Review: Grim Leaper #3

This book is a bit fucked up. I mean I already knew that from the first issue, but it finds a new level of “damn that messed up” with this issue. It’s strange in the fact that it attempts to desensitize the reader to death, while at the same time developing real consequences for the characters and world. If I really read into it I would say that there is a bit of commentary about the comic industry and their careless abuse of life and death, but I may be grasping at that point.

Lou begins in the hallway of fucked up pictures and describes the sensation of trying to feel behind one’s own bellybutton and recommends not doing it. He’s torn apart by several copies of himself before finally leaping into a new body, but not before he looks for Ella. In the end he wakes up in a police station and pukes on the front desk officer. He instantly apologizes, but the officer genuinely seems unaffected by it. He’s asked to finish his report with a beautiful female officer and it turns out that he’s now the owner of the stolen car from the previous issue. He puts on his usual shtick when the female officer begins laughing; she leans over to him and tells him he’s not the only person to have a mouth that smells like vomit. The two grab each other’s hands and run out of the police station.

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Review: Resident Alien #3

It’s great when you get fooled by a mystery and boy did the conclusion of this book fool me something bad. It became kind of obvious at one point where the story was going, but the journey was so rewarding and full that it was something very special. The great news was that a second volume of the series is promoted at the back of the issue which I was very happy to see considering how this issue ends.

In our last issue we learned that there was one man in town that fit the bill as the murderer due to his past with several of the victims. Boldly, Dr. Harry goes and visits Mr. Whitehead the man he suspects of the murders that sucked him into becoming the towns doctor. He enters Whiteheads house and finds a man in shambles after his wife’s own death. He asks about his sleeping pill prescription as a way of playing off his visit; Whitehead explains that he didn’t like the way they made him feel and prefers booze. It’s clear that he’s not the person Harry is looking for as he looks at the liquor store of alcohol around the house.

He leaves Whiteheads place feeling like a fool and wondering who could possibly be the murderer if it’s not Whitehead. As he drives back towards the doctor’s office he’s suddenly followed by a person on a motorcycle. Soon a report of comes into the police station about a naked person near a motorcycle and it’s clear that Harry is about to find out first hand who the killer is.

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Co-Director of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Confirms Absolutely Nothing...

While speaking with the Huffington Post, co-Director and Producer of Animal Practice (you read that correctly) confirmed basically nothing about the next Captain America movie. He did confirm several times that his balls were in fact in Marvel's vice grip and that if he spilled the beans on anything they would rotate the handle. Anthony Russo threw around words like, "Darker" and "Edgier", but other than confirming the two casting choices already known be basically said nothing. It sounds like it's going to have the general outline of Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline and he even confirmed an upcoming lunch meeting with the writer. If you read the entire article though it's pretty basic and there isn't much to take away from it other than they're starting next year and shit is far from being locked down.

Title Announcement: Point of Impact

In POINT OF IMPACT, a new Image Comics miniseries by NEAR DEATH creator Jay Faerber and Koray Kuranel, a woman's murder brings those who thought they knew her best to the realization that they didn't know her at all. As the investigation of Nicole Rafferty's death reveals the secrets of her life, three people — her husband, friend, and secret lover — are put on a collision course with the truth.

"Point of Impact was born out of the idea that a person can be different things to different people," said writer Faerber. "We behave differently, and play different roles, depending on who we're with. That's a theme I wanted to explore in the context of a murder mystery."

In an interview at iFanboy, Faerber promised "plenty of action and suspense, and definitely twists and turns — it’s a murder mystery / thriller, after all." iFanboy also featured a six-page preview of POINT OF IMPACT #1.

The four-issue miniseries, which will debut in October, is drawn by Koray Kuranel, a Turkish storyboard artist, in stark black and white.

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Review: The Manhattan Projects #5

The Manhattan Projects is a sci-fi comic with an alternate history setting, built upon a deceptively simple sounding premise that allows for a huge potential range of stories: “What if the research and development department created to produce the first atomic bomb was a front for a series of other, more unusual, programs? What if the union of a generation's brightest minds was not a signal for optimism, but foreboding? What if everything... went wrong?”

It’s a dark mirror held up to a period that’s often remembered, both historically and in fiction, as an era of intellectual giants rapidly advancing our technology and understanding of the universe; it takes the unwelcome truth that most impressive gathering of scientists in the 20th century was organised to build the original WMD, then adds a whole bucket-load of crazy conceptual pseudoscience and compounds this by giving the central cast members a range of psychological disorders (ranging from narcissism to multiple-personality disorder and cannibalism).   

I think it’s only fair at this point in the review that I should make a confession: I am a huge fan of Jonathan Hickman’s work (especially his Image releases) and of the four previous issues of The Manhattan Projects. Potentially this means that I could have unconsciously overlooked flaws in this issue which seem obvious to other reviewers or that I end up recommending issue #5 on the strength of the series as a whole instead of on its own worth.

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Review: Star Wars – Darth Maul: Death Sentence #1

If there is one universal rule for Star Wars its cool villains die fast. Of course the exception of the rule being Vader and the Emperor, but everyone else like Boba Fett and Darth Maul are fair game. If there is one rule to Star Wars comics, it’s that any of these quick kill villains can be brought back as long as they’ve fallen down a hole or have been eaten. What I’m getting at is this is the return of Darth Maul… I don’t know if I just spoiled that for you since I don’t follow the Star Wars comics particularly close, but I’m guessing maybe? Well, more spoilers ahead.

The story opens up with a weasel looking dude selling information to a bounty hunter about the location of two brothers. The weasel dude demands his money for giving the hunter the location and wants it before he gets killed. Inside the diner sit two brothers that have a huge bounty on their head, the hunters send in a Falleen Negotiator to talk with them. Too bad they use the force to send him back out and snap his neck midair. From there the hunters move in with three Wookies and three other bad ass dudes and the leader of the pack. They ask for the brothers to surrender and we quickly find that Darth Maul’s brother is easily pissed off as he attacks in heartbeat with his own dual sabers. A Wookie goes for Darth and he grabs his head with his robotic legs and crushes his skull. Boosh, Darth Maul has returned and he’s got fake legs.

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I Stopped Reading This Half Way: Transformers MTMTE #7

I don’t review books that I haven’t read all the way through, but sometimes I still want to talk about them in some capacity. That was the case with Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #7 as it took an interesting concept of a secret Decepticon discipline squad and then bored me to death as I watched a bunch of poorly drawn Autobots decide what to do about a decapitated bot that I couldn’t recognize. For that matter I couldn’t tell who anyone was the art and coloring where such shit; that played a huge part in me not finishing the issue.

I’m sure this happens to others all the time you get a book and you start reading it; then midway through you realize that the relationship you’re in with the book isn’t going well. You have decide as if you were at an awkward diner date if you’re going to finish it because of the money invested or just throw a few bills on the table and say your dog just died and leave. The point I’m getting at is I quit on this book, but I feel that it also quit on me.

 The discipline squad was so cool that I was like, “why am I not reading this book?” Then when their scene was over I remembered why. I couldn’t tell you one Autobots name and frankly its IDW’s bad for putting the “get to know the crew” in the very back of the issue.

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Title Announcement: Sleepy Hollow from Zenescope

Zenescope Entertainment, the company known for re-inventing classic tales as horror and thrillers, has announced plans to release a new Grimm Fairy Tales spinoff comic book series.  This time the story of Sleepy Hollow will receive the Zenescope remake and is scheduled for an October release date.  The mini-series is written by Dan Wickline (The Adventures of Sinbad, Call of Wonderland) with story by Zenescope’s Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco and Raven Gregory.  Cover art for issue #1 is by Marat Mychaels and Matt Triano, and interior artwork for the series will be handled by Allan Otero (Salem’s Daughter: The Haunting, Grimm Fairy Tales).

Zenescope Entertainment’s Sleepy Hollow takes place on campus of the fictional Tarrytown University in upstate New York.  The story of the headless horseman has become something of myth and legend but it’s a legend that is about to become all too real when a college prank goes deadly wrong.  Those responsible will learn the truth behind the legend as the Headless Horseman returns to exact a disturbing revenge that none will ever forget. 

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PR: Zenescope Picks Up Whore... Comic

Jacob Mars would probably put a bullet in your head if you called him a "whore", but in simple terms, that's what he is.

Jeffrey Kaufman (Terminal Alice) proudly presents a new, controversial graphic novel entitled WHORE. Written by Kaufman, drawn by Marco Turini (Marvel’s Squadron Supreme) and colored by James Brown(IDW’s G.I. Joe series), the novel answers the question, what if James Bond had no morals and would work for anyone who could pay him? This creator-owned graphic novel will be published by Zenescope Entertainment and will be available in September.

After getting downsized from the CIA, Jacob Mars will take any job he can to pay his debts and alimony. He isn't a bad guy by nature, but out of necessity. He has to live a life where things don't matter, as long as he gets paid. His motto, simply stated: "Every man has his price."

“A unique but sometimes offensive guy, Jacob Mars in Whore takes you to places you never imagined you’d go,” said creator and writer Jeffrey Kaufman “He couldn’t be a better or worse character to write for. Survival in his world is defined less by air and blood than by dollars and cents.”

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Review: Mind MGMT #3

Let’s begin with the composition of the cover. From a distance it looks like a woman’s face, probably Meru’s. The first thing you’ll notice is the dragons and fire acting as her hair, but that will take you deeper into the face where you’ll notice a tree for the nose. At the bottom of that tree is man bleeding which runs down creating the lips. You think we’re done, but if you look at the eyes you’ll now notice that they’re the heads of two people. This cover is amazing and plays into the fact that the story is all about the mind and its unlocked power. I’ve see a lot of amazing comic covers, but this one is definitely a contender for best ever.

Meru is in China tracking Henry Lyme; well actually as Henry tells us with the narration she’s being led by him to the next clue. Meru and the FBI agent find the dolphins that Lyme left donated and they spell out the next clue for them: Guangzhou. Literary the dolphins spell out the clue on a special device for them. They grab a boat and a guide and head down the river; for the first time the FBI agent reflects upon how he got there and the fact that he lost his partner. They come across another boat and for some reason the driver of their boat feels compelled to help them. Knowing that it’s a trap our FBI agent tells Meru to jump overboard and to continue on without him. Sure enough, the Immortals spring up and kill the drivers of both boats. Now Meru is up against an even bigger race against the clock and for the first time is concerned that her FBI agent friend won’t make it.

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