Reviews of books, comics, movies, and other random stuff.
[From the ridiculous to the random to the superb, a quick roundup of notable indie comics (aka, not Marvel or DC proper, though Vertigo, Icon, Image, et al, do qualify) I picked up in the past month. Release dates may vary.] Skyscrapers of the Midwest #1 (Pictures and Stories by Joshua W. Cotter; AdHouse Books, $5) qualifies as one of the oddest comic books I have ever read. On first glance, the black-and-white artwork is very "children's book," like Sanrio's preschool character Miffy drawn in shades of grey. The shotgun-loading skeleton farmer on the cover, the fake ads promoting "Healthy…
[Three ground rules. 1) All games considered must have its origins rooted in a published comic book, ie: Marvel, DC, Image, etc. Power Puff Girls and the Simpsons do not qualify since they were "born" on screen. 2) WOW factor must be taken into consideration when ranking the games. WOW factor is defined by how the game was recieved by comic fans/gamers when it came out. This is very important because it opens up the field to any console/arcade game, any year. ie: I would argue that of the two Spider-Man games based on the movies, Spider-Man 1 would rank…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]A double dose of Marvel this week, thanks to the late shipping New Avengers #2 and nothing of interest from DC as I bailed on both Toe Tags and Detective Comics this month. (I did give in and pick up last week's Batman #635 which turned out to be a good decision.) Joining Team Bendis this week is The Tomb of Dracula #4…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]The Big Two ended 2004 with a so-so week, the edge going to DC thanks to the New Avengers' no-show, and despite the underwhelming Legion of Superheroes relaunch. The highlight of the week, Adam Strange #4, is joined by Marvel's self-indulgent What If...Jessica Jones had Joined the Avengers and Viper Comics' acclaimed Dead@17: Revolution #2, making for a mixed bag, heavier on the…
Like many of Marvel's b-list Stan Lee/Jack Kirby creations, Adam Warlock has remained something of an enigma - a putative fan favorite that has never been able to sustain a solo title. An interesting character in search of a re-interpretation that unlocks its true potential. While this new spin by Greg Pak and Charlie Adlard doesn't come close to Alan Moore's now-legendary take on Swamp Thing, it had some potential to at least make an ongoing Warlock series worth killing some trees for. Taking his original genesis as the secret project of a group of scientists seeking to create the…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]Not counting their Vertigo and Wildstorm imprints - for whom The Losers and Sleeper ably represented - it was DC's turn last week to come up empty on my interest radar, allowing Bloodfire Studios' Kindergoth #1 to join Black Widow #4 and Arcana Studios' 100 Girls #1, making this week's round of comic book carnality an all-girl affair.The Black Widow has always been…
Steve Niles' Secret Skull mini-series starts off strong, jumping from a quick dream sequence featuring a cemetery zombie attack in broad daylight to a Batman-like vigilante in a skull mask tracking a gang of thugs through the night, one of whom it somehow knows will kill an innocent girl the next day. Except he won't get the chance as the Secret Skull executes a violent pre-emptive strike, leaving the thug's head on a pike in an alley along with the sliced-and-diced corpses of his cohorts. For the past two and a half years, the Secret Skull has been at work,…
