Links: New Blogs

Undecided on whether to add to the blogroll or not, I shall make use of this post to have a record of some interesting blogs that have appeared in the last couple of weeks.

Greatest Movie Deaths of All Time – featuring video clips of carefully selected film deaths. Not much in the way of commentary, but you have to admire the focus.

Nad Shot – talking about focus, this blog is a collection of scans from comics of people being getting it in the groin. It’s wonderfully bizarre, and strangely hypnotic. Again, no commentary, but is it really needed?

Todd’s Blog – Todd Klein, best letterer and designer in the biz, talks about stuff. His recent series of posts on the different X-Men logos over the years was absolutely fascinating.

Stephen Fry’s blog – only two huge entries so far, but anything from the wonderful Mr Fry is a delight. Informed, full of anecdotes, funny and engaging – more please.

Stan Sakai’s livejournal site – although I would prefer Stan to knuckle down and create as much Usagi Yojimbo product as possible, I will allow him the time to post his thoughts on various topics whenever he has a free moment.

Andrew Collins' blog – “scriptwriter, journalist and broadcaster” journalist (NME, editor of Q for a while), presenter (I fondly remember Collins and Maconie’s Movie Club, a late-night film review show on ITV back in 1997), autobiographer, sitcom writer (Not Going Out), Film Editor of Radio Times, former editor of Empire magazine, radio DJ (Collins & Maconie’s Hit Parade on Radio 1, latterly on BBC6). He’s even written for Eastenders … Interesting to read someone with such a diverse media background writing for fun.

Short List – not strictly a blog, as it is the site for a free weekly newspaper, but it updates regularly so qualifies on that basis alone. Lists are half of blog content anyway, and these have a refreshing twist – the paper had a list of top ten crisps with their movie equivalents.

Some links before a break

I never thought I would see Tim O'Neill answer the question of 'who is stronger?' so central to Marvel zombies, but he provides clear and sensible answers to the eternal problem. Most bizarre, and definitive.

Dave Campbell has posted online the first issue of the new comic he has written and co-created, called Templar. The art is very polished and the story is intriguing and interesting; sci-fi versions of the Knights Templar fighting werewolves and zombies. Go check it out.

Tom Collins provides a list of his ten most rewatchable movies, an interesting twist on the classic list post, because it is more personal. Some interesting choices and thoughts behind it; I will provide my list when I return.

One of the films that I will include on my list is Enter The Dragon, a film I have watched many times. So I was dismayed by news in Variety, via Filmstalker, that they were going to remake it. Cue much dismay, angst, gnashing of teeth and bewailing, 'Why, dear God? Why?' However, on reading the report, it turns out not to be a true remake, just stealing the known name and making a new film. Phew.

Empire magazine, greatest film magazine in the world, has finally got its act together and started a proper blog (rather than their feeble attempt of a blog on MySpace, with Chris Hewitt writing for a short while and then ignoring it and then posting again and then giving up. Now where does that sound familiar ...?) and looks like it will be interesting. I hope they keep it up.

I will be out of blogging action for a couple of weeks, after which I will return with some reviews of graphic novels from my great local library and notes on a plethora of DVDs I've watched recently. I'll see you when I return.

Linky: Other People Worth Reading Recently

Because I always feel that San Diego is so very far away and that I will never attend the Comic-Con, I don’t talk about the many, many, many items that come out of there each year (for full details, look at the indexes for CBR and Newsarama). Anyway, it’s not as if this blog is read for up-to-the-minute, biting and witty analysis of current comic book news.

Instead, I wanted to link to some interesting reading on the web that I encountered recently, both as a pointer and a reminder.

Tom Brevoort now blogs, in an official capacity, for Marvel about his experiences as an editor on their books. Tom always comes across as smart and passionate about his work, so it was even more fascinating when he recently discussed aspects of Marvel’s powerhouse crossover, Civil War. It makes for fascinating reading, watching parts of the process from the beginning (Mark Millar’s original idea changes during the process) and the collaborations and movement. A wonderful look behind the scenes.

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Mike Sterling, one of the deservedly well-known comic bloggers, provides some intriguing insight behind the ‘90s crash of the comic book industry. Having worked in a comic shop for many years, and being an entertaining and thoughtful commentator on all things comic booky, he is perfectly placed to answer questions (which he asked for in this post) about that strange time in recent history.

I have to confess to not being completely aware of what exactly was going on at the time – not only did I not read many magazines about the industry, I didn’t care about the companies that were starting up (Valiant, Malibu, etc.) that were worse affected, and my finances weren’t so good (I was on a very small grant doing post-graduate work at the time) so I was not buying that many comics anyway. So, thanks Mike for being an archive of knowledge.
Asks the question:

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Inspired by Mike’s discussions of the ‘90s crash, Tim O’Neill discusses how the character of the Punisher was almost completely destroyed by what happened during that time in these three posts. Tim is a smart and discerning chap, so I was amazed he had even read some of the comics in the first place. However, he clearly explains the manner in which the then-successful Punisher franchise, hosting three continuing series, was totally destroyed through incompetence and forced to lay fallow until the masterful resurrection by Garth Ennis. Fascinating reading that also manages to show why I never read any Punisher comic of the time.

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Paul O’Brien, one of the best reviewer of comics around, talks at some length about Wolverine #55.

I believe that Paul works in the field of law, so an eye for detail is probably important in his job. He uses that ability on the X-Men comic books, and then to an even greater degree on this issue (and the storyline as a whole, written by Jeph Loeb).

There are some who think that buying comics you don’t like is wrong and is killing comics. This is bollocks, by the way, but that’s beside the point. Paul is not only doing an important job of keeping track of the books, he is also doing an excellent job of writing about them. He eviscerates the issue, and its role as resolution to the arc, for the complete and utter tosh it is (apart from the pretty pictures from Simone Bianchi).

I have yet to read something written by Loeb that I liked, and Paul nails the reasons why in this wonderfully entertaining review. Loeb has created a ludicrous concept (Logan and Sabretooth being archetypes of wolf-men throughout the ages because of their black and blonde hair respectively) and a boring sounding villain in a story that is nothing more than flimsy justification for introducing his villain and stating that we should take notice because Loeb says so. And Paul shows him how wrong he is at every turn. Delightful reading for anyone. Thank you, Paul, for doing what you do so well.

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EDIT: I forgot to include this bit, which fits into the post.

On his blog (now calling itself ‘Dick May or May Not Read Your Blog’ rather than its previous name of ‘Dick Hates Your Blog’), Dick Hyacinth provides a trip down memory lane as he talks about his personal experiences of being a reader/collector of comics in the 1990s. With some warm and honest writing, it is an enjoyable and nostalgia-sparking recollection of a different time. It is also fascinating to see the differences in comic book reading, and the maturation of taste in someone who enjoys the medium so much.

Back From The Work Week From Hell

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Where the people who pay for your comics and cinema habits ask for that it extra? Full-on work days, staying after hours, draining your energies so much that you have to take the entirety of Saturday to recover?

Well, I just had one of those, which is why I didn’t even have the ability to load previously written posts. Irregular blogging is not condonable, so I hope you’ll forgive me. It’s not as if I don’t have former history …

I wanted to take this chance for a bit of a catch up, to show that I do pay a bit of attention to the world. Top of the list is Doctor Who – the last four episodes have been superb. Although there were good episodes in the second series, it didn’t reach the heights of the Ecclestone season. The third series of this Russell T Davies-led reinvigoration of the greatest concept in television sci-fi has been quite ordinary, reaching a nadir with the ‘Human Dalek’ double episode, which was really quite awful on so many levels.

But then, the wonderful double episode Family of Blood, written by Paul Cornell, with its powerful emotional punch at the end. This was followed by the marvellous Blink, written by Steven Moffat (who wrote Coupling and one of the good episodes from series two of the new Doctor Who, Girl In The Fireplace), which was a tautly constructed piece of entertainment (‘quantum-locked’ ha!). And now Utopia, by Davies himself. The FutureKind (with their sharpened teeth) were pretty blah, and the setting nothing special (but enlivened by the wonderful dialogue, such as the ‘Stop that’ refrain of the Doctor whenever Captain Jack introduced himself to a woman). However, as a set-up for the return of the thematically linked villain of the series, the last third of the episode is the most absolutely wonderful piece of television, watching all the pieces fall into place, making my girlfriend and I positively quiver in delight. Sheer sci-fi magic.

I deliberately talked about UK-specific television because I had to spent most of my blog reading this week avoiding any reference to the ending of The Sopranos in the US. I don’t know when the final series will make its way to our shores, probably not for another year, but I would really like to watch it without knowing what’s going to happen.

Btw, I haven’t got my recent comics yet, so I have also been trying to avoid spoilers for New Avengers #31, so thanks very much to The Beat for ruining it for me by using it as a heading for an item. Fuckers.

My blog reading has increased exponentially with the return of Alan David Doane to the world of blogging. ADD, as he is known to us who have been around for some time, is a passionate and intelligent voice in the world of comics blogging, informing us in his beliefs about the world of comix and the better future of it. His opinions about comics retailing and the business involved were articulately expressed, as always, and I’ll forgive him for being one of those people who talked about The Sopranos.

Another voluminous blogger is Clandestine Chum, Greg Burgas, on his own blog and at Comics Should Be Good. The latest addition to one of his regular columns, Comics You Should Own, tells everyone to buy Flex Mentallo. Greg writes intelligently and perceptively about this marvellous mini-series, as he always does. He also writes volumes – I don’t know how he does it. We can forgive his arrogance (only joking, Greg) in telling us which comics to own because of the fact that he writes in an honest, non-pompous manner. And it's true – you should own it. I do like (and envy) his writing, which is able to pick out the themes of the work without being dry or academic. Now, if only he could manage to condense it a little …

Best title of a news item of last week: FBI tries to fight zombie hordes. Genius. The article isn’t worth reading, but who needs to with a headline like that?

Via LinkMachineGo, Ben Goldacre, who has the Bad Science column in the Guardian, has a blog. I had wanted to talk about his latest column, where he talks about the happy end to the story of the academic scientist and his quack blogging. He had been challenging the pseudoscience of various supplements and their nebulous claims of ‘blood cleansing’. In return, they did not engage him in scientific debate – they went straight to the top people at UCL, where the scientist works and who host his blog, and threatened them to take it down. They did temporarily, while they checked with their lawyers, before deciding to continue hosting the blog because they weren’t going to back down from unfounded bullying. Hurrah. Positively life affirming.

Obviously, the new Fantastic Four film was number one in the US, and I have to avoid the thoughtful comments of smart bloggers while they talk about the film. Next weekend, hopefully.

For the best ridiculing of a poster for a film (what would the review be like?), see this post from Jake on Ye Olde Comick Blogge. He has been making me laugh of late with this post (with some great animation) and his new webcomic, which wins based solely on the t-shirt logo alone.

Phew, that was a lot to unload. Now, either back to normal, or perhaps a move out of the comfort zone and talk about all the news pouring out of HeroesCon …

Solicitations, Inventory, And, Erm, Stuff

A lot to get through today, so let’s crack on and commentaritating (and making up words):

Marvel solicitations for October

As Marvel ploughs on with the massive Civil War crossover, there are only a few items worthy of merit that deserve mentioning, for whatever reason I see fit.

Ultimate Power #1
Bendis starts off this bizarre crossover, with Ultimate U meeting Squadron Supreme U. Shouldn’t DC be suing for stolen ideas – isn’t this a Marvel version of the JSA meeting the JLA? It should be interesting seeing Marvel do something like this, especially with the multiple writer approach of different writers doing three chapters in a row. I don’t think that this bodes well for the quality of the comic, but it is definitely worthy of attention.

Dr Strange: The Oath #1
Yet another attempt to ‘do’ Dr Strange for the current climate (the question everyone wants to know: will Neilalien like it?), this looks like it has a fighting chance in the form of Brian Vaughan, an interesting sounding story, and some fluid art of Marcos Martin. The preview pages are funny and attention grabbing, so could this be the one that works its magic? (Pun unfortunately intended.)

Criminal #1
Pure crime noir from Icon comics from the class Sleeper team of Brubaker and Phillips. Despite the nagging feeling that there isn’t a market for this book (the good crime noir books with superheroes – Sleeper, Gotham Central, Powers – have never done excellent business, so why will that change if you remove superheroes from the equation?), I will be there for what should be a cracking read from creator combo with good previous form. Here’s hoping that Marvel support it …

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Incoming Inventory

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #20
Following the nice aside of the whodunit of last issue, I hope the plot progresses a little with this one, and perhaps we’ll get another issue done completely by Kitson?






Casanova #2
Despite my feeling that Fraction missed the point of the Fell format in the first issue, there was a lot to enjoy about the introduction to Casanova Quinn, so this issue will be a test to see if it can work in 16 dense pages.





Runaways #18
I’ve deliberately been avoiding any news, interviews or discussion of Runaways stories, just so I can enjoy the unravelling of a death of a Runaway in an old school kinda way. It seems a shame to ruin a great last page from issue 17 with knowledge of what is to come.




X-Factor #9
PAD continues his ability to make me care about these characters and work them into a company-wide crossover, so I’m looking forward to this issue (with the showdown with Quicksilver), even if Calero is still doing the art. He’s improved since he began, but I’m not convinced. Yet.

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Other stuff:
Jog makes it to two years, so belated congrats to the most prodigious writer in the comic blogosphere, with not an image in sight. Timely, consistent, jaw-droppingly insightful, I’m too scared to comment on his posts for fear of my stupidity being displayed next to such intelligent writing.

Kevin provides scans of the first issue of OMAC – I still don’t get Kirby, but it was interesting to see it at least.

Frank Miller to adapt and direct a film of Will Eisner’s The Spirit – will this work? Is Frank the one to do it? I've not read any Spirit stuff, but I am fully aware of the respect in which it is held, so this adaptation has to really do justice to the source material for the sake of comic books.

End Of The Week Equals Links

Verily, doth my head acheth, so links must sooth mine furrowed brow.

A belated Happy Blogiversary to Mark; one year down, many more to go. Keep up the good work.

Kevin Smith seems to go out of his way to show that he is just like us (apart from being richer and more famous), as he blogs about the triviality of nose picking and his history of anal sex.

Tom’s latest objection of affection, in his sidebar update, is Lisa Edelstein, and he is so right about her being smoking hot (we just had the show where House had to inject her backside – oh, dear Lord, what a lucky man). Which leads him on to say that he is currently reading Hugh Laurie’s The Gun Seller, which I haven’t read in 10 years, which is when it was first published. A cracking read, and it’s a shame that his clinical depression meant he never got round to writing the screenplay.

Empire bases a news item using this Newsarama post as a source (which is bizarre, because I thought they only used official news outlets, like Variety and Hollywood Reporter, when I did my week of online work experience with them), informing us of the fact that David Goyer is set to write a treatment for Thor. Not sure about this – unless they capture the magic of Simonson’s run, I can’t see it working. Also in the comic book/film overlap, we have the news that the Silver Surfer will be a CGI creation in the second Fantastic Four film. I think this is a great idea, and is the only way to get across the otherworldiness of Norrin Radd (I didn’t want to see a naked man in silver skin paint).

Warren Ellis went to Heroes Con last week, from which he is only now recovering, but it seems that he was the person people wanted to see, based on the coverage he got – two articles on the Wizard site and one from Newsarama – that are just about him (even if it meant he had to confirm that Fell wasn’t being cancelled). This is solely because he gives good soundbytes: (about Nextwave) 'You’ve read the book,' said Ellis. 'Quite clearly I’m not thinking about anything. I’m just spouting utter f***ing gibberish onto the page.'

Finally, when in doubt, always post a pretty picture. Here is the teaser for the Brian Vaughan-written Dr Strange mini-series (found via Neilalien, obviously, and Blog@Newsarama), which looks exceedingly cool – I'm looking forward to this one:

Links. Links. Glorious Links

There is a trade paperback review that will be up shortly, but I felt compelled to do some linking to a few things.

The main reason for me doing a links post today was discovering this post yesterday, quite possibly the single funniest thing I’ve read, ever, on a blog (please note, this statement may not actually be true) (via the mighty Warren Ellis):

'Born in a laboratory! Forged in pain! A thirst for blood...and rape! Rapebear!'

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Tom, who is funny and has excellent taste, hates on some classic films in this post. I replied here, writing enough for an entire post in a comment, which I don’t usually do, but I can run my mouth off when I get going, especially when I share the same level of anger at the undeserving success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (or, as Tom calls it, My Big Fat Boring Stupid Unfunny Greek Wedding)

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It’s always good to see a blogger last the year, so Happy Bloggiversary to Tom Foss.

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Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips will be bringing the creator-owned Criminal to the stands in October, which you can read all about in this Newsarama post, or see the PDF (usual warning of large file; you can see the same preview material in the news item).

This is a brave thing; a straight crime comic. From Marvel. Can this work? I really don’t know. I’ll be there for it, but it looks like it is going to struggle – look what happened to their excellent Sleeper, and that had superheroes in it. It’s something that Ed is worried about too:

I know people like to wait for trades or hardbacks or some kind of collection, but I'm telling you right now, this book is being built for the single issue fix. And if you jump on from the beginning Sean and I guarantee you a great fix every month. We need you to be our partner in this, because this is a book we really want to keep on with. So, if you're a fan of my stuff, and you dug Sean's art on Marvel Zombies, or you're one of our faithful readers from the Sleeper days, buy Criminal in comic form. We're going out of our way to include extras in the single issues, back-up stories, articles by me and others about the crime genre. We're going to create a book that's worth the money, and I honestly think that's something the comics market can support on a monthly basis.

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I can’t resist this blatantly obvious piece of headlining but – Good news, everyone! Futurama is renewed. While there will be the worry that it might not be as good as it was the first time round, it is still a good day when quality is rewarded. I thought they were going to be making a film, but new Futurama is new Futurama.

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I don’t know why Chris’ Invincible Super-Blog hasn’t impacted upon me before, but an off-the-cuff remark from Dave Campbell made me check it out properly. I should have done it sooner, because he is fucking funny, he’s slightly deranged (in a good way), he loves comics with a wonderfully disturbing passion, and he has good taste. The thing that did it for me, without having to discover all of these things about him, was his sweeeeeet logo:







(Hope he doesn't mind me putting it in this post.) 'Your daily shot of Karate Bearfighting'. Now that is Fried Gold. Go and read him if you are not already doing so.

DC Solicitations and Other Comics Business

DC solicitations for September can be found here.

I thought I’d try something different, and point out a handful of interesting new things from the massive listing of new product from DC, rather than go through the whole thing in detail.

In reverse list order:

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (HC)

Bill Willingham tells a collection of short stories, in the parameters of a Fables riff on Arabian Nights, illustrated by a host of brilliant artists (including the cover artist, James Jean). Fables has been consistently entertaining and enjoyable, so this is an essential purchase. However, I am not a particular fan of hardbacks (I’m weird), so I might have to wait for the inevitable soft cover, but $19.99 for 144 pages of quality comics is not a rip-off. I’ll have to wait a long while, as this is advanced-solicited for October.


The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (HC)

Another advance-solicitation, this is the pick of the bunch. Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill bring us 208 pages of the LOEG in a single graphic novel, rather than the six-issue series previously. It thematically links to the Fables HC, as it uses the story as an excuse to tell more stories, as Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain read the Black Dossier of the title for answers to help them save the day, a book detailing the hidden history of the League. This will undoubtedly be more brilliance from Moore and O’Neill, with lots of extras to make the purchase worthwhile. My hardback idiosyncrasy may be in trouble, as I don’t know if all the extras will be maintained in a soft cover, especially the hilarious thought of a Tijuana Bible insert. $29.99 gets you a huge slab of comic book genius.


Wildcats: Wildstorm #1

Two words: Grant Morrison. That’s all the reason I need. It helps that it is drawn by Jim Lee, one of my favourite artists, but it’s the thought of Grant doing his thing on an ongoing superhero franchise with little baggage. I’m giddy with glee at the thought of what he could come up with; I’m so looking forward to it, I can ignore the dullness of the cover. Hopefully, the interiors are more snappy. The only negative will be the bimonthly schedule, but Desolation Jones does okay with the same schedule (and what schedule does Planetary call itself? Annually?), so I can wait for quality.


JLA Classified #26 & 27

Howard Chaykin writes a 6-part Justice League story, Sacred Trust, starting in issue 26. I can’t recall Chaykin writing the Justice League before, but I am no historian. Seeing his twisted sensibilities on the JLA seems bizarre, but intriguing at the same time. In an ideal world, he would draw the series as well, but I’ve no complaints with Killian Plunkett on pencil duties, who has a wonderful style and energy to his work. I shall no doubt buy this in the trade format, because that’s the kind of penny-pinching, pamphlet-killing sod I am, but mention must be made for it now.

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Other comics business:

Warren Ellis talks primarily about Desolation Jones in this interview at Newsarama. However, it turns into a chat about studying the comic page in order to tailor his story to the artist’s strength – in one paragraph, he just nails the qualities of some of the artists he has worked with (Cassaday, Robertson, Doran, McNeil) so perfectly, it’s spooky. It’s fascinating stuff, giving a great insight into his working process and into the understanding of creating comic books. This awareness and appreciation of what he does is one of the reasons why I enjoy Warren’s work; this post on his website talks about his thinking regarding the writing of a half-hour pilot for a new television series he has created, and it’s also a indispensable insight into the creative process.

In a similar vein, this interview with Scott McCloud in the Webcomics Examiner (found via Scott Kurtz), is primarily to talk about his new book, Making Comics, but also talks about the different forms of creator (the Classicist, the Formalist, the Animist, and the Iconoclast) that is fascinating reading. McCloud’s Understanding Comics is required reading for anyone interested in the way comic books communicate their ideas, and it looks like this new book will find a place on my shelves due to its requisite status.

Newsarama gets a big mention, among some big names, as one of Entertainment Weekly’s top entertainment websites (via The Beat). I’ve always had an ever so slight preference for CBR, but that doesn’t mean I’m a CBR zombie to Newsarama’s detriment. Congratulations to the team for making the list, and keep up the good work.

Talking of CBR, this news item tells me why Chaykin won’t be able to draw the JLA story: he’s drawing the new Blade series. The sketch is pretty damn cool, as any sketch from Chaykin would be, and it makes me seriously consider picking up the book just for the art, even though I have no special affection for the character, or know anything about the writer.

Incoming Inventory and Bonus Links

Incoming Inventory

100 Bullets #73
I’m seeing this series through to the end, rumoured to be the appropriate issue 100, and enjoying it as it comes out. It probably reads better in the trades, but it’s too late for me to switch now.

Ex Machina Special #2
Ex Machina was easily one of the best new series of last year, so any more Ex Machina comics are warmly welcomed in the Clandestine Critic household. Sprouse brings his usual quality to the Mayor Hundred universe; could this be the start of other artists interpretations of The Machine?

Fables #50
Three cheers for Fables reaching the half century. A new Vertigo series is always facing an uphill struggle to keep going, so I’m very glad that this is doing so well (with a special and a spin-off confirming this). Hope Willingham keeps up the quality in the next 50.

JLA Classified: New Maps of Hell
My devotion to Warren Ellis wasn’t enough to make me buy this in the singles format, but the aggressively priced trade is perfect for me. Good reviews of the tale, as well as the fact that I am an Ellis whore, mean that I’m looking forward to picking up this solid chunk of comic goodness.

She-Hulk TPB #3: Time Trials
I want to buy this, but $14.99 for five issues means that it’s the same price as if I bought the comics. Damn you, Marvel! Trades are supposed to be cheaper than buying the comics, you money-hungry bastards. Give me my cheaper trades!

Squadron Supreme #4
After last issue’s change of tract, from slightly clichéd superhero tropes to a polemic on American involvement in Africa, I have renewed hope for this title, despite not being happy with the change from a MAX title. JMS still appears to be heading for thoughtful superheroics, which is what I’m reading it for, and Gary Frank is still on top form.

Ursa Minors #1
This is a possibility, based on the good vibe I’ve picked up from the web, the wonderfully bizarre premise of the series, and this preview. I’ll take a look at it when I’m in the shop to decide.

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Linky-linky

LinkMachineGo (does the person have a name?) does the ‘100 Reasons Why I Love Comics’ post; I particularly like 'Gaze into the fist of Dredd!' reference. It’s rather strange seeing this on the site because, as long as I have been reading it, LinkMachineGo has been a very interesting links site (the original definition of a blog), and I have been directed to some great things by the choosiness of the links, covering London, Comics, Film and other wonderfully bizarre stuff. As with the links, we share similar tastes in common, although my list was quite different.

Greg posts a handy collection of links of his Comics You Should Own column. He’s been doing this for a while, back on his own blog, Delenda Est Carthago, now regular on PopCultureShock, and it’s very interesting. He’s going alphabetically, only on the ‘D’s, so he’s got a lot more to recommend. I don’t agree with all his choices (although the PAD Aquaman & Atlantis Chronicles were good, I don’t think they are Comics You Should Own; I was also quite disappointed by Camelot 3000, despite the lovely Bolland art, but I think I’m in the minority), but the majority are very good comics, and Greg writes engagingly about them all.

Finally, an image. Newsarama provides this cover by Jim Lee to the new Grant Morrison-written WildCATS. Now, I love Jim Lee’s art (as mentioned in this post), but this is quite a dull cover. It doesn’t really capture any sort of feeling, or give any kind of mood. It doesn’t scream, 'BUY THIS! IT WILL BE COOL!' I will be buying the book, obviously; it is written by GM and drawn by Lee, so how could I not. However, I hope the interiors are more interesting than the exterior.

Empty. Eternal. Strange.

My brain is not up to the Herculean task of writing novel content (although I don’t think that Hercules ever wrote anything, probably because he was quite stupid, and only up to doing the physical tasks to make up for the bastard he was, but anyway …), so some links and pictures are the order of the day.

Ambush Bug and the Bwa-ha-ha Justice League converted me to the cult of Giffen, so the thought of a creator-owned, superhero-mocking comic in the same vein, Hero Squared, would be right up my street. However, it didn’t click for me; I don’t know if it was the art, which can’t compare to Maguire’s talent for the sitcom, or the fact that it’s not playing on established ideas, or if it’s just the presence of the servile lackey of the villain who is just there was for stupid mockery and exposition (the L-Ron schtick was the only thing that really didn’t work for me in the JL days). I am entitled to my opinion, as this is my blog, and you are entitled to yours. If you haven’t, then there is an entire issue of Hero Squared previewed for free over at CBR to help you make up your mind.

Neil Gaiman talks about the new mini-series, The Eternals, over at Newsarama, which is an interesting look at how the project came about, and Gaiman's thoughts about the story ideas and his feelings about the original books and what he wants to do with this series. I have no emotional connection to The Eternals, although I do want to read new comics from Gaiman, so I'm in a bit of a dilemma regarding my purchase of it. I’m not sure if this is a book that I will enjoy, without the benefit of previous experience of the Jack Kirby creation, or the John Romita Jr art which will be aping the scope of The King’s vision. However, I would definitely buy it if the art looked like the preview scan on the right, which is simply gorgeous.


Talking of images, I’m going to post this stunning Alan Davis picture of Dr Strange, which is something to do with Stan Lee writing Strange again – I don’t want to read the overwritten nonsense of an elderly Lee, but I will drool over Davis artwork (discovered via Neilalien, THE source for all things Strange):

Dr Who, Feel The Force and some links

Stop hounding me for content, you fiends!

(I wish.)

I couldn’t get to the comic shop this week, because I was donating my kidneys, spleen, pancreas, liver, lungs and heart to poor sick children, or something, so no comic reviews from me today. Go search the lovely blogosphere if that is what your heart desires.

While recovering from impossibly saintly organ donation, I watched the second part of the Cybermen story in Dr Who. This has definitely been the weakest so far: it was stretched to fill two episodes, just so we could have the cool cliffhanger of old; Roger Lloyd-Pack was hamming it something chronic as the villain; the emotional scene between Rose and Mickey at the end was let down by the fact that they can’t act; and the whole thing kept on reminding me of Buffy. I’m not saying that Buffy is the origins of all good fantasy/sci-fi television, but it is certainly the role model for the new Dr Who, in its approach and attitude. The recent story set in the school, which had wonderfully emotive and resonant aspect of the Sarah Jane plot, had a main plot that felt like an unused idea from Buffy. It wasn’t helped by having Anthony Head in it. Then, the Cybermen story felt like it was a two-episode attempt to justify Mickey in the vein of the Zeppo episode of Buffy, where Xander finds some self-respect among the people with powers. Ah well, hope they have something better next week.

Talking about television, I meant to mention Feel The Force.

I try to sample new British comedy. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is poor. And sometimes it is rubbish, like BBC2’s Feel The Force, about two inept women in the police. It makes The Thin Blue Line look like a work of genius.

Michelle Gomez from Green Wing and 'I. Want. A. Fucking. Baby!' woman from ManStrokeWoman are the two crap coppers in question. The former wants to be a good cop but isn’t, while the latter is genuinely useless and is looking for a man. Together they are a comedy black hole, sucking in the laughter and making you feel slightly sad.

I have to confess to laughing once, but it was a fart joke, and I am a heterosexual man, so it’s genetic that I find that funny.

The BBC must be rather desperate if they produced this drivel, just because it was written by a former writer from the Smack The Pony team, who has turned a sketch into a 30-minute sitcom by chucking in the hilarity of murdered people. Flimsy would be a compliment.

The most memorable thing about the whole venture? The theme song. 'Whoo oo oo ooo Can you feel the force?' I couldn’t get the bloody tune out of my head for a week …

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Finally, some link dumping.

I can’t believe there is going to be a Public Enemy comic. The revolution will not be televised, it will be represented in four colours and grids. Hopefully, it will have a whole lot of Flava, booooyyyyyyyy

I’ve never tried the darling of the blogosphere, Scott Pilgrim, so I can enjoy a free comic at Newsarama. I haven’t made up my mind about it, but it looks okay.

Inspired by Andrew Wheeler’s post about the top 50 Marvel characters, the Great Curve are going for the top 50 DC characters, with other bloggers getting in on the act. Sounds interesting, even though I am not sufficiently geeky to be able to join in, being an infrequent visitor to the DCU. Still, I look forward to the result.

No comics, no content

Usually, I don’t have comics to review because I can’t get to my shop to buy them. This week, I didn’t have anything to buy. At all. This is depressing because I love comics, but it’s positive because it means I don’t have spend money. I didn’t buy Civil War in the end; the reviews I have read seem to agree that the book is okay, well written and well drawn, but not much else. I suppose it depends on how much one has invested in the Marvel Universe. I don’t have enough, and that’s fine with me.

I still haven’t sorted out the new place after the move (the computer still needs unpacking), so no real content for the moment. So let us talk about other things.

It was Free Comic Book Day over the weekend, but it has never been much of an event for me, especially here in the UK. Personally, I think that comic shops here simply don't get that much casual browsing. The shops tend to be small and out of the way or, if they are large like London’s Forbidden Planet, they are more likely to be merchandise shops, with comics in the basements (along with books and DVDs). Comics are simply TOO EXPENSIVE to become a regular purchase for the elusive mainstream audience; the sort of entertainment that comics provide for the vast majority of people are more readily (and freely) available in television series or in film. I cannot see this changing – an average of £2.00 for a comic book is not an impulse buy, and the prices will only increase in the future.

Talking of comic book value for money, there is a preview of Casanova at Newsarama. It looks very good, but I don’t understand the concept of making available nearly half the content of the story online; your mileage may vary.

In the area of ‘Comic books I won’t be buying but admire the ambition’, DC’s 52 Week series has its own website, which is very snazzy and professionally done. I’m very happy to see them make the effort, and it would be almost enough to make me think about buying it, if I cared in the slightest about the minor universe tweaking it represents.

Greg finishes his huge post about magnum opera, which has been a very interesting piece. I’m particularly delighted to see that there is an image of Usagi Yojimbo in there; I’m sure it is there solely at my badgering. I posted some thoughts on it before, and the way that it is part of my mindset at the moment, of what comics I want to keep in my collection and my buying habits. It also got me thinking about my collection and wondering who has written (or drawn) the most comics in it. Because I’m weird like that. I’ll have to look into that (via the geeky spreadsheet I have) and post the results.

Finally, congratulations to Jonah at CBR on their 10-year anniversary. As my recent post mentioned, it’s my go-to news site for comic book news, so I’m very happy for them on reaching such a huge milestone in web terms, and wish them many more years continued success.

Work kills, links feed ... oh, and something about artists

Wow, work just came out of nowhere and bit me in the arse. Bastard. How am I supposed to blog if I have to earn a living? So, first some linkblogging, then some thoughts on artists.

Scott at Polite Dissent is back. Seems there was a problem with his hosting service, which has been sorted. Good news.

Tom presents a very well-reasoned look at the two-faced nature of Joe Quesada when it comes to Spider-Man. Makes a lot of sense to me, especially as Joey Q will let JMS and Kevin Smith do whatever they want and then turn around and say that Peter Parker being married doesn’t work. There are no bad ideas, just bad writers, Joe.

Comic Book Galaxy are having a giveaway – you should all be made aware of this.

Happy Birthday to Mark, who has gone a bit senile in his old age, because he is giving away presents instead of receiving them. You can find out more here.

For my information, Shane is back blogging again at his exquisitely designed site.

Which reminds me that (a) I need to work out CSS and make this site look nicer and (b) I must update my sidebar of links; it’s a mess.

Dave continues to talk about X-Men, with a look at my favourite story from Grant Morrison’s run on the New X-Men, which was so amazingly perfect in its execution, characterization, story development, art and all round brilliance that the rest of the run, while wonderful, could never hope to match.

Jake has a well-supported treaty on the redundancy of Sue Storm in the beginning of the Fantastic Four (and, therefore, evidence for how awful a writer Stan Lee could be) that goes to show how much good work John Byrne did on his run with the group (yes, there was a time when Byrne did good things).

Oh, and apparently there’s a trailer for some sequel that people seem to be excited about …

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The recent discussion about masterpieces got me thinking about artists. I’ve always had a tendency to focus on the writing side, as the story is what really hooks me, but a great story is made even better with great art, so the hard-working artist should not be ignored. I have no training in art appreciation, so my favourite artists can be summed up in the words of the Monty Python sketch: 'I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.' My selection is based on the comics I have read and books I have bought and the emotional weight of long runs and a set of aesthetics that even I’m not sure I can fully describe.

With this in mind, you can take whatever I say with a pinch of salt. I’m going to split up my favourite artists into three groups:
1. Artists who I really dig but aren’t on my top list.
2. Artists who are good and have made me go out and buy their stuff, even if I haven’t kept it.
3. My top five favourite artists.

Today, the first group: artists I really dig who aren’t on THE list. Let’s tackle this alphabetically.

Gene Ha
His exquisite artwork is so nice to look at, I can barely believe that it has been done with pen and ink. I like the mixing of a modern feel with sense of classical in his work, and the smooth, sleek lines. Apart from the occasional individual comic, such as a Starman or Global Frequency, it has to be his work on Top Ten, particularly The Forty Niners, that is stand out in my collection, even though I’m posting a scan of a Superman cover.




Tony Harris
He is in for his funky lines and cool styles on Starman. His Ex Machina is good, but the ‘young guy proving his ability’ vibe in the early Starman is just so damn good. When he wasn’t doing Starman, it just didn’t feel right. The other projects he has handled in between these two series haven’t grabbed me in the same way, hence his position on my completely biased list.




Adam Hughes
He draws beautiful cheesecake, even if that isn’t what he wants to necessarily do. It just looks so good. I could fill the blog with the multitude of covers he has done, which start at gorgeous and escalate to amazing, so it’s a shame he doesn’t do as much inside the comics. Of the most recent, the accompanying Power Girl cover just sums him up; lush, powerful, stunning, cheeky, implausible, and art that just strokes the retina and tickles the cornea. My collection has Gen13: Ordinary Heroes, the Bwa-ha-ha Justice League run, and Star Trek: Debt of Honour.



Frank Quitely
This might seem an unusual position for Quitely, as he is one of the most stunning artists working in comics at the moment. However, his attention to detail means that he hasn’t produced a sufficient body of work to make him a main contender. His unique art style, with the elongated anatomy (especially the long legs), big jaws, unusual sexuality and fantastic pop art design mean there is nobody like him, even if he isn’t perfect or a believer in deadlines. Still, my collection is richer for his stylings on Flex Mentallo (probably my favourite), All-Star Superman, New X-Men, JLA: Earth 2 and the wonderful We3.


Mike Wieringo
I’ve always liked the cartoony yet muscular style of Ringo. His work on the Flash with Mark Waid just worked so well, especially for one so new to the biz, and the mix of curves, a cartoon-strip relaxedness and the kinetics of superheroics was a style I’ve always looked out for ever since. The runs that help to make my collection include the Flash, his pairing with Waid again on the Fantastic Four, and his co-owned project, Tellos, which was utterly charming and enjoyable, made moreso by his pitch-perfect art for the story, mixing a child-like (not childish) quality with the soaring imagination of fantasy.

Hopefully, work next week will allow me the opportunity to talk about the next group – the artists who make me buy their stuff (but still not my ultimate favourites).

Whose Side Am I On? I’m On The Outside, Looking In ...

My shopping list for the week:

...................................

NOTHING!

Damn. And it’s not even a skip week. So, what is there this week that I COULD buy?

I could get the third Gotham Central trade, if I didn’t already have all the issues of a series that has been cancelled, and was screwed by DC in its turnaround time for trades in the first place.

I could buy Infinite Crisis #7, if I cared about the DC Universe the way some people do, and so I could understand what most of the internet comic book chatter is about these days. (Or make sense of this eloquent post by the returning Jim Roeg.)

I could get Y The Last Man, if I wasn’t consigned to getting it in the trade format already. Once I start in one format, I can’t make the change, dinosaur that I am.

I could buy the Sam & Twitch trade, collecting the first nine issues of Bendis’s great run on the series, if I didn’t already own the issues in question. Really good stuff, btw.

Marvel has trades I could buy if I didn’t already have the issues: the third collection of Peter David’s Hulk work is out, collecting the strange selection of The Incredible Hulk #349–354, Web of Spider-Man #44 and Fantastic Four #320; also out is the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, collecting #94–131, Annual #3 and Giant-Size X-Men #1 (phew), which would look good on the bookshelf, if it wasn’t so expensive. The only new collection that interests me is the fifth Punisher trade, The Slavers, but I am still undecided on it.

The only thing I can think of buying is THE big book of the week, Civil War #1. This would be to have something to read, but also the problem of not understanding most of the chatter on the web about comic books this week, as I’m sure it will be the hot button topic. I must confess to a curiosity about it; I guess it is something to do with my being a Marvel kid growing up, and their universe always had more of a rough and ready appeal to it, compared to the airlessness of the DCU.

To keep me entertained this week, I have to turn to my blogging compadres.

Greg has the second instalment in his discussion of magnum opera, which is a wonderful read (and not because there are similar choices to my own) that I would urge you to check out. Great job, Greg.

Kevin posts a scan of a crackling page from the Sensational She-Hulk #50 that I would gladly pay money to see, if it was a continuing series by Walt Simonson.

I wanted to mention David’s second Free Comic Book Month, where he gives away free comic books according to what he thinks people might like when they write to him with their list of top five books, even though my living in the UK makes me ineligible for it.

Does anyone know what’s happened to Scott at Polite Dissent? I get through to a search page, rather than the actual blog, which makes me worried for the massive collection of medically related comic book posts by the working doctor and comic book fan.

Finally, I wanted to mention this post at Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge, which dares to speak out loud the contentious view that Jack & Stan’s Fantastic Four isn’t actually that good, something I can agree with based on the limited stuff I’ve tried to trudge through and my singular dislike for Kirby’s art (notwithstanding his dynamism and what it brought to comics, I can’t bear to look at it for very long, and hate all the Kirby 'homages' that make my eyes bleed, which means I can’t read Godland).

Jake is also responsible for a charming piece of Photoshop work in this post at 2 Guys Buying Comics, which bought a smile to my face.

Still without books, so here are some links

Lots of film-related comic book news at Empire. I like Favreau, but I’m not sure he has the visual styling to bring Iron Man successfully to life. And, please, please, not Vince Vaughan for Tony Stark. I like Vaughan, but he is not Iron Man.

I hadn’t heard about Edgar Wright handling Ant Man; that sounds a very odd combination. I know he’s a comic book fan, but his sensibility doesn’t match with the standard superheroics of Scott Lang.

I really can’t see Captain America working on film, unless it’s a period piece, but I was never his biggest fan, so I don’t have the emotional investment.

Nick Fury has potential, and has to be better than the Hoff version.

I’m curious about how they will do Thor, as this has the greatest scope for fucking it up. Still, my love for the Simonson era means I would love for it to reach the screen, if they can create his work on celluloid.

Dave has his favourite X-Men team up, which is almost impossible to disagree with, and shows when he started to read superhero comics, although I was never a big fan of Rogue. And, yes, Nightcrawler is the coolest motherfucker on the planet. Not sure about his selection of characters that Dave would write given the chance, though …

This is a list of Jog’s excellent analysis of Seven Soldiers series, that makes me weep with bitter tears at my inadequacy compared with his intelligent critique. Found via ADD's blog.

Finally, because I am a pervert, and because it is funny and well-drawn, the PVP guest strip I can’t seem to quit:

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend; I, on the otherhand, will be sorting out boxes …

Considering Comic Book News Sites

Apropos of nothing in particular, I was thinking about websites devoted to comic book news. Isn’t the internet great? What did fans do before it was invented? It got me thinking about the variety and the ones I go to first and read.

CBR – Comic Book Resources – is the daddy of for me. It’s the first place I go to in my daily comic book news visits. There are several reasons for this.

One is purely design. The layout of the site is clean and efficient. There are adverts placed strategically on the site, but not obtrusively. There are separate columns for archives on the far left, most recent news items on the left-centre and most recent columns on the right. It is pleasing to look at, doesn’t feel crowded even though it contains a lot and doesn’t hurt the eye with excessive flashing or lurid colours.

The next reason is the regularity of content. Press releases, film-related gossip, previews and interviews are up regularly, not to mention the columns. The columns are another reason for CBR’s dominance, hosting Steven Grant, Augie, Rich, even Warren Ellis for a long while, not to mention a variety of others, from pros like Joe Casey & Matt Fraction, Erik Larsen, Robert Kirkman, to fans like the recently added Buy Pile. All together, an excellent package.

Newsarama is the next click on my bookmarks for comic book news. They complement each other when it comes to the big events like the cons, but also in their approach. CBR is more professional, whereas Newsarama is more relaxed.

I don’t particularly like the layout; the blue reminds me too much of the colour used in the many PowerPoint presentations I’ve had to suffer in my years as a scientist, and the excessive advertising is overwhelming, merrily distracting the hell out of me by flashing away at the top and side, and interrupting the items. The mini-items list on the right seems an afterthought, and the way that the headline for the main items looks like it should be a clickable link, but isn’t, annoys me for some reason.

The variety of items is pretty good, from previews to interviews and now the occasional column, but the one thing alone that takes Newsarama down is the format in which forum posters comment directly under the news item. CBR has forums, but sensibly has links to take you their; Newsarama lets anyone empty their pointless brain nonsense immediately afterwards, which just detracts from the piece immeasurably. Read them at your peril.

The Pulse at Comicon.com also suffers from an unpleasant design; the darkness of the page is offputting, the constant left frame of adverts as you scroll, the blue background, the odd choice of green for titles (both on the main frame and to the right), made even worse by the underlining, something I particularly hate, and the promo text being too close to the title beneath it.

I visit The Pulse only rarely; apart from Warren Ellis’s erratic columns there, I’ve found little to suggest regular repeat viewing, and the presence of headings such as 'What will you be buying?' just smacks a little of desperation. They try to cover a broad spectrum of comic books, which is admirable, if a little scattershot. Jennifer Contino seems to do an good job of getting decent interviews.

The Comics Continuum is a site I used to visit for the occasional titbit and previews, but the advertising put me off and the odd layout (telling you what the pieces for the day are, but you have to click the link for the day to get them all on one webpage, rather than just the pieces you want to see; I understand why they do it that way, I just don’t like it) meant that I gave up going there with no regret.

The Beat by Heidi MacDonald – nice, clean design, well-presented layout, clarity of a blog that links to all sorts of comics-related news in all media. It’s nice to see what is happening in the larger world, but it’s not a site I need to see daily.

There are other sites out there that haven’t become part of my daily reading habits.

The Comics Reporter is in the same blog style as The Beat, and is Tom Spurgeon’s accumulation of comic book news, seemingly sifting through everything in print online, covering a more-academic base of the world of comics, as well as his own perspective on particular aspects of the comic book industry. It isn’t a regular haunt of mine, but it seemingly has a niche in the blogosphere, which must mean something.

Buzzscope has news, but I know it more for the regular items they house, such as Clandestine Chum Greg’s Comics You Should Own, the brilliant interview by Michael Avon Oeming with Warren Ellis, and the hilarious remixes by Tim O’Neill. They seem to try and cover everything, not just comics, including manga, anime, toys, games, music and movies, and this very broad scope applies at each mini-site, making it too much to read (for me, at least).

Broken Frontier is a site I only recently came across. Nicely designed, if a little busy, it seems to have a mix of news, reviews and columns for a nice mix. Further investigation is needed to see if it warrants a regular clicking.

Comic World News is not a site I really know anything about. It has a colourful design, with a mix of news, reviews and a variety of columns, including those of regular bloggers, such as David Welsh (of Precocious Curmudgeon) and Graeme McMillan (who used to bring us the joy that was Fanboy Rampage), and formerly the home of Ed Cunard (The Low Road). Each column has its own icon, which is a nice touch, and the site is well-laid out and easy to navigate, which is something I admire (compare with Newsarama, for example). I shall have to visit more regularly, if just for the columns.

So, have I missed any important sites out? Do you disagree with my choices? Are there too many comic book news sites out there? Do they try to cover too many areas, trying to be all things to all fans? Let me know; because, as should be evident, I like new things …

So. Tired. Must. Blog.

I’m so exhausted after moving home this weekend, I can barely type. With this in mind, I shall do a little gentle weblogging by deploying some well-chosen links.

Newsarama has a nice intro to The Eternals in preparation for the new mini-series from Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. Being only 6-years-old when the original series came out, I have no idea what the Eternals are all about, apart from the words ‘Gods’ and ‘Jack Kirby’, which doesn’t really tell you anything. The article jogged a memory fart, as it included the Walt Simonson-drawn cover to the 12-issue limited series of more recent times. I didn’t pick up the series, obviously, but I do remember the cover because Simonson is one of my top five artists of all time. More information about the Eternals can be found here at Marvel and here at Wikipedia.

Clandestine Chum Greg, wearing his Comics Should Be Good hat, didn’t like Desolation Jones #6. He posts again today, asking why he seems to be the only one who didn’t like it. Despite the spectre of Women In Refrigerators looming over the issue, I didn’t think the comic was bad. On the contrary, I thought it was very good. A story set in the milieu of hard-boiled detective mixed with the bleak end of the espionage genre is not supposed to be happy and fluffy; death is a constant, the randomness, brutality and despair of it being a vital part of it. The characters in the book are not heroes in the strictest sense, nor should they be. The power of Robina’s death is in the fact that she is a fully realised figure who has been crafted into a character about whom we care deeply. Her gender is irrelevant to the power of the story. I’m siding with the likes of Jog and JB on this one; Desolation Jones #6 was a Good Comic. Sorry Greg.

In a perfect world, Dave Campbell would post his comedy reminisces about his comic book collection every day. We don't live in a perfect world, so we make do with his still-regular output. His current themed-week is The X-Men, warming the cockles of my heart; Chris Claremont's run on The Uncanny X-Men is what got me into comics in the first place (see here for my recollections on my first comic), so I have an unhealthy love for those books; therefore, I am more than happy for Dave to take me on a trip down nostalgia lane. His post for today is about a Bill Windsor Smith-drawn Wolverine story from Uncanny X-Men #205, and the tingling has begun already.

Finally, via Johanna, a link to a brilliant turning of the tables – comic book covers if we lived in a matriarchal world. I’m a heterosexual man with lusty appetites, and even I’m embarrassed by the way the female form is depicted in comic books in such a casually sexual way. I’m not talking about the cheesecake stuff; I can enjoy Adam Hughes or Terry Dodson books without worrying too much, because that is what they do. I’m talking about the way seemingly ordinary artists show female characters in a solely sexual and inappropriate manner. For example, I was reading the first trade of Mark Millar’s Crossover storyline in the Ultimate Fantastic Four the other day. There is a panel where Greg Land is supposed to be showing the transition of the Ultimate FF characters to the Zombie FF in a prison cell. The most prominent aspect in the panel at the bottom of the page is the zombie Sue’s backside. Not only is it blatantly gratuitous, it is also diagrammatically incorrect because, in the next panel, Sue is not standing on her own in order to display her perfect bum, but is surrounded by the zombie Thing and Torch. So, three cheers to Karen, the creator of the male sex object covers and for the point they make.

Apparently, my jobs wants me to do WORK ...

I need to read the small print but it appears that my employers require me to work for my salary. Outrageous. In lieu of a post containing my unfettered ramblings, I thought I’d rely on the link-apalooza post to keep me regular, as it were …

Is