CLiNT #12 cover image

CLiNT is a comics and comics culture magazine edited by superstar comic book writer Mark Millar and published by Titan Magazines.  Every issue of CLiNT contains actual comics and interviews related to comics, as well as the occasional piece on movies and pop culture.  It is a newsstand British comic or “boys comic” magazine in the tradition of 2000AD (among others) that serializes multiple comics.  However, most of the comics in CLiNT have been published in comic book form prior to their CLiNT appearance.

CLiNT #12 comes with some big news from the publisher.  The magazine will now be released in the United States at the same time as it is in the United Kingdom, in this instance, November 23rd in the U.S. and November 24th in the U.K.

As with previous issues, CLiNT #12 includes a chapter of Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s Kick-Ass 2 (Chapter 12).  It is deranged as ever, but Millar manages to create a poignant moment or two, basically by dropping some consequence-of-actions on the characters.  The second Millar offering is Chapter 7 of Superior, which is penciled by Leinil Yu.  It is a superhero fantasy drama/comedy about a crippled boy who gets to be the comic book superhero he loves.  It is strange and is darker in tone than its brightly colored art would suggest.

Thanks to a summary page, I have a better idea of what is going on in Rex Royd from stand-up comic and writer Frankie Boyle.  But it still seems to me like a masala of Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Brian Bendis post-modern superhero ideas.  There is also the conclusion of writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Tonci Zonjic’s Who is Jake Ellis?, which was recently published as a comic book miniseries by Image Comics.  I read it and had no idea what was going on because I had not read the earlier issues.  I like Zonjic’s art, though.

My favorite comic in this issue is Graveyard of Empires from writer Mark Sable and artist Paul Azaceta.  A war comic, Graveyard of Empires is set in Afghanistan at a small American base, F.A.C. Alamo, and focuses on the servicemen, their boredom, fear, and pastimes.  It’s very good, and reminds me of the Oscar-winning film, The Hurt Locker.  I don’t know how I will feel about it later because it is apparently a zombie comic, although zombies don’t appear in this installment.

What else is there?  Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons talk about their collaboration and upcoming secret project, “The Secret Service.”  A “Badass Cinema” article by Vern gives readers an overview of "Arthouse Badass."