QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-18-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-18-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #563 by Bob Gale and Mike McKone. Spidey gets in a bar fight with villains, super and otherwise. Oh, Spidey! Alcohol and web-fluid don’t mix!

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #9 by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru. This series is officially on a par with the IDW Publishing website and the binding on their trades. “Say no more!”

ANNA MERCURY # 2 of 5 by Warren Ellis and Facundo Percio. The newest super-chick from Warren Ellis, but keep it under your hat. The folks at the Avatar Press website don’t want you to know about it.

BRAVE AND BOLD #14 by Mark Waid and Scott Kolins. The mystical city of Nanda Parbat is under siege! Its only hope lies in a guy who can shoot trick arrows really well and a guy who can’t touch anything unless he possesses the bodies of others! Green Arrow/Deadman! Because somebody, somewhere once demanded it! Probably!

CHIGGERS HC & SC written and illustrated by Hope Larson. A girl’s coming of age story set at a summer camp. By the Eisner Award winning creator of SALAMANDER DREAM and GRAY HORSES. Recommended, especially for kids.

EX MACHINA #37 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Mayor Hundred must battle a masked adventurer who has it in for George W. Bush. I certainly hope Mayor Hundred prevails. Eventually…

GHOST RIDER #24 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. Johnny Blaze gets thrown in a maximum security prison! Fish will be cooked! Recommended!

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #8 of 8 written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. The big pay-off issue in which mysteries are revealed and blood flows like respectable poetry. Neat stuff but not for kids.

HELLBLAZER #245 by Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy. A two-parter in which a group of documentary film-makers attempt to learn what became of Constantine’s old punk band Mucous Membrane. You would need to read this even if it weren’t written by the creator of SCALPED. Highly recommended.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #22 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. Ya ever have one of those days where part of you wants a brand new chance at life but the dormant Amazo program in you wants to kill all your friends and co-workers? Well, the Red Tornado knows just how you feel.

POCKET FULL OF RAIN AND OTHER STORIES SC by Jason. Featuring 25-plus stories from the first ten years of Jason’s career, including several without talking animals! Another fine collection from the good folks at Fantagraphics.

PUNISHER #58 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. It’s the day we all feared would come: The day of the final Ennis PUNISHER story. I wonder if it will be violent… Recommended Forever.

RASL #2 written and drawn by Jeff Smith. The latest project from the creator of BONE, featuring a dimension-hopping thief and all-around ne’er do well. Entertaining but sporadically published. Good idea to reserve your copy in advance.

SCALPED #18 by Jason Aaron and Davide Furno. A rare stand-alone issue focusing on tribal policeman Franklin Falls Down. He’s getting close to retirement and how often does that work out for fictional cops? Recommended. Not for kids.

STREETS OF GLORY #5 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer. Ennis’s tale of the twilight of the Wild West. Published by Avatar Press, who would rather it not get out that they actually publish comics. Recommended anyway. Not for kids.

TRINITY #3 by Kurt Busiek and Everybody. This year’s weekly DC series exploring the mysterious link between Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Oooh, I know! They’re the same person!!!

WAR IS HELL: FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE #4 by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. The PE has the hang of this whole WWI thing, but the thrill is gone and he still has to teach some newbies how not to die. If only he had the assistance of a snarky but imaginative beagle on top of a dog house!

X-FACTOR #32 by Peter David and Valentine De Landro. Mutant-Town is dead! Long live…. Nah, let’s be honest. The place was a dump. Good to be moving on, which is what Madrox and friends are doing this issue.

Y THE LAST MAN: WHYS AND WHEREFORES, VOL. 10 SC by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The last volume of the last stories of the Last Man on Earth. A classic end to a series that transcended its premise. Highly recommended.

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