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#NotAtComicCon (But Got Archie #1 and TMNT vol. 1)

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Walt

Comic Con is going on right now, and I’m not there. Still, I don’t have to be in San Diego to buy comics, comics related stuff, or be cool with what I have locally.

Tonight, for instance, I swung by Books-A-Million and wound up with an unexpected comic purchase; and this week a TMNT book I’ve been waiting a number of months to see released and actually acquire the thing is finally in my possession.

I completely did NOT realize the new Archie #1 was out this week. I’m not sure if it sold out or wasn’t ordered or who-knows-what-all at the comic shop, but I figured I’d duck into another shop this weekend to get the issue, or just not worry about it at all. With local construction/traffic issues, it’s not worth going back to the usual shop “just” for the one single issue when another shop is about 2 minutes out of my way on its own or just across the street from a Target I frequent.

I stopped into Books-A-Million, and while standing in line to check out, spotted an Archie comic.

archievol2bamvariant001

Now, much as I hate variant covers (and this is obviously the Books-A-Million-exclusive variant), I saw the price sticker was $3.99–same cover price I’d pay at a comic shop–in a sea of BAM variants priced $1-$3 above standard-cover cover price. And rather than have to go outta my way (I was already there with this thing right in front of me), I figured I’d suck it up and buy this…I’ve near zero intention of following the single issues, but I’m quite curious about the story content of the issue. So…we’ll see what I wind up with.

tmnt_the_idw_collection_vol_1_b

I first saw an ad for this TMNT book very early in 2015 saying it was due out in March, but seemed it was delayed at least a couple months. I finally saw it on Amazon for a really good price (about 48% off!) and pulled the trigger.

tmnt_the_idw_collection_vol_1_a

It was actually that ad, the pending existence of this oversized hardcover edition collecting 17 issues (just over 4 paperbacks’ worth of content) that instantly soured me on the expensive, skinny 4-issue paperbacks IDW insists on holding to.

This volume contains the first 12 issues of the ongoing series, the first 4-issue “Micro Series,” and the first issue of the second “Micro series.” It’s hardback, has the issues in story-order (the “Micro Series” issues taking place amidst events of and influencing the main title) and even has a bound-in ribbon as a bookmark, plus the cover images.

A far superior format and presentation (overall) to the paperbacks, and if I’m gonna “multi-dip” and get the singles as they come out and then a collected format for the bookshelf…I’m darned well gonna stick with this format!

And for the price…I seriously doubt any dealers in San Diego would beat this…or even match it.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

#NotAtComicCon (But Still Found a Couple Gems)

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Walt

not_at_comic_con_logoI believe tonight is ‘Preview Night’ as the 2015 Comic Con kicks off for the year.

And of course, as always…I am not there.

However, despite NOT being at Comic Con…I managed to find a couple of neat goodies locally that are likely better finds than much of what I would otherwise find/buy at something like SDCC.

First up, a half-off full-size-box edition of Munchkin Zombies: Armed and Dangerous. Usually $20, and I found it for $10…plus it comes with the little pawns/tokens. I believe this is usually in one of the little expansion-pack boxes as Munchkin Zombies 2.

munchkin_zombies_armed_and_dangerous

And after being vaguely aware of its existence for years, while simply flipping through the quarter bin at the comic shop this week, I found Countdown to Ultraverse, one of the promo issues from back in 1993 promoting the then-forthcoming super-hero line from Malibu. And with this, I’m that much closer to completing what I intend to for the Ultraverse line…

countdown_to_ultraverse_front

The back cover is a neat collage-y/mashup piece showing a bunch of characters…

countdown_to_ultraverse_back

…and the inside front cover, providing us the ‘title’ of the publication and a bunch of the initial creators involved with the line.

countdown_to_ultraverse_inside_cover

The whole book is pretty cool, giving some basic info about stuff, and it’s interesting to look at from 22+ years later. Maybe I’ll make a post of the interiors sometime.

While the Munchkin box might be decently easy to come by at a major convention…I’ve mostly lost faith in any dealers actually having this sort of thing accessible (it’d be lost in dozens of UNsorted longboxes that I’m NOT gonna crawl around digging through) or because it’s not overstock from the last 10-15 years it wouldn’t be there at all.

Yet here I was able to get this for only 25 cents–a significant issue for me–and I didn’t even have to go to a convention to get it…yet it’s certainly something worthy of a Comic Con sort of haul.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

#SaveWinston Ends On a Happy Note

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Walt

winston_on_comics_carol_and_johns_comic_book_shopI was quite dismayed early on Monday to learn that Winston, a Cleveland-area comic shop’s shop-cat, was missing.

I’ve been to this shop (Carol & John’s) a handful of times, and even if I’ve only caught a glimpse of the kitty, that’s made me smile, and justified the visit. (And I once drove out there specifically hoping to see Winston…something I’m contemplating doing this weekend again).

For me, there’s just something to there being a “shop cat” around…particularly given the way I’m such a “cat person.” I’d encountered a shop cat at a comic store in Pennsylvania about 6 years ago that I’ll always remember–he followed me around, stuck his paws down between issues while I flipped through a longbox, and even decided my head was a plaything while I knelt to flip through a box on the floor and he was stretching down as far as he could reach over the edge to swipe at me, trying to get me to play with him. I had also once “discovered” a book/comic/something shop when I moved for grad school back in 2004…the cat curled up in the window caught my attention, or I wouldn’t have even noticed the store.

There’s also the story of Dewey, chronicled in the book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World that gets to me.

I ‘discovered’ Dewey barely a week after I lost my first cat, Christy…and reading the book had a huge impact on me, was truly cathartic and really helped me, in its own way, to deal with that loss.

And aside from that, it’s just fascinated me ever since, to consider there being a library or a shop or such with a resident cat that I might see every time I went there.

Even as I type this, a memory’s just surfaced that when I first “discovered” Carol & John’s, I researched the place online, their web page, before I went out, and it was the notion of Winston, their shop cat, that “sold” me on driving out immediately, and the inward thrill of actually seeing him briefly (it was late and he’d probably had enough for the day–I recall him going behind the counter away from the main part of the shop).

So when I saw the top edge of a “Missing Cat” poster in my Facebook newsfeed early Monday afternoon, I had that immediate thought I always have–feeling bad for whoever has lost a cat, but was shocked and then dismayed to realize it wasn’t “just” Carol & John’s page sharing a local missing kitty, but it was their own kitty–a kitty I’ve met, that I “know,” and it was a gut-punch I don’t usually get from such postings.

I’d shared a couple of the posts on social media myself, doing what I could to get the word out so anyone local-ish would know and could keep an eye out, all the while dreading what seems to be the “usual” horrible news.

winston_found_screenshotSo when a friend shared a post to my newsfeed last night, I was first curious about the post…but my heart truly leapt with a beat of joy when I saw what the post actually was:

Great news!

He’d been found, he was safe, the story had a happy ending.

And I’ve thrilled tonight looking at the Carol & John’s facebook page, reading all the comments, seeing several recently-posted photos, and generally seeing just how well-loved this cat is, by so many in the community.

I’d commented to a couple friends last night that I’m sure Winston’s gonna have extra visitors this week, and as mentioned above, I myself am really thinking I want to take a trip out there to see him (regardless of a Not-At-Comic-Con sale the store is holding this week).

And obviously the situation touched me in such a way that it’s what I chose to write about tonight, superseding any other posts I might’ve written.

If you’re in the Cleveland area, it’s well worth paying Carol & John’s a visit. Great service, amazing stock, plenty of bargain-bin ($1) comics, lots of new stuff, a kids’ play area…and of course, Winston the cat.

winston_on_comics_carol_and_johns_comic_book_shop

Photo (above): Winston laying on some comics, back home again after going missing for a couple days. This particular photo was posted as the profile picture of the Carol & John’s Facebook page Tuesday evening 7/7/2015. Please visit their page, check them out (enjoy photos of Winston at least!), and all that.

You can find them at 17462 Lorain Ave / Cleveland, Ohio in Kamms Plaza.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Superman Mug, Because…Clark Kent

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Walt

For me, Clark Kent is the core character when it comes to Superman. Particularly as depicted in the late 1980s and throughout most of the 1990s, the character could be summed up as “Clark Kent is who he IS, Superman is something he DOES.”

With recent developments–as I understand as an outside party no longer finding the comics worth following at the moment–DC has decided to pretty much do away with Clark Kent officially, at least for now..

While I recall stories such as The Death of Clark Kent where it was a short-term status quo shift and story-driven, the bits I’ve picked up on the current stuff suggest it will be a much longer thing and far less story-driven, at least in any way that I would enjoy offhand.

And it’s to the point that as much as it drives me nuts to consider Clark Kent “merely” some disguise or mask…I saw this mug.

superman_mug_front

And even this “classic” depiction of Superman with the bumbling mask/disguise version of Clark Kent was something I opted to buy, in a moment’s notion of “support” for something involving CLARK KENT.

superman_mug_back

Plus, it’s a nifty coffee mug, Superman-themed.

Not only pre-52, but pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths. Sure, it’s not my favorite, but it’s still preferable to the contemporary version.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The ’90s Revisited: Quasar #59

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Walt

quasar059Brothers in Arms

Writer: Ron Marz
Penciler: Andy Smith
Inker: Ralph Cabrera
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Paul Becton
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Group Editor: Ralph Macchio
EIC: Tom DeFalco
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: June 1994
Cover Price: $1.25

This issue grabbed my attention for the Thanos reference on the cover. By the coloring of Thanos’ head/face in the background, I would not have recognized the character from any other random Marvel Cosmic character while simply flipping through issues in a 25c-bin, so seeing Thanos’ name is what caught me. Contextualize it further with rather ticked-off looking Starfox and Quasar, and there was little that would convince me to NOT buy the issue.

I’ve recently been building up my Thanos/Warlock/Infinity ______ library, which also contributed to this grabbing my attention. Despite the cover, this issue was really not what I expected…whatever it was that I WAS expecting.

We open with Quasar telling someone he’d be there soon…and then find the very IMPRESSED Quasar marveling at Titan. He’s there to meet up with Starfox–Eros–for a bit. After greetings and brief showing off, Eros asks Quasar to join him for an errand, that turns out to be an annual tradition. Despite whatever bitter blood between the two, Eros and his brother Thanos put aside their differences for one day a year to spend time as brothers. While Thanos extends their truce to include Quasar, our hero is none too happy to be in the presence of one of the biggest threats to the universe he’s ever known. As the brothers exchange gifts, a squad of alien authorities show up…Thanos’ gift was stolen, and they’ve arrived to take it back (dealing death as penalty for the theft). The trio fights back, and the authorities are eventually sent off, nudged a bit by Eros’ powers of suggestion. As Eros and Quasar leave, we see Thanos…still in posession of the stolen item.

Quasar looks a bit “off” to me somehow…which is particularly noticeable to me as I’m not OVERLY familiar with the character. I just know that he doesn’t look quite right to my eye throughout this issue. On the other hand, Starfox doesn’t look that bad. And Thanos looks pretty good to me. Everyone is recognizeable so there’s no harm there, and I never had to pause to figure out what was going on or wonder at confusion at something shown in a panel. 

Story-wise, this is rather throw-away and generic, with no real change to any of the characters, their status quo, no tie to some bigger event or story…and yet I really, truly quite enjoyed this.

As stated above, I’m not overly familiar with Quasar, but I know of the character and while I have no idea as of this typing where the character is at present in 2015, he’s perfectly standard in the Marvel Universe I recall from the 1990s.

This issue is functionally a standard-sized issue one-shot. There’s no note saying this is continued from anywhere else, and the final panel of the final page clearly states END (though we can wonder exactly what Thanos is up to in the grander scheme of things). And particularly for only costing me 25 cents…I’m very happy with this being a one-shot. I’ve got characters I’m familiar with, as well as one I’m particularly interested in at present (Thanos), no catch-up or follow-up to do based on this issue, and it was an enjoyable read that didn’t leave me scratching my head.

I’m aware of having read a fair bit of Ron Marz‘s work–on Green Lantern as well as (I believe) Silver Surfer, and other stuff through the years. I certainly prefer Jim Starlin‘s Thanos to most…but Marz‘s take on the character seems very Starlin-esque to me and does nothing to make me question this appearance of the character. I’m not consciously familiar offhand with the art team…but this is from the mid-90s and I associate the period with a huge body of creatives that never stood out to me at the time, and apparently never made a name for themselves or stuck around for me to be familiar with contemporary work.

This is from mid 1994, putting this after the three Infinity Events (Gauntlet/War/Crusade) yet ahead of the Onslaught, Heroes Reborn, and Heroes Return stuff. While if I thought hard enough i could probably find (an) example(s) otherwise, I largely have a several-year blind spot with Thanos that this falls into. 

If–like me–you just want to read a “random” Thanos appearance (and I don’t know that this is reprinted or collected anywhere) this is certainly a fun one-off. All the better if you’re a fan of Quasar and/or Starfox. Though I wouldn’t see this as anything much more than a bargain-bin book (worth little more than 25-50 cents) I definitely recommend this as something worth the time it takes to read, just for the fun of it.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Trying Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Walt

mdu_screenI’ve resisted Marvel‘s Digital Comics Unlimited for quite awhile, but as I’ve found myself getting sucked back into their products AND re-annoyed at their PRICING, this makes a bit of sense.

I also have to blame Mike and Shag (Views From the Longbox and The Fire and Water podcasts) for talking about it on a recent episode of VFtL, as well as a friend who informed me of a weekend sale on an annual subscription to the app.

I ended up deciding that the annual price was more than I could spend immediately, plus I still had some questions and curiosities about the thing, how it works, if I’d actually like it, etc, so I opted to go with a "monthly" subscription that I will either have to remember to cancel before it renews, or I’ll like this enough that I’ll let it go or upgrade TO one of those annual subscriptions.

mdu_library_grid_view  I found myself quite excited at the possibilities for this thing. Lots of stuff to read–either that I’ve wanted to re-read; will re-read because it’s available, or have yet to read because I haven’t gotten to it and/or the price for issues or collected volumes have been prohibitive.

Talking with a friend (as well as internally to myself) I’ve realized that a huge negative for me with Marvel has been their PRICING. When it comes to the characters themselves, I certainly have a great fondness, and so avoiding their stuff has been in reaction to the price and affordability to get stuff more than having any issue with the characters themselves. I’m going to be far more critical and demanding of something I’m paying $3.99 an issue for, for 20ish pages.

But with what seems so far to be available on Digital Comics Unlimited, this is gonna more than pay for itself in terms of what I’ll get to READ. And along with that, it’s DIGITAL, to boot, where I can download up to 12 issues’ content at a time to a device, so I can take it with me on the go even where I won’t have wifi access…meaning I can take this stuff to the gym or a fitness room and read on a tablet where I’m not fighting to get something to stay put or pages to turn when I want but not close when I don’t.

mdu_library_list_viewGranted, there’s a six-month "gap" between what’s "available" and whatever’s current this week in comic shops. But for the pricing, I will gladly, happily live with that.

I’ve had some "interest," for example, in reading the All-New X-Men / Guardians of the Galaxy crossover The Trial of Jean Grey. The collected edition’s price put me off–skinny little hardback of "only" 6 issues…$25. More expensive than the single issues (granted, it’s hardback).

a $10 subscription for one month means all I have to do is read 2 1/2 issues that would have cost me $3.99 in print, to "break even."

I want to read that Trial of Jean Grey story…and comparing against that $25 price point to do so…all I have to do is read that, and then anything else I (get to) read until September is pure "bonus" price-wise.

I can read the DnA run of Guardians of the Galaxy. I can read Infinity and Original Sin. I can go back and read all (or most) of the tie-ins for Marvel events of the past decade.  And beyond that, I can skip around, just browse stuff and read a random issue here or there. I can also delve further back to specific series and runs.

There’s a lotta gaps in early/mid 1990s stuff that I searched for, which is disappointing…but given I can find a lot of that stuff relatively cheaply in quarter bins and such, I’ll take that gladly with the tradeoff being I can READ a lot more of the more "modern" stuff.

And there’s the fact this is all digital, and it’s stuff I’ll "only" get to READ. I’m not buying anything to own; I’ll read, and move on, retaining the experience of HAVING READ the stuff, but no hassles with storage or tracking books down to buy, etc. I can read the stuff, it’s all in the SAME FORMAT (digital, to view on my phone or tablet screen) rather than varied print editions–oversized hardcovers, hardcovers, paperbacks, digests, etc.

mdu_computer

Seems a whole host of stuff put out by Dark Horse for Star Wars has passed to Marvel, and fitting that timeframe of being 6+ months old, that’s available on here…a huge wealth of Star Wars comics to poke through and read if it grabs my attention, continue to ignore if it doesn’t.

I’d once found one or two of the Star Wars Infinities series in a bargain bin…now I can read the third (and final?) series with no hassle. And where I wasn’t interested enough in Dark Horse‘s Star Wars to buy much…they certainly had high quality stuff, and available here, I may read it.

So in short…I’m excited for and look forward to diving in and getting the chance to just simply READ a bunch of stuff, enjoy it for the STORY and no issues with schedules, cover prices, pagecounts, ease of location of collected volumes, etc.

Outside of some spotty runs of ’90s stuff I’d love to get into, with the more modern stuff, I see getting a lot of "joy" back in Marvel reading.

I’ll surely post again somewhere down the road on the experience, and where this takes me.

Meanwhile…I’m about to embark on a week-long roadtrip with friends, which will certainly test the enjoyment of this app, as I intend this to be my primary source of (comics) reading material FOR the trip.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

X-O Manowar #37 [Review]

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Walt

xomanowar037Dead Hand Part 4: Red Earth

Writer: Robert Venditti
Pencils: Diego Bernard
Inks: Ryan Winn w/Mark Pennington & Bit
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Stephen Segovia & Brian Reber
Editor: Tom Brennan
Editor in Chief: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant
Cover Date: June 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

While my feelings toward Valiant have taken a definite beating in the last few months, this issue reminded me why I’ll certainly be sticking with this SERIES even if I don’t stick with the entirety of Valiant‘s output.

We come to the conclusion of this Dead Hand arc, and we find things at a bit of a standoff. Authorities on Earth are quite alarmed at what might be coming, and seek to find out what they can of it. Meanwhile, as readers we see that Dead Hand has paused to consider how to proceed, taken aback by the sudden presence of a number of armors (that Aric has called to his side from throughout the galaxy) and then by their defense of life (Dead Hand having been programmed to eradicate the armors, all of whom were to be selfish things causing harm and destruction to life, not defending it). Of course, we get the predictable battle, with somewhat predictable results, then a bit of wrap up and an “out” to allow for future situations.

This issue truly felt like the end of an event series…yet it’s actually “only” the end of a single 4-issue story within the main X-O Manowar title, and there were no tie-ins, cross-overs, one-shots, etc. This was an organic follow-up to last year’s Armor Hunters, taking stuff set forth by that and exploring it further, adding to the X-O/Aric mythos, and serving as another off-earth “cosmic adventure” for our hero that makes SENSE. It also as an arc gave us some more characterization of and motivation to the Vine that will have long-lasting consequences in-continuity (say, like Marvel‘s Avengers‘ initial Kree-Skrull War).

A lot of my feelings come from the arc in general, and this issue lacks some of the core characterization and “moments.” We do have what I would consider a satisfactory conclusion to the arc, while leaving things open for later stuff to develop.

As the end of an arc, this is definitely for the continuing readers, and certainly not geared to be a jump-on point or a special singular issue (see the X-O Manowar 25th Anniversary Special for that or next month’s issue). If you’ve been following the title, it’s well worth getting this issue; any negative feelings I have come from external/”meta” stuff.

Venditti‘s writing continues to be strong, and with no less than 38 (37 plus the #0) issues CONSISTENTLY thus far to his name, has become the iconic writer of the character and book: with his name attached, it’s simple that the story works within its continuity and internal feel. The art is good as well, and I have no particular complaints with it.

In short, I enjoyed this issue far more than I expected to–both in and of itself as a single issue as well as the conclusion to a huge (but short) storyline.

Filed under: 2012, 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, Valiant, X-O Manowar | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Secret Wars – Week of June 10, 2015

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Walt

Several weeks in and finally getting to some of the #2s for the Secret Wars tie-ins. I enjoyed the week’s reading overall, though none of the #2s particularly stood out or overly impressed me. As always, I’m not thrilled with the $3.99 price point, but these could have been worse for the price. We also had the Marvel Zombies #1, which I covered by itself.

Inferno #2

secretwars_inferno002I definitely picked this up because of the first issue, and was curious at where things would go. This issue manages to lose the “shiny newness” factor of the first and settles (for me) into a middle ground of “good” but “not terribly memorable in itself.” Even though I did read the issue, its content and the specific details of the issue mostly faded from conscious memory…outside of what happens to Nightcrawler. I’m quite sure I’d have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with the original Inferno story; but here, I’m simply experiencing the details of this iteration with a general knowledge of continuity after the original. While I’m not overly engaged at this point, the only real negative for me (story or art or overall) is a passive lack of engaged interest. Nothing actively puts me off or kills my willingness to continue with the series.

Secret Wars 2099 #2

secretwars_2099002I’m still not entirely sure what to think of this book, but as a Peter David one I really find myself wanting to like it. This issue gives us more background (and questions) on the Avengers 2099…particularly Captain America and her alter ego. We also re-meet the Hulk of 2099 and see him face off with the Avengers. I only loosely remember the existence of the Hulk 2099 title and character, with a lot more “awareness OF” than actual reading experience on the character. While we have Miguel heading Alchemax, this is sort of the first (familiar) 2099 character for me, grounding the new characters (Hercules simply seems to be “my” Hercules but traumatized). Taken alone as itself I don’t think I’d care nearly as much for this title; but as a 2099 combined with David‘s writing, I want to see where this goes, and look forward to the next issue.

Ultimate End #2

secretwars_ultimateend002Things start to make a lot more sense to me here and explain stuff I was unclear on with the first issue. For one thing, I assumed the first issue had some bit of flashback going on, or something preceding the start of Secret Wars itself; I get clarification here that what I’m actually seeing is heroes from two different worlds put together and trying to figure their situation out, but AS a part of Battleworld. We get some nice character interactions between the two Tony Starks, and other Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Ultimate Gwen and Aunt May. We also get a Green Hulk vs. Gray Hulk fight to cap off the issue. I’m also seeing that unlike my initial assessment, this is much like any of the other tie-ins to Secret Wars in that we have characters from the given setting(s) and get a story involving them, in the context of Battleworld.

Overall Thoughts on the week

I’ve definitely found myself significantly more interested in the #1s to “try” them than with the continuations of the series. I’ve already passed on Secret Wars Journal #2, and suspect that in the coming weeks/months I’ll “drop” other titles and possibly pass on even more. No matter how interested I may be or how “fun” the thing might look…I have a limited budget, and $3.99 upon $3.99 stack up REALLY fast, and whatever of these tie-ins I buy are ON TOP OF stuff I’m already getting, and are not going to supplant any of those. The “sticker shock” of Marvel‘s $3.99 books continues to be THE #1 detriment for me. I look forward to the next couple weeks, with less tie-ins that I’m after, and hope that what I *am* getting with balance out more across the weeks as the event goes on.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, MARVEL, Secret Wars (Event) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Marvel Zombies (2015) #1 [Review]

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Walt

secretwars_marvelzombies001Journey Into Misery: Episode 1

Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Kev Walker
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer & Production: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Ken Lashley & Paul Mounts
Asst. Editor: Alanna Smith
Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Published By: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: August 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

The original Marvel Zombies series roughly a decade ago ultimately led me to The Walking Dead and a years-long Zombies kick with movies and such. I remember using that original series as a personal ‘reward’ for studying toward the end of a semester in grad school: read X amount for school, take a break and read a comic.

So it was no small bit of nostalgia prompting me to pick this up, and it’s on the title rather than the cover…while it’s not bad or anything, it doesn’t work overly well for me. It definitely draws from the concept of taking a bunch of established Marvel characters and zombi-fying them, but it’s hardly new fare. While the standard-ish Marvel Zombies logo is there…I think I would have really enjoyed a nice homage cover here…perhaps a play off a classic 1980s Secret Wars cover, if not a zombi-fied version of a current Secret Wars (2015) cover.

Still, the issue’s art is good and I really had no problem with it, especially within the general theme of a decaying world with rotting, walking corpses and all that.

The story picks up with Elsa Bloodstone showing off how hard willed and steadfast she can be, fighting back the zombie hordes trying to get past the Shield. When The Red Terror (Azazel?) shows up, she manages to defeat him…but not before he’s teleported her hundreds of miles beyond the Shield. On waking after her victory she meets a young stranger, and the two grudgingly set off on a quest for survival.

Where I recall the classic Marvel Zombies series being more fun and generic, this feels like it has a lot more plot, with Elsa as the star and the zombies being relatively incidental. And honestly, I like that. Spurrier gives us the start of a good story here, and as a Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead fan this evokes a sense of those, but with superheroes and super-powered characters.

While there’s a bit of context to be gleaned having already been familiar with past Marvel Zombies stuff, on the whole this can definitely be taken quite well without having read any of that previous MZ stuff…you get what you “need” from this issue itself. The Elsa Bloodstone name seems familiar to me, but I know more OF the name/term “Bloodstone” in terms of Marvel comics than I know through “experience.”

I was actually surprised by how solid this issue seemed to me, how much I enjoyed it and am genuinely interested in seeing where stuff goes. And while I come to the book lacking any significant Bloodstone knowledge, I could see this making me a fan of the character/artifact. This is definitely a worthwhile addition to the slew of Secret Wars tie-ins, and one I’m glad to have given a shot.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, MARVEL, Secret Wars (Event) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Earth 2: Society #1 [Review]

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Walt

earth2society001Planetfall

Writer: Daniel H. Wilson
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: John Rauch
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover: Jimenez & Rauch
Associate Editor: Paul Kaminski
Editor: Mike Cotton
Group Editor: Eddie Berganza
Published By: DC Comics
Cover Date: August 2015
Cover Price: $2.99

For a guy who was intending to ignore DC output in June and consider Convergence an endcap to stuff for awhile, I’ve still managed to find myself picking up 3 books in 2 weeks. Though of those three, I think this was the most disappointing, and that’s almost surely due to this being only an opening chapter of a larger story. I expected something “more,” though…but then again, a series fulfilling its “premise” in the first issue is hardly a series, right?

I picked this up specifically because of the notion of it continuing from Convergence, and the premise of our seeing the development of a new world a new Earth 2. I suppose I expected to see a fully developed yet “young” world, and from the cover I definitely expected to see a number of the various characters…not basically “just” Batman.

The issue starts “one year from planetfall,” or one year in the future showing us a new city, the first new city on the planet, and a Batman in action with communication to an unseen individual. Then we flash back to said planetfall, as the survivors of the previous Earth 2 begin to arrive, having followed Green Lantern’s beacon. Something goes wrong and the ships begin to crash, and it seems this is something intentional by the person who designed them. Meanwhile, we see a man lamenting the loss of the use of his legs, as well as his family. I believe this is the Earth 2 Dick Grayson, but I’m not 100%. Jumping back to the one-year-later, Batman captures the man responsible for the thousands of deaths in the planetfall event…

Where I’d felt that Batman Beyond #1 and Constantine: The Hellblazer #1 gave me well-rounded issues (giving us an establishing situation, introduced us to the main character and some part of a supporting cast, and set something up for future issues) and generally felt relatively self-contained while setting up an ongoing series…Earth 2: Society feels to me like just another opening chapter of something larger. We don’t really get the full cast, the cover is misleading about characters’ involvement/prominence in the issue), and the time-jumping cuts in half the amount of information we get about “then” and “one year after.” This will probably read quite well in a collected-volume/graphic novel format where one can read the entirety of the arc in one go…but I’m left rather disappointed in this based solely on this one issue as a single issue.

The art is good…pleasantly “invisible” in the sense that it gets things across and isn’t jarring or weird, and I didn’t noticeably find myself stopping to wonder just what the heck was going on in a panel. I’ve found the “controversial” candy bar ad annoying, consciously forcing myself to ignore it and not focus on it, while trying to keep my eyes strictly to the actual content that *I* paid for, and my annoyance over that translated into my mind wandering slightly as I tried to think about the same double-page ad layout influencing my enjoyment of the other DC books the last couple weeks.

While I imagine it would not be terribly difficult to use this as a jumping-on point for the series, I’m pretty sure this book is more for continuing readers, with threads of the original Earth 2 title and the weekly Earth 2: World’s End having gone into Convergence and this is the result of what came out from that. One can start here, but there’s plenty I’m sure I’m not picking up on that I’d be better able to appreciate having READ what came before. That this does not feel like a quasi-standalone issue but merely the first chapter of a six-chapter collected volume leaves me thinking that unless you’re particularly invested and eager to get a monthly dose of the Earth 2 characters (and primarily Batman, in this issue), you’d be better off waiting for a full story in collected volume format.

As for me…I gave this a shot, interested in the start of things post-Convergence for these characters, and while I definitely support the $2.99 price point, I’m pretty sure I won’t be back for #2.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, DC, DC Universe, Earth 2, New 52, The | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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