What are ya waiting for? Grab yerself a free comic and GO, young comic reader!

This week, it’s Puppet Makers #1, by Molly Crabapple (art) and John Leavitt (words). A young French aristocracy and steampunk monks weave in and out of this interesting tale of…umm…we’re not sure, but it’s a splendid beginning, especially with those robot suits and manuscript machines. Make sure you check this one out today while you hide from your boss in your casual friday clothes.

You know we should all read this, right? The movie came out, did pretty well, and most of my geeky friends enjoyed it. Must be time to read the comic, preferably in a trade format.
From Amazon:

Product Description
In the explosive espionage-thriller RED, Warren Ellis and artist Cully Hamner create a stark tale of revenge, as retired CIA killer Paul Moses finds himself forced back into the game to gain revenge on the agency that trained him.
About the Author
Warren Ellis is well known in the comics field and beyond, with writing credits on Authority, Planetary, Global Frequency, Hellblazer, Transmetropolitan, Stormwatch, Fell, 2000 AD, Batman and Ultimate Fantastic Four. Cully Hamner is an American artist whose work includes Batman, Blue Beetle, Daredevil, Down, Green Lantern, The Ride, Spider-Man, Titans and X-Men. He is currently illustrating DC’s Black Lightning: Year One.

For those on the fence about where to spend their comic dollar.

INVINCIBLE #72

For those that have been reading this book from the beginning, it’s pay off time.  We get to see the actual Viltrumite War begin, and Invincible fighting along side his Father (go back and read the first few arcs and you see how bizarre this now is).  The book is good fun and with a rematch with Conquest, it also promises to be bloody.

Sweet Tooth #10

Even though this book is another in the long line of Post-Apocalyptic tales, Sweet-Tooth is really a mystery against this backdrop, and with the Deer-boy close to becoming a victim of vivisection, we seem close to learning about where Sweet-Tooth came from.   Get on board with writer Jeff Lemire now, before everyone starts riding him as the new writer of Superboy (Conner Kent).

It’s an all Vertigo pick list for this coming Wednesday, do you part to keep excellent Vertigo titles like Scalped and Sweet Tooth from being cancelled.

Scalped #38

Still the best book being published today, I am now becoming repetitive in my praise of Jason Aaron’s masterpiece. Do yourself (and all of us) a favor and give the book a shot.  If you like Breaking Bad or the Wire, this mature drama will definitely be to your taste.  If anything, you’ll look cooler when you walk out of your LCS with this on top of your stack than Deadpool #900.

Unknown Soldier #20

And then there were 4.  After this, only #20 more issues of Dysart’s groundbreaking title, so get it while you can.  Also, check out our interview with Joshua Dysart if you are unsure about picking up the title., as Josh explains what makes this book so unique.

Unfortunately, Joshua Dysart’s well reviewed but low selling Unknown Soldier is coming to a close with issue #25.  Josh took to twitter to confirm the news that Rich Johnston broke yesterday and to assure current readers that the book will end in a way worthy of what has come so far.

JoshuaDysart: The gig is, literally, up. Since Rich Johnson posted the news yesterday that Unknown Soldier will end with #25 I’ve been swamped with…

JoshuaDysart: loving emails from readers. The outpouring of affection and praise has been amazing. Thank you. The book may not have moved “enough” of…

You to keep it alive, but it moved enough of you for me. Thank you. I promise the book will end in an awesome, natural way and that when…

JoshuaDysart: read in trades, will feel like it was always meant to conclude this way. I’ve been preparing for this cancellation for a while and have…

JoshuaDysart: had plenty of time to sing it out right. I actually really, really like the way the series is going to end and feel like it should end…

JoshuaDysart: This way. Keep reading! Five more issues!

JoshuaDysart: Thanks to all the tweet mentions regarding the cancellation of Unknown Soldier. You guys are all awesome.

And to show that he’s not bitter, some of that trademark Dysart humor on the way out the door:

JoshuaDysart: For two years we executed a comic that flirted with both pulp nonsense & real-life genocidal truth. As far as I’m concerned, we won.

JoshuaDysart: “If you’re gonna tell the truth, you better make them laugh. Otherwise they’ll kill you.” US wasn’t a funny enough book about genocide.

JoshuaDysart: My next book will be called WISE CRAKIN’ PROTAGONIST!

JoshuaDysart: Featuring a sassy talking puppy who experiences first hand the human sex trafficking trade.

Put equal parts indie street-cred, rock and roll, and high school students into a blender and whip up yourself a tasty treat. You’ll then have some idea what it’s like to read Beyond The Sky’s The Limit, a comic written by and for the students from So. Cal’s Widney High, a school for students with special needs. First came the band, then the documentary film, and now their very own comic, written with each of the “Kids’” thoughts and ideas translated into beautifully rendered black and white drawings in a quality comic book, available at http://comicsareevil.com/Ux, www.thecomicbug.com, and www.floatingworldcomics.com.

The story concerns the individual members of the KOWH rock band saving the world from the evil Professor Groofball by way of detective work, superhero powers, and good old-fashioned rock n roll. A shifting perspective accompanies shifting artists across the entire book, telling the story of LA detectives working an ethnic war between the russian, italian, irish, chinese, and japanese crime gangs; the president of the united states fighting crime wiht a ray that zaps criminals to the death planet, Professor Groofball and his messianic hostage; and superheroes Tony Whitfield and Cain Fonesca flying across the city to save them all in time to perform as The Kids Of Widney High in a concert that will teach the world about respect and love.

Themes about ability, caring, hope and respect for our fellow man abound in this fun romp through the eyes of some kids with special needs who have found a way to rock with the best of them while having a great time and setting an example for the rest of us. In the words of one member of The Kids of Widney High, “We may all be disabled, whether you have a physical disability of not. Some of us are disabled spiritually, emotionally, mentally. maybe all three!”

As a comic, this book shows off a range of artistic styles and talent that I found to be visually stimulating. Each artist draws the subject matter with an energy and intensity that isnt’ always found even in mainstream comic books. From line-drawn caricature  to sketch-like realism, the book captures a wide range of emotional beats. The story itself takes a couple of reads to fully “get” what’s going on, but I recommend the effort. Like most teen creative efforts, the writing represented here has the marks of talent in progress, with hints of greatness to be fully developed in the future. The themes and values espoused across all the story lines are fully realized and timely, though, making a second and even third read through enjoyable and worth the time.

The Kids of Widney High Comic shoots for the sky, and beyond, as do its real world protagonists. A reminder for us all to take a moment to realize how similar we all are, regardless of ability. These kids rock just as hard as anyone else, and now have shown that they can bring that energy and sense of fun to the comics world as well. Here’s hoping that we’ll see a second issue soon!

Be sure to check out their website here: http://comicsareevil.com/Pw and read more about them on Wikipedia here: http://comicsareevil.com/ha. Then be sure to check out the trailer for their very own movie, coming soon.

A few books that should ship this Wednesday (5/19/10) that you should think about adding to your pull list:

American Vampire #3 (Scott Snyder, Stephen King, Rafael Alburquerque)

Combining two genres, Vampires and the Old West, was a stroke of genius and by splitting the story about Skinner Sweet into two timeframes, the narrative of the two stories is woven into a larger tale.  Both Snyder and King are in top form and Rafael is putting his ankle in it when it comes to art duty.  Definitely a book to read the same week Red Dead Redemption comes out.

The Walking Dead #72 (Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard)

In keeping with this horror theme, we have the preeminent zombie book here again.  This arc focuses on putting this extremelywounded (both physically and mentally) group in a ‘normal’ setting and the build up to the pay off should be worth it.



Don’t forget about your favorite national holiday tomorrow. No, it isn’t Flag Day (why do you like that so much?). Saturday May 1^st is Free Comic Book Day, a special time where comic book fans and fans of free stuff can come together to celebrate their shared interest, if only for one magical moment.

Each participating company publishes their own book(s) specifically for Free Comic Book Day, and while many are important new stories or samplers (such as last year’s Blackest Night #0), a few this year are reprints of popular books that are literally bribing you for your interest. For a full list of the comics and a handy participating store locator, check out <a href=”http://www.freecomicbookday.com”>www.freecomicbookday.com</a>. (Yes, there’s a Lady Gaga comic. No, the comic industry does not have any shame.) The event is great advertising for shops, so many will have sales and creators present to share in this most holy day.

Of course, Free Comic Book Day is just that; Free Comic Book DAY. So while you may be inclined to stroll into your local shop on May 12^th and expect a hand-out, don’t be surprised if the Jedi Knight behind the counter pushes up his glasses and snorts in amusement at your misguided antics. Despite the delicious misnomer “Free”, FCBD books actually cost retailers as much as $0.40 each (plus shipping), which is why they don’t order infinite copies, and thus usually impose strict limits on how much you can pilfer. In fact, you may just want to bag and board these little treasures. Who knows? Maybe next year your Sonic The Hedgehog FCBD book will be going for a sweet $0.75 on the back issue market. In this economy, that’s too much to ignore.

Some random thoughts on some books I bought.

Thor #609

I picked up the Iron Man By Design variant which says “Iron Man does not appear in this Issue” on the back.  Neither does Thor.  Much like Gillen’s ‘Loki’ one-shot, he shows a deft touch and dealing with the god of mischief and finally resolving story arcs set up by JMS.  Recent previews have shown the Fractions debut on Thor has been pushed by a an issue or two, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Walking Dead #71

Again, I have to heap more praise on this book.  Kirkman delivers a pretty wicked twist and not one zombie appears in the issue.  Evil really is in the eye of the beholder and we finally enter a phase were we get a new perspective on the crew we’ve been following and  just what sort of toll these people have paid.  For the first time you realize just how deeply affected Rick and his son really are, and it’s a brutal scene.  TWD is easily my second favorite title after Scalped, do yourself a favor and don’t miss this issue.

Iron Man #25

As much as I love what Matt Fraction did with this volume of Invincible Iron Man, it seems a bit odd that what took several issues to undo is practically redone in a few pages.  Worse, the best part, the new armor (Mark MMXVIII?) is all a ‘secret’, Tony just has an epiphany and rolls to Reed Richard’s lab and now has Super Extremis Armor, but we are invited to keep reading to see all the new capabilities of the armor.  As a huge Iron Man fan, new armor is something you look forward to, and I feel shortchanged on what we are given in this oversized issue.  Stark’s new company direction (I like the fact that Stark turns down an Asgardian bail-out) harkens back to the Circuit Maximus days and the whole issue feels like an homage to the late 80′s Invincible.  Hopefully, Fraction is only using some of these rehashed beats to set the table before he sets off in a new and fresh direction.

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past couple of years, and you have an iPhone, chances are you’ve used ComicZeal. In my opinion, it’s the best comic reader out there for reading comics that you own yourself, in the .cbr/.cbz formats. Comics companies like IDW and Marvel put out their own comic storefronts and comic-issue-specific apps, but they don’t allow you to read these kinds of files. ComicZeal does, and it does it well.

Enter the iPad, comics’ brave new hope. Again, Marvel and IDW put out their own storefronts. So does comixOlogy. All are very good iPad comic reading apps, with a rub — you have to use their storefront. When I went searching for a .cbr/.cbz reader the other day for my iPad, I found that there are a couple, but was heartily glad to see ComicZeal, my reader of choice on the iPhone.

I’ll be taking this baby for a spin this week, and hit out a review of it soon. I’ll be using some .cbr files of my own, to comics I have bagged and sealed in plastic tubs — no use opening them up just yet. See the gallery below for some screenshot love.

BUT BEFORE I GO…comment below and tell us why you should get a FREE copy of this $7.99 iPad app. We have five of these bad boys to give away, courtesy of ComicZeal, so get your comments in early. We’ll give it a week from today, and then choose five random winners fromt eh slew of comments. Enjoy!