Demo #5 of 6: One of the most consistently astonishing and brilliant comics I’ve read lately, this series of one offs by Vertigo is a must read. Great thing about it? You don’t have to pick up all the back issues (though you should!) to know what’s going on. Hats off to Becky Cloonan and Brian Wood. Make sure you read the last few pages of each issue, as they give quite a bit of insight about the creation of the issue. If you like comics from behind the scenes, or are thinking of doing your own comic work, this section is worth the price of the comic alone. Add the great short stories, and it’s win/win.

The Green Hornet HC Volume 1: Sins of the Father: I picked up issue 4 on a whim, wanting to check out the Kevin Smith treamtent, and boy is it good. It made me give a crap about characters I honestly didn’t care about to begin with. Smith is the ultimate geek comic boy, so his story was spot on in terms of comic vibe. Lots of action, good dialogue, and that sweet sweet Kevin Smith humor abounds. One way to see it all is to grab this hardcover collection of issues 1-5.

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.

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.

Book: One Live Beast
Publisher: Arzynart
Author: Jeff
Art: Jeff

The distopian storyline is important. It gives us portents and lessons, disguised in the dramatic struggles of the individuals and society. Which is why this trope shows up so often in literature, movies and even comics. Our fears manifest on screen and pulp, our hopes entwined in the fates of heroes and outcasts.

And this is how One Live Beast begins, with the possible conclusion of events from our own history. The fear of terrorist attacks creates the environment needed for an authoritative government to take away the liberties of its people for their own good. Although we saw the start of this in the 9/11 attacks and passed laws, in Jeff’s America their are other attacks, far more devastating, which lead to martial law,  isolationism and an Internet propaganda-machine.

There is no doubt that Jeff is an intelligent and well-read man who wants to write an epic warning to those who will listen. And within his world there are at least a dozen important lessons that he could have written volumes on. However, Jeff brings them all to bear on the reader at once, making it difficult to focus and learn from just one.

The progression of the protagonist, Chris, is as rushed and complex as the world he survives in. At first he is a standard repairman who is in reality an underground hacker. This character profile alone would make him great: the whitehat hero against the technological oppression of the government. But when hacking into the government’s virtual-reality-based network, something goes wrong and now he has the ability to access technology with telepathic ease. And here as well this takes him from an ordinary hacker to a superhero level, able to match the advanced technology of the government with his own powers. But it doesn’t stop there. Chris’s abilities develop into energy based attacks, flight, strength and durability. Astounding, but so far still normal for a superhero comic. But finally Chris ascends to an even higher level of heroism, the story gains an entire mythos of Earth and aliens, of history and influence, that makes Chris a prophetic being in the same realm as Jesus. Another great idea, but one that should be developed on its own without over complicating the already well written story.

The art in One Live Beast has merits and drawbacks. There isn’t any color in the graphic novel, which is understandable since it was self published. The black and white works well for the stark realities of the book. The environmental details are extremely well done. The destroyed infrastructure is realistic and the newly constructed wall is domineering. The artistic portrayal of people isn’t as realistic and seems more amateurish. Perhaps their is a reason for this as his other collection, God Hates Us All, has some well-done abstract mixed-media art portraying highly professional representations of human beings. After reviewing some of the examples from the upcoming Book Two, there does seem to be some improvement in the style.

It is important to note that this is just book one and I hope that Jeff is able to produce the rest of his opus for our benefit. There is a lot of interesting story to be told, perhaps more than can be told, but I for one look forward to watching this mythos unfold.

Want to win a signed copy of this Trade Paperback? How about a signed “God Hates Us All” comic? Comment below and we’ll send it out to a random winner!

Staff Picks:

Ultimate Comics Avengers #6

Say what you will about Mark Millar, but this was one of the better books out of the Ultimatum fiasco.  I came this far, so I have to see how this all wraps up with Father Cap vs. Son Red Skull.  This incarnation of Red Skull is pretty brutal, and Millar seems to be juxtaposing how far a moral man like Cap will go against a nihilistic and amoral man like Skull.  If Cap kills Red Skull, you have a pretty good idea of how a Millar Batman/Joker finale would end up.

X-Factor #204

Peter David has long been one of the better writers around, and his X-Factor has been consistently one of the better X titles.  While the other books recycle the race war story line (which is stupid, since humans would be worried about any metahuman, regardless if they were born with the power or had a freak accident), David was doing his own thing and it was very entertaining.  Well, they have sucked him into the latest X-event, but it’s worth taking a look at to see how David puts his own unique signature on it.

Punisher MAX #6

Since Jason Aaron reset the Punisher MAX universe, it’s been highly entertaining.  After getting a pretty brutal Keyser Soze-esque Kingpin origin story, Aaron gives us his take on Bullseye.  If his version on Daredevil’s arch-enemy is in the same vein, this book should not be missed.

Green Lantern #53

Regardless of how you felt about Blackest Night, there is no doubt that the landscape of the Green Lantern Corps has been seriously altered and this is the jumping off point of the new status quo.  Johns (not to mention Tomasi) has done an admirable job of corralling all of these characters and story threads up to this point, and for those that have come this far, this looks like the beginning of the payoff.  I’m hoping Brightest Day fills in some of the gaps and compliments and completes what has come so far.

My Picks:

Ultimate Comics: X #2

While it’s unfortunate that Loeb is on such a crappy writing streak, this book is the least of his offenders and the gorgeous Art Adams artwork is worth it.   Here we are doing the mystery thing again of what seems to be the second coming of the reset Ultimate universe’s Wolverine and his friends.  This issue tackles Karen and the question is what’s really going on with her.  Did I mention Arthur Adams is drawing this book?

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

Jonathan Hickman, who in my opinion has been doing some nice work on Secret Warriors and Fantastic Four, is launching anew S.H.I.E.L.D. book.  I’m a huge fan of Nick Fury (Just picked up Nick Fury: Agent of Shield #7 with a sweet Steranko cover) and the premise here is sort of on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tip: great minds of the past such as Imhotep and Gallileo were O.G. agents of shield and there is a legacy here that affects the shield of today.  This sounds cool and is definitely worth a look.  Hickman hasn’t let me down yet.

Detective Comics #863

Greg Rucka continues to deliver a great read with the latest iteration of Batwoman in the pages of Detective Comics and Jock, stepping in for JH Williams III (who was delivering some of the cleanest art seen in a book this decade), almost makes you not even miss JH.  The story showcases the juxtaposition of Batman and Batwoman facing off against the same foe at different points to a satisfying effect.  This is the only other ‘bat-book’ besides Batman & Robin even worth reading.

Punisher #15

Look at that cover: Franken-castle blasting away at nazi creatures straight out of the dream sequence in “An American Werewolf in London.” How can you NOT buy this.  This is why comics were created, and thankfully Marvel is letting Rick Remender take a franchise character in a different (and entertaining as hell) direction for a while until Mephisto retcons it all out for you purists.  As consumers we need to encourage creativity like this, becuase lets be honest, what was left to do with the Punisher anyway?  For those that need their hardcore vigilante mafia killer, Jason Aaron is delivering in spades on the MAX imprint.  I highly suggest you enjoy this ride while it lasts, and that Tony Moore art more doesn’t hurt one bit.