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KC Carlson by Keith Wilson
A KC COLUMN by KC Carlson
Well, maybe not actual gnus. They tend to munch on Sherill’s flowers. Bad, Gnu! Bad!
We do have brain Bats from Venus, a troll named Pip, a teenage Witch, robots who are mostly smarter than me, an interstellar relationship, and a heartfelt (but weird) plea to Neil Gaiman. just another week at Westfield Comics! look what’s here today!
Brain Bats of Venus: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton volume two (1942-1952)
Brain Bats of Venus: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton volume two (1942-1952) (Fantagraphics) — Wolverton’s life and career are typically difficult to talk about, so it’s a good thing author Greg Sadowski is quite good at it, as demonstrated by this series’ first volume. This book, as they say, is chock-full of weirdness, but what do you expect from the guy who created Lena the Hyena?
This volume takes a look at Wolverton’s correspondence with his editors and publishers as well as including excerpts from his personal diaries. So you’d think that a lot of this stuff is going to be quite personal — but it also examines the inner workings of the early comic book industry, filtered through Wolverton’s unique way of looking at things. and if that’s not enough to get you curious, the book is chock-full of actual comic book stories by him, including 17 science fiction and horror stories which are fully restored and never before collected in a single volume! 432 pages.
Thanos: The Infinity Ending
Thanos: The Infinity Ending (Marvel Comics) — We’ve been waiting years for this! It’s Jim Starlin’s final chapter of the Thanos saga! (As well as the cosmic conclusion of Starlin and artist Alan Davis’ epic trilogy! — which includes both Thanos: The Infinity siblings and Thanos: The Infinity Conflict.) For those of you who are behind (like me — but I deliberately stopped reading for a bit because I wanted to read the whole trilogy all at once without getting interrupted!), it seems the mad Titan intends to command all of time and space — including his own past self! Plus, lots of familiar faces are here for the finale, including Pip the Troll, Thanos’ brother Eros, Adam Warlock, and most likely more! It’s cosmic book history in the making. Don’t miss it!
Archie #708
Archie #708 (Archie Comics) — In case you haven’t been reading this version of “I love Archie”, the red-headed wonder is currently dating Sabrina the teenage Witch, and somehow the young couple are managing to keep the relationship a secret from everyone. (Well, she’s a witch, and she’s smart, so those are two big factors right there. but how long will it be before Betty & Veronica start wondering what’s up with “Archiekins”?) Meanwhile, Reggie and Jughead have their own mystery to solve. Jeez, I hope they’re not dating…
Metal men #1
Metal men #1 (DC Comics) — The metal men are back! (Back from where, he asks, knowing that they are actually robots. but they are DC robots, invented for 1960s DC Comics, so they’re loopy in all kinds of ways, trust me.) The team, in story, was created by doctor will Magnus — possibly the oddest of all the oddball scientists from that not-always-serious time period. but they weren’t created quite right, as most of them (maybe not Lead) have minds of their own, which is a big point of disappointment to Magnus. also frustrating Magnus is that another one of his robots, Platinum (mostly called Tina in the older series), is a female robot (?) who is in love with him. Huh. Okay… part of this first issue is set in Challengers mountain (the HQ of the Challengers of the unknown — another weirdo 1960s DC concept), but unfortunately Challs mountain appears to have come through the Dark Multiverse to get here. Oh, for cripes sake…. Where’s my H-Dial? I need to get out of here, pronto! This is written by Dan DiDio (who as DC’s publisher obviously doesn’t have enough to do), with art by Shane Davis and Michelle Delecki and covers by Davis or Phillip Tan/Marc Deering.
Gaueardians of the Galaxy #10 Mary Jane Variant
Mary Jane Watson and Groot???! check out the variant Mary Jane cover for Guardians of the Galaxy #10 this week for the cutest couple not on Earth!
X-Men #1
One last thing… There’s a new X-Men #1 out this week, and of course there’s a bazillion variant covers. To quote one Rocket J. Squirrel “Aw, that trick never works.”
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KC CARLSON just wanted to mention to Wayne Markley that the regular Scooby-Doo: Where Are You? comic will continue past issue #100. We are both still upset that Scooby-Doo Team-Up (one of DC’s most unique titles) was cancelled at issue #50. I can’t believe they stopped before publishing a Scooby-Doo/Sandman team-up. That would have been like printing money.
WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the stupid things that KC says. especially that thing that really irritated you. I bet Neilwould have let them do it… Right, Neil ???…