Hellboy Vol. 7 TPB Review

Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer/Artist/Creator: Mike Mignola
Artist: Richard Corben
Artist: P. Craig Russell

The first thing you need to know before I start this review is the beauty behind Hellboy is that that it doesn't matter if you've read Hellboy TPBs Volume 1-6 or not and that goes for any of the trades. Hellboy, in his own contained universe, can be read in whatever order you want. In many cases the stories in the volumes aren't even in order.

The first story in this collection, The Troll Witch and Others, is called Penanggalan and takes place in 1958, Malaysia, well before Hellboy's antics in the very first Hellboy series. My favorite part about the collected works of Hellboy is that they always come with three things, an introduction, a few sketches in the back, and Mignola's own explanation for how he came up with the story. His explanations are my favorite part about getting these in TPB, even if I had all the issues, which in this particular trade were hard to come by, I would have still picked this trade up. The explanations add a level of intimacy as we, the readers, get to look in on Mignola's writing and creative process, a notion still hard to come by in mainstream comics, and particularly nice in far out stories like these where on many occasions I have said to myself "where does he come up with this stuff."

In this trade we get a collection of stories that were printed in various formats, not just in single print issues, but also in collections with other works like Wizard magazine promotions and the Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft. These collections are essential because I didn't even know about the Penanggalan until I read it here. My favorite part of the Penanggalan is when Hellboy makes a comment that is quite possibly the same reaction Mignola himself would have had when he stumbled onto this story, in which a woman becomes startled and kicks her own head off, weird!

I personally love The Troll Witch for its ability to blend classic folklore with Hellboy. This particular story could almost be done without Hellboy but when added the supernatural element really kicks up. I also loved The Ghoul because Mignola juxtaposes a story about Hellboy beating up a monster and Shakespeare's Hamlet, which fits perfectly. Mignola drew most of the stories in this collection, which is something I doubt we will see much of in the future. His other artist's were Richard Corben who drew "Makoma" (though Mignola does draw a few panels at the beginning and the end) the story of Hellboy in Africa, which is probably one of my favorite Hellboy two part stories because of its involvement with Africa, and Corben's earth tones really fit the book. And the other artist is P. Craig Russell, who drew "The Vampire of Prague" a slightly cartoony style that works perfectly with a lighthearted gothic tale (yes, such a thing is possible). Mignola of course still writes all of the stories, which is awesome to see and again isn't as easy to come by, but Dark Horse is usually pretty good to its creators, and I am thankful of it. A+ Oh and you should look into all the rest of the trades if you like this one!

X-men #203 Review

Author: Mike Carey
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Carlos Cuevas
Colors: Edgar Delgado

The conclusion to Blinded by the Light! This is it! Nothing will ever be the same! The X-men will never sell as many copies as they did in the 90's! I will keep buying X-men cause I'm such a fanboy! Holy shit I can't believe Prizm made it throughout all four parts without even a scratch on him!

If you are an Iceman and Cannonball fan you might like this issue more than I did. For some reason Mr. Sinister gathered a combined force of Marauders, Acolytes, and ex-X-men to take the X-men down and to recover Destiny's diaries. Iceman and Cannonball really shine in this issue by taking on all the bad guys while the rest of the X-men are trying to resuscitate Blindfold or just waking up themselves. Iceman and Cannonball get away, but Sinister still ends up with the books.

What the fuck? This issue is everywhere. Any momentum that Carey builds up in all his stories just seem to be poorly executed in the end. So Iceman lost an arm....big deal the guy can grow another one. What was the purpose of Sinister getting his hands on the books? Who the fuck knows, but I'm sure it's something sinister he's scheming. If the Marauders wanted to take down two X-men they should have done more than just stand around with their thumbs up their asses! When they finally capture the two heroes, who's in charge of killing them Gambit and Mystique! Motherfuck...how long has Sinister been trying to destroy the X-men? This book explains nothing and leaves you with more cliffhangers and questions than you first started. So the X-men status on Carey's book so far:

Cable is dead
Mystique, Lady Mastermind, and Omega Sentinel don't want to play good guys.
Rogue is in a coma
Sabretooth is dead
Sam could be lobotomized
Iceman is missing an arm

For some reason the art was better in this part than all four issues. There were some great pictures of Gambit and Sinister. I think the shadows and the small details on the clothes and armor helped Ramos stand out. Have they announced a new artist on X-men when Ramos leaves for Runaways? Although it was nice to see Bobby cut loose even if it was just for a bit; this issue was still a subpar X-men story and hell in with the last few years of horrendous stories that really isn't saying alot. C-

New Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters # 1 Review

Authors: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Renato Arlem
Colors: Rob Schawger
Cover: Dave Johnson

No it's not really call New Uncle Sam, but it's the new series with the same name. I guess I could have called it volume 2, but New just sounds so Marvelous! Anyway, because you demanded it! That's right you! I guess I kind of demanded it too by buying the trade. It's the return of Uncle Sam and his band of Freedom Fighters, but it's a return that comes a little too late. Why you ask? Well they missed out on all the action of Amazons Attack! Lucky them I say.

While the Amazons were on the rag and destroyed the White House we find out that the Freedom Fighters were fighting a swarm of intelligent bugs in space. Red Bee was captured by these bugs and put into some kind of cocoon. When she finally gets out her skin is darker and she's sporting some hot antennas. She communicates with the queen of these bugs and tricks her into letting her and her team mates go. Uncle Sam senses that there is a bigger storm coming and tips his hat. That one panel reminded of Fatal Fury the motion picture with Terry's inner monologue. The president decides to make the Freedom Fighters the frontline against domestic threats just in case a bunch of crazy women decide to take Washington DC again. It seems that there will be more of a change to come for Red Bee with that last page and some dark times for the rest of the group.

I think that Arlem's style fits this book better than Acuna's and it his heavy inks definitely flatter the story more than his work on Silver Surfer. The only thing he really needs to tighten up is his facial features, but that would be my only gripe about the art. Speaking of art, I am fond of that simplistic yet catchy cover by Johnson. I really enjoyed the previous miniseries it was a fun way of mixing politics and old characters and putting them in a modern era. Overall it was a fun issue that dragged a bit in the middle, but kept my interest from beginning to end. I'm curious to see where this story takes us and see who makes it out alive. B+

Quick Reviews for 9-26-07

Ultimate Spider-Man #113-114 Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Immonen (don't even want to spell his full
name)
Cover: I wish Bagley did it

I honestly don't know what to think about this book anymore. It isn't Ultimate Spider-Man in my eyes. In fact, yesterday when I bought issue 114 I only read it once and immediately bagged and boarded it and put it away. I've never, ever done that to an issue of this series. I usually read each issue at least three times before bagging it, but I just couldn't stomach the art and feel of the book. I know you Immonen fans hate me, but I don't care. I HATE HIS ARTWORK! I hate it with a passion. It makes my skin crawl, it makes me get bored and often look away at something else. I don't love this book anymore, there I said it! In fact, I will probably stop reviewing it after this arc is done until another artist comes along. The only reason I continue to buy it is for Bendis and even that isn't saving the book for me. OK, here is what happened. It will be short and sweet because I couldn't read these issues multiple times like I used to do.

OK, issue 113 took place from Norman's point of view. He is crazy and pissed and mad at Nick Fury. Along the way he meets Iceman (what's that? That's supposed to be Electro? Good job Immonen, you draw Iceman and Electro just the same. A little reference wouldn't hurt you know!) and goes on to claim how he created Spider-Man and all that. Peter isn't in the issue until the end and Norman goes on TV to try and tell how Nick Fury planned all this against him from the get-go. This would have worked well if Bagley drew this, but this was just a cluter-fuck of awful artwork.

Issue 114 has Peter and MJ and Spider-Man in it but they look awful. MJ used to be hot but her face looks like dog shit in this issue. Peter tells May to go stay at some hotel and he will handle Norman. Spidey and Iceman, I mean Electro, fight and Icelectro runs away. Norman is still pissed and supposedly Harry will show up later in the arc. That's about it, I just zoomed right through this cause it felt so wrong. It almost felt like this artwork was trying to violate me in some sick sense.

Thoughts/Comments:
Wow, how the mighty have fallen. This book used to be special. This book used me make me laugh, cry and cheer. This book got me through some good time and some bad times. This used to be my favorite comic book. Not anymore. This isn't Ultimate Spider-Man. This is some mockery of a beautiful thing that used to bring joy to the world. Now this book is just wrong. Seriously folks, I enjoyed Justice League of America #13 a million times more than this, and I'm a Marvel fanatic. So you know I really hate a book when a DC book blows Ultimate Spidey out of the water. I just want you Immonen fans to know I love comics and I respect you all, but I can't stand this art. If you all hate me for this and never want me to review another book I'll understand but I have to be honest and let you know how I feel. Just remember how I feel.

This book used to be my all time favorite comic and it has just basically gotten up and kicked me in the face with this change. I can't love this book anymore. I will keep buying it for Bendis, but until a new artist comes along I won't enjoy this book. That being said, this one gets a D-. That's not a typo, this is almost F material.

Wonder Woman Annual #1

Writer: Alan Heinburg
Artists: Terry Dodson & Gary Frank

Alan Heinburg's "Who is Wonder Woman" story from last June finally ends and leaves a wierd taste in your mouth.  There are things to like, but most of the issue falls flat from the 8 months in between issues.  From what I remember, in issue 3 or 4 of the regular Wonder Woman series, Diana had her powers stolen by Circe, only to do the Wonder-Spin and get them back, only to be ambushed by a ton of villains.  So most of this issue is a fight with all of Wonder Woman's villains, all 14 of them, 4 of which I'd heard of before.  So we've waited 8 months for a big fight, a big confrontation with Circe, and all Wonder Woman has with Circe is a conversation.  After some magical voodoo, Diana is glowing pink, and Circe disaapears, presumably to start Amazon's Attack.  Gee, thanks DC for that lack-luster conclusion to what had been a pretty-good arc.  Following Dodson's part is Gary Franks who goes through the motions and gives us a quick backstory of all the characters in Wonder Woman's world, Diana, Donna, Cassie, Sarge Steel, and Nemesis.  It's kind of informative, but all of this would have been more helpful in the back of Wonder Woman #1 when I was asking these questions.  Gah.  This issue is not worth it's $3.99, so read it in the shop if you want to read the conclusion of a story that started more than a year ago.   D- 

All Star Batman & Robin #7

Writer: Frank Miller
Artists: Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Holy Flying Feces Batman! We got 3 issues of All Star Batman in one summer!  Unfortunately, while they have been interesting, they have not been great.  Isssue seven hits and finally moves the story forward.  Over the summer we saw Batman beat up a rapist, go to the docks, and meet Black Canary.   Oh and Batgirl took up a lot of space.  Robin? Oh, he's still starving in the batcave, but he appears for more than one page in this issue.  Batman kicks the crap out of the goons who were attacking Black Canary, and then proceeds to have sex with her, with their masks on, because according to Black Canary, "it's better that way."  Right.  Batman's not that much of a jerk to leave a girl in the cold rain after a stand, so he gives her a lift home in the Goddamn Batmobile.  Batman brings a good home to the Batcave, tells Robin that this is the jerk who killed his parents, and that he must make a choice.  Robin makes his choice and the issue ends.  So, after 3 issues in the Batmobile, and 3 in the Batcave, I give it another 10 issue before Robin puts on the costume, but I could be wrong because the last page of this book appears to say that this book is finally going to get moving along. 

Frank is keeping his goddamn mantra, with the word being as present in this issue as it was in five and six.  I'm now starting to think that Frank is lampooning us for making a big deal of it back when issue two came out years ago.  Or he could really like the word, but it's just getting tired.  This issue shows why we had the Black Canary origin in issue three, so we would know she kicks ass, loves Batman, and wants to screw him so bad that she doesn't care about splinters in awkward places.  Just give me Batman in each issue from now on, please.  Jim Lee continues to deliever phenominal work, and Batman scares me more in this series than he does in any of his other books.  Lee draws Batman like a maniac, smiling and laughing, clearly enjoying all the pain he's dishing out.  I've never seen Batman grin as much as he has in this series, it's almost refreshing.  A lot of people may not like the way this series is being written, it's too cartoony, too rough-edged, too different from their takes before.  I like rather like it, as Batman has never been more interesting, whether it's the new Playboy in Morrison's Batman or the insane one in this book.  It's these refreshing takes that make me realize why I love the character, it's because the concept of Batman is just so cool that it doesn't matter how he's written, he's just badass, all the time, and this issue definately helps that case.  B- / C+

Manga Reviews: Dragon Eye, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Rure, and Translucent

Dragon Eye Vol. 1
Kairi Fujiyama
Published by Del Rey

I adore the author's note at the beginning of this manga: "Hello, it's me, Fujiyama. This is the story of a boy with an eye in the middle of his forehead and sundry other folk. Let's go explore them together." What an awesome invitation and attitude about writing and reading stories.  I want to steal it and use it at the beginning of my books, if I ever get published...

If you enjoy Naruto, then you'll most likely enjoy this as well. Kids train at school to become VIUS who fight against the Dracules, humans turned into monsters by a virus. Leila Mikami is searching for revenge for her parents' death, and while she wants to remain human, she also wants the power to crush the monsters, and that power is the Dragon's Eye. She may not have to search that far though... Oh, never mind. I can't keep it a secret. If the cover of the manga has a boy no the front with a star on his forehead, it's pretty obvious he's the supped-up, can't be beaten until he meets bosses character who's got the Dragon Eye.

The action moves smoothly, which is a big plus for reading fight scenes. Another plus is the buckoos of dialogue bubbles to read. B+

Le Chevalier d'Eon Vol. 1
Story by Tou Ubukata
Art by Kiriko Yumeji
Published by Del Rey

Deep, rich art awaits you in Le Chevalier d'Eon, along with lots of deep, rich blood! Creepy bad guys are sacrificing virgins in nasty ways to get their hands on France, but this uber-powerful woman with a sword comes in to save the day! So why isn't she mentioned on the back summary...? Only the king's knight is mentioned. Is Del Rey sexist? Nope! The twist is..., he actually turns into the awesome fighting chick by evoking his sister's spirit!

The story is very gothic and mysterious. There are a lot of references to Christianity, but the members of this cult are construing it for their own evil purposes. The artwork flows wonderfully in the fight scenes, and each violent panel seems to be dripping with blood. B

Rure Vol. 1
Art & Story by Da-Mi Seomoon
Published by Tokyopop

Shame on you Tokyopop for passing off Rure as a Japanese manga - it's actually a Korean manhwa! Oh well - hopefully people will figure out it's Korean when they read the names of the characters, the author, and learn that the main character lives in Seoul. Hopefully I don't sound like I'm against Korean manhwa; on the contrary, it's a really good book and I don't care what country it comes from, but I think that it needs to be properly labeled instead of just lumping it with another country's culture.
So let's go through the checklist.

1.Art: Check. Beautiful first couple of pages, with an interesting hook about a goblin in Ha-Ru's back yard. And hair in this manwha = gorgeous!

2.Story: Check. Have to wade through the middle bits, but when Ha-Ru and her sister are transported to another world, it gets more interesting.

3.Humor: Check. Seomoon really finds his/her stride in the last third of this volume. A sprinkling of humor really keeps it alive and helps to characterize Ha-Ru.

Verdict: B

Translucent Vol. 1
Story & Art by Kazuhiro Okamoto
Published by Dark Horse Manga

Okamoto added a twist to the high school drama story by dropping the element of invisibility into the story. The main character, Shizuka Shiroyama, has a rare disease called translucent syndrome. Sometimes only parts of her body are invisible, but other times she goes completely transparent. Mamoru Tadami hooks up with her, and he helps her deal with an affliction that most teenagers feel metaphorically anyway!

On the positive side, each chapter is basically a self-contained story, which is a nice change. But the story itself hangs on the invisibility schtick, and there's no meat to it. Unfortunately I lost interest after the first couple of chapters. D+

About Heroes Episode 71

Tommy Monaghan returns in JLA/Hitman #1! We talk about that as well as the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Issue, Wolverine Origins, World War Hulk, and Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax, Countdown and a few other topics that pop into our heads.

About Heroes, Episode 71

Countdown to Mystery #1

Writer(s) Steve Gerber, Matthew Sturges
Artist(s): Justiniano, Stephen Jorge Segovia

This title just goes to show ya that you CAN have two great stories in one book. Steve Gerber writes the first half of this book, as the Helmet of Fate finally falls into the hands of a bum that ironically enough is thrown out with the garbage. The helmet is put on by this homeless doctor for shelter from the rain. Yeah...whoops. From this point, the helmet takes Dr. Kent on a journey of it's past, from being thrown by Captain Marvel into the darkness of space, to it's journey back to Earth searching for a wearer. Along the journey the helmet delves into the doctors' own past, and of ultimately how this doctor came to be a bum. Just shooting from first impressions here, I really REALLY dig this Gerber guys' writing, it just flows so well, certain parts like this: "and the pitiless, pounding rain that stings like needles driven deep into his wounds", it...I don't know... it somehow just struck me. The aforementioned dialogue and other pieces of it, show something great in comic writing that I didn't know was missing. I know, I am being vague but, the writing just seemed eloquent and well...it was just good, I don't know anyway other way to put it. Justinianos' art fit this story to a T as well. The lines were tight and smooth, just enough, to where it kept a feeling of finite reality, even during some scenes that were meant to be somewhat metaphysical. The story ends on a cliffhanger as Dr. Kent V Nelson transforms into Doctor Fate, facing off against a monster of some sort. Gerber really seems to get the character of Doctor Fate and his paring with Justiniano on art makes me very interested to see where this story ends up going.

The second part of this story was just as good as the first part, believe it or not. Matthew Sturges writes a scene wherein a man by the name of William Hanson is essentially punished for murdering someone via some justice doled out by the Spirit of Vengeance, the Spectre, per usual the punishment is somewhat ironic. The funny thing? After Hanson dies his spirit is up and about following the Spectre and his host Crispus Allen....this is weird enough but, then the Spectre senses Eclipso has returned. As the Spectre and Crispus start to teleport/fade to elsewhere Hanson tags along. Next part of the story focuses on Eclipso seemingly trying to corrupt Plastic Man, after returning to Earth apparently through the help of Darkseid. It's a bizarre but engaging story to say the least. Segovia's art throughout this story is well...good. Facial details are pretty good and...well Segovia gave Eclipso a general evil but hot vibe...without even using large breasts...come on...you gotta give points to the guy for being able to do that.

Sooo, if you haven't be able to tell already, I LOOVED this title...the only bad thing about it is the title name, I mean, Countdown to Mystery? I understand it's sorta a Countdown tie-in but, is the "Countdown to" part really needed. ANYWAY, in short, check this title out, it's weird, different, and well...GOOD!, A+

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby #1

Writer: Steve Niles
Art: Nick Stakal

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby follows the pill-popping monster hunter, Cal McDonald, as he is hired to stop a cult of satanic worshipers from bringing the devil to Earth. This first issue...has a problem or two.

The most glaring thing wrong with this title is....it's not written for people new to Cal McDonald. Generally I don't give a crap about new readers but, in the case of indie titles, it's sorta a big concern. No real backstory is given on Cal. You know nothing of Cal or his past, other then it has been pretty shitty. You have no idea Cal is a monster hunter till the priest pays him to stop some bad mojo from going down. Cal's partner Moloch is never even mentioned by name, and you never get the explanation of what exactly Moloch is, nor why he would help a "monster" hunter, being somewhat monstrous looking himself. Basically, this title is NOT written for someone looking to get into the world of Cal McDonald, as you'll be partly lost at times.

The art for this story is...alright, I could give Stakal crap but, honestly the guy is better then Kyle Hotzs' somewhat cartoony style, that seemed at times more to mirror Tony Moore's penciling work in Fear Agent. Stakal's art style is reminiscent of the kinda stuff you'd see in Hellboy or BPRD, it has a grittiness to it, which has long been absent from the Cal McDonald stories ever since Ben Templesmith parted ways. The lines are sharp yet have a chaotic feel to them which help set the somewhat unreal mood of the story.

NOW, all of the above being said, is this something those familiar with Cal McDonald would like? I would have to say yes. The general setup is good, you get the introduction of Moloch basically kicking Cal's ass to get him out of the depressive junkie mood he's in. You see some evil brewing towards the end, and have your appetite whetted just enough to get you to read the next issue. In general, you got all the elements of a classic Cal McDonald story, though there could stand to be a little more sprinkles of humor thrown in

So, in short, to Cal fans, your gonna dig this title, to non-Cal fans, read Niles & Templesmith's Criminal Macabre stuff first, it's a better starting point. B+

New X-men # 42 Review

Authors: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Pencils: Skottie Young
Inks: Skottie Young
Colors: Skottie Young & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

The Children of X-men kicks off after the events of the Limbo storyline and right before we get bombarded by Messiah Complex. First of all that cover is completely genius! I'm a huge fan of Norman Rockwell so that cover really shines in my eyes. This was a rare treat for the New X-men, it really seems that since Kyle and Yost took over the book it's been kids fighting, screaming, dying, and just no time to relax. With a huge cast like this, you figure an issue to take a breather would be nice.

The title of this particular story might be a little misleading. We don't get to see Amiko (Wolverine does not have a son...it's just a bad dream) Cable, Marvel Girl, Rogue, Colossus' son, or Shatterstar (oohhh wait...thanks for fucking that one up Loeb)! The theme of the story is taken right out of Children of Men; for some reason Mercury wants to identify the youngest mutant alive, because she believes their life could be in danger. She might have just watched Children of Men, so I guess it kind of makes sense....maybe. Does Franklin Richards still have his power? Someone might want to let Mercury know. Cyclops, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Wolverine also take time to get to know these 25 mutants that are lurking around, which make for some really funny scenes. These characters are really growing on me and I hope the death toll has maxed out for the New X-men, at least for the near future.

I really thought they changed the artist on me without giving credit to the new artist. However, Skottie Young has completely changed his style for this issue. He went from crisp and clean cartoony style to gritty, sketchy, and loose. Remember those great covers from Cable & Deadpool? The textures, especially for the flashback scenes were incredible. Even though Cyclops looks like a grunge skater, it still fun to see how he draws the kids. The tone of the book seems to be brightening up at least for now and after all the shit that the kids have been through, it's about time. Endangered Species was entertaining too...even though there is another fucking Guthrie sibling we knew nothing about. I didn't know the Guthries were Catholic. B+

Manga Reviews: Chicks with swords, guns, dolls, a gender changing fiancee, and amnesia!

Claymore Volume 10
Story & Art: Norihiro Yagi
English Adaptation & Translations: Arashi Productions
Publisher: Viz

When I read the first volume of Claymore I really thought of it as nothing more than an Escaflowne/Bastard/Berserk premise with chicks. Damn, I'm glad I was proven different by volume 3. The setting of Claymore's story is a fictional world with medieval technology, now you see why I thought of those manga. In this world, humans coexist with creatures called Yoma, shapeshifting sentient monsters that feed on human innards. By consuming a human's brain, Yoma can also absorb their memories, allowing them to disguise themselves as specific people without alerting any of their close friends or family. In this volume Clare and a group of Claymores are sent to the north to battle a group of Yoma that have banded together under the command of Isley. However, when confronted with this new threat, the warriors find their new enemies incredibly strong and extremely smart. There is no cutesy/slapstick-stuff in this book either, no animal sidekicks; just great story, great art (trust me, it does get better), and great characters. I only wish the books came out faster. It always bothers me when the artwork is edited and I know that Viz has edited some of the nudity in this title, mainly male zombie frontal nudity, but it really doesn't take away from the beautiful artwork. The story starts kind of slow, but really gets rolling around volume 3 and 4 and this particular volume is no exception. B+

Gunsmith Cats Burst Volumes 1 & 2
Story & Art: Kenichi Sonoda
Publisher: Dark Horse

The Gunsmith Cats are back and when I say back I mean all of them: Rally, Minnie May, Becky, Misty, and everyone's favorite badass Bean Bandit! It's been a long break for Sonoda working on Cannon God Exaxxion and coming back to old friends, but was it really worth the long wait? I hate to admit it, but I found a hard time getting into volume 1 of Burst. Don't get me wrong it is a great tale, but it didn't draw me in like the original series. There are mini chapters explaining the guns that Rally customizes for people and since I am no gun enthusiast, those chapters would literally put me to sleep. The pace picked up by volume 2 though and it really brought back everything that the first books had. The new story focuses on Rally's GT 500 being stolen from the GSC shop and used as a terrorist bomb. It was really hard for me to see the GT 500 blown to bits and Rally's expression really summed up what I was thinking. I think the second volume moved faster because it focused on Bean being captured by the police and his escape from the hospital. The artwork is better than ever, slick and polished, with the Sonoda style shining through in every frame. The women are still as perky and bouncy, but come on we all know that this book is about the cars and guns and let me tell you they are still drawn with loving attention to detail. The car chases and gunfights are drawn so clean and so action packed, unlike other artists that have to splatter their images with excessive action lines and sound effects that only confuse the reader and clutter the page. Like I said for some reason it was a slow start, but volume 2 really made up for all the slack. B

Princess Ai: Ultimate Edition
Created By: Courtney Love & DJ Milky
Story: Misaho Kujiradou & DJ Milky
Illustrations: Misaho Kujiradou

Courtney Love? What the hell? Rockstar, actress, and Mrs. Kurt Cobain? Now manga creator? You got it. This book came out in 2004 and all three volumes have been reprinted in one oversized collection. It seems that Love took many elements from her colorful past; hence we are introduced to her alter-ego, a young girl named Ai. She is a princess from a place called Ai-Land. Having somehow traveled to Tokyo, Japan from Ai-Land, our tough, but naive, amnesiac-princess secures a job singing at a local club and begins her path on discovering who she is and why she ran way from Ai-Land. I really surprised myself by reading the whole thing, considering the story did not keep interested, but I had to give it a fair shot. I think I know why I couldn't keep interested in this book, because it reads like a third grade storybook. The dialogue phrases things in awkward ways, and not only once either; they keep repeating themselves. Ai's supposed inability to recall memories seems to be defeated very easily, but she has to mention that's she's receiving a memory each time she does, no kidding, I realize the audience is supposed to be dumbed down a bit, but this really stretched things. I found the lyrics in the books to be okay, but silly at times. The only saving grace that this book had was the gorgeous artwork. Misaho Kujiradou's drawings are so stunning they make you want to turn the page to see more. So to sum it up it's a really dull story with some great art. C-

Ranma ½ Volume 36
Story & Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Translations: Kaori Inoue
English Adaptations: Gerard Jones
Publisher: Viz

I can't believe that I just read the last volume of Ranma. It's been 17 years since I have been reading this wonderful series (started in comic book format, when Viz was coloring the inside of the comics). I tell you what reading this, was like saying goodbye to some good friends and it was a mix of laughter and tears of joy and sadness. Almost every character makes an appearance in this volume. Ranma is doing battle with Saffron, when Akane suddenly vanishes and then transformed into a "doll" form, and only the water in Jusenkyo's heart will revive her. If Ranma doesn't douse her in it before her eyes close, then she'll die or even worse, Shampoo gets her hands on her. When the battle with Saffron and the bird-men is over, Ranma finds himself being roped in for a wedding, with all the trimmings. Unfortunately, his other fiancées aren't about to give up so easily and chaos ensues when the others learn that Guide has sent him a barrel of Spring-of-Drowned-Man water, which everybody wants, but only one can have. This was a great way to send of the fantastic characters that Takahashi has created over the years. The final volume of Ranma is sweet, sad, funny, romantic, and uplifting, and by the final pages there's a deep sense of satisfaction that we fans of the Ranma and Akane relationship will be happy with. Sure it leaves stories open for future possibilities, but this a way to end a series. Thank you Mrs. Takahashi. A+

Shinshoku Kiss
Story & Art: Kazuko Higashiyama
Translation: Monica Seya Chin
Publisher: Tokyopop

Dolls just freak me out, well not little dolls, but life size marionettes. So the idea of someone wanting to make dolls for fun or a living is just weird to me. Kotoko Kashiwagi is an aspiring doll maker who dreams of one day making dolls as life-like and beautiful as her idol's, the popular yet mysterious doll maker "Fool." Yeah, I know what a weird name, let alone the guy has a freaking fan. She'd also like nothing better than to meet him, but when she does, the circumstances are nothing like she imagined! First of all the guy kidnaps her. Second, he's kissed her hand, and third, he informs her she's going to become his servant or pay the price. There is some weird S&M stuff that goes on here, including chains, ropes, and lots of role playing. At least that's what I got out of it. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this manga. There's a cheerfulness and cuteness about the art and characters that is extremely annoying but engaging at the same time. That cover really stands out to me; it really lures me to want to know more about Kotoko. It's a pretty good start and I'm curious to see what happens next. B-

Welcome to the NHK
Author: Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Translation: Lindsey Akashi
Cover: Yoshitoshi ABe
Publisher: Tokyopop

Alright stay with me here. NHK refers to the TV channel and broadcasting corporation Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, but within the series, the main character believes it stands for Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai, which literally translates to The Japanese Hikikomori Association. A hikikomori is an individual that is very reclusive and has chosen to withdraw themselves from social life. I believe these people are more extreme than hermits, because they go out of their way to get away from society. This story centers around Tatsuhiro Satou, a 22 year-old college drop out with an obsession for hentai (porn). He himself is a hikikomori, but gets aid from Misaki, a strange girl who seems to know a lot about him, despite never meeting him before. She presents him with a contract basically outlining that once a day they would meet in the evening in a local park where Misaki would lecture him in an effort to rid him of his lifestyle. During these outings, many subjects are discussed, though they almost always pertain in some way to psychology or psychoanalysis. One of their first meetings in fact deals with interpreting Tatsuhiro's recent dreams. I finished this book in one day, I don't know why but the idea of these people really intrigued me and I wanted to know what was going to happen in the next chapter and before I knew it I was done with the book and doing more research online. I really recommend this book, although some chapters are irksome, the story flows good enough to keep you entertained. A-

Resident Evil: Extinction

As I was watching it a few hours ago, it occurred to me that since it was a movie based on a video game and it had zombies and monsters in it, it probably applied to this site as far as reviewing goes, so here I am, writing a review / rant on the newest chapter of the movie series that claims to be based on the Resident Evil movies.

To preface, I thought the first had it's moments and was sorta ok. I watched the second and wanted to die. When the trailer for this one came out, the inner me (which is foolish and reliant on instant gratification) watched and went "Ooooooh.....that looks kinda cool! Maybe this one will be better!" However, my brain quickly nipped it in the bud and quoted Admiral Akbar, screaming "IT'S A TRAAAAAAP!!!"

Well I bit. I went for that cheese ladies and gentlemen, and on top of being full of holes, it's smelly and has gone terribly terribly bad. We open quite some time after the first second movie is over. The world has been ravaged by zombies and there are few survivors. Claire Redfield, Carlos Whathisname and Mike Epps the ridiculous racial stereotype have all banded together and found survivors and massed them all into a Hummer 2 / Schoolbus / Gas Tanker convoy and are heading through the desert, just kind of wandering around. Our protagonist Alice happens to be sort of nearby just wandering around too on her motorcycle, scoping out the sand and finding that besides being an ultra cool ninja with super kung-fu and the uber-accessory-like beastial strength, she also has super-keen telekinetic abilities! Woo! However, the drawback of these ridiculous Jedi-Powers manifesting is that the nearby underground Umbrella base picks up her psyonic (?) abilities and becomes aware of her continued existence. The three parties all converge nad mayhem ensues. That's all you need for setup. If you want to know all the rest of the stuff, go see the movie and find out, cuz I don't want to spoil anybody's remote chance at a good time.

The Good: It's got Zombies. It's got monsters. It's got people being eaten / killed by Zombies and Monsters. It's got a whole "Road Warrior" setting. C'mon. Plus, Ali Larter and Milla Jovovich are hot. Also....um.....no wait....yeah that's about it. I guess the huge Hitchcock homage is a plus too, with the added threat of Zombie birds, who are actually silly, but neat in theory.

The Bad: I know it isn't really expected of this movie, but even for a zombie movie, the writing is pretty silly. The action sequences are often just a little clumsy and too quick so that all you can really get out of it is that Alice is a kung fu master that beats stuff up in an efficient and Jackie Chan-esque manner. Also...there aren't really any monters in this like there are in the games. No giant animals, no hunters, not even any lickers, who've been in the past 2 movies. However, to be fair, there's sort of a Bandersnatch (from RE: Code Veronica) / Nemesis Tyrant Hybrid in it, which was fun. Alice's addition of telekinetic powers is also silly. And did you know that the Clown-Car equivalent for zombies is in fact a regular cargo-shipping container? One of them supplies enough zombies to....well I don't want to spoil anything, but they occupy an area pretty thickly after emerging from it.

The Ugly: This Movie is so frustrating. The games have a huge fan-following and yet the people making the movies feel like they have to do their own thing for whatever reason and pretty much bastardize the cool stuff in the games, making the game heroes play second fiddle to their uber-creation, the director's girlfriend. On top of that, they add stupid horrible characters like Mike Epps, who, even by his standards of acting, really phones it in on this one. His 'anonymous thug-lite black guy one-liners" are delivered as if he knew how utterly dumb his character is and how much people like me don't want him there. Claire Redfield never really has a badass moment, and doesn't really do justice to her video-game reflection beyond the point of being generally good natured and wanting to help people. Carlos is the same Carlos from the last movie.....although Carlos was just a bad choice for a character to bring in from the games because he's actually pretty annoying in the game anyway. The bright-line of the character-to-movie selections, though, is the (brief) involvement of Wesker! Neat-o! He's so cool, wearing those sunglasses in those dimly lit underground rooms. Bottom line, when I was watching this towards the end, there's a scene that, while i was watching it, thought 'hey, this could make a halfway decent game.' and then I realized it's supposed to be based on a game. It's so far removed from it's origins that it doesn't remotely remind me of it's origins. You can take that 2 ways, either I'm dumb, or I'm right about this apple falling far from the tree.

For those of you who haven't played the games and don't know what they're about, it's about an evil company that makes a virus that turns you into a zombie, and then later makes a bug-thing that gets into your body and makes you all cranky and obedient. As far as similarities to the movies....well the movies have characters with similar names and kinda similar outfits, Zombies, Zombie dogs, and monsters. The story has really nothing to do with the games other than "UMBRELLA BAAAAD" and those previously listed similarities dragged and dropped from the games.

I know I'm probably jumping on a pretty overpopulated bandwagon of nerdy video game / movie loving purists, but I can't help but wish they'd pull somewhat of a 'Batman Begins' on this concept and start not from scratch, but from where the movies have paved the way. Zombies are always fun, but not when I feel like they're mocking me, knowing that I'm enslaved to pay and see them, no matter how disappointing they may be or how far off the mark they are. Want to go turn your brain off and see a flick? Be my guest, but if you're a fan of the Resi games....wrestle with it for awhile, and if you really want to see it, just keep your gaurd up for the sillyness that lies ahead. See ya next time kiddies! I give this movie a D+.

Catwoman # 71 Review

Author: Will Pfeifer
Penciler: David Lopez
Inker: Alvaro Lopez
Cover: Adam Hughes

It's the beginning of a new story arc for Catwoman and it's been a long time since I reviewed a Catwoman book, I believe OYL was the last issue I reviewed. It peaked my interest if this title was still going on after Dan thought it was cancelled. I haven't read the book for almost a year, but I went back and re-read all the books in that gap. All I have to say is how is it possible the same writere is responsible for the last great years of Catwoman sotries also be responsible for the horrible Amazons Attack mini?

If only all the DC titles had managed to sustaing the same One Year Later storytelling momentum like Catwoman did. With the exceptioin of Aquaman, I can't think of another character being effected so long and drastic as Cawoman has. Selina is trying to keep a balance between being a mother and having to don the Catwoman outfit knowing it could endager the life of her child. There is a wonderful moment with Selina and Bruce/Batman which really reminded me of how much I missed their relationship they had back in Hush. A perfect understanding of how much Batman has changed since Infinite Crisis is show in one great panel of Bruce holding Helena. She wants to destroy the persona of Catwoman, even if it means destryoing her old life and going into hiding leaving her child without a mother.

I love the way that Pfeifer shows the moral complexity of Selena Kyle. He's got me wondering if she will actually give up the mantle and I worrying about the future of her little girl. David Lopez's art is always a joy to see, though his proportions on his facial expressions shift a bit throughout the issue. His backgrounds are truly amazing, if comics didn't work for him the guy could be an architect. It's really amazing to see this relationship between mother and daughter grow and to see the lengths that Selina is willing to go for Helena. A-

JLA/Hitman # 1 Review

Author: Garth Ennis
Art: John McCrea
Colors: David Baron

Hellz yeah! Tommy is back! If you've never read Hitman by Garth Ennis, do yourself a favor and try to find some back issues. If you have read it then you know how big a deal this is. To have the two creators come back and have Tommy join the Justice League even if it's in the past and even if it's just for two issues is just a treat for fans of Hitman. This was supposed to be a story told in JLA Classified, but I'm not sure why they made it into a mini, but hey as long as I get my fix, I'm not complaining.

If you haven't read Hitman here is a little history on the character. Tommy Monaghan first appeared during DC's Bloodlines crossover in the early 90's...you know the one where each annual came in a polybag with a card. I believe it was a Demon annual, but I can't recall which one right off the top of my head. He is a hitman from Gotham city and ran into Batman several times during his 60 issue series. He is a telepath and has x-ray vision all given to him during the Bloodlines story where an alien bit him. Unfortunately his powers come with a side-effect of having dark eyes, which is why he always sports those sunglasses. Grant Morrison introduced Hitman to the JLA at one time, but he just checked out Wonder Woman's rack with his X-ray vision and left after turning down the salary to join the JLA. The ending of Hitman came like the ending of the Angel TV series, even if in the last page we are to assumed he went out in a blaze of glory. It really could have gone so much longer, but in the end it was just a book fated to be cancelled. The trade paperbacks didn't collect the whole run either, and are all out of print which makes it impossible to get the whole story.

The story begins with Peter Kirby a neophyte reporter talking to Clark Kent and wants to know how Tommy Monaghan ended up with Superman's autograph. Enter the flashback: The Justice League needs one of the Bloodlines Metahumans to enter a Nasa probe swarming with Bloodline creatures and this is how Tommy is brought to the picture. However these Bloodline creatures seem stronger than Tommy; strong enough to take the Justice League's powers away. By the end of the issue the whole League has forgotten how to use their powers and Superman is stranded out in the vacuum of space. This issue also gives us a quick tour through Noonan's and Tommy's history, but it was good to see some of the supporting cast again. Even Baytor behind the bar.

This is truly a book for fans of the original run, which brings up my negative part of the review. If you have never read Hitman before, then you really won't understand most of what's going on here. Characters are not really introduced because it's assumed that you'll know exactly who they are. There are jokes that only fans will laugh at. Past issues are referenced and annotated, but not really explained. His take on the JLA is interesting. Flash and Batman come across as complete dicks and Green Lantern is back to being an incompetent newbie. Although the Lord Vader comment Tommy made was fucking priceless. It's really hard to rate this book, because I was a fan of Hitman, but I don't want to misguide anyone that hasn't read it before into thinking it's going to be a fantastic read. So keep that in mind and you'll be fine. B

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax Review

Author: Ron Marz
Penciler: Adriana Melo
Inker: Marlo Alquiza
Color: Jason Wright

If you've heard the podcasts we've done since the Sinestro Corps story line started, you know how we feel about it. We are loving it! Personally I can't wait for each chapter to unfold and get excited when I see it in my stash of comics. When this one shot was announced and the name Ron Marz was attached to the project, I got as giddy as a schoolgirl during a Sadie Hawkins dance.

Marz is the man that introduced us to Kyle and his stories are usually pretty tight. Although his Ion maxiseries was decompressed it was still a fun story. Every part of this story takes place inside of Kyle's psychic plane. There are flashbacks about how Kyle is afraid of letting people down because of all the women he knew that passed away or killed because he couldn't save them. We see the women in Kyle's life from poor refrigerator stuffed Alex to Donna Troy and Jade and then to his mom that was killed by Sinestro. Kyle confronts the Parallax and is defeated, but rises again and again not giving up. He ends up finding hope in a painting that hung in his house that was painted by his mother. Ohh yeah and he stabs Parallax in the eye with a pencil, which goes to show you that omnipotent evil beings can be intimidated by the mighty pencil!

I have mixed feelings about this book because I was expecting more out of this story than what I was given, but I also enjoyed the psychological aspect. Marz does a great dissection of Rayner's character here by allowing the character to face his own fears while attempting to combat the Parallax entity within his own mind. At least we know now that Kyle is still in there somewhere trying to fight his way loose from the Parallax and by the end of the issue we see hope. This is of course no biggie since Kyle is now part of the Search for Ray Palmer cast and we know he makes it out somehow. It is definitely not as action-packed as the other Sinestro Corps books have been, but at times it was still engaging. To be honest with you it really reminded me of an episode of Bleach, where Ichigo confronts his inner demons (white Ichigo) in a psychic plane created by his sword, Zangetsu....go read or watch this phenomenal series.

I have to say that I'm not very familiar with Adriana Melo, but her work reminds me of Dale Eaglesham. She has a great sense of detail, shows incredible range in this issue, and finds a fantastic balance between action and emotion. It was a nice breather between all the cosmic destruction that is taken place in all the other books, but it kind of makes me worry about how the other Sinestro Corps one shots will be handled.
B-

Oh My Goddess! Volumes 21 - 26 Review

Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Christopher & Dana Lewis
Lettering & Touch-up: Susie Lee & Betty Dong
Publisher: Dark Horse

I figured since I reviewed the first five volumes of Oh My Goddess why not review the latest volumes as well? It's always a pleasure reading these little stories and breaking away from the sometimes depressing world of American comics. First a little info on why there is a huge gap in between volume 5 and 21. In 2005 Dark Horse changed the format of the manga starting from volume 21. They cancelled the monthly comics and made the manga un-flipped, which preserves the orientation of the original drawings. It is smaller in size, closer to the size of the Japanese manga, only real difference is we still don't get a dust jacket. With volume 21 the manga chapter content closely corresponds to the Japanese manga. Now we won't miss anything here, but re-releasing the older volumes is taking a while or you could just buy the edited ones that Dark Horse already put out if you are impatient.

The fourth Goddess Peorth returns, but she is still trapped in the body of a little girl and the only one who can release her from her spell is the person who put her there to begin with, Velsper. However, Velsper has been condemned to spend the rest of his eternity in the body of a kitten. To everyone's surprise Velsper has the ability to talk and tells the Goddesses of someone that can help. Hild, chief of the demon realm, the big honcho of all the demons, who also happens to be Urd's mom. She agrees under one condition, Urd has to return to the demon world with her. Of course this is a ridiculous condition, so after turning Peorth back to her normal status, Urd ends up owing a favor to her mom. It is nice to see Peorth become part of the temple family and now Keichi ends up living with four Goddesses, two robots, one demon-kitten, and tons of spirits. Man, what a life.

It is in volumes 23 and 24 that we finally get to meet Keichi's parents. For 22 volumes we knew his parents lived out of the city and sent him money every once in a while, but we finally get the pleasure of meeting both of them. His dad Keima is shy of women and his mother Takano wants to know the secret of Belldandy. I don' know what it was about these two books, while they were pleasant enough reading, these installments lacked the spontaneity and charming surprises that endear its predecessors to me. I understand that this is all just set up for the next volumes' huge battles, but to take two whole volumes and have so little happen in it was kind of unexpected of Fujishima. The character development of the parents is a little shallow; it is still a nice story and always fun watching the rest of the cast make fools of them. But I'm starting to miss Tamiya, Aoyama, and Sayoko; would be nice to see them again.

At the end of volume 24 is the set up for the next two volumes with the first appearance of the fifth Goddess, Lind. Someone has taken the angel eater and the story turns darker with the return of Mara and a chibi sized Hild, but don't let her size fool you. Behind those cute little eyes hides the most powerful demon to appear on earth. All of the angels are being taken away and Lind figures out that the Angel eater must be living inside of her. There is just so much greatness that happens in these two volumes; Skuld gets her little angel again, Lind's binary angels reunite, and Belldandy becomes possessed by a demon and now has the ability to summon her angel or an angel-infected demon. Keichi ends up taking the demon angel that was lingering in Belldandy, because it was making her magic act up. The cliffhanger ends with the demon taking off to who knows where.

This was such a fun story to read, I literally couldn't put these books down and read them all in one sitting and re-read them again to just awe at the beautiful artwork. Every time I read these books they always seem to take me away to a more innocent time. I have to say my favorite part about the books was Keichi's realization that one day he is going to die, but Belldandy is immortal. I guess I never really thought about that even though it makes sense it's really sad in away, but like Peorth told him that people will live forever in the hearts of the Goddesses that truly love them. My only gripe is that the books seem to read faster than they used to. They are definitely more story driven than character driven. With lots of grunts, interjections, and exclamations of powers in every battle, there leaves very little room for those more of the character driven stories from the past. I still think this is a must read series for any manga fan or anyone wanting to try something new. A-

Aboutheroes comic 04

Ahh if only these things were really possible. The possibilities would be endless.

John Woo's 7 Brothers Vol. 1 TPB Review

This review was submitted by Ray2007

Creator: John Woo
Artist: Jeevan Kang
Writer: Garth Ennis
Publisher: Virgin Comics

Yeah, that's right, boys and girls! John Woo, the great film director has now traveled into the realm of comic books. To which I can only say, "ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!" Many of his films, such as "A Better Tomorrow I and II", "The Killer", "Bullet in the Head" and "Hardboiled" are so much like a comic book that I'm surprised it took this long for him to arrive at this genre. (Seems John Woo has been in recent times expanding on what media he works with, what with the release of his videogame "Stranglehold", that is a direct video game sequel to "Hardboiled" and features the actual voice of Chow-Yun Fat as his original character, Tequila!) And now, with the combined talents of Garth Ennis and Jeevan Kang, comes an explosive story that jumps out of the page.

But first, a brief history lesson...or at least what SOME consider history. Right now, there is currently a theory being debated amongst historians and archeologists known as the "1421 Theory". This theory is based on archeological evidence that some believe strongly suggests that the Chinese discovered and mapped most of the New World, long before Columbus, or Cortez, or anyone. The theory is that the Emperor of China, Zhu Di, in 1421, sent out a vast fleet of hundreds of massive ships to sail to the four corners of the earth and not only map what they saw, but to establish peaceful, trade relations with whomever they encountered. After two years, the fleet returned to China, only to discover that because of the enormous expense the emperor devoted to the 1421 expeditions, the country was bankrupt, and civil war erupted. Millions starved or were killed in battle. The fleet was dismantled, with no hope of future return trips. And any records obtained during these voyages was destroyed, thus robbing the Chinese of a historical legacy, before it could be born.

Or so the theory goes. It's very controversial, but John Woo does a cool thing and simply takes the story as true and gives it a supernatural spin: On one of these voyages, traveled a sorcerer, modestly called "The Son of Hell" and he used the trip as a way to harness the natural powers of the earth, using "dragon lines", (Westerners call them "ley lines") but regardless of the name, they are the lines that supposedly can be used to harness nature...and control it. If one has the power over these lines, volcanoes can be made to cool...and explode again. Deserts can become green, rain and snow can occur ANYWHERE on the planet...the potential is limitless. And the Son of Hell wants all that potential for himself.

What he doesn't realize is that his student, Fong, who is learning sorcery, has also learned about the dragon lines, but so that he can stop the Son of Hell from using them for evil. Then, their ship, along with all the others are recalled to China, where the emperor will not sanction any more trips. The Son of Hell, in a rage, because his work mapping the dragon lines is incomplete, curses the crews of the other ships to a painful afterlife limbo in death, and then gets caught up in a magic battle with Fong. A battle that takes both of them out of the picture...for six more centuries.

Fast forward to present day L.A. Seven men are brought together by a mysterious Chinese babe named Rachel Kai, and are told the most incredible story of the Son of Hell...for he has been resurrected...and only these seven men, these "brothers"...with seemingly nothing in common, except each possesses a superhuman ability...these men, are the only ones who can stop the Son of Hell. It's a destiny that was set up more than six hundred years before by Fong...will they fulfill it?

Can they?

Having been a fan of John Woo's films for many years, this trade collection was a total delight. The seven brothers in this story are loosely based on a Chinese folk legend of ten brothers who together defended the Great Wall of China from invading forces. What's great about this story is that it still incorporates common themes in Woo's best movies: Loyalty, brotherhood, betrayal, redemption. For any readers who are also John Woo film fans, there are plenty of moments that were this a movie, you could instantly identify it as a John Woo movie. (I'll let you spot them for yourself) But for me, one of the best parts of this book was something a bit more subtle. You see, in about every John Woo film, there comes a moment when at least one character steps up, and outside and beyond themselves and do something supremely heroic. It makes you stand up and cheer. There are many moments like that in "7 Brothers", but there is one moment in particular, that I know will have you on your feet. It was hilarious, outrageous, appropriate and powerful all at once. And it involves a pimp! That's all I'll say, it's too good to reveal!

Another great aspect about this book is that the dialogue is articulate, literate and SHARP! Garth Ennis really has a good ear for character. And who better than Ennis to write this script, since he had a hand in writing "Hitman" years ago, clearly a John Woo-inspired character at some levels. But Ennis's dialogue really seems to demonstrate his understanding not just of character, but culture, since there are diverse ethnic groups represented in the story, Chinese and African-American among them. But considering some of the supernatural elements, Ennis also has keeps a very tangy motif of dark humor that the art only enhances.

I savored Jeevan Kang's art, clearly inspired by manhua (the Chinese equivalent of Japanese manga), but it's an individual style all the same. He knows when to bring depth to a given frame and how to maintain the sense of motion, and stillness when it's needed. Check out some of the crazy martial arts fights to see what I mean. What's great about this trade collection is that there is a section in the back where Kang talks about in-jokes and inspirations for some of his favorite panels. There's also a deleted scene, that was sketched and scripted but never used. Man, this is just like a DVD!

Overall, I can't say enough good things about this book, so for crying out loud, BUY IT! It is TOTALLY worth every cent! And, this made me look forward even more to John Woo's historical period piece martial arts drama "Red Cliff" coming out next year.

So, bring on "7 Brothers, Vol. 2". Wait...this is John Woo, baby! Bring on the MOVIES!

A++

Daredevil #100

Daredevil #100
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: A CRAP LOAD

Yes, its' finally here, Daredevil has reached 100 and my reaction...meh?

This issue starts off part one of a six part story. The story basically has Matt up against a crappy Scarecrow wannabe aka Mister Fear. Fear infects people with gas and chemicals basically making them act crazy and afraid (sound familar?). ANYWAY, Matt/Daredevil ends up in Fears' clutches, surrounded by henchmen, and poisoned with fear gas. Kicked out a window by Mister Fear & co., still infected, Matt starts hallucinating, facing visions of his greatest fears.

Each hallucination is illustrated by different artists. Though many traditionalists will likely love the John Romita SR/Al Migrom illustrated pages, I'd have to say the hallucination pages done by Sienkiewicz and Bermejo are some of the best in this issue. Bermejo's lighting of each of the characters' bodies especially are intricate and fascinating.

ANYWAY, Matt eventually makes it through his hallucinations and the "fear gas" stumbling his way home to find Foggy lost in thought...finally exclaiming to Matt that he thinks his wife Milla may be going insane. Pretty much the story ends here and spliced in is an old issue of Dardevil from way back when. The old Daredevil issue is a nice touch but...I'll be honest, I just skipped it. Skipping over this issue you find more content (comic script pages, sketches of art from other pages, etc) that pretty much make this 3.99 comic kinda worth the price.

Everything being said I am done with Daredevil for awhile. I dig Brubakers' writing but, it has just gotten too dark and repetitive in the last couple of issues of DD. I'd hope by this issue I'd see Matt catch a break from the insanity, or have something go right for him but, yeah, I get the feeling Daredevil is gonna be going through a non-stop barrage of crap for awhile. In short, the issue's art and story are both good but, don't enter this title hoping things are gonna eventually get better and lighter for Daredevil, cause you might be waiting awhile. B+

About Heroes Episode 70

That's right, for the second week in a row, I kept a list of what we talked about! Thrill to our musings on:

• Voicemails and E-mails
• Lobster Johnson 1 & Hellboy
• Booster Gold 2
• Justice League of America Wedding Special
• Black Canary Wedding Planner
• Green Lantern 23
• Wonder Girl 1
• JSA 9
• Walking Dead 42
• Ultimate X-Men 86
• Ultimate Spider-Man 113
• New Avengers 34
• Emperor Vulcan
• Thor 3

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 70

Manga Reviews: From Students Killing each other for survival to a resurrecting Princess!

Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition Volume 1
Authors: Koushun Takami & Masayuki Taguchi
Artist: Masayuki Taguchi
English Adaptation: Keith Giffen
Publisher: Tokyopop

The wonderful folks at Tokyopop have decided to start releasing these Ultimate collected edit