STUFFED

The Walking Dead #55

Finally I am all caught up on this book. After getting the fourth hardcover last week I was able to tear through 18 issues in just a few days. I love how the focus has shifted back to Rick in recent issues. For some reason I rarely find myself concerned with a story's main character, but this book is an exception. As well-rounded and enjoyable the cast of characters is Rick remains my favorite. So, it is almost bitter-sweet to see the spotlight on him as he falls further down the path to insanity. Thus far when Kirkman has introduced a new character it has worked perfectly, but it is still too early for me to have an opinion on the three new folks introduced an issue or two back. One thing that I fear now that this new group has shown up is that the book will begin to dwell on the cause of the zombie outbreak. Personally I feel like the book will be much better off if we as readers just never find out the true cause behind it all. 

Captain America #44

Obviously it is hard to follow up the amazing Death of Captain America storyline, but Brubaker is doing a fine job so far. Honestly, I was actually beginning to become a little tired of that strand anyway so these past two issues have been a welcome change. The flashback scenes were great again although it was a bummer that we didn't get to see any of Steve Rogers this time around. To my surprise in this issue we get to see Bucky use skills he honed as the Winter Soldier to help him do a better job at being Captain America, and these were the strongest scenes of the entire issue. I think this marks an important growth for Bucky as a character who obviously had problems confronting his past earlier on in Brubaker's run.  The issue ends with some good action; using Batroc was a risk, but the character is goofy without being over-the-top and not working with the tone of the story. Ross does a great job on pencils, and I especially enjoyed the pages where the characters were standing in the rain. Excited for the finale of this arc next month.

Superman#682

Man was I excited for this New Krypton cross-over to get started, and it seems like out of nowhere it is more than halfway over with. Granted time has been going fast because I have been so busy, but I think part of that feeling has to do with the fact that for me not much has happened thus far. The past two chapters especially were very underwhelming due in part to the fact that they failed to significantly move the story along. Robinson succeeds where they failed by not only hitting on many different characters in this one issue, but by also upping the ante for the story; all these Kryptonians who landed here on Earth are finally starting to DO things other than killing some whales. One complaint for me revolves around a death in issue that I feel is wasted and doesn't work because we barely had time to get to know and care about the character. Guedes art and the coloring in the issue are on par if not better than Robinson's writing. I enjoyed his art during the Atlas run, but by this point it has really started to grow on me. So, a great issue but I still think this cross-over took too long to get going and will likely have to wrap things up in a rushed last few issues. 

Daredevil #113

As cool as Lady Bullseye is, and she is very cool, Master Izo has been my favorite part of this storyline thus far. Not too much else to say, we get pretty much the same as usual which is an excellent all-around issue where people try to make Matt Murdock's life even more of a living hell.  In fact it is because of this that I feel like Master Izo works so well;  as great as this book has been it can get old constantly watching someone get shit on and it is Izo's humor which helps to break up the generally somber tone of the book. Hopefully he as well as Luke, Danny, and Dakota continue to be featured prominently in our monthly meetings with Mr. Murdock.

I'm going to try and post a Batman #681 review sometime tomorrow. Take care.

It's the economy, stupid

The economic trouble isn't hitting me too hard, but it will be if I decide to quit my job which is a distinct possibility considering how much it sucks. Naturally my unhappiness at work coincides with the worst economic repression in decades. So, for this and other reasons, mainly books not being that good, I trimmed my pull list down a bit. And the victims are...

DMZ - For a long time I pushed this book on tons of people so I actually feel bad about dropping it. The Delgado arc was a big disappointment for me not because it was awful, but just because it didn't push the book far enough for me. Wood had a lot of angles he could have explored in that story yet the route he took just did not interest me. 

Runaways - For one, I do not enjoy the artist on this book. Two, the story did not grab my attention at all. Again, Moore did not do a bad job, but he just was not doing a great one either. In reality my decision to drop this title has a lot to do with Josh Wheddon totally killing the momentum I had built up after reading the three BKV hardcovers.

Dark Tower - I plan on finishing up the Treachery arc, but after that I don't see myself buying this book any longer. It looks beautiful and the story is good, but for whatever reason I just find myself less interested in it. Since it is a big seller though I know it will get collected in a nice format, so that option is always there and I could see myself going that way with this book.

Astonishing X-Men - Can not get into the art, and Ellis' story is not doing anything for me. Seems like he doesn't care about writing the book so why should I bother reading it.

That makes my pull-list four books lighter, but sooner rather than later I will be adding Green Lantern once I finish catching up via hardcovers. I plan on giving Uncanny X-Men a few more months based on how much I enjoy Brubaker and Fraction and on the fact that I like to at least have some sense of what is going on in the X-Universe, but that could end up getting dropped eventually too. 

Take care of yourselves. Spread the word if you have a blog of your own. Thanks, bye.

Hello

Work still sucks and takes up most of my time so sorry for still not getting back on track with weekly reviews. However as to not totally ignore this blog I will ramble for a little while.

EVENT BOOKS: This one is pretty simple. Final Crisis is good and Secret Invasion is not. 

Being a relative new comer to the DC side of things I am not always exactly sure who all the characters are on a given page, but I am still captivated by the story. Morrison has written the story in such a way that I actually fear for the heroes and citizens of the DC Universe. Sure I might have to read the book more than once to catch everything, but why should that be considered a bad thing? The recent artists problems for the series are unfortunate, but I expect the story to get better and better as Morrison begins to reveal more of his epic story to us. 

On the other hand is Secret Invasion. After being beat over the head with the "Who Do You Trust?" build up for months the event finally kicked off with Secret Invasion #1, and it was a pretty good and promising issue. However, since then the series has fallen flat on its face. Granted I was never expecting this event to be some ambitious think piece, but with one issue left we have failed to move beyond the basic "Who Do You Trust?" plot device that I was starting to grow sick of before issue #1 even hit. This event feels way too similar to the Hollywood Summer Blockbuster type of event that was World War Hulk; not only in issue #7 but in almost the entire series little has happened besides super heroes and villains fighting some aliens. Okay, Hawkeye had some cool moments but not enough to make up for the poor quality of this event. More and more this event feels like its sole purposes were to get us to Point A to Point B and sell us a bunch more books in the Post-Secret Invasion Marvel Universe. You might say well isn't that the point of every comic book, and in part you will be right but what Bendis and Marvel forgot to do alongside those two other things was to tell an interesting and entertaining story.

Good and Bad Things:

BAD - The art in some of my favorite Marvel Books - Both Invincible Iron Man and Immortal Iron-Fist are great books that continue to get better month by month, but man sometimes these two are tough on the eyes. 

GOOD - All things Super - Action Comics has quickly become my favorite super hero book being published thanks to great writing and amazing art by Gary Frank. Additionally the recently begun New Krypton cross-over has been excellent so far; Robinson's Superman issue this week was wonderful and easily his best yet. Gates' first issue of Supergirl was good also hopefully all three continue to shine during the cross-over and after.

BAD - No new hardcovers - Still waiting on the 4th Volume of both The Walking Dead and Invincible. Hopefully these show up sooner rather than later as both books are great reads.

GOOD - Chief Red Crow - The main "villain" of Jason Aaron's amazing American-Indian drama is without a doubt my favorite current character in all of comics. In the most recent issue we see a flashback of Red Crow punching some hippies in the face, best. thing. ever. I have said it before, but you really have no reason to be missing out on this book. 

GOOD - Lady Bullseye - The recent four-part arc with Rucka as co-writer helped bring Daredevil back to prominence despite a somewhat weak ending, and the first two parts of the Lady Bullseye storyline have been wonderful. Like many I was skeptical of a character called Lady Bullseye, but so far no complaints here at all.

Take care. Remember my birthday is on Tuesday.

BALTIMORE COMIC CON

Long time no post. A life-draining teaching job that you hate will do that to a blog.

Anyway, this past weekend I headed down to the Baltimore Comic Con. This was my first time headed to this particular Con, but from what I had heard it was a smaller Con that creators and fans enjoyed in large part due to the fact it is still at heart a COMIC Convention not a TV/Hollywood get together with some comics thrown in for good measure. However, despite its label as a smaller Con the guest-list at the event was stacked featuring Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, Brian Bendis, Robert Kirkman, James Robinson, and plenty of others. 

I showed up on Saturday, the first day of the Con, right as it was starting at 10am. Since I already had my tickets getting onto the show floor was pretty painless and took only about 15 minutes. As usual I spent the first hour or so of the Con searching through boxes of trades and hardcovers ranging from 25-50% off; I generally leave the single issue diving to other convention attendees. It got off to a bad start since the first few retailers I went to had absolutely nothing worthwhile to offer. Even if these guys were offering 95% off discounts I would have walked away from them empty handed. Thankfully persistence paid off and I found a few different retailers with great selections of trades and hardcovers although having somewhat sworn off trades I was looking mostly for hardcovers. I quickly grabbed hardcover editions of Pride of Baghdad, Logan, Superman Last Son, the recent Johns Bizzaro arc, Ex Machina, and The Killing Joke Deluxe Edition as well the last three Y: The Last Man trades. That series is too good to wait for all the hardcovers although I'll probably buy those too if my money situation doesn't collapse which it might, eek. Then me and my new stack of books headed to the panels. The DC Nation and Cup of B panels were both entertaining especially the Bendis panel because he kept making fun of this one kid who apparently made a jacket out of what he viewed as horrible Secret Invasion tie-ins. There were no huge announcements, but Bendis is getting ready to leave Mighty Avengers with Slott taking over. The panel I was most looking forward to was the Bendis vs. Kirkman panel and it did not disappoint. I'll let you guys read or watch it when it eventually shows up online, but I tend to agree with Bendis more than Kirkman. Exiting one of the earlier panels I noticed just how crowded the convention was getting, even late into the day people were still waiting in really long lines just to get tickets. The floor was crowded too because of the sheer number of people, but also because many of the huge lines for the top creators seemed to be right on top of each other.  On the way to get something to eat thankfully I got a free Monster energy drink which went great with my 9,000 calorie 5 Guys Cheese-burger. 

After going to a few different bars I walked over to a Marriott for the Harvey Awards. Bendis gave a great keynote speech about comics and hollywood, but he left right afterwards. Being at the awards show was just a cool feeling even though most of the winners were not present. What made it even cooler was sitting right behind Robert Kirkman and Tom Brevoort. As great as the day had been it suddenly got a whole lot better. I walk into the hotel bar for a drink after the awards and all the Marvel and DC guys apparently decided to stay and hang out too. I mustered up enough courage to talk to some of the guys even though it made me feel kind of weird, but on the whole it was just kind of surreal and hard to take in. 

Sunday was a lot more laid back since the crowd was much smaller. I picked up some cool single issues; the entire Born Again run on Daredevil and the entire Man Without Fear run too. As always the For the Love of Comics and Your Universe panels were fun although Brevoort brought too many other Marvel guys with him to the panel this time and it kind of took away from the fan-centered feel. 

In all, an excellent time.

I hope to be able to start posting my weekly reviews again soon. Bye byes.

BIG WEEK

Short reviews this week since I'm busy getting ready to start working next week, and simply because it was a big week.

DMZ #34

I don't really care about this book anymore. Wood writes the book well, but neither the characters nor the overall situation of the DMZ interest me anymore. Perhaps I am just sick of hearing about politics from everywhere else that I don't want to read about it in my comics. Honestly I'm not sure exactly what it is, but this book no longer moves me. Although, it does seem that the book is about to go in a new direction so maybe I will check out the trades eventually.

Runaways #1

Ramos' art style has never been my cup of tea, but it doesn't bother me here as much as it did on New X-Men. I will never care for the cartoon/anime/manga/etc art but it doesn't detract from the story. Actually I like how he makes Chases look noticeably bigger than the other characters, and Molly and Klara look good too [that sounds bad].

Terry Moore does a good job with all the characters and stays true to what came before him, and even seems to be using an old plot-line as the center of his story arc. Only complaint is that one of Moore's big cultural references seems a bit out of place even for an older member like Chase. Solid first issue. Glad to have Runaways back, let's hope it stays around for a while.

Superman #679

Another solid issue from Robinson and Guedes, but I hope in time his Clark Kent/Superman gets better. As I said last month Superman does not have to be in the spotlight at all times in his book, but right now Robinson has made him a bit too dull for my liking. The supporting cast is great here again, and I like that even more people are getting added to the regular roster. Hopefully the writing of the title character gets better once the big cross-over starts. Also, the last page is great to me, but I understand why some people will hate it. The art here is great too especially in the big fight scenes. 

Kick-Ass #4

Every pull list needs a book like Kick-Ass. With all this nonsense of a Crisis and an Invasion, everyone should treat themselves to some continuity-free fun and violence. And of course fun and violence is that much better when it is drawn by John Romita Jr. If Millar were writing this as well as JRJR is drawing it Kick-Ass would far and away be the best comic book out there. That being said, I like the writing in each individual issue I just think that after four of them the book's main character should be doing more than constantly teetering on the edge of being a regular kid or a "super hero." At this point I am more interested in Hit-Girl, Dave's father, and basically everyone else in the book that isn't the main character. Hopefully these characters' development doesn't stall like Dave's has.

Daredevil #110

As I said in my last review I was afraid that this arc would wrap up too fast and too neatly in this issue, and I was right. I guess Brubaker wanted a nice clean slate before starting his Lady Bullseye storyline which is supposed to be a big jumping on point for new readers. Regardless of the fact that I felt kind of short changed by the ending, still an awesome issue. The art is simply amazing, and so is the writing. Hopefully Brubaker's writing stays at this level now that Rucka is departing. 

The Immortal Iron-Fist #18

I really don't like the art in this book. Granted I'm no art expert, but to me this art just does not look good and some of the panel layout choices seem odd particularly in Danny's first fight sequence. Art aside Swierczynski is doing a great job on this title, and if you decided to drop this when Fraction left you should quickly jump back on board.

Longer, better reviews

Uncanny X-Men 501

Much like Spider-Man the X-Men have gotten a new start although in their case there was no deal with the devil and memory erasing, thank God. What the X-Men do have is a new home town and base of operations. So much for accessibility issues, take that Robert Kirkman.

Like in the previous issue we see the X-Men getting adjusted to their new situation in San Francisco, but this issue is not entirely set up for the new status quo things are starting to pick up. Fraction starts us off right where one of the epilogues in issue 500 left us with Pixie leaving a concert with some thugs from the Hellfire Cult right behind her. We see some action here, but I think the best is yet to come from that situation especially after the light that was shed on the Hellfire Cult in this issue. Aside from the Pixie situation the issue is mostly dominated by quick light-hearted character moments which provide some laughs; each character also received a small introduction box and these also provided some laughs as well as useful information for new readers. The exception to the full on light-heartedness is a nicely done exchange between Emma and Scott which hints towards the possibility of some interesting developments in the future. I am grateful that Fraction and Brubaker are trying to make this title fun again and so far they have been successful. A far from perfect issue but I am confident that in time this book will be great.

Apparently a lot of people really hate Greg Land's artwork, but I am not one of them. Even though I have always been more concerned with the writing bad art can still take some of the enjoyment out of a book for me. Land's art does not come close to doing that.

Captain America #41

Let me start by saying that Steve Epting rules. Normally I do not care much about art unless it is so bad that it distracts me, but Epting's work on Captain America is too good to simply mention in passing. Brubaker is about to wrap up a story for the ages and of course you have to give him all the credit in the world, but it sure does not hurt having a guy like Epting turn your ideas into images. 

As I said the Death of Captain America epic is finally about to come to an end next month so this is the penultimate issue and like almost all the others it does not disappoint. Most of the major developments in this issue have to do with the bad guys, and who could possibly be upset about that considering how well Brubaker has crafted this rogue's gallery over the past fourty issues. Hopefully the end of this story next month does not mean that these guys will be sitting on the shelf for an extending period of time.

After slowly, at times too slowly at least for my tastes, moving along this grand storyline Brubaker has things ready to boil over and explode next month and I can not remember the last time I was so excited and eager for an issue to hit.

Scalped #20

If they decide to give out an award for "Most Depressing Single Issue" at the Eisner's next year Scalped #20 is a goddamn shoe in. This issue up out the two issue arc centered around Red Crow's daughter Carol and her relationship with our favorite undercover reservation police officer Bad Horse. We get to see how the cliffhanger from last issue finishes out. Depressing. Then we catch a glimpse of the start of one of Carol's many dangerous habits. Depressing. Meanwhile in the present Dash has to deal with even more aftermath from the tragic death of Shelton. Depressing. Sense a pattern yet? 

Kudos to Jason Aaron for making me care this much about his characters. In addition to that "Most Depressing Single Issue" award which may or may not come to pass, Scalped has got to be at the top of the list for "Best Ongoing Title". I have noticed a lot of people lump DMZ and Scalped together when they talk about the current Vertigo titles, but Scalped is truly in a league of its own leaps and bounds above DMZ and the rest of Vertigo's roster. 

The sketchy art style of this issue is fine with me aside from a few close ups of characters' faces which just looked weird. However, at other times, thankfully in the more important panels, the same person looks a hundred times better. Regardless of how one feels about the sketchy art style of Furno and the few miscues mentioned above I hope all can agree that he perfectly captured the emotions Aaron was trying to get across with this issue. Many of the more poignant scenes in the issue feature almost no text leaving Furno all on his own, and he knocked them out of the park especially in the last few pages.

Some big titles

Batman #679

If you haven't been enjoying the Batman RIP storyline thus far this issue will not change your mind. However, those of you who enjoyed the first two issues but were slightly let down by #678 will be pleased with this. Morrison fills us in on the Batman of Zur-en-Arrh and I like what he did with it, but based upon who we receive the information from I'm not so sure we can totally believe it just quite yet. Similarly, we find out more about the Black Glove and Doctor Hurt, but who knows what will actually end up being true after another two issues. Regardless of whether it turns out to be true, which I highly doubt, it adds to the character of Doctor Hurt and the overall devilishness of the Black Glove which is important to this story. After multiple readings this issue began to feel more like set up for the big return of you know who, but a lot still happened and even if we can't believe it all as being true, it was entertaining, thought-provoking, and above all worked within the story. However, even though a lot happened and things were flushed out some more Morrison is still leaving a lot of things in the closet which is fine by me because he has me wanting more and believing that it will pay off. Relax, realize you don't need to know all the answers in advance, and enjoy the ride.

Secret Invasion #5

In my review of Batman this week I talked about how Morrison hasn't laid everything on the table even after four issues yet he has me confident it will all pay off and wanting more right away, but I can not say the same about this event. While this issue was an improvement over the previous two and has given me some slight hope I'm still not that interested in where Bendis is taking me nor am I totally confident that the ultimate pay off will have been worth the slow tedious wait which these first five issues have been. Like I said, this issue was an improvement even though the pacing was still far too slow, but maybe just maybe I'll be singing a different tune after next issue; I'm not totally dismissing that possibility like I did after issue #4. As many others have stated, a lot of things happened in this issue and they did .. sort of, but ultimately when I get to the last page too many characters are still in the same place. However, at least now we know they are FINALLY moving on. The highlight of this issue is a two page spread of very familiar faces which gives the Invasion the epic scale it should have had from the beginning before Bendis spent more than half the event in the Savage Land and a few blocks of Manhattan. Like in previous issues the scenes with Agent Brand and Maria Hill were very well done especially the one with Maria. The less said about the Savage Land the better. One final thing if you are going to tease something then please deliver, that was just annoying.

Astonishing X-Men #26

I'm not a huge fan of Bianchi's style on this book, but what makes the art really bothersome for me is the coloring. Everything on the page just has this sort of sameness to it, and I simply don't like the overall dark look they are going for on this title. I wish I had more positive things to say about Warren Ellis' writing but I don't it just isn't that good here. His handling of the characters is fine and I especially like how he wrote Cyclops in an exchange with Storm at the end of the issue, but the story he is telling with said characters just isn't interesting after these first two issues. I'll probably stick around for one more issue then drop it if things don't turn around.

Action Comics #868

My most highly anticipated book of the week does not disappoint at all. Geoff Johns is writing the hell out of this arc and Gary Frank sure is keeping pace with the pencils. On top of getting the awesome revelation about the true identity of Brainiac we get bits and pieces from all the other plot points Johns has set up. He didn't spend too much time in one place but instead left at just the right moments. The scenes with Supergirl are great again, and the cast of the Daily Planet perfectly adds just the hint of humor this arc needs because after all this is a gloomy story Johns is telling. Above all else this is perhaps what Johns is doing best in this arc, creating that sense of coming terror which we see on the faces of everybody including the Man of Steel himself. 

Changing of the guard?

Obviously the San Diego Comic Con is not a competition, but if you ask anybody who came out the winner they will most likely understand what you mean and answer DC Comics. Of course Marvel is still dominating the market-share, but perhaps DC is closer to evening the score than many people myself included would have thought. 

Okay, maybe I am reaching there, but I can speak to my own personal thoughts and feelings and personally I am definitely more excited about DC than Marvel these days. This would not be very note-worthy if I had been reading DC Comics for a long time, but up until recently I was reading almost strictly Marvel. Throughout the aforementioned Con I kept waiting for some exciting news to come out of the Marvel camp, but it just did not happen. Of course Marvel did have some big news, but none of it mattered to me since the big stuff revolved around Stephen King, the Ultimate Universe, and War of Kings. I am sure a lot of people are excited over these three, but based on conversations I have had and things I have read I was certainly not the only person who felt like Marvel was light on big announcements this year. The lack of more announcements might have had a lot to do with the fact that Marvel has to be tight-lipped until after Secret Invasion is over, but since I am not enjoying Secret Invasion I doubt I would have been excited over Post-SI spin-offs and changes. On top of having nothing exciting in the pipeline and a major event that has fallen on its face after starting off strong many of my favorite Marvel titles have recently taken a step back in quality due to a change of creative teams; Astonishing X-Men, Immortal Iron-Fist, and Thunderbolts. Meanwhile, DC has me dying to get my hands on all their recently announced Post-RIP books, the upcoming Superman cross-over, Green Lantern Blackest Night, and Flash Rebirth. Do not think I am saying that Marvel has stopped publishing books I enjoy, but rather that my enjoyment of comics put out by the big two is starting to become more even and in upcoming months will actually favor DC.

Based on IGN's recently released Most Wanted List and the general vibe I get from some other comics sites and boards I think perhaps my original comment about DC finally starting to even the score might not be so off-base. Only time will tell, but in the meantime I will sit back and enjoy all the wonderful books that both publishers are putting out right now. At the end of the day, closer competition between the big two will most likely mean better quality books for us.

Two books this week

Invincible Iron-Man #4

I think I have been too easy on the artwork in this book, and I guess I can attribute that to the fact that I enjoy reading it so much I don't stop to look for things that might bother me. Another part of it is that last issue many of the pages featured Tony in uniform, and these scenes are usually drawn and colored wonderfully. The same can not be said about this issue which has barely any panels of Iron-Man in action. Like many, I have problems with some the faces Larroca draws, but I feel like that situation has progressed over these first four issues. In fact, his pencils on this issue were really solid. My only complaint is with how young he made Reed Richards look. Well then what is the problem that I've been glancing over? The coloring. For example, why do characters particularly Tony sometimes seem to look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? I suppose it is an attempt at hyper-realism but it just doesn't work in these panels and many others. As I said the pencil work is getting better, but for the artwork as a whole to really shine the coloring needs to find its groove. 

On to the story. Not too much to stay here, Fraction moves the story along nicely although slowly while staying true to the themes about Tony's fears that he has built up. Not bad by any stretch although probably the weakest of the four issues so far, but to be fair there is usually at least one slower one in six issue arcs. 

Criminal #4

Sex. Violence. Booze. These three things are fun in real life, but honestly I think I'd rather be   reading about them in the Criminal universe than sitting at the bar with some sexy dames and bruised knuckles. Not to mention the fact that this book comes out once a month and sexy dames hang out at the bars I frequent every ... never. The combination of Phillips' perfectly gritty artwork and Brubaker's excellent character narration and dialogue make the seedy underworld infinitely more interesting than it is when I find myself stumbling into it. All these things have been part of the series from the start and they are certainly here too, but this issue still feels different from all the others. This issue has much more humor and the main character here is more of a nerd than a tough guy with a mysterious murky past, but it still works perfectly. When we met him in a previous Criminal arc I didn't really feel either way about Jacob but after this issue I'm fully on-board for this Jacob-centric arc. The guy is pretty pathetic, but not so much so that he becomes completely unlikable or un-relatable. I'm sitting here skimming through this issue again, and I still can't think of anything more to say. Criminal is the best comic book being published.  

SLOW week

Wolverine #67

Might as well start off with the best part of this book, McNiven's pencils. The entire issue looks great, but certain panels like the flashback of Wolverine deserve to be stared at for hours. Sadly, McNiven's work here far outshines the writing of Mark Millar. After the first issue of this eight part event I was still really excited about the storyline and I still am after this one, but this issue just wasn't that good of a read. In the first issue Millar clearly and skillfully established Wolverine as a poor farmer who had put his super-hero life behind him. That being said I don't understand why we were continuously hit over the head with that concept in the often cheese-y dialogue between Logan and Hawkeye in this issue. Speaking of dialogue, it lost that period piece touch that was in the first issue which is unfortunate because that was part of the charm which really made last issue feel like it was taking place in a unique world. Things picked up in the last six pages as the story went in some directions that I was not expecting but enjoyed. As I said, I'm still interested in this world Millar has created and am eager to find out both where the story is going and what happened to get the characters in their current circumstances. I have no doubt McNiven will continue to impress throughout this event, hopefully Millar will catch up.

More reviews from this week

Superman #678

Robinson's first issue of Superman was a good start to his run; it didn't reveal too much but it still managed to be quite entertaining. Some people had a problem with the character of Atlas, but in this his second issue Robinson has already managed to make the character someone you want to see more of. Most of the issue is devoted to flushing out Atlas' story. Robinson even puts another mysterious villain into the fray during that process. The scenes with Louis and Jimmy were nicely done also. We also get to see more of the Science Police, but thankfully they don't stick around for as long as they did last issue. In fact, the only person we don't see much of is Superman, but this doesn't bother me at all. I don't think just because a characters name is the title of the book he or she has to dominate the book at all times. The art in the book is great especially in the Atlas flashback scenes. While not on the same level as John's current Brainiac arc this book should still be on your pull list.

Invincible #51

This is the first issue of Invincible I've ever read. For a long time I have wanted to start buying the hardcover collections and get caught up on this title, but when I heard this issue was a great jumping on point I couldn't resist picking it up. While the book was not as new reader friendly as I would have hoped I was still able to enjoy it without feeling completely lost. It was a fun quick read that I would recommend to anyone even slightly interested in super-hero comics. The art while not my favorite style to look at fits the feel of this particular book perfectly. After reading this I think I'm going to be ordering those hardcovers sooner than I had anticipated. I know this book has had problems shipping on time so hopefully I'll be able to read the previous 50 issues before #52 hits stores.

Daredevil #109

I'd like to personally thank Greg Rucka for coming along to give my favorite super-hero's monthly book a nice kick in the ass. This run has brought Daredevil back to the level it was at during Brubaker's first arc on the title. With this issue we delve deeper into the mystery surrounding Ben Donovan and the murder of three young children without getting too much more information than we already had from the first two issues. However that is not to say that nothing happened in this issue because that is far from the truth. My only fear is that the finale will have to rush to tie everything up because I don't think Brubaker plans on leaving anything dangling from this four part storyline.

Some reviews from yesterdays books

DMZ #33

As I've said in previous reviews I am enjoying this arc, but it is also leaving a lot to be desired. I mean that in the sense that the story of Delgado and the election is an interesting one, and I want to see it looked at from a variety of angles that Wood hasn't given us, yet. With something this important happening in the DMZ I want to see some people besides just Matty and his Mother. Granted Wood doesn't really have the room to explore them in this arc, but I just hope that the aftermath of the election changes the status quo of the DMZ in a serious way and we continue to get more from this storyline otherwise this arc will seem like kind of a waste in retrospect. To get to this specific issue, Wood and Burchielli give us a solid issue as the citizens of the DMZ get closer to the polls. The end of the issue was pretty predictable, but I have faith Wood will give us some curve balls when the finale hits next issue.

The Immortal Iron Fist #17

Let's be honest Duane Swierczynski's run on Iron Fist is probably never going to be as incredible as that of Fraction and Brubaker. However, that doesn't mean the book isn't worth reading. Swierczynski hits the ground running with this issue and it was a lot of fun. He had a good handle on all of the characters, and stayed true to the status quo established by the previous creative team. We even get a look at another previous Iron Fist who will hopefully continue to show up in this arc and others. The story being set up for Danny Rand has my interest after this first issue, and I hope a lot of the people who decided to drop this title change their mind. Although if art is of primary importance to them maybe they shouldn't change their mind after all. The flashback scenes of the previous Iron Fist are done well, but the same can't be said for the rest of the story. At times it wasn't so bad like in the scenes from Danny's birthday party, but in others particularly the fight scenes it just doesn't do it for me at all. One panel in particular makes Danny look like he is about 100 feet tall. Overall the dark and gritty style just doesn't fit with the book. Yes to some extent Iron Fist is a street level super hero book, but it is also a fun, mystical, kung fu epic. Regardless unless art is of the utmost importance pick this up.

More reviews later this weekend.

Comics from July 16th

Captain America #40

Brubaker's run has obviously been incredible, but even its biggest fans such as myself have at times been a little annoyed by the slow pacing. In this issue fists are flying pretty much non-stop which is not necessarily my style, but it works for this book after a number of excellent but relatively slow installments. As you can see from the cover this is the issue where we finally get the big Cap vs. Cap showdown. These scenes were really well done, and I look forward to seeing the next interaction between these two. However, what I enjoyed the most in this issue were the other two fights, one physical and one verbal. Like last issue, Sharon and Sin stole the show for me, but the arguments amongst the trio of villains were great too. This whole big storyline is coming to a close with #42 in September so were are likely to see some fireworks, but we can't be sure just yet of which players in this game will be fighting it out. Before that though we have to see how Brubaker handles the big cliffhanger he gives us on the last page. Needless to say Steve Epting drew the hell out of this book.

Scalped #19

Unfortunately, Guera didn't do the pencils for this issue, but fill-in artist Davide Furno did a solid job. I thought he did an okay job on the last issue also, but something about his pencil work this time around just seemed slightly better perhaps because it wasn't as sketchy across the board, at least to me. Aaron starts off by giving us a great scene which flashes back to an aspect of Dash's life that is rarely [if never before?] touched upon in the series. Hopefully we continue to get some more about that situation in later issues. The rest of the issue centers around Carol, her past, and her relationship with Dash. We get some great panels which focus on the similarities between Carol and Dash, and others which help to give us a lot of insight into the two and their relationship even though they barely speak to one another. Aaron also provides us with a great cliffhanger for the final piece of this two part arc. You can go ahead and add Carol to the list of characters in this title that Aaron has made me care immensely about. What the excellent issue #18 did for Officer Falls Down and previous issues have done for people like Red Crow, this issue does for Carol. Start reading this book people.

Books from July 10th

Secret Invasion #4

I really thought this would be the issue where Bendis turned around this book, but boy was I wrong. Secret Invasion #4 was a complete and utter disappointment. What is the point of spending half the book giving us information we already know. Just because it is coming from "Spider-Woman" doesn't make it new or interesting. Wow, the heroes of the Marvel Universe can't trust each other. Someone should remind Bendis that everybody knew this before the event even started! What about last issue's big reveal, Nick Fury, what does he do in this issue? Barely anything. Don't have such a big reveal and then have the character stand put with a huge obnoxious gun that takes up almost half the page in the next issue. Also, I really didn't need more scenes of characters I don't care about fighting Skrulls in Manhattan. The scenes with Tony Stark and "Spider-Woman" in the Savage Land cover pretty much the same ground they did last issue, but the Tony Stark strand of this story is about the only thing I'm even remotely interested in at this point in the event. Perhaps Bendis has taken on too large of a work load because obviously he is capable of much better stories than this. I don't even think the trio featured on the cover for Issue #6 can save this event. What a disappointment.

The Invincible Iron Man #3

Fraction starts this issue off right where he left us last month which is a good thing because we have all been wondering about our dear Pepper. Not that the character was boring the first two issues, but man does Fraction make Ezekiel Stane down right sinister in this issue. Of course Fraction nails Iron Man too even though this issue doesn't feature as many scenes showcasing just how much Tony is juggling in his mind at one time. Personally I love these scenes, but I also think that they go a long way towards explaining the character. As I've said before this book has quickly become one of if not my favorite super hero book. Larroca's pencils and D'Armata's coloring are great in this issue, and while some of Larroca's faces still look a little off the problem isn't as bad as it was in the other two issues. You better be reading this book.

Action Comics #867

As a relative new comer to Superman this arc has been excellent for me thus far. I hope that anybody else who was considering jumping on to this book has done so. Johns is crafting not only an excellent story but an accessible story which is something one does not always fine in the DC Universe. Seeing Supergirl was a welcome surprise and again in this circumstance he gives new readers like me all they need to know about Kara without using tons of exposition on it. You know a scene is well written when you feel emotion for a character you were just introduced to it. My favorite scenes, which are always my favorite in any Superman story, are the ones with Clark and Pa Kent. I challenge any Superman hater to not enjoy those three pages let alone the whole book. Also, Steve is great in the worst way possible and I hope we continue to see more of him. The story takes a strong and almost sudden change of pace, but it works and I can't wait for the next issue.

FOREVER NEVER ENDS

Never Healed are from Oakland, and probably my favorite current hardcore band. One of the guys from the band was nice enough to give me MP3s from a limited tape they had for sale recently. It has a sick live set plus an Integrity cover. Enjoy.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/w4bnbi

Comics from July 2nd

Batman #678

I'm sure this issue pissed a lot of people off! Admittedly I was not thrilled with it after my first read through, but that was probably because I had to rush to get to work on time. After a second more careful reading the issue made sense which is not to say that Morrison has laid everything out there in this issue in fact he just gives us more to wonder about, but I'm certainly enjoying the ride and looking forward to the rest of the story. Already I have been reading Morrison haters jump all over this issue complaining that it makes absolutely no sense, and I beg to differ. Of course not everything is explained, but what fun would a story be especially a six-part epic if we were privy to all the details by the end of part three. Anybody who has been following Morrison's run or even anybody who has read the first two parts of Batman RIP and knows how to use Wikipedia should not have much trouble getting through this. Zur-en-Arrh and Robin Dies at Dawn should not be foreign concepts to people in either of the two categories I described above. Daniel's pencils were impressive again especially in the particularly polarizing last three pages. Another great issue, but ultimately I suppose its success depends on what happens in the remaining three to build upon and clarify all the things that have been introduced thus far.

Astonishing X-Men #25

Like most other comic readers I was a big fan of Whedon and Cassaday's run on Astonishing X-Men, but I think it was slightly over-hyped. My main reason for saying that is I think that their initial arc was amazing and their run never quite made it back to that level. So needless to say Ellis and Bianchi's first issue had a lot to live up to for me and all the other fans of the previous run. Unfortunately this second run doesn't start with a bang at all. It was an enjoyable read, but the new creative team did not knock my socks off the way Whedon and Cassaday did with their first issue. Ellis does a fine job with the characters and their dialogue, but not much happens besides a bunch of talk except for Storm returning and the set up for the murder mystery which the first arc will center around. Based off the quality of all his previous work and his handling of the characters in this issue I'm sure Ellis will craft a solid run on this title but with Matt Fraction joining Brubaker on Uncanny and the possibility of that title becoming a book that is released more often than once a month, and Astonishing being brought more into X-Men continuity thus losing its somewhat niche status it will have to impress me more with upcoming issues to keep me interested in picking it up every month.

Dark Tower: The Long Road Home Part 5 of 5

Before getting into the story I just want to start by saying that Jae Lee's artwork on these two mini-series has been nothing short of spectacular. Not only is it down right gorgeous to look at, but it perfectly captures the tone of the scene on every single panel. The finale of The Long Road Home was an excellent issue that not only provided a satisfying conclusion to this arc, but also set up the next story arc too. The "confrontation" between Roland and the Crimson King was very well done and fairly short lived, but considering fans now know these stories are going to continue for sometime I don't see how anybody reasonably expected a huge showdown. After this the issue doesn't let up and there are some surprises along the way as well as the unique tone and voice that Peter David has crafted for these books; in merely 12 issues he and the rest of the people working on this book have brought Stephen King's world to life in comic form. To heep more praise on this book I'd like to elaborate slightly on something I mentioned earlier about this issue setting up the next story arc. Often at the end of a story arc the author will provide a panel or two to tease about what is upcoming or in worst case scenarios nothing at all, but this issue spends a good portion of time delving into something that will obviously be explored much deeper in the upcoming story and I personally enjoyed that very much. For one, it helps to reinforce the fact that this story we as readers are a part of is connected and quite epic in scale. Epic indeed.

Lots of comics from June 25th

Daredevil #108

Part Two of Cruel and Unusual continues immediately where the previous issue left off with Matt Murdock telling Donovan he wants to be his lawyer. As with #107 Dakota North gets a lot of face time in this issue and the team of Brubaker/Rucka write her fantastically well yet again, and even have her kicking some ass as opposed to getting her head smashed into a car. A few panels of Luke Cage never hurts a book either. The art is great as usual, and is especially good in the panels which involve Dakota chasing someone around and kicking ass. Three separate surprises in the last few pages including an old friend [read enemy] from the Frank Miller days. I was glad to see Daredevil get back on track last month, and this issue was even better so I'm sure the second half of this arc will be incredible.

Thunderbolts #121

Well I figured Warren Ellis' finale on Thunderbolts would be action-packed and it was, but unfortunately it wasn't much else. Moonstone fights with Doc and Robbie, Green Goblin fights with Songbird, and the rest of the Thunderbolts are no where to be found except for one reappearance towards the end of the issue which I'm sure is no surprise to anyone who has been following the book. A weak ending to what was an incredible run by Ellis. With Ellis departing and a bunch of Secret Invasion tie-in issues coming up I'm not sure whether I'll continue to read Thunderbolts.

Runaways #30

Man was I excited when I heard that Joss Whedon was going to be writing Runaways, and man did that excitment die fast. I suppose the biggest factor was the fact that the book came out when it wanted to instead of on a regular monthly basis. However, Whedon was also telling a story that I simply wasn't that interested in. I didn't like the fact that he was introducing so many characters considering he was only supposed to be around for six issues, and when it never came out on time I found it harder to keep track of all these new faces. So for all of the big 1907 war scenes I didn't have a good idea of what was going on, but the moments with the Runaways are done well. There is a wonderfully touching twist to the story that will probably hit harder once I read this run in one sitting and know what is going on, and Chase has some great scenes at the end where he talks about Gert. So while I wasn't the biggest fan of this arc I'm sure it will read better in trade or in one sitting with my single issues. Stoked for another new #1 for Runaways come August.

Uncanny X-Men #499

While I'm writing this I'm listening to a Word Balloon podcast and Brubaker and Fraction so I am incredibly excited for those two to work together on this book starting with the highly anticipated #500. However, most people have not been pleased with this current Hippie storyline, but I've actually enjoyed it thus far although this issue is probably the worst of the whole arc. Due to two different artists working on this issue I actually felt like I was reading two different books because the art styles are totally different; it simply didn't work. We basically have two big fight scenes in this issue and then we finally get the official move to SF that we all knew was coming. Like I said I've enjoyed this arc more than most people, but I guess it just ran a little too long because this final issue didn't do much for me.

Captain America #39

This issue starts out really strong with some clever dialogue that puts Senator Wright's storyline in a unique perspective. Then we get some scenes with Bucky and Sam that feel somewhat unnecessary, but I like what Brubaker did with this other Captain America and Senator Wright. It reinforces just how much Captain America means to this country which is an important concept for the story to convey to the reader. However, what makes this issue are the scenes with Sharon Carter which are awesome. If only we had some more time with her instead of four pages of Bucky and Sam trying to kick each other. Again I still feel like this book is moving just a tad too slow for my tastes plus the fill-in artist for this issue just didn't do anything for me.

Immortal Iron Fist #16

My favorite of the week in a very busy week. I am incredibly sad to know that this is the last issue of Iron Fist from Matt Fraction. I'm confident Duane will do a good job even though I hear his Cable series didn't start out so great. But back to Issue #16, wow. After such a crazy arc that recently wrapped up it is wonderful to get such a close and perfectly written story about Danny Rand. Not only that, but this issue also changes a lot for the character. In just one issue we see excellent scenes showing Danny with kids, Jeryn, Misty, Luke, the other Immortal Weapons, and himself. Thankfully this issue is entirely done by David Aja which of course adds to its greatness. This issue will certainly end up being one of my favorite single issues of the year. Excellent work.

Superman #677

So since I will have some extra income starting in September I figured I should add some books to my pull list. After reading some interviews with James Robinson and hearing about how good the first issue of John's Brainiac arc in Action Comics was I suddenly have two new books to look forward to each month. Perhaps it is because I have a dog of my own, but the first few pages of this issue made me fall in love with Krypto; Robinson did an excellent job with these scenes. The dialogue between Superman and Hal Jordan was handled nicely too, and kind of boiled Superman down to his essence. Most of the issue deals with members of the Science Police, and these scenes are okay, but they will seem like kind of a waste unless these people play an important role in this storyline. We get pretty much standard fare here with the SP, a big strong guy beating everyone up and demanding Superman to face him, but Robinson has me convinced I should stick around on this title. The art really impressed me too so hopefully we don't have to deal with fill-ins anytime soon.

Next week Warren Ellis starts on Astonishing X-Men, Batman RIP continues, and Dark Tower: Long Road Home comes to an end. Take care.

Comics from June 18th

Wolverine #66

I generally don't like Wolverine, but I have been eagerly waiting for the Old Man Logan story arc to start because of how much I enjoy the work of both Millar and McNiven. After having read the first issue I am pretty much in the same boat. The issue was enjoyable to read and to look at, but it didn't do much besides set up the basic facts which I already knew from reading solicits and hearing people talk about the story. That complaint aside the writing and art were both up to expectations, and I particularly enjoyed Millar's use of Western-styled dialouge; it really helps to distance the story from other books which take place in the here-and-now of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, this dialouge is sometimes thrown off track by somewhat cheesy lines that reference to other Marvel characters or events. Thankfully this didn't happen often, and it is in no way a major problem for the issue, but what makes them more bothersome than they should be is that I can't buy them within the context of the story which is supposed to be fifty years after all the other Superheroes of the Marvel Universe have died. Fifty years after all that has happened Hawkeye is really going to say "Oh, please. If Sabertooth could see you now." eh at least I don't think so. Minor things aside a great issue albeit one that doesn't do much but set things up. Can't wait to pick up Part Two.

DMZ #32

Another solid issue of DMZ's current Blood in the Game arc which deals with an upcoming election and "People's Candidate" Parco Delgado. More so than other arcs this one has thus far shown Matty coming into his own which has been a pleasure to read. It's hard to find bad things to say about this book, so I guess all I can really say is that I hope this arc doesn't signal the end for this particular storyline because there are so many things that Wood can examine here not to mention the fact that it would be nice to still be reading this storyline as it gets closer to November and our own Presidential election. Another round of one-shots would be great to look in depth at how the end of this arc impacts specific characters especially if it brings about the kind of change to the world of the DMZ that it looks like it is going to. It has been great watching Matty grow throughout these last four issues, but I'd like to see more from other characters particularly those like Zee who are more closely tied to the DMZ than our favorite reporter. It is understandable that Wood can't cram all those things into this arc, but I hope they get dealt with eventually.

Scalped #18

This issue of Scalped is a one shot about Officer Falls Down who readers of the series might remember from when he was set up by Red Crow and nearly killed. Even with a guest artist, who did a good job but was a bit too sketchy for me, all the things you loved about previous Scalped one-shots are here; in depth character study and an isolated story that still feels relevant because it moves along the over arcing storyline of the series. Again like in other issues of Scalped Aaron isn't treading new ground and telling the type of story that has never been told before, but that is irrelevant because of how well the story is told and how real and intriguing the characters have become over the past year and a half. If you aren't a fan of this series then I'm not a fan of you.

Time to go to work. Take care. - Jesse

Comics that came out June 4th

Secret Invasion # 3

Eagerly awaited this one especially all the Skrull related promotion at Wizard World last weekend, and it starts off real well with an opening two pages focusing on Maria Hill and Jarvis. We also get to see "Yellowjacket" round up some folks from the Initiative which is cool, but the book could have used more scenes like this instead of so many pages of the Young Avengers and Initiative superheros getting the crapped kicked out of them. The interaction with "Spiderwomen" and Iron-Man is wonderful and shows a side of the Invasion which doesn't involve beating the hell out of second rate heroes. Also, the reveal at the end of this issue is a little over-sized. A mediocre issue, but hopefully it starts to pick up next month when some of the heavy hitters get involved.

Omega the Unknown #9

Don't really know what I can say about this issue. If you haven't been reading this mini-series up until this point you will be completely lost. More than anything I've read recently this series has been full of crazyness, and that is exactly why I love it. If you want to get in on it you might as well wait for the trade at this point, this is something that will read much better in a collection because it can be somewhat hard to follow. A great unconventional super-hero book that doesn't try too hard, it simply works.

Criminal #3

Tracy Morgan is a firm believer that "The Power is in The Pussy" and the main character of the last stand alone issue of the second volume, who we've seen before, apparently agrees. We alreayd know her fate, but that in no way takes away from this story which works even if you haven't read issue #1. The story moves along pretty fast yet the reader still has time to connect to the character in a significant way due in part to excellent writing of brutally honest internal dialogue which you don't get in books from other imprints. In fact, the fact that things move so fast helps since it matches how quickly downhill things went for the character. Aside from one corny line of dialogue , "Just let me put the head in...", Brubaker's writing was spot on as usual. Criminal is probably my favorite book to read each month, and I can't wait for the start of the next multiple part arc.

The Invincible Iron-Man #2

After seeing so much of him in other books and events I have been wanting to read an Iron-Man book for some time, but never felt like getting caught up on Iron-Man Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I waited and waited and then like a gift from God came an all new Iron-Man book by one of my favorite writers right now Iron Fist's Matt Fraction. With the other Iron-Man book getting a new creative team this is the only one I'm interested in anymore after only two issues. Fraction writes the hell out of it and the art is ridiculous. After only two issues this book has already moved up near the top of my ranks for mainstream super-hero books. Don't hesitate start reading this series RIGHT NOW.

Kick-Ass # 3

You can't argue with a book written by Millar and drawn by JRJR. Instead of reading this book as a "real-life" super hero book, which is how I often hear it talked about, I just sit back and enjoy it. Dave, the story's main character, is a likable character and Millar's writing is usually pretty humorous which helps because this character could easily be pretty annoying if not written right. The end of this issue is absolutely insane and I feel like it wouldn't work if you bought into that "real-life" super hero book stuff. I don't feel like this book is reinventing the wheel, but so far it has been entertaining so check it out.

I have to go so I'm not writing a review of Dark Tower #4, but of course it was great.

Career Suicide show tonight at Disgraceland.

Bye bye.

Comic reviews from LAST week plus Wizard World

All Star Superman #11

Issue #10 of this amazing series was easily my favorite of the run up to now so it was only natural that this one was going to be a let down on at least some level. While far from my favorite issue of this run #11 still was better than most of the books I got this week. Like other issues of ASS #11 is as much about Lex Luthor as it is about Superman, and the issue shines regardless of which character is the center of attention. I'm blanking on what more to say about this book if you follow comics in the slightest you have heard by now how incredible this run has been so just go buy it already.

Daredevil #107

Mr. Fear is out of the picture for now and Matt is about to back to life in the courtroom. Wow, that sounds awful when I look at it, but this issue was far from that. Former partner Greg Rucka has joined up with Brubaker for this issue [and will stay on for this 4 issue arc] and it has certainly paid off for now. Being down in the dumps is nothing new for Matt Murdock, but the beginning of this issue wonderfully shows us just how far he has fallen with the help of a certain New Avenger. The main story centers around said New Avenger trying to convince Dakota and Foggy to let Matt take on the case of a man on death row who has confessed to multiple be- headings. Matt actually takes a back seat to Dakota through much of the issue which is fine because the scenes with her are written very well. The art in this book has been good for a while, but it really stood out for me this issue probably due to the use of very cinematic cuts, particularly the first scenes with Dakota and the scenes of Matt alone in his apartment, with dialogue-less panels which if you read my Scalped review you know that I absolutely love. So, a great issue which made excellent use of supporting cast and has me excited for the rest of this arc.

Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 aka Astonishing X-Men #25

Just about everybody has been both anxiously awaiting and dreading this issue which marks the end of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's take on the famed team of mutants. The series started off with one hell of first arc then faltered a bit in the middle, but managed to pick back up again for the latest arc on the Breakworld. Minor spoiler here. When I finally sat down to read this issue I was pretty surprised to open up to a splash page of Spiderman. I mean this is Giant Size Astonishing X-Men which cost 5 bucks and the first thing I see is Peter Parker, not into it. Unfortunately the rest of the Marvel U get much more face time in this issue, and none of them add anything interesting to the story. Yeah they move the story along [sort of] but why make them part of your plot line if most of them just end up standing around. In the finale of one of the most impressive X-Men stories in years I don't really want to see a bunch of people who aren't X-Men and have not had a single thing to do with the previous 24 issues. That being said I still really enjoyed the issue and thought it was a fitting ending to a great story that began all the way back with issue #1. Cassaday's art is incredible as usual, and Whedon's dialogue and memorable one liners are there too. The most enjoyable aspects of the issue for me were the scenes between Beast and Agent Brand who will hopefully pop up more frequently throughout the Marvel Universe or at least in the X-Universe since she is a really intriguing character. There has been better issues of Astonishing X-Men [Issue #23] but Whedon does an excellent job of wrapping up an excellent run. Congrats.

Iron Fist: The Story of the Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen

This issue is another one shot looking at one the previous Iron Fists written solely by Matt Fraction without the help of Ed Brubaker. I don't have much to say about this issue since I didn't really enjoy it very much. Don't get me wrong it wasn't awful, but it was probably the worst issue of Iron Fist thus far. Granted it was only a one shot, but both of the main characters lacked any kind of depth to pull me into the story or to make me care about them. I'm sure Fraction's last issue on the book which will return to the world of Danny Rand will be excellent, but don't feel bad if you skip on this one.

Batman 677 [Part Two of Batman RIP]

Since I've been reading Morrison's run on Batman from the beginning the first issue in the Batman RIP arc didn't satisfy my desire enough [even though it was great] because it spent a lot of time recapping what has been going on in the book over the last year and some odd months, so thankfully for me I only had to wait 2 weeks to get my hands on issue #677. To start Tony Daniel's art is brilliant, he is really taking his work to the next level so far on this story arc. In the issue we get to see Batman become even more hell bent on figuring out what the Black Glove is and what they have in store for him. In one panel Daniels has Batman standing looking at a computer screen and his head is cocked slightly to the right in such a way that he seems to almost be in a trance, his obsession with the Black Glove is on that type of level. As readers we are privy to Dr. Hurt's plans which seem like they will make for an interesting storyline and also potentially piss off a lot of readers if what Grant has him uncovering turns out to actually be true. The scenes between Bruce and Jet which are the focus of the issue are great especially a certain point she raises towards the end of the issue, and it is great to see someone finally confront Bruce about the road his life has taken for so long. The shit finally starts to hit the fan at the end of the issue, and I personally can not wait another month to get the next issue. Why can't Batman come out bi-weekly for the next 4 issues, please? Since my wish won't come true I'll just use the extra time to reread some of Morrison's previous arcs which are of key importance to this story, and I suggest you do the same.

So, Wizard World was this weekend. I was in attendance all three days and I certainly enjoyed myself and some of the great deals I got on books. The guest list didn't have me too pumped on the con, but the panels were still enjoyable especially the Marvel Knights retrospective with Joe Q and Jimmy and the laid back panels on Sunday both with Marvel and DC where everyone just sat around and talked casually about all things comics. There were no big announcements which was kind of a bummer, but I am excited for the Lady Bullseye we got a sneak peek at as well as Greg Pak's upcoming Magneto origin story. Definitely worth the $48 admission and overall a good way to have spent a weekend.

I'll put reviews up Thursday or Friday for this week's books and a show review of Friday's Career Suicide/Straight Jacket Nation show at Disgraceland at some point on Sunday.

Blast of Silence

The more I find out about this film the more interesting it becomes to me. Originally released in 1961 Blast of Silence lived in relative obscurity until it began to be shown at various film festivals in the 1990s; however, it remained hard to get a glimpse of up until a few weeks ago when it got a Criterion Collection release. The film opens with a bleak narration about the birth of its main character Frank Bono, played by writer and director Allen Baron, while we see a train coming up out of a pitch black tunnel. From here on out [a mere 77 minutes] the somber mood of the film does not relent. Frank is a hired killer who has come to New York City during Christmas to take care of a local mobster, and of course he runs into some old friends from before his days as a trained assassin; all very typical of noir that came before and after it. The narration continues throughout the film and provides great insight into Bono's character and is even more interesting due to its use of the second person perspective. A life of contract killing has taken its tool on Baby Boy Frankie Bono, he is a portrait of isolation, alienation, and hate. Perhaps more than anything else it is the frankness with which Baron deals with this hate and alienation that sets the film apart from the many like it. Running into old friends Bono begins to question the life choices that have lead him to become something which is certainly less than human, but as we often see in film noir one can not ever escape from their past. Some of the film's greatest sequences are when Baron contrasts these character traits with the festive New York City environment and those wrapped up in it. Like many noir films Blast of Silence concludes pretty much how you would expect, but in such films plot usually is left on the back burner set aside to focus more throughly on character development. Since the film was made for practically nothing the roughness of it adds to the overall tone as does beautifully done music. Having just seen this film for the first time in 2008 it is hard to understand the impact it had, but anyone who has seen films such as Taxi Driver or other work by Scorcese and directors of his ilk will quickly see the influence. Blast of Silence is obviously a must see for any noir or crime film fans, but should also be given a chance by other more casual movie-goers. 

Some interesting side notes about the film:

- The writer/director/star Allen Baron spent most of the rest of his career directing episodes of TV shows such as Charlie's Angels and the Brady Bunch

- Larry Tucker who gives the film's best performance as Big Ralph was a writer and actor on The Monkees

Spoiler Free Comic Reviews

Scalped #17 by Jason Aaron with Art by RM Guera

This concludes the 6-issue Dead Mothers arc which has been incredible. A great first page which like many of Scalped's best pages has absolutely no text. Aaron is often happy to let Guera's art speak for itself and it almost always works perfectly. We don't get to see a long drawn out confrontation between Dash and Diesel, but what transpires should be pleasing to fans of the series. Like most good writing or at least writing that I enjoy the distinctions between hero and villain are never black and white, but rather quite gray. Nothing about this comic is black and white as evidenced by the story's "villain" Red Crow who is easily the most compiling "bad guy" in comics right now. The scenes involving Red Crow in this issue both at the funeral for Gina and afterwards are great and help to further blur that good/evil line even more. The ending of the issue is done beautifully and again features no text whatsoever which really forces readers to digest what they are seeing on the page. I was not thrilled about the reveal in the epilogue, but I trust the book enough to know that it will deliver. You have no excuse to not read this book.

Captain America #38 by Ed Brubaker with pencils by Steve Epting

Ed Brubaker is probably one of my and everyone else's favorite comic book writers at the moment, and rightfully so. His run on Captain America will go down as one of the best runs on any Marvel book. Period. However, at points over the past year and a half even fans of the book began to complain that the story was stalling and needed to pick up the pace a bit, and their complaints were not entirely unwarranted. Hopefully this book, as great as it is, isn't going down that path again. I feel kind of weird complaining about this book, but when something is so good expectations begin to rise and while this issue wasn't bad per se I finished it feeling kind of disappointed. Yes we find out who the other Captain America is, but we all knew it wasn't Steve and the reveal didn't leave me excited. Aside from this nothing in this issue really moved Brubaker's overarching story along enough for me. It was cool to see Bucky fighting alongside Falcon, but how many more issues do we need of Bucky telling us how he wants to make Steve or in this issue Steve's close friend Falcon feel like he truly deserves to be the one holding the shield. I'm sure something cool is coming I just hope we don't have to wait much longer for it. There doesn't need to be some huge Earth-shattering event or reveal in the book each and every month, but hopefully next month Brubaker gives us a little more than he did this time. Oh by the way the art is amazing as usual.

COMING SOON: BLAST OF SILENCE MOVIE REVIEW

Movie Review - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I've always been a fan of Jason Segel ever since Freaks and Geeks so it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed the first movie written by him. It uses the same type of humor you should be used to by now if you like most have been watching all the movies being made by Judd Apatow and the actors he got to know from making great/canceled shows like Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. The movie gets the ball rolling fast with a great scene early where Segel's character stands naked as his TV-star girlfriend was breaks up with him and throughout the entire scene the camera randomly pans to a shot of his limp dick. Hilarious. After confiding in his ex's brother played by Bill Hader Segel's character decides to take a trip to Hawaii to relax and enjoy himself. Of course his ex and her rock star boyfriend are staying in the same hotel, and this situation provides most of the humor. While at the hotel Segel falls for the receptionist played by Mila Kunis who is equally interested in him. These two work well together in the movie and their characters like most of the others feel about as believable as the movie wants us to think they are. On the resort our main character runs into a stoned surf instructor played by Paul Rudd, an obsessed fan played by Jonah Hill, and a Christian newly wed played by Jack McBrayer who plays Kenneth on NBC's 30 Rock. It is his character that really detracts from the movie, he is afraid and disturbed by sex and his wife's desire for it, but none of the jokes that spring from this subplot are funny at all. The movie had a lot of good laughs there was no need to add an entire subplot for the purpose of some cheap jokes about a guy not being able to have sex. The time wasted on this character could have been used to show more flash-back scenes of Segel's first relationship which I thought really added to the depth of his and Kristen Bell's character and made them feel much more realistic. On a sidenote, the flash-back of Segel's character spending a full-week in sweat pants is easily the funniest scene in the entire movie especially if you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings. There are two small twists in the movie but it eventually ends pretty much how you would expect it to which isn't a bad thing I guess since getting to that point was pretty damn funny. I'm sure like most of these other movies this one will get better after multiple viewings.

Records you should check out and a show review

I'm not going to waste my time making comparisons to other bands or trying to describe what a band sounds like at least not for now because I'm tired.

Sex/Vid - Nests 7" - This is my favorite release from this Seattle band which is probably an unpopular opinion considering how many people love Tania the bands' second 7". All three songs on this new one are awesome, but Exorcism is by far the best track. Definitely give this record a few listens before you try to sell it on ebay. They are coming to Philly this summer hopefully I can get off work for it.

Inmates - Now We Talkin Hardcore! 7" - Nothing new pretty much what you expect from the Inmates but that is in no way a bad thing. Sitting here listening to this again just makes me mad I missed the band down in Texas this past weekend because their live shows are always fucking ridiculous. Check out the very fancy Even Worse site to order http://www.geocities.com/evenworserecords/index1.htm

Human Mess - Uncaged Animal 7" - Another awesome CA band featuring members of Loser Life and probably some other Bakersfield bands. The singer has a cool blog you should check out http://hulksmusiccorner.blogspot.com/. I don't know why the insert only had lyrics for one of the songs so that kind of sucked but the record is certainly worth checking out. No Way Records put this out and is apparently putting out an LP from these guys too so look out for that hopefully it has a full lyrics sheet.

The Darvocets - ...Are New Wave 12" - Good luck getting a copy of this only 500 were pressed and I'm pretty sure they are already all spoken for. Get the MP3s from somebody though because the record is awesome. The first song John Titor is my favorite and do yourself a favor and google that name in case you are an uninformed loser. All the other songs are nearly as weird and awesome so find an old VHS copy of Fire in the Sky and listen to this record. Hopefully I get to see them in person again soon last time involved fireworks, couches being destroyed, and a Christmas tree getting thrown at people.

Crime Desire - ST 12" - Before getting this record I had listened to the Nadir 7" single about a million times so needless to say I was very excited to get my hands and ears on the rest of the record. It certainly did not disappoint although it is in some ways quite different than the In Lucifer's Grip 7" which is also fucking incredible. Your Predition is probably the only track I'm not really into. A lot of the songs are a bit slower than the songs on the previous 7" but they are still hard hitting. Besides Confront Them most of the songs clock in at close to or over the three minute mark. Sadly Crime Desire are another band from far away that I probably won't get to see again anytime soon.

Loser Life - My Hell 12" - Easily the band's best release as of yet. The full length that came out last year was good, but this is an improvement. Great music and great lyrics. The band is able to write about girls without coming off as corny which takes talent. Also the cover of the record is a naked old couple how can you not love that?

Other recent releases to check out:
Dangerloves - Easy 7"
Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria 7"
Pink Reason - Borrowed Time b/w Scared Shitless 7"
Repercussions - No Peace 7"
Waco Fuck - Paranoia Is Total Awareness 12"

SHOW REVIEW - Fucked Up @ the First Unitarian Church with Hardskin, Invasion, and Retard Strength.

This was a matinée show so I expected a pretty small crowd and I was right. Retard Strength opened up the show and were pretty cool especially their black metal looking bass player. Invasion are a D-beat band from Spain who just released an LP which apparently is better than their live output which wasn't bad just not really my style. Hardskin sucked. Nothing about that band is funny or entertaining, sorry. Fucked Up's set was good enough I guess. The new song was kind of lame but I'm sure if the new LP ever comes out it will be awesome. The crowd was fucking horrible though. Some terrible crust punk girl tried to fight me for moshing into her and the rest of the crowd was about 16 years old. On the whole the show kind of sucked. Oh well.

DMZ #31

This issue is Part 3 of the Blood in the Game arc which deals primarily with an election in the DMZ and the "people's candidate"Parco Delgado. Matty Roth has gotten close to Delgado and has begun covering Delgado's campaign. The big ending to issue #30 was Matty's mom coming into the DMZ and Wood starts to deal with this right away in this issue and handled it very well by using her, Matty, and Zee together. We get some background on Matty and his mom, and then we see Matty being interviewed and showing that he is no longer an outsider in the DMZ. Based on how the issue ends things are about to get even more complicated and this book has been solid for a long time so I'm sure the second half of this arc will deliver. I hope we get to see more of Zee and her hesitance to support Delgado in this arc because I think there is something really interesting there since she is much more closely tied to the DMZ as a long time resident than someone like Matty who while no longer an outsider hasn't been around forever but has still thrown himself behind Delgado. I'm personally always weary of candidates who are self-proclaimed "voices of the people" so again I hope Wood gives us more in that direction.

Omega the Unknown #8 of 10

"I'll avenge your death, old buddy. But first I you need to die." - The Mink

Nobody is reading this mini-series which is really a shame because every month it is great. A good chunk of the issue is devoted to back story about the Earth's First Omega which is wonderfully done using the Overthinker. We then go back to following Alex and the two girls as they search through the Mink's maze and eventually run into the Nowhere Man who offers Alex a chance to hop into the Nowh-area via a jar. Inside the Nowh-area, where one can have a conversation with those dead or made up, Alex has a conversation with Hugh who died a few issues back, and this is my favorite part of the issue. Nowhere Man helps the kids escape in the nick of time, Frances breaks veg in order to be protected from the robots, and Alex kicks some ass on the college campus. Can't wait for the final two issues. Please pick up the back issues or trade when it eventually comes out, this mini series has been as enjoyable as it has been crazy.

Thunderbolts #120 [Spoilers included]

Finally the Green Goblin has returned and man does he know how to crash the party. Osborn kicks some serious ass in this issue, but not before Warren Ellis treats readers to one of the coolest monologues I've ever read, these pages alone were worth the $2.99. Not much else happened in this issue; the psychics convince Moonstone to go after Doc Samson, Venom is still hurting from the beating Swordsman gave him last issue, and Radioactive Man gets knocked around after suggesting, presumably with the help of the psychics, giving cancer to everyone in the base. Only complaint is that Ellis turned Swordsman into too much of a wuss. Of course he is going to be afraid of the Green Goblin, but "Mommy" I don't know seemed excessive. This issue was a whole lot of fun so enjoy it all while you can because Ellis only has one issue left on this book, and considering how insane the entire arc has been expect one hell of an ending when #121 eventually hits.

Batman 676 Review [SPOILERS AHEAD]

People tend to either love or hate Grant Morrison. Personally, I love the guy. Figured I would get that out of the way before continuing on with the review. Batman 676 is the first issue in Grant's big Batman RIP storyline which is supposed to be the culmination of everything he has been doing thus far on the book. One of the main complaints I hear about Morrison's run on Batman thus far is that it is just too "all over the place" and while there are elements of truth to that why does it have to be a bad thing. I just don't understand why people can't just sit back and enjoy where Morrison is taking us it isn't like the guy doesn't have some end point that he wants to reach, all of his issues so far are obviously leading up to something, and I'm sure it will all pay off as we get further into Batman RIP. Also, even if the issues have been a bit disconnected at times it isn't as if they haven't been well written stories. Do people want the same old stories all the time so that they know exactly how everything is going to end up? Some of these people should just stop reading comics issue to issue and just depend entirely on trades and hardcovers.

The book begins with Batman and Robin on top of a roof, but something tells me we are not looking at Bruce and Tim. Robin certainly looks a lot like Damian to me, but who knows. Immediately after this we are taken backwards six months and get an introduction to Dr. Hurt and the Black Glove. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this assortment of villains. The next few pages are dedicated to the new Batmobile which actually looks more look older versions of the Batmobile which I was thankful for because that stupid tank looking thing in Batman Begins is pretty awful. One question though why is Batman still using a CD player? The strongest part of the issue is the conversation between Tim and Alfred which was very well done, but kind of boring for people who have been reading Morrison's run all along as it basically was just a recap. I'm now very excited to see what is done with Tim in this storyline.

Finally comes the part so many people have been waiting for, The Joker. These pages might require a second reading over as it might be unclear at first what exactly has happened and what has been imagined by the clown prince of crime. The final panel shows an awesome and scary looking Joker licking his lips and you should be doing the same because this issue should have you very excited for part two of Batman RIP.

On the nature of blogs

Blogs are generally quite egocentric. A great number of people blog to express to the world their thoughts on "important" political issues or to give us all insight into their day-to-day life as if we need or want either. I have started this blog not out of some notion that the world needs to read my opinion on things or know where I was last night, but rather as an excuse to write about and hopefully discuss the few things I actually find some enjoyment in. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this, but not because I think you should be reading it but because I think I want to write it. Actually you probably shouldn't be reading this. Bye.