Blackest Night: Tales of the Corp #1 — Writers: Geoff Johns,  Peter Tomasi;  Artists: Jerry Ordway, Chris Samnee, Rags Morales Stand-alone tales of the Blue, Yellow and Indigo Lanterns (that last one a deliberately enigmatic introduction, with all the dialogue in untranslated alienspeak), with a full-page spread of the major players in each, and a double-page spread of the GLC at the end. Not essential if you’re buying Blackest Night, but not bad, especially for new fans trying to keep track of everyone — and the art, especially from Ordway and Morales, is solid. Escape #3 (of 6) — Writer: … Continue reading →

Wednesday Comics #1 (of 12)  — and you’re crazy if you think I’m listing the credits for 15 features…. This, kids, is what newspaper Sunday comics sections used to look like in their golden era, from the early 1900s through to sometime in the ’50s: one strip per page, full color, a variety of styles, and at least a couple of strips per issue that were absolute triumphs of design and storytelling. Not so today, of course — the Arizona Republic now fits five or six Sunday strips per page, and you need a magnifying glass — so Wednesday Comics … Continue reading →

President Evil #1 — Writer/Artist: David Hutchison Drafted: One Hundred Days #1 (of 1) — Writer: Mark Powers;  Breakdowns: Chris Lie;  Pencils: Junaidi and Faisal Your Obama exploitation books of the week. President Evil is the better one, just because it’s so cheerful about its pop-culture, anything-for-a-buck whoredom (the Army of Darkness pose on the cover, the cranked-it-out-over-the-weekend art, and the puns that start with the title, move on through “Ba-Rot” Obama, the zombie-fighting President, and end with “Stephen Corvair” on the last page: I’d compare it to a Mad movie parody, but that would imply too much quality; let’s … Continue reading →