Terrificon Recap 2: Greg Larocque And More Stories

Last week I gave my first recap of 2024's Terrificon including my June Brigman commission.

Brigman was my primary target for a commission from the show. But my second was Greg Larocque.

Most people who frequent this site know that the Legion is my second favorite DC IP. In fact, I reviewed multiple runs of the Legion over on the Legion of Super-Bloggers. In fact, I think my reviews of the first 60 issues of the 5YL Legion is my high water mark as a blogger. 

Larocque was the artist on a large part of the Baxter run of LSH, so I have always been a big fan. 

But I had a particular interest in getting a sketch from him. He was the last artist to draw the pre-Crisis Supergirl in continuity. 

You see, the DCU was re-written in Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, a book which hit the stands on 12/19/1985. After that, Supergirl was a word that couldn't even be uttered in DC Comics.

But then in Legion of Super-Heroes #31 , drawn by Larocque, we saw a statue of Supergirl in Legion's hall of heroes. 

Seven months later, in the classic Legion of Super-Heroes #38 we once again saw the Supergirl statue. Once again it was Larocque on art. Legion #38 was released on 6/9/1987, a full 18 months after the Crisis ended! A year and a half after Supergirl was 'erased' from continuity.

With all that history, I thought Larocque doing a commission sketch of the Supergirl statue for my book was a pretty cool idea. And I think he nailed it. For a Supergirl fan and a Legion fan, this was a winner.

Heroes In Crisis #1

Heroes in Crisis #1 came out last week, the first issue in DC's big company crossover and a sad return to the days of grim, gory, dark story telling of recent years. Unfortunately, this shouldn't surprise me.

One of the things that spurred me to start this blog was the darkening of Supergirl's character in the Loeb/Turner era. I wanted to shine a light on her more heroic past so new readers woundn't think she was always the sullen, sulking, angry girl who just wanted to be left alone.

And over the 10 plus years of doing this, I have witnessed the descent of the DCU into a dark place. Some of the more notable lowlights I have covered include Cry For Justice and the  ripping off of Red Arrow's arm, the graying of all DC in Forever Evil . and the grim nature of Future's End.

Where was the optimism? Where were the heroes spurred to help humanity because it was the right thing to do? Where was the light which was going to save us from the darkness?

It was only a few years ago that DC had a course correction, deciding that they couldn't go down any further. It was time to correct the mistakes of the New 52 and subsequent stories and bring back the ideals, the hope. We got Rebirth  and for a short period of time we were happy.

I got into comics to read the exploits of heroes and be inspired to do more. Yes, even then they had human problems – love, finances, fatigue – but they always rose above. But you get the sense that things are turning and we are heading back to a DCU where (per Dan Didio) heroes can't be happy. Now the trend is to make them utterly relatable, to give the characters not only feet of clay but whole bodies of the stuff.

Heroes In Crisis is a story purportedly about PTSD and healing. Instead of that, we get a bloody, brutal issue.

Review: Batman #36

Batman #36 came out last week and frankly I am so blown away by the issue that I wasn't sure if I could honestly review the book. Writer Tom King has been on something of a creative hot streak with his work on Batman, Mister Miracle, and even a brilliant issue of the Kamandi Challenge.

Now I'll admit I don't read Batman but the appearance of Superman drew me in.

To be blunt, this is one of the best comics I have read in a long long time.

You see, the Superman/Batman friendship has been rough for the last 30 years, probably since Frank Miller destroyed it in The Dark Knight Returns. Since then we have had a bristling relationship, a Batman with a kryptonite ring and paranoia, a movie based on the two fighting. And, perhaps even worse, are stories which make them best buddies again, ignoring the last 30 years of rift. I have been looking for some issue, some creator, some story to explain this friendship to me again, to make me understand it, to bring them together while recognizing their differences and the three decades of anger.

This issue does just that. They want to be friends. They respect each other. They're in awe of each other. But they don't know how to reach out. They don't know how to discuss their feelings. They don't want to impose a friendship on the other.

Seriously, I wanted to scan the whole issue to showcase it. Every page is just perfection. And Clay Mann on art is also perfect. The whole layout of the issue, mirrored pages and two running stories of each hero explaining their feelings about the other hero is just spectacular. Just stupendous.

What are you waiting for ... if you are a fan of Superman or Batman or both, run out and buy this issue.

Just a few moments...

Review: Superman #16

Superman #16 came out this week, the final chapter of the Multiplicity storyline.I had gone into this arc with high hopes and the first chapters really gave off a grand scale vibe. This had the feeling of a company wide mega-crossover.

But this final chapter seemed to end too quickly. We didn't get too much explanation of Prophecy's motivations, just a tease of some incoming multiversal threat. And we certainly didn't get an explanation of how these Supermen save themselves. It just all seemed to end ...

And that was a bit deflating. Because everything up to this point was just clicking.

Writers Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason are obviously building to something. We see Mr. Oz in this issue. We hear about this threat coming to all Earths. We know there is an army of Supermen out there. And I have had little to complain about in their run. But I wonder if they were constrained on pages and needed things to end magically to keep a company-wide timeline on track.

Art on the book was a mix of Tony Daniel and Clay Mann and the book is pretty lush. I thought the art was very good and continued that feel that this was something grander than a simple issue in a monthly book. Between the cover and the final battle with Prophecy, there was an echo of Crisis on Infinite Earths #12. There was an outright swipe of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, the image that is always homaged.

Or am I just imagining this?
On to the book!

Boston Comic Con Preparation and Commission Wish List

One month from now I will be heading to the Boston Comic Con !!

This is the event of the summer for me and, as usual, it is about a month prior that true con preparation starts.

I have begun pulling books for signatures for the guests there, organizing them in interoffice envelopes for easy retrieval. I try to limit sigs to 6-8 per creator. There is nothing worse than being behind someone who brings 30 issues for signature. If I have more I will leave the line after 8 and return later with the rest. And while I succumb to pressure and bring first issues, and creator's first issues on a title, I will often bring my favorite issue of a creator to sign. I find that handing an issue they haven't signed a million times can spur a conversation. (For example, I remember handing Frank Quitely All-Star Superman #10, saying it was my favorite issue of the run. Turns out it was his too and this led to a nice chat.)

Anyways, the other half of con preparation is planning a commission strategy. Who do I want to get sketches from? Are they sketching? How much do they charge? Who is so popular I need to run to their table first? Who can I get in touch with pre-con to try to reserve a spot on the list? There is some prep work here.

For commissions, I have three sketch books I use, so I try to think of the top three with a secondary list if I don't get on the top three's list or if the initial commissions are done quickly enough for me to get more. I like to support the artists as much as possible.

Using sketch books limits how many commissions I can get in some ways but I love the portability of my collection. It also shows artists that I am not going to just flip my commission on EBay.

Here are the top artists I am hoping to get commissions from at the con, although one is a pipe dream.

Chris Burnham - I loved his work on Batman Incorporated. His treatment of Talia al Ghul was so spectacular that he vaults to the top of the list. His work on Batman Incorporated might make him a tough grab so I am hoping to get to him early.

Marcio Takara - I have seen enough of Takara's Supergirl commissions on-line (like the above pic) to know he draws exactly the sort of Supergirl I love. Add to that his recent energetic work on recent issues of Smallville, I am hoping to get on his list.

Clay Mann was a late addition to the convention roster. Mann is known mostly for work on X-Men books. I have always liked his style. A good friend of mine got an Elektra commission from him a couple of years ago which is breathtaking. So maybe I can nab a Supergirl from him.

Cat Staggs does the covers for Smallville and designed this interesting Supergirl costume. The commissions I have seen from her are unbelievable. I am hoping that Staggs will be sketching in Boston.

And now the pipe dream ...

Amanda Conner is one of my favorite artists in the business. I absolutely loved her Power Girl, Silk Spectre, and her Wednesday Comics Supergirl. I know she rarely does commissions these days but a Conner Supergirl is a like a grail piece for me. I can only hope that an earnest plea will be heard.

So those are the top artists on my wish list. There are plenty of other artists I would be thrilled to get sketches from so you never know. But wish me luck with these creators!