Indeed, two comic book veterans, writer Sid Jacobson and artist Ernie Colon,
have brought 9/11 to the comic book world. Jacobson and Colon have based their
new graphic novel on the 9/11 Commission's final report on the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001. I've read the report already, which is stunning in its detail
and surprisingly well written, and I'm extremely intrigued to see what kind of
treatment it will get as a graphic novel. Whether you agree with all the
findings of the commission or not, the U.S. government's version of the tragic
events that day should be required reading.

Aside from my interest in comic book artistry, there are more important matters
here. Even though 9/11 is still burning in most people's minds here in America,
far too many people forget that the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission essentially
flunk the federal government and the Bush Administration's efforts to secure
America and protect it from terrorist attacks. Most people don't realize that
President Bush and Congress have blown off the recommendations of the 9/11
Commission to improve the country's security. So while the 9/11 Commission
Report was released as a 500-page non-fiction book in 2004 and quickly became a
bestseller, there was hardly any call to action.

Perhaps that will change with "The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation." The new
graphic novel will be previewed this week at Comic-Con 2006 in San Diego, which
I will be attending. Jacobson and Colon will discuss their work with a few other
panel members and ask if a comic book can make a political statement and
motivate people to act. I, for one, can't wait to hear and see more.

I had one of the single greatest experiences of my 10-year career as a
journalist last week at Comic-Con 2006 in San Diego. While wandering around the
autograph pavillion at the convention center, I stumbled upon Al White and
Norman Gibbs, also known as "the Jive Dudes" from the classic comedy "Airplane!"

For those that aren't familiar, White and Gibbs played small but memorable parts
in "Airplane." Gibbs played the role of "First Jive Dude," and White was "Second
Jive Dude" -- the running joke is that Gibbs and White speak incoherent but
humorous "jive" that no one can understand. They really only appeared in two
scenes in the film, but as far as many people are concerned, those two scenes
are the best parts of the comedic masterpiece.

In their first scene, Gibbs and White talk to one another while
hilarious subtitles translate their jive talk. In their href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYyqRt5Zn8&search=Airplane%21">second
scene, White is suffering from stomach pains as a result of bad airline food.
The duo ask a stewardess for help, but she has no idea what they're saying, so
an elderly woman, played by Barbara Billingsley (the mother on TV's "Leave it to
Beaver"), that speaks jive lends a hand and the three end up in a contentious
argument.
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I spoke with Gibbs and White during the show, who were amazed at how popular
they are after more than 25 years. Both men were extremely friendly and gracious
about the attention they were receiving at their first Comic-Con event. Of all
the celebrity sightings at the big event, my meeting with Gibbs and White was
the best.

However, I did miss one of my two movie heroes, the immortal Bruce Campbell (see
the very first post of this blog), because I had to fly back home to the wife.
If you think that was an easy decision -- my wife or Bruce Campbell -- then you
don't know me at all...

It's called Comic-Con, but the geek convention is pretty much dominated by big blockbuster films these days. Sure, there are rows upon rows of comic books and graphic novels on the exhibit floor and icons like Stan Lee and Frank Miller roaming the halls. But in terms of news and star power, it's a movie event.

And when it comes to the type of movie that usually dominates the show, well, does it even need to be said? Sci-fi epics, horror flicks, comic book adaptations, action films, and glorified B-movies like "Snakes on a Plane."

For example, a great deal of attention for directed at "Saw III," the third installment in the horror-gore series. Actor Tobin Bell (pictured above, who plays the notorious "Jigsaw" serial killer in the films, showed up at the event with fellow star Shawnee Smith (above, left), who plays his protege "Amanda," to promote the new film, hobnob with fans and media members, and to screen an exclusive sneak peak of the upcoming film (which comes out around Halloween, of course). The scene was kind of gross -- it showed an ex-con who finds himself in one of Jigsaw's traps; he's got chains pierced through various body parts (no, not there)lke his hands, feet, chest and lips, and he must rip them out of his body before time expires and the trap kills him. Yuck.

Anyway, the preview went over quite well; the ballroom was packed with fans that erupted with applause, the sick freaks. Some Comic-Con attendees sported "Saw" T-shirts while one fan even wore a "Jigsaw" costume. I not sure what was more disturbing -- the preview footage or the fact that someone wore a costume of a grisly serial killer.

Speaking of serial killers, remember this guy (pictured right)? It's Edwin Neal, who played "the hitchhiker" in the 1974 low-budget horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Neal was signing autographs at Comic-Con, and depite his claim to fame, he's a pretty cool dude. For example, he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in the Vietnam War; he has one of the largest movie poster collections in the world; and in addition to horror flick roles, Neal has also done voice-acting for some animated films and video games like Deus Ex: Invisible War. Now that's pretty cool.

I just read an interesting bit of news on Chud.com about how Tom Cruise was interested in the upcoming "Watchmen" movie. Devin Faraci at Chud.com recently spoke with "300" director Zack Snyder, who's slated to the direct the movie version of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' epic graphic novel. Snyder confirmed that Cruise had expressed interest in starring in the movie and that the two had talked about Cruise playing the role of Ozymandias, "Watchmen's" smarmy, un-likeable All-American pretty boy superhero (pictured left, center).

Snyder added that he didn't think it was going to happen. Still, the idea of Tom Cruise as Ozymandias has probably upset a few fans out there. I must admit that I'm one of those obsessive "Watchmen" fan. I consider it to be one of the greatest works of fiction, let alone comic books, of the last 50 years. I've tracked pretty much every rumor and news report about the movie, and even though I think "Watchmen" may be next to impossible to pull off as a great movie, I'm still going to see it.

Still, I think the possibility of Cruise as Ozymandias is an excellent idea, and I agree with Faraci, who wrote that it would be "great casting." After my initial shock wore off, I started thinking about it. Of all the characters that Tom Cruise could play in "Watchmen," which one would be the best fit? That's right: Ozymandias. Here's why:

5. Everyone hates Tom Cruise right, so he's perfect to play a rich, devious genius known as "the smartest man in the world."

4. Adrian Viedt, a.k.a. Ozymandias, is completely out of touch with reality and drunk on his own fame and power. Sound familiar?

3. Tom Cruise can actually act, and when he takes on darker, non-Cruise roles like in "Magnolia" and "Collateral," he can be pretty damn good.

2. Ozymandias is a supporting role, and Cruise proved he could pull off such a feat with "Magnolia."

1. Of all the big-name actors that could play Ozymandias, I can only think of one that would be better: Clive Owen. He just has the right look, and he's a great actor. I know others have been recommended by fans - everyone from Jude Law and Brad Pitt to Val Kilmer and Matt Damon - but to me, Cruise is just about as good as any choice.

Of course, he could have another incident on "Oprah," in which case all bets are off.

I knew this was going to happen. I just freaking knew it.

During Wondercon last weekend, director Zack Snyder (pictured right) appeared on a panel for his upcoming movie "300," along with stars Gerard Butler and Len Headey (that's a whole different story, which I'll get to later). After the packed ballroom at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco got done oooing and ahhhing at the amazing footage of "300" and its incredibly good- looking stars, one audience member asked Snyder about the "Watchmen" movie, which is currently being developed for Warner Bros.

For those that don't know, Alan Moore and David Gibbons' masterwork comic book series "Watchmen" has been rolling around Hollywood for nearly two decades. But because of the dark nature and mature, deconstructionist themes of "Watchmen," efforts to film a movie version always seemed to fail. A few years ago, Paramount, which owned the rights to the graphic novel, tapped director Paul Greengrass ("United 93," "The Bourne Supremacy") to film the movie, which had already been attempted by Terry Gilliam in the later 80s.

Well, the "Watchmen" project was revived once again recently when Paramount sold the rights to Warner Bros., which turned the film over to Snyder, who was coming off of the successful "Dawn of the Dead" remake and the buzz worthy "300." Snyder and crew are in the preliminary stages of getting the project together and have even talked casting with some major stars, including Tom Cruise (click here for a previous post about that subject).

Back to the audience member: he asked Snyder for an update regarding "Watchmen." Here's what Snyder said: "I want to make it into a movie. The studio wants me to make into a movie. We're talking about shooting it at the end of the summer." But hold on, he's not finished. Snyder alluded to some issues with production, specifically the rating of the film. "The studio might say, 'An R- rated superhero movie. What the hell is that? It doesn't exist.'"

Earth to Warner Bros.: you just made a rated R comic book movie. It's called "300"!

So the "Watchmen" movie once again appears to be on shaky ground. And I'm making the call right now: if "300" makes good on its buzz and becomes a blockbuster hit, then Warner Bros. will give Snyder the budget he needs to make a two and a half hour R-rated epic. But if "300" somehow disappoints, which seems to be a remote but plausible possibility, then I believe the doors may close on this "Watchmen" project. The studio won't give Snyder a $150 million budget for a rated-R comic book movie that it believes has little chance of becoming a hit, let along breaking even.

And there's just no way that you can make "Watchmen" into a happy-ending, good triumphs over evil PG-13 comic book movie. It's a dark comic book with disturbing themes and even more disturbing truths. Condensing the graphic novel, which was originally published as a 12-part series, into one feature film is hard enough to do without trying to tone it down for a PG-13 rating.

Now I know why Alan Moore has consistently disowned Hollywood.

It looks like Marvel Comics has done it again.  Following his surrender at the end of Civil War, Captain America was shot dead in the pages of Captain America #25 which went on sale yesterday.  In a press release a Marvel spokesperson stated, "The story broke in the Daily News and quickly news spread to other outlets such as CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and USA Today.  Variety even ran an obituary-style article saluting the fallen comic hero!  And across the country, over 50 radio and television news stations ran stories detailing the passing of the Star-Spangled Avenger."  Captain America was being transported to the location of his public trial for defying the Superhuman Registration Act when shots rang out.

Here's the thing about death in comics.  It never lasts.  For the longest time the rule-of-thumb was, "No one stays dead in comics except Uncle Ben and Bucky."  Well, even Bucky is back from the dead now as The Winter Soldier.  While reading the arc of Captain America where Bucky comes back, I repeated the phrase, "I can't believe that the Winter Soldier is actually Bucky," so many times that, to this day, I can ask my wife who the Winter Soldier is and, after a long sigh of exasperation, she'll say, "Bucky."  Now, Marvel Editor- in-Chief Joe Quesada has stated that he only allows characters to be killed if the death is meaningful, so maybe they won't bring him back in a few months.  But Steve Rogers will be back. 

The problem I have with this death is that he was basically just shot by a villain (Crossbones).  This could have happened at any point during the last 60 years, and it really has nothing to do with Civil War.  If they wanted to tie Cap's death into Civil War, then he should have died in the final issue at the hands of Iron Man.  THAT would have had meaning.  It would have shown Tony Stark's commitment to his beliefs, and it would have affected all the Marvel heroes in a much more serious way.  This death is just bad luck.

Marvel's press release went on to say, "Next week's Civil War: The Confession details the last moments of Captain America's life and this April and May, the ramifications of Cap's death and the responses of Marvel's greatest heroes will be seen in the pages of the five part Fallen Son: Death of Captain America event."

I expected "300" to do quite well at the theaters this week, but not quite this well. The movie, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, took in an astounding $70.9 million at the U.S. box office over the weekend.

I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised, considering the film had been getting good buzz since its trailer wowed action film and comic book fans last fall. Plus, Warner Bros. launched a formidable marketing campaign for the film; I can barely drive a half mile here in L.A. without seeing a "300" billboard or poster, and the movie has been hyped at Comic-Con 2006 last July as well as Wondercon in San Francisco earlier this month. Not to mention the fact that "300" had a massive promotional day on MySpace in January.

I caught the film last night in a sold-out theater down the street from my home in L.A., and I was not disappointed. I had been waiting for this film for almost a year, and I was truly excited when I learned that Zack Snyder was directing the film (I'm a big fan of his "Dawn of the Dead" remake). I concur with Travis' review of the film (the lucky bastard saw it early during a press screening): the story is remarkable and the historical accuracy is pretty much non-existent, but the hyper-kinetic battle scenes, stylish visuals and wondrous imagery made "300" an exhilarating experience. And it's been quite some time since I've had one of those.

That's not to say the acting wasn't good. Gerard Butler (pictured above, from Wondercon) was fantastic as King Leonidas, and Lena Headey (pictured below) as his wife, Queen Gorgo, was almost as good. At the end of the day, however, this movie is about the action. And Snyder's film delivers. It has some of the best combat and fight scenes I've ever witnessed. "300" has been savaged by some critics, most notably the New York Times, and I can certainly understand how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. But people need to keep in mind that the movie is based on a comic book's version of history and enjoy the film as such.

The success of "300" has made me happy on a couple of levels. First, it raises the bar for comic book adaptations. If you're familiar with Miller's graphic novel, then you'll know that the movie was essentially a scene-for-scene conversion of Miller's art and Lynne Varley's colors. Thus, the movie proves that you can make a film that looks and feels like its source material.

Second, Snyder's triumph with "300" bodes well for his planned adaptation of "Watchmen." I blogged about the "Watchmen" project last week and asked whether the movie was in doubt. During a Wondercon panel for "300," Snyder was asked about the project and while he said he and Warner Bros. really wanted to make the movie, he alluded to some obstacles - the biggest of which was getting the studio to greenlight a big budget R-rated movie instead of a PG-13 superhero film, which "Watchmen" isn't. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' epic masterwork, which some consider the greatest comic book of all time, is a dark story that deserves the proper treatment.

Well, "300" should put Warner Bros. fears to rest; the movie has a record- setting debut for the month of March, and it also had the third-highest opening for a rated R movie behind "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Passion of the Christ." I'm crossing my fingers that "Watchmen" continues because I can't wait to see what Snyder does next.

I got a chance last Friday to sit in as a guest on the All Games Interactive radio show with Scot Rubin and Lawrence Young. Good times. Lawrence invited me on their "Freeplay Friday" show to chat about the recent TwitchGuru feature on the "50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History," and hearing that there would be free beer and plenty of games, I happily obliged.

After chatting about PC gaming hardware, graphics cards and DirectX 10 for a while, we jumped in the topic of female video game characters and ran through pretty much all of the 50 gals on the list. I also got a number of interesting comments regarding omissions from listeners on the live AGI chat, as well as suggestions from Scot, Lawrence and other AIG regulars like L.A. games journalist Redmond Carolipio and Xbox Live "Achievement Whore" Chris Shima.

From there, the show pretty much spiraled gleefully out of control. We jumped into movies and comics, chatting about the new "Transformers" live action movie, "Heroes" plot theories, and the success of "300." We also talked about the upcoming "Watchmen" movie adaptation, and I was pretty much in heaven. At one point I remarked that I felt like I was in the Lambda Lambda Lambda house from "Revenge of the Nerds."

We did get into some serious talk. For example, Remond had just finished God of War 2 and delivered a glowing review of the game. I've played through about half the game since then, and while I've enjoyed it quite a bit, I'm not ready to give it a perfect score just yet. We'll see.

Scot and Lawrence and I also discussed the consoles war, specifically Microsoft's success with its second generation effort and Sony's tough times with the PlayStation 3. Sprinkled in here and there were some interesting calls from listeners young and old. I'm not sure we came to any conclusions about the consoles themselves, but one interesting topic we discussed was the idea that consoles are now eclipsing PC gaming. That's not to say that PC gaming is dying, but after speaking with the AGI guys as well as others in the gaming news business over the last couple months, I think many people agree that in the current PC/console cycle favors the consoles.

Why? Well, for one the new consoles are attractive, and each has its own strong selling points (the Xbox 360's game library and Xbox Live system, the Wii's motion sensor control scheme and affordability, and the PS3's hardware and free online network).

Second, we're seeing major titles like Call of Duty developed for the consoles only, while some big franchises are being created for the consoles first and then ported (quite poorly) to the PC later on, such as Splinter Cell Double Agent.

Another factor is the frustrating Vista upgrades. After investing in a new top line Vista PC, you expect Company of Heroes, for example, to run efficiently if not superbly. But when it hardly runs at all, well, that's tough to stomach.

The whole console/PC gaming cycle may yet shift again this year back toward PCs; highly anticipate shooters like Crysis, BioShock and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will certainly help, as will the enormous growth in MMOs.

Will 2007 be the year of PC gaming or console gaming? And if it's console gaming, which one? Let me know what you think.

To listen to or download the AGI show, go here.

I read comics. I head to the store every Wednesday and pick up several books. Many of us read comics as kids, but fewer of us still follow the stories. There is some amazing writing and art going on in comics right now, so if ever there was a time to get back in it's now, but I get why people don't. That's why I'll be posting comics news up here. I'll buy them and read them so you don't have to, but you'll still be able to catch up on what's happening by coming here.

Here are my picks from this week.

DC

Action Comics #849 - Superman faces off against Redemption and we learn the secret of his powers. This is the conclusion of “A Crisis of Faith”, but the next issue will not see the return of the “Last Son” story from Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, and Adam Kubert. Geoff Johns posted to his MySpace page saying, “A note to let everyone know that our "Last Son" finale has been moved to ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #11 to accommodate Adam [Kubert]'s schedule and allow us to continue on with our Action Comics run.” Pffftt! Whatever. I’m not sure I’ll stick it out through any more ACTION COMICS with this kind of thing happening, but I do want to read the rest of “Last Son”. Comics scheduling is truly in the toilet these days.

All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder #5 - Well well well, look who’s still trying to tell a story! I don’t even remember what was happening in this book. I remember that Frank Miller is writing Batman as a psychotic and that Robin’s parents were murdered. There was a Vickie Vale appearance and a Black Canary appearance, but that’s really about all I remember. This issue sees the premiere of the All Star versions of Wonder Woman (who talks like Magneto), Green Lantern, and Plastic Man. Superman also makes another appearance, but it’s obvious that the Superman in ALL STAR BATMAN is not the same Superman that’s in ALL STAR SUPERMAN, which is a shame. I still like this book a lot even though Miller’s almost off the deep end with the writing. Jim Lee is in top form on these pages, and the art is enough reason to buy it. Reign it in some, Frank. This is the Justice League, not Sin City. I’m not sure Wonder Woman needs to want to cut off Batman’s head.

Batman #665 - Batman got his ass kicked by a giant guy who liked a lot like him (Venom vs Spider-Man anyone?), so he does what Batman does best: he dopes himself up and goes out looking for the guy. Robin’s still trying to get past the arrival of Batman and Talia al Ghul’s son Damian so he heads out to find the guy first in an effort to prove his worth. What’s Talia doing? She’s stalking Bruce Wayne. I think these stories are hit and miss, but I like Grant Morrison so I’ll keep picking this one up for now.

Countdown #50 - Jason Todd saw the Joker’s daughter get killed in the last issue and now Jimmy Olsen is covering the story. Todd sends Olsen to Arkham Asylum to ask the Joker if he knows who did it, but all the Joker seems to know is that something is wrong with the universe. Olsen is in danger of being eaten by Killer Croc when the issue ends so there is that, but the problem with telling a story that takes 50 issues is that it moves very slowly. I really do intend to tough this one out.

Justice League of America #9 - “The Lightning Saga” is being written across JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA comics. My JSA kung-fu is not very good so the story is difficult for me to follow, but it seems that a version of the Seven Soldiers are scattered throughout time and space and the JLA and JSA are working together to find them all. This issue #9 has them finding another soldier in Gorilla City and a lot of really good interpersonal scenes. It’s strange that I enjoy a comic with so many superheroes and so little action, but this one’s working.

Dynamite Entertainment

Battlestar Galactica #9 - Sharon leads her Cylon army and the Returners she’s gathered back to the heart of the Cylon empire and starts asking questions about their origin. This issue starts to get a little Matrix-y, but the characters in the show are so good that it actually helps to carry the comic a little. It’s good writing, but I’d prefer that the stories were a little more relevant (considering where the show is now).

IDW

Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show #12 - This is the last issue of the comic adaptation of the Clive Barker book of the same name. Catching you up on the story to this point would take forever, so don’t buy this unless you’ve been reading it all the way through. In this issue, it ends. Let’s just go with that

Image

Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer #2 - If you like medieval stories with lots of sword-swinging and zombies getting smashed, this is a good book for you. The story kind of mixes elements of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow and Ghost Rider with some good old fashioned medieval horror. It’s OK so far, but not a must-have yet.

Marvel

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America – Captain America - Yeah, that’s really the title of the book. Due to his inability to deal with the grief of being kind of responsible for killing Captain America, Iron Man is shopping the shield around and decides maybe Hawkeye (who died and is now back) should become Cap. Hawkeye disagrees. I like these Fallen Son books so far. They usually have some great character moments, and this one is no exception. Jeph Loeb has done a great job of making the Marvel characters feel the weight of Cap's death. This issue also features some Young Avengers action. If only they had their own Eisner nominated book. Oh wait…

The Mighty Avengers #3 - The new girlified Ultron takes over a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and drops it on The Sentry, Bendis writes an opportunity to let Frank Cho draw Tigra in a bikini, and there’s a sign that Tony Stark may be dead. I like this book, although the thought balloons are getting to me. There’s already a lot of dialogue and the thought balloons are just cluttering things up.

Moon Knight #10 - Moon Knight and Punisher discuss morality while shooting at criminals, followed by some searching for Midnight. I really wish David Finch was still drawing this because I’m realizing that the story is not why I was buying it. I may be off this soon unless the arc ends and a better one starts.

Ultimate Spider-Man #109 - Kingpin lays it out for Spider-Man and it doesn’t look good. Basically Kingpin has Spider-Man unmasked, but doesn’t know his name. He also owns his likeness which puts Spider-Man in an interesting predicament. Additionally, Kingpin knows about the little vigilante group and knows that Moon Knight is disguised as Ronin, which he demonstrates by beating the crap out of him. There is much finger pointing when the Knights get back together, but Daredevil realizes that the weak link is Iron Fist and starts the grilling.

Ultimate X-Men #82 - Nightcrawler finds the Morlocks. Morlock stories have always bored me to tears, and so far this follows suit. The good news is that Xavier is still dead.

The Ultimates 2 #13 - A new ULTIMATES 2 and a new ALL STAR BATMAN on the same day? Excuse me while I check to see if the rivers have turned to blood. The big question is was it worth the wait? Well, no comic could be worth that wait, but it’s certainly a great ending to a great arc. THE ULTIMATES is one of the reasons I still buy comics because it has the best action in it bar none. Bryan Hitch’s art really shines in this issue particularly, but he’s been solid through the whole series. For example, here’s the 8-page foldout image of the big fight in this book. THAT is what I’m talking about. This is the same Mark Millar who wrote and fumbled CIVIL WAR, but I guess he was saving the good stuff for the Ultimate U. The fight in this story has lasted about three or four issues now and comes to a close a tad abruptly here, but that’s usually how big fights end. #13 brings closure to a story I’ve been reading for a long time, and leaves plenty of strands for THE ULTIMATES 3 to pick up. I only hope we don’t have to wait a year for it to come out.

This was an uncharacteristically light week for comics with the excellent new issue of CRIMINAL being the best of the bunch. Here are the picks for this week.

DC

Countdown #49 - The DC weekly comic follow-up to 52 continues this week, but I can't help but think that it has yet to start. Like 52, the events of the individual issues aren't all that exciting without the hindsight of the grand picture (which we won't have for many months). Issue #49 has Killer Croc mauling Jimmy Olsen as he's coming out of his interview with the Joker in Arkham Asylum, but Olsen inexplicably demonstrates Plastic-Man-like powers and survives Croc's attack. The guards eventually restrain Croc, but it's clear that something is going on with Jimmy. We also get a scene from a tribunal of the Monitors and the Rogues are still unsure about their new members. Finally Mary Marvel happens across a major player from 52. See what I mean? These events don't stitch together into a very compelling single comic, so I just have to blunder forward blindly with the belief that something worthwhile awaits me. More Darkseid please, thank you.

Wonder Woman #9 - This issue is a tie-in to the AMAZONS ATTACK mini-series where Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta is currently destroying Washington, DC with an Amazon army. This particular issue is just OK, nothing great. I think it suffers from too much dialogue. When I flip the pages and see that many word balloons, I just know that I'm in for lots of exposition and probably not much action. Writer Jodi Picoult tries to place some of the exposition during the action scenes, but it ends up reading like the wrong text was placed in the word balloons. Wonder Woman and Circe have an exchange while battling, but they might as well be sitting and having coffee. I mean, I would think that superheroes fighting would make a great deal of noise and render casual conversation pretty useless.

Marvel

Captain America #26 - Is it weird to still have a CAPTAIN AMERICA comic running after he's dead? Maybe a little, but most of the Marvel comics seem to be dealing with Cap's death one way or another, and the CAPTAIN AMERICA book focuses on the supporting characters from when Cap was alive. It isn't public knowledge (to the characters) that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter actually fired the final shots that killed Cap or that she was being controlled by Dr. Faustus and the Red Skull. Issue #26 shows her dealing with the aftermath as well as Falcon attending the wake. Tony Stark also reveals to Sharon that Cap's body appears to be aging. Overall kind of a boring issue. I'm just waiting for them to bring him back.

Criminal #6 - I bought CRIMINAL #1 on a whim because a) it was #1 of a new series written by b) Ed Brubaker who writes CAPTAIN AMERICA with art by c) Sean Phillips who did the art on MARVEL ZOMBIES. The first arc is over and #6 starts a new storyline. From the looks of it you don't have to be familiar with the first arc to understand the second one, but some preview pages I've seen for later issues include characters from it. The new storyline may not be a direct continuation of the first, but I expect them to intersect somewhere. The trade for issues 1-5 was just released (titled "Coward"), and you should definitely pick it up. If you're looking to get on board, #6 is a perfect jumping-on point. We're introduced to our protagonist, Tracy Lawless, right in the middle of murdering someone, so already he's a much different character than Leo from the first arc. Tracy's been buried in a military prison for a while and is just now finding out about his younger brother being murdered. Now he's out and looking for the culprits. If the story sounds cliche, it's because CRIMINAL takes a lot of inspiration from old noir movies (including the art direction and voice over), but without the SIN CITY hyperbole. There are no superheroes, super powers, or extravagant characters. It's just straight-forward crime stories, and some of the best comics writing and cinematic art I've seen in a long time.

Fantastic Four #546 - In the last issue, Black Panther basically ran away from a big fight with the Silver Surfer, Stardust, and Galactus way out in outer-space. Black Panther fans worry not, T'Challa has not turned coward, but was rather just implementing his "Galactus Contingency Plan". If cosmic stories and outer-space weirdness are not your thing, just skip this story. The ending was a little too "feel good" for my tastes, and when Galactus appears in a comic, I'd like him to do more than just speak loudly. Galactus has been turned away from consuming planets so many times he's hardly a threat anymore. Someone make Galactus threatening again. Galactus commands it!

Next week the new issues won't be out until Thursday due to the holiday, so this post will go up on Friday.

We're not going to go into every book this week (or any week from here on out), but rather just pick the top few from our pile. Let's face it, not all comics are good and even the ones that are good are sometimes crap on an issue-to-issue level. It can't all be gold.

Dark Horse

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 - Here we are at the end of the first story arc for Buffy Season 8, and it ended (like many many comics these days) with a bit of a whimper. I feel like they are building to something, but I'm a little afraid that what they are building to is X-Men. Buffy goes into a little feminism rant there at the end that comes out of nowhere, but it's still a good book. I'm not crazy about Georges Jeanty's art, but it doesn't bother me enough to take away from the enjoyment. There aren't any pages I want poster-sized, though. Whedon's writing is staying inside the feeling of the show while also branching out into a bigger world. That's what will keep me buying, at least for now.

DC

Batman: Detective Comics #833 - It's nice to read Batman comics that still have that police procedural feeling to them. Paul Dini's stand-alone DETECTIVE COMICS issues are well-written, solid Batman stories that steer clear of the world-ending "crises" that threaten the DC universe on a weekly basis. This issue has a "to be continued" at the end, and I'm not sure how many parts the story is in, but so far it's a good start. What begins as a fairly standard Batman murder case involving a magician and Zatanna turns into something much more sinister (read "better") at the end. I also like the nod to the events of IDENTITY CRISIS when Zatanna turned on Batman. That kind of thing should stain a relationship, and bitterness and hard feelings should come up from time to time.

Marvel

Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears #5 - I've said this before and I'm going to keep saying it: I can't get enough of Clayton Crain's art. His work on the Ghost Rider mini-series from a few years ago was outstanding, but it was also very busy at times. It was difficult to see everything that was going on in a panel. The art in TRAIL OF TEARS is cleaner, but that may also have to do with there being fewer tentacles and exposed spines. The art's amazing, but Garth Ennis's story is a perfect mix of western characters and gothic horror elements. You don't have to be a Ghost Rider fan to enjoy this book, and it will probably help if you aren't. A rider is present, but doesn't appear much through the early portions of the story. He's mostly cloaks and shadows when seen, but there are rare occassions where he's all skull-and-flames. If you're not already buying this you might wait for a trade at this point (the next issue is the end). It's a great example of stunning art and fantastic storytelling outside the typical Marvel superhero world.

Also in the pull this week are:

DC
Countdown #47 - That's a fantastic cover.

Image
Spawn #168 - Spawn fights the Violator. I feel like it's 1992 all over again.

Marvel
Avengers Initiative #3 - Not all bad and with a Spider-Man cameo to boot.

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #5 - Someone tell Peter David that "Wizard and Glass" has been out for a long time. It's all rehash aside from the mythology at the end of the issue (that is written in prose).

Iron Man #18 - I guess he isn't "Invincible" anymore if the book is just called IRON MAN now. Give me more Mandarin and less whatever was happening this issue.

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #4 - Ash talks trash to Dr. Doom.

Omega Flight - Horse-faced Thor fights the Wrecking Crew. Interest...fading...

This was kind of a light week for comics, but there are still a few books that deserve some attention.

Marvel

The New Avengers #31 - This whole issue is one long fight between the the outlaw Avengers and an army of Hand ninjas lead by Elektra. The Avengers are still in Japan on their rescue mission for Maya Lopez (Echo) who was undercover in Japan during the entirety of the superhero Civil War. At the conclusion of the last issue, Echo had just given in to her Hand reprogramming and stabbed Dr. Strange through the chest with a sword. While all the combat types deal out the damage to the endless waves of Hand ninjas, Dr. Strange gets himself fixed up in time to break Echo out of her trance. Once Echo wakes up, she grabs a sword and heads straight for Elektra. The issues ends on an interesting note that will hopefully tie into the greater mythology started in THE NEW AVENGERS before the Civil War got underway. I wasn't a fan of Leinil Yu's art when he first started on this book, but it's really grown on me. I'd seen his other stuff in WOLVERINE and ULTIMATE HULK VS WOLVERINE, but it wasn't until he started on THE NEW AVENGERS that I warmed up to it. I do wish he'd use less hatching and allow for more ink-shading, but it does give his art a kind of dirty, scuffed-up look. It really works for these big fight scenes.

Punisher War Journal #8 - I've been a fan of this series since it started, but this arc is losing me a little. I don't like the Punisher calling himself Captain America while wearing that ridiculous costume, and Hate Monger and his army of Nazi, rascist, border patrollers just aren't "comic book" enough. Ariel Olivetti's digital art is still top notch even if the proportions are a little on the cartoon side, and scene-for-scene Matt Fraction's writing is excellent. Sometimes I get the feeling that Punisher is really just Wolverine with guns instead of claws, but you could say that about many of the anti-hero comic book characters. I'm hoping this story arc is about over and we can move on to something else soon.

World War Hulk #1 - This is what I want from comic books. It starts with the smallest bit of backstory to catch you up and by page four and five we get a splash page of Hulk riding on the outside of a space ship punching asteroids. By page nine he's outside Attilan on the Moon and Black Bolt speaks. I like Black Bolt, but I do get tired of hearing people say things like, "The faintest whisper could level mountains," over and over when he never says anything. It's nice to see them pull out a big gun like this right off the bat. The story of this event is that before the Civil War started Dr. Strange, Reed Richards, Iron Man, and Black Bolt were getting tired of Hulk smashing stuff and then giving them that "Oops!" look so they shot him into space. Hulk eventually landed on the planet Sakaar and was made a slave/gladiator before starting a rebellion and becoming king complete with a queen and a baby on the way. Unfortunately the ship he landed in blew up and destroyed the planet killing his queen (and millions of other people) so now Hulk and his "warbound" gladiator buddies are headed back to Earth for some payback. I think it's great that all the heroes are in a little bit of a panic when word gets back to Earth that Hulk is coming (and his speech while holding the ruined body of Black Bolt was fantastic). Iron Man in full Hulkbuster armor shows up to deal with Hulk and the resulting fight is incredible. I'm hoping this series goes the distance and doesn't end with some fireman and EMTs tackling Hulk and saying, "Hey! Look at all the trouble you're causing!" followed by Hulk saying, "Wow, you're right. Boy is my face red!"

Also in the pull this week:

DC

Countdown #46 - Mary Marvel fights a monster made out of dead babies. I'm not kidding.

Justice #12 - Well, at least the art is still really good.

Marvel

Nova #3 - Nova takes on the Thunderbolts.

Sub-Mariner #1 - It's a Namor mini-series so I'm giving it a shot.