New Comic Day: 7/8/10 part 1

Fantastic week , lots of goodies. Today's pick ups: X-Men #1 , I Zombie #3 , Secret Six #23 , Scarlet #1

1. X-Men #1Marvel comics by Victor Gischler , art by: Paco Medina

  I dont collect X titles but I figure I would give this new series a try. I picked up the variant cover , too early to critique the story arc but a couple things I can comment on ...

the premise: A new terrorist threat hits San Francisco ... Vampires. Seriously a blood bomb goes off downtown and sprays a bunch of people with the vampire virus... shit just got real! . The X-Men are called in to investigate as one of their alumni Jubilee is seemingly targetted. 

Will I be getting #2?: .. yeah , they didnt lose me so that says something. However Im not hanging on the edge of my seat just yet either... maybe Im bored with vampires and X-men.

pet peeve: ... 4 pages of advertisements for other Marvel titles. You can easily fit all of them onto 1 page. Ridiculous.

price/value: 3.99 .. Im very critical towards Marvel's price value , I really would like to see more bang for the buck. Enough with the ads. They added a teaser for Shadowland , the first few pages.. Im not too crazy about teasers but its better than ads I guess.

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2. I Zombie #3 Vertigo comics by Chris Roberson , art by: Michael Allred

   UPDATED 7/8/10:  I picked up #1 today , still havent found #2. It helped lay the groundwork and fill some gaps for me. For 1 buck its a fantastic buy at the least.

 Picked this up on a whim. I was looking for something different thats non superheroish. Its hard to judge based on one comic but ....

The premise: Gwen Dylan is a young attractive zombie , and in order to maintain her sanity , she must dine on one brain per month dead or alive. She's not a killer so she works as a grave digger to get her snack on ... she doesnt enjoy it one bit. The side effect is she absorbs the memories of the brain she eats and in doing so she gets herself into some unfinished business for the departed. 

The writing:  is a little tweenerish , I guess Im not the target audience.The potential is there , good looking zombie that I would seriously boink with a weird eating habit. Anytime cute zombies need to eat brains to solve mysteries is ok in my book.The mysteries and puzzles are catchy , the characters are so odd and alluring. So far so good.

The art:  Im not sure if I like this style but it suits the writing. Definitely it has its own characteristics so thats a plus. Maybe its more the character designs that fail to wow me , I dunno but it can easily grow on me if the stories pick up.

There's so much potential here for a long lasting unique read. Gwen Dylan is an interesting character that I would like to see them develope further , this has the making for something special .

Will I be buying #4 ?: yeah . Its on my trial list still ....

recommend: yes , if you can find #1 for a buck.. hell yeah , its worth checking a title so bizarre and outlandish. 

noob friendly: yes brand new series.

price/value: 2.99:  ... Its ok . I really need to see #2 to fill the gap between the two issues.
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3. Secret Six #23 DC comics by John Ostrander , art by: RB Silva

This was a one shot issue that took place right before #19. Because of this I can rate this 1 issue book .

Plot: An old cliched set up.. secluded island for maniacal thrill seeking killers whom hunt down armed human prey for game. Remember that Ice Cube movie where he's being hunted by big game hunters? same shit. The guy running this island falsely hires the Secret Six to lure them into this trap to be his prized game for his cliental. Ensues some comic book fun...

Gail Simone took this issue off .. Im really hoping this is a vacation for Gail. Big dropoff in story from the previous arc.

The art was mediocre , for what the plot was .. there was some cool scenes. Im willing to give the artist a mulligan because of the source material , it wasnt the greatest story.

This will be a forgettable issue when its all said and done.

Recommend: ....no. However I strongly recommend the Secret Six overall but this issue is optional.

Noob Friendly: ..yeah ,  there's zero substance to the story so you dont need to know shit.

price/value: 2.99 still one of the best bangs for the buck. This was a one shot issue.
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4. Scarlet #1 Iconic by John Bendis , art by: Alex Maleev

   This was on my pull radar for weeks. Bendis and Maleev have been working on this for sometime and has garnered some attention along the way. It delivered.

     The art was brilliant , I love the water colour look , it looks so effect/ Maleev has a wonderful touch , I thouroughly enjoyed the atmosphere Maleev created , dark , gloomy , gritty ,...etc. Scarlet's look reminds me of a young Molly Ringwald with her appearance.

 

The writing was good , a cliched origin story.. girl loses love of her life , loses faith in justice and loses hope in mankind and decides to fight back. I enjoyed the 4th wall perspective , she was Ferris Bueller talking to the reader and walking them through her story. Feels like a memoir or something. Right from the opening scene you will say " this shit just got real". Bendis is one of the best in the business for a reason.

They added commentary and invertiew with Bendis at the end. They also added a couple pin ups as well , overall a nice debut. Its a unique and beautiful looking book , it might get lost in the shuffle of Shadowland and the Heroic Age but it has the potential to hold its own. Im very curious to see how this plays out... I havent a clue where this story is going but Im in for the ride.

Will I buy #2?: Yes I will.

noob friendly: brand new character and series... doesnt get more noob friendlier than that. 

price/value:  2.99.. Yes , a good buy , the art itself is worth the admission. .