Category: Comics

Amish Otaku, Comics, DC, Features

Caught My Eye: Flash, The Fastest Man Alive #13

Looks pretty bad, huh? Well, this is only the third page
DC Comics

Where do I start? Yeah, I’m looking at you, DC Comics, and your wonderful editorial direction! You’d better run and take cover, because I’m coming… and hell’s coming with me, you hear???

It is going to be very difficult for me to discuss this comic without spoiling it for the few of you who stuck with this title post–Infinite Crisis, but I’ll do my best to keep this review spoiler-free.

This issue marks the last in this volume’s thirteen-issue run. I started reading this title with the conclusion to the huge DC Comics blockbuster from last summer, Infinite Crisis. The One Year Later storyline was a gimmick where all of the in-continuity titles advanced a year. It promised to be a radically different gimmick than what we were used to. I for one was really interested in what was going on in the world of DC. Flash was a character I had wanted to check out for some time, since he was one of my favorites in the Justice League animated show on Cartoon Network. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: Flash, The Fastest Man Alive #13”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features

Big Monkey Comics: Discovering Big Monkey Comics in D.C.

Big Monkey’s business card
Big Monkey Comics

Last week I went to Washington, DC, for a few days to see the brash and lovely indie rock goddess Leslie Feist (who kicked several levels of posterior, for those of you interested), and my nagging preoccupation was what my next AO subject would be. I was staying with my sister, Sabahat, who lives in DC Since I was taking the rail to our nation’s capitol, and Lancaster’s The Comic Store (yes, that’s what it’s called) is conveniently located across the street from the train station, it was my obvious first choice for material. Simple. My train left on Wednesday at 11:34AM (don’t you love how razor-precise Amtrak purports to be?) and I reasoned could get to the comic shop sometime between 10AM and 11AM. There were more than a few priorities standing in my way, though. Staying up late the night before my departure looking for events to occupy my days was one of them. I refused to wander around the L’Enfant planned ex-Federal City with no less than a bagful of instructions. Continue reading “Big Monkey Comics: Discovering Big Monkey Comics in D.C.”

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Amish Otaku, Bubonic Comics, Comics, DC, Features

Bubonic Comics: Aquaman #3

Since Aquaman has gone through quite a few incarnations, let’s make sure you know which one I’m referring to in this installment. This Arthur Curry is Peter David’s long-haired and bearded man of action. Two crucial notes about this issue: Superboy guest stars and the controversial harpoon hand makes its debut.

Speaking of the pointy appendage, all of Aquaman’s friends seem to be rather wary of this decision to don a harpoon where his left hand once was. Aquaman ignores their doubts because he wants to go on the offensive. He orders portly Vulko (remember him?) to make this sawed-off, run-of-the-mill harpoon as close to invulnerable as possible. I sure wish I had tools lying around my home that could make things more invulnerable.

Cut to a scene of dolphins swimming and talking! A typical day, it seems, until the dolphins are caught in a Japanese boater’s cargo net. When they’re dragged up out of the ocean and dumped onto the boat, one of the dolphins opts to fly away (why, Peter David, why???) instead of remaining captive. Smart decision, too, since one fisherman stabs a harpoon completely through a dolphin’s body. I suppose even lowly fishermen have super strength in the DCU.

Continue reading “Bubonic Comics: Aquaman #3”
Charlie Robinson
Amish Otaku, Comics, Features

Caught My Eye: Scar Tissue Volume One

A page from Scar Tissue
Dial R Studios

Scar Tissue is a small-press comic published by Dial R Studios. Now, when I say it’s “small press,” I don’t mean that it’s small on quality, because it’s quite the opposite.

So what is this comic about? Good question. It’s about a sick boy named Ben who is in a rough place. He’s needed a heart transplant for many years, and the time has come that he either gets one or he dies. Fortunately, one arrives in the nick of time. It comes with a catch, though: it belongs to a recently deceased supervillain named Lord Grundoom. With this new heart, Ben is able to heal more quickly than a regular heart recipient and begins to gain the powers of the late Grundoom. The book, written by Jim Clark and drawn by David Wachter, follows Ben as he comes to terms with these new powers and his struggle with the emotions and conflicts you might assume would occur.

The story is easy to get into. I quickly found myself interested in Ben’s predicament and wanted to keep reading more. Before I knew it, I had read half of the trade paperback. One of this comic’s biggest strengths is its dialog. That was the very first thing I noticed. The interaction between Ben and his brothers, as well as his internal struggles, is spot on. The way the characters interact with one another feels very natural, and it seems like you’re right there with them. There were only two characters that seemed kind of stiff to me, but everyone else could have been people I knew. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: Scar Tissue Volume One”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Marvel

Bubonic Comics: What If…#40

Free advice for thieves
Marvel Comics

What If…? was a remarkable series in that it always asked the questions us fanboys liked to debate when we would get together. What if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four? What if Captain America had stayed frozen until modern times? These were pressing questions we wanted to see played out.

But I guess at some point the idea men at Marvel had to run out of ideas, and WHAT IF…? #40 addressed a question no fan could have ever possibly wondered or cared about: What if Storm of the X-Men had remained a thief?

Seriously. They filled an entire issue answering this lame excuse for a question. Hmm, what if Storm remained a thief? I suppose she would probably steal things. That is what thieves do … or is it?!?!?

Well, I’m sure you’re sweating over what becomes of Ororo Munroe; I know the Watcher is, so let’s get going. Continue reading “Bubonic Comics: What If…#40”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Marvel

Caught My Eye: Blade #10, New Avengers #31, World War Hulk

Blade vs. Spidey, Round 1, Fight!
Marvel Comics

Blade #10

First off, we have BLADE #10. Blade has been a great series from the very beginning. It’s written by Marc Guggenheim of the Civil War issues of Wolverine as well as the latest writer on Flash. The art is drawn by long-time comic legend Howard Chaykin.

I’d like to start out by saying that this series is the first comic I read the Wednesday it comes out. That’s not because I’m some hard-core Blade fan, but simply because it’s just that good. I have very limited knowledge of Blade outside of the three movies and short-lived television show. That being said, I had no trouble getting into this series from the first issue.

Guggenheim has an interesting way of telling the story in each comic of this series. With few exceptions, each comic is a done-in-one story that is self-contained but has over-arcing elements that give the long-time reader something to look forward to in the next issue. One of the most impressive aspects is that you get three timelines in each issue: where the story begins, a glimpse of his long past that has relevance now, and where the story ends. This might sound like it would be hard to follow, but I assure you it is not. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: Blade #10, New Avengers #31, World War Hulk”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Marvel

Caught My Eye: New Warriors #1

Sofia in New Warriors #1
Marvel Comics

For all of you who are not in the know, Marvel Comics recently had a huge crossover by the name of Civil War. Basically, the New Warriors were hotshot young heroes and made a bad choice when they went into a battle they couldn’t win. That mistake cost them their lives as well as the lives of many civilians. Since then, all heroes must register their identity as well as their powers to the authorities.

This new incarnation of the New Warriors is rebelling against the current system and continuing the job of putting the baddies behind bars. From what’s been released so far, the premise is about this new team trying to make up for what the previous team did and trying to redeem them to a degree, since they were made out to be the scapegoats (or martyrs.)

Now that we have the backstory done, on to the good stuff! Continue reading “Caught My Eye: New Warriors #1”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, DC

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #5

The Lovely Vicki Vale
DC Comics

Frank Miller redefined Batman in the late 80s with two acclaimed mini-series: The Dark Knight Returns (dealing an older Batman coming out of retirement to save Gotham yet again) and Batman: Year One (which fine-tuned Batman’s origin). While the character from the 60s television show hadn’t been as campy as the public perceived him to be for quite some time, it was Miller’s stories that brought mainstream attention to the “Dark Knight.”

Joined by Jim Lee, one of the most popular artists of the past couple decades, Miller returned to Batman for this new All Star series, which was another fresh start for the character. I don’t know if I was expecting some sort of de facto sequel to Year One or a prequel to The Dark Knight Returns, but Miller threw us all for a loop with this latest series.

The Batman presented in ASBaR is extremely confident and he enjoys what he’s doing, almost to the point of being maniacal about it. We’re introduced to this Batman through the eyes of young Dick Grayson, who would eventually become Robin, Batman’s sidekick. After attending a circus where he witnesses Grayson’s parents murdered, Batman takes the youth under his wing. That’s pretty much where the similarities to the regular story end. This Batman is scaring the hell out of Grayson. Grayson doesn’t really want to go along with Batman and is out of his wits as Batman mows through police who are chasing them, gets insulted by the person who is supposed to be saving him and is pretty much dumped off in the Bat Cave to fend for himself while Batman goes on patrol. If not for Alfred the butler, young Grayson would be forced to feed himself by eating the rats in the cave (Batman’s idea). Continue reading “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #5”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Icon

Criminal #6: Is This What Happens When Bad Meets Evil?

Criminal #6
ICON Comics

In the pages of Daredevil, Ed Brubaker killed Captain America and showed readers what it would be like for a costumed hero to wind up in prison. His carefully laid out plots and storytelling, along with wonderful characterization, have brought acclaim to both titles and finally drawn the attention to Brubaker that he’s deserved for years.

Brubaker and Phillips worked together before on the acclaimed Sleeper for DC/Wildstorm. The story of a con man in over his head, Sleeper took characters for a superhero book called Wildcats and made a gritty crime noir story line that ended way too soon. Now the team is back in a series that doesn’t make the words gritty, hard-boiled or noirish come off has hyperbole.

Brubaker has always shown a knack for writing compelling stories dealing with the underbelly of society, from the Black Mask character in Catwoman to the Daredevil in prison. In Deadenders, a woefully underrated series from DC/Vertigo a few years back, his main character was a selfish, self-centered SOB that readers were made to care about. With Criminal, the distractions are out of the way. There are no costumed villains or shady superheroes. There are no secret societies or garish characters out of a sci-fi or James Bond movie. Criminal is straightforward in that it deals with bad people doing bad things. Maybe some of the characters aren’t totally evil… Brubaker has to give them some redeeming traits to make readers care about their fates, but none of these people will be confused with heroes anytime soon. Continue reading “Criminal #6: Is This What Happens When Bad Meets Evil?”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Vertigo

Midnight Days: A Taste of Neil Gaiman’s Early Work

Sandman: Midnight Theatre
Vertigo Comics

I’ll be honest. When Neil Gaiman reveals he was just twenty-four when he began writing for DC and that most of the scribing he did was after midnight, I felt a connection since I am also twenty-four. I also attempted to give his stories some justice by only reading through them late at night, but I haven’t been making it to midnight. I’ve been crashing early and reading Days around 11:30 p.m. at the latest.

Nonetheless, Days, a mulligan’s stew of sorts, was written early in Gaiman’s career and contains several stories, the first few of which occur in the Swamp Thing comics magazine. Ever since I saw a cover of SWAMP THING #34, lovingly painted by Stephen Bissette, when I was twelve, I had wanted to read a Swamp Thing story. The image’s romanticism sucked me in with both an anti-traditional superhero quality and a fiercely trusting human quality, even though Swamp Thing’s costume is his ever-evolving plant matter construction and only resembles the human form in profile. Continue reading “Midnight Days: A Taste of Neil Gaiman’s Early Work”

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