I will be posting some horror comics that I read during the week here. If you read any good ones feel free to share the information.

Roadkill Zoo #1 – Novaris Entertainment by Nicole Jones and Budi Setiawan – Fun horror in the swamplands of southern louisiana in the vein of Wrong Turn. Very fun.

The Savage Brothers #3- Boom Studio by Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes with art by Rafael Albuquerque. Two brothers making a living in an Apocalyptic future hunting zombies. Good stuff.

Steve Niles Pieces For Mom #1 by Steve Niles and Andrew Richie. Two brothers live in a zombie infested town. Very sick with a slight twist.

Also read Anita Blake 1-3 but it did not float my boat.

Friday the 13th #2 by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Adam Archer and Peter Guzman. Best horror title to come out of Wildstorm in my opionion. It has the look and feel of the original couple of movies before it became a comedy. Great stuff.

Texas Chainsaw Masacre #3 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning with art by Wesley Craig. In the vein of the movies that are coming out lately with a FBI squad of heroes. Also a fun read if you are into the movies.

Tag #2-3 by Keith Giffen and Kody Chamberlain. My favorite of the week and one of the most original zombie takes I have seen. It is about a disease that can turn you into a zombie if you are tagged. Once tagged you are free of the curse. Here is the catch you can only tag someone that has done you wrong in the past. This disease has rules. I loved it and look forward to the next Tag series. The only complaint I have about this book or any of the books from Boom studios is the irregular shipping schedule.

Thanks and please share any good horror titles that you are reading on this thread.

Mike M.

Ultimate X-men 42-74 and Annuals 1,2 – I am not a X-men fan but I really loved these books. Great stories by Bendis, Vaughn and Kirkman. I could not put them down. Some characters you love in the other universe you may not like in this universe. I liked the new takes and love where the book is going. 4 stars

Ultimate Fantastic Four 21 – 26 – Millar and Land. Loved the Marvel Zombies introduction, loved the Ultimate Namor and the introduction of Sue and Johnny’s mom. This is the Fantastic Four that makes me think “World’s Greatest Comic Magazine”. I have not felt this way about the Fantastic Four since the Byrne days. 4.5 stars

Flash, The Fastest Man Alive 1-5 – Danny Bilson, Paul Demeo and Lashley and Karl Kerschl. A lot of people complained about this when it came out so my expectations were low. Well I loved it and I have read about 100 issues of the first series with Barry Allen, all of the Flash Vol 2 and all of Impulse. I thought they did an excellent job of introducting new readers and I love where the story is going. There is supposed to be a big reveal in issue 6 so I am looking forward to that. 4 stars

Teen Titans 32 – 39 – Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel. Big ties into Infinite Crisis and 52. Must read for 52 fans especially later issues. See the new Doom Patrol and get introduced to many new characters. Loved this as well. 4 stars

Also finished up the James Robinson 1 year later issues of Detective and Batman. They were also excellent and tied into the last two issues of 52. Loved it. 4 stars

I can’t stop reading because everything to me has been really good lately.

Take Care,
Mike M.

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Battlestar Galactica #0 Dynamite Entertainment (.25) by Greg Pak and Nigel Rayndr. – This is a new comic based on the new television series. Cannot complain about a book for a quarter. I did not like the story all that much and the artwork was very hard to follow and in my opinion hurt the story. I will try issue number one but probably will drop after that. 2.5 Stars.

Chronicles of Wormwood Avatar by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows (.99) Very short story but was able to peek my interest to pick up more issues when this comes out. It is a story about the son of the devil living in today’s society with a talking rabbit. If you are a fan of Garth I would pick this book up. It is a mature reader’s title. 3.5 Stars

Jim Valentino’s Emissary #1 Image by Jason Rand and Juan Ferreyra A god like figure appears over a major metropolitan area. So far it is a story about how the people are reacting to the god like figure. Solid Story and art. 3.5 Stars

Orson Scott Card Wyrms #1 Dabel Brother by Orson Scott Card and Jake Black. The look and feel of the book reminds me of Crossgen. Story did not really make me go Wow but I hope it will down the road. Looks like Merridian with a Dune feel to it. I may stop getting this book if the next story does not capture my interest. My first Dabel Brother’s book and the quality of the book is nice. 2.5 stars.

Sentry Special #1 Innovation by Robert M. Ingersoll, Tony Isabella with art by Ted Naifeh. Hero’s Alliance Sentry (Batman) teams up with Victor (Superman) to take out the Sepulchre. Derek introduced me to Hero’s Alliance and this universe and it was a really good story. The art was kind of different but over all, I liked it. It reminded me of a World’s Finest story. 3.5 Stars.

Tag #1 Boom Studios by Keith Giffen and Kody Chamberlain Another Zombie book but I am a sucker for these books and movies. Tag is a very different take on Zombies. If a person is tagged with being a zombie he will have to tag someone else to get rid of the disease. 3.0 Stars

Total Eclipse Book One Eclipse by Marv Wolfman and Bo Hampton. Another comic company that Derek introduced me to. The Eclipse heroes Airboy, Strike, Valkyrie, Skywolf, Prowler (new and old), Sgt. Strike take on Zzed and Misery. This is four comics and a company cross over. Book was solid and interesting 3 Stars

UTF #1 Ape Entertainment by Scott Reynolds and Tone Rodriguez A paranormal swat team takes on the supernatural. In this issue a vampire outbreak occurs in a prison and the UTF have to rescue the day. 2.5 Stars

Zombie Highway #1 Digital Webbing by Jason Pell and Roberto Viacava. Of the Zombie and Vampire books I read this month so far this was my favorite. The creators of a comic get involved in a zombie adventure. I am giving this one 3.5 Stars because it hooked me more than the other books did. Just my humble opinion.

Marvel

Civil War #2 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven Good story and art and I enjoyed it. I was mad at Marvel for leaking the information about this book to the media so early before people read the book. If I was not such an continuity buff I would give this book high ratings but there is something that is so out of character for all of these characters that bothers me. I can’t believe after all these years of working together that the superheroes are turning on one another because of a stupid law. I just don’t believe it. The only way I would believe it is if some super-villain is pulling everyone’s string. Because this bothers me so much I am only going to give the book 2.5 Stars. If this kind of thing does not bother you I would give it 4 stars.

Civil War Frontline #1 by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs. Much better for me because I have always liked stories that are told through the eyes of everyday citizens. Told through the eyes of two reporters, this story was very interesting to me and much more enjoyable even though the whole concept of Civil War bothers me. It was like Marvels, the Pulse, Generation M. and Gotham Central and I am a sucker for all of these books. 4.5 Stars.

Daredevil vs. Punisher by David Lapham #1-5. Jackal is pulling strings from prison and a family that is caught in a crossfire that ends up in tragedy. Good story and solid art 3.5 Stars

Black Goliath #4-5 by Chris Claremont with art by R. Buckler and Don Heck. Issue #5 features art by Keith Pollard. These were the final two issues of Black Goliath and one issue he fought Stiltman and the other he was on some alien world. The stories did not flow well and the dialog was painful to me. These books were published in 1976 and I took that into account in the review but there was nothing in these stories that made me want to come back and I can see why it was cancelled due to sales. I have the first 3 issues but I don’t remember them. The covers looked pretty cool though. 2 Stars

DC

52 #5-8 by various. I am enjoying this series and love the characters that are involved. I am thinking that there is some kind of twist with Booster that is really going to shock everyone. It was good to see Adam Strange, Starfire and my favorite Animal Man. A lot of people are complaining about the back up stories for the History of the DC Universe but I think given the 4 pages Dan Jurgens is doing a great job. I do agree I would like to have something more like the companion that came after Crisis on Infinite Earths. 4 Stars.

American Virgin #2-4 by Steven T. Seagle and Becky Cloonan. Story about a virgin who has evangelists as parents and he is constantly preaching to not have sex until marriage. His girlfriend is working volunteer work in Africa when he is called and notified that she has been killed. His world changes completely and he heads to Africa. Great story and art and I am hooked. 4 Stars.

Aquaman Sword of Atlantis #42 by Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice. I really am not enjoying this series at all. If anyone can explain to me what Kurt is trying to accomplish with this book please send me an email because I am not getting it. I am seriously thinking of not getting it anymore. 2 Stars

Blue Beetle #3 by Keith Giffen and John Rodgers with art by Cynthia Martin. This is the opposite of Aquaman for me because I am liking it more and more with each issue. Jaime confronts his family about him being the Beetle. 3.5 Stars

Brave New World Special by various. Freedom Fighters 4 Stars. Shazam 4 Stars, OMAC 3.5 Stars, Martian Manhunter 3.0 Stars, Atom 2.5 Stars and finally Creeper 2 Stars. I have really liked Creeper in the past and am just not liking this revamp.

Checkmate #2-#3 by Greg Rucka and Jesus Saiz(2) Cliff Richards(3). The stories are good as well as the artwork. The only complaint I have is the chemistry of the Checkmate team. I really don’t see Fire, Green Lantern and Mr. Terrific participating in an organization like this. I hope 52 clarifies this but they don’t work well in a team of this nature. 3 Stars

Damage #0-3 by Tom Joyner and Bill Marimon. I bought the entire run off of eBay and I am enjoying this series. The 1st issue was really good and I wish they did not feel they had to rush the story so much. I believe he is going to be on the new JSA series so I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 3 Stars

Here is another set of my Weekly Reviews. Not much of a variety this week because I decided to catch up on Daredevil and I was glad I did. If you noticed in my reviews I try and not give anything away in case people want to read them. If a book is older then 5 years or so I might have some spoilers. There are some podcasts that I would love to listen to but they give to much of the story away. I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

52#2 by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid with art by Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose (inks), J.G. Jones (cover) Another great issue. I love the selection of characters they are using. In this issue they focused on the Question, Rene Montoya, Elongated Man, Booster Gold, Doctor Magnus (Metal Men), and T. O. Morrow. It also featured Part 1 of the History of the DCU by Dan Jurgans and Art Thibert. Great issue again. 4 Stars.

Godland from Image Comiscs by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli #7-9. The are and coloring of these books take me back to Jack Kirby. I love the artwork and the colors just jump of the page. I have never noticed coloring that much until I started listening to podcasts but the coloring is awesome in this book. I think it is by ComicCraft. The story is very good as well and features the return of my favorite villain Basil Cronus. 4 Stars.

Horrorwood by APE Entertainment by Brandon Terrell and Brent Schoonover. A mystery suspense story that takes place in Hollywood. The art and colors on this book are fantastic and the initial story introduces some of the characters that will be featured in the book. 3.5 Stars.

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev #49-50 Finished up the hardcore storyline. Story is centered around Milla (Daredevil’s Girlfriend), Bullseye and the Kingpin. Issue 50 is key to the rest of the Bendis run and a must read. It also features art from guest artists. My favorite spread was the Gene Colan. When I think of Daredevil I think of Gene’s art. 4 Stars.

Daredevil by David Mack #51-55. These stories center around Echo and they are must reads if you are a fan of Echo. 4 Stars.

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev #56-60 The King of Hell’s Kitchen. This book takes place a year after the key issue #50. Several guest appearances and I really would like to give some storyline away but it is too good to ruin it for anybody. 4 stars.

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev #61-64 The Widow. Title is self explanatory and stars the Black Widow. Nuff Said. 4 Stars.

Daredevil #65 by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Michael Golden, Greg Horn, P. Craig Russell, Phil Hester, Ande Parks, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Jae Lee, David Finch, Frank Quitley, Alex Maleev, Greg Land (cover), Matt Ryan (cover). A 40th anniversary special and is kind of a recap issue of what has happened in the world of Daredevil. 4 Stars

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev #66-70 Golden Age. Fantastic Storyline and the way colors and inking are used to show time periods is awesome. 4.5 Stars.

Daredevil by Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev Decalogue #71-75. A Daredevil support group describes how Daredevil has impacted their lives. 4 Stars

Daredevil by Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev The Murdock Papers. The story leading up to Daredevil going to prison. Guest stars just about everyone. #76-81. Fantastic. 4.5 Stars.

Daredevil by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. The Devil in Cell-Block D #82-85. Daredevil in prison and death of a major Daredevil supporting character. Great creative team. They worked together on Gotham Central. This was fantastic and I could not put the book down. 4.5 Stars.

As you can see from my ratings, I loved Daredevil and was so glad to take the time over the extended weekend to catch up on this great book. The transition to creative teams was one of the best in comics history. This has made me want to complete by Vol. 1 Daredevil run in which I need about 30 more plus issues. Take Care and until next time.

The Drive-In by John Lansdale and Christopher Golden TPB by Avatar. The description given in ComicBase is the following: Joe R. Lansdale’s The Drive-In is a comic-book adaptation of the author’s 158-page novel The Drive-In, which was published in 1988 and is now out of print. The first installment includes the novel’s prologue in its entirety, and most of the text throughout the issue is lifted straight from the book. Speaking of story, The Drive-In is a cracking good yarn with a twisted affinity for popcorn movies, drive-in theaters, beer-drinking buddies, and warm East Texas evenings. Most of all, it’s a fun and harrowing horror romp that gets weirder, grosser, and more perverse, as events progress. This is a story about a group of friends that go to the Drive-In and a comet hits and a strange dome covers the drive-in and there is no escape. It is a fairly interesting and one of the grossest books I have read. I give this book 3.0 Stars. The Drive-In 2 comic has just hit stores recently in case anyone is interested.

Fantastic Four by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike McKone issues 531-537.
These issues finished out the FF story and explained the cosmic rays a little. Several issues had the Thing and Torch battling the Hulk right before Planet Hulk takes place. The last few issues involve Civil War and Thor’s hammer. This issues were just OK in my opinion and I have read better FF in my opinion. I was glad to see the return of Thor’s hammer to the Marvel Universe. The entire set I will give 3 Stars.

Blue Beetle #2 by Keith Giffen, John Rogers with art by Cully Hamner. What can I say, I still miss Ted Kord. I have not gotten into the new character yet but will stick around for the first 6 issues or so to see where this book is going. 2.5 Stars

Hawkgirl #51 by Walt Simonson with art by Howard Chaykin. I was a big fan of the Johns run as well as the Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray run. So far this does not compare to the runs but Chaykin’s art is finally growing on me. I look forward to this book as I have faith in the current creative team and the where is Hawkman mystery. 3 Stars.

52 #1 by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid with art by Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose (inks), J.G. Jones (cover). Featured many DC characters but focused on Renee Montoya (Batman supporting character and star of Gotham Central), Booster Gold, Steel, Black Adam, and a few others. Renee is by far my favorite as I love the characters from Gotham Central. Great start. 4 Stars.

Civil War by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven #1. Loved the opening to the Civil War and I am looking forward to see who will side with who. I am also interested to see how this will effect the super-villains. Starred Bryan Deemer from CGS, what more can you ask for. 4 Stars.

Borrowed Time by Neal Shaffer and Joe Infurnari from IDW. A reporter takes a trip thru the Bermuda Triangle to find out he is lost in time. Art and story are very interesting and I look forward to reading the next issue to see how this mystery pans out. 3.5 Stars

Not much this week because I was on a short vacation.

Hack Slash First Cut by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli Devil’s Due
Publishing:
I had heard about this book from Bryan Deemer from CGS and I am really loving it. A serial killer that hunts serial killers. This trade had three stories in it from previously published comics. The first story gives you the origin of Cassie Hack. Here is the description: “Meet Cassie Hack , the lone survivor of an attack by the vicious slasher known as The Lunch Lady. Now Cassie and her monstrous partner Vlad travel the country, hunting down and killing other slashers before they can leave a trail of blood and terror. This collection includes stories ENTHANIZED, GIRLS GONE DEAD, and COMIC BOOK CARNAGE.” The last story features some comic book creators in the story such as Steve Niles, Skottie Young and Robert Kirkman. I give this book 4 Stars.

The Battle For Bludhaven #2 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Dan Jurgens
DC Comics:
There are a lot of characters in this book I want to know more about. It has a Crisis feel because there are a lot of new characters and old ones reintroduced. See the new Atomic Knights, Father Time, Firebrand and Monolith to name a few. This was also another great read for me this week. I give this book 4 Stars.

Aquaman Sword of Atlantis #41 by Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice:
The One Year Later story continues and I am seriously thinking of dropping this book. I really am not into any of these characters. I don’t know who this Aquaman is, but he is not the Aquaman that I know. The mystery does not keep me interested. Sorry Derek, I know you are liking it. I give this book 1.5 Stars.

Villians United Infinite Crisis Special #1 by Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham
DC Comics:
A must read before Infinite Crisis number 7. I read Infinite Crisis 7 first and really wish I would have read this first. I have always been a fan of villain books like Suicide Squad, Deadshot, and Thunderbolts and this one knocked the ball out of the park for me. I saw heroes and villains I had not seen in a while. It also cleared up some of the panels that I saw in the Infinite Crisis Book. I give this book 4.5 stars.

Young Heroes In Love #3 and #17 by Dan Raspler and Dev Madan DC Comics
published in 1997.
I had read the original series and enjoyed it back when it came out and these were just issues that I had missed. It is an unusual series about relationships about members of the Young Heroes squad. The Squad consists of Monster Girl, Bonfire, Frostbite, Off-Ramp, Hard Drive, Thunderhead, Zip Girl and Junior. Issue number three guest stars the blue Superman and was a fairly good story. Issue 17 tried to provide the origin of Monster Girl and close out all of the story lines because I believe it was the last issue. #3 3 Stars #17 2 Stars.

Savage Dragon #121 – 125 by Erik Larson Image Comics.
I have been away from this book for about 20 issues and decided for some reason to come back. Erik
as of 125 is doing story, art, lettering and coloring. This is just a fun book and I will leave it at that. Erik sucessfully maintains one story with a fly talking to an unresponsive Savage Dragon and it is hilarious. A lot of political rants as well in these books. I am back on the Savage Dragon bandwagon. 3.5 Stars.

The History of Violence (Movie) – This was mentioned in one of the Deliberate Noise podcasts and I really enjoyed it. 3.5 Stars.

Take Care

Mike M.

Annihilation Silver Surfer #1-2 by Keith Giffen and Renato Arlem. I am not a big Marvel Cosmic fan but I must say I really enjoyed these issues. Back in the Byrne days of Fantastic Four I really enjoyed the Galactus storylines and the concept of being a herald of Galactus. These books center around the heralds and they are being attacked by Annihilus’s Seekers. I am enjoying this read and it is probably my second favorite of the Annilhilation series. 3.5 Stars

ZoomSuit #1 by John Taddeo with pencils by Billy Dallas Patton. This is about a teenager that discovers an alien space suit that grants him powers. It was an ok story and I did enjoy the art. I will stick around to see where this book is headed. 3 Stars

Werewolves: Call of the Wild #1 from MoonStone publishing by Mike Oliveri and Joe Bucco. A man searches to find out what happened to his brother and his girlfriend. Great Artwork and great Story. This was an indi challenge book from CGS and I really enjoyed it. 3.5 Stars.

Annihilation Ronan #1 by Simon Furman and Jorge Lucas. I did not know much about Ronan but this was my least favorite book of the series. The art really bothered me. 2.5 Stars.

Bite Club Vampire Crime Unit #1 by Howard Chaykin and David Tischam. I am a fan of Vampires and this was a different take on them. I did not read the first series but I think I am going to after reading this issue. 3.5 stars.

Sea of Red Trade Paperback by Rick Remender. I cant remember the artist but I believe he was the artist from Walking Dead. Vampires and Pirates what more can you ask for. I am going to buy everything that Rick comes up with I have not been disappointed yet. 3.5 Stars.

Ion #1 by Ron Marz and Tocchini. I am a fan of Kyle so I had to pick up this book and I was not disappointed. The art was fantastic and I enjoyed seeing Kyle back on earth. 3.5 Stars.

Man-Bat #1 by Bruce Jones and Mike Huddleston. Is Kirk Langstrom losing control? Stars Hush. I am getting sick of Hush finally. 3 Stars

Infinite Crisis #7 by Johns, Jimenez, Perez, Lanning, Ordway and Bennett. The conclusion was great but was not my favorite issue in the series. 4 Stars.

Detective Comics 813- 816. The first two issues were by Lapham and Bachs and finished the City of Crime storyline. This was the most confusing storyline and I did not enjoy it. I think the story at times had so much potential but it never reached it. 2 Stars. The next two issues were by Mccarthy and Chiang and had Zsasz. This is the guy who is a serial killer and marks up his arms. Not my favorite Zsasz story but it was ok. The art was pretty cool. 3. Stars

Here are my weekly reads. I promised more Marvel and that is the majority of stuff I read this month.

1) Supreme Power 1-18 by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank. Loved this book. A great take on the original Squadron Supreme book by Mark Gruenwald. I follows the story of Hyperion (Superman), Nighthawk (Batman), Zarda (Wonder Woman), Kingsley (Aquaman), Doctor Spectrum (Green Lantern), and Blur (Flash). You will find the origins to these characters are tied together by Hyperion and Nighthawks are almost identical to their corresponding DC characters. I read the entire series in one weekend and it seemed like one seamless read. This is a Max title so is not for children. I have always been a fan of this creative team since they introduced Midnight Nation. Other characters are also introduced such as Arcanna (Zatanna), Emil Burbank (????), Nuke (Firestorm?), Shape (Don’t know this one, he is kinda like the Blob, if I had to guess Elongated Man), Tom Thumb (Atom), Black Archer (Green Arrow), Skylark (Black Canary), and Blue Eagle (Hawkman). Most of these other characters that are not the main characters are introduced in Supreme Power: Hyperion. 4 Stars

2) Supreme Power: Hyperion 1-5 by J. Michael Straczynski and Dan Jurgans. Continues from Supreme Power and involves an possible alternative time line story. Introduce a lot of the B list characters mentioned above. Another fanastic story and a must read if you are into the first series. 4 Stars

3) Supreme Power: Nighthawk 1-6 by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. My favorite of the series because I love the Nighthawk vs Whiteface (Joker) storyline. Of the series the most violent and gory. Steve Dillion does a fantastic job with the arwork and if you liked him in punisher you will love it here. I believe this story is ironically called The Last Laugh. This is definitely a more violent version of Batman and the Joker. 5 Stars

4) Squadron Supreme Saga. If you missed the first 18 issues for Supreme Power just pick up this book and it will summerize it for you. 3.5 Stars

5) Squadron Supreme #1 by Straczynski and Frank and it is no longer a Max title. Great Story and I am looking forward to this ongoing series. 4 Stars

6) Son of M 1-5 by David Hine and Roy Allan Martinez. A Decimation title that continues from House of M and involves the Inhumans. Great story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the final arc. I don’t want to give anything away here but I recommend this series. To be honest I am a hardcore DC fan by have enjoyed all of the Decimation titles I have read so far. They are very character driven. This story deals with how Quicksliver has to deal with his loss of powers. 3.5 Stars.

7) Annihilation Silver Surfer, Nova and Super-Skrull (various creative teams) #1s. Not a big cosmic Marvel fan but I am enjoying these series and I am real curious to see where this leads to. Of them all I enjoyed them pretty much equally but Nova was my favorite so far. 3 Stars

8 ) Moon Knight #1 by Charlie Huston and David Finch. I really enjoyed it but was a little confused about the second part of the story. If you can explain to me the second part I would appreciate it. This is definitely because of my lack of knowledge of the character. Artwork is beautiful. 3.5 stars

9) Ms. Marvel #1-2 by Brian Reed and Roberto De La Torre. Carol vs. the Brood. So far the series has peeked my interest and I love the character. I have all of the original Ms. Marvel series and liked her appearances when she was a member of the Avengers. 3 Stars

10) Wonder Woman #224-226 by Greg Rucka and Cliff Richards. To date my favorite Wonder Woman writer. This ties into Infinite Crisis and the last issue went out with a bang. It focuses on the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. I am really disappointed that they made 226 the last issue but I have the entire run. I have really become a Rucka fan and I am going to follow his work onto Checkmate (Another title where I have all of the issues). 5 stars

11) Justice League America #108 from 1996 by Gerard Jones and Chuck Wojtkiewicz. I needed this book to complete my run. Recently I was going through my database and determining which issues I needed to complete certain runs. This was one of them but I thought this was a really bad story. Stars Equinox (Power Girl’s son?), Power Girl, Crimson Fox, Nuke, Blue Devil, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Obsidian vs Scarabus. A hard book to read out of context and I will only give this book 2 Stars.

12) Hawkgirl #50 by Walter Simonson and Howard Chaykin. I love the creative team but to be honest I liked the Justin Gray and Palmiotti run much better. I will keep getting this book because I love the character but I hope I get into the story arc more with the next issue. Chaykin is a great artist but his artwork bothers me sometimes because everyone looks like American Flagg. 3 Stars

13) Strange Girl #6-7 by Rick Remender and Nguyen (6) and Harper Jaten(7). I believe 6 was Nguyen’s last issue. I sorry to hear this because his artwork was really growing on me. The Strange Girl story continues in 6 but 7 is an issue of how Strange Girl Beth met Boato. I am really glad Fanboy Radio Podcast turned me onto this book because it is so different and fun to read. 4 Stars

14) The Battle for Bludhaven #1 by Gray and Palmiotti and art by Dan Jurgans. The title pretty much gives what the story is about. It is great to see the new Force of July, Monolith (loved his series), Firebrand, Nuclear Legion, and the new Atomic Knights. This book introduced a lot of characters that a good majority of people might not be aware of. I liked this book has an Escape from New York feel to it. 3.5 Stars.

That is it take care,

Mike M.

Derek,

Here are my weekly reads for this week. There are no Marvels this week so next week I will try and include some Marvels.

DC

1. American Virgin #1 (Vertigo (Mature Audience)) – By Steven T. Seagle with art by Becky Cloonan. A story about a college student that has a girlfriend that is working for the Red Cross in another country. He has televangelist parents and is saving himself for marriage and preaches this to teens across the country. Great story and has a shocking ending and I am curious to see what happens in the next issue. 3.5 Stars

2. Aquaman #0 by Peter David and Martin Egeland. I missed this issue from the last series and wanted to pick it up because it takes place after Aquaman loses his hand. Stars Aqualad and Dolphin. I liked how Dolphin was portrayed in this issue. It was an ok story for me. 2.5 Stars

3. Batman: Gotham Knights #68-74 – Story by A.J. Lieberman with art by Al Barrionuevo and Diego Olmos. I enjoyed this series which centered around Hush and had a new Clayface and well as some of the old Clayfaces. It also had a interesting stand alone issue in #72 in which Bruce discovered some letters from his parents that indicated that his father might have had an affair. The last two issue were Hush vs. the Joker. I enjoyed this run but the last issue was forced and left the ending unfinished. Overall I will give this run 3.5 stars.

4. Booster Gold #22 – Story and art by Dan Jurgens. This was the only issue of the series that I was missing. It stars the Justice League (Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, Guy Gardner, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle and Black Canary) and has Booster deciding whether to save the Earth or his twin sister. Also features the death of a character that is a supporting cast member in this book. Overall 3 Stars

5. Green Arrow #58 – #60 Story by J. Calafiore (58) and Judd Winick with art by Paul Lee (58-59) and 60 with art by Scott McDaniel. Good ending to series before one year later. Number 60 is one year later. I don’t care for the new direction of the book but will stick around. Villians are Dr. Light and Merlyn Overall 3 stars.

6. Infinite Crisis #6 – Story by Geoff Johns with art by Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway, George Perez and Ivan Reis. No spoilers here but another solid issue. Enjoyed the ending and some of the snapshots from the various Earths. 4 stars.

7. Omac Project Infinite Crisis Special #1 by Greg Rucka and Jesus Saiz.
Must read if you want to know what happens to the OMAC satellite and how the Checkmate series is going to kick off. 3.5 stars

8. Red Sonja/Claw (Wildstorm/Dynamite) #1 – My first introduction to Claw and I am really enjoying the Red Sonja series. Story by John Layman with art by Andy Smith. 3 stars

9. Suicide Squad vol 2. #10 by Keith Giffen with art by Paco Medina and John Sererin. Great Sgt Rock and Bulldozer tale with Rip Hunter. I needed this to complete my Suicide Squad runs and was glad I picked it up. 3.5 stars

Top Shelf Productions

10. Every Girl is the End of the World for Me by Jeffrey Brown. This is not in standard comic format and I picked it up out of curiosity of the publishers. It is about the author and his relationships with women in his life for short period in his life. Interesting but did not get me interested in picking anything else from the author. 2.5 stars.

IDW

11. GrimJack Killer Instinct by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman. Great creative team and a good story. It reminded me of the Hawkworld mini series which I loved. I will give this 3 stars.

Image

12. Fear Agent #3 by Rick Remender and Tony Moore. This is just pure sci-fi fun and I am really digging this. 3.5 stars

13. The Gift Trade Paperback by Raven Gregory Tyler Kirkham. A story about the Ancient One who provides a gift to people who are suffering. I believe the TPB was the first 5 issues or so. I liked the art but the stories were just ok for me. The stories seemed really dark and all seemed to have the same flavor to each story. Each story is a stand alone read but it seemed like I was reading the same thing over and over again. I did not like it, nor will I try and look for the second trade. 2 stars

14. Godland TPB One by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli. I love it. I am a fan of Jack Kirby and this had a flavor like the New Gods, Forever People, Eternals and 2001 Space Odyssey. I am going to start collecting this series. I think if you are a fan of the above books you will love this but if you don’t like them stay away from this book. 4 stars.

Avatar
15. Escape of the Living Dead #4 by John Russo with art by Dheeraj Verma. Good B-film zombie fun. 3 stars

16. Scars tpb by Warren Ellis and Jacen Burrows (Mature Audience). A dark story about a detective who has to become a monster in order to catch a monster. Warning: This book has some graphic violence and I almost stopped reading after the first two chapters but as the story went on I became hooked. Each story opens up with prose from the author or another writer and must be read to understand the direction of the story. I thought this was fantastic and was based on Warren Ellis’s greatest fear of his daughter dying. 5 stars

Boom Studios

17. 10 by Keith Giffen and Andy Kuhn (Mature Audience). A dark story about a game that contestants must compete in or they will die. Great shocking ending and I recommend it 4 stars.

That’s it next week I hope to get some Marvels in as I did not have any in this letter.

Take Care,

Mike M.