The New 52: My top five (and then some)

So, we're on the far side of the New 52 initiative, of which I ended up reading 40 titles (plus two I would have read if I could ever have found copies), and I have to say it aside from some issues that cropped up each week it was overall a positive experience. There were a handful of standouts, but I liked a lot more of the total than I expected to, and I intend to stick with a bunch, albeit a month late after the price drop for most of them. In lieu of writing forty reviews, which I probably would have done if I had time between actually reading my 20-odd-books-a-week pull (urgh), I'm just going to pick out my five favorites and a few honorable mentions and focus on the ones worth reading.

Comics reviews 4/20/11

Running a bit late this week. Pull had a nice mixture of books this week; a bunch of books with dinosaurs, a few books I've come back to after dropping off for a while, surprisingly a couple of books full of interview scenes.

Comics for 4/20
Avengers Academy #12
Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #1 (of 4)
Mass Effect: Evolution #4 (of 4)
Power Girl #23
Iron Man 2.0 #4
Hulk #32
Super Dinosaur #1
Fables #104
Thunderbolts #156
Black Dynamite: Slave Island

Maybe I'm just being Space Paranoids but...

Whether we admit it or not, I think a lot of us were worried how Marvel getting gobbled up by Disney would affect things. I think at this point we can admit it's been fairly negligible so far, other than, say, the quarterly deaths for sales thing. So I imagine some eyebrows were raised back in December when Spider-Man debuted this outfit the same week Disney's Tron Legacy opened:

Art by Humberto Ramos, colors by Edgar Delgado

Now, even though that costume was discarded a couple of issues later, it's been said that this was a coincidence, and I'm willing to believe it, especially since Marvel was already openly promoting Tron with a series of variant covers around the same time. And this could just as easily be a coincidence like the Spider-Man thing, but seriously, this is the grand villain reveal you debut the day after Tron Legacy comes out on DVD?

Left: Fear Itself #1, Art by Stuart Immonen, colors by Laura Martin, Right: The Worthy concept art by Marko Djurdjevic

Granted the Worthy concept art has been circulating for a while longer now but c'mon, that's just pushing it. However, for the time being I'll remain skeptical of any underhanded cross-promotion, at least until May brings us the X-Pirates.

Issue Forth - Week of 4/6/11

So I'm guessing this might get repetitive quick, especially on top of the reviews, but figured I'd try a feature of looking at the first books in a series that came out in a week, at least the ones I picked up. This week, my pile included the initial issues of Identity Wars and Fear Itself, and the first issue of Herc, all from Marvel, as well as the start of the new B.P.R.D. flashback story, The Dead Remembered.

Nothing Will Ever Be The Same: Infestation review

After ten issues and eleven weeks, IDW's crossover event, Infestation, came to a close this week. I originally saw some promotional stuff on it at NYCC last year, promising some zombie mayhem across a handful of mini-series. Unlike the Marvel/DC events that tend to dominate the market, the premise here saw several franchises of IDW's liscensed comics, not sharing a common continuity in the slightest, coming together; Star Trek, Transformers, Ghostbusters and GI Joe, along with original IDW properties Zombies Vs Robots and CVO (Covert Vampire Operations). In the end, the books delivered what was on the tin, and for the most part they were pretty fun, but in the end the detached nature of the separate stories may have hurt the series overall.

Infestation #2, IDW

Super-fast comic reviews for 4/6/11

A decent-sized pull of books this week (and maybe more over the weekend) and not particularly a lot to say, in the end, so going to do a batch of quick reviews again. This time I think I'll limit myself to three sentences, but on a couple books there'll be some things I want to expand on in seperate posts. Specifically, with Infestation ending this week, I'll take a look back at the entire series rather than issue by issue and due to my habit of buying first issues even if I don't intend to follow up with the rest of the series (or even if I do) I'll start taking a seperate look at First Issues of the week and how they are at getting new readers into the books.

Speaking of first issues, among the books on my pull I missed, I really wanted to grab Nonplayer #1 and be on top of these books every other critic, blogger and fan is telling me to read for once. Sadly, though, by the time I got down to the shop tonight there was a nice, big gap in the N section mocking me. If I'm around any other shops over my weekend, I'll try and grab it. In the meantime, I take a look at Doctor Who #3 from last week, which I missed then because I am an idiot and got fooled by variant covers.

Comics for 4/6:
Infestation #2 (of 2)
Nonplayer #1 Doctor Who Ongoing #3
B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered #1 (of 3)
Daomu #3
Ozma of Oz #5
Secret Six #32
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #3 (of 5)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38
Herc #1
Chew #18
Fear Itself #1

The symbiosis of Venom and Rick Remender

When it comes to Marvel (and occasionally in DC), I have noticed a trend in my favorite characters: they all tend to be secondary versions of core Marvel heroes. Thor is fun, but Simonson's origins for Beta Ray Bill are the pinnacle of high-concept storytelling. She-Hulk stories may not have the same anguish and angst as her cousin Bruce, but she works great as standard character and even better when she used to break the fourth wall (well before Deadpool became the poster child). And personal favorite Man-Thing is, of course, the result of a failed attempt at recreating Cap's super-soldier serum (that one, admittedly, a more substantial deviation than the rest). However, growing up with Spider-Man in the late 80s and early 90s there is one who will always have a special place in my heart: Venom.

Well, not specifically Venom, and that's why I'm writing this post. Conceptually, I am a huge fan of the Black Costume/Symbiote, but the stories the character has been used in over the past 20 years have mostly been weak or laughable, a victim of the Extreme '90s dark ages. We're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, though, as Rick Remender takes over the character and gives him a chance at redemption.

In Brightest Day, In Highest Def

No trailer shall... escape... my... sef--fuck it, I ain't a poet.

My opinions on the Green Lantern movie have been pretty polarized, swinging back and forth erratically on each piece of information that drops on it and how much I read into them. I want to like it certainly, I'm a big fan of what Green Lantern used to be and I like a fair amount of the Johns-era stuff (wearing my Red Lantern ring as I type this). But, some of the semi-realistic takes on the Corps designs, the chitinous, organic-looking armor, and, while I didn't feel the vitriol everyone else seemed to towards it, that first trailer didn't do much to alleviate fears. Although I do have to concede I hated the suits substantially less (daresay I even liked them) actually seeing them in motion, as I'd hoped would be the case. As they showed new footage at Wondercon this past weekend, however, we also got a new, full HD trailer for the film...

Strange Tales II

The Strange Tales II hardcover dropped this week. Didn't mention it in the main reviews as I didn't pick up the actual collection, I had already grabbed the single issues as they came out. As such, I can't really comment on the hardcover itself and anything unique to that, but still wanted to extol the virtues of the series to anyone who hasn't checked it out yet.

Comics reviews 3/30/11

Accidentally took the week off from here while hashing some things out, both for the blog and real-life things which must take precedence. Hopefully next week I can implement some of the things I was working on but for now wanted to at least keep the reviews streak going to make sure some content's going up.

Pretty small pull this week, but I think I actually enjoyed every one of them. So, spoiler alert, mostly-positive reviews ahead:

Comics for 3/30
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1
Secret Avengers #11
Detective Comics #875
Spider-Girl #5
Jimmy Olsen one-shot
Amazing Spider-Man #657

Comics reviews 3/23/11

Facing down a very "meh" week. Grabbed a bunch of books I was only cursorily interested in, and pretty sure on the other side of reading them I feel that way about even more of the pull. Alternatively, there were a couple of good surprises in there.

Comics for 3/23:
Ghostbusters: Infestation #2 (of 2)
Captain America and Batroc The Leaper one-shot
FF #1
Mass Effect: Evolution #3 (of 4)
Hellraiser #1
Batman Incorporated #4
Fables #103
Power Man and Iron First #3 (of 5)
X-Men #9

I'd like to think I'm above the obvious six-armed Shocker joke.

Last night, first details of Dan Slott's Spider Island were revealed, including the absolutely beautiful concept of a six-armed Shocker on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #669:

Amazing Spider-Man #667, by Humberto Ramos

However, this is not actually the first time Herman's gotten his spider on. While in no way canon, I am reminded of the Arachnophobia series of trading cards from the 1995 set of Fleer's Spider-Man trading card, which contained none other than the monstrous DOPPELSHOCK:

BAM! Art by Jean-Pierre Targete

I can only hope this was Slott's inspiration, and that this means in the coming months we see some of the rest of the set show up in some form.

Comics reviews 3/16/11

Back for another late-ish week. Going to try and keep this a little brief for my own sake but not going to limit myself to two sentences per book this week, although I did have fun forcing myself to do that. Have nothing in particular to wax loudmouth about up here this week so let's just jump right into the reviews.

Comics for 3/16:
G.I. Joe: Infestation #2 (of 2)
Doctor Who #2
Iron Man 2.0 #2
Fear Itself: Book of the Skull (one-shot)
Uncanny X-Force #5.1
Batman #708
Knight and Squire #6 (of 6)
Thunderbolts #155
Amazing Spider-Man #656

Super-fast comic reviews for 3/9/11

For the sake of brevity, since I will not have the disproportionally-large gulf of time I normally devote to write the reviews this weekend, I've decided limit this week's to TWO SENTENCES EACH. My schedule at work is shifting around and I'm finally picking up more hours so in future weeks this may become equally sporadic but I'll keep trying to get at least something up. And this will at least give me a chance at practicing not being such a long-winded bastard.
Side note: Anyone know if the Science Dog Special came out this week? I had it showing up on my release list but didn't see it anywhere.

Comics for 3/9:
Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 (of 2)
Jennifer Blood #2
Guarding The Globe #4 (of 6)
Batgirl #19
Batman And Robin #21
Batman Incorporated #3
B.P.R.D.: Hell On Earth: Gods #3 (of 3)
Venom #1

Watching Dead: A Wishlist

The key to a good adaptation between incongruent mediums isn't slavish accuracy to the source material, but knowing what to keep, what to cut and what to change entirely. A poor adaptation isn't necessarily the fault of a bad writer, but perfectly competent writer who couldn't pull off the balancing act. In terms of adapting the comic into the television series, the Walking Dead was all over the map, mostly to its benefit. The first episode was almost verbatim to the first few issues, beyond that it bounced between following some aspects of the comic and it's own unique series of events and characters. As such, it's pretty hard to guess how closely the series is going to stick to the comic in the following seasons, and even harder to guess what's in store for the characters. When dealing with the wholly-fictional characters in the comic, they come and go with alarming frequency and no guarantee of any particular lifespan. With actors contracted and making a living, we're probably going to see less of a revolving, expendable cast. I'm sure there'll be deaths, but I can't imagine it'll be quite the same revolving-door roster as the books; prime example being how Shane's role has already been substantially expanded and we're promised to see more of him in the second season.

As I'm writing this, some news of the second season has already been revealed, including that part of the season will take place at the Hershel's farm. Not knowing how closely they're going to keep to the books, or at what pace, I'm taking a look at some of the other things I'd like to see make it from the comics to the screen in the upcoming season(s). I'll be looking at things from throughout the comic run, so anyone catching up beware of potential spoilers.

Comics reviews 3/2/11

Actually a pretty full week this time around, with some new books coming out and some lapsed titles worming their way back into the pull. I've only sporadically looked at Green Lantern titles since Blackest Night, and I don't think I've picked up X-Factor since just after Civil War; I loved both books but I think both were getting mired down by their respective continuities.

Speaking of tiresome continuity, thumbed through the Fear Itself sketchbook I got at the shop. Of all the major, "world-changing" maxi-series events, this is probably the one I'm least interested in. Which is a damn shame, because it looks like it's probably going to be the best one. With a team like Matt Fraction writing and art by Stuart Immonen on the main series. However, and I think this is probably the root of my problem, I have no idea what the hell this is about. I've gathered it involves Red Skull's daughter taking over the mantle, and the Norse God of Fear (who, I admit, I have no idea who this is) but have yet to get a clear explanation regarding plot. Alternatively, I'm pretty burnt out on Event comics in general, and I'm against the kind of passive-aggressive threat of them implying that you have to follow all these books to get the full story and how it impacts the comics' universe at large. Can't say I particularly care to really invest in another one, even if it's mildly tame compared to the scope of some of its predecessors. Not to say I'll be boycotting it or avoiding it entirely, which is a tempting threat to throw around. There are some tie-in issues I'll be picking up anyways, and I'll probably get the main seven-issue series of it. It's just all getting wearisome.
Anyways, onto reviews:

Comics for 3/2:

G.I. Joe: Infestation #1 (of 2)

Daomu #2

Secret Six #31

Green Lantern #63

X-Factor #216

Thunderbolts #154

Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #2 (of 5)

Chew #17

Annihilators #1 (of 4)

Batman: Super-intense, even when made out of ice-cream

In keeping with this week's unofficial snack-food theme. From an ad for "Justice League Frozen Novelties" (a disturbingly vague description) that's been staring at me all week from a pile of comics that need sorting.

If This Be Snackcakes, Part 2: Stay Golden

Yesterday, I focused on the single-page Hostess ads Marvel ran from 1975-1982, but in 1984 Marvel ran a full issue that could have put any of the shorter strips to shame. While not officially sanctioned by Hostess, it was just as crazy as any of the actual ads, and features one of the few villains who, ostensibly, makes sense to be swayed by the promise of tasty, tasty food. I present now for the approval of the Midnight Society the tale of Golden Oldie: Herald of Galactus:

Marvel Team-Up vol. 1 #137, written by Michael Carlin, pencils by Greg LaRocque

If This Be Snackcakes, Part 1: The Top 5 Marvel Hostess Ads

If I could bring one aspect of '80s comics back to modern books, it was be the single-page Hostess ads. Actually running from the mid-seventies into the early eighties , the big two, Marvel and DC, and even some smaller houses like Harvey, had single page comics featuring their heroes stopping one-off supervillains or averting natural disasters using or in the name of delicious Hostess snack cakes or fruit pies. They also tended to be completely insane; even suspending enough disbelief to accept that snack cakes are the world's greatest crime deterrent these things make no sense. A group of extremists subdued by Fruit Pies is one thing, but then take into account that they're called the Phoomie Goonies (which manages to sound vaguely racist without actually meaning anything) and they attack a post office where Bruce Banner happens to be working as a mailman because why the fuck not.

You can find the ads collected on some sites like Seanbaby, who seems to have actually collected all of the Marvel/DC ads, and Tomorrow's Heroes, who have a great deal including the Harvey ads featuring Casper, Wendy et al (as well as a fine selection of other classic comic ads).

For the purposes of this post, I picked out what I think were the five strangest, most inexplicable ads Marvel had put out in their books. DC did had their share, including some featuring villains with names such as giant billboard monster Cooky La Moo and the dread Dr. Sorcery (who, with a monicker like that, I am shocked hasn't shown in up in one of Grant Morrison's nostalgia-heavy, reference-laden books yet). However, up against their famous Silver Age stories these almost felt par for the course. Marvel, on the other hand, had their share of strange tales and amazing fantasies but nothing quite like what was going down to shill for cupcakes.

Honorable Mention: Captain Marvel versus Nitro

As a Hostess ad, this was pretty tame. It is, however, one of the few that used an established villain to sell the goods. And not just any villain, but Nitro, the man who would go on to kill hundreds in the Stamford disaster and kick off Marvel's Civil War maxi-event. Imagine the tragedy that could have been averted (and the time that could have been saved) if the New Warriors had just happened to have a few Twinkies on hand that day.

Two and a Half Supermen

I read Charlie Sheen's open letter tonight, and was immediately struck at the wording. Besides (or because of) sounding absolutely insane, he came off less as an irate actor and more as...

Art by Frank Quitely, All-Star Superman #11 & #12