THIS WEEK IN COMICS!!

So after an almost 3 week hiatus, This Week In Comics has returned!! Sorry for not letting you guys know that TWIC was taking a break but I did not know either. The store has just been really busy lately and I haven't had a chance to hop aboard the computer. So let's not lollygag too much and get back into it.

Marvel released part 5 of 6 this week of the quite astounding book 1985. If you haven't been reading this title, you've been living in a cave for the past 6 months. 1985 is all about a young boy whose world is completely flipped around when he comes to find that the Marvel Universe villains have crossed over into his world. Now at this point in the series, it's still just villains who have crossed over while he has crossed over to the Marvel Universe. So do yourself a favor, come down to the store and pick up all the issues of this amazing title. It's really worth every penny.

So last night I went to the movies and I saw the movie CHOKE. Choke is from the same author of Fight Club. I had never heard of Choke but I have read and seen Fight Club so I was interested. I highly recommend this movie. It's all about a sex addict who is trying to figure out where to go in life but has no idea that that's what he's doing. It's complicated to explain without giving away the movie. So just head on down to your local theater and check it out

As of the past month, I have been on a 90's Image Comics binge and recently I've reread the WildC.A.T.S. & Cyber Force crossover "Killer Instinct." Now most people will frown upon this but I grew up with all of these titles and they all hold a special place in my heart. So for as terrible as the story may or may not be, I was in heaven reading what I grew up on and see as the foundation of my comic reading life. So even if you hate these old comics, just go back and reread them just for the hell and fun of it. Comics aren't meant to be groundbreaking all the time. To me, comics do break ground in the social scene of the world but they also provide an over the top escape into fantasy at times.

Lastly we have the new video game STAR WARS : THE FORCE UNLEASHED!! Quite possibly the greatest thing to ever happen to STAR WARS since the original trilogy. Set 2 years before Star Wars : A New Hope, Force Unleashed sets you as Vader's Secret Apprentice. And then the hilarity and awesome insue. I spent a good 20 minutes throwing wookies off a bridge. Its the funniest and greatest thing ever all rolled into one. And the cool part is that the Grahpic Novel that came out about a month ago is so good too, that the game is that much more because of how well the entire idea has been handled. So If you have an interest in the game, Buy the graphic novel to see if you like the story and if you dig the store go get the game. If you just love Star Wars, get both. Anyway you can get some form of STAR WARS : THE FORCE UNLEASHED

something anybody interested in comics should listen to

i came across this interview with scott mcloud which i urge anyone with an interest in the medium to listen to... check it out here.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 30

Hey there everyone and welcome to the 30th installment of This Week In Comics. This is your captain speaking and it's my job to guide you though the what's hot and what's not of the comic and comic related worlds. So let's not wait anymore and get right into our first little segment of Comics!!

This week saw the release of the FORCE UNLEASHED graphic novel. Being that it's the adaptation of the yet to be released Star Wars: Force Unleashed video game, it had a lot to live up to and boy did it deliver. Taking place exactly 2 years before the Battle of Yavin(That's Return of the Jedi or Episode 6 for you lameoids) Force Unleashed is all about Darth Vader's secret apprentice. Now the whole focus of the book is that Vader wants to overthrow the emperor and is using his secret apprentice to create the means to do so. Now going any further into detail would totally give away the twists and turn of this book. Now the art is pretty typical for a Star Wars comic. To sum up the art work in one word, Beautiful. Never have I seen an ugly Star Wars comic and I highly doubt I ever will because they consistently choose spectacular artists. So do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this graphic novel. It's only $15.95 and for an original graphic novel it's pretty fair priced because usually they're $19.99.

Now this week is getting a DOUBLE DOSE in the comics section. We have Golly! by Phil Hester and it's being published by Image. Golly! is all about a carnival worker who becomes burdened with having to tell everyone in the world about the coming apocalypse and why they should be scared. Within the first 5 pages your laughing your ass off and the art is really well done. It's not the most amazing book to look at but is sure as hell isn't ugly. Issue #1 is the only one out so far so if your looking for something new to read why not start on a number #1.

So now we wander over to the movie section and this week I have a goody for you guys. This week I'm all about GODZILLA:KING OF MONSTERS. Now I recently read a review for this on Newsarama.com and made me go dig out my copy of it. Well Newsarama was dead on with their review about it so I'm just gonna copy/paste their review so you can see why I went back and grabbed my copy.

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956): The title says it all. Godzilla is the king! The movie that launched an industry of atomic-powered monsters, Godzilla still reigns as the 400-foot tall champion. We recommend picking up the unedited Japanese version (Gojira) if you get a chance. It's longer, and it doesn't have Raymond Burr cut in as reporter Steve Martin. Regardless, Godzilla is king of rubber-suit land.

Despite the dated effects, the movie still holds up extremely well; it crushes by comparison the weak Devlin/Emmerich remake from 1998. Hell, the scene of Bob Goldthwait in a Godzilla suit stomping the model development in One Crazy Summer is about twenty times as good as the Devlin/Emmerich version. (Yes, there are those who argue the merits of the Devlin/Emmerich version. But we must insist: Godzilla is not an iguana). - Review By Troy Brownfield"

As you can see I'm easily swayed by sheer enthusiasm because his being excited got me excited and I spread the excitement onto you.

This week saw the release of the game TOO HUMAN for Xbox 360. Too Human is about the norse god Baldur and how he's helping humanity fight against the rising threat of machines. The plot sounds very much like the Matrix except for the fact the Matrix has no story and Too Human is jam packed with story. The graphics are pure beauty and the fighting system is really fun to use. The left and right triggers are your guns while the right joystick is your sword. Essentially if you wanna hack away at something with your sword, point at the guy with the right joystick and away goes Baldur sword in hand to beat the oil out of him. Now the there is no difficulty settings which makes you think it just gets progressively harder, which it does. Now the difficulty also has a lot to do with your class choice. If you choose the Berserker class, you rip through things quickly but die often because of the lower health whereas if you choose the Defender class, your going to die less but spend more time hacking away at the bad guys. It's just a fun game and it's definitely worth picking up.

Well there's no TV section this week because I haven't seen anything really worth mentioning lately. So hopefully I catch something this week that everyone should check out. See everyone in a week and oh yeah LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 29

Hey there everyone! It's me, LB JONES, once more to deliver the what's what in comics. So I'm gunna change it up this week and for the next few weeks. TWIC is going to be more than comics now. It's going to be me talking about Comics, Movies, TV and Video Games. The main focus will always be comics but since comics are now a multi media thing now It's only a natural progression to expand This Week In Comics. So let's not keep you guys waiting anymore and get one with the new and improved TWIC.

So kicking it off this week is SPOOKS :OMEGA TEAM #0. Coming from the minds of Larry Hama (G.I. JOE) And R.A. Salvatore(FORGOTTEN REALMS), Spooks is a secret government team that 's sole mission is to fight the supernatural. It's sort of like Nick Fury meets Proof meets Hellboy. The reason I add Nick Fury to the mix is because the leader of the team looks like Nick Fury and is as bad ass as Nick Fury. To sum up what Spooks is all about, Here's the description from Devil's Due Publishings website -- "Omega Team is the elite division of SPOOKS -- the baddest of the bad. Their job is to exterminate monsters with extreme prejudice, the things too dangerous for anyone else to handle." Check it out, It's 99 cents. It's not a 4 page preview. It's a full comic, so your not getting ripped off.

Now the first installment of the new set up will be for TV and the very first show to be featured is FREAKAZOID! Yes after 10 years of waiting, Steven Spielberg finally releases the greatest cartoon ever on DVD. It's only the first season but it's absolutely hysterical and it totally held up over the years. They do talk about computer speeds in one episode and if you know anything about computers you sit and laugh at how amazed at the speed of computers in 1995 as compared to today. So stop lollygagging and go get this first season and enjoy the awesome funny of FREAKAZOID!

Moving from TV to Video Games, We have SOUL CALIBUR IV. It's absolutely amazing. The graphics are perfect and the controls are as tight as ever. I have the XBOX 360 version where you get the ability to play as YODA and I have to say Yoda is so amazingly cheap it's ridiculous. He's so tiny you have to low attack all the time and you can't grab him! Also if you beat Arcade mode with Yoda, You unlock Vader's Secret Apprentice. The Secret Apprentice is the main character of the yet to be released Star Wars: Force Unleashed game. Well anyways. If you have an XBOX 360, Go buy this game and be amazed at the pure awesome of it. Now GO!

And to finish off this new format and to introduce the movie section, we have VAMPIRE HUNTER D. Now I've reviewed both the manga and the novels. This is quite possibly my favorite franchise ever. The animes are 2 of the greatest movies I've ever seen. The whole plot of Vampire Hunter D is that it's the year 12,090 AD and humans are now only starting to regain control of the world from the vampire nobility. D is the main character obviously, his whole deal is he's a vampire hunter whose also a dhampir(he's called a Dunpeal in the movies but that's do to translation errors). So he's hated by both sides. Vampires hate him for killing his own kind and helping humanity while humans hate and fear him for being half vampire. It's just such an awesome story and it's just refreshing to see the idea of vampires grow beyond just a vampire stalking someone for their blood. So definitely go get a copy of each movie plus read the manga or novels. All three medias are just spectacular.

So that wraps the new version of TWIC. Please let me know if this is working for you guys. If not I'll go back to the original style

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 28

Hi,
This isn't LBJ's this week in comics, Its Gore' Motherfuckin' Jones. hahahaha. sucks for you. So now I might have your attention for a minute or two, time to throw some books at you that I think you should be reading and not passing by when your scanning the shelves.

HACK/SLASH.
Tim Seeley and Emily Stone produce one of the best monthly books period. STOP FUCKIN WALKING PAST IT OR BLOWING IT OFF, READ THIS FUCKING COMIC!!!! THEY HAD A SUICIDE GIRLS ISSUE. CASSIE THE MAIN CHARACTER DID A FUCKIN FULL NUDE SPREAD!!!
Alright, now that I'm done bitching. Its the basic story of "Slasher gets revenge" but what happens when the slasher victim gets revenge. Interested?? Cassie Hack our main character is the almost victim of a slasher close to home, She becomes almost obsessed with the idea of these "people" walking around just killing random people. Cassie meets Vlad ( a combo of Frankenstein's monster meets Jason Voorhees) and takes the role of the "slasher hunter".
Amazing every month, If you've never read it we have all the trades in stock. If you are reading it please come and talk to me about it. No one here other than me and Socko read it at the store ( aside from Slacks but she's leaving to go to college ;*( )

Next one for you is:

Doktor Sleepless by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez.
Warren Fuckin Ellis needs no introduction or praise. He's WARREN FUCKIN ELLIS! the man is the godfather of modern comic writing and story telling in general. He's one of my favorite writers and I'll buy anything he makes because he's that incredible. Here's his synopsis for DOKTOR SLEEPLESS ;

You are never going into space.
You will never own a jet pack.
Your car will never fly.
HIV will not be cured in your lifetime.
Cancer will not be cured in your lifetime.
The common cold will not be cured in your lifetime.
Don't these things bother you?

Suicide is the third biggest killer of teenagers in the United States.
In 1999 more people in America died from suicide than from homicide.
Do you think about this?

As anyone who ever read MyDeathSpace.com for any period of time know, the leading cause of death in America is automobile accident. This is generally interpolated into a number placed under the heading "accidental death." When the operation of cars is the leading cause of loss of life I'm not entirely sure how it comes under the term "accidental death." It wasn't a fucking accident, it was done by someone with a car. It's 2007 and we don't know how to operate cars without killing people. It's not a fucking accident if it was caused by someone getting into a one-ton metal bullet that cannot be operated with complete control at all times.

In Europe in 2004, 13000 kids – persons under the age of fourteen -- died due to poor water. It’s 2007 and the society does not yet understand how to operate water.

Are you thinking about this now?

People keep asking me what DOKTOR SLEEPLESS is about. This is what it's about.

Someone stole your future. Don't you ever wonder who?

If thats not cool enough for you well then eat me.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 27

Hey what's going on everyone, This week was filled with a lot of good reading and nothing was terrible for once. So let's not dilly dally too much and get right down to it.

So this week I got around to finishing up reading the G.I.JOE omnibus. Wrapping up 200 something issues of continuity starting with the MARVEL comics run, The World War Three omnibus delivers so much awesome my head almost exploded. So as you can tell Cobra was up to some crazy jazz and started WW3. Sounds simple enough, well how about Cobra had infiltrated every government in the world and when they finally set the plan in motion, goal one is to take over the White House. Oh yeah thats only the first HALF of the massive 12 issue book. So don't hesitate too much and come get yourself a really good read and just support G.I. JOE damn it!

Next up we got GRIMM FAIRY TALES : RETURN TO WONDERLAND! Alice is all grown up, married, has 2 kids and is being haunted by the white rabbit. That's just the background story, The main story is that Alice's daughter,Carroll Ann, is pulled into Wonderland and has to deal with the sick and twisted things that now comprise Wonderland. Yes in the Grimm Fairy Tale universe, Wonderland is a bunch of rainbows and gumdrop kisses. In Grimm Fairy Tales, Wonderland is filled with psychos and sick shit. For example the Mad Hatter is an old dirty Rapist and the white rabbit is slowly rotting away. Well now that I have your attention, This week at the store(7/30/08) We are having the Writer of Return to Wonderland, RAVEN GREGORY, in for a signing. Everyone should totally stop in, read some Grimm Fairy Tales because of how awesome and twisted they are plus the writer of Grimm Fairy Tales is going to be here. So stop lolly gagging.

So shooting out from Image this week we have the MONSTER PILE-UP. For just 2 bucks, thats right 2 DOLLARS, Image is hooking everyone up with 4 short stories. Each short story is from 1 of Image's monster books. The 4 books are Proof, Perhapnauts, Astounding Wolf-Man, and Firebreather. All the stories are done by their normal creative teams and are an awesome way to check out some series you may not be reading. Each story really does get to the heart of what book is. Each story is really good and I've reviewed most of the titles contained within. The only one I haven't really read is The Perhapnauts because I wanna read from the beginning and we're getting in volume 1 this week so that will be making an appearance here next week. So anyways, Everyone should read this because it's a good intro for 4 good books and it's only 2 bucks.

And lastly this week we have the MINI MARVELS TRADE!! Yes finally the greatest goofy series of back up stories has been collected into one awesome volume. Now the Mini Marvels are the little 1 or 2 page stories at the end of most of Marvel comics. Now most of us probably see them as stories for little kids which they sorta are but only if your a little kid who reads the current Marvel stories. Everyone should totally be reading this book because it's hilarious and awesome and it is such a perfect spoof of Marvel. It's fun seeing a comic company poke fun of it's self. So yeah don't just sit there and read this, go get yourself some Mini Marvel's!

So that's it for this week, Sorry for the delay but the internet was down for a day in my house. Well anyways I got some news. I just started playing Diablo 2 again and I need some people for online games and what not. So if your in just send me a message via Myspace. My Url is Myspace.com/tpaone. so yeah Hit it up, Laters.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 26

Hello there everybody, It's LB here for the 26Th time. Sorry I'm a little late. So let's not wait and delay anymore.

We all know I'm not a huge Superman fan but I recently finished the "Superman and The Legion Of Superheroes" by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. I really have to say for a character I dislike, they made me like him. For most of the book Supes is without his powers because in the future Earth's sun has become red. It's pretty much "A Dude in Blue Tights and The Legion". But anyways, the whole reason Superman is in the future is because a bunch of Legion rejects have somehow risen up and declare that Superman was human not an alien. With Superman being declared human not an alien, the Legion rejects are attacking all non-humans on Earth. This story is definitely work reading and this is coming from someone who dislikes Superman.

Next we have issue #14 of Dynamo 5. I've probably already spoken about how awesome this book is and how everyone should read it. Well I'm saying it again because with issue #14, we have a really good jump on point for anyone looking to read monthly and not wait for the trades. This issue picks up from issue #13 with Dynamo 5 having broken up and Tower City under siege from super villains. Again Jay Faerber does an amazing job at writing intrigue and at keeping you involved. So go out. Get the first 2 trades and this issue. GO NOW!

After some awesome reading you should continue that with Essential Werewolf By Night vol.1. Coming straight out of the 70's, we have one of the greatest horror comics ever. Werewolf By Night is all about Jack Russell who comes to find out that he's really a werewolf and so was his real father. The art is amazing Mike Ploog does an awesome job at art and Gerry Conway writes an awesome story. Granted it's very 70's from the dialog and from how everyone is dressed, that just makes it more awesome because that means some disco kid is getting mauled by a werewolf. Now stop slacking and go get it. There's a reason they're called ESSENTIALS.

Lastly we have Amazing Spider-Man. God it's awful. Since they took Straczynski off of ASM, it's been on a spiral downwards of terrible. I mean it's out 3 times a month and all the stories are sub-par, villains show up for no clear reason and Spidey makes the lamest of jokes. Recently Daredevil showed up and made the comment of "I wish the isotope had made me deaf not blind" in regards to a joke from Spider-Man. Totally lame! The art has been good in ASM but the writing is awful and I just wish that they would choose a direction for the book already.

So that's it for this week. See everyone at the store.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 25

It was the professor in the billiards room with the candle stick?! Oh wait wrong thing, hehehe. So what's going on everybody out in the world. It's the one and only LB JONES here once again to deliver the news of what's hot and what you should avoid like the plague. This week offered up some gold and nothing bad. I really enjoyed most of this week's new titles and some of the older ones I got to read. So let's not waste anytime and get right down to it!

A goody that I was finally about to get to finish reading is PROOF. Proof is a still sorta new title from Image. It's only 9 issues deep and the first trade has hit the shelves already. So your asking yourself "why should I read this book?" Well you should read this book because it's friggin' awesome. The main characters are an FBI agent named Ginger Brown who gets transferred to a special division based of of Washington.....State. When she finally gets there she finds out what the division is. Her new job is to hunt cryptids and by hunt I mean Find and Save. Cryptids are creatures such as the Jersey Devil, Pixies, Fairies and Bigfoot. Which speaking of Bigfoot, He's the other main character. Now come get this book before the real Bigfoot kicks your ass.

Next we have the second volume in the VAMPIRE HUNTER D manga series. This volume is the first of any of the Vampire Hunter D library to appear in anyform other than a book. That's right, the first volume and third volumes are the 2 movies. Also the first and third volumes are also the first and third in the book series. So anyways, This time around D is hunting for vampires. What that's not interesting enough?! OK FINE! These vampires can walk in the DAYLIGHT! HA! Bet you didn't see that coming did ya?! DID YA?! oh boy. Sorry about that I just am such a huge fan of this series I get a bit too excited. So anyways the art in this volume is just as gorgeous and brooding as the last. Don't hesitate too much with this book, It's a throughly enjoyable read and it's a fresh Vampire Hunter D story for everyone seeing as it's the first "NEW" story.

Thirdly we have Pilot Season : Urban Myths. This is the new Jay Faerber book or one shot for the time being. Now if your unfamiliar with Pilot Season what it is is Image produces 5 or 6 one shot stories that when all are out, the fans vote for 2 of them to receive the right to become an ongoing title. Urban Myths is my pick because everything that Jay Faerber has written that I've read (Noble Causes, Dynamo 5, Gemini) has been amazing and this one shot issue continued that. Urban Myths is about a detective named Jack Kaklamanis or as he's known on the streets "Jack Medusa" and in reading Urban Myths you find out why. The story takes place in the city of New Athens. If you've noticed the whole theme of the books is greek myths have taken life and live in an urban setting. Now the actual main story revolves around Jack being hired to locate a runaway girl which how he finds her takes him to the depths of Hell. Urban Myths is really well written and the art fits the story perfectly. I'd really like to see this become an ongoing title because there is so much that can come out of this book and I just see really good reading in the future if this gets picked up. So please make my wish come true!

Last but Definitely not least we have issue #0 of Captain America : White. This is the fourth installment of the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale color series from Marvel. With this one they focus on how Cap really felt about Bucky and his death. Now issue #0 is only a teaser issue but it really helps to set the tone and focus of the title. Also if you've ever read any of the other three color series just pick this up and enjoy yet another good read. The first three color series are Daredevil:Yellow, Spider-Man:Blue and Hulk:Gray. All of which are amazing and everyone should read because they add so much depth to the respective characters. So with Captain America:White, we get to see the magic happen for a fourth time and I promise it won't fail to be one amazing read. So go get this nice starting point.

So that's it folks, This is week 25 and damn am I happy to get here. Now we're making our way over to week 50. See you guys in 7.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 24

Hey what's goin on party people?! Once again I, LB JONES, will be telling you guys whats the hotness and whats super garbage in comics. Just a quick note, I missed last week due to half of the shopping plaza losing power because of the thunderstorms and my not wanting to risk frying the computer in case of a power surge. So let's not wait around and get into it.

Starting this week we have THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN! This now monthly series is brought to you by Robert Kirkman, the man responsible for Invincible,Brit,Walking Dead,Capes and Battle Pope. With this month's issue Kirkman makes the book a monthly title instead of a bi-monthly. So now we're gunna be getting some super hero/horror action every month, WOOT! This is really one of my favorite books and if your not reading it, You are a dummy and should get trade number 1 when it finally hits the shelves in a month. So this whole issue starts the reveal of who Zacharia is and why he was/is so eager to help the Astounding one. Plenty of blood and werewolf action beautifully drawn by Jason Howard. If I was you guys, Buy issue #8 when it drops next month and than get trade one and enjoy it's awesome.

Next we have BATMAN! YAY BATMAN WOOOOOOOOT! Not so much actually. Grant Morrison has gone crazy and has become a terrible writer for some reason. This month's issue of BATMAN jumps around way too much, is hard to follow and doesn't connect with what's going on in Robin or Nightwing. Both of whom show up and get their asses handed to them. The only good thing about this story is Tony Daniel's artwork. It's really top notch stuff, too bad he has terrible story telling skills. That's all about that. So yeah, JUDD WINICK PLEASE COME BACK TO BATMAN, YOU WERE AWESOME!!!

Sneaking it's way in from the invasion is SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE. This series has just always been really good for it's skill at showing what it really is like during the big Marvel events. This one is more of like a disaster film type setting than the others seeing as it's an all out war type story it's pulling from. Brian Reed captures amazingly what it's like to be trapped in a battle ground. The focus of this Front Line is on 3 separate people. It's really just an awesome book and if your reading Secret Invasion, you should be reading this. Now come and get it!

So I totally loved the first issue of the new ETERNALS ongoing and I finally got to finish reading the Neil Gaiman ETERNALS series that came out a year ago and god was it good. I totally didn't like John Romita Jr's pencils but Gaiman's story was absolutely amazing I could deal with bad art. Everyone should read this book and will love it because it's so amazing and it brings the ETERNALS back so perfectly I couldn't stop reading it when I started. Now come get this and the first issue of the new series if you haven't gotten it and enjoy the AWESOME!!

Jeff Smith's Noirtoon

I just finished reading Jeff Smith's Rasl #2... and i've gotta say, we're laying down the groundwork for a great sci-fi / noir epic in this issue... the likes of which i'd never have expected from the man behind the magnum cartoon opus that is Bone.

And i guess that's what's so intriguing about the book in the first place. How out of left field it is for a Jeff Smith comic. I remember my first encounter with a Bone comic, and years later finishing the epic and thinking to myself, "I'm enjoying this just as much now as i did when i was 11 years old." Rasl is in no way that kind of book. In fact, if you're a parent looking for another great graphic novel series for your kid because they enjoyed Bone EVER so much, this ain't the book. Check out the back cover where it says 'suggested for mature readers.' Look through it if you want. You'll see why...

Either way, Smith is still weaving an interesting tale. The second issue introduces a love interest who, I would imagine, will influence the decisions the main character will make for the rest of the series (you'll understand after issue two.) It also offers an explanation as to what (if not EXACTLY) was going on in issue one. Still early on... but I'm enjoying this...

There's a big difference in the character design in Rasl when compared to the designs in Bone... The stylization in Bone is often compared to that of a great Disney Cartoon. Simple slick line work, with tons of emotion and movement in the characters. Believable body language... I'd be lying if i didn't say that I believe Bone to be flawless in terms of character design. I unfortunately do not feel the same way about Rasl.

Smith, from what I'm seeing in these pages... is trying to get away from what he was doing in Bone... He's introducing grit and a degree of realism into the characters that he did not have in Bone and that is great. It's always good for artists of all kinds to try new things, and i don't blame him for it one bit. Unfortunately, I don't think it's working the way he wants it to work. These characters don't seem to be as expressive as his Bone lot. There's a lot of panels where characters seem to retain awkward body posture, and proportions that just don't work no matter what style you're trying to work in. I can't really tell what he's trying to do with these characters visually and i'm not sure if he even knows yet...

But don't let this be a hindrance on your reading the series. Regardless of the artistic hurdles Smith is currently overcoming (it happens to all the greats!), he's still giving us something fun and exciting to read. Check it out if you get the chance.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 23

Is it really that time yet again? Well it appears it is. So let's get started shall we. Once upon a time there was a hobbit who.....Am I really not aloud to read to them THE HOBBIT? Well thats a damn shame. Good book, good movie. well than how bout this. IT IS I ONCE MORE, LB JONES, here to deliver with some zazz THIS WEEK IN COMICS!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Coming outta DC this week is a hopefully out of continuity tale of the TANGENT UNIVERSE. The book of which I speak is Superman's Reign. It is quite honestly one of my favorite books that DC is putting out right now and we all know how I feel regarding DC. So anywho, the story of Superman's Reign is that within the Tangent Universe, Superman (Tangent) has risen up and taken over the world and it's up to the Tangent JLA and some of the normal DCU to stop him! It's awesome because Tangent Superman is CRAZY! also I just really like the different takes on DC characters as opposed to the regular DC characters themselves. Well everyone should definitely check this title out because not only are you given a great story, they are also providing a 5 page back up story explaining the Tangent Universe.

Also from DC this week we have the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. I, for one, have grown incredibly tired of this book. They haven't really progress anything in the DCU and they keep rehashing and continuing a boring story with AMAZO. Oh My God, Red Tornado wants a body but Amazo keeps stealing it, RUN!!! MEDIOCRE STORY HO!!!! Really Dwayne McDuffie did an amazing job with the Fantastic Four and Justice League Unlimited was an awesome show but so far his run of JLA has been incredibly boring. Seeing that last month they set up Morrison to kill Martian Manhunter in Final Crisis or as I call it Final Failure, They did not make one mention of said death and that lends once again to DC's failure as a company to keep their universe from falling apart. The only good thing about this book to me right now is Ed Benes' artwork. He's such a good artist and he's saddled to a title that should be epicenter of the DCU but isn't. Sorry Ed, you need to get to a different book.

From Image a few years ago we have THE FRESHMAN. This is the comic that Seth Green co-created and boy did he create a goodie. The Freshman is all about a group of college freshman who manifest superpowers when an experiment at their school blows up. The only problem with their powers are that they either suck or are great. Like one of the characters becomes incredibly sticky because when the experiment blows up he was testing to see if he could put 600 sticky notes on his body and then theres the girl who can body jump into people because she wanted to know what was in other people's heads. That's pretty much the spectrum the powers run. It's really well written and it's pretty funny. Leonard Kirk's artwork is awesome and dead on. Totally worth checking it out.

Tearing through the Marvel time stream this week is WOLVERINE. Yes, everyone's favorite badass is back and better than before. This week saw the release of the OLD MAN LOGAN arc. That means MARK MILLAR AND STEVE McNIVEN!! The heralds of Civil War are telling a set in the future arc of WOLVERINE. ok you got me interested. The world is post apocalyptic, Keep goin. There are no more heroes, Wolverine hasn't been Wolverine in almost 50 years. Almost got me. Hawkeye is now blind but still drives. Ok you got me. I love Hawkeye, I love apocolypse's and I love Wolverine, Where do I sign up for what was the BEST first part of a story I've read since Captain America #1. Everyone should read this, Even if you hate Wolverine. And the reason why you should read it.... Well because I reviewed it and Liked it and am passing said Enthusiasm onto you. Now go READ!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 22

Well hello there everyone, What's goin on out there in the world? It tis I, LB JONES, here once again with the hip hop happening with the latest and greatest in the world of comics. Sorry I missed last week, things were crazy hectic around here. So with out further delay I present to you, Mystery Science ........ Wait, what do you mean I can't just link a movie? That's not cool. OK so it seems that according to the higher ups I can't give you guys an awesome movie to watch. So I substitute it with THIS WEEK IN COMICS!!

Reemerging from Image this week, We have Witchblade. Now I've reviewed Witchblade before, but this is different than the normal Witchblade. This review is for the totally great Trade Paperback of the original first 8 issues. Yes Image is reprinting the original Witchblade stuff in a new line of trades called "Witchblade: Origins." Obviously this trade is the origin story for Sara Pezzini, the wielder of the Witchblade. We also are introduced to Kenneth Irons and Ian Nottingham, both of whom are total badasses and will plague Sara for a good portion of the series. If you've never read Witchblade this is a perfect book to start off on because it introduces the main characters and is very well written and drawn. David Wohl is the scribe of this particular volume and Micheal Turner provides awesome pencils from when he could still draw. For those who do read Witchblade and have never read any of this, definitely go back and read this stuff because it applies heavily to what's going on right now in Witchblade.

Next from Image again we have INVINCIBLE issue 50! Yeah this book was that good. Ending the mystery surrounding Cecil and bringing to light all the crazy shit that has gone down in the series up till this point. Invincible #50 is once again amazingly drawn by Ryan Ottley, this man is such an amazing artist and if he ever leaves the series I will be greatly saddened. Also included in this issue is the Secret Origin of CECIL, yeah we are finally given information about the oh so secretive head of the Global Defense Agency and lastly we get a SCIENCE DOG back up story!!Hell yeah I said SCIENCE DOG. My favorite character of Kirkman's that has never gotten his own solo story and now he has one!! YAY!! I LOVE ROBERT KIRKMAN!!

Once again DC has launched a weekly comic and in one swoop of stupidity have killed the novelty of the weekly comic. Trinity is the new weekly that focuses on Batman,Wonder Woman and Superman. The first issue consists of 2 stories. One focusing entirely on the Big 3 and the second focusing on Morgan La Fey and a new character named Enigma. The first story was really good. Kurt Busiek can write an awesome story and Mark Bagley is an amazing artist whereas the second story was boring and sorta threw off the first story. DC do me a favor STOP WITH WEEKLY'S!

And finally coming from Marvel, We have the new ETERNALS series. I totally love Marvel's cosmic characters and this totally feeds that. The Eternals was absolutely amazing. The Knauf brothers are just really good writers and totally took the reigns from the end of Neil Gaiman's Eternals story last year and ran with them. The story picks up right after Gaiman's and doesn't stop hitting you with information that fills you in with who the Eternals are and why they matter. Daniel Acuna's artwork was dead on for this book. Normally I dislike his artwork but with this book it was perfect. It really lent to the characters being of a god-like nature that they had sorta indescribable features. Totally worth checking out.

Seduction of the Innocent

Hey guys!  Slacksy here with a look at a Marvel title from a few years back: NYX.  Originally pitched to the company in 2001 by Brian Wood and David Choe, NYX was later brought to fruition in 2003 by Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada and artist Joshua Middleton.  The story follows Kiden Nixon, a teenager living in Alphabet City who discovers her ability to speed up/slow down time.  Her newfound powers lead her to other mutant teens (this series is known for the first comic appearance of X-23, Wolverine's female clone and current member of the X-Force team) and the truth behind her father's murder.  Unfortunately, due to Quesada frequently handing in scripts late and the departure of Middleton after issue 4 (he was replaced by Robert Teranishi), NYX was crippled by its irregular schedule and was eventually canceled.  The entire series lasted a mere seven issues.

Despite the problems occurring behind the scenes and the story weakening and petering out towards the end, NYX is still a series worth checking out.  The first few issues are superb and Joshua Middleton's artwork is gorgeous (Teranishi's art isn't bad by any means, but the series definitely lost something great when Middleton left.  And it seems to me that Marvel was looking for someone to imitate Middleton's style and Teranishi couldn't live up to it).  The concept is something different and unique for Marvel, as it is a story about mutants that exists almost entirely outside the superhero universe.  Even Runaways had team crossovers and special appearances by other Marvel heroes.  In NYX, the characters struggle with their powers and are constantly living day to day; no battle for the fate of the planet will be found here.  The world these characters live in is realistic and the situations they find themselves in are rather mature for a Marvel book.  I will admit that the writing in the final three issues doesn't live up to the expectations initially set up, most likely due to the pressure felt by the creators after the various obstacles they came across during production, and it's unfortunate that it had to end that way.  However, I feel an attachment to NYX and the creativity that I found in the series when I first read it in 2003.  It was a good introduction for a young reader that was fairly new to comics, with captivating artwork, an interesting story, and relatable characters (many of which happened to be well-written females).  And it has had an impact on many books that have come after it, from the current X-Factor to the beloved Omega: The Unknown.  If nothing else, NYX serves as an interesting case study, not only as a series with great potential that just didn't work out, but also as an example of what comics can be.  Another problem that plagued the series was that it didn't have many readers from the first issue, and not enough people calling for it to remain in publication.  It may be that readers simply weren't ready for it, as it didn't really fit the mainstream mold. Which brings me to my last point of interest: The reason I decided to take another look at NYX was because at this years NY ComicCon, a new NYX series was officially announced for release this August.  We'll see how that goes, but for now you can check out the NYX/X-23 collection available at Comic Book Jones.  It collects all of the NYX issues and the X-23 miniseries that came out after it.

And briefly on another note, the 2008 MoCCA Art Festival this past weekend was excellent as always.  If you are interest in alternative comics and artists (or are a comics fan in general of course), I strongly recommend checking it out next year.  You won't be disappointed.  Guests this year included Staten Islanders Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese) and Sarah Dyer (Action Girl), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim), Tara McPherson, Jason, Art Spiegelman (Maus), and Brian Wood (Northlanders, DMZ, Local), who informed me that the next arc of DMZ will be taking place on Staten Island!

Well that's all for now.  See you all at CBJ!

Slacksy

nearing the end of Letham & Dalrymple's Omega: the Unknown revamp

Hey guys and dolls..

I just finished the ninth issue of Omega: The Unknown, and I had to come on here and tell everyone who stuck with it from the start, good for you... And to those of you who are still not in the know about this excellent mini series and a great collaborative effort by two extraordinary creators, don't worry. There is a collection hitting the stands in October and i urge ALL of you to pick it up!

That's right! All of you! Superhero fans. Indie-comic fans. EVERYBODY in between. This book is a perfect example of (and i quote the young disillusioned indie-comics fan and comic shop henchman from Mark Millar's recent MARVEL 1985 series) "something that's actually gonna advance the medium a little." I've been saying it from the start of the series. We've come a long way in the last 20 years as a medium. This book has broken boundaries that have been set in stone in mainstream comics for years.

The pacing and storytelling delivered by Dalrymple's sloppy line work, accompanied by Letham's genre bending prose is like nothing i've ever seen in a superhero book. It's hard to even consider this a superhero book, to tell you the truth. The characters are absurd and surreal, but still maintain a realistic human quality that is so hard to come by in stories like these.
I think i've said enough. I won't even get into the meat of this book. Odds are you already know because you're already reading it. Maybe. I hope?

Just do yourself a favor. If you can't catch up on issues, get your hands on that collection in October. If you can catch up on issues, do it immediately so that in four weeks you will experience the hopefully (more than likely) exciting conclusion to this perfectly executed story.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 21

Well hello there! What's goin on everybody?! It is again that time for some reviewing and I have to say it, 2 big books came out this week and TANKED!! Yes I said it, a book was terrible. Well actually 2 books were but lets not get into semantics. Now let's get to it!
Finally coming from Marvel this week is Giant Size Astonishing X-Men and it was TERRIBLE! Half the issue made no sense, the art was really flaky at times and the ending was garbage. Joss Whedon really shouldn't write major character comics ever. I really have disliked his entire run of Astonishing and with this giant size, He really just hammered in that last nail of bad. First off the book took forever to come out. Didn't the series start in 2004, It is now 2008. What the hell?! It took 4 years to get 25 issues out! No,wrong, not cool! If your doing such a high profile book like that, it better be out every month on time like clockwork. Now the story was just really long and drawn out. Colossus is destined to destroy a planet.... ok cool idea, you got my attention.......
So Image released Firebreather this week and man was it AWESOME! Totally awesome. It was really well written and the art fit the story perfectly. Phil Hester is just a really awesome writer and because of how good this first issue is, I really wanna go and buy the trade of the original mini. Firebreather focuses on the teenage Duncan Roseblatt. Who just so happens to be half demon. This first issue shows how strained the relationship with his mom is and how crazy his relationship with his dad is. Oh and his dad is a 300 foot demon who wants to conquer everything. It really was just super good, super good.
and uhm..... What the hell was up with Cassaday's art work in the giant size Astonishing?! He totally hacked it out in some panels. Ugh was it just GAH!
Shooting out of DC and crashing into a wall is Final Crisis. Now I didn't have high hopes for this title because Infinite Crisis was terrible and I'm just not a big DC fan. Well Grant Morrison I have this to say to you....YOU WROTE A TERRIBLY TERRIBLE STORY! God, did it not make sense half the time and I come to find out that if you never read MORRISON's Seven Soldiers of Victory mini's you have no idea as to how Darkside is still around. Didn't Orion kill him, oh wait Orion's dead too?! Since when, he walked away at the end of Countdown....wha,what, hold on. Go read Death of the New Gods. NO! STOP IT! I am not reading an entire company's line of books to understand A story. DC will you stop with your bad attempts to get people to buy your older comics. Stop it! NOT COOL!
And lastly we have Marvel 1985 which was just PURE GOLD. Book is amazing. It's about this little kid who reads comics and totally is into it. He later finds out that the Marvel villains are somehow crossing over into his reality. That is just awesome right there because everyone wishes that superheroes and villains were real and this captures that perfectly. Mark Millar is an awesome writer and comes up with just some awesome ideas. With this comic being so awesome I really can't wait for his Old Man Logan arc in Wolverine. Oh I'm excited.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 20

So here we are, Week 20. I bet your wondering if I'm gunna have a special variant cover to this one and it's gunna be all crazy extra sized.........No it's not. Well there's going to be one extra but that's because that book is wicked awesome!
To begin this 20th installment of TWIC, We shall begin with an amazingly funny book that I believe I have reviewed before but due to the amount of awesome crammed within, It will be reviewed again! The book I speak of is PVP! Yes PVP. It is quite possibly my favorite funny book that doesn't explode! Everyone should read this book. The humor is perfect because it's all pop culture references and video game references. So stop dilly dallying and read it. Seriously though....Dee reads it and Dee reads a lot!
Next we have Dead, She Said. Dead, She Said is a next supernatural crime noir book from Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. It's only a 3 issue mini so there is no long term to look forward to. It opens up with the main character laying in bed and wondering why it feels like his body is going into rigor mortis. Turns out he really is going into rigor mortis ...and thats just the first 4 pages! So if your into crime noir, the supernatural or just want a really good read, go check out Dead, She Said.
Next, we have Gemini. Gemini comes from the creative mind of Jay Faerber (Who pens Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes, both of which OWN YA FACE!) Anyways, Gemini is about this super secret government operation in which a group of 5 people sit and watch over this one guy who happens to be a superhero and has no idea. Turns out that whenever he's needed, the government hits a button and BAM! here comes Gemini running. The art is a little over stylized but the story fits the art perfectly so by page 6 your goin "wow this art is awesome!" Definitely worth checking it out. That goes to you too there Mr. Anchor U. Jones.
First book am not reviewing is Superman : Escape from Bizarro World. Bizarro am worst character ever. He always made into good guy. Bizarro no want to have own world and be number last. Superman am understanding Bizarro's joy. Art on book am worst art ever. Eric Powell am terrible artist. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner am terrible at writing Superman. Bizarro no needing more stories. LB head not hurt talking like Bizarro. LB not stop now.
And lastly we have the Vampire Hunter D novel Volume 1. Now these novels are the first time that the original stories have ever been translated from Japanese and brought to the U.S. Of A. I'm only half way through the first novel and I love it. I was a big fan of Vampire Hunter D before I read this book. Now I am a huge fan of the Series and want everyone to read them because they are really well written. Hideyuki Kikuchi is an amazing writer. The way he describes things helps to build these gorgeous images in your head. Now this is a novel not a comic so there is no art aside from the 8 images drawn by Yoshitaka Amano, who is absolutely amazing himself. So definitely check this out.
So that's it for volume 20 of This Week In Comics. See everyone at the store on Thursday because Memorial Day pushed back New Comic Day. Laters

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 19

Hey there people. It's once again that time for some THIS WEEK IN COMICS. Sorry for being late with this one and just to make up for it I'm going to expand this week from 4 titles to 6 titles. And as for week 20. It will be on time for Sunday night. Well let's stop with the delays and get down to it.

There are only so many Joker stories in the world that are actually good and I found one this week in Batman: The Joker's Last Laugh. It was absolutely everything that a Joker tale should encompass. Death, crazy and lots ands lots of Joker. So the basis of Last Laugh is that the Joker has found out that he has an incurable cancer and than proceeds to transform all the villains in the slab into version of himself. It's a fairly quick read but throughly enjoyable and definitely worth reading. If you like the Joker or Batman go get this book.

Now since Secret Invasion is in full swing that mean so are the tie-ins. One tie-in that everyone should be reading is MIGHTY AVENGERS. With Mighty Avengers now being a focus on who is and who isn't a skrull, we see if the Sentry is or isn't. It's really cool to see how they explore his being sought by the skrulls and everything that might cause them to grab him or to not grab him. If you want to get the complete full rounded out view of Secret Invasion than definitely go get Mighty Avengers.

Someone wants Batman dead. Well that's what the new major Batman story says. Starting in Batman #676, we see the very beginnings of this new tale of Batman. In #676 we aren't introduced to too much. I mean it's pretty lack for details but in the coming months Grant Morrison will probably beat you in the head with a stick regarding details. Once into a story Morrison usually gets a good beat and tone going. His entire run on Batman has been about giving small little clues that are building to a much grander tale. So definitely worth reading and it's an awesome jump on point for people who haven't been reading Batman for awhile.

You should be reading the Walking Dead and if your not than you need to be beating with the stick that Grant Morrison was using before. Walking Dead is by far one of the greatest comics ever. It's a human nature comic with zombies in the background. It really is the most intriguing comic ever and I'm not going to tell you anything more than that because trying to describe it is hard and you should just be reading it already.

Another book you should be reading is MOUSE GUARD. This book is quite beautiful. It's about a trio of Mice who, in their world, are like the protectors of the realm. As the story progresses you are introduced to a cast of amazingly well thought out characters and an amazingly lush environment. The graphic novel actually has the entire area the book takes place mapped out in the beginning of the book so you can actually mark where the cast has been and what not. Now this first volume is called Fall1152 and is part of a series. I'm not 100% about the amount of parts so just go read Mouse Guard.

And now lastly we are at the SIXTH title for the week. We have Cthulhu Tales. Cthulhu Tales is a new ongoing anthology series featuring the characters of H.P. Lovecraft. It's really cool to see all the different takes of the various characters that Lovecraft created. In issue one the first story is about a preacher who meets a blind man who can supposedly see demons. It isn't till the blind man dies that you find out if he could or couldn't see the demons. It's one of those books that you may hate the first story but totally dig the next 3. So definitely check it out and get back to me.

Well that's it for this week. Again sorry It was late but with 2 extra books in this one and maybe for the new TWIC this week I think I made up for being late. Laters everyone

tell me again why you're NOT reading CRIMINAL?

Hey everybody... it's the ghost of christmas future, and everyone's favorite webmaster here to shove my infallible opinions down your throat!

Just kidding... I'm blogging today to tell anyone who's overlooked the Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips masterpiece CRIMINAL to do themselves a favor and PICK THIS STUFF UP!

I just finally picked up volume 2 after skipping it over to read the issues of the newest storyline.. Normally i'd wait to read'em but i've been so enthralled by Brubaker's exciting caper stories and Phillips' gorgeous and confident line work.

I have to admit, when i saw the first issue of Criminal i was fairly skeptical. maybe i just wasn't in the mood for a noir story. It seemed a lot like something i might have seen or read before. Maybe my mind was elsewhere, regardless it didn't take long for me to see what i was missing. I think what did it for me was rereading Brubaker's THE FALL one shot drawn by Jason Lutes. The man writes good believable fiction. He knows how to buy your interest in his characters and their stories... which, in the case of Criminal, are always chock full of grit and lacking remorse. Even if it isn't your thing, Brubaker reels you in and makes it your thing.

so yea, that's my recommendation to all you CBJ cats out there wheelin and dealin so you can make that dough and buy those comix. if you want to read a good heist story.. start reading Criminal.

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 18

Hey there everyone. It's me once again, Mr LB Jones. So this week we got some oldies but goodies that were re-released,we got some well known characters clashing with some well known characters and we have The Bomb Queen.
So Marvel has finally gotten around to re-printing the original Punisher mini-series that started it all. Circle of Blood is by far one of the best Punisher stories ever!. It opens with the Punisher in Rykers and damn near everyone is scared of the man. So cut ahead to him finally out of jail and back to the war. Pretty much this is the basis of every and all Punisher stories. He goes and kills a lot of Mafia while finding out that there is some crazy conspiracy against him. I was already a huge fan of the Punisher before but thanks to the amazingly beautiful hardcover I am an even bigger fan now.
This week I was finally able to read the first three volumes of BOMB QUEEN and my god is this book crazy. Bomb Queen is about a super villain who owns a city named New Port City. If you live within the confines of New Port, life is damn near crazy. In the decade of Bomb Queen's rule, she has established various zones around the city such as Crime, Drugs, Prostitution, Residential and Business . Now Bomb Queen herself is a sex crazed explosion crazy woman. Volume one focuses on Bomb Queen's rule being challenged by the new mayoral candidate. It's totally worth checking out and is friggin' hilarious. Definitely not for anyone under the age of 16.
This week we have the new issue of NOVA! Oh man was it awesome. All hell is breaking loose on a planet and they called Nova for help. Turns out Galactus is eating the planet. That's just the quick outline. It gets better. So this crazy monster thing is...... wait no. Just go read it. I'm not ruining this for anyone. But if you haven't been reading Nova this is the perfect issue to start.
And lastly we have Midnighter. This book is just knock down drag out brawls and I love it! So the entire story arc that wraps up in this months issue has just been watching Midnighter get knocked out, impersonated and than kicking the ass of the impersonator. Now I bet your saying to yourself "Couldn't I just read Wolverine and get the same stuff?" Yes you can but Midnighter is cooler than Wolverine and has better powers. So stop sitting there at work or in computer class and go get this book!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 17

Well hello there everybody in comic book land. It is I, The Ninja of the Comic Arts, LB Jones! This week I'm shooting from the hip and swinging from roof top to roof top. So let's not wait anymore and get right to it!
So this week we saw the release of CALIBER. Taking place during the wild west days, CALIBER is a re-telling of King Arthur in a semi updated manner. It's only semi updated because the Wild West days are in the past, so it's not a full update HAHA. Well anyway CALIBER was really really good. I totally say everyone should be reading this title. It's got a nice even pace to it and the art is absolutely gorgeous,very reminiscent of Stjepan Sejic. If you like cowboys and King Arthur, you too should be reading this book!
Shooting over from Marvel this month we have DareDevil:Blood of the Tarantula. This one shot focuses on the character Black Tarantula. Now last time we saw Black Tarantula was a few months ago in DareDevil, were he had just gotten released from prison and was trying to go at being a vigilante like DD. So it's been a few months later and BL is still at it. In this months issue we see Black Tarantula's past catch up with him in a big way. Now I gotta stop talking about this book before I give anymore away.
Re-entering Earth's atmosphere, we have the TALES of the FEAR AGENT graphic novel. Now if you've never read FEAR AGENT. Go read my previous reviews and continue reading this one. So anywho, within this fine graphic novel is all the extra little one shot stories that were in the back of the Image comics issues of Fear Agent. So if your want a good jump on point or just a really good series of little quick funny stories. This is definitely your book. It's perfect for those long bus rides and trust me I know long bus rides.
And lastly but definitely not least we have MILK & CHEESE. Now for anyone that was here for Free Comic Day on Saturday, we had the creator Evan Dorkin here for a signing. Milk and Cheese is quite literally the funniest comic I have ever read.EVER!! It is just filled with awesome jokes and art and it is totally worth the $3.00 that is printed on it. Now stop lolly gagging and come get it!!

Seduction of the Innocent

Hey guys, Slacksy here. And yup, this post has an all new title! I wasn't too crazy about the initial "Comic Book Confidential", and hey, if Marvel can change the titles of their X-Men books whenever they like, I figure I can do the same. But I digress....

The book I'd like to shine a light on this time is 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. Now it's not as if this comic hasn't received a lot of attention - it's received plenty. But because it's in its final arc and everything is coming to a close, it feels like the perfect time to introduce those new to the series to the greatness that is 100 Bullets. Basic plot synopsis: The mysterious Agent Graves finds people whose lives have been disrupted and destroyed and provides them with an attache case containing the evidence concerning the person who has ruined their life , a gun, and 100 untraceable bullets. He leaves them (seemingly without motive) with the choice of what to do with their newfound information, weaponry, and carte blanche. First off, this is a perfect example of a comic that transcends its genre. What at first appears to be a simple (well...not exactly) crime story (albeit a great one) becomes so much more. Best way to explain it: it's the greatest crime movie never made. Brian Azzarello gives every ounce of the story weight - nothing (and I mean nothing) is insignificant and every word spoken and every panel has a point and foreshadows what comes later. The lives of the massive cast of characters all intertwine one way or another, and the conflict becomes bigger and bigger as the story goes on, which leaves the reader entertained for a long time.

What also makes the book so great is the teamwork of Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. Risso's artwork fits the story perfectly, not only because of his dark and 'gritty' style, but because of how he complements Azzarello's storytelling methods. Risso's artwork is extremely attractive and draws the reader into the story, which is important because every detail needs attention paid to it. His use of the color black captures the eye and draws attention to crucial details in a surprisingly subtle way, and makes the reader want to decipher clues in each panel while also understanding clearly what is happening. The unique ways he builds scenes is also very interesting, from his almost cinematic point of view angle from inside a washing machine to his depiction of characters from the reflection in a tea kettle...well, you may have to see it to get what I'm talking about. Anyways, the perfect pairing of Azzarello and Risso makes for some amazing and intriguing storytelling. I literally read all of the available trades over the course of about 4 days and the story not once became even the slightest bit boring. No joke.

And of course, the entire 100 Bullets series is available at Comic Book Jones, so I really urge you guys to check it out. Trust me, if you hang out in the lounge and read the first volume, you'll end up buying all of the trades. Be sure to let me know what you think!

Slacks

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 16

Whats goin down in the land of comics? Well that's what I'm here for, Mr. LB Jones is here to let you know the whats good in comics and this time around we got some heavy hitters coming up to bat.
Emerging from Top Cow, we have Witchblade. Now a lot of us know about or of Witchblade and have maybe taken a peek here or there but have you been reading it. God is it good! Ron Marz came in at around issue 80 something and has completely made this book what it always should have been. It's an amazing blend of horror and superhero type stuff. A perfect example of that is in issue 116, the first case that Sara Pezzini is assigned to is to find out who crucified a bunch of guys in the various forms of crucification there are. And yes there are more than just the most famous one we all know of. So I have started to collect Witchblade starting at issue #116 which was last month's issue and I totally recommend this title.
Coming back out of obscurity from Image is SPAWN. Yes, I said Spawn. Since issue #150, Spawn has been absolutely the best book around. It's gone from cool superhero book to bad superhero book to even worse superhero book and than outta nowhere it's an AMAZING superhero book. Now it's a really gritty horror driven superhero book. I know that's a lot of change in one book but this change is good. The most recent story arc saw Spawn finding out about how the character Mammon has manipulated the Simmons family all the way from the wild west days to now. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for something that isn't bright and out there. Out of 5 stars, I would give Spawn a 3.8 to 4 stars.
Creeping in from DC, we have BATMAN. This month's issue was a nice in-between of 2 major stories. With the 3 Batmen arc having ended last issue and the R.I.P. arc starting next month, this month was a nice little one shot story that slowed down the paced and gets everyone ready for "R.I.P". I really can't say anything crazy about Batman cause he's Batman, He speaks for himself really. It's like when someone asks why he's cool, There is no answer. He's just Batman. Go with it.
Slicing and dicing their way from Marvel is X-Force. Now this book is the ultra violent Non MAX title. For anyone not in the know, X-Force is back. The current version of this team makes a lot more sense than the last one. I mean X-Force does sound more like a covert strike team then when Cable lead them and they were just another team of mutants for Xavier to all on. Another thing that makes this title awesome is that it is reaching into the X-Men history and bringing in elements that are new and linking them to the past. Like the current story is linked to the Phalanx Covenant story from the mid 9o's. So if your a buff for continuity and for the X-Men, you should totally be reading this book!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 15

Hey what's going on out there in Comic Book Land. It tis I, LB Jones, once again. Last week was really hectic with the sale on Friday and than with everyone coming by that weekend. So this week we have some pretty amazing things going on in the comic world.
Rocketing in from IMAGE we have SCUD the Disposable Assassin. Now the thing with SCUD is that the book was started over 10 years ago but wound up stopping for some reason and went unfinished till now. With one issue left for the series, SCUD scores the spotlight. So SCUD is all about a disposable assassin that you buy from a vending machine. The thing with this particular assassin is that he found out about how that when his mission is complete, he blows up. Well that's what the story was 10 yrs ago. Now SCUD is back from the dead and has to save the world for the woman he loves. And did I mention that this book is hilarious. Now come get this book!!
Emerging from a drunken stupor at Marvel is the INCREDIBLE HERCULES. Now since WWH, this book has been absolutely amazing. Hercules is hysterical as well as action packed. I mean Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are perfect together. The little nods to other books for continuity is perfect and the art is awesome and just come read the damn thing! IT'S PURE GOLD !!
Also from Marvel we have IRON MAN:LEGACY OF DOOM. This the 3rd and final chapter of the Camelot series started way back in the 80's. David Michelinie writes one mean Iron Man Story and for a story that started over 20 yrs ago It was easy to follow. It pretty much goes that one day Tony Stark is destroying old armor and comes across a memory stick in one with a mission that Stark doesn't remember. From there the story rolls out pretty quickly and hits pretty quickly. Some of the dialog between Doom and Stark is hilarious and Stark speaks in such a manner that you can totally feel how he feels about Doom. So come on in and read some Legacy Of Doom, or so commands DOOM!
Coming from Alterna Comics, we have JESUS HATES ZOMBIES!! This book is absolutely amazing and everyone should read it. It's all little 5 page stories about Jesus fighting off zombies. That's all that really needs to be said but I will continue. We here at CBJ actually had the Writer and one of the artists in for a signing. The writer, Stephen Lindsay, is one of the coolest guys and was all about talking with everyone. He wrote all but I think 3 stories in the book and they all had me rolling while reading this particular comic book narrative. The artist who was here as well is Lauren Monardo. She is such an awesome artist and did an amazing Zombie Joker sketch for Gore. If you haven't read this book yet, come in and get to it.....NOW!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 14

Hey there all you Hip cats out in comic book land! It tis I, LB, once again to bring you the latest and greatest in the world of comics. This week we have some heroes who are INVINCIBLE, while others who are a bit more invaded. Also some trials have come to an end for a young hero while for others are on a quest for some closure.
Storming out of the IMAGE bullpen, we have INVINCIBLE. Now this week did not have a new issue but it did have me finishing reading the entire series graphic novel collection. So that's 8 volumes I've read in this here past week. Now I bet your saying to yourself "What makes Invincible so different from other superhero titles. Well I'll tell ya. Invincible is funny, action packed and the characters speak in the same vernacular as we do. A perfect example of the speaking in the same way is in the latest issue when Invincible catches his college roommate/life long friend trying on his costume. The entire scene is said roommate trying to explain why he's wearing it and Invincible calling him gay with a smile on his face so you know he's only messing around. Now at some point in your life something in the nature of that has happened to you and thats been the response. Another thing great about this book is that it's all contained to itself. There is no need to go and read 4 other books to understand it. It's you read trade one and your set. You don't need to read any other book to understand what happens because it's all there. Now finish reading this blog and come get some Invincible. You will not be disappointed.
Rocketing in from deep MARVEL space we have SECRET INVASION, which quite honestly one of the best books of the year. It's only issue one and all hell has broken loose on the Marvel Universe and it's only gunna get worse for some characters. I'm just letting ya guys know that a lot of questions are answered while a whole boat load are created and brought to the surface. Skrulls are revealed and heroes are turned into goo. Yes I said heroes are turned into goo. Now go read it!
Like a thunderbolt from DC, we have the last chapter of The Trials Of SHAZAM! Freddy Freeman has gone through a lot in the past year and boy how does it end. Demons, Magic and The Justice League?! Yeah that right the JLA show up and we all know how Big Blue and magic go together. If you haven't been reading this YOUSE A SUCKA! Totally worth grabbing the first trade and reading it. Judd Winick takes an old character and brings him up to date. So come on down and get your shazam on!
And last but surely not least we have YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS! Oh boy is this book good. Each issue is a spotlight on a different member of the Young Avengers. This month the focus was on Wiccan and Speed, The children of the SCARLETT WITCH. The whole focus of these two characters is on finding Wanda Maximoff is, so that way they can talk to her and figure out all the jazz surrounding them. To really go into what happens in detail would spoil it for ya so I'm goin to stop right there and say PEACE!
*LB was than struck by lightning and had to be rushed to the hospital because of the burns*

TALES FROM THE BACK ISSUE BIN!! VOL.5!!!!

Hey, Waffle here with another installment of "Tales From The Back Issue Bin!!".

This weeks book is Alias 16, from the "Alias" section. It’s the beginning of an arc, so I wasn’t too lost.

To start off. This book was AMAZING. Plain and simple. Bendis is an amazing writer. This at least doesn’t just through me in. It starts off in a deli which is about to be robed. The main character, Jessica Jones*cough*skrull*cough*, Stops the robbery and flees. On returning to her apartment she finds the new Spider-Woman in her bathroom. After this confrontation, Spider-Woman flees crying. Scared, Jessica calls Scott Lang, Ant-Man. She ends up staying at his place, searching for who Spider-Woman is. She calls up a friend in S.H.I.E.L.D. and finds out. After getting a hard time, she curses out S.H.I.E.L.D. After which, her phones rings, and it’s her friend in S.H.I.E.L.D. telling her not to do that. Yadda yadda yadda, she confronts J. Jonah Jameson.I wanna’ read more. NOW! I think I shall.

I’ll give Alias 16, 4 out of 5 special gold stars.

Join me next week when I tackle an Alpha Flight issue.
*Does the Charleston*
TALES FROM THE BACK ISSUE BIN!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 13

Hey there everyone out in Comic Book Land! It is I, The one and only LB JONES! So last week I did not post a new one of these jammies. That was due to since the store was going to be closed for Easter, I figured that I would take a week off and catch my breath. Also anyone who reads this and I know you guys do cause you talk to me in the store about it, Please comment the actual blog. I wanna know if I'm doing a good job or am I pure crap in a can. So please....COMMENT!!! Now no more waiting, Let's get to it!

Coming from Image, We have CAPES. Now I bet your saying to yourself "Wait a minute there LB... Capes came out years ago!".... I KNOW IT BABY! But here is the thing...CAPES is new to me! HA! Betcha didn't see that coming? So as I was saying. CAPES is an amazingly funny book that brings forth a really basic but ignored idea. What if superheroes went to work and had to punch in and what not? It's such a simple subject and is done really really well by Robert Kirkman. Kirkman brings together a delightful cast of characters within CAPES such as Claire Voyent. Claire Voyant is your typical telepathic who just happens to be a nymphomaniac. Now we here at CBJ have the graphic novel of CAPES and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a laugh.
Now coming outta Japan, We have the VAMPIRE HUNTER D manga. It is absolutely amazing this book. This first volume is pretty much a retelling of the first movie with added story and a different take on certain parts of the story. Seeing as this is a manga and is printed in the traditional Japanese manner of right to left, It can be a bit confusing to read for us American readers. But don't get all crazy now, The way this is written makes it very easy to stay with the story and read this with very little confusion. So if your a fan of the ANIME or of vampires or of just really amazing stories, DEFINITELY check out Vampire Hunter D.
From IDW, we have Silent Hill. Based on the game of the same name, Silent hill is a pretty good horror story. This story follows a hitman on the run from the family he serves because he and his boss' wife are having an affair. Now if your familiar with the Silent Hill games, you know that anyone who lands in Silent Hill is pretty much dog food. The story of this Silent Hill tale is really good and truly enjoyable.
And from Image yet again, we have GUTWRENCHER!. This book is 100% old school American slasher film. Everything about this book screams "I'M A SLASHER MOVIE!!" Totally worth a read. The story is pretty straight forward. It's about a high school reunion and let the blood bath ensue. EVERYONE WHO LIKES HORROR MOVIE, COMICS, SHOWS and whatever else should totally be reading GUTWRENCHER!
Also I believe it was last week that I reviewed it and told everyone that the series "WANNABES" had ended at #3. I was mistaken. Artist John Ruiz, who is a friend of the store, came in and was telling me that the series will continue it is just that the publisher takes absolutely forever to print . So bare with us because issue 4 will be out and will continue "WANNABES" grade of awesome!
*TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED*

Comic Book Confidential 3

Hey guys!

It's been a while, but I'm back to talk about a comic that Socko recently brought to my attention: Sam Keith's Four Women. This is a book that I just tore through and really dug. I went in not knowing much about the plot and having no preconceived notions about it, and I was blown away. So in order to give everyone who decides to check this book out the same privilege, I'm not going to say much about the plot. No "spoiler alert" or anything like that. The main character, Donna, is telling the story of a road trip she took with her three friends, all women of different ages and personalities. For lack of a better description, some seriously messed up shit happens when their car breaks down, that tests both their willpower and their friendship, and everyone must deal with the consequences. While not being a "horror" comic, it was suspenseful and scary as hell. It's a story that makes you question what you would do in the same situation, as all the characters react differently, and not necessarily in ways you would expect. The story has many jumps and twists that don't feel cheap at all and it's frighteningly realistic.

The other great thing about Four Women is how Sam Keith utilizes his art to tell the story. He makes what is happening usually unclear, so you have to do some work to sometimes understand everything that is going on. This, coupled with the shocks in the story, make for a really exciting read. I can't remember the last time I was on the edge of my seat while reading a comic. This is also due to the excellent pacing of the book; Keith is a great storyteller. So if you're looking for something truly affecting and suspenseful, I can't recommend Four Women enough. Everyone at CBJ listened to me rave about it already, so now you can give them an earful too.

That's all for this installment of Comic Book Confidential. See you all at Comic Book Jones!
Slacksy

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 12

Hey so how's everyone doing out there in comic book land? It is I, LB JONES, once again with the new TWIC and I bet you can't wait for it! A whole bunch has been happening in comics lately and I'm gunna tell you all about it!
Coming from left field and NOT from the major companies, We have "It Sure is a Super World!" This book totally caught me by surprise. It's really funny and actually shows how dumb super heroes can be. The first of the three short stories in it focuses on a superman-type character who when trouble appears everyone in the area looks at him and asks if he's gunna help. It really is a good spoof on the whole super hero genre and it's definitely worth a check. So come read it already.
Also from the Independent scene we have "THE WANNABES." This book is really good but sadly ended after 3 issues because the writer just stopped writing. Well anyways, again it's a different take on superheroes. We see the major superheroes leave Earth on a galactic mission and leave the world in the hands of their sidekicks. The fun part about this book is that the villains aren't real. I'm gunna stop there cause it ruins the kick of the story and I can't do that to ya. So come check it out and hey the artist John Ruiz actually lives in the area and stops in all the time.
Returning from the bowels of the 90's we have the LOBO graphic novel "Portrait of a Bastich." Yes I said it, Lobo has a new graphic novel. It collects the original 2 mini-series and well that's pretty much it. I mean it's Lobo what can you say about Lobo other than "He's Lobo" It's like asking what makes Batman so cool. Well there is no answer it's HE'S BATMAN. Same goes for Lobo. So if your looking for a nice hardy read and a good time, I highly recommend this book.
And finally coming from Image we have BATTLE POPE. Yeah that's right, He's BATTLE POPE! Quite honestly one of the funniest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It's a pretty basic concept. God begins the ascension, Hell comes to Earth and winds up existing with humanity. God feels that people have lost their way so he takes the pope (who by the by is a chain smoking, womanizing, drunk) and makes him BATTLE POPE! The title alone makes you giggle ADMIT IT! And did I mention that a hippie Jesus is the pope's sidekick? Oh yeah that hits the spot don't it?
Well this concludes the TWELFTH WEEK of THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! So see everyone on Wednesday and back here next week!

TALES FROM THE BACK ISSUE BIN!! VOL.4!

Hey, Waffle here with another installment of "Tales From The Back Issue Bin!!".

First things first, I’d like to apologize for the lateness. I have been helping Captain Carvel and his carvel Crusaders with their problems. Figures it was about ice cream.

This weeks book is Akira 5, from the "Akira" section. Still love being tossed into sheer randomness.

Here I go again. On my own. Goin’ down the.... No, not again. Sorry about that. First off, Akira is awesome as a whole. I’ve never read the books before, but have seen the movie. The book starts off and it takes a page or two for the story to continue. So I find myself coming upon quite possibly the greatest line in a comic ever. The bartender asks if anything is wrong, and the response simply is "NOTHIN’!! I CAN’T CONTAIN MY INDIGESTION!" Further on more plot filled conversations, then the fighting. And boy do I love it. Simply beautiful. The reason I am not giving any story away, is because all of you reading this should read Akira. And my sources (L.B) tell me that there is a set of hardcovers coming out that will collect all of the issues. Hopefully they will be colored. But overall, I love Akira. Oh, and by the way, there was a section telling me what happened in the past four issues. Those are my best friends.

I’ll give Akira 5, 5 out of 5 special gold stars.

Join me tomorrow when I tackle an Alias issue.
*snaps fingers*
TALES FROM THE BACK ISSUE BIN!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 11

Hey there everybody out in comic book lands! It's L.B. once again here to bring you the latest awesome from the world of comics. But first I would like to thank everyone for turning out on Wednesday's and for being super supportive. I just wanna let everyone know that if we've sold out of something recently it's due to us not being able to keep up with how fast we've grown, it's like wild fire! Well that's enough of that and now onto the review!

First coming from IMAGE we have Dead Space. This book is based off the upcoming video game of the same title. When I first read this I had no idea that it was based on a video game so I did not go into reading this with an preconceived notions about this book. The basic story is that a space science colony is doing some type of mining and come across this huge column. Now no one knows what the hell the column is. Some think it's a alien artifact while others say it's an ancient religious artifact. It's pretty straight forward in it's approach and that's what sets this book apart from other space type books because it's not trying to build a big grandiose story. It's simple straight forward space alien type stuff which is Awesome!! Totally check this book out!
Coming from DC this week, we have the NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL. Now what's cool about the special is that Darwyn Cook returns for the writing duties and most of the art. The really cool part is that it's all original stories. Nothing in this book is a reprint, it's all new and fresh ideas of pure AWESOME. Yes I say awesome a lot but this is AWESOME!! GO READ THIS NOW!!
Straight from the future we have CABLE. Oh yeah Cable is back and better than ever. With Messiah Complex over and back in his own title, Cable will reign supreme. So the whole first issue we see Cable trying to survive and fight to protect the baby in the future. It's pretty action packed and the ending throws a nice curve ball at ya. Totally worth picking up and taking home. We have more on reorder just so everyone knows!
And exploding from Dynamite this week we have THE BOYS! Now for the past 4 issues I've been sorta bummed out by The Boys. I felt the story was kinda weak and lack luster well with last month's issue and the new issue this week my faith has been restored in The Boys. The Seven have returned, Hughie is going on dates and Butcher is still an asshole. Everything that made me love this book in the beginning is back and better than before. Totally worth checking out and to continue buying. NOW GO READ IT!!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 10

Hey everyone out there in comic land. It's LBJ here again and yet again we have some AWESOME stuff goin down in comics.
So coming from ICON this week we have KICK-ASS. And this book does kick ass. The story is one that for any comic fan it touches you because you know what it feels like to want to be a superhero. So with kick ass we now see what happens when a comic fan becomes a superhero. Along with being kick ass, this issue is special because CBJ SHOWS UP IN THE BACK OF IT!! That's right we show up in Kick-Ass this month and because of that Mark Millar may be coming by the store this summer, So look out for that.
Also from Icon this week we have CRIMINAL 2. The long awaited second volume to Criminal. This is possibly one of the finest crime noir books in the world today. Set in the 70's, this volume of Criminal follows a boxer named Gnarley and the last days of his career. Brubaker yet again creates a world thats very gritty and real. The cool thing about Criminal is that it is the type of story that can actually happen in the real world which is one of the amazing qualities of this book. Highly recommend you guys come in and check it out.
Another amazing book this week from Marvel is Damage Control. Coming immediately after WWH, Damage Control follows the construction firm and them trying to rebuild New York. This book was absolutely hilarious and was just a really really good read. Totally go read it.
And lastly we have Countdown from DC. Countdown is now in the single digits and is getting a lot better. All hell has broken loose across the DCU and Countdown is whats showing it going down. We have OMACS on APOKOLIPS, THE PIPER HAS THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION AND SUPERMAN ISN'T IN THIS BOOK!! Now thats a good book right there!. So come read some DCU gone wild!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! WEEK 9

Hey there everyone. Yet again It is I, LB! So this week I got snowed in at my house and missed a day of work so no THIC yesterday. So anywho we have a lot going on in comics this week. Heroes go underground and get hunted but their not Marvel characters! The agents of Fear are born. The Avengers go all ages and the CREEPER will rise again!!

So this week we get the complete HUNTER KILLER. This book is brought to us from IMAGE and is absolutely amazing. We see the government completely erase the existence of super-heroes, the world be almost destroyed god knows how many times and MARC SILVESTRI drawing the first six issues of this amazing 12 issue story. Highly recommended that everyone in the world read this book....like right now!

Fear Agent volume 3 comes out this week and got damn you should read it!! It's the origin story of Heath Hudson and thats the perfect jump on point to the series. What better way to read a new book than with the main character's origin. Now go get this book and revel in how amazingly amazing it is. NOW!

Coming from Marvel we have Marvel Adventures: Avengers. I know what your gunna say..."Isn't that the kids line at Marvel?" And yes it is but it's sooo awesome and fun. Each issue is a one shot story about the Avengers! NOTHING COULD BE BETTER!! Now go read it!

And finally we have a not so new title but one that deserves a little spotlight. It is non other than THE CREEPER! Yes the Creeper, DC's resident nutcase superhero. Expertly done by Steve Niles, This version of the Creeper is crazier, Nuttier and just Bat-Shit Crazy. With his origin containing the Joker this is definitely not a book to miss. So go get this right now....Like right now now!

So that does it for me this week and oh wait....Gotta go help you guys at the store. LATERS!!

THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! Week 8

Hey there everyone out in the world o'comics? It's LB back yet again with THIS WEEK IN COMICS!! Sorry this is a day later but I was feeling a bit sick yesterday and was unable to post. So to make up for it we will not delay!

From Image this week we have Gutwrencher. This is a new title from Keith Giffen and Steve Niles. It's all set up people but it's really good set up. The story thus far is about this guy who finds a log in a stream and winds up killing his girlfriend/wife. And to boot there's a 10 year Hight School reunion in town and his sights are set for it! Pretty much Gutwrencher is like Friday the 13th meets National Lampoon High School Reunion. Totally worth picking up and checking it out to see where it goes.

Next From Dark Horse we have THE GOON! I know that I've probably have reviewed The Goon before but this title is soo amazing that it needs to be reviewed again. We see the return of the ZOMBIE PRIEST and we actually get a little hint at more of his history. That's definitely exciting. As always Eric Powell's art is amazing and Dave Stewart is doing an awesome job on coloring. Highly recommend reading this book.

Coming from the MARVEL MAX imprint, we have DEAD OF NIGHT. This 4 issue mini will be focusing on Man-Thing but in the classic form of the old but amazing EC BOOKS! There's a narrator named the Digger and he gives the creep and chuckle vibe that the keepers gave way back in the 50's. Issue 1 is a retelling of Man-Thing's origin. Which I think is awesome because origin reminders are always good. So if you like horror and you like Marvel, GO GET THIS BOOK!

Lastly coming from DC, we have issue 5 of the absolutely amazing series named Green Arrow and Black Canary. It's five issues in and every single one of them has been friggin awesome. If you do not read this book you are crazy. In this one we find out exactly the extent of the damage the blast did to Conner and we see Ollie being a real dad for the first time in his life. I can't really say too much more or I'd be giving away the story. So if you wanna know more just come on down and read it!

So that's it for this week everyone. See everyone on Wednesday and right back here Next Friday. Guarantee on that being here Friday thing.