(IDW Publishing, 2013)
Review by Cory Thrall
STORY BY:Â Joe Harris w/ Chris Carter
WRITTEN BY:Â Joe Harris
ARTWORK BY:Â Michael Walsh
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Jordie Bellaire
LETTERING BY:Â Shawn Lee
Comics based on films, television, and video games have really filled the market in the past decade or so, from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, many “Army of Darkness” spin-offs, and even a “Mass Effect” list of titles. There are more, but I think you get the point. Continue reading
Review by Galen Garner
DIRECTED BY:Â James Mangold
SCREENPLAY BY:Â Mark Bomback, Scott Frank
STARRING:Â Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamota, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada
With the summer of blockbuster bombs that have decimated the silver screens of America, The Wolverine was a breath of fresh air to the smoke filled Hollywood backdrop. Continue reading
(DC Comics, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
WRITTEN BY:Â Scott Lobdell
ARTWORK BY:Â Eddy Barrows, Daniel HDR & Geraldo Borges
INKS BY:Â Eber Ferreira
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Peter Pantazis
LETTERING BY:Â Rob Leigh
It seems things have gone from bad to worse for Hector Hammond as the Psi-wars continue in this issue; unfortunately Kenneth Rocafort’s stunning pencils do not. Eddy Barrows, Daniel HDR and Geraldo Borges all contribute fine work to issue #22 but they all lack the refined genius that defines Rocafort’s technique. Continue reading
(Marvel Comics, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
WRITTEN BY:Â Rick Remender
BREAKDOWNS BY:Â John Romita Jr.
FINISHES BY:Â Klaus Janson with Scott Hanna & Tom Palmer
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Dean White
We are breathlessly approaching the conclusion of Rick Remender and John Romita Jr’s epic opening story arc, with one issue remaining the complex multi-layered plot shows no signs of slowing. Continue reading
Our good pals over at 2ComicNerds have started a new feature with 1/2 of the team - AJ - doing video reviews of some of the comics he gets each week. The first two installments of this new video series are up, and we’ve got them here to share with you! Huge thanks to the 2ComicNerds team for allowing us to bring these to you via our site. Continue reading
(DC Comics, 2013)
Review by Galen Garner
WRITTEN BY:Â Greg Pak
ARTWORK BY:Â Jae Lee
I love that this issue of Batman and Superman came out a few days after the big DC movie announcement last week at the San Diego Comic-Con. If anyone hasn’t been on the Internet in the last week then I am happy to be the one to let you know that DC Comics is going to produce a Batman and Superman movie to be release in 2015.
If the cinema versions of the Caped Crusader and the Last Son of Krypton compliment each other anything like Pak’s version, the world is in for a wonderful treat. Continue reading
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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #13, #14, #15
(Dark Horse Comics, 2007)
Writer – John Jackson Miller
Artist – Dustin Weaver, Brian Ching
Colors – Micheal Atiyeh
I first saw Return of the Jedi sitting next to my brother, with my little sister screaming at the top of her lungs when the Rancor monster tried to floss with Skywalker sinew. As if that wasn’t enough to cement my love of the Star Wars franchise, I was recently in a comic shop and looked over to see a quiet, unassuming man perusing the boxes. “Do you read Star Wars comics?â€Â The owner asked me. “My son is totally in to them”, I said to him. He pointed to the quiet guy and said, “He writes for Dark Horse.†Continue reading
(Cartoon Network / DC Nation, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
When it comes to animated series, Batman has been the go-to character in the DCU ever since the early nineties. It was the animated series that raised the bar and became the standard by which not only all DC series since but all comic book related series in general are now measured. Continue reading
*An Interview With Erik Evensen of “Beast of Wolfe’s Bay” Can Be Found Below This Review!
(Evensen Creative, 2013)
Review & Interview by Brad Gischia
Creator/Writer/Artist:Â Erik Evensen
Letters:Â Matt Talbot
Color Assists:Â Jeff Fugelsang
Greetings from the Wasteland!
I’ve often been frustrated when I see a film and love it only to find out that it is a remake of an older, usually much better, film. One of the questions I’ve been wrestling with this summer movie season is weather or not to see any of the sequels that have come out. It seems like every movie this summer has a number in the title, the second or third or, God help us, the sixth in a series, and it makes me not want to see anything. Is it possible to come up with a fresh take on an old idea?
(DC Comics, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
WRITTEN BY:Â Jeff Parker
ARTWORK BY:Â Jonathan Case
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Jonathan Case
COVER ARTWORK BY:Â Mike & Laura Allred
Recently DC has gotten a reputation for its dark, gritty and often violent subject matter, well none of that is present in the new digital first Batman ’66 and it is one heck of a joke-filled, action-packed thrill-ride. I grew up on re-runs of the old Adam West television show that this book is based and let me just say, “Holy Attention to Detail!†even the likenesses of the actors who portrayed these characters are there; Adam west, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar and Frank Gorshin go from the small screen to the printed page in all their 1960’s campy glory.
(Black Mask, 2013)
Review by Cory Thrall
CREATED & WRITTEN BY:Â Matt Miner
ARTWORK BY:Â Javier Sanchez Aranda
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Joaquin Pereyra
LETTERED & EDITED BY:Â Vito Delsante
In Brad Gischia’s review of “Liberator” #1 (linked below) the scope and importance of this title was established and explained in perfect detail, from the real life activism of creator and writer Matt Miner, to the realities of the situations displayed in the comic backed by amazingly intelligent articles at the end of the issue. This is a comic that tells a whole new story, and a much needed one. An incredibly important and largely overlooked ‘issue’ - the systematic torture and mistreatment of animals of all kinds. Continue reading
Review by Galen Garner
DIRECTED BY:Â Guillermo Del Torro
STORY BY:Â Travis Beacham
SCREENPLAY BY:Â Travis Beacham & Guillermo Del Torro
STARRING:Â Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, and Charlie Day
Warning – Spoilers!
Giant robots fight giant sea monsters!
Last night, I decided that it was time for me to go see Pacific Rim in the all and powerful IMAX Experience. I am usually a major snob when it comes to IMAX movies and reserve them for superhero movies, so I felt like I was walking on broken glass going into the theatre. Continue reading
(Titan Comics, 2013)
Review by Cory Thrall
WRITTEN BY:Â Si Spurrier
ARTWORK BY:Â PJ Holden
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Jordie Bellaire
LETTERING BY:Â Simon Bowland
Being released today, July 17th, Titan Comics new title “Numbercruncher” is not at all what you might think from the cover, but isn’t that supposed to always be the case? What looks to be a mobster of some kind is actually a false face for the genius and inventive story that lies behind it. This is no ‘normal’ comic, and that’s a very good thing. Originally published in “Judge Dredd: Megazine” #306-308, this is a comic that shifts from black and white to fully colored artwork, making for a curious and satisfying read. Continue reading
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Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Venom
Issues 16-20
(DC Comics, 1991)
Writer – Denny O’Neil
Layouts – Trevor Von Eden
Pencils – Russell Braun
Inks – Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Greetings from the Wasteland!
*Spoilers Abound!
We love heroes. As a culture there are certain people who have been elevated above the rest of us by their actions, weather it’s Odysseus and Achilles in classic literature, or Wonder Woman, or Miguel Cabrera, (sorry to throw a sports reference in there) these are people who perform under pressure. Everyone has a favorite. But there is something fascinating in watching a hero fail.  It personalizes those that we have idolized. And their redemption afterwards is sweeter to us as well. It has been done in comics as well. Speedy, in the Green Arrow/Green Lantern #85 and #86, was a heroin addict, a watershed moment in the comic depiction of mature themes. Spawn was in search of constant redemption in spite of his own fallen nature. These are characters and storylines that have become among the most popular over the years, but what of comics’ most iconic character? What of the Batman? Continue reading
(DC Comics, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
WRITTEN BY:Â Geoff Johns
PENCILS BY:Â Ivan Reis
INKS BY:Â Joe Prado & Oclair Albert
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Rod Reis
Begun the Trinity War has. Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Justice League #22 kicks off one of the most complex and multi-facetted events in recent memory. Geoff Johns takes elements from all three Justice Leagues as well as heavily mining material from the Shazam/ Black Adam back-up story that recently ended in Justice League#21. It takes a master story teller like Johns to weave a unified narrative out of so many components but he is off to an intriguing and exciting start. Continue reading
(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)
Review by Cory Thrall
STORY BY:Â Duane Swierczynski
ARTWORK BY:Â Eric Nguyen
COLOR ARTWORK BY:Â Michelle Madsen
Dark Horse’s recent relaunch of the tile “X” has been a good ride so far. I was hesitant at first, as I had not read the 90’s incarnation. I just didn’t seem interesting to me at the time. Beginning with issue #0, the story of our mysterious ‘anti-hero’ X is one mixed with Mobsters, heavy amounts of crime, and lots and lots of bloody violence. Sound like a rehashed idea? Maybe in a way it is. Whatever it may be, it works in a way I hadn’t expected. After reading issue #0 a bit ago, I was excited for #1’s release, and had this excitement rewarded with a high quality book. While it seemed to step away from the ultra-violence of #0 in a way, it had the needed good set up and enough action to make it a solid beginning. The issues to come, leading us here to issue #3 - have been a little more troubled. Continue reading
(Marvel Comics, 2013)
Reviewed by Galen Garner
WRITTEN BY:Â Matt Fraction
ARTWORK BY: Francesco Francavilla
For the second time since the new Hawkeye series began last year, Matt Fraction has once again teamed up with pulp-comic artist Francesco Francavilla for the most recent issues of Hawkeye. Continue reading
(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)
Reviewed by Cory Thrall
WRITTEN BY:Â Steve Niles, Matt Santoro
ARTWORK BY:Â Dave Wachter
COVER ARTWORK:Â Dave Wachter
The varied stories of the Golem have been in Jewish Folklore for centuries. This is a common story linked from generation to generation over time, with multiple tales and takes on what we now consider the Golem - a speechless, towering ‘man’ made of mud, dirt, sometimes ash. We’ve seen in films from many periods how this can go wrong, how a mindless creature following orders exactly as they are given can lead to a nightmarish situation - one where the creator is forced to trick the Golem into its own destruction. This is a bit of folklore that has transcended from these old stories into a commonly shared one, regardless of the origins of this creature. Now, here in the 21st century, there are but a small number of films or media regarding this tale. Luckily for comic fans and history/folklore fans alike, we now have the 3 issue mini-series “Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem”. Continue reading
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Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1
(Marvel Comics, 1974)
WRITERS:Â Roy Thomas, Larry Leiber
ARTISTS:Â John Buscema , Joe Sinnott, Frank Giacoia, and Larry Leiber
Greetings from the Wasteland!
The tag line on this book says it all. “3 Titanic Tales of the World’s Greatest Super-Foesâ€. The cover is a dramatic shot of Dr. Doom and Prince Namor locked in combat. A bolt of energy sizzles past the Sub-Mariner’s ear. Turn the page if you dare true believers, and enter the world of Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1. Continue reading
(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)
Review by Raymond Jacques
Story & Art by Francesco Francavilla
Lettering by Nate Piekos of BlamBot
Covers by Francesco Francavilla
Series Editor:Â Jim Gibbons
Let’s be clear: I LOVE FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA. That is a fact. You NEED to know that right off the bat.
And another point of interest: You NEED to love Francesco Francavilla, too! Beyond being one of the industry’s most sought after cover artists he’s also one of the absolute best comic book storytelling artists in the game. Continue reading