Witchblade, Poe's Raven and Red Death, and the Return of Gaiman's Sandman (New Comic Day)

DC and Marvel both greatly disappointed me this week.  Last month, I praised the art in Captain America: Living Legend 1 and this week’s second issue with a new artist doesn’t live up to the first issue’s legend.  While at DC, most of the titles are “Summer Annuals” – a bit late as it is late October – of which Nightwing Annual 1 stands out.  DC’s most notable non-Annual is Damian Son of Batman 1 – but that notability is in its sub-par art – shockingly from the usually more reliable Andy Kubert.  Also, Damian seems to be printed on a lower than usual quality of paper. 

Better picks from the big two include DC’s Sandman Overture 1 by Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams (Williams’s art can’t actually be called “good” but it has a gritty character that works well with Gaiman’s writing style) and Marvel’s Kick Ass 3 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy 8 (featuring an alternate Thor vs. Thanos cover).  Also from Marvel comes the release of the Thor vs. Thanos TPB.

I should probably also mention Marvel’s Cataclysm 0.1 – I really have nothing to say about it but if you’ve been looking forward to it, there you go…

Over in the rest of comicdom, this week is the week for covers.  IDW’s Danger Girl 2 is out sporting an awesome alternate cosplay photo cover (for subscribers only, but availability may very).  Also, out this week Zenescope – the company were the covers are always the best part of the book – has issues from two Grimm Fairy Tales Presents… mini-series: No Tomorrow and Realm Knights both on issue three, but better still is their non-Grimm title Hit List 2 featuring a femme fatale cover – if possible I recommend variant cover C by Oracle. 

But my favorite cover this week appearing on Witchblade 170 is a retro throwback to 80s Marvel covers.  Very rough and with hard lines even the logo and title information are in that classic Marvel style.  Inside the art is much sharper – a little cartoonish but still lovely to look at.  The story is typical second tier fair.  Looking at lead character Sara Pezzini’s outfit and appearance one could easily dismiss her as another uber-hot but shallow and artistically bankrupt Image heroine but writer Ron Marz and artist Laura Braga bring a much more developed character to the page than one comes to expect from an Image title.  I highly recommend this issue and despite the rather high issue number this is an excellent jumping on point. 

Finally, if a Halloween read is more what you’re looking for this week, Dark Horse provides with Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and the Masque of the Red Death by Richard Corben who previously adapted works by Poe for Marvel’s Haunt of Horror line.  Corben’s art leaves something to be desired but can lend personality when applied to the right story as was the case with Haunt of Horror. 

But what are you reading this week?  Leave a comment or message me on twitter @nerdisnewcool to let me know. 

Due to Technical Difficulties Today's New Comic Day will Publish Early Tomorrow

Due to Technical Difficulties Today's New Comic Day will Publish Early Tomorrow

This Nerds Life: Countdown to Halloween - 2 Days to Go

Halloween is just days away and here at Nerd Is The New Cool, we couldn’t be more excited.  The candy has been bought, the decorations are up, and we have been binge watching horror movies (we spent all day yesterday watching Stephen King’s Rose Red). 

I was originally going to do another 3 Top Tens set for today, but felt a bit more personal This Nerd’s Life style blogging might be a better way to go tonight instead. 

There is so much more I want to get done between now and Thursday. My wife has seen the first 2 Halloween films, so I’m thinking Halloween night will have to feature a viewing of Halloween 4 (as III isn’t part of the main series, we will probably go ahead and skip it).   But do I want to rewatch the first two before then or hit some other films instead (Trick or Treat springs to mind, as do Plan 9 from Outer Space and any number of classic Universal and Hammer films).  There is also The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but the wife loves that and will want to be in on that viewing so we’ll save that for her.  Netflix was a few good films, but the selection is limited and both HuluPlus and Crackle seems to mostly have the same limited selection with each of the three having a few films the others don’t have, but most of those don’t look that interesting.

I was planning on making some caramels if not go all the way and make caramel apples or even popcorn balls but I keep putting it off.  I also bought some fresh veggies with the plan of making salsa but haven’t got around to it yet.  If I don’t hurry up and get to it, we might have some quality issues pretty soon.   

We don’t plan on hitting any Halloween parties, so the wife and I probably won’t be dressing up this year – especially with her working late on Thursday and us going out of town over the weekend.

I might try to put up an extra post tomorrow, a Nerdy Top Ten or one of a couple of other things I’ve been working on so check back tomorrow night to see.  I will be putting up a New Comic Day Wednesday and if I get a fire going under myself I will put up an early post on Thursday for Halloween. 

Well, that’s all for now, I’ll be back either tomorrow or the next day – I’ll be in checking for comments tomorrow whether I post or not.  In the meantime, to make up for only having this wimpy blog post, here is a pic of our good friend Liz Katz dressed as an Elvian Theif

You should go follow her on twitter here, like her on facebook here, and subscribe to her YouTube channel here.  She’s awesome.  (And tell her your old buddy Nerd Is The New Cool sent ya, to score me some brownie points).  Also, she’ll be at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo in LA Novemeber 1-3 booth 1049 selling posters and hanging with her fans.  She’s pretty cool and one of the nerdiest girls on the Interweb, so go say hi. 

And while we are on the subject of Comikaze Expo, if any of our readers are going and would like to act as the official Nerd Is The New Cool correspondent at the event, send me a DM on twitter. 

This is Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.  

Army of Darkness/Reanimator, Daredevil, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and More (New Comic Day #7)

This Nerds Life: Sad Times

Those of you paying attention, all both of you, will know that there was no New Comic Day last week.  For that I am sorry, but last week was an emotional time for us here at Nerd Is The New Cool.  Our beloved comic shop Starbase 21 – which will celebrate its 29^th Birthday next month – announced last Wednesday that it will be shutting its doors as of December 31^st of this year. 

It has been a long time coming – the owner is sick and hasn’t been able to take an active hand in running the store for quite some time and with the state of comics in this day and age – most casual readers and many collectors using national chains – keeping the store going is unfortunately not feasible. 

This will mark the end of a beloved Tulsa landmark and the loss of a major part of my week. 

But worry not, Fan Boys and Geek Girls, your good buddy Nerd Is The New Cool will soldier on and continue to bring you the best of what’s gracing this week’s shelves. 

New Comic Day Presents: Countdown to Halloween (8 Days)

What with the Scary Season in full swing, I focused this week’s shelf searching on Halloween issues and didn’t come up too shabby.  Daredevil 32 features a crossover with a number of Marvel’s Mighty Monsters – including a stylish cover featuring Satana, The Marvel Zombie, Werewolf by Night, The Monster of Frankenstein, and the Living Mummy facing off with a mob of angry torch and pitchfork totting villagers.  Be warned, fair readers, the three dread works appear at the climax of this issue “to be continued.” 

Marvel’s other entries this week include the special Marvel Now What?! a humor title in the vein of What The..?!  Written by a host of TV comedy writers, the book doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that is somewhat refreshing against Marvel’s often blotted lineup of titles. 

DC isn’t doing quite as well in the Halloween department.  But a $1 reprint of the first issue of  Neil Gaiman’s seminal title Sandman is a passable offering to the ghost and goblin crowd. 

Also at DC, is – and Starbase 21’s Pick of the Week – is Beware the Batman 1 a comic adaptation of Cartoon Network’s (already cancelled?) Batman series of the same name. 

Leaving the big two behind up, over at Dynamite a true Halloween offering appears in the form of the Army of Darkness/ReAnimator one-shot.  As is so often the case with comics nowadays, the cover art – by Randy Valiente – far surpasses its interior art – also by Valiente.  The story by Mark Rahner – featuring a time lost Ash (though he only uses that name in a single panel of this book) finds himself in H.P. Lovecraft’s New England of the 1920s, butting heads with a fairly true to Lovecraft Herbert West and battling both AoD’s Deadites and ReA’s Re-Animates – though far from great is fun and engaging and does lead me to forgive the art.  The issue also reprints 2005’s Reanimator 0, featuring a more detailed retelling of Herbert West’s origin.  The story is by Jim Kuhoric with art – that makes me remember the main story’s art fondly – by Nick Bradshaw. 

Also of note this month, Rocketeer/Spirit 2 finally graces us with its presence – the first issue of this mini-series, my long ‘memberin’ readers will recall, I reviewed back in July.

Tell us what you thought of these titles or if you read something else you think is worthy of getting picked up let us know in the comments below or on twitter @nerdisnewcool. 

Until next time,

Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.

Three More Halloween Top Tens (Countdown to Halloween 2)

Our countdown to Halloween continues, with just 10 Days Left!  

As with last week’s post, I’m giving you quantity rather than quality here.  You get three top ten lists, but very little fluff text.  Hope you enjoy it anyway. 

Ten Christmas Films It’s OK to Watch at Halloween;

or, Ten Halloween Films Set at Christmas

(In No Particular Order)

Note: I have intentionally excluded some films that are set at Christmas but not so much that I remember they are set at Christmas (notably Jaws: The Revenge and Psycho – which would have been the worst and best movies on the list had I included them). 

      1.      Black Christmas (1974 version is preferred to the 2006 version)

      2.      Child’s Play

      3.      Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

      4.      Gremlins

      5.      Jack Frost (the 1997 horror film, not the 1998 family comedy)

      6.      Silent Night, Deadly Night

      7.      Tales from the Crypt (…And All Through the House – First movie segment or TV series episode 1.01)

      8.      The Nightmare Before Christmas

      9.      Wind Chill

      10.  Any Super-Hero movie set at Christmas (ex: Batman Returns, Iron Man 3)

While we are on the topic of movies, I had a request for a follow up to last week’s Top Ten Halloween Family Movies.  So, for the open-minded youngsters out there, may I present:

Top Ten Classic Halloween Family Movies

10.       House of Frankenstein

9.         King Kong (1933 version) or better still its sequel Son of Kong

8.         War of the Worlds (1953 version)

7.         Godzilla vs. Megalon

6.         13 Ghosts (1960 version)

5.         Dinosaurus!

4.         Jason and the Argonauts (1963 version)

3.         King Kong Vs. Godzilla

2.         Seven Faces of Dr. Lao

1.         Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Top Ten Works of Short Fiction to Read for Halloween

10.       Sherlock Holmes “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

9.         “The Crystal Egg” by H.G. Wells (sort of a prequel to The War of the Worlds)

8.         “The Vampyre” by John Polidori

7.         “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (For something a bit more traditionally horror also by Bierce try “The Damned Thing”)

6.         “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

5.         “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

4.         The Mist by Stephen King

3.         “The Statement of Randolph Carter” by H.P. Lovecraft (For something a bit longer – but still short – also by Lovecraft try “The Call of Cthulhu” or “Herbert West: Re-Animator”)

2.         “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

1.         The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Until next time, 

Nerd is the New Cool, signing off.

Three Halloween Top Tens (Countdown to Halloween)

Halloween Top Tens

Ok, I’m not going to go into a lot of details on this but to make up for it you’re getting several lists instead of just one. 

Top Thirteen Halloween Songs

13.       Witch Doctor – David Seville (pre-Alvin and the Chipmunks version)

12.       Tie: Love Potion Number 9 – The Clovers/Love Potion Number 9 – The Searchers

11.       I Put a Spell on You – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (or Bette Midler)

10.       Little Red Riding Hood – Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

9.         The Hearse Song (aka The Worms Crawl In) – this version is my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czja6XI_s5k

8.         Science Fiction Double Feature – Cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show 

7.         Ghostbusters – Ray Parker, Jr.

6.         Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley

5.         Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

4.         The Time Warp – Cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show  

3.         Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell (feat. Michael Jackson)

2.         Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Picket

1.         Thriller – Michael Jackson (feat. Vincent Price)

Top Ten Trick or Treat Treats

10.       Full-Sized Candy Bars – not strictly Halloween centric – thus it’s low ranking – but come on, cheapskates.  It’s Halloween, forget the “Fun Sized” and – Great Pumpkin forbid – Minis.   

9.         Tie: Mary Jane/Bit-‘o-Honey

8.         Tie: Pumpkin Shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups/Orange Kit-Kats

7.         Caramels (such as Brach’s Milk Maids or better yet Homemade)

6.         Tie: Dum Dum Pops (especially Root Beer)/Root Beer Barrels

5.         Monster Cereals (Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry) – ok, not candy but still a favorite Halloween treat.

4.         Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses (aka Black and Orange Candy) – amusingly I found this on a list of the worst Halloween Candies!

3.         Candy Corn

2.         Caramel Apples

1.         Homemade Popcorn Balls

Top Ten Halloween Family Movies - Updated

This list assumes your kids automatically think a movie is bad if in black and white, so only relatively recent movies are list here.  This list also excludes cartoons (you can find some of my favorites here: http://nerdthenewcool.blogspot.com/2012/10/top-10-halloween-cartoons.html)  Due to several people calling me out I have changed up this list a bit I have removed Tremors (1990, PG-13) which I had always included with some reservation, due to language and violence.  I have kicked it off and mention it here as a recommendation for families with older kids.  

10.       Scooby-Doo (2002, PG)

9.         Willow (1988, PG)

8.         Transylvania 6-5000 (1985, PG)

7.         The Princess Bride (1987, PG)

6.         Casper (1995, PG)

5.         The NeverEnding Story (1984, PG)

4.         Poltergeist (1982, PG) - Warning: Gets pretty scary, plan to watch something else after it, especially
            with very little kids.  

3.         Ghostbusters (1984, PG-13)

2.         Hocus Pocus (1993, PG)

1.         The Monster Squad (1987, PG-13) - Warning: Language and slight suggestive dialogue

There you have them, three terrifying lists to tantalize you and get you ready for the upcoming holiday. 

Until next time,

Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.  

Superman/Wonder Woman Hulk and the Agents of SMASH and the 10th Anniversary of The Walking Dead (New Comic Day)

It’s another big week of comics, nerds and geekettes.  DC has began a new Forever Evil tie-in series in the form of Arkham War, I imagine you can guess where in the greater DCU that focuses. 

Also starting this week is DC’s new ongoing mash-up title Superman/Wonder Woman which features a wonderful trifold cover by Tony S. Daniels (pencils), Batt (inks) and Tomeu Morey (colors).  The cover’s central image of the titular heroes is a little weak but the surrounding imagery of their supporting characters and villains is awe-worthy.  However, the interior art by the same art team is weaker even than the worst elements of the cover.  Flipping through the book before reading it, I thought I liked the art, but as I read I realized I didn’t.  The story itself – by Charles Soule – I initially didn’t like but it grew on me as I went – I actually stopped reading about 6 pages in but picked it back up later in the day and gave it a second chance – which it proved it deserved.  I’m still not behind the Superman/Wonder Woman romantic relationship – I’m squarely behind the classic Lois and Clark relationship in the present and like the SM/WW relationships to be in set in the future stories – nor am I sure we needed a Superman/Wonder Woman team-up title.  But for what it is, it’s good. 

Finally, from DC this week, we have Astro City #5 and Batman # 24 (which is part of Batman Year Zero).  Batman is a little longer than usual but not really enough to justify the 7.99 price tag DC has on it – I might have been a little more forgiving on a giant-sized 25^th issue, but 24^th seems like they are just money grabbing. 

Fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead TV series or of the comic that spawned it, might want to pick up some of its 10^th Anniversary issues – including a special feature featuring The Walking Dead 10^th Anniversary Edition of issue 1 and Tyreese Special 1. 

Over at Marvel comics, a comic adaptation of the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. cartoon series started up this week featuring typical cartoon-turned-comic art (alas only a 4 issue mini-series).

Also hitting the stands this week is my all time favorite Dark Horse character X, with issue 6 of his new eponymous title, which is much more promising than last week’s Catalyst Comics. 

Finally, Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales line has several issues out this week, notably Halloween Special 2013 and – just in time to coincide with ABC’s Once Upon a Time spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland – a new 5-issue Alice-inspired mini-series Wonderland Through the Looking-Glass. 

Let us know what you’re reading in the comments or on twitter @nerdisnewcool. 

Until next time,

Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.  

This Nerd's Life: Babysitting

There will be no new Nerdy Top Ten today.  I had a long day babysitting my niece and am just too warn out to come up with anything interesting/witty/wise/funny/entertaining.  How is this different than every other week you ask?  I don't know, but I will contemplate that in the meanwhile.

I will be back Wednesday with an all new New Comic Day.  

Until then, stay nerdy my friends...

Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.

Fantomex, Joker’s Daughter, and More (New Comic Day #6)

It’s an interesting week for comics.  Last week, I discussed in detail DC’s Villains Month crossover.  This is the first post VM week and DC’s titles are mostly back to normal.  I mentioned, Joker’s Daughter as being in short supply and DC has been kind enough to send out more copies of the 2D cover version as a reshipment.  I picked it up and it definitely was not worth the wait.  The issues writing by Ann Nocenti – the current writer on Catwoman and co-creator of Marvel character’s Longshot, Mojo, and Typhoid Mary – and art by Georges Jeanty were both minimally acceptable but lacking and parts of the story are pretty far out there. 

Also from DC, Forever Evil 2 hit shelves this week.  Same quality of art and general writing, but remember all that stuff I said about Lex Luthor’s pathos.  Yeah, scratch that, this issue shot it right out the window.  However, a nod to the old Christopher Reeves Superman series in the form of LexCorp Employee Otis was a nice touch, though in the end a bit of a letdown.  One more DC title of note is Scooby Doo 38 for its Elvira homage cover and story.   

Over at Marvel this week are the high recommended Captain America: Living Legend 1 (check me out posing with it on Starbase 21 Tulsa’s facebook page as customer of the week – because awesome) and Fantomex Max 1.  Fantomex is a minor X-Men character (first appearing in New X-Men 128 in 2002), a background of little or no importance to this issue.  Probably the worst four bucks I’ve spent in a comic book shop in awhile. Fantomex Max features atrocious art by Shawn Crystal (best known for his work on Deadpool, Crystal has done better work before and occasionally reaches an expectable passable level here, but rarely) and nearly unreadable dialog and narration by Andrew Hope (who drew two comics and wrote one for a small UK publisher in 1990 before disappearing from the comic world until last year when he popped up at Marvel).  The highlights of this issue include gratuitous shots of heroine Special Agent Rhona Flemyng’s panties on page 9, Fantomex’s sadomasochist/fetish holographic assistant, and an unrealistic and hackneyed story with copious amounts of hyper-unrealistic violence. 

Captain America: Living Legend, however, (which I haven’t read yet, sorry) seems to feature a much more cohesive storyline and the best interior artwork – by Adi Granov  – I saw this week.  Granov is best known for his work on Iron Man, both the series, where he was the artist on the Extremis storyline and the movies, he provided conceptual designs for all three Iron Man films as well as Marvel’s The Avengers.  Originally intended for a 2010 release, the title was delayed due to Granov’s involvement with the Marvel movies and he will not be returning for issues 2-4 of the mini-series. 

I should also mention that Dark Horse Comics recently resurrected their Comics Greatest World title Catalyst: Agents of Change as Catalyst Comix of which issue four is on stands this week.  I’m a huge fan of the CGW line from way back and Catalyst lead character Grace is among my favorite characters (right after X, Ghost, Barb Wire, and Vortex).  I somehow missed this return to the stands until last week, when I noticed the solicitation in Previews for the December issue.  Flipping through the week’s installment, makes me wish I could go back to having overlooked this unfortunate relaunch. 

One last title worth discussing this week, Archie 648 featuring a super-hero parody by legendary comic writer Tom DeFalco with a variant cover by longtime Thor artist Walt Simonson. 

Also, recommended this week are Dynamite’s Lady Rawhide 2 and Dark Horse’s The Star Wars 2 and whatever it was the Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole 5 (which – admittedly – I primarily like for the covers).

So, that’s what we’re reading here at Nerd Is The New Cool.  What’s on your pull list this week?  Let us know in the comments or hit us up on twitter @nerdisnewcool. 

Until next time,

Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.