Shout Outs! and Scream Ats!

by Matt


Welcome to another "Shout Out/Scream At!” column! where I take a look at what makes me a happy fanboy (Shout Outs!) and what frustrates me (Scream Ats!) about the comic industry. With this column I will be covering Captain America, Rocketeer, Planetary, DC's new series Magog, Messiah War and more Obama comics.!


SHOUT OUT! Planetary #27
It is really easy for me to forgive something when I love it so much. Just like my kid Logan when he accidentally deleted my 6 year franchise Madden game a few years ago, I can forgive him because I sure love the little guy. That is how I feel about Planetary. I should be screaming bloody murder that this book is taking so stinking long to come out but now that I know it is coming, I can forgive it. Planetary is my favorite Warren Ellis work (and yes, I consider myself an EllisWhore(tm)) and ranks up their with my favorite comic works of all-time. I cannot wait for this epilogue and I definitely cannot wait for the inevitable Absolute Planetary Vol 2.

SCREAM AT! Captain America Hype
Marvel has really hit the Hype Machine with the release of Captain America #600 and the new Reborn series and I shouldn't be surprised that they are bringing back Steve Rogers. But with all the hype, I find this announcement extremely underwhelming and that is probably because I found Bucky as Cap WAY more exciting than Steve and the story of him coming back. I am sure Brubaker will write an excellent yarn but I cannot hide the fact that I wish Bucky had more time to be Cap. It sure doesn't feel like it has been two years since Steve's death. It wouldn't surprise me if Marvel still had another swerve coming up.

SCREAM AT! Magog?
In the new DC solicitations it was found that a new character was to be given a ongoing series. I was excited to see who it was since I am now down to one DC book and I wanted to dabble back into the DC Universe again. And I was surprised that it was Magog. Magog? Don't get me wrong, I really liked how the character developed in the recent JSA series but he would have been one of the last characters I would have expected (and picked) for a new ongoing series. You know who I wanted? I would have loved seeing a Dr. Mid-Nite or Mr. Terrific series. Or Stargirl return for another series. I would gladly pay $3.99 for a Stargirl ongoing if it was written by Johns. But Magog? Such a strange choice.


SHOUT OUT! The Rocketeer: The Complete Collection
When I am bored at work, I like to browse Amazon and find stuff that is going to be coming out. I was very excited when I saw this baby! The Rocketeer: The Complete Collection. I have not read any of Dave Steven's stuff before but I do have fond memories of the old Rocketeer movie starring a young Jennifer Connelly and one of my favorite actors in Timothy Dalton. I have always been interested in the Rocketeer and now I have his completed adventures in one book. The books have been completely re-colored, as per Dave Stevens' wishes, by colorist Laura Martin.

SCREAM AT! Messiah War
Maybe it is because I have not read the ending of this crossover, but it just has not been doing anything for me. Nothing in the book excites me like the previous crossover Messiah Complex. Partly because I have not been a huge fan of the artwork but I couldn't place my finger on it until we see Archangel confront Apocalypse and spare his life. Then it hit me, the biggest reason I have not liked this crossover all that much is because it reminds me of the 90's crossover X-Cutioner's Song. Archangel confronts Apocalypse and spares his life in that one too. Not only that but in both crossovers we see X-Force sent to catch Cable, we see Bishop and Wolverine track Cable.


SCREAM AT! More Obama Comics
I think I have had my fill on Obama-based comics. In fact, I have gotten so tired of them that I would not have picked up Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers if I knew ahead of time that Obama's dog was slated to appear. Don't get me wrong, I am for Obama, I am just tired of all the comics. I do admit that the variant cover for Ash Saves Obama is pretty cool but enough is enough already!

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Shout Outs! and Scream Ats! Vol. III

by Matt


Welcome to my third “Shout Out/Scream At!” column! I am back baby! 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. With this column I will be covering Desperadoes, DC's Blackest Night, Barack Obama, $3.99 comics, Magneto: Testament and me.

SHOUT OUT! Magneto: Testament
I usually wait until I have the full miniseries before I sit down and read them completely. And I really procrastinated reading this series because I was expecting this series to be a little heavier due to the subject matter. This wasn't something I could read while watching television or in the can, I wanted to give this my full attention. And I am glad I did. Magneto Testament was written by Greg Pak and drawn by Carmine Di Giandomenico and they concoct a story that doesn't feel like a typical X-Men or Magneto story. There are no super hero antics but there is a powerful story of love and survival. At times I had to remind myself that this was Magneto I was reading about. There are small nods that remind you that he will become the Master of Magnetism but I don't think anyone that doesn't know about the X-Men would be lost. At first I thought this series could lessen the impact of the Holocaust by adding a super power theme but it never does that. Pak and Di Giandomenico weave a wonderful tale that takes our history and Magneto's history into one thread. I highly recommend this series to everyone. You do not have to be an X-fan or comic fan to enjoy this.

SCREAM AT! $3.99 Comics
It is inevitable. But with the current economy and my current state of finances I have to rethink some of the comics I purchase. It has already impacted some of the books I want to read but then I do shell out $3.99 for some books (curse you Dark Avengers!) so I guess I am part of the problem. Chances are I will now wait for trade for some books. I would rather get them in singles so I can read them when they come out but to save a few bucks I guess I can wait. I just don't want too. Why can't I have my cake and eat it too?

SHOUT OUT! DC's The Blackest Night
In my last column ages ago, I swore off DC comics because I was dissatisfied with their last big event Final Crisis. I did end up liking the series but it was not enough to make me come back to DC. I had already dropped Batman because of the mess Final Crisis and R.I.P. made and the only other book I read, JSA, I dropped because Johns left as writer. So I was down with DC. Then I started to read some snippets online of the next event, Blackest Night and I admit that my curiosity is piqued. I have never collected Green Lantern and had absolutely no interest when Hal Jordan came back (ugh, that is another Scream At for another time) but I am a little intrigued now. DC has smartly made Blackest Night #0 a part of Free Comic Book Day and now I can try it out. Will this bring me back to DC and make me Shout Out? Or will I just Scream At?

SCREAM AT! Barack Obama Overload!
I am getting worn out with all these Barack Obama comics. Brandon did a fantastic job covering it in his recent Panelology column and I totally agree. Enough already! I probably will pick up the Drafted: Hundred Days Special because I love that book already but that is as far as I will go.





SHOUT OUT! IDW's Desperadoes Omnibus!
As many of you know, I absolutely love Dark Horse's series of Omnibus collections. They are smaller than normal trades but they have more material and they are in full color and are reasonably priced. IDW followed suit with their collection of Desperadoes. Same size, same cheap price and LOADED with material. This great collection includes ALL Desperadoes series and one-shots. If you love western and horror genres, you should pick this series up! I cannot wait to dig into it, I missed the last two mini series.


SCREAM AT! Me.
The desire to be lazy is stronger than my desire to write. And that ends now! I will be contributing more to this blog and also to my Banshee Blog. Yes, Banshee.

Until next time! And I promise it will be sooner than this one.
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