12 posts tagged “comics”

I hope everyone had a great Free Comic Book Day this weekend. I know I did.

Powers 28

Powers #28
Continues the story line of the powers virus that is killing people and the new Retro Girl goes under cover for the police.

I'm kind of getting tired of this latest plot. I don't know if it's because I only pick up my reserves every couple of months now or what but it seems to be dragging. Of course I'm sure that when it does get wrapped up it will blow my mind!

Powers Annual 2008

Powers Annual 2008
I guess the comic annual is not dead. More of a stand alone story. Delveing into Walkers past from being a cro-magnon to a caveman. Underlying tone is that Supers for all the good they do have made the normals weak and dependent on them for protection. Oh and super graphic violence and sex.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who #3
You think I would have head about this being a Doctor Who fan. Gary Russell who is story editor for the new series is writing so it should hold up to the series.

I missed issue #1 & 2 but luckily issue #3 starts a new story having the Doctor and Martha arriving in the future on a alien world and the cat nuns make another appearance. You think they would have a more stringent hiring policy for those nuns by now.

There is also a Doctor Who Classics book featuring the 4th Doctor for you old timers.

Elephantmen: Wars Toys 2 & 3

Star Wars: Legacy #19, 20, 21, 22
I am really glad I decided to pick this new on-going Star Wars series. Since it is the only book I collect that comes out monthly when I pick up my reserve it's like a reading a small trade.

I'd like to summarize the plot but there is just too much going on and even after 22 issues there's too much back story for me to explain here. But there is a great space battle in issue 20 & 21. And after issue 22 no one is going to feel sorry for those Bothans, the Mon Calamari are fracked!

Komico

I purposely timed our trip to Komico to coincide with Free Comic Book Day, that way I get comics, the boys get comics and I don't get upset if they destroy any comics. Hey they're $3 and up, it can get expensive if a toddler literally rips into your collection.

I was interested in only three of the offerings that were available the Stranded, Superpowers, and Dan Dare (by a favorite Warren Ellis). Unfortunately I was rather unimpressed by the lot, of course they were free so I shouldn't be too hard on them. So take the following with a hefty grain of salt.

The Stranded

The Stranded might be totally good... just the part I read. The art is late 90's Image fare and the story pretty run of the mill. Not bad, just nothing I haven't seen a dozen times before. Also it seems that it is going to be made into a series for the Sci-fi Channel.

Dan Dare

I was really excited about Dan Dare written by Warren Ellis. Dan Dare was a pulp 1950's sci-fi character like Flash Gordon that they now have the rights to, but unlike Flash, I'd never heard of the character. It was part of a flip book with The Stranded so the story was short. It was ok and I'm sure people will like it but it's just not up my alley. I was surprised at that since I liked Ellis' Ministry of Space mini-series and it was in fact influenced by Dan Dare.

Project Superpowers

Project Superpowers is your usual cover only painted and co-plotted by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger book. I thought their EarthX and Justice series were very good and I loved that Ross painted the entire Justice series. But I guess they wanted a more regular release schedule and a fully painted book would not be able to meet the time constraints.

Other than that it was an okay look at golden age heroes set free into today's world. If you like that kind of stuff... I was never really a fan of the Justice Society stuff either.

Marvel Adventures

ET picked up Marvel Adventures. I thought he might go for the Transformers issue but in his mind he saw four superheroes and thought that was a better deal than just the Transformers. It was a usual superpower team up book but ET liked it.

Nite Owl

I know I will be when the film comes out March (2009).

Watchmen

Watchmen is important because is changed how superheros were thought of.  They were no longer perfect moral compasses for the rest of society to follow. They would kill and be killed, were flawed and brutally realistic. That people and governments would outlaw heroes was a foreign idea before Watchmen.

To the non-comic reading people out there, you really should go see Watchmen. In fact you've already seen stuff that owes it's existence to this Alan Moore series.

Heroes the television series owes a lot to Watchmen if not in tone and characterization but also plot. Even Pixar's The Incredibles with it's kid friendly story was influenced by Watchmen. And if you're interested there are countless comic series such as Kingdom Come and Powers you should read.

In the meantime check out the Watchmen production blog for updates.

Punisher 2099 face scrabler

Back in the 1990's Marvel released a line of comics under the 2099 title. It took place in a cyberpunk dystopia future with versions of your favorite Marvel characters like Spider-Man, X-Men and Dr. Doom. But that's a whole other post.

The Punisher in this possible Marvel Universe future used a face scrambler to conceal his true identity from electronic surveillance equipment (such as CCTV) that one would expect to be prevalent in a dystopian future (or the UK).

Since I'm probably one of the few who collected the series (and is willing to admit it), this post on engadget caught my eye.

As life often imitates art, it's a DIY countermeasure to being identified by
CCTV. It uses infra red emitters toblot out the wearers face.

Real face scrambler

The future is now!

PaxRomana

Ever since I stopped going on a regular basis to the comic shop (there was a time I went every week rain or shine) I find it difficult to find anything new. So this last trip I was happily surprised when I picked up issue one (of four) of Pax Romana from Image Comics.

The artwork is great, a cross between graphic design and traditional illustration. And the story so far is really intriguing, dealing with time travel, religion, politics and three dimensional characters. I can't wait till issue two.

Comic Book Resources has a "commetary track" and a four page preview of issue one on their site if you're interested.

Elephantmen War Toys 1

Another series I look forward to and have talked about before is Elephantmen. They are starting a new three parts story arc called War Toys so it's a good time for new comers to jump aboard.

It's the story of a genetically engineered animal army devastating Europe. I just love post apocalyptic war stories don't you?. Yes I know this is a prequel since it follows the characters years before during the war and I've made my feelings quite clear in regards to such plot devices before. I guess I don't mind it when a) it's done well and b) it's in a comic. Great atmosphere in this series, it's very rare that you see that kind of grime and grit depicted.

Check out the excerpt from the issue on their site.

I also picked up three issues in the Star Wars: Legacy series issues 0 1/2 (which is a just a guide to the era of Legacy), 17 & 18 . What originally drew me to this ongoing series from Dark Horse was that it was so far removed from all the other expanded universe baggage it would not be constrained by it. Well issue 18 feels like i'm in Star Wars history 101. Vergere, Yuuzhan Vong and Zonama Sekot are all mentioned.

Boneyard 27

Powers 27

And the last of my purchases Powers #27. The continuing adventures of a pair of cops who investigate (Super) Powers related crimes. I'm not going to get into the story because it's too convoluted and I don't have enough space and time available in this post. Just do yourself a favor and star picking up the trades.

Made it into town to pick up my reserves after three months.

So this past weekend was pretty much a wright off, or was it? I would just like to thank my kids for being on their best behavior so I didn't have to lock myself in the closet, because I was in no shape to put up a fight.

Thanks to McDonald's on Friday night both Donna and I were pretty sick this past weekend and tried to stay close to the bathroom. Next time we get the salad.

Owly

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But I did get out to Free Comic Book Day picking up my reserve and getting some free stuff also. Including a Spider-Man and the much sought after Andy Runton's Owly: Helping Hands for Ethan.

I spent alot of time with Carter, which I don't usually do since I'm usually trying to keep Ethan entertained and that was really nice. And on Sunday I took Ethan to the park in an attempt to syphon off some of his excess energy. He's such a kid. On the swings I'm really pushing him and he's yelling "To

Ethan on the Swing

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Just to remind everyone that Free Comic Book Day is today so get out there and get some free comics. This is going on world wide so chances are that no matter were you are, you'll be able to get some.

FCBD07