I spent way too much money last week on comics so thankfully I’m not getting too many books this Wednesday. Here’s what I”ll be buying this week:
Agents of Atlas #10
Batman #690
Buffy #28
Chew #4
Deadpool #15
Invincible Iron Man #17
And that’s it. Need to save some money for Beatles: Rock Band next week and this will help. What’re y’all gittin’ this week?
J.
DC
Batman #690
Batman Confidential #33
Dead Romeo #6
Final Crisis Aftermath Run #5
Jonah Hex #47
Justice League Cry for Justice #3
Magog #1
Mighty #8
North 40 #3
Red Tornado #1
Solomon Grundy #7
Strange Adventures #7
Supergirl Annual #1
Wednesday Comics #9
DC/VERTIGO
Greek Street #3
Northlanders #20
Sweet Tooth #1 (Only $1.00)
Young Liars #18
DC/WILDSTORM
Authority #14
MARVEL
Agents of Atlas #10
Black Panther #8
Cable #18
Daring Mystery Comics #1
Deadpool #15
House of M Masters of Evil #2
Immortal Weapons #2
Incognito #6
Invincible Iron Man #17
Iron Man Armor Wars #2
Luke Cage Noir #2
Marvel Zombies Return #1
Moon Knight Saga (Free)
Mystic Comics #1
Official Index to the Marvel Universe #9
Scourge of the Gods Fall #3
Starr the Slayer #1
Strange Tales #1
The Trojan War #5
Torch #1
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2
OTHER PUBLISHERS
Army of Darkness #24
Astro Boy Movie Adaptation #3
Barack the Barbarian #2
Boys #34
Buffy Vampire Slayer #28
Chew #1 (4th Print)
Chew #2 (3rd Print)
Chew #3 (2nd Print)
Chew #4
Dead Run #4
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #3
Doctor Who #3 Ongoing
Fall Out Toy Works #1
Fist of Justice #5
From the Ashes #4
Grimjack Manx Cat #2
Hercules Knives of Kush #2
Hotwire #4
I am Legion #5
Invincible Presents Atom Eve Collected Edition
Irredeemable #6
Jersey Gods #7
Last Resort #2
Mercy Sparx #4
Mice Templar Destiny #3
Proof #23
Rawbone #4
Resurrection 2 #3
Robert E Howard Thulsa Doom #1
Savage Dragon #152
Star Wars Invasion #3
The Good the Bad the Ugly #3
Transformers Best of UK Prey #2
Witchfinder In the Service of Angels #3
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Absolute V for Vendetta HC
Angel Blood and Trenches Volume 1
Batman Gotham After Midnight
Battkestar Galactica Origins Starbuck & Helo
Cars Rookie
Cat Burglar Black
Cosmic Odyssey (New Printing)
DC Library JLA by George Perez Volume 1 HC
Dead Irons HC
DMZ Volume 7 War Powers
Essential Sub-Mariner Vol 1
GI Joe Origins Volume 1
Hulk Gray HC
Incredibles Family Matters
JSA Vol 5 Black Adam and Isis HC
Marvel Super Hero Squad Hero Up Digest
Marvel Zombies Army of Darkness
MMW Atlas Era Black Knight HC Vol 1
New Avengers Reunion HC
Nocturnals Vol 2 Dark Forever and Other Tales HC
Spider-Man 24-7 HC
Spider-Man Sinister Six Prem HC
Spy Vs Spy Masters of Mayhem
Spy Vs Spy Danger Intrigue Stupidity
Spy Vs Spy Missions of Madness
Star Trek Archives Best of Ulternate Universes
Superman New Krypton Vol 2 HC
Wolverine and Power Pack Wild Pack Digest
Wonderful Wizard of Oz HC
MANGA
Bleach Vol 28
Ghost Hunt Vol 12
Ninja Girls Vol 1
Pastel Vol 14
Prince of Tennis Vol 33
Sand Chronicles Vol 6
Shaman King Vol 24
Shonen Jump Oct 09
Silent Mobius Complete Edition Vol 1
Suzuka Vol 12
Tale of an Unknown Country Vol 1
I woke up quite late today and this was the first thing I saw:
Disney Acquires Marvel – UPDATED
Didn’t see that coming. I’m sure we will be talking about this more in the weeks to come.
Share your thoughts on this in the comments section.
J.
Last week I had a post about the uncertainty of whether X-Factor would continue or not as a monthly series. Looks like I was worried over nothing after all. Marvel will be restarting the series with the 200th issue which will ship in December. CBR interviewed Peter David today at Toronto’s Fan Expo and here is part of what he said:
“It feels good, I suppose. I think everyone will concur that ‘X-Factor’ is a little different from most of the other X-books and a lot of books that are coming out. Whether that’s good or bad, of course, I think people should form their own opinions. It’s nice that the market has supported it; it’s gratifying to see the enthusiasm of the fanbase and I am very appreciative that both Marvel and the fans have stuck with it.”
To be honest with you guys X-Factor was THE must read comic for me every month. And then Secret Invasion came along and completely killed my interest in the book. Now that David will be starting a new story arc I think it will be a good time for me to jump back on board.
Hit the link down below to read CBR’s entire interview.
Who: Sinestro
Where: Green Lantern #45
Why: I stated in my Green Lantern review earlier in the week that I believe DC and Geoff Johns have big plans for Sinestro. This week’s issue of GL begins what I think will be the story of Sinestro’s redemption. There have been rumor’s for a while now that there will be at least more Lantern Corps created during Blackest Night. And as CCW reader Curtis has already pointed out, Sinestro may be the first to become a White Lantern. We shall see.
If you missed my review of Green Lantern #45 hit the link below.
J.
The following review was written for the new issue of Variant Girl’s E-Zine which won’t be up for another few days. She is letting me post it here first for all of the CCW Blog readers as a “sneak peek” to her new issue. I’ll be letting all you guys and gals know when her new issue is up but until then I hope you enjoy this. Thanks VG.
20th Century Boys Vol. 1 Review
By Jose Melendez
Writer/Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: Viz Media
Price: USA $12.99/CAN $15.00
“Are we, today, the kind of adults we dreamed of becoming back then?
Or would our childhood selves just look at us now and laugh?”
As a child my mind was always focused on the “here and now” or maybe I should say the “there and then.” I was too busy playing with my friends, with my G.I. Joes, with my video games to have time to think about the future. But that’s how it should be, right? Living in the moment is what being a child is all about. I would sometimes set unreasonable goals and aspirations for myself when asked “What would you like to be when you grow up?” But I think the answers I gave to that question, like wanting to be an astronaut or a fighter pilot, were really all about what I daydreamed about doing more so than what I daydreamed about being. The future will always catch up to you one way or another and most times it is not at all what you imagined it being.
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys is a story about the wonderment of being a child and the uncertainties of what the future holds. The narrative is constantly jumping from the past (the late sixties and early seventies) to the present (1997) to the future (sometime in the 21st century) and also to an, as of yet, undisclosed time. As children the main character Kenji along with his friends formed a “gang” complete with a club symbol and hideout. It was a place where they could spend all day reading manga and listening to the radio while building a secret world all for themselves.
Flash to the present where we find Kenji, now in his thirties, has become accustomed to the monotony of daily adult life. He has given up his love of playing the guitar to help run the family business and also cares for his sister’s baby, Kanna, who was unfairly abandoned by her now missing mother. Throughout his day Kenji is seemingly pestered by everyone in his life (his mother, closest friends and even an old school crush) about the need to find a woman and get married before it’s too late. We follow Kenji as he attends an old friend’s wedding, then on to the reception where he leads a toast to the couple and the night finally ends with some unwanted karaoke. Unknown to Kenji is the fact that that day may have been the last monotonous day of his life. The following morning is when everything changes and his life begins to take an unexpected turn when he finds out about the apparent suicide of yet another old friend.
This story is first and foremost a mystery and to go too much more into detail may ruin your experience reading it. Just know that other key plot elements include: a cult whose religious symbol seems somewhat familiar to Kenji and friends, mysterious murders which are occurring around town, the moon landing, a recovered time capsule and an impending world invasion by…I’m not really sure yet. It could be giant robots or it could be aliens or maybe both. To be completely honest I really am dying to find out.
I had no idea what the book was about when I bought it. All I just knew that is by written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa who is the same person responsible for one of my current favorite manga, Monster, and that was enough for me. The story is really quite intriguing in that the past is grounded in actual history whereas elements of science fiction begin to slowly emerge in the present. All of the flashbacks to when the characters were younger do an excellent job of reminding you what being youthful is all about. Having a strong bond with friends, hanging out at their favorite store eating popsicles in the summer and making normal life into an adventure are all things that most of us can find relatable. And because of that we feel a connection to these characters. You know what is more relatable to me though? Thirty-something Kenji‘s story. Even though his life didn’t quite turn out the way he had hoped it would he is trying to make the best of it.
Toward the end of this volume the quote from the beginning of this review appears. I have to be honest with you, after reading those lines I kind of welled up a bit. Life rarely turns out the way you thought it would when you were younger and I really don’t know what my childhood self would think of me if we met. Would he indeed laugh at what I had become? And if so, is there still time to make him somewhat proud?
From his Wikipedia page:
Jacob Kurtzberg (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994),[1] better known by the pen name Jack Kirby, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor. Growing up poor in New York City, Kurtzberg entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s. He drew various comic strips under different pseudonyms, ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1941, Kirby and writer Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby would create a number of comics for various publishers, often teamed with Simon.
After serving in World War II, Kirby returned to comics and worked in a variety of genres. He contributed to a number of publishers, including Archie Comics and DC Comics, but ultimately found himself at Timely’s 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. In the 1960s, Kirby co-created many of Marvel Comics’ major characters including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Hulk along with writer-editor Stan Lee. Despite the high sales and critical acclaim of the Lee-Kirby titles, Kirby felt treated unfairly, and left the company in 1970 for rival DC Comics.
While working for DC, Kirby created his Fourth World saga, which spanned several comics titles. While these and other titles proved commercially unsuccessful and were canceled, several of their characters and the Fourth World mythos have continued as a significant part of the DC Comics universe. Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid- to late 1970s, then ventured into television animation and independent comics. In his later years, Kirby received great recognition for his career accomplishments, and is regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic-book medium.
In my opinion the comic industry would not be what it is today if it were not for the creativity and imagination of Jack Kirby. While reading his Wiki page you can not help but be overwhelmed by the number of comics and characters he had a hand in creating. Unfortunately for the comic industry there will never be another like him. Jack Kirby would have been 92 today.
If you are to young to know about what Jack Kirby meant to comics please take the time to read and learn more about him.
J.
