iFanboy Video Podcast
Show Notes
One thing (most of) iFanboy loves is a good crime comic book. Many of the biggest names in comics today got started doing crime comics before they hit the big time.
Brian Michael Bendis did the independent comics Jinx and Goldfish before he ever steered The Avengers. And while Ed Brubaker has plenty of fun with Captain America, books like Scene of the Crime and Gotham Central gave him his start, and he’s still going with Criminal today. Warren Ellis, known mostly for sci-fi makes his mark on the very stark book, Fell. Then there’s Hawaiian Dick, which takes place in Hawaii in the 50’s, by B. Clay Moore. And, if you want true crime, there’s Union Station by Ande Parks, or the Treasury of Murder series by Rick Geary.
It’s all there for the taking, if you’ve got the stones.
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the lighting makes conner look evil. If you haven"t read history of violance, and road to perdition.
Nice one! I’m a big crime comic fan, but have never checked out the Geary murder ones, will add trhem to my list. Are yous excited for the Darwyn Cook Parker books? The preview pages look fantastic.
Great podcast, I was thinking of writing you guys suggesting crime comics for an episode but I wasnt sure there would be enough to talk about since you guys have mentioned stuff like Whiteout and Criminal so often, but this was a really awesome podcast.
By the way, do you guys have a favorite arc from Gotham Central?
The newest Criminal trade is the best, IMO. awesome!
I love when Ron can’t find the price on the Rick Geary HC and Conor grabs it and finds the price instantly. Somebody has a little more hardcover experience.
I finished reading "A Little Piece of Goodnight" less than an hour before this show came online. I am officially vibrating on the iFanboy frequency now. I am one with the iFanForce.
I love that Sean Phillips image!
Me too!
The next Gotham Central HC can’t come out fast enough, I blew through first one(which some one of the iFanboy forums gave me!) in a night and have been eagerly awating volume two to come out.
YEAH NATIONAL HIGHWAY AND SAFETY ADMINISTRATION!
Good show & lots of things to seek out. I’m not a huge fan of crime comics, but I do need to track down some of those, they all looked like things I’d be interested in. I read the first issue to White Out, & need to track down the collected book. Might as well mention Stray Bullets & Sin City, though I figure you’ve mentioned that before. A couple of others to mention though are Barry Gifford’s Perdita Durango, Neon Lit press (probably oop), Armed & Dangerous like a Sin City about the NY underground.
It’s great how that annoying ‘Go Daddy’ ad just plays during the opening of this vid.
My language.
great show!
@ josh or conor
but what about scalped? thats a crime book
Yes, Scalped is a crime book, and we talk about almost every issue that comes out on the audio show, and it was featured on a Vault show once as well. We try to switch things up and spread the spotlight, when possible.
what vault show was it in?
I typed "scalped, vault" into the search box:
Episode 37
thanks paul!
That 76 series look great! Any real reason why the last two issues have stalled?
The Treasury of Murder series look great too. I said I was gonna pick up the Lindburgh book when it was BOTM….but didnt….I need to buy it.
I think not enough people bought 76, so the artists had to shift their priorities. It’s available online for free.
http://76cool.blogspot.com/
and
http://jackiekarma.blogspot.com/
Nice throwback but I can’t remember if it was 2 or 1. I think there was something about Batman’s height and something about Wolverine’s height – the wolverine stuff might have been you and not an emailer. Anyway some guy had a passionate semi-tirade about the differing height of superheroes in different titles – and that that bugged him.
What do I get?
Also is the second arc of Gotham Central pretty much like the first? I read the first TP and it’s lackluster with lousy book design on DC’s side ruining two "holly shit" moments the artist planned out.
"Wii"-mote? Ugh…
I think Ed should write a wii-mote stick up into the next issue of Criminal.
Great ep. But how come no 100 Bullets? I know it’s not as "criminal" as some of the books mentioned here – and it’s more of a mob’ish, conspiracy, revenge style book – it does deal in the criminal-noir world – and is 2nd to none at it. It also started in the late 90’s (where it was stated in this ep when crime comics were coming back) and has (obviously) just wrapped up. But it’s neat how that particular book, over it’s life span, arced over while crime books have made a huge leap forward in popularity in the past 10 years. I’m not trying to say it’s the Grandfather of a newer crime-comic generation, but…….wait, maybe I am.
There’s always stuff we leave out of certain shows, but mostly it’s because none of has particularly strong feelings about a title. 100 Bullets is sort of like that. But you’re not wrong. It’s got a lot to do with the current success of crime comics. I stopped reading it in the 50’s, because I was confused, and not enjoying it any more.
I bought the first trade of 100 Bullets and was entertained but not really wowed enough to buy the second yet. Am I missing out on some good shit?
It depends on who you ask.
I personally find 100 Bullets to be one of the greatest crime comics going. You can’t really judge it off the first trade. I know this sounds bad, but I think that you should read up to and including the fourth trade to really get a feel for where the story is going. It’s also good that the series is over now, as following it on a monthly basis is kind of hard and I constantly found myself looking back at old issues and trades. Definitely recommended though. I was also kind of sad that it didn’t get any say in this video. Definitely a landmark series, nothing like it. Definitely not for everyone though.
Hmmm, while i wouldn’t disagree with SirCox, I have a slightly different take on it. The first trade of 100 Bullets gives you a lot: a clean view of the high concept that initially drives the series, a good look at Azzarello’s lean storytelling style, and a glimpse of his penchant for wordplay.
What you don’t get in the first trade, as SirCox mentions, is the larger, byzantine conspiracy story at play. So if you love complicated mythologies and conspiracy stories, then yeah, you should totally read on. If not, and you weren’t wowed by the first trade, I don’t think I’d suggest continuing on.
For myself? I got lost and confused reading it in singles, but I can see how reading it in volumes would help. However, I have a great appreciation for Azzarello’s writing within, and I DO think it will stand the test of time as a complex, innovative crime series.
When I first started reading 100 Bullets, vol 1-6 in the trades were out. I bought all six and did an absolute binge on them, and loved it. After that I just kept waiting for the trades to come out and avoided the singles all together. The wait in-between did leave me a little confused when picking up new trade to new trade, and I did have to go back to previous volumes (and glimpse) to get myself "caught up" for the newest trade.
All in all I’d highly recommend this series, but I suggest reading it all at once. The last trade comes out in a month or so. Do what you need to do – beg, borrow, or steal all the trades from friends, etc. – do an all out weekend binge and read the entire series. 100 issues. I know. Daunting. But a fantastic read.
Thanks for the advice I think I’ll search e-bay for a big 100 Bullets lot and give it a try.
"100 Bullets" by Azzarello & Risso is one of the great comics (crime or otherwise) of this era.
I really need to check out 76 and Hawaiian Dick, you guys made them sound great.
My thoughts on 100 Bullets is that in a few years it will be recognized as one of the quintessential crime series. The multitude of characters, settings and stories are all perfectly conjoined to create a great experience that really consumes the reader.
I’ll admit that it might not be the easiest series to follow because it’s full of different characters and differing stories over 100 issues, but if you stick with it, it will demonstrate just how good it is.
Anyway, good podcast. I’m also a big fan of crime comics and you definitely made me want to read some new ones.
Heh, reading Jinx now. VERY raw and yes the word balloons are insane. Love that Bendis makes a total jackass of himself by modeling for a character. And yeah, Road to Perdition is an excellent book.
I’m currently reading the 100 Bullets trades (up to #5) & it’s one of those books where I’m like "why wasn’t I reading this all along in issues???". It’s amazing.
Just won an Ebay auction for Bendis’ Fire, Jinx, Torso, and Goldfish all for $20 bucks! Have read Torso and Jinx already and can’t wait to tackle the other two. I was thinking Torso is due for a reread as well, loved that book.
100 bullets is brilliant!
but dont buy the 2nd trade without buying the 3rd because the 2nd trade sucked!
I read my first full length work by Rick Geary and it was quite enjoyable. I’d always liked his work in anthologies, so after hearing that his longer stuff is good, I picked one up. Thanks for the suggestion, Ron!