What Looks Good?

Well, there was nothing posted on Monday about What I Read This Week because I didn't read anything new this week!  I decided to pass on the shop last week as part of trying to get everything done as my wife and I's first child takes his sweet time on being born.  Still, I should be able to swing by the shop today and get the new books for this week and last, which hopefully will spur him into deciding to come out and meet everyone.

Guardians of the Galaxy #14 -- Been really digging this title and the connections to War of Kings.

Marvel Apes: Grunt Line -- I really think I am the only guy who likes Marvel Apes.

Nova #25 -- See what I said for Guardians.

War Machine #6 -- The antidote to the the mostly boring Invincible Iron Man.

Futurama Comics #43 -- Great fun every other month.

glamourpuss #7 -- Oggle the pretty girls, laugh at the insane satire, and maybe learn something to boot!

So, what looks good to you?

What Looks Good This Week?

Memorial Day is coming up, which means a long weekend for most of us in the USA -- so go on and buy something to keep you occupied why don't you?

Outsiders #18 -- The mystery of the Insiders deepens!

Tiny Titans #16 -- The intensity of the cuteness expands!

Light week... I am thinking about passing until next week, but who am I kidding?

So what looks good to YOU?

What I Read This Week

House of Mystery #13 -- A lucky #13 for this series, which takes a break from the main storyline of "The Space Between" to present a special one-off old school anthology, where every page is numbered "13."  All three stories are are handled by different creative teams, and run the gauntlet from monsters on the loose to eternal love to ironic fates, all with some clever twists along the way.  Bonus points for Sergio Aragones' hilarious "Activity Page" in the back.  I'll be glad to read the next part of the main story, but this would make a great format for breaks between bigger arcs.

Storming Paradise #5 -- The seige of Japan is slow going for the Allies, but things are about to take a turn for the decidedly worst as a German superweapon is nearing deployment.  I have liked this series from the very concept, and it is still a good read, but the big delay between this issue and the last made me lose momentum.  Luckily, things pick right back up here as we move into the conclusion.  There's also a preview of the upcoming Starcraft series which I cannot make heads or tails of, but looks pretty at least.

Invincible Iron Man #13 -- "Worlds Most Wanted" continues with no end in sight.  This storyline, now in it's sixth issue, drags on and on here, as we get more pat resolutions to subplots, more "Dark Reign" silliness, and more basic information botched by Fraction (FYI: Madame Masque's name is Whitney Frost).  But hey, Shockwave shows up.  This is seriously trying my patience.

War of Kings: Ascension #2  -- The Secret Origin Of Darkhawk!  Or, Everything You Think You Know About Darkhawk Is WRONG!  Just where DnA are going with this is anyone's guess, although the developments with Talon and Razor in this issue -- and what that means for War Of Kings proper -- is intriguing.  The only thing I didn't like was the $3.99 pricetag -- cmon Marvel, DC is at least giving us extra pages for the extra buck!  

The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks #2 -- Te terror attacks continue as Kazi's jihad moves into it's next phase.  Too bad for him that The Phantom is not so easy defeated.  Moonstone's relaunch of the Phantom is shaping up to be every bit as good as their previous series, and actually ties back to that series as HIM is name-checked here.  Definitely the cure for the common Superhero comic book.

The Pick Of The Pile is House of Mystery, although it was a close call again this week, with a lot of enjoyment spread across the board.

So, what did YOU read last week?

What Looks Good?

The days are busy, and they only promise to get busier, but that doesn't stop the slow forward march of new reading funstuffs every week...

House of Mystery #13 -- The spooky series gets a spooky special issue to celebrate it's spooktacular first year of spookiness.

Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter v.2 -- This one is going on the Wishlist -- all those crazy stories Frank blogged about, all in one place! Hot damn!

Storming Paradise #5 -- Finally!  I have really been missing this series, so I am glad to see it finally getting back on track.

War of Kings: Ascension #2 -- I'm not sure what is going on with Darkhawk right now, but man, I really want to find out.

The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks #2 -- Old Jungle Saying: You do not mess with the Phantom if you want your jaw to continue functioning.

So, what looks good to YOU?

What I Read This Week

Kull #6 -- The Great Serpent has it's eyes on Ka-nu for stealing their gem, but King Kull and Brule the Spear-slayer have other plans in mind.  It's a bloody battle to free Ka-nu and show the Serpent Men that Kull will not cower before their sorcerous might!  The first Kull mini from Dakr Horse bows in tremendous fashion, putting the cap on what has been a tremendously enjoyable adaption (and expansion) of "The Shadow Kingdom."  Very much hoping that DH gets Nelson and Conrad back together for more adventures with Kull.

Flash Rebirth #2 -- Following the death of Savitar, Barry Allen investigates further into what caused the speedster's demise, and reminisces about simpler times.  But it seems that the universe is not content on looking backward, but only forward!  Johns clearly has a grand story he wants to tell in this series, and I for one am on board.  Not sure where the online hate comes from, but that seems to be a recurring theme for me over the last several years.  Van Sciver handling the Flash characters is a real treat as well.

Strange Adventures #3 -- Adam Strange continues to try to get the bottom of the mystery of the disappearing stars, while Comet and Eye deal with the now-Weirded Synnar!  But if Synnar is in the body of the Weird, what happened to Synnar's body?  And what will happen when Bizarro faces off with the mighty monster-battling Megalodon?  I know a lot of folks don't care for Starlin's later output, but this stuff if fun in a throwback sort of way: it's enjoyable space opera without having to worry about the ins and outs of whatever is going on in the bigger DCU at the moment, just fun for it's own sake.  And really, that's right up my alley.  

Warlord #2 -- Apparently shorted at my shop.  I will pick it up this week.

Invincible Iron Man #13 -- Marvel is cutting corners on their mail order subscriptions, and it is really getting annoying.  Obviously has not shown up yet.

War Of Kings #3 -- The War rages on, as the Kree-allied Guardians Of The Galaxy attempt to rescue Lilandra from Emperor Vulcan's flagship -- only they have to face the might of Gladiator and the Imperial Guard!  This series has done a good job of showing the breadth and width of the conflict, while still pesenting a different tone than the two Annihilation events which proceeded it.  Very nice.

The Pick of The Pile is Flash: Rebirth, although I really enjoyed all four of the new comics I got this week.  Very strong from start to finish.

So, what did YOU read this week?

What I Read This Week

Yeah, these are a little late, but I was behind on reading them so that's alright!

Nova #24 -- Meet Richard Rider, AKA: Quasar?!  Using the Quantum Bands, Richard pays a visit to Ego, The Living Planet with his spectral advisor Wendell Vaughn in tow.  Meanwhile, on a Kree outworld, the new Nova Corps is introduced to the awesome power of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard!  The tie-in to War Of Kings begins in earnest here, but DnA aren't letting that stop them from telling the story of Richard Rider, which I really liked.  Too often an event simply stops the tie-ins in their tracks.  I suppose, though, that if you are writing the event and the tie-in, that can be avoided.  Good clean cosmic fun.

War Machine #5 -- What do you do when the god of war is possessed by a technological virus, leading a mass of murdering lunatics into a population zone with nothing but destruction and decapitation on his mind?  Improvise!  Rhodey is going to enter total organ failure in less than 10 minutes, but that isn't stopping him from throwing everything he has at Ares and his band of lunatics!  Slam-bang from the get go, with a cliffhanger which promises more of the same.  This title may not get the same attention as Invincible Iron Man, but it is much more entertaining across the board.

Justice Society of America #26 -- It's time for a quiet story, as Stargirl gets the surprise of her lifetime when the entire Justice Society throws her a birthday party.  This issue serves mostly as a coda to Geoff Johns run on this title essentially going back to when it launched, and it serves its purpose very, very well.  It's chock-full of little character moments which Johns excels at, and Dale Eaglesham does such a good job of rendering them that you wish he was staying on board.  

The Pick Of The Pile is a close one, but I have to give the nod to Justice Society.  I like these small character stories, and as a send-off to the creative team I thought it was handled very nicely.

So what did YOU read this week?

What Looks Good?

Remember folks: Free Comic Book Day was Saturday.  Today you have to pay for your comics!

Flash Rebirth #2 -- Barry Allen is back, so all of the other speedsters apparently had better watch out!

Strange Adventures #3 -- Weird action with the Weird!  And perhaps the return of SYNNAR THE DEMIURGE?!

Warlord #2 -- Some new visitors have stumbled into the Lost World of Rex Morgan... hope they survive that experience!

Essential Spider-Man v.9 -- Okay, I am not buying this, but I wanted to say, holy crap!  Volume 9?!  

Invincible Iron Man #13 -- Tony's in trouble, Pepper's in trouble, Maria's in trouble... I sense a pattern.

War Of Kings #3 -- How will the war escalate next, and what of those unfortunate pawns in the middle?

So, what looks good to YOU?

Free Comic Book Day 2009 Freebies!

Did everybody do their civic duty and head to their local comic book shop on Saturday for Free Comic Book Day 2009?  I know I did, I have the freebies to prove it!

The Mighty Archie Art Players (Archie) -- I liked this one.  The Archie books are always a lot of corny fun, but this one, with four shorts all involving the gang in a historical setting of some kind, made me laugh (especially a joke involving a Roman Archie's reaction to seeing an Egyptian slave Betty).

Bongo Comics 2009 Free For All (Bongo) -- Hilarious stuff -- the long series of jokes about "free" comics were great, and the "team-up" of sorts with Leela and Amy was a lot of fun.

Disney/Pixar's Cars (BOOM!) -- I liked Cars, so I am probably pretty prone to liking this origin story of sorts for Lightning McQueen.  Plus Darrell Cartrip!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Dark Horse) -- The Star Wars side of this was pretty sweet, but the flipside sampler of DH stuff was a mixed bag.  I liked the Usagi Yojimbo short, but the rest, meh.

Blackest Night #0 (DC) -- As a set-up for the big event this summer, this special definitely did it's job and did it very well.  I wonder if this will be collected with the rest of the series?

Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe (IDW) -- The Transformers side was much better than the last one, being more than just screencaps of the toon.  The GI Joe story was pretty cool, although the Origins one I had seen before.

The Avengers (Marvel) -- Not bad as a New Avengers/Dark Avengers team-up, but nothing to convince me that I still don't like Bendis' take on the Avengers side of the MU.  The smaller size didn't bother met at all, by the way.

Ape Cartoonapalooza #2 (Ape Entertainment) -- Fun, like last year's book.  RPM is sort of like Transformers meets MASK, isn't it?  Also intrigued by their online stuff at www.apecmx.com.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Evolution of a Hero (Archie) -- I got bored with this recap of the 200+ issues of the Sonic Universe, as I was expecting an actual comic and not a text piece.

William Shatner Presents #1 (Bluewater Productions) -- Tek War stunk back in the day, and it still stinks.

Warhammer Fantasy (BOOM!) -- Cool fantasy stuff, although focusing on Chaos for a freebie is a little strange.  I wonder how much of this will go over non-Warhammer players' heads though.

Aliens/Predator (Dark Horse)-- Double winner here, with both sides being strong previews of the upcoming titles.

DC Kids Mega Sampler (DC) -- Reprints, but of the good kind, with Tiny Titans and Batman: The Brave And The Bold leading the way.

Nancy & Melvin Monster (Drawn & Quarterly) -- I really enjoyed the Melvin Monster side, enough to consider getting the collection this is a sample from.  Nancy... well, maybe I am just not getting it, because this was just weird.  And yeah, I know that's kinda the point, but still...

Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man (Marvel) -- AKA Marvel Adventures: Wolverine.  I really liked this All-Ages appropriate comic, even though Wolverine is not a reall AA character.  The Alpha Flight in-jokes were great.

TMNT #1 25th Anniversary Reprint (Mirage) -- I had read this before, but it still rocks even after a quarter of a century (!!!).

Owly and Friends (Top Shelf) -- Owly and Johnny Boo are always sure things, but the Corgi story in here is just plain bizarre.

Comics Festival! 2009 Volume 3 -- Haven't read this one yet.  Flipping through it, I didn't have much of a desire to do so.

Gone Missin':  The following titles were nowhere to be found!  Did anyone out there pick these up?  And if so, what did you think of them?  (Personally, I am most bummed about the two Gemstone ones; I mean, EC Comics AND Uncle Scrooge?  Who wouldn't be disappointed?)

Gumby Two-In-One (Wildcard Ink)
Arcana Studio Presents
EC Comics Sampler (Gemstone Publishing)
The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck/Mickey & The Gang (Gemstone Publishing)

I think it was a mixed bag this year, but some good stuff definitely shone through.  What did YOU think about FCBD 2009?