QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 10-08-08 (Yom Kippur!)
By John Judy
NOTE: Be sure to read this week’s X-comics before sunset so you can atone for doing so.
ACTION COMICS #870 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Clark fights Brainiac and gets so upset he leaves his shirt open on the front cover! Great Krypton!
AVENGERS/INVADERS #5 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski. Do you want a comic in which Wolverine rides piggy-back on a flaming mutant boy in swim trunks? How about a comic in which a deaf character lip-reads Spider-Man even though Spidey is wearing a mask that covers his entire face? Okay, how about a comic in which the original Human Torch equates trashed government robots (LMDs) with Jews murdered in the holocaust? And it’s drawn almost as well as it reads. Seven more issues until we discover if a comic will ship with zero retailer orders.
DC COMICS GOES APE SC by Various Creators. You want ape-fights? You want superheroes turning into apes and fighting other superheroes who have also turned into apes? Well, buster, you came to the right place! And we don’t need no WWII secret vampire apes neither! This is Old Ape School, pally-boy! “Ook!”
FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #3 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan. Darkseid has the anti-life equation and it will be on the test!
GOON #29 written and drawn by Eric Powell. “You’d think he’d learn not to eat sauerkraut around the Goon. He hates the smell of sauerkraut.” “There’s no learnin’ some people. You just gotta twist their heads around.” So highly recommended…
GREEN LANTERN #35 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The final chapter of the Hal Jordan/Sinestro buddy-cop movie! Good stuff.
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION, VOL. 2 HC by Mike Mignola, Matthew Hollingsworth and James Sinclair. Collecting the complete “Chained Coffin” and “The Right Hand of Doom” in super-sweet 9 x 12 format! Recommended.
MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 #1 of 4 by Fred Van Lente and Kev Walker. A surprisingly good follow-up to a series that kind of half jumped the shark a year ago. Credit the talents of artist Kev Walker and author and co-founder of EvilTwin Comics, Fred Van Lente. Worth a look if you liked the first MZ series.
PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL: BARACK OBAMA by Jeff Mariotte and Tom Morgan. IDW Publishing is putting out two graphic biographies of the men vying to become our next President: Senator Barack Obama and the guy who’s going to lose because he picked your crazy homeroom teacher as his running mate. Gotta look! Gotta vote!
SECRET SIX #2 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. Batman versus Catman! Can Ratman be far behind? No, because there is no Ratman, I made him up. How about Scatman Crothers? No, he’s dead. Okay, seriously, this is a good team book, kind of like THUNDERBOLTS only more intimate. Honest. For some reason the best super-team books lately are about teams of villains. Go figure.
SERENITY: BETTER DAYS SC by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad. Collecting the three-issue space adventures of the crew that made Han Solo look like a choirboy. Stupid Fox Television!
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: BLACKHAWK VOL. 1 SC by Various Creators. Collecting BLACKHAWK issues #108-127 from the fabulous fifties. They’re being eaten by a giant robot whale who is almost certainly a commie. Old school.
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #2 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. So far this is turning out to be among the strongest adaptations of Stephen King’s work in comics or any other medium. Not kidding. Highly recommended.
THE TWELVE #8 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. Electro the mysterious robot makes his move. Finally! Recommended.
TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE #2 of 2 by Mark Sable and Jesus Saiz. Two-Face is running for election! But enough about John McCain….
WALKING DEAD #53 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Old friends return and new ones are made. At least we think they’re friends… Recommended. Not for kids.
WONDER WOMAN #25 by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang. Wonder Woman is determined to stop a movie of her life from being made. If only the suits hadn’t said “Does she have to be a woman?”
X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT #2 of 5 by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. A bold attempt to show the early life of one of Marvel’s iconic villains as a young Jewish boy trying to survive in Hitler’s Germany. Not your run-of-the-mill X-garbage. Worth checking out.
X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY #2 of 5 by Lotsa People. Three stories of mutants with intimacy issues. Also a philosophy under which Marvel will attempt to push all other comics off the racks in order to accommodate more X-Books, regardless of quality. Nuff said!
X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN #1 by Daniel Way, Mike Deodato, Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Wolverine beats up and threatens to kill his X-friends. An artist forgets how to draw Wolver-Lad’s claws. And they re-print the first issue of CLASSIC X-MEN. The good news? This is a one-shot.
www.johnjudy.net
Showing posts with label Quick Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quick Reviews. Show all posts
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 10-01-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 10-01-08
By John Judy
THE ALCOHOLIC HC by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel. A graphic novel about a writer who enjoys the occasional tipple if you can imagine such a beastly thing.
BATMAN #680 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. In which Bats faces down the Joker and the Club of Villains. Do they not realize he’s the !@#$% Batman?!
BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2008 HC by Lotsa People including Chris Ware, Seth, Alison Bechdel and some guy named Matt Groening. Edited by Lynda Barry, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. What it says, people. Gotta look.
THE BOYS #23 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Beginning a new storyline so big they needed multiple covers just to…. Um…. Just to…. Take more money from gullible fans? Come on guys it’s a good series. You don’t need to do this. Plus the third BOYS trade paperback is out too, collecting issues #15-18.
DC UNIVERSE DECISIONS #2 of 4 by Judd Winick, Bill Willingham and Rick Leonardi. So we’ve learned that Lois Lane believes in small government, low taxes and a strong military. In other words there is no party in America she can vote for. I now believe this is a woman who was fooled by a pair of glasses all those years. Oh, and Green Arrow is a “librul.” Who knew? Good for DC for at least attempting to broach the subject of who a real hero would vote for.
DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #9 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Doktor Sleepless: Hero, Villain, or Complete Nutjob? My money’s on “Yes.”
HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS, VOL. 4: BABY HUEY SC by Various Creators. It’s about a huge creature in a diaper who just wants someone to play with him. And it’s NOT Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana! It’s NOT, do you hear?!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #25 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. The African spider-god Anansi begins screwing with the histories of the JLA members. Is Anansi gunning for a job with DC Editorial?
MARVEL APES #3 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. They ain’t just super-hero apes, pal! They are VAMPIRE super-hero apes! Might as well just ship Kesel and Bachs their Eisners now. In your face, WATCHMEN!
NO HERO #1 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. That nice Mr. Ellis suggests that super-heroing might occasionally present certain unpleasantries.
SUB-MARINER: DEPTHS #2 of 5 by Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic. In this sorta out of continuity, sorta Mature Readers version Prince Namor is a scary legend of the sea who terrorizes and kills anyone dumb enough to screw with him. Milligan seems to get what Bill Everett figured out in Subby’s first appearance. The Sub-Mariner isn’t terrifying because he can breathe water. He’s terrifying because you can’t.
TOP TEN: SEASON TWO #1 of 4 by Xander Cannon and Gene Ha. The hard-working super-cops of Neoplolis are back without the guiding hand of creator Alan Moore. Still looks amazing. For fans of cop dramas and classic spandex. Recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
THE ALCOHOLIC HC by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel. A graphic novel about a writer who enjoys the occasional tipple if you can imagine such a beastly thing.
BATMAN #680 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. In which Bats faces down the Joker and the Club of Villains. Do they not realize he’s the !@#$% Batman?!
BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2008 HC by Lotsa People including Chris Ware, Seth, Alison Bechdel and some guy named Matt Groening. Edited by Lynda Barry, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. What it says, people. Gotta look.
THE BOYS #23 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Beginning a new storyline so big they needed multiple covers just to…. Um…. Just to…. Take more money from gullible fans? Come on guys it’s a good series. You don’t need to do this. Plus the third BOYS trade paperback is out too, collecting issues #15-18.
DC UNIVERSE DECISIONS #2 of 4 by Judd Winick, Bill Willingham and Rick Leonardi. So we’ve learned that Lois Lane believes in small government, low taxes and a strong military. In other words there is no party in America she can vote for. I now believe this is a woman who was fooled by a pair of glasses all those years. Oh, and Green Arrow is a “librul.” Who knew? Good for DC for at least attempting to broach the subject of who a real hero would vote for.
DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #9 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Doktor Sleepless: Hero, Villain, or Complete Nutjob? My money’s on “Yes.”
HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS, VOL. 4: BABY HUEY SC by Various Creators. It’s about a huge creature in a diaper who just wants someone to play with him. And it’s NOT Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana! It’s NOT, do you hear?!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #25 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. The African spider-god Anansi begins screwing with the histories of the JLA members. Is Anansi gunning for a job with DC Editorial?
MARVEL APES #3 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. They ain’t just super-hero apes, pal! They are VAMPIRE super-hero apes! Might as well just ship Kesel and Bachs their Eisners now. In your face, WATCHMEN!
NO HERO #1 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. That nice Mr. Ellis suggests that super-heroing might occasionally present certain unpleasantries.
SUB-MARINER: DEPTHS #2 of 5 by Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic. In this sorta out of continuity, sorta Mature Readers version Prince Namor is a scary legend of the sea who terrorizes and kills anyone dumb enough to screw with him. Milligan seems to get what Bill Everett figured out in Subby’s first appearance. The Sub-Mariner isn’t terrifying because he can breathe water. He’s terrifying because you can’t.
TOP TEN: SEASON TWO #1 of 4 by Xander Cannon and Gene Ha. The hard-working super-cops of Neoplolis are back without the guiding hand of creator Alan Moore. Still looks amazing. For fans of cop dramas and classic spandex. Recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, September 22, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-24-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-24-08
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE RONIN HC written and illustrated by pre-psychotic Frank Miller. It’s awesome! The savage six-issue story of a psychokinetic, cyborg samurai, first published in 1983 back when Miller was only 26. What happened? Oh yeah….
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10-B by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Well it took ‘em two weeks but they finally got enough soap to wash out Frank Miller’s mouth. What a (redacted)!
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #17 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Stefano Caselli. The Skrulls get their big green heinies handed to them by the good ol’ U.S. Avengers!
BACK TO BROOKLYN #1 of 5 by Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti. How would you kill every crime crew in Brooklyn if you absolutely had to? This is a PUNISHER story so gruesome Marvel wouldn’t publish it. Recommended but not for kids or before meals.
BLACK PANTHER #41 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. The Skrulls have T’Challa right where he wants them. Time to serve it up Wakanda-style!
CAPTAIN AMERICA #42 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. The Red Skull just can’t get good help these days. It’s an on-going problem when the only people who will work for you are drug-addled white supremacists and Scientists who are, technically, well y’know “Mad.” Anyway, the adventures of Bucky America continue to entertain. Recommended.
DAREDEVIL #111 by Ed Brubaker and Clay Mann. In which we meet Lady Bullseye and it’s a lot less horrible than that sounds. Also Matt does something so wrong it’s right. Good stuff.
FANTASTIC FOUR #560 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Some time-travel business supposedly tied into the “death” of the Invisible Woman. Who even knew she was sick?!
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #3 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. In which we learn that hillbilly country is about the last place in the world where people are still dumb enough to sell their souls to the Devil. Do they not get “Twilight Zone” reruns up there?
HULK #6 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Red Hulk! Green Hulk! Smash! Man, this thing writes itself!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST: ORSON RANDALL AND THE DEATH QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA #1 by Duane Swiercynski and Guiseppe Camuncoli. Yeah, I dated her… Recommended.
NEW AVENGERS #45 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we learn what happened to the Secret Invasion Skrulls during the House of M. And possibly Heroes Reborn, Operation Galactic Storm and Atlantis Attacks. But not Countdown. IT NEVER HAPPENED!
NORTHLANDERS #10 by Brian Wood and Dean Ormston. A young boy gets to live his dream of watching Vikings destroy his hated hometown. A must for everyone who was ever The Last One Picked for Kickball. No, seriously, this series is a gem and you should give it a read. Highly recommended.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. Find what you want for the holidays here!
RUNAWAYS #2 by Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. Karolina Dean like, gets totally blamed for like, eradicating a whole planet of aliens which she like, totally did not do! Duh, angry space people! I am totally flaming you on MySpace about this!
SOLOMON KANE #1 of 5 by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara. A really well-drawn revival of Robert E. Howard’s other famous pulp creation, a tough as nails 17th century Puritan who mows through evil like a pinch-faced terminator. Definitely worth a look.
SUPERMAN #680 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. Krypto vs. Atlas! Arf!
THUNDERBOLTS #124 by Christos Gage and Fernando Blanco. The T-Bolts fight the Skrulls for control of Washington D.C. But where do they stand on flag-burning?! Ya remember flag-burning?! Ah the good old days…
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #126 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. Ultimate Spidey-Venom fights the Ultimates and tries to eat them. Big, hungry fight.
ULTIMATES 3 #5 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. In which we finally learn who killed the Scarlet Witch. Featuring robot duplicates and revolting plot points involving Quicksilver and SW engaging in the West Virginia State Sport. Yuck.
WOLVERINE: ROAR #1 by Duane Swiercynski and Mike Deodato. A stand-alone story about Wolverine and a vicious animal. But I repeat myself…
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #28 by Daniel Way and Mike Deodato. A story which firmly establishes Wolverine as a mass murderer of innocents and Professor X as a guy who looks the other way. Gee, now if only the X-Men can be ret-conned into Satanist pedophiles Mr. Way’s work will be complete.
X-MEN LEGACY #216 by Mike Carey and Phil Briones. Emma Frost psychically violates Professor X’s mind because she’s a twisted, sadistic witch. Pardon me. “Because it’s for his own good.” Pots and kettles all around! Hoo-ha!
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE RONIN HC written and illustrated by pre-psychotic Frank Miller. It’s awesome! The savage six-issue story of a psychokinetic, cyborg samurai, first published in 1983 back when Miller was only 26. What happened? Oh yeah….
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10-B by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Well it took ‘em two weeks but they finally got enough soap to wash out Frank Miller’s mouth. What a (redacted)!
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #17 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Stefano Caselli. The Skrulls get their big green heinies handed to them by the good ol’ U.S. Avengers!
BACK TO BROOKLYN #1 of 5 by Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti. How would you kill every crime crew in Brooklyn if you absolutely had to? This is a PUNISHER story so gruesome Marvel wouldn’t publish it. Recommended but not for kids or before meals.
BLACK PANTHER #41 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. The Skrulls have T’Challa right where he wants them. Time to serve it up Wakanda-style!
CAPTAIN AMERICA #42 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. The Red Skull just can’t get good help these days. It’s an on-going problem when the only people who will work for you are drug-addled white supremacists and Scientists who are, technically, well y’know “Mad.” Anyway, the adventures of Bucky America continue to entertain. Recommended.
DAREDEVIL #111 by Ed Brubaker and Clay Mann. In which we meet Lady Bullseye and it’s a lot less horrible than that sounds. Also Matt does something so wrong it’s right. Good stuff.
FANTASTIC FOUR #560 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Some time-travel business supposedly tied into the “death” of the Invisible Woman. Who even knew she was sick?!
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #3 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. In which we learn that hillbilly country is about the last place in the world where people are still dumb enough to sell their souls to the Devil. Do they not get “Twilight Zone” reruns up there?
HULK #6 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Red Hulk! Green Hulk! Smash! Man, this thing writes itself!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST: ORSON RANDALL AND THE DEATH QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA #1 by Duane Swiercynski and Guiseppe Camuncoli. Yeah, I dated her… Recommended.
NEW AVENGERS #45 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we learn what happened to the Secret Invasion Skrulls during the House of M. And possibly Heroes Reborn, Operation Galactic Storm and Atlantis Attacks. But not Countdown. IT NEVER HAPPENED!
NORTHLANDERS #10 by Brian Wood and Dean Ormston. A young boy gets to live his dream of watching Vikings destroy his hated hometown. A must for everyone who was ever The Last One Picked for Kickball. No, seriously, this series is a gem and you should give it a read. Highly recommended.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. Find what you want for the holidays here!
RUNAWAYS #2 by Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. Karolina Dean like, gets totally blamed for like, eradicating a whole planet of aliens which she like, totally did not do! Duh, angry space people! I am totally flaming you on MySpace about this!
SOLOMON KANE #1 of 5 by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara. A really well-drawn revival of Robert E. Howard’s other famous pulp creation, a tough as nails 17th century Puritan who mows through evil like a pinch-faced terminator. Definitely worth a look.
SUPERMAN #680 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. Krypto vs. Atlas! Arf!
THUNDERBOLTS #124 by Christos Gage and Fernando Blanco. The T-Bolts fight the Skrulls for control of Washington D.C. But where do they stand on flag-burning?! Ya remember flag-burning?! Ah the good old days…
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #126 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. Ultimate Spidey-Venom fights the Ultimates and tries to eat them. Big, hungry fight.
ULTIMATES 3 #5 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. In which we finally learn who killed the Scarlet Witch. Featuring robot duplicates and revolting plot points involving Quicksilver and SW engaging in the West Virginia State Sport. Yuck.
WOLVERINE: ROAR #1 by Duane Swiercynski and Mike Deodato. A stand-alone story about Wolverine and a vicious animal. But I repeat myself…
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #28 by Daniel Way and Mike Deodato. A story which firmly establishes Wolverine as a mass murderer of innocents and Professor X as a guy who looks the other way. Gee, now if only the X-Men can be ret-conned into Satanist pedophiles Mr. Way’s work will be complete.
X-MEN LEGACY #216 by Mike Carey and Phil Briones. Emma Frost psychically violates Professor X’s mind because she’s a twisted, sadistic witch. Pardon me. “Because it’s for his own good.” Pots and kettles all around! Hoo-ha!
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, September 14, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-17-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-17-08
By John Judy
ACTION COMICS #869 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. “He’s a Brainiac, Brainiac on the floooorrr….!” I’m sorry.
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 (the amended version) by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. This isn’t actually on the invoice but I’m hoping DC is able to ship all the replacement copies for the ones they had to destroy or put on E-Bay last week thanks to Frank Miller’s insistence that all his potty-mouth dialogue be printed before being “blacked-out” afterwards. Oops. Frank is at that point in his career in which he appears comfortable with every word except “No.” Hopefully this will pass after “The Spirit” wins a few Razzies.
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #12 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Well, it’s taken three years but we’ve finally made it to issue twelve! In this climactic issue we find out how a dying Superman deals with Lex, Lois and all sorts of other stuff! All without a single crude reference to female anatomy!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #572 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The amazing Norman Osborn continues dancing his sociopathic jig on the corpse of decency. Fun stuff! Oh, and Spider-Man appears too. Recommended.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #8 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Now monthly The Astounding W.M. goes out looking for the Were-Creep who cast his life into a furry Hell. (Note: “Furry Hell” is also where you go when you die while misbehaving at Sci-Fi conventions.)
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #2 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. Setting up the Captain Marvel/Black Adam rivalry. Gotta admit the art on this series doesn’t grab me the way Jeff Smith’s did but the spirit remains the same and my kid seems to enjoy it. And shouldn’t there always be a Captain Marvel comic on the racks?
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 #5 by Paul Cornell and Pat Olliffe. Well the cover kind of gives everything away. Be advised: Spitfire is NOT naked in this issue, but she does appear to have gone swimming.
DC UNIVERSE: DECISIONS #1 of 4 by Judd Winick, Bill Willingham and Rick Leonardi. The superheroes of the DCU start off just protecting their presidential candidates and end up endorsing them. Gotta look, but I’m afraid this is one of those cases of Reality out-weirding the comic books….
GHOST RIDER #27 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Hut. Okay, the art here could be better but Jason Aaron is clearly having a ball making Ghost Rider terrorize his way through Biker Country. Like a seventies grindhouse movie where the budget ran out early on. Recommended.
GRAVEL #5 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Combat Magician William Gravel continues killing magicians who have what he wants. If only he’d go after the Avatar Press webmaster next! This is kind of like Marvel’s “Infinity Gauntlet” only with more smoking and swearing.
GREATEST HITS #1 of 6 by David Tischman and Glenn Fabry. Imagine if the Beatles had been superheroes instead of musicians. Now meet The Mates, the four supermen from England. Absolutely must-look, but it’s Vertigo so probably not for kids.
HELLBLAZER #247 by Andy Diggle and Leonardo Manco. Diggle’s final story-arc as Constantine faces down a War-Magus who eats people for power. Like Venom only with less tongue.
MARVEL APES #2 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. It’s the adventures of Marvel superheroes on Earth-Ape! Twisted fun. “Paging Doctor Zaius!”
MIGHTY AVENGERS #18 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. Needs apes.
PUNISHER #62 by Gregg Hurwitz and Laurence Campbell. Thus far a worthy successor to the Garth Ennis run. No small hurdle. Recommended.
SCALPED #21 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. That’s not a peace pipe Dashiell Bad Horse is smoking. If you ever wondered how the darkest noir comic on the stands today could get darker, here’s your answer: Have your hero start smoking rock. Why is it the higher I recommend this thing the lower the orders go? Fine. It’s horrible! With mutants! Check it out before some jerk at DC/Vertigo cancels my favorite book!
SQUADRON SUPREME #3 by Howard Chaykin and Marco Turini. Quite possibly the all-around worst comic series I have read this year. And I’ve read WOLVERINE: ORIGINS.
UNCANNY X-MEN #502 by Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker and Greg Land. Hard to say what’s more disturbing in this issue: Greg Land’s photo swipes or Cyclops’ newfound pleasure in using torture to extract information from prisoners when he’s got super-powered mind-readers on his team. I’m honestly sickened by this post Abu Ghraib idea that heroes (as opposed to anti-heroes) can do this stuff. Maybe it’s the way Greg Land draws everybody grinning ear-to-ear while they go all X-Gestapo. When did the X-Men become Bush-McCain Republicans?
WALKING DEAD #52 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. And speaking of John McCain… Recommended as always. The comic, not the Senator. Oy.
X-FACTOR #35 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. Longshot’s back! Plus lumpy artwork!
Also this week, many bundles of “Halloween” Mini-Comics arrive including ARCHIE, BONE, COWA!, DONALD DUCK, and PEANUTS. Excellent treats, appropriate for all ages and guaranteed to rot only your mind, never your teeth. Get some!
www.johnjudy.net
I'll be giving out the Halloween comics - Mike
By John Judy
ACTION COMICS #869 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. “He’s a Brainiac, Brainiac on the floooorrr….!” I’m sorry.
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 (the amended version) by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. This isn’t actually on the invoice but I’m hoping DC is able to ship all the replacement copies for the ones they had to destroy or put on E-Bay last week thanks to Frank Miller’s insistence that all his potty-mouth dialogue be printed before being “blacked-out” afterwards. Oops. Frank is at that point in his career in which he appears comfortable with every word except “No.” Hopefully this will pass after “The Spirit” wins a few Razzies.
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #12 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Well, it’s taken three years but we’ve finally made it to issue twelve! In this climactic issue we find out how a dying Superman deals with Lex, Lois and all sorts of other stuff! All without a single crude reference to female anatomy!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #572 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The amazing Norman Osborn continues dancing his sociopathic jig on the corpse of decency. Fun stuff! Oh, and Spider-Man appears too. Recommended.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #8 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Now monthly The Astounding W.M. goes out looking for the Were-Creep who cast his life into a furry Hell. (Note: “Furry Hell” is also where you go when you die while misbehaving at Sci-Fi conventions.)
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #2 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. Setting up the Captain Marvel/Black Adam rivalry. Gotta admit the art on this series doesn’t grab me the way Jeff Smith’s did but the spirit remains the same and my kid seems to enjoy it. And shouldn’t there always be a Captain Marvel comic on the racks?
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 #5 by Paul Cornell and Pat Olliffe. Well the cover kind of gives everything away. Be advised: Spitfire is NOT naked in this issue, but she does appear to have gone swimming.
DC UNIVERSE: DECISIONS #1 of 4 by Judd Winick, Bill Willingham and Rick Leonardi. The superheroes of the DCU start off just protecting their presidential candidates and end up endorsing them. Gotta look, but I’m afraid this is one of those cases of Reality out-weirding the comic books….
GHOST RIDER #27 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Hut. Okay, the art here could be better but Jason Aaron is clearly having a ball making Ghost Rider terrorize his way through Biker Country. Like a seventies grindhouse movie where the budget ran out early on. Recommended.
GRAVEL #5 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Combat Magician William Gravel continues killing magicians who have what he wants. If only he’d go after the Avatar Press webmaster next! This is kind of like Marvel’s “Infinity Gauntlet” only with more smoking and swearing.
GREATEST HITS #1 of 6 by David Tischman and Glenn Fabry. Imagine if the Beatles had been superheroes instead of musicians. Now meet The Mates, the four supermen from England. Absolutely must-look, but it’s Vertigo so probably not for kids.
HELLBLAZER #247 by Andy Diggle and Leonardo Manco. Diggle’s final story-arc as Constantine faces down a War-Magus who eats people for power. Like Venom only with less tongue.
MARVEL APES #2 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. It’s the adventures of Marvel superheroes on Earth-Ape! Twisted fun. “Paging Doctor Zaius!”
MIGHTY AVENGERS #18 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. Needs apes.
PUNISHER #62 by Gregg Hurwitz and Laurence Campbell. Thus far a worthy successor to the Garth Ennis run. No small hurdle. Recommended.
SCALPED #21 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. That’s not a peace pipe Dashiell Bad Horse is smoking. If you ever wondered how the darkest noir comic on the stands today could get darker, here’s your answer: Have your hero start smoking rock. Why is it the higher I recommend this thing the lower the orders go? Fine. It’s horrible! With mutants! Check it out before some jerk at DC/Vertigo cancels my favorite book!
SQUADRON SUPREME #3 by Howard Chaykin and Marco Turini. Quite possibly the all-around worst comic series I have read this year. And I’ve read WOLVERINE: ORIGINS.
UNCANNY X-MEN #502 by Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker and Greg Land. Hard to say what’s more disturbing in this issue: Greg Land’s photo swipes or Cyclops’ newfound pleasure in using torture to extract information from prisoners when he’s got super-powered mind-readers on his team. I’m honestly sickened by this post Abu Ghraib idea that heroes (as opposed to anti-heroes) can do this stuff. Maybe it’s the way Greg Land draws everybody grinning ear-to-ear while they go all X-Gestapo. When did the X-Men become Bush-McCain Republicans?
WALKING DEAD #52 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. And speaking of John McCain… Recommended as always. The comic, not the Senator. Oy.
X-FACTOR #35 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. Longshot’s back! Plus lumpy artwork!
Also this week, many bundles of “Halloween” Mini-Comics arrive including ARCHIE, BONE, COWA!, DONALD DUCK, and PEANUTS. Excellent treats, appropriate for all ages and guaranteed to rot only your mind, never your teeth. Get some!
www.johnjudy.net
I'll be giving out the Halloween comics - Mike
Sunday, September 07, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-10-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 09-10-08
By John Judy
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Brace yourself. This issue Miller’s writing his “All-Star” versions of the females of Gotham City. Like those “Spirit” billboards except you have to pay three bucks to look at ‘em. “Must…! Find…! Aspirin….!”
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #571 by Dan Slot and John Romita Jr. Could we just change this book to “The Amazing Norman Osborn?” Because I’m loving this character more and more. I’d like to see him and Lex Luthor in a sneer-off. Recommended.
AMERICAN WIDOW HC by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi. A non-fiction account of a woman who lost her husband and father of her unborn son in the attacks of 9-11. About as far from escapist fantasy as you’re going to get this week. Recommended but too intense for younger readers.
BIG HERO 6 #1 of 5 by Chris Claremont and David Nakayama. Superheroes in Japan! Watch out, Gojira!
BOOSTER GOLD #12 by Chuck Dixon and Dan Jurgens. A Batgirl cover that makes you realize how much you miss the real Batgirl. What a great costume…
CRIMINAL 2 #5 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A doll with a gun on the cover and a hard-luck cartoonist/forger inside. If you’re not reading this series you are part of The Problem. Highly recommended. Not for kids or wusses.
DARK TOWER: TREACHERY #1 of 6 by Robin Furth, Peter David and Jae Lee. For them what likes their Stephen King comic book adaptations and how!
EX MACHINA #38 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The George Bush-hating villainess “Trouble” continues her reign of Total Awesomeness! Spin-Off Series! Now!
FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #2 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan. Gotham Central’s Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen are reunited the hard way as the Spectre must pass judgment on the Question. And how often does that end well?
FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS SC by Gilbert Shelton. Just like you remember them! Although if you can remember them you were probably doing something wrong… Wait, what was I saying...? Recommended.
GOON #28 written and drawn by Eric Powell. “He ain’t been right in the head since his brother got an axe planted in his.” God, this series is great! Recommended.
SECRET INVASION #6 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The lying, fascist, religious maniac Skrull invaders are urging Earth to “Embrace change” and some of us are buying it. Perhaps because the Skrulls nominated Sarah Palin for Veep…
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #1 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. The first chapter in this adaptation of Stephen King’s end of the world story. A fulfilling week for King fans.
STAR WARS: CLONE WARS #1 of 6 by Henry Gilroy and Scott Hepburn. As someone how sat through the movie I can personally assure you that this comic will be much better.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #4 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. In which we learn that, in any universe, Hank Pym is the Levi Johnston of science heroes. Sorry Hank.
ULTIMATE X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1 by Lotsa People. There’s some fightin’ and some time-travelin’ and some crazy misunderstandings. And how!
WELCOME TO HOXFORD #2 written and drawn by Ben “Mommy, I’m Scared” Templesmith. At The Hoxford Home for the Profoundly Twinked-Out they believe the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Just don’t ask how they get to the stomach. Recommended. Not for kids.
WONDER WOMAN #24 by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang. Hollywood comes calling to pitch “Wonder Woman: The Movie!” But is Robert Downey Jr. available?
YOUNG LIARS #7 written and drawn by David Lapham. In which we learn how you follow the castration of your male lead and the possible death of your female lead. How about a psychedelic cover?!
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Brace yourself. This issue Miller’s writing his “All-Star” versions of the females of Gotham City. Like those “Spirit” billboards except you have to pay three bucks to look at ‘em. “Must…! Find…! Aspirin….!”
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #571 by Dan Slot and John Romita Jr. Could we just change this book to “The Amazing Norman Osborn?” Because I’m loving this character more and more. I’d like to see him and Lex Luthor in a sneer-off. Recommended.
AMERICAN WIDOW HC by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi. A non-fiction account of a woman who lost her husband and father of her unborn son in the attacks of 9-11. About as far from escapist fantasy as you’re going to get this week. Recommended but too intense for younger readers.
BIG HERO 6 #1 of 5 by Chris Claremont and David Nakayama. Superheroes in Japan! Watch out, Gojira!
BOOSTER GOLD #12 by Chuck Dixon and Dan Jurgens. A Batgirl cover that makes you realize how much you miss the real Batgirl. What a great costume…
CRIMINAL 2 #5 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A doll with a gun on the cover and a hard-luck cartoonist/forger inside. If you’re not reading this series you are part of The Problem. Highly recommended. Not for kids or wusses.
DARK TOWER: TREACHERY #1 of 6 by Robin Furth, Peter David and Jae Lee. For them what likes their Stephen King comic book adaptations and how!
EX MACHINA #38 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The George Bush-hating villainess “Trouble” continues her reign of Total Awesomeness! Spin-Off Series! Now!
FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #2 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan. Gotham Central’s Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen are reunited the hard way as the Spectre must pass judgment on the Question. And how often does that end well?
FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS SC by Gilbert Shelton. Just like you remember them! Although if you can remember them you were probably doing something wrong… Wait, what was I saying...? Recommended.
GOON #28 written and drawn by Eric Powell. “He ain’t been right in the head since his brother got an axe planted in his.” God, this series is great! Recommended.
SECRET INVASION #6 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The lying, fascist, religious maniac Skrull invaders are urging Earth to “Embrace change” and some of us are buying it. Perhaps because the Skrulls nominated Sarah Palin for Veep…
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #1 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. The first chapter in this adaptation of Stephen King’s end of the world story. A fulfilling week for King fans.
STAR WARS: CLONE WARS #1 of 6 by Henry Gilroy and Scott Hepburn. As someone how sat through the movie I can personally assure you that this comic will be much better.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #4 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. In which we learn that, in any universe, Hank Pym is the Levi Johnston of science heroes. Sorry Hank.
ULTIMATE X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1 by Lotsa People. There’s some fightin’ and some time-travelin’ and some crazy misunderstandings. And how!
WELCOME TO HOXFORD #2 written and drawn by Ben “Mommy, I’m Scared” Templesmith. At The Hoxford Home for the Profoundly Twinked-Out they believe the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Just don’t ask how they get to the stomach. Recommended. Not for kids.
WONDER WOMAN #24 by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang. Hollywood comes calling to pitch “Wonder Woman: The Movie!” But is Robert Downey Jr. available?
YOUNG LIARS #7 written and drawn by David Lapham. In which we learn how you follow the castration of your male lead and the possible death of your female lead. How about a psychedelic cover?!
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, August 31, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY 09-04-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY 09-04-08
By John Judy
(Note: Long weekends mean late comics but only by a day.)
AL JAFFE TALL TALES HC by Al Jaffe. Collecting 120 installments of the world’s first and last vertical newspaper comic-strip from the veteran MAD artist who gave us “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” and the folding back-cover gags of about a million issues of MAD. Very cool stuff. Recommended.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #570 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Big fights between Spidey, Venom and “Anti-Venom” so help me. Where’s a Skrull when you need one? But it’s Dan Slott so of course he makes it all sing.
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #12 by Brian Lynch and Nick Runge. The incomprehensibility continues! Contains vaguely humanoid shapes and words!
BOYS #22 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The Legend wraps it up, the Homelander throws a hissy, and Butcher learns something. Featuring a variant glow-in-the-dark cover and lots of perversion. Not for kids. Recommended.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #18 by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline. Buffy’s in the future and Dawn’s a centaur. A really hot centaur… Hey Michelle Trachtenberg’s like 32 years old now so it’s okay! Oh man, it’s never gonna be okay….
GREEN LANTERN #34 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Hal Jordan and Sinestro take on Abin Sur’s killer. It’s like Anakin and Obi-Wan if George Lucas knew how to write. Recommended.
MARVEL APES #1 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. An alternate universe where the Marvel heroes are all monkeys. Hey, it was this or more zombies… Oh wait, they’re doing that too. I don’t care! It’s monkeys as heroes! I’m reading it! Ook-ook!
SECRET SIX #1 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. The always awesome Gail Simone returns to chronicle the on-going adventures of DC’s favorite anti-heroes. Strong, character-driven stories of triple-crosses, desperation, out-and-out psychosis and other stuff straight out of the GOP National Convention! Highly recommended.
STORMING PARADISE #3 of 6 by Chuck Dixon and Butch Guice. It’s game-on as the allies invade the Japanese mainland in this alternate-world history in which there was no Fat Man or Little Boy to end WWII. Weird, wild stuff. Recommended.
SUB-MARINER: DEPTHS #1 of 5 by Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic. The Marvel Knights version of Namor the Sub-Mariner which means it’s out of continuity and probably incredibly sexy, vulgar and violent. And other stuff straight out of the GOP National Convention! (Call-back! Yes!) Gotta look. Unless you’re a kid.
TWELVE ½ by Various Creators, including Stan Lee, Joe Simon and Basil Wolverton. Collecting early golden-age appearances of the stars of the hit series THE TWELVE. This issue includes the Fiery Mask, Rockman and Mister E. For those of us who love such stuff but can’t afford the big-buck back issue prices. Cool.
X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY #1 of 4 by Mike Carey, Michael Ryan and Others. A series of stories laying out the latest status quo of all things “X.”
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
(Note: Long weekends mean late comics but only by a day.)
AL JAFFE TALL TALES HC by Al Jaffe. Collecting 120 installments of the world’s first and last vertical newspaper comic-strip from the veteran MAD artist who gave us “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” and the folding back-cover gags of about a million issues of MAD. Very cool stuff. Recommended.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #570 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Big fights between Spidey, Venom and “Anti-Venom” so help me. Where’s a Skrull when you need one? But it’s Dan Slott so of course he makes it all sing.
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #12 by Brian Lynch and Nick Runge. The incomprehensibility continues! Contains vaguely humanoid shapes and words!
BOYS #22 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The Legend wraps it up, the Homelander throws a hissy, and Butcher learns something. Featuring a variant glow-in-the-dark cover and lots of perversion. Not for kids. Recommended.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #18 by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline. Buffy’s in the future and Dawn’s a centaur. A really hot centaur… Hey Michelle Trachtenberg’s like 32 years old now so it’s okay! Oh man, it’s never gonna be okay….
GREEN LANTERN #34 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Hal Jordan and Sinestro take on Abin Sur’s killer. It’s like Anakin and Obi-Wan if George Lucas knew how to write. Recommended.
MARVEL APES #1 of 4 by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs. An alternate universe where the Marvel heroes are all monkeys. Hey, it was this or more zombies… Oh wait, they’re doing that too. I don’t care! It’s monkeys as heroes! I’m reading it! Ook-ook!
SECRET SIX #1 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. The always awesome Gail Simone returns to chronicle the on-going adventures of DC’s favorite anti-heroes. Strong, character-driven stories of triple-crosses, desperation, out-and-out psychosis and other stuff straight out of the GOP National Convention! Highly recommended.
STORMING PARADISE #3 of 6 by Chuck Dixon and Butch Guice. It’s game-on as the allies invade the Japanese mainland in this alternate-world history in which there was no Fat Man or Little Boy to end WWII. Weird, wild stuff. Recommended.
SUB-MARINER: DEPTHS #1 of 5 by Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic. The Marvel Knights version of Namor the Sub-Mariner which means it’s out of continuity and probably incredibly sexy, vulgar and violent. And other stuff straight out of the GOP National Convention! (Call-back! Yes!) Gotta look. Unless you’re a kid.
TWELVE ½ by Various Creators, including Stan Lee, Joe Simon and Basil Wolverton. Collecting early golden-age appearances of the stars of the hit series THE TWELVE. This issue includes the Fiery Mask, Rockman and Mister E. For those of us who love such stuff but can’t afford the big-buck back issue prices. Cool.
X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY #1 of 4 by Mike Carey, Michael Ryan and Others. A series of stories laying out the latest status quo of all things “X.”
www.johnjudy.net
Saturday, August 23, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-27-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-27-08
By John Judy
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN VOL.1 SC by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Collecting the first six issues of Morrison’s best work lately. A series of strong stand-alone stories that string together well and look great. Recommended for all ages.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #569 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts have broken into Spidey’s apartment! Bunk-check! Plus Venom.
AMERICA’S BEST COMICS PRIMER SC by Alan Moore and His Band of Yore. A bunch of first issues from back when Moore was still writing this stuff. Clever, entertaining, mostly pre-psychotic. Recommended for newbies to His Mooreness.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL.1 SC by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Collecting issues #1-7 of this lycanthropian lollapalooza! Fun stuff but too violent for the little ones.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #16 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. The Skrull Kill Krew is back! How timely!
BLACK PANTHER #40 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. Undefeated Wakanda versus the quite often defeated Skrulls. Great stuff from the creator of SCALPED. Recommended.
DAREDEVIL #110 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. DD wraps up the mystery of the death-row inmate who wants to die. Yes, prison food is that bad.
DC UNIVERSE: LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT #1 by Brad Meltzer and Adam Kubert. Every hero in the DCU prepares to die. They should never have killed Inigo’s dad….
EC ARCHIVES: TALES FROM THE CRYPT VOL.3 HC by The Best of The Best of The Best! Issues #13-18 with a forward by Robert Overstreet. Yeah, THAT Robert Overstreet! Save yourself around $11,000.00 in back issues and get this instead.
FINAL CRISIS: ROGUE’S REVENGE #2 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. In which Captain Cold and the boys realize how badly they have screwed themselves. Another example of a spin-off series being much better and easier to follow than the core title. Recommended.
FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1 of 2 by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke. Will this be Good Focused Grant or Bad All-Over-the-Place Grant? Hint: This issue involves parallel Earths and comes with 3-D glasses included. “Mommy!” Gotta look!
GRAVEL #4 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Warren Ellis has hidden all information on this comic in a site designed by the CIA, the Mossad, and Willy Wonka’s Oompa-Loompa Death Squad to keep any mention of its existence from pesky, prying fan-folk with their curious ways and desire to spend money on his products. I refer of course to the Avatar Press website. Ssshhh…. Mum’s the word…
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #18 by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman and The Great Russ Heath. His fist may be iron but his ribs, face and ‘nads? Not so much. Featuring a dude getting his heart punched out by a kung-fu demon. Good times!
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #18 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. Okay, on the one hand this story is taking forever to tell. On the other hand we’re getting all these Alex Ross covers out of it and, golly, it’s like there’s a new super-hero’s great-grandchild introduced every few pages, so… Maybe it’ll really fly by in trade?
KICK-ASS #4 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. If you need more graphic violence and sado-masochistic kink in your life than the current administration can provide, this one’s for you! Featuring a nine year-old girl with a sword. Not for kids.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #17 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. Skrulls! Fights!
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE MARVEL COMICS VOL.3 HC by Various Creators. Collecting MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #9-12, featuring Electro (from THE TWELVE), the Angel, and the Sub Mariner duking it out with the Human Torch! All for a lot less than the $60,000.00 retail the back-issues would cost on E-Bay! Flame on, True Believer!
NEW AVENGERS #44 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. Fights! Skrulls!
NEWUNIVERSAL: CONQUEROR by Simon Spurrier and Eric Nguyen. A new NEWUNIVERSAL title from a creator “hand-picked” by Warren Ellis to write all the NEWUNIVERSAL stuff he doesn’t want to!
NORTHLANDERS #9 by Brian Wood and Dean Ormston. An all-new story begins here as young Saxon boy encounters a Viking invasion. Oh dear, this is certainly NOT for kids. Still a great series. Recommended.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. For the forward-looking fan.
ROY ROGERS ARCHIVES VOL.1 HC by Various Talents. From Dark Horse, collecting Dell’s ROY ROGERS COMICS (FOUR COLOR) #38, 63, 86, 95 and 109. Whatever they’re smoking up at Dark Horse Comics I want a Hefty-Bag. These five comics would run you $7,000.00 at a convention, but for you: A Lot Less! “Yippee-ki-yay!”
RUNAWAYS 3 #1 by Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. The kids are goin’ back to Cali and there are a bunch of space-baddies who hate Karolina Dean so much that they keep repeating her full name over and over and over. It would make me run away too, so I guess there’s a point.
SHE-HULK #32 by Peter David and Vincenzo Cucca. Skrulls fighting Skrulls in a big Skrull-fight!
SUPERMAN #679 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. For some reason Superman is still having trouble with this Atlas clown. Maybe if someone gives him a shirt he’ll go away.
THUNDERBOLTS #123 by Christos Gage and Fernando Blanco. The post-Ellis era continues on this title and it ain’t half-bad. Skrulls!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #125 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. No Skrulls, ultimate or otherwise, but there is Venom. He eats a horse.
WOLVERINE #68 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. “Old Man Logan” says he’d rather die than pop those claws again. And yet….
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN VOL.1 SC by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Collecting the first six issues of Morrison’s best work lately. A series of strong stand-alone stories that string together well and look great. Recommended for all ages.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #569 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts have broken into Spidey’s apartment! Bunk-check! Plus Venom.
AMERICA’S BEST COMICS PRIMER SC by Alan Moore and His Band of Yore. A bunch of first issues from back when Moore was still writing this stuff. Clever, entertaining, mostly pre-psychotic. Recommended for newbies to His Mooreness.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL.1 SC by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Collecting issues #1-7 of this lycanthropian lollapalooza! Fun stuff but too violent for the little ones.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #16 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. The Skrull Kill Krew is back! How timely!
BLACK PANTHER #40 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. Undefeated Wakanda versus the quite often defeated Skrulls. Great stuff from the creator of SCALPED. Recommended.
DAREDEVIL #110 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. DD wraps up the mystery of the death-row inmate who wants to die. Yes, prison food is that bad.
DC UNIVERSE: LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT #1 by Brad Meltzer and Adam Kubert. Every hero in the DCU prepares to die. They should never have killed Inigo’s dad….
EC ARCHIVES: TALES FROM THE CRYPT VOL.3 HC by The Best of The Best of The Best! Issues #13-18 with a forward by Robert Overstreet. Yeah, THAT Robert Overstreet! Save yourself around $11,000.00 in back issues and get this instead.
FINAL CRISIS: ROGUE’S REVENGE #2 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. In which Captain Cold and the boys realize how badly they have screwed themselves. Another example of a spin-off series being much better and easier to follow than the core title. Recommended.
FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1 of 2 by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke. Will this be Good Focused Grant or Bad All-Over-the-Place Grant? Hint: This issue involves parallel Earths and comes with 3-D glasses included. “Mommy!” Gotta look!
GRAVEL #4 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Warren Ellis has hidden all information on this comic in a site designed by the CIA, the Mossad, and Willy Wonka’s Oompa-Loompa Death Squad to keep any mention of its existence from pesky, prying fan-folk with their curious ways and desire to spend money on his products. I refer of course to the Avatar Press website. Ssshhh…. Mum’s the word…
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #18 by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman and The Great Russ Heath. His fist may be iron but his ribs, face and ‘nads? Not so much. Featuring a dude getting his heart punched out by a kung-fu demon. Good times!
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #18 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. Okay, on the one hand this story is taking forever to tell. On the other hand we’re getting all these Alex Ross covers out of it and, golly, it’s like there’s a new super-hero’s great-grandchild introduced every few pages, so… Maybe it’ll really fly by in trade?
KICK-ASS #4 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. If you need more graphic violence and sado-masochistic kink in your life than the current administration can provide, this one’s for you! Featuring a nine year-old girl with a sword. Not for kids.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #17 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. Skrulls! Fights!
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE MARVEL COMICS VOL.3 HC by Various Creators. Collecting MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #9-12, featuring Electro (from THE TWELVE), the Angel, and the Sub Mariner duking it out with the Human Torch! All for a lot less than the $60,000.00 retail the back-issues would cost on E-Bay! Flame on, True Believer!
NEW AVENGERS #44 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. Fights! Skrulls!
NEWUNIVERSAL: CONQUEROR by Simon Spurrier and Eric Nguyen. A new NEWUNIVERSAL title from a creator “hand-picked” by Warren Ellis to write all the NEWUNIVERSAL stuff he doesn’t want to!
NORTHLANDERS #9 by Brian Wood and Dean Ormston. An all-new story begins here as young Saxon boy encounters a Viking invasion. Oh dear, this is certainly NOT for kids. Still a great series. Recommended.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. For the forward-looking fan.
ROY ROGERS ARCHIVES VOL.1 HC by Various Talents. From Dark Horse, collecting Dell’s ROY ROGERS COMICS (FOUR COLOR) #38, 63, 86, 95 and 109. Whatever they’re smoking up at Dark Horse Comics I want a Hefty-Bag. These five comics would run you $7,000.00 at a convention, but for you: A Lot Less! “Yippee-ki-yay!”
RUNAWAYS 3 #1 by Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. The kids are goin’ back to Cali and there are a bunch of space-baddies who hate Karolina Dean so much that they keep repeating her full name over and over and over. It would make me run away too, so I guess there’s a point.
SHE-HULK #32 by Peter David and Vincenzo Cucca. Skrulls fighting Skrulls in a big Skrull-fight!
SUPERMAN #679 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. For some reason Superman is still having trouble with this Atlas clown. Maybe if someone gives him a shirt he’ll go away.
THUNDERBOLTS #123 by Christos Gage and Fernando Blanco. The post-Ellis era continues on this title and it ain’t half-bad. Skrulls!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #125 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. No Skrulls, ultimate or otherwise, but there is Venom. He eats a horse.
WOLVERINE #68 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. “Old Man Logan” says he’d rather die than pop those claws again. And yet….
www.johnjudy.net
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-20-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-20-08
By John Judy
AIR #1 by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker. Something about air travel, terrorism and countries that don’t exist. Okay. Sure looks pretty though. Not for kids.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #568 by Dan Slott and John Romita R with a back-up by Mark Waid and Adi Granov. Ominous doings with the Osborn boys and the man once known as Venom gets reflective. Pretty darn good issue.
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #16 by Mark Waid and Scott Kolins. Superman and Catwoman! They’re just trying to make Batman jealous…
CAPTAIN AMERICA #41 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Cap may be “dead” but his villains have never been more interesting. Sucks to be Sharon Carter though…
FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #1 of 5 by Geoff Johns and George Perez. Time-Trapper, Superboy-Prime, Huge Fights! It’s Perez so you know it’ll look great and Johns so you know it’ll make sense! Recommended!
GHOST RIDER #26 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. Danny Ketch is back, no doubt to get his flaming skull handed to him by the real Ghost Rider. From the author of SCALPED! Recommended!
HERBIE ARCHIVES VOL.1 HC by Shane O’Shea (Richard Hughes) and Ogden Whitney. Collecting the earliest adventures of The Fat Fury and his magic lollipops. Hey, it was the sixties and he went after Castro! Did you ever go after Castro? Weird stuff for them that likes it. Go Herbie!
IRON FIST: ORIGIN OF DANNY RAND by Lotsa People including Matt Fraction and Kano. He knows kung-fu!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #24 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. Okay, normally I wouldn’t care who had control of the Tantu Totem but this story has actually maintained my interest. Fun stuff! Tantus all around!
PUNISHER #61 by Greg Hurwitz and Laurence Campbell. The post-Ennis era starts here and it ain’t half-bad. Let’s give these plucky lads their fair shake, eh? Recommended.
SANDMAN PRESENTS: DEAD BOY DETECTIVES SC by Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot and Steve Leialoha. Collecting the first bunch of stories from back before everyone knew how awesome Brubaker was. Gotta look!
SCALPED #20 by Jason Aaron and Davide Furno. More revelations from the twisted past of Dash’s crackhead significant other, Carol. Everyone should be reading this series, except for kids. Highly recommended.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE ATOM VOL. 2 SC by Gardner Fox, Dennis O’Neil, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson and Others. Collecting the Silver-Age adventures of the Mighty Mite from ATOM #18-38 and ATOM AND HAWKMAN #39-45. Expensive comics found cheaply here!
UNCANNY X-MEN #501 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and Greg Land. I tried reading this but was blinded by the rows of white teeth Greg Land traced from fashion magazines and various soft-core websites. The new drinking game is: Every time you recognize a starlet Land traced for an Emma Frost pose you have to drink. Hide your car keys before playing.
X-FACTOR #34 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. She-Hulk! Long-Shot! Skrulls! Hijinks galore!
X-FACTOR SPECIAL: LAYLA MILLER #1 by Peter David and Valentine DeLandro. A one-shot based upon a character who is clearly one of PAD’s favorites. Really good stuff even though I usually hate dystopian alternate future stories. Worth a read.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
AIR #1 by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker. Something about air travel, terrorism and countries that don’t exist. Okay. Sure looks pretty though. Not for kids.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #568 by Dan Slott and John Romita R with a back-up by Mark Waid and Adi Granov. Ominous doings with the Osborn boys and the man once known as Venom gets reflective. Pretty darn good issue.
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #16 by Mark Waid and Scott Kolins. Superman and Catwoman! They’re just trying to make Batman jealous…
CAPTAIN AMERICA #41 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Cap may be “dead” but his villains have never been more interesting. Sucks to be Sharon Carter though…
FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #1 of 5 by Geoff Johns and George Perez. Time-Trapper, Superboy-Prime, Huge Fights! It’s Perez so you know it’ll look great and Johns so you know it’ll make sense! Recommended!
GHOST RIDER #26 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. Danny Ketch is back, no doubt to get his flaming skull handed to him by the real Ghost Rider. From the author of SCALPED! Recommended!
HERBIE ARCHIVES VOL.1 HC by Shane O’Shea (Richard Hughes) and Ogden Whitney. Collecting the earliest adventures of The Fat Fury and his magic lollipops. Hey, it was the sixties and he went after Castro! Did you ever go after Castro? Weird stuff for them that likes it. Go Herbie!
IRON FIST: ORIGIN OF DANNY RAND by Lotsa People including Matt Fraction and Kano. He knows kung-fu!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #24 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. Okay, normally I wouldn’t care who had control of the Tantu Totem but this story has actually maintained my interest. Fun stuff! Tantus all around!
PUNISHER #61 by Greg Hurwitz and Laurence Campbell. The post-Ennis era starts here and it ain’t half-bad. Let’s give these plucky lads their fair shake, eh? Recommended.
SANDMAN PRESENTS: DEAD BOY DETECTIVES SC by Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot and Steve Leialoha. Collecting the first bunch of stories from back before everyone knew how awesome Brubaker was. Gotta look!
SCALPED #20 by Jason Aaron and Davide Furno. More revelations from the twisted past of Dash’s crackhead significant other, Carol. Everyone should be reading this series, except for kids. Highly recommended.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE ATOM VOL. 2 SC by Gardner Fox, Dennis O’Neil, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson and Others. Collecting the Silver-Age adventures of the Mighty Mite from ATOM #18-38 and ATOM AND HAWKMAN #39-45. Expensive comics found cheaply here!
UNCANNY X-MEN #501 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and Greg Land. I tried reading this but was blinded by the rows of white teeth Greg Land traced from fashion magazines and various soft-core websites. The new drinking game is: Every time you recognize a starlet Land traced for an Emma Frost pose you have to drink. Hide your car keys before playing.
X-FACTOR #34 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. She-Hulk! Long-Shot! Skrulls! Hijinks galore!
X-FACTOR SPECIAL: LAYLA MILLER #1 by Peter David and Valentine DeLandro. A one-shot based upon a character who is clearly one of PAD’s favorites. Really good stuff even though I usually hate dystopian alternate future stories. Worth a read.
www.johnjudy.net
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Quick Reviews comment
John Judy would like to make a priority claim for his Quick Reviews:
Did I call this one first?
Yes.
Yes I did.
Okay, it's Colbert rather than Fox.
Give 'em time.
Did I call this one first?
Yes.
Yes I did.
Okay, it's Colbert rather than Fox.
Give 'em time.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-13-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-13-08
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: THE BLACK DOSSIER HC by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. A year later I’m still trying to get through the regular version. Anybody got a record player and some hard drugs?
ACTION COMICS #868 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Superman meets Brainiac and it’s really creepy.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #567 by Marc Guggenheim and Phil Jimenez. Spidey and his drug-crazed roommate beat on the albino Kraven-chick with the bad make-up and hair gel addiction.
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #11 by Brian Lynch and Nick Runge. I think Angel and Gunn are gonna kiss. About time!
ASTONISHING X-MEN #26 by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. It’s mutants! Internet-Jesus style! Skrull-free! There’s preview pages up on comicbookresources.com some with actual dialogue. Good stuff. Recommended.
BATMAN #679 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. When your villains have names like Hunchback, King Kraken and Charlie Caligula who needs a story you can actually follow?
BPRD: THE WARNING #2 of 5 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis. Your snow-bound, moose carcass-pondering, Abe Sapien action starts here, people!
FANTASTIC FOUR #559 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. In which the Human Torch’s girlfriend problems threaten the entire team with destruction! Oh sure, like it’s never happened to you…
FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #1 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan. It’s Rucka writing two of his best characters, Crispus Allen and Rene Montoya, these days known as The Spectre and The Question. I sense a titanic team-up in the offing! Recommended!
THE GOON #27 written and drawn by Eric Powell and Guests. Three twisted tales from the Gooniverse. Recommended!
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #2 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. HB tries to reclaim a soul from a hill-billy devil. Maybe he can trade it for a can of chaw and those back issues of “American Spectator” they got behind the outhouse.
MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS SC by Many People including Eisner, Moore, Gaiman, Spillane, Chandler, Krigstein and pre-21st Century Frank Miller (before he went insane)! Twenty-five of the best crime comics ever published. Gotta look!
PUNISHER #60 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. It’s the end of an era (and a whole lot of punks) as Garth Ennis goes out in style. Plus, a preview of next issue’s new creative team. Salud!
SECRET INVASION #5 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The Skrulls want Earth to “embrace change.” There’s your proof: Barack Obama is a Skrull. This will appear on FoxNews as a headline. Just wait….
TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: ARRIVAL #1 by Marty Isenberg and Dario Brizuela. My kid wants one of these. Yours probably does too. By the head writer of the TV series which is actually quite good. Recommended for younger readers.
WALKING DEAD #51 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Lookin’ like someone took his eye off the undead cannibals. Tsk, tsk. Yeah, put your hands up. That’ll help. Recommended. Not for kids.
WELCOME TO HOXFORD #1 of 4 written and drawn by Ben Frickin’ Templesmith! Meet Ray. Ray lives in a mental institution for the violently freaky. Ray is written and drawn by the guy who did 30 DAYS OF NIGHT and FELL. You want this, but if you’re a kid you can’t have it. Recommended.
WONDER WOMAN #23 by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. Wonder Woman returns to Earth and beats the bejeebers out of some big nasty with Roman hands and Russian fingers! What more could we ask?
YOUNG LIARS #6 written and drawn by David Lapham. I’m mentioning this comic again because, even though it’s kind of confusing and all over the place, last issue Lapham castrated his male lead. I mean, come on, you have to respect that kind of effort. Not for kids.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: THE BLACK DOSSIER HC by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. A year later I’m still trying to get through the regular version. Anybody got a record player and some hard drugs?
ACTION COMICS #868 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Superman meets Brainiac and it’s really creepy.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #567 by Marc Guggenheim and Phil Jimenez. Spidey and his drug-crazed roommate beat on the albino Kraven-chick with the bad make-up and hair gel addiction.
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #11 by Brian Lynch and Nick Runge. I think Angel and Gunn are gonna kiss. About time!
ASTONISHING X-MEN #26 by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. It’s mutants! Internet-Jesus style! Skrull-free! There’s preview pages up on comicbookresources.com some with actual dialogue. Good stuff. Recommended.
BATMAN #679 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. When your villains have names like Hunchback, King Kraken and Charlie Caligula who needs a story you can actually follow?
BPRD: THE WARNING #2 of 5 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis. Your snow-bound, moose carcass-pondering, Abe Sapien action starts here, people!
FANTASTIC FOUR #559 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. In which the Human Torch’s girlfriend problems threaten the entire team with destruction! Oh sure, like it’s never happened to you…
FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #1 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan. It’s Rucka writing two of his best characters, Crispus Allen and Rene Montoya, these days known as The Spectre and The Question. I sense a titanic team-up in the offing! Recommended!
THE GOON #27 written and drawn by Eric Powell and Guests. Three twisted tales from the Gooniverse. Recommended!
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #2 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. HB tries to reclaim a soul from a hill-billy devil. Maybe he can trade it for a can of chaw and those back issues of “American Spectator” they got behind the outhouse.
MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS SC by Many People including Eisner, Moore, Gaiman, Spillane, Chandler, Krigstein and pre-21st Century Frank Miller (before he went insane)! Twenty-five of the best crime comics ever published. Gotta look!
PUNISHER #60 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. It’s the end of an era (and a whole lot of punks) as Garth Ennis goes out in style. Plus, a preview of next issue’s new creative team. Salud!
SECRET INVASION #5 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The Skrulls want Earth to “embrace change.” There’s your proof: Barack Obama is a Skrull. This will appear on FoxNews as a headline. Just wait….
TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: ARRIVAL #1 by Marty Isenberg and Dario Brizuela. My kid wants one of these. Yours probably does too. By the head writer of the TV series which is actually quite good. Recommended for younger readers.
WALKING DEAD #51 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Lookin’ like someone took his eye off the undead cannibals. Tsk, tsk. Yeah, put your hands up. That’ll help. Recommended. Not for kids.
WELCOME TO HOXFORD #1 of 4 written and drawn by Ben Frickin’ Templesmith! Meet Ray. Ray lives in a mental institution for the violently freaky. Ray is written and drawn by the guy who did 30 DAYS OF NIGHT and FELL. You want this, but if you’re a kid you can’t have it. Recommended.
WONDER WOMAN #23 by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. Wonder Woman returns to Earth and beats the bejeebers out of some big nasty with Roman hands and Russian fingers! What more could we ask?
YOUNG LIARS #6 written and drawn by David Lapham. I’m mentioning this comic again because, even though it’s kind of confusing and all over the place, last issue Lapham castrated his male lead. I mean, come on, you have to respect that kind of effort. Not for kids.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, August 04, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-06-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 08-06-08
By John Judy
AVENGERS INVADERS #4 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski. Only eight more issues for theses crazy kids to realize they should be working TOGETHER! It’s all a misunderstanding, you see…
BOYS #21 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Hot on the heels of their hilarious, trademark-maiming cameo in LIBERTY COMICS, the Boys are back to their old mischief. Not for kids. Recommended.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #17 by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline. Back to the future with Fray and cars that fly!
COMIC BOOK COMICS #2 by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. “Our Artists at War” featuring the early WWII adventures of Siegel and Shuster, Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee and Walt Disney! From EvilTwin Comics, the geniuses behind ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! Highly recommended!
CRIMINAL 2 #4 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A new 4-parter starts here! Let us bow our unworthy heads and give thanks for this series. Highly recommended.
DMZ VOL. 5: THE HIDDEN WAR SC by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Collecting issues #23-28 of a series that’s half “Heart of Darkness” and half Woodward & Bernstein. Recommended.
ESSENTIAL MAN-THING, VOL. 2 SC by Everyone Who Was Available in the Mid-70s. For those who like their Man-Things “Giant-Size” or not at all!
FINAL CRISIS #3 of 7 by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones. Crazed Morrisonian action where un-dead is this year’s Black. Best of all? It ain’t TRINITY!
GRENDEL: GOD AND THE DEVIL SC by Matt Wagner and John K. Snyder III. A future Grendel tale in which he goes after the Pope. Gotta look!
HELLBLAZER PRESENTS: CHAS THE KNOWLEDGE #2 of 5 by Simon Oliver and Goran Sudzuka. The fate of London rests in the hands of John Constantine’s cabbie. Finally! TEEN TITANS done right!.
HOW TO LOVE HC by Actus Independent Comics. A collection of stories exploring some of the more unconventional facts of love. And it ain’t porn!
HULK #5 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. In which the Red Hulk who can jump to the moon fights the Thor who still speaks Shakespearean English and who can do so in the vacuum of space. Must… suspend… disbelief….ARGH!!!!
STORMING PARADISE #2 of 6 by Chuck Dixon and Butch Guice. Part two of this alternate history in which the bomb failed and the US had to invade Japan to end WWII. Part one showed a lot of promise. Worth a look if history and war comics are your thing. Teens and up.
THE TWELVE #7 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. This issue focuses on Captain Wonder and his old pal Tim. Also, the Blue Blade finally makes it big! Recommended!
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #3 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. How Charles and Magneto opened their first franchise in the Savage Land.
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN #1 of 5 by Zeb Wells and Angel Medina. A creepy-looking story of how Eddie Brock has always been pretty creepy even before his tongue got ten feet long. A must for Venom fans.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
AVENGERS INVADERS #4 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski. Only eight more issues for theses crazy kids to realize they should be working TOGETHER! It’s all a misunderstanding, you see…
BOYS #21 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Hot on the heels of their hilarious, trademark-maiming cameo in LIBERTY COMICS, the Boys are back to their old mischief. Not for kids. Recommended.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #17 by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline. Back to the future with Fray and cars that fly!
COMIC BOOK COMICS #2 by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. “Our Artists at War” featuring the early WWII adventures of Siegel and Shuster, Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee and Walt Disney! From EvilTwin Comics, the geniuses behind ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! Highly recommended!
CRIMINAL 2 #4 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A new 4-parter starts here! Let us bow our unworthy heads and give thanks for this series. Highly recommended.
DMZ VOL. 5: THE HIDDEN WAR SC by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Collecting issues #23-28 of a series that’s half “Heart of Darkness” and half Woodward & Bernstein. Recommended.
ESSENTIAL MAN-THING, VOL. 2 SC by Everyone Who Was Available in the Mid-70s. For those who like their Man-Things “Giant-Size” or not at all!
FINAL CRISIS #3 of 7 by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones. Crazed Morrisonian action where un-dead is this year’s Black. Best of all? It ain’t TRINITY!
GRENDEL: GOD AND THE DEVIL SC by Matt Wagner and John K. Snyder III. A future Grendel tale in which he goes after the Pope. Gotta look!
HELLBLAZER PRESENTS: CHAS THE KNOWLEDGE #2 of 5 by Simon Oliver and Goran Sudzuka. The fate of London rests in the hands of John Constantine’s cabbie. Finally! TEEN TITANS done right!.
HOW TO LOVE HC by Actus Independent Comics. A collection of stories exploring some of the more unconventional facts of love. And it ain’t porn!
HULK #5 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. In which the Red Hulk who can jump to the moon fights the Thor who still speaks Shakespearean English and who can do so in the vacuum of space. Must… suspend… disbelief….ARGH!!!!
STORMING PARADISE #2 of 6 by Chuck Dixon and Butch Guice. Part two of this alternate history in which the bomb failed and the US had to invade Japan to end WWII. Part one showed a lot of promise. Worth a look if history and war comics are your thing. Teens and up.
THE TWELVE #7 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. This issue focuses on Captain Wonder and his old pal Tim. Also, the Blue Blade finally makes it big! Recommended!
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #3 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. How Charles and Magneto opened their first franchise in the Savage Land.
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN #1 of 5 by Zeb Wells and Angel Medina. A creepy-looking story of how Eddie Brock has always been pretty creepy even before his tongue got ten feet long. A must for Venom fans.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, July 28, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-30-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-30-08
By John Judy
BLACK PANTHER #39 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. Okay, much as I like regular PANTHER scribe Reginald Hudlin, the thought of Jason Aaron, the creator of SCALPED, writing the issue in which the Panther and his kingdom throw down with the Skrull army… Let’s just say it was a “Ledger as Joker Moment.” Highly Recommended.
DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES, VOL. 5 HC by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. The final adventures of the Silver-Age’s strangest team. Collecting issues #114-121. Six-hundred bucks in Near-Mint. A lot cheaper here. Highly Recommended.
ELEPHANTMEN VOL. 1: WOUNDED ANIMALS SC by Richard Starkings and Moritat. Collecting the first seven issues of what Publisher’s Weekly calls a “superior dystopian sci-fi tale” and “a lightning-fast but addictive read.” Recommended.
ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 7 SC by The Guys Who Did FF When I Was a Kid. Collecting issues #138-159, plus two Annuals and more. This one has the first appearance of Madrox the Multiple Man and the wedding of Quicksilver and Crystal. Fun stuff, hours of entertainment, dirt cheap!
GREEN LANTERN #33 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The adventures of Hal Jordan and his good buddy Sinestro continue. For realz.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL #1 by Geoff Johns and Jerry Ordway. Power Girl gets her dream come true: Earth-2 lives again! Works for me.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DEFENDERS VOL. 1 HC by Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, Ross Andru and Sal Buscema. Collecting SUB MARINER #34 & 35, MARVEL FEATURE #1-3, and DEFENDERS #1-6. These comics would set you back almost 800 bucks if you bought them from the back issue bin. Cheaper here. Featuring Doc Strange, Sub-Mariner, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer! Evil don’t stand a chance! Recommended.
NEWUNIVERSAL: 1959 by Kieron Gillen and Greg Scott. Warren Ellis’s “hand-picked” protégé writer takes on the history of the New New Universe, making it, in theory, the New New Universe of Old. Anyway, if you can still remember the last issue of NEWUNIVERSAL (early May 2008), there was a guy named Philip Voight who killed superpeople back in the 50s. This is his story.
NORTHLANDERS #8 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. No Skrulls! No Mutants! Just good old fashioned Vikings and Violence! Highly recommended!
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. Start making your holiday wish lists!
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS # 5 of 7 by Alex Ross and Company. Souring people on the Golden Age of Comics one issue at a time.
REIGN IN HELL #1 of 8 by Keith Giffen and Matt Clark. It’s a battle for the rulership of Hell in the DC Universe. I nominate whoever thought it would be a good idea to keep doing year-long weeklies after “52.”
SKRULLS VS POWER PACK #1 of 4 by Fred Van Lente and Cory Hamscher. Wow. Who do you root for here? I root for Van Lente because he did ACTION PHILOSOPHERS!
THOR #10 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. If the pay-off to this story is not something along the lines of “Loki, how stupid do you think we are?” I for one am going to feel let down. Good stuff. Also out this week is the first trade collection featuring issues #1-6. Enjoy!
TRINITY #9 by Various Creators. Okay, I hate to say this because some of the creators involved are very talented and/or nice people, but this series is Not Good. DC is asking fans for a total of $155.48 plus local sales taxes over the course of a year for this book and …. No. “52” was worth it. COUNTDOWN and now TRINITY are not. Take the three bucks a week and try a new series, kids. Or save up for a trade collection. SCALPED, NORTHLANDERS, CRIMINAL or (heck, if it has to be capes) why not ASTRO CITY? These are all great books that deserve more support. DC should wrap up TRINITY ten months early and blame the Time-Trapper or something. Un-Recommended.
TRUE BELIEVERS #1 of 5 by Cary Bates and Paul Gulacy. A veteran creative team brings us a super-team for the Information Age, a crazy bunch of kids who expose evil on the internets, kind of like MoveOn.Org but with skimpier outfits. There’s a preview on Marvel’s website. Worth a look, but not for younger kids.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #124 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. Ultimate Beetle, I swear to god…. Plus Ultimate Venom is naked.
WOLVERINE #67 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The imaginary story “Old Man Logan” continues as Hawkeye and Logan head East and Logan tries not to kill people. It’s very entertaining but I still want my money back for “Wanted”, Mr. Millar. Recommended.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #27 by Daniel Way and Stephen Segovia. Balancing out the quality of the main Wolverine title is the transcendent suckiness of this one. Like Yin and Yang, for every Wolverine story employing subtlety and nuance in his character, there is another which invents tranny clones and long-lost sons who are able to have tattoos despite an inherited healing factor which would make tattoos impossible. What is the sound of one hand ripping a bad comic to pieces? Cleansing breaths now. Ommm….
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
BLACK PANTHER #39 by Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo. Okay, much as I like regular PANTHER scribe Reginald Hudlin, the thought of Jason Aaron, the creator of SCALPED, writing the issue in which the Panther and his kingdom throw down with the Skrull army… Let’s just say it was a “Ledger as Joker Moment.” Highly Recommended.
DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES, VOL. 5 HC by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. The final adventures of the Silver-Age’s strangest team. Collecting issues #114-121. Six-hundred bucks in Near-Mint. A lot cheaper here. Highly Recommended.
ELEPHANTMEN VOL. 1: WOUNDED ANIMALS SC by Richard Starkings and Moritat. Collecting the first seven issues of what Publisher’s Weekly calls a “superior dystopian sci-fi tale” and “a lightning-fast but addictive read.” Recommended.
ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 7 SC by The Guys Who Did FF When I Was a Kid. Collecting issues #138-159, plus two Annuals and more. This one has the first appearance of Madrox the Multiple Man and the wedding of Quicksilver and Crystal. Fun stuff, hours of entertainment, dirt cheap!
GREEN LANTERN #33 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The adventures of Hal Jordan and his good buddy Sinestro continue. For realz.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL #1 by Geoff Johns and Jerry Ordway. Power Girl gets her dream come true: Earth-2 lives again! Works for me.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DEFENDERS VOL. 1 HC by Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, Ross Andru and Sal Buscema. Collecting SUB MARINER #34 & 35, MARVEL FEATURE #1-3, and DEFENDERS #1-6. These comics would set you back almost 800 bucks if you bought them from the back issue bin. Cheaper here. Featuring Doc Strange, Sub-Mariner, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer! Evil don’t stand a chance! Recommended.
NEWUNIVERSAL: 1959 by Kieron Gillen and Greg Scott. Warren Ellis’s “hand-picked” protégé writer takes on the history of the New New Universe, making it, in theory, the New New Universe of Old. Anyway, if you can still remember the last issue of NEWUNIVERSAL (early May 2008), there was a guy named Philip Voight who killed superpeople back in the 50s. This is his story.
NORTHLANDERS #8 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. No Skrulls! No Mutants! Just good old fashioned Vikings and Violence! Highly recommended!
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. Start making your holiday wish lists!
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS # 5 of 7 by Alex Ross and Company. Souring people on the Golden Age of Comics one issue at a time.
REIGN IN HELL #1 of 8 by Keith Giffen and Matt Clark. It’s a battle for the rulership of Hell in the DC Universe. I nominate whoever thought it would be a good idea to keep doing year-long weeklies after “52.”
SKRULLS VS POWER PACK #1 of 4 by Fred Van Lente and Cory Hamscher. Wow. Who do you root for here? I root for Van Lente because he did ACTION PHILOSOPHERS!
THOR #10 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. If the pay-off to this story is not something along the lines of “Loki, how stupid do you think we are?” I for one am going to feel let down. Good stuff. Also out this week is the first trade collection featuring issues #1-6. Enjoy!
TRINITY #9 by Various Creators. Okay, I hate to say this because some of the creators involved are very talented and/or nice people, but this series is Not Good. DC is asking fans for a total of $155.48 plus local sales taxes over the course of a year for this book and …. No. “52” was worth it. COUNTDOWN and now TRINITY are not. Take the three bucks a week and try a new series, kids. Or save up for a trade collection. SCALPED, NORTHLANDERS, CRIMINAL or (heck, if it has to be capes) why not ASTRO CITY? These are all great books that deserve more support. DC should wrap up TRINITY ten months early and blame the Time-Trapper or something. Un-Recommended.
TRUE BELIEVERS #1 of 5 by Cary Bates and Paul Gulacy. A veteran creative team brings us a super-team for the Information Age, a crazy bunch of kids who expose evil on the internets, kind of like MoveOn.Org but with skimpier outfits. There’s a preview on Marvel’s website. Worth a look, but not for younger kids.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #124 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. Ultimate Beetle, I swear to god…. Plus Ultimate Venom is naked.
WOLVERINE #67 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The imaginary story “Old Man Logan” continues as Hawkeye and Logan head East and Logan tries not to kill people. It’s very entertaining but I still want my money back for “Wanted”, Mr. Millar. Recommended.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #27 by Daniel Way and Stephen Segovia. Balancing out the quality of the main Wolverine title is the transcendent suckiness of this one. Like Yin and Yang, for every Wolverine story employing subtlety and nuance in his character, there is another which invents tranny clones and long-lost sons who are able to have tattoos despite an inherited healing factor which would make tattoos impossible. What is the sound of one hand ripping a bad comic to pieces? Cleansing breaths now. Ommm….
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, July 20, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-23-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-23-08
By John Judy
AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #1 of 6 by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming and Al Milgrom. Remember how we all laughed back in the 1980s? We had these funny Presidents who never knew what they were talking about and one of them liked jelly beans an awful lot, maybe too much and… Well, if you’d like to relive those days at roughly ten times the price then this book is for you!
AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 HC written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Collecting the legendary first 14 issues of the series that put Howard Chaykin on the map. Twenty-five years in the making this one’s finally coming out from Image. Recommended.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #15 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Harvey Tolibao. Skrull-kickings galore! What more could anyone ask?
BLACK PANTHER #38 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portela. T’Challa vs. Killmonger, the final round. Look whose name is on the comic, kids. Good stuff.
BLACK SUMMER #7 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. It’s crazy John Horus vs. Everyone in the mushroom cloudy finale! To take the edge off Ellis dumping THUNDERBOLTS. Not for kids.
BRAVE AND BOLD #15 by Mark Waid and Scott Kolins. Okay, would ya believe Nightwing and Hawkman? I think Frank Miller should make money every time a superhero jumps through a hail of ninja arrows in a comic book. Just puttin’ it out there…
BROKEN TRINITY #1 of 3 by Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic. At first I thought this was some sort of a confession from DC but then I looked and saw it was from Top Cow and involved Witchblade, The Darkness and an Angelus that had nothing to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Okay.
DAN DARE #7 of 7 by Garth Ennis, Gary Erskine, and Gary Leach. The double-sized final issue as Dan and the Mekon throw down hard. Stiff upper lips all around! Think of England! Recommended!
DAREDEVIL #109 by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Matt starts using his head to figure out why the feds want the wrong man executed. This has to involve Cheney…
FLASH COMPANION SC by Keith Dallas. If you’re a fan of any of the four men to wear the lightning then you’ll want this collection of interviews, articles and never before seen artwork from Two Morrows Publishing. Recommended.
GRAVEL #3 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Quick! An issue of GRAVEL has escaped from Avatar Press! Somebody catch it!
IMAGE MONSTER PILE-UP #1 by Many People. A sampler pack of Image monster characters, including the Astounding Wolf-Man, Firebreather, Perhapanauts, and Proof. Four new stories for the curious and the obsessive. Dirt-cheap!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17 by Duane Swierczynski, Russ Heath and Travel Foreman. The first issue by the new creative team, but is it the last for Danny Rand? All-new adventures of the toughest guy ever to wear yellow slippers.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. Wonder Woman fights Amazo. See if I’m lying.
LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK by Various Creators including Brubaker, Ennis, Cooke, Evanier, Phillips and Millar. Featuring all-new stories from the worlds of CRIMINAL and THE BOYS with lots of other goodies from today’s top creators. Not for kids but essential reading. If you love comics and hate censorship this is your book! Highly Recommended x Infinity.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 HC by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #5-8. If you don’t have $46,000 on you for the original books give this a read. Classic stuff.
NEW AVENGERS #43 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. Further explorations of the Skrull-kickings motif.
SCRAMBLED INK HC by A Bunch of Dreamworks Animators. A collection of stories illustrated by the folks who brought you “Shrek” among other things. There’s a preview over on the Dark Horse website and it looks beautiful. Gotta look!
SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN: THE WHOLE SHEBANG SC by Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon, Mondy Carter, and Jack Grey. Collecting SCUD #1-24, the whole magilla right here in one book. “If ya have to ask….”
SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY ARCHIVES, VOL. 3 HC by Joe Samachson and Arthur Cazeneuve. The final volume collecting LEADING COMICS #9-14 from the closing years of WWII. In original form these comics would cost you around $6,000. This book is cheaper.
SHE-HULK #31 by Peter David and Vincenzo Cucca. Guest-starring X-Factor and lots of Skrulls, who I daresay shall experience the kickings.
SKRULLS ONE-SHOT by John Rhett Thomas and Alan Smithee. Who are these Skrull people anyway and why do they merit the kickings?
SPIRIT #19 by Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier and Paul Smith. More adventures of Eisner’s classic gumshoe, almost certainly better than the upcoming movie.
SUPERMAN #678 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. Superman dukes it out with Atlas. Place yer bets!
TRINITY #8 by Kurt Busiek and Everybody. New drinking game: Every time the word “trinity” appears in this comic you have to drink. If tarot cards appear you have to drink. If the pictures on the tarot cards change to Superman, Batman and/or Wonder Woman you have to put down the comic and go for a walk (not a drive!). If you’re DC editorial and you’re running this title every week for a year while simultaneously trying to re-launch Madam Xanadu you have to stop drinking forever.
TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE #1 of 2 by Mark Sable and Jeses Saiz. The origin of the coolest, scariest Bat-villain EVER!
UNCANNY X-MEN #500 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Greg Land and Terry Dodson. Okay, how about this: Every time Greg Land draws a character smiling really broadly you have to drink. If you can see both rows of teeth you have to drink twice. Don’t play this game if you’re pregnant or want to get more than five pages into the comic.
WAR HEROES #1 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tony Harris. Let us consider this book Millar’s apology for the movie “Wanted.” As long-time collaborator Bryan Hitch says: “Millar, you fool. We should have done this as ULTIMATES 3!” (Anyone who has read ULTIMATES 3 would have to agree.) With art by the wonderful Tony Harris of STARMAN and EX MACHINA fame. Recommended.
X-FILES SPECIAL #0 by Frank Spotnitz and Brian Denham. I’m told this used to be on that box with the little people in it.
X-MEN LEGACY #214 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Wrapping up the battle between Professor X and the X-villain with the name so stupid I can’t bring myself to type it. Rhymes with “Sister Minister” which is actually a much better name for an X-villain.
(Enjoy Comic-Con, everybody! If you see Jerry Robinson in Artists Alley be sure to thank him for co-creating the Joker!)
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #1 of 6 by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming and Al Milgrom. Remember how we all laughed back in the 1980s? We had these funny Presidents who never knew what they were talking about and one of them liked jelly beans an awful lot, maybe too much and… Well, if you’d like to relive those days at roughly ten times the price then this book is for you!
AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 HC written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Collecting the legendary first 14 issues of the series that put Howard Chaykin on the map. Twenty-five years in the making this one’s finally coming out from Image. Recommended.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #15 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Harvey Tolibao. Skrull-kickings galore! What more could anyone ask?
BLACK PANTHER #38 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portela. T’Challa vs. Killmonger, the final round. Look whose name is on the comic, kids. Good stuff.
BLACK SUMMER #7 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. It’s crazy John Horus vs. Everyone in the mushroom cloudy finale! To take the edge off Ellis dumping THUNDERBOLTS. Not for kids.
BRAVE AND BOLD #15 by Mark Waid and Scott Kolins. Okay, would ya believe Nightwing and Hawkman? I think Frank Miller should make money every time a superhero jumps through a hail of ninja arrows in a comic book. Just puttin’ it out there…
BROKEN TRINITY #1 of 3 by Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic. At first I thought this was some sort of a confession from DC but then I looked and saw it was from Top Cow and involved Witchblade, The Darkness and an Angelus that had nothing to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Okay.
DAN DARE #7 of 7 by Garth Ennis, Gary Erskine, and Gary Leach. The double-sized final issue as Dan and the Mekon throw down hard. Stiff upper lips all around! Think of England! Recommended!
DAREDEVIL #109 by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Matt starts using his head to figure out why the feds want the wrong man executed. This has to involve Cheney…
FLASH COMPANION SC by Keith Dallas. If you’re a fan of any of the four men to wear the lightning then you’ll want this collection of interviews, articles and never before seen artwork from Two Morrows Publishing. Recommended.
GRAVEL #3 by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Oscar Jimenez. Quick! An issue of GRAVEL has escaped from Avatar Press! Somebody catch it!
IMAGE MONSTER PILE-UP #1 by Many People. A sampler pack of Image monster characters, including the Astounding Wolf-Man, Firebreather, Perhapanauts, and Proof. Four new stories for the curious and the obsessive. Dirt-cheap!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17 by Duane Swierczynski, Russ Heath and Travel Foreman. The first issue by the new creative team, but is it the last for Danny Rand? All-new adventures of the toughest guy ever to wear yellow slippers.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. Wonder Woman fights Amazo. See if I’m lying.
LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK by Various Creators including Brubaker, Ennis, Cooke, Evanier, Phillips and Millar. Featuring all-new stories from the worlds of CRIMINAL and THE BOYS with lots of other goodies from today’s top creators. Not for kids but essential reading. If you love comics and hate censorship this is your book! Highly Recommended x Infinity.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 HC by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #5-8. If you don’t have $46,000 on you for the original books give this a read. Classic stuff.
NEW AVENGERS #43 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. Further explorations of the Skrull-kickings motif.
SCRAMBLED INK HC by A Bunch of Dreamworks Animators. A collection of stories illustrated by the folks who brought you “Shrek” among other things. There’s a preview over on the Dark Horse website and it looks beautiful. Gotta look!
SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN: THE WHOLE SHEBANG SC by Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon, Mondy Carter, and Jack Grey. Collecting SCUD #1-24, the whole magilla right here in one book. “If ya have to ask….”
SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY ARCHIVES, VOL. 3 HC by Joe Samachson and Arthur Cazeneuve. The final volume collecting LEADING COMICS #9-14 from the closing years of WWII. In original form these comics would cost you around $6,000. This book is cheaper.
SHE-HULK #31 by Peter David and Vincenzo Cucca. Guest-starring X-Factor and lots of Skrulls, who I daresay shall experience the kickings.
SKRULLS ONE-SHOT by John Rhett Thomas and Alan Smithee. Who are these Skrull people anyway and why do they merit the kickings?
SPIRIT #19 by Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier and Paul Smith. More adventures of Eisner’s classic gumshoe, almost certainly better than the upcoming movie.
SUPERMAN #678 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. Superman dukes it out with Atlas. Place yer bets!
TRINITY #8 by Kurt Busiek and Everybody. New drinking game: Every time the word “trinity” appears in this comic you have to drink. If tarot cards appear you have to drink. If the pictures on the tarot cards change to Superman, Batman and/or Wonder Woman you have to put down the comic and go for a walk (not a drive!). If you’re DC editorial and you’re running this title every week for a year while simultaneously trying to re-launch Madam Xanadu you have to stop drinking forever.
TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE #1 of 2 by Mark Sable and Jeses Saiz. The origin of the coolest, scariest Bat-villain EVER!
UNCANNY X-MEN #500 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Greg Land and Terry Dodson. Okay, how about this: Every time Greg Land draws a character smiling really broadly you have to drink. If you can see both rows of teeth you have to drink twice. Don’t play this game if you’re pregnant or want to get more than five pages into the comic.
WAR HEROES #1 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tony Harris. Let us consider this book Millar’s apology for the movie “Wanted.” As long-time collaborator Bryan Hitch says: “Millar, you fool. We should have done this as ULTIMATES 3!” (Anyone who has read ULTIMATES 3 would have to agree.) With art by the wonderful Tony Harris of STARMAN and EX MACHINA fame. Recommended.
X-FILES SPECIAL #0 by Frank Spotnitz and Brian Denham. I’m told this used to be on that box with the little people in it.
X-MEN LEGACY #214 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Wrapping up the battle between Professor X and the X-villain with the name so stupid I can’t bring myself to type it. Rhymes with “Sister Minister” which is actually a much better name for an X-villain.
(Enjoy Comic-Con, everybody! If you see Jerry Robinson in Artists Alley be sure to thank him for co-creating the Joker!)
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, July 14, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-16-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-16-08
“Why so serious?”
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566 by Marc Gugenheim and Phil Jimenez. Spidey needs a little help from Daredevil to rescue his roommate from Kraven’s daughter or whoever she is. Not sure why exactly but Phil Jimenez draws everything pretty so who cares?
ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE BOOK 1 HC by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Collecting the first eight issues of “The Dark Age”, the story of Astro City in the seventies when the Silver Agent got whacked. Great stuff, too infrequently seen on the racks. Recommended.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #40 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Crazy 1950s Cap vs. Tortured Cyborg Bucky-Cap! For da title! And the Red Skull’s daughter does A Bad Thing.
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #1 by Tim Truman, Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben. Conan learns you can’t go home again unless you’re willing to kill dozens of people with swords, axes, your bare hands and some ornate, twisty thing I don’t really know the name of. Great fun.
EC ARCHIVES: WEIRD SCIENCE VOL. 3 HC by The Geniuses of Their Age. Yeah, you know you want this!
FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES REVENGE #1 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. The Flash rogues must answer for the murder of Bart Allen. So should the guys who wrote his FLASH series but we can’t have everything. It’s Geoff Johns and he writes good Flash comics. Recommended.
GHOST RIDER #25 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. Ghost Rider in Prison by the guy who writes SCALPED! As good as this title can get! Recommended!
HELLBLAZER #246 by Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy. It’s “Constantine Meets Blair Witch” as a bunch of hapless documentary film-makers blunder into Newcastle. A very bad place to look for Constantinalia… Highly recommended.
HOUDINI THE HANDCUFF KING SC by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi. An informative episode from the life of the world’s most famous magician/escape artist. Recommended.
HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC by Kyle Baker. Sadly there is nothing in here about how to get the next issue of SPECIAL FORCES on the rack. Still recommended because Baker is a gol-darn genius!
HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS HC by Steve Gerber and Many Worthy Collaborators. Great. Like Marvel couldn’t have done this while Gerber was still alive… Recommended anyway because this is really great stuff. As close to the subversion of the underground comix as mainstream super companies ever got. Very worth having.
MARVEL 1985 #3 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards. On the basis of how badly the movie “Wanted” sucked I could justify never reading another Mark Millar book again. But everyone’s entitled to a mistake now and then and this book is actually sort of fun. Worth a look.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #16 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. The secret origin of “Skrullectra.” At this point you’re either into it or you’re not. Gotta look.
PUNISHER #59 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. They should kill Frank or cancel the title when Ennis leaves but they won’t. Amazing run. Bravo. Highly recommended.
SCALPED #19 by Jason Aaron and David Furno. Lots of The Sexy in this issue but being SCALPED it’s gonna have a dark twist. Why is everyone in the world not buying this title? Does it not suck enough to be popular? Highly recommended.
SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL #1 of 4 by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru. Hey, I’ll bet this is as good as ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL! What?
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC written and drawn by Alex Robinson. A really fun fantasy about a grown man sent back in time via hypnosis to the 1980s to relive high school. Hey, it worked for Batman in the fifties! Recommended.
UNIVERSAL WAR #1 of 3 written and drawn by Denis Bajram. Some f’reign sci-fi space opera done up in proper American, the way the Lord intended. Yee-haw!
WAR IS HELL: FIRST FLIGHT OF HE PHANTOM EAGLE #5 of 5 by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. The final issue in which we learn whether the PE has gone nuts. Or if he always was… If you like Ennis war comics you’ll like this.
X-FACTOR #33 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. Lotta cross-over stuff in this issue which Peter David handles better than most.
Enjoy “Dark Knight” everybody! - JJ
www.johnjudy.net
“Why so serious?”
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566 by Marc Gugenheim and Phil Jimenez. Spidey needs a little help from Daredevil to rescue his roommate from Kraven’s daughter or whoever she is. Not sure why exactly but Phil Jimenez draws everything pretty so who cares?
ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE BOOK 1 HC by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Collecting the first eight issues of “The Dark Age”, the story of Astro City in the seventies when the Silver Agent got whacked. Great stuff, too infrequently seen on the racks. Recommended.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #40 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Crazy 1950s Cap vs. Tortured Cyborg Bucky-Cap! For da title! And the Red Skull’s daughter does A Bad Thing.
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #1 by Tim Truman, Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben. Conan learns you can’t go home again unless you’re willing to kill dozens of people with swords, axes, your bare hands and some ornate, twisty thing I don’t really know the name of. Great fun.
EC ARCHIVES: WEIRD SCIENCE VOL. 3 HC by The Geniuses of Their Age. Yeah, you know you want this!
FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES REVENGE #1 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. The Flash rogues must answer for the murder of Bart Allen. So should the guys who wrote his FLASH series but we can’t have everything. It’s Geoff Johns and he writes good Flash comics. Recommended.
GHOST RIDER #25 by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat. Ghost Rider in Prison by the guy who writes SCALPED! As good as this title can get! Recommended!
HELLBLAZER #246 by Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy. It’s “Constantine Meets Blair Witch” as a bunch of hapless documentary film-makers blunder into Newcastle. A very bad place to look for Constantinalia… Highly recommended.
HOUDINI THE HANDCUFF KING SC by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi. An informative episode from the life of the world’s most famous magician/escape artist. Recommended.
HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC by Kyle Baker. Sadly there is nothing in here about how to get the next issue of SPECIAL FORCES on the rack. Still recommended because Baker is a gol-darn genius!
HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS HC by Steve Gerber and Many Worthy Collaborators. Great. Like Marvel couldn’t have done this while Gerber was still alive… Recommended anyway because this is really great stuff. As close to the subversion of the underground comix as mainstream super companies ever got. Very worth having.
MARVEL 1985 #3 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards. On the basis of how badly the movie “Wanted” sucked I could justify never reading another Mark Millar book again. But everyone’s entitled to a mistake now and then and this book is actually sort of fun. Worth a look.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #16 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. The secret origin of “Skrullectra.” At this point you’re either into it or you’re not. Gotta look.
PUNISHER #59 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. They should kill Frank or cancel the title when Ennis leaves but they won’t. Amazing run. Bravo. Highly recommended.
SCALPED #19 by Jason Aaron and David Furno. Lots of The Sexy in this issue but being SCALPED it’s gonna have a dark twist. Why is everyone in the world not buying this title? Does it not suck enough to be popular? Highly recommended.
SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL #1 of 4 by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru. Hey, I’ll bet this is as good as ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL! What?
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC written and drawn by Alex Robinson. A really fun fantasy about a grown man sent back in time via hypnosis to the 1980s to relive high school. Hey, it worked for Batman in the fifties! Recommended.
UNIVERSAL WAR #1 of 3 written and drawn by Denis Bajram. Some f’reign sci-fi space opera done up in proper American, the way the Lord intended. Yee-haw!
WAR IS HELL: FIRST FLIGHT OF HE PHANTOM EAGLE #5 of 5 by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. The final issue in which we learn whether the PE has gone nuts. Or if he always was… If you like Ennis war comics you’ll like this.
X-FACTOR #33 by Peter David and Larry Stroman. Lotta cross-over stuff in this issue which Peter David handles better than most.
Enjoy “Dark Knight” everybody! - JJ
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, July 06, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY (not Wednesday) 07-10-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY (not Wednesday) 07-10-08
By John Judy
BOOSTER GOLD #1,000,000 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens. Booster meets Peter Platinum, who is a superhero, NOT a star of a certain type of movie! So don’t even go there, pal!
BPRD: THE WARNING #1 of 5 by Matt Wagner, John Arcudi and Guy Davis. Armageddon threatens. Time for the team to punch in.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #0 by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Look what happens when “Heroes” gets shut down by a writers strike! (Not saying this should happen more often…)
CRIMINAL VOL. 3: DEAD AND DYING SC by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Collecting the done-in-one masterpieces we all must have in our glass-covered, climate-controlled bookcases. Highly Recommended.
DEAD SHE SAID #2 by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. Posthumous noir by horror’s master illustrator. IDW Publishing is doing its best to keep all knowledge of this series to itself. Don’t let them!
FINAL CRISIS: REQUIEM #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. DC says this is “a very special FINAL CRISIS one-shot” which, given that it’s a tie-in to this year’s huge Summer cross-over series, may be code for “this one doesn’t suck.”
GOON #26 by Eric Powell. “Bill, ya can’t eat a whole bag of cookies and follow it up with a whole chocolate-covered cat! You’ll ruin yer dinner!” Also featuring machine guns and axes. Recommended!
I KILL GIANTS #1 of 7 by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura. The story of a 5th grade girl and her Norse giant-killing war hammer. “Hello kitty!” Gotta look.
JOKER’S ASYLUM: PENGUIN by Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson. This is written by Jason Aaron, therefore all must read it.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #17 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. This and ASTRO CITY are the last two projects with which Alex Ross is even tangentally associated that don’t make me want to break things and give up comics.
KYLE BAKER’S NAT TURNER HC & SC by KB. For all of us who wondered whatever happened to this title. Still recommended because Baker’s a friggin’ genius.
NEIL GAIMAN’S CORALINE GN by NG and P. Craig Russell. It was text with illustrations. Now it’s the opposite. P. Craig and Neil: ALWAYS a winning combination. Recommended.
SECRET INVASION #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. Skrulls! They kick puppies! They green-lit “The Love Guru!” They rigged the last two elections! Miley Cyrus is a dirty !@#$* Skrull!
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #2 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. It’s Ultimate Project Pegasus! No lie! And the origin of Ultimate Captain America. No Skrulls. Yet.
WOLFSKIN ANNUAL #1 by Warren Ellis Mike Wolfer and Gianluca Pagliarani. Wolfskin. He’s Conan without the sensitivity. Plot credit to Ellis so it probably contains the requisite Depraved Indifference to Human Life we demand of such things.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
BOOSTER GOLD #1,000,000 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens. Booster meets Peter Platinum, who is a superhero, NOT a star of a certain type of movie! So don’t even go there, pal!
BPRD: THE WARNING #1 of 5 by Matt Wagner, John Arcudi and Guy Davis. Armageddon threatens. Time for the team to punch in.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #0 by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Look what happens when “Heroes” gets shut down by a writers strike! (Not saying this should happen more often…)
CRIMINAL VOL. 3: DEAD AND DYING SC by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Collecting the done-in-one masterpieces we all must have in our glass-covered, climate-controlled bookcases. Highly Recommended.
DEAD SHE SAID #2 by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. Posthumous noir by horror’s master illustrator. IDW Publishing is doing its best to keep all knowledge of this series to itself. Don’t let them!
FINAL CRISIS: REQUIEM #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. DC says this is “a very special FINAL CRISIS one-shot” which, given that it’s a tie-in to this year’s huge Summer cross-over series, may be code for “this one doesn’t suck.”
GOON #26 by Eric Powell. “Bill, ya can’t eat a whole bag of cookies and follow it up with a whole chocolate-covered cat! You’ll ruin yer dinner!” Also featuring machine guns and axes. Recommended!
I KILL GIANTS #1 of 7 by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura. The story of a 5th grade girl and her Norse giant-killing war hammer. “Hello kitty!” Gotta look.
JOKER’S ASYLUM: PENGUIN by Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson. This is written by Jason Aaron, therefore all must read it.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #17 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. This and ASTRO CITY are the last two projects with which Alex Ross is even tangentally associated that don’t make me want to break things and give up comics.
KYLE BAKER’S NAT TURNER HC & SC by KB. For all of us who wondered whatever happened to this title. Still recommended because Baker’s a friggin’ genius.
NEIL GAIMAN’S CORALINE GN by NG and P. Craig Russell. It was text with illustrations. Now it’s the opposite. P. Craig and Neil: ALWAYS a winning combination. Recommended.
SECRET INVASION #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. Skrulls! They kick puppies! They green-lit “The Love Guru!” They rigged the last two elections! Miley Cyrus is a dirty !@#$* Skrull!
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #2 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. It’s Ultimate Project Pegasus! No lie! And the origin of Ultimate Captain America. No Skrulls. Yet.
WOLFSKIN ANNUAL #1 by Warren Ellis Mike Wolfer and Gianluca Pagliarani. Wolfskin. He’s Conan without the sensitivity. Plot credit to Ellis so it probably contains the requisite Depraved Indifference to Human Life we demand of such things.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, June 30, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-02-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-02-08
By John Judy
(Good news! They’re all better than “Hancock!”)
ASTONISHING X-MEN #25 by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. If anyone can follow the imprisonment of Kitty Pryde in an asteroid-sized metal phallus it’s Warren “Internet Jesus” Ellis. Brace yourselves. Recommended.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #7 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Wolfie gets outed as a murderer! And he seemed like such a nice werewolf…
AVENGERS/INVADERS #3 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Kreuger and Steve Sadowski. Only nine more to go til it stops.
BATMAN #678 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Bruce is having a bad day and only has three more issues to get it together. Or 17 if you want to count all those crossover issues of other series you don’t otherwise read. Yeah, me neither. Nice try, DC.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The creator of HEROBEAR takes the reins in this out-of-continuity tale of the original Captain Marvel, picking up where Jeff Smith left off at the end of “Monster Society of Evil.” Appropriate for all ages. Recommended.
BOYS #20 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The true origins of the supers continue. Recommended. Not for the faint of gorge. Or kids. Ever.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16 by Joss Whedon and Jo Chen. Buffy meets Fray and giant Dawn appears to be having giant cramps! Nuff said!
HELLBLAZER PRESENTS: CHAS - THE KNOWLEDGE #1 of 5 by Simon Oliver and Goran Sudzuka. Chas Chandler is a London cabbie and John Constantine’s oldest surviving friend. Can he use his knowledge of London’s streets and landmarks to defeat a Big Bad without the aid of his trench-coated pal? Gotta look.
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. Hellboy tries to save a man who sold his soul to a demon from West Virginia. Don’t laugh! That demon got the truck started real good!
NORTHLANDERS #7 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. It’s Go-Time for Sven the Viking as wicked Uncle Gorm decides to stop screwing around. Like “Hamlet” with less talk, more rock. Recommended.
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1 of 5 by Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente Garcia. The resurrected super-heroine has been tasked with defending Alaska from… whatever Alaska needs protecting from? Exxon-Mobil, maybe?
SQUADRON SUPREME 2 #1 written by someone who is not J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by someone who is not the guy who drew the cover. Okay, maybe they’re not all better than “Hancock.”
STEPHEN COLBERT’S TEK JANSEN #2 of 5 by People who are not Stephen Colbert. Why? Why? Why? (See above.)
TRINITY #5 by Kurt Busiek and Everyone. Okay, last issue was a big fight and a forgettable back-up story. Much as I like Busiek’s work elsewhere this is starting to smell like COUNTDOWN and it’s only issue five.
WALKING DEAD #50 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Did Rick really kill himself? Will his son have to put him down for good? A stand-alone tale that no doubt will mess with whatever uneaten brains you have left. Recommended. NOT for kids.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
(Good news! They’re all better than “Hancock!”)
ASTONISHING X-MEN #25 by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. If anyone can follow the imprisonment of Kitty Pryde in an asteroid-sized metal phallus it’s Warren “Internet Jesus” Ellis. Brace yourselves. Recommended.
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #7 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Wolfie gets outed as a murderer! And he seemed like such a nice werewolf…
AVENGERS/INVADERS #3 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Kreuger and Steve Sadowski. Only nine more to go til it stops.
BATMAN #678 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Bruce is having a bad day and only has three more issues to get it together. Or 17 if you want to count all those crossover issues of other series you don’t otherwise read. Yeah, me neither. Nice try, DC.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The creator of HEROBEAR takes the reins in this out-of-continuity tale of the original Captain Marvel, picking up where Jeff Smith left off at the end of “Monster Society of Evil.” Appropriate for all ages. Recommended.
BOYS #20 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The true origins of the supers continue. Recommended. Not for the faint of gorge. Or kids. Ever.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16 by Joss Whedon and Jo Chen. Buffy meets Fray and giant Dawn appears to be having giant cramps! Nuff said!
HELLBLAZER PRESENTS: CHAS - THE KNOWLEDGE #1 of 5 by Simon Oliver and Goran Sudzuka. Chas Chandler is a London cabbie and John Constantine’s oldest surviving friend. Can he use his knowledge of London’s streets and landmarks to defeat a Big Bad without the aid of his trench-coated pal? Gotta look.
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. Hellboy tries to save a man who sold his soul to a demon from West Virginia. Don’t laugh! That demon got the truck started real good!
NORTHLANDERS #7 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. It’s Go-Time for Sven the Viking as wicked Uncle Gorm decides to stop screwing around. Like “Hamlet” with less talk, more rock. Recommended.
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1 of 5 by Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente Garcia. The resurrected super-heroine has been tasked with defending Alaska from… whatever Alaska needs protecting from? Exxon-Mobil, maybe?
SQUADRON SUPREME 2 #1 written by someone who is not J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by someone who is not the guy who drew the cover. Okay, maybe they’re not all better than “Hancock.”
STEPHEN COLBERT’S TEK JANSEN #2 of 5 by People who are not Stephen Colbert. Why? Why? Why? (See above.)
TRINITY #5 by Kurt Busiek and Everyone. Okay, last issue was a big fight and a forgettable back-up story. Much as I like Busiek’s work elsewhere this is starting to smell like COUNTDOWN and it’s only issue five.
WALKING DEAD #50 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Did Rick really kill himself? Will his son have to put him down for good? A stand-alone tale that no doubt will mess with whatever uneaten brains you have left. Recommended. NOT for kids.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, June 23, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-25-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-25-08
By John Judy
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER HC VOL. 01 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Collecting the first nine issues of this sporadically-released endeavor in which Batman swears a lot and all the women are either slutty, mean, or Irish. But I repeat myself…
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #14 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Stefano Caselli. It’s the return of the new 3-D Man! Only Dan Slott could make this work! Recommended!
BLACK PANTHER #37 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portella. T’Challa must take down Killmonger once and for all, if only for having a name like “Killmonger.”
CAPTAIN AMERICA #39 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Two Caps! No waiting! Recommended!
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0 by Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello. An impressive team launches the latest adventures of Robert E. Howard’s most famous creation. And for only ninety-nine cents! Bargain of the week!
DAREDEVIL #108 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. DD faces his most impossible battle yet! A death penalty appeal during an election year!
EX MACHINA DELUXE EDITION HC VOL. 01 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Collecting the first eleven issues of Vaughan’s entertaining, thoughtful mix of modern politics and post-modern superhero adventures. Highly recommended.
FANTASTIC FOUR #558 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Doctor Doom by Millar and Hitch. Nuff said!
FINAL CRISIS #2 of 7 by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones. It’s action in the Mighty Morrison Manner, featuring all kinds of nifty ideas with a possible story thrown into the mix! Gotta look!
GREEN LANTERN #32 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The Secret Origin of Green Lantern continues!
HULK #4 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Red Hulk vs. Green Hulk. One’s got a gun. The other is the frikkin’ Hulk! Place your bets! (And how about that movie, huh?)
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #16 by Matt Fraction and David Aja. It’s IM’s birthday. So what do you get for the man with a huge ol’ dragon brand on his chest?
MARVEL 1985 #2 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards. In which we explore what happens when old comic book characters invade the Earth.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #15 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. A little back-story on how the Avengers got infiltrated by those dirty, low-down Skrulls!
NEW AVENGERS #42 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we find out who caused the prison break that created the New Avengers! It’s Back-Story Month from the House of Ideas!
NO HERO #0 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. From the team that brought you BLACK SUMMER comes …. Okay, a book that sounds an awful lot like BLACK SUMMER. I was actually hoping BLACK SUMMER would finish before now, but it’s Ellis so we must accept such things. This is from Avatar because material by leading comics creators should never be too easy to find on the web.
PREVIEWS from Marvel and Diamond Comics. Peeking three months into the future has never been so easy!
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #4 of 7 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Carlos Paul. The series that exists to make you appreciate Marvel’s THE TWELVE continues!
RUNAWAYS #30 by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan. Hey, kids! It’s a new issue of RUNAWAYS! This must be 2008! Cool!
SHE-HULK #30 byPeter David and Val Semekis. Hercules fight!
SUPERMAN #677 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. The creator of the modern-age Starman joins up as the new regular Supes writer with changes and guest-stars galore for the Man of Tomorrow! Recommended!
THUNDERBOLTS #121 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. The Green Goblin will see you now…
TRINITY #4 by Kurt Busiek and Everyone! Still weekly! Still non-sucky! How long can this go on?! The adventures of DC’s Big Three continue!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #123 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. This issue begins the Ultimate version of “War of the Symbiotes” and ties in with the Ult-Spidey video game which Bendis co-wrote. Brace yourselves…
ULTIMATES 3 #4 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. This was originally scheduled for March 12th but was delayed for some reason. I’m hoping that reason was that someone at Marvel actually read the first two issues and said “No, we don’t want to publish stories in which iconic superhero brothers and sisters are doing things that are illegal outside of Texas, West Virginia and Utah. Please, sir, write something that explains it all away. We’ll wait.” That’s just a guess though.
UNCANNY X-MEN #499 by Ed Brubaker and Mike Choi. For the X-Men to live San Francisco hippies must die! Okay.
WALKING DEAD SC VOL. 08: MADE TO SUFFER by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. Collecting the apocalyptic issues 43-48 in which we learned “No one is safe.” Traumatic stuff even without the zombies. Recommended. Not for kids.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #26 by Daniel Way and Stephen Segovia. In which Wolverine learns where babies come from. This issue features new artist Segovia which means Steve Dillon must have chewed off his own leg and escaped.
X-MEN LEGACY #213 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Brain-damaged, exiled Professor X continues his search for clues as to why all those Star Trekkies keep staring at him.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 of 6 by Matt Fraction and Alan Davis. Kate Bishop has to fight Clint Barton for the name “Hawkeye.” Then she has to duke it out with Alan Alda and Daniel Day-Lewis. Maybe she should just be “Bishop.” No one’s using that name are they?
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER HC VOL. 01 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Collecting the first nine issues of this sporadically-released endeavor in which Batman swears a lot and all the women are either slutty, mean, or Irish. But I repeat myself…
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #14 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Stefano Caselli. It’s the return of the new 3-D Man! Only Dan Slott could make this work! Recommended!
BLACK PANTHER #37 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portella. T’Challa must take down Killmonger once and for all, if only for having a name like “Killmonger.”
CAPTAIN AMERICA #39 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Two Caps! No waiting! Recommended!
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0 by Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello. An impressive team launches the latest adventures of Robert E. Howard’s most famous creation. And for only ninety-nine cents! Bargain of the week!
DAREDEVIL #108 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. DD faces his most impossible battle yet! A death penalty appeal during an election year!
EX MACHINA DELUXE EDITION HC VOL. 01 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Collecting the first eleven issues of Vaughan’s entertaining, thoughtful mix of modern politics and post-modern superhero adventures. Highly recommended.
FANTASTIC FOUR #558 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Doctor Doom by Millar and Hitch. Nuff said!
FINAL CRISIS #2 of 7 by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones. It’s action in the Mighty Morrison Manner, featuring all kinds of nifty ideas with a possible story thrown into the mix! Gotta look!
GREEN LANTERN #32 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The Secret Origin of Green Lantern continues!
HULK #4 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Red Hulk vs. Green Hulk. One’s got a gun. The other is the frikkin’ Hulk! Place your bets! (And how about that movie, huh?)
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #16 by Matt Fraction and David Aja. It’s IM’s birthday. So what do you get for the man with a huge ol’ dragon brand on his chest?
MARVEL 1985 #2 of 6 by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards. In which we explore what happens when old comic book characters invade the Earth.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #15 by Brian Michael Bendis and Khoi Pham. A little back-story on how the Avengers got infiltrated by those dirty, low-down Skrulls!
NEW AVENGERS #42 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we find out who caused the prison break that created the New Avengers! It’s Back-Story Month from the House of Ideas!
NO HERO #0 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. From the team that brought you BLACK SUMMER comes …. Okay, a book that sounds an awful lot like BLACK SUMMER. I was actually hoping BLACK SUMMER would finish before now, but it’s Ellis so we must accept such things. This is from Avatar because material by leading comics creators should never be too easy to find on the web.
PREVIEWS from Marvel and Diamond Comics. Peeking three months into the future has never been so easy!
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #4 of 7 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Carlos Paul. The series that exists to make you appreciate Marvel’s THE TWELVE continues!
RUNAWAYS #30 by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan. Hey, kids! It’s a new issue of RUNAWAYS! This must be 2008! Cool!
SHE-HULK #30 byPeter David and Val Semekis. Hercules fight!
SUPERMAN #677 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. The creator of the modern-age Starman joins up as the new regular Supes writer with changes and guest-stars galore for the Man of Tomorrow! Recommended!
THUNDERBOLTS #121 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. The Green Goblin will see you now…
TRINITY #4 by Kurt Busiek and Everyone! Still weekly! Still non-sucky! How long can this go on?! The adventures of DC’s Big Three continue!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #123 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. This issue begins the Ultimate version of “War of the Symbiotes” and ties in with the Ult-Spidey video game which Bendis co-wrote. Brace yourselves…
ULTIMATES 3 #4 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. This was originally scheduled for March 12th but was delayed for some reason. I’m hoping that reason was that someone at Marvel actually read the first two issues and said “No, we don’t want to publish stories in which iconic superhero brothers and sisters are doing things that are illegal outside of Texas, West Virginia and Utah. Please, sir, write something that explains it all away. We’ll wait.” That’s just a guess though.
UNCANNY X-MEN #499 by Ed Brubaker and Mike Choi. For the X-Men to live San Francisco hippies must die! Okay.
WALKING DEAD SC VOL. 08: MADE TO SUFFER by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. Collecting the apocalyptic issues 43-48 in which we learned “No one is safe.” Traumatic stuff even without the zombies. Recommended. Not for kids.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #26 by Daniel Way and Stephen Segovia. In which Wolverine learns where babies come from. This issue features new artist Segovia which means Steve Dillon must have chewed off his own leg and escaped.
X-MEN LEGACY #213 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Brain-damaged, exiled Professor X continues his search for clues as to why all those Star Trekkies keep staring at him.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 of 6 by Matt Fraction and Alan Davis. Kate Bishop has to fight Clint Barton for the name “Hawkeye.” Then she has to duke it out with Alan Alda and Daniel Day-Lewis. Maybe she should just be “Bishop.” No one’s using that name are they?
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, June 16, 2008
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.
www.johnjudy.net
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.
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, June 08, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-11-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-11-08
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 3 HC by Neil Gaiman and Various Artists. For all of us who don’t already have every trade collection in soft and hardcover first prints.
ACTION COMICS #866 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Time to duke it out with Brainiac. Again.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #562 by Bob Gale and Mike McKone. Featuring a fake Spidey, compulsive gambling, and a last page gag that frustrated Marvel fans should appreciate.
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #8 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch and a Host of Others. Wrapping up the first night in Hell stories in which things got problematic.
BOOSTER GOLD #10 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens. Booster learns someone’s gotta die. It was really cool having “someone” back for a while….
BPRD: WAR ON FROGS #1 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Herb Trimpe. “Down to the family crypt. Two of the frogs, formerly Cavendish brothers, were there too. They seemed to be taking their mother’s corpse into the crypt for burial – under the waters of the flooded chamber.” Good times! Recommended!
COMPLETE LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE VOL. 1 HC by Harold Gray. Collecting over 1000 of the original daily strips from 1924 – 1927. Featuring Sandy the dog, Daddy Warbucks and no pupils! Ever! “Leapin’ lizards!” Recommended.
DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #7 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Remember “Desolation Jones?” Me neither. This one features a naughty nurse, so that’s good.
ETERNALS #1 by Charles & Daniel Knauf and Daniel Acuna. Continuing where Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. left off. Best appreciated by hardcore Marvel Zombies.
GOON #25 written and illustrated by Eric Powell. “What the hell is that?” “I dunno, we found it in a ditch and slung a rope round its neck. It goes flyin’ into a fit when you throw firecrackers at it. Watch.” Highly recommended.
NEWUNIVERSAL SHOCKFRONT #2 of 6 by Warren Ellis and Steve Kurth. Someone gets killed playing football so right there you have your entertainment value. Recommended.
SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST? by Lotsa People. Five stories! Only $3.99! Skrulls!
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST HC written and illustrated by Joshua Cotter. Observations of childhood isolation and existence in the American Midwest. With giant robots. Eisner Award- nominated. Recommended.
TRINITY #2 by Kurt Busiek and a Huge Support Staff. It’s Supes, Bats, and WW! Every week! Hopefully this will wash the taste of “Countdown” out of your brain!
THE TWELVE #6 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. Lotsa action and the Origin of Rockman, Underground Secret Agent! Highly recommended!
WONDER WOMAN #21 by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. WW teams up with Beowulf and Stalker, even though Stalker was a bad guy last time I read “JSA All-Stars.” Oh well, it’s Gail Simone. She’ll make it work.
X-FORCE AIN’T NO DOG by Charlie Huston and Jefte Palo AND Jason Aaron and Werther Dell’Edera. Featuring two stand-alone stories. The first is a vicious “Frank Miller’s Sin City” type of thing starring evil sociopath Wolverine. The second is a more nuanced short focusing on James Proudstar and his moral concerns at being groomed as an assassin by evil sociopath “heroes” with Xs on their costumes. It’s by Jason Aaron who writes “Scalped” so it’s a level above most X-Force material. Summing up, this X-Force is a dog but at least it knows a few tricks.
YOUNG LIARS #4 written and drawn by David Lapham. Until the next issue of “Stray Bullets” comes out we have this.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 3 HC by Neil Gaiman and Various Artists. For all of us who don’t already have every trade collection in soft and hardcover first prints.
ACTION COMICS #866 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Time to duke it out with Brainiac. Again.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #562 by Bob Gale and Mike McKone. Featuring a fake Spidey, compulsive gambling, and a last page gag that frustrated Marvel fans should appreciate.
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #8 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch and a Host of Others. Wrapping up the first night in Hell stories in which things got problematic.
BOOSTER GOLD #10 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens. Booster learns someone’s gotta die. It was really cool having “someone” back for a while….
BPRD: WAR ON FROGS #1 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Herb Trimpe. “Down to the family crypt. Two of the frogs, formerly Cavendish brothers, were there too. They seemed to be taking their mother’s corpse into the crypt for burial – under the waters of the flooded chamber.” Good times! Recommended!
COMPLETE LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE VOL. 1 HC by Harold Gray. Collecting over 1000 of the original daily strips from 1924 – 1927. Featuring Sandy the dog, Daddy Warbucks and no pupils! Ever! “Leapin’ lizards!” Recommended.
DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #7 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Remember “Desolation Jones?” Me neither. This one features a naughty nurse, so that’s good.
ETERNALS #1 by Charles & Daniel Knauf and Daniel Acuna. Continuing where Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. left off. Best appreciated by hardcore Marvel Zombies.
GOON #25 written and illustrated by Eric Powell. “What the hell is that?” “I dunno, we found it in a ditch and slung a rope round its neck. It goes flyin’ into a fit when you throw firecrackers at it. Watch.” Highly recommended.
NEWUNIVERSAL SHOCKFRONT #2 of 6 by Warren Ellis and Steve Kurth. Someone gets killed playing football so right there you have your entertainment value. Recommended.
SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST? by Lotsa People. Five stories! Only $3.99! Skrulls!
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST HC written and illustrated by Joshua Cotter. Observations of childhood isolation and existence in the American Midwest. With giant robots. Eisner Award- nominated. Recommended.
TRINITY #2 by Kurt Busiek and a Huge Support Staff. It’s Supes, Bats, and WW! Every week! Hopefully this will wash the taste of “Countdown” out of your brain!
THE TWELVE #6 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. Lotsa action and the Origin of Rockman, Underground Secret Agent! Highly recommended!
WONDER WOMAN #21 by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. WW teams up with Beowulf and Stalker, even though Stalker was a bad guy last time I read “JSA All-Stars.” Oh well, it’s Gail Simone. She’ll make it work.
X-FORCE AIN’T NO DOG by Charlie Huston and Jefte Palo AND Jason Aaron and Werther Dell’Edera. Featuring two stand-alone stories. The first is a vicious “Frank Miller’s Sin City” type of thing starring evil sociopath Wolverine. The second is a more nuanced short focusing on James Proudstar and his moral concerns at being groomed as an assassin by evil sociopath “heroes” with Xs on their costumes. It’s by Jason Aaron who writes “Scalped” so it’s a level above most X-Force material. Summing up, this X-Force is a dog but at least it knows a few tricks.
YOUNG LIARS #4 written and drawn by David Lapham. Until the next issue of “Stray Bullets” comes out we have this.
www.johnjudy.net
Monday, June 02, 2008
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-04-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 06-04-08
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #561 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin. The “Peter Parker, Paparazzi” story-line wraps up with lots of tantalizing bits about how much MJ remembers from before “Deus Ex Mephisto” knocked a million years of Spidey continuity into a cocked hat. Nice artwork by Martin, reminiscent of Tim Sale.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #3 of 4 by Harvey Pekar and Various Collaborators. “How much pain is too much?” Let’s ask Harvey! He’ll know fer sure! Great cover. Recommended.
AVENGERS/INVADERS #2 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski. Already looking like a long haul as Team Ross reveals Bucky to have been a “cutter.” But a cutter with a purpose! An insane purpose, but still a purpose! Grit your teeth.
BOYS #19 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Dark secrets of The Seven are revealed in the beginning of the four-part “I Tell You No Lie, G.I.” It’s Ennis so you know it’ll get darker. Recommended, not for kids.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #15 by Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty. Buffy’s in Japan with Dracula and a slayer squad to take down some Yakuza vamps. It could happen…
CRIMINAL 2 #3 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Seventies noir from the Femme Fatale POV! Anyone above the age of 18 who’s not reading CRIMINAL should not be allowed to vote. For anything. Ever. Highly recommended times infinity.
DUO STARS #1 written and illustrated by Ashley Wood. In the words of the writer/artist himself: “underground mech racing pretty much sums it up.” Good enough for me!
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Stane’s kid wants to get back at Tony. And from there all stories flow…
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #16 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. “Gog” starts here. Hey, he’s a grey, wrinkly giant with gold horns. What could go wrong?
KICK-ASS #3 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. It’s like WATCHMEN except only the 40s origin flashbacks and imagine Hooded Justice as a pimply YouTube stunt moron. Like that.
MONSTER ZOO GN written and illustrated by Doug Tennapel. The story of a young boy who discovers that his local zoo may be home to… Oh, right, like I’m gonna give it away! From the creator of Earthworm Jim and Cat Scratch.
NUMBER 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 HC by Thomas Ott. A suspense story without words from Swiss artist Thomas Ott. Very creepy and very worth a look.
SECRET INVASION #3 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. Lotsa fights between people in spandex being provoked by dirty aliens. Sounds like the FoxNews green room…
SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAUNTED TANK VOL. 2 SC by Robert Kanigher, Joe Kubert, and Other Deities. It’s 500 pages of a WWII tank with a dead Confederate General in it. How can this not be great?
TRINITY #1 by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Many, Many Arists. Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. All other trinities need not apply.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. The Ultimate Universe: “It’s all connected!” Whether it needs to be or not…
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #561 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin. The “Peter Parker, Paparazzi” story-line wraps up with lots of tantalizing bits about how much MJ remembers from before “Deus Ex Mephisto” knocked a million years of Spidey continuity into a cocked hat. Nice artwork by Martin, reminiscent of Tim Sale.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #3 of 4 by Harvey Pekar and Various Collaborators. “How much pain is too much?” Let’s ask Harvey! He’ll know fer sure! Great cover. Recommended.
AVENGERS/INVADERS #2 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski. Already looking like a long haul as Team Ross reveals Bucky to have been a “cutter.” But a cutter with a purpose! An insane purpose, but still a purpose! Grit your teeth.
BOYS #19 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Dark secrets of The Seven are revealed in the beginning of the four-part “I Tell You No Lie, G.I.” It’s Ennis so you know it’ll get darker. Recommended, not for kids.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #15 by Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty. Buffy’s in Japan with Dracula and a slayer squad to take down some Yakuza vamps. It could happen…
CRIMINAL 2 #3 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Seventies noir from the Femme Fatale POV! Anyone above the age of 18 who’s not reading CRIMINAL should not be allowed to vote. For anything. Ever. Highly recommended times infinity.
DUO STARS #1 written and illustrated by Ashley Wood. In the words of the writer/artist himself: “underground mech racing pretty much sums it up.” Good enough for me!
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Stane’s kid wants to get back at Tony. And from there all stories flow…
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #16 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. “Gog” starts here. Hey, he’s a grey, wrinkly giant with gold horns. What could go wrong?
KICK-ASS #3 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. It’s like WATCHMEN except only the 40s origin flashbacks and imagine Hooded Justice as a pimply YouTube stunt moron. Like that.
MONSTER ZOO GN written and illustrated by Doug Tennapel. The story of a young boy who discovers that his local zoo may be home to… Oh, right, like I’m gonna give it away! From the creator of Earthworm Jim and Cat Scratch.
NUMBER 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 HC by Thomas Ott. A suspense story without words from Swiss artist Thomas Ott. Very creepy and very worth a look.
SECRET INVASION #3 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. Lotsa fights between people in spandex being provoked by dirty aliens. Sounds like the FoxNews green room…
SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAUNTED TANK VOL. 2 SC by Robert Kanigher, Joe Kubert, and Other Deities. It’s 500 pages of a WWII tank with a dead Confederate General in it. How can this not be great?
TRINITY #1 by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Many, Many Arists. Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. All other trinities need not apply.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. The Ultimate Universe: “It’s all connected!” Whether it needs to be or not…
www.johnjudy.net
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