Fluit Notes

They Only Come Out at Night: Recommended Reading for Halloween

Looking for something scary this Halloween?  Maybe a little bit of monster fun?  Allow me to recommend one of the overlooked masterpieces of the last 15 years: Dan Brereton’s Nocturnals. 

 

The Nocturnals got their start at Malibu Comics in 1995, at the height of the comics boom.  Malibu was already a successful company with their Ultraverse line of superhero comics.  In 1995, they created another imprint for creator owned comics.  The line would feature comic book superstars like Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin and Marv Wolfman.  And it would include a painted horror comic by relative newcomer, Daniel Brereton. 

 

The first issue introduces us to Doc Horror and his daughter Eve.  Doc Horror and Eve look normal enough but they have their secrets and they hang out with a cast of monsters.  Doc Horror takes an injection to contain what he calls “a rather nasty virus” but what we later find out is lycanthropy.  Doc Horror, it seems, is a werewolf.  Eve, short for Evening, carries a plastic pumpkin full of plastic toys.  We soon discover that she is able to manifest those toys into monstrous apparitions.  Eve later adopts the codename, Halloween Girl. 

 

Doc Horror also has his friends.  Polychrome is a translucent wraith, with white and blue skin.  Starfish is a tadpole/human hybrid (along the lines of Abe Sapien from the Hellboy series).  Firelion is a firestarter, a big blonde guy with the ability to create and control fire.  Gunwitch, a scarecrow who reeks of death, also appears in the first issue and will eventually become a regular ally.  The cast also includes Komodo, the Dragon Boy, who escaped from a monster factory and Raccoon, the Bandit, who works with criminal organizations or Doc Horror as the mood strikes him. 

 

Dan Brereton’s art is dark and moody, perfect for a monster mash-up.  It helps create an environment that is a blend of classic noir and horror.  There’s even a shot of classic western in there; the first issue has a great firefight featuring Firelion and Starfish while Gunwitch evokes classic gunslingers like Clint Eastwood. 

 

The characters are also distinct and memorable.  Polychrome and Starfish are instantly recognizable.  Eve is both familiar yet distant, resulting in a character that is endlessly interesting.  And the zombie scarecrow Gunwitch proved popular enough to earn his own mini-series.

 

The first Nocturnals mini-series lasted 6 issues, but that wasn’t the end of the story or, using the term loosely, the team.  The Nocturnals even outlived their original imprint and company.  Dan Brereton moved them to Dark Horse in 1997 for a short story that appeared in the Dark Horse Presents anthology and was collected as Nocturnals: The Witching Hour.  Then, Dan Brereton found a third home for his creature creations at Oni Press.  Oni published a one-shot, “The Troll Bridge,” and two mini-series, “The Dark Forever” and the aforementioned “Gunwitch” between 2000 and 2002.  Last year, Image Comics became the fourth host of the Nocturnals, publishing a one-shot called “Carnival of Beasts.”  These stories are available in four trades not including the Image story (Black Planet, Dark Forever, Unhallowed Eve and Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom) or two archives collecting everything (Black Planet and Dark Forever).

 

Need something different for the kids?  Don’t forget about Jill Thompson’s Scary Godmother and Magic Trixie books or Art Baltazar’s Patrick the Wolf Boy. 

 

 Baltazar is now known as the hilarious genius behind Tiny Titans, a DC kids’ book that’s as much fun for the grown-ups as it is for the young-uns.  Patrick the Wolf Boy is the book that got Baltazar noticed.  Baltazer self-published Patrick through Blind Wolf Studios before Devil’s Due picked it up and collected the stories in a series of digests.  Patrick is a wonderful delight.  He has a little bit of Dennis the Menace and Calvin & Hobbes in him, but with the added difficulties of being a werewolf.  The art is cute, the gags are clever and our kids love it. 

 

Jill Thompson is another writer/artist who blends horror and humor into her stories.  Her Scary Godmother was popular enough to land in a TV movie.  It’s aimed at adults, but it’s not over the head of most kids.  Magic Trixie is like a junior version of Scary Godmother (that’s not meant as an insult- plenty of junior versions are interesting in their own right like Muppet Babies or Young Indiana Jones).  She’s a little girl who has all of the normal problems of a little girl, like annoying baby sisters.  But she’s also a witch, who gets a dragon as a pet in one story and has a sleepover with her best friend who happens to be a werewolf in another. 

 

Happy reading! 

 

 

My First Grade Field Trip By Zoe Woodwind

(as told to Chris Fluit)

 

 

Hi.  My name is Zoe Woodwind and I’m in Mrs. Church’s first grade class.  We went on a field trip yesterday (transcriber’s note: it was actually last week, Zoe isn’t that good at estimating time yet).  It was real exciting.  We went to Avengers Mansion.  We all rode in a big yellow school bus and I got to sit next to my best friend Katie. 

Then we got off the bus.  There was a big brick wall.  Then there was a big gate.  I thought maybe they had some mean dogs inside and that’s why they needed such a big wall and a big gate.  But Bradley said that it was to keep the bad guys out like Mr. Doom and Kanga.  Bradley’s one of the boys in my class.  He has yellow hair and I think he’s cute. 

A man opened the gate for us.  He didn’t have any chair and he was a little bit fat but my mommy told me that I shouldn’t say that to people.  He said his name was Jars.  That’s a funny name.  I wonder if he has a brother named Plates and a sister named Cups (transcriber’s note: his name was Jarvis and he’s the Avengers’ butler).  He let us inside. 

I asked him if there were any mean dogs and he said “No.”  He said that the Avengers sometimes have a nice dog called Lockjaw and that Lockjaw has superpowers too and that Lockjaw can take people anywhere they want to go like Florida or space or something and that Lockjaw started his own group of Pet Avengers so that all of the animals can have adventures and stuff.  Mr. Jars said that the Pet Avengers have a bird and a cat and a frog and a dragon.  Even Bradley thought that was cool.   

              Peter asked Mr. Jars if they, um, how do they keep the bad guys away if they don’t have any mean guard dogs.  Peter is another boy in my class.  Mr. Jars said they had, um, defense systems.  He told us to follow him and we walked up to the front door.  He told us to stay at the bottom of the steps.  He asked if one of the grown-ups would like to volunteer.  I told my daddy to put up his hand and Mr. Jars picked him.  My daddy likes to, um, chaperone (transcriber’s interpretation of what he thinks Zoe meant).  Mr. Jars asked my daddy to walk up to the front door.  He did.  He went right up the steps but he didn’t get to the front door.  These two big giant arms came out of the wall and grabbed him and picked him up and held him over our heads and he couldn’t push the doorbell or knock or nothing.  Then the arms put him back.  Mr. Jars said he turned off the security.  That was pretty cool.  I asked him if the arms could pick up my daddy again. 

              We went inside the mansion.  It was so big.  And there were pictures everywhere.  They showed all of the people who have been Avengers before.  My favorite is the Wasp.  She’s very cute like a fairy or a pixie.  I like pixies and I have all the Tinker Bell books.  Katie said that her favorite is the Scarlet Witch because they both have brown hair. 

              Mr. Jars showed us the meeting room.  It was kind of boring.  It was just a big table with a lot of chairs and the letter A.  Bradley climbed into a chair and pretended to be Captain America.  We saw the monitor room.  There were lots and lots of TVs but they were all showing the news.  My mommy likes to watch the news but I like to watch cartoons. 

              We even went upstairs.  That’s where the Avengers have their bedrooms.  We weren’t allowed inside the bedrooms ‘cause they’re private.  We saw two Avengers in the hallway.  The lady had green skin and she was really big.  The man had red sunglasses.  They stopped and talked to us.  The lady told us to stay in school.  She said that she’s a lawyer and a superhero which is like really hard.  They signed autographs for us and I put mine up on the tacky board by my desk in my bedroom when I got home.  

              Then it was time to go.  We thanked Mr. Jars for the nice tour and he gave us cookies he had made all by himself.  They were very good.  The End.

 

Comics that Should Make a Comeback: Martian Manhunter

It wasn’t easy to think of a DC title that should make a comeback.  They bring back their titles so often that I have more opinions about which concepts should be given an extended vacation than I do about which titles should come back.  But there is one very notable exception: the Martian Manhunter. 

 

I’ve been a fan of the Martian Manhunter since I was a little kid.  I had his action figure form the Kenner Super Powers line.  I was intrigued by his bald green head.  I was amazed by a character that had all of Superman’s powers plus invisibility, shape-shifting and telepathy.  I wanted to know more and more.

 

I grew even fonder of the character as I started to read about him.  He had a small part in George Perez’s Justice League of America that merely whetted my appetite (the great issue 200 was a Martian centered story).  The Giffen/Maguire Justice League was the main course.  Finally, J’Onn J’Onnz was a star.  He was a straight man in the center of chaos.  Yet he had a light side.  He was amused, even whimsical.  And he liked his cookies.  He was like Dean Martin- the coolest guy in the room, allowing others to riff around him but always in on the joke. 

 

Since then, DC has made a couple of attempts to make Martian Manhunter a solo star.  He headlined a pair of mini-series in 1988 and 1992, and then a one-shot in 1996.  Finally, they gave him his own series in 1998.  It was critically acclaimed if not a smashing sales success.  It was also a bad time to launch a new title, right in the middle of the late ‘90s trough.  The title strode along for three years until it was canceled after issue 36.  DC tried one more go with the Manhunter, giving him an 8 issue limited series in 2006. 

 

So why would I want to give a new title to a character who has a poor track record on his own?  I guess it’s because I’m convinced that he’s a great character, fully capable of being a star.  He’s been the best part of several team books.  His one ongoing series was really good, even if it didn’t garner the attention it deserved.  In the right vehicle at the right time, J’Onn J’Onnz could be a smashing success. 

 

DC has also shown that they’re pretty good at reviving old characters.  I did make fun of them a little bit earlier about doing it too often.  But they’re much better at bringing characters back to their roots than they are at giving them a new spin.  The 2006 Martian Manhunter limited series is evidence of the latter.  The very successful Green Lantern Rebirth series of 2004 and the fairly popular Flash Rebirth series from this year are proof of the former. 

 

In fact, that’s the model that I would choose to follow.  I would wait a couple more years (he was just killed in last year’s Final Crisis, after all) and then put a big promotional push behind the Martian Manhunter Rebirth.  I’d use that mini-series to reintroduce the character and build his new status quo.  And then, I’d jump from that mini-series into a new ongoing.

I even have an idea for what the new series should be like.  I think that Martian Manhunter should be brought back to what worked in the beginning.  When he was first introduced, he was an alien new to this world.  Things were strange, even wacky.  It’s not a stretch to think that the world might just be alien to him again.  He would see it with new eyes.  He is reborn, after all. 

 

J’Onn J’Onnz coped with this world by taking on a secret identity.  I think that’s the way to go again.  I know that secret identities are losing their cachet.  Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are now public heroes.  The X-Men no longer hide who or what they are.  But there are a few heroes for whom the secret identity is still an essential part of their character- such as Peter Parker as Spider-Man and Clark Kent as Superman.  This would work for J’Onn as well.  He could learn about the world through the eyes of his secret identity.  And you could give him an actual supporting cast, something that was attempted in some of the mini-series but never really caught on. 

 

One of the reasons why secret ids are in disrepute is that they are less and less believable in a digital age.  Yet I think that could be turned into an asset.  You could use that issue as a complication for the hero instead of as an impediment to the story.  Spider-Man stories often contain bits about how his superhero life complicates his private life and vice versa.  Martian Manhunter stories could show how difficult it is for him to maintain a secret identity.  He would have to use his full arsenal of powers- invisibility, shape-shifting and telepathy- to pull it off.  I might even introduce a new power, such as the ability to disrupt technology telekinetically.  There’s precedent for the Martian Manhunter to reveal new powers and there’s an in-story rationale: they’re part of his rebirth. 

 

 But why stop at one?  As part of their series, John Ostander and Tom Mandrake revealed that Martian Manhunter maintained several secret identities around the globe.  I wouldn’t want to go that far.  It’s hard to juggle too many roles and too many supporting casts.  Yet I would want room for at least one more.  It’s also been established that J’Onn J’Onnz has used other heroic identities, including Bloodwynd and the Bronze Wraith.  I would give him a new one.  I would have him learn about the superhero world as if he was a new hero. He would try to re-establish himself, without his former teammates knowing who he was.  I wouldn’t completely discard the classic look.  J’Onn would use his traditional identity to fight crime and supervillains on his own.  But he would use the new identity to try and work his way back into the superhero community, even joining a team that doesn’t currently have a title of its own (there has to be at least one, right?). 

 

That would give us three levels of stories:  the new secret identity and the street level detective work (go with what works), Martian Manhunter as a solo hero, and the new id trying to fit into the superhero club.  There’s the potential to tell all kinds of different stories, and for these stories to run into each other and conflict with one another.  And there’s potential for the Martian Manhunter to be a star.

 

At least, that’s my idea.

Comics that Should Make a Comeback: Star Wars Rebellion

In 2002, Dark Horse launched a new Star Wars series, “Empire.”  The title would be set in “the era when Emperor Palpatine held the galaxy in his iron grip!”  The stories would take place shortly after the original Star Wars movie, though a few would be set in the days and years leading up to that (especially some interesting arcs telling the life story of Biggs Darklighter, one of the X-Wing pilots who died in the first movie).  The series was fairly well done, showing the Imperial Perspective, spotlighting minor characters (such as the aforementioned Biggs Darklighter) and even showcasing major ones like Princess Leia. 

 

In 2006, the title was relaunched as Star Wars: Rebellion.  The new series concentrated more on new characters, like imperial officer Lt. Janek Sunber (who had been introduced in “Empire”) and rebel soldier Deena Shan.  It also illuminated other aspects of the galaxy, such as the criminal underworld.  And, naturally, the title kept tabs on the famous characters we know and love, like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

 

Earlier this year, Dark Horse announced that it was discontinuing the series after only 16 issues- and after having just participated in the cross-era crossover “Vector.”  The reason given was that this particular era of Star Wars history was too full.  There wasn’t room for more stories.  It would become too unbelievable for Luke and Leia and the rest of the gang to have this many adventures in the three years between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” 

 

I think there’s some truth to that statement.  That era of Star Wars has been mined pretty richly.  The original Marvel comic book series was set during that time.  Many of the Star Wars novels are set in that time, as well.  And between the two series, Dark Horse has published over 50 issues of stories from that era.  It’s pretty crowded with additional adventures. 

 

Even so, I respectfully disagree with Dark Horse’s decision to discontinue the title.  I think there was another solution.  It’s a solution that could continue a title that was being produced at a high quality.  And, importantly, it’s a solution that would insure that at least one Star Wars title was starring the familiar and beloved characters from the original trilogy (Dark Horse is publishing a Clone Wars comic, featuring characters from the prequel era). 

 

The solution is relatively simple.  Move the book forward in time.  The era between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back” may be crowded, but the era between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” is not.  It’s not completely empty.  The original Marvel series continued between those two movies.  And there are a few novels set in that time, such as Princess Leia’s showdown with Black Sun’s Prince Yizor.  But there aren’t that many.  There’s a lot more room for stories set between the second and third movies. 

 

Perhaps authors have avoided that time span because Han Solo is unavailable.  He is, admittedly, one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars canon.  And it might seem limiting to choose to tell a story which can’t make use of Han Solo.  But that shouldn’t be a problem for Rebellion.  Han Solo wasn’t a big a part of this title in the first place.  It concentrated on Luke and Leia, or the new characters.  That focus could continue unimpeded. 

 

As a bonus, Rebellion would get to add Lando Calrissian to the cast.  He may not rival Han’s popularity, but he has his share of fans.  And he would be a fun addition to the cast.  There’s a lot more room to play with him than there is with Han Solo- potential love interests, possible character growth and the like.  After all, Lando’s character growth happened mainly off-screen.  How did he become a Rebel General anyway? 

 

There is also the issue of what to do about Han’s capture.  It might seem awkward, even unheroic, for the Star Wars heroes to be engaged in other adventures while Han remains captured by Boba Fett and then Jabba the Hutt.  But that situation can be turned into an asset.  We already know that three years passed between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”  So we know that they weren’t able to rescue Han right away.  That leaves the renewed Rebellion title a couple of options.  They could easily follow the blueprint of the original Marvel series.  Those stories included several feints and failed attempts to rescue Han, including confrontations with the other bounty hunters.  They also forced Luke and Leia to choose between their personal friendship and the greater needs of the rebellion.  After all, there’s a war to fight, with or without their best friend. 

 

They could also blaze an entirely new trail.  Rebellion could work towards “Return of the Jedi” rather than continuing on from “Empire Strikes Back.”  The majority of the stories written between those two movies were done without the knowledge of what would happen in the trilogy’s finale.  Even those that were written after “Return” was released were set on the sidelines rather than in the heart of the rebellion.  The revived Rebellion series could completely change that, which would open up three very strong storylines. 

 

One, they would be able to tell Luke’s journey in becoming a Jedi.  We would see him return to Dagobah and resume his training under Yoda.  The wizened master might even send him off on missions and quests designed to improve his skills or teach him lessons.  After all, Luke is a much more accomplished Jedi at the outset of the third movie than he is at the end of the second.

 

Two, they would be able to tell the story of the rise of the rebellion.  The earlier series, “Empire,” gave us a glimpse of other rebel heroes like Biggs Darklighter.  The new series could focus on the continued conflict, from the perspective of both those who are in charge and those who are on the frontlines.  I’m sure there are stories to be told about Jan Dodonna, Carlist Rieekan, Mon Mothma and especially Admiral Ackbar.  And the stories from the frontline can be divided between both new heroes like Deena Shan and familiar ones like Wedge Antilles (whose X-Wing series exploits take place after “Return of the Jedi” rather than before it).

 

And three, they could get started on the plan to free Han Solo.  Wouldn’t it be fun to see Princess Leia make contacts in the underground and establish her identity as the bounty hunter Boushh?  There are probably some good stories about the hard choices Lando had to make while undercover as one of Jabba’s bodyguards.  Think of the moral choices that faced undercover agents like Donnie Brasco.  How far would Lando have to go in order to please his unsavory employer? 

 

These stories would mean that Rebellion would have a definite end point.  Or, at least, that it would eventually have to jump forward in time once again.  But, in the mean time, it would also mean that Rebellion was a focused title driving towards a definite goal.  And that would be a lot of fun to read.

 

At least, that’s my idea.

 

Comics that Should Make a Comeback: Generation X

Generation X was one of the most successful new comics of 1994.  It introduced a new team of teenaged mutants.  It reintroduced the concept of young X-Men as students, though with the twist of having them attend the former Massachusetts Academy now controlled and rechristened by Charles Xavier. The new characters fit in nicely as the next generation, especially as the last set of students- the New Mutants- was growing up and no longer going to school.  Generation X filled a niche as the young, hip X-Men comic.  The title lasted a respectable 75 issues, not including annuals, one-shots and extra curricular crossovers. 

 

So what happened?  For one thing, later creative teams weren’t able to capture the same energy or interest as the series creators.  The humorous Scott Lobdell stories and the beautiful Chris Bachalo art helped make Generation X a success.  Some of those later creators had impressive credentials or would go on to make their name in other ways- Larry Hama, Terry Dodson, Jay Faerber and Brian Wood all had tenures on the title- but none of them could make a strong enough impression on Generation X.

 

More than that, the industry suffered serious setbacks.  Marvel declared bankruptcy (though that was due to ill-advised acquisitions rather than any failings of the comic book division), the speculator bubble burst and comics went into a sales trough in the late ‘90s that many observers thought the industry would never recover from.  Unfairly or otherwise, a lot of the successful comics of the ‘90s bore the brunt of the blame.  When the industry began its recovery in the early part of this decade, some of the successful comics of the ‘90s weren’t able to come along for the ride.  Generation X was one of those.  Marvel had tried to invigorate flagging interest with its Counter X brand but that didn’t work and Generation X was cut loose when Grant Morrison successfully rebuilt the X-Men brand in 2001.

 

So why now?  Well, Marvel has discovered that many of their ‘90s comics are primed for a comeback.  X-Force is selling more than 50,000 issues a month.  Deadpool and Cable have been re-established as top 40 books.  Even an ‘80s X title, the New Mutants, has launched to decent numbers.  Admittedly, Generation X isn’t a part of the Rob Liefeld corner of the mutant world- which is the case for the more successful relaunches X-Force, Cable and Deadpool.  It probably wouldn’t work as a violent black ops book or a depressing dystopian future.  Even so, there are encouraging signs to think that Generation X could be positioned for a comeback.

 

After all, the title isn’t as unpopular as is sometimes suggested by those who want to rewrite history.  The original Lobdell/Bachalo run fared well in Comics Should Be Good’s poll of the best 100 runs in comic book history (finishing in the top 125).  Many of the Generation X characters moved on to other books- both Chamber and Husk were made members of the X-Men by Joe Casey and Chuck Austen- while others still hold prominent places in the X-universe- Emma Frost is now one of the central figures, M is a regular cast member of X-Factor.  Plus, Marvel has been trying to reintroduce some of these characters in the former mutants in disguise title, New Warriors. 

 

So what would I do with it?  I wouldn’t put the characters back in school.  That ship has sailed.  And Marvel already has a newer generation of young mutants, who were introduced in various incarnations of New X-Men, New Mutants and Young X-Men.  So that niche doesn’t need filling.  Meanwhile, the class ahead of them is engaged in a love affair with nostalgia.  The New Mutants have reunited their classic line-up and are facing their classic villains like Legion.  So I wouldn’t go the straight nostalgia route with Generation X either.  The title isn’t likely to strike lightning twice in the same way. 

 

Instead, I would draw inspiration from the generation after which the title draws its name.  Generation X (roughly those born between 1965 and 1980) is known for accumulating experiences rather than committing to one specific career.  They’re known as being more flexible in terms of moral outlook as well as racial and ethnic integration.  There’s the hook: a team of former heroes and former villains; a team of mutants, former mutants and humans; a team of mixed heritages.  I would build the team around a core of Chamber, Husk, Jubilee and Penance (I’d leave M with X-Factor because I respect Peter David too much to steal a character from one of his titles- though, of course, I would borrow her from time to time).  I’d then add in former foes and adversaries Cordelia Frost, Mondo (he joined the team briefly but he spent more time as Cordelia’s cat-spaw), Vincente and Murmur (the last two were members of Emplate’s Hellions). 

 

I’d concentrate more on accumulating experiences- such as traveling to exotic locations on this world and others- than on fighting villains- though they’d do their share of that, too.  I’d have them meet up with other characters their own age- such as the young Inhumans like Tonaja.  I would re-establish Penance’s original identity as an emotionally wounded survivor of a civil war- though I’d probably do so through a mystery story line.  I would bring in other foes and allies like Marrow and X-Man as guest-stars (I’d even like to have them on the team, but ten members seems like too many).  It might even be fun to cast them as uneasy mentors in a story with the Runaways.  I would want to explore what the world looks like to people just started to live on their own.  And I would probably set the team back in New York, giving them some distance from all of the other students- former and otherwise- in San Francisco. 

 

At least, that’s my idea.