Shout Outs! and Scream Ats! Volume 5

by Matt


Welcome to my fifth “Shout Out/Scream At!” column! With this column I will be taking a look at what makes me a happy fanboy (Shout Outs!) and what frustrates me (Scream Ats!) within the comic industry. Today I will be covering Marvel's new Reborn series, Spider-Man and the X-Men, Sparta USA, Anniversary issue numbering and Avatar comics!


SHOUT OUT! Dave Lapham's new series, Sparta, USA
As sad as I am with the cancellation of Young Liars, I am thrilled that Dave Lapham has a new series coming out from Wildstorm called Sparta, USA. In his own words, he describes Sparta as "a typical middle-America town, and yes they love their football. In fact, their whole culture is built around football and apple pie. Oh, and upward mobility through subterfuge. I wanted to set a story in a self-contained town with an idyllic façade but behind the scenes it was all spy games and sabotage. Sort of “Desperate Housewives” on crack. And not a soap opera. You’re the stock boy, you want to be shift supervisor, so you arrange for the old supervisor to have an accident, or a scandal." Unfortunately he is not providing the art on the series but the book is in good hands with Johnny Timmons at the helm. Football and Lapham, two of my favorite things!

SCREAM AT! Marvel's new Reborn series
I was really hoping that this was going to spotlight the return of Banshee but we all know who is returning. And we all knew it was inevitable. It just seems like yesterday that Steve Rogers was killed and I was hoping that he would stay that way for a bit longer. I like Steve as much as the next guy but I thought Bucky made a more interesting Captain America. Couple that with the $3.99 price tag and I am passing on this. And is it just me or has Bryan Hitch's work just not been the same? His work is solid enough but I have not enjoyed it as much as his work on the Authority and the first Ultimates series. If Steve Epting were drawing it, I would be all over it.

SHOUT OUT! Spider-Man and the X-Men mini series
The recent Spider-Man/X-Men series left me begging for more. I picked up this series because I have become a huge fan of Christos Gage but it was the beautiful cover by Mario Albreti that really sealed the deal. His artwork did not disappoint at all, I knew this series was a winner when I opened up the first issue and saw a panel of Gwen Stacy. The writing was a ton of fun too, Gage takes you through a new story involving Spider-Man and the X-Men and through various time frames. You get the first X-Men team, college Peter Parker, the black Spider-Man suit, the Morlock Massacre, Ben Reilly, Wolverine with bone claws and the present day X-Men and Spider-Man. And the villains are some of my favorites too, Kraven the Hunter, the Blob, Carnage, Mister Sinister and the Marauders. I don't want to spoil any of the story here, you'll have to trust me on this. If any of the above eras are a soft spot for you, I highly recommend picking up this series. How much did I like it? If a sequel is made with the same creative team, I would be HAPPY to plunk down $3.99. But SHHHHHH... don't tell Marvel that!

SCREAM AT! Dark X-Men Mini
When all the Dark X-Men images were hitting the Internet we were all speculating that this was going to be a new series. But then I heard that the Dark X-Men would appear within the pages of the Uncanny X-Men and I was happy. Then the new solicitations came out and sure enough, there was a new Dark X-Men mini solicited. Not only was it $3.99 but TWO issues were coming out during the same month. I love Cloak and Dagger and I am very excited that they are appearing in an X-title but I am going to have to pass on this. I cannot afford to spend an extra $8 bucks in one month. Not even the power of Paul Cornell can help me on this one. Guess I will have to wait for trade on this one.

SHOUT OUT! Anniversary Issue Renumbering
I am a little on the fence with this one. Part of me hates renumbering because it causes such headaches to keep track of. Especially if you are purchasing back issues (do people still do that?) and when you are filing away your books. But the other part of me (the really geeky part) is thrilled that Marvel is going back and renumbering its main titles. I always thought that it was cool that DC had books that were way up in their numbers and I hated that Marvel would just start a title back with a #1 just to sell more copies. I liked bragging that I started collecting the Uncanny X-Men with issue #200. That means I have been collecting that title for over 300 issues! I can't say the same with the other Marvel titles. Saying that you have been collecting Captain America since #310 of Volume 1 just doesn't have the same ring to it. Even though it will create some headaches, I am proud that Marvel is embracing their history.

SCREAM AT! Stinky Avatar comics!
I purchase my comics online and I can always tell when I have ordered an Avatar comic. I have been enjoying Doktor Sleepless (when I think I understand it) and I am loving Ignition City but it is a pain to really enjoy them. The ink or paper, or combination of the two really make the book stink! I had to put aside Ignition City #2 because of the smell. They really got to do something about that!

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Beyond the Big 2: November 2008

by Matt

I love going through the Previews magazine every month. I spend hours going through every page, reading every solicitation and I usually find something that piques my interest. Each month I try to pick up a new book that is NOT part of the "Big 2". Here are a couple of new books that I am giving a try in January from the November 2008 Previews.





I apologize for the lateness of this column (I skipped a month) and I have no other reason than being just plain lazy. That and I quit my hellish job and have discovered the hard work and joy of becoming self employed. This month, I am combining the October and November 2008 Previews and will first look at the lone title I am picking up from the November Previews.

VELOCITY #1
By Joe Casey (W) • ChrisCross (A)
Published by Top Cow Comics
$2.99
Product Code NOV082293
Another Pilot Season winner gets its `series premiere.` Cyberforce`s resident speedster, Velocity, gets her own solo series because you voted for it! Even with her super-speed, it seems the past still has its way of catching up with Carin Taylor. When a certain blue-skinned mogul reappears in her life to make her an offer she shouldn't`t refuse, Velocity discovers that saying no can get her killed!

I was a HUGE fan of Cyberforce back in the day and I have picked up any book that stars any of the Cyberforce characters. I thought that the Velocity Pilot was the best one of the batch and I was happy to learn that she won. I was also very happy to hear that artist ChrisCross signed on to pencil the series. I loved his art from the old Captain Marvel days and I am excited to pick this up. Hopefully this will be better than the Cyblade series that has recently come out.

I also am only trying out one title for the month of October.


ABSOLUTION #0
By Christos Gage (W) • Roberto Viacava (A)
Published by Avatar Comics
$1.99
Product Code OCT083886
John Dusk is a man of honor. He has been fighting crime inside the rules of the law. He respects the laws he's been sworn to uphold. But day after day, bringing in the same scum, and watching the revolving door of justice, there comes a time when a man is pushed too far. When you're bound by rules that the bad guys ignore, when the criminals are going free, when the worst kind of man is loosed on the world, when do you finally take a stand? Where do you draw the line between being the good guy, and getting the job done - for good? Absolution is the story of masked heroes pushed to the brink, standing on their own, and against their best friends. Sometimes, a man just needs killing.

Christos Gage's work on the Man With No Name and Union Jack have won me over and have made me look for his name and I couldn't resist trying this series out.

I get all my comics, trades and hard covers through Mailordercomics.com. Click on the banner below and you visit their site and you can order these books (and anything else from the November Previews) at huge discounts.




I'll see you next month with some more picks and hopefully on time to boot! Also look for my other column Beyond the Big 2: Preview Review where I will be reviewing picks that I made in earlier columns. I have a whole slew of books to review this time. I will be reviewing SOLOMON KANE #1, CYBLADE #1, GI JOE: A NEW BEGINNING #0, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL HC, PROJECT SUPERPOWERS VOL 02 THE SUPREMACY #0, ZEN INTERGALACTIC NINJA #0, FLASH GORDON #1, and GHOST OMNIBUS VOL 1.

Yikes! I have a lot of work to do!
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Beyond the Big 2: Preview Review #2

by Matt

Welcome to the next round of Preview Review! Going through the Previews is one of my favorite things to do each month and I like to try something new almost every month, something that piques my interest that is not published by the "Big 2". After waiting for a bit, some of them have finally shown up and I have finally gotten through them. Will they be as good as I thought they would be? This month's reviews include Modern Masters: John Romita Jr., Warren Ellis's new Avatar series No Hero and a bonus review of the Dark Horse classic X Omnibus Volume 1. Which got my pick for Book of the Month?


MODERN MASTERS SC VOL 18 JOHN ROMITA JR
By George Khoury and Eric Nolen-Weathington
BOOK OF THE MONTH WINNER!
John Romita Jr. is one of my favorite artists and I was thrilled that he would have his own Modern Master book. These books are absolutely wonderful, they provide fantastic in-depth interviews with a ton of unpublished sketches and art. This volume did not disappoint. It takes you through his whole career and I was surprised to learn a couple of things. Did you know that he was going to quit Marvel after the debacle of Star Brand? Did you know that Jim Lee invited him to be part of Image but he didn't want to leave the Uncanny X-Men and Punisher? Did you know that he felt betrayed by Bob Harras and Kelly Converse because they screwed him out of his second run on Uncanny and almost left comics for good again? If you are a fan of John Romita Jr, I highly recommend getting this book. A+

BOOK OF THE MONTH WINNER!






NO HERO #0
By Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp
Published by Avatar Press
I'll pick up anything that Ellis pens but some his work with Avatar Press leaves something to be desired. I took a chance on this series because it was so cheap and his last series Black Summer was so awesome. The premise of the book is that back in the 60's, a drug called FX was developed that allowed users to gain super abilities. I really enjoyed this short preview, it gave a fascinating look at how the drug affected the people who took it. There is a sense of wonder and dread in these pages which makes me really look forward to this series. This issue felt real to me, meaning that it was like I was reading a history text instead of a comic. This is what Ellis does best. The art by Black Summer artist Juan Jose Ryp is incredibly detailed and the best I have seen yet of his work. A-



X Omnibus Volume 1
By Various
Published by Dark Horse Comics
I absolutely love what Dark Horse comics have done with this Omnibus line. You get a nice compact book with over 300 pages of full color comics for such a cheap price. Combine that with the fact that I have a fondness with the Dark Horse Heroes line of comics and I have a winner. I will pick up every volume of the Dark Horse Heroes that come out as an Omnibus. This month I am reviewing the first volume of X and I was surprised at how violent and how much I enjoyed it. Basically this is X's one man battle against crime and in Arcadia there is a lot of crime and no one is safe from X. If you cross the line once, he will give you a warning, cross it twice and you have been marked with an 'X' and marked for death. The latter issues were the best of this volume, X battles Lord Alamout where we get some small peaks at who X is behind the mask. The one drawback of this collection is that we only follow the action (and there is a lot of that) but we do not get to know who X is. Apparently there is more to him than just him and his gun and has to be more than human but we don't know it in this volume. I look forward to the next volume of X. This gets a solid B.

Next month I will return with a couple of new reviews. Flash Gordon #1 is on the list and hopefully a few more! I may sneak in a review of X Omnibus Vol 2 or another book that I read that doesn't come from Big 2.

We'll see you in the back of the Previews.
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