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Comic List Highlights (3/30/2013)

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Mar 302013

Polarity may tell you that car accidents can cause superpowers, but, please, don’t believe it.

Do, however, enjoy the fictional psychedelically tale that Say Anything frontman, Max Bemis, weaves in his Boom Studios miniseries. Rule one of writing is to “write what you know”, and Bemis has taken that to heart in Polarity by focusing the story around a bipolar rocker who gets in a car wreck and finds his disorder is actually a special ability. And if you’ve found you have superpowers and a rocker, you’re probably going to play your guitar with you mind and punch bad guys in their mugs. You might also choose to include a special downloadable song with each issue.

This next year brings with it a number of amazing looking video games, primary among them is The Last of Us. Serving up some gorgeous post-apocalyptic New York landscapery, this game stars a teenage girl and a grizzled older man surviving against the elements and hordes of roving marauders. Dark Horse‘s The Last of Us: American Dreams tells the tale of how the girl, Ellie, made it through the initial years of the apocalypse before she met her guardian. Written by one of the creators behind the video game, this miniseries is an essential read before playing the game.

Sean Murphy produced the artwork for the surreal toyland adventure series Joe the Barbarian, showing the comic world how expressive, expansive comic storytelling is done. Last year Murphy brought his scratchy style to Vertigo and the series Punk Rock Jesus. Now, all six issues are out in a handy trade paperback presentation. Religion and television are crammed together in the series as a cloned version of Jesus, named J2, becomes the star of a hit reality show. How J2 affects those closest to him as well as the entire country, is what the series becomes interested in discussing. Profanity, lewdness, vulgarity, and sacrilegious debauchery are the order of the day in Punk Rock Jesus, so pick it up if you dare.

Let’s be honest, everyone who saw The Avengers last summer loved it. However, only about a third of those people understood who the purple-chinned dude was in the after credits scene. No matter which person you are, you’re going to want to pick up Marvel‘s Thanos Rising miniseries. Jason Aaron brings a hefty dose of the legendary epicness he’s been serving up in Thor God of Thunder to this soon-to-be-classic series detailing Thanos’ rise to power. Brought to life not only by Aaron’s stellar words, but also Simone Bianchi’s tapestry-esque paneling; a painterly equivalent to Esad Ribic’s art on Thor. Plus, this series will lead into the upcoming arcs of both Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova, two of the hottest Marvel NOW books on the shelves.

Comic List Highlights (2/20/2013)

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Feb 162013

The Missouri/Kansas rivalry has seeped into basketball, politics, and history. Now it’s found its way into comics.

Geoff Johns and David Finch spread the Justice League love to the land of stars and stripes with Justice League of America #1. And, yes, we’re going to have the special Missouri and Kansas flag variant covers. Now, as to the actual content of the comic. IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME! Geoff Johns has been writing Justice League since the beginning of the New 52, bringing his talent for reinvention to the big shots of the DC Universe, but now it’s his time to dig into the supporting characters. An eclectic team C-List heroes like Hawkman, Stargirl, Vibe, Green Arrow, Catwoman, Martian Manhunter, and more are hired by the government as their own personal, super-powered task force. The real selling point here is that Geoff Johns understands character. He’s proven it time and again on ensemble books like Justice Society of America, Teen Titans, and Justice League, given an assortment of unusual characters, Johns will make you love them.

Prepare your bro hooves.

My Little Pony, the fan-favorite and cult hit cartoon, became a fan-favorite, cult hit comic book last year. Now, another Pony book has arrived. MLP Micro is a six issue miniseries that focuses on six of the most popular ponies of the series on their own unique adventure. First up, this Wednesday, is Twilight Sparkle (yeah, you knew that’s who it would be). Having fallen in love with a series of novels, Twilight sets out on a journey to find the books’ author when she finds out it never finished. Alert the Bronies!

Jeph Loeb, author of Batman: Long Halloween, Ultimate Comics X, Dardevil Yellow, and much more, lost his son, Sam, about five years ago to cancer. Sam, by all accounts, was a positive, joyful joker who made everyone smile and was always ready for an adventure. In honor of Sam, Jeph Loeb has created a new Nova for the Marvel NOW! universe, Sam Alexander, imbued with all the qualities of his own son. Outside of the personal connection, Sam “Nova” Alexander has a mysterious background that will be explained over the course of the series as he eases into his heroic moniker. After making his debut in Avengers vs. X-Men and Marvel NOW! Point One, Sam is getting his own series with top-notch writer Loeb and stylized art master, Ed McGuinness!

Fresh on the heels of the announcement that 2013 will bring another release in the impressive Batman Arkham Asylum video game series, the third set of Arkham City action figures hit shelves this Wednesday. As per usual, this set brings with it another version (the best, in my opinion) of the Batman himself, this time in his original costume, detailed to the extreme! Fleshing out this assortment are three beloved characters, Deadshot, Talia al Ghul, and Nightwing, complete with his electrified batons. Complete your Arkham rogues gallery by picking each of them up.

New Game Stuff (4/13/2012)

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Apr 132012

You’ve caught the . And the only prescription is more cowbell…no that’s something else.

The only prescription for Horse Fever is actually fixing races, buying off jockeys, and borrowing money from the mob. Or, at least, that’s the case in the new game…Chicken Pox…okay, no, it’s called Horse Fever. Players control gamblers looking to get rich of each race in three different formats of play. These play levels, set-up as easy, medium, and hard, are a board game version, a family game version, and a party game version of base play. So, you can get into the game however you choose, then work up to a higher level of difficulty as you go along.

Expanding upon the base Ghost Stories board game, the new Black Secret version of the game increases the terror of the original game by kicking the number of players up to 2-5. And that extra player gets to control the villain of the game, Wu-Feng. The other players must face off against his ghost armies and spells, but have magical mantras, which increase by with the level of play, to protect them. If you’re into the original game or Last Night on Earth, give the new Ghost Stories: Black Secret at try.

Space will not be the final frontier for Marvel Heroclix, but it will be one of the most awesome. The new Galactic Guardians Heroclix set hit stores today, full of new cosmic figure goodness for your Heroclix collection. Focusing on characters like Silver Surfer, Nova, Dr. Strange, and Galactus, this new set comes in regular boosters as well as Super Boosters which contain a colossal figure. Collect them all to flesh out your forces with the power cosmic!

If you enjoy your roleplaying dark, demented, and Lovecraftian, you’ll need to pick up the Carcosa RPG hardcover. Made specifically for adults, this system is compatible with old school fantasy adventure games, offering 800 encounters to enact. Come prepared for bone-chilling horror and violence, as this game delivers the gruesome.

Comic List Highlights (11/9/2011)

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Nov 052011

As numbers go, .1 is pretty tiny, but Marvel is determined to get their value out of it.

Shipping this Wednesday, Point One is Marvel‘s gateway one-shot into the new stories and characters of the next year. The issue will be comprised of short intro stories to new books releasing in 2012, such as The Defenders, the new Nova series, as well as other stories from Brian Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Chris Yost, and David Lapham. Complementing these top-tier writers are a slew of Marvel’s finest artists in Ed McGuinness, Brian Hitch, Terry Dodson, and Javier Pulido. On top of all that foreshadowing content will also be a huge cliffhanger that previews the big event for 2012! Hint, hint, it looks like Phoenix will be involved.

Fans of the poplar House of Night book series take note: the P.C. Cast penned series is receiving a comic adaptation. Falling in with book to comic adaptations like The Stand, The Dark Tower, Dresdan Files, and Wizard of Oz, House of Night #1 will begin the first miniseries in an extended succession of minis that will cover the novels’ arch. If you’re not familiar with the books, imagine a combination of Harry Potter and Twilight (I know that just sent some of you running for the hills), but with a dark adult twist. The story is set in a world where vampires exist, but occur through biological means. Around puberty, the lead character, Zoey Redbird, realizes she has vamp running through her veins and as such is sent off to the House of Night boarding school to learn copping methods for her new abilities. Like any of the other book to comic adaptations, the pleasure comes from seeing beloved characters visualized on the page. And with beautiful cover artwork by Jenny Frison, on the front of the book, as well.

Mon ami, you tell Gambit what you want en a statue, an’ he deliver, no?

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny that ragin’ Cajun X-Man, Gambit, doesn’t have the cool thing down. A lot of that has to do with two of his key pieces of imagery: the overcoat and the playing cards. Both are displayed in the newest Danger Room Session statue from Kotobukiya.

As always, these statues are full of detail as the chosen character, here being Gambit, is positioned on a pile of light-up Danger Room wreckage.

‘Eh, petit, you know you can’t resist.

Finally, some swanky little trinkets that I know everyone will be beating down our door to get a hold of. Both keychains. Both pewter. Both weapons of popular Marvel characters.

These would be Thor‘s hammer Mjolnir and Captain America‘s shield.

Yes and yes.

Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

Pulp Fiction Comics & Games

Comic List Highlights (3/30/2013)

Comic List Highlights (2/20/2013)

New Game Stuff (4/13/2012)

Comic List Highlights (11/9/2011)

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Comic List Highlights (3/30/2013)

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New Game Stuff (4/13/2012)

Comic List Highlights (11/9/2011)

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