The graphic novels loved by children and adults alike
Aug 23rd, 2011, 5:46 pm
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Title: Just a Pilgrim: Garden of Eden (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Garth Ennis (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Paul Dale Roberts (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: Just A Pilgrim: Garden of Eden #2
    My god, what has Garth Ennis created this time? Just finished Just a Pilgrim #2 - Garden of Eden and I was completely floored at the mentality of the man known as The Pilgrim. The Pilgrim reads his bible with enthusiasm and vigor. He takes every word to heart. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ozzie the Snake who gets blown away by this sharp shooter, because he thought the snake was Satan. I do believe the Pilgrim is somewhat fanatical, to say the least.

    What a fantastic adventure I have found as the remaining people on Earth have stored all types of genetic material in the space shuttle Ishmael, which is their Noah's Arc for the stars. They are about to go on a harrowing journey through the stars, so they can find a new beginning on a New World. To leave behind a world that was devastated by the Burn, in which one billion people died. Then to top things off, they have zombified humans walking the world whose bodies have been taken over by a foreign jelly-type parasite.

    The Pilgrim just wants a bible taken on the Arc, but I don't blame the lady, I wouldn't want to be on the Ishmael if the Pilgrim is on board. I can't wait to see what kind of reading material The Pilgrim found in Billy Shepard's journal. What would be so interesting in this diary, that the Pilgrim would find the time to read these day-to-day accounts? What an odd reality this is, where certain lands are affectionately called...."Atlantic Wastes".

    Then with all of the chaos on this world already, then we have the Sliders who attack the living with a vengeance. A nightmare world that came right out The Night of the Living Dead. More problems arise as the Garden of Eden these survivors created is now being consumed by fire! My hat is off to Carlos Ezquerra for his dazzling artwork in this most exciting comic book! I shouldn't have to compliment Garth Ennis, this guy is already legendary and his writing proves it! Wow!

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More info:
    Writer: Garth Ennis
    Artist: Carlos Ezquerra
    Publisher: Black Bull

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Aug 23rd, 2011, 5:46 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:12 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 23rd, 2011, 10:41 pm
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Title: Black Kiss (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Howard Chaykin (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: WJ Davidson Review 1) and N. Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Review 1 - This book was originally published in 12 installments back in 1990 and caused a great deal of controversy at the time due to it's explicitly sexual content.
    It is hard to tell if Howard Chaykin was pandering to the sleazy end of the market with this book, or whether he was playing some subtle joke. Either are possible and with hindsight it probably doesn't matter.

    Even by today's standards the book is most definitely for adults due to it's graphic sexual content.

    The story is very much in the film noir crime thriller tradition but with an added element of the supernatural.
    If you imagine a combination of Mulholland Falls, Body Heat, Body of Evidence and The Hunger, you can probably get a sense of the story's style and content.
    The art is very typical of Howard Chaykin at the peak of his power and is drawn in the same style as Blackhawk, American Flagg and Time[squared]. This graphic novel is however presented in black & white without a great deal of shading. That combined with an often very detailed panel composition has the effect of making the art look a bit cluttered at times, particularly when combined with the normally excellent depiction of sound effects.
    The story is complex and at times you don't know who is who, but it does keep you guessing "what is going on " right up to the end.
    There is no moral centre to the story (everyone is corrupt ) and the characters are pretty one dimensional but, I did find it interesting enough.

    While it is by no means the highest point in Howard Chaykins career it remains a curiosity and given the controversy that it caused in its original release, it is worth reading so that you can make your own mind up.

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    Review 2 - Artist/Writer Howard Chaykin was best known to comic fans in the mid-80s for his subversive series American Flagg! , which went to places both violent and sexual that even the most “mature” comics wouldn’t touch.

    Well… Black Kiss goes further... A LOT further.

    Many credit Frank Miller’s Sin City for bringing hardboiled pulp back to comics, but Chaykin’s Black Kiss pre-dates it by about 3 years. Not only that, but the sordid noir that permeates every page of Black Kiss makes Sin City look like Riverdale.

    Dagmar, the apparent lesbian lover of former 1950′s ingenue Beverly Grove, is searching for a reel of film from the Vatican’s pornography collection. The reel is stolen by someone dressed like a nun, who plans to extort Beverly as she is the star of this particular film reel. Along the way, the mafia and a well-known jazz musician named Cass Polack become caught in a web of lurid sex and brutal violence, sometimes occurring at once, sometimes confused as to which is which. And then shit gets really really weird.

    What could’ve have been a slightly more sordid Mickey Spillane/Raymond Chandler homage turns into something far more feverish, misanthropic, and perverse than anything the reader would’ve possibly imagined. She-males, gang rape, necrophilia, porno vampire cult orgies, graphic references to full blown images of oral sex for what feels like the entire book (not to mention other kinds of sex), all delivered with an alarmingly casual wit that keeps the book from being an Eros Comix-type spank-rag.

    The entire 12 issue run of Black Kiss has been collected by Dynamite in a gorgeous hardcover collection. Seek it out.

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More info:
    Written by: Howard Chaykin
    Illustrated by: Howard Chaykin
    Printed by: Vortex in 1988
    Collected by: Dynamite in 2010

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Aug 23rd, 2011, 10:41 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:12 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 24th, 2011, 8:27 am
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Title: Spellgame (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Dan Mishkin (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: KaraokeFanboy (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: Spellgame #1
    Everybody remembers their first time. No, I'm not talking about "becoming a man," though that may play some part in it -- I'm talking about one's first trip to Las Vegas. Whether you're vacationing for business or unadulterated pleasure, Las Vegas is truly an adult Disneyland that inspires a completely different but equally compelling part of one's imagination. I first visited "the strip" with my old friends Nathan and Nick, and one night, while we were waiting for the bus to take us from one end to the other, two pretty girls pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. Thinking we'd hit the proverbial jackpot, we joined them for drinks and, in our naivete, didn't realize until at least an hour into our conversation that drinks weren't all they wanted us to pay for. We learned that lesson the hilarious way; what happens in Vegas usually puts you in way over your head.

    John Dodge knows what I mean. In Spellgame #1, Dodge, a Vegas con man, discovers his strange connection to a coming age of magic when the cards he deals come to life! Writer Dan Mishkin takes the audience on a virtual rollercoaster ride of underground gambling and underworld mysticism, introducing his Dodge and his sidekick Harry via a typical pick-a-card con, then suddenly throwing magic in the mix when the Jack of spades leaps from the deck, dons a suit, and takes some ladies to town. The fantastic scene is well executed by artist Ramon Perez, but when Dodge's victim realizes he's been had, the strange occurrence is seemingly dismissed as Dodge and Harry run from the cops. Later, Dodge chases a goblin through traffic and some goth punks capture and inexplicably attack him, until John commandeers their magic to fight back. Again, Perez does a very admirable job of blending this seemingly seamless blend of fantasy and reality, but Mishkin avoids addressing its weight with significant dialogue, other than Dodge's obligatory skepticism even in the face of the obviously supernatural. Still, the premise is promising, if only to explore that dark magic that must hold a city like Las Vegas together.

    I'd be remiss not to mention Darwyn Cooke's fantastic cover, which actually sparked my interested in Spellgame a few years ago when I saw it as an ad in Chuck Satterlee and Norm Breyfogle's Of Bitter Souls. Interestingly, Of Bitter Souls also addressed the supernatural context of a prominent American tourist attraction, New Orleans, and perhaps this context inspired such a direction for Spellgame. Unfortunately, despite the involvement of Cooke, Breyfogle, and other top notch talent, Speakeasy Comics closed its doors in 2006; I wonder if the company would have achieved more success if its titles concocted this kind of thematic continuity, much in the same way as Dark Horse has cornered the goth spook market (i.e. Hellboy, The Goon, and its recent hit The Umbrella Academy).

    Either way, like any trip to Vegas, a winning streak just can't last forever. If this first issue inspired me to follow up on anything, its finding more work by Ramon Perez. (A quick Google search uncovered his Calavera Studios site, which reminded me that I have seen his work in Butternut Squash #1. Thought it looked familiar . . .) See, Spellgame #1 proves it, that rolling the dice and taking a chance on a title based on its ad can be a good gamble.

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More info:
    writer: Dan Mishkin
    artist: Ramon Perez
    letterer: Marshall Dillon
    editor: Chris Stone
    cover artist: Darwyn Cooke

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Aug 24th, 2011, 8:27 am

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 24th, 2011, 12:24 pm
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Title: Skeleton Key (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Andi Watson (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Johanna (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Skeleton Key is the story of Tamsin, a disaffected teenager in a small Canadian town. She comes across a magic key that can open doors to other dimensions and winds up having to balance the concerns of everyday life with fantastic adventures. After one of her trips, Kitsune, an Oriental fox spirit who’s addicted to sugar, comes back to live with her, and they become best friends.

    Beyond the Threshold is early work. It establishes the premise and characters with baroque, overly detailed art and lots of black. Due to the occasionally difficult art, I recommend this volume for completists only. It also isn’t really a complete story, leading into The Celestial Calendar.

    This second volume shows a lot of artistic growth, and it contains a huge variety of intriguing ideas: a mysterious pregnancy, a disease that turns people into quilts, a super-deformed (little body, big head manga-inspired art style) troupe of Chinese acrobats, a competition among mages, Oriental hockey-playing vampires, and a raccoon backpack that comes to life. With all this going on, it’s hard to keep track, at times, of the overall story.

    The series really begins to shine with Telling Tales, a collection of short stories revolving around everyday teenage life; the fantastic elements are still part of the story, but they’re no longer driving it. Instead, these five stories involve getting a new look, Valentine’s Day and high school crushes, taking a beach break, jealousy when male and female friends think about becoming more than friends, and moving out on your own. (The sixth story is a mostly wordless tale of Mr. Raccoon inspiring Japanese art prints.)

    Cats & Dogs continues blending fantasy and teenage drama as the stories become longer and more thoughtful. The last half of the volume, “Homesick”, sums up the series to that point: Kitsune finds a place of her own while Tamsin interacts with a new potential love interest. Their friendship is foregrounded as Tamsin tries to help Kitty deal with missing her home in another dimension. Additionally, there’s a brief return to the wackiness of the earlier series as more fantasy elements are included in the wrapup.

    Roots, the collection of the later four-issue miniseries, is the best of the bunch. It was written as a single story, instead of a collection of tales, so it’s a more satisfying read. The book begins with a brief summary of the earlier series, so it’s a good starting point for new readers. It also contains a short story featuring Kitsune encountering children who think she’s a witch for living in a shack by herself.

    Tamsin has to figure out where to apply to college: locally, so she can continue taking care of Kitty, or a good school farther away. The themes are more mature (foreshadowing Watson’s later pure slice-of-life work, Breakfast After Noon); Tamsin feels torn between her responsibilities to Kitty and her dreams for herself. They’re growing up, whether they want to or not, in an inspiring story about managing life changes.

    It’s astounding to watch Watson’s development as an artist. From the dark, cluttered early volumes, through a cartoony phase, he has simplified and strengthened his characters and layouts. It appears as though he had a fear of white space at the beginning, but the last volume, Roots, demonstrates a terrific balance of tones, whites, and blacks. The characters have become more distinctive in look and expression as they become less complicated in design.

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    The series is an amazing blend of fantasy, humor, adventure and slice-of-life teenage drama. There’s literally something here for everyone; most noticeably, the brilliant, realistic characters are the core of the appeal of the series. I was particularly impressed by the way he involves and foregrounds the reality of a teenage girl’s life (like being judged on looks or having to fight to join all-male groups). He even goes so far as to have the girls rescue a helpless male — who then has to deal with his resentment, as well as the way their friendships are changed as a result.

    There are a variety of other related comics. The Skeleton Key Special collects short stories and minicomics. Along with providing an overview of Watson’s changing and growing art style (since it covers a span of over two years), it also includes pinups from such talents as Dan Brereton, Mark Crilley, Tim Levins, and Jim Mahfood. To see the characters in a color story, look for the Skeleton Key Missive Device. Slab-O-Concrete put out these minicomics that can be mailed like postcards.

    The Skeleton Key/Sugar Kat Special teams up Tamsin and Kitsune with Sugar Kat, the most popular girl in the world, and her sister Rebecca. Since it’s written by Ian Carney and co-illustrated by Woodrow Phoenix (the team behind Where’s It At, Sugar Kat?), the feel of the story is closer to their material than to Skeleton Key, but it’s an amusing romp.

    Kitsune makes another appearance in Kitsune Tales, a one-shot written by Woodrow Phoenix and drawn by Andi Watson. It’s an action story set in a far-off mythical land where Kitsune uses her fox spirit abilities to rescue kidnapped children from a tyrant monster.

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More info:
    Writing and art by Andi Watson

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Aug 24th, 2011, 12:24 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 24th, 2011, 4:22 pm
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Title: The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Jacques Tardi (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Richard A. Tucker (Review 1) and Sam Quixote (Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec: Pterror Over Paris / The Eiffel Tower Demon (Vol. 1)
    Review 1 - Recalling Tardi's great work from the American edition of Heavy Metal magazine back in it's early years in the late seventies, I had to assume that the storyteller had lost some of his edge over the years. The truth is he's a pleasant surprise with that same sharp wit and cunning storytelling skill, and still a master of the form. He's lost none of the edge that made him a popular import all those years ago. What is striking about this collection of two tales that intertwine with rich complexity and humane brevity is that by the end of the tale Adele remains an enigma full of questions unanswered and a lot hinted at, remaining unresolved. The cynical wit and razor's edge escapes as well as the delightfully off kilter twists and turns makes this a fun, engaging read with promises of a lot more to come.
    I hope there will be at least several more episodes of this series to read over the coming years.
    I can't wait to see the film, subtitles and all.

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    Review 2 - One night a pterodactyl hatches in a museum in Paris and flies off to create chaos. Meanwhile a mysterious woman is en route to Paris with some strange luggage and a different quest in mind - extortion. Throw in some ancient demons and more double crossing than you can shake a stick at and you've got "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec".

    This 1976 reprint really disappointed me. Fantagraphics put this book out and as usual did a stand up job publishing it - the book is beautiful and would look amazing on your bookshelf. But the contents? Let's see - horrible writing with no hint of characterisation and too many panels overloaded with dialogue, clichés, and needless exposition make this a startlingly dull read.

    That doesn't compare to the artwork though. Jacques Tardi has maybe 3 different character faces which means the reader can't keep up with the labyrinthine plot of backstabbing because all of the characters look the same. The men all look the same - Caucasian, thin, dark hair and spindly moustaches and beards. Some with glasses, some without. Adele Blanc-Sec and the woman she is blackmailing look almost identical and they are seemingly the only women in Paris.

    The general artwork is quite good but the colours are very dull which, added to the dull dialogue and very plain set pieces, really puts the reader to sleep. The plots become overly convoluted and the real reasons you're reading this remain a mystery throughout - who is Adele Blanc-Sec and why does she do what she does? It's never explained but halfway through the second story I couldn't care less. You see for all of it's attempts at being "extraordinary", the stories are very ordinary. The inclusion of fantastical elements like dinosaurs and monsters only serve to accentuate this, that even these things can't elevate the unremitting boredom of the book one iota.

    There was some nonsense about treasure, some interchangeable men who backstab each other and chase after said treasure, Adele meanwhile is somehow ... you know what? Even trying to explain the overly plotted tedium of this book is too much for me. I'll end now by saying if I can't even finish a 90 page comic book, boy is it not worth picking up. I think I'm going to watch a fan circulate instead.

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More info:
    Jacques Tardi artist, writer
    Published by Casterman, Fantagraphics (USA), NBM. 2001

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Aug 24th, 2011, 4:22 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 25th, 2011, 5:52 am
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Title: The Bionic Man (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Kevin Smith and Phil Hester (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Ryan K. Lindsay (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: The Bionic Man #1
    Dynamite struck gold when they took Kevin Smith’s unused screenplay for “The Green Hornet” and developed it into a comic series. It definitely benefitted from the timing around an actual Green Hornet movie. Dynamite then turned their Green Hornet license into a stable of titles around the character and Smith’s reimagining of him. Here, they’re attempting to direct lightning into the same place twice by taking another unused screenplay from Smith and making it a comic. Unfortunately, this time up at bat is not so successful.

    This debut issue constitutes what one would imagine the first 15 minutes of Smith’s movie would have looked like. When watching 120 minutes on the screen, you might forgive an intro where you know exactly how things are going to play out. As a standalone introduction, this book fails miserably. There’s the beginning of a mystery in the first pages and then the rest is simply what we know viewed through the prism of Smith’s parlance. When adapting this screenplay, more thought should have been given to how the debut issue would structure as a comic on its own. This doesn’t satisfy because it ends with some sort of cliffhanger as if we don’t know Colonel Austen will become the Bionic Man.

    The major problem of this book is the need to inject constant, and sophomoric, humor into every scene and character’s mouth. Smith’s greatest weakness has always been his lack of restraint. He doesn’t know how to kill his darlings. Everything from smelly nervous pooping to anal probes to ‘your wife’ jokes make it through. None of it is funny and most of it slows the story down and clogs up the page. If this wants to be a juvenile comedy then it should be funny. If it’s an action comic then it should dial up some actual action.

    Jonathan Lau does a decent job of telling a story around the many words that muddle the pages. Many of the pages are talking heads and Lau works to vary the zoom lengths to keep us engaged. It feels, at times, as if he’s trying to direct this like a Michael Bay flick. Ivan Nunes’ colors work well with the action, but the still scenes don’t seem to know what to do. Backgrounds inexplicably hold mood shading without it being contextual and the result gives this film a very hollow set.

    This opening is not strong; It’s overwritten for a lot of scenes where not a lot happens. Characterization isn’t developed; we get more of Smith on the page than we do these men and women. By the end of the first issue you should not be just getting to the part everyone knows about already. There’s the possibility things might turn out different, but considering this is about the Bionic Man not enough shorthand was employed. The opening sequence is the only aspect of this book that delivers something to intrigue the reader and entice their return. The rest is pure filler of jokes that fall flat, and apparent set up that’s too slow. This is an adaptation that’s grabbed the story while not thinking about the medium of presentation.

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More info:
    Story byKevin Smith, Phil Hester
    Art byJonathan Lau
    Colors byIvan Nunes
    Letters bySimon Bowland
    Cover byAlex Ross

Publisher:
    Image

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Aug 25th, 2011, 5:52 am

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 25th, 2011, 7:19 pm
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Title: The Rocketeer Adventures (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Dave Stevens (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Dw. Dunphy (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Last year, upon picking up the hardcover edition of Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer, lovingly released by IDW Publishing, I was of two minds about the news that the company was putting out a mini-series devoted to paying tribute to the deceased Stevens and his fascinating creation. On the one hand, Stevens can’t be replaced. Sure, his storytelling got thin at times, but it also remained consistently entertaining and always beautiful to look at. It was light, airy tales that did not forget that the movie serials that informed it were also light and airy. Still, the roster of people who signed on to pay tribute was impressive. Certainly they were going to bring their “A” game to this endeavor.

    Three issues into a four issue stint, I can say that the Rocketeer Adventures mini-series has been a huge disappointment. Each issue has featured three stories and a handful of pin-ups; the pin-ups are almost always based on the character of Betty, Cliff Secord’s girlfriend and nod to Bettie Page, in a state of undress. The stories have been almost uniformly of the Betty-is-a-damsel-in-distress variety leaving one to wonder, how did it take so many writers and illustrators to come up with the same narrative over and over again?

    As a matter of fact, I joked with our comics guru Johnny Bacardi upon the release of the second issue that the repetition was getting dull. At the same time, I was hoping the third issue would finally break the mold. Alas, still moldy.

    More often than not, the art is nice to look at and if that was all that was required to sell the book, mission accomplished. However, I still read for stories too, and the only one that takes full advantage of the fertile time period of the setting, the late 1930s/early 1940s, was the last story in issue one written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by the legendary Michael Kaluta. The art is pure Kaluta, meaning it is not as smooth and perfect as Stevens’, but the team knew the times and took advantage of it. With both The Rocketeer and Betty doing their best in the war effort, on distinctly different fronts, we had an honest-to-God story on our hands.

    Meanwhile, nearly everyone else has taken this golden opportunity to have Betty, with heaving bosom and flashing garter, shriek for help with The Rocketeer swooping in to save her. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with heaving bosom and flashing garter if it is done once or twice, but steak for dinner for a year gets pretty monotonous too. And that is the unintended result of the series. In an effort to hold up these characters as a point of inspiration, they forgot one thing: to tell a unique story. When Stevens launched his creation in the ’80s in the back of Mike Grell’s Starslayer series, it’s retro look and ridiculously detailed rendering was jaw-droppingly unique to the racks of the day, but what sold the deal was a fun, cohesive story that did not rely solely on Stevens’ ability to draw the sexiest women in comics at that moment.

    Herein lies a huge problem with the industry right now. We’ll call it the Girlfriend Scenario wherein a guy who buys and collects comics is inundated with female characters busting with busty bodaciousness, and they have guns too. The nice thing is that if the girlfriend comes over to watch a movie or whatever, it is just a comic book. It is not like a copy of Penthouse lying around. Guy gets his t&a, and girl doesn’t get quite as offended (unless she chooses to actually read it. How is said dude to explain away to said girl that Claws II, issue one, implies that Felicia the Black Cat has just given Logan the Wolverine a blowjob in the coatroom of a restaurant?) You know, it is okay to be a little bit titillating, but skimping on the story to get a couple more deep-cleavage poses in is just goofy.

    And that fevered, high-school mentality of wanting to see hot chicks but not wanting to get caught seeing hot chicks ends up marring this chance at bringing Dave Stevens’ world back to life. I will end up buying issue four, completist that I am, but I already know what’s in store, and that is a deeply saddening reality.

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More info:
    Dave Stevens writer, penciler, inker, cover
    Alex Ross, Dave Stevens cover
    Bruce Timm, Joe Chiodo artist
    Joe R. Lansdale writer
    John Workman, Jonathan Ross, Stephanie Buscema artist
    Robbie Robbins other
    Ryan Sook, Tommy Lee Edwards, Joe Chiodo colorist
    Scott Dunbier editor
    published by Eclipse Comics, IDW Publishing. 1985-2011

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Aug 25th, 2011, 7:19 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 25th, 2011, 7:45 pm
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Title: Superman Beyond (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Tom DeFalco (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Andrew Brunner (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Superman Beyond is a template for how alternate universe stories are meant to be. Even for someone with limited knowledge of the Beyond verse, the book is entertaining, emotional and a lot of fun to read. Here’s to hoping that writer Tom DeFalco’s dream of continuing the story in an ongoing series becomes a reality very soon.

    It’s a story we’ve seen before, and yet it never fails to intrigue–what happens when superheros get old? A year after leaving Earth to contemplate his future, an aging Superman finds himself thrust in the middle of an intergalactic conflict where he is forced to save a peaceful planet’s inhabitants from an invading warrior race. After doing so, Kal-El realizes there is no escaping his destiny as Superman, and that despite the fact that he know has to “struggle to keep up with a bullet” he can still do some good in the world.

    While he was gone, the city of Metropolis has gone the way of Gotham, turning to violence and crime. The Justice League has attempted to keep order, but it’s simply too much for them to handle. They try to enlist the help of Terry McGinnis, the newest Batman, to help them, but the Caped Crusader says he is too busy in Neo-Gotham to help them out. Bruce Wayne, now serving as an Alfred of sorts to McGinnis, says that the JL always believes their missions to be more important than their own.

    Meanwhile, a prisoner named Mangler Maccarro sits in the visitation area where he is expecting to get to talk to his daughter. Through the glass, his wife tells them that their family can’t wait for him any longer, and that they are going to move on with their lives without him. While on work leave later that dat at a former experimental lab of Lex Luther, Mangler grabs a jar of Kryptonite. When the guards try to wrestle it from him, it explodes and transforms the con into a Hulk-like monster who is able to transform his limbs into anything he can imagine. Calling himself Armorgeddon, the villain busts out of the lab determined to see his daughter.

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    After deciding to return to Earth, Clark’s first stop is the grave of his Earth parents, Johnathan and Martha Kent. After paying his respects Clark meets with his old friend Jimmy Olsen, who has done quite well for himself, investing his severance pay in a media start up that took off, and left him in control. He offers Clark a job as a reporter, but isn’t given a definite answer. Clark decides to return to the apartment he shared with Lois Lane to think about it.

    As he is doing so, the Justice League arrives on the scene of Armorgeddon’s escape, but the heroes are no match for the Kryptonite-fueled Goliath. Clark here’s the story of the escape on the news and decides to intervene for old time’s sake. He gets there just as the GL are getting their asses handed to them. Now decked out as Superman, the Man of Tomorrow goes toe-to-toe with the villain before he shows signs of his age, and Armor lands a blow that knocks him out of commission for a while. Mangler makes his way to his old apartment where he tries to interact with his daughter, but the villain’s new form frightens her and she screams for help. Amor leaves, crushed.

    Superman is waiting for him on his return, and Armor lashes out in anger, demanding that the hero kill him to protect his daughter from the monster that he has become. After a long fight, Superman flies Mangler into the atmosphere where the villain says he has nothing to live for, but he might as well go down as the man who killed Superman. He morphs his arm into a Kryptonite-laced spike, and drives it through Superman’s chest. Barely able to move, Superman is able to turn the falling duo so he, not Mangler (who became depowered in the attack) took the fall. As the hero lies there, seemingly dead, Mangler asks why the hero would do that to someone who just tried to kill him. Members of the Justice League answer, “Because he’s Superman.”

    It is revealed that Clark’s injuries are not fatal, and members of the JL get him to his feet so he can get medical attention. Clark’s only words are, “I’ve got a few more good years left.”

    We then flash forward to shot of Clark at Lois’ grave. Knowing that his old friend Bruce Wayne is watching, Clark calls to him and thanks him for tending to Lois’ grave while he was gone. After exchanging harmless verbal jabs Bruce simply tells Clark, “Welcome home.”

    Man I hope this issue is popular enough among other readers to get DC to order an ongoing series. My biggest gripe with comics is that we rarely get to see our heroes age, and thus we never really fear for their lives. When you don’t believe someone can get old, or die you never get as emotionally attached, and thus the stories are not as compelling. With this series we get to see a Superman that is great, but not so super anymore, and I find that fascinating. I only hope that this isn’t the last we will see.

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More info:
    Writer: Tom DeFalco
    Art: Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema.

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Aug 25th, 2011, 7:45 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 26th, 2011, 5:56 am
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Title: Executive Assistant: Lotus (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Vince Hernandez (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: InfiniteSpeech (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: Executive Assistant: Lotus #1
    The woman once known as Rani had a very strict code she conducted her business by. When it came to this there was no middle ground or grey area. The tough part about that is things don’t always go according to plan, and a mistake is made while she was attempting to go after a target. It’s this mistake that leads her on the path to becoming an Executive Assistant.

    The first thing you’ll notice about Executive Assistant: Lotus is that Hernandez doesn’t stick with the exact same formula as EA: Iris and the other titles. Though Rani’s life ran parallel to what an Executive Assistant does, she was not brought up as a child in one of the many facilities. She’s basically a legacy assassin, as Hernandez points out that this has been going on in her family for hundreds of years. It’s also interesting to see that she was brought into the role of Executive Assistant as an already proficient assassin. Hernandez also lets a bit of her humanity come through in the story, giving her a bit more depth than say Orchid or Acteia.

    Oliver Nome and Emilio Lopez make this one fantastic looking book! There, I got that out of the way. From the opening scene where Lotus kills the two guards checking out her cleavage window, to her sparring with her pet Bengal tiger, it just gets better and better. Nome also keeps the action flowing well from panel to panel, and you’re never lost during all of the chaos and explosions. It’s also a big plus that her ethnicity shows in his depiction of her and she’s not just a Caucasian looking woman colored to look Indian. That’s a pet peeve of mine and I’m glad to see Nome and Lopez didn’t take that route.

    Once we get past all of the introductory issues, I’m hoping that we’ll find out what everyone’s role in the Hit List Agenda will be. For right now it just seems as if the event is all about introducing the new assassins, and we’re not sure what the endgame is going to be. Other than that, the creative teams on each book are delivering some quality work, and Executive Assistant: Lotus is another gem in the collection.

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More info:
    Publisher: Aspen
    Writer: Vince Hernandez
    Artist: Oliver Nome
    Cover: Oliver Nome & Peter Steigerwald

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Aug 26th, 2011, 5:56 am

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 26th, 2011, 5:33 pm
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Title: Kingdom Come (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Mark Waid (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Hilary Goldstein (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Ten years have passed since Superman's retirement and the world is falling to chaos. When Superman hung up his cape to make way for a new, more reckless generation of heroes, his peers followed suit. Today's heroes are almost indistinguishable from its villains, putting innocents in harm's way in the midst of battle, killing instead of subduing, and reveling in their power.

    A disaster in Kansas prompts Superman's return, which quickens the race towards Armageddon. But, surprisingly, writer Mark Waid does not pit the old guard versus the new breed of supers. Instead, in Kingdom Come there is a philosophical divide between the Man of Steel's iron rule and the Dark Knight's surprisingly less-stringent stance.

    As with Kurt Busiek's Marvels, Kingdom Come is seen through the eyes of an ordinary man. Pastor Norman McCay, guided by the spirit of vengeance, the Spectre, is chosen to bear witness to the coming conflagration. It is McKay's duty to watch the conflict between superhuman and humankind and decide who is at fault. He must determine who deserves punishment.

    Kingdom Come is not just a wistful Elseworlds tale of dark times for great heroes. It is a tale of the inevitable. These events, in some fashion, will occur in a world where the "super" overtakes the "man." Unlike Marvel, DC has a number of resourceful humans. In fact, some of the DC's most potent villains and heroes are ordinary men who achieve the extraordinary. These are people who cannot allow supers to rule over the masses or belittle human ingenuity and perseverance. Just because a man can fly, doesn't mean he gets to tell everyone how to live.

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    Comics' greater painter, Alex Ross, illustrates DC's darkest hour with stunning realism that evokes a deeper emotional response than Waid could muster on the strength of story alone. The duo has re-imagined every significant character in the DCU, placing them a decade in the future. Along with an updated Superman, Green Lantern and Flash, there are scores of new characters that prove fascinating in their brief appearances. It's a wonder why DC hasn't mined more of these creations for the current DCU.

    Ross packs each page with cameos from even the most unlikely of characters, adding in touches of nostalgia as well. The villains meet in the Legion of Doom headquarters from the old cartoon show, Bat-Mite pops up innocuously behind Superman in the Batcave, and various DC editors and creators show up as extras. You can read this book once for the stunning story and then again to catch all the hidden gems.

    The Absolute Edition comes in a colorful slipcase featuring new Alex Ross artwork. The book is leather bound and includes more than 100 pages of bonus material. Some of this material was previously released and some of it is exclusive to this edition. This is the equivalent of a four-disc DVD spectacular.

    Along with dozens of character sketches, there's a detailed genealogy and helpful annotations pointing out the hundreds of characters appearing throughout the pages of Kingdom Come. A few fun facts slip through the cracks (i.e. The hoodlums hunted by Batman's mechanical minions are Fat Albert and the Junkyard Gang), but just about every question of who is who is answered. The gem of this collection is the Alex Ross-painted three-page Kingdom Come send-up from World's Funniest, starring Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite. It's a hoot.

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More info:
    Written by Mark Waid
    Art by Alex Ross

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Aug 26th, 2011, 5:33 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 27th, 2011, 11:59 am
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Title: The Silencers (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Fred Van Lente (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Sean Holland (Review 1) and D.K. Latta (Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Review 1 - The Silencers #1 - The Silencer #1 (Bitter Fruit Part 1), Story by Fred Van Lente, Art by Steve Ellis and Dae Uyoo and published by Moonstone Books. It is a thirty four-page product (only two of which are advertisements).

    The Silencers are drawn by Ellis who has a good feel for the classic look of the American superhero comic and, while rough at times, captures the mood of the story quite well. The entire comic is in full color, as superheroes (or supervillains) should be.

    The Silencers are not you typical supergroup. They are criminals, superpowered enforcers employed by the mob to keep down the competition. The Silencers have to act carefully so as to avoid attracting the attention of the “tights” (costumed superheroes) which is a little amusing as all of the Silencers have bought into the same game, all have code names and costumes.

    The comic begins with the Silencers breaking up the drug activities of a rival, and mysterious, syndicate and ends with the betrayal of Cardinal, the team leader, and several other members. Thus ending on a nice cliff hanger. The story builds well and the characters and plot are engaging, even if there are no particular surprises it is a solid piece. The comic ends with capsule descriptions of the character as FBI Wanted posters (which include the warning “powered and dangerous” which I particularly like).

    As I am primarily a game product reviewer, I would be remiss is I did not point out that the Silencers would be good fodder both for building a well-organized supervillain team or as a frame work for building a villain-based supers game.

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    Review 2 - The Silencers #1 - The Silencers is basically a (slightly "mature readers") super hero take on mob-style stories like the Godfather and The Sopranos. The "reality" is familiar enough turf for a super hero comic -- an underlying realism of sorts, rooted in a recognizable New York, but where the notion of people with super powers battling overhead is as common place as sanitation strikes. Yet the "heroes" of the story, or anti-heroes, are the crooks...specifically a super team of mob enforcers who work for a powerful (non-powered) crime family. In fact, conventional super heroes are barely peripheral to the action, as the story involves The Silencers getting caught up in a mob war, occasionally ducking into an alley as so-called "tights" fly by obliviously.

    Not being a big fan of mob stories and their accompanying nihilism, I wouldn't necessarily have expected to like this. But having read the subsequently produced Silencers one-shot (Powered & Dangerous, from Image Comics), and thoroughly enjoying it, I was already in the series' corner when I started on this collection of the original mini-series, titled Black Kiss, from rising comics publisher Moonstone Books.

    Although the story is about crooks, most of their adversaries are crooks too, meaning it kind of sidesteps the good/bad question, as we don't see the Silencers attacking innocent civilians or anything. And even when cops are brought in, creators Fred Van Lente and Steve Ellis tend to paint them in a sufficiently unsavory light that we can't exactly see them as defenders of truth and justice. In fact, one could argue the whole mob genre (in movies, books and comics) is about trying to capture the flavour of a western, or other historical adventure, but set in contemporary times. Harkening back to a semi-mythic time when men lived by their own rules, where the edict was survival and loyalty, more than law and order.

    And morality does creep in, perhaps even sub-consciously on the parts of the creators. Not only does the story begin with the Cardinal, the leader of the Silencers, planning on retiring from a life of crime he was forced into to begin with (allowing us to sympathize more with him) but as the story progresses, the Silencers find themselves fighting not just for their own survival, but possibly the survival of the greater society as -- without giving too much away -- it turns out there's more going on than simply a civil war within their local crime family. As the story unfolds, it's their methods more than their goals that distinguish the Silencers from more mainstream super hero comics (in fact, given the current shift to the gritty and nihilistic in some mainstream super hero titles, even the methods aren't that different). Clearly there is an assumed visceral appeal to the mob milieu, the lingo; a resonance to scenes of characters being bushwhacked in their cars, and of well dressed wiseguys sitting around big tables that some creators would like to marry with other genres -- here, it's super heroes; a few years ago, TV's Kindred: The Embraced did it with vampires.

    But it's as much the execution as the concept that makes The Silencers: Black Kiss work. Van Lente and Ellis have a fairly tight, economical style that is quite effective. I'll sometimes reflect on a memorable comic book scene I read as a kid and be shocked, flipping through the old comic, to discover the "scene" was only two panels long...while I can read some modern comics, barely remembering some inconsequential exchange...and be equally shocked to realize it was spread over three pages! But Van Lente and Ellis remind me of that older school, as they keep the pace up, and treat us to a nice mix of suspense and human drama (and quirky humour) and where I'll flip back through it and realize how they managed to say all that needed to be said in just a couple of panels, yet the characters and their relationships are nicely realized and textured, even occasionally poignant.

    Van Lente's plot throws a lot into the mix, and not just from the mobsters and the super hero idioms. Even though the story starts out about turf wars and a new drug on the market, it gets further afield as it goes, tossing in sci-fi and horror aspects, and homages to a certain 1930s pulp writer. The characters are interesting enough, Van Lente giving them shading and touches of warmth and camaraderie, and coming up with some interesting powers and abilities for them.

    Ellis' style is a little cartoony and angular, but snaps along with a dramatic efficiency. He comes up with effective character designs, particularly the striking and brooding Cardinal, who with his bald head and round, reflective glasses looks like something borrowed from a Mike Mignola comic. Ellis is a bit rough at times in action scenes, where it occasionally takes a moment to quite figure out what's what. And the final issues look a little more rushed than did the initial ones (and the reproduction on some of the later pages is a bit odd, almost as if it's a reproduction of a reproduction, and some of the sharpness is lost). But, overall, the art is effective and energetic. The colours by Dae Lim Yoo suit the tone, being both sombre, as she relies on earth tones and the like, evoking an urban jungle grittiness...while also being bold and vibrant, suiting the lighter, cartoonier flavour as well.

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    Towards the end, Van Lente throws in a scene where the Cardinal confronts some "tights" (super heroes)...and it's a kind of awkward, self-conscious scene. Not the least of which is because the "tights" should be peripheral...these are the stories of what happens on the other side of town from where the heroes are battling villains. But it's also awkward because Van Lente and Ellis seem to be intruding into their own story. As the Cardinal sneers that the tights are "juvenile and useless...a perverse joke", one suspects it's the creators thumbing their noses at mainstream super heroes, as if their story is somehow more relevant, more real. But, of course, it isn't. In fact, part of the appeal of the Silencers is how it's even further removed from reality than the average Spider-Man comic as it's a noire world without real repercussions. As mentioned, the conflict is between crooks, allowing us to root for anti-heroes, while ignoring the real life consequences of these characters' actions, the innocent lives that are really destroyed by organized crime and its drugs, murder, extortion, and more. We can enjoy the Silencers, even like them, because they aren't real life sociopaths and hired killers.

    And yet, skimming over that scene again, I wonder if I've undersold it. Oh, there's certainly a self-reflective heavy handedness (when Cardinal mocks the tights' "cadre of misguided fans"), but given the way Cardinal blows up irrationally when someone mentions the "tights" in an earlier scene, I wonder if there's more characterization than commentary going on in that scene than I originally gave it credit for. Does the Cardinal have a hate on for the tights...because no hero saved him from a life of crime he did not choose?

    A good comic (since you've bought it and are stuck with it) should be entertaining enough that it invites re-readings...and smart enough that it rewards subsequent readings with extra nuance. Having only read it once, I can't say for sure, but just re-thinking that one scene, the Silencers may well satisfy both criteria.

    The TPB Image collection also includes a bonus short story that manages to be off beat, while giving some insight into one of the Silencers. There's also some interesting extras -- including the obligatory cover gallery, but also a previously published interview with the creators, and even showing an early draft to one of the pages (in a DVD style "alternate scene" sort of way).

    The Silencers: Black Kiss is a well paced, off-beat saga, cleverly mixing its disparate influences, and keeping things light enough with its brisk pacing and some quirky humour, while also shoring things up with some unexpected character depth -- and tossing in clever plot twists and turns. All in all, both it, as well as the subsequent one-shot, Powered and Dangerous, are an offer that shouldn't be refused (okay, I couldn't resist).

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More info:
    Story by Fred Van Lente
    Art by Steve Ellis and Dae Uyoo
    published by Moonstone Books

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Aug 27th, 2011, 11:59 am

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 27th, 2011, 3:55 pm
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Title: Albion (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Leah Moore and John Reppion (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: The Masked Bookwyrm (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    The plot for Albion was credited to comics legend, Alan Moore, but its actual execution Moore left to the next generation -- his daughter, Leah, and co-writer, John Reppion. But the premise is fully reminiscent of something Alan Moore would do, nostalgically harkening back to yesterday's heroes...even as, paradoxically, it delights in cynically deconstrucing such heroes. From the Mavelman/Miracleman stories he did in the early 1980s, to The Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Lost Girls, to less cynical projects like Tom Strong and his work on Supreme (many of which are reviewed elsewhere on my site -- but I'm too lazy to create links right now). Albion even includes a few brief flashback snippets designed to evoke the old comics, again, a very Moore-sian trait.

    In the case of Albion (Albion being an archaic term for England) the characters selected for dusting off are British comic book characters popular in the 1950s and 1960s, but little known on this side of the pond, and one suspects rapidly fading into obscurity even in England. It's an irresistible idea -- even admirable, in that it attempts to preserve a lost culture. As a Canadian, I'd love to see someone try such a project reviving old Canadian comic book heroes (heck, I've got story ideas myself!). And subsequently we've seen series like Project Superpowers and The Twelve trying to re-invigour largely forgotten American super heroes. Though the trick to Albion is that one suspects the characters reflect a broader range of genres that they're trying to meld into a single reality -- heroes, anti-heroes, and even satirical and comedy characters.

    Unfortunately, as an actual story -- Albion is as off as pork left too long in the fridge.

    These are British characters remembered largely only by a now middle aged generation of Britons, and almost completely unknown to North American readers. Which means they should factor that into the telling, to recognize that the lion's share of the readership will have no idea of the references. I would guess that if Leah Moore herself grew up reading these characters, it was only because dad Alan had some old issues lying around the house. Yet the series is full of vaguely dropped names, cryptic allusions, "dramatic" revelations of characters...and one has no idea who these people are or why we should care.

    So the foundation of the mini-series is a bit mushy. But the telling is even worse. For one thing...it doesn't really have a plot.

    Oh, come on, I hear you say. Yes it does! See, we are told that these comic book characters were real, but now forgotten after the government rounded them all up -- heroes and villains alike -- and sequestered them in a gulag beneath a Scottish castle. A comic fan and a daughter of one of the not-so-fictional-characters have a chance meeting, and team up to free them all. There, you say, that's your plot.

    And I'd argue, no -- that's a premise. The plot is what you do with it, the character development, the twists and turns.

    There's a lot of repetition, cutting back and forth between scenes that don't really do much more than repeat earlier scenes, much of the time spent just tossing in appearances by characters we may -- or may not -- be intended to recognize. At the super human prison, a U.S. government agent has come to inspect the British facility. The cause for the inspection was a warning that a crisis was imminent. But that warning...makes no sense, other than as a narrative catalyst. Toward the end, an exasperated character even exclaims: "You can't just keep telling us 'something's going to happen." But that's what the character does. And there are a few places like that, where the how and why of a plot progression just happens because the writers need it too, not because it makes plausible sense.

    Other things seem to lead nowhere, like a villain, Spider, who's being presented as the cell block's Big Bad...but then never seems to do much.

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    And the characters are pretty non-existent: ill-defined and with little growth. And hard to even sometimes identify.

    Which maybe is a good segue into talking about the art. Shane Oakley certainly has a distinctive, professional style, with George Freeman using a heavier inking style than I often associate with him (presumably to suit the pencils). Oakley's stuff reminds me more than a little of Kelley Jones, though with a harder edge than Jones' softer, more organic gothic style. Unfortunately, the Jones comparison isn't entirely a compliment. Oakley's panels are full of stylish distortion -- often drawing the scenes as if through a fish eye lense, with walls curling around the figures, somke tendrils as geometric shapes, and with interesting angles, close ups, or showing an image via its reflection in another object. But though that means the panels can be visually interesting, even art...it doesn't mean they're great at simple storytelling which, after all, is what comic book art is about. And I didn't always recognize the characters from panel to panel.

    The script wasn't doing a good job of distinguishing the characters, and neither was the art.

    There's also a punk sensibility at work, with protagonist Penny casually threatening to kill fellow protagonist Daniel if he doesn't help her (notice I say "protagonists" as opposed to "heroes") and all the characters talk in an unrelenting stream of euphemistic profanity (#$@!#) and sometimes not so euphemistic. I tend to find that distracting when used too frequently. Either make it a mature readers comic, and have them cuss a blue streak, or don't have them talk that way. But as well, it adds to the sense of padding to justify a page count -- if you took out all the $%##@, and then took out all the dialogue that simply existed to delivery the #$%@!, you'd probably lose a third of the verbiage!

    A project like this is presumably fuelled by nostalgic affection...even as, in the telling, it will probably alienate a lot of the remaining fans, and would shock the creators of old.

    Ultimately, it isn't that the premise isn't potentially interesting, although it's hardly original. Gulag's for super beings? Been there, done that. Which is why the details, the "how" of the telling, is so important. Yet there's very little attempt to embellish beyond that core concept. Nor is there much sense of themes and subtext. It's as if the premise is so cliched, the writers don't feel the need to even justify it with some sort of metaphorical patina. I mean, the protagonists want to break open the gulag...but an awful lot of the people there really seem to be dangerous, crazy villains that pose a threat to the public. Even the basic "reality" is kind of vague in the sense of how it was that the collective memory of these beings was so effectively expunged from the public's consciousness.

    Despite the fact that I didn't like Albion, I'm not wholly prepared to dismiss Leah Moore (and John Reppion) as writers. I mean, the basic dialogue is okay (#$%& notwithstanding) and maybe they just need to find a project that better fires their imagination.

    The one positive thing that came out of this was that it did serve to shine a light on some once-popular, now obscure characters. Not a very good light -- we actually see very little of the old characters, and you won't read this and come away with any sense of what the old stories were like. But at least you'll now know the names. Because of Alan Moore's name on the cover, industry watchers were presumably assuming this project would be more successful than, I think, it ultimately was. But anticipating a resurgence of interest in the old characters, other companies (like Britain's Titan Books) have released a few collections of some of the old stories, including Steel Claw, Spider, and the multi-character Albion Origins (reviewed below).

    (Actually, a few years earlier, another comic book series -- Jack Staff -- also paid homage to some of these characters with thinly veiled dopplegangers).

    This is a review of the story as it was originally serialized in Epic Illustrated

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More info:
    Written by Leah Moore & John Reppion
    Story by Alan Moore
    Pencils by Shane Oakley
    Inks by George Freeman, with Peter Guzman.
    Colours: Wildstorm FX & Tony Avina
    Letters: Todd Klein
    Editor: Scott Dunbier, Kristy Quinn.

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Aug 27th, 2011, 3:55 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 27th, 2011, 5:58 pm
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Title: Banana Sunday (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Root Nibot (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Johanna (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Banana Sunday is the kind of imaginative work that’s perfect for comics. It’s got a creative premise — a girl named Kirby starts at a new school while taking care of three apes — that would be too expensive or ludicrous to do anywhere else, yet it emphasizes internal conflict with sympathetic characters. The emotions are universal, such as young love on a first date or a reporter’s conflict between loyalty and seeking the truth or the debate over how to stand up to a bully.

    The art is simply styled, easy to read, with clear layouts (which takes a lot more talent than camouflaging problems with a busier style). It’s got flair, too, whether capturing a character’s expression or the active motion of the monkeys. The panel-to-panel moments are perfectly selected to flow, making the read almost like watching a cartoon (only it’s easier to dwell on particularly good panels).

    The monkeys are smarter than usual, and they can talk, so they’re going to high school to learn more about human society. Chuck, the orangutan, is a bit stuffy, and he usually has his nose in a book. He’s very proud of his advanced intelligence to the point of patronizing the teachers. Knobby is a spider monkey wearing a little suit of clothes and a bow tie, and he likes girls, wooing them with poetry.

    Go-Go, the gorilla (although a tiny one), is fixated on food and naps. He’s the most animalistic of the three, operating on instinct. Although selfish when it comes to his bananas, he’s Kirby’s fierce protector, even if too much brainwork puts him to sleep. He’s the breakout character, my favorite, because he’s even cuter than the rest. The other monkeys could easily be people, but Go-Go gives off more of an animal vibe, almost like a pet or a toddler. And as a minature of the biggest type of ape, he’s adorable.

    The setup is a classic fish-out-of-water scenario combined with the wacky appeal of a good sitcom. When school reporter Nickels discovers the monkeys have a secret, she’s determined to find out what it is. Kirby knows that Nickels is investigating, but the two still become friends. Meanwhile, photographer Martin is hitting on her, in a good way. The combination of monkey secrets and school intrigue only increases the sense of fun, making for all-around enjoyable entertainment. This book is the missing link between Archie comics and Blue Monday.

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More info:
    Written by Root Nibot
    Art by Colleen Coover
    PUBLISHER: Oni Press

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Aug 27th, 2011, 5:58 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 27th, 2011, 8:07 pm
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Title: Kick-Ass II (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Mark Millar (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Dan Phillips (Review 1) and Erik Norris (Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review:
    Review 2 - Kick-Ass 2 #1 - I'm not going to lie: while reading Kick-Ass 2 #1 I found it difficult to get past my feeling that the Kick-Ass movie was far more enjoyable and substantial than Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s first mini-series. And I enjoyed that mini-series quite a bit. The reality is that director Matthew Vaughan, co-writer Jane Goldman and their cast took Millar's story and made it far more subversive, clever and entertaining than the original comic book, a reality that I was reminded of time and again while reading this issue. And not only did Kick-Ass 2 #1 have the unfortunate tendency to remind me Millar's world isn't as inspired as that of the film adaptation, it also at times reminded me why some of Millar's comics don't work for me.

    But that's not to say the book isn't fun. As is typically the case with a Millar-penned comic (for better or worse), the writer's enthusiasm definitely bleeds through and becomes contagious. You can tell Millar is positively giddy about the idea of a bunch of dysfunctional kids getting together to start their own Justice League even if it's not all that interesting. And at times, his irreverent way of referencing geek culture and comic book lore clicks and makes for a funny aside.

    There is a flip side to that compliment, however, and when Millar's efforts to reference geek culture for a laugh ring false, they ring really false. Like when the titular character's friend admits he finds Aunt May sexy in the first Spider-Man movie. I've come to expect at least one cringe-enduing moment and failed joke such as this one from every Millar comic I read, but that doesn't make them any less unpleasant. But that's Millar in a nutshell for you: his greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses.

    All that being said, my biggest problem with this issue was that it lacked the over-the-top cartoon violence that elevated the final installments of the first mini-series above the sophomoric jokes and goofy premise. The original Kick-Ass read like some demented version of Looney Tunes disguised as a "real world" superhero story, a quality this issue desperately lacks. Because the violence is played mostly straight, it again feels like Millar is taking this paper-thin concept seriously, which was endemic in the weakest issues of the original series. Love him or hate him, Millar is best when he's going over the top, and this issue is anything but over-the-top.

    The art is another significant disappointment. Romita Jr., whose art was such a critical component of the first series, only provides breakdowns this time out. Tom Palmer does the finishes and inks, and although the art retains the same style and atmosphere as the original series, it lacks the polish and pizzazz.

    I still hold out hopes for Kick-Ass 2. Although I remain convinced the film was superior to the source material, the first mini-series did have unique qualities that the film lacked, most notably that level of cartoonish violence Romita captured so wonderfully. Let's hope he and Millar dial that up sooner rather than later.

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    Review 2 - Kick-Ass 2 #2 - It's been a while since we last got our fix of Kick-Ass. Thankfully, this second issue has a nice reintroduction to the Justice League-esque world Dave Lizewski just stepped into, making it easy to reacquaint yourself with the events of the first issue if you managed to forget them during the prolonged hiatus.

    The majority of this second issue is spent with Dave getting familiarized with the backstories of the "Neighborhood Watch" crew. In typical Kick-Ass fashion, most of the tales are twisted versions of classic superhero origin stereotypes. However, Millar does manage to display his sick sense of humor with one particular character's introduction, making it feel like quintessential Kick-Ass commentary on what it means to be hip as a superhero.

    Kick-Ass has never been a series that shies away from violence. Issue #2 of Kick-Ass 2 is further proof of that, explicitly showing the brutality of this real world Justice League's raid on a gang hideout. John Romita Jr. draws some grotesque things here; a certain double page spread late in the issue should have every man reading this comic cringing and squirming in their seat.

    Kick-Ass 2 #2 successfully managed to reignite the flame of interest in this series for me. Honestly, I fully expected not to give a damn about this book after the extremely long delay. But Millar's subtle, yet superb reintroduction to Dave Lizewski and the world he occupies quickly got its hooks into me. On top of that, John Romita Jr.'s art is as polished as ever. And any book that references Batman Beyond is tops in my book.

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More info:
    Mark Millar writer
    Tom Palmer inker
    Dean White colorer
    John Romita Jr artist
    Chris Eliopoulos letterer
    John Barber, David Bogart other
    Aubrey Sitterson, Cory Levine editor
    Damien Lucchese, Irene Lee production
    Published by Icon Comics. 2010-2011.

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Aug 27th, 2011, 8:07 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:11 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!
Aug 27th, 2011, 11:32 pm
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Title: Kick Ass (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Mark Millar (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Jesse Schedeen (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

Review: Kick-Ass #1
    Why hasn't anyone tried this before? Sure, plenty of writers have tried their hand at "realistic superheroes," but these stories still require a certain suspension of disbelief. No one has really sat down and imagined a world where ordinary teenagers choose to suit up in silly costumes and go fight crime. Not until Kick-Ass anyway.

    There's not a whole lot you need to know to get into this series. The Youtube videos and viral marketing campaign are all gravy. Rather than create a world like ours, writer Mark Millar has literally set Kick-Ass in our world. Teenagers read Batman and X-Men comics. They play Halo 3 on their Xboxes. They idolize superheroes of all sorts, and when they get mugged walking down the street or shoved in a locker at school, they wonder why there aren't any real heroes protecting the streets. Kick-Ass follows the select few who choose to rectify the situation.

    Issue #1 focuses on the first of what looks to be many costumed vigilantes. Dave Lizewski is, in many ways, the same stereotypical nerd seen in any number of stories. Many of his more defining traits, such as a penchant for stalking female classmates and an almost total emotional detachment from daily life, don't really serve to make him a more likable character. Still, it's very hard not to identify with anyone who actually takes the adolescent power fantasies of superhero comics one step further. You'll quickly find yourself rooting for Dave even if you don't necessarily like him, and even when Millar makes it perfectly clear this journey isn't going to go well for him. Millar makes abundant use of the freedom that comes from Marvel's Icon imprint. Characters curse abundantly, and the overall impression is that this universe is very far removed from the regular Marvel Universe.

    Unfortunately, the book's visual tone isn't nearly realistic enough for what Millar is going for. I can't say I'm surprised either. One expects certain things from John Romita Jr.'s art, and stark realism isn't one of them. Naturally, Romita's skill with action and fight choreography really shine through. His slightly odd facial work is also heavily apparent. Overall, his style is just too flamboyant and flatly unrealistic for a book about realistic superheroes.

    Generally, though, I'm loving Millar's newest creation. Given that he already appears to be hard at work on multiple sequels, I can't wait to see what future issues have in store.

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More info:
    Written by: Mark Millar
    Art by: John Romita Jr.

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Aug 27th, 2011, 11:32 pm

Post rewarded by Ojay on Oct 10th, 2011, 6:16 am.
Nice reviewed! 5 WRZ$ reward. Thanks Zach!