Pick Of My Pile for the week of 10-28.

Hello Chums,

Another week with no trades read. That's not good.

Week of 10-28:

Marvel:

Halo - Helljumper #4 (of 5). Continuing on with Dutch and Romeo looking for their squad.

Punisher #10. It would appear that this is the last issue in this arc that pits the Punisher against The Hood. GOOD! I am tired of this story.

Punisher - Dark Reign - The List (one-shot). Quite possibly the most violent Punisher issue ever. Great art by J.R. Jr.

The New Avengers #58. Can anyone save Luke Cage? Norman Osborn will try.

New Mutants #6. Doug Ramsey is a bad ass! And Warlock is back. I may drop this book, but not yet.

DC:

Detective Comics #858. The start of Batwoman's second arc. Nice back story Rucka style. And what can I say about Williams III art? Nice, very nice.

Jack of Fables #39 (Vertigo). I'm dreadfully behind on my Fables/Jack reading. I can't wait to get caught up.

Astro City - Astra special #2 (of 2)(Wildstorm). The conclusion of Astra's graduation night. These two issues are what made Astro City great. Only one more arc of The Dark Age left, then back to regular numbering!

N.E.C.:

The Mangalious Tick #2 (of 4). This second issue was much better than the first.

Dark Horse:

Abe Sapien - The Haunted Boy (one shot). Nice stand alone story with art by new comer Patric Reynolds.

Boom:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #5. I need to get caught up on my reading of this dense title. Very nice Moritat cover.

The Pick Of My Pile this week is Punisher - Dark Reign - The List. This book not only had a pretty good wrap-up of the Punisher/Norman Osborn/Hood story line, but also great art by J.R. jr.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 10-21.

Hello Chums,



No Trades This Week. BUMMER! On to my picks.



Marvel:



Stephen King: The Stand - Soul Survivors #1. Any Stand fan or King fan for that matter should be reading this great adaption. My highest recommendation.



Thor - Tales of Asgard #6 ( of 6). The end of this wonderfully drawn (and colored) series. I will miss this book.



Deadpool Merc With A Mouth #4. The conclusion of the Savage Land arc. Although I liked this arc (and the art), I am always looking for a book to drop. This may be one.



IDW:



Angel VS. Frankenstein (one-shot). This nice little stand alone story has some of John Byrne's best art in a while. The coloring by Ronda Pattison really fits the mood of the story also.



Star Trek - Nero #3. Continuing on with the Nero movie prequel. If you liked the new movie, you should be reading this book.



ONI:



Resurrection #4. Life after the alien occupation continues with flash backs featuring everyone's favorite Pres., Bill Clinton.



Image:



Elephantmen #22. This issue features very nice art by Andre Szymanowicz. Story: okay only.



The Pick Of My Pile this week is John Byrne's Angel VS. Frankenstein. A surprisingly good book that I almost didn't pick up.



K.R.C.



D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 10-14.

Hello Chums,

Not really any trades read this week as I have been getting caught up on some TV viewing. That's a bummer. But I have been keeping up with my comic reading, check it out!

Week of 10-14:

Marvel:

Deadpool #900! What the? The first comic to hit #900 is Deadpool? You got it. Okay, Deadpool is far from a favorite character of mine, but this THICK (100? page) issue is pretty good. It doesn't hurt that the likes of Jason Aaron and Duane Swierczynski are on board with stories. Also included is the cover gallery featuring all 900 covers!

Punisher #75. The last issue of this series features 5 Punisher stories and a sneak peak of Punisher Max #1 by Jason Aaron and (my favorite) Steve Dillon. I can't wait for the new series!

Punisher Noir #3 (of 4). More hyper-violent 1930's Punisher action!

Spider-Woman #2. Although Bendis' story is good so far, the art/coloring by Alex Maleev is awesome! Not to be missed.

The Marvels Project #3 (of 8). The origin of Marvel Comics with the original Human Torch against Namor.

Uncanny X-Men #516. The return of Magneto. Is he a friend now?

Image:

Liberty Comics #2. Tim Sale cover! Stories by Jason Aaron, Moritat, Ben Templesmith and Paul Pope among others.

Dark Horse:

Hellboy #7 (of 8). Continuing the best Hellboy story in quite some time, The Wild Hunt.

B.P.R.D. 1947 #4 (of 5). I getting to where I like these (old) stories. Hellboy jr. is cool too.

IDW:

Star Trek: Spock Reflections #4 (of 4). The final chapter of Spock's mission to bring back Kirk's body.

Jon Sable Freelance - Ashes of Eden #1. Although I'm a HUGE Mike Grell Warlord fan, I haven't read any Jon Sable. After reading this issue I'm kind of on the fence about Jon Sable. I do have the first two trades and probably should put them in my reading rotation.

The Pick Of My Pile this week is Spider-Woman #2. This issue is a very good follow-up to the first issue. Smartly written, great action and violence, what more could you want? I can't wait for the next issue.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the weeks of 9-30 and 10-7.

Hi Chums,

I've been reading an incredible amount of trades lately. Check out my reads.

First up is Richard Stark's (Donald Westlakes') Parker The Hunter as adapted by Darwyn Cooke. This is a nice crime/noir story with Cooke's usual animated style. The men of this book tend to have a hard/tough/criminal look, while the women (woman) has a nice, soft, eye appealing look. His style really works for this type of story. Although it was a fast read, the good news is he's doing another Parker novel for next year.

Keeping with Darwyn Cooke, my next trade was Batman Ego and other tales. Besides Ego, this book features all Cooke work including the very nice Catwoman: Selina's Big Score, a couple of Gotham Knights stories, a couple of Solo pieces and some pin-ups. Although I had read some (most) of this material before, this trade is very good and shouldn't be missed by a Batman or Cooke fan.

Next up is The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanac by Nick Gurewitch. This book is cram-packed with his on-line and newspaper strips. Gurewitch has mastered many art styles and they are on display in this book. Some of his styles ape other strips, while some are all his own. This results in art that more or less goes with the subject of the particular strip. Although these strips have very diverse subject matter, one has to wonder what paper would publish some of his (funny but inappropriate) strips. I highly recommend this book.

Also read this week was The Boys vol.4 We Gotta Go Now. Although I really liked this series at first, these last two trades have only been so so. Since they've announced this series is going to end in a few issues I'll probably see it through to the end. --This series reminds me of how The Exterminators started off with a bang but ended rather flatly. Bummer.

Lastly read was The Golems Mighty Swing by James Sturm. This Drawn and Quarterly book features nice art with beige tones on yellow paper. This is a nice period piece about a traveling Jewish baseball team taking on all comers. Nice start but very weak bailout ending.

On to my picks:

Week of 9-30:

Marvel:

No Man Can Stand Against...(wait for it) Shang -Chi Master of Kung Fu #1 (one shot). 48 pages of Kung Fu action? Not really. 48 pages -yes. But motor-cycles and Deadpool - NOOOO. Four stories with decent black and white art, but a weak attempt for the mighty Shang-Chi.

Stephen King The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #5 (of 6). If they stopped this series it wouldn't hurt my feelings any.

The Punisher Annual #1. The Punisher and Spider-man take on two Amazon sized wackos. This is still a part of The Hood story line with the dead (resurrected) bad guys taking a shot at Frank. This story was okay but I have come to expect more from a Punisher annual or over-sized issue.

New Mutants #5. The return of Warlock. I really liked Warlock back in the old New Mutants stories. His return is all that is keeping me on this book for now.

Radical:

Hercules: The Knives of Kush #3 (of 5). More Hercules in ancient Egypt. This book has nice painted style artwork that I really like. What I also like is how gruesome and realistic looking the bloodshed appears.

DC:

Batwoman in Detective Comics #854, 855, 856 and 857. Now normally I wouldn't pick this up. Lesbian Batwoman? But I keep hearing how good the Rucka story is but more importantly how GREAT the Williams III art is. Well they weren't lying. The story is good (very little gayness- I don't feel we need overtly sexual story lines in main stream comics, save that for Strangers In Paradise). But what makes this book shine is the VERY impressive art. The art - lets look at the art. The Batwoman sequences have very interesting panel layout and silky smooth art, while her secret identity (Kate Kane) sequences have a more rounded almost Seth Fisher look to them. This first story arc was very entertaining and will be a nice trade to pick up when it is collected.

Jack of Fables #38 (Vertigo). It's about time for me to get caught up on this title. But I'm not there yet.

Astro City: Astra special #1 (of 2) (Wildstorm). This book has not just a hard stock cover but it's a slick stock cover as well. The cover is set up like your usual grocery store rag (People magazine). Nice looking cover concept, but it is what's in the inside that counts right? And I'm very pleased it's contents are back on par with what made Astro City so good to start with: The human side of super heroes.

Some decent books this week, but The Pick Of My Pile is Astro City Astra Special. This type of story is what made Astro City a special book years ago. Let's have more super hero fare.

Week of 10-7:

This may be a first: more DC purchases this week than Marvel.

DC:

Batman and Robin #5. Nice Quitely cover but where is the Quitely interior art? Couldn't they hold this book for Quitely art? It's a shame DC is too weak to do what would be the right thing to do.

Red Tornado #2 (of 6). More on the origin of The Red Tornado and his sister. Yawn. I hoped this would be good. It's now on my drop watch.

The Warlord #7. Cover-Mike Grell, check. Story-Mike Grell, check. But interior art Mike Grell?,check. AWESOME!!! This issue has so many GREAT two page spreads. Besides braking through the panels, the art practically came off the page! Please give us more! This is the way The Warlord should be. My highest recommendation.

Planetary #27 (Wildstorm). Okay so I haven't read all 26 of the previous issues, but this was still okay for me.

Marvel:

Astonishing X-Men #31. I thought that this was a decent start to the next arc. I think Phil Jimenez' pencils were better suited for this title than the previous artist.

Captain America: Theater of War: Ghosts of my Country #1 (one shot). Another very nicely written (war) story by Paul Jenkins.

Criminal The Sinners #1. The start of the next Tracy Lawless arc! Once again: Brubaker+Phillips=Awesome!

Dark Horse:

Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder: In The Service of Angels #4 (of 5). Nice Mignola story with good Stenbeck art.

IDW:

Star Trek Romulans: Schism #2 (of 5). Okay the first issue wasn't very good, however this issue had something (maybe more starfleet) that made it more interesting.

The Pick Of My Pile this week is..... do I even have to say it? The Warlord #7. It was flat out awesome on all levels. No book can compete with Mike Grell on his signature creation. Check it out.

Keep Reading Comics.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the weeks of 9-16 and 9-23.

Hello Chums,


How's your comic reading been going? Mine has been going just fine. Before my picks, check out some trades I've read since last time.

First up is Scott Kurtz' PVP vol. 1 "at large". This first vol. collects issues 1-6. I found this collection good over all -funny at times, but what really stands out is his artwork. Although it is cartoonish, yes, his characters and backgrounds all look perfect no matter what the angle or facial expression.

Next is "Ice Haven" by Daniel Clowes. This story takes place in the town of Ice Haven, an average slow moving small town. In this small town there are many characters whose life occurrences are told in (what appears to be) unrelated strips. However, through the course of the story these strips tie together to form a story about a missing boy. Nicely executed story with a slightly weak ending.

Lastly is "I killed Adolf Hitler" by Jason. This story takes place in a world were assassination is a legal profession. A well known killer is hired by a scientist to use his time machine to go back and kill Hitler. That sounds easy right? But is anything easy or straight forward when a time machine is used? Jason, the Norwegian artist/writer, has another nice story will his animal headed people in their (usual) unusual settings.

On to the comics portion.

Week of 9-16:

Marvel:

Mighty Avengers #29. To discover if Wanda is really Wanda. Ronin kisses her. And he says: "The Lips? The Lips Don't Lie. You're Not Wanda. Kinda funny. But this book has been sucking since Bendis left. My Last Issue!

Agents of Atlas #11. The end of Terror of the Jade Claw arc. What a snoozer. My Last Issue!

Punisher #9. Frank up against the Hood's men-yawn! + Opena off the book= On my death watch. I will drop this book if I have too.

Punisher Noir #2. Punisher 1930's gangster style. Great book. Nice art too.

Deadpool - Merc with a mouth #3. Not my usual reading, but a fun book (for now).

Moon Knight Saga (free). This overview of the character is a primer for the new series. Nice cover and art inside. Basically a great idea, (sprung from free comic book day?). There have been a few of these free primers now. I wonder if they have helped sales any? They couldn't have hurt any. Where are the free primers DC? I need one for The Legion of Super heroes.

Vengeance of Moon Knight #1. Nice Ross cover, nice Opena art and nice that this issue contains the first issue of Moon Knight from 1980. But not nice enough for me to get it monthly.

Captain America Reborn #3 (of 5). Captain America drifting through time reliving past experiences? I am not sure about this story yet.

DC:

Batman and Robin #4. No Frank Quitely art? This is only issue 4! Don't get me wrong - Philip Tan is okay, but were is Quitely? I buy enough books a month. I could wait a month or two (if need be) for him to get back on schedule. We didn't need a fill-in this early on. Keep in mind they're not filling in on All-Star Batman for Frank Miller and Jim Lee. And I know their book isn't Batman, but there is plenty of Batman on the shelves each month.

Wednesday Comics #11. The end is near, say it ain't so. This "newspaper" has been good week after week.

IDW:

Star Trek Romulans: Schism #1. Yes it's by John Byrne, but it is off to a very weak start. Art: Okay. Story: BORING!

The Pick Of My Pile this week is Punisher Noir #2. With Wednesday Comics, this book was the only bright spot in my stack.

Week of 9-23:

Marvel:

Dark X-Men - The Confession (one-shot). Emma admits to Scott that she joined Osborn's cabal. That makes sense. But why does Scott have to tell Emma he sent X-Force to kill the enemy? Who cares? Emma wouldn't she's a hard ass.

Uncanny X-Men #515. The dramatic re-return of Magneto.

Giant-Size Wolverine - Old Man Logan (one-shot). Finally! The long awaited conclusion with a nice cover gallery (featuring the variants and what has to be one of Michael Turners last covers).

Spider-Woman #1. Ross cover - check. Over sized issue - check. Cool Bendis set-up - check. Slick Maleev art - check. A winner all the way around!

Astonishing X-Men Sketchbook (free). This primer is suppose to get you fired up about the next arc with art by Phil Jimenez. I think it failed. Where is Cassaday and Whedon? This is their book!

The New Avengers #57. There has been some terrific artists on New Avengers over the last few years. Stuart Immonen is not one of them. He is okay on some projects, but does not have the right look (or talent) for New Avengers. BLAAH!

Immortal Weapons #3 (of 5). The legend of Dog Brother #1. A sad tale set in 1840's Hong Kong.

Halo - Helljumper #3 (of 5). Dutch and Romeo continue to battle the Covenant on the planet Ariel.

Radical:

Hercules The Knives of Kush #2 (of 5). Hercules and his followers continue to protect Seti, Pharaoh of Egypt.

IDW:

Star Trek - Spock Reflections #3. Spock's traveling destination revealed: the final spot were Jim Kirk took his last breath.

DDP:

The Zombies That Ate The World #5 (of 8). More twisted zombie wrangling stories by Guy Davis.

Image:

'76 #5 (of 8). It's finally here! As promised to me by B. Clay Moore himself, (at Planet Comic-con in Kansas City, way back in March) #5 has finally seen the light of day. It's now been over a year between issues. Was it worth it? No. It was alright at best. I'm now at least hopeful that the two stories will pick up in action for the final three issues.

DC:

Wednesday Comics #12. A nice wrap up issue (for most story lines anyway). My favorite (and saddest was Kamandi).

The Pick Of My Pile this week is Spider-Woman #1. As I said before, this was a great issue and set in motion a nice story line.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the weeks of 9-02 and 9-10.

Hello Chums,





As usual, I read a few trades this week. The first trade was "PVP Player Vs. Player - the dork ages". This collection, by Scott Kurtz, is the material that was published before his move to Image. This trade is broken down into six (comic book) issues. And each issue has a theme. And not only are they theme issues (Matrix, A Christmas special, Pokemon etc...), they are very nicely gray toned. I liked the look of that a lot. True not colored, but the grays adds a lot of nice depth. The art and stories were good too.





The next book was Yoshihiro Tatsumi's 856 (eight hundred fifty six) page monster "A Drifting Life". This book, that was over ten years in the making, documents Hiroshi's (Tatsumi) life as a Manga artist from 4th grade (1945) up through his mid 20's (1960). Much like "The Pushman" this book is jam-packed with fabulous art. But it's the story of young Hiroshi and his brother's obsession with creating Manga that really draws you in. Hiroshi "drifts" through life from a kid entering his Manga each week to be selected for newspaper print to an adult creating a whole new off-shoot of Manga called Gekiga. This book is a complete winner. I wish it could have been longer!




How about a few weeks picks?




Week of 9-02:




Marvel:





Incognito #6 (Icon). The conclusion of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' super powered crime story.






Immortal Weapons #2 (of 5). The Bride of Nine Spiders story. Art by Dan Brereton!






Agents of Atlas #10. Excellent art by Gabriel Hardman. Story: so-so.





Oni:





Resurrection #3. The Bugs have left. Who is in charge of our country now? Artwork here leaves a lot to be desired. Bring back vol. 1's artist and gray scale. It was much sharper looking.





Image:




Jersey Gods #7. The first issue of the next arc. Let's see where this one goes.





DDP:





I Am Legion #5 (of 6). Great art and coloring by John Cassaday and Laura Martin. The story has cooled a little bit for me.






Dark Horse:






Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder #3 (of 5). Nice story with period piece art by Ben Stenbeck.






DC:







Red Tornado #1 (of 6). Red Tornado deals with his lack of humanity, much like data from star Trek The Next Generation. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.






Wednesday Comics #9. These 16 weekly strips continue to be great.








The Pick Of My Pile this week is Incognito #6. Decent story and great art throughout the arc.





Week of 9-10:





Not a dud this week! And that's saying something.





Marvel:






The Marvel Project #2. Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting bring us the beginning of the Marvel universe.






Thor Tales Of Asgard #5 (of 6). More early Thor greatness by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby with modern coloring. Brilliant!






Ultimate Avengers #2. Red Skull (Caps son cool!) has a peeled face. Creepy but cool.






Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men Exodus. Conclusion. Nice end to the Utopia event.






Kick-Ass #7. The cover says it all: ASS KICKED. Betrayal, Death. How much more can this kid take?







Dark Horse:






B.P.R.D. 1947 #3. Another old creepy story with Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon art.






Hellboy -The Wild Hunt #6 (of 8). This arc has been one of the best in a long time. And check out Gianni's The Monstermen. It's cool.






Image:





Elephantmen #21. Cool. Very nice story and art.





IDW:




Star Trek Nero #2. A nice precursor to the new movie.






DC:






The Warlord #6. The end to the first story arc. Pretty good so far. I hope Mike Grell will continue to write and do the covers.








Wednesday Comics #10. The greatness continues.







The Pick Of My Pile this week Thor Tales of Asgard #5. Great stories with modern coloring.






Keep Reading Comics




D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the weeks of 8-19 and 8-26.

Hello Chums,

Besides my usual large amounts of comics that I read each week, I also try to fit in as many trades as I can. This two week period I was able to fit in three trades. The first was Tom Strong's Terrific Tales vol. 2. This nice hardcover featured the last 6 issues of the series. Good stories and art by Art Adams and Bruce Timm among others. The others trades were Powers vol. 10 Cosimic (Cosmic) and vol. 11 Secret Identity. I love the Powers series. The story arcs and art work were both very good. I can't wait to read the next one.

Week of 8-19:

Marvel:

Daredevil #500. This massive issue features a 42 page story by Brubaker and Lark, an 8 page Dark Reign primer, a 13 page story by Nocenti and Aja, 10 pages of pin-ups (featuring Geof Darrow and Rafael Grandpa), the complete issue #191 "Roulette" by Frank Miller and the 500 covers gallery. Wow, what an issue!

Punisher Noir #1. 30's era Punisher with gritty art and muted color pallet.

Stephen King The Stand: American Nightmares # 5 (of 5). This series remains very good. I look forward to the next arc.

Ultimate Avengers #1. Very good opening issue (story and art).

All Winners #1. I was looking forward to this 70th anniversary issue. And boy was I disappointed.

Punisher #8. The Punisher takes on the Avengers (and knocks out Thor with one punch.) Is this really the Avengers?

Mighty Avengers #28. I was ready to drop this book. However, I'm hanging in there for awhile longer as I like their current story arc.

IDW:

Star Trek Spock Reflections #2. More Spock solo movie tie-in.

DC:

Jack of Fables (Vertigo) #37. I haven't started to continue this book since the Fables cross-over. When I do get back to Fables and Jack I'm going to have a chunk to read.

Wednesday Comics #7. This continues to be very good but I look forward to Kamandi most of all.

Boom:

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? What can I say about this book? Well, it's very wordy but it does have the text by Dick.

The Pick Of My Pile this week was a no-brainer. Daredevil #500 was far and away the best book this week. Check out the sweet Darrow variant cover. I got one.

Week of 8-26:

Marvel:

Halo Helljumper #2 (of 5). As the Human - Covenant war rages on, the Helljumpers are dropped on the planet Ariel. Action ensues!

Deadpool Merc With A Mouth #1. I liked issue two so much, I picked up one to see what was going on. I think this book is pretty good, but I don't need to add another monthly book.

New Avengers #56. A very nice action packed issue with the Wrecking Crew.

Beta Ray Bill Godhunter #3 (of 3). A nice conclusion to this mini-series and good value too. Each issue has a full issue reprint back-up feature. And only 4 adds! Why can't all issues be like this?

New Mutants #4. The conclusion to the opening Legion arc. Next issue: Warlock! Isn't he dead?

Dark Avengers #8 - Utopia p.5. This mini-event has actually been pretty good. Next issue the conclusion.

Stephen King - The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #4 (of 6). Dark Tower: heh. The Stand: Awesome.

IDW:

Doctor Who - The Time Machination (one-shot). The Doctor and H.G. Wells dodging The Torchwood Institute.

DC:

The Flash Rebirth #4. Initially I liked this series, but this issue was very dull.

Batman and Robin #3. Batman driving a (Batmaned) atv: cool. Young Robin being a tough little bastard: cool. Fighting Professor Pyg: Heh.

Wednesday Comics #8. More comic goodness continues.

The Pick Of My Pile this week was not as easy as the previous week. There were some good books, but no really great books. Dark Avengers and Beta Ray Bill were good, but my pick this week is New Avengers #56. There were some nice scenes in this issue especially the battle with the Wrecking Crew.

K.R.C.

D.L.