What you should buy-8/7/13

YIKES!!! Some real slim pickens this week. But, as always, there's a couple of really GREAT books coming out. Let's get to it:

Lords of Mars #1: One of the strangest, yet most awesome crossovers in the history of crossovers!!! It's John Carter meets TARZAN!!!! Yeah, you heard me. Written by Arvid Nelson with art by Roberto Castro!

All New X-Men #15: JEAN!!! WTF?!?!?!?!?!?! Cyclops gets his heart broken, and I couldn't be happier. I've always hated him. Buy why is Jean kissing someone else? This book is always awesome!

Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger #11: The Trinity War continues!!! Phantom Stranger leads a strange group of JLAers to grab the soul of a murdered JLA member!!! I've been really loving this crossover!

Robocop: The Last Stand #1: IT'S ROBOCOP!! Detroit is in shambles(kinda like in real life), and the city's only hope? Yeah, you know who it is. Written by Steven Grant from a story by Frank Miller!!

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #1: IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!! The ORIGINAL, FIRST and BEST sci-fi here has come BACK to comics!!!!! And guess who's bringing him back? None other than comics legend HOWARD CHAYKIN!!! I know, right?!?!?!?!

-Like I said before, not a HUGE week for books, but there's some quality stuff coming out! As always I'll be at Challengers Comics + Conversation on Wednesday, so if you're in the neighborhood, come in and say hi! I'll be in the big red chair reading Buck Rogers. ALL. DAY>

Comic-Con Day Zero-Dynamite Wins

Well, Comic-Con is underway and the clear winner yesterday was Dynamite Entertainment!! While there were some announcements by other companies, but with all the new properties, titles and creators that DE revealed yesterday, they were hands down the winner. Here's a recap:
Heroes: Based on the hit TV series, writer Cullen Bunn will pen this series, which he calls "Heroes Season 5". The series will focus on Claire, Hiro and Sylar.
The Twilight Zone: Long time TV and comic writer, J. Micheal Straczynski will write this series featuring stories based in science fiction and the supernatural, just like the popular television series.
Bob's Burgers: While no creative team has been announced yet, Dynamite says they're working closely with the creative team of the show to bring the style of the show to comics.
The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow: HOWARD CHAYKIN returns to The Shadow!!!!!!! This mini focuses on The Shadow's disappearance in 1949.
Untitled Projects: DE recruited some GREAT creators for original series, James Robinson, Peter Milligan & Duane Swierczynski all have titles lined up Dyanmite..
Legends of Red Sonja: After the GREAT numbers for Gail Simone's Red Sonja title, Dynamite will launch an anthology series with some fantastic writers like Kelly Sue DeConnick, Marjorie Liu, Lea Moore and others.
Ash & The Army of Darkness: Dynamite is relaunching their Evil Dead inspired series with writer Steve Niles and artist Dennis Calero. This series will pick up after the ending of the 1992 film Army of Darkness and take the franchise down a different and darker path.
Voltron/Robotech: Tommy Yune is behind this crossover mini series. The best part?? After the crossover Dynamite will be publishing a solo Robotech series!!!

-.Congratulations to Dynamite on all of the great announcements yesterday and congratulations to US, because it looks like we're getting some great new kick-ass comics from Dynamite!! These, plus the fact that DE is ALL READY knocking things out of the park with it's current comic line-up, is going to make this once small company HUGE!!! 

The List-December 19, 2012

What a HUGE week for comics!!!! It's almost like 2 weeks combined into one, because almost NOTHING is shipping next week on the 26th(except the all ready spoiled Amazing Spider-Man #700). Anyway, here's just a FEW of the comics that I recommend picking up this week:

All New X-Men #4-I never imagined in a million years that this book would be as good as it has been.

Bionic Woman #6-THIS BOOK IS WAY BETTER THAN IT SHOULD BE!!!!

Avengers #2-A whole shit ton of people show up!!!! And it's awesome!!!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5-He-Man VERSUS Battle Cat!!!!!

Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow #20-THINGS ARE HEATING UP as the series is winding down!!

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #3-I love this series so much!!!Buy it. Read it. Repeat. 

-There you have it!! Again, LOTS of great stuff to buy this week and isn't it a perfect time to buy a pile of comics and read them? A lot of you will be traveling, and that's the perfect time to read and not have to make awkward conversation with the weird person next to you! If you're in Chicago, I'll see you tomorrow at Challengers!!!

Guess who's having the BEST DAY EVER??!?!?!

Yeah, it's this guy. First off, check out the new blog header. Many thanks go out to Mr. Patrick Brower. He's the best of the best.

-Second, Dynamite swoops in outta nowhere and announces that they're doing TARZAN comics!!! How awesome is that? Here's one of the covers to the first issue

I have to admit, my love of Tarzan comes straight from the 70's/80's Filmation cartoon. Take a peak:

-This cartoon blew me away when I was a kid.

-So then, let's move on to comics. AQUAMAN #1 comes out tomorrow and if you're lucky enough to be in Chicago, you HAVE to go over to Challengers Comics and pick up a FREE GOLDFISH when you buy a copy!!!!.

Finally, my life long dream of being a GHOSTBUSTER becomes a reality!!! Tomorrow, Ghostbusters #1 goes on sale, and your collection is NOT complete without the Jimmy PS Hayes cover!!

It's being sold EXCLUSIVELY at Challengers Comics. Now, if you're not in Chicago, you can pick one up here. And you'll have my eternal gratitude. Oh yeah, on top of all this, there's a new HAWKMAN comic coming out tomorrow. For me, the only way it could get better is if scientist discovered the cure for diabetes was having sex with Paris Hilton.

BIONIC MAN #2 REVIEW!!!!

To put it bluntly, this issue left me feeling a little disappointed. But, ONLY in the fact that this comic is based on a screenplay that WILL NEVER be made. Folks, if this movie would've gotten made, it would have been THE most balls-out, over-the-top, thrill-ride action movie of ANY summer. We're talking like Jurassic Park in 1993 big. But, enough about movies. Thankfully Dynamite saw fit to turn this into a comic series and we are SO lucky that they did. First, if you haven't checked out my review of issue #1, you can do so here.

-Simply put, this issue is better than the last. First issues are always all set up, so now that we know who everyone is and what they do, we can get into the real meat of the story. Like I stated in my last review, it's been awhile since I've read Kevin Smith's screenplay that this is based on, so I can't remember exactly what's been added and taken out, but WOW this issue is PACKED with story, mystery, and action. Just like EVERY comic book should be. Phil Hester does a fantastic job at pacing the story, and Jonathan Lau's art is out of control awesome. There's lots of action heavy pages in this issue. And I mean HEAVY! Yet, with Lau's art you never get the "things are happening to fast that I can't really tell what's going on" feeling that you get with some artists. Hats off to the creative team for an outstanding job.

-Most impressive about this issue, though, is the shocks and surprises that are thrown at you. You don't normally find that in licensed comics today, and TRUST ME, I'd know. Let's face it, even if you have never seen the TV show, you know what's going to happen to Steve Austin. I mean, c'mon, the book is call The Bionic Man, not The Dead Astronaut. But there are shocks, surprises and twists on almost every other page. Questions answered you didn't even know where asked, mysteries uncovered that you wouldn't see coming a mile away. This is, simply put, a fantastic comic. And the best part? We're just getting started. This issues are only going to get better. Better. Stronger. Faster.

*Footnote-As an added bonus that has absolutely NOTHING to do with The Bionic Man, this issue features a GORGEOUS double page ad for Dynamite's upcoming Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist series. First issues out in November, it's 32 pages and it's only $1.00. PRE-ORDER. IT. NOW. It looks AMAZING!!!!!!!

BIONIC MAN #2 PREVIEW!!!!

The second issue hits on this Wednesday. I'm gonna just shut up and let you look at these fantastic pages. Can't wait!!!

Dear Dynamite & Sterling Gates-I'm in.

It's not often that I pay attention to something in the comic market that's not an established character or a licensed property. But, a recent article/announcement over at CBR sparked my interest.

-Spinning out of Kirby:Genesis, Sterling Gates, Wagner Reis, & Dynamite Entertainment is bringing back the REALLY forgotten comic book series Captain Victory & His Galactic Rangers. While I've never read the original series, published in the 90's, I believe, I AM looking forward to this. WHY? Cause it looks like a DAMN FUN comic book. Go ahead, click the link above and read the interview. I'll wait....

-You should all definately check this out. For two reasons-Kirby:Genesis is a highly underrated and is REALLY fun and two-this looks like a great, fun, sci-fi, all out action comic. PRE-ORDER!!!

Pathetic Earthlings..........

Who will save you now?


Yesterday Dynamite Entertainment released their November solicitations and low and behold, after months of waiting, they officially announced their Flash Gordon comic series, Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist! Written by Vampirella & Red Sonja scribe Eric Trautmann with art by Sherlock Holmes: Year One artist Daniel Lindro. People who know me know that I am the world's biggest Flash Gordon fan. People who don't know me, will soon find that out. Here's what Dynamite says about the book:

"The year is 1934, a time of two-fisted swashbuckling, of fearsome threats and wild adventure -- and of ever-growing threats on the horizon. Three valiant humans -- Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov -- are plucked from the Earth, traveling to the distant planet Mongo. Their exploits are legendary, battling the machinations and terror schemes of the dreaded emperor Ming, the All-Seeing Ruler of Mongo. But they did not fight alone..."

-Pretty exciting stuff! I'm impressed that the story is set in 1934. I was a little scared that they were going to totally reinvent the property and make Flash an Extreme Sports star, Dale a wise-cracking TMZ reporter and Dr. Zarkov some kind of eco-conspiracy theory scientist. Nice to see that they're staying true to the property. And I bet the book will excell because of it.

-And yes, if you know me, you're assuming there will be some kind of celebration/promotion/event regarding the release of this book and you'd be 1000% right! More details to come soonish.

Bionic Man #1 Review

The last time Colonel Steve Austin was published in comic book form was in June of 1978. 33 years later, Dynamite Entertainment brings him back in The Bionic Man #1. Ladies & Gentlemen-it was worth the wait. For those of you expecting Steve Austin to be full on bionic in this issue, you'll be a little disappointed. But, that's about the only thing that's lacking in this first issue. Dynamite made a spectacular desicion by putting their A-Team of Phil Hester & Jonathan Lau on this book. The team did a fantastic job adapting Kevin Smith's Green Hornet screenplay into a fun, action-packed and all around excellent comic, and to no one's surprise, they do the same thing here.

-In the first issue we're introduced to all the main characters & villians. One of the things that impressed me most about the book was that the villian is actually a SUPER villian. Not a guy in a suit or a bad guy with an eye patch and a grugde that is common in modern day comics. He's totally evil, and he's got what looks to be some sort of bionic powers of his own. There's some great set up for the villian's motivation,while not giving everything away yet. Your definately left wondering just what the villian's motivation is and where he came from.

-If I'd have to pick a favorite aspect of the book, it would be the characterization of Steve Austin himself. Smith & Hester do a fantastic job of giving Steve a real personality and not just making him a Hal Jordon or Maverick from Top Gun clone. He's got the right amount of cockiness, swagger and heart. In a surprising twist(tiny spoiler alert)Jamie Summers is also introduced in this first issue as Steve's fiancee. And don't worry, Oscar and Rudy are back, and as charming as ever.

-My hat's off to artist Jonathan Lau for making the action in this book SO kinetic. Flight scenese are really tough to pull off in comics, but Lau really makes the most of his panels without dragging it out for page after page.

-All in all, this was a GREAT first issue. Very excessable to any new reader that's not been exposed to the franchise and yet familiar enough to make long time fans of the property feel like they're taking a trip home to visit old friends. I honestly can't recommend this book highly enough. Put on your red track suit and RUN down to your local comic store and pick this up right away!!!!

FINALLY!!!!!

After YEARS and YEARS of waiting, today the announcement came that Dynamite Entertainment will publish a NEW GREEN HORNET COMIC BOOK!!!!! Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling. FINALLY, I get to sell and pimp a Green Hornet comic! I'm going nuts thinking of all the display and promotional possibilities to sell the book. The creative team should be announced shortly, so stay tuned to this very blog! Room 252 will be your up-to-the-minute place for all things Green Hornet. Expect exclusive interviews, art and more. And let's not forget www.thegreenhornetisawesome.com, which should be up and running within a couple of months. LET'S ROLL KATO!