Let’s all take a moment to appreciate Klaus Janson, the artist who is probably best known for working with Frank Miller on Daredevil.

But what many may not know is that Klaus was working DD’s beat long before Miller.

Here’s a panel from Daredevil #132….

Those are Janson’s inks over Bob Brown’s pencils. Surprised at how much Brown’s work looks like Miller’s? And yet you’ve never heard of Bob Brown. That’s because Janson was a master at taking Miller’s pencils and turning them into a polished, finished product. But, of course, a mansion is only as sturdy as its foundation. So here’s a very similar panel, but with Janson working Miller’s pencils…

Appreciate!

So, we’ve talked about what’s going on with DC and what’s new with everyone else who isn’t Marvel.

Now, on to the main event.  But first: An editorial.

I know Marvel scored big with its movie announcements, promises of Winter Soldier, Falcon, and more Thanos (and, remarkably, still no talk of Avengers 2).  But on the comic book front, their panels were underwhelming and underinformative.  And why, with all these movies, do they never mention comic books?  Why is there no kid-holding-a-comic in a Marvel movie?  Why no advertising their print line in a little during-the-credits bump?  I actually though Jonah Hex—a terrible movie by any standard—did one thing right: In the opening credits, his origin was told using panels from the comic book.

Here’s my fear: Marvel’s A-List talent either goes to the screen where the money is (see: Brian Michael Bendis, Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, others) or decides to go indie (see: Ed Brubaker, Paolo Rivera, Matt Fraction), and Marvel starts giving away its comics like pamphlets used to promote movies.  Kinda like what Mark Millar is basically doing, writing 5-issue comic storyboards for films.

Marvel: Remember who made you (and, frankly, who keeps making you—without comic fans and bloggers, you’re toast).  Invest, promote, and produce the best comic books.  Like you always have, frankly.

I guess I’m just nervous.

Hit the break to find out what’s news for Marvel’s properties…
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This week we got clips of the new CW show “The Arrow” and a 4-minute preview of Spider-Man….

But there’s also news about (another) X-Men reboot, the sequel to Warren Ellis’ RED, the future of Marvel Comics on television, and much more!

Slap that break!

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Just about every comic book fan remembers the “What If?” title, hosted by the Watcher, fondly.  The stories told fanciful, possible, alternative outcomes to classic Marvel storylines.  (But be warned: If you actually go back and re-read your yellowing-newsprint copies, you’ll probably wonder why you saved them in the first place.)  I recently uncovered a box of old Volume 1 issues and realized…Many (most?) have actually come true!

Over the course of three volumes, Uatu revealed a little over 200 alternate realities…And many came true.  Hit the break for more!

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As artist only, the writer/artist who created Frog Thor and Beta Ray Bill will be the new regular artist for the Brian Michael Bendis written Avengers book, beginning with issue #25. Of course, with Bendis promising to leave The Avengers this year, could it be Walt is prepping for a larger role? One can only hope, as Simonson’s imagination has led to some brilliant work in the past, such as:

· The afore-mentioned creation of Beta Ray Bill and Frog Thor, and a long run on Thor that split Don Blake and Thor for the first time, brought Ragnarok, and introduced Asgardian warriors to the wonders of automatic weapons.

· With his wife, an X-Factor run that introduced Cable and Mr. Sinister.

· The artwork on X-Men/Teen Titans, the greatest Marvel-DC crossover ever.

· A tremendous run on The Fantastic Four that replaced the foursome with Ghost Rider, Hulk, Spidey and Wolverine.

· Award winning issues of Detective Comics, during the 1974 event “The Manhunter Saga.”

For more on the world of comics, including the rundown on new and cancelled DC titles, hit the break….

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Daredevil by Frank Quietly!

From Marvel

Celebrating the best of the year….Hit the break.

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DC copped 40% issues sold, Marvel got 38%.  Of course, DC is down a lot.  22% to be exact.  But that’s totally to be expected, with the media push and 52 #1s in one month.  I’d expect a little more downturn in the coming months.  They’re still up from their pre-New 52 market share, but my prediction is that in a few months they’ll be back where they were before the whole relaunch.  Does that mean it wasn’t worth it?  Of course not.  Those few months of big sales were BIG sales for DC—and the amount of hype and publicity they got can only be good for those of us who love comics.  It’s probably due solely to the New 52 that overall comic sales are up 7% for the year—the first rise in yearly figures in two years.

The top 10 titles were still mostly DC: Justice League #3 led the pack, followed by #3s of Batman, Action, and Green Lantern.  Interestingly, Marvel’s “Point One” book came in at #5—it had a $6 price tag and generally got bad reviews.  (All filler!  No meat!)  I’m sure that helped Marvel’s dollar sales figs significantly.  Also interesting: #6 in November 2011’s top 10 was the new Avenging Spider-Man title.  I’m hoping that book is a hit, as I was always a big fan of Marvel Team-Up.
Rounding out the bottom four of the top 10, beginning at #7, were Uncanny X-Men #1, Detective #3, Flash #3 and, finally, Wolverine and the X-Men #2.

A bigger shock to me was what the New 52 continues to do for DC’s OGN/Trade Paperback sales.  I thought the reboot essentially killed off their back issue market, since the New 52 meant the old stories no longer mattered. But DC had half of the top 10 paperbacks sold last month—in a pre-Christmas month that found graphic novel sales up 30% from October.  A good month for trades!  I’m also very, very glad to see Joe the Barbarian in the top 10.  I know I had something to do with that—I bought two copies.

Here’s your top 10 trades.  Note the complete absence of anything Marvel—despite their release of the amazing John Byrne Fantastic Four Omnibus.

10. Joe the Barbarian (DC/Vertigo)
9. BPRD: Being Human (Dark Horse)
8. Sailor Moon Vol. 2
7.  Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns (DC)
6.  Scalped Vol. 8 (DC/Vertigo)
5.  Batman and Robin Vol. 2 (DC)
4.  The Walking Dead Vol. 1 (reissue) (Image)
3.  The Boys Vol. 9 (Dynamite)
2.  Hellboy: House of the Living Dead (Dark Horse)
1.  Batman: Noel Deluxe Edition (DC)

Daredevil vs. Mole Man by Paolo Rivera. You can get me this original art for my birthday or Christmas or just 'cause you love me.

IGN published a top 100 comic book heroes that made me crazy, both in its predictability (Hey! Superman and Bats are #s 1 and 2!), overinclusiveness (every single Robin except Damian Wayne (who is the most interesting one by far), as well as Superboy and Supergirl?  Really?) and its attempts to be esoteric without providing sufficient justification (Groo makes the list, but they don’t really say what makes him so essential; James Gordon makes the list, but Aunt May and Uncle Ben don’t–nor does Jarvis; and Nova makes the list, but nobody really gives a shit about Nova).  Maybe it was the list’s sketchy criteria for placement: “Picked by their cultural impact, character development, social relevance, general cool factor, and importance of storylines, these are the best of the best.

It made me so nuts, I made my own list.  Yes, there’s a lot of overlap.  But mine is better.  Because I said so.

Note: If you’re just looking for a list without supporting arguments, you can jump to the last page of this post.  But you can’t tell me I was wrong to put Thor at #33 unless you go and read why.  So, read every page and then tell me why I’m full of $#!+.

Enjoy!

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From the mouths of babes. My kid said to me yesterday, after we read the fantastic Batman #1, “They should have just killed them all and then did the new 52!” I agree. That would have been awesome: Old U, everybody dies. Then reboot. That would have been cool as shit, plus they would have sold a ton more comics because everyone would have bought the last issues and then the new #1s…

…And while we are talking about bad ideas: Did anyone see Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: The Movie starring Wolverine? No? Well, looks like there’s going to be a “Real Steel 2.” No kidding.

For more news you won’t believe, hit the break.
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