GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #18: VERTIGO

It always makes me happy when I see Vertigo doing one of their preview books. These days, they're for free, although in the past they've charged, and I've willingly paid. Once upon a time, Vertigo was my favorite comics company, since they put out the best books I'd ever read (PREACHER, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, 100 BULLETS, hell, you know me and what I like). (And yes, I know that TRANSMET started as a Helix book. Quit nitpicking.) I'm more of an Avatar Press kind of guy now. (Big surprise, considering they've worked with Vertigo greats like Ennis, Ellis, Delano, etc.)


This new preview is nice, in that it reminds everyone what Vertigo is doing right now with great books like AMERICAN VAMPIRE, FBP and so on, but it's also giving us a peek of what's to come. Sad to say, their new fare doesn't look very interesting to me. BODIES has some great creative-types attached to it, but the story doesn't look very appealing. I love Peter Milligan's work, but THE NAMES looks like heavy-handed crap. THE KITCHEN could be interesting. It's a hard-crime look at the 'Seventies in Hell's Kitchen, but told from the female perspective. What they sample, though, doesn't look that great. I'll probably give it a shot.


The one that looks most promising is SUICIDERS. I'm a fan of Lee Bermejo's artwork, but this will be the first time I'll get a taste of his writing skills. I love the cover, and the sample is just over the top awesome. Of the new batch, I look forward to this one the most. I'm glad to see it's a monthly, although I have no idea how Bermejo will get that much work done. Have you seen his art? It's insanely intricate. Writing and illustrating this book should put him through the ringer, but I love what I'm seeing so far.

COOL SHIT 1-3-13

G.I. JOE:  COBRA #20:  With all the attention I pay to THE TRANSFORMERS here, one would think I’d bring up G.I. JOE a bit more often.  The thing is, all three books have been lagging, ever since they did that stupid Hunt for Snake-Eyes thing.  Let’s face it, the only way that story arc could have worked out in an awesome, unexpected way was if Snake-Eyes really did turn out to be a traitor, and he died in a very obvious, very gruesome fashion.  Now that the bullshit is out of the way, we can get back to the grown-up G.I. JOE kind of action IDW has been getting us hooked on ever since they picked up the series.  Flint and Lady Jaye are in serious trouble as they infiltrate a Red Oktober installation on a mission that doesn’t even exist on paper.  Now that they’ve been captured by a crew of thugs and murderers who have no regard for human life, it falls on Joe HQ to sort things out behind the scenes.  The problem:  the only person who seems capable of doing that is Tomax Paolo, who has been a prisoner of the Joes for . . . how long now?  Coming soon, they’re going to discontinue the three series in favor of three new series.  Personally, I think we’d be better served with one series, considering how for the past couple of years, we’ve been treated to one long story broken up over three monthlies.  Might as well just consolidate the whole thing.  I can understand having one main JOE book and then having a SPECIAL MISSIONS book, just like back in the ‘Eighties and ‘Nineties, but come on.  I have faith in the storytelling, but do we really need three JOE books?  That's kind of like breaking up an adaptation of THE HOBBIT into three movies--oh, wait.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE #34:  Now that we’ve been through several decades worth of story, we’ve finally reached the mid-point, according to writer Scott Snyder.  At first glance, it’s a sedate issue, but when you think more about it, it’s a harbinger of things to come, and is thus a very important issue.  With a bit of quick exposition, we learn the fate of Will Bunting, the first chronicler of Skinner Sweet’s life, and who has replaced Bunting at the VMS.  We also get to see Abilena Book in her old age as she denies having been granted visions by being bitten by Sweet years earlier.  We get to meet the new enemy of the series, and we get a massive slap to the face in regards to how things are going to go for the rest of the series.  Here’s the problem:  THEY’RE GOING ON HIATUS.  Snyder says the next story is written, but he also says that they’re taking some time off to recharge their batteries (and to give the artist more time to illustrate the series, as he doesn't want to take any more breaks).  I can only hope that Vertigo will actually still be around when they do come back.  Many of you are familiar with my ranting and raving in regards to HELLBLAZER’s cancellation, and how I believe that Vertigo will be gone by the end of 2013.  I love FABLES and all the related titles, but I’m pretty sure they could survive in the DCU and make everyone a lot of money there.  Right now, AMERICAN VAMPIRE is the only book that has me hoping that Vertigo will survive.  They’ve done a lot of great work over the years, including my two favorite books of all time (PREACHER and TRANSMETROPOLITAN, even though the latter did, indeed, start out at the short-lived Helix).  HELLBLAZER, the Lansdale JONAH HEX, THE SANDMAN, 100 BULLETS, I could go on forever about all the wonderful books they’ve done.  Maybe Shelly Bond can do great things now that she’s in charge (and I know she’s edited many good books that I’ve enjoyed over the years), but considering all the really, really, really, really, really bad decisions DC has made recently, Vertigo is a dog with rabies.  It’s only a matter of time before someone puts it down.  I hope AMERICAN VAMPIRE gets finished before that happens.

WIZARD WORLD INTERVIEWS PART FOUR

Apologies to my other subjects, but this interview is my favorite. When we found Brian Azzarello, writer of 100 BULLETS, LOVELESS, LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL, JOKER, and a number of other excellent books, on Friday, he was very reluctant to give an interview. In fact, when he finally said yes, it was on the condition that we come up with questions he hadn't been asked before. Always eager to rise up and face a challenge, I did my best, and Leo came up with a few questions, too. In the end, Mr. Azzarello complimented us, saying that we did, indeed, do a good job. I have no doubt that you will enjoy what follows, the final interview of Wizard World Week.



John Bruni: Otto Penzler recently stated that he was sick and tired of people equating detective fiction with noir. He said that noir is more about losers. Robert Bloch once said something along the same lines, but instead of losers, he said the damned. The losers and the damned, these are your protagonists. What do you think is the appeal?

Brian Azzarello: I wouldn’t go as far as to say these are losers and the damned. They are people who make mistakes, just like every one of us, which is where the appeal lies. When you read this kind of fiction, you recognize when the train goes off the rails, and it’s fascinating to watch. These characters try, usually to no avail, to bring themselves back to the right path. The motivations are so believable. “Losers” is harsh. They’re people who make mistakes. That’s what makes them relatable to me. I guess I just don’t want to call myself a loser.

JB: It does seem that all your characters are doomed from the start because they are predisposed to making those mistakes. And speaking of mistakes, even though crime rates are down these days, there seems to be more of it on TV, on the news. I was in court yesterday, and I saw maybe about five cases. The judge was so bored that he went to his chambers and said to call him if any new cases came in, that he’ll be on break until then. I know, it sounds kind of weird.

BA: It is.

JB: Why do you think there’s more violence on the news? Is it just sensationalism?

BA: Sure, it is.

JB: Do you think it’s the same thing that draws readers to crime fiction?

BA: Maybe. I think it links more to . . . look around today. Look at the crowds at this show. You think these crowds are here for Captain Kirk? They’re here for Governor Jerk.

Leo Perez: I just spoke with him.

BA: Did you?

LP: Yeah.

BA: And what did he say?

LP: He thinks he’s larger than life. I asked him what his plans are for after this, and he said that he wants to rebuild his family. And he’s also going on THE DAILY SHOW on Monday. He really didn’t have much else to say other than, he’s looking for more jobs out there that could make him seem bigger than what he is.

BA: A lot of people in this sort of situation, they take a step back from the spotlight, but he’s running towards it.

LP: He told me that Wizard World approached him.

BA: Well, somebody had to contact somebody. He’s got an agent. I don’t know what to believe there. Nobody’s going to take responsibility.

JB: Have you seen his outrageous rates?

BA: Are they any more outrageous than someone else’s?

JB: They are, actually.

LP: Eighty dollars for a photo op, fifty for an autograph.

BA: How much is Captain Kirk?

Cliff Breaux: Eighty.

JB: Really?

BA: Well, if he can get it . . . .

LP: People are giving it to him.

JB: It seems like people are getting fleeced and liking it, by people like the governor.

BA: I don’t know, do they like it? Do you think so?

JB: They’re willingly giving him money for the photo op.

BA: That doesn’t mean they like him. I think right now they like his infamy. When they announced him, there was a chorus of boos. Does that mean they like him? No, but they want his autograph. Just imagine if OJ was here. Not that I’m equating the two, but I guess I just equated the two.

LP: Will this steer you away from coming again [to Wizard World]?

BA: No, I don’t think so. But it is weird. This has turned into more of an autograph show. It’s really not about comics. I don’t know if it’s for me, anymore. C2E2, that was exclusively about comics.

LP: Is that why DC and Marvel are absent this year?

BA: No, I think that’s something to do with . . . it’s not just DC, it’s something to do with Marvel, Dark Horse, all those big guys. They’re not here, and I don’t know why. I don’t get at all the politics and stuff.

JB: Do you think it’s better to write from pain or love?

BA: You can be more objective if you’re writing from pain.

JB: That’s true. Graves rests at the heart of 100 BULLETS, but what does he really represent? Responsibility? Temptation? Indulgence? A lot of the characters seem to view him in a different light.

BA: That’s what made the character work so well. He wasn’t a chameleon-like character, but he represented something different to all the other characters. He was kind of a tabula rasa for what they wanted to project onto him. It was there. Even though he had his own agenda. He was the manipulator of the entire series. Again, people like getting fleeced.

JB: Even he seems doomed in the end. He’s the most powerful character in the story, and he’s still doomed.

BA: Nobody walked away without blood on their hands. If they walked away.

LP: In your books, I’ve noticed there’s a lot of gang involvement. Not just on the Mafia level, but street gangs. You’re spot on. Was it from personal experience? Or research?

BA: I’ve never been in a gang, but I’ve lived in this city for 20 years. It’s hard not to have personal experience. It’s interesting to see how things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. Man, you go out to the far west side, Jesus Christ. It’s desolate. Go down to Chicago and Austin, or even further south. Holy shit. It’s not always been that way. Opportunities out here have dried up for a lot of people, and that tends to leave the violence.

LP: How old were you when you moved here?

BA: I don’t know. 25? 26? I grew up in Cleveland, where there’s a lot of gang violence. I mean, not like out here. It was there, but in Cleveland, there weren’t a lot of Latin gangs. Not much back then, when I was there. The Bloods and the Crips had just started going national at that point.

JB: I just have one last question. I know you have FIRST WAVE, and there are a bunch of spin-offs from that, but do you have anything coming up that you’d like to plug?

BA: I’m working on a series right now with Eduardo Risso coming out from Vertigo probably next year or so. It hasn’t been announced, other than that we’re working on something. In the fall, LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL is being re-released as a hardcover, just like JOKER, with extra scenes we had to cut out originally because they were monthly comics, and we were stuck in the 22-page format. Now we’re ready to throw some stuff back in. It’s a nice companion to JOKER. That’s my plug.

LP: I just have one more quick question. Obviously, you’ve taken a lot of public transportation.

BA: Oh, yeah.

LP: What’s the wackiest character you’ve met, or the weirdest story you have?

BA: Oh, man. Burn Man is still the weirdest guy. I don’t know if you remember him. He was around a lot. Terribly, terribly disfigured. He’d ride the train, and he’d get up in people’s face with a sign with the story of what happened to him, and people would give him money because he was so shocking. He really didn’t have a face. He didn’t have all of his fingers, either. He was just known as Burn Man, and it was a while ago, too. The READER did a story about him. He was really a tragic figure. His burns came from crack. He fell asleep on a mattress while smoking. He was making a substantial amount of money, enough to survive while panhandling. There were doctors who were offering to help him for free, but he refused any help. He was an interesting character, that’s for sure.

JB: Do you think he’ll ever show up in your work someday?

BA: Nah, he was too over the top.

JB: Truth is stranger than fiction.

BA: Some old dude showed me his cock once. That was kind of weird.

LP: One time I was out on the orange line, and you get a lot of crazies there—-

BA: That’s where the old guy showed me his cock.

LP: --It was Christmas time, and this big, white-bearded man—-full on beard—-he stumbles in and he sits down. A little girl’s like, “Mommy! There’s Santa Claus!” He then pisses on himself and all over the train.

BA: Wow.

LP: I love Chicago.

BA: That’s a scarring memory.