Demo #5

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.

Luckily, things have now shifted. Wizard Media has changed the date for Big Apple Comic Con to October 1st, 2nd & 3rd while NY Comic Con kept their dates of Oct 8th, 9th & 10th. Originally Big Apple stated they couldn’t get any other weekend in NY but it looks like the newly renovated Penn Plaza will happily receive them. I’m just glad someone came to their senses. Its not fair to anyone when you make them choose, everyone loses.

It will be a busy month for Comic Fans this October. I plan to be at both and share with you all that I find interesting. If you plan to be at the shows, leave a comment below. If there are enough of you, maybe we can plan a meet-up.

So, was it worth the wait. It sure was. There are four trade paperbacks in a nice slip cover. Each paperback has a decent amount of weight to it. The covers are of a decent thickness and have a waxy coating on them. Overall the four paperbacks speak to the virtues of limited edition.

The slipcase itself is nice. Not super model in a bikini washing my car nice, but nicer than other slipcases I have in my possession. It is thick and carries the same waxy coating that the paperbacks do. There is a pretty sweet piece of art from Michael Kaluta on that back. This artwork also bears an original signature! Yep, I sat here for ten minutes just to try and verify that the signature really was in black sharpie ink and not just cheaply printed on.

The only issues I really have with this limited edition slipcase is there appear to be some scuff on the case itself. Now wether this is due to Amazon or Image I cannot say. If the slipcase were in black I probably would not have even noticed the scuff. This is not the case and the markings are clearly visible. There also appears to be a bit of a ding in one of the corners as well. Overall, it is in good shape though.

So is this really worth the MSRP of $49.99? If you are a Strange Girl fan you can bet your ass it is. The overall quality of the whole package is exceptional. The paperback are of a higher quality than normal paperbacks. The slipcase is pretty solid and should do a fine job of protecting the pot of gold inside it. The signed artwork is like a sweet nugget center to the whole deal. Do some shopping around as this can be found for less than the MSRP.

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).

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.

Avengers #1 (Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr.)

I actually like BMB, but it’s hard to believe this is the same dude that wrote “The Confession”.  Wow, just wow, this is a shi%%y book.  The breezy banter that is Bendis’ trademark just seems out of place here, and the book lacks the gravtias necessary after the 8 years of events that have had the heroes fighting (and sometimes killing) each other.  The panel dump of each heroes reaction to being asked to join the avengers is just weak, at this point isn’t the name “Avengers” something most people would run from?  This isn’t all BMB’s fault, JR Jr is even sketchier than he was in his Kick-Ass run and his relative sizing of characters is WAY out of wack.  Steve Rogers looks PRE-super soldier serum size and spider woman likes like a transvestite.  This is especially troubling when you realize that JR Jr is responsible for some of the best runs on Iron Man ever.  Take a look at Iron Man #258 for just how well suited to draw Iron Man he is, and then look at what he phoned in on Avengers #1.  Looks like this is where my status as an Avengers reader stops, unless Brubaker knocks one out the park with Secret Avengers.

Zatanna #1 (Paul Dini, Stephane Roux)

For those that don’t know, Dini wrote the Batman Animated Series and has been turning in one and done issues that feel like cartoon episodes for Streets of Gotham and Detective before Batwoman had her (too) brief run.  Zatanna has the same cartoon feel to it, but has a more adult edge with the occult and magic theme and Zatanna’s ‘working clothes’.  The book is a light read and Stephane takes advantage of the subject matter, the gratuitous bathtub-hands-free-cellphone scene is right on the money, and gives a solid start what looks to be a crime/magic noir take on the DCU.  Like Johns, Dini finds a way to make (relatively) silly characters threatening, and based upon this initial tease, this book is worth a look for a few issues.

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.

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://kidsofwidneyhigh.com/ and read more about them on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kids_of_Widney_High. Then be sure to check out the trailer for their very own movie, coming soon.

PLAYSTATION COMICS STORE UPDATE

IPHONE/IPAD/IPOD COMICS UPDATES
Avengers #71
Avengers #72
Avengers #73
Berserker #3
Berserker #4
Bloodrayne: Twin Blades #1
Ghost Rider #4 (of 6)
Ghost Rider #5 (of 6)
Ghost Rider #6 (of 6)
Hack/Slash: The Series #25
Hack/Slash: The Series #26
Hack/Slash: The Series #27
Hack/Slash: The Series #28
Helix #1
Last Blood #3
New X-Men #31
New X-Men #32
New X-Men #33
Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #4 (of 5)
Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #5 (of 5)
Stingers #2 (of 5)
The Boy Who Made Silence #5 (of 12)
The Boy Who Made Silence #6 (of 12)
Thor #1
Thor #2
Thor #3
Witchblade #86
Witchblade #87
Witchblade #88
Wolverine #1 (of 4)
Wolverine #2 (of 4)
Wolverine #3 (of 4)
Wolverine #4 (of 4)
Wolverine #41
Wolverine #42
Wolverine #43
Wolverine #44
X-Men #177
X-Men #178
X-Men #179

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.