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My Secret Six trades didn't arrive today. I thought they'd be here, darn it.

I reread the BoP/SS crossover. Good stuff. Maybe I'll reread some more of Simone's BoP while I'm waiting.

A Green Hornet book, set in the 1930's, written by Matt Wagner has to be as good as Sandman Mystery Theatre.

That's got to be a good thing.
(P.S. - when do you gonna break down and read MAGE and GRENDEL, Cobie?)

SOON! Both are definitely on my list of trades to get (I just put in a big order so these will have to wait until my next big one).

But lately I feel that Matt Wagner is a contender for best writer in comics between Zorro, Green Hornet: Year One and Madame Xanadu. The guy is just so good!

And all the things you mention that would leave you to believe Green Hornet: Year One is good are as good if not better than what you imagine them to be!

Personally, I think you should read Sandman Mystery Theatre before Mage or Grendel, Cobie!

Tonight, I finally dove into my TPB of The Astounding Wolf-Man Volume 1 which I've been holding onto for about 2 years. I'm really not sure why it took so long for me to read it. I mean, I rarely read a TPB as soon as I buy it as I constantly have a backlog of monthlies and trades and rarely prioritize any particular trade. Plus, I absolutely LOVE Robert Kirkman's writing on his other hit Image creations, Walking Dead and Invincible. So by all rights, I should have dove right into this thing a long time ago.

But I didn't. I read trade after trade after trade before this one, including tons that I bought after this one. Why? I think maybe I was afraid that this one was the dud of the Kirkman crop. I mean, no one ever talks about or reviews this Wolf-Man comic on the professional sites or even here. Using "search" button here, the most it ever got mentioned was here by Stu with just a little follow-up. Add into it that Kirkman announced last year that this title would be ending with #25 due in part to low sales and, well, the signs seemd to point to this one being the one that brought down Kirkman's batting average.

Well, for whatever reason (probably that final issue recently being solicited), I picked it up tonight over a bevy of more recently-purchased and more looked-forwarded-to trades and finally read it. I'd say, yes, this isn't as excellent as Invincible or Walking Dead, but it's still pretty darn good!

This is exactly what you'd expect if you've ever seen a cover or drawing of the character: a superhero book using the trappings of a horror staple. I wouldn't say the concept is groundbreaking (Man-Wolf or Werewolf By Night, anyone?), but the execution is really nice. I like, for example, how Kirkman slowly sets up the workings of a specific mythology for this character and for his take on traditional horror epics. He doesn't bury us under exposition but works it into the story a little bit at a time. It works really well here and leaves us waiting for more answers when each nugget we get begats more questions. It's very involving and engages me very well.

Kirkman's stuff is not really known for being dense reads, and this one is no exception. No narration and dialogue that can be minimal at times leads to this being a very brisk read. But if you enjoy Kirkman's stuff, you already know this. What keeps me coming back to his work is the sense of character he injects to the players and his trademark plot twists. Both are definitely present here, and this trade ends with a real hum-dinger on par with some of the others he's pulled on us.

Is it perfect? No. I'd say the superhero aspects tend to be pretty ordinary and only become more interesting when they cross over to the supernatural aspects and mythology. Kirkman has a habit over in Invincible of creating scores of throwaway characters (especially villains) to match his heroes against, and that trend continues here. The real draw is what's going on with our title character and the forces that surround him. The superhero aspect is average at best.

Fortunately, I think Kirkman realizes where the strength of the book lies and doesn't waste too many story pages on the stuff that's not interesting to us. It's a safe bet, given the ending, that Kirkman will be focusing less on the superhero stuff and more about what makes the character interesting in subsequent volumes.

The artist Jason Howard has a style that is reminiscent of the work of Michael Avon Oeming, who is best known for his work on Powers with Bendis. It doesn't ape his style but definitely belongs to the same school that Oeming and others come from--what I would describe as derivative of the look of Batman: The Animated Series. (Darwyn Cooke belongs somewhat to this school as well, though he and Oeming have transcended it, IMO.) It's a simpler, cleaner style than, say, the more hyper-detailed and 'realistic' styles out there.

I think Howard's style works pretty well, given this is a horror/superhero lovechild. Given that the horror aspects are more interesting in this series, I'd say that his work could be a turn-off to some. I mean, something more in the vein of Mignola or Colan might have gotten this book the tone and sales that Howard's style might not have. But the art is attractive and is accompanied by some striking monotones in night sequences and some John Workman-esque lettering.

Boy, this art criticque is coming off more negative than I'd intended! But more detail definitely could have helped in places. Probably the most negative thing to me is the Wolf-Man's fur or specifically, the lack of detail in it. It's basically just exterior outlines at the fringes of the figure work without any interior detail. I think some of the intent with the choice of Howard is to soften the horror and accentuate the superhero, but I'm not sure that was the right choice.

On the plus side, Howard can tell a sequential story very well, so you're not missing thos narrative captions. His designs for a lot of the other characters show a lot of imagination. I just wish his Wolf-Man was more elaborate. I also wouldn't say that Howard's backgrounds are particularly a strength either, but not so much that they are detrimental.

Overall, I enjoyed volume one quite a bit (including the art--really!). As I said, it's not up to the level of Invincible or walking Dead, but it's definitely worthy of attention. I'll say one thing--if I'd read this last night, I most definitely woulda been looking for Volume Two today when I used my gift card to buy more trades! Volume One most definitely leaves you eager to read what happens next!

Astounding Wolfman was always one of those comics I wondered about because it was Kirkman but never pulled the trigger on. Like you said Lardy, it's pretty hard to find someone who reviewed it! Your review has done a great job at making me consider grabbing the first trade the next time I make a run.

PS - you were up pretty late last night! 3:37 AM?

I'm glad you found it helpful! I try to give a pretty thorough accounting of a book, pro and con, when I review it, especially if it's not one that's gotten much press.

That's because I'm on a mini-vacation. I say "mini" because it's seven days instead of about 10 or 11. Stupid boss wouldn't let me extend it thru the July 4th weekend...

Very nice! Enjoy your vacay! Sucks about the stupid boss. My vacay is the week after next (so I also can't extend my vacay to the 4th) and will also be the same amount of time. Damn work!

And as you know, you're reviews are a major factor of what I may end up buying!

As a long time major Spider-Man fan, it would seem like a no-brainer for me to pick up The Black Cat miniseries (four issue) which has recently come out, but I have to admit that I wasn’t immediately on board. These days I’m just more judicious in anything Marvel and DC put out that isn’t specifically one of those characters I’m 100% committed to.

Still, what sold me at first was I thought Amanda Conner was on art; I was wrong, however, but she did do the cover, which is simply gorgeous, with perhaps the best looking Black Cat I’ve ever seen EVER and a cool logo design very reminiscent of 1960’s cinema (which I bet was encouraged by writer Jen Van Meter given her inside script, which I’ll get to shortly). The actual interior artist, however, was Javier Pulido, which is even better for me, as I consider him currently one of my favorite artists currently working in comics. In Lardy’s Roundtable thread I listed him as one of the artists I would buy a comic book specifically for his work and I meant it; his recent Spider-Man and Marvel Zombies artwork is some of the best I’ve ever seen and I even mentioned my familiarity with him stemming from his Human Target days how good I think he’s gotten before on Legion World.

So I did buy the comic and I’m thrilled that I did. I liked it so much that rather than post about it in the Spider-Man thread where it might fit, I figured it deserved a post here in the “Any Recommendations?” thread. I’ve always considered the Black Cat one of my favorites, though I believe that (A) she works best as a supporting player for Spider-Man (like the Punisher) but with the caveat (B) she works best when she’s not a love interest for Spider-Man; I think she deserves to stand out on her own more than that. She’s one of the truly great Spider-characters after the end of the Silver Age. And here, in her mini, I think she gets the best treatment she’s gotten perhaps ever, or at least certainly since the early 80’s when she co-starred with Spidey in Spectacular Spider-Man.

She’s presented here as a strong lead that is intelligent, brave and above all, having fun. There’s a quirkiness to her that makes her more than just ‘attractive thief’ since fiction is littered with those. And she stands apart from Catwoman in more than just physical appearance, which is absolutely necessary in any Black Cat appearance.

But getting back to the art for a minute, which I feel is good enough to justify anyone to buy it. Pulido fits into the category I’ve been for several months calling the more ‘cartoonish style’ that Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale have helped re-popularize as comics move away from manga. Just yesterday Lardy called it more of a Batman: the Animated Series inspired style and I think he really nailed it on the head; whatever you want to call it, I’m a big fan of it, from Mike Avon Oeming’s very sharp, quirky style to Darwyn Cooke’s masterful style and now to my two new favorite artists (both Spider-Man artists): Marcos Martin and Javier Pulido.

Pulido stands apart from the rest due to several things. First, he has a very quirky, Steve Ditko-esque style that both ‘odd’ and also funny at times. It’s obviously intentional and I like it. When the Black Cat is talking to some of her fences about ‘Russians’, she’s also landing from the ceiling and the way Pulido draws her doing it makes it look like she’s doing a Russian dance. Subtle yet hilarious. Secondly, he has a very stylized composition and way of pacing the comic like Cooke does but in a completely different way. There is a big 1960’s cinema influence. The entire ‘other burgler’ breaking into the museum sequence is very referential to the movie “To Catch a Thief”, which is a very stylized Hitchcock movie (I just watched last year). Pulido also draws a very sexy Black Cat, as well as other attractive characters, which is very pleasant on the eyes. The sequence where the Black Cat and Spider-Man are dressing post-coitus is a brief yet incredibly sexy shot that leaves most of it to the imagination. But like Steve Ditko used to do, he liters his comics with very normal looking people which many artists fail to do.

Best of all is the little things Pulido does which shows that gives the reader little easer eggs. The hotel the Black Cat meets Spider-Man at is the “Pollard Hotel” and its sign along the side is the same exact way former Spider-Man (and other things, notably Thor) artist Keith Pollard used to sign his artwork. A nice tribute. The Black Cat is in stocking later on and rather than sheer or fishnet, they are spider-webbed. You can just tell Pulido puts a tremendous amount of thought into every panel which is also reminiscent of Cooke.

Getting more towards the script itself, I think Jen Van Meter did a terrific job. I admit I don’t really recognize her name, just having seen it before in passing and thinking her name made her sound really hot (as some names do ). What is noticeable right away is she is really good at snappy dialogue that is witty, charming and advances the plot. As I say time and time again in the Spider-Man thread, when people try to force Spidey to be funny it just comes across as lame (I’m looking at you Dan Slott) but when its seemless its just brilliant (take a bow, Joe Kelly). Here, Van Meter falls into the latter and even though Spidey is only in it briefly, he has a great line I’m surprised no one ever said before after Black Cat’s luck powers accidentally make him trip: “ouch, you’re the only woman I’ve ever fallen for” (and Van Meter realizing its so obvious even has the Black Cat mention how she bets he’s held his tongue for that one). Van Meter also introduces several very likeable Black Cat supporting characters, which is something she’s always needed.

Van Meter also does a great job with giving us this story, which just works for me. It starts as a thief vs. thief story but by issue’s end we see there is a much bigger story at work tying into the mythos of Kraven the Hunter and the Chameleon and their families, which is a mythos I’m fascinated by and have always loved. She seamlessly ties it all into Russian history and the history of the black market and I’m anxious to read more about it.

All in all, this was a fantastic first issue and I can’t wait for the rest and already want to read more miniseries like this or at least have Van Meter join the Spider-Man writing team and rejoin with Pulido for it.

I recommend this comic to anyone looking for a great artist, a great ‘smaller story’, a strong yet interesting female lead and anyone who loves the later Hitchcock films. Great stuff.

This is something I'll definitely be on the lookout when it eventually gets put into trade form. I also like Javier Pulido's (and Marcos Martin's) work anytime I see it, and I have a great fondness for the days when Felicia was a regular supporting cast member during that era of Spectacular. In fact I'd probably buy this in singles if it weren't for that pesky $3.99 cover price. As quality as this sounds, I don't shell out $4 a pop for a Big Two book classified as a "smaller" story. (Quality Indies and Vertigos I make exceptions for.)

Anyhow, it's good to hear that our girl Felicia is getting some four-star treatment these days!

I can't blame you for the $3.99 price. FYI, it does include an 8 page "prologue" of the upcoming Spider-Man story 'Grim Hunt', but I can't tell if that is something reprinted elsewhere or specific to this issue. I know that doesn't help you much because you're not going to be picking up Spider-Man right now.

We might need to start a thread to discuss the current 'Batman: the Animated Series-inspired' style which you and I have talked about for months. And maybe create an actual name for it?

So who here collected Rocketo when it was coming out? Any one recommend it? I was looking at some of it online today and it looked pretty groovy!

Pov--I kind of remember you were maybe into this?

Pov was into it and so was I.

The art might be too abstract/atmospheric for some, but I really liked it.

These days art that might be too abstract/atmospheric is right up my alley. I checked out some images online and I really was digging it. I think I might try to hit up the TPB's or dig for some back issues.

(and leave it to you OM to fill me in on all the coolest, more obscure stuff!)

Enjoy it while you can guys. The story comes to a close this summer. It had good potential, but I do think the lack of depth actually hurt the book. too often it came across as Kirkman's fun book, something he wanted to try. With each new issue, I was wanting less of the main character and more of the throways.

On the plus side, setting this book in the Invinceable-verse allows for more of a future, if not an actual ongoing.

Des, ROCKETO was awesome! I recommend the two Image trades for Journey to the Hidden Sea, vol. 1 in particular-- Speakeasy went belly-up and there was never actually a fifth issue. Image picked up with issue #6 and included the unpublished #5 in the trade.

The next leg of the story, Journey to the New World, was announced as coming out in 2007 on the last page of the 2nd trade, but never materialized; Last I heard of it was in 2008 when Espinoza put up some gorgeous designs for the next volume. No further word has been forthcoming...

Groovy! I think I'm definitely going to buy next time I order up some trades (and once again, Image comes through in a big way for me!). I was checking out Espinoza's website and was really awesome stuff!

So I guess there are only 2 trades out there right now. I admit I was a little confused based on what was announced and what actually came out. At least this way I can get on the ground floor early and hope for more new material going forward.

I've begun my heavy travel season now, and so that means a ton of time on planes, where I'll be bored out of my mind. Luckily, I stocked up heavily on trade paper backs over the last few months (and regular books too) to kill the time. One of those which I read last week was so damn good, I felt it could only go in the "Any Recommendations?" thread.

This was Revolver by Matt Kindt, published through Vertigo. I originally became interested in the OGN when I saw a preview in the back of various Vertigo comics a few months ago. The premise was intriguing and very similar to the awesome movie Memento by Christopher Nolan. Upon reading the OGN, I now can say the premise is 'sort of' similar (but different), while the tone of Revolver is what is very close to Memento. Fans of that movie will know this is high praise.

Matt Kindt does just about every single thing in the OGN, from writing to penciling to coloring and it's a pretty amazing job. When one person controls every facet of the story is usually gains a little something extra in story-telling structure and that is certainly the case here: every panel has a little oomph to it in telling the overall story but having a deeper meaning. I think Kindt succeeded on every level here.

The story is about a man living a boring, drone-like life in one world. When he wakes up, however, he is in a post-Apocalyptic world where survival is the most important thing. When he wakes up the next day, he's back in his boring existence; and so on, back and forth. He is caught up in not only surviving and trying to figure out if he's insane, but deciding which of the two worlds is actually worse.

It's a great story about the lead character's personal struggle in getting some control over his life, while at the same time is a damn fantastic science-fiction story about a man stuck in two parrellel worlds.

The artwork is very stylized and packed with tension and thoughtfulness.

High recommendation!

This was a review posted by Fat Cramer in the "Random Review Corner" thread that inspired me to purchase The Secret History in trade format, and actually in hardcover at that (I almost never buy hardcover). I thought it was so damn fantastic that it had to be upgraded to the "Any Recommendations?" thread, because this is something anyone who likes good comic books should be buying.

FC's description above lays out the storyline, and I can only add that I think the story-telling and delivery is just so spot-on fascinating and engrossing that I couldn't put the series down. I know there are additional works (in French) and I'm going to go out of my way to start looking to see if they've been translated yet--if so, I'll buy them no matter what the price.

The story combines several types of things I like: historical fiction (real events with fictional tweaks), conspiracy/secret history elements and a bit of Dungeons & Dragons type elements (though highly realistic). There is so much information that it's almost impossible to keep track of it and all that does it just leave the reader wanting more, more, more! Some things are only barely ever hinted at, and you can tell Pecau has so much more he could get to.

The four Archons, as FC mentions, aren't the most in depth characters, though they certainly have firm personalities. But the series *is* loaded with some seriously great characters. Each issue is so damn dense that by the end, you feel as if there was more characterization for some characters than in 40 issues of your local superhero story. The next issue in the trade jumps often 100+ years and you don't see those non-Immortals again, so it's amazing they all still stand out so well in my mind.

The artwork was nothing short of tremendous. Various artists handle it, some I recognize, some I don't, and each individual chapter was amazing.

This was so different and stands out so well from everything else, I've immediately recommended my brother read this immediately before anything else I've recommended him in the past.

Great, great stuff. It was mind-blowingly good and reminded me that if I look hard enough, I can find comic books that hit me in the face like a bucket of cold water and remind me there are no limits to what can be done in this medium.

I finished the series and my compliments for #1 are consistent throughout the entire thing. I highly recommend this miniseries, it was an excellent, fun little series with a great story and amazing art.

I will certainly look for Jen Van Meter in her future series and I'm already locked in to buy whatever Javier Pulido is going to be moving on to.

Hey Ian Lad, still around? Still reading Usagi Yojimbo? If so, I'd love to hear more!

I recently bought the $1.00 Dark Horse #1 of Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse is reprinting #1's for $1.00 which is a no-brainer purchase for me). I think it was the Dark Horse #1, not the actual Usagi #1, which was at another company.

You know, it was really terrific! Stan Sakai does a great job at every tidbit: art, inking, writing, pacing, characterization, providing a complete story while adding to a larger arc. I really was impressed by it.

Sakai does a great job making it friendly to younger readers yet fascinating and impressive to adults.

I just thought I'd mention, in case any of you haven't read thru all the various threads, what I feel are the last best three single issues of all the comics that I've read over the last approximately three months:

Morning Glories #5

Booster Gold #39

Chew #15

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of these books and can't recommend each of them highly enough! Click on each to read my thoughts on each individual issue, if you'd like to know more. (The write-up of Chew 15 is a little less detailed than the other two, but if you read through the thread, I think, you'll get a good flavor for it.)

I think it would be a splendid idea to recommend a book of the month here (or possibly in its own thread if that doesn't seem to redundant). We should never lose sight on how great individual issues of a title can be!

Really, really great idea, Lardy. I think going forward it's definitely something we should keep doing!

At the close of Comic Book Review Month, here are comics I want to recommend to everyone:

Thunder Agents (DC)

SHIELD (Marvel)

Atomic Robo (Red 5)

Mice Templar (Image)

Mighty Samson (Dark Horse) - also check out Magnus Robot Fighter!

Green Hornet: Year One (Dynamite)

Unwritten (Vertigo)

American Vampire (Vertigo)

Incredible Hulks (Marvel)

Morning Glories (Image)

Jonah Hex (DC)

Also always good Walking Dead, Scalped and Fables, and Flash has been very good thus far.

These are what I consider best of the best right now! All are 5 out of 5 star comics, A-rated, home runs.

^Geez, Cobie--way to narrow it down! :rolleyes: