This is Entry 106: Comics!

This comic comes from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

But this post is not just to show off the funny that is [i]SMBC[/i] but to review Comic Books: the last few weeks! And there has been some awesome stuff that has come out!

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Marvel

Agents of Atlas #9: Now I like Jeff Parker's stuff as anyone who has read this blog should know. But I wasn't really feeling this book. Now i thought the Mini-Series that preceded this was awesome but I wasn't sure about the ongoing series. But after the last couple issues I'm totally on board! We are getting into the meat of what the story is & that meat is Awesome!

Mighty Avengers #28: Now I've read every issues of this series, even during Secret Invasion when it's wasn't really an "Avengers" book but but I've really been enjoying the book post SI. Dan Slott is doing a kick ass job with the book.

Avengers: The Initiative #27: I was worried that this book might have been cancelled do to how it came to be & the aftermath from SI but am happy to see it continue. Highlight of the this issue: The return of Emery Schuab (first seen in Issue #13 & then glimpsed in last issue)! I like that he's back & look forward to see where he goes. I also look forward to seeing where the book goes, too.

The Incredible Hercules #132: I had heard things about this books (good things) & heard that The Agents of Atlas would appear in this book in a few issues I decided to pick of this issue to see if the book was cool. And It is: the art is nice (Reilly Brown) & the nice is good, too (Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente). Will continue to pick it up.

Secret Warriors #7: Still a cool book. There was a kind of sick moment on page 6. Why would Nick Fury do that? There is an easier way to leave a message. But the best moment of the book was between Fury & the Warriors over how much money to take for a night off.

Fantastic Four #570: the first issue with Jonathan Hickman (writer of the FF's Dark Reign mini-series & Secret Warriors) & Dale Eaglesham (former artist on the JSA book). This issue picks up threads from the FF's Dark Reign mini series & where from the looks of where it's going it looks to be interesting. Very Interesting.

Gaurdians of The Galaxy #17: still a good book. Not sure all that is going on since I'm not reading the main "War of Kings" mini-series that this ties into. But the best moment from the book was between Rocket Raccoon, Crystal, Maximus & Groot. Pretext: The space station The Guardians & The Inhumans are on is caught by a giant "Space Squid" (as Rocket Raccoon called it) & they need it to let go of it.

The Scene goes as follows:

Maximus: I suppose we could try--
Groot: I am Groot.
Maximus: Goodness! My Leige, that's an extraordinary good Idea!
Rocket Raccoon (RR): Huh? What is?
Groot: I AM GROOT.
Maximus: Or Course. Of Course! And thus initiating a form of relativistic feedback!
Groot: I AM GROOT.
Maximus: Oh, Sire! Quantum Inhibitors, Too? That last touch is nothing short of genius.
Crystal: The Tree Man is just saying "I am Groot" over and over right?
RR: Maximus is as crazy as a bag of spanners, isn't he?
Maximus, angrily: You should both be ashamed of your prejudices! His Highness King Groot is Royalty! He comes from an ancient and ennobled sap-line! As befits the scion of an elite royal house, he has received the finest education from the most gifted tutors! His grasp of quasi-dimensional super positional engineering alone is breathtaking!
RR, shocked: It is?
Crystal: But he's just saying "I am Groot".
Maximus: Dear Crystal! The mature dendritic form of King Groot's people is robust and heavyweight. Often the organs of acoustic generation become stiff and inflexible. It may sound if he is simply repeating his name, but that is simply due to the hardened formation of his larynx. You must listen to the sigh of breeze beneath it. The nuance of meaning.
(pause)
Maximus: My Lord, you were saying?
Groot: I AM GROOT!
Maximus: Now that is Brilliant! And all we'd need is a socket set and a very long piece of strong!
Crystal (to RR): Lord Maxmius is a crazy as a bag of spanners.
RR (to Crystal): Hey if this works, you and me are going to be really embarrassed.

And you know what: It does. :)

Runways #13: not sure why I still pick up the book, it's got some ok art & some good story moments but nothing really that pushes the books over the "must read" mark. But I still do, waiting for more stories like from Issue 10.

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #4: the end to a cool mini-series & a on-going series is forth coming next year.

The Marvels Project #1: The Marvel's 70th anniversary project by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting which has a tagline of: How do you create Tomorrow? The book take place during WWII & tells the story of how the "Marvel Universe" came to be. I know it's covers the 1940's & all that is going on but am hoping it goes into the '50's & maybe the '60's, too. But I'll wait & see.

Marvel Comics #1: a spruced up (original art with new coloring) reprint of the first comic that Timely Comics (that become Marvel Comics in the 1960's) ever published.

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DC Comics

Blackest Night #2: not a cool as BN #1 but still cool. The scene at Hawk & Dove's graves makes me wonder. The Aquaman & the Mystic stuff was really cool.

Blackest Night: Batman #1: kick ass! It's fleshes out Deadman's scene from BN #2 & was the coolest part of the book. But the rising of some of the dead Bat Villains was also pretty cool (Ventriloquist!) Look forward to the other 2 parts.

Blackest Night: Superman #1: Not as cool as BN:B but still cool. It does make he wonder about how one person got there since I thought they were in a whole other dimension. Still worth picking up.

Blackest Night: Titans #1: Awesome on almost the same level as BN:B. This also features the a version of Hawk & Dove's graves which still makes me wonder: what is that all about? In this comic, we see the current Dove & makes me wonder about her. Beast Boy & Terra: a bit creepy (for a obvious reasons). The scene at the end with Troia: creepy (for different reasons).

Green Lantern #45: which ties into BN & is a fit between Sinestro & Star Sapphire for the most part. The part at the end with Agent Orange was pretty cool, too.

Superman Secret Files 2009: a guide (text pages & short stories) to all the characters involved in the Superman books as of late. Best story: Double Act.

The Super Books for the last few weeks are: Action Comics #880, Superman #691 & Supergirl #44. It's good stuff but not much I want to saw.

Superman Annual #14: Origins of Mon-El & his homeworld of Daxam. Good stuff, Interesting stuff.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special #2: With the story's title & what happens at the end I look forward to seeing what happens to Jimmy in the future.

Adventure Comics #1: a "relaunch" of sorts of the decades old comic which prominently featured Superboy (a young Kal-El) & The Legion of Super Heroes. So the new one has Superboy (Kon-El) with the Legion as a Second feature. With this book it maybe the only one to have a second feature I like as much or maybe more then the "main" story. But I will say one thing: Long Live Bowling! :)

Power Girl #4: good stuff all around. Good writting, Good art. Good book.

Booster Gold #23: with Blair Butler on the Cover! She looked at bit washed on the cover I got but it's still cool (Sidenote: I'd like one of those shirts). Even if it has little to do with the story inside. :) The story is cool & the second feature of Blue Beetle appears to be going to be more connected with the "main" story of BG.

Batgirl #1: the book that follows up on some of threads from "Battle for the Cowl" & the Oracle mini series from that event. As for who the new Batgirl was I was bit disappointed. Who I thought it could have been (It wasn't) & my other thought didn't pan out either. But it's a cool book, I'd stya with for a storyline or so to see where it goes.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #3: Cool & where it is going is cool, too. The second feature could stay or go.

Batman #689: cool cover & good book. I like the depiction of Batman in this book.

Detective Comics #856: The art is was sells me on the book. The story is pretty cool, too. Could also do without the second feature in this book, too.

Gotham City Sirens #3: This issue was awesome! It's didn't focus on the Sirens but on Edward Nigma (The Riddler).

Justice Society of America #30: The new Doctor Fate makes an appearance. Best line of the Book is from Cyclone: See, I could never decide between Dogs and Cats myself. Which is why I have a monkey! The line doesn't have anything to do with Dr. Fate but it's a great line. :) I'm also finding I'm liking Magog even less & less as issues go on.

The Flash Rebirth #4: I was thinking recently "I haven't read a new issues of the Flash Rebirth in awhile!" & then a new issue comes out. Still a cool series with some really cool moments.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #4: The book is loosing it coolness. The first issue was really cool & has slide down from there. It's still good with good art. But could better, not sure how.

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2 More Books:

Unwritten #4: probably the best, most inventive book I've read this year.

Doctor Who #2: good book.

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That's it for the New Comics I have. I know a short post. :) I do have some Graphic Novels yet to go over & some Back issues but those will wait until another post.

Until then: Stay Jazzy!

- Brian

This is Entry 105: Comics!

So, last Friday I posted the what Marvel comics I had built up over the past few months & so I'm back yet again to review more Comics! But this it's....

DC Comics

Special note: this is everything up to 2 weeks ago. Those comics are coming soon. Like maybe tomorrow. :)

Superman #688-690: I'm enjoying the Mon-El storyline. The reveal in 688 was a nice twist, 689 was neat "world tour" & 690 sucked. The cover show that a fight between Steel & Atlas is going to happen inside. It does for 11 pages but it stops there. 1 problem: The book is longer then 11 pages. The rest of the book is short set-up scenes for other things i.e. "You like this, well it's continued in this book". But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since the Issue's title is "The Setup". Now the stuff it does setup is for the most part interesting but it was not what I expected.

Action Comics #878, 879 plus 1 annual: I think has been one of the weaker Super books. It just seems to trod along. Also, starting in #879 there is a "Second Feature" of Captain Atom who hasn't been seen in year (partly due to the fact that he's been in a different dimension but that is another story) & it doesn't connect with the "first" feature is anyway. I could do without it. The Annual was cool. I thought the way the "flashback sequences" in the Phantom Zone was really inventive & cool. The story had it's moments.

Supergirl #42 & 43: 42 is the end of the "who is Superwoman?" storyline. 43 was a nice story of Kara moving beyond what all had been happen in her life recently (death of her father being the main thing).

Superman: World of New Krypton #4-6: Or am I've started calling it "WoNK". :) 5 is probably the best issue of the mini-series so far & discusses "what and/or who would you die for?" 6 has Kal-El returning to but for how long?

Detective Comics #854 & 855: these are the first 2 issues with Batwoman as the headliner. The art is was pretty much sells me on the book (it's by J.H. Williams III by the way). The story is also pretty good. This book also has a second feature of The Question, which makes since since the two share a common past. As for the story it's ok but could do without it. Plus, the art for the Question story is so different that it is almost off putting.

Gotham City Sirens #1 & 2: Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy & Catwoman all together in one book & written by Paul Dini! A fun book. The "villain" from issue #1 was great & the cliffhanger was great, too. The pay off in #2 was inventive.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 & 2: another good Bat book by Dini. I like what he's doing with Hush. This book also has a second feature of Manhunter & the nice things is that her civilian id appears in the first feature so there is some connectivity. As for the story it's ok with some good art. One thing I've found with these features is the story in each issue is too short, they need like a page or two more story because I feel at times a bit rushed.

Batman #687 & 688: 687 was a epilogue to the whole "Battle for the Cowl" stuff, a much better end then the actual end of BftC was. 688 has some great moments between Dick & Alfred.

Blackest Night #1: Wholly Crap! This book is awesome! So much awesomeness happened in that issue I'm not sure I can put into words. It's just Awesome!

Green Lantern #43 & 44: 43 is a BN prologue where we get the origin of The Black Hand. 44 ties into BN #1.

The Flash Rebirth #3: still cool. But haven't seen a issue is awhile or at least it seems awhile.

Booster Gold #21 & 22: 21 might be the first time the "new" Batman appears in that isn't his own books. The story as always is cool. The reason why the 2 meet is also well thought out. Like other books: there is a second feature of Blue Beetle which makes sense & is interesting for the most part. Each part works.

Justice Society of America #27-29: 27 & 28 are by Jerry Ordway, both story & art which is cool. 29 is the first issue with Bill Willingham as the writer & Matthew Sturges on art. It also starts off a new storyline which as some interesting stuff that I look forward to how they turn out.

Power Girl #2 &3: cool book. Good art with a cool story.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #2 & 3: an interesting book with some interesting ideas.

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5: Finally! Issue 1 came out last August & the issues sputtered out every couple of months. The story is cool with some great George Perez art. The end was really cool & unexpected.

Wendesday Comics #1, 2 & 4: really interesting ideas. But I decided that I'd wit until the collected edition (That should be interesting to see how they do it) because I wanted more then 1 page of a story at a time.

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So, that's it's for the DC Comics I have a few comics that aren't Marvel or DC.

The Unwritten #2 & 3: a really cool series! One of the best things I've read in awhile.

Mysterious The Unfathomable #5 & 6: cool series. ^ was the end of the miniseries. I'd read a follow up.

Irredeemable #1: an interesting idea with some cool visuals.

Star Trek Alien Spotlight: Q: I like Q but didn't really like this book. It wasn't anything beyond a so so appearance from the TV show. I guess I had my expectations set to high after the Tribbles' issue.

Doctor Who #1: a new series featuring the current Doctor (David Tennant) & the book was as good as the TV show. The art was bit odd but not that much.

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That is the back log & as I said earlier I might be back tomorrow with more Book reviews. Or I might not be. :)

Until then: Stay Jazzy!

- Brian

This is Entry 104: Another Update!

My review of the DC Comics back log will be "reviewed" soon & then I'll "review" last week's comics & by that time I do that I'll week's comics, too. :)

But I want to welcome: Abraham Allen, Hollis Crapo, Laird Bennion & Layne Mohlman as honorary members of The Jim Nation! As you may or may not know Jim Nation is my list of people who have visited this here Blog but these are honorary inductees because they did not actually visit the Blog but were the attendees of The Blog Party! I'll have a post about the party with pictures up soon.

Until then: Stay Jazzy!

-Brian

This is Entry 103: Comics!

I got up this morning & one of the first of couple thoughts was "Man, I've got a review so comics today!" & so I am. :)

These will all be "New" comics: no back issues or Graphic Novels. They'll get their own post. Also, I won't be doing this weeks comics. Why? I want to get all the backlog out of the way so that I start fresh with those comics. Sure, they'll be a week or so old but I think you might get my point. :)

Marvel

Fantastic Four #567-689: Part 2 through 4 of the "Doom's Master" storyline & the end of the Millar/Hitch run on the book. The the story had some cool parts but ended with a head scratcher. Also, they just shoe horned in the wedding of Ben Grimm at the end of Issue 689. Well.. non wedding. it just seemed like an afterthought to add it there.

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 & 5: Now this was cool & it leaded into the next run on the main FF book. I look forward to it.

Invincible Iron Man #14-16: awesome as always.

Captain America #600 & 601: 600 was an massive issue. I don't know how many pages it had but was a lot. It helps set up some stuff for the future & looks to the past. Lot of cool stuff. 601 was not as cool. The cover claims it's a "very special issue" but I'm not sure why other then Gene Colan did the art.

Captain America Reborn #1 &2: It's been 2 years since Steve Rogers, the original Captain America died & this series brings him back. I was wondering how they'd do it & as still wondering even with what info they have revealed so far.

Avengers: The Initiative #24-26: I still like this series but the art has a bit odd of the last couple of issues. In 26 the art is better & we see that Emery Schuab is back!

The Mighty Avengers #25-26: great book! The art by Stephen Segovia in 25 &26 is a bit odd but still odd. The fight better the MA & FF is awesome. The fight between Hank Pym & Reed Richard made me say to myself "Nerd Fight!". The new HQ is also pretty cool.

Dark Avengers #5-7: Osborn makes the book for me. The rest of the book is pretty good but Osborn is definitely the main reason I pick up this book.

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 & 3: This book continues to be awesome! The art by Mark Brooks is cool. The story is cool.

Secret Warriors #6: the espionage in this book is cool. I also really like the art by Stefano Caselli.

Agents of Atlas #6-8: this book is cool. Jeff Parker continues to do cool stuff with this book.

Captain Britain and MI13 #15 & a Annual: This book has now been cancelled from what I've been able to figure out which is sad this book has bene awesome! The Annual brings Captain B's wife back from Hell!

Runaways #10-12: The first part of 10 is awesome, the latter half not so much. I'm also really liking the art by Sara Pichelli.

Wolverine #72: the penultimate chapter in "Old Man Logan" is cool but a bit rushed a felt. I await the the last chapter in that OML one shot.

Guardians of The Galaxy #14-16: since this ties into the "War of Kings" Mini Series which I'm not reading I'm a bit at what is going on in the book but it still good.

Exiles #3-5: To bad this book is getting cancelled because Jeff Parker just seemed to really get started on some cool stuff with the book. :(

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #2 & 3: awesome book!

Marvel Pets Handbook: all the pets/animals of the Marvel Universe & there a lot of them are all here together. One pet's story I do want to search out is Kevin. "He" is some moldy cheese owned by Peter Parker.

Encyclopedia Mythologica: a handbook to all the pantheons of Gods in the Marvel Universe.

Uncanny X-Men First Class Giant Size & Uncanny X-Men First Class #1: the "Giant-Size" book was cool. It bridges the gap between the original 5 X-Men (Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Beast & Jean Grey) & the new class (Banshee, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm). I wasn't so hot on the 1st issue of the series.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz #7 & 8: The last 2 issues in the first Oz book. It's cool & I learned some new stuff since this is based off of the Books & not the Movies. The second Oz Book (The Marvelous Land of OZ) is also becoming a Comic book series.

Marvel Divas #1: I had high hopes for this series but I wasn't all that into it. It wasn't just the art (which i didn't really like) but the over all tone/story of the book.

This year Marvel turns 70 so they are putting out retro styled books like that of their original comic book like up, I've talked about at least 2 in the past (Captain America & Human Torch) I've got 3 more: Miss America Comics #1, All Winners #1 & Bucky and Toro In Young Allies Comics #1. They are all #1's but are all one shots, they're will be no #2. MAC was kind of cool, AW had weird art & YAC was the best of the 3. It was done as a flashback within a flashback. I know that might sound weird but it's cool.

That's all for Marvel. I think I shall end it here & do DC next time.

Until then: Stay Jazzy.

-Brian

This is Entry 102: Update!

So, this entry is a just to up you all on what is going on.

Last friday The Blog party did happen & I had 4 people show up. Well, 5 but 4 I knew about (what? I tell you later). I've got some pictures & they should be up soonish.

Also, I've made the MyBlog Hot 50 list & I've been thinking about posting it in chunks like 5 or 10 at a time. So, look for the first part of that soonish.

I've got like a bunch of comics to go over & hope to get that up soon. Got a few graphic novels to review, even one that might inspire me to do a whole post on something. Something I've begun to dislike a lot.

Look for all this soonish. Until then: Stay Jazzy.

- Brian

This is Entry 101: Blog turns 2!

I know i had said a last post that this would be something called "Comics 101" but I had actually tried to write out that but I just wasn't feeling it so I never post it. Well, I didn't really know what I really wanted to do for that post anyways so I don't really consider it a big lost.

But this post is an important one: Today, MyBlog/Stuff by Brian turns 2! Yes, on this date in 2007 I started up this here blog. So, wahoo! :)

What else happened today in History:

1990: Desert Shield begins - U.S. deploys troops to Saudi Arabia.
1976: Scientists in Pasadena, California, announce Viking I found strongest indications to date of possible life on Mars.
1974: Philippe Petit walks tightrope strung between twin towers.
1970: 1st computer chess tournament.
1970: WDHN TV channel 18 in Dothan, AL (ABC) begins broadcasting.
1963: Jacqueline Kennedy becomes 1st lady to give birth since Mrs. Cleveland.
1961: Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2.
1959: Explorer 6 transmits 1st TV photo of Earth from space.
1957: U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
1956: Boston Red Sox fine Ted Williams $5,000 for spitting at Boston fans.
1955: KSTF TV channel 10 in Scottsbluff-Gering, NB (CBS/NBC) begins.
1954: Charles Mahoney becomes 1st U.S. black to serve as a full UN delegate.
1942: 1st American offensive in Pacific in WWII, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
1940: Largest amount paid for a stamp ($45,000 for 1 cent 1856 British Guiana).
1927: Peace Bridge between U.S. and Canada dedicated.
1909: U.S. issues 1st Lincoln penny.
1820: 1st potatoes planted in Hawaii.
1789: Congress creates Department of War and Lighthouse Service.
1782: George Washington creates Order of Purple Heart.
1498: Columbus arrives in Caribbean.

Who was born today:
2007: MyBlog/Stuff by Brian. :)
1987: Hollis Leroy Crapo, my friend.
1975: Charlize Theron, Actress.
1960: David Duchovny, Actor.
1958: Bruce Dickinson, Musican, Iron Maiden. (More Cowbell?)
1955: Wayne Knight, Actor.
1942: B. J. Thomas, Singer.
1928: Amazing [James] Randi, Skeptic Magician.
1927: Carl Switzer, Actor (Alfalfa).
1926: Stan Freberg, Satirist/Ad Executive/Cartoon Voice.
1886: Louis Hazeltine, Inventor of the neutrodyne circuit which makes radio possible.
1779: Carl Ritter, co-founder of modern science of geography.

At the other of the spectrum, Who died today:
1997: Vincent Gulliver, Britain's oldest man, dies at the age of 109
1957: Oliver Hardy, comedian of Laurel and Hardy fame. Age: 65.
1033: Frederick II, duke of Upper Lorraine

In related new, this afternoon I've having a small party to celebrate this momentous occasion (MyBlog turning 2) so look for Pictures of said party to be up soon.

Until then as always: Stay Jazzy.

- Brian