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Comic List Highlights (11/21/2012)

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Nov 172012

Why does Otto Octavius want to see Peter Parker?

Actually, how does he even know to ask for Peter Parker?

This Wednesday’s Amazing Spider-Man #698 answers both of those questions as well as creating a whole bunch more. Dan Slott, who’s been writing the Web-Slinger for around the last eight years, has been claiming for the last couple of months that this issue of ASM is going to change EVERYTHING. Now, usually, that’s a whole lot of baloney, but there’s some strong indication in this case that he’s telling the truth. For one, Doctor Octopus has been in a bad way, even near-death, over the last couple of storylines, which means he might be on the chopping block. Certainly a character who’s been around as long as Doc Ock biting it would be a big event in the Spider-Man universe. Or maybe Peter bites it? Or maybe both? Who knows? All I can say is that every should pick up a copy of this issue, because what comes after is going to be unlike any Spider-Man story that’s come before.

Marvel NOW! rolls on this week with Captain America #1 and Indestructible Hulk #1, as well.

Rick Remender, writer of Uncanny X-Force, Venom, and Uncanny Avengers, is going to be taking Captain America to places he’s never been too before. Utilizing the immense range of artistic talent that lies within John Romita, Jr.’s hands, Remender sends Captain America and a young girl far across the known universe to Dimension Z. It’ll be a fight for survival, as Cap has to fend off disgruntled denizens, dangerous terrain, and unusual weather, he proves exactly why he’s a living legend and the best soldier in the, apparently, entire universe.

The Hulk may not appear to be the most complex or emotive character around, but if anyone can find the humanity within the monster, it’s Mark Waid. Waid has been around the block a time or two, having written some of the best stories in comic book (Kingdom Come, The Flash, and “Tower of Babel“), plus he’s currently writing one of the best Marvel series being published, Daredevil. Dropping The Hulk into the middle of Marvel‘s top espionage agency, S.H.I.E.LD., and not to destroy them but work for them. Such an unusual situation is sure to bring about some of the most unique Hulk stories to be written. Just imagine the conversations around the water cooler at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier the day after the Hulk “accidentally” smashes an agent.

You remember that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie where there were two of him ’cause somebody decided it would be a good idea to have to inaudible main characters in a single film? No, I don’t either. But I can promise you that Image Comic‘s Clone ongoing series will be nothing like it. Produced by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint, Clone lives up to its name as a horde of identical versions of Dr. Luke Taylor begin to descend upon his life, attempting to murder his wife and child. As you might imagine, this doesn’t go well. Juan Jose Ryp (Wolverine: Best There Is) brings every bit of dirty, blood, sweat, and grit to life with his hyper-detailed art style, so not only will this book be unlike any Arnold Schwarzenegger movie you’ve ever seen, it’ll look a damn sight better, too.

Comic List Highlights (10/24/2012)

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Oct 202012

I just want to quote the Image Comics description for the first book we’ll talk about tonight as a way of helping you understand what it’s like.

“Sexica and her Werewolf boyfriend Nikoli travel across a sci-fi, fantasy Russia smoking singing cigarettes. Meanwhile the organ hunter Nura is sent out with a severed head and instructions to find its body.”

Yup. That’s Brandon Graham for you, folks. If you’ve read Prophet (the craziest, most brilliant comic out there!) or King City (the only comic with a cat telescope), then you’re well aware of Graham’s ingenious perspective on, well, everything. Graham’s comics build fully realized, utterly unique worlds for you to explore visually (as he does the art himself) and conceptually. For those reasons, I can promise you Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity will be one of the most interesting books you’ll ever read.

Jason Starr, renowned crime novelist and comic author, takes a crack at Wolverine‘s past this Wednesday, but not in a way you’ve ever seen before. Wolverine MAX is a five issue miniseries that takes Logan back to Japan for an origin story of violent proportions. If you’ve never read any of Marvel’s MAX line of books, they’re a no holds barred, adult version of famous Marvel characters. So, in short, Wolverine like you’ve never seen him before. Expect blood. Expect guts. Expect cursing. Expect SNIKT-ing!

And if we’re talking blood and guts, we might as well mention the new Punisher War Zone miniseries hitting shelves this Wednesday. Picking up where Greg Rucka’s recent Punisher ongoing series (both volumes, of which, are available now) left off at, Frank is on the run from the law in a way he’s never been before after taking the fall for shooting a cop. Even though he didn’t do the deed, Frank is taking the blame to protect the woman who did (if you want to know more, you got to pick up the TPBs). But Frank’s going to need his own form of protection as The Avengers decide to assist the NYPD in capturing him. It’s Punisher vs. The Avengers, written by Greg Rucka, taking place in real Marvel continuity!

Followers of The Walking Dead television show on AMC have just been introduced to Phillip Blake aka The Governor with the beginning of season three, but there’s so much more to find out. In conjunction with the hit television series, Robert Kirkman (the creator of the show and comic) began a trilogy of Walking Dead novels last year with The Rise of the Governor, which detailed Blake’s life during the initial zombie outbreak. Now, its sequel, The Road to Woodbury, picks up where the last book left off at, following Blake as he climbs to power in the walled-off city of Woodbury. Find out the origins of one of the most terrifying villains in comic history by picking up The Road to Woodbury this Wednesday!

Comic List Highlights (9/5/2012)

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Sep 012012

Marvel and DC may be the big two, but, over this last year, they’ve lost some considerable ground to Image Comics. Largely that’s due to Image publishing The Walking Dead, but the publisher has also been gaining ground in “among of books published”. What’s most shocking is that, with this rise in titles, the quality of each book has not faltered from any where below excellent. Two of the books that have contributed to these two factors are coming out in trade paperback form this Wednesday. Allow me to introduce you.

Thief of Thieves is the best heist movie you’ve never seen. It also happens not to be a movie, but a comic. And it’s created by Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead). And it’s written by Nick Spencer (Morning Glories). Not surprisingly it is a quick-witted, snappy, twisty read that uses pacing and panel arrangement to the full effect of the medium. The first collection comes out this Wednesday and contains the first six issues.

Manhattan Projects is what everyone wishes history was like. An alternate retelling of the experimentation that lead to the creation of the atomic bomb, Manhattan Projects (written by Jonathon Hickman (Fantastic Four)) stars the likes of Albert Einstein, Joseph Oppenheimer, FDR, Harry Truman, and a bunch of other famous people you thought were scientists but are actually psychopaths. Plus, the atomic bomb isn’t all these geniuses are playing with; inter-dimensional gateways, robot samurai, aliens, and alternate realities all make an appearance. Each issue will have you picking your jaw off the floor repeatedly as shock after shock keeps the story moving.

Alan Moore has never had kind words for those who’ve adapted his work to film, but there was a time when he wrote his own movie. During 1985, only a year before Watchmen hit the shelves, Moore wrote a sprawling modernization of Beauty and the Beast, dubbed Fashion Beast, with the intention of it being produced as a movie. This never happened. But now, Avatar Press has acquired Moore’s approval and oversight to adapted his script into a ten issue comic series. So, if you want to read a fairy tale as only Alan Moore can tell it, you need to stop by Wednesday and grab yourself a copy of Fashion Beast.

Let’s get one thing clear: He does not talk to fish!

The “he” in that sentence is, of course, Aquaman. There are few other characters in the DC universe (or Marvel, for that matter) who are ridiculed and satirized as much as Aquaman. Well, Geoff Johns is here to make anyone who’s ever made a “Hello, little fish” joke eat crow. This first collection of the New 52 Aquaman series brims with intelligent retooling of the character’s backstory, now focusing on character moments instead of broad strokes, as Aquaman and his wife Mera attempt to control an invasion of undersea creatures known as The Trench. These creatures are not simple fishies, they’re more like walking piranhas. If Johns is good at anything, he’s good at giving readers reasons to love his protagonists and fear his villains, traits that he brings to play in this exceptional first volume of everyone’s favorite punching bag, Aquaman.

Comic List Highlights (10/19/2011)

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Oct 152011

Are your windows boarded? Do you have ammunition by the door? Does your TV get cable?

Hopefully, the answer to all of these questions is “yes” as tomorrow heralds the return of The Walking Dead television series on AMC. If you don’t have cable, though, and are going to be deprived of zombie-faction for the time it takes for the season two DVDs to come out, you might want to bide your time with the first in a trilogy of Walking Dead novels. Rather concisely summing up the arch of the three book series, the first one is called Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor. If you’ve read far enough into the comic series, you’ll know that The Governor is a bad, bad, bad dude. As stated, this series will follow his ascent to power as he back stabs, murders, and cheats his way to the top of the post-zombpocalypse heap. Written by the creator of Walking Dead, himself, Robert Kirkman, this series is sure to live up to the shocking quality of the comic and show.

Usually, as I’m transferring from one zombie related book to another I’d attempt to create some sassy, stupid transition, but considering this next book I feel I only have to say two words to get people’s attention: Claudio Sanchez. Yes, a mention of the front man of famous cult band, Coheed and Cambria, has a way of sending rabid fan boys and girls rushing in every direction, but for those who you who are scratching your head, I’ll elaborate. Set in post-zombie infestation New York, Key of Z, follows a man who has lost his entire family but found a mystical object that gives him an upper hand in the deadly city. Not only will he have to contend with the undead denizens of the city, but also a violent battle for control between three rival safehouses operating out of Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and Madison Square Garden. Considering Sanchez’s surreal outlook on…well, everything, this should be a zombie book like no other.

There are comic books that we attempt to warn people are not for the faint of constitution. A lot of the times we’re just overselling it so that people don’t wander into something that they’re going to regret purchasing. Understand that in no way am I overselling the absolutely insane content found in Alan Moore‘s Neonomicon. This. Book. Is. Intense. Dark, spooky, violent, filthy, and, as is commonly the case with Alan Moore, brilliant. Building off of his previous series, The Courtyard, and connecting a number of H. P. Lovecraft‘s famous ideas, Moore tells the disturbing story of two FBI agents who investigate the wrong Cthulhuian cult and pay for it dearly. Both the softcover and hardcover editions are dropping this weak for any out there brave enough to delve in. The Great One is coming.

We’ve had zombies, Cthulhu monsters, and now vampires tonight. You’d think we’re getting close to Halloween or something. 30 Days of Night, the popular series from Steve Niles about vampires who show up in an isolated Alaskan town over a thirty day eclipse is finally getting a much overdue ongoing series. Yes, issue one drops this Wednesday, still written by Niles, but this time drawn by famous artist of such gritty titles as The Maxx and Arkham Asylum: Madness, Sam Keith. If you take a look at the cover to the right, I think you’ll see why Keith is the perfect artist for the title as he can capture that haunting, moody creepiness a book like this requires. But what about the plot? Moving the story from Alaska to L.A., Niles will follow the mystery of a growing vampire uprising and a foreboding letter sent to a little girl. Creep up your October and jump on board.

Comic List Highlights (4/13/2011)

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Apr 082011

Infinity is a very long time. I know some books (COUGH-Ultimate Comics X-COUGH) take that long to come out, and are worth it when they do, but, luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D: Infinity does not live up to its name by arriving next Wednesday.

If you’ve been keeping up with Jonathon Hickman’s opus, then you’d be quick to tell others how insanely captivating it is. Secret societies, Leonardo da Vinci using a steam punk jet pack, Galactus attempting to devour ancient China, it’s all in S.H.I.E.L.D. Infinity is the first collection of short stories for the series and features art by a various and sundry group of up and coming individuals, include one Kevin Mellon, artist of Gearhead. His work only gets better and better with time, folks. Combine Hickman’s high concept writing style with Mellon’s wild page layouts and angles and you’ve got a must-buy book!

When I say Duela Dent, you might immediately think Harvey “Two-Face” Dent’s daughter. You’d be right, but also wrong. She has taken the moniker of “Insert Batman Villain’s Name” Daughter for a number of the Dark Knight’s rouge’s gallery. The new Ame-Comi statue for Duela Dent has her in her most famous costume (the one she wore during her stint in the Teen Titans), that of the Joker’s Daughter. Personally, I think the design pops! You can never go wrong with a can and top hat.

If you’re a Walking Dead fan you probably all ready have a survival guide written out in case of a zombie apocalypse. The new Walking Dead Survival Guide, however, is not that. Instead, it is an encyclopedic collection of character bios, location descriptions, and other detailed explanations of information from Walking Dead‘s 80+ issue run. This first volume (of four) contains entries from A to C. If you do some digging on the Intro-webs you might be able to find some images of the pages contain within this issue and you will realize that they look swanky. For a series as packed with detail as this one, a collection of this magnitude is well worth it.

And one for the kiddies. If Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (either the movie or the book) appeal to you or your children, then the first digest collection of Courtney Crumrin might be worth a look. Setting a tone similar to the aforementioned Gaiman work, Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things follows Courtney as she explores and investigates her mysterious Uncle Aloysius’ house. Creepy, monstrous ghoulish are discovered and dealt with in a manner only a spunky adolescent girl can manage. Ted Naifeh both writes and illustrates this series in a style similar to Eduardo Risso and Gabriel Ba.

88 miles per hour. Find a way to get this new Back to the Future DeLorean minimate up to that speed and…you probably still won’t be able to time travel. But you’ll have an excessively cool miniature version of the time machine from Back to the Future and a Marty McFly in radioactive gear figure. If you’ve purchased any of the previous BttF minimate releases, they all are usable with this mini. Who knows, it may nab you 1.21 gigawatts if your in dire straights.

Let a black cat cross your path. Why? Because with this new Bishoujo statue of The Black Cat is slick, stylish, and screaming to be in your collection. Following in a tradition of beautifully designed statues, Bishoujo releases Spider-Man‘s gal pal bounding around in her classic catsuit over a tiny building. If you’ve seen the Psylocke or Jean Grey statues, then you know that Black Cat is perfect for this manga-style statue treatment.

Finally, whom ever wields this Travis Charest poster of the upcoming cover to The Mighty Thor #1 gains the power of ultimate awesomeness. Travis Charest is easily one of the truly talented artists working in the industry currently, so, as you can see, his version of Thor is stunning. If you’re planning to make a Thor smock to wear to the upcoming Thor movie, then this poster could serve that purpose. Or, you know, if you just want to put it on your wall, that’d be fine, too.

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