Me (left) & the girlfriend (right) Photo: opacity

6 hours of driving, 4 hotel rooms, 120+ comic books, TPBs, autographs, standing in line, eating fast food, ordering pizza, sleeping, coffee, Slim Jims, panels, disappointment, anxiety, awesomeness, and lots of damn walking.

That was C2E2 for me.

It began on a Friday, ended on a Sunday, and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. I met a ton of awesome people (writers, artists, web comic dudes, and other random people) and I realized–like I always do at comic conventions–that I love comics with all of my damn heart.

Do I have comic news? Not really. Do I have some cool stories? Definitely.

Check more after the break.

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Originally posted on MikeRapin.com

Despite my normally going to the comic shop on Wednesday to pick up comics, I hit up the comic shop a total of three times this week.

Why? Well because 1) Tommy asked me to go on Tuesday, 2) Wednesday was new-comic-book-day and 3) Amra/Jared/Tommy wanted to go on Saturday.

So there I was, at Tardy’s and the four of us has been looking around at comics for a good 45 minutes or so talking it up and such when, as everyone was seriously ready to leave, I notice something… I noticed DC’s Justice Society of America Kingdom Come tie-in for Superman.

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I think the narrator best describes how I feel about anything Project Superpowers near the beginning of Black Terror #1,” What he feels now is nothing. NOTHING,” because that is how I feel about Project Superpowers.

Let’s rewind a bit. Project Super Powers is the child of Alex Ross and Jim Krueger. Since most publishing companies NEED to have a “Super Hero” universe Dynamite Entertainment brought them into to the picture to take public domain characters from Fox Comics and Crestwood Productions and sculpt them into the Super Heroes.

How do they bring these golden age heroes into the light of today? by a contrived plot device which left all of the worlds super heroes (save two, The Fighting Yank & the Green Lama) trapped in Pandora’s Box after Hitler released all of it’s evil out into the world.

But we can continue this after the break. (more…)

Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 Cover

It is that time of the month again, when comic book publishers put out their solicitations. Now, I have been eagerly awaiting the announcements of these for the past week. Seriously, ask those who follow me on Twitter. I’ve been annoyingly talking about solicitations for the past couple of days.

I’ve got a ton to talk about this month. Unfortunately for you DC fans, I’ll only be previewing Marvel books for December. This is mostly because none of the DC books that I read were at any place particularly exciting (yes, Superman is in the middle of the New Krypton stuff, but I’ve previewed this before). So, we’ll talk about some post-Secret Invasion stuff, a bunch of What If?s, Marvel “Noir” comics and the triumphant return of Marvels. Don’t touch that keyboard, cause if you are like me, you’re gonna need to choose between buying comics and buying presents for your loved ones…

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OK, I admit, I’m a comic book newbie. I haven’t been reading them very long and all but a handful of the ones I have read have been older classics. But you know what, more and more people are going to be getting into comics in the near future, and most of them will convert thanks to the upcoming Watchmen film. So, in an effort to blog about what I’m currently reading as well as maybe help a fellow neophyte out, I’m introducing my own mini-feature: Classics Corner. Each entry will be about an established classic in the medium: its historic importance, how well it’s held up, and just plain how good it is. Some will be more spoiler-ish than others, but all of them will feature at least basic plot discussion and analysis. And what better place to start than the graphic novel that is universally regarded as a masterpiece and has been (and, from the looks of it, will continue to be) a gateway for many into comic books?

Watchmen is a 12 issue miniseries from comics god Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons that depicts a realistic world that must contend with real masked men. It’s an expansion of an idea that Moore first toyed with on the seminal (and woefully out-of-print) Miracleman, and it ends up being a nice foil for his first great graphic novel, V For Vendetta. V posed socio-political questions, while Watchmen is more of a personal, psychological profile. It realizes that anyone who would put on a costume and mask to pummel thugs is inherently insane, not heroic. Over the course of its 12 issues, the book evolves from a whodunit about a killer possibly targeting former masked heroes into a commentary on the thin line between vigilantism and crime and how a hero’s quest to save others can ultimately turn him into the world’s biggest threat. It manages to be twisted, deep, thought provoking, suspenseful, thrilling, darkly funny, and tragic, often at the same time.

**potential minor spoilers and more after the jump**

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Inspired by Nick’s Rapid Review, I’m going to do an earlier version of the same type of thing, but I’m not sure if this will be re-occurring… we’ll see.

If you happen to be on peeing or in a hurry, this should do you well…

I’ve got a few lined up for you this week:

• Avengers/Invaders #4
• Wolverine: Killing Made Simple
• Punisher War Journal #22
• Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #2
• Invincible Iron Man #4
• Hulk #5

This, ladies an gents shall be fun…

**spoilers and the usual fun after the break**

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Earth X TPB cover

Well if you didn’t know this you do now. I love Alex Ross. I buy comics that he did the cover of just because his painting is amazing. The comic Marvels is my favorite book ever. But Marvels has enough praise, this review is of something else he was involved in. Earth X is Ross’s theory of the end of the marvel universe. This was inspired by DC’s Kingdom Come at Ross painted for. Ross was asked in 1997, in Wizard, what his vision for the end of Marvel would look like when everyone had super powers. What will the characters be like when everyone has superpowers?

Based of Ross’s notes and sketches Jim Krueger wrote Earth X (first issue came out in 2000), a 14 issue series (12 issues, a 0 issue and one issue numbered X). Earth X is a compelling story that whips around from the beginning of earth, to WWII, to the beginning of the Fantastic Four, and to the present–years into the future from the present Marvel universe. The story explains everything from why people have powers, to how Galactus chooses which planets to devour. My favorite part of the story is how it ties everything together from the beginning of time, to the end. It makes this world, where all these characters are invincible and all powerful, quite believable.

After the break I’m going to divulge some of the plot so beware. (more…)

Well I just read Uncanny X-Men #500 and Brubraker and Fraction never cease to amaze me. That team up is got to be the best writer team out there. It all started with Immortal Iron Fist. Those two revolutionized the boring stagnate character of Danny Rand and made him an accessible flawed character of the 21^st century and I have a feeling they are going to make their run in Uncanny X-Men unforgettable.

With cover art by the great painter Alex Ross (Marvels) this is a “can’t lose” book. The art for this issue is by Greg Land and Terry Dodson. In my opinion, Greg Land has got to be one of the most underrated artists in the business. This guy drew Ultimate Fantastic Four with Mark Millar. He covered, my favorite arc of the series: Tomb of Namor. I love this guy’s art and I really think you will too.

Back to the comic. Uncanny X-Men #500 was a double, 40 page issue with 2 prologues and 2 epilogues. A doozie of a story. It starts off with the mutants moving to San Fransisco where they are accepted. That really makes sense in that city. Granted I have never been there but I feel like anyone and everyone is welcome there.

**spoilers after the break**

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