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.