Big Planet Orbit Feature
DC Comics has never been so right. In the solicitation for King David they say that the new graphic novel is, “an instant classic by cartoonist Kyle Baker… the comics genius behind You Are Here, Why I Hate Saturn, The Cowboy Wally Show, and the Eisner Award-winning short story, Letitia Lerner - Superman’s Babysitter.” Kyle Baker is a freaking comics god. Every book listed in that quote is an absolute example of what it means to be a master of graphic storytelling. Baker’s style is a completely unique mix of cartooning and animation mixed with a sly sense of humor. Baker is so good that any one of the books listed above can be used to turn any non-comics fan onto comics. Have a girlfriend or wife who doesn’t like comics? Give them a copy of You Are Here and that will change. Know anybody with really good taste in independent films that hasn’t discovered comics yet? The Cowboy Wally Show will make them fans for life. Any superhero fan will get a laugh out of Letitia Lerner, and so on. DC didn’t even mention the under appreciated I Die At Midnight in the list of Baker’s work. So if you have neverread a book by Kyle Baker, you might as well start with King David and work your way backwards. If you have read any of his stuff before you should know that this book is coming out, and mark the day on your calendar. King David is Baker’s take on the sweeping tale of David’s life, from Goliath, to Saul, to Bathsheba, everything will be represented with biblical accuracy. King David will win awards and critical acclaim this year, and unlike a lot of other creators it seems that the long absence from the medium has actually served to make Baker’s craft even better. The tag line says it all: “Violence! Intrigue! Polygamy! Mass Circumcision!”
All of you out there who love to be skeptical of comics months before they come out should be warned about this 3-issue Prestige Format mini-series; it’s not going to suck. Yeah, yeah that is Deathblow, and this is technically a team-up book, but doubting based on those facts alone is the same type of thinking that caused so many people to sleep on StormWatch because they thought it was just a crappy 3rd-tiere Image book. Well for starters, Deathblow was actually a good character in his time. You’d be surprised. Secondly, there is no actual team-up in After The Fire as it revolves around Bats investigating a case Deathblow was working on before his well… death. After The Fire is a uniquely structured story in that it spans a decade of mystery and secret agents as we see what roles both hero’s involvement in a grand conspiracy, featuring the excellent artwork of Lee Bermejo and Tim Bradstreet. Oh yeah, it’s also written by that Brian Azzarello guy from 100 Bullets and Hellblazer. Azzarello alone is worth the price of admission here. Everything he writes this day is crisp and exciting, and his scripts will guarantee that After The Fire is a book not to be judged by it’s cover. That’s right; Big Planet… home of the lame metaphor.
It’s a strange time in comics. Green Arrow is DC’s #1 selling title. People are excited about a Black Cat series at Marvel. Transformers is coming back courtesy of Dreamwave, and G.I. Joe sells truckloads of books over at Image. And now a regular Hawkman series is turning heads. Keep your fingers crossed for that Ambush Bug hardcover graphic novel next Christmas. Springing from the pages of JSA, which has often been madly ranted about in these pages, Hawkman is poised to be the next big hit in the year of all things retro. Written by the sick tandem of JSA’s Geoff Johns and Starman author James Robinson, Hawkman reestablishes Carter Hall in the DCU by teaming him up with Hawkgirl and the mysterious city of St. Roch. Rags Morales, fresh from his solid showing on the sorely-missed Hourman, is the artist on a series that promises to keep things interesting from month to month with a solid mix of action and reader friendly continuity. Hawkman is the first book that has been authorized to use Green Arrow after Kevin Smith’s revamping, so that should tell you something about the faith a lot of people have in Johns and Robinson to represent. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be another high quality offering from DC this month.
The Big Planet Orbit is a monthly newsletter that has features on interesting comics that come out each month. Copies are available for free at any of our store locations.
Here are some of the features of the Big Planet Orbit:
- March Feature: King David, Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire, Hawkman #1
- The Facts: The major superhero books
- Indyville: The best independent and small press comics
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love...: Miss Elaine Eous
- In Case You Were Wondering: Ian's mail call