Meet Katelyn Scarlett Tunnington

Its a girl

Marvel Editorial Pisses me off as well

Don't want to bash too much on DC editorial without bashing Marvel as well.

Just finished Sensational Cry baby (oops I mean Spiderman) this is part 3 of the One more day story line.

I know this Joke is cliched and I am no where near the first person to say or type it but they really should have called the Story line "One More Buck".

Why are they charging me one more dollar for this piece of shit. For Gods sake it is no extra Fucking Story a little OHOTMU entry and a reprint.

This last thing is what pissed me off today. They bill this as (and I quote) "Special Bonus: a classic reprint of the first appearance of (spoiler if i say character name)". This was a classic Silver surfer story and is great. I am really getting into this classic story and am looking forward to the end of it. But no they decide not to give me the FUCKING ENDING. The put nicely "For the Rest of this story please check out the silver surfer omnibus. This was nothing more then a fucking advertisement. Please don't call an ad a special bonus. YOU ARE A COCK TEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This reprint is just one step above the stupid Goldfish ad or the Ballpark hot dog ad.

The other thing that pisses me off is that not only is this an advertisement but it is an ad for the Most expensive way to get this other story. For the record I can get this story for the $75.00 that is in this omnibus, 49.99 in a marvels Masterworks, or even 16.99 in the Essential Silver Surfer. Fuck You Marvel. How about pointing to all avenues to read this fucking thing. maybe then you will sell a fucking book. After you just Bent me over and shoved your greedy hand up my ass you have the balls to ask me for 75 more dollars. Much like the DC thing if i had a life and didn't research some of this shit then I would have no clue and might think that the only way i can get this is for 75 bucks.

Well I am getting very angry now.

TJ

My Haul and why DC Editorial Pisses me off

OK well the day is finally here ( no not the bay silly heads comic day)

Here is what i picked up at my LCS this week:

Countdown
Batman
Goddamn Batman (formally known as All star batman)
Green Lantern Corps
Sensational Spiderman
Criminal Macabre

If you read my last post about how stupid i am then you know that i read countdown already. being a creature of habit though meant that i could not have the Roast beef on a Thursday though (I think the world would end if i did this) i went with the tuna.

Countdown was fucking great. this title keeps getting better and better.

I would use this time to talk about the Virtues of this issue but instead i am going to bitch about this little thing that was in the end feature of the Villains.

The Villain Spotlighted in this weeks issue for the Backup was Deadshot. It was good but when you get to the end and it tells you Key story lines The second item it list is Showcase presents Suicide Squad. FUCK CAN EDITORIAL GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!!!!!!!!!! I mean we all know that this book was taken off the fucking table to be printed sometime in 2008 (yeah right). When the book was supposed to come out they still had it up on the DC website as shipping that week. This pissed me off a little bit but i know that the DC website is quite possible the most out of date website on the net. Hell they actually had Green lantern as Coming out weekly a while ago when it was being delayed only because they had no fucking clue when it was coming out.

But this is a different story. This is in the pages of one of the "flagship" books. The Fucking Spine of the DC universe as they like to call it doesn't even know that DC is not putting this book out. If i wasn't someone who followed shit i would of asked My LCS "Gee Moose (that is the guys nickname) this Deadshot seems like a rollicking good read. They list the Showcase presents Suicide Squad as a good grouping of stories to read. Where can i Find it." I can't believe that they would point readers (and I have to believe that the people reading these things are mostly new readers that do not know of the characters) to a book that does not exist. Why not point me towards the McFarlane Capullo Batman Spawn as well.

Well that is off my chest.

Talk to y'all later.

TJ

Why don't I listen to anyone

Well as noted in a lot of post (as well as the one right below this) I listen to a lot of podcast.

There were so many podcasts that were warning people that comics will come Thursday this week but i thought this couldn't be. How could a holiday the week before fuck up the schedule for the coming week. Mind you i work for a mail order company and know that UPS was not doing anything on Friday unless it was an air package.

I left my house this morning and did not bring a book. i went to the ATM to take out my comics and lunch money. (i have a ritual where right after i go to the comic shop i go to the sub shop next door and read countdown over a nice roast beef sub). When i first got into work i went to comiclist.com and printed out the Checklist of books i wanted to get from the LCS.(not looking at the top of the checklist with tomorrows date). and was already to go at lunch and pick up my books.

I was listening to Indie Comic Book Noise hosted by Bruce Rosenberger(sorry if i mispelt the name there Bruce.) which can be found at www.comicbooknoise.com. In this great podcast he started out by warning us of the delay. I thought Fuck I hope this isn't true. So i went back and checked the list and noticed the change of date on top.

FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!! this has thrown my schedule off for the week. i am a person that hates change in any way. No i am left here at work with no book to read a lunch or anything else to do but my actual work.

Guess i will have to blog more.

TJ

Hear my Grouchy Voice

Hi All,

So you've read about podcast and my love of listening to them at work. (It is a great way to drown out the voices of all the assholes you work with and fill it with comic talk). But i don't think i have ever truly talked about my favorite podcast (and the one that I am a very minute part of).

The Comic Book Savant is James Harris. He does a single voice podcast that is based out of NC. He doesn't actually have a focus like raging bullets is DC or Marvel Noise is Marvel (duh) but more talks about the medium, what he is reading or watching, reviewing trades, and getting his community involved.

He is my best friend in podcasting and always has a supportive voice for anything that i am doing. I met up with James at the CGS 300 event and we got to talking about my blog and his show and how they can compliment each other. He came up with the great idea of me doing a segment on the show to help promote my blog. I don't know if he originally intended it to be weekly or not but i have made it so.

So if you like reading my blog then i know you will love his podcast. I started doing the segment on his trade your pick episode 10 and have gone pretty much weekly from there.(i missed one week but hey shit happens).

You can get all these episodes at http://www.comicbooksavant.com/cbs/episodes.cfm.

Please if you are reading this blog and have not given him a shot do yourself a favor and download an episode or two. you get to hear me and one of the best single voice podcast out there.

Talk to you later

TJ

Thirteen Steps #2

The next review for today is Thirteen steps #2

This Book is written by Hester and Satterlee and Peciled by Mellon.

The art is great. It is in black and white and usually i am averse to this but this book has changed my opinion on this. The art is a little cartoony but it fits perfectly with the story. I love the facial expression and how distinct they are.

The writing is very well paced. I kept wanting to read the next page and I also found myself wanting for more when the last page was turned. What more can you ask for in a story.

The story is very unique. We have a small town Baseball player that is unhappy with himself. We follow his family and his love life as well as his interaction with his religion. Oh one thing i forgot to mention is that he is a fucking werewolf and after he does a kill he is incredibly remorseful about this. It is due to this remorse that he seeks out a step program for the unnatural. In this issue we follow our protagonist through his many tribulations and the end is an amazing scene that happens in the woods. Fuck i want to say more about this but i really don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Support an indie title, people. this book is really good. And if you do not like horror books then still give this book a try because i think it is more about the relationship of the hero (if a werewolf can be a hero) then it is a horror book.

maybe more later.

TJ

Brave and the Bold #8

Today's review is Brave and the bold #8



This book is written by Mark Waid and Pencilled by George Perez

The art is amazing. it has that really clean George Perez style that we all love (or should love dammit). Very clean lines, very defined, not scratchy at all.

The writing is pretty good. Even though all of these stories do have a connecting arc they are all basically one and dones. In that vain it is written very well; meaning it does have a beginning middle and end. I usually like these types of stories as a change of pace from the long story arc's that we are now used to. Does anyone remember a time when the long arcs was an event and everything used to be this type of story.

Now to the story. I was not going to get this book any more because i am trimming my budget and unfortunately i am stuck in so many over reaching arcs that the one and done is the easiest thing to chop of the list. I go into my friendly LCS on that Wednesday with list in hand and notice that the title is a Flash story. Fuck i say to myself (quite loudly to the owners dismay), i really would like to read this. So 2.99 later i am the proud owner of this comic. Here were my hopes when i bought this: 1) a good one and done flash story 2) learn a little bit about the doom patrol because i have never read anything by them before 3)since it is sort of out of continuity i would be free of the baggage that is going on in the current Flash title. Well I truly didn't get any of these (except number one kind of). Let me start at the end; We have all of the baggage of the current flash run the Fucking retard twins are in this god damn book more then the Doom Patrol. This wasn't really about the flash or the doom patrol at all but about the Fucking kids. I hate these kids. i don't know if Waid is trying to get us to feel for the kids like we did for impulse but I don't think it is working and the death of these two would only make the reader happy. Please Mark. lets leave the kids at home and give us the FUCKING WALLY STORIES WE WANT. Sorry got a little angry there. i think i have touched on all three points by just going over the last one 1) more of a one and done Flash Kids story (minus) 2) Doom patrol just used a plot device to try to find out about the kids (minus there) 3) It seemed to fit right into the continuity of the current Flash Title (minus there).

Oh well i think i can now safely drop this book. What's that they say at the end; hawkman is going to be in the next issue. Well maybe i will give one more a shot.

Talk to you all later.

TJ

American Flagg! 1-3

Okay for the Black Friday review I will be doing The first arc of American Flagg!







This is a series that was put out by First Comics starting in 1983.


It is Written and Pencil by Howard Chaykin.

The art is fantastic for the time frame that it was drawn in. If you compared it to some of todays art then you might find it a little lacking but if you remember that this is 1983 then i think you will be blown away. the thing that i think is so innovative even by today's standards is the way sound effects are drawn into the panels and this is a Chaykin staple. He will draw the sound effect as part of the art. i really wish i had a scanner to show you all if you have never seen it. For example one scene has a motorcycle pulling away and the screech marks are the word screech in stead of having that word somewhere else in the panel. (Fuck its hard to explain this.)
The writing is amazing. Each voice is incredibly different. The plot moves perfectly. It really was a page turner for me.

The story was weird but if you like futuristic almost apocalyptic tales then i fell you will really enjoy this book. It takes place in the year 2031 and life is not as what we would expect.(maybe it is if you see how things are kind of going now a days.) Television rules the country and has become its police force. The television company is called the Plex and the police force is the Plexus Rangers. Our main character is a washed up soap star name Ruben Flagg. He has been replaced on his show "Sexus Ranger" by a CGI version of himself because computer graphics do not age. In his forced retirement from TV Ruben decides that he will become a real cop and is the new rookie on the force. Through his training and first few days on the job he notices the high amounts of corruption that is involved in this form of government and he feels it is his job to fix it. There is a large amount of sex and violence in this book and it really should not be read by the younger crowd. For example as a gift for his joining the force he goes up to his room and is approached by a whore who is there as a gift to blow him. What a great first day present.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes chaykin or futuristic sci fi.

TJ

What I am thankful for

Well here is the obligatory thanksgiving post of the things that i am thankful for:

In no particular order (well except the first one)

My beautiful wife who is due to give birth to my first child any day now.

Football

Comics

My podacsting friends (Geek Brunch, Dollar Bin, CGS)

All my other friends that are not related to comics podcast (Dave, Kevin, Barlo).

The Comic Forums where i found some great people that have become friends.

James Harris of the Comic Book Savant who gives me a forum to voice my opinions.

Beer

Wild Turkey (the drink not the meat. I actually hate turkey)

And of course all my readers. thank you for taking a minute out of your day and putting up with my ramblings.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

TJ

My Haul

What a fantastic week for my LCS. 8 books. I don't think that I have bought this much there since i switched to DCBS for most of my shopping.

And I am so excited to read all of it:

Countdown
Countdown to Mystery
Brave and the Bold
Flash
Detective
Action Comics
Checkmate
The Boys

So far I have read countdown and The boys and I have been blown away by both of them. (as opposed to blown but wouldn't that be nice if after a good read a pair of lips came out. WOW can you tell I'm a little punchy today.)

Countdown focuses mainly on on Super thing Prime and he is still my favorite character in the DCU. What a fucking bad ass. he just loves scarring the shield into things. There is also a segue(is that how you spell that fucked up word) with Mary Marvel and Eclipso that helps people understand that eclipso is no ones bitch (well she is a bitch being Jean Loring but i think you get what i mean).

The Boys is just the boys. read this book people it is sooooo fucking good. Ennis really is hitting it out of the park here.

I am afraid to read anything else now because these were so good. Lets hope we don't fall into mediocrity.

TJ

Dynamo 5 Vol 1 TPB

and the last review of the morning is Dynamo 5 TPB Vol 1

This is written by Jay Faerber and Pencilled by Mahmud Asrar.

The art is out of this world. It is perfectly matched for the light heartedness of this book. The lines are clean and the facial expressions on the characters are amazing. I don't know if Asrar has done anything else but i think that he would be so well suited for a mainstream superhero book.

I have never read anything by Faerber before but i will be searching things out. Eh really knows how to write teens. The dialect and the humor is spot on in this book. That being said this book isn't all fun and games and Faerber can switch the tone of the book at a moments notice and he does it really well.

The Story here takes a bit character in Faerber's other book, Noble Causes, and expands on him, sort of. You see captain dynamo is dead and he might not have been the nice guy that was originally believed. He was an adulterer and his wife finds out that he has 5 children with 5 other women. She recruits them and activates their powers. Each one of the children have one of the Good Captains powers. We learn this through a amazing plot device that i have not seen that often. One of the kids is kidnapped and through a truth serum he reveals what has happened. The only problem I had with this book (and it is so minute that i am almost ashamed even to mention it) no where in the beginning are there names laid out or their powers. It would have been nice to be able to look at characters and and not have to spend the time at first trying to figure out "Wait who is this and what can they do". I like things laid out for me. You can figure it out but Just give me the thing in the beginning.

I would suggest this book to anyone that wants in on the ground floor of a Superhero universe. You do not need to read Noble Causes to understand this book (hell, I didn't). And here is the kicker that should make everyone that reads this Buy this book. It is only $9.99. If you go through my favorite online TPB retailer In stock Trades (http://www.instocktrades.com/) you can get this for it is only $6.49. For 176 pg (issues 1-7) that is amazing.

Buy it people.

TJ

Captain American #31

Next in the Weekend Slime Review a Rama Is Captain America

The is written By Ed Brubaker (like you didn't know that) and Penciled by Steve Epting.

The art is gorgeous. It so matches this book. It has a sort of photo realistic style but with the serious tones of this book. Now note that I said photo realistic not Photo reference. i really do not like photo reference and there is a distinct difference.

The writing is amazing. If Garth Ennis is my writing God the Brubabker is the Holy Spirit and Geoff Johns completes the trinity. He really knows how to pace a story. I know it has become cliche to say this but he has a ton(and that is a scientific number) reading this book and the main character is not even in the Fucking book. I don't even like Captain America but i have bee reading this book since issue 10. For a writer to get me to care about a character that I never had interest in he has to be pretty good.

The story follows along with the Death of Cap storyline. We are going along for the ride with Tony Stark, Agent 13, Falcon, Winter Soldier and a whole other bunch of characters. For me to reveal anything that is going on here would spoil the shit of the story and really do not want to do that.

Buy this book people. It is the best thing that Marvel is putting out right now.

TJ

The Sword #1

For a glorious day of weekend reviews we will start of with The Sword #1

This was written and pencilled by The Luna Brothers

The art was great. I can see why some say that the Luna Brothers art is love or hate but i am definatly in the Like camp (yeah i know that is not love but let a boy get there).

The Writing was very good as well. I have heard that the brothers writing can be very cryptic and sometimes hard to follow and I like cryptic but this book was pretty straight forward. The pacing was very well done. And each character was voiced differently. really what more can you ask for in the writing.

The Story was really good for a number 1. We are basically following the life of an English Professor and his family, especially his daughter who is a handicapped girl in a wheel chair. The whole book is basically a day in the life of this family until we get to the end when two strangers show up at the end and we are left with a Question of Mistaken Identity or Is it? (insert creepy music here)

I would give this book a shot and i am looking to try the girls. if anyone can tell me anything about that series leave me some comments. i love reading them.

TJ

My Haul

What a fantastic Week for comics.

I had to feel like a piece of shit though when in this huge release week i went to the LCS only got 4 and had to lie out my ass when he asked me sadly "Only 4 this week?".

Well The four books i got from the LCS:
Nightwing
Countdown to Final Crisis
Welcome to Tranquility
Simon Dark

Now here is the kicker that i can't wait for:

From DCBS this week(which i will et at the end of the month)
Totem #1
Batman and the Outsiders #1
Booster Gold #4
Salvation Run #1
Suicide Squad #3
Wonder Woman #14
Badger Bull #1
Circle #1
Mice Templar #2
Sword #2
Punisher #52
Thor #4

Wow that is the most i have ever received in the week. And here was my guy sitting with his hand out asking "Only Four?" what a jerk off i felt like. but then he made some comments against my political persuasion and i felt happier then ever that i am not giving this jerk off all my money. My how fickle i am.

TJ

My child is coming any day

The last ultrasound of the baby

Punisher #51

To start the Day i will review Punisher #51

This was written by God (i mean Garth Ennis) and penciled by Goran Parlov

The art in this book is very good but also a little jarring from the last issue of this arc. The last issue was done masterfully by Howard Chaykin. This issue was a lot more cartoony and in the beginning i didn't think it fit this book. It did grow on me though and i really did begin to like it by the end. I think this trade will be hurt by this though when the reader will be going straight from Chaykin to this.

The writing is Garth Fucking Ennis. 'Nuff Said.

This story continues along the story from issue #50 where Barracuda is showing Frank a Special package that he found for him. Frank is dealing with the turmoil in his life and this new found parcel is not helping matters. I really don't want to go to far into the story line though because if you are trade waiting it will really spoil your shit.

Read this book people. it really shows you the brilliance of Garth Ennis and how a Max line book should be written.

Talk to y'all later.

TJ

Robin #168

Next on the menu is Robin #168


This Book is written by Peter Milligan and Drawn by Freddie Williams II (FEW II to those of us in the know).


The art is amazing. I love Freddie's art and I am so glad that he is replacing the Awful Acuna (IMHO) on the flash. Also Freddie is a great guy. i got to meet him at CGS 300 and he was so down to earth and amazing. If you see him at a convention make sure you check him out.


The writing was OK. It was not horrible but it didn't blow me away. There were things in this story that i couldn't tell if i didn't care for the writing or the plotting.


Now to the story. This is part one of the resurrection of Ra's al Ghul story line. It starts out with Robin alone in Wayne manor and Alfred trying to coax him to bed (his own bed you fools get you mind out of the gay pedophile gutter).
He feels a responsibilty to the city with the big dog away. Damian is away from the clutches of his mother and grandfather and is returning to Wayne manor. batman is away and doesn't seem to want to return to Wayne manor.


Now this is the part that i didn't care for. Robin is written like a spoiled brat. Now I haven''t read this book before but is this how robin is written in this book. is he just s sniveling little brat. if so then I am glad that FEW is no longer on this book. If this is the representation of the book I would never pick it up after this.


I liked this book though and would recommend it for anyone interested in the Ra's Al Ghul storyline because it does move the story along quite nicely but if you are looking for a good robin story then stay as far away as possible.


TJ

Booster Gold #3

The first of todays reviews is Booster Gold #3

This Book is written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz and Pencilled by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.

I can't remember if i blogged on any of these issues yet but if you are not buying this comic I can no longer be friends with you (Just Kidding)(sort of).

Holy Fuck is this book good. A lot of people don't like some of the things that Johns does because he is bringing some of the silver age campyness and continuity baggage with the characters he is writing right now (which is the whole Dc Universe). I am here to call these peoples Morons (Just Kidding)(sort of).

The art in the book is great. If Jurgans doesn't know how to draw this book he may as well quit the industry because he created this character. I can't tell you how much the art in this book matches the writing. It really is perfect.

The writing is top notch. Johns really gets the humor that is needed in this book. You can't have a writer on this book that would be grim or serious. this is a light heartedness that needs to be in a Booster gold title.

The story in this issue is more time travel goodness. The time line that Booster needs to fix in this issue is that of Pa Kents great grandfather. There is a bounty put on the Head of the Doctor that is supposed to deliver him. This brings Booster back to the old west where he meets up with Jonah Hex. we learn that the one who is screwing up the time lines is a new Supernova who we have yet to learn who it is.

If you like time travel please do yourself a favor and pick this book up.(Now I know i typed this before)

TJ

Museum Exhibit

Last weekend me and my wife went to a museum exhibit here in the Beautiful Garden state.

It was at the Montclair Museum of Art and it was the evolution of superheros and superhero comics.

You can view the info here: http://www.montclairartmuseum.org/exhibitions.cfm?id=18

This was amazing. Right when you walk in you are greeted with a gallery exhibiting the Kubert family art. Next you make a turn then sitting right in front of you is the holy Grail of comics. Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27. I don't think the wife was impressed until i told here that we were looking at about $1 million in comics. On the next wall was a vintage copy of Seduction of the innocent and the explanation of the CCA. You turn the corner and we learn about Marvels origins and there was the Best copy of amazing Fantasy #15 that i have ever seen. Next we see original art from the Green Lantern/ Green arrow series that brought social consciousness into the medium.

Next room was the 80 and we see original Gibbons art from Watchmen as well as Miller stuff from Dark Knight Returns. All day they were showing the History Channel Documentary "Super Heroes Unmasked. I got this from netflix a couple of weeks ago so i didn't need to see it but i would also recommend this to anyone that hasn't already seen it.

Lastly, Downstairs they were holding a mini Convention. This the wife was not so impressed with. I think she got really scared when I started crawling around on the floor for 50% off books. She didn't understand that the boxes weren't in any real order and she would have to spend the time going through each box to find something she wanted. I also think she was unhappy that some smelly fat guy would be jammed next to here doing the same thing and that was me, nevermind a complete stranger.

At the Convention I picked up:
the spectre Eclipso trade from Infinite crisis (fucking pot there goes the memory i have no clue what this book's title is)
The Harbinger HC
6 issues of Hitman
And a Mad Magazine trade for her.

In all I spent $22 for all of that. Good times.

I would highly recommend anyone in the area go and see this exhibit while it is there.

TJ

My Haul and My Box(es)

Very Light week for me this week.

From the LCS this week I got:

Countdown to Final Crisis
Robin
Spawn

But luckily my DCBS box came in Tuesday and in that was:

Indie
THIRTEEN STEPS #2
STREETS OF GLORY WRAP CVR #2
POTTERS FIELD #2
Dark Horse
UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #2
DC
ACTION COMICS #856
ACTION COMICS #857
BOOSTER GOLD #3
CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #1
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #1
JLA HITMAN #2
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #14
SUICIDE SQUAD RAISE THE FLAG #2
TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS CYBORG SUPERMAN #1
TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS SUPERMAN PRIME #1
Image
DYNAMO 5 VOL 1 POST NUCLEAR FAMILY TP
SORROW #2
SWORD #1
Marvel
CAPTAIN AMERICA #31
MARVEL MAX SAMPLER 2007
PENANCE RELENTLESS #2
PUNISHER #51
THUNDERBOLTS #117

And I come home yesterday thinking of all the great reading i have ahead of me and sitting on my door was my first EBay purchase: 1-26 of American Flagg!

If i even think about buying another book then i need everyone here to find me and punch me in the nuts. i need to be saving money right now not spending like a fuck with no responsibilities.

I also went to a great museum exhibit this past weekend but i will blog about that later.

TJ

New Frontier Vol 1

Todays review is New Frontier Vol 1

This book e was written and pencilled by Darwyn Cooke

First the art. Fucking amazing. Although I have read in some reviews that people think it is kirbyesqe that leaves me to wonder if said reviewers have ever looked at anything Kirby drew. That being said i think that Cooke has his own style which is astonishing. the splash [pages are beautiful to take in and the attention to detail in what seems (but most definitely is not) a very simplistic style. I have not read or seen anything else that Cooke has done but i will be looking for his spirit stuff after seeing the style in this book.

Now to the writing. It is very well written. You can tell each characters voice and see a definition in character by what they are saying. They way he writes wonder woman makes me hope that he would one day be a writer on the main wonder woman book. Well done sir! I applaud your writing ability.

Now to the shit oops i mean story. This is where this book fell apart. The story starts off on an island where dinosaurs still live. A military groups is marooned there and their leader saves everyone else and decides to take on the beast himself. We are then thrown into a superman and wonder woman story where they are in SE Asia trying to help people retake there home land from a horrible military group. We meet Hal Jordan who is getting employed by Ferris Air and the Martian Manhunter who is getting accustomed to living as a human. Later we meet Rick Flagg and the Challengers of the unknown as well.

Now here is the problem i had with this story. This is a $19.99 trade that is basically all set up and nothing else. We meet the characters; We see them interact a little; We see the beginnings of a Story; End of story go spend $19.99 if you want to see the whole thing. Now before you start ripping me a new asshole let me explain that I know this is Vol 1 of a two part story but i feel that for the price tag that is on this thing we should have gotten little more the a "how do you do" from the fucking characters. I hope this picks up. Although this was another instance where i am glad that my wife is a librarian because even though i do not get to look at the beautiful art for the rest of my life I was able to get it for free by checking it out of the library.

Talk to you later. Today was DCBS Box day

TJ

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 1

Time to start of the New month with a bang

This book was written By Allan Moore and Pencilled by Kevin O'Neill

The art work is great. You can tell the O'Neill was in love with these characters. Each character is given there own unique look and the facial expressions he draws are beyond unbelievable.

The writing is Allan Moore. That is really all you have to say. if you walk up to a stranger and say Allan Fucking Moore you most likely will get one of two reactions. A) you will get slapped in the face because the person doesn't know who you are talking about and is highly offended that you walked up to them and used the f word (or they are Rob Leifeld) or B) you will get a smile as they recall the tales that this man has spun.

The story is a secret league that the British government has put together in order to collect a device to help with a flying war machine (at least that is what we are lead to believe in the beginning.) The league consist of literary characters Mina Murray, Allan Quartermain, Jekyll and Hyde, Captain Nemo, and Hawley Griffen (the invisible man.) In fact after reading the wiki page on this it turns out that even the background charaqcters in this book have some sort of literary bockground (this man is a genious.) The story has all sorts of twists and turns that i would be doing a horrible disservice too if i tried to describe it here.

If you see this review and think of the movie go an take a knife and stab yourself in the leg. the movie is a piece of shit that should have been destroyed. This book is amazing

Pick it Up

TJ

My Haul and Countdown

A light week this week but that means I was able to read some and they were both fucking amazing. i love when i have a small week but each title so far is better then the last.

Here is what I got:
(don't feel like looking up the numbers this week)
Batman
Countdown to mystery
Action Comics
The comic formally known as Countdown

Well like i said up top i got to read a comic in my car during my lunch and i begrudgingly chose Countdown to final crisis.

Oh If you don't want you shit spoiled i would stop here. (by the way i love when podcast tell me they will be spoiling shit that I may not of read. They then go on to say put our cast aside and come pack once you have read your comics. I always intend to do this but what happens is that i listen to so many podcast that It gets so far away that i just end up deleting it. Yes i am a lazy fuck but i hate my shit too spoiled.)

This is Finally the book i was looking for. This is a catchup story to a degree that sort of explains everything that has happened so far (well they do not touch on piper and trickster and there is one line for Mary Marvel). this catchup is told through the eyes of the monitors. They all are discussing what needs to be done to stop the anomalies and after much coercion they decide to no longer sit back and watch but do to war.

We then are shown the Challengers and realise that Jason Todd is an asshole but not as much of an asshole as we were left to think last issue. Kyle is still being written horribly but Bob is a great read.

We are then shown earth 15 were that earths lex luthor is being grabbed by a superman on sorts. He is then told by said superman that he could have achieved order on his universe but he is gone and (i am paraphrasing) fucked things up.

The pacing, writing and art in this book was exactly what I have been looking for. i am so happy that I have not jumped of this book.

Talk to you later,

TJ

Seven Soldiers of Victory Volume 1

Today is a trade review of Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol 1

This book was written (dreamed of(tripped about)) by Grant Morrison with Various artist.

First let me say that the art is amazing. Every single book holds a different style but each is equally beautiful. I can see this getting the absolute treatment because they tend to do that for this sort of artwork. Simone Bianchi, Frazier Irving, Ryan Sook, JH Williams and more. If you are a fan of any sort of art i would suggest that you pick this book up.

The writing is pretty good. i can't say it is great because i still have no clue what the hell i read after 2 days of thinking about it. It is very loosely put together and sometimes it doesn't feel as strong in some issues as it does on others. Very inconsistent. I am saying this as a fan of Grant Morrison. I like a lot of what he has done. But i also feel that i am judging this a bit too early because it is a four volume series and probably all needs to be read together.

Well now to the story. Volume starts of with the zero issue and focuses on The Vigilante. he is putting together a team of seven too take on a big bad. One of the heroes bows out and they are left with six. Here is a SPOILER******* because they are not seven they fail and die. Wow I am thinking Morrison starts us of with these great heroes and kills them all in a matter of 25 pages. The rest of the story of seven soldiers takes place in seven 4 issue miniseries and they are published in trade form in the order that they are published. This volume has Shining Night, The Guardian, Zantana, and Klarion the Witchboy.

Shining knight is a member of the Arthurian legend that is trying to recover magical items for Arthur and to do so has to battle the big bad that I think is the villain of the book. he get to one but is put through a time warp (its just a jump to the left) and ends up in modern day LA with his winged horse. The police capture him and his horse. Here's the trippy part of this story he speaks in old English so the reader has no idea what he is saying.

The guardian is an ex police officer that has been dismissed because he accidentally shot a boy who he mistook for his partners killer. he is down on his look until he sees an article in a gossip paper for a bodyguard of sorts. when he goes for the interview he is tested and is told that the job is for him to become a superhero. Now here is where the acid kicks in here, his wife and child are kidnapped by subway pirates who travel the NY subway lines with name like all beard and No beard. he spends the rest of his time in this volume on the subway trying to save his family.

The Zantana story is the one i was least looking forward too only because i like being introduced to new characters and I already knew about her. This story starts with Zantana in a paranormal 13 steps program saying that she is a spellaholic. She then goes into her history and her fathers. We come to learn that she has also lost her powers. At the end of the meeting she is approached by a young girl that wants to become her apprentice. The girl is somehow a backwards talker already and knows how to cast spells that way. They go to Z's friends place a business (you guessed it a magic store) where we learn that she is being followed by a phantom. A battle ensues where in the end (here comes the peak of the trip) Z says "GNIRB EM EHT NAM FO YM SMEARD" She is then presented with a snow globe sort of thing that has a man sitting on a sort of mushroom. He gets out and then the Phantom Stranger comes in.

Klarion is a pure acid trip that you all should experience on your own. it involves this Salem like town where they are all witches and it was by far my favorite.

Now here is the thing. All of these stories are supposed to connect somehow and maybe i am just too dense but i cannot see it. I was looking believe me i was really looking for anything but nothing was there for my mind to grasp on to. I will continue to read and let you know if it ever completes it goal IMHO.

Bye all

TJ

Phantasm

Time for a movie review.

Well its Halloween time so that means it is time for some Horror movies.

I love the horror genre and there are a lot of "classic" horror movies that i have never seen. Phantasm is one of them.

This movie was very good. The majority of this flick takes place in a funeral home that is run but "the Tall man". He is also has an alter ego that is "the lady in Lavender". it seems to me that Don Coscorelli (the director and writer) wasn't very creative in naming his characters.

The Lady in lavender entices people to the cemetery for some good old fashioned grave fucking. Being that this is made in 1979 there is some boob shots that really don't need to be there but what the hell i am not complaining. There is even one scene the the lady in lavender is about to fuck this one guy and then he takes her top off. The camera is just a wide screen shot of just her boobs and it stays there for a couple of seconds with nothing else happens. God isn't gratuitous nudity great.

Anyway we come to learn that the Tall man is an alien type character that is taking the dead and shrinking them to midget size so that they can be slaves on his home planet. No i cannot make this shit up.

Anyway i thought the movie was actually well made for a low budget 70's horror flick and can see why it has such a cult following. (There is actually a guy at my work that spent $200 on a replica Sphere that has the spikes in it).

My wife on the other had looked over at me in the end and said "Why do you waste my time with this shit." Oh well guess different strokes, right Arnold.

Talk to y'all later.

TJ

An Addiction is born

I have found a new addiction to go with my comics and DVD buying addiction.

let me describe this for you. You go searching around looking for the score you have always wanted but never realized you needed till the minute you see it. You tell the person how much you are willing to spend and then the waiting game starts. You watch the clock and your palms start sweating. You hope that no one wants this thing more then you do. The seconds are moving slower and slower as you see that you are still on top. The faceless being on the other end then tells you that you are tops and you feel like you just won Game seven and the World Series, Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, and the lottery all rolled up into one.

Can you guess what I ma talking about. That's right heroi... I mean EBay.

I have always been weary of this little auction site because i am not the most tech savvy person in the world. I have heard a lot of horror stories about people not getting what they ordered and then people being impossible to contact to try to get your money back. I had no clue what Paypal was or how it worked.

Well i have gotten over any fears I had and started bidding on things a couple of days ago. I need a new computer printer you can recall if you remember reading about the Walmart Scam that I encountered. So i started with Printers. I have lost each and every one of these. i started to think that this was a lot harder then I thought.

I decided to move away from the tech and go for Comics. A friend of mine has told me how great American Flagg! was but mainly just the Chaykin stuff. i saw a listing for the first 26 issues. i put my bid in and it came up at $10.50. There was a day left in this auction so I thought "well I've seen what happened with the printers so there is no way this will stick. i put my high amount at 20 which would have made with shipping all the comics around $1.00 an issue. I was prepared to pay this. I start checking last night when there was only 30 minutes left on the clock and was surprised to see that i was still on top with my initial $10.50. The seconds began counting down and I am now the owner of the first 26 issues of Howard Chaykin's Masterpiece for the mere price of $10.50 plus a little over $5.00 shipping.

This is the greatest invention in the world.
Talk to Y'all later

TJ

My Haul

Well this was one heavy week for the LCS.

I Got:

DC
Blue Beetle #20 (sinestro corps tie in)
Countdown #27
Flash #233
Green lantern Corps #17

Avatar
Doktor Sleepless #3

Dark Horse
Ciminal Macabre: My Demon Baby #2

I have found that i need to be in a certain mood to read my comics. Is this just me or are there others like me out there. If i am not in the right mind I can't use my comics as the escape that i like. Comics have always help me escape the real world and live in my little pocket universes (universi to you scientific fucks). Lately I have had so much shit on my mind that right when I start to read something would happen too bring me right the fuck back to reality. So of course it is only fitting that on a week that I am feeling this way my LCS has all these fucking books for me. Oh Well I guess i will have to trudge through. i hope one of these books is so good it gets me out of this funk i am in (why do we use this term. Funk is awesome. Ever listen to George Clinton and the P-Funk all stars. I saw them live last year in a very small venue and it was by far one of the best concerts that I have ever been to.. I think instead of funk we should use the term easy listening.) So anyway hopefully one of these books will be able to get me out of this easy listening that i am in.

Help me obi wan my comics your my only hope.

Talk to you later

TJ

Bomb Queen: Woman of Mass Destruction tpb vol 1

Today's review is of Bomb Queen Vol 1 TPB

This book was both written and drawn by Jimmie Robinson.

First off I have to thank Mike Myers for Getting me this book. Mike is the Host of Geek Brunch with Heath Holland and it is a great Podcast. You can find it at http://feeds.feedburner.com/GeekBrunch. If you have any interest in Food, Comics and/ or movies (and lets face it if you are reading this blog you do) You should really check these guys out. It is basically a conversation show about the things we love.

Now to the Book. Where has this been all my life. What a fantastic Title. Great Art, Great Action, Great Writing. I cannot say enough good things about this.

The art is a little cartoony and is most definitely not for children. The main character is a villain that has a costume taht shows her nipples and pants that are probably the most impractical things drawn today. Even though the art is a little cartoony it is not that way in the anime style but much more Saturday morning style. The lines are very clean and not scratchy at all.

The writing is amazing as well. It is the perfect mixture of Raunch, comedy and action. You can tell the Robinson has a political agenda that is very much different then mine but i was able to put that aside and enjoy this book thoroughly. He wrote his characters extremely different from each other and was able to hit you over the head with some very raunchy things while doing it a lot subtler in others. Fantastic. Now you all know what a huge Garth Ennis fan I am. I would put this in league with "The Pro" . It is actually much more then that though because these characters have a lot more depth then that character and you can tell that Robinson is creating his own little universe here at Shadowline.

This story centers in a corrupt little town called new Port City. This city has a local government but they are all basically pawns of the Bomb Queen. We come to learn that she was part of a Four woman team of villains but she is the only one left and she now uses this town for all her vices. She is a tech expert and has wristbands that have bombs on them that she likes to use frequently. It is election time in new Port city and this book basically follows the incumbent who is a pawn for the Queen and the person that is trying to beat him who is most definitely against her. he tries to capture her with a superhero but through twist and turns, a lot of action as well as a few camel toe shots we realize that all these attempts are futile.

I loved this book if you cannot tell. I am really looking forward to reading the next Trade and will be picking up anything like this in the future.

TJ

Some Spidey News and My Thoughts

New Spidey Mini Coming out. Read the news below

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=133036

Now this may be the greatest new mini in the world but i will not know because I am putting my foot down on this. This book is not only a retelling of Spiderman's origin ( and i think this will be retelling number one million one hundred and ninety tow but this is the retelling of a two panel segment of Amazing fantasy 15. This book is setting out to tell the history of peter as a wrestling star and doing the late night talk show circuit. Yeah that is a story that we really needed. Sorry marvel I think my $12-$15 can be spent on much better things.

Spidey 3 News

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=133304
Now this movie sucked. I saw it in the theatre and I could not stand it. I had to explain to some non comic fan friends (yes we all have them) about why this movie was so bad. It really didn't come out that long ago and now I am seeing the commercials and thinking "Damn this movie looks great." Stupid brain do not believe marketing. Then they do a promo like this where you know the completist asshole in all of us will want a Brand new Bendis and Bagley comic. The only reason that they do this is because they know that their movie blew and now they need to throw something in to get the Comic fan to buy it. resist my fine feather friends, Resist. (Fuck knows i will be getting it).

Oh well a double dose of Spidey news for you.

Back with some reviews later.

TJ

My Haul

Hi all it is time for that weekly ritual of the My haul blog

Today from the shop i got:

Countdown
Checkmate
Brave and the Bold
The Boys

Now i am writing this from home because I took half a sick day. Normally I might take a half sick day when i am just not in the mood to be there but this was not the case today. I had this pounding headache when i went in today and and it just got progressively worse. Think (if you can) of the headache you might have after a night of drinking a bottle of two of red wine. Well this is what I had but without the fun of having drank said wine. yeah My mind is mush right now and i have to go through a Lamaze class tonight. Fun for all.

Talk to you all later.

TJ

Punisher Annual #1

Time for today's shit


This Book was Written by Mike Benson and Pencilled by Laurence Campbell(i got that spelling from another site although I find it weird. Either I am wrong or brothers parents really wanted a girl named Laura.)

The art was Meh. A little scratchy. not too dynamic. Not big enough for all the action that happens in this book in my opinion. I just tried to see if he did anything else but there were no listings for him on comicdb. ( you should check that site out if you ever have a question about specific issues. http://www.comicbookdb.com.) But it was no mean Humberto Ramos (which is what i will call the worst art my eyes have ever seen). I'll give it a 5 out of 10. Well i just checked again and i was wrong this guy did the work on the Christmas Wolverine issue that came out last year that i loved. i will have to go back and see if the style has changed.

The writing is from TV writer Mike Benson (he wrote for a little show call Entourage). I was a little skeptical about this book at first being a non Ennis written Punisher and having a writer from what is basically a comedy but damn if i wasn't blown away. Great pacing. a little too over the top in some places (do i really need the dialogue of the guy getting blown in the bathroom stall). But hell This was this guys first work in comics and he can only go up from here. There was talk of Ennis leaving Punisher soon (crossing my fingers that that never happens) but if this guy is the one that will replace him I think Frank will be in Good Hands.

This story takes place after a heist gone wrong. Frank shows up and Fucks some people up like he is oh so apt to do. the only survivor is our narrator. it is basically a survival tale of this character trying to stay out of the hands of the Punisher. Like so many great Punisher stories Frank Castle is really just a background character. I love when we learn the lives of the people that he is after. This almost felt like I was reading an issue of criminal until the Punisher eventually shows up.

Even though i have gushed on this book before, i will continue to gush until every free born person buy this book. OK People Who is with me. (I'll now go back to my own little delusional world).

TJ

DMZ Vol 3 TPB Public Works

Today i am Reviewing the third Volume of DMZ which collects issues 13 - 17

This book is written by Brian Wood and Penciled by Riccardo Burchielli

I was first turned on to this book by the Comic Book Savant. Everyone out there should really give his show a try because not only will he offer you great reading advice. He will also mellow out your day with his laid back delivery. (plus yours truly has a segment on his show.)

The art in this book is amazing. It is so much more then the typical vertigo book. It has that realistic edge but not overly so if you know what i mean (if not well then Fuck me). The great thing about this book is the drawing of the backgrounds. Anyone that lives or has lived in the tri-state area will see things in the background that they hold near and dear. As Brian Wood has stated in numerous backgrounds the City play as much of a character in this book as do the people. Now that is not saying that if you have never been to the city you will not enjoy this but it is just an added dimension to the story.

The Writing is amazing. The one thing that I love about the writing in this book is that the story is a very political one. I have listened to Brian Wood on numerous interviews and i know that his politics are very much the polar opposite of mine but he does not let that show too much in this title. Another great thing about this book is the fact that he has the ability to write each character differently. Even without the pictures i would be able to tell when the lead is talking compared to a terrorist compared to some military figure. I think this is a sign of a great writer. i will hop on and try almost anything that i see his name attached to.

This story takes our protagonist undercover. He is working for the "Trustwell" company who is rebuilding part of the DMZ (Manhattan). While working for them he encounters a terrorist cell and befriends them by not snitching. He witnesses them do many atrocities and decides he wants out but in doing so he decided to help a girl that has signed up to be a suicide bomber. I really don't want to say too much more on this because this book is so full of twists and turns that by the end you will be spinning a little. (Of course this is a good things all you fellow dead heads out there).

This is the Trade that I look most forward to each time i see it solicited (or hell when i can figure out when an arc is ending so i know the trade will be there in the next previews). I will pick up anything the Wood does for now on because the writing is just that damn good.

Hope i helped you pick out a winner.

TJ

Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman #23

Well Well Well we finally get One more day part 2

The cover image is not the one i got but Google Images wouldn't pull up the marko icantspellhislastname cover in the 5 minutes that I had the patience for.

This Book is Written by JMS and Drawn(i refuse to put pencilled) by EIC Joe Quesada. (Can we get any more hard names on this book. For fucks sake its like they said Marko Your last name is harder to spell then ours Draw our variants.)

The are it Great in spots but not so much in others. i can't stand the Way Joe Q draws faces. They seem a lot older then they should be. There where a couple of panels with Spidey and his half pulled up mask where I was saying to myself "Who the fuck is under that mask?". (And yes I do talk to myself.) But there were some breath taking scenes as well. he can draw a very good Dr. Strange in my opinion.

The writing here I thought was much better then JMS has been of late in this series. He seemed to have Dr. Strange down and finally found Peters voice. ( well after this many fucking issues and only 2 to go i would hope so.)

The story was decent. may is still in a coma and the Doctors are saying that there is really nothing that they can do so Peter goes to the only Doctor that he thinks will be able to help, Sorcerer Supreme himself Dc. Strange. Doc then tells Peter of the problems with time travel and changing events that have already occurred (Obviously they have not been reading Booster Gold.) Peter Tries to anyhow but is chased by demons and Strange is forced to try to help peter back. The ending was a little strange in my book though because do not know much of Marvel characters. He is met by one that I did not know that says she can help. if anyone can give me a hand on this please leave a comment.

Now to what pisses me off about this book. The backup features. I hate that Marvel is charging me $3.99 for a story that has a couple of extra pages but is made thick with what is essentially an OHOTMU entry for Mary Jane. Hey Joe, i don't think there are that many new readers jumping on to Spiderman with One More Day. if someone out there does not know who Mary Jane is then fuck em. This is not the story for them. Lets save you loyal readers the Fucking Buck and let us use our god damn memory about Mary Jane. She wasn't even featured in this Fucking Book so i had no reason to even have to "learn" about her character. Also I do not give a shit on how you drew four pages or to have a story from the "good old days". How about you save me the dollar and I spend that on another Marvel book (although you all know I would be just using that on a DC Book.)

These backups are really pissing me off and I am here at work so i better stop typing before i throw my computer and get fired

Talk to you all later

TJ

Revision to last review

Well Fuck me. i just started the next Jetta Trade and I was completely wrong about some of the plot points. This is going to be a very quick post. I either didn't read it right or it was revealed in Rain ( the title of the next trade).

Oh Yeah, I just figured out what it is that i don't like about the artwork. Even though the females are beautiful some of the men look the same. One thing that I didn't mention in the review was Jetta's Love of Daniel (a boy she hit with a motorcycle) and her long lost love Kim. The reason I didn't bring this up is because i couldn't differentiate between the two.

The seconds writing is leaps and bounds better then the first so far. I now even more strongly urge y'all to get these books.

I am debating about piking up the zero issue and the prequel as well.

TJ

Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa Defiance

Today i am reviewing an indie book (yes folks i do read more then Just Marvel and DC)

This Book is Written by Martheus and Janet Wade and Pencilled by Martheus Wade

The art in this book blew me away at times and was just OK in others. I think i should add that I am not the biggest Manga fan so if you read this then you can tell what i though was OK. But otherwise the artwork is amazing. Man can this guy draw some beautiful women. They are bust they are scantily clad. They are very pretty. ( i am a little upset that when I got a sketch from Martheus I asked for Batman instead of a woman).

The writing is very good. Although it did not blow me away it still was 100x better then a lot of the indie shit out there. You can tell that they are just starting to feel there way with this character (i may be wrong but that is what i thought).

The story is about a girl whose father was killed in Japan. She is a very powerful martial artist and is training with knowledgeable sensei. The group that has killed her father is now after her and she and the sensei seem to run whenever they get the chance. Well that was until now. The background story is of Shiandrea (Jetta) coping with being this all powerful Martial Artist and also being a Girl who just wants to live life as such.

I would definitely suggest picking this book up. If you are interested go to http://www.toshigawa.com.

I cannot wait to read the next one.

TJ