My haul

What a great week.  Nice four issue haul, sun is out, Final Crisis Begins, Podcast coming out tonight, Baby gets up at 5 every morning. Well 4 out of 5 is not bad.

What i got this week:

Final Crisis 1 (my shop only had the Lantern Cover so the decision was made for me on which i would be getting)

Batman

Green Lantern

Action Comics

Well you all know that i needed to get right into Final Crisis as soon as i got into the Fucking deli next store to get my sandwich

This book is written by the holy spirit of my Comics Trinity Grant Morrison, (Would he be anything other then the spirit) and was extraordinarily, beautifully, exceptionally (can i though any more superlatives out there) drawn by JG Jones.

Holy Fuck was this the most fun i have had reading a goddamn comic in a long time.   Morrison is starting off in the red (any car junkies read my blog). We start with Anthro just as Morrison said but who the fuck could have expected Metron to be there.  OK I now just realized that if you are new to DC Jump ship now because you will have no clue about half the shit that is on this book but you can still look at the pictures like a waterhead a drool so whatever buy it anyway.  We then Get into Dark Side (yes that is spelled right motherfuckers) from his Mister Miracle mini in 7 soldiers.  We see some demented kids that have learned the anti life.  Stewart and Jordan come across the dead body of Orion.  The Hall of Justice and the Legion of Doom juxtaposed beautifully.   We even get some tattooed man but Not Abel Torent(i think i spelled that right) but i think it was the guy the torant inked in prison during the vertigo series that came out in 1993 (or around that time). I mean holy shit you have had to have been reading everything DC for about 15 years just to wrap your head around any of this shit.  We see Martian Manhunter being tortured by the villains. and it ENDS (you see the big fucking word ENDS there that means i am Going to SPOIL the shit out of this. SPOILERS ASSHOLES TURN AWAY NOW IF YOU DON"T WANT TO KNOW THAT MARTIAN MANHUNTER IS DEAD)(i guess i shouldn't have typed that last part in big letters.  Oh well you know what they say about hindsight).

We are in for a hell of a fucking ride and I am going to enjoy each and every step.

TJ

My Haul

Pretty Average Size week for me.  Have I mentioned that the great guy that is My LCS owner has decided to skimp out a little bit and stop including Bags and Boards to Subscribers.  He now charges you 25 cents if you want it.  He doesn't know it but that has caused me to order more and more on line.  Oh well for him.

Anyway.  I got

Flash

Spawn

Spiderman

With my hour lunch back i now get to go back to my normal routine which was Get my Books.  Bullshit for a little bit with the owner and then go to Jersey Mikes Sub shop and get a roast beef sub and read a book.  This week I chose flash.

No everyone I think is in agreement that Flash has been Fucking Horrible lately and if you do not agree with that then you are a fucking retard.  (Just kidding... kind of).  Well these last two  (maybe three) issues have to deal with  villain named Spin.  All issue this motherfucker keeps saying that he needs to report to Dark Side.  I was pissed.  I mean not only were they bringing Dark Side back but they are doing it in a shitty book where the author can not even spell the fucking name right.  

OK Folks Follow me here.  I just Finished Seven Soldiers of Victory by Grant Morrison about a week ago (i would of reviewed it but i am still trying to figure out who and what i read).

In there one of the soldiers is Mister Miracle.  No Not Scott Free but some Black Man named Shilo Norman (again i think that is his name but that is the extent of the research you get on this blog). It seems that in the not too distant Future in that book the New gods have Died and been reincarnated as thugs and gangsters.  I really don't know it confused the Fuck out of me.  But the reason i am bringing this up is that the Big Bad and Controller of the Sheeda from the Mister Miracle series was A big black man named Dark Side.  And in this Flash Issue The same black man is there Named Dark Side.  

Morrison is a writing genius.  So who gives a fuck if you don't understand 7 soldiers that was really just ht e fucking prologue for what is about to happen in the DCU.  Morrison had this event fucking planned for something like 5 years and everything else that has happened in the DCU is just to fill time and help people connect the fucking Dots.  

Holy Shit i just realised in the puny little brain i have that the Same Artist was on both of these motherfuckers.  Freddie Williams II is the artist on Flash and Mister Miracle.  My mind is beginning to get blown. 

This is going to be a great ride.

TJ

My New Job

Well people i got a new Job.  

I am still working for the same company but in a much different capacity..

For those of you that didn't know, I worked (and still work for) a cigar company.  I have had a love of tobacco since I was fourteen and when i lost my Job as a stock broker i thought it would be perfect (plus they would hire me which is more then I can say about some Banks). Here's the problem the only job they had open was for a sales associate.  Well i took it; got paid shit;  worked horrible hours; got very bored.  So the next logical progression was customer service.  man I thought order-taking was a piece of shit of a job this was horrible.  Not only was I still talking to customers but now i was talking to the assholes with problems.

Again Got very bored doing this.  So the owners assistant was leaving to open his own store and i was thought of for the position.  Flattered, i thought it was great at first.  I dealt with the million dollar and international customers.  This was great for three months and then Bored again.  the problem i was having is that everything i was doing was the same shit just with different people.  Well now a job opened up for the magazine, Cigar Magazine, that i didn't even think to apply for.

My supervisor came to me and said (paraphrasing of course) , I need a writing sample because i can tell you are bored there and i submitted your name for the editorial assistant position of the magazine. Well i was shocked.  I had no skill sets for this job.  My degree is in Finance for Fucks sake.

Well i Interviewed and got the job.  This means a raise, working exclusively on a mac, and most importantly the return of my hour lunch..  Yeah remember the post i had a while ago ranting like a maniac about my half hour lunch and all that shit.  Well strike that reverse it.  I started the job on Monday and for the past two days I have been able to read three comics at lunch as well as eat.  Holy shit is this great.  I am four issues from being caught up.  Good times are ahead for me and the Blog and The podcast.  Oh Wait i wasn't supposed to say anything about that yet.

Talk to you later.

TJ

My Haul

Well sorry for this being a day late but i promise you that you will be happy for the reason why:

What I got this week:

Batman
Spiderman

Yep that's it sorry that is was kind of uneventful.

Also on a side note i decided not to buy Secret Invasion. i will wait for all you Zombies (and that is an affectionate term) to read it and let me know if it was any good. I got the Prelude "Infiltration" in trade so i think that getting this in trade would be a good idea.

And i Urge all of you to Subscribe to the Comic Book Savant Podcast because big things are coming my friends. Not only was I on the last episode but there is a lot more on the way.

That is all i will say for now.

Talk to you later,

TJ

My Haul

Well people yet another week of Nothing. i am so piss poor i cannot think to spend the $12 to get my four books this week.

But here is what i would have gotten if I didn't order online and if I actually had money

DC
Detective Comics 844
Action Comics Annual 11 (i can't believe i am finally getting an end to this fucking story)
Countdown to Mystery 7
Tor 1

Marvel
Amazing Spiderman 558
Secret Invasion 2

Indie
The Boys 18

I am deeply saddened by the Countdown to mystery title. Not because it is bad but quite the contrary. I love the way Steve Gerber put his spin on the Doctor Fate character and his untimely passing will prevent me from getting and end to this tale. Well let me take that back because DC is finishing the story and i think (if i read it correctly) the way they are doing it is classy as shit. From what i have heard is DC is bringing in a whole bunch of guest writers to complete this story as a tribute to Steve.

And for those of you that are completely unaware of Steve i would highly suggest getting the Howard the Duck essential (its only 16.99 at full price people) and give it a read. In my opinion it is one of the few perfect comics.

Talk to you later,

TJ

Penance #5 and Thunderbolts #119

Todays books are somewhat related.

Lets start with Penance Relentless #5 ( of 5)

This Book is written by Paul Jenkens and the art is by Gulacy.

The art is pretty good. Nothing that says wow i want to spend way too much money so that i can own a page from this book. But is is good.

The writting I thought was great. This is a character that Jenkins "invented" during the bullshit that was Civil War Front line. This is one of the only threads from that story that i enjoyed. A lot of people disliked this story because of the characterization of speedball from the new warriors but i never knew that character so i couldn't give less of a fuck about that.

This story is about Penance defecting from the Thunderbolts after the beginning of his psychological profile. WE come to learn that he is on his way to Latveria and to the Prime person that is over there, Doom. Doom has been holding captive a certain person that is the cause of all Robbies pain and suffering and he wants his last licks at this person. When he gets to him a battle ensues and man what a fucking licking Nitro gets. Really great action scenes.

Next up is Thunderbolts 119

This is Written by one of my Trinity, Warren Ellis and the art is by Mike Deodato.

The art is ok. It is a little too phot realistic for me but man can he draw the shit out of action sequences. Some of the panels with swordsman in this are simply beautiful. On the other hand His Venom looks fucking ridiculous. I mean Venom has more back fucking muscles then is possible even if you are infested with an alien Symbiote. Come on man what happened to the clean look of this villian from the McFarlane Michelenie( i really can not spell). That was a villian that almost every one loved. Now he is just a muscle bound freak that is trying to feed his hunger.

The writing is great. I mean it is Warren Fucking Ellis so you know i was going to like it. He just knows how to write. Each character is unique. I also think it helps that each character on this team is a little crazy. If you ever followed Warren Ellis you know he falls on that side of the crazy line as well.

This story centers around the Swordsman and his growing angst against being controlled by Norman Osborn. In the background of the story is Doc Samson's psych profile of Penance. This story culminates with Swordsman getting his sword back and battling his way through thunderbolts mountain. Great Battles and especially great art in his battle with Venom. If you are not reading this book i would look for the back issues of the ellis run becasue sadly he is leaving the book soon becasue (his words) "he is getting bored by it".

My only problem with this and this is a problem i have with a lot of comics is when the hell is the Penance Mini taking place in regards to this thunderbolts arc. For gods sake it seems like Robbie is the sane one in this story while in his mini he is off the fucking deep end. I love in the beginning of stories a little editorial direction. A nice note like "this takes place after thunderbolts 119" would have been nice. I know that this is a little fan boy of me but Fuck that is what i am and I like my continuity in place.

That little problem didn't stop me from enjoying the fuck out of these issues though and I would suggest that y'all pick this up in trade.

Talk to you later,

TJ

New DC Chalkboard

OK People We have a new chalk board to discuss. This was found on the top of the DC Nation page in this weeks DC comics. One of the most fun things i did during 52 was look over and over again at Rip Hunters Chalkboard in issue 14(i think) and try to analyse everything on there.

OK so this is what is on the board: (i will put my guesses in parenthesis)

In Red on the board is:

1. Submit (obviously has to do with Darkseid or Mongul)
2. Evil Won ( see above)
3. Resist (someone will be tempted but who)
4. 3 Reborn (Barry, Bart, Crispus Allen)

In Black:

1. Who is Wonder Dog? (unfortunately i think this may be the reintroduction of the wonder twins)
2. 100% Alien (superman going back to his Kryptonian Roots possibly superman of Earth 1)
3. I Am batman? (Bruce questioning himself or Possibly Dick taking over the mantle)
4. Girl Fight (Battle between Supergirl and Mary Marvel)
5. 1000 / 3 = 1 (obviously the Legion)
6. There is no one Yet (i have no clue)
7. The Traitor among us ( i think that there is some bad dude in JSA)
8. The Son Rises (Damian or possibly the one Supes adopted or maybe Tim taking over the role of Batman)
9. He is the Force (Bart Allen)
10. Mercy Ruling (Monguls Mercy Plants or possibly libra)
11. The Dead Shall Rise (Black Lantern Corps)
12. Sightings all around us (no clue)
13. Who Questions the Question (Libra)
14. No 2 For you (Someone trying to get to earth 2 but failing)
15. You can go home again (possibly Prime actually getting to his home again)
16. He never left hell (Neron or dare I say it Etrigan)
17. TT Have no Reception (Titans losing a member possibly Tim to become Batman)
18. First Boy/Last Boy (morrison has already said that the first panel will have Anthro and the last panel will have Kamandi)
19. 4 Times as red (Wally, Bart, Barry and Jay together again)
20. Murder/Suicide Father/Son (hmmm this one intrigues me alot. I have a feeling it has to do with Damian but not sure)
21. Post no Bills (no clue)
22. Rocket vs satellite (could be Rocket Red Returning to take out Brother Eye)
23. Paper not Plastic (we all need more Plastic Man)
24. He Wakes the world ends (Black Hand)
25. No Glory No Gold (could mean a return to his old ways for Booster because he sees that there is no way he can do good without screwing with the time stream but i have a hope because of the Signing of Giffer that this may be a return of General Glory)
26. Best Woman for the Job a Man ( the introduction of the Olympian)
27. I Am Bruce Wayne? (Bruce realising that he can never retire because he is really batman and bruce is the facade)
28. Superman : Red or Blue? ( i only hope that this is not anything to do with what it sounds like)
29. JSA/1=2 (A traitor in the JSA will divide the time in half)
30. The long equation on the bottom is the Anti Life Equation.
31. 52-1=0 (one earth is the lynch pin to the whole multiverse)

Well those are my guesses for now. They can change at the drop of a hat.

please comment on what you think.

Talk to you later,

TJ

my box from DCBS

From the comment on my last post it seems that some may have forgotten that i do a lot of my comic Buying on line. Why the hell would i pay full price for something when i can get up to 75% off of it. Also if it is something that i want to make sure i read the week it comes out but i also notice that it is coming the last week of the month then i will order it online because that is when my order is shipped.

Here is what is shipping out for me today:
Single Issues
DC
Booster Gold 8
Green Lantern Corps 23
Batman and the outsiders 6
Salvation Run 6
Gotham Underground 7
Suicide Squad 8
Action Comics 854
Justice League 20
DC Universe Zero (of course i am getting this fucking book you tool but from here it was only 12 cents)

Marvel
Punisher 56
Captain America 37
Thor 8
War is Hell 2

Indie
Zorro 2
Echo 2
Sword 7
Gnome -One Shot-
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 27

Trades
Secret Invasion Infiltration
Faker
Queen and Country Definitive Edition Vol 2

I can't even begin to tell you the savings that have gotten since i began using this service.

Just did a spreadsheet on everything that shipped to me so far excluding the above and if i bought it all in the regular Comic shop it would have cost me $884.07 but with all the discounts that i get from DCBS my total came to

Drum roll please

I don't hear you drum rolling in the back motherfucker

$466.34

That is a savings of $417.73. Can you believe that shit? I mean why the fuck would i buy anything from the LCS that i don't mind waiting for.

Seriously people go to http://www.dcbservice.com and look around. I will post how it works if anyone is interested or you can email (email in the contact me or profile or whatever the fuck it is called on the top right hand side of the page.)

talk to y'all later,

TJ

My Haul

Well for the most anticipated blog posting of the week.

This week i got


Nothing
Not a fucking thing.
The only thing coming out today that i was going to get was Green lantern but that can wait till next week. (as long as none of you fuckers spoil it for me).

I did read at my Lunch however Dark Ivory #1.

This book is written my Linsner and Eva Hopkins and drawn by Linsner.

The art blew me away. Man can Linsner draw a set of tits. beautiful. The Kind you want to bury your face in and just move your mouth back and forth. So realistic and perky. (at least in my fantasy world). The only problem i have with linsner is that all his eyes are the same. If you are not looking at the actual page you would have a hard time telling if it is Claws, Dawn, or Dark Ivory. But fuck is it Hot.

The writing is pretty good. Every character has a distinct voice. It was a little EMO for me but you know what you are getting when you buy a Joe Linsner book.

The story is about a goth Kid who does not get a long with her family and sneaks out to clubs at night. On one of these occasion she encounters a girl that seems to have her neck sliced open and is screaming about someone trying to bite her. We are also introduced to a couple of other ancillary characters as well as Esque the Vampire(who was one of linsner's original characters from the Angry Christ Comics).

If you like Vampire Tales, Goth kids, or nicely drawn tits this book is for you.

Talk to you later,

TJ

Cousin Oliver Theory

OK here is something that I see going on.

If you don't read Lying in the Gutters then some of this may be spoilers for you. (That is if you believe anything that lying in the gutters puts out.)

We all know Grant Morrison is a crazy Fuck. Well Rich Johnson in his Lying in the gutters rumor column on comic book resources reported that Grants original plan for Final Crisis was to Kill all of the Heroes and make them into legacy characters. The original heroes would become the new gods of the Fifth world and there mantles be taken over by the legacies. Supposedly DC went a little nuts and said "Grant please stay off the acid for a minute."

Well I just realised that sort of subtly DC has added kids to the mix of three of their big characters. First Damian is brought into continuity for Batman also at the end of one year later he officially adopts Tim Drake. Next we have superman and the boy he found in the Johns Donner action issues. I believe there was talk of him adopting the kid but who the fuck knows because that series came out a year and a half ago and is still not fucking finished. And lastly we have the Flash Retard twins. Add these five to Roy (Green Arrows Kid) and i see the potential for the original storyline.

I mean why go the pains of giving these people family unless you are going to give me the joy of reading these families getting torn the fuck apart. Maybe the report of DC going crazy was just put people off the trail and this may still be their plan. Fuck what a crazy idea this would be.

Then again we all know what a debacle the atom/monarch story line became once that got leaked so maybe DC is trying not have that happen again.

Well just some food for thought.

TJ

Batman 675

Today's Review is Batman 675

I really feel like being lazy so you can forget me going and finding the cover art, saving the shit and then posting it here.

This is written by Grant Morrison and the (ahem) art is by Ryan Benjamin.

Holy shit is the Art fucking bad. Bruce Wayne looks like he should be in an old persons home. I truly believe that this motherfucker got bored drawing for the night and decided to play tic tac toe with whoever he lives with. They must not of had paper so he decided to use the latest batman pages he was working on. Forgot to erase the lines from the game before he sent them to the inker and that is who they got in the book. Or maybe he is just that fucking bad. Either way thank god Tony Daniel is back next issue.

The writing is great and really saved the fuck out of this issue. i mean it is Grant Fucking Morrison. You either love him or are Nancy Reagan. ("Just say No" god i stretch for jokes sometimes and i bet they aren't even funny to most people.) I think my buddy Kevin Summed up Morrison in a recent call we had. When asked if he liked the issue he said "It was great." I asked if he like the writing and he said "I never understand Morrison but i know i like it." Again i am paraphrasing because i fucking feel like it (you gotta problem with that the next blog button is right on top of the page.) (I don't really mean that but i feel Feisty today.)

In the issue Bruce is out to dinner with his love interest. a Fucking Great Villain that has Eyes in all his Fingers comes in and decides to Fuck shit up. Bruce lets his batman persona come through even without the cape and cowl. His new love interest realises what we all know. Also some shit goes down with Talia and Damian as well as with robin and Nightwing.

Next up Batman RIP and if lying in the gutters is correct (which is almost never) then we are in for a helluva ride.

Just had a little revelation and will post on that later.

Talk to y'all later,

TJ

Twitter

So I signed up for twitter now.

I truly have no clue what the fuck it is or what i am doing.

You can follow me by visiting http://twitter.com/gardnerisgod. (man that sounds creepy).

I think that when i have shorter condensed thoughts i can put it on here and it will be sent as a txt message to everyone who subscribed but really I have no fucking clue.

(great salesman aren't I)

Can you tell i haven't drank my coffee yet this morning.

Talk to you later,

TJ

My Haul

Hey everyone. Sorry about no post last week. Kind of hectic and wasn't in the mood.

Anyway this is what i got this week:

Countdown 1
Batman
Spawn

Now Last week i got Countdown 2 (obviously) and i loved it. I mean of course there were little things to question but sometimes i think that people get too hung up in continuity and forget we are basically reading fantasy Fiction. The battles scenes were great as was everything else in the issue (IMHO)(god i hate that initial shit sometimes i am on forums and spend more time wondering what the fuck those letters stand for then reading the actual post). The last battle between Orion and Darkseid was fucking unbelievable and I loved the art.

I thought this was going to a universal consensus so i posted on the CGS Forums "holy fuck was that a great issue" (actually i could give two shits what others think i would of loved it either way) but i was very surprised when the thread turned against me. Man did people hate that issue. The best reply to me was From VinceB (former host of the Bullpen Bulletins Podcast) who wrote (and i am paraphrasing because i am too fucking lazy to find the quote and use the hyperlink to the thread) "You must have got the special incentive Variant where they take the cover of countdown and put it around a comic that is actually good. Bag that shit fast because it will be worth something". Hilarious indeed.

So this week i open my bag and pull out countdown 1 which i expect to start off right where the last issue left off. Not a fucking chance. What a piece of Shit of a comic. Motherfucking DC has done it to me. This issue felt like the little credits you see at the end of a movie that tells you what the characters are doing now. (and this has only worked twice ...Fast Times and Animal House). The Art Annoyed me because every fucking guy had the same damn hair. I mean the only difference between looking at Olsen and Palmer was that Palmer had slightly Browner hair.
Fuck i bought 52 Motherfucking issues to get left with this bullshit. Oh one thing it did do is set up a new series with the five characters i couldn't stand in this shit. Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Forager, Ray Palmer, Jimmy Olsen are know the Watchers who Monitor the Monitors.

So let me get this straight; The gay Artist Lantern, The Wonderwoman that isn't wonderwoman but is sometimes still in continuity but not always, The new god that no one knows, an Annoying sidekick with catch phrases like "Golly Superman", and the fucking atom. Fuck man what a waste of good paper. i think Al Fucking Gore should be all over these assholes for wasting the energy and paper resources that it took them to come up with this.

Good thing you have some commodity built up with me DC otherwise i would cut you out like i did Marvel after Civil War. (i know they were shaking in their boots over that one).

Fuck I'm Pissed,

Talk to y'all later.

TJ

Echo #1

For the rare Sunday review I will be talking about Echo #1 

This is Terry Moore's First big project after he ended is Legendary indy run on Strangers in Paradise.  He does everything in this book.

The art is Pretty good.  It didn't make me proclaim him the next Kirby or Jeff smith Even but it was serviceable.  Some people act  this man

god among indy creators but i Hope it is not for the art.  (then again i am judging this off of one issue, I am a judgemental fuck aren't I)

The writing was pretty good. The story moved along at a decent pace.  People had there own voices but if it wasn't paired with the art i sometimes wouldn't been able to distinguish a few of them.

The story starts out at a military out post where it seems they are testing out some sort of war suit.  The last test comes in and it is a missile test.  The person in the suit needs to be hit with a missile out check the durability.  Things go awry and next we are focused on a photographer that happens to be in the area of this test.  She notices an explosion in the air and little metal pellets dropping all around her.  The stick to her and she goes home and the seem to assimilate back into the suit but this time on her.

I say seems because this is one of the problems i have with the book.  I understand it is indy and most indy books are black and white.  This helps cut down on cost (and stays true to the art form , Man).  But when you are dealing with Black and white you sure as shit better be drawing the fuck out of the book so i can distinguish different things.  Towards the end of this book the Photog picks something up and it seriously looks like a Snake that a elementary student would draw.  I had no clue.

My second problem with the book is the choice of paper stock.  I know i am being a nit picky bastard right now but i seriously thought that DCBS sent me a coloring book by mistake when i picked this up.  My wife thought that too and actually asked me "Are they doing Color your own comics now".  Again i understand when you have a smaller print run Economies of scale come into play and you sometime need to cut somethings but Holy shit was this bad.

I have the next two ordered and will let y'all know if i stay on it or not (because i know you live a die by my pull list)

Talk to you later,

TJ