Quick Hits - Worth the read... For the most part

Let's get right into it shall we?
Potter's Field #2 - So it's only a mini-series huh? That sucks because this is one of the best books I've ever read! Issue two was no let down as John is inadvertently set up by one of his operatives over a woman... kinda of. Really I don't want to say to much other than Paul Azaceta is just really good at drawing action and having it make sense! If you've ever read a comic that wasn't superhero action you know that sometimes you have to really study the page to figure out what the hell the characters are talking about because the Artists' skills where inadequate in expressing the Writer's story. I'm really hoping that there's either more mini-series or they just turn it into an on-going series because I really can't wait till issue three and I'll be sad once I read it since that will be it for the mini. Seriously can't stop thinking about how good the book is, I really think Azaceta has a spell over me or he just works story book magic with this and Talent. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Black Panther #31 - Dear Mr. Hudlin, please get Black Panther and Storm away from the FF because you're story lines with them are very boring and it is not what I like about this book. Thank you. Seriously I couldn't even remember what issue 30 was about and I didn't read it that long ago. This book needs to get Panther back to earth and doing things other than fighting B list FF villains. Issue 32 seems like it's going to suck even more than this issue and I hope the Thing does kill the frogs... or something cool happens I don't care at this point I just want to like the book again.

Crime Bible #1 - I'd say my only grip with this book are the ridiculously long titles and the fact that DC can't seem to pick a cover and stick with it. Otherwise I'd say that Rucka does a great job with the new Question in making her a character and not an annoying character. The Crime Bible itself is an interesting concept and the fact that the Question knows so much about it is interesting. It's almost helping her know the future or something, or I'm reading to far into it. The art was fitting and unlike other DC mini's it was actually good! Not one of there random assholes who draws everyone the same and has shitty inker that can't cover up their rough penciling. There were some art issues on the sub-characters but overall much better than other mini's by DC. But the Question didn't ask any questions? Kinda the point of the character no?


Fantastic Four #550 - I love the fact the McDuffie loves the character Gravity, because so do I! Finally Black Panther and Storm depart the book. What a cool concept ruined by the fact that Reed and Sue were still in the book the entire time. If it hadn't been for that fact it would have been a pretty cool run of the book. I remember when the FF would have different team members like all the time it seems but now... well they could barely go an issue without the old team which is sad really since the book has a lot of potential. But the family is back together and now we can stop having really shitty Black Panther and Thing dialog which was never funny and really it seemed like the Thing hated Black Panther. Also Johnny hasn't said shit in the book for like four issues. Where's the wise cracks?

Lord Havok and the Extremists - So I haven't read the Countdown issue that ties into this book, and I know nothing about Lord Havok but I guess it was kind of a big deal that he was back. To me he seems like a DC's Red Skull and that dude with the shield seems like a poor man's version of Awesome Comic's poor man version of Captain America, and if you check out DC's original cover posted on their site you'll probably see the same thing I did. Otherwise it was just another Super-Villain organizing more villains. Seems to be a trend in Comics right now. I guess the publishers realized that if the Villains just show up and get their asses beat that it's not a very interesting story. Frankly this issue was a snooze fest and it took the whole book to finally get to... well something! Any thing! I'll probably get issue two just to figure out what the hell the book is about before I give it the axe.


Black Summer #3 - Does this book get any cooler? Yes it does. I just wish everyone would stop talking about how the book is going to change the future of comics and how it blows this book or that book out of the water. Frankly let the book be what it is and the readers will decide what it does to the future of comics not the media and news zines. Surprise, surprise, Tom's powers still work and man he has some bad ass powers. He suits up and goes out to prove to the other's that surrendering is not an option and gets blown up by a tank... yeah right! I'm sure he'll show up in the next issue alive and well but that's how the issue leaves you. Fantastic story and the art is just getting better and better some how. No flashbacks in this issue though, I missed that.

What If?... Planet Hulk - There's two stories in this book and only one of them is worth reading. The first story is the cover, they recap everything for the 50th time about Planet Hulk and this time his Queen lives and wants revenge. They don't show the Hulk's son because I'm sure it's going to come into play one day in the future and I'm also sure it will suck. As for the other story it's about what would have happened if the Hulk had landed on the right planet. It's a fun story as the Hulk and Banner take turns screwing the other over, leaving themselves in a more and more secluded area and having to find a way out of it. But while there the Hulk and Banner end up protecting a species from purple snake creatures. In the end Banner and Hulk merge into one perfect being. Only part that bothered me was the fact that Banner killed one of the things to and was eating it but hey whatever.

Action Comics #858 - Does it seem like Action Comics comes out a lot to you too? I mean I just bought 3 issue of this book and I had only stopped buying comics for a month! Gary Frank is far to good and be working at DC but for some reason everyone and their mother wants to work on Superman, not that theres anything really groundbreaking or interesting to happen to Superman since his death, but everyone still has this dream of working on the book. Finally DC starts answering some questions about all the Legions running around and the Lightning Saga questions get answered as well. Supes goes to the future and is powerless! Why? Red Sun! But wait a red sun doesn't instantly drain him of powers but slowly right? Not true I guess because Supes gets shot through the hand! But its okay because he doesn't respond with a painful cry or anything just a lot of talking from the Legionaries... Hopefully he'll find Supergirl and bring her out of Legions book that way DC can cancel the book yet again. The art was amazing even if once again I feel I've missed what the hell happened with General Zod? Can someone tell me what book to read that explains it?

New Avengers #35 - Once again a Super-villain is organizing other villains, but I actually really like it. I liked it so much I'd rather read a book about the Hood and the villains than another Superhero book since the whole initiative thing is getting a little old. I didn't like the fact that Tigra had to be beaten down and made an example of. She was already in character dumps-ville thanks to shitty writing. Also I thought Jigsaw was in Punisher? I could be wrong but I think Marvel messed up again and maybe I read to many books! Yu's art is amazing and anyone that thinks otherwise can stop reading one of the best comics out there. No other book has been as consistently good as New Avengers and it actually comes out on time! As for the story... well read it yourself! It's really cool and finally gives you some insight as to what Bendis has been sitting on for over a year.


Doktor Sleepless #3 Bastard of Tomorrow - And now the book makes sense! The Nurse's past is partially revealed and one heck of a real world concept is dropped on our lap. Digging through the website I found the Warren Ellis has some really dedicated fans that already have tattoo's from this book even though it's not even finished! Basically John tells his captors that he's created a phantom of himself and that the phantom is carrying on his work for him. Or is the phantom the one locked away? We also meet the man who raised John... and he's probably going to try and kill him.

Thunderbolts #117 - Another Ellis book that's also Really good! Yeah I guess that's not saying much. What is saying much is the fact that Ellis gave Doc Samson a haircut and made him less of an annoying jackass that constantly betrays other heroes for the Government. Oh and Penance is really fucked up! I had my doubts about how Ellis was handling the character but wow he really knocked it out of the park with this issue! Green Goblin finds his mask in his desk freaking him out which should be really cool with how crazy the team's getting. I think that's Ellis' ultimate goal to tear the team apart and rebuild it differently and new, you just have to wait for this one to erupt which should also be cool to watch.

Ah! It feels good to pump out some Quick Hits, yeah I know I complained some but I needed to get it out of my system. Pick up the books that sound interesting for you and feel free to share some opinions on the same books or others! Thanks!

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Quick Hits - Third Strike

Another week, another installment of Quick Hits. Up this week is Eva - Daughter of the Dragon from Dynamite Entertainment, Iron and the Maiden #2 from Aspen Comics, Doktor Sleepless - Tesla Boy Gangster #2 from Avatar Press, 30 Days of Night - Red Snow from IDW, Madame Mirage #2 from Top Cow Entertainment, and Infinity Inc. #1 for DC Comics.

Eva - Daughter of the Dragon #1 - I was not impressed by this book, sure I didn't know anything about it before I read it, but it turned out to be Van Hellsing with a chick basically. Eva's Dracula's daughter born from the un-dead. Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein are after some lame ass stone, Frank's monster turns on him and begins protecting the stone. Eva and Frank become a team, then get transported into the future... did I mention the actual villain of the story is narrating the story to a TV production crew that want to turn it into the next Buffy? Must have slipped my mind, much like this book will slip my mind when Dynamite surely makes it an ongoing series. The art was good, there was little to no dialog, and you didn't get the chance to know Eva enough to care about her at all. In fact she kinda comes off like a total asshole that's willing to do anything as long as it results in the death of Dracula. Jo Chen's cover was the best part of the book, I love Jo Chen's art she's great, maybe if she had done the book I would have liked it more but the story was still really bad, so probably not.

Iron and the Maiden #2 - I first covered this book just this week in Worth Every Penny? One nice thing about Aspen I'm hooked on the series but I'm willing to give it another issue. #2 still felt like it was missing panels as well and the story really seemed disconnected and convenient. After like six months Iron's finally wakes up, he's got a beard and a new arm but no one including himself acts like anythings different from when he left. Literally the story picks back up right where it was six months ago and it didn't improve at all. The Maiden is just a little too bad ass for her own good and I stopped caring about the character when she turned out to be stripping at one of Big Daddy's clubs. I don't know why it's every male comic book readers dream to have the leading lady a stripper, but it doesn't do anything for me and really is a cop ou is that they pump books out quick... then leave you waiting for the fifth issue. Well I wouldn't say thatt on doing any actual story telling. Iron's has got 48hrs to make his debt to Big Daddy right or die, and the A-Hole in the purple that snuffed out the Maiden's family has 48hrs to kill Iron's to make his 1 million dollar debt to Big Daddy even. We'll see how issue three goes but the story had better be good, the art was still pretty good and had that strong 90's feel to it which really works with the story.

Doktor Sleepless #2 - Another book I've covered before, feel free to check it out first. There's more of the mystery revealed in this issue, and more mystery added to the mystery. You'll notice that this issue isn't called Future Science Jesus, but Tesla Boy Gangster. I'm sure this is a theme that will continue as the book goes on. It's hard to say what this confusing piece of work is about. Apparently Doktor Sleepless can't look in mirrors for long without the mirror talking back and his real persona John Reinhardt is locked up for some reason. The introduction of the Shrieking Girls was intresting. They are all linked together so whatever one experiences they all experience. There was more societal commentary, and make believe tech talk that would be interesting if people were actually trying this sort of thing. Again I'm not 100 percent sure what the book is truly about but that's the point in reading it, to figure out the story.

30 Days of Night - Red Snow #1 - Let me just say that I hate, hate, hate it when people take their characters and put them in a World War II setting. It's lazy and annoying and even though I love Templesmith's art, he struggles as a story teller. The dialog was rough, the pacing was annoying and I swear he was jumping around telling the same story from different perspectives and was telling the reader. Anyways if you couldn't tell I didn't really care for this book, I was hoping that since it was Templesmith that it wouldn't just be a cash in on the soon to be released movie based off the first series... but that's what it felt like, a cash in. The great thing about the first series was that no one had ever thought of it before, so when this book comes along and says well the Vampires did the same thing in World War II, it's pretty hard to swallow. Unfortunately IDW will never let the series rest and will always be trying to pump something out under the name, and most of them will continue to be junk not worth reading.

Madame Mirage #2 - Paul Dini and Kenneth Rocafort are a dream team together! This book is so simple yet so effective that I can't wait till the third issue. It was a happy coincidence that it came out this week because on Tuesday I thought to myself, "Hey where the hell is Madame Mirage #2?" that's right I think in numbers, and then there it was! Mirage does seem a little like Hunter Killer, but that's okay because unlike Hunter Killer the art hopefully won't change by the seventh issue and won't be plagued by delays. Rocafort really is the break out talent of this book and if TopCow is smart they'll start pumping out posters and T-Shirts because I've already got money waiting for both. Mirage is targeting another Mobster to take out, the word is that he's trying to kill a celebrity so Mirage is there to stop him. The Dude (Big Lebowski rip off) is there to lighten the humor some more and is really becoming a likable character. The story is action packed and fast paced so I'm not going to tell you much more because it's a quick read and should only take about ten minutes. Mirage gives fanboys a tease changing into different outfits and Rocafort is probably already deciding between Marvel and DC, because I'm sure one of them is offering him an exclusive contract although he may have an exclusive with TopCow for now too. This book is definitely my Quick Hits: Pick of the week.

Lastly we have Infinity Inc. #1 - Let's just call this book what it is, another cash in on the success of 52. I like Peter Milligan but sometimes he's just not the right fit for a book... mostly DC books. Not only is the story pretty uninteresting, it's not very revealing to what the book is going to continue to be about. It relies on the first couple of pages and then the last two pages to hook you and bring you back for issue two. Sadly this book has six issue written all over it before it either gets canceled or re-vamped which means it'll get canceled any ways. If you pick this book up expecting anything that resembled the old Infinity Inc., then don't bother. It only deals with the new Infinity there biological and mental problems after the fallout of Luthor's Everyman Project. The Everyman Project was a genetic experiment that gave everyone super powers that laid dormant within themselves, but Luthor put an on off switch in everyone and then killed a bunch of them because he was mad. I'll be unable to tell you what happens in issue two because I won't be buying it, in fact the art alone was enough to make me not want to buy it ever again. This definitely gets the Quick Pick: Save Your Money choice of the week.

Well it wasn't really a good week for Quick Hits, but then they can't all be winners right? As always their will be more next week and hopefully the new books won't let me and everyone else reading them down like they did this week. Thanks for reading!

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Doktor Sleepless: Future Science Jesus - Avatar Press

Doktor Sleepless is a Grinder. There, I said it. You'll get that after you read the book, which is about the future... and how everyone in the future doesn't realize that they already are living in the future. Kinda like us, huh? You'll need to read these pages first before we continue so instead of my usual pages at the end I'm going to post them right at the beginning. Now click this link. you but basically the shirt and the people in the comic are saying the same thing. As you continue reading the comic you'll find that this is really a social commentary about us, everyone wants what the future has to offer but no one realizes that they're living in the future now! Just because it didn't turn out how you wanted, doesn't mean it's not happening all aroundNotice anything? Well I'm not going to spell it out for you. The book isn't hard to explain, but it is. There's simply not enough information about the world the story is taking place in, to simply say, "And that's what it's all about". Basically it's about Doktor Sleepless, who hasn't slept in 3 years, and he's on a pilgrimage to save Heavenside. Yes there's a Hellside too, but it's long gone and will be explain in the first issue. You do want to read the book don't you? Then why would I tell you everything? The book also follows Doktor Sleepless old friends, one woman in particular, and I'm sure the second issue will deal with that more. There are some humorous moments provided by The Nurse, she's paid extremely well, but like most people, she hates her job and all the variety of things she must do for Doktor Sleepless. The book is Written by Warren Ellis, who apparently started Avatar Press, check out the website and also Ellis' other book out now from Avatar, Black Summer, which is also a great read and will probably be copied as a new superhero archetype for years to come. Also Doktor Sleepless has it's own Wiki page that can be found here, Ellis will be updating it but you the reader can also take part in added info about the comic to the site. Enough links for you? I though so!

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