Moving right along…

Let’s see if I can get another online column done tonight, so I won’t be horrifically behind any more, just embarrassingly behind.

We’re on to…hoopty-doo, the online column for #34, which will mostly be covering mail that came in while #32 was on the stands. First, here’s the printed lettercol text…

* * * *

We had a little production mishap last issue, and the lettering got messed up on page 3. We were able to fix it for the digital edition (and will fix it for the book collection), but the printed issues had already gone out. So for you fine single-issue print readers (the salt of the earth and the backbone of the industry!), here’s the page you should have gotten…

Our apologies for the error.

We’ll reveal the Letter of the Month in the online column!

* * * *

So. Not much text there, since we needed the room for the replacement page. We didn’t even have a Letter of the Month! I said I’d do it in the online column, so I guess I gotta do it now!

Can we have a drumroll for the potential LOTMers, please?
Continue reading →

Yeah, okay, we’re pathetically late on the online lettercols. And when I say “we,” I mean, of course, Molly. No, wait, she doesn’t do the online lettercols. JG? No, he designed the blog here, and did out cool postmark, but he doesn’t fill the columns. Brent, then. Gotta be Brent!

Couldn’t be me! I’ve been wiped out and exhausted and allergy-y all Spring! It can’t be my fault!

Yeah, my fault. So let’s see what I can do about starting to catch up. First off, here’s the print lettercol from ASTRO CITY 33…

* * *

What, again? Another lettercolumn? It’s like I have to do one of these every month!

Okay, I’m tired and cranky and my dog has taken to murdering padded envelopes. Not that you need to know that, but it seemed worth sharing. I think he likes popping bubble-wrap (or bubble-wrap-lined packaging) as much as the next being.

So where was I? Right, the Letter of the Month! Letter volume was up, I’m happy to say, and this month we’ve got another LOTM repeater. Say hello (again) to:

MARK ZUTKOFF

Dear Astroids,

Hey, I figured I’d try a weird salutation for a change. You may also think of it as “astro-ids.”

Re issue 31: How? How does this book just keep getting better?

First, Brent’s art was truly stunning. Oh, wait—it was Jesús Merino! Wow. I think that’s the strongest work I’ve seen from him, and it fit right into ASTRO CITY’s normal look of art.

Second, the story just kept me turning page after page to see where you were going to take this unusual style of narration. For some reason, the script reminded me of Steve Gerber’s work—not just for the “Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch” feeling, but the personal touch that the narrative provided, coming close to what I think was Gerber’s masterpiece, GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #4 way back when.

If I had any criticism, it would be for the name “Living Nightmare”, which seemed a bit too Marvel-like (“Living Laser,” “Living Vampire,” “Living Tribunal,” and of course, the Dr. Strange villain Nightmare), but I’m not sure what else you could have called him that got the message across: Fever Dream? Probably not.

The bit where Honor Guard is touting their new costumes to each other was hilarious; best sequence like that since the Wasp used to introduce a new costume every other issue of Avengers. (Can you tell I’m a child of ’60s and ’70s comics?)

Anyway, thanks for another gorgeous issue. Keep ’em coming!

P.S. Immediately after reading this issue, I went through my mail and found the signed copy of ASTRO CITY 30. Perfect timing, and thanks so much!

You’re uber-welcome, sir!

Got to give props to artists again this month—not only to Jesús Merino, who did a wonderful job and who we’re happy to have visit these pages any time (and please, check out his FLASH arc either out now or coming soon), but Alex Ross as well, without whom issue #31 would have been very different. Not only was it he who said that some of the Honor Guard members were starting to look a little dusty, so maybe some new costumes would be in order (and there’s at least one more coming), but if I’m remembering correctly, he’s the guy who suggested the Living Nightmare should return to Honor Guard, and when I said I was thinking of telling the story through the POV of whoever would be “piloting” the Nightmare this time, he said he thought it should be the Nightmare alone, developing an individual mind after all this time.

He ain’t just covers, folks.

As for the Nightmare’s name, I don’t mind names that resonate with all kinds of comics history—and it has been his name since our first issue in 1995.

Anyway. You know this already, but to let everyone else know: Them what writes the Letter of the Month are rightwise entitled to a signed copy of the comic. E-mail us your mailing address (again) and off it’ll go to you.

And now…what else we got?
Continue reading →

Okay, I’m way behind on letter columns, so let’s catch up a little. This is the one that should have run in February, but I had a very bad Spring, fatigue-wise. I’ll catch up as swiftly as I’m able.

Anyway, this’ll be another fairly short one. To start off with, the print lettercol from ASTRO CITY #32…

* * *

Fair warning. I have done something horrible to my back, and the doctor has put me on Valium and Percocet, so I make no guarantees about where this lettercolumn will lead us. It’s possible I’ll just fall asleep in the middle of it, because that’s the kind of debauched, exotic life this Vertigo writer leads. Sorry, team, if I’m letting the side down.

Anyway. We have a letter for you. It’s a nice letter and everything. Let’s call it the Letter of the Month, and pretend it’s from:

LEE K. SEITZ

I’ve been thinking about the Zirr since reading ASTRO CITY #30. I once told someone that, in the real world, people don’t actually consider themselves evil, even if we would apply that label. It’s only in comic books that people (or, in this case, aliens) do evil for evil’s sake. But it’s no surprise that in ASTRO CITY, being as nuanced as it is, that still doesn’t apply. Instead, the evil alien empire is actually a victim of a few bad individuals in control. And it’s a refreshing change from the stereotype.

But you know what I’m most interested to see now? I want to see how the Zirr priestlords work. Are they in control of themselves or also victims of brainwashing? In particular, who provides the lies, um, official version of the truth for the factcasts? Surely the Zirr Emperor is too busy to worry about the details.

Obviously Kurt can go back and revisit Zozat when he grows up to answer some of these questions. I suspect he left that thread dangling for just such a reason. But much like my seven-year-old daughter, I’m impatient and don’t want to wait that long. However, I’m also easily distracted and will no doubt devour the next issue’s story, forgetting, at least until the next reread of #30, about the Zirr. There’s so many stories to be told in ASTRO CITY and not enough Kurts, so I’ll take what I can get. Thank you for keeping them coming.

[Okay, before I answer, how good were you all at pretending this letter was from Lee? It should have been easy, since it actually is from Lee, so hey, there we go. Good job, everyone.]

As for you, Lee…

…yes, it’s quite true we can revisit Zozat and crew and see how they’re getting on at some point in the future. But even if we don’t, I think the story’s pretty well concluded, even if we never learn the details of Zirr society from the inside. Doesn’t mean we can’t, of course.

Mind you, I don’t think this sort of thing happens because of a few bad eggs pulling the strings on everything else. I think it’s more about earlier, power- and conquest-hungry emperors setting a tone, lying to the public when things didn’t go quite right, and then doubling down on that as needed. The priestlords are part of the system, and once a system gets going, it works to maintain itself rather than expose its flaws. We don’t need to go off-planet to find examples of that.

So how does one change a system that’s geared to maintain itself? That’s a question for another story. Could even be about someone other than the Zirr! You never know.

Anyway. Before the Valium has me thinking about the Brady Bunch again for some reason, I’ll do the bit about how as Letter of the Month writer, you get a signed copy of this comic. E-mail us your mailing address and we’ll poot one off to you, with our thanks.

* * *

So. What else we got?

Continue reading →