Lanterns Unite!!! by Jimmy Xu

This is a wonderful piece featuring representatives from 8 of the Lantern groups. No White Lanterns here, because artist Jimmy Xu doesn't like them!!! That's a good enough reason for me. Here you go!!!

Top Row, Left to Right:

Red Lantern: Atrocitus
Orange Lantern: Larfleeze
Yellow Lantern: Sinestro
Green Lantern: Hal Jordan

Bottom Row, Left to Right:

Blue Lantern: Saint Walker
Indigo Lantern: Indigo-1
Violet Lantern: Star Sapphire
Black Lantern: Black Hand

The Comic Book Pull List #4 by James West

If Your Not Reading These...

You Should Be!!!

Hey, kids. It’s been awhile since my last comics review, so as a treat/reconciliation, here I am bring you an extra-special, extra-fun, extra-sized comic list.

**Beware of Spoilers, All Ye Who Enter Here*

Blackest Night #8 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

And so, Geoff Johns’ and Ivan Reis’ epic zombie Green Lantern tale closes with a bang. The entire series has been one fun ride, with plenty of cameos from long dead heroes and villains (Pariah from Crisis On Infinite Earths, anyone?). Everything is resolved quite nicely, with twelve (twelve!) heroes and villains ending up getting resurrected. Some of them were predicted, some were out of left field but aren’t too shocking, and then one is like…WTF. Definitely all interesting choices, though. Also, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (Green Lantern and the Flash) realize that Tim Drake (Robin, or Red Robin as he goes by during his search for Batman) that Bruce Wayne is indeed alive. This nicely branches together the lately exclusive Bat-Books with the rest of the DCU. Here’s a link to all the resurrected heroes. (-Mike, leave the link here instead of putting the actual pic, don’t wanna spoil too much.)

Resurrected Heroes Of Blackest Night

Brightest Day #0 by Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, and Fernando Pasarin

After the Blackest Night, comes…the Brightest Day! (Well, actually, Brightest Day comes before Blackest Night in the Green Lantern Oath, but who am I to judge DC’s marketing?). In this issue, we get a nice introduction of what the bi-weekly 27 issue Brightest Day is going to be about- the lives of those who were resurrected, and exactly why they were chosen to be brought back to life. Also, a personal favorite character of mine is the star of the show, none other than Boston Brand himself- Deadman!

The Flash #1 by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul

Barry Allen went from being resurrected in Final Crisis, had his life messed around in Flash: Rebirth, and then zombie lanterns went nuts. He hasn’t had much break time. Now, Barry’s settled back into his home at Central City, where he’s back to living the good life with his wife Iris. But, thing’s are a bit difficult for Barry- having been dead for a while, the Earth’s moving a lot faster than it was when he left. Everyone’s got an iPod, texting, calling, and what have you. But, because of its obsession with speed, Central City’s Police Department has foregone quality for quantity. Barry’s now taking on all the unsolved cases for himself. However, he hits a bit of a snag when someone starts killing off his Rogues Gallery…or are they? Pick up the series to find out!

Batman and Robin #11 by Grant Morrison and Andy Clarke
Last time, I said Batman and Robin #10 was one of the best single issues of a comic I’ve read. Grant Morrison doesn’t disappoint with his follow up in the “Return of Bruce Wayne” arc/tie-in. Dick Grayson continues to delve deeper into the catacombs beneath Wayne Manor, while Alfred uses the Batmobile to fend off the assassins sent for the New Dynamic Duo around the mansion. Damian Wayne meets up with the mysterious Oberon Sexton, who is trying to find out who the domino killer of Gotham is. But that’s a relatively small mystery compared to the two larger ones- where is Bruce Wayne, and who is Oberon Sexton? Is he Bruce? A new character? My money is on none other than the number one Batman villain himself- The Joker, incognito of course. Finally, we end with the reveal of who Talia plans to have possess her son’s body in order kill Dick Grayson- I won’t spoil anything, but all I’ll say is that he’s been waiting to deliver Grayson his death stroke for quite a long time now.

Siege #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel

BMB’s magnum opus is almost at a close, finally tying up the mess created in the Marvel Universe after Avengers: Disassembled seven years ago. Steve Rogers returns as Captain America with the rest of the Avengers and kicks some ass in the name of Asgard in order to help their pal Thor. But, unfortunately, things don’t go as planned when the Sentry finally snaps. I read all the other Avengers tie-ins, but believe me, this is the one you’ll want to pick up. A majority of the action happens here, and it is definitely entertaining.

Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John, Romita Jr.

Well…I’ve certainly never read anything like Kick-Ass before. Chances are, you haven’t either. The premise is basically what would happen if yours truly decided to buy a costume on eBay and go out and fight crime. Stab wounds, broken bones, metal plates, several dirty jokes, a plethora of cursing, and one internet sensation later, Kick-Ass accidentally changes the world. The book is definitely gory, bloody, disgusting, and nasty at times. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone below 14-15. If the movie is anything like it, it deserves the R rating. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to tone it down. But, for all its shock value there is a certain heart to Kick-Ass, found in the will of the protagonist to just do the right thing- even in the face of real-life evil.


Glad to be back folks... get out and support your local Mom n Pop Comic Book and Hobby Shops!!!

The Comic Pull List: 2/19/2010 by James West

The Comics Pull List:

If You’re Not Reading These, Well, You Should Be

DC:

DC is absolutely knocking everything they touch out of the ballpark right now. But, I kinda wanna keep this short, so I have to narrow it down to a few titles:

1)-Blackest Night

Everyone’s talking about it, and with good reason. Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern zombie catastrophe is shaking things up for the DCU, and in a good way, not in a “Okay we get it, things will be different after this, get on with it” way. Following in the footsteps of recent DC epics (The insanely good Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and 52, along with the “meh” Final Crisis”, everything’s shaken up for the Earth’s heroes, as every hero, villain, and other prominent characters that have died have been brought back to life by the Black Lantern Corps. With all the tie-in’s, it provides for some really interesting stories, one of my favorites being the Batman tie-in where Dick Grayson and Tim Drake have to destroy their own parents with the help of Deadman and Etrigan the Demon. The whole story doesn’t focus on just Green Lantern, although he is a major player: The Atom, the Flash, and Wonder Woman also play key roles, as they each get inducted into different corps themselves, amongst others. This is concluding in about a month or so, and I’m looking forward to seeing which heroes and villains will be brought back to life, or will stay dead.

2) Batman and Robin

Grant Morrison’s take on the Batman mythos has certainly been a breath of fresh air. By having Dick Grayson take up the mantle as Batman, and Bruce’s maniacal, conniving, and slightly evil son Damien take up the role as Robin, the interplay is fun as hell to watch. With a light-hearted, but determined, Batman, and a Robin who is constantly sarcastically criticizing everything his mentor does, the book acts as a half a comedy. However, the action provides a well balanced book, along with plenty of character development as both Batman and Robin deal with the loss of their father, both figuratively and literally.



Runner’s Up: Red Robin, Flash: Rebirth, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps



Marvel:

Marvel’s got a bunch of tricks of their own up their sleeves. Starting with Avengers: Disassembled a couple of years back, the Marvel U has been a never ending stream of events, where the good guys just can’t ever seem to win. However, that’s all changing this year as Marvel enters the “Heroic Age”: basically, everything’s going to get better.

1) Seige

This is it. The final part of the saga started by Brian Michael Bendis with Avengers: Disassembled, which continued through House of M, Civil War, The Initiative, Secret Invasion, and now Dark Reign, is being released. Basically, ever since Ragnarok, everyone thought Thor, along with the other Asgardians (and Asgard itself) were destroyed. But, Asgard reappeared on Earth, as a giant floating city in the Midwest, with Thor in tow. After assembling all the Asgardians, who had been disguised as humans, everything seemed to be working out again. Now, however, Norman Osborn plans on leading an invasion of Asgard, and it’s up to Earth’s heroes to finally re-unite once again to stop him.






2) Guardians of the Galaxy

Probably not the most important book at Marvel, but it is undoubtedly my favorite. It’s classic space adventures, exploring the depths of the universe just as much as the history of Marvel’s space heroes. I can’t say enough good things about this book. I’ll just sum it up with two words: Rocket. Raccoon.

 
 
 
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