Comics and More

On the latest Comics-and-More Podcast , Patrick Markfort and I discuss Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine , along with its various satellite series.   Reviewed: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine Andrew Chambliss, Georges Jeanty & Various Angel & Faith Christos Gage & Rebekah Isaacs Spike: A Dark Place Victor Gischler & Paul Lee Willow: Wonderland Jeff Parker & Brian Ching For further reading: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight Library Edition (Vol. 1-4) HC Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty, Karl Moline, Brian K. Vaughan, Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Brad Meltzer & Various Tales of the Vampires TP Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, Paul Lee, Cameron Stewart & Various

I'm sure that I'm missing some great comic book covers, but these are some of the best that I recall seeing throughout the year.  Feel free to leave a comment if you know of any that I missed!

It's that time of year again to look back at the best that the year has brought us.  Of course there are titles that I didn't get a chance to check out that may have been included if I had, but that's how it goes.  I can't read everthing.  These are my ten favorite superhero comics from 2012, the top of which will also be featured on my forthcoming best comics of the year list.  This is purely my opinion, so obviously people will not agree with me on all of these titles, and that's cool.  Many lists I find out there certainly make me scratch my head.  But I find that if a book has only released even two issues and I really enjoyed them, then it will make this list if it's one of the most enjoyable comics-reading experiences I had in the superhero realm.  Some people may not agree, but I think that after two issues, you have the feel of a comic down even if you don't have a complete story quite yet.  Anyways, this is meant to point y...

It's an extremely light week, which is probably good considering the amount of comics that came out last week.  Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops today... Mara #1 - A new mini-series debuts from Brian Wood and Ming Doyle, about a future world obsessed with physical prowess, and the star athlete whose world shatters when she demonstrates uncanny abilities on live television. Other Noteworthy Releases Amazing Spider-Man #700 Eerie Present El Cid HC

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow! Cursed Pirate Girl (Volume 1) HC - My favorite book of 2011 is now being released in a deserving hardcover edition with new content, and with wider distribution than previously, so people can actually get their hands on it this time around, thank to Archaia.  A beautiful, beautiful book that will enchant you, this is one you really shouldn't miss. Other Noteworthy Releases The Alliance of the Curious HC Archie: Best of Dan Decarlo (Volume 1) TP Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk TP Best of Sonic the Hedgehog (Volume 1) TP Captain Marvel (Volume 1): In Pursuit of Flight TP Danza GN Iron: Or, the War After GN Judge Dread: Complete Brian Bolland HC Nancy Likes Christmas: The Complete Dailies 1946-1948 Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Strips (Volume 2): "Bona Fide Balderdash" HC Sharaz-De HC True Blood Ongoing (Volume 1) HC

Dennis Hopeless & Kev Walker Fair warning: there will be spoilers in this post.  I was a big fan of several of the books that Avengers Arena assembles its characters from, in a battle to the death, where only one will survive.  Avengers Academy is the one that this seems to really follow up on, beginning with the students of that book, but we see characters from Runaways and  Annihilation , among others, with characters like X-23, Darkhawk, Nico, Reptile and Juston from Sentinel up for the slaughter.  There are several students that are obviously cannon fodder, but the stakes are high, as there are some big names that, well, I don't want to see die here.  And who's behind this game?  Arcade, of course, referencing the teen books that this is obviously borrowing the idea from.  And if it's not apparent enough that people will die here, Arcade kills off a big character right off the bat, in a pretty dramatic scene.  I should have se...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Kaoru Mori: Anything and Something GN - From Kaoru Mori, the beloved manga creator of series such as Emma and A Bride's Story , comes a hardcover collection of short stories, certain to be a welcome addition to any fan's library. Other Noteworthy Releases Archie: The Best of Sam Schwartz (Volume 2) HC Atomic Robo: Real Science Adventures TP Avengers Arena #1 Blood Lad (Volume 1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight Library Edition (Volume 3) HC Cable and X-Force #1 The Couriers: Complete Collection TP DC Comics: The New 52 Zero Omnibus HC Dominique Laveau, Voodoo Child (Volume 1) TP Fear Agent (Volume 1) TP Ferals (Volume 1) Giants Beware GN Grandville: Bete Noire HC Kamandi, The Last Boy On Earth Omnibus (Volume 2) HC Star Trek: The Newspaper Strip (Volume 1) HC Rust (Volume 2) HC Tarzan: The Russ Manning Years (Volume 1) HC

On our final  Comics-and-More Podcast dedicated to Marvel NOW! titles, Patrick Markfort and I take a look at three new Marvel books.   Reviewed: Avengers #1 Jonathan Hickman & Jerome Opena Thunderbolts #1 Daniel Way & Steve Dillon FF #1 Matt Fraction & Mike Allred For further reading: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman (Volume 1) Jonathan Hickman, Dale Eaglesham & Neil Edwards New Avengers Omnibus (Volume 1) Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch & Various Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis (Volume 1): Faith In Monsters Warren Ellis & Mike Deodato Thunderbolts Classic (Volume 1) Kurt Busiek, Peter David, Mark Bagley & Various FF by Jonathan Hickman (Volume 1) Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting & Barry Kitson

The following are my favorite songs and albums of 2012, another great year in music. For songs, I kept it to one song per artist to feature the most talent, and overall, it makes for one hell of a mixed CD if anyone's looking for some great tunes. I do tend to gravitate toward female singers, but there are some guys in there to mix it up. Enjoy! 10 Best Albums of 2012 1. "Born To Die" by Lana Del Rey - Love her or hate her, Lana Del Rey has released an impressive record with a unique sound, with her debut "Born To Die."  Boasting haunting melodies and dark lyrics wrapped in a beautiful dreamy voice, "Born To Die" is one of those rare albums that has a consistent point of view and a variety of amazing tracks.  "Video Games," a song tinted with dreamy nostalgia, put her on the map, but it's hardly the best offering here.  "Off To the Races" is a fantastic song unlike anything you've heard before, while "Summ...