Been busy and sidetracked

Amy Pond by Kelly Yates

Sorry I sorta dropped of the Net.  I had a bunch of books too.  I am having a tight time with money until I can get some subbing done.  I will have all my titles at the shop by the time I get there.  To apologize I am posting a scan of the sketch I had done by Kelly Yates at HeroesCon.  I wanted Rose, but needed some reference material.  Next year I think I will have that covered.  Anyway.  Hope you all are doing OK and reading some awesome books.

BDS

Birds of Prey #4

Birds of Prey #4

I did go to the comic shop last week because of a doctor's appointment in the area.  I have been debating the listing of what I got for a reason I will explain soon.  Still, I wanted to write a review on Birds of Prey (BoP) #4.  The cover image is worthy of a poster I believe and I went to the DC Comics site to snag a text free image.  This is a Brightest Day themed book because of Hawk and Dove.  The thing is that Gail Simone is back and it is like she never left.

I was sad to see her left BoP when she went to Wonder Woman.  I was sad to see her leave Wonder Woman, but it is so nice to have her and the BoP title back and in fine form. Things are bad for the Birds.  Their secrets are being exposed, Oracle has been captured, a White Canary has them dying, and Lady Blackhawk is bleeding.  It is bad.

In this issue we have the Black Canary figuring out who the White Canary is and taking her on.  The battle is awesome.  She has to use her wits and her smart mouth to get a good shot at the foe.  The last page gives a very BIG hook for next issue.  It is wonderful that BoP is once again showing excellent female heroes and just kicking butt.  I really am glad this old friend is back.

Read this book.

BDS 

ECHO #23 (Parents Note Mature Themes)

ECHO #23

PARENTS NOTE THAT THIS BOOK HAS STRONG LANGUAGE, MATURE THEMES, AND VIOLENCE.

A great deal has happened in this series by Terry Moore.  Earlier story arcs are collected in trade format.  Still, this Black & White book has a great group of characters and compelling conspiracies.  I could see this as a SYFY television series.

Basically you have a young woman named Annie who was blown to pieces by her company while using an experimental metal suit.  She literally rains down on Julie Martin who is in the desert taking pictures.  This begins a tale of danger, love, and the fate of the world.

Julie has the metal bonded to her body and not all of it is in her possession.  She has a deranged homeless guy to deal with that likes to splatter people.  Did I mention the metal can blast people with energy?  That is what the guy Cain does and Julie can as well.  She tends to do more healing with the metal thanks to remnants of Annie inside the alloy.  So we have a strange alloy that can destroy and heal.

This was my jumping on to Terry Moore's work.  I cringe at the #3.50 price each time I buy the book, but it has been an intelligent and enjoyable read.  There are four collected trades so far and it is a great little story.  Not a casual read, you have to actually work through the science sometimes.

BDS

Brightest Day The Atom Special #1

Brightest Day The Atom Special #1

This is a stand alone issue connected into Brightest Day that does have a hook ending that might make you want to follow it on into Action Comics.  One of the great things about this "special" is that the cover price remains at $2.99.  It is a decent read.

What I enjoyed about it was the background on The Atom.  I knew who Ray Palmer was and basically what his powers are, but I had never really gone beyond that basic information.  Here we are given some of his origin and extra material that will become important to the rest of his story.

It is just a solid comicbook read.  Completest will want it for Brightest Day.  Those interested in The Atom would do well to grab this book.  Those that wish to wait should grab it when the extra orders are placed in a back issue sale box.

BDS

Wonder Woman #601

Wonder Woman #601

So we begin anew.  I read about J. Michael Straczynski (henceforth to be referred to as JMS) taking over the book with a bit of trepidation.  I had liked what Gail Simone had done and was not really ready for yet another creative team change on this title.  I also was not thrilled with the ideas JMS had for Superman.  When I read his pitch for Diana I was ready to give it a try and felt it would work better than Superman.

Here is why; we can see this will never stick.  Like much of his work there will come an end.  JMS writes stories and as such they have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  I see the day that Wonder Woman is returned to the continuity we know and her place in the DC Trinity.  Much like his Totem stuff with Spider-Man, there will be closure.

This is an intriguing start.  It is fresh and new.  I like the way the flashbacks that fill in the gaps are done.  Diana not being fully powered makes this a Hero's (or is it more proper to say Heroine?) Tale.  There is a journey we will watch her go on.  She has a purpose to protect the scattered Amazons and to avenge her mother.  The street look is OK, but not iconic in any way.  Really I think they might have just wanted to show off her rear-end in the artwork.

I do wonder what this does to the status of Donna Troy and of Wonder-Girl in the DCU?  They are so tied into the mythology of Wonder Woman that it makes me wonder how much this ripple in time affects?  How deep does to go?  I will read and continue to reserve judgment.  I do hope I can keep reading Wonder Woman as I rather do want to support this character.

BDS

From The Box

Here is what I got from Ssalefish Comics this week.

Wonder Woman #601 - Promising start for a story set up to be reversible.

Zatanna #3 - Awesome start to a series.  This wraps up first story arc.

Power Girl #14 - Gets a little longer on the pull list.

Brightest Day The Atom Special #1 - Pretty good one-shot that has a heck of an ending.

Echo #23 - One of my expensive books, but still worth it.

Secret Six #23 - So this happened before events that have occurred?  Enjoyable tale.

Batman Beyond #2 - Outstanding!

Birds of Prey #3 - Black Canary has never been better.  Twisted twist shown here.  Gail Simone has returned to her wonderful standard of excellence.

Green Lantern Corps #50 - And still just $2.99......plus a good read.

Green Lantern #56 - Where was the continuation of Dex-starr?  Still Larfleeze is here and he believes in Santa.

Batgirl #12 - Stephanie is just great.  My favorite read right now.

BDS

Wilkes Library Con

I had such a great time Saturday at the Wilkes Library Con.  I will get some links and info up in another post.  The event is centered around the Star Wars and various other fandom groups.  There were a ton of kids and that made for an enjoyable day.  Local authors shared their works and there was even an artist there with his work.

I didn't really know if I fit in, I called after seeing a flyer at HeroesCon.  I thought maybe my comicbook oriented art would be able to be enjoyed by more than just me.  I guess I added variety.  I hope so at least.  This was just cool to see.  The enthusiasm for what many would shun in the rural areas where this took place and I live was so nice.  I guess it was being around people that share some similar interest that made it great.

There were homemade R2D2 units there and the kids really loved them.  Maybe even better was the little Droid that was always kind of background in the Star Wars movies slipping around.  It was cute watching a group of kids being chased and chasing the little cracker-box sized unit around the display area.  The pink R2 had some mechanical problems and was limited, but by the end of the day she was up and moving.  There was even a little race being the two Droids.

The Droid Hunt was a cute all day event.  Those participating were given badges that they had to display, yet not prominently.  Various Troopers would spot them and ask a question, which lead to getting a raffle ticket for later.  The ones who were last spotted received  prizes as well.  The Make A Wish Foundation had an all day raffle which was really cool.  That made the day seem cooler, knowing there was a great cause being aided during the fun.  If I get to be a part next year I think I will find a way to donate things to help that charity.

It did prompt me to really get serious about my writing.  I have let that slip during and after the bad times of recent years.  I have started the process, but I want to go back to an idea I had and see if I can;t make it become a reality.  I even saw a way to make the idea i had for the children;s story work, I need to see if Richard would do art for it, but for that I have to finish the story and get it out of my head and on paper.  So this was a great day and I look forward to sharing links and reviewing the book I bought.

BDS