Archive for May, 2006
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Fell #5
Warren Ellis, Ben Templesmith
Image Comics
$2.40 ($1.99 US)
**** 1/2 (out of five)
Fell is the best comic bargain in the world right now — so why aren’t you reading it?
Let’s do the math: you take one of the best writers of the last decade in Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, The Authority), add in talented artist Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night) and give it a cut-rate cover price. What else do you need?
Well what if they came up with a tight new character in Det. Richard Fell and an engrossing world in Snowtown, the depraved and decaying city in which he works? And then they give us gripping stories like issue #5’s interrogation scene that kicks the butt off of any cop drama on TV?
Forget that first sentence, Fell isn’t just the best comic bargain in the world right now — it might just be the best comic.
No Comments »
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Future Shock
Image Comics
Free (Free in the U.S.A., too)
**** (out of five)
Woo-hoo! Free comics!!
Saturday, May 6, 2006 was Free Comic Book Day and every major (and minor) publisher around made up a special issue to try and hook the fans onto what they’re selling.
One of the books that really stood out this year was Image Comics’ Future Shock, eight four-page sneak previews of stories yet to come featuring the hottest books the company has to offer, including Fear Agent, Godland, Invincible, Noble Causes, Shadowhawk, Spawn and Witchblade.
Pick it up if you still can. The price is right.
No Comments »
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Fear Agent #4
Rick Remender, Tony Moore
Image Comics
$3.65 ($2.99 US)
**** (out of five)
Heath Huston is one tough hombre.
So far in just four issues of his series Fear Agent, Huston has had the tar beaten out of him a pile of times by alien monsters and hulking robots alike — and to top it off at the end of issue #3 he got harpooned through the chest!
Not to spoil anything, but he’s still kicking for issue #4, but after uncovering the secret of where he crash landed last issue, heads out on a mission to save the Earth from an hulking-alien-robot invasion.
Just one problem — he ends up in worse shape by the end of this issue than the last!
Rick Remender and Tony Moore are a team supreme and Fear Agent is hands down one of the best new comics of 2006.
No Comments »
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Villains United Special #1
Gail Simone, Dale Eaglesham
DC Comics
$6.75 ($4.99 US)
**** (out of five)
The last piece of the puzzle before the end of Infinite Crisis is a doozy.
While the ultra-hot limited series Villains United showed us the creation of the powerful Secret Society of Super-Villains, their plot to swell their ranks immensely comes to fruition in this highly anticipated special.
Meanwhile, the “heroes” of this book, the Secret Six (or five since Parademon croaked in the final issue of the limited series), decide to pick a side ahead of the climactic battle between good and evil — and what they choose may shock you!
This book is required reading before you pick up Infinite Crisis #7, but writer Gail Simone and Canadian artist Dale Eaglesham make sure its more than just plot exposition in a pricey package — this one’s got it all.
No Comments »
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit #1
Vertigo/DC Comics
$4 ($2.99 US)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
The vampire bitch is back.
Risa Del Toro, star of the successful 2004-05 miniseries Bite Club, returns in this sequel with all her attitude intact and the cops hot on her beautiful tail.
The Miami police Vampire Crimes Unit (VCU) is called in to investigate a murder and Risa is at the top of the suspects list. But will this seductress let the lead investigator keep his mind on his job?
VCU starts smartly and, in the style of today’s hottest cop dramas,, guarantees to take you for a great ride before this case is closed.
No Comments »
May 8, 2006 | Comics
Checkmate #1
Greg Rucka, Jesus Saiz
DC Comics
$4 ($2.99 US)
*** (out of five)
Welcome to Checkmate — the super-people police.
One year after Infinite Crisis, the organization that was run by the evil Maxwell Lord has been turned into an espionage and Special-Forces agency to monitor and control the proliferation of living weapons of mass destruction around the world.
The debut issue sees Amanda Waller, the new Black King, and Alan Scott, a.k.a. the Golden Age Green Lantern, as the new White King appearing at a UN security hearing to defend their existence, while a group of agents try to uncover the real reasons behind the possible dismantling.
Checkmate #1 is full of mysteries and ‘what the…?’ moments — almost too many to make you want to keep following along. But with an awesome writer like Greg Rucka (Wonder Woman, Queen & Country) aboard and some sharp art courtesy of Jesus Saiz, it’ll be hard not to snatch issue #2 off the racks later this month.
No Comments »
