Putting up the New Comic Weblog Updates page has been a real learning experience. First of all, I learned that there is a crap load of comic book blogs out there. Now I know that some of those blogs have people that are on staff and are probably getting paid to write stuff, (the Newsarama Blog and Comics Should Be Good come to mind), but the rest of them? How do they keep up?

I know there are plenty of people out there blogging like me that barely have time to read comics, let alone write about them. For those that do write a lot, my virtual hat is off to you, and I respect the effort you put into your blog.

With that in mind, here is my feeble attempt to “to keep up with the bloggers”, and write up a few more reviews. The big bonus for two or three of you that read these is that these comics are pretty new!!

Amazons Attack #1 - HOLY CRAP this was bad. It didn’t make any sense to me at all. Maybe if I read Wonder Woman (and it was on time) it would be different. Somehow I doubt it. I will more than likely not buy anymore of this series. Is it just me, or do other people feel that way?

Action Comics #847 - Now this is a really good story. One of the things that I loved from the original Crisis when they redid Superman was that both of Clark’s parents didn’t die before he left for Metropolis. This story is a great example of why. They help ground Superman, and make him more human. Great stuff.

Action Comics #848 - This is a good start to an interesting story arc. Those people that know me know that I have never been a fan of religion in any form. Reading this story reminds me why I feel that way. I am looking forward to the next issue in this arc, it should be interesting.

Superman #661 - I hate to say it, but this issue was really bad. Maybe I expect a lot more out of Busiek’s work, but everything about this issue was really horrible and I am not wasting any more time on it. P.S. Speech balloons on covers should be BANNED!!! They suck!!

Superman\Batman Confidential - I’m not going to buy these anymore. Any kind of “prequel” stories of Superman and Batman are kind of pointless and a waste of time. Their history gets rewritten too often for it to stick.

Robin #160 -161 - This title has really been good ever since One Year Later stuff started. Adam Beechen has done a great job on this title, and I really like what he has done with the Robin character. Too bad he has too leave Robin so he can take over Teen Titans, but I am looking forward to seeing what he does with that title.

Outsiders Annual #1 - Man was this AWESOME!! All those storyline loose ends tied up in a nice little package. It was great to see Scott McDaniel drawing Nightwing again; he really knows how to draw that character in action. I hope they got something for McDaniel after Green Arrow ends. Once again, Judd Winick delivers a great story; he really knows how to write these characters in a way to make them entertaining. The only thing I was disappointed about was my theory Jason Todd being the Nightwing with the Outsiders when they went underground was blown out of the water. Otherwise, this is exactly the kind of comic I like to see. Keep it up guys!!

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Man have I been busy lately. I had to week long trips in March; we finally got a large project approved at work, etc… When it rains it pours.

I had a large pile of comics built up and I finally got through most of them, just in time for more to come in the mail on Monday. That will probably my last shipment of comics through the mail, so I can finally get back into getting comics at a comic shop again.

I wrote these reviews a while back when I had some time, but I haven’t had time to type them in until now.

Flash #7-8: I am really glad the Bilson/Demeo run on this book is over. I was very shocked at how bad it was, especially since I really enjoyed their work on the Flash TV show. Hopefully the next guy will be better. I am still not happy with what they have done with the Flash character and I really think it was a mistake. Wally and Bart had really started to fit in the roles that they were in, and to change it like they did just didn’t sit well with me. Having Bart follow in his grandfather’s footsteps as a forensic scientist that I like. That is the main reason I am sticking on this title for now at least. I will just have to see how it turns out.

Detective Comics #827 - Holy Sicko Batman!! Now this was a really great issue! The idea behind the new Ventriloquist is brilliant!! Dini was really able to pull of a convincing psycho with this character and I have to say it really took me by surprise. Overall an excellent issue and I really enjoyed it. I also like the self-contained stories; it really is a good change of pace from the large story arcs.

Detective Comics #828 - Another good issue from Dini. It’s great to see the “detective” back into Detective Comics. That aspect of Batman has been ignored for way too long. Also, whatever happened to the Jason Bard backup stories? I thought that was a great idea.

Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood #3-4 - First of all, cover of #3, EWWWWWW!! Shado is practically old enough to be Conner’s mother! Not a good choice for a cover if you ask me. Past that, and the kiss between them in the comic; I am really enjoying this series. It is really great to have Chuck Dixon back writing Connor Hawke again. Dixon has always been on of my favorite writers, and I am not sure why DC doesn’t put on some of their weaker titles to get them back on track. I guess it will take some time to rebuild bridges after that whole CrossGen thing.

Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #1-2 - I have to say that this has to be two of the worst comics I have ever read in all the years that I have been reading comics. The Guy Gardner character has never been my favorite; in fact I despised the character completely for a long time. I changed my mind during the Green Lantern: Rebirth and the GL Corps: Recharge series to some degree. Gardner is still an arrogant ass, but you can count on him to cover your back in a pinch. This series drops him to a level of degenerate that I have never seen in a comic. I have NO IDEA how this piece of crap got past editorial. If you were thinking of buying this, save your money. Buy an Invincible trade instead.

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Here is the fourth semi-sporadic installment of my drive by comic book review column, the Geoff Johns edition. I have survived my brush with death, so I thought I would take the time and do a few comic reviews.

I just so happened to finish reading a few comics written by Geoff Johns, so I thought I might as well group them together in this review.

Here it goes…

Justice Society of America #1-3: I don’t care what anyone else says, this is a great start for a damn fine comic. Personally this is the kind of thing I love about Johns writing, his thorough knowledge of the DC Universe and all of its characters. Sure the Nazi massacres aren’t my favorite, but it’s in there to tell the story and set the tone of just how serious the situation is. Boy is it serious! Some have complained that this comic is the start of DC trying to make everything go to the Kingdom Come future; I see it more as showing that it might be a separate entity all together. In any case, Johns did a great job of bringing in new characters but paying homage to the older characters that came before them. There are plenty of blanks to fill in from 52/World War III in this comic, like how did Jessie Chambers get her mother’s powers; and when did she get married to the new Hourman? I am definitely looking forward to reading more.

Green Lantern #17: More shock and awe from Johns on this one! Just when you think you know what is going to happen, BAM, he hits you out of the blue. Those panels when a Sinestro ring goes to Batman, priceless!! Absolutely brilliant!! A great way to end this story arc. I am looking forward to the next, and the Sinestro Corp backup stories should be very interesting too.

Teen Titans #43: All I can say is WHOA!! Talk about getting dark fast. Ok, that isn’t all I can say. First off I HATE what they have done with the Batgirl character and I think it is so cheesy that they turned her into a villain!! ARRRGHHH!! I remember reading that Dido said that they would fix that character. WHEN?!?!?! Secondly, I am getting sick of seeing Deathstroke kicking everyone’s ass all the time. Someone put that bastige DOWN!! At least it looks like he has seriously lost it this time, so maybe it will give the Titans the advantage. Third. A…. Bizzaro…. Clone…. of…. Superboy….. That is brilliant and twisted at the same time. Talk about sticking the knife in and twisting it. It is almost wrong Johns, just plain evil. It makes for a damn good story anyway.

Well that is it for this time. Until then; bag and board’em!!

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OK, I can’t concentrate on work with a damn since it is Friday, and its payday, AND I am going out of town on business next week. So what is a comic geek like myself supposed to do?? Write some I reviews!! At least until the boss catches me anyway

Previous reviews from this series can be found here

Here is what is up for this time around.

The Creeper #1-6 (of 6): I have never really been that much of a fan of The Creeper, but I just read the last book of this series, and I have to say I liked it. Now this wasn’t the best comic I have ever read, but it was a good solid story that did a great job telling the origin of the latest version of The Creeper. I have no idea how close this was to the original, since I never really new much about the character until now. This was a solid series, and I had no complaints.

Batman and the Mad Monk #1-6 (of 6): Once again Matt Wagner did a kick ass job on this series, just like he did on Batman and the Monster Men. I just LOVED this series! It takes one hell of a writer to take a story that was just a few pages from a comic back in the late 1930’s, “update” it a bit and turn it into a full fledged mini-series like this. If you are a Batman fan, pick this series up at your local comic shop. If not, the trade is already available for pre-order from Amazon.

Mystery in Space #1-6 (of eight): This mini-series has really shown Jim Starlin’s writing talent when it goes to science fiction. I have truly enjoyed reading this series, it is great stuff. To me this story reminds me a lot of Dreadstar, which was also a great series in its time; and how much I love Starlin’s work on that. If you liked his recent work on Cosmic Guard and Kid Kosmos (still need to get the later), you will probably like this too. The series hasn’t sold any issues out, so you could probably jump in with too much trouble, just in time to finish it.

OK, that is about it for now. I think the boss is due out of his meeting any minute….

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Here is the second installment of The Quick and The Read. If you are looking for hard hitting timely reviews on comics that came out recently, then this ain’t it pal. I get comics through the mail (for now), I am always behind.

That isn’t going to stop me from writing about those same comics, though so hang around and you might enjoy yourself anyway. You can catch the first post of this series here

Here we go…

Green Lantern #16: Another great issue from Geoff Johns. Man I really like this book and Green Lantern is really becoming one of my favorite characters. Bringing back Hal Jordan was one of the greatest things to happen to comics in years as far as I am concerned. Johns you ROCK!! The “Wanted: Hal Jordan” arc has really been good, and a lot of fun to read. The art is top notch too, Ivan Reis can really draw the tone this books needs.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #24-26: I have been a big Legion fan since I was a kid, so I have big expectations for this title. When they brought on Supergirl, they almost lost me as a reader. Waid is one of my favorite writers, but he kind of lost his way a little bit, the Supergirl stuff was driving me crazy and I didn’t really like it. With #24-26, I am finally starting to see the stuff I really like to see in the Legion. It reminded me of the good old days. I was so glad to see Mon-El again, he has always been one of my favorite characters. Waid is finally back track, its too bad that he and Kitson will be ending their run with #30. I was really starting to get excited about reading this title again.

Justice League of America (2006) #0-5: I remember reading when the first few issues of this came out and the biggest complaint was that is was too slow. You fools, that is called character development!! Comics need more of that these days, and Brad Metzler does an excellent job with this comic.  The characters in these issues are some of the most 3-dimensional that I have seen in a while.  All the little nuances of the characters and their interaction with each other, especially between the big three, make the characters come alive.  This is truly what comics should be in my opinion.  As far as action goes, there was plenty of it in 3-5.  This is one of my favorite titles and I look forward to reading it every month.

Well, that is it for this time around.  See you next time!!

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OK, I have been really trying to put some “content” on this blog, but usually a few of things keep me from doing that.

1. I’m pretty damn lazy
2. When I write, I am “long winded” and write something that is close to a novel.

Now writing for WindowsSecrets.com has certainly helped with that, since I have deadlines to meet and I am forced to write something or I don’t get paid, plus what I write has to be brief.

With that in mind, here is my first attempt to do regular comic reviews on this blog by writing something about every comic I have read. These will be short and to the point, saving the more lengthy reviews for the extremely exceptional/craptastic stuff.

That’s it, enough lead in. On to the reviews.

Ion #10: Huh??

Ion #11: Seriously Marz, I have really been enjoying this series, but you are all over the place. I feel like I have walked in the middle of a season of “Lost”. This had all better make sense in the last issue or I am going to be pissed.

Astro City: The Dark Age - Book Two: Busiek, you are a genius, really you are. I love Astro City, it is really great stuff. Those people that think comics are stupid should be forced to read every Astro City comic. I just wish AC came out more often. Hint, hint

Invincible #37: We all know how much I love this comic, and this one was no exception. However, was it just me or was there a kind of underlining “ewwwww” factor in this issue? If you know what I am talking about, let us know in the comments.

Invincible #38: This issue was great too, a lot of stuff was covered that needed to be resolved. Mark and Eve kiss and its ABOUT FRAKING TIME. I hate that “unrequited love” crap. Mostly because my high school years were full of it. (Those chicks know who they are.)

OK, that is it for the first installment. Until next time!!

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