Random Thoughts from 8/22/07

I’ve been doing the Meaningless Awards of the Week for about nine months now, and quite frankly I’m tired of the format. It seems to me like I’ve been in a bit of a blogging rut for a while now, and I figure a break from formula is probably the best way to deal with…



Countdown: Thirty-Six

Well, for the first time in this series, it feels like something actually happened this issue. Aside from one glaring editorial mistake, I think this issue actually flows pretty well and left me somewhat satisfied. First time for everything, eh? The cover shows that Mary Marvel is taking control over Zatanna, and I must first…



Countdown: Thirty-Seven (OWL)

Well, it took me awhile, but here I am. A day late? No, more like 12 days late. A dollar short, though? You better think again, little man. I’m back, and I have some reviewing to do, so let’s begin at issue 37 of what has been, to this point, the single worst comic book…



Book of Doom: Immortal Iron Fist #8

Let’s just get right into it, shall we? Jim Doom: “I haven’t read any Iron Fist before this, even though I’ve been a fairly big fan of Ed Brubaker lately, so I came into this issue with only a basic understanding of the character. I found the first summary page to be very confusing, and…



Exit Wounds

By Rutu Modan Published by Drawn & Quarterly, 2007. $19.95 The Plot: It’s been years since Koby, a young man who drives a cab in Tel Aviv, talked to his father. Suddenly, a stranger tells him she believes his father is the unidentified victim of a suicide bombing. The two start on a hunt for…



The Doomino Effect for the week of August 15, 2007

How embarrassing! As I sit down to write this, it’s 11:20pm on Tuesday and it just occurred to me that I forgot to write this week’s Doomino Effect!! I even sat here and commented on the site several times today. In my defense, I kept thinking today was Monday. I also kept thinking that yesterday…



Book of Doom: Immortal Iron Fist #8

After a slightly disappointing Tales of the Iron Fists done-in-one last issue, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and David Aja return to telling stories about good old Danny Rand. Next up? A mystical martial arts tournament ala Mortal Kombat. What’s not to love about that idea? Surely there’s bound to be something, and you can rest…



Meaningless Awards of the Week- 8/15/07

Line of the Week- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23, by Peter David J. Jonah Jameson: “I hate that F.N. Spider-Man.” I’m not really in a blogging mood right now, but I still wanted to bring that line to everyone’s attention. Peter David’s run on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has in my humble opionion been a trememndous success,…



The Salon

By Nick Bertozzi Published by St. Martin’s Press, 2007. $19.95 The Plot: Georges Braque, Erik Satie, Pablo Picasso and other artists form their own dysfunctional version of the Super Friends in order to stop a string of deaths amongst the art community. Their detective work leads them to an artist’s wife who has developed super…



Book of Doom: Justice League of America #12

Some writers write for themselves. They try to figure out what they, as a reader, would want to read about. Or they might just try to push themselves as writers. Some writers write for the fans. They try to figure out what the fans want, and they try to give it to them. And then…