Like a lot of people, I’m not that fond of the name, but since I don’t judge a book by its cover (Unless the cover says “Anybody Who Buys This Is A Pedophile And An Asshole”, then I would probably think twice about picking it up), I picked it up off the shelf.

It is an anthology, so it was up and down in terms of my likes and dislikes, but overall I liked it:

I liked the intro by Colleen Coover.

I didn’t like ‘Moritat’ by G. Willow Wilson/Ming Doyle/Cris Peter/Kathleen Marinaccio, but that’s because I don’t like comic book stories that heavily utilize musical performances. The artwork was very Paul Pope-ish, though.

I liked the Venus story by Trina Robbins/Stephanie Buscema/Kristyn Ferretti because I think stories about people from the past fitting into current times are usually funny.

I liked the spotlight on Flo Steinberg, who I remembered from What If #11, but had no idea who she really was.

I liked ‘A Brief Rendezvous’ by Valerie d’Orazio/Nikki Cook/Elizabeth Breitweiser/Kristyn Ferretti because it is always nice to see what The Punisher does with his off time.

I didn’t like the She-Hulk pin-up by Sana Takeda because her hand-foot was distracting and I think if a male artist had drawn this particular picture he would have been raked over the coals for it.

I liked ‘Shop Doc’ by Lucy Knisley, I thought it was cute.

I liked the spotlight on Marie Severin. She’s Marie Severin, who wouldn’t?

I skipped over ‘Clockwork Nightmare’ by Robin Furth/Agnes Garbowska/Kristyn Ferretti for the same reason I didn’t like ‘Moritat’, only instead of a musical performance, this seemed like it was poetry.

I liked ‘Head Space’ by Devin Grayson/Emma Rios/Barbara Ciardo/Kathleen Marinaccio. I have always thought she spent too much time exploring relationships between characters rather than the characters themselves and as a result, I haven’t been a big fan of her work. She does the same thing in this story, but it makes sense since it was a story about a relationship. Of course, she makes my favorite X-Man look like a little bitch, but then again, almost all writers make him look like a little bitch.

I know a lot of people will pass on this book because of the “high price tag” and I’m not sure what kind of business it will do in trade, but I don’t feel like I got ripped off and I’m looking forward to the other two issues in the miniseries.

Also, I love the cover by Amanda Conner and Laura Martin.

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Tags: agnes garbowska, amanda conner, barbara ciardo, colleen coover, cris peter, cyclops, devin grayson, elizabeth breitweiser, emma rios, flo steinberg, g. wilson wilson, kathleen marinaccio, kristyn ferretti, laura martin, lucy knisley, marie severin, ming doyle, nikki cook, paul pope, robin furth, sana takeda, she-hulk, stephanie buscema, the punisher, trina robbins, valerie d'orazio, venus

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We’re talkin’ Thunder God this week with thoughts on Thor #12 and #600. Pat has the new releases and Steve impresses us with the first part in his series on the DeFalco and Ryan Fantastic Four. Plus, not one, but two messsages from Chris Chavez, aka Equinox!

Titles mentioned this week include Thor and Captain Britain and MI:13.

Discuss this episode.
Discuss previous Marvel Noise episodes here.

Ric Seaberg, Smiley Emoticon (http://www.ricseaberg.com/)

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What Kind of Trouble Did I Get Into Today? (http://mikeysims.blogspot.com/)

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Marvel items shipping 2/25/09:

Avengers The Initiative #22 (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
Captain America Vol 5 #47 $2.99
Dark Avengers #1 2nd Ptg Mike Deodato Jr Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In) $3.99
Dark Reign Files $4.99
Dark Tower Treachery #6 Regular Jae Lee Cover $3.99
Dr Doom And The Masters Of Evil #2 $2.99
Enders Shadow Battle School #3 $3.99
Fantastic Four Vol 3 #554 Top Cow Marc Silverstri Variant Cover – [PI]
Fantastic Four Vol 3 #564 $2.99
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #5 $3.99
Hulk Vol 2 #10 Incentive Art Adams Variant Cover – [PI]
Hulk Vol 2 #10 Regular Left Side Defenders Cover $3.99
Hulk Vol 2 #10 Regular Right Side Offenders Cover $3.99
Incredible Hercules #126 $3.99
Kick-Ass #1 Umpteenth Ptg $2.99
Kick-Ass #2 Umpteenth Ptg $2.99
Kick-Ass #3 Umpteenth Ptg $2.99
Kick-Ass #4 Umpteenth Ptg $2.99
Lords Of Avalon Knight Of Darkness #4 $3.99
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #45 $2.99
Marvels Eye Of The Camera #4 Black & White Version $3.99
Marvels Eye Of The Camera #4 Regular Version $3.99
Marvel Illustrated Treasure Island TP $14.99
Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 2 HC Regular Dust Jacket $59.99
Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 2 HC Variant Dust Jacket $59.99
Marvel Masterworks Mighty Thor Vol 8 HC Regular Dust Jacket $54.99
Marvel Masterworks Mighty Thor Vol 8 HC Variant Dust Jacket $54.99
Mighty Avengers #22 (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
Ms Marvel Vol 2 #36 (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
New Avengers #50 Regular Billy Tan Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In) $4.99
New Avengers #50 Variant Kubert Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In) $4.99
Nova Vol 4 #22 $2.99
Runaways Vol 3 #7 $2.99
Scourge Of The Gods #2 $5.99
Secret Invasion Black Panther TP $12.99
Secret Invasion Runaways Young Avengers TP $12.99
She-Hulk 2 #38 $3.99
Skaar Son Of Hulk #8 Incentive Ron Lim Variant Cover – [PI]
Skaar Son Of Hulk #8 Regular David Yardin Cover $2.99
Skrulls vs Power Pack TP Digest $9.99
Thunderbolts #129 Incentive Clint Langley Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In) – [PI]
Thunderbolts #129 Regular Francesco Mattina Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
Ultimate Spider-Man #131 (Ultimatum Tie-In) $2.99
War Machine Vol 2 #3 (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
Wolverine First Class #12 $2.99
Wolverine Origins #33 (Dark Reign Tie-In) $2.99
Wonderful Wizard Of Oz #2 2nd Ptg Skottie Young Variant Cover $3.99
X-Force Vol 3 #12 $2.99
Ythaq Forsaken World #3 $5.99

Product Updates:

• Captain America #47 (DEC082361D, $2.99; FOC 01/29/09) will have art by Butch Guice, not Steve Epting.
• The previously unannounced cover artist for The Dark Tower: Treachery #6 Variant (DEC082331D, $3.99; FOC 02/05/09) will be Dennis Calero.
• Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil #2 (DEC082365D, $2.99; FOC 02/05/09) will have art by Jon Buran, in addition to the previously solicited Patrick Scherberger.
• Incredible Hercules #126 (DEC082374D, $3.99, FOC 02/05/09) will be rated T+, not A.
• Ms. Marvel #36 DKR (DEC082316D, $2.99; FOC 02/05/09) will have a new cover by Phil Jimenez that was previously solicited as the cover to Ms. Marvel #37 DKR (JAN092485D, $2.99; FOC 03/05/09), which will now have a new, previously unseen Phil Jimenez cover.
• Nova #22 (DEC082385D, $2.99; FOC 02/05/09) will have art by Andrea Di Vito, not Wellinton Alves.
• She-Hulk 2 #38 (DEC082390D, $3.99) will be 40 pages, not 48 pages. No content has been changed.
• Skaar, Son of Hulk #8 (DEC082391D, $2.99; FOC 02/05/09) & #9 (JAN092525D, $2.99; FOC 03/05/09) will have art by Ron Lim, not Jackson Guice.
• War Machine #3 DKR (DEC08 2318, $2.99) is now Rated T+, not A.
• Wolverine: First Class #12 (DEC082409D, $2.99; FOC 02/05/09) will have art by Scott Koblish, not Wil Quintana

Tags: fantastic four, j michael straczynski, laura martin, mark morales, new releases, olivier coipel, paul ryan, thor, tom defalco

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I review The Stand Captain Trips 1 of 5.  It may seem like I am going off on tangents, but trust me it all makes sense.

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Tags: captain trips, chris eliopoulos, laura martin, lee bermejo, mike perkins, review, roberto aguirre-sacasa, stephen king, the stand

At first I thought that this miniseries was going to be a set of new stories set in the universe of The Stand. I am a big fan of The Stand and I was really amped for this. I have read the paperback, the unabridged paperback, the TV miniseries, the TV miniseries on VHS and the TV miniseries on DVD. I read a Stephen King short story that showed what happened to a small group of friends when the Captain Trips outbreak first started being known. I wish I remembered what it was called. I thought that the miniseries was going to be like that short story, original stories expanding the universe.

I was wrong. This project seems to be an adaptation of abridged The Stand novel told over several miniserieses. This first mini is the first “book” of the novel called Captain Trips. It deals with introducing most of the cast of characters and how they all deal with the original breakout. The Captain Trips part of the story is my favorite. I have a fondness for stories about the disintegration of society and this is one of the best.

The writing is excellent, but then again the source material is one of my favorite stories, so I might be a little biased. The only thing that I remember reading from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was 4, a Fantastic Four series (Marvel Knights?) that also featured artwork by Steve McNiven.   I remember liking the dialogue and I think some of the promotional material said that he was a playwright.

The artwork on the faces was a little hinky in the prologue, but once the story got out of the Campion household, Mike Perkins seemed to settle into a nice groove. Although the image of Mrs Campion and the baby later in the issue also seemed a little off, so maybe he just doesn’t like to draw those characters.

Chris Eliopoulos does a great job with the lettering, but then again he usually does.  I really like the pages with Larry in the car in front of his mother’s house.

However, the star of the issue is Laura Martin. I have been paying closer attention to her color artwork and I can’t remember ever being disappointed. She continues her streak with this issue.

The cover by Lee Bermejo is beautiful and sinister at the same time.  I can’t wait to see the rest of the series.

The only thing that slightly pissed me off was the fact that the last few pages were from The Stand sketchbook that I got from my LCS a while back. Not a big deal because I don’t think that a lot of people picked it up, but then again, not a lot of people are crazy for The Stand like I am.

I am definitely picking up the rest of this miniseries. And probably the one after that. And the one after that. And the trade/hardcover. Yeah, I guess that makes me a sucker, but when the story is The Stand, I don’t mind being a sucker.

Since people like grades, I will give this issue 9 out of 10.

Tags: chris eliopoulos, fantastic four, laura martin, lee bermejo, mike perkins, roberto aguirre-sacasa, stephen king, steve mcniven, the stand