Every character has a cycle of ups and downs, from times when they are ultra-hot and popular to times when they are forgotten, underused and unloved. Take for example this week’s reprint of DC’s Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich. THIS is a fun, nasty little book from back in the day when Lobo was the main man in comics, a “take no prisoners” crazy man who would kill anyone, anywhere, for any reason.
This role of “funny, crazy killer” is currently being filled by Deadpool (whom I think, for the first time in forever, DOESN’T appear on the cover of a single Marvel comic this week), but can you imagine a time a few years down the line when The Merc with the Mouth will seem hokey, old and dated?
When characters get to the bottom of the pile they become “Cult Favorites,” and some weird changes can take place.
CULT CHARACTERS
DC has many more #0 issues from their new 52 line out this week, including Aquaman #0 and Red Lanterns #0. For many, Aquaman is the ultimate cult character, the plucky lord of the undersea who isn’t cool enough for the mainstream but commands the love of millions none the less. Red Lanterns has one of my favorite NEW cult characters, Dex-Starr, the adorable blood vomiting blue kitty cat of destruction!
IDW is the company built on giving some of our favorite characters from yesteryear a home! This week they have two new Joe books (G.I. Joe #182 and Snake-Eyes Ongoing #17) guaranteed to please the devoted followers of America’s daring, highly-trained special missions force. Top that off with new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Popeye, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers and John Byrne’s Next Men?! YOU GO, IDW!
BE-STILT MY BEATING HEART
You best believe I’ll be checking out the latest issue of Marvel’s Secret Avengers #31! It’s going to feature more STILT GIRL, the amazing new cult character so original that she is just Stilt Man (the obscure, dead Spider-Man and Daredevil villain who is just a bank robber on giant metal stilts) but now as a girl! IF we can sell out the entire run then we’ll be one step closer to getting that Stilt Man ongoing title we’ve been waiting for…so who cares that he’s dead?! We’ll just get Stilt Girl gender reassignment surgery and we’re in business!
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #16 is a safe title to check out for some fun, as we see what happens in a world which has elected a very high profile super-hero to the highest office in the land. There’s no way THAT could go wrong!
GRANT DESIGNS
What a great week for comics! All our favorite cult (and not so cult) characters, PLUS a new issue of The Goon and a brand new book from Grant Morrison! Happy #1 hits the shelves from Image, and although the copy says it’s about a detective and a magic blue horse I couldn’t care less…it’s a new Grant Morrison book!
Some of us follow cult characters, some of us cult writers!
NEXT WEEK: We gear up for the fast approaching NEW YORK COMIC CON and probably prank phone call Steve Ditko!
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More musings from Unkiedev, Earth’s own sidekick, can be read at unkiedev.blogspot.com
