Okay, we’ve talked it up enough at this point, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. Time for the details of COSMIC MADNESS 2012! If you played along last year, you know how it works, but it never hurts to brush up!
That said, the tournament begins one week from tomorrow, on Thursday, March 8! That’s when you’ll decide the best villain of all-time! But before that happens, you need to come to the store and pick up a bracket to fill out for a chance at winning a $100 gift certificate!
Here are the details; the process, the scoring and the prizes.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
Come by the store and pick up a bracket. It will look like this. (You can also print it out.) Fill in the names of the teams you think will win each match-up, put your name and phone number at the bottom, and bring it back to us by Wednesday, March 7. Then on Thursday, voting will begin on the website and YOU will determine the winners of each game!
So, for example, in the first round of the North region you’ll see a match-up between Joker and Ozymandias. All you have to do is vote for whoever you think is best! That one’s not so difficult… but what about Bane vs. Solomon Grundy? Or Deadshot vs. Deathstroke? Who’s best? More important, where your bracket entry is concerned, who do you think EVERYONE ELSE thinks is best?? (Submitting a bracket gives us permission to post your name on the website when you win!)
Pickings were actually a little slim in the Best Covers department this week. Normally, my staff and I are able to come up with at least 10 candidates for the honor and then I, as editor, pare down the choices to four or five. In fact, if you look at the by-laws of the Best Covers column you’ll see that, not unlike the Academy Award for Best Picture, I have the option of including as many as 10 covers in this column. But criminy that would take me all day!
JOE HILL’S THE CAPE #4 (OF 4)
Cover by Zach Howard & Nelson Daniel
I love a good dark superhero story and this mini-series has been right up my alley. Or, I guess it’s not really a dark superhero story, per se, and more of a superpowers story. At any rate, it’s dark. This kid finds himself with superpowers and doesn’t take the course of action that you or I would take. He starts dropping grizzly bears on people. No kidding.
But what I love about this cover is that even with the dropping of the grizzly bears and the further psychological damage he goes on to inflict on his own family, he STILL feels the need to sneak up onto the roof for a cigarette. Poor smokers. Forever shamed by their habit! Dude, you can crush people with your bare hands! Don’t be afraid to light one up in front of your mom!
With the likes of Walking Dead and Justice League and Scalped already under out belts for this week, it’s time to head over to the House of Ideas. No need to knock, though; we’re just gonna barge on in! Starting with Spidey in a spacesuit.
When I first saw the cover to this week’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man, I swear to you the first thing I thought of was, "Spider-Maaaaaan iiiiiin spaaaaaaaaace!" And then I saw the official text:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #680
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli
Because you asked for it… SPIDER-MAN IN SPAAAACE! Trapped 22,300 miles above the Earth, Spidey has to rescue John Jameson from the ongoing machinations of Doctor Octopus! Plus: a guest star so special…and so secret…we can’t even tell you until next issue!
So, what I’m saying is, I know what Marvel thinks before Marvel does. I’m just that good.
Elsewhere in the Marvel U, it’s a double Avengers week with both Avengers #23 and New Avengers #22! And, since we’re in "double your pleasure, double your fun" kind of mood, it’s also a double Ultimate Comics week with both Ultimate Comics Ultimates #7 and Ultimate Comics X-Men #8!
Finally, we can’t forget our favorite mentally deranged superhero, Moon Knight! Shawn noted a little while back that at the outset it was believed Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev would only be doing the first eight issues of the series. But with their names now on issues #9 AND 10, I think it’s safe to say they’ll be around for the next year’s worth of stories! And that’s gotta be a good thing.
MOON KNIGHT #10
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Alex Maleev
Moon Knight succumbs to one of his new personalities to fight for the survival of Los Angeles! Once the Kingpin of LA pushes him over the edge, can Moon Knight ever come back?!
Marvel Comics’ Moon Knight #10, Amazing Spider-Man #680 and more all come out on Wednesday!
Remember yesterday when we poked fun at The Walking Dead for its amusingly short and sweet solicits? One (sentence) and done, baby! Well, this week we’re getting the debut of a new ongoing series featuring the Batman of the future with Batman Beyond Unlimited #1! And boy are they at the opposite end of the solicit spectrum! Check it out…
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #1
Written by Adam Beechen & Various
Art by Norm Breyfogle & Various
A new era begins with the debut of the oversized, monthly BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED, featuring the print debut of the new Justice League Beyond!
In the Batman Beyond chapter, legendary Batman artist Norm Breyfogle returns to draw the Dark Knight of the future with best-selling writer Adam Beechen. In "10,000 Clowns," an onslaught of new Jokerz is plaguing Gotham City – and the implications of this chaotic clown menace could have disastrous consequences for Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne!
And the debut of the Justice League Beyond is here, courtesy of the BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM art team of Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs, as the first two digital-first chapters are available in print for the first time! Batman Beyond is a new recruit in the mighty Justice League, but the team will be immediately tested by a very Neo Gotham-related enemy! How will the team work together to combat this threat?
Not much more I can add to that! Except to say, it’s got a pretty cool Dustin Nguyen cover to boot.
Elsewhere in the DC family, it’s a little on the lighter side. Plus, I’ve already discussed Justice League #6, so you’d think I wouldn’t have anything left to talk about! But you’d be wrong. DEAD WRONG. There’s THUNDER Agents Vol. 2 #4 (of 6); Shade #5 #5 (of 12), which follows up on a dynamite fourth issue; and several solid Vertigo titles like Unwritten #34.5, Spaceman #4 (of 9), and… hmm… I seem to be forgetting one… OH YEAH SCALPED.
SCALPED #56
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R. M. Guera
The searing final arc starts here in "Trail’s End" part one. Beginning months after last issue’s shocking finale, we pick up with the citizens of the Prairie Rose Rez, some of whom have found a peace they never could have imagined, while others are in more trouble than ever – with at least one person plotting his next move from behind bars.
We’ve called Scalped many things over the past few years. "The best comic of the year," "The best comic ever," "The most well-constructed comic ever," "Like no other comic out there," and on and on. A never-ending stream of accolades. But, simply put, we love it and we’ll be sad to see it go. Can’t wait to see what Jason Aaron has up his sleeve for this final arc.
DC Comics’ Scalped #56, Batman Beyond Unlimited #1 and more all come out on Wednesday!
This Wednesday we’re set to get the flagship title of DC Comics’ New 52 line-up, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League! And, not only is it the flagship title, it’s also the sole representative of the New 52 this week! As I mentioned in the New Comics This Wednesday post, it’s a skip week for most of the DC Universe. The other 51 titles are kickin’ back, takin’ her easy, and letting Justice League do the work for a little while.
But if you’re gonna leave it all up to one title, Justice League is basically the best one for the job. The team is now together and they’re just about ready to take on their first big bad… Darkseid!
JUSTICE LEAGUE #6
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Jim Lee
The Justice League is united at last against Darkseid! The awesome consequences of this high-stakes battle will resonate within the series for years to come! Geoff Johns and Jim Lee end their historic first arc with a bang!
DC Comics’ Justice League #6 comes out on Wednesday!
If you’ve already looked over the new comics list for this week, you know what’s gonna get the lead in our Highlights: Everything Else post. The Walking Dead of course! Not only is it the hottest show on television, but it’s also a hit comic book… which I believe is based on the TV show. Though feel free to correct me if I’m wrong about that.
At any rate, any week that features a new issue of Walking Dead is obviously a good week. Let’s see what’s in store for us with the always-illuminating Walking Dead solicit:
WALKING DEAD #94
IMAGE COMICS
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
They are unprepared for this.
I think that about says it all! Ha. And while they might be unprepared for this… we certainly won’t be!
And speaking of Robert Kirkman-penned comics, we’re also set to get Invincible #89 this week, featuring a new face in the Invincible costume!
Also look for the next installment in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles family from IDW Publishing with TMNT Micro Series #3: Donatello! He is the "brains" of the Turtles outfit, I’m sure you recall, and this issue finds him attending a science fair!
The newest issue of the totally underrated Angel and Faith series also comes out on Wednesday. The dynamic duo have come to old London town!
ANGEL & FAITH #7
DARK HORSE COMICS
Written by Christos N. Gage
Art by Rebekah Isaacs
Horrors across the London landscape have led Angel and Faith to a certain hot new vampire in the underground scene… Drusilla. She is back in her homeland and feeling better than ever! While Angel indecisively deals with Dru, Faith must sort out an unexpected guest of her own who promises to rile up her inner turmoil with stories from the past.
Finally, gotta give some love to Joe Hill’s The Cape #4 (of 4). It’s the end of a mini-series featuring a bad guy who is, arguably, badder than many of the villains in the Cosmic Madness Tournament!
All of these titles and more come out this Wednesday!
He’s had one of the strongest ongoing series in the Marvel Universe for the past several years running, and with two very successful movies under his belt, his stock is running high. Yes, he’s Iron Man… INVINCIBLE IRON MAN. And in the hands of writer Matt Fraction, his series has been outstanding.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 1 TP
THE FIVE NIGHTMARES
$19.99
Tony Stark – Iron Man, billionaire industrialist and director of S.H.I.E.L.D. – faces the most overwhelming challenge of his life. Ezekiel Stane, the son of Tony’s late business rival and archenemy Obadiah, has set his sights, his genius and his considerable fortune on the task of destroying Tony Stark and Iron Man. What’s worse, he’s got Iron Man tech, and he’s every bit Iron Man’s equal and opposite…except younger, faster, smarter…and immeasurably evil. Rising-star writer Matt Fraction and superstar artist Salvador Larroca join forces to repulsor-ray your comic books to a cinder!
Technically speaking, it’s a "skip week" for DC Comics and New 52. But that’s not gonna stop the Justice League! Yes, Justice League #6 is lined up for this week, but that’s gonna be it for the New 52 books. As for other releases from the publisher, look for Batman Beyond Unlimited #1! It’s a new ongoing monthly featuring the popular Dark Knight of the future. Plus, there’s Shade #5 (of 12) and a couple of our favorites form the Vertigo stable: Scalped #56, which gets ever closer to the end, and Spaceman #4 (of 9) from Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
It’s a little lighter over at Marvel as well, but we’re still set to get the two big Avengers books with New Avengers #22 and Avengers #23! Plus, FF #15, Amazing Spider-Man #680, Moon Knight #10, the excellent Ultimate Comics Ultimates #7 and Twelve #10 (of 12)!
As for Image, Dark Horse and IDW… Robert Kirkman has a big week over at Image with his two biggest titles both coming out! Look for Invincible #89 and Walking Dead #94! Dark Horse has Angel and Faith #7, while IDW lines up the final issue in Joe Hill’s awesome mini-series The Cape #4 (of 4)!
Throw in Previews and it’s not a bad little week after all!
We may not be technically at the end of the month just yet, seeing as we’re still in the month of February with Justice League and a few others still to come this week, but the Top Twenty couldn’t wait! Books like Chew and Punishermax and, surprisingly, New Mutants just demanded to be heard!
In case this is your first time, the Top Twenty is an ongoing monthly look at two ordered lists comprising A) The top twenty single issues of the month and B) the top twenty current series in comics. How did we come up with the lists? Well, the Cosmic Comix Top Twenty Committee took several things into consideration: Best Book nominees, poll winners and poll votes, sales numbers and general buzz levels surrounding each book. Yes, your input is not only appreciated but also counts toward the rankings. So let us hear it!
Top Twenty Comics of February 2012 The Best Single Issues
PUNISHERMAX #22 – The series finale! Rusty is calling Punishermax — the overall effort comprised of the first series by Garth Ennis and this series by Jason Aaron – "one of the greatest comics ever made." Hard to disagree. I could read Frank Castle as an old and grizzled vigilante all day every day.
CHEW #24 – Well whaddya know! Chew was fantastic. Shocker. There’s a dude who can turn chocolate into whatever he wants, including lasers. Plus we learned that Olive is waaaay powerful. Prediction: Chew will once again be #1 on the list below.
RACHEL RISING #5 – We did mention that Luther Strode was violent (see #4). Well so was Rachel Rising, but in a totally different way. The story keeps unraveling, albeit slowly and deliberately, in very cool ways.
STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE #5 (OF 6) – A poll victory as well as Rusty’s pick for best book the week it came out. The series has been excellent to date, and with this issue it stepped up to outstanding! Reminiscent of Kick-Ass-style of over-the-top violence. The ending should be truly outrageous.
I VAMPIRE #6 – We’ve been boosters for I, Vampire from the jump and this issue really took it into overdrive. Some very, very creative aspects to a massive vampire fight and a team-up with Batman and a surprise ending to boot! Plus, the art, as always, was awesome.
FANTASTIC FOUR #603 – We like books that aren’t afraid to take things BIG. To go off the charts on the scale factor. And that’s why Fantastic Four made us so happy. Galactus vs. the Celestials!
DAREDEVIL #9 – Thoroughly enjoyable once again. One of the most purely comic book-y comic books on the rack. Moleman has stolen the remains of a cemetery, including the grave of Matt Murdock’s father!
NEW MUTANTS #37 – As Rusty said, the week it came out it: “Surprise of the week! Magma goes out on a date with Mephisto! It was funny. It was serious. Never got silly. Never went generic. And the Mephisto portrayal was fantastic! Plus it fit right into continuity. Kudos to all the creators involved not only for trying something a little different but for pulling it off so well. Excellent job!”
WINTER SOLDIER #1 & #2 – An awesome start for Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice’s new series about Bucky Barnes. So much to like, from the all-out action to the Bourne Trilogy-type vibe to the KGB sleeper agents.
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #5 & 6 – Another double shot of issues to round out the top 10! It’s been the Kitty Pryde is Pregnant with Brood story arc combined with the Jean Grey School Going Broke Due to Constantly Being Under Attack by Things Like Brood story arc. Both have been totally enjoyable.
BATMAN #6 – While last issue saw Batman in a topsy-turvy world of the Court of Owls, this one was just a knock down-drag out fight with Talon (the Court of Owls’ goon, basically)! Could Batman summon the strength to overcome the odds??? What do you think.
UNCANNY X-MEN #6 & 7– Yet ANOTHER double shot of issues. Are we allowed to do this? If the two issues in question are as good as these, then yes. Tabula Rasa continues to unfold and the Uncanny X-Men continue to figure out the secrets behind the mysterious bubble world.
SUICIDE SQUAD #6 – One of the hottest comics of the month! And deservedly so. The search is on for Harley Quinn and we get images of her past as a doctor at Arkham interviewing the Joker.
ANIMAL MAN #6 – Probably the most creatively constructed comic of the month. The story of Red Thunder, as portrayed by actor Buddy Baker. A pleasure to read from start to finish. Plus the guest art by John Paul Leon was great.
COBRA ONGOING #10 – Issue #9 was a little off the usual pace, but this issue picked right back up! Major Bludd, Menasian and Tomax plotting to overthrow the new Cobra Commander already?? This will not end well.
FATALE #2 – The story of the immortal woman and the dirty cops and the newspaperman continues! And honestly, that’s about the best I can do for you on the plot at this point. But it’s still good.
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #24 – A young vampire hunter in the rockin’ 1950s tries to take on Skinner Sweet in a road race to the death! Or at least off a cliff that leads to the parking lot of a drive-in movie theatre.
SUPERMAN #6 – Much credit given to this issue of Superman simply for wrapping up the story arc! George Perez has done good work from issue #1 and this issue totally showcased what we were hoping to see more of in the New 52: solid stories with solid beginnings and solid endings.
FABLES #114 – The beginning of a new story arc in Fables! Always an event. Look out for the toy boat! Something tells me it’s not a good thing…
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 – Rounds out the Top Twenty! Did you read it? It was pretty cool. A little cartoony but well worth picking up. Conan as a young ne’er-do-well!
Top Twenty Titles of Febr2012 The Best Current Series
CHEW – Wins again! At this point it’s hard to imagine an issue of Chew that DOESN’T knock our socks off. (TPBs)
PUNISHERMAX–You saw my comment above Rusty saying it was one of the greatest comics ever, etc.? That’s gotta count for something!
BATMAN – This month’s issue may have gotten edged out of the top 10, but it’s still the best book in the DCU, no question.
STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE – I think we’ve been knocked out by every issue of this mini-series.
WALKING DEAD – Didn’t even make the Top Twenty above, but so what? It’s still fantastic. (TPBs)
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN – The word that kept coming up in this month’s Cosmic Comix Coversation was "fun." "This book is just fun." And it so is!
SCALPED – It actually comes out this week, thereby missing the Top Twenty for February. We’ll just go ahead and assume it’s awesome. (TPBs)
I VAMPIRE – Jumps up the rankings! I actually think I’ve underrated it on this chart for far too long.
RACHEL RISING – Still tough to put together exactly what’s going on here, but it’s so well done. Terry Moore continues to impress with his writing and artwork.
GI JOE: COBRA – Plots continue to unfold and the vibe is just so good. Nobody trusts anybody in the Cobra organization! (TPBs)
AMERICAN VAMPIRE – I did say before that Wolverine and the X-Men is fun… but so is American Vampire! Rock ‘n’ roll!
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY – Takes another hit in the rankings, but only because the past two issues have been merely very good.
JUSTICE LEAGUE – Like Scalped, hard to judge this one since the issue comes out this week. But also, like Scalped, we’ll assume it’s good.
DAREDEVIL – Mark Waid continues to write a totally enjoyable comic book. I swear anyone can pick up DD and immediately understand what’s going on. I love that.
BUFFY / ANGEL & FAITH – Rusty claims that no one wants to talk Buffy and Angel. It gets no respect, I tell ya! But you have to trust him, they are definitely good.
UNCANNY X-MEN – Much more X-Men-y than its counterpart. That’s not an insult!
FATALE – Two issues in and it makes the Top Twenty. Not surprising when you consider what we’re talking about. The newest Brubaker/Phillips crime book? Please. It’ll be top 10 in two months.
WINTER SOLDIER – Seaking of new Brubaker titles… only two issues in and not too early to predict that this will be in the top 10 next month. It’s got that international spy and crime vibe that only Brubaker can do. Just a fantastic start to the series.
INVINCIBLE – Came out early in the month so it’s easy to forget, but Invincible continues to be a quality read month in and month out! (TPBs)
FABLES – Maintaining its place in the #20 spot, the always reliable Fables. (TPBs)
Others receiving votes for the Best Current Series:
The panel hits its stride this month in a fun and freewheeling episode that covers the fun and freewheeling nature of Wolverine and the X-Men, the brutal end of Jason Aaron’s Punishermax, the delicious chocolatiness of Chew, the dating skills of Mephisto (in New Mutants), an elevator to the head in Rachel Rising, and the strange talent of The Strange Talent of Luther Strode!
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.
There were many new and exciting projects announced at the Image Expo. Books by many of the industry’s top talents that will be published by Image Comics. They include: Happy by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, Jupiter’s Children by Frank Quitely and Mark Millar, Chin Music by Steve Niles and Tony Harris, Crime & Terror by Steve Niles and Scott Morse, Black Kiss 2 by Howard Chaykin, and Mara by Brian Wood and Ming Doyle. Man with that lineup maybe it really is the year of the creator!
I also found out that Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson are reuniting on a third volume of Phonogram! The new series, The Immaterial Girl, has me all giddy inside. If you never tried Phonogram before I highly recommend it.
You can click the links to find out more about Happy! here and more about Mara here!
Over at Bleeding Cool they are running a rumor that is unconfirmed. The rumor is that Brian Michael Bendis will be taking over the X-Men books in the aftermath of Avengers Vs X-Men. It also hints at a Marvel relaunch, though in waves as opposed to doing every title at once. (Wait? Didn’t Marvel relaunch the X-Men titles this past year? I’m so confused!) There are no official announcements, but this honestly makes me sad. I think Bendis does his best work on more personal books. I was looking forward to him taking over Spider-Man or Thor or Hulk or Doctor Strange. I guess we will have to see if this pans out or not.
On Wednesday, we showed you the field of contenders for Cosmic Madness 2012! Over the course of the past few days, the Cosmic Madness Selection Committee has been locked in the Cosmic Comix Conference Room deliberating on how exactly to seed all these supervillains such that we can determine: Who is the greatest villain ever??
Well, we’ve done it. The contenders have been placed into four regions and seeded #1 through #16. As you might’ve expected, heavy hitters like Joker, Magneto, Galactus, Dr. Doom and Lex Luthor are at the top of the pile, while characters like Ozymandias, Dr. Light, Professor Zoom and Taskmaster can be found in the lower seeds. As you’ll see, we kept it simple with the regions this year. Just straight up North, South, East and West. Check it out!
We think there are some great match-ups in there — Carnage vs. Venom in the first round! — plus some potentially great match-ups in later rounds… Joker vs. Harley Quinn?? I don’t know, we’ll see.
As you know, the winner of each "game" is determined by your votes and voting takes place here on our website. The only determining factor for your vote is: Who is the best villain? It’s a wide open question and you can choose your own criteria: the most powerful, the most important, the coolest, your own personal favorite, whatever!
The voting for Cosmic Madness will begin on Thursday, March 8, but before then be sure to come by the store and pick up a bracket OR print out the one here. WHY? Because, just like last year, we’re giving you the chance to win prizes here at Cosmic Comix! Just for predicting the winners! Last year, the grand prize was a $100 gift certificate to Cosmic Comix! More details on that soon.*
In the mean time, check out the bracket, come by the store and get your own (or print it out*), fill it out with who you think will win each game, and turn it in by Wednesday, March 7.
More information over the next couple of weeks, specifically about the contest details. So take a good look at the seedings, have your favorites lined up, and tell all of your friends about it! COSMIC MADNESS FTW!!!
* If you do want to print out your own bracket, you may have to tweak your printer settings a little, scaling the image to one piece of paper and printing in landscape mode.
Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic THE WALKING DEAD has been on fire recently. A hit TV show on AMC and a consistently awesome ongoing comic. But if you know absolutely nothing about The Walking Dead, here’s a recap: an epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled: there is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV.
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1 TP
DAYS GONE BYE
$9.99
Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living. Collects issues #1-6.
Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s wise, funny and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, she tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Since its publication it’s become a modern-day classic.
We recently added Satrapi’s two follow-up works: Chicken with Plums and Embroideries. If you enjoyed Persepolis, you should definitely check out those two.
THE COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP
$24.95
The intelligent and outspoken child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression.
Last week I read Marzi, which was a heart warming story about a girl growing up in communist Poland. Since I was reading true stories I decided to read another one this week. But I wanted something different and I found that in My Friend Dahmer, written and illustrated by Derf Backderf published by Abrams ComicArts. I have been Derf fan for years and have talked about him in Best Book before. When I saw that he was doing a book about growing up with a notorious serial killer I knew I had to read it.
My Friend Dahmer is the story of Jeffrey Dahmer’s high hchool years as told by Derf who was his friend during that time. This is a picture of one of America’s most notorious serial killers before he was a monster. Well, maybe not before but certainly during his formative monster in the making years.
Derf does something amazing with this book: he actually makes Dahmer a sympathetic character. He paints a picture of a troubled young man who has myriad mental problems and no one to help him. Derf shows us a young man who is about to break and asks the obvious questions such as: If we all (the kids in school) knew he was in trouble how come none of the adults knew?
Derf recreates his high school years, and his experiences with Dahmer, based upon his own memories, and interviews he conducted with his friends and teachers at the time. Some of the scenes are funny, some are really sad when you realize Dahmer had no friends, and some are truly scary. Derf asks all the questions you would ask if you were friends with a killer. Things like, how close to death was I? Would he have killed me? Did I see the signs and choose to ignore them? What changed from the introverted, yet funny, person I knew to make him the thing that he became?
I enjoyed quite a bit of what I read this past week, but only a few comics really stood out and were worth a review. I did want to give a shout-out to a wonderful first issue No Place Like Home #1 published by Image Comics. It has Wizard of Oz themes without the fantasy (at least so far) and is re-imagined as a psychological horror book. Decent premise and characterization with excellent art. Might not be for everyone but it tickled my inner indie fanboy. It also had a fantastic cover. As for the best books I read, well here they are:
I, VAMPIRE #6
DC Comics
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino
Before all of the new DC52 titles were released most of the people I talked to thought that this title would be the first to be canceled. A vampire book? Another vampire book? Really? Plus it had some weird cartoony covers. I filed it away under the “probably won’t even bother” portion of my brain.
I find it humorous in retrospect now since I am positive that I, Vampire is my personal favorite DC52 title, and pretty much has been since the first issue. It succeeded in world-building within the confines of the DC Universe, crafting a mythology that was both interesting and fun, and ultimately telling a wonderful story.
Last week’s poll ended up being a horse race between Batman #6 and Daredevil #9! Hard to think of two more worthy contenders. As ongoing series, both have been excellent, and each of these two issues added to that reputation. But in the end there had to be a winner. And that winner was… Batman #6!
As for this week, Rusty put together a fine list of nominees, including Wolverine and the X-Men, I Vampire, American Vampire and Aquaman. And I added a few picks of my own! But now, it’s your turn…
What was the best book of the week?
I Vampire #6 (10 Votes)
Aquaman #6 (6 Votes)
Chew #24 (6 Votes)
Fantastic Four #603 (4 Votes)
Cobra Ongoing #10 (3 Votes)
I am impossible to please! These picks are terrible! Here's the real deal... (1 Votes)
No problem at all finding 10 nominees this week. RAY #3, RASL #13 and MORNING GLORIES #16 almost made it. Enjoyed them all. VOODOO #6 came real close to getting nominated. Betting Voodoo #7 does. We were promised answers at the end of this issue and if I get some answers — What’s up with the clone? What’s up with the real Voodoo? What’s up with the Daemonite invasion force? — it’s a virtual lock. And the real Thor’s return inched ever closer in MIGHTY THOR #11. When he swoops in to save all of Asgard from Karnilla, Ulik and a horde of trolls in Thor #12 you can pretty much chalk that one up as a nominee, too. To steal a catchphrase from another equally mighty superhero, "Here he comes to save the daaaaaay…"
Nominees!
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #24 – Awesome as usual and featured a fantastic double page spread. If that doesn’t get you interested I don’t know what will. Rock ‘n’ roll! Skinner Sweet did make it into the Cosmic Madness field this year. Not only is he the star of the show but he is most definitely all villain!
AQUAMAN #6 – Interlude! And it was all about Mera. Just like they did with Aquaman in the very first issue, they proved this issue that Mera is no joke. She sucked all the water out of that dude! The Flashpoint trades should be out soon. If you want to see Aquaman and Mera show off some more I highly recommend the Flashpoint Wonder Woman trade. Europe is underwater and it’s Atlantis vs. Amazons for the fate of the world!
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #6 – Surprise, surprise. My first nomination for this title. Always been a very pretty book. Bringing Paul Jenkins on board to write has worked out great. It is so much better than it was and getting better every issue. Both Superman and Flash were featured once again. And Bane showed up for the first time in the New 52. It wasn’t the Bane that was portrayed in the Secret Six. It WAS the Bane who broke Batman’s back. Isn’t there a movie coming out soon… ?
CHEW #24 – Totally awesome as usual. Featuring Hershel Brown! He’s an xocosscalpere. Which means he can sculpt anything out of chocolate and it takes on the same properties of said item. Like a samurai sword. Or a laser gun! And Olive is shaping up to be mucho powerful. She’s got Rogue powers: she can assume the powers and abilities of anyone she comes in contact with. Of course, as a cibopath and not a mutant, she has to eat a piece of the person whose powers she wants to use. UGH!
COBRA ONGOING #10 – Back to its usual awesomeness I am happy to report. Major Bludd, Menasian and Tomax are plottin’ up a coup! Baroness has other ideas in mind. Easily wins line of the week. Major Bludd is ranting that the new Cobra Commander has gone mad. Slaughtering UN peacekeeping troops. Storm Shadow and his ridiculous band of ninjas butchered an entire battalion of Norwegians! The Menasian’s response: “Oh dear. Norway is mad at us. What will they do? Write a bleak modernist play about us?” I don’t even really get it. And it’s still hilarious.
FANTASTIC FOUR #603 – Been digging it since issue #600 and the return of Johnny Storm. Featured a great Galactus vs. Celestial fight. Scale was off the hook again. Galactus was winning but the Celestials went Voltron and combined into one giant Celestial and took him down! Sue is great, the art is great, the coloring is superb and I shouldn’t have liked the ending but I totally did.
I VAMPIRE #6 – Chew came out this week. As did American Vampire, Cobra and Wolverine and the X-Men. All multiple, multiple past Best Book of the Week winners. All very high quality books this time around, too. I Vampire #6 smoked them this week. Smoked them. It was utterly fantastic. Made me want to start writing an actual Best Book of the Week column again cause I could write pages and pages about how good I Vampire #6 was. And it was no fluke. I’ve nominated every issue so far. It was utterly fantastic. And without question the Best Book of the Week. Conversation on Sunday. We do pick Best Book of the Month. And I’m picking I Vampire #6!
SUPERMAN #6 – I’m totally giving props to Superman this week. Have enjoyed every issue of Superman to date. But out of all the titles in the New 52, including Batman, including I Vampire, including anything you want, I don’t know that any title has told a complete story arc to start other than/better than Superman. Sure. Batman and I Vampire are better. As are others. But those titles stories are still continuing with no end in sight. That was part of the New 52 publishing initiative. Telling continuing stories. And while I agree with the concept. Walking Dead is a continuing story. Scalped is a continuing story. Journey into Mystery is a continuing story. They also feature arcs that end! Well, Superman #6 ended the story arc. Period. Over. Done. And I appreciated it.
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #6 – Is so fun to read and just makes me smile when I do. I love it. The school is out of money so Quentin Quire and Wolverine go to Planet Sin (aka the Las Vegas of the galaxy) to cheat their way into riches. Meanwhile a pregnant (or more precisely, infected with millions of microscopic Brood) Kitty Pryde is running for her life. It was great once again.
X-MEN LEGACY #262 – The Exodus arc that started last issue continues and it’s really good. Tons of you are reading Wolverine and the X-Men. And many of you are also reading the Wolverine and the X-Men Alpha and Omega mini-series. I would also suggest reading X-Men Legacy if you don’t already. It is the Wolverine and the X-Men team just on a different adventure. It does center around Rogue, which is fine by me. And it’s all teachers and no students which is also fine by me. Iceman went HUGE this issue!
Poll tomorrow. Conversation on Sunday. Cosmic Madness starts soon!
A couple weeks ago we announced Cosmic Madness 2012! It’s our annual tournament, not unlike the NCAA Basketball Tournament, in which your votes determine the answer to whatever question we ask. In our first year, through your votes on the website, we determined that Batman was the greatest superhero ever. Yes EVER. Last year, we determined that the Justice League of America was the greatest superhero team ever.
As for this year, we want to know the following: Who is the greatest villain ever??
Just like in the NCAA tournament, there are 64 contenders. We posted our initial list of 44 villains and gave you the chance to make suggestions for the remaining 20. And make suggestions you did! We got numerous nominations for characters like Kang the Conqueror, The Governor from Walking Dead, Dracula and many more! And we sincerely thank you for your thoughts, your comments and your overall enthusiasm for Cosmic Madness! If all those comments are any indication, it’s gonna be our best tournament yet!
So, without further ado… Ladies and gents, the contenders for the Cosmic Madness 2012 tournament and the title of Greatest Villain Ever!
Apocalypse
Bane
Baron Zemo
Bizarro
Black Adam
Black Manta
Brainiac
Bullseye
Captain Cold
Carnage
Catman
Cobra Commander
Darkseid
Deadshot
Deathstroke
Doomsday
Dr. Doom
Dr. Light
Dr. Octopus
Fin Fang Foom
Galactus
Gorilla Grodd
Green Goblin
Harley Quinn
Herr Starr
Hobgoblin
Hush
Joker
Juggernaut
Kang the Conqueror
Kingpin
Leader
Lex Luthor
Lizard
Loki
Magneto
Mandarin
Megatron
Mephisto
Mr Freeze
Mr. Mxyzlptk
Mr. Sinister
Ozymandias
Penguin
Plutonian
Poison Ivy
Professor Zoom
Ras Al Ghul
Red Mist
Red Skull
Riddler
Sabretooth
Sentinels
Shredder
Sinestro
Skinner Sweet
Solomon Grundy
Taskmaster
Thanos
The Adversary (Gepetto)
The Governor
Two Face
Ultron
Venom
As with last year’s tourney, we are once again giving you the opportunity to fill out your own bracket with who you think the winners will be. Last year, victory went to Cosmic Comix Conversation panelist Andy K! Maybe he can repeat, maybe not. Maybe YOU will unseat him. We’ll have brackets ready for you to fill out by Monday, February 27!
First round voting will begin on or around Thursday, March 8! More info to come, including a breakdown of the tournament seeds!
I have a question for you, readers. The question is this: what is it exactly that makes for a good comic book cover? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself constantly for, oh, about three years now. It’s an obsession, I tell you! But know ye this: according to the experts, the difference between someone being merely very smart and being a genius is about 10,000 hours of time spent obsessing over a particular task. Now, I don’t throw around words like genius lightly… BUT… I will say that I’ve spent no less than 3,000,000 hours considering the makings of a good cover. Don’t bother doing the math to see how many days that is; it’s a lot. But I have come to the following conclusion: all you need for a good cover is either A) a Nazi, or B) a zombie.
NAZI ZOMBIES #1
Cover by Ben Dunn, Joe Wight
Whaaaaa? Didn’t I just say that all you need for a good cover is either A) a Nazi, or B) a zombie?? What if you have both? Do they cancel each other out like sound waves? Or do they amplify each other like… sound waves? I don’t know. I’m not 100% sure about the mechanics of combining Nazis and zombies, but I do know this: Nazis in a comic book means guaranteed fun for the whole family, same goes for zombies. But with Nazi Zombies… OH MAMA! Let the fun begin!
It is a little sad, though. A few of you out there I know feel so strongly about both Nazis and zombies that you wanted them included in this year’s Cosmic Madness tournament to see who the best villain of all time is. But sadly they were both disqualified for not having their origins in comics and for only being a kind of general concept as opposed to an actual character. Don’t you worry, though: they’ll have their day in the sun sometime soon. Maybe next year Cosmic Madness will determine the best Vague Grouping of Bad Guys. I think vampires and shape-shifting aliens could give Nazis a run for their money.
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Okay, we’ve talked it up enough at this point, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. Time for the details of COSMIC MADNESS 2012! If you played along last year, you know how it works, but it never hurts to brush up!
Come by the store and pick up a bracket. It will look like this. (You can also print it out.) Fill in the names of the teams you think will win each match-up, put your name and phone number at the bottom, and bring it back to us by Wednesday, March 7. Then on Thursday, voting will begin on the website and YOU will determine the winners of each game! 
With the likes of Walking Dead and Justice League and Scalped already under out belts for this week, it’s time to head over to the House of Ideas. No need to knock, though; we’re just gonna barge on in! Starting with Spidey in a spacesuit.
Finally, we can’t forget our favorite mentally deranged superhero, Moon Knight! Shawn noted a little while back that at the outset it was believed Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev would only be doing the first eight issues of the series. But with their names now on issues #9 AND 10, I think it’s safe to say they’ll be around for the next year’s worth of stories! And that’s gotta be a good thing.
Remember yesterday when 
Elsewhere in the DC family, it’s a little on the lighter side. Plus, I’ve already discussed 
This Wednesday we’re set to get the flagship title of DC Comics’ New 52 line-up, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League! And, not only is it the flagship title, it’s also the sole representative of the New 52 this week! As I mentioned in the .jpg)
If you’ve already looked over the new comics list for this week, you know what’s gonna get the lead in our Highlights: Everything Else post. The Walking Dead of course! Not only is it the hottest show on television, but it’s also a hit comic book… which I believe is based on the TV show. Though feel free to correct me if I’m wrong about that.
Technically speaking, it’s a "skip week" for DC Comics and New 52. But that’s not gonna stop the Justice League! Yes, Justice League #6 is lined up for this week, but that’s gonna be it for the New 52 books. As for other releases from the publisher, look for Batman Beyond Unlimited #1! It’s a new ongoing monthly featuring the popular Dark Knight of the future. Plus, there’s Shade #5 (of 12) and a couple of our favorites form the Vertigo stable: Scalped #56, which gets ever closer to the end, and Spaceman #4 (of 9) from Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
CHEW – Wins again! At this point it’s hard to imagine an issue of Chew that DOESN’T knock our socks off. (
There were many new and exciting projects announced at the Image Expo. Books by many of the industry’s top talents that will be published by Image Comics. They include: Happy by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, Jupiter’s Children by Frank Quitely and Mark Millar, Chin Music by Steve Niles and Tony Harris, Crime & Terror by Steve Niles and Scott Morse, Black Kiss 2 by Howard Chaykin, and Mara by Brian Wood and Ming Doyle. Man with that lineup maybe it really is the year of the creator!
Last week I read 
I enjoyed quite a bit of what I read this past week, but only a few comics really stood out and were worth a review. I did want to give a shout-out to a wonderful first issue No Place Like Home #1 published by Image Comics. It has Wizard of Oz themes without the fantasy (at least so far) and is re-imagined as a psychological horror book. Decent premise and characterization with excellent art. Might not be for everyone but it tickled my inner indie fanboy. It also had a fantastic cover. As for the best books I read, well here they are:
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No problem at all finding 10 nominees this week. RAY #3, RASL #13 and MORNING GLORIES #16 almost made it. Enjoyed them all. VOODOO #6 came real close to getting nominated. Betting Voodoo #7 does. We were promised answers at the end of this issue and if I get some answers — What’s up with the clone? What’s up with the real Voodoo? What’s up with the Daemonite invasion force? — it’s a virtual lock. And the real Thor’s return inched ever closer in MIGHTY THOR #11. When he swoops in to save all of Asgard from Karnilla, Ulik and a horde of trolls in Thor #12 you can pretty much chalk that one up as a nominee, too. To steal a catchphrase from another equally mighty superhero, "Here he comes to save the daaaaaay…"
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