Panel Discussion: Sad Batfamily Edition!

This week's Fun Sized panel discussion features some scans that underline how sad everyone in Gotham is now that Batman is dead. Enjoy!

Splash Panel of the Week - Batman #687
Isn't this the saddest thing you ever did see! Of course we all know that neither Jason Todd OR Bruce Wayne are really dead. But outside of the larger DCU context, this image brings to mind an empty batcave, housing only the sad remains of the once unstoppable duo. And no one wants to see that.


Best Use of A Repeated Panel - Batman #687
Here we see the repeated-panel technique as a way to convey numbness, or shock. Great facial expression work here by Ed Benes. Alfred really hasn't gotten enough page-time to react to the death of Bruce, but this really says it all.


Burn of the Week - Red Robin #1
Bit of clarification here; That's Dick in the Batsuit, holding Tim in the orange shirt who just hit Damian in the Robin suit. Tim is mad because Damian is the new Robin and Tim is the new nothing! And Damian, who has the cruel insight of his father with none of the self-control, totally calls Tim on having nothing left to live for. And he's right! Tim, your life sucks!

This is really just a prelude to an upcoming Gnerd article that proves Tim Drake has the worst track record in the DCU when it comes to losing loved ones, and how it's a miracle he hasn't become the sort of villain that would make Jason Todd look like Jimmy Olsen. Stay tuned.

Panel Discussion: MoCCA 2009 Edition!

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival has come and gone, but the comics I bought there are forever. Or until they disintegrate. Please enjoy this selection of prime panels from the small-press work Team Geekanerd picked up at MoCCA '09.

Best Character Design - Things I've Seen At Shows, Allan Norico


Things I've Seen At Shows is rawker Allan Norico's collection of cartoon portraits based on the most memorable or archtypical people he's seen at rock shows over the last decade. Besides having an beautifully clean, sharp, and funny style, Norico's caricatures are so vividly on-point that reading the book brought back all sorts of memories from my own Berkeley punk experience that I hadn't thought about in years. There are a couple more preview pages on Norico's website, and the whole book is only $7 bucks; highly recommended for fans of awesome design or ROCKING THE F OUT.

Star Wars, talking potatoes, weird cuteness, and lots of DIY B&W goodness, after the jump!

Best Actor - Potatoes from Cooking With Food #1, by Evan Palmer
It is an eternal mystery of comics; how does an artist manage to pack an actor's seminar worth of expression into a drawing with only two eyes and a tiny, tiny mouth? Between the first and third panel, I swear you can see the potato gathering confidence in his shy line of questioning. And the fourth panel's angry-mug-to-the-audience is a great touch.

This comic is in fact a collection of illustrated recipes, at least one of which I plan on cooking tonight. Sadly, the book is not on Evan Palmer's website, so if you want a copy (and how can you not? LOOK AT THAT POTATO) head over to his site and email him!

Cute Overload - Lesbians by Jane Mai

When I bought this stapled mini-comic consisting of the 3-panel adventures in randomness of two gay girls as well as "other lesbians", my co-editor Degan was heard to remark "You don't have to buy something JUST because it has lesbians in it." Well it turned out to be awesome and hilarious (typically what I look for in mini-comics), and it ended with this drawing of lesbian otters in love. Just goes to show, when buying mini-comics, follow your heart! PS: Author Jane Mai is so indie she doesn't even seem to have a public website; talk about indie cred!


Ewok Alert and Cute Overload II - Harvest Is When I Need You The Most: A Star Wars Fanbook, edited by Shelli Paroline
This "Fanbook" may be my favorite thing I bought all weekend. An anthology of short Star Wars fancomics by independent artists, this three-part collection is a Star Wars version of DC's Bizzaro anthology. Except it's better, because it's Star Wars. The drawing that acompaniest the credits jumped out at me, because it speaks to my recently published theory that Ewoks are flesh eating monsters.

That drawing about is by editor Shelli Paroline. The book features a comic she did about what happens to Oola after she drops into the Rancor pit, which is a whimsical yet sad piece of imagined EU history, but what I really want to emphasize is this panel featuring my favorite character of the entire saga....


SALACIOUS CRUMB! I think this drawing captures his nihilistic misanthropy very well, as well as his crumb-likness.

There are lots more previews on the official site, I highly, highly recommend you check it out.


Achievement in Shading - Nerd Burglar (anthology), Elijah Brubaker

This is a scary freakin' ghost story inspired by an old sea shanty or something like that, and when things turn bad, artist Elijah Brubaker (no relation??) amps up the dramatic shading to grand guignol levels. I love it. Not sure if I've ever seen such a cute character look so frightening as in the first panel.

Too Real - Das Bear by Joseph Guillette
Speaking as a Hispanic person with no Hispanic friends, this hit a little too close to home. I was actually lucky to get this book for free, and it's full of other slice-of-life comics starring depressed and bitter animals, which is pretty much my thing. Author Joe Guillette has a free webcomic featuring hobos on his website, so you're going to want to check that out.


Best Dramatic Tension - Featuring Talking Guinea Pigs! by JoeGP
I picked this comic up from artist JoeGP's table because it had guinea pigs on the cover. I flipped to this page, and was immediately drawn into the story even without any other context. It was my only impulse purchase of the entire festival. I think it's the "hands-touching-through-the-glass" that really got me. Luckily for you, this entire space epic is available for free online. Not that I'm mad I bought a hard copy...grumble (jk jk lol).

That's it! For more festival highlights, be sure to check out our MoCCA set on Flickr.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Final Crisis: Revelations #1, The Walking Dead #51, Simon Dark #11, and More

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.

Least Subtle Public Service Announcement - Walking Dead #51
Reading? More fun than video games? Simmer down kid, your dad's already going crazy, we don't need you losing your head too. But seriously, there's nothing wrong with a little book-boosting, though the precocious execution here is a little Family Circus. I prefer a more direct approach.

Movie references, Doctor Light gets what's coming to him (kind of), and social justice, after the jump...

Movie Moment - Simon Dark #11
I've been waiting for the mysteries of Simon Dark's past to be revealed for a year now, I was a little disappointed when it was all unloaded in one big 5-page scene by the freaking Architect.

Most Disappointing Death - Doctor Light, Final Crisis Revelations #1
I have no problem with this death in of itself; turning someone into a giant candle and using their head as a wick is classic Spectre. But it's sadly literal; I get it, Doctor Light, Candle, Incandescence, okay. But Doctor Light is (in DC's Infinite Wisdom) a serial rapist. I'm not saying I wanted to see Doctor Light being raped to death. I'm just saying, if you introduce rape as a fundamental aspect of a character (it comes up several times in this issue alone), wouldn't something concerning rape be a more appropriate demise? This couldn't be a double standard where rape and gender are concerned, could it?

Credibility Issue - Welcome to Hoxford #1
I'm not convinced this guy would actually be committed to an institution. First of all, the insanity defense is used way, way less than you'd think from watching courtroom drama. I guess on The Wire rich drug dealers can get out of prison with their fancy lawyers, but this guy seems to have actually been convicted of killing cops. His status as a young black male makes me think most states would be less inclined to institutionalize him and more willing to have him swiftly fitted for a drip feed of death.

Wow, this was the most depressing Panel Discussion ever! Thanks for reading!

BLAHHRG: New 30 Days of Night Posters

"Based on the graphic novel". That's what I like to see. Judging by this movie's early promotional campaign, it seems this film adaptation is wearing it's comic-book heritage on it's sleeve. Stardust could have used more of that attitude. For more on the movie, check out the article at Solace in Cinema.

I'll admit I haven't read the classic 30 Days of Night stories, but I did read the first issue of the new series, Red Snow. The story takes place in 1941 and centers around a family in hiding, a British soldier amongst the Russian Army, Nazi war atrocities, and of course, a herd of vampires approaching over a snowy hill. A scan after the jump.


Love dramatic timing of this art - you can practically hear the violin sting when the girl gets up. Next week promises a whole lot of vampire-on-nazi carnage, and who doesn't want to see that?

Panel Discussion: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Comic Book Panels of the Week

Don't be afraid to click these suckas for the bigger picture!

Best Use of a Repeated Panel - Justice League of America #12

The repeated panel technique is seriously over-used in the comics world, and often smacks of an artist scrambling to meet a deadline crunch. Sometimes it can be used to great effect, such as Red Tornado's reaction to Hawkgirl's friendly comment about his daughter. What is he thinking? Is he touched? Or has his fast-dissipating humanity gone so far that he can barely process this bit of human interaction? The unblinking repetition captures the chilliness of Reddy's reaction.

Inappropriate Emotions, Beatdowns, Decapititations and more after the jump...


Pray You Never Hear Someone Say... - Terror, Inc. #1

If someone ever tells you they're wearing your friend's head to trick you, I recommend not provoking him.

Inappropriate Emotion Alert - Shadowpact #16

Zatanna sure looks happy about carting those volcano victims off to the "latipsoh". How about a little respect for the soon-to-be-dead?

Best Actor - Manshark in Maintenance #4

That's heartbreak you can feel.

Beatdown of the Week - Black Canary #4

Merlyn should have known better than to face Black Canary while she's still steaming about her adopted daughter/sister being killed... A karate chop strong enough to bust his ulna right outta the skin will keep him from making that mistake again.

More time to kill? Check out our previous weeks' Panel Discussions!