happy holidays!

batman #683
invincible #57
the astounding wolf-man #11
new avengers #48
ultimate spider-man #129
daredevil #114
thor #12
the immortal iron fist #21
unknown soldier #3
trinity #30
maelstrom #4
flash #247
umbrella academy #2
secret invasion requiem
punisher war zone #3
runaways #5
billy batson and the magic of shazam #3
mome vol. 13

batman #683: final crisis #6 now now now!

invincible/wolf-man crossover: the astounding wolf-man tries to convince invincible to be his friend; robert kirkman tries to convince invincible's readers to read astounding wolf-man. though shamelessly obvious, it was a pretty good read.

the flash #247: dc puts this book out of it's misery. i'm gonna miss ya wally. too bad your book has been shit recently.

the monster inside me is getting bigger!

ex machina #40
the walking dead #56
supergirl #36
doktor sleepless #10
mighty avengers #20
uncanny x-men #505
x-men legacy #219
x-factor #38
avengers initiative #19
invincible iron man #8
thunderbolts #127
dark reign new nation
trinity #29
hellblazer #250
punisher war zone #2
thor god size
madman #12
conan the cimmerian #6
zorro #9
dc holiday special
ultimate fantastic four #59
superman past and future

and...
monster vol. 18! the final volume! Monster is an epic crime thriller following dr. kenzo tenma, who throws away his medical career by saving the life of a young boy instead of operating on a celebreity. soon after, several members of the hospital staff are found dead and the boy has dissapeared. years pass and a conspiricy is reavealed as tenma becomes obssessed with apprehending and understanding the young serial killer whose life he saved!

ex machina #40- best single issue story of the year. hear me eisners?

dc christmas special- the bastards got me with the quietly cover. fuck!

i also reccomend checking out dc's zuda comics, particularly one called The Accountants. a crime story with a genuinly new twist on anthromprphic characters and it's free to read! it's by rob osbourne, the man behind the nearly infamous zango and sunset city. check it out, and if you like it as i do, sigh up and vote for its continued existance.
http://www.zudacomics.com/node/910

-go neg man go!

Doktor Sleepless #10 (and other things I will be purchasing today - 12/17/08)

Not *super* excited about this weeks pull list, but I'm always happy to have a new Warren Ellis comic to read. When it's one of his Avatar books, I'm even happier. Doktor Sleepless #10 is this weeks most anticipated.

Check out this wrap cover:


Immanentising the eschaton, indeed.

This series has been solid from the first issue. If you are even a general fan of Ellis or near futurism ideals...or shit, just a good story that easily falls outside of the "mainstream" comics world then you should give this a try.

What else am I getting? Hey look! Punisher War Zone #2. Spider-Man Noir looks like it could be a good one as well.

The list:

Ghost Rider #30
Invincible Iron Man #8
Mighty Avengers #20
Punisher #65
Punisher War Zone #2 (of 6)
Spider-Man Noir #1 (of 4)
Thor God Sized #1

Happy reading.

- TFM

Y?!

From Sci Fi Wire:

"Yorick's sister, Hero, is in the script at this point, but she is not as much of a character as she was in the first draft," Caruso said. "Right now, she's sprinkled throughout, but she's not a major, major character."

Caruso added: "The 711 character is in it, and she's insane. She does teach [Yorick] a life lesson or two in a very interesting way. It's a comedic, yet horrifying, scene. She's very cool."

As for rumors that singer-turned-actress Alicia Keys is up for the key role of Agent 355? "It's too early to talk about who we're going to cast, and it's nice that the fanboys and fans are talking about it, but we haven't talked to her about it yet," Caruso said. "If we don't get Alicia Keys, though, I'm sure I'll make a pretty good choice."

*Sigh*.

- TFM

Okay, this looks awesome...

While I was over thiefing (read: borrowing) the Wolverine trailer from CBR, I noticed this new still from the Whiteout movie:


Yes please.

- TFM

X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer

You've already seen it everywhere else, so why not watch it again here. Right? WATCH IT!

- TFM

Phonogram & Punisher (and other things I will be buying today - 12/10/08)

I know I said yesterday that the first issue in the second Phonogram series is my most anticipated this week and it remains as such. A VERY close second is Punisher War Zone #1 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillion.

Garth- you've been sorely missed on the monthly Punisher book since you left and I can't wait to see what you and Steve have in store for Frank in this weekly (yes-WEEKLY) six issue mini.

Here's what else I will be picking up. Hey- new Final Crisis!

Booster Gold #15
Final Crisis #5 (of 7)
Justice League of America #27
Young Liars #10
Phonogram: The Singles Club #1 (of 7) (editors note: !!!)
Astonishing X-Men Ghost Boxes #2 (of 2)
Secret Invasion Dark Reign (editors note: maybe)

And that about does it.

Please note: House of Mystery has been booted this week. That thing started out with a lot of promise and went flat very quickly.

In other comics news: BOOOOOOOOO!

- TFM

Phil Noto at Secret Headquarters this Friday

So my bitchin' LCS, The Secret Headquarters, is having some new Phil Noto pieces showing from December 12th through January 11th.

This Friday starting at 8 pm they will have a little party to celebrate and Phil will be in attendance. If you are in the area come on down, grab a cold one, check out some art and say hi.

I mean, look at this stuff. It's amazing, right? Anyone have $1,000 I can have...er, borrow?

Secret Headquarters is at 3817 W. Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake.




- TFM

Highly Anticipated: Incognito #1

Criminal might be on hiatus again, but don't think for a second Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips will leave us hangin'.

Incognito is being billed as noir meets superheros. It's about a super villain who is in the Witness Protection program, but he can't stop thinking about the glory days when he was free to rob banks and blow things up. What do you think will happen? Judging by the cover, my guess is banks will get robbed and shit will get blown up. Then the dude will light his stogie with a Benjamin. Wahoo!

This time the preview comes via CBR, and you can check it out here. Maybe one day Spoilerz Plz will be big enough to get exclusive previews. Brub- if you're reading this, call me!

Looks like this is scheduled for release the first week in January, but I could have sworn that it was supposed to come out in December. Either way, be on the look out.

- TFM

Phonogram: The Singles Club #1 in stores tomorrow!

One of my favorite minis from the last year or two was Phonogram, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. It had all of the things that I love: magic, music, snarky characters...and Britpop!

Phonogram (FINALLY) starts up again this week. To say this is my most anticipated book this week is an understatement. I haven't even looked at what else is coming out, but it doesn't matter. The first series was so much fun that I can't wait to delve back into the world of phonomancers.

Phonogram: The Singles Clubs is seven issues, each told from a different characters point of view and each taking place in the same club on the same night. Since the night in question is December 23rd, 2006 I'm guessing the Britpop references will be at a minimum, but no matter. Kieron's writing and Jamie's art (especially when colored!) is a glorious thing to behold and I'm sure this will be my first read every week that it comes out.

Newsarama has a six page preview of the first issue up right now. Click on over and find out what it's all about.

Also- look for an upcoming interview with Kieron, if I can finally tear myself away from my Xbox controller and my stack of unread comics.

- TFM

"but thats the thing about batman."

criminal 7
secret invasion 8
batman 682
jsa 21
the boys 25
the sword 13
new avengers 47
immortal iron fist 20
marvels eye of the camera 1
cable 9
punisher xmas
x-men manifest destiny 4
sandman the dream hunters 2
trinity 27
haunted tank 1
army @ love 5
superman/supergirl maelstrom
solomon kane 3
fight or run

batman 682: personally, i'm more of a superman guy. i've rarely been excited about batman. there's just something about how he always pulls the solution out of his utility belt, or has already anticipated every possible outcome of an unpredictable situation, that deflates the drama for me. but thats the thing about grant morrison. he wrote an epic about batman facing a foe he could never suspect or plan against, only to reveal that he had suspected as much and had a plan for it all along. the line"but thats the thing about batman" on the first page of 681 is the defining moment in r.i.p. for me and made me smile more than any comic in recent memory. when he took off his cowl, jumped on the helicopter and disappeared in the explosion, i just smiled again. thats the thing about batman. no matter how it looks, he has a plan.
so here we are with batman 682. now we're treading water. it was an enjoyable issue, bringing bat continuity up to speed with the rest of dc, tying into final crisis and rewriting the history of the character at the same time. whats next? i'm not excited about battle for the cowl or the o'neil issues. i'm hoping for great things from neil gaiman's "whatever happened to the caped crusader?", but in light of his marvel comics projects over the last couple of years, i don't consider it a sure thing. what i want is to see the next part of batman, and grants, plan.

punisher xmas: fuck right floronic man.

secret invasion 8: grade b. good wrap up to the story, but with a little to much bullshit. mockingbird is back? what? norman osborne gets a massive promotion for shooting someone wolverine was a split second away from killing? the cabal group is a pretty cool idea, i just hope this isn't a return to evil for emma. and as much as i appreciate a change everything epic, i'd pay anything to read a comic about dr. octopus robbing a bank or something. event fatigue for fucking real.

-the neg man

Better late than never (or how I learned to stop being a douche and loved The Umbrella Academy)

So after trying my best to ignore the above comic book (and doing a damn fine job of it until recently), I finally gave in to all the glowing things I'd been hearing about it and purchased it.

Why was I so resistant, you might ask?

Well, it's quite simple. I don't like the music author Gerard Way makes with his band My Chemical Romance.

"But TFM," you say. "Music and comics are two totally separate mediums!"

And you're absolutely right. They are indeed. And Gerard seems like a really nice person and he's a fellow comics nerd like myself and he's obviously very creative.

But I just couldn't get past it. Sure Gerard is creative, but his musical creativeness doesn't speak to me in particular. Therefore why should his comics be any different?

It turns out his comics are different than his music. Or different enough from my perspective. Because it turns out that this collection of the first Umbrella Academy story arc is one of the most creative, refreshing and intriguing stories I have read in recent memory. And I enjoyed almost every single panel of it.

I could take the time to go into plot details and tell you what it's about and why it works so well, but I feel like I'm one of the last people out there to discover how enjoyable it is. Most comic readers I know have read it and thought it was rad and that's what finally convinced me to buy it.

However, let me end with this. If you haven't read The Umbrella Academy yet, for whatever reason. If you were skeptical, or if you were just prioritizing and didn't have enough budget to fit it in, or if it somehow just passed you by altogether: do yourself a tremendous favor and pick it up the next chance you get. I think you will find that it's pleasantly surprising and rewarding.

I'm looking forward to many more future adventures with The Umbrella Academy.

Well done, Mr. Way. I'm sorry I ever doubted you.

P.S. Gabriel Ba's art is a lot of fun as well.

- TFM

New Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer

What a great idea for a Batman video game. Will it be scarier than Dead Space? Probably not. That game gives me the creeps!

Batman: Arkham Asylum is still listed as "Coming Soon" on the offical site, but stay tuned for a solid release date. Probably Q1 2009? That should give me plenty of time to beat the stack of games I have piled up by my console.

- TFM

Fables: The Show?

Crazy! Word on the street is that ABC is looking to make Fables into a TV show! From Hollywood Reporter:

The network has handed out a put pilot commitment to the fantasy project, based on the comic book created by Bill Willingham and published by DC's Vertigo imprint.

"Six Degrees" creators/executive producers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner are penning the script for the hourlong drama set at Warner Bros. TV.

David Semel has come on board to direct "Fables," which revolves around characters from fairy tales and folklore living in exile in modern-day New York.
...
Zicherman and Metzner wouldn't elaborate which fairy tale characters will be featured in the TV series, but noted that Big Bad Wolf and Snow White, who are central to the comics, will have a similar role on the show.

Sounds interesting. I'm a moderate fan of the book, but I will definitely check out the show if it ends up happening.


-AR

R.I.P

Sad day; to try and save money, I had to cull my comics herd and delete books from my subscription list.

Goodbye: The Authority
Astonishing X-Men (at least until I hear that it's getting really good.)
BPRD
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Lone Ranger
Top Ten (ugh, I might rethink that one.)

That's all I had the heart to get rid of. Young Liars and Fantastic Four are on the chopping block, but they can stay for now.


In happier news, my pull list this week:

Secret Invasion #8
The Boys #25
Criminal 2 #7
Immortal Iron Fist #20
Crossed #2


-AR

Wow

That's the pencils for the cover of issue #1 of the new Warren Ellis / Gianluca Pagliarani project entitled Ignition City. Inspired by Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Deadwood. Tenatively set for a spring release.

Wow. Is it spring yet?

Join the discussion and stay updated over at the Whitechapel thread.

- TFM

It's beginning to look a lot like X-Mas...

Fuck yes!

If there is anyone that can even come close to being a worthy successor to Garth Ennis on The Punisher, it would hands down be one Mr. Jason Aaron. And I'm as giddy as a school boy that Jason makes his Punisher debut this very week with the holiday one-shot Punisher MAX X-Mas Special.

Here's what Jason told CBR:

"...it's got a couple of the darkest scenes I've ever written,” Aaron stated. “ There's no way I could ever even attempted a story like this in the Marvel Universe. Axel Alonso would've had me drawn and quartered. And he could do it, too.”

As any good little Scalped fan knows, thats a pretty lofty promise from ol' J. But I think I just might believe him.

If you are so inclined, CBR also has a preview of the first few pages at that same link. As for me, this is one holiday treat that I am going to need to enjoy all in one sitting.

Here's hoping this thing sells a gazillion copies and they put him on the ongoing series toute suite and el permanente.

- TFM

Batman #682 out this Thursday

So the mindfuck that was Batman R.I.P. ended on a good note for me (see below post), so I'm extra excited that Batman #682 will be in my pull THIS WEEK.

Newsarama has a preview up of the first few pages. And guess what? It's kinda strange. Go figure!

Check it out here.

- TFM

Review: Batman #681

Like a lot of other faithful Batman readers, I've been back and forth on how I feel about the Batman R.I.P. storyline. Mostly I've disliked it. Mostly I've disliked Grant Morrison's entire run. I feel like it's been rushed and disconnected and a little confusing (I know, I know...Grant and confusing usually go hand in hand). However, Batman #681 ends the R.I.P. arc and I actually feel like it has redeemed not only the last few issues but maybe everything I didn't like since Morrison hopped on board.

Most anyone who truly cares has either read the issue already or read the spoilers that are out and about out there. The biggest "reveal" is Doctor Hurt claims to be Thomas Wayne and that he hired Joe Chill to kill Bruce and his mother. Chill loses his nerve when it comes to killing a kid and leaves Bruce alive. Thomas Wayne fakes his death and changes identities. Bruce doesn't buy this and neither do I, but it's an excellent plot element.

The issue ends with Batman attacking the helicoptor that Hurt is using to getaway and the whole thing crashing into a fiery mess into the Gotham river. There's a nice full page of Nightwing holding the cowl in his hand with the flames in the background. Things fast forward to six months later and aside from a few rumors floating about, Batman hasn't been seen since the helicoptor crash. Le Bossu is torturing a Gotham City police officer discussing this with some thugs when they are suddenly flooded with light from the Bat-Signal.

There's a lot of hate out there on the message boards for Batman R.I.P. and that's completely understandable. Grant set out to shake things up in the Batman universe and mission accomplished. People are pissed about the Thomas Wayne thing and I will be as well if it holds to be true, but I really don't think it will. Either way, I'm really looking forward to the next few arcs of my favorite comic character. I think what Grant has done is exactly what was needed to freshen things up. It should prove to be very interesting.

- TFM

KOCHALKA KOCHALKA!

american elf vol. 3!!
american elf vol. 3!!!

batman # 681
superman # 683
captain america #44
the walking dead #55
unknown soldier # 2
battlefields # 2
daredevil # 113
x-force #9
trinity # 26
ultimate spider-man #128
madame xanadu# 6
secret invasion x-men #4
secret invasion inhumans# 4
umbrella academy dallas #1
runaways #4
wolverine origins #30
jsa k.c. special the kingdom
thor man of war
mesmo delivery

take a peek at mesmo delivery. the art is like geoff darrow borrowing a little of dave coopers gross flesh drawing powers. the story is strange, kinda funny, very gruesome and very short.

batman #681 hmmmmmmmmmm.

in case i didn't get my point across: JAMES KOCHALKA'S AMERICAN ELF VOL. 3!

Comics! (11/26/08)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amongst many other things, I'm thankful for the following comics waiting for me when I get back from the east coast:

Batman #681
Jack of Fables #28
JSA Kingdom Come Special The Kingdom #1
Madame Xanadu #6
Northlanders #12
Unknown Soldier #2
Captain America #44
Battlefields Night Witches #2 (of 3)

Eat up nerds.

- TFM

What I'm Gettin' (11/26/08)

Good news: Comics aren't late this week! Bad news: They're late next week. Ah well, give and take.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #19
Daredevil #113
Northlanders #12
Runaways 3 #4
Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1
Walking Dead #55 (really, already?)

I was skeptical about Runaways, but I've started to really enjoy this story arch. Recommended.


-AR

Magog! (and other comics I will be buying on 11/19/08)

Happy Wednesday!

Most anticipated this week? Hard to say. Probably Greatest Hits, but I already told you about that yesterday. Scalped would be next, but you already know we love Scalped here. Let's say JSA Kingdom Come Special Magog #1 is the winner this week:



I was a major skeptic when this whole storyline started, but I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised. Some people might say "Get to the point already." To those people I say "A watched pot never boils." Then those same people would say "What does that even mean in this context?" To which I would say "Hey! What is that over there?" and then run away really quick.

Anyways, here's the rest of the list:

Greatest Hits #3 (of 6)
Scalped #23
Ghost Rider #29
Punisher #64
Samurai Legend #3 (of 4)

And maybe something awesome will be there to surprise me.

- TFM

invincible being awesome goes without saying.

invincible 55
fantastic 4 561
ex machina 39
supergirl 35
kingdom come special magog
x-factor 37
thunderbolts 126
john constantine hellblazer 249
goon 30
ultimate fantastic 4 58
spirit special 1
uncanny x-men 504
x-men legacy 218
flash 246
trinity 25
conan the cimmerian 5
superman/supergirl maelstrom
punisher war journal 25
dynamo 5 18
jack kirby's the demon hardcover
castle waiting 13

castle waiting is sort of like the idea of fables, with an all ages bone feel, but instead of having wars and enemies, the characters just learn about each others as they live their day to day lives. issues 12 and 13 were about dr. fell's experiences during the plague and about bowling.

there is new art team on x-factor this month. thank you god! this have been the most consistently good x-comic over the last few years, but the last few issues looked like absolute shit.

andy diggle takes over thunderbolts today. i'm expecting good things, and by good things i mean he's going to do horrible things to characters i like. in this issue songbird, penance and radioactive man are all in trouble as the more vicious members of the group act against them, under norman osbornes orders...

my crush on peter tomasi continues this week in kingdom come special: magog. every character in jsa deserves an issue like this. it's a good read and adds some needed character focus to the over-staffed justice society.



-the neg man

Contest: Read Northlanders #1 for free / Win a copy of the first trade

All right. There's really only enough screaming from the rooftops we can do from this blog. We've told you that Northlanders is the best comic you're not reading, but you're all probably a bunch of free thinking individuals that just won't take a bunch of awesome people's words as absolute facts. Well now you don't have to. This has probably been up for a while now, but I just noticed it today. The fine nerds over at Vertigo have the entire first issue of Northlanders up on their site so you can read it for free. Did you hear that? You don't even have to part with $2.99 to decide if you like it or not. Head on over and check it out.

Now, I know you're going to be instantly hooked so you're going to want to immediately run out and buy the entire run. Well, the pending holiday season is making us feel a little generous right now. If you email us at spoilerzplz[REMOVETHISPARTWEHATESPAM]@gmail.com with "I Love Northlanders" in the subject line we will randomly send a few people a copy of the first trade.

Not bad, eh? Now get to it. There are some blood thirsty Vikings waiting for you.

- TFM

You Should Be Reading: Greatest Hits

I already have Amy Racecar on board (see below post), but I wanted to remind everyone that Greatest Hits #3 is set to release tomorrow. Definitely very near the top of my read pile right now (and trust me- it's a large stack), so do yourself a favor and pick up all three issues when you hit your shop and read them in one sitting. It's a six issue mini so you're not making a huge commitment. I'm all about getting everyone to read the best of what's out there and this one is a lot of fun.

- TFM

"...and I will whisper, 'No.' "

Thank goodness for The Floronic and Negative Men, I have been so bad about updating. Stupid real world getting in the way of my internet life!

Here's my pull list for this week:

Ex Machina #39 (finally!)
Fantastic Four #561
Goon #30
Scalped #23

Brief, but solid.

Upon TFM's recommendation, I read the first two issues of Greatest Hits and, I have to say, I am very excited to see what the series will bring. Superhero version of the Beatles...the concept warms and tingles my heart.

In other news, I will be the first to admit that since the beginning I was a staunch naysayer of the Watchmen movie. Boy have things changed. Watching the newest trailer, I actually teared up. Actually, I'm going to watch it again right now.

Ahhh...still so good. Expect me nerding out in line opening day.


-AR

This was good.

Probably not as great as Casino Royale, but it's a good companion piece and nice continuation of Bond's beginnings.

As for that Jack White / Alicia Keys theme song? Hands down the worst Bond song ever. It might also be the worst song ever written.

- TFM

mole men, aliens with babies in their backs, balloons full of acid!

wolverine 69
green lantern corps 30
nightwing 150
action comics 871
gravel 6
anna mercury 4
walking dead 54
i kill giants 5
captain britain and mi-13 7
trinity 24
kingdom come special superman
detective comics 850
batman cacophony 1
young liars 9
booster gold 14
justice league international vol. 3

and
geek monthly 22, because sarah silverman makes my heart go pow! pop! ka-boom!

nightwing: in a scene that feels right out of the golden age of comics, two-face uses blimps to dump acid on the city to punish nightwing for failing to stop him from killing an old girlfriend!
you can't beat this book, though apparently you can cancel it. thanks d.c.
at least we still have g.l. corps, where the lanterns meeting with the sapphires goes poorly, but at least kyle and his group knock the shit out of kryb, the creepiest member of the sinestro corps.

wolverine: after a brief run in with the moloids, logan and clint continue their tour through the united states of completely fucked up. next issue we'll find out what made logan swear off violence.

-the neg man

Beasts!

Probably my favorite non-purchase of last year at Secret Headquarters was Beasts!. Published by Fantagraphics, compiled by Jacob Covey and featuring a slew of great artist renderings and descriptions of cryptozoological creatures:




My main problem is by the time I walk over and start to peruse the books and other publications I'm already loaded up to the chin with single issues and graphic novels to the point where my bank account is screaming for mercy.

But Beasts! was really rad and I flipped through it many times. It started with the first edition. Then that sold out. Then the second printing arrived so I would glance through another time. Then it just disappeared.



Well- good news for procrastinators everywhere. Not only is a soft cover edition of the first installment on it's way, but now a second installment will be available in December:




Comic Book Resources has a recent interview with Jacob Covey and artist Femke Hiemstra. Read it!


Preorder Beasts! Book 1 softcover

Preorder Beasts! Book 2 hardcover

Me? I'm off to crawl the internet to find myself a copy of Book 1 in hardcover. Cause I'm a sucker like that.


- TFM

Review: JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman

I've been a big fan of Alex Ross, the artist, pretty much from the beginning. Who hasn't, right?

Alex Ross, the writer? That's been a little more hit and miss.

That's why reading this was so much fun. Not once did I cringe or roll my eyes or yell out "Come the fuck on!" The script was top notch from beginning to end.

However, that cover is a total bait and switch. There is no big throw down between the Superman's in this issue. Kingdom Come Superman accidentally punches Earth-1 Superman, but that's all you get.

The story: Kingdom Come Superman is still trying to figure out what's going on with his recent arrival on Earth-1. With the appearance of Magog and Gog he's starting to get really worried that the fate of his world is going to be repeated. So it finally dawns on him to track down this Earth's version of Norman McCay to see if he has the same warnings of the Apocalypse for him as he did before. Norman doesn't have much to say to Superman other than typical advice a reverend would give to a troubled soul. It will be interesting to see if Norman McCay shows up again before this is all done.

I was a little nervous when I saw that they would be bringing Kingdom Come characters and plot elements into current continuity, but in the hands of Geoff Johns and Alex Ross it's been superb so far. This special fills in some of the blanks, as KC Superman explains to Earth-1 Lois how she died on his world and you get a great flashback of the moment.

More please.

- TFM

Review: Batman Cacophony #1

Disclaimer: I'm a Kevin Smith fan and I have been for quite some time. That being said, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the first part of Batman Cacophony.

The comic opens up at Arkham Asylum with Deadshot breaking in to fulfill a contract that has been taken out on the Joker. The exchange that takes place between the two is classic Kevin Smith. But that's kind of the problem I had with it. It feels TOO Kevin Smith-y. Imagine Randal Graves playing the part of the Joker and Dante Hicks as Deadshot and you kind of have the right idea.

The rest of the story is...ok. Joker is out of Arkham and goes after Maxie Zeus who has watered down the Joker poison to concoct a new drug called Chuckles that is being sold to kids. Batman has a brief encounter with Victor Zsasz, before being summoned by Commissioner Gordon regarding the situation of the Joker's escape. And Onomatopoeia factors into the story somehow.

A couple of bright spots though. I did quite enjoy the beginning where Kevin explains the situation with the asylum gate guards- how they were let go due to the economy (and since no one ever seems to want to break in to Arkham) and how one of the two goes on to sell 30 years of security information to the highest bidder. I did like how I was actually fooled into thinking "Wow- he just killed off Deadshot", even though I'm a pretty skeptical comics reader when it comes to that kind of thing. I liked Batman's run through of Deadshot's armor situation and the way he has it set up to "play dead" if the situation calls for it.

Overall though, I was initially really excited about this mini but now I'm not even sure if I'll be picking up the next two issues. I was hoping for more of a Daredevil: Guardian Devil kind of vibe to it. We'll see.

- TFM

P. Craig Russell interview

I haven't had a chance to read this article yet, but CBR interviewed P. Craig Russell about his adaptation of The Sandman: The Dream Hunters. The first installment is at your comic shop waiting for you right now (and it's gorgeous).

Read the interview here.

- TFM

Batman: Cacophony (and other things I will be buying today - 11/12/08)

If I had to pick one book that is most anticipated this week, let's say it would be Kevin Smith's Batman: Cacophony #1 (of 3):



Here's a list of what else I'll be picking up today:

Booster Gold #14
JSA Kingdom Come Special Superman #1
Young Liars #9
Eternals Annual #1
Wolverine #69
Anna Mercury #4 (of 5)
Gravel #6

Thank you.

- TFM

Review: No Hero #2

I have to agree with Dave at Secret Headquarters. The other day he said something to the effect of "With Warren Ellis, I either like it or I really like it". No Hero is on issue #2 and so far, by all accounts, this falls into the "really like" column.

The world has one superhero team, The Front Line, created and hand selected by a gent named Carrick Masterson. Carrick created the synthetic drug FX7, which is the only known supplement which will give a regular person superpowers (although it appears the American government has tried several times with less than desirable results).

Anyways- The Front Line has recently been mysteriously and maliciously ambushed taking two of their members out of commission. Desperate to fill the ranks to fend off any more direct attempts at taking another piece of the team, Carrick has whisked away a young crime fighter by the name of Joshua. Joshua doesn't have any superpowers per se, but he's been diligently taking out bad guys in his neighborhood trying to attract the attention of Carrick and The Front Line. Now he has and at the end of the issue, as Carrick offers Joshua his first taste of FX7, he has to answer the all important question (and The Front Line tag line): How much do you want to be a superhuman?

The last four pages are filled with equal parts disgustingness and intrigue.

Issue #2 of No Hero is still setting up the pieces (presumably so they can all be knocked down again) but as much as I quite enjoy most everything Mr. Ellis does, for whatever reason this series seems to have some extra Awesome thrown in. Juan Jose Ryp's art is mesmerizing as usual. There's really no reason why you shouldn't be reading this right now, is there?

No, there isn't.

- TFM

still sobering up from post election celebrations...

hooray obama! hooray comics!

big questions 11
final crisis resist
justice society 20
sandman dream hunters 1
trinity 23
adventure comics special: the guardian
superman/supergirl maelstrom 1
grant morrison's dr. who 2
avengers initiative special
invincible iron man 7
cable 8
x-men manifest destiny 3
army @ love 4
back to brooklyn 2
freakangels vol. 1
superman vs. brainiac tpb
the essential dykes to watch out for
watching the watchmen

"it's a hard taste to forget. once you've had it you can't go back."
-a scary ass bird, big questions 11
anders nilsen has done some of my favorite comics over the last few years. it is hard to think of anything as depressing as the books he wrote about the death of his fiancee, "the end" and "don't go where i can't follow." his additions to the kramers ergot anthologies are among the best of the series and his experimental book "monologues for the comic plague" made me scratch my head in a good way. that said, "big questions" surpasses it all by MILES. each issue has had an increase in production values, the comics themselves becoming art pieces regardless of the contents. fortunately, the story has matched this upgrade in physical quality. the story of a flock of birds puzzling over the sociological and religious issues created by their discovery of a crashed jet plane. they assume the plane is a giant bird, witness a human hatch from it's head, then peck away fanatically at another egg it laid, actually a missile. if you can find the older mini comics, start there. if not, the main story begins with issue 4. a nice complete collection is inevitable and very exciting.

final crisis resist- i haven't been reading checkmate, the team this book focuses on. is rucka REALLY writing snapper carr as a serious character on a regular basis? no offense if you like that book, it could be great i haven't tried it, i just hate teen mascots gone serious.

sandman: the dream hunters- though i love his gaiman adaptations, i'd love to see p. craig russell get back to operas. honestly? he could adapt mein kaumpf into comic form and it'd still make me cry.

superman/supergirl maelstrom- phil noto! why are you drawing awesome pictures for such boring writers? jesus christ this guy draws a perfect, slightly older but dignified superman!

invincible iron man- like an old-school super hero team up from your childhood, but really well written!

watching the watchmen- this book is VERY pretty. i got the special edition, with a big mean smiling comedian close-up on the cover. this book isn't about the movie, which several people told me, but is actually an examination of the process of creating the art for the graphic novel. that is MUCH more interesting to me. the special edition is signed by dave gibbons (in pencil!) and includes five prints, two of which are obviously frame worthy.

xoxo,
neg man