PREVIEWS July 2008 #238

Over a week ago I bought PREVIEWS July 2008 #238 (for items shipping September 2008 and beyond) and have finally had a chance to pick out upcoming trade paperback/hardcover comic books are of interest to me…

JOKER hardcover - Brian Azzarello rarely lets me down.

BOOSTER GOLD Volume 2 hardcover - Volume 1 is one of the best reads of the year, so the expectations are high for this.

CAMELOT 3000 Deluxe Edition hardcover - This is a series I’ve always wanted to read, so this seems the perfect way to do it!

DIANA PRINCE Volume 3 tpb - Still waiting for the release of volume 2, but I loved volume 1.  MUST GET!

JONAH HEX Volume 5 tpb - One of my favorite comic book series.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 hardcover - Likewise, we’re still waiting on Volume 2 to come out.

The QUESTION Volume 3 tpb - Classic stuff!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THY KINGDOM COME Book 2 hardcover -This is the best DC Universe title, IMO.

DC (WILDSTORM)

HEROES Volume 2 hardcover -The first one was excellent, and this one should be out in time for the new TV season.

DC (VERTIGO)

NORTHLANDERS Volume 1 tpb -Hmm.. 8 issues written by Brian Wood for under $10 = SOLD!

The UN-MEN Volume 2 tpb -The first volume surprised me, so I’m definitely back for more.

Though some of the above are Advanced Solicits, it’s looks like I’m gonna get smashed by DC this month!  Lucky for me I already have ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN!

IMAGE (TOP COW)

MADAME MIRAGE Volume 1 tpb -This looks good, but I would upgrade to a hardcover if that version is available.

MARVEL

Garth Ennis’ PUNISHER hardcover - I’d love to get this.  Just don’t know if I could afford it?

SPIDER-MAN Brand New Day Volume 3 hardcover - I swear, if this ain’t any good then … I’m seriously considering dropping this title!

CABLE volume 1 hardcover - 15, 10, 5 or 1 year ago, if someone told me I was buying a Cable hardcover I would have probably shot them with my big gun.  But I’ve heard many good things about this series, and X-Men has been excellent the last couple years.  Worth a try…

X-FACTOR volume 5 hardcover - The best of all the X-titles, highly recommended for any mutie lover!

X-MEN: MAGIK hardcover - Oh, how I have waited MANY years for this.  One of the most underrated X-Men stories of all time!

INDIE COMICS

(ANCIENT SQUID MEDIA) BROKEN GIRLS graphic novel - 100 pages under $10.  Looks interesting.

(ASYLUM PRESS) ASYLUM OF HORRORS #1 - I like anthology books, and 88 pages for $5 sounds like a good deal.

(BLOOMSBURY) RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE hardcover - Looks fun, and the hardcover is only $4 more than the TPB.

(BOOM! STUDIOS) 2 GUNS tpb - Written by Steven Grant = ’nuff said!

(DEVIL’S DUE PUBLISHING) CURSE OF THE WERE-WOMAN graphic novel = Based on the title alone = SOLD!

(DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT) PROJECT SUPERPOWERS volume 1 hardcover = Alex Ross.  8 issues. $30.  Yep.

(DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT) RED SONJA Volume 5 hardcover = The ABSOLUTE CERTAIN WILL BUY purchase of this month.  Let’s hope it actually ships out on time!

(DESPERADO STUDIOS) OUTLAW NATION tpb = I’ve been after this for a while, so I hope this is a new print of Jamie Delano’s 450+ pages epic.

(:01 FIRST SECOND) PRINCE OF PERSIA graphic novel = Ok, this graphic novel might actually suck, but P.O.P. is one of my fave video games of all time!

(GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING) SHOOTING WAR tpb = Coz I just can’t get enough of political satire in my comics!

(IDW) LOCKE & KEY hardcover - When 2008 comes to an end, this will stand as one of the year’s very best.

(SPARK UNLIMITED INC) LEGENDARY graphic novel - Another video game tie-in, but this one shows great promise, given it’s written by Mark Waid.

(TOKYOPOP) GHOSTBUSTERS graphic novel = Hmm, a movie, cartoon and video game tie-in all in one!

(VIRGIN COMICS) UNTOUCHABLE graphic novel - I’ve enjoyed the one-shot graphic novels Virgin have printed thus far, and doesn’t that Mike Carey get around?!

Justice Society of America: Kingdom Come book 2 HC

Joker HC

Booster Gold volume 2 HC

Camelot 3000 hardcover

Diane Prince volume 3 tpb

Jonah Hex volume 5 tpb

Justice League International volume 3 HC

The Question volume 3 tpb

The Un-Men volume 2 tpb

HEROES volume 2 HC

Northlanders volume 1 tpb

Madame Mirage volume 1

Garth Ennis' PUNISHER hc

Spider-Man Brand New Day volume 3 HC

X-Factor volume 5 HC

X-Men: Magik HC

Cable volume 1 HC

Untouchable GN

Broken Girls

Asylum Of Horrors #1

Rapunzel's Revenge HC

2 Guns tpb

Curse of the Were-Woman

Project Superpowers HC

Red Sonja volume 5 hardcover

Outlaw Nation tpb

Prince of Persia GN

Locke & Key HC

Legendary GN

Ghostbusters - manga

Get Smart, Hancock and PS3.. oh my!

Ok, it’s been over a week since my last post, so I have some catching up to do!

It was my birthday on June 29 (actually, it’s on that date EVER year!), and my wife got me a PlayStation 3 console and the Grand Theft Auto 4 game.  That last sentence alone should be enough reason to explain my lack of activity on this blog.  I’m trav73 on the PlayStation Network, for anyone that wants to take me on!

However, I’ve actually been SUPER busy with lots of things, and managed to see a few movies at the cinema, too…

GET SMART - This was fun, mostly enjoyable, but certainly nothing special.  Steve Carell is great.. he usually us.  Anne Hathaway did nothing for me, though.   7 out of 10.

HANCOCK - Will Smith and the remainder of the cast are great in this, however once the “obvious” plot twist arrived, the movie went into a descending spiral direction.  This movie could have been done in 1,000 better ways, so I feel disappointed in what was actually delivered.  6 out of 10.

In-between those movies I re-visited INCREDIBLE HULK, and I still really love this film.  After RAMBO, definitely one of my fave movies of 2008, despite some blatant flaws.  I’m looking forward to the DVD release already!

Comic-wise, I’ve decided to drop back my weekly/monthly purchasing of “floppy” comics, and just concentrate on hardcovers and trade paperback collections, as their offer more satisfying experiences, as well as being financially smarter option.  Given that I’m 95% “wait for the trade”, this ain’t really such a drastic decision.

So, no more FX for me (even though there was only 2 more issues to go), though I will finish off most other mini-series I’ve been buying.  I’ll probably switch to “wait for trade” with ongoing series, like Echo, but I’m not sure about Trinity?  Perhaps I’ll let it go for a few weeks, then re-try it.

I have read several things, so I’ll try to update the blog during this week with all that…

Get Smart, Incredible Hulk, Hancock tickets

Grand Theft Auto 4 - Special Edition - PS3 (AUSTRALIA)

TRINITY #4 (2008 June 25)

The main story Issue 4 of TRINITY picks straight up from issue 3, with Wonder Woman intervening Knovikt who’s about to flatten Superman. All this is providing a much needed distraction for Batman to depart and seek out the source of their trouble. Batman stumbles across a crashed spacecraft, but his troubles are only starting to begin.

The back-up story features tarot card reader Marguerita Arroyo Covas, who dreams of a violent intergalactic battle.

In this issue, I actually found the second story less interesting, whereas the main story is finally starting to get moving.

Though, we are now 4 issues in, and I kind of feel the overall story is a bit too slow and we haven’t gone far enough. At this stage, I’m considering not buying Trinity on a weekly basis, and perhaps pick-up issues 2 or 4 issues at a time, and read it that way, instead.

7 out of 10.

2008 SUPANOVA Sydney Pop Culture convention

This weekend I attended the local pop culture convention - Supanova Sydney!

There was some great comic book guests, including legends Howard Chaykin and Joe Jusko and Aussie-grown talent of Nicola Scott (Birds of Prey - DC) , Stewart McKenny (Star Wars - Dark Horse), David Yardin (X-Men - Marvel), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night - IDW) and Jon Sommariva (Gemini - Image).

Walking down “artist alley”, I spent $90 buying comic book trade paperback and graphic novels produced by local creators; Jason Paulos (Eeek!, Hairbutt The Hippo), Tad Pietrzykowski (Dark Nebula) and J. Marc Schmidt (Slave Labor Graphics). Jason also did a great sketch for me (see below).

The great thing about the convention are the panels, and I watched as many as the comic book panels as I could, with the Chaykin panels being very informative. I think I learned more in an hour with Chaykin, than I have from reading comic books for over 25 years!

TRINITY #3 (2008 June 18)

Issue 3 of DC’s TRINITY picks up straight from issue 2, with the Justice League coming to save the day for the Green Lantern, battling the monstrous Konvikt. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman suddenly turn up, with Superman struggling to contain the power of the monster he fights.

The “second” story deals with a tarot card reader named Marguerita Arroyo Covas, as is a more interesting story, as we follow her accidental descent into the criminal world.

The structure of this issue was most like how I expect the series to be, with the main heroes in the lead story, and a minor tale in the second story. I doubt things will stay like that for the future, though.

So, where are we at, after 3 issues? We are probably not seeing as much of our trinity as I would like, but the overall story is obviously building slowly. On the flipside, the story is doing well to include as many other DC characters as it can, helping expand the scope of the series.

Mark Bagley is a great artist, but his depiction of Wonder Woman is very inconsistent, as page to page it’s sometimes difficult to believe it’s from the same artist. In contrast, for issue 3 especially, the backup story art by Mike Norton and Jerry Ordway is superb and without fault.

7.5 out of 10.

RASL #2

It’s taken three months for issue 2 of RASL to come out, but it’s been worth the wait, as Jeff Smith has produced a meatier issue that starts to explain and open up the story of our main character.

Our traveler of parallel universes returns “home”, but suspects not all is at it should be and suspects being followed.

This is a really good issue, I like Jeff Smith’s mature approach to the characters and the inking and art is superb.

7.5 out of 10.

The VINYL UNDERGROUND volume 1 tpb

The VINYL UNDERGROUND volume 1 “Watching The Detectives” tpb contains the first 5 issues of the on-going Vertigo comic book series.

Set in modern-day London, Morrison Shephard leads a vigilante crew determined to solve crime and dish out justice, even if it means taking the law into their own hands.  It’s a stylish, yet gritty, comic book, in which our main “hero” characters have as many flaws as the killers they chase.

“Watching The Detectives” follows Shephard’s search for the killer of a young boy, in which his ex-fiancee’s father is framed for the murder.  The larger story is Morrison’s search for his mother, who went missing when he was at the age of five, though it can be said that his overall quest is for the truth.

Superbly written by Si Spencer, it’s an intelligent script, and each character had a clear, definable and unique voice. The artwork by Simon Gane has all the explicit shock value that Vertigo are well known for and illustrates the action scenes with great energy, but at times the art looks akward when it’s just heads talking.

I’ve been looking forward to start reading this series since it first began, and I’m really pleased it did not fail my expectations.  Priced at under $10, there is no excuse for anyone not to give this a try.

7.5 out of 10.

FABLES volume 10 “The Good Prince” tpb

I’ll confess, not only is Fables my favorite comic book being made today, it’s also my favorite comic book series EVER! Bill Willingham’s expert writing is flawless, intelligent and genuinely inspiring.

Even when the series has rarely been “only” good, it’s still manages to much better than the majority of other stuff that gets published in the industry.

Reading this series from tpb to tpb is simultaneously a frustrating and joyous experience. Frustrating = waiting for a long time for the next volume (in this case it’s been a full year since volume 9 came out*), but joyous at experiencing an epic, complete story arc of high excellence.

Volume 10 collects issues 60 to 69 of the ongoing series, published by Vertigo, with 9 chapters telling “The Good Prince” storyline.

Humble janitor Flycatcher sets out on having revenge against the Adversary that has ruined his life, with the help of the ghost of Sir Lancelot, who is seeking redemption from his past mistakes. Encourage an army of the dead to follow, Flycatcher creates the sovereign realm of Haven, where he is pronounced King Amborse the First.

It’s an incredible tale, with many stunning moments of brilliance. A story about belief and perseverance, with external factors determined to shatter the resolve of Flycatcher’s faith.

Even by Fables high standards, “The Good Prince” is an instant classic, and among the finest issues of the entire series.

9 out of 10.

* Fortunately, volume 11 is only five more months away, scheduled for release at November , 2008.

TRINITY #2 (2008 June 11)

The first issue made a good start, so I’m happy to find that issue 2 of Trinity is even better, especially in terms of getting the story and action moving along quickly.

Our trinity of superheroes all independently battle and easily defeat foes of another reality, as the two separate story structures deftly cross-over, with Green Lantern John Stewart having a battle on his hands.

I wasn’t expecting the two “half” stories merging together so soon, but it’s an interesting way of showing the action from different view points.

7.5 out of 10.

LOCKE & KEY #5 (of 6)

Issue 5 of Locke & Key is another thrilling issue, superbly written by Joe Hill with brilliant art by Gabriel Rodriguez.

Storywise, the action is heating up to an explosive finale, as our of our characters are starting to collate in the same place at the same time.

It’s a flawless comic book and it will sad to see it finish next issue.

8 out of 10.