Comics I Like: Procrastination Edition!

Hey, look at the time! It's REVIEWING TIME! Sorry for procrastinating on these so much lately, I've really been getting distracted by my 3DS. Between replaying Super Mario 64DS and Cave Story and finally playing Ocarina of Time (I'm ashamed to admit that it's taken me this long to play this game), watching Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Which I will do a large review of when I'm all caught up) and Doctor Who (not so much reviewing this one, but I am loving it), I've distracted myself a little too much to do these little reviews. Still, here I am, with a bunch of comics I've been reading. I'm even dipping into non-creator owned stuff with this post! So let's get to it.

INDIE COMICS

The Goon #34

Writer and Artist: Eric Powell

It's been quite a while since the last issue of The Goon came out, so it's really nice to have this series back. This issue, Powell tackles the Twilight phenomenon in one of the best introductions to a comic I've ever read. He really does a great job of satirizing the Twilight style vampires and even provides us with a cover that I'd love to have on a T-Shirt.

But, oh, Twilight is only the beginning, as the Goon decides that it's time to take the fight to the source itself: tween girls. Yes, for too long we've had to sit by and watch these young lasses flood the airwaves with terrible things like Twilight, the Jonas Brothers, and dozens of other terrible, horrible forms of entertainment that no one should ever be forced to endure. Powell tackles this subject with his usual style of crude humor and he does so very well. If you haven't been reading The Goon, give this issue a chance. You won't be disappointed.

Verdict: BUY IT

RASL #11

Writing and Art: Jeff Smith

Much like The Goon, it's been a little bit since the last issue of RASL hit. Unlike The Goon, this isn't a one-and-done story. Still, this is yet another solid chapter in Jeff Smith's latest book. This issue has a really neat, trippy sequence in it, too, as our hero finds himself disconnecting with reality as a result of his travels between alternate timelines. If you've been reading this series so far, then you'll really be intrigued by the big event of this issue.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this issue to new readers. If you haven't been reading this one, put out the money for the large hardcovers or the paperback pocket edition. Otherwise, you'll really find yourself confused with what's going on. Still, I do recommend that you read this series, because RASL is such a good read. Don't miss out on it.

Verdict: BUY THE COLLECTED VOLUMES INSTEAD

American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Sean Murphy

Colorist: Dave Stewart

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

I have a confession to make: I haven't been reading American Vampire. I'm ashamed of myself. It's got one of my favorite artists, Rafael Albuquerque, providing art that's finally getting him noticed and it's apparently an amazing read. So needless to say, I took this opportunity to get started on the series with American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest. This miniseries follows two of the characters from the main book as they go on a mission to take down Nazi Vampires before they can be unleashed onto the battle field. So we've got secret agents fighting Nazi Vampires using guns that fire wooden bullets? Awesome.

Sadly, regular series artist Rafael Albuquerque isn't providing art on this miniseries. Fortunately, Joe the Barbarian artist Sean Murphy is providing the art. Needless to say, said art is fantastic here. Heck, this may be a case where I pick up a series more for the art than for the writing. Considering how fantastic the writing is on this mini, that's really saying something.

Verdict: BUY IT

Marvel, DC, and Everything Else!

Sonic The Hedgehog #226

Writer: Ian Flynn

Artist: Patrick Spaziante and Tracy Yardley

Inker: Terry Austin

Colors: Matt Herms

Letterer: Matt Workman

First up on the Non-independently owned side of things is Sonic the Hedgehog, a comic that I'm actually jumping back onto. This issue is the first part of the Sonic: Genesis story line, in which writer Ian Flynn hits the reset button and sends the story back to the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. Needless to say, this issue is one huge nostalgia trip as our hero traverses the Green Hill and Marble Zones. Long time fans won't lose too much, as Freedom Fighters Sally, Antoine, and Rotor join him in his adventures. The story is light and fun, which is great because fans old and young alike will find themselves enjoying this one.

Perhaps the strongest element of this comic is the art, which is great. Spaz and the other artists really do a great job of bringing the classic games to life, bringing back some of the classic designs. This works especially well with Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik himself, who is back to his orignal design. Every page is like a window into my childhood, where I spent hours in front of my Sega Genesis playing old Sonic games.

If you're looking for a nice piece of 90's nostalgia, give Sonic the Hedgehog a shot.

Verdict: BUY IT

Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Artist: Eduardo Risso

Of all the Flashpoint tie-ins out there, I'm only reading two different series. Of those series, Batman: Knight of Vengeance is far and away the better of the two. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that this is the best event tie-in series I've ever read. The story revolves around the Flashpoint timeline Batman as he searches for the Joker, who has kidnapped the children of Harvey Dent. The big twist of the issue is just who the Joker is, though I actually saw it coming by the time I was halfway through the issue. Still, just the way they reveal the Joker's identity and just what the Joker does at the end of the issue is powerful enough that it still pays off.

Mr. Azzarello really does a fantastic job weaving this story of a darker, older Batman and the fact that it's Thomas Wayne who fights to avenge Bruce's death makes this twisted image all the more intriguing. I think what I love most about this story is that you could actually remove the Flashpoint banner as this could stand alone as an Elseworlds' title. You don't need to know why this world is the way it is and you don't need to know that this Batman is helping Barry Allen fix this dark reflection of the DC universe. All you need to know is that this is Thomas Wayne a man who lost his family that night, who now fights crime as the Batman.

Verdict: BUY IT

Amazing Spider-Man #665

Writer: Dan Slott

Artist: Ryan Stegman

Inker: Michael Babinski

Colorist: John Rauch

Letterer: VC's Joe Carmagna

Finally, we have Amazing Spider-Man #665, the final issue before we start huge Spider Island storyline. This issue focuses on how Pete's new chapter in life affecting his tradition of taking in crappy movies with his good friend and former love interest Betty Brant. Sadly, Pete's new job and his membership in the Future Foundation and the Avengers, on top of his regular Spider-Man duties keep him from taking part in their favorite passtime. So when Betty decides to take in a movie she really wants to see by herself in a bad part of town and ends up getting mugged and seriously injured, Spider-Man goes on the hunt. Add in some touching moments in the main story and the back up and you get and this issue isn't too shabby.

Still, this isn't the strongest issue of ASM, and considering how close we are to Spider-Island, that really makes this issue stand out even less. It's still a good issue, just not a very strong one. That being said, the art in this issue is great. From that lovely cover up there (easily my favorite cover of the week) to the lovely interiors, this is a pleasure to look at.

Verdict: BUY IT

So that's it for now. I'll be back Thursday or Friday with a few of my favorite issues from this week, too. I'll also be back within the next two weeks with my thoughts on the first season of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. For now, however, I'm going to go get some sleep.

The Gauntlet 2: Reviewapalooza aka Oops I forgot to review...

Hey there, tiny reader base! I'm angry at myself for slacking off lately, so to make it up here comes "The Gauntlet"!

Red Robin #15 might just be the best book I've read this week, with the third chapter of "The Hit List" being perhaps my favorite issue of this story yet. The issue deals with Tim trying to keep the secret identities of the entire Bat-family secret (as Vicki Vale seems to have figured it all out), and he does so by tricking the public into thinking that Tim Drake has been shot and that Red Robin has stopped the assassin who tried to get the kill, Scarab. Fabian Nicieza has been doing a bang up job on this book since he took over for Chris Yost and I look forward to this new status quo for Tim making for some interesting stories for the immediate future. Marcus To also does a great job on this book, where he draws what might be the cutest damn Miss Martian ever. Jump on this one if you haven't already, because it's damn good.

Secret Six, while not the other contender for best book this week, was awesome. This issue takes place almost like an Esleworlds story, with the Six being re-imagined into the Wild West, with a surprise appearance of Slade Wilson, also re-imagined for the setting. Gail Simone has yet to disappoint with this book and if you aren't reading this book yet, pick this issue up because it's a great point to start on.

Meanwhile, over at Marvel, Jonathan Hickman continues to do a bang-up job with every and anything he's writing there. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 (my other choice for best book this week) is out this week and it gives us a new way to look at Nostradamus and another of history's greatest minds that I won't name, because you should be reading this. This is the kind of book that I've wanted from mr. Hickman when it came out that he would be working with Marvel and I am so glad that it's not disappointing. As a nice little bonus we get an awesome little transcript of the conversation between Pope Gregory XIII and Galileo about Galactus which is pretty awesome to read. This is just an all around fantastic book.

Speaking of Fantastic, last week gave us another of Hickman's current Marvel books, Fantastic Four. This issue has us looking back on Reed and Ben in college, where they went to school with Victor Von Doom, and then we get to see Reed's father appear right out of the pages of Hickman's S.H.I.E.L.D., looking for help to fight off his doppelganger from another reality. This is a nice little issue, with the best part being Reed having to suck up his pride and ask Doom for help which Doom does with the aid of his large assortment of weapons (because Doom had Doomsday devices in college, too). Neil Edwards does a decent job on pencils here, though I'm counting down the issues until Epting takes over (583 cannot get here soon enough!). If you're reading S.H.I.E.L.D., then this will be an interesting issue for you, and if not buy it anyway.

Hellboy: The Storm continues to be an awesome follow-up to the last mini, and it continues to be a book everyone should be reading. Hellboy continues his journey across Europe and he continues to face off against the various beasts and demons that get in his way. We're building towards something huge and I'm excited to see what it is. Duncan Fegredo also continues to provide amazing art for this book, giving us art that looks like Mignola's without feeling too forced, and I love it for that reason. If you aren't reading this book than do yourself a favor and get started on those trades and then slap yourself for not jumping on this thing already.

Finally, we have Doomwar which ends this week which goes out on a decent bang. We end with everyone showing up for one final showdown with Doom who now controls all of the Vibranium in the world, which means he has his claws in just about everything. Everything looks like it's going to end in Doom's favor and that we'll have to put up with an overlord Doom status quo (which actually sounds awesome), but then T'Challa hits us with a huge bomb that will actually have an impact as he brings in a huge change in status quo for himself and the entire country of Wakanda. If you're a huge fan of Doctor Doom or Black Panther than this is the book you need to be reading, though at this point you should wait for the trade.

So there it is, six reviews to make up for a few weeks of inactivity. Each of these books is something you should be reading. I'll probably be back before Wednesday with a big RASL review, so look for that when it hits!