The Star Clipper Blog

Penny Century

2010-02-08T10:12:00.001-06:00

Since Beatriz "Penny Century" Garcia is my favorite Love & Rockets' Locas, I'm very excited to see the advance solicitation for the new soft cover Penny Century - A Love & Rockets Collection. The Tome picks up from the last Jamie Hernandez volume Perla La Loca, which collects stories from the relaunched Love & Rockets volume 2 from 2001. It reprints all the Love & Rocket stories from that period in dramatic black and white, including the Maggie & Hopey Color Fun one-shot.

The most exciting inclusion is the long out-of-print Whoa, Nellie!, which was a female wrestling story about champs Xochitl and Gina and their fight to retain their title. The only major reoccurring cast member in that story was Maggie, though the wrestling backdrop was a strong secondary element of many early L&R stories. This story was also not reprinted in the recent Locas II Hardcover collection. The compilation takes its name from the often-nude, super-hero wannabe Penny Century. The story 'Bay of Three' recounts her odd origin, daydreaming of superpowers, and meeting horned billionaire lover H.R. Costigan. The volume also includes popular Ray, Maggie, and Hopey stories like "Hopey Hop Sacks" and "Everybody Loves Me Baby." The whole volume roughly collects half of the Locas II HC.

In my opinion, the soft cover collected volumes are the best way to read Love & Rockets. They are the easiest way to follow the reading order, and with the cheap price of $18.99, you can't find a better launching point for one of the most regarded independent comics of all time.

-Jon

Hulk Smashes Planet... Again!

2010-02-06T08:31:00.001-06:00

Hey guys, do you remember that Hulk story arc from a few years back, that had the Big Green Machine exiled from Earth and sent to a planet full of violence and pain? It was the precursor to that Marvel event that had our buddy tearing through Marvel's finest like they were wet pieces of paper. Yeah... Well, it looks like Marvel and Lionsgate really wants folks to see just why the Hulk was so angry that he enslaved a few top-tier heroes and made them fight each other in a gladiatorial-type battle. To be honest, from what I've been told, there isn't much of a difference between the animated Planet Hulk and the comic Planet Hulk. I think that most notably, one of the more obvious changes deals with the fight that Hulk had with the Silver Surfer. Oh yeah, did I mention that Hulk has a legitimate fight with the Silver Surfer in the comic? Well, he does, but due to legal reasons, the Silver Surfer couldn't be used for the animation. (Thanks Fox) But instead of dropping that angle all together, Marvel and Lionsgate decided to replace the Surfer with Beta Ray Bill. That totally works for me. Beta Ray is awesome and is way more interesting than the Silver Surfer and Thor combined. (True Statement) Anyway, with that change aside, everything else seems to run it's course as it did in the comic. Hulk is put into a spaceship to take him to a planet full of vegetation, so that he can live in peace and not be a menace to Earth. That doesn't go as planned, and Hulk ends up landing on a savage planet where his healing factor is nullified. For the first time in a long time, the Hulk can be killed with relative ease... So, after the crash, the Hulk is found and is sold into slavery, where he eventually becomes a gladiator. And with a few other warriors, a plan is set into motion to overthrow the king of Sakaar (Planet name).

That about sums it up. If Marvel can keep up the same quality of work that was produced with the Hulk Vs films, then this should make for a great movie. There's going to be a lot of HULK SMASH in this one, and with HULK SMASH we get a lot of yelling and screaming. So I hope this is a loud one. Anyway, February 2nd marks the release of this DVD, enjoy it. Plus, if you're the kinda guy who hates seeing Bruce Banner take up half the movie, then have no fear as this movie is all Hulk, and nothing but the Hulk. No puny Banner.

-Fleet

Joe the Barbarian

2010-02-05T08:54:00.001-06:00

I think Vertigo has done a smart thing by releasing their newer #1 issues for a buck lately. I think this did wonders for series' like the Unwritten, and Sweet Tooth, and may prove advantageous for the new Vertigo title Joe the Barbarian which sees Grant Morrison kickin' it old school with a non super-hero tale for the imprint that popularized him in the first place. Fans of Morrison may remember his take on the Doom Patrol, which became one of the first titles to be printed under the Vertigo name, and his super-trippy series, the Invisibles which was the prototypical Vertigo-style series. After re-launching the X-Men at Marvel, killing Batman in the regular DC universe, Morrison is bringing us a new, original story.

The story behind Joe the Barbarian is pure teen angst and alienation. Joe is a kid who is tormented by bullies and retreats into his own imagination like kids his age are often known to do. Joe uses drawing as on of his withdrawing from reality methods and has what is quite possibly the coolest attic room any teenager could ask for. Not to be limited to just another tale of teen-angst, Joe has a moment where his many action figures seem to reach out to him in what appears to be an all too real hallucination/ dream state about a coming war. This scene reminded me a little bit of the Imaginationland saga from South Park, but with more seriousness. The teen angst theme in Joe the Barbarian may feel all too familiar to a lot of comic readers since it is the story that a lot of long-time comic readers felt at that time in their lives (and have hopefully since gotten over.) with the problems of being raised by a single parent, being a social outcast, being under appreciated and ridiculed by your peers. This just wouldn't be a Grant Morrison story without a dose of weird trippiness, which is definitely what Mr. Morrison is best at.

All in all, I enjoyed the first issue. The art is fantastic, and the story isn't as overwhelmingly strange as most of Grant Morrison's earlier Vertigo work. I would venture to say that if you like the Unwritten, the Sandman, and Morrisons Vertigo work, then Joe the Barbarian is your cup o' tea.

-Jim

Monster Mash

2010-02-04T18:26:00.001-06:00

With three issues into the Punisher – FrankenCastle story, I’m completely sold on the outrageous new direction. I know earlier on the blog, I expressed my reservations about FrankenCastle, stating, “I can’t tell if I think this is the stupidest story (idea) ever.” Though I still find it absolutely ridiculous, I tried to be open-minded and ended up loving Punisher as an undead monster.

Obviously, this is a huge departure for a Punisher book, and writer Rick Remender is asking a lot from long-time fans to stay onboard. Yet, Marvel also has the PunisherMax line to tell more classic vigilante stories and is covering their base readership. FrankenCastle simply allows Remender to explore Frank Castle in a more comic book-y manner, and perhaps encourage new Punisher readers, like myself, to embark on more outlandish adventures.

Honestly, Punisher – FrankenCastle is really more of a Legion of Monsters comic than a Punisher comic. Remender is just taking Frank Castle’s monstrous view on justice and punishment and literally transforming him into a monster, also making him team leader of the Legion. As a monster, Punisher does what he does best: kill villains he deems unjust. This is only magnified now that as a Frankenstein, Punisher is only cognitive while taking a 13-hour pill; otherwise he’s twice as crazy as human Frank Castle.

As a Legion of Monsters book however, Remender has established in just a few short issues an expansive B.P.R.D.-ish Monster world for the Marvel universe. The main plot follows the Legion reassembling the Punisher as Frankenstein, in order to get his tactical assistance in defeating a group of Japanese assassins set on “destroying all monsters.” Artist Tony Moore is the perfect fit for the book and does a fantastic job illustrating Man-Thing, The Living Mummy, Werewolf by Night, Molten-Man-Thing, and Morbius. Hell, he even gives the monster from the first cover of Fantastic Four a cameo appearance.

I’m not sure how long the Punisher will actually be relevant to the book, because Marvel could launch a great Legion of Monsters ongoing series from this. With the same creative team of Remender and Moore, I actually think it would be a more obvious success not having Punisher involved. However, for now, I’m reading Punisher and that’s saying a lot. The Punisher is a comic I’ve never followed issue by issue before. I’ve liked it so much I even think I’ll right the letters column, something I haven’t done since I was a kid. FrankenCastle is an interesting take on the Punisher and a terrific monster book.

-Jon

Milestone Forever

2010-02-03T12:12:00.001-06:00

Are you as excited about Milestone Forever as I am? What's that? "What's Milestone Forever," you ask? It's only one of the coolest things to happen in comics, that's all. Let me ask you this; How many times have you been reading and enjoying a comic book, only to have it canceled well before the book was ready for the ax? Now ask yourself the same question, except this time, replace "comic book", with "entire company brand". Because that's what happened in the 90s with Milestone Media. And let us suppose that you don't know what Milestone Media is, or you're not sure what they put out... Well, I'm here to let you know that Milestone is responsible for the creation of a line of comics that featured minority heroes. And not just your typical fare of minorities, we're talking black, Latino, gay, transgendered, Asian, handicapped, and so on. Some of the titles of these books are as follows; Blood Syndicate, Icon, Hardware, Shadow Cabinet, Xombie, and Static.

If any of those names should sound familiar, it's probably Static. 3 years after the closing of Milestone's comic department, a children's cartoon arose in Static Shock. Essentially repackaging the Milestone lore into a more family friendly deal, that eventually ran for 4 seasons and found it's self established in the DC Animated Continuity. And I must stress, Static and and the rest of the Milestone comics weren't meant for kids at all. The Big-Bang incident that gave Static his powers in the show, is vastly different from the one that occurred in the comics. I'll save you the long-and-drawn-out story, but the short-version is that it involved a massive gang riot and experimental drugs. Let there be no mistake, the Milestone books were violent and were intended for mature audiences. But then... most of the popular 90s comics were for mature audiences... But nevermind that now... We've gotta move forward, and finally, DC has been thinking the same way.

What I neglected to mention earlier, was that Milestone was an imprint of DC comics. So, what that means in the simplest terms is that Milestone characters were not a part of the DC Universe. For the most part, DC just printed and distributed the Milestone books. That's it. I believe there was one crossover back in 1994, but otherwise, the two worlds stayed separate... That was, until DC's Final Crisis. The Milestone world was merged into the new DC continuity. As I understand, this was briefly dealt with in some Justice League issues, but Milestone Forever is here to go into more detail about the merging of worlds, as well as giving us closure to all of the books that were shut-down in the middle of a story arc. And so, this week, we get part 1 of a 2-part series, dealing with the return of Milestone characters. And it's only fitting that Dwayne McDuffie (Awesome writer/co-founder of Milestone Media) has returned with some of the Milestone artists to complete this tale as well as welcoming these cool characters in the the world of DC. Feb 3rd. Remember this day.

-Fleet

Game Over Man!

2010-02-02T10:12:00.001-06:00

So the other day, I had the pleasure of being able to watch Predator 2 on a basic cable channel which, by the way, is more awesome than the first movie in my opinion. I hadn't seen it for close to 15 years and it's still as cool today as it was in 1990 when the outlook of the future of Los Angeles was even more cynical and bullet-riddled than it is perceived today. The cool thing about the Predator/ Aliens universe is that like a select few movie/ television franchises, it translates well to comics.

Dark Horse has expanded the Alien/ Predator universe in much the way it has for the Star Wars expanded universe and provides something of a showcase for up and coming or well established creators to tinker with the worlds coolest space beasties. Aliens in particular has seen interpretation by artist like Kelly Jones who does an Alien story like no one else can, one of my personal favorite artists Eduardo Risso has contributed an emaciated-looking but vicious Alien creature. Sam Keith, who created the Maxx drew what is probably my favorite version of the Xenomorph. In the Predator-verse, we get to see the ugly muthas' sense of honor, and a glimpse of their tribal society that was barely hinted at in the films. Comic legend Gene Colon has illustrated a Predator story as well as indie-legend Evan Dorkin who has written a couple of Predator stories in his time. Alien and Predator stories usually always make for a nice mini-series read.

The deadliest creatures in the known universe join other franchises like Star Wars, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that Dark Horse has managed to continue at the same level of quality as the original material from film and television. I particularly recommend the omnibus editions of Aliens, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator which at only twenty five dollars a pop provide a good bang for your buck on some very entertaining stories about some of the most enduring modern monsters.

-Jim

The Day Reality Went Wild… Again! Proteus Returns

2010-02-01T11:43:00.001-06:00

Artist John Byrne did some amazing things with his tenure on Uncanny X-Men. Some even consider him the definitive X-Men artist. The Byrne issue that has made the most lasting impression for me is Uncanny X-Men #128 from 1979. In the startling conclusion to the Proteus saga, titled “The Day Reality Went Wild,” the transparent villain literally warps reality around the X-Men, making the issue feel more like a bad acid-trip than a super-hero romp. Byrne had a lot of fun with the limitless potential of Proteus and turns the psycho’s final hurrah into a psychedelic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Proteus was the brainchild of legendary X-writer Chris Claremont. The misbegotten son of Joseph & Moria MacTaggart, Kevin manifested an insatiable mutant hungry for energy in his teens. To protect humanity from his tremendous power, Moria contained Kevin in her Mutant Research Centre on Muir Island, never to interact with humanity. Unfortunately, when the X-Men battle Magneto on Muir Island, Kevin is accidently released and goes on a killing rampage through Edinburgh, Scotland.

After his escape, Kevin doesn’t have a solid body and takes the name Proteus, after the Greek shape-shifting god, while he takes possession of the bodies of the towns-people for temporary hosts. His confrontation with the X-Men is monumental, lasting over several issues, which was uncommon for the time where plots concluded at the end of each comic.

The X-Men very narrowly escape the battle with their lives, and Wolverine takes the brunt of Proteus’ psychic warping, masterfully illustrated by Byrne. Wolverine’s metal claws are a key weakness to Proteus’ temperamental bodies, so he takes a headstrong approach to ending the menace. Time after time Wolverine attacks, but falls to his knees from Proteus’ mental attack, envisioning himself clawing his own intestines out or disintegrating into thin air. Byrne holds nothing back, and the images remain frightening even to today’s standards.

Though only appearing sporadically for the next few decades, Proteus has long since been one of the X-Men’s most frightening opponents. His recent return, as part of the resurrected undead in the Necrosha storyline (X-Men: Legacy 231 – 233), is just as unsettling as Claremont and Byrne’s original tale. This time faced against a team lead by Rouge and Magneto, the X-Men are no more prepared to deal with the formless monster. Writer Mike Carey choices Blindfold, an eyeless mutant, to be the new host for Proteus and his return is extra creepy in her fortuneteller-like body.

The original Proteus saga is collected into a pristine hardcover collection. The current story is ongoing in X-Men: Legacy. Get Ready for a mind-bender.

-Jon

Tatsunoko Vs Capcom!!!

2010-01-30T08:36:00.001-06:00

So this week marked the release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom for play on the Nintendo Wii. The excitement that I have had for this game has been building and building for a solid year. But before I get into the specifics of that story, I'd like to take a moment to discuss just what the Hell a Tatsunoko is, anyway? Tatsunoko is actually a Japanese production company that has produced some pretty awesome anime of the years, the most famous of which is probably Speed Racer. Some of the other more well known properties are Gatchaman (G-Force or Battle of the Planets), Samurai Pizza Cats, the Littl' Bits, and Robotech (The combining of three other Tatsunoko properties; Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada)... That isn't to forget their co-production with Gainex to produce Neon Genesis Evangelion.

And now we know what a Tatsunoko is. So what's so special about this game? Well, it's all about what has come before it. Back in the mid-to-late 90's, Capcom (Videogame company) produced a series of fighting games featuring their Street Fighter characters going toe-to-toe with Marvel Super Heroes. The first game of this series was X-Men vs Street Fighter, released back in 1996, gave us a taste of over-the-top comicbook-y action that proved to be so popular that it earned 3 sequels, ending with Marvel vs Capcom 2 back in the year 2000. This series was followed up with a new wave of crossover games featuring Capcom characters and their rival company, SNK. Depending on who you talk to, this series ranged from anywhere from 2 to 7 specific games... But the last practical game in that series was released back in 2004. After that, there was a void. For years, there were rumors about a Marvel vs Capcom 3 or another game pitting Capcom against some other company... But ultimately, nothing came to be of those fabled games. It wasn't until Capcom decided to develop Street Fighter IV, sometime around 2006, that another cross-company Vs game would even be attempted. When Street Fighter IV was announced near the end of 2007, a few months later in 2008, Tatsunoko vs Capcom was announced. Capcom was attempting to revitalize the fighting game genre with 2 swings.

And so, with the release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, we get to see a game where half the roster looks like a Power Ranger with a cape. That's exciting to me. Casshern, Tekkaman, Yatterman-1, Yatterman-2, Hurricane Polymar, Ippatsuman, 3/5s of G-Force... Let me know if any of these names ring a bell to you, because I don't know anyone who has heard of all of them. But with tons of flashy lights, awesome art from both sides of the world, online play, a ton of cameos, and the option of buying more than one "real" game a year on the Wii is a no-lose situation. Last year, I only purchased one game for my Wii (New Super Mario Bros Wii) and the year before that, just 2 games (Super Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Kart Wii). Now I'm not some sort of videogame snob, but seriously, Nintendo needs to get it together... But this is a good start. If you have a Wii, check the game out. It'll be fun... Unless you don't like fighting games, in which case... Watch someone else play it. See ya next time.

-Fleet

Previously, on Lost

2010-01-29T20:50:00.001-06:00

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, then you probably know that the final season of Lost is on it's way as of February 2nd. Lost isn't just one of the best television series of all time (thats just my humble opinion) it's also very much tied into the world of comics. Although references to comics aren't as plentiful as they are to well known philosophers and religious figures, comics gets their props in Lost.

One of the first references I caught was in season one when Walt is lazily reading a copy of Green Lantern written in Spanish. (turns out it belonged to Hurley) and I do recall a shot to one of the panels of GL making a polar bear construct, which if you follow the show, polar bears are something of a theme. One of the moments in Lost that had me laughing just because I'm a nerd was in season 4 when Hurley and Charlie are walking through the jungle debating who is faster between the Flash and Superman before stumbling upon a booby-trap. In a flashback scene, a young John Locke is presented a copy of Mystery Tales #40 by Richard Alpert as part of a "test". Of course the most significant tie to comics that Lost shares is through Brian K. Vaughn who writes for the television show as well as penning Ex Machina and Y the Last Man in the comics world.

I will be eagerly awaiting the conclusion to Lost and will wait and see if the writers drop us comic fans another Easter egg. But mostly I'll just be torn between being pleased with a sense of closure to the whole thing, or wishing for more. Also, why not a Lost comic series?

-Jim

The Sentry - Golden Guardian of Good or Schizophrenic Void?

2010-01-28T10:45:00.001-06:00

For a relatively new character, The Sentry is quickly becoming one of my favorite heroes in the Marvel cannon. Created in 2000 by Paul Jenkins and Rick Veitch, and designed by artist Jae Lee, The Sentry was originally proposed as a forgotten character in the Marvel Universe, who existed way back in the legendary silver age of comics. Stan Lee, and others at Marvel, perpetuated the hoax and rumors spread that Sentry was a forgotten Stan Lee creation that predated the Fantastic Four. Though untrue, subsequent series, including the brilliant The Age of The Sentry illustrated the alter ego of Robbie Reynolds in the faux art and writing style of 60s Marvel Comics, making for a fun and believable back-story for the “Golden Guardian of Good.” He even had a super-corgi named Watchdog to add to the camp. As writers like Brian Michael Bendis expanded the character’s darker persona, he quickly became Marvel’s equivalent of Superman, a man with the power of “one million exploding suns” but worst enemy was his own personal flaw: A schizophrenic split personality and super-villain known as the Void.

The Sentry is currently a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, and is easily the series most compelling protagonist. In the current issue of Dark Avengers, Sentry’s battered wife Lindy reveals her husbands true origin. Before he was a super-hero, he was nothing but a meth-head looking for a new high. When he broke into a laboratory and ingested a highly potent and unstable strain of the super-solider serum, which gave Captain America his abilities, he transformed into the unpredictable Sentry. Though his actions as the Sentry are viewed by the public as heroic, Reynolds transferred his addiction to the super-serum and his unknowing second-self The Void creates an equal amount of chaos in the world. The Sentry is the analogous superhero of Newton’s law “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

It has also been recently revealed that the Sentry cannot die. Though on the outside the comparison to Superman might be valid, with his metaphysical immortality, I would argue Sentry is closer to Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan than the “Man of Steel.” As the character has evolved into an agoraphobic recloses, his detachments from reality and humanity has made him that much more intriguing, and readers are left with a genuine uneasy feeling about him regardless of his heroism. What more, unlike Dr. Manhattan, the Sentry is a member of an ongoing mainstream comic universe and his saga has been explored over a few years, not just a few issues.

Its remarkably impressive that such a new character can be written in a variety of styles, like the campy 60s version or the Alan Moore-like junkie, and be successful on so many different levels. As the Marvel Dark Reign comes to a close with the Siege crossover event, I’m excited to see where Sentry will be in the aftermath. Especially since Norman Osborn has been manipulating the mighty demi-god for the last year.

-Jon

The Blog With a Soul

2010-01-27T07:06:00.001-06:00

So, I'm almost done with the entire Angel TV series (thank you TNT + DVR) and while I'm a huge fan of Buffy, I've found myself enjoying Angel a little more. Perhaps because there's a little more of a noir element up until the last season giving it a detective story feel, and less teen angst then there is in Buffy. I have the first trade of Angel: After the Fall and I'm doing everything within my power to not read it before I can finally witness the series finale.

Having to see the comics all the time while watching the show has prompted a lot of questions that have been gradually answered like; Who's that chick with the blue hair?, how come I haven't seen Cordelia on any of the covers?, hey didn't Spike die? Is Connor still around? These questions are becoming a little more clear, and I have to wonder if I'll end up enjoying the events of After the Fall a little more than I have Buffy: Season 8. Either way, I can't wait to get started.

I forget who it was in the shop that observed that Angel seems to be gaining in populaity of comic series as Wolverine or Deadpool, but I'd have to say that's true. These characters seem to live on quite well beyond television and were ready made for the world of comics.

-Jim

Warp Zone

2010-01-26T08:36:00.001-06:00

It’s kind of hard not to get warped back to a level of Mario nostalgia with the Nintendo mascot’s renewed popularity from the recent New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Though he is hugely popular now, Mario is nowhere near the phenomenon he was in the early 90s, when the heroic Italian was king plumber. Back then; Mario had the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon hosted by “Captain” Lou Albano, an ongoing comic feature in Nintendo Power magazine, multiple comic series published from Valiant Comics, 3 hugely popular NES video games, and the bizarre cult classic Super Mario Bros. The Movie. As a kid caught up in the mitts of Mario-mania, I collected everything I could, and most of the Valiant Comics Mario series remains in my collection. With all things Mario in my head, I’ve recently looked through the old back issues and still love the 90s Mario issues.

The short-lived comics focused on game characters from the first 3 Mario Bros. games for the NES, and were an odd mish mash of the best elements of the gaming series. Included were mainstays like Koopa Troopas and Hammer Brothers, the dreamlike Shy-guys from Mario 2, and King Bowser Koopa and the Koopalings from the piece de resistance Mario 3. Yet, the Valiant comics were distinctly American, and Mario had less of a manga style and some weird western nuances, like the character’s strange obsession for Dirk Drain-Head, a plumbing superhero who never appeared in the video games.

My favorite issue was the Super Mario Bros. Adventures Comic and Cassette, which as the name implies was a comic with an audio cassette included that recited the story in a bad Mario Italian accent. The story was supplemented with the music of Mario 3, recorded while someone played through individual levels of the game. I listened to the tape so much as a kid I actually wore it out (man, that makes me sound really old). Here is some of the audio tracks for your listening enjoyment. The issues were really fun all-ages comics, and I enjoyed reading them again as an adult.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any Mario comics in print, but this site collects quite a few complete issues from the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. series. Sorry, but the physical issues are in another back issue castle.

-Jon

Siege #3 Deadpool Variant

2010-01-25T11:12:00.001-06:00

Hey, remember back to 2 weeks ago, when Marvel announced their plans to offer Comic Retailers a Deadpool variant of Siege #3 if they coughed up 50 covers to the DC Blackest Night "Ring" titles? Well, they finally released what the cover is actually going to look like. It's very tacky, very gaudy, and it seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the Siege storyline at all. But even with that said, I must admit... I love it. It would appear that its taking a dig at DC's ring promotion by having our favorite Merc with a Mouth blinged out in shining rings and ring-linked chains while dressed in a funky tracksuit costume reminiscent of DC's rainbow brigade of light slinging heroes. However, one could also argue that it's simply an image of Deadpool living up the dream of being a superstar mainstream rapper... The scantily clad women help further that point, but... I don't know if I want to believe that. Anyway, J. Scott Campbell's Deadpool variant, in my opinion, is simply awesome. Although, I don't quite appreciate the effort that has to be made in order see it stores, but I think that it could make for a great background for my phone though. So, without further hesitation, behold the Deadpool Variant to Siege #3.

See ya next time.

-Fleet

Marvel's HER-oes

2010-01-23T09:56:00.001-06:00

So check it out, lately, Marvel's been attempting to reach out to females everywhere with new books having a primary focus on female superheroes. Late last year, Marvel put out a title called "Marvel Divas", which dealt with Black Cat, Hellcat, Photon, and Firestar dealing with their problems with romance and whatnot... As I recall, the book was pitched as Sex and the City with superheroes. I remember reading the first issue and seeing the last panel reveal that Firestar has breast cancer. Now, when I first saw the comic, I'll admit that the sexy poses on the cover is what made me pick it up, but when I read the content, I was surprised to see a fairly serious story. However, around the same time, Gotham City Sirens started up and that book had a lighter subject matter... At that time, I really wasn't looking for a comic to make me feel bad, so I went with the adventures of Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy. Can you blame me? As I understand it, the serious nature of the Divas book declined as the issues went on... The final issue dealt with the group going to Hell to save a fellow girlfriend... I'm not really sure how I feel about that nor am I sure about how well Marvel did with the female demographics they were after... But what I do know, is that Marvel is going to try it again with a new book entitled, Marvel Her-Oes.

Yes, Marvel Her-Oes (Pronounced like heroes... It just has a funky written emphasis) is another attempt at gaining female readers, but this time, they're going to try a lighter approach to meet their goals. The new book follows a teenage Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp) as she attends high school with other teenage female superheroes. Her best friend Jenifer "Jenny" Walters (She-Hulk) is also there, but it would seem that she doesn't have the same control over her HULKRAGE like she does in the normal Marvel continuity. When she Hulks-out, she becomes a Hulk not unlike her older cousin Bruce Banner. The Wasp also finds herself a rival in Namora, "an exchange student from Greece," she is the big bad girl of the school who gives Janet a nice heap of trouble for when the comic starts up. There's also going to be appearances from what seems like the entirety of the Female All-Time Avengers line-up, as well as Golden-Age female heroes standing in as mentors for the young heroes. I'm actually really curious and a bit excited about how this one turns out. While the book is geared towards young females, (probably aged 12 - 22) there were promises made that suggested that male readers wont be left in the dark. So look for Marvel Her-Oes to hit the shelves in April. It should be a fun ride.

-Fleet

Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights

2010-01-22T17:45:00.001-06:00

For readers who also get our email newsletter, many of you might already know about our newly introduced used book section. We are now purchasing used books and manga on Thursdays and Sundays, and we’ve already gotten in quite a few choice comics. The first graphic novel I purchased from our used section was a copy of Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights. I’d been eyeing the book for a while, but for half of the cover price it was too good of a deal to pass up. What’s great is it didn’t disappoint.

Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights, published by the short-lived Vertigo Pop! Imprint, collects two stories by writer Jonathan Vankin, which only vaguely tie together with a theme of foreigners in an unfamiliar city. The first story, Tokyo Days, is what caught my attention because of the hyper colorful art by the late Seth Fisher. The boisterous story takes place in the Harijuku and Akihabara districts of Japan, and finds an American Gaijin (basically meaning foreign devil) getting swept up with an outrageous cosplaying girl named Maki. As the wacky chase story develops, a Japans pop star gets kidnapped, a group of Yakuza gangsters fumble an important assassination, and a fair number high-fashion Japanese girls get naked, leaving the reader in a whirlwind heat and gasping for breath. I hope if I ever go to Japan the experience is exactly like this book, full of non-stop Japanese gadgets, Cosplayers and reverence for the legendary Cheap Trick performance at Budokan.

The exuberance of the story is largely captured in the mind-blowing art provided by Seth Fisher. Also known as the artist on Batman - Snow and Fantastic Four/Iron Man – Big in Japan, Fisher had a unique manga influenced style he mastered in his adopted Japanese home. With my newfound appreciation for Fisher’s kinetic style, it is profoundly sad to learn the artist passed away in 2006 from a tragic fall from a seventh story Osaka nightclub.

Bangkok Nights takes a decidedly darker approach in exploring the seedy streets of the leading sex trade city in Thailand. Illustrated by penciller Giuseppe Camuncoli and inker Shawn Martinbrough, Bangkok Nights has more of a Vertigo in-house style and story. The protagonist of less likeable, the city is significantly more dangerous and the overall stakes are higher, when a teenage prostitute gets involved with a struggling western couple. Yet, Bangkok is perhaps presented in a more realistic light than its day-dreamy Tokyo counterpart, and readers get a dynamic two-for-one book showcasing Vankin's diverse writing styles.

We don’t have anymore used copy of Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights, but a new copy is still worth the price. If you come in to check it out, make sure to browse our used section for some more hidden treasures.

-Jon

The Guild: Online Hijinks, Now In Your Comic!

2010-01-21T11:03:00.001-06:00

Behold, the coming of internet webshow sensation, The Guild, to the world of comics! For those of you not in the know, The Guild, follows a group of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) players in their real lives outside of their game. The show begins with one of the characters, Zaboo, arrives at Codex's (The main character) apartment to take her up on a massive miscommunication involving them becoming a real-life couple. As a result, to save herself from Zaboo, Codex arranges to have a meeting between the rest of members of her guild, in an attempt to pass Zaboo off on someone else. For those who are Joss Whedon fans, you might recognize the main character/creator of the show as Felicia Day. She's appeared in a few of Whedon's televised properties, such as her role in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played one of the many potential vampire slayers... Or you may have noticed her as Neil Patrick Harris' love interest in Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Or maybe you've seen her as a guest star in Whedon's Dollhouse... Anyway, what she has created with The Guild, is definitely something worth most, if not all of the praise it has received, so it feels like the next thing to do with the property is to expand to another format, so... Why not comics?

Since this is a comic, the biggest thing that this format holds over it's internet video counterpart, is it's budget. You can pretty much do whatever you want, provided your artists are capable. So, with that said, Felicia Day has decided to show us the origin of Codex and her introduction to The Knights of Good, which is the actual name of the Guild in which the show is about. However, that isn't to say that this is just the Codex comic, from the preview of the first issue, the book looks to showcase these characters in the present, as well as the past. But, what I feel is the best part about all of this, is that we're going to get a look at the online game they play in the show. Although, if you've played or seen World of Warcraft, then for the most part, you already know what the game looks like. But it's fun to see the cast as their in-game avatars while their word-bubbles deal with things not in the game. There's a massive oppertunity to be had here with MMORPG jokes, such as if a character is AFK or lagging due to a poor internet connection or a shoddy video card.

So yeah, we get a three issue mini about people playing a videogame, written by Felicia Day and with art by Jim Rugg. This looks to be a fun deal here, and I'm very curious to see where this thing goes. The book doesn't come out until March 24th, so that should give you plenty of time to catch up with what's been going on with the gang, or meet them for the very first time. Also, here's a video of the first episode, please excuse it's low quality feel... The first season had no budget, Season 2 sees an upgrade to High Definition and an overall layer of gloss and style.. But that's for you to see for yourself... Until next time...

-Fleet

1st Super Cool Cover of the Year

2010-01-20T07:11:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I threw one of these out, but I award an unofficial prize of cover of the week to...Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31

This is of course the cover by Georges Jeanty who does the interior artwork and contributes one of the two covers released every issue. I love the painted covers by Jo Chen are often breath-taking works of art, but I love the Roy Litchenstein inspired pop-art piece from Jeanety. As a matter of fact, the Jeanty covers have been absolutely brilliant homages lately. Take for instance the Jeanty cover for issue #28 which looks just like a 60's Jack Kirby cover from Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos. It certainly helps that Xander is always ready to make light of the fact that he shares the same eye condition as Nick Fury. It's not just Buffy that gets to have all the fun, I recently posted a blog about how awesome the covers to Angel have been since the GI Joe 80's action figure package cover from a couple of months ago.

Thanks to the wonder that is the DVR, I've been watching every episode of Angel, and much as I love me some Buffy, I find myself enjoying Angel just a tad more, and cannot wait to start devouring the trades and various mini series that followed. Overall, it's nice to see the Buffy-verse endures and that the fresh material is being produced in the beloved medium of comics.

-Jim

Fear Agent

2010-01-19T15:05:00.001-06:00

While perusing the new-this-week shelves the other day, I came across the fifth volume of a series called Fear Agent. At just a glance of the front cover that featured a ray gun totting intergalactic space cowboy and the subtitle “I against I,” which is a Bad Brains reference, I instantly new the series was for me. How could I have overlooked this comic for so long? Fear Agent, written by Rick Remender, also was co-created by one of my favorite artist of the last decade Tony Moore (Walking Dead, Exterminators), making my failure to notice the series that much more biting. I quickly found the first volume “Re-Ignition” on the shelf and embark on the hard-boiled space odyssey.

Fear Agent is Heath Huston’s story, a hard-drinking, alien exterminator who shuns his past as the galaxies last Fear Agent, an organization of intergalactic peacekeepers. Remender, a writer I’ve never read before, approaches his dialogue somewhere between the classic camp of Will Eisner and the rugged machismo of Frank Miller, and hits the mark just right. Also, the writer successfully blends a number of genres other than science fiction, including horror and war, in a conscious attempt to reproduce a modern story in the vain of Classic EC comic fiction. With Moore’s grotesquely comical renderings of a one-eyed space-trucker alien, Morlock-esqeue cave apes, sentient laser-totting guard robots, and the evil Metroid-like Brain monster, Fear Agent is a sci-fi fantasy with the balls to back up its brawn. Though Moore sometimes suffers illustrating essentially the same characters (Heath Huston is a dark-haired astronaut version of Walking Dead’s Rick), it is also a great strength that he plays to subject matters that suit his style well, and also allow him to draw any other monstrosity he can image. Plus, who wouldn’t want to hang out with the space babe Mara he so lustfully designs.

The first volume leaves you with a bizarre leap through time, multiply betrayals between characters, and wicked plot to devastate earth, and it only collects the first four issues. The fact that the next volume has the Black Flag subtitle “My War,” and deals with Huston’s heroes bane: a thirst for the bottle, only sweetens Fear Agent’s appeal. This is definitely the equivalent of Buck Roger’s for the 21 century, if you’re familiar with comic space westerns, past and future.

-Jon

Confessions of an X-Men Junkie

2010-01-18T11:34:00.001-06:00

There was a time when super-hero comics fell out of favor with me. It was the late 90's when Wolverine was running around with no nose, more arm hair, and had that atrocious bandanna mask thing, and it was also right in the middle of the whole Onslaught thing. From time to time I'd peek in and wasn't dissatisfied with stories like Operation Zero Tolerance, but for the most part, I was done with the comic franchise that got me into comics to begin with.

I got back into all things X when Grant Morrison came around with New X-Men, and Peter Milligan and Mike Allred re-imagined X-Force almost ten years ago. (Yes, it really was that long ago.) I also re-discovered all the old-school X-stuff in the Essential X-Men trades and visionary collections like the Neal Adams run from the late 60's. Lately, I've gotten back into Uncanny on a regular basis, and have enjoyed Astonishing X-Men since Joss Whedon started the whole thing, and find myself recommending it over a lot of other super-hero trades. I've also been indulging myself in the stories from the late 80's and early 90's that really got me into reading comics, and have a new-found appreciation for what Jim Lee and Chris Claremont were doing at the time. It's easy to look back at that material now with a jaded point of view of how dated it looks, but when it first came out, it was a visual revolution in comics. I remember back to 1993 when I was reading Uncanny, X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, and even Excalibur and almost nothing else. I remember when Joe Madureria came along and began the still-to-this-day aesthetic of infusing a little manga into western comics. For as long as I've been into comics, the X-Men have been the one constant source of interest for me, and they have always been the mainstream franchise that would be willing to try someting new creatively.

I'd like to think my tastes in graphic literature have matured over the years, but deep down inside is a kid who thinks theres nothing cooler than popping razor sharp claws out of the back of your hands, or shooting force beams out of your eyes. And the fact that they had a wildly popular Cajun character and had Native American heroes appealed to my heritage. So yeah, after all these years, I'm still an X-junkie.

-Jim

Marvel Douchebaggery?

2010-01-16T11:53:00.001-06:00

The big comic news this week is the story of Marvel offering a rare Siege #3 Deadpool variant in return for strip cover returns of the DC Blackest Night tie-in books. Personally, I find it pretty funny that Marvel will take DC books off our hands, but they won't take back their own (HELLO SIEGE #1!).

Marvel has tried to sugarcoat it by questioning why anyone would doubt their motives. After a little tweeting for damage control yesterday, Marvel Executive Director Tom Brevoort wrote "I see there's a lot of chatter about our SIEGE #3 offer, so I have to ask the question: how is this bad? We're making no money on the deal (actually losing a little) but it will put some more much-needed cash in retailers' pockets, and if your retailer doesn't have these books in stock, excellent! Good on them, they ordered appropriate to their customer base. But while no retailer wants to hurt their relationship with DC, we've been hearing from lots of them that they're happy we're offering this...And while we listed the titles we'd be taking--all of the "ring" books-- we never mentioned either DC or Blackest Night at all."

Allow me a snort of derision. They list the relevant DC titles for return that were specifically related to Blackest Night and the Blackest Night Ring Promotion, yet we're supposed to understand that somehow this isn't a direct competitive assault on DC's 'event' of 2009-10. Maybe I'd buy that line of argument if I hadn't already seen this:

Marvel's not knocking DC at all...Right!

Are the swords so short in the Marvel offices that they need to pull this kind of nonsense? Grow. Up.

Marvel's insistence that this was done to help retailers is half-hearted at best.

"We heard from a number of retailers who got stuck with books chasing rings and decided to do something. We're not making any money on the deal, but we are helping our retailer partners during a tough economic time. Making sure that our retailers can keep the doors open if they tied up a lot of cash on inventory they can't move. We're doing this because we're in the business of selling content rather than Cracker Jack prizes. And we need retailers to be able to keep the lights on and afford to order next month's books. [Marvel won't be accepting trade-ins for unsold Dark Reign and The List books] because there, what we were selling and what the retailers were buying were the books. But DC can if they want to! Retailers ordered those books for the content--that's part of the job, knowing your clientele. I think smart retailers know how to gauge the interests of their clientele most of the time and order appropriately."

If I'm going to over order *anything* it's going to be a Marvel book, and that's because Marvel is in the business of putting the bulk of risk on the retailers and readers. There are notable exceptions - like the Siege #1 Deep Discount offer - but in general, the inability of Marvel to keep titles (comics AND trades) in print costs me much more on an annual basis than the likelihood of being stuck with a few incentive titles. By the way, we won't be getting this variant since we ordered our Blackest Night Ring Tie-In books right on the money! So I guess this promotion is meant to punish the smart retailers? Maybe they think we should all be over ordering books out the wazoo.

The ring tie-in books were a perfect example of the correct way to increase readership: the books were tied to a product that the readers wanted. To get the ring, they had to purchase the book from us. This increased readership on the various tie-ins tremendously. It also has carried over significantly to the future issues of the tie-in titles. Way to go, DC. And the rings I had left over - you can buy them for a buck a piece out of our Gacha machines (collect them all!).

I think we can take this for what it's worth: Marvel is having some fun. And on that note, enjoy this very entertaining tidbit:

-b

Human Target

2010-01-15T09:50:00.001-06:00

Lately you may or may not have seen the ads for the new Human Target TV show due on Fox on January 17th. I think this is a show that snuck under the radar despite it's advertising campaign, and I feel may be a short lived series anyway.

The character of Christopher Chance (aka: the Human Target) has been around since 1972 appearing in backup stories in more popular titles like Action Comics, the Brave and the Bold, Batman, and Detective Comics. It wouldn't be until 1999 that the Human Target would receive his own stand alone comic series, and then meet with better quality and success being written by Peter Milligan. For those not in the know, Christopher Chance is a bodyguard/ detective for hire who has an uncanny ability to impersonate anyone. He's a chameleon like mercenary version of James bond. This isn't the first time a Human Target television series has been on the air. In 1992, a very short lived series starring Rick Springfield lasted 7 episodes before being cancelled and forgotten. I have a suspicion that the new Fox series may make it past 7 episodes, but ultimately won't catch on to be that wildly popular. Maybe I'm wrong and it will become as popular as 24. But that's just speculation. I think the source material is stronger than what the TV series could be. The books released by Vertigo and written by Peter Milligan are smart and come with a taste of noir, which looks like something the television series will likely discard for the sake of action. We'll see.

Even if the show is disappointing, don't let it dissuade you from trying the graphic novels. They're a very fun and smart read that come with my seal of approval.

-Jim

Brightest Day

2010-01-14T09:25:00.001-06:00

What a way to start the new decade for comics. For the last year, Marvel and DC have been bogged down in the "Dark Reign" and "Blackest Night" story lines, but DC at least wants to shine a little light on their universe in 2010. Starting in April, DC presents the 26 issue bi-weekly series "Brightest Day," the follow up to the zombie-ridden "Blackest Night" mega crossover. The series will be written by Green Lantern/ GL Corps/ Blackest Night/ everything that matters at DC/ scribe Geoff Johns and will be illustrated by Peter Tomasi. Artist David Finch will be providing the covers.

The promo art, with a new white symbol, leads many "Blackest Night" readers to believe the rumored prediction of a White Lantern will be the ultimate outcome of the event. Whether or not this will be Hal Jordan or another member of the GL corps or DC universe has not been revealed. However, in an interview from Johns' with IGN, he revealed that central characters in "Blackest Night," like Mera and The Atom, will continue to be leads in "Brightest Day." Like his work on "Green Lantern: Rebirth" and "Flash: Rebirth," Johns aims to jump start the DC universe as a whole with "Brightest Day," taking classic elements of characters' past and moving them forward to provide new adventures in the future.

The bi-weekly schedule from one of DC's top writers will be a welcome addition to many comic fans pull list, and the main Green Lantern titles will also tie into the "Brightest Day" banner. No more doom and gloom this decade in comics. Who knows, maybe this "Brightest Day" will help inspire the economy as well...

-Jon

Mega Man Megamix

2010-01-13T11:56:00.001-06:00

American fans of the original blue bomber Mega Man will have a good year in 2010. On January 27, the long-awaited Japanese manga "Mega Man Megamix" by Hitoshi Ariga will finally have an english language release from Udon Entertainment. The highly acclaimed "Megamix" series will be serialized over 3 volumes, with volumes 2 and 3 being released in April and July, respectively. The first volume focus on familiar characters from the first three Mega Man games for the Nintendo, including Dr. Wily, Dr. Light, Proto Man, Rush and many of the most famous Robot Masters in the entire series. Subsequent volumes will focus on characters from Mega Man 4-6, the Wily Wars bosses and fan favorite enemies Bass and Treble. The translation for the manga should be interesting because many of the Mega Man character where originally named after music genres in Japan (Mega Man is known as Rock Man in Japan) but were renamed in the American release. Consequently, music in jokes between the characters will likely make little sense in the english translation.

For those unfamiliar with Mega Man, the iconic side-scrolling video game follows robot Mega Man as he fights a group of rouge robot masters (usually eight) created by crazy lab-coat wearing Dr. Wily. After he defeats each master, Mega Man gains their unique fighting ability and can transform his mega-buster (gun arm) into their weapon to defeat Dr Wily. Obtaining the rights to video game manga properties can be extra difficult since not only does publisher Udon have to secure the rights to the foreign manga property, but they also have to get rights from the original artist and Japanese game company Capcom. However, not only did Udon secure the rights to "Megamix" but also "Mega Man ZX" by Shin Ogino, a manga that follows the more mature "Mega Man X" series started on the Super Nintendo. The second series is set for release in March 2010. Both sets of manga will come with bonus materiel including character profiles and original art.

A classic Mega Man side-scroller "Mega Man 10" will also be released in 2010 as an exclusive download for Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and Wii Ware, similar to the previously downloadable title "Mega Man 9." If that's not enough, Star Clipper is also carrying Mega Man E-Tank energy drinks, a blue soda concoction that gives you the energy of 8 mini-bosses.

Get equipped with awesome!

-Jon

Angel: Starring Nicolas Cage

2010-01-12T08:39:00.001-06:00

I think the title says it all. But then, that wouldn't be much of a blog if I left it at that... So, let me explain this deeper. When the Buffy and Angel television series were canceled, someone had the good ideal to continue the various stories with a season 8 and season 6, respectively. Buffy's was launched first, and after all hope of a Angel movie was crushed, it too launched a post-TV comic series. The story that was presented as Angel's season 6 dealt with Los Angeles being consumed by Hell because of Angel's dealings with the evil law firm, Wolfram & Hart. However, the comic didn't begin where the season 5 cliffhanger left off, instead if began 6 months later, with the fate of a few characters unknown. Eventually, we find that one of our heroes has become a major villain, another hero has become a ghost, another has become overlord of slum... We also meet a new character by the name of Betta George, a giant telepathic fish who was originally introduced in non-canon comics featuring Spike. There was fun to be had in this comic, but the real fun begins with the movie that was created about the events that transpired within the comic.

Angel Annual #1: "Last Angel In Hell", is the comic book adaption of the movie created in the comics about how Angel saves Los Angeles from Hell. The idea is that a screenwriter chronicled the events that took place during the Hell-time in LA. He noticed that a guy named Angel seemed to be in the middle of everything important, so he did his best to put down what he saw and filled in the blanks as best he could to make an awesome script about the man who saved LA. When a director was found, changes were made to the story to change the race and sex of some of the characters, as well as some of their roles in the story. Additionally, the run-time of the movie clocked in around 2 hours and 45 minutes and every 2 minutes there was an explosion to keep the general public interested. A few of these changes are as follows:

1. Angel, the main character, was portrayed by Nicolas Cage and made an officer of the LAPD. It was also decided that he should no longer be an vampire, and so he became a man.
2. Charles Gunn, originally a black male, was recast and portrayed by Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost), and made into a buddy sidekick.
3. Spike, was recast as female love interest for Angel, and seemed to be the only character who got to remain a vampire.
4. Illyria, originally a pale female demon, now became a human black female with a tech suit that produced electricity as a means of offense.
5. Betta George, the giant fish, became a dog.
6. The Major Villain of the story became The Devil.

Another great thing about this book, is that it depicts the movie as a big summer tent-pole kind of film with a million tie-ins. The character appear various different costumes, solely for there to be variants of the action figures. There are plenty of vehicles and sets for the more expensive toy accessories and play sets. There's a fast food deal and there's a cereal that turns your milk blood-red. The movie is filled with one-liners and action poses. There are bad flashbacks, silly side characters, and the movie starts off with an absurd story about the first vampire being a dinosaur who cursed God. It's all great stuff, and it makes me a little sad that this had to happen in comic book form. I wouldn't recommend reading this without having read the preceding series, Angel: After the Fall, first. The comic doesn't really make for a good read, unless you know the context of the whole thing. It was designed to be a bad, big budget movie. And it succeeds. So thumbs up to Brian Lynch for pulling off a comic book adaptation of an in-comic movie.

-Fleet

Siege

2010-01-11T07:51:00.001-06:00

Most comic fans will tell you that they are suffering a little event burnout at this point from both Marvel and DC, and that the Marvel fans are particularly exhausted after 6 or 7 years of event after event. First there was Avengers Disassembled, which begat House of M, which begat Civil War, which begat Secret Invasion on to the past year when the Dark Reign, well, reigned. All of these events are coming to conclusion apparently with Siege, which I've already heard negative views on before it was even released. That being said, I read the first issue with no expectations, and found myself thoroughly entertained.

One thing that can be said about comic-fandom is that it can be fickle and extremely opinionated. Thank you internet. I knew right away that I should toss my skepticism out the window before reading Siege because contrary to what I thought a year ago, Dark Reign was a lot of fun and has me craving more. So here you have it: My ringing endorsement of Siege. This is Earths mightiest heroes versus Asgard's mightiest immortals, Norman Osborn in what can only be presumed as his downfall after serving as a more unbalanced version of Nick Fury, and an epic match of two of Marvels most powerful heroes, Thor vs. the Sentry. The idea is that this is the event that will tie up all the loose ends of the past decade but lets not try to fool anyone here, this is the world of comics. As soon as one issue is resolved, another will arise to take it's place. I for one am satisfied to see how these events unfold without imposing any kind of vehement opinion on the matter. Reading comics like these are more fun that way.

The first issue of Siege opens with a naive Volstag annihilating Soldier Field in Chicago in 9/11 style that gives Norman Osborn all the reason he needs to wage full out war with Asgard, which has been hovering just a few feet above rural Oklahoma for some time now. In the first issue, you also see an endless ocean of Marvel meta-humans on their way to lay siege to the mythic realm of Asgard. Epic battle? I say thee yay!

-Jim