Awesome Announcements from NYCC

Photo from comicsalliance.com

One of the bigger comic conventions around was held this past weekend in New York City.  NYCC is one of those conventions where publishers actually make big announcements for things that are down the road, and after a San Diego Comic Convention where almost nothing interesting was announced,  I was happy to see that some exciting news come out of NYCC.

Up first is the most promising tid-bit, and one that soothes the pain of Sweet Tooth having only two issues left...

Vertigo announced a new Jeff Lemire series titled Trillium.  It's plugged as "The last love story ever told", and since it is written and drawn by Jeff Lemire, that means it will be poignant, heart wrenching and will probably make me cry.

It follows a space-botanist from the far future and an explorer from the 1920's who manage to fall in love despite the separation of space and time. Trillium is set to be a ten issue series, which is good news given that there'll be a gaping hole left in my comics reading when Sweet Tooth comes to an end.  I'll be hard up for some new Jeff Lemire comics come 2013, but I do wish this was an ongoing rather than a limited series...either way, it sounds awesome. This one is published by Vertigo and is set to hit the shelves sometime in 2013.  I'll be there for it.

Photo courtesy of comicsalliance.com

Next up is another Vertigo title, this time from two of the comics industry's biggest up and coming dudes, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy.  The Wake is a sci-fi horror epic which begins when something terrifying is discovered in the depths of the ocean.  (My fingers are crossed for Cthulhu!)  Snyder and Murphy have worked together before on an American Vampire mini-series.

I personally have fairly limited experience with these two creators.  I've read a year's worth of Snyder's DCnU Batman, but I recently gave that title the drop when DC announced that there'd be a giant sprawling crossover story with the Joker where I'd have to buy a shit load of other Batman-family books just to keep up.  I've also read the first five issues worth of American Vampire, and wasn't that interested, but that's likely more due to that fact that I'm bored by vampires. Anyway, I've only been moderately impressed with Snyder's writing, but I'm willing to give the guy another shot.  He seems to be writing everything these days, so hopefully he isn't spreading himself too thin, and can put together a good run on The Wake.

The big draw here for me is that fact that Sean Murphy will be doing the art.  I have to give a lot of credit to Murphy, his art on Joe the Barbarian was a big reason I got back into reading comics as an adult.  To put it simply, the guy is a phenomenal artist, and I can't wait to see what he does with a sci-fi horror story.

The Wake is set to hit shelves in Spring of 2013.

Photo courtesy of http://scottkowalchuk.blogspot.com/

Last up, comes a slew of announcements from Oni Press.  The publisher who brings me my monthly dose of The Sixth Gun announced a whole bunch of stuff that has me excited.  First off, in January, Oni Press will relaunch it's website and feature new webcomics serials.  Once these webcomic serials finish up, they'll be collected in print as graphic novels.  One of these webcomic serials will be Down Set Fight which will feature the art of Scott Kowalchuk, an artist I'm a big fan of, and a guy who was cool enough to create this sweet birthday commission for me a year ago.  I've been wondering what the dude has been up to for a while now, it's all been a secret, so I'm happy to finally have something tangible to look forward to.

Also on the webcomic-serial front, Oni has a science-fiction-romance meets Blade Runner story
 coming from Jamie S. Rich and Natalie Nourigat. It features the rather drab title, A Boy and a Girl.  Nourigat got her start writing and drawing her bio-comic Switching Gears, and I really like her art, so I'll be checking this one out as well.

photo courtesy of
comicsalliance.com

Rounding things out come two announcements regarding Cullen Bunn, the writer of The Sixth Gun.  Up first is a spin off of that very same series titled The Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun.

This six issue mini series will feature origin stories for General Hume's four lieutenants from the series' first story arc.  I have always hoped for more Sixth Gun material featuring these villains, and I'm finally getting my wish.  These four were some bad-ass dudes, so this should be one dark and compelling story.  I always like a story about villains.  Also, it should be cool to learn more about the guns of power and the effect they have on their owners.

Brian Churilla will be handling the art for this one.  He's pretty much an unknown for me, but that teaser image looks pretty cool, so hopefully he can do justice to the series and the material.

photo courtesy of
comicsalliance.com

The other Cullen Bunn related piece of news regards another six issue mini series.  Helheim is a dark fantasy featuring Joelle Jones on art.  Bunn describes the series as "Frankenstein in the viking era".  The story follows a hero who is brought back from his peaceful and honorable death and thrust into a war between two witches.

Based on the strength of The Sixth Gun I'll be more than willing to give this series a shot.  Bunn has impressed me with his ability to deliver some awesome fantasy elements in The Sixth Gun, so I'll be interested to see what he does in a more standard fantasy setting.

Jones is another unknown artist for me, but her art from the teaser image looks pretty cool.  It reminds me a bit of Becky Cloonan, which definitely isn't a bad thing.  I'll be looking forward to this one.

Judging from all these great announcements, it looks like 2013 is shaping up to be a solid year on the comics front.  Lots of cool new stuff to check out.  I'm sure most, if not all, of these comics I mentioned above will get some attention here in the future.  Keep an eye out.



Also, this post would not have been possible with out the continually amazing comics coverage of http://www.comicsalliance.com.

Lastly, thanks to Scott's Snazzy Sketchblog for the Down Set Fight art.

Comic Quickies:

Mystery Society TPB: I read this one a few weeks back, and have just barely enough thoughts about it to give it a review.  Granted, not enough thoughts for a full review, but enough to warrant an appearance here on Comic Quickies.

Mystery Society is another item from my comics club haul, and another title that I likely would have passed over otherwise.  This one follows a rich husband and wife team who pull off clandestine operations in the name of good for all mankind. When we meet said couple, the dude, Nick Hammond, is on a mission in Area 51 attempting to recruit some new agents for their organization. What you get is a bunch of ninja/James Bond style action, and some semi-exciting thrills.  This one reminded me of Umbrella Academy and a little bit of Planetary, but in the cheap knock-off sort of way.  Not really a good thing.

The interesting tid-bit here is that it features art by one of my new favorite comic artists, Fiona Staples, who has been killing it on Saga lately.  Her art here is from about two years ago, and while her work in Mystery Society is quite good, I will definitely say that she has experienced improvement.

Overall, this was entertaining, but not overly impressive.

Godzilla Half-Century War #1 of 5: Buying this comic was a no-brainer.  It was written and drawn by James Stokoe, a guy that blew me away with his work on Orc Stain.  Apparently, Stokoe is a huge Godzilla fan, and getting to make a Godzilla comic is basically a dream come true for the guy.

Well, all that shows because this is one incredibly entertaining and engaging first issue.  It starts with Godzilla majorly fucking shit up in Tokyo as one tank commander, Ota Murakami, attempts to deal a bit of damage to the beast while saving the lives of innocent civilians.  Along with his tank operator, Kentaro, the two become the only effective means of limiting the damage and death that Godzilla lays down.

Sure, it's kinda a standard way of starting out a Godzilla comic, but Stokoe does a great job of introducing the primary characters and delivering some absolutely awesome Godzilla action.  Most importantly, the action is great, and as I've come to expect from Stokoe, the art is absolutely fantastic.  Moving forward, this looks to be a really great mini-series, and I'll be eagerly anticipating each of these issues.

Blue Estate #12: Sure it's been a while between issues, but I'm always willing to wait for an issue of Blue Estate simply because it is always awesome, and easily one of my favorite reads of the week.

This 12th issue wraps up "Season One", or what is basically the first major story line of the series. All the story threads that have been building and building over the past eleven issues pay off here, and the conclusion is pretty damn entertaining.  There's a great combination of shocking and hilarious moments that play out in this issue, and I'm glad that Kalvachev was able to pull it all together for an awesome finale.

Blue Estate is definitely one of my favorite comic series, and it's one that I highly recommend.  Each issue has been a great blend of hilarity, action, and wild plot development.  This comic is definitely one that will keep the reader on his or her toes and leave you wanting more.  I'm not totally positive that there are more issues of Blue Estate planned after this, but my fingers are crossed that there will be more of this amazing comic to come in the very near future.  As far as crime comics go, or any kind of comic for that matter, this is one of the best.

Batman #12: Well, we've reached the one-year mark with all these new DC titles, and after starting out reading seven of the new fifty-two comics, I've whittled that list down to a paltry two titles.  One of those that's still left kicking after all this time is Batman.

Truth be told, Batman has been just barely hanging in there as I've been a bit bored with the whole "Court of the Owls" story line.  Give me some classic bat-villains damn it!  The Owl business was a bit too trumped up for my tastes. That being said, this 12th issue was quite good...probably because there was no sign of any Owl garbage, and the art was done by Becky Cloonan, who totally rocked it.

What this issue did have was a sort of back to the roots approach that was told through the point of view of Harper Row, a Gotham City electrician who is intent on helping the Batman do his crime fighting thing in her own little way.  Harper essentially figures out how Batman controls the CCTV cameras throughout the city while he is doing his thing, and tries to do the Caped Crusader a solid by bolstering his system.  Her plan, though filled with good intentions, backfires with nearly deadly consequences.

Sure, this issue didn't have great over-arching plots and all that, but it was cool to see Batman through the eyes of a regular Gothamite.  Not to mention, the writing and art were much better than usual here too.  My hope is that the whole "Court of the Owls" business is behind us, and moving on Snyder can deliver more compelling Batman stories.

Comic Quickies: Re-imaging Origins

Action Comics #5: Grant Morrison gets another crack at telling Superman's origin story in this issue, and unlike his previous effort in All Star Superman, which only took up a single page, this one get's a full issue's worth of story.

It's a pretty damn good origin story too.  We get to see a little bit of the downfall of planet Krypton, and even some Ma and Pa Kent in their younger days.  (Good job stickin' it to the man Ma and Pa!) There's also some very cryptic foreshadowing going on here, pointing towards some epic stuff in the future for the title.  Which is about time if you ask me.

Morrison has spent the first four issues telling a cute little Superman story about his youthful struggles, but so far the story hasn't been nearly big enough for a character like Superman.  I'm not saying the first four issues weren't good, they were good, but Grant needs to really bring the thunder from here on out.  I have faith in the man.  Looking forward to seeing what he's got up his sleeves.

 Batman #5: I'll make this really simple.  This is the single best Batman comic I've ever read.

It's like this: Batman is stuck in a massive labyrinth, no bat belt, no food, no contact with the outside world, and the only water to be found is likely drugged.  Oh, and he's been in there for at least eight days so far.

Aside from an insanely tense story, what you get here is a journey through delusion and starvation with one of the normally most sharp minded guys around.  When all of Batman's mental walls start to break down due to exhaustion and hunger, it is a crazy trip, and an incredible read.

Accompanying the fantastic writing by Scott Snyder here is by far the best art I've seen from Greg Capullo yet.  I know, I haven't been so easy on the guy in the past, but he not only impressed me here, but pretty much blew my mind with his depiction of the events in this story.  Capullo does a fantastic job of showing the unhinging of Batman's mind, and puts the reader right there next to the big guy.

It's not easy to describe the amazingness of this issue, it really needs to be experienced, and I highly recommend, even if you aren't a comic reader, or a Batman fan, that you go out and give this issue a read.  It is quite amazing, and pretty fucking awesome to look at too.

All Star Western #5: I'm sad to say this, but I think I'm beginning to get tired of this title.  I've started to realize that there isn't much character depth to Jonah Hex, and each issue bears a striking resemblance to those that came before it: Jonah Hex gets in huge fight, and either A) kicks total ass or B) gets in life threatening situation with no feasible way out, and somehow survives to kick more ass.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

I think I failed to notice this routine for so long because I was enjoying Moritat's art so much, but sad to say, even that has begun to falter in the last couple of issues.  I wonder if he's having a hard time keeping up with the monthly schedule because it seems to me that his art is a little rushed looking these past months.  I don't know, hopefully this one will pull itself together, but right now this one is moving towards being dropped.

Prophet #21: Yes, this is technically the twenty-first issue of Prophet, but it is also the first in a new era for the title.  I guess this was a Rob Liefeld comic back in the day and ran for 21 issues, and has lain dormant like a Balrog for some years. Now it's back, freed from the dungeons of Liefeld-dur (Rob Liefeld's castle of shitty comic artistry and writing) and being written by one of my comic creating heroes, Brandon Graham.

It seems like a minor tragedy that Graham isn't doing the art here too, that is until you actually flip open this issue and see the amazing artwork by Simon Roy.  Graham gives Roy's art lots of room to breathe, and I found myself having eye-gasm after eye-gasm as I journeyed through this issue.  Roy's art is simply wonderful.

Graham's writing is pretty flippin' awesome too.  He took sort of a minimalist approach here, with little dialog, or narration boxes, but his scripting is great, and he works in some great fantasy and sci-fi elements that are as creative as anything China Mieville has cooked up.  I definitely wish I had a Dol Mantle (a symbiotic shawl-like creature that appears to have many versatile advantages).  There's plenty of other great ideas to be had in Prophet, and this issue definitely left me hungry for more.

More than anything else, this comic reaffirmed to me how wonderful and creative comics can be when done well.  Graham seems to be well on his way to creating a true gem of the medium.  This is one of the best single comics I've ever read. Check it out!

The Bulletproof Coffin Disinterred #1: Yay!  More Bulletproof Coffin!

The first arc of The Bulletproof Coffin was one of my favorite titles from previous years, so I'm thrilled to see new material hitting the shelves.  I'm a big fan of the David Hine and Shaky Kane writer/artist combo, so I have high hopes for this series.

The first issue seemed to mostly lay out the origin story for The Shield, and felt like it was mostly a stand-alone comic, but it worked in a few other angles that makes me think the six issues in this arc will interconnect in some way.

I'm hoping to see more of the strange pulp-style heroes that only played limited role in the last arc in this current arc.  So far, this one is off to a great start.

Welcome to the DCnU Issue #3 edition (Part 1)

Batman #3: Allow me to take a BIG  sigh of relief.  Why? Because I didn't hate the art in this issue.  Truth be told, this is the best issue of Batman so far.

Not only is there some sweet bat detective stuff going on, but I thought Greg Capullo's art was pretty solid in this issue.  I think what enamored me to it the most is that Capullo seemed to be experimenting with his "lens" and how the panels were viewed by the reader.  This led to some strange panel art, like the one where a conversation between Bruce and Alfred is viewed through the eye holes of the Bat-cowl sitting on a nearby table.  The technique worked best when Batman was doing his detecting and Capullo would highlight clues so that it felt like the reader was detecting alongside Batman.

This title is probably the best written title out of all the new DC stuff I'm reading, and for that reason alone, I will tough out Capullo's art.  Hopefully, this issue is a sign that he's growing into the job, and growing as an artist.

All Star Western #3: The first arc of this new series is tied up in this third issue, which was a surprise, and for my money, felt a bit rushed.  It was like, all of a sudden, boom, on to a new arc!  It looks like Hex will be sticking around Gotham though, and hopefully Amadeus Arkham will continue to be a character, because he's pretty much the only likable character in the title.  Don't get me wrong, Jonah Hex is fun to read, but the man's an asshole.

Aside from the weirdly rushed writing, I felt like Moritat's art looked a bit rushed in this one too.  The beautiful high detail that was prevalent in the first two issues wasn't there, and often there was little to no background art in the panels.  On the other hand, there were two sweet double page spreads, so it almost balances out in the end.  Hopefully Moritat can recapture the thunder in the next issue.

Action Comics #3: I was freaking out when I read the first few pages of this issue, because I thought that all of a sudden Rags Morales had gotten amazing at art.  I figured he must have taken some sort of magical elixir because if I wasn't mistaken, his art was looking a lot like it was drawn by Gene Ha...then I realized it was Gene Ha doing the art on the first few pages.

WOW.  Amazing.  His depiction of planet Krypton before the destruction is bee-yoo-tee-ful.

Back on planet Earth, things aren't going so well for Supes.  He's got the po-po breathing down his neck, some anti-alien animosity aimed in his S-chested direction, and from the looks of things, a showdown with a battalion of robots and a freaky cyborg dude in his future, oh, also the threat of an alien invasion.  Sounds FUN!  I know I can't wait.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #3: In this issue Frankenstein and his fellow monster buddies travel to a planet that is literally covered in monsters, and attempt to kill them all.  Then they discover that three other areas of the planet are monster infested as well, and have a giant epic monster to defeat in each of those regions as well.  Can you say "Boss Battle"?

It is almost silly how simplistic and straight forward this comic can be at times, but that simplicity is primarily what makes this a fun title to read.  Yes, this title is sort of a guilty pleasure for me, but so far it has been consistently fun, and highly entertaining.  Plus, as I mentioned before, I am a sucker for monsters, and this is pretty much the mecca of monsters.

Welcome to the DCnU Issue #2 Edition

Welcome to the DCnU second issue recap of all the DC comics I tend to read.  If you've been keeping up, you'll know that I liked some of the new DC titles I picked up last month, while some others left me sitting on the fence.  So how'd those titles fare the second time around?  Let's see....

Action Comics #2:  I wanna say that I'm really glad they toned down Superman's powers a bit for this comic.  He's still a strong dude, but Morrison has done a good job making Supes seem like he isn't an unstoppable force.  I also like the way they're handling Lex Luthor.  The guy is faced off against Superman, but for believable reasons: with the safety of humanity in mind...the guy's not wrong, he's just an asshole.

I think I'm officially not a fan of Rags Morales.  Superman is supposed to be a young man in this, but there are times he looks more like an middle aged going on towards old man.  (Just look at that cover)  Also Lois looks like a frumpy, worn out cougar on casual Friday in this issue.  Morales' character designs look totally different from one page to the next.  Not impressed.

Inconsistent art aside, this is a fun take on Superman, and Morrison makes the Man of Steel fun to read.  I'm definitely on board for the first full arc, and probably Morrison's entire run.

Animal Man #2:  A lot of people are totally in love with Animal Man.  I am not one of those people.  I was firmly on the fence after the first issue, and not a lot has changed after the second.

I stuck around for this second issue on the strength of the three page dream sequence at the end of issue one, and like that issue, a few cool things happened that got me excited, which helped balance out the other not so cool parts. For example: Animal Man's eyes bleeding a crazy map-tattoo onto his chest. Animal Man's daughter turning a neighbor's hand into a chicken leg.  However, I realize I can't just keep reading this issue for the one or two pages of thrills it provides each issue.  The whole issue needs to be worth reading not just a few pages.

A big hang-up I have with this title is that I don't like Travel Foreman's art.  He can draw some creepy and cool beasties, but most everything else looks flat and generic, or too clean and sanitized.  Because this is written by Jeff Lemire, I'll give it one more issue, but it needs to improve drastically.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #2:  Does Frankenstein bitch-slap a deranged and creepy old church lady who's been sacrificing children to monsters from another dimension? Hells to the yes.  Does Frankenstein do some underwater sword wielding against some crazy creatures?  Mmm hmm.  Does Frank and his crew travel to a planet completely covered in monsters?  Yes!

Unlike Lemire's Animal Man, which focuses on characters and their interactions, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is all about the balls to the walls action and monster slaying.  Yeah, there's some character development in there, but it's not the focus of the comic, nor am I inclined to care.

I do get the sense that the light/popcorn feel might not be able to hold my interest over time, but for now, it's pretty enjoyable, and this one scores high marks for sheer escapism.  My one gripe: Frank rocks some really dorky platform combat boots...what the hell is up with that?

Detective Comics #2:  I think Batman is supposed to be flying in the bat-plane or something on that cover, but I'm not so sure...he could be on the bat-toilet.

I wasn't instantly in love with this title after the first issue, but a shocker ending made  me interested enough to read more.  I wish I could say otherwise, but this issue felt like more of the same.  More bat-toys, a fight, and lo and behold, another shock-tastic ending.

Tony S. Daniel, who does both the writing and the art, seems to be relying on the cheap thrills approach with Detective Comics, and I'm not sure how much more I can take.  It doesn't seem like a sustainable form of story telling.  I can only take so many big shockers before they achieve mundane status, and lose their ability to make an impact.  I'm considering dropping this one from my pull-list.

Batwoman #2:  Batwoman is easily the best title coming out of the DCnU, and for my money, is one of the best buys on the shelf these days.  J.H. Williams III is probably the best artist in the game right now, and Batwoman is an amazing looking book, not to mention a compelling read.

Kate Kane/Batwoman is a really interesting character to read about both in and out of the bat-suit.  Her budding love interest with Detective Sawyer adds an interesting dynamic to the whole deal too.

On top of a budding love story, there's some strange wraith-like creature abducting Gotham's children, and a D.E.O. spook pulling rank all over town trying to figure out and unmask Batwoman.  Batwoman is great stuff, I highly recommend this very accessible series.

Batman #2:  Batman is the better of the two Batman titles, but it still has a major weakness.  The art.  I didn't like it in issue one, and I like it even less in issue two.  I wrote in my review of issue one that I hoped to grow accustomed to, and one day like Capulo's art, but I think I kinda hate it.  Not only is it fifteen years or so out of date, but it just doesn't work on multiple levels.

The first thing that drives me nuts are his action sequences, which are poorly planned out and confusing to figure out what the hell is going on. There was a really poorly executed action sequence where Batman jumped the bat-cycle onto an oncoming train (no ramp needed) in physics defying fashion that was just plain cheesy, but it gets much worse.

The other aspect of Capullo's art that drives me nuts are his character designs.  Simply put, the people look ridiculous.  Why is Bruce Wayne's head a fucking cinder block?  There's another confusing action scene where Bruce Wayne battles some assassin in an owl-combat suit.  Bruce tries kicking and punching the guy, both of which are easily blocked by the assassin, yet somehow, Bruce is then able to run up, and put the guy in a head-lock no problem.  There's then three increasing close up panels of Bruce trying to choke the guy out, then comes the worst panel of the entire comic:

Bruce Wayne has had some nutty work done to his face...or Capullo simply does not know how to draw lips.  Lips don't square off like that nor do they meet the teeth at a right angle.  What did the guy do, bust out a ruler to draw that panel?  That will not do.  By the way Bruce, those are some smooth-ass teeth you got there buddy.

What makes this story even more tragic is that Scott Snyder is a great Batman writer.  I really like the story that he's got going on with this first arc, too bad I can't stand the art.  Please get a new artist.  Soon.

All Star Western #2:  Last but not least comes the western that really isn't a western.  When we last left Jonah Hex he was investigating the plot of From Hell (Review coming on Halloween!). Now he's caught up in a brutal shoot-out at Amadeus Arkham's casa with minions of Gotham's own elite secret society.  When the gunsmoke and dust clears Hex is still standing, and in his no bullshit fashion, discovers the whereabouts of the bad-guys hang out.  With Arkham in tow, he heads off to deal out some more six-shooter justice.

Thankfully, it turns out this opening story arc isn't a total rehashing of the From Hell plot, Gotham's secret society is actually following the teachings of the "Crime Bible" a dark faith based on the story of Cain and Abel.

So basically this opening story arc is setting up to be Jonah Hex versus rich religious nut-jobs.

Amen to that.

Comic Quickies: Welcome to the DCnU Part 3

Batman #1: Between this and Detective Comics,I've had a higher level of anticipation for the Batman title mostly because Scott Snyder is the writer.  I first came across the guy in the pages of American Vampire, which was a solid comic, but suffered from the fact that it is, well, about vampires, and I'm sick of those fuckers.  

Since then, Snyder's star has been on the rise as he's garnered some high praise for, what I've heard, was a wonderful run on Detective Comics (pre-relaunch).  Now, with the big shake up, he's manning Batman.

Confused?  Good.  Moving on.

So how does this first issue turn out?  Overall, pretty decent stuff here.  It starts out with a riot in Arkham prison, and Batman, with help from an unlikely source, puts a hurtin' on pretty much everyone in the rouge gallery.  From there, Snyder introduces the readers to some new bat-gadgetry which serves the purpose of one,  being cool and two, helping to introduce a dumb out of touch reader like me to the current bat-world.  With the help of a fancy facial recognition device, Bruce Wayne chats it up with his proteges, (there's been three different Robins apparently), and rubs elbows with Gotham's ultra-rich elite.

While Bruce is announcing his plan to fix Gotham through imaginative rebuilding, he is cut short, as duty calls and Batman is dragged into a murder investigation.  After some fun Bat-tective work, he discovers Bruce Wayne is the next target for Gotham's latest crazed killer.  That's pretty much the whole issue in a nutshell, but there's more intricacy to the plot than I've laid out, and there's a great cliff hanger ending that has me excited for the next issue.

After reading both this and Detective Comics, I would say Batman is the sure front runner of the two main bat-titles after one issue.  The writing and plotting is just much more solid here, and didn't seem to be just recovering ground that has already been covered over and over.

That said, I was not a fan of Greg Capullo's art.  No, his art is not bad, it is fine, I just really disliked how 90's it looked.  Every page gave me flashbacks to my comic reading experiences as a kid, and as an adult, I expect better. There was nothing special or interesting or new feeling about that art, and that was ultimately pretty depressing.  Maybe I'll grow accustomed to Capullo's style, but I'd rather have a better artist, who has a unique style, working this title.

In the end, this was a great comic, brought down by mediocre art.

All Star Western #1:  Wanna hear the craziest thing about the DC relaunch?  They took Jonah Hex out of the wild west, and plunked him down in...Gotham City!
Ok, maybe not the craziest thing, but still pretty nutty.

Gone are the wide open spaces, and sparse landscapes of the frontier.  This issue opens with a sweeping shot of a Gotham train station and the be-smogulated brackish city-scape in the background.  Enter Jonah Hex, the bad-ass, tough as nails, bounty hunter with the freakish mug and penchant for dealing out steel justice. He's been called to Gotham by none other than Doctor Amadeus Arkham to help investigate a series of murders.

Hex and Arkham make for a weird pairing, but Hex's straight forward, no-fuckin'-nonsense approach to bounty hunting seems to be working.  Some clever detective work, which mostly consists of Hex cracking skulls and forcing the otherwise silent to talk -all while Arkham looks on in abject terror- leads the unlikely duo to be on the trail of a man called the "Gotham Butcher", who is going around killing prostitutes, and is more than likely part of a secret society of Gotham elite.  

Sounds like a pretty cool plot right?  Well, it would be if that didn't also happen to be extreeeeemly similar to the plot of Alan Moore's From Hell, which I also happen to be reading right now.  Yeah, that's a little disheartening, but Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are definitely not idiots, and are almost certainly playing into the reader's expectation that this is gonna be a variation on the good ol' Jack the Ripper story.  My money's on a big-ass twist in the next issue that sends this plot in new directions.  Fingers crossed.  Please don't re-write From Hell.  Please.

A good reason to pick up this book is that, (hey-oh!), there's actually a good fucking artist, who has his own unique style, working on it.  That artist is none other than the singly named Moritat.  Moritat makes the early-industrial era Gotham every bit a character as Jonah Hex or Amadeus Arkham.  The city looks great, as do the folks who populate it.  And populated it is!  The city has a dirty, over-crowded, claustrophobic look and feel to it that gives the city a personality.

Moritat also does this interesting thing where the primary characters of a given panel are inked with a thicker line than the rest of the panel.  This makes the important people stand out, and seem more in focus than the rest of the art.  It makes the comic have a more cinematic feel, as there is a definite focus on particular people and places while the background, though exquisitely drawn and detailed, seems to be out of focus.   Like it or not, and I lean towards liking it, it is an interesting way to ink a page.

My biggest complaint with the comic is that the coloring is pretty damn lackluster.  The color palate for the issue seems to be varying shades of gray with a bit of sepia tone added in.  This makes everything look pretty flat, and doesn't do justice to the art.

Despite a plot that is remarkably unoriginal, and some weak coloring, I liked this issue way more than I thought I would.  It was a lot of fun, and nice to look at.  Hopefully there'll be a big twist in the plot next issue so I can carry on with reading this this title.


Ok, since I like lists a lot, I'm gonna rank and grade the 7 DCnU titles I've read from worst to best.

7. Animal Man: D
6. Detective Comics: C-
5. Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: C
4. Batman: B-
3. All Star Western: B-
2. Action Comics: B
1. Batwoman: B+



Ok, now let's head across the seas to Marvel and see what they've been doing with Daredevil...

Here Comes Daredevil #1:  Last weekend I went to the Jet City Comic Show here in Seattle.  Bearing almost no resemblance to the much larger and much more epic Emerald City Comicon, the Jet City Comic Show is a much more humble and sparsely attended affair.  Nonetheless, there's plenty of great comic creating talent on hand.

The coolest thing is, since the attendance is pretty low, there's no lines or rush to talk to folks and you can more or less hang out and chat it up to your heart's content (or until they are clearly sick of you) with a variety of comic creators.  One question I got asked a lot was the ol' "what comics are you reading?".  To which I name a few of the titles in my pull-box and say that I mostly read creator-owned stuff, and mostly stay away from the "big two".  However, on multiple and separate occasions, I was told that I should check out the new Daredevil comic, because it is, to paraphrase, really good.

Figuring such high praise from folks in the industry was too much to ignore, I grabbed the first few issues and lo and behold! Here Comes Daredevil is really good.  The comic takes sort of a back to basics approach to Daredevil, and eschews the dark and gritty approach that has been the norm for the book for a long time.  There's nothing wrong with the dark and gritty Daredevil of yore, but I like the new Daredevil.

It opens with Daredevil stylishly thwarting a kidnapping at a mob wedding, then moves on to Matt Murdoch's personal life as a lawyer,  where his career is in jeopardy due to the fact that there's a big media blitz going on because it somehow slipped that Matt Murdoch is Daredevil.  Though his cover is solid, the media is persistent, and like real life, does a better job of wrecking the poor guy's life than it does of telling a compelling story.

After being thrown off his current trial by the judge, it is up to Daredevil to find a link between his client and greater conspiracies.

As great, and compelling as the story is, the art, handled oh so well by Paolo Rivera, is great.  Rivera excels at making Daredevil's movements seem fluid, graceful and flawless.  There's real energy to his art which is a wonderful thing.  I haven't seen the likes in any other super hero comic, and for that reason alone, this is a special book.

I never thought I'd be recommending a Daredevil comic, but here I am.  Here Comes Daredevil is definitely worth a read.   There's four issues out so far, so check 'em out!