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Showing posts from March, 2010

Comic Buyers Guide Fan Awards 2010

          The finalists have been announced and voting will take place between now and May 31, 2010 for the CBG Fan Awards 2010.  You can cast your vote for your favorite nominees at the www.cbgxtra.com web site.           For discussion purposes I’m going to list my picks here. I welcome your comments, feedback, etc. I hope some of you will make your picks public as well. This could be fun. FAVORITE EDITOR - - - Joe Quesada FAVORITE WRITER - - - Ed Brubaker FAVORITE PENCILLER - - - J H Williams III FAVORITE INKER - - - Scott Williams FAVORITE COLORIST  - - - Paul Mounts FAVORITE LETTERER - - - Chris Eliopoulas FAVORITE COVER ARTIST - - - John Cassaday FAVORITE STORY - - - Sgt. Rock & The Lost Battalion FAVORITE SERIES  - - - Jonah Hex FAVORITE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL - - - Asterios Polyp FAVORITE CHARACTER - - - Captain America FAVORITE PUBLISHER  - - - Boom Studios

Is This The Face Of Captain America?

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The official press release can be found here (as long as I did the link thing correctly): http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/03/23/chris-evans-marvel-comics-captain-america/?ncid=webmaildl8 I hope he's the right choice - - - I have high hopes for the Captain America movies after seeing what a great job was done with Iron Man. I've only seen the first Fantastic Four film, but nobody in that movie impressed me. Chris Evans was the Human Torch. Let's blame that on the director and keep our fingers crossed.

In Search Of Horror 2

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DEVIL #1 of 4  (Dark Horse)   story and art by Torajiro Kishi and Madhouse Studios                It wouldn’t be hard to justify labeling this as “horror”, “dark fantasy”, or “science fiction” as this complex and fast-moving story touches upon all three genres.   If you like vampire tales, John Woo crime/action films, and/or horror movies with seemingly indestructible monsters (as seen in ALIENS, etc.) then this book has something to interest you.            Whether DEVIL takes place in a future society or an alternate universe is unclear, and may be explained in future issues.  A new virus with vampire-like symptoms is spreading across the planet. It turns victims into “Devils”  = =  not exactly vampires but super-powerful blood suckers.  The lifespan of an infected Devil is just a few days but the virus is fast-acting.           Officers of the Special Investigations Unit “Devil” are instructed to apprehend victims of the virus and secure them in special institutions for observ

. . . . . something completely different

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TIME LINCOLN (Antarctic Press, March 17, 2010)  story and art by Fred Perry                     I remember seeing this title solicited in PREVIEWS and passing on it.  However, after seeing it resting on the new releases shelf at my local comics shop  (Captain Blue Hen in Newark, DE)  I was strangely attracted to it.  After being hypnotized by the cover I picked it up - - just another one of those impulsive buys that frequently result in new and pleasing discovery.  (This also serves as a testimonial for why we need to support comic shops - - I have them to thank or blame for this!)           The beautifully depicted steampunk cover by Brian Denham with a head shot of Abraham Lincoln as centerpiece forces you to pick it up and examine the contents.           From that point you are  hooked.  Once you view the contents and see the historical characters in futuristic yet outmoded Victorian garb and gadgetry (that’s steampunk for ya!),  all drawn in a manga style (but without the

Siege: The End of an Era

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I do not know if I'd read Siege again. But right now, I acknowledge that it is, without a doubt, the blockbuster conclusion that we have been promised. For the past however-many years, Bendis has had control of the Marvel universe, guiding it through major events and redefining it. Mainstream press was attracted to Spider-Man's unmasking in Civil War , to Captain America's death and eventual return. From Avengers: Disassembled on, Bendis has told a massive story that completely changed how readers viewed the Avengers. For the first time in a very long time, these characters, these icons in the Marvel universe, have topped the charts--and they haven't gone away. I've had my criticisms of these stories. More than a few, actually. I don't think that they hold up on rereads, and I usually feel that they're a connection of big moments loosely linked together by a flimsy narrative. That is not that sort of story I want to read. For many people, however?

Comics I Read: Catching Up #22

Vengeance of the Moon Knight 2-5: Pretty good stuff from writer Gregg Hurwitz. I could have lived without the Sentry appearance in #2, but otherwise he does a good job of showing Marc Spector fighting his killer impulses (and winning, for a change) and the use of The Hood to resurrect an old villain is clever. Jerome Opeña gives the art the feel of the original series, which is nice, and there are some nice action moments but his faces are sometimes a little bit sketchy. Overall a good read that doesn’t rise to the level of “must have”. Siege 3: There’s another big act of destruction in this issue, although it’s not nearly as (literally) visceral as the last one. (It makes me wonder how much Matt Fraction has been lying in his “Thor” interviews lately, though.) It’s great fun to see the “real” Avengers again, though we don’t quite get the Cap/Iron Man/Thor together moment I was hoping for. I didn’t feel the “White House” expository captions in the first few pages added much to the st

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD

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I just got through watching Warner Animation’s latest DC Universe movie – unfortunately, I had to be home sick with a fever to have the time – and it’s my favorite so far. Originally conceived by writer Dwayne McDuffie as the bridge between the “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” animated series, this classic story of the Justice League vs. the Crime Syndicate has been modified to stand alone. (But if you squint, and pretend they used John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan, it still basically fits in the original continuity.) McDuffie tends to think his sci-fi concepts all the way through, and I think his take on the “infinite Earths” concept will please even people who don’t normally like the idea. His take on it makes Owlman into perhaps the most nihilistic character in the history of animation. His Batman is pretty ruthless and scary too, and not afraid to make a surprising sacrifice for the greater good. The fight scenes are terrific too, and there are lots of cameos

DYSFUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION

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THE BRONX KILL   (Vertigo Crime Graphic Novel) written by Peter Milligan with art by James Romberger.  Available in hardcover on March 17, 2010.  Black & White with Gray tones.  Suggested for Mature Readers. Peter Milligan earned his spot on my personal list of writers to watch some time ago.  With THE BRONX KILL , a tight little crime/mystery thriller about a family with some troubled history, he moves onto my even shorter list of crime writers to pay attention to.  The quality level falls in between the works of Ed Brubaker and David Lapham.  THE BRONX KILL builds suspense like the master Brubaker while the gritty dark side of human nature he details reminds me of Lapham’s hard-core tales.           For three generations the males of the Keane family have sought careers as policemen.  Each of them wanted to be a “cop” until Martin Keane made a decision to go his own way and pursue his lifework as a writer.  His father never approved and constantly belittles that decision

Cartoons of the Week

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John Kovalic gets the last word on the Amazon.com graphic novel kerfuffle here and here .

Bargains of the Week

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The single-disc editions of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and Green Lantern: First Flight are getting marked down from $19.98 to $14.98 on March 16, so if you don’t have them yet this might be the week to get them.

IN SEARCH OF HORROR #1: VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS

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  TRUST VINNIE FOR CHILS           While super-hero tales still continue to dominate the selection of current comics choices there seems to be an increase in the number of quality horror and dark fantasy titles.  My interest and appetite for such fare has been revived, especially after reading the new re-boot of CREEPY (getting much better as of Issue #2) as well as promising new titles like WE WILL BURY YOU .  I’m going to continue exploring new books and writing here about the ones worthy of your investigation.           One book that caught my eye is VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS   from Bluewater Productions, their first ongoing series that began in mid-2008.  It’s an anthology of horror tales, featuring a single story each issue by some promising writers and artists.  The tie-in device incorporates a narrator to introduce and conclude each story ala classic comics like TALES FROM THE CRYPT, CREEPY, BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF TERROR, ROD SERLING’S TWILIGHT ZONE , etc.  The narrator h

Big Amazon Omnibus Sale, um, Glitch

I’m late on this, ironically because I was out most of the day yesterday at a comic sale, but while it lasts check out the links below to Rich Johnston’s discovery of a lot of Marvel Omnibus hardcovers on sale for $14.99 or less! It’s not clear to me whether it’s an error on Amazon’s part or not, but since they don’t charge until they ship the worst that can happen is that your order gets cancelled. The Great Amazon $14.99 Graphic Novel Sell Off Of 2010 and Daddy, What Did You Buy In The Great $14.99 Amazon Day? Edited at 5pm to add: Johnston's blog now says  it's officially a glitch . We'll just have to wait and see which (if any) orders get shipped.

Weekend TV Newsmagazine of the Week

Neil Gaiman is featured on CBS Sunday Morning this – wait for it – Sunday morning on CBS at 9am. Edited to add: The video is available online  here .

Comics I Read: Catching Up #21

Green Hornet 1: I haven’t been that into Kevin Smith’s recent Batman series, but I like the beginning of this series based on Smith’s unused movie script. There’s just enough of his trademark snappy dialogue, but without too much of his trademark crudeness. The front half of the book is the last case of the 1960’s TV show Hornet, and in the back half we meet his son who (presumably) is destined to become the new Hornet. I’m actually more interested in the old hornet, but the last time this was done I wound up liking the modern quite a bit. Phil Hester, of course is a terrific artist and pencil artist Jonathan Lau makes good use of his breakdowns. Justice League: Cry for Justice 6-7: I need to discuss the ending, so major spoiler warning! Wow. I’m near speechlessness about how abruptly this went off the rails. This series took itself a little too seriously from the beginning, but at least it had a goofy charm. (And #6 proved me right about Freddy not being able to say “Shazam”, whi

Cartoon of the Week

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Click the image to see the cartoon full size, and please be sure to check out John Kovalic’s many other fine cartoons at dorktower.com .

Comics I Read: Catching Up #20

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  Blackest Night 7: There’s not a ton of plot movement here until the last few pages, but I really liked the twist on Orange Lantern Lex Luthor’s greed and all the other characterizations are great as usual. As to the ending, the revelation about the origin of life in the universe kind of makes my head hurt to think about but, as I (and to be fair a lot of others) predicted, a White Lantern does emerge. Johns managed to catch me completely by surprise by giving that role to an unexpected character. Well played, sir. The real star of this issue, though, is Ivan Reis. I don’t know if it was the extra time or what, but his work is even more stunning here including some amazing double-page spreads like the one above. Black Lantern Green Arrow 30: This is a lot like many of the other recent tie-ins where the hero has to watch from inside as Nekron uses their body and memories to taunt their comrades, but what brings this to another level is that Ollie’s behavior doesn’t need to be twi

Genius Idea of the Week

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I got an ad in the mail today for a local dental office that practices “Sedation Dentistry”. What is Sedation Dentistry, you ask? The ad – which I am not making up – says “ You’ll be sedated just enough to be unaware of the treatment, as if you were sleeping. You’ll wake up refreshed, with little to no memory of what was accomplished. ” So, basically you go there voluntarily, they knock you out and take your money. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that?