Monday, December 10, 2018
Another month and another successful Capital City Trade Show for Jee-Riz Comics & Appraisals. We covered the table cost in other words. I want to thank Mike and Zach for the pizza and pop at lunch and all the folks that bought stuff from us. I really enjoy these monthly gatherings where I can bask in the glory of fellow geeks and freaks.
Our stockings are hanging on the liquor cabinet with care and Santa’s Helper will be making her trip up north soon to visit family and friends. I’ll be recovering from moving 30 odd boxes of comic books and magazines. I love doing the heavy lifting and felt proud when one of the other vendors couldn’t believe that I just turned 63.
Action Comics #1005 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ryan Sook (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Josh Reed (letters). Invisible Mafia part 5. The identity of the Red Cloud is revealed and it’s somebody completely unknown. This issue starts with two old DC icons that I haven’t seen in a long time that made me geek out.
Doctor Strange #9/LGY #399 – Mark Waid (writer) Jesus Saiz (art) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). It’s a nice interlude issue that leads into a new story starting in the big #400. I’m curious to see what kind of threat to the universe that Mark will come up with that Stephen will have to defeat.
Catwoman #5 – Joelle Jones (writer & art) Laura Allred (colours) Josh Reed (letters). Copycats part 5. The build up to the big showdown between Selina and Raina Creel is very intense. I’m looking forward to the cat fight next issue.
West Coast Avengers #5 – Kelly Thompson (writer) Daniele Di Nicuolo (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). A new adventure starts with a brand new artist and he does an excellent job, which helps to keep me reading this team book. The biggest appeal is that I love Kelly’s writing.
Marvel Knights: 20th #3 – Tini Howard & Donny Cates (writers) Damian Couceiro (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). We get to see some more familiar Marvel characters get thrown into this story. The four major ones will be joined shortly by another. Here’s a hint: Wakanda Forever.
Killmonger #1 – Bryan Hill (writer) Juan Ferreyra (art) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). This 5-part mini will tell you about the guy who fought T’Challa in the Black Panther movie if you were interested. I liked him as a villain in the movie mainly because Michael B. Jordan did a great job portraying the character. This story explain why Erik is so angry and revenge driven. As a comic book fan I don’t find the villain very compelling or interesting. This would appeal to fans of the movie but most of those don’t buy comic books. I don’t know why Marvel keeps producing these types of books.
Shazam! #1 – Geoff Johns (writer) Dale Eaglesham (art) Mike Atiyeh (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). When teenager Billy Batson says the word Shazam he turns into the super hero Captain Marvel. I always thought that it was weird that both DC and Marvel had super heroes with the same name but they were easy to distinguish because they were so different. I always got a juvenile giggle because Billy’s adventures were published in Whiz comics. I also thought that his talking tiger sidekick was fun too. Here we see the mighty mortal back on the racks along with his whole Marvel Family with awesome art to boot, but alas no talking tiger. I really like this debut and would recommend it for all ages except very young children. The surprise appearance on the last page guarantees that I will read the next issue. That snippet of curly hair looks very familiar. There’s a nice Mary Marvel back-up story by Geoff Johns (writer) Mayo Naito (art) and Rob Leigh (letters) that makes this $4.99 US comic book a bargain.
Die #1 – Kieron Gillen (writer) Stephanie Hans (art) Clayton Cowles (letters). This is a story about six friends and a fantasy role playing game with a hint of Narnia. Each player gets one die (get it?) and off they go. The adventure started when they were teenagers but the story continues 25 years later after they have returned before the game ended in that other place. The game continues and I will continue to read this. The art is nice and each character is well defined so adding this to my “must read” list was easy.
Namor: The Best Defence #1 – Chip Zdarsky (writer) Carlos Magno (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC’s Travis Lanham (letters). I don’t know if I’ll read every Defenders one-shot but Chip’s name in the writing credits made me snag this off the racks. If you’re not up with what King Namor is up to now all you have to know is that he’s declared war on the surface world. Here he tries to woo a long lost tribe of Atlanteans for allies. The other King is not keen to join Namor’s ranks. There’s a super surprise ending that makes me wonder what’s going to happen when the Silver Surfer one-shot hits the racks December 12.
Martian Manhunter #1 – Steve Orlando (writer) Riley Rossmo (art) Ivan Plascencia (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). This new 12-issue maxi-series featuring J’onn J’onzz looked really cool when I flipped through it but I wasn’t impressed after reading it. I didn’t know that J’onn was a corrupt cop back on Mars. Now he’s a cop on Earth and is suffering from some sort of mental imbalance. If I were a bigger fan of this super hero I would read the rest of this maxi but I’m going to leave it here.
Prodigy #1 – Mark Millar (writer) Rafael Albuquerque (art) Marcelo Maiolo (colours) Peter Doherty (letters). Here’s another new comic book from the prolific word processor of Mr. Millar. Meet Edison Crane, a man of many talents and an insatiable curiosity. The guy’s a genius and handsome too. Idris Elba, People Magazine’s current Sexiest Man Alive will probably play Edison in the Netflix series. There are elements of the TV shows X-Files and Fringe here that would surly interest those fans, me included. It’s nice to see Rafael’s art in a brighter series after American Vampire.
Immortal Hulk : The Best Defence #1 – Al Ewing (writer) Simone Di Meo (art) Dono Sanchez-Almara (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). That was strange. Doctor Stephen Strange that is. So Bruce Banner finds the Eye of Agamotto in a town in New Mexico and takes it away from the guy who found it. I might not have read this but it’s written by the same writer as does the regular book and I really like the regular book. This one-shot didn’t disappoint and it made great use of some original Hulk panels by Jack Kirby. If the last page didn’t tempt me into wanting to read the two Defenders one-shots hitting the racks December 12 then the crazy guy wearing a bed sheet with holes for the eyes running around and killing aliens with a carving knife does for sure. He also appears in Namor: The Best Defence #1 as well. Both one page interludes made me very curious.
Batman #60 – Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin & Jorge Fornes (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The Tyrant Wing part 3. Batman runs around Gotham City beating up villains to gather evidence that Bane is controlling Arkham Asylum. He spares no prisoners. This pisses off Commissioner Gordon greatly. Meanwhile Alfred and the Penguin discuss Shakespeare in the Bat Cave. There’s a HUGE surprise on the last page revealing the real menace that Batman must face. I loved this issue.
Immortal Hulk #10/LGY #727 – Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose, Le Beau Underwood & Rafael Fonteriz (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). I like when they bring back an old character and present them in a new way. I actually feel sorry for Crusher Creel here. The Absorbing Man and the Hulk battle to an unexpected end. I wonder how long Hulk will look like a husk.
Doomsday Clock #8 – Geoff Johns (writer) Gary Frank (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Hey wait a minute. I got a sense of déjà vu after reading this. I have a vague recollection that Adrian Veidt was the master manipulator in the original Watchmen and here he is pulling the strings again. It’s a good thing that this issue looks at the US and Russia using super heroes as weapons of mass destruction to distract me. It’s ironic that Firestorm, the Nuclear Man is the one that touches off World War III.
