Month: February 2007

Book of Doom: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #1

As the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase put it so well over the years, “Everybody’s got a price.” Apparently, that price is $5.99. Jim Doom: “I read the first 10 pages or so in the store, and the rags-to-lightning story wasn’t enough to convince me to drop $5.99 on it.” Both Jim Doom and Doom…



Doom and Gloom: Back in Black

In case you haven’t picked up a single Marvel comic book in recent weeks (to see the omnipresent ads stuck on covers), I’ll let you in on a little secret: Spider-Man is going to be donning the black costume post Civil War. “The black costume?” you say, gasping loudly. “The costume that came to symbolize…



Two Things We Can Both Agree On

So Jim Doom and I seem to be disagreeing about everything today, be it Lost or Identity Crisis or puppies (I say they’re adorable). And of course, everything sounds meaner on the internet. So I’m presenting this in the hopes that we can put aside our differences and unite in our hate for two people…



Justice League: A New Beginning

by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis (W) and Kevin Maguire (P) and Terry Austin and Al Gordon (I) Published by DC Comics. Cover price $12.95. Originally published in 1987 as Justice League #1-6 and Justice League International #7. The Plot: Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, some mighty heroes from across previously-separate realities…



Identity Crisis

By Brad Meltzer (W) and Rags Morales (A) Published by DC Comics. Cover price $14.99/24.99 (softcover/hardcover). Originally printed as Identity Crisis 1-7. The Plot: Long-kept secrets of the Justice League are revealed when Sue Dibny, the wife of the Elongated Man, is murdered, and the superheroes of the DC Universe race to find the person…



Pick 4!

So as somebody who doesn’t read Fantastic Four, I hadn’t noticed all the news and rumors about the secret surprise new team lineup coming after Civil War. I also hadn’t caught all the excitement about Dwayne McDuffie writing the book (even though he’s written what, Deathlok?). What did catch my eye was the small ad…



Leave the $5.99 on the dresser

I’ve come up with an analogy, my friends, and I dare say it’s a good one. I was trying to think, what is it that has been bugging me so much about comics lately? What can I put my finger on that encapsulates so much of the disillusionment I’ve been feeling about new series, new…



Worst to first: 2/7/07

I went to the shop today thinking I had hardly anything to pick up, but still managed to come home with five books, plus two preview copies that had come in the mail earlier. So, a decent sized week, with no huge books but a strong slate from top to bottom. Without further ado, the…



Week Forty

If you came looking for a fight, you came to the right place. Natasha, as we saw last week, is in trouble at Luthor Tower, and her uncle, John Henry Irons, knows about it. And he’s none too pleased. This week, he suits up (for the first time since, what, week five?) and takes the…



The American Way

By John Ridley (W) and Georges Jeanty (A) Published by Wildstorm, 2006, originally as eight issues. $19.99 Last year, I deeply considered picking up the first issue of The American Way, a mini-series from Wildstorm. After the first issue, I heard so much positive press that I decided to give it a try, but by…