Comic Reviews (5-30-12)

THE WALKING DEAD #98 continues the "Something to fear" storyline which will be leading us to issue 100. You know something is up when the person behind the counter is freaking out over the issue with a complete, "I can't believe that happened" look on their face.  Yes a main character gets bumped off in this issue and I honestly didn't see that one coming.  Its true what Kirkman says about this comic: "No one is safe."  The battlelines are drawn between Rick's group and this mysterious Negan.  Lately with the group taking out an entire herd of walkers its seemed like they were ready for anything.  Granted, Rick's group is still as tough as they come, but its looking like Negan's group is a serious threat.  Now we have the loss of an important member of the group, which has me seriously wondering if Rick and the others will be able to hang on to their community in the face of this threat.  There's some critics that say the series moves a bit slow, but they certainly can't complain about this issue.  Plenty of action, and all of it brutal.


ANGEL AND FAITH #10 is an absolute hoot.  The quest to get Giles back takes an amusing turn when we meet Giles' Great-Aunts.  These sisters have used every trick in the book to stay young and beautiful, but now with magic gone, the bill has come due.  Christos gage and Chris Samnee do a huge gear shift in classic Whedon fashion.  When things get really heavy like they did in the last storyline, when its time to turn around and deliver some fun.  The sisters are an absolute hoot, as is how Angel and Faith react to them.  I had some real laugh out loud moments here.  At the same time, we also move along with "Giles Quest".  This is a really well done issue.  I had a blast with it.


ROCKETEER ADVENTURES 2 #3 serves up three stories again.  David Lapham and Chris Sprouse give us a nice story with with Cliff and Betty thinking about their future and what could be.  There's a story by Kyle Baker which is better off skipped.  The last is by Matt Wagner and Eric Canete which is an interesting retelling of the Rocketeer's history.  Sprouse and Canete both really serve up for beautiful art, and this is added to by a sweet pin-up by Eric Powell.  I would have liked some more action with this issue.  The stories show a lot of love for the character, but now a lot of punches thrown and bullets flying.  Not bad, but hopefully we'll get more action next issue.


ZOMBIES VERSUS ROBOTS ANNUAL 2012 came out, and to be honest I only picked it up because Drew Moss drew one of the four stories in there.  Sam Keith did art on a story in there too, so that's a bonus.  It was interesting in that Keith and the other artists have a really quirky style, and that really made Moss's stand out with his cleaner style.  I'm not a big ZvR fan, and this issue isn't going to get me on the bandwagon, but it wasn't bad at all.  The "Summer" story was the stand out for me, but of course I'm biased there.

Funnybook Tango!

Whew.  It's Friday, March 30, 2012, I'm a self imposed deadline beatin' motherfrakker and this is The Side.  Had to pick the kids up after work on Wednesday as The Missus had a doctor's appointment.  Work ran a little long, but I got them and made it all the way across town for their gymnastics class and they were only a few minutes late.   But that meant I couldn't pick up my comics on Wednesday.


So I got them yesterday between after work.  Still got to Karate on time.  Got them read.  Banged out the reviews, and here we are.  LIKE A BOSS!


Thus is my commitment to you.


Also this will probably the only time I use the phrase "like a boss" in reference to myself.

COMIX!!!

THE WALKING DEAD #95 is part three of "A Larger World" and I'm finding out exactly how apt a title this is.  Rick, Michonne, Andrea, Glenn, and Carl (who didn't stay in the house this time either) have gone with Paul to see the settlement he's from.  There's still a lot of trust issues Rick's having with the entire situation.  We get only the tiniest view of things at the hilltop before learning that the place has its own drama going on.  Our cast of survivors have found themselves in someone else's story, and it seems like they're arriving as things are coming to a head.  Its become obvious that just because there are other groups that have found means to survive and somewhat thrive life its still very treacherous.  This book continues on a very interesting path as far as being a study of society.  Very came into the series as society was in mid-crumble.  Now we're well on the way of seeing it rebuilding.  The groups of survivors are very much like tribes, and now that we've gotten to a point of having a successful tribe, we're into seeing how these tribes deal with each other.  This story arc is seriously picking up steam on the way to issue 100 and I'm very eager to see what's coming.


MORNING GLORIES #17 revolves around Jade and Ike.  You get a lot of backstory on Jade.  The book continues to give pieces to the puzzle that is the story, but for the life of me I still haven't figured out the shape of it.  There's a continues sense of "this whole thing makes sense somehow".  Everything feels significant, but its a mystery as to how it all fits.  That's probably why I'm incredibly hooked on this book.  This issue in particular centers around Jade and Ike talking.  No huge danger to them.  No direct threats.  Just two interesting characters having an incredibly interesting conversation.  The dialogue is word porn on a Whedonesque scale.  This book really isn't for everybody, and I know some people with excellent taste who just don't like it, however this issue is exactly why I'm on board.  Not only is the puzzle hooking me in, but these characters are so great to watch.  If you haven't read this comic, give this issue a look.  If you dig these characters, you're just getting a small dose of how god this title is.


ANGEL AND FAITH #8 is solid stuff.  Drusilla has returned and is surprisingly sane.  She has a way for people/vampires/whatever to away with painful emotions.  This is the same time as Faith's father returns to cause Faith some trouble.  We have Nadira dealing with survivor's guilt over losing her fellow Slayers to Pearl and Nash.  Faith is dealing with some nasty "daddy issues".  On the surface it seems like Drusilla is offering a great fix, but there's always a catch to things like this.  I've got some ideas as to where this is heading, but lately things have been going in unexpected directions with the "Buffy-verse".  Solid issue, and keeping me on board.

MUSIC!!!

I wish I was classy enough to dance like this.





That's going to be it for me today.  I'll likely be talking about Batman on Sunday.  Be prepared.

Let's Talk About Carl

Egad.  Its Sunday, March 25, 2012, I should got back to bed, and this is The Side.  I have a real problem with being stupid about sleep.  I don't get a lot of time to myself with the Missus and the Kids, so when they're all in bed that the time I get to watch whatever I want to on TV.  This leads me to doing stupid things like not getting to bed until midnight and then still getting up at six in the morning because I have to work or, in the case of today, I want a bit more time to myself in the morning before anyone else gets up.


That said, I really shouldn't have stayed up to watch BATTLE ROYALE last night.  Definitely ready for some coffee.  An IV of it would be nice.

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION!!!

THE WALKING DEAD wrapped up its second season on AMC last weekend.  There's quite a few people who are upset a bit about one thing in particular on the show: Carl Grimes still lives.  The "KillCarl" hashtag on Twitter has gained a lot of steam and it seems that there's quite a few folks who don't like the character and are just waiting for him to die.


Its plainly apparent that these people have never read the comic.  That's not really bothersome because I've learned long ago that just because an intellectual property that originates from comic books hits big on TV or at the movies people still won't go and pick up the comics unless they already read comics.  I know that sounds horribly pessimistic but that's just how it is.  The trades are easily available at decent comic shops and bookstores, but still fans of the TV show will sit patiently for months waiting for the next season.  I only get seriously irked when I get the "kill Carl already" crap from someone who I know hasn't read the comics but will get all snotty about THE HUNGER GAMES or  HARRY POTTER and say "The books are so much better".


For those of you who are in that category, let me break this down for you.  Carl Grimes is the toughest kid ever.  You want to see some incredible character development?  Carry your sorry asses down to a comic shop, grab some TWD trades and read.  What sucks is I could give example, after example, after example as to why Carl is a really awesome character and crucial to TWD, but I'd be giving away too many spoilers.


As it stands on the AMC show, the group has left the farm, albeit in much different conditions than in the book. I know that The Governor has been cast for season 3.  I can easily speculate as to where season three will end off, which will be crunching a lot of the comics into one season.  Now, the serious event in the comics that I think will end season 3 of the series was in the comics the start of the serious character development of Carl.  this kinda stinks because we'll be in for another whole season of fan-dumb bitching and moaning about how the show needs to kill Carl off.


Fine, let's look at where the show in right now.  Rick, the main character, has one main focus: keeping everyone alive thus protecting his family.  Its completely nuts that so many people who profess their love for the show and for Rick Grimes want to remove one of his main motivations as a character.  At this point Rick's big job is protect Carl.  People keep griping about how Carl keeps getting told to "stay in the house", but that's parents trying to protect their child.  It blows my mind that there's so many people who love a character, but want desperately to see him totally fail at his main objective.  It seems remarkably stupid.

I think there's a disconnect with some people as to what they think TWD is, and what it actually is.  Some folks are thinking this is a typical zombie thing in which there's tons of zombies, they gets killed horribly by the dwindling survivors, and one or two people make it out to escape to somewhere.  The thing is TWD takes place after that.  The people have escaped their own little horror movies.  They got out of the cities.  TWD is about the people who got through the horror movie only to discover that the movie doesn't end.  Its not about killing zombies, its about doing what it takes to survive in a harsh world where you're not on top of the food chain.  They have to work to find food and water.  Safe shelter is something to fight for.  Trust is something earned and cherished.  This whole thing is about people doing their best just to live.


Carl Grimes is a character with a unique perspective, and a valuable one.  He's the last kid standing in all this, and he knows what's up.  Like any kid, he's struggling with growing up.  He's knows there's danger, and as much as his parents try to protect him he wants to help and be a man whether he's ready to be or not.    Losing this character before he really gets a chance to bloom would be a complete shame.  My big regret is with the loss of Sophia there won't be any of those really amazing moments between the two characters that readers of the comics have been treated to.


So for everyone hoping Carl gets bumped off: go read the comics.

MUSIC!!!

Of course when posting about THE WALKING DEAD we have to have a song from The Kingston Trio.





That's it for today, I'm going to make some coffee.  For those who read Friday's post, continued prayers and well wishes are much appreciated for my mother-in-law who is having a significant health scare right now.  Thanks again, and we'll see y'all Wednesday.