Political, science: Graeme continues 4/8.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 19, 2007

Categories: Reviews

Is it so wrong of me that I’m cursing the fact that I have to, you know, work today, when I’d much rather be sitting in front of C-SPAN watching the Alberto Gonzales testimony? In between all the things I’m supposed to be doing this morning, I’m already checking all my usual news and politics sites to see what he’s said and whether he’s been nailed yet. Even if there’s nothing wrong with (a) wanting to skip work to (b) stay up to date with current affairs, I’m sure that there is definitely something wrong with (c) enjoying Gonzales squirm when presented with his own words and asked to explain them without coming right out and saying “Well, obviously, I…  Read More…

War, huh, etc: Graeme wishes that he wasn’t a survivor of World War III.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 18, 2007

Categories: Reviews

I’m sure that everyone else in the world remembers the sense of unease when DC talked about WORLD WAR III for the first time. There was, if you will, a disturbance in the DC Nerd Force when this four-part-series-all-released-in-one-day was announced – a deep intake of breath at the idea that maybe 52 wasn’t going to get it all done after all, and that they needed four extra comics to tell the story and explain everything that had happened in the missing year. In an effort to try and calm the fanbase, Dan Didio explained that you didn’t have to read any of World War III’s four issues (and, really, where’s the thematic consistency in that? Three issues for World…  Read More…

Gasping towards the finish line: Graeme finishes 4/11 and just in time, too.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 17, 2007

Categories: Reviews

I’m sure that you’ve heard of the concept of saving the best till last, right? Well, this isn’t like that at all. This is more “Saving the completely bland until last,” for the most part, as I present the books I read over the last seven days that I had no strong feelings for one way or another in one big dollop just to get it over with. LONERS #1 (OF 6): I’m undecided on this Runaways spin-off. On the one hand, it’s definitely competently done; CB Cebulski’s script has some nice moments and Karl Moline’s art is solid enough… But on the other hand, there’s nothing new in here. It reads like the characters’ appearance in Runaways mixed with…  Read More…

Arriving 4/18

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Shipping Lists

Back from Vegas, but drastically underestimated how much New and Important work I’d come back with, so I’m still on Radio Silence for a little while (probably, realistically, until the weekend). This was not helped by Bennett being called into Jury Duty today (WHY did it have to be TODAY, of all days… if they’d have waited until Wednesday…..) Anyway, here’s what’s a’comin’: 52 WEEK #50 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #56 (A) ANITA BLAKE VH GUILTY PLEASURES #6 (OF 12) AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #51 ARMY @ LOVE #2 AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #8 (OF 8) BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #8 BETTY #164 BIRDS OF PREY #105 BIZARRE NEW WORLD #1 (OF 3) BRAVE AND THE BOLD #3 CABLE DEADPOOL…  Read More…

In which I fall in love with a brushstroke: Graeme in a tree with Kubert, Hawkman.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 16, 2007

Categories: Reviews

So last night, I had a dream that proved that my subconscious was frantically grabbing what little pieces of pop culture that I’d exposed myself to over the last couple of days – My life was being narrated by This American Life’s Ira Glass, and illustrated by Joe Kubert. Needless to say, everything was much funnier than it is in real life, and looked beautiful. Kubert’s art was pretty much the main reason that I picked up SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAWKMAN VOLUME 1, the phone-book-sized collection of the first Silver Age stories about the man with the feather fetish. I’ve never been a major fan of the character or the concept, but the idea of getting lots of prime Kubert art…  Read More…

Well, Why Not: Jeff Liveblogs the First Six Hours of Friday…

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on April 14, 2007

Categories: Retailing/Industry

…even after I said I wouldn’t. What follows are the notes I tapped out while working, unedited except for spelling and clarification, of my first six hours at the shop. Might be interesting for some of you who wonder what our store’s like and who shops there, even though this is 100% pure anecdote and things may well be utterly different the other six days of the week. Wherever possible, I’ve tried to keep everyone anonymous so that subscribers, regular shoppers and lonely guys buying porn can retain their privacy.   *** 11:24 a.m.: Okay. Store is open, music is playing (Elastica’s first album, which is directly attributable to reading Mr. Gillen’s endpapers in Phonogram), two people are in the…  Read More…

The Carpenter and the Walrus: Jeff Does the Non-Comics Thing for a Sec…

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on April 13, 2007

Categories: Reviews

Forgot I’m at the store on my own today, so the liveblogging? Ain’t happening. Wow. I’m just full of broken promises this week, aren’t I? And while the tank’s still on empty as far as comic books go, here’s a film or two I’ve seen in the last week, and maybe I can still wrangle an uncomfortable comic book comparison or two: THE LOOKOUT: I think my wife may have developed a “thing” for Joseph Gordon-Levitt after watching Brick, because this film suddenly jumped to the top of our to-see list once it came out. It’s a very solid film written and directed by Scott Frank (for whom the warm spot in my heart for adapting Out of Sight is…  Read More…

I am I am I am Superman and I know what’s happening: Graeme gushes about 4/11.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on

Categories: Reviews

So, I read Tom Spurgeon describe All-Star Superman as “one of the best superhero comics of the last 30 years” this week and thought, wow, that’s pretty high praise. And then I read ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #7, and re-read the first six issues (released in collected form this week as ALL-STAR SUPERMAN VOLUME 1 HC) and thought, you know, maybe he’s not giving them enough credit. As much fun as the series is in single issue sittings, there’s a lot to be gained from reading the first half of the series in one go. You catch the running themes (multiple identities, mortality, the multiplicity of the Superman character type) much more clearly when you can sit there and connect the dots….  Read More…

Eight Days Away….

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on

Categories: Retailing/Industry

It’s almost ready. Are you? Sorry for being so tardy with the posting lately. I sat down this morning to write a few reviews and found myself stuck: I spent over an hour typing sentences and deleting ‘em, typing and deleting in turn. Anyway, I have tentative plans to try liveblogging from the store tomorrow so hopefully that’ll work out a bit better. Lord knows there’s enough coming out….

Wampeters, Foma and Superheroes: Graeme on 4/11, Vonnegut.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 12, 2007

Categories: Reviews

Firstly, Kurt Vonnegut, RIP. I was a massive fan of the man; my favorite book of his was Timequake, which just struck me as exactly the book that he’d wanted to write all along, all anecdotes and ponderings under the attempt of science-fiction, mixing Slaughterhouse Five with Palm Sunday. I went through a period, when I was still in art school and my mind was still trying to suck everything in to figure out who and how to be, when I read his stuff voraciously, book after book after book, entirely out of order. I remember clearly getting to Breakfast of Champions and being surprised and depressed by the misanthropy of the book, of the way Vonnegut seemed to feel…  Read More…

Robert Downey Jr. has his work cut out for him: Graeme 0n 4/11.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 11, 2007

Categories: Reviews

Perhaps fittingly, considering what’s currently going on in the Marvel Universe, IRON MAN #16 is a rather uncomfortable comic. It’s not uncomfortable for the good reasons – It prods places in the reader’s mind that they wouldn’t want to consider at the best of times, for example, or it offers up some inconvenient truth (Al Gore as Tony Stark; what a concept) – but because it just doesn’t hang together well at all. For one thing, Iron Man as a character (That is, Tony Stark when he’s wearing his technological supersuit) doesn’t really appear in the book, other than in flashback in one scene. The rest of the book revolves around Tony Stark as Director of SHIELD, bring so driven…  Read More…

Hibbs says "Bye-eee!"

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Retailing/Industry

Off to Vegas, be back on… well from your POV, probably Sunday. (Maybe MOnday, when I think of it) Sorry I’ve been slack the last few days — lots on my mind! One other thing I forgot to mention: in addition to the shipping-from-Diamond list I posted, we ALSO got these items in this week, via Baker & Taylor: ALIAS THE CAT HC (Kim Deitch) BLINDSPOT GN (Kevin Pyle — I really really liked this one, though it’s a smidge expensive for how long it takes to read) FLIGHT v1 & v2 — the new “Ballentine” editions PROFESSOR’S DAUGHTER TINY TYRANT — both from FirstSecond, and, I think, the strongest two books in this “wave” of releases. As far as…  Read More…

Readying My Purple Jumpsuit: Jeff’s Still Reading the 4/4 Books.

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on April 10, 2007

Categories: Reviews

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA CVR A #7: I’m reviewing this issue because I found it a much better read than Cover B. No, no, just kidding. Although it’s yet another issue of nearly no action (I’m fully expecting Meltzer to wrap up his run with the conclusion of the god-damned election of the JLA head, or maybe a dramatic motion by the Sargeant-At-Arms to table the reading of the minutes of the last meeting until after everyone’s finished eating cookies), I’m a sucker for the uber-reverential tack Meltzer is taking–if Red Arrow didn’t get me, the good ol’ Hall of Justice would’ve. One could argue (probably quite successfully, I should add) that this is all just nostalgia and easy symmetry…  Read More…

It’s hard to review when you don’t know what you think: Graeme, 4/4.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on

Categories: Reviews

Here’s the odd thing; I didn’t really like SAVAGE TALES #1 that much, but I’m not sure I could tell you why. I mean, sure, I could say that three of the four stories in this relaunch of the fantasy anthology are unsatisfying first chapters, not able to find enough of a middle ground between character work and action to provide me with any reason to come back (The one exception to this is Ron Marz and Adriano Batista’s opening Red Sonja story, which manages to use what reads as a pretty throwaway scene as a sneaky way to introduce Sonja to any new readers, showing us not only the character herself but also her reputation and the world in…  Read More…

Arriving 4/11

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Shipping Lists

So, yeah, I took the Holiday Weekend “off” (not really, but off from writing at least), and I’ll have something for you tomorrow, but on Wednesday I’m off to Vegas for the first ComicsPRO meeting, so this is pretty much just Jeff and Graeme’s Show this week. LOTS of stuff coming this week: 2000 AD #1529 2000 AD #1530 52 WEEK #49 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #55 (A) AFTER THE CAPE #2 (OF 3) ALL STAR SUPERMAN #7 AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #7 AMELIA RULES #17 ARCHIE #574 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #178 BATMAN STRIKES #32 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CYLON APOCALYPSE #2 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ZAREK #4 BIG BANG COMICS PRESENTS TEENREX #5 BLADE #8 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #124 BOMB QUEEN III #2…  Read More…

Late To The Party: More Review from Jeff of the 4/4 Books.

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on April 9, 2007

Categories: Reviews

I’m finally watching season three of Battlestar Galactica, on maybe episode eight or something, and….wow. I’ll be curious to see what they do with the next ten or twelve episodes but, occasional clunker or two notwithstanding, it’s one hell of a season so far. In other late adapter news, I just read my first volume of Naruto last week. And next week, the missus and I are getting one of them new-fangled rotary-dial telephones! No more party lines for us! Oh, and what a drag Johnny Hart died just a day short of Easter Sunday, huh? I think the timing of that would’ve made him grin a litttle. I’ll spare you the standard story, but suffice it to say my…  Read More…

Bunny or No Bunny: Graeme runs at some more 4/4 books.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on April 8, 2007

Categories: Reviews

I really need to look at calendars more often. It’s Easter already? Where’s my egg? 52 WEEK FORTY-EIGHT: If Richard Corben and Phil Jiminez had a baby, it would be Darick Robertson’s art in this issue, which manages to jump back and forth over the line that separates looking rushed and particularly stylized. We’re in the rather rushed end-run of the series, now, and it’s coming more into focus that things aren’t going to really come to a complete conclusion in the next four issues -Intergang may be trying to turn Gotham City into Apokolips (It’s the fire pits that gave it away, even though commentators over at Doug Wolk’s blog think that they’re actually Lazarus Pits), but I can’t…  Read More…

Sky-Blue But Stinking of Vinegar: Jeff’s Opening Reviews for the 04/04 Books.

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on

Categories: Reviews

Writing comic book reviews on Easter Sunday morning? I cannot tell if I am to be admired or pitied on this, one of our more deeply confusing holidays [cue the whole Jesus/Easter Bunny/salvation/colored egg thing, done to death by thousands of stand-ups, here). Hats off to Dave Robson, who told me he was going to spend Easter morning watching Grindhouse. I can only hope this will become a trend that will transform the face of the holiday, and 100 years from now parents will have to explain how looking for Easter eggs and watching “Hobo With A Shotgun” ties in to the story of Jesus…. 52 WEEK #48: Montoya becomes The Question and it’s highly OK but I was really…  Read More…

Countdown to Awesome.

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on April 7, 2007

Categories: Retailing/Industry

Less than two weeks until the signing? Holy Cow, that’s just crazy. Oh, and since I posted this on a Saturday, you can probably count on it showing up in the middle of this upcoming week (and probably next week as well, come to think of it.) Hope any of you inclined to show up will do so. It oughta be awesome.

Mad, Bad and Depressing to Know: Graeme on Allred, 4/4.

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on

Categories: Reviews

Continuing the trend from Brian’s last post: Something else that Annalee liked? Grindhouse, which she and the lovely Charlie Anders invited Kate, myself and a theater row of others to watch at the Bridge last night. Perhaps because I am young, innocent and Scottish, I’m not so familiar with the whole grindhouse thing – I’ve seen some of the movies and trailers themselves, but outside of the context of grindhouse culture, so the whole package that surrounded the movie last night (Including about half an hour of trailers for genuine grindhouse movies) was both surprising and very, very enjoyable. The actual movie was both only moreso, especially the Rodriguez half, which just piles more and more over-the-topness throughout itself to…  Read More…

Brain and brain, what is brain? Hibbs continues 4/4

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Reviews

Wow, how cool would it have been if “Spock’s Brain” was about zombies, huh? That’s my mini-theme this entry, with two zombie reviews: MARVEL ZOMBIES / ARMY OF DARKNESS #2: I actually can’t tell you how much I’d like it if that cliffhanger were true, and that was the last we saw of Ash — what a perfect, absurd ending that would have been. In fact, I’ll even say that that last page may be my favorite last page of a comic book so far in 2007. I also really really laughed hard and out loud at the Blob sequence, even though it was background and only a page long. So, yeah (and I honestly don’t beleive I am typing…  Read More…