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"Saturday is Free Comic Book Day for 2006
and JR stopped by to help me review most of the 26 titles available at the store
this weekend. And don't forget to check the bottom of the page (after you read
our reviews) for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES
of future titles"" |
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 AMELIA
RULES…Last year I said that this was my
favorite FCBD offering and…..drum roll please….it’s my pick again this year.
Jimmy Gownley’s creation is a smile inducing wonder of a book. Funny,
intelligent, witty and most importantly, insightful Amelia Rules is a comic that
every parent should be putting into their daughters hands. Gownley taps into the
mindset of a young girl. With all the feelings of joy, disappointment,
apprehension, anxiety and laughter, this Amelia Rules targets an audience that
is not always catered to in the comics business but with a quality book like
this, should be. This is the kind of thing that Japanese anime filmmaker Hayao
Miyazaki does so well; finds the heart of the human condition in the soul of a
adolescent girl. I found this book to be hilarious and touching in equal
measure. A gem. (JR)
ARCANA STUDIO PRESENTS…the third offering
from Arcana Studios includes previews of Kade, Ezra and 100 Girls. Kade is a
demon hunter and in this brief tale we see the birth of a new foe amidst some
shiny art. It should appeal to fans of Conan and is drawn in a more realistic
style. Ezra gives us the tale of a female hero and here we get an origin story
told with a fair share of whininess but hey, there’s a talking animal involves
so it isn’t all bad. 100 Girls finishes things off with a self contained tale
that gives us a sense of history around the characters and should serve as a
better teaser for new fans than the other stories do. (Bo)
ARCHIE'S 65th ANNIVERSARY BASH...Incredible!
These characters have not changed a lick in all the years I’ve read them. And
maybe that’s a good thing. Sometimes you just shouldn’t mess with what works.
Archie is still the “every-kid”. Reggie is still the snootie rich kid, Veronica
is the hot one and Betty is the cute obtainable one. This is the comic book
equivalent of comfort food and I loved every panel of it. (JR)
BONGO COMICS FREE FOR ALL...the
worst comic ever includes tales involving that man of men, Comic Book Guy as
well as loads of funny short bits involving those folks from Springfield and a
certain lush of a robot. (Bo)
BUZZBOY...John
Gallagher has carved out a small niche in the industry with the character of
Buzzboy. The title character is a young apprentice who has fun adventures while
waiting for his mentor to handle the big issues. Here he saves a young girl and
we meet more sidekicks along the way in a smart funny tale that only wants to
entertain you. We also get a tutorial on comics how to make them along with a
bonus action filled story. (Bo)
GI JOE: SIGMA 6...the
regular limited series from Devil’s Due is over but here we get a short tale
about the more kid friendly version of the Joe team. Here Duke is on vacation
and as usual he’s interrupted to go on a mission to the happy land of Guam where
some weird seismic activity is going on. It’s a cool story that’s in an issue
filled with reminders of what Due is doing near this period and may get some
more 6 adventures out there. (Bo)
DEADBEATS...Claypool
Comics has had a rough year so take pity on them and check this out. If only a
few people get hooked then this company can survive and remain in the Diamond
Catalog. Included are tales from the vampire epic Deadbeats and Peter David’s
Soulsearchers and Company along with a text page telling you what else the
company does. (Bo)
FREE SCOTT PILGRIM...the
Oni comics offering by way of the title returns Scott Pilgrim to comics’ pages
in a tale that has him and his friends killing time before seeing Brokeback
Mountain and getting into all sorts of trouble. We also get a bonus tale with
the folks known as Free Fearless Griggs that sets up a limited series that from
the looks of it will remind a lot of folks of Hellboy since the artist has a
similar style. The teaser takes place in 1902 on an island off the English coast
and packs a lot of excitement in this short offering. (Bo)
IMPACT UNIVERSITY 2...the
second volume of the comic book tutorial includes instruction from Sean Chen,
Peter David, Colleen Doran, Matt Haley, Greg Land, J. Peffer, Buddy Scalera and
V. Shane. There are suggestions on how to draw faces, manga eyes, body types,
using photo reference, beautiful women (Land’s contribution), bodies in motion
(if the fight looks fake then you lose the effect), dragons and finishes things
off with Peter David teaching us the three act structure. Everything here is a
short version of what you can see in books so consider this a good teaser for
what you need to be able to do once and if you want to enter the industry. (Bo)
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED…Here’s
a fun little book that has no pretensions of being anything other than a great
companion piece to the animated series that in itself is exemplary. Drawn in the
exact style of the animated series the characters are all well represented and a
real feeling of teamwork permeates the book. A fun comic for the kids and a
decent read for JLA fans. Writer Adam Beechen knows that these characters are
archetypal and gives each member an iconic moment. I found this book to be loads
of fun. (JR)
STAR WARS/CONAN FLIP BOOK…Dark
Horse gives a flip book of their two most popular franchises. On the Star Wars
side, Randy Stradley gives us a story that takes place during the Clone Wars.
It’s a straight up action piece with very little actual narrative. If that’s
your thing…enjoy. I found it fairly empty. The art by Doug Wheatley is very
detailed if a little stiff. Disappointing stuff. Turning to the Conan portion of
the book, when I saw Tim Trumans name I was hoping for great things. I’ve always
loved Trumans highly detailed and evocative artwork. Unfortunately, Truman does
not provide the artwork. He is the story’s writer. It’s a very wordy piece with
little to no action. The art by Paul Lee is generic. Truman needs to be drawing
this book. Either side of Dark Horse’s flip book left me cold. (JR)
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #1…A
“straight up” reprint of the first issue of the current series; nothing new here
if you already own the series. If you’re new to the title, this is the perfect
jumping on point. Jeph Loeb nails the two main characters. His writing is
workmanlike but his handling of the dialogue between Supes and Bats is what
makes this book work. It’s an uneasy alliance these two have, but work together
they do. Ed McGuinness’s art is a bit on the cartoony side for my taste, but
still serviceable. For those of you readers old enough to remember DC’s Worlds
Finest comics, the nostalgia value of having these two top tier heroes together
in one monthly book is high. New readers are likely to get hooked by this issue.
(JR)
TOKYOPOP SNEAKS...there
are three short tales here from books I have no interest in but for all you
manga fans out there you may get hooked. Kat 7 Mouse is a mystery written by
Smoke’s Alex De Campi, Mail Order Ninja gives an unpopular kid his own ninja
(how he got thru the mail is questionable) and Sea Princess Azuri is self
explanatory. (Bo)
TRANSFORMERS...I
don’t get the appeal of the Transformers and I guess I never will but if you
want to see what the big summer event is then you have to pick this up because
here is where you will be mesmerized and tempted into watching cars turn into
stuff. (Bo)
VIPER COMICS PRESENTS...three
tales involving characters you may not have heard of and a new Dead at 17story
that makes this worth picking up. I will also say that any book that features a
homicidal dummy can’t be all bad either. We also get teases of future offerings
so take a chance on this. (Bo)
WIZARD TOP 100 TRADE PAPERBACKS OF ALL
TIME…This seems to be the route that Wizard
is going to take with FCBD. They did the same thing last year as well. As I’m
not a big fan of lists, I do think this serves as a fairly representative primer
for seeking out the cream of the crop of comics. It’s the rankings that get
under my skin a little. Placing Ultimate Spiderman Vol. 1 at No. 5 on the list
over Miracleman and Daredevil: Born Again amongst others is a head-scratcher.
Crises on Infinite Earths at No. 80? Kingdom Come at No. 40 and Marvels at No.
8? C’mon!! Still rankings aside, this will help to point potential new readers
in some interesting and essential directions. (JR)
WORLDS OF ASPEN...Michael
Turner’s Aspen join FCBD with an offering packed with short tales from Soulfire
(two series), Fathom and Shrugged. Two of the offerings here are segments of
current series but we do get a look at Shrugged (also previewed in last month’s
Wizard) and Soulfire: Chaos Reign that should wet our whistle for the debuts of
both. As always, the art is damn pretty. (Bo)
X-MEN/RUNAWAYS…Marvels
offering this year is all over the map; a real mish-mash of a book. The first
part of the book is a Runaways story. I am a fan of writer Brian K. Vaughan’s
work in Ex Machina and Y The Last Man. This is my first exposure to Runaways and
I must say I like what I see. Witty dialogue and fun characters is something we
don’t usually get from Marvel, so this was a breath of fresh air. Scottie
Young’s art is stylish and somewhat anime inspired. Terrific stuff. Next comes a
Franklin Richards short piece. The less said the better. Why Bill Waterson isn’t
suing the living crap out of Marvel for ripping off the look of Calvin and
Hobbes is beyond me. Next up is a god-awful boring Avengers story by Jeff
Parker. Pirate gags and banal dialogue do not go very far in getting people to
want to read your work. Lastly is a 12 page recap of the entire run of Ultimate
Spiderman. Using a prose style and wordless panels it takes us through the run
of the book up until the most recent story arc. Big time filler. Outside of the
Runaways segment, the Marvel FCBD book is pretty much a mess. Which exemplifies
Marvel’s current state overall in my opinion. (JR)
BEST OF THE REST
Comic Genesis is a primer showing us what the company has to offer and what they
are all about, the Preposterous Voyages of Iron Hide Tom give us monsters and
sea tales involving a small boy, Mr. Jean returns this year with solid tales of
life and relationships, Keenspot Spotlight 2006 tosses so many things at us that
you have to find something good in it, Bluff contains offerings from Narwain and
we get dogs, manga and more before finishing things out with Funny Book which
has stories for adults, not kids. (Bo) |
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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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