The end of the first arc, where we put the last pieces together. There’s previews out there, but I’m not linking to them, as they’re all pretty heavily spoilery and/or intense with an extended gap before the page-turn. It’s an interesting one, I think.
When it unlocks at about 2pm GMT, you’ll be able to buy it over at Comixology. You can pre-order it at the mo. And it’s in good comic shops everywhere.
Decompressed returns, with a difference. This time we’re talking to Bettie Breitweiser and Matt Wilson, two of my favourite colourists about their work, primarily related to FATALE 14 and WONDER WOMAN 20. If there’s any one part of collaborative comics’ creative engine that is underdiscussed and misunderstood, it’s colouring. It’s always been important, and in the last decade, it’s only become more so.
You can buy Fatale 14 and Wonder Woman 20 from your local comic shop, or digitally. Fatale is here and Wonder Woman is here.
You can download the podcast from here. Its webpage RSS page is here. And you can find it on Itunes here.
Or you could use this handy little embed.
AND STUDY AIDS!
FATALE 14
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WONDER WOMAN 20
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Our theme tune? Los Campesinos’ We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.
Don’t link many interviews here, but this was a fun one. Written in an enormous rush, so a little more pugnacious, I suspect.
(The idea of a photo of me PEERING at everyone on Comixology’s mailing list is kinda scary)
Well, of Journey Into Mystery and my Uncanny X-men V2 run, anyway, and one issue of Rob Rodi that has got mixed in.
Comxiology purchases can either be read on Android, Apple, Kindle Fire or Windows 8 devices. They can also be read online in a browser, for those who stay away from tablets and similar.
For those who don’t follow comics or my Marvel stuff, and just want to try a few issues, I’d recommend these ones specifically out of context.
UNCANNY X-MEN 4: A standalone issue from the perspective of an alien creature the X-men end up fighting, with me playing with alien perception and the horrors you can do with juxtaposition. Brandon Peterson really leaned into the bio-organic horror of it all, and does incredible Phalanx. It’s basically the themes of my X-men run in a single issue.
UNCANNY X-MEN 14: While this is embedded deep into Avengers Versus X-men, it’s also its own creature. Basically, it’s an extended pastiche of Notes From Underground in a Steampunk-critique city buried beneath the Earth, and about determinism and society. Even if you don’t read it, it’s worth coming to see what Dustin Weaver does with the cityscapes. It’s virtuoso stuff. I think this may be the best issue I did during Uncanny, and certainly in the top five of what I’ve done for Marvel. Here’s Colin TooBusyThinkingAboutComics writing about it.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 632: While the final issue is JIM’s high point, this is my favourite single issue. It’s a Christmas story based around Loki having to find homes for seven hellhounds. It’s cute and funny, but has a mass of doom and darkness bubbling beneath the surface – which is basically the core of what JIM does. The Breitweisers make it all look like a seasonal card too. I think the panel with Leah holding up her skirt when she chases around the hellhounds may be my favourite image of the Hel-maid in the entire run.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY: THE MANCHESTER GODS 639, 640, 641: I’d recommend reading it out of contest primarily for people who aren’t actually going to read the rest of JIM. It’s got a fairly serious position in the larger story, in terms of various reveals. However, as its own thing, it’s me writing about the concept of Britain and firing it through a half-dozen fantasy filters. It’s as mad as the maddest parts of Phonogram. For example, it features a Tony Wilson analogue as a urban druid. I still can’t believe I got away with most of this stuff.
And a few things I’d say before buying either run.
UNCANNY X-MEN
This stands alone. However, it is embedded in Avengers VersusX-men, the major crossover event of the year it was published. The information you need to know is worked in, and AvX was always where the run was ending at – and my themes aimed to dovetail with i ts – but it’s worth noting. The first 10 issues are by themselves, but do feature a lot of foreshadowing of where it’s going.
There’s a sort-of postscript to my run in the form of AVX Consequences, which you can also buy, though it’s full price.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
Journey Into Mystery is basically a closed novel. However due to existing in the modern superhero comics mainstream, it subverted a bunch of crossovers it was involved with to tell it – namely the EXILED crossover with NEW MUTANTS and the EVERYTHING BURNS crossover with Thor. It was also launched out of the FEAR ITSELF crossover, though include any important beats you need to know in JIM. I usually say FEAR ITSELF is WW2, and we’re a story about the Enigma code.
Anyway – if you buy the first 14 issues, and 539-541, they stand alone. The issue of Thor and New Mutants you would need to buy to get the complete thing are…
EXILED NEW MUTANTS 42 NEW MUTANTS 43 THE MIGHTY THOR 18 THE MIGHTY THOR 19 THE MIGHTY THOR 20 THE MIGHTY THOR 21
The Exiled/New Mutants issues are now a couple of dollars, but The Might Thor ones are full price.
I suspect it’s still worth throwing down for all the JIM issues. You won’t get them cheaper, and you can always come back and get the others. And to state the obvious, for anyone who pirates comics as they think they’re too expensive, now would be a good time to show that they would purchase at a lower price.
You can buy here. And it’s a sale just for today, so – er – buy today? That sounds about right.
Spoilers, obv.
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And we dive into THE SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK with the first part proper. This one motors.
When the issue unlocks, you can buy it online here.
There’s an interview over at CBR about the story, where I touch on a bunch of stuff. Those who were wondering about the 451/UNIT stuff should find their answers in here.
But before we dive in, there’s an article about UBER over on USA Today, wherein I say things like…
“As a writer, I might tend to be more interested in why people do bad things than why people do good things. It’s why people are led down horrific moral paths and all the different reasons for that.”
And you can read the rest here. There’s a preview for Issue 2 in there too.
Spoilers, obv.
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1-2 at the London shop. That’s this Saturday, and they’ve got their own Uber Limited variants of 0 and 1.
Delays in the UK due to bank holiday. There’s multiple covers too. I also believe the issue 0 reprint is also available, in case any of you missed it. It’s a dollar extra, but there’s a bunch of making-of stuff, and issue 0 is twice as long as normal, so it’s still not exactly expensive.
Issue 1 has apparently sold out at retailer level, so I’d rush and grab one from your local shop, if you’re interested.
