W.T.F.?! J.J.Abrams?

Yes you are talented.

Yes you have created some cool stuff in the past few years.

But there is a law in Fanboy Town, a very strict law.

You are either 'Star Wars' or you are 'Star Trek'. NEVER both!

J.J. Abrams is 'Star Trek'. That is what he chose and, to be honest, it is not half bad. But he is not the right choice for the new 'Star Wars' films. I know that he could not have known that this opportunity would present itself to him when he signed on to do Trek but that is what fate has dealt him...live with it. If you are a true 'Star Wars' fan you should be insulted and disgusted by his choice to direct episode seven. You are giving your best toys over to the enemy to play with. If you are a "Trekkie" then you should feel betrayed. There are too many talented directors out there who could do a great job on 'Star Wars', Abrams dose not have to monopolize these franchises...what will he do next, 'Avengers'?

Be a man and stick to your first choice "Trekkie" boy.

The deal from the dark side.

Looks right at home to me.

"The wrong director you have chosen"

You can only choose one.

Review! Thunderbolts #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Julian Totino Tedesco.  Very cool cover.

STORY: Daniel Way. Good setup issue. I like seeing each team member individually approached by Ross.
                We just are not given his reason for forming the team...yet. Like it.

ART: Steve Dillon. I really liked this guys stuff on 'Preacher' (the greatest comic story ever by the way) but
           I have never been a fan of his super hero art. But it could be worse.

FINAL FILE: Buy,Read,Bag it!...Looks like a kick-ass team! Lots of guns and blood to come.

Im adding this one to my pull list!

The Cost of Love

I love comic books.

You love comic books.

Lately it seems as if that love is costing us more and more. I see a bad trend starting with the $7.99 cover
price of  Amazing Spider-Man #700. I did not buy it. If you are a casual comic buyer then it wont hurt you as much, but I already have a large pull stack and to pay almost $8 for one issue would break me.(plus I already knew the "secret" of the story so I just skipped it) At the moment I am comfortable paying the $2.99 per issue price that most comics are. With my discount online its not so bad...but that is the limit of my comfort level. I see too many new titles starting at $3.99 and at that price you only get five comics for $20...FIVE! I'm old enough to remember when $2.50 was just crazy for one comic. In a time when this great art form is hurting in sales I think the big publishers should do more to keep the prices down and get more people to fall in love with comic books like you and I have.

Could we one day look back at this issue as the start of the price explosion?

Review! Avengers #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Dustin Weaver. I got the "Blank" cover. I always get it when it is offered. It's like getting
                 two covers for one price. In this case the original cover by Weaver is not a mind blower,
                 but it is a good group shot.

STORY: Jonathan Hickman. A bit confusing. We get some powerful aliens who are trying to change
                Earth. They hand the Avengers their ass and "throw" a beaten down Cap back to Earth as a
                warning. When Cap wakes up he calls on some more Avengers...and some Squadron Supreme?
                Great start, I'm in.

ART: Jerome Opena. This guy is reaching superstar status...and he deserves it. Props to the coloring of
           Dean White, again.

FINAL FILE: Buy,Read,Bag it! A new addition to my pull list.

Love the "Blank" covers

Original cover

Tony Stark has big ears

Dont like the way your looking at me Thor

Cool villain design

cool

Review! Deathmatch #1 (Boom!)

COVER: Whilce Portacio. How the mighty have fallen...I used to think this guy was one of the best...
                 this cover sucks. (cover A)

STORY: Paul Jenkins. This is a good first issue. I thought the overall concept (witch is by no means
                original) would overwhelm me but it did not. We get to see some of the characters without
                getting too much information. It is just enough for what the story needs. It is a modern day
                'Contest of Champions' so you kind of know what to expect. So the trick for Jenkins is to
                 try and keep it feeling fresh before we get bored with it.

ART: Carlos Magno. Nice art. Feels like a mix of Juan Jose Ryp and George Perez. He just needs
           to work on his hands, they look a bit odd at times.

FINAL FILE: #1 and DONE!...I picked up this issue for the $1 price tag, and well worth it...but
                                                    it is not good enough for me to buy it monthly at regular price.

Not Whilce's best

Nice interior art

Big cast to get to know

Review! Captain America #1 (Marvel)

COVER: John Romita Jr. Weak cover. Cap's pose is odd and looks unnatural. Plus why did they feel
                that his face needed to be blacked out? There is no reason for it. Not worthy of a first issue.

STORY: Rick Remender. Strange start. This entire issue feels forced. The way Cap was captured
                is just too convenient, and over the top. It made me laugh. How the heck did Cap get that baby
                out? After he throws his shield we see that it is empty when it comes back to him and there is no
                baby in his arms in any of the panels...a teleporting mutant baby?! I also feel like we have seen the
                " hero alone in a strange land trying to protect a baby" story before...Cable anybody?

ART: John Romita Jr. Same old John. He has never drawn a good Captain America, this is proof. I
           wonder if John read the script. Cap is gonna costar with a little boy. John cannot draw children. Look
           at an issue of 'Hit-Girl'. Worst kids ever! They all look like weird, deformed, adults.

FINAL FILE: Buy, Read, Bag it! It is a first issue of Captain America after all, but I'm not too
                        optimistic of future issues. 
                        *what was up with that flashback of Cap's childhood? His dad beat his mom? So now
                           domestic violence is what gave Cap his inner strength? Ouch.

Its Ninja Cap!

Review! Thor: God of Thunder #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Esad Ribic. One of the best painter/artist out there today...period.

STORY: Jason Aaron. Very cool start. The 3-way story split during Thor's life is very interesting. Thor
                needs big villains and you don't get much bigger than a god killer. Cant wait to see how this
                bad boy continues.

ART: Esad Ribic. (see above)
                               * I want to give special props to the color artist Dean White. In a time when color
                               art is all splash and color Dean stands above the rest. He makes Esad's already great
                               art look even better. In fact, it could be the perfect team...a rare occurrence in comics.

FINAL FILE: Buy,Read,Bag it!...one of the best from 'Marvel Now'...or any publisher right now.

Sweet cover

Murdered gods? So pretty

Old man Thor...missing an arm...nice

Review! The Crow: Skinning the Wolves #1 (IDW)

COVER: James O'Barr. I know he is not the most gifted artist out there but I just really dig O'Barrs art.

STORY:  James O'Barr and Jim Terry. Love to see the Crow in Nazi Germany. I feel like we entered
                 the story half way though. I will wait for more to reveal itself in future issues...but this issue is a bit
                 confusing. Who is this Crow?

ART: James O'Barr and Jim Terry. Not the best artwork. With the lack of 'Crow' books that are
           published each year you would think they would try and put the very best artist on each project.
           It is so much better than the last series though.

FINAL FILE: Buy,Read,Bag it!...'The Crow' is one of my favorite franchises...when its done right.

Review! Image Firsts: Revival #1 (Image)

COVER: Jenny Frison. Awesome...a great new talent.

STORY: Tim Seeley. A bit confusing at first. Still not sure what or why the "zombies" exist. Nice twist
                at the end.

ART: Mike Norton. O.K. artwork. I assume this is supposed to be a horror book but the style of art
           feels way too bright and cartoonish at times. Not a good fit.

FINAL FILE: #1 and DONE!...I picked up this 'Image Firsts' version after reading so much
                        good praise for this book...they were wrong. Overrated. Maybe if all issues
                        were a dollar.

Best part!

Review! Avengers Arena #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Dave Johnson. "Battle Royale" cover? Okay.

STORY: Dennis Hopeless. This is not a new idea, obviously. It is a cool way to use some low key
                characters though. This is a good first issue but it would be much better if I knew who the
                characters where, and I don't so that makes me care less. Good to see Arcade again though.

ART: Kev Walker. Best thing about this book is the art. I was pleasantly surprised.

FINAL FILE: #1 and Done...it is a good start for this series but in order for me to add another
                        monthly title to my list it has to be a very good book...this is just not good enough.

                        

Review! Cable and X-Force #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Salvador Larroca.  "Usual Suspects" cover? Really? Over done don't ya think?

STORY: Dennis Hopeless. So Cable has another team of "bad asses" and he has some personal,
                mental and physical, problems to solve. Nothing new here.

ART: Salvador Larroca. I have seen some very good art out of this guy, this is not part of that. His inking
           is flat and there are some pages that looked rushed and messy. The colors by Frank D'Armata just
           do not save the art. Orange? Really?

FINAL FILE: #1 and Done! ...nothing new here and $3.99 is just too much for it.

Review! DEATHSTROKE #15 (DC)

COVER: Scott Clark. Cool,dark,moody artwork. Nice. Would love to see a whole book.
STORY: Justin Jordan. Good "little" story. Love seeing a bad guy get taken out by an even badder guy.
                ( is badder a word?)
ART: Edgar Salazar and Amilcar Pinna. Not sure who did what...but it doesn't matter. The art is not
          very good. Better than Rob Liefeld, but not good. Deathstroke could be a top seller for DC if they
          just put some better talent on it.
FINAL FILE: Buy,Read,Bag it!...im back on this title after Rob Liefeld's run...O.K. start.

Review! Masks #1 (Dynamite)

COVER: Mel Joy San Juan.  Not the best artwork or design but I am a "Things From Another World"
                fan so I purchased it.(plus it was $1.99)
STORY: Chris Roberson. It would be a great idea to get all these classic heroes together into one team...
                if I cared about these characters. It just seems that no matter what anyone does with them, they
                just feel old, and that may be a good thing. Grandfathers need heroes too right? Good story                                
                though.
ART: Alex Ross. Its Alex Ross. Beautiful pages. He is the sole reason I picked up this issue, and him
           leaving after one issue is why I wont pick up the next one.
FINAL FILE: #1 and DONE! without Alex Ross its just not worth my money.

This was the cover I bought but mine said "Things From Another World"...thanks Dr. No's!

Original cover by Alex Ross

Jae Lee variant...(best one)

Adrian Syaf variant

Review! The Ultimates #19 (Marvel)

We survived the zombie apocalypse!

2013 is gonna ROCK!

Back to business!

COVER: Adi Granov. Always nice. I love me some Iron Patriot!
STORY: Sam Humphries. The start of the rebuilding faze for the Ultimate Universe...boring. The "United
               We Fall" story just did not live up to expectations. It feels like it was a just a big set up to make
                Captain America president, and even that feels boring.
ART: Scot Eaton. Mediocre at best.
FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...boring story and bad artwork has just turned me off a book that was
                        one of the best when it started. I'm dropping it off my list...until it improves. There
                        are better books out to spend my $3.99 on.

Iron Patriot wants you...to spend your $3.99 on a better book!