Aaron and Ahmed

Written by Jay Cantor
Art by James Romberger

I was really excited to read Aaron and Ahmed. Here's the pitch: A U.S. Army interrogator at Guantanamo Bay, sickened by the methods used by his cohorts, attempts to suss information out of a high level prisoner (Ahmed) by feeding him estrogen and allowing him various comforts and privileges. The idea is that the combination will cause Ahmed to fall in love with his therapist/interrogator and reveal information he wouldn't otherwise. Pretty crazy, no? Intriguing, yes?

Unfortunately, the bulk of the book didn't live up to its premise. While I really enjoyed some of the high-minded analysis about the motives behind Islamic extremism and the War on Terror in comic-book form, it ended up dragging the plot down.

Things take a turn for the crazy/implausible about mid-way through the book and I don't think that the story ever really recovers. But none of this is to say that Aaron and Ahmed isn't worth checking out: the dialogue is smart, the art is unique and effective, and the treatment of HIGHLY controversial subjects is handled tastefully (I think).

Ultimately, I think Aaron and Ahmed just needed a little more room to breathe: stretch this story out over two or three volumes and the massive amount of happenings, twists, and weirdness might not seem so forced. I dunno. Maybe I was just really pulling for those crazy kids to make it...


2 and 1/2 out of 5 Enhanced Blogging Techniques

Nonplayer #1

w/a by Nate Simpson

The cover to Nonplayer has been catching my eye in Diamond's Previews magazine for months now. Look at that dinosaur-thing. All wrinkly and what not. All harnessed up and shit. What is that about, I wondered? But the description didn't do anything for me; something about video games, angsty chick, blah blah whatever. I consciously allowed the book to flush out of my awareness. "Be Gone!" I said, and forgot about it and probably ambled toward my next food.

And then there it was, today, new comic book day, sitting on the olde New Release Wall. And man, what a great fucking read it was.

Image is on a tear! So many good books! Bad Dog! Morning Glories! Chew! Undying Love! Who IS this publisher? And now, with Nonplayer, the hot-streak continues.

Nonplayer IS about an angsty girl and video games, but in a really good way. It's also about the future, maybe a little video game culture, escapism, violence, dinosaurs(?), violence, and, I think, artificial intelligence. Anyone who reads comics or watches movies knows the danger of written video-game-speak--this kind of dialogue almost always comes off as forced or nonsensical, filled with real and made up jargon to compensate for writers having no idea what they are talking about.

Nonplayer does not suffer from this problem. The book is one of the few titles that references technology (games, in this case) in such a way that it isn't cloying or silly. I am genuinely curious about the world that's being fleshed out here and I genuinely want to play the sweet-ass game these characters are obsessed with.

And the Frank Quitely impersonation that Nate Simpson is pulling off here? Very nice.


8 out of 10 Non-Playable Characters (or are they...?)

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1

Written by Eric Powell & Tracy Marsh
Art by Phil Hester

Godzilla is back!  Just the way you love him!  This shit rules.  Feast your eyes on that tri-fold cover, DUDE!! My only gripe is that it seems like there's a lot more comic than there is.  It has super spaced out paneling and a bunch of non-comic pages at the end.  Bring it on, gimme more! 

4 smashed buildings out of 5 Japanese cities.

Pale Horse

written by - Michael Alan Nelson
pictures by - Christian Dibari (cool first name!)

Cole is a man who has always attempted to do right but has always been wronged.When his wife is murdered Cole is not having it any more.With years of experience as the most shit pants inducing bounty hunter in the south and young son in the saddle with him,Cole blasts a hole through the South and is not taking anyone alive.
This was an awesome straight ahead western.Cole is an ex-slave and former Union soldier who throws around money and bullets like a bachelor at a strip club in his possessed bid for revenge.And he doesn't take quietly to racial epithets! Some loudmouth wants to insult his recently deceased Sioux wife? Cole shoots his teeth out!In the badassery tradition of "Unforgiven" and "Lone wolf and Cub", Cole is unrelenting walking death.....with a secret past!
The dialouge here is very terse and bubbling with tension....Cole is dynamite waiting to get lit.
The art has a roughness to it that enhances the gritty realism of the book,and the color is great.The backgrounds are done with this cool dirty water color wash,so they look very vibrant without being distracting.
If you like your westerns in the style of......well if you like westerns at all give this a look.If you dig westerns like Unforgiven,Open Range,and the Searchers;then prepared to be surprised,entertained,and thrilled.and you can it read it outside and not be inside watching a western on the television!

4 out of 4 extremities removed with a high caliber revolver

Bad Dog #4

Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Diego Greco

Joe Kelly is in my top three favorite writers of fuckwords. Serious: this guy can swear and make characters swear like nobody's business. There are other cool things happening (werewolf, vampires, milk cartons), I guess, so read this now.

This issue also marks the beginning of a new story arc, so it's a great jumping on point for new readers. And the first issues are probably available at a comic store near you...

4 out of 5 Talking Severed Heads

Let Me In - Crossroads

W - Marc Andreyko
A - Patric Reynolds

It won't matter if you've seen the movie or not.  But if you do, see the original and just 'deal' with the subtitles.  This is all I have to say about the pros/cons of original vs remake.  That argument never needs to be had again.  Even as a prequel (nevermind that the movie came out months ago and we're still waiting on the last issue of the comic), it's a gritty read that's fuzzy on the details of what you're jumping into.  The art does the writing great justice with it's rough style and muted colors.  It sets the mood.  The storytelling is calm and non-suspenseful.  There's plenty of murder going on, but somehow it doesn't have me on edge.  It's like getting a glimpse of their every day life, and when done all the time even the most horrible of things seems normal.  I'm pretty indecisive on this one.  With one more issue to go, I'm hesitant to bring the hammer down with a final rating.  What if some crazy ass shit happens in the last issue that totally blows my mind banana?!

For now, I impart 2.5 out of 5 unlucky hitchhikers

If anything changes with the final issue, I will certainly let you know.   

Yo Gabba Gabba! Comic Book Time!

Written and illustrated by so many cool emeffers it's unbelievable!






















If you don't love Yo Gabba Gabba, it's definitely you and not them. This is a collection of 24 different strips by a gaggle of awesome comic people like Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Mike Allred, J. Torres and Kali Fontecchio. The list goes on and on. This book is an all ages funfest! They're goofy! They're silly! They learn things all the time! It has awesome lessons on manners and reminders of things like sharing and brushing your teeth! What's not to love?!

I'll leave you with this little ditty and a rating of 5 out of 5 boomboxes.

The New York Five #1

W - Brian Wood
A - Ryan Kelly

I enjoy Brian Wood's slice-of-hip/young-life writing style as much as the next guy. It's easy to digest and it's fun to live vicariously through the panels of each tale. I did not read the New York Four (which was released in one volume under the short lived Minx imprint), but they summarize it for you at the beginning of issue 1, to get you up to speed. Cheers to that! You get an introduction to each character with brief background detail, profile style with likes, dislikes, mood at the time, and where they might have procured that awesome pair of boots they have on. They're a diverse group of gals that live in New York and attend NYU, while sharing an eensy, weensy apartment. Like the layers of an onion (holy cliche, Liz), you peel back their stories with each turn of the page. It's presented in a way that by the end of the series all the segments that you've seen will tie together into the grand narrative.

4 out of 5 hipster jokes

Deadpool Max Must-Have

Writer - David Lapham
Artist - Kyle Baker

This is a collected edition of issues #1-3.

Alright.  I can admit that I have a soft spot for Deadpool.  He's just so dumb, and driven by primal instincts for stuff like boobs and crumpets.  I'm not well versed in the Deadpool universe, but if I'm looking for something easy to read, it's a good choice!  This story arc is about a guy named Bob, an agent.  He tracks down and enlists Wade Wilson back into service.  Little does Bob know, Deadpool has his own agenda...to take down The Great Hydra.  Uncomfortable situations and hilarity ensue as Bob gets tangled up with Deadpool's distorted plans to kill each member of the Twelve Headed Serpent.  David Lapham is a great writer and has a flair for the wacky.  Kyle Baker is not an artist I would expect to see penciling such gratuitous nastiness, but he does a great job!  Will I stay tuned to see what happens next?  I sure will! 

3.5 out of 5 snarky one liners

Jennifer Blood

sucks


written by Garth Ennis......who is phoning it in
art by some guy who is better than bad

Victorian Undead

Written by Ian Edington
Art by Davide Fabbri
collection of issues #1-6 $17.99
Disclaimer: this is not really a review,and more like a report of my initial impression

The tagline of this book and its subtitle is: Sherlock Holmes vs. the Undead!...
well score one for the DC marketing department because that is the book right there! A strange (is there any other kind?)comet passes over London and years later bizarre repercussions are felt! what are they you ponder?uhm.....well its zombies and uh...Sherlock Holmes his partner in un-crime Dr. Watson are gonna figgur it out!this comic is cool.seriously.The Holmes/Watson friendship is very balanced in between very chivalrous teasing and devout loyalty and respect.These guys are real friends and have been "in the $#!+" together for a some time.While on the trail dark secrets from London and Holmes personal past are dredged from underground (literally!bwah!).No stuffed shirt costume drama here folks! Gore and bludgeoning are intact! Holmes lops the undeads heads off with a kukri dagger!tanks roam the streets,turning zombies into goo!Biological tampering! underworld crime!
While battling the scourge of rising dead,Holmes and Watson have this exchange:
Watson: There's no bloody stopping them!
Holmes: Aim for the head,that seems to have the desired effect!
(then removes a zombies head with the aforementioned awesome dagger)
like,fer real.that just happened.and it was awesome.check it out!
....also if ya dig this,investigate into Holmes and Watson versus Mr.Hyde in the VICTORIAN UNDEAD SPECIAL and Dracula in the currently running mini series VICTORIAN UNDEAD II: HOLMES VS DRACULA!
3.5 turn of the century revolver cylinders blasting away out of 5

Uncanny X-Force: "Must Have" Issue

Written by Rick Remender
Art by Jerome Opena

A little confusing at first, since Uncanny X-Force picks up where many years of Marvel comics have left off (specifically X-Force and the X-Men: Second Coming event), but the good things that my co-bloggers had to say about this title kept me reading this single collection of the series' first three issues. And it was totally worth it.

Apocalypse, one of the perennial shit-heads of the Marvel universe, has somehow inhabited the body of a young boy. Wassup with that? Will the X-Force kick his teeth, as they are so good at doing? Or will they save his dumb little ass? And meanwhile, every member of the team is so damned tortured...

On a side note, this is also the least annoying I've ever found Deadpool (Uncanny X-Force Team member) in any comic, ever. He is actually funny here, thanks to Remender.

Also, you should probably check out Peter Milligan and Mike Allred's 2001 take on the X-Force (later X-Statix). It is hilarious and good.

4 out of 5 Unstoppable Ends of the World

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1

Written By Ethan Nicolle (age 6)
Art by Malachai Nicolle (age 30)

"Frustrated, Axe Cop lay down and took his daily two-minute nap. He dreamed about a T-Rex...that was crying..."

Holy......shit. This comic is...oh, man. Read it. Read it now.
Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier vs. EVERYBODY.

Faint bullets for Real Cops.
Wexter, the flying tyrannosaurus that breathes fire and has machine guns for arms.
Mr. Cup, who used to be a great warrior.

This was a web-comic that's now a print comic but...I don't care. Fucking read this NOW.

Five Jillion Everything Sticks out of Five Good Guy Machines.

The Man of Glass

by Martin Flink

This is a delicate story with minimal text and beautiful art.  Relive the memory of a man, a wife and a child.  It's a simple and poetic story about regret.

100% awesome.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Art and Story by Hiromu Arakawa

All right, so I'm late to the party. The Fullmetal Alchemist Party. Everybody already knows how sweet this book is, it's one of the most popular manga series of all time, the anime was amazing, blah blah blah.

Unless you don't! Unless, like me, you only occasionally dip your toe into the strange, exciting, sometimes weird and terrible world of manga and maybe this book slipped off your radar. Sure, you've heard the name before; you thought the name sounded kind of esoteric and dense, something only those hardcore manga nerds would dig. And that's not you, right? You read comics! You are cool!

But you were a fool. And so was I. Me especially. This book is as good as anything I've read in a loooong time. The world is so fleshed out and original; the characters are deeply, sometimes depressingly complex; the balance of funny and dramatic and epic is pitch perfect. I freaking love it.

Don't get me wrong. This actually IS manga for the manga-freaks. There are plenty of those tropes that we've come to love (and hate) sprinkled throughout the series' 24 (and counting) volumes: spontaneous rivers of tears streaming down faces, androgynous male and female lead characters, verbal description of exactly what a character is thinking and plotting, etc. But Arakawa has a deft hand and knows her characters and their culture backwards and forwards. The love and craft put into this book fucking LEAPS off the page. It is accessible to anyone, of nearly any age, not just the initiated.

I am hooked. You will be too. Unless you've already read it, which you probably have.

4.5 out of 5 Equivalent Exchanges.

Galacta: Daughter of Galactus

Written by Adam Warren
 Illustrated by Hector Sevilla Lujan (aka Elsevilla)

Liz versus the comic.  It's taking me all day to read this comic.  Don't let that reflect poorly on the book, I'm just sayin. 

Galacta is hungry.  Like, starving.  Her problem is that she cares too much about the life on earth to do anything about her situation.  She hates her dad for being an uncaring, unattentive, gluttonous beast and tweets about it constantly.  Follow her train of thought and her quest for something to sate her ravenous hunger.  The art suits the story quite well.  It's goofy and relevant to the younger generation of today.  Fun book!  Check it out, it's just a one-shot.

4 out of 5 gigacalories

Steampunk Palin #1

By Fred Perry, Ben Dunn

So, yeah. This exists. Sarah Palin as a steam-powered cyborg combating the evil "oil and nuke" conglomerate for control of the world's energy. Her sidekicks are Robama (I know) and John McCain. Our three heroes are setting aside their political differences for the greater good. Also, Al Gore is the bad guy. Spoiler Alert. "The Gore!"

Hoo boy. I read this shit. For you I read this. There's nothing really more to say about this book except the fact that there are almost as many pages of Palin pinups in the back as there are pages of fucking comic book. They are not hot.

I guess that this started out as an internet goof, with the cover floating around for a while before it got picked up by Antarctic Press. It probably should have stayed out there in meme-land. To be perfectly clear, this book is an unmitigated piece of shit. Steampunk Palin isn't bad enough to be campy and entertaining and it definitely, definitely isn't good.

I just hope that this comic doesn't in any way deter from an important political voice, one of the few politicians out there with the guts to tell it like it is. It certainly won't affect my decision come voting season, 2012, you betcha.

1 out 5 mangled moose carcasses

Best in 2010 cuz i said so.......

by christian: assistant to the director of special projects

the "author" aged 8

BEST ONGOING SERIES
-Scalped (w/Jason Aaron a/r.m. Guerra)
still going,still awesome.still totally heart wrenching and effed up.this series also did two of the best single issues of the year back to back!bam.
-Sweet tooth (w/a Jeff Lemire)
the book so consistently good its almost pointless to speak of.if yer reading it you know what im saying.if not READ IT NOW!treat yo self.one of my pet peeves in comics is improperly drawn guns and Jeff cant drawn a realistic gun to save his life....but i don't care!this book is good it doesnt matter and the impact and weight of the violence is still intense and gripping reading.
-Sixth Gun (w/Cullen Bunn a/Brian Hurtt)
This one snuck up on me like my wife throwing me a surprise party.it has so many of my favorite things(well maybe just a few:horror,cowboys,awesome/mythical guns and no shittyness.terrible is totally absent from THIS production.)and i had no idea it was coming and would be so darn rad. The first issue was actually a free giveaway for free comic book day last year and it knocked my socks on my ass.plot is....good for nothing gunslinger/paranormal investigator has to stop a resurrected civil war general from getting six magic guns that will allow him to rule the world,good for nothings gotta get it together and save the day.read it if you dig awesome.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL.....or trade,or whatever.im including reissues as well,so there.
(holy crap by the way.so many great collections came out this year it was a little crazy.my wallet is aching!!!!)

-Acme Novelty library vol.20 (w/a Chris ware)
its acme and it came out in 2010,so its one of the best.lets move on.
-Parker:The Outfit (w/a Darwyn Cooke)
its no secret that Curtis loves street level heroes and i love slightly despicable protagonists that i cant help but root for.Mr.Cooke's best work since the previous Parker adaptation.
-Scott Pilgrim vol.6 (w/a Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Great end to a phenomenal and hilarious series. there's a whole lot more substance to the Scott Pilgrim series than i initially thought. memories are strange and maybe Scott isn't the plucky and aloof wunderkid he thinks himself to be........

BEST MINI SERIES
-Bulletproof Coffin. strange in all the best ways possible
- Strange Tales 2. awesome "indie" talents running amok in the Marvel universe.MORE!
-Strange Science Fantasy (w/a scott morse)
Awe inspiring single issue stories combining all the greatest elements of pop culture into characters and then unleashing them against each other.wars of gear heads!space shoguns!answers to all mysteries!?fully painted by mr.morse with one page back ups by Paul Pope!

BEST SINGLE ISSUE
-Strange Science Fantasy #6 (w/a scott morse)the answers to everything.seriously
-Scalped #35 (w/jason aaron a/Danijel Zezelj)Scalped takes a much appreciated breather from the taught noose that is life on the "rez" and treats us to an emotional tour of an elderly couples love for each other.
-Detective Comics #859 (w/greg rucka a/j.h. williams) "the origin issue" This is an incredibly tight story! Why is Katy Kane batwoman?Why does her father help her even though she was discharged from the military? what part does "dont ask,dont tell" (but still be a complete a hole)play into her origin??? great stuff, strong characters,and j.h. has like 4 different styles he uses to showcase all the different facets of batwomans persona.my eyes are still reeling and this came out in december....of last year.

LARGEST DISSAPPOINTMENT/REALIZATION
-Kick Ass 2.so silly and sensationalized it made me realize the first series is stupid and the movie a piece of shit.
-Myself,for still reading the Walking Dead.every month for 80 months.
-Planetary finally concluding and with that,the realization that there will be no more Planetary. :(
- no volume of league of extraordinary gentlemen: century in 2010? balls.

Liz in 2010!

At the behest of the powers that be, I have compiled a handful of appreciated titles from this past year.  Do these all fit into the categories that their listed in?  Probably not.

Best GN

• h day (Renee French/Picturebox Publishing)
• X'd Out (Charles Burns/Random House)
• Guerillas (Brahm Revel/Image Comics) - I can already hear you judging me.  Liz, you say, this was a serialized comic book and we all know that when serials are collected, they are a trade paperback, not a graphic novel.  But wait!  What happens when the series gets canceled without finishing in singles?  And then!  It gets released as one complete story, in one complete graphic novel?  Huh?  What about that?  Yeah.

Best New Series

• Chi's Sweet Home (Kanata Konami/Random House)
• IZombie (W-Chris Roberson A-Mike Allred/DC Comics)
• Meta 4 (Ted McKeever/Image Comics)

Best Single Issue

• Scalped #35 (W-Jason Aaron A-Danijel Zezelj/DC Comics)

Best Mini Series

• Demo II (W-Brian Wood A-Becky Cloonan/DC Comics)
• Bulletproof Coffin (W-David Hine A-Shaky Kane/Image Comics)
• Sky Doll (Various writers and artists in the newest incarnation of Barbucci and Canepa's creation/Soleil via Marvel Comics)

Best Ongoing

• Sweet Tooth (Jeff Lemire/DC Comics)
• Chew (W-John Layman A-Rob Guillory/Image Comics)
• Walking Dead (W-Robert Kirkman A-Charlie Adlard/Image Comics) - I feel obligated to insert a little addendum here for the Walking Dead.  I have been consistently reading this title since its release, on a monthly basis.  For me, its become something like that girl you just can't help calling at 3am when you're drunk, because you know she'll always answer.  Or, like a manageable heroin addiction.  Just a dose here and there.  You don't love it, but you have to do it.  You might feel a little dirty or ashamed when it's over, but it's just something that has to happen.  I can't get away from the Walking Dead.  So, while it's listed in my 'Best Ongoing' category, I may not think it's the best, exactly, but I am reading it every month and usually having a conversation about it afterward.

Nick's 2010 List

I'm glad we started up with the comic blogging again. I hope any of you out there reading this stuff enjoyed and were possibly informed by our bullshitting and ranting over the past few months. We'll try and keep it up, and, now that the holiday season is winding down, there should be more posts, more regularly. Probably.

Here are some of my favorite books of 2010. Here, also, are some other books that were released in 2010. Similar lists from different nerds will be popping up on this blog shortly.

Do all of these make sense? Were they released in 2010? Were they just released partly in 2010? Shut up, who cares:

Best Ongoing Series

• Irredeemable (w/Mark Waid, a/Peter Krause)
• Sweet Tooth (Jeff Lemire)
• Rasl(Jeff Smith)

Best Graphic Novel

• Acme Novelty (Chris Ware)
• Revolver (Matt Kindt)
• Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk (Ben Costa)

Best New Series

• Biomega (Tsutomu Nihei)
• Thor, The Mighty Avenger (w/Roger Langridge, a/Chris Samnee)
• Sixth Gun(w/Cullen Brunn, a/Brian Hurtt)

Best Single Issue

• Sweet Tooth #11: "Gonna Kill Everyone..." (Jeff Lemire)

Best Mini Series

• Stumptown (w/Greg Rucka, a/Matthew Southworth)
• Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain (w/Mignola, Arcudi, a/Peter Snejbjerg)
• Scott Pilgrim (Brian Lee O'Malley)

Things I Was Really Looking Forward To That Ended Up Kind of Sucking

• Incognito: Bad Influences (Ed Brubaker, what's happened to your work? Are you okay? I still believe in you.)

• Superboy (I still don't believe Jeff Lemire actually wrote this.)

• Daytripper (Stick to drawing, Moon/Ba.)

Books I Sincerely Meant To Read This Year But Didn't, For Whatever Reason

• King City (Can a brother get a first issue?)
• Joe the Barbarian
• Morning Glories (so much hype!)
  

Biggest "Aw, Shit" Disappointment of 2010

• Unknown Solider Getting Canceled by DC/Vertigo

Biggest "Aw, SHIT!!!!!" Awesomeness of 2010

• Planetary #27 and the Conclusion of One of the Best Series of All Time
  

Acme Novelty Library #20

Written and Drawn and Everything'd by Chris Ware

There's almost no point in reviewing some books. Every month we have the same conversation about some titles, some authors. It goes something like:

Counter Boy #1: (monotone, eyelids half closed) Hey, dude. Did you read the new Sweet Tooth?

Counter Boy #2: (yawning, shoulders drooped) Yeah, it was amazing. Like usual. Who gives a shit.

Counter Boy #1: I agree. It pretty much changed my life. What a fucking shocker.

This probably is a troubling indicator of how jaded and broken we are as human beings, but it does raise a valid(ish) point. Some creators are so good, some titles are so consistently fantastic, that reviewing them either casually or via blog is almost a redundant, needless exercise.

Chris Ware is ABSOLUTELY one of those creators. A new Acme Novelty Library is an Event for me and my peers. So, all that being said, here are my bullet point, redundant, needless-yet-still-true thoughts on the new piece of brilliance from Chris Ware, in no particular order:

• Anyone who reads Chris Ware should contact three friends before hand to let them know. They should check on you periodically for the next week to fifteen days to make sure you're okay.
• Amazing. Best yet? Maybe maybe maybe.
• Main character not a sad sack, pathetic loser: he's a blow hard pathetic loser. What a difference! Seriously!
  
• Panels are UNBELIEVABLY well done. Even for Chris Ware. Expresses birth and coming to consciousness as a human in a way that could only be done in a comic book. Shit.
• This is part of a larger work. When can I read the whole thing? From start to finish? WHEN?!?
  
• The binding and printing of this book is gorgeous. BUT, it's been pointed out to me: you can't roll a joint on this book. Cloth inlay.
• This is a comic book!
  
• I didn't cry. I swear I didn't cry. I didn't.
  

Sixteen out of Sixteen painful moments of self-realization while reading Acme Novelty Library #20.

TRON:Betrayal

TRON: Betrayal
w - Jai Nitz a - Jeff Matsuda & Andie Tong
Yeesh! I'm in the middle of a full blown TRON flip out and this book ain't helping me break out of it!This book is the bridge between the original 1982 film and the upcoming sequel TRON: legacy (have you heard of this? yeah! there's a TRON sequel on the way!) WAIT! if you have not seen the original TRON then put TRON in the old dvd player, take of yer thinkin cap,but on your eyeglasses of visual awe and get ready for a great ride.The story explains some events that are only hinted at in the trailer so i'll try not to spoil it.......too much. Kevin Flynn (jeff "the Dude"bridges) has a baby on the way and is the new CEO of software mega-corp, Encom and has a little to many responsiblities on his plate. In addition, he is making major breakthroughs in the development of his world/society within the computer called "the grid."To maintain productivity in all areas of his life and be a good family man, Flynn attempts the impossible.......to make a perfect replica of himself within the computer to oversee "the grid." When this is a success and the replica,dubbed CLU begins to think for himself things get a little dire.
I thought this comic was pretty sweet.its hard for me to set aside my over enthusiasm for TRON and assess the comics strengths and weaknesses but it provided awesome answers to some burning questions i had for the sequel.The art makes the grid look cool as hell and thats mostly what i want from all things TRON. I dont need great characters are strong plot,i just want the world in the computer to look as awesome as possible and with as many light cycles as the frame can hold.Will the TRON:legacy be rad? i dunno.......im sure the acting will be blah,the plot dismissable but the grid will look effin' amazing!!!!! Check it out if wanna be totally in the know when TRON:Legacy drops in theateres Dec.17th.

3.5 out of 5 phenomenal and genre re-difining films released in 1982 there were overlooked and are now classics!!!! (Blade Runner,Conan the Barbarian,John Carpenter's The Thing,and....... Megaforce)

7 Billion Needles

by Nobuaki Tadano

An anti-social high school girl on a field trip gets decimated by the brightest light she's ever seen, like she really gets destroyed.  That's her skeleton on the cover there.  Flash forward.  She's back in school with her headphones on staring out the window, bored to death (no pun here) in class.  A voice inside her head tells her that she is now a host (unwilling, to say the least) to an alien life form, and that it is here to save the world from another of it's kind.  She eventually accepts her destiny and seeks out the bad guy.  Sweet battles ensue and she loses a few body parts.  Luckily, she can just pop them back into place.  Thanks alien life form!  I'm curious to see how the story progresses.  The art is great and the story is good enough to keep me interested.  This comic is loosely based on the novel 'Needle' by Hal Clement from 1950.

7 (billion) out of 10 needles.

Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk Vol. 1

Written and Drawn by Ben Costa

I saw this big-ass, red, sweet looking hardcover show up during the unpacking of stuff at the olde comic shop one sunny Wednesday morning and I was all like, "whaddafudge izat?" Then I was distracted by a bumble bee or something and forgot about it.

A few days later me and the X-Man (see below, brilliant review of Serenity: A Shepard's Tale) were "hanging out" and out of the corner of my eye I see that redness, that round, bald head fleeing from something. The book's sitting on homeboy's backpack. "Hey, I'm trying to read that," I say, though I hadn't thought about the book since I'd seen it that fateful Wednesday morn.

"Well, tough nuts, dawg, that shit is MINE," Xmas replies, not making eye contact.

"Aww, don't be that way."

"You should have thought ahead, my man. I saw this mess in a Previews Magazine three months ago and knew it would be dope." Now he looks at me, and I know he's speaking Truth.

"Is it dope?" I ask sheepishly, begging with my eyes for the table scraps from his bounty of dopeness.

"I dunno." Xmas looks away and brushes at the air with the back of his palm. He won't even look at me! He knows I am like a peasant who couldn't think ahead; he is the proud noble who foresaw this terrible winter. "Take it. You read it."

And from his greatness, from his generosity, I received dopeness. Pang is awesome! The dialogue reads like a modern comedy (think Scott Pilgrim) with the snappiness and the all-the-time wit. But the whole book is CHOCK full of history: history of the Shaolin monks, history of feudal China, history of martial arts, etc and etc. And the words! There are so many effing words in this comic book! I spent days reading it! And couldn't put it down!

And that's not all. Ben Costa's panel work throughout this full color volume borders on brilliant. Like, almost Chris Ware-style good. He doesn't quite have the page room that Ware does, and as a result things can get kind of tricky and confusing, but there is ambition in the layout of this graphic novel. This guy is taking the comedic-historic-fictional-kung-fu comic book in a completely different direction.

And did I mention it's self published? Read!

4.5 out 5 comic shop counter boy beards.

Serenity: the Shepherds Tale

written by-Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon picture boxes by Chris Samnee

Whoah.If yer a Serenity/Firefly fan you have been waiting for this story for years.This one of the best episodes from the brown coat 'verse and it was never even on t.v.! The long anticipated questions are answered.Where does he come from?Why is his knowledge of alliance weaponry so detailed?Why does he have high level Alliance clearance? Why find God in a bowl of soup? (to me God IS soup,but that's a whole post by itself.another time perhaps.) The graphic novel opens with Shepherd's final battle at the Haven mining colony and through a series of flashbacks (Memento style!) the legendary past of Shepherd Book is revealed.This totally delivered on my very high expectations.After the cancellation of Firefly and no more Serenity films forthcoming,this is the character i wanted more of, the most.Written by Zack Whedon (co-writer of Dr.Horrible) from an original story by Joss.Although its not directly written by Joss do not let this dissuade you.Zack nails the character and tone perfectly!I'm gonna start reading his other comic, "Terminator 1984" right now!......oh this is pretty cool.It takes place right at the end of the first movie and Kyle Reese is alive!?!?And some new time traveler and Sarah Conner are gonna break him out of same crazy research facility!?That's pretty awesome.ill definitely pick up the second issue! .....oh, sweet.I guess they're about to bust in this facility and.....oh snap.sorry y'all,i got sidetracked.Terminator '84 is pretty right on though.okay.right.Serenity.You could even read this book without seeing Firefly at all!If you like an awesome morality tales and character driven stories with a protagonist with a haunted past no reason ya wouldn't enjoy this bad lad.


5 outta 5 years of waiting totally worth it.