Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection in August:
Abnett, Dan. Star trek voyager : elite force / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm Productions, c2000.
Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto. Marvel divas / New York, NY : Marvel Pub., c2010.
Akamatsu, Ken. Negima vols. 1-3 / New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, 2004-
Ambrosio, Stefano. Walt Disney's Wizards of Mickey. [vol. 1], Mouse magic / Los Angeles : Boom! Studios, 2010.
The American way. nos. 1-8 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2006.
Archie : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.
Archie & friends double digest. nos. 1-5 / Mamaroneck, N.Y. : Archie Comic Pub., 2011-
Archie's girls Betty and Veronica : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.
Ariga, Hitoshi. MegaMan. Megamix. Books 1-3 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, 2010
Asprin, Robert. Thieves' world graphics no. 5 / Norfolk : Starblaze Graphics, 1985-1987.
Austen, Chuck. Captain America, v. 3 : Ice / New York : Marvel Comics, 2003.
Baldwin, Gregory S. Path / [S.l.] : Com.x, 2008.
Bernardin, Marc. Pilot season : Genius / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2008.
Billings, Bruce. Between the sheets : Castro comics / San Francisco, CA : Leyland Publications, 1989.
Black Olive. Outlook grim. [Vol. 1], The dead nasties / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., c2004.
Blackburn, Jolly R. Knights of the dinner table : tales from the vault v. 1 / Menlo Park, CA : Kenzer & Co., c1998-
Breathed, Berke. Classics of western literature : Bloom County, 1986-1989 / Boston : Little, Brown, c1990.
Brereton, Daniel. Nocturnals : Troll bridge / Portland, Or. : Oni Press, 2000.
Brereton, Daniel. The gunwitch : outskirts of doom / Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2002.
Brubaker, Ed. The dead and the dying : a criminal edition / New York : Marvel, 2008.
Caliber core. / Plymouth, MI : Caliber Comics, c1998.
Card, Orson Scott. Ultimate Iron Man. [Vol. 1] / New York : Marvel, 2006.
Cherkas, Michael, 1954- Suburban nightmares. Childhood secrets : collected stories / New York : NBM Pub., c1996.
Cho, Frank. Zombie king / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2005.
Chrono, Nanae. Peace maker Kurogane v. 1. A stranger comes to town / Houston : ADV Manga, 2004-
Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-Men : the end. vols. 1-3 / New York : Marvel Comics, c2005-
Classic looney tunes comics. Vol. 1 / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2009.
Classic Star Wars, a long time ago. nos. 3, 6. / Milwaukie, Oregon : Dark Horse Comics, 1999-
Comic relief presents funny stuff. nos. 10, 12. / Eureka, CA : Page One Publishers & Bookworks, Inc., c1995
Comic relief. / Eureka, CA : Page One Publishers & Bookworks, c1989-
The comics that ate my brain / Newbury Park, Calif. : Mailbu Graphics, Inc., 1991.
Cornell, Paul. True story / New York : Marvel, 2009.
Crane, Jordan, 1973- Uptight no. 1 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, 2006-
Crispin, A. C. Star trek : enter the wolves / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm Productions, 2001
Daly, Joe, 1979- Scrublands / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2006.
Dark Horse twenty years. / Milwaukie, Ore. : Dark Horse Comics, c2006.
DeFilippis, Nunzio. Once in a blue moon. Vol. I / Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2004.
Denton, Shannon Eric. Tabula Rasa / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006.
Disney Adventures presents Comic Zone. / New York : Random House Children's Books, 2005.
Dysart, Josh. Unknown soldier. [2], Easy kill / New York : DC Comics, c2010.
Edge vols. 1-13 / Oldsmar, Fla. : CrossGeneration Comics, c2002-
Edginton, Ian. Kane & Lynch / New York : DC Comics, c2011.
Eldred, Tim. Broid no.1 / Newbury Park, CA : Eternity Comics, 1990.
Ellis, Warren. Dark blue / Urbana, IL : Avatar Press, 2006.
Emissary. nos. 1-6 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006-
Espinosa, Rod. Battle Girlz. Pocket manga #1 / San Antonio, TX : Antarctic Press, 2004.
Espinosa, Rod. The prince of heroes v. 1 / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic Press, c2008-
The Eternals. nos. 6-7 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1976-
Faraci, Tito. Daredevil & Captain America : dead on arrival / New York : Marvel Pub., 2008.
Fernandez, Fernando, 1940- Bram Stoker's Dracula / New York : Del Ray Books, 2005.
The forbidden sands of Anauroch. Chapter one / [S.l.] : Twenty First Century Comics, [2000-]
Forge vols. 1-13 / Oldsmar, Fla. : CrossGeneration Comics, c2002-
Frank, Steve L. Zombies vs cheerleaders / Calumet City, IL : Moonstone, c2010.
Fringe : tales from the Fringe. / New York : DC Comics, c2011.
Gage, Christos. Dante's inferno / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm, 2010.
Gerber, Steve, 1947-2008. Stewart the rat / New York : Eclipse Enterprises, 1980.
Gibbons, Dave, 1949- Captain America : Cap lives / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, c2004.
Gibbons, Dave, 1949- Thunderbolt Jaxon nos. 1-5 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2006.
Giffen, Keith. Hero squared / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2006.
Gischler, Victor, 1969- The death of Dracula / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2010
Golden, Christopher. Star Trek the Next Generation : Embrace the wolf / La Jolla, Calif. : WildStorm Productions, 2000.
Goodwin, Archie. The official comics adaptation of Star wars, return of the Jedi / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1983.
Gray, Justin. The tattered man / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2011.
Greenberger, Robert. The essential Batman encyclopedia / New York : Del Rey/DC/Ballantine Books, c2008.
Gross, Allan. Cryptozoo crew nos. 1-3 / New York : NBM Pub., 2005-
Guggenheim, Marc. Civil war : Wolverine / New York : Marvel Comics, c2007
Gumby free comic book day special. / Walnut Creek, Calif. : Wildcard Ink, 2007.
Hancock, Larry, 1954- Suburban nightmares. The science experiment / New York, N.Y. : NBM Pub., 1990.
Harper, Charise Mericle. Fashion Kitty / New York : Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, c2005.
Harris, Micah S. Lorna : relic wrangler / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2011
Hartzell, Andy. Bread & circuses no. 1 / Las Vegas, NV : Moe Press, c1995.
Heinberg, Allan. Young avengers. vols. 1-2 / New York : Marvel Comics, c2005-
Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Geo. Herriman's Krazy + Ignatz v. 5 : 1920 / Forestville, CA : Eclipse Books/Turtle Island Foundation, 1988-
Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : "love letters in ancient brick" : continuing the complete full-page comic strips, 1927-1928 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2008.
Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : the "Krazy Kat" dailies, daily strips 1/1/1921-12/31/1921 / [S.l.] : Pacific Comics Club, c2003.
Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy Kat : the "Krazy Kat" dailies : all the daily strips from 1923 / Long Beach, California : Pacific Comics Club, c2005.
Holguin, Brian. Spawn : Godslayer / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006.
Holkins, Jerry. Penny arcade / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2005.
Howard the Duck. nos. 1-4 / New York, NY : Marvel Publishing, 2007-2008.
Huizenga, Kevin, 1977- The wild kingdom : starring Glenn Ganges / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Farrar, Straus and Giroux ; Vancouver : Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books, 2010.
John Carter warlord of Mars. nos. 3-4 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1977-1979.
Johns, Geoff, 1973- The Flash, blitz / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2004
Jughead : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.
Kamachi, Kazuma. A certain scientific railgun. Vol. 1 / [Los Angeles] : Seven Seas Entertainment, 2011.
Karlin, Nurit. No comment : cartoons / New York : Scribner, c1978.
Kay, Stan. The Muppets take Manhattan / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1984.
Kids' liberation coloring book. / San Francisco, CA : Last Gasp, c1971.
Kiefer, H. C. (Henry Carl), 1890-1957. King Solomon's mines / New York : Gilberton, 1952.
Killraven. / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2001.
Knaak, Richard A. World of Warcraft : shadow wing vols. 1-2 / Hamburg ; Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2010-
Kuroda, Kenji. Phoenix Wright, ace attorney. Volume 1 / New York : Kodansha Comics, c2011.
Lee, Stan, 1922- Stan Lee meets Doctor Strange. / New York : Marvel Pub., 2006.
Lee, Stan. Spider-man kingpin to the death / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1997.
Lewis, A. David, 1977- Mortal coils : bodylines / Arlington, VA : Caption Box/Red Eye Press, c2004-
Lex, Jasen. The science fair nos. 1-4 / San Antonio : Antarctic Press, 2005.
Lichius, Ben. The black coat : a call to arms / San Diego, CA : Ape Entertainment, 2006.
Lobdell, Scott. Galaxy quest : global warning! nos. 1-5 / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., 2008-
Loux, Matthew. SideScrollers / Portland, Or. : Oni ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2006.
Maltaite, Eric. The 1001 nights of Scheherazade / New York : Eurotica, c2001.
Mami, Itou. Maleficarum / Thornhill, Ont. : Udon ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.
Marvel year-in-review ... 1989-1992 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics.
McKeever, Sean. Gravity nos. 1-5 / New York : Marvel, 2005
McKeever, Sean. Nomad. Girl without a world / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.
Millar, Mark. Wanted : dossier / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, Inc., 2004.
Millar, Mark. Wanted nos. 1-6 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Top Cow Productions ; Berkeley : Image Comics, 2003-
Miller, Daniel. Creased v. 1 / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, 2004-
Moore, Stuart. Stuart Moore's Para. nos. 1-6 / Houston, TX : Penny-Farthing Press, 2004.
Morimoto, Sango, 1955- Taro and the carnival of doom / San Francisco, CA : VizKids, 2011.
Murder by Crowquill / Cleveland Heights, OH : Amazing Montage Press, c1999.
Mystery in space. nos. 1-8 / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2006-2007.
The mystic hands of Doctor Strange no. 1 / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.
Nakahira, Masahiko. Street fighter alpha. Volume 2 / Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada : Udon, c2007.
Niles, Steve. 30 days of night : return to Barrow / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., c2004.
Niles, Steve. 30 days of night / San Diego, CA : Idea & Design Works, LLC, c2003.
Nocenti, Ann. Daredevil : Typhoid Mary / New York : Marvel Comics, c2003.
O'Neil, Dennis, 1939- Batman : tales of the demon. / New York, NY : Warner Books, [1992]
Ogilvie, Michael. Hugs : bloodpond / [S.l. : s.n.], 2007.
Oh, comics!. no. 15 / Dublin, OH : Corby Visual Productions.
Oliver, Jose. Young Lovecraft / Philadelphia, PA : KettleDrummer Books, 2009.
Pak, Greg. The Incredible Hulks. Planet savage / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2011.
Paszkiewicz, Douglas. The thousand deaths of Baron Von Donut / [Milwaukee, WI] : Arsenic Lullaby Pub., c2004.
Reed, Gary, 1956- Bram Stoker's Dracula : the graphic novel / New York : Puffin, 2006.
Rhine, Robert Steven, 1958- Robert Steven Rhine presents Satan's 3-ring circus of Hell / Watertown, CT : Asylum Press, 2005.
The rising stars of manga : United Kingdom and Ireland. Vol. 1. / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, 2006.
The rising stars of manga. vols. 5-6 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2003-
Robinson, James. Illegal alien / Northampton, MA : Kitchen Sink Press, c1994.
Rubenfeld, Jesse. Into the dust nos. 1-2 / [S.l. : Tool Publications], c2007-
Rucka, Greg. Batman : death and the maidens / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2004.
Saltares, Javier. David's mighty men / La Mesa, CA : Alias Enterprises/Community Comics, 2005.
Sawai, Yoshio. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. vols. 3-4 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, [2008-]
Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Classroom Peanuts / New York, N.Y. : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, c1982.
Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Kiss her, you blockhead! / New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983.
Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. You're weird, sir! / New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982.
Seagle, Steven T. Green Lantern : brightest day, blackest night / New York : DC Comics, c2002.
Sekikawa, Natsuo. Hotel Harbour View / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Spectrum Ed., 1990.
Sempé, 1932- Displays of affection / New York : Workman Pub., c1981.
Sen, Jai. Garlands of moonlight / [Delhi, N.Y.] : Shoto Press, c2002.
Sen, Jai. The ghost of Silver Cliff / [Delhi, NY] : Shoto Press, c2002.
Sim, Dave, 1956- Dave Sim-- the Usenet interview / [Kitchener, Ont. : Aardvark-Vanaheim], c1992.
Simonson, Walter. The official comics adaptation of Raiders of the lost ark / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1981.
Siu-Chong, Ken. Street Fighter legends v. 2. Chun-Li / Richmond Hill, ONT : Udon Entertainment, 2006-
Smith, John. Devlin Waugh : swimming in blood / New York : DC Comics, c2004.
Smith, John. Red tide / New York : DC Comics, c2005.
Sonic select. Book one / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2008.
Sonic select. Book three / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2010.
Sonic select. Book two / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2008.
Spellbinders. nos. 1-6 / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, 2005.
Staros, Chris. Staros report. 1996, 1997 / [S.l. : The StarHouse, 1994-
Steinberg, David, 1962- Game on! / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c2009.
Straczynski, J. Michael, 1954- Thor. [vol.2] / New York : Marvel Publishing, 2009.
Sutton, Ward. Tales of ambition. #1 / [S.l.] : Entertainment Weekly, [200-]
Taddeo, John. Zoom suit. nos. 1-4 / Boca Raton, Fla. : Superverse, 2006-
Tales of the Green Hornet. nos. 1-2 / Chicago, IL. : Now Comics, 1990-
Telgemeier, Raina. Mary Anne saves the day : a graphic novel / New York : Graphix, 2007.
TenNapel, Doug. Creature Tech / Berkeley, Calif. : Image ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010
Terasawa, Buichi, 1955- Goku : Midnight eye vols. 1-3 / Fremont, CA : ComicsOne Corp., c2001.
Thomas, John Rhett. Moon Knight saga / New York : Marvel Comics, p2009.
Toma. X diary / Jersey City, NJ : Netcomics, 2006.
Tommaso, Rich. Miriam issue 1 / Gainesville, Fla. : Alternative Comics ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2007.
Toole, Fred. Paul, God's traveler / Waco, Texas : Word Books, 1980.
Torres, J., 1969- Wall-E : Recharge / Los Angeles, CA : BOOM Kids!, 2010.
Vitaliano, Fausto. Double Duck. [Book 1] / Los Angeles : Boom Kids!, 2010.
Voltaire, 1967- The book of deady. Vol. 1 / Unadilla, N.Y. : Sirius ; London : Diamond [distributor], [2006], c2004.
W.I.T.C.H. graphic novel. nos. 1-4 / New York : Volo, c2005-
Waid, Mark, 1962- Strange. The doctor is out! / New York : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2010.
Waid, Mark. Incorruptible vols. 1-2, 4 / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2010-
Wakasugi, Kiminori. Detroit Metal City. 1 / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media, 2009.
War of kings saga / New York, NY : Marvel Publishing, 2009.
Warcraft : Legends vols. 2-5 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, c2008-
Ward, Lynd, 1905-1985. Lynd Ward / New York, N. Y. : Library of America, 2010.
What were they thinking?!. [Vol. 1] / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2006.
Winick, Judd. Batman under the hood vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2005-
Winick, Judd. Love on the lam / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2001.
Winick, Judd. The trials of Shazam! nos. 1-12 / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2006-
The Wizard WildStorm special. / Congers, NY : Wizard, c1999.
Wizard Witchblade special. / Congers, NY : Wizard Entertainment, c1998.
Young, Janine Ellen. Star Trek voyager. Avalon rising / La Jolla, CA. : WildStorm Productions, 2000.
As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Sure Is Quiet...
Hey IITS Readers,
Just a quick project update since I noticed I hadn't posted in awhile. We're in the middle of making some pretty substantial changes to the Kayli in-game model, which will then need to be re-rigged and also needs a facial rig for facial animations, and finally...I'm pretty close to finding a VO actress for the role of Kayli! More on that soon, hopefully. =)
Thanks for stopping by!
- Joseph
Just a quick project update since I noticed I hadn't posted in awhile. We're in the middle of making some pretty substantial changes to the Kayli in-game model, which will then need to be re-rigged and also needs a facial rig for facial animations, and finally...I'm pretty close to finding a VO actress for the role of Kayli! More on that soon, hopefully. =)
Thanks for stopping by!
- Joseph
Monday, 19 September 2011
DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Batman and Robin; Batwoman
(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)
Batman and Robin #1
by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
Original Rank/Assessment: 24 (Maybe/Provisional) - If this can maintain the punch and action I expect, then I'll stick around.
The last time we had a first issue of Batman and Robin it was by Morrison & Quitely, and they quite simply knocked my socks off. Tomasi & Gleason can't match that, but then I wasn't really expecting them to. They do perfectly fine job here, establishing the plot and characters and the new status quo while inserting plenty of action. However, I found the coloring to be too dark (yes, even for a Batman title!) And a plot point bothered me: While Gleason was absolutely correct to depict the research reactor at Gotham U. as a swimming pool reactor (I visited the one in the building next door to where I work, back before they dismantled it a few years ago...), there's a reason why security is light at such reactors: there is nothing there worth stealing! That aside, I'm interested enough to stick around through the first arc; after that, we'll see.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Batwoman #1
by J. H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Original Rank/Assessment: 3 (Definitely Yes) - Finally! And with Williams switching off story arcs with Amy Reeder, this will likely be the best looking book on DC's slate.
One of the most anticipated of the New 52, the first issue of Batwoman finally sees the light of day after several delays. A handful of changes will obviously have to be made to align the story with the new reality; the most major here being the recasting of Maggie Sawyer from a captain to just a detective, which should change the dynamics of her relationship with Kate Kane somewhat. Oddly other key plot points are not adjusted, notably Bette's former career as a Teen Titan. It's probably best to just ignore such things and go with it. Last month the book our graphic narrative discussion group discussed by Batwoman: Elegy, and while I liked it a lot before we discussed it, after our discussion I really really liked it. That book had layers and there was plenty to sink our teeth into. So I was very interested to see how Willaims & Blackman would do taking over the writing duties from Rucka. They do a good job. It won't be the same book as it would have been with Rucka at the helm, but it still looks fantastic and is easily one of the strong entries in the DCnU. So far so good, and I have no reason to expect anything less from the forthcoming issues.
Rating: 4 (of 5).
by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
Original Rank/Assessment: 24 (Maybe/Provisional) - If this can maintain the punch and action I expect, then I'll stick around.
The last time we had a first issue of Batman and Robin it was by Morrison & Quitely, and they quite simply knocked my socks off. Tomasi & Gleason can't match that, but then I wasn't really expecting them to. They do perfectly fine job here, establishing the plot and characters and the new status quo while inserting plenty of action. However, I found the coloring to be too dark (yes, even for a Batman title!) And a plot point bothered me: While Gleason was absolutely correct to depict the research reactor at Gotham U. as a swimming pool reactor (I visited the one in the building next door to where I work, back before they dismantled it a few years ago...), there's a reason why security is light at such reactors: there is nothing there worth stealing! That aside, I'm interested enough to stick around through the first arc; after that, we'll see.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
by J. H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Original Rank/Assessment: 3 (Definitely Yes) - Finally! And with Williams switching off story arcs with Amy Reeder, this will likely be the best looking book on DC's slate.
One of the most anticipated of the New 52, the first issue of Batwoman finally sees the light of day after several delays. A handful of changes will obviously have to be made to align the story with the new reality; the most major here being the recasting of Maggie Sawyer from a captain to just a detective, which should change the dynamics of her relationship with Kate Kane somewhat. Oddly other key plot points are not adjusted, notably Bette's former career as a Teen Titan. It's probably best to just ignore such things and go with it. Last month the book our graphic narrative discussion group discussed by Batwoman: Elegy, and while I liked it a lot before we discussed it, after our discussion I really really liked it. That book had layers and there was plenty to sink our teeth into. So I was very interested to see how Willaims & Blackman would do taking over the writing duties from Rucka. They do a good job. It won't be the same book as it would have been with Rucka at the helm, but it still looks fantastic and is easily one of the strong entries in the DCnU. So far so good, and I have no reason to expect anything less from the forthcoming issues.
Rating: 4 (of 5).
Sunday, 18 September 2011
DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Demon Knights; Frankenstein; Resurrection Man
(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)
Demon Knights #1
by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves & Oclair Albert
Original Rank/Assessment: 19 (Yes, with Reservations) - Again, not sure about the premise, but Paul Cornell hasn't let me down yet.
Set in medieval time, in the Dark Ages following the fall of Camelot, this is DC's medieval Justice League, featuring The Demon, Madame Xanadu, The Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, and others. This issue is the start of their origin, with the principles meeting in a bar brawl, which is such a cliché that it is humorous and an indication that thankfully this comic won't be taking itself too seriously. If I'm disappointed at all it is that Mme. Xanadu's character is not the same as in her recent Vertigo series, but this new version does have a level of snark that may grow on me. The art is clear and clean and it is surprisingly colorful. Not yet a must-read, but it is a good solid comic with the potential to be a lot of fun.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1
by Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli
Original Rank/Assessment: 4 (Definitely Yes) - This looks to possibly be twenty pages of four-color awesome every month.
Frankenstein's monster leads a team of Creature Commandos based on old Hollywood movie monsters (vampire, mummy, werewolf, etc.) to fight the strange and unusual. Fun concept (if a bit reminiscent of Hellboy) and good execution. I like my comics full of crazy super science concepts and monsters fighting and this comic delivers the goods. I was unsure about Ponticelli's art at first as it doesn't quite fit with the super science stuff at the beginning, but when we got to Frankenstein and his crew laying the smackdown on the giant monsters invading a small town, I was completely sold; Ponticelli draws great monsters!
Rating: 3.5 (of 5).
Resurrection Man #1
by Dan Abnet, Andy Lanning, & Fernando Dagnino
Original Rank/Assessment: 35 (Maybe/Provisional) - I never really read this the first go-around, but the premise always struck me as interesting.
I still find the premise intriguing: Every time Mitch Shelley dies, he comes back to life with a different super power. As such, Mitch is a very reluctant hero, visited by a new compulsion when he is reborn with new powers. This new first issue introduces the title character and his situation and manages to get in some action as well, but I found Dagnino's art to be inconsistent and at times detrimental to good flow; there's a rushed feeling to the whole affair (maybe a separate inker would help?)
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves & Oclair Albert
Original Rank/Assessment: 19 (Yes, with Reservations) - Again, not sure about the premise, but Paul Cornell hasn't let me down yet.
Set in medieval time, in the Dark Ages following the fall of Camelot, this is DC's medieval Justice League, featuring The Demon, Madame Xanadu, The Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, and others. This issue is the start of their origin, with the principles meeting in a bar brawl, which is such a cliché that it is humorous and an indication that thankfully this comic won't be taking itself too seriously. If I'm disappointed at all it is that Mme. Xanadu's character is not the same as in her recent Vertigo series, but this new version does have a level of snark that may grow on me. The art is clear and clean and it is surprisingly colorful. Not yet a must-read, but it is a good solid comic with the potential to be a lot of fun.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
by Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli
Original Rank/Assessment: 4 (Definitely Yes) - This looks to possibly be twenty pages of four-color awesome every month.
Frankenstein's monster leads a team of Creature Commandos based on old Hollywood movie monsters (vampire, mummy, werewolf, etc.) to fight the strange and unusual. Fun concept (if a bit reminiscent of Hellboy) and good execution. I like my comics full of crazy super science concepts and monsters fighting and this comic delivers the goods. I was unsure about Ponticelli's art at first as it doesn't quite fit with the super science stuff at the beginning, but when we got to Frankenstein and his crew laying the smackdown on the giant monsters invading a small town, I was completely sold; Ponticelli draws great monsters!
Rating: 3.5 (of 5).
by Dan Abnet, Andy Lanning, & Fernando Dagnino
Original Rank/Assessment: 35 (Maybe/Provisional) - I never really read this the first go-around, but the premise always struck me as interesting.
I still find the premise intriguing: Every time Mitch Shelley dies, he comes back to life with a different super power. As such, Mitch is a very reluctant hero, visited by a new compulsion when he is reborn with new powers. This new first issue introduces the title character and his situation and manages to get in some action as well, but I found Dagnino's art to be inconsistent and at times detrimental to good flow; there's a rushed feeling to the whole affair (maybe a separate inker would help?)
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Deathstroke; Grifter; Suicide Squad
(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)
Deathstroke #1
by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett & Art Thibert
Original Rank/Assessment: 50 (Definitely No) - Absolutely no appeal here.
One of the charms of the old version of Deathstroke is that while Slade Wilson was an assassin-for-hire, he also fancied himself a gentleman and worked by a code of ethics. This DCnU version seems to jettisoned all of that, leaving Slade as simply a cold-blooded killer. Maybe they're eventually working their way to Slade changing what he is, but what we're left with now is a comic that just revels in violence with a protagonist who is as uninteresting and he is uncharming. There may be some who want to read this sort of comic, but I suspect even they will find this particular comic lacking.
Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
Grifter #1
by Nathan Edmondson, Cafu & Jason Gorder
Original Rank/Assessment: 40 (Probably Not) - Nothing much exciting here for this Wildstorm transplant.
Cole Cash is a former special forces soldier turned confidence man, now seemingly haunted by the voices of mysterious creatures (Daemonites?) who are hunting him for unknown reasons. There's plenty of action and some exposition, though I had some troubles following the transitions. This could evolve into an interesting title if they decide to focus on Cash's con man side, but it's not quite there yet. In the 'protagonists who carry guns and shoot people' it's miles ahead of Deathstroke (but that's fairly easy to do).
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Suicide Squad #1
by Adam Glass, Federico Dallocchio & Ransom Getty
Original Rank/Assessment: 37 (Maybe/Provisional) - One of my favorite high-concepts ever in comics returns, but everything about that cover screams at me to stay away.
Another comic that seems to revel in violence, in this case torture, shootings, people being burned alive, etc. Granted, we're talking about bad guys doing bad things and having bad things done to them, but that seems a thin excuse. The Suicide Squad's core concept, villains enlisted against their will to work for the state, is one that is ripe with conflict and potential. But so far this new iteration seems to be throwing all that potential away in favor of an excuse for violence. And I haven't even touched on the unnecessary visual changes to Harley Quinn & Amanda Waller; others have already taken care of those angles so I won't dwell on them here. If you're looking for a good version of the Suicide Squad, go dig out the old John Ostrander-written issues; or go buy Marvel's Thunderbolts, where Jeff Parker has taken the SS concept to the Marvel universe nearly whole-cloth, but at least understands it's potential and how to use it. So far, DC's new Suicide Squad is failing.
Rating: 2 (of 5).
by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett & Art Thibert
Original Rank/Assessment: 50 (Definitely No) - Absolutely no appeal here.
One of the charms of the old version of Deathstroke is that while Slade Wilson was an assassin-for-hire, he also fancied himself a gentleman and worked by a code of ethics. This DCnU version seems to jettisoned all of that, leaving Slade as simply a cold-blooded killer. Maybe they're eventually working their way to Slade changing what he is, but what we're left with now is a comic that just revels in violence with a protagonist who is as uninteresting and he is uncharming. There may be some who want to read this sort of comic, but I suspect even they will find this particular comic lacking.
Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
by Nathan Edmondson, Cafu & Jason Gorder
Original Rank/Assessment: 40 (Probably Not) - Nothing much exciting here for this Wildstorm transplant.
Cole Cash is a former special forces soldier turned confidence man, now seemingly haunted by the voices of mysterious creatures (Daemonites?) who are hunting him for unknown reasons. There's plenty of action and some exposition, though I had some troubles following the transitions. This could evolve into an interesting title if they decide to focus on Cash's con man side, but it's not quite there yet. In the 'protagonists who carry guns and shoot people' it's miles ahead of Deathstroke (but that's fairly easy to do).
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
by Adam Glass, Federico Dallocchio & Ransom Getty
Original Rank/Assessment: 37 (Maybe/Provisional) - One of my favorite high-concepts ever in comics returns, but everything about that cover screams at me to stay away.
Another comic that seems to revel in violence, in this case torture, shootings, people being burned alive, etc. Granted, we're talking about bad guys doing bad things and having bad things done to them, but that seems a thin excuse. The Suicide Squad's core concept, villains enlisted against their will to work for the state, is one that is ripe with conflict and potential. But so far this new iteration seems to be throwing all that potential away in favor of an excuse for violence. And I haven't even touched on the unnecessary visual changes to Harley Quinn & Amanda Waller; others have already taken care of those angles so I won't dwell on them here. If you're looking for a good version of the Suicide Squad, go dig out the old John Ostrander-written issues; or go buy Marvel's Thunderbolts, where Jeff Parker has taken the SS concept to the Marvel universe nearly whole-cloth, but at least understands it's potential and how to use it. So far, DC's new Suicide Squad is failing.
Rating: 2 (of 5).
Saturday, 17 September 2011
DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Legion Lost; Mister Terrific; Superboy
(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)
Legion Lost #1
by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods
Original Rank/Assessment: 26 (Maybe/Provisional) - Yet another Legion in their past/our present story? But I like Pete Woods, so I'll check it out.
The set-up has been done before: members of the Legion of Super-Heroes travel back in time to the present day and find themselves trapped here. So it all comes down to the execution. This time around, the Legionnaires are after a time-traveling terrorist with a bio-weapon, and they find that their futuristic technology is for unknown reasons failing. I'm not sure how new readers will react to the introductions of these mostly second-tier Legionnaires, but as I've been reading Legion stories for nearly thirty years I didn't have any difficulties. Fabian Nicieza has never been one of the most exciting comics writers, but he always turns in a solid super-hero story and does the same here. Pete Woods seems to have modified his style a bit here with his lines seeming somewhat thicker than I remember, but he's still a very good storyteller. So this is pretty much what I expected, though I'm not sure how long the premise will be able to hold up.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
Mister Terrific #1
by Eric Wallace, Gianluca Gugliotta & Wayne Faucher
Original Rank/Assessment: 22 (Maybe/Provisional) - 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.
I was interested to see how the modern Mister Terrific would work outside of his context as a JSA legacy character. Then Karen Starr (formerly the secret identity of Power Girl, anothehr JSA'er) showed up, and it started me thinking: We know that DC have a Justice Society comic in the works, set on a new version of the alternate Earth-2. What if this new Mister Terrific comic is also set on Earth-2, and they just haven't explicitly cued us in on that fact? There's nothing here to indicate that it is set on the same world as all of the other DCnU titles. And then there's the gold DC Comics logo on the cover, different from any of the other logos (Gold = Golden Age = JSA ???) It makes me wonder if DC are being sneaky here... As for the comic itself, I think it's an odd choice to have your main character become a mind-controlled pawn in his first issue, and I'm not enthused by Gugliotta's art, which I find to be quite inconsistent. But I still fundamentally like the character so I'll stick around for a couple more issues to see how things progress.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Superboy #1
by Scott Lobdell, R. B. Silva & Rob Lean
Original Rank/Assessment: 43 (Probably Not) - 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.
Another comic that turned out better than I thought it would. I still think it's sad that Lemire's Superboy comic was cut short by the coming of the new DCU. But getting over that and viewing this new Superboy comic on its own terms, it comes off surprisingly well. Fundamentally we still have Superboy as a vat-grown clone combining Superman & Lex Luthor's DNA, but his origin jettisons the original's "Death of Superman" tie-in and is now more closely aligning with that of the Superboy from the current Young Justice cartoon. And I was wrong is my assessment of the creative team as well. Lobdell's story does a good job of introducing the situation and characters and even pulls off an effective fake-out in the middle section. I also like the clean look of the art from Silva & Lean and the colors from the Horries blend well with the line art. So while I'm still not completely sold and it could go wring when Superboy is finally released into the outside world, I like what I see so far.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods
Original Rank/Assessment: 26 (Maybe/Provisional) - Yet another Legion in their past/our present story? But I like Pete Woods, so I'll check it out.
The set-up has been done before: members of the Legion of Super-Heroes travel back in time to the present day and find themselves trapped here. So it all comes down to the execution. This time around, the Legionnaires are after a time-traveling terrorist with a bio-weapon, and they find that their futuristic technology is for unknown reasons failing. I'm not sure how new readers will react to the introductions of these mostly second-tier Legionnaires, but as I've been reading Legion stories for nearly thirty years I didn't have any difficulties. Fabian Nicieza has never been one of the most exciting comics writers, but he always turns in a solid super-hero story and does the same here. Pete Woods seems to have modified his style a bit here with his lines seeming somewhat thicker than I remember, but he's still a very good storyteller. So this is pretty much what I expected, though I'm not sure how long the premise will be able to hold up.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
by Eric Wallace, Gianluca Gugliotta & Wayne Faucher
Original Rank/Assessment: 22 (Maybe/Provisional) - 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.
I was interested to see how the modern Mister Terrific would work outside of his context as a JSA legacy character. Then Karen Starr (formerly the secret identity of Power Girl, anothehr JSA'er) showed up, and it started me thinking: We know that DC have a Justice Society comic in the works, set on a new version of the alternate Earth-2. What if this new Mister Terrific comic is also set on Earth-2, and they just haven't explicitly cued us in on that fact? There's nothing here to indicate that it is set on the same world as all of the other DCnU titles. And then there's the gold DC Comics logo on the cover, different from any of the other logos (Gold = Golden Age = JSA ???) It makes me wonder if DC are being sneaky here... As for the comic itself, I think it's an odd choice to have your main character become a mind-controlled pawn in his first issue, and I'm not enthused by Gugliotta's art, which I find to be quite inconsistent. But I still fundamentally like the character so I'll stick around for a couple more issues to see how things progress.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
by Scott Lobdell, R. B. Silva & Rob Lean
Original Rank/Assessment: 43 (Probably Not) - 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.
Another comic that turned out better than I thought it would. I still think it's sad that Lemire's Superboy comic was cut short by the coming of the new DCU. But getting over that and viewing this new Superboy comic on its own terms, it comes off surprisingly well. Fundamentally we still have Superboy as a vat-grown clone combining Superman & Lex Luthor's DNA, but his origin jettisons the original's "Death of Superman" tie-in and is now more closely aligning with that of the Superboy from the current Young Justice cartoon. And I was wrong is my assessment of the creative team as well. Lobdell's story does a good job of introducing the situation and characters and even pulls off an effective fake-out in the middle section. I also like the clean look of the art from Silva & Lean and the colors from the Horries blend well with the line art. So while I'm still not completely sold and it could go wring when Superboy is finally released into the outside world, I like what I see so far.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Green Lantern; Red Lanterns
(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)
Green Lantern #1
by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Original Rank/Assessment: 14 (Yes, with Reservations) - Looks like business as usual, so I'll likely stick around for a while.
We were told that the Green Lantern titles would be some of the least changed in the new DCU, and they apparently meant it. This could just as easily been Green Lantern #68, picking up pretty much right where the "War of the Green Lanterns" story ended. That's not to say there aren't changes; at the end of "War" Sinestro had been granted a Green Lantern ring and Hal Jordan is ringless and dumped back on Earth. The issue opens with the Guardians telling Sinestro that as long as he has a green ring, they expect him to act like a Green Lantern, and he learns that it can be hard to go home again. Back on Earth, Hal gets to show that it's not the ring that makes him a hero and he tries to patch things up with Carol Ferris, but in both cases he proves to be a bit tone deaf to the world and people around him. If you liked Johns' Green Lantern before (and a lot of people did) this is more of the same.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
Red Lanterns #1
by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes & Rob Hunter
Original Rank/Assessment: 45 (Probably Not) - I really don't think that I need twenty pages of characters vomiting blood each month.
For a minute there I thought they were going to pull off the impossible. This first issue opens with a scene featuring Dex-Starr, the Red Lantern kitteh, taking out his rage on a group of torturing scumbags, including an awesome two-page splash. But after the opening, things went down-hill. There was too much recap, too much of Atrocious standing around and posturing. The Earth-bound scenes seem to be pointing the way towards the origin of a human Red Lantern, but that needs to be clearer and/or happen faster for the first issue. (On the plus side, the Earth-based pages allow colorist Nathan Eyring to give his red crayon a well-needed rest.) Based on the opening, I would totally read a comic that starred Dex-Starr, but the rest of these Red Lanterns just kind of bore me.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Original Rank/Assessment: 14 (Yes, with Reservations) - Looks like business as usual, so I'll likely stick around for a while.
We were told that the Green Lantern titles would be some of the least changed in the new DCU, and they apparently meant it. This could just as easily been Green Lantern #68, picking up pretty much right where the "War of the Green Lanterns" story ended. That's not to say there aren't changes; at the end of "War" Sinestro had been granted a Green Lantern ring and Hal Jordan is ringless and dumped back on Earth. The issue opens with the Guardians telling Sinestro that as long as he has a green ring, they expect him to act like a Green Lantern, and he learns that it can be hard to go home again. Back on Earth, Hal gets to show that it's not the ring that makes him a hero and he tries to patch things up with Carol Ferris, but in both cases he proves to be a bit tone deaf to the world and people around him. If you liked Johns' Green Lantern before (and a lot of people did) this is more of the same.
Rating: 3 (of 5).
by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes & Rob Hunter
Original Rank/Assessment: 45 (Probably Not) - I really don't think that I need twenty pages of characters vomiting blood each month.
For a minute there I thought they were going to pull off the impossible. This first issue opens with a scene featuring Dex-Starr, the Red Lantern kitteh, taking out his rage on a group of torturing scumbags, including an awesome two-page splash. But after the opening, things went down-hill. There was too much recap, too much of Atrocious standing around and posturing. The Earth-bound scenes seem to be pointing the way towards the origin of a human Red Lantern, but that needs to be clearer and/or happen faster for the first issue. (On the plus side, the Earth-based pages allow colorist Nathan Eyring to give his red crayon a well-needed rest.) Based on the opening, I would totally read a comic that starred Dex-Starr, but the rest of these Red Lanterns just kind of bore me.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
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