What Do You Mean They're Not Superheroes?!?: Reviews ... and an apology.

I'd like to start with my apology. I've been very lax on my posting the last few days and there is a very specific reason for it. Last Tuesday afternoon my cousin Trenton "Trent" Nathaniel Jiles, died in a car accident. He was 27. I'm 27. It took a whole lot out of me, you might have noticed that I wasn't myself on the most recent episode. I am getting better, a lot better. I'm going to live the rest of my life with a better sense of his desire for freedom in life. I bring a lot of myself to this website and to the podcast and I hope that everyone who listens to the show and reads the articles gets at least half as much out of them as I put into them. I think that if he had seen the site and read some of the articles that he would have laughed and if he had listened to the podcast he probably would have laughed a whole lot. A whole lot of my formative experience was informed by Trent and the man I am today is thanks in part to the things I learned from him while we were growing up, and he never got the chance to really know that ... so this message is for him and this life will be lived more fully in memory of him. So though none of you ever met him (as far as I know) I would like to take this moment to remember him.









Trenton Nathaniel Jiles 4/17/1981 - 3/17/2009


Nothing like a text version of a moment of silence.

And now ...


Living Up To Expectations!

Jack of Fables #32

Written by: Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges

Art by: Tony Akins
I took a nice sabbatical from Jack of Fables for a while ... I'll admit that it wasn't my proudest hour. But recently I sat down and slammed through about 17 issues of the book and am now all caught up ... and let me tell you, dear readers and kind friends, I have been missing the fuck out. This is easily as good a book as the book from which it spawned. The idea that we can follow a character through as interesting adventures as we have in the 32 issues of this book and all the while there be this underlying seriousness and have it be delivered in such a covert and subconcious way ... brilliant. Toward the beginning of the series we first saw Kevin Thorn and it was almost a throw-away scene and probably lead to more confusion in readers than it did anything ... but now as we've progressed for over thirty issues into this book I have to say that the groundwork that Sturges and Willingham have done leading up to the Literals crossover that starts in the next issues of Fables, Jack and the Literals mini-series is astounding. This is seriously one of the funniest books that I have ever read and at the same time it has this brilliant level of complexity and drama and incredibly interesting, and often endearing, characterization. Expect to hear more about this series on the show this week as I think that it is quickly becoming one of my favorite reads.

The Oracle #1 (of 3)


Written by: Kevin Vanhook


Art by: Julian Lopez & Fernando Pasarin

There has been a lot of controversy about this book on the internet, people who both think that it is great and those who think that it is drek ... I come in on the former as opposed to the latter. I thought that Vanhook did an admirable job with all of the characters in this story. I thought the characterizations were spot on and if not perfect for some people's tastes I think that they were great. This ... yeah ... this is going to be my pick of the week. For the first time ever I am announcing my pick of the week before the show is recorded ... Listen to episode 60 for more of my thoughts on The Oracle #1.

Living Up to Expectations: Jack of Fables

"First there were heroes, then there were superheroes, then there was... JACK OF FABLES" issue #28

Writers -Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham

Pencils –Tony Akins

*** I kept this pretty vague sose not to ruin it for my partners or my gal.


(That's Jack in his Fruit of the Waterlooms.)

Jack of Fables is a book that us Dorks do not talk about all that much. That’s mainly because some people in this operation are not caught up on it. Right now Scotty is making a mental list of all the books I should read but don’t. To him I say, whateva. Jack of Fables is one of the funest (is that a word?) books on the shelves these days. By now we all should be familiar with a little book called Fables… right? And we all know how great of a book Fables is… right? Well guess what! Fables has a little brother, whom is a perfect counterpart to the prior, and it is just as good as its elder. Okay, maybe in a different way but a great book nonetheless. You saw the team behind it and I dare you to question their quality… I dare you!

Jack is one of my favorite kinds of characters. You know the type, one of those people that are talented in the art of douchebaggery. He’s the kind of guy that you laugh at when bad things happen to him. Let’s just say I love to hate Jack of the Tales. Now, Jack was banished from Fable Town some time ago and thrown into a world that he very much creates for himself. He happens to be his own worst enemy… on a long list of enemies. This series takes us on the journey with Jack as he slinks from town to town always leaving a pretty little mess in his wake. Along his side we get a great supporting cast, not to say they all support Jack. From the Bookburner and Mr. Revise to the Page sisters, each character has their very own defining personality that sets them apart from one another. Each character is lovable (sort of) in their own way. I feel that it is necessary to add that very few of the characters in Jack of Fables are also in Fables. (the comic not the classics)

Now, on to the staff. Sturges and Willingham no longer have to prove themselves to anyone. Separate they are both excellent wordsmiths but together they might be wordmasters. This book feels like a place for them to have a little fun; like a breath of fresh air (if you will) for them and that only results in a breath of fresh air for us. Not to mention that their words are placed in Tony Akins' panels that, in my opinion, are penciled very well and surely fitting to the overall tone of the stories. An excellent team indeed.

Okay, here it is my one gripe about this book. I will back pedal before I lay my complaint on you. I love Blue. (and blues… in every sense) Therefore, I would hate to see Blue ran into the ground. Those of you who have been reading this book have noticed that we have been getting a Blue page in every issue for a while now. I am scared that if this continues my love for Blue may wane and I would hate for that to happen. Yes, I realize that I may be the only one who feels this way but this is America and you should think exactly what I think. Blue is random right? So, then why should we see him every issue? To me Blue should pop up sparsely, tell his story and vanish only to reappear sometime later on an undisclosed date. Not... every... issue. Everything else about this book is absolutely faultless.

All you folks out there not hip to this title need to look into it. All you folks out there that read Fables but not Jack of Fables I have one question. Why? You obviously enjoy these types of characters so why not laugh at them a bit? One word people… One word in all caps. TRIFECTA!!! Do yourself a favor get into to Jack of Fables. There are three trades out right now with one coming next month and another slated for March 2009. If you like good comics you have no excuse. No excuse at all! –Rob