Blog of Limited Interest

Top Ten Comics of 2011

2011-12-27T09:38:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've written, which is how I start every blog, but I haven't been ignoring comic books for the last several months. I am currently co-hosting a podcast the Weekly Longbox with my buddy Todd and lots of preparation goes into that, week in and week out.

So, for my top ten list, I have some self imposed guidelines. It must be a book that either told a complete story in 2011 or was published for at least half the year. This keeps any of the DC New 52 books of the list as with only four issues of any given book published, it would be unfair to judge against books that had twelve issue or a mini series with a beginning, middle and end. There are two cheats on my list, though not really and you will see why. Let's get to it!

10. Avengers Academy: written by Christos Gage, art by Mike McKone, Tom Raney & Sean Chen - with 16 issues this year, perhaps a bit on an unfair advantage over other books, however many Marvel books were double shipping since the summer. I've written about this book here four months ago and the book is still firing on all cylinders. The team has moved out west, added new instructors (Hawkeye), picked up some new students (X-23, Julie Power, White Tiger) and has been tackling some pretty heady issues of late. It is unfortunately one of the lower selling books Marvel has, so don't sleep on this one!

9. Criminal The Last of the Innocents: by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips - the only mini series on the list and the only book by Ed Brubaker on the list. Not that Captain America hasn't been good this year, since the Fear Itself crossover and exit of Bucky from the book, Cap has been...late of late. Criminal is Brubaker and Phillips' crime noir book, this being the 6th volume of such and is always awesome. Their next project, Fatale, comes out in January from Image.

8. Punisher Max: by Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon - after a five month hiatus, Aaron's Punisher book has come roaring back in 2011. Many have said Garth Ennis' run could never be followed and by using the same artist will definitely draw comparisons. But Jason Aaron faces them head on and is awesome book. This run is reaching it's natural conclusion in February, which could be the death of Frank Castle?

7. Green Lantern: by Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke - the first of two cheats on my list as this is one of the few books unchanged by the new 52 relaunch, just a new #1. The continuation of Johns' run on this book gets a shake up with Sinestro as the lead as opposed to Hal Jordan is a cool twist, but I don't think it will last as long as I would like it to. Which is forever.

6. American Vampire: by Scott Snyder & Raphael Albuquerque - the only Vertigo book left standing on my pull list due to the unbelievably great story telling from Snyder & Albuquerque. Starring my favorite character from last year, Skinner Sweet, a great modern day take on the vampire mythos that never feels stale or suspect.

5. Scalped: by Jason Aaron & RM Guera - not a cheat, but I'm getting this one in trade, two came out this year, collecting issues 35 to 49, more than enough to make an informed decision. The movie pitch of this was "Sopranos on an Indian Reservation" may have fit around the first few issues, but now, the book is it's own creature. Making horrible decisions and crushing my very soul with every reading.

4. Detective Comics/Batman: by Scott Snyder, Jock, Francesco Francavilla & Greg Capullo - my other cheat as the only thing that changed with Snyder's Batman is the change from Detective to Batman proper. Not that it matters what they call the book, it should just be title "Awesome." The storyline from Detective Comics recently collected as the Black Mirror is possibly the best Batman story in ten years.

3. Daredevil: by Mark Waid & Paolo Rivera - Just recently relaunched in July, another book I recently talked about as well and already is my favorite Marvel book. As I stated before, after nearly 14 years, ol' Matt Murdock needed some levity on his life and Waid & Rivera have given it to him.

2. the Walking Dead: by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard - Consistently my favorite book, month in and month out and the first book I read when it comes out. Every new story arc is just more pull the wool out from under you sort of storytelling that Kirkman is a master of. One can hope the strength of the AMC TV show is driving more readers to this book.

1. Secret Six: by Gail Simone & J Calafiore - the heartbreaker of the list. Last year's number one book (for me), one of the many casualties of the New 52. It suffered in sales, had no big name lead, but dammit, IT WORKED! It only had seven issues in 2011 but all of them were awesome. The last collection, entitled the Darkest House with these last issues comes out in January, so pick it up and show DC you want Secret Six back!

DCnU Month One Review, part two

2011-10-10T09:35:00.001-04:00

Here's the rest of the month one DC number ones. I keep the spoilers to a minimum, even though some of these books are three weeks old. The hammer comes down on a couple books and some surprise.

I will continue Tony's commentary as well as I'm really digging it. Unfortunately, do to his real life job (super secret scientist), Tony didn’t get a chance to read everything. He did threaten me not to make him look like a simpleton. That is not my goal. I value his opinion very much. Except when it comes to Batwoman. He can suck it on that one.

BATMAN #1: What can I say about Scott Snyder that I haven't said a million times before. Probably my favorite writer right now (behind Jason Aaron) on the name brand Bat book. This book is nearly perfect in addressing the past continuity and not being scary to new readers. And that cliffhanger? I dare you not to come back!
Tony's View: Maybe it's because it Bruce back as Batman. Maybe it's the art that reminds me a time when Spawn was awesome but these are the Batman stories I love to read!

BLUE BEETLE #1: A complete retelling of his origin with tweaks to not tie it to Infinite Crisis which apparently didn't happen now. One of the few books I wish was a bit more little kid friendly.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1: Does not do as good as job as Green Lantern as being new reader friendly (some of the John Stewart stuff was...strange) but a Guy Gardner lead book will at least warrant a second issue. I'm not as upset with the violence as the rest of the world.
Tony's View: Why does the Earth sector have FOUR Lanterns where others have one? Does the rest of the galaxy see Earth as the ghetto of the universe? I like the team up of Guy & John and the "Why don't we wear masks?" line was great. Why does Kilowog appear on the cover of this book and is not in the book?

NIGHTWING #1: The second Kyle Higgins book on the maybe pile making it to the full time roster. It certainly helps that this book ties close to Snyder's Batman. You don't have to read both to get a full story, but it certainly helps this book immensely.
Tony's View: I like Dick Grayson, not as Nightwing or Batman, but as a person. He's just more relatable than Bruce or any other Bat character. I would read a book of just his adventures out of costume.

ALL-STAR WESTERN #1: A maybe pile book that thanks to Jimmy Palmiotti's impassioned plea at Baltimore Comic Con (and Todd's prodding) I checked out. And glad that I did. Such an awesome book that is beautiful. I've never read a Jonah Hex book in my life but this makes me want to get the previous 70 issues.

AQUAMAN #1: The long awaited Geoff Johns relaunch of Aquaman. He's made the Flash and Green Lantern viable properties again! Could he do it with Aquaman? In my opinion (it IS my blog) the answer is yes! This first issue does a great job of positioning Arthur in the same league as the rest of the Justice League and addresses the jokes everyone makes about him. Can't wait for the next issue!

THE FLASH #1: One of the books I was most worried about as artist Francis Manapul was now writing the book. For me, this is usually met with poor result but not the case here. A very good introduction to the character's slightly changed status quo and one of the most beautiful books out there.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1: Gail Simone is one of my favorite writers. Her run on Birds of Prey is great and Secret Six is one of the best books published in the last 10 years. I've never read Firestorm or really carried about him, but her name attached to the book (with co-writer Ethan Van Sciver) was enough to check it out for one issue. In the effort to remain positive, it's one issue was not enough to get me to keep it longer than that. A wasted opportunity.

GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1: Many in the past have said the Green Lantern cash cow has gotten too fat. This may answer that question for me. A nice retelling of Kyle origin with a slight tweak but if you haven't read a Green Lantern book in the last four years, you could be very lost in what's going on. The second book to fall from the pull list.

DCnU Month One Review, part one

2011-09-24T12:39:00.005-04:00

I was going to write a week by week review about my thoughts about the DC Relaunch, however, things have been hectic on the home front. My wife has a baby due with days of this writing and about two weeks ago, I was evacuated from my house for three days due to a pending flood.

This has given me time to split the review up in two blog posts and have an added feature: additional commentary from my brother, Tony. Tony is a comic book fan, but nowhere near to the extreme as I. No website research, no message board skewing, no nothing. He is reading a majority of these books for the first time and clean. His views are slightly edited by me for language and grammar only, as he just left random Post-It notes on the books as he returned them to me.

Now, I did not read all 26 new number ones released in the first two weeks, I only read eleven, which I feel is a pretty good sampling. All books listed below were on my initial pull list, except one, which was a maybe book. Also, since most of these books have been out for a bit, I will still try and keep the spoilers to a minimum. What stays for next month, what get's dropped, keep reading!

ACTION COMICS #1: It's Grant Morrison on Superman, with an origin story, kinda. Superman is taking down slum lords and corrupt business men, Clark works at a competing newspaper from Lois & Jimmy and Lex is helping the government try and take down Superman. There is enough in here for me to come back, with lots of nods to the history we already know. Good enough for me on issue two.
Tony's View: The 'Smallville' reference was lame. Want to see where it's going but Supes & Lex's new designs stink.

ANIMAL MAN #1: This is one that I flip flopped on for MONTHS before the actual relaunch. It was the preview pages on DC's blog that sold me on picking it up and I'm glad I did. Jeff Lemire does a great job with Buddy in both the super heroics and family stuff, Travel Foreman's art is beautiful and the ending is an awesome hook. A keeper!
Tony's View: AWESOME! Great story and art. Never thought I'd care about Animal Man

BATGIRL #1: One of the more controversial pre-relaunch books. Now, in the wake of such books as Catwoman and Red Hood & the Outlaws, the heat has died off this book. I for one am torn that Barbara is back as Batgirl, less for the loss of Oracle, but more of how awesome Stephanie Brown was as Batgirl. Nonetheless, this is Gail Simone writing, which I will check out regardless. I enjoy the new status quo and her mixing it up with a villain who is fixing mistakes of people who should have died (ala the Final Destination movies) will prove interesting.
Tony's View: Good story and explanation of Barbara's injury. Like idea of having roommate and secret identity stuff.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1: JLI is one of my favorite runs of any comic in the history of the world. The Giffen/DeMatties penned stories are an all American classic. This relaunch, starring Booster Gold written by Dan Jurgens, who has been writing Booster for some time, so this should be great, right? It wasn't. There is not enough depth to the characters provided in the first issue, there is no real good reason for Batman to be on the team and it just left me with no real reason to care. The first casualty.
Tony's View: Just don't care. I wish Ted Kord was back with this reboot nonsense.

SWAMP THING #1: Scott Snyder is quick becoming one of my favorite writers and the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing is another classic. This goes back to Swampy and Alec Holland being separate entities and Yanick Paquette's art is killer. He even makes the new Superman armor look cool. Almost the best so far.
Tony's View: Really good. Great take on story of character and brings up questions you want to see answered.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #1: The almost perfect relaunch book. Batman & Green Lantern were the only two characters who didn't get shaken up too much in the relaunch. This is the Peter Tomasi/Patrick Gleason Bat book we were supposed to get months ago and it works. I liked the previous dynamic between Dick and Damien as more than Bruce and Damien, but this is a perfect "one and done" book with a nice hook at the end. Not perfect, but really good.
Tony's View: A little let down, not sure what I was expecting. Too much "I'm your father" and not enough "I'm Batman!"

BATWOMAN #1: My history with this book is storied in my own mind. Originally supposed to debut in "Summer 2010", then moved to "November 2010", then early 2011 and now finally, it arrives. Is it worth the wait? Well, the art is beautiful, but the story...the main issue is while part of the new 52, if you didn't read at the very least the zero issue published almost a year ago, you could be a bit lost. Still waiting to see how things pan out, but could be on thin ice.
Tony's View: Hated it! Don't know or car about the lead and the art makes her look like a goth vampire wanna be albino. Why does this book exist?

DEATHSTROKE #1: A maybe book, sold out at my shop, but was able to get a copy. The art was very nice and the initial premise was straightforward enough to hold my interest, let's see what Tony says:
Tony's View: Awesome! Never saw that ending coming. Would have liked a relationship with the Teen Titans. Or Ravager.

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF SHADE #1: More from Jeff Lemire, spinning out of his Flashpoint mini series. There are literally 100 different things happening, all of them quirky and intriguing. Definitely worth keeping.
Tony's View: Interesting. New. Jaunty. Unorthodox. In short, I'm intrigued.

GREEN LANTERN #1: Essentially issue 68 of Geoff Johns' run on the book, with little change from the prior path the book was on. GL was one of my favorite books and Sinestro in the lead adds a whole new wrinkle that I love. But will this be difficult for someone who hasn't read the last six plus years of Johns' run on the book?
Tony's View: Might be the best of the New 52 books. If you saw that horrible Green Lantern movie and picked this up, you would know everything you needed to know. Quick story, great character descriptions.

RESURRECTION MAN #1: I dug the original Abnett & Lanning series from the 90's and was surprised to see this be one of the books chosen in the relaunch. While there is a complete story in this first issue with a good cliffhanger, but familiarity with the prior run makes the book much more enjoyable.
Tony's View: Saw the preview of this in other books and thought it looked like crap. Very surprised! Reads like a Dean Koontz novel. So many questions about him and his powers I want to know the answers too.

So after two weeks, we've lost one book (JLI) and Deathstroke has been added to the pull
list. One of the books I missed from week one, Men of War, may get a second look this weekend. Let me know what books you checked out and what ones you are looking forward to.

DCnU - First Impressions

2011-09-01T15:39:00.003-04:00

So here it is. The moment of truth for DC Comics. This past Wednesday was the launch of their newly revamped universe. The goal of which is to get more people buying comics and keeping them doing so.

I can't talk about Justice League #1 without talking about Flashpoint #5 first, the last chapter of the miniseries that was supposed to kick start the new DCU.

As you may know from prior blog entries, I'm am an unabashed DC apologist. I will defend the most widely regarded poor decisions with a "wait and see" attitude. But I really didn't like the Flashpoint miniseries as a whole. In that it, to me, it failed to tell an interesting story well and cleaarly link to the new universe. There is a good story in there, but at five issues, it felt padded. A reviewer on Comics Beat summed it up best in saying if you read issues #1 and #5, you lose absolutely nothing from the main story. That's a problem.

I'm going to limit spoilers but Flashpoint has some good character moments for Barry and Bruce (especially at the very end). It all wraps up with Barry, in trying to right the wrongs of the Flashpoint universe, joining the DC, Vertigo and Wildstorm universes. They were separated to keep them weak from an unknown pending threat. That's Flashpoint #5 in a nutshell.

Now, onto Justice League #1. The online community seems to be split on this, but for me, I can sum it up in one word: FUN. Which is what the majority of team comic books should be: FUN! I want to see what happens next. If you have never read these books or characters in print before, I feel this was a great primer for new fans. The problem is a larger number of people reading this book are people who have been comic fans for YEARS and are coming in very jaded.

Let me know what you thought if you read Justice League #1. And if you haven't, why not? You don't even need to leave your house to get it with DC's new day and date digital offerings.

Next week, I will try to have my thoughts on Action Comics #1, Animal Man #1, Batgirl #1, Justice League International #1 and Swamp Thing #1.

No DC Bias Here - Marvel

2011-08-16T13:16:00.003-04:00

When I look at the company specific entries here, it seems as though I only read DC books, but alas, this is not the case. Marvel has tons of great books and creators you should all check out. Many of them have new number ones or storylines starting so it's easy to hop on:

- Avengers Academy: The best team book you are not reading. Written by Christos Gage, this follows a team of youngsters hand picked by Norman Osborn when he was in charge of the Marvel Universe during Dark Reign as the future of evil. Now, with Norman out, it's up to instructors Hank Pym, Tigra, Quicksilver, Justice and Speedball to make sure that doesn't happen. Their leg of the Fear Itself cross over just finished up so a new storyline will be starting soon.

- Amazing Spider-Man: Dan Slott has been the primary writer of the bi-monthly Spidey book and has been great. Peter works for a big tech firm under the guise he's helping Spider-Man develop new tech as his cover and just in time for everyone in New York City to get spider powers thanks to the Jackal. It's called Spider-Island and it just kicked off two weeks ago.

- Daredevil: I've been reading DD since 1996, one of my favorite characters, and no one has more crap thrown at him month in and month out that Matt Murdock. Every writer since has just piled the grief higher and higher. Now, new writer Mark Waid is taking the approach to have Matt just ignore all of the prior horrible things done to him and that he has done and just live his life. But no every one shares his feelings. Issue #2 comes out this week, give it a whirl.

- Ed Brubaker: the next two will be a bit of a cheat as you are looking at my two favorite writers going today. I will read anything they write, even if it's a premise I usually wouldn't check out. The first being Ed Brubaker who currently has Captain America and Criminal out monthly. Cap just recently relaunched with a new number one last week to tie in with the movie with issue #2 out this week. While Criminal is half way through a story, all the past stories are collected and very easy to come by.

- Jason Aaron: my number one favorite writer today. Never in my life would I thought I would be looking forward to the Hulk, Wolverine, the X-Men or the Punisher every month. While Punisher had a resurgence with Garth Ennis some years ago, I've never cared much for these other characters. The Punisher and Wolverine books have new storylines starting in September but X-Men Schism is only two issues deep (issue #3 is out this week) leading to a new Wolverine led X-Book in October, the same month Aaron's Hulk book begins. And don't sleep on Scalped from Vertigo which is ending in the next year but can easily be tracked down in trades.

So before DC has their big relaunch in two weeks, head down to your local comic shop and check out something new from Marvel!

Three Month Window, Algorithm & the Fate of DCU

2011-08-13T13:40:00.002-04:00

As we stand on the precipice of the scary DC Comics relaunch, I figured I would delve into things a bit more. It has been two months since I wrote the initial blog post about this, covering my thoughts on the 52 initial relaunch books. Since then, we have learned many things:

There will also be six additional mini-series to be launched later, starting in October featuring the Shade (from Starman), the Huntress, the Penguin, the Legion of Super-Heroes and more
More ongoings will be announced to begin in November, such as the return of Astro City
We have already seen additional artists come in on books such as Action Comics and Batman: the Dark Knight, assumingly to make sure they meet their advertised release dates
DC has said that when these stories get collected, their will be very few hardcovers and they will tier them out so there are not 52 new trade paperbacks on sale the same month.
DC has also said that all these books will be given the opportunity to succeed but every book has a sales number they must reach or beat to get that opportunity

And that's where this blog came to my mind. This past week at the comic chop and my retailer was stating when ordering the new DC number ones, it was fun seeing all these books but now that he is ordering the issue twos, some of the fun has gone away. DC is pushing many of their issue threes (which we should see the solicits for this Tuesday) with their new villain initiative, but he stated the issue two solicits feel like the same old, same old, just with lower numbers.

I'm still as excited for the new books, even adding a few new titles (Animal Man and Nightwing) to my pull list, but those comments got me thinking, if many people look at this as the same old stories, will the give them a try and will they keep reading them.

The September numbers will be big, that's almost a given. This could be the first month that DC wins the market share over Marvel in quite some time. They have even been closing that gap in the last three months, thanks in part to the buzz of the relaunch, but also the continued strength of the Green Lantern and Batman titles.

But what about October? And November? Especially December, a record low sales month for comic books with the holidays and all.

DC has many books currently published with what some may consider low sales. We are long past the days where X-Men #1 sells over a million copies, but where is the ceiling and where is the floor for many of my favorite characters.

In my mind, DC Corporate has a dry erase board in some office somewhere with all 52 books written on with the following algorithm for each book:

X (writer) + Y (artist) + Z (title or property) = minimum amount of sales

What I mean by this is Justice League is positioned to be the number one selling book. DC's top writer (Geoff Johns) plus one of the most popular artists in comics (Jim Lee) on the super team that has Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern et al should sell like gang busters. But what is the lowest this book could sell before they have to cancel it?

Now, let's take Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, which is spinning out of the 13 Flashpoint miniseries, written by Jeff Lamire (Sweet Tooth, Superboy) with art by Alberto Ponticelli (Unknown Soldier, Godzilla for IDW). I choose this book as one of the Flashpoint miniseries, it was the one that had the biggest drop off from issue one to issue two. What is the lowest this book can sell and still be "safe"?

As mentioned before, it will be several months, possibly early 2012, before we see the real effects of the relaunch. What book do you think will be the first to fall?

No Lame Puns About "52"

2011-06-11T09:54:00.003-04:00

So, the 52 books for the DC Relaunch (not calling it DCnU) have been announced and the world still exists. It's still going to be another 2 1/2 months before we get the first book from this group but let's look at each one. I'm doing this as listing of what my pull list will look like come September. As it stands, on an average month, I get 14 DC books, not including Vertigo books. Let's see how things shake up.

Justice League Geoff Johns (W) Jim Lee (A): A book nearly five years in the making. We've heard the rumblings for some time about this due bringing the big seven (Cyborg replacing Martian Manhunter) back to the Justice League. Now, will the book be on time?
Wonder Woman Brian Azzarello (W) Cliff Chiang (A): The creators behind the critically acclaimed Doctor Thirteen book but try as I may, I just can't get into Wonder Woman.
Aquaman Geoff Johns (W) Ivan Reis (A): Another book rumored for some time, again, Johns is pretty much in my top five of writers and will check out anything he writes.
the Flash Francis Manapul (W) Brian Buccellato (A): The loss of Geoff Johns and Manapul's first stint as a writer on my favorite DC character will definitely consider a look.
the Fury of Firestorm Ethan Van Sciver & Gail Simone (W) Yildiray Cinar (A): A book I would normally never check out, but I will read anything by Gail Simone!
Hawkman Tony Daniel (W) Philip Tan (A): Daniel has been primarily an artist, but over the last year or so, has cemented himself as a writer as well. But, not too confident about this pairing.
Green Arrow JT Krul (W) Dan Jurgens (A): I love Oliver Queen but am not a fan of Krul's writing. He and Jurgens on art is a strange pairing.
Justice League International Dan Jurgens (W) Aaron Lopresti (A): Taking the place of Booster Gold and Justice League: Generation Lost, definitely one to check out!
Mr. Terrific Eric Wallace (W) Roger Robinson (A): The sting of no other Justice Society of America book in the relaunch makes this one painful to pass up.
Captain Atom JT Krul (W) Freddie Williams III (A): Krul paired with the good captain is not something that fills me with hope.
DC Universe Presents #1 Paul Jenkins (W) Bernard Chang (A): An anthology title, starting with a five parter featuring Deadman, spinning out of Brightest Day. Haven't been too keen on Jenkins work as of late, maybe after the first acr is done.
Green Lantern Geoff Johns (W) Doug Mahnke (A): Keeping this course, I have a feeling the lead of this book will be Sinestro, which would be AWESOME!
Green Lantern Corps Peter Tomasi (W) Fernando Pasarin (A): Swapping the creative teams from Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors starring Guy Gardner & John Stewart. I'll take it!
Green Lantern: the New Guardians Tony Bedard (W) Tyler Kirkham (A): Previously featured on Green Lantern Corps, Kyle Rayner will be leading a team of rainbow lanterns. Keeping on, keeping on.
Red Lanterns Peter Milligan (W) Ed Benes (A): To me, a DC apologist, sees this as a very short sided concept.
Batman Scott Snyder (W) Greg Capullo (A): Snyder has been one of my favorite writers of late with American Vampire, moving over from Detective Comics. I fear Capullo, who's art is amazing, may cause delays on this one.
Detective Comics Tony Daniel (W & A): Taking over from his previous run on Batman. Again as mentioned, not a fan.
Batman & Robin Peter Tomasi (W) Pat Gleason (A): This creative team will hopefully be able to get this book out without any hiccups, as before.
Batman: the Dark Knight David Fitch (W & A): Another artist trying his hand as writing as well. A second launch for this book since November. Don't count on this one.
Batwoman JH Williams III (W & A): Speaking of not counting on things. This is a funny looking "Summer 2010" when this book was supposed to come out. Writer Greg Rucka's take on the character in Detective Comics was so strong, I have faith in this book, if it ever sees the light of day.

Batgirl Gail Simone (W) Ardian Syaf (A): A book causing much uproar on the interwebs. Barbara Gordon, one of my favorite characters, has been Oracle for many years after being shot and crippled by the Joker in the famed story The Killing Joke. Allegedly, this story was never supposed to be "cannon" but many writers took to it, so it became law, if you will. Everyone, including myself, came to love Barbara in her new role, which makes this return as Batgirl bittersweet to some. One thing instills me with hope with this drastic change, Gail Simone.
Catwoman Judd Winick (W) Guillem March (A): Not a fan of Selina as a solo character or Winick as a writer.
Birds of Prey Duane Swierczynski (W) Jesus Saiz (A): Duane comes with a high pedigree, but not enough for me to care.
Nightwing Kyle Higgins (W) Eddy Barrows (A): Like that Dick is back in the role of Nightwing, but even if Superman got to be Batman, even for a little while, going back is a step down.
Red Hood & the Outlaws Scott Lobdell (W) Kenneth Rocafort (A): An interesting concept with a cool team (Jason Todd, Starfire & Roy Harper) but Lobdell is a bit of a wild card in writing comics in 2011.
Batwing by Judd Winick (W) and Ben Oliver (A): The Africian Batman from Grant Morrision's Batman, Inc. book (to be relaunched 2012) in the hands of Winick is not something I want to read.
Animal Man Jeff Lemire (W) Travel Foreman & Dan Green (A): Lemire is hit or miss for me but Buddy Baker is a great fit for him!

Swamp Thing Scott Snyder (W) Yannick Paquette (A): A HUGE fan of the Alan Moore Swamp Thing run and in the hands of Snyder, I'm very excited for this one!
Justice League Dark Peter Milligan (W) Mikel Janin (A): Milligan is another writer who has fallen off a bit for me, but this is another cool concept.
Demon Knights Paul Cornell (W) Diogenes Neves & Oclair Albert (A): Etrigan leading a book is nifty, but I just can't bring myself to care.
Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE Jeff Lamire (W) Alberto Ponticelli (A): I might try this one in trade.
Resurrection Man Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (W) Fernando Dagnino (A): A HUGE fan of Abnett & Lanning, wished they'd be on a LEGION book, but I'll take this instead.
I, Vampire Josh Fialkov (W) Andrea Sorrentino (A): No clue how/why this book exists...
Voodoo Ron Marz (W) Sami Basri (A): The first of several Wildstorm (the formerly Image universe of characters that Jim Lee brought with him to DC) being woven into the relaunch. Pass.
Legion Lost Fabian Nicieza (W) Pete Woods (A): Was a fan of Nicieza's work at Marvel in the past, but he's always been an also ran writer to me.
Legion of Superheroes Paul Levitz (W) Francis Portela (A): One of the few books keeping the same writer in the relaunch. To me, this could have used a shake up.
Teen Titans Scott Lobdell (W) Brett Booth (A): I didn't want to include the art on this book, but these are the silliest redesigns of the relaunch.
Static Shock John Rozum & Scott McDaniel (W) Scott McDaniel & Jonathan Glapion (A): From the Milestone Universe that DC tried to integrate into the main universe a few years back with little success.
Hawk & Dove Sterling Gates (W) Rob Liefield (A): I like Sterling Gates, but these characters on their own do not appeall to me one bit. And no comment on the art.
Stormwatch Paul Cornell (W) Miguel Sepulveda (A): The second of the Wildstorm books being added into the DCU. This time, Martian Manhunter is the leader. Probably has the best chance of being good and lasting.
Blackhawks Mike Costa (W) Ken Lashley (A): Another book that makes me long for JSA.
Sgt Rock & the Men of War Ivan Brandon (W) Tom Derenick (A): I've never been able to really get into straight war comics, this is no different.
All-Star Western Justin Grey & Jimmy Palmiotti (W) Moritat (A): The relaunch of Jonah Hex, glad this is getting incorporated into the main DCU.
Deathstroke Kyle Higgins (W) Joe Bennett & Art Thibert (A): A favorite character of mine, giving a shot based on the strength of the lead.
Grifter Nathan Edmondson (W) CAFU & BIT (A): The final of the Wildstorm cross overs. Again, seems like a very 90's concept to me.
OMAC Dan DiDio & Keith Giffen (W) Keith Giffen & Scott Koblish (A): A big DiDio supporter, but not as a writer. Love Giffen, but I can see his name disappearing from the co-writer credit very quickly.

Blue Beetle Tony Bedard (W) Ig Guara (A): Glad to see this character get a solo title and not lost in the shuffle.
Suicide Squad Adam Glass (W) Marco Rudy (A): King Shark & Deadshot should be in a Secret Six book written by Gail Simone. Accept nothing else!
Action Comics Grant Morrison (W) Rags Morales (A): Morrison's lone book in the relaunch. If this is half as good as All-Star Superman it will be unreal!
Superman George Perez (W) Jesus Merino (A): Glad to see Perez is just handling the writing chores as if he was doing both, this book would never see the light of day.
Supergirl Michael Green & Mike Johnson (W) Mahmud Asrar (A): Writers from Smallville taking the reigns of a book that hasn't had a steady creative team (longer than 12 issues) in nearly six years. Good luck!
Superboy Scott Lobdell (W) RB Siilva & Rob Lean (A): Lobdell on a third book in the relaunch?

So there you have it. My pull list has changed from 14 DC titles to 16 DC titles and two maybes. I'm a DC loyalist and this isn't going to send me running to the hills like so many others. If you are not a regular comic book reader, this is as great a time to give something new a try!

Comics Rapture

2011-06-02T13:11:00.002-04:00

Hunker down, this is going to be a long one!

August 31st is the day it all changes. Or was that June 1st?

Anywho, the news has begun to officially trickle out that come September, DC Comics is relaunching 52 of their super hero titles with new number ones. Currently, DC publishes 56 super hero books which includes 20 Flashpoint tie ins, the impetus for this change.

Quickie for Flashpoint: Professor Zoom does something that changes the entire world as we know it! Only Barry Allen (the Silver Age Flash) knows our world existed. When he mentions the Flash or Superman to the other heroes, they have never heard of these people. When he confronts Batman about what's going on, Batman is now Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father? Essentially, it's the DC version of Age of Apocalypse, a Marvel Comics X-Men storyline from the late 90’s. And I'm quite alright with that.

Once this storyline is said and done on August 31st, the DC Universe will change as we know it forever! People are going to be younger! Men will have collars and women will have pants! The comic book reading world will be in an uproar! For a variety of reasons:

- By restarting everything, all my old comics mean nothing! Such a silly statement. My comics mean a lot to me, especially the good ones. If I read an out of continuity story like Thor: the Mighty Avenger, does that make it any less valuable than his in continuity appearances in Avengers? If it stinks it does! Is there a chance that some of these relaunches could stink? Certainly. That will have no bearing on the past stories I have read.

- Renumbering everything from one is a cheap stunt! Everything in comics is a cheap stunt and has been since the mid-80's. In this day and age, just having a great story is not enough. If it was, Secret Six would sell over 100,000 issue a month. Renumbering happens quite a bit with all companies and, as sad as it is, a number one issue sells better than a number twenty-one. The true test will be how the following issues sell and if they just go back to the old numbering in four months, a year or whenever. You ask me, do away with issue numbers all together, just include a cover date and the storyline title on the cover and call it a day.

- Digital comics will kill the Local Comic Book Shops! Another part of this big relaunch by DC is going "day and date" will all these books as well. That means, the same day you can purchase Justice League #1 in your local comic shop, you can also purchase it online through comixology, iTunes, or however people get comics online. While this is a huge move, the easier it is for people to get the most of your product is a no-brainer, but the death of the brick and mortar stores? Probably not in my lifetime.

I freely admit I am a DC apologist (but not a Marvel hater) and when it boils down to it, I follow a creator more than a character in most cases than not. However, every form of entertainment is constantly changing, for better or for worse. At this point, it seems the majority of people are already calling for impending doom. This is before we've even read one since issue from the relaunch and only seen one fifth of the creative teams.

This move by DC is very. very risky. The pay off could be huge. Or it could be a monumental failure. I highly doubt any critic, pundit, expert or otherwise can say as of this point, it's just too soon to tell. My feeling on this is their will be no middle ground, this is the definition of "all in" by DC.

As of June 14th, we will know the creative teams on all fifty-two new books. Eleven have already been announced, many other are purely speculation at this point. Once all are announced, I will have another blog entry with my thoughts.

I'm hoping on the side of success.

Or at the very least awesome stories.

Three Months Later....

2011-04-27T09:43:00.002-04:00

I felt obligated to do a blog post since I didn't want this to be a ghost blog, or whatever that is called. I do visit everyday as a hub for all the other blogs I go to.

Quite a bit has been going on in the last three months, but the ease of expressing my thoughts through Twitter has made this blog almost obsolete. But here's what's been going down:

- My wife is pregnant! This has been mostly kept private just because I'm weird like that but many, many people know. This has been long coming as we've been together eleven years this July and married five years this October, which is when the baby is due. I'm looking forward to fatherhood but from friends who are already parents, you are never ready.

- Due to the impending baby's arrival, the plan was made to cut back on many of my outside duties by the end of the year, but it appears that decision has been made sooner than I expected for me. Is that cryptic enough?

- The other main things in my life, comic book and wrestling are still running hot and heavy. As in I read a lot of comics and commentate a lot of wrestling. It's crazy to me how much these two things encompass so much of my life. Just the other day, Jerry and I spent HOURS pitching to each other an idea for a promotion THAT JUST MIGHT WORK but frustrates me as it may never see the light of day.

- Speaking of wrestling, after over six years of involvement, it's almost like I'm being accepted by fans and others. My favorite connection has been Mike Falcone and Tom Green of the exploding sensation Mike and Tom Present. I'm sure this mention will get them at least two more readers.

- Summer movie season is right around the corner and it's gonna be a big one! There is SEVEN movies I just have to see (Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Super 8, Green Lantern, Cars 2, Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens) and one I will be forced to see, the last Harry Potter film, which I refer to as a $13.00 3-D nap for me. This is the biggest movie season for me in a while and it breaks my heart that Green Lantern might be a huge disappointment. But I think I covered my thoughts on this here about a year and half ago. My casting predictions were WAY off!

That's enough for now. Maybe I'll talk about Super or some of the other movies I plan on seeing. Or something.

Three Guys Hiatus and More

2011-01-17T08:52:00.006-05:00

There hasn't been an episode of Three Guys from Nowhere in quite some time (almost a month). And there probably won't be another until February. I just saw a special someone's birthday is February 4th, so that may be scrapped too. But things have been going on!

The holidays and other family related nonsense ate up a ton of time, preventing shows from being recorded and wrestling season picks up this weekend (visit CHIKARA Pro for more details) and continues the following weekend (see Dragon Gate USA for even more details). I love my wrestling just as much as comic books, but comics very rarely have me out of my house longer than a few hours on a Wednesday.

In my life, I've been a huge fan of comic books and wrestling. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have any direct involvement in any of these, especially wrestling, the one that takes the most physical ability, of which I have none.

This weekend marks the beginning of my seventh year of direct involvement with wrestling (more on that later). Last year I did commentary for 34 shows and set to do more this coming year. A great man before me once stated (I'm paraphrasing here) "Just because you had 100 over 10 years, doesn't mean you've been in the business for 10 years."

There is not a day or show that goes by or direct involvement with wrestling that I do not pinch myself. That may be the wrong feeling to have and I usually get over it fairly quickly, however, every show, I recognize how lucky I am to have the opportunities afforded to me.

Something else on the horizon is my involvement in a pending documentary on the hay day of VCW, "Ghosts of the Valley" or something to that effect. VCW is where I got my start in participating in the wrestling business some 10 plus years ago. This documentary is something I have thought about doing myself but am very lazy and several people from those days I wouldn't know how to reach are not too keen on me. I can see this fact painting me in a poor light once the documentary is done. As long as old VCW matches get on YouTube, I will be a happy man.

As for the podcast, Todd (I think) and I enjoy doing the show, but sometimes I feel like we are just spinning our wheels. We get very little feedback and have even fewer listeners. It's frustrating at times. Who knows, the end may be near. It was a fun ride while it lasted, regardless. Let me know if you care.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 52

2010-12-17T21:20:00.003-05:00

This week, on an extra long episode of Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe have their year end review show! We also discuss the currency of Sweden, Alias, too many changes for Supergirl and fear of the next Marvel big event. Won't you join us for our last show of 2010? We promise to keep the "Blaqualad" or "Flash-a-lax" cracks to a minimum!

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff: Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #5, Green Lantern #60 and Brightest Day #16

Best of 2010 Categories
Best New Series, Favorite Character, Biggest Surprise, Biggest Disappointment, Favorite Artist, Favorite Book, Favorite Writer and Looking Forward to in 2011.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Do You Fear Marvel's next event?
The return of CrossGen
Nick Spencer's one issue Supergirl run
AKA Jessica Jones for ABC 2011

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 51

2010-12-11T07:22:00.001-05:00

This week, on Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe talk about the Walking Dead AMC show as a whole. Was it a success? Also, has Marvel's 2011 event been here all along? And yet another new Venom. And the return of Marvel Cosmic. We also prepare for next week's year end review show, discuss Brian Bolland's art technique, the Oakland Raiders chances for Super Bowl glory and more!

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff: Superboy #2, the Flash #7 and DCU Holiday Special 2010

Links Mentioned on the Show
the Walking Dead on DVD March 2011
Marvel's 2011 Alien Invasion
Who is the new Venom?
Annihilators in March

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 50

2010-12-03T21:23:00.002-05:00

This week, on Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe celebrate barely scraping together 50 episodes. What a wild ride it's been! Still only one iTunes review :( Also, the significance of October 28th.

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff: Heroes for Hire #1, Wolverine the Best There Is #1, Jonah Hex #62 and Ant Man & Wasp #2

Links Mentioned on the Show
Walking Dead Marathon this weekend
Rare Exports trailer

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 49

2010-11-19T21:22:00.003-05:00

This week, on THE Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe Turn off the Dark before discussing the February 2011 Solicitations for Marvel and DC, DC plans for the spring, the history of Bloodwynd, a Death of fake Spider-Man and the Oakland Raiders chances of staying atop their division. Yes, it has come to this.

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff: Batman: the Return, Batman, Inc. #1, Osborn #1, Thunderbolts #150 and Superman #705

Links Mentioned on the Show
DC Solicitations for February 2011
Marvel Solicitations for February 2011
War of the Green Lanterns
The Reign of Doomsday
Aquawar
Spider-Man Musical photos

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 48

2010-11-12T21:22:00.003-05:00

This week, Todd and Joe discuss the Raiders. That's not a comic book. Also, we talk about the Walking Dead AMC show getting picked up for a second season, will Batwoman ever come out, JMS leaving monthly books and more.

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1, Amazing Spider-Man #648 and Ant-Man and Wasp #1

Links Mentioned on the Show
A preview of the Green Lantern Preview
Will we REALLY see Batwoman?
JMS leaves Superman and Wonder Woman
the Walking Dead picked up for second season
If you missed, all three Walking Dead episodes this Sunday

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 47

2010-11-05T21:54:00.003-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about some TV show on AMC that ruled it all, weekly Walking Dead, last week's show, Batman's mysterious benefactor and more.

In books released this week, we discuss lots of new stuff:
Captain America: Man Out of Time #1, Superboy #1,
Generation Hope #1, Warriors Three #1, Amazing Spider-Man #647 and Secret Six #27.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Marvel Point One in February
Only sports and the desperate can outrun the Dead!
Miss the first episode of the Walking Dead? Get it here!
Bruce Wayne is back and holding press conferences

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Special - Tom Derenick

2010-10-28T22:54:00.003-04:00

This week on a very special Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe sit down with DC Comics artist extraordinaire Tom Derenick. An artist who has been in the business for nearly 20 years working for DC, Marvel and all companies in between. We talk about his start in comics, his connection to ebay, pitching ideas to Joe Quesada, working with some of the biggest names in comics and more!

Links Mentioned on the show:
JLA/the 99 #1 out this week
Original Art for Sale!
A site with some of Tom's past work
More art from MySpace

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys From Nowhere Episode 46

2010-10-22T21:29:00.003-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the 2011 January Solicits for DC and Marvel, Disney buys Iron Man & Avengers, Marvel really stretching for variants, Bruce Wayne is late getting back

In books released this week, we discuss
Brightest Day #12, Green Lantern Corps #53, the Walking Dead #78 and Steve Rogers Super Soldier #4

Links Mentioned on the Show
DC January 2011 Solicitations
Marvel January 2011 Solicitiations
Three issues of Batman & Robin in November...
...and Batman: The Dark Knight already off schedule
Tron Variants...really?
Disney buys Iron Man & Avengers movie rights

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 45

2010-10-15T21:34:00.003-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about Todd's fantastical trip to NYCC (where he got that awesome Adam Hughes sketch above!), more about that Walking Dead TV show, the great price drop of 2011, new Marvel TV shows and no Brightest Day in the Brightest Day solicits?

In books released this week, we discuss Green Lantern #58, Untold Tales of Blackest Night, Justice League Generation Lost #11, Booster Gold #37 and Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #3. That's a lot of books!

Links Mentioned on the Show
DC at $2.99 price point in 2011
And Marvel follows suit
Behind the Scenes of the Walking Dead
Hulk and Cloak & Dagger TV shows
Check out Cuba: My Revolution
DG USA Enter the Dragon for FREE!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Review: Let Me In with spoilers

2010-10-04T11:12:00.005-04:00

So, I went to see Let Me In this weekend under protest. Kinda sort of. My wife and I were going to see The Town instead but Fandango had the wrong times listed on their site for my local theater.

I had many reservations about seeing this film as Let the Right One In was my favorite movie of 2008, neck and neck with Iron Man and when I saw a remake was being made, I cringed. After seeing it, I had very strong opinions about Let Me In so now's your last chance to turn back as here be the spoilers.

However, it does stay as true to the original as American movie making will allow. Little things like altering the lead character names, changing Abby's prey from bar patrons to people who live in the apartment complex don’t affect the original story one way or another. There are a few scenes of CGI which are out of place, unneeded and almost laughable.

And speaking of American movie making, those who do they think we are stupid. I’ve known this for a long time, but this movie REALLY cements it for me.

Did you need to have it beaten over your head that Let the Right One In took place in the 80’s? Well Let Me In does so at every turn. Also, in lieu of actual character development, they just give characters hobbies and such. Like Abby is into puzzles and Owen likes “Now and Laters” (a candy I know of vaguely). Is there any reason for this other than lazy script writing? Not really. The argument could be made it’s the Rubik’s Cube that begins their friendship, but it wasn’t needed in the original. They were both just lonely people.

Also, Abby’s ‘father’ very obviously started out as a young boy, much like Owen who gave up his whole life for Abby. They really go the extra mile in Let Me In to make sure you know this. One scene is very subtle and touching, the other is the movie equivalent of hitting you in the face with a brick.

Lastly, you know the big visual reveal that Abby is a boy? I knew they wouldn’t show it in Let Me In so instead Abby says dozens of times that she is a boy. Would it have been more powerful if we saw what was shown Let the Right One In? Probably.

All in all, it was a good movie experience that I liked slightly less because of my love for the original. Definitely check it out as it does not appear to be long for the theaters, coming in seventh at the box office this weekend. Or even better, check out Let the Right One In through Netflix Instaqueue.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 44

2010-10-01T21:57:00.001-04:00

We have brought our biggest combat spoon to eat your tasty brains! This week, Todd and Joe talk about the books coming to your local comic shop in December, the Walking Dead going day and date through Comixology, back to back NY Cons and the new EIC at DC and how it relates to Ben Reilly.

In books released this week, we discuss Captain America #610, Action Comics # 893 with a Jimmy Olsen back up, Time Masters #3 and Crossed Family Values #4

Links Mentioned on the Show
Marvel Solicitations for December 2010
DC Comics Solicitations for December 2010
the Walking Dead online
Former EiC of Marvel now EiC of DC Comics
Life of Reilly a 35 part epic
Big Apple Comic Con this weekend
New York Comic Con next weekend

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 43

2010-09-10T21:00:00.003-04:00

Out of witty openings! The books came a day late but we're still here! This week, Todd and Joe talk about Alan Moore still being crazy and the Walking Dead TV show less than two months away. That's about it. It was a really slow week for news. I did read the first two trades of REBELS and we talk football. Really, we do.

In books released this week, we discuss
Irredeemable #17, Booster Gold #36, Green Lantern #57 and Justice League Generation Lost #9.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Alan Moore has an OPINION!
Three more clips from the Walking Dead
Dr. Who comes to the Wii

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys From Nowhere Episode 42

2010-09-03T16:41:00.007-04:00

And the train keeps rolling! This week, Todd and Joe talk about the Marvel and DC solicitations for November, Double Batman, Walking Dead and Sandman on TV and more!.

In books released this week, we discuss Brightest Day #9, Secret Six #25 and Incorruptible #9. That's a light week!

Links Mentioned on the Show
- DC Comics November 2010 Solicits
- Marvel Comics November 2010 Solicits
- Sandman TV Show
- Walking Dead season 2 13 episodes
- Double your Batman, Double your Fun!
- NetFlix Insta Queue horror films
- It's Always Sunny returns in two weeks!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys From Nowhere Episode 41

2010-08-13T21:57:00.003-04:00

And the train keeps rolling! This week, Todd and Joe talk about Judd Winick and Markey G. It's that slow of a week.

In books released this week, we discuss Booster Gold #35, Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1, Birds of Prey #4, Steve Rogers #2, Walking Dead # 76 and Superman #702

Links Mentioned on the Show
Judd Winick Solo on Generation Lost
Superman/Batman #75 Wednesday Comics tribute
Batwoman finally comes out in November

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhehre - Episode 40

2010-08-06T22:28:00.001-04:00

The big four oh! We made it after all! This week, Todd and Joe talk about the recent Marvel news about Daredevil and the Avengers. Really? DC asleep at the switch? We shall see...

In books released this week, we discuss Irredeemable #16, Spitfire #1, Captain America #608, Brightest Day #7, Secret Six #24, Crossed: Family Values #3 and Batman: Odyssey #2. Oh yeah!

Links Mentioned on the Show
Wednesday Comics 2
The new Man Without Fear
Thunderbolts vs. Avengers in Nov 2010
...and speaking of Thunder

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Birds of Prey #3 and Why Only I Care...

2010-07-31T09:37:00.003-04:00

Maybe it's me. I (and Todd) seem to be the only ones who are taken aback and have their lives altered by the issue with Birds of Prey #3.

Since we seem to be the only ones affected, what had happened was, two weeks ago when Birds of Prey #3 arrived in my local comic book store I was surprised to see that only the first six and last six pages of Birds of Prey #3 were actually Birds of Prey. The middle of the book was Batgirl #12.

It seemed my local shop had this problem with all their copies and it seems like a slight issue around the world. The reason I say this is that there is little to no mention of this anywhere online.

CBR Message Board? Some discussion but no answers
Official DC Message Board? Even less discussion and no answers
Comic Vine Message Board? Seven people upset with no answers
the Official Gail Simone Thread at jinxworld? Absolutely no mention!

So what am I supposed to do? Use my little blog (and Twitter) to find some answers! Do you have a correct copy of Birds of Prey #3? Is your copy messed up like mine? Has the problem already been resolved at your local shop? Let me know who you are and where you are!

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 39

2010-07-30T21:56:00.005-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk an extra long time about the news that was SDCC. Really. That's a lot of things to cover. Trust us.

In books released this week, we discuss Secret Avengers #3, Action Comics #891, the Flash #4, Green Lantern Corps #50, Green Lantern #56, Incorruptible #8 and Justice League Generation Lost #6. Maybe more. We've been away.

SDCC Links Mentioned on the Show

Batman Announcements, Batwoman nowhere to be found
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold on Smallville
Green Lantern Cartoon November 2011
Walking Dead Panel and clips from the TV show~!
Stan Lee brings Super Heroes to BOOM!
Second Flash book next year

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 38

2010-07-17T08:13:00.004-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about that upcoming SDCC, last week's Scranton Comic-Con, Green Lantern movie pics, Bat creative team shake ups more Walking Dead stuff and Jacques Rougeau. Really, it comes up.

In books released this week, we cover the Walking Dead #74, Booster Gold #34, Justice League Generation Lost #5 and try as we may, Birds of Prey #3

Links Mentioned on the Show
Ryan Reynolds really is Green Lantern
Tons of Bat-Family creative team shake ups
Preview of the Walking Dead 75
Chikara returns to Philly next weekend!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 37

2010-06-25T20:23:00.005-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about TONS of DC stuff! I know your surprised, but there was actually tons of DC news from new exclusive creators and the DC digital age! We also review Toy Story 3, the Jonah Hex movie and the new Futurama episodes.

In books released this week, we cover Incorruptible #7, Superman #700, Justice League Generation Lost #4 and Green Lantern Corps #49.

Links Mentioned on the Show
DC Finally online
And you can find it here!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 36

2010-06-18T21:41:00.008-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the Blue Beetle live action show, Wizard World Philly, the Doctor Who figures, more the Walking Dead TV show news, the Black Panther cartoon and what's coming out in September.

In books released this week, we cover Brightest Day #4, the Walking Dead #73, Birds of Prey #2, Crossed Family Values #2 and New Avengers #1.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Live Action Blue Beetle
Dr. Who Action Figures
DC Solicits for September
Marvel Solicits for September
First pic of Rick Grimes and More Casting News
Black Panther Cartoon this Wednesday!
CHIKARA debuts in Michigan next Saturday!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 35

2010-06-11T21:46:00.005-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the Wizard World in Philly this weekend, Fantastic Three, Thor-a-palooza, the Walking Dead TV show and lots of laser like precision rambling.

In books that came out that past week, we cover Secret Six # 22, Booster Gold # 33, Justice League: Generation Lost # 3, Captain America # 606 and Batman #700

Links Mentioned on the Show
Wizard World East in Philly this weekend!
Jonah Hex movie opens next week
The ROOK joins the Walking Dead
The Fantastic Three in September
Thor Movie Footage
And even more Thor books to come

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 34

2010-06-04T23:49:00.003-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the big comic-cons this weekend, the return of Swamp Thing, Green Lantern movie and cartoon news, Thor and Captain America movie concept art and Marvel comic availability online!

This episode also covers such books as Brightest Day #3, the Thanos Imperative: Ignition & the Thanos Imperative #1. Also, Green Lantern Corps #48, Green Lantern #54, Incorruptible #6, Irredeemable #14, Secret Avengers #1, Avengers Prime #1 and Thunderbolts #144. See what happens when we miss a week?

Links Mentioned on the Show
Toronto Comic Con
Heroes Con in Charlotte
Scranton Comic Con on July 11th
Green Lantern Cartoon September 2011
Green Lantern Movie Synopsis
Swamp Thing is Back?
Hoe Cap and Thor will look in the movies?
All your Walking Dead TV info
Marvel goes day & date with Iron Man

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 33

2010-05-21T22:02:00.004-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the August solicits, the end of Con Wars, the Walking Dead Explosion, Pac-Man's red shoes and more!

In books this week, we cover Avengers #1, Brightest Day #2 and Walking Dead #72.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Big Apple, New England and New Jersey Comic Con moved
The Walking Dead - April superstar
DC Comics shipping for August 2010
Marvel Comics shipping for August 2010
Dark Horse Comics shipping for August 2010
Alternate DC Universe from Fringe
30th Anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back
30th Anniversary of Pac-Man

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 32

2010-05-14T23:58:00.002-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk about the passing of Frank Frazetta, getting our comics a day early, the end of Heroes, me never getting Suicide Squad, the beginning of the Heroic Age, Shadowland problems and Iron Man 2!

In books this week, it's a very heavy DC week. We cover Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #1, the Flash #2, Booster Gold #32 and Justice League: Generation Lost #1.

Links Mentioned on the Show
Iron Man 2 currently in theaters
the end of Heroes
Suicide Squad Showcase delayed again!
Shadowland out of Control?
The Frazetta Legacy

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Computer Coloring

2010-05-13T09:18:00.002-04:00

So I was at the comic shop on Wednesday (I know, SURPRISE!) and Todd (my partner on Three Guys from Nowehre) and I struck up a conversation about this week's books. We usually try to keep it to a minimum so we can "save it for the show." But somethings are more visual. So that's what I have this stupid blog for.

We were commenting on the covers of Booster Gold #32 and the variant cover of Justice League: Generation Lost #1 both by the great Kevin Maguire. Todd more so than I, and myself are both huge fans of Maguire's art. Todd even has may sketches and commissions from Kevin, which you can see on Todd's Facebook.

Anywho, we were commenting about the coloring of these covers, using these fancy computers. Some people it works for, however, we both felt it took something away from Maguire's art.

Here is an example that really bugged me from a few weeks ago, Green Lantern #53:

Look how cool this cover is! The first post Blackest Night issue of Green Lantern, showing all the main Lanterns for each color. The white background with the lush colors of each character really make the cover pop! However, when the issue hit stands, there were a few changes:

What happened? My main issue with the new cover is the change of the background from white to dark grey with the extra lightning. It's not a bad cover, but the changes to the way it's colored really irks me.

What do you think? Do you like the original version or the recolored one?

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 31

2010-04-30T22:41:00.004-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe talk movies, movies and more movies. Not really much going in funny book news, but TONS about funny books on the silver screen.

In actual funny books, we discuss Captain America #605, Green Lantern Corps #47 and FINALLY Walking Dead #71. Also, from last week, Doomwar #3 and the Brave & the Bold #33

Links Mentions on the Show:
Ghost Rider Moves on?
Ant Man news
More Marvel Third Tier films on the way
First Thor Movie Pics!
Jonah Hex Trailer
Dark Knight sequel release date
Incognito optioned by Fox
All your Free Comic Book Day info!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys From Nowhere Episode 30

2010-04-14T15:44:00.008-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe are joined by possible recurring special guest Brian. We three titans, in spite of technical difficulties, discuss such fun topics as the Batwoman ongoing series, the Summer Movie season beginning as it should in April, early C2E2 news, Paul Cornell on Action Comics, Green Lantern's fancy new clothes and much more!

In book this week, we cover Brightest Day #0, Booster Gold #31,
Secret Six #20 and the Flash #1

Links mentioned on the show:

- Steve Rogers is SUPER!
- Secret Avengers revealed!
- X-Men vs. Vampires?
- O.M.I.T. revealed!
- Batwoman Ongoing Announcement
- Paul Cornell writes Action Comics
- Kick-Ass in Theaters this weekend
- Green Lantern's Fancy Computer Costume
- Crossed the movie!
- Joss Whedon to direct Avengers movie?

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 29

2010-04-09T22:44:00.004-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe are joined by special guest Brian and we cover the saddest news in quite some time re: Batwoman, the Walking Dead casting, Secret Avengers revealed, 2010 Eisner Awards nominees and Spider-Man is an X-Man?

In book this week, we cover Batman & Robin #11,
Superman: Secret Origin #5 and the Flash: Secret Files & Origins 2010 (that's a long title!)

Links mentioned on the show:

- Greg Rucka leaves DC, Batwoman but
- DC will continue forward
- 2010 Eisner Nominees
- Rick Grimes and Shane of the Walking Dead cast
- Some Secret Avengers revealed
- Spidey's Free Trip to San Francisco
- Captain Britain and MI-13: Vampire State
- My lawyers tell me I've always been wearing these pants.
- Everyone Loves Deadpool!
- Mega Piranha Trailer
- Dr. Who Returns!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere Episode 28

2010-04-03T07:05:00.004-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe cover the latest on the Walking Dead TV and Captain America casting, con season rolls on, Marvel on the iPad and more!

In books this week, we discuss Fantastic Four #577, Incorruptible #4 and Detective Comics #863. That was it right? I could have SWORN another book came out this week....

Links mentioned on the show:

- the Walking Dead airs in October
- Bucky Barnes is cast
- All-Star Batman & Robin are back
- Marvel and Apple together!
- Wonder Con in San Francisco
- San Diego Comic-Con Sells out four months early

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 27

2010-03-27T06:37:00.002-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe discuss the coming books from Marvel and DC in June. We also discuss who Captain America REALLY is, how to get a free Sweet Tooth and if Kaboomerang will be the breakout star of 2010. In books we read this week, there was Millar & McNivens Nemesis #1, Green Lantern #52 and Captain America #604 . Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Links mentioned on the show:

- DC Comics June 2010 Solicits
- Marvel Comics June 2010 Solicits
- the Human Torch is also Captain America
- May 19th is Avengers Day
- Sweet Tooth issue one for free
- the REAL Guardians of the Globe

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

How Deadpool Changed Comics...for the Better!

2010-03-25T08:15:00.004-04:00

You may have heard of Deadpool. A comic book character named Wade Wilson that has been around for almost 20 years (has it been that long?) who got his start in X-Men side of the Marvel Universe. The pitch for the character (as I could only imagine) was “Spider-Man + Deathstroke from Teen Titans” but he has become much more since then.

With a featured role in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie last summer, it would seem saying that Deadpool has exploded is an understatement. As of this writing, he is the star of no less than FOUR ongoing monthly titles, matching or beating other longer lived characters such as Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Wolverine.

This has drawn the ire of many who reads comics. I have to admit, it is a bit of a strain on my wallet when in one week (the week of March 24th, 2010) there are FOUR issues of Deadpool’s various books being released. But I’m still with him. And will be. For as long as his books are published.

Deadpool is like a living cartoon, playing on the super hero tropes of both universes. When he shows up in another book, be it Spider-Man, Cable, Daredevil or any one, due to his over the top nature, he always brings out a side of them rarely seen. Also, Joe Kelly’s 40 some issue run on the character from the late 90’s is one of my favorites of any book ever.

However, many people out there do not share my undying love of Wade Wilson. Below, is just a sampling of how the Deadpool comics have changed all comics, everywhere:

- Several current big names in comics such as Joe Kelly (Amazing Spider-Man), Gail Simone (Wonder Woman,Secret Six), Ed McGuinness (Hulk) and Pete Woods (Superman), just to name a few, cut their teeth working on Deadpool.

- Many Marvel books have a recap page in the beginning, filling you in on the title and the current story line. Deadpool was the VERY FIRST book to have this, many times incorporating it into the story itself. Back in 1997. This predated all other Marvel books doing this by several months.

- The director’s cut was first done in Deadpool, starting with issue one of the Joe Kelly/Ed McGuinness series. That issue had a deconstruction of how the cover of issue one came together. Then, around the two year anniversary of that run, an issue entitled “Encyclopedia Deadpoolica” was released. This was a director’s commentary of the previous 24 issues of Deadpool, detailing how the original story was pitched and changed over that time. Also included was a footnote for every pop culture reference made in the book, plus the two previous mini series.

- I mentioned above Deadpool's affect on other characters when he appears in their books. But when you appear in Deadpool's book, you gain depth and become stars. Both Typhoid Mary and Bullseye had their back stories fleshed out and given new characteristics that are still being used today. And if it wasn't for Deadpool, the Great Lakes Avengers wouldn't have starred in a mini-series and two specials in the mid 2000's.

For just this alone, you all should be worshipping at the altar of one of the best characters created in the last 20 some years.

Three Guys from Nowhere episode 26

2010-03-20T07:40:00.003-04:00

This week, Todd and Joe welcome special guest third chair, Nathan to discuss the news from ECCC, titles coming and not coming in June and beyond. Finally, the team up of Barack Obama, Harry Potter and Spawn! And more movie news than you can shake a stick at!

In books we read this week, there was Green Lantern Corps #46, Siege #3 (it's a tough one, but spoiler-free!) Booster Gold #30,and Green Arrow #31 and more! Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Links mentioned on the show:

- Batman Beyond Returns!
- Straczynski pens Samaritan X OGN
- More Batwoman already!
- Hack/Slash moves to Image
- Guardians of the Globe
- More Green Lantern Movie news
- X-Men First Class movie news

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 25

2010-03-13T07:38:00.002-05:00

25! That's some sort of anniversary, right? This week, Todd and Joe discuss the great Amazon Glitch of 2010, JMS taking over two DC icons, new Marvel team books debuting this summer and more Captain America casting. And convention season has begun! In books we read this week, there was Batman & Robin #10 and Secret Six #19. That's it? Well Todd read Dark X-Men #5 and I read Kick-Ass just in time for the movie. What a light week. Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Links mentioned on the show:

- The Great Amazon Glitch of 2010
- J Michael Straczynski's big DC Move
- Who is in the Avengers Academy?
- Young Allies vs. the Bastard of Evil
- All your Mega Con and Emerald City Comic Con info!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 24

2010-03-06T07:00:00.004-05:00

And we're BACK! This week, Todd and Joe discuss all these new fangled Avengers, Green Lantern in 3-D, which surprisingly brings up 3-D movies in general, the Office vs. Captain America and Gail Simone leaving a popular book. Since we were off last week, it's a yet another Blackest Night blow out with Blackest Night: JSA #3, Black Lantern Green Arrow #30 and Blackest Night #7. We also cover the Flash: Rebirth #7, the Walking Dead #70 and the infamous Justice League: Cry for Justice #7. And the origin of my dumb name! Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Links mentioned on the show:

- A Million senseless Deadpool varaints
- Gail Simone News
- A scathing review of Justice League: Cry for Justice #7
- Who are the New Avengers?

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 23

2010-02-20T08:36:00.004-05:00

In this on time edition of Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe discuss the shake ups at DC, the release date of the Losers being moved again, the May solicits. Also, in books this week, it's a Blackest Night bonanza with Blackest Night: the Flash #3, Green Lantern #51 and Green Lantern Corps #45. Marvel gets thrown a bone as well with Captain America #603. We also discuss our longest runs of collections and where were YOU when you read a bad comics? Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Links mentioned on the show:

- the DC shake up
- DC May solicits
- Marvel May solicits
- the Losers
- Chris Roberson on I, Zombie and more

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode 22

2010-02-14T16:52:00.003-05:00

credit ComicsAlliance

In this special Valentine's Day edition of Three Guys from Nowhere, Todd and Joe cover Brightest Day vs. the Heroic Age! Spider-Man 4 in 3-D! The Captain America Tea Party scandal! Birthright vs. Secret Origin! And more news! In books this week, Adventure Comics #7, Secret Six #18 and Batman & Robin #8 all get a look! Check it, listen to it, rate it!

To get the show, you can go to the site, Three Guys From Nowhere, or our Facebook page, or download the show right here, or get it from iTunes. The choice is yours. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Can the Justice League Return?

2010-02-13T06:58:00.005-05:00

There is no reason the Justice League of America book should not be DC's best selling book. No reason it shouldn't be the best selling monthly book. It (under best case scenario) has Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman among others as the stars every month. That alone should be enough to bolster sales. However, for the last year or so, the Justice League has replaced those names with Vixen, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, among others. What went wrong and how can we fix the problem?

There was a time less than three years ago when Justice League of America was a hugely successful book, even outselling New Avengers by a large margin. Now a days, outside of the Blackest Night crossover, Justice League of America is outsold by a 2 to 3 margin.

Back then, Justice League of America had the Big Three in the book. They even had a huge storyline of then against a Luthor battlesuit led Injustice League. Don't remember? Didn't read it? The problems were varied and many. People point to the editorial mandates on the book, however, the biggest problem was that it didn't matter!

For the last several years, since after the Identity Crisis storyline in 2004, the events in the Justice League of America and it's stars, had absolutely no bearing in other books. Most times, they weren't addressed for months it at all. It has been made into a very skipable book.

New Avengers on the other hand, since Civil War has been the lynchpin book of the Marvel Universe. Now granted, there are changes to the characters in New Avengers that don't affect their core books (Wolverine, Spider-Man, etc.) so that's not the only thing that makes these two books different.

I feel the main problem is that DC doesn't treat the Justice League franchise the same way Marvel treats the Avengers. Quality out the window, Marvel in their press releases and ads makes you FEEL like your have to read New Avengers, DC not so much regarding Justice League of America.

How can they fix this though? Is the Justice League franchise dead? Part of the problem could be how far in advance plans are made/rumored to happen in the information age. It has been rumored for quite some time that Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, arguably two of the biggest, most recognizable names in comics, are doing a Justice League book. That could be hurting the current book, perhaps.

Another issue could be the line up. Marvel is basing their whole future on the return of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man to the Avengers. DC's comparable top tier group would be Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. And they haven't been near a Justice League book in quite some time.

But wait you say! The current line up for the Justice League kinda sorta looks like it has Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. But it doesn't. That's Dick Grayson, former Robin/Nightwing wearing the cowl. And that's Mon-El, from the Legion of Super-Heroes standing in for Big Blue. And Donna Troy, former Wonder Girl, as the stand in for Diana.

Now, I think this could be a pretty cool story, but I don't think this will bring people to the book in droves. But what do I know, I think Franken-Castle is a poor excuse for a story. I'll be keeping my eyes on this and hoping Justice League of America becomes the top tier book it should be.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Twenty-One

2010-02-06T19:32:00.003-05:00

21? You wanna play blackjack? I got a couple of those too. This week, Todd, Joe welcome new third chair Adam to discuss new Avenger line ups, Spider-Man casting and Watchmen 2? In books this week, we talk about Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3, the Question #37, Siege #2 and more! Tons of lamenting the dropping Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Twenty

2010-01-30T09:21:00.003-05:00

The big two-oh! This week, Todd and Joe discuss the damaged Marvel books, more rings from DC, twenty one Deadpool covers and the upcoming Losers movie. In books this week, we talk about Captain America Reborn #6, Green Lantern #50, Blackest Night JSA #2, the Walking Dead #69 and more. Lots more. Tons of lamenting the dropping of books and the tease of next week’s third chair! Check it, listen to it, rate it!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Nineteen

2010-01-23T05:52:00.002-05:00

It’s Joe and Todd again, still looking for a third. This week, cover the new direction of the Spider-Man movie and casting for the Walking Dead pilot. In books this week, we discuss Green Lantern Corps #44, Blackest Night: the Flash #2, Starman #81, Dark Avengers #13 and Batman: Streets of Gotham #8. That’s a lot of books! There will be even more next week!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Eighteen

2010-01-16T08:05:00.004-05:00

After much delay, we are back! Join Joe and Todd (but not DJ) as we cover the billion things that were announced just this week in the world of comics. We cover the changes with Spider-Man 4, casting for the Green Lantern movie, DC and Marvel's upcoming April schedules and ripping up your comics for variants. We also discuss Adventure Comics #6 and Avatar. And a contest. Yeah, we're bringing it back!

SIEGE #1 - my review and thoughts

2010-01-08T13:03:00.005-05:00

Sorry no podcast in a while. Holidays and other things have delayed the Gang from getting together. Maybe one day we'll get back on the same page.

Several months ago, based on the hints of Molecule Man being the big bad behind Norman Osborn's latest craziness, I picked up Dark Avengers #11. I'm a HUGE fan of Brian Michael Bendis, whether it be Sam & Twtch, Alias among other things. However, somewhere around the mid-40's issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, something changed.

His writing didn't feel the same and many stories fell into one or all of the following
categories:

the dialoge felt the same for everyone. Peter Parker and Luke Cage should not speak the same way as Captain America and vice versa.
what many people call "decompression" I call "stretching the story to sell a trade."
Geoff Johns has stated publicly that when writing the Avengers, he was told to make stories longer, allegedly for that very reason.

Even with this against him, I really dug Dark Avengers #11! Based on this alone, I picked up all the past issues of Dark Avengers less the Utopia crossover nonsense and dug that as well!

Was I getting back into Marvel's big events? Apparently so! SIEGE was coming! The return of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor in the Avengers! The end of Norman's run of lunacy! I was on board and excited for a Marvel event after the mess that was House of M and the delays and continuity snafus of Civil War drove me away completely.

So, what did I think of Siege #1? Well, before the story itself, there are a myriad of shipping and technical issues to address, so spoilers ahoy!:

This story takes place before the events in Invincible Iron Man. I don't read it, so there is no explanation as to why Tony is laid up in bed being worked on by Donald Blake.
This story ALSO takes place before the end of Captain America: Reborn, adding to the multiple list of Bendis penned issues that blow the end of Ed Brubaker's story.
The big war room log in the back is printed wrong. The first page is re-printed on the third page. You can find the correction on Marvel's website, but c'mon guys, the event "Seven Years in the Making" MAY need a bit of closer attention.

Loki used Norman's craziness to convince him to attack Asgard (currently hovering above the mid west) due to an orchestrated event to make it look like Volstagg EDIT: thanks DJ! (one of the Warriors Three) blew up a full football stadium.

Bendis addresses in an interview on CBR here that Loki's idea is to make it seem like the events of Civil war all over again, so don't be claiming HE'S unoriginal, Loki is!

Loki then goes to Balder, who is somehow in charge of Asgard (again, I didn't read Thor so I'm not sure why Odin's not in charge) that he tried to stop Norman from attacking to no avail. Which I think is what happens in 90% of every Loki story as well. I can buy Norman falling for this, he's CRAZY! But this would be the umpteenth time the Asgardians have fallen for Loki's same exact plan.

Also, I have a bone to pick with this "Seven Years in the Making" the ads for Siege likes to make mention of. I defy anyone to draw lines of comparison to the events of House of M to not only this storyline, but any storyline! Even the head muckity muck of Marvel (which actually sounds cool to me) Joe Quesada in this issues can only draw the lines that:

House of M is the first time Bendis has worked with Olivier Coipel
and Scarlet Witch caused Disassembled

The "No More Mutants" garbage is just that. Mutants that lost powers have them back, there has been a New X-Men book with TONS of new characters and there some new red-headed savior mutant child floating around the pages of Cable. So yeah, "No More Mutants" my foot!

So the story itself feels a bit light and I already have the feeling to get the REAL story, you're going to have to read all the other tie-in books as well. I planned on sticking with Dark Avengers and maybe checking out New Avengers but so far, I'm having my doubts about getting back into these Marvel events.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Seventeen

2009-11-20T04:45:00.003-05:00

We’re back and we’re early. This week, DJ, Todd and Joe discuss the Sgt. Rock movie, from the future, Smallville’s JSA event and Grant Morrison on Wonder Woman. Which somehow also involved Lincoln Hawk. In comics, we cover Adventure Comics #4, the Flash: Rebirth #5, the Punisher #11, Realm of Kings and more! Join us won’t you?

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Sixteen

2009-11-13T19:12:00.003-05:00

Back on time but down a man! This Todd, and I (DJ is away on special assignment) talk about the Bendis Twitter Q & A, the Marvel February 2010 teaser and Blackest Night rings. Also, in books that came out this week, we discuss Green Lantern Corps #43, REBELS #10, Booster Gold # 26, Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1 and Walking Dead #67 (finally). We also delve into to Amazing Spider-Man #611 and Dark X-Men #1. It's a jam packed show!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Fifteen

2009-11-08T13:40:00.004-05:00

A little late but we'll be back on schedule soon! Maybe! This week, Todd, DJ and myself talk about cons (again!) Siege and the Spider-Man musical as well as crazy DC sales numbers! In book's that came out this week, we discuss Captain America: Reborn #4 and Doom Patrol #4 for our weekly Blackest Night fix. Also, the Punisher, Secret Six, the Anchor and Dynamo 5 get some love as well!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Fourteen

2009-11-01T20:03:00.003-05:00

A little late and a little longer! Joe, DJ and Todd are back to discuss Thor movie casting, Marvel on iTunes and Previews for January 2010. In books this week, it was a Blackest Night bonanza with Green Lantern #47, Blackest Night #4 and Blackest Night: Titans #3. Also, Fantastic Four # 572 and Superman: Secret Origin #2. All this and DJ’s brush with fame in Cleveland!Listen and check it out!

The Best of the Best - January 2010

2009-10-28T14:59:00.008-04:00

Getting this out early. Here's a sampling of what struck my fancy in this week's Previews, books to be released for January 2010. No mention of the Blackest Night skip month as we talked about it a few weeks ago. Much of this will be discussed on the podcast this weekend with special guest Jared from Who Cares What You Think Podcast. Onto January's books:

Blackest Night: the Flash #2 (page 59): Look at the sweet cover! One day I shall get my Captain Cold series by Geoff Johns and Scott Kollins

Batman & Robin #7 (page 71): Purposely skipped last month for some reason that MAY Blackest Night related as this arc is called "Blackest Knight." Awesome to see Cameron Stewart with Grant Morrison again.

All-Star Superman vol. 2 TPB (page 87): I'm down with Grant Morrison. Not everything (Batman RIP) but most of it. Glad to see this getting the softcover treatment.

Hitman: 10,000 Bullets TPB (page 88): Garth Ennis's Hitman is FINALLY getting back into print. I need to fill in the holes on my book shelf!

Joe the Barbarian (page 108): More Grant Morrison! Scoff away! It's an interesting premise, an eight issue maxi series and the first issue is a DOLLAR! At least give it a try!

the Losers vol. 1 & 2 (page 114): I missed out on this initially and I became a late fan of Andy Diggle with the Green Arrow: Year One book and have been following him on Thunderbolts and Daredevil. And appearantly, this is being made into a movie.

the Walking Dead #69 (page 157): I don't mention this book enough here or in the podcast. This book rocks every month in it's bleakness and depression. And those are the strong points. THE book I look forward to the most every month.

SEIGE!(page M4-M10): For those of you who heard episode #13 of the podcast, you know I checked out Dark Avengers #10 and really dug it. So much so, I'm searching out the past non-Utopia issues and Seige as well. My only real concern with all this is Bendis himself said (words to the effect of) "People are sick of huge crossovers so we're keeping this event to four issues." Which is correct, IF you don't count the OTHER four issue mini series, the three additional one shots and the three Avengers books it's crossing over into, it's nearly the size of Blackest Night. This is the return to the Avengers of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. I'll be checking out the Bendis written stuff at least.

Amazing Spider-Man #617-619 (page M21-M23): The Gauntlet continues as the old Spidey villains come back, bigger and badder. This month, it's the Rhino and Mysterio.

Black Widow: Deadly Origins #3 (page 30): There's something about this cover that is just odd to me. Maybe because most of Adi Granov's covers were on cosmic stuff.

Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #59 (page M47): Outside of Scott Kollins, Scottie Young is probably my favorite current comic artist. This cover looks like som much fun!

Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #7 (page M71): Speaking of fun, this is the begining of the Deadpool Corps! I get the joke of Deadpool and I'm finally glad that Marvel does as well.

Star Trek Captain's Log: Sulu (page 241): I'd don't follow Star Trek very closely and their comics even less. But it's George Takai! Oh my!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Twelve

2009-10-16T04:35:00.003-04:00

An even dozen! In the early edition, DJ, Todd and I talk about future goings ons announced at the Baltimore comic con retailers summit and the guest list for this week's Wizard New York con. Also, in no surprise to anyone, we talk about Green Lantern Corps #41 and Blackest Night: Batman #3. We are even gracious enough to talk about Adventure Comics #3 as well. Listen and check it out!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Eleven

2009-10-10T07:07:00.003-04:00

Keepin' on keepin' on!This week, DJ, Todd and I talk about some news from the Long Beach Comic Con last week and more cons this month than you can shake a stick at. Also, in books that came out this week, we cover Crossed #7, Superman: World of New Krypton #8 and Doom Patrol #3. We also discuss Zombieland and zombie films in general. This is also the last week for this particular giveaway. Gotta keep these moving! Listen and check it out!

Paranormal Activity

2009-10-07T10:26:00.007-04:00

Ah, Paranormal Activity the little horror film that (hopefully) could. At this point, with cover stories on MSNBC, AOL, NPR, etc. many of you know about it, but have not seen it due to it's very limited release. As of today, it is on six screens with ten more added this weekend.

There is a more afoot at www.Eventful.com/ParanormalActivity where YOU can demand that it comes to your hometown and if they get one million requests (currently at 400,000) the movie will open nationwide.

I have seen it, making the trip to State College last weekend with questionable characters and I'm NOT going to spoil anything. This is one of those films every horror movie fan should see. There are comparisons to be made to the Blair Witch Project and other "found footage " movies, but this one is very well done.

All of this got me thinking, though. Paramount/Dreamworks, the distributors of Paranormal Activity, have been sitting on this film for over two years. Many studios fail miserably in releasing horror films either at the wrong time (August), the wrong way (PG-13) or against established properties (the Saw films).

The Saw movies have dominated Halloween weekend for the last five years with films of varying quality. Usually passable to not so good. Other studios have tried to compete directly or counter program against Saw, but all attempts have failed.

So far.

If Paranormal Activity was released cold against Saw VI, it would probably be dead on arrival. However, by doing this slow roll out, building the hype machine and THEN coincidentally getting just enough requests to release it nationwide the same weekend as Saw VI, it might just stand a chance. I for one am hoping it does.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Ten

2009-10-03T01:13:00.004-04:00

Ten already? This week, DJ, Todd and I discuss the December Previews (most of which I cover below). Also, in books that came out this week, we cover Blackest Night: Titans #2, Superman #692 and Green Lantern #46. Also, last week's contest is still looking for a winner! And an in-store promotion? Listen and check it out!

The Best of the Best - Previews for December 2009

2009-09-29T10:14:00.005-04:00

A rather light month, at least for me. We'll touch on all this on the podcast this weekend, but here's my jump start:

Empowered one shot (page 26): previously only collected as black and white digest sized dealies, angled towards the Manga crowd, I guess. Very excited to see Adam Warren's awesome art in full color and can only hope this is the begining of an ongoing series.

Green Lantern Corps #43 (page 61): Spoilers away! It's on the cover but should be no surprise the Guy Garnder is going to be a Red Lantern. That cover rules...

Blackest Night: the Flash #1 (page 62): ..but not as much as this one! Geoff Johns and Scott Kollins return to the Flash, spinning out of Rebirth, crossing into Blackest Night right into the new Flash ongoing in April!

JSA All-Stars #1 (page 86): Not sure why people are in a tizzy about this. Both Bill Willingham and Matt Sturgis all but hinted at this in their initial interview when they took over the book.

Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield (page M6): I like that cute rhyming thing with the title. This obviously means that Captain America: Reborn doesn't answer this question. Kinda like War of Kings:Who will Rule.

Thunderbolts #139 (page M50): With Jeff Parker taking over this book (I think his first issue comes out this week) I'm happy to see the Agents of Atlas showing up here.

Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection GN-TPB (page M100): Surprised to see this getting a reprint like this, with Super Hero Squad or whatever taking over this spot on the Marvel shevles. If I didn't already have all the digests, I'd be getting this.

Brian Michael Bendis: 10 Years at Marvel TPB (page M115): We end with a very odd collection. It could be argued that Bendis really turned things around for Marvel, starting with Ultimate Spider-Man. I've kinda fallen off from his super-hero stuff but could read things like Alias or Torso over and over again. Fourtune & Glory (which is great) is getting the hardcover treatment this month as well.

Remakes - When is Enough Enough?

2009-09-28T13:47:00.003-04:00

So today I just watched the trailer for the latest Hollywood horror remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street and am at a loss. This would be the fifth remake from Michael Bay's production company (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, the Hitcher and Friday the 13th before it) and enough is enough. The previous attempts have been "reimaginings" (at best) but from the trailer, the new Nightmare films looks to be going the "shot for shot" remake approach.

I understand why these get made: Hollywood is bankrupt and retreads have a name value at the box office. But who in their right mind prefers any of these remakes to the "classics" (at least in the horror community)?

Bay is not the only one to be blamed. Other studios crank out remakes of everything from top shelf properties (Halloween), mid-card talent (My Bloody Valentine) to jobbers (the Stepfather) with minimal to moderate success. Tons of movies from the last 40 plus years are being remade and many of them don't upset me as much as these, but that's because I love horror movies so much.

I can safely say I will be skipping this retread when it's released next year and hope that others do as well to finally get Hollywood in line to make some original films once and a while.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Nine

2009-09-25T18:55:00.005-04:00

This week, DJ, Todd and I discuss the Jack Kirby/Marvel snafu, lil' Gotham Babies, and Rob Liefeld: Hollywood Insider! Also, in books that came out this week, we cover Blackest Night: Superman #2, Guardians of the Galaxy #18 and Superman: Secret Origins #1. Also, another new contest with fabulous prizes! All this and more!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Eight

2009-09-19T07:13:00.004-04:00

This week, DJ, Todd and I talk about some DC news regarding Wonder Woman, Superman and the future weekly serieses. We also discuss Blackest Night #3, Batman: Streets of Gotham #4 and Captain American: Reborn #3 Don't worry, we keep it spoiler free! Also, some time gets devoted to the current goings on in Amazing Spider-Man and the future of the Justice League. Also, there's still that contest! Check it out!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Seven

2009-09-11T19:54:00.004-04:00

On time and ready for the weekend baby! DJ, Todd and I are on point with the latest going on and shake ups at DC. We also discuss comics that came out THIS WEEK! Such as Blackest Night: Batman #2, Green Lantern Corps #40, War of Kings: Who Will Rule? and even Adventure Comics #2. And keep it under an hour this week! We also are still looking for a winner to the latest contest and football picks? Check it out!

Go to the site, http://threeguysfromnowhere.podbean.com or download the show

right here or get it from iTunes. You know how to do that if you do. Also, email us at ThreeGuysFromNowhere@gmail.com with thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Six

2009-09-05T18:41:00.001-04:00

A bit late, which seems to be my MO of late. This week, lots of Disney buying Marvel talk and we (Todd, DJ and I) discuss the first six issues of Wednesday Comics. Someone one the Reign in Hell tpb (congrats Rob!) but we have more things to give away!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Five

2009-08-30T17:52:00.003-04:00

A bit late, but end up tackling The Flash: Rebirth #4, Fantastic Four #570 and Blackest Night: Titans #1. We also discuss hot dames and fellas in our funny books and it's your last chance to win that copy of the Reign in Hell tpb!

The Best of the Best - Previews for November 2009

2009-08-27T14:49:00.007-04:00

The Three Guys from Nowhere show will be late this week (like Sunday late) so I figured I had time to put this together. Also, going to see Rob Zombie Presents Halloween 2 this weekend so that may get discussed on the show as well. Email us with feedback! ThreeGuysfromNowhere@gmail.com!

Dark Horse One-Shot Wonders (page 23): a really neat idea by Dark Horse, giving single issue stories for exisiting characters (Star Wars and the Goon this month). Check out this cover:

Dark Horse wins two months in a row for best cover!

Great Ten #1 (page 82): a 10-issue maxi series of characters that debuted in 52 over three years ago and DC hasn't done anything of note with since. Maybe now's the time.

Batman: the Cat and the Bat TPB (page 90): this collects issues #17-21 of Batman Confidential with tons of great Kevin Maguire art. If you missed it the first time, don't miss it now!

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love (page 116): a miniseries spinning out from the cool prior one off stories from the main Fables book about Cindy being the best spy ever. However, not being written by Bill Willingham has me a bit leary.

Image United (page 136): All the original Image creators (sans Jim Lee) return for the big crossover of all the original Image characters, written by Robert Kirkman. Unfortunately, I just don't care.

BOOM! Kids Line (page 218): Joining the exisiting Incredibles ongoing and the new Disney license (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck books) this month sees the addition of Toy Story, Cars, Muppet Show and WALL-E ongoings. This is where the future is people!

Amazing Spider-Man #611 (page M18): Joe Kelly returns to the character everyone loves (NOW!), Deadpool! Teaming up with Spidey! To take on Lady Stilt-Man! If it wasn't for that Poop Potato cover this month, this would have been my favorite!

Amazing Spider-Man #612 & #613 (page M19): And then Mark Waid brings back all the classic Spidey villains, starting with Electro! The Spider-Man books have been awesome of late!

Black Widow: Deadly Origins #1 (page M25): the rollout for Iron Man 2 begin here! With Black Widow and Whiplash (also featured in another mini this month) as the lead villains in the next Iron Man movie, they also get some face time in real Marvel U. Luckily, with Paul Cornell as the writer of this one, chances are it'll be pretty good.

Realm of Kings (page M49-M51): as one door closes (War of Kings), another opens (Realm of Kings). I got no problem with the continuation of the Marvel cosmic stuff as these aren't the same type of "events" we get elsewhere (see the X-Universe).

Strange (page M53): Mark Waid (he's very busy at Marvel) tackles what Stephen Strange is up to now that he's not Sorcerer Supreme. The last Strange mini series was written by Brian K Vaughn and I'm sure Waid will deliver a really cool story.

Deadpool Team-Up #899 (page M62): A THIRD Deadpool ongoing? Mike Sterling over at Progressive Ruin stated this is like "cutting open the goose to get those golden egss faster".
I'm not sure if I entirely agree as I'm a tried and true Wade fan and as long as the stories are good, I'll keep buying them!

PunisherMAX #1 (page M75): I guess it's all together as one word, pronounced really fast. Jokes aside, I'm pumped for Jason Aaron taking this title on. u>Scalped is great and his Ghost Rider stuff has been really good too.

Deadpool Classics vol. 3 TPB (page M107): More DEADPOOL! Every month is Deadpool month! I already have these is single issues but the fact they are FINALLY getting put back into print means everyone should buy them!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Four

2009-08-21T21:20:00.004-04:00

A regular sized episode in our regular time slot!

This week, we discuss the SHAZAM movie, people who wear Yellow Hats, among other news and goings ons. From the read pile, we talk about Blackest Night: Superman #1, Batman: Streets of Gotham #3 and Daredevil #500.

There is some spoiler discussion regarding Daredevil, but you;ll see the method to our madness. The contest from last week is still on with no winner yet!

Three Guys from Nowhere - Episode Three

2009-08-14T08:14:00.004-04:00

Early and short edition. This is on me, as I'm indisposed this weekend.

With THREE Blackest Night related books this week: Blackest Night #2, Green Lantern Corps #39 and Blackest Night Batman #1, this eats up the majority of the show.

We do our best to stay spoiler free. We even tell you how to avoid future spoilers! Also, a new contest with even more fabulous prizes!

Go to the site, http://threeguysfromnowhere.podbean.com or download

right here or get it from iTunes however you do that...

Three Guys from Nowhere - episode two

2009-08-07T20:17:00.005-04:00

We are back in our hopeful regular time slot, giving iTunes the 100 years to have it available for a reasonable time.

We cover a bunch of things, covering books we read this week: Amazing Spider-Man 601, War of Kings 6, Superman: World of New Krypton 6 and Doom Patrol 1 (check out the cool variant cover by Kevin Maguire!)

Go to the site, http://threeguysfromnowhere.podbean.com or download
right here or get it from iTunes however you do that...

Three Guys from Nowhere - episode one

2009-08-02T15:32:00.003-04:00

This is the first podcast I have done "by myself." And by that I mean with DJ and Todd, two of my friends who are just as into comic books and all related things as well, If it weren't for them, this podcast would have never happened. So big ups to them. I would also like to mention other comic book podcasts such as Word Balloon and House to Astonish, that were big inspirations to me.

It's a bit shakey but it's our first run at this. If you dig comic books, give it a listen and pass it along!

Go to the site, http://threeguysfromnowhere.podbean.com or download
right here or get it from iTunes however you do that...

The Best of the Rest - Previews for October 2009

2009-08-02T15:26:00.004-04:00

Tons of notes for the podcast and didn't get to everything I wanted to talk about from Previews. I know this i nothing new, every comic blogger does this, and now so do I:

Conan the Cimmerian #15 (page 26): I don't read Conan, but look at this cover:

Flipping ridiculous

the Escapist tpb (page 33): Such a great book from Brian K Vaughan, getting back in print. Everyone should check this out!

World's Finest #1 (page 77): Sterling Gates, Geoff Johns' protege, tackling the new Nightwing (Chris Kent) and Red Robin (Tim Drake) teaming up.

Justice League of America #38 (page 86): James Robinson and Mark Bagley take over the mail JL book. It's supposed to tie into Justice League: Cry for Justice, which is on issue 4 of a 7 issue mini series.

Haunt #1 (pages 135-140): As mentioned in the 'cast, I'll check out anything Robert Kirkman writes, but the premise is kinda cheesy and the art team, specifically Todd McFarlane on inks, doesn't give me hope that it will come out on time.

OZ: the Wonderful Wizard of Oz HC (page M4): the Marvel Classics oversized hard cover of the Wizard of Oz story. However, it has lovely Skottie Young art, so count me in.

Web of Spider-Man #1 (page M22): Taking the old Spider-Man Family book and trying to trick me into buying it? I came back to Amazing Spider-Man after all you've done. Don't push your luck!

Daredevil #501 (pages M31-M32): Angy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre, after much delays (issue #500, the List one shot) finally gets his new start on Daredevil. I've been following DD loyally for sometime and Diggle & De La Torre are a great match for this book.

Guardians of the Galaxy #19 (page M38): I dig Kang. I dig the Guardians. Pair em up, and I'm there!

Deadpool Month? (pages M71-M74): We have FIVE Deadpool books this month? Included in that a poster book and a Marvel Spotlight? Reaching issue #900? If this is what I get for you-know-who playing Wade in the Wolverine movie, I'm cool with that!

Stumptown #1 (page 294): Greg Rucka with a creator owned crime book from ONI. That sells itself.

Barbie Twilight Dolls (page 369): Ugh...

Standing up...

2009-07-16T09:19:00.001-04:00

The last four years of my life have been much different than I could have ever expected. Whether it being grown up things like being married or owning a home or my involvement in one of my lifelong fascinations (pro-wrestling), I can honestly say I don't know what's going to happen next.

Several months ago (around November), Jerry (you know who I mean) was toying with the idea of going to an open mic night and testing out some stand up material. On a very long car ride, we spoke at great length about this and I was very excited to see him do this.

Flash forward to a few weeks later and, while I was on vacation, on a whim, Jerry decides to go an try his hand at comedy. I will be honest with you and say I was pretty upset that I missed him doing this as we spoke about doing so quite a bit. So, to give him grief, I decided since no one was there to see it, it didn't happen. The old 'it a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, did it make a sound' defense.

I kept on him about doing it for the 'first time' and he continually told me they aren't doing open mic around here anymore. He even went so far as going to Bethlehem this past Sunday to watch an open mic night.

My brother Tony fancies himself many things (writer, musician, etc.) and has wanted to perform at an open mic night, but didn't want to go by himself. I said I would go with him, but there weren't any in the area. I mentioned the usual place in Scranton and he confirmed that they in fact were still doing open mics. With this, he schnookered me into performing as well.

By nature, I do not like much attention directed towards me. I'm very happy staying home most weekends and "staring at the wall." Based on my current position, as mentioned above, in the world of pro-wrestling, most times I am either playing off other people, behind a microphone or in a warehouse with less than five people watching. All of these are greatly nerve racking but after four years, I've gotten more comfortable in my own skin. But I have my days.

Now, I was going to have to be on a stage, by my lonesome, not only holding court, but also charged with the task of making strangers laugh. I don't consider myself a "funny person" but I feel I have a good sense of humor. This, at times, translates into me saying things that make people laugh, usually my close friends and family. How was I going to translate to a live, unforgiving crowd?

I don't want to say much about my performance or Tony's performance (who had the unenviable task of going on last) as video of both sets exist (I have them, duh!) and am toying with the notion of posting them on the YouTube. However, having never been to an open mic night before, I was shocked at how...I don't want to be mean...but let's just say any concerns I had about being outshined by people who attend open mics all the time were all for naught.

Thanks for hanging in there, this was a bit long. In closing, it's done, I did my five minutes and JERRY NEVER DID!

...and Still Reading

2009-07-16T08:24:00.004-04:00

Still plowing through yesterday's books with a few stragglers left to read. I had to break this up into TWO entries, as they are both kinda long and deal with two entirely different subjects.

Blackest Night #1: Great kick off to this HUGE event. Ivan Reis's art looked really nice and so far, even for the uninitiated, there's a LOT of information in this book, but it's not overwhelming.

Amazing Spider-Man #599: A bit late and the THREE different artists really reflect this. Was it worth is? I really dug the resolution between Harry and Norman but I feel like we've been here before.

Deadpool #12: Bullseye using his smarts? Deadpool being Deadpool? I liked this issue as it did not have tons of the triple internal dialogue that Daniel Way likes to use. And CLIFFHANGER ENDING!

Batman: Street of Gotham #2: the weakest of the new Batman Reborn stuff that I'm reading. I'll check it out for a bit longer for the Manhunter back up.

Walking Dead #63: A bit more is revealed about who is stalking the group and, to no surprise, it's for nefarious means. Also, you get Chew #1 for FREE. Get it for that alone!

Action Comics #879: The weakest of the current Superman books and I just wasn't feeling how the Captain Atom ~~back up~~ second feature fits into the grand scheme of things.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1: We get the back story of Saint Walker and Mongul's son (the current Mongul) as well as our first glimpse of the Indigo Tribe in action but at $3.99, it felt a bit light.

I'm an Insider!

2009-07-11T10:04:00.008-04:00

With the recent news about Ryan Reynolds being cast in the upcoming Green Lantern film, Hollywood is a buzz with all sorts of information. My snoops inside DC have leaded information about more casting set to be announced later this week:

Providing the voice of Green Lantern drill instructor, Killowog:

WILL FARRELL!

Co-Starring as the villianous Sinestro:

Entourage's Jeremy Piven!

And the other earth GL, Guy Gardner

Comedian Dane Cook

Looks like DC's got a hit on their hands!

Comics for 07/08/09

2009-07-08T12:22:00.003-04:00

Here's what I'll be grabbing from my LCS today. You should too!

Green Lantern #43: while there has been smatterings of the impending Blackest Night event, this issue is the official kick off, which results in six issues a month for the next eight months. Thankfully the creators on these projects are good.

Superman: World of New Krypton #4: the Superman stuff has been great of late, with this being the strongest, IMO.

Wednesday Comics #1: the new DC weekly series. This time, it's only for the summer (12 issues) and in the style of the Sunday comics. It looks beautiful and this will be one of the few things I may double dip on if it gets a snazzy hardcover edition.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36: kinda odd placement as the American Son storyline isn't over yet and this is a prelude to issue #600, the wedding between Aunt May and J Jonah Jameson Sr.

War of Kings: Warriors #1: I'm shameless. I've come around on the Marvel space stuff and since this ties into the big War of Kings event, it gets added to the pile.

Crossed #6: speaking of piles. I filled in my gaps on this series at the Philly Wizard con and is still waiting to be read in full behind the last few weeks stuff.

Near Twilight

2009-07-08T11:34:00.007-04:00

From my understanding, Twilight is the hottest thing since sliced bread. Personally, vampires that *SPARKLE* in sunlight as opposed to, you know, BURSTING INTO FLAMES, like every vampire story ever just don't do it for me.

My cousin (the target demo, female and under 18) loves this book and movie. So I tried to get her to check out other vampire/relationship movies around this time. I shouldn't be surprised she didn't like Let the Right One In, probably one of the best movies of 2008.

Looking over the DVD releases today, I noticed Near Dark on the list. I've seen this film and it is a great film. However, it was the new re-issue cover that threw me for a loop:

And now, here's the original theatrical poster:

I only wish I was good at photoshop so I can fix some DVD releases to make them more appealing to the younger set. I need to trick a teeny bopper into seeing Love at First Bite.

Deadpool

2009-07-03T12:25:00.002-04:00

This week saw the release of the ongoing series Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth. The pitch for this series is the Deadpool from our Marvel Universe teams up with the head of Zombie Deadpool (from the Marvel Zombies Universe) who he finds in the Savage Land.

To you, this may not be a big deal, but to a long time Deadpool fan, this is HUGE! If the book was Deadpool reading from the phone book from 22 pages, I'd still probably pick it up, however, this now puts THREE Deadpool books shipping monthly from Marvel (two ongoing series and one limited series). Outside of Spider-Man or Wolverine, there aren't many other Marvel heroes STARRING in that many books. That's pretty good company to keep. Now, how did this debatable 2nd tier character get this treatment.

I would assume it stems from the recent X-Men Origins: Wolverine film. Now, I saw this film by legal means, I assure you, and it wasn't very good. The opening montage of Logan and Victor's adventures through time was cool, but overall, a very poor action flick.

The rumors before the movie was released pegged Ryan Reynolds to be playing Deadpool in the film. Apparently, this Ryan Reynolds is hot stuff in Hollywood. Personally, I think he's not only a horrible actor, but also painfully unfunny. BUT Hollywood and the general populous feel he is the next Bill Murray thanks to turns in such films as Waiting (also starring Reynolds doppelganger Dane Cook) and the Amityville Horror remake. This makes him somewhat of a bankable star and thus if his name being attached to Deadpool gives the character more heat, that's the price I pay.

As I mentioned above, I've been a Deadpool fan for a long time. I don't say this to mean "I was there first" but more so to say his comic book portrayal has been pretty clear cut from his first beginning, as wafer thin as it may be. He's Spider-Man who kills people essentially. A concept that shouldn't work, but writers such as Joe Kelly have written him as a sympathetic, likeable character. To stray from this is silly to me.

Where am I going with this? I don't know, I'm rambling at this point.

Bad Summer Movies

2009-06-24T16:06:00.002-04:00

For a majority of my entertainment (comic books, TV, video games, wrestling) I am under the belief that I look for anything that is either REALLY good or REALLY bad. I'm not a fan of middle of the road.

A sitcom or movie that simply panders to a specific audience with the same tired premise? Don't bother me.

A (potentially) great movie like Up or the new Star Trek film are a credit to not only other equally great movies but help shin a light on the crap, as mentioned above.

However, a truly bad film makes my mind spin and my mouth water. I saw such garbage as Freddy Got Fingered, the Rollerball remake and Gigli in the theaters. I go out of my way to watch the Sci-Fi originals and am upset that Hobgoblins 2 is on a very long wait on NetFlix.

The summer movie season is always ripe with either the best and the worst Hollywood has to offer. As the announcements were made, I was apathetic about two major films culled from my childhood: GI Joe and Transformers 2.

I saw the first Transformers film two years ago and was bored. An action movie where robots beat the snot out of each other and I fell asleep. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

Then, the trailer for GI Joe that aired during the Super Bowl looked bland. It looked like a generic actioner with some big CGI effects and the Hasbro franchise taped to it.

I felt safe in the fact these movies would come and go without me seeing them and my life would be better for it.

Then, I hear on the dirty Intranet that both films are supposed to be horrible. Which makes me want to see them more than anything else.

Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment.

Two Comic Cons this Weekend?

2009-06-18T15:09:00.002-04:00

You would never know. This weekend is my fourth consecutive trip to Philly for Wizard World East. I can never get used to calling it "WWE." Being a wrestling fan, these letters have a different meaning for me.

The last few years, the Wizard Philly con has been lacking when comes to cool guests or goings. I know it will never compare to NY or San Diego, two years ago, when we had Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader from Heroes), Chicago had Christopher Nolan and assorted cast members from the forthcoming Dark Knight movie.

Mentioning Heroes, also this weekend is Heroes Con in Charlotte which is the only con getting any sort of play online or anywhere for that matter. By booking TWO cons on the East Coast so close to each other (to me, 10 hours is close) forces many publishers to make hard choices.

And from the looks of things, Charlotte is the winner. When comparing the two talent line ups, Philly looks more like a gathering of improv troops, sci-fi TV stars and wrestlers from the 80s than a comic convention.

But, Philly still has a bunch of cool comic industry guests (Dan Didio, Art Baltazar, Garth Ennis, Shane Davis, Joe Kelly, Jeff Katz, Kevin Maguire, etc.) but all the talk is about Charlotte.

I look forward to Wizard World Philly every year and with rumors of it being the last, I plan on making the most of it and having the best time ever.

I just wish people knew it was going on...

Comics to Come - August 2009

2009-05-19T12:09:00.004-04:00

The physical Previewas book isn't on the shelves for another two weeks, but the big two (DC and Marvel) and the medium two (Image and Dark Horse) already have their solicitations for the month of August online. Let's dive in shall we:

- Captain Britain & MI13 is cancelled (with no solict announcement) with LAST month's issue. Paul Cornell, the writer, posted on his blog about it today. Sad to see it go.

- Daredevil #500 finally out (with no book last month) as Brubaker's last issue bridging to Andy Diggle's run. I've been collecting Daredevil continuously since Karl Kesel was on the book in 1996/1997 and love that it gets such great writers.

- Marvel Spotlight: Summer Events. Why does this make the list you ask? Is it that the original Human Torch is back? Already on it. How about the new creative team on Fantastic Four? Dale Eaglesham drawing a regular book, scooped up! "the REAL Clone Saga laid bare!" with Scarlet Spider on the cover! Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

- the Marvel Bromance trade. A collection of random stories of pairing of your Marvel favs! No forward by Brodie Jenner though...

- The Green Lantern Blackest Night train of six books a month from now until February 2010 rolls on. Not sure about the writer on BN: Titans, but I'm a completist.

- Another Kevin Smith Batman series with art by Walt Flanagan. I liked the first one, for what it's worth and was really surprised by Flanagan's art.

- The main Bat-universe books churn out another #1, Batgirl with an uknown quantity as writer and under the cowl. It's not Judd Winick, so I'll give it a read.

- Adventure Comics #1 spinning out of the long delayed Legion of 3 Worlds written by Geoff Johns and backups featuring Starman (no, not that one).

- Big, giant Superman crossover this month with annuals, Secret Files & another Jimmy Olsen Special. Great writers and my love of Superman will keep me involved.

- Doom Patrol! Written by Keith Giffen & JM DeMatties! Co-feature of the Metal Men! With art by Kevin Maguire! Exclamation points!

- Peter & Max: A Fables Novel. Ballsy move DC. That's quite the high price, but I'm used to buying funny books.

Marvel Scheduling Fun

2009-04-24T07:45:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of Diamond:

In order to better support retailers in their quest to translate interest in X-Men Origins: Wolverine into sales for this title, Marvel will release Wolverine #73 (MAR092604D, $2.99) before Wolverine #72 (FEB092578D, $2.99), the continuation of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s “Old Man Logan” storyline. Issue #73 will arrive on May 13, while issue #72 will go on sale May 20.

This is done because issue #73 from writers Jason Aaron & Daniel Way and artists Adam Kubert & Tommy Lee Edwards features the start of two two-part stories focusing on the character, thus providing the perfect jumping on point for new readers the Wolverine film could help produce. Both stories will be concluded in the pages of Wolverine #74 (MAR092605D, $2.99), scheduled to land in stores on May 27.

The “Old Man Logan” storyline continuing in May 20’s Wolverine #72 will now conclude in a Giant Size Old Man Logan special, which was announced at this year's New York ComicCon.

So not only are we getting THREE issues of the regular Wolverine title in May (plus all the other related books) they aren't even coming out in order? Fantastic!

DC and Marvel Confusion

2009-04-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

A lot of people like to talk the gloom and doom going on at DC. Whether it be late books (part two of “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader” being two months behind), general confusion (who is writing the Titans books? Apparently, no one knows) or low sales, people tend to look at the mess that is all happening on the Marvel side.

It all started in January of this year, when the super-cool teaser image of Dr. Doom and Dracula on the moon was released for the upcoming Captain Britain and MI13 storyline.

Then, on January 22nd, Jim McCann, Marvel’s Assistant Manager Of Sales Communication (or someone claiming to be him) posted the following online:

When I was asked about books that did better than expected, Cap & MI 13 was one of those books. The story, the creative team, and critical reception was through the roof. Unfortunately, the audience left after Secret Invasion tie ins. That podcast was recorded before the cancellation came down & we were all hoping it would stay longer.
And guys, I am just as sorry as the rest of you that the book is canceled. All I can say is if you like a low-to-mid-tier book, tell your friends, encourage others to pick it up. We keep books alive as long as possible and market as much as we can. We want all of our books to succeed, but we could use the power of the fans to spread the word.

Followed by this post:

Yes, you love it. *I* love the book. Nick Lowe, the editor loves the book. Everyone involved loves the book. But if enough people are not buying it, and something is losing money, we can't keep publishing it. This is not a new business model for *any* industry and not just for this title. MANY books were canceled ("too soon" in many fans minds) because despite how great they were, the sales for some reason weren't there. (I still miss DP7 and Psi-Force...maybe I need therapy for those...LOL)
Guys, I am very sorry that the book is ending. But we'll be making a Paul Cornell announcement soon. (Paul, who happens to like me & I love him) Hopefully more people will pick up his new project. And you never know- this may not be the end of this team some time in the future. *I* would love to see it come back too! I'm going to miss the hell out of this book.

The next day, Nick Lowe (editor of the book), Ryan Penegos (another editor at Marvel), Dan Slott (writer at Marvel) and Paul Cornell (writer of said book in question) all came online stating there was a mistake made. All was then quite on the Captain Britain front.

Then, in March, when the early solicitations for June came out, missing from those was Ghost Rider. Writer of the book, Jason Aaron, posted on his blog the following:
You may have noticed there's no mention of GHOST RIDER in the newly released Marvel solicitations for June. Don't worry though, the book is not canceled. I'll be finishing out my run just as planned. Look for more info soon.

Well, the early July solicitations came and went and no Ghost Rider. It seems that whatever Aaron’s last story for Ghost Rider was, will be re-packaged as a six issue mini series (with a new number one) starting in August. But Ghost Rider is not cancelled.

At the same time, those very same early June solicitations, the following was said about Immortal Iron Fist:

Don’t miss this landmark FINAL ISSUE of the critically acclaimed, fan-beloved IMMORTAL IRON FIST.

This information was corrected a few days later, even with former Iron Fist writer Ed Brubaker posting online it was a typo. Well, the July solicitations are out and Immortal Iron Fist (which isn’t cancelled) is replaced by the five-issue mini-series Immortal Weapons.

Not to say DC is perfect, but Marvel isn’t the gold standard everyone pretends it to be.

Nice Try DC!

2009-04-17T13:10:00.003-04:00

I am admittedly a pro-DC person, not that I hate Marvel or anything. I like the characters in the DCU a lot more. Reading last month's previews (for books arriving in June) I was excited by all the new Bat-related books. Interesting concepts (who is the new Batman? Who is the new Robin?), awesome creative teams (Paul Dini on TWO books, Morrison and Quitely together again), even the backups (Rucka writing the Question and Kate Spencer is back!) all had be pumped.

Except for one book.

The main Batman book is being written by Judd Winick. I am not one of these people who hate Judd for no reason. I have read some of his stuff. Barry Ween is funny, but not as funny as everyone thinks. Green Lantern and Green Arrow are especially derivative. A lot of the same templates seemingly recycled. I never read Exiles which people say is good.

But my true hatred for Mr. Winick comes from an Outsiders/Checkmate crossover from a few years back. It was co-written by Rucka and Judd, the latter handling the scripting. There in lies the problem.

With absolutely no exaggeration, this was the worst dialog I've ever read in all my comics reading history. It hurt me. It caused me to drop the crossover in midstream and swear off anything Judd Winick touches.

Now, the announcement comes out that Mark Bagley is going to be the regular artist on this aforementioned Batman title. As much as I love Bagley's work, Judd Winick will be responsible for the hole in my Bat-collection as long as he remains on the book.

What I Read 04/16/09

2009-04-16T15:41:00.004-04:00

Tiny Titans #15 - Always a fun read by Baltazar and Franco. The Tiny Terror Titans debut! The beginning of a crossover with Shazam? Stay tuned!

Walking Dead #60 – Nothing like reading these two back to back. Such a gruesome issue for the first few parts. There is nothing more entertaining and depressing all at the same time.

Amazing Spider-Man #591 – I’ve been collecting Spidey for as long as I can remember, going back at least 20 years when I bought issues with my paper route money. There’s been rough patches over the last few years, but it’s back on track of late. My only ultra-nerd/nit picking deal with this last arc is I don’t like the way Barry Kitson’s art is being colored. Other than that, it’s great!

Action Comics #876 - While there is no Superman in the Superman books for a while, the stories are still great. The first between Ursa and ‘Nightwing’ was really awesome and Ursa’s inner monologue during it was cool. Easy come easy go, eh?

Vigilante # 5 - Part two of the Deathtrap crossover with the Titans books. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t care about Vigilante’s involvement in this. I can only hope that the end of this story brings Deathstroke back as the numero uno Titans villain. However, with the current disarray for writers on Titans books, I am not filled with hope.

More to come after I read more!

It Gets Worse and Worse

2009-04-10T13:51:00.000-04:00

I'm on twitter now.

That is all

What I Read - Week of 04/08/09

2009-04-09T12:36:00.004-04:00

Superman: World of New Krypton #2 – Good issue, digging Pete Woods’ art, after seeing him rising through the ranks. People complain about the “silliness” of the Kryptonians costumes, but it’s no more ridiculous than anything else in comics.

Titans #12 – written by McKeever, regardless of what prior solicts said. A good enough issue as part of the Deathtrap crossover. The scenes of Joey’s decent into madness were well done but I’m not a fan of the way Beast Boy is drawn. He just looks odd.

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1 – Screw Wolverine Art Appreciation month, it’s a mini-Wade Wilson love month! Two weeks ago, we had the Game$ of Death Annual, last week was the next part of the crossover with Thunderbolts and this week is the first issue of a mini-series. I will buy it to help keep Deadpool prominent and this was fun. The new take on Wade’s insanity started by Daniel Way has really grown on me.

Wolverine: Weapon X #1 – With 10 Wolvie books this month, plus the twenty plus cover appearances, it may be difficult to sift through it all and find something good. This now third monthly has a great creative team (Jason Aaron and Ron Garney) but the story is nothing we haven’t seen before. Someone’s creating an ARMY of Wolverines, I can only guess to populate more books. I have faith that Aaron can make it all interesting. This also has a preview of a new Ghost Rider story planned for August, supposedly the end of Aaron’s run on the book.

Green Lantern # 39 – We don’t have the Orange Lantern oath yet, but Sinestro is still on the loose, Hal is half green and half blue and the Guardians appear to have been the main reason for all the problems in the universe. We plug along towards Blackest Night.

Captain Britain and MI13 #12 – Dracula’s war against England continues as we see more of his plan and armies unfold. Gotta say, this is a great book and can’t wait to see how Dracula falls.

War of Kings: Ascension #1 – Abnett and Lanning again take another “forgotten” 90’s hero (Nova) and give him the cosmic makeover. They are such a great writing team and do a much better job with Darkhawk than the C.B. Cebulski (writer of the previous miniseries) does.

I saw Watchmen and have an opinion

2009-03-08T12:41:00.005-04:00

So the day has finally arrived. The unfilmable comic book has made it's big screen debut. Judging by the early numbers and media hype, most of you have already seen it so to say "Spoilers Ahoy!" would be moot.

I am a huge fan of the Watchmen comic/trade/graphic novel. When it came out in the early 80's I was very naive and did not read it until some ten years later. This work, arguably, changed comics since. From the way they are written to the way we read and interpret them, it has never been the same since.

Now, was Watchmen the movie the same genre changing experience? Sadly, no. That doesn't make it a BAD movie, just a flawed, almost imperfect movie.

As mentioned above, I love the Watchmen in it's original format. It was even the book that I used to trick my wife into reading comics. So the original source material holds a very near and dear place in my heart. I knew there would be changes going in and tryed my hardest to avoid them leading up to seeing the film. The changes made in the movie, while necessary, were almost maddening at time.

Not to detail them all here, which I could as that's the type of nerd I am, just some of the main ones:

the cut of the newsstand characters is very understandable, as well as the "Tales of the Black Freighter." This is movie that must appeal to not only me and my ilk, but our friends/relatives/co-workers who only know Spider-Man, Superman and Batman. Which leads me to...
The action scenes were almost over violent for the sake of violent. I love seeing a gory slasher film or the latest Tony Jaa chop socky flick. I just don't want them in my Watchmen
The moving of dialog from one character to another or addition/removal of a character to a scene. With the essential "new" ending, I think it would have made sense to keep Dr. Manhattan in the scene where the riot is quelled before the Keane Act flashback. Or why was it changed to Dan telling Ozymandias about the Mask Killer instead of Rorschach? Or the added scene of Dan attacking Ozymandias after Rorschach leaves us at the end? They were trying to re-create the comic on the screen, so why such subtle changes?
Hollis Mason and his eventual fate. What, in the movie he didn't have one? Then why bother introducing him?
Nite Owl - leave your goggles on or off. Stop messing with them!
The flash of light as Nite Owl and Rorschach approach Ozymandias hideout. Did we need that beat over head of what was up?
I don't see why aliens would not have accomplished the same effect as using Dr. Manhattan as the scapegoat. It worked for the movie and could have worked in the comic as well, but still, I guess that was more of a pacing issue.

The above issues would have you believe I did not like this movie. Quite contrary, I did, it's just not the same feel as the original story. It was made to be every other superhero story, which it's not. Watchmen is better than that. So, for me reading habits, I'll take Watchmen over pretty much any Iron Man story, but if I'm going to watch a comic book movie, Iron Man wins.

And lastly, regarding the "Big Blue Wang." If YOU had the powers Dr. Manhattan had, wouldn't you add a little length? He was no bodybuilder before the accident and he was just shredded after! He’s still a man after all.

Definitely check it out and see for yourself.

Best of What I Read This Week

2009-03-06T10:04:00.003-05:00

Daredevil # 116 "Return of the King: Prologue"

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: David Aja

Daredevil has been on of Marvel's best books (to varying degrees) for the last 10 plus years. With writers varying from Karl Kesel, Joe Kelly, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis and now Ed Brubaker, outside of a few scattered issues, has been a great read, even with the changes in tone from writer to writer.

When Ed Brubaker took the book over with issue #82 of this run, things have been going non-stop since. The run started with Matt Murdock in prison and his identity as Daredevil being known to the public. That story (collected in the trade the Devil in Cell Block D) is very good and highly recommended to anyone, whether you like Daredevil or not.

This issue is a continuation of past threads set up for the Kingpin. He has left the US and is living abroad, trying to escape his past life. There are many scenes where "the Kingpin" is referred to as a separate entity, almost like when Bruce Banner and the Hulk are treated as different people.

And I guess that's as good as an analogy as it gets. Wilson Fisk is afraid of the Kingpin returning and the storm he brings. Brubaker and Aja do such a good job of conveying how Fisk feels about this and really pulls you into the story. A very compelling and heartbreaking story.

ebay - the Scourge of the X-Box 360 Gamer

2009-03-04T08:06:00.003-05:00

I've been a user (both seller and buyer) on ebay for quite sometime, going on 10 years with only one problem ever, a KitchenAid Mixer for my wife, which was handled and resolved very quickly.

However, since purchasing an X-Box 360 for Christmas (long story short, if Rock Band 2 actually WORKED on my PS2, I'd still be happy living in the past) I've been trying get some of my favorites (Katamari, Lego series, etc.) as cheaply as possible.

Usually ebay is the best place for low prices, however, for some reason, with three X-Box 360 games I 'attempted' to purchase since December, I've gotten fleeced.

Now, I'm no piker or rube and made sure I purchased from sellers with thousands and thousands of positive feedbacks, but this did not stop these sellers from IMMEDIATELY closing up shop the SECOND I send them the money.

I have gotten all my money back from from these frauds and had to treck to my local stores to get these games, however, I'm just putting this out there. I find it odd that off all my transactions through ebay, I've never had the frequency of problems I've had of recent once I started buying X-Box games.

Maybe someone's trying to tell me something...

Best of What I Read This Week

2009-02-27T10:58:00.003-05:00

Nova # 22 "The Rapture"

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

Artist: Andrea DeVito

Two weeks in a row, the Marvel cosmic stuff hits it out of the park.

Many people I speak to just can't get into Nova stating that it's the poor man's Green Lantern Corps. And at it's core (*rimshot*) it is. The last several issues has focused on other Nova Corps members than Richard Rider (the star of the book), but this issue in particular, is a recruitment drive, based on the events of issue 21 (no spoilers here, go out and buy it!).

And while similarities can be drawn towards Green Lantern, Nova is definitely it's own animal. Worldmind (the "brain" of the Nova Corps) is recruiting thousands of new members and some may say there is a more sinister motive to it all. This issue focuses on both sides of the coin, the reactions of the new members and those who are not and further explanation of what Worldmind is up to.

This issue does a great job of not only rewarding those who have been following Nova since the beginning of this current run, but also if this is your first issue of the book.

Watchmen the Video Game!

2009-02-24T11:28:00.005-05:00

As the Watchmen movie release date looms closer (March 6th), it becomes more difficult to avoid anything about it.

Last year, after I saw the Iron Man trailer around January, I did my best to cut myself off from all other promotion for the movie so I can see the film without much being spoiled.

I've been trying my best to avoid any and all things related to Watchmen however, the fine folks over at http://www.comiccritics.com sucked me in with a review (of sorts) of the Watchmen video game for the Wii. Check it out on their front page.

DVD Documentary Review: Heckler

2009-02-24T09:41:00.003-05:00

I'm a huge fan of documentaries. Whether it be things I love (Word Wars) things I have no interest in (Air Guitar Nation) or things that will chill you to the bone (the Bridge) I can't get enough of them.

Over the weekend, I watched Heckler. The premise as explained to me was comedians dealings with hecklers over the years. Based on this I was very excited to watch it.

However, while a good idea for a documentary, too many of the scenes were fake or staged, almost bordering on pathetic. There are several scenes of Jamie Kennedy (the host of sorts) bombing on stage that are very obviously not real. There were scenes of another comic (whose name escapes me) where they took scenes of his actual stand up and edited in separate scenes of him getting the better of said hecklers. These scenes are very poorly edited it, as evident by the lighting and angles used. Very poor film work.

When these incidents are compared to scenes of actual comics (Bill Hicks, Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Maher and others) dealing with actual hecklers, it made the ‘staged’ scenes seem even more fake and the phony scenes took away from the specialness of the real scenes.

Then, like half way through, the focus changes from the stand up aspect to film and internet critics. I think by focusing on just the stand up end of things, they could have made a very compelling film. Instead, by half the doc focusing on essentially the bashing of movie critics and the internet as a whole, it ends up uneven and unsatisfying.

Recommendation to avoid.

Best of What I Read This Week

2009-02-19T15:52:00.006-05:00

Guardians of the Galaxy # 10

Last issue, Jack Flagg proclaimed "I hate this cosmic stuff" and two years ago, I was in the same camp. I just never could get into or care about any Marvel or DC cosmic stuff. Gimmie Daredevil fighting ninjas or Superman smashing robots on earth and I was all set.

After much online lauding, I tried some of the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning cosmic stuff, starting with Annihilation and fell in love with it. I realized regardless of where it's happening, good characterization is good characterization.

One of the main folks I gravitated to was Peter Quill (aka Star Lord). Just a regular guy with no powers doing his best in a world populated by Thanoses and Silver Surfers. Currently, he's the disposed leaders of the Guardians of the Galaxy and this issue has Mr. Quill and the aforementioned Jack Flagg fending off an attack from Blastaar, the ruler of the Negative Zone.

See, back in Civil War (remember that?), Tony Stark and Reed Richards built a prison in Negative Zone to place any unregistered heroes and villains. With Secret Invasion said and done, it's mostly populated by villains. By taking over said prison gives Blastaar a direct pipeline to Earth, which is a VERY bad thing. The rest of the Guardians are on their way to help, but will they get there in time?

This issue also continues the build towards the next big cosmic event, War of Kings. It makes me very happy that these group of events are a) written by the same group to keep things coherent, b) don't crossover into forty books and c) is a very enjoyable read. If you read this and Nova (also written by Abnett and Lanning) you can get a great entry for the Marvel cosmic world.

Beginning of a Horrible Thing

2009-02-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Based on the time frame of starting this, I should have an iPhone around 2012. This is a pre-emptive web presence for somethings that may or may not happen. In addition of the the MySpace and Facebook, now there is this.

This will mostly be used for any opinions, thoughts, etc. or things I'm doing that I feel like passing along to the general public.

It's all downhill from here folks!