Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents Parallax

The review for today is Tales (holy fuck just read the header this title is too god damn long)

This is written by Ron Marz and Penciled by Adrianna Melo and Marlo Alquiza

This is a supposed "Sinestro Corps War Tie In" Let me be the first to say that no one needed to by this book to understand what is going on in the war or even with Kyle. But if you like good story then get this book

The Art is Fantastic. It has some Photo Realism in the beginning and more "classic comic" art in the middle. I have never heard of either of these artist but I will be looking for them more. I was really impressed.

The writing was also very good. I was amazed at the pacing. I originally wasn't going to get this book because I am not much of a Kyle guy but i am so happy that I did. The movement of the story and the emotions that it evoked was outstanding.

Now to the story. This story takes place inside Kyles head. This is where his sub conscious entrapped by Parallax. It starts out in an art gallery where the only picture is a piece of art that he used to look at in his mothers house. The picture is of a boy in a wheat field searching for something. As he is contemplating the art Parallax confronts him with the basic "you can never beat me" attitude that all villains take once in their lives (or in most cases their entire lives.) Of course we know what happens and Kyle just about beats the villain but he leaves before he is done. the ending is Kyle looking at the art again and realizing who actually drew the picture.

I didn't follow the Ion story but i know what happened in it. This story seems to fit right in with that and is very moving. It almost made me like Kyle more the Guy and Hal (i said almost).

So if you are following the Sinestro Corps War you do not need this book(who am I kidding i know everyone is going to get this. We are all completist aren't we?) but i suggest that anyone that likes good one and done story telling to pick this up.

in one word Great!

TJ

My Haul(if i can even call it that)

What a small rinky dink week. I only got three books.

Countdown #31
All Star Batman #7
Batman #669

(tricked you all i remembered the numbers)

What makes me even more upset about this week is that the books were so light on content that I was able to read them all in my car during my lunch hour.(oh well more time for the wife I guess) (Screw that i have 5 trades i need to read)

It was so light i even picked up a trade at my shop which I almost never do because the discount is a measly 10%.

Criminal Macabre by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith

I read the first issue of the new mini of this and liked it a lot so i figured i would pick up the first trade. And i love Templesmith Art. If anyone has any experience with this book please leave a comment because i really know nothing about it.

Thank God this is the last week of the Month because i know MY DCBS shipment will be here on Monday (or maybe Friday if they get my order out today).

Once I get that I will put the content up
Talk to y'all later

TJ

Scalped Vol 1 Indian Country

Today's review is Scalped TPB vol 1 Indian Country

This book is written by Jason Aaron and pencilled by R.M. Guera

The art in this book is typical Vertigo. I know I have said this before and all you vertigo readers know what I am talking about. It didn't blow me away but it also didn't cause me to need to stop reading. i thought the use of Colors (or lack of) during the flashback was nice but also has felt used before.

The writing is this book was OK. I was expecting to be blown away by it because so many people have said such great things about this book. I may have been underwhelmed because I had such high expectations. this has happened to me many times. I also think that Aaron was trying too hard to be Vaughn. If any of you out there have read a BKV book you know the blot device he uses that basically jumps back in forth in time and he tells you exactly when things are happening. For example on the top of one page is Present, the next page says 25 minutes ago, next page says 4 years ago, then back to present. Wash Rinse Repeat but in the world of comics. I think that BKV does this perfectly in Y: The last Man and Ex Machina, here Aaron is still trying to figure it out.(I believe the first person to do this to perfection was Moore in the Watchmen when he did the Doc Manhattan chapter though)

The Basic Story deals with this Indian tribe the is run like the mafia by a Chief Red Crow. It follows an Indian (sorry Native American nah Fuck it I meant Indian) that left to go to war and is now returning to the fold very Michael Corleone like, named Dashiel Bad horse. We come to learn that Dash is working both sides of the Fence here (not to be confused with both sides of the plate because this man is surely straight) by also being an undercover agent with the FBI. We meet his mother who has history with Red Crow and Red Crow's daughter who is a good old fashion whore.

This Book consist of issues 1-5. The First 3 issues is an introduction to the characters and a little look behind some of there motives. These were the hardest to get through. I found the pacing incredibly slow and the purpose of introducing not done well at all. Issues 4-5 is where we start to see behind the motives of Dash more and also learn more about his family history with this tribe. i thought these were very well written.

I give this a solid B-. I am interested picking up the second trade because maybe it picks up. But if it doesn't i will only be getting those two.

TJ

Flash #232

Today's Review is of Flash #232

This issue was Written by Mark Waid and Penciled by Daniel Acuna

I feel i should start out by saying that I am a huge Flash fan. of all the DC Characters the ones that I have bought the most about are Batman, Flash and Green Lantern. If you feel any bias I am sorry but to tell you the truth i don't fucking care because this is my blog.

To switch things up a little I will tell you about the story first. Waid is known for writing Wally West Flash stories. It was rather exciting to hear about him coming back to the book and writing the flash that he is most known for. I must say he has disappointed so far. These first two issues are centered around his twins. They have been aged much the way Bart was aged and again it sucks. The one can inflate himself and make himself stronger (but after a while he needs a nap, yes you did read that right) while the girl has the ability to vibrate through things. You can almost tell that waid is trying to go back to silver age story telling with this as it centers on Water creatures trying to take over a town and the Kids have to save the day. Mark, Please for the love of god we cheered when you were returning to the book to write the flash. Not to write these water heads of the wonder twins. The concept is ridiculous and the writing is sub par. Please fix it ( i know you can you were one of my favorites)

Now to the art. In my honest opinion Daniel Acuna could quite possibly be the worst artist I have ever seen. As stated above I am a big green lantern fan as well as flash fan. Acuna was a artist on GL and I was so happy to see him off but it was soon announced that he was off because of his run starting on the Flash. Can we keep this guy off my books please? Lets put him on Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, or some other book that i don't care about. now i realise that this is selfish of me to say just because i am not reading these but the way I look at it i am sharing my misery. I put up with this enough now someone else can.

Well that is it for today. See you later,

TJ

CGS 300

This past Saturday I went to CGS 300 and had the Greatest time that a sleep deprived person can have for 7 hours. I was on the road at 6:15 AM and got there around 8:30. Met up with James (comic book savant). Spent the whole day pretty much with him and talked a lot of comics but mostly about our real life stuff. It is amazing that if you meet a person for the first time that you talk to online how when you meet them you can start a conversation like you've known each other your entire life. I also met Ian from Comic Timing, Sean and Jim from Raging Bullets, Raph and Juan, Bruce R from the KomicsKast, and of course the Geeks.

From me to you I want to thank you for making sure a shy guy like me (i know you might not believe that I am shy) feel at home and like I was with friends that I have know my entire life.

I also want to thank Lem and the guys at Golden Eagle. You all run a great shop and I am so happy to see people that are so enthused about comics.

I picked up a bunch of Sketches and some of the indy books from the creators that were there.

Here are some of the Sketches.

That is by Andrew Charipar

That is By Dave Ryan

That is by Erica Hesse.





I also won 4 sketches which James is mailing to me because I had to leave early. These are By Kevin Mellon.(yes James there are four Cloak and Dagger are being mailed to me by Kevin)

I also got a robin from Freddie Williams II, Batman from Martheus Wade, and Huntress from Dave Wahnish. My Scanner is not working otherwise I would have put these on here.

I am going to keep this real short but i would recommend to anyone that you need come to one of these things. They are like mini cons where everyone knows each other. Join the forums (the link is on the side bar. Listen to the Comic Book Savant (Link also on the sidebar). By me art work (e mail me for details)

TJ

The Crystal Shard

Today's review is a Actual Book (yes people i can read things without pictures)

This Was Written by R.A. Salvatore and penciled by (wait a minute this book has no pictures)

I must start off by thanking my Sister-in-Law's Boyfriend, Nick, for recommending this. When I walk into someone Else's house I always look at their DVD Collection first. When I noticed that his collection was almost identical to mine i knew this is someone I would get a long with right away. And then once we both started dropping "The State" references during a beer pong game (much to the dumbfounded look of my sister in law) I was reassured. So if he recommends something to me I will always look into it. Ok Enough of the shout out.

Well now to the Book. This book is based in the D&D world of the Forgotten Realms and follows a band of villages known as the Ten Towns. These Towns are based in the frozen lands of Icewind Dale. As with Most D&D books there are Evil Wizard, Ogres, Halflings. (hell if you've ever played D&D you can tell where this is going.) Salvatore also introduced a new race in the forgotten Realms world, the Dark Elf. The basic plot is there is this week wizards apprentice that finds this very powerful relic that helps him become the strongest wizard in the world. He vows to Become the Tyrant of Ten Towns but meets resistance by the people of the Towns. Now that is the Completely dumbed down summary, Trust me there is a lot more to it then that.

This book is the First Part of a trilogy. In that you can tell it is just that. A lot of the book is a character study of the Main Characters: Drizzt the dark Elf, Bruenor the Dwarf, Wulfgar the barbarian, and Regis the Halfling. There is enough other things in this book though to keep you interested while you are learning the quirks of these character.

Great Book! If you are looking for something with More words then Pictures and like Fantasy do yourself a favor and pick up this book. I know i am looking forward to the next book.

TJ

Countdown to Mystery #1

Ok My review today is Countdown to Mystery #1

This was Written by Steve Gerber and Matt Sturges and Pencilled by Justiniano, Walden Wong and Stephan Segovia.

OK I normally don't review things this close to the release date so I will try to avoid spoilers as best i can.

Let me start out with I am against these Countdown minis (-), I don't like Justiniano's art (--), it was priced at $3.99 (---) and i am not a fan of books that are two separate stories (----). So by my count this book already has four minuses against it. You may ask "TJ why the hell did you even pick this book up?" OK I'll give you a second to ask that ................................................................................................................................. OK that is enough time. I was asking myself that very same question. IT wasn't even like it was a slow week at the LCS where i was looking for things to buy.

I think I picked this up because i am interest in the Mary Marvel part of countdown but know nothing of eclipso.

Ok to the Art. Surprisingly I loved it. I don't know why because as stated I have not liked anything else that Justiniano has done. This was just very good and I will leave it at that. He does the art for the Doctor Fate Story and the others are on the art for the Eclipso story and it is also very good. A little scratchy there but i think still very good.

Now to the story. If any of you have ever read Howard the Duck, the Dr. Fate story seemed very familiar to this. It may sound weird because Howard was very Humorous and Dr. Fate not so much but bear with me people. Both are about people trapped in a strange world with unique things happening to them. Both deal with them dealing with these situations. THis makes sense becaue the most know Howard writer is Steve Gerber. It also tells you the recent history of the helmet of Fate as well which is good because i didn't read any of these stories. Fantastic writing good art, great Buy.

The Eclipso story is great as well. It deals a lot with the Spectre which we learn is half of what eclipso used to be and the death of a murderer in London. i love the spectre and this is a very well written story. I loved this book.

This just goes to show you that even a book that has so much against it can still be a great read. I have read almost all my books of this week already and I believe that this may be the best book I've read this week.

Buy it.

TJ

My Haul

Ok so today I faced a conundrum. I called into work sick today mainly because I had shit i needed to do for My wife's birthday which I will not be home for because I am going to CGS 300. My problem came when i realised that i didn't want to wait for my comics but the shop is right next to my work. What to do, what to do? well of course I got my comics what do you think i am a casual fan. For Christ sake i spend my free time writing reviews of the comics i read without ever know if anyone is actually reading. This is what i do for fun.

Anyway this is what I got today:
Tales of the Sinestro Core Parallax
Countdown
Countdown to mystery
Flash
Spawn
Criminal Macabre

Another funny story. I was in walmart early this morning because nothing else is open at 8 in the morning. I saw a Printer that I have wanted for a while (Hp 5140). This printer is priced in other stores at 199 and I just haven't had the extra funds to get it (i do have a baby on the way). I had them price check it and they told me 100 so I was skipping (it is ok for a straight man to skip right) up the cashier to buy my new printer. I got it home and it was not the printer I wanted in the box but the exact same printer that I have at home which is a much cheaper HP. Someone scammed Wal Mart and bought the higher priced printer and replaced it with their old crappy printer and returned that for the money back. Normally I would say ingenious but this was happening to me so i was very pissed. I had to drive all the way back to walmart and try to get my money back and convince them that I wasn't the one trying to scam them. I found myself getting more and more pissed off in the car as I fully expected them to say no to a refund. I get up there ready for a fight but the girl calls the manager he gives the OK and I am out of there in less then 20 minutes with my money back. Wow I have never experienced such customer service before in a walmart.

It sucks that I couldn't get my printer at that price but I am very happy to have the money back.

See you later for some reviews

TJ

Strangeland: Seven Sins #1

Yet another Review today (or I have finished all the work that I am going to do today)

Strangeland Seven Sins #1 Written By Jesse Snider, Stephen Mooney & Jason Jensen. I'm sure one of them is the penciller but to tell you the truth I don't care at this point.

Art was OK. That is the extent that I am going to go into this.

Story was Total Shit. The preview of this is and i quote from http://www.outofthecellartoys.com/items/comic-books/jun073544-detail.htm

"A bloodier and even more brutal prequel to the Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) cult classic film, Strangeland: Seven Sins is a "Horror Vengeance" title that tells the terrifying tale of how Carleton Hendricks becomes the merciless Captain Howdy, and the sadistic path of revenge he takes against the seven individuals responsible! FC. 32Pgs. Mature Readers. Estimated to arrive August / September"

Ok Now i have some problems with the way this is written. First by calling the a bloodier more brutal Prequel they are implying that there already is a prequel out there. For my knowledge there is no such thing. I should have known with such a badly written preview I shouldn't have expected a well written comic. I mean if anyone is a Twisted Sister fan (and i count myself in that number) and followed any of the censorship hearings in the senate you know that Dee Snider is pretty articulate and he also knows how to sell. The same cannot be said for his son who is the writer of the piece of shit. I mean Dee Please can you get a fucking book in front of your boy to help him learn how to tell a cohesive story. Just me typing this is giving more story to this piece of crap. It also told nothing of Carleton Hendricks Becoming Captain Howdy because he starts out as such in this "book" and I use that term very loosely.

I keep all of my comics in long boxes organized by title and whether it is an ongoing or a miniseries. i also have a big paper bag of comics i don't care about (either the cover has been ripped or the story was not very good) I felt bad for the paper bag comics after putting this book in there

Save your money on this and spend it on the Boys.

TJ

Hellboy Movie Review

Today is a Movie Review:

This movie was Directed and Written by Guillermo del Toro. Based on the comic book By Mike Mignola.

Hellboy has a very cult like following and after watching this movie i am looking for the membership form to join. (do I have to Kill a cat or something because if so I am there.)

What a good Movie. The basic plot of this movie is that Rasputin is alive and working with Hitler. Hitler is looking for a winning advantage in the war so Rasputin opens a gate to Hell and Out comes a child like Hellboy. Fast foward 40-50 years and we see a covert government agency that looks at all paranormal activity. Rasputin is still alive and trying to overtake the city and government and Hellboy and his crew are called in to take care of it.

I know, i know, doesn't sound like there is much meat there. It is a basic action movie plot. But this is filmed fantastically. the action is great, the story is good, and there are other things woven in like a Love story that Makes this a very good Movie. Plus there is enough humor in here that I found myself Chuckling(how the fuck do you spell that oh wait there is a spell check).

I have never read any Hellboy before but I am searching out the trades now. If any of my 7 readers have read Hellboy I am open for suggestions? Are the books as good as the Movie? Would you suggest the animated features?

Next Comic Review Boys #10 and Movie Spawn the Animated HBO show.

TJ

The Boys #10

Today's Review is The Boys #10


Written By Garth "the best writer in comics" Ennis and Penciled by Darrick Robertson

This is the book that every comic reader should be reading. Please for the love of God put aside any prudish nature that you may have and Pick up this book. Start with the First trade and the introduction of the characters or start with the next issue which will be the beginning of the next arc but do yourself a favor and pick this book up. (whats that Garth, oh too much gushing and the check is in the mail, Thank you very Much).

To be honest I am surprised that this book was allowed to be written at a DC imprint for as long as it did. There are indirect references to DC Characters that only a moron wouldn't see. Tek Knight and Swingnight people, c'mon.

This book is the end of the second arc and it just keeps getting better. There are things in here that will offend but not just to offend. All the content in this book does move the story forward. The resolution between the mystery of the death and Tek Knights character arc are neatly tied up with a cute little rainbow bow on top.

The art in this book is weird. It is always good but sometimes the consistency is not always there. What I mean by this is sometimes the characters are drawn just slightly different that you spend some of the book questioning whether Robertson is doing the art or if they have a fill in. But as i stated the art is always very good.

If you can't tell I give this book an A+ and would give it higher if that was Possible but in the Real world there is no such thing as an A++ and we know that we do have to return to the real world when we are done reading these books (right people).

Buy It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TJ

Punisher #50

Today's Review is Punisher #50



This book was written by Garth Ennis and Pencilled by Howard Chaykin.

The Art was great. Chaykin is either a love it or hate it kind of art. I for one Love it. His faces are a little Blocky but his use of backgrounds are fantastic. He has gotten away from his signature of using Sound effect as the background (and i do miss that) but he still is a fantastic artist in my opinion. So to sum this up I loved it.


The Story follows in a long line of Ennis greatness. Now let me mention that Garth Ennis is my Favorite comic book writer. I am willing to try anything he does at least once. He has almost never steered me wrong. This did not disappoint me at all.


This book was the reintroduction of Barracuda and for a white Irish guy Ennis can sure write ghetto. his use of Dialect in this book was great. It basically follows a meeting of the heads of the mafia families going to a meeting. It is revealed that the meeting was set up by Barracuda but not just so he can kill all the crime lords but because he knows a meeting like this would attract his greatest foe, Frank Castle. Oh man as I am typing this i am recalling all the greatness that I read last night and can't stop wondering were Ennis comes up with all the great dialogue and story ideas. The last page reveal on this was amazing. I want that art to put in my child's room if my wife has a girl. If you read this you can understand why my wife was not to keen on the idea. I guess she is not as much of an Ennis fan as I am.


If you are not buying Punisher, I suggest you pick it up. Fantastic art, Unbelievable story, Great Dialogue. Take the $20 that I saved you on the Bite Club and Pick up a Punisher book. Start with Widowmaker (the trade that was solicited last month) or if you want to start small(cheapskate) start with this issue.


TJ

My Haul

Hi All just posting what I got this week.

Light week at the LCS

Again I am not good with numbers so they are all the Most current.

Countdown
Green lantern
Welcome to Tranquility
Friday the 13th: How I spent my summer vacation

And let me take a moment to talk about how great all the Friday the 13th books have been so far. Somehow this little horror book coming out of Wildstorm are getting some of the best writers DC has right now. The original Series was Jimmy Palmiotti, the Pamela's Tale mini was Marc Andreyko and this new mini is Jason Aaron. I mean why can't the regular titles get the amount of talent that this book is getting. I am not complaining because i love the Horror genre but i am afraid that too many people are missing out on these talents because they are not reading this title. i know you can find them elsewhere but the writing in this series in particular has been fantastic.

TJ

The Complete Bite Club

Today's Review is on the Complete Bite Club TPB

This Book is Bite Club 1-6 and Bite Club Vampire Crimes Unit 1-5 All written by Howard Chaykin & David Tischman and Penciled by David Hahn

OK the art was OK. I know you guys are used to me gushing about the beautiful art in books but this was typical Vertigo art which almost never blows me away. And some of the things looked slightly ridiculous. I mean come on Tits are not that pointy. On a cold day some of the boobs in this book could take a fucking eye out.

Now to the story. I was very excited to get this book because a lot of people tell me how great Chaykin is. Well if this is an example of his writing skills then I am glad that I have read almost nothing of his before. The story takes place in Miami and Centers on a Vampire Mafia Family (oh yeah and in this universe the whole world knows that Vampires exist. They are just another group like Jews, and Hispanics in Miami). So right away i am thinking What can go wrong with this, I like Mafia Stories, I like Vampire stories, put the two together and it should be a wild romp that leaves my seat a little wet. i could not have been more wrong. As I was reading this I was thanking god that I didn't by this is single issue form (lets get away from the term Floppies people.) I was actually getting Mad for the people that bought this in issues. There were some issues/chapters where nothing happened. Now I've read books like this before (Moon Knight I am looking at you) but there was always something in the last couple of pages that would make me want to get the next issue. There was no such thing in this book. If anyone bought this in single issue then they are either the Biggest Chaykin fan in the world or a complete masochist. But i digress, the story deals with the struggles of the Del Toro Family as the Patriarch was murdered and they are struggling to get underneath the new head. I am even bored as I am typing this. Just take my word for it it is not worth my typing.

Now here is something that I thought i would never have ever said about a comic. There are parts in here that are edgy just to be edgy (and I am a huge Ennis fan). There was no reason to see the Little Sister Risa tell her lesbian lover that next time they should use the bigger Dildo. Where the fuck does that fit into the story. I think it would only appeal to pre-pubescent teens looking to get a laugh. Half the nude scenes felt out of place and like i stated above did not look realistic at all.

This book did make me realize what a great writer Garth Ennis is though. When you read an Ennis book it is edgy and very vulgar but somehow it all fits into the story. Here it was just to get teens to have an erection and want to buy more. Stupid Shit.

I wish I could get my $20 back. I hope i saved you the money. Please stay away from this book.

TJ

Justice League of America #12

Well Now that I have my football out of my system for a couple of days I will get back to my comics.

Today (for those that don't read the titles of the post) is Justice League of America #12

This book was Written by Brad Meltzer and Penciled by Ed Benes

Now here is the first thing that really pisses me off with DC sometimes. Why did this book need 2 covers. I got the left half of the book that basically split Wonder women in half. I wanted the Right side by i was not going to spend an extra $3.00 for a cover just to complete an image (no matter how beautiful it is. Has DC not heard of Wrap around covers. This Book would have been beautiful with either a wraparound or even a Fold out cover. Stop being such money hungry bastards DC and trying to get me to buy multiple versions of the same comic. That may have worked in the '90 when i was a kid and thought i would buy my first house with the comics I bought but you should now realise that the boom is over (hell its been over for almost 10 years) and reward fans that buy your books instead of punishing us by giving us a cover that only includes all the left Features of Wonder Woman (and I am talking about her eyes people get your fucking mind out of the gutter).

Ok, I'm Better now. Now to the Art. I am beginning to sound like a Broken Record but again the artwork is stunning. i didn't care for the art in the beginning where the revisited the very early days of the JLA and the initial bonds that the beginning members formed but i just took that as retro art and got over it.

The Story was great. I do believe that this was the best issue that Meltzer has written. To bad it is his last but i am soooooo psyched to get McDuffie (i know i am spelling it wrong but i feel like being lazy)(well i changed my mind and Holy Shit i am right).

The story, like i said, starts off in the beginning days of the league with the original members and the friendship they formed. The rest of the story is about the lives of the current members and their current lives (with a few reveals) but the big mystery is the backing narrators who are not revealed until the end of the book. the ending blew my mind a little because of the current line up of the Outsiders. What does this mean towards this book or the future of the outsiders.

Does McDuffie want to change the lineup back to a more traditional one already? He said in WW Chicago that he wouldn't but here is something that I have learned WRITERS LIE!!!!! Well that may be strong maybe i should have said bend the truth.

Anyway that is my review of JLA #12. next up The Complete Bite Club TPB

TJ

Are we ready for some Football

Well the change from my recent trend of just comic reviews, today i am going to write about another love of my life, the NFL.

Yesterday was the first full day of Sunday of football and my wife never hated sports more.

I've had Direct TV for 5 years yet this is the first year that I have subscribed to the Sunday ticket. People should really check my seat after yesterday because one there has to be an indentation of my ass after sitting there from 11:30 to 11:30 (yes people i was on my ass for 12 hours) and they should probably dry it off because that was how happy I was.

The Sunday ticket is the greatest invention ever. Much more important then Sliced bread (as I think most things are. Who the fuck came up with that stupid saying.) I was watching my Steelers game, in commercials I was watching the mix channel that had 8 games on at once and would tell me when teams would enter the red zone. I would then switch to that teams games just to watch that action.

Another great thing about football is Fantasy which i am heavily involved in. Sunday Ticket realises this and made a feature where you can put your team in and whenever someone does something a box pops up and lets you know no matter what game you are watching.

Holy Shit I cannot wipe this stupid smile off my face. Simply amazing.

So if the Question is Are you ready for some Football? The answer is Most Definitely Yes! Yes I Am!

TJ

Thor #2

Next from my DCBS Box is Thor #2

This Book is written By JMS and Pencilled by Olivier Coipel

Yet another book where I am blown away by the art work. I know, I know there has to be some art that I don't care for. I promise one day you will get a review of a book a read that has jest meh art work but this book is definitely not it. I give it a 9

Now to the Story: I like it, but i really have no clue why I like it. Let me start out (in the middle of this post) by saying that I really know nothing about Thor. Donald Blake is in Oklahoma he get in contact with Thor (but i thought he was Thor) and convinces him it is time to rebuild Asgard(i think). My problem with this is I always thought that Thor always was and Donald Blake was just an alter ego, much like Superman is Clark Kent. The only problem is this book makes them seem like separate entities. Is He more like the Spectre where him and Crispus Allen are separate but can be joined together. For a Number 1 and 2 of a series i am a little lost. Does this character have the continuity of a Donna troy?(read that like f'ing mess.)

So My friendly neighborhood readers, please help me, I am begging you? If anyone can explain this book/character to me please comment here or email me at tjtunnington@msn.com.

It will be very much appreciated.

In Her Darkest Hour One Shot

Next read out of my DCBS Box is In Her Darkest Hour One Shot

This was a one shot the Was Written and Penciled by Newcomer Fernanda Chiella (and when I say newcomer i mean this guy has done nothing else but this book according to the comic book DB)

First the Art: This is a Black and White book that mixes styles slightly throughout the book. There are times when things are a little cartoony and some is a little more realistic. You can tell that the artist relies a lot on the digital art. There are some panels that play out like a TV show or movie where there will be two identical panels side by side but with the focus on Two different subject. In all i Liked the art I will give it an 8.

The Story: This was a dark story(what should I have expected with the title.) It basically focuses on a girl who is fighting with the idea of suicide. A boy that she befriended shows up after receiving a voicemail from her. When he arrives, there is also a shadowy figure in the room that is basically trying to get her to do it. The book is just these two people trying to convince her to either to kill herself or not. It is well written and also very well paced. Another Solid 8.

Sorry about the lack of humor here but suicide kind of does that to me.

Catch y'all later with some more reviews.

TJ

What I got Today

Holy shit 3 post in one day. i must be A) going crazy or b) incredibly bored at work I'll give you a moment to guess .................................................................................. OK boys and Girls if you picked C) all of the above you are correct.

First let me say that I have officially changed the name of my blog the Thank God Its Wednesday because after Googling TGIW i found out it stands for Teaching God's Infinite Wisdom. And, even though i am a somewhat religious guy, the last thing i want someone to do is stumble upon a review of Caligula while looking for religious websites.

Now This week I should have changed the name to TWIT because of the stupid ass holiday of Labor Day (i don't know why i complain because i get the day off but anywho) It is on weeks like this that the new books come on Thursday (i don't know why i over explain things if you are reading this page I am sure you know when comics come out).

What I got today is as follows:
(i am really bad at numbers so i will only put the number if it is not the latest book that has come out)

The Boys
Detective Comics
Countdown
Amazing Spiderman
Doktor Sleepless

I will review these as read.

Is anyone actually reading this thing or am i just doing this for myself. And if it is for myself then am I crazy because then I am technically talking to myself. Please leave comments, add me to RSS feeds whatever you can do to know i am not completely insane. I promise it will get better if you don't like and if you do we are in for a world of fun. (I'm done groveling for now)

TJ

MIce Templar #1

Well i said I might post more today and here I go. and I will forewarn i am going to spoil some things.



The first book i read out of my box was Mice Templar #1







This book was written by Brian Glass and Penciled by Michael Avon Oeming.



First I have to say Oh My god!!!! This books art work is amazing. for some sample images please go to http://imagecomics.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=35538.


It really is breathtaking.


Now to the story. It is about a community of mice that get along together and pass on through oral tradition the story of the Mice Templar. People (for gods sake TJ they are mice get that through your skull) don't know whether or not the stories are true or just legend including or hero. Then the action picks up with the Village being overrun by the Villains of the book. Can you guess what they are people, Come on i know you can. Well your wrong it is not cats it is actually rats. They are searching for the last remaining Templar who turns out to be the Blacksmith. After the battle is over the Hero (whose name is not on the tip of my tongue, sorry but they have Tolkien like names and there are tons of them) because a crusader for the Templar.


Here is the problem with this book. All the f'ing Mice look the same. I really took effort to figure out who was talking. And can we get one Smith or Johnson (ha ha I typed johnson) for god's sake. Why do we need to have all the Fantasy names like Leito, Deishun, and some other unpronounceable syllables. Mike, please for the love of god Lets ad some different facial expressions and even some color to the mice to differentiate. This is fantasy can we get something other then white mice. This 56 page book with no ads(yes that was also fantastic) took me almost an hour to read. Not only because it was that deep but some of that time was spent just trying to figure out who the hell was talking.


The end was engrossing enough that i want to pick up #2 but if it hurts my head squinting just to see "oh that one has blue eyes slits rather then green eye slits so it must be Leito" I will be stopping there.

The beauty of online Comic Shops

Hi All,

Sorry about the length of time between post. I am going to try to at least get this thing going weekly and sometimes a lot more then that.

This post I am going to talk about the greatness that is online retailers, Mainly DCBS (http://www.dcbservice.com) which is the site I use.

I have just recently switched over to this ordering system and I feel like a little kid. most online retailers offer huge discounts (up to 75% of the big 2 and 40% all others). What you have to do is order out of the previews catalog that comes out 2 months before the books are released. You place your order a month later your card is charged and one month after that you get your stuff. Now i get my books delivered to my work and my warehouse laughs at me whenever they have to deliver my comics to my desk but i will gladly take those snickers for the amount of money that I am saving.

The only problem with using this format is i get my orders shipped once a month. This means avoiding all spoilers for those books.

Here is what came in my last order:

DC
Booster Gold #1
Brave and the Bold #6
Justice League of America #12
Batman Lobo #1
Action Comics #855
Scalped TPB Vol 1 Indian Country
The Complete Alan Moore Wild C.A.Ts

Marvel
Thor #2
Punisher #50
Captain America #29
Thunderbolts #116

Image
In her darkest Hour one shot
Mice Templar #1

Dark Horse
Emily the Strange Death Issue #1

Indie
Ghosting #1
Black Summer #2
Dee Sniders Strangeland Seven Sins #1

What I am going to do is review them as i read them. When i get some more time i might post more today.

I really am going to try to interject some humor into these post but for some reason i am not feeling very funny.

Oh yeah and the Football season starts today. LETS GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TJ