Skullkickers

Lost in the mix of new hot books, comics that will soon be tv shows or movies, character deaths, character resurrections, new costumes, replacement characters for old favorites, and events that will change everything in the universe for ever....honest....there are the damn good books. Damn good books are good month in, and month out. Damn good books make you look forward to the next issue the second you finish the last one, because you have to know what is next. So, let's talk about a damn good book, let's talk

If you ever played Dungeons and Dragons when you were a teenager you likely had a player or two who regardless of what the story was about just wanted to destroy things. When bored they would randomly call out "okay, I take my sword out and stab it" disregarding if the "it" was a dragon, a wall, or the helpful innkeeper offering the group helpful information to prove that the local magistrate really was evil. That is Skullkickers, two characters (a human nicknamed Baldy, and a dwarf nicknamed Shorty) wrecking havoc on monsters and hacking and slashing through the story.

This is pure action comics. Big fights, hilarious quips and moments, and two characters too stupid to stop and question things, yet smart enough to get out of the traps they are thrown into. The comic is wildly inventive in its use of genre and moments. Instead of simple sound effects like "thud" and "whack" we get effects like "Ass-kick", "Furious Dwarven Punch", and "Maximum Mob Mentality".

Now I don't want you to think this is just a lot of random mindless fight scenes without any substance. There is a big over arcing plot, and I don't want to spoil it. Things that happen in the first few issues pay off much later in the series and make you want to dash back to reread everything before. And as Skullkickers moves into its final arc, it is the perfect time to jump in, by the time you get caught up the book will just be finishing!

But if you can't get behind wild action and big fight scenes, all the plot in the world won't get you into this comic. Skullkickers doesn't take itself seriously, nor should you. This is the action comedy you watch after the big deep drama, the big crazy mash up that makes you laugh after a bad day. It is the Army of Darkness of comics, the quotable, action filled book that just makes you happy. This is the book that introduces a dwarven mecha with its own theme song, and never once stops to note how silly (and awesome) the whole idea is.

If you need more wild action, quotable dialogue, dwarven mecha, overweight werewolves, bad ass pirates, and superstitious ape people (and really who doesn't need more of any of the above?) Skullkickers is for you. Still not sold? Fine, go read it for free! That's right, the creators want their comic read so badly they have put it online for FREE! Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday there is a new page put up. You can read it (starting with issue number one) by clicking here.

Now if you just want to jump right in, you can run to your local comic shop and pick up the first trade for just $10 you get the first five issues, plus the original two short stories that started it all. If you don't have a local comic shop, or it is late at night and you NEED to hand over monies now, you can always just go to Amazon by clicking here: Skullkickers Volume 1: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body TP

Review of the Silence of Our Friends

Silence of Our Friends is a semi-autobiographical story set in 1968 Texas that focuses on two families, one African American and the other Caucasian. The book is a series of vignette like chapters that move seamlessly not only from one family to the next but also between the different family members.

The book is set up in short vignette like chapters although there is never a heading or page telling you the chapter is over, instead you turn the page and see a different character as the focus. It works so seamlessly here that I was rarely taken out of the story when there was a change. The change over seemed natural, like when listening to a great concept album where each song helps build an overall experience. Because it is based on real events and keeps that ascetic, some events aren't seen, instead we see the after effects of them. This limited view actually helps the realistic portrayal of events and grounds the book soundly.

But with the limited view still comes a larger scope. The book starts with two children (Mark and Shell) playing soldier outside, yet once they go inside they along with their mother watch as a Viet Kong soldier is shown being shot on the news. While the shooting is mentioned a few times it isn't a major event, it just shows the wider world as it was at the time. Moments like this continue throughout the graphic novel and I could have read a lot more pages and scenes like this without any need of a central plot. The story also never stops to examine or focus on things like the shooting, we the reader have to see the impact and importance of such things. The creators treat the readers as intelligent people who know enough of their history to see how each event is important to not only the characters but to the nation itself.

Even with one of the little girls (Julie) being blind is never harped upon. She is blind and is learning how to write in braille, that is all that is ever really said on the issue. A few other times it comes up, but much like the racial issues it comes across as just a natural part of the story., it also leads to a scene that perfectly encapsulates the story. The two fathers, Jack and Larry have a family get together where Larry brings his wife and kids over, while the adults have an awkward conversation inside, the kids have their own meeting. It is still awkward but once Julie asks to "see" the other little girl, CC with her fingers it becomes about two races trying to understand one another as they take turns touching each other's hair which is such a foreign concept to the other side. The kids never stop to take notice of this special moment and instead leap into playing kick the can, having bonded completely.

Nate Powell's art is what makes the whole graphic novel work. The writers frequently allow Powell to take over the story telling with little to no words for many pages just allowing the artwork to breath and tell the story. His characters are bright and full of expression that could allow most of the story to be told without a single word being written. Since Powell also did all the lettering by hand it never seems to impede or take over the artwork. It also leads to so impressive use of text during scenes with music playing or multiple people speaking together either in church or in protest.

The climax of the book involves a riot at a protest where a cop is shot dead and the resulting trial. The violence and confusion are perfectly captured by the art forcing the reader to feel the same chaotic and visceral feeling of trying to seek safety but being unable to find it is present in the few pages that detail the event. It isn't dragged out but is instead wonderfully done in simple two page spreads. By the time you as the reader can get your bearing it is over, just like in real life.

Sadly the resulting trial is the one place that took me out of the story. It suddenly turned from a magnificent story of two families dealing with all the hatred and troubles in 1968 to something that is closer to a typical Hollywood treatment. The story and characters are still compelling, but it felt forced and fake. Reading the Author's Note it is easy to see why this portion of the book is so different, Mark Long admits that the trial was based on real events but the autobiographical elements are less involved, I really doubt that Mark or any of his family or even Larry Thomas had as an important part to play as he does in the book. Being based on events instead of being taken from personal perspective takes away from this part of the book. Everything else feels so true to life, authentic and endearing, this feels close but just not right.

Even with the above issue, the Silence of Our Friends is a great piece of work. The characters quickly enamor you, the artwork portrays each character perfectly and individual sounds a like when speaking either, they are unique and interesting. The plot is sparse but so well done, it captures the mood of the time without requiring a driving plot to force it down certain roads. This is a great book that captures a unique time in America's history without focusing on any of the major players in the Civil Rights movement but instead on the normal people who were just as involved and impacted by it all.

The Silence of Our Friends is written by Mark Long Jim Demonakos with art by Nate Powell and is published by First Second and will be available on January 17th in book stores and the 18th in comic books stores. An extended preview of the graphic novel can be found on the Publishers Weekly website here.

New Comic Book Reviews 1/11/12

Batman and Robin #5 - I haven't been paying much attention to this book, Batman, Detective, and Nightwing have been my Bat universe books since the relaunch but after this issue I think this may get added to that list. The son of Bruce Wayne, (who is also the Robin in this book) Damian Wayne has always been a bit let us say difficult. He was raised by his mother who is in charge of an international group of assassins and is the grand son of one of the most brilliant villains in the world Ra's Al Ghul, so to say he is egotistical, malicious, and over confident is an understatement. He has literally been bred and raised to inherit the world. This issue sees Damian starting training with a new villain who is a ruthless killer and has been trained as such since he was a child. This man also has ties to Bruce Wayne which we discover in a very long flashback narrated by Bruce. While the reverse dynamic of parents to child of the villain is interesting, as is Bruce's first meeting with him and his father it does go on a bit too long. Damian's first night of proving himself to his new mentor as well as Bruce's frantic search for his son are the meat of the story for me and what I want to see more of. Will the newest Robin go down the path of evil? Will Batman find them in time? Can father and son ever have a real bond with each other when they are still new in each other's lives and well they are Batman and Robin? Finally can Batman take down this new threat? Sure he knows the guy but he is still pretty bad ass and it has been years since they last met... I will be there next month to see if any of these questions are answered, that is for sure. 4/5

Frankenstein Agent of SHADE #5 - This is part two of a crossover with OMAC #5 that came out last week but thankfully you don't have to read that issue to understand this one. We start off with the end of another adventure of Frankenstein's where he is fighting off cannibalistic dwarfs in Tibet. This is apparently part of his vacation which is then interrupted by getting assigned to take down OMAC. We then get the big monster match up from OMAC last week as here but from the point of view of Frankenstein and the other agents of SHADE. The duel sided battle is again a lot of fun and we do get a few parts of the fight we didn't get before, like the involvement of Ray Palmer. I like that even though the middle chunk of the story is the same plot wise (and in some points in dialogue) as OMAC, it is told in such a way it doesn't exactly feel the same. After the monsters battle we get a great character moment between Frankenstein and the creature from Black Lagoon esque doctor. While this issue loses a bit after reading OMAC last week, it completely restores my faith in this series after a shaky first arc. If you are interested in OMAC or Frankenstein I would say this was the better issue to introduce them both while OMAC #5 had the better fight sequence. 4.5/5

Incredible Hulk #4 - Let's get to the meat of this issue, Doctor Bruce Banner goes on a psycho mad scientist rant in this issue, and that alone would make me love this issue. But there was more to this issue then that. The Hulk and his new friends finally make it to Bruce Banner's island of big hulkish creatures and we get some great Hulk fighting scenes because of it. We also get the confrontation between Hulk and Bruce Banner which is where Banner's mad scientist rant happens. The two talking is the heart of the issue and really who hasn't wanted to see the two talk? We still haven't gotten the how and why the two are seperate from one another but that's what next issue is for! Beautiful art, great action, and compelling dialogue make for a great issue of Hulk. 5/5

Scarlet Spider #1- Hey kids, remember the clone saga? The story where we find out our favorite neighborhood web crawler may actually be a clone of the real Peter Parker which was later retconned that OUR Spider-Man was the real one alllllllll along? Yeah, so do I, and I mostly wish I hadn't. But this being comics it has returned to being a nostalgic idea and must be brought back, so we make our way to Scarlet Spider, the identity the clone of Peter Parker, Ben Reiley took up for a while. This time the main character is Kaine, ANOTHER clone of Peter Parker, the first one in fact who was a villain/anti-hero involved in the clone saga who died during it, but came back during the last Spider-Man crossover, Spider Island where random people of New York gained the powers of Spider-Man. Phew that was a lot to try and explain. Which is all part of this comic, we get every detail of past stories and continuity, filling in plot holes as we go and everything, which slows down this book so much. But we also get to meet Kaine as he is now, a man wanting to escape America and not be stuck with the responsibilities of being a super hero. He use to be an assassin, a villain, but he still has all of the memories of a young Spider-Man, part of him must fight for the innocent. So these two sides interact in great ways. Like the opening where he takes down an apparent drug or arms deal just for the money they were using. When he discovers it was actually human trafficking and there is a sole survivor we see the heroic side of him appear. Later he saves an old lady who is about to be hit by a car then yells at her for being oblivious of the vehicle in the first place! These are the good parts of the issue, they fulfill the tag line of the book, "all the power, none of the responsibility" and if the book spends a year or so with such conflicts and interactions we can have a great book on our hands. Assuming we are done with the pages and pages of boring back story regurgitation, at least Batman and Robin had the decency to give us new material to force feed us, this is crap that came out in the 90's! And it really detracts from a book that holds some promise too, maybe #2 will be back story free, who knows. 2.5/5

X-Factor #230 - A lot has happened in this book as many people were likely paying attention to the other X books. Multiple Man is now dead, Strong Guy has no soul, and Layla can bring back the dead! The only catch? When they do they have no soul. This issue is all fall out and characters trying to figure out what to do next. Do they bring Multiple Man back? He has been frozen, so there is time to decide. Is Strong Guy evil? Should they be apart from him? What are the moral implications of all of this? Who will lead X-Factor now? Also, why is Wolverine here? All of these questions and more are discussed by the large cast and it makes for perfect character moments that are true to each one and allows them all to have a unique voice. Longshot doesn't sound like Shatterstar, and neither of them sound like Sireyn or Monet, etc etc. That is impressive from a book with a cast of 9 plus characters, plus Wolverine who is in the book without taking over. This book is all talk and little action but is never boring. So if you love X books but haven't given X-Factor a chance you should fix that and try it out as this sets up the new status quo and fills you in on everything without force feeding it. 5/5

Reviewing New Comics 12/28/11

American Vampire #22 - What does a vampire hunter in the 1950s look like? If you said leather glad teenage greaser than you are correct? In this issue we meet Travis Kidd who is part vampire hunter and all around cool rockabilly punk that easily wins you over and escapes the cliche both his appearance and the first few pages of the comic paint him in quickly. He is smart, crafty, and well still quite a punk, but it is so well done I can't fault it. I haven't read much of this series as I'm a bit tired of the umpteenth upswing in vampires in pop culture, but after reading this issue, I am wanting to see more of it. This story takes place in the 50's and seems to have a focus on a single and new character, feels like a perfect jumping on point to me, and for you as well, after the last panel you will be craving the next page like some poorly crafted and horrible joke I can make about vampires and blood. 5/5

Aquaman #4 - Aquaman and Mera fight giant sea monsters deep in the sea, and it is awesome. This issue is fast paced and the art is both gorgeous and perfectly tuned to make you feel like you are under water, also giant sea monsters! Plus we get a new member of the Aqua family who is a bit furrier then you would imagine. What else is there to say? You want to see a super hero fight monsters and be impressive while doing it then read this book! Now if we can drop this whole meta thing where random people in the comic think Aquaman is lame like he is commonly seen in the real world. Sorry if any of us saw someone who could breath water, throw around giant boulders, and command fish we would not make jokes about them to their faces. 5/5

Captain America #5 AND #6 - For whatever reason Marvel is releasing two issues of Captain America this week, adding to that the release of a new Captain America and Bucky and it is definitely Cap's week to end the year. These two books end one story line and then begin another. #5 feels a bit weird and anti-climatic, mostly because I don't know how we got here and just see the resolution, while #6 is building along nicely to a fun and interesting plot as it begins the "Powerless" arc. But both books do work together very well, #5 leads into 6 so eloquently in both plot and character they could easily have been a single, although oddly paced single issue. While 5 wraps up Captain America's fight with Codename Bravo which does seem like it will have deeper ramifications, and has a strong emotional finish for some supporting characters. Issue 6 shows off those ramifications and goes about illustrating how Cap is dealing with the previous story and what is next for him, the cast, and the villains as well. I would say 6 is the stronger of the two, but 5 has more emotion. We will give it a combined score this week, since Marvel had to finish the year with so many issues of Captain America out, which really I won't complain about one bit. 4/5


Scrambled Circuits #3 - This is a mini comic about a robot named Primus who is a stand in for the creator of the book. Primus deals with a variety of things from moving to the desert after the passing of a loved one to feeling awkward to trying to draw the best hand turkey, and each one is told with an honesty I heavily envy. Every story in this comic is compelling and well thought out, some end on a joke, others serious, but each one has a meaning that seems to connect them and as I said before, an honesty to them. The art compliments this perfectly, it is far from an idealized comic style when considering main stream work, but each panel seems to so effortlessly capture the moment and gives a feeling of immersion to the reader it makes me wonder why more books don't work look like this. There is a bit of a plot line going on in this book that seemed to lack in the last issue, one of possible romance that I wish was expanded upon, but just like the life it was based on, sometimes these things take time to properly reveal themselves and only in works of fiction do they all time out perfectly to make for the expected arcs. I highly recommend giving this book a shot, or any of his others, which can all be found here. 5/5

New comics 12/14/11

Batman the Brave and the Bold #14 - A nice heartfelt tale featuring Batman teaming up with the lesser known Ragman who is feeling the poor neighborhood he protects does not get the attention it deserves. What follows is a simple but well written story of crime attacking a small down on its luck neighborhood, a super hero regaining his faith (Ragman), and a quick history in Hanukkah all with Batman! It felt like a lost episode of the sadly cancelled tv show, which suits me fine. 4/5

Demon Knights #4 - We interrupt the invasion of the evil horde army for a long vision quest and mini origin of the Shining Knight, female knight who witnessed firsthand the fall of Camelot. This makes for the best issue of the book so far and makes me wish Cornell would just focus on one character (like the Shining Knight) instead of trying to spread the love around so much and make all of these interesting characters seem less than they need to be. All the characters have their own voices and could make an interesting lead of a book but trying to give everyone screen time is taking away from showing why each character is important and cool. Plot wise little happens in this issue though we get a ton of back story on Shining Knight, Camelot, Merlin, and the Holy Grail which makes up for any plots lacking. The dual reveal of who is going after and has gone after the grail is also well done, that along with the last page makes me want to see what happens next now, always a good sign. 4.5/5

Pigs #4 - Torturing someone for information has become a story telling fall back in the last decade or so, yet in this issue it is used as a back drop to show off characters and makes you quickly care about those involved (excluding the obviously corrupt and sick man who is being tortured). The focus of the issue is Travis a member of a mercenary group (I think) and why he doesn't want to kill and some of his childhood. It makes you connect with him quickly and the others as they interact with him. After all the history is given and the interrogation is over we move to another forceful questioning involving other characters and a reveal that may change everything. Now I have never read this series before this, but with a single issue I feel I have a good grasp on the characters, a general series premise, and I am invested in both what happens next and how it impacts the characters. Otherwise known as, exactly what a single comic should do. 5/5

The Ray #1 - Now this was fun! The preview they ran for this comic do it no justice. Want an interesting reaction to gaining super powers? Want an Asian super hero who isn't a stereotype? Want Spider-Man level quips and alter ego sub plots that are just as interesting as the super hero bits? You can find all that and more here! We quickly meet the new Ray, who was stuck with the title by the media, and see how he got his powers as well as gained control of them thanks to his New Age parents and meditation. Did I mention what the Ray fought in this issue? Giant telepathic jellyfish that fly! Yeah, you read that right. The flaws of the issue lie in the last few pages setting up the next foe, they are disjointed, weird, and I had to read them twice to figure out the reveal, also the giant flying jellyfish were barely part of the issue. Minor complaints in the long run, for such a good issue. 4/5

New Comic Reviews 12/08/11

Action Comics #4 - I am a huge HUGE Grant Morrison fan and have been loving this version of a younger more anti establishment Superman thus far. This issue is a lot of fighting as the evil alien menace that is so interested in Superman has taken over a horde of robots and a recently created cyborg thanks to Lex Luthor thinking he is smarter then everyone else (which is typically true, but there are exceptions like here). This is also the first time we see any authorative figure ask for Superman's help, even though the cops try to arrest him after he takes down a horde or robots. We also get the first appearance of Steel in the new DC52 universe who was always a personal favorite. Now with giant robots running around, Lex Luthor trying to remain in control while freaking out, Steel finally appearing, and Superman being Superman this should be a near perfect score right? Well no, this issue felt flat to me. The fight was cool but the character moments that I have loved in this series thus far just aren't there. We see Clark Kent make his first excuse to go fight evil in front of Lois Lane which was great (he yells "we should be smart and RUN" then runs off) and a few quick snippets of Lois and Jimmy interacting but it is mostly smash boom fight. Which would be fine, if it wasn't for the back up. See this issue boasts a back up featuring Steel, which originally made me excited, except the back up is the fight between Steel and the cyborg from the issue, which should happen in the middle of the issue. Instead in the actual story we see Steel arrive while saving Superman then saying "I got this" and a caption that reads "for the fight of Steel and the cyborg go read the back up" and then we continue on with the story ignoring the fight until then. It took me out of the story completely, the back up was pointless because by then you saw that he won, and what is worse is that the back up is done by a different writer and artist making it not even feel like the same story. Ugh! So taking that into account what would have been a great issue is just an average issue now. 3/5

Defenders #1 - I didn't have much anticipation for this title, especially with how disappointing Fraction's super hero work has been for the last little bit, Iron Man has turned into a mess, Thor is frustrating and illogical, and Fear Itself fell flat very quickly then refused to die. BUT this one issue makes me forget all of that! I don't care that some of the characters are acting a bit off (which may be part of the plot), I don't care that the narration switches point of views several times from an omnipresent view to Dr Strange to Hulk and on through the rest of the team. Why you ask?

Because we have a team of super heroes preparing to fight the EVIL GHOST TWIN OF THE HULK! It is described that way in the book, it is also referred to as the Hulk's very own Hulk. Also we have kung fu performed in zero g's, Silver Surfer really using the power cosmic in interesting ways, and what amounts to the most powerful team in the Marvel Universe that lives on Earth fighting what will be the weird and strange things that exist on the fringes of the super hero community. I am sold after this one issue. It is like Nextwave came back but had slightly more recognizable faces. If you want a fun read, if you want an interesting take on the Marvel Universe, if you want to see who the Incredible Hulk goes to when he needs help, and if you want to see someone finally put some clothes on the Silver Surfer, go read this already! 5/5

X-23 #18 - This takes the set up from the last issue, and more importantly the FUN of last issue and just ran with it. It starts off with X along with the children of the Fantastic Four Franklin and Val flying over New York on a DRAGON and just keeps moving from there. We get another dimension/world, some awesomeness from X (especially while dealing with said dragon) and Hellion and a character making an appearance who I haven't seen since Erik Larsen had a brief stint on Wolverine. Honestly, my only complaint with the issue is Marvel is cancelling the book, but don't let that stop you, pick it up and enjoy the ride, and however many issues are left (I believe two). Who knows, maybe they will change their minds? It worked for Spider-Girl.... 5/5

Reviewing New Comics 11/30/11

FF #12 - This issue is both a continuation and a king of side quest from Fantastic Four #600 which came out last week (and was awesome even though I didn't review it). We get to find out what is happening with the kids of the Future Foundation as they transported the top floors of the Baxter Building away from the Negative Zone invaders and into Latveria. The kids encounter Doctor Doom, his son, Mister Fantastic's father from the future, and an alternate universe Mister Fantastic who is slightly evil but with good intentions. What follows is back story filling in important gaps in this epic story Hickman is telling, fun character bits on the kids, and a bit of science jibber jabber. It is well done and compelling, if you have been reading this book for a while and focusing on this big war of kingdoms going on right now. It is far from a jumping on point, which is fine comics are serial in nature. My only real complaint with this book is the art, I quite like the style and the texture, but it doesn't work for the story nor does it flow well with the art from the rest of this massive story. It is nit picking though. 4/5

Haunt #19 - This is the start of a new age for Haunt, the creator owned book originally made by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, there is a new writer in Joe Casey and artist Nathan Fox. Two brothers, one dead and the other alive and kicking team up to be a super powered secret agent. Apparently the dead brother can turn into a symbiotic costume that makes the alive brother all bad ass. Or I guess that is what is going on, none of that is really explained. Nor are the supporting cast members who are referenced but never seen and have mysteriously disappear, which hurts the case for new reader friendly even more. BUT there is some great banter between the two brothers, some very good art, and the final few pages made me go wtf in both a good and bad way. Maybe this wasn't supposed to be a new jumping on point, even though Todd McFarlane states that this is a new direction in an essay in the back. I do know I trust Joe Casey to make good comics, and Fox's art is very good. Now if I could just be a bit more sure about what is going on inside the book, I guess the alive brother is our point of view, because he is as lost as I am. We will see if it starts to make sense come issue 20. 3/5

Herc #10 - This comic is so much fun! Hercules fights alongisde a mortal Zeus against both Elektra and the immortal witch Baba Yaga and along the way we see the Kingpin beat up a very drunk Zeus, Hercules mock both of them, and Hercules continue to hit on Elektra as they confront each other. There is so much greatness in this comic and have been in this series (especially if you count the previous Incredible Hercules run by the same writers) that I just can't find a way to even begin to describe it, and I'm still flabbergasted that this is the last issue of the run, ruthlessly cancelled by Marvel. But despite that, this issue works as a nice cap to another chapter in Hercules story, I hope somehow we get more Herc done by Pak and Ven Lente, but if we don't I will be okay with that too, it has been such an amazing ride. 4.5/5

Skullkickers #12 - Just like Herc before it, Skullkickers is a super fun book! This issue feature 4 short stories with various writers and artists showing off random adventures of the two main characters, nicknamed Shorty (he's a dwarf) and Baldy (he is a bald human) who just rampage and enjoy a bar fight as much as they do killing the next giant monster, as long as they get paid! The best story in here is the first one, but each one is so well done it is hard to settle on that. We have a giant fight with musicians who hide weapons in their instruments, a flashback to Shorty before he met Baldy, a fight with an alluring witch, and just an old fashion monster hunt that is told in the most nontraditional style ever. Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you want fun in your comic. The next issue features the start of the next story arc and the creators take full reign again, this is just a fun diversion issue that fleshes out one of the most wild fantasy worlds around. If you ever played Dungeons and Dragons and spent a night (or several) joking around and just wanting to kill stuff, this book is for you, and this issue is a great start! 5/5

Thunderbolts #166 - First, I love the art for this issue, it is moody, dark, and just well done. Second, I don't recognize half of the characters in this issue, and it makes me want to learn more about them! I haven't read this book since issue 150, so of course a lot has changed, yet I feel like I had a good grasp on what was going on and who the characters were even though I haven't followed the book and have jumped into things mid arc. THIS is how super hero books should be written more often than not, easily accessible even though you don't know all the details. The plot is dealing with time travel, as the team is stuck in the time of Jack the Ripper and maybe Jack was actual a team member who has went back in time with them as Mr Hyde and Santana have gone off the edge and went forth murdering. The team (all former villains themselves) join forces with the detective on the case and try to find the two members who have returned to their evil ways. What follows is interesting character moments that define and shape the team without forcing it, an interesting mystery, and a bit of time travel fun while being a well drawn moody piece. 5/5

Tiny Titans #46 - Probably the best use of the hooded woman from the new DCU yet happens in this book. There is also some great artwork and a perfect few pages involving bats and penguins. Sure it is for kids, but it was a lot of fun, and frequently very funny. 4/5

Uncanny X-Men #2 - How do you fight an uncountable amount of Mister Sinisters? That is the question posed by this issue as the most powerful team of X-Men tries to find out the answer. The actual fight at the start is brief but entertaining, the real meat of the issue lies in Mister Sinister calmly talking to the team in a pursuit to give his evil bastard speech and just be an egotist. It is very well done and at many times, hilarious. The final few pages make it feel like Sinister is unstoppable now, and with a huge army of copies along with Celestials on their way to blindly destroy, the new issue or two should be full of huge dangers to the X-Men, which is how it should be. Another bonus about this issue? There aren't pages discussing the split between Cyclops and Wolverine, which I'm tired of already after only a month. 4/5

new comic reviwes 11/23/11

Astonishing X-Men #44 - Cyclops is a bonafide super hero. In this issue which should be called Cyclops and some X-Men appear for a bit too. Here we see Cyclops be bad ass and do some cool things with his "simple" powers that are awe inspiring including to his own team mates. The plot to this issue is also good but simple with Storm arriving to help show an upset Cyclops get out of his funk from Wolverine leaving to form his own X-Men, why no one questions why she is back to her old mohawked self from the 80s is beyond me but this is at least quickly answered as to why she is that way by the end which leads to an interesting but confusing ending. 4/5

Aquaman #3 - Aquaman and his wife Mera fight giant canibalistic fish men from the deep, and it is awesome! Also we meet a doctor from Aquaman's past who is a bit insane and quirky, some comedy that Aquaman isn't important which is getting a bit tedious when he is doing awesome and bad ass things, and get a gorgeously painted page showing Aquaman as a kid. What more could you want? Issue #4 out now is all I can think of. 5/5

Voodoo #3 - This has quickly become an interesting monster/fugitive story within two issues which is impressive as after a first issue filled with gratuitous T and A I was ready to write this story off completely. In this issue our resident evil alien goes to check in with the higher ups and encounters her first super hero, Green Lanter (Kyle Raynor). Their encounter is so well written and neither Voodoo, Green Lantern or the other Daemonites are seen as weak during it. What happens is true to each character and their strengths and by the end I am wanting all those involved to meet again and soon! We have another excellent ending here making you have to know what is next too. The only thing that sucks about the issue? Knowing the writer Ron Marz will be leaving the title in two months, I don't want this ride to end quite yet. 4.5/5

Mighty Thor #8 - In a post Fear Itself world, Thor is dead and no one remembers he existed except Loki who can't quite remember his name. Who did all the things Thor did so as not to mess up the history of Marvel? Tanarus, the god of thunder of course! This issue is supposed to be setting up the new status quo and quickly leap frogs that and starts to move the plot forward as well which is where some issues come from. The stuff about Asgard on Earth now being full of mythical creatures from all the other 9 realms is interesting stuff and can lead to great srtories, as is the new status quo of the gods with the three in one All Mother being in charge of Asgard since Odin abdicated, and where Thor actually is (still dead though) makes for an awesome and exciting cliffhanger, heck even Tanarus and the revisionist history is interesting. But then it all falls apart.

First, Loki, the god of mischief who has been amazing written by Journey of Mystery writer, Kieron Gillien, is nothing like what Loki should be here written by Fraction. His plan to find out the truth? Fly towards Tanarus and say "you're not right, where is my real brother? I shall destroy you!" What the hell? This is the guy who just played Mephisto and won and yet he his a doofus here. We find out who Tanarus really is (way too soon btw, where is the mystery?) and while it is a good character to have be Tanarus, how did the switch happen? More importantly how does the character and those behind it remember Thor? How does everyone else including the all seeing All Mother not know this? Captain America and Norman Osborn remember! This just feels like shoddy continuity which makes me think this will be resolved in an issue or two at most, making this pointless. Really if you want to read about Asgard in the Marvel Universe, go read the vastly superior Journey to Mystery. 2/5

Captain America and Bucky #624 - This should be called Winter Soldier #0 or I guess #.1 since that is Marvel's thing now. It is a solid story showcasing the history of the Winter Soldier as former sidekick, former Captain America and supposedly dead Bucky Barnes tells about his life to someone dear to him. The history of him and Black Widow finding love while being used as weapons in the Cold War is a good look at a story that couldn't have been published during the years it is supposed to be happening. The drama in this issue isn't too high, you know it is a flashback, but how Bucky rebels from his Russian masters and finds some humanity is well done and touching as is his developing relationship with Black Widow. The final few pages showing who he is talking to is touching as well. The art is simple and stylistic making it a perfect fit for a story set in the past. If this were published in the years of the Cold War it would have had a similar style making it work so well. After reading this I can't wait for the new Winter Soldier series coming out in a few months Bucky and Natasha fighting evil sounds great. 4.5/5

Secret Avengers #19 - Did you ever read Warren Ellis' Global Frequency series? It was a series of one shots of people taking down unique and weird threats. His short stint on Secret Avengers is Global Frequency with super heroes, right down to a new artist on every issue! This one rests on Steve Rogers (at this time former Captain America), Black Widow, SHIELD agent Sharon Carter, and Moon Knight taking down the man who has developed a drug that may be an offshoot of the super soldier serum that created Captain America. What follows is a fun and fast paced tale of infiltration and fighting and includes Moon Knight playing James Bond, Steve Rogers setting someone on fire using alcohol, and the two women being a pair of purely awesome bad asses that they don't always get a chance to be. The twists of the plot and the tiny character moments make this issue work so well and make me happy to enjoy this all too brief run of Ellis. We finally get a sequel to Global Frequency, all it is missing is the Brian Wood covers. Did I mention the whole mission is finished once the issue ends? It is a short and awesome action movie with no commitment to further issues, though I highly recommend you stay on for the whole ride! 5/5

more comic reviews from 11/16

Avengers #19 - I am a bit of a sucker for team forming stories, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I liked this issue which introduces the "new" Avengers team. I say it like that because really they are just out a member or two and replace them with Storm and a former Avenger who is a fan favorite who I did miss. It also seems like Spider-Man and Wolverine are off the team which is good, they are both on two other teams, Avengers will do fine without em. Now though I admit how much of a sucker I am, this issue did have some hitches, like Storm appearing and then being shoved aside mid sentence for the mystery Avenger (which is fine in and of itself but I hope this isn't how she is treated for good), and a few too many random asides and conversations that don't add much to the story, but that is Bendis for you. I do have two fanboyish gripes though, first I thought everyone forgot that Thor ever existed and was replaced perpetually by the new thunder god? If so I don't think Bendis got the message, this is the second Avengers issue post Fear Itself to discuss missing Thor, just seems like he doesn't care about the ideas of others. My other thing is that at the end a villain shows up to make a ruckus and it made me wonder, do the Avengers go out and stop evil anymore? Or does it always come to them? Besides that though, as I said I'm a sucker for these stories. 4/5

Fear Itself #7.3 - With this issue the 7 issue Fear Itself finally ends its 10 issue run. Like 7.1 and 7.2 (I hate the point system by the way) these are really just an issue of the main book of whoever is starring in the given issue (this time Iron Man) and "resolve" something doing with Fear Itself. Thus far by resolve it has meant undoing a major event, like (spoilers)


In 7.1 we find out Bucky Barnes never actually died, Nick Fury and Black Widow replaced him with a fake to force Steve Rogers to return as Cap, which understandably pisses Cap off but at the end he agrees and it ends happy. 7.2 does something similar and finishes with Thor opening his eyes.

Now in 7.3 we get another major event in Fear Itself being nullified by the definition of dues ex machina, and it pulls it off...mostly. It only works because it is built in such a way that you want the villain to pay, want horrible things to happen to them because of all the right heartstrings being pulled by the incident which gets over turned. As far as take backs go it isn't all that badly done and makes you a bit happy about it, until you really think about it. In this comic Iron Man who is the title character of this issue, doesn't do anything. He doesn't solve the problem, he just mopes and wines and contemplates murdering a defenseless man. The latter by the way becomes irrelevant later on and makes Tony seem a bit of a dick. But on first read through the book works, gets the response it wants and only after thinking about it do you find the flaws. 3/5

Walking Dead #91 - At this point in time you either read the Walking Dead or you don't. The art is great as always and the story is still moving along. This issue is a little bit more resolution and build up over the last few issues of big events. It is a breather issue while giving Sophie (who needs to be found in the show already) and Andrea (who could just die already in the show) a few good character moments. If anything my only criticism is as a stand alone issue this doesn't offer much, unlike the more recent ones, but it will work great in the trade. 4/5

Incredible Hulk #2 - I don't know what I think about Bruce Banner being an immoral mad scientist trying to get the Hulk back after seperating them. I also don't know about undoing the excellent ending to Pak's run on Hulk off panel. But it has happened and we must move on when dealing with corporate comics and I shall. The Banner parts of this story just don't jive with me. I can't see him experimenting on anything and everything due to being sad he isn't Hulk anymore, especially what he does at the end, pure evil move; I also don't see Betty/She-Hulk leaving like she does in a flashback outside of editorial mandate so she can be in the Defenders. So that part of the book doesn't work for me. The Hulk part where he fights giant sharks on the other hand, now that works! Why can't the book just be that? The mysterious government woman who keeps flirting with Hulk can die though, don't care one bit. Just give me Hulk fighting giant monsters! The art is a bit of an issue, the issue got a ton of flack for many fill in artists on this the second issue and from an Image founder at that, many jokes flew. But since Silvestri is apparently dealing with a medical problem it is very understandable. The art won't impact the final result which I'm afraid is a bit low due to Banner weirdness. 2/5

Wonder Woman #3 - Did I read a weirdly mixed issue? It felt to me like the first dozen pages were in the wrong order, I should have tried a different copy to find out for sure. Besides that little snafu though, this continues an interesting take on the Amazon. We find out in this issue that Diana wasn't made from clay after all and that her mother actually had an affair with Zeus himself to conceive her. The story of lust and keeping it hidden from bards and Gods alike takes up a bit of the issue as is building to it and resolving it. This issue is sadly a bit of filler and makes me question why did WW ever go to Paradise Island in the first place when she just turns around and leaves. I'm still invested in this story after the first two issues, but this one added nothing beyond giving WW a daddy and showing angry Amazons. Thankfully the art is still wonderfully done and I am invested from before. 3/5

Witch Doctor #4 - what a fun ride this book has been! With this issue our good doctor and his lackeys fight Cthulhu's Deep Ones in only a way a doctor of the occult could. This issue is also the first to start tying things together, showing the greater world outside of the occult medical emergencies and start to thread it all together. This is the final issue of this series, with a one shot coming out shortly and another series to follow shortly. If you haven't been reading this I highly recommend picking up the trade when it is released since odds are your comic shop criminally under ordered this. 5/5

comics review 11/16/11

This is a quick pellet review of superhero comics released world wide today. The review is from the top of my head and written on the train ride to work after reading them before.

Batman #3 - This book should be titled Detective Comics, Batman is in pure detective mode throughout as both he and we discover more and more about the Order of the Owl and its ties to both Gotham and the Wayne family. I can't discuss too much more without breaking down the mystery itself which is well done and building so perfectly. There is little action to the book and I could care less honestly. The artwork is strong and goes from being the right kind of moody to showing the light of Bruce Wayne perfectly. 4/5

Justice League #3 - Now this was a fun and entertaining comic. While Green Lantern keeps acting like a tool with Batman, Superman, and the Flash kicking ass and acting professional during their fight with the Parademons, the bulk of the issue focuses on Wonder Woman and the creation of Cyborg. The Wonder Woman stuff is great and shows off both her compassion and bad assness which is very welcome. When Wonder Woman joins the fight there is some good interactions with the characters which makes up a lot for the decompression feel of the story. The character who appears on the final page, and how they proclaim they should be leader made me smile and want to read the next issue. The art is well, it is Jim Lee, it is well done and dynamic, exactly the quality you expect. 5/5

Nightwing #3 - we continue to dig deeper into Dick's past with the circus while dealing with the death of the owner and apparent life long protector of Dick. Dick seems to be one to run from his past a bit or so is accused as such by former friends. It is a very interesting look at the most under explored side of his life, the circus life outside of just his family. While Nightwing's fight in the middle of an issue with a former circus friend now turned hitman/hitman liaison, was pretty well thought out and artfully done it left me a bit baffled. I take it the guy knew it was Dick in the suit, I mean he grew up with the guy and it isn't hard to tell otherwise with that mask if you know Dick Grayson, but why did they fight? Just because he didn't want to admit he didn't know who it was who killed the circus owner? Seems forced for the sake of needing a fight scene and introduce a (throw away?) character who has ties to the main character's past to add some "depth". The character interactions are what makes this issue worth while, the people of the circus feel like fleshed out characters and the flashbacks work well to strengthen that. The reveal of who hired the killer is a bit out of a procedural cop show, but still works for the purposes of the story. The artwork is well done and capably shows Nightwing flying and fighting while also working well for all the character work being done. 4/5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 - This book continues to read as fan fiction gone wrong. We are without random Starfire sleeping with people or her being more scantily clad, but it still is far from a good or compelling issue. Apparently Arsenal has been suicidal for years now, and once tried to use Killer Croc as a means of suicide, what!?!? This kind of stuff made me not care for the character in the first place, so not happy it continues. Also confused how he was Green Arrow's sidekick when it seems like GA is still new to the game in his own book. Really the only thing that was enjoyable in the issue were the last few pages featuring a young Jason Todd as Robin being too sick to go out on patrol, it is heartwarming and the opposite of what I would ever expect from this book. 1.75/5

X-23 #17 - when did this book become so much fun? X-23 (or Laura) is hanging out with Gambit who is back to being a charming and dangerous Cajun once again, she has an odd but flirtatious relationship with Hellion who doesn't come off as a complete tool while still keeping some of his assholish qualities, and she now baby sits for the Future Foundation! The story is pretty simple, discussion of the previous adventure and other issues of the past are discussed, Hellion and Laura have an aggresive and odd flirtatious fight/discussion, Gambit acts all suave and bad ass, and then Laura meets with the Invisible Woman and starts baby sitting for Franklin and Val Richards who just want to use a small nuclear explosive to go back in time to pet a dinosaur. What follows is traditional Adventures in Baby Sitting fair, a boy (Hellion) wants to come over, the kids get into trouble (something big and scaley arrives via Val's messing around with technology) and the parents are currently none the wiser. The cover even is an homage to the movie Adventures in Baby Sitting which is what made me pick up the issue in the first place. Speaking of the art, it is great. The painted style works so well for the book and the characters are crisp and the facial expressions are spot on making the dialogue superfluous at times to read the book. The pure fun and the interesting interactions in the book make me want to read more which is saying a lot of a book about the female clone of Wolverine. 5/5