IN CASE U MISSED IT: Xomix Comix

INDY SPOTLIGHT: Paradigm Shift

Today's book I'm focusing on is PARADIGM SHIFT Part One: Equilibrium, by Dirk Tiede and from his Dynamanga.net imprint.

I met and know Dirk from my days on Graphic Smash, when we both used to have comics on that webcomic collective. A couple years ago Modern Tales (the sister website that Graphic Smash was a part of) hosted a booth at San Diego Con, and I spent a little time there, and I remember meeting Dirk especially, because his Paradigm Shift had caught my eye on Graphic Smash, with it's competent old school manga/anime style. Since I'm loathe to actually read comics on the web, my only experience with the title were the catchy art and graphics.

Well, when I did the recent Pittsburgh Comic-Con, I ran into Dirk while out to dinner with a large group of comic people, and after talking a bit later that night, we'd vowed to swap books the next day. So, I was sure to make the rounds on the last day of the show and take him up on the offer. Although he was kind enough to offer both trade collections of Paradigm Shift he's printed to date, I only kept volume one (since I only had 4 comics to offer in return).

On the long flight home from the east coast, I made my way through volume 1 of Sentinels (see yesterday's feature), but since I came into town mid day, and had caught a ride to the airport, I was taking the new light rail train home from the airport (they'd somewhat recently extended the train line to the airport, but I'd never used it). Now, the train is really convenient from the airport (except for all my giant bags packed with books and displays etc), but it does take about twice as long, an hour instead of about 30 minutes. That meant I still had time on my hands to read, and read I did, Paradigm Shift Part one!

The book is about 100 pages, black and white tones, manga trim size, and $9.95. The first 2/3rds of the book are story, with a healthy "bonus" section at the back, which I'll speak of in a bit, but first, the story...

Paradigm Shift is a skilled blend of police procedural and horror/fantasy/sci-fi, that is to say, Dirk creates a detailed real life world, filled with true-to-life characters, but offsets that with a story that takes a turn into the supernatural. The scripting is solid, his characters feel as genuine as his artwork is detailed. PS is set in downtown Chicago, and Dirk doesn't shy away from showing us every nook of the city, from it's gleaming skyscrapers to it's back alleys. His art would fit comfortably with any manga on the bookstore shelf, with it's hallmark stylized characters and ultra real/detailed backgrounds.

As the story unfolds during the course of one day, detectives Kate and Mike slowly realize things are taking them on a bigger journey, and the reader goes along for the ride. Paradigm shift reads well, looks great, and builds towards a large involving story filled with mystery and Chicago PD action. I can't wait to meet up with Dirk again and pick up the second volume.

Now on to the extras, along with character profiles and footnotes, there's a lengthy and very comprehensive process breakdown. Dirk outlines every step of the process in the creation of the comic, which as a fellow creator is always fun to see, but for those looking find their way in the medium, it's an even more beneficial tool.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

You can check out the book online via Webcomicsnation.com or pick up the books via it's website HERE

INDY SPOTLIGHT: Sentinels Vol 1 and 2

This week I'm going to try and talk about a different cool book each day, the majority of them independently published, and a couple of them manga, but I'm going to start today with a book I'd waited a long time to get my hands on, Sentinels by Rich Bernatovech and Luciano Vecchio.

Sentinels is created and written and published by Rich Bernatovech (via Drumfish Productions), and he collaborates with Argentine artist Lucian Vecchio. At the recent Pittsburgh Comic-con I had the chance to meet and speak with both creators, and after years of hearing and seeing great things, pick up a complete set of all four original graphic novels. The books retail for $14.95 each, are full trim size, contain black and white grayscale artwork, and are quite lengthy, containing around 8 chapters each (about the equivalent of 8 comic book issues). The book itself is Rich's super powered team creation, inspired most prominently by a childhood love of the George Perez era Teen Titans, he was/is also an actor though, so his love of drama shines through as well.

Sentinels is an epic four volume saga, where each book stands alone as a complete tale, but together they tell one large overarching story. The Sentinels themselves are a second generation super team, led by Templar, an energy blade wielding descendant of the Knights Templar, who at the start of this volume, operates on his own via the Sentinels former compound with the help of computer entity Cyprus. Through a series of events the former teammates collide and work together again to fend off escalating threats to the team, from Hell, the government, and even outer space.

The sprawling cast of 10 young powered characters, are familiar, yet unique. Where Sentinels volume 1 really shines, is it's incredible plotting. Characters are introduced and quickly put to the test in imaginative ways that take the reader on a sci-fi/fantasy super powered adventure. Volume 1 is only a little weak in scripting, some of the dialogue is a bit clunky, and some of the characters perhaps a bit too familiar. However, Bernatovech keeps you completely enthralled with the simple concept executed well via the sheer volume of fun pacing.

Where Sentinels also shines, is in the artwork that Vecchio provides. He brings a unique style somewhere between classic John Byrne or 80's independent, and more contemporary manga/cartoony, all styles of which I'm a major fan, but I am painfully aware they have their detractors. I really feel that Vecchio's style is straightforward enough though, to play to any crowd, which is a big plus.

Volume 2 picks up where the first left off, and moves plot points forward, further develops characters (especially the books expansive supporting cast). In addition to the approximately dozen or so Sentinels, there's a new opposing government sponsored team, Squadron 7, and a handful of other players and villains that come and go. That's the nice thing about having the series in the longer form installments, there's always enough room for everything and everyone introduced, and you never feel like too much is offered or lost. Bernatovech really captures the episodic, side-plot driven balancing act that was 80's teen superteam comic book fiction, where there's always a new cool character to shine the spotlight on and learn more about.

Where the first volume had some of the best independent superhero plotting to be found, but was a bit lacking in scripting/dialogue, volume 2 improves in that area, but isn't as ambitious in plot. That's not to say there isn't a ton that happens, or a lot to enjoy. Quite the contrary. Also, Vecchio's art in the second volume shows growth and improvement. Sentinels is a book that has plenty to offer, all around, and I'm really happy to have taken the plunge and begun to immerse myself in it's world.

I'm looking forward to reading volumes 3 and 4 over the summer, and HIGHLY RECOMMEND Sentinels to any fan of super powered team action, and especially fans of independent characters and comics. Bernatovech and Vecchio have taken much time and effort to craft a solid graphic epic worthy of much larger attention than what it's received to date. Please do yourself a favor and pick up the first volume, I'm sure you'll be hooked from there!

You can check out the book more at it's website HERE

MAKE MINE MANGA: Empowered

This just in... I've finished volume one of Empowered, and I'm going to go ahead and file this gush under MANGA...

Yeah yeah, all you mangaphobes and manga purists may argue whether it belongs under such a classification, but I'm stickin to it.

Empowered is the 243 page black and white artwork collection of shorts centered around a sexy/cute female member of the Superhomey's, named Empowered. She's a superchica with self confidence issues, who, thanks to the trickey powers that her skintight suit endows, is perennially being bound and gagged by the supervillains she goes up against. Along the way the book builds on these funny slice-of-life skewed superexploits and our heroine gains a henchman boyfriend, bad girl best friend, and one entraped essence of space demon that lies around her apartment bitching. The book is full of creator Adam Warren's trademark art and scripting. Warren has one of the most unique voices in comics, an imaginative mind and skillful touch with dialogue make his efforts always a joy to behold. Emp vol 1 is no exception. At first, the volume feels a bit lacking, as it was born from a series of shorts with no grand scheme in mind, empty bits to get our heroine in distress gradually build a world, relationship/s, and story that is totally immersive.

Reading Empowered is most rewarding because of it's unique approach, feeling more like a novel, or journal in it's expansive structure, and wide open reach. By the end of the volume things pick up considerably, and leave even more to explore for the next of what are hopefully the many planned volumes to come.

If you're not an Adam Warren fan already (shame shame), give Empowered a chance, especially if you've ever enjoyed superpowred adventure in your comics, it's a new type of mature exploration of those themes that's both sexy, and ultimately resonant. Empowered is filled with real life emotion and experiences, and Warren is tapping into a new mold of storytelling here, both in structure and scope! I loved it, simply loved it!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

MAKE MINE MANGA: OEL Roundup OR Holy Shit! These books are good!!

It's been a while since I checked in with some manga, and one of the things travelling for cons affords me, is some reading time, in airports and on planes... so I've got a good stack of recent Tokyopop OEL (or original English language) mangas that I spent time with.

Normally I rate the books individually, either as Not Recommended, Mildly Recommended, Recommended, or Highly Recommended... but since this group was spectacular, all falling under the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED category, I'll go ahead and rate them on a scale of 1 to 10!

AFTERLIFE Vol.1
Written by Stormcrow Hayes with art by Rob Steen
Afterlife is a dark introspective tale that looks at the afterlife and one possible scenario where everyone ends up in the same place once they die, that's neither Heaven or Hell, but more a mysterious limbo. Everyone fills the dark, alien landscape as-is upon their death, and are given no answers as to why they're all there, or what they're to do, except for a very select few who become guardians of the lair as it were, tasked with keeping order for all time (yet are otherwise no more informed than the rest).

Afterlife explores rich themes, and also weaves a strong tale, that moves forward to the future second and third volumes. If you've ever contemplated death, or what comes next, you'll enjoy exploring one possibility here, that's both well written, and uniquely illustrated.
9 out of 10

GYAKUSHU! Vol.1
Written and drawn by Dan Hipp
Dan Hipp is a co-creator on the semi-popular Image comics series, The Amazing Joy Buzzards, and anyone who's seen that work will recognize his cartoonish style instantly. Here Dan turns in a completely different fantasy-style dark hero's journey, with storyteller flair.

Gyakushu! volume one sets the stage for the bandaged and mysterious protagonist "The Thief", slowly revealing the critical moments that shaped his path and defined him as the man we now see, and the events that lead up to it. It's an epic similar in tone to the dark fantasy of Tolkien, with nice touches of character and menace that are in keeping with some of the best works of comic book fantasy. High praise, but Gyakushu! truly is a solid first outing that leaves the reader setup and anxious for more.
9 out of 10

PANTHEON HIGH Vol.1
Written by Paul Benjamin with artwork by Steven & Megumi Cummings
First off, I love this book!
Pantheon High is superpowered adventure done to perfection, with an imaginative premise (high school teen offspring of the gods, complete with the abilities of their mythical parents, all attending one school for their kind), and a razor sharp story and plot. There are moments in the first volume where Benjamin sets scenes up that play out masterfully, showcasing his cast, while delivering choreographed action the likes of the best of whats found in cinema. Meanwhile the Cummings' artwork is detailed, rich, stylish, strong, and sexy.

If you enjoy the themes of the X-Men, done right, or superpowered adventure within real world settings, give this book a shot. It's damn fun, original (especially for this genre), and good!
10 out of 10

SNOW Vol.1
Written and drawn by Morgan Luthi
Snow showcases, more than anything, Luthi's strong cinematic/animated sensibilities, that are a treat to read. A sci-fi epic centered on a person of mass destruction (with the ability to destroy worlds no less), trying to leave his life at the hands of the Warmongers behind at the farthest reach of the galaxy. Familiar sci-fi themes, sure, but Snow is wholly unique in the approach and creativity of Luthi.

While, of these four, it may be the weakest story, Snow is still a fabulous comic that completely transports the reader to the worlds laid out by the creator, and tells a fun, cosmic yarn. Grab this if you like sci-fi comics, or fun animated artwork.
8 out of 10

Once you add this quality list of OEL outings to the already strong lineup that's proceeded it, Tokyopop have published an impressive list of quality comic offerings that are criminally underrated. Unfortunately the OEL books are a bit of an oddity, that although published by TPop, are not marketed at all, and turn off the closed-minded - manga purists who deem them as not "true" manga, and comic book fans who view them as more "big eyes, and speedlines". Folks, comics are comics, and as long as you close your mind to other formats, or stay within your comfort zones, you're missing out on some of the best of what the medium has to offer, be it Tokyopop OEL, European Graphic Albums, indy comics, whatever... do yourself a favor and give one of these books a try if you haven't!

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 2/14 & 2/21/07

Past time for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK - My weekly rundown of last week's haul, where I pick my favorite from the stack, and then invite everyone to join in and post their favorites in the comments!

This time we'll catch up on the past 2 weeks!

First we have 2/14/07:
DINOWARS #3 - Great concept, not so great story, but better than issue 2...
OUTLAW SCORN #2 - As with number 1, I like the ambition, the budding style of the artist, but it's just okay (but fun)...
CLAWS #1-3 - Somehow I missed number 1, but picked it up at the recent local con... I love Lisner's art on mainstream books, but the story here (not by Lisner) is very weak. It's full of Wolvie and Black Cat in Lisnerlicious action, so... YAY!
THE PUNISHER PRESENTS: BARRACUDA #1 - Haven't read a Punisher book in a long while, but this is just as fun as those first Ennis issues, only this time we get to follow a new character, and man that art by Parlow is amazing!
NEXTWAVE #12 - Unfortunately this great title, a sugary mash up of Ellis and Immonen wreaking Marvelesque joy, has come to an end, and with a bit of a whimper...
THUNDERBOLTS #111 - Fortunately we have Ellis doing his dark superpowred team magic over here now (and on New Universal)...
NEW X-MEN #35 - 3 issues into the 4 part arc, and my return to the book, I'm hooked. Great pure, young x-team storytelling, with the pretty art of Medina...
GODLAND #16 - Hey look, it's a throwaway "catch-up" issue, where Casey and Scioli riff on all that's come prior... and I still love it! I actually appreciate this unique setup, as opposed to having to re-read the entire series, the creators get me all refreshed and anxious for more, while setting even more plot threads in motion! And it's only 60 cents!! YOWZA!
STORMWATCH POST HUMAN DIVISION #4 - Another remarkably solid issue of one of the best superhero books on the racks...


PICK OF THE WEEK: CASANOVA #7
It's the finale of the first run on this swanky sci-fi spy thriller, and DAMN, it's good comics!!!

Fraction's writing is dense and full of nutty brilliance on every page, while also weaving an epic wacked-out espionage tale, and Ba is simply brilliant with his sparse but oh so sexy lines, and dashes of tone!

One of the best books bar none, and you owe it to yourself to dive into the trade collecting this incredible run!





Now onto 2/21/07:
GEN13 #5 - This book is still floundering big time, which continues to mystify me, between the concept and the writer's track record, I just don't see how things could be this far off... at least Caldwell returned for an issue (if rushed), and I know there's a fill in or two from Udon's remarkable Alvin Lee coming...
LEGION OF MONSTERS: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 - Greg Land is mismatched on a werewolf story, and Skottie Young's Frankenstein is confusing and boring...
OUTER ORBIT #3 - Howard and Murphy should just stick to artwork, cuz this story, plot, and it's characters are just plain flat, but man can they draw...
CIVIL WAR #7 - Holy shit, what a giant turd. Sure it'd read better in one sitting as opposed to delayed release, but Millar can not finish a story, any story, like ever, which is a shame cuz he's brilliant otherwise, and we needed a better artist, McNiven, though way talented, is far too stiff for such a massive cast, action packed blockbuster, and WTF!?!?!?! come on Marvel, your biggest event ever and you can't air things out and give us, and the story, the widescreen throw down decompressed action this book, and issue screams out for!?!? HELLO?!? Fucking fumbled, wasted, and forced a golden opportunity here... How bout some outside the box editing here, or even some halfway decent editing? No, what a cluster fuck...
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #6 - Another solid issue of comic-style treatment of the best show on TV, Raynor's art really impresses...
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #3 - What a good book this turned out to be... Great plot, script, art, characters, GREAT!
WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #1 - Okay, can all of the uptight "comic books with sexy girls are too blah blah blah, panty shots are damaging the industry... blah blah" motherfuckers shut the hell up!?! Yes this book is naughty, so what?! As if comics are not allowed to be sexy anymore, it's too damaging... Don't read it if you don't like that, I'm just really tired of everyone moaning about comic related books, manga, toys, ads, being too overtly sexual... there's room for everything, and geez louise, it's not like there's any great wealth of this material hitting folks over the head. Sure, we want to put a good face forward, but that doesn't mean there's not room for sexy stuff too. So, um, I liked this...


PICK OF THE WEEK: GIRLS #22
What started out as a strong setup and concept, then developed into a gripping character study and mystery, is finishing as a riveting, rewarding hell of a book. As we edge closer and closer to the finish, the climax is building.

Girls is a superb effort from the unique talents of the Luna Brothers, and another of the best books on the racks (many of my very favorites are indeed Image titles)...

How about you, what's your pick for these weeks???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 2/7/07

Time for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK - My weekly rundown of last week's haul, where I pick my favorite from the stack, and then invite everyone to join in and post their favorites in the comments!

X-MEN PHOENIX WARSONG #5 - This one ends as ho hum as the rest, again, I think mostly due to the art...
UNCANNY X-MEN #483 - Another solid issue in the space epic from Brub and regular fill-in Henry. Henry's a decent artist, but his style doesn't much suit the subject matter for me...
THE PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #4 - Best issue yet of this fun, colorful series. An all action girl on guy gang throw down...
X23 #3 - I'm really liking this series, it's amazing artwork, and the mythos that Kyle and Yost are building for Wolverine's daughter...
THE NEW AVENGERS #27 - Essentially another of the Civil War fill in issues, however, this one actually features a guest appearance from the entire, new, New Avengers...
NEW UNIVERSAL #3 - The New Universe continues to actually shine under Ellis's masterful direction, as the scope widens and takes shape...
IRON MAN HYPERVELOCITY #1 - I'm a huge Adam Warren fan, and as much as I love his art, his writing is some of my favorite too. I also dig that even when he's not doing full artwork on his stuff, he turns in detailed roughs for the artists to work from, so even though it's not his finishes, it's still very much his style and approach. Anyway, issue one was good, decent, a great battle test of both Iron Man's new armor and Warren's trademark smartly informed sci-fi applications, with a nice little twist. Nothing too impressive, but very solid. With issue 2 however, Warren builds on all of that, but starts to add more wrinkles, making last issues setup all the more interesting as things that weren't what they seemed, aren't what they seemed then either... Fun comics, and Iron Man done right. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Warren deserves a much wider following, the man is on par with Ellis, Morrison, and other creme de le creme writers!


PICK OF THE WEEK: SPIDER-MAN REIGN #3
So if I liked IRON MAN HYPERVELOCITY so much, why didn't it make the pick or the week? Well, the beauty of following comics week to week is, it's a big crapshoot, some weeks you get book after book that are just okay, and some weeks you get a stack of greatness. This week I could've made six out of the eight titles my pick for best of the week, it was a great great week, but one book stood above the rest...

Spider-Man Reign got off to a shaky start, but with issue 2 I started to feel strongly pulled in, and suspected it was on the verge of greatness. With issue 3, it's all but realized. Andrews weaves a tightly paced, and masterfully designed plot that builds perfectly through it's four issue arc. With this extra sized issue, you can't help but get swept up into the iconic moments building towards next issues epic climax, with all the various elements crafted together and punctuated by pitch perfect comic book storytelling.

I'm not only eager for the next, final, issue, but to see if Andrews can pull off the amazing story he's set up, and give us the blue and red Spidey returned to form, hero defining moment.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 1/31/07

Time for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK - My weekly rundown of the books I brought home from the shop the week prior, where I pick my favorite from the stack, and then invite everyone to join in and post their favorites in the comments!

SCARLETT'S CURSE #0 & 1 - This was a polybagged set that made for the debut from new publisher Praxis. Interesting promotion, to include the number 0 with the first issue, but kind of odd, in that it didn't feel like you could use the number 1 without it... Tried this out because the art looked decent, and while it's not bad, it's a bit stiff throughout, and the story very bland and uninspired. We've seen chicks fight demons in comics, with a mystical artifact/blade how many times now? I know, we've seen a lot of other genre/setups too, so ultimately its about the execution. I guess what I'm trying to say is I was left wanting across the board...
DOCTOR STRANGE THE OATH#4 - As I've said on this, it would've made a great one-shot or short, but it feels really stretched at this point (and we've still got another issue)...
X-MEN #195 - Writing this more than a week after reading it, I honestly can't remember anything about it. Thumbing through I'm reminded of the great Ramos art, and cookie cutter X-storyline...
DINO WARS #2 - This has promise, but I felt let down with this issue. Espinosa's art is great, and the story/concept as well, but even though this is an over-sized 33 page issue packed with action, I wasn't very engaged. All the spectacle is lost following one character we've barely met and get no feel for as he survives giant techno-dino battle, you just never care if he eventually makes it out of harms way...
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #33-38 - Been anxious to check out Mike Carey's arc on this, as I've really enjoyed the Ultimate version of FF to this point, but while what I've read of his has been solid, it's just all been empty calories to me and he's paired here with a great artist, Pasqual Ferry. This opening arc is six issues, so I had to wait a bit for it to conclude and dig in. At first, aside from a bit of a ham-fisted open, I found it delightfully sci-fi/cosmic immersive, as we meet scores of interesting new interdeminsional characters and flesh out their world when the FF follows them there. However, after all of that setup, we get a bait and switch, and have the FF transport back home and not engage everything we've been waiting for. I can see that possibly it's setup for this storyline to resume down the line, but it felt too calculated and rushed to have me not care there's no real resolution here...
GIRLS #21 - Girls very much plays out like Lost, Heroes, or an HBO series, a great ever unfolding enigmatic concept with the Luna's immpressive and unique production. As we edge closer to the finale, the issues get better and better. Great book!


PICK OF THE WEEK: Deathblow #3
While really, this is another week with no true standout (this/next weeks stack looks to have no shortage of potential though) I had to go with Deathblow...

I've thoroughly enjoyed this new series to this point, and that's in no small part thanks to the incredible artwork provided by Carlos D'Anda, who continues to amaze here. Wildstorm continues to be the best studio in terms of artistic caliber in my eyes. That said, Azzarello's scripts have been interesting and fun, as the title character goes from a blank slate to slowly reestablishing himself in his new world, and this new series. As someone who's never really followed the character before, this approach really works.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 1/24/07

Time for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK (My weekly rundown of the books I brought home from the shop the week prior, where I pick my favorite from the stack, and then invite everyone to join in and post their favorites in the comments!)

It was a light week in which I didn't read much...

NEW X-MEN #33 & 34 - These weren't new last week, but I'd stopped following this relaunch after the first couple issues... I'd been hearing some buzz, noticed that Paco Medina was back on art, and have enjoyed Kyle and Yost's current X-23, so it seemed like a good time to hop back on. These are the first 2 issues of a 4 part story, and the art was strong, and story decent... I'll check out the next 2 and go from there.
OUTER ORBIT #2 - This one continues where the first left off for me, with such strong/stylish artwork and sci-fi themes, I should be loving this, but the story and characters are just pretty pedestrian...
LOW ORBIT #1 - LO is an Image anthology psuedo-GN, you know, bigger than a single, smaller than a trade $6.99-type thing? It's a decent format, and I really like most of the artists here, but... there are problems. As much as I like some of these artists, and want to give their comics a shot (LO is a collective of DeviantArt community artists and friends, who all have striking, acccomplished styles), the majority of stuff here is difficult. The art is confusing or too dense in most cases, and the stories are mostly too short. More than a couple of the 7 stories offered, run too short on pages, and barely get a concept, let alone characters introduced (or moreso, so many concepts and characters for the page count, that you wind up lost). So, more than a couple had me scratching my head as to what and who was happening on any given page. And then, the stories that really need more space, cut short to give us several pages of character designs?!?
I'd like to see these people do more, but to learn from this outing, and expand on their ideas, and make things a bit more digestible, because they make some reallllyy nice art.
The one stand out has to be Jonboy Meyers' RIOT GRRRL, as it's one of the stories that works in the condensed page count, and also builds toward something more. Plus his art is very reminicent of Joe Madureira, and the storytelling is fairly clean.
AVENGERS NEXT #5 - In case, like me, you've missed a lot of the Marvel Next books, Avengers Next is really a fun throwback to Marvel comics gone by, in a fun future setting, with scores of next generation characters. I really enjoyed this sereis, and will look to seek out some of what's come before, and certainly after.


PICK OF THE WEEK: DRAIN #2
Okay, first let me qualify this, it was a light week, and there was some decent stuff, but not much that stood out, so I went with Drain #2.

I picked Drain mostly because of the sexy painted artwork. Give me two gorgeous vampires dueling with swords, coated in some rich painted tones, and well, I'll like it. Also, this issue was an improvement over the first. Honestly, after seeing samples of this series and reading about it for so long, I was quite dissapointed when the first issue finally came out. This issue seemed to find it's groove though, and my finger's no longer hovering on the eject buttton...

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 1/10-1/17/07

Well, I missed last week, so this time we'll do a double dose of the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK (My weekly rundown of the comics I brought home from the shop the week prior, where I pick the best book of the bunch, and then invite everyone to join in and post their favorites in the comments!)

There are a metric ton of books I've read in the last two weeks, so lets get to it!

THE BAD
GEN13 #4 - As if the fill-in pages in the horrible issue 3 weren't enough, this issue is all fill-in, and continuing the terrible storyline... YUCK!

MULTIPLES
SUPERGIRL #12 & 13 - This title continues it's chaotic, jumbled existence... To make things even more wonky, issue 12 is out of continuity, by a different creative team...
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #95 & 96 - I pile up this title till an arc completes, and I'd mistakenly had these two with the neverending Clone Saga, so I pulled them out and read them... Probably the weakest two issues of this great series, I didn't need, or like, Ultimate vampires...
DMZ #6-12 - If you follow my weekly rundowns, you may get the idea I don't read much outside Marvel, superheroes, and Image... well, most of that "other" stuff makes for good reading in complete or longer arcs, so I don't regularly talk about fabulous books like DMZ. This is a great book, Wood's fully realized spin on American society gone wrong is made only better by the fabulous Riccardo Burchielli. This run contains a great arc, and two one-shots, #11's ZEE NYC reteams Wood with his excellent SuperMarket collaborator, Kristian Donaldson, but issue 12's infogasam is too much for me...
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #4 & 5 - Still solid as we transition to a new arc. I like the writing, I like the art, and I like how the book takes some bolder more creative (at least creatively different from the show) turns...
GODLAND #14 & 15 - Continues to be the vibrant, bold, dripping in comic bookery cosmicness yarn that's fun to follow...
THE SPIRIT #1 & 2 - Picked these up because I'd seen so many good words online, and I love Darwyn Cookes work, I just have no affinity for The Spirit. I can appreciate that Eisner is a comics god, but I've never been exposed to his work, and outside his obvious master craft, there's nothing about his work that draws me in, it's all too days gone by for me... and this book has all of that offer, it's true to Eisner, but I gave in, and took a look. I'm glad I did, I'm not blown away, sure if I didn't know who Eisner or Cooke were, I'd easily be, but I expect it to be great comics, and it is. And while great comics are still great comics, there's not much about the character or the set ups that light my fire...

THE FUN
ULTIMATE X-MEN #78 - Decent conclusion to the best arc in a long while here, but a little loose of a wrap up...
X-MEN FIRST CLASS #5 - These throw away stories continue to be fun, mostly for the spot on characterization of Parker (and Cruz's art), but in the end, they're throw aways, and I'm ready for this to end with issue 6 (but it goes to 8). Let's hope the final issues do something bigger than what we've seen yet to justify the extra length...
THE CRYPTICS #2 - Picked this up on a whim because of the spiffy Ben Roman artwork, and I thought it was a number 1 (as the issue number is cleverly hidden, in plain sight, in the cover art)... despite my never having enjoyed anything from Steve Niles. It was good though. Fun, not great, but buoyed by Roman's sugary sweet art...
ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS #2 - Didn't realize this, yet another zombie book from IDW, had Ash Wood interiors, so I grabbed a copy from the shelf when I saw it... It's got great Wood-work (hunh, did I just create that?) and is a fun story (yes, indeed the theme of this section). Very light and breezy, but I've come to expect that from Wood, and am willing to shell out the dinero for his unique visuals. The sequel looks fun too!
DINOWARS #1 - Rod Espinosa does a lot of stuff for Antarctic Press, he's quite talented, and I always tell myself to check out more of it... Well this concept, Dinosaurs coming to reclaim Earth was just the FUN (see, it's fun, who'da thunk) concept to nab my duckets. Great comics here, action movie setup, mix media manga-style full color visuals...
THUNDERBOLTS #110 - I've enjoyed T-Bolts off and on, missed their debut years, but have quite a few later issues piled up and waiting to be read, they're good solid team superbooks. This, the new heavyweight villain roster by Ellis kicks off, and I'm back to give it a go. Solid start, a bit slow in developing, but I'm down for more...

THE GOOD
STORMWATCH POST HUMAN DIVISION #3 - Gage and Mahnke continue the perfect balance established with issue 2 here, rich characterization, solid super powered themes, and wonderful scripting/plotting. This is one of the best books going...
SPIDER-MAN REIGN #2 - Queue up the LL (Momma Said Knock You Out, that is)... "Don't call it a comeback" is not only a perfect line and track for a soundtrack to this issue, but for Mr Andrews and this book on me as well. Issue 1, while accomplished, was too derivative for me, in every way, of Frank Miller and Dark Knight. Having choked down that hoarse of a pill, issue 2 goes down much easier... I no longer care how slavish the book is to DK, it doesn't matter, it still works, and has more than enough of it's own going on. If issue 3 and 4 continue this rise, we could be in for some truly DK-level comics too...

PICK OF THE WEEK: THE LOST BOOKS OF EVE #1

Even with all the books I covered this time, I still had to give Eve here the main pick, for a number of reasons, the least of which is that this is just such a damn pretty book to look at, and that starts with the beautiful cover. Josh's simple, clean art, lends itself so well to cover images. He uses an economy of lines, that when coupled with some strong graphic work, as it is here, makes for covers that just jump out at you. The enhanced paper stock only intensifies that here. Inside, the book is laid out nicely too, with a long intro akin to a novel or graphic novel, with titles and text intros... again simple, but only adding to and building on the cover. The interior pages, are of course, also nicely done.

But the real reason this book shines, and that I am most appreciative, is for it's ambition. Crafting a mix of biblical themes, grand fantasy, and large scale adventure for a comic book unlike anything before, or some time, at least in my recollection. Howard, a fan of the likes of Lewis and Tolkien, takes his cues from their works, and incorporates religious elements, without making the story about that, adding levels I'm sure, that different folks can draw from as the story goes on, while keeping it engaging and rewarding for all, and not at all preachy.

Of course, this is just the first issue, but what's presented here gives every indication Josh can pull it all off.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 1/3/07

Time for another COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, my weekly rundown of the comics I brought home from the shop the week prior, where I pick the best of the bunch, the numero uno. Then I invite everyone to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

UNCANNY X-MEN #482 - The fun storyline and new creative arc continues...
JLA #5 - Great Benes art, and good Meltzer story has DC's big crew in fine form...
CIVIL WAR #6 - This is the major Marvel cross over event of all time?!? Maybe it's just me, but we really seem to be going through the motions here, very connect the dots issue. I love Millar, but he has a moment or two here is all...
X-23: TARGET X #2 - This issue, slow paced, and focused on a very suburban story shouldn't work, but between the gorgeous art and the spot on character scripting, this was a surprisingly great read (except Captain America looks like a muscle-bound little boy?? yikes!!)...
ULTIMATE VISION #2 - I'm enjoying the hell out of this one. Great script and amazing visuals from Brandon Peterson...
NEW UNIVERSAL #2 - Issue one was great, this is even better. I'm liking Larroca's likeness driven style here, Angelina Jolie, Sawyer from Lost, Bruce Willis, nice casting (except for Gandolfini as the sheriff). This is a good book!
IRON-MAN HYPERVELOCITY #1 - I've been dying for this since it was announced, I'm a huge Adam Warren fan, and he does the tech oh so well. I also love his pencils, but his layouts for Marvel still come through as distinctly his, Denham's finishes make it his own, except for Iron Man, that just screams Warren... So how was the book? Really good, great writing, visually stunning...

PICK OF THE WEEK: ALL STAR SUPERMAN #6
Wow!

This was a great, moving, comic!!!

Morrison is simply the best, and he weaves magic here with the rich threads of the Superman mythos. Just a stunning, beautifully done-in-one comic book treasure.

When Superman is done right, he's the best comic book superhero bar none... Quitely, of course, provides the extra effort necessary to take All Star to the highest level.
And I just love the Superman Squad, Morrison never at a shortage for fabulous ideas, comes through in spades on Superman.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 12/28

Word up! comic kids, it's time for another COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, my weekly rundown of the comics I brought home from the shop the week prior, and pick the best of the bunch, the pick of the litter, the cream of the crop. Then I invite everyone to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

WHAT IF: X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS #1 - Last week's worst book was Wonder Man #1, where I had to stop reading a couple pages in, something I never find myself doing, but here I almost did again... Instead I skipped a few panels and picked it back up. I really liked Brubaker's idea of the lost X-Men team, and since this was a "what if they didn't die" story, I thought I'd enjoy it, but what we get here is an alternate history of Vulcan (the evil Summers brother currently on a cosmic tear in Uncanny) told through ham fisted TV special flashbacks. It's bad, really bad.
HEROES FOR HIRE #5 - keeps walking the tight rope of cancellation. Here again, I'm entertained just enough to give it another issue...
CYBER FORCE X-MEN #1 - I've never liked an issue of Cyber Force, and I'm not a big Marz fan, but it's X-Men and Pat Lee art. I know, I know, Pat Lee's a terrible person, building his career on the backs of other artists or what not, but I try to separate art from artist... This was a pretty cool book. 2 members from each team, Wolverine and Psylocke (one of my faves) along with their clones from Cyber Team Sucky Force. A decent crossover with nice art (love the Lee wrap-around cover).
X-MEN #194 - Another week chock full'o X-books, go figure (and I don't even get the majority of them)... This is the new arc from Carey, and it feels just like the last arc, but this time there's awesome, fantastic, really cool Humberto Ramos artwork. Emmmmm, Ramos...
AVENGERS NEXT #4 - I'm really digging this throwback future universe story, and the multitude of future Avengers. It's a real Avengers book (not that New Avengers crap-ola)...
IRON FIST #2 - Another book I thought of canceling after number 1, that turned me 180 with number 2. Great issue. It's still lacking a spark to keep me around sans great storytelling though...
ROKKIN #6 - The strong climax of this mini is complete. A solid finish, and again, love the Bradshaw art. The only thing this issue needed was more pages, to flesh out the scope of the events, it was a bit crammed...
OKKO #1 - Alright, this was a tough pick this week, there were 2 books I really wanted to pick, this being one of them. Okko is the latest from Archaia Studios, a publisher in the midst of a perfect storm... First they caught fire with Mouse Guard, then they continued to release stellar acquisitions from Europe, Okko being the latest. It's about time someone got the imported graphic album right, there are simply too many unbelievable books going untranslated/imported to deny. Archaia though, opts to release them as regular comics versus the odd format and terrible price point of the original graphic albums, making it much easier for traditional US buyers to sample! Kudos!
Okko by the way, is incredible. Hubs art, and of course story, are of the highest order. I can't recommend this enough!

PICK OF THE WEEK: NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF HATE #11
I really should have given Okko the top spot, it's a book deserving of more attention, but I simply could not deny one of the funniest issues of comics in some time!

Ellis is accused of being on cruise control often these days, but Ellis on auto-pilot is still mad genius. Here he's amping up the series to 10 or 11 as we come towards the final 12th issue, and how does he do that? Besides giving us the first arc longer than two issues, or pointing our rogue HATE agents at their pursuer Dirk Anger? Well, by giving us a sequence of six consecutive, count them 6, double pages splashes!!!
Rokkin number 6, the final issue I just mentioned not being given enough space... this is the opposite, the glorious way to do things. Fuck 22 page format, serve the story, and when your story is big-dumb-crazy superheroes, you give us 3 issues of the fullest order. 12 straight pages of Nextwave facing off against every big, dumb, crazy idea you can throw out, and all skillfully drawn by the talented Mr. Immonen!!!

Ahhh, them's good comics!Yes indeed, those are Modok Elvi... in the words of those Guinness brothers commercials, "Brilliant!"

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 12/20

The COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK is my weekly rundown of comics I picked up for the given week, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then I invite everyone to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

Hey look! Another late week, but a big one, with a bunch from the previous week too...

WONDER MAN #1 - I really liked Wonder Man back in the day, the red trenchcoat and glasses era, with his own mini, so I thought I'd check this out. Terrible. My god, could it have any more needless text? I doubt it. Claremont thinks it was excessive! Canceled...
STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA #4 - I'm glad this is over. It was fun at first, but just never really went anywhere, at all. It would've made a good oversized one-shot, not a mini...
NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #1 - What was I thinking? Jim Cheung artwork I guess... How could any book featuring this cast be more than tepid at best. Nice art though! Canceled...
DOCTOR STRANGE: THE OATH #3 - Vaughan's a fabulous writer, and Martin's artwork is fab too, but this is running long. If there weren't just 2 issues left, I'd cancel...
NEW AVENGERS #26 - At least we're out of the useless Civil War one-shots. But this is still a one-shot, little to do with ya know, New Avengers, it was good though. Great, and I mean great, Maleev artwork here!
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #4 - Another fun issue, mostly...
ZOMBIE (MARVEL MAX) #4 - Great zombie series, a bit anti-climatic. It leads into another plot, that may or may not be produced, and would read better as a continuing series, or graphic novel, not a mini. Incredible Hotz artwork too!
ULTIMATE VISION #1 - I thought ol' she-vision's saga was done? Ya know the whole Ultimate Gah Lak Tus thing? He was defeated. Turns out they've cooked up a Vision sequel... Damn, Peterson's CG amplified artwork is incredible, just amazing to look at! Decent story too, this one was good!
PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #3 - Rick Spears is a great comic writer, get schooled if you haven't. And the Vasilis Lolos art, and Cloonan variants make for one pretty package...
BOMB QUEEN II #3 - Great mature readers super powered action!
WALK IN #1 - Anything with a Celia Calle cover has my money! The book inside? It was pretty darn good too. Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics?? Okay.

PICK OF THE WEEK: STORMWATCH POST HUMAN DIVISION #2
I didn't really like the first issue. It was solid, and Doug Mahnke is A-list artistic talent, but I just wasn't too excited about it. Issue 2, as I started in, had me ready to pull the plug, funny thing happened as I read it... it was a damn fine super powered comic book!

Gage drafts an intelligent, street level look at super powered action, that at once is faithful to the original Stormwatch and Wildstorm universe, but also taking it's own distinct path. The book is filled with characterization and application of larger than life ideas, in a real world setting. Taking you inside the "division" and the minds of it's characters. And hell, it even told an awesome one-and-done story!

I've loved just about every version of Stormwatch, and now I can say that about this one too! (and Doug Mahnke is awesome too!)

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 12/13

The COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK is my weekly rundown of comics I picked up for the given week, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then I invite everyone to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

Another late week, and one where I didn't get through much new stuff...

GEN13 #3 - It's official, I hate this book. I was going to devote a whole post to how bad this book was, from the god awful fill in artwork (no offense to the fill in artist, I'm sure they were rushed), to the ridiculous, and I mean ridiculous villains, and most of all, because the Gen13 kids run into hiding, at a soup kitchen?!? A SOUP KITCHEN?!? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!! It's issue 3, the series is just starting, and this is the best you can do!?!!?? NO!
Terrible.
No excuse.
Why would anyone ever want to read about a soup kitchen in a comic book, much less an action adventure, super hero, sci-fi comic?!?
The kids beg for food, get free clothes, meet the staff...
WTF!?!?
OUTER ORBIT #1 - I was really looking forward to this one... A fun looking sci-fi concept, with great art, too bad it's really squandered. It just didn't' click for me. The artwork and themes however will keep me around for the next issue...
X-MEN PHOENIX WARSONG #4 - This one's still pretty much a mess. It would've been a fun little series with better art (again, I don't think Kirkham's bad, but just capable of better, and not suited for this)...
ULTIMATE X-MEN #77 - Still a good arc, with Ultimate Cable and X-Force debuting, looking forward to next months conclusion...
UNCANNY X-MEN #481 - Brubaker and Tan's run has been great, but with the 12 issue arc, some issues are lighter than others, this being one of em. Mostly just plot points advancing here, but good...
GIRLS #20 - With Girls winding down towards it's finale, it's maintained an excellent draw throughout. It's good that it's ending soon though, because it is time for the big conclusion, and thankfully, unlike a similar television series built on mysteries, I think we'll get some payoff here...
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4 - Again, not a huge JLA/DC guy, I like the books and characters when they're drawn outside the DC style, with some style and flair (which they are here), and the writing is good (which it is again). Everyone's complaining about the pacing here, but I don't mind it. Good stuff...
X-23: TARGET X #1 - Wow! I'm blown away by Choi's artwork digitally painted by Oback!! Amazing artwork here. Oh, and the story was fun too...

PICK OF THE WEEK: BLANK Vol.1
Pop Mhan's first OEL manga effort from Tpop is a good one. I've liked his work since Ghost Rider all those years ago, and Spy Boy. He's bounced around since then, changing styles a bit here and there, and quality, but he's in form here. It's standard manga/anime fair - amnesiac teenage spy shows up to protect a young high school girl, from what we don't know. Mhan fleshes out the story and the cast as we make our way through, making the familiar setup and situations sing with his skilled artistic abilities. It's fun, sexy, draws you in, and gets you ready for more. My only complaint is that he was obviously rushed in the last chapter, and the art there gets way too sloppy. Otherwise, it's a great manga read!

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 12/6

The COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK is my weekly rundown of comics I picked up for the given week, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then I invite everyone to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

This week, I didn't get through many of the week's new books as I was traveling, and therefore caught up on a trade, manga, and run of issues. I also hit a comic shop in Old Town Sacramento, No Boundries Comics, and picked up a back issue and some local books I'll be taking a quick look at...

First, I'd like to start with the big 2 releases for the week I did make time for...

NEW UNIVERSAL #1 - Warren Ellis reimagining Marvel's aborted New Universe from the mid/late 80's? Yes please! Salvador Larroca turns in an evolved style here as well, and I find myself really liking the book. It's all setup though, and when that's done right, it makes for great comics. The trick is keeping that momentum... We'll see.
SPIDER-MAN REIGN #1 - This book is on most people's radars because it's a potential future epic for Spider-Man, in the style of Batman the Dark Knight. I was keen to grab it cause it features the return of one of the industries best artists, Kaare Andrews! Well, turns out it's more than in the vein of Dark Knight, it is Spider-Man Dark Knight, and Kaare Andrews isn't doing the art, Kaare Andrews by way of Frank Miller is what we have too. Wow. Whether the book is good, or bad, it's kind of hard to care when it's such a blatant homage/rip-off of Dark Knight... I mean, something inspired by it fine, but this seems wayyyyyy too derivative.
X-MEN #193 - This is the conclusion of the first Mike Carey Chris Bachalo arc (from the previous week)... Sorry but, snooze...
JEREMIAH HARM #1 - Picked this up in the back issue 50% off bin at the Sacramento comic shop cause I'd been looking to try it as I'd heard and seen good things. The art is great, but the story is a bit confusing, and the main character is more then a little lame. I'm much more into the villains he's chaising than I am Mr. Harm...
APOCRYPHA #1 - This was one of the books by a local creator I picked up in Sacramento. Features some decent black and white artwork in a mature story I'm not sure I get the point of yet. It's billed as six issues, and I hope they work them all out. I think there's enough talent there to keep pursuing further, but it's not ready for prime time...
SCOTT PILGRIM #3 - Scott Pilgrim, and it's not the pick of the week?!? Hey, maybe if I'd read this when it came out, cause it is of course great, but as you'll see, it was a tough week, with 3 really great things to choose from. Any way, another great installment of the Pilgrim storyline. Things are perhaps settling into a bit more familiar territory here, so some of the magic is curbed. It is a great and highly recommended book though...
BLAME! Volume 1 - Blame! is already 6 volumes in from Tokyopop, and I can't believe I haven't had a chance to read these yet... I wasn't too worried about investing in that many volumes of a book I'd yet to read though, because after seeing Tsutomu Nihei's Wolverine Snikt, I knew he was a creator I'd absolutely love to see the works that inspired that Marvel mini of. Volume 1 did not let down. It's immersive and engrossing. Just like Snikt, the protagonist wanders through a massive future architecture, that's so well realized you can't help but be thrust into their world and therefore engaged with it. There were a couple scenes where I utterly could not follow what transpired without repeated viewings, but other than that the book is masterful in it's simplicity. Turns out Nihei was an architecture student, and it shows, as constructs we traverse are richly conceived and depicted, and that's what really sells the concept. Can't wait to read the next volume!

So what was so good that I had to not pick two books I loved?!?
PICK OF THE WEEK: ASTONISHING X-MEN #13-18

Since the second run of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday had reached it's halfway point recently, I thought it'd be a good time to get caught up there. I don't love everything Whedon does, Firefly and Fray, those are some of my favorite works in recent years, Buffy and Angel, not so much. But man, I love Whedon on the X-Men. His trademark scripting is showcased of course, but he also really gets the X-Men and the characters he's using, and the plotting is also phenomenal. Oftentimes, big time comic writers will impress with openings of arcs, or ideas, but falter in climax or execution (cough**Mark Millar**cough), but not Joss. He writes a tight story from start to finish, and this latest arc is by far his best yet.

Do I even need to mention the artwork of John Cassaday and colorist Laura Martin?!!

Great stuff, great X-Men, great comics!!

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 11/29

Time once again for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, a weekly rundown of my new comics, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then everyone is invited to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

This was a great week.

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1 - Brubaker and Fraction split writing duties, Brubaker generally leaves me cold (except on Uncanny X-Men), and Fraction is a hoot. They're joined by David Aja, who's both photo realistic, but stylish... nice. The book though is solid, but just okay.
OUTLAW SCORN #1 - This one was a fun looking sci-fi romp from Arcana, with funky chunky art. It's okay, a bit hard to follow, and not too engaging, with a lot of that probably coming from the overdone production. Loud colors, crazy layouts, over active lettering, you name it. I'll check out another issue though...
NEXTWAVE #10 - This was an odd issue for the series, with even less happening than usual, as we get a presumably longer arc to climax the series with number 12. Still really enjoy it, just not shouting from any rooftops here...
DEAD SONJA #1 - Note to self, do a direct parody of a popular book... my local shop had multiple shelf copies of this (I assume since Red Sonja is a big seller). How often does a shop stock an indy for the shelf, let alone in quantity? Any way, thumbed through it and it looked readable, thanks to some unique slightly intriguing art, and ya know sexy lead zombie theme... that's hitting a lot of good notes. It was fun. Dumb fun sure, mostly, but an entertaining oversized black and white indy book done pretty well. I especially like the style and potential of third contributing artist Remy Mokhtar!
AVENGERS NEXT #2 - Another one I picked up on a whim. I like new spins on classic superheroes, and the Ringo cover grabbed my attention. Turns out it's a fun, classic superhero/Avengers yarn, told with new/different versions of Marvel icons, sort of Mangaverse without the manga style. I liked it.
DEATHBLOW #2 - So far, this is my favorite Wildstorm relaunch book. Another solid issue, with great art from D'Anda!
ZOMBIE #3 - Three issues in, and we still haven't seen anything new with the zombie storytelling, but it's a good story built around the zombies, and I love Kyle Hotz's art!! Can't wait for the finale...

PICK OF THE WEEK: SPIDER-MAN FAMILY

What can I say, I love the Mangaverse approach on the Marvel U, and this massive book features an extra-length Spider-Clan story by Cebulski and Skottie Young. Skottie had a cool style when I first saw him fill in for then friend (and personal newcoming fave of mine) Kaare Andrews on an X-Men Unlimited issue. Since then he's continually developed and improved his style, and I just love it. The art here is awesome, with incredible colors making it sing. It was a fun story too! (But I won't even read the mostly reprints in the rest of the book) :)

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 11/22

Okay, another late week... so it's again past time for my COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, a weekly rundown of new comics, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then everyone is invited to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

My shop missed quite a few books on 11/22 (a multi shop mix up, they're a local chain), so I didn't get a couple books til yesterday, and my copy of Godland is still MIA (and it was a pick of the week last time)...

Each week, I should mention, quite a few books go unread, mostly stuff I like to read in chunks, or things I missed an issue on, or am behind on. Books like Noble Causes, Snakewoman, Street Fighter II, Uncle Sam, and Ultimate Spider-Man this week.

Lots of Image books this week too...
DRAIN #1 - I'd high hopes for this one, and it was just okay. The art was solid, but not as good as I thought, and the story/concept was pretty weak. Not bad (but the Finch cover I got was, I like his stuff, but not this cover)...
PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #1 - Another solid issue, both in story and art. Still not on the level of Spears' Teenagers From Mars, but really good. TFM though still an ode to punk lifestyle, like POCI, had more story and heart, at least so far. Great getaway scene though (multiple gears in reverse, what an idea)!
CASANOVA #6 - This continues to be one of my favorites. Smart stories built around real world event/ideas, and phenomenal art from Gabriel Ba!! Spy comics done perfectly!!
HEROES FOR HIRE #4 - I'm still riding this out because it continues threads from Daughters of the Dragon, a mini from earlier this year that I loved...
WONDER WOMAN #3 - Never been a Wonder Woman fan, but enjoyed Heinberg's Young Avengers, and Dodson's art is gorgeous (cept for the Hughes inspired man-faced women). This issue though, was a really fun read, and amazingly rendered! Almost made pick of the week!
DEAD @17 #2 - Read this a week ago, and know I liked it, but can't remember much now. It does however sport a Super Real ad, so you know you should pick it up! Josh's stuff is always great.

PICK OF THE WEEK: THE INCREDIBLE HULK #92-99

As soon as I heard about Planet Hulk, the Hulk thrown out to the stars and landing on a world where he's made to fight gladiator style, and that it was scripted by Greg Pak, I knew I'd want in on it. I signed up for it, but my shop missed the first part, issue 92, so I'd been stacking these up, waiting for that issue!

Well, last week they found me a copy of 92, so I read the first two 4 part storylines, Exile, and Anarchy.

In Exile (issues 92-95) the Hulk touches down and is thrown into combat, joins with a group of other combatants, and eventually squares off against the Silver Surfer. Awesome!

In Anarchy (issues 96-99) the Hulk's crew is on the run from the ruling cast on the planet and flirting with a full scale rebelion. Pretty cool.

So far, Planet Hulk lives up to the great high concept, with occasional missteps or scenes on the cheesey side, but overall solid plotting. The artwork here is also good overall. Pagulayan on the first arc, and Lopresti on the second. I prefer Pagulayan, as I've always found Lopresti's stuff capable, if a little stiff, but here he's improved and very similar in style to Pagulayan (whom I've never heard of before this). There are great moments of raw Hulk power, often in explosive splash pages, that are a blast to see. Hulk does seem a bit out of character at times, but I haven't followed him regularly, except for a brief time with Jones and Romita JR's run, for 20 plus years.

It's a fun storyline, and one I look forward to following (eventually leading up to World War Hulk or whatever, next year). Pick this up if you're a fan of the Hulk, or epic science fiction!

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 11/15

Whoops! Got behind; holidays, work, marketing... So it's past time for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, my weekly rundown of new comics, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then everyone is invited to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

I'll make this quick this time...

Supergirl 11 had pretty art by Joe Benitez, loved that, the story though... eh
Bomb Queen II 2 was good, more over the top shenanigans from Jimmie Robinson...
Girls 19, things keep progressing, slowly, but the ride is quite enjoyable...
Day of the Dead: The Rising of Bub 1 was mostly cool, like how it weaved into the actual movie, and the art was pretty nice, but the colors and story were a bit confusing...
X-Men First Class 3 of 8 was another solid old school x-team yarn...
New Avengers 25 continued the Civil War theme where we focus on one team member dealing with the event... yawn, I've reemed these enough so I won't again this week... good art though...
Civil War 5, since it was a slow week, I wanted to make it my pick, but it was really just a string of "cool" moments, not much actually going on. I really dig Millar's stories, until the final act, where he always seems to let down, and here, even if he delivers on that, he's still off considerably with characterization. And, what the hell?!? Isn't this supposed to showcase the heavy hitters of the Marvel U?!?! If so, they've got a pretty lame bunch of C list characters to offer up...

PICK OF THE WEEK: BLACKGAS 2 #1

Well, I had to pick something... so this gets it. It really wasn't that great, but the series is fun, and I like how the first lead up and into this new series. It's solid zombie storytelling, both in words and pictures, and I love zombies, but there's not much "new" and exciting going on here.

Worth a read if you're into zombies, or followed the first run.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 11/8

Time again for the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK, my weekly rundown of new comics, where I pick the best of the bunch. Then everyone is invited to join in and post their favorites for the week in the comments!

This was a pretty solid week...

Each week now I'm getting something from Wildstorm, as I've mentioned in the column, though I was a huge fan of the Wildstorm universe, the relaunch has just been good, not great. This week we had the Gen13 #2, which predictably followed the "Gail Simone Talent Caldwell new spin" on the classic story, to very lukewarm affect. Again, this may play better to someone not familiar to the original title, but as a fan of the original, it pales in comparison all around. Then we have Stormwatch #1, which was also prequeled in the Worldstorm special a few weeks back. The original run of Stormwatch took off about 10 years ago once Warren Ellis came on board and turned the franchise in a new direction, eventually spinning it into The Authority. After Ellis left, the series relaunched to great affect again, but was canceled mid run, and I've missed it ever since. This new version shows promise, and while it's a new direction again for the series, it builds on the previous volumes, while taking the concept and characters forward. Bonus points for that, and also, Mahnke is a GREAT artist. The first issue was a bit thick in setup/dialogue, but low on fun. So no picks here.

This week's X-book intake for me was Ultimate X-Men #76. Kirkman's run on the title has been lackluster, just as Vaughn before him. Both writers turning in low key, denim clad scripts that took a Saturday afternoon syndicated sci-fi/drama tv show vibe, playing well below the range of what comic book storytelling is capable of, and well below the quality the Ultimate line used to stand for. Part of that comes from the editorial missteps in the art department, and while the amazingly talented Ben Oliver returns on pencils here, his stuff is way too dry for the material. I can see the Marvel staffers thinking he's the next Bryan Hitch, and thus a great fit for the Ultimate line, and while he captures the skill of Hitch, his treatments just aren't bold or dynamic enough to reach that level. However, 2 issues into this 4 part Cable arc, this has been the best run from Kirkman yet on the title, and this issue was a lot of fun. It almost made the pick of the week...

Also in the stack this week was another good issue of Brian Vaughn's Doctor Strange: The Oath, issue 2 of 5. So far Vaughn is capturing the best of the sorcerer supreme in a tale that hasn't yet picked up a full head of steam, but the writing and artwork from Marcos Martin make it a joy.

This week also brought another great issue of Battlestar Galacticia, issue 3, from Dynamite Entertainment. So far their adaptations, with Greg Pak writing, and Nigel Raynor on art, have perfectly captured the spirit and voice of the phenomenal tv show, while operating in a limited framework between moments of in show continuity. This storyline has been full of fun moments and great ideas, but at times it's a bit hard to follow, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already follow the show, as things would only be further compounded by not having a grasp on the characters and situations.

So what's the pick this week?

PICK OF THE WEEK: Rokkin #5 of 6

With the penultimate issue of the series, Rokkin has finally gone from good to really good. All of the characters introduced so far, the growing stash of acquired mystical artifacts, and overall arc of the story start to pay off. This was a great issue, filled with action galore (as always), creative fantasy, passion, and yes, even love. Looking forward to the big finale next month!

Check out this series if you haven't. Writer Andy Hartnell of Danger Girl fame has a penchant for 80's style sci-fi/action blockbuster storytelling, and artist Nick Bradshaw is incredibly talented, with awesome animation inspired visuals that are a sheer treat to take in.

So there you have it, another week, another pick.

How about you, what's your pick this week???

COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK! 11/1

Alright, I'm getting back on track with my weekly faves, and last week we had our first comments to this INTERACTIVE feature (hey H.C!)...

In case you've missed it, the COMIC PICK OF THE WEEK is where I rundown my weekly intake of new comics, and pick the best of the bunch, then, and this is the interactive part, you post your comments on your favorites for the week!

Let's go:

First off, let me just say that nothing really stood out this week.

There were a couple X-books (for the record, I don't get close to all of them)... Uncanny X-Men #480, the latest in the excellent 12 part Brubaker run, but another of the Vulcan solo/fill-in art issues. It was okay at best... X-Men Phoenix Warsong #3 - I loved the first Pak Phoenix mini, but this one is mostly suffering from some terrible Kirkham artwork. His stuff's not bad, but he's stretched pretty thin here (which is odd for a Marvel showcase of Top Cow talent), and that makes for some bad comics...

Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 is fun, and I'm still onboard, but I'll need some further convincing to continue following this one...

The latest Wildstorm re-launch is Midnighter #1 by Ennis and Sprouse. Solid, but not great. Midnighter, who was a contemporary cool version of Batman when Ellis created him, is