No Hero #1 Cover

There are many creators in comics today that you can call truly great in the medium. Brian Michael Bendis, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Robert Kirkman and Geoff Johns all come to mind of the top of my head. But as far as creativity goes and really pushing the boundaries of story telling, I really put Warren Ellis at the top of this list. Not only is his work on mainstream books like Astonishing X-Men great, but he puts out a lot of really amazing creator-owned stuff, too. And his new book, No Hero, is no exception to his greatness.

As many comics are doing lately, No Hero is one of those stories of what superheroes would be like in real life. A subject that probably began, or at least was popularized, but Alan Moore in Watchmen, is represented favorably in No Hero. To put his own twist on the subject, Ellis brings us the tale of a man who wants to be part of a group of vigilantes in a world where the cops just can’t (or won’t) stop crime.

There’s more to come after the break, including, most importantly, my review.

(more…)

Amazing Spider-Man #570 50/50 variant cover by John Romita Jr.

I was going to start this off all cheezy like with a poem or something to bring something new to the table, because god knows I say the words “amazing” and “awesome” enough, but I gave up because after writing 2 lines I remembered that I’m not a fucking pet. Excuse my harsh language before the break, but it’s seriously true. I laugh about it though…

Aaanyways, this week’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man (#570) was quite a page-turner for me. I don’t know what the Spidey writers are cooking up but so far, it smells great. We’ve got multiple plots pulling together, major conspiracies, Brand New Day aftermath effects topping some plot points and just plain-old fun Spider-Man bringing it all together. We’ve got Dan Slott heading the writing team for this arc (this issue is smack dab in the middle of the “New Ways To Die” arc) and the ever-so-amazing John Romita Jr. is providing the unequivocally perfect art.

But let me continue and spoil it all for you…

**spoilers and possible hellfire after the break**

(more…)

So, this week I decided to just continue my sort of “Rapid Reviews” to which I call, if you didn’t guess it, Tuesday Twist-offs.

Let me lay down what I’m going to speed through for you real quick:

• Air #1
• Amazing Spider-Man #568
• Incredible Hercules #120
• Rest #0
• Squadron Supreme 2 #2

Does that work for you? Well, it works for me. Let’s begin.

**definite spoilers and randomness after the break**

(more…)

Secret Invasion: Front Line #2 cover

What makes a comic book great? Some people will argue that the depth of story is important. A lot will focus more on the art and let the pictures tell the story. Others say that the whole package is the most important. Still more will say that it has to be part of a major, ongoing story. Luckily for us, Secret Invasion: Front Line has all of these combined in to one amazing comic book. Apparently, it also helps to have Brian Reed writing and Marco Castiello penciling.

If you don’t already know, Front Line shows the Secret Invasion storyline from the perspective of average people living in New York, trying to survive an invasion that they know nothing about and with no way to defend themselves. There are no superheroes, there are no epic battles, there’s just people struggling to live. After the break, I’ll tell you why you need to pick up this book…now!

(more…)