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
Friday, April 20, 2007
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
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