis
Not content to merely review comics for Comic Book Resources, today I took a giant leap forward in content providing and sat down with colorist Pete Pantazis (Powers, Trinity, JLA, etc) talking about all sorts of things that potentially only he and I could possibly be interested in.
Perhaps you may be too. One never knows.
Anyway, in all seriousness, I’m really pleased with how the interview turned out. Pete’s a great and talented guy and has a whole lot to say about the business behind the business of comics.
Inside Baseball
So, while I’m waiting for this whole “Getting Back To The Island” thing to shake out before I finish off the full color action packed adventure, I figured I’d start doing these charming little recap gags every week. I hope you enjoy them! (As always, click for a larger version.)
Our Little Losties Return!
LOST isn’t the only thing coming back today! Our Little Losties are back in a senses shattering FIVE PART adventure, starting today! Come back Friday for the next part and then the rest of the week until next week’s episode! For the most up to date updates, follow me on Twitter! (And feel free to click on the image for a senses shattering larger version.)
Are you excited, or what?
The Triumphant Return Of Your Panel Of The Week
From Secret Six #5 by Gail Simone, Nicola Scott, Doug Hazlewood (or possibly Rodney Ramos), Jason Wright, and Travis Lanham
What struck me first was the top of Deadshot’s face here. The eyes, the nose, the cheekbones. It was all just perfectly drawn. Not one line in excess of what was needed to convey the state of the character. Than, working out from there, Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood (or, as said, possbly Ramos) did a great chin/stache/lips/puke combo. Top it off with a very detailed realization of a casino bathroom and we’re off to a great start. (The detail on his gun bracelet [not belt?] and gloves, is also very nice.)
What pushed this over the top for me (when a Mike McKone Spidey close-up was very high in the running) was the really fantastic color work of Travis Lanham. There was a distinct painterly quality to the entire book, but especially this sequence. I don’t know why, but it really stood out to me.
Also, it might not be totally evident in this single panel (just because it’s out of context, not because it stinks), but Simone is writing the living crap out of this book. So much fun, such well drawn characters, and legitimate, earned surprises in every issue.
This is an ongoing, right? Please tell me it’s an ongoing. And please, don’t let the rest of this production team go anywhere.
The CBR Review: Ex Machina #40
I have a whole recap post of reviews brewing since my last, sadly distant, update to the site, but I just submitted this review of Ex Machina #40 and I’m so darn pleased with it (both the issue and the review), so here it is.
Because in so many ways, this issue was directly about comics and the city that so many of its stories have taken place in. And the final pages, as clever, truly surprising, and beautiful as they are, nail that convergence in so many ways. They illustrate so many things in such a small span of time. How fantastic a creative space modern comics is, how simple and singular a character Mayor Hundred is, what an extraordinary city Manhattan is; and how fundamentally captivated by all three Brian K. Vaughan remains.
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Benjamin Birdie
Suddenly kind of aged, Benjamin lives in Queens with his cat. His Master's Degree in Creative Writing has helped him immensely with his primary responsibilities of drawing things.
He can be reached at benjaminbirdie (at) gmail (dot) com.
And do feel free to follow him on Twitter.
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His Comics
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, this charming comic strip by myself and Kevin Church receives a sparkling new installment. A Comic Strip About A Comic Shop.