Posted on
06.15.05 by Widge @ 6:05 am  Action Comics #828. DC. Gail Simone (writer); John Byrne (penciller); Nelson (inker); Guy Major (colorist); Rob Leigh (letterer). Atomika #3. Speakeasy. Andrew Dabb (writer); Sal Abbinanti (penciller); Buzz (inker); Christian Strain & Beth Sotelo (colorists); Dave Sharpe (letterer). Fables #38. DC/Vertigo. Bill Willingham (writer); Mark Buckingham (penciller); Steve Leialoha (inker); Daniel Vozzo (colorist); Dave Sharpe (Todd Klein).  The House of M #1. Marvel. Brian Michael Bendis (writer); Olivier Coipel (penciller); Tim Townsend (inker); Frank D'Amata (colorist); Chris Eliopoulos (letterer). It's no secret that Marvel had a great success with Age of Apocalypse. So much so that they yanked Blink out for Exiles and revisited the 10th anniversary recently because, frankly, they haven't had such an attention-getting event since. And yes, I'm counting the movies. Anyway, we all know it's all about the marketing, and despite the fact that Avengers Dissassembled was hilarious ass, I tried to give this a read. It's predictible. From the moment I picked up the book I knew that the reality-altering stuff was going to take place at the end of the first issue and the hook would be a final page where you get a clue as to what exactly has happened. It's too early to tell if the book will rise above its intent, but the good news is Bendis has worked out the writing-for-a-team kinks that he was exhibiting while blowing up the Avengers and the dialogue in here is nice. He does know how the characters work, and an exchange between Spidey and Wolverine as to how berserk heroes should be handled is pretty much on the nose. Coipel's artwork is basically what would happen if Chris Bachalo were a little less fantastic in his work, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, it all depends on where the series goes from here. It's a helluva lot better than DC's morass of "event books," though. The Ultimates 2 #6. Marvel. Mark Millar (writer); Bryan Hitch (penciller); Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary (inkers); Laura Martin (colorist); Chris Eliopoulos (letterer). Watching Hank Pym have his life go down the shitter is amusing. The Ultimate Defenders are amusing. The Valkyrie punchline was very amusing. But why oh why do we have to have a traitor to the team? I don't mind that plot bit in itself, but isn't it kind of sad when you've got the same thing going on over in New Avengers? I mean...don't you guys have meetings? Categorized as: Comics and Reviews
|
Posted on
05.31.05 by Tuffley @ 5:10 am  This week, it was announced that Vibe Magazine and Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment would team up to create a superhero character-which Vibe would publish, and distribute. This got us thinking about "Urban" Superheroes--the creators involved, when it HAS caught on with an audience, and when it hasn't (which is often the case). And better yet- why IS THAT "usually the case"? Sound off about the state (or complete lack) of Urban Superheroes is this week's Great Debate. Categorized as: Comics and Stimuli
|
Posted on
05.17.05 by Dindrane @ 11:30 pm  When you read as much manga as I do, it's not often that a new title makes you salivate, much less weep with despair when you realize another volume won't be out for another two months. Basara is such a title. An apocalypse in the early 21st century turned the world into a vast desert, and Japan is now ruled by the bloodthirsty sons of a tyrant king. Hope still lives for the downtrodden people, however: a rebel chieftain has sired twins, and the prophet Nagi declares one of them, assumed to be the male Tatara, to be the "Child of Destiny." Upon Tatara's death at the hands of the Red King, Tatara's sister takes up his name, his legend, and his gender to prove that she is the real Child of Destiny. But can just plain Sarasa, who was never trained to lead, really pretend to be her brother, usher in a new age, and topple an empire? Part science-fiction, part romance, part mystery, and all adventure, Basara is the title to woo any manga fan. If you enjoy manga, but especially if you think manga and comics are for kids, then for all that's holy, give this one a try. Just remember, Needcoffee.com bears no responsibility for any legal fees incurred when you start sending threatening letters to the Viz translators to get them to hurry up. (Vol. 11's out, so catch up...and then wait, because then there's sixteen to go.) Categorized as: Comics and Reviews
|
Posted on
05.16.05 by Widge @ 4:05 pm  Here there be monsters. Where there be monsters? All over the place. But the reason you don't run into them just walking down the street is because of the Middleman. He deals with the beasties so you don't have to. Viper has released preview info for their upcoming title and you can get the entire skinnee here. It looks like it's going to be a hoot and a half, if you ask us. Categorized as: Comics
|
Posted on
05.11.05 by Widge @ 2:10 am 
Written by Brian K. Vaughan Published by Wildstorm/DC Comics (U.S.); Titan Books (U.K.) My Advice: Read it monthly. Mitchell Hundred was a civil engineer in the Big Apple, just a regular guy like anybody else. Then something bizarre happens, and next thing he knows he's gained the ability to talk to machines. He does what anybody in such a position would do: he becomes a real-life super hero, complete with crazy outfit. He does a lot of good, yes, but he feels like he can do more. So he runs for mayor of New York City...and wins. Thus begins Mitchell's story of his term in office, and there's no telling what kind of ending we're headed for...only that it's probably not too happy. Vaughan manages to prove with this series that Y: The Last Man (at least the first few story arcs) were not a fluke. He can take a seemingly simple idea (What if all the guys in the world dropped dead but one, what if a superhero decided to become mayor of New York) and wring it out thoroughly, taking it in directions you never considered. As a result, what could have been a pervert suit book in lesser hands becomes a fascinating drama filled with political intrigue, wheels within wheels, and...oh, yeah, by the way our lead guy's a meta.  Also commendable is how this book becomes one of the first to deal with 9/11 in a smart way. This is probably simply because it's not at Marvel, but also because it's handled without hoopla and is fairly straightforward. The blurb on the back of the book plays it up more than the book itself, so that's refreshing. Again, we're not at Marvel. Hundred's also a compelling protagonist because he's got the streak in him that we seldom see anymore in comics: he's just an average guy who's trying to do the right thing. And it's wild that in the story arc we have here, he's not only facing somebody offing snow plow drivers in his city, but Hundred is also having to deal with a controversial painting dealing with racism. What a villain, eh? Tony Harris' artwork is even smoother than what I saw of his Starman work. He's got the kind of facial expressions and detail you expect from somebody like Kevin Maguire, and a sampling of the photos Harris used for reference are included in the back, a nice addition. There's also a cast of characters giving credit to the main models. Nice. Basically the art is crisp and there's no doubt as to what you're looking at on the page. The book is good. I'm hoping it stays sharp and doesn't waver like Y has seemed to do recently, but the book's good enough in this arc so I can tell you to pick the damn thing up and then grab the individual issues as they hit. It's one of the few books on stands these days worth selling out the coin for. Order Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days from Amazon! (US) (UK) (CAN) Categorized as: Comics and Reviews
|
|
|
