New Comic Book Day : 9/29/10

Nice haul today , though Im still waiting for my Hack Slash #4!!! : Widow Warriors #3 , Chew #14 , Stuff of Legend #2 v.2 , Artifacts #2 , Wonder Woman #603 

new title: Machete #0

1. Chew #14(image) by John Layman , art: Robert Guillory

*PICK OF THE WEEK*  I dont need to sell this comic. This is easily one of my favourites right now and could go down as one of my favourites of all time when its all said and done. This issue carries this arc brilliantly to the next and final issue of this story. Chew is one of the best comics going right now.


2. Stuff of Legend #2(3rd world studios)

  Another beautiful comic that nobody knows about. Its either buried for its childish appearance or undiscovered for its indy status. Make no mistake about this , The Stuff of Legend is a must read and a brilliant story. In a day where we get recycled stories in new adaptations and such , this is an original from top to bottom.

  It was 2 1/2 months since the last issue , a long wait , went a little fast , wish it was a little thicker if not for the price but for the wait between issues. The golems are introduced , The Boobeyman sets the pieces for his next scheme to entrap the group , the group encounters more hurdles they have to overcome... its just mind melting awesome.

3. Widow Warriors #3(dynamite) by Pat Lee 

  This was another ok issue that looked great. For the first time I learn that this is indeed only a 4 issue mini series unfortunatly , I was hoping for a on going or longer. More deaths , more shit goes down , it leads up to a big finale.. look at the bloody cover!!! there's a flying decapitated head! and I can tell that it does indeed happen.

 The major issue with this series now that i know its a mini , too short for the amount of characters involved. I still was trying to get to know faces and names and its almost over! This needed to be a longer story , its a good story and had lots of potential for something great.

  Pat Lee's art is solid.

  Ill be finishing the series , I've come this far but Im disappointed that its over next issue. Very disappointed.

4. Artifacts #2(top cow) by Ron Marz

 A reminder this is noob friendly , you can jump on board with this series without having read Witchblade before. I never read Witchblade and I dont feel lost at all. That said , it clealry wold add to the experience if you knew the background of all the characters and would appreciate the subtle moments and things.

 The story is moving along nicely , this issue you will finally get the official layout of the plot for the entire series. So this is rather important issue. We come to realize the fate of Julie and Sarah's daughter whom were spending a day together at the park in #1 when Aphrodites was stalking them. The groundwork is laid out , we are introduced to all the major players , and the official story begins. Again to add to the noob friendly , each issue has some profiles of the major characters.. its well crafted.

  The art is fantastic , even if the story was dipshit moronic , the art is really solid.

5. Wonder Woman #603(dc)

   Part 3 of the current arc , I must say this was another ho hum issue. I was rather disappointed in the direction it took and the end product. I wasnt thrilled they just cut off the rogue amazon arc and went with WW going into the underworld of Hades , seemed unnecessary. The art wasnt its strongest point to say the least , Wonder Woman didnt look very commanding .. just didnt hit with me in this one.

6. Machete #0(idw)

 Debut issue. Its a prequel story of the legend they call Machete , from the Robert Rodriguez film. Which btw was very entertaining and balls to the walls fun.

The comic however lacks depth and heart , its not much different than the movie but you pick up comics for more detail and its not here.

The bad news: its a $4 comic

The good news : its not your typical #0 of 13 pages .. its a full comic , no different than any other $4 comic

verdict: Its a pass for now , Ill wait and see how #1 does but Im not committing myself to this title yet. I just dont connect to Machete despite enjoying the film a lot.

summary:

New Comic Book Day : 9/22/10

First off my Hack Slash is STILL MIA!!! grrrrrrrr

My pull : Black Widow #6 , Mindfield #3 , Red one shots ( 4 issues)

News: Wildstorm is being shutdown , by coinkydink my first purchase from Wildstorm Publishing is also my last lol (Red prequel series). Ill review Red after I see the movie caz thats when Ill read the prequels or at least read the main title.

1. Black Widow #6(marvel) by Duane Swierczynsky , art: Manuel Garcia

   A new arc and a new era as Liu and Acuna both move on from Black Widow. We now get the writing and pencil stylings of  Swierczynsky and Garcia.

 Garcia's penciling isnt too shabby. A good face smashing should be a pre-resequite for all comic artists.

The Plot: A deceased vice president candidate's son is obsessed in finding his farther's killers , and Black Widow is being framed for the murder along with the mysterious deaths of other prominant politicians. Enemy agent Fatale intercepts the son to possibly assassinate him for info he may pertain to all of this , Black Widow must protect the man whom wants her dead ...  the arc begins...

Me: The story is decent enough , I felt the pacing was good , you start off right into the mix and things pick up furthermore. It was a little silly at times with Black Widow on the hood on the car  , I wont spoil it but lets just say I thought somebody was dropping a coiler on the hood of a moving car. The issue ends with what normally would be a crazy cliffhanger BUT SPOILER COMMENT: I just highly doubt they will kill off the title character 6 issues into her new series... OR WILL THEY?! SPOILER OVER.

Verdict: Its not perfect , its not Black Widows greatest start to a story but its still worth the ticket and its still worth sticking with. This new team of Swierczynsky and Garcia might be onto something here.   A perfect jumping on point for noobs.

Recommend: Yes. Black Widow is a great series so far and looks like it will continue to be. 

2. Mindfield #3(aspen) by JT Krul , art: A.Konat , J. Bolerjack                                                                 

 Mindfield is one of the better comics on the shelves nobody is reading. Its a required taste but its not extreme as a Garth Ennis book , its just the genre: crime , esponiage , terrorist , Telekenesis , FBI ,..etc

 This is the opening page to #3 , its intense and graphic from the get go...

     This is definitely not a jumping on point , you must start from the beginning or else you will be lost. There's a lot going on now , the story is going full bore at this point.

    Im rather loving this comic right now , I love the story and its slowly getting better as we slowly indulge ourselves into each character and the plot. JT Krul is masterfully pulling you in , yet keeping the bait at arms length throughout , you just keep chasing that carrot with mouth watering.We have the main character questioning himself , his new team learning to work together and a new terrorist threat using the same telepathetic powers that is suppose to give them the advantage.

     I really like the mini profile at the end of each issue of the main players , you just feel like youre getting better bang for the buck caz I dont think they include it for the total page count.. or do they?

Verdict: This is a fantastic comic , the arc isnt done yet and I dont know if this is a 4 or 5 issue arc , Im not even sure if this will conclude but it should be on your Trade radar if you're already reading the comics. Im sure this is a on going series , Aspen could have something special on their hands here if this title continues to grow and grow

 Homo Homini Lupus

Men are not gentle creatures who want

to be loved , and who at the most can 

defend themselves if they are attacked

They are the contrary creatures among

whose instinctual endowments is to

be reckoned a powerful share of aggressiveness

to humiliate him , to cause him pain , to 

torture and kill him.

As a result , their neighbour is for them

not only a potential helper or sexual object,

but also someone who tempts them to satisfy 

their aggressiveness on him.

to exploit his capacity for work without

compensation to use him sexually without his

consent to seize his possessions

homo homini lupus: Man is wolf to man

- Sigmund Freud

Whispers In The Walls #2 by David Munoz , art: Tirsol

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New Comic Book Day : 9/15/10

Wicked pull today: Birds of Prey #5 , Zatanna #5 , Mystery Society #3 , Hack Slash #4 , Morning Glories #2 , Whispers in the Walls #2 , Time Bomb #2 , Muppets: Sherlock Holmes #1

new additions: The Muppets: Sherlock Holmes

1. Birds of Prey #5(dc) by Gail Simone , art: Alvin Lee , Adriana Melo                                                   

  Currently one of my few superhero pulls that consistantly delivers in balls to the wall action and edge of your seat story lines.This is easily the best cover art of this volume so far , Huntress looks faptastic! Lady Blackhawk looks wickedly sluttyrefic! In all seriousness You can really tell Gail Simone holds this franchise close to her heart.

Just beautiful inking here  , Huntress looks amazing. courtesy Jack Purcell and JP Mayer

  A unofficial continuation of the last arc , a two part mini arc begins. White Canary takes Black Canary to Bangkok for some mysterious reasons and the BoP follow her. There's obviously other stuff going on like the completion of Oracles confrontation with Creotes and Savant , Huntress and the Penguin(see above photo) , Lady Hawk and Hawk's health after getting shot by Penguin. It all leads to the cliffhanger ending that will leave you like "  whatchya talkin bout , Willis!!??! ". Despite this still being part of a pro longed arc its not a bad jumping on point.

  verdict: One of the best $3 super hero comics out there. Its what comics books were meant to be.I highly recommend Birds of Prey.

2. Zatanna #5(dc) by Paul Dini  , art: Chad Hardin , cover: Wayne Faucher                                               

  Zatanna needed to bounce back this issue , the last issue was the weakest bar none in this volume and also the start of a new arc. Faucher's cover art is solid , Z looks harsh gropeable. Im not feeling Hardin's art , look at the front page...

   she looks chinese!!  Hardin just isnt meant to pencil Z.

      Zatanna faces the three fire demons whom are sent to "test" Z by a mysterious being. This is actually a good story arc , her relationship with her cousin is a nice aspect to keep her book level and down to earth. Zatanna's "new guy" is clearly a cliched douche bag in co-hoots with this evil dude that the audience can sniff out a mile away but things move along , we see whom is behind all of this and whats' at stake. Yes there are zombies in this comic book so thats not false advertisement. Its a classic cliffhanger , you know "how is our hero going to get out of this?" one kind of jobbers. 

seriously she looks CHINESE!

      Z#4 was a little bleh , Z#5 bounced back big time for her though again Paul Dini's writing was never the problem in the previous issue. Hardin's art imo is a  hinderance to this title , Z looks nothing like her covers , again she looks CHINESE!!! which is funny caz usually comic artist have troubles drawing ethnic characters , but he managed to convert a simple white girl into an asian! Dini's stories are compelling and well thought out and staying true to Zatanna , my beef is with Hardin and his inability to draw a caucasion girl with big knockers.

   verdict: Another solid $3 comic from DC , Marvel has a lot to learn from DC's $3 pricing. Im still in. 


3. Mystery Society #3/5(idw) by Steve Niles   , art: Fiona Staples                                                          

  One of the best surprises I came across this summer was Mystery Society which I picked up on almost by fluke.I was a little concerned it may have been cancelled caz #3 was delayed 3 weeks ( at the back they preview a comic that came out last month lol) but it finally arrived! when I saw MS this week I almost let out a Richard Simmons "YAY".

  I absolutely love the concept. Nick and Anastasia Mystery , yes their sir name is Mystery so you can sense right off the bat this is a little campy. This couple are out to crack down on all the conspiracy theories , myths and mysteries which included rescuing twin tween girls with special powers being kept in cryogenics at a secret government facility for over 50 years. Their rag tag team also includes a goth vigilante chick named Secret Skull along with a robot with a brain of a prominant doctor named Verne. Anyways in this issue Nick is framed for murder during his rescue of the twins and is now a wanted criminal , so Nick and Anastasia go attempt to clear his name. On the other hand Secret Skull and Verne took on their first "job" or mission for the Mystery Society , to solve the mystery of Edgar Allen Poe's missing skull..

  This comic is just brilliant fun. I am hoping and wishing this becomes an on going series , I would love to see them crack down on all the great mysteries of the world. Amazing. The writing is witty and intelligent , Fiona Staple's pencil work is sharp , crisps and really compliments the book , I dont know if she's an apprentice of Ashley Wood but she's working that pencil like one bad mother fucker.

Verdict: Its a decent $4 value but because its an indy title I feel even more comfortable handing over my 4 bucks to them. This is IDW's best kept secret and one of the best comics on the shelves that nobody knows about.  Im scared MS will get buried and forgotten , this needs to be a on going series please , IDW.

4. Hack Slash #4/4(image) by Tim Seeley , art: Daniel Leister                                                                  

My order didnt come in this week.Apparently there was a notable mishap in shipment from Hack Slash so I wasnt the only one whom didnt get a copy or the correct copy.

5. Morning Glories #2(image) by Nick Spencer , art: Joe Eisma                                                              

  #2s are usually down issues , they have to set the tone to a long on going series. You can see they're taking things step by step in revealing the plot and characters , the whole school is still a mystery , they're really baiting the reader with that.  Still have much to learn from all the characters , there's many so this could take a few arcs to really get in depth here *fingers crossed* , its moving along slowly but we're getting there.

   The headmaster woman is really becoming a major BEEOTCH , there's some legit potential here for a new super hated antagonist. She's got the Lillith Krane from Cheers look going on and she's just goddamn bitchy.

       We need to see more from the main players , there's still many questions and things up in the air but its still way too early for me to judge this comic series and arc , this deserves the full 4-5 issue trial. The ending is a good one , a holy shit cliffhanger that was on par with MG #1 , Im curious to see how the fuck they explain this shit!

  Big thumbs up for Breakfast Club reference and Star Wars reference!

verdict: Its a $3.50 comic but it holds its value , there's no ads , you get a full 32 page count which is rare. They still have me hooked and sinkered. Im still in for the ride.

6. Whispers In the Walls #2(humanoids) by David Munoz ,art: Tirso                                                     

   This was my sleeper smash pick a month ago , it carries over again , back to back PICK OF THE WEEK for this comic. I am in love with the art in this comic book , an indy title in the horror/mystery genre. Tirso whom has that brazilian soccer player thing going with one word name , is a goddamn savant with the pencil. Tirso alone is worth the price of admission.

  So this story takes place in Chekoslovakia during WWII?  and our lead protagonist Sarah , the little orphan girl on the cover is left at this mysterious facility that seemingly treats people for this puzzling plague. Most of the patients are adults ,  she is told she's the only child. Eventually the walls begin to talk or ... whisper to her , giving her guidance and she begins to unravel the mysteries of this place. There's creepy shit going on , she befriends some other kids , adventurous moments ,... Fuck , Im butchering this fucking story , pick up #1 and #2.

   I love this comic. The imagery that Tirso creates is haunting and just eye poopingly awesome. The scary guy that appeared in #1 in Sarah's flashback scene to reveal how she became an orphan is genuinely one of the creepiest dudes. I can think of a million other ways you can waste $3.50 on... Worst case scenario you wasted 3.50 .

  Verdict: My sleeper pick of the year for mini series. I love this comic.

7. The Muppets: Sherlock Holmes #1(boom) by Patrick Storck , art: Amy Mebberson                     

 c'mon , its fricken Gonzo as Sherlock Holmes and Fozzy Bear as Watson! this has comedy gem written all over it!!!

 Plot: The daughter of Rizzo the rat whom plays a sock mogul , Julia , the heiress to this sock and stockings empire falls ill. Her sister Helen played by Jan the hippie hires Sherlock and Watson with the aide or Kermit. This is filled with page to page puns , be warned you will get drowned out with non stop cornball puns that can irritate some. So this is definitely not for everyone , and definitely not as strong a comic as the regular Muppet Show run. This appears to be a collection of one shot cases for this 4 issue mini.

me: I have a huge soft spot for my childhood favourites like Scooby-Doo and Muppets , I adore this shit like a monkey adores his own feces.

Verdict: I dont know if I can recommend this to the general public. If you dont like puns , do not get this , you will want to eat needles covered in thorns. If you're a muppet fan , check'er out , you can do worse with your $3 but if you are a Muppet fan , The Muppet Show comic is a solid series. 

8. Time Bomb #2/3(radical) By Jim Palmiotti

    So here we are with book two in this 3 part series. These are 56 page double sized issues  so its longer than it appears. We pick up were we left off , in modern times a hidden nazi city with a out of date doomsday device is accidentally set off while examining it , the world is doomed. the only way to null this action is go back in time and destroy the doomsday device.. they recruite a special ops team and send them back in time. You are definitely left with a much more gripping cliffhanger in #2.

   I personally am not a fan of time travel and Im still not. I feel this story would've worked MUCH better if it was just a time piece back in WWII . I love the idea of a hidden Nazi city built for fallout of their doomsday device , the story really picks up when you see the Nazi's and this city. I actually found the americans somewhat ... not boring but not interesting ( I still dont remember their names!!) lol Seeing the bad guy nazi in charge (fictional character) whom's name I dont remember is a fucken nazi cock sucker.. well done , Palmiotti , well done. It took a while but the pace really picks up during #2 and the story really starts to move in this issue. Again I look at it and think did we really need a time machine story for this? Coming from a sci fi guy too , I just find time travel under minds a good sci fi story like a hidden Nazi city.

   Verdict: If time travel and nazis tickle your fancy then this is for you. Its a $5 comic , based on my general value guide of a buck per 10 pages , then this fullfilled its bargain with 56 pages which is way better than $4 comics that offer 25-32 pages ..looking at you Marvel. So , very good value , and its good ol jolly time. Its 2/3 over so you can wait for the trade which will probably be a couple bucks cheaper.

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week summary: Loved this week , many strong titles and I didnt even get to read Hack Slash.

If I had to put in order this week for my favourites:

1.Whispers in the Walls #2

2.Mystery Society #3

3.Birds of Prey #5

4.Morning Glories #2

5.Zatanna #5

6.Time Bomb #2

7.Muppets Sherlock Holmes #1