Posted: July 8, 2009 at 11:43 PM by Brocster
I know today is new comic book day, but I didn’t get around to reading any of them yet today. Instead when I came home tonight I watched a documentary on Mr. Perfect that is on WWE Classics On Demand this month. I was only going to start watching it, but I got hooked so I didn’t read any new comic books yet that came out today.
However, I did read a couple of other comic book today before heading to work this morning. They were two classic Star Comics titles, Animax and Heathcliff! I read the first issues of both these series from the eighties. One was what I expected it to be and the other was completely ludicrous in concept.
The one that turned out as expected was Heathcliff #1. It has a series of shorter standalone stories that made up the issue. It was kind of like watching the television show. Except if I remember right, Heathcliff talked on the show, but he does not in the comic book. Maybe it depends on the type of story they are telling. In this issue he interacted with human characters instead of other animals. Maybe if he is with other animals he will talk. I will have to keep checking this series out to see. All the characters from the cartoon series are here from the Nutmegs to Sonja. I also want to point out that I have always preferred Heathcliff to Garfield when I was growing up. All Garfield ever did was lay around while Heathcliff terrified the neighborhood.
The most laughable concept I have ever read in comic format has to be Animax #1. It is a story based in a futuristic world where humans are an endangered species who live in a fortified city called Peoplopolis. The city is defended by a group of heroes called the Road Tamers. These guys have special helmets that allow them to communicate and control the Animax. Animax are sentient beings that are a cross between an animal and a car. This series also takes temporary comic death to a new level. The main character is killed and resurrected in the first issue. I can’t wait to see how crazy this series is going to get in the remaining three issues I have.
There’s the reviews for this week. Nothing new, but something that may be new to you.
The above pictured cover images are ™ and © Star/Marvel Comics
Tags: Animax, Heathcliff
Posted in Quick Reviews | 2 Comments »
Posted: July 7, 2009 at 11:19 PM by Brocster
To be perfectly honest with all of you I have been so busy getting things together for my trip this weekend that I have not put enough time into researching this week’s new releases to pick my top five most anticipated. Between getting things together to take with me, taking my car for service, and working, I am just now looking at tomorrow’s list at 11:00 PM.
Needless to say the following list is very uniformed. I am not going to pretend that I know what I am talking about with a write up about each of the issues on this list. Instead I am going to make my list and provide a haiku about why it was chosen. How’s that sound? Ridiculous, I know…
Here we go!
- Drafted One Hundred Days:
Aliens are here…
Barack Obama fights back…
in his first true test
- Batman #688:
Bruce Wayne is now gone…
The Scarecrow scares the whole town…
Sad Dick brings the bat
- Dark X-Men: Beginning #1:
Namor is a mutant…
or is he just a fish man…
X-Men are Darker
- Green Lantern #43:
Blackest Night is black…
Roy G. Biv have all shown up…
The lights now turn on
- Wednesday Comics #1:
Weekly DC now…
In full newsprint and paper…
Interesting concept
Please don’t tell me that was cool because it really was not!
Tags: Batman, Dark X-Men: Beginning, Drafted First One Hundred Days, Green Lantern, Haiku, Wednesday Comics
Posted in Comic Hype | 2 Comments »
Posted: July 6, 2009 at 11:17 PM by Brocster
During my search for the most obscure of the Star Comics I came across this little treasure. This is a series that up until about a week ago I didn’t know existed. I am talking about Chuck Norris and the Karate Kommandos. This came out over twenty years ago and predated all of those internet jokes about Chuck Norris. Believe it or not, but this comic series was actually done by two of the bigger names in the industry. It was written by Jo Duffy with pencils by the Eisner Award winning artist, Steve Ditko.
During the first issue, titled “The Super Cruiser,” a group of terrorist ninja hold a class full of school children hostage. Their demands were a prototype RV that doubled as a battle station. Basically the point of this issue was to introduce us to the cast of characters and set the stage for the rest of the series. Now I haven’t read the rest of it yet, but I must admit, the first issue was surprisingly entertaining. Most comics based on 80s cartoons tend to be less than readable, but this one wasn’t too bad.
Even though this series came long before all of the overdone Chuck Norris jokes of the past few years, there are a few moments just in the first issue that cracked me up. One of the ninjas holding the school hostage said this in reference to Chuck Norris, “One bullet won’t kill him, but he is probably too fast for me to get off the second shot.” Things like that are kind of funny.
If you can find this one in your local comic shop, I recommend checking it out. It is at least good enough for a laugh.
The above pictured cover image is ™ and © Star/Marvel Comics
Posted in Old School Monday | 2 Comments »
Posted: July 5, 2009 at 10:19 PM by Brocster
There were not too many big releases this week, but the that did come out was excellent. I am talking about Justice League: Cry for Justice #1. This new mini series from DC Comics is written by James Robinson with art done completely by Mauro Cascioli. Speaking of the art, it is really something to be seen. It looks to me like it is never inked. Instead it looks as if the colors are added to the pencils. This gives the book a very unique look. That covers the look of the book, let’s take a look at the story itself.
The seeds were planted for this series a few months ago in the pages of Justice League of America where they talked about Hal Jordan and Green Arrow putting together their own team. Basically Hal Jordan calls out the Justice League for not seeking justice for their friends Bruce Wayne and Martian Manhunter. This issue begins to cover the tragedies that strike each of the characters that will lead to them eventually joining this team. I don’t want to get into any of the details of the events, but a lot of these characters have been put through a lot.
One of the main reasons I am enjoying this series thus far is the use of more obscure characters. Yes, some of the mainstream guys are there such as Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and the Ray Palmer Atom, but there are also some lesser known characters have shown up already. We had an appearance from Starman, the Mikaal Tomas version. Then the issue concluded with a heart wrenching scene with Congorilla. The villain they have set-up for this series is not even that mainstream, but I have always liked him, Prometheus.
This was definitely a great start to what should be a great series. I am looking forward to seeing just how far these characters are willing to go in order to seek justice. The characters in this book have gone through a lot in the past year, and now it is time for justice.
The above pictured cover image is ™ and © DC Comics
Tags: Justice League: Cry for Justice
Posted in On Top of the Stack | No Comments »
Posted: July 4, 2009 at 11:13 PM by Brocster
This is the time of the week where I usually come onto the blog and rant and rave about things going on in the comic book industry. I am not going to do that today in honor of Independence Day. Today is America’s birthday so I will not be ranting about anything. Instead I am going to give thanks to this great nation for allowing me to have a blog that is a forum for me to speak my mind. Not everybody on this earth has those rights and a lot of us take them for granted.
In the place of the weekly rant section I want to talk about some things coming up this next week. Tomorrow I plan on posting the Holiday Horror character for Independence Day. I am still working on the drawing. Actually, I never started the drawing, but it is going to be a good one! Also tomorrow I am going to be posting the On Top of the Stack for the week. Last week’s On Top of the Stack article on Barack the Barbarian #1 was featured on that book’s publisher website. Don’t believe me? Check out the Devil’s Due Publishing website. It is still currently featured on the main page. Tomorrow I am going to amend yesterday’s post by adding a picture of the Mark Henry action figure just for FnKen. Maybe I will even put Bret Hart in the picture too.
Later in the week I will be attending the 20th Annual GalactiCon convention in Jamestown, New York. I have been going to those conventions for 13 straight years now with missing a single one. I am really looking forward to the show. I just hope that I am able to find WiFi somewhere so that I can update the blog over the weekend. I am sure somebody will have it.
Tags: GalactiCon, Independence Day
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted: July 3, 2009 at 10:54 PM by Brocster
While at Toys R Us this week, looking for G.I. Joe movie toys, I found that the new wave of WWE Build ‘n Brawl figures from Jakks Pacific had been released. This is series 7 of the toy line. I was actually looking for Sgt. Slaughter from wave 6, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere. Although, I couldn’t find a Sarge toy to hang out with my G.I. Joes, Mark Henry and Bret Hart were fine additions to my 3.75″ action figure collection.
The reason I like the Mark Henry figure so much is because I am almost positive that this this the first of the collection to have its own body sculpt. They actually made Mark Henry bigger than the other figures. That has to be a first! Also, it was awesome to see Mark’s face turn on Monday night. I am hoping that they make a smiling Mark Henry variant to honor this monumental night.
Bret “Hitman” Hart is the legends figure featured in this series. Who doesn’t want a Bret Hart figure? Now we have a Canadian representative to the 3.75″ inch line. Maybe G.I. Joe can recruit him to teach submission holds to their recruits. I don’t know. I think it is a cool figure.
Other figures in the set include updated versions of Matt Hardy, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, an others.
Tags: Bret Hart, Mark Henry
Posted in Toy of the Week | 1 Comment »
Posted: July 2, 2009 at 11:41 PM by Brocster
In an attempt to get a little bit of activity from the viewers of Brocster Comics in the comments section, I’ve started an Open Discussion. This week’s topic is organization. Basically I want to know how you have your collection sorted.
I used to have all of my comic books separated by publisher. For example I would have all of my Marvel comics in one box, my DC in another, and so on. After a while of sorting this way, I realized how hard that was to maintain.
Now I have all my stuff lumped together. All publishers are in the same collection sorted alphabetically. It is much easier for me to keep things organized in this way. I can just drop new things into the collection as I read them.
Another thing I do is alphabetize by the first word of a title. For example, Uncanny X-Men will be filed under the letter “U.” While Astonishing X-Men is at the beginning of the alphabet with the other titles beginning with an “A.”
How is your collection organized?
Tags: Organization
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted: July 1, 2009 at 9:45 PM by Brocster
I have been too busy researching my new obsession, Star Comics, to really sit down and enjoy any of the new comics I picked up today. However I did make time to read my number one hyped book from Comic Hype! yesterday, Irredeemable #4.
Please note the following blog post may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk!
Irredeemable #4 kicks off where the last issue left off. The Plutonian has just caused an explosion killing off the majority of his rouges gallery. There were a few heroes caught in the crossfire of this as well. One was critically injured while another was killed.
The world’s leaders get together to try and develop a united front against the Plutonian as his body count reaches the millions. Instead of uniting against the common enemy, a bidding war for the Plutonian begins between several nations who want to adopt him as their new king.
Plutonian arrives at the meeting asking the representatives from Singapore why they want him to lead their country. After some brown nosing, Plutonian is able to tell the man is lying by his unsteady heart rate. This causes him to start a diamond meteor shower in Singapore. The heroes intervene but are quickly defeated by Plutonian who allows them to save only ten people out of millions. He then incinerates the rest of them with his heat vision in front of the heroes. The heroes are left with no choice but to track down his arch nemesis for assistance as the issue ends.
End spoilers.
This was my least favorite issue of this series thus far. It didn’t really dig into the background of the main character like the previous three installments. Instead we just got to see the Plutonian add to his already staggering body count. With this being an ongoing series you have to expect issues like this one every once and a while. It is still worth a read, but not as good as the series has been.
Tags: Irredeemable
Posted in Quick Reviews | No Comments »
Posted: June 30, 2009 at 11:27 PM by Brocster
After buying about sixty books last Wednesday, tomorrow’s stack looks to be significantly smaller. The selection of comics coming to stores tomorrow is so small that I found myself having difficulty coming up with enough books to fill out the list of five. Marvel is only gracing us with three Dark Reign tie-ins so you know this weeks crop is going to be light.
- Irredeemable #4: This new ongoing series by Mark Waid from Boom! Studios may just be my favorite read each month. The transformation from hero to villain by the Plutonian was been excellent thus far. The gradual build to this sudden change in character has been expertly done using events very similar to Superman stories.
- Green Lantern Corps #38: My favorite “event comic” currently running has to be Blackest Night. I have been waiting nearly two years for this event to get rolling, and it is finally starting to pick up some speed! Not to mention, the Green Lantern books are the perfect example of cosmic adventures done the right way.
- Batman and Robin #2: After expecting to be greatly disappointed by issue #1, I was shocked at how good the start of this new Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely series actually was. Now I am excited to read further. I want more Professor Pyg! The last issue set the table nicely, and now I am looking forward to what is coming next.
- Captain America: Reborn #1: I don’t know if I am hyped for this book or nervously anxious. I have my own theories on how they plan on bringing Steve Rogers back, but I hope that I am wrong. Hopefully with the creative team of Ed Brubaker and Bryan Hitch this book will deliver a believable back-from-the-dead storyline.
- Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #1: Deadpool was in that horrible Wolverine movie, right? Let’s cash in on the success of the destruction of the source material with another Deadpool monthly series. I will be on board for at least the first few issues. I am sure it will be a million times better than the movie version of the character.
There’s my list. Do you agree with my picks? Do you have some better ones that I may have overlooked? Leave a comment with your picks below.
Tags: Add new tag, Batman and, Captain America: Reborn, Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth, Green Latern Corps, Irredeemable
Posted in Comic Hype | No Comments »
Posted: June 29, 2009 at 11:14 PM by Brocster
There is a very good reason for the coverage of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures. This is the series that started it all for me. I will never forget being six-years-old and being with my parents at the Kay-Bee Toys at the Ross Park Mall. They had several comic books there for fifty cents, one of those was a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #2. That was the first comic book I can ever remember buying. From then on, I was hooked!
One of the coolest things about this series from Archie Comics was the fact that the characters from the Playmates toy line were all involved in the stories. We actually got to see Ace Duck do something. Instead of piloting the Turtle Blimp, Ace was a professional wrestler. Many other characters showed up in this series as well.
The Archie series spawned several spin-offs and limited series. A whole universe of characters were created to interact with the Turtles. Some of it was very cool for the time, but looking back at it, I am surprised I was such a fan. The storytelling was never the best. There was hardly ever a time where you thought the Turtles could lose. It was great to me as a kid though, and that is who it was meant for.
Well, there you have it, the history of my comic book collecting. The beginning part of it at least. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures gave me a reason to go to Shop N’ Save with my parents to beg for the newest issue. The rest, I guess, is history!
Cover image copyright Archie Comics.
Tags: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
Posted in Old School Monday | 2 Comments »
The one that turned out as expected was Heathcliff #1. It has a series of shorter standalone stories that made up the issue. It was kind of like watching the television show. Except if I remember right, Heathcliff talked on the show, but he does not in the comic book. Maybe it depends on the type of story they are telling. In this issue he interacted with human characters instead of other animals. Maybe if he is with other animals he will talk. I will have to keep checking this series out to see. All the characters from the cartoon series are here from the Nutmegs to Sonja. I also want to point out that I have always preferred Heathcliff to Garfield when I was growing up. All Garfield ever did was lay around while Heathcliff terrified the neighborhood.
The most laughable concept I have ever read in comic format has to be Animax #1. It is a story based in a futuristic world where humans are an endangered species who live in a fortified city called Peoplopolis. The city is defended by a group of heroes called the Road Tamers. These guys have special helmets that allow them to communicate and control the Animax. Animax are sentient beings that are a cross between an animal and a car. This series also takes temporary comic death to a new level. The main character is killed and resurrected in the first issue. I can’t wait to see how crazy this series is going to get in the remaining three issues I have.
