11.1 Shopping List

Hmmm... another busy week. I didn't clear my box last week because there wasn't a lot there and of course now i've forgotten what was even supposed to be. Ok though, makes for a good surprise. For this week i'll def be buying:

EX MACHINA #24 (MR) - Allllwwaaays and forreeeeeveeerrr (you know the song damnit!).
EXTERMINATORS #11 (MR) - I'm not 100% sure why i am so into this book but... i def enjoy it :)
OTHER SIDE #2 (OF 5) (MR) - Here's another one of those books i meant to review but never got around to (and all of a sudden we're on #2). Great angle on what could have been a ho-hum vietnam story: telling it from both sides of the conflict. Plus i heard the writer took a trip to Vietnam to research... now that's dedication for a mini!
CRIMINAL #2 (MR) - The comics world is going to look back on Criminal in a few issues and proclaim it great. Trust me.
MOUSE GUARD #5 (OF 6)

Best Comic Blogs??

In our modest opinion, what are the best comics blogs out there (please don't say mine since i know Zill's has sucked lately)? I'm asking because i've recently moved to Google Reader and its got me taking an in-depth look at what i'm reading online day-to-day (plus i need to update my blogroll).

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The first issue of Tim Truman's first arc as writer for Conan ("Dogs of Hell" Part I) is pretty damn good IMO.  Nord's artwork even seems re-energized (personally i think he's been back on top of his Conan game since the Mignola arc). 

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The Complete Invincible Library Vol. 1?

Finally got around to flipping through the Oct. issue of Previews and stumbled across a couple of gems:  The Complete Invincible Library Vol. 1, collecting 768 (!!) pages of Invincible goodness from Robert Kirkman (issues #1-24).  Maaaaaannnnn.  It's $125 cover but only 75 beans at mailordercomics.

Next (and far more reasonably priced) is the second Powers: Definitive Collection HC.  I bought the first one and ebay'd the TPs it covered that i already had on the shelf and will prob do the same w/ this one (i'm such a sucker).  Good thing about this is, Bendis and Oeming are only charging us $29.99 cover for 464 pages (issues 13-24 i think?) and i can pick this beauty up at mailordercomics for the insanely low price of $17.99.  Now THAT my friends is a bargain.

Also listed are the Batman Year One Hundred TP and PVP Vol. 4, both of which i will happily buy once they are available.  I really, really enjoyed BYOH and PVP is some of the best "on the can" reading my greenbacks can buy...

Quick question...

How do you guys know when Zilla's has been updated? Do you use Comic Weblog Updates or just check back every so often or what? Trying to get a read on what methods different folks use...

Big (weird) week at the LCS...

Ok - This was a weird week at the LCS for me... I ended up buying about twice as much stuff from the racks as was in my box (which i don't typically do). Here's a list:

Desolation Jones #7 - Wasn't sure i'd buy into a new artist but this guy works it just fine IMO. Great issue BTW; not nearly as "weird" as we're used to w/ DJ but kicking ass and taking names NTL.

7 Brothers - First i've read from Virgin Comics... and you know what? after reading this issue and the ads and editors letters from Gotham Chopra, i'm starting to think VC is damn cool publisher.

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Damned - I remember the ad (and a preview?) for this Oni Press flop some time ago and thinking i'd be in... and shit - i def am. Great story about a guy back in the 30s who can't die (and happens to live in a world where demons intermingle w/ the common folk). B&W prohibition-era gangster/detective comic w/ a left-field twist. Good.

Conan #33 - Truman's first issue as perm new scribe for the muscle-bound Cimmerian. 32 story pages that don't let down... I can tell already this guy is going to be as good for Conan as Busiek; and hell, even Nord's work here is some of his best! As if i needed it, i'm rejuvenated about Conan.

Rush City #1 - I know this came out last week or the week before but i finally decided to stop passing it on the racks w/ an interested glance and buy the damn thing. First take: it's a bit over the top and chalk full of corny action movie dialogue but hey... maybe that's the point? Despite my "yeah rights" and the occasional guffaw, i DID have fun w/ this issue though. Kind of a guilty pleasure like a Vin Deisel movie. I'll read #2 at least before i make a decision on Rush City...

The Sadhu #1 - Another new one from Virgin. I picked up #1 even though i think #3 or 4 is already out... I'm feeling Virgin big time at the moment (whoa that sounds bad) so i'm hoping to dig on this though i haven't read it yet...

Seven SonsAlexander Grecian & Riley Rossmo's Seven Sons - This TP was sitting on the rack next to 7 brother's so i flipped through it and thought "what the hell?". Categorized as "Historical Fiction" and described by the publisher thusly:

Seven identical Chinese brothers come to America during the Gold Rush of the 1850s.

When two children fall through an iced-over river, Brother-Number-One tries to save them by breathing the entire river into his mouth. But he can't hold it long enough for them to get to safety and lets the water go, accidentally drowning the children. When a mob of angry townspeople tries to retaliate, each of Number One's brothers takes his place, using their remarkable abilities each time to save his life.

A literally Western update of the classic fable with a comic-book twist.

def hype to sit down w/ this one this weekend... I'll def review it once i do...

Lastly, I picked up Casanova #5, Wasteland #3, and Exterminators #10, none of which i've cracked open yet...

Let me know what you guys think of any/all of the above!

10.11 Shopping List

No time to comment but def got my list together... am i missing anything??? here i thought since monday was a holiday that comics wouldn't drop till thursday this week... nice surprise.

ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL 1 HC (MR)
DMZ #12 (MR)
EMISSARY #5
SAM NOIR SAMURAI DETECTIVE #2
POWERS #20 (MR)
PUNISHER #39 (MR)

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Scattered thoughts on the morning of the Red River Shootout (thinking comics to calm my nerves)

• Winter Men takes about 6 months to come out between issues so when i finally get my hands on a new one i have little idea what exactly is going on (read last weeks issue a couple times and still feel lost).  Doesn't help that the title has a well-written yet fairly complicated plot.  Aside from complaints about the schedule though...  WM is damn good.


• I ordered (from Amazon) a new work by George R.R. Martin, Ice Dragon, assuming it was the next in the INCREDIBLE Song of Fire and Ice series only to find out its a digest size kid's book.  HUGE, HUGE bummer.  I can't wait for the next in that series...  I've heard Martin described as a modern day Tolkien and i'm inclined to agree...  This is by far the best fantasy work i've read since LOTR.


• While we're talking about busted Amazon orders, let me complain about another one:  I've been re-reading the Hellboy series since i read Seeds of Destruction for the first time last week and its gotten me thinking about Mignola again...  so i picked up a book i'd never previously heard of:  Zombieworld: Champion Of The Worms.  Miggs wrote the book w/ accompanying art by a guy named Pat McEown, who's style is a bit too "saturday morning cartoons" for me.  I wasn't feeling this book from the first few pages and i gave it to about halfway before i decided i wasn't even going to finish...  Makes me realize just how much i appreciate Miggs ART as well as his writing for this genre.


• This past week i had two comics in my pile that wouldn't exactly be classified as Eisner candidate works, but good times NTL:  Kirkman's Irredeemable Ant-Man #1, and Boom Studios Savage Brothers #2.  Neither of these books take themselves too seriously, and both were fun reads (for different reasons).  I've pretty much avoided Kirkman's "mainstream" work (while gushing over Brit, TWD, Invincible, and Battle Pope) but here's to hoping Ant-Man is successful...  whether i'm reading it or not (though the cliffhanger at the end of #1 will def have me buying at least one more issue).  Savage Brothers is just good fun...  two thoroughly redneck brothers trying to make a living in a post-apocolyptic Zombie world.  Good characters, fun story and art.  I'd recommend this mini to all Zombie fans (and plenty of others)...  even though we're getting tagged for $3.99 an issue.
  

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"7 Brothers" written by John Woo?

"300" Trailer

You guys have GOT to check out the newly released trailer for the WB movie "300" (based on the near incredible graphic novel by Frank Miller which i reviewed a while back).  Use my link to the apple site to check it out in HD glory (480p is plenty good enough).

PS - A bit on FA's move to Dark Horse...

Straight from the...  erm...  Horse's mouth:

"FEAR AGENT" MOVES TO DARK HORSE, REMENDER EXPLAINS" (courtesty CBR)


Of interest: Sounds like FA will run in the "Hellboy" format (4-issue arcs each starting at #1) though Remender vaguely mentions that the "ongoing" will continue as well? Also, Tony Moore and Opena will rotate 4-issue arcs... and they want to keep the creative team stable (i can't think of a better 3 for this book anyways!).

Gems of the week: Criminal #1, Cross Bronx #2, Fear Agent #8

Criminal #1 - Brubaker and Phillips are a comicdom dream team IMO and i've been looking forward to Criminal for months (since about the time Brubaker teased me with it in a reply to an email i sent him asking for more Sleeper).  Here in #1, we're introduced to Leo, an expert pick pocket/professional thief w/ a troubled past and what appears to be an equally troubled present (and future?).  Leo's not your typical comic book protagonist - it's pretty much impossible to classify him as a "good" or "bad" guy - but that's what makes him so interesting (ala Holden Carver in Sleeper, who happens to be one of the MOST interesting/engrossing comic book characters of all time IMO).  Brubaker and Phillips have brought us a lead with a complicated personality (but not overly so) and equally complex motives.  Throw in a life filled w/ "real world" problems (and a cohort of ex-mates looking to pull him into the heist of the century) and we have the makings for some hella entertaining stories as this title unfolds.  UBER HYPE!  A+.

Cross Bronx #2 - I read Cross Bronx #1 and #2 last night and i have to say i agree w/ Joe Quesada's sentiments on the cover of the second issue - this is def some of Oeming's best work outside of Powers.  I'm pretty pissed to find out that this is only a 4-issue mini...  please tell me that's just the first arc?  I could have sworn CB was going to be an ongoing!!?  Anyways...  the first half of what we hope is the first arc of CB is kicking some major ass.  The whole thing def has a Powers feel to it IMO but that's not in the least bit a bad thing...  I'm taking a liking too our detective partners (esp after #2) and the storyline is sticking with me something fierce.  I def plan on reading both of these again tonight even.  Good stuff from one of my favorite writers/artists.  A+.

Fear Agent #8 - What more can i say about FA?  I friggin' LOVE this comic.  I'm almost ashamed that i was doubting it for a few issues there (during the whole Moore -> Opena change).  Here in #8 we get our first look at Heath and his life back in Tejas before its destruction, his wife and son (and very cool Sam Elliot-esque father), and eventually a tantalizing shot of Mara's money-maker.  The more of Jerome Opena's work i see the more i like...  This guy has this book wrapped around his little finger and though it may seem blasphemous - he may be doing an even better job with it than Tony Moore (there was a time i would have deemed that impossible).  I can only hope they keep this creative team on this book long after it moves to Dark Horse (or is that just a rumor???  Do we expect it to effect the book at all?).  I'm def hype for #9 and beyond as Heath and Mara head down to a destroyed Earth to investigate (and ultimately beat some ass i'm sure).  Comic book sci-fi at its very best.  A+.

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Man i must be in one hell of a good mood with my return...  Three A+'s in one week?  You got to be kidding right??  Love it.

PS - Let me know what you guys read this week and what you thought!!!!

Hellboy Vol. 1: Seeds of Destruction

I've been a huge Hellboy fan for a long, long time now but for some reason i had never read Miggs first volume, Seeds of Destruction. Long ago when i picked up my first HB trade, I ordered Wake the Devil (Vol. 2) and ran through the series from there... though now i can't remember why. Funny how sitting down with the first volume last night and powering through it put a LOT of missing pieces into place... Kind of cool though, it reminded me of the way writers often purposely save the "origin" story for later in the series. Great TP though (equally as good if not better than the 4 subsequent collections IMO). A+ across the board for HB, one of my all time fav characters/series.

PS - Is anyone as hype as i am for Mignola's animated Hellboy project(s)? Premiering Oct. 28 @ 9:30 on Cartoon Network.

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10.4 Shopping List

Cleaned out a months worth of flops from my LCS box last weekend and i'll be heading back tomorrow because i can't resist Cross Bronx #2, Criminal #1, or a new FA. Man i have a lot to read before i get caught back up...

WINTER MEN #5 (OF 8) - Wait is this actually a new issue of Winter Men or just a restocking? I had (have?) given up in this title for dead... though i was def enjoying it at one point.
CROSS BRONX #2 (MR) - Yes sir. #1 was spot on what i expected from Oeming and i'm extra hype for #2 this week.
FEAR AGENT #8 - Pull list. BFF.
CRIMINAL #1 (MR) - Damn a new Cross Bronx AND the first issue of Brubaker and SPs new crime drama are both coming out this week? Be still my beating heart.
GIANT SIZE WOLVERINE #1 - Who's involved w/ this? Should i pick it up?
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #1 - I'm a Kirkman dork so i at least have to check this out though i'm not usually a fan of his mainstream work (LOVE Brit, TWD, and Invincible but not so hype about Team Up and/or UXM).

And, as if from nowhere, he (re)appeared.

My oh my. Sorry to have left you guys hanging for so damn long but a little something came up that had me out of the country for a while. I'm just getting settled back in so it may be a week or so before i get regular with the posts again around here but that is the plan my friends. i've got a MASSIVE pile of comics to catch up on so bear with me while i'm behind (and/or help me fill in the blanks). I recently got a hold of the under-rated yet cats-ass Surrogates TP (though i have the flops already... i know, i know, but this TP really does kick ass!) and BKV's Pride of Baghdad, which is chalk full of political innuendo and really got to me with its well-written story and GORGEOUS artwork. Both of these are great "thinking" books. A++.

While you're waiting for me to get my shit together again... have a read of Erik Larsen's latest CBR column (which just so happens to sum up my thoughts on/love for TPs, HCs, and other collections quite nicely).

PS - I totally understand if readership around here is back to about 1, 2, or 3 (counting myself). No worries, i accepted writing this damn blog primarily to hear myself talk eons ago!! Regardless, welcome back me, and whoever's still with me ;)