Zilla and the Comics Junkies

Friday, June 09, 2006

6.9 Panel

Got a loaner laptop from my jobbie and swapped HDs. Nice (at least temporarily). I'm back before i was really even gone...

So yeah... Sometimes you have to sacrifice another to survive (many sometimes if you're the Punisher).

3 Comments:

09 June, 2006 18:35, cmoney said...: Wow, is that from the Tyger one-shot?
09 June, 2006 18:57, zilla said...: actually it's just from the latest Punisher issue (part 4 of barracuda). pretty cool though. tyger was beast though - i plan to post some thoughts on it after i reread.
09 June, 2006 21:57, Rob H said...: Zilla, have you read Punisher: Born? It's an origin tale of sorts set in the Vietnam war. It's awesome MAX if you ever get around to it.

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Star Wars Legacy 25c, The Last Christmas, and Exterminators

Man the motherboard on my work laptop (which i double as a home computer) fried yesterday and it's in the shop. What a pain in the ass. I'm on my wife's jalopy laptop (and can obviously still get to the internet at least) but i won't be able to scan/post images or do anything fancy for a few days... Regardless i wanted to post a few thoughts (w/ another batch to come tomorrow prob incl. TWD and Invincible).

Star Wars Legacy 25c - I'm as big a Star Wars fan as the next guy (and used to read the heck out of some SW comics when i was a kid) but i'be been having hella trouble getting into any of the current titles (i've tried them all for at least an issue or 2 over the last year). Ultimately i've come to the conclusion that the SW universe (as far as the comic books are concerned) is unapproachable.

I mean there's SO much history here in the SW comics, across so many titles, it's damn near impossible to figure out what the hell is currently going on w/o tremendous research... and as far as i can tell current creative teams (even those starting up a new book like Legacy) are making little attempt to welcome new readership... Or maybe i'm just salty about my laptop this morning. The first comic i posted thoughts about had to know it was going to get slammed. Ha.

The Last Christmas - I have NO idea why, but my expectations for this book were/are super high. It's written by a couple of guys i've never heard of (Duggan and Posehn) and drawn by better-known-for-his-writing Rick Remender. The idea though is pretty damn cool; the world has (barely) survived a nuclear war and spiraled down into an anarchy filled w/ disfigured mutants (nuclear winter/fallout will do that to you) and shameless marauders.

Santa Claus and his elves are still trying to keep Christmas going despite the mess; that is until the North Pole is invaded by brigands and Mrs. Claus savagely murdered. In a fit of rage and dispair, Santa cancels Christmas and does what any self-respecting husband would do if his wife were killed - goes on a bender to end all benders.

After copious amounts of booze and some hilarious failed suicide attempts, Santa regains himself and sets out for revenge slash to save the world (at least this is what we can expect to happen starting in #2).

The comic so far isn't everything it could be but entertains. There are some genuinely funny laugh out loud moments (Santa's suicide attempts) side-by-side w/ a few dogs, and one disturbing image of Santa sitting in his boxer shorts pouring syrup on himself. Not much action so far but it's promised starting next issue.

Gotta wonder why they didn't release this around the holidays? Pick it up if you like Battle Pope and or generally irreverant, comedic use of morally spiffy religious icons! OR if you just want to see Santa whup some ass and save the world (starting in issue #2). B.

Exterminators #6 - This really is a great comic... and i HATE bugs (i'm no woman so it's not born of fear... that is unless they are in the thousands when i encounter them). I'm a HUGE fan of Tony Moore's pencils, and he's even better here than on Fear Agent (let's keep the last issue of FA off his resume, though i'm still not convinced it wasn't an imposter).

In this issue Henry and Stretch (Stretch is a great character) head to a very weird fullfill-your-strangest-sexual-fantasy establishment to cure a spider infestation and henry's teetering marriage finally falls apart (though he quickly meets a new love interest who's a bit hot in her school girl outfit). B.

2 Comments:

09 June, 2006 11:31, Ryan X said...: Exterminators is the greatest comic book in the world! Okay, maybe not, but it is damn good. Unfortuantely I can't read your review because I haven't read this issue yet.
09 June, 2006 13:54, zilla said...: no worries i didn't give anything away... getting better about thoughts w/o spoilers i am!

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Wednesday, June 07, 2006

6.7 Panel

Image Courtesty Joystiq.

2 Comments:

09 June, 2006 21:55, Rob H said...: Heh! That's pretty good.
10 June, 2006 12:03, CellarDoor said...: Why can't I stop looking at that picture. And I'm not even a gamer!

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Dark Horse in August...

Ah August is so far away but anticipation is cool (courtesy IGN)...

Chickenhare: House of Klaus
Writer: Chris Grine
Artist: Chris Grine

He's a chicken! He's a hare! He's Chickenhare! And he's your new favorite comic book character, whether you know it or not!

As night falls on a frozen landscape, Chickenhare and his turtle friend Abe find themselves on their way to be sold to Klaus—an insane taxidermist with a penchant for unique animals and enough emotional baggage to go on a very long vacation.

With the help of two mysterious new companions, our fuzzy, feathered, and amphibious heroes endeavor to escape their dire fate. But they soon discover that might not be so easy when they get caught up in an adventure that could bring Klaus's villainy to an end for good . . . or they all might die.

Whatever happens, Chickenhare is sure to charm, scare, and delight readers young and old alike!

Recommended for fans of Bone, Usagi Yojimbo, and Sock Monkey!

Recommended for fans of Bone and Usagi? Though those two have little in common but i AM a fan of both. This solicit had me at "insane taxidermist"...

The Hellboy Companion
Writer: Stephen Weiner and Jason Hall
Artist: Mike Mignola

Written by Stephen Weiner (The Will Eisner Companion) and Jason Hall (Beware the Creeper; Trigger; Detective Comics) and densely illustrated with classic images from the comics as well as a handful of new drawings from Mignola, this volume offers thorough documentation of the Hellboy universe, compiling the many complex pieces that make up the life of the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator into an easily understandable format. From Abe Sapien to the secret origin of the world, this complete compendium is every hardcore Hellboy fan's key to the mind of Mike Mignola, and the ultimate introduction for anyone looking to begin their journey in the weird and wondrous world he has created.

Hellboy fans (new and old) have been waiting years for something like this... I can't wait to find out how "way off" i am with about half of what i understand (or think i understand) about the intricacies of HB and the incredible mythos Mignola has built around him... I'm also a sucker for "dense compendium"s (esp those containing new art from MM).

Satsuma Gishiden Volume 1
Writer: Hiroshi Hirata
Artist: Hiroshi Hirata

Controversial, tough, angry, highly skilled, and lost in a time of peace, the characters of Satsuma Gishiden tell a quasi-historical tale of social caste and brutal reprisal.

Readers with a taste for Kazuo Koike's gritty Lone Wolf and Cub will go nuts for master gekiga artist Hiroshi Hirata's tome of samurai struggle. Hirata's art and calligraphy leap off the page during scenes of action, only to unfold upon a full bleed that looks like a fine plate print. It's art at its most expressive, accentuating the classic stoic samurai characters you've come to know, only with a little more true society thrown in to help the reader understand what it was really like to be a warrior without a war.

You guys just new i'd jump on this one now didn't you? PS i'm starting in on Lone Wolf and Cub for the first time this week...

3 Comments:

08 June, 2006 01:17, comicfreak said...: I'm maybe gonna order Chickenhare. I only wish somewhere on the internet there's more art about this (other than the cover).
Some preview pages would be nice.
08 June, 2006 06:16, CellarDoor said...: Zilla,

Any idea on the format of the Hellboy companion? I'm assuming it's not a flop, but is it a TPB or maybe a larger HC? Number of pages? Price? I suppose I could do my own searching on the web, but figured I'd ask you first. It sounds great! I'm working my way through the HB trades now. Just got #3. I actually read all the BPRD stuff before I started on the Hellboy titles, kind of backwards...
08 June, 2006 10:19, zilla said...: damn if you read B.P.R.D. before HB you're in for a real treat... i mean B.P.R.D. is good but HB is CLASSIC.

as for the format of that new book... i'm guessing a TP since it's listed at 14.95... shame since it would make a great HC if done properly...

my source for the stuff in this post is IGN (http://comics.ign.com/articles/711/711518p1.html)

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Tuesday, June 06, 2006

6.7 Shopping List

Ah back to our normal release day (wed). The world is right again. As usual i'm looking for you guys to fill in the gaps for me so let me know what i'm sleeping on (missing).

For sure...

BPRD UNIVERSAL MACHINE #3 (OF 5) - These B.P.R.D. mini's keep getting better and better IMO and "Universal Machine" is no exception...
EXTERMINATORS #6 (MR) - Pull list. Mr. X you still w/ this?
INVINCIBLE #32 - Pull list. Always a good week when Invincible and TWD drop. Me = hype.
WALKING DEAD #28 (MR) - Pull list. See above.
MARVEL TEAM-UP #21 - Pull list. Fun book that's losing me lately...
PUNISHER #34 (MR) - Pull list. I got into the Punisher MAX series late (last arc) but i've been enjoying the heck out of it... are the previous arcs/issues as good??

Maybe?

STAR WARS LEGACY #0 - I've yet to find a Star Wars title i can get into but there seems to be a buzz about this one... I'll at least give it the 'ole flip through gut-check.
CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #1 (OF 10) - What's the difference between this and the 7-issue Civil War run?

Next Week...

EX MACHINA SPECIAL #2 (OF 2) (MR)
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1?

5 Comments:

06 June, 2006 16:36, Ryan X said...: I'm still with you boss, just no time to comment lately. Between work and home, my free time is nil (like everyone else out there). In order to get through my latest stack, I resorted to bringing them all with me offshore and reading them on the helicopter ride. Anyway, I am out here and loving Exterminators as much as ever. Hordes of intelligent bugs? What's not to love?
07 June, 2006 12:50, googum said...: If you haven't read it already, Punisher: The End. You'll love it.
07 June, 2006 13:29, zilla said...: googum - i can't find "Punisher: The End" at Amazon, instocktrades, or my usual haunts. is it a TP? uncollected mini or a one-shot or what?
07 June, 2006 23:09, cmoney said...: Punisher: The End is a one-shot from a couple years (more?) back.

I've heard good things about the Punisher: Tyger one-shot that was released last week.
08 June, 2006 10:17, zilla said...: cmoney - i picked up the tyger one shot and def enjoyed it... i was going to review but never got around to it... thanks hoss.

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Monday, June 05, 2006

Preview pages of Wolverine #43 (nice)

Though i dug the art in Wolverine #42, i felt that my man Humberto Ramos wasn't on the tip-top of his game and might need a few issues to get back into shape (drawing capes again after working on Revelations with Jenkins most of last year).

Doesn't look like it will take that long from the uber-cool preview pages of #43 (click through to Newsarama). I love this guy.

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6.5 Panel

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Blog @ Newsarama

The good folks over at Newsarama are joining the comics blog-o-sphere. I haven't had much time today to sift through their initial posts, but i will here at some point.

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Sunday, June 04, 2006

Black Gas #3 (of 3)

Warren Ellis' Black Gas concluded this week. I enjoyed the mini, though it ended rather predictably w/ Tyler's infection and eventual death at the hands of his kickin'-ass-and-takin'-names girlfriend Soo. No worries for the next installment though (another mini is planned for release in the fall) since Soo is the much stronger lead character anyways...

In the end Black Gas was pretty much your typical high-gore zombie story (unique only by the cause of this particular zombie plague), but i'd be lying if i said i didn't enjoy it. I guess i'm a sucker for this kind of stuff :) I'm most certainly onboard for the next installment... and glad to hear there is already one planned.

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Vertigo's Panel @ WW Philly (courtesy Newsarama)

Newsarama's got some notes up from Vertigo's panel at WW Philly.

Personally, I was most interested to read about: Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (an original GN from Fables mack Willingham, set apart from the ongoing series) and BKV's Pride of Baghdad. Also a pretty cool sounding mini about an American soldier in Vietnam and his enemy counterpart (Enemy Mine?) called The Other Side and news (to me) that 100 Bullets is ending w/ issue #100. There's also finally a ballpark release date for the new Absolute Sandman Vol. 1 HC (November!), covering the first (completely and spectacularly re-colored) 20 issues.

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6.4 Panel

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Saturday, June 03, 2006

6.3 Panel

One more from Death Comes to Dillinger.... Can't wait for #2.

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Friday, June 02, 2006

July 2006 Wizard Mag...

Been a while since i commented on an issue of Wizard, but this latest issue is surprisingly packed stuff i felt like sharing (some of it old news now so bear w/ me):

Ed McGuiness has signed exclusive w/ Marvel... seemingly to continue working w/ his old pal Loeb (these two have man-crushes on each other like nobody's business). I'm a big fan of McGuiness, esp on Superman Batman; he draws his characters uber-jacked up in the muscle dept and you can really feel his action panels. Can't wait to see what he and Loeb are going to work on w/ Marvel... according to the article here, it's not just one something but many somethings (yes sir). Hulk please??? You should see McGuiness' Hulk sketch in here...

I'm really, really, really stoked about this: Brubaker and Sean Phillips are working on a new grit crime comic (ongoing!) called simply "Criminal". Criminal promises to "shine a light on society's underbelly" and is compared to Sin City and 100 Bullets. There is little doubt this book will kick ass. Personally, i can't friggin' wait.

http://p5.hostingprod.com/@jamessime.com/brubaker/slpr12_cropped2.jpg

While Eric Powell is off working on the much anticipated "Chinatown" Goon arc in the fall, DH is putting "Dwight T. Albatross Presents: The Goon Noir", a 3-issue mini (anthology) jam packed w/ Goon shorts featuring a killer list of guest writers and artists including Ryan Sook, John Arcudi, Tony Moore, and Humberto Ramos (among others). All in B&W. Oh my.

Next, there's a pretty interesting article by Chris Lawrence about the life (and death) of Conan creator Robert E. Howard. I've loved Conan all my life but knew little about his creator until now. I had no idea Howard was such an eccentric, or that he committed suicide shortly before his mother's death at the ripe-young age of 30... How the heck did he put out SO much great Conan material in such a short time? Somehow i doubt he had any idea the impact he'd have on fantasy books and comics, or the Gov. of California's career. Wow.

http://fantasy.mrugala.net/Les%20Edwards/Les%20Edwards%20-%20Conan%20Road%20Of%20Kings.jpg

Finally, Wizard has thoughtfully prepared yet another "Top 100" list for us... this time the "Top 100 Greatist Villians of All Time". As you can imagine i've got issue w/ many of these entries (esp their slotting) but most of all i'm just sick of any top 100 lists that aren't books, graphic novels (or other wish list type items), or hot women.

Cheers for now folks... some of you guys have been awful quiet lately... where the hell is everyone???

2 Comments:

02 June, 2006 17:40, CellarDoor said...: Here! Just lurking...
03 June, 2006 02:26, Rob H said...: Ditto. I'm still around.

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Thursday, June 01, 2006

6.1 Panel

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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

5.31 Panel

Just read Death Comes to Dillinger #1 again and i gotta say this is one well executed and down right swell read (ps - in case your're wondering the panels below aren't in order).

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6.1 Shopping List

Not sure if it's the shortened holiday week or what, but there doesn't seem to be much coming out tomorrow (as always bitch-slap me if i'm missing something i shouldn't be). Regardless, i'm a bit stoked for Emissary #1 and the next issue of Ellis' Black Gas, and was extra hype for a split second when i saw Ultimates 2 on Diamond's shipping list... until i read down the line and saw it was just a poster. Weak.

EMISSARY #1 - Seems interesting... And hell, i'm trying something new every week (thanks Guy).
GODLAND #11 - Pull list. I think the creative team behind Godland is taking a few months off after #12.
THING #7 - Pull list. One of the only comics on the stands in which the starring cape regularly wears clothes other than his spandex.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #30 - Pull list.
WARREN ELLIS BLACK GAS #3 - Gratuitous gore anyone? I'm a sucker for a well done zombie story and this one fits the bill so far...

PS - Is Ed McGuiness still drawing Superman Batman?

2 Comments:

31 May, 2006 22:11, Dave Carter said...: "Is Ed McGuiness still drawing Superman Batman?"

Nope. McGuiness just singed a Marvel exclusive.

S/B #26 is the all-star jam Sam Loeb tribute issue.
01 June, 2006 09:03, zilla said...: Dave - that's pretty good news... i really like McGuiness' work (esp teamed w/ Loeb). I guess now they'll have the opportunity to work together again since Loeb is exc. Marvel too... any clues as to what they'll be doing?

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Talent #1

I've forgotten which of you guys recommended i pick up the first issue of Boom Studio's Talent, but in the end i'm glad i took your advice (and promise never to doubt you again i swear ;) Good book so far my friends.

#1 opens as a passenger plane full of everyday'ers crashes into the ocean, killing all aboard save one - a seemingly nothing special college professor by the name of Nicholas Dane (a great "every man" character so far BTW). Dane's survival isn't your typical miracle though - he's discovered in the wreckage of the plane a full 16 hours after it's been fully submerged in sub-zero waters and can't explain why (or how) he has been spared.

The uniqueness of Nick Dane doesn't end there though, he's also mysteriously connected to many of his fellow passengers (though they are all now dead), through spots of shared memories and inherited "talents". He spends the back half of this first issue struggling internally in an effort to come to grips with what has happened, the media scrutiny that's accompanied it all, and the unexplainable link he now has with his recently perished fellow travelers, all while avoiding repeated attempts on his life. Good stuff.

Throw in a hard nosed investigator (assigned to a gov't task force charged with investigating the crash) backed by a mysterious Cardinal (yeah that kind of cardinal) with as yet unexplained interests, and you've got a heck of a good start IMO.

In the end i'm kind of surprised to learn that Talent is only a four-issue mini... IMO the foundation is here for a unique, interesting, and well entertaining ongoing. The art is a bit minimalistic but fits well... reminding me a bit of the artwork in Winter Men for some reason. Regardless, it looks through 1 that Golden, Sniegoski, and Azaceta have got an interesting story to tell. I'm in. A.

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5.30 Panel

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In no particular order:

The Goon, All-Star Superman, Daredevil, Exterminators, Punisher, Hellboy/B.P.R.D (All), Powers, Godland, Usagi Yojimbo, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Conan, Ex Machina, DMZ, Desolation Jones, Fell, 100 Bullets, Ultimates 2, Loveless, Fear Agent, and Astonishing X-men.

I'm recently back reading after a 15 year comics hiatus.

Zilla is not my real name.

I'm from Tejas living in VA. I'm married w/ 2 dogs. I'm an IT security consultant cranking the wheel for a big consulting firm in "real" life.

I watch the History Channel, Nat'l Geo, TLC, Mil Channel, ESPN and NFL Network, CourtTV (forensic files, etc.) and the Cartoon Network (love Genndy T's Samurai Jack and Clone Wars Adventures). My taste in movies: Gladiator, Last Samurai, Braveheart, Godfather, Tarantino (whatever), Kung-Fu (whatever), Westerns, Top Gun, Big Lebowski.

I love the outdoors and bs'ing around w/ my dogs.

In addition to being a comics junkie, i'm also a sports junkie especially when it comes to the Texas Longhorns and the Dallas Cowboys.

Friday, June 09, 2006

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Wednesday, June 07, 2006

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Tuesday, June 06, 2006

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Monday, June 05, 2006

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Sunday, June 04, 2006

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Saturday, June 03, 2006

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Friday, June 02, 2006

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Thursday, June 01, 2006

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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

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