Since July is almost upon us, and since said month looks to be an awesome one for comic book fans, I thought I would mention the new things I am most excited about seeing for the upcoming month. This is of course above and beyond the normal monthly titles.
Casanova #1 – Casanova is being reprinted under Marvel’s Icon imprint. The issues are now going to be in color and contain new backmatter by the creators. (The first issue has a new bonus story.) The series is one of my favorites and was written by Matt Fraction. The first volume was illustrated by Gabriel Ba with the second by Fabio Moon, the two brothers currently kicking butt on Daytripper. It’s an action/comedy of the best kind, featuring alternate dimensional versions of characters, large robots, love androids and some of the weirdest brother-sister attraction since the Utimates’ Quicksilver-Scarlet Witch.
Casanova was the second of two books in the Image “Slimline” format. The other was a book called Fell. (Another fine work.) Casanova featured 15 pages of comic and eight pages of backmatter. The backmatter was always interesting and thought-provoking, if not downright hilarious.
I’m excited because after Marvel reprints the series in glorious color, Fraction, Ba and Moon will return for a third series. That alone guarantees my support. If you guys missed this series the first time, don’t skip out the second time. It’s worth it. Trust me.
Man, it feels like FOREVER since I’ve taken a seat here at the Best Covers desk. Some minor website snafus a couple weeks ago and an all-too-brief camping excursion into the 49th state, and now I can barely remember how this process goes… oh that’s right: I pick some covers and make wisecracks about them! Who said these legs can’t remember how to pedal!
As usual, click the images to enlarge.
CAPTAIN SWING AND THE
ELECTRICAL PIRATES OF CINDERY ISLAND #2
Upon seeing this comic, I almost immediately dubbed it: The League of Extraordinary Electrical Pirates. Mainly due to its cover design, which reminded me very much of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but also because of its shipping schedule, which is also very League-esque. (Issue #1 came out in February.)
And, not only does this comic win for its cover, it also wins for having one of the most long-winded names of the week! (Also in that competition: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust #2.)
We are hitting the halfway mark of 2010 and so far I would have to say it is the year of the independent comics (including Vertigo). With material like American Vampire, Daytripper, Scalped, Echo, Walking Dead, Killer, Gravel, Cowboy Ninja Viking and many others the big guys are being smoked in term of pure quality. Not that DC and Marvel don’t have some great books or that the everything else category doesn’t have some misses being published, just on the whole, the capes are being left off many top ten lists so far.
With that as my introduction for the week I only have two books to mention this week that fit the above remarks, but hey that is life in the small city of Catonsville.
First up is Invincible #73. I have heard that those that finally take the plunge usually stay with this title and why not, right now it is one of the best super hero books on the market. The joy of a creator owned book is that things can change. Kirkman certainly wants Invincible to stay around as I’m sure it generates a good income stream for him, but that doesn’t mean things can’t change and it also means Mark Grayson has been growing older as the series progresses. Not a month for month thing, but still he is getting older. We are in the midst of the Viltrumite War right now and last issue we ended with Invincible’s guts hanging out of his body, literally.
Also out is Madame Xanadu #24 which conveniently is the beginning of a new arc. This arc is about how each of the five senses work and has a different artist for each sense. The first issue deals with Madame Xanadu trying to help a girl deal with a horrific prophetic vision. Madame Xanadu is a Vertigo book, but writer Matt Wagner has set in firmly in the regular DCU, which makes this a unique book.
Well guys, it’s my big week of Finals for my Summer Classes, so this column’s short this week. Even so, I still have some interesting news items for you!
Writer/Artist Mike Mignola talks about his return to illustrating the interiors of the pages of Hellboy, as well as a “clean slate” for the character in this article here. Did you know that Alan Moore once described Mignola’s work as ‘German expressionism meets Jack Kirby?’ I didn’t either. Interesting stuff in that article. I have always enjoyed the art of all the guest artists on Hellboy but it will be nice to see Mignola back doing what he does best.
I was happy to see that the Cyberforce character Velocity will return on June 30th. However, I was disappointed to see it will only be for a four-issue mini-series by Ron Marz and Kenneth Rocafort. Why you ask? Because more than a year ago, Top Cow held a “Pilot Season” where readers could vote on which character (based on a series of one-shots) got their own series. Velocity was a winner. So after something like a year and a half she’s getting a…mini-series? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a character “getting their own series?” If that’s all they’re going to do, I’m not going to put so much effort into their “Pilot Seasons” anymore.
American Vampire #4
Vertigo (DC) Comics
Written by Scott Snyder & Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
Pearl squares off against the European Vampires to save Hattie, who may not be in need of as much saving as Pearl thought. Meanwhile in the past, Skinner Sweet shakes off a bounty hunter party, while learning one of the first (only?) weaknesses of the American Vampires. Judging by the closing panels, he may have just made a foe for life. The after-life that is.
Whereas the back-up stories have been more straight-forward with the preceding tale giving slivers of information about American Vampires, this issue the creative team switched it up on me. The first story was instead more on-point, as we learn that Pearl’s close friend would use anything (and has) to her advantage, even turning on Pearl to further her career. In the back-up this time many interesting story-bits find their way to us, as we learn moonless nights weaken the American Vamps, and Skinner may have made Jim, his bounty-hunting nemesis, into one of the undead.
This series has really blossomed into a wonderful tale with an interesting and unique mythology as well as captivating characters. The best part is that we’re still working on two respective origin stories. Once we get past it and this book gets it’s legs, I can’t wait to see where it runs off to.
Andy Korch is back!! Filling in admirably for Greg Flynn today. And we are also joined by the talkative Shawn Douglas once again!
Just Listen!
In order to listen, all you need to do is make sure you have speakers or headphones plugged in and click the "play" button you see below or right click here to download.
This independently made film, BATMAN: CITY OF SCARS, cost $27,000 and looks marvelous for being made with such a limited budget. It’s a lot of fun, though some of the dialogue comes off as a little hokey. Still, the independent films seem to always get the Batman’s costume right where the big budget films get it wrong. Enjoy!
"When the Joker escapes from Arkham and murders the parents of a young boy, Batman recalls the pain of losing his own parents as a child. He is pushed past his limits to the point where his focus becomes revenge on all who stand in his way, including many of Gotham’s underworld. Finally, Batman is forced to look at the psychological profile of his own mind and accept the consequences of his life to find resolve."
We will get to some fine fine Looking Forward to September picks momentarily. But first, let’s check in on the Looking Forward picks for June and see how they did.
HACK SLASH MY FIRST MANIAC #1 (OF 4) – Image Comics – There was some interest. Sold all the copies we had. Are getting more. Haven’t read it yet but I will. BULLETPROOF COFFIN #1 (OF 6) – Image Comics – Cover and title was the best thing about it. Skimmed it. Done. PREDATORS #1-4 (OF 4) – Dark Horse Comics – Again some interest. Sold out. Getting more. If I ever do read it it will be all four issues at once. Tuan likes it! SERENITY FLOAT OUT ONE SHOT #1 – Dark Horse Comics – Got a bunch. Sold a bunch. I liked it. A fine fine comic. BUZZARD #1 (OF 3) – Dark Horse Comics – Ordered a few more copies over what the Goon sells. Almost sold out. If you like the Goon you would probably like this. Shawn wrote it up! SPIKE THE DEVIL YOU KNOW #1 – IDW Publishing – Shunned! Even by the Buffy crowd. JURASSIC PARK REDEMPTION #1 – IDW Publishing – Came out this Wednesday. People were asking! Dinosaurs! ROBERT E HOWARD HAWKS OF OUTREMER #1 (OF 4) – BOOM! Studios – Nobody cared! Skimmed it. Obviously Conan-ish. AFTER DARK #0 - Radical Publishing – Comes out this Wednesday. THE RISING #0 – Radical Publishing – Not out yet. And you wonder why Radical struggles.
Bearing in mind that Looking Forward is a spotlight on the new offerings from various publishers each month and we can’t pick….Gravel or Echo or Chew or The Walking Dead or Cowboy Ninja Viking! every month I would still have to call that pathetic. Sorry! Maybe I’m just being harsh. Or maybe we should just make better picks!
So without further ado, whatever did happen to Freddie Adu?, here are our picks from the Everything Else category in September.
Congratulations to last week’s winner, DV8 Gods and Monsters #3! Mini-series is off to an excellent start. Enjoying it a lot. Try it you’ll like it!
My nominees for this weeks Best Book of the Week!
DC Comics BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #3 (OF 6) – Actually liked this issue. Dredd Pirate Roberts showed up. Really felt like an Elseworlds story. Which I thought was a good thing. DETECTIVE COMICS #866 – Special one-shot by Denny Oneil and Dustin Nguyen. Flashback! Sweet cartoony art! Joker story! JOKERS ASYLUM KILLER CROC #1 – Beauty and the Beast story! Killer Croc chewed off his hands to escape his chains! GREEN ARROW #1 – Jim and Shawn slammed it in the comments! I’m still nominating it. It’s gonna win! POWER GIRL #13 – New creative team! Judd Winick and Sami Basra. Went all Maxwell Lord, Omac, Justice League International, DC continuityish. Is that a good or a bad thing? SUPERMAN #700 – 75th Anniversary issue! Multiple stories. Lois and Clark renew their romance. Dick Grayson Robin hooks up with Superman in a Flashback story. And we get a preview by J Michael Straczynski of what’s to come in Superman #701. ZATANNA #2 – Issue #1 won Best Book of the Week! How was issue #2?
Marvel Comics X-MEN LEGACY #237 XSC – Second Coming rolls on. Cable might actually survive! AVENGERS #2 HA – You voted Avengers #1 up! I thought issue two was better than issue one. THUNDERBOLTS #145 HA – Baron Zemo was all a ruse. Boo! But Man Thing is awesome and it had some crazy trolls in it!
Winner!
SECRET WARRIORS #17 HA – Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos finally put their stolen Helicarriers into use! Doesn’t go so well. For them. ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #4 – Ultimate Ghost Rider is really cool.
Everything Else POWERS #5 – Walkers girlfriend dumps him! 28 DAYS LATER #12 – Was even been better than last issue! GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS #7 (OF 9) – Motherland Part One. So happy my little female Russian girl pilot is back! BULLET TO THE HEAD #1 – It’s called Bullet to the Head! KILLER MODUS VIVENDI #3 (OF 6) – The Winner! SEA BEAR & GRIZZLY SHARK #1 – They got mixed up! Brutal book! Hope Andy doesn’t meet either of them while he’s in Alaska.
Onto the voting and may the best comic win! – Rusty
What was the Best Book of the Week?
X-Men Legacy #237 (6 Votes)
Killer Modus Vivendi #3 (5 Votes)
Avengers #2 (3 Votes)
Other...as in those picks suck! And mine rules! (2 Votes)
The DC 75th Anniversary continues next week with the release of Wonder Woman #600, also look out for Action Comics #890 as Lex Luthor takes center stage. New story arcs also begin in Madame Xanadu #24 and Northlanders #29. They may not be number one issues, looks like the eagerly awaited Batman Beyond #1 is the only new series next week, but that’s four excellent jumping on points from DC next week.
Secret Avengers #2 headlines the Marvel list along with Thor #611, Captain America #607, Doomwar #5, and an Invincible Iron Man Annual. On a side note for all you X-fans. X-Campus #1 is an European import. It has nothing to do with Second Coming or anything X for that matter. Beware!
And I do find it amazing how many title IDW Publishing puts out on a weekly basis. Guess that’s why the have been elevated to Premier Publisher status. Eight titles again this week! Will give a shout out to GI Joe Hearts and Minds #2. Issue #1 was great and I anxiously await the story of Firefly and Tripwire. Whoever they are.
Enough of the war and violence! After last weeks book, It Was the War of the Trenches, I’d had enough war stories to last me a good long time. So this week I decided a good laugh was needed. And that’s exactly what I found in Walt Kelly’s Our Gang Volume 4, written and drawn by Walt Kelley, published by Fantagraphics. Our Gang Vol 4 collects stories originally published between July 1946 through January 1947 from the comic books of the same name.
The stories mainly involve three young men, Bucky, Froggie, & Red, getting into various situations in which they thwart the dastardly deeds of the bad guys. The highlight of this book is a 4 part series in which Froggie and Red join a circus and travel down the river. Plenty of slapstick humor and high jinksfollows involving goats, clowns gone bad, horse thieves, and even a lady wrestler!
In case you weren’t aware, Our Gang or The Little Rascals in later years, started out as theatrical shorts for the film industry. They were produced from 1922 until 1944 and lived on in television syndication for decades to follow. The Our Gang comic was originally produced to capitalize on the popularity of the films. Even after the films were no longer produced, the comic continued on. And because the films were no longer produced it allowed Kelly greater freedom to craft the stories he wanted to tell.
I sometimes like to build anticipation for my pronouncement of the Best Book of the Week but it’s very difficult to surprise you with my pick each week especially when you see the title and picture immediately upon opening the website. So by now you know that I’m going with KILLER MODUS VIVENDI #3 (OF 6) this week. Gotcha! Maybe. I tried. But Killer #3 was the Best Book I Read last night. Jim’s been talking it up. First series was very good. This series is very good. This issue was great. Went all socio-political and what not. Rwanda. Darfur. All with a French slant as it is a French comic. Well worth checking out but only for the truly adventurous as its about as far away from superheroes as you can get.
But were not here to talk about Killer today. Lets talk about the biggest release of the week, GREEN ARROW #1! Whatcha think?
Opened with Green Arrow in the forest, you’ve seen the preview pages, and he kicked some low-life butt. Then Ollie talked to his new girl friend for a couple pages which actually gave us a nice little recap and set the premise for the series. Then we met Isabel Rochev. Major player in the Soviet private sector. She’s eccentric. Which means she wears a mask! She’s also taken over Queen Industries and looks to play the antagonist role in the series. And I was happy at this point. Not a bad start.
Then Ollie stole some food from a dinner party attended by the mayor and police commissioner. Which I didn’t need. Totally playing up the Robin Hood angle. Which I don’t mind but please keep it in check as much as possible. Could be the ruin of the book. Anyway, the police commissioner goes to find Green Arrow, they knew he stole the food, and winds up dead! Brutally. Not the "cool" violence I was looking for but nontheless brutal.
Then Green Arrow has a talk with a reporter. Then the mysterious Miss Rochev goes to visit the mayor. Mask and all. Which seemed a little odd. I mean, c’mon Mr. Mayor, don’t you think that’s a little weird? But he wants a police force for Star City which Miss Rochev is only too happy to provide.
Then Green Lantern showed up. He discovers there is something strange about the forest. It’s magical! And on the last page Green Lantern finds Green Arrow sitting in front of a tree with a white lantern symbol on it which is supposed to explain it all.
Also had a two page back up teaser. Featured Liveman and ended with, even the Emerald Archer will need help, Who will be his Merry Men? Once again totally playing up the Robin Hood angle. Watch it!
So what did I think? Started pretty well. Meandered in the middle. Reveal at the end kept me interested. And the Deadpool Corps features a Dog! so the Merry Men don’t really scare me. Overall I would give the first issue a solid B. Not a bad start. Not a great start. Ready to see what happens next.
Best Book Poll Tomorrow. Conversation on Sunday. See ya!
The trailer for The Green Hornet was released. I’ve heard the studio isn’t happy about it but I have to say it looks fun and a little different from the standard superhero films. Micheal Gondry, who directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is directing the film so I expect some crazy visuals. I bet the studio is upset that it isn’t a paint-by-numbers action film. I’m actually looking forward to this.
This week we are offering another Special Sale for our Subscribers! If you clean out your box this week, you can get one trade paperback of your choice, for 40% off. I’ll let that sink in for you. Come in and get the comics you were going to get anyway, and any one trade is yours for 40% off.
Since we have so many trades to choose from I have complete faith you’ll find something you want. In case, however, you just have nothing that springs to mind, I thought I’d look through our own Trade Paperback Spotlights and offer ten of them as suggestions for you to try out. The first time I tried this I narrowed it down to thirty, so trust me when I say, I left off a ton of trades for books I love and it hurt to cut each and every one of them from the list. Once again these are just some suggestions, plenty to choose from.
So without further rambling I give you Shawn’s suggestions for Ten of our Trade Paperback Spotlights Since he is AWESOME! In no particular order they are:
J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor – After being gone for far too long, J. Michael Straczynski brought Thor back to the Marvel Universe, as well as, alter ego Donald Blake. He rebuilds Asgard in the mortal realm, awakens the sleeping Gods now scattered throughout the world, and faces threats both old and new. It gives us everything we ever loved about Thor but tells an entirely new and fantastic story. Three trades collect JMS’ run with artists Olivier Coipel and Marko Djurdjevic. The story is epic and complete and should be the benchmark for creators breathing new life into old characters.
Grant Morrison’s New X-Men – This was a hard pick. I almost went with All-Star Superman, however, I decided to mix it up. Grant Morrison’s run on the retitled X-book, New X-Men, pushed the mutants into the 21st Century. He introduced crazy, fresh ideas like “secondary mutation,” made the new relationship between Cyclops and Emma Frost interesting and believable, created new villains while remixing old ones, and got the X-Men out of their ugly superhero costumes for outfits (designed by Frank Quitely) more in-line with costumes for a new age, if not more in-line with the films. His epic run is now showcased in three ultimate trades. Volume One collects his first fourteen issues and an Annual, and features art by Quitely, Ethan Van Sciver, Leinil Francis Yu, Igor Kordey, and Tom Derenick. Great for the hardcore or laid-back X-fan. My favorite X-story this century.
Andy’s gone. No snark today. Well, no good snark todayt!
And as I was checking out the covers what really jumped out at me today was the wide range of possibilities that each comic potentially holds.
Superman #700. Nice. Happy. Feel good.
Crossed #2. Not so nice. Not so happy. And I’m totally willing to bet it doesn’t feel so good.
Maybe what we need is the Crossed/Superman crossover. That would be interesting. Although I will file it in the careful what you wish for category. Ultimate Dazzler did eventually show up!
Two More! In honor of Andy. Rise of Arsenal #4. It’s a double face punch!
You know he would have had to pick it. If only it had Deadpool on the cover it would have been perfect!
And the absolute worst cover of the day. Detective Comics #866. Why? It’s not that bad. Maybe a little generic. But that’s the problem! It is a 75th Anniversary edition! Look at that nice and sweet Superman Anniversary cover. How can you tell that this is a very special issue of Detective Comics? Answer – You can’t! ARGH!
It was a sad week with no website. A quick note, I encourage everyone to comment on books and articles as I often learn new stuff or get different perspectives from other people on the website that makes me come back to a title or try something different. It was a bummer that we had so little interaction without the site, but I’m sure more of you have opinions then are currently commenting, so join on in.
We are keeping it shorter and sweeter this week and I’m starting off with three from “The Everything Else” category. Now what has to be called Ken Syndrome has been infecting the crowd a little bit and many mainstream books are in a little funk. Personally I think all of us who read comics fall in and out of love with the super hero stuff because we grow tired of the sameness of certain things and then miss the grand scope and escapism and come back to it. When that happens just look around and enjoy other books.
Let’s start with Killer Modus Vivendi #3 (of 6). The first series was awesome and you should make Rusty order you the collections. This series has been as good as the first. The story is about an assassin and this time how his life has gotten messed up because he started asking questions. If you love Scalped, Criminal and 100 Bullets, you should be buying this book. If you love strong literate comics (where words and pictures form a perfect marriage) you should be buying this book.
Next up is Garth Ennis Battlefields #7 (of 9). This is starting the third story in this series. It is really the simplest equation in comic books. War Stories + Garth Ennis = Excellence.
Mouse Guard Legends of the Guard #2 (of 4). It has mice that are the knights of their realm protecting their kingdom. David Petersen’s wonderful series is expanded by his allowing other creators do some short stories in his world. The first issue was a very good read and each issue stands alone.
Legendary artist Al Williamson passed away a week ago, this past Sunday. He was 79. He was originally one of the youngest EC artists, was well-known for his Flash Gordon comic strips, as well as, his Star Wars work. In his later years Williamson moved towards inking. He was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2000, won three Eisner Awards during his career, an NCS award, two Alley Awards, and seven Harvey awards. RIP.
There will be a new African-American Aqualad introduced in Brightest Day. The character will also be involved in the animated Young Justice series beginning in the Fall. Now there has been a big complaint on the web lately of DC killing off or marginalizing their minority heroes. I would like to think the new Aqualad’s creation was organically from the story but I cannot help but to think it has more to do with answering to criticism from the fans. If it’s not, it does seem to be a very well-timed coincidence, doesn’t it?
Brian Wood wrote one heck of an essay about Northlanders, specifically his newest arc beginning in July called “Metal,” and I thought I’d share the essay with you. Northlanders continues to be a fantastic read month in and out. And the if the essay doesn’t entice you to try the new arc, I think you may be dead inside. Yes, I said it.
Writer Duane Swierczynski (Cable) and artist Manuel Garcia (Iron Man: Noir) will be taking over Black Widow with issue #6 in September. I’m not quite sure why a new creative team is needed as I’ve enjoyed the run so far by Majorie Liu and Daniel Acuna, I’ve liked Swierczynski’s work and look forward to seeing where the book will go from here.
Since we have had some crazy website issues these reviews are from the last couple of weeks. Lots of good books! Cheers!
DV8: GODS AND MONSTERS #3 (of 8)
Wildstorm (DC) Comics
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Rebekah Issacs
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this should be the new direction for the Wildstorm Universe, by giving it to gifted writers who don’t normally write superhero books and letting them bring fresh concepts in, twisting the genre on it’s side. Warren Ellis did this on Stormwatch and Planetary, Joe Casey did this on his Wildcats run (specifically 3.0), and there was also a book called Wintermen that you should check out that took the superhero genre to interesting places.
DV8 were originally designed to be the anti-thesis of the Gen 13 book. Superhuman teens that weren’t really good guys and doing bad things. For the most part, throw away characters designed during the mad rush and comic boom of the 90’s. I liked them at the time. I was also in high school. There was a time I thought Spawn was the end-all, be-all of comics. Try not to judge my younger self too harshly.
Brian Wood has taken these selfish, secondary superhumans, and placed them on an alternate ancient world (not sure if it’s Earth’s past or not) where there many different primitive tribes of people. Some of the characters use the primitives’ belief that they are “Gods” to their advantage, others believe they can make a difference in these primitive peoples’ lives, and one or two just want to go home. Powerhaus has used his newfound status to stay permanently high and laid, not because he’s a bastard, but simply because he’s making peace with all of the bad things he has done and been a part of.
Website is still a little funky. So… combining posts! It’s a three for one extravaganza! Best Book I Read, Best Book of the Week Poll and the Week in Review together again for the very first time!
My nominees for Best Book of the Week.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS BLACK CAT #1 (OF 4) – Javier Pulido is a fantasitc artist! AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #634 GRIM – 1st part of the Grim the Hunter arc! BRIGHTEST DAY #4 – Not voting for it still no Aquaman! BIRDS OF PREY #2 (BRIGHTEST DAY) – Glad they brought the Birds back but not voting for it. Can see how you might. DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #2 (OF 10) – The Golden Age! Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert do a nice job although I kept thinking Sgt Rock would show up at any moment. Gets nominated for the JH Williams back up pages. Couple of different one page stories in various artistic styles. He was just showing off. DMZ #54 – Total reset. Could have easily ended the series. Instead they total reset as Matty goes back into the DMZ once again. Interested to see if they can tell a new story or if it’s just going to rehash. DV8 GODS AND MONSTERS #3 (OF 8) – Still excellent. Powerhaus is taking a live and let live attitude. Smoke it up and relax. Always an option. Betting it gets him killed. FABLES #96 – Chapter 3 of Red Rose brings us a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story. Plus tons more. It is Fables and there is always plenty going on. HELLBLAZER #268 – Giuseppe Camuncoli is a fantastic artist! JOKERS ASYLUM HARLEY QUINN #1 – This was just funny. Harley Quinn is trying to hook up with the Joker on Valentines Day. Ended with Batman throwing the Joker in Arkham. Gave Harley an adjoining cell so she was happy. In the running. NEW AVENGERS #1 – The Avengers sat around and talked. Total set up issue. Not bad. See where it goes. NEW MUTANTS #14 – Second Coming story continues. Thought it was great. Love getting a chapter each week. ULTIMATE COMICS X #3 – Who is Derek Morgan? Wasn’t quite as good as Who is Karen Grant? But it was very good once again. Probably the second best book I read this week. And they started to tie elements from the first couple of issues together which is always a good thing. WALKING DEAD #73 – My pick!
Vote it up! Maybe even a comment or two….that is if the website allows?!?!? Driving me insane. Hopefully it will be totally back to normal soon.
Rusty
What was the best book of the week?
DV8 Gods and Monsters #3 (DC/WildStorm) (7 Votes)
Walking Dead #73 (Image) (6 Votes)
New Avengers #1 (Marvel) (6 Votes)
Fables #96 (DC/Vertigo) (3 Votes)
Ultimate Comics X #3 (Marvel) (3 Votes)
Birds Of Prey #2 (DC) (3 Votes)
New Mutants #14 (Marvel) (3 Votes)
DC Universe Legacies #2 (DC) (2 Votes)
Jokers Asylum Harley Quinn #1 (DC) (1 Votes)
I have another title in mind, which I will mention in the comments! (1 Votes)
Amazing Spider-Man #634 (Marvel) (1 Votes)
Hellblazer #268 (DC/Vertigo) (0 Votes)
DMZ #54 (DC/Vertigo) (0 Votes)
Brightest Day #4 (DC) (0 Votes)
Amazing Spider-Man Presents Black Cat #1 (Marvel) (0 Votes)
What? Another Subscriber Empty Box Bonus?! Why, yes, yes it is. Why? Because I love comics and I want you to be able to read as many as you can! So TRY A TRADE at 40% off! Just for cleaning out your box!
Need suggestions? We have been dilligently posting Trade Paperback Spotlights for almost two years and I recommend them all! If the website was working properly I would say take a look. But it’s still not quite up to speed, so I will say take a look if you can!
And feel free to use the Put it in My Box button, found at the button of each TPB Spotlight. You’ve been in the store, you know we only carry 2,3,4 copies of any trade at any given time. Put it in My Box guarantees your purchase, even if we have to order it! Of course, any trade paperback in the store is eligible, but the TPB Spotlights are the ones we like. Onto the details!
Rusty
Here’s the deal:
Starting this Wednesday, June 23, if you are a subscriber here at Cosmic Comix and your box is empty, you are eligible to take any single trade paperback for 40% OFF!
Trades already in your box don’t count, new trades this week don’t count. Otherwise, you have your pick of the entire store and our massive trade paperback inventory!
It can be on the same day, too. You can clean out your box AND get that 40% trade paperback on the very same day. The Empty Box Bonus lasts from Wednesday, June 23, through Tuesday, June 29. Stop on by!
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Casanova #1 – Casanova is being reprinted under Marvel’s Icon imprint. The issues are now going to be in color and contain new backmatter by the creators. (The first issue has a new bonus story.) The series is one of my favorites and was written by Matt Fraction. The first volume was illustrated by Gabriel Ba with the second by Fabio Moon, the two brothers currently kicking butt on Daytripper. It’s an action/comedy of the best kind, featuring alternate dimensional versions of characters, large robots, love androids and some of the weirdest brother-sister attraction since the Utimates’ Quicksilver-Scarlet Witch.
We are hitting the halfway mark of 2010 and so far I would have to say it is the year of the independent comics (including Vertigo). With material like American Vampire, Daytripper, Scalped, Echo, Walking Dead, Killer, Gravel, Cowboy Ninja Viking and many others the big guys are being smoked in term of pure quality. Not that DC and Marvel don’t have some great books or that the everything else category doesn’t have some misses being published, just on the whole, the capes are being left off many top ten lists so far.
Well guys, it’s my big week of Finals for my Summer Classes, so this column’s short this week. Even so, I still have some interesting news items for you!
I was happy to see that the Cyberforce character Velocity will return on June 30th. However, I was disappointed to see it will only be for a four-issue mini-series by Ron Marz and Kenneth Rocafort. Why you ask? Because more than a year ago, Top Cow held a “Pilot Season” where readers could vote on which character (based on a series of one-shots) got their own series. Velocity was a winner. So after something like a year and a half she’s getting a…mini-series? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a character “getting their own series?” If that’s all they’re going to do, I’m not going to put so much effort into their “Pilot Seasons” anymore.
American Vampire #4
We will get to some fine fine Looking Forward to September picks momentarily. But first, let’s check in on the 
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The DC 75th Anniversary continues next week with the release of Wonder Woman #600, also look out for Action Comics #890 as Lex Luthor takes center stage. New story arcs also begin in Madame Xanadu #24 and Northlanders #29. They may not be number one issues, looks like the eagerly awaited Batman Beyond #1 is the only new series next week, but that’s four excellent jumping on points from DC next week. 
Enough of the war and violence! After last weeks book, It Was the War of the Trenches, I’d had enough war stories to last me a good long time. So this week I decided a good laugh was needed. And that’s exactly what I found in Walt Kelly’s Our Gang Volume 4, written and drawn by Walt Kelley, published by Fantagraphics. Our Gang Vol 4 collects stories originally published between July 1946 through January 1947 from the comic books of the same name..jpg)
I sometimes like to build anticipation for my pronouncement of the Best Book of the Week but it’s very difficult to surprise you with my pick each week especially when you see the title and picture immediately upon opening the website. So by now you know that I’m going with KILLER MODUS VIVENDI #3 (OF 6) this week. Gotcha! Maybe. I tried. But Killer #3 was the Best Book I Read last night. 
J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor
Two More! In honor of Andy. Rise of Arsenal #4. It’s a double face punch! 
It was a sad week with no website. A quick note, I encourage everyone to comment on books and articles as I often learn new stuff or get different perspectives from other people on the website that makes me come back to a title or try something different. It was a bummer that we had so little interaction without the site, but I’m sure more of you have opinions then are currently commenting, so join on in. 
Legendary artist Al Williamson passed away a week ago, this past Sunday. He was 79. He was originally one of the youngest EC artists, was well-known for his Flash Gordon comic strips, as well as, his Star Wars work. In his later years Williamson moved towards inking. He was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2000, won three Eisner Awards during his career, an NCS award, two Alley Awards, and seven Harvey awards. RIP.
There will be a new African-American Aqualad introduced in Brightest Day. The character will also be involved in the animated Young Justice series beginning in the Fall. Now there has been a big complaint on the web lately of DC killing off or marginalizing their minority heroes. I would like to think the new Aqualad’s creation was organically from the story but I cannot help but to think it has more to do with answering to criticism from the fans. If it’s not, it does seem to be a very well-timed coincidence, doesn’t it?
Since we have had some crazy website issues these reviews are from the last couple of weeks. Lots of good books! Cheers!.jpg)
Website is still a little funky. So… combining posts! It’s a three for one extravaganza! Best Book I Read, Best Book of the Week Poll and the Week in Review together again for the very first time!
And feel free to use the Put it in My Box button, found at the button of each TPB Spotlight. You’ve been in the store, you know we only carry 2,3,4 copies of any trade at any given time. Put it in My Box guarantees your purchase, even if we have to order it! Of course, any trade paperback in the store is eligible, but the TPB Spotlights are the ones we like. Onto the details!
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