what I Got And Why 16/10/10

Valhallahan
Once again dressed in day-old, slept-in clothes and reeking of yesterdays booze, I dragged my sorry arse off my mate's sofa and met up with the esteemed Action Ash to get some 4-colour hangover cures (via a delightful jaunt round the Tate Britain's Turner Prize nominees exhibition with chum and 8 ball ink artist Oliver. Verdict: Poor). Here’s what I got (and why).

Jonah Hex #60 - This is a match made in heaven for me, Brian Stellfreeze drawing a Jonah Hex story! Stelfreeze is a massively underrated artist whose action sequences are second to none, his fight coreography in the Wilstorm Mini series Matador was superb, and his Domino mini series from Marvel many moons ago is also worth noting. We really don't see enough of this chap. Fahkin' Lahverly Mate! The chump who drew Return of Bruce Wayne #4 should hang their head in shame.

Taskmaster #2 - The shop I went to was out of this last week, so I picked it up at the wonderfully stocked Orbital this week. I bloody well loved #1 and with the introduction of characters like the Don of the Dead it looks like it's keeping it's levels of awsome set to high. I am loving this series, and as it's one of only two Marvel Universe books I'm picking up right now, it should feel honoured. So there.

Strange Tales II #1 -Marvel have returned with a new anthology mini series giving popular indie creators a pop at the Marvel character library to create one heck of a curio. While the quality of the last run of these was hugely varied, variation remains its biggest selling point. I enjoyed the madness of the last run, and like last time, most of the stories err on the side of comedy, there are some more thoughtful pieces too, and some that are just plain trippy, daddy-o.

Hellblazer: City of Demons #1 - I like John Constantine and I love Sean Murphy’s artwork. This is the chap who drew Joe the Barbarian for Mark Morrison last year and the su-fucking-perb Wolverine alphabet. He really is one to watch, and he has form on Hellblazer with the excellent Jason Aaron-penned two-parter "Newcastle Calling" in 2008 (#245-246) one of the rare occasions where a yank writer gets JC right. If you’ve ever wanted to try Hellblazer but didn't know where to start, get this new mini series and be schooled, you won’t be disappointed.

House of Secrets Annual #2 - I'm not a reader of House of Mystery, it seems like a whole bucket of fairy elf bullshit to be honest, but this Halloween special is essentially the Vertigo Annual. As it’s both Vertigo, and an anthology I’m sure you can see I’m in there like swimwear. At first glance it looks great, there’s a Hellblazer story by Milligan and Camuncoli, an iZombie tale by Robertson and Allred and rather a lot of other cool looking bits and bobs. It’s a bit like the Winter’s Edge books they used to put out actually, which is a good thing indeed.

The Amazing Spider-Man #577 - I've never been a regular Spider-Man reader, or much of an irregular reader for that matter, but this was in Orbital’s slightly water damaged, 50p each section (which is well worth a look), and it seemed to be a one-off Punisher story. The art is by Paulo Riverra, whose work I’ve appreciated for a while, but haven’t actually read much of. It looks rather good and well worth my half pound!

Multiverse #0 - Free sample issue of a new comic books magazine which will be out in November and it is apparently "Voted the best comics related magazine on Earth 616". Who am I to argue? It looks like it'll be quite good.


What I Didn't Got And Why

Knight and Squire #1 - I didn't get this because I an a massive fool who doesn't notice when something is in front of my eyes. Either that or it was sold out. As an English Comic Book Geek and an inveterate drunk, I apologise.**

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5 - I realised I really don't give a fuck. I really dig Ryan Sook's art (he doesn't do the whole issue), I like 30s/40s pulp detectives, I like Batman, but I really can't bring myself to give a shit about this series anymore. Adieu Brucie!


And Finally...

Love and Rockets: The New Stories Vol. 3 - As Ash pointed out in the shop when I excitedly told him that this book had finally hit British shelves; "You know you're the only person who cares about that, right?". Anyway, I don't care that it looks like half of Gilbert's contribution is cat people fucking, it's going to be great. Also one of Xaime's stories deals with the very real, very depressing subject matter so I should really enjoy it, miserable c*nt that I am.


**
Thankfully the kind folks at Limited Edition Comix, let me have their last copy, a variant cover no less, and at cover price, which was nice (I don’t really agree with variant covers, but that's a post for another day). This looks like jolly good fun, what? After a skim through, Double Entendre and the Back and White Minstrels are my favourites, What are yours?

In your face Action Ash!

What I got and Why 15/8/2010

Valhallahan
The Weird World of Jack Staff #3 - I've always been curious about Jack Staff. I really dug Paul Grist's Kane, but only with the recent relaunch have I entered the Weird World of Jack Staff. I’m awfully glad I did!

The Walking Dead #76 - Consistently brilliant, it'd take a lot to make me drop this title. In fact nothing short of the (joke) ending to #75.

Scarlet #1 - I thought I’d try this out, because although I'm sick to death of Bendis' Marvel Universe work now, I used to be a big fan. Here’s hoping he's still got some of the old magic in this creator-owned series.

Daytripper #9 - The penultimate chapter of this excellent Mini, and it looks like they're starting to bring it all together. I heartily recommend this series.

Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #1 - I got this because we were going to do it for Swap Shop until Ash hit me with a surprise turkey instead (stay tuned!). It's not bad, but it’s not great either, I was left thinking "The Shroud is actually kinda cool" and "Dear god, why do they still write Silver Sable stories".

CBGB OMFUG #1 - Part one of Boom! Studios anthology series about the legendary New York Punk venue. I like comics I like Punk, it’s not rocket science.

Origins of the Marvel Universe - I went on about the one page origins in that siege freebie a little while back, and this is a whole comic of them. 1 page of 'who they is and what they does' for most of Marvel's major characters. Well worth the price of admission. The Ghost Rider page by Mark Texiera is particularly cool looking, I'd like it on my wall. An excellent buy for a Marvel Newbie.

Jonah Hex #58 - Because it’s Jonah Hex.

DareDevil Black and White - Basically this is the same format as Marvel's Magazines they put out over the last year or so; short black and white stories by interesting creators and a prose story at the end. Looked good to me.

Invincible Volume 12: Still Standing - I really Love Invincible; it's one of the few current series I pick up solely in Trades, it sucks to wait so long between instalments, but like a trip to your mum's house, I'm guaranteed a good long ride for my money each time. This is what superhero comics should be.

Love and Rockets - I really dig L+R, and these trades are a great way to experience it, comprehensive, inexpensive and nice to look at on the shelf. This volume reprints couple of Minis by Jaime, including Women's wrestling drama "Woah Nellie!" and Penny Century.

Vertigo: Winters Edge #1 - A late '90s vertigo anthology; basically a short from each of the main books they were printing at the time, with a House of Secrets framing strip. Highlight at first glance is the Paul Pope Hellblazer story. The book does seem to contain a bunch of nonsense about fauns too though, so be warned.