Long Beach Comic Con Saturday Wrap Up

Long Beach isn't the biggest con of the year, but it still manages to do a lot of things that the big cons do. Such as having panels and special guest oh and of course the Zombie Walk. What's a Zombie Walk you ask? What am I the internet? At any rate I was drove down to Long Beach yesterday for the Saturday show and this was the first convention I attended that I actually had to pay, I'll be honest I've been getting a press pass every chance I can get. So it was a new experience for me to shell out hard earned cash for a con I was unsure about and I have to say the $25 bucks was a bit too steep for what they delivered. Sure there were actual company booths such as Boom! and Aspen and it was great to see that most of the floor was artist alley, but I think Tom Hutchison from Big Dog Ink said it best, "People come here with blinders on, they know what they want and that's about it." Really I could describe it any better.

It was a treat from me for a couple of reasons though and I'm glad I went even if it was just for a couple of publishers. The first was the creator of Zombie Tramp which was a book I had picked up from the Long Beach Comic Expo earlier in the year. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had a new issue out after such a short time. If you missed a chance to pick up the first trade of the new issue then you're in luck because he will be at this Saturday's Comikaze Expo. I'm not going to go into a lot about the book since I think it deserves a full review so look for that very soon.

Next I popped over to Triptych Book's booth and chat with the creators about Trigger Men and they kicked me the the third issue to read. We had a great chat about indie publishing and they filled me in about their panel they were hosting at the end of the day. Other than talking about their book and next projects that they're working on we had a good talk about my article "Comics Should Be Less Mainstream" which lead to many other things. If you want the full scoop check out Episode 3 of the podcast and again look for a review of Trigger Men #3. If you need a refresh on Trigger Men then you can check out my video review for the second issue here.

The last publisher I chatted with was Big Dog Ink. Again I cover a lot of what we talked about on the podcast, but let me say that this is the second con I've met them at and they have really grown as a company. Talking to Tom (Writer/Publisher) he said that they've found their fan base and know what they're looking to do now and I think that's important for any publisher. I saw a couple of people stop by the booth while we were talking and this one guy in particular had a "who farted" look on his face. I wanted to shake him and tell him to pick up Critter (I picked up issue 3 and 4 for review by the way),Wicked West or something and he just ended up touching everything and leaving. I guess you can't win them all, but I will say that when someone is at a booth talking to the creators people or more likely to come up and check it out so who knows... maybe he went back and bought something later.

As for the rest of the con I saw some amateur wrestling from NWA, I couldn't stay for all of it since I didn't want to miss Triptych's panel. It was strange at first to see it there, but the crowd really responded and that was cool to see. There wasn't a lot of people, but they got into it and supported it which had to be really good for those guys. Some other tid bits was a book I reviewed after Wonder Con was there, but unfortunately still only had the first issue. I hope by the next con circuit they'll at least have the second issue out since I'm still very interested in the series, it's called Holli Hoxxx if you're interested and you should check it out so they'll keep moving on the next issue.

Well Kevin and I might hit the last con of the year next week and if we do then... we'll talk about it. Otherwise it was an interesting con, not the best I've been too, but it was interesting.

Episode 3: Halloween Stuff N' Things

Hey it's Halloween ya' bastards! So while you sit at home stuffing razor blades into apples to give to trick-or-treaters, you can listen to this weeks installment of the Comic Bastard Mother Fuckin' podcast!. We talk about things that scare the hell out of us in and out of the comic book world and Dustin goes to the LBC Comic Con! FUN!

Review: Trigger Men #1

One of my favorite things about cons is walking around and picking up independently published comics and giving them a chance. Well Wonder Con was no exception and I picked up several books that were pretty good. I don’t tend to ignore the sales pitch and just pick up random books which usually confuses the creator/seller as they think I know something about the story and that’s why I’m getting the book; but really I’m just treating it as if it were a new title arriving in my comic shop. I look at it a little and then make a decision on if I should buy it or not. That was the case with Trigger Men. On Sunday, I stopped by the booth and met the artist and writer and even had them sign my copy of the first issue containing the first two chapters of the story. The booth was in a great location and always seemed to have someone stopping by and checking out the book. So I too was sucked in… and I’m really glad I did stopped by.

The two chapters have two very distinct voices. The first part of the story is very serious and emotional at times with hints of comedy, whereas the second is light hearted and downright hilarious at times. The story itself is about two high school friends that after being the nerds in school grow up to be hit men aka Trigger Men. That is until something happens in one of their lives that makes him quit the business. However, when his best friend says he needs him for one more job he gets sucked back into the world of the Trigger Man. It’s this one last hit that is the catalyst of the story. Nothing seems right about it, nothing goes right with it and now they have to get themselves out of a jam.

At its core the story is hit-men kill a target that puts them on the radar, they need to find a way out and have a timeline to keep if their plan is going to work. What is different is the angle of them being high school friends and acting practically like brothers. Because of this and their younger age, they have killer dialog that is completely relatable to anyone that’s had a friend that can’t do anything right. At times both characters sound a lot alike, but this is forgivable since they have a long history with each other. In general I was very impressed with writer Mike Anderson’s story and dialog.

What I really enjoyed about the book (almost as much as the pizza at a Chinese restaurant bit) was the art. The book is in all black and white with grey tones and looks fantastic. I’m a big fan of black and white comics and when they look this good, it’s hard not to like it. Artist Heather Brinesh is great at drawing guns which seems stupid to say, but I’ve seen a lot of poorly drawn guns in comics so it’s refreshing to see an artist that can draw them in a variety of poses and keep them consistent looking. Brinesh also manages to make several long (but enjoyable) conversations interesting to look at while reading. The variety of angles to the scenes gives it a very cinematic look and works with the story as well.

I was very happy with my purchase of Trigger Men and I’m looking forward to the next chapters/issues. The book is the first release from Triptych Books which was created so that the creators could do comics the way they wanted and frankly I think it works. It breaks from the comic formula in a good way. If you want to try the book out you can pick it up through Drivethru Comics which will give you a watermarked pdf to read. You can find all their details at Triptychbooks.com which will tell you all the ways to contact them as well. This was definitely one of my favorite books that I picked up at Wonder Con so give it a shot if you like stories about professional killers in a dark comedy setting.

Score: 5/5

Review: Holli Hoxxx #1

This beautifully colored book caught my eye instantly while walking down artist alley. In fact it was next door to Hey Derby Girl. The gorgeous Holli Hoxxx seems like it would be a typical male fantasy book that dominated the market in the 90’s, but it’s not at all. Don’t let the beautiful Holli Hoxxx fool you into thinking that she’s just another pretty face because she’s far from it. The setting of the book is Manhattan, New York and the world has no gravity. Yes you read that right, the world has no gravity. One company Tycho has created shoes that give you gravity… as long as your battery is charged. For years Tycho has been the number one company on the planet as they develop newer shoes with better batteries and keep literally everyone from falling off of the planet. A rival company Newton has developed objects that restore gravity to your home or office so that you don’t have to have your shoes on all the time. Now, Newton seeks to restore gravity to Manhattan which is essentially a floating city anchored by bridges and power lines.

So who is Holli Hoxxx and what does she have to do with anything? Well she used to be the spokes model for Tycho and was basically the biggest celebrity profile on the planet. She disappeared one day and woke up from being buried in a hill side. Holli isn’t quite normal as you can guess from being stuck underground for years and still able to wake up.

The book is very interesting. The story is a simple concept, but the writers take it down the most logical path they can and the things they think of along the way are very creative. The concept of the boots adds a lot to the story as there are deaths related to the boots and really they are the only choice for anyone that wants to live a normal life. The flip side is Newton, as people are afraid of this new company that is making a hug promise trying to land the floating city. People are afraid that if the power goes out that the “Newton’s” will stop working and the entire city will float off the face of the planet.

The art work is gorgeous and amazingly colored with just water colors. I really enjoyed how well the story and art worked with each other. The art looks influenced by Heavy Metal, in that futuristic nitty gritty sort of way and not in the drugs, sex and aliens way. Really what sets this book apart from the rest is the art and the coloring. This is the equivalent of a double sized issue and that means there are plenty of panels and all of them are stunning and you would never guess actual water colors.

The story wasn’t mind-blowing to be honest, but it was interesting, catchy, great to read and downright beautiful to look at. I could have used more character development and fewer characters for the first issue. The ground work is out of the way now though and hopefully the second issue will have a much easier time focusing on just the story and what’s happened to the world while Holli’s been away.

The book is written by Austin and Adam Tinius with wonderful art from Stefano Cardoselli. The second issue is under way which I’m definitely interested in picking up already. The world set forth in Holli Hoxxx is interesting and very different then what I’ve seen in comics, add the fact that the art is beautiful and a treat to look at and you have a really well published indie comic that deserves some recognition for its talents.

Score: 4/5

Writers: Austin Tinius & Adam Tinius Artist: Stefano Cardoselli Publisher: Bogus Publishing Price: $5.00

Review: Zombie Tramp - Vol. 1

This past weekend I stopped by the Long Beach Comic Expo and basically used it as an opportunity to grab a bunch of very indie comics. One of those that caught my attention was Zombie Tramp. It seemed a little strange to have a sexy zombie so I took the bait and bought the graphic novel containing all three issues of the series. In hindsight I kind of wish I had bought the singles instead, but oh well the price was right. Zombie Tramp starts off with a man paying for a couple of prostitutes from a pimp. He shuffles the ladies into a van and something inside begins going to town on them brutally murdering them. Next we meet the star of the story one Janey Belle, the highest paid call girl in all of California. Tonight she is accompanying an up and coming actor to an award ceremony. We meet our third main character as she’s transported from prison. She's very well endowed in the chest region and as such her prison jump suit pops open; as the driver of the bus stares at her chest he crashes the bus. Xula (the prisoner) escapes from wreck and kills the two guards.

Janey wakes up to discover that her “madam” has been arrested. She runs to visit him in the police station since he’s the only person to ever take care of her. Once there George the “madam” asks Janey to sleep with the corrupt police officer that busted him. Janey agrees since she’d do anything for George and prepares for the night that will change her life forever. The night she’s bitten by the cop’s zombie son and transformed into the first zombie to keep its soul.

The back of this book has one of the most accurate descriptions I’ve ever read for a comic/book and goes a little something like this: Warning! Zombie Tramp contains: Sexy Zombie outfits, strong Trampy language and gory Undead action! And for once the description isn’t exaggerating. The outfits are sexy and the action is gory as hell!

Writer/artist Dan Mendoza has a great style that is very similar to Josh Howard’s, but with a wider range of skills. His art style is a bit cartoony, but it’s still very mature and works with the story. In fact I think that Mendoza’s style has room for growth and variety whereas Howard’s is locked in for the rest of his career. Personally I liked the art more than the story and really enjoyed one section in particular where Mendoza left the rough pencil lines in for the characters so that you could see the entire penciling process. It reminded me a lot of Hero Bear and the Kid which had a very unique style.

The story was decent; nothing amazing but it was memorable and tried something different with the zombie genre which I have never seen. Obviously with this type of book it’s not really about a long arc of character development, but Mendoza does manage to develop the character of Janey from an abused and used call girl to a confident free willed creature of the undead. It’s funny in the sense that she needed to die and become a zombie to gain confidence and break the shackles of her former life. The story seems like it would be goofy and it does have a few cornball moments, but for the most part it’s a pretty serious story from beginning to end and you really end up liking Janey and rooting for her.

This book probably isn’t for everyone, but if you like zombies then pick it up. The cover also describes it as a grind-house adventure and I’d say that’s pretty accurate. The art has “adult” theme’s so I wouldn’t hand this to a little kid, but if you’re a comic vet or old enough to hand nudity then I recommend checking it out. The book is released by Super Real Graphics and you can pick it up from their site here. You can also buy the single issue's linked from Dan’s site here.

Score: 4/5

Artistic Friday: Good Stuff Edition

It's Friday, I'm behind on reviewing so here you go art! Some good stuff this week and some funny stuff so enjoy!

Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #1

What do I follow up with after stating that "Comics Should Be Less Mainstream"? Why a review of Marvel's newest #1 book Wolverine and the X-Men! Here's the thing about this book, it has so much production value to it that it can't fail and its really not that bad. Mostly because it's ripping off television and film and has a well known artist, but at the end of the day no matter how much I didn't like it, it still wasn't that bad compared to other books out there. So why nit-pick at it so much? Well it's kind of like that band that's trying to put on a show rather than just being genuine and that's what it boils down to, it didn't seem genuine. The book begins with Headmaster Logan talking to Xavier about the school and basically recapping the recent events. The big problem here is that Xavier gives him the dumbest advice almost to mock himself and he the worst of it is, he talks to Logan as if he were a child. Apparently Jason Aaron didn't get the memo that Logan is older than dirt and that makes him older than Charles which Charles already knew.After this touching scene in which Charles gets hit up for money, Wolverine gets ready for the first day of school and a city inspection. Why they would do both at the same time is illogical to me, but I'm sure it was needed for the plot to be interesting! Its a perfect example of convenient story telling, that is to say something that is written into the story so that something else can happen but has no real grounds to be there.

As Logan heads to the front of the building he passes by the love of his life's statue of Jean Grey, which appears to be made out of solid gold... didn't he just ask Xavier for money? Now the inspection goes as such: everything that can go wrong of course does go wrong. Think of any Sci-fi show that's every had a "visit" episode in which the characters must prove that they belong there and that's 100% where the script from this issue came from. I think the recently cancelled Eureka is the best example that I can think of at the moment, but its literally something you've seen over and over before. Especially when the stop and talk to the character that's supposed to make them look good, but ends up making things worse (Que the studio audience for laughter) Now I have to point out that city inspectors are quite possible Emma and Scott checking out the school, I'm sure it will come up or be revealed in a later issue but I'm calling it right now. It's too obvious with the way the story is.

As you can probably tell me issue is with the writing. I'm just not seeing what everyone loves in Jason Aaron's writing unless no one else can see that its stacked with influences from other popular art forms. This is the man that broke up the X-Men with "Skeet Skeet Schism" and that book was serious in tone and feel. It's wasn't any good, but still it was very serious and the ending (I only read the beginning and end by the way) left Cyclops and Logan very distant. Yet here the same writer has Logan making jokes about going back to Utopia and down playing the situation of a young girl killing someone which was the breaking point for Logan leaving in the first place. Can we get some consistency in character please?

In general this book wasn't the exciting first issue it should have been. This book is kicking off new uncharted waters for the X-Men and really it felt like a return to the same old, same old. Even the art was flat and uninspired and very reminiscent of Bachalo's first run on Uncanny X-Men. I don't know what's wrong with the X-Men, but they seem very broken and this new direction of "Blue and Gold" 90's throw back isn't fixing anything. If Marvel really wants this to succeed they should probably have ended all of the other X-Men books such as: X-Men, X-Men: Legacy and Astonishing X-Men. These titles alone weaken the infrastructure that they're trying to rebuild and leaves the whole "Blue and Gold" concept just as out of touch as this book is. Also, can someone tell me which team this is? Blue or Gold?

Score: 2/5

Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Chris Bachalo Publisher: Marvel Comics

Why in The Hell Not? Superhero Socks

Hey ya' comic book loving hipster, need some Superhero socks? Sure ya' do. Soak it up below! Not sure why the Wonder Woman pair has a cape attached to them? What they should have is a pair of PANTS attached to them! Get it, pants?! Because everyone hated her new look with pants!! Pfft, whatever.

Buy 'em  HERE and HERE

Review: Star Wars - Crimson Empire III #1

Usually I don't review Star Wars books because I find them to be either very boring or not very good. Also I've moved on from being a Star Wars fan due to the fact that among other things, Lucas' addiction to technology that forces him to re-release movies ever decade now. "Hey Lucas, technology is always changing so stop raping the past and put out something new!" That's what I would yell to him if I saw him downing some Haagen Dazs across the street. At any rate I haven't enjoyed a Star Wars comic book since Legacy, until now. Crimson Empire III is the third and final chapter in the much beloved Crimson Empire series. Right off the bat I'll say that I haven't read the first two volumes, but I understand that this is the same team that created the series from the very beginning and frankly they should have created a whole lot more in the Star Wars Universe.The story follows Luke, Leia and Kir Kanos which is the surviving clone body of Palpatine! Let me just say that Kanos is ten times more bad ass then Palpy ever was. His opening scene is of him turning in a bounty and being tipped off that there are guests waiting for him in his hotel room. He crashes through the window of the room and basically empties the room... after he kills everyone.

The gist of the story is that the "Empire" is now in the position of the rebels. Hiding in secret as they rebuild their army and lie in wait to take on the Alliance. They obviously want Kanos to lead them since he's Palpy's clone and all, but I have a feeling this bad ass bounty hunter doesn't give a damn. Luke and Leia's side of the story wasn't super interesting, but it also was bogged down with useless dialog or anything like that. I can't say that I care either way about their stories, but I'm super interested to see what happens with Kanos.

The art is good and some of the best that's been on a Star Wars book for sure. That being said there were some awkward moments with close ups on the characters faces that were strange. For the most part the art resembled the actors they were based off and were aged appropriately, but the close ups gave them all lazy dead eyes that I wasn't a fan of.

There's a reason this series is loved so much and it's because it's pretty damn good. Does it capture the feel of the movies? No and I'm really thankful for that. It does capture the world and the ideas that made the movies interesting to begin with, but what's really good is to see the characters that started everything treated with respect and to follow their stories again. I think that's perhaps why its so good is that its not trying to make me care about some new character who has some family tie.

Score: 3/5

Review: TMNT #3

So the veil has been pulled back a lot more with this issue,it didn’t wow me as much as I would have liked but it was still a really good issue. This is quickly becoming the book I look forward to each month and will gladly track down from comic shop to comic shop to find a copy. Seriously shop owners, pull your heads out of your asses and order enough of this book. I know that DC is doing stuff with their entire line, but this Ninja Turtles… of the Teenage Mutant variety. Hopefully this month I’ll find it in the first shop I go to. I know that last rant was a bit off track, but it has relevance, this series is very popular and even admits the DC reboot it was selling out and becoming hard to find.

This issue wraps up the mystery surrounding Raph’s disappearance and it’s not because he got hot headed and left. Nope, it is much cooler and will set up the dynamic of the Turtles in a very different way. I’m going to try and remain as spoiler free as possible, because it is such a big reveal issue. Aside from getting 100% of the origin story for the Turtles you also get a decent amount of back story for Casey Jones as well. It’s also very different from past versions, but it’s very modernized and fitting. My only grip is that it’s a bit too chatty and Casey seems to open up to Raph way too quickly.

There was no April in this issue and the lab element was definitely missing from the issue, but overall the story was very solid and continues to revitalize the Turtles. I know that it’s also premiering as a new cartoon (Soon? Already? I don’t know), but for me personally all I need is this comic book. That doesn’t mean that if the book takes a turn for the worst that I’ll blindly support it as I would in my youth, but you can bet that it’ll take a lot to get rid of me.

You have to give IDW credit for really putting out a great product that continues to please and excite the way Turtles has for three months now. Already people are tired of talking about DC and yet the Turtles buzz continues each month. If you’re buying the book then this is definitely a payoff issue that sets the stage for the fourth issue to be even bigger and more action packed. What are you waiting for already, buy the damn book!

Score: 4/5

Review: Abe Sapien - The Devil Does Not Jest #2

I feel like a bit of an idiot after the last review for this series, I kind of thought that it was going to lead to the even that left Abe brain-dead but I guess I missed that series. At any rate this series takes place in the past and is basically just a flashback of a moment highlighting Abe’s endurance and overall will to live. It’s strangely goofier than the last issue which had a very serious tone to it, this issue is very light-hearted and fun in comparison.

When last we left Abe he was being munched on after getting his butt kicked by all kinds of weird shit. He’s awaken by a hallucination or possible the spirit of the writer he idolized. The hallucination tells him to get up and get going as it begins to walk Abe through his life in the house and how he ended up summoning a devil through a portal only to kill it half way through. The devil/demon infected his wife with just a scratch and changed her from a small pet it woman into a huge mass of evil. As Abe gathers the injured Sheriff and listens to the hallucination he runs into the wife… still alive and full of murder. He begins fighting her as the BPRD sends help to check on him.

This review is going to be short and sweet and let me just say it’s worth picking up for the last two pages alone. It’s just a really great character moment between two of the BPRD’s best. Again, there isn’t much to say about the creative team, they deliver a great product that is well polished and a joy to read. If you’re into the Hellboy-verse then pick it up and if you’re not then go pick up another issue telling some superheroes origin for the fourth time. Like I said, short and sweet.

Score: 3/5

Review: I.C.E. #3

You know what I love about this book? When I finish it, I want to talk about it right away. It invokes such strong emotion that I can’t help but talk about it and share my joy with others and that’s really what a lot of us are looking for in our comic books. Sadly we don’t get too many of those from the larger companies. But here in the indie territory you’ll find gems like I.C.E. with main characters that may or may not look a lot like a wrestler that loved to cook. Is I.C.E. a book full of deep thoughts that leaves you digesting the story that changed your life? No, but it is the story that you quote a line from the next time you see your friends or chuckle out loud when you see an amazing action sequence. It’s not going to blow your mind with the story, but it is going to make you remember it.

This issue, if you couldn’t tell from the cover, sees the death of one of Cole’s team. Quick, look at the cover again and you should be able to figure it out. At any rate the sequence of events that gets us to the cover image is full of explosions and action. Cole obviously dodges the bazooka that was aimed at him at the end of the last issue. Alli on the other hand narrowly escapes her car blowing up and only due to a warning message from Cole. Benno has a different experience as he pulls the classic “waiting in the rafters” move and dumps some rounds in his would be attackers. Afterwards the entire team is declared dead to the media to protect them and their families.Cole asks to go after Morales and is told no, which gives him every reason to up and quit and go after him on his own. The issue ends with a great one-liner that sets the stage for the action that’s begging to come in the next issue and frankly I can’t wait.

I don’t have any grips with this issue, I honestly don’t. It tells a story, it has real emotions tied to the characters, the characters even develop a midst all the action and most off all there’s action! What’s there to complain about? This title is vastly becoming the series I will compare all other action books too. The thing I really enjoyed is what I’ve enjoyed from the beginning, the fact that this isn’t a superhero comic and proves that other genres can work in comic form as long as the people creating it know what they’re doing. That’s where comics struggle in other genres, superhero writers suddenly think they can write romance or horror and the same thing happens in reverse. The problem is after so many years of writing one style they can’t break their own formula.Thank God Doug Wagner doesn’t have that problem, because he knocks it out of the park with this issue.

If you missed this series then at least pick it up digitally. The first issue is available through Graphicly and I’m sure the second issue will hit once the third releases, as is the norm. It’s seriously one of the best action comics you’ll read and puts that other book that hogs the entire genre’s name to shame. No one is putting out books like this except 12 Gauge and I hope that they keep on pumping them out!

Score: 5/5

Publisher: 12 Gauge Comics

Cover Battle: Marvel vs. Marvel

We have for you today two covers from Marvel, the first X-Masturbation Avengers: X-Sanction #1 and the second is New Mutants #34 the return of Blink! So... which cover sucks more?

Help me out here, I'm having a hard time telling these chins apart... who's who exactly?

How many times is Blink going to come back into existence? We get it, she's a fan favorite, but stop pussy footing around and just put her in the 616 already and call it good. I swear if she shows up and brings up the fact that she's from an alternate time-line and every shrugs their shoulders and moves on I'm going to start buying and burning copies. Also why is she all butch now? I thought everyone liked her because of her look? God knows it wasn't her personality because she never had one. "Whoa is me, I don't have a timeline anymore." Well you're time line was pretty crappy for you so deal with it.

The winner is?

Yeah that first one wins... fucking hands down. The Blink cover is pretty good and it's mostly the story behind it that's going to suck, but if you remove the costumes from "Big Chin" McGuinness' cover you wouldn't know who was who mostly since they share the exact same frame. If you ask me McGuinness is just a better version of Liefeld, more detail and accurate proportions, but at the end of the day its all just Hulk or Cable that he's drawing.

Aspen Double Header Review: Charismagic #3 and Scourge #5

While writing numerous short reviews for the New 52, I decided that every once in a while I don’t have a whole lot to say about some review books I receive. But I get this nagging urge to at least talk about them even if it’s only for a paragraph. That brings us to this double-header with two Aspen titles let’s get it going!

Scourge #5 – Gotta be honest this book really didn’t do anything different from the last issue. In fact the narration spends a great deal of time with the main character wondering why the hell he’s doing what he’s doing and endangering all of the people in his care. As the reader, I spent the same amount of time wonder the same thing. Why does he need to do this? How does he magically know that if he stops his best friend the “alpha carrier”that everyone else will be okay? And would that really stop the nukes from dropping when they doomsday clock is nearly at midnight? My answer is “no”, but I have a feeling this book is going to say “yes.” In typical fashion of the series, Lobdell throws in some very descriptive narration about killing someone. It’s pretty vivid and little moments like that showcase he’s true talent, but the rest of the book works from his paint-by-numbers formula that he writes all his books with. If you’ve been following the series than it’s worth picking up just so you’re not lost for the last issue. If you for some reason were waiting to pick the book up until now then you should probably not do that since you’ll be completely lost.

Chrismagic #3 – To be honest I haven’t been following this book too much. The concept was interesting, but it also seems like a really big idea to tackle all at once and this issue sort of solidified that for me. There’s the real world, were only a handful of people can do magic. Then there is the void where everyone can do magic. Then there is a group of Watcher-esc people watching all the magic and we haven’t even set up the plot yet. Thankfully the characters are at least fun and interesting, but they tend to make it difficult to take the series seriously. I like Hernandez’s attempt at reintroducing thought bubbles to comics, but I found that everything the characters were thinking to be overly simplified and didn’t add anything to the story. I don’t know about you, but my inner monologue is either close to what I say out-loud or something I would never say out-loud. It’s never me egging myself on, “Go ahead and say it!” I don’t know who says that to themselves, but if you do then…you’ll really dig the thought bubbles then. The art is still really good and has a cool stylized look to it that perfectly fits the story. I don’t think new readers could jump into the series with this issue, but if you’re curious I would recommend picking up the first issues to start with. If you’ve been reading the book already there are some good plot points and character moments in the book worth reading… just don’t egg yourself on okay? Out September 9th!

Well there you have it! A fifty/fifty review with two, fifty/fifty scores that weren’t from DC! I’m sitting on a bunch of other publisher’s books so you’ll probably see more reviews like this. In the meantime swing over to Aspen’s page and let them know what you thought about the books or find out where you can buy them if you’re interested.

Review: Dead Man's Run #0

I tend to do this to myself a lot, I get a book that I’m looking forward to reading and then I sit on the book for either too long or long enough that everyone else is talking about it. Which usually means the book is good… actually 9/10 times it means it’s good or great. Dead Man’s Run is one of those nine. The concept is a jailbreak from prison and Hell is the prison. That’s it, that damn simple, but so very effective.

Aspen loves its zero issues, mostly because it generates interest in the title and has a lower production cost. Add a fifty/fifty cover and you turn a nice profit on the book that amps up the attention for the series. Dead Man’s Run is no exception, but it does something typical Aspen zero issues fail at… it tells one hell of a story.

It also gets the basics of any new series out of the way although I’m sure that several points will be repeated in the first issue; but it gives us the setting, some of the main characters and explains the “rules”that the book is following. For instance the biggest rule being that you can escape from Hell and you can take your possessions with you. Think of the rules like this: If you write a story and make it a point to say over and over that no one can walk-through walls, then have your main character walk-through a wall you need to explain why they broke your rule and even then most people will call bullshit on your story. Dead Man doesn't do that, it lays out the rules and it follows them to a “T”, but ever so subtle.

The story is about a prison break that has nearly reached the surface from Hell. The man in charge of security decides to go inside and stop the riot even after being directed not to. Once inside he sees Hell for what it is and even meets some old friends. But as writer Greg Pak says in the back of the book, Hell is ultimate justice and everyone gets what’s coming to them.

This is a good book and my only grip is that it may overshadow the first issue. It’s short, interesting and beautifully drawn. There is an underlining sense that this comic is being used as a jumping off point for a movie and even if that’s all it is, this is still a great product with a great team assembled. The first issue has its work cut out for it, but you can beat your ass I’ll be there for it.

 

Score: 4/5

Writer: Greg Pak Artist: Tony Parker Publisher: Aspen Comics

Episode 2: NYCC Edition

We're back again and early this week with another edition of Comic Bastards Muther Fuckin' Podcast! This time we talk about my journey to NYCC and then we dive right into Top Cow's Pilot Season where we cover Kevin's review of the The Test and my pending review for The Beauty and a follow up discussion on my "What Happened to Top Cow" article from over the weekend.

What Happened to Top Cow?

It’s “Pilot Season” time again and you know what that means…actually, no you probably don’t know what that means anymore and that’s the problem. See way back in 2007, Top Cow had the great idea of taking comic book pitches and giving them the go ahead for one issue. They wrangled up several creative teams and essential had the fans pick which series was chosen for a continuation. These “pilot” issues where basically used to mark a new season of books at Top Cow. Now each year, sure enough they launch a brand new set of “pilots”and get readers in on the voting. But there is one big reason you won’t care about the new “Pilot Season” this year and that’s that the system is broken, in fact the whole division of Image Comics seems to be broken and I have to wonder how it got this bad. Top Cow was one of the first sub-divisions of Image Comics and it was mainly due to the claims that their talent was being scalped by others within the company. Instead of doing a clean break from Image they stayed on under their own imprint. Now a days it’s common place to have your own imprint at Image and you can look no further than at the newest Image partner Robert Kirkman’s “Skybound” line that houses The Walking Dead and Invincible.Other notable lines used to include Jim Lee’s Wildstorm which was sold off to DC and currently Jim Valentino’s Shadowline; both obviously meet with their failures and successes with the company. With Top Cow, they managed to do something in their universe that few other companies have accomplished and that’s keeping their lore/continuity in order from the get go. The world was rich with titles/characters like the Witchblade and the Darkness which were connected in the same world, but very differently than other comic books. The only time an event from one book would affect the other was when there was a crossover.

But in the last few years and really since the beginning of Artifacts, Top Cow has become less and less of a, well a comic company. Even from “Pilot Seasons” inception, the concept has been plagued with flaws. Mostly notable the delay in getting the follow-up series out after it was picked as a winner. In fact, some winners are still waiting for their follow-up mini-series to happen as is the case with Genius. In the case of the first batch of “pilots” they were all one shots of existing Top Cow characters and the competition was basically to pick which creative team you liked the best. Two winners were picked and Cyblade was the first character to actually get a follow-up series and has since been the only book to have the same creative team to work on the follow-up. Cyblade’s co-winner Velocity wouldn’t receive its series until three years later from a completely different creative team. The sadder part was that the scripts were so delayed that four issue mini-series took nine months to finish.

And that’s why this years “Pilot Season” is a joke. Can you honestly even tell me who won last year? What the book was about or who was working on it? Can you even remember the year before? You can’t because Top Cow can’t ship a book on time or even produce a product to keep up with their self-generated buzz. Last year saw the completion of another “pilot” series Twilight Guardian which was a co-winner in 2008. That’s a full two years after the book was dubbed winner and Top Cow still had the audacity of branding it “Pilot Season Winner” on all the covers.I’m not sure that really helped the book as it’s not a brand you can trust.

The last big example of the “Pilot Season” failure is the “season”in which Robert Kirkman and supposedly Marc Silvestri co-created five new series for fans to vote on: Murderer, Demonic, Stealth, Stellar and Hardcore.Which one did you vote for? If you said any of them then you’re wrong because voting was never held. I don’t know what the point of these books were, maybe they wanted to do some cute little one shots with Image’s newest partner or maybe Kirkman didn’t have enough time in his schedule to take away from ripping off Zombie movies. Either way this “season” was nothing more than putting a broken brand onto Kirkman’s name to sell some issues. Yet here we are again,about to launch into more “pilots” from new creative teams that are probably hoping that they’ll get picked up for a mini or even an ongoing series and I really feel like contacting the creators and telling them just to move on. Even if you do win you’ll just end up waiting two to three years to put your book out and by then Top Cow might not be around anymore.

When I said that Top Cow was broken I meant that they’re circling the toilet and on their way out. This company can’t even put their flagship book out on time. Witchblade is switching creative teams after 150,supposedly. Artifacts marketing said that it was going to change Top Cow forever, but I don’t think that they meant it was going to crumble and stop putting books out on time. Artifacts have been running for over a year now and it still hasn’t even hit 12 issues. In fact it’s become an ongoing series for some crazy reason.

What it boils down to is that Top Cow has a major problem putting books out on time and hasn’t even finished the four to six issue mini-series that it launched earlier this year. If you start adding up all of these problems they’re having in actually putting out product, it makes you wonder how long they plan on being around for. Witchblade is already solicited up to issue 153 on some sites, but it's barely hitting the one book a month as it is.If you actually look at the release dates the series is bouncing between four and six weeks to get an issue out and completely missed one month already this year and may miss October as well.

Even their go-to-guy Ron Marz who has been the architect for the company for the last six years is doing most of his work for DC or Image proper. After all he is the writer of Artifacts and Witchblade and neither series has been meeting its deadlines. But something tells me that he’s only part of the problem and that most of the blame for delays lies with Top Cow.

Now I don’t have a magic ball or even a look at the company’s financials, but when the creator and head of the company is working on the Incredible Hulk rather than helping get its books out on time you have to wonder what the hell is going on with the company. As it stands I would say they’ve got maybe one year left of severally delayed books and special final issues before one of two things happens. 1) The company will be sold off to a competitor and more than likely Marvel will buy them or 2) Image will dissolve the brand and shelf the books or see which other partners want to be in charge of production on them. Either way it will spell the death of the world created.

Again though, I don’t have any hard facts other than what’s glaringly obvious to me about the company’s business practices. I say this as someone who watched companies like Dreamwave shoot up and fall down just as quickly and others have followed since. Just look at Virgin Comics, Devil’s Due and Alias Comics for all the reference you need. All of these companies are pretty similar to Top Cow in size and production and none of them are around anymore (you can argue that Devil’s Due is still doing digital comics, but they’ve yet to actually release one). Whatever is in store for this company is yet to be seen, but I can tell you that I’m not buying any stock in their product or production until something significant changes and I’m not talking about a creative team shake up either.

The New 52: Month 2 – Week 2

This is probably the last one of these I’m going to do, because frankly I’m just not in a rush to talk about DC books anymore. If you want more of mine and Kevin’s thoughts feel free to listen to the podcast where we hash it out about the first round of issues, but frankly I think we all need a break from this for a while. Also I asked for comments and none gave any so I’m assuming that this isn’t a big drawl to the site and that’s okay, I’d rather talk about something else any ways. So let’s do this shit and get one more week of DC out-of-the-way before everyone officially stops caring. Also I’m done scoring them as “Buy” or “Pass”, you’re old enough to decide on your own and you’re probably buying shit to spite me so I’m done fueling your fire.

Green Lantern #2

I like this book more than the last issue, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s really issue 68 and that new readers will probably still have no idea what they’re reading. I like the fact that Sinestro showed Hal that he’s capable of doing more with his ring than just being flashy with it. It was a nice touch and displayed the true power of the ring that often times I think Johns himself forgets while writing the book. The next issue should be pretty decent and if you want to know more about what’s to come check out my Green Lantern coverage from NYCC.

Grifter #2

Even though I can see where he’s going with this, mostly because it’s been done several times before, it’s still very good. In fact I enjoyed this issue a lot more than the first and it’s definitely made the cut in my mind. If you read the first issue there is not much to say other than the story continues down the same path it was on.

Deathstroke #2

I’m not sure I can continue to deal with all of the new villains made up for the re-boot and this issue has the worse one yet. “Carpocalypse”, for those not living in LA, is play on “Carmageddon” which was a weekend in which one of the largest highways in LA was shut down for construction. Both names are stupid, but only one is a cheesy villain that dies in this issue. I like Deathstroke still, but I need to start seeing some more pay off in the story. Having him kill a new villain in each issue is cute, but it’s already getting old.

Resurrection Man #2

I’m surprised that no one had an issue with the female characters in this book considering they’re terrible portrayals of women. I guess if they’re villains they can be skinny and dress like male fantasies and its okay. Otherwise the issue was okay. Still not grabbing me the way I had hoped and I can see the problem with a series like this being able to stay past a year of storylines when the big mystery is revealed and spelled out for everyone. Also “Body Doubles” is a stupid name. DC really needs to hire someone under the age of 40 and over the age of 5 to name their new villains.

Suicide Squad #2

The story is pretty predictable and follows a formula that’s become the norm for the series and it still has a feel similar to The Recruit, but otherwise is okay. I’m not finding myself caring about any of the characters and the writer is trying really hard to give them all “character moments”, but it’s not working. I don’t even care if Deadshot dies at this point. Also the covers with King Shark always have him looking like a reptile rather than a Hammerhead shark. It bugs me a lot… just saying.

Demon Knights #2

Let me just say, no babies died in this book and I was very disappointed by that. Any ways this issue was good, but it had a lot going on and perhaps too many characters introduced in the first issue to be effective here. I liked the book a lot and so far I’m really enjoying the series, but I have the feeling that eventually Cornell is going to give the readers excitement fatigue. That’s when the story constantly increases the excitement from issue to issue until you’re not able to be surprised by what’s happening no matter how shocking. Also I don’t know what he has up his sleeves, but it seems like he’s taking on his major storyline threat a little early. I like the book, but a lot about it scares me and has me worried how long it will be around for.

Mister Terrific #2

Fucking Brainstorm really? What’s his power? Something with his brain? I like the book for the reason that it takes place on the west coast and Mr. T is an interesting character. I didn’t like the whole earthquake thing as it seemed to destroy our hero’s world too soon in the story and I hate the villain. His power is cool, but his look and name are dumb as shit. I’m sticking with this series though; because it sounds like it’s going to get better and I somewhat enjoy it.

Superboy #2

Part of me wants to keep reading this series out of morbid curiosity and the whole Gen 13 angle, but the rest of me is done with this issue. The cover alone is reason enough to stop. How many shark creatures are in the DCnU? Are sharks the new Gorillas? So what happens in this book? People die, characters you don’t care about talk a lot and say things that are boring. Basically I couldn’t finish reading this book fast enough.

Batgirl #2

I hope they kill her. If this is the way Barbara Gordon is going to be written then I hope they just kill her. Don’t even bother putting her in a wheel chair this time, just fucking kill her. This story isn’t worthy of the worst Batman cast member and here it is being slapped on Babs. It’s so cheesy and unbelievable even for comic standards that it’s not funny. I’m done, don’t give a shit, call me when Stephanie is back or when Simone is off the book. Too bad she can only manage to write one mediocre book a month and will have plenty of time to continue on the series. Fucking terrible book and another terrible villain name, the Mirror? really?

Batwoman #2

Maybe it’s just me, but I find Batwoman’s sexuality hard to believe when she talks like a dude and the woman she’s hitting on also talks like a dude. They’re dialog is so sexually aggressive that it surpasses the definition of cheesy. As for the story, I really don’t think Williams knows where he’s going with it now that he’s working solo. The series has yet to do anything other than show woman changing their clothes and beating up random people. In fact I’m not even sure they were beating up criminals as the fights happen in public places. Really I just don’t see how see fits into Gotham and Batman in general. This book probably should have been scrapped with the reboot. -- Well there you have it. If you actually enjoy these reviews you can compare which books I’ve dropped from the first month to now, by reading the previous set of reviews here and here. I might pump out one more these, but if not don’t worry we’ll just review single issues of either really terrible books or really good ones!

Batman's an Old Fart--Because Team COCO Said So!

Review: The Test #1

Looks like Top Cow is back at the “good idea done half-ass” Pilot Season. First out of the gate this season is Matt Hawkins’s The Test. It’s written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal does the art. Sigh, let’s get this over with. A man, David wakes up in a bed in a sweet looking house. As he takes in his surroundings, he’s greeted by a woman on a television that begins to explain (in several different languages) that an orientation will take place outside. David follows her instructions and walks out to the streets. Once outside he encounters a small group of six other people stand in the middle of the street of a pristine neighborhood. The group gives each other “the once over”, as the same woman appears over head on a holographic type of monitor. She begins to explain that the eight of them are fresh out of a forced hibernation sleep and are now in a eco-dome shelter. The reason for all of this is that they been placed here as a backup plan for the human race, due to the world being, toxic, unlivable, war-torn, ect.

So as David and the rest of the survivors digest all of this information; David begins to wander around and remember who he was, where he came from. David attempts to get a feel for his past by looking into his house. He assumes he’s a scientist by the small lab in his garage. Then one of the survivors have an epiphany and states that there are only six of them here so the other two might be somewhere in the neighborhood. Within moments a women from the group comes running from a house due to the rotten smell. David investigates, only to discover a body that is decomposed. Someone rattles off a half ass hypothesis about the body and the state that it is in and that’s how we know her background.(So if I tell you how to grill a burger, I worked at In-and-Out). The group starts to disperse and as David walks away to get cleaned up, he has a quick flashback of his new dome friends in a military setting. He shakes it off and goes on his way.

One of the many problems with Top Cow’s Pilot season is that some of the premises have a small sparkle of interest and nothing more. But if the book you happen to like “wins” you’ll be lucky to even get a mini out of it, let alone a second issue. Regardless, The Test has a small “meh” factor going for it and that’s about it. It has some odd little nuances that come off annoying and rushed. For one, the survivors wake up from a comma but have full movement? It would take a while for the muscles to recover. The woman on the on the video greets everyone in different languages but then continues to speak in English to all of them. If “they” were selected, wouldn’t the organization that selected them know everything about the people? Like what languages they speak. If the survivors use is to repopulate the human race, why set up and elaborate eco-dome and not just harvest their DNA? Why did my interest nose dive into the ground when David’ flashback had some of the survivors in it? That just seemed to force the story down one shit played-out path of storytelling. Oh and don’t even look at the cover after you read the issue because it sinks the story even further into run of the mill bull-shit.

That’s just some of the wacky ups and downs you get when you dip into Top Cow’s pilot season. They always need to go big with the first issue to hook you and make you want more. That is completely understandable but let’s try and loose rushed and half-ass feeling that these books are notorious for.

Score: 1/5