Elsewhere... adventure never looked so good

Fanta



Last weekend's Five for Friday assignment was to Name Five Favorite Projects/Books From Fantagraphics Not By Charles Schulz, Los Bros, Chris Ware, Dan Clowes Or Peter Bagge. I'm always glad to poke holes in the perception that Fantagraphics publishes nothing but impenetrably artsy comics for snobs. It's just not true. Here's my pick of five great adventure comics they've put out (after forgetting that they also used to publish Usagi Yojimbo).

1. Delphine, Richard Sala
2. Interiorae, Gabriella Giandelli
3. Black Hole, Charles Burns
4. Almost Silent, Jason
5. Castle Waiting, Linda Medley

Death-Day



And speaking of artful adventure comics, this week's Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs was about Sam Hiti's latest graphic novel, Death-Day, Part One.

Comics News: He talks to fish

Geoff Johns discusses Aquaman



Johns keeps his Brightest Day cards hidden really well in this interview, but he does talk a bit about why Aquaman is cool:

He's a character that everybody knows. He has had successful runs in the past, and I guess he's probably more well known to the general public than Green Lantern even is at this point...

And defends him against those who think he's lame:

The whole thing is, they always say, "Well, he talks to fish." It's part of who he is. I think there are some inherent things that may be there, but every character is like that. I think the key is to embrace what Aquaman is and not turn away from it. So often, we turn away from the core of what Aquaman is. I think the key to success is embracing exactly who Aquaman is while adding some dimensions to it, building off the strong foundation that's already there. There's a reason the character is popular. There is a reason that people like that character. If you look at the mainstream DC t-shirts that they sell in stores, Aquaman is always there. He definitely has an audience.

I understand the need for secrecy about story details, but I do wish he'd said more about who exactly he thinks Aquaman is. That "iconic interpretation," as Dan Didio calls it, is going to be what makes or breaks this relaunch of the character. Surely Johns could've talked about that without revealing Brightest Day story details?

A masked Nazi-fighter, a Daring contest, and the Day of Death after the break.