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Official Black Hammer Appreciation Thread - New OA on 11/16
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70 posts in this topic

10 hours ago, followtheleader said:

I liked the ending of the current arc. 

But where can it go from there? 
Almost seems like a great point to end it. 

Patrick

Interesting... I've really been struggling with the ending of the current story arc...

Warning, major spoiler follows.

On the one hand, I was happy that Abe, Gail and Mark were happy, They truly deserve that. And having Sherlock join them was another one of Jeff's acts of creative genius. 

On the other hand, having them forget seems sad, and even tragic, to me. I love these heroes, but not remembering as a way to be happy seems like a way around the work we all have to do as humans... process trauma and let our scars make us more than who we were before we received them.... I can't get over the feeling that Abe, Gail, and Mark are not who they were meant to be with many of their memories wiped...

Discuss?

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13 hours ago, Dr Carl said:

Interesting... I've really been struggling with the ending of the current story arc...

Warning, major spoiler follows.

On the one hand, I was happy that Abe, Gail and Mark were happy, They truly deserve that. And having Sherlock join them was another one of Jeff's acts of creative genius. 

On the other hand, having them forget seems sad, and even tragic, to me. I love these heroes, but not remembering as a way to be happy seems like a way around the work we all have to do as humans... process trauma and let our scars make us more than who we were before we received them.... I can't get over the feeling that Abe, Gail, and Mark are not who they were meant to be with many of their memories wiped...

Discuss?

I keep wondering how they will tie in the JLA/BH series. 

Specifically, the latest issue with Gail was huge. 

I really thought JLA/BH was going to be a garbage crossover.  But it's felt meaningful to the progression of the series. 

Has he announced that the title is over/  Or any discussion for future arcs? 
Patrick

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2 hours ago, followtheleader said:

I keep wondering how they will tie in the JLA/BH series. 

Specifically, the latest issue with Gail was huge. 

I really thought JLA/BH was going to be a garbage crossover.  But it's felt meaningful to the progression of the series. 

Has he announced that the title is over/  Or any discussion for future arcs? 
Patrick

Thanks for continuing the conversation! So… Jeff has taken the Black Hammer universe up through 1986. (He’s also gone far into the future with Quantum Age, but I’m going to skip that in this discussion.)

What’s interesting, and surely not coincidental, is that the Black Hammer Universe’s Cataclysm event, taking place in 1986, matches the timeline of DC’s 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths (and is close to Marvel’s 1984 Secret Wars).

I believe Jeff’s plan is to move the Black Hammer book forward in time, with heroes now living in the 90s, beginning with Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy (releasing in late 2019) and then a new Black Hammer title featuring Lucy Weber (launching in 2020).

It’s hard to say how much of a role Gail, Abe, Mark, Randall, Dragonfly, and the original Black Hammer will play. They’ll surely be revered and remembered, and a part of the backstory, but will they intersect and interact with the new heroes… my hunch is Jeff will find a way.

Thoughts?

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21 hours ago, Dr Carl said:

Thanks for continuing the conversation! So… Jeff has taken the Black Hammer universe up through 1986. (He’s also gone far into the future with Quantum Age, but I’m going to skip that in this discussion.)

What’s interesting, and surely not coincidental, is that the Black Hammer Universe’s Cataclysm event, taking place in 1986, matches the timeline of DC’s 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths (and is close to Marvel’s 1984 Secret Wars).

I believe Jeff’s plan is to move the Black Hammer book forward in time, with heroes now living in the 90s, beginning with Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy (releasing in late 2019) and then a new Black Hammer title featuring Lucy Weber (launching in 2020).

It’s hard to say how much of a role Gail, Abe, Mark, Randall, Dragonfly, and the original Black Hammer will play. They’ll surely be revered and remembered, and a part of the backstory, but will they intersect and interact with the new heroes… my hunch is Jeff will find a way.

Thoughts?

Funny you mentioned CoIE.  

I'd been thinking that he may move on to alternate universe versions of the characters.  

Wish they'd really delve into why the characters are so tied to Anti-God.  Did Anti-God go to an alternate universe instead of just died? 

You can tell that I don't read much of the internet news.  Had I, I'd have seen things like this:

A) Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy - Jeff Lemire said that this book would be the first title in "Phase II" of the Black Hammer universe.

B) "Hammer of Justice!" is not "a throwaway ‘imaginary story’" either, and will have lasting repercussions in future Black Hammer stories.  

Patrick

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On 9/25/2019 at 8:02 PM, followtheleader said:

Funny you mentioned CoIE.  

I'd been thinking that he may move on to alternate universe versions of the characters.  

Wish they'd really delve into why the characters are so tied to Anti-God.  Did Anti-God go to an alternate universe instead of just died? 

You can tell that I don't read much of the internet news.  Had I, I'd have seen things like this:

A) Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy - Jeff Lemire said that this book would be the first title in "Phase II" of the Black Hammer universe.

B) "Hammer of Justice!" is not "a throwaway ‘imaginary story’" either, and will have lasting repercussions in future Black Hammer stories.  

Patrick

Interesting. My hunch is Jeff won’t need alternate universe versions of Abe, Gail, and Mark, but will find a way to bring them to life, both in the hearts of the heroes who live on, and through the art of creative storytelling.

 

We do know, from Quantum Age, that Randall, Talke, and Dragonfly are all alive (and well?) in 2141, and we know from Age of Doom 12 that they don't return to the farm, so I do think (and very much hope) we’ll see them again soon.

 

Finally, I noticed your Broncos logo and your location being Colorado. I’m here too, up north in Fort Collins. Let me know where you are, and if we’re close, maybe we can grab coffee sometime.

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No wasted dialogue

As I reread the Black Hammer series, I'm marveling at how Jeff doesn't waste a moment's dialogue. When you're reading what Randall (Col. Weird) shares, it's easy to think it's the delusions of a man who lost his mind. In issue 2, he rambles out the seemingly nonsensical "Gail needs you. She's in trouble. She's in a box. There is smoke. She needs her mother", to which Dragonfly (rather appropriately) replies with "What? What the hell are you talking about?" Two pages later we see Gail sitting in a bathroom stall ("in a box") smoking a cigarette ("there is smoke"), and three pages later we see Dragonfly appear, disguised as Gail's mother, to rescue her ("she needs her mother").

Not a moment of wasted dialogue, even when spoken by the ramblings of Randall Weird.

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On 9/26/2019 at 9:55 PM, Dr Carl said:

Interesting. My hunch is Jeff won’t need alternate universe versions of Abe, Gail, and Mark, but will find a way to bring them to life, both in the hearts of the heroes who live on, and through the art of creative storytelling.

 

We do know, from Quantum Age, that Randall, Talke, and Dragonfly are all alive (and well?) in 2141, and we know from Age of Doom 12 that they don't return to the farm, so I do think (and very much hope) we’ll see them again soon.

 

Finally, I noticed your Broncos logo and your location being Colorado. I’m here too, up north in Fort Collins. Let me know where you are, and if we’re close, maybe we can grab coffee sometime.

Sir, I am right down the road in the magical town called Firestone. 

A suffer the plight of a Bronco fan.  If you tell me your a Rams fan, I may ask you to marry me. 

Only part we differ on is the drink, but you can hit the coffee and I'll drink New Belgium. 

Patrick

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On 9/27/2019 at 10:33 PM, followtheleader said:

Sir, I am right down the road in the magical town called Firestone. 

A suffer the plight of a Bronco fan.  If you tell me your a Rams fan, I may ask you to marry me. 

Only part we differ on is the drink, but you can hit the coffee and I'll drink New Belgium. 

Patrick

That's terrific. You're so close by. I'll send you a PM and we'll find a time to connect. 

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Legendary or Netflix?

Legendary, a large media/production company -- whose recent summer releases included Detective Pikachu and Godzilla -- purchased the rights to the entire Black Hammer universe. Not just one character, but all of them, intending to develop a new interconnected collection of heroes for TV and film. It's my understanding that Jeff's working on the scripts, probably hard at work as you read this post.

Not long after this deal was announced, Dark Horse shared that it had sold production rights to Netflix. However, Black Hammer (and a number of other properties) were already spoken for, so this sits are outside of the Netflix agreement.

My hunch is Jeff did well -- really well -- with the Legendary deal. And I'm excited to see what's to come.

I'm also curious what you think.... Netflix or Legendary? (Kinda like asking if you'd like flight or invincibility -- no bad choices here!)

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On 10/26/2019 at 1:13 AM, bobpfef said:

I am really enjoying the JLA crossover, so we’ll done.

What is the story with the ashcans? I didn’t know they existed


I love a good Black Hammer question. But before answering, let me first agree with you!


The JLA/BH crossover is very well done, along with everything else in the BH Universe! Jeff’s created such great quality content across all these titles.
Regarding the Ashcan, my understanding is that Black Hammer launched at SDCC 2016. And, what would a launch be without a few giveaways and special variant covers? Black Hammer was no exception. SDCC 2016 came with Dustin Nygen’s variant cover (limited to 500 issues) and Ashcans (not sure how many were printed… anyone know?). The Ashcan is smaller than your usual comic book (about 1/2 it’s size), and it’s content includes the first several pages of issue 1. (I’m not sure how many pages. While I think it’s 16, I’ll have to check). 


Let me know if there’s anything more I can offer up here.

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Original Art (from Dean Ormston) coming soon...

 

What’s a Black Hammer aficionado to do after collecting (and reading) all the books in this new universe… in my case, it’s pursue Black Hammer original art.

Being new to original art, I was only able to succeed in my efforts thanks to the amazing help of Mike from nsnart and the graciousness of Dean Ormston, who created the art in the first place, and who was kind enough to sell it.

I’ve committed myself to rereading the series and posting the original art here and on CAF (I just created my gallery there) as I bump into these eight pages of Dean's remarkable work in the books themselves. The good news is that all eight of these pages are contained in the original thirteen issue run, so it won't be long.

These pages, soon to follow, are (to me) some of the most iconic in the whole of the Black Hammer Universe, and some of the most heartfelt.

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Black Hammer 1, page 25. A Universe is Penciled.

Perhaps the most iconic image in all of the Black Hammer Universe. Jeff (Lemire) introduces us to these characters’ alter egos, on Black Hammer farm, in pages 1 through 24. But it’s here, on page 25, that Dean (Ormston) introduces us to the heroes that they are. With this page, a universe is born.

(A shoutout to Mike at NSN Art for making this possible — and for being an all-around great guy — and a superhero-sized thank you to Dean for agreeing to the sale of his beautiful art.)

 

1p25.jpg

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17 hours ago, Dr Carl said:

Black Hammer 1, page 25. A Universe is Born (and Inked).

Here, on page 25 of issue 1, Dean (Ormston) and Jeff (Lemire) introduce us to the heroes of the Black Hammer Universe. With this page, a universe is inked.

1p25.jpg

Very nice, a touch of Kirby there

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A Hero is Born (in Pencils)

Zafram! It’s just a word… or is it? Not to Gail Gibbons, who discovers it’s a Golden word that gives her the power of the ancient wizard. And this is just a page… or is it? More than a page, it’s an origin story; a tribute to a Golden age in comic book history; and perhaps the most iconic image of Golden Gail.

(A shoutout to Mike at NSN Art for making this possible — and for being an all-around great guy — and a superhero-sized thank you to Dean for agreeing to the sale of his beautiful art.)

 

 

2p3.jpg

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Black Hammer 7, page 16: A Hero’s Heart

From its opening words (“I want to see my dad”) to its closing (“With all my heart”) and with every image and sentence in between, this page stakes its claim as the most emotionally poignant one in the entire Black Hammer Universe. And while it’s a universe filled with colorful characters, it’s the relationships that bond them together that give this story life and heart. No page is more illustrative of that than this one.

7p16.jpg

Edited by Dr Carl
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Black Hammer 7, page 16: A Hero’s Heart (in pencil)

From its opening words (“I want to see my dad”) to its closing (“With all my heart”) and with every image and sentence in between, this page stakes its claim as the most emotionally poignant one in the entire Black Hammer Universe. And while it’s a universe filled with colorful characters, it’s the relationships that bond them together that give this story life and heart. No page is more illustrative of that than this one.

7p16.jpg

Edited by Dr Carl
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