Quick GN Reviews

Wolverine Legends, vol. 3: Law of the Jungle

by Frank Tieri, Sean Chen & Tom Palmer, Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson

Collecting Wolverine #181-186, in which Wolverine gets involved with the mob. People die, and bad guys get their comeuppance. It's not a terribly deep plot, but Tieri makes it work well enough. This is almost a textbook example of modern decompression and writing for the trade; the story is stretched out longer than it needs to be, but reading it in one package makes it seem not so bad. The art by Chen & Palmer works well for the story, showing a few echoes of Romita Jr. The final collected issue, featuring Wolverine facing off in an issue-long throwdown with The Punisher, is meant to serve as a denouement but is just monotonous, and the art seems out of place, clashing with the rest of the book and not up to the usual high standards of the Dodsons.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)




What's Michael, vol. 5: Michael's Favorite Spot

by Makoto Kobayashi

What's Michael often gets compared to the American comic strips Garfield and Heathcliff, but those are really poor comparisons. The only thing What's Michael has in common with those is that it features an orange-haired cat. So how is What's Michael different? For one thing, it's often funny, with much more regularity than the afforementioned strips. Kobayashi writes short stories (usually eight pages or so) in which a cat name Michael is either central or peripheral. Although the cats look the same and have the same name, they're different cats in different situations; in other words, there's no real continuity from story to story (so no need to start with volume 1--just pick one and dive in). Also, Kobayashi's art, while a bit cartoony, is very good. He especially does a good job at rendering cats which manage to show human-like expressions while still looking more or less like real cats. Never a deep experience, What's Michael nevertheless provides a quick dose of feline-related humor.

Rating: 3 (of 5)




Canvas

by Alex Follows

Canvas is a typical alt-comic teenage girl having typical alt-comic teenage girl experiences, like meeting a kind of creepy guy at a party and going to a campground with her parents where she experiments with booze and sex. It's made slightly surreal by the fact that her parents are anthropomorphosized animals, but other than the fact of that oddity nothing is never made of it. That's fairly typical of this story as a whole: every time it threatens to get interesting, it backs away and returns to the clichéd path. A Xeric award winner, Follows shows some talent, but he needs to let go of the conventions and follow his instincts.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Quick Ultimate Reviews

Ultimate Spider-Man #68

by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley & Scott Hanna

Bendis is at his best when focusing on Peter & Mary Jane and their friends, and except for the cover there's nary a Spider-Man costume in sight in this issue. Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch, for those of you living in caves) has to finish a last semester of high school, so he comes to Peter's school in Queens. Lots of teenage angst, and lots of word balloons. If you like Bendis-logue, you'll like this.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)




Ultimate Fantastic Four #12

by Warren Ellis, Stuart Immonen & Wade Von Grawbadger

After a couple of s-l-o-w moving issues, Ellis picks up the pace for the conclusion. The FF use a combination of smarts & fighting to take on Doom and his minions. Doom starts to get the better of them until, descending from the sky in their machines, the U.S. Army arrives to save the day. It's not really an ending so much as it's a stoppage of the action. Sure, the FF weren't going to defeat Doom and bring him to justice, but after six issues we deserve a little finality. One other thing that confuses me: is this Ultimate Doom not wearing armor, has his body been transformed into metal? Anyway, this is my last issue of Ultimate Fantastic Four; if I decide to continue following it, it'll be in the trades. I've got seven or eight months to make up my mind...

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Quick All-Ages GN Reviews

GoGirl! vol. 1: The Time Team

by Trina Robbins & Anne Timmons

Science geek girl Doc, cheerleader Heather, and teenage super-heroine Lindsay (aka GoGirl!) are accidentally transported back in time to the Cretaceous Era, where they have to overcome their differences and work together to stay safe from the rampaging dinosaurs and out of the clutches of alien zoo keepers. While lessons are learned and it threatens more than once to go off into sugary afterschool special territory, Robbins keeps the story under control and doesn't let it get too serious or self-important. It's hard to go wrong with aliens and dinosaurs! Timmons' art is breezy and moves the story and action forward; with no more than three panels per page it doesn't seem cramped in the small format. It makes for lighthearted, all-ages fun.

Rating: 3 (of 5)




Emily & the Intergalactic Lemonade Stand

by Ian Smith & Tyson Smith

Emily is a ten-year-old girl with a lemonade stand. And a powerful robot who can juice lemons and instantly transport across interstellar distances. Life would be hunky-dory, except for rich neighbor girl Daisy who wants to put Emily out of business, and the approaching alien invasion force. It's a fun little book, highly reminiscent in story and art of what you might find on an original show on the Cartoon Network. The best part of the story is Pheef, the ultimate warrior of his people, who just happens to resemble a cute tiny pink Japanese toy, and his internal monologues. Pheef livens up the story and gives it an edge.

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Previews-o-Rama part 1: The Front

It's time to go through the latest Previews to discover the good, the bad, and the strange.



Dark Horse



The first two Sin City collections are released in new editions, designed by Chip Kidd. Despite the expense, I'll be looking to get the whole set, so as to make a pretty line-up on my bookshelf.



I've been waiting for the trade on Conan and... I'm still waiting for the trade, as Dark Horse has decided to first collect the series in a hardcover. I'm just not big enough of a conan fan to justify the extra expense.



Peter Bagge has a mini, Apocalypse Nerd, which features his usual losers in a post-apocalyptic scenario.



There's a fifth issue of The Escapist.



The Goon gets a third collected edition.



There's a fourth volume of Samurai Executioner listed, but aren't they already running behind on this?



Shadow Star gets a sixth collection, though I've only read the first two so far...



There's a third Clone Wars Adventures, done in the style of the animated shorts. The first one was fun--better than the Clone Wars stories appearing in the regular comics.





DC Comics



The big item is the Bizarro World collection, where once again 'indy' creators take on DC super-heroes. There are some interesting names involved, including Roger Langridge, Eddie Campbell, Gilbert Hernandez, Derek Kirk Kim, Ben Dunn, and Andi Watson. But it's expensive, so I'm going ot have to think long and hard about this one...



There's a new Catwoman collection. Buy it, dammit.



Nightwing #101 starts "Nightwing: Year One," which looks like it will rewrite the actual Nightwing origin story from New Teen Titans. Why?



Jason Alexander does guest art chores on Gotham Central. Since Michael Lark is rumored to be leaving, maybe he'd make a good replacement?



Scott McCloud writes the Superman: Strength mini; I was excited at first, but the preview pages leave much to be desired. I dunno about this one...



Greg Rucka's first Adventures of Superman arc gets collected. It's been the best of the Superman titles lately, but that's not really saying much now, is it?



Marvel ex-pat Bob Harras writes a new DCU title, Breach; again, the preview pages hurt its chances with me.



Firestorm has Firehawk and Killer Frost, so maybe I'll stick around with this title a little longer.



Plastic Man hits issue #14--every new solicitation is a victory!



Green Arrow gets a new art team: Tom Fowler & Rodney Ramos.



Chaykin's Mighty Love gets a softcover.



In the 'because three people asked for it' department, Seven Soldiers of Victory gets an upscale archives edition. I suppose they're looking towards interest in Grant Morrison's upcoming series, but I still don't see much of a demand for this.



The Incal: The Epic Conspiracy has art by Mœbius, so get off your butts, fanboys, and give it a look.



All of the CMX manga get second volumes--Seeing as these are being released quarterly, wouldn't it make much more sense to stagger them?



Majestic gets yet another series, this time back in the Wildstorm universe but with Superman in tow.



Ex Machina gets an intitial collection, and keeps with DC's policy of offering the first volumes of trades for $9.95. At that price, everybody should get this.



Grant Morrison & Cam Stewart's Seaguy gets collected. This should be another no-brainer.



Speaking of Morrison, the year's best mini, We3, comes to a conclusion with issue #3.



Lots and lots of Hellblazer stuff. For DC's sake, Constantine had better be a smash hit, and even then translation to comic sales aren't guaranteed. Still, at least DC is prepared by having many collections available if demand does hit.





Image



Jim Mahfood's early stuff gets collected in Classic 40 Ounce.



A new anthology collection, Four-Letter Worlds looks to be good, with people like Chynna Clugston-Major, Steve Lieber, Scott Morse, Jeff Parker, J. Torres, Andi Watson, and the multi-talented Amber Benson.



Ovi Nedelcu's Pigtale looks like it could be interesting, because, y'know, talking pigs.



Invincible gets a fourth collection, which is good news for us wait-for-the-trade'ers.



Caliber Comics rises from the grave with a best of Negative Burn anthology. Getting the rights together for this must have taken a good bit of work.



After what seems like ages, Rising Stars finally comes to an end.





Marvel



Greg Land finally gets around to doing some interior work again with X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong. Gee, do you think there'll be a trade?



X-23? Who asked for that?



Combat Zone is subtitled: True Tales of GI's in Iraq. Now, is that 'true tales' as in the Jessica Lynch rescue? Shouldn't something like this wait oh, I dunno, at least ten years or so after the war is over? There's no way these tales can have any sense of perspective, and I imagine that this is just going to smack of exploitation.



Beta Ray Bill gets his own mini with Stormbreaker. It's written by Michael Avon Oeming and drawn by CrossGen ex-pat Andrea Di Vito, so it might be worth pickingup the inevitable trade.



Peter David is back writing Incredible Hulk! 'Nuff said.



And David gets his own Hulk Visionaries volume, featuring his early work with his good buddy Todd McFarlane.



Is The Pulse still bi-monthly? I thought is was going monthly after the first arc was over. Although I guess if Brent Anderson is also drawing Astro City at the same time, bi-monthly is all we can hope for out of him.



Is there really a market for a fifth Fantastic Four comic? (I guess they want to have enough stuff to collect for when the FF movie comes out next year.) And isn't Robert Kirkman strietching himself awfulyl thin these days?



Speaking of movies, lots of stuff available for the Elektra flick.



Peter Millgan comes on board X-Men. I'm sure this won't be at the same high level as X-Statix, but at least Sal Larroca will get a script that's worth of his talents.



Loki gets a hardcover collection, while District X gets a trade.



Marvel Age trades include a second Emma Frost collection and a first collection of Araña (from Amazing Fantasy).





That's it for part 1. Part 2 tomorrow (probably...)

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From issue #3 of Phil Foglio's 1991 Angel and the Ape mini, it's Sam vs. Gorilla Grodd in a story that not only tied in with the rest of the Gorilla DCU but also featured the Inferior Five. Phil Foglio is a frickin' genius—you are reading Girl Genius, right? Angel and the Ape may not be his best work, but the next time you're rummaging through a quarter bin, seek it out for some fun comics reading.

(Standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a full-sized version.

New This Week: November 3, 2004

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:



The pick of the week is the paperback collection of the second volume of Phil & Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius. It's gaslamp fantasy fun for the entire family, and in full color.



Running a close second--and only because it's already been out in bookstores--is the second volume of The Complete Peanuts from Fantagraphics.



From DC there's Fallen Angel #17; the first issues of The Intimates and Grant Morrison's JLA Classified; a hardcover of Jill Thompson's Little Endless Storybook; the collected edition of Road to Perdition 2; the first issue of The Question; and the fourth Tom Strong hardcover.



Marvel has the end of Joss Whedon's first arc on Astonishing X-Men (#6); the Marvel Age collection of Mary Jane; the latest Ultimate Spider-Man collection (vol. 11: Carnage); and the final issue of Avengers (#503).



Dark Horse has the first issue of the next BPRD series, The Dead; Image has the return (finally!) of Rising Stars (#22) and the second issue of Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort; Arcana has the second issue of 100 Girls; Antarctic has the fourth Gold Diggers Perfect Memory.



Indy books of note include a Savage Henry one-shot from Aeon; Mike Allred's adaptation of the Book of Mormon, Golden Plates, from AAA Pop; another issue of Mark Oakley's wonderful Thieves & Kings (#45)--if you're looking for a replacement in your life for Bone, this is a good way to go!



Collections/GNs include No Dead Time from Oni; and Mister X vol. 1 from I Books.



Manga-wise, Tokyopop has Planetes vol. 4 pt. 1, new printings of the 2nd and 4th volumes of Paradise Kiss, and the first volume of Boys Be; Viz has the first volumes of Dolls and W Juliet; AD Vision has the third installments of Aria and Apocalypse Meow; Dark Horse has the fourth volume of Ring; Del Rey has the third volume of Tsubasa.



Again, there's something for just about everyone. So if you can't find something you like, you're not looking hard enough!

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Superboy has been turned into a giant ape! And he's attacking Clark Kent! How can this be?! I've never read Superboy #142, so I have no idea how writer E. Nelson Bridwell managed to take this cover by Curt Swan and George Klein and turn it into a story. Perhaps I'll never know...

(Standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a full-sized version.

Quick Super-Hero Comic Reviews

Power Pack #1
by Marc Sumerak, Gurihiru, & Chris Eliopoulos
I have previously declared my love for Power Pack, so I may not be the most objective reviewer here, but this was a very fine first issue of an all-ages comic, one that met my high expectations. Katie, the youngest, has written and drawn an essay on "My Best Summer Ever," which tells the secret origin of Power Pack, and the rest of the kids have to convince her to not turn it in as her assignment at at school. Oh yes, and they have to fight a young snark too. Sumerak's story hits every note just right, and the manga-tinged art by Gurihiru is wonderful and filled with vibrant colors. The bonus back-up story (and it is a bonus, being five extra pages on top of the main story's twenty-two) features honorary Packer and Fantastic Son Franklin Richards, with Eliopoulos doing a riff on Calvin & Hobbes. This whole package is just a fun, charming comic book; buy one for the kids, and another for yourself.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)


Seven Soldiers: Zatana #1
by Grant Morrison, Ryan Sook & Mick Gray
Zatanna by Morrison & Sook? I was sold on this as soon as it was announced, and it's just as good as I'd hoped it would be. Everyone's favorite fishnet-wearing magician has been having a tough time of it lately and has turned to a super-hero support group to deal with her self-esteem issues. I like how Morrison characterizes Z as a woman who is not quite at home as a magician or a super-hero (though maybe her self-esteem would be better if she wasn't always dressing up in fetish clothing...) Once again Morrison manages to quickly introduce us to several new characters, and he and Sook give us a wonderfully creepy Baron Winters as well. There are references to a lot of Alan Moore here, including the finale of "American Gothic" and a riff on Promethea (apt, with inker Gray along), but they never overwhelm the story. Sook turns in some great art, though at times Gray's inking is so strong that it threatens to overwhelm. This is my favorite so far of the Seven Soldiers series; the only bad thing is that we have to wait two months for the next issue.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


Superman/Batman #18
by Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco & Jesús Merino
Okay, so this whole "Absolute Power" story has been just one continuity riff after the other, but darn if I didn't turn into a gibbering fanboy when a certain super-group showed up near the end. If you look at it too closely, the whole story doens't really make one lick of sense, but I was having too much fun to care, and Pacheco & Merino sure to draw some pretty art (although, given the delays on this book, I worry about the schedule for the upcoming Green Lantern series...) A big fanboy geek-fest is Superman/Batman, but sometimes we old fanboys need to geek out.
Rating: 3 (of 5)

Luna-tics?

Newsarama have an interview with Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir regarding their new manga-esque series from Seven Seas, Amazing Agent Luna.

I reviewed Amazing Agent Luna earlier this week, and found it to be quite enjoyable. I suspect that it may be a tough sell to people though, as manga fans will consider anything produced domestically to be 'not real manga', and super-hero fans won't go near it because it looks too much like manga (art comix fans, of course, would never even deign to go near it...) But I do wish that people would give this all-ages book a try; it's some of the best work I've read from DeFilippis & Weir (much better than their New X-Men - Academy X) and the art by Carmela "Shiei" Doneza is very good too. You can read a preview at the Seven Seas Website. I encourage you to give it a try and see if it's to your liking.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Finishing off our salute to National Library Week, we have what is perhaps the greatest comic book cover ever. From 1956, Gil Kane & Bernard Sachs draw the cover for Otto Binder's story "Secret of the Man-Ape" in Strange Adventures #75. Who is this ape? Why does he need those three books? And doesn't he know that the reference librarian will help him fulfill his information needs without having to brandish a gun?

In fact, this cover is so great that it was recreated by Nick Cardy in 1973 for the cover of From Beyond the Unknown #23, wherein the story was reprinted.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

YAFL: Week 11 Results

Here are the results from week 11 of Yet Another Fantasy League:



Inferior 5 plus 6 60
Kickers Inc. 61

Nine Pound Hammers 69
The Inferior Five 65

Danger Limited 52
www.rickgebhardt.net 64

Secret Six 72
Moon Knights 80

The Maxx Squad 70
B.P.R.D. 67

Tomorrow Syndicate 80
Power Pack 65


Current Standings:

Team                 W-L-T  Pct   Pts  Streak
-------------------  -----  ----  ---  ------
*1.B.P.R.D.             8-3-0  .727  729  L-1
*2.Power Pack           8-3-0  .727  702  L-1
3.Kickers Inc.         7-4-0  .636  653  W-1
4.Nine Pound Hammers   7-4-0  .636  642  W-3
5.Inferior 5 plus 6    6-5-0  .545  715  L-5
6.www.rickgebhardt.net 6-5-0  .545  543  W-4
7.Secret Six           5-6-0  .455  715  L-2
8.Tomorrow Syndicate   5-6-0  .455  681  W-1
9.Danger Limited       4-7-0  .364  670  L-1
10.The Maxx Squad       4-7-0  .364  588  W-2
11.The Inferior Five    3-8-0  .273  556  L-3
12.Moon Knights         3-8-0  .273  552  W-1

Week 12 Games:
(Remember: games start on Thursday this week!)

The Inferior Five (3-8-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (7-4-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (7-4-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (6-5-0)

Danger Limited (4-7-0)
vs.
Moon Knights (3-8-0)

Secret Six (5-6-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (8-3-0)

The Maxx Squad (4-7-0)
vs.
Power Pack (8-3-0)

Inferior 5 plus 6 (6-5-0)
vs.
Tomorrow Syndicate (5-6-0)


Good luck to all!


In my other Fantasy Leagues, I lost--again, no big suprise--64-36 in my friends & family league (3-8-1, still seventh place); scored a solid 63-42 win in my public league (6-5-0, moved up to sixth place); and scored a sad 239.95 points in my Pass & Kick league, which dropped me to fifth place (I was winning this league at one time...) In Fantasy Basketball I went 3-3-2 and stayed in seventh place (9-13-2 overall).

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From 1953, here's Atlas's The Monkey and the Bear #1, with a cover by Howie Post.


Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

SNAP! Day 4: Anthologies

Continuing my long-delayed look at the things I picked up at SNAP! last month. This time out I'm focusing on the various anthologies. Of course, as with many anthologies, there's a wide range of styles and subject matter covered in these, and chances are that not all stories in each of these will be to all tastes. But that's one of the thigns that makes comics so great--the variety. Right?


Turtleneck Boy is the brainchild of mini-comics creator Suzanne Baumann. She created the blank slate character, and invites other creators to contribute stories about him. I picked up #5, which includes a four-page a Pam Bliss story, and a cover by Paul Sizer.


Yes, you're seeing that right, the price on Pop Art Funnies #3 is just 15 cents for a full-sized 32-page comic (black & white with color cover). It's the project of Martin Hirchak, who draws the lead story in each issue (and sometimes other stories too) and then gets area cartoonists (like Sean Bieri & Matt Feazell, among others) to contribute shorter stories to fill out the book. Issue #4 was 25 cents, and issue #5 was 50 cents. But even at that rate of increase it'll still be a bargain for a while.


At $6.95 Potlach Project #4 is more expensive, but it's also 108 black and white pages on sturdy paper stock, so it's a good deal too. It's from Angry Dog Press, a Maryland outfit, so presumably most of the artists here aren't local to Michigan, but there's still some interesting stuff to be found here.


The most interesting anthology has to be Empty Pockets from The Wooden Book Press. All of the contributors to this 250-page black & white anthology were students in Phoebe Gloeckner's narrative art courses from Fall 2004 & Winter 2005. Not only are these stories the first published work for these artists, for many it's the first comic work that they've ever done. Tastes will vary of course, and some stories are stronger than others, but it's on the whole impressive. At $19.95 it's not cheap, but worth it I think for a peek into what just might be the next generation of cartoonists.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Tarzan rescues Boy from strange apes in The Caverns of Kor on the 1961 cover of Tarzan #129, painted by George Wilson.

(Standard disclaimer about rock- and club-wielding apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Harbinger #0-41

Harbinger #0-41
CBR/ZIP | English | 42 Issues | 247 MB
Toyo Harada is the first Harbinger, and unlike subsequent Harbingers he was able to make his powers manifest at will, or activate the powers of others. Other Harbingers exhibit powers only rarely and this activation is always brought on by severe stress.

Harada is an Omega Harbinger: he commands the full spectrum of psionic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis, mind-control, and many other talents. He uses these powers to create a multinational corporation and amass a large fortune. Fearing the world is on a course to destroy itself, he plans to take it over and mold it to his specifications. To this end he creates the Harbinger Foundation, which actively searches for potential Harbingers (whose powers Harada triggers with his psionic abilities).

Pete Stanchek is a normal teenager until he develops Harbinger abilities. After seeing an advertisement he contacts the Harbinger Foundation. Harada is intrigued by Pete, who is the only other Harbinger to have triggered his own powers and who exhibits multiple abilities. Harada is no longer the only Omega Harbinger.

Harada tries to persuade Pete to join the Harbinger Foundation and become Harada's right hand man, but when Pete's best friend, who had been vocal about his distrust for Harada, is murdered by the Foundation Pete realizes the truth.

Pete, along with Kris (a high school cheerleader who, he later realizes, he had been unconsciously mentally controlling so that she would go out with him) become renegades. They decide to recruit Harbinger's themselves, activate their abilities and form an army capable of challenging Harada.

Download MIRROR #1 (0-22) | Download MIRROR #1 (23-41)

Download MIRROR #2 (0-22) | Download MIRROR #2 (23-41)

Ranking the DCnU Reboot Titles

DC is launching or relaunching a whopping fifty-two new titles in September. That's way too many to buy all of them, and this makes for a good opportunity to re-examine what I usually purchase. So here's my take, based on the available information (mainly the solicitations); all 52 of the DCnU relaunch titles, ranked according to my likelihood of buying them:

Definitely Yes

1. Action Comics - They had me at Grant Morrison + Superman.

2. Superman - I'm actually a bit apprehensive about the Superman reboot, like I am with every Superman reboot. But with Morrison & Perez at the helm, I'm fairly optimistic this time out. Plus, I've bought every issue of Superman since 1982, and I'm likely not stopping until I'm dead or it stops being published.

3. Batwoman - Finally! And with Williams switching off story arcs with Amy Reeder, this will likely be the best looking book on DC's slate.

4. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. - This looks to possibly be twenty pages of four-color awesome every month.

5. Justice League - I've bought every regular JL comic since the 80s, and this big-guns approach with Johns & Lee looks to be what I'm after in a JL comic.

6. Justice League International - A return to my second-favorite JL era, with Aaron Lopresti on art, makes for a winning combination.

Yes, with Reservations

7. Batgirl - Yes, I wish she were still Oracle as much as the rest of you. But I will read a Gail Simone Batgirl comic staring Barbara Gordon.

8. Animal Man - Every Animal Man take since Morrison's has disappointed, but I have hopes for Jeff Lemire giving it a shot.

9. Static Shock - One of my favorite Milestone characters. I wish Rozum were still doing Xombi, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

10. All-Star Western - Gray & Palmiotti's Jonah Hex has been consistantly entertaining for going on five years now, but I'm not sure it needs to lose the done-in-one stories nor does it need a Gotham City tie-in.

11. Wonder Woman - Normally Cliff Chiang drawing anything is an automatic yes, but I'm usually disappointed in Azzarello in general and his super-hero stuff in particular. But, when Azzarello & Chiang got together for Doctor 13, it was wonderful, so I'll hope for the same magic again here.

12. The Fury of Firestorm - Big fan of the character from the 80s and the recent Jason Rusch version as well. It will be interesting to see how Van Sciver & Simone merge their sensibilities in writing.

13. Blue Beetle - Glad to see Jaime Reyes given another go. If the new creative team can recapture the charm of the original, this this will be a winner.

14. Green Lantern - Looks like business as usual, so I'll likely stick around for a while.

15. Green Lantern Corps - Ditto.

16. Legion of Super-Heroes - Ditto.

17. Batman - I've really liked Snyder's writing on Detective as of late; I just wish he was being teamed with his 'Tec cohorts Jock and/or Francesco Francavilla here as well (I can take or leave Capullo).

18. Swamp Thing - Not completely sold on the reboot premise, but I like the creative team.

19. Demon Knights - Again, not sure about the premise, but Paul Cornell hasn't let me down yet.

Maybe/Provisional

20. Hawk and Dove - It'll be a race to see whether this or Batman: The Dark Knight is the first DCnU title to fall behind.

21. Stormwatch - Again, Cornell has yet to let me down, but I really don't see this Wildstorm concept fitting in to the DCnU, and Martian Manhunter seems like a really odd fit.

22. Mister Terrific - Like the character and the idea of his headlining a series, not too enthused by what I've seen from writer Eric Wallace in the past.

23. Supergirl - Not sure about the reboot here, but I've liked Green & Johnson's work on Superman/Batman, so this book gets the benefit of the doubt for now.

24. Batman and Robin - If this can maintain the punch and action I expect, then I'll stick around.

25. Batwing - 'The Batman of Africa' could be a good concept, but I'm not sure that Winick is the best choice for it.

26. Legion Lost - Yet another Legion in their past/our present story? But I like Pete Woods, so I'll check it out.

27. O.M.A.C. - Giffen co-writing and drawing bumps a concept I normally wouldn't care about up into the provisional category.

28. I, Vampire - I want to support this title, but man, that cover... ugh.

29. Aquaman - I always give new Aquaman titles a try, but am often disappointed.

30. The Flash - Can Manpul write? I'll give his a shot, but I'm not a huge Flash fan so this will be a very short trial.

31. Green Lantern: New Guardians - Not a huge Kyle Raynor fan, but Bedard generally writes pretty good super-hero science fiction-y stuff.

32. DC Universe Presents - Paul Jenkins' super-hero stuff normally leaves me a bit cold, but Deadman may be a good character for him. We'll see...

33. Justice League Dark - Horrible title, interesting premise. And that Milligan guy, who will now be writing both the Vertigo and DCnU versions of the character.

34. Detective Comics - I've been floating along with Daniel's work on Batman, but this may be a good place to drop off.

35. Resurrection Man - I never really read this the first go-around, but the premise always struck me as interesting.

36. Voodoo - This will really depend on execution a solid but not exciting creative team.

37. Suicide Squad - One of my favorite high-concepts ever in comics returns, but everything about that cover screams at me to stay away.

38. Blackhawks - Could be interesting, but could also go disastrously wrong. (Now if Jock were drawing this, I'd be all up for it...)

Probably Not

39. Men of War - I think I'd rather see this as a straight war comic without the super-hero-y stuff.

40. Grifter - Nothing much exciting here for this Wildstorm transplant.

41. Catwoman - The cover indicates that this is everything I don't want in a Catwoman comic.

42. Captain Atom - I like the charatcer and have very fond memories of the old Cary Bates series. But I don't care much for either creator.

43. Superboy - Looks like they're throwing away all the Superboy continuity. I really liked with Jeff Lemire was doing with the character, so this looks like a huge step back. The new creative team doesn't much appeal either.

44. Batman: The Dark Knight - Haven't really cared much for Finch on this title the first time around. Then again, committing to this title would only mean buying two or three issues a year...

45. Red Lanterns - I really don't think that I need twenty pages of characters vomiting blood each month.

Definitely No

46. Teen Titans - Seems like for the last five years or so I've always been on the verge of dropping this title, but there was always another new creative team around the corner. But this looks to be the final straw.

47. Nightwing - My level of not caring for any aspect of this is pretty darn high.

48. Birds of Prey - I've bought every single issue of BoP up to this point. And now? Ugh.

49. Red Hood and the Outlaws - Absolutely no appeal here.

50. Deathstroke - Ditto.

51. Green Arrow - One of my least favorite writers on a character I could care less about.

52. The Savage Hawkman - Non a huge fan of Tony Daniel's writing, and even less of a fan of Philip Tan's art. A very easy no.


Final totals:

Definitely Yes: 6 titles
Yes, With Reservations: 13 titles
Maybe/Provisional: 19 titles
Probably Not: 7 titles
Definitely No: 7 titles

Batman: Dark detective #1-6

Batman: Dark detective #1-6
CBR/ZIP | English | 6 Issues | 68 MB
One of the most popular Batman creative teams ever reunites for a twice-monthly- shipping 6-issue miniseries! Writer Steve Englehart and artists Marshall Rogers & Terry Austin set a high standard with their acclaimed run on DETECTIVE COMICS in the late 1970s! Now that team is back with BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE, a miniseries that pits the Dark Knight against the most famous and feared members of his Rogues Gallery! In the startling debut issue, the Joker enters a gubernatorial election using the campain slogan "Vote for me or I'll kill you!" Will it persuade voters? Plus, Bruce Wayne's old love interest Silver St. Cloud returns, as do Two-Face and the Scarecrow! And the action continues in the startling second issue, as the Scarecrow manages to overcome Batman in the one location where he's most vulnerable: the Batcave! Meanwhile, the Bruce Wayne/Silver St. Cloud relationship heats up! Issue #1.
Download MIRROR #1

Download MIRROR #2

Batman #711

Batman #711
2011 | English | 24 pages | CBR | 9.57MB
Batman acts on his suspicions of a newly elected political figure in Gotham City and finds himself in deep water. With piranhas. Meanwhile, Two-Face fights his way back from the brink of death to find an unlikely ally who will show him that there are two sides to every story.
See MIRROR #1

See MIRROR #2

Monkey Covers comic

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

The Justice League battles a giant gorilla on the cover of JLA #92 (2004) by Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen.



(Standard disclaimer about wrathful apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Grimm Fairy Tales: The Library #1 [First Issue's Day]

Grimm Fairy Tales: The Library #1
2011 | English | 33 pages | CBR | 18.6MB
Grimm Fairy Tales presents an all new miniseries that explores an alternate reality of the Grimm Universe. When fourteen year old Sela Mathers discovers an ancient magic book in a condemned library her and her younger brother cast a spell that unlocks the amazing worlds and characters from the books and novels around them. Hercules, Robin Hood and Pecos Bill all come magically to life. But heroes aren't the only characters in stories. Villains too are affected by the magic spell and soon the children find themselves in a race against time to reverse the spell as evil characters from all of literature threaten to take over the world. Their only chance lies with the heroes they've brought to life. But even that may not be enough to stop the Frankenstein, Baba Yaga and the Wicked Witch of the West!