Geoff Johns, Genius!
I'v'e been catching up on the months worth of comics I recently picked up.
Well, let me rewind a little bit as to why I hadn't picked up comics in a month. I picked up my comics last on Wednesday November 10th. That night I read that batch of comics while on my way to Dallas. Why Dallas you may ask... it had nothing to do with a Cowboys game (nor will it, sadly), but had everything to do with the Super Bowl party my magazine throws which I will be working on the design of.
Since the return of said trip, work has been a whirlwind of activity. Designing, illustrating, and concepting have taken just about all of my time. Luckily home life has been nice and easy... oh scratch that. While incredibly busy at work we also moved. All though we moved about 8 feet away (to the house right next door) it wasn't easy. See, I'm a crazy collector, so no move is easy. So boxes and boxes of comics, toys, magazines and other assorted nonsense needed to be organized, packed and moved. On top of everything, its the holiday season.
Luckily we've moved, and although there are still things to be organized, the new place feels like home (especially because we don't have an evil family underneath us anymore). As for Super Bowl, everything is going well. I've lined up the vendor I want to use, gotten the invite approved and have worked up the final illustration for the poster foldout on the invite. I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Which leads us back to the reason for this post... catching up on comics.
I try and read my books in the order that I reserve them. Doing this I was pleasantly surprised with a doubleshot of Geoff Johns (Flash #6, Green Lantern #59). Geoff in my opinion is the best comic writer on the planet. Some who juggles human emotion, as well as fast paced action with a touch of humor. Basically he's a great writer period. Flash #6 was the culmination of the initial story arc, and was nothing short of brilliant. Flash foiling the plot of the future Mirror Master and his renegades while simultaneously clearing the name of a wrongly convicted man and finding time to have lunch with his wife Iris (all of this beautifully illustrated by Francis J. Manapul) was nothing short of amazing. It might seem like there's a lot going on for a single book, but he is the fastest man alive, shouldn't there be a lot crammed into his book. Johns handles the multiple plot threads really well as well as planting seeds for future stories.
Not to be out done was his work on Green Lantern #59. This issue featured Hal's continued pursuit of the Emotional Entities for each the color corps. There are some amazing scenes between Flash and Green Lantern where they stand around and discuss Hal's recent behavior. This wouldn't work as well in a lot of other hero books, but because of John's familiarity with both characters (he brought both back from the dead and made them relevant again) he pulls it off. This book also features amazing artwork by Doug Mahnke. His pencils have never looked better. As good as Van Sciver and Reis were on GL, I think Mahnke's work surpasses them all. This issue has a great surprise ending which leaves me desperately anticipating the next issue.
Johns continues to impress me on a monthly basis. No one does big-budget super heroes better than he does. I recently met Johns at NYCC (which I had a free press-pass for) and he heard my brother and I discussing digital versus print for comics and he chimed in with his own opinions (he like myself thinks theres a spot for both, but loves print). He absolutely couldn't have been nicer. In fact everyone at the DC booth was amazing during NYCC. I spent 90% of the show there after not feeling the love at the Marvel booth. Not only is Johns incredibly humble and down to earth, he is a fantastic writer.
Well, let me rewind a little bit as to why I hadn't picked up comics in a month. I picked up my comics last on Wednesday November 10th. That night I read that batch of comics while on my way to Dallas. Why Dallas you may ask... it had nothing to do with a Cowboys game (nor will it, sadly), but had everything to do with the Super Bowl party my magazine throws which I will be working on the design of.
Since the return of said trip, work has been a whirlwind of activity. Designing, illustrating, and concepting have taken just about all of my time. Luckily home life has been nice and easy... oh scratch that. While incredibly busy at work we also moved. All though we moved about 8 feet away (to the house right next door) it wasn't easy. See, I'm a crazy collector, so no move is easy. So boxes and boxes of comics, toys, magazines and other assorted nonsense needed to be organized, packed and moved. On top of everything, its the holiday season.
Luckily we've moved, and although there are still things to be organized, the new place feels like home (especially because we don't have an evil family underneath us anymore). As for Super Bowl, everything is going well. I've lined up the vendor I want to use, gotten the invite approved and have worked up the final illustration for the poster foldout on the invite. I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Which leads us back to the reason for this post... catching up on comics.
I try and read my books in the order that I reserve them. Doing this I was pleasantly surprised with a doubleshot of Geoff Johns (Flash #6, Green Lantern #59). Geoff in my opinion is the best comic writer on the planet. Some who juggles human emotion, as well as fast paced action with a touch of humor. Basically he's a great writer period. Flash #6 was the culmination of the initial story arc, and was nothing short of brilliant. Flash foiling the plot of the future Mirror Master and his renegades while simultaneously clearing the name of a wrongly convicted man and finding time to have lunch with his wife Iris (all of this beautifully illustrated by Francis J. Manapul) was nothing short of amazing. It might seem like there's a lot going on for a single book, but he is the fastest man alive, shouldn't there be a lot crammed into his book. Johns handles the multiple plot threads really well as well as planting seeds for future stories.
Not to be out done was his work on Green Lantern #59. This issue featured Hal's continued pursuit of the Emotional Entities for each the color corps. There are some amazing scenes between Flash and Green Lantern where they stand around and discuss Hal's recent behavior. This wouldn't work as well in a lot of other hero books, but because of John's familiarity with both characters (he brought both back from the dead and made them relevant again) he pulls it off. This book also features amazing artwork by Doug Mahnke. His pencils have never looked better. As good as Van Sciver and Reis were on GL, I think Mahnke's work surpasses them all. This issue has a great surprise ending which leaves me desperately anticipating the next issue.
Johns continues to impress me on a monthly basis. No one does big-budget super heroes better than he does. I recently met Johns at NYCC (which I had a free press-pass for) and he heard my brother and I discussing digital versus print for comics and he chimed in with his own opinions (he like myself thinks theres a spot for both, but loves print). He absolutely couldn't have been nicer. In fact everyone at the DC booth was amazing during NYCC. I spent 90% of the show there after not feeling the love at the Marvel booth. Not only is Johns incredibly humble and down to earth, he is a fantastic writer.
Labels: Comics
posted by LEV at
12:49 PM
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