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The Pull List
(Click title to go directly to the review)
BOOK OF LOST SOULS #1
FLASH #227
LOVELESS #1
DAREDEVIL #78
Big Eyes for the Cape Guy presents RAY:VOL.1
Indie Jones presents…
CHEAP SHOTS!

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BOOK OF LOST SOULS #1

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Colleen Doran
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee

These are the kind of books I look forward to most when I see JMS' name on them. What first got me "hooked", per se, on his work was definitely the creator-owned stuff he did at Image, that being RISING STARS and MIDNIGHT NATION. And while I've enjoyed his SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR work for the most part, this is creator driven type of work is where I think the man shines most. Add in the amazing work of one Colleen Doran, and you have here one of my most eagerly anticipated books of the year. But obviously, the question is, did it do the trick?

Well, it's definitely more of a "wait and see" kind of thing.

The premise is this: A young man named Jonathan from a previous time period (of which there is no real mention, but is at least a century or two) has been spurned by his lover and has decided to give it all up. We start the book with Jonathan on top of a bridge ready to leap to his fate when a man comes by with a rather large book and converses with Johnny boy. Weird old guy talks to Jon about his situation, Jon takes the book from the old gent and uses it to help weigh him down and seal his fate. Yes, very dark indeed. But alas, just a page later (or more about 4 or 5 given the ungodly amount of ads presented in this book) we see Jonathan emerge in the present day, book in hand and a bit of a sense of purpose finally on his face. We find out later that Jon has a mission, one involving finding other misguided people such as himself and do, well, something with them. Save them? Damn them? That is yet unclear, but we have at least the basic gist of it all.

So, how does it read? Eh, it's not bad. These days, writers seem to cram a lot into their first issues in order to grab attention. As well they probably should. The first issue is the big one. It's supposed to let the reader know what they're getting into and decide if they're on for the ride. JMS definitely gives some information in this as to what exactly is going on, but also plays up a lot of vagueness behind the circumstances and details of Jon's "resurrection," which can be seen as both a good and a bad thing. I, for one, am no big fan of decompression, but I don't mind it when a book builds up a bit of a mystery surrounding it to keep things going. As long as things aren't dragged out too long, it can work very nicely. And that's pretty much where this book is starting.

As for the actual read itself, it's a bit heavy handed. As you can tell by the synopsis I had above, it's really quite a depressing book. Even Colleen Doran's typically amazing details are kind of blotted out a bit by extremely dark and heavy inking to get that extra bit of ambiance. There is a good bit of wit and some humor to this issue, but it's also trying to wrap itself so much in mystery that it becomes a bit redundant at times, especially through some of the dialogue. This book definitely feels like it's trying to channel the spirit of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN series, but it needs to find a better balance between lightness and dark like that book did.

So, you're probably asking, was that a positive review or a negative one? And honestly, I dunno. There were aspects I liked, but there were aspects I didn't. A lot of the ones I didn't can easily be rectified if JMS reigns himself in a bit on the technical stuff and gets a bit of the monotony out as he starts unraveling the story. I think the book is worth a shot, at least to soak in some wonderful Doran art, but if you don't think you're willing to invest about an arc to see if you like the book, it's probably best you don't. Otherwise, I'd say go for it. I have a feeling this is going to turn into something great, but right now it's got some growing pains to go through.

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FLASH #227

Writer: Joey Cavalieri
Pencils: Val Semeiks
Inks: Livesay
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug

Every now and then, there comes a run on a title that most people agree to be definitive to that character. Simonson’s THOR. Byrne’s FANTASTIC FOUR. Miller’s DAREDEVIL. It is the type of run that not only defines the character, but how the character is perceived by the reader and depicted in future incarnations. Out of all of the characters to have the distinguished honor of having a definitive run, Wally West/the Flash is special. This character has two. Right off the heels of Mark Waid’s definitive run on the title, a newcomer by the name of Geoff Johns took over. Whereas Waid did his best to develop the character of Wally West and define the way his power works and where it comes from, Johns defined those around West and the populace and city he chose to protect. Both writers defined the character and fleshed him out to be one of the most endeared and three-dimensional characters of modern comics. Both Waid and Johns stayed on the title for years developing their separate stories and pleasing many, many readers. But just as Waid’s run came to an end, so did Johns’. Now, DC is faced with the mammoth task of continuing to make the character of the Flash interesting after coming off of not one, but two phenomenal runs.

Last issues’ filler issue didn’t quite measure up to the standards set by Johns and Waid. But that’s just what that issue was: filler. Issue #227 kicks off a brand new story arc with a brand new creative team. And I wish I could say that the Flash would be running for the definitive run trifecta, but I can’t.

It’s not for lack of trying, though. Writer Joey Cavalieri tries to capture the endearing nature of Wally West. He’s still the everyman hero who isn’t perfect and always trying to clean up his own messes. He still has a loving wife and is getting used to fatherhood. The Rogues are still running around causing trouble. It’s all a good old case of same-old/same-old and that’s the major problem with this issue. Whereas Johns added something new to the character of Wally West while simultaneously building off of the strengths of Waid’s run on the title, Cavalieri is just churning out another Flash story without bringing anything new to the table. This is only the first issue of this arc, but this issue failed to have any elements that grabbed me.

The story follows Wally, his wife, and his in-laws to a suburban church. Now that Wally is the father of twins, his in-laws want him to do some church-goin’. Not being the most religious of sorts, Wally is hesitant, but goes along with it for the sake of his family. But something is off with the people of the church and that’s where the mystery begins. There’s nothing wrong with this story, but this isn’t the spectacular follow-up to Johns’ run that I was expecting. It’s all run-of-the-mill and the worst thing about it all is that the pacing is very slow – something that should be taboo in a FLASH comic.

Who knows? Maybe the rumors are true and Wally is about to bite it in INFINITE CRISIS, so DC isn’t wasting their time with following up Johns’ run with something just as good. All I can say is that after reading Johns’ first issue of the FLASH, I was hooked. It was the same feeling I felt when I read my first Waid FLASH comic. But reading this one failed to spark even the faintest feeling of interest. This one is standard superhero fare that doesn’t measure up to the quality that has run side by side with the FLASH for a long time now.

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LOVELESS #1

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Penciler: Marcelo Frusin
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee

Wes Cutter is a bad-ass sonuvabitch... That's what we learn in this first issue of LOVELESS.

Unlike the other new book I reviewed this week (BOOK OF LOST SOULS) the premise on this new title is pretty succinct. Wes Cutter is a Civil War veteran/survivor. After the war has ended, his house and the land around it have been seized by the victors of the war and the U.S. government. And now he wants it back for himself and his wife.

Lots of bloodshed and general badassery ensues.

Again, this book is more the opposite of the other new book this week because this first issue is definitely a hook issue. It gets right to the point of what it's about... sex, violence, black humor, pride, and a bit of bigotry mixed in for good measure. We immediately know what kind of man Wes Cutter is. He's a guy who stands up for what he believes in, and will do anything to get his way, and he'll do it with a smile on his face. He wants to put the war behind him, and focus on the future: one that he'll do what he has to do to ensure it comes to pass.

For the most part, the book reads fast, but it's definitely a hook issue and doesn't leave you feeling all too fulfilled. The art is also very strong, but has its share of flaws, mainly the color scheme. Frusin's work became a favorite of mine when I was first exposed to him from his run on HELLBLAZER with Mr. Azzarello a few years past. I dug the detail he brought to the characters--their facial features, hair, clothing, etc. all gave the book a richer feel. But when Azzarello left the book and Mike Carey started working on the book with Frusin I noticed a change. Everything seemed a bit faded and muddled. Lines were blurred a bit and so on, and you lost some of the detail, or a lot of the time, secondary characters all looked the same and made things a bit confusing. And that trend seems to have fallen here on LOVELESS. On close-ups the characters have brilliant features and so on. When the view is drawn back... not so much. It still looks really great for the most part, but it just has those tendencies.

So yeah, again, I'm left thinking that here we have a book that is probably destined to have a great fun run, but has a few kinks to work out. If you're already a fan of Azzarello's work, then you'll probably be a fan of this. It's definitely not a book for those of you without a dark sense of humor. The premise is a nice change of pace, but I don't really know how much story can be drawn out of it. But then again, this is the man who brought us 100 BULLETS and one of the most dense stories in all of comics, so who knows just what he has in store for us?

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DAREDEVIL #78

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Alex Maleev
Sell outs: Marvel
Reviewer: Ambush Bug

Whoever is in charge of the ads at Marvel is out of control. I understand that these ads are like commercials on TV – that they help pay for the ga-billions of dollars Marvel pays their employees and the other expenses of running a big business. I don’t expect ad-free comics. I understand how the world works, but when I crack open an issue of the adventures of my favorite issues and get more ads than story, I’ve got to point it out.

But enough about all of that, let’s get into the meat of this issue, shall we?

This issue starts out with a full splash page of a football player named Mike who has apparently run afoul of some dairy and has now succumbed to a particularly sloppy “Got milk?” mustache. We move on to a double splash page of the Honda Civic, which I found to be well placed in the panel, but the photo referencing was a bit of a turn off. Turn the page and now the plot gets rolling as what looks to be Gloop and Gleep from the Herculoids telling us some kind of ominous message about Nike shoes, but it fails to transcend the panel.

A FOG rolls in and with it comes Bathing Suit Girl from LOST, the dude from TV’s SUPERMAN’S CREEK, and my future wife Selma Blair. But as the fog cleared, I was shocked at the plot twist as we find out that we’ll get more lucky if we drink Mountain Dew. It is at that exact moment that the story really gets rolling as Elisha Cuthbert gasps in horror at the acting skills she tossed out alongside a mannequin-like Paris Hilton in HOUSE OF WAX. And boy o boy, those AC/DC and Pink Floyd shirts are all the rage these days, ain’t they?

I was especially shocked to see Zorro, Count Duckula, Batman, and He-Man appear in this book since I had no idea they were Marvel properties. I was also a little dismayed that Playstation and X-Box made so many appearances in this book. First this team of technological titans took on the X-Men and Apocalypse. Then they rear their ugly heads as Elektra fights some guy named Johnny Ohm. And finally, they show up with some guy named Sid Meyer and some pirates for some booty. Why Marvel just doesn’t give Playstation and X-Box their own book is beyond me. They seem to be appearing in every title these days.

Any normal book would stop there, but Marvel likes to put a little extra in their books. I can’t forget to mention the skaters in LORDS OF DOGTOWN because they are apparently rad. I did find a continuity glitch in this issue where it seems that, all of a sudden, Stormtroopers like to wear bling and wife-beaters. As the issue winds down, something called a Fragbox is introduced. The appearance of this ebon contraption does not bode well for our heroes. And speaking of heroes, Elektra appears again in a movie where she fights a guy with the evil power of sheets. This time, the movie is uncut and unrated, so expect even more unadulterated sheet power!

There’s a double-page splash of wrasslin’ which I found to be a bit over the top. Ever since Andre the Giant was ass-raped by George “the Animal” Steele, I’ve found the whole direction the WWF has been taking lately to be against the very core of what the WWF once stood for.

The book ends with a cliffhanger as our hero is about to be bitten by a sultry vampire. Will he be turned into one of the undead, or will our hero high-step his way out of harm’s way with his new fall Sketcher gear? I’m definitely coming back for the next issue to see how it all works out.

Oh, and I think some stuff happened with Daredevil, Elektra, and Black Widow in this book too, but I’m not sure. Ahh, who gives a poopin’ shit…DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW!

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RAY: VOL.1

Written and Drawn by: Akhito Yoshitomi
Published by: ADV Manga
Reviewer: superhero

Ray was bred for her body parts. She was brought into the world for one purpose and one purpose only…to provide parts for people who would need them when theirs had failed them. When she was a child her eyes were taken from her by the mysterious group that gave her life. After that much of her existence was spent in darkness and fear until a mysterious figure rescued her and replaced her old eyes with new ones which gave her the ability to see through anything. Using her savior as inspiration Ray devoted her life to becoming a gifted surgeon, but because she is on the run from the organization that made her, she must operate outside of society. So she takes the jobs that other doctors can’t and won’t take.

That pretty much lays out the premise of RAY. Except for the fact that Ray can’t remember who her savior was. As a matter of fact Ray can’t even remember much of anything from around the time she was rescued. So in between operating on mobsters and performing experimental procedures other doctors won’t entertain, Ray is on a quest to find the man who saved her from a life of being a living organ donor.

For the most part RAY is a pretty entertaining read. Yoshitomi’s art is fantastic and his storytelling, unlike a lot of manga artists out there, is rock solid. The action is kept moving at a really good pace and he’s able to use quiet moments to his advantage. My one qualm with the artwork is that ALL of the female characters look startlingly similar and it’s hard to tell them apart. The male characters all seem to be drawn so that they have features which are distinct from one another, but when the women interact at times it’s hard to tell who’s who and that includes the lead character. Obviously, it’s not impossible to sort it out, but it can be a bit distracting.

My biggest problem, though, was with the writing. While there’s enough action and atmosphere to keep the book interesting the problem is there’s little character development. While it is horrible that Ray was bred for her body parts, the creator of the book doesn’t really delve into her character enough. The result is that I never really felt that I got to know her. I felt sorry for her and was interested in her plight, but Ray’s actual personality is so unexplored in this volume that her situation isn’t as compelling as it could be. Don’t get me wrong. RAY is a good book but Ray herself isn’t interesting enough and that’s a weakness that kept this book from pulling me all the way in.

Hopefully future volumes of RAY will expand upon the lead character and let readers empathize with her more. For now the book is entertaining enough that I may check out the second volume, but I’m also not going to be in any rush to get that second chapter. This first one kept me interested, but I don’t know if I’m interested enough to plunk down ten more dollars on this series when there’s so much other manga and comics out there to explore.

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ZOMBIE TALES: OBLIVION #1
Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Another installment of some of the best zombie comic book shorts around. This issue features a great short where the dead keep forgetting they are dead written by John Rogers, a kooky story about a zombie and his pet cat written by Andrew Cosby and drawn by a definite artist to watch, Benjamin Roman, and a tough as nails tale about a gruff dead soldier who tries to track down his killers before he becomes a mindless zombie by Ron “Where the hell have you been?” Lim and Keith “Oh, there you are” Giffen. Mark Waid proves that you can tell a heartwarming story set in the zombie genre with my favorite story of the bunch, “Luther.” And Keith Giffen returns at the end, drawing beautiful art to Johanna Stokes’ poetic tale of a little girl surviving in the post-apocalyptic world and finding her place in that world. As a lover of the zombie genre, it’s good to see such talented folks taking a stab at the undead. This anthology series never fails to impress with its high caliber of art and writing throughout. - Ambush Bug

DEADWORLD #2
Publisher: Desperado/Image

As I said in the previous paragraph, I’m a huge fan of the zombie genre. Have been for years. And that means that I have a great admiration for the zombie comic that started all of this hubbub in the first place. Writer Gary Reed is handling this relaunch of the DEADWORLD series and he’s brought the artist of the original series, Vince Locke, with him. I guess, I’m giving this book a chance out of respect for what has come before, but there hasn’t been a lot, aside from the hauntingly sketchy Locke art, to keep me coming back for more. DEADWORLD doesn’t sport Romero’s mindless zombies, these zombies are just decaying badasses and supernatural demons. I fear the Zombie King, who I looked at as the ultimate badass when I read this book in the eighties, has proved to be a product of that time and hasn’t aged well. Side by side on the racks with superior zombie titles such as WALKING DEAD and ZOMBIE TALES, DEADWORLD doesn’t really match up. But I can’t wholeheartedly give this series a bad review. There is a grittiness about this book that makes you feel kind of dirty after reading it and I don’t mind feeling that way after reading a zombie comic. Fans of the genre and of the original DEADWORLD series may want to give this relaunch a shot. - Ambush Bug

STYX TAXI: AS ABOVE SO BELOW
Publisher: FWD Books

Steven Goldman, the man behind last year’s EVERYMAN: BE THE PEOPLE, has been developing the STYX TAXI concept over the last few years. I recently got my hands on the first two installments (A LITTLE TWILIGHT MUSIC and PASTRAMI FOR THE DEAD) as well as the newest book, AS ABOVE SO BELOW. The concept is pretty intriguing. After you die, you get two hours to travel around in a cab to do whatever you want to do. You can make amends, visit loved ones, tidy up a few final things, or simply enjoy your last few hours on earth. Fans of the HBO series SIX FEET UNDER may want to check this often humorous, often poignant take on the tender intricacies of life and death. Each book takes a different approach at the concept. PASTRAMI FOR THE DEAD is a lighthearted, but sweet tale of a competition between the death cab drivers. The reward? 12 hours of freedom on earth. A LITTLE TWILIGHT MUSIC focuses on how music can bring to joy to life even after it is over. And AS ABOVE SO BELOW shows that Goldman has grown as a writer as he weaves prose and graphic storytelling together. The art may be crude at times, but this is the kind of concept that tugs at the heart and makes you think about yourself. These three books are available here . - Ambush Bug

Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.

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DEFENDERS #4

More kooky fun. Even though I don’t like the way Giffen is writing Bruce Banner, I have to admit that I’m having a helluva fun time reading this title. Kevin Maguire makes this issue great with his depiction of the alternate universe’s version of Iron Fist alone. Great fun. - Bug

SOLO #7 featuring Mike Allred

Another strong installment of the SOLO series coming from the man who brought us MADMAN and THE ATOMICS. Mike Allred's art is definitely one of those "love it or hate it" types and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a lover. I like the "cartoony" feel it has while not being afraid to have good sense towards proportion and detail. And all the stories are very entertaining with varying degrees of humor and some very trippy concepts. Watching as Hourman finds anything and everything he can do to waste away the better part of his "Hour of Power" made me continually chuckle, and Mike's Batman and Robin story I thought was a great little commentary on the current state of the Batman and how blown out of proportion things have become recently with the uber-grim-and-grittiness that is slowly taking over the character. Overall I didn't think there was a single weak segment and this issue is right up there with the best of them so far. - Humphrey

JSA CLASSIFIED #4

D’you know how I know this was a good issue? I read it from cover to cover without taking gander at Power Girl’s front bumpers…so I read it again. Tee hee. Geoff Johns fleshes out one of the most convoluted characters in the DCU and brings back one of my favorite Siver Age villains to do so. That’s right, the Psycho Pirate is back and only he holds the key to Power Girl’s recent power fluctuations. Readers of old school DC will love this issue which recognizes Power Girl’s true place in the DCU, or lack thereof. Johns really makes you care about Power Girl and by the end of this issue, you’re rooting for her to win, even though the impending Crisis seems to have bad things in store for her. So far, this JSA CLASSIFIED series is proving to be a worthy accompaniment to the monthly JSA title. - Bug

YOUNG AVENGERS #8

Just another very solid issue of YOUNG AVENGERS by Heinberg and crew. This issue wraps up a fight between the youngins and Mr. Hyde, we get some nice twists involving Patriot and Stature that could (and do) have big ramifications on their place inside the team, and we get some more insight into the "personality" of the new Vision. If anything, I have to say this book and NEW THUNDERBOLTS have been doing a great job of giving us some good old fashioned super-powered throw downs, an art which I was beginning to think was starting to be forgotten. The reveals made by the characters previously mentioned weren't mind-blowing by any means, but they were definitely nice twists and rather unexpected. If I were to pick anything wrong with this book it would be the fill-in art chores. I'm not saying Andrea DiVito did a bad job by any means, but it's definitely not what I'm used to seeing from her. It's obviously rushed in order to get the book shipping regularly and is noticeably sloppy and disproportioned at times. But at least Marvel realized it's better to have someone take the workload on for a period of time than to just let it ship perpetually late while Cheung tries to get caught up. Except for that, I don't really have much else to say except it's just a well done issue. - Humphrey

WONDER WOMAN #222

When I first cracked open this book, I groaned because I instantly took a disliking to Cliff Richards’ pencils and Ray Snyder’s inks. But as I chugged along, I began to like their straightforward style and by the end of this title, I found myself hoping to see more of this team’s work in the future. This issue focuses on Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman’s deadliest enemies. The thing is, even though she is probably the most popular villain in Wonder Woman’s stable, I found that I knew very little about her. This issue cleared that all up by not only retelling her origin in flashback, but by comparing her own motivations with that of Wonder Woman’s. In the end, this issue did a great job of fleshing out both Wonder Woman and her arch-nemesis, which to me warrants a high recommendation. Writer Greg Rucka did a great job with this one. - Bug

NEW THUNDERBOLTS #14

Everybody knows that when you have heroes fighting heroes, the whole scenario is contrived and nobody wins in the end. That's what's so great about the past two issues of this title; they actually made all that part of the plot! Oh sure, one of the teams gets stomped into the mud, but as that reveal at the end shows, neither the T-Bolts nor the New Avengers are winners in this scenario. Throw in an appearance by a longtime T-Bolt antagonist as well as one of my favorite members of Avengers Classic, and this issue only reaffirms why this title is my favorite team book currently published at Marvel. - Vroom Socko