Comics Alliance: An AOL Comic Book Community

Right in time for Thanksgiving, when we'll all be dealing with our own families, comes this week's 'Smallville,' where Clark and Kara/Supergirl are visited by Clark's biological mother, Lara (or at least her replicate from the crystal) and Kara's father, Zor-El (again, his replicate). Plus, all sorts of other family drama to make your own family seem super normal. Let's begin ...

Clark is missing his mother, when he hears her voice calling out for him to save her. It's coming from Kara's crystal that he had hidden in the barn. Cut to Clark's fortress where he's holding the crystal and father Jor-El tells him not to release his mother. Of course, Clark doesn't listen. Why would he? Has he ever listened before?

So out comes mother Lara and Clark is happy to finally meet her. Kara, too, is excited to see her aunt. But Lara tells them that if she's been freed, then Kara's father Zor-El can't be far behind. And, of course, she's right. Zor-El comes and plays the sensitive father role to get Kara to the fortress. Come to find out he's manipulating her to get what he wants. He should hang out with Lionel!

Lana haters probably weren't too thrilled with the concept of this week's episode and giving her so much face/screen time. Personally, I was kind of into it. Until recently, Lana was my favorite character. Now, I admit she's gotten mega-annoying, only to be outplaced by Lois. But I digress ...

We start this week with Lana and Clark on a date, riding horses happily together like in the good old days. Then a storm moves in and they attempt to peace out. Unfortunately, there's kryptonite nearby and Clark can't move. Lana picks it up to throw it far away when lightning strikes. We know what happens when you're holding the magic green rock, you're with Clark and lighting hits you ... instant super powers! When a windmill is about to fall onto of Clark, Lana moves in and pushes it up and out of the way. The look on her face when she realizes what just happened? Totally priceless.

Then the writers (good luck with the strike, guys) decide to get cheeky and Lana and Clark make sexy time (which, apparently they haven't done before. I could have sworn Clark gave in back in season 5 but clearly I'm wrong), causing mini-earthquakes all around Smallville. Chloe rushes over to the Kent farm to make sure Clark's OK and finds out the real cause of the shaking. The whole scene was summed up best by Chloe herself: "Awkward!" Good try, though ...

In a really lackluster new fall season (and one which thanks to the Writers Guild strike might be ending awfully soon), there's only one show that has absolutely stood out as a must-watch-tv for me, and that's Bryan Fuller's Pushing Daisies.

If you're unfamiliar with the plot, it's wonderfully odd; Ned the piemaker (Lee Pace), brings things back to life if he touches them once. If he touches the now living being (person, animal, or plant) a second time, it becomes dead again but this time for good. And if he lets something come back to life for more than 60 seconds, something nearby of comparable "value" will die instead. Now he works with private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) as they investigate strange deaths (by talking to the corpse for 60 seconds) in order to claim rewards. They're assisted by Chuck (Anna Friel), Ned's formerly deceased childhood sweetheart that he can no longer touch, even as waitress Olive (Kristin Chenoweth) is desperately in love with Ned and trying to figure out just what the deal is with Chuck.

This may sound much more confusing than it really is. But now there's another way to jump in. Namely, the online Pushing Daisies comic. (Originally given out as a freebie to people at Comic-Con International out in San Diego this year.)

Fuller is certainly no stranger to comics; last year he was a producer for Heroes (and his arrival and then departure during the first season coincides nicely with the best episodes of the show) and it has its own online comic strip to boot. His work on the lead story "Head" does a good job of introducing us to the show slowly, focusing entirely on Ned and Emerson as they question a person who died while on the run from Emerson. The story lets Fuller perhaps get away with something that might not be considered acceptable for television, but at the same time showcases the strange, quirky, anything-can-happen-here attitude. Zach Howard and Tom Fowler's art is cartoonish in nature, perhaps not the best match for the look-and-feel of Pushing Daisies itself (which is visually like a storybook come to life on your television screen) but it's good in its own right. "Head" ends on a cliffhanger, so hopefully before too long we'll get the next installment.

Also included is "You've Been Outbid" which serves as a prequel to the pilot episode. Unlike "Head" it doesn't stand on its own, really, but it's a nice little easter egg for people who are already watching. That said, the story is gorgeously illustrated by Cameron Stewart and for that alone I am delighted; Stewart's art is always a pleasure, but here it has the added bonus of fitting the show perfectly. If down the line we get more Pushing Daisies stories, is it too much to ask for Stewart again?

While Heroes was an understandable choice for an online comic, I love the fact that Pushing Daisies is in on the act. Fuller or someone else at the show is clearly a fan, too; the official recaps of the show are in comic book format as well, although in this case they're touching up screen captures. So who knows, maybe we'll get another original comic before too long?

For that matter, what show will be next to get a comic book? Ugly Betty? Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? The Price is Right? (Ok, probably not the last one. But I can dream.) Bring on the television comics!

One of the first things I learned about writing screenplays back in the day: Nailing down the concept in as few words as possible -- 25 or less -- was the ticket to Hollywood. It didn't take me long to learn and practice the concept on the thousands of movies I'd seen in my relatively short life. (I could never quite master that same skill when it came to boiling down my own screenplays into salable, simple stories, however.) All the moneymakers have a hook that grabs your attention and won't let go until you're compelled to see it (and buy way too many DVDs too).

After reading the short Variety news item late last month about Matt Ogens' directoral debut, Confessions of a Superhero, concerning the further "adventures" of real people completely convinced that dressing up as superheroes eking out a meager existence posing for pictures with tourists along Hollywood Boulevard was their ticket to "fame and fortune," I had to see this film.

It's one thing to wear your favorite superhero costume at the five-day "Geek Vegas" party known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. It's quite another to count on it to survive without superpowers or billions of dollars of weaponry. Besides, what kind of person is really capable of doing such a thing in the real world?

Seems Ogens, a veteran of episodic TV and commercials, had been thinking precisely about the same thing traveling around Hollyweird...

Comics Alliance: How did you come up with the wonderful concept for this film?

Matt: Like everyone else in Los Angeles, I drove past these characters many times and was passively curious. As fate would have it, I was directing a commercial on Hollywood Boulevard right where the characters work for tips. In between shots, I spent every minute talking to Christopher (Superman) Dennis. It was like we were two animals curious about each other. Two weeks later, we started production.

CA: Obviously, you had many costumed "characters" from which to choose on Hollywood Boulevard. Aside from Christopher Dennis -- truly a natural and almost a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve -- how did you come to find this more interesting version of Fantastic Four for your film?

Matt: Superheroes are timeless and iconic. They are recognized everywhere. And I wanted a consistency in the type of character I chose – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk.

Now THIS is what I'm talking about. This week's episode ranked high on my "good 'Smallville' episode" meter and next week's looks even better!

The focus now was all on Super girl aka Kara. When we last saw her, she peaced out on Clark after he hesitated to trust her word over that of the Martian Manhunter. Cut to our opening scenes where we witness a memory sequence of Kara and her father Zor-el on Krypton during the war. He hands her a crystal and tells her to go to Earth and always protect it. She's understandably scared to leave him but he promises the crystal is her way back to him. This is all setting up for us to explain why her quest to find said missing crystal from her spaceship is soooo important.

As anything relating to extraterrestrial life might do, this is when 'Smallville' seems to be getting a little X-filesy. The government took Kara's spaceship and, therefore, has in possession the crystal that was inside. Kara finds this out and heads to D.C. to get it back. She finds her way to a bar where a government worker is having a few drinks and works her womanly charm to get the info she desires. "Life on other planets ... that's HOT," she purrs. Hey, can't blame the guy for giving in so easily to her demands ... who wouldn't?

"In the comic book world when you're destined to save mankind, you're destined to be alone." -Lex

Hollywood comes to Smallville this week as the fictional comic book 'Warrior Angel' goes into film production. We;ve got guest star Christina Milian (you know her from big songs like 'Dip It Low' and 'AM to PM') as the film's lead actress Rachel Davenport and right away the starlet finds herself in trouble as, during a driving scene, the break wires have been cut and the car won't stop. Lucky for her, the movie is being shot on the Kent farm and Clark is there to save her. But who would wanna kill her? 'Tis the life of a superstar, where crazies are lurking everywhere (especially in this town). You thought Hollywood was crazy, darling, you CLEARLY have never been to Smallville.

Next in the line of Superman spin-off cameos comes tonight's episode 'Cure', guest starring Dean Cain from 'Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' fame. Personally, I've been waiting for this particular cameo and wish Teri Hatcher would take a break from 'Desperate Housewives' and show up, too. Regardless, Cain's role comes in the form of Doctor Knox, who performs brain surgery on "meteor freaks" (aka the kryptonite infected) to cure their abilities so they can have a normal life. Sounds innocent enough, right?

Obviously, not so much. Lex is the one who hired Dr. Knox in the first place and that's never a good sign. Plus, it turns out the not-so-good doctor has a personal agenda that has little to do with actually healing the patients. Chloe finds out about this via Season 1 return meteor freak Sasha (from 'Drone': the one where the girl has command of bees) who has recently been cured. Chloe is aching to get rid of her infection and decides to pay Knox a visit of her own. Uh oh ...

Imagine my surprise when opening Friday's Weekend Section of the Wall Street Journal to discover an insightful review of David Michaelis' Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography written by an unlikely source: Bill Watterson, the man who created Calvin and Hobbes, probably the closest thing to a successor to the venerable and long-dead strip that continues to this day via reprints in thousands of daily American newspapers and very successful book collections from Fantagraphics Books.

Save reviewing some of the more recent Essentials/Showcase collections of Silver Age comics from the comics industry's BIG 2 -- hefty packages of at least 500 pages and all in B&W -- rereading the Peanuts strips in book form once again is a "been-there-done-that" thing I don't care to repeat.

That said, Watterson's seal of approval of Michaelis' biography (debuting at a bookstore near you Tuesday) in the WSJ makes me curious to read more about how Schultz used his strip "to work through private concerns," for example, sparring with his first wife on the comics page with Lucy and Schroeder as surrogates.

Fact is, these historical tidbits are far more interesting to me than reading reprints of most strips, except for Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury or The Far Side...

The third episode of the season (titled 'Fierce') features our supergirl Kara trying to fit in on Earth. Naturally the best way to do this is by entering a beauty pageant (Miss Sweet Corn). Right away we find a trio of super hot BFFs fighting for the same crown. Moments after strutting down Smallville's main street, looking way more Rodeo Drive than small-town Kansas, one of the girls is offed. How? She's mysteriously frozen to death, setting up the remainder of the episode. Wait, didn't we already see the "freezing people to death" story back in season 1?

And so it goes, the 'Smallville' writers haven't fully exhausted the "krypto-freak" idea. The beauty trio-now-duo, it turns out, were caught together in the second meteor shower and now have the power to create weather-related phenomena (like the sudden freeze Bev Hills hottie #1 got caught in). They travel across the U.S. entering competitions, then sneak off to rob something high profile. Smallville has a time capsule that's supposedly holding gold that the girls are eyeing -- which explains why they're in town in the first place.

It wouldn't be 'Smallville' if the Kents/Els didn't get involved. Careless Kara is witnessed by a weather girl using her abilities and then enlisted to retrieve the lusted-after gold. Kara notices a Kryptonian symbol on the map she's handed (leading to the treasure) and decides to rob the time capsule herself. Quick scene change to the pageant where -- SURPRISE! -- Kara wins the title. Not so fast, love. The cops are onto her and she's promptly arrested for robbery. Uh oh! Not to worry, though, as cousin Clark is on the case and, in the end, the two find a new Kryptonian souvenier, which, according to Kara, means the Kryptonian that left it is still on Earth. Way to open things up for new storylines!

Written by Steve Niles with artwork by Ben Templesmith

The story is set in Barrow, Alaska, during the northern winter, which is a time that apparently leaves Barrow in total darkness for the period of 30 days. Vampires attack the town, killing everyone they come across and feeding. That's pretty much the premise; although development of the story proves to have much more to it, and to the characters involved. Sorry, no spoilers!

I was not fortunate enough to have caught the 2002 series by IDW Publishing, to my very great regret; however, was fortunate enough to read the recently reprinted graphic novel, and I have to say I was impressed. Let me clarify what that means -- I tend to hate vampire stories, because I feel they are over-used monster types and I feel that there is rarely anything unusual or different enough about the stories to make them entertaining. That makes it extremely difficult to get me interested in your latest take on the vampire ideal.

Love is the name of the game in this episode of 'Heroes.' Love and finding ones' self, if you really get down to it. Several romances spring up, as heroes test and use their powers for both good and evil. With surprises and a couple of heroes dabbling in the dark side, chapter three of 'Heroes' turns out to be the most thought-provoking yet.

The episode starts off with Peter and Scotty where we left them, working out a deal for the box that contains Peter's secrets. In this opening scene, it's revealed that Peter can now read minds just like Matt, exposing fellow Irishman Will's plan to steal the money after the heist they're planning. Not a one of the Irish folk believe him though, and they're left to ultimately see the error of their ways.

Maya and Alejandro have made it to a city somewhere in Mexico where they're trying to jack a car to get to America. Because Alejandro doesn't feel like checking for cops before breaking into the car, he gets arrested leaving Maya again by her lonesome. Smooth move, Alejandro. No really, it was awesome.

Sadly, a moment of silence is required as we find that D.L. has passed on, leaving only Niki and Micah behind, Niki tearfully convincing Micah that he must live in New Orleans with D.L.'s family while she gets something she needs done. Since it's Niki, it probably has to do with ditching her powers or sleeping with someone. We're hoping for both!

We are FINALLY reunited with Sylar! (Applause, please.) At first he appears to be befriended by Michelle, AKA, Candace, who can create illusions with ease. While they first seem to be on a beach, Sylar forces her to take the illusions away, and it's revealed that they are in a cement room with Sylar on a hospital bed all stitched up.

Claire and her father have a making up talk, (how sweet!) where she asks what would happen if someone were to find out about her power (West!). He replies that they might have to move, go underground, and forgo jobs and lives completely. Worst case scenario, of course. That's awfully comforting, Daddy Bennet, thanks. West and Claire reunite at school, venom flying as Claire makes up stories about how it only looked like her toe was bleeding because she spilled nail polish on it. Nice cover-up, Claire. Very Nice.

Mohinder's back in NYC, with Matt worried that his bringing the fight into their own backyard will disturb Molly more than she already is. Mohinder discounts his advice, saying he can handle it. Yeah, Mohinder. You thought you could handle Sylar too, didn't you? And we all know how that turned out.

Hello, Ando! While getting busted playing video games at work isn't exactly helping his career advancement, it does prompt him to get depressed, mess with Hiro's sword and find messages from past Hiro telling him of his adventures with Kensei. That Hiro, he's so adorable!

Just in case, you've been wondering whatever happened to Gary Spencer Millidge, the MIA creator of, arguably, one of the best indy comics ever published -- the very British mystery series Strangehaven -- you'll be glad to know he's still alive, and intends to finish his masterwork some day...

That's little consolation for friends and fans of this wonderful series, a unique blend of textures that summon up visions of David Lynch's classic soap serial Twin Peaks mixed with a bit of Brigadoon.

The big picture story: A Londoner named Alex running away from a bad marriage, crashes his car in the English Midlands. He's taken to a town called Strangehaven to heal, both body and soul. The residents of this quintessential little town take a shine to Alex, and the feelings are mutual (even more so for one young Janey). Oh, and by the way, the town just a lost a teacher, and guess what Alex does for a living...

Only one problem: Every time Alex tries to leave Strangehaven for any reason, he can never quite get out of town. Throw in the Freemasons, UFOs, adultery, World War II, Shamanism and talking animals who love Tom and Jerry cartoons for good measure and you've got one intriguing mystery.

Hellooooooooooooo Supergirl! Apparently, the El family genes are amazing, seeing as both Clark and Kara are TOTALLY HOT! Any arguments there?? Didn't think so ...

This week's episode was all about Kara (played by Laura Vandervoort), introducing her formally into the 'Smallville' world. She's 100% bad a and not at all afraid to show it, knocking Lois out after trying to take a photo of her spaceship and then flying off, right in front of Clark (before knowing he's her cousin). In fact, she's on a mission to find "young" Kal-El (she doesn't realize she's been in suspended animation for 18 years). Clark knows the blonde flyer is Kryptonian and confronts her about her business on Earth. You can't be too cautious after Zod, the Phantoms, and Brainiac have all caused him problems.

The first time I ever read anything about Marisa Acocella Marchetto was in the spring of 2006 when USA Today health reporter Liz Szabo wrote a wonderful cover feature about the collision of cancer and comics, "Laughing in the face of cancer."

Szabo spent most of the interview talking to creative types from the late Miriam Engleberg (Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person) to Brian Fies (Mom's Cancer) and Evan Handler (Sex in the City, Californication) about the surprising number of auto-bio works about fighting cancer with jokes. Surprisingly, Marchetto's Cancer Vixen was barely mentioned, save for scant details about a fall release by Alfred A. Knopf.

Of course, Cancer Vixen was the one book out of them all that really caught my attention, probably due to Marchetto's "ink-stained fingers" pedigree as a veteran cartoonist whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, the late Talk and Glamour. Finally, after finding a copy -- it wasn't easy, even in Austin -- I understood why my Spider-Sense was tingling... Cancer Vixen is about so much more than cancer.

It's a pretty funny story about the life of a female cartoonist working in the trenches of the media capital of the world, a place where rejection is so commonplace that a .250 batting average for the week (three out of 12 cartoons accepted by a client like The New Yorker in a given week) is beyond outstanding.

At its core, however, Cancer Vixen is a very warm and entertaining love story, an all-too rare occurrence in the world of graphic novels. As the love story begins to percolate -- marriage is in the air -- our heroine learns she has breast cancer. And that's when this smart 212-page story really takes off!

It's rare when a book so inspires the fan in me that I actually savor the experience of reading it late into the night, next to my warm Mrs. CEO. And laugh...

The first of this two-part interview is devoted to the comics side of our Cancer Vixen, while the second half, appearing on AOL's new breast cancer awareness and support blog, United For Pink, discusses Marisa's post-breast cancer fight, the poor diagnosis for folks without health insurance and self-esteem.

Comics Alliance: It's been about a year since Cancer Vixen was released by Knopf, and I'm a bit disappointed, but not terribly surprised, the comics world hasn't embraced your wonderful book like it should have. Do you feel the same way?

Marisa: A little. But I was nominated for Best Graphic Novel of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), which made up for it. Sorta. Why aren't you surprised, Wayne?

Unless you've been living under a rock, it's hard to ignore the immense amount of manga that's been translated into English over the past couple of years. While comics from Japan have been published in English for some time before then, the boom of material in the 21st century has bordered on the level of staggering.

So, enter Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide. Thompson's work at Viz on publications like Shonen Jump have more than proven his credentials to work on such a book, although looking at the credits page he got assistance from an equally talented group of additional reviewers; this isn't a book written by a nobody that you can't really trust. Instead, it's a panel of intelligent, discerning voices that are ready to survey some 900-odd manga series now in English and tell you what they're about, how many volumes there are (both in English as well as in Japanese), its strengths and weaknesses, and more.

Now, for that alone I'd whole-heartedly recommend Manga: The Complete Guide. With so many series out there it's nice to have a reference book that you can grab at a moment's notice to find out what it's got to say about an obscure series you're going to try out like, oh, Petshop of Horrors. (Hey, three out of four stars. I approve.) You know what you're getting in for, and even just browsing the book and reading about random series might give you an idea of something new that you can try. But there's more, much more in this book just waiting for you to read.