New Comic Day - 08/06/2008

Welcome back to a brand new installment of the reviews nobody really reads anymore, right here on Westchester Is For Lovers. Before we get into the reviews, I want to take a quick second to thank my pal Rich over at Cable and Tweed. He was nice enough to send the Deadpool and Bea Arthur picture to the folks at Newsarama, which resulted in me getting a mind-boggling amount of traffic over the weekend. Thanks Rich! Now, release the scroll!

CABLE # 6

This issue was co-drawn by both regular artis Ariel Olivetti, and Michael Lacombe. The two have vastly different artistic styles, and the contrast adds a pretty interesting way to better visualize the dual timeline of the book. Lacombe's art even manages to hold it's own fairly well against Olivetti's, though he does seem to have a rough time making Emma Frost not look funny. She's constantly pictured with her eyes crossed, or with a strange grin on her face that looks largely out of place in a character who's well known for being a sex symbol. Actually, I wasn't really pleased with the way Swierczynski writes her, either. But, regardless, the book was good, though far from the best of the series.

FRANKLIN RICHARDS: SUMMER SMACKDOWN! # 1

Finally, a Richie Rich comic for the kids of the future. This book is a collection of several unrelated shorts that range everywhere from cute to downright funny, even for larger kids like myself. Unfortunately, unlike the old Richie Rich comics, this one has a severe lack of terrible themed puns.

HULK # 5

Another suggestion from the rarely-wrong Rick, who (despite being fictional) seems to have terrific taste. I'm not a huge hulk fan, so this series has slipped under my radar. However, after reading this issue, I'm definitely going to have to go back and get the first 4 of the series. I mean, the dude apparently punches out Uatu! How can you not want to read that?

THE TWELVE # 7

After reading this issue, I'm dying for a spin-off starring Phantom Reporter and Detective Rose. Imagine the buddy-cop wackiness. So good.

Extreme New Comic Day Makeover: Home Edition- 07/30/2008

Ok, I'm a few days behind schedule here, but I'm having to pull a long shift at my office and finally have a chance to review this weeks comics. This was a pretty decent week for comics, what with the new Blue Beetle and Wolverine, not to mention the launch of the new Skrulls vs Power Pack series. And, as you may have noticed, I've been trying to fit one new-to-me series into my pull list every week, based on suggestions from my fellow bloggers (or readers, post a suggestion in the comments!). This week's recommended buy was Green Lantern #33. Hey look! A list!


BLUE BEETLE #29
Another fun issue for this series. I don't really understand the need to include the new werewolf villain at the start of the story, since he never really ties into the rest of the plot for this issue. Hopefully they'll bring that storyline back around again, because it could be pretty interesting. But, I suppose super-powered illegal immigrants will have to do for now.






FANTASTIC FOUR: TRUE STORY # 1
A large part of me wants to say this book sucks out loud. The art looks very much like something by James Allen, and the dialog is terrifyingly unnatural. But the plotline of this story is really freaking fun. Enough so that it kind of makes up for the shitty parts. I'd say it's definitely worth a read, but I don't know if I'd recommend actually spending the money for it.





GREEN LANTERN #33
According to Stephen, this story is perfect. So, I decided to give it a shot, and, well, he was right. This book is pretty damn good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't really care much about the subject matter. Don't get me wrong, I dig the Green Lantern in concept, but I've never found a GL story that has kept me entertained enough to keep up with. This one, though, is not half bad. It makes me curious enough to go back and buy a few back issues to catch up on the story.



SECRET INVASION FANTASTIC FOUR #3(OF 3)
And thus marks the end of one of the only good Secret Invasion tie-ins that I've really enjoyed. This one is mostly the backstory of why Lyja re-joined the skrull army, why she came back to teleport everyone to the Negative Zone, and why she's got emotional issues. The moral? Don't date foreign chicks.







SKRULLS VS. POWER PACK # 1
Let's be honest, Power Pack is one of the worst ideas in comics history. There's just something about a bunch of kids with stupid superhero names like "smarty pants" that really makes me wonder what the folks at marvel are thinking when approving these stories. Granted, I understand that this book is meant to be geared for a much younger audience than myself, but I think it's safe to say that I'm usually a pretty big fan of kid-friendly books. And I still think this book is bad. It's not just bad because it's for kids, it's just bad because there's nothing else it can be. But I think I might be completely wrong. See, the next issue of this series is called "Universal Gangstaz", and features the team with gold teeth and big chains, so logic would dictate that this series is slamtastic. This is the series that should have taken Power Pack out of the land of camp and into the future as a team of angsty super-powered high school kids. But instead we get yawnsville. Regardless, I choose to remain in blissful ignorance until the next issue.

TRUE BELIEVERS # 1
This is a comic book in which a group of super-powered digilantes (that's digital vigilantes, for those of you not up to date on words I just made up that are immensely popular with today's youth). Anyways, it's about a bunch of super-powered digilantes who bust up an LSD-powered bikini girl fight club run by a group of politicians and fortune 500 CEO's who enjoy dressing like super heroes. Yeah, you read that right. I've still not really heard anything about this series before or since reading the issue, so I'm not 100% on how it ties into continuity, but the book is pretty damn cool. I'll be giving it shot, and I recommend you do the same!

Aware! Alert! Alive! - The Karen Kingsley Story

Fucking 70's...

Pretty pictures

Comic reviews are going to have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, enjoy two new WIFL-exclusive pictures, drawn by our good friend Jason Flowers.

First up comes an epic battle that, well, just needed to be done. That's right, I'm talkin' Patrick Swayze VS. Bigfoot.

And, secondly, a picture that no human being would ever draw of their own free will. Lucky for us, I paid him, so he kinda had to. Allow me to present Deadpool and Bea Arthur.

Isn't that just the sweetest couple you've ever seen? Thanks, Jason!

The biggest news in comics history

Chris Sims' Invincible Super-Blog reports:

In addition to the new Nick Fury ongoing by Brian Bendis and The Nightly News’s Jonathan Hickman, the events of Secret Invasion will also lead to the dramatic return of U.S. 1 by Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo, as well as an all-new ROM: Spaceknight series from Christos Gage and Leonard Kirk!

Ok, so maybe this is a brazen lie on his part. But I choose to remain blissfully ignorant and wholeheartedly believe that there will in fact be a new U.S. 1 book. I suggest you do the same.

New Comic Day - 07/23/2008

No time for introductory text, Doctor Jones! Let's review some gad damn funny books!


AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #1 (OF 6)
Egg Fu is in this fucking book. Buy it. Buy it hard.







AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE # 15
If you were to tell me yesterday that I would really enjoy read a copy of a series I've been considering dropping for the past five issues, I'd have been skeptical. If you told me that that issue was a Secret Invasion tie-in and that it had one of those god-awful "everyone has a skrull face" covers, I'd have laughed at you, and probably called you several funny, yet insulting, names (for example, Moron-Face). But, well, this issue was fucking good. Not only was it very actiony and good, but it offers a great backstory to a character I've never really cared about in the series. So, thanks for the tip, Moron-Face.

THE JOKER'S ASYLUM: SCARECROW
I've given this book some flak on having bad art in the past, but this issue (much like last week's) is a good change of pace from the dark and scratchy look of the first one. I've made it no secret in my weekly reviews that I'm a big fan of realism in my comic art. This book is definitely the opposite of that, but (for lack of a more descriptive word) it's very cute and fun. You'd think that wouldn't really work with the kind of story going on here, but it almost makes it even creepier.



MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES # 1
And, once again, I find myself reviewing a Marvel Adventures book. This issue (obviously) marks the start of a new series under the banner. One which is quite possibly the best Adventures book out there. This issue stars Iron Man, Spider-Man, and The Hulk. Oh, and did I mention that the whole book is about them dog-sitting for Hercules? Oh, and did I mention that the dog in question is mother fucking Cerberus, the guardian of Hades? You might want to go ahead and pick your jaw up off of the floor, you're getting fanboy drool everywhere.

NEW AVENGERS # 43
Dear Mister Bendis,

"I so badly want to go home" is the most unnatural-sounding dialog I have ever seen written for Spider-Man. Ever.

Hugs and Kisses,
Ryan

WAR HEROES #1 (OF 6)
As usual, Millar does a wonderful job of setting up the backstory for this series quickly, while somehow including enough information to where you almost feel like you've already read 3 issues of the series. And, other than a few little things here and there, I think Tony Harris does beautiful art, especially for a war book. All in all, it manages to be both a good war story and a good super-powers story all at the same time.




So, there you have it. A good week for comics, with several really awesome new series debuted. See you next time, Moron-Face!

So, I saw The Dark Knight...

Ok, so, like everyone else, I saw The Dark Knight. It was by far the best film I've seen so far this year, and I think every actor gave a really top-knotch performance. But I'm not here to post some long review about it. Because really, if you've seen it, you know. And if you haven't seen it by now, you probably don't give a fuck. What I am here to do is ask a question.

Am I the only one who noticed that Batman had a lisp for the last fourth of the movie?