This is a job for... MacGyver!

The first typo was, well, passable off as a typo. The second one? Sorry, not even MacGyver can save you now, Mr. Zlotoff

(From MacGyver: Fugitive Gauntlet 03 of 05, writer Lee David Zlotoff.)

"Mutanism"? WHAT?

I guess, since he's a geneticist, you can call Charles Xavier a "biophysicist". But "mutanism"? Someone should tell writer Simon Spurrier (X-Men Legacy V2 #2) that's not a word.

Great, let's just call Emporer Palpatine and Rouge now.

Wow, I'm back! Don't get used to it, there are not going to be regular posts on this blog for the foreseeable future. However, I just read something that made me come out of the shadows. Please, look at this, from Superman Beyond #10 (a digital first book put out by DC that chronicles Superman's adventures in the Batman Beyond future):

"Luther"? Really? This is Lex Luthor we're talking about. Superman's archenemy. Perhaps writer JT Krul has heard about him... now, as a letterer, even if we do copy/paste from a script (I mean how we use the script, not how we do our actual work) I sometimes correct small spelling mistakes I see. I understand how, perhaps being overworked, letterer Saida Temofonte didn't spot that either.

Yes, MS Word suggests "Luther" as a spelling correction to "Luthor", I don't know how it works in the scriptwriting software Krul uses. But I can't believe Sarah Litt (assistant editor), Kwanza Johnson & Ben Abernathy (editors) didn't catch it either when they read the script or finished issue. Or any of the proofreaders DC might have.

Really, "Luther"?

Ruining Other People's Work

I'm back, and I'm not a happy camper. Yes, I have a month and a half worth of mostly cool moments, since I'm more mellow these days when it comes to actual dissections. But there's something I couldn't let pass.

What the hell is wrong with Marvel's production crew? For the last couple of months, a lot of books have had several glaring lettering errors; particularly balloons that are (on purpose) cut off to fit within panels; but they're not properly aligned against the panel borders... the worst example was last week's Kick-Ass 2 #7, in which almost none of this kind of balloons was aligned correctly.

I refuse to believe that highly talented and professional letterers like Chris Elioupolos, pros I look up to (along with other talents in the field, but I'm talking about Marvel right now), can make these glaring mistakes, that not even I, with little over a year of lettering can make. I know Chris and the other Marvel letterers are hard working and very professional, and they can't possibly be responsible for this kind of sloppy work. But I can't believe either that someone in a pre-press production team can look at these panels (mind you, these are the worst examples, but the whole issue is like this) and not realize it's horrible!

This is shameful, it's showing what amounts to no respect for a person's work!

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to let it out.

(From Kick-Ass 2 #7, March 2012. Unknown production team member.)

Captain America's Got You Covered.

Now, this is what I call a nice cover:

By Francesco Francavilla.

(From Captain America & Bucky #626, January 2012.)

January Wanes.

One dissection, three moments. First, the dissection, since it gives the blog (yeah, it's a blog now; blogs are cool).

Someone please tell writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning that calling a flashmob has nothing to do with crowdsourcing.

(From New Mutants #36, January 2011.)

Next, Spidey reaches a turning point in his life:

(From Daredevil #8, January 2011.)

And on the Enterprise...

Look a them. She's thinking "Damn, I'm a redshirt and a woman... But..." and he's going "Shit, I'm a black guy and a redshirt!" Surprisingly enough, he beams back up to the ship without being killed by a mindless horde, while she's still planetside.

(From Star Trek #5, January 2011.)

And for the finale, Magneto puts Psylocke in her place:

(From Uncanny X-Men #5, January 2011.)

Bats & Xs.

A post with stuff from four different books... let's see...

Writer Peter J. Tomasi could have chosen a better name for Batman's training room.

(From Batman And Robin #5, January 2012.)

Next, M gets trolled:

(From X-Factor #230, January 2012.)

Now, why do superheroes in the Marvel and DC universes keep disbelieving in the supernatural, when they encounter it week in and week out?

I think writers like Gail Simone should stop with those lines. Disregard Batgirl's pose... And next, how does a simple GCPD detective afford an appartment like that?

(From Batgirl #5, January 2012.)

This next thing, by writer Nick Spencer, is what I call bullshit:

Really? Because Stryker's powers are talking to technology, he can talk to a bioengineered gene? Pfft...

(From Ultimate Comics X-Men #6, January 2012.)

Axe Cobweb

"You reek of desperation. And 'Axe'. Which is reduntant." Black Cat.

(From Amazing Spider-Man #677, January 2012.)

PS: What a coincidence! http://www.the-gutters.com/comic/240-george-kambadais

Beam Me Up, Brainy!

Star Trek - Legion Of Super-Heroes... yeah, I thought that'd be horrible, but it's actually good. Not mind-blowing, but good. Still, one error by writer Chris Roberson:

How much ferrous material is enough to hold back a dozen or more strong cavemen with powerful prehistoric beasts, but it's still not enough to fling their weapons from their hands? How can anyone think that doing the former will take less "leverage" than the latter?!?!?!

And then, an interesting moment:

That is... brutally inefficient.

(From Star Trek - Legion Of Super-Heroes #4, January 2012.)

Wrong part of the brain...

Uh... the cerebrum has nothing to do with emotions, like fear.

(From Thunderbolts #168, January 2012.)

Eunuch deities

"YOUR GOD HAS NO JUNK." Dr. Vincent Morrow, about Osiris.

(From Witch Doctor: Resuscitation, December 2011.)

NOT THE COMIC SHOPS!!!

The Mother-Fucker, Kick-Ass' nemesis, has a plan. And it's awful:

(From Kick-Ass 2 #6, December 2011.)

Avengers Resemble!

Just read Avengers Annual #1 (from the current series), and I found some dissections. These days, I only focus on large errors, and in this case, some might consider the following two-dissection combo something minor.

However, I can't conceive of a high-profile letterer such as Cory Petit, who does a gazillion books a month for Marvel finishing this page and saying "Yeah, this is perfect." and then an assistant editor and an editor, and proofreaders (yes, Marvel claims they have proofreaders) go over it and say "Everything's perfect!". Just take a look at these two panels yourself (I've cut and pasted so as to not post the entire page, but they were in the same page):

No, that second "electro-speak" balloon tail is out of context... it was just there, floating on its own, under Iron Man in a white page gutter...

Now, an error by either writer Brian Michael Bendis, or artist Gabriele Dell'Otto, but you wouldn't want Spider-Man fighting Anti-Venom, since even being close to him robs Spidey of his powers!

And for the finale, a Moment... The Avengers (all three main teams, Classic, New, and Secret) do the smart thing and teleport their enemies away from a crowd in the middle of New York City to an empty stadium... almost empty:

Sucks to be that poor janitor...

(From Avengers Annual #1, January 2012.)

Action Moments

I haven't finished reading last weeks books; but when I got the stuff for this week, I couldn't help but read Action Comics #4. Still good, but it slowed down a lot to tell Supes origin; and give some panel time to the (in current continuity) deceased Martha and Jonathan Kent. Two moments, one funny, one bad...

First... Krypton is blowing up! Let's escape into the Phantom Zone!

... yeah... or maybe not...

And then... my God, who is this baby in the rocket?

It sure ain't Kal-El, because he looks Black/Asian... Andy Kubert, quit letting your kids pencil some panels...

(From Action Comics #4, January 2012.)

Dunna Dunna Dunna... Icecream!

Alfred takes good care of Batman... and doesn't deprive himself of the good stuff either:

(From Batman: The Dark Knight #4, December 2011.)

Bite Back!

This is my kind of vampire hunter!

(From American Vampire #22, December 2011.)