Comic reviews for the week of 12/21/11

Hot pick of the Week: Wolverine and the X-Men #3 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Jason Aaron Writer/Chris Bachalo Pencils/Tim Townsend Inks
 
   Three issues in and it has only graced the top spot in two of those three months. It is not easy to do that in any review column in and genre. The last time an X-title of this caliber came out it was the 90's and that book was called Generation-X. Matter of a fact, one of this books creative team was a part of that launch, Chris Bachalo. Add Jason Aaron's gift for comic gab and you have a stallion coming out the gate. Can not wait to see the direction this book goes in, it a true winner.

Also Hot:

Red Hood and the Outlaws #4 (D.C. Comics) Scott Lobdell Writer/Kenneth Rocafort Art **Runner-Up**

Batman #4 (D.C. Comics) Scott Snyder Writer/Greg Capullo Pencils/Jonathan Glapion Inks

The Amazing Spider-Man #676 (Marvel Comics) Dan Slott Writer/Humberto Ramos Pencils

Generation Hope #14 (Marvel Comics) James Asmus Writer/Ibraim Roberson Art

The Incredible Hulk #3 (Marvel Comics) Jason (I write every Marvel title) Aaron Writer/Marc Silvestri Art

The Invincible Iron-Man #511 Shattered Heroes (Marvel Comics) Matt Fraction Writer/Salvador Larroca Art

Wolverine #20 (Marvel Comics) Jason (Him again) Aaron Writer/Renato Guedes Pencils/Jose Wilson Magalhaes Inks

X-23 #19 (Marvel Comics) Majorie Liu Writer/Sana Takeda Art *This book could be out of the pages of Heavy Metal magazine*

Cobra #8 Cobra Civil War (IDW Publishing) Mike Costa Writer/Antonio Fuso & Werther Dell'Edera Art

Honorable Mention:

Green Lantern Corps #4 (D.C. Comics) Peter J. Tomasi Writer/Fernando Pasarin Pencils/Scott Hanna Inks

Justice League #4 (D.C. Comics) Geoff Johns Writer/Jim Lee Pencils/Scott Williams Inks *When you are these three creators you must be on point every issue, not so this go round*

Legion of Super-Heroes #4 (D.C. Comics) Paul Levitz Writer/Francis Portela Art

New Mutants #35 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Writers/David Lopez Pencils

X-Factor #229 (Marvel Comics) Peter David Writer/Emanuela Lupacchino Pencils

Uncanny X-Force #19 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Rick Remender Writer/Robbi Rodriguez Art

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #173 (IDW Publishing) Larry Hama Writer/Ron Wagner, Wil Rosado & S.L. Gallant Pencils

Lady Mechanika #3 (Aspen MLT) Joe Benitez Writer & Art/Peter Steigerwald Color

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 (IDW Publishing) Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz Writers/Dan Duncan & Mateus Santolouco Art

The Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime !-Shot (IDW Publishing) James Roberts & John Barber Writers/Nick Roche Art*It is not what you think...Not at all*

Not so Hot:

Star Wars Knight Errant: Deluge #5 of 5 (Dark Horse Comics) John Jackson Miller Writer/David Daza Pencils
*Not Dark Horse's best SW material*

Dungeons & Dragons: Never Winter Tales-The Legend of Drizzt #4 (IDW Publishing) R.A. & Geno Salvatore Writers/Augustin Padilla* this is on my cut list, just did not stand up to the other D&D material IDW has released*

Trailer: Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Already we have Avengers and G.I. Joe Retaliation on tap for summer block busters...It's going to be a good summer.

G.I. Joe Wave 4 30th Anniverary Collection

Wave 4 of this prized collection is by far the best, I say that even with more Renegade figures in this wave. Even though the Airtight & Law & Order figures are based on the Renegades incarnation of G.I. Joe they still fall under older developed characters that are main stay favorites even today.  Then there is the two top dogs of wave 4 with Lifeline & Sci-Fi and may I say Hasbro out did them selves with these classic mainstays. The only weak link in this wave is the Zombie-Viper, even though it is a beautifully sculpted figure it is not one of my favorites. All in all this Wave is by far my number one till Hasbro and G.I. Joe puts another wave out that is this hot.

Wave 4 Ranking: 5 of 5

Comic reviews for the week of 12/14/11

Hot Pick of the Week: Star Wars Agent of the Empire: Iron Eclipse #1 of 5 (Dark Horse Comics) John Ostrander Writer/Stephane Roux Pencils


    As always John Ostrander delivers with some of the best Star Wars material to date, stop this guy. No really try to stop this man from putting some of the greatest Star Wars stories no matter what era of the iconic story can be displayed. That goes doubly for this new series, the art by Roux and inks by Hugonnard-Bert compliments Ostrander's word to the letter. Last time I was this excited about a Star Wars project like this was Star Wars: Legacy which is also a brain child of John's. It would also be nice to see what Jan Durrsema have to cook up next in this luscious universe. After I read this issue I went on CBR and see they have a review that gives this issue a 5 out of 5. Nice...This is the must have SW book!!!
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=4252

Gifter #4 (D.C. Comics) Nathan Edmondson Writer/Scott Clark Pencils/Dave Beaty Inks

My Greatest Adventure #3 of 5 (D.C. Comics) Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan, Mat Kindt, Scott Kolins & Kevin Mcguire Creative Team/Rick Leonardi Cover

Avengers: Xsanction #1 of 4 (Marvel Comics) Jeph Loeb Writer/Ed McGuinness Pencils/Dexter Vines Inks**Return of Cable, this was as good as I expected**

S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 (Marvel Comics) Jonathan Hickman Writer/Dustin Weaver Art

Wolverine: The Best There Is #12 (Marvel Comics) Charlie Huston Writer/Juan Jose Ryp Art **This would be a perfect coffee table book, Wolverine at his best literally**

Witchblade #150 (Top-Cow/Image Comics) Ron Marz Writer/Stjepan Sejic Art **This was a milestone alone in a book having such great creative teams and staying at top of the game. Here's to another 150...Cheers**

Honorable Mention:

Demon Knights #4 (D.C. Comics) Paul Cornell Writer/Michael Choi & Diogenes Neves Art

Green Lantern #4 (D.C. Comics) Geoff Johns Writer/Doug Mahnke Pencils

Legion Lost #4 (D.C. Comics) Fabian Nicieza Writer/Pete Woods Art

Iron Man 2.0 #11 (Marvel Comics) Nick Spencer & Will Pfeifer Writers/Ariel Olivetti, Micro Pierfederici, Neil Edwards & Jesus Aburtov Art

Snake-Eyes #8 Cobra Civil War (IDW Publishing) Chuck Dixon Writer/Casey Maloney Art

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #3 (IDW Publishing) Chris Roberson Writer/Jeffrey Moy & Philip Moy Art

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 (IDW Publishing) Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz Writers/Kevin Eastman & Dan Duncan Art

Not So Hot:

Starting this week I am cutting books cause I have to get on a smaller budget and need more time to commit to my own art...Who gets the ax this week?

Journey Into Mystery #632 (Marvel Comics) Kieron Gillen Writer/Mitch Breitweiser Art **I thought this idea of a Loki book was pretty awesome, after a half a year it just wore me down and was so lifeless that this title gets the cut this week***

Uncanny X-Force #18 (Marvel Comics) Rick Remender Writer/Jerome Opena & Esad Ribic Art **I love this creative team and this book and it is safe for another month and probably a longer while then most. I have a soft spot for X-Force being that I was around from its inception and Rob Liefeld. Just did not like the ending to this epic storyline. Rick Remender is almost always on the mark. Everyone has off days, I still love Remender's work , the ending was just not my cup of tea.

G.I. Joe Retaliation Trailer

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Exclusive Trailer. Enjoy, this is what a G.I. Joe movie should look like!!!

Art: The Dark Knight!!!

 

By Joseph Hottendorf Jr. A.K.A. Hock 11/2011

PsychoRelik Studios 2011

Batman is the property of D.C. Comics & Warner Bros.

Comic reviews for the week of 12/7/11

Hot pick of the week: Avenging Spider-Man #2 (Marvel Comics) Zeb Wells Writer/Joe Madureira Art


    Life is good when you are a fan of comic books and you get the Legendary Joe Madureira (Battle Chasers/Uncanny X-Men) back in the game. He has sure been missed and he has come back to the business with a vengeance after being out of the monthly title grind for a very long time, too long if you ask me. Zeb Wells has delivered with some very intriguing dialogue for our favorite webslinger and supporting cast. Each issue keeps me guessing and waiting for next month for the answers. This is one hell of a fun comic book to read for collector to any one that just may browse to a left out copy. Get a webbed copy in your hands!

Also hot:

The Amazing Spider Man #675 (Marvel Comics) Dan Slott Writer/Giuseppe Camuncoli Pencils

X-23 #18 (Marvel Comics) Marjorie Liu Writer/Sana Takeda Art ** Runner-Up Art and story are just off the meter, I see these two creators going a long way. A hidden Gem**

X-Factor #228 (Marvel Comics) Peter David Writer/Leonard Kirk Art

X-Men #22 (Marvel Comics) Victor Gischler Writer/Will Conrad & Steve Kurth Pencils

Spawn #214 (Image Comics) Will Carlton Writer/Szymon Kudranski Art

G.I. Joe #8 Cobra Civil War (IDW Publishing) Chuck Dixon Writer/Wil Rosado Art

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro Series #1 Raphael (IDW Publishing) Brian Lynch Writer/Franco Urru Art

The Transformers #31 (IDW Publishing) Mike Costa Writer/Casey Coller Art


Honorable Mention:

*First time in 4 months that D.C. has not had a hot book*

Batman: Detective Comics #4 (D.C. Comics) Tony S. Daniel Writer & Pencils/Sandu Florea Inks

Hawk & Dove #4 (D.C. Comics) Sterling Gates Writer/Rob Liefeld Art **Just missed hot this week, Story is getting solid now**

Red Lanterns #4 (D.C. Comics) Peter Milligan Writer/Ed Benes & Diego Bernard Pencils/Rob Hunter Inks

Storm Watch #4 (D.C. Comics) Paul Cornell Writer/Miguel Sepulveda Art

Venom #10 (Marvel Comics) Rick Remender Writer/Lan Medina Pencils

Not so Hot:

Voltron #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) Brandon Thomas Writer/Ariel Padilla Pencils/Alex Ross & Sean Chen Covers
*Hope this gets better being a big Voltron fan, the story was a little confusing and I hope that was supposed to be that way and will be cleared up in the next issue. The story felt like it was altered from the classic Voltron mythos*

Blood Red Dragon #2 (Image Comics) Jon Goff Writer/Carlos Soriano & Crime Lab Syndicate Art
*I was not to happy with issue #0 and still picked up issue #1 and was impressed and enjoyed it. Not so for the second issue of this Stan Lee and Yoshiko's creation, hopefully better next go round*

G.I. Joe Wave 3 30th Anniversary Collection

Wave 3 is another G.I. Joe Renegades wave with the exception of a re-sculpted re-issue of the Techno Viper. All in all it is a nice wave and some of the Renegade figures have been bulked up with more accessories unlike wave 2. Wave 4 is supposed to be more well rounded with some Renegade and some classic figures for this lovely 30th anniversary line. My favorites from this wave is the nostalgic Techno Viper and the Renegade version of Scarlett.

Wave 3 Ranking: 4 of 5

G.I. Joe Wave 2 30th Anniversary Collection

     Wave 2 of the 30th Anniversary Collection is a smaller release than wave 1 with only 4 figures in total. These figures are all new sculpts and follow the cancelled G.I. Joe Renegades HUB network of the same name. Here is where I have a gripe, I think these figures should not of been released under the 30th Anniversary line, they should of been released under there own banner and not this line. Do not get me wrong, Wave 2 has nice sculpted figures never released before and that is always good to breath in new life to your toy line. Biggest problem with this wave is that there are like no accessories like in the Pursuit of Cobra line. It was even brought up in a Q. & A. on http://www.hisstank.com/, Hasbro's reasoning was that it was more cost effective to release this wave as is to keep production cost down. But all in all it is an enjoyable wave especially for the Renegade fans out there.

Wave 2 Rating: 3 of 5

G.I. Joe Wave 1 30th Anniversary Collection

     It has been a while since I reviewed new figures from Hasbo's G.I. Joe line, I will post reviews of the first 3 waves within the coming days. Wave 1 comprises of 6 figures, four of them are re-released figures that were first released in the last wave of The Pursuit of Cobra line. Steel Brigade, Cobra Trooper, Cobra Viper and Iron Grenadier are the four figures previously released under The Pursuit of Cobra line and the two new figures are a re-sculpted figure for Stalker and the never released Hazard Viper. All six figures are beautifully sculpted and painted to perfection and the addition of a new remodeled Stalker for the 21 century and the release of the amazing looking Hazard Viper puts this wave over the top. These figures are not only highly detailed but also come with tons of weapons and accessories.

Wave 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 (Would of been a slam dunk if more than half the wave was not re-released figures)

Review: Dead Man's Party

     I decided since the release of Spell #1 that I would support some of the artist's, writer's and independent comics you can find on http://www.indyplanet.com/store/ and also at http://www.comicsmonkey.com/store/. Same two sites you can find Spell #1 and so many other great independent reads.

     I will say I do not pick up many black and white interior books probably since the late 80's and early 90's which I may say were mostly Manga such as Appleseed, Grey and so many more great manga properties. Then you had such greats like Ex-Mutants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Zen: The Intergalactic Ninja and a slew of Robotech comics from 3 different companies. A lot of great material during those years from independent craters and publishers.

     I actually went and ordered a nice handful of titles a few weeks back and I plan on doing reviews of each title to promote independent comics. I actually got the first comic that was printed by Ka-Blam and is for sale on both the sites about a year ago, Ugaara #1 created by Wil Jones. This is what finally gave me the idea of putting out my own book.

     I actually picked up Dead Man's Party #1 not from these sites but at the New York Comic-Con this year where I also got to meet the creators of this awesome book. I was quite impressed when meeting Jeff Marsick (Writer) and Scott Barnett (Art) at NYCC this year and were kind enough to sign my copy and talk shop. The reason this will always stick out in my mind is for the basic fact that they were the only people that actually approached me and not wait for me to come up to there table like most of the creators in attendance at NYCC. For them to take there time and promote there passion in comics was quite impressive, it is very rare for any creators to approach you at these functions, I even had comic vendors when looking for comics to add to my collection pay me no mind (Must be rich!!!)

     This first entry in the Dead Man's Party series of four books bleeds realism, this is no book for children or your basic superhero fan. You get into the main characters mind and the way he thinks. The art is beautiful and stunning, the writing is very intense and takes a few twists and turns that climaxes in a splendid ending too book one. Twenty-Six pages of pure octane excitement. Read issue #1 of the series that novelist and Birds of Prey writer Duane Swierczynski calls "super smart, sardonic and packed with surprises". This is what comics should be like and I look forward to future issues of a true diamond in the rough!

Link to Dead Man's Party website
http://www.DeadMansParty.org

Dead Man's Party #1 TM and © Dead Man’s Party #1. Published By Jeff Marsick And Scott Barnett. Dead Man’s Party Logo And All Prominent Characters And Content Within Are Copyright © & TM 2011 Jeff Marsick And Scott Barnett. DIW Logo Is © & TM 2011 Jeff Marsick And Kirk Manley. All Rights Reserved. Any Similarities To Persons Living Or Dead Are Entirely Coincidental. With The Exception Of Artwork Used For Review Purposes, None Of The Contents Of This Publication May Be Reprinted Without Prior Written Permission Of Jeff Marsick And Scott Barnett. All rights reserved.

Comic reviews for the week of 11/30/11

Hot pick of the week: Star Trek #3 The Galileo Seven Part 1 of 2 (IDW Publishing) Mike Johnson Writer/Stephen Molnar & Joe Phillips Art



   In the not so distant past you would have a mini series released from IDW about one of the incarnations of Star Trek, for the first time they are tackling a monthly title dedicated to the new take on Star Treks 2010 movie. It has been a while since we had a monthly title for Star Trek, last time I remember is Marvel had a go at it and it was an utter failure. And before that D.C. Comics carried the reigns and did a pretty good job. But the series IDW has introduced is by far some of the best Star Trek material I have ever read. The art is fantastic, the story thus far stays so true to the T.V. shows and movies that it is indistinguishable. Can not wait for the next issue of this second story arc. Great read even for non Star Trek faithful.

Also Hot:

Star Wars Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #3 of 5 (Dark Horse Comics) Randy Stradley Writer/Douglas Wheatley Art

Star Wars Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost #2 of 6 (Dark Horse Comics) Mike Richardson & Randy Stradley Writers/Paul Gulacy Art

FF #12 (Marvel Comics) Jonathan Hickman Writer/Juan Bobilo Pencils

X-Men Legacy #259 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Mike Carey Writer/Khoi Pham Pencils/Clay Mann Cover

A Game of Thrones #3 (Dynamite Entertainment) George R.R. Martin & Daniel Abraham Writers/Tommy Patterson **Runner Up - Another great translation of this series by Dynamite, It could not be better**

Honorable Mention:

Legion: Secret Origin #3 (D.C. Comics) Paul Levitz Writer/Chris Batista Pencils

Wolverine #19 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Jason Aaron Writer/Ron Garney Art

Avengelyne #5 (Image Comics) Mark Poulton Writer/Owen Gieni Art/Rob Liefeld Cover *Love the art in this book. nice, crisp and refreshing*

Cobra #7 Cobra Civil War #7 (IDW Publishing) Mike Costa Writer/Antonio Fuso Art

G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra: Mission Brazil II #4 (FP Comics) David S. Lane, Greg Sepelak & S. Trent Troop Writers/Sheldon Goh Pencils/Tim Seeley Cover

No so Hot:

Uncanny X-Men #2 Regenesis (Marvel Comics) Kieron Gillen Writer/Carlos Pacheco, Jorge Molina Pencils

**First of all, You Do Not Re-Launch Uncanny. Now that I got that out of the way, I can not stand the direction this book is taking and I must say for Uncanny I do not like the creative team that was put on this flag ship title. If you want a good X-book check out Wolverine and the X-Men.

Haunt #19 (Image Comics) Joe Casey Writer/Nathan Fox Art

*Difficult to transition from Greg Capullo to Nathan Fox and a little confusing at the same time. Last two issues I feel like panels or chunks of story are missing when I flip through this title. I will give it a chance at redemption.*