QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 12-17-08

QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 12-17-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #581 by Dan Slott and Mike McKone. So how did Harry Osborn come back to life anyway?

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #19 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Okay, so the Skrull invasion ended a week or so ago but some of these titles are still catching up with the Big Fights and such. Watch Dan Slott make it work. It’s eerie.

BEANWORLD HOLIDAY SPECIAL ONE-SHOT written a drawn by Larry Marder. Dark Horse Comics gives us the first new BEANWORLD in over a decade. Reads a bit like LITTLE NEMO. Looks a bit like nothing else. Not saying you should alter your consciousness before reading but neither am I saying you shouldn’t.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #20 by Jeph Loeb, Georges Jeanty and Eric Wright. A Buffy comic inspired by the Buffy animated series that never was. And yes, you can detect a distinct SCOOBY-DOO influence.

DARK REIGN: NEW NATION #1 by Lotsa People. Basically giving you the lay of the new Marvel Universe, post-Skrull, in the Age of Osborn.

DCU HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2008 by Various Creators. Your yearly anthology of all-ages fun. Makes a great stocking stuffer!

EX MACHINA #40 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. A stand-alone story of Mayor Hundred’s search for a biographer who can do graphic novels. Such a cool series. Recommended.

GHOST RIDER #30 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. League of Extraordinary Ghost Riders? Ghost Rider League of America? The X-Ghost Riders? There’s more than one is what I’m getting at here…

HELLBLAZER #250 by Lots of Amazing Talent. Featuring five tales of John Constantine and the holidays. Your must-have Vertigo book of the month!

MIGHTY AVENGERS #20 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. The Wasp is dead. We’re almost certain of it. Set your resurrection clocks… NOW!

PUNISHER MAX #65 by Gregg Hurwitz and Laurence Campbell. Punisher versus Jigsaw in old Mexico. The fur will fly. Not for kids.

PUNISHER WAR ZONE #2 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Tony Harris. Ma Gnucci is challenging Jigsaw for the title of “Punisher Foe Who Remains Alive Beyond All Reasonable Expectation.” It’s Ennis so expect depravity on a Roman scale. Recommended.

SPIDER-MAN: NOIR #1 of 4 by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky. Based on the excellence of X-MEN: NOIR I’m already calling this the coolest alternate universe in years! Iconic Marvel characters done up thirties gangland style. “Wid great power dere comes watchya call yer great responsibility, see?” Recommended!

SUPERGIRL #36 by Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. SG’s dad, Zor-El, just got kryptonite-lasered through the heart. Hope he’s okay.

THUNDERBOLTS #127 by Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre. The old order changeth. The hard way. Will Songbird survive Bullseye’s undivided attention? Gotta look!

WALKING DEAD #56 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. Kirkman/Adlard trees bear strange fruit. Brrr… Not for kids. Recommended.

X-MEN LEGACY #219 by Mike Carey and Phil Briones. Professor X versus Juggernaut. This could be a real short issue….

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