Comix Collage

Today I'd like to introduce my friend, Steven Yau, of New York City. Steven is an artist who creates character-focused collages from old comic books.

Once you get over the sacrilege of cutting up old comics (just assume they were badly damaged), you can appreciate his work!

Actually, you do more than just appreciate it; you can buy it at his Etsy Comix site.

Here, for example, is one of Spiderman.


Why someone would want one of him, I cannot imagine, but there are other ones, too; ones with good characters like Batman or Superman. And the price is quite reasonable.

Why We Love the Phantom Stranger III

He speaks the truths that all men know ...
but dare not speak.

Things That Made Me Happy...

in my comics this week.

• "Hello. I'm Jonah Hex, from Child Services... ."
• The unpleasant return of Mister America.
• The couple of Hourman and Liberty Belle, who you can just tell at a glance break furniture every time they have sex.
• A lunatic JSA member who's headquartered at a sanitarium. Just like old times.
  
• Is that ... Dawnstar's fringe? That is about the scariest thing I've seen all week.
  
• Tom 'Cat.
• Chief Warner, and her outfit. And if you do NOT recognize her, shame on you, for your comic fu is weak; ask Devon to explain it to you.
  
• Ryan Choi's dad handing out discipline with a ruler. Hot.
• Hey, Gail; thanks for the haiku (P.S. I knew it wasn't Ray's because I speak Anagramese ...)
• The fate of Dwarfstar.
• Every single page of the Shazam Showcase which, in one stroke, justifies the entire 1970s
• The Joker at the McDonald's drive-through.
• The return of Manhunter and a great guest appearance by Wonder Woman
• Big thumbs up to you,, artist Don Kramer; the first time in a LONG time an artist has been able to draw the Joker not as a man who's smiling but rather as a man with a smile on his face.
• Ralph's chat with "Supernova".
• The Justice League Unlimited Christmas issue, which made me laugh, and cry and cry and cry and cry....

Why We Love the Phantom Stranger II

The Phantom Stranger has no interest in your narrow little agenda...

Why We Love the Phantom Stranger

You know, the Phantom Stranger is pretty much the only person who could say this ....



without laughing.

Domino and Polaris

Hello, Internet; Doctor Domino here.

Last week I was in Japanese waters picking up a shipment of super-sarin and doing a bit of tie shopping. So I decided to swing the battleship over to visit my old college buddy, Doctor Polaris (or, as we used to call him behind his back at Dungeons & Dragons, "Anchorhead" Emerson).

We had an enjoyable time, but "Anchorhead", who could never hold his liquor, drank too much and "confessed" that he used to use his magnetic powers to reposition his figures during games.

Ha! The fool! As if Doctor Domino would not notice such a thing! Obviously he never figured out why I gave him a full set of PLASTIC D&D figures for Christmas during junior year. Doctor Domino always thinks ahead.

Anyway, we had lots of fun, but I think he became a tad jealous because I'm merely missing in limbo awaiting my eventual return while he's currently, well, dead. So, yesterday he sends me an email with a picture of himself, showing off for his friends at work:


Huh. Well, that may impress the boys at the office, but I've seen him hugging the toilet after tee many martoonis (which looks none too dignified with that helmet on), so I'm not impressed.

My gods, I bet he uses the close up in his Christmas cards this year.

But that's okay. I have a way to soon put old Anchorhead in his place. For I'm Doctor Domino; I'm thinking ahead; I have a plan... .

Re-Fabulize Northwind!

Okay, I'll admit that this is dramatic-looking:
But this isn't really Hawkman; it's more like a Manhawk. I mean .... chicken feet. Really!

Transmogrifying Northwind into this form was a mistake. Sure, it was a dramatic move that helped pit Black Adam and Hawkman against each other, but mostly it was a sop to those readers easily-overwhelmed by the overwrought designs of Alex Ross in the vastly overrated Kingdom Come.

But such zoonification, as I've said before, is just a dead-end for the characters involved. Seen "Charaxes" lately? And Killer Croc hasn't had a real story in years; he's just trotted out to provide a fight scene in the middle of "epics" that consist of nothing but sequential cameos by all the members of Batman's rogues gallery.

It's one thing to do that to villains; but to the team members of heroic icons...? For pity's sake, this version of Northwind can't even talk!

At just the point when the revivified Hawkman was most in need of "team members" like Golden Eagle and Northwind to help him become a modern Dynastic Centerpiece, they were both brought back as, essentially, enemies. They need to be brought back with Hawkman as part of a stable base of characters that (I hope) can save the muddled mess that has been made of Hawkgirl's title.

I'm not an "old fan" of Northwind; the first (and, I think, last) comic I ever saw him in his original form was Crisis on Infinite Earths 20 years ago. In fact, I thought he was ridiculous.

But now, the idea that Hawkman has a black Scandavian half-birdmand godson seems so ridiculous to me that it slips over into fabulousness, at least in the Silver Age sensibility inherent in the Hawkman mythos.

Or maybe I just want to laugh ever time I see ultra-alpha-male testerone-drenched Hawkman traipsing around with this feathered fey in tow...

Northwind tries desperately to convince a teammate that
the copy of Vogue in his bedroom actually belongs to Vixen...

"I'd advise you to tend to your own knitting, sir!"

As previously mentioned, I'm a fan of Killer Moth and the Cavalier, one of comics' greatest couples (despite Cavalier's recent dalliances with that lowbrow, Captain Stingaree). In fact, I've already had a Killer Moth custom heroclix made.

Well, no longer will Killer Moth have to go into battle without someone covering his rear; behold...

The Cavalier!

Expertly crafted by Totaltoyz, the Cavalier poses atop a Rookie Swordsman dial (and, I'm guessing, Killer Moth as well).

As you can tell, the Cavalier has more than a little Captain in him... .