Comic of the Week - June 18th, 2008

Hey guys,
I know the date's still a little behind on my post up there... I'm still trying to get ahead on reading my beloved funny books... These are my picks of the week for the books that I read released on June 18th. They were:

-Amazing Spider-Man #563
-Justice League of America #22
-Superman/Batman #49
-Ultimate X-Men #95
-Wolverine #66

Story of the Week

The best story that I read for this week's worth of books was far and away Wolverine #66. It's the first chapter of the "Old Man Logan" story arc that I think, based on this issue alone, is going to be one of the best stories of the year.
The story follows Wolverine some fifty years into the future. He's old... I mean, we know he was old, but he's visibly old, grey hair and all... He hasn't popped his claws in fifty years, they say in the book.
The Marvel Universe is very different from what we're used to in this book. Wolverine is now an old, horse-ridin' cowboy-type who lives on a farm with his wife and two kids... They seem to be poor and they are worrying about making rent when three green meanies called "the Hulk Gang" show up. They seem to be in charge... of everything...
This isn't the only thing that has changed. Various other changes plague the landscape that our hero (fifty years in the future) calls his home... Some interesting versions of some interesting characters show up and the story is one of those "this is so messed up, BUT IT'S SO GOOD!" moments... Those kinds of moments that are reminiscent of Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight, The Chaos storyline in Avengers or issue #48 of The Walking Dead...
Mark Millar (one of my favorites and writer of the comic that just got made into a stellar film: WANTED) has crafted the genesis to what promises to be an amazing read. It holds special significance for those who have known and loved Wolverine for years (like myself).
I don't know why they chose to go this route with the actual title of Wolverine rather than make this its own limited series, but I'm glad they did...

Cover of the Week

The cover of the week trophy goes to Justice League of America #22. It's an amzing piece by Ed Benes and Alex Sinclair. Just feast your eyes below...



Interior art of the Week
My brother and I have both gone nuts over Steve McNiven for a while now. He did amazing on Civil War and some other things... His art in Wolverine #66 (with a helping hand from Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell) is truly a "Marvel" to behold... Posted below are some samples...





Well, there's another "Comic of the Week" feature in the books... Like I said, this feature will evolve (someday) to give a lowdown on ALL the books I've read for any given week and not just the best... The ones that aren't my favorites, per se, are still pretty damn impressive...
I'm always looking to try more and different books so if anyone has any they'd like to suggest, or if you wanna say the ones that I read suck or if you wanna just rap comics... ANY AND ALL FEEDBACK ON THIS SUBJECT IS WELCOME!!!
That's another one down and I wish you all peace as always...

Tuesdays with Cheese and Crackers, Episode 1

Hey guys,
Rody (from Protest the Hero) and Chris finally posted another "Tuesdays with Cheese and Crackers". I had that post up of the preview to the show, but I guess this is the first full episode... I don't find it as funny as the preview, but it's still pretty hilarious... I love the part with "I Believe I Can Fly" because I hate that fucking song so much... Classic!
So, here it is... The first episode of Tuesdays with Cheese and Crackers!!!

Comic of the (two) week(s)

Hey guys,
I'm back to do a thing that will comprise a lot of this blog, as it comprises a lot of my time...
I've come to do a "Comic of the Week" post...
This one's going to be comprised of two weeks worth of books and those are the ones that I read relaeased on the dates of June 4th and June 11th, 2008... (Still a little behind, I know...)
Those books were:
-Action Comics #866
-Amazing Spider-Man #561
-Amazing Spider-Man #562
-The Amory Wars (Vol. 2) #1
-The Boys #19
-Green Lantern Corps #25
-Invincible #50
-Titans #3

Story of the Week

My favorite story of these two weeks worth of books (and the best all-around book, for that matter) goes to Action Comics #866. The story focused on the staff of the Daily Planet getting their bearings and more on Brainiac. It shows how Brainiac destroyed the Kryptonian city of Kandor 35 years ago and how he's coming to Earth to get something from our beloved Superman.
Art from the amazing Gary Frank helped to roll the story along at a fever pitch and writer Geoff Johns churns out an amazing first chapter to "Brainiac", the arc that will be filling the pages of a great Superman book for the coming months...
Check it out...

Cover Art of the Week

My favorite cover of those weeks was Invincible #50 by Ryan Ottley and Val Staples. Check it out below...



Interior Art of the Week
As mentioned above, Gary Frank (along with Jon Sibal and Brad Anderson) had amazing artwork in the pages of Action Comics #866. Look at the first page I have posted: I love how Gary Frank's Superman seems to pay homage to the late Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in the classic films. I've posted another page below that one...





Well, that's closer to what I want "Comic of the Week" to be like... I'd still like to go a little more in depth with the books that I didn't pick as comics of the week and I'll do that at a later date...
If anyone wants to rap about these (or any other) comics or if anyone has suggestions for this or any other feature of the blog, hit me up with a comment or something and let me know...
Oh, and let's all take a moment right now and remember Michael Turner. He was an amazing artist who passed away last Friday at the age of only 37... His talents will be greatly missed and remembered as some of the greatest to ever grace the page...

BLOGSTAIN!!!

Hey guys,
Lloyd back at it again with a quick one...
Remember when I said that I was inspired by someone close to me to start this whole blogging thing?
Well, that someone was my brother and he's got a cool-ass blog going on over at:

blogstain.blogspot.com

Get on over there and check out some of the things that he's got to say...
I think that if you dig this blog, you'll find his amazing...
Props to my bro for being the awesome presence he is...

Peace, as always...

WANTED: A Sword...

Hey y'all,
I went to the movies tonight for the first time in a long time and I think it was a good decision...
I went to see Wanted, a film that (I don't think many people know) was adapted for the big screen from a comic book.
I've gotta admit, after reading the comic, which was the best series that I've read in years, the movie viewed a little more like Wanted: Lite. The original premise from the comics was that Wesley Gibson, a working stiff like the rest of us, was brought to live a life of confidence and super bad-assdom by taking up the mantle of his father. Unlike the film, though, Wesley's father was known as the Killer: "the scariest super-fuck who ever walked the earth". He was a super-villain that killed mercilessly and fought for world domination. Upon his death, Wesley was approached by a clan of super villains to take the Killer's place and was given all the money and power that his wretched, villainous father had amassed...
But... Hollywood always has to go all Hollywood, though, and in the film, Wesley was trained to be a member of an assassin's guild called the Fraternity, who fought for goodness by taking out baddies who were threatening to normal people's way of life...
Don't get me wrong, though... The movie was extremely well done and enjoyable, with lots of high-action shots and effects reminiscent of films like Fight Club and The Matrix.
This also wasn't just your run-of-the-mill action flick, either... There were some really substantial and well thought out plot points, smacking of the comic that it was based on...
If you're into comics or just want to see a good film, go check out Wanted...

Also, briefly... My comic of the week for May 28th (yeah, I know, I'm still behind...) is The Sword #8.
The Sword is a great story that I've raved about to many people. Issue #8 promises to be the beginning of a very exciting turn of events...
Just take my word for it for once and go check out The Sword, first trade coming soon...
Heck... Maybe we'll be viewing a movie based on The Sword someday... That would be awesome...

Do me a favor...

Hey all of you,
Yeah... All of you...
Friends, loved ones, family, total strangers... All of you...
I want you to do me a favor if you've stumbled upon this...
Take a minute or an hour or a few hours today...
Go tell that someone you love that you feel that way.
Go give that long-lost friend a call...
Go spend some time with someone who you haven't in a while that means a lot to you...
And another...
Never take for granted times such as these...

Peace and love to you always...

Comic of the week

Hey yo,
Let me first start by saying that I am grossly behind on reading my comics... That sounds like such a disgrace, doesn't it? Like I should be punished or something... Ah well, maybe I should...
I just finished reading the comics that I collect which came out on May 21st. I know... Behind the times a little...
I want to get caught up and then start doing a comic of the week a little closer to when they actually come out. I'll probably list all of the comics that I've read for the week and then post some artwork and talk a little about the stories and such...
Anyway... The comic that I most enjoyed for the week of May 21st was definitely Wolverine: Origins #25. It's got Wolverine facing off against a crazy mercenary named Deadpool who cracks jokes, all the while beating the crap out of Wolverine (yeah, all of you who read comics know that, but I'm trying to make this as reader friendly as possible...).
Then... Wolverine's son Daken shows up. This is the beginning of what promises to be some very cool story in the pages of Wolverine: Origins and I've gotta say that I, for one, am excited...
If you don't know anything about Wolverine's son or didn't even know that he had a son or if I've just piqued your interest a little bit, you can catch up on that whole thing by going out and getting the run of Wolverine: Origins. It's only up to issue 25, as of my reading right now, and I think there are some trades out there collecting this wonderful series...
The bulk of (if not all of it) was written by Daniel Way and is probably his crowning achievement. The art is done by Steve Dillon (of Preacher fame... Remember that book? You should. If not, take steps to be able to...).
Anyway, that the first post of the "Comic of the Week". I'm going to take steps to make it a more exciting part of the blog. Like I said, samples of artwork, story reviews, etc.
Come on back and read more about comics and all the crap I care to get passionate about... I plan on it only getting better...

Peace...

Tuesdays with Cheese and Crackers

Hey guys,
In the vein of the Protest the Hero rant that I've been on lately, here's a thing that the singer of the band (Rody Walker) and one of his buds (Chris Wynne) threw together. I think this is hilarious (especially if you're into Protest the Hero) and I've watched it about fifty times... They're supposed to do this every Tuesday, but there's just been the one post... MORE TUESDAYS WITH CHEESE AND CRACKERS!!!

Protest the Hero!!! C'mon, DO IT!!!

Hey y'all,
I really haven't been able to get away from listening to a band called Protest the Hero lately. Their technicality, concept-oriented writing (on one album at least), and pure awesomeness as a band are right up my alley...
I'm going to try and post their latest video for a song called "Sequoia Thone" (from the latest album "Fortress") below.
Check these dudes out...



Awesome, huh?

Welcome... Pull up a couch and have some crumpets...

Hey all you who have happened upon this crazy thing,

This is my first post of what I hope will be many.
I recently became inspired by someone dear to me who has started his own blog... He's done an excellent job and, with his permission, I'll direct you to his as well so you can check it out... He blogs on a lot of the same subject matter that I do... I'll ask and get back to you on that one...
Anyway... Here it is! The inaugural post of The Llog!!!
I'll just start by listing some of the things that I've been into lately and I'll elaborate on future posts.
They are...

-Protest the Hero (band)
-The Red Chord (band)
-Fyodor Dostoevsky (C'mon! OK, you really don't know? He's an author!!!)
-The Jay and Jack Show (a podcast)
-Comic books (I read three weeks worth yesterday, trying to catch up...)

Anyone who sees this (I don't expect there to be many) can feel free to hit me up on here with comments about these things... Critcize them, say they're cool, say you don't give a rat's tail... Hit me up!!!

Peace, as always...