Oh boy… here we go again. To say that One More Day was a controversial Spider-Man story is like saying that Sarah Palin is just somewhat misguided about her political views. OMD brought the comic book world crashing to its knees and crushed the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of nerds. I mean, if Spidey’s marriage can’t survive a little meddling from the devil, what chance do any of us have? However, you are almost able to forgive Joe Quesada for the bastardization of Spidey canon (I don’t acknowledge that JMS had anything to do with that story) because Brand New Day has been, for the most part, an enjoyable ride. ASM has, since OMD, been a pretty damn good comic book. And to find that kind of consistency from a large group of writers working on one book, pushing it out 3 times a month, is rather astonishing.

And then Quesada decided to pick at that slowly healing scab. Enter One Moment In Time. Even the title brings up horrific, sleepless nights caused by OMD. But enough introduction. Let’s see how the first issue of this thing holds up.

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Supergod #1 Cover

So as many of you long time readers of DTC (and you fellow writers) know, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a review. A really long time. Honestly, I’ve been busy, but I’m sorry. I wasn’t really even planning on writing a review today. But then I read this issue. About 4 pages into this issue, I had made the decision that I had to write a review of this soon. By the end, I knew that I had to stop reading comics tonight and push this thing out NOW. And by the end of the review, you’ll hopefully know why.

So, I’m a pretty big Warren Ellis fan. I pick up pretty much every Avatar title that he writes (and there are a lot). Most of them are pretty good. Some are really excellent. So naturally, I picked up Supergod #1. I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, but when I went to the comic book shop today, the owner, Kirby, specifically said “oh, this is really good”. Now, a little back story on Kirby. He’s a great comic book shop owner and a good guy, but I’m pretty sure he has never told me that he liked a comic. Actually, up until today, I wasn’t even sure if he still read current comics. So I immediately knew that this book had to be at the top of my read stack this week. And boy, was he right about it being really good.

I’ll go into depth about why it is so good after the break.

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Alright, so here’s the deal. I attended the DC Nation panel at Chicago Comic-Con on Friday completely ready with my laptop to take notes and give you guys a great rundown of what DC announced at CCC and all of the spectacle that comes with these kinds of panels.

Except… I can’t do that. Because for some reason, DC decided that this year, they don’t want to talk about shit. I started off the panel taking notes of everything that was said, but about 10 minutes in, I realized that nothing was being said. All DC was giving us was a rundown of all the books that they are publishing. That’s it. So I stopped taking notes.

Now, I’m not here to rag on DC and say anything bad about them, but seriously, when  you come to a major comic book convention, you have to come with a least something to get people excited. I can’t say that Marvel really announced a lot of stuff at their panels, but at least they gave fans something, instead of just saying that you should buy their books.

And then, to make matters worse, the Q&A portion of the panel turned into the moderator bashing the fans asking questions because they were asking for spoilers. Yes, they may have been asking for hints at what was coming in the big DC storylines, but that’s no reason to bash them. And then other fans started to yell at each other for asking dumb questions.

Bottom line, this panel was a mess. It put a terrible taste in my mouth. I decided to skip the Sunday Conversation because of this panel and am not sure if I will ever attend another DC panel at a convention.

Despite a small (and rather sad) contingency of Marvel people at this year’s Chicago Comic-Con (you may know this as Wizard World Chicago), there are still a couple of Marvel panels to report on. The first of which happened on Friday afternoon – the Marvel Ultimate Panel – involving news and discussion of the Marvel Ultimate Comics line. In attendance were Jim McCann, Marvel’s PR guru, Lauren Sankovitch, Associate editor (formerly with the Ultimate line), Mark Paniccia, Ultimate line editor, and Mark Millar, writer of many Ultimate books and co-creator of the Ultimate Universe.

The panel started a little late, as Millar walked in and said that he was “taking a poo”. To which McCann replied that they are only 3 minutes late, like many of their books. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the panel, which was as much filled with witty banter as with actual news on the Ultimate U.

As the laughter died down, McCann said that this is the first panel where they can actually talk about a lot of the Ultimate stuff, now that Ultimatum #5 has finally shipped. The first book coming out with be, as many of you know, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man this Wednesday. Paniccia said that these are his favorite books and Sankovitch said that they are resetting the bar even higher now after Ultimatum. The panel members said look for some huge surprises in Spider-Man from the very first issue. There was also a general praise for David LaFuente’s art on the book.

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Well, folks, Mike, Jeff and I, as well as our friend Jared, are off to Wizard World Chicago tomorrow (Thursday, August 6th). We are all pretty pumped and ready to bring you some coverage from the con floor. So, keep an eye on the site this weekend and on our twitter account (@destroythecyb) as we will try to post tweets and blog entries as soon as possible. The lack of wi-fi in the convention center might make this a little difficult, but we’ll at least get the posts the we write up from panels up nightly for you.

So, what exactly will we be checking out at Chicago Comic-Con this year?

• Ultimate Marvel Panel
• Mark Millar Q&A
• Mondo Marvel Panel
• DC Nation
• DC Sunday Conversation
• Dan Slott Q&A
• And so much more!

Along with those panels, we’ll also (hopefully) be attending 3 night time programming events. First is Shooting the Shit with Mark Millar and also the artists and writers parties. Not sure if we’ll have anything to post from those events, but perhaps we’ll get a writer or artist to slip on a big announcement!

If you’re going to be heading out to the con this weekend, let us know! Leave a comment on this post, or hit myself or Mike up on Twitter, via an @ or a DM at @nicknelson or @mikerapin. You can also @ or DM the @destroythecyb account.

So yeah… stay tuned! Should be an exciting weekend for us here at DTC!

Captain America #50 Cover

I’d like to preface my review of Captain America #50 by stating that I not only love what Ed Brubaker has done with Captain America, but I pretty much love everything that Brubaker does. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I am buying everything that the man puts out right now. As you’d expect, I was stoked for Captain America to come out this week. Yeah, it’s a landmark issue at #50, but I didn’t expect it to be too mind-blowing, as the Cap crew will be celebrating the 600th issue next month. Still, despite Brubaker likely saving up his best for June’s big issue, I still expected 50 to continue in the great tradition of Brubaker’s run. Not only that, but at $3.99 with a few extra pages, issue 50 appeared to be a nice, big, juicy Bucky-Cap adventure. Sadly, I was gravely disappointed almost from the first frame.

I’ll tell you why Brubaker failed to impress after the break.

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After a long hiatus (sorry about that), I’m finally back to bring you more previews of solicited comic books. This time, I’m showing you what to look forward to in August. And boy, is there a lot to be excited for. It seems like the comic book publishers decided that they wanted to get in on the summer blockbuster action and decided to pull out all the stops in August. Some of the biggest titles of the year look to be coming out, so let me break down some of the big ones to keep an eye on.

The Marvels Project #1

The Marvels Project is likely to be the biggest Marvel comic this year, if not the biggest comic of the year period. While Blackest Night over in DC land might overshadow it slightly, The Marvels Project is likely to be the critically acclaimed hit of the year. Much like the smaller, more story-based movie compared to the summer blockbuster, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting are celebrating Marvel’s 70th anniversary in style, by retelling the origin story of the entire universe! With talent this great and a story to match, how could you not be excited to see what is in store from this limited series?

Batman: The Widening Gyre #1

While much of the DC fanbase will have their eyes turned towards the previously mentioned Blackest Night event, a little Batman book by acclaimed writer Kevin Smith is set to hit the stands. Set to be a 12-issue maxi-series, Widening Gyre will be 2 6-issue story arcs, separated by a 3 month publishing gap. According to Smith himself, the 3 month gap will allow him to start writing an on-going series about one of the characters he will introduce in Gyre. While some might be skeptical about whether the often-late Smith can really pull out this much writing, I have faith and hope, cause this sounds like a great series from one of comic’s top writers.

Daredevil #500

Nothing shouts “70th anniversary” like milestone issues. And dammit if Marvel hasn’t had their share of them this year. From Thor to Cap to Hulk to the up-coming Amazing Spider-Man, this has been the year of landmark issues (and the return to the original numbering). Add to that list Daredevil, which will hit issue 500 this August. What Brubaker has in store for us is anyone’s guess, but it is sure to be a doozey as he ends his legendary run on Daredevil and passes the reigns over to the capable Andy Diggle.

Incredible Hulk #601

Ok, so this isn’t a milestone issue, but the one after, so what gives? Why is this so exciting? Well, I’ll tell you. Greg Pak is returning to Hulk. Yeah, Jeph Loeb is still going to be fucking up the beloved character over in the Hulk book, but hopefully Greg Pak, the man who brought us the amazing Planet Hulk, can restore the green giant to his former glory.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1 and Avengers #1

Speaking of Jeph Loeb fucking up beloved things, Marvel’s Ultimate line relaunches as Ultimate Comics in August with the debut of Spider-Man and Avengers. Fan-favorite Brian Michael Bendis continues his outstanding work with Spidy in the Ultimate universe (though, it might not be Peter Parker, if Loeb has anything to do about it). And even better, universe co-creator and certified badass Mark Millar returns to the Ultimate Line with Avengers, a book which is set to focus on groups or characters in the Ultimate universe (no, this is not replacing Ultimates). Millar has stated that each arc of Avengers will be like a mini-events, so this will be a book to watch. Honestly, I’m pissed at what Loeb is doing to my beloved Ultimates line and I disagree with the “relaunch” and renumbering, but with any luck, we’ll survive this editorial mistake and still have a good universe to enjoy.

Blackest Night: Superman, Batman and Titans

With Blackest Night starting in July, DC is set to start releasing their tie-ins to the universe-altering event in August. Can’t say I’m all too excited about the Superman or Titans tie-ins but Batman should be a book to watch. Not only is it written by the great Peter J. Tomasi, but it might just feature the supposedly dead Bruce Wayne as a Black Lantern. We’ll see when the series launches in August, but those following Blackest Night will probably want to pick up at least 1 of these tie-ins.

Amazing Spider-Man #601, #602 and #603

Coming off their own landmark 600 issue, the ASM crew is not slowing down. Starting at issue 601, Mary Jane is back!!! As a huge fan of MJ and one of many who were sorely disappointed at the breakup of one of comic’s most beloved couples, it is great to see that the Spidy writers are finally bringing her back. Likely, she will not be a romantic interest in Peter Parker’s life (at least not right away), but at least she’s back in the fold and the possibility is there. Here’s hoping we also get some more answers about what exactly Mephisto did at the end of One More Day.

Fantastic Four #570

Last but not least (seriously, any other month, an issue like this would be at the top of things to look forward to) is Fantastic Four #570. Why’s this such a big deal? Well, that would be because writer Jonathan Hickman is taking over the writing duties on Marvel’s first family. Not only has Hickman proven himself to be a great writer with his indie work and his outstanding work on Secret Warriors, he’s proven that he can writer the Fantastic Four like nobody’s business with his work on Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. I, for one, am looking forward to him bringing his unique voice to FF and hopefully continuing Mark Millar’s work at bringing the Fantastic Four back to the top of the Marvel line.

Watchmen Movie Poster

As the fates would have it, I was fortunate enough to get some advance screening passes to see Watchmen from my LCS (thanks, Tardy’s, I love you guys!). So, myself, Mike Rapin and some friends went off to view the movie with all the hype surrounding it. Personally, I went in with some pretty low expectations. Yeah, I was really excited for it. How could you not anticipate seeing one of the greatest graphic novels of all time come to life? Yet, I was skeptical that it would really work, like most fans. Despite my low expectations, I really wanted to love it. I really wanted it to be amazing. Oddly enough, when I left the theater, I wanted really badly to hate it. There was so much wrong with it. Yet, my overall reaction was that it was a great film. That said, this is going to be a full review, so I’ll break down the good, the bad and tell you why despite my love, this movie is going to have a lot of trouble finding an audience.

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New Avengers #50 Cover

Man, another incredibly slow week. Lots of comics are coming out, so make sure you actually look to see if your favorite is on the docket this week. However, not much in the way of new or groundbreaking issues to talk about. Still, I’ve got 3 to tell you about, so yeah, you should still stick around and read.

New Avengers #50

The biggest issue of the week will undoubtedly be New Avengers #50. You know when a milestone issue like this is hit, there’s going to be a pretty big deal made of it. Brian Michael Bendis is no different, of course, throwing the New Avengers right up against the Dark Avengers. This is a special over-sized issue (with a special, over-sized price of $4.99), so there will probably be some fun extras thrown in, and maybe extra story too!

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New Avengers #50 Cover

I’ve been contemplating the difference between a great and a good comic lately. You’ll probably notice that we tend to write pretty positive reviews on this site. For me, this is because I really only read comics that I like. I stopped reading The Eternals after 1 issue cause it sucked. Despite being a Marvel book and in continuity, I just couldn’t put myself through it. It’s not worth my time when there are plenty of other comics that are.

That said, however, I do read quite a few comics that are just “ok”. These are the comics that are interesting and enjoyable in their own right, but sometimes just seem like a chore to read. These are the comics that automatically go to the bottom of your weekly read pile. These are the comics that, when you look at the release list for the week, you don’t feel even a little tingle of excitement for. And that, my friends, is the topic of this editorial.

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