Napoleon's Pyramids

I had high hopes for Napoleon’s Pyramids. It promised a lot: a swashbuckling hero, a mysterious medallion, an evil count, and an Indiana Jones-esque adventure to unlock the secrets of the pyramids. I’ve learned to be skeptical though about stories that sound too good to be true. There’s always something wrong. The hero is unlikable, the Maguffin is dull, the villain is unbelievable, or the adventure is a bait-and-switch that promises much more than it ever intended to deliver. Napoleon’s Pyramids has none of these problems. It’s exactly what it claims to be and so much more.

Ethan Gage is a fantastic hero. He’s an American living in France in 1798. He’s the former apprentice of Benjamin Franklin and a Freemason. He’s a much better former apprentice than he is a secret society member though. He barely understands the origins of the basic Masonic symbols, much less posses any real secrets. His big flaw is that he has no purpose. He doesn’t believe in anything, so he flits from whorehouse to card game and back again. Which is really a cool place for a charming rogue to begin his story, but many authors would fear to let him grow out of that. I know because I’ve read their books. Not Dietrich though. Gage’s journey changes him as much as it thrills his readers.

My Room

It's been a couple of weeks since I did one of these items from Calvin's list, but that's only partly because I went on vacation. I've been dreading having to show you my room. In fact, I thought about just taking pictures of my bedroom because it's much prettier, but that's not really my room. I share it with Diane, which is precisely why it's so much more brightly colored, coordinated, and has way cooler furniture. This room - my office/library - is all mine and you should know that I'm appropriately embarrassed to be showing it to you.

You can see the clutter before you even go into the room. Sitting on top of the filing cabinet are CDs that need to be transferred into iTunes. The "Please Don't Open Door" sign is to keep David's friends out when they come over. I'd hate for a pile of comics to fall over and kill one of them.



It gets worse after the break.

Happy Independence Day!

It's a (Tourist) Trap!

Heading out with Diane and David and some friends today for a week of vacationing in the Wisconsin Dells. The Dells are gorgeous, but you have to look past some of the cheesiest, most touristy stuff in the world to see them. Even that can be fun though and we've been there enough to have favorite places and traditions. Like the pizza place with all the antlers, the Paul Bunyan logging camp breakfast joint, the Crane Foundation, and the jungle-themed indoor water park.

Anyway, unless something's changed since last time we were there, I won't have real Internet access until I get home next Saturday. I'll do some tweeting and Facebooking from my phone, but probably won't be able to update here. Hope all my US friends have a great Independence Day (and that my Canadian friends already had a fantastic Canada Day). See you on the other side.

Art Show: Never Too Many Cookes

Dragon-in-the-Box



By NC Wyeth. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Red Sonja



By Darwyn Cooke. [Comic Art Fans]

I'm not so sure she's a Federal Agent



Artist Unknown. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

After the break: Much more Darywn Cooke (including Black Canary, Death, Wonder Woman, and Padme). Also, an alien robot and an apocalyptic archer.

Pass the Comics: Heads on Vases!

The Jungle Twins on the Island of Dr. Strangekind



[Gold Key Comics!]

Rulah vs. The Cat Killers



[The Comic Book Catacombs]

Futura vs. The Tyrannical Decapitated Heads That are On Life-Support



Also, there's an underground city, animal-men, and roboty secrets. The awesomeness continues. [Lady, That's My Skull]

Days Missing

This week's Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs isn't quite a review. I liked Days Missing very much, but rather than going into a ton of detail about it, I let it send me down the path of wondering about non-serialized serials and if there's as much a place for them in today's comics as I hope there is. Archaia's PJ Bickett comments on the post with some encouraging news.

Since I didn't do it at Robot 6, I'll give it a star-rating here. Four out of five Frankensteinian Monsters.

Comics News Roundup: Wonder Woman's Waterloo?

The Return of Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities



I'm a big fan of both Eric Powell (The Goon) and Kyle Hotz (The Hood, Criminal Macabre), so it was no surprise that I enjoyed their collaboration, Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities, in which Billy teams up with a traveling freak show to fight Dr. Frankenstein and his foul creations. Now they're teaming up again to fight Jack the Ripper.

Pulp Comics and DC's First Wave



The Comics Journal has an excellent write-up about Pulp Hero comics in general and DC's First Wave project in particular. In Part One, writer Alex Boney presents a quick history of Pulp Hero comics and the troubles they've had finding traction with superhero fans. In Part Two, Boney looks at DC's current revival endeavor with some hope and excitement about its potential, but some disappointment in its "delays and ... general lack of focus." These are problems that also plague superhero comics, but they're especially troublesome when your genre is already a less popular one.

After the break: Hey, what about this whole Wonder Woman curfuffle? Also, SLG's new Oz comic.

How Lost Should Have Ended

Movie News Roundup: Yoda Died Today

EDITED TO ADD: Frank Oz did not die today. I'm sorry to those of you I scared. I totally wasn't thinking that my headline might be misinterpreted that way.

The American trailer



The Anton Corbijn spy movie starring George Clooney looks really good. I especially love the setting of the little village on the Mediterranean.

After the break: Green Hornet, giant spiders, Conan, Wonder Woman, Oz, and Star Wars.

Art Show: Wish I Could Loot Part of Your World

The Little Merpirate



Artist Unknown. [Swing with Shad]

People of the Golden Atom



By Frank R Paul. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Black Canary



By Shane Glines. [Pink of the Ink]

After the break: The Terrible Trio, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, Medusa, and Things from Space