Book of the Week 6/4/08 Justice Society of America #16

Written by Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Pencils by fernando Pasarin
Inks by Rebecca Buchman
Colors by Hi-Fi
Letters by Rob Leigh


Well this one truly came out of nowhere this week. We talk about JSA constantly and it has become one of those books like Captain America or Ultimate Spider-Man, a book that is just constantly good, so much so that it may get lost in the pile. I admit that we're spoiled with some great stories in JSA so something pretty big has to happen to make it stand out as the book of the week and this was just a fun read!

Gog is on earth and like the JSA we readers have no idea what that means. Johns did a great job of letting you see this issue through the eyes of our heroes and I truly felt like I was there with them trying to figure out what to do about this so-called god that has suddenly shown up and appears to be a.....good guy?

The one thing that I was instantly excited about upon reading this issue was that it focused on Damage who is hands down my favorite member of the team and we're given a little more back story on his legacy in the JSA and there is a great turn for the character that I won't ruin here.

I just had so much fun with this book, I would assume that Gog is not going to turn out being the nice and gracious god that he is currently depicting himself to be but his actions would say otherwise so perhaps my feelings are wrong and Johns is going to throw us a curve ball.

The last thing I want to mention was the art by Fernando Pasarin which was just beautiful. Dale Eaglesham does a great job on this book but I think I may like Pasarin's art better. It really fit the feel of the story and the facial expression on the character on the last page. Perfect!

All this and Black Adam! How could this not be book of the week?

Weekly Review Podcast Episode 41- Final Crisis #1

Eric picked Final Crisis #1 as the book of the week because of the crafted set up by Grant Morrison and is intrigued to see what's going to happen. We also discuss Batman #677, X-Force #4, !985 #1, Giant Size Astonishing X-Men and more. We finish off the show with our reviews of Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and what I thought about the trade Eric gave me to read at the Seattle Con.


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Book of the Week 5/29/08 Final Crisis #1

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by JG Jones
Colors by Alex Sinclair














Okay, I admit this one is mainly for the DC nation out there. Someone looking to jump onto the story right here will really have a hard time. But...too bad. Final Crisis rears its head this week with a continuation of many stories we've been seeing in JLA, DCU #0, and several other recent titles. For those following the majority of those stories, FC answers some questions and raises many more. Personally, I was very entertained and intrigued with this book, knowing a few things that will arise and trying to understand what I was seeing.


Many people criticize Morrison for off the wall stories that are hard to follow. I feel that FC appears like that on the outside however DC has been very careful to release specials and books that give the history of all the characters we see in this issue. Someone shouldn't expect to jump into Back to the Future 3 without watching the previous 2 and understand what's happening. The same goes for FC as it's the third part of the Crisis Trilogy. To that end, FC#1 provides continuations to stories seen in JLA which culminates in the death of a major character as well as an interesting twist to the new gods story. It appears that death will truly be a revolving door in this book. I'm not greatly happy about that but I'm interested to see where it will lead us.


Jones' art is clean and crisp in this comic. Small touches such as John's ring illuminating his costume to large themes such as the lightening "flashing" against the red sky are great moments. The look of the characters is realistic and well defined.


While this book had several things leaving me scratching my head (why are Anthro and Kamandi together) I'm sure these will be explained soon. Overall I was very entertained with this comic and I'm excited for a finale to a story that began 23 years ago. Being a DC boy that's collected for most of that time, I almost feel like I have a personal stake in this story. Hopefully it will deliver on the promise of this issue.

Book of the Week 5/21/08 Avengers;The Initiative #13

Written by Christos Gage
Art by Steve uy
Letters by Joe Caramagna


I had no idea what this issue was going to be about because the whole story was summed up in issue #12 and I wasn't sure where they were going to go with the characters. Lucky for us, Marvel is still taking the idea of The Initiative seriously and in this issue we're basically starting over in sorts and are introduced to a new team of cadets and new recruits for training.

At first this bothered me because I had grown attached the to previous cadets but right away I was swept up in the character conversations and interactions and I was just having a fun time reading this book. This first issue revolved around Boulder, also referred to as Butterball. A young man seeking to be a hero but while he has an incredible power, you learn that he's going to need far more than that to achieve his goal.

This issue was very light and humorous, causing me to laugh out loud more than once and that's something that I think this book needs right now. The tone of the book had become down right depressing after the K.I.A. storyline and this issue was really a breath of fresh air for this series, one that has become one of my favorite reads.

Gage was spot on with the character interactions and did a great job at hitting you with a little unexpected emotion at the end and Uy's art is very emotionally charged, allowing you to easily read the characters emotions through their facial expressions and mannerisms.

This was simply a very fun comic book. No over-arching storyline, no big events. And almost all the characters were brand new, that's something that you don't see every often.

Give it a try.

Weekly Review Podcast Episode 40- Batman #676

Eric chose Batman #676 as the best book he read this week because it's the start of the R.I.P. storyline and it really does feel like this may change the status quo of Batman for a while. We also discuss Fantastic Four:Secret Invasion #1, Titans #2, and more. We finish the show off with Eric giving some quick reviews of books that he picked up from the Seattle Con and review the trailer for the upcoming Wolverine & the X-men cartoon.


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Weekly Review Podcast Episode 39- House of Mystery #1

We're back from the Emerald City Comic-con and we're bringing you all the news and info that we could gather. Eric chose House of Mystery #1 as the book of the week because it was a refreshing break from the big events that are dominating both major comic companies right now. We also discuss Young X-men #2, Secret Invasion #2, Might Avengers #13 and more. We finish off the podcast by letting you know everything about last week's convention in seattle. Was the Marvel or DC panel better, who did we meet and what was the best thing that we picked up at the con?

Listen and found out!


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Book of the Week Batman #676

Written by Grant Morrison
Pencils by Tony Daniel
Inks by Sandu Florea
Colors by Guy Major


This probably isn't all that surprising but it was just too damn exciting not to pick. This week kicks off the Batman RIP story with typical Morrison zaniness all over the place. I've been back and forth over Morrisons run on the book so far, thinking that it was good but very odd in places. However recently the various links between the stories have started to tie together, even going as far back to 52. Something I enjoyed within this issue is that we see something that rarely ever happens, Batman appears happy. I know that substantial effort has been made to calm Bruce down over the last few years and we see that how the inclusion of Jezebel Jett in his life, and the fact that she now knows his secrets, has really helped him find a balance which works between Bruce Wayne and Batman. I really like this dynamic and wish we could see a little more of it but as things normally go for Bruce, I imagine we're seeing this now knowing full well that it will all come crashing down soon.


While we get alot of great Batman moments, we also get hints as to what the Black Glove society is. It's obvious that they are orchestrating the events that will be playing out in the book. I'd wish we'd spent more time in previous issues setting this group up since they evidently will be a big influence in the book but for now they seem to be a collection of circus freaks. The wild card of the story, as always, is the Joker. I'm not sure if there's anyone who can write the Joker in a more terrifying manner than Morrison, and that goes all the way back to Arkham Asylum. I wasn't expecting him in this issue since it's been alluded the whoever takes down Bruce will be new but with just a few pages, Joker proves why he is Batmans greatest foe. Those few pages are the stuff of nightmares.


I've said it before but Tony Daniel is the man! His style which is somewhere between Neal Adams and Jim Lee is incredible. Along with Guy Major's colors, Gotham, it's protectors, and its devils, all come alive with a feel that makes me remember what drew me to these books when I was a kid. The previously mentioned Joker scene in particular, all black and white with only red coloring for the blood splashed across the scene, was haunting and terrifying...which is exactly what this book should be. What excites me most about this story is that it feels like the stakes are high and the danger is real. Unlike the Gotham Underground miniseries (which is a exercise in wasting my time) this is an event which appears like it will leave a lasting impact on our Dark Knight.