Comics

The Complete Major Bummer Super Slacktacular – Review

Comics that released in the nineties tend to have a very distinct feel to them, mostly in the fact that the stories are ridiculous, costumes are absurd and the art is the best part of the comic. Towards the end of the decade Dark Horse Comics released a comic entitled Major Bummer from John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke (current Green Lantern artist). Now over a decade later the complete series of Major Bummer is being released in a glorious hard cover edition. The book originally released in 1997 and if you lived in a small town and bought all your comics from the supermarket you probably missed this series like I original had. Of course I’ve heard of how good the series was, but never found a single issue to read for myself and thank god I didn’t.

You Missed That Issue? – Fables #100

Welcome
once again to the “You Missed That Issue?” feature in which we feign
chastisement while recommending the classic comics you might have
missed. From the inimitable Vertigo, we receive Bill Willingham’s brilliant Fables.
One hundred issues is an impressive milestone for any comic and the
occasion is even more auspicious for a series so consistently impressive
as this. So let yourself get excited because there ain’t no party like a
Fables party, because a Fables party don’t quit. Seriously, it goes on for quite a while.

All Nighter #3 – Advanced Review

In the next installment of the not-so-ordinary teen drama, All Nighter #3
starts off with an extremely disappointing and anti-climactic opening
but manages to have many strong exchanges between the characters through
the mostly solid dialogue and the glances given towards one another. 
These simple glances carried me through this issue with a sense of awe,
despite the opening and a few other quirks in the writing that would
have been unbearable without every page of art taking the time to suck
me in.

Bomb Queen Presents: All Girl Special #1 – Review

Who can be more politically incorrect than Bomb Queen?  But this issue is incorrect in more than just the political way.  The usual elements of Bomb Queen – nudity, violence and the Queen B herself – are noticeably scarce in this issue.  The story tries to become more respectable but is hard to take seriously with Bomb Queen’s motley crew, composed of super villains Miss Demeanor and Tits (guess what her power is).      

After picking off five world leaders, Bomb Queen sets her sights on the Queen of England.  The President of the United States, Sarah Palin, instructs a team of superheroes to protect the Queen and her clone from Bomb Queen and her henchwomen.    

Books to Read from Vertigo – Part 2

The second part of “Books to Read from Vertigo” (that no one demanded) includes titles that are still great despite the test of time. The following titles are all worth a read and all come from Vertigo, the company renowned for horror. Check out Part 1 for more great titles Vertigo offers – with their share of flaws, of course, if you squint hard enough. Vertigo has had a part in many volumes of Swamp Thing, usually working with their partner company DC Comics. Swamp Thing is the tragic saga of scientist Alec Holland, who is turned into Swamp Thing during an explosion at his lab and is able to communicate with nature – or as he calls it, the Green. With a mad scientist villain like Arcane, a fleshed-out and lovable love interest turned wife Abby Holland, and an extraordinarily powerful demon daughter Tefé, this roster of characters is just as enjoyable as the story and the art. The art throughout the series was almost always beautiful enough to be a portrait, even the art from the 80s, which in any other comic may feel outdated. Swamp Thing has aged gracefully with time. The series is going to be rebooted with DC’s new re-launch and will be written by Scott Snyder (writer of American Vampire), but the old series of Swamp Thing will always have wonderful stories and art to admire with legendary guest stars including Batman and John Constantine from Hellblazer.

Star Wars: Invasion—Revelations #1 – Review

With a title like that, you know it has to be Star Wars. The Star Wars: Invasion
series is Dark Horse’s first set in the New Republic continuity that
has been covered by the Del Rey novels. This book is the first in five
of the Revelations saga and works as #12 in the overall Invasion line. Does that make it a decent addition to the galaxy far, far away?

For
those not up to speed, a quick recap is in order. A long time ago, some
Jedi returned. There were some hiccups, but the Jedi returning seemed
pretty decent and more continued to return. Then the Yuuzhan Vong showed
up. Entirely unannounced, these space invaders from another universe
had a less than favorable impression of the New Republic. Specifically,
their complaint was that they did not rule over all its inhabitants.
Now, most people weren’t too concerned, because, hey, the Jedi had
returned. Only problem was the Jedi could not feel the Yuuzhan Vong in
the Force. This disadvantage, coupled with the warrior race’s powerful
organic technology, has made things a bit of an uphill struggle for our
Luke and company.

Hack/Slash #5 – Review

Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle, returns in Hack/Slash #5 and brings an interesting self-contained story, giving us a breather from the usually very involved story arcs previously produced from the series.  But if the issue’s intent was to get more readers for Hack/Slash, it failed.

The
God-like entity Fantomah has finally returned after being trapped for
many years because of the Crime Cabal and now needs Cassie and Vlad’s
help.  In exchange, she promises to help them succeed in their mission
and take down the leader of the slashers, the people responsible for
killing everyone around Cassie when she was younger by using her own
mother, the Lunch Lady.