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Batman #125

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This is the premier issue by the new creative team, consisting of Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil, Sex Criminals), Jorge Jimenez (Smallville: Season Eleven, Earth 2: World’s End), and Tomeu Morey (Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps, The Flash). I was very happy to see this in my pull list this trip, and I can recommend up-front that you add it too!

The main Batman title has a storied history the last few years, to say the least. Tom King’s (Grayson, The Omega Men) run definitely revived the book for me, but was unfortunately cut short due to creative differences between the author and DC. James Tynion IV (Batman Eternal, Detective Comics) took over the book for about 30 issues, before it was passed to Joshua Williamson (The Flash, Birthright) for a handful of issues. But the day has finally arrived that I get to read Chip Zdarsky’s Batman! It’s been quite a journey, but I have high hopes that Zdarsky’s run will be a long one, and I’m sure it will be engaging and serve a cool new take on the character.

Batman 125 Dell'Otto variant cover
Dell’Otto Variant Cover

For anyone unfamiliar with the current state of Bruce Wayne’s iconic vigilante persona, it’s been a wild few years. From almost marrying Selina Kyle, to the death of Alfred, to losing stately Wayne Manor, and up to the recent Fear State arc. He also has been downgraded from billionaire to millionaire and started renting a nice little brownstone in downtown Gotham! My personal feelings for this book have fluctuated a lot based on who’s at the helm. It’s also a bit frustrating that DC seems to be against any major changes to one of their biggest cash cows. I understand it as a business decision, but as someone who would like to see the character evolve, you can almost see the restraints that are placed on the writers of this book.

Having said that, this issue gripped me from the beginning and didn’t let go. Batman is one of those titles that can’t just hang on the writing. It’s a book with a very heavy atmosphere, and good Batman books always tell the story as much with the art as with the writing. Jimenez is no stranger to this series, and couple with the masterful coloring of Tomeu Morey, you can’t help but fall in love with the art in this book if you’re a fan of the Bat. The line work is so distinctive and iconic, it’s really a delight to see.

Despite my perceived limitations on the creative team, there are a couple of surprising panels in this book that will put the future of certain characters in doubt, so prepare yourself! One thing I know about Zdarsky is that he is not afraid to mess with the main character, and I’m hoping that he will be the writer who breathes a new life into Batman, as this character really needs to go in a new direction. King made his mark, and Tynion continued the tone he set in Detective, but I would love to see some drastic changes to the character and to the franchise. Chip is great at finding the core of a character, and testing the limits of that core, a la his Daredevil run.

Chip Zdarsky’s online store can be found here.

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Silver Surfer Rebirth (2022) #1 (of 5)

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It’s been a while, but I’m moved to a new city, with a new LCS, and I’ve got quite a few books to cover! In this post, we’re talking about two pretty legendary creators, Ron Marz (Witchblade, Green Lantern, Silver Surfer) and Ron Lim (Silver Surfer, Sonic The Hedgehog, X-Men 2099) reuniting to tell a story about one of the most beloved Marvel characters in the expanded universe, the Silver Surfer! Read on to see why you should add this mini to your pull list today!

Classic Cosmic Shenanigans

Our story begins on the edge of Kree space, aboard a Kree vessel. They immediately run into some space trouble, but are helped by Genis-Vell, son of Mar-Vell, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. Genis is also a creation of Marz’s incidentally, so it’s cool to see him bring back one of his creations for this story! Genis is having a hell of a time saving this ship, but luckily our titular surfer swoops in to save the day! Everything about this book screams classic 90’s storytelling, from the dialogue to the situations the characters are in, and the fact that it dives right into the complex tapestry that are intergalactic politics! It’s a joy to see two experienced pros do what they do best.

1989 All Over Again!

Now many have attempted to Get The Band Back Together on a nostalgia book, and I have to say, it doesn’t usually work for me. No shade to people who are, but I’m not actually motivated heavily by nostalgia when I read these books, or watch the movies, and I try to evaluate everything through a critical lens. But the first angle of any work has to be whether I like it or not. I can appreciate some intellectual exercises in music and art, but if it’s not listenable, I’m not going to recommend it. Likewise, I can read a book like this that’s kind of the opposite of that, but if the story isn’t engaging and fun, it doesn’t matter how many Easter Eggs and Callbacks and Fan Service you throw in there, I’m probably not going to love it. Fortunately, this book not only reminds me of great things from the past, but could potentially be a great thing itself.

Should you add this to your pull list? I say yes! It’s a short series, so not a huge commitment. If you have a short budget and want to only get quality books, this hits that mark. And if you’re a Silver Surfer fan at all, this will definitely give you what you want!

You can purchase this issue on Comixology here.

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Death Of Doctor Strange #1

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My pull list is overflowing with great new titles, including this one! Writer Jed MacKay (Black Cat, Man Without Fear) joins artist Lee Garbett (Loki: Agent Of Asgard, Batman RIP) and colorist Antonio Fabela (The Amazing Spider-Man, Skyward) to bring us what looks to be a pretty cool five-issue miniseries. Read on to see why you should add this to your pull list today!

And Your Little Dog, Too

There have been a host of great Strange-related titles in the past few years, my favorite being Donny Cates’s run from 2015. This has always been an odd book, and there’s a certain feel and look that I expect from a Doctor Strange book. Frankly, I’ll come out and say that the art in this book doesn’t really scratch my usual itch for this character, but the writing and the concept are so damn good that I can overlook it! Nothing wrong with Garbett and Fabela’s art, but I usually look for an extremely psychedelic product from artists working on Doctor Strange, and this art is pretty straightforward. There’s some interesting layout work, but other than that it’s what I would call modern Marvel House Style.

Doctor Strange's messy bedroom
Remnants of a long night Tik-Toking

As I said, the writing in this is what drove me to post about it. I don’t really think I’ve read any of MacKay’s work before, although I’ve seen his name on plenty of things. He’s got the kind of sardonic voice of Doctor Strange down pat, as well as his new ghostly dog companion. He alludes also to Strange’s past, and how he used to talk in the 70’s, which was a cute little segment of dialogue in this issue. And I won’t spoil it, but the concept of the book is really damn cool (you can guess it a little bit from the title of the series). There are many aspects to Stephen’s modern life, including being an active surgeon again, and MacKay addresses all of those with grace.

Not much more to say about this book without giving it away, so I’ll just recommend picking it up and adding it to your pull list!

You can buy this book on Comixology here

You can buy stuff from Lee Garbett here

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Dark Ages #1

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I read the first issue of Dark Ages, by Tom Taylor (Injustice 2, All-New Wolverine) and Iban Coello (Justice League Beyond 2.0, Venom), and I instantly added it to my pull list! Read on to see why you should add it to your pull list too!

Uatu You Doing?

The Marvel Universe has gone through a lot recently, what with the King In Black, and a bunch of Frost Giants running around before that, not to mention Captain America becoming a Nazi and nearly taking over the world. Well if you thought that all of your favorite characters could relax, you were dead wrong! Some of the best and brightest of the Marvel Universe are present in this story, including a handful of Spider-people, the FF, the Avengers, and even some X-Men (I guess most of them are having sexy times back on Krakoa). I’m actually going to guess that this isn’t the 616, as some pretty Apocalyptic shit happens, but it is chaos for A Marvel Universe, if not the main one.

Various Spider-people having their Spidey Senses triggered.
And where is Ben Reilly, I ask you?

If you aren’t familiar with Tom Taylor, you should dig into his back catalog, it’s pretty fantastic, especially All-New Wolverine. He’s one of these modern writers who is super into what I call Marvel Nonsense, that fast-paced over-the-top style of writing that is the backbone of 80’s and 90’s Marvel. Couple this with a deep love and knowledge of these characters, and baby you’ve got a stew goin’! Coello spices up this gumbo with his own style of dynamic, action-packed art. This duo has brought us what looks to be a Classic Marvel story, albeit a short one.

I’m keeping this post short as well, since there’s not much I can say without spoiling everything, but go add this to your pull list today!

You can purchase this issue on Comixology here.

You can also buy some stuff from Tom Taylor here.

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Blade Runner 2029 #7

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This series has been a great addition to my pull list, and this week’s issue is no exception! Written by Mike Johnson (Star Trek, Earth 2: World’s End), drawn by Andres Guinaldo (Gotham City Sirens, The Hypernaturals) and colored by Marco Lesko (Robotech, Assassin’s Creed: Uprising), this series has been an incredible addition to the Blade Runner universe! Read on to see why you should add this to your pull list today!

Ford Not Dick

If you’re familiar with Replicants and Blade Runners from the Philip K. Dick novel, this is a far cry from that. No Penfield Mood Organs to be found in this series, as it stems from the Ridley Scott movie adaptation, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and a young Edward James Olmos. This storyline has been evolved from the movie to the comics in Blade Runner 2019, and now Blade Runner 2029. A lot has happened in this universe, including the dissolution of the Tyrell Corporation, and the release by a different company of the Nexus 8 series of Replicants. I recommend reading Blade Runner 2019 if you’re interested in any of that, it’s a fun series!

Ash in 2011, sitting in a police station.
Gool ol’ 2011

Our current protagonist Ash, has just had her spine healed by the very Replicant she’s been chasing. I won’t go into too many details in case you need to catch up, but the Replicants have been stirring up trouble in Los Angeles, led by a Nexus 6 named Yotun. Things have gone a little pear-shaped for Ash and her partner Freysa, but I’ll leave it up to you to read what happens next!

I’ve been really happy with Johnson’s work with these characters, and in this world. It’s not easy to write a story in an existing universe like this, and he pulls it off with style and professionalism. I’ve read some of his Star Trek work, which I really liked. The important through-line that ties this IP together over its various iterations is the inner life of both the protagonists and the antagonists. This framework allows creators to explore some really cool concepts like identity, and what exactly the nature of consciousness is. Combine those with the social commentary that Johnson brings to the table in this series, and you will get me coming back for more every time!

Guinaldo and Lesko make a fantastic artistic collaboration as well. You may be familiar with Guinaldo from the old Gotham City Sirens from 2009, and I think he’s evolved his style in a cool direction since then. One of the really cool things about the Ridley Scott film is all the attention to detail in the backgrounds, and this team keeps that feeling going, as well as making all sorts of callbacks to the architecture and color palette of the movie.

Make sure to add this to your pull list if you’re a fan of the Blade Runner IP in general, or if you just love cool dystopian cyberpunky goodness.

You can find this series on Comixology here.

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Lotus, Baltimore Soundstage, 2/25/22

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I saw Lotus on a Friday night in downtown Baltimore, and it was great! This was my first time seeing them with guitarist Tim Palmieri (Kung Fu), and he blew me away! Read all about it below.

Baltimore Soundstage

Soundstage has been around since about 2010, and is down the street from Power Plant Live. I’ve always enjoyed everything about this club. The sound is great, with clear bass, there are two bars and the wait has never been very long for me. It’s easy to get around, and if you’re a smooker, you can go on the little side patio they have on Cross Street. Drinks are expensive, but they’re expensive everywhere, so that’s no surprise. Overall, I’m always excited to attend this venue! If you have a chance to see a show here, I highly recommend it!

Set One

  1. Lucid Awakening
  2. MacGuffin
  3. Caywood
  4. Flower Sermon >
  5. Golden Ghost >
  6. Flower Sermon
  7. Land of the Lush

By my reckoning, I hadn’t seen Lotus since 2011 before this show. That was back at the Starscape Festival, over at Ft. Armistead Park. While they’ve written a lot of new music since then, their sound is still very familiar, and I was immediately in the Lotus Zone. I’ve always loved the way that they structure their jams, the Flower Sermon sandwich being a great example in this set. They can go pretty far afield, even to another song, but they are masters of building up the tension before returning to the head of the song. I was also really happy to hear Flower Sermon, as it’s always been a banger and one of my favorites! This was a hell of an opening statement by the band, especially on Night One of the run.

Set Two

  1. Bjorn Gets A Haircut
  2. One-Eyed Jones (debut)
  3. Debris
  4. It’s All Clear To Me Now >
  5. Travel >
  6. Spiritualize >
  7. Shimmer & Out (encore)

I thought they left it all on the floor with the first set, but I was wrong. Palmieri has a marked difference on how the solos sound, giving everything a bluesier feel than I’m used to hearing from this band. I will miss Rempel, he was definitely key to many of my great memories of the band, but I can appreciate a new direction! Tim’s got chops, and has played with all the big names in the industry (all the members of Phish, the Biscuits, Umphrey’s, you name it). I’m a debut hunter, so I was super happy to hear not only a new song, but a bunch of tunes I’m less familiar with. Having said that, they closed out this set with a classic Lotus combination, everything from It’s All Clear To Me Now on was pure bliss.

Final Thoughts

I was actually planning to go to both nights of this show, but we had to leave early after the third or fourth song on Saturday, so no review will be coming for that one. The first few songs sounded bangin’!

I will definitely see them as much as possible when they come anywhere within 50 miles of me. I’m hoping to go to the Sacred Rose Festival later this year in Illinois, as well as a host of other great acts (Phil Lesh and some amazing Friends!) If you’re an old-school Lotus fan, or you’ve never heard them but love the Jamtronica sub-genre, this ticket will be worth every penny. They haven’t lost a bit of their fire, or beautiful improvising.

You can buy Lotus merch here.

You can buy Tim Palmieri merch here.

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Dead & Company, Wrigley Field, 9/17/21

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I went to the storied and beloved home of the Chicago Cubs to see John Mayer shuffle around in the rain! This was one of the wildest weeks of my life, and I’m happy to say I got a chance to see some of my favorite musicians in the second-oldest baseball stadium in the league, behind Boston’s Fenway Park.

A Little History

Wrigley Field was built in 1914, although it was called Weeghman Park at the time; the name Wrigley Field came later, in 1925. This stadium has been home to various bits of baseball history, probably the most famous being Babe Ruth’s called shot home in game 3 of the 1932 World Series. It’s also been host to plenty of live shows over the years, and this was Dead & Company’s fifth appearance here since Summer Tour 2017. The other four shows here were apparently bangers, earning a minimum of 4.55 on http://www.deadandcodb.com.

Set One

  1. Rain Delay
  2. Let The Good Times Roll
  3. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo
  4. Bertha
  5. Ramble On Rose (unfinished)
  6. Rain Delay

This was a bit of a roller coaster, weather-wise. The main reason there was a delay was the thunder and lightning. It was actually raining pretty much the entire set, but the people in the lawn kept on dancing! I would expect no less from a bunch of Deadheads. We were safely ensconced in the stands just left field of Home Plate, so no complaints about the rain! As far as the music goes, I was happy to hear Mississippi Half-Step, but everything else left me wanting. Bertha is one of my least favorite Dead songs, and I can’t recall a Good Times that ever thrilled me, but the Ramble was nice until they had to skip the last verse. This set was a dud for me.

Set Two

  1. Dancing In The Streets
  2. Playing In The Band
  3. Scarlet Begonias
  4. Deal
  5. Fire On The Mountain
  6. Drums
  7. Space
  8. Playing (Reprise)
  9. All Along The Watchtower
  10. Morning Dew
  11. Not Fade Away
  12. Ripple (Encore)

Musically, this set was much more my speed! We got a tour debut of Dancing, followed by a decent Playing In The Band. The whole Deal/Fire/Drums/Space sequence was cool as well, although the Space wasn’t anything to write home about necessarily. Always love to hear Bobby do the Dylan songs he loves so much, and Morning Dew was perfectly executed. NFA is a classic show closer, complete with the crowd chanting the last line of the chorus right up to the encore. Set list-wise, this set was a great success.

My Love Did Very Quickly Fade Away Though

Sound-wise, I can’t say it was as much of a success. This was the first time I’ve seen a band in a baseball stadium, and I have to say it was a huge let down. I couldn’t hear the piano at all, the vocals were unintelligible, and the bass was lost in the mix. I could only tell Kimock was playing because I would see his hands move on the screen occasionally. I’m not sure if it was the rain, or if this is usually how shows in stadiums like this are, but it felt like a wast of money at the end of the day. I’m willing to go see one more stadium show in good weather to compare, but there’s a good chance that’ll be my last!

Despite all that, I’m happy we got to see DCO play, this was a kind of surprise for us, as we were driving across the country and happened to be in Chicago the same night. I wish we could have stayed for the second night, I hear the weather was much better, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to add this notch to my bed post either way!

You can purchase Dead & Company merch here.

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Profile: Oteil Burbridge

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I’m excited for this one, Oteil is one of the greatest extant musicians, and has played with basically everybody important in the jam scene. I’m happy to continue celebrating musicians of color today, although I think I’ll switch back to POC comics creators in the next post, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. There are links at the bottom of the post for organizations you can donate to; let me know if I should add any!

Oteil Burbridge

Bass Guitar, Drums, Banjo, Bass Clarinet, Piano, Vocals

Hooooo boy, talk about a musician’s musician. Multi-Grammy-winner Oteil Burbridge has been in the scene since 1991, bursting onto the scene as one of the founding members of the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Being an integral part of that band is accomplishment enough, but he and his brother Kofi (who passed away last year) have touched most corners of the jam band/improvisational scene.

Oteil joined the Allman Brothers Band from 1997 until their retirement in 2014, bringing the heat and winning a Lifetime Grammy for his work with the band. If you’re into the Allmans, check out the Live At The Beacon Theatre DVD to see some of Oteil’s fine work. During this time, he also joined with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell and Russell Batiste, Jr. to form Vida Blue, a pretty hip trio of electronic music with vocals.

In 2010, he and his brother Kofi joined with Derek Trucks to form the 11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band, which has played some fire performances over the years in various configurations. It was also about this time that he scaled back some of his touring to focus on having children.

That didn’t stop him from playing through with the Allmans, or from forming Dead & Co. in 2015 with three of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead (and John Mayer). They’ve been touring every year since, and having seen them a couple of times, I can say that Oteil brings a really cool energy to the music. Also any time he sings he blows everyone else out of the water, he is an incredibly soulful singer.

Oteil has played with many more greats from the last three decades of live music, and I don’t think he’s stopping any time soon (virus permitting). He’s not touring right now of course, but you can support him by going to his merch page and tossing him a few bucks: https://oteilburbridge.hilinemerch.com/.

Organizations

Here are some places that can use your support!

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Profile: Napoleon Murphy Brock

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Continuing on with my series on musicians of color, today’s profile is on one of my favorite musicians currently performing, Napoleon Murphy Brock! At the bottom of this post, you’ll also find organizations that you can donate to and help out the cause. Stay safe out there!

Napoleon Murphy Brock

Saxophonist, Flutist, Singer

Like most who worked with Frank Zappa, Brock was and is a master of his instruments. He’s pushed the envelope with other Mothers of Invention alumni like George Duke, Ike Willis, Tom Fowler and Don Preston. He’s also worked with freaky contemporary Captain Beefheart on some projects, as well as various Mothers offshoots like Project/Object. Oh, and he’s a Grammy winner!

He started his career in the late ’60s with a group he founded called Communication Plus, who would play clubs in San Francisco. Zappa heard him playing for a dance band in Hawaii, and due to George Duke’s presence in the band, Brock decided to join the Mothers. Appearing on over 15 Zappa albums between 1974 and 2002, he’s also in a handful of Frank Zappa documentaries and movies, including Baby Snakes.

I’m not sure if he’s still touring with anyone (I mean when a pandemic isn’t happening), and I wasn’t able to find a website for him, other than Wikipedia, so I’m not sure how you can support him directly at the moment! However, you should definitely check out the Zappa Plays Zappa DVD, as well as listen to You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 to hear the best examples of his work.

Organizations

Here are some places that can use your support!

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Profile: Victor Wooten

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This will be the first in my series of musicians of color (as opposed to the comic creators of color that I’ve been doing), and what a person to start off with! Now I need to acknowledge up front that there are thousands and thousands of amazing black musicians, over human history, that I could pick from. I’m going to narrow the scope of these to the type of music I usually cover, i.e., jam bands, or at least musicians who play at those types of festivals. As always, there will be organizations at the bottom that you can donate to, and feel free to comment if you feel there are any missing!

Victor Wooten

Bass

If you’re into jam music, bluegrass, fusion, funk, or anything in between, you’ve probably heard of Victor Wooten. He’s played with a wide variety of musicians, including Curtis Mayfield, Bootsy Collins, Carl Denson, Dennis Chambers, his four brothers as the Wooten Brothers, and of course his longest-standing group, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones.

Victor got his start playing with the family band the Wooten Brothers. He’s the youngest of his brothers, and they needed a bass player, so that’s what he learned! He was able to learn a lot about the industry from this experience, and was also able to play with a host of good musicians around the country, before helping to found the Flecktones in 1990.

This helped launch his career into international fame, and he still plays with Bela to this day, five Grammies later. He’s also received accolades from Bass Player magazine, and in 2011, Rolling Stone voted him one of the top 10 bass players of all time. He continues to perform with Bela Fleck, as well as his own solo work and collaborations with other artists. He’s obviously not touring right now, and his online store seems to be closed, but you can find out more about him here: https://www.victorwooten.com/.

Organizations

Here are a few organizations and communities that could use your help: