My Tops!

I’m assuming it’s my job to inform you when I like something, because that would mean that you might possibly like it too. So I decided to pull 3 comics out of what I got from Wednesdays new stack, and tell you what I liked and didn’t like about them.

First up is one I mentioned on Wednesday as something I was looking forward to. The reason I always look forward to this book is because it never disappoints. There might’ve been one issue where nothing big really happened, but other than that one issue, the whole story constantly feels like things are moving along.

And as I said before, this book contains massive amounts of mutilation and violence. In this issue we see Dara reattach her jaw, slice a man’s eyes out, and then we watch them grow back after a series of three panels. I feel like there’s no limit to what this comic can get away with, and I completely trust the Luna brothers to deliver one kick-ass story when it’s all said and done.

You can catch up in “trade-paperback” form if you want, it’s not too late!

A really good indie title that’s out there right now is Terry Moore’s Echo. I personally love it because of it’s mix of real life drama and certain sci-fi elements that use a lot of real science knowledge to give it even more depth. I won’t spoil the whole story for you; but all you really need to know is that a scientific experiment went a bit haywire and resulted in our main protagonist getting this strange metal coating on her chest. Since the incident, she’s been on the run from the government who’s trying to get it back. She wants to get rid of it, but she’s not entirely sure what the government would do with her once they’ve got her.

Terry Moore writes and draws this comic all by himself, while his other family members help edit and publish it. Considering he has to to do most of the heavy lifting himself, he does a damn good job with putting out this comic every month. His art and writing has grown over time. His first long running series, Strangers in Paradise, finished up in ‘07, which was comprised of 90 issues. I’ve yet to read it, but from what I hear, it was nothing like Echo. So to see him write a story with so much action and solid human drama,  it just makes me love this comic even more.

And finally we have Battle for the Cowl, written and drawn by Tony Daniel. Which I was really worried about when I first heard that the artist on Grant Morrison’s previous Batman run was going to take up writing duties. But so far, I’ve been quite pleased with how everything is turning out.

Recently Batman (Bruce Wayne) has disappeared, and now anybody that was loyal to him, or maybe just wanting to take up the mantle, are duking it out for the title of Batman. There’s currently one mad man out there with two pistols and a crazy-mean looking mask, doing his best to clean up the streets. Every body’s saying he’s Jason Todd (The second Robin, he died, then came back) but it feels like someone else because they still haven’t shown his face.

In this issue we actually see the current Robin wear Batman’s costume, which apparently fits him perfectly. He ends up getting in a fight with the crazy Batman who gives him a pretty nasty injury at the end of this issue.

Another plot point is that Dick Grayson finally feels the need to put on Bruce’s tights, when all of a sudden, he discovers that Tim is wearing them.

SO yeah… I think I’m enjoying this so far. It’s got all the right twists and turns with out selling anyone out too soon.

Those are my tops!

-Ben, the comic guru

Comic Book DAY!!!

For those of you unaware of the common rythm that the life of a comic book geek goes through, Wednesday is more than just a hump day; it’s the day new comic books come out, and a great day it is.

So in honor of this day, I will post five comics I’m looking forward to, including one’s that you at home might be able to jump on to. And by jump on, I mean start reading. I kind of feel like a pusher man selling drugs, mostly because comic books can become very addictive and/or habit forming, so watch out.

First up is The Sword from Image comics. Right now we’re sixteen issues in, but if you feel the need to catch up on this series, the first two trades are for sale. The first one being Fire and the second being Water. You can get both over at Amazon for a little over twenty bucks, which is a pretty good deal.

But why would you want to star reading this series?

Well, if you’re like me, then that means you enjoy a good decapitation every once in a while. But what does it look like when someone only gets part of their head sliced off? The Sword answers all of your decapitation and limb removal questions. That’s right, this might be one of the goriest books out there.  People get chopped in half, jaws get ripped off, bodies are multiply pierced by sharp objects, and oh yeah, there’s a great story.

Without spoiling the shock and awe of the first issue, I’ll give you a quick run down. Dara is on a vengeful and gory vendetta to avenge the death of her family, but she’s not chasing down any normal villains. Instead, she’s going up against some super powered god-like immortal bastards that really want that Sword she’s carrying, because it’s the only thing that can kill them.

This comic is wonderfully written, mostly because it stretches from very realistic and modern dialogue to the kind of way that gods would speak to eachother. You get a lot of good things in this book, and that includes the art as well. It’s simple, yet it drives the point straight to you. This is definitely a must read.

Next up is Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk, which, if you haven’t heard, has an interesting back story as far as how long it takes for an issue to actually be released for this series. Issue one was originally released in December of 2005, then issue two came out some-what on time. Then, jump ahead to March 2009 when issue three finally comes out. It’s a pretty big gap of time. Part of the reason the book was under such delay was because it’s expertly written by Damon Lindelof , who, if you don’t know, is Executive Producer, Co-Creator, and writer for one of the best T.V. shows on television, LOST. So he kind of got backed up on scripts. Then when he did get all of the scripts done, the artist, Leinil Yu, got tied up doing tons of more Marvel books like New Avengers and Secret Invasion.

Which brings me to issue four, which SHOULD be coming out today. I trust them now.

Simply put, this book is exactly what the title says. It’s Wolverine and Hulk dukin’ it out. Lindelof writes a good Wolverine and an even better Bruce Banner, and since it takes place in the Ultimate universe, there aren’t any worries as far as what he can do with the story. Which is why he has Hulk rip Wolverine in half, because it can happen.

Leinil Yu’s art is like a gritty version of Jim Lee’s intense stuff he put out in the early nineties, giving the fight between them even more depth.

Marvel just recently did a reprinting of issues 1 and 2, and since 3 just came out last month, it shouldn’t be too hard for anyone to catch up on this series.

Another one from Image comics is Infinite Horizon #4.

In a nut shell, this is a modern retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, and so far, I’ve enjoyed the way they’re telling this story. Using a war in the middle east to replace the Trojan war. They still keep the main staples of the original story but change it up a little by making things a bit more realistic. Instead of fighting an actual Cyclops, it’s just a slightly enhanced soldier wearing night vision gear that makes him appear as if he has one eye.

Phil Noto’s art is brilliant in the way that he makes the characters and situations feel real, even though it’s coming from a fictional story that we’ve all heard before.

If you’ve ever enjoyed the original story of Homer’s Odyssey, then you definitely owe to yourself to check out this modern retelling.

All you need to know about this comic is as follows:

-British Super Heroes

-Vampires and mystical Villains (DRACULA!)

and…

-Blade

I can’t sing any more praise for this book other than that. This comic is just simply cool. Paul Cornell is actually British, so it helps out the authenticity of a book that actually takes place in Britain.

Leonard Kirk’s art brings it together beautifully, but I just wish Blade had a better haircut than he does now.

As I mentioned with my very first post yesterday, the whole Green Lantern story line is ramping up to the event known as Blackest Night, and with that, we are introduced to a whole slew of Lantern ringbearers.

Enter “Agent Orange,” the new storyline that introduces the Orange Lanterns. Since every Lantern uses a certain emotion or trait to power their rings, the Orange use avarice, also known as greed.

I’m curious to see where Geoff Johns takes me once again, because if you didn’t know this, Geoff Johns is quite possibly the best thing DC Comics has going for them right now. He recently just made Superman cool agian, and he’s been working on Green Lantern for a long time now, making it one of the cooler parts of the DCU right now.

First he gave a rebirth to the character of Hal Jordan, then he brought Sinestro back in to have the Sinestro Corps. Wars, and now everything is leading up for the Blackest Night. So consider me stoked.

Well that’s all I can say for now. By next Monday I’ll tell you about the comic I enjoyed the most from this week.

Oh, and I would be an idiot not to announce that the Eisner Nominations were released today. If you don’t know what those are, they’re the closest thing to the Academy Awards for comics.

So go check them out HERE!

-Ben, The Comic Guru