Cover of the Week – Feb 4, ‘10 releases

Cover of the Week is my presentation of the best cover from last week’s comic book releases, based on the art, design, and overall good looks.

Hello everyone! I hope you didn’t miss me that much.  This week we feature a book by the “wonder twins”, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.

Daytripper #2

Okay, this cover looks just how the book’s title says it is — trippy.  So here, on the top part of the cover, we see a guy who’s swimming underwater then as we go down it gently blends into two guys looking at the sky, which is really a guy underwater with dudes looking at him from a desert cliff.  What?  Exactly!  The composition of this book is very well done, light blue/white tones on the upper part which highlights and focuses our title, then it slowly transitions into dark waters/cloudy horizon in the middle, then back into a sunlit effect on a cliff at the bottom.  And I like how the use of watercolors and pens give a soft and sharp contrasting look to it. The cover also gives us a small peek as to what happens in the book.  And I must say that you need to read this issue to fully appreciate the cover (the story is amazing).    — Alex

A Siege Spoiler

Monday Match-up 2.8.10

PSYLOCKE vs WITCHBLADE

“There’s no way to caption this without being sexist.”   — anonymous komikero

Psylocke: A British telepath inhabiting the body of a Japanese ninja assassin and master martial artist, Betsy Braddock is able to telekinetically enhance her strength and agility enough to outmatch Sabretooth.  Her telepathic powers allow her to read her opponents’ minds, and project a focused beam of directed psionic energy into a ‘psycho-blast’ or a ‘psi-blade’ capable of piercing the Juggernaut’s psi-proof helmet.

Why She Wins: Psylocke shoots out a blast of psionic energy at Sara Pezzini and simultaneously charges at her wielding, her psi-blade.  The Witchblade instictively blocks her attacks, not letting its host be harmed.  Psylocke detects this through her telepathy and unleashes a torrent of psychic attacks coupled with physical blows to continue distracting the Witchblade.  Pezzini, unable to withstand the psychic assault, passes out, leaving the Witchblade without a bearer. Psylocke then calls on it come and claim its new host.

Witchblade: Passed along for generations as a mystical gauntlet borne by generations of great warrior women, the Witchblade grants its bearer heightened agility, nigh-invulnerability, a force blast, and at times… necromancy.

Why She Wins: Tough as nails New York City cop Sara Pezzini uses the Witchblade’s demonic attacks to hold the telepathic ninja at bay, but is unable to for too long, not being an advanced martial artist.  With Psylocke barely able to physically harm Pezzini, the mutant switches to psychic assault and plunges a psi-blade into Witchblade’s mind.  Initially thinking it an easy win, Psylocke is overwhelmed by the gauntlet’s ancient demonic essence and is left a convulsing (albeit hot) mess on the floor as Sara walks away, unfazed.

Tres Komikeros 40

EJ, Alex, and Migs continue to tear the show apart with reviews of World of New Krypton #12, Ultimate X #1, Siege #2!  After a round of quickshots, the boys voice their opinions about Zack Efron in a Bendis movie and Underworld 3 via thumb warfare!  This week’s panel discussion asks you if books that are unaffected by universe-wide events matter more or less, in the grand scope of things.  Get ready for some bloodshed!

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Prejudged! 02.02.10

Oh! Hey! Fancy meeting you here. Me? Well, I was just about to wade through this week’s upcoming comic book covers. Care to join me? What’s that?… Yes, I am well aware of how big a nerd I am. Now, come! Sit down as I tell you about Jeph Loeb’s new title…

Ultimate Comics X #1, cover by Art Adams:

Very little is known about this ominous little title from Mr. Loeb. All we know is what we can gather from mere images like this, where we spot a young teen with bonelike knives protruding from in between his knuckles. Also we see that he may not be the friendliest among the young men in campus. What strikes me as a mite odd though is that this boy’s backpack looks awfully bulgy for someone who doesn’t look like he knows what to do with a textbook. Indeed, we know very little of what to expect from this new series, but what we do know is that art from Art always looks awesome. Not unlike the art on…

God Complex #3, cover by Michael Avon Oeming:

This new series has been off to a good start, with a somewhat classic tale of mythic proportions. It’s not too outrageous to picture the Gods of Olympus as Corporate Executives, and in God Complex, Mr. Oeming showcases such concepts. Along with a story about a damsel and a battle with Hercules, this comic book title is shaping up to be an enjoyable read with colorful characters and the light and comical art style of Michael Avon Oeming, which is perfect for balancing out the dark themes in Greg Rucka’s…

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3, cover by Greg Horn:

Do not fret, little one, for try as they may, DC has not made this cover Un-Prejudged!able. We have only been deprived of a preview of another image of Wonder Woman as a scantily-clad Star Sapphire (Redundant? Perhaps.) There is a simple Prejudged!ing formula to apply in these situations; Greg Rucka (Great Writer) + Nicola Scott (Great Artist) = Great Issue.

So, there, lies before you, a trio of comic books, Prejudged!

P.S. If this week’s article seems a bit off to you to, don’t worry. It’s just that I’ve been playing massive amounts of Super Metroid (Yes, the SNES game) and it’s apparently done some damage. I’ll have the game beat before next week’s Prejudged! (probably) and everything will be back to normal.

Monday Match-up 2.1.10

SCARECROW vs MYSTERIO

“Someone’s been having mexican.”

Scarecrow: Professor Jonathan Crane is a brilliant psychologist and chemist with a keen hand in the realm of phobias.  Terror is his ally as his infamously concocted fear gas causes his victims to hallucinate their deepest darkest fears.

Why He Wins: As Crane awkwardly walks toward his fishbowl-headed foe, his senses are assaulted by a milieu of strobing lights, hallucinated creatures, and other manner of childish movie magic.  The Scarecrow trudges on, unaffected, unwittingly deriving a warped bravery from his absolute lack of fear for anything except some dark knight.  Once within range, he releases his fear gas into the mists around Mysterio.  With both men now surrounded by a cocktail of their own hallucinogenic gases, Scarecrow emerges victorious due to his resistance to the chemicals, while Mysterio trembles in shock as his air supply runs out and he’s forced to breath in the terror.

———

Mysterio: A former movie effects specialist, Quentin Beck saw a brighter future in the world of crime.  Using his expertise in film magic  and gadgetry, Beck made a name for himself as Mysterio, the master of illlusion.

Why He Wins: After using a robot impostor to act like it’s affected by the hallucinogen, Mysterio masterfully hides in his control room and watches Scarecrow stab the robot in the heart, fake blood splattering everywhere.  The Master of Illusion then shows his own hand while enjoying the foolish premature celebration of the so-called psychologist of fear.  Numerous robotic crows then pop out of the shadows and attack with an array of claws, lasers, and hi-tech weaponry. Machines don’t breath, and Jonathan Crane is only human as well.  Scarecrow is only able to dodge so much before falling prey to trickery. In the end, the Scarecrow is only for the birds.

Tres Komikeros 39

EJ and Alex take over your headsets and handle this episode of TK like inmates out of Arkham and bring you kick-ass reviews of Ultimate Comics: Enemy #1, Green Lantern #50, and Captain America: Reborn #6.  The duo also bring you a round of quick shots, after which they share their views about this week’s big tech news.

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Prejudged! 01.26.10

Welcome to another Super-sized edition of Prejudged!, where we judge the books by their cover. This week sees the release of many major titles like Batman and Robin, New Avengers, Green Lantern, Superman: Secret Origin, Detective Comics, Chew, Punisher, and the long awaited last issue of Captain America: Reborn. That’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it.

Let’s start it off with Captain America: Reborn #6 by Brian Hitch:

SPOILER ALERT! In this issue, Steve Rogers comes back from the dead!!! (wink wink, Marvel) Even though we all saw this coming for months now, you could always approach this the same way you did Revenge of the Sith. Sure, you already knew that Anakin was going to turn into the universe’s most awesome douche, but it’d be nice to know how it all happened.  Looking at the cover (which probably took Hitch years to finish), you can see that this’ll be just like a billion other Avenger stories…. I mean, come on. Really?? The “just-throw-all-the-Avengers-in-there” concept does not a good cover make. You know what EJ would call this? Generic. There. I said it.

Next is the cover to Batman and Robin #7 by Cameron Stewart and Frank Quitely:

This issue promises to offer some clues on the death of Bruce Wayne and also features Morrison favorites, Knight and Squire, along with one of my favorite new characters, Batwoman. This is the beginning of a new story arc where we find Batman across the pond. I’ve always thought that Batman was a perfect fit in England. Like a cosplaying Sherlock Holmes. Also, people can finally stop whining about Philip Tan’s art (myself included), since we  are now graced with the stylings of Mr. Cameron Stewart. The title has been on a bit of a slump since its explosive first three issues. Hopefully, this story arc can bring back that same momentum.

Now we have the cover to Irredeemable #10 by Peter Krause:

It’s hard for me to tell how far Mark Waid can take this “Superman Gone Wrong” story, but I guarantee I’ll be along for the ride, ever step of the way. Irredeemable, of course, is the “Superman Story DC Wouldn’t Let Mark Waid Write in DC”, and reading the book, you could probably see how this really was intended to be told in the DC Universe. Most of the characters in Irredeemable have their DC Universe counterparts, and it’s always fun to play “what if”. One thing though; I’ve kind of developed some kind of sympathy for the Plutonian. Not the “him throwing a tantrum” part. The whole “him being underappreciated, hence him throwing a tantrum” part. Is that weird?

Here, we have the cover to New Avengers #61 by Stuart Immonen:

This is a really badass cover. You know, THIS is why we have Steve Rogers back. So, he can pull off an Uncle Sam point and say “I WANT YOU…. to buy this comic book”. Who could say no? Well, Jihadists for one, but that’s beside the point. This is the kind of comic book cover that gets me excited to pick it up. It just demands attention. But also, if you try and focus on the image, specifically into Captain America’s eyes, he doesn’t seem to be looking directly at you. I wonder if I caught something “No-Prize” worthy there.

Up next, the cover to Superman: Secret Origin #4 by Gary Frank:

Geoff Johns seems to be DC’s authority on continuity, from rebirths to reboots, they let him do it all. And I believe that the DC Universe is better for it. He not only made Hal Jordan and the entire Green Lantern Corps relevant, but is now setting the stage for what I think will be the biggest rebirth/reboot/retcon in the history of comic books through Blackest Night. Superman: Secret Origin, on the other hand, is nestled in its own time, unaffected by the zombie infestation of present continuity. Although, this isn’t as much about another retelling of the origin of Superman as it is about setting the record straight about Big Blue’s beginnings. Plainly put, this’ll be the definitive Superman origin story. For now.

And finally:

I’m on board. I don’t care if it’s bad.

There you have it. Your weekly dose of Prejudged! comic books. Join me again next week. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

Cover of the Week – Jan 21, ‘10 releases

Cover of the Week is my presentation of the best cover from last week’s comic book releases, based on the art, design, and overall good looks.

Hello boys and girls! It’s been pretty long since my last cover post, and this time I will be featuring a cover from one of my favorite Batman artists, Dustin Nguyen.

Batman – Streets of Gotham  #8

What caught my attention with this is the fact that we don’t usually see a Batman cover done this way.  Okay, so the Batman pose is a bit common, cape near/over the face and one hand holding the Batarang, but what’s cool about this is the good use of the the black/blue/orange highlighting. Let me point them out — first let’s start of with the title, BOOM! big highlight, the reader get’s a good look at it and immediately knows what book it is.  Second, Batman occupies most of the page and the city is rendered under him with the iconic bat signal looming over Gotham.  This gives the impression that “this is Batman looking over his city and he sees everything” and also imposes some sort of possessive territorial feel thanks to the bat-logo.  And lastly, negative black/yellow on the hand holding the Batarang.  This sends the message that Batman does look over Gotham and since the orange background sets this part of the cover apart from the rest, it gives a sense of “alert mode” or “defense mode” in the event a threat appears.

Basic, direct to the message, and done in a stylish manner — that’s why I choose Streets of Gotham #8 by Dustin Nguyen first cover of the week for the year 2010!

What’s your favorite comic book cover for this week?

Monday Match-up

BATMAN vs DAREDEVIL

“Hey! That’s MY gargoyle!”

Batman: Upon seeing his parents murdered in front of him as a young boy, Bruce Wayne honed his mind and body into weapons against crime and corruption.  With state of the art technology, the sharpest mind of his time, and the peak of human physical prowess,  he fights for justice as the Dark Knight, striking fear into the hearts of men.

Why He Wins: The Caped Crusader keeps DD at bay with an array of batarangs and smoke pellets, at which point he notices that his adversary is able to dodge or duck everything he throws at him.  Deducing that DD has heightened or superhuman senses of some sort, he activates the sonic emitter to attract a flock of bats to throw DD off-balance in mid-leap.  The hypersonics confirm Batman’s suspicions of heightened hearing, at which point he uses silent lasers to dispatch or disable Murdock, without ever having to land a punch.

—–

Daredevil: Exposed to toxic chemicals as a child, Matt Murdock was initially stricken blind but eventually developed superhuman senses and agility.  With his heightened sensory accuracy and sensitivity, he fights for justice in Hell’s Kitchen as the man without fear.

Why He Wins: With Daredevil’s moniker being “The Man Without Fear,” and Batman relying on his abiltiy to strike terror into his opponents, the Dark Knight loses an edge.  Batman may use an assortment of gadgets, but even Bullseye (who supposedly never misses) has a hard time hitting Daredevil — it’ll be impossible for Batman to hit him with anything.  Given all that, this will become a straight-up fist fight.  Physically, both heroes are in peak condition.  Batman is physically stronger, while Daredevil is more agile.  Daredevil will be able to see everything Batman throws at him coming, and without any intel on each other, it’s impossible to figure out that Daredevil is, in fact, blind… since nothing he does in costume hints at it.  Evenly matched, it all comes down to who has powers.  And Batman is simply all too human against a devil.

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