Pillar to Post Issues 22-38!

Black Scientists:

38 issues and every one a Kirbyverse! Imagination fuels existence! My mutated brain, that thinks so much bigger, swelling on layers of layers of layers (I'll have mine with Onionity, thank you) just like the Eververse. I mean, thirty-eight issues of mind bending audacity!

Matteo just cranking out unique design like an eye-treat pinata, cuz what ya gonna do with Remenders brains splattering all around, try to draw it all, I guess, and apparently succeeding.  Like with Paul Pope, I have to up my eye game, can't hardly see how anybody draws in such an idiosyncratic style while reading so clearly, and its just gotten smoother and measured and coarse and chaotic, Remender's nuts concoction of narrative gets amped up to a zillion. 

Remender just throws giant trope pearls into a stew, dropping cavalry realities and subsuming threats like a reality vomiting Marvel and DC crossover giant baby (uh, that doesn't sound like the way I enjoy this book...) It's as if all of imagination is trying to kill Grant McKay.

For a guy whose life went down the turlet like a swirlin turd since the second he pushed the button, Grant's adventure is high drama and fun at the same time. And, as we have learned from a pig farmer from Prydain; it must be adventure because Grant is so miserable so much of the time.

Anyway, centipede death cult, Zirite infestation, fluffy foul-mouthed demon-gods, and Grants, so many Grants, its the grandest Bandersnatch, the choicest Choose Your Own, its any and all of them. 

God, so many individual covers and pages to fawn over, but got comics to read. See you guys again!

Manifest Destiny 19-36 Letter

Gentles:

Here we are again and i can't tell you enough how proud i am of this book! Three years of consistent high adventure, weird creatures, repellant history and layers of mystery. That's a high bar. Usually, i trust in low expectations for my happiness, so you guys are gonna ruin me!

"Sasquatch" was painful and luridly grotesque, i guess we will not soon see the end of atrocities that even well intentioned peoples can justify, but i am sure grateful that you guys don't romanticize just the fine elements of such campaigns as have been common in our history. In each case, the sasquatch, the ferzon before and each other later, Dingess, you've managed to make credible and plausible motivations in the members of the mission.

Roberts and Gieni continue to deliver differentiable character design, and a masterful manipulation of page layouts, detail and negative space like the well experienced engineer/artists they have become. I recently reread from issue 1 through to 36 and this facility is one of the greatest strengths of this title. Creature design, authenticity, and consistently powerful covers make Manifest Destiny a regular feast.

While the three different mission timelines was a bit confusing, once i twigged, they created a tremendous interest in the real history and introduced several interesting and psychological, as well as psychodelic, themes that feed perfectly into the long "winter without monsters" of which some complaint has arrived in this letter col.  Don't worry, these stories are fantastic! I loved Irene's revenge without need a translation. And that final confrontation between York and Jensen is great.  I hate that rat-faced bastard, Jensen! Don't dare kill him off.

So, on now to the resolution of Navath, the aftermath of York's mercy, and whatever-the-hell is going on with that latest arch!

'til next time, make mine Manifest Destiny (ya see what i did there? We'll miss you, Stan.)

Griffin Mauser
(like the monster; like the gun)

Ok to Print Black Science 1-20

Griffin Mauser <griffin.mauser@gmail.com>	Sun, Jul 17, 2016, 11:30 AM
to writeremender

Gentles:

Been reading since number one; Remender's name was enough to get me to subscribe as I had just discovered Fear Agent.

Black Science ain't funny; it ain't Fear Agent; it is Fantastic!

Frankly I was completely baffled for the first few issues; how alienating to find Grant suddenly everywhere; it's like I am in the middle of a David Lynch movie. But, by issue six I discovered that this is exactly how Grant must feel, and all the dimensionauts. Suddenly it's meta (you can claim it if  I can find it)!

I was unsure about Scalera's pages, too, but after recognizing Grant as ape and as praying mantis, I was convinced.  At first panels seem filled with violence and chaos, and they are, but it reads.  What I see is what I am supposed to see and how Scalera makes it work so well I will never know.

 This is great science fiction with a frantic and exhausting pace; when will they get a little rest? And being lost in infinite worlds is only half their trouble; the rest is being human!

I don't know how much you guys still got in ya, but I intend to read it all.  Thanks for a great time!

--

Griffin (like the monster) Mauser (like the gun)

Manifest Destiny Lettercol as of Issue 21

Griffin Mauser <griffin.mauser@gmail.com>	Thu, Aug 11, 2016, 3:52 PM
to manifestdestiny

Well, what to say? Twenty-one issues and I am still here every month braggin on you guys. I will miss the Fezron, and wonder about the Sasquatch.  You continue to deliver on both ends; fabulous monsters and intricate relationships within the party. I hope you don't get skipping over encounters; you guys kinda raced through some fine adventures before getting into the Sasquatch.

What's up with Sacajawea and the baby?

Nice cover motif for the arc; an excellent opportunity to show off Gieni's colors. 

God, what do I want that you don't give me? You already got me going back to research the real history. Any chance of tall tales making an  influence? Meat any tough fur traders out there? Beavers?

I love you guys and your book!

Onward!

-- 

Griffin (like the monster) Mauser (like the gun)

Mr. Miracle (12 ish miniseries by Tom King) letter

Miracle Workers:

Mr. Miracle once again escapes the fetters of the market and graces DC pages! Wahoo! And, it has been a loooong time since I got a Mr. Miracle that I really liked. Thanks Mr.s King and Gerad. By the by, if Gerad ever gets sick of Mr. Miracle, don’t hesitate to give Derrington interiors; his covers are right in style for the slick costume and regality of New Gods stories.

I got in late, but caught up quick and I am really impressed with the design.  On one hand, I was concerned and heard comments to the effect, “I don’t want to spend twelve issues with no splashpage, long phone sequences, and little action.”

Ok, legitimate gripe. So, let’s take to some Gary Groth style critique. What works overall? Gerad’s work would benefit from a larger scale, but the panels are almost always clear, fully detailed, and render costumes and coloring that seem fitting to superhero comics tradition and New Genesis, Apokolips and Earth. Mr. Gerad, you are a hardworking man. It is obvious that by doing pencils, inks, and colors, you have a tremendous amount of control and have made what could have been tedium into something that reads well without oversimplification. Even your textures help by differentiating battle action and rest.

As for Mr. King’s writing; all my comic geek friends have been raving about your Superman and Batman, and I was curious how you’d treat my favorite hero. I am fully satisfied.  While you include much of Giffen’s near silly elements of the Barda-Scott relationship, you also allow for the grim nobility of their grinding ubiquitous war with Darkseid. #2’s opening sequence, with its increasing “jump-cuts” raises the stakes above the petty day-to-day that tends to drain the heroic from Mr. Miracle. The death of Highfather, and later, Orion, will be difficult to resolve in future New Gods materials, although, we all know and realize that DC owns these characters, so no one ever dies. As per “the trinity”, “He’s dead”, “You of all people should know that doesn’t mean anything.” I really enjoyed Orion as Highfather, but Scott Free now has something new to escape.

I was unsure of the nine-panel page design, expecting tedium.  And getting it. But what is the effect? It measures the time, moment by moment, a purposeful tedium that suggests and unending war, the wearing effect of continuous battle that grinds at Scott and Barda’s relationship, supercedes earthly conflicts and creates an eternal background for the New Gods. The aforementioned #2 opening sequences set the grim mood that informs even the lightest moments that follow. The sequence of Barda and Scott moving through the traps of Apokalips, while suggestive of  video games, added a bit of humor while recognizing the characters recognition of necessary duty. Ironically, Barda works most of the escapes. The layout works especially well in the treaty meeting scenes between Kalibak, a unique choice for a diplomat, and Scott where, again, the tedium reminds us just how difficult such discussions must be.

I would have enjoyed a few large splash pages, some release from the march, but still an audacious choice. You can get away with it in a miniseries better than an ongoing. Won’t keep me from getting the last two. All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Miracle so far.  Can’t wait to see how Scott doesn’t kill Darkseid! ‘Cuz you can’t.

We’ll see.

Griffin Mauser

Griffin.mauser@gmail.com

Kamandi Challenge Letter

Griffin Mauser

908 Stoneoak ln

78745

Kamandi-ers:

So here I am at the end of the Kamandi Challenge; one issue left, and by the time you read this, I will have read it. What do I love so far? Kamandi’s pride, independence, perseverance, sense of justice and fairness; animal men with their own naïve societies; monsters, ruins and ruined human survivors.

Each issue is a treat, a fun sort of game, and that is great, but, soon, there will be no more Kamandi. There is so much to explore here in an ongoing title!

The challenge strikes Kamandi on the nose in much of its content.  I like Kamandi’s naivete and childishness; he is, after all, a child that has, in a way, been indulged then released into a nonsensical world.  He will have learned and inculcated human values but will have the pride and patience of a youth. But Kamandi needs more consistency than was available in the challenge as well. I want Kamandi to have noble values and to struggle to maintain those standards in the face of almost universal prejudice.

And how topical is the blue-eyed blond-haired white male suddenly upended into the bottom of society with all of his sense of entitlement, but stripped of even the hope of being treated specially. The tough question is, who can write so that Kamandi retains both its absurdity and humor while using it as a commentary on our own societies? I don’t know, but I do know who I would most like to see on the series: Steve Rude! While the other teams had so much going for ‘em that I won’t even go into it, Rude’s art was the most fun! His simplicity points up the four-color feel of Kamandi’s high adventure.

Here’s the plan: Pick teams like for SuperBatman, explore the societies of the animal men and meet new ones, any cargo-cults based on human artefacts, and keep all the craziness of the challenge, but let’s see Kamandi with a clear set of values and beliefs, have them continuously challenged by this new world, see him humbled again and again while refusing to compromise. When and arc ends, send in a new team.

We have the rest of the world, Ben Boxer and company, mutations, ruins, the whole cataclysm to explain, come on, for ol’ Jack, can we get an ongoing Kamandi?

    Still reading,  

Griffin Mauser

Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil 1-4 Letter

Mx.s Lemire and Rubin:

Well, damn.

How can i not like an entirely new universe, as complex and full of superheroes as any i have ever seen as i marvel like a detective over my comics.  Black Hammer has drawn me in! Between Lemire’s obvious love of superheroes and the weird tack he has taken, and Rubin’s devil-may-care approach, I cannot look away.

This is superteam tragedy in grand guignol style lit by David Rubin’s primitive, brutally comicky pencils, inks, and colors. It may not work for everybody, but it stirs up many years of love of superheroes.  And Mx. Rubin can assemble a page and maintain a reading flow through spirals, across the spine, and even in parallel without misdirected view. I spiralled right down into the lower depths of the asylum, followed him all the way across pages before returning left and saw Sherlock Frankenstein in Lucy’s imagination as she researches his disappearance. Love GrimJim’s Britney Spears tee and ChthuLou’s almost Eisner-Spirit sequences. Looks like Mx. Rubin likes himself some Paul Pope villains, too.

This is my favorite Lemire; poignant to tragic, traditional and weird, tropy yet original.  And funny; come on, Barbalien! Like Robert Kirkman, Lemire has imbued tired ideas with a fresh energy and a unique perspective.  

Gentles, you keep writing it, I’ll keep reading it.  And as long as you’re at it, keep Mx. Rubin around too!