Lollipop Chainsaw is an action hack and slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, released on June 12, 2012. It features Juliet Starling, a cheerleader zombie hunter fighting zombies in a fictional San Romero high school. A collaboration between game designer Goichi Suda and filmmaker James Gunn, the game was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Lollipop Chainsaw features Juliet Starling as a part-time chainsaw wielding zombie slayer, full-time cheerleader who is attempting to hold back the hordes of undead, and get the body of her boyfriend, Nick, back.
Well, that was an unexpected ending for Saga #5. Brian K. Vaughan continues to give the reader first-page head scratchers and last past cliffhangers. Issue five brings all three storylines together to a climactic end. In this issue, there is a sense of love for each character and the reader realizes why Marko took a vow of peace and that Alana might be crazy.
I can’t tell if this issue fell flat because all three storylines are crammed into one issue, or I’m just craving “Saga” Chapter Six. Vaughan does a great job creating three intense emotional moments in the issue. To where you bond with the characters and start to feel bad about the situations they are forced to be in. Alana and Marko are the main characters and you will always be on their side. Then there is Will, the Han Solo assassin with a heart. Vaughan even tries to soften up Prince Robot IV, but he still comes off like an elitist with daddy issues.
The first and last pages by Fiona Staples are brilliant. Staples does struggle at times matching up the emotion of the dialogue with her artwork. Then she gives you four pages of sword swing action that is very fluid and detailed. There is one panel of action in this issue that I swear it moves as you read it from left to right. That panel alone is worth the $2.99.
Issue: Saga #5 Writer: Brian K Vaughan Pencils: Fiona Staples Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: 7/18/2012
Mature Readers
The smash hit ongoing series from Brian K. Vaughan, and Fiona Staples continues, as Prince Robot IV’s hunt for Hazel and her parents takes a deadly turn.
For those of you wondering to yourselves “Where the hell is the Super Awesome Special Edition of Avengers?” Here’s your answer. This could be the coolest Box Set I’ve ever seen. Though its going to set you back well over $150 now it looks to have everything you could ever want from the Marvel Cinematic world. You can pre-order the set on Amazon Here . You get IRON MAN 1 & 2 , INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE AVENGERS and an Extra Disc called SHIELD AVENGERS INITIATIVE. You also get Level Seven files, and SHIELD profiles on each AVENGER. The best part however is that it’s all packaged inside of Nick Fury’s Briefcase that contained the Tesseract! Also each disc will have original Cover artwork done by Matthew Ferguson. Check out the images below and geek out over the amazing Artwork!!
This is seriously the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. Bravo to Marvel and Disney for creating something else for fanatics to blow their money on. Now someone get this for me my birthday is September 18th …thanks.
Issue:Walking Dead #100 Writer: Robert Kirkman Pencils: Charlie Adlard Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: 7/11/2012
Mature Readers
‘SOMETHING TO FEAR’ CONTINUES! This extra-sized chapter contains one of the darkest moments in Rick Grimes’ life, and one of the most violent and brutal things to happen within the pages of this series. 100 issues later, this series remains just as relentless as the debut issue. Do not miss the monumental 100th issue of THE WALKING DEAD!
Story: 9/10 • Artwork: 9/10 • Overall 9/10
Curse words is all that is pouring out of my mouth after reading issue 100 of Walking Dead written by Robert Kirkman. As a reader of Walking Dead you knew that something bad was going to happen in this issue but you continued to read. Walking Dead readers are like NASCAR fans just waiting for the accidents. Evil happens in 100 and her name is Lucille. Kirkman sucks you in with his writing and build up and then he stomps on your heart over and over. This issue sends the series in a new direction with a new threat and a new philosophy on how to survive in the Walking Dead world.
This issue had 18-pages of build up and I mean tension. It’s what Kirkman does best. The book got to the point to where I just wanted to jump to the last page to get it over with, but I read on. Then when Kirkman smacks the reader in the face with the punchline he drags it out to bring you to tears. This book is well written but I wish I didn’t read it.
I do not know how Charlie Adlard sleeps at night. There are several splash pages in this book that will haunt me for a long time. I have the image of Rick’s wife and child’s death still burned into my memory. Walking Dead #100 has added a few more images to the horror category of my memory. The images and dialogue of the last four-pages of book left my soul shattered. Thank you Mr. Kirkman for ruining the first day of Comic-Con. Read Walking Dead #100 at your own risk!
Tim Seeley and Mike Norton’s Revival is an interesting take on small Suburban life. The issue starts with a creative writing exercise by one of the main characters of the story. Thats followed by a Zorse (yes you read that right Zebra + Horse equals Zorse) that gallops out of a forest spewing blood from its mouth as it finally falls over and the ground work has been laid that something bad is on its way towards Wisconsin. The main focus this issue is on Dana. She works along her father as a police officer and has an estranged relationship with her younger sister. Seeley injects a lot of humor and character into Dana immediately as she gets ready for work and calls out to her son. That sequence is the first bit of weird that’s injected into the issue.
We follow Dana to Police Headquarters and learn that there was an Event called Revival Day that happened a while back. The Revival Day has given random people the ability to live on after Death. This has caused a religious and cultural uproar in Wisconsin and all across America. Dana’s father puts her in charge of the new task force overseeing Revival Cases and sends Dana on her first case. Which you may have guessed involves that Zorse I spoke of earlier.
Mike Norton’s art gets progressively better as the issue unfolds and overall is a very good fit for the book. He gives his characters a large array of emotions and when the script calls for something gruesome or picks up in action he manages to handle anything thrown his way. There is a particular sequence at the end of the issue that will have you cringing. All the while excited to read on to see how the rest of the scene plays out. His layouts are fun and never get messy or confusing as the story unfolds.
Two thirds through this issue I liked what I was reading and then Seeley throws a curve ball my way that instantly got me to love it. He manages to grab you until the end of the issue and never let’s go. As I said earlier there are some truly frightening scenes as well as a shocking ending that justifies wanting to pick up the next issue nicely. This Wednesday go and check out Revival its a book with small beginnings that I believe may lead to one hell of a fun ride for issues to come.
Issue: Enormous #1 Writer: Tim Daniel Artist: Mehdi Cheggour Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: July 2012 Price: $9.99
“In the midst of a planetary battle for food and fuel, a vast ecological cataclysm spawns THE ENORMOUS, massive beasts unlike anything ever witnessed. Humankind struggles to stave off extinction and the only law is to hunt or be hunted. It’s an epic action adventure featuring the survival of the biggest!”
Dying Breath: 4.5 out of 5
What is this ENORMOUS book in front of me? Seriously this thing is larger than a typical comic, which is fitting since it is called Enormous. If you are waiting for the next BIG thing to come from Image, you need to look no further than this title. The pages in this book are all so god damn GORE-Geous, that my eyes melted from their sockets. Cheggour brings so much life to every single panel, that I am honestly guessing it took him 3 years to complete this book. Page after page this book sings the visual music that my eyes crave. The monsters alone are enough to give this book a solid 5 on the artwork. The story done by Daniel is also something to behold. His pacing is fantastic, and he has a great feel for writing action scenes. While the book is only 64 pages, it is so full of story. You can easily take this book as a one and done, but you won’t want to. This universe has so much more exploration has to be done to it. I need to know where the cast will go from here, more exploration in to why things are they way they are and a whole HELL of a lot more monsters killing things. There was nothing to not be enjoyed in this issue. Page after page this will satisfy monster, horror and survival fans. Buy it, buy it, BUY IT!
Artwork: 5.0 out of 5 • Story: 4.5 out of 5
If you would like to buy or know more about Enormous you can find it at http://www.imagecomics.com
Issues: Hoax Hunter’s #1 Writers: Michael Moreci, Steve Seeley Artist: Axel Medellin, Tim Seeley (c) Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: July 2011 Price: $2.99
“The acclaimed backup begins its own series! A rash of mass animal deaths leads the Hoax Hunters to the Louisiana bayou. What they find is a mystery that harkens to Jack’s past – and a dangerous cryptid bent on revenge!”
Dying Breath: 4.5 out of 5
There are three things that one can do to easily win me over with a comic book. One of those things is to have the story take place in the Louisiana swamps, and guess what issue did that, Hoax Hunters #1. Spinning out of the back up stories in Hack/Slash, and then being collected into issue #0, we join the team as they embark to solve a mystery in the swamp. No this is not like Scooby Doo, it is better. I openly welcome artist Axel Medellin into the family because he nailed this issue. His panels were consistent and he created one of the most GORE-Geous swamp monsters I have ever seen. Moreci and Seeley are on top of their game with this issue. If you missed the #0 issue you don’t have to worry, because they cover some good back story here. They also move forward with great pacing and some killer mystery that is left to unfold. Hoax Hunters is simply put, a fun read that plays with monster mythos. Hell I could easily just call this the baby of Scooby Doo and Proof. A great first issue and there is still more to come, I mean come on, let’s get to the carnival already!
Artwork: 4.5 out of 5 • Story: 4.5 out of 5
If you would like to know more about Hoax Hunters please go to http://www.imagecomics.com/
Written by Len Wein
Art by Jae Lee and June Chung
Lettering by Richard Starkings and Jimmy B
Published by DC Comics
Ozymadias is the lynch-pin of the Watchmen book, without him Alan Moore’s super-hero revisionist opus is incomplete. So for me, I’m drawn to this book. I want to see how this twisted hero/villain got his world perspective and what motivates him. This probably the book that is most congruent with the original Watchmen series/ From the story to the art, to the paneling you can draw a direct line connecting the two works. Unlike its predecessors it doesn’t try to throw some wacky spin on an alternative American history, or distract you with continuity puzzle pieces and stands as the strongest Before Watchmen effort thus far.
We go back to Adrian Veidt as a kid being hyper-smart and learning faster than everybody, but warned by his father not to stand out or teachers will think he’s cheating. First lesson learned: life is not fair. So he does everything in his power not to stand out, but being a socially awkward kid, he does just the opposite and attracts the attention of bullies instead of the ire of teachers. Adrian takes up martial arts classes and eventually beats the crap out of the lead bully, busting out one his knee caps so he’ll never be able to walk right again. Second lesson: Might makes right. Adrian get’s in trouble of with the principal, who threatens to throw him out of school. Adrian’s upper-middle class dad steps in and offers to smooth things over by funding a new library for the school. Third Lesson: Everybody has a price. These formative themes are put thru rinse and repeat cycle as layers of Veidt are peeled back giving us a deeper and sympathetic understanding of his motivations. Like any well crafted tale it’s told in such an arresting and powerful manner you hardly even aware you being spoon fed plot threads and themes.
As Adrian begins to obsess about Alexander the Great away at school, his parents die in a terrible tragic accident. He gives away his money and decides follow in Alexander’s footsteps by traveling where he’s been. This is nothing new, as most of that has been revealed in the main Watchmen book, however we do get to see one of Adrian’s first love, Miranda, and the reason Adrian becomes a masked hero in the first place. Little Watchmen easter eggs pop-up a log the way. He meets Miranda at the Gunga Diner. Moloch makes a villainous cameo. There’s even a giant squid in “Thing From Outer Space” sci-fi poster in his room. All these details make for a great foundation for an epic origin story. It reminds a bit of Red Skull:Incarnate but further down the line in the tale. We get to see Adrian trying to become a hero before he succumbs to his misguided inner demons.
Jae Lee knocks it out of the park in a story book fashion. While Dave Gibbons relied on the highly structured and rigid 9 panel grid, Lee designs the page architecture in Art Nouveau manner with centered circles, arches, and domes. It fits the tone and accentuates the Egyptian themes inherent with Adrian’s Alexander the Great obsession. Lee renders in a wispy spiralled brush line, similar to Sam Keith, with a heavy use of chiaroscuro. His thin lines can be delicate and elegant, while his anatomy and composition is like sculptural like great Art Nouveau master François-Raoul Larche. June Chung colors in a bright Watchmen tertiary palette, but gives it a kind of 1930’s/40’s kind of spin. Like I said, it’s all very story book and has an undercurrent of Art Nouveau, Roman and Egyptian design elements.
I think that’s what is great about this book. It has it’s the look and feel of a bygone era, but one that could still exist within the Watchmen world as we know it. Not only does it make a strong contribution to the Watchmen Mythos, but this book could easily stand on its own two feet.
Story: 9 Art: 9 Jerry Nelson
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The hunt for Peter Stanchek intensifies after an epic battle with Pittsburgh S.W.A.T forces him to use his powers out in the open. Now he faces the most difficult decision of his life. Continue to put his friends in harm’s way…or abandon them for the safety of Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation?
Story: 8/10 • Artwork: 8.5/10 • Overall 8.3/10
After an insane first issue I was pumped for issue two of Harbinger. What happens when you wait a month for a book that you’re hyped for? It never meets your expectations. The second issue took a long time to get where it was going without a lot of emotion. Peter Stancheck has to make a decision at the end of this issue and there doesn’t seem to be as much weight to his answer. If Joshua Dysart developed the characters for a couple more issues Peter’s decision could have had some serious weight to it. Also, battle lines were drawn in the first issue and they felt brushed aside in the second.
What seem like fluid layout design in the first issue was very awkward in the second. This was supposed to be Peter’s first big battle. He destroyed everything but no one page or panel had me nerd-out. All the action seemed to follow the dialogue instead of matching or leading. This delay made it hard to realize that Peter was causing the destruction. I know that Peter is using his mind and we can’t see inside his head but there has to be a better way to tell the story. Peter is losing control but the reader doesn’t understand why because the issue doesn’t visually show it and Peter doesn’t communicate it with his dialogue.
The plot-line and mystery progressed well in this issue but I wanted more. I know that Dysart has this grand world that he wants to show us but my only advice would be to slow down and develop characters so that when an emotional moment happens, it means something.
What is awesome about this issue is if you add a few editor tweaks to it, you have a great issue. Which means issue three will knock your socks off.
It’s the start of a new mission for one of comics’ all-time best-selling superheroes in Bloodshot #1 — the first issue of new ongoing series from acclaimed novelist Duane Swierczynski (Immortal Iron Fist, Birds of Prey) and the lethal artistic tag team of Manuel Garcia (Checkmate) and Arturo Lozzi (Immortal Weapons)! Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of — no. That’s not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You’ve retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that — no. That’s not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires. The perfect confluence of military necessity and cutting-edge technology. A walking WikiLeaks that is a reservoir of dirty secrets that could set the world on fire. And you’ve just been captured.
Story: 9/10 • Artwork: 9/10 • Overall 9/10
I just want to make one thing clear, I never want to be Raymond Garrison aka Bloodshot! Duane Swierczynski does a brilliant job of making Bloodshot’s life a living hell in the first issue. Also, for a book called Bloodshot, Valiant filled their quote for blood in an issue. For those unfamiliar with the character of Bloodshot he has a healing factor like Wolverine and Swierczynski blows him to bits several times in this issue.
This is a solid read because the issue jumps right into the action without another re-telling of the origin. The overall plot mystery is set up with in the first pages and then Swiercynski tortues Bloodshot for the next 20 pages. It gets to a point where you really feel bad for the main character and you want to say, stop! How many times can you mess with a person’s mind and blow-them-up to boot!
The artist team of Manuel Garcia and Arturo Lozzi work very well together. The action scenes are very fast and intense. Also, if you’re going to blow-up a guy, you want these guys to draw it. The detail and movement in each panel make for a very immersed read.
Most of the plot-lines in Bloodshot are recycled but Swierczynski combines those moments to keep the reader and the main character off-balance. From where the book started on page one, it was very impressive to see the last page. This series could go in multiple directions and that is exciting. Bloodshot #1 has a very excessive cliff-hanger moment that makes me want to break into Valiant Comics to read issue two.
When you don’t know who to trust or who is shooting at you, stories like this make for a fun roller-coaster of a ride of an experience. Buy Bloodshot #1 you will not be disappointed.
