The graphic novels loved by children and adults alike
Jan 27th, 2012, 2:00 pm
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Title: Dead@17: Rough Cut (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): various (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Anthony Dominguez (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" If you like the Dead@17 universe, this is a must have... "

Review: Dead@17 Roughcut Vol. 3
    The Basics
      Nara, Nara, Nara…what can I say, my love for her (yes I know she is ‘only’ a comic book character, let me fantasize a little will ya!) grows with each installment. This edition of Roughcut has 5 individual stories, 2 are stand alone, 1 is a prequel (Dead@17 Protectorate) and 2 fill in the blank spots in Nara’s and another character’s timeline. Five artists and five writers lend their heads and hands to the legacy of Nara and her unique story. While the other creators provide very interesting and fun stories, the best tale of this graphic novel is the story illustrated by Josh Howard. It ties up all the loose ends in the Dead@17 universe and features artwork by one of my favorite artists.

    The Art

      Well, Josh Howard is on his game; the only story I found to be a little lacking in the art was the Protectorate prequel. Each story is black and white, and well illustrated. It’s interesting to see other artists take’s on a particular character, or in this case a particular idea.

    The Verdict
      If you like the Dead@17 universe, this is a must have; with Nara’s fate answered in Josh Howard’s story, the universe is complete.
      That's it.

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More info:
    Writers:Nicc Balce, Jake Black, Raven Gregory, Benjamin Hall, Alex Hamby
    Pencillers: Nicc Balce, Joshua Boulet - 'Josh', Benjamin Hall, Josh Howard
    Letterer: Greg Gatlin

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 27th, 2012, 2:00 pm
Jan 27th, 2012, 2:57 pm
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Title: Dead@17: Protectorate (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Alex Hamby (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Andrea Speed (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Not a bad start, and I have some hope that this streamlined story is really going to pick up next issue. "

Review: DEAD@17 PROTECTORATE #1
    Absolutely no one take this the wrong way, but doesn’t a busty gal in a skimpy nightie being chased by various fiends just scream horror film?

    Anyways, this miniseries fleshes out (no pun intended) some of the back story of the Dead@17 universe, not only the eponymous Protectorate, but the city of Darlington Hills. Why is it such a focal point of evil and supernatural goings on? It seems to start back in the ‘50’s (it doesn’t say that, but I’m going by the dialogue between the teenage girls, their fashions, and the cars in the background), where the discovery of a special book equals disaster. Not only for Darlington Hills, but for teenage Grace and her preacher father. There is also a flashback that shows how a rebellion in Heaven connects to all the things going on in Darlington Hills in particular and on Earth in general.

    This issue moves pretty well, but if I have a complaint, it’s just that it’s too predictable. Once we’re beyond the opening flashbacks, I knew everything that was going to happen, simply because it has to. If A happens, B must occur. But it’s not bad for all that, and while there’s hardly a horror movie cliché not touched upon, it still makes for a good read. It keeps the action going, and we get only a bit of exposition, which doesn‘t bog things down; the pacing is incredibly good.

    The art by Hall is more classic comic styling than Howard’s signature manga like appearance, and I think that works better for this story. There are some really well rendered scenes, from the “heaven” sequence (that explains the unusual symbols used as a form of language in this “universe”) to the later zombie swarm, and there are some cinematic panel choices. The colors are intense and well done.

    There’s also a small back up story by Random Encounters’ Balce, a small black and white piece also set in this universe, about a contemporary mother and daughter, and how the daughter’s penchant for carving “demonic symbols” actually helps her save her mother’s life in a zombie attack.

    Not a bad start, and I have some hope that this streamlined story is really going to pick up next issue.

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More info:
    Writer: Alex Hamby
    Penciller: Benjamin Hall
    Inker: Benjamin Hall
    Colorist: Marlena Hall
    Letterer: Benjamin Hall
    Editor: Josh Howard
    Cover Artist(s): Benjamin Hall, Marlena Hall

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 27th, 2012, 2:57 pm
Jan 27th, 2012, 6:06 pm
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Title: Dead@17: Revolution (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Josh Howard (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Deviancy (Review 1) and Hervé St.Louis (Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" I would reccomend it to anyone."

Review:
    Review 1 - Revolution shows a lot of improvement from the earlier stories. The revolution are now trying to expose the man running for President as the demon that he is, but of course they run into some trouble and there's a big twist. The ending is somewhat of a shock.

    Josh Howards artwork is as enthralling as ever in this this volume. His style is like between anime and something else, I just don't know what the something else is.

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    Review 2 - This is the fight that will decide the fate of mankind against Bolabogg’s forces. Coming to the rescue is an old partner from Nara’s mentor Noel Radeemer’s past. Joan saves Nara and mentor’s life just in time, but what is she hiding, and why is she committing all those hits on selected targets, such as a presidential candidate?

    Howard introduces new intrigues in this story, which is great. Retreading the old plotlines and was making the series become too much like a soap opera. The one criticism with the current series, is that with all the information revealed in the first two, it’s easy to see where things are going and what Howard will reveal to Nara in upcoming issues.

    Visually, Howard plays more with page compositions than in the past. He’s not tagging into a strict gridlock page panel. His inks are also evolving as the lines are becoming thicker in a many places and thinners in others. One can feel how relax and more comfortable he is with this looser layout and style. The facial expressions of characters are also more diverse than in the past.

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More info:
    Josh Howard (Writer & Artist)

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 27th, 2012, 6:06 pm
Jan 27th, 2012, 11:38 pm
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Title: Baja (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Ben Wagner (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: John Parker (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" A moody crime story told with strong characters and agile narrative twists, and a fitting entry into crime comics' growing lexicon."

Review:
    'Baja': The Best Noir Comic Set in the Desert

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    Good crime comics used to be so hard to find. After the Comics Code Authority spelled doom for the genre after their heyday in the '40s and '50s, they virtually disappeared from the medium for decades. Thanks to the efforts of creators like Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Azzarrello and the inimitable David Lapham and books like xxxx, the 2000s saw a resurgence in noir that helped the genre gain a foothold once again. Now, in the 2010s, I believe we're entering the second generation of the noir comic resurgence. And there lies IDW's Baja.

    From newcomers Ben Wagner on script and Nathan St. John handling art, Baja is a story of love, theft, heartbreak, and betrayal set in the sun-bleached xeric of the Baja California Desert. It's an apt setting for noir and crime - the heat and desolation of the environment provide a perfect metaphor for the isolation and desperation of a life on the fringes of society. Many stories have been set in these environs, but it's hard to recall one so deeply embedded in the barren stretches of sand and baked earth.

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    Baja is a story that takes advantage of multiple perspectives, intertwining stories, and non-linear time. It's daring enough to begin with a scene that actually occurs at the end of the story - a trick that's more often used in film, many times unnecessarily, but here it works. A man and woman - Zack and Hil - on a drive through the Baja Peninsula, obviously looking forward to their place in the sun after a big score. Before they can reach their destination, though, a mysterious truck is on their tail and harassing them. It's frantic and mysterious, and right when things look really hairy, Part One of the book is over, and we're in a different time and place entirely.

    At the center of the book is Zack Townsend, a normal guy made minor celebrity by a random act of heroism. Months before meeting Hil, the genre-requisite femme fatale in the car, Zack is married to Moira, with whom he expects a baby. Though he loves Moira, he has no interest in being a father, and his indifference is apparent. Returning from a fresh sonogram, Zack and Moira stumble into an active bank robbery. As the robber attempts to flee, he tries to commandeer a vehicle, killing the driver and wrecking the car in the process. When he turns his gun on Zack and Moira, Zack does what he thinks any man would do: guns the accelerator and mows the shooter down.

    Afterwards, Zack is treated like a hero, honored, even being written up in Time magazine. But the trauma of the event causes Moira to miscarry, driving a permanent wedge between the two. They split up, and even as Zack's profile continues to rise, the guilt weighs him down. After drifting in this conflicted state for a while, he meets Hil, who treats him like a celebrity, and a hero, and immediately provides the spark he had been missing. As she encourages him to cash in on his notoriety while he still has time, it becomes clear Hil is the type of girl who is always looking for something more. That's almost never good.

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    Parallel to the story of Zack and Hil is the story of Blaine and Lana, a highly successful couple just on the verge of biting off more than they can chew. They're about to make a 250,000 dollar payment on a new, one-million dollar house, and Blaine is clearly not as comfortable with the situation as Lana. Though obviously uneasy with the financial strain, he's willing to bear the burden to keep his relationship stable. But a pair of masked intruders even manage to throw that to hell.

    Baja is about relationships. The couples in this book -- Zack and Moira, Zack and Hil, Blaine and Lana, Hil and her Mystery Boyfriend (a nice twist) -- are all in and out of various stages of love and tolerance and trust, and all things they're willing to do to get what they feel they deserve. There's some very good character work here, with fully-shaded people making interesting choices, and the reasons behind those choices being revealed in time. There's some nifty writing on display, especially when Wagner works with the couples one-on-one, and dialogue that doesn't refer on cliche. In one of the more fascinating bits, Blaine talks about keying his own car: "I was distracted, I was aiming for the lock and missed. I jabbed the paint. Made a little ding. Then I just...scraped it across the paint to hear the noise. Left a six inch gash." Gems of original speech like that glitter here and there throughout.

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    Nathan St. John's artwork is original, too. Thick and moody ink washes set some evocative scenes, particularly when in the desolation of the desert itself. His sense of mood and setting is impressive, and the blacks and grays of his brushlines against shifting gray backgrounds always make interesting pages, especially in those few instances of red color pops. His character work leaves a lot to be desired - everything is done with brush, and there's a mild abstract bent in his approach, so it can sometimes to difficult to tell who one is actually looking at. But clearly, there's a lot of talent to build on.

    There are still nits to pick about Baja. With all the time-skipping and perspective-shifting, there seems to be an affinity for the films of Christopher Nolan, and the games of disclosure that implies. It's occasionally hard to tell where and when you are because of St. John's artwork and the minimal detail used in establishing scenes, though that may be partly intentional, and the lettering is all pretty hard to read anyway, usually against black backgrounds. More could have been done to make the book easier on these bloodshot old eyes.

    Those are just gripes, though. Baja is a moody crime story told with strong characters and agile narrative twists, and a fitting entry into crime comics' growing lexicon.


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More info:
    Ben Wagner on script and Nathan St. John handling art,

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 27th, 2012, 11:38 pm
Jan 28th, 2012, 6:39 pm
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Title: Dark Shadows (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Stuart Manning (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: PS Hayes (Review 1) and Doug Zawisza (Review 2) (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Fan of the property or not, you will be pleasantly surprised by this comic. "

Review: Dark Shadows #1
    Review 1 - I came into this comic fresh. I had heard of Dark Shadows before, but was not familiar with it, and had never seen the TV show or read any of the previous comics. After reading this, that might change.

    Writer Stuart Manning does an incredible job introducing the world of Dark Shadows to the reader, yet still leaving PLENTY of mystery and intrigue to the imagination. I really felt like I was reading some old Tomb of Dracula issues. Very creepy atmosphere without crossing the line into full blown horror. Having the book set in 1971 is an interesting twist, as it never really plays into the story. In fact, you don’t really even notice it. Not even in the fashions or hairdos. What you get is lots of great set up and a great shock ending that makes you really anxious for the next issue. Great story all around.

    The book wouldn’t be half as enjoyable with out Aaron Campbell‘s art. He does a great job with the “lighting” of the book, and I’m sure part of the credit goes to colorist Carlos Lopez. Campbell maintains a creepy feeling without making anything grotesque or ugly. Having never seen the TV series, I’m not sure if he’s drawn the characters in the book to look like any of the actors, but regardless, he does a truly great job of giving this book a very unique atmosphere.

    Fan of the property or not, you will be pleasantly surprised by this comic. It’s a great looking book with a great story. In this day of over the top flesh-eating zombies, it’s very refreshing to see a “horror” comic that is scary due to actual suspense and not over the top gore.

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    Review 2 - “Dracula,” “Love at First Bite,” “Twilight,” “American Vampire,” “Dark Shadows,” “I, Vampire,” and “True Blood.” It seems that almost everyone has a vampire story in many different media to call his or her own. I'm an “American Vampire” kind of guy. I’ve never watched even a minute of "Dark Shadow," but that didn’t stop me from jumping in with both feet and trying this book out.

    Stuart Manning’s story delivers a half dozen characters in a very exposition-heavy, soap operatic first issue, but he still manages to squeeze in a threat, a looming concern, and a cliffhanger ending. It’s a testament to Manning’s work that I’m intrigued to see more of this story. Granted, I feel a little lost with the handful of characters presented, but I’m certain that the true intended audience of this title -- those who have watched the show -- will find themselves more apt to follow the flow and the cast.

    Aaron Campbell does a good job of capturing likenesses from the show. He blends in a moodiness through heavy use of shadow, but in some spots that shadow overpowers the likenesses of the characters, forcing the reader to rely on the coloring of Carlos Lopez to distinguish between some of the characters. Unfortunately, the murkiness hits at the most critical point in the story. I found a re-read helped me through that bumpy spot, but I would have liked to see a little more distinction drawn out between Barnabas and Roger Collins.

    As first issues of licensed properties go, this one has quite a bit to offer. Sure, there’s a significant amount of exposition to plow through, but the story doesn’t slow down for the details. It’s quite clear that the characters that didn’t get much spotlight time in this issue will have moments to shine in the future. “Dark Shadows” fans, your time is now and your vampire is back. Other vampiric comic fans might want to give this a peek too.

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More info:
    Written by Stuart Manning
    Script by Aaron Campbell
    Colors by Carlos Lopez
    Letters by Troy Peteri
    Covers by Aaron Campbell, Francesco Francavilla
    Dynamite Entertainment

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 28th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Jan 28th, 2012, 7:20 pm
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Title: Brilliant (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Brian Michael Bendis (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Ron Richards (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" A very intriguing world with the potential for something quite special."

Review: Brilliant #1
    As we’ve watched the careers of Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley develop, it certainly is a curious thing, this partnership between creators. On one hand, you have one of the most successful and prolific writers of the current age of comics in Bendis. Bred in the world of independent comics, Bendis has climbed the ladder of corporate comics by being one of the driving forces at Marvel Comics for the past 10 years, all the while still cultivating his creator owned work and flying the flag for creator rights and the importance of creator owned work. On the other hand, with Mark Bagley, you have the consummate professional. An artist who emerged on the scene during one of the highest points of the comic book industry. Bagley has weathered the storm of the fallout of the late 1990s and the uncertainy of the early 2000s by becoming one of the most dependable artists in the business. Bagley has almost become “Mr. Ongoing Run”, with 25 issues of New Warriors, 50 issues of Thunderbolts, 111 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man (with Bendis), and then for DC Comics, 52 issues of Trinity, and 15 issues of Justice League of America, Bagley has certainly earned his fame through consistent, top level output.

    Now Bagley is reunited with Bendis, after the record breaking 111 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man (and 5 more issues most recently depicting the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man), but this time, Bagley has signed onto the creator owned wagon, with Brilliant #1.

    Throughout his career, Bendis has never been short of great ideas when it comes to his creator owned books. Beginning with noir-ish crime like Jinx, Goldfish and Torso, then expanding that crime angle and adding super-heroes with Powers. More recently, Bendis returned to creator owned work with his tale of urban uprising in Scarlet. This time around, Bendis’ premise engine has delivered another super powered tale, but this time in the guise of a thriller about a group of genius college students who have cracked the code of super powers. Bendis’ own description of Brilliant, as we’ve heard on recent Word Balloon podcasts, compares it to the film The Social Network, asking what if a group of really smart kids invented super powers as opposed to a website? Bendis is never without a smart premise with a hint of cleverness and Brilliant is no exception. He’s proven his ability to be a master comics storyteller and in Brilliant he does a perfect job at drawing us in, with a brief glimpse of this world while introducing us to the main players. As usual, Bendis does it in a way that makes it seem easy. The pages fly by as the story develops without you even noticing that this goes beyond the standard 22 pages of a comic book story. I wondered about Bendis’ ability to write dialogue of college students, but each character is well formed (for a first issue) and at no point did the dialogue feel “researched” or hokey in anyway.

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    Along with Bendis’ ability to script college students, I was curious to see how Bagley would fare in depicting these characters, as well as the representation of characters not in super hero costumes. While the topic of Brilliant is super powers, this is very much not a world like the Marvel Universe, or the Powers Universe for that matter. Aside from a few questionable haircuts (which isn’t surprising after the years of Ultimate Spider-Man and that awful Peter Parker hair), Bagley’s characters fit within the world and the story. That said, I was surprised by the art. It might be the by-product of Bagley being inked by Joe Rubinstein (an inker he hasn’t worked with since the mid-90s, as far I could research) but something was definitely different than the Bagley of the past 10 years that we’ve read in books like Ultimate Spider-Man and Trinity. The art had a rougher feel to it that I’ve come accustomed to with Bagley. Now, this may have been on purpose in an effort to differentiate Brilliant from his other work, but I couldn’t help but feel like it detracted from the work in total. The opening pages started out as tight as I’d expect, but it’s almost as if Bagley got looser as the book went on, with later pages being much more rough in the line work. Now, I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s still the great Bagley that we know and love, but just something felt a little less than. It’s still better than the majority of the books on the shelves art-wise, but I just can’t help but to think that Bagley is capable of better. Especially when it comes to faces and the surprising number of panels without any backgrounds whatsoever, a lack of detail I wouldn’t expect from Bagley.

    Art expectations aside, Brilliant #1 is a well formed introduction into a new world. Bendis and Bagley have more than proven themselves as a creative team with their legendary run on Ultimate Spider-Man, and Bagley is a master of the ongoing run, so it’s pretty much a lock that Brilliant will be a series worth subscribing to. While one issue alone can’t show us brilliance, Brilliant #1 sets up a very intriguing world with the potential for something quite special.


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More info:
    Written by Brian Michael Bendis
    Art by Mark Bagley
    Inks by Joe Rubinstein
    Colors by Nick Filardi
    Letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 28th, 2012, 7:20 pm
Jan 28th, 2012, 9:05 pm
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Title: Gangland (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): various writers (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Itamar Katz (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Gangland is well worth adding to your collection."

Review: First four issues
    Beautiful tales of gruesome violence...

    This trade paperback collects the first four issues of Vertigo Comics' Gangland series - 14 short stories altogether, by some of the leading artists and writers in the field. The stories in Gangland are all stories about organized crime and gang life, but they all share a sarcastic, sardonic, post-modernistic kind of view, which makes them fascinatingly fresh and original. As these short story collections often do, Gangland has stronger bits and weaker ones, and the whole collection can't really be as satisfying as a good full-scale graphic novel (like a good Frank Miller or Alan Moore story), but the stories are often more extreme and more experimental than a full novel can be. Being a comic writer I can tell you myself - short stories give the writer much more room for experimentations and chance-taking. Some of the stories on Gangland really take chances.

    My favorite story in the collection, which takes the subject to extreme ends, would have to be `Worldwide Gangster Robots', presumably based on the ranting of a real person (credited in the beginning of the story), is the story of a man's (imaginary... or is it?) battle against the brainwashing of Worldwide Gangster Robot Radio Brains. Danijel Zezelj's artwork and Grant Goleash's (`100 Bullets Image ') coloring are dark and eerie and the mumbling monologue combines for a terrific and creepy atmosphere.

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    Other highlights include `Clean House' by Brian Azzarello (Hellblazer, Incredible Hulk) and Tim Bradstreet, which takes a rather well-chewed crime-story subject and gives it a nasty twist and a startling punchline. `Big Shot' is another excellent piece written by Jamie Delano (`Batman: Manbat) with wonderful artwork, which is short and fast and makes its point well. `The Big Snooze', with the immediately recognizable inking of the great David Lloyd (`V For Vendetta') tells the story of a very unlikely hero, and is both sarcastic and very, very touching (usually noted as an artist, Lloyd does a great writing job on this one). `Platinum Nights' has great artwork by Paradox Press's James Romberger and a fantastic story, and `Electric China Death', words by Richard Bruning (editor for DC Comics) and pictures by Mark Chiarello (`Terminal City'), takes a surreal look on a classic scene of violence. Finally, the great Peter Kuper's (`The System', `ComicStrips' and a series of Franz Kafka adaptations) `Chains', a very short comic which says a lot more in three wordless pages than some of the others do in fifteen.

    I put the rating down to 4/5 because of some of the filler material, the much weaker stories. My biggest disappointment was Dave Gibbons' `The Bear', a poorly written and very expected story. Mr. Gibbons, legendary `Watchmen' artist, doesn't make it as and artist like Lloyd does. `Initiation', `Killer Smile' and `Small Time' are also weak, though they all have good artwork.

    The extreme violence shown on the pages of Gangland is poetic violence, like that of Quentin Tarantino or David Fincher. It shows violence and lawbreaking at its most beautiful and its most horrific at once. Gangland is meant for mature readers, and ones who are not easily offended. If you enjoy works by artists like Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, Peter Kuper or Robert Crumb, Gangland is well worth adding to your collection.


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More info:
    by Brian Azzarello, Doselle Young (Goodreads Author), Peter Kuper, Tayyar Ozkan, Ed Brubaker, Scott Cunningham, David Lloyd, Richard Bruning , Rick Claw, Dave Gibbons, Simon Revelstroke, Jamie Delano, Lucius Shepard, Darko Macan, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Bradsheet (Illustrator), Frank Quitely (Illustrator), Richard Corben (Illustrator), Randy DuBurke (Illustrator), James Romberger (Illustrator), Killian Plunkett (Illustrator), Eric Shanower (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator), Danijel Zezelj (Illustrator), Tony Saimons (Illustrator), Mark Chiarello (Illustrator)

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 28th, 2012, 9:05 pm
Jan 29th, 2012, 9:10 am
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Title: War Of The Supermen (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): James Robinson and Sterling Gates (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Tyler Parker (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" There is plenty of good to be found inside the pages..."

Review: War of the Supermen #1
    Last week James Robinson concluded his Last Stand of New Krypton storyline on a relatively high note, helping give me hope that he could end his tenure on the Man of Steel with some finesse. War of the Supermen has now officially kicked off and we can count down the weeks until Superman comes under new stewardship. I'm not sure that you could call War a brilliant comic book, but you can definitely make the claim that it's entertaining. More importantly, it lacks many of the irritating contrivances and gimmicks that the Superman franchise has been guilty of in the recent past.

    The first issue of War of the Supermen picks up directly after the events of the Last Stand of New Krypton. In fact, both events blend almost completely together, calling into question the need to differentiate the story into two distinct events. Just be cautioned that this story actually began with Last Stand of New Krypton #1; War shouldn't necessarily be used as a jumping on point.

    In a nutshell, the Kryptonians are pissed at Earth and plan on invading the planet. The usual players are in tow, and of course Luthor found a way to instigate things with his nefarious actions in previous issues. The events of this issue focus almost entirely on the Kryptonian armada as it travels to Earth. While Superman tries to reason futilely with Zod, Supergirl finally confronts her mother about her questionable actions.

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    Editor's Note: We're going to have to jump into some spoilers here for the sake of analysis. Read the book first if you want to. You've been warned.

    The emotional impact of the issue pivots around one particular instance, which unfortunately doesn't resonate like it should. Alura has been a poorly executed character that served mainly as a plot device, even in her death (yes, she finally bites the dust). She never felt organic, and lacked a distinct voice that could have breathed life into the character. All of New Krypton is apparently destroyed in the same blast, leaving only its army as the last remnants of the race.

    The aftermath of the abrupt destruction feels a bit hollow and isn't handled as well is it could have been. I would have preferred this happen at the end of Last Stand, leaving more room for the series to execute what's promised in the title. Another minor nuisance was the absence of the opposing faction on Earth. We get no glimpse behind the curtain to see what General Lane, Luthor, and the others are up to, and the immediacy of the issue suffers for it.

    I've complained a good bit, but it's honestly not a bad start for War of the Supermen. There is plenty of good to be found inside the pages, including some much improved, proficient dialogue. James Robinson and Sterling Gates should get plenty of credit for ratcheting up the stakes in the Superman universe. Hopefully they can keep the ball rolling and adeptly balance the plethora of characters for the remaining three issues.


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More info:
    Written by James Robinson and Sterling Gates
    Art by Cafu, Jamal Igle, Eduardo Pansica

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 29th, 2012, 9:10 am
Jan 29th, 2012, 5:17 pm
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Title: Mystic (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): G. Willow Wilson (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: wordpress (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Despite the disappointing pilot episode, there’s still a lot of potential for greatness here."

Review: Mystic (Vol. 2)
    As first issues go, Mystic #1 is almost perfect. In introduced its might-as-well-be-all-new characters and its world with incredible economy, and boatloads of charm. I was hooked—totally ready to dive into the continuing adventures of Giselle and Genevieve, as Giselle is given the life Genevieve wanted for herself. It’s a strong story, and one that, had it not been strangled by the limits imposed by a four-issue mini, would have been fantastic. As it is, it feels like a very nice-looking model home—it’ll be great if and when it becomes an actual house, but it isn’t.

    The problems start with the very first page of issue #2, in which we see Genevieve getting thrown out of the palace for causing a stir, some time after issue #1′s cliffhanger. We have no idea what happened between scenes. Did Genevieve and Giselle speak? Did Giselle try to keep the palace guard from kicking her best friend away? We’re not told, which is supremely unfortunate, since it’s a vital part of the story, and its absence removes a lot of the nuance from the tale. Yes, the story demands that a wedge drive both of the girls apart and place them on opposite sides, and the structure demands that it occurs sooner rather than later; however, given what we learn of the girls in the first issue, I’m hard-pressed to see how Giselle’s selection alone is enough to do the trick, mostly because I m unconvinced that a) Giselle wouldn’t have successfully done her damnedest to keep Genevieve from being kicked out and b) that Genevieve wouldn’t have been happy for Giselle, despite her disappointment. While Giselle’s selection would have been a complication, it shouldn’t have been the straw to break the camel’s back. As it is, it feels forced and makes both girls feel more unlikeable than they’d been last issue.

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    After the two protagonists separate, the book spends the bulk of its time with Giselle, as she learns to adapt to her new status quo. It’s very much Harry Potter with large dollops of Mean Girls, and while the framework for an excellent story is definitively there, it’s not all it could be because the various players are not allowed to go break out of their basic archetypes. There’s Felice, the Queen Bee, who delights in making Giselle’s experience a living hell because of her origins. There’s Jolie and Heloise, her minions, who don’t even get to steal any scenes. There’s Ondine, the one that’s overweight and not traditionally pretty and whose only goal appears to be to help Giselle succeed. Finally, there’s Gerard, The Love Interest, who’s pretty and dumb and gets a heroic moment cause That’s The Way The Story Goes. While what we do get to see is perfectly fine, and there are bits and pieces that hint at greater depths—Felice’s ambitions, for example, lie in the political realm rather than the social one—like most of the book, there’s no time to develop it.

    Genevieve’s side of things fares no better. She gets only one supporting character, Philippe, the leader of protesters and The One Who Claims to Fight for the People and Really Can’t Wait to Get Some Executions Going, and a situation than all in all needed to be more fleshed out in order to have impact. While we get a pretty clear idea of what their beef is—they claim that the nobles’ monopoly on fuel collection has led to massive income inequality–we really don’t get to see how valid their claims are, or how popular the movement actually is.

    Fortunately, the book is accompanied by some stellar art. I raved about López, López, and Fairbairn in my last review, and everything I said then applies here. It is fantastic in all respects, and makes the world of Verne and its inhabitants shine.

    When I read the first issue, I was elated. Finally, a story about friendship between girls on mainstream comics, I thought. And so well told. I was then disappointed to find out that it didn’t get the chance to be that. That said, I would still very much like to see this as an ongoing series, to see how G. Willow Wilson fares when she’s not constrained by the format and is allowed to do some more throughout world building—despite the disappointing pilot episode, there’s still a lot of potential for greatness here. I hope other people agree.


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More info:
    Alvaro Lopez inker
    David Lopez penciler
    G. Willow Wilson writer
    Jared K. Fletcher letterer
    Nathan Fairbairn colorist
    Paul Mounts (Bongotone), Amanda Conner cover
    Jody LeHeup, Jeanine Schaefer editor
    Irene Lee production

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 29th, 2012, 5:17 pm
Jan 30th, 2012, 8:36 am
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Title: Supermarket (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Brian Wood (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: joey (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Every page, every panel, is eye-poppingly well-crafted, even the most violent ones... "

Review:
    A while back, I loaned my fifteen-year-old niece a copy of Demo Image : The Collected Edition by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan, and she loved it. She loved it, loved it, loved it (as did I). Or, at least, she said she loved it. Who can know? Maybe she was just humoring me. I had been trying to foist Western comics on her for several years, with no success. In her natural habitat, undisturbed by unclish enthusiasms, she’s a fan of xxxHOLiC and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, etc. Now I’m wondering if I’ll give her my copy of Supermarket, by Wood and Kristian Donaldson (who is sort of a latter-day Cloonan, drawing the same slouching, sneering, manga-influenced-by-way-of-Paul-Pope, too-cool-to-be-hip cigarette smokers with consciences, utilizing the same fat, confident linework that Cloonan and Pope made famous, all elegant and choppy, realistic and design-y, Vertigo and Kodansha, at the very same time).

    I think I probably won’t.

    It’s not that the thing doesn’t have its moments and its qualities. The first chapter, in fact, rocks. In it, we meet our protagonist, Pella, a self-righteous, cynical, but unselfaware teenaged girl from the richest side of a scary future metropolis, the “Supermarket” of the title, rendered by Kristian in gorgeous neon noir, a place and a time exactly halfway between right now and Blade Runner. By the end of that chapter, Pella finds herself homeless and in hiding from the most dangerous criminal gangs in the city, cut off from her fundage and her family, and required, simply, to stay alive. On the last page of that chapter, she’s rolling into the worst parts of town on a dark, crowded bus, with the drunks and the punks and the other anonymous losers who populate all “less than Platinum” levels of this socioeconomically segregated city, trying to figure out what has happened to her, and what she should do next. We have been given a glimpse at just enough of her spoiled self-righteousness to want to watch her suffer and learn. We have been given a glimpse at just enough of her intelligence and conscientiousness to want to watch her thrive.

    “Oh boy,” I said to myself. “This is going to be good.”

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    And for a while, it is.

    From a certain point forward, though, you find yourself watching a third-rate Quentin Tarantino film on paper, this agonizingly choreographed action sequence after that agonizingly choreographed action sequence, and then another and another, each ratcheting up the artificial “Oh My Fucking God” factor one mechanical notch at a time. There’s a lot of raw material here — the kind of High Concept Hollywood pitch fodder that works well when described in the most nugatory way, but only then. The Yazuka with a Samurai sword who poses, and says, calmly, “Submit to me,” before he charges, not waiting for a response. The bloodthirsty underworld gang comprised of Swedish porn models. Etc. Blah. High Concept can’t always carry the day. High Concept can’t ever carry the day. Just ask the guys who made Snakes on a Plane. It’s always about the execution.

    Don’t get me wrong: on a moment-by-moment basis, every page, every panel, is eye-poppingly well-crafted, even the most violent ones (maybe especially those). The fatal flaw here is hardly a lack of what we call, in the technical parlance, chops. Wood and Kristian have both, assuredly, got chops, and chops to spare. On the strength of his other projects, Brian Wood is one of my favorite writers. Kristian Donaldson, whom I’d never heard of before this, knocked me out. That’s an artist I’ll be watching in the future, for sure. If the last chapter or two of Supermarket had been stretched out into, say, three or four more, allowing for better character development and more thoroughly extrapolated stakes-raising, if the slam-bang action sequences had been less archly imagineered, if the ending hadn’t been entirely too easy and abrupt after all that rigamarole, etc., then I’d probably have been able to recommend this book to you with enthusiasm.

    It’s not, I should mention, a complete load of crap, like so many contemporary action-adventure comics. There was almost something very special here, it just wasn’t given the space it needed to come together at the very end.


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More info:
    Brian Wood writer
    Chris Ryall editor
    Kristian Donaldson artist, colorist, cover
    Robbie Robbins letterer

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 30th, 2012, 8:36 am
Jan 30th, 2012, 9:09 am
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Title: Golly! (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Phil Hester (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Vanja (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" It's a fun read, and, despite the subject matter, a well-though out comic. "

Review: Golly #1-3 the Were-hog of Silloville
    "Golly" was originally conceived as a 3-issue Phil Hester mini-series, but Image decided to continue publishing it as an ongoing title. Due to his commitments on penciling the "El Diablo" mini-series for DC, and writing both "the Darkness" and "Firebreather" for Image, it's easy to see why Hester had to bring in Brook Turner as a penciler for the project.

    The result is a high-concept series, starring Golly, a carney mechanic, and lovable loser cast into the role of divine champion/supernatural investigator. Now, this type of premise is commonly seen in comedies, but it also echoes a lot of other comic-book series, as diverse as "Preacher", "Goon", and most recently "the Helm". Perhaps the greatest similarity could be found in Marvel's original "Ghost rider", due to the fact that "Golly" uses the traveling circus as a means of spotlighting a different adversary in every town the posse find themselves in.

    In fact, the authors take full advantage of the carnival theme to set up a diverse and memorable cast of characters. Golly's friends are given such lively roles, that Hester and Turner actually go to far in setting up Satan, a minor player in the opening story-arc. Character designs are solid throughout and the down on their luck performers never shy away from voicing their unique points of view, all the while helpfully referring to one-another by name.

    Hester doesn't pull his punches when it comes to the profanity, but most of the rather inventive swearing is as quirky and good natured, as his characters. On the other hand, some of the physical comedy crosses the limits of good taste, particularly in a delightfully anti-climatic finale, but even then, the authors manage to portray it as a plot point, no matter how hilarious.

    Having said that, the book is definitely not for people who find themselves easily offended when it comes to the matters of faith, seeing as it constantly deals with religious themes. The turning-point in Golly's life is thus a prophetic vision, with Satan's look-a-like that believes he's the Biblical Devil as a cast member. Considering that even the were-hog threat is eventually explained as to have an origin connecting the supernatural with Christianity, perhaps the authors have had their share of jokes, and will be satisfied to downplay that particular element in the future.

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    As for the general tone, Hester and Turner are quick to establish a formula, a necessity considering the story's original format. This means that most of the humor comes from the relations between the characters, as they are spontaneously geared towards the threat that is set up in as serious a manner as a book like "Golly" allows. The results are hysterical,but in the long run the series could benefit from developing it's protagonist, as the drama generated by spoofing horror conventions could potentially become repetitive. Of course, this doesn't take into account the delays, which could make the audience lose the interest in the property.

    And that brings us to the chief problem for "Golly" - the presentation. Visually, the book is very dark, betraying the rushed, almost unfinished look by the art department. Working from Hester's character designs, Turner doesn't always manage to continually depict characters in a coherent manner, with their features sometimes changing from panel to panel. Coupled with a general lack of background presence, his art makes for a bleak circus, culminating in a "destruction-derby" scene that is almost completely devoid of energy. The bleak humor and a strange atmosphere do come out of his pencils, but it's imperative that he should be fitted with an inker, to smoothen out some of the rough edges, and help-out with the details.

    Ideally, the whole project could be written and drawn by Phil Hester, but he's proven in the past (with "Coffin", and "the Atheist") that he's unwilling to abandon the financial security of a day job of working at DC and Marvel. Thus, the best chance "Golly" has of succeeding in the market is by both of it's authors devoting even more effort in making in the book. As it stands, it's a fun read, and, despite the subject matter, a well-though out comic, but it could achieve greater success if the writing was even more satirical and the art rendered with a higher degree of detail. That way, the series would be much more appealing, and judging by the solicitation for the next arc, this is precisely where it's headed.


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More info:
    Words: Phil Hester
    Art: Brook Turner
    Inks: Brook Turner
    Colors: Rick Hiltbrunner

Publisher:
    Image

Image
Jan 30th, 2012, 9:09 am
Jan 30th, 2012, 1:36 pm
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Title: Vengeance (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Joe Casey (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Patrick Tobin (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" As things get stranger, and they almost certainly will, the real strength of his clean and efficient, almost motorik artwork will have no choice but to make a show of itself. "

Review: Vengeance #1
      A MOST EPIC EVIL EXPLORATION OF THE MARVEL U! When MAGNETO of the X-Men tries to rescue a young Mutant on the run, he accidently kicks off a series of events that will shake the very Marvel Universe to it's core! Who are the new TEEN BRIGADE?! Who are the Brotherhood and what do they want with the YOUNG MASTERS OF EVIL?! And how is the RED SKULL pulling the strings from beyond the grave? Joe Casey (AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST) joins Nick Dragotta (FANTASTIC FOUR) for some major acts of VENGEANCE!

    While the rest of the Marvel Universe is in the thrall of a Big Event, Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta take us into the seedy underbelly of Little Events -- or is it Anti-Events? Either way, it's certainly not a non-event, even though it answers, like, zero of the questions posed by the solicitation copy above. More after the jump.

    Last year or the year before or whenever the hell, Joe Casey -- along with commercial illustrator turned comic-book secret-weapon Nathan Fox -- put out Dark Reign: Zodiac, a three-issue bad-chemical spurt of inspired nihilism and murderous insouciance. With a wink toward Marvel's trend of re-using the "Zodiac" name over and over and over (nearly every writer to pass through the Halls of Ideas has broken out their own version), Casey's new Zodiac handled the naming situation with aplomb -- by dumping a sack full of the previous Zodiac's severed heads out onto a table. Working under cover of low sales expectations and the indignity of its peripheral position, Dark Reign: Zodiac maimed Johnny Storm, gave Nekra a teen daughter, turned Whirlwind into Norman Osborn's put-upon chauffeur, invented a new toxic strain of super-villain fan-culture, and generally speaking gave absolutely zero fucks. It was blissful.

    With Fear Itself looming in the background, Casey is back, armed with Nick Dragotta on art duty. Once again, he has no intention of playing ball with the rest of the Marvel Universe -- Fear Itself isn't even a factor, and Magneto shows up for a scene where he gets kicked in the face by a guy in his underwear. It's a massive shrug of the shoulders to the all-important State of Things, but at the same time, it's just that: a shrug, a passive display of resistance. Dark Reign: Zodiac was like hurling a molotov cocktail into an already burnt-out storefront, but Vengeance is oddly restrained in comparison, if the first issue is any indication. There's room for it to get much, much weirder and wilder; hopefully, it makes good on that, especially with a fringe-coiffed and Converse-clad In-Betweener hanging around.

    What we've got is vague mutterings about some new teenage development in things: a conspiracy to commit acts of daring derring-do, starring the new Miss America and the newer Ultimate Nullifier (a teen using the fabled universe-destroyer as his totem). They're supported in whatever it is they're doing by Beak and Angel, from Grant Morrison's New X-Men, now depowered and manning computers, and Rick Jones, taking a break from being A-Bomb or whatever the hell over in the Hulk comics for just long enough to provide these kids with privileged intel. Guest appearances include the aforementioned Magneto, as well as two bits from Casey's alternately feverish and clammy run on Uncanny X-Men a decade ago: "Welsh pop sensation" Sugar Kane, and reptilian hooker-with-a-heart-of-silver Stacy X, both of whom spend a few pages naked or nearly so, pretty much because "why not."

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    As a writer of mainstream superhero comics, Casey is mostly fascinated by the sides unexplored. Superheroes, with few exceptions, are like pro wrestlers: inflated icons of their gender types who really lack any kind of sexual dimension. (This is different from sexual orientation; for example, while we are shown that the Kate Kane Batwoman is a lesbian, she nonetheless does not really exist as a sexual entity. She flirts, but that's as far as we're allowed to see. Most comics characters swim in the same way. But anyway.) We're rarely shown the ways in which they act out key sections of the human experience, in favor of the stuff that fulfills both what's exciting, and what's genre-appropriate. Casey's X-Men gig, for example, was less about "hated and feared by the world they're blah blah blah" or about fighting the Brotherhood than it was a series of excursions into the trickle-down side effects of mutantcy on things like media manipulation, prostitution, and corporate intrigue. Dark Reign: Zodiac was a gleefully anarchistic celebration of giving the finger to superheroes, the law, and society in general, with all of the moral philosophizing of an N.W.A. album (although they at least took occasional stabs at social injustice in between life being nothing but bitches and money).

    Vengeance, in its first issue, is a mild fusion of the above tendency with Casey's other abiding love: what happens when young people stop being polite and start getting powers. These teenagers are clearly on some great mission of importance (or, perhaps more likely, self-importance) but all we get in issue one is whispered hints and unsteady allusions, mostly in the form of a text-message chat, of all things. The rest is given over to sex, breaking and entering, solipsistic soliloquy, and everything else that unsupervised teenagers get up to. Even Magneto's appearance seems a bit pale and ephemeral, as if it was mostly just calculated to offend the people who take Magneto seriously. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. Side note: this comic's audience will likely be split between Casey fans and continuity-minded completists, who will no doubt have enormous hissy fits at the way that Casey picks up characters like Angel, Stacy X, Rick Jones, and so on, and doesn't bother indicating why or how they are where they are.)

    All this and we haven't even gotten to the art, which is splendid. Nick Dragotta has an almost suspiciously elegant style -- figures and actions are carefully positioned and juxtaposed, but with a simplicity that all but dares the reader to overlook its technique. There's some elusive yet subversive quality to his art that I will probably expound on more if I can wrest another review of this book away from the other guys -- it's rolling around on the tips of my fingers but I've yet to figure out exactly what keys to press yet. I know this: as things get stranger, and they almost certainly will, the real strength of his clean and efficient, almost motorik artwork will have no choice but to make a show of itself. Really, though, that's what this book needs. It should be a grand display of irreverence, action, and sly character work; the first issue felt less like the big show and more like queuing up outside the venue.


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More info:
    Nick Dragotta artist
    Rus Wooton letterer
    Brad Simpson colorist
    Joe Casey writer
    Alan Fine production
    Mike Deodato, Jr., Gabriele Dell'Otto, Dave McCaig cover
    Tom Brevoort, Thomas 'Tom' Brennan, Rachel Pinnelas, Axel Alonso editor

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 30th, 2012, 1:36 pm
Jan 30th, 2012, 2:20 pm
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Title: Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Paul Dini (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Daniel V. Reilly (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" Good job, guys!"

Review:
    A Heartfelt Tale of the Amazon Princess...

    Artist Alex Ross & Writer Paul Dini continuue their annual series of oversized Graphic Novels with The Spirit of Hope, and this one is just as good, if not better, than the previous three.

    Wonder Woman is, without question, one of the iconic "Big Three" DC characters, alongside Batman and Superman. She also comes in a distant third in terms of high-quality stories. Very few creators have been able to really get a handle on the Amazon Princess. An immensely powerful (and beautiful) Amazon sent to the outside world as an Ambassador of peace, she has often been portrayed (wrongfully) as a butt-kickin' brute.

    Well I'm happy to say that Dini & Ross have gotten it right! Spirit of Hope stands right alongside Chris Moeller's amazing Wonder Woman Graphic Novel JLA: A League of One as my all-time favorite Wonder Woman books.

    Spirit of Hope doesn't really have a story, per se; more an overlying theme: Wonder Woman questions the way she has been going about her mission of peace. After consulting Clark (Superman) Kent in a wonderfully understated scene (They have coffee together...), she decides to try to accomplish her goals in a more low-key manner: Not as Wonder Woman, but as Diana.

    Ross manages to successfully alternate between the bombastic Wonder Woman scenes, filled with double-page spreads, to the quiet scenes of Diana helping in a more Human manner. The pages of Wonder Woman saving a young girl from a tank are amazing! You really feel Wonder Woman's pain and confusion as she is greeted, less than enthusiastically, by the Arab people she is trying to save. Dini and Ross really capture her true essence: A loving, kind woman, who also happens to be able to toss around Tanks! It's also nice to be able to finish a comic and have a warm feeling inside....Good job, guys!

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More info:
    Alex Ross cover, arts, penciller
    Paul Dini writer

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 30th, 2012, 2:20 pm
Jan 30th, 2012, 3:26 pm
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Title: Near Death (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Jay Faerber (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Kenneth Porter (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" I give this series a strong recommendation for fans of true crime, TV dramas, and action adventure stories. "

Review: Near Death #5
    If you’re an avid comic reader and you’ve been looking for a book with more crime and a little less noir, than this is your kind of story. Near Death #5 continues the adventures of Markham, the former contract killer who is attempting to save his soul by saving people instead of killing them. In this issue the repercussions of his past catch up with him and put someone close to him in danger at the cost of his mistakes. It’s all the excitement, action, and thrills in a one-hour TV drama but presented gloriously on the printed page.

    The writing by Jay Faerber feels completely authentic. Not once during the issue did I feel as if the dialogue was forced, cliché, or didn’t fit the story. Often crime comics try to exaggerate the way the characters speak in order to make the sound more noir or detective-like, but Faerber just lets the characters breathe and use the words a real person would use in an underworld situation. This same attention to detail in plot and pacing keeps the pages turning and the tension up the entire issue.

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    The artwork by Simone Guglielmini has the perfect mixture of that drawn and painted look to give it a sense of gritty and washed out tones that really match the mood of the story. The character’s appearances are understated in design and color, but it makes it feel more realistic than an overdone criminal’s wardrobe. The settings are just as powerful as the characters, including Guglielmini’s scenes that really show off atmosphere, like the church scene or the scene in the warehouse.

    One of the best things about this series is that it’s designed for new readers. Every issue is a standalone story, and even though this was the first I’ve ever read, it was clear from the beginning what the premise was and what was motivating the characters. This is a rare spectacle in mainstream comics nowadays, considering most publishers are more concerned with events and story arcs rather than one-and-done stories.

    I give this series a strong recommendation for fans of true crime, TV dramas, and action adventure stories. I think that more titles would benefit from taking the old school approach of leaving the story open for new readers to jump on at any issue in the series. I can tell you for sure that this one has me hooked.


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More info:
    Writer: Jay Faerber
    Art: Simone Guglielmini
    Colors: Ron Riley
    Letterer: Charles Pritchett
    Cover: Tom Coker and Daniel Freedman

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 30th, 2012, 3:26 pm
Jan 30th, 2012, 4:56 pm
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Title: Dynamo 5 – Sins of the Father (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Jay Faerber (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Scott Mason (Don't click it, read the review here... ;) )

" PICK THIS ONE UP!"

Review: Dynamo 5 Vol. 5: Sins of The Father
    What if they chopped Superman into little bits and divvied out each of his powers to his illegitimate children?

    If you’ve never read Dynamo 5, let me give you a thirty-second primer. Captain Dynamo, the hero of Tower City for over four decades, was found dead from poison and naked in a hotel room…which isn’t quite the way for any superhero to go. In the wake of his death, his wife (Maddie Warner, a former government agent who monitored superhuman activities) finds out that her husband of many years was quite the cheater.

    It turns out that through all of his extramarital affairs, he had at least five illegitimate children who all genetically gained one of the many powers that Captain Dynamo had. We’re talking Superman type of abilities like: laser vision, flight, superhuman strength, telepathy, and shape shifting. Up to this volume of the trade they were all pretty static in their abilities and superhero names…until yet another sibling comes along and causes them grief by switching their abilities around…huff…puff…ok, consider yourself caught up.

    The beginning of this trade finds us observing the Dynamo 5 team fighting a robot horde of unknown origin. After taking them apart in clean superhero fashion, we find out that they had been sent by an enemy from Captain Dynamo’s past that nearly destroyed the Earth. The only thing that kept the planet safe last time was the combined efforts of many of the best superheroes of that age fighting back and even then they barely defeated him and sent him packing. Now three of his progeny have returned and aim to reclaim their honor. Will our fledgling heroes be able to live up to their father’s legacy?

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    This is my kind of comic. I’ve always been a sucker for superhero books, I grew up reading series like X-Men, The Avengers, and many other team books.

    The writing for the series was handled by Jay Faerber who did excellent work on Marvel’s Generation X and his own series on Image called Noble Causes, which this series is a spin-off from. The pacing is absolutely perfect and has some of the most intense action scenes I’ve ever read in a comic, without ever feeling forced.

    The storyline is fairly simple, yet the amount of history you get for each character and the interactions between each other as a team that really fills in the panels between all of the glorious action that makes me love every facet of the story. The fact that he managed to write a Kojima-esque love blossoming on one end of the battlefield while you have another character fighting for revenge really hammered the home that this is top notch solid writing.

    The art for this trade is a bit different than the other trades that have been released mainly because they went from having Mahmud A. Asrar (artist for the first 25 issues) to using Julio Brilha, who proves he’s just as good, if not slightly better than Mr. Asrar. I really enjoyed how he chose to illustrate this five issue series with an art style that seems much more traditional than most modern comics…meaning that there are sooo many different ways one can choose to draw the issue, whether it be fuzzy, blurred lines, to darkness for dark’s sake (you all know what I mean I’m sure).

    Too many times do comic artists decide to distance themselves from clean lines for the sake of what I assume they think is art. This on the other hand, is perfect. The art is exctremely clean in its lines, the shading is just as great and the coloring combines with the other two to make it seem like the pages are really popping from the paper. In my opinion, this is THE example of what a superhero comic should be.

    I’m just sad that the series ended after this trade. I would have loved to keep following it monthly. I guess I still have the other trades I’m missing out on. Then again, I can always re-read this one too! PICK THIS ONE UP!

    STORY: 100% - ART: 100% - OVERALL: 100%

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More info:
    story JAY FAERBER
    art JULIO BRILHA
    cover MAHMUD A. ASRAR & RON RILEY

Publisher:
    Image

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Jan 30th, 2012, 4:56 pm