I’m holding in my hands the latest issue of Marvel Comics' The Marvelous Land of Oz, adapted from creator L. Frank Baum's 1904 novel of the same name. The miniseries is a sequel to The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz by Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) and Skottie Young (X-Men), which is probably the best comic book adaption of a novel I’ve ever seen.

For those not familiar with the sequels in the Oz series, The Marvelous Land of Oz is the only book in the series in which Dorothy Gale does not appear.



In the sequel, we meet Tip, a young boy who is under the guardianship of a witch named Mombi in Gillikin Country. One day, Tip makes a man out of wood and a pumpkin for a head, who he appropriately names Jack Pumpkinhead, in order to frighten Mombi. The witch, however, is not to be fooled with and uses her Powder of Life to bring Jack to life.

With Mombi threatening revenge on the pair, Tip and Jack steal the Powder of Life and make their way to the Emerald City. There they meet General Jinjur and her all-girl Army of Revolt. The army plans to overthrow the Scarecrow, who famously became ruler of Oz at the conclusion of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.



As the battle ensues, we meet old friends like Glinda the Good, the Tin Woodman, and the Field Mice. We also meet new characters, such as Ozma and the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Wogglebug.



Young and Shanower have again created a side of Oz that you have never seen before, and, in my opinion, the possibilities for this saga to continue are endless. The series is limited to 8 issues and promises to be an artistic masterpiece.

Issue #7 is available on June 16.

HEY KIDS!! OctEgon here. I’ve been itching for an excuse to work on a monthly column on everybody’s favorite alternative softcore art-porn electronet site. It took some thinking. I mean, we’ve already got the music expert, the film guru, the political nut-job, the Buddhist, the rockstar, the alcoholic Englishman, the time-traveling fashionista and the Starfleet Ensign. (All things I like to pretend that I am from time to time.) So where do I fit in?

Then it dawned on me.

I want to talk to you about the most magical day of the week…

Wednesdays!

Between new episodes of Lost and new comics, it’s basically Nerd Sabbath. But now with Lost on break until 2010 and most comic prices going up a dollar in the face of a recession, nerds everywhere are being tested. Nerds like me. I’ve sharpened my Netflix queue to quench the thirst normally handled by Lost. Soon, I’ll be basking in the glow of Deadwood, The Wire and The Shield. As for comics, much like the American workforce, some are unfortunately going to get the axe.

BUT THERE’S JUST TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF OUT THERE RIGHT NOW AND I WANT TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THEM!!!

For example, I have to stress -- with retired fanboys -- how much better Marvel is now compared to the 1990s, when EVERYBODY was collecting comics. First, you had kids like me, who were relatively new to the scene. I was 11 or 12 and was sold the second I saw a Mark Bagley cover of The Amazing Spider-Man, where he teamed up with Venom to take down Carnage. I didn’t know who those later two were at the time; I just knew I had to own it. Then there were the older fans who were around for Crisis on Infinite Earths, “The Kree/Skrull War” and even Jack Kirby’s heyday.

Finally, there were these other guys. Even in my naïve youth, I could tell they didn’t really belong there. The collectors who thought they were going to pay for their child’s college education with a copy of Spawn #1. Basically, the male equivalent to irrational Beanie Baby enthusiasts. All of this pointless collecting lead to pointless stories and pointless titles, with sometimes up to 5 variant covers for a single issue featuring decadent holographic foil imagery that jacked the sale price up 100%.

Eventually, most people got sick of all this poppycock and opted out. This lead the comics industry from record highs to record lows and there were bankruptcies abound!

Now? Now there’s been some kind of writer’s renaissance at Marvel over the past decade. They’ve got Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, J. Michael Strazynski, Jonathan Hickman, Jason Aaron and Garth fucking Ennis. Don’t get me wrong. These guys are all MUCH better at doing their own independent stuff, (Powers, Criminal, Casanova, Babylon 5, The Nightly News, Scalped and Preacher, respectively) but if you’re going to have anybody pulling the strings of a cohesive fictional universe, these are the guys you want.

That said, I still have to make cuts in my weekly pull. I’ve got the digital subscription. The newly digitized issues are about a year or so behind and the browser is a little wonky at times, but I have noticed improvements. It came in handy for catching up on issues I’ve missed over the years. I was thinking of switching over completely after Secret Invasion’s “meh” ending, but this new era of “Dark Reign” that immediately followed has been sooooooo good that I can’t stop.

Damn you, Marvel.

I’ll have to make the digital jump eventually. But as for indie titles, I almost feel like it’s my patriotic duty to buy those. Here are some titles that I like to think are worth your hard earned cash during these hard earned times.

THE SWORD



From the Brothers Luna, It’s the story of a crippled, whiney little girl who watches in horror as her suburban family is murdered by three elemental gods and left for dead in her burning house, only to discover the magic sword designed to kill them buried under the floor that just gave way. What follows are some of the best choreographed fight scenes in recent comics, paralled by appropriate flashbacks to her time with the family she’s sworn to avenge. It’s like reading a battle choreographed by Yuen Wo-Ping. Sometimes I wonder if I should be angry when a single issue flies by in a matter of minutes.

Then I read it again, and again, and again.



THE WALKING DEAD



This isn’t just a zombie series. This is THE ZOMBIE SERIES. From Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard, it’s stark, black & white style puts you in a completely different world. It's a never-ending zombie movie, where the ever-changing roster of survivors, whom the title is truly referring to, slowly lose their grip issue by issue. And just the way Romero intended with his movie series, the zombie backdrop is of course a twisted carnival mirror put up in front of humanity, highlighting our true flaws and our true fears. Fuck! I wish this was a series on HBO or Showtime or something. Oh, and the 50-issue compendium just recently went on sale. Buy it for the undead lover in your life.



CHEW



From John Layman and Rob Guillory, this came out of nowhere. Such a great premise with the entire set-up nailed in the first issue. Tony Chu is a “cibopahtic,” meaning that he can eat anything and know everything about its “life” up to that point. If it was fruit, he'd know where it was grown. If it's a burger, he feels the suffering of abused cattle. He’s also a detective. So you can imagine what might happen if a suspect doesn’t feel like talking. I actually recall myself laughing out loud at some points. Especially at the notion of a chicken speakeasy during a bird flu pandemic.



BHELLBOY/B.P.R.D.



I noticed something the other day while watching Hellboy II: The Golden Army at a friend’s house. It sucks. Like, a lot. And I’m a Guillermo del Toro fan, so it hurts me to even say that. I remember thinking it was way too much like the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies when I saw it in the theater, and now every time I’m flipping through my cable channels and it pops up and I instinctively hang around to watch it because I’m stupid, I get angry because I have to compare it with Mike Mignola’s grim and seamless tapestry of actual monster folklore. Fuck. Hold on, my nose is bleeding out of sheer frustration.

…

Okay. Back. My recommendation would be to start with the Hellboy trades and then tackle B.P.R.D. trades. This is some seriously great stuff. Especially BPRD 1946 and anything with Lobster Johnson in it.


GRAVEL



Imagine that Clint Eastwood and Jason Statham had a grizzled love child that went on to learn the mystic arts and used them to fuck you up. Enter Gravel, by Warren Ellis and Mark Wolfer. There are magic bullets, scaly lizard gods, chain smoking, pocket dimensions and a cryptic sigsand that everybody wants but can’t quite seem to read. What I like best about this title is that there are no cliffhangers. There’s an on-going arc, but for the most part, each issue is a self-contained chapter, bringing our titular character one step closer to his goal, which appears to be killing other magicians. (Side note: Is it just me, or do books published by Avatar, like Gravel, have a funny smell about them? Not bad. Just…funny.)


Anyways, I hope these recommendations helped, especially if you’ve been thinking about getting back into the comics game, which you should.

I’ll be back every month or so with more recommendations and a rant or two.

By the way, what are you reading?


OctEgon is currently working a crap temp job processing home foreclosure documents. If you're hiring for something a little less depressing in the Orange County area, do yourself a solid and hit him up for his resume. He's good people.

The comic book industry lost another of its greats this past weekend.

Even though I am a huge comic book nerd, I'm ashamed to say that my only exposure to Mr. Gerber's comic work is an issue of Man-Thing from the Seventies, and some issues of Howard the Duck, but they had all the things Gerber has been known for: surrealism, social commentary, and memorable characters.

Gerber was more than just a great writer, though. He was an advocate for both independent comics, and for work-for-hire writers and artists at Marvel and DC.

And Gerber's off-the-beaten-path mentality didn't stop at comics, either. He kept friends and fans updated through his blog, and he was in high spirits, even in the face of his own mortality.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Gerber.

My train ride to Comic-Con from Los Angeles was filled with Hollywood fucks, talking too loudly on their cell phones, bitching out their assistants, and trying to impress each other with how many scripts they had brought along to read.

Oh man, I thought, is this what Comic-Con is going to be like? A bunch of industry douchebags who think we're just a big focus group of nerds?

My fears appeared to be realized when I opened up McPaper, and read a story on page one of the Life section all about how Hollywood executives come down to Comic-Con to use the largest gathering of Nerds this side of Mos Eisley Spaceport as a giant focus group.

The article mentioned something about a movie called Watchmen, which was about "a slain superhero."

Oh for fuck's sake. Why not just call Star Wars a movie about "a captured princess"?

I read my book (the 2007 Nebula Awards Showcase, for those of you scoring at home), turned on my noise canceling headphones, and did my best to lose myself in Dark Side of the Moon and the planet Mars. Hrm, come to think of it, that's what people have been doing with Dark Side of the Moon since it was released in 1973.

Once I arrived at Comic-Con, my fears were put entirely to rest. My fellow geeks were everywhere: guys with ponytails and trench coats, mostly-naked women and the men who think they have a chance to score with them, and some of the most elaborate and awesome Transformers costumes I've ever seen. After suffering through the highest concentration of Hollywood fuckery I've seen in a decade, it felt good to be back among my people, even if the Hollywood fucks just thought of us all as a giant focus group and invaded our party as a result.

This makes me wonder something: if we actually are a huge focus group, wouldn't they, you know, listen to us? We're not just a huge market with a lot of disposable income for you to exploit; we actually care about this stuff, and if you keep fucking it up, we're going to stop buying it. Think I’m bluffing? Go talk to anyone associated with Elektra. Or Captain America. Or Fantastic Four. Or Ghostrider. Or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Or Daredevil.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Lord of the Rings proved that it’s possible to please the geeks and the mainstream audiences by simply serving the story that’s endured for decades, not making it “fresh” or “new” or “dumbed down by an industry fuck because he’s too stupid to understand it.”

Now, it’s not entirely Hollywood's fault. It’s not that they don’t want to understand us, it’s that they’re incapable of understanding us. A studio fuck who wants to bury his face in a mountain of blow while two whores he picked up at the Rainbow Room spit on each other doesn’t live in the same world as a comic book geek who wants to bury his face in the collected works of Neil Gaiman while his girlfriend gets dressed up as slave girl Leia.

For those executives, I present a very brief, very simple primer in understanding geeks: We want this stuff to be done right because we’ve lived it for our entire lives and know it better than any of you ever will. We’ve played with the action figures and written the fan fiction and crammed fifteen of our friends into the hotel room so we could afford to go to the conventions where we buy T-shirts that say HAN SHOT FIRST because, goddammit, this stuff is our lives. Before we could talk to girls, there was Princess Leia. Before we had cars, there was the Batmobile. Before we could find escape from the horrors of modren life in a bottle, we escaped into the pages of comic books and science fiction magazines.

These stories that you buy and put on the big screen may just be numbers on a yearly accounting to you, but they are more than that to us. To us, they are something that brings us together and makes us part of an exclusive (and frequently stinky, unfortunately) club.

For example, while I walked down the middle aisle of the convention hall on Thursday, I passed a huge Lucasfilm booth. A scene from Star Wars played on a giant LCD screen: Darth Vader tells Grand Moff Tarkin that he senses something he hasn’t sensed in a long time. Without even thinking about it, I spoke along with Vader as he said, “Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him!” There were about two dozen Star Wars Geeks watching the scene. All of us unselfconsciously spoke the quote aloud, and then immediately grinned at the shared experience.

How many of us do you think were really excited to find out that the Force is a fuckin’ virus?

Batman Begins, Sin City, and V for Vendetta worked because the actors never overwhelmed the characters, and the screenplays were all true to the source material that made the comics worth optioning in the first place.

Hollywood faces its greatest challenge in the history of adapting comic books to movies with Watchmen. Many executives won’t understand what it’s about. Neither will their young, allegedly hip assistants they hired out of Harvard Business School.

If Hollywood really wants to do this right, and really doesn’t want to fuck it up, my advice is to listen to the focus group at Comic-Con. I mean, really listen, because if Hollywood fucks up Watchmen, there’s going to be a nerd riot so terrifying, it will be like a thousand studio executives cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

Wil Wheaton went to school with 27 Jennifers.

Set your phasers to FUN and roll some constitution checks because another week-long Nerdstock is nearly upon us.

Let me offer a "Shazam” to all the comic geeks, and a hearty "NUQNEH - NOOKNEHH" to all the Klingons. Let’s make this year the nerdiest yet.

Since 1998 I've watched in awe and horror through increasingly bloodshot eyes as Comic Con bloats larger, and larger -- like a brightly colored spandex-clad corpse ready to burst in the San Diego sun. Unfortunately this year, I think comic books, and their creators have been pushed into the parking lot to make room for Sony, Nintendo and Lions Gate.

The full schedule is up, visit the official website for full panel descriptions for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I don’t have much patience for big movie panels, but if they’re your thing then check out Dark Horizons because they did a fine job of listing some highlights. One presentation of note: Ridley Scott is doing one to support the upcoming fancy, new Blade Runner DVD. It will contain every version ever released and one new cut that has yet to be seen. That panel is 3:15-4:45 on Friday in Hall H.

Of course, check out the SuicideGirls while you're walking around. This year the SuicideGirls are are planting their flag at booth C6. You can get pictures with the girls, buy the SG magazine or just hang out.

If you want to help put the “comic” back into Comic Con then be sure to check out the following folks from this very site as you’re stomping around the wretched hive of scum and villainy:

Saturday at 12:30 Grant Morrison will be moderating a panel focusing on superstar artist, writer and SG member JH Williams. JH also has a table at booth 4601 in front of door E with many other fine comic creators.

Jamie McKelvie and writing partner Kieron Gillen will be signing their collected series Phonogram:

Those two fellas will be sharing a table with Frasier Irving (Gutsville) at the Image booth 2729. You won't find a table with cooler comics anywhere in the hall. Wonderful stuff.

SG member rikkitikitavi will be there hawking his new Tokyo Pop book Battle of the Bands.

The Mayor of Comic Books has some big anouncements (Zombies in 70's Porntatsic San Fernando Valley) and will be making a general nuisance of himself. Rick will be signing 100 limited edition XXXOMBIES movie posters at the Image Comics Booth (#2729) on Saturday between 2-3 PM

Brian Posehn, Remender and I will be signing The Last Christmas at Image Comics and then later on Saturday night Brian will be joined by his boyfriend Steve and the rest of the cast of the Sarah Silverman Program for a panel and screening. (Run to the costume contest after.)

Juliana will be signing at Image Sunday morning from 10 to 11 AM in support of the book she colorsTexas Strangers.

Lenore turns 10 this year - celebrate it by joining creator Roman Dirge on Thursday from 6-7 PM in Room 1AB .

Perpetually lurking SG member Phil Noto is debuting a limited hardback sketchbook. It’s amazing, and under-priced -- like everything Phil does. Here's the cover:

Phil and I will also be signing and giving away preview copies of a new book we’re doing together for Image Comics. (Last shameless plug for myself – I promise.) Phil can be found in the same block that JH Williams is setting up camp -- 4601.

If you're looking for something to do after the con on Saturday - what about Zoetica's big party?

This year’s gathering will undoubtedly be remembered for Warren Ellis' appearance. Ellis will be there for his comic book work and to celebrate the release of his new novel, Crooked Little Vein. Click here for Warren's complete San Diego schedule.

This year’s show will also be notable for someone who will be missed: Daniel Robert Epstein. Daniel loved the shit out of comic books, and Comic Con and this year should have been the first of many he was to attend as a comics professional. His posthumous comic book debut arrives soon in the original graphic novel The Toxic Avenger & Other Tromatic Tales.

The Epstein family has requested that in lieu of cards, gifts and flowers that Daniel’s fans consider making a donation in his name to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The CBLDF is a non-profit organization that fights tirelessly for free speech. They primarily defend retailers against obscenity charges stemming from the sale of comic books in (mostly) red states. However, they have also defended creators too.

The fund has a big case going to trial in Georgia (surprise!) and will end up spending at least 80,000 dollars on behalf of the defendant. Retailer Gordon Lee is alleged to have brought culture to the Peach State.

If you’re at Comic Con next week you can find the CBLDF at booth 1831 or you can swing by the SG booth and make a donation at either location in Daniel’s name.

I apologize if there are any attending members or SG’s who were left out of this round up – please post your San Diego plans in this column’s comments.

One last word of advice for everyone: On Saturday Ray Bradbury is appearing from 4-5 PM in Room 6CDEF upstairs. He's joined by Ray Harryhausen. If you've never heard Bradbury speak, please take this opportunity to do so.

That's a wrap. I’ll see you at the bars. I'll be the guy shaming himself by yelling:

In drunkest day, in booziest night
No drink shall escape my sight
Let those who worship sobriety's might
Beware my power, Sam Adam's light!

Keep watching the Newswire for more comic book features including interviews with Matt Fraction, Paul Pope, Rick Remender and Ivan Brandon.

Gerry collects insane promotional comics of yore such as "Superman Meets The Quik Bunny" or "Captain America Vs Cigarettes"

Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot. This Saturday May 5th you can combine your love of “free” with your love of “stuff.” Happy Free Comic Book Day, America! Unfortunately, it’s become necessary to give comics away in order to promote them outside their very loyal audience. Oddly, comic books have never been more visible than now, with Hollywood’s successful mining of the industry. On Friday Spider Man 3 is going to begin to make a billion dollars. It deserves to. I hope it’s great.

We’re never too far away from a big budget studio release of a comic book adaptation. And crossovers like Marvel’s Civil War are making it the most profitable time to be in the comic business.

But I think there’s a small problem.

When I walk into a comic shop I often feel like I've fallen into a world not unlike Children of Men -- a graying dystopia devoid of much youth. Every Wednesday when I pick up the week’s new comics, people exclaim “Hey The Kid’s here!” I am 33. Sometimes my back hurts for no reason.

The reasons most often cited for seemingly low birth rate of new comic book fans are:
1) Video Games
2) Television

I call bullshit. I played video games (still do) and my step dad was practically Magnum PI -- but I still fell in love with comic books. Comic books engage the reader like nothing else. You imagine everything between each panel. I learned to read and learned to love reading with comic books.

As a kid, I could buy comics in every supermarket, newsstand, and five and dime. My folks would buy one for me when they picked up the paper. After I got hooked, I found a treasure trove of them at the local baseball card shop (People used to collect little picture cards of athletes. The back of the cards would list a player’s stats or allergies. They disappeared when the Internet came out.)

Anyway, there are probably lots of good business reasons why comic books aren’t available in those really convenient places -- their returnability is certainly at the top of the list. When a newsstand doesn’t sell all its copies of Lucky Magazine, they rip the cover off, throw away the magazine and are credited for the unsold merchandise. Not so with comics. When you rip the cover off a comic book you are just a horrible person.

Free Comic Book Day was created to drive new business into comic shops -- it’s a damn great idea and it won’t cost you a dime. Most comic shops seem to be participating. Check out the FCBD Website, drop in your zip code and see where you can pick up your haul. Many shops around the country are throwing parties and hosting signings. If you live in New York, Chicago, Denver, LA or San Francisco, star writer Robert Kirkman is coming to you to promote his new comic -- The Astounding Wolf-Man. Ask him to draw you a Batman.

While you’re lining your own nerdy pockets -- why not give something back to comic books? Take a kid down to the shop and put some comics in his or her hand. There will be Hellboy, Simpsons, Batman, Spider-Man, Wolf-Man and Archie books. It could end up being one of the most culturally important experiences in a young life. Don’t have a kid? Or know one? No sweat. Amber Alerts will be turned off in observance of Free Comic Book Day. Excelsior!

Tell them "The Kid" sent you.