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"These reviews are based on the Sneak Peek
titles sent out by Marvel, DC & Image. It's not everything that's shipping for
the week, but it is a real good cross-section of this weeks releases. Check the
bottom of the page (after you read my reviews) for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES
of future titles" |
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 BOOK
OF THE WEEK:
NEGATIVE BURN #1
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer: Various, Artist: Various
The fine folks at Desperado (by way of Image) after missing
their deadlines on early issues of the Negative Burn
collections realized that it made more sense to issue
quarterly books than tag them to seasons so here we see the
first installment of a regular book. The issue is a mixed
bad with work from creators Brian Bolland, Phil Hester, the
Goon’s Eric Powell, comedian Patton Oswalt (w/Girls’
Jonathan Luna), Greg Ruth and Matthew Smith. Oswalt starts
things off with a cute tale that is also a commentary on the
education level in this and other countries but he tosses in
some aliens to make the tale even better. The Bolland
offering is a single page one about waiting and yes, it does
move but you have to pay attention to the last panel to see
that. Matt Smith’s take on memory and relationships stands
out here on a few levels. Hester goes back to his horror
roots with his story and his art takes on a blocky quality
needed for the story. We even get a giant seagull story from
a guy named Will Volley that is more absurd than scary but
somehow it is effective. The best story in the book involves
a fan trying to get a sketch from the legend Moebius at a
convention and shows how some fans need to learn things the
hard way and it is from the team of Mark Askwith and R.G.
Taylor. Back in the day when Burn did this all the time
something like this was actually the norm. You would get a
collection of short stories from creators that had either
just started or felt like doing something different from
what they were doing at the big two. This isn’t unique
anymore but it shows that something like this can work as
opposed to what DC was doing with Solo where the choices of
creators there seemed too arbitrary and pointless in half
the cases.
MSRP: $5.99,
1st DAY SALE Price: $3.59 (That's 40% OFF,
Wednesday Only!)
Alternate Reality Price: $5.09 (That's 15% OFF, All
Week Long!) |
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 LOVELESS
#7
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer:
Brian Azzarello, Artist:
Danijel Zezelj
The high quality book Loveless has two main characters, Wes Cutter and his wife,
Ruth and this issue tells us how Ruth came to be the way she is. Azzarello
starts things off with Ruth pausing at a stream for a drink of water and that
takes us back to another part of her life before the war. We see that during
that point in time she had hard decisions to make as her husband did and get a
clue as to why she was dressed as a man when we first saw her in #1. We also
learn more about Wes’ brother Johnny who was at home while Wes was off
supposedly dying during the war. Our trip down memory lane leads to a final sex
scene that shows us that Ruth is a woman of many passions and isn’t afraid of
dealing with them as they arrive. We get a great sense here of the bond between
the couple. The compelling Marcelo Frusin cover sums up the story quite well.
MSRP: $2.99
Alternate Reality Price:
$2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All Week Long!) |
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 X-FACTOR
#7
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer:
Peter David, Artist:
Ariel Olivetti
This single-issue story contains many moments that will play out over the months
to come and when you sum all of them up you get a damn good piece of work. David
teases us with a repeat of the cover image of Madrox falling out of a window
after being tossed out when a meeting with his competition, Singularity
Investigations doesn’t go well before setting up just how that came to be. We
also see just how Siryn is doing after her beating and get a visit from Scott
Summers with some bad news that gets a reaction that must be read to be believed
(but makes sense in comic world). That thread pops up around the meeting and
there we meet the head of the company (and see his son again) to add even more
intrigue to the soup. Each page is a treasure and the art here is by Ariel
Olivetti but you wouldn’t know it from looking at it. There is generally
stiffness to his work (look at the All New Atom covers and see if you can sense
even a hint of movement) but here I had to keep looking back at the credits to
make sure that this was he. Due to next issue bringing in Civil War (and
Quicksilver) we can assume that most of what we see here will be placed on the
back burner but that means the book will take us through the year and keep us on
our toes.
MSRP: $2.99
Alternate Reality Price:
$2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All Week Long!) |
MARVEL ROUND UP…
Daredevil #85 if there is anyone who dropped this book after Bendis/Maleev left
I must question their sanity. This book is still one of the best comics on the
market and where else can you see Matt Murdock, Frank Castle and the Kingpin all
sharing quality time? As to the new Daredevil well we see him but are no closer
to finding out who he is but learn that he has a connection to a
lawyer...Fantastic Four: A Death in the Family is a good story that reinforces
the bond between the team on a regular day that results in a tragedy that can be
fixed. The book also contains a reprint of the John Byrne classic Childhood’s
End that shows us an adult Franklin and why he will become the most powerful
mutant ever...Iron Man #8 is the second installment of Execute Program contains
more deaths from the list seen last issue and as we read we see that something
is really wrong with Tony Stark. Even though this really isn’t tied into Civil
War the clues are all over the place. Now as to the image on the last page I
think we shouldn’t believe everything we see but it could all be possible …Ghost
Rider’s Clayton Crain draws Sensational Spider-Man #26 and man, does his art
make this story more scary…New Excalibur #7 shows us another side of Juggernaut
in an issue loaded with fights…Annihilation: Ronan #2 lets killers do what they
do best-kill people with big knives and not worry about it…Exiles #81 starts the
end of the ‘World Tour’ with a visit to the Heroes Reborn world.
DC ROUND UP…
In Hellblazer #220 Constantine makes a bad mistake (again) and his making up for
that should get us thru the next two issues. The Denise Mina/Leonardo Manco team
is making a strong case to continue as the regular team. I know he is sticking
around but she hasn’t decided to with her novel commitments….Testament #6 looks
at Adam & Eve but with a lot more nudity …Skye Runner #2 seems to be trying to
give us more cleavage than an issue of Gent. The story does move along and we
get the first mention of the title but breasts seem to be what the creative team
is trying to get over…the American Way #4 deals with social issues and people
with huge unwieldy axes seem to be able to get their point across mush better
than by simply talking things out…I like Paul Gulacy art more than anybody but
Stuart Moore’s story in JSA: Classified is taking way to long to get anywhere
IMAGE ROUND UP…
Loaded Bible with the subtitle Jesus vs. Vampires and yes, that’s what this one
shot is. Devil’s Due’s Tim Seeley writes this somewhat entertaining romp but he
is seriously hampered by the weak art. There is already a follow-up planned so
maybe he can get someone better for that one…The Last Christmas #1 is funny and
profane so even though a kid may seem interested keep them away from it and
enjoy it after they go to sleep.
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"See, I told you I'd be
down here. We've got a bunch of SNEAKY PEEKIES of future
MARVEL, DC and IMAGE titles right
HERE" |
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All
Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2006
by their respective owners. No rights given or implied
by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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