Back in action! After two weeks of various personal matters taking up time, the site should start returning to full power this week. Starting off, of course, with a new Manga Monday! This week, PARASYTE returns to print, this time in the original right-to-left format. One of the classic sci-fi horror mangas ever...
Go be scared!
/Mason
Monday, May 14, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Skipping past Wednesday (as I mentioned might happen), we dive into Thursday with a catch-up review on the modern BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series by Greg Pak. Just how is he doing, now that he's 2/3 of the way through his run?
I'll tell you.
/Mason
I'll tell you.
/Mason
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tuesday... Ian Shaughnessy evokes the classic films of Billy Wilder and the Marx Brothers in SHENANIGANS...
Have a laugh, won't you?
/Mason
Have a laugh, won't you?
/Mason
Monday, May 07, 2007
I'm baaaaaaaaaack!
For a bit, at least. Posting this week may be a bit sporadic as I settle back in and deal with some incoming visitors, but for today, at least, there's a new review. It's Manga Monday, and for your perusal today... meet PRINCESS RESURRECTION, a chainsaw-wielding, dead-raising ass-kicker in goth-gear.
Show me the love.
/Mason
For a bit, at least. Posting this week may be a bit sporadic as I settle back in and deal with some incoming visitors, but for today, at least, there's a new review. It's Manga Monday, and for your perusal today... meet PRINCESS RESURRECTION, a chainsaw-wielding, dead-raising ass-kicker in goth-gear.
Show me the love.
/Mason
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
So... I forgot to post a site update yesterday... whoops. But even more to the weird point, this will be the one and only update of the week because of it. The Room will not be update again until next week, as my day job will have me away from the computer for the rest of the week. But to tide you over... I've put up a full five days' worth of reviews anyway. They are:
Manga Monday: KURO GANE, the story of a samurai raised from the dead in a steel body.
Should It Be A Movie?: LEADING MAN... "Hollywood's biggest star is also America's best spy"
AiT/PLanetLar: THE LAST SANE COWBOY, collecting Daniel Merlin Goodbrey's award-winning minicomics.
Image Comics: FERRO CITY, which is "robots meet the Maltese Falcon"
Indy of the Week: British artist Tom Humbertstone tells HOW TO DATE A GIRL IN 10 DAYS and lectures on ART SCHOOL SCUM.
Please enjoy them. I'll see you on Monday!
/Mason
Manga Monday: KURO GANE, the story of a samurai raised from the dead in a steel body.
Should It Be A Movie?: LEADING MAN... "Hollywood's biggest star is also America's best spy"
AiT/PLanetLar: THE LAST SANE COWBOY, collecting Daniel Merlin Goodbrey's award-winning minicomics.
Image Comics: FERRO CITY, which is "robots meet the Maltese Falcon"
Indy of the Week: British artist Tom Humbertstone tells HOW TO DATE A GIRL IN 10 DAYS and lectures on ART SCHOOL SCUM.
Please enjoy them. I'll see you on Monday!
/Mason
Sunday, April 29, 2007
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
Welcome to the third straight weekend with a new Blog Extra. I have to pat myself on the back for that, as well as say up front that there won’t be one next weekend, as I’ll be away and will return too late to post one. So I’ll just enjoy the heady rush of triumph now, thanks.
This week is request hour. My buddy Brandon Jerwa asked me if I hated the finale to his book since he hadn’t seen me write it up, and while it was tempting to fuck with him and tell him it blew goat, the truth was far less sinister- I was just running behind. So for my boy in the WA… here ya go. From the handsomely sexy folks at Dynamite Entertainment:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: ZAREK #3-4 are written by my evil twin,
Brandon Jerwa and drawn by Adriano Batista. When last we left GALACTICA’s best-known revolutionary, he had just blown up that government building that Ron Moore’s excellent sci-fi series told us about. Issues three and four take us inside his incarceration, and his rise to true power, even without his freedom. In an interesting bit of synchronicity with the show itself, it begins with Zarek writing a manifesto from his cell, much as Baltar would do in season three (which, considering that Zarek was Baltar’s vice president, gives you the echo of Baltar taking a page from his political mentor) and expanding his following. This allows him to grow in stature, even as he is given opportunities to exit the penal system. But his refusal to fall in line or give in to those he considers oppressors is what sands out about the character- he will leave and live his life only on his own terms, and when he sees that the time is correct for it. Prison is merely a minor obstacle to what he truly wants and sees as necessary for himself and those he represents.
The conclusion finds Zarek finally on the way to his parole hearing,
picked up by the Astral Queen and on his way to Caprica. But as we know from the show, a little distraction arose: the Cylons invaded, and the Astral Queen was right in the middle of it. It’s here, in the heart of a pitched battle, that we see the final evolution of the man we’ll meet in season one. He’s more than willing to pick up arms and work against the new threat, because he knows that humanity is now at a complete disadvantage, and his voice will ring loud… not only with the survivors, but especially with his captors, who now owe him their lives.
Taken as a whole and read directly before watching the character’s first appearance on the series, ZAREK really works well, fleshing him out in ways that licensed tie-ins rarely can. This really is Jerwa’s best work to date in comics, and the level of his commitment to producing the book is obvious. If you’re a fan of the modern show, this is more of a must-read than the regular ongoing series.
Back tomorrow for a site update.
/Mason
Welcome to the third straight weekend with a new Blog Extra. I have to pat myself on the back for that, as well as say up front that there won’t be one next weekend, as I’ll be away and will return too late to post one. So I’ll just enjoy the heady rush of triumph now, thanks.
This week is request hour. My buddy Brandon Jerwa asked me if I hated the finale to his book since he hadn’t seen me write it up, and while it was tempting to fuck with him and tell him it blew goat, the truth was far less sinister- I was just running behind. So for my boy in the WA… here ya go. From the handsomely sexy folks at Dynamite Entertainment:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: ZAREK #3-4 are written by my evil twin,
Brandon Jerwa and drawn by Adriano Batista. When last we left GALACTICA’s best-known revolutionary, he had just blown up that government building that Ron Moore’s excellent sci-fi series told us about. Issues three and four take us inside his incarceration, and his rise to true power, even without his freedom. In an interesting bit of synchronicity with the show itself, it begins with Zarek writing a manifesto from his cell, much as Baltar would do in season three (which, considering that Zarek was Baltar’s vice president, gives you the echo of Baltar taking a page from his political mentor) and expanding his following. This allows him to grow in stature, even as he is given opportunities to exit the penal system. But his refusal to fall in line or give in to those he considers oppressors is what sands out about the character- he will leave and live his life only on his own terms, and when he sees that the time is correct for it. Prison is merely a minor obstacle to what he truly wants and sees as necessary for himself and those he represents.The conclusion finds Zarek finally on the way to his parole hearing,
picked up by the Astral Queen and on his way to Caprica. But as we know from the show, a little distraction arose: the Cylons invaded, and the Astral Queen was right in the middle of it. It’s here, in the heart of a pitched battle, that we see the final evolution of the man we’ll meet in season one. He’s more than willing to pick up arms and work against the new threat, because he knows that humanity is now at a complete disadvantage, and his voice will ring loud… not only with the survivors, but especially with his captors, who now owe him their lives.
Taken as a whole and read directly before watching the character’s first appearance on the series, ZAREK really works well, fleshing him out in ways that licensed tie-ins rarely can. This really is Jerwa’s best work to date in comics, and the level of his commitment to producing the book is obvious. If you’re a fan of the modern show, this is more of a must-read than the regular ongoing series.
Back tomorrow for a site update.
/Mason
Friday, April 27, 2007
The week's over! Celebrate by checking out our review of the finale of MOUSE GUARD.
Like you have anything better to do. ;-)
/Mason
Like you have anything better to do. ;-)
/Mason
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Two more for Thursday! First up, Tom Pappalardo offers up one of the most uniquely entertaining novellas I've seen in a while, BROKEN LINES, which features the adventures of a cowboy, a spaceman, a vampire, and a waitress! Next, the fertile minds of Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes deliver the story of a teddy bear turned spy in MR. STUFFINS.
Ya gotta see 'em to believe 'em.
/Mason
Ya gotta see 'em to believe 'em.
/Mason
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
For Wednesday... Brandon Jerwa makes a nice course correction on the HIGHLANDER title...
Draw your sword.
/Mason
Draw your sword.
/Mason
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Two for Tuesday! First, a new Aisle Seat, taking a look at the TV version of PAINKILLER JANE. Then, a stroll through MORBID CURIOSITY, an art book collecting the best of horror master Mike Dubisch.
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Monday, April 23, 2007
Manga Monday! PURI PURI brings on the fanservice with a twist: it's set in a divinity school and the lead male character wants to be a priest.
Get your schoolgirl panty shots here.
/Mason
Get your schoolgirl panty shots here.
/Mason
Sunday, April 22, 2007
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
It’s a second weekend in a row with a Blog Extra. That makes me happy enough to drink myself stupid. But first, I should actually write this thang.
From Devil’s Due Publishing:
The SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE $.99 SPECIAL is written by Robert Rodi and
drawn by Steven Cummings. Sheena, the original jungle heroine, was a Will Eisner co-creation, and makes her return to comics after a very lengthy absence. Last seen being played by Gena Lee Nolin on TV, the character has been more of a film presence than graphic presence for the past fifty years. Re-imagined by screenwriter Steven deSouza, this new incarnation of the character is considered to be a myth by the majority of the public where she does her work, a rainforest country called Val Verde. Industrialists think she’s a creation of environmentalists, the environmentalists think she’s a way for the industrialists to discredit them… the only thing we do know is that she’s real, and the local animals are very fond of her. Rodi’s story gives you just enough to be interested in the bigger picture, and Cummings avoids stupid cheesecake shots, excepting one panel that stares up her ass. Throw in a nicely written history of the character, and this is more than worth your yanqui dollar.
Tim Seeley writes, and Matt Merhoff draws, HACK/SLASH VS. CHUCKY,
the series’ best entry since GIRLS GONE DEAD. In fact, the villain of this piece actually returns from GIRLS; Laura Lochs survived being burned alive by Cassie, and to take revenge, she uses Chucky’s voodoo amulet to trade bodies with Cassie’s partner Vlad. Now, Cassie has to team up with the murderous doll in order to save her friend, as well as survivors from the previous adventures that Laura has captured and begun torturing. Melding some terrific continuity from the entire series with a fast-paced plot and righteous action, this is a true return to form for the series, which had faltered a bit as of late. I wasn’t sold on the idea of adding Chucky to the mix, as I loathe those movies, and homicidal dolls stories as a rule, but Seeley gives Chucky plenty of pluck and personality and makes him compelling on the page. Merhoff delivers some terrific art, too, which is good- he’s actually set to be the regular artist on the SHEENA title when it starts. He looks like he’ll be up to the job.
See you this week for main site updates.
/Mason
It’s a second weekend in a row with a Blog Extra. That makes me happy enough to drink myself stupid. But first, I should actually write this thang.
From Devil’s Due Publishing:
The SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE $.99 SPECIAL is written by Robert Rodi and
drawn by Steven Cummings. Sheena, the original jungle heroine, was a Will Eisner co-creation, and makes her return to comics after a very lengthy absence. Last seen being played by Gena Lee Nolin on TV, the character has been more of a film presence than graphic presence for the past fifty years. Re-imagined by screenwriter Steven deSouza, this new incarnation of the character is considered to be a myth by the majority of the public where she does her work, a rainforest country called Val Verde. Industrialists think she’s a creation of environmentalists, the environmentalists think she’s a way for the industrialists to discredit them… the only thing we do know is that she’s real, and the local animals are very fond of her. Rodi’s story gives you just enough to be interested in the bigger picture, and Cummings avoids stupid cheesecake shots, excepting one panel that stares up her ass. Throw in a nicely written history of the character, and this is more than worth your yanqui dollar.Tim Seeley writes, and Matt Merhoff draws, HACK/SLASH VS. CHUCKY,
the series’ best entry since GIRLS GONE DEAD. In fact, the villain of this piece actually returns from GIRLS; Laura Lochs survived being burned alive by Cassie, and to take revenge, she uses Chucky’s voodoo amulet to trade bodies with Cassie’s partner Vlad. Now, Cassie has to team up with the murderous doll in order to save her friend, as well as survivors from the previous adventures that Laura has captured and begun torturing. Melding some terrific continuity from the entire series with a fast-paced plot and righteous action, this is a true return to form for the series, which had faltered a bit as of late. I wasn’t sold on the idea of adding Chucky to the mix, as I loathe those movies, and homicidal dolls stories as a rule, but Seeley gives Chucky plenty of pluck and personality and makes him compelling on the page. Merhoff delivers some terrific art, too, which is good- he’s actually set to be the regular artist on the SHEENA title when it starts. He looks like he’ll be up to the job.See you this week for main site updates.
/Mason
Friday, April 20, 2007
Closing out the week: two newbies for Friday. What is the POWER OF THE VALKYRIE? And what sort of meds do you take when you have GEARHEAD?
TGIF.
/Mason
TGIF.
/Mason
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
After years of toil and trouble, the completed ELK'S RUN finally hits the stands.
Congrats to Josh Fialkov and friends!
/Mason
Congrats to Josh Fialkov and friends!
/Mason
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
For the first time in quite a while, a new review on the IDW page. C.S.I. DYING IN THE GUTTERS sees Rich Johnston get bumped off... so there's something fun for the whole family!
Dust for fingerprints here.
/Mason
Dust for fingerprints here.
/Mason
Monday, April 16, 2007
A double dose of Manga Monday! Two new volumes of XXXHOLIC drop, plus: the very high profile OEL launch of AVRIL LAVIGNE'S MAKE 5 WISHES!
Don't you wish you were reading these reviews right now?
/Mason
Don't you wish you were reading these reviews right now?
/Mason
Sunday, April 15, 2007
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
Hooray! It’s time for a new Blog Extra! This weekend, a look at three high-profile launches from Dynamite Entertainment.
PAINKILLER JANE #0, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Lee Moder,
brings the indestructible ass-kicker back for madness and mayhem. Amusingly, we met Jane with her ass hanging out; she’s gone undercover trying to smoke out some bad guys working out of a tattoo parlor, and the easiest way to prove she isn’t a cop is to get a tat on her rear end. Of course, this being Jimmy Palmiotti at the keyboard, it also provides plenty of moments for sick humor. In the course of getting her ink, trouble does manage to arrive, and Jane has to start doing what she does best, which is kill and blow shit up while displaying a snarky attitude. Executed brilliantly on the page by the always-terrific Lee Moder, JANE’s return is a complete hoot, and a twisted, zesty thrill. More please, and soon.
Leah Moore and John Reppion write,
and Hugo Petrus draws, RAISE THE DEAD #1. A number of strangers are trapped within diner, the place surrounded by a mounting zombie epidemic. Everyone must figure out a way to work together, or they’re all going to die. Some zombies have made it in; can the group survive long enough to get out and get to a place that might offer safety? Unfortunately, there isn’t anything here that really jumps up and grabs you as an original take on the classic zombie story. It’s all executed with fine, competent precision, and there’s nothing to suggest that the story can’t veer wildly into new and exciting directions once the cast moves to their next destination. But issue one doesn’t give you much more than what you’ve seen before. A better start, maybe in media res further ahead in the plot, may have been the smarter play.
SAVAGE TALES #1 is an anthology title
written and drawn by various creators. The lead story, a Red Sonja story written by Ron Marz (whose name is misspelled in the credits) is the best bit in the book, following Sonja as she meets a witch with a similar background story to hers but with a wildly different agenda. Moore and Reppion deliver a story here, too, and a stronger effort than RAISE THE DEAD. The only story that really fell completely flat for me was “Where Walks the Hunter,” a bit by Mike Oeming and Luke Lieberman that attempts to fill in the blanks behind the scenes of the main RED SONJA book, but instead confuses; not everyone picking up this book reads the main title, and without that knowledge, the plot made no sense. Overall, though, this is a solid effort, and Arthur Suydam’s cover is icing on the cake. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but the foundation is built well.
/Mason
Hooray! It’s time for a new Blog Extra! This weekend, a look at three high-profile launches from Dynamite Entertainment.
PAINKILLER JANE #0, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Lee Moder,
brings the indestructible ass-kicker back for madness and mayhem. Amusingly, we met Jane with her ass hanging out; she’s gone undercover trying to smoke out some bad guys working out of a tattoo parlor, and the easiest way to prove she isn’t a cop is to get a tat on her rear end. Of course, this being Jimmy Palmiotti at the keyboard, it also provides plenty of moments for sick humor. In the course of getting her ink, trouble does manage to arrive, and Jane has to start doing what she does best, which is kill and blow shit up while displaying a snarky attitude. Executed brilliantly on the page by the always-terrific Lee Moder, JANE’s return is a complete hoot, and a twisted, zesty thrill. More please, and soon.Leah Moore and John Reppion write,
and Hugo Petrus draws, RAISE THE DEAD #1. A number of strangers are trapped within diner, the place surrounded by a mounting zombie epidemic. Everyone must figure out a way to work together, or they’re all going to die. Some zombies have made it in; can the group survive long enough to get out and get to a place that might offer safety? Unfortunately, there isn’t anything here that really jumps up and grabs you as an original take on the classic zombie story. It’s all executed with fine, competent precision, and there’s nothing to suggest that the story can’t veer wildly into new and exciting directions once the cast moves to their next destination. But issue one doesn’t give you much more than what you’ve seen before. A better start, maybe in media res further ahead in the plot, may have been the smarter play.SAVAGE TALES #1 is an anthology title
written and drawn by various creators. The lead story, a Red Sonja story written by Ron Marz (whose name is misspelled in the credits) is the best bit in the book, following Sonja as she meets a witch with a similar background story to hers but with a wildly different agenda. Moore and Reppion deliver a story here, too, and a stronger effort than RAISE THE DEAD. The only story that really fell completely flat for me was “Where Walks the Hunter,” a bit by Mike Oeming and Luke Lieberman that attempts to fill in the blanks behind the scenes of the main RED SONJA book, but instead confuses; not everyone picking up this book reads the main title, and without that knowledge, the plot made no sense. Overall, though, this is a solid effort, and Arthur Suydam’s cover is icing on the cake. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but the foundation is built well./Mason
Friday, April 13, 2007
It's Friday the 13th, but luckily, I have a great book to review. James Vining tells the story of the chimp who was FIRST IN SPACE, and it's a knockout!
Grab a banana and read about it.
/Mason
Grab a banana and read about it.
/Mason
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Virgin Comics gets a publisher page, and we take a look at VIRULENTS and GUY RICHIE'S GAMEKEEPER...
Click.
/Mason
Click.
/Mason
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Aliens doing a psychic autopsy on a dead Earth? Nuclear waste protesters with a guard robot? They won't get much stranger than Alex Cahill's POISON THE CURE, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing...
Go see what I mean.
/Mason
Go see what I mean.
/Mason
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Few things are as lovely as Ladronn's art. Checking out the second HIP FLASK hardcover today at the main site...
/Mason
/Mason
Monday, April 09, 2007
It's time for a brand new Manga Monday! This week, the first volume of CHINESE HERO, which looks real pretty but has a story that's completely impenetreble...
Pan City.
/Mason
Pan City.
/Mason
Friday, April 06, 2007
Week's just about over, and it's been a killer. So why not review THE KILLER #2 from Archaia?
Shoot 'em up!
/Mason
Shoot 'em up!
/Mason
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Rounding third and heading for home... the ever-amazing Javier Grillo-Marxuach offers up the terrific CLASSIC BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: CYLON APOCALYPSE.
It's a budget buster!
/Mason
It's a budget buster!
/Mason
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Hitting the midweek stride, we have a good one: Sara Ryan, her second novel completed, has returned to FLYTRAP, bringing a second episode of her wonderful minicomic to the masses.
Go read about it.
/Mason
Go read about it.
/Mason
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Anthologies are an iffy business, but Arcana's DARK HORRORS is actually pretty well done...
Boo!
/Mason
Boo!
/Mason
Monday, April 02, 2007
Manga Monday! This week, a look at the award-winning MUSHISHI. But Marc doesn't quite agree with that award...
Go see.
/Mason
Go see.
/Mason
Friday, March 30, 2007
WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA: FRIDAY EDITION
Yeah, I know... the Blog Extra has been AWOL for a couple of months. Couldn't be helped, as life has thrown a couple of curves at me. But it should return within the next few weeks on a more consistent basis. In the meantime, please enjoy this review of a book due out next Wednesday.
XOMBIE #1
Written by James Farr and Drawn by Nate Lovett
Published by Devil’s Due Press
The first thing you think of when you see a book called XOMBIE is: dear God, do we really need another one?
Image has a zombie book. Marvel has one. IDW has published their fair share. Boom Studios built their company on zombie books. Dynamite has one on the way. So the market is pretty saturated by books featuring the walking dead. Therefore, when I went to crack the cover on this book, it was starting at a pretty severe disadvantage.
But damned if I didn’t get drawn into this one. The first thing that grabs you is the look; Nate Lovett’s art moves the zombie story away from the gritty realism of Charlie Adlard and others, and instead shifts it towards the more animated-looking style. It’s friendly and accessible, even with the dark topic at hand. Second is the story itself; Farr’s world is not only well developed, but it also has a kid at the heart of the story, and one who doesn’t annoy the reader right out of the gate. Most of the time when you put a kid in this type of situation, you hope for their quick and horrific death, but not Zoe (our heroine, if you will).
The main plot, in which a sentient and reasonable zombie is located and asked to aid the human population, has plenty of potential for interesting directions to go, and as long as the book plays fair and keeps Zoe from becoming too much of an ass pain, this should have a strong, successful run.
Written by James Farr and Drawn by Nate Lovett
Published by Devil’s Due Press
The first thing you think of when you see a book called XOMBIE is: dear God, do we really need another one?
Image has a zombie book. Marvel has one. IDW has published their fair share. Boom Studios built their company on zombie books. Dynamite has one on the way. So the market is pretty saturated by books featuring the walking dead. Therefore, when I went to crack the cover on this book, it was starting at a pretty severe disadvantage.
But damned if I didn’t get drawn into this one. The first thing that grabs you is the look; Nate Lovett’s art moves the zombie story away from the gritty realism of Charlie Adlard and others, and instead shifts it towards the more animated-looking style. It’s friendly and accessible, even with the dark topic at hand. Second is the story itself; Farr’s world is not only well developed, but it also has a kid at the heart of the story, and one who doesn’t annoy the reader right out of the gate. Most of the time when you put a kid in this type of situation, you hope for their quick and horrific death, but not Zoe (our heroine, if you will).
The main plot, in which a sentient and reasonable zombie is located and asked to aid the human population, has plenty of potential for interesting directions to go, and as long as the book plays fair and keeps Zoe from becoming too much of an ass pain, this should have a strong, successful run.
Closing out a so-so week, we have a true highlight offering: a new volume of the DUNGEON saga! Sfar, Trondheim, and Larcenet... what more could you ask for?
/Mason
/Mason
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The legendary Jim Starlin combines his love of the cosmis with kid-friendly comics in KID KOSMOS...
Beam it up here.
/Mason
Beam it up here.
/Mason
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Yeesh. I put up a new review yesterday and forgot to update. D'oh! So that means *three* new reviews are ready for your perusal if you use this feed.
From yesterday, a look at the charming all-ages TEXAS STRANGERS. But Wednesday is "Thumbs Down" day, which includes Renee French's MICROGRAPHICA and SUPER REAL VS THE COMICS INDUSTRY.
Make with the clicky.
/Mason
From yesterday, a look at the charming all-ages TEXAS STRANGERS. But Wednesday is "Thumbs Down" day, which includes Renee French's MICROGRAPHICA and SUPER REAL VS THE COMICS INDUSTRY.
Make with the clicky.
/Mason
Monday, March 26, 2007
Manga Monday! This week: catching up on the latest four volumes of PASTEL, a fanservice filled feast for the pervy eye guy.
Plus: a bonus review! With the TRANSFORMERS movie on the way, AiT has brought GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS back into the spotlight. A reprint review from the Movie Poop Shoot days!
Get 'em both here!
/Mason
Plus: a bonus review! With the TRANSFORMERS movie on the way, AiT has brought GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS back into the spotlight. A reprint review from the Movie Poop Shoot days!
Get 'em both here!
/Mason
Friday, March 23, 2007
Closing the doors for the week, we have reviews of two new books from Boom Studios: HERO SQUARED #5 and WARHAMMER 40000 #2.
See them explode.
/Mason
See them explode.
/Mason
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Doubling up... I was ill yesterday and didn't do a site update, so you get two new reviews today to make up for it. First Second brings a translated gem from Italian comics legend Gipi in GARAGE BAND, and Scott Sava collects THE DREAMLAND CHRONICLES, which proves to be a huge smash with the tweener set.
Read 'em and smile.
/Mason
Read 'em and smile.
/Mason
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Scott Kurtz' PVP gets a fourth collection from Image...
Webcomics Survivor, today at the main site.
/Mason
Webcomics Survivor, today at the main site.
/Mason
Monday, March 19, 2007
Manga Monday has rolled around again, and this week the spotlight is on the final three volumes of the terrific LOVE ROMA.
As a bonus, there's also a new Aisle Seat, with our review of the zeitgeist-grabbing 300!
Go read.
/Mason
As a bonus, there's also a new Aisle Seat, with our review of the zeitgeist-grabbing 300!
Go read.
/Mason
Friday, March 16, 2007
Finishing out the week... someone's still making comics for kids: Nickelodeon. See how they've collected a bunch of them together in one tidy, inexpensive package right here.
/Mason
/Mason
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Thursday brings two sticks of Dynamite: the second issue of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: ZAREK and XENA ANNUAL 1.
Frakkin' A!
/Mason
Frakkin' A!
/Mason
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Made it to midweek! Today: a balanced set of reviews. First up, the incredible NAT TURNER VOL.2 from the amazing Kyle Baker, followed by the not-very-good STRONGARM #1.
Very Libra, yes?
/Mason
Very Libra, yes?
/Mason
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Former Disney animator Christian Slade delivers his first graphic novel, the delightful KORGI...
All-ages fun.
/Mason
All-ages fun.
/Mason
Monday, March 12, 2007
It's Manga Monday! This week, a look at Jin Kobayashi's SCHOOL RUMBLE, and how the series has evolved into something very different than what it started out as.
Check it out.
/Mason
Check it out.
/Mason
Friday, March 09, 2007
The week is over, and you can close it out with a massive catch-up review of the world if G.I. JOE.
Check out our response to issues 17-19 and SPECIAL MISSIONS: ANTARCTICA here.
/Mason
Check out our response to issues 17-19 and SPECIAL MISSIONS: ANTARCTICA here.
/Mason
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Continuing my week of double-ups: two new books from Boom Studios. Check out my reviews of TAG: CURSED and FALL OF CTHULHU right here.
/Mason
/Mason
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Two more newbies today! HIGHLANDER'S first arc draws to a close, while THE LONE RANGER continues to get better and better!
Intense, high-explosive, Dynamite, it's Dynamite...
/Mason
Intense, high-explosive, Dynamite, it's Dynamite...
/Mason
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Two for Tuesday! First, the 10th MUSE meets EZRA in an inter-company crossover! Then: the wonderful Euro import THE PROFESSOR'S DAUGHTER gets translated and brought to U.S. shelves.
Ya gotta keep 'em separated!
/Mason
Ya gotta keep 'em separated!
/Mason
Monday, March 05, 2007
Manga Monday! This week: four new volumes of NEGIMA!, as the boy mage must use time travel to meet all of his obligations at a festival and then prepare for a martial arts tournament that may lead him to his missing father!
Right-to-left goodness!
/Mason
Right-to-left goodness!
/Mason
Friday, March 02, 2007
Closing the week... Checker delivers a second tasty volume of THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS...
One family curse, no waiting...
/Mason
One family curse, no waiting...
/Mason
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Gah!
Totally blew it, not posting yesterday's site update. Anyway, yesterday's review covered the excellent collection of Paul Chadwick's underrated and under-appreciated THE WORLD BELOW. A must read.
Another excellent read today, as NBM delivers a hardcover collection of Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo's THE CASTAWAYS. Depression Era goodness.
Make with the reading, por favor.
/Mason
Totally blew it, not posting yesterday's site update. Anyway, yesterday's review covered the excellent collection of Paul Chadwick's underrated and under-appreciated THE WORLD BELOW. A must read.
Another excellent read today, as NBM delivers a hardcover collection of Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo's THE CASTAWAYS. Depression Era goodness.
Make with the reading, por favor.
/Mason
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A milestone: Image Comics gets the 50th page created for the site. In the six months since the main site went live, I've done nearly 250 reviews.
I'm beat! But still I go on.
The reviews on page #50? ELEPHANTMEN #7 and DYNAMO 5 #1.
Thank you for your continued patronage.
/Mason
I'm beat! But still I go on.
The reviews on page #50? ELEPHANTMEN #7 and DYNAMO 5 #1.
Thank you for your continued patronage.
/Mason
Monday, February 26, 2007
Manga Monday! Lewis Carroll's creation gets a twist in ETERNAL ALICE RONDO!
Down the rabbit hole...
/Mason
Down the rabbit hole...
/Mason
Friday, February 23, 2007
Closing out the week: Arcana Studio joins the ranks of publisher pages with its Hawaiian-themed mystery book KONI WAVES.
Surf's up!
/Mason
Surf's up!
/Mason
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Rolling down the stretch... Alex Sheikman's gorgeous ROBOTIKA gets the deluxe hardcover treatment...
Cyber/steampunk action with ninjas!
/Mason
Cyber/steampunk action with ninjas!
/Mason
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Hitting the mid-week hump... the second issue of MAINTENANCE, which is a distinct improvement upon the first...
Clean up on aisle 12!
/Mason
Clean up on aisle 12!
/Mason
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Dynamite delivers an Eduardo Risso classic, an English adaptation of BORDERLINE.
Yummy artistic goodness right here.
/Mason
Yummy artistic goodness right here.
/Mason
Monday, February 19, 2007
Manga Mondays continue! This week: three new volumes of the ever-excellent GHOST HUNT!
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Friday, February 16, 2007
Closing out the week... Zartan and company get the origin treatment in DREADNOKS DECLASSIFIED...
Make up!
/Mason
Make up!
/Mason
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Two more from Image today, but much better efforts than what we saw last week. First, MIKE CAREY'S ONE-SIDED BARGAINS, an excellent collection of the writer's creator-owned work. Plus, SILENCERS, which is sort of the Canadian equivalent of QUEEN AND COUNTRY.
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Monday, February 12, 2007
The new week is underway, and leading off is, of course, Manga Monday. Today's look is at the adaptation of ONEGAI TWINS...
Teen love triangle, no waiting...
/Mason
Teen love triangle, no waiting...
/Mason
Friday, February 09, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Looking for a fine all-ages book? Look no further than ED'S TERRESTRIALS, the charming tale of a boy whose treehouse is invaded by aliens...
Beam coordinates here.
/Mason
Beam coordinates here.
/Mason
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Two new anthologies from Image at the mid-week break... LOW ORBIT (okay) and WONDERLOST (umm... not so ok).
Here, por favor.
/Mason
Here, por favor.
/Mason
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Two more reviews today, as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and the CLASSIC version each see their storylines move forward...
Look! A rag-tag fleet!
/Mason
Look! A rag-tag fleet!
/Mason
Monday, February 05, 2007
Doiuble your fun on this Monday... manga madness with a review of GENSHIKEN vol.6-7 and a brand new Aisle Seat. The Japanese blockbuster TRAIN MAN hits DVD in the U.S.!
Let love rule!
/Mason
Let love rule!
/Mason
Friday, February 02, 2007
Closing the week... Cassie and Vlad return in HACK/SLASH: SLICE HARD, an entry that ups the action quotient of the franchise.
Read all about it.
/Mason
Read all about it.
/Mason
Thursday, February 01, 2007
A fresh page of indy reviews opens with SOUNDS OF YOUR NAME, a collection of alt-cartoonist Nate Powell's work.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
How American comics lost the culture war: the Louvre is producing graphic novels, and the first one has been translated and hit our shores. GLACIAL PERIOD, today at the main site...
/Mason
/Mason
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Manga Monday! REAL/FAKE PRINCESS delivers the shojo... but unfortunately, it isn't the top-notch stuff you'd hope for...
Go See.
/Mason
Go See.
/Mason
Sunday, January 28, 2007
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
First, a brief note of explanation: the Blog Extra will be a semi-weekly feature for a while, as I have a number of other commitments that will force me to take a few weekends off for other purposes. After all: it’s far more important to get the weekday updates ready than anything else.
This latest edition covers two new books from Viper Comics. So let’s see what’s making its way out of Texas these days, shall we?
THE LOST BOOKS OF EVE #1 is written and drawn by Josh Howard.
Most will know Howard from his DEAD @17 franchise, so EVE will certainly offer some surprises. Pretty much the only two things the books have in common is a female protagonist. EVE is about the woman created from Adam’s rib, and Howard positions the book as a “lost” book of the Bible (perhaps a piece of the Apocrypha). As the story begins, Adam has gone missing, thrown overboard from the duo’s raft during a storm. After a confrontation with God about the nature of free will, Eve decides to leave the garden and try and discover what has happened to her mate. This plays as a relatively intriguing and interesting idea to build a series upon, and it’s certainly a brave direction to take. I have only two qualms, neither religion-based; one, Eve is nude throughout the majority of the book, but Howard takes great pains to obscure her bits. As an indy book, I think the book would have been better served by acknowledging and showing, rather than forcing odd camera angles and such. My second qualm is the lack of story pages. I made note of this in Howard’s last issue of DEAD, and it applies here: there are less than twenty actual pages of story/art here. Good book, but needing a bit more in the way of value.
Jason Burns writes, and Ron Chan draws, A DUMMY’S GUIDE TO DANGER #4,
the conclusion to what has been an excellent miniseries. When last we left Alan Sirois and his ventriloquist dummy companion Bloomberg, they had arrived at the love of Alan’s life Teri’s apartment to find her lying in a bathtub full of blood. Fortunately, she turns out to be breathing, but getting her to the hospital isn’t going to be easy. Boyd, the cop who has it in for Alan, stands in the way, and the killer hasn’t left the premises yet. Without giving too much away, I’ll note that Burns’ story delivers a fair and satisfying ending. Alan continues to take beating after beating, you still don’t find him to be completely sane, and there’s no cop out or supernatural twist involving Bloomberg. DUMMY is the kind of book that is best served by an indy publisher like Viper, as Marvel or DC would likely try and impose false or stupid ideas (such as a supernatural twist for Bloomberg) rather than let the author’s story play out organically as it does here. Solid work, and a trade edition I would expect to sell well.
See you throughout the week for site updates!
/Mason
First, a brief note of explanation: the Blog Extra will be a semi-weekly feature for a while, as I have a number of other commitments that will force me to take a few weekends off for other purposes. After all: it’s far more important to get the weekday updates ready than anything else.
This latest edition covers two new books from Viper Comics. So let’s see what’s making its way out of Texas these days, shall we?
THE LOST BOOKS OF EVE #1 is written and drawn by Josh Howard.
Most will know Howard from his DEAD @17 franchise, so EVE will certainly offer some surprises. Pretty much the only two things the books have in common is a female protagonist. EVE is about the woman created from Adam’s rib, and Howard positions the book as a “lost” book of the Bible (perhaps a piece of the Apocrypha). As the story begins, Adam has gone missing, thrown overboard from the duo’s raft during a storm. After a confrontation with God about the nature of free will, Eve decides to leave the garden and try and discover what has happened to her mate. This plays as a relatively intriguing and interesting idea to build a series upon, and it’s certainly a brave direction to take. I have only two qualms, neither religion-based; one, Eve is nude throughout the majority of the book, but Howard takes great pains to obscure her bits. As an indy book, I think the book would have been better served by acknowledging and showing, rather than forcing odd camera angles and such. My second qualm is the lack of story pages. I made note of this in Howard’s last issue of DEAD, and it applies here: there are less than twenty actual pages of story/art here. Good book, but needing a bit more in the way of value.Jason Burns writes, and Ron Chan draws, A DUMMY’S GUIDE TO DANGER #4,
the conclusion to what has been an excellent miniseries. When last we left Alan Sirois and his ventriloquist dummy companion Bloomberg, they had arrived at the love of Alan’s life Teri’s apartment to find her lying in a bathtub full of blood. Fortunately, she turns out to be breathing, but getting her to the hospital isn’t going to be easy. Boyd, the cop who has it in for Alan, stands in the way, and the killer hasn’t left the premises yet. Without giving too much away, I’ll note that Burns’ story delivers a fair and satisfying ending. Alan continues to take beating after beating, you still don’t find him to be completely sane, and there’s no cop out or supernatural twist involving Bloomberg. DUMMY is the kind of book that is best served by an indy publisher like Viper, as Marvel or DC would likely try and impose false or stupid ideas (such as a supernatural twist for Bloomberg) rather than let the author’s story play out organically as it does here. Solid work, and a trade edition I would expect to sell well.See you throughout the week for site updates!
/Mason
Friday, January 26, 2007
Closing out the week, Kirby-esque monsters stomp the Earth in DORIS DANGER, and mad science gets squished by DR. DEBUNKO.
Indy books, no waiting...
/Mason
Indy books, no waiting...
/Mason
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Joe Linsner is a very talented artist... very talented. But his horror comics are kinda freaky, and not always in the good way. Read all about ANGRY CHRIST COMIX (in which the big guy actually doesn't appear) today at the main site.
/Mason
/Mason
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Straddling the middle... a new volume of the terrific webcomic YOU'LL HAVE THAT hits shelves...
Fun for a girl or a boy.
/Mason
Fun for a girl or a boy.
/Mason
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The world of licensed comics gets a bit better with the addition of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: ZAREK...
It's fraktastic!
/Mason
It's fraktastic!
/Mason
Monday, January 22, 2007
Manga Monday! Three volumes of Hayakawa's THE WALLFLOWER put under the microscope.
Goth-y goodness awaits!
/Mason
Goth-y goodness awaits!
/Mason
Friday, January 19, 2007
Closing out the week: the first SIBAM? of the new year! Stephen Buell's VIDEO gets collected, and you get another chance to check out this terrific work of modern horror and paranoia. What's it all about?
The return of Jesus, for one thing...
/Mason
The return of Jesus, for one thing...
/Mason
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Heading around turn three... the great Lewis Trondheim drops another gem onto the shelves with MISTER I...
You'll dig it.
/Mason
You'll dig it.
/Mason
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A late update, but it was up earlier in the day, I swear... today's review covers the conclusion to MELTDOWN, the story of a superhero deciding how to spend his final hours...
Burn out the day, burn out the night...
/Mason
Burn out the day, burn out the night...
/Mason
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Post-holiday... TALES FROM THE FARM, a new graphic novel from Canadian artist Jeff Lemire.
Go see.
/Mason
Go see.
/Mason
Sunday, January 14, 2007
CWR HOLIDAY WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
First things first: I was remiss Friday in not updating this blog/feed to note that I posted a brand new review over at the main site. Dynamite Entertainment has rescued Tim Truman’s 80s classic SCOUT and you should seriously check it out. Go. I’ll wait.
Okay. Welcome back. The first Blog Extra of the year covers a new crop of goodies from the fine folks at Fantagraphics. Jumping in…
THE COMICS JOURNAL #279 is the usual terrific package
of materials, and more than usual it demonstrates why the JOURNAL both impresses and infuriates. What impresses? Amazing articles like Trina Robbins’ interview with World War Two era artist Lily Renee and the presentation of a number of her comics. Renee’s work is a delight, and the reminder that women filled in on the cartoonist front as well as in the factories is a good one. The issue also contains a number of excellent reviews, none better than Noah Berlatsky’s evisceration of Jeffrey Brown’s EVERY GIRL IS THE END OF THE WORLD FOR ME (“Brown doesn’t work around or within his limitations. Instead, he just let’s them sit there proudly, like a 3-year old who’s taken a dump and wants to show you the turds.”) The infuriation comes from the feature interview with Johnny Ryan, the only cartoonist working today who is possibly less talented and compelling than Jeffrey Brown (and oddly enough, it’s conducted by Berlatsky). His comics have nothing interesting to say, and the interview verifies that neither does the man. Impressive or not, the JOURNAL is always worth your time and cash.
Gilbert Hernandez writes and draws NEW TALES OF OLD PALOMAR #1, which takes his HEARTBREAK SOUP settings and
characters and moves them into the oversized “Ignatz” format. The story picks up as the town is beset by food thieves who are running so fast that no one can catch them. But eventually Pipo is put on the chase and cracks the mystery. Long time fans of Beto’s work will be delighted to see new work set in the era where Luba and Pipo are still young and life hasn’t begun dragging them down as it does down the road. New readers will be easily able to figure out who the people are and their relationships to one another, thanks to the simple introductions and Hernandez’ use of body language and facial expressions to convey emotion and meaning. And much like the hardcover did for PALOMAR, the larger format really allows the art (shading and detail) to breathe. Instantly my favorite book in the line.
Also new in the Ignatz
line is DELPHINE #1, written and drawn by Richard Sala. My previous attempts to get into Sala’s work have come up flat; something about his attempts to balance horror with whimsy not clicking. But DELPHINE is a full turn away from how I felt about those earlier efforts; basically, a young man travels to a remote town to visit the girl he loves, but thanks to strange citizenry and bizarre circumstances, he finds himself in mortal danger. The book is played as SNOW WHITE told from the Prince’s side, and as a clear horror tale (no whimsy allowed). Sala’s art is dark and moody, and atmosphere drips from every panel, and his script is very strong in making the townsfolk just real enough to prevent them from becoming caricatures. I was immediately drawn to the boy’s plight, and the flashback that sets up his relationship with the girl is executed perfectly. Very good effort.
Completing this round of
the Ignatz releases is INTERIORAE #2, written and drawn by Gabriella Giandelli. Issue one followed a strange, spectral white rabbit as it observed the inhabitants of a European apartment building and reported on their behavior to a dark force living in the bottom of the building (which could be interpreted as being anything from a demon to the building itself). Issue two is more of the same, as the rabbit follows the sex lives of a couple of the women in the building, as well as the hallucinations of an older female resident. Hearts break, metaphysical moments occur… pretty much your standard day leading up to Christmas. But the real heart of the story creeps in at the final moments when the darkness dweller begins offering up a hint as to its true feelings and intentions to those who live above, and it positively chills the reader. INTERIORAE delivers a solid reading experience and retains the potential to break out into something special.
That’s it for this week. Be here through the week as I (attempt to offer, I swear) main site updates, as well as back here on the weekends for more future editions of the Blog Extra!
/Mason
First things first: I was remiss Friday in not updating this blog/feed to note that I posted a brand new review over at the main site. Dynamite Entertainment has rescued Tim Truman’s 80s classic SCOUT and you should seriously check it out. Go. I’ll wait.
Okay. Welcome back. The first Blog Extra of the year covers a new crop of goodies from the fine folks at Fantagraphics. Jumping in…
THE COMICS JOURNAL #279 is the usual terrific package
of materials, and more than usual it demonstrates why the JOURNAL both impresses and infuriates. What impresses? Amazing articles like Trina Robbins’ interview with World War Two era artist Lily Renee and the presentation of a number of her comics. Renee’s work is a delight, and the reminder that women filled in on the cartoonist front as well as in the factories is a good one. The issue also contains a number of excellent reviews, none better than Noah Berlatsky’s evisceration of Jeffrey Brown’s EVERY GIRL IS THE END OF THE WORLD FOR ME (“Brown doesn’t work around or within his limitations. Instead, he just let’s them sit there proudly, like a 3-year old who’s taken a dump and wants to show you the turds.”) The infuriation comes from the feature interview with Johnny Ryan, the only cartoonist working today who is possibly less talented and compelling than Jeffrey Brown (and oddly enough, it’s conducted by Berlatsky). His comics have nothing interesting to say, and the interview verifies that neither does the man. Impressive or not, the JOURNAL is always worth your time and cash.Gilbert Hernandez writes and draws NEW TALES OF OLD PALOMAR #1, which takes his HEARTBREAK SOUP settings and
characters and moves them into the oversized “Ignatz” format. The story picks up as the town is beset by food thieves who are running so fast that no one can catch them. But eventually Pipo is put on the chase and cracks the mystery. Long time fans of Beto’s work will be delighted to see new work set in the era where Luba and Pipo are still young and life hasn’t begun dragging them down as it does down the road. New readers will be easily able to figure out who the people are and their relationships to one another, thanks to the simple introductions and Hernandez’ use of body language and facial expressions to convey emotion and meaning. And much like the hardcover did for PALOMAR, the larger format really allows the art (shading and detail) to breathe. Instantly my favorite book in the line.Also new in the Ignatz
line is DELPHINE #1, written and drawn by Richard Sala. My previous attempts to get into Sala’s work have come up flat; something about his attempts to balance horror with whimsy not clicking. But DELPHINE is a full turn away from how I felt about those earlier efforts; basically, a young man travels to a remote town to visit the girl he loves, but thanks to strange citizenry and bizarre circumstances, he finds himself in mortal danger. The book is played as SNOW WHITE told from the Prince’s side, and as a clear horror tale (no whimsy allowed). Sala’s art is dark and moody, and atmosphere drips from every panel, and his script is very strong in making the townsfolk just real enough to prevent them from becoming caricatures. I was immediately drawn to the boy’s plight, and the flashback that sets up his relationship with the girl is executed perfectly. Very good effort.Completing this round of
the Ignatz releases is INTERIORAE #2, written and drawn by Gabriella Giandelli. Issue one followed a strange, spectral white rabbit as it observed the inhabitants of a European apartment building and reported on their behavior to a dark force living in the bottom of the building (which could be interpreted as being anything from a demon to the building itself). Issue two is more of the same, as the rabbit follows the sex lives of a couple of the women in the building, as well as the hallucinations of an older female resident. Hearts break, metaphysical moments occur… pretty much your standard day leading up to Christmas. But the real heart of the story creeps in at the final moments when the darkness dweller begins offering up a hint as to its true feelings and intentions to those who live above, and it positively chills the reader. INTERIORAE delivers a solid reading experience and retains the potential to break out into something special.That’s it for this week. Be here through the week as I (attempt to offer, I swear) main site updates, as well as back here on the weekends for more future editions of the Blog Extra!
/Mason
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Life went horribly awry yesterday, leaving me unable to update the site at all. So today: two new reviews! THINGS ARE MEANING LESS, a confessional tale from an alt-cartoonist, and THE KILLER, gorgeous Euro import.
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Check 'em out.
/Mason
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Ahh... the perils of Blogger. I updated the site eight hours ago and am only now able to tell you about it here. *sigh*
Today's review: WARHAMMER 40000 arrives from Boom Studios, adapting the classic game to comics.
Roll 2 D20s to get the skinny.
/Mason
Today's review: WARHAMMER 40000 arrives from Boom Studios, adapting the classic game to comics.
Roll 2 D20s to get the skinny.
/Mason
Monday, January 08, 2007
Manga Monday! HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS dives into the friendships and perisl of being a teen, and does it surprisingly well. of course, the author is telling a story about her own self and her friends, which helps...
Go see.
/Mason
Go see.
/Mason
Friday, January 05, 2007
Closing out the week... the conclusion to G.I. JOE DECLASSIFIED and Larry Hama's return to the characters.
Fire it up!
/Mason
Fire it up!
/Mason
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Diving into the indy pile... after 2+ years, Dirk Tiede's second PARADIGM SHIFT collection hits the stands, and it's just as good as the first one...
Cops and werewolves. Cool.
/Mason
Cops and werewolves. Cool.
/Mason
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
BACK FROM OUTER SPACE
2007 is underway at the Waiting Room, and we get it started by dipping our toes into the manga waters. First up is SUZUKA, a mature readers title about love and... track and field?
Stop by.
/Mason
2007 is underway at the Waiting Room, and we get it started by dipping our toes into the manga waters. First up is SUZUKA, a mature readers title about love and... track and field?
Stop by.
/Mason
Saturday, December 30, 2006
HOLIDAY BLOGGING PART TWO: ARMY OF DARKNESS
I’m back to close out the year, and the big finish is actually a pretty big finish! Seven new books from the good folks at Dynamite Entertainment! But before I dive in: thanks to every single one of you that takes the time to come here and read, as well as those who make their way to the main site from here. I appreciate your time and attention, and I do my best not to waste it.
The ARMY OF DARKNESS MOVIE ADAPTATION is adapted and drawn by the great John
Bolton, straight from Sam and Ivan Raimi’s original script. This is easily the best AOD product on the market; the movie itself holds up quite well, and Bolton does an amazing job of adapting it to the page and making it flow. Plus: it’s John Bolton for fuck’s sake! He’s one of the true giants remaining in the medium, and puts the majority of his peers to shame. Ash’s journey to the past looks so pretty here that it almost puts the actual celluloid stock to shame. Film adaptations are a dying art, and few are ever any good (the Goodwin/Simonson ALIEN being the major exception), but this ranks right up there with the best ever produced.
James Kuhoric writes ARMY OF DARKNESS VS. RE-ANIMATOR, with art by
Sanford Greene and Nick Bradshaw. This trade paperback collects the first four issues of the AOD ongoing series, and features the first of Ash’s crossovers with other horror franchises. Kuhoric does a decent job of bringing the two together, and the story gets off to a decent enough start, but as it moves forward, the RE-ANIMATOR elements get pushed aside for too long. There are also a couple of narrative jumps (such as Sheila’s fate being handled mostly off-screen) that don’t quite play right to the reader. My major quibble is that the EVIL DEAD films were solid “R”s, and the gore factor in the book is very high, but the language gets “bleeped”. I don’t quite understand why blood and severed heads are okay, but the word “shit” isn’t/
ARMY OF DARKNESS: OLD SCHOOL is also written by Kuhoric and drawn by Kevin
Sharpe. The next three issues of the ongoing, plus the TALES OF AOD one-shot are collected here, and it is a marked step-forward over the previous book. Ash and his new comely comrade Sugar head back to the cabin where his troubles all began, and he must confront the animated body of his dead friends and girlfriend in an effort to find a way to save Sheila’s soul. By returning to the heart of the AOD saga, Kuhoric delivers a perfect gift to the fans of the character. Throughout the book you’ll find one easter egg after another designed for the serious franchise fanboy. But the book also works as a solid story for the reader who isn’t a fan of the franchise as well; what you have here is a solid “haunted house in the woods” story. The addition of Sharpe to the art chores makes a huge impact as well; his style is more realistic and adds to the horrific nature of what happens to Ash and Sugar.
Top Cow Productions co-produced MONSTER WAR with
Dynamite, lending Witchblade, Darkness, Magdalena, and Lara Croft for a face-off against the classic monsters Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolfmen, and Dr. Hyde. Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegowski and drawn by Joyce Chen and Victor Ishimura, the story finds Mr. Hyde plotting to use Dracula to split the world’s population into vicious vampires who spread a disease and weak victims, and to use the Frankenstein Monster as a gate to allow ancient evil to roam the Earth. Oh, and Dracula uses the Magdalena’s virgin blood to power himself. If you couldn’t tell from all that, this is a pretty incoherent mess, and the story is very difficult to pick apart. The writers are solid veterans of the horror genre, but this is a swing and a miss for them. The artists do their best to make it work and look nice, but in the end, nothing captivates here beyond the collection of covers. AOD tie-in: from here, Dracula arrives on the final pages of issue seven and headlines the next few issues of the ongoing.
ARMY OF DARNKESS #12-13 are written by Kuhoric and
drawn by Fernando Blanco 
(with the final page of issue thirteen drawn by Sean Phillips). This two-part conclusion to the ongoing series wraps up the proceedings tightly; all the threads put into place by the Raimi films and the previous issues come together with a reasonable explanation for why Ash’s life has sucked shit at every turn. Bringing together virtually every character of importance to the AOD saga, this feels like an earned ending, not a cheap one, and it brings the goods for fans of the saga. But the real kick in the pants is that final page, where we see Ash’s arrival at his next destination: the Marvel Zombies universe. I’ve never been a huge fan of AOD, but this crossover promises to be one of the more entertaining books to hit the shelves in 2007.
Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern deliver DARKMAN VS. ARMY OF DARKNESS #2,
aided and abetted by James Fry on the art, and it brings the goods. The Necronomicon has possessed the love of Darkman’s life, Julie, and Ash has been magically summoned to battle her Deadites. Seamlessly blending to the two franchises, the two heroes first fight against one another and then team up to try and rescue the woman’s soul. Issue one was heavily focused on Darkman, but issue two shoves a bit more of the focus towards Ash, giving each character a more balanced amount of “screen time.” While not a big AOD fan, I am a huge DARKMAN fan, so this series is playing right into my soft spots, particularly the cliffhanger reveal. When you bring together two veteran talents like Stern and Busiek, you expect something really good; and fortunately, with this mini, you’re getting it.
See you all in 2007!
/Mason
I’m back to close out the year, and the big finish is actually a pretty big finish! Seven new books from the good folks at Dynamite Entertainment! But before I dive in: thanks to every single one of you that takes the time to come here and read, as well as those who make their way to the main site from here. I appreciate your time and attention, and I do my best not to waste it.
The ARMY OF DARKNESS MOVIE ADAPTATION is adapted and drawn by the great John
Bolton, straight from Sam and Ivan Raimi’s original script. This is easily the best AOD product on the market; the movie itself holds up quite well, and Bolton does an amazing job of adapting it to the page and making it flow. Plus: it’s John Bolton for fuck’s sake! He’s one of the true giants remaining in the medium, and puts the majority of his peers to shame. Ash’s journey to the past looks so pretty here that it almost puts the actual celluloid stock to shame. Film adaptations are a dying art, and few are ever any good (the Goodwin/Simonson ALIEN being the major exception), but this ranks right up there with the best ever produced.James Kuhoric writes ARMY OF DARKNESS VS. RE-ANIMATOR, with art by
Sanford Greene and Nick Bradshaw. This trade paperback collects the first four issues of the AOD ongoing series, and features the first of Ash’s crossovers with other horror franchises. Kuhoric does a decent job of bringing the two together, and the story gets off to a decent enough start, but as it moves forward, the RE-ANIMATOR elements get pushed aside for too long. There are also a couple of narrative jumps (such as Sheila’s fate being handled mostly off-screen) that don’t quite play right to the reader. My major quibble is that the EVIL DEAD films were solid “R”s, and the gore factor in the book is very high, but the language gets “bleeped”. I don’t quite understand why blood and severed heads are okay, but the word “shit” isn’t/ARMY OF DARKNESS: OLD SCHOOL is also written by Kuhoric and drawn by Kevin
Sharpe. The next three issues of the ongoing, plus the TALES OF AOD one-shot are collected here, and it is a marked step-forward over the previous book. Ash and his new comely comrade Sugar head back to the cabin where his troubles all began, and he must confront the animated body of his dead friends and girlfriend in an effort to find a way to save Sheila’s soul. By returning to the heart of the AOD saga, Kuhoric delivers a perfect gift to the fans of the character. Throughout the book you’ll find one easter egg after another designed for the serious franchise fanboy. But the book also works as a solid story for the reader who isn’t a fan of the franchise as well; what you have here is a solid “haunted house in the woods” story. The addition of Sharpe to the art chores makes a huge impact as well; his style is more realistic and adds to the horrific nature of what happens to Ash and Sugar.Top Cow Productions co-produced MONSTER WAR with
Dynamite, lending Witchblade, Darkness, Magdalena, and Lara Croft for a face-off against the classic monsters Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolfmen, and Dr. Hyde. Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegowski and drawn by Joyce Chen and Victor Ishimura, the story finds Mr. Hyde plotting to use Dracula to split the world’s population into vicious vampires who spread a disease and weak victims, and to use the Frankenstein Monster as a gate to allow ancient evil to roam the Earth. Oh, and Dracula uses the Magdalena’s virgin blood to power himself. If you couldn’t tell from all that, this is a pretty incoherent mess, and the story is very difficult to pick apart. The writers are solid veterans of the horror genre, but this is a swing and a miss for them. The artists do their best to make it work and look nice, but in the end, nothing captivates here beyond the collection of covers. AOD tie-in: from here, Dracula arrives on the final pages of issue seven and headlines the next few issues of the ongoing.
ARMY OF DARNKESS #12-13 are written by Kuhoric and
drawn by Fernando Blanco 
(with the final page of issue thirteen drawn by Sean Phillips). This two-part conclusion to the ongoing series wraps up the proceedings tightly; all the threads put into place by the Raimi films and the previous issues come together with a reasonable explanation for why Ash’s life has sucked shit at every turn. Bringing together virtually every character of importance to the AOD saga, this feels like an earned ending, not a cheap one, and it brings the goods for fans of the saga. But the real kick in the pants is that final page, where we see Ash’s arrival at his next destination: the Marvel Zombies universe. I’ve never been a huge fan of AOD, but this crossover promises to be one of the more entertaining books to hit the shelves in 2007.
Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern deliver DARKMAN VS. ARMY OF DARKNESS #2,
aided and abetted by James Fry on the art, and it brings the goods. The Necronomicon has possessed the love of Darkman’s life, Julie, and Ash has been magically summoned to battle her Deadites. Seamlessly blending to the two franchises, the two heroes first fight against one another and then team up to try and rescue the woman’s soul. Issue one was heavily focused on Darkman, but issue two shoves a bit more of the focus towards Ash, giving each character a more balanced amount of “screen time.” While not a big AOD fan, I am a huge DARKMAN fan, so this series is playing right into my soft spots, particularly the cliffhanger reveal. When you bring together two veteran talents like Stern and Busiek, you expect something really good; and fortunately, with this mini, you’re getting it.See you all in 2007!
/Mason
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
HOLIDAY BLOGGING
Welcome to the first (of what I think will be two) holiday review blog. Today’s entry covers three items from our friends at Image Comics.
OUTLAW NATION is written by Jamie Delano and drawn by Goran Sudzuka and Goran Parlov. DC/Vertigo originally published OUTLAW NATION, but after sales figures came
in for issue fifteen, it was given a death warrant and ended four issues later. This collection unites all nineteen issues under one cover, a mega-sized 450 page+ book. NATION follows the adventures of Story Johnson, a semi-immortal writer who returns from 25 years MIA in Vietnam to find his extended Johnson family in radical disarray. His father is controlling governmental agencies, his evil half-brother is a murderous freak, and he discovers that he has a son… and that son is about have to have a child of his own. Add a single mother and her mentally unstable son to the mix, and you get a sprawling Americana epic. The story is rich and complex- I really haven’t scratched the surface in explaining it- and the art, presented here in black and white, is terrific. The only place where the book suffers is in those final issues, where Delano had to artificially crank up an ending. But even then, he turns in a perfectly respectable effort. This is a keeper of a book.
Jae Lee writes and draws the collected HELSHOCK, co-published by Dynamic Forces. HELLSHOCK has been one of
those “long, lost” projects, a book that achieved high praise and acclaim, but disappeared before it was ever completed. Now, Lee has put together his final chapter (and more) and brought the series together under one cover. The story concerns a young psychiatric intern named Christina who finds her own sense of reality and appropriateness eroding as she gets deeply involved with her patients. Unquestionably, the strength of the series was Lee’s beautiful artwork, and what makes this paperback even more interesting is that you can watch it develop over time. By the time you get to the now completed final chapter and see what he can do now… all you can do is say “Wow.” The series’ fatal flaw was that the story itself was never all that compelling, and Christina doesn’t garner much of your sympathy as a reader. The collected edition goes a bit further in highlighting the storytelling deficiencies, but the art makes the book more than worth buying.
ELEPHANTMEN #5 is written by Richard Starkings and drawn by Moritat. One of the problems with the earlier issues of this series was the anthological format; the
creative team was delivering two stories that were generally unrelated and doing nothing but marking time in this world. But with issue five, the book takes a sharp turn into telling a larger, longer story, and the results make for a distinctly better comic. By returning to a couple of plot points introduced in the zero issue, we start to see the tapestry of a genuine plan behind Starkings’ stories, and it gives you a lot more confidence that ELEPHANTMEN isn’t existing solely as an artistic exercise. Of course, if it did, this would still be a fairly successful comic; Moritat keeps improving with each issue he turns out. But in the end, it’s better to produce something interesting and readable, and this could turn out to be something special in the long run.
/Mason
Welcome to the first (of what I think will be two) holiday review blog. Today’s entry covers three items from our friends at Image Comics.
OUTLAW NATION is written by Jamie Delano and drawn by Goran Sudzuka and Goran Parlov. DC/Vertigo originally published OUTLAW NATION, but after sales figures came
in for issue fifteen, it was given a death warrant and ended four issues later. This collection unites all nineteen issues under one cover, a mega-sized 450 page+ book. NATION follows the adventures of Story Johnson, a semi-immortal writer who returns from 25 years MIA in Vietnam to find his extended Johnson family in radical disarray. His father is controlling governmental agencies, his evil half-brother is a murderous freak, and he discovers that he has a son… and that son is about have to have a child of his own. Add a single mother and her mentally unstable son to the mix, and you get a sprawling Americana epic. The story is rich and complex- I really haven’t scratched the surface in explaining it- and the art, presented here in black and white, is terrific. The only place where the book suffers is in those final issues, where Delano had to artificially crank up an ending. But even then, he turns in a perfectly respectable effort. This is a keeper of a book.Jae Lee writes and draws the collected HELSHOCK, co-published by Dynamic Forces. HELLSHOCK has been one of
those “long, lost” projects, a book that achieved high praise and acclaim, but disappeared before it was ever completed. Now, Lee has put together his final chapter (and more) and brought the series together under one cover. The story concerns a young psychiatric intern named Christina who finds her own sense of reality and appropriateness eroding as she gets deeply involved with her patients. Unquestionably, the strength of the series was Lee’s beautiful artwork, and what makes this paperback even more interesting is that you can watch it develop over time. By the time you get to the now completed final chapter and see what he can do now… all you can do is say “Wow.” The series’ fatal flaw was that the story itself was never all that compelling, and Christina doesn’t garner much of your sympathy as a reader. The collected edition goes a bit further in highlighting the storytelling deficiencies, but the art makes the book more than worth buying.ELEPHANTMEN #5 is written by Richard Starkings and drawn by Moritat. One of the problems with the earlier issues of this series was the anthological format; the
creative team was delivering two stories that were generally unrelated and doing nothing but marking time in this world. But with issue five, the book takes a sharp turn into telling a larger, longer story, and the results make for a distinctly better comic. By returning to a couple of plot points introduced in the zero issue, we start to see the tapestry of a genuine plan behind Starkings’ stories, and it gives you a lot more confidence that ELEPHANTMEN isn’t existing solely as an artistic exercise. Of course, if it did, this would still be a fairly successful comic; Moritat keeps improving with each issue he turns out. But in the end, it’s better to produce something interesting and readable, and this could turn out to be something special in the long run./Mason
Friday, December 22, 2006
Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday- severe net problems are limiting my access. But there was an update: the wonderful GEORGE PEREZ: STORYTELLER, an artistic biography of the living legend.
Today: the final main site update of 2006, as the Waiting Room will be on holiday hiatus. But today's update is a huge one: 10 ESSENTIAL BOOKS FOR 2006! Not your traditional top ten list by any means.
Go see what the fuss is all about.
And check back here through next week as I may just sneak in a few extra reviews just for the fun of it, and they'll appear only right here!
/Mason
Today: the final main site update of 2006, as the Waiting Room will be on holiday hiatus. But today's update is a huge one: 10 ESSENTIAL BOOKS FOR 2006! Not your traditional top ten list by any means.
Go see what the fuss is all about.
And check back here through next week as I may just sneak in a few extra reviews just for the fun of it, and they'll appear only right here!
/Mason
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
One of my all-time favorite mangas draws to a close this week. REMOTE takes its final bow, today over at the main site.
A moment of silence, por favor.
/Mason
A moment of silence, por favor.
/Mason
Monday, December 18, 2006
Since we'll be taking a holiday break at the Main Site after this Friday, this marks the final week of new reviews for 2006. Getting us started: SCARLETT DECLASSIFIED, which might just be the best G.I.JOE book ever produced.
Love the redheads.
/Mason
Love the redheads.
/Mason
Sunday, December 17, 2006
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
Welcome to the latest edition of the Blog Extra. Today, we have two self-published indy books on tap for your enjoyment.
ACTION FIGURE #1 is written and drawn by Richard Marcej. Marcej was an artist and designer for both Hasbro and Hallmark early in his career, and this series was
set to be a semi-autobiographical take on his experiences working for those companies and what came afterwards. Unfortunately, ACTION FIGURE didn’t make the Diamond minimum for orders, so the author is now selling the book direct through his Baboon Books website. It’s sort of a shame that the book didn’t get wide distribution; this opening tale of his stand-in “Richard Marzelak” is an accomplished piece of work, even with its flaws. Marcej certainly has plenty of artistic talent, and he shows a decent grasp of layout for someone putting together his first comic. The story of an everyman trying to figure out his dreams and escaping a soul-sucking job rings true as well. The one place where he does go off the rails a bit is in his depiction of Marzelak’s character. He comes across as very whiny more than once, making it a bit difficult to sympathize with him. Still, this is a book with real merit, and worth your attention.
GHOST ASSASSIN: PRELUDE is written by Adam Watson and drawn by Charles Carvalho, and is available via Darkslinger Comics. An assassin named David has a more unusual life that you might imagine;
along with his lack of remorse about killing people for a living, he can also see ghosts. And as an added bonus, the ghosts of some he has killed are bonded to him, giving him the ability to have a running dialogue with someone who doesn’t exist… and little-to-no private time. It makes you wonder when he feels comfortable to take a dookie or rub one out. But I digress. The Prelude issue introduces David, sets up his latest murder-for-hire, and brings two ghosts into the picture who play a pivotal role, including one who was his friend and that now watches his back. The story is pretty solidly executed, showing us that David has his own twisted sense of honor, even when he knows that his life is immoral, but the art has a few letdowns that put a drag on the story; some pages are inked too heavy to work well with the colors and the book looks murky because of it.
That’s all for this week. Pop in for site updates throughout the week, and be back here next weekend for the final Blog Extra of 2006!
/Mason
Welcome to the latest edition of the Blog Extra. Today, we have two self-published indy books on tap for your enjoyment.
ACTION FIGURE #1 is written and drawn by Richard Marcej. Marcej was an artist and designer for both Hasbro and Hallmark early in his career, and this series was
set to be a semi-autobiographical take on his experiences working for those companies and what came afterwards. Unfortunately, ACTION FIGURE didn’t make the Diamond minimum for orders, so the author is now selling the book direct through his Baboon Books website. It’s sort of a shame that the book didn’t get wide distribution; this opening tale of his stand-in “Richard Marzelak” is an accomplished piece of work, even with its flaws. Marcej certainly has plenty of artistic talent, and he shows a decent grasp of layout for someone putting together his first comic. The story of an everyman trying to figure out his dreams and escaping a soul-sucking job rings true as well. The one place where he does go off the rails a bit is in his depiction of Marzelak’s character. He comes across as very whiny more than once, making it a bit difficult to sympathize with him. Still, this is a book with real merit, and worth your attention.GHOST ASSASSIN: PRELUDE is written by Adam Watson and drawn by Charles Carvalho, and is available via Darkslinger Comics. An assassin named David has a more unusual life that you might imagine;
along with his lack of remorse about killing people for a living, he can also see ghosts. And as an added bonus, the ghosts of some he has killed are bonded to him, giving him the ability to have a running dialogue with someone who doesn’t exist… and little-to-no private time. It makes you wonder when he feels comfortable to take a dookie or rub one out. But I digress. The Prelude issue introduces David, sets up his latest murder-for-hire, and brings two ghosts into the picture who play a pivotal role, including one who was his friend and that now watches his back. The story is pretty solidly executed, showing us that David has his own twisted sense of honor, even when he knows that his life is immoral, but the art has a few letdowns that put a drag on the story; some pages are inked too heavy to work well with the colors and the book looks murky because of it.That’s all for this week. Pop in for site updates throughout the week, and be back here next weekend for the final Blog Extra of 2006!
/Mason
Friday, December 15, 2006
You think your job sucks? Try working as a janitor at a think-tank for evil scientists. MAINTENANCE, from Oni, reviewed today...
Personally, I'm about to go on vacation from my job.
/Mason
Personally, I'm about to go on vacation from my job.
/Mason
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Heading into the homestretch... Frank Beddor's THE LOOKING GLASS WARS gets an accompanying soundtrack... and the Waiting Room has it.
Listen and learn.
/Mason
Listen and learn.
/Mason
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Reaching mid-week... TALENT brings its tale of conspiracy and survival to a close, while ENIGMA CIPHER gets its own underway...
Take a gander.
/Mason
Take a gander.
/Mason
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Every year around this time, I try to spotlight a truly great piece of graphic literature, one that would make a suitable gift for a traditional or non-traditional comics reader alike. This year, that book is David B.'s EPILEPTIC, a modern classic in its own right. This summer, it finally moved from hardcover to trade, and I have all the details right here.
/Mason
/Mason
Monday, December 11, 2006
Monday... a young superhero's powers begin killing him from within in MELTDOWN, and Robert Kirkman's heavily populated INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE gets a HANDBOOK...
Two Image reviews, submitted for your approval.
/Mason
Two Image reviews, submitted for your approval.
/Mason
Sunday, December 10, 2006
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
Welcome to the latest edition of the BLOG EXTRA. This week, two from our friends at Viper Comics, keeping it real down in Texas.
DEAD @ 17 #2 is written and drawn by Josh Howard, of course, and it kicks the plot into high gear. Against what I thought might happen, indeed young Asia does meet her maker after last issue’s car crash, and than makes her return as a cute, undead ass-kicker. Her first act: to make the man who caused the crash pay, for both her death and for beating up her mother. But bigger things are at work in the DEAD world, as a new series of demons is heading to Earth in the form of a meteor shower, and two sets of bad guys begin facing off for their respective masters. This incarnation of Howard’s universe feels a bit more wide-open, character-wise, and there’s a grander ambition to the story he seems to be telling. My one qualm with the book is that there are only eighteen story pages, the rest of the book filled with a page of letters, a page of picture of girls dressed as Asia and people with DEAD tattoos, and a lengthy preview of Howard’s other Viper series, THE BOOKS OF EVE. A bit more story content would go a long way towards enhancing your purchased value.
Jason Burns writes, and Ron Chan draws, A DUMMY’S GUIDE TO DANGER #3, the penultimate issue of the series. When last we left Alan and his dummy, Mr. Bloomberg, they were being arrested by LAPD for the serial murders taking place around the city. Now, their nemesis, Detective Boyd, has them right where he wants them: at his mercy. From beatings from one of the dead girl’s bodyguards to leaving the pair in the desert to die, it only gets worse for Sirois. But things really kick into gear when the killer invades their home and takes a horrific souvenir, leaving behind evidence that someone Alan cares for might just be involved in the crimes. Burns really ratchets up the pace and intensity here, bringing all his story elements together and putting the pieces in place for what promises to be a rousing conclusion. This has been a terrific series from page one, and might just be the best book Viper has produced in 2006. Definitely worth your time to seek out.
That’s it for this week. See you through the week for site updates, and back here next weekend for another edition of the BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
Welcome to the latest edition of the BLOG EXTRA. This week, two from our friends at Viper Comics, keeping it real down in Texas.
DEAD @ 17 #2 is written and drawn by Josh Howard, of course, and it kicks the plot into high gear. Against what I thought might happen, indeed young Asia does meet her maker after last issue’s car crash, and than makes her return as a cute, undead ass-kicker. Her first act: to make the man who caused the crash pay, for both her death and for beating up her mother. But bigger things are at work in the DEAD world, as a new series of demons is heading to Earth in the form of a meteor shower, and two sets of bad guys begin facing off for their respective masters. This incarnation of Howard’s universe feels a bit more wide-open, character-wise, and there’s a grander ambition to the story he seems to be telling. My one qualm with the book is that there are only eighteen story pages, the rest of the book filled with a page of letters, a page of picture of girls dressed as Asia and people with DEAD tattoos, and a lengthy preview of Howard’s other Viper series, THE BOOKS OF EVE. A bit more story content would go a long way towards enhancing your purchased value.
Jason Burns writes, and Ron Chan draws, A DUMMY’S GUIDE TO DANGER #3, the penultimate issue of the series. When last we left Alan and his dummy, Mr. Bloomberg, they were being arrested by LAPD for the serial murders taking place around the city. Now, their nemesis, Detective Boyd, has them right where he wants them: at his mercy. From beatings from one of the dead girl’s bodyguards to leaving the pair in the desert to die, it only gets worse for Sirois. But things really kick into gear when the killer invades their home and takes a horrific souvenir, leaving behind evidence that someone Alan cares for might just be involved in the crimes. Burns really ratchets up the pace and intensity here, bringing all his story elements together and putting the pieces in place for what promises to be a rousing conclusion. This has been a terrific series from page one, and might just be the best book Viper has produced in 2006. Definitely worth your time to seek out.
That’s it for this week. See you through the week for site updates, and back here next weekend for another edition of the BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
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