Archive for March, 2007
March 12, 2007 | Comics
Gyakushu! Vol. 1
Dan Hipp
TokyoPop
$12.50/$9.99 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
He was the king of thieves, a man of legends — until he took the wrong thing from the wrong person.
All he took from that evil old man was a book, but it was, or course, no ordinary book and its owner would stop at nothing to get it back.
They killed those the king of thieves loved dearest, burned his entire town to the ground and left him to die in a spectacularly unpleasant way.
But, of course, he didn’t die.
Now the fallen king is looking for blood as he attempts to find those responsible and make them pay.
Writer/artist Dan Hipp (The Amazing Joy Buzzards) crafts a gruesome, yet compelling tale of revenge that will have readers on the edge of their seats and riding a tsunami of emotions.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Trades
DMZ: Body Of A Journalist
Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli
Vertigo/DC Comics
$15.99/12.99 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
First Matty Roth got sick and then he died.
And he’s kind of pissed about both.
Roth is Liberty News’ only journalist living in the DMZ, the former city of New York, after crash landing while he was an intern tagging along on a news gathering mission.
He’s seen the shocking fallout of the second American civil war, between the U.S.A. and the so-called “Free States”, and its repercussions on what once was the nation’s greatest metropolis.
He is not prepared, however, for when after already contracting a nasty bug from drinking contaminated water, he is used as a pawn by both sides of the conflict — until his employers, in order to protect themselves from an embarrassing political defeat, announce he’s been killed.
Now Roth’s in a battle against time and two rival armies as he searches for anyone he can trust to get himself back among the land of the living.
Writer Brian Wood (Local) and artist Riccardo Burchielli continue their startlingly realistic vision of the a future where U.S. policies have lead the country to disaster with a jaw-dropping second volume packed with intrigue.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Trades
Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch
Gail Simone, Paulo Siqueira, Robin Riggs
DC Comics
$21.99/$17.99 US (Paperback)
*** ½ (out of five)
A wise comic book creator once told me that a superhero’s greatness is defined by their nemeses.
If that’s the case, then the Birds Of Prey have officially become heavyweights as this latest collection sees the DC Universe’s elite female crime-fighting team go head-to-head with Deathstroke and the Society of Super-Villains.
Perfect Pitch — which collects the five issues leading up to 2006’s mega-crossover event Infinite Crisis and the first four “One Year Later” stories that pick up the adventures of Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress and their allies 365 days after the end of IC — opens with the Society’s information broker, The Calculator, trying to figure out the ultimate riddle: Who is Oracle?
As the team goes all out to protect Barbara Gordon’s identity and to save a captured ally being tortured to reveal the truth, lines are crossed that can never be uncrossed and Black Canary takes on Deathstroke and Batman — in very different ways.
One Year Later, the Canary has switched places with the notorious assassin Shiva and is battling for her life in the jungles of Southeast Asia, while the killer joins the Birds on a mission to save a defecting Society member.
With its first-class mix of action and emotion, thanks to the superior writing skills of Gail Simone, Birds Of Prey continues to be one of best team books around.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Trades
Testament: West Of Eden
Douglas Rushkoff, Liam Sharp
Vertigo/DC Comics
$17.50/$12.99 (Paperback)
** ½ (out of five)
Author Douglas Rushkoff began his new Vertigo series Testament last year with much well deserved acclaim.
The mature-readers series took tales from the Bible and paralleled them with similar stories set in a near future with extremely compelling results.
The first collection, Akedah, was vivid and thought provoking, if a might trippy.
With West Of Eden, however, that trippiness has gotten pretty far out of control and the mass appeal of the series is dwindling down to the point where only those with a theology degree can enjoy.
Let’s put it this way: Any five-issue collection that takes a 12 written pages to explain is abusing the art form.
Oh it’s still thought provoking — there’s some more keen parallels — but it’s too easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of Biblical lore to be recommendable.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Comics
The Secret #1
Mike Richardson, Jason Shawn Alexander
Dark Horse Comics
$2.99 US
**** (out of five)
Everybody’s got something to hide, but a group of mischievous high school kids are about to find out just how far some people might go to protect their secrets.
It’s all fun and games at Pam Sweeny’s party as a group of teens play a game called The Secret. They randomly dial a number, utter the phrase “I know your secret” and tell the person on the other end to meet them at a local park at midnight. They then head off to the park to hide out and see if anyone shows up.
When Pam’s turn comes around, she’s much more interested in Tommy Morris, the new guy at school, then in what she’s doing, but ends up with a very creepy sounding man on the other end who’s response is a shudder-inducing “How do you know my secret?”
And when the teens all head off to the park, expecting no one to show, they are caught off guard when an ominous hooded figure appears.
After they beat a hasty retreat, all figure the game is over — until Pam’s phone rings and a voice asks: “How do you know my secret?”
Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Damn Nation) deliver a perfect chill-inducing thriller that will have you sleeping with the lights on.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Comics
Usagi Yojimbo #100
Stan Sakai, Sergio Aragones, Guy Davis, Mark Evanier, Rick Geary, Frank Miller, Jamie S. Rich, Mike Richardson, Scott Shaw, Jeff Smith, Matt Wagner
Dark Horse Comics
$3.50 US
*** ½ (out of five)
It seems remarkable that a comic series about a samurai rabbit could last four issues, let alone 100.
Not only has Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo reached the 100-issue milestone (over 150 if you factor in previous books with different publishers) but it has become one of the most consistently enjoyable and enduring titles around.
To mark the occasion, Sakai and his rabbit creation are roasted by a who’s who of fellow creators including Sergio Aragones (Groo), Guy Davis (B.P.R.D.), Frank Miller (Sin City), Jeff Smith (Bone) and Matt Wagner (Grendel).
The result is a fun, if mildly disjointed anniversary release that gives a truly deserving creator and series their due.
No Comments »
March 12, 2007 | Comics
Strongarm #1
Steve Horton, David Ahn
$3.50/$2.99 US
*** ½ (out of five)
Rob has just gotten his hands on the ultimate weapon.
Or has it just gotten him?
Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, this average 28-year-old delivery boy comes face-to-face with a hitman wielding two huge biomechanical arms. When Rob gets in a lucky swing while defending himself and takes the killer out, he is shocked when the arms crawl off the dead man’s body and attach themselves onto him.
Can he control all that power? Or will the tools of a killer make him one, too?
Writer Steve Horton comes through with a fast-paced first issue, while artist David Ahn offers up some really impressive visuals in a debut worth checking out.
No Comments »
