The Bum’s Rush #53

Just a quick note to let everyone know that this weekend (April 29th and 30th) the Stumblebum Crew will be attending the Dallas Comicon 7! So make sure to come on out and visit us. And remember, if you give us money we will dance. Well, Dana will. I’ve got this trick knee and all…

Talk To The Bum

Yeah, I know I said that this would be a monthly feature here in The Bum’s Rush but this one is just as special last weeks. This time we’ve got pretty much the entire Stumblebum Crew here to answer the questions! First things first, allow me to introduce the players:

Aaron Hall has been part of the Stumblebum Crew since the very beginning, writing Ring Psychology, a column about… writing. He recently returned to writing for the site full time after taking a short sabbatical during which he reportedly started several wars in Eastern Europe. Aaron also writes for
Paperback Reader.

Dana Place is our resident film expert, writing The Weigh In, a column about movies and TV. He also struts about like he owns the place and thinks that he is the boss. I allow him to maintain this illusion so long as… wait, do you think… is he reading this? Uh, Dana is the King of Stumblebum! All hail Dana!

Dave Sherrill started Stumblebum’s first weekly webcomic, Your Biggest Fans before moving on to start Sucker Punch Spotlight in which he interviews some of the best webcomic artists alive. Dave also does his own webcomic, Cultural Void and dreams of one day interviewing himself. He also likes to pretend that he’s in this band.

David DeGrand was the second artist on Your Biggest Fans until someone wised up and gave him his very own weekly comic, Brain Goop. The original title was supposed to be The Totally True and Not At All Made Up Adventures of David DeGrand until someone pointed out the possibility of jail time at which point the name was quickly changed. You can check out more of David’s amazing art right here DeGrand Land!

Drew Clements is the writer of Down But Not Out in which he examines classic and/or forgotten comic book gems. I am quite convinced that Drew is an even bigger comic book nerd than I am, which is completely impossible and totally against the laws of nature. If we ever meet in person I am sure the universe will explode. Drew also writes the serialized story, Tomorrow’s Light.

Sam Milligan writes Punch-Drunk, a semi-weekly column offering thoughts on a wide range of topics from his favorite sci-fi writers to who he beat up with a stick while wearing armor last weekend. And yes, he is indeed my father. Some may call this nepotism, but I prefer to call it neapolitan… mmmmm neapolitan.

All right, enough staling. Some of these guys like the talkee talkee so let’s just get on with the show, huh?

Paul Milligan: What comics are currently at the top of your must read list?

Aaron Hall: The Batman titles were great over the past few years and they're still pretty high on my list of must reads right now.

Dana Place: Batman Secrets and Superman One Year Later, I am also a fan of the new run of Captain America.

Dave Sherrill: I'm a terrible comic buyer, I never keep up with new stuff. Instead I will raid the used bookstores and dig up old stuff I missed the first time around. It's great because I can usually buy twice as many comics that way. First I look for collections of comic strips, Red Meat, Life In Hell, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, any really old newspaper comics like Mickey Mouse, Popeye or Krazy Kat. Then I raid the graphic novels and comic books. I grab anything by Peter Bagge, Evan Dorkin, Mignola, R. Crumb, Will Eisner or anything that looks weird or interesting. I once found a comic by a guy from my hometown who wrote the book the movie JFK was based on. I also read a lot of graphic novels at the library for free because I am a giant cheapo nerd.

David DeGrand: Wimbeldon Green by Seth, Ripple by Dave Cooper, the next volume of The Complete Peanuts, and Angry Youth Comics #10 by Johnny Ryan.

Drew Clements: The books I look forward to (almost) every month are Godland, Fear Agent, Firestorm, Jonah Hex, and Marvel Team-Up.

Sam Milligan: None, as I don't currently read comics on a regular basis (I get my comics fix from the daily strips in the newspaper and some online ones as well). This may change as my grandsons get a little older and start reading comics. Then I'll probably read whatever they're reading.

Paul: Do you read any comics that you think more people should be buying?

Aaron: Captain Atom: Armageddon from Wildstorm has been unbelievable so far. The mini is almost over, but it truly has been a great, great comic book that I think everyone should pick up.

Dana: Ex Machina, Superman One Year Later. I think people have dumped all over Superman (and rightly so) over the last few years for DC’s lazy attempt at keeping the franchise running. DC seems to be putting Superman back on track and with 52 and the new soon to be released story arc connecting the movies Superman II and the new Superman Returns, I can’t be more excited about the immediate future of Superman.

Dave: I wish everyone in the world had a copy of Street Angel, that was an awesome book (thanks again, Paul). I wish there were more books like the old Zap comic of the 70s. There are tons of awesome cartoonists on the internet who would do print really cheap just to get their names out there. I would do a magazine for these people myself if I could.

David: I think Johnny Ryan should be getting more attention than he does simply because he's one of the very few cartoonists that goes to such extremes with his humor. I feel he's vastly underrated and could be because people don't get the fact that he is trying to be as stupid as possible on purpose, and this of course where his humor stems from.

Drew: Absolutely: Godland, Fear Agent, and Firestorm are books people should be buying. I would never have thought that two Image books would ever be in my answer to a question like this. As for Firestorm... well, it just rocks.
Also, pretty much anything that has to do with Paul Chadwick's Concrete. The last mini-series ended last year, but Dark Horse has been putting out these neat little trades that collect all of Concrete's appearances, so there's no real shortage of stuff to read, despite there not being a monthly book.

Sam: Really not applicable.

Paul: Looking at the current trends in comics, which ones are you excited about and which ones turn your stomach?

Aaron: I like that most people seem to be letting go of that old Marvel versus DC mentality. It's great to have loyal fans and all, but I think there are great books coming out from both companies and it's silly to limit yourself to just one or the other. It seems that there's less people interested in collecting and more people just interested in loving comics. I think that's a great thing. As far as negative trends, there are a few that have me worried. The return of the variant covers and the frequency with which they're coming out is a bit scary. It's really something that had a lot to do with the big collapse in the industry some years back and I think that if the companies don't watch themselves, they could really hurt this industry. Also, I'm worried about kids reading comics. It doesn't seem that there's any real, consistent effort being made to get kids into comics anymore. Which hey, may work for now, but what happens when this generation of comic fans dies? I really hope the big companies will make a concentrated effort to win kids over and get make new comics fans out of them so we can continue to grow the industry and keep it secure over the next fifty to hundred years.

Dana: I am excited to see large comic companies taking chances on no-name/normally indie comics. With breakout hits like 30 Days of Night and Dead at 17 the larger comic companies seem willing to spend money to find that new nugget of comic gold. The way these companies seem to be going about this process is turning my stomach. DC and Marvel seem more than happy to throw any kind comics into the market to see what sticks. It all seems too random. As a result, there is some pretty dreadful stuff out there. An overabundance of junk to real quality will probably turn readers away and the whole experiment will be junked. I hope I am wrong about this.

Dave: Manga - Boo! Zombies? Yay! I'd rather see tattered corpses all day long instead of guys in tights and long johns... not that there is anything wrong with that.

David: I like that there is a pretty large alternative comics scene, but it still pales compared to the super hero stuff, which I can barely stomach. There's so many different versions of one character to keep up with that I just said "screw it" and choose to just stick with reading my favorite older comic strips and books.

Drew: Good Trends? Well, the fact that DC, Image, Marvel, Dark Horse (and a slew of indie publishers) are putting out some of the best comics in years is a definite plus.
The negative? I try not to focus too much on the negative aspect of comics, 'cause I'd rather enjoy them than critique 'em (which is why I only review comics for the site when I absolutely love something).
Although I must say that variant covers becoming the norm again isn't something I'm too thrilled about. Oh... and I'm still pissed about Gwen Stacy!!!!!!! (Yeah, yeah, I can't let it go.)

Sam: I'm not familiar enough with the current trends in comics to comment.

Paul: What made you a fan of comics and what keeps you reading them today?

Aaron: From ages 8-12 I read two comics, Wolverine and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I wasn't really a comics fan past that. When I was 15 or so I was on vacation with my parents and I came across Grifter issue #2 in a gas station. The cover, by Ryan Benjamin I think, just struck me hard. Grifter's standing in a doorway and it's dark, he's sort of cloaked in shadow. There's blood all over the walls around him and his pistols are smoking. Something about it just spoke to me. I think that's when I really fell in love with comics. I still was a fringe guy until I was 19 and a kind fellow gave me a bunch of trades for Christmas. After that, the addiction was born. As for what keeps me reading, I just think comics are a great way to read a story. It combines visual art with literature and can really do things that other forms of media can't. There are amazing storytellers working in comics, there always have been, and every week at the comic store you're able to pick up their latest work and just immerse yourself in amazing adventures. They're truly unique and when done right, there's nothing better.

Dana: I must admit I am not the biggest comic book fan. Normally I just try something out and if it catches my interest I run with it. I have read full runs of only a few comics but lately I have been trying to broaden my comic base. To answer your question though… Walking in once a month and picking up my copy of Preacher or The Sandman got me hooked on the medium I suppose. I read comics now because I think that whether it is great literature or something that is best left on the shelf, comic books are a legitimate medium that does not get the credit it deserves for keeping people reading. It is an inexpensive medium that really opens up a reader’s imagination for a short period of time on a regular basis.

Dave: My buddy Josh from high school was always into the funny books, and I would ride into town to get books with him. I think he turned me on to Hate and Milk & Cheese originally. I would sleep over at his house sometimes and read all his comic books up. Animal Man and Sandman and all that good stuff. That was like ten years ago and I still read his comics sometimes, but now I burn his CDs too.

David: The very first comic I remember falling in love with as a very young child was Garfield, and that was before I realized that that strip basically has three jokes that are retold countless times. After discovering Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, I realized that comic strips don't have to be funny every time, they can be used to explore issues and shed an interesting light onto things that other mediums really can't. These days, there's really very few new comics out that I read, I'm having a blast finding older strips that I never read before, and thanks to Fantagraphics reprinting Peanuts and Dennis the Menace, I can see where those classic strips came from.

Drew: When I was a young kid, it was purely innocent entertainment--much as you'd watch a cartoon. As I grew older it became escapism. Without being too revealing, there was a period of my life when things got a little too tough for the twelve-year-old me to handle, so I jumped back (I'd taken something of a hiatus) into the world of comics.

Sam: When I was a boy (hey, that sounds familiar for some reason), I enjoyed the stories and the artwork. I've always found that good comics are equal to any other form of literature. The primary reason I don't read them these days is a lack of time.

Paul: You can pick any creative team you want for any book you choose.Who would you pick and what book would you put them on?

Aaron: I'm struggling with this one, I really am. If I was going to be selfish, I'd pick myself as the writer and Tyler Kirkham as the artist and we'd work on Batman. If I'm not allowed to be involved, I think I'd have to go withSean McKeeverand Humberto Ramos on Grifter.

Dana: I would like to see Frank Cho draw a Brian Michael Bendis Wonder Woman comic. Not really sure that just popped into my head but I think it would be an interesting read and holey cow can that man draw some sexy women.

Dave: I don't know. Most of the creators I like do their own writing and drawing. Hrmmm.. I just don't know. Rob Liefield drawing Mickey Mouse comics would be pretty awesome.

David: I think anything written by Sam Henderson and drawn by Johnny Ryan would be the funniest damn thing ever to exist in the universe. The story could be about a clown and a sack of pubic hair and be hilarious.

Drew: Without a doubt, it'd have to be Stan Lee and Steve Ditko on Amazing Spider-Man. I'd like for them to take up the pencil and paper one last time and do something fun--something old-school. I'm not talking on a monthly basis, just a one-shot maybe. It's just the right time for these guys to do something.

Sam: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, of course!

Paul: What is your favorite thing to do outside of comics?

Aaron: I love television right now. There are tons of great shows on these days.

Dana: I like to watch movies. I probably spend more time than the average person flipping around the internet trying to pick up the latest news of that upcoming film.

Dave: I like rocking out with my rooster out.

David: Play video games from the 80's, watch cartoons from the 20's and 30's, and collect cartoon character figurines.

Drew: Read, write, run, and just enjoy time with the people I love most: my friends and family.

Sam: Just about anything. It's too cramped to do anything inside comics.

Paul: Wow, I’m starting to like some of these guys. Maybe working here ain’t so bad. Thanks, fellas!

Mars 1938 UPDATE

The book is done! Well… almost. The art is done, the pages are inked and the design for the book is underway. Only a week and a half to get this thing printed and ready for Free Comic Book Day. Judging by the usual Stumblebum standards, that’s like a whole week ahead of schedule.

Quick Bits

Warning! Nothing you read here in Quick Bits should be considered FACT until it actually happens. Which it might not. How do you know I’m not just making all this crap up? I could, you know. You’ve been warned!

1. I’ve been holding it back… trying not to say anything, especially since I was such a vocal proponent of the series, both in and out of this column, prior to its release. But I just can’t hold it in. INFINITE CRISIS IS NOT THAT GOOD! Phew. More on this later as I will probably do a column detailing my reaction to the whole Identity/Infinite Crisis One Year Later crossover hullabaloo.
2. Salvador Larocca has been announced as the artist for newuniversal, Warren Ellis’ re-imagining of Marvel’s New Universe. This is good. I think Larroca has been on X-books for far too long. I used to love his stuff so much that I bought several issues of Chris Claremont’s terrible X-Treme X-Men just to have that gorgeous Salva artwork. Now I look at his stuff and he just seems tired of it all.
3. Oh, this isn’t really comic book news, but it is NERD news and since I am a NERD I will talk
   about it – J.J. Abrams (creator of Lost and Alias) was announced as the director for the next
   Star Trek movie! Of course he came forward and pointed out that the story was factually inaccurate and that at this point he is merely producing the movie with an option to direct. Still, that would be so awesome. I really think someone like Abrams is what that franchise could use, especially after being run into the ground, set on fire and kicked a few times by Rick Berman.
4. Mike Wieringo’s blog is one of my favorite places to visit every single day. There’s almost always a new piece of art up there, which is always gorgeous and usually accompanied by some great commentary by the artist himself. That guy really draws some of the most fun looking stuff.
5. The Small Gods regular series may have been cancelled by Image but at least there’s that two issue Small Gods mini-series hitting stands s… what? Cancelled due to low sales?! Oh, comic fans… you bastards. In my county comics cancel you!
6. A Yakov Smirnoff joke? When did I write this column, 1986?

NEXT WEEK: Dallas Comicon 7 Report!!


Send me hate mail at thesuperleezard@yahoo.com

Read more stupid crap I write at www.livejournal.com/users/superleezard

Check out my (semi) daily comic, Der Wundervolle Bean, at www.livejournal.com/users/der_magic_bean

End of Line