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Showing posts from September, 2011

Comics-and-More Podcast: The New 52, Week Four

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Patrick Markfort and I take a look at the final week of DC Comics' New 52. This podcast is divided into six videos, with the comics reviewed listed with each.  The final video offers our final thoughts on The New 52. Reviewed: Part One: Aquaman #1 Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis Part Two: The Flash #1 Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato Part Three: I, Vampire #1 Joshua Hale Fialkov & Andrea Sorrentino Justice League Dark #1 Peter Milligan & Mikel Janin Part Four: The Savage Hawkman #1 Tony S. Daniel & Philip Tan Part Five: Voodoo #1 Ron Marz & Sami Basri Part Six: For further reading: All-Star Western #1 Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat Batman: The Dark Knight #1 David Finch Blackhawks #1 Mike Costa & Ken Lashley Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone & Yildiray Cinar Green Lantern: The New Guardians #1 Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham & Batt Superman #1 George

Pick of the Week 9/28

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Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Habibi GN - It's been eight years since Craig Thompson released the highly successful graphic novel Blankets , so this is obviously a very exciting release, one of the biggest graphic novel releases of the year.  This will also be the subject of the Comics-and-More Podcast following this week's final DC Comics: The New 52 podcast. Other Noteworthy Releases 1-800 Mice HC All Star Western #1 Alpha Flight Classic (Volume 2) TP Annihilators: Earthfall #1 (of 4) Aquaman #1 Batman: The Dark Knight #1 Blackhawks #1 Brilliant #1 Captain Britian (Volume 2): Siege of Camelot HC Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm HC Codename Sailor V (Volume 1) Daybreak HC Dorothy and the Wizard In Oz #1 (of 8) Emma HC Feeding Ground HC FF Fifty Fantasy Years #1 The Finder Library (Volume 2) TP Flash #1 Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 Grave Doug Freshly GN Green Lantern: New Guardians #

Manga Monday: Psyren

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Psyren (Volume 1) Toshiaki Iwashiro Psyren begins as an intriguing mystery, but soon turns into something much more as the book plays out.  The story follows Ageha Yoshina, who picks up a phone when a random pay phone begins to ring.  No one answers, but he is left with a phone card with the words "psyren" printed on it.  When Ageha inquires into what this could mean, he discovers that people are disappearing with no explanation and some sort of "psyren cult" is allegedly to blame.  There are also some powerful men who will pay dearly for one of the unused "psyren" phone cards, and there is a substantial reward out there for whoever can solve the mystery behind it.  When one of Ageha's classmates becomes one of the latest disappearances, Ageha decides to use the card, and is magically transported to a desolate wasteland, where creatures called "Taboo" hunt the humans chosen to play this deadly game of "psyren."  After tracking do

Comics-and-More Podcast: The New 52, Week Three

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Patrick Markfort and I take a look at week three of DC Comics' New 52. This podcast is divided into three videos, with the comics reviewed listed with each. Reviewed: Part One: Birds of Prey #1 Duane Swierczynski & Jesus Saiz Part Two: Catwoman #1 Judd Winick & Guillem March DC Universe Presents #1 (featuring Deadman) Paul Jenkins & Bernard Chang Part Three: Wonder Woman #1 Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang For further reading: Batman #1 Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Blue Beetle #1 Tony Bedard & Ig Guara Captain Atom #1 J.T. Krul & Freddie Williams II Green Lantern Corps #1 Peter Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin & Scott Hanna Legion of Super Heroes #1 Paul Levitz & Francis Portela Nightwing #1 Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort Supergirl #1 Michael Green, Mike Johnson & Mahmud Asrar

Bonnie Lass #1 (of 4)

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Michael Mayne & Tyler Fluharty Bonnie Lass is a happy-go-lucky outlaw pirate who, along with two goofy sidekicks, is notorious for kicking butt and causing trouble.  After delivering a statue to a client, who tries to trick her into delivering a valuable scroll, she demands compensation, and when she doesn't receive it, she keeps the scroll and continues on her way, this time with a crew of cutthroat thugs on her tail.  But with some creative nautical maneuvering and some upgrades to her ship, Bonnie leaves her pursuers in the dust, happily on her way toward more adventure and (hopefully) treasure.  This story is full of action and competently introduces a fun set of characters, however there's nothing here that we haven't really seen before, and the art is the kind you'd more likely see in a webcomic than on the printed page.  It just looks messy despite the nice cartoony expressions of the characters.  I actually like how every so often a panel will sort of look

Pick of the Week 9/21

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Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... A Zoo In Winter HC - Jiro Taniguchi's latest US release features a glimpse of the artist as he recalls the time he spent in Tokyo as a youth in the 60's, including his beginnings in manga. Other Noteworthy Releases Archie Christmas Classics (Volume 1) TP Archie's Joke Book (Volume 1): Bob Montana HC The Art of Joe Kubert HC The Armed Garden & Other Stories HC Batman #1 Birds of Prey #1 Blue Beetle #1 Captain Atom #1 Catwoman #1 DC Universe Presents #1 Creepy Archives (Volume 11) HC Game of Thrones #1 Green Lantern Corps #1 Hellboy (Volume 11): Bride of Hell & Others TP Legion of Super Heroes #1 The Man Who Grew His Beard GN Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 HC Marvel Ghost Stories TP Mnemovore HC Morning Glories (Volume 2) TP Nightwing #1 Prison Pit (Book 3) GN Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 Ruse: The Victorian Guide To Murder TP Showcase Presents: All S

Previews HYPE: November '11

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Here are the highlights of books that I'm excited about, or think may get overlooked, in Previews Catologue for November... The Sigh HC - Marjane Satrapi of Persepolis fame returns with a new graphic novel, published by Archaia. Mudman #1 - A new superhero from Jack Staff 's Paul Grist. Guns and Dinos #1 (of 3) - A military base sent back in time.  It's Frank Cho drawing dinosaurs, guys. Peanuts #0 - From Kaboom! comes new Peanuts comics!  This #0 launches a new monthly comic featuring the old gang. New Avengers #18 - Norman Osborne's new team of Dark Avengers makes its debut! Essential Sgt. Fury (Volume 1) TP - Finally, the noticeable gap in the Marvel Essential series is being collected.  Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, and a bunch of howling commandoes. Fantastic Four #600 - Fantastic Four returns as an ongoing series in addition to FF , also boasting Jonathan Hickman as writer. Northanger Abby #1 - They just keep rolling these out.  Not my fa

Comics-and-More Podcast: The New 52, Week Two

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Patrick Markfort and I take a look at week two of DC Comics' New 52.  The podcast is divided into four videos, with the comics reviewed listed with each.  Sorry about the first few minutes of Batwoman sounding a little soft, but please enjoy! Reviewed: Part One: Batwoman #1 J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman Part Two: Demon Knights #1 Paul Cornell & Diogenes Neves Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli Part Three: Green Lantern #1 Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke Red Lanterns #1 Peter Milligan & Ed Benes Part Four: Resurrection Man #1 Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino For further reading: Batman and Robin #1 Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Deathstroke #1 Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett & Art Thibert Grifter #1 Nathan Edmonson, CAFU & BIT Legion Lost #1 Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods Mister Terrific #1 Eric Wallace & Roger Robinson Suicide Squad #1 Adam Gla

Pick of the Week 9/14

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Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comics shops tomorrow! Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine #1 - Joss Whedon brings a new season of the slayer to fans in the form of another Dark Horse comic book series.  It all starts here, with part one of "Freefall." Other Noteworthy Releases Amulet (Volume 4): Last Council SC Archie: The Married Life (Volume 1) TP Archie Archives (Volume 2) HC Astonishing Thor HC Barks' Bear Book HC Batman and Robin #1 Batwoman #1 Bonnie Lass #1 (of 4) Captain America by Dan Jurgens (Volume 2) TP Deathstroke #1 Demon Knights #1 Evolutionary War Omnibus HC Fantastic Four: Overthrow of Doom HC Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 Green Lantern #1 Grifter #1 John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1 (of 5) Korgi (Volume 3): A Hollow Beginning GN Legion Lost #1 Mister Terrific #1 Optic Nerve #12 Red Lanterns #1 Resurrection Man #1 Sugar and Spike Archives (Volume 1) HC Suicide Squad #1 Superboy #1 Three Thi

Manga Monday, Bloody Monday

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Bloody Monday (Volume 1) Ryou Ryumon & Kouji Megumi Bloody Monday , a new offering from Kodansha Comics, features a young prodigy, Takagi Fujimaru.  From the outside, he seems like an average high school student, but he's really Falcon, a brilliant hacker able to do amazing things with a computer.  And he's not a malicious hacker, but works for the good of others, as is seen with the first threat that Falcon goes up against, a teacher who tries to sabotage students' academic careers by abusing a demerit system, ultimately leading to the attempted suicide of a teenage girl.  The teacher is a very one-dimensional villain who lusts after his female students, and Falcon is easily able to expose him, for the overall good of the school.  Falcon's father works for a super secret government cell, and when he is framed for murder, Falcon vows to track down the real killer and restore his father's reputation.  But it's not quite that simple, as the events that lead

Comics-and-More Podcast: The New 52, Week One

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For the next four weeks on the Comics-and-More Podcast , we will be taking a look at the DC Comics' New 52.  In this first week, we review Justice League #1 and a sampling of titles launched this week during this exciting overhaul of the DC Universe line.  The five videos below are separated by title, for your convenience, but we hope you watch them all! Reviewed: Part One: Justice League #1 Geoff Johns & Jim Lee Part Two: Animal Man #1 Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman Part Three: Action Comics #1 Grant Morrison & Rags Morales Part Four: Batgirl #1 Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf Part Five: Hawk & Dove #1 Sterling Gates & Rob Liefeld For further reading: Batwing #1 Judd Winick & Ben Oliver Detective Comics #1 Tony S. Daniel Flash Point #6 (of 6) Geoff Johns & Andy Kubert Green Arrow #1 J.T. Krul & Dan Jurgens Justice League International #1 Dan Jurgens & Aaron Lopresti Men of War #1 Ivan Brandon

Pick of the Week 9/7

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It's a big week this week, as DC's first wave of all new number ones launches.  Watch for our podcast later in the week, discussing several of the new titles, if you want to know which ones are worth checking out.  Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... The Hidden HC - I'm a big Richard Sala fan, so, of course, I'm excited for a new graphic novel from him, sure to feature creepy, dark imagery. Other Noteworthy Releases Action Comics #1 Animal Man #1 Animal Land (Volume 1) Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X #1 (of 6) Awakening Omnibus SC Bake Sale GN Batgirl #1 Batwing #1 Bloody Monday (Volume 1) Brightest Day (Volume 3) HC Cage of Eden (Volume 1) Casanova: Avaritia #1 (of 4) Detective Comics #1 Green Arrow #1 Hawk and Dove #1 Justice League International #1 Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot HC Little Lulu Giant Size (Volume 4) TP Men of War #1 Mome (Volume 22): Spring 2011 New Avengers Annual #1 OMAC #1

Comics-and-More Podcast: Gunnerkrigg Court

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On this week's Comics-and-More Podcast , Patrick Markfort and I discuss the latest volume of Thomas Siddell's fantasy series  Gunnerkrigg Court (as well as the first two volumes).  Sorry about the audio being a little soft in the first three-ish minutes of the podcast. Reviewed: Gunnerkrigg Court (Volume 3): Reason Thomas Siddell Part One: Part Two: Part Three: For further reading: Gunnerkrigg Court (Volume 1): Orientation Thomas Siddell Gunnerkrigg Court (Volume 2): Research Thomas Siddell Read the webcomic.