On The Shelf This Week – 03.28.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DARK HORSE
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STAR WARS LEGACY #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Ostrander, Art by Colin Wilson and Brad Anderson. This title continues to be well received by readers and well reviewed by critics. The art has taken its fair share of lumps (having artists shuffle in and out will do that, no matter how good they really are), but on the whole this has been a solid series. Much like the rest of the Dark Horse Star Wars line.
DC COMICS
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52 WEEK #47, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Art breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by Joe Bennett; Backup features by Waid and various. As irritating as the announcement of Countdown was, DC is making it hard not to want to read it. Dini writing characters like Jimmy Olsen and Mary Marvel – that is the kind of thing we should all want to read. Of course, now they are backpedaling and insisting that Countdown has nothing at all to do with 52 (not one thing!), a natural reaction to the negative feedback that series got when it was first announced. But hey – starting with issue #51 the week after 52 #52 comes out? What did they expect? It might just be the case that DC had a little misstep, but it has been becoming a pattern of late. Is the positives of Countdown enough to overcome event and weekly fatigue from readers, along with general annoyance at DC’s marketing direction these days? That remains to be seen.
ACTION COMICS #847, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art by Renato Guedes. Almost the worst thing that they could do with this title is rotate the writers – after a somewhat successful start from Johns and Richard Donner, they are going right into this issue penned by Dwayne McDuffie, then a two-parter from Fabian Nicieza, followed by at least one issue by Kurt Busiek. Rotating creative teams never work out as well as you might hope, no matter who the writers are. Readers like books that are out on time, but they also appreciate stability and consistency. New writers every month or two diminish the quality of any title. On the other hand – the reason for this shuffle is because of artistic delays from Kubert. DC rightly made the call that the title should come out monthly, and though rotating writers is bad, it is considerably worse to allow an artist to hijack a title and come in several months late with their work. These next couple months may be rough for fans of this title, but you should show some patience. It will be rocky, but DC is doing the right thing here. If you can’t meet the deadline, don’t take the assignment!
BLUE BEETLE #13, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Rogers, Art by Rafael Albuquerque. This series is slowly picking up steam – though the alien-origin scarab still doesn’t sit as well as the magical Egyptian origin. John Rogers has done a pretty good job so far carrying the ball solo since Giffen’s departure – there was some concern that the quality of this book might dip at a very critical time, but Rogers seems up to the task of keeping things consistent.
CATWOMAN #65, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer, Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez. It is amazing how well Pfeifer can write some characters. On this title, he keeps Catwoman very close to her roots, and finds a way to make a fresh and interesting story out of it. This title has been outstanding since he took it over, and it doesn’t show any signs of diminishing yet. A good title to pick up for the first time any month.
FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #34, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art by Pop Mhan and Rob Stull. Ug – Firestorm has been cancelled. Talk about your horrible news. The last issue will be #35 next month. This is being heralded as the first of many cancellations involving “legacy” characters by some critics, as fans are understandably annoyed with new versions of characters like Batwman, the Blue Beetle, and etc. While a lot of that criticism is justified, Jason Rusch was the one character in the whole lot that really came into his own as Firestorm, thanks in large part to the work of Stuart Moore. If any of them were going to survive, it should have been this one. Instead, it is the first to go. Sad news indeed.
GREEN LANTERN #18, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert. It has been well over a year since Hal Jordan’s return, and this book is still alive and kicking, and stronger than ever. Well, I’ve been wrong before! Looks like there were some Hal Jordan stories left to tell after all. Anything less than excellence from this title at this point would have made Jordan’s return cheap, thankfully Johns has been up to the task. Maybe it is the really, really stiff competition from Green Lantern Corps, which is still just a hair better – but that is the kind of rivalry we can all get behind. There aren’t many other corners of the DCU putting books out as consistently good as these. Also Available: GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH, $14.99, 144 Pages[/b]. Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Ethan Van Sciver and Prentis Rollins. Collecting the sold out series that features the return of Hal Jordan.
HAWKGIRL #62, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Walter Simonson; Art by Renato Arlem. What a difference an artist makes, eh? While Arlem does still do thinks a little “sexier” than would be preferred, his work is much tamer than what we got from Chaykin. And that is making all the difference. This title has steadily improved since he took over the art chores, and that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
JSA CLASSIFIED #24, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by J.T. Krul; Art by Alex Sanchez and Jack Purcell. Last issue was a real improvement over the past few issues – and an especially good one for Doctor Mid-Nite fans. The medical techno-babble was especially good (if slightly contrived, but hey – no one expects Krul to be an actual doctor!). This book is at its absolute best when it highlights one of the members of the Justice Society, and it looks like they are finally getting back to that formula.
SECRET SIX SIX DEGREES OF DEVASTATION TP, $14.99, 144 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art by Brad Walker and Jimmy Palmiotti. This series wasn’t quite as strong as the original Villains United story, but that wasn’t due to any fault in the writing. Simone told another fantastic character story here, and made this series worth the cover price. As with many of the minis and ongoings that spun out of Countdown to Infinite Crisis minis, the follow-up wasn’t quite as strong in the art department. It wasn’t bad, but Villains United was nothing short of stellar artistically. This should make a good trade purchase if you missed the mini. Collects Secret Six #1-6.
SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #4, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Darwyn Cooke; Art and cover by Tim Sale. Cooke is really making a name for himself producing comics with a “modern-classic” feel. He really seems to have a knack for writing his characters with an old-school feel, and manages to capture a tone that has been lost in super-hero comics for some time. Sale as well is doing a fantastic job on the art. If you aren’t reading any Superman book, and are perhaps looking for something not so continuity-heavy, this title is a good choice.
TEEN TITANS GO #41, $2.25, 32 Pages. Written by J. Torres; Art by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker. Trouble in Tokyo finally hit DVD about a month ago – maybe good sales on that release will mean a follow-up movie, or maybe even another season? Maybe wishful thinking on the latter, but it would be nice to see more animated Titans sometime in the future. Until then, the comic still carries the torch well, being very faithful to the series it was inspired by. As always, this book is great for fans of the cartoon and the younger readers.
VERTIGO
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey; Art by Jim Fern and Mark Pennington. Cut here continues this month with part two. As before, this title is doing very well, and is slowly becoming worthy of the Vertigo banner. It has taken a bit of tinkering, but the down period that Vertigo was experiencing in its new titles seems to be coming to an end.
FABLES #59, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Various. Looks like Fables is taking a month off – so to speak. This issue looks to be a self-contained look at some random “burning” questions fans might have had about minutiae of the previous stories. On the surface, it seems like this issue will add some more color to an already rich ongoing story. However, knowing Willingham, there will no doubt be a great deal of importance placed on everything that is revealed in this issue. To boot, this is possibly another good jumping on point, as it will also review some of the old stories while casting them in a new light.
WILDSTORM
NINJA SCROLL #7, $2.99, 32 Pages . Written by J. Torres; Art by Michael Chang Ting Yu. Wow – this one is kind of painful to watch. The success of this series rested solely on how well it did with existing fans of the franchise. Looks like they aren’t responding very well at all. Sales that were luke-warm for the first issue have steadily plummeted, and negative reviews and general bad-buzz has reached a crescendo. Probably a good bet that this series won’t be around too much longer.
WETWORKS #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey; Art by Peter Gross. Peter Gross as the guest artist on this issue is something of note to old Lucifer fans who are eager to see these two work together again. Outside of that- not much appeal for this book unless you are very into the Wildstorm universe. If you want to check something out – might be better to take a look at Gen13 or one of the other more prominent titles before delving into this one.
IMAGE
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SAM NOIR RONIN HOLIDAY #3 (OF 3), $2.99, 24 Pages. Written by Eric A Anderson and Manny Trembley, Art by Manny Trembley. Early! Is that a good thing? Sometimes it is tough to tell. Issue 2 was just out earlier this month, so a lot of readers might not be looking for it this week. This isn’t a “sell-out fast” book, but it also isn’t one that stores are going to have a ton of in stock. This was a great read and a worthy sequel – if you are one of those who has been following this book, don’t forget to double check in case it does actually hit the stands this week.
STRANGE GIRL #15, $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Rick Remender, Art by Nick Stakal. Remender certainly is a singular talent. Though his titles are either outstanding reads, or a little too – what’s the word – experimental? Thankfully, this title falls in the former category. More supernatural than sci-fi though. Well worth trying out.
MARVEL COMICS
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DAREDEVIL #95, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth. Man, has it been a year already? One thing is for sure, you can’t call the past year of stories on this title “decompressed” by any stretch. Hopefully we get a little bit of a breather this story – not that jam-packed plots aren’t good, but we are due for something a little more straightforward. If only to catch our breaths!
FANTASTIC FOUR #544, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dwayne McDuffie, Art by Paul Pelletier, Rick Maygar, and Paul Mounts. Last issue was the anniversary issue (45th? I didn’t think that was such a major milestone so close to 50), and it was outstanding. This issue finds Reed and Sue taking a break, and the surprise replacement members announced. If the picture on the cover is to be believed (Spoiler?), it looks like Storm and Black Panther will be stepping up and filling the void. That might illicit a groan from some readers – their own story hasn’t exactly been the best received since, well, before the whole wedding mess. But McDuffie did a solid job on his debut issue, so he might deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Hopefully he can make something of this.
HEROES FOR HIRE #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Zeb Wells, Art by Al Rio, Tom Palmer, and Brad Anderson. Zeb Wells is flying solo this issue – and will be for the foreseeable future. Perhaps this is a good thing – Wells is an underused talent that can do wonders with the right characters. Fortunately, based on this book’s history, almost anything is a step up. Hopefully he can turn things around for this title before the World War Hulk crossover issues start.
RED PROPHET TALES OF ALVIN MAKER #6 (OF 12), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Orson Scott Card and Roland Bernard Brown, Art by Miguel Montengro. This series really is geared towards those who have read the novel – or at least followed this mini since the very first issue. If you still aren’t reading this, it is probably best to wait for the trade. That being said, it is an excellent adaptation, as Dabel products usually are – just a little rough on those readers who might come in mid-story.
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #36, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Art by Ramon Bachs, and Paul Mounts. Angel Medina was solicited to do the art on this issue – and still is – but it looks like it will actually be Bachs who did the job. No idea why that change was made, maybe Marvel too is starting to take a harder line on deadlines. This arc started off fairly decent, though has suffered a bit thanks to the chaos of the Civil War aftermath and the order in which some issues were released. The whole costume motivation is still a little rocky, but at least they made some kind of effort. Better a black costume than Iron Spidey any day.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #40, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey, Art by Mark Brooks and Jaime Mendoza. Three Ultimate titles this week – didn’t they use to spread these out? Ultimate Fantastic Four is kind of in limbo at the moment. Not bad – but not amazing. A good chunk of this title’s problem is the inability to break the “introduce Ultimized villain, tell story, rinse, repeat” cycle. The Ultimate Universe books used to be able to stand on their own, instead of relying on the “cool factor” of having an alternate version of a pre-existing 616 character. Until that changes, there is little chance that these books will be able to get much better.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #107, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, and Justin Ponsor. Ultimate Spider-Man, on the other hand, continues to be the exception to the rule about Ultimate quality. Though Bendis has liberally dipped into the Ultimization well, he has still managed to tell fresh and interesting stories with the material. This title does offer something that the regular 616 universe Ultimate books can’t, and that makes a great deal of difference. No doubt this issue will continue a long-standing quality run.
ULTIMATE X-MEN #80, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Yanick Paquette, Serge Lapointe, and Stephane Peru. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is this title. While Ultimate Spider-Man has been stellar, and Ultimate Fantastic Four has been teetering on the brink, this title fell off a long time ago. One of the biggest problems it has had is that it is virtually indistinguishable from the regular X-Men books. And unlike the current crop of X-books that have enjoyed a bit of resurgence, this title seems stuck in old familiar patters. Hopefully this title can eventually turn things around, but for now it isn’t looking very good.
WOLVERINE #52, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri. To be fair, there are a good number of fans who are loving this arc. On the other hand, there are equally as many who can’t find much to like about it at all. The story is pretty-well non-existent, and the fighting (which has been the vast majority of the previous two issues) just seems almost pointless. Marvel probably expected this arc to be much more epic, and expected for it to generate much more positive fan feedback than it has. A let-down to say the least.
Craig’s Pick of the Week
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1 (REPRINT), $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse. Written by Joss Whedon, Art by Georges Jeanty. Probably strange to see a reprint get selected as the pick of the week, but in this case, enough readers missed out on this issue due to the extremely early sell-out that this reprint warranted a little extra attention. Tough to say whether this sell-out was a good or a bad thing. That all rests on Dark Horse – did they deliberately print too few on this issue to jack up the hype, or did they honestly not expect it to do this well? Dark Horse doesn’t have quite the reputation when it comes to deliberately under-printing, so you have to assume that they were genuinely surprised by the response. Retailers were sold out on day one, leaving many readers high and dry scrambling to find a non-existent copy of issue #1. At the very least, Dark Horse turned out the second print super-fast, so if you were one of the unlucky ones who couldn’t find this issue the day it came out, here is another chance to read it.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.
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March 14, 2007
On The Shelf This Week – 03.14.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DARK HORSE
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BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #1 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Arcudi, Art by Guy Davis and Mike Mignola. Seems like a very good year for Hellboy and BPRD fans – another new mini is getting its start this week. This one deals with a bit of Abe Sapien’s past, which should make for a good read for fans of the character. Arcudi always does a good job with these minis – this one should be no different.
HELLGATE LONDON #3 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ian Edginton, Art by Steve Pugh. It is always nice to see a CrossGen vet in the credits of a comic – though it does make one miss those books. Man, has it been so long? This series has turned out to be pretty good, and though there was some confusion about the number of issues (this may well actually be the last issue of this mini), it is shaping up to be a pretty solid lead. Might be one to check out in trades.
DC COMICS
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52 WEEK #45, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Art breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by Pat Olliffe and Drew Geraci; Backup features by Waid and various. So now the word is that Countdown is not a continuation of 52, that it is an original story all its own. Of course, that was an easy mistake to make. Seriously – if you look at the starting number, the week this is supposed to start, the title, DC’s initial marketing… How can you come away with any impression other than Countdown being a continuation of 52? Even if it isn’t, enough still is enough. Event fatigue is still strong, and another weekly book that leads into the next “big event” just isn’t a well timed idea. There are plenty of reasons beyond this book’s ties to 52 to be concerned.
BATMAN STRIKES #31, $2.25, 32 Pages. Written by Matt Manning; Art by Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty. Time flies huh? Seems like only yesterday we were all lamenting the end of Batman Adventures. It is nice to see this title going strong, though it is a real indication of how tastes have changed in such a short time.
CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS THE TEAM UPS VOL 1 TP, $14.99, 200 Pages. Written by Gardner Fox, John Broome and Mike Friedrich; Art by Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams and others. Possibly a good trade to pick up if you like old team-up stories. This collects The Atom #29 and #36, the Brave and the Bold #62, The Flash #170 and #173, Green Lantern #45 and #2, and The Spectre #3. A decent buy if you enjoy old issues.
GREEN ARROW #72, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Judd Winick; Art and Cover by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens. This title has become a shining example of what readers expect from a comic. An enjoyable story with great art, and actually ships on time month in and month out. This team really needs to be commended for their work – this title has been awesome since OYL got its start.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dave Gibbons; Art and Cover by Patrick Gleason and Rodney Ramos. Another title that is on a hot streak that won’t stop. Though it is starting to be a very good time for a few cameos from random Green Lanterns, like Rot Lop Fan! Sorry, that character is cool. In any case – despite a recent upsurge in quality on the main Green Lantern book, this still remains the best book in the line. Well worth checking out.
JLA CLASSIFIED #36, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Carlos D’Anda. A new story arc means a new creative team on this book – this time Peter Milligan and company have decided on a Kid Amazo story. Last arc was a real improvement over the previous – let’s hope Milligan keeps up that trend.
ROBIN #160, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Adam Beechen; Art by Freddie Williams II; Cover by Patrick Gleason and Rodney Ramos. There hasn’t been much change in this book – it hasn’t gotten worse, but it is still a little out there. The biggest problem? Characterizations. Everyone seems so cookie-cutter, except Tim, who is just as awesome as can be, no vulnerabilities to speak of.
SUPERMAN #660, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Mike Manley and Bret Blevins. It does seem like a great time to be reading Superman. This title is getting stellar reviews – which isn’t a surprise considering Busiek is writing it. The man seems to do no wrong. The cover this month is pretty cool too. It is still a pin-up, but it isn’t one of those generic pose ones. A step in the right direction.
SUPERMAN BATMAN THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD, $19.99, 192 Pages. Written by Edmond Hamilton, Jeph Loeb and others; Art by Curt Swan, Ed McGuinness and others. Another team-up trade – a real good week for you if you like classic team-up issues. This one collects Superman #76, World’s Finest Comics #142, 159, 176, and 207, Man of Steel #3, Batman and Superman: World’s Finest #7, Superman/Batman Secret Files 2003 and Superman/Batman Annual #1. If you like this team-up, this is a good buy for you.
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #6 (OF 8), $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by David Lapham and Brian Azzarello; Art by Eric Battle, Cliff Chiang and Prentis Rollins. This series initially got some rocky reviews, but that ship seems to have settled long ago. Maybe it was some trepidation about Crispus Allen as the Spectre? Any issue that features the Phantom Stranger is worth checking out, as this one does. Series is almost over – still hope that we will see a revival of this title as an ongoing in the future. Not much hope, but a little!
TEEN TITANS #44, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Tony S. Daniel and Jonathan Glapion. Johns deserves praise for taking the hard step of at least partly explaining why Batgirl is acting so weird. It isn’t a good excuse, but it doesn’t really need to be. Someone needed to fall on that sword so we could all push it behind us – glad he took care of that for us all. The bad news is, Johns is departing Teen Titans – and handing over the title to Robin scribe Adam Beechen as of issue #47. For those that don’t like the current direction of Robin, this is bad news indeed.
WONDER WOMAN #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by Jean Diaz, Geraldo Borges and Wellington Diaz. This is something that DC needs to be applauded for. Yes yes – changing gears in the middle of a story arc is generally a bad thing, be it an artist shift or a writer/story change. But this title was beyond late, and just not coming out. Maybe DC could have waited until Heinberg finished before putting out this issue, but in the grand scheme of things – he isn’t going to finish the last part any slower, and there will be Wonder Woman stories in the meantime. Creators should not be able to hold monthly books hostage like this, and if there is any anger at this switch, it should be directed at the people who aren’t meeting their deadlines, and not the publisher.
VERTIGO
FABLES #58 (MR), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Mike Allred. OK, it is boring talking about Fables. There is never anything bad to complain about – never! Month in and month out the same thing – “This book is awesome, by this book, Willingham is the greatest!” Ug, can’t do it anymore! Please, can we get one slightly less than excellent issue here so there is something, anything to complain about? Please?
SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE SLEEP OF REASON #4 (OF 5) (MR), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Ney Rieber; Art by Eric Nguyen. It has been a pretty quiet release for this title in terms of buzz – what comments there are about this title end up fairly predictable. Long term fans of the franchise like it – not as much as previous stories though. New readers are a little baffled. This is probably the best you can expect from this book – it is doing all it really set out to, and wasn’t designed for a big new readers push. Should be a fairly enjoyable read if you are one of those long time fans.
WILDSTORM
GEN 13 #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art by Talent Caldwell. It really is amazing how well Simone does when she has this little to work with. Not that this title is amazing – it is pretty par for the course when compared to the original Wildstorm era, but Simone is at least making it readable, to her credit. If you are really dying to check out a new Wildstorm title, this is the one you should start with.
GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chuck Dixon; Art by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford. Already a crossover? That is a surprise. This might actually be a pretty good read, however – it is the perfect kind of story for Chuck Dixon to handle. If anyone can make this a compelling read, it is him. Might be worth checking this issue out as well.
STORMWATCH PHD #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Christos Gage; Art by Matthew Smith. This title has also done ok with its story, but it is really lacking in character development. Perhaps they are just counting on some reader familiarity with the cast, but Gage pretty well skipped any justification for the status the team enjoys. Maybe that is something that will improve with time.
IMAGE
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NOBLE CAUSES #28, $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Jay Farber, Art by Yildiray Cinar. The art made all the different in the world. A couple issues ago, this book seemed to be teetering on the bring. Then Cinar comes aboard, and instant turnaround. Whew! Noble Causes has such a great cast of characters, it would be a shame to see this title fade away due to artistic difficulties. Hopefully Cinar only gets better – he still has a lot of room to grow with this position, but his initial effort can only de described as outstanding.
MARVEL COMICS
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AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #7 (OF 8), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Joe Casey, Art by William Rosado and Tom Palmer. Seems like this series has been going on for a long time, though it has been pretty well on time if memory serves. A good read for fans of the old Avengers – the price point is a stickler, but it should make a good trade buy when it is all said and done.
BLADE #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Marc Guggenheim, Art by Howard Chaykin. This issue promises the death of Blade – perhaps a weird selling point for a stand-alone issue, but that is the approach they are taking. Marvel is making a push for new readers on this book, and it seems to be on the verge for at least a slightly different direction. Maybe soon for something like that, but the series was really only resonating with real hard-core fans of the book, so perhaps it is time to try a little something different.
GHOST RIDER #9, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira. No offense to Daniel Way, but what would it take to get Ivan Velez on this book? His story in the recently released #94 was just outstanding, far more interesting than any other Ghost Rider book that has been released in recent memory. The movie was decent – a great popcorn flick, good enough that there might be a few people who saw the movie willing to check out a Ghost Rider book. Probably a little late to put that best foot forward, but one can dream.
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Kirkman’s work at Marvel is so strange. Sometimes it just doesn’t click, much like Ultimate X-Men. Other times it seems to be hitting on all cylinders, like this title. Maybe expectations are a little too high, considering how outstanding his work at Image was (though the lateness is starting to get frustrating), but it is gratifying to see him churn out something like that. Reminds you that he wasn’t just on the right side of two lucky flukes.
JACK KIRBYS GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Lisa Kirby and Stever Robertson, Art by Mike Thibodeaux and Karl Kesel. This series started off as a decent tribute, but sadly it is starting to lose a little steam. The original idea may have been Jack Kirby’s, but without his hand to guide it – well, nothing is certain. Hopefully Marvel will bring this to an end before it gets too far. Though another sci-fi book like this one in the near future wouldn’t be such a bad thing. No idea when issue #6 will be out – it isn’t even solicited yet. Maybe things are winding down on its own.
MOON KNIGHT #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Charlie Huston, Art by David Finch and Frank D’Armata. This book is still an outstanding read. It could be a little more fast paced (each issue reads a tad too fast), but that is such a minor flaw it is barely worth noticing. Seriously – how many of you thought two years ago that today, Moon Knight would be one of Marvel’s best books? That very idea would have sounded like the punch line to a bad joke. My how things change. It is great to see good old Spector being treated this well.
NEW AVENGERS #28, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Dave Stewart. Man, does it seem like we are suddenly surrounded with Avengers or what? New, Mighty, Illuminati – guess Joe Q was series when he said that he wanted the Avengers to be more than just the one book. Mighty Avengers got off to a good start – of course there were some criticisms (though the team was selected in a single issue – that little bit was handled way better than what we got in Justice League), but things seem to be shaping up pretty good for the expanded Avengers line. Still early enough yet to know for sure whether this split has staying power. Lots of people will be watching to see though.
NEW X-MEN #36, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, Art by Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco. Sometimes you have to wonder why they just don’t change the title of this book to X-23 and get it over with. Over the past few issues, this book has settled into a comfortable mediocrity – far from the heights it once achieved, but far from a total waste. There is something here for some people, especially those who are looking for a pretty mindless action read. Sometimes you just need one of those.
SPIDER-MAN REIGN #4 (OF 4), $3.99, 32 Pages. By Kaare Andrews. After such a controversial cover lead this series off, it is kind of surprising that it has come and gone so quickly to almost no buzz. Especially considering how good it was – a dark but compelling Spider-Man mini – far from the average throwaway marquee character mini we get so often. If you missed this series, it is definitely worth picking up as a trade. Hopefully Andrews can close it out well.
THUNDERBOLTS #112, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Mike Deodato. It is safe to say that fans are pretty divided about this new direction. On the one hand, Ellis is telling a decent story here. On the other, Nicieza’s Thunderbolts was so good – there seemed to be no reason at all to drop it the way they did. They couldn’t come up with a new name for this book, instead of just taking over a perfectly good title? This confusion is probably going to last for some time – it had to be expected. No matter how good a job Ellis does, there are going to be a large chunk of readers who will hate it, simply because it isn’t Nicieza’s book anymore. And to be honest – it is easy to relate to that position. The best thing to do would be to forget about comparing this to Nicieza’s run, and enjoy it on its own merits. But that is easier said than done.
THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO BORN BETTER #2 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Tom Grummett, Gary Erskine, and Chris Sotomayor. On the other hand, Nicieza Thunderbolts fans have a little something to ease the transition – this excellent mini. The first issue was a solid read – as no doubt the rest of this mini will be. This is one to check out.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL 1, $24.99, 352 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Mark Bagley. This is a good release. Ultimate Spider-Man trades aren’t exactly hard to come by, but thirteen issues this cheap is a great way to get caught up on things. The first year of Ultimate Spider-Man was simple phenomenal and was pretty groundbreaking. Who knew that this team would be able to string together a record setting run and maintain the quality? This trade will be a great addition to your bookshelf if you don’t already have these issues collected.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #12, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon. Man, after the last issue of Wolverine, this action-oriented title is starting to look a little better isn’t it? Though it is almost the lesser of two evils – the Son of Wolverine vs. whatever the heck they are making Sabretooth into. Makes you really miss the good old days when Darick Robertson and Greg Rucka were on Wolverine, doesn’t it?
Craig’s Pick of the Week
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse. Written by Joss Whedon, Art by Georges Jeanty. Quite possibly the biggest Dark Horse release in some time. Whedon takes up the pen and continues the story of his creation where Season 7 of the show left off. This is one that no Buffy or Whedon fan should pass up. Can’t wait to see what he has in mind for this story.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.Want to comment on this week’s newsletter? Give your feedback here!
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March 12, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #43: Getting What You Ask For
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Something struck me this past weekend that I feel that I should share with you. No, I didn’t get run over by a tour bus (although that almost did happen). I have been spending an extravagant amount of time looking over launch lists for each of the consoles wondering about which console looks like it is going to be the most promising this year. I decided that it was possible for a console to become my primary gaming platform in lieu of my PC. The Sony online Home announcement aside the launch lists are going to be the most telling. It will tell me which console will be naughty and which will be nice.
Wait- did I just make a Christmas reference in March?! With a list and everything else?!!!?! Sigh…
It struck me that every game I was most likely to want to play, with the big exception being Spore, is a sequel in a franchise. Granted, it is hard to see which new games are going to be good and it’s hard to plan for those. Assassin’s Creed, as interesting as it sounds, is on my list of games that may be rented at some point. I believe I have mentioned this problem here before so I am not going to elaborate on it. The reason I bring it up is that I started to walk down the path of what games would sound the most appealing to me if they were to be released.
Hearken back to Knights of the Old Republic II if you will. It is a quality game that was not finished in time of its release and there is plenty of content the developers at Obsidian completed that we never saw. However, because we have hints and bread crumbs in the game as to what this missing content is, people are working on the restoring this content. It is this type of news that has been the most intriguing in a while. Find a game that has some extra content in it that I have not seen before you and I am probably on the line ready to bite at purchasing it.
This is a strange notion for me to consider. I am not the person who jumps at the extra content that is on a DVD or looks for Director’s or Extended cuts of a movie. Music, on the other hand, does grab me that way. Finding several concerts and unreleased Dave Matthews Band tracks pretty much made my week despite a stomach virus, more Mets drama, insane work hours, a leak in my ceiling at home, almost being run over, and no gaming of any kind. Somehow this idea of viewing previously enjoyed media with some added bonuses has struck a chord with me.
Now, do I really want to see all of my past favorite games with some added content? Hardly. Several of my favorite games have been re-released within the past couple of years that I simply have no intention of getting (especially any of the Square games with added Anime). Most of these re-released games are simply fluff on top of the same game. Fables: The Lost Chapters, on the other hand, is in the ilk of the type of game I am very much interested in playing. That offering was a little too shallow for me to consider picking up because they finally made the game a decent length for an RPG and it was still not a whole lot more than the original offering.
In general I love seeing new takes or extensions on old ideas. This is still tricky to pull off with games because adding enough content to a game that makes it worth buying again is always tough. Fans of the Rainbow Six series should understand what I’m talking about here. Every once in a while a new release in the franchise does make the campaigns and the multiplayer vastly different experiences. Meanwhile Madden is still bogged down with the same gameplay that existed in 2001 (aaah, another cheap shot at EA). When you whore out a cool game, such as what happened with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, you go in the opposite direction of what I’m looking for.
As that is one of my least popular phrases, which is true with any phrase that is beyond tired, I feel I should elaborate on what I mean by that. After all that comment is highly subjective. The only real difference between “good new content” and a “whored out franchise” is a highly subjective opinion on the new release. They sound completely different. The latter even sounds like I’m saying something extremely poignant instead of just being guilty of something every radio shock DJ does on a daily basis.
Take Sands of Time- the game was designed from the ground up by the creator. Everything about the game was brand new for the franchise. The next step, The Warrior Within, had a gutted story and a deeper battle system. Overall the game did not really offer anything new. After this came The Two Thrones which, although it offered an interesting story device, did not offer anything new to the game worth getting excited about. I am not saying that the games are not worth looking at if Sands of Time provided a good amount of enjoyment for you (it is in my all-time Top 10 for games), but after a ton of incremental changes you are effectively beating a dead horse.
Hmm, that’s still pretty subjective. Maybe I have no idea what I am looking for. Not knowing what I want could be my real problem. Maybe there is no winning formula for expanding on an old game. Maybe I only want expansion packs for games I love and complete rewrites for everything else. Maybe I just need to take a closer look at the titles available now and give them a try instead of being a chicken. Either way, I am starting to get a sense for why not too many games are appealing to me right now and that online games have a tendency to nuke one’s ability to find other good games to play.
Or I just may need to be 10 years old again and get a slew of video games for Christmas one last time.
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March 6, 2007
Still on the Shelf 2007 – Free Comic Book Day Rundown
Welcome back to the fourth annual Still on the Shelf, Free Comic Book Day Rundown! Though I have to say, as many comics as were released this year, it may have to count for the fourth and fifth editions. I have still never managed to get a hold of every issue offered on Free Comic Book Day (I think there are regional issues working against me), I have managed to get most of them. And if volume is any indicator of success, this event just keeps getting more and more popular.
2004 was the first year of this column, and I covered 18 issues. In 2005 I covered 22. Last year, 2006, the number crept up to 24. This year, I know I missed three or four issues, but I still had a staggering 38 issues. Needless to say, one look at that pile, and I knew there was no way I would be able to get this column done on Saturday as I had planned.
As usual, this column would not be possible without the help of a local comic shop, who went the extra mile to make sure that these titles were available to be reviewed for this column. This year, I’d like to thank the folks at Comic Universe for all their help. If you are in the Orange County, California area, be sure to pop by and check them out. They are located at 18902 Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley, and can be reached at (714) 964-9569. The folks there are friendly and are happy to help you find anything you are looking for.
As with prior years, each comic is rated up to five halibuts (courtesy of the SOTS Halibut) based on Overall Quality, Original Content, and Story Completeness. To earn a full 5 rating, an issue must be of good quality, stand on its own, and be made up of original material. Those familiar with my reviews know that I have never, ever given a 5 rating in a regular review. For the purposes of this rundown, the qualifications are different, so you will see a few.
As with every year, I urge all of you who came away with some free books this year to spread the love. You know your friends – you know what they will like. After you are done reading an issue, pass it on to someone else you know you will enjoy it. The strength of the industry depends on new readers. The more people reading comics, the more likely your favorite comic will not get the axe due to low sales. Share your love of comics by giving these away – after all, they didn’t cost you anything.
And now – the Free Comic Book Day 2007 rundown!
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Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. By Floyd Gottfredson and Various.
Seems like most years we have some Carl Barks to look forward to, but this year they have decided to honor Gottfredson who was recently inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Hall of Fame. The bulk of this issue reprints Mickey’s Robin Hood Adventure, a series of strips that appeared back in 1936. It is every bit the classic, and though possibly not as enjoyable as a Donald or Scrooge comic (Mickey was never that interesting to me), it is always interesting to see a 70 year old comic strip, and see just how different things were done back then.
Rating:
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Nexus. By Steve Rude and Mike Baron.
A real mixed bag here. The concept is good, the execution of this particular issue was not so much. Many of you may remember Nexus – a sci-fi title that was published about 10 years ago by Dark Horse Comics. This is the same property, which the creators are trying to bring back. The issue itself is made up of brief snippets – classic “moments” in the history of Nexus. It is meant to give you some insight into the character, but it ends up being just plain boring. The work is not up to today’s standards, and this presentation is so spotty that only those fans of the property will really enjoy this read. Sci-fi is poised to make a huge come back right now, and while there might be a home for Nexus, it isn’t going to make it very far without some kind of fresh start. Reprinting past glories isn’t going to attract new readers.
Rating:
—
The Lone Ranger #0/Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #0 Flip Book. Written by Brett Matthews and Brandon Jerwa, Art by Sergio Cariello, Dean White, Stephen Segovia and InLight Studios.
Flip-book style this year for Dynamite, which is sometimes a good way to go.
The Lone Ranger has been an extremely well received property that, despite my love for a good western, I still haven’t sampled. The offering in this issue was a bit light though. It basically showcased the art, spent a little time fleshing out the Lone Ranger’s morality with a series of clichés, but didn’t do much beyond that. It was a little disappointing to be frank – there was nothing in this issue that would make me not want to pick up the Lone Ranger, but there was also little to entice me. It was just kind of – there. Basically a long “Look! It’s a Lone Ranger comic!”
The other side had some problems as well, but those were mostly preconceived. I am one of those people who really enjoyed the original Battlestar Galactica, and never could bring myself to watch the new version. I am sure it is a fine program, but it just isn’t for me. This read, though, was fairly decent. A basic sci-fi story, well, the setup of one, one would presume that the story continues in the series itself. Decent – made me want to read more, but there wasn’t any resolution, so you don’t walk away with much more than questions. Good as an ad, but as an actual comic read, not so much.
Rating:
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Who Wants to be a Superhero? Preview. Written by Stan Lee, Art by Will Conrad and Michael S. Bartolo.
So this thing actually does exist! It was originally slated to come out a few months back, but was pushed to July to coincide with the premiere of the second season of Who Wants to be a Superhero?. Well, this is only a preview, and a light one at that – a whole 8 pages. And it is very much a Stan Lee comic, reading like something that came through a time machine. To some people, this is a negative, and that is understandable. Stan Lee has a very classic and unique style that just wouldn’t make it if he was just breaking into the industry today – people expect more sophistication from their comic stories. But it is elegant in its simplicity – you know who is good and who isn’t, everything is clear and easy to follow, and a lot happens. Heck, today, these 8 pages would take many contemporary comic writers 3 issues to tell! This issue is a fun start – the issue should be decent. Wish they would have put together an 8 page original story instead though.
Rating:
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Amelia Rules! “Hangin’ Out.” By Jimmy Gownley.
Amelia is one of those titles I always look forward to on Free Comic Book Day. Gownley does a great job putting this book together. It is good for a younger audience, and while it is geared at them, it is also extremely smart. This issue isn’t nearly as heavy as last year’s was, mostly dealing with Amelia and her circle of friends hanging out inside on a very rainy day. Lots of clever moments as usual. Gownley does great work. Included in this issue is a short Apathy Cat back-up story by Harold Buchholz. It was a but silly, but nothing to scream over. A decent back up that would probably bring this rating down a bit, but the Amelia Rules! story was strong enough that it is easy to ignore.
Rating:
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Gumby. By Various.
I can’t say I have ever read a Gumby comic before… It is tough to tell whether this is reprinting material from one of the first three issues of the ongoing or not – it probably is, but in a case like this it is okay.
Unlike a DC title, chances are most of you haven’t read Gumby either, and this is your first exposure. It was decent. The story stood well on its own, and was both true to Gumby’s roots and a creative on its own. A fairly fun read and one kids should enjoy.
Rating:
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Transformers: Official Movie Prequel #1. Written by Chris Ryall and Simon Furman, Art by Don Figueroa and Josh Burcham.
A reprint, but a much appreciated one. The coming Transformers movie is cause for both excitement and consternation. A live action Transformers flick is awesome, but from the look of the robots, it will be less Transformers and more Bionicles. Peter Cullen is returning to do the voice of Optimus is indeed awesome, past experience with Michael Bay’s directing leaves a lot to be desired. The most positive thing I can think to say about this issue is – it makes me feel better about the movie. And that is no small praise. It has a different look, but thus far it feels like Transformers. If this carries on into the movie, it will be a success.
Rating:
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Chose Your Weapon Sampler. By Jin-Hwan Park, Dan Hipp, Seung-Yup Cho, Ki-Hoon Lee, Oh Se-Kwon, Jae-Hwan Kim, and Richard A. Knaak.
This digest collects five story fragments of various Tokyopop stories. It was a little tough for me to get through, but that is more because I am not a big fan of Manga than it is an aspersion of the quality of the work. The scene selection was good – while these are clearly not complete stories, they did do a good job clipping stories in a way that the scene stood on its own and made some sense. Gotta give the editors on this one a little credit.
This might not appeal to a broad audience, but if you are curious about Manga, Tokyopop in particular, this is an excellent showcase of their products.
Rating:
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Sonic The Hedgehog: Unburying the Hatchet. Written by Ian Flynn, Art by Tracy Yardleyi, Jim Amash, and Jason Jensen.
This was a really fun issue. It stands alone and is all original material, two huge plusses on this day. This issue in particular takes place right before the upcoming Sonic #174, but you aren’t stuck with a To Be Continued.
The story is a fun action read that is all-ages appropriate. Not as thoughtful as something like Amelia, or as skillful as something like Owly, but it is a solid story that is a perfect example of the kind of thing readers are looking for on Free Comic Book Day. This should turn a lot of people on to the Sonic comic.
Rating:
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Virgin Comics Special. By Various.
A bunch of new small publishing companies have popped up over the last year, one of them being Virgin, who launched their run with Devi about a year ago.
This year’s effort collects some excerpts from four of their books – Ramayan 3392 AD, The Sadhu, Walk In, and Devi. Not the art is just stunning – in all four stories. But the stories themselves are heavy – far too heavy for a casual read. Virgin would have done well to follow the past examples of Arcana and Image and go for shorter original snippets rather than reprints in this case – their material really is too dense to get readers interested in four titles in such a short period. They are still new to the game, though, some trial and error is to be expected. Still – some darned good art in this one.
Rating:
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Owly: Helping Hands. By Andy Ruton.
Not sure why I even bother with this one – I should just slap a five on it and move on! As expected, Owly was forty-two different shades of awesome, and once again a stunning example of artistic storytelling. To call it cute doesn’t even come close to covering it. This is one of those titles you look for first if you are a guy trying to get his comic-hating girlfriend to go to the shop on Free Comic Book Day. Stick this in her hands and all will be forgiven. For that day, at least. Ruton delivers strong again with another excellent outing. There is a back-up in this year’s issue, a short called Korgi, Sprout’s Lost Cookie by Christian Slade. It isn’t quite as cutesy as Owly, but also well done and effective. A nice capper to a great issue.
Rating:
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Unseen Peanuts. By Charles M. Schulz.
One of the most important criteria for a perfect Free Comic Book Day submission is originality. How, then, can you make a perfect Peanut’s offering? Simple – a perfect gimmick. Unseen Peanuts collects over 150 classic Peanuts strips from the 50s and 60s that have only been reprinted in one place – the Complete Peanuts volumes from Fantagraphics. All of these strips were considered “Lost” for one reason or another. Each string of strips come complete with a bit of commentary explaining why the strips were never reprinted – specifics that you actually can’t find in the hardcover volumes. Even if you are already buying the hardcover volumes like I am, you will enjoy this issue.
Rating:
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Justice League of America #0. Written by Brad Meltzer, Art by various.
Unfortunately, it looks like DC is going the reprint route again this year, which is a same. Their main offering this year reprints the #0 issue of the new Justice League of America. The issue itself doesn’t do a whole lot to introduce the new League, but it does do a nice little recap of the history of the League through the eyes of the “Trinity” of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. An ok read – but when I think of an ideal DC Free Comic Book Day submission, I think of an original superhero story with lots of action that gets you excited about a particular character. There was no action, way too much drama, and far too little new material here (read: none). DC can do better.
Rating:
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Buzzboy/Roboy Red: The Buzz & The ‘Bot!. By Rich Faber, John Gallagher, and John Green.
Buzzboy is always good for a solid Free Comic Book Day outing. Huge points for complete stories and all-ages accessibility, though there is some reprinted material in this issue. This isn’t as great a sin for a company like Sky-Dog as it is for someone like DC – chances are, you have never seen the Roboy graphic novel, so this is all new to you. As I said before – this is a well-written all ages property (both of them), but it isn’t quite as smart as something like Amelia, so the older you are, the less interesting this will be to you. That is ok though – it is meant for the younger reader, and it should suit them just fine.
Rating:
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Impact University Volume 3. By Coleen Doran, Tom Nguyen, J.
Peffer, Jim Pavelec, and Jason Cheeseman-Meyer.
For the third year, Impact is back with a couple excerpts from its line of Workshop books. And as in previous years, if you consider yourself an aspiring comic creator, this is an issue you should have checked out. It includes a few short art lessons from some popular artists today, and an intro by Gail Simone. Informative for the aspiring comic artist, as well as for the fan who likes to read about the inner workings of comic creation.
Rating:
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The Umbrella Academy/Pantheon City/Zero Killer. Written by Gerard Way, Ron Marz, and Arvid Nelson, Art by Gabriel Ba, Dave Stewart, Clement Sauve, Stephane Peru, and Matt Camp.
Three pretty solid stories headlines by the original 12 page prelude to The Umbrella Academy set prior to the upcoming series. It was a pretty fun read – a little on the dark side, but dark humor and super-heroics go well together these days. The second story, Pantheon City is a little less enjoyable, but it seems like a concept that needs to be flushed out a little more. The Zero Killer snippet was entertaining – it was very much a character oriented story and is a good introduction to the upcoming title. A good effort from Dark Horse this year.
Rating:
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Family Guy/Hack/Slash Flip Book. Written by Tim Seeley and Matt Fleckenstein, Art by Emily Stone and Various.
This issue is by no means to be read by children.
On one side of this issue we find a Family Guy short. I admit that Family Guy is good for an occasional chuckle, but it doesn’t translate very well at all to a printed medium. It comes off as coarse and crude, and the timing which elicits the laughs on the show itself is just impossible to recreate in comic form. It ended up just being offensive.
On the flip side, you find Hack/Slash, a great creative idea from Tim Seeley that I have been a fan of for some time. They do seem to be too hyped on the potential for the feature-film. 99% of comics that are optioned for movie release never actually happen, and to hype an option two years before an initial slated release date is a lot premature, and might illicit a negative reaction from more savvy comic readers. The story itself is a good one – a flash of the origin of Cassie Hack and how her role as a Slasher killer was cemented by bringing her mother’s rampage to an end. Also unsafe for the younger reader, but it probably turned a couple more people on to an outstanding series.
Rating:
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Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1. Written by J. Torres, Art by Chynna Clugston and Guy Major.
The second of DC’s traditional two outings is the Johnny DC effort, a reprint of Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century #1, the comic book based on the Cartoon Network cartoon. This one is very kid friendly, and a good book to have picked up if you had young ones in tow. Of course, it is a reprint, like DC’s submissions usually are, but you had a complete story and a somewhat entertaining one. Legion fans might find the issue a grating read, but for a kid it might just be passable.
Rating:
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How to Draw. By Various.
Maybe it was just a visceral reaction to all things Wizard, but of the three “how to” submissions this month, this was my least favorite. It was really light on the mechanics, and didn’t give any complete lessons like the Impact book did, instead giving you a “taste” of the lesson you would get, and then telling you what to go and buy. It was decent from a very general standpoint – if you wanted an overview in comic art creation, the issue was productive. For real mechanics, though, there were better offerings.
Rating:
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Wahoo Morris. By Craig Taillefer.
Right off the bat, this title describes itself as the next Strangers in Paradise (quoting a review), and immediately that was a mistake. Something ALL comic promoters should keep in mind (especially the indies), the moment you declare yourself the next insert big awesome title here, you open yourself up to such scrutiny that even the tiniest misstep will be brought to the surface. This issue was a reprint of the very first Wahoo Morris, with some strategic edits to clean up some of the nudity and foul language, to make it safe for any younger readers who might pick it up. It isn’t exactly an all-ages book anyway, but I have to give Taillefer a ton of credit for that move. The story itself? It weathered the storm of my initial heightened skepticism and turned out to be a pretty good read. The only thing it really had in common with Strangers in Paradise was the fact that it is black and white, and is a kind of slice of life love story – the reviewer that blurb can be credited to was really lazy on that comparison. But it is a good title with a lot of promise. This issue was a successful one.
Rating:
—
Pirates vs. Ninjas #1. Written by Fred Perry, Robby Bevard, and Wes Hartman, Art by Craig Babiar and Wes Hartman.
Ah, the inevitable attempt to capitalize on pop culture phenomenon. You knew it had to happen sometime. This issue was a reprint of a previous issue – a trade of the first series is set for release in the next two months. It was a little padded but fairly generic fun. Being the first part of a four part series, it did leave a bit to be desired in terms of a conclusion. Wish they would have done something original instead of a straight reprint to be honest – a issue-sized, self contained, straight up brawl between some pirates and ninjas would have done a lot more to generate interest in the series than the meager offering we got here. Could have been better, but not too, too bad as it was.
Rating:
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Worlds of Aspen #2. [i]By Michael Turner, Jeph Loeb, Vince Hernandez, Marcus To, Don Ho, Jason Gorder, Sal Regla, Peter Steigherwald,
This year’s effort from Aspen was very similar to last year’s – a few excerpts from various stories in their line-up, including the Soulfire, Fathom: Kiani, Soulfire: New World Order, and Shrugged.
Like I have come to expect from Aspen, there was nothing really good or bad about any of these stories. The art on Soulfire: New World Order was surprisingly fresh – everything I have seen from Aspen at this point has been that horrifically generic Turneresque style – it was nice to see something different. The stories were fairly generic, and being incomplete excerpts, you really didn’t get a satisfying read out of any of them.
In the end – a powerfully average outing for Aspen once again – something that seems to have become the standard for that line.
Rating:
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Arcana Studio Presents 2007. By Various.
Another strong submission from Arcana Studio – that makes four years in a row! My reaction to this year’s is not-so-surprisingly similar to last year’s. As the years go on, Arcana has grown better at their craft, and as a company they are really putting out some great work these days. Several years ago, when they first started out, a lot of the praise they earned was owed mostly to potential – they are really realizing that right now.
Three new stories were found in this year’s issue – a Kade: Sun of Perdition short, a prologue to the upcoming 100 Girls series, and a look at the forthcoming Clockwork Girl series (which is starting off with a $.25 issue. All three were solid stories – I was particularly impressed with the art on the Kade short – it was really something special.
Arcana has nailed the Free Comic Book Day formula from day one. Show off your line, but give readers a complete read that is easy to follow. Right on the money for the fourth straight year.
Rating:
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Last Blood #1. Written by Bobby Crosby, Art by Owen Gieni.
The first thing that came to mind when I opened up this issue was The Walking Dead – only with slightly less awesome art. While the art critique held up in the end (it was decent, but could stand some improvement), I was pleasantly surprised at the original twist Crosby added to the story. Yes, it is a zombie book, and yes, the story does follow a group of living people who have to survive in a world overrun by those creatures. The twist? Vampires. Needing a source of blood to survive, vampires actively protect the humans from the zombies to ensure their own survival. The issue also reveals a connection between the vampires and the zombies that actually makes a lot of sense.
This issue looks to be the actual first issue of the series – a tactic we are seeing employed a few times this year. This issue is the actual #1, with issue #2 set to come out in July. That is the very spirit of Free Comic Book Day. A little more risky, but readers who picked this issue up got a real free comic in every sense of the word.
Rating:
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Digital Webbing Jam 2007.By Various.
Digital Webbing gave us a look at five of their properties this month. These stories are described as “remastered,” or simply previews – which means they probably aren’t original, but once again – indie companies tend to get a little pass on that.
The first was a Bloodrayne short that wasn’t too bad. It was high action, and though you really don’t get too much detail about who Bloodrayne is (unless you are already familiar with the game), you get a nice fight sequence and some decent conflict which stood pretty well on its own. The Fist of Justice short had a clever twist, but ultimately it wasn’t something that could carry a concept over the long term. I really tried to like E-Man, but there just wasn’t much there to really go on. Zombie Highway’s and Punks were also way too short – it probably would have served the whole issue better to give those pages over to Bloodrayne and Fist of Justice for to better showcase those books.
This issue was better than I expected – the spotlight features stood well on their own, and were fairly enjoyable.
Rating:
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Love and Capes #4. By Thomas F. Zahler.
Like Last Blood, this is a legit complete issue that is part of the series. It is going to be available for sale in July as a variant cover – mostly to give readers the opportunity to check it out who might not have been able to find a copy on Free Comic Book Day, which is a perfectly acceptable strategy, and one I think falls very much in the spirit of “original, non-reprinted” content. The issue itself was fun. There is plenty of spoofing of mainstream heroes, but the core of the story is essentially a romantic comedy that spotlights the relationship between The Crusader – a super-hero, and Abby Tennyson, the owner of a bookstore. The issue was a light and fun read that was well put together. Hope you got a chance to read it.
Rating:
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Comic Genesis Free Comic Book Day 2007. By Various.
As in prior years, Comic Genesis devoted their Free Comic Book Day issue to highlighting thirty web comics that are hosted on their site. They also include instructions on how to set up your own account with them and post your work.
A novel idea – and it probably did bring in a few takers, but as a comic, it resulted in a slightly amateurish product. The production was nice, but the strips themselves often left a lot to be desired. Several forgot to even showcase why their comic is worth reading, instead devoting the whole thing to a big ad where the characters asked people to check out their strip. A few gems – worth flipping through, but there really weren’t any solid standouts. Having to sift through a lot of hard-to-read and humorless strips really made it worse for the few gems in there.
Rating:
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Little Archie: Legend of the Lost Lagoon #1. By Bob Bolling and Jim Amash.
Archie still hasn’t managed to recreate the magic of its 2004 Free Comic Book Day entry, but this one wasn’t half bad. Granted – Little Archie is about as intriguing as Baby Mickey (sorry – Muppet Babies was the only time the concept ever worked) – but Bolling does manage to tell a somewhat interesting story. The real stars of the story were the grown-up camp counselors, whose behavior in the story really mimicked the kind of thing you would see from the regular cast of an Archie book. This made me kind of wonder why they bothered with the Little Archie gimmick at all.
Could have been worse – but the gimmick was a killer here.
Rating:
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The Astounding Wolf-Man #1. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Jason Howard.
Another “Give the first issue away” effort – and Image being as big as they are, this will probably pay off the most for them. Robert Kirkman, of course, is well known for his work at Image. Invincible and The Walking Dead are two of the top books in their line, so you can bet they would be eager to add a third. The story itself followed a pretty standard wolf-man formula, and was fairly enjoyable, if predictable. I can recall that the first issue of the Walking Dead was very formulaic- it took several issues before it really started to stand out. The same may hold true here – it has potential for sure. A lot less serious and not nearly as dark as The Walking Dead, but just as appealing to fans of the supernatural. A good first issue, and a great Free Comic Book Day submission.
Rating:
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APE Entertainment’s Comic Spectacular!. By Various.
Most of the time, when I pick up an anthology-style Free Comic Book Day issue, I cringe before opening. Cracking open APE’s issue was such a relief. Inside there were sex actual short stories. Not excerpts of stories – full stories with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It seems like comic creators have a hard enough time with 8 page stories – to see this many 5 pagers of such high quality was a real treat. My favorite line of all the FCBD issues I read this year appeared in this issue – “The Civil Boar tie-ins broke my fall. I knew they were good for something.” If that doesn’t about sum it up, I don’t know what does. This was an outstanding effort for APE, and I hope they pick up a few new readers for their efforts.
Rating:
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Liberty Comics #0. By Dennis Mallonee, Mike W. Barr, Billy Tucci, Andrew Pepoy, Henry Vogel, Mark Propst, and Rob Jones.
Heroic Publishing has gone with Liberty Girl again to headline their Free Comic Book Day submission, and it seems to have worked out in their favor once again. This issue contained four complete stories – and all four in the same “Golden Age Style” that Heroic prides itself on. And they pull it off. It leaves a little to be desired in terms of character development, but that really isn’t what this issue is all about. It was good decent fun, and this year’s issue was even better than last year’s. I am glad to see that Heroic has managed to stick around this long – it is always a treat to crack open one of their issues.
Rating:
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The Train Was Bang On Time. By Eddie Campbell and William Hornber.
Bonus points for creativity in format, I have to admit. Sadly, that was the most novel thing about this issue.
To be frank, it was a little confusing and a lot boring. The issue quite literally started with a bang – a protest turns bloody as a train is blown up, instead of merely blocked as a group of protesters intended. Framed as a detective story, a good mystery was anticipated. Unfortunately, after the explosion, the story just kind of meanders. The reason for this is several fold – one, a real weakness in artistic storytelling, and two – a poor script that relied on good artistic storytelling to carry it. Page after page without a word on it attempted to convey what was happening – and that lack of dialogue killed what could have been a good story. Sometimes it is better to forget trying to be so bloody artistic and tell a good story – when you go for “artsy,” you often fail if you don’t do it with good reason and skill.
Could have been much better.
Rating:
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Whiteout #1. Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Steve Lieber.
This issue was a reprint of the original Whiteout #1 published way back in 1998. Oni has just released a “remastered” trade of this mini, and is including the first issue here by way of promotion. OK, so it isn’t exactly original or yet-unseen material, but it was a decent first issue, and there is a really good chance that most Free Comic Book Day patrons hadn’t read it before. The ending is a little rough – the story is incomplete and not really satisfying if read on its own, but as a lead in to a four issue mini, it wasn’t too bad.
Not the ideal choice for a Free Comic Book Day submission, but far, far better than a lot of the alternatives.
Rating:
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Viper Comics Presents Volume Two. By Various.
I’ve been an unabashed Viper fan for a long time, which makes this review very, very hard.
This effort was really less than stellar.
It started off well enough – the Yeti Another Day strips were an excellent warm-up. This issue was bound to be Sasquatch-heavy with their promotion of the upcoming anthology, so it set the perfect tone. The second short – an excerpt from Sasquatch vs. UFOs started off well enough, and seemed like a clever concept. However, the end is where things started to go wrong. That story ended in a cliffhanger without giving any real substance of its own. The stories after that had even less substance. Even Oddly Normal – a fantastic title, was pretty empty. Don’t get me wrong, it started off as any good Oddly Normal issue would, but the pages included couldn’t stand on their own at all.
This was a decent showcase of Viper’s various titles, but they forgot that Free Comic Book Day is supposed to be about free comics, not free ads and preview pages. Outside the initial strips, nothing in this book could be read or enjoyed on its own. A real shame. All of these titles deserve to be given a shot – but this particular issue was a weak contribution to the event.
Rating:
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Marvel Adventures Three-In-One. By Various.
The first of two Marvel submissions this year – this one was geared towards the all-ages reader. And it wasn’t half bad. The “solicit” for this issue promised all-new stories, though I am pretty sure that the Franklin Richards story in the back was a reprint. The Hulk and Iron Man stories seemed fresh, however, and for ten page shorts were exceptionally well-written. It just goes to show that there really are people left at Marvel who can write a short comic story- most impressive! This was a great issue for the kids, and the average non-comic-reader Joe who happened to pick this one up.
An excellent start for Marvel.
Rating:
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Amazing Spider-Man Swing Shift 2007. Written by Dan Slott, Art by Phil Jimenez.
Wow – just wow. I honestly don’t think Marvel has ever done a better Free Comic Book Day issue. Last year was the first year they really did well, but this is absolutely perfect.
OK, So there is a new Spider-Man movie out – heck, Free Comic Book Day was scheduled to be on opening weekend for this movie. So Marvel responds by releasing a Spider-Man comic for this years event. The right move for sure.
Second – it is an original story. Written by Dan Slott to boot, which is a bonus for comic fans who follow the creative talent behind their books. And he really delivered. This story was all-ages friendly, not bogged down in continuity, fun and exciting. It had humor and action, and though it followed the old standard Spider-Man formula (you know, Peter on his way to meet X loved one, only to be interrupted by a criminal), it was handled with such humor and grace that the issue was a joy to read. And as one-off villains go, Overdrive was a pretty good one.
And as icing, why not give a preview of an upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man? I dislike Free Comic Book Day issues that are made up entirely of preview pages, but if you took the time and effort to deliver a high quality complete story, and want to take a couple pages to showcase an upcoming issue, go for it! Through and through, a great issue, Well done, Marvel.
Rating:
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Comics 101: How-to and History Lessons From the Pros!. By Danny Fingeroth, Mike Manley, Bret Blevins, Bob McLeod, Roy Thomas, and Michael Eury.
Of the three “How to” comics that came out this year, this one was my favorite. Mostly because it wasn’t so artist-oriented, but also included some stuff for aspiring comic writers. But it was more than that. The real gem of this issue was the lengthy comic history articles in the back. There was a lot of informative information regarding the history of the medium in that article, and I highly recommend all of you find a copy if this issue if you missed it and read it. A lot of you probably know everything presented in it anyway, but it is a nice piece of work that I think you will enjoy. Especially if you want to make comics – you should know the ins and outs of the industry you aspire to be a part of, and this article will get you off to a good start.
Not a great issue for someone looking for a comic story, but for the real comic geek – it’s a good one.
Rating:
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Comics Festival 2007. By Various.
If anything, I hope you managed to pick this issue up just to read Darwyn Cooke’s outstanding short.
There were several shorts in this issue, and of all of the anthology books that came out this year, this one really stood head and shoulders above the rest. In addition to Cooke’s story The Alex, there were a few other notable standouts, including True Romance from Brian McLachlan, Michael Cho, and Cooke, The Wonderful World of Kim Pine by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and what I considered to be a real commentary on the nature of masculinity in today’s society, J. Bone’s Jett Vector. Through and through a great read.
Rating:
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Wow – there you are, thirty-eight Free Comics! As always, there are a couple that get missed in the shuffle – due to regional issues or some other unknown factors. This year, the submissions from Bongo, Boom!, Castle Rain, Comic Shop News, Keenspot, and Drawn & Quarterly were missed. If you picked up any of these issues, please feel free to add your thoughts!
Thanks again for reading, and see you next year!
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March 5, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #42: My Guide to the GTA IV Galaxy
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
What is going to be one of the biggest games for this year, assuming the launch date is accurate, is going to be Grand Theft Auto IV. No, I do not expect this game to blow me out of the water like Vice City did, but I expect big things. I am sure a lot of other people are too. Considering GTA III has remained in the limelight long after each of its incarnations have been released the impending release of this game is going to be larger than the gaming community (bank on the media playing a controversy angle). In fact, the odds are close to 100% that the lines for the game will be a lot longer just because people outside the gaming community continue to talk about it.
History keeps repeating itself this way. The best advertising is always free, so when people keep mentioning the game Rockstar can just sit back and count the cash coming in. Sure, they have to watch it go out to as their CEO and PR department have not exactly been the best thing for Rockstar. More accurately their PR department plays like a good blooper reel. In my head I see a department run by Krusty the Clown- because not only would it still be funny but it would be expected. Perhaps that is not a practical solution. Regardless, as long as they keep their games right it makes no difference.
Talking about a game this long before its release is dangerous, and so I write this with what is probably too much enthusiasm. I find it impossible to care if I am setting myself up for a big fall on this or not- in my lifetime Vice City is probably my defining game, so it is only natural that the next big leap in the franchise (San Andreas was a minor leap- but still a great one) is something I pay very close attention to. Will this be a good leap or a Pitfall leap?
Yeah, video game humor- you really have to love it.
Details on this game are obviously very sketchy right now. The only interesting rumor that is floating around is the backdrop for the game. Rockstar has been looking to do a GTA game that is outside the U.S. for a good amount of time and this definitely presents an opportunity. The setting has had a dramatic effect on how the game feels and plays with both Vice City and San Andreas. Any good game has this immersive quality about it. As such, the GTA IV setting may not be that pivotal for you it is quite so for me. If I feel like I am moving around in an actual city versus some artificial world it makes a big difference. If you don’t believe immersion is important consider this- could you really live in a world without the Degenatron?
(WARNING: previous joke aimed at GTA fans: if confused consult Wikipedia or, better still, play Vice City)
Looking back at all of the best parts of the GTA III series there are some noteworthy changes in the franchise. Before The Sims 2 came out I made a list of some changes I wanted in the game that would make the game a lot better without making it too complicated. Having a solid background in simulations (both for computer science experimentation and gaming) I came up with mostly everything that the game designers did- and this scared me. No, I am not an expert and I have no insider information. Still, it is always fun to guess. While I do not consider this guesswork I put together a small list of ideas that I want to see in the series. This was tough to put together mostly because the standard upgrades that games get I wanted to avoid just because they are not innovative anymore (the most obvious being more guns and vehicles).
1) We need better ways avoiding wanted level capture. I have never been a big fan of driving over the bribe icons, but if you are going to have rampages, health, armor, guns, and hidden packages then those are not a bad idea. It would paint a very interesting picture if bribing was different based on your wanted level. For instance, the bribe icons only work with local and state police. Once the FBI and army come in then you should have to do some very impressive tricks to get out of your predicament. Having a secret meeting with corrupt agents and paying a lot of money comes to mind. Oooh, maybe besides money you could even have access to special missions for assassinations when your meter is high enough. That’s just off the top of my head. This is definitely worth exploring.
2) Owning houses and businesses was just about where I would like it in Vice City. The balance was nice. Watching the criminals trying to steal over $20 million from my vault during the final mission was also quite hysterical. Okay, let me explain this one. Given that much money you would have about 6 hours at least to complete a mission that takes 5 minutes if you are tooling around. Overall there was enough variation in big purchases where the overall mass of what you could own was far from obscene (ignoring the adult film studio, mind you). I want to know why there’s no system in place yet for being a real pimp. If you can own a printing press and cab company then what’s stopping this? Building a city-wide ring that really rakes in the cash is far too appealing. You could even to do that in a multiplayer environment. Hmm, this leads me to…
3) Cooperative play. Yeah, everyone’s clamoring for it which makes this cherry-picking. I want more than just multiplayer- I want it to blow people away (at this point you have to know that pun was intended). There was a very small amount of it in San Andreas and it felt like a last-minute add. The multiplayer deathmatch and cannonball experience has been missing from the console games completely. This needs to be remedied now. Online play is far beyond established and we know that the 360 and PS3 can handle it. It is time to tap into some untapped potential.
For cooperative play I don’t want some lame situation where only certain missions are possible to have multiplayer. I want you to be able to “hire help” whenever possible. If San Andreas could handle a car doing a 4x drive-by then IV candle hiring a gang buddy for a fee. Hey, the more money you pay the more loaded the friend can be.
For competitive play there can be some great things. Deathmatch is a must, but there also need to be variations. I want a competition on who can do the most damage, who can blow up more civilian or law enforcement vehicles, who can run the most people over, who can do the most drive-bys, and so on. In the cannonball races I want a preset wanted rating, an option where my car blows up if I’m driving too slowly, or even a race between pizza delivery scooters (the equivalent of a slap only deathmatch).
4) I must admit I was against flying when it was brought in even though it led to interacting with James Woods. I was vehemently against swimming not causing death, but you cannot be resistant to change all of the time. It is now time to add something to those who love running around to avoid cops- climbing. The days of only stairs and jumping must pass. Even games like Tony Hawk have a mildly passable system now. If you can jump between planes, skydive, and scuba then we are far beyond ready for the ability to climb buildings. More ways to explore, more places to hide stuff, more ways to annoy cops- these are all good things.
Yes, the upgrade in graphics is going to be quite intense (if you care about such things) and may largely determine whether this game is accepted by the previous fan club. I don’t want the changes in the game to be disingenuous. I want solid innovations in this franchise to continue for a long time. We have a good litmus test coming for whether Rockstar is as good at innovation as I think they are. They proved it with III, Vice, Andreas, and Bully. I believe they can do it again.
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