Cool News
AICN COMICS REVIEWS PRIDE OF BAGHDAD! THE BATMAN STRIKES! INDIE JONES PRESENTS! AND MUCH MORE!!!
| #23 | 9/13/06 | #5 |
Hey folks, it’s your old pal Ambush Bug here. Change takes time and here at AICN, we’re going through quite a few changes lately. Stick with us though. We’ve got more fun reviews, in-yo-face interveiws, and wanton jack@$$ery for you all very soon. Hopefully we can get back onto a steady schedule shortly. Us @$$Holes haven’t been snoozin’ in the job, though. Last week’s column was a bit delayed, but it was a personal favorite of mine. And earlier in the week I talked with writer Raven Gregory about his new comic SE7EN: GLUTTONY. So bear with us, folks. Times they are a changin’. In the meantime, here are some more reviews.
(Click title to go directly to the review)
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM UP VOL. 2
THE BATMAN STRIKES! #25
ROKKIN # 3
PRIDE OF BAGHDAD HC
Big Eyes For the Cape Guy presents CLAYMORE VOL. 1
Indie Jones STRANGE KILLINGS: NECROMANCER TPB
Indie Jones presents PS238
Indie Jones presents…
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM UP VOL. 2
Written by Bill Mantlo, Gerry Conway, Len Wein
Art by Sal Buscema, Jim Mooney, Ron Wilson
Published by Marvel Comics
Stream of altered consciousness by Buzz Maverik
In John Irving's novel THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, young T.S. Garp loses his virginity to the daughter of a prep school teacher of a class about his personal experiences in World War II. This makes perfect sense to me...the narcissism of the course and the virginity losing. Welcome to Professor Maverik's Experiences With MARVEL TEAM UP.
All good reviews contain detailed plot summaries, so hold onto your nads: either Spider-Man or the Human Torch meets another Marvel hero of the late Bronze Age. Sometimes they fight, then they join forces against an often disposable villain. Such plots are metaphors for a comic book company that wanted to make money and for Marvel Zombies who bought every book the company published. Man against man; man against nature; fanboys against their wallets.
MTU was often a throwaway book. Not by us fanboys, but by Marvel. It seemed to be a way that new writers made their bones and reliable bullpen artists supplemented their income. The great Spidey artist Gil Kane did many of the covers.
With nominal references to the continuity of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, we usually had Spidey with no hint of Peter Parker, pointlessly webslinging until the team up started. We might get some mention of the other hero's book or previous adventures. In Volume Two here, we get Spidey with Daredevil, the Hulk, Hercules, the Falcon, Iron Fist, Nighthawk, the Valkyrie, the Frankenstein Monster, Man Wolf, the Beast, the Human Torch, the Sons of the Tiger, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Dr. Doom, Moondragon, Killraven, Deathlok the Demolisher, the Thing (in a MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE crossover), Iron Man and Dr. Strange. We get the Torch with Thor, Iron Man, Son of Satan, and Dr. Strange.
When writer Bill Mantlo took over the book, some consistency and focus was added. Continued stories with more significant threats were introduced, including a time travel thread with Spidey, several then-Avengers and Dr. Doom at the Salem Witch trials before Spidey was flung into the future for encounters with Marvel's future-shock heroes. Mr. Mantlo even tried to give Spidey a separate MTU supporting cast with police captain Jean De Wolff, who would star in the PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN arc THE DEATH OF JEAN DE WOLFF (with a title like that, she should have seen things coming...).
This review is really MARVEL TEAM UP's fault. MTU made me a Marvel Zombie. Sure, I'd always read comics, but sporadically, never much differentiating one company from another (sort of the way I am now). Comics were okay but I was interested in monsters and horror, until damned if I didn't see the Frankenstein monster fighting Spider-Man on a cover in one of those contemptible sealed three-packs they used to sell in supermarkets (this one also had ASM # 148). After that, screw the monsters, it's Marvel superheroes from now on!
And MTU got me shoplifting comics. Another supermarket let their comics rot on the spinner, and when you tried to buy an issue that was too old, they wouldn't sell it to you. When I saw MTU # 33, with Nighthawk -- a hero I'd never seen before--sucker punching Spidey, I had to have it, even though it was five months old. There was no such thing as back issues, no comic shops. E-bay was where Elvis anchored his boat. That hump at the checkstand may have confiscated the DAREDEVIL issue where DD first fought Copperhead, but he wasn't getting Spidey and Nighthawk vs. the Meteor Man! Down the hoodie, into the top of the waistband it went.
Yes, MTU is probably the single most important series that Marvel ever published.
THE BATMAN STRIKES! #25
Writer: Jai Nitz
Art: Christopher Jones (Pencils), Terry Beatty (Inks)
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I really had an aversion to the new THE BATMAN STRIKES! cartoon. First and foremost, it annoyed the hell out of me that he was being referred to as THE Batman. It's just simply Batman, okay? What's up with all of this formality bullshit? Secondly, I thought the designs were off, not only for THE Batman, but for his various villains. I'm also not too keen on the whole let's de-age our hero so he can be young and hip. I also found the series to be redundant because it wasn't long ago that a cartoon based Bat-series introduced Batman to a whole lotta villains for the first time and this series seemed to be doing the same thing all over again. Lastly, Paul Dini and Co.'s BATMAN cartoon cannot and will never be topped in my book as one of the best animated superhero series ever. I watched the first episode of this new series, wasn't too impressed, and forgot about it soon after.
But fate dropped a copy of THE BATMAN STRIKES! #25 into my lap and I decided, what the hell, I'd take a gander at what I've been missing.
Turns out I may have judged this sereis a bit too soon.
I really liked this issue of THE BATMAN STRIKES! It's one of those stories you've read a million times. Batman takes on a villain he's faced before. At this point, Batman has faced so many of his foes so many times that it usually takes something gigantic or completely continuity-shattering to give the story some heft. Writer Jai Nitz doesn't go this route, though. He doesn't try to change the status quo or crack the internet in half. He just tells a straight up super hero story pitting Batman against Killer Croc and makes it seem fresh and interesting.
How does the writer do this?
Well, he relies on what we know about Killer Croc and frames a story smartly around those attribuites. Nitz deftly deconstructs what makes Croc tick, what makes up his motivations and history, and where his weaknesses lie. And he frames this clever deconstruction with your typical "villain escapes prison" story. Nitz seems to be the type of writer who is completely comfortable with the single issue format. Halfway through this issue, I stepped back and consciously realized that, despite the fact this this was a 22 page story, it was quite dense, with a definite story arc going on in a single issue. Much like Paul Dini's BATMAN stories of old, Nitz seems fully capable of making a story fit within the single issue format without making it seem either scrunched or stretched.
Nitz also ignores the annoying aspects of THE BATMAN STRIKES! that turned me off of the series to begin with. This Batman is young, but that's not central to the story. This isn't the first time Croc and Batman have faced each other. And despite the youthful look of Bruce Wayne, Nitz keeps the bulk of the story centralized around Batman in costume. Plus he adds some pretty cool quirky perks thanks to Wayne technology in the form of a Batwave radio which serves as communication between Bats and Commissioner Gordon and Alfred and a nifty techno-solution to Killer Croc's annoying habit of breaking out of every prison he's been placed into.
All in all, this was a satusfying read throughout. I'm like a lot of people who think that Dini's BATMAN series based on the cartoon was the end all be all in adaptations of superhero cartoons in comics. But writer Jai Nitz shows an understanding of the single issue format and a gift for telling interesting stories that leads me to believe that there may be other writers capable of doing so. Check out THE BATMAN STRIKES! #25. It's kid-friendly, but this 34 year old kid liked it too.
ROKKIN # 3 (3 of a 6 issue mini-series which they only announced this issue)
Written by: Andy Hartnell
Pencilled by: Nick Bradshaw
Published by: WildStorm Comics
Reviewed by: superhero
ROKKIN presents another all around entertaining issue of fantasy fun and action but…there’s something different here. Oh, I know what it is…the coloring! Jim Charalampidis is apparently no longer coloring the book and has been relegated to additional digital inks. What the…? The result is still a really nice looking book but there is a noticeable difference between the appearance of the first two issues and this one. Mostly that the WildStorm FX team, who have apparently replaced Charalampidis as colorist, have exchanged his wondrous palette with a less saturated one and, quite frankly, the results are less impressive than Charalampidis’s work. So it took a whole team to replace the previous colorist and they couldn’t even match his skills? This Charalampidis must be some sort of superhuman digital wunderkind if the whole WildStorm FX team couldn’t match his abilities!
Still, the book is better looking than a lot of stuff out there so I shouldn’t complain too much. ROKKIN is a fun read and reminds me of how much I loved reading some of those Buscema Conan books back in the day. There’s monsters and magic swords and scantily-clad overly-endowed warrior women…what more could a comic fan want? ROKKIN’S still great stuff even if the change in the look of the book is a bit jarring.
What I am pissed about is the fact that this issue’s now touting the book as a miniseries instead of an ongoing book! Again I must say, “What the…?” Seriously, I was all psyched that I’d have an ongoing fantasy series to get into and now I’m finding out that it’s only a limited run??? What’s going on? Is it just not selling enough? Was it always a mini and I just didn’t pay attention enough to the postings on Newsarama or Comic Book Resources? Either way it’s a pretty dirty trick to not let fans know that it wasn’t a mini from the first issue. I would have just picked up the trade if I knew it was just going to be a mini! Crap!
OK, so now I have to pick up the rest of the series and sell ‘em on E-Bay so I can go and buy the trade for my bookshelf. Oh, well. I guess if that’s the worst complaint I can have about the book then the creators of ROKKIN must be doing something right. I just wish they’d bring back Charalampidis so I can have that crazy old fashioned Disney looking fantasy book I was so psyched to be reading in the first place!
PRIDE OF BAGHDAD HC
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciler: Niko Henrichon
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
If anyone out there has ever bothered to pay attention to my reviews (and I have
it on good authority not a bloody one of you does... ah well) then you would
know that I'm not exactly one to mince my words. If something is truly
good/great and deserving of praise and accolades all around, I'll do my best to
try and make sure the good word gets spread and hopefully encourage some new
readers to give said book(s) a fair chance. But if something doesn't jive with
me, or in some occasional cases even offends me, I'll also do my best to let
people know to avoid said book like the goddamn plague, or that one cheerleader
that did the entire football team. You know the one and why. Thus is the power
of the press.
With that all said, I'm here now to let anyone reading this in on a little bit of information: Brian K. Vaughan's PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is easily amongst the finest pieces of comic book literature I have ever read and is also the best comic I have read, and probably will read, all year. Maybe even this decade.
If you don't know by now, PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is an Original Graphic Novel (OGN) based on the true story of a group of lions that escaped the confines of a Baghdad zoo during the beginning of the bombing of Iraq in 2003. Now, this book isn't going to revolutionize the genre. This isn't the second coming of WATCHMEN, this isn't going to kick off an entire era of mimicking trends and ripped-off storytelling to the point where even the source material seems trivial like we seem to be glancing at today. What PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is, is some of the tightest story-telling I've ever seen, combined with some absolutely jaw-dropping art, and that tells a tale that is at times joyful and smile-inducing but will also tear your goddamn heart right out with some truly tragic affairs.
There's so many elements of PRIDE that make it the experience that it is. One is that you instantly fall in love with the characters and actually care what happens to them on their journey. That had to be an especially difficult task for BKV, as they're not human so obviously to draw emotions to these characters is going to take a little bit of effort since you have to humanize them and give the reader something to identify with, and BKV pulls it off beautifully. But there's also some unfairly drawn comparisons thanks to works like, primarily, Disney's "The Lion King" that will cause some readers to question this book's "legitimacy" as a work of art as with a glance they will dismiss it simply as "kid's stuff". But I assure you, yes, the book has at times a light-hearted and playful air around it, but there are some very mature themes in this work, handled very deftly and subtly, but always packing a great deal of meaning that is a testament to BKV's skill as a writer and storyteller. No panel is wasted, there are no throwaway scenes, there's no "padding", this is simply just an exhibition of how comics can, could, and should be written.
And the visuals, oh my the visuals. For a couple years now I've been touting artists such as J.H. Williams III and Tony Harris and Darrick Robertson and a small handful of others as some my personal favorite comic book artists. These men, and men like them, in my opinion have some of the greatest eyes (and hands of course) in the industry when it comes to the art of visual storytelling in the medium of comics. Well, with PRIDE here one Mr. Niko Henrichon has now risen high up on that list. The art in this work is absolutely brilliant. Everything has such a vibrancy to it, it's uncanny. There is just so much detail, and articulation, and energy in each and every panel, it's just unbelievable. The panel transitions are perfect, the story has such a great flow and is so kinetic, and there are some single and double page splashes in here that are just breath-taking. The art of PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is as equally responsible for the amazing experience reading this comic was (and will be over and over again) as the writing was.
This book should be on everybody's shelf. It's that simple. If you in any way consider yourself a true fan of the "art" of comic books, then this is a must own. If you are constantly on the look out for material that exemplifies what comics can and should aspire to be, this is one of the biggest no-brainers when it comes to spending $20 of your hard earned cash on the medium. This book will win awards, and if there is any justice in the world it will win a whole slew of them and be talked about for years to come. Don't wait for the word of mouth to spread and the nominations to (hopefully) start coming in. Get in now and start spreading the word to your peers. You owe it to your love of comics and yourselves. Cheers...

CLAYMORE: VOLUME 1
Written and Illustrated by: Norihiro Yagi
Published by: Viz Media
Reviewed by: superhero
Let’s face it. We’ve all seen plenty of the warrior-girl demon slayers throughout popular fiction and that’s exactly what CLAYMORE is. So when I picked up this manga I wasn’t really expecting anything special. The premise sounded interesting enough and I wanted something to read for a flight I was about to take that afternoon so I picked it up. If anything I figured it’d provide me with enough entertainment to relieve some of the boredom of a two and a half hour plane ride. In the end I’m actually glad I grabbed this book because it ended up being a more engaging read than I expected it to be.
CLAYMORE takes place in a medieval like world where monsters called Yoma stalk the countryside for human prey. In order to defend against them the human race has created a breed of humans called Claymores. The Claymore is a human female who has been bonded to the blood of a Yoma so that she can become something more than both human and Yoma. See, pretty standard stuff right? And in the beginning of the book that’s what it pretty much is. But it’s Norihiro Yagi’s art and strong storytelling sense that allow the book to become more than just an average demon-slaying-chick book.
Yagi’s art isn’t really anything spectacular to tell the truth. If anything it’s pretty much average for a manga book. Maybe “average” is unfair as Yagi definitely has a flair that stands out from the cookie cutter style that tends to infect much of the manga out there. As a matter of fact there were some instances in the book where I though much of his line work reminded me a bit of Carlos Pacheco’s art even if Yagi is the anti-Pacheco when it comes to background art. What really makes the book stand out is the artist’s storytelling ability. More often than not in manga I often find it harder to follow the panel progression than the Western comics I read. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m reading from left to right in a lot of these books but I tend to think that many manga artists get too caught up in over detailing their pages instead of getting the story to flow coherently. I didn’t have any problems understanding the panel progression in CLAYMORE. This book really flows and once the action gets moving it’s a really fast paced piece of work.
As far as manga goes you could do a lot worse. Hell, as far as comics go you could do a lot worse. But you could do a bit better too. But not much. If anything CLAYMORE is just like the porridge that Goldilocks ate: just right. It’s a book that seems like it could get even better with subsequent volumes and I’m planning to pick up the next one whenever I come across it in my local bookstore.

STRANGE KILLINGS: NECROMANCER TPB
Writer: Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer
Artist: Mike Wolfer
Publisher: Avatar
Reviewer: Baytor
There’s a common opinion that comics that aspire to be movies are a bad thing. The notion is comics are their own special thing and it’s insane to try to emulate film, when movies can do that much better than comics ever can.
Only thing is, there’s a gigantic hole in that theory: the amount of money it takes to make a movie makes it enormously difficult to do justice to certain types of stories. Take NECROMANCER, the latest in cinematic comics from Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer. It’s the modern equivalent of what they used to call Exploitation Movies, filled with guns, tits, and gore. The problem is, movie executives tend to get nervous shelling out tens of millions of dollars doing this sort of thing, and even a movie like SNAKES ON A PLANE was originally shot with a PG-13 rating in mind, before someone upstairs got half a brain and decided to go back and re-shoot for the R it so desperately craved. And given its relatively meager ticket sales, Hollywood probably isn’t too keen to throw that sort of money at a script like that again.
On the flip side, they’d shoe-string it, release it direct-to-DVD, and you’d laugh as some over-the-hill former-pretty-boy TV actor and a few big-breasted wannabe starlets run around a poorly dressed jungle set, while cannibalistic zombies had sex with each other. And that, my friends, is a fate worse than death. I really don’t need to see Jason Priestly pretending he’s a hardcore combat magician, while an actress who hasn’t quite mastered tying her own shoes pretends to be a smart, capable reporter.
No, I’d rather see this sort of thing play out in comics, where we can at least get an A-lister or two on the book, and it has a fighting chance to be properly chilling without the risk of Coke shooting out my nose from laughing at the utter absurdity of it all.
The plot: William Gravel is a combat magician (think John Constantine as a member of the SAS) who has to find a reporter who is out to uncover a story about the military use of zombies. Lots of nudity, sex, cannibalism, explosions, and gun fights ensue, before Gravel emerges victorious a hundred or so pages later. That’s it in a nut-shell. There’s no life lesson to be learned here, no hidden depths, and it can only be called intelligent in the sense that it’s not mind-numbingly stupid. It’s a nasty little action movie, the sort Hollywood would never properly make, but Ellis and Wolfer manage to pull off with a fair amount of style in comics.
If you’re looking for the next evolution of the comic medium, keep looking cuz this ain’t it; but if you looking for a high-octane thrill ride with some creeps and chills, then this is the sort of book you want. And if you’ve never read any of the books in the STRANGE KISS/KILLINGS series, don’t worry, there’s not much back story necessary to understand this, and it takes them all of about two panels to tell you what you need to know.
PS238
Writer/Artist: Aaron Williams
Publisher: Henchman Publishing/Dorkstorm Distributing
Reviewer: Prof. Challenger
My Metaprodigy Saved Your Honor Roll Student at PS238
- bumper stickerFirst time I ever heard of PS238 was years ago in a conversation with our own (and ComicPants') Dave Farabee. He recommended that I track it down when we were chatting about a press release for one of the movie rip-offs that were announced, SKY HIGH or ZOOM'S ACADEMY (ZOOM). I can't remember which rip-off it was - probably SKY HIGH though, since it's the most blatant rip-off of PS238. ZOOM'S ACADEMY, the comic that ZOOM was based on, looks more like a rip-off of X-MEN than PS238. And you may be wondering just what I'm babbling about? Well, PS238 is an independent comic book series that's been running for over two years now and spent some time as a back-up gag strip in NODWICK, DORK TOWER, and PvP before that. The premise is very simple: Public School 238 is the top-secret "School for Meta-Prodigy Children." The focus is on elementary to middle-school aged kids rather than high schoolers and the school is located underground rather than floating on a cloud. Other than that, I'd say this is the comic book that SKY HIGH was based on (even if they won't admit it).
What I did recently was sat down and read through all three trade paperback volumes (PS238: WITH LIBERTY AND RECESS FOR ALL, PS238: TO THE CAFETERIA FOR JUSTICE!, and PS238: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!) and came away charmed. The first volume begins with the back-up gag strips, and they were amusing little bits with lots of clever spoofs of popular Marvel and DC characters. Probably the funniest character introduced there and carried over into the main sequential series is "Murphy," who is obviously supposed to be Neil Gaiman's Sandman character as a kid (Li'l Morpheus?). Throughout the entire series, there are spoofs galore running the gamut from Green Lantern to the Hulk to Spawn to MODOK, yes, MODOK!
When the series started, the focus was on Ron/Capt. Clarinet, who was afraid to use his powers. But by midway through the first TPB (Issue #3), the focus shifts to the non-powered Tyler, who is the son of Ultima and Sovereign, basically the Superman and Wonder Woman of this world. Even though Tyler does not have any powers, his parents have enough political clout to get him into PS238 and he becomes the character that the readers can relate to. What they don't know is that Tyler has taken on the Robin role of Moon Shadow to PS238's resident Batman pastiche, Revenant.
To sit down and read straight through all three trades, that's issues #0-15, makes the growth in storytelling and character development all the more pronounced. What began as a simple little gag strip spoofing super-hero clichés has grown into its own little world of nice and nasty characters, adults and kids, who have cosmic and mundane adventures while always maintaining a refreshing sense of fun and naiveté. Like BANANA SUNDAY and POLLY AND THE PIRATES, PS238 is one of those comic book series that I would not hesitate to put into the hands of a child of any age but is enjoyable by kids of any age - even those of us over the age of twelve.
The adults are not played as stupid, and the kids make mistakes and misjudgments like all kids do. But at their core, the heroes are heroes by their moral character not by their powers. The cartooning by Williams is stylish and clean black and white with tones and textures added by computer. His style is not a harsh, anarchist bent or Manga, just simple smooth outlines with restrained linework on the details. The kids are cute big-feet/big-head cartoons who just happen to wear tights or armor. The humor comes mostly from the little things, such as ZODON's profanity chip that keeps the villainous child's language hilariously and nonsensically G-rated (against his will of course), the lumbering pea-brained Hulk-parody, Bernard, and the megalomaniacal Victor Von Fogg!
PS238 is based on a concept that goes all the way back to the original X-MEN - that of a school for super-hero children. But as far as I know, this is the first that dealt with it at the grade-school level. And that makes PS238 unique in unfolding comic book history. It also gives it that extra level of niceness and fun that makes it a stand out in a marketplace literally inundated by intense blood, gore, and profanity (which has its place, mind you). Comic books, super-hero comic books especially, need to remember that an aging fanbase is a declining fanbase and unless new kids can get drawn into it, the field itself is soon to disappear. More books like PS238 might be a great way to bring in new readers while also entertaining the longtime fans as well.
Ask for it by name, readers. Issue #17 just came out at the tail end of the summer and #18 is coming up. And note to the publishers: Get these trades into the children's sections of the major bookstore chains. Thanks for the entertainment.
LAI WAN: TALES OF THE DREAMWALKER
Moonstone
LAI WAN was at the bottom of my stack to read. For some reason, I set it aside and let other things take precedence. Too bad, too, because once I read it, I found myself really liking it. This book kind of reminds me of the TV shows MEDIUM or MILLENNIUM where a person with super-human powers helps cops catch real life killers. This issue is a stand alone mystery that deals with some pretty heavy themes. The character of Lai Wan is nicely developed, yet shrouded in mystery. Her motives and actions are never fully explained. She sort of appears, helps the police find a murderer, and then moves on. Writer C.J. Henderson paces this issue well. It doesn't seem rushed or forced to fit within one issue. I plan on seeking out more issues of LAI WAN. - Ambush Bug
THE SAVED #2
Revelations Comics
Those who know me know I try my damndest to stay out of political discussions. Nothing turns me off more than one person or party trying to prove another person or party wrong while ignoring the actual problems and the little people like you and I. That's why my bristles automatically went up when I crossed paths with this comic. Touted as a religious comic for the liberal left, my little hamster brain struggled to come up with a picture of what that would be like and why would someone make a comic about it, so I dove in between the covers to find out. Turns out this is another propaganda tool masquerading as a comic book and I'm kind of in the business of reviewing comics, not something that illustrates dissertations and factoids of why one political party is better than another with about as much vitality and flair as Steven Wright reading an income tax report. The concept is interesting and the book starts out with promise: set in the near future, where the war in Iraq is still going on, there's still a Bush in the White House, the air is unbreathable and all land uninhabitable. Forced to live inside a super mall, America's survivors press on, listening to televised speeches touting victory over terrorism and shoving Christianity down our collective throats. I liked the set-up, although it's a bit too literal for my tastes. But soon this book simply devolves from trying to tell an honest to gosh story to trying to see how many barbs at the current administration they can shove into one issue. If you're a Liberal, you'll most likely read this book and agree with these factoids. If you're a Conservative, you'll be annoyed. Me, I'm a comic reviewer, and had enough attention been given to story structure and creativity and a little less effort trying to shove an angry middle finger and an accusatory index finger towards a political party, I may have had better things to say about this book. In the end, I found the ideas to be interesting, but the presentation turned me off because while they were planning what aspects of the Bush administration to criticize, the creators of this book forgot to make it into an actual story worth reading. - Ambush Bug
FINDER #38
Light Speed Press
Indie Jones founder Lizzybeth touted this series as the second coming of the Fonz back in the day, but I never really took a look at FINDER until this first issue which starts off the arc FIVE CRAZY WOMEN. It's one of those slice of life books. It's really just some bo-hunk gabbing it up with a friend about all of the crazy women he's been with. But something about the way writer Carla Speed McNeil turns a phrase and layers her scenes that really appealed to me. As far as sittin' and talkin' stories are concerned, this one is tops, as it goes into great details how the most interesting stories don't always have to have capes and slugfests. Some of the really good stuff happens right outside our window. This book illustrates that pretty well. I don't know if the stuff going on in this issue is representational of what's been going on in this entire series, but I have to say the story I read here has me itching to look for more issues to find out. - Ambush Bug
PAPER MUSEUM VOL 3
Jungle Boy Press
Wow. Sometimes a comic comes along and impresses the hell out of me. PAPER MUSEUM is such a comic. I liked the back up features "Devil in the Gears" a nicely paced and moodily drawn Faustian tale by Mark Smith and Jim Pezzetti, and the comical cleverness in Jai Nitz and Kelley Seda's "The Woods", but it was the main story "Saxon the Swordsman" that let me know that I was reading something really special. The tale is about a swordsman hired to protect a royal lady from an assasin. It starts out as your typical sword and sorcery tale with a valiant hero busy battling dragons and beasts and being dragged into servitude to the local royalty. But this story turns into something much more complex and flipped my expectations on its ear. What impressed me the most were the clever transitions between one scene and the next. This is something that is not paid much attention to in comics, but the focus on said transitions are evident here. In the epilogue, writer Jai Nitz explains his background in film and how the movie PULP FICTION wa a major influence on the way he viewed storytelling. Nitz cleverly translates this knowledge of scene to scene transition to this comic. PAPER MUSEUM is one of those compilations put together to showcase talent. This issue does so very nicely. Writer Jai Nitz is one to watch. He brings an atypical brand of storytelling to this typical comic book story. Seek this issue out and enjoy it as I did. - Ambush Bug
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus-
+ Expand All
-
Hi all! Long time lurker, first time poster. So... just saying hi. Late!
-
...looked like Marilyn Manson. I often found myself saying "Look! It's THE Batman vs. The Joker vs. Marilyn Manson!" "Look! It's Marilyn Manson taking over Gotham!" "Look it's Marilyn Manson boning Dita Von Teese!" Oh that last one must have been something else....
-
i haven't read this yet... but i need to.
-
the batman.
-
Come on, who didn't do this as kids? I did back in the late 70s. I would go to a public library that was located across the parking lot from a mall and check out a few books and a record album or two. (They had a nice selection of old 50s & 60s comedy and old time radio shows on LP. Even as a kid I had weird tastes...) Then before my mom would show up, I would go across the parking lot and into the bookstore/newstand in the mall. Two comics down the sleeve of each LP later, I had a few more comics in the collection...
-
Here in Brazil it's been called "Batman, O Homem Morcego": Batman, his name, written in english, while "O Homem Morcego" ("The Bat Man") in portuguese, as an apositive. I like "The Batman" or "The Bat-man" - as in "The Human Bat" - better. Sounds less silly than a guy named Batman. Like "John Batman". Sorry, it´s too early in the morning.
-
I.. AM.. BATMAN!!!
-
was ALWAYS his name. They shortened it as time went on, but he started out as THE Batman, and whenever they are trying to focus on the darker side of Batman its always THE Batman. Hell even in Batman Begins it was THE Batman to the villans.
-
In THE BATMAN but not how the Joker looks? Talk about badly thought out character design. It screamed wanna be anime all the way! Sad...Dini and Timm's Batman cartoons will rule for all time! And I love what they did with TEEN TITANS but Batman...don't Anime my Batman...he's too cool for that!
-
I'd remove the dash from my name to show people that I was new and egdy.
-
Would voice the villains in my anime cartoon.
-
but no cheap shots? cmon i love cheap shots! still some of those indies do look pretty good.
-
Are Vaughn’s political beliefs front and center in Pride of Baghdad? I’m all for a good story but don’t cram your ideology down my throat.
-
I distinctly remember one of 'em: "It's just Batman, dammit, not THE Batman..." Although my favorite was something like: "Dry cleaner puts too much starch in the Batsuit..."
-
And it is, in fact, a SF comic, though Ambush doesn't seem to realize it. I don't blame him, though, as it often focuses for issues on end on slice-of-life stories that don't require SF tropes. The world of the comic is a weird mix of the modern day and crazy cyberpunk and fantasy ideas, but the latter is garnishing for the character-based storytelling. Carla Speed MacNeill's storytelling sense is also astonishing: there are some incredibly innovative narrative tricks in almost any volume. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
-
it's frickin awesome.
-
I know some of ya'all love the independent books and all but as far as "mainstream comics" can't we review even one or two to make it worth our while? Some of us DO read and would like a heads up on, marvel and DC mags.
-
Cheap shots of every mainstream book being published. Seriously, I think it's a good idea.
-
see header
-
a cheap shots special? i work in a call center and i can basically read and post in between my calls so an entire column of cheap shots would be awesome! how about it @$$holes? cna i get me some bite size comic goodness?
-
continue the regular weekly column but maybe give us a saturday special cheap shot column with the latest comic releases like someone suggested. the cogs would be more than willing to pitch in and help. we even have reserve cogs now!
-
We'd be more than willing and sometimes even capable of writing a paragraph or two for the cause. Say the word @$$es and were there.
-
i thought for sure you'd have something to say about this horrible issue.
-
That'll be in next week's reviews, possibly.
-
seriously. When I finished it I had a lump on my throat and had that feeling on my chest you get when something bad happens to someone that didn't deserve it (spoiler? doub it). BKV is by far the greatest graphic story teller working today. It was kind of a quick read though. Finished it under 30 minutes, which I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing with 136 pages. Worth every dime.
-
Get your hate mail typin' fingers ready, cause I picked up CIVIL WAR #4 today and plan on reviewing it. I haven't read it yet, but I expect to hate it.
-
You say anything even remotely political and you're cramming it down people's throats, apparently. Sorry, guy, but you can't believe in anything and talk about it in your creator owned comic book, what the hell? That's like having your cake and eating it too...like a fat person.
-
had no super-human powers. maybe. He wasn't psychic, he just had a gift. um. screw it.
-
One of the 7 deadly sins. Just, you know, trying to keep you guys honest.
-
I don't know man... Henderson's story was strictly paint-by-numbers. The detective figures out a clue he should have checked anyway, thereby making the psychic pointless... exactly why I hated the movie THE CELL. I really dug the art though.
-
....
-
i wasnt so much making a point as snitching on myself
-
who out there in tb land likes the idea of a saturday column featuring cheap shots of that wednesdays books by your friendly neighborhood cogs and cog reserves? we will be straight with you,and unless u act like a prick,there should be no reason to unleash psy,vale or the great(altho quite unmerciful and violent)turtle on you.
-
looda and dreg you have to find your way to the mansion-contact me at an email add of which the first part is my first name,which is that of the last man from the BKV comic,minus the c,followed by how we end a sentence and then the surname of a conquistador whose sobriquet includes the spanish phrase for 'of the lion',altho that is left out.ive heard of it as a british phrase which appearantly translates to 'douche bag'. at the bank with the stage coach dot com
-
Dude that is too much damn work for an email addy....I teach history and it felt like i was takin the SAT's all over again...
-
So that’s a “yes” to my question? Have their cake and eat it too, hmmm…What do you call it when someone wants to have their comics and keep their money too? Guess I’ll call you El Gordo from now on.***I think Sat. Cheap Shots is a great idea!
-
Your response was a little snotty but then so was mine. Actually I thank you for responding as the reviewer apparently couldn’t be bothered. Knowing Vaughn and that fact that this book takes place in Iraq lead me to believe it would lean heavily to the left. I appreciate you confirming this. Vaughn can write what he wants. I have no problem with that. I simply wanted to know what the score was. The reviewer neglectfully doesn’t indicate what the political bent is of the story, hence my question. I’m going to pass on this book. If I want to read about the evil United States I’ll pick up the New York Times.
-
I'm lost at the conquistador. This weekend I'll contribute my own mini review/cheap shot on the new issue of Runaways. Maybe tonight. Maybe Saturday. Who knows?
-
I think that was the first bad review of an Indie Jones I've ever seen. I always assumed Bug only picked up books he really wanted to tout.
-
He was also the first non-native american to set foot on The Heathen and I's home state.
-
Well joke's on you, pal, cause i'm not fat! Altho' i could lose some pounds so i guess we're back at the joke being on me :( Anyway, what if Pride isn't what you expect it to be? I guess if Vaughan's writing isn't your thing then it's understandable if you wanna dismiss it, but what if in the end it turns out to be a beautiful story with an anti war message? Those have been around since like forever, and they're always crowd pleasers. Pride could very well be just pro humanity and not anti Bush, even tho' Bush really is the war president. So that makes Bush anti humanity. So fuck Bush. Actually i think you'd better not buy this book.
-
most fun i've had all day...
-
i was looking back at what i posted and it really didnt have to be that hard. sorry i was a bit tipsy last night. but hey i met xzibit.anyways reservists you can send your mini reviews to yorik77@gmail.com. i emailed bug with the idea for a saturday cheap shot column hosted by the vogs but havent heard back yet.
-
Darth, that was a nice little mystery for your email addy, if I didn't know it already I'd probably have a hard time figuring it out. You should make another MySpace page or something. Are we going to have guests at the mansion? If so, Spectregans just made a mess, so try to ignore that. I'm ordering Pride from Amazon and I'm with Vale - fuck Bush. That's just the way it is unfortunately.
-
I went to this place called Ponce de Leon springs in florida a couple years back. It had pancakes and alligators, among other things, like trees and stuff.
-
the 'cogs' will be writing mini reviews. i dont know who the 'vogs' are but i would guess they have a sarlac pit
-
Is that what I think it is? Ae you happy about that?
-
So in your view Saddam Hussein was pro humanity? Uh, ok…whatever, dude.
-
Those guys fucking suck and you know it sister!
-
Vagrant i think you're pro taking me way too seriously, for i was only kidding. But you know...whatever, dude. WhatEVER!!! Nah i'm just kidding again, i kinda like your argument cause i never thought of it that way: If you're anti Bush then that makes you pro Saddam. That's kinda like saying if you don't like rubbing shit all over your face then that means you like eating it. 2+2 and all that.
-
Heathen, yeppers, I've seen BoP #101. I think that's way cool so long as Gail writes it well (not to mention it takes things one step closer to it being revealed that Dylan Battles is really the bastard son of Calculator, should Kate's supporting cast make cameos). Looks like Big Barda (Gail's taken a liking to those who lived on Apokalips?) and a new female Judomaster (can't totally lose the martial arts) are also on the team. Interesting mix and I wonder how the dynamics are going to play there because it's not quite so obvious. Are we gonna keep Zinda, though?! That's the big question. And I just checked art credits: thank goodness Paolo Siquiera is off the book it looks like (ok, ok, 'cept for a bit in #100)! Hopefully the new artists will be more Joe Bennett-like.
-
shit all over your face then that means you like eating it." I <3 Vale. Or I c=====3 Vale. Take your pick.
-
What in the name of Jack Fucking Kirby happened to the rest of my post?!!?!
-
Cause it's so suspenseful.
-
But know he just comes out and gives us another one...Waste of my detective skills, getting beat to the chase like that.
-
Joining the chorus to say I miss the cheap shots and mainstream reviews. So little to say about these reviews that I guess I'll say that if thinking Iraq was better off before makes me pro Saddam, well then there you are. At least his war wasn't holy. This week i have read some kick ass Wolverine. No idea who Guggenheim is, but he seems to be good.
-
They've shot up the interent. Anyway, I tried to email Darth with a teen titans reivew, but, as I said, the vogs have screwed up the internet. Maybe I'll do the Runaways one tomorrow and try to e-mail that to him, but I think the Teen Titans one will just live here in the talkback.sigh...
-
Say's I, as I channel Gilda Radner. No, fuck that. I'm channeling the bastard love child of John McClaine and Neville Flynn, seeing how I have ass kicked the vogs into returning the internet to its rightful state. The e-letter's in your e-mail e-box, Darth. Hope to hear from you as this develops, sweet cheeks.
-
*waits anxiously* Anybody read the conclusion to the latest Cap arc? I really like this book and I am digging what Bru is doing with Red Skull and even Bucky, because, well, I wasn't really alive when he was the last time so I like it a lot. Anyway, big battle against a giant robot, Cap and Bucky fighting together. Good conclusion. ** Also, I just read the last Teen Titans too and I think I'm confused. It sounded like Starfire was/is perhaps dead and the penultimate page were all Teen Titan traitors? Thalya?
-
From the sounds of it, it seems as though the space folks could be gone much longer than 52 weeks, given the way it is with space travel. As for Teen Titans, clearly the book Raven has is a scrapbook of all the new and since-departed members of the Titans during the missing year. Raven's probably going after them one by one to find the one traitor in their midst, but that's already been given away if you've seen the full cover to Teen Titans #40.
-
Nobody's here anyways and I'm tired from spending the night with Jon Testor-The democratic candidate for Montana's senate seat, and a guy I thought was Neil Young. Also a little ashamed at how much I suck at pool, if you wanted to know.
-
I liked the issue, but didn't really feel it was worth the two-month wait. I liked what they did with Sue. That was probably the best part of the issue. Damn these issue 4's ... they are always underwhelming. Looks like #5 will be a fun ride, though. ***** Yet to dip into the latest Iron Man and X-Men Civil War #3 because my JLA/Avengers crossover arrived from eBay. Halfway through the 4-issue series, and I'm barely liking it. There is a lot of cool stuff going on. But getting to the end of both 1 and 2, I was amazed at how ridiculous the plot was, until, in both cases, a last-page summary of what was really going on seemed to resurrect my respect for the story. And the artwork. The covers kind of put me off, but the interior art is fantastic. ***** As for Saturday Cheap-Shots ... sounds like a good idea. Mine will begin as follows "Hi, I'm dregmobile, and this week, I thought I'd read a COMIC BOOK. Yeah, you heard right ..." ... what I'm getting at is that I don't know anywhere near as much about comics and the LOST tv series as you cogs. But I will email Darth and let my intentions be known in a formal manner. ***** Wolverine 46 was a nice read, good to have the plot unravelling. I wonder how much the revelations from this arc will impact the major politics of the Civil War itself? ***** And don't get me started on those damn commie vogs ...
-
"I'm pretty sure this is the best sentence I've ever read."
-
I guess that's just how they roll at DC nation. Not lucky enough to read Civil War and bitch about it. Also-got Pride of Baghdad yesterday. Great comic, but there were a few too many splash pages. Still, that's just me nitpicking, and Nico Henricson's art is great, as they said.
-
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=85059
-
Me: Who now?
-
Keira Knightley is now rumored to be the hottest dead person working in Hollywood at the moment. In related news, Haley Joel Osment is suing Knightley for allegedly "scaring the crap out of him" and causing him to crash his car. http://tinyurl.com/zgk9a
-
Haley who? Doesn't he drive a Cutlass or something? Goliath? As long as it's not Ares. That mo fo is the shit. Word son.
-
I haven't been to the LCS to pick up the past weeks or two. I'm dying to see how bad CW is/was. Apparently it is pretty bad. What did the Newsarama thing say, Shig? The link wasn't working for me.
-
I'm not going to spoil it. just do it.
-
I'm a moron for missing the space gap. Secondly, that's the most… words can't describe how to explain it, it's just ridiculous is what it is. Looks like I'll see it in the Franklin Richards: Thanksgiving and in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane books at least. Ughh. When he saifd that they will promote the story for three weeks after Guiding Light eps and then said, "That is HUGE." Bad, bad, bad.
-
DAMMIT
-
*dies on hamster wheel* b..c... b..c.. bc...
-
I think you're right about IC peaking at issue 4. And is it pissing anyone else off that they are throwing non-comic related articles in the comic section on the main page? How does that keep happening??? ***** Civil War Spoiler stuff: I really don't know too much about Goliath ... in fact when I started reading CW 1 I found it odd that there was this seven story guy standing in the Stamford ruins helping the clean up. So it didn't bother me much him going. What it does for the story is give Parker a reason to leave Tony for Cap (not to mention, apparently, a whole bunch of other people). And I wonder how far they are going to go with this Thor clone ... ? ***** Speaking of Thor, he is another Marvel character I know zero about. All I have read of him has been in that old DC Vs Marvel mini and the more recent JLA/Avengers (which I'm just about to finish). And Thor comes across as Fabio trying to do Shakespeare. + a ridiculous helmet. The hammer is pretty cool, though. What I'm getting used to is how the guy talks. Cracks me up. Or maybe it was just the way Busiek wrote him in the crossover ...
-
Ha I loved the Supes vs. Thor moments in that series. And how when Superman finally beats him, he is so weak that She Hulk, Hercules, Power Man, ect beat the shit out of him. Actually, true story: I never got the much-delayed last issue of that series.
-
a new issue of the ultimates comes out tomorrow. whee.
-
Quite possibly the most insane comic I've seen since the first issue of Nextwave. THere's so much stuff happening, jesus shit, I had a miscarraige it was so wild.
-
Looks like I'm heading to my shop tomorrow. Thanks looda! I can't believe it's time for a new Astonishing already. And I'm partial to Buzz Maverick speaking Thorish. SOmebody should search thte tb's lookingfor some of those gems.
-
Time to All Week it like never before! *** Heroes was pretty freakin awesome last night. I liked it a whole lot. The wife even said it was her new favorite show of all time (half jokingly) but she was damn excited. I liked the music and the pace to it. Plus it has that guy from the show that was cancelled in 3 or 4 episodes where he sleeps in a box that rocked, umm. Anyway, I'm impressed and so is my penis.
-
will this work?
-
Instant posts! Post party! Post orgy! Post Revolution!
-
I'm stunned. That looked like the cheesiest show ever.
-
I figure I'll start. What the difference between a dead baby and a woman? I've never had sex with a woman.
-
What's the only thing worse than a male chauvanist pig? A stupid bitch that won't shut up.
-
You mean to say Adrain Pasdar from Profit's on Heroes? And I missed it? (though even then I got home past 9 - like I'm ever going to be able to watch prime tv regularly)
-
Now smart bitches that won't shut up? That's golden.
-
It wasn't that bad, was it?
-
oh wait...wrong board... what? who? muffins?
-
A young enterprising female reporter catches wind of Hitler of all people actually being alive and well, and living in South America. (Vale, seriously get on that!) She really wants to make a nmae for herself and break that proverbial "glass celing" at the office, so she drops her own scratch on a plane ticket, and hunts down the scoop. After three weeks of searching, she finally makes her way to a huge beautiful plantation on the coast. After being escorted to the second floor balcony, she sees a startlingly spry, yet very old man in a wheel chair yelling at the servants and causing all manner of ruckus. She waits quietly as the buler introduces her.****Butler: "Mien Fuher, this is ze fraulien you asked for."****Hitler: "Fine! Fine! Get ze hell out of here, you Jew-loving scheitza eater!"****"yes mein Fuher!"****Hitler:" Zo...you are ze American, yes? You vish to hear mien plans for Vorld Domination, yes?"****"Yes, sir, I have many questions..."****"ACHTUNG! I am an old man, and I have no time to be pussy footing around vis you people. I vill tell you mien plans, and you will go. You zee, I vas thinking far too small vit mien last campaign. Six million...SCHEITZA! No, zis time vill be different. Zis time I vill shake ze Vorld to it's core! Zis time, not even GOD himself can stop the Reich! Mein objective zis time is to kill TWELVE million Jews, six million gypsies, and two clowns. I vill eradicate the Jesus killers and take my place as the Fuher of zee Vorld!"****"Honestly sir, I am staggered by this. I am shocked and appalled. One question jumps to mind though. Why kill the two clowns?"****"HA! You zee Heinrich! You zee! No one gives a FUCK about the Jews!"***** Thank You, Good night!
-
hell to the muthafucking yeah!didnt get to watch heroes-it was my moms night off from work so i went over to my parents house and just hung out then too tired when i got home. holy shit astonishing is a good comic!100 bullets kicked a lot of ass also. the new blade comic?totally other end of the spectrum-my penis was not impressed but my anus said it looked like his cousin.*****man something good is coming-im not going to spoil it,i think heath should do it-but man...you guys are in for a treat....
-
...not quite as good as sex, but better than rubbing another man's rhubarb.
-
I think they show it again tonight and later this week on Sci-Fi too. Set your DVR's and VCR's and Tivo's or whatever you got. It's cool. *** As for what's coming? Almost… almost.
-
is 'almost' back, but not quite. It's the luck of the draw really. *** X-Factor #10 was good. It may have come out a few weeks ago, but I just read it and my penis was impressed (© Cog Smooches) especially by Roy Allan Martinez's art in the flashback.
-
That is all.
-
maybe?
-
its instant-er than it was before so hopefully its getting there.
-
And then everyone can (not) trace it back to my awesome Witchblade overview.
-
Tell me you actually read the 4th part of the JLA/Avengers, though. Superman weilding the hammer and shield is fantastic. Also read up on Mr. Perez and am looking to get hold of his War of the Gods series that DC screwed. ***** So is HEROES the same sort of take on superheroes as UNBREAKABLE? Same tone, treatment? It looks it from what I have seen. Like all TV series I will wait for this until it hits DVD. Sitting through commercials, even with the mute button on, is like a version of hell for me. Also, what was the name of that superhero movie Michael Rapaport did a year ago ... never seemed to get a wide release ... *looks up imdb* ... SPECIAL. I saw the trailer to this. Looks hilarious. Still no theatrical or DVD release date yet. Here's the synopsis: "A lonely metermaid has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else." ***** And I am going to have to bookmark this page soon with all these non-comics threads being dumped in the comics section. wtf is going on???
-
"No instant posting for you!!!"
-
Mind you, I kinda like Unbreakable, but Heroes has this quality to it that just makes you want to watch it. Do yourself a favor and at least check out the first episode tonight or later this week on Sci-Fi.
-
I'm limited to Australian TV. But I'm patient. Only getting through season 1 of Arrested Development and 24 at the moment ...
-
A somewhat bland finale for the 'Executive Program' thread in my opinion. It was kick-ass enough, but the pencils could have been way more interesting and exciting for what was happening. The biggest thing that bugged me was how Tony Stark lists of a bunch of wisecracks in what should have been a tense, Part 6 of 6 finale - SPOILER - which ends with Tony killing himself (clinically, anyway). That took away from the drama, the gravity. The feeling I got from the whole arc was ... okay, so what? It was the fifth issue of this Iron Man run which helped lure me to Marvel amidst the Infinite Crisis at DC. I hope the title gets better with the Civil War tie-in's up next for it. ***** And X-Men: Civil War #3 is perhaps now just as boring as the early issues of Frontline. Nice art, though.
-
I hate to ruin a surprise. But I was seriously stoked for the appearance of one X-Man I thought I'd never be stoked for the appearance of.
-
No actually I haven't read the last issue of JLA/Avengers. I really should pick it up, but my shop's back issues...well, they make black holes look easy to navigate. I will soon though. *** I didn't watch Heroes. The commercials looked cheesy as hell and I laughed really hard every time I saw that cheerleader (in her cheerleading outfit) run through the fire. Maybe it was good, though. But I can pretty much guaruntee that its not as good as Unbreakable.
-
i have it on the tivo and now my buddy just gave me a copy on vcd so it is getting watched make no mistake. ive just been busy catching up on justice league season 1 and 2. that is such an awesome cartoon!i cant get enough!
-
Watch it Shig!!! And how friggin cute was Bledel and Graham last night? Damn, those Gilmores are the best. Anyway, umm… Heathen smash?
-
GILMORE GIRLS SUCKS! They're both HAWT don't get me wrong, but for fucks sake it's a neverending Chick Flick. Heath, I love you man, but END THIS SHIT! Grey's Anatomy too. 9021Doctors that shit is. TURTLE SMASH!
-
That's good lovin' that is.
-
I just started last season and it may be chickity stuff, but it's chickity stuff written better than most of the shit that's on TV. I love Veronica Mars too btw. As for Grey's Anatomy? I've watched it so far, but after the season 3 premiere I thought to myself, "what the fuck am I watching?" And then I saw a thing on Best Week Ever that summed it up (I'll link to it later). So, sick of Grey's, but love me some Blue Eyes Bledel and Lauren Graham cracker. Mmmm…
-
Newsarama guys, stat!
-
I hope to score seasons 1 and 2 by xmas via the Amazon Santa. They don't even stock them here ...
-
i rented them on blockbuster online and i was just going to burn myself a copy but the box set is really nice and i think it would make a cool collectible so i think im going to end up just springing for it.but yeah amazon santa rules as does amazon birthday guy who will hopefully be visitng my old ass this sunday.....
-
use paragraph breaks now? <br> I know I've seen it on other tb's. <br> Just wondering/trying.
-
Hell yeah. <br> <br> Maybe in time for the next column too!
-
The All Weekers are about to strike with a vengeance!!! <br> <br> Is anyone else digging the Green Lantern Corps? I am. <br> <br> Rusty namaste.
-
You're reading GLC, Heath? Sweet.
-
t<BR>e<BR>s<BR>t
-
Paragraph breaks?! NO WAY!!! Happiest day ever? Probably not, but who gives a shit.
-
Listen, i don't have time for this, i'm cooking! In other news i may look stupid in a few minutes if this post doesn't have a paragraph break.
-
I have no idea how to use paragraph breaks, any help?
-
It's HTML code. Use < BR> without that space.
-
<i>test</i> <BR> <b>test</b> <BR> <cite>test</cite> <BR> <strong>test</strong> <BR> <a href="www.aintitcool.com">test</a> <BR>
-
Yeah you know me. I liked the Recharge mini, I felt it was overlooked, and the ongoing is just more of the same - which is awesome. Issue #3 was great. I love Natu and Vath and the character development being given to them. I love the ending for the Prince in that issue too. <br> <br> Vale, if I showed you how to paragraph break, then it woldn't show… know what I'm sayin? <br> <br> Delete the spaces: < br > <br> <br> There you are sir.
-
lat last last last last
-
Hmmmm <BR> Like this? <BR> <BR> No?
-
Take THAT technology!
-
Dear Sir/Madam, <br>I am writing to protest the Cog Registration Act. <br>No, REALLY. <br>Okay, let's see ...
-
I know this thread is dying, but ... has anyone thought about having an ezboard or yuku page dedicated to the cogs? You could call it 'Cog Mansion'. It'd be a bit of a pain registering, but it'd be a great way to check on everyone's updated pull list. Have mini-reviews of comics. <br> <br>Okay, I feel gay now ...
-
Some of my best friends are gay!
-
I was last.
-
that Dregmobile is, but can he keep up the heat? We ask our top analysts...
-
Heheh.
-
No, he can't.
-
What a great movie ...
-
people would stop nit picking "THE Batman" thing, isnt it enough to just say that you don't like the new cartoon and just leave it at that? If Batman Begins was called "The Batman Begins" we wouldn't say anything. Just say the new cartoon sucks...thats all. thanks.
-
I hope ...
-
Doesn't he know that we're engaging in a deadly LAST battle.
-
What a loser ...
-
So far, I've only been able to catch 1 rerun on the Sci-Fi channel.
Top Talkbacks
- Capone believes that FAST & FURIOUS 6 is the best in a bizarre, crowded franchise!!! -- 95 total posts 29 posts
- Beware Epileptics - we have a new motion poster for the upcoming remake of CARRIE! -- 82 total posts 22 posts
- Spoilery early review of MAN OF STEEL!! -- 436 total posts 18 posts
- The Friday Docback Revisits DOCTOR WHO Season 7!! A Fuller Review Of 'The Name of the Doctor,' And More!! -- 91 total posts 16 posts
- Jim Jarmusch's vampire flick ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE gets picked up for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics!! -- 28 total posts 14 posts
- Capone says the stunning 3-D visuals elevate the standard-issue plot of EPIC!!! -- 41 total posts 14 posts
- New trailer for Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara's upcoming western, AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS!! -- 54 total posts 13 posts
- Papa Vinyard thinks that HANGOVER: PART III was a paycheck grab for a buncha people who are already rich!! -- 213 total posts 13 posts
- Capone makes the case that THE HANGOVER PART III is neither a comedy nor a movie!!! -- 70 total posts 11 posts
- Harry dives into STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS' spoilers to reveal the truth behind the blockbuster we're seeing! -- 1481 total posts 10 posts

