Reviews

Scott's Thoughts: Batman Earth One

2012-07-03T21:49:08Z

It was in the waning days of 2009 that we got our first look at what was to come. Alex Segura from DC Editorial gave us a little insight into what was to come. They would be called Earth One and whether they wanted to admit it or not it was clear that they were going to be largely inspired by the success of the Marvel Ultimate line. But when they launched the Ultimate line they did so on the back of a creator that most of the comics industry was completely unaware of. Brian Michael Bendis may have become one of the most recognizeable names in the world of comics these days but it is largely because he was able to take yet another attempt at relaunching the Spider-Man franchise and telling an alternate version of his origin story in the guise of modernity and make it work. It had only been a year since Spider-Man: Chapter One had failed, and that had been written and drawn by John Byrne, who hadn't yet really detonated his career. And this was going to be a guy who was known basically for crime stories under different guises and an artist who was known basically for being incredibly fast. These were creators that few were really excited about seeing a new take on Spider-Man from. And yet they succeed in ways no one would have expected.

Earth One was going to be a different beast all together. Big name creators taking a crack at the biggest name characters DC had to offer. The All-Star line had been a previous attempt at a similar idea but didn't see the kinds of success that most expected, largely because it was hindered by delays. This was going to be a series of annual graphic novels. First we would see J. Michael Straczynski, who had written an incredible run on Amazing Spider-Man (as long as you ignore where editorial inserted their will and changed his story) and Shane Davis, who had just built a name for himself with the success of his take on the Green Lantern Mythos with Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, take on a reinvisioning of the beginning of Superman's story. And it was met with nearly universal praise (though some people seemed to think that Clark wore too many hoodies and was somehow depicted as "emo"). But no matter how successful that first book was it really didn't matter. It wasn't the one that everyone was going to be swooning over.

Batman Earth One by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. It was going to define the success of failure of the line. It wouldn't come out for 2 and a half years after the announcement. But it would be the book the initiative would be judged by. At a slim 144 pages it would take a lot to shake the foundation of the Batman franchise. It would take a lot to be seen as a definitive work of either of these incredibly talented creators careers. It would take a lot to be enough to measure up to the success of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's current run on Batman which has been largely seen as one of the best Batman runs of the last several decades. It would take a lot to even be the most important Batman release of the month of July, what with Christopher Nolan's Batman The Dark Knight Rises releasing less than 2 weeks afterward. To be any of those things it would have to be more than what we were expecting.

You are not prepared. You will not expect the contents of these pages. They will blow your mind.

Geoff Johns has recrafted the Batman origin story in the kind of way that no one would expect. Gary Frank has brought Gotham to life with such explosive vigor that you almost expect it to be real. It is at once an amazingly familiar story, yet still somehow foreign. This is a whole new spin on what we all know an love, without taking away all of the touchstones. There are so many things about the telling of the tale that leave you salivating for more.

People often think of Batman Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli as not only Batman Year One but as Jim Gordon Year One. The tale being as important to the title character as it is to the only man willing to work with the vigilante no one wants to acknowledge in the shadows. Geoff Johns makes Batman Earth One not just Batman Earth One, not just James Gordon Earth One ... but also Alfred Pennyworth Earth One.

Alfred is as much a part of Batman's story as his parents. As much as the murder in the alleyway. As much as the rigorous desire to train all over the world at the feet of the masters. Without Alfred, I believe that it could be argued that there would be no Batman. Never before has this been so perfectly portrayed in the pages of a comic. Alfred is altered so deftly, so incredibly, so perfectly by both the work of Johns as by the work of Frank. simply looking at the initial character sketches provided all the way back in 2009 indicate how different the character would be. And while this Alfred Pennyworth serves as Guardian of the young Bruce Wayne much the same as any other telling of the story and serves as equal parts conscience and confidant to the adult Bruce Wayne as any other telling ... but as similar to any other Alfred as he is in these two important ways he is as different as could be in oh so many other ways.

Johns also tweaks the rest of Gotham in ways that no reader will possibly expect. To go any further into the meat of the story or the changes that he has made would, I feel, spoil much of what is magic about this story. Allow me to instead say that if you are looking for a great read this summer that will get you excited about what comics are capable of these days, if you are looking for something to read this summer that will surprise even the most knowledeable and seasoned of comic fans, if you are looking for something to read this summer that will change the way you look at Batman in a way that you haven't changed how you look at Batman since you went to the movie theaters the weekend of June 10th, 2005 to see Batman Begins ... look no further.

This book is the book to read.

This book is the superhero book of the summer.

Shelby's Ruminations: When You Play A Game Of Thrones, You Win Or You Die!

2012-06-08T18:19:18Z

Alright, so we recently got a new edition of A Song of Fire and Ice RPG: Game Of Thrones Edition. Being a fan, and a gamer, naturally I picked up a copy the minute I saw it on our shelves. I'll admit freely that I didn't truly expect it to be much, I was mostly just curious, and buying it out of a loyalty to the franchise in general. And because I had dreams of roleplaying Sean Bean wielding a greatsword, but that's neither here nor there. That night when I got home, it was late, so I got ready for bed, turned on my nightstand lamp, and cracked it open, expecting to fall asleep with the book on my face after about three minutes. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I decided that, if I was going to fall asleep reading it anyway, I should at least find out the basic mechanics of the game, so I have something solid to work with when I begin reading flavor text. Now most people do this by going to the combat chapter, or rules chapter, but me, I'm a character player. I flipped straight to character creation rules to see what was up. I found that the game mechanics were really simple and streamlined. For fans of Shadowrun or, even better, West End Games Star Wars, this game uses the same basic core mechanic. Roll an amount of six-sided dice equal to your skill in any given task, add up the results against a target number, and hopefully beat it. Okay, nothing to write home about, but man I LOVED old Shadowrun and WEG Star Wars, so I was more than okay with this.

It wasn't until I started seeing advantages, disadvantages, and expanded creation rules that I was really hooked, though. I was disappointed at first, though. The rules state that everyone plays members of the same house, one which they create together when they make their characters. WHAT? I can't play Sean Bean of House Stark chasing after flaxen haired Lannisters with Ice raised high?! Well... I don't know if I can play this game now. But I kept with it. Kept reading.

I'm glad I did. I got into the House creation rules, and this is where this game shines. It's a cooperative system where all the players come together to imagine who the House is. Who leads it? Who's the Lord's wife? His children? Do the players want to take on the role of heirs? That costs them character points at creation. What kind of holdings does the house have? What kind of wealth are they sitting on? How do they make that wealth? What kind of military might are they capable of mustering and how well trained and equipped are their soldiers? Heck, if you can't come up with a House motto or Coat of Arms, there's extensive tables to help guide you, with some notes on authentic heraldry used in dark ages Europe. You can roll randomly, or you can just pick and choose, using the table solely for inspiration. At this point... My Mind = Blown.

All of this is built using a point system, to keep things balanced. There are rules for rolling randomly to generate aspects, but the core of it is point buy. There are ways to make your house start better than most, but it costs, both the House, and the players. You're not going to come into the game with Lannister money to throw around, and you're not going to be the ruling house of the entire North. Not yet, at least. Not without having that wealth, but no holdings and no heirs, or influence. Not without having all that land be nothing but frozen tundra, unable to produce crops, and being overrun by criminals and murderers. But, as the characters advance, they can donate their assets, and their personal victories, to the House, granting it more resources, and prestige. It's a game of intrigue and influence, and the rules reflect this without being too gimmicky or coming across like they were ripped out of a board game and thrown into an RPG.

The best part, though, in all honesty? All of this House creation stuff... You can literally use this for ANY game you might play. Playing D&D or Pathfinder? Well, the nobility of the city the PCs are terrorizing have their own intrigues playing out, and you can help define each player with these House rules. Playing Shadowrun or some other futuristic/cyberpunk game? Use the House rules for a frame work to build a budding young Corp, on it's way to becoming a Megacorp giant. Sci-Fi? Well, perhaps your universe is ruled by a series of alliances, federations, or guilds all vying for power, and resources in the expanse of space. You can create them all with these rules. So. Frakkin'. Cool.

By the time I got done reading all of this, I looked up and realized that the dim blue light of sunrise was coming in through the curtains of my bedroom, and it was coming up on 6:30 in the morning. I hadn't even realized I had been reading this book all night long. It was just chock full of history, both of the Seven Kingdoms, and real life western Europe. Even if you've never picked up A Game Of Thrones, or any of the other books in the series, you can come into this game with just this book and learn so very much about the world that you'll find yourself completely immersed. You just might even find yourself going out to pick up the books, or the DVD set of the first season.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this game is great. The book is amazing, even if you only want to use it for source reference, or as a supplement to another game you might be playing/running. At 49.95, it's money well spent, trust me. You won't be disappointed. When you play A Song of Fire And Ice RPG: Game Of Thrones Edition, you don't win or die. You just win.

Scott's Thoughts: Geek & Sundry

2012-06-08T18:03:14Z

The internet has served to bring disparate groups of all different kinds together. All kinds of folks wearing tinfoil hats and agreeing with one another ... it's chaos. But it's delightful chaos. The more these groups gather together online the more we seem to benefit from their communal conversations. All kinds of things worth talking about these days.

The first of these online collectives that I'll bring your attention to though is Geek & Sundry!

A gathering of geek royalty of all kinds, Geek & Sundry is a Youtube collective working on making sure that we have plenty of video podcasts to entertain ourselves within our geekly lived.

Wil Wheaton's TableTop has become a phenomenon of it's own out of the available programming on G&S and has people of all sorts finding out about boardgames that they'd never heard of before. It's really quite thrilling. Watching internet stars and genre television celebs alike play Ticket to Ride and Small World is really fun. If you're only going to check out one of these shows it's the one I'd recommend most highly.

As a matter of fact I won't even make you go to the website to check it out, here is the most recent episode:

So there's that.

The other shows on G&S are also fantastic. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan then I would definitely recommend checking out Sword & Laser, it's a fantastic show. If you're looking for more of a DIY Life Diary then check out Felicia Day's Flog (Felicia Blog), it's often funny and usually informative. The other shows haven't caught me as much (though this is the new go-to place for The Guild, which I would always recommend) but that's not their fault ... even I only have some much time to consume media.

In the next few weeks I'll try to highlight some of the other nerd/geek/art collectives that I've come across on the net that I think are worth checking out.

But until then, check out Geek & Sundry. I think that there is something there for everyone.

Jason's Reviews: Batman Incorporated

2012-06-01T07:17:44Z

DC Comics, along with writer Grant Morrison and artist Chris Burnham, have brought the Batman Incorporated story into the new 52 universe. Batman Incorporated #1 picks up where Morrison left off with the Leviathan Strikes one-shot. Right away, Bruce Wayne finds himself in trouble as the Gotham police have him surrounded at what appears to be the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne. He is relaying to Alfred to inform the others (Batman Incorporated) that it's over. What exactly is over is the question for the reader to answer over the rest of the issue.

Morrison knows how to hook the reader because he understands how to create a particular sense of expectation and then turn it on its head. He cuts from the cemetery to the killing room floor of a slaughterhouse. The action escalates here as we find out that someone has targeted Robin for assassination. Morrison than shifts the scene to a fetish shop in San Francisco that has a Batcave built beneath it. There the Hood, Batwing, El Gaucho, and the Knight begin to plan the attack on the mysterious Leviathan organization. This is a short interlude, but it sets up a measure of expectation that will fuel future issues. From here the plot thickens as issue one ends with what appears to be Robin shot dead by an assassin. This is relayed second hand by the assassin to Leviathan with the assistance of his smart phone. Morrison pulls off the oldest trick in modern literature by forcing the reader to question the reliability of a narrator that is a shady character to begin with.

Chris Burnham’s artwork is great. He reminds me quite a bit of Frank Quitely. who himself has worked with Morrison on a number of other projects. Burnham has a particular style, that works well with the colors of Nathan Fairbairn. The action sequences are rendered well and the layouts are very creative. I was a big fan of Morrison’s work on the first volume of Batman Incorporated, so I am very much looking forward to how he completes the story with this second volume. This first issue has excellent writing and solid art. If you enjoyed the first run you owe it to yourself to check this out. See you in thirty.

Scott's Thoughts: Mind MGMT #1

2012-05-22T23:43:49Z

It certainly doesn't hurt that I have met Matt Kindt on several occasions and have always found him to be pleasant if not outright charming. It also doesn't hurt that I have read many of his previous works and have always found them engaging and entertaining. And if this were a lesser book I could imagine my past experiences coloring the way I talk about the book.

But Mind MGMT is not a lesser book.

It is a spectacular book.

The art is fluid and accessible, though some super-hero purists may not find it to their liking, but I would challenge them to read the book nonetheless as even though it may not be to their crisp-line-heavily-photo-referenced tastes it achieves a great story telling pace and suits the narrative quite nicely. The pacing is whip-smart and the characters are, at first blush (which is all you can really get from a first issue), human and complex.

The thing about this book that I really think people are going to get attached to quite quickly is the secret nuggets hidden within the book and information that is peppered throughout in ways that many writers wouldn't think to include. Wrapping the frame of each page is, what appears, to be content instructions, such as "When filing report all essential details must fall within the solid "live area" box. This is the border for a standard, non-bleed field report", but if you read them on each page you get additional content, you get insight into the world in which the book lives. It's a brilliant and subtle way of executing such an easter egg, which other creators have done to differing levels of success in the past (Jeph Loeb and Chris Bachalo in the pages of The Witching Hour, Joe Casey and Giuseppe Camuncoli in the pages of The Intimates, as well as Kindt in the pages of his most recent graphic novel Revolver), and this is definitely the kind of thing that I can imagine having to go back and re-read after having finished an issue and realizing that I had forgotten to read the gutter content since I was so taken by the pages of the actual issue.

Which is exactly what Kindt wants. He admits in the back matter of the first issue that he has been a "trade waiter" for a while now and that when he was given the opportunity to work on a monthly comic that he wanted to make sure that it was the kind of comic that he would want to buy. And I hope he achieved it for himself, I know he achieved it for me. The hidden pieces from the frame, the short story on the front and back inside covers, the short story at the end of the issue ... all add up to the kind of release that gets me excited to read. Most of the comics that I think make the most of the single issue format are like that. The releases from Brubaker and Phillips that include both a bit of journaling from the creators and an essay from one of their friends. The kind of letters pages that you can only get from The Walking Dead, Invincible, Powers, and Savage Dragon. The additional content provided by Richard Starkings in the pages of Elephantmen (also out this week!). And he lets you know that the extra content in each issue will be exclusive to the single issues. To reward the people who are willing to come out to shops and get the issues.

I say all of this and I haven't told you a single thing about the book. And I feel like I could get away with not telling you anything and based solely on the passion with which I speak that you should go check it out.

But I won't.

The book is about a young woman, who is a true crime novelist, trying to uncover the truth, despite the desires of her publisher, behind a mysterious commercial airline flight, during which all the passengers were suddenly and simultaneously struck with amnesia. As the rest of the story unfolds we see shady characters in the background and hear heart breaking stories of the people whose lives were ruined by their having been on the flight. People who no longer recognize their spouses or children. And yet the story presses on (I hope that as the story weaves that we might see more of what happened to the passengers in the additional content supplied in each issue). It's clear that in one instance we are in for a ride of breakneck proportions but that there will be the chance to have side moments and more of the history of the story unfold in the aforementioned extra content. And I have to say that I look forward to reading the next issue. But even moreso that I look forward to re-reading the first issue. And to talking with other people about the issues as they release. The way that I used to talk about episodes of LOST with friends and co-workers. The way that I talk about issues of Morning Glories with my employees. And I look forward to hearing ideas and theories that others put forth that make me want to go back and give each issue a 3rd and 4th reading. And I hope you'll come along on the journey with me.

Dawn's Review: Escape from the Temple

2012-05-06T02:18:18Z

So I got a unique chance to play a new game a couple of weeks back. Anyone who knows me probably knows that I rarely get a chance to play anything nowadays, but I was at an open house for one of our distributors and got a chance to play Escape from the Temple.

Twenty- five words or less: Think the beginning scene to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you pretty much have this game nailed.

That's right, you're playing explorers in a temple full of booby traps. The game plays in 10 minutes. I'm not kidding. There is a sound track to the game that marks out how much time you have left. Everyone gets five dice and are all rolling at the same time to explore the temple. You're trying to roll your dice to as fast as you can to open up new rooms and unlock the way out.

Explore as much and as fast as you can, the way out in in the stack of tiles. But beware, twice a game a gong will sound. That means that someone has tripped a trap and now you have forty seconds to get back to the starting tile before the doors slam shut. If you don't make it to the starting tile, you lose a die permanently.

Finding the way out is only half the battle. The door is locked by these magical gems. Luckily there are rooms inside the temple that allow you to eliminate gems from the door along the way.

Cooperative game play, so you can use your friend's dice to help complete objectives or to unlock cursed dice. Easy mechanics to learn, it took me longer to write this review of the game. The only time it's every man for himself is when you are exiting the temple, because you have to rely on your own dice to get you through. I got out with less than ten seconds to spare.

I can't wait for this to hit the shelves!

Matt Reviews: Will Eisner's The Spirit

2011-01-28T02:51:39Z

Hello dorks. It's been a while since I last posted a review. Sorry about that. You all know how time simply flies. Plus I have somewhat of an excuse; I've been very busy with school. Why didn't I write any reviews over the winter break, you ask? Well you'll have to figure that out for yourself.

I have one book I want to review tonight. I'm going to review a book that actually came out last week. It was so good that it needed two weeks for me to fully appreciate it. Will Eisner's The Spirit #10, written by David Hine. This month's issue features a very cool cover pose of The Spirit dodging some bullets. The title of the story, Crime and Punishment actually pays homage to the famous Russian novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The two plots are very similar. Many of you literary types out there will be familiar with the basic plot structure of Crime and Punishment(1866). The ex-student, Raskolnikov, plans the murder of a corrupt pawn-broker. In this comic rendition, the criminal Roscoe Kalashnikov(great name) takes center stage instead of the title's namesake. This one-issue story leaves the typical genre of hardboiled fiction and the whodunit to focus on the psychological aspect of the criminal's mind. Within the book, we follow Kalashnikov as he comes to terms over his guilt of the pawnbroker's murder. Along the way we get a fascinating glimpse into his inner fears, including the typical Freudian issues of parental abuse mixed with an intense fear of bugs. Really, just like the novel it was based off of, the plot of this story isn't so much the murder and the investigation by the detective, but the plot of Kalashnikov's mind as he journeys through its dark interiors. The ending leaves the reader satisfied if not a little creeped out by the sense of folly fate leads us into.

I really dig what is going on with this new volume of The Spirit. The artwork by John Kantz and Gabriel Bautista really emphasizes the grittiness of the city along with its superb use of dull colors. Also, the writing by David Hine is just excellent. I also like the ambiguity of what era these stories are exactly set in. True to its origins, the book features many aspects of a pulp-era 1930s and 40s gangster-ridden American city. But along with that we get traces of the modern and contemporary, specifically in some of the younger characters who act as The Spirit's sidekicks and close friends.

This book really isn't getting the attention I feel it deserves. To me it has become one of those top deckers, the books I immediately place at the top of my stack of comics to read. The First Wave line of books published by DC Comics have really drawn me into the pulp era of literature. Another series I like includes Doc Savage, though I feel it has a lot of catching up to do to match The Spirit for my affection. The revival of the pulps is a great thing, and like film noir, which has had its revival, I believe that this is a time for the neo-pulp to resurrect itself.

This has been Matt Reviews. Thank you and goodnight.

Matt Reviews: Week of August 18th

2010-08-19T04:58:38Z

Good evening, dorks. After a rough night at work, I like to lie back and read the comic books I bought for that week. Lets get to it, shall we?

First up, Will Eisner's The Spirit #5, written by David Hine. This issue is part 2 of the new story arc, Frost Bite. In this story, The Spirit must battle the presence of a new drug, nicknamed frost, plaguing the streets of Central City. This story is definatly an anti-drug tale, and seems as if it were written specifically for that purpose. Drug related issues are not foreign to comic books. Back in the 1970s, both Spiderman and Green Arrow dealt with the problems of drug addiction. Specifically, Spiderman saves a doped teenager from attempting to fly from a rather high building in Amazing Spider-Man, issues #96-98, and Green Arrow discovers that his young ward, Speedy, is addicted to a certain drug (heroin, I believe), in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-86. The teens who get hooked on this new drug, frost, are depicted as victims, which I appreciated. In this issue, Spirit must get a young girl named Ebony to a doctor before she freezes in the frigid weather. Suitable enough concerning the name of the drug, Central City is suffering the worst blizzard on record, and Spirit has miles of snow to chug through to get to the doctor. Taking advantage of the situation, a hit is put on his The Spirit, and while he is dealing with saving Ebony, he must also contend with every criminal in the metropolis. There is a nice psychedelic splash page, where a very tripped out Ebony sees The Spirit battling the criminals. Overall, I'm really enjoying where this series is going, and I think Will Eisner would be proud to see where his creation is going. A bonus for this series is the second feature. This issue's story was written by David Lapham(need I say more?) The Spirit Black and White is definatly an awesome addition to this series of books.

Now how could we possible top a book like The Spirit? I'm glad you asked, because my next review is of Star Wars Legacy #50, written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and the final issue in the series! Wow. I could leave it at that and feel complete in my review. But lets look closer. When I first heard that this series was going to be cancelled, I gnashed my teeth and swore to the gods. How could something so good end? I dismissed whoever said to me, "but remember, all good things must come to an end." However, letting the news sink in, I soon calmed down and realized that this series was one hell of a epic story, and I was just glad to have read such a book. Plus I had been reading this books since #1 first came out, about 4-5 years ago. I had been reading this book since I was a freshman in high school! Anyway, since the series was closing down, I settled in for a epic, be all, end all, battle for the galaxy between the Jedi and the Sith. As the issues got closer to #50, I began to think, "They better begin to resolve some of these plot lines, or they're never gonna have enough time!" Some clever store clerk, who's also a fellow Star Wars guru, pointed out, and Dan I'm looking at you, that they can't just end the story here. The story was going to continue even if the series didn't. Lo and behold, Dark Horse has announced a six-issue miniseries to proceed and possibly conclude from Legacy, entitled War, slotted to begin this December. That's awesome.

Putting aside that long rambling of mine, the issue is fantastic conclusion to the series. Though Cade Skywalker isn't the most heroic character, we still feel for him as he struggles to understand his destiny(it seems Skywalker and epic destiny go hand in hand). Scorning the label of Jedi, he is still a man who struggles to see good things happen, and sacrifices as much, and I'd say even more than any other Jedi. There are some epic moments in this issue, and all I can really say is you'd have to read them for yourself to get the full experience of the issue. Simply excellent.

Finally, I'd like to briefly mention Harlan Ellison's Phoenix Without Ashes #1. Harlan Ellison, enough said. Also Cullen Bunn's The Sixth Gun #3, from Oni Press reveals some background on the antagonists chasing the heroes of our tale. Excellent new series, dealing with western and demonic themes.

Next week, I'm looking forward to Action Comics #892, and Green Arrow #3. Farewell for now.

Lane Lectures: Another Superb Romance

2010-08-17T17:31:17Z

I don't think I'm making an outrageous statement when I say that Alan Moore is one of the premier writers of his comic generation. Of course we all know him for Watchmen, the superhero satire, published in the mid-1980s with art by Dave Gibbons. In fact that book provided the stepping stone for me to really leap into the comics medium. I had seen trailers for the upcoming movie, and during a book review project, someone in my high school English class had highly recommended it. "Just as good as any novel," he said. And, wow, was he right! I devoured Watchmen, and once I finished, I realized my hunger was not satiated. I needed more things to read by Alan Moore. "A quick wikipedia search will solve my problems," I thought. So surfing the web, I found out that Alan Moore had written V for Vendetta. "That movie was based off his work!," I thought. So, promplty, I devoured that work of genius.

From that point on it was like a potluck. However, in this potluck, all the different flavors originated from the same source. The great part about Alan Moore's writing is that it is always changing dramatically, and that it covers so many different genres and topics. Lost Girls, for example, is set in an Austrian hotel, on the eve of World War I. The graphic novel explores the sexual development of the three literary characters, Alice Fairchild from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Wendy Darling from Peter Pan, and Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But, really, who ever thought of something like that!? Only Alan Moore, it seems.

Now before I go too far, and worship everything Alan Moore has ever written, I want to discuss his Another Suburban Romance. This is a comic, published by Avatar Press, based originally off of his poem of the same name. Published sometime earlier this decade, Avatar Press is republishing all of Alan Moore's work from that company. "Another Suburban Romance", as I like to think, is Alan Moore's version of Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan. The poem evokes the decay of an urban society, London, most likely, as Moore himself stroles through the rubble, Glycon cane and all. Even without the stunning art by Juan Jose Ryp, I can still feel the human decay and the feverish attitude of the city, devastaingly overpopulated, where the "murders don't have motives," and "passions don't have names" Also included in this book are two other short stories. The first one, "Judy Switched Off the TV," feels very similar in theme to "Another Suburban Romance." Also set in a dystopian future, probably the same as "Romance", we follow the path of a man on his walk, too apathetic at this point to even notice or be surprised by the carnage around him. The last short story is titled, "Old Gangsters Never Die" This is Alan Moore's bizarre take on 1920s crime and the Prohibition era. However, it blends ghost horror themes, as all the dead mob gangsters gather in a movie theatre to watch their old lives on the big screen.

So now that you all know how much I love Alan Moore's writing, I would like to show you some of his other works and the span of genres he writes about. "The Courtyard", a short story, was his take on Lovecraft and Cthulhu. This work has also been adapted for comics, and is also available from Avatar Press. Other Cthulhu themed works of his, include the sequel to 'The Courtyard", Neonomicon, which has just started, and Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures. Supreme is Alan Moore's Superman. With a twist, of course, and a little bit of existentialism. Not only does he pay homage to old archetypes but he also adds his own unique feel to the story. Finally, if you are a hopeful future comics writer, you should really pick up Alan Moore's Writing for Comics. He mediates through the writing process in his own way, clear on the point, though, that writing is a very individual process.

Alan Moore is my favorite comic writer. Hell, he's probably my favorite writer. It has come to the point where I look for his name, and I know I want to read it. Oh the story is about this? Well that's great and all, but it's Alan Moore. I think I'll enjoy it primarily for that reason.

Matt Reviews: Week of August 11th

2010-08-12T19:21:46Z

I don't know about you guys, but this week has been a great week for me concerning the comics I collect and read! From the pulp hero of Doc Savage to Mike Carey's The Unwritten, I couldn't be happier in the books I bought this week.

First on my list today, I will be reviewing DC's Birds of Prey #4, written by Gail Simone, with art by Ed Benes. This is the final issue of the first story arc and I was really looking forward to some closure concerning the new threat the team had to face. In the first issue they encounter the deadly White Canary, hell bent on bringing pain and suffering to the Birds of Prey and those that are close to them. I really like how Gail Simone brings us Black Canary, aka Dinah Lance's thoughts as she grapples with this mysterious threat. Though this is part 4 of the 4, we do get a nice cliffhanger into where the series will be going from here. I've never read the first Birds of Prey series, but what really intrigued me into picking up the new series was the idea of an all-female team. Not only do they look really hot, but they are very strong female characters, who have humanity, but can also kick your ass if you try to mess with them. Even though he plays a small role in the story, I'd have to say my favorite character is Hawk aka Hank Hall. Being the only male on an all-female team, he really sticks out as this macho jock jerk, which is both amusing and interesting, seeing how he interracts with the women of the group.

Next I wanna talk about Doc Savage #5. Taking over from writer Paul Malmont, B. Clay Moore takes us into the next phase as Doc Savage and his crew seek refuge after the lightning attack on their home base. I gotta be honest, the first story arc wasn't my favorite but I do enjoy the pulp feel of the book, and have really been enjoying the First Wave books, also featuring The Spirit, and The Bat-Man. This issue was really fun because it's a stand alone tale where we see the normally powerful Doc Savage in a really vulnerable state. His team goes to Greece where he has to put his trust into a crime lord, who offers him a safe place to gather and recoup. I also really like Doc's team of men, who include Ham, Renny, Johnny, Tom, and Monk, each with their own unique skills and personalities. DC has done a great thing bringing back the old 1930s pulp characters to new 21 Century readers. Brian Azzerello, who is writing the main First Wave miniseries, will soon take over the Doc Savage series. What else can you expect from the writer of 100 Bullets and Johnny Double, but excellence?

Finally for this week's reviews, I wanna discuss The Unwritten #16, written by Mike Carey. This is classic Vertigo, smart and entertaining. This is a great issue because we get many answers to previous questions we all had for what was really going on with Tom Taylor and the shadowy literary organization out to get him. Tom finally meets his missing father for the first time in the series, and these two have some serious father/son issues to work out. Trying to explain to his son why he is so important and how they must defeat this evil organization who control the world through its literature, their meeting is cut drastically short by the arrival of the assasin Pullman. I don't wanna spoil too much, but death is involved. Meanwhile Lizzie has her own troubles, struggling with her identity as a literary character from Dicken's novel Our Mutual Friend, living in the real world. This series has been nothing but a joy to read, and I hope it lasts far into the years to come.

These three I wanted to highlight, but other great reads this week were Superman #702, Daytripper #9, and Zatanna #4.

For next week's books, I'm looking forward to the epic conclusion to Star Wars: Legacy, in issue #50. Also next week, Harlan Ellison will unveil his new comic miniseries, based off his tv pitch, The Starlost, titled Phoneix Without Ashes. Finally Cullen Bunn's The Sixth Gun #3, will be waiting eagerly in my pull to be read.

This has been Matt's reviews for the week and I will see you all next week.