Backing Boards # 7 : Justice League Of Ameica #30

This issue of Justice League of America takes place in the middle of a story and isn't anything groundbreaking but it is getting a quick review because of the villain SHADOW THIEF. I don't know how long this character has been around but I really would enjoy reading more stories with him in them. Shadow Thief is a fun old school type of character can that take control of shadows including the shadow of his enemies. I'd love to read a comic where Superman had to fight his own shadow or the Flash had to out run his shadow to save the world (he did actually have to out-run his shadow in this issue).

Blackest Night #0 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

This image is copyright © 2009 DC Comics and are used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of DC Comics.

Blackest Night #0 . . . Boy look what have I been missing!

DC Comics are often a bit confusing to me I know a lot of the characters but I don't know a lot of the stories. I've only been reading DC comic books regularly for about three or four years and have long wanted to read Green Lantern but have never been able to fit it into the old budget and for months I have heard how great the title is and all the different color lanterns that are out there and how it just sounds like great fun. I've listened to plenty of podcast's and they seem to drool over the Sinestro Corps and Green Lantern titles and I've missd it all.

Well on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2009 I knew DC was giving away a the Blackest Night #0 and I figured I'd get it and flip through it and see what it was all about. Geoff Johns' writing was awesome as usual and the art by Ivan Reis blew me away.

Page 4 and 5 stand as my favorite comic book images in quite a while (at least this month) and I absolutely love the colors.

I don't have a clue as to what all these other lanters are about besides the brief review in the back but by the end of it I have put Blackest Night on my DCBS pull list and have began to seek out Green Lantern trades. There are sometimes that you hear about stuff for so long and ignore it for one reason or another but as soon as you get a taste you get hooked . . . I am hooked on the Blackest Night series already and I will somehow have to figure out how to get Green Lantern into my pull list.

-Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

Marvel Mini-Comics free Comic Book Day 2009

These images are copyright © 2009 Marvel Comics and are used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of Marvel Comics.


Last Saturday was FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2009 and there were some good things being given away this year. Among the most interesting were Marvel Comics two titles Wolverine and The Avengers. I read both of the issues this week and was happy they were both new comics the Wolverine was a retelling of his origin and seemed geared to a younger audience while the Avengers was a completely new story featuring the Avengers vs. the Dark Avengers vs. the Frost Giant Ymir. That was a fun story and I hope that it makes its way into future Avengers books and they left the ending open for such a story to happen.

The main thing about these comics are that they are smaller than normal comics by about 1/2 inch wide and about 3/4 of an inch in height. Now the thing is this doesn't bother me at all mostly we all want bigger comics to view the artwork but in the world we live in where everything is so expensive I think this format could make comics cheaper. I hope that Marvel and DC Comics try to experiment more with this maybe put out a few titles in the smaller format and see if it catches on. There would be less paper cost on the printing end and they still look great. I know some fans will rebel because the comics wont match their collections but if you put them in the same bags an boards you wouldn't even know the difference. I know that Marvel did this because they had to sell these comics to the stores cheaper than normal and that they had to cut their cost so that they wouldn't lose money in doing so. I personally think that they have stumbled upon something that can save everyone some money and make comics a little more afforable for everyone.


-Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

NOLA Comic-Con 2009 Review

Well last Saturday was the NOLA Comic-Con 2009 and it was a nice event. I was there promoting Strange City Heroes my webcomic/print comic. I took a few pictures and they can be found on the NOLA Comic-Con 2009 page. The convention was small but nice probably 600 people showed up and the age old saying that kids and women don't read comics is a falsehood. There were kids of all ages there and beautiful women all buying comic books . . . as well as all the boys. This was my first convention and it had its successes and failures but it was a good experience and I hope to do more of them. The highlight of the day was meeting Dave Pirner of the band Soul Asylum and having him buy my comics and ask me for my autograph.

The show was put on by Media Underground Comics , with several other dealers from the area including Magic Comics and Hobbies , Louisiana Doubleplay and from beyond the grave Crescent City Comics were there.

Mass Casualty Comics came and put on a great horror makeup display as they had people walking around bloodied and gross and they said it smelled like cinnemon.

The 501st Legion of Baton Rouge Redstick Rebellion, LA was there and had many awesome Star Wars costumes to display. And the characters walked around in full costume taking pictures with everyone and just being awesome.

Next year the show will probably be bigger and better I can't wait I hope they do this every year. Next year I hope to get to shop.

Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

NOLA Comic-Con 2009

Tomorrow April 25, 2009 will be the first Comic-Con in the New Orleans area in many years. I will be participating promoting my webcomic Strange City Heroes A full report coming next week. And hopefully I can read some comics too.


Media Underground Comics presents NOLA Comic-Con 2009.

$5 Admission (Children 6 and under Free)

Special Guest Derec Donavan Artist For: Youngblood, Conner Hawke, Robin Annual

Tim Lattie Artist For: White Picket Fences, Return To Point Pleasant

Kevin P. Johnson Artist and Creator: Strange City Heroes



- Kevin P. Johnson

SCUD The Disposable Assassin : The Whole Shebang! Beginning - Middle - and End

This image is copyright © 2008 Image Comics and Rob Schrab and is used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of Image Comics or Rob Schrab.

Ok so its not Friday and barely Saturday anymore but it is an update!
SCUD The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab can only be described with one word and that word is WEIRD! But weird is good. The Whole Shebang! takes the entire twenty-four issue SCUD comic book series and puts it all in one massive book.
I have currently read eight issues worth of the book and I have to say that I wish I had bought this when it was coming out in issue format but am more than happy to have it in this nice thick book. SCUD is a robotic assassin who comes from a vending machine and his only mission is to carry out and assassination of your choice and upon completion of this task the unit will self destruct. SCUD figures out that he will die if he kills his target and decides he doesn't want to do that. I won't spoil what he does to stay alive but it is quite interesting.
The world SCUD lives in is not typical and that is the real fun of this book. Rob Scrab creates creatures out of what seems to be any random thought that enters his head . . . I love it! There are humans, robots, dinosaurs and the things I'll call the WTF's. My two favorite WTF's are Drywall and Jeff. Drywall is the sidekick of SCUD who seems to be a burlap sack with a ton of zippers he doesn't talk words (yet) but SCUD undestands him and he has an endless supply of everything inside of him. Jeff is the target SCUD is supposed to eliminate this guy is awesome he is a monster that has a plug for a head, a large squid tied to his chest, arms for legs and hands for feet with knees that have mouths that say the craziest things and are often pop culture references. Jeff also has mousetrap hands and the ability to take random thing and add it to itself for weapons or new appendages.
The story is odd and a little hard to read a lot of in one sitting but reading an issue at a time and taking a few days off (as I'm doing) helps it sink in more and has you ready for more. The artwork is what I love most about SCUD it is simply amazing black and white drawing that I wish I could look at every day and I don't think that it ever would need color even though I've seen plenty of color covers and images of SCUD.
I don't know how this book ends and I'm in no hurry to find out because I'm enjoying the adventure so much that I wish it could go on forever.
Kevin P. JohnsonCopyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

DMZ Book 5 The Hidden War

This image is copyright © 2008 DC Comics and is used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of DC Comics or Vertigo Comics.

DMZ is a comic created by Brian Wood for Vertigo Comics. The premise is what happens after a second civil war breaks out in the United States and New York City becomes the DMZ. The story follows reporter Matty Roth as he tries to tell the real story of the DMZ to the Free States of America.

I buy DMZ in trade paperback so I don't get the story right away and actually I'm one trade behind but I wanted to review this book because I found it an interesting choice that Brian Wood made and also kind of risky. The Hidden War reprints DMZ issues #23-#28 and up until this point it has been all about survival in the DMZ but these six issues flip the script and make the main characters background characters and introduce new characters to the story. This seems like an odd choice to put out 6 consecutive issues of a comic that has nothing to do with the main story from the main characters point of view. I liked the book but if I was reading it monthly I'd probably be kinda upset at the turn the book took. I think these issues would have worked better as a series of one shots.

The characters that are introduced are good and have a lot of potential and should help take the story into new and interesting places in the long run. "The Militant Mob Boss Of Chinatown" story is excellent and I hope that he becomes a major player in the series. The aging Graffiti artist story was very interesting too.

DMZ book 5 overall is good stuff but I just want to be back into the main story. Hopefully book 6 is in my near future.

Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

My Return to the blog

So I've been away for a while and have neglected this blog completely. I've been working on my webcomic Strange City Heroes and have got things to a point where I can attempt to come back to this blog. The schedule for this blog will be to make a post every Friday (no set time) and if there is time post whenever possible.

- Kevin P. Johnson