[mr_goldenage]

Anybody pick this up yet? Nice Alex Ross stuff. Care to comment? Any general comment on Dynamite's take on the old pulp characters? Let us talk.

Mr. Goldenage

[narfstar]

I have it on my pull list. I hate going to the mall this time of year and fighting traffic. So I have not been to pick up my books. Of course my LCS is small so I never know what books they are going to be shorted.

[paw broon]

Dave at my lcs, suggested it but my bill was already straining my wallet, so I didn't pick it up. (Sixth Gun tpb and alter Ego did some of the damage).  I had a peak inside and it was Alex Ross, alright.  Just seemed a bit odd seeing those legendary characters shoulder to shoulder in the same universe.

[narfstar]

I just read Masks and it is already one of my favorites. I hope it stays there. The art is great f course. The story is rather typical but that does not make it less fun to read.

[mr_goldenage]

I found it worthwhile. I was only there to pick up my fix of Before Watchmen when I saw this. Took a peak and saw the multiple covers, asked the wife which one she liked and then I bought it, brought it home and really liked it. Only problem is other than Watchmen I do not buy new comics. Ugh..........

RB

[paw broon]

"The art is great f course" narfstar.
Well, here I have to disagree, sort of.  The illustrations are, as usual, well done and powerful but as comic stories, his storytelling doesn't seem to flow, imo. And the figures, poses and faces are always the same so it becomes a bit boring to me after a while. Excellent, if stuck in a rut, illustrator but, is it more a set of illos than a seamless comic?  Perhaps a bit like Simon Bisley - excellent poster man but a comics storyteller?
Sorry to be controversial and I await a skelp around the head.

[narfstar]

I always lean to story over art. The art is just pretty pictures to enhance the stories. He does make pretty pictures.

[mr_goldenage]

Actually it was the concept that hooked me. I did not think I would find it...well believable....strange as that may sound. Yes pretty pictures and very close to the original creators concepts I thought. Not so much on the character/personality dept. but then again it is a comic book. Plot? what plot? Again it is the thought of a grouping of such characters with pretty poster like pictures that perhaps will wind up somewhere over the rainbow someday, who knows?....for now I'm outta here....
Take care guys n gals

Richard

[narfstar]

It was only the opening salvo with the characters and pretty pictures being the focus. They just had to have a reason to start coming together. Hopefully it will develop into a real story.

[bowers]

Finally got to read my copy, and I'm really on board for this one! Good premise for the story line, a plausible reason for the team-up, and pretty good writing and art. I like the job Dynamite's done with The Shadow so far, and hopefully they won't mess this title up too badly. I did not care for Dynamite's rebirth of The Spider but, since this takes place in the forties, hopefully the character will be handled a bit  differently. Really looking forward to issue 2. Cheers, Bowers

[bowers]

Just picked up and read issue 2- story is still in the the "set-up" stage, but looks like things will really be poppin' soon! And ,yes, I approve of the way they are handling The Spider- much more like the pulp hero he is! Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

It occurred to me, having read the conversation re. The Octopus, over on DCM, that this series probably should include The Skull Killer.  Now, I haven't read Masks yet so I could be suggesting something that's about to happen but, Skull Killer would make an excellent addition to the comic.
Here he is:-
http://michelfiffe.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Skull-Killer.jpg

[bowers]

Interesting looking character, Paw. Could you give us some details on him? Cheers, Bowers

[mr_goldenage]

Isn't Skull Killer the villian in the JSA Retro story mini now on sale?

RB

Read Masks # 2. Liked it. Still in Set up mode I see. Nice to see Miss Fury and the Green Lama. Good to see the Future "Modern Day" Zorro in the story (Although I wished they'd gone female with that concept) and the accident that turned Tony Quinn into the Bat, although not true to his pulp origins. Still a good issue. Who was that costumed man lurking in the shadows, so many questions.....Is anyone reading the Moonstone pulp titles?

Keep em Flying,

RB

[paw broon]

Here's an ad for The Octopus pulp:-
http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pd.php?pcode=octopus
The covers for the 2 pulps with dates here:-
http://www.philsp.com/mags/adventure_t-z.html#western_raider
Based on the pulps, Skull Killer had (as far as I know) 1 comic outing.  Jeffrey Fairchild was also, kindly Dr. Skull and The Skull Killer, a grotesquely masked figure brandishing  heavy automatics and doing Spider like stuff against bad guys.
Other titles connected to Gary Terry are-
Atom, Robot Adventurer and Green Turtle here:-
http://hairygreeneyeball2.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/atom-robot-adventurer.html
although the art on G.T. is signed Stag Fury.
Had a look on my shelves but still can't find the pulp reprints or the comics.  They're there somewhere, it's just laying my hand on them that's the problem.

[fate man]

Isn't Skull Killer the villian in the JSA Retro story mini now on sale?

RB

Read Masks # 2. Liked it. Still in Set up mode I see. Nice to see Miss Fury and the Green Lama. Good to see the Future "Modern Day" Zorro in the story (Although I wished they'd gone female with that concept) and the accident that turned Tony Quinn into the Bat, although not true to his pulp origins. Still a good issue. Who was that costumed man lurking in the shadows, so many questions.....Is anyone reading the Moonstone pulp titles?
Yeah,I Read about it online,it should be good!


Keep em Flying,

RB

[boox909]

Enjoying this series thus far.

I gave up on The Spider ... too much like something that Marvel could have published to keep a trademark alive ... the first story arc was uninspiring.

The Shadow remains a clear favorite. I have fears that Dynamite will begin grinding the character and fans into the ground with a zillion spin offs, but thus fair, the regular series, the annual, and the recent special have all been top notch work.

[paw broon]

Ys, Spider was poor. And Dynamite do seem to want to do endless spinoffs and I don't like that.

[bowers]

Gentlemen, it seems we agree- The Spider is awful. He does seem to be better handled in "Mask", as the 40's character he is supposed to be. At least somebody (so far) got it right! Cheers, Bowers

[fate man]

I Bought the first two issues of masks at my local comic shop.,
And they are fantastic!
I Can't wait for the rest of the series!

[Ed Love]

It's hard to say I'm disappointed in that it manages to perfectly live down to my expectations for a Dynamite book. After the first issue, the art takes a major hit in quality. Meanwhile, since the characters are drastically changed, with new origins and such, it doesn't really fulfill the main conceit of the concept, of having the pulp heroes Black Bat, Green Lama, Shadow and Spider teaming up with pulp-ish heroes like the Green Hornet. What we have is a bunch of stand-ins for those characters, but not the characters themselves since any pretense at fidelity is thrown out. The big point of a team-up book like this is that it's an exercise in continuity, yet it spends a lot of time re-writing continuity where it doesn't have to. It's not even consistent to the company's own continuity ala their take on the Spider and the upcoming Black Bat comic.

[narfstar]

What is sad is that Moonstone usually did a pretty good job of keeping much of a character's character but they do not sell. I think it has more to do with perception and the market than the quality or what people might want. I do not think enough people try a Moonstone comic that would try a Dynamite comic. Probably has a lot to do with the age of the audience. Those of us who have a feel for and belief in the original characters are not a large enough segment of the market. I thought Moonstone's Phantom far exceeded Dynamites. Phantom Generations was one of my faves.

[Ed Love]

Sad thing with Moonstone was that I found their Lee Falk's Phantom generally to be the exception both in terms of quality and fidelity with the rest of the comics I tried from them.

I think Dynamite is probably better at the marketing angle than Moonstone. By getting Alex Ross to do covers and sketches, as well as attaching names like Kevin Smith, the books were guaranteed to get more notice by the stores. And, banking on scantily clad women like Dejah Thoris, Red Sonja, and Vampirella with multiple covers by favorite artists. There were various titles by Moonstone I never saw in a store

[narfstar]

We have a very small LCS. Other than Marvel, DC and a few hot titles, he only gets what is ordered. The great thing about Diamond is they frequently short his order. Since I am the only person who orders certain titles, they frequent short me certain publishers. Even when I ordered Moonstone titles frequently they would not come in. I was fortunate to get all of Phantom Generations. Did Moonstone ever finish Phases of the Moon?

[paw broon]

Ed, you're bang on re. Dynamite and this series.  I've now managed to read #1 & 2 on my new tablet (and thanks to narfstar for suggesting Comixology) and found myself a bit underwhelmed - and confused. Those aren't the origins I know and while I didn't mind the change in art - not being the world's biggest Ross fan, as far as storytelling goes that is, it all seemed a bit seedy.  And I have the strangest feeling I've seen those "bad cop" face masks somewhere else.  But, I could be mistaken.  I often am. Now I'm not sure if I really want the rest of the series, although I was curious when Miss Fury turned up.  But they had to make it a bit seedy again with that exchange re. GL watching her change. The one thing that I can't figure out is how they are going to get Zorro in there.
As for Moonstone and The Phantom, that was a good try but there was no way Moonstone were going to compete with some of the big boys, imo.  Mike Bullock made a quite successful run at it and latterly, on the comic, there were a couple of excellent covers. Then Dynamite came along with all their cash and made a mess of one of the all-time great masked men.  Difficult to forgive them for that.
As with narfstar, my lcs is tiny and  Dave only stocks the mainstream plus orders so if stuff I order doesn't turn up, I'm out of luck.  And to be honest, the big stores in Glasgow aren't much better nowadays.  More like toy stores with some comics.
By the way, there is a newish title on Comixology, "Bandette" - a sort of version of Fantomette, I suppose - and I got much more enjoyment from that than from Masks.