tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52024098746423775182024-03-13T21:23:37.982-07:00The Hammond Comics BlogReviewing anything interesting in comics.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-35350167337385012192016-05-28T14:26:00.001-07:002016-05-28T14:26:21.892-07:00NOTICEThis is a notice that the contents of this blog has moved to http://thehammondcomicsblog.blogspot.com/The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-87765541155401150102016-05-27T18:21:00.000-07:002016-05-27T18:21:02.424-07:00REVIEW: Zone Continuum<div class="MsoNormal">
Script and art: Bruce Zick<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QUUtJAzXLo/V0jtohweP2I/AAAAAAAABqw/bbAebecAavwAfs58U8Fyzg7r3fErKvtewCKgB/s1600/13307433_10208150915904370_6666268435282378145_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QUUtJAzXLo/V0jtohweP2I/AAAAAAAABqw/bbAebecAavwAfs58U8Fyzg7r3fErKvtewCKgB/s320/13307433_10208150915904370_6666268435282378145_n.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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Good science fiction seems to be a rarity in the world of
comics. There's an abundance of mediocre-to-okay sci-fi books, but very few
that really stand out in a sea of uninspired newsprint. <i>The Zone Continuum</i>
stands out, not only in the field of science fiction but in comics as a whole. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Zone Continuum </i>spins the tale of The Dar, a long-lived
race that coexists with man, unbeknownst to the human race. Environmental
hazards and man-made catastrophe creates 'Zones' in the electromagnetic field
around the earth. They are invisible to man and will kill any Dar who passes
between the barrier separating the zones. Talon is the Dar who leads Zone 27
and endeavors to find a way to breach the barrier between his Zone and the
adjacent one containing his wife, Paris.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Forever separated by their respective zones, this true love
kept apart in Shakespearean tragedy is not a new theme but has certainly not
been done like this before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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Although much of the focus is Talon's quest to reunite with
Paris, he also has to contend with a fellow Dar seeking to usurp his
leadership. There's also some deeper themes of environmental responsibility,
the destruction of mankind and a dash of vampirism, making <i>The Zone Continuum</i>
one hell of a ride. The art and detailed world-building that Bruce Zick has
done really steal the show here. It has a dash of the Pulps in the way Batman
has a dash of the Pulps. It's all rooftops and brick facade and wrought-iron
ladders, laboratories full of canisters bubbling with mysterious green fluid
and slightly Lovecraftian beasts that attack from the aether of The Zone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The book is somewhat retro-futuristic, not in a way that's
not so much computers with touch screen capability but more so vacuum tubes and
Giger counters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It's not retro enough to be steampunk, it's not quite
dieselpunk or gothic. Sort of a Decopunk, I suppose is my best description.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A world where you can almost see Roy Batty talking about the
Tannhauser Gate on the next rooftop over. It would fit in Anton Furst's Gotham
City skyline.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The art is phenomenal, mostly (but not entirely) because it
reminded me of Mœbius' Airtight Garage, in a thematic sense at least. The
grimy, Art Deco look was right at home with the <i>Mister X</i> comic or, on a base
level, the <i>Big O</i> anime series.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But without the giant robots.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Zone Continuum</i> gives you a sense of alienation, juggling
hope and despair, and by the end of it all you're unsure where the story ends
up, because the balls are still in the air. Go buy this book, folks. It's got
some crazy, new ideas and some jaw-droppingly amazing imagery. There are Kirby
Devices ALL OVER this book, and the end of part one gives us the gift of
Talon's djinni companion showing up in true, "Come with me if you want to
live", fashion on a giant motorcycle that looks like it was designed by HR
Giger.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'll leave you with that mental picture, dear reader,
because if that doesn't give you the ammunition to check out the comic, there's
something amiss. Dark Horse is selling this tpb for $15.99 and if your local
brick-and-mortar shop doesn't carry it, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to
order it for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-77940918446269014612016-05-15T11:15:00.000-07:002016-05-15T11:15:56.752-07:00Free Comic Book Day Pt.2<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Free
Comic Book Day is like my nerd Christmas. I get free comics and any store worth
its salt is running all sorts of sweet deals and giveaway promotions. I
was a bit nonplussed about this year’s selection, but who am I to bitch about
what companies are giving me for free? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I hit up 2 comic shops, 1 wannabe nerd store and
my local library for my FCBD adventure and came away with a couple handfuls of
freebies and a fat stack of 25-cent/Dollar Box finds.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">And a $5 Tick tpb.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">So without further ado . . .</span><br />
<br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jPBIdOO332k/Vzi7-PV7keI/AAAAAAAABps/PSuw0T9xTboGmf-LJ3XbBXmDUzZQ1EqFwCLcB/s1600/STK699199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jPBIdOO332k/Vzi7-PV7keI/AAAAAAAABps/PSuw0T9xTboGmf-LJ3XbBXmDUzZQ1EqFwCLcB/s320/STK699199.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: white;">Mix Tape 2016</span></span></span></h3>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Writers: Josh Blaylock, Mike Baron, Team Ash,
Matthew Sturges, Dave Justus</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Artists: Matt Merhoff, Val Mayerik, Team Ash,
David Hahn</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i>Mix Tape</i> is an anthology book produced by the
fine folks at Devil's Due and 1First Comics and serves to showcase some of
their flagship books.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The first short is a preview of <i>Mercy Sparks:
Year One</i>, which I intuit to be an origin story . . . as are most year one titles.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">*wink</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Mercy is your archetypical sexy devil girl with
a rockabilly punker look and is apparently employed by Heaven as a bounty
hunter. I've not read any of her comics aside from this preview. I really
hope they're good because I've got the full set headed my way courtesy of the
Kickstarter. This short doesn't really give you much other than Mercy as a
child wandering around the hellish land of Sheol and meeting up with Karduk, a
burly Sumerian biker who seems to be a mentor figure.<a name='more'></a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Next up is a Badger story, and the less said
about it the better. I enjoy Mike Baron's work on <i>Nexus</i> but never cared to
look into obscure 1980s creation, Badger. Seems my instincts were right, as
this short is an MMA fight between Badger and Vladimir Putin.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Like the god's honest Russian head of state.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I have no idea what the hell led up to this
event, but after several pages of combat Badger emerges victorious and is
christened Wizard of the East.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Whatever the heck that is.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Badger also has a trio of Asian girls rooting
for him who speak pidgin English and declares his win over Putin will the
spellbinding bit of dialogue, "Melican win. Laise hand now".</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Nice racial sensitivity, 1940s Yellow Scare
comics would be proud.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Next up is a phenomenal story from the world of
<i>Squarriors</i>! Which is a portmanteau of squirrel and warriors! In the spirit of
<i>Redwall</i>, <i>Secret of NIMH</i>, and other smart rodent stories, <i>Squarriors</i> tells the
tale of warring factions of animal folk in a post-apocalyptic feudal society.
It's a fun story and beautifully illustrated. Lavish, even. The art is good
enough to prop up the book, but the story certainly doesn't need to use it as a
crutch. It's well crafted and often features hyper-violent squirrel murder.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">And who doesn't love that?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Our final sample was from a book called <i>Public
Relations</i> and focused around a train wreck caused by a giant dragon egg and a
narcoleptic engineer. It also features 50 thousand gallons of homemade
mayonnaise, tadpole cosplayers, and some other inane bits that try too hard to
be weird for the sake of weird and just aren't funny.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Ah, well, at least it was free.</span><br />
<br />
</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P3nsqFYOZnc/Vzi8D-XE_vI/AAAAAAAABpw/Oh5X_vw-0x0LBwLhtCw_wctmpaAGAq7rgCLcB/s1600/FCBD_Captain_America_Cover1-600x922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P3nsqFYOZnc/Vzi8D-XE_vI/AAAAAAAABpw/Oh5X_vw-0x0LBwLhtCw_wctmpaAGAq7rgCLcB/s320/FCBD_Captain_America_Cover1-600x922.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: white;">FCBD 2016 Captain America<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></h3>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Writers: Nick Spencer, Dan Slott</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Artists: Jesús Saiz, Javier Garrón</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">So Steve Rogers isn't an old guy anymore, but
neither is he Captain America. Former sidekick Falcon still wields the shield
and now has his very own Falcon sidekick, some obnoxious mutated falcon-boy who
will hopefully die a horrible death soon. Also, his pet bird Redwing is a
vampire now. I think.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Anyway, Red Skull is up to his old HYDRA
shenanigans with Crossbones and Sin, and I'm pretty sure he still has psychic
powers from eating Professor X's brain or whatever the hell happened.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Good. After Dimension Z and all the
clusterfuckery that followed I could go for some good ol' Cap vs. HYDRA comics.
As long as Nick Spencer can keep a moratorium on jamming his personal opinion
on politics into the book we'll be fine.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This will probably not happen, but I can hope.
Spencer is a fine writer, but he could use to keep his rhetoric the hell out my
comics.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">There's a Spider-Man backup story that pretty
much serves as a preamble to the <i>Dead No More</i> event that'll be forcing its way
into your summer reading. The framework of all the dead Spidey characters
returning to life (and yes, that means Gwen Stacy) is either a riff on
nobody staying dead in comics, or some penultimate barrel-scraping. They all
could be robots, clones, skrulls or holograms for all I care as long as the
story is engaging.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Slott still owes me for fridging Silver Sable . . .</span><br />
<br />
</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FeoZeUcAz7M/Vzi8IvYH-zI/AAAAAAAABp0/s607TZiW_G09lD3ZrEE-9H4Ihgra2HaZQCLcB/s1600/NEW-ENGLAND-TICK-FCBD-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FeoZeUcAz7M/Vzi8IvYH-zI/AAAAAAAABp0/s607TZiW_G09lD3ZrEE-9H4Ihgra2HaZQCLcB/s320/NEW-ENGLAND-TICK-FCBD-2016.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: white;">THE TICK! (emphasis mine)</span></span></span></h3>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Story: Jeff McClelland</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Art: Duane Redhead, Ian Nichols</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">YEAH! Now this is some inane humor I can get
behind! I f'n love <i>The Tick</i>, I don't care if it is a cliché these days.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I'm even a member in good standing of the <i>Mystic
Order of Arachnid Vigilance</i>, so take that.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This was my favorite FCBD offering. Versions of
Tick from alternate universes keep popping into The City, forcing Tick to hide
all of his copies in a garage until he can figure out a course of action.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">There has never been more glorious a sight than
a legion of Ticks charging into battle, yelling, "Spoon!", and then
falling all over each other in a heap.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Bravo, New England Comics.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">We're treated to a brief cameo from Pineapple
Pokopo and introduced to a version of Tick from a noir universe who is black
and white and speaks aloud his pulpy inner monologue.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">"Causality is a jerk", Tick proclaims,
but all's well that ends well as all the alternate Ticks go on a bus trip until
a solution is discovered and we close with Tick Prime riding a shark.</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">If you don't like this book you clearly hate
fun.</span><br />
<br />
</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WHA1TxeBgeA/Vzi8Ocs-9SI/AAAAAAAABp4/R7llVjTePh8C5wltV9ghI-Sntmwhc9_FwCLcB/s1600/0538250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WHA1TxeBgeA/Vzi8Ocs-9SI/AAAAAAAABp4/R7llVjTePh8C5wltV9ghI-Sntmwhc9_FwCLcB/s320/0538250.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: white;">Rom #0</span></span></span></h3>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Plot & script: Chris Ryall, Christos Gage</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Pencils/inks/colors: David Messina</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Although Tick was my favorite bit of FCBD, <i>Rom</i>
was the one to which I most looked forward. The cool kids know <i>Rom</i> was a licensed
Hasbro property that Marvel somehow crafted into a popular 70-some-odd issue
series in the '80s. Bits of lore from the <i>Rom</i> comic will periodically still
show up in contemporary Marvel books, but alas, the license for Rom himself now
lies in the hands of IDW, undisputed champions of licensed properties. (Sorry,
Dynamite, maybe next year)</span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Rom is an alien in sweet-ass chrome armor who
has come to Earth in order to root out his ancient foes, the Dire Wraiths. In
the old Marvel books the Dire Wraiths were some sort of shapeshifting
degenerate Skrulls, but in the new <i>Rom,</i> they are evidently evil wizards which is
just as good.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The preview was good, pitting Rom against some
wraiths, showcasing his tech, and planting the seed for some possible human
allies. Honestly, there was a 1-page ad for the old-school <i>Rom</i> comic (Romic?)
that was just as efficient as this whole book, but I don't care. <i>Rom</i> is back,
baby, and I'm looking forward to see how the new incarnation stacks up against
The House of Ideas' version from yesteryear.</span></span></span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-36872125197726166172016-05-15T10:53:00.000-07:002016-05-15T10:53:30.719-07:00Free Comic Book Day Pt. 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
year when I, Art Bee, looked at the list for FCBD, I cringed. The majority of
the comic books looked like they were aimed at children so boo-hoo for us
adults. I am very jealous of my daughter, because she won a raffle for one copy
of every FCBD book. A couple of the comic books picked are very good the
others, the majority are not. I will be reviewing some of the ones I picked and
a few of my daughter’s. I tried to get her to review a couple but she got
embarrassed. Let’s get started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wNb1lS_PyaI/Vzi3ICetawI/AAAAAAAABpU/EKi_k41nUr0eVyPEiJa3YVDO6eKad4BdgCLcB/s1600/TH3RD-WORLD-STUFF-LEGEND-FCBD-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wNb1lS_PyaI/Vzi3ICetawI/AAAAAAAABpU/EKi_k41nUr0eVyPEiJa3YVDO6eKad4BdgCLcB/s320/TH3RD-WORLD-STUFF-LEGEND-FCBD-2016.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<h3 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Stuff of Legend</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Story: Mike Raicht & Brian Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Design
and Colors: Jon Conkling & Michael
DeVito<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is the reprinting of another FCBD comic book for the first volume of this
title. They claim it is to honor their current readers in anticipation of the
fifth volume. This seems a little strange. Why reprint a free comic of the
first volume to promote your fifth volume? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
story seems to be aimed at children and looks to be a <i>Toy Story</i> recreation with
an element of horror. The story features a little boy, whom is kidnapped by the
Boogie-Man, and the boy’s toys have to mount a rescue attempt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even
though the artistry is fantastic, the story really sucks. The toys discuss and
debate which of them is going on the mission for far too long. There is no way
a child would stay focused long enough on this debate, and as something of an
adult, I did not want to finish it due to its childishness.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spectrum</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Written:
PJ Haarsma & Alan Tudyk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Illustrations: Sarah Stone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Producers: Alan Tudyk, PJ Haarsma, and Nathan Fillion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Kdbkw0O-4k/Vzi3RWeKwWI/AAAAAAAABpY/46GCl04EzNo-138jpjkEZqP6_uWE3e-cQCLcB/s1600/AUTOMATIC-PIC-SPECTRUM-FCBD-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Kdbkw0O-4k/Vzi3RWeKwWI/AAAAAAAABpY/46GCl04EzNo-138jpjkEZqP6_uWE3e-cQCLcB/s320/AUTOMATIC-PIC-SPECTRUM-FCBD-2016.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
seems like it will be an awesome series. Spectrum was the first comic I picked
on FCBD mainly due to me being a major <i>Firefly</i> fan, so when I saw this comic
was produced by Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion, I clapped my hand and giggled
like a little girl getting a Barbie (this is not an exaggeration I am sorry to
say).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
story’s title is the name of the ship that will be featured in this series, and
a picture with technical data is provided in this comic book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On
the inside of the front cover is a nice long backstory to provide the setting
and useful information for the reader. This has been a great tactic started by
the Star Wars movies and is used by smart writers of science fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
artwork is good for the most part, but it has a bit of an odd element to the
lines of it. That is the best statement I can make. Once you see the work you
will understand. Other than that there is not much to say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
you are a fan of the<i> Firefly</i> series, you will love this. If not, then you will
still like this and you should watch the awesomeness known as <i>Firefly</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Serenity: The Warrior and the Wind</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Script:
Chris Robinson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Art:
Stephen Byrne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lettering: Michael Heisler<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj7Ep2PWXCY/Vzi3YE06ffI/AAAAAAAABpc/3qUdEgwBTiIMV_CtJtRPTyco7_4yXQOFACLcB/s1600/2341100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj7Ep2PWXCY/Vzi3YE06ffI/AAAAAAAABpc/3qUdEgwBTiIMV_CtJtRPTyco7_4yXQOFACLcB/s320/2341100.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Hellboy: The Mirror</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Script: Mike Mignola<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Art: Richard Corben<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Colors:
Dave Stewart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Aliens
Defiance: Extravehicular<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Script: Brian Wook<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Art: Tristan Jones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Colors:
Dan Jackson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
are three stories in this one free comic book. I was truly taken aback by the
rude implantation of crap with my <i>Firefly/Serenity </i>story. That was very not
nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Serenity:
the Warrior and the Wind</i> is a short story in which River, one of the main
characters, is telling Emma, the daughter of Zoe and Wash (both main characters
as well), a bedtime story featuring all of the cast. This is a very unique way
to provide the backstory of the series mixed with a bit of fairy tale. By my
admission, this is very clever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
artwork and colors are astonishing although a bit cartoony. This fits with the
theme of this short story, so my feeling is it is admissible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now
we move to <i>Hellboy: the Mirror</i>. Even though I have never been a Hellboy fan,
this is utter crap. Hellboy enters a house, looks into a mirror, is attacked by
a ghost, and begs for it to stop. The ghost disappears, and then Hellboy
leaves. The End. See what I mean – crap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
that wasn’t enough, the artwork was painful to look at as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
third story in the book is <i>Aliens Defiance:
Extravehicular</i>. This story featured some very nice lines and color, but
the story itself was very bland for starting in the heat of a fight.
Realistically this should have been an exciting piece. The dialog and flow did
not convey the intensity it should have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFmKfvnQ7jM/Vzi3eLWOheI/AAAAAAAABpg/AiqlgVmpZMI5OMYqYLOxRTkLTVV1TbYrgCLcB/s1600/Camp_Midnight_FCBD_Special_2016_FCBD_2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFmKfvnQ7jM/Vzi3eLWOheI/AAAAAAAABpg/AiqlgVmpZMI5OMYqYLOxRTkLTVV1TbYrgCLcB/s320/Camp_Midnight_FCBD_Special_2016_FCBD_2016.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<h3 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Camp
Midnight</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Writer: Steven T. Seagle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Artist: Jason Adam Katzenstein<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
opening for this comic book is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Skye’s
parents put her on the wrong bus, and now she’s about to find out what it means
to be the only human girl at an all monster camp . . .”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now
the theme and title scream children’s comic to me. This story also addresses
some classic child themes such as fitting in, standing up to bullies, and being
loyal to friends. What does this all mean? I was very bored reading this comic
book. My daughter seemed to really like it, so I am right on the mark for the theme.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I really don’t want to address the artwork, but
my obligation as a comic book critic deems it necessary. The artwork made me
throw up in my mouth just a bit. The lines are not consistent, but the colors
are. Each panel has a color . . . just . . . one . . . color. Can we say
mono-tone?</span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-62128515524550883902016-05-06T19:02:00.000-07:002016-05-06T19:02:01.490-07:00REVIEW: Bloodlines #1 of 6Script: J.T. Krul<br />
Pencils: V. Ken Marion<br />
Inks: Sean Parsons<br />
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse<br />
Review: Art Bee<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eiEm60QaHc/Vy1MiDyPAVI/AAAAAAAABpE/MNXJ2lk-N-EX5W3pSdISffL5rafQITm3ACLcB/s1600/Bloodlines-1-1-600x923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eiEm60QaHc/Vy1MiDyPAVI/AAAAAAAABpE/MNXJ2lk-N-EX5W3pSdISffL5rafQITm3ACLcB/s320/Bloodlines-1-1-600x923.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
You may have gathered that I am not much of a DC fan. Looking back through my other reviews, I only noticed two DC reviews in my three years with the HCB. At my LCBS I happened to notice <i>Bloodlines #1</i> and #2 from DC sitting on the shelf. The covers were striking, and after flipping through the first issue, I decided to give this six part mini-series a try.<br />
<br />
Honestly, my opinion on this book is really split. It has an average story, intriguing characters, and some amazing artwork but has some faults as well. I will warn you now, there is going to be a couple of minor spoilers.<br />
<br />
The first thing I would point out is towards the editing. On page 6 in the last panel, one of the main characters says, “You don’t want my back. Trust me. Five more years, it’s going look like a pretzel.” It should read ". . . it's going TO look like a pretzel." This is the second time in a month I have addressed editing issues in comics, although the other one was in a comic book from the late 90s.<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br />
<br />
The first issue is almost completely centered on the character of Eddie, even though other characters are introduced. Eddie is a former skateboarding teen on crutches after some kind of accident that left him partially paralyzed. He is introduced after the opening scene sitting as he is getting up for a day at school. The writer and artists do an incredible job of communicating so many details with just a few panels. The scene and dialog between Eddie and his mother indicate three major things about Eddie and their relationship. First Eddie is eating Chocolate Cookie Blast cereal while there is a plate of various fruit, bagels, and orange juice on the table. The second is Eddie’s mother is leaving for work early in the morning and tells him that she will be home late at night. This is an indication of a single mother working two jobs. The third is Eddie’s depressed mood. When his mother leaves and says she loves Eddie, the artist conveys the boy’s mood extremely well in his face when he says he loves her too.<br />
<br />
Throughout the comic book each character is created and woven into the story well. Each is likable and unlikable according to their traits, but I have an issue with Eddie’s. At the end of issue one, when something bad happens to Eddie’s best friend, Graham (a super likable character by the way), Eddie transforms into a big blue brute when he gets upset. Does that sound familiar to anyone? That’s right. It sounds like and resembles the Hulk. Granted he gets this ability from completely different means (revealed in issue #2), but it still seems like a steal from Marvel, whom is beating DC in the Box Office, TV, and comics. <br />
<br />
The artwork is just beautiful throughout each issue. The three artists seem to have a massively successful collaboration. My favorite panel is the one introducing Haley. Their work with her has made me have a small crush on this fictional character. That’s right; laugh it up, guys. Each artist is focused on details in characters, objects, and backgrounds. Everything is fantastic.<br />
<br />
This mini-series has a very intriguing story developing, and I am interested in seeing where it goes. It is added to my pull list, so I can see how much more DC is robbing from Marvel, whom is still under my embargo for treating readers like dumbasses. Check it out and see for yourselves. It is nice to see something fresh come out of DC. To me their brand has always seemed a little stale, like an old man that is comfortable with a certain status quo.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-10532130653105013442016-04-30T19:16:00.003-07:002016-04-30T20:13:08.178-07:00REVIEW: Ragnarok #8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writer and artist: Walt Simonson
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: John Workman</span></pre>
<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></pre>
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<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Caveat: I'm a fan of Walt Simonson, so this'll probably end up being a fairly biased piece.
He's been a part of some of my favorite comics, starting with Marvel's old school <i>Star Wars</i> book, through the classic 1980s <i>X-Factor</i> and latter day works like <i>Judas Coin</i> (which I say very nice things about right <a href="http://the-hammond-comics-blog.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-judas-coin.html?m=1" target="_blank">here</a>). A fine resume to be certain, but arguably Simonson's finest work is his epic run on Marvel's <i>Thor</i>. In addition to gracing readership with creations like Malekith, Beta Ray Bill, Skurge with a machine gun, and Frog Thor, that particular stretch of comics spotlighted how adept a storyteller Walt Simonson is.
IDW is doing The Allfather's work in bringing us Walt Simonson's <i>Ragnarok</i>, which spins the tale of undead Thor in the ruins of Asgard after the Norse apocalypse.
If that hook doesn't sell you on this book, you must hate fun because this comic is a nonstop action-packed thrill ride.<a name='more'></a></span></pre>
<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Lemmie run part of this by you again:</span></pre>
<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">The main character is undead Thor.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">And he looks like this:</span></li>
</ul>
</pre>
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<pre style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-line; word-wrap: break-word !important;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Ragnarok's eighth issue is fairly well filled with pages of Thor and Regn,a dark elf, beset upon, and slaying with gratuitous violence, hordes of demons in the service of Surtr. Intermingled with gloriously illustrated pages of Thor and Regn destroying fire warriors the two have a discourse revolving around Thor murdering Regn's daughter and his subsequent vengeance. The two agree to an archetypal uneasy alliance in order to defeat the legions of Muspelheim with the promise of Regn getting a free shot at Thor after the fact with his god-slaying sword.</span></pre>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Guys writing for <i>Heavy Metal</i> in the '80s woulda killed for this sort of material.
Although this issue is almost wholly dedicated to a phenomenal fight, there are a handful of great character moments between Thor and Regn that illustrates the relationship between the two.
Which I predict will turn into some sort of Viking buddy cop scenario . . .
This comic is phenomenal, ladies and gentlemen. The story is rock solid, the art is beautiful and the colors vibrant and brilliant. Issue 8 opens with a full-pager depicting Mjollnir bursting towards the reader, and that's a pretty decent analogy for the series so far. It came flyin' outta nowhere and smacks you in the jaw with a mix of mythological know-how and classic comic action. You can almost make this a spiritual successor to Simonson's <i>Thor</i> run at Marvel if you're inclined, but it stands tall enough on its own.
Also, they ride around on horse creatures that kinda look like the one Ookla had on <i>Thundarr the Barbarian</i>.
That in and of itself should be more than enough incentive to check it out.</span></pre>
The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-64619660244018580362016-04-24T10:57:00.001-07:002016-04-30T20:21:10.539-07:00REVIEW: Rough Riders #1Creator & Writer: Adam Glass<br />
Artist: Patrick Olliffe<br />
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb<br />
Letterer: Sal Cipriano<br />
Review: Art Bee<br />
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Once again my LCBS owner has talked me into purchasing and reviewing a comic book. <i>Rough Riders #1</i> was featured and highly recommended by Shawn, owner of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/COMICSCUBED/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Comics Cubed</a> in Kokomo, IN. After finishing this jewel, my eyes are opened. This story of historical fiction blended with some steampunk qualities is something very special. <br />
<br />
This is the story of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt before he was ever the President of the United States. If any readers are not familiar with history, allow me to briefly educate you. On February 15, 1898, the USS Maine, a US battleship, was attacked and sunk near Havana, Cuba. The ship had been sent to protect U.S. citizens and property after anti-Spanish rioting in Havana (<a href="http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war" target="_blank">www.history.com</a>). During the war Teddy Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to form his own voluntary cavalry group called the Rough Riders, which included a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans (<a href="http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/progress/jb_progress_rriders_1.html" target="_blank">www.americaslibrary.gov</a>).<br />
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With this in mind lets delve into this book. Adam Glass is a great writer, but I am not very keen on him calling himself the creator. He did not create the character of Theodore Roosevelt or several other characters referred to in this story. <br />
<br />
With that said, the book is phenomenal! The way the story is structured allows the reader to get fully engrossed without feeling pulled along. When I started reading, I had not made the connection with the title and the historical group, so the opening scene made me feel like we were in Nazi Germany in one of the Concentration Camps furnaces. The reason for thinking this was the young lady in the first panel brandishing a Star of David. By the second page my thinking caught up with the book. The date 1898 and the rest of the scene set me right and engaged my intelligent small part of my brain.<br />
<br />
Glass really engages us with some big words. On page two, panel four, he uses the word “surreptitious”. This needed to be looked up by myself for having never encountered it before. According to Google, this adjective means “kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of". When a comic book can increase the value of the intellect of the reader as well as entertain them, we have a very special comic. <br />
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This issue is titled “The Big Stick” because most every American should know that Teddy Roosevelt’s famous quote is “to speak softly and carry a big stick”. This issue starts with Roosevelt being commissioned to handle the situation with the sinking of the Maine and startling to recruit the Rough Riders. I will not say more for ruining the wonderful awesomeness of this story.<br />
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The artwork is just as good as the writing. Truthfully I can’t tell whether this is digitally done or done on paper and scanned. Either way it is gorgeous. The artists’ attention to detail, especially on faces, is amazing. It is hard to pick a favorite panel. They are all very good. <br />
<br />
When I was talking to Shawn about it, his words were, “When I finished, I was wishing there was more.” My sentiments are exactly the same. It feels like you only read four pages, but it is twenty pages long. Still shorter than most other comics, it is quality work. There is a sneak peak at the end for another of <a href="http://aftershockcomics.com/" target="_blank">Aftershock</a>’s titles, <i>B.E.K.</i> (Black Eyed Kids), that is coming out on April 20th, and I am not sure how I feel about it based on the preview. There is also an interview between the Editor-in-Chief, Mike Marts and Adam Glass. I really don’t like staged interviews; you don’t get a good feel for the person being interviewed.<br />
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This comic is going to hang around for a while. It should only have a finite number of issues based on historical events, but we shall see. I have not seen any specific information yet saying the contrary.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-4493942586294252392016-04-16T20:05:00.000-07:002016-04-17T10:16:58.656-07:00REVIEW: Aliens: Defiance #1 ashcanWritten by: Brian Wood<br />
Art by: Tristan Jones<br />
Review: Will Dubbeld <br />
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Aside from <i>Star Wars</i>, the <i>Alien</i> franchise might be one of my favorite science fiction mythos, due in no small part to HR Giger's hellish conceptual designs. As such I've made a hobby of collecting books, bits of memorabilia, and of course comic books related to the franchise.<br />
<br />
Except anything Prometheus related, because screw that piece of crap . . .<br />
<br />
Aside from a Marvel adaptation of the first <i>Alien</i> film, Dark Horse Comics has been the sole license-holder for comics set in the <i>Alien</i> universe as far as I know. For over 20 years now DH has been printing <i>Alien </i>books and they are, with few exceptions, phenomenal books. A new series drops soon and the LCS was giving out free promo ashcans, prompting me to sidle up to the bar and check out the wares.<br />
<br />
<i>Aliens: Defiance</i> takes place between the first and second <i>Alien</i> films and in true to form franchise setup involves some hapless fools exploring a derelict spaceship. The hapless fools in this case are a Colonial Marine named Zula Hendricks and an accompanying group of Wetland-Yutani security drones.<br />
<br />
No mention of them preferring to be called Artificial Persons.<br />
<br />
This time around the derelict in question is floating near Earth's Luna Base and is a Seegson hauler called the Europa, and it doesn't take long for Zula and her band of Synthetics to discover they are not alone aboard the Europa.<br />
And by that I mean our familiar xenomorphs pop in and start eviscerating.<br />
Chances are the Weyland-Yutani company is to blame . . .<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if this is a standalone prelude for the series or a preview of the first issue, but I'm in either way. It's got the claustrophobic feel of an <i>Alien</i> movie and the art is reminiscent of Ron Cobb's concept work for the first movie.<br />
We also get a fan-service appearance from Ripley's daughter Amanda, which makes me curious if they'll attempt to dovetail (or shoehorn, as you will) the series as connective tissue to the <i>Alien: Isolation</i> video game.<br />
<br />
At this point in the history of our pop culture, I'll not attempt to convince anyone to buy this book. You either like the <i>Alien</i> franchise or you don't, and if you're unaware of it, I'm not entirely sure what to say other than "get on it."<br />
Fans of the series are a sure sell if you've explored the <i>Alien</i> comicverse. The preview reminded me of the 1st <i>Alien</i> comic miniseries and a bit of the <i>Aliens: Earth War</i> comic, both high points in my opinion. <br />
Bug hunt or not, I'll stick with this chickenshit outfit for the duration.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-57682677091575462612016-04-08T10:23:00.001-07:002016-05-06T10:25:23.711-07:00REVIEW: Spirit’s Destiny #1<div class="MsoNormal">
Writer: Dorphise Jean<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pencilers: Zack Dolan, Edwin Galmon, Saint Yak, Richard
Perotta<o:p></o:p></div>
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Review: Will Dubbeld</div>
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Writer/creator Dorphise Jean contacted me some time ago
about a review for her indie book, <i>Spirit’s Destiny</i>, and I readily agreed.
Always willing to lend a hand to the small press, I was pleased to recently
receive a digital copy in my mailbox, and off we went. I hadn’t done any
background research into the book and was therefore able to approach it with a
fresh mind.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Was it a superhero book? A horror book? I plunged in and
soon discovered it may be neither, or a little bit of both.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Spirit’s Destiny</i> opens with teenage heroine, Destiny, awaking
from a nightmare, or perhaps vision, depicting a costumed ne’er do well
creeping into his infant daughter’s room.
He gets into a fracas with the child’s mother, but not before injecting
the baby with some strange fluid. I love
that the book cold opened with a very well choreographed fight scene/dream
sequence before snapping us into Destiny’s regular, everyday routine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The book’s second act shows us a bit of teenage Destiny’s archetypical
school life (best friend, hot guy, bitchy rival girl) and some interaction with
her mother, who grounds her for treating Bitchy Girl to a right cross.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t see that coming, and it pinned down Destiny’s
character in one panel. Well done.<br />
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The book closes with Destiny and her friends sneaking out
(as teenagers are wont to do) and fiddling about in a science lab.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, as teenagers are wont to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The book closes with Destiny receiving a zap of energy from
one of the lab’s devices and laying out cold as her friends run for aid. I’m keeping my fingers crossed in the hopes
she gets some superpowers out of this otherwise bum deal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All in all I rather enjoyed <i>Spirit’s Destiny</i>. There are a few editorial missteps and some
small dialogue issues but the scripting and most of the dialogue reminded me of
some grandiose book of yesteryear, namely the bombastic comics of the 1960s and
perhaps even some nuances of 40s Golden Age books. The comic is a super-quick
read, although this is mainly due to the grand layout of the book. It’s composed largely of big, meaty, colorful
panels and splashes giving the lion’s share of the comic to the art
department. The art is reminiscent a bit
of the aforementioned comics of former times, as are the colors, although a bit
muted in contrast to some of the more vibrant books about superfolks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But again, we probably aren’t catering to the tights and
capes crowd.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m eager to see where <i>Spirit’s Destiny</i> goes. There’s some room for growth and improvement,
but I very much look forward to future installments. Issue 1 opened a lot of doors to the reader
but didn’t let you walk all the way into the room. I can see where things might be going, but I
want to step in and find out for sure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Spirit’s Destiny</i> is available digitally and as a floppy from
<a href="http://spiritsdestinycomics.com/" target="_blank">www.spiritsdestinycomics.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Go getcha some.</span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-15104554998701829812016-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:002016-05-06T10:25:06.521-07:00REVIEW: Batman Beyond Unlimited #1Batman Creators: Bob Kane & Bill Finger<br />
Story: Adam Beechen/Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen<br />
Art and Cover: Dustin Nguyen, Norm Breyfogle<br />
Colors: Andrew Elder, Randy Mayor<br />
Review: Daniel Simpson<br />
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When <i>Batman Beyond</i> first came out as a cartoon series it was met with, at least from my point of view, criticism. Here was this new Batman that had a suit that could fly, and all this tech that seemed it fit better on Iron Man than on Batman, but slowly it won me over. As a cartoon series it rewrote the Batman mythos and as a comic series it could do, the exact thing. Terry McGinnis is an awesome Batman and brings a level of snark to the Dark Knight that he has never had before. If you are unfamiliar with the Batman Beyond universe here is the skinny: The story takes place in 2019, Terry McGinnis is Batman, Bruce Wayne has basically taken Alfred’s role staying in the bat cave with Ace the Bathound, Barbara Gordon is the police commissioner. There are several different gangs that call themselves the Jokerz. All caught up? Good.<br />
<br />
This comic just jumps right in the storyline starting out with Batman trying to stop one gang of Jokerz from robbing an antique magic shop. They are from Star City and are the second out of town group to try to vandalize Neo Gotham. <br />
<a name='more'></a>Terry and Bruce are trying to figure out why all these gangs are converging on Neo Gotham when Terry is attacked by yet another group of Clowns, taking a good beating before defeating that group as well and flying off. We’re left with a panel of yet another group putting on clown makeup. The second part of this book has to do with the Justice League Beyond and that story is basically an intro story in the larger arc. It introduces the characters to the reader and lays the plot for a much bigger story that mainly has to do with Cadmus. If you are unaware, the members of the Justice League Beyond are: Warhawk, Big Barda, Green Lantern Kai-Ro, Aquagirl, Superman, Batman (Terry McGinnis), and Micron.<br />
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The storytelling is very similar to an episode of the cartoon series which is not a bad thing and makes for a quick read. The writers do a great job following the series and keeping it going, and the artists also do a fantastic job transferring the series to a comic as well. In my opinion if you were to pick this comic up with no prior knowledge of what’s going on you’d be lost, but if you enjoyed the cartoon series then this book follows suit. There are lots of technical sci-fi storylines and perhaps some darker aspects, and the book is a new spin on the Dark Knight and delves into different aspects that Bruce Wayne Batman didn’t or couldn’t explore.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-48023962246820838192016-03-25T06:23:00.001-07:002016-03-26T15:57:13.089-07:00REVIEW: Humalien #1 - 3Created, written and illustrated by J. Adam Farster<br />
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Review: Will Dubbeld<br />
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Because preordering 20 lbs of comics weekly isn't enough, I'll always browse the newsstand at my LCS (<a href="http://www.bctcomics.com/" target="_blank">Books, Comics, and Things</a> in Ft. Wayne, IN plug plug plug). A trip or two ago I spied the first 3 issues of a book called <i>Humalien</i>.<br />
<br />
"Dafuq is this?” I asked the clerk, intrigued by the Saturday Morning Cartoon cover art.<br />
<br />
He'd not read the book, and told me "some guy brought it in and asked if we would put it on the shelf."<br />
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I'm paraphrasing here, but that's pretty much how it went down. A bold Indie creator hawking his nerd-wares door-to-door at all comic shops in his path, or that's how I imagined it, anyway.<br />
<br />
I initially passed on the comic, wandering around and hoping I'd spy some hidden back issue gem or discounted tpb. As I readied myself for checkout I thought, "Ah, screw it. Imma buy this guy's Indie book."<br />
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BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT INDIE BOOKS.<br />
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I grabbed all 3 issues, briefly paged through 'em, and home we went.<br />
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Cracking issue 1 immediately introduces our hero, an electrokinetic young man named Ed and the first page tells you he pretty well fits the Brash Youth mold we all know and love. He tussles with some robots that reminded me of a less-beakey version of the flying Bio-Dredd from Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, and we're off to the races.<br />
<br />
You guys remember that show? No?<br />
Fine . . .<br />
<br />
Ed is rescued by a roguish alien named Plato and one robot-smashing escape later we start to get a feel for the book's direction. Ed is a cloned human created by three Evil Overlords called The Trinity for what I can only presume to be Nefarious Intentions. Ed was liberated from his cloning tank by a resistance of some sorts whose members, aside from Plato, include a Nervous Little Sidekick fellow named Kuhl and a gunslinging Sexy Purple Alien Girl.<br />
The Trinity doesn't let this slide and sends a mysterious tough guy called The Executioner to collect Ed. <br />
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The next couple issues detail Ed's rescue from The Trinity's cloning lab, a great robot fight or two, and the introduction of Wyl, who fills our Grizzled Old Badass role. Issue 3 confoundingly left me with a cliffhanger, but the ride there is worth it.<br />
<br />
<i>Humalien</i> is almost the perfect science fiction comic. It certainly isn't pretentious, hitting all the beats you would expect from a sci-fi book, and certainly isn't shy about embracing the genre archetypes. It reads like episodes of a 22-minute television show, making for an almost too-quick read, but maintains a steady cadence from issue to issue. It's very Star Warsy in the way we're rooting for a small, scrappy band of outlaws tear-assing around and sticking it to The Man whilst shooting laser guns and cracking wise. This is in no way a detriment and frankly is a breath of fresh air in a world of mega-events, pretentious highbrow comics, and the slowly creeping return of gritty '90s-style books.<br />
<br />
Farster's art is, as previously mentioned, Saturday Morning Cartoony and reminded me quite a bit of Genndy Tartakovsky or perhaps Jhonen Vasquez art. There isn't really a comic art style that equates. J. Adam isn't trying for a photo-realistic book or aping Jim Lee's hyper-detailed work, he's drawing a damn funnybook and oughtta be proud.<br />
<br />
Issues 1-3 are available from <a href="http://www.humaliencomic.com/" target="_blank">humaliencomic.com</a> and the best way to ensure an issue 4 is to buy this book. Indie comics cost dollar bills and usually creators can only afford to squeak out 1, maybe 2 books annually. Projects like this need readership support and the support of brick-and-mortar shops. Ask your LCS real nice, and perhaps they'll order some copies for the newsstand. <br />
I'll be waiting.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-64880317338701188742016-03-18T07:05:00.002-07:002016-03-26T16:01:42.239-07:00REVIEW: Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Creators: Batman: Bob Kane w/ Bill Finger<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Story: James Tynion IV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Art and Cover: Freddie E Williams II<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Colors: Jeremy Colwell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Review: Daniel Simpson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfJyrcEtNVk/VuwLOV7aaWI/AAAAAAAABkw/SHFK3j64p4cdxSYLeN3zpdpB9e2YcZcew/s1600/BatmanTeenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1-1-600x923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfJyrcEtNVk/VuwLOV7aaWI/AAAAAAAABkw/SHFK3j64p4cdxSYLeN3zpdpB9e2YcZcew/s320/BatmanTeenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1-1-600x923.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since I was
eight years old but I have just in the last few years begun to appreciate
Batman. I've always enjoyed his rogue gallery and all its complexities but I
never enjoyed the character as a whole. </span><i style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">,
published by both DC comics and IDW publishing, is the first of a six part
story arc that has the Dark Knight meeting the totally awesome foursome from
New York.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I opted to give it a shot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story starts out with ninjas surrounding scientists. Already
you know what that means...the boys in green flash in and take out the ninjas. Little
do you realize that this isn't the actual beginning of the story. Oh, no, it’s
just the teaser page and everything that has happened up ‘til now is just one
of the scientists recounting the event to none other than Batman himself. The
story itself is as you would expect for an intro: slow going and doesn't really
address why or how the lean green teens ended up in Gotham City. It does, however,
introduce Killer Croc as one of what I'm sure will be many Batman villain
cameos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a very interesting mix of both comics’ styles, being both
light and dark with the colors somewhat muted. The fight scenes (‘cause lets be
honest that's what this comic is all about) are in general either very short,
as in the scene where Shredder confronts the Bat, or rather anti-climatic, as
in the fight between the Turtles and Killer Croc. The artwork as a whole is
very good, although I question the Batmobile redesign.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would hope in the following issues they address how the
universes combined or crossed over or however it works out for them, but I
think James Tynion IV has a very interesting story here. If it progresses the
way it began to flow then this will be, in my humble opinion, one the better
story arcs I've read in awhile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As many crossovers are usually a two comic deal,
and writers have to cram everything into two books, I believe that with a six
book story arc this will definitely become an awesome story. The story is
lacking some of the humor you would except from the Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, but it does have its moments. I mean, come on, you can’t have
wisecracking teenage mutants without a few jokes here and there and even with
Batman you can’t be totally non-humorous. All in all it’s a good book as number
ones go and there are so many places it can go. Hopefully it goes to those
places and we, the readers, get an awesome graphic novel out of the deal.
Honestly though, this is just my take on it as a fan of comics and of both of
these character sets and I am very pleased that it doesn't pander to one audience
or the other.</span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-9695768908136989442016-03-11T10:38:00.001-08:002016-03-11T10:38:45.650-08:00REVIEW: Wraithborn Redux #1<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Story
& Script: Marcia Chen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Story
& Pencils: Joe Benitez<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inks: Joe Weems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Colors: Studio F., Mike Garcia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Letters: Comicraft, Michael Heisler<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Review: Art Bee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zy4PYTflFHQ/VuMQplEnIrI/AAAAAAAABkE/jMiyiR0d7-glMn-Tf_AqG1TbW23BRVuxg/s1600/WraithbornRedux1Cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zy4PYTflFHQ/VuMQplEnIrI/AAAAAAAABkE/jMiyiR0d7-glMn-Tf_AqG1TbW23BRVuxg/s320/WraithbornRedux1Cover.JPG" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
week when I went to pick up the comics in my folder at my LCS, I found a
strange new title therein. <i>Wraithborn Redux #1</i> captured my curiosity instantly.
The cover and summary on the back were amazingly done and captivating. Even
though that was enough, when I opened the cover to the first page one of the
best looking pages ever met my eyes. There is a scene drawn with just about the
best image of the moon I have EVER seen. I will warn you there are some
spoilers in here, but most of this is given away in the summary on the back
cover anyway. Trust me; this will not detract from your enjoyment of this
remarkable comic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
I read this, my thoughts immediately went to Spawn, by Todd McFarlane. As
complementary as I am intending this statement, it reminds me so much of Spawn,
and yet, this story is completely its own. Marcia Chen and Joe Benitez have put a
lot of work and thought into the main character, Melanie Moore, as shown in the
story structure in the first issue.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
story is broken down into four sections. The first section is set in the
present time with Melanie fighting some demon and explaining she was imbued
with the power of the wraithborn to protect the innocent. The second section
flashes back to Melanie during the day when she is given the power of the
wraithborn giving us a glimpse of this timid, weak, and sweet young lady, which
is a vast contrast to what we saw in the first section. The third section
whisks us halfway around the world to see Brother Valin of the Zanshin as he is
prepared to receive the wraithborn from its current wielder, Aegeus. The fourth
section shows us Aegeus has a change of plans with the wraithborn when his path
crosses with Melanie’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading
this comic had me very excited. It is very easy to fall in love Melanie even
though some of her methods and views really are a little on the dark side. Even
though Valin is only briefly introduced, I feel he has been fleshed out as much
as Melanie and I can’t wait to see more of him in the second issue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All
of this brings me to the artwork. All I can say is WOW! This has been one of
the most visually appealing comics that have come home with me over the last
two years. The details alone are enough to make your eyes fall out and roll
across the floor. I already mentioned the page with the moon, but another image
that made me linger on it was page seven, panel one, at the top of the page.
This panel is done all in shades of green with such an incredible detail that
commands attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On
the back cover there is a small passage about this comic, and I will quote it
here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"<i>Wraithborn
Redux</i> is a special revised edition of the original <i>Wraithborn</i> series published
by DC Comics, with new and edited scenes by the series’ creators, Marcia Chen
(writer) and Joe Benitez (artist)."</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
comic has been published by Benitez Productions, Joe Benitez’s own company, and
he has a bombshell on his hands here. Even though I never did read the original
DC title, I am glad he had the intelligence and resolve to pursue this project
on his own. Please support these creators and read this comic series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-10706963085487530612016-03-06T11:22:00.000-08:002016-03-07T10:59:30.574-08:00REVIEW: Power Man and Iron Fist #1 & Spider-Man #1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b>Power Man and Iron Fist #1</b></u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Writer: David Walker</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Artist: Sanford Greene</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Color Artist: Lee Loughridge</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Letterer: Clayton Cowles</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Review: Cody “Madman” Miller</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’m sure most comic book fans have at least read
one(probably more) comic involving Luke Cage or Iron Fist, and chances are good
that they were defending their comicdom tag-team heavyweight championship
belts. As far as team ups go you’d be hard pressed to find a more capable and
iconic super-duo. They’re right up there with pb&j . . . lasting. I enjoyed many
a Power Man and Iron Fist in my youth, so pulling this book was a no brainer.
I’m more of an Iron Fist fan than a passenger on the Luke Cage (he doesn’t like
to be called Power Man for some reason, so we’ll respect that) bandwagon. I
guess in my mind I’d rather have a super, glowing, kung fu grip then
unbreakable skin and no neck. Hadouken!!!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All in all, a great first issue. Throughout the whole book
Cage keeps adamantly reassuring everyone who asks if the Heroes for Hire are
back in business that they are not. Obviously Cage is full of shit and I’m so
happy he is.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Highlights in no particular order are; the boys get in a
scrap with Tombstone and his merry crew over a magical necklace, Jessica Jones,
Black Mariah. The dialogue was very “Tarantino” with a dab of “Seinfeld”. Huge
fan of Greene's artwork in this book, with the exception of
Tombstone . . . definitely the worst interpretation of Tombstone ever. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All in all I’m pleased with book and give it an 8/10.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b>Spider-Man #1</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Writer: Brian Michael Bendis</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Artist: Sara Pichelli</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Inking assist: Gaetano</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Color: Justin Ponsor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Review: Cody “Madman” Miller</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YqO8sQFfRKc/Vt3PhRHAj-I/AAAAAAAABjc/1KBb5cCqAHU/s1600/12833454_1244070712287169_1144345290_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YqO8sQFfRKc/Vt3PhRHAj-I/AAAAAAAABjc/1KBb5cCqAHU/s320/12833454_1244070712287169_1144345290_n.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was among the mob of torch-wielding True Believers cued up
to burn the Ultimate lines’ bridge when Marvel killed the Ultimate Peter
Parker. I was weaned on Late-80s Spider-Man (In my eyes the classic
Spider-Man.) so, believe you me, even though it was just “the other Spider-Man”
I wanted none of it. It was personal. THEN! They wanted me to accept this new
guy Miles as a “better option” than PBP?!!! Hell no. Not happening. I wanted no
part of this Ultimate business anymore…ever. So of course I bought every issue
of <i>Ultimate Spider-Man</i> and of the next incarnation Miles Morales: Spider-Man. I
couldn’t stop really, it was that good. Bendis and <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #252525;">artist</span> Sara
Pichelli were killing it with Miles. I was genuinely worried for him following
the <i>Spider-Verse/Secret Wars</i> mess. Marvel had a stable full of new Spider-Toys,
so would Miles unceremoniously ride off into the proverbial sunset? Obviously
not, because here we are.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I must say this first issue continued the precedent of
righteousness and doesn’t disappoint as Miles struggles with life as his double
identity starts to catch up with him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Highlights
include: Shocker, Kangaroo, and Blackheart beat down the Avengers, Miles picks
up Caps shield and beats Blackheart straight back to Hell, Blackheart promises
he’ll be back, and as usual the Skottie Young variant cover is fantastic.</span></span></span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-22016761613485423492016-02-26T19:15:00.000-08:002016-02-26T19:16:30.809-08:00Review: The Eltingville Club<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">By Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer<br />
<br />
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWepYko8DHk/VtEUgqleLtI/AAAAAAAABiE/Mc5bwWTSxjY/s1600/12743619_10207385271123729_4039271928305803798_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWepYko8DHk/VtEUgqleLtI/AAAAAAAABiE/Mc5bwWTSxjY/s320/12743619_10207385271123729_4039271928305803798_n.jpg" width="225" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I can't recall my first encounter with <i>The Eltingville Club</i>, but I think
it was long enough ago that MTV was still relevant. I couldn't tell
you where or in what book, but the strip always stuck with me.
Oft-forgotten, but always lurking in the back of my brain as a
cautionary tale of sorts. Every knee-jerk, rabid fanboy reaction I'm
tempted to make is tempered by images of Evan Dorkin's comic about the
trollish, ugly side of fandom.<br />
<br />
<i>The Eltingville Club</i> tells the tale of Bill, Josh, Jerry, and Pete, a
quartet of teen fanboys embroiled in the world of comics, role-playing
games, horror films, and a myriad of other facets of nerdery. They're
full of geek-culture quotes, arcane trivia, and the very venom of the
worst of fan culture. Arguments, visceral insult, fisticuffs, the odd
arson, and all around horrible behavior categorize the meetings and
day-to-day goings on of the club and the behavior is cringeworthy. This
is the archetypical fanboy behavior that mainstream culture mocked for
so many years and drove great portions of nerds back into the parents
basement from whence they came. This is the ugly side of fandom turned
up to 11.<br />
<br />
Part satire, part commentary,<i> The Eltingville Club</i> really is quite
humorous in the way that it makes you second guess some of your own nerd
behavior, be it gate-keeping or any other flavor of elitist behavior.
It'll keep you looking over your proverbial shoulder for that bad, bad,
fan hiding inside.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<br />
Or at least it should.<br />
<br />
Sacred cows are slain left and right, and fans of Dorkin's other work
will feel right at home. Admittedly, Milk & Cheese springs foremost
to mind, but that's probably because both strips are bleak, wickedly
funny, and almost self-loathing. As an added bonus, thin-skinned fans
are almost certainly to find offense somewhere in this book. Even I was a
bit taken aback when the book took a shot at Peter Cushing, entirely
due to my personal bias.<br />
<br />
An afterword by Dorkin tells the origin story of <i>The Eltingville Club</i>,
born out of hate-mail that rabid fanboys send to artists, writers,
editors and the rest of the lot. The club exemplifies the worst we have
to offer, with the exception of Gamergaters, and the author explains
that this collection is the Eltingville Club's swansong.<br />
You see, it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Spend any amount of
time amongst anonymous Internet nerd fandom and you'll find the worst we
have to offer. Horrible, judgmental little stoats of human beings
engaged in all manner of verbal abuse directed towards creators and each
other. Given that climate, there's no more need for an Eltingville Club
comic. I can log on to Twitter and see it unfold in real time.<br />
<br />
That said, Dorkin's book is excellent. Funny in ways it shouldn't be,
hopefully The Eltingville Club gets under your skin a bit and maybe
keeps you a bit more on the straight and narrow. <br />
<br />
The art is phenomenal Indy work, which sounds pretentious as hell, but
it sure ain't mainstream art. The layouts are eye catching and reminded
me of Underground books from the 60s-70s, as well as some earlier
small-press comics. <br />
<br />
All said, I'd recommend this collection to any responsible comic fan. You'd be doing yourself a disservice in not reading.<br />
If nothing else, you'll have a laugh at the asshole fanboys in <i>The
Eltingville Club</i> and remember not to be an asshole out here in the real
world.</span>The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-6543395069336402732016-02-20T07:56:00.002-08:002016-02-20T07:56:44.801-08:00REVIEW: Badger #1<div role="list" tabindex="-1">
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Story: Mike Baron<br />
Artwork: Jim Fern<br />
Colors: Paul Mounts<br />
Review: Art Bee<br />
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At our LCBS we look at various comics,recently stacked on the shelves,
in hopes of one enticing us to pick it up and cough up some cash to
escort it home. Let that sink in for a minute...does that sound an
awful lot like prostitution? Last week I paid money to purchase Badger
#1, published by Devils Due/1First Comics. The cover looked great and
the artwork looked really good when I flipped through it.<br />
<br />
The main character in this comic is named Norbert Sykes. As cliché as it
sounds, he has multiple personality disorder and enlists as a dog
handler in the army. Seriously, when I picked up this comic and read the
brief introduction inside the front cover, my thoughts went straight to
this being a funny comic. That thought was like me wanting to see palm
trees in Quebec. They are just not there (unless they are plastic)! As I
read this comic, many times I kept thinking about the missed comedic
opportunities.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Rather than taking the comedic approach, Mike Baron took the serious
angle as he warped us through the backstory of this colorful character. I
truly mean that. Sykes is a great creation, but these guys essentially
took a sports engine and dropped it into a Pinto.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
Horrible story + great character = bored reader</div>
<br />
The artwork is good. The cover, by Val Mayerik, is very striking. It
caught my eye from several feet away, much like the aforementioned
prostitutes standing on the sidewalk. Once I began reading and actually
looking at the artwork, reality set in. Jim Fern does a good job with
the lines and details, but it is not great work in my opinion. What
makes the artwork so eye catching is the colors. Paul Mounts is
stupendously awesome with his use of colors and shading. Many panels
would look just drab and coloring book quality before Mounts gets ahold
of it and makes it POP! If this guy was a tattoo artist, I would pay him
for an entire back piece.<br />
<br />
Many times we pass by various new titles as we walk the comic store. I
hope you are all giving them a chance when you can. I do periodically,
and it has about a 50% rate of discovering something good. Regardless,
we need to support our artists and writers. My recommendation would be
for this comic to be left on the shelf and the creators to review their
approach with this character. Paul Mounts needs more work! I want to see
his name more in comics.
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The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-75385524186824274452016-02-13T15:01:00.003-08:002016-02-13T15:01:42.675-08:00REVIEW: God is Dead #47<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Main story writer: Mike Costa<br />
Main story art: Emiliano Urdinoia<br />
Backup story writer: Dan Wickline<br />
Backup story art: Michael DiPascale<br />
Review: Will Dubbeld<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U0e0hvUAlTE/Vr-1gN-_iMI/AAAAAAAABgg/JFPzW0Akpc0/s1600/DEC151062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U0e0hvUAlTE/Vr-1gN-_iMI/AAAAAAAABgg/JFPzW0Akpc0/s320/DEC151062.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
I have mixed feelings about this book, and publisher Avatar Press in general.
On one hand, <i>God is Dead</i> and Avatar Press deliver no-holds-barred mature
content, leaving nothing taboo and giving creators an outlet for stories the
Big Two wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.<br />
Wielded by Plastic Man or something.<br />
On the other hand, the books are often outlets for pure, unadulterated
depravity. I sometimes feel like I should be buying these comics from some
shady individual in the back alley behind a seedy porn theater. I also
sometimes feel like I need a shower after reading.<br />
<br />
That said, an alarming number of Avatar books, from Providence to Über, are on
my monthly pull list. Maybe it's the weird little gorehound that's inside of
me, the one who loves Lucio Fulci films and <i>Garbage Pail Kids</i>, or maybe I'm
just a bit off-kilter, but I keep reading. 47 damn issues deep and I still keep
reading . . .<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<i>God is Dead</i> was originally scribed by Jonathan Hickman and was based around the
premise of gods from myth and legend returning from obscurity and taking over
the world. Mankind suffered, fought back, sought godhood, and generally
wallowed in defeat after defeat. After Hickman's run God is Dead just went
further and further down the rabbit hole. Or off the rails, I'm not entirely
sure.<br />
<br />
In the story arcs following, the book got bloodier, more exploitative, and
gains and loses cohesion depending on the issue. I've seen Thor and Zeus and
Satan and a myriad of other mythological figures wreak havoc on mankind and
their fellow gods so much, it's pretty much old hat at this point. There have
been some interesting angles with the Australian Aboriginal dreamtime and the
death/rebirth of the universe (I think . . . that plotline was lost on me a bit),
but mostly we're exposed to a retread of god-on-human-on-god atrocity that
sometimes borders on rapey torture-porn.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<br />
The current issue maintains the status quo, as a hit squad made up of Thor,
Janus, Satan and a few other horrible gods attack the Silver City of Heaven and
slaughter a host of angels and God (The Judeo-Christian God) himself.<br />
The assault ends with the implication that Satan sodomizes Janus because he's
got a "huge hard-on and nowhere to put it!"<br />
<br />
To quote.<br />
<br />
We then jump to our heroes (term used loosely) who gain entry into a TV.
studio, kill an anchorman, and hijack the broadcast in order to save the world.<br />
They infiltrate the news station by having our female protagonist spread her
cheeks and press her ladybits against the window. No lie.<br />
<br />
I use the term hero and protagonist very loosely, almost ironically, because
with few exceptions every character in the book is a horrible person. Or god.
There's only varying degrees of characters who are slightly less horrible than
the other guy, relegating them to protagonist role. Anyone earnestly good is
quickly killed or turns heel, be they god or mortal.<br />
<br />
The book closes with a backup story about a man seeking revenge on ancient
Welsh goddesses for murdering his family. Not to be outdone as a mere backup
story, our hero shoots a dragon and slits a naked woman's throat as a sacrifice
to Poseidon.<br />
<br />
I can't really recommend this book to anyone, but in the same breath I can't
really condemn it either.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Because I keep buying the damn thing. It falls in that niche that feeds the
reader's Id, assaulting the eyes with a cavalcade of sex, gore, violence, foul
language and nudity.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
I'm not sure if it's some deep-seated insecurity or some darker psychological
flaw, but I keep buying these damn things. They must appeal to me in the same
way Grindhouse movies, circus sideshows, and death metal does.<br />
<br />
I got hugged enough as a child, so that couldn't be it . . . <br />
<br />
In any case, <i>God is Dead</i> and some of its Avatar ilk will continue appearing in
my pullbox, but I won't recommend any of them with the possible exception of
Über. Showering gouts of blood aside, Über is a fairly well researched comic
about superhuman weapons in WWII.<br />
<i>God is Dead</i>, on the other hand, will serve to fill only your desire for equal
amounts of gratuitous violence and nudity.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Avatar Press may be branching out from the norm, but most of those branches
bear pretty low-hanging fruit.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<![endif]-->The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-68685481887726209862016-01-31T06:38:00.000-08:002016-02-12T17:59:07.986-08:00REVIEW: Swamp Thing #1 (of 6)Writer: Len Wein<br />
Illustrator: Kelley Jones<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEnXVBENuRs/Vr3ue-rRiNI/AAAAAAAABeA/JOqkKyleBRA/s1600/st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEnXVBENuRs/Vr3ue-rRiNI/AAAAAAAABeA/JOqkKyleBRA/s320/st.jpg" /></a></div>
C'mon, you guys, like I WASN'T gonna review a new <i>Swamp Thing</i> book? Especially one by Len Wein and Kelley Jones?<br />
Please . . . <br />
<br />
I know you all look forward to hearing about my love of giant vegetable monsters, and this certainly is no exception. Although I lean more towards Man-Thing in my adoration of shambling mounds, ol' Swampy was my first love. You've all heard the the tale of one of my very first comics, <i>The Saga of the Swamp Thing no.14</i>. This thing exploded my 7-year old brain and there was no going back. It introduced me to both Phantom Stranger and Swamp Thing, a deeper level of storytelling, wonderful art, and that sweet, sweet newsprint back issue smell.<br />
You know the one.<br />
<br />
Swamp Thing's latest foray into print punched me right in the nostalgia with an opening page that paints the portrait of our title character's Louisiana bayou home.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
An excerpt, if I may:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"This is bayou country. Here, in the beating heart of Mother Nature's most unruly child, noises carry . . ." </blockquote>
<br />
These are our opening words in the book, and you can give me that all day long. Poetry, ladies and gentlemen. The narrative goes on about herons, bullfrogs, freight trains and gators, and the last panel of page one hits us with the figure of Swamp Thing standing stoically amidst cypress trees and rain an unmoving sentinel. An obligatory retread of our hero's origin story for the uninitiated follows, and then we're off to the races.<br />
<br />
Right after that we switch gears and get treated to a rasslin' match between Swamp Thing and an alligator. Phenomenal. <br />
<br />
It's revealed, post-gator, that Swamp Thing has cut ties with the Parliament of Trees and living unfettered from the elemental spirit-lords. I'll not get into the Parliament of Trees too much, as I tend to go on as it is, but it's a collective of plant elementals dedicated to preserving Earth's flora.<br />
Trust me, it's a lot deeper and more cerebral than that, but the description will suffice . . .<br />
<br />
After a bit of exposition who should show but POW! PHANTOM STRANGER!<br />
I may have cheered a bit at this reveal. What are the odds that the guest star of my first ever Swamp Thing book would turn up in the new series?<br />
Rhetorical question. Never tell me the odds.<br />
Stranger admonishes Swamp Thing's recent behavior a bit then disappears as he is wont to do. A quicksand rescue later and the root of the miniseries is exposed.<br />
<br />
A zombie college student.<br />
<br />
Sweet Jesus, I've got the vapors . . .<br />
<br />
This left turn originates from Crowley College at the edge of the swamp and brought to us courtesy of Professor Crisp's Life After Death class. <br />
We just got real Lovecraftian, and I approve so highly it's ridiculous. Prof. Crisp is even shown holding a copy of "Der Vermis Mystris" and HP Lovecraft fans rejoiced.<br />
<br />
Swamp Thing agrees to rid Crowley College of this reanimated college boy and when they finally meet there's a full-pager that reveals the zombiefied antagonist, the unfortunately named Lazlo Wormwood. Bathed in moonlight, Zombie Lazlo and Swamp Thing clash, and I'm fairly certain I can die happy.<br />
<br />
There's clues leading us to believe more than meets the eye with ol' Lazlo, as is to be expected, and we almost certainly haven't seen the last of Phantom Stranger. I can only hope to see Swamp Thing's ladylove Abigail Arcane at some point. Hell, I wouldn't be disappointed if perpetual antagonist Anton Arcane poked his head out of the muck at some point.<br />
<br />
To be frank, I was committed to this series before issue 1 hit the stands. I'm a horrendously easy sell with characters near and dear to my heart and it'd take an extremely poorly crafted Swamp Thing book to turn me away.<br />
This is not that book.<br />
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Kelley Jones' art is phenomenal as always, further cementing him in my mind as an illustrator in the same caliber as Ploog, Wrightson, Kaluta, & Dringenberg. Fans of his work will not be disappointed and those unfamiliar with it will soon be welcome fans.<br />
And Len Wein, hot damn! Co-creator of Swamp Thing back in the driver's seat with his monster. The writing seemed like it was ripped right out of the pages of a '70s-'80s adventure/horror comic and flooded this reader with a sense of calm amidst a storm of flotsam that so frequently finds its way onto the shelf. Sublime work from the co-creator of Wolverine and the scribe of Giant-Size <i>X-Men #1</i>. Say what you will, but that book was a game changer and Len Wein is carrying weight of his legacy well. <br />
This Swamp Thing book isn't likely to change the landscape of comics, but it sure as hell isn't a filler book either.<br />
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My only writing gripe has to do with some of Swamp Thing's dialogue. My preferred incarnation of the titular character leans towards the inwardly brooding, introspective, angst-ridden defender of the Green, and the dialogue in issue 1 was a bit too glib for my taste. Lines like, "you try to take a piece of me, friend, all you're going to get is a mouthful of muck!", and, "you're a lot of dead weight, Frank, just don't be dead!" served to disconnect me a bit from the moody atmosphere of what is traditionally a horror comic. A bit too super-heroic for my taste.<br />
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I have absolutely no idea what version of continuity this series inhabits in DCs post-Convergence universe, and I don't much care. It may end up building off canon established in the Nu52 Swamp Thing, it may follow the tradition of the older series, or it may be an entirely new monster in and of itself. <br />
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Hopefully this miniseries will springboard into an ongoing, as Swamp Thing is the spice of life that DC could currently use to offset its current bland flavor. Dozens of <i>Superman</i> and <i>Batman</i> comics are all well and good, but more engaging books like <i>All-Star Western</i> and <i>Swamp Thing</i> are oft overlooked pieces that remain vital to keep a company flourishing.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-74872475343640041572016-01-22T06:37:00.000-08:002016-02-12T18:00:04.136-08:00Madman Three-In-OneThat’s right, three comics in one review. No extra charge.<br />
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<b>Rocket Raccoon and Groot #1</b><br />
Writer: Skottie Young<br />
Artist: Filipe Andrade<br />
Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu<br />
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry<br />
Review: Madman<br />
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Groot, Rocket, Skottie Young . . . doesn’t matter. Sign me up. A “resistance is futile” moment if I’ve ever had one. I’m talking “almost forcing me to ‘woot’ on social media” level. Doesn’t matter, Marvel hit a home run with this brain child right here. Two of the most popular Marvel characters in the biz currently . . . I think they even made a movie with these characters. Doesn’t matter, Skottie Young gets my dollar every time with his epic variant covers. I don’t always variant cover, but when I do, I Skottie Young all day. Doesn’t matter, not even a little bit.<br />
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Highlights include: the new Guardians of the Galaxy, a mouse-like Rocket named Pockets, a Groot-like bushman named Shrub (and yes he “I am Shrub”s), Lord Rakzoon, and a feral graffitied Groot. Doesn’t matter.<br />
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<b>Spider-man/Deadpool</b><br />
Writer: Joe Kelly<br />
Penciler: Ed McGuinness<br />
Inker: Mark Morales<br />
Color: Jason Keith<br />
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I’ve been waiting for this book for so long. Some people don’t care for Spider-Man’s corny one liners, but I am proudly not one of those people. Some people don’t care for Deadpool’s diarrhea of the mouth, but again I am not one of those people. In fact those very things are probably . . . not probably definitely what endears the aforementioned characters to my heart above all others. Not only can both aforementioned characters save the world, but they can lay down some serious burns, especially Deadpool. I counted no less then 3 dick jokes in this very issue. It was weird . . . Spider-Man and dick jokes aren’t a usual combo. So if you’re one of those people who hate on Spidey, or Deadpool, or move to China, you should steer clear of this title...unless you’re seeking redemption for treading on Stan Lee’s prodigal son. Back and forth one liners all day long and all issue long.<br />
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Highlights include but are not limited to: Spidey-n-Deadpool in Hell, Deadpool steals brains from the morgue and injects them into Mindless ones, dick jokes, M.O.D.O.K gets a sponge bath, Bamfs, Hydro-Man, and levitating kittens. Definitely, no matter how ridiculous it is, this is my favorite comic I’ve read all year. <br />
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I got the variant edition with the above cover, and it’s certainly my favorite non-Skottie Young cover of the year so far. Simply because it made me laugh out loud . . . oh, that silly Deadpool . . . Super excited for the future of this title.<br />
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<b>Deadpool issue Tres Punto Uno</b><br />
Escritores: Brian Posehn y Gerry Duggan<br />
Ilustrador: Scott Koblish<br />
Colorista: Nick Filardi<br />
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This entire issue is in Spanish. Apparently it’s all about a Mexican version of Deadpool. My brain started hurting trying to figure out what was going on, my Spanish being not so good…except the bad words, I’m solid there. The one word in English was corndogs. I’m not upset about this minor quirk, in fact I’m happy to have forked over the $4 because it’s hilariously annoying. <br />
Probably the first and last time I give Marvel props for being A-holes. <br />
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The cover for this bad boy is in my top 10 Deadpool covers for sure . . . well it would be if I had such a list.<br />
Highlights include . . . Mexican Deadpool uses a machete instead of a katana, Deadpool rides a leopard-printed chopper with a side car. A leopard rides in the side car, the leopard wears aviator goggles. Until I find a translator that’s pretty much all I can tell ya. The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-89108788131155938632016-01-20T06:35:00.000-08:002016-02-13T15:47:48.163-08:00REVIEW: Self Storage #3 (of 6)Written & Created by: Clay McLeod Chapman<br />
Illustrated by: Matt Timson<br />
Review: Will Dubbeld<br />
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451 Media is a relatively new (to me, anyway) Indy company that popped up on my radar a couple of months ago. They had a few pretty enticing sales pitches, so I went ahead and ordered a few titles, including one about a werewolf biker gang, one telling the tale of a Dirty Dozen WWII squad of monsters a la the old DC Creature Commando books, and a whimsical little ditty called <i>Self Storage</i>.<br />
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<i>Self Storage</i> hooked me on its initial premise of a hapless schmuck who opens a storage locker and finds sequestered within a zombie girl.<br />
Best. <i>Storage Wars</i>. Ever. <br />
A down on his luck local yokel hoping to hit paydirt in an abandoned locker and finding a zombie girl is a pretty damn original pitch as far as I'm concerned, and I was in for the long haul.<br />
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I was a bit concerned upon buying the first issue was a curious credit attributing one Michael Bay as a company founder. I didn't check to see if it was the selfsame director of dubious quality, but the books thus far have not been inundated with explosions or vaguely racist toilet bowl humor so it may be a coincidence.<br />
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<i>Self Storage</i> is thus far a great comic, but here I am three issues in and very little story progression seems to have happened. A few zombie fatalities have occurred, protagonist and his redneck buddies attempt to prevent zombie fatalities, protagonist attempts to discover the secret of the locker-zombie whilst dealing with troubles at home, so on and so forth, but halfway through the series and we haven't tread too much ground. Hopefully this doesn't lead to a rushed feeling in the second half. As an interesting aside, the story is almost inferring that the male lead is falling for the zombie girl. I may be reading too deeply between the lines here, but this is potentially a great creepy/gross angle.<br />
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<i>Self Storage</i>'s art is good, although it's the type of black and white line art that one almost expects from a zombie comic these days (or the days of yore, for that matter). <i>Deadworld</i>, <i>The Walking Dead</i>, <i>The Dead</i> . . .<br />
There really seems to be a theme here . . .<br />
Not to say the art isn't good, because it is. It just falls into that Indy horror comic comfort zone.<br />
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3 issues down, 3 to go, and I'm in for the long haul. We're getting close to uncovering the secrets of naked-zombie-locker-girl, or at least some of her secrets, and curiosity drives me to finish this series.<br />
If nothing else it's fun to see the redneck supporting cast shooting paintball guns at shambling zombies and ineffectually attempting to wrangle the undead.<br />
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Is it the best zombie horror comic I've read? Nah, but it's pretty good and throws in enough off-kilter humor to skew the equilibrium of the book away from the archetypical rank-and-file zombie book. It's unlikely to blow your mind, but it's certainly worth a look.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-8028344252745502992016-01-08T06:33:00.000-08:002016-02-13T15:47:34.996-08:00REVIEW: Lone Wolf 2100 #1Script: Eric Heisserer<br />
Line Art: Miguel Sepulveda<br />
Colors: Javier Mena<br />
Lettering: Nate Piekos of Blambot<br />
Review: Art Bee<br />
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In the 1990s the vampire movement started with the pale undead invading books, movies, comics, and other entertainment media, By the time we hit 2005 most of the public would throw up in their mouths at the mention of anything else featuring the creatures. At the turn of the century we saw the trend move to zombies, and as fun as it has been, I feel zombies are well on their down turn. Alas, we are struck with yet another zombie comic.<br />
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In <i>Lone Wolf 2100 #1</i> we are faced with zombies of a different color. A virus infects millions of people worldwide changing them into people-eating mutations called "thralls". Look, I get that the writer is trying to be different, but you cannot put wool on a dog and call it a sheep. It is still a dog!<br />
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It really amused me when I saw printed on the inside cover “inspired by the manga Lone Wolf and Cub”. They didn’t vary from the title much, so does that mean the story is almost the same as well? Is this plagiarism? I haven’t read the manga title, but it makes me wonder.<br />
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Anyway, this comic just feels like <i>The Walking Dead</i> sprinkled with <i>The Last Samurai</i>. The pandemic hits the world hard, but there is one little girl with the immunity factor that will make one man, business, or government very wealthy. This little girl is guarded by an android samurai named Itto, whom is just loved by the writer. Seriously, I hate it when the creator is preoccupied with forcing the reader to fall in love with the awesomeness of their character creation. If the character is created well, no effort is needed to make the reader fall in love with them.<br />
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The artwork is great, hands down the books pinnacle. Every panel is a masterpiece in my opinion. One of the best features of the artwork is the grainy detail in some of the backgrounds, explosions, and gore. This sounds bad, but it’s not. This effect is deliberate and successful in creating a focused dynamic in the scenes that creates a projection in the panel, so I have to raise my glass to Sepulveda and Mena.<br />
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There was a moment on page 5 depicting a full page drawing of the child and Itto surrounded by thralls. My thought was since all of the thralls, which there ware about two dozen, looked identical, did that mean the virus changes women into men and makes all people the same height and body size? That thought was scrapped a few pages later when there was a panel showing some variety in the thralls, so I let it go.<br />
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My recommendation would be to leave this one on the shelf, folks. Even though the artwork is great, this comic is more like a camp fire. Looking at it is nice, but you don’t want to touch it. It would be nice to see the horror trend to move on to something else now: mummies, witchy-whats, animated back scratchers, anything. Why do writers in certain genres have to get so narrow minded?The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-36868830560204796662016-01-01T06:32:00.000-08:002016-02-13T15:48:17.052-08:00REVIEW: Strange Tales #110"Dr. Strange Master of Black Magic"<br />
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Story: Stan Lee<br />
Art: Steve Ditko<br />
Review: Will Dubbeld<br />
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The cinematic juggernaut that is Marvel drops a Dr. Strange movie on the world later this year, and we've seen our first photos of star Benedict Cummerbund, or whatever the chap's name is. I'm ecstatic over this, as a longtime fan of Stephen Strange, because Marvel hasn't struck out yet with a movie (although Thor 2, Iron Man 3, and Avengers 2 were by no means home runs) and I cannot wait to see the big-screen adaptation. We've already had a hilariously mediocre Dr. Strange telefilm in the late 1970s and I'm sure he's had some animated series guest spots, but until now the best motion picture version of Doctor Strange was the early '90s Full Moon Entertainment masterpiece <i>Dr. Mordrid</i>.<br />
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Which is a great movie. I don't care what anyone says.<br />
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In any case, it seems fair that we take a look at the good Doctor's first appearance courtesy of a Masterworks collection recently bequeathed upon me by my loving girlfriend for Christmas.<br />
3 cheers for nerd girlfriends . . . <br />
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Doctor Strange first appeared, aptly enough, in a comic called <i>Strange Tales</i>.<br />
Serendipitous, really.<br />
At the time, <i>Strange Tales</i> was pretty well entrenched as a Human Torch solo book with throwaway backup stories. Strange had the fortune of serving as one of these supporting features and introduced readers to a hitherto unexplored facet of the fledgeling Marvel Universe.<br />
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Although his first appearance only net an underwhelming 5 pages, Dr. Strange was welcomed to the world in masterfully done piece by Lee/Ditko in their respective prime. I was surprised the story didn't contain Lee's usual bombastic dialogue and prose, instead presenting the reader with a rather proper (albeit very 1960s . . .) occult suspense short.<br />
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Admittedly, I hadn't read this story prior. I'd read the origin story of Dr. Strange, which I'd lived my whole life thinking was his 1st appearance. Woe betide the unaware . . .<br />
All (well, most, anyway) of the familiar Dr. Strange staples also mark their maiden appearance in <i>Strange Tales #110</i>. His Greenwich Village Sanctum Sanctorum, trusty manservant Wong, Amulet of Agamotto, Ancient One, and perennial foe Nightmare all show up in this five-pager that follows a hapless fellow who is plagued by restless sleep and seeks out Doctor Strange's aid. Astral travel, betrayal, and a splash of mystical combat follow, masterfully illustrated by Steve Ditko in his element and on his A-game.<br />
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1960s Marvel is understandably not for everyone. The dated and somewhat frankly hokey scripting turns off a lot of whippersnappers with no damn respect for their roots, but those folks deserve all the mid-'90s garbage books they can eat. There really is a cavalcade, a wellspring, of incredible storytelling to be found in these old books. Some of the dialogue and art may seem a bit primitive by today's standards but that in no way should deter modern readers from exploring these <i>Strange Tales</i> of yesteryear.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-42508649350081990192015-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:002016-02-13T15:48:43.626-08:00REVIEW: Daredevil #1Writer: Charles Soule<br />
Artist: Ron Garney<br />
Color Artist: Matt Milla<br />
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When Marvel first dropped the list of their post <i>Secret Wars</i> books I had a real hard time caring about most of them. Not for any particular reason really. I knew right off that there was no way I could afford every book with their four to five dollar price tags, but that’s nothing new as Marvel can really crank the titles out. The <i>X-Men</i> and <i>Avengers</i> books pretty much went straight to the chopping block along with the new <i>Inhumans</i> book; I did however pull one super-team book in <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>. Great decision by the way. I passed on the new <i>Hulk</i> book too because the title makes me cringe and honestly if it’s not Banner, then I don’t care. I went with the new <i>Venom</i> book because I love Venom and I don’t care who is wearing it. I added <i>Carnage</i> because . . . Carnage. <i>Howard the Duck</i>’s novelty ran out for me after a couple issues of his last series. All the Spidey related books were a given except the <i>Web Warriors</i> because no . . . just no. There were a few wildcards that I was undecided on . . . <i>Black Knight</i>, <i>Hercules</i>, <i>Scarlet Witch</i>, and <i>Daredevil</i>. The owner of my LCS sold me on <i>Hercules</i>. I decided to go with <i>Daredevil</i>. I’ve always liked the character, and it had been a good while since I had read any DD books. Turns out my wildcard picks were spot on. I’ve found <i>Hercules</i> pretty entertaining and DD didn’t disappoint me either. <br />
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Now like I mentioned it has been many moons since I have read a substantial run of <i>Daredevil</i>, so my knowledge is somewhat limited as to his recent goings on. In this here first issue Daredevil is up against a guy named Tenfingers . . . apparently some kind of typical Asian inspired cult leader type guy. First thought of Tenfingers was meh, but the more I stared at his 10 fingered hands the more I wanted to know about this chap.<br />
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The other thing that’s probably worth mentioning is DD has a side kick of sorts named Blindspot. Blindspot has some type of badass super suit that allows him to turn invisible. I like sidekicks, I can’t help it. I’s pretty sure he’s playin’ both sides though. The last page of the book is this Asian guy standing behind Tenfingers, and he says something to the effect of, “You got it bossman”, directed at Tenfingers. After DD and Blindside bust some skulls earlier in the issue Blindside says the exact same thing to Daredevil. So either this first arc is planning on highlighting sidekicks, or that’s the same guy playing both sides. Blindside never revealed his face but he most definitely had an Asian vibe about him.<br />
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All in all I really liked this book and will continue to read it. The story has me hooked already, and the art is fantastic. I am a big fan of darker art, and Matt Milla delivers big time on the use of color and at times ‘textures” to represent how Murdock “sees” the world. I’d buy the next issue just to look at the fancy drawings even if the writing sucked . . . but it doesn’t. <i>Daredevil</i> gets a passing grade.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-49863545267820543472015-12-11T06:29:00.000-08:002016-02-13T15:49:19.651-08:00REVIEW: Hercules #1 & 2Writer: Dan Abnett<br />
Artist: Luke Ross<br />
Review: William R. Davis, Jr.<br />
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Marvel is pretty self aware of where their flagship titles fall, and so apparently is writer Dan Abnett. Hercules is now an immortal with an all-new identity crisis, attempting to find a way to be useful in a modern world that has forgotten the heroes and villains of mythology. It is an interesting take on the superhero, but not a new one. Silver Surfer was well known for dealing in self-reflective, philosophical meanderings, and Geoff Johns recently wrote some issues of <i>Aquaman</i> that poked fun at his B-List status.<br />
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Personally, my taste in comics would prefer the high fantasy approach, but I may be the only one I know still reading <i>Conan the Barbarian</i>, so there’s that. Take comfort in knowing that Peter Jackson is still doing his best to ruin the genre for everyone, and <i>Thor</i> in its current format is completely unrecognizable from the <i>Thor</i> we all used to know and love. It could still be the mainstream answer we’re looking for if the trend of re-launching entire universes continues to sell books, but there are a lot of “What ifs” and speculation in that scenario. Dark Horse is the only publisher with a pure contribution, doing a great job with the <i>Conan</i> series despite lack of readership. It should be able to whet your appetite a bit until the inevitable great resurgence. Perchance to dream, anyway. Current comic book fantasy genre prognosis: dismal. <br />
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The blending of smartphones and mythology is the current strategy to get <i>Hercules</i> past twelve issues in the modern market. It will not survive eight. This is not due to weak writing or art, but more the self-imposed restrictions placed on the title by the creative team. While a modern re-imagining of a classic character can Lazarus the shit out of a series, I don’t see how tongue-in-cheek jokes about WIFI and blogging are taking things to the next level. Every mythological element was completely shoe-horned into the plot — an afterthought in a book that should be the focus. <br />
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The second issue of <i>Hercules</i> was actually much more enjoyable than the very strong first issue in many respects. The theme of personal redemption after making tabloid covers for all of the wrong reasons is engaging, and a nice throwback to the Bob Layton era. The jokes work, but in order to maintain an extended run it’s going to take something greater than a comedic Dinner with Andre starring Hercules the immortal demigod. To really make this a must read, more than a soupcon of fantasy elements are needed in order to make a sustainable, and long-lived run. <br />
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After establishing the setting and characters there is a chance that future arcs will become more substantive and appealing to the core audience. In a Marvel universe churning out deathless Avengers and X-Men books, a great Hercules title could hit the sweet spot for burnt out old heads such as myself. At this point in my comic book reading career, I’m not sure if I’m the voice of reason, or a senile, shirtless geriatric wearing stained trousers and suspenders, shooing kids off of my lawn. <br />
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I enjoyed this book despite the pessimistic overtones of this doom and gloom review. Luke Ross puts forth art that you would expect from the largest publisher in American comics. No ground is being broken here, but it is not the work of an amateur, and far from a distraction. <i>Hercules</i> is a clever, well crafted read that does not rely on gimmicks. The irreverence is the most appealing part as of yet, but hopefully Dan Abnett can channel some <i>Resurrection Man</i> (underrated!) and give us what we really need, something other than the status quo from a publisher that just issued a press release trumpeting a new mega event called <i>Civil War 2</i>. I guess taking an extra five minutes to come up with a catchy title to slap on their tired, recycled content was too taxing. Let me be the first one to piss in their Cheerios. Have a well deserved ‘fuck you’ in advance from me, Marvel.The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5202409874642377518.post-31206540241560157442015-12-04T06:28:00.000-08:002016-02-12T06:28:38.402-08:00REVIEW: Huck #1Writer: Mark Millar<br />
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque<br />
Colorist: Dave McCaig<br />
Review: Art Bee<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--GUmDtdo3s8/Vr3sBng-MFI/AAAAAAAABdE/DhoMc1ZqseU/s1600/huck-01-image-comics-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--GUmDtdo3s8/Vr3sBng-MFI/AAAAAAAABdE/DhoMc1ZqseU/s320/huck-01-image-comics-2015.jpg" /></a></div>Lately it seems I can’t find a bad comic to review. December is no exception, but I will try to find one next time to smear against the wall. This month I was thrown a title from Image called <em>Huck</em>. The name made several images race through my head and almost all of them involved some back-country character. Guess what? My dart is in the green circle. That’s right, a dart board reference. <br />
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This is nothing less than a jewel from Mark Millar and is one of his classic hook-setting first issues. Please don’t think me a fan boy of Millar. I respect his work, but many of his efforts do not get deposited in my comic folder each month. <em>Huck</em> might just be the first one to which I will subscribe (let the hate mail commence, artbee@thehammondcomicsblog.com). <a name='more'></a><br />
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<em>Huck</em> is about a simple orphan grown into a super-human boy scout. Granted, this sounds a bit cliché, but it is delivered in a very unique flavor. The entire first issue is designed to make you just fall in love with Huck. He is all about doing one good deed a day, and no task is too small. Seriously! The opening scene is him traversing a great distance to dive to the bottom of the ocean and dig a young lady’s lost necklace from the garbage. I could have done him one better by buying her a new one and promptly asking her to dinner. Anyway, with the joking aside, Millar has done an awesome job enamoring this character to the reader, especially with the integration of current events. Nice time capsule, Millar (see <a href="http://www.thehammondcomicsblog.com/backissues/thcb-swap-meet/" target="_blank">Hammond Swap Meet</a>). <br />
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The artwork is spectacular, which is what I would expect from Rafael Albuquerque. McCaig really brings the artwork to life with his use of color and shading in the panels. This is one time I would almost think the colorist is outshining the artist. The best panel in my opinion is on page nine. Huck is shown as an infant abandoned in a basket. The two artists truly created a great piece in this one panel. My suggestion would be to blow it up and sell the prints, guys.<br />
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There have been several fantastic new series to come out of Image in the last few years, and I feel this could be one of the lasting ones if Millar really puts the time into it. He is pretty busy with his other titles. He did write the column at the end of the book and made an announcement for a writing and artist showcase featuring people who have never been published. Check this out at his website, <a href="http://www.millarworld.tv/articles/want-a-break-as-a-comic-book-writer-or-artist-you-re-in-luck" target="_blank">MillarWorld</a>. <br />
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Also be sure to check out The Hammond Comics Blog’s newest creation, <a href="http://backissues.thehammondcomicsblog.com/" target="_blank">Tales from the Dollar Box</a>, which just launched. This will be where we at the HCB will post reviews of old comics every Wednesday. <br />
The Hammond Comics Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07086411836294684721noreply@blogger.com0