comics

here's some stuff i read recently

Kickass#1 by Mark Millar & John Romita jr. this is about a kid in a real world setting who just decides to get a costume and become a superhero. great end to a first issue. this is gonna be another wicked ass Millar story. art by JRjr was (and always is) incredible. if you liked Wanted then you'll like this. BRILLIANT

Omega the Unknown #6 - this story is wacky and wonderful. there is nothing else like it. i cannot wait to see where all this is goin. Farel Darymples art blows me away.
BRILLIANT

DC Special: Raven #1 by Marv Wolfman & Damion Scott. this story was not particularly original or interesting. I'm not a fan of Raven's, the Titan's, or DC's Crisis continuity and you'd have to be to like this story. the story here is just another example of why i don't currently buy DC books that aren't All-Star Superman. every time i try a DC book these days i find that they are not 'New Reader Friendly' and i quickly get lost and lose interest. you may be asking, 'Shane, why did you buy this book then?' and the answer is Damion Scott. Scott is one of my all-time favorite artists. his 40 issue run on Batgirl is some of my favorite comics ever. a lot of those were action packed, little dialogue but great story, quick read comics. my own book 'the Almighty' is very influenced by Scott's Batgirl. Damion Scott draws in a very great urban, hip hop, graffiti-ish style. His chicks are cute, his villains are mean, his layouts,expressions, and storytelling are incredible. one thing that always stood out to me about Damion's art was the way he always incorporated people of all ethnicity's. not only does he make his characters and background characters multicultural, he makes them actually look, unmistakably, like the ethnicity the character is suppose to be, not just a white guy colored with brown skin.

did i like this book? YES. did i read all the dialogue? no. i skipped most of it, especially towards the end. Will i keep buying as long as Damion Scott is on art chores? damn right.

this book: PRETTYGOOD

Ultimates 3 #3 by Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. goddammit, i had such high hopes for this book. the artwork by Joe Mad is out-of-this-world, but is it too much to ask for a half decent story to go along with it? hey Jeph Loeb, have you ever heard of the words 'imply' or 'subtle'? we get it, Hawkeye has a death wish now that his family is dead, he doesn't have to say shitty lines like, "I'm better off dead anyway." am i gonna keep buying this book? (sigh) yes, but i think i might start whiting out all the word balloons first. separate ratings for this, art: BRILLIANT, story: LAME.

Comics Now! #1. this book was put together by some of the Comic Geek Speak Podcast guys, and a bunch of their friends. this is a new comics magazine along the same lines as Wizard, but not a corporate machine. the truth is, Wizard use to be my favorite magazine. in the late 90's and early 2000's i looked forward to Wizard's monthly news as much as i did my comic books. now though, i can't read Wizard. it has become a comic book movie magazine. i love comics but i don't love comic book movies, and when i read a comic book magazine i want to read about comics. why doesn't Wizard make a separate magazine strictly for comic book movies and focus on comics in the original mag? i wanna read about indie stuff i've never heard of as well as the mainstream stuff. what little comic book articles that are in Wizard are basically rotating from DC to Marvel content, with no journalistic integrity any more. now that i've ranted about Wizard i can say that Comics Now! is a good alternative. it actually reminds me of early Wizard magazines from the 90's, that focused on up-and-comers and indie books as much as DC & Marvel books. this first issue is a little light on the content but is a very well put together, professional magazine. i am glad to support Comics Now! because we have been long overdue for a quality comic book magazine.

it's funny, i was listening to the latest episode of Comic Geek Speak and they were talking about how they have been doing the show for 3 years now and one of the interviews that put them on the map was with Gareb Shamus (owner of Wizard). i bet when they did that interview none of the Geeks thought that 3 years later they'd be in direct competition with Shamus.

this mag: GREAT

Thor #6. i am so pleased with this book. buy it, you won't be disappointed. story is GREAT, art is GREAT.

i picked up the variant edition with an Art Adams cover.
i wanna mention that everything i see Art Adams doing these days is incredible. his covers on Incredible Hercules and Avengers Classic are so amazing. i don't want to buy either of these titles but i just might for the covers alone. Art actually makes Hercules look cool and mean. Art Adams only gets better with age. i will probably be picking up Avengers Classic #12. it reprints an old Avengers story by Lee & Kirby with a new one by new creators. not only does this book have an amazing Art Adams Mole Man / Giant Man cover, it also has a new story by Bob Burden (Flaming Carrot). sold!

2 other books that have caught my attention are


Marvel Comics Presents #9. this book has an awesome Steve McNiven cover, plus interiors by Niko Henrichon and Ed McGuiness. sold!

1985. a comic by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards. i don't know what this is about and i don't care. i've been waiting for an excuse to pick up a book by Tommy Lee Edwards for a while. add Millars name to it, sold! i'm gonna buy this and try to ignore any info on what it's about. just pick it up and probably love it. i didn't read this article but if you wanna know more you can read about it here.