Kapow Comic-Con 2012

On Saturday 19th May my pal Simon and I travelled up to London for Kapow 2012, our first ever comic convention. And it was amazing. This post is a little review of the day and includes all the books I got signed as well as all the extra books I bought whilst there. I spent way too much money but it was worth it. A truly epic day. So here's a look at some of the goodies I came home with.

The first book of mine I got signed was by Frank Quitely, whose queue was pretty large but not insurmountable. I was in the line before about 45-50 minutes I reckon, which was nothing in comparison to Mark Millar's queue. Simon was waiting for at least a good hour and a half for Millar's signature; I took one look at that line and ran away. I figured getting Quitely's autograph would be a lot easier than Millar's, which turned out to be true. Frank was a really nice guy and signed my first volume of Batman & Robin on the cover and inside as well. The only thing I regret about this signing is the fact I didn't take my Absolute All Star Superman with me because I would have loved Frank to have signed that, but it was too damn heavy (not to mention precious) to lug around Kapow all day. After getting the signature in the bag I left Simon in the Millar queue for a little longer and decided to shop around a while. That's when I bought these:

Diamond Distribution had a small stall and were selling hardbacks and paperbacks for just £5. I had to ask to make sure, such was my level of disbelief. £5 for a hardback!? I'd had all three volumes of Spider-Man: Brand New Day on my Amazon wishlist for a while so I couldn't believe my luck when I saw these. Each volume was £5 each and in hardback too (I'm a sucker for hardbacks). £15 for all three books, which worked out being less than just one of the books on their own RRP. After Simon had given up on getting Millar he came and joined me at the Diamond stall and picked up a couple of cheap hardbacks for himself.

With a bag full of heavy hardbacks weighing us down, Simon and I moved on and attacked the wealth of long boxes Kapow had to offer. There were loads of shops and Ebay stores who had stalls at the show and they were selling off hundreds of old back issues. I've recently been on a bit of a Spider-Man binge of late so I was looking to add some old yet inexpensive issues of Amazing Spider-Man to my collection. These two jumped out at me (any thing Daredevil related is getting bought by me these days) and didn't cost too much so I grabbed them quickly.

It was when I found the "All Comics for £1" boxes that all hell broke loose. I got issues 58-67 of Bendis and Maleev's Dardevil run (above) for £10 total. Each comic was only a £1 so I just kept adding them up; I think I bought six in a row, then a couple more, then I thought "Hey, why not just two more?". I ended up with ten delightful issues of my favourite Marvel character and then called it a day on the single issues.

By now we'd browsed the convention for some time and each of us had bought a fair few books so we decided to turn our attention to the writer and artist signings once more. 

Both Simon and I both had a few books to get signed by Andy Diggle, whose queue was pretty reasonable. He was really nice and signed two of the first Daredevil issues I ever bought. I love that Daredevil #506 cover on the right, beautifully done by Paulo Rivera; Diggle's signature looks pretty good there too.

We decided to take a little break, get some food and a sitdown for a bit before hitting the shopfloor again. There was plenty more still to buy:

I spotted this (above) and bought it instantly. It's volume 2 of Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee's Superman: For Tomorrow. I bought and read the first volume years and years ago, before I was seriously into comics and I really enjoyed it. I've been trying to get my hands on the second volume for a while now but its been out of print for some time. I've heard volume 2 isn't very good and Azzarello goes a bit off track but I didn't care, Lee's artwork is worth the price of admission alone. I was so surprised to see this at Kapow that this was one of my favourite purchases of the day. 

Civil War: Spider-Man was one of the books I spotted right at the start of the show but held off of buying straight away because I didn't want to spend all my money just yet (I wanted to browse a bit more). But I had to come back and get this and I'm so glad I did. This book is almost an omnibus because its roughly the correct size (contains over 20 issues). It's out of print now too and goes for £30+ on Ebay and even more than that on Amazon, so to get it for £23 was a bargain in my eyes. It's a beautiful edition and I can't wait to read it.

By 4 o'clock in the afternoon, both of us were beginning to tire. We'd been up since 5.30am and had travelled quite a bit. But it was around this time we noticed that the queues for Scott Snyder and Joe Quesada had considerably shrunk in length. So much so that we joined on the end of Snyder's line and were meeting the man himself within 25 minutes.

Before I travelled to Kapow I'd set Snyder and Quesada's signatures as the two I wanted the most. I am a huge fan of Snyder and had taken my Batman books to get signed by him and I had some of my Daredevil stuff to be signed by Quesada too. Typically they had the longest queues of the day, being the star names of the show, so people had begun queueing for them an hour and a half before they were even supposed to arrive at their signing tables, which was insane. Simon and I both figured there was no way we'd get our books signed by either of them and resigned ourselves to that fact. So you can imagine our joy when we saw the lines were barely ten people long with just under an hour left to go. Snyder and Quesada were scheduled to sign until 5 pm so we had plenty of time left to get our books signed. As you can see from above I got my Batman: Black Mirror signed by Scott (oh yeah, I got it signed by Jock earlier in the day too, who was a top bloke) as well as my Batman #1 and Batman: Gates of Gotham paperback as well (both not pictured), which I bought on the day (another book I had been wanting for a long time but looks like its out of print already). Snyder turned out to be the nicest guy in the building. Despite obviously being rushed because of the huge line of people he had faced all afternoon, he took the time to ask my name and say thanks for buying and supporting the books. Its little moments like that that made it worth going.

After meeting Snyder and getting our books signed (Simon got his copy of Batman #1 signed and the first volume of American Vampire in hardback) I noticed Quesada's queue had been whittled down to only a few people so I immediately joined on the end. In less than 10 minutes I met Marvel's Chief Creative Officer and shook his hand before he signed my Daredevil books, pictured below:

The book on the left is my hardback edition of Daredevil: Guardian Devil that I review back in March. 

By now we were just about ready to head home, but there was one more moment of fun to be had. Sean Phillips, the British artist responsible for Criminal, Sleeper and Incognito, had been sandwiched between Quesada and Snyder since 3pm and his queue was non-existent by 4.45pm. Whilst I'd been queueing and meeting Quesada, Simon had taken advantage of Phillips's rapidly decreasing line and had gotten his beautiful copy of Fatale #1 signed, which included a cheeky sketch inside. Seeing this I decided to spend my last bit of money on a Criminal paperback to make the most of Phillips being there:

I bought Criminal Volume 6, The Last of the Innocent, since the only copies of the first volume Coward I could find had already been pre-signed or were in pretty rough condition. Since Volume 6 is a stand alone book and not really part of the rest of the series I had no problem buying the final volume before I'd read the previous five. Phillips couldn't have been nicer when I met him. We had a chat about his original artwork he had on display at his table, as well as the different colourists he's worked with (I asked him about his preferences since his original black and white work is so amazing.) Phillips was even nice enough to spent a couple of minutes and draw me an awesome sketch:

And that was that. It was past 5pm and we had to get going if we were to get home in time. It was such an incredible day and everybody we met was so insanely nice to talk to. Whether it was the creators at their tables signing or random people we met in the queues, everyone was really friendly and it really helped make the day a great one. I reckon Simon and I will go again next year, it was that much fun.

Thanks for reading.

New Comics - 25th April 2012

Four books this week. Wasting no time, lets get to them:

Superman #8

Issue 7 of Superman saw the new creators Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens get off to an impressive start but unfortunately Superman #8 couldn't keep up the pace and felt slightly flat overall. To put it bluntly, this was a mediocre comic at best and failed to satisfy across the board. What's more disappointing is the fact issue 8 could not sustain and carry on the good vibes from Superman #7. What went wrong?

Well Giffen and Jurgens wrapped things up, which is good, but they did it in an unsatisfactory way. Superman has a bad dream, finds out Helspont was trying to control his mind with a face-sucking creature, they fight, Helspont disappears and that's it, story over. As I reached the half way point in this book the words started to roll over me and I had pretty much made up my mind by then. Helspont went on and on explaining why he was there and why he needed Superman blah blah blah. I'd given up caring by then because Helspont's diatribe felt like it was never going to end. It quickly became a boring read, simple as that. The art wasn't much better either. Jurgens, with Jesus Merino finishing his pencils, was inconsistent throughout. Superman's face seemed to change repeatedly and it all felt a bit of mess overall.

I'm seriously thinking about removing Superman from my monthly pull-list. I'm getting really tired of dishing out money for sub-par comics and if Superman all of a sudden becomes the hot book in the comics world, well then I can just pick it up in trade. I might give it one more issue to redeem itself, but at the moment one of my favourite superheroes in the DC universe is on a very tight leash.

Rating: 2/5

Supercrooks #2

I picked up the first issue of Supercrooks two weeks ago for two reasons. 1) Mark Millar is the writer, and I won't go so far to say I'm a fan but I have enjoyed a lot of his work (Superman: Red Son, Kick-Ass, Civil War) and 2) Leinil Yu is on art duties and I will admit to being a big fan of his (Superman: Birthright, Superior). Issue 1 was great and I really like the concept of following the villains instead of the heroes for once. Millar succeeds in making us feel for these criminals and help us understand why they live a life of crime instead of leading normal lives.

Issue 2 continues where the debut issue left off, as ex-con Johnny Bolt resumes his pursuit of putting together his old team for one last big job to help their old mentor who's fallen into a lot of trouble of late. Millar excels as a writer when he isn't being restricted by the strict rules Marvel and DC have concerning their characters, especially the sort of language those characters can use. In Millarworld, where the creator has the freedom to do exactly what he wants, these characters come to life in a somewhat more realistic manner than they would in a Big Two book. For the tone that this book is trying to set, having the characters talk to each other like real human beings is an absolute necessity and Supercrooks benefits from it enormously. Combine this with Yu's flawless art style and you've got a pretty good book in your hands. Yu is at the top of his game here - his distinctive style flourishes throughout.

Overall this is a fun book and I'm really enjoying the direction Millar and Yu are taking this. Keep it up good sirs.

Rating: 4/5

Daredevil #11

Daredevil #11 featured the final part in the three issue mini-event "The Omega Effect" and concluded the story that began in Avenging Spider-Man #6 and Punisher #10. Unfortunately this really didn't live up to my expectations at all and ended in a really unsatisfactory fashion.

The first two parts to the Omega Effect were fantastic. Mark Waid and Greg Rucka's electric script was terrific in Avenging Spidey and Punisher so my hopes were high for the final part, plus it was all going to be wrapped in up in my favourite book featuring my favourite character. What could go wrong? After finishing this issue, it turns out we are exactly where we started before the Omega Effect began. Seriously, exactly. Nothing has changed, especially not for Daredevil and Spider-Man. Only the Punisher's world has been altered slightly. Daredevil had the mega hard-drive with all the data on the big baddies at the start of this crossover and he finished with it too. This was such an underwhelming ending, the Omega Effect might as well not have happened. Its a real shame too because this crossover got off to such a fantastic start. Now it all feels like a complete waste of time. What a letdown.

It's even more disappointing because Marco Checchetto's beautiful artwork has essentially gone to waste. His stunning work on Avenging Spider-Man #6 and The Punisher #10 featured some of the best representations of those characters I've seen in a long time, and his work in Daredevil #11 is equally impressive. How unfortunate then that the story doesn't matter at all.

Daredevil #11 is still a top book as far as production goes. The art absolutely sings and the script is witty like you'd expect from Waid. But the overall story and its failure to move the story along really brings this book down a  notch, significantly. I'm amazed Conor at iFanboy gave this the Pick of the Week. Maybe he gave it based on the overall quality of the three issues collected in this mini-event, which is fair enough I suppose. But for me this failed to deliver and was really disappointing in the end. Bring on Daredevil #12 next Wednesday when Waid's mission for DD gets back on track.

Rating: 3/5

Aquaman #8

Solid stuff yet again from Mr Johns and Mr Reis who are keeping Aquaman at those high levels they've established for the character ever since issue 1. It's been exciting to delve into Arthur's past over the last two issues, seeing what he was like before he became Aquaman. From what we've seen so far, he wasn't always so interested in being a hero - in fact there's a flashback in issue 8 where Aquaman refused to rescue innocent civilians in an attempt to keep up with the villain he was chasing. It took the rest of his group (the Others) to change his mind and get Arthur to help out, which he did begrudgingly. Aquaman's a bit of badass deep down we discover. There's also some tension between him and his wife Mera, who's been completely left in the dark concerning her husband's history with the Others, particularly the feisty (and scantily clad) Y'Wara. This rather funny moment occurred:

All in all Johns and Reis's Aquaman is as entertaining as ever and its great we're getting to find out more about his life before he became the superhero we know now. Top stuff.

Rating: 4/5 Pick of the Week

Thanks for reading!

New Comics - 28th March 2012

Apologies for not reviewing my purchases from last week. There were two reasons for this: 1) My haul last week was pretty big, with a lot to read, and 2) I went on holiday the day after I bought them and so didn't have access to the web to post my reviews. Sorry about that. Anyway, on to this week's books:

Aquaman #7

Issue 7 of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis's run on Aquaman sees the beginning of a new arc involving a group called 'The Others' and we find our hero with some explaining to do. I always struggle to review issues that start with a new story arc, especially when Geoff Johns is behind the script because this is obviously going to be paced slowly, which isn't a bad thing, it just doesn't give us a lot to talk about in the first introductory issue. Aquaman #7 introduces us to 'The Others', a group of men and women (probably Atlanteans) who share some unknown relationship with Aquaman; all we seem to know is it looks like he used to belong to their team.

I don't really have much to say here. It was an enjoyable issue and Ivan Reis was incredible on art duties as he usually is. All I can say is I'm interested to see where this goes but I need a little bit more before I can judge it properly. As a single issue it was good but like I said, there's plenty more to come from Johns and Reis and I'm excited to see who 'The Others' really are and why Aquaman separated from them.

Rating: 3/5

Superman #7

Now this is what a Superman comic should be like. Superman #7 was twice as good as any of the previous 6 issues by George Perez and full praise goes to Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen who co-wrote the plot. This book desperately need a new start and that's exactly what we got. Right from the start you could tell Giffen's script was going to deliver the goods: no longer do we have to suffer through those God-awful television reporters explaining every single detail because Giffen has produced a smart and witty inner monologue for Superman that is both enjoyable and interesting to read. I was surprised just how fun this was. It was a nice change to see Superman as an intellectual and his rapport with other characters was pitch perfect. Jurgens and Giffen have gotten of to a very good start and I'm eagerly anticipating issue 8.

My only nit-pick would be the art. From what I gather, the majority of the pencils were done by Jurgens but finished by Jesus Merino and it doesn't really produce the best results. The art is in no way bad - for the most part its well done and clear to follow. But for me its not the style of art a book like Superman deserves. I'd prefer a cleaner overall look to the pages and I think the fantastic Ivan Reis cover spoiled me slightly. I'd love an artist of Reis's calibre on Superman permanently. However that really is the only fault, and it is a minor one at that. Superman #7 was exactly the kind of issue this series needed and I hope Giffen and Jurgens can keep delivering quality like this every month.

Rating: 4/5

Avenging Spider-Man #5

This was my random choice from the shelves this week. I already buy Amazing Spider-Man every month so there's little room left in my life for two Spidey books. But having Leinil Francis Yu as a guest artist was enough to lure me in and it was a happy coincidence that Captain America featured heavily as well. I'd read issue 1 of this when it was released (bought it as a Christmas gift for my nephew) and enjoyed it quite a bit. I like the idea of Spidey teaming up with a different Marvel hero; it's like reading an Avengers book through Peter's eyes, which is great for me because my Avengers knowledge bank is rather limited so its nice to have Spider-Man there to guide me through it. 

Overall, Avenging Spider-Man #5 was good fun. Yu was his sublime best on art and Zeb Wells writes a great Spidey. The best part of this book is that I didn't have to have read any of the previous issues. It was easy to jump into and enjoy it for what it was and then have it wrapped up in a neat finish. I recommend checking it out if you want a fix of Peter Parker with some Avengers thrown in for good measure. I expect I'll pick up the next issue as #6 marks the start of a crossover featuring my Marvel favourite Daredevil, as well as the Punisher and Spidey (of course).

Rating: 4/5

Daredevil #10

Boy does it feel like a long time since issue 9! Along with Batman this is easily one of the most anticipated books for me, every single month. Mark Waid and Paulo Rivera, who've quickly become a Daredevil dream team, never fail to please. Issue 10 wraps up this two-issue arc featuring Mole Man, who has been stealing graves from a New York cemetery, including Daredevil's father Jack Murdock - yes, it gets personal for DD in this one. Without spoiling anything, Daredevil "saves the day" and resolves the problem, dispatching Mole Man in the end. I really liked where Waid took this; he turned a poor villain like Mole Man into a dangerous foe that forced Daredevil to get pretty nasty, about as nasty as he's gotten since they relaunched the character last year. There were moments in #10 that felt like we were seeing the Matt Murdock of old. I've really enjoyed the new direction Waid has taken the character since he took over, taking Matt back a bit to his 'swash-buckling' ways. But it was pretty awesome to see him get angry and ruthless like the old days, when he was at breaking point nearly every issue.

Even with Waid's brilliant script, this book wouldn't be the same without artist Paulo Rivera. Both of the creators need to share the credit because they really do work perfectly together. Rivera has produced another stunning issue here. His style lends itself beautifully to the character and ever since issue 1, Rivera has made Daredevil his own. Just look at that cover for proof. 

My favourite moment of issue 10 revolved around Daredevil getting home and reading Black Cat's letter. This little revelation was a really nice touch and solved some questions I've had ever since issue 8. I really hope Waid brings Black Cat back later on down the line; I'm a fan of the character and I like the idea of her as a love interest for Daredevil. It'd certainly make Matt's life interesting, that's for sure.

All in all, another sublime issue from a team establishing themselves as Daredevil legends. It doesn't get much better than this for a Daredevil fan like me.

Rating: 5/5 Pick of the Week

Thanks for reading.

New Comics - 29th February 2012

Two books for me this week. I nearly bought a few more but decided to be resilient and not buckle and settled for my usual books: The Amazing Spider-Man #680 and Justice League #6. On to the reviews:

Justice League #6

So the first arc of DC's flagship title Justice League is finally over. It's been a good run but there's definitely been something missing to make it the amazing series we were all expecting. The art by Jim Lee was superb (of course) but Geoff Johns's story felt bit underwhelming in the end. Issue 6 saw DC's finest pull together to send Darkseid back to whence he came and transform them from vigilantes into role models in a single fight. But this issue definitely lacked the resolution I wanted. Darkseid wasn't defeated, he was just sent back through his portal, which kind of sucked as an ending in my opinion - maybe I was looking for a more definitive finale. Jim Lee's work on the action scenes were terrific though. When Wonder Woman and Aquaman went for Darkseid's eyes, those characters have never looked so good.

Altogether, the first 6 issues of Justice League have been okay but they haven't been great. Now normally I'm alright with okay from my comics, but from the leading title in DC's New 52 relaunch I expected a little more. I think these issues will probably read better in trade format, instead of 6 week gaps inbetween issues. Also, maybe now the team has been established some real stories can be told and the characters can begin to develop, and the team come together properly. I really liked the scene with Superman breaking free (with help from Batman) from Darkseid's minions to join in the fight - he finally got some attention in this book. It felt like despite being DC's most recognisable icon and de-facto leader of the Justic League, he was barely used in these 6 issues, and we had to endure a lot of Johns's personal favourite Green Lantern instead (not necessarily bad).

Overall, Justice League was just okay when it really needed to be great. I'll still be buying this but in the future I'd like a little bit more story because most of these issues felt like a Jim Lee art exhibition. That's not all bad but I want some reading material in my comics from time to time too.

Rating: 3/5

The Amazing Spider-Man #680

Wow. This was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Slott's run on ASM has been a lot of fun and pretty silly most of the time but when I saw that Spidey was gonna be in space, my first thought was "Oh God, please don't go down a really stupid road with this." It turns out I had no need to be worried because issue 680 was really, really fun.

The main reason issue 680 was so enjoyable is purely down to the fantastic writers. Yost and Slott are on fire here, especially during the scenes between Peter and Johnny Storm. In the past, some of my favourite Spider-Man stories have featured the Human Torch (which ones you say? Ultimate Spider-Man #69 and Spider-Man, Human Torch #5, coincidentally written by Slott). It's all about the witty dialogue, the constant back and forth bickering between Peter and Johnny. Their squabbles really make the issue a joy to read and I was actually laughing out loud on same pages. Fantastic writing and the book benefits immensely when the writers understand their characters completely. The art by Giuseppe Camuncoli was good, but nothing to write home about; it was solid stuff and better than Camuncoli's last issue on ASM (#675).

If you've been wanting to read some Spider-Man but have been hesitant to jump on because of his enormous history, fear not because issue 680 is the perfect issue to get back into the world of Spidey. It's a brand new arc and #680 has been the most enjoyable issue I've read since Spider-Island concluded. It's well worth trying out.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading.

New Comics - 22nd February 2012

Only two books this week, both from DC. Wasting no time, here we go...


Superman #6

After feeling pretty let down by the quality of issue 5, my expectations weren't very high going into issue 6. And of course, Superman failed to deliver. Issue 6 disappointed on nearly every level, the only saving grace being Nicola Scott's fantastic artwork. It's a real shame her talent is wasted away on such a mediocre story because her pencils deserve better.

Now that this opening story arc is finally over, I can safely say I've learnt the error of my ways; never will I be purchasing anything written by George Perez ever again. I am so over Perez's antiquated style of story telling. I don't need everything spelled out for me by some news reporter. In fact, this issue made the previous five issues completely redundant because Perez spelled out absolutely everything for us. George, let the art tell some of the story for Christ's sake! I don't normally have a problem with dialogue-heavy comics, but when the script is this dry, reading soon becomes a chore. Even though the story was tied up in the end, was it interesting? No, not really, not for me. It's really sad because I love the character but awful writing like this will force me to cut this book sooner rather than later. Bring on that new creative team of Giffen and Jurgens, because Superman desperately needs a breath of fresh air.

Rating: 2/5 (it would be 1/5 if it wasn't for Scott's art)

Aquaman #6

Aquaman has, for me, been one of the best books of DC's New 52. Issue 6 takes a slight deviation from the norm and focuses on Aquaman's wife, Mera, as she steps out into the world in search of dog food. Sound a bit silly? Well yes, it is, but issue 6 was really nicely put together and provided a great deal of detail on who Mera is, where she came from and what her role might be concerning Aquaman. This is an enjoyable story and I like where Johns is going with this, building on Aquaman and his family whilst beginning to delve into their past as well.

The only problem I had with issue 6 was the art. It's only nit-picking really, because most of the time the art was fine, but you could tell these pages were not created by the talented Ivan Reis we've been accustomed to. Joe Prado, the series' regular inker, took over pencil duties for this issue and whilst his work was good most of the time, his faces and close-ups were inconsistent. One moment Mera would look graceful, the very picture of Atlantean beauty, then in a different panel her face would appear gawky and awkward. It wasn't a massive problem but when we've had five issues of Ivan Reis' Aquaman, Prado's unpredictable pencils stood out a bit. Reis is back on for issue 7, which I can't wait to get my hands on.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks for reading.

'Superman: Brainiac' Review

There isn't any of my monthly comics I buy this week so I thought I'd review a trade paperback I picked up recently instead; Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's excellent Superman: Brainiac.

Lately I've been going through a bit of a renaissance when it comes to reading about the Man of Steel. Superman has always been one of my favourite characters, there's no denying it. In fact he might possibly be my favourite character overall. It's not a popular thing to admit, even in the world of comics, because despite being the most iconic comic book character ever (he is, at least admit that), the stories involving Superman are traditionally known as not being very good. He's the man that can do everything, who can stop anyone and can't be harmed but this makes him pretty one dimensional and in many people's eyes, boring. Yes there's Kryptonite, that radiated rock that can kill him, but come on, there's only so many stories creators can tell using that angle. The Kryptonite thing has been done to death and I appreciate it's difficult to come up with new ideas to keep Clark Kent and his red and blue alter ego relevant in today's world. The most common argument against Superman is that he is almost impossible for readers to relate to. Not only is he an alien but he's pretty much invulnerable and most of his stories involve a sci-fi twist, featuring characters from out of space and giant monsters. Honestly, Batman is much easier to relate to and it shows, because the character is infinitely more popular in both comics and the wider world, thanks largely to Christopher Nolan's films and their focus on realism. Put it this way; isn't it easier to imagine yourself as Batman rather than Superman? A sense of realism is important to the majority of comic readers and most of the time, Superman falls short of the mark.

Nonetheless, that doesn't stop Superman claiming a place amongst my favourite comic book characters of all time. I was essentially raised on Superman. Saturday evenings as a kid involved dinner in front of the TV with The Adventures of Lois & Clark on the box. I grew up watching Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, and I'd play those VHS tapes to death. As a really young kid I remember having a Superman pop-up book I adored. One summer's day sat in a paddling pool in the garden, I used that book to try and re-enact the scene in Richard Donner's Superman The Movie when he gets chucked into the swimming pool with the Kryptonite chain around his neck. Superman taught me a valuable lesson that day: cardboard and water do not mix (I was devastated, that book was everything to me). So it's safe to say I've been hooked since a very young age and Christopher Reeve is largely responsible for that.

So when I saw Gary Frank's rendition of Superman, I knew immediately that Superman: Brainiac, along with Superman: Secret Origin and Superman and The Legion of Superheroes were definite purchases. In fact Superman: Brainiac was the final book out of the three that I read and I thankfully left the best until last. The book is rather slim in size (it does collect 5 issues though) and feels about half the size of Superman: Secret Origin, but that doesn't mean it's half as good. That's definitely not the case, as Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are on the top of their games here. It's an easy book to finish in one sitting but Johns has packed a lot in there. I'm not gonna go into any detailed plot lines but it's essentially Superman finding out he has never really fought the true Brainiac before and he has to protect Metropolis from ending up in Brainiac's collection of bottled cities. The whole gang is along for the ride, including Lois, Jimmy, Perry White, Ma and Pa Kent, as well as a rather buxom Cat Grant (who is involved in a very funny scene with Supergirl, who detects "some weird plastics" in Cat's chest with her x-ray vision). The story races along but it flows seamlessly enough and Johns does a great job with the pacing - despite being a small book it doesn't feel rushed at all. After finishing it's clear Johns really understands the character and has remained true to Superman's core traits whilst also breathing new life into old characters to create a fresh and interesting story. I've loved everything Johns has written involving Superman so far and I really hope he comes back to the character some day soon in the future.

But Superman: Brainiac, for me, is all about Gary Frank and his gorgeous art. In my opinion Frank is the definitive Superman artist - the character has never looked so good. Curt Swan, John Byrne, Dan Jurgens, Jim Lee - I'm sorry guys but Gary Frank comes out on top as the best of the bunch. I know that Frank's obvious reference to Christopher Reeve is not to everyone's taste. Hey, there are some strange people who don't like the Superman films. Regardless of that fact, you have to admit that Frank's pencils are of the highest quality. Just look at the detail he puts into facial expressions for proof. Every character's face is distinctive which is actually a rarity amongst comic artists and illustrators. If Gary Frank was the permanent artist on the monthly issues of Superman or Action Comics, I'd buy every single issue, regardless of the writer. I really hope Frank returns to drawing Clark Kent soon. I suppose that's enough gushing for now...

Overall, despite being a mere 128 pages (according to Amazon), Superman: Brainiac provides plenty of bang for your buck. Johns has crafted an exciting story that draws you in right until the end. This is a very easy book to finish in one sitting, not because its short in length but because it's hard to put down! Frank's artwork is to die for and if you're not convinced about buying this book, just get it for the art because you won't regret it, not one bit.

Amongst The Panels Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading.

New Comics - 25th January 2012

This Wednesday saw only 3 comics purchased, all from DC . New issue 5's for Aquaman, Superman and the delayed Justice League. Let's get to it (possible SPOILERS ahead):

Superman #5

When the new DC 52 first began last year, I thought I'd try both Superman and Action Comics for my monthly fix of The Man of Steel. After 2 issues of Grant Morrison's Action Comics I felt that his series wasn't really for me. George Perez's run however, although never setting my world alight and being slightly old-school in it's story telling, became my Superman book of choice. Am I regretting that decision now? Maybe. It's not that Perez's story arc is necessarily bad, it's just lacking that little something that makes it stand out. In all 5 issues of Superman, not once have I sat back and gone "Wow, that was good" (or words to that effect). At times it feels like Perez's dialogue can get a bit lost and somewhat bogged down in the details. I don't need everything spelled out for me George, and this old fashioned way of storytelling can get a little frustrating on occasion. 

Despite this, I was glad to see Nicola Scott back on art duties this month, after her impressive work on issue 3. I'm not saying Jesus Merino (the regular artist) is bad, in fact Scott's style is somewhat similar, but it's clear to me that Scott's pencils are just that little bit more refined, more polished. Unfortunately Scott's beautiful art couldn't save this issue from it's mediocrity. As I turned the pages I felt a lot of the story going over my head and I was struggling to get through it; the incessant need to narrate the story through a TV reporter started to grate on me and this issue felt very reminiscent of the overly-wordy debut issue that wasn't as awful as some made it out to be, but took forever to get through. To summarise, I feel that this issue finally made me realise that George Perez doesn't do it for me as a writer. I'll be there for issue 6 to finish off this arc but the arrival of Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens can't come soon enough. A breath of fresh air is desperately needed for what really ought to be one of DC's priority books.

Rating: 2/5

Aquaman #5

Just before DC relaunched all their books last year, I picked up a free mini guide to the new 52 in my local store and for some strange reason the piece on Aquaman inside interested me. I decided to give it a try and I haven't looked back since. I never thought I'd be buying an Aquaman comic every month but after the fantastic first issue I was hooked. I knew next to nothing about the character apart from the obvious - protects the sea, talks underwater to fish etc. But the team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis have kept me on board and I've really enjoyed the series so far, especially Reis' gorgeous art. Issue 5 marks the beginning of a new arc, where we find Aquaman in the one place where he's most unsuited for: the middle of a desert. 

So, what's to love about issue 5? Well Ivan Reis never disappoints and this issue included some of his very best work. I'm a big fan of Reis since his tremendous work on Green Lantern and Blackest Night and he reached similar levels of excellence here. Let's not forget there's a story going on too, as Geoff Johns' script doesn't let us down either. I think part of the reason I'm finding Aquaman so enjoyable every month is because this is all completely new territory for me; I've never read any Aquaman before aside from his small role in Blackest Night. So Johns is doing a great job at keeping me guessing and I can't wait to see what he has in store now it looks like Atlantis is going to be playing a big role in the near future. Overall this was another enjoyable issue of Aquaman and I'll be buying this as long as Johns and Reis are performing at the peak of their powers.

Rating: 4/5

Justice League #5

After 5 issues of DC's flagship title, things are finally beginning to kick off in Justice League. The last four issues were used to introduce each character and that often involved a fight or two. Now that the team has finally been established, this book can get on with the story and the Justice League can face off against their first major villain, Darkseid. This issue came a week late and although the reason why hasn't been released, you can see throughout the book that it probably has something to do with Jim Lee's art. Known in the industry as one of the premier artists in comics history, Lee has a history of missing deadlines. To be fair, with the amount of detail he puts into his work, we have to expect some delays because it must take the bloke bloody ages to finish some of those pages. In issue 5 we can see there are certain panels and pages where Lee's artwork looks slightly rougher around the edges than what we're used to. Don't get me wrong though, this actually turns out to be a nice touch as the action on the page probably warrants a more unrefined look. Paired with Scott Williams' signature inking style and Alex Sinclair's vibrant colours, there were moment in Justice League #5 where Jim Lee's characters have never looked so good. Particular praise must go to Lee's rendition of Green Lantern, who takes centre stage in this issue. If Jim Lee ever decides to sign up for a run on the main Green Lantern book, I'll be there to buy it.

Overall, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are hitting all the right notes with Justice League. It's non-stop action combined with witty dialogue that makes for a fun and entertaining comic, and on a team-up book like this that's all I can really ask for. My only gripe is it always feels like it finishes too soon but that's undoubtedly a sign of my impatience rather than the quality of the book. I just hating waiting another six weeks between issues.

Rating: 4/5 Pick of the Week

Thanks for reading.

Get To Know - My Favourites

So you're probably wondering what types of comics I like and therefore what direction this blog is headed. Well to let readers know what they can expect, here is a selection of my favourite things in the world of comics:

Writers

Scott Snyder (Batman, American Vampire)
Mark Waid (Superman, Daredevil)
Jeph Loeb (Batman Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush)
Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Daredevil)
John Layman (Chew)
Frank Miller (Year One, Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, before he went WAY off course basically)
Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Superman, current DC work)

Artists

Tim Sale (Batman, Daredevil, Superman, Spider-Man, pretty much everything the man does)
Gary Frank (Superman)
John Romita Jr. (Daredevil, Spider-Man, Kick-Ass)
Frank Quitely (Batman & Robin, All Star Superman)
Jim Lee (Batman, Superman, Justice League)
Phil Noto (Superman, plus all the work on his amazing blog)


Characters

Batman
Superman
Daredevil
Spider-Man
Nightwing
Captain America
Tony Chu (Chew)
Invincible
The Rocketeer


Graphic Novels & Trade Paperbacks/ Collections

1) Batman: The Long Halloween
2) Daredevil: Yellow
3) Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
4) Superman: Secret Origin
5) Batman: Year One

Had to limit it to 5 or I'd be here all day...

So there you have it, pretty much all the standard superhero stuff. It's what I grew up with and it seems the 10 year old in me doesn't want to go away. I don't read much indie stuff but I've been known to branch out and away from the superhero stuff occasionally. If I've left out any areas of interest hit me up in the comments and I can add a bit more.

Thanks for reading.