blah

Club day is tomorrow.

Comics come out today.

I'm going to Ruidoso this Saturday. I don't know if Lacey will be able to go.

I'm trying to win some things on eBay. Because my local comic shop sucks. And I can't find Spike: Old Times at any online store. But I have the need to get a lot of things from eBay from the same seller to cut down on shipping.

It's slow. And I'm bored.

comics for this week

Hot damn. Long weekend.

I'm probably going up to Ruidoso this weekend. There's some stuff going on with my dad that I need to be up there. Hopefully Lacey will be able to go with me.

Here's comics for this week: Amazing Spider-Man #523, which continues a storyline that ties into New Avengers; Astonishing X-Men #12, which concludes Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's first "year" on the title before they take a break; B.P.R.D.: The Dead #1 (of 6), which should continue to kick ass; Captain America #9, which continues The Winder Soldier; Catwoman #46, which I'm still not sure what to think about; Daredevil: Father #2 (of 5), which I'm excited about; Ex Machina #14, which is one of my favorites; The Flash #225, which is the last issue of Rogue War and Geoff Johns's last issue; Gotham Knights #68, which has some interesting things happening with Hush and Alfred; Green Lantern #4, which has beautiful Ethan Van Scriver art; Hero Camp #4 (of 4), which is a lot of fun; JLA Classified #11, which contains Warren Ellis goodness; The Losers #27, which I'm behind on; Marvel 1602: New World #2 (of 5), which had a very good first issue; Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere #3 (of 9), which is really cool; New Avengers #9, which kicks all kinds of ass; Powers #12, which is an extra-sized annivesary issue; Revelations #1 (of 6), which should be Paul Jenkins goodness; Robin #141, which has been good lately; Runaways #7, which is the first part of a two part story; Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #4 (of 4), which concludes the first Seven Soldiers mini-series; Silent Dragon #2 (of 6), which had a really cool first issue; Solo #6, which focuses on Jordi Bernet; Supreme Power #18, which is the last issue under the MAX imprint; Wha Huh?, which I've been looking forward to; Wonder Woman #220, which is such a great series; X-Men: Kitty Pryde – Shadow and Flame #3 (of 5), which is beautiful; X-Men: The End Book Two #6 (of 6), which is still a lot of fun; and Young Avengers #6, which is late, but completely worth it.

And some covers:





I think that's all. Not a whole hell of a lot going on. And I'm tired.

comics for november

Scroll down for a real post. This is just a time killer.

Once again, here's a long post of what comics are coming out in November. Because it helps pass the time every once and a while.

Dark Horse
Conan #22 written by Kurt Busiek, art by Cary Nord. This book and metal and powerful. There's snow and swords and blood and demons. It's always good.

Conan and the Demons of Khitai #2 (of 4) written by Akira Yoshida, art by Paul Lee. I'm looking forward to this. Yoshida has written some good stuff for Marvel. Lee does fantastic artwork. And it's set in the Conan-equivalent of Japan. It should be cool.

B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame #4 (of 6) written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, art by Guy Davis. These mini-series are all cool. I'm glad they're continuing. I'll be happoer when Hellboy comes back.

Revelations #4 (of 6) written by Paul Jenkins, art by Humberto Ramos. I love both of these creators. Having them on an original piece of work should be very interesting.

DC
Batman and the Monster Men #1 (of 6) written and art by Matt Wagner. I love Matt Wagner. I love Batman. Matt Wagner writing and drawing Batman equals one of my fanboy dreams.

Batman #647 written by Judd Winick, art by Doug Mahnke. I love Winick on this book. When he writes it. He's obviously working on something big following Infinite Crisis, because he's been taking a lot of breaks from this and his other DC books. Which if fine. As long as he comes back.

Gotham Knights #71 written by A.J. Lieberman, art by Al Barrionuevo. This is the under-rated Batman book. I'm loving it. More people should be reading it.

Legends of the Dark Knight #197 written by Will Pfeifer, art by Chris Weston. A new story starts, and I like Pfeifer just fine. So I'll keep picking this up. It's very rarely just awful.

Detective Comics #813 written by David Lapham, art by Ramon Bachs. I'm still not really digging on this, but this is the next to last issue, so it'll all be over soon.

Batman: Journey Into Knight #4 (of 12) written by Andrew Helfer, art by Tan Eng Huat. The first issue came out this week, although I haven't read it yet. It looks fun.

Batman: Gotham County Line #2 (of 3) written by Steve Niles, art by Scott Hampton. Niles is one of the best at horror comics, and Batman can lend to that genre in a very cool way, so this book should be excellent.

Batgirl #70 written by Andersen Gabrych, art by Pop Mhan. This book is fantastic. Cassandra is one of the best characters to come out of DC in the past few years. I'm a big fan of this.

Catwoman #49 written by Will Pfeifer, art by Pete Woods. Two issues into this new creative team, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. The art is nice. I don't know about the direction, though. The strongest part of this book under Ed Brubaker was the supporting cast, none of whom we've seen yet. Hopefully that will be rectified soon.

Gotham Central #37 written by Greg Rucka, art by Steve Lieber. Captain Marvel? In this book? I don't know. But I trust Rucka. And this book is never bad, no matter who they put in there. So I'll in.

Nightwing #114 written by Devin Grayson, art by Phil Hester. This book is just grand. I don't really know how much more I can say. I'm curious how much this book is going to change after Infinite Crisis.

Robin #144 written by Bill Willingham, art by Scott McDaniel. This book is really good most of the time. Willingham gets the characters down. My opinion of McDaniel changes from book to book. He's not clicking with me on this one. Maybe he will as time goes by.

All Star Superman #1 written by Grant Morrison, art by Frank Quitely. This book makes me a little happy dance of joy. I love the idea of it.

Superman #223 written by Mark Verheiden, art by Ed Benes. Verheiden is a writer and producer on both Smallville and Battlestar Galactica. He writes a damn good Superman comic. Benes aren't ain't to shabby either. This is a wonderful book.

Action Comics #833 written by Gail Simone, art by John Byrne. I'm ashamed that I'm enjoying this as much as I do. I love Simone. But not Byrne. But I like him on this book. Because he's not writing it. It's nice.

Adventures of Superman #646 written by Greg Rucka, art by Karl Kerschl. This is the best Superman book. And this issue looks to be a cumulation of a lot of the plot points Rucka has introduced since he started. And it has Mr. Mxyzptlk. That makes me happy.

Superman/Batman #24 written by Jeph Loeb, art by Ed McGuinness. This is a nice book, although it's late all the time. That's fine. It's still good.

Supergirl #4 written by Jeph Loeb, art by Ian Churchill. The first issue of this was very nice. It's going to be a good book, and I'm curious to see how all of this ties into the upcoming Infinite Crisis.

Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #3 (of 4) written by Judd Winick, art by Joshua Middleton. My love for Captain Marvel grows and grows these days. I love Winick. Middleton is fantastic. I'm looking forward to this.

Superman Secret Files 2005 written by Devin Grayson, J.D. Finn and others, art by Ariel Olivetti, Ed Benes, Rags Morales, Joe Prad and others. I'm a sucker for these Secret Files one-shots. This should be no different.

Infinite Crisis #2 (of 7) written by Geoff Johns, art by Phil Jimenez. This will kick lots of ass. I can't say much more.

Birds of Prey #88 written by Gail Simone, art by Joe Bennett. This is a wonderful book. It makes me love Gail Simone all the more. She's wonderful on this book and pretty much whatever she does.

Firestorm #19 written by Stuart Moore, art by Jamal Igle. I'm a bit behind on this book, but I really enjoy it.

The Flash #228 written by Joey Cavalieri, art by Val Semeiks. I want Geoff Johns to stay on this book. But I'm open to new things. I'll give this a chance. And it has Dick Grayson in it, so I'm there.

Green Lantern #7 written by Geoff Johns, art by Carlos Pacheco. Now with more Oliver Queen. The relationship between Ollie and Hal Jordan is one of the best in comics. I want this to be grand. I'm sure it will be.

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #3 (of 5) written Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons, art by Patrick Gleason. I love this concept behind the Green Lanterns. This should be wonderful. As long as they don't kill Kyle.

Green Arrow #56 written by Judd Winick, art by Ron Garney. This book is wonderful. I hope Garney sticks around.

Hawkman #46 written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, art by Ron Randall. I'm behind on this book, as well, but I always really enjoy it. It's one of those I need to get caught up on.

JLA #122 written by Bob Harris, art by Tom Derenick. This book has been great lately. I'm hoping Harris can keep up the status quo.

Jonah Hex #1 written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, art by Luke Ross. Yay! A western comic. With superheroes. Hopefully it won't be cancelled after six issues. And it should be great with these particular creators behind it.

JLA Classified #14 written by Warren Ellis, art by Butch Guice. Ellis is one of my favorites, no matter what he does. Him writing the Justice Leage is just a wonderful idea. The first issue of this story was fantastic. I hope it continues.

Jack Cross #4 written by Warren Ellis, art by Gary Erskine. Here lies more Ellis goodness. The first issue of this comes out this week, so I hope it's wonderful.

JSA #79 written by Keith Champagne, art by Don Kramer. This book is constantly good. I'm looking forward to what Champagne (the regular inker of the series) can do with it for a few issues.

JSA Classified #5 written by Jen Van Meter, art by Patrick Oliffe. A new story focusing on the Injustice Society. Oliffe is wonderful at what he does. I'm looking forward to this.

Legion of Super-Heroes #12 written by Mark Waid, art by Barry Kitson. Year one of this new series ends, and I'm a bit behind on. Whenever I get around to it, I really enjoy it.

Manhunter #16 written by Marc Andreyko, art by Javier Pina. I'm also behind on this book, but it's also wonderful whenever I get around to it.

Outsiders #30 written by Judd Winick, art by Matthew Clark. This book is just great. Winick remains one of my favorites. Clark isn't to bad either.

Plastic Man #19 written and art by Kyle Baker. This is a fun book. It doesn't come out often enough.

Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1 (of 4) written by Grant Morrison, art by Yanick Paquette. The second wave of Morrison's epic is gearing up, and I couldn't be happier. All of these series are lots and lots of fun.

Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1 (of 4) written by Grant Morrison, art by Doug Mahnke. See above, although this will be wonderful because of Mahnke.

Teen Titans #30 written by Geoff Johns, art by Tony S. Daniel. The return of Brother Blood and Lilith. It makes me dance the dance of joy. Daniel is such a wonderful artist.

Son of Vulcan #6 (of 6) written by Scott Beatty, art by Keron Grant. This is a fun little series. Grant is one of my favorites. Beatty can write a damn good story. The beginning of this series was really nice, and I hope it continues to the end.

Wonder Woman #223 written by Greg Rucka, art by Rags Morales. This is such a great book, and I'm not even that big of a Wonder Woman fan. But it goes to show you how wonderful Rucka is. He's one of my favorites.

Desolation Jones #4 written by Warren Ellis, art by J.H. Williams III. Yet more Warren Ellis goodness. This is the best of them he has going right now, I think.

Ex Machina #17 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Tony Harris. Here's one of the coolest books ever. Vaughan is just amazing.

Silent Dragon #5 (of 6) written by Andy Diggle, art by Leinil Yu. The first issue of this was really, really cool. It's all about samurais. In the future. Or something. It's a little confusing. But still cool. And it has beautiful artwork.

The Winter Men #4 (of 8) written by Brett Lewis, art by John Paul Leon. My shop didn't get the first issue of this, but I'm hoping to get it soon. It looks good.

Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles #3 (of 5) written by Tommy Yune, art by Omar Doogan. Yay! I love Robotech. Always and forever. Good mid-80s anime, go.

DMZ #1 written and art by Brian Wood. Wood kicks all kinds of ass. This should be fantastic, and I'm not even that sure what it's about. But it's Brian Wood. So it's gonna be good.

Fables #43 written by Bill Willingham, art by Mark Buckingham. This book is better than it's ever been. Just plain excellent storytelling.

The Losers #30 written by Andy Diggle, art by Jock. I'm way behind on this. I think #31 or #32 is the last issue, so that will help me get caught up on my own time.

Loveless #2 written by Brian Azzarello, art by Marcelo Frusin. Yay! More westerns. And an Azzarello written western under Vertigo. I dance yet another dance of joy.

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #5 (of 10) written by Mike Carey, art by Glenn Fabry. This is one of my favorite novels, and this adaptation is shaping up to be really nice. Fabry's art is just amazing and a perfect fit for the weird worlds that Gaiman can create.

Y: The Last Man #39 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Pia Guerra. Yet another book that kicks all kinds of ass. I love every bit of it.

IMAGE
Battle Pope #6 written by Robert Kirkman, art by Tony Moore. So offensive and silly, it has to be funny.

Fell #3 written by Warren Ellis, art by Ben Templesmith. I'm so looking forward to this, because it seems different than anything we've seen in a while. And Templesmith doing an Ellis story is going to kick ass.

G0dland #5 written by Joe Casey, art by Tom Scioli. This has been resolicited, but it's worth the wait. The first issue of this channeled the spirit of Jack Kirby in a way I've never seen before. It's going to be wonderful.

Invincible #29 written by Robert Kirkman, art by Ryan Ottley. A Different World continues. I'm sure it will be wonderful, as this book always is.

PvP #21 written and art by Scott Kurtz. These are always fun. Kurtz is one of my heroes.

The Walking Dead #25 written by Robert Kirkman, art by Charlie Adlard. This is a continuingly fantastic book. I love the hell out of it.

Hunter/Killer #7 written by Mark Waid, art by Eric Basaldua. This is surprisingly cool. Which is strange, because Top Cow stuff hasn't been this good in a while. But Waid pulls it off well here.

Down #1 (of 4) written by Warren Ellis, art by Tony Harris. More Warren Ellis goodness. This makes me happy.

Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead #6 (of 6) written by Fiona Avery, art by Al Rio. Avery does good stuff. This book is no exception. She has a good feel of this world and works well in it.

City of Heroes #7 written by Dan Jurgens, art by David Nakayama. I dance yet another dance of joy at Dan Jurgens writing this book. I guess this book is being shopped around for different arcs, which is fine by me. As big a world that exist here, it should have a large creative team. I should start playing again.

MARVEL
Ultimate Fantastic Four #25 written by Mark Millar, art by Greg Land. Land does just beautiful work on this book. Millar is doing some of the best stuff I've seen him do in a long time. This book is a lot of fun.

The Ultimates 2 #9 (of 12) written by Mark Millar, art by Bryan Hitch. Another fantastic Millar book. Each issue of this just gets better and better, and it's shaping up to be one of the best books ever.

Ultimate Spider-Man #85 and #86 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mark Bagley. The end of Warriors, which is wonderful, and the beginning of Silver Sable, which should be just as good. This book has gotten back on track in a big, big way, and it's just lovely.

Ultimate X-Men #65 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Stuart Immonen. This is also simply fantastic. Vaughan is one of my favorites.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2 written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Mike Wieringo. Part four of The Other crossover, this act written by Hudlin. He does decent work, but I want Peter David to kick this book into high gear. Because it's going to be cool.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Pat Lee. Continuing The Other.

Amazing Spider-Man #526 written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Mike Deodato, Jr. Part six of the twelve part The Other.

Spider-Man Unlimited #12 written by Christos N. Gage and Tom Beland, art by Mike McKone. These are always good. Which is surprising.

Black Panther #10 written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Scot Eaton. The next big arc for this book begins here, and it has slowly grown on me. Apparently it's supposed to have pretty much every black character from the Marvel universe in it. So, I'm there.

Daredevil vs. Punisher #6 (of 6) written and art by David Lapham. This is so awesome it makes me smile.

Black Widow #3 (of 6) written by Richard K. Morgan, art by Sean Phillips. Morgan's last book with this character was grand. So a sequel to it is just great. And with Phillips on the art. I'm happy.

Daredevil: Father #5 (of 5) written and art by Joe Quesada. If this comes out on time, I will be incredibly happy.

Ghost Rider #3 (of 6) written by Garth Ennis, art by Clayton Crain. This will be cool. It's a guy with a flame for a skull. Who rides a bike. That's just cool.

Marvel Knights 4 #24 written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, art by Valentine deLandro. This book is lovely. I wish it the best and hope it continues. Sacasa is a wonderful find and does such under-rated work.

Daredevil #79 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Alex Maleev. As Bendis's run on this title draws to a close, I find myself being sad. But it's going to be good. And Brubaker is coming on afterwards, so that's requires a dance.

Punisher vs. Bullseye #1 (of 5) written by Daniel Way, art by Steve Dillon. A follow-up to the last mini-series staring Bullseye, this series should kick all kinds of ass. Dillon is just fantastic. Way does really good work. I'm excited.

Wolverine #36 written by Daniel Way, art by Javier Saltares. Another Way book, which is fine. This is supposed to be the story of something cool, but I'm not sure what. I'm looking forward to it. It has a lovely cover.

Amazing Fantasy #15 written by Daniel Way, Dan Slott, Greg Pak, Robert Kirkman, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, art by Pete Woods, Nick Dragotta, Jeff Parker, Sal Buscema, Khari Randolph, and Takeshi Miyazawa. Holy crap. That's a lot of creators. A lot of really, really good writers. This is definatley work picking up.

Books of Doom #1 (of 6) written by Ed Brubaker, art by Pablo Raimondi. This should be good. Brubaker is just amazing with what he does. And a Doom book will always be excellent. I'm looking forward to this.

Defenders #5 (of 5) written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, art by Kevin Maguire. This is a really nice book. The funny superhero book is slowly making a comeback, and it couldn't be done better than this.

Captain America #13 written by Ed Brubaker, art by Steve Epting. Again, Brubaker is just amazing. This is a fantastic book. Just lovely.

Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan #2 (of 4) written by Zeb Wells, art by Seth Fisher. This is just going to be cool. Wells always churns out good stuff. Fisher is amazing.

Fantastic Four #533 written by J. Michael Straczynski, art by Mike McKone. This issue has the Hulk in it. That makes me happy. Straczynski is doing a great job with this book. Which is hard, because he wasn't fixing something that was broken like he did when he took over Amazing Spider-Man. Mark Waid did amazingly on this book, and this team is continuing the tradition.

Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special written by Karl Kesel, art by Drew Johnson. Kesel loves these characters, that's obvious. This should be a really cool one-shot celebrating the anniversary of the wedding of Reed and Sue. I'll be checking it out.

Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #2 written by Keith Giffen, art by Eduardo Francisco. I still don't know if I'm going to get this. It's all supernatural characters being put into a neat concept with Giffen writing. So it'll probably be cool. It might be worth checking out, at least.

Incredible Hulk #88 and #89 written by Daniel Way, art by Kue Cha. This is supposed to set up the next big thing for this character. But Peter David isn't writing it, which makes me sad. But the preview art looks amazing. I'll be getting it. I've always liked the Hulk.

Marvel Team-Up #14 written by Robert Kirkman, art by Cory Walker. This is going to be amazing. Spider-Man teaming up with Invincible, with the original creative team of that book. It's just plain cool. Kirkman is one of my heroes.

New Avengers #13 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by David Finch. The last part of Ronin, which is supposed to reveal the mystery Avenger. Which is probably Matt Murdock. This is wonderful book.

New Warriors #5 (of 6) written by Zeb Wells, art by Skottie Young. This book is lots and lots of fun. And Lacey likes it. Amazing art. Funny stuff here.

New Thunderbolts #15 written by Fabian Nicieza, art by Tom Grummett. I'm behind on this book, but it's another that I always enjoy when I get around to reading it. Nicieza is one of my favorites who just doesn't get enough work, I think. He'd do great on a big name book, but I'm loving this one.

The Pulse #12 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Michael Gaydos. Gaydos returns to these characters, which makes me so, so happy. Bendis writes these characters wonderfully. I love these characters, and this book is one of my favorites.

Runaways #10 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Adrian Alphona. Right now, if I could only read one book a month, it would probably be this one. The is Vaughan's best book, and probably my favorite.

Sentinel #1 (of 5) written by Sean McKeever, art by Udon. I never read the first volume of this series, which makes me feel a little guilty. I'm going to check out the trades, as they are the cheap digest size. McKeever is one of my new favorites, so I'm sure this series is wonderful.

She-Hulk #2 written by Dan Slott, art by Juan Bobillo. I dance happily. Over and over again. Slott is a fantastic writer. I'm happy that this is back.

The Sentry #3 (of 8) written by Paul Jenkins, art by John Romita, Jr. I dance some more. Fuckin' Romita, man. The man is a god at artwork. He's just amazing.

Captain Universe/Hulk/Daredevil/X-23/Invisible Woman/Silver Surfer written by Jay Faerber, Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, and Jeff Parker, art by Carlos Magno, Paul Siqueira, Francis Portela, and James Raiz. Five one-shots featuring a team-up with a new character out of the pages of Amazing Fantasy and some interesting choices of established superheroes. Faerber does good stuff. And these aren't coming out all in one week, like a lot of fifth week events, so that helps. I'll be checking this out.

Marvel 1602: New World #5 (of 5) written by Greg Pak, art by Greg Tocchini. The first issue of this was surprisingly good. Pak is a new great talent. I hope he moves onto bigger things.

The Thing #1 written by Dan Slott, art by Andrea di Vito. More cool Slott stuff. With Ben Grimm. I'm excited.

Thor: Blood Oath #4 and #5 (of 6) written by Michael Oeming, art by Scott Kolins. This isn't out yet, but I bet it will be very, very metal. Because Thor is metal. Oeming can write the hell out of this character, too. I'm excited.

Young Avengers #10 written by Allan Heinberg, art by Jim Cheung. This would be my second choice if I could only get one book a month. It's very cool and I love it. Although it's running late. But it's worth it.

House of M: The Day After written by Chris Claremont, art by Randy Green. Not really sure what to expect from this, because the mini-series isn't over yet. But I'm sure it'll be good.

X-Men: Colossus - Bloodline #3 (of 5) written by David Hine, art by Jorge Lucas. I say yay again and be happy. I like Colossus.

Exiles #72 and #73 written by Tony Bedard, art by Paul Pelletier. The start of a New Universe story, which continues the World Tour storyline. It should be good.

Generation M #1 (of 4) written by Paul Jenkins, art by Ramon Bachs. Anything Jenkins does is wonderful. And this spins out of House of M. I'm looking forward to it.

New Excalibur #1 written by Chris Claremont, art by Michael Ryan. Here it is. The book I should be excited about. But it's got Captain Britain, Dazzler, Juggernaut, Nocturne, and Pete Wisdom. I do multiple dances filled with high amounts of joy.

Nightcrawler #12 written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, art by Darick Robertson. This book is genius. I hope this isn't ending with the issue. We'll see next month.

Uncanny X-Men #466 written by Chris Claremont, art by Chris Bachalo. I'm behind on this book, too. But with Bachalo on board, I'm so there. He's one of my favorites.

X-Factor #1 written by Peter David, art by Ryan Sook. Holy crap. You all know my love of David. My love for Sook is just as equal. This book spins out of House of M and the Madrox, the later being a fantastic mini-series from earlier in the year. I'm excited about this like no other.

X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1 (of 6) written by Ed Brubaker, art by Tervor Hairsine. I'm really looking forward to this. Brubaker on X-Men is a great idea. And I love Hairsine. I dance, yet again.

The Punisher #27 written by Garth Ennis, art by Leo Fernandez. Yet something else I'm way behind on. But it's good. And violent.

Supreme Power: Hyperion #3 (of 5) written by J. Michael Straczynski, art by Dan Jurgens. This should be all kinds of cool. Anything Straczynski does is good.

Supreme Power: Nighthawk #3 (of 5) written by Daniel Way, art by Steve Dillon. This should also be cool. Nighthawk needs a good origin tale. I love Dillon. And Way is almost always pretty good.

The Book of Lost Souls #2 written by J. Michael Straczynski, art by Colleen Doran. More good Straczynski stuff. Doran is a wonderful artist.

Powers #16 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Michael Avon Oeming. Another of my absolute favorites. I love every bit of it.

ASPEN
Apsen Seasons Fall 2005 written by J.T. Krul and Peter Steigerwald, art by Marcus To and Peter Steigerwald. The last of these annual type issues was really good. I'm very pleased with what Aspen is doing these days.

Cannon Hawke #3 (of 5) written by J.T. Krul, art by Marcus To. This should be nice and cool.

Fathom #5 written by J.T. Krul, art by Koi Turnbull. I like stuff set underwater for some reason. And it's pretty.

DYNAMITE
Red Sonja #6 written by Mike Oeming and Mike Carey, art by Mel Rubi. Good metal stuff. And boobs. And swords.

Red Sonja: Goes East written by Ron Marz, art by Joe Ng. Yay. Ron Marz. He's cool. And more swords and boobs and stuff.

Army of Darkness #5 written by James Kuhoric, art by Nick Bradshaw. More Ash goodness. When it comes out. Stupid late books.

Tales of the Army of Darkness written by Shawn Spurlock, Jim Kuhoric, James
Kuhoric, Robert Napton, and Robert Kirkman, art by Sanford Greene, Nick Bradshaw, Filip Sablik, Michael O'Hare, and Ryan Ottley. Yay. Anthologies are cool. And there's a Kirkman story. That makes me happy.

IDW
Angel: Old Friends #1 (of 5) written by Jeff Mariotte, art by David Messina. I dance more dances. This second mini-series set after the show is supposed to actually answer the question of what happened after the end of the show. Which is cool.

Shadowplay #3 (of 4) written by Amber Benson and Christina Z, art by Ben Templesmith and Ashley Wood. I'm excited about this. Benson is a goddess. And both the artists on this book are fantastic.

MIRAGE
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17 written and art by Jim Lawson. These are all good. I'm always pleased when I read them.

That's it. Lots of money. But it's worth it.

girls are stupid

Except for Lacey, Amanda, Misty, and Jade. And anyone they can vouch for, because I'm sure I'm missing someone.

Everyone else annoys me. I created a fictional account of one of the girls who lives next door to me. This is the one that has banged on my wall each morning this week at a time when people should be up anyways. It's most likely her first year in college. This is her first time away from home. She comes from one of the smaller surrounding towns: Monahans, Lamesa, Big Spring, or something similar. She left all her friends from high school behind. She has most likely always gotten what she wants. She probably drives a fairly new car that her rich Republican father bought her. She doesn't have to work her way through school. She takes all her classes in the afternoon, because she's lucky enough to only be taking 1300 level classes, which are offered a million times a day. In the week before school, when new people were moving into housing, she met her new roommates and was introduced to the gigantic night club that exist down the road from the university. In that week, after discovering this new freedom, she has quickly become an alcoholic worthy of being on par with my dad. She probably now drinks every night without thoughts of what the next day brings because she doesn't have class until noon. So when my relatively quite alarm clock goes off on hour before nine, when I have to be at work, her drunken stupor of a mind starts hitting her wall. It's almost like she's waiting for it. And it's just annoying.

I hope she dies in a horrible car accident after a night of drinking and having dirty pictures taken of her that are then posted on the internet and sent to her father. I hope her future children are born with severe mental disabilities in such ways that they ruin every single family photograph she ever has taken until the day she's kidnapped by a guy with a poodle and dumped down a well with a lot of lotion.

Yeah. It'll happen.

comics for this week

It's Tuesday, I know. Yesterday was hectic. It was the first day of classes. This is my last real semester. In January, I should be starting my student teaching.

I'm taking some really cool classes. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I have 18th Century Women Poets and Post-Human Film, both with Dr. Wildermuth. The film class is going to be great. We get to watch old episodes of The Outer Limits, Alien, Blade Runner, The Matrix, and MI-5. For credit. I get to write papers on it. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have 19th Century British Fiction with Dr. Richardson, which shouldn't be bad at all. Tuesday night I have my methods course with Mrs. Cox, who taught my Reading and Literacy class last semester. It shouldn't be bad at all.

I'm still getting settled into a new schedule. Last weekend, the manager of my dorms informed me that the girls that live next door were complaining that my alarm clock was going off to early. Now I can understand that. It's summer. Not everyone works. During the summer, I came into work at 10:00, which means I set my alarm for 8:00, at the latest. Now, when you stay out and drink every night and don't have to to go to work, it must be nice to sleep it all off until noon every day. But I have to work my way through college. So this morning, my day started at 9:00, and I set my alarm for 7:45. Now, I'm not the best at getting up in the morning. I like to hit the snooze button, but not to an excessive amount. I was actually in the half sleep state this morning before my alarm went off, where I knew it was almost time to get up but was just waiting for my alarm. So it goes off, and as I'm getting up to turn it off, there is a long banging and yelling on the other side of my wall. I was furious. It must be so nice to not have to wake up in the morning. I wish I didn't have to work and have responsibilities. It must be wonderful. The whores.

My local comic shop is horrible at ordering independent stuff for me, even though I pre-order everything. I just ordered a bunch of stuff I've been missing from a website that has a subscription service. It would save me money even, in the long run. I might just get all my non-Marvel and DC stuff from there from now on. It's something to think about.

Here's comics for this week: Adventures of Superman #643, which is always good; Angel: The Curse #3 (of 5), which I still need the second issue of; Batman #644, which is the conclusion of War Crimes; Batman: Jekyll and Hyde #5 (of 6), which is wonderful; Battle Pope #2, which is so offensive it's funny; Black Panther #7, which ties into House of M; City of Tomorrow #5 (of 6), which is just fun; Conan #19, which is always metal; Daredevil #76, which is the first part of The Murdock Papers and Brian Bendis's last story; Daredevil vs. Punisher #3 (of 6), which is wonderful; Day of Vengeance #5 (of 6), which is a lot of fun; Fantastic Four #530, which is really good; Hulk: Destruction #2 (of 4), which is Peter David goodness; Invincible #25, which should kick all kinds of ass; Jack Cross #1, which should be full of Warren Ellis goodness; JSA Classified #2, which had a nice first issue; Legion of Super-Heroes #9, which I'm behind on; Marvel Knights Spider-Man #17, which is actually fun; Nightcrawler #9, which is just genius; The OMAC Project #5 (of 6), which I'm loving; Otherworld #6 (of 7), which is a bit longwinded but beautiful; Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead #3 (of 6), which is decent enough; Spike: Old Times, to which I dance to dance of joy (if I actually get it); Teen Titans #27, which I will spit on; Ultimate X-Men Annual #1, which should be wonderful; The Walking Dead #21, which is always brilliant; and Wolverine #31, which is Mark Millar's next to last issue.

And some lovely covers:




All for now, I think. It's going to be a long day.

classes

Today is the first day of classes.

I've been busy.

I'll report in later.

7-up is delicious

Not a whole lot going on. I'm working on a big post full of comics that come out in November. Because I'm a dork.

Lacey is grand. She got me this original Green Arrow sketch from a guy named Rick Stasi, who did a lot of animation and character designs for Disney back in the early 90s, including Gargoyles and a ton of other shows I watched when I was a kid. It's quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever gotten. And she got me cleaning supplies. Because I'm dirty. Well, my bathroom is anyways.

Things and stuff. I've been catching up on House and Las Vegas, which I both really enjoy. I've been watching Dallas and The Job, only not that much until I catch up on the previous two. And playing The Matrix Online, which is a lot of fun.

tuesday

My birthday was quite grand. My mother got me The Job and the third season of Dallas on DVD. Also, I gained the ability to register for classes for next semester. That one's probably my favorite.

Not much else going on. I'm going to spend the evening watching awesome late 70's primetime soap operas and playing The Matrix Online. I need to get to level fifteen. Right now. I can get "gunman" at fifteen, which will kick all kinds of ass.

Elsewhere, nothing interesting is happening.

Lacey returns tomorrow. That makes me happy.

birthday and comics for this week

It's my birthday today. I'm 22. I feel old.

Here's comics for this week, courtesy of my mother this time (as she always does). This also means I'll be getting bags and boards and possibly a box, making the count of long boxes 26 or 27. That's a lot, believe me.

The Authority: Revolution #11 (of 12), which is the penultimate issue of this excellent maxi-series; Batgirl #67, which is lovely; Batman: Journey Into Knight #1 (of 12), which looks good; Birds of Prey #85, which is just plain good; Defenders #2 (of 5), which is excellent; Detective Comics #810, which is the third part of War Crimes; G0dland #2, which had a fantastic first issue; Green Lantern #3, which is the last part of the first story arc; Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #5 (of 5), which is late but should be worth it; Manhunter #13, which is a fun book that I'm behind on; Marvel Knights 4 #21, which is just a great book; New Thunderbolts #11, which I'm also behind on; Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy #3 (of 4), which has strange cats and monsters; Spider-Man: House of M #3 (of 5), which is surprisingly interesting; Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1, to which I do a dance of joy; and Ultimate X-Men #62, which is always good.

It's a relatively small week for me, which is nice for a change. Here's some covers:




All for now. Birthday day.

comics thoughts and friday stuff

I miss Lacey. She left for Florida on Wednesday to see her cousin. We talked last night and she seems to be having fun. But she won't be back until next Wednesday, so she'll miss my birthday on Monday. I think Misty and I are going to go do something. Her birthday is a day before mine. She'll be 21 and I'll be 22. I'm old. But I miss my Lacey. I asked her to look out for any Philadelphia mint state quarters, which are far more prevalent on the east coast than here in the middle of the country. I have all of the Denver mint state quarters so far, but only about half or less of the other. So hopefully Lacey can find me a bunch of them.

The Matrix Online does indeed kick lots and lots of ass. I got to level ten last night. I got hyper-jump, lost of cool clothes, and lots of very awesome guns. The best part is I have a very good friend who plays it, and he has lots of friends in the game who make me my abilities and all that good stuff. So, you know what I'm doing all day Saturday. This game and getting my shit together for the next semester of school.

Opie and Anthony and lil' Jimmy Norton keep me sane at work. I thank the higher powers for XM satellite radio, and the online streams they have that I can listen to while I do library stuff. I felt horrible last night and took some NyQuil, and of course overslept this morning. I felt bad when I woke up and considered taking that day off, but it would have been spent playing The Matrix Online all day long. So, I'm at work.

Batman #643 - The second part of War Crimes hits, with this issue written by Bill Willingham and drawn by Guiseppe Camuncoli. I love both of them, but this issue is a little off. I'm not sure why, either. It just didn't hit with me. Black Mask doesn't make a very compelling crime boss to me. And he'll be taken down soon enough, it seems. The whole Leslie Thompson/Stephanie Brown storyline is really the more interesting part of this, because Leslie is such a great character that is now missing, and the idea of someone killing Stephanie is interesting. As it stands, the end of this story might be a lot better than the setup.

Captain America #8 - Ed Brubaker gives us the first chapter of The Winter Soldier, which is just about one of the best damn comic stories I've ever read. This book is so freakin' good. I love conspiracy stuff. And I've never been a big fan of Cap. But if a book featuring a character I never really liked can keep my attention and make me love it this much, then it is a testament to just how unbelievably good it is.

Green Arrow #53 - Judd Winick takes another issue off to let some guy I've never heard of write an story featuring Solomon Grundy and a woman who thinks she might be related to him. The fill-in art is better than what it normally is, as I just can't get behind Tom Folwer. The writer gets a good feeling of Oliver's relationship with women, which is always a nice way to build a story. The surprise can really be seen coming from a ways off, but it's nicely done. This is a very cool little one-shot story, but I really want Winick to come back and get this book back on track.

House of M #5 (of 8) - Holy crap. This just keeps getting better and better. I loved the bits the Scott and Emma. The interaction between Logan and Peter is superb. We get the back story of that issue of The Pulse that came out a few weeks ago, and really should have come out after this issue. Bendis makes Hawkeye cool. The Steve Rogers part is just fantastic. The art is wonderful. The little girl is a great character. I'm loving this mini-series more and more. I just love it.

Iron Man #4 - This book is really late, but this issue is so good I can't blame them. Warren Ellis can bang out some of the best books ever. He makes me like Tony Stark, which is really hard to do. The computer art of Adi Granov is so wonderful, it's worth the delays. Almost. I'm surprised I remembered as much from the first three issues of this that I did, but it just goes to show you how good this book has been. I'm digging it.

Supergirl #1 - I was a little torn when this book was first announced. I was a big fan of Peter David's Supergirl book from a few years ago. In fact, for a while, it was the only book I picked up (this was like ten years ago when I was a kid). That book was cancelled due to low sales. It did not feature the Kara Zor-El version of the character, but a weird protoplasmic alien symbiote thing. The book was cancelled almost four or so years ago due to low sales, but the last story arc dealt with the return of Kara (albeit the pre-Crisis version). The sales shot up in a major way for the last six issues or so, but it was still cancelled. People just love Kara. So when Jeph Loeb brought a new version of Kara back in Superman/Batman, it was well received. He and Ian Churchill have started a new series about this character. This first story is about her trying to find her place in the superhero community. She's related to Superman, but doesn't want to be seen that way. This issue reveals some stuff about Power Girl, who I think is going to play a major role in the upcoming Infinite Crisis. This is a really nice issue. Kara's interaction with Power Girl and Courtney is incredibly well written. Churchill draws an amazing comic. I'm happy with this, quite a bit, and I hope Loeb's recent Marvel exclusive allows him to stay on this book.

All for now, I think. I'll do some more this weekend or early next week. I'm fearing my birthday and getting older. I leave you with picture of Kompressor crushing a puny American burger. Because American burgers are week.

my power has left me

I went got most of my hair cut off yesterday. I figure it will look more professional, and might aid me in finding a second job. It's taking some getting used to. I don't really look like myself. Although I don't look like I'm twelve because of the nice beard. It's very strange. But this morning I took a shower in like five minutes as opposed to the fifteen it usually took me to wash my hair. I just don't really know what to do with it yet. I'll figure it out.

The Matrix Online is really a lot of fun. My thanks goes to Greg for making it work correctly.

more comic thoughts

Greg make Matrix Online work big big. I happy boy.

Here's some more comic thoughts.

Marvel 1602: New World #1 (of 5) - I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman's original mini-series that began the world of 1602. It's one of the those perfect Gaiman stories. It's mature and engrossing, while at the same time the perfect kind of thing you can read to a child and watch their face light up with magic. So, I was a little apprehensive about this world living on under someone else other than Gaiman, but if anybody should do it, it's Greg Pak. This new series suffers a bit from being released when so much time has passed since the original. I've real a lot of books since then, and it's hard to keep them all straight. But it comes back to you as you're reading it. There are some really great moments in this issue, particularly the 1602-origins of the Hulk and Spider-Man. I'm not sure where this is going, but I'm definitely there to see how it ends.

Marvel Team-Up #11 - Robert Kirkman offers up some more of what this book does best: throwing together heroes who really have no business working together. Here we get a massive team-up between Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Warbird, She-Hulk, and Dr. Strange. It surprisingly works completely wonderfully. The small sub-plots that Kirkman has planted since the beginning of the series are starting to come into play, and he's picked a nice set of characters to take care of it. Regular artist Scott Kolins takes a break while Paco Medina handles that part of the storytelling, and it's simply amazing. While I love Kolins, his open line work hasn't really hit with me big on this book. Medina offers the fun and cartoony atmosphere that this book really needs, and I secretly hope that either he or someone similar starts doing the art more regularly.

New Avengers #8 - Steve McNiven continues to offer up what might possibly be the best artwork I've ever seen in a comic book. It's simply beautiful. Brian Bendis continues what he does best: some awesome superhero action mixed in with fantastic character moments. The best part of this issue isn't any of the action or revelations, but a simple scene with Tony and Logan talking about the team. It's things like that which make Bendis such a fantastic writer. I love how this is progressing, because I really have no idea where it's going. We have the fourth wall smashed down somewhat, with Paul Jenkins being an actual character inside of the book. The Sentry is such a great character, and I really want to know what's going on with him. The rest of this arc should be fantastic.

Serenity #2 (of 3) - The bridge between Firefly and Joss Whedon's film Serenity continues, as the blue hands get closer to River and recruit someone very unlikely in the process. The guy with one eye is the guy from the pilot episode, who beats up Book, offers Jayne money, and who Mal shoots as they try to escape the readers. It's cool to see him back. I'm curious where this is going. The universe transfers very nicely to a comic book format. The art is a bit off. It's somewhat fuzzy. I don't really like it. But I can't complain to much. Everything else about this issue is wonderful. I picked up the Tim Bradstreet cover with Book on it, but I almost got the Joe Quesada Zoe one. Stupid multiple covers.

Superman #220 - This book continues to impress me with the new creative team. This issue features fallout from The Insiders and Sacrifice, as Superman request some help from Superboy, who has self-exiled himself on the Kent's farm. It's all very cool. This issue also features a lot of throw backs to the Reign of the Supermen, which is one of the first stories I ever read when I was a kid. This is very well done with beautiful artwork, and I'm happy that all of the books featuring this character are of the quality that they are.

Ultimate Spider-Man #81 - I think Warriors might shape up to be one of the best storylines that we've seen in this title. In this chapter we get the introduction of ultimate Iron Fist, the return of ultimate Shang Chi, and the continuation of what is just a fantastic story. The ringer that Bendis puts this character to is the most interesting we've seen in a while. I love the interaction between Peter and the police, and the whole idea of taking down Hammerhead would stop a murderer, but would also be doing the Kingpin's dirty work. It's just flat out fantastic.

Y: The Last Man #36 - I guarantee you that this title will go down as one of the great modern graphic novels when it is completed. Regular artist Pia Guerra returns to tell us the story of Beth, Yorick's love who has been one of the main driving forces of his journey throughout the series. This is a lovely and confusing issue. Brian Vaughan brings in the idea of the Australian dreamscape, and even more we get to see how different parts of the world reacted to the virus in the first place. This book is apart to start paying off in a big, big way.

All for now. I'm getting my hair cut off after work today. I'm going to lose all my power. But I'll look a bit more professional. Maybe. I don't know. I haven't had short hair since I was a sophomore in high school. I'm a little nervous. Lacey is going with me to make sure I go through with it. My long hair has gotten very damaged and split throughout the years, so if nothing else this is going to let me start over.

I'll keep everyone updated.

comics for this week

I'm going to try to get The Matrix Online working tonight. Hopefully it will all go well tonight.

Here's comics for this week: Action Comics #830, which I'm shamefully enjoying; Batman #643, which is the second part of War Crimes, Captain America #8, which is the first part of The Winter Soldier; City of Heroes #4, which I might drop is Mark Waid doesn't come back; Exiles #68, which is a lot of fun; Fables #40, which gets back into Homelands; Fathom #3, which I also shamefully enjoy; Gravity #3 (of 5), which is fun and annoying, all at the same time; Green Arrow #53, which is another fill-in issue, but one that looks interesting; Hawkman #43, which is fun and under-rated; House of M #5 (of 8), which makes me dance; Incredible Hulk #85, which is good; Iron Man #4, which is incredibly late; JLA #117, which is excellent; Legends of the Dark Knight #194, which I'm behind on; New Warriors #3 (of 6), which I'm really enjoying; Nightwing #111, which is just plain good; Outsiders #27, which is the last part of a two part fill-in story; The Punisher #24, which is lovely; The Rann/Thanagar War #4 (of 6), which is just plain fantastic; Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #3 (of 4), which better have more bunnies; Shanna the She-Devil #7 (of 7), which is the end of boobs and dinosaurs; Spider-Man: Breakout #5 (of 5), which is surprisingly fun; Supergirl #1, to which I do a dance of joy; Toxin #5 (of 6), which I'm behind on; 24: Midnight Sun, which ought to be very good; Ultimate Fantastic Four #22, which is just beautiful; The Ultimates Annual #1, which should kick a lot of ass; Villains United #4 (of 6), which is very cool; The Winter Men #1 (of 8), which I'm curious about; and X-Men #174, which I've been enjoying more and more.

And some covers, of course:





All for now. More later.

wizard world chicago news round-up

The Matrix Online is stupid. It won't install on my computer. The numbers on their websites are no help. I can't speak to person. I can't access their help website without registering an account, which I don't want to do because then I lose days playing the game. Greg and I guess that it might be my DVD drive, which has been doing some weird things lately. So I borrowed a drive from my mother's computer. I'll hook it up tomorrow and see what happens. I really want to play the damn thing.

This weekend was the annual Wizard World convention in Chigaco. There's one in Dallas in November, and I always look forward to going. A lot of the companies make some big announcements at these conventions, and here is a round-up of interesting bits I've culled from other websites.

MARVEL
-Brian Bendis is writing Spider-Woman: Origin with Brian Reed, a five-issue mini-series that is meant to sort out the character's convoluted continuity. The art with be provided by the Luna Brothers. After that, a new Spider-Woman ongoing series will be written by Bendis with art by his Daredevil artist Alex Maleev (to this, I do a dance of joy).
-Amazing Fantasy #15 is considered as a bit of an anniverary issue, and something cool will be done with it. It's going to be written by Robert Kirkman.
-Jeph Loeb has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. While he will still be able to continue the upcoming Supergirl book for DC, he is teaming up with famous X-Men artist Joe Madureira.
-Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark are the new crative team on Daredevil after Bendis leaves.
-Kevin Smith has finished Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do, and it will see it's completion later this year. Daredevil: The Target is still being finished.
-Mike Oeming and Travel Foreman have a mini-series called Ares: God of War coming out in December.
-Black Panther #10 starts the next big arc and will feature Luke Cage, Blade, Brother Voodoo, and Shang Chi.
-Daniel Way and Steve Dillion are doing a Punisher vs. Bullseye mini-series as a follow up to their Bullseye series from a while back.
-The artist roster of New Avengers is as follows: #11-13 is David Finich's last, #14-15 will be done by Frank Cho and feature Spider-Woman as a lead in to her new series, #16-21 features Steve McNiven again with a story that spins out of House of M. A new regular series artist will be announced for issue #22 soon.
-A new X-Factor book will see release in November. It's written by my favorite Peter David with art by the amazing Ryan Sook and spins out of the events of Madrox and House of M. The characters featured are Jamie Maddrox, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Siren, Monet, and Rictor.
-Warren Ellis's new team book, Next Wave, with art by Stuart Immonen, sees release in January.
-November sees the debut of new Incredible Hulk creative team Daniel Way and Ken Cha.
-Another series of What If one-shots are coming out later this year.
-The fallout of House of M will start in November: House of M: The Day After is a massive one-shot written by Chris Claremont with art by Randy Green that will focus on the Xavier Institute; Generation M, a five issue mini-series from Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs; X-Men: Deadly Genesis, a mini-series from Ed Brubaker and Trevor Hairsine; Wolverine: Origins and Beginnings, a year long story arc running through the character's title from Daniel Way and Mark Texeira.
-Michael Turner is doing some work-for-hire jobs for Marvel.
-Leinil Yu has signed an exclusive Marvel contract, his first work being an Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk mini-series.
-Brian Bendis is doing an Ultimate Invasion mini-series that spins out of the Tomb of Atlantis arc in Ultimate Fantastic Four.
-Once again, New Excalibur from Chris Claremont and Michael Ryan, featuring Juggernaut, Nocturne, Pete Wisdom, Captain Britain, and Dazzler, will come out in November.

DC
-Gail Simone is writing a new Gen 13 ongoing series with Talent Caldwell on art.
-Grant Morrison is writing a new WildC.A.T.S. ongoing series with art by the group's co-creator Jim Lee.
-Wildstorm is creating a new line of fantasy books called "Storm and Sorcery" that will feature a revamped version of Claw the Unconquered and a crossover with Dynamite's Red Sonja book.
-JSA Classified #5-7 will be a story called Honor Among Thieves written by Jen Van Meter with art by Patrick Oliffe that features the return of the Injustice Society.
-Tony Daniel is drawing Teen Titans #30-32 that features the return of Lilith and Brother Blood.
-A new ongoing book called The Death of Magic spins out of Day of Vengeance with a same creative team of Bill Willingham and Justiniano.
-52, the upcoming weekly series that deals with the missing year in the DC universe after Infinite Crisis, will carry a lower price tag than a standard comic book. It will have multiple creative teams to keep up with the weekly schedule.
-Legion of Super-Heroes, Plastic Man, the All-Star titles, and the upcoming Jonah Hex and Brave and the Bold will go unaffected by Infinite Crisis.
-Something big happens in Infinite Crisis #4, which comics out in February 2006. In March, all the DC books will be set one year later. In April, the mini-series ends. In May, 52 begins.
-Gotham Central #37 is tied into Infinite Crisis. Something happens in JLA #119 that is on the level of Wonder Woman #219.

Here are some images I've found, as well: a Joe Madureira piece featuring Wolverine, Hulk, and Spider-Man; a Michael Lark Daredevil picture; a Spider-Woman picture from the Luna brothers; some X-Factor artwork from Ryan Sook; the cover to Generation M by Stuart Immonen; an Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine image from Leinil Yu; and an image from Ultimate Extinction.






I think that was all the cool and interesting stuff. It's late and I'm tired.

comic thoughts

It's Saturday morning. Lacey and her father are coming over in a little to, of all things, take me shooting. I'm a little scared. I've never even seen a real gun much less held one. So if, as someone so eloquently put it, if I'm not dead from buckshot and hidden in a hollow log somewhere, I'll report back.

Here's some comic thoughts to calm my nerves. There's more coming throughout the weekend. Look from a Wizard World Chicago news round-up featuring news I've stolen from other websites sometime on Monday.

Detective Comics #809 - Andersen Gabrych and Pete Woods kick off the the first part of War Crimes, which deals with the fallout of Gotham City's gangwar last year. Gabrych is an incredibly under-rated writer, and has a very good grasp of the supporting cast of the Batman books. Woods continues to offer up some of the best art around today. My only problem is that this story seems like it's a bit rushed. I'm sure Gabrych and Bill Willingham had this planned ever since War Games, but it's almost as if DC is forcing them to get this out before the "one year later" jump coming up. This story is interferring with David Lapham's run of Detective Comics and Judd Winick's work on Batman, which is little annoying. But this first part offers up a good story, so I'm on board.

Gotham Central #34 - Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker offer up the second part of Dead Robin, and this issue is far, far different than anything we've seen in this title before. As the detectives continue to investigate the murder of a boy dressed in a Robin outfit, Batman recovers from being shot and takes the gun of the detective that shot him, breaking her nose in the process. The Teen Titans show up at the precinct and agree to be interviewed. That's why this issue is so different, because there is such a large presence of superheroes. Usually we get Batman in very small doses, but the group has such a big role in this issue, it's a bit odd. The artist does a fantastic job of showing how out of place the Titans are in this book, which comes across as simply fantastic. I'm sad Brubaker is leaving this book, after this arc, but this story is one of the best we've seen so far.

Justice #1 (of 12) - Alex Ross offers up another project that showcases him love of the pre-Crisis DC universe. The reason to pick this book up is the art. It's amazing and beautiful. It's basically pencils by Doug Braithwaite with Ross painting over it, and the result is some of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The story is a bit less spectacular. The entire first half is the set up for this whole series, with Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and all their friends dealing with the apparent destruction of the world. Then all the bad guys wake up from a dream. I don't really like this presentation of Luthor, but the handling of Black Manta and Captain Cold are dead on. The second half of the issue is Aquaman dealing with the fallout of these dreams. It's nice. Like I said, the art is simply amazing.

All for now. More coming later.

i'm special

My phone isn't working. It should fixed by Friday. Just in case anybody needs to get a hold of me... you can't really. You know where to find me if it's important.

I want to thank Justin Stewart of Popped Culture for making me a shiny avatar. Check it out. It's me as a Cylon.



It makes me special and cool. I'm using it on all the message boards I go to now.

Just a quick post, I guess.

comic thoughts

Sigh. Not much going on. I took NyQuil and went to sleep early last night so that I could wake up and go to work on time this morning. It was nice to get a good night's sleep for once. Stupid NyQuil.

Here's some comic thoughts from throughout the week. This is just new stuff, although I've been getting caught up on a bunch of stuff, like JLA Classified, The Punisher, and Marvel Knights 4.

Amazing Spider-Man #522 - This series continues to get better. I still don't like the art. But I like how Straczynski is able to include the Avengers in this story without it being an Avengers story. Good job.

Black Panther #6 - This series has grown on me. This is a nice end to an opening story arc. John Romita, Jr. should draw everything.

Fantastic Four #529 - Another Straczynski book that I love. Over the course of three or four issues, he's made this book his own while being able to keep in place what Mark Waid did so well when he was writing it. This is an incredibly interesting idea, one on par with what he introduced in Amazing Spider-Man, although I don't know if this one has been done somewhere before. This is a great book, none the less.

The Flash #224 - Blake kind of ruined this for me, but you could guess the end from the beginning. It's nice stuff here, but a little long winded. I enjoy it just the same.

Hellboy: The Island #2 (of 2) - *head explodes*

Hulk: Destruction #1 (of 4) - I know nothing about the Abomination. But I like Peter David. I like Jim Muniz after his work on Marvel Knights 4. This is a fun enough story. It's very Peter David, which is in no way bad.

Nightcrawler #8 - This is is fucking fantastic. That's all I can say. It just blows my mind how good this is. I can't recommend it enough.

Otherworld #5 (of 7) - I get it, alright. There's machines and magic and shit. Stop talking about it so much. I want to murder all of the characters in this thing. They're all twenty-something college kids who think they know everything. I want to stab them all in the eye.

Outsiders #26 - Meh. This is odd to be here at this time, with everything going on in the DC universe right now. This is basically a story that takes place ten years ago or so. If I knew anything about the old Outsiders group, I would probably be digging this. But I'm don't so I'm not. I want my Judd Winick back.

The Pulse #10 - This was nice, as always. It made me like Hawkeye. It's a very odd direction to go with this type of story, but it's done very well.

Runaways #6 - *head explodes again*

Silent Dragon #1 (of 6) - This was very cool. A little confusing, but I think I get what they're trying to do. Anything the Leinil Yu does I have to check out. He's simply amazing.

Superman/Batman #21 - This looks pretty. It's confusing as hell. Most of these stories have been until the last few issues. So I'm waiting for that before I make a solid judgment.

Wonder Woman #219/The OMAC Project #4 (of 6) - *head explodes for a third time* This was amazing. That's all I can say.

I guess that's all. I'm tired and figity. I think I need sugar. I should probably work on that.

comics for this week

There's an excellent interview slash article with Joss Whedon that can be found here. As Whedon is my hero, I found a bunch of great stuff in there.

I've been tired. And I'm tired of being tired. I'm working on it.

Here's comics for this week: Amazing Fantasy #11, which is really good; Daredevil: Redemption #6 (of 6), which I've enjoyed, and because Michael Gaydos is so great; DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #3 (of 4), which is a little odd; Detective Comics #809, which is the first part to War Crimes; Fantastic Four: House of M #2 (of 3), which had a nice first issue; Firestorm #16, which I'm behind on; Gotham Central #34, which is excellent; The Intimates #10, which I'm also behind on; Iron Man: House of M #2 (of 3), which also had a nice first issue; JSA #76, which, again, I'm behind on (yes, I know); Justice #1 (of 12), which should be wonderful; Marvel 1602: New World #1 (of 6), which might be really good; Marvel Team-Up #11, which is fun; Matador #4 (of 6), which is good; New Avengers #8, which is completely excellent; PvP #0, which is always good; Serenity #2 (of 3), to which I do a little dance of joy; Shaun of the Dead #2 (of 4), which had a beautifully illustrated first issue; Son of Vulcan #3 (of 6), Soulfire: Dying of the Light #1 (of 3), which I'm a whore for; Superman #220, which is really good; Trigger #8, which is the last issue; Ultimate Iron Man #3 (of 5), which is a little weird; Ultimate Spider-Man #81, which is just grand; Uncanny X-Men #463, which I'm behind on; and Y: The Last Man #36, which is always really good.

And some nice covers:




I suppose that's all. I've been off kilter the past few days. I'm not sure why. Just stuff.