Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 : Midnight Comic Rambles

Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: John Cassaday

Delayed for.....how many months was it? Anbody?

Giant-Size finally wraps up Whedon/Cassaday's run on Astonishing, which for a 25 arc give or take it has lasted a damn long time.

Earth-bound heroes are alerted to the incoming threat the Breakworld has sent hurtling towards Earth in the form of a giant weird bullet. Spider-Man, Storm, Iron-Man, etc, all are putting their power together in harmony to figure out how to stop this huge threat. On the Breakworld, Colossus prevents the destruction of it by an insane rebel named Aghanne. During all of THIS, Kitty is still hurtling in space, inside the giant weird world destroying bullet, unable to phase through the metal, the metal itself meshing with Kitty preventing her from leaving. MEANWHILE on Earth... Spider-Man and all the others each fall into a mental trap somehow imaging themselves saving the Earth from the giant bullet...Spider-Man being the first to figure out something is wrong when he single-handedly stops the huge bullet with only his webs.....

Ok folks it's hard to write a review on this. The words "GIANT MAGIC BULLET" keep coming up and it's kinda hard to keep a straight face typing it out every time. The writing by Whedon throughout this Giant-Size is good, the pacing feels right, and there is a nice wrap up of things at the end after the world is saved. How is the world saved you may ask? Well, I called it in January when Kitty got stuck in the bullet so....yeah....how the world is saved from the giant bullet, I will not say but, if I figured it out in Jan., good chances are you can already figure what's gonna happen.

John Cassaday as always does a fantastic job with the art in this series...uncharacteristically though in this one-shot you look at the penciling of some of the Marvel characters that haven't shown up in this series (Iron-Man, the Sentry, Spider-Man, etc.) and Cassaday's penciling seems a tad below his normal high quality. The cover of this 1-shot is something to see as well, it being a full two page cover from front cover to back cover.

Final Impressions/Thoughts.

The story Whedon wrote and art Cassaday did for this series was great but, the delays ultimately killed the title. I can't remember how many times I picked up a new issue of this series only to think "What was going on in this title again" This run by Whedon/Cassaday is definitely a series to avoid in singles and a trade to buy right away.

B+

(Would have been a B- but the Beast/Agent Brand relationship was cute and made me smile)

Flight Explorer Volume 1 Review

Creators: Kazu Kibuishi, Mathew Armstrong, Jake Parker, and others
Publisher: Villard

While anxiously waiting on another volume of the phenomenal Flight series, I figured this might satisfy my hunger for right now. This book contains short stories from a handful of creators that helped bring the original Flight books. It is a little over 100 colored pages printed on some thick glossy paper. The purpose of this book though is to engage younger readers to give them a bridge into more adult storytelling.

Since this is a children's anthology, the stories are short and simple. The artwork is completely beautiful full of vibrant colors and memorable characters. However the art and stories do vary in style. Some of the stories work on an all-ages (kids and adults) level such as Kazu Kibuishi’s, Philip Craven’s, and Kean Soo’s stories. Mathew Armstrong and Rad Sechrirst in particular are great as always, and I loved and actually prefer Johane Matte's piece here to her contributions to the main anthologies. However, not every story works; for example the main cover character Missile Mouse, I had a tough time getting into. The Fish N’ Chips story reminds me of Earth Worm Jim and a character from the Chicken Little movie. Don’t get me wrong the stories are still written solid and the art is top notch, but like I said for me not every story worked.

My only gripe is that some of the stories felt shorter than what I had hoped for. With ten creators, I figured each would get at least 10 pages. Flight Explorer brings in the perfect mix of children’s fantasy stories, comic books, and animation and mixes them in for a fantastic treat for children and adults. This is a book I support 100% and hope that every kid picks up. It’s a wonderful book to keep in a classroom and share with teachers and kids. A-

EC Archives: Tales From the Crypt vol. 2 Review

Creators: Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and others
Publisher: Gem Stone Publishing

I was too young when the original comics were released, but back when I was in middle school, I saw a comic adaptation of Creepshow and it changed the way I saw comics. I was lucky enough to get some of the hardcover rereleases in the early 90’s that were done in black and white and I was blown away by the stories and artwork. Lucky for me I no longer have to find those other volumes missing from my collection. These volumes just keep getting better and better with each release.

This volume reprints the second six complete issues (24 stories) of the comic book "Tales From the Crypt", originally published in 1951 and 1952. They feature classic horror stories of vampires, werewolves, ghouls and monsters in the vein of the early "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "Wolf Man" movies, and even an early look at blending animal DNA with man’s. Some of these stories were the inspiration for several feature films and the HBO series of the same name. The stories in Tales From the Crypt rarely deviated from the basic formula in that they almost always ended with a shocking, ironic twist with a character getting what they deserve. Throughout the 200+ pages of this book the creators give us our dosage of morality tales with their own supernatural twist.

This book features some fantastic talents, because to be fair EC had the best artists of the era; Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Marie Severin, Graham Ingels, and Harvey Kurtzman. This restored collection the artwork shines like never before. The pages are vibrant and crisp and look like they were illustrated by today’s top artist. I can’t get over how nice this art looks on high quality paper and the coloring looks vibrant. Sadly that is part of the reason it brought down the rating a bit. Some of the pictures look too vibrant and flashy and the colors don’t mesh well with the art style. These editions also include special features such as an interview with Nancy Gaines, the widow of EC Comics founder Bill Gaines. The book lists for $50, but it is well worth the price of admission for stories such as these. A-

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 Review (Paperback Edition)

Author and Artist: Doug Petersen
Publisher: Villard

As a child one of my favorite book series was Brian Jacques' Redwall. So when I saw the cover to Mouse Guard, I just couldn't resist. The story is pretty basic; in the mid-12th century mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. The Mouse Guard are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safe ways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. This reminded me of all those Samurai stories I used to read that were set during the age of Meiji.

What really intrigued me about this first book was the way it each chapter served as a stand-alone story; an introduction to this wonderful world. This is a rarity these days in comics, with every issue being part of a six issue story arc. In the first book Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. In doing so they stumble onto much more than they had bargained for. A mouse claiming to carry the legendary Black Axe is certain that the guard is outdated and plans an uprising to control all the towns and villages. Only by working together can the guards defeat this scourge, finding an unlikely ally to aid them along the way. There are some fantastic battles within the book, but I really don't want to give too much away.

Keep this in mind while reading the book though, Peterson tells much more of a story through his drawings than he does the actual text. The book is definetely not dialogue heavy so don't expect this to be a deep meaningful comic. It is instead a very well done adventure story without all the fuss and extra details. The plot jumps about a bit but is definetely understandable. Petersen enmeshes you so thoroughly in this world that he sees little reason to fill you in on some of the background details. Some characters don't physically show up until the last chapter. These are characters that have been mentioned since the beginning of the book.

Originally Petersen self-published the first issue of Mouse Guard as a black and white comic. That version certainly had its own strengths and Petersen brought a lot oft that texture and strong, thin ink lines to these pages. The artwork, to put it lightly, looks absolutely beautiful. From the character designs, it looks like an excessive amount of time went into drawing each character. The scenery is not over looked either; every leaf to tree branch is given time and detail. Petersen brings a certain richness to this book; he is a fantastic storyteller by making the action really easy to follow. After reading this book in color, I don't think I could go back and read it in black and white. The colors look like they were actually painted. Every beautiful color you that brings to mind Fall is in this book; bright oranges to the wonderful reds just fill the backgrounds.

By the end of the book I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I can not wait for the next volume to be collected. Winter is currently being published as single issues. This was a nice little surprise; it's one of those rare treasures you just can't put down. I recommend this book to everyone I know. If you are a fan of Redwall, Secret of Nimh, Bone, or just a fan of great story telling with a fantasy aspect, go and buy this book. At a cost of only 18 dollars I recommend everyone to pick this book up and give it a try and bring out the innerchild in you. A+

Robin #172

Robin #172
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Pencils: David Baldeon

This issue starts out with Tim hand-gliding over an illegal casino (what’s up with all the bat-gliders lately…seriously). The story from here is pretty standard. Tim waits for Violet to show up and rob the place, Violet does, criminals are tipped off and mayhem, mayhem mayhem! This is Chuck Dixon folks, so I may make little light of the writing but, it’s handled well trust me.

The really big point I wanna bring up within this issue however, was the reveal of Spoiler. We finally see the person under the mask that has been stalking Tim, who can’t possibly be Stephanie Brown….and yet? The blonde-haired beauty penciled, appears to be none other then Stephanie Brown herself. So…why is this such a big deal?

Well….the first thing Brown being alive would resolve is, why there is no memorial case for her in the batcave. I know…..some of you are like….who gives a crap about a case, all I have to say to you is….you’d be surprised. The glaring omission of a memorial case for Stephanie has been a sore spot within DC fandom ever since her death in War Games, being aggravated even more by events in the War Crimes story. The question has always been brought up….why did the first and only female Robin never get a memorial case in the batcave. Panels have been looked over numerous times and whilest Jason Todd’s memorial case stands in 3/4s of the shots, you never see anything for Stephanie Brown. Check it out…seriously I am not making it up. Whenever Didio has been asked about the Brown issue he has always avoided it, making remarks sometimes saying to the effect it’d never happen. Many think this was a specific policy with Didio, the reasoning of this thought being to slight the role of female heroes in some such way. I don’t know about all of that BUT, with this resurrection of sorts, this issue of the memorial case could be seen to have been framework laid for upcoming stories…in that possibly Bruce never made a memorial case for Stephanie…simply because after a point, he had found her to be alive. Whether this was planned from the beginning or instituted due to fan outcry I don’t know…perhaps that’s the greater question. Again, I know this doesn’t seem huge but, trust me, look around the comic blogosphere some, it’s an issue.

Moving along, the questions arise a plenty with Stephanie’s resurrection, the actual method that will be used to explain Stephanie’s sudden re-appearance. I mean…How did Stephanie come back?…or was she ever really dead? Explanations? The Stephanie seen is a clone, a ghost, a Stephanie from a parallel Earth, somebody with plastic surgery made to look like Stephanie, maybe it’s Clayface, or this person actually is Stephanie after her body was dipped into a Lazarus Pit by some unforeseen person,…maybe Leslie lied AGAIN to Bruce and has been keeping her alive and unseen…though not well enough as she thinks. I could go on and on but, you get the gist.

One also must wonder if this sudden resurrection ties in, in any way to current or upcoming events within the DCU (Countdown, Final Crisis, Reign In Hell, Blackest Night etc, etc.). The appearance of “A” Spoiler in the Gotham Underground series seems like a portent of sorts, of things yet to come. Then again....it could be just be Didio saying "I GIVE UP", lol.

What about Tim?….all of his feelings and reactions to such a reveal as this?

Solicits for the upcoming Robin/Spoiler special coming up will probably tie up a lot of these questions....but...again...maybe not.

I could go on and on about Stephanie being alive…needless to say, it sparks a lot of questions and discussion in both past, present and future continuity in the DCU at large.

Overall this issue was decent, and I am curious to see where Dixon goes with this and how he utilizes the character of Spoiler whom seems to be...in fact Stephanie Brown. Baldeon’s penciling again was alright, it wasn’t horrible nor was it mouth watering, it was just ok. B+

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #12

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #12
Writer: Drew Goddard
Pencils: Georges Jeanty

The words "jumped the shark" come to mind after reading this issue.

The story starts out with Xander and Renee (Slayer) keeping watch over the castle, apparently there are some wolves grouping around the place...blah blah blah. THEN, you have a panel of Buffy in bed with Satsu. Cue to me saying, What the fuck? Yes, apparently Buffy has knocked boots with one of her slayers, Now, I have no problem with gals that like gals but, in the case of this story and Buffy's overall character, umm, no. The whole thing just has me shaking my head. The scenes themselves are handled alright, as it's apparently Buffy's first time with a woman but....something about the whole thing just feels wrong. Throughout this issue I almost felt like Buffy or whoever was gonna wake up from a dream. It feels...forced I guess is the word, like at some point Goddard said to Whedon...."Hey Joss...I am running out of ideas, how about we turn Buffy gay too". I know that's a harsh thing to say but, that's how it comes off as.

The rest of the story had some nice comedic moments per usual as Buffy asks Satsu to keep the bedroom jaunt a secret....then Xander, Renee, Dawn, Willow, and Andrew end up running into the bedroom a breath later, Buffy highly embarrassed.

The wolves that had been surrounding the castle earlier attack, switching forms, from vampire to wolf to bees to mist/fog...finally stealing the Slayer Scythe and making a hasty retreat. Everyone questions these new vampires' powers and why they stole the scythe, causing the Scoobies to send Xander off to meet an old "friend", Renee in tow. Yeah....the old friend....Dracula. Pretty much at the panel of Dracula, I was sorta glad the issue had ended.

Out of the BTVS universe there are 100s of different characters that could have been brought back to help enrich the overall story in this title.....Oz, Riley, Angel, Wesley, Fred/Illyria, Harmony, Spike, frakking bring the f'ing Mayor back....but...Dracula? Really? That's the character you wanna reintroduce in this series? Argh!!!

This issue was ok....that's me saying this folks....so bare that in mind. The comic itself is still leaps and bounds above most current storytelling in comics BUT, this is Buffy...so try as I might, I have higher standards for this title then the rest. Turning a character gay is fine but, do it right and not as filler till the next big story gets momentum. Reintroducing new characters, again fine, but make it one we actually give two flying fucks about. Dracula wasn't that interesting in the Spike/Dracula mini...and he's not that interesting in this.

In closing, Jeanty's pencils have started to grow on me but Goddard's writing this issue brings to mind the Fonz flying in the air....and unfortunately...those AREN'T busses below him. B-

E.C. Archives: Crime SuspenStories vol. 1

Author: Various
Artist: Various
Publisher: EC

For the past two years during the month of October we have done a Halloween special podcast. To be more specific it covers the horror genre in comics. If you have heard them, you know how much I love EC's (Entertainment Comics) Tales From the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, and Vault of Horror. But each of those books had a beginning somewhere else. Since 2006 EC has been publishing re-printings of all their comics in a new EC Archive Edition. Each volume is printed in full color and includes six comics or about 20+ stories.

Crime SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. This was a crime comic that ran for 27 issues, ending with the 1955 issue. Of course this all happened when the Comics Code Authority whitewashed all comic books to remove all themes of horror and violence. And if you have seen the infamous cover to issue 22 Crime SuspenStories, you can tell why this was one of their primary hits.

The first volume contains the original first six comics in their entirely. There is an introduction by novelist Max Collins (Road to Perdition, Ms. Tree, and Dark Angel). These first six issues collect a total of 24 stories mainly focusing on noir-styled detective stories that had the classic O Henry twist endings. The stories range from detective stories to stories of revenge and then to the occult which you can see spawned the titles like The Vault of Horror. To be honest, they feel more like horror stories than detective stories. For the cover, they used the classic cover to issue five, which is a story called The Sewer.

Overall the volume is a fantastic collection of old stories, that seem timeless due to the wonderful talent of the creative team. I have to say that Johnny Craig is a master of his craft. I had seen his covers countless of times, but his interior pages are some of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of art I have ever seen. The colors really make not only his pencils stand out, but the rest of the artist like Jack Kamen, Graham Ingles, and the legendary Havery Kurtzman. Of course the colors wouldn't be so dazzling without the glossy pages it is printed on. However, there are a few pages, at least in my copy that seem like the art is printed in low resolution. But, those are nothing more than five pages and the rest of the book looks phenomenal. I can't recommend this book highly enough and cannot wait for the next volume of this great series. A

OLYMPUS

Writer(s): Geoff Johns & Kris Grimminger
Artist: Butch Guice

Olympus follows a group of student archaeologists as they uncover an ancient greek vase appearing to be Pandora's Box. Well....the moment they discover what they have in their hands, all hell breaks loose. A huge storm erupts out of a clear blue sky, and as they try to get to dry land they are boarded by some unsavory thieves. The thieves mistakenly board the students' vessel in a misguided belief that it was carrying smuggled diamonds. In the end the storm rocks the boat back and forth knocking everybody out and eventually beaching the remainning ship on a odd looking island. A statue of Zeus stands tall over a large portion of the island and the archealogists start to realize...maybe the island is actually the home of the greek gods, OLYMPUS. The rest of the story from here has students and crooks both making their way to the top of the island in the hopes that placing the vase in its' supposed resting place will set things right and help them to return home. Various greek mythological creatures attack the group as they make their trek up, a Cyclops, Minotaur, Gorgon, etc., you name it, these people ran into it. The story ends very cookie cutter, the students aka good guys end up surviving and making their way back home, along with the one or two misunderstood crooks.

The writing overall for this trade...wasn't too shabby. Geoff Johns & Kris Grimminger write this mini and whereas Johns' prominence is already well established, I am now interested in seeing what else Grimminger has written. Though well-written, the story is not perfect though. You have the cliched bad guy who is really good at heart, the dumb blonde who actually is smart, and of course the ending itself which....well...its a smidge corny. All of that being said though if you can suspend your cyncism for a bit and just enjoy this trade for what it is, it's not bad at all.

One of the best things about this trade is the art of Butch Guice. Guice has a very sharp, gritty style in this trade that you can clearly see permeating throughout the panels. From his penciling of the giant Cyclops to his depiction of the Minotaurs' Maze, you are treated to some nice illustrations that still maintain a sense of reality to them. Guice is unique in this title, his style reminding me of more recent work by Jock in Green Arrow Year One. The sketch gallery at the end of this trade is something to really geek out over too...I mean some of Guice's work in these sketches...yeah....intricate is the word folks.

Overall, though the story for this trade is only moderately above average, Butch Guice's pencils push it over the edge. B-

The Best of the Harveyville Fun Times

This Review was submitted by Dennis Feeback

By Mark Arnold and Various

The Scoop: A sampling of the best material from the long-running "Harveyville Fun Times!" fanzine featuring articles about various Harvey Comics characters such as Casper, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff and Sad Sack.

The Package: What we have is a nice thick BIG book. The front and back covers are nice especially the back cover by Ernie Colon. Like the fanzines it reprints the typeface is literally all over the place, but this was a conscious decision by the editor to faithfully reprint the magazines in their original form.
Also of note, this was book was printed by Lulu.com and I must say they do fine work.

Final Thoughts: After reviewing the Harvey Comics Classics volumes from Dark Horse, I was definitely in a Harvey frame of mind. I happened upon Mark's site, http://thft.home.att.net/ , and was overwhelmed with all the info on Harvey Comics. Mark was kind enough to send me a copy of this fine book.
And I am so glad he did.

This is such a wonderful resource for Harvey characters and history. As this is a reprint volumes of various issues of marks magazine, there is a lot of material between these covers, and all of it is informative and entertaining. I learned all kinds of facts I never know about the company that shaped my childhood. There are issue guides, character profiles, company history, and MUCH more. If you sre any kind of Harvey fan, you NEED this book. My HIGHEST possible recommendation.

Final Rating: A+, Invaluable if you're a Harvey fan. Interesting if you're just interested in comics history. Impressive.

EC Archives: Vault of Horror vol. 1

This Review was submitted by Dennis Feeback

By Various

The Scoop: Legendary publisher Bill Gaines provided the forum and creators like Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Harry Harrison, Jack Kamen, Harvey Kurtzman, Graham Ingels, and Jack Davis provided the mayhem. Six full issues and 24 complete stories are collected in this full-color, deluxe volume. Foreword by perennial N.Y. Times best-selling author R.L. Stine.

The Package: The book is a solid oversized hardcover. It comes with a nice dust jacket, the same artwork is on the books cover as well. A nice touch! The new coloring, which looks great, manages to make to book look modern while still keeping the creepy feel to the originals. Paper stock is nice with thick glossy pages. An all-around great looking book!

Final Thoughts: Man I LOVE the EC stuff! These books are always great fun, and just a damn joy to read. That being said, the high price tag ($49.99) kept me away from these. However, now that I've read one I'm hooked! These fantastic editions are worth every penny! It is so nice to have these collections in a complete format. I'm a fan for life and will be collecting them all!

As for this volume, this is early in the EC days, so the artists were really just building up to the greatness they would eventually become. The art (Really the best reason to check out these books) isn't quite us to the polish of the later years, but you can definitely see flashes of greatness, and the true beginning of the EC "style". The writing also shows that the winning formula was found early on, as these stories are among some of the best of the line.

My only gripe? R.L. Stein's foreword was really kinda worthless.

Final Rating: A+, Kids, it doesn't get any better than this!