What I Got And Why 29/10/2010

VALHALLAHAN
Well... it's a belated What I Got from me as I've spent the last few days attending and recovering from two monumentally awesome Rock n Roll Halloween Spectaculars, not to mention the Con or "Day of Cosplay, Booze and Queues" as I like to call it, but more on that later, the order of the day is this weeks new books.

Incognito: Bad Influences #1 - I loved the first series of this, so I'm extremely happy to see Brubaker and Phillips' fantastic series back on the shelves. In case you don't know, it's about a (sort of) reformed Pulp Supervillain in a witness protection scheme failing miserably to stay out of the dangerous world of Supervillainy. It’s a damned fine series, mixing the fantastic with the mundane with considerable aplomb.

The Weird World of Jack Staff #5 - This fantastically bonkers indie British Superhero series continues to thrill and puzzle in equal measures. As a reader who jumped aboard with #1 of this run, I'm not sure who's who beyond the intro pages each character gets, which could mean I'm missing out on bits but it's more than entertaining enough and bloomin' lovely to look at. I’m digging this series wholeheartedly.

Scalped #42 - This week in Scalped: All Misery, All The Time!!! Yep, this series continues to do what it does best, Gina and Dashiel finally meet up and a decision is made! Great stuff, but not a good jumping on point for new readers, and not even slightly for the easily offended.

I failed to find a copy of Hellblazer: City of Demons #2. Which was annoying because after you get over the awkward, over-egged slang in the first half (I actually had to check online to see if the writer was British) and the fact that Essex Road is actually quite gentrified (go to the New Rose if you find yourself in the area) not the scumzone suggested in the book. I really recommend issue one, it's classic Constantine, there's gorgeous art from Sean Murphy and it's very new reader friendly. Well worth the price of admission.

The kind folk at Limited Edition Comix [Sic] held onto their sole copy of The Bulletproof Coffin #5 for me which was nice. It's been a real bitch trying to get copies of this series but I am really loving it. Highest recommendation from me, it's trippy as fuck and clever as a dentist. Top marks!

And that is it for the (Pre-Con) What I got and Why. It was a quality week. Bad for wallet but good for the soul. On an unrelated note, it seems like ages since the last issue of Sweet Tooth came out. I’m Jonesing.

What I got and Why.

Action Ash
There was not much out this week that I wanted to spend my creds on, which is fine by me because it was merciful to my wallet. However here's what I DID get, and Why..

Incognito: Bad Influence #1 - My fellow bad guy and I have been waiting for this. The first series was everything a crime/pulp/superhero comic should be and this new issue looks sure not to disappoint.

Soldier Zero #1 - Didn't manage to get a copy last week. Got one now and, after reading it on the bus back home, I am underwhelmed.

Superman Earth One - Never really been a fan of the blue clad boy scout, but this caught my eye. I'd seen the hype that was floating around, and after a flick through in the shop, thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt. I intend to see for myself if this is actually a new look at Superman, or just Superman with a hipster haircut.

What I Got And Why 23/10/2010

Valhallahan

Vertigo: Resurrected #1 - This is an extremely fucking good collection of books from those lovely people at Vertigo, and I can tell you this with some degree of conviction because I've read 90% of the fucking thing before! It's an expensive package, but full of gems, I'm just peeved that I have so much of it already. YOU should definitelly buy it though. I'll do a full review in a bit.

Hellblazer #272 - The lead up to John's possible upcoming nuptuals continues! We have Epiphany stuck in the past with seedy young John and Bisley art and Our John in the present with Camuncoli and a Succubus WAG. It's like 'Life on Mars' but with more bastards and more sex. Also this issue ties in to the House of Secrets Annual which was a nice touch.

DV8: Gods and Monsters #7 - Stuff does seem to be happening in this series now, but I must say a lot of the sheen has worn off. One more issue to go and I'll be glad when it finishes to be honest, it seems like I've been reading the introduction to a story for over half a year now. It doesn't help that Brian Wood seems to have missed the mark completely on a couple of characters.

The Walking Dead #78 - It's all kicking off now! After what seems like (but actually isn't when you think about it) a fairly calm stretch, Kirkman's about to blow things out of the water again as the series leads up to "No Way Out".

Chaos War #2 - Buy this. It's flipping awesome. In this issue The All New, All Different God Squad is formed as all hell literally breaks loose! Some have said this is similar to DC's recent Blackest Night crossover, but I didn't read that, so some people can shut their holes. Go Herc!

I also got Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, so expect a movie review soon.

Accidental Cosplay!

Valhallahan

Ash's post on Don of the Dead made me realise that I'd seen that chap before, at my birthday shenanigans this summer...

The Don of the Dead

Carnage

Carnage #1
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Clayton Crain

Action Ash
Plot: After witnessing a strange chase, involving an armoured car and Doppelganger, Tony Stark changes to Iron Man and calls fellow Avenger Spider-man to the scene. However, this is just the beginning of something much larger...

Although making reference to the famously shit Maximum Carnage storyline this seems promising. My interest was kept and my curiosity piqued with the addition of the new characters (as far as I'm aware) Royal Blue and Firebrick.

Script and plot wise, this is an alright story, fairy average but not bad by any means. Except, maybe, for the rushed explanation of the events of Maximum Carnage. It was an enjoyable read and I'm curious to see where it goes.

The best thing about this title is clearly the art. I'm a bit of a Crain fan from his run on the recent X-Force incarnation, and he does not disappoint. He seems particularly adept at drawing the otherworldly symbiote that is Carnage and the ghastly Doppelganger, adding his usual element of horror to the superhero genre. His usual flaw of not being able to draw more than one face, doesn't seem noticeable so far, as all the characters look different when mask-less.

Definitely worth reading if you're a Marvel fan, especially if you're a Spider-man fan.

3 monstrous Spidey lookalikes out of 5

What I got and Why.

Action Ash
I braved the cold weather today for one reason. Wrapped in a hoody and my leather and armed with creds, I made my way to St Albans and the shop known as Chaos City comics to purchase this weeks hot titles.

Conan the Cimmerian #24 - I love Conan! I love the Cary Nord covers that currently grace this book each month. The creative team is changing soon, so that will be something for the 2 bad guys to talk about.

Carnage #1 - Clayton Crain is probably the perfect artist to draw the psychopathic alien symbiote. Should be good.

Shadowland: Powerman #3 - You all know what I think of this series, so I will bore you no longer. It's good though!

Morning Glories #3 - Issue two did not disappoint so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next and how they resolve last issue's cliffhanger ending.

Chaos War #2 - I missed number one, and couldn't find a back issue, but I'm hoping to be able to hop on here. Looking god from what I've seen.

I also bought some DVD's, a new hoody and some Adidas Star Wars trainers!!! But they aint comics, so this post ends here =P

Character of the now: The Don of the Dead

Action Ash
Taskmaster has been a great ride so far, largely due to the antagonists. We here at 2 bad guys love a good gad guy, and my favourite that I have come across this month has to be...

The Don of the Dead.

This skull faced Mariachi positively made my week after reading this issue. Possibly the coolest thing about this guy is that him and his henchmen are also a band that play songs about his exploits to win over the local peasants.

Utter Brilliance!

Don of the Dead we salute you. Hail! \m/

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: My comic book weekend.

Action Ash
My new university timetable means that I am busy all day on Thursdays, so I now have to wait that extra day to get my grubby little hands on the week's funny books. This displeases me. Anyway, on Friday I dropped by Chaos City Comics (St Albans) and picked up a bunch of cool stuff:

Knight and Squire #1 - I just want to take the time to rub it in because Valhallahan did not get a copy (Sucker!). This book is quite simply brilliant in it's British-ness.

Superior #1 - The new creator owned project from Mark Millar and Leinel Yu. Looks great!

Shadowland #4 - Penultimate Issue! Glad it's coming to an end soon tbh.

Tomb of Terror - This one shot from Marvel is a nod to their awesome horror titles of the 70's, with all the classics, Werewolf by Night, Daimon Hellstrom Son of Satan, Man-Thing and N'Kantu the living Mummy.

Thor #616 - The new creative team are looking good. Can't wait to see where Fraction takes this title.

Magnus, Robot Fighter #2 - Loved the first one, this one looks just as good, with even better action sequences.

New Avengers #5 - I like this book but I hope not all the story arcs are going to be 3 issue stories stretched beyond their natural length for the convenience of trade conversion.

I also picked up this delightfully fiendish collection of horror comics from the 50's, entitled Four Colour Fear. There are some great tales in this book, and a glossy section in the middle displaying some amazing covers. If you're a fan of bizarre old comics then pick this up without hesitation.

My comic book weekend didn't stop there folks.

My fellow bad guy and I graced the streets of this great nation's capital, in search of thrills and spills. Instead we found comics and Chilango's. I picked up...

Morning Glories #2 (Second printing) - Almost forgot I missed this, so I was glad to get hold of it. This issue is looking just as promising as the first.

Vault of Evil #10 - A 70's horror comic from Marvel. I love this shit!

A fat pulled pork burrito - The absolute antidote to hunger!

What I Got and Why 08/10/10

Valhallahan
CBLBF Liberty Annual - This is the Annual fund raiser for the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund, and as ever it's a big parcel of freedom of speech-themed shorts and pin ups from big industry names and characters. Here we have Conan by Darick Robertson, Dave Gibbons on Martha Washington, Frank Miller's Sin City, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba give us a 4 page short, Paul Pope a 2 page spread, a Milk and Cheese 2 pager, and many more... we do get a 2 page shit-smear by Rob Liefeld too though, so it's not all fun and games.


Scalped #41 - This months issue begins with an attempted abortion-by-coat-hanger, so cheery as usual then. In all seriousness though, this series is really, really fucking good. This storyline is dealing, not for the first time, in issues of parenthood and familial responsibility, among hardasses on the 'Rez. And because this is Scalped, we've also got a murder investigation, a man hunt and a struggle with heroin addiction to round things out. Buy Vol. 1 now if you haven't already (Which you should have).

American Vampire #7 - Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's excellent off beat retro vamp story continues apace. It's 1936 and we're still in Vegas with Chief McCogan who unfortunately for him has just run into our old friend Skinner Sweet... Oh Crumbs!

iZombie #6 - Y'know what? I'm actually really digging this, I was picking it up for the super freaking duper artistic endeavors of Mormon Maestro Mike Allred, but I've found myself hooked on the story now too. Who'd a thunk? This issue is sub-titled "I, Were-Terrier: Who He Is And How He Came To Be" and appears to be an Origin story (duh). Also, does it make me a massive thicko that I've only just seen the Gwen/Dead Girl connection?

The Spirit #6 - This is the first time I've picked up The Spirit, despite it's reputation, Peripheral things like the Godawful Frank Miller movie and the classic Spirit's sidekick "Ebony White", I bit the bullet here because the back up strip is by the 100 Bullets team of Brian Azzarrello and Eduardo Risso.

Fanastic Four in... iAtaque Del M.O.D.O.K.! - I'm by no means a Fantastic Four fan, but I'm always curious about books that take characters in a different direction, and I'm a sucker for pretty artwork. Here we have incredibly eye catching visuals from Juan Doe and to my knowledge the first appearance of Puerto Rican hero iEl Vejigante! And AIM monkeys.

What I Didn't Got Coz It Woz Sold Out
Taskmaster #2 - Bugger.

Thanks DC!

Valhallahan

"For the long term health of the industry, we are willing to take a financial risk so that readers who love our medium do not abandon the art form."

DC Comics apparently prove they're the bigger man by putting their cover prices back down to $2.99. Good show, chaps. I hate to say it, having been raised a True Believer, but the Distinguished Competitor is getting much more of Valhallahan’s sterling these days.

*I read this on Bleeding Cool News, Innit.

Mega City's Most Wanted?

Valhallahan

Did these even come out? I can't tell if I think half of these look cool, or just that they look better than the other half. Found in the back of a comic from 1993.

Bye Bye Bucky: Captain America #610

Valhallahan

Well that was... Ok, I guess. Perhaps I’m being unduly harsh, but after that drawn out story that lead to exactly nothing, I’m out. Adieu James Buchannan Barnes, I hardly knew ye. Actually that’s a lie. It’s a testament to Ed Brubaker’s skill as an author that I feel like I do know Barnes inside and out. It really is impressive how much Bru got out of what initially sounds like the worst, most clichéd 90s-esque character since Cable "It’s Bucky, like from the 40s, but he’s not really dead, and he’s all dark now and used to be a secret government assassin and now he’s got a robot arm and grunge hair and he’s got like, a bunch of guns and he’s got a mysterious past with Nick Fury, Wolverine and the Black Widow and did I mention he’s Dark?" See what I mean? This could have ended up like an X-treme Captain America, like Captain Mother Freaking America Liefeld Yeah! Thankfully it didn’t. Brubaker’s Captain America run has been superhero comics at their best, but aside from the Two Captains America story, it’s been treading water for a little while now, so I’m going to quit while I’m level.

Of course it could just be that I’ve read too much of it now after 60-odd issues, and when the next trade paperback release comes around I might have has a sufficient break and be singing a different tune but I don’t think so. I give Zemo storyline three and a bit star-spangled shields out of five, it was the last thing they had to do with the character, make him face the son of the man that ruined his life in the first place but now that’s over with I just feel that the story has run its course.

I can’t actually remember what happened in the back up strip, but I’ve not been impressed by that since day one, so I really won’t be missing it. Nomad scores two mopey hoodies out of a possible gang of happy slappers.

What I Got and Why 01/10/10

Valhallahan
Howdy Folks! I must apologise for my state as I am bringing you this What I Got and Why from planet drunk! I made my way to that haven of comicdom that is Orbital on Friday eve and bought myself a real bag o' tricks; a fine haul indeed. Let me tell you all about it... I may even add pictures when I'm sober, but please enjoy my impeccably spelt drunken ramblings.

Atlas #5 - With this issue we (super hero comic book fans with taste) bid adieu to Marvel's finest super team. I must say that if you don't want to read about a Gorilla Man, an Atlantean Warrior Princess, a Roman Love Goddess, a Uranian Ubermensch named Bob and a killer Human Robot fighting crime alongside kick ass FBI agent, Jimmy Woo and his timeless untrustworthy Dragon advisor Mr Lao, then you really need to think about whether comic books are for you. Buy the first Agents of Atlas collection or I will hit you.

Captain America #610 - Here we have the resolution of new(ish) Captain America, Bucky's showdown with the son of the man who ruined his life so many years ago. I truly hold writer Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America as some of the finest super hero comic book writing this side of the new millennium, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop this title. I thoroughly recommend people pick up Volume One of this series in trade, but I think with this issue I'm bailing out. Don't hold me to it, but I think Brubaker's said all he has to say with the characters and has been treading water for the past 6 months or so. Adieu mon capitan!


Wetworks: Mutations #1 - After my empassioned eulogy of the Wildstorm Universe this week, I was heartened to find this title on the shipping list. I missed a Wetworks reboot a few years back, but I really loved the initial incaration of this team so I thought I'd give this one shot a go. Interestingly, it's written by the man mountain Kevin Grevioux, chief werewolf and writer of the Underworld movies, which one could argue nicked their back story wholesale from Wetworks original incarnation.


Vertigo Back Issues
Because I can't help myself, I picked up issues 2 and 3 of Millennium Fever, a romantic story written by Nick Abadzis and drawn by the inimitable genius that is Duncan Fegredo. Published in 1995.

I also picked up Elvis Must Die from the second hand section; a story with a premise so good I'll dedicate a post to it. More soon.

Magazines?
CLiNt #2 - The magazine bits of #1 were fucking awful, but there is still an abundance of comic book funtimes to be had from this periodical. A wonderful use for the money that, let's face it was burning a hole in your pocket anyway.


Dodgem Logic #5 - 2Badguys reader Nightwatchman inspired me to pick up Dodgem Logic, Alan Moore's very own glossy magazine, as a contrast to Mark Millar's CLiNT, and from flicking through, I am very pleased with this product. It looks like a great read. I do warn readers not to open pages willy nilly on public transport as fairly early on there's a graphic cock-shot which I'm sure alarmed the chap reading over my shoulder on the Piccadilly Line. Nothing to do with comics, but looks like a great magazine.

Addendum
Apparently no one has Love and Rockets: The New Stories Volume 3. This is annoying.

On the Pulse!

Action Ash
Well first up, it seems that Scott Snyder, scribe of American Vampire, will be starting a run on Detective Comics in November. The bad guys will be waiting for that one, Mr Snyder.

Marvel have released previews for the first two issues of their new superhero crossover epic, Chaos War. Koi Pham is on scribble duty and it is looking pretty nifty. For instance, check out this awesome depiction of Galactus. Click on it to link to the preview of Chaos War #2.

Last but not least: Aint it typical, that now I've decided to give up on Secret Avengers they go and put Shang Chi in the line up. That's right folks, issue 6 will see the fist throwing, fast kicking chinaman back in action as the new addition to the roster. I'm thinking about picking it up again solely for this reason.

That's it for now, see you in the funny pages. \m/

It Came From The Bargain Bin!

Valhallahan
I love giving to charity, particularly when I get a stack of comic books in return. With that in mind, I went to Oxfam in the leafy suburb of Hertford to ransack their rather tasty collection of second hand comic books and collected this funny little pile of picture books for the combined price of £2.94. Nice.
Here's what I got and why.

Icon #1 - I've always had a soft spot for the Milestone characters but apparently I didn't actually buy many of the comics (apologies to Dwayne McDuffie) and the books I did buy in my childhood seem to have largely disappeared, so I always pick up issues when I see them on the cheap. Icon was Milestone's sort-of-Superman character, but as with all of the Milestone characters, it's not quite that simple... Incidentally, the cover pictured here (that I nicked off the internet) is not the same as the copy I bought, I didn't realise they did alternate covers.

Marvel Two-In-One #86 - I'm one of those fans that really likes the thing in theory, but I rarely buy any books with him in. I bought this purely for the awesome cover image of The Thing and Sandman chilling in a pub. Good times. I'm actually amazed that this monthly book which featured various heroes teaming up with The Fantastic Four's The Thing (that's a lot of 'The's) lasted as long as it did, no way a title like that would make it to 86 issues in today's market. This Issue came out in 1982 - the year before I was born, fact fans!

The Shadowmen #2 - I'd never heard of this series before, it came out in 1990 and is written by some guy called Mark Millar. Never hear of him. Anyway the art is so bleak and "Adult Comics" that Action Ash will laugh in my face when he sees it. Love it, and from the looks of it, the story is about miserable people looking miserable. Get in!



Sebastian O #1 & 2 - This is an oddball, steampunk-y victoriana tale from Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell I've often glanced at this on the shelves but stopped short of buying it, but two of the three issues for 50p an issue was an offer I couldn't refuse. I'll let you know if it was worth it.




Satan's Six #1 - This really looks like some kind of idiot bastard son of a comic, but I just couldn't resist the creative team involved. The pencils for most of the book are by Jack King Kirby, and he's inked by Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane and Steve Ditko. Yes, you heard that right. Sadly there are a lot of awful looking filler pages by some 90s hack joining the dots. This is truly an odd fish. Published by Topps.

What I Got and Why 24/09/10

Valhallahan

Well hush my mouth! It turns out that far from being a slow week, I returned from Orbital with rather a stack (via a very sweaty gig at the 100 Club from which I'm still recovering). Sadly said magnificently stocked outlet didn't have what I said I'd pick up for Action Ash leading to a text I hope no one sees out of context: "I couldn't get Morning Glories for you today Ash". Anyway brothers and sisters, on to the books...

CBGB OMFUG #2 & 3 - As I said before, I wasn't blown away by the first issue of this anthology series based on the theme of the eponymous New York club, but I'm interested/pretentious enough to persevere in the hopes of something magical happening. Watch this space. Also of note, one of the stories written by Anna Matronic of Scissor Sisters fame.

Vertigo Verite: Hell Eternal - I seem physically incapable of leaving Orbital without rooting through the Vertigo back issues, and today was no different. This is a one off written by Jamie Delano, the original Hellblazer writer, and drawn by Sean Phillips, industry superstar and 2badguys love object. Hell Eternal is printed under the same "Verite" banner as Girl and I loved the hell out of that, so I figured I'd give this a try. I've no fucking clue what it's about.

The Walking Dead #77 - I really rate this book. If you haven't done so already, you should read the first trade. Just do it. Even if it's just so you can tell your friends you prefer the original when the TV series starts next month. You won't regret it!

The Bulletproof Coffin #4 - I spoke about this the other day, so I'll just say that at a glance this issue seems to be living up to expectations. Top Hole!

DV8: Gods and Monsters #6 - I'm in it for the duration now, and hopefully "In this issue, Something Happens!" Another great cover from Fiona Staples as well, her covers have been the highlight of the series for me.

Streets of Gotham #16 - This one's fallen into my "on probation" list, I think because the last few issues haven't gripped me that much. It's still a good book, don't get me wrong; I love the extended world of Batman's allies and rogues, and this series definitely delivers, but I might just have read too much of it now.

Invincible Vol 13: Growing Pains - As Ash was saying the other week, this is superhero comics at it's finest and all in one (mostly) self-contained series. In this volume we have action galore as Invincible is run ragged and the stage is set for the upcoming Viltrumite War! My only problem with is now I have to wait six months for the next trade or start buying single issues to see what happens next. Damn you Kirkman, 2 fine books in one week.

What I dropped and Why

Secret Avengers #5 - It's not that this is bad comics, I just don't find myself needing to pick up the new issue. The first story arc of this blockbuster, big-screen superheroics series was good n'all, but I just lost interest. It could be a product of my dwindling interest in the Marvel Universe, or just that having read as many Marvel superhero comics as I have, I just feel I've seen it all before. Either way, adios Secret Avengers I won't see you in the funny pages.

*I also shaved all my hair off this week, but you're probably not interested in that.

CAN YOU COUNT SUCKERS?...

Action Ash
...because if you can, you may have noticed the growing number of double page spreads dedicated to assembling members of a gang or organisation, in Marvel comics at the moment. I know this sounds a bit tenuous, but let's take a look shall we. (click image to enlarge)

Shadowland: Powerman #2

Taskmaster#1

X-Force: Sex and Violence #2

I suppose it's a quick and easy way of introducing a number of characters (a lot of them b or c-listers in these cases) in to a story without having to go too deep into who they are. The first example cleverly uses it as a way to sneak in a reference to the warriors (one of my favourite films) which is further evidence that Van Lente is awesome. I must point out that the first two examples are both written by Van Lente, so that says something. However, Sex and Violence came out first, therefore Kyle and Yost seem to be the originators of this trend.

Although I like the gang assembly scenes, I can see them becoming over used, much like quotes from The Mighty Boosh. Kept to a minimum they could remain a fun and or dramatic way of introducing characters into a story.

CAN YOU DIG IT!?

Shadowland: Powerman

Action Ash
I am generally quite positive about the comic book industry, but I thought I'd join in with Valhallahan's Positivity week anyway, to talk about the comics I've enjoyed in recent times.

Being a Luke Cage fan I was excited when I heard about the new Powerman character, as some of you may remember, and I must say it did not disappoint. Well it hasn't yet anyway. Sweet Christmas! I am loving the this series. The first two issues have been great, with references to Luke Cage's past and the cameos in issue 2, this mini series has been an enjoyable tribute to the legacy of Luke Cage. Although I am upset that nobody has been called, nor called anyone, a turkey. I think all this needs is a bit more jive and street talk to sweeten the deal.

Even so, this is a brilliant introduction to a new character, and one that I hope will stick around. The new Powerman is different from Cage, a fresh new take on the "Hero for Hire" deal. The writing is yet another example of Van Lente's wit and extreme competence in the realm of satisfying storytelling, with amazing action sequences. Asrar's art suits the tone well, not taking itself too seriously but could be a little better in some places.

Van lente my brother, you keep this up and you gon' have plenty of stash in yo' slide. Ya dig!

RIP Wildstorm 1992-2010

Valhallahan
Founded in 1992, Wildstorm was the Jim Lee and chums' sixth of the original Image partnership, and as of 2010 DC have finally taken the poor old dog round the back of the shed, shotgun in hand. That noise you hear is a resounding "meh" from Action Ash and a large percentage of the comic book buying public, but personally I'm a bit sad to see it go. Strangely Wildstorm universe was one of my lasting comic book love affairs. I had nearly everything they produced in the '90s, I was genuinely smitten. They had by far the best artists in the business at the time, many of today’s superstars got their big breaks in Wildstorm; John Cassaday, Brian Hitch, Adam Hughes, J Scott Campbell, Humberto Ramos, Ed McGuinness, Adam Warren, Travest Charest, Dustin Ngyuen, Tom Raney, Cully Hamner... And on the writing side they had Warren Ellis, Ed Brubaker, Brian K Vaughan, Alan Moore (for a bit) and... er... Brandon Choi? Did I say Warren Ellis already? It wasn't that bad, but the draw was for the most part style over substance, for me at least.

Eventually the second generation of artists were a bit of a let down and some of the reboots were downright shocking (Al Rio's DV8 art is some of the most inappropriate art I've seen in any book, and Cedric Nocon's Wetworks issues some of the most unrelentingly shit). There still remained a strong stable of characters and some really cracking runs, gems like Planetary, Sleeper, Point Blank, the first year of DV8, the Gary Frank/John Arcudi Gen13 run, The Gen13/The Maxx crossover, the Last years of Stormwatch that lead to the first year of the Authority, Aaron Wiessenfeld’s art in Team 7 and Deathblow Wolverine, Tim Sale's in the first year of Deathblow's solo title... those are few off the top of my head. Guilty pleasures like the entire run of Wetworks, which was a gold-plated black-ops team vs vampires vs werewolves vs corrupt secret agents vs aliens vs pretty much any other monster you can aim an RPG at before any of that was overplayed. I don’t know how good they'll be to reread now, and I can't imagine anyone even remembering the existence of things like Savant Guard or Hazard now, let alone in years to come, but I loved that shit when I was 15.

The last decade has been a bumpy one for Wildstorm, after the move to DC, its fully realised superhero universe, was reduced to a smattering of occasionally critically acclaimed, but seldom read series. Some high profile relaunches failed due to poor sales and delays, and everyone seemed to just give up. I genuinely can’t remember anyone talking about new Wildstorm books since Sleeper and Ex Machina came out (2003 and 2004 respectively) and Ex Machina had no connection to the WsU. By the late '00s Wildstorm seemed to comprise of a huge amount of franchise tie-ins for video games and the like and a few of the old flagship titles popping up every once in a while having been rebooted again. It really was a shadow of it’s former self. The last hurrah of Wildstorm was to completely devastate their version of earth and set all their stories in a post apocalyptic wasteland. Really. This last Hurrah, this Worldstorm, and the post disaster, post apocalyptic continuity rebooted Wildstorm U seem to have been in vain, as there were about seven people reading those books at the end; the readership breakdown I think was that two were just buying to review them, one was a Grifter completist and the others were the mums of the books' creators. Shame really, even I didn't bother, and I'm a Dingo completist.

As this is comic books, death is of course not the end, DC have even announced that the Wildstorm characters will be folded into the DC Universe at some point down the line, like Captain Marvel and many other characters from now defunct publishers have been over the years. As of Countdown (or 52? I dunno I don’t read that nonsense) the Wildstorm Universe is officially in the DC Multiverse, so it's not like they had a rigid distinction anymore. The question remains though; will they become DC stalwards like the Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel and The Question, or forgotten inserts like Icon and the vast majority of Milestone's largely underrated pantheon?

Walking Wounded

"The House That Dripped War"

Story By Chris Denton

Art by Steven Denton

Valhallahan
I picked up Walking Wounded while in the grip of a buying frenzy. Me and Action Ash were at a Comic Exhibition (Con? Festival? I don't know what you'd call it, leave me alone) quite a while ago, but much like 12 Hour Shift, that I bought at the same time, I've only got around to reading it recently. My plan on the day was to buy a shit tonne of self published comics to review for the site, but for the most part I wasn't that impressed and rather than rip them apart on the blog, or just do a puff piece out of politeness they just ended up filed under "Shit I might Read At Some Point" on the floor next to my bed. It's a pretty big pile.

Any road, I finally read WW this week and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a series of rip-roaring war yarns held together in places by scenes of Martian historians in the year 3174, so far so mental. The artwork is strong, it's very reminiscent of the old Combat magazines or some such Boy's Own adventure magazine. What sets this apart is the tongue in cheek charm of it all and the extreme comic book violence betwixt the covers. I absolutely loved it, and although it's a little rough around the edges at times, I heartily recommend picking it up.

Oh and what made me get it in the first place? The title of this issue is The House That Dripped War! I don't think I need say anything else really.

The Bulletproof Coffin

The Bulletproof Coffin

Story by David Hine

Art by Shaky Kane

VALHALLAHAN
I've only managed to track down #2-3 of this so far, but I really like what I see. Shaky Kane's trippy visuals are certainly an acquired taste, a taste I hadn't acquired in the olden days when I were a lad and he was doing "Shaky's Believe It Or Not" in the back of 2000 AD those really twisted my melon man. Now, life having twisted my melon right round baby right round I am thoroughly digging Mr Kane's artwork. Kane somehow makes everything in central character Steve Newman's life so relatably mundane yet at the same time... off. The seams of Steve's little life don't quite meet. His drab reality is being broken apart by the comic book worlds he so obsessed over, the lines blurring between what is and isn't to the extent that he may be living his dream or he may just be tripping balls.

Packed with cultural references real and falsified at the same time as being a gripping yarn in and of itself, this is a real princely package. Kane and Hine also embellish their weird world with features on the double fictional stars of the story at the back, alongside fake letter pages, which is just spiffing of them quite frankly.

TOP HOLE!

All Will Be Well!

Valhallahan
Well I'm in a bit of a quandary this week; I skipped the What I got and Why last week because all I picked up was a back issue of The Bulletproof Coffin and this month's Hellblazer. I thought I'd just add them in this week but I've looked at the books due to hit the shops this week and the only one I'm interested in is Batman Streets Of Gotham #16, and I'm not 100% sure I'll even bother with that. Hmm...

I had hoped to do a proper post on CLiNT, having read it, but to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the end product, and I didn't just want to harp on about how utterly bad the "Top 10 TV Mums" segment was (even though it really was bad), because at least they're trying and we at 2Badguys don't want this to be a relentlessly negative blog, so.....

I've decided I'll just tell you lovely people about some of the things I have really enjoyed the past week or so that I haven't really mentioned here yet. Some of it's recent, some of it's just stuff I finally got around to reading due to lack of shiny new cool things. Expect thrills, spills and cloying enthusiasm in what I'm calling:

VALHALLAHAN'S HALF WEEK OR SO OF PICTURE BOOK POSITIVITY!

Enjoy.

Preview of Richard Sala's The Hidden

Action Ash
Richard Sala is one of my favourite comic book writers/artists. So I feel the need to share the awesome-ness and turn some of you suckas on to him too.

Mr Sala has been kind enough to set up a blog dedicated to previewing his new book which, due to delays, will be out sometime next year.

Click the pic to check it out yo!
At some point I will get around to doing a feature on his work, but until then this will have to keep you going =P

Uncle Ben

Valhallahan

Weird War Tales #1: Review

Weird War Tales #1
Written by Darwyn Cooke, Ivan Brandon, Jan Strnad
Art by Darwyn Cooke, Nic Klein, Gabriel Hardman, Steve Pugh

Valhallahan
A few things led me to picking up titles, one is my love of the old Weird War Tales issues that I've picked up from bargain bins over the years and another being the overall concept: Eerie short stories set in wartime, with optional moral message. Like any given issue of Weird War Tales, I was expecting it to be a -wait for it- mixed bag(winner of 2010 award for Valhallahan's most over-used phrase). Thus it was but sadly it was a mixture of 4 good pages and a load of crap. The anthology features, as ever, a themed representation of Death, and as drawn by Steve Pugh, it is positively tattoo worthy. This one page is by far and away the highlight of the book, but at the same time it lacks the charm of Death's previous Weird War Tales incarnations.

Another of the major selling points of this issue is the presence of Darwyn Cooke, something which played no small part in my purchase of said periodical. Well, Cooke fans prepare to be disappointed! There are like, 3 pages from Cooke and it's a fun but very silly skit about dead military leaders in Hell. Enjoyable, but nothing to spend $3.99 on by any stretch. In fact there's little or nothing to justify that price tag for such a mediocre effort.

I haven't really mentioned the other two stories in the book, because quite frankly they're not worth mentioning. Not shit, but so ho-hum I'm struggling to remember what they were about a day after reading.

Two boring anecdotes on the bus out of a possible lock-in with some drunken veterans. Save your money for '70s back issues or buy the '90s Vertigo version(runner up in the 2010 award for Valhallahan's most over-used phrase).