Death Note (Always Bet on) Black Edition

I read Death Note Black Edition, Vol. 1

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

I Reads You Review: MILESTONE FOREVER #2

MILESTONE FOREVER #2

DC COMICS

WRITER: Dwayne McDuffie

PENCILS/INKS: John Paul Leon (framing sequence)
PENCILS: Denys Cowan, ChrisCross
INKS: Prentis Rollins, Rob Still
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano
COLORS: Snakebite
COVER: Admira
48pp, Color, $5.99

Milestone was an imprint of DC Comics, active in producing comic books from 1993 through 1997. It was the creation of Milestone Media, a collective of African-American comic book creators. Milestone focused on comic books featuring minority characters, specifically African-American superheroes. Several titles appeared under the imprint, including Hardware, Icon, and Blood Syndicate. One of them, Static, was developed into an Emmy Award winning animated series, Static Shock.

After Milestone Media shuttered the imprint, Milestone’s characters mostly disappeared, although some made appearances in various DC Comics series. In the summer of the 2008, Dwayne McDuffie, a Milestone Media co-founder, announced that the Milestone characters would be merged into the DC Universe. That was a business decision, involving legal matters. Published early last year, Milestone Forever dealt with the fictional matters. It was a two-issue miniseries that provided the fictional depiction of Milestone’s universe, the “Dakotaverse,” merging with the DCU.

Milestone Forever focuses on a character named Dharma, the god-like being who initiated the “Big Bang,” the event that gave characters like Static their superpowers. Dharma believes that one of the Dakotaverse stars is the superhero who can save existence, thus, keeping Dharma from doing something dreadful. But which hero is the savior? In Milestone Forever #2, Dharma looks towards Hardware and Static. One is at a crossroads, however, and the other is having an adventure through his future.

As much as I liked the first issue of Milestone Forever, this second issue is a big improvement over the first. The first issue came across as a nostalgic piece of 1980s superhero fight comics, but #2 just seems nostalgic, a sentiment I share. The Hardware story, drawn by the incomparable Denys Cowan, and the Static story, drawn by the underrated ChrisCross, simultaneously celebrates the two characters in a low key way and pines for what was and will likely never again be.

Cowan’s art, great on its own, takes flight thanks to Snakebite’s fiery colors, and the art once again testifies to the potential that the Hardware comic book not only had but reached. Snakebite’s dazzling array of hues make the ChrisCross drawn story a tale that recalls both Static’s four-color foundation and its gritty take on it.

But Dwayne McDuffie must always get his due. He is a thoroughly underrated writer, and here, his magic is not in merging two universes, but rather in affirming that Milestone superhero comic books weren’t a stunt. They were the real fucking deal.

A-

M.A.J.A.K. Returns

Welcome the New Year with a little M.A.J.A.K.tm

Welcome the New Year with the team of MAJAK: Multiethnic American Judicial Attack Korps' A great new team of International heroes devoted to Freedom !!

PRLog (Press Release) – Jan 01, 2011 – A great group of New American Heroes is coming to the action entertainment scene, with the introduction of M.A.J.A.K., the team of multiethnic American fighters for freedom!! Originaly test marketed with products in the nineties such as posters and merchandize like Betras Plastics water bottles, MAJAK was researched and developed, and will now be officially released in 2011 with brand new products and stories!!

The main story and characters are about a group of heroes from the diverse American cultural scene. With new characters and storylines, these freedom fighters strike a blow against evil doers and villians that threaten America and her allies; they try to foster the cause of peace and goodness in our often troubled world.

The leader of M.A.J.A.K. is Aaron Majac, an American of African and European descent. Aaron's father was a General in the United States Army. His mother, the modern, exotic, beautiful princess of the ancient African Kingdom of Avinaka.. Aaron Majac, a magician and escape artist, founded one of the greatest communication networks in history, and uses his profits to support the Team MAJAK.

Joined by some of the most fantastic heroes and associates, Aaron blazes a trail of hope and perseverance as he leads Team MAJAK on adventures beyond belief!!

James and the Giant Nib Pen

NIBBUS MAXIMUS Debut Performance at Gage Academy of Art Jim Woodring Unveils The Giant Nib Pen

 

Seattle cartoonist Jim Woodring, author Frank Comics and the acclaimed Weathercraft, has built a seven-foot-long pen-and-penholder, a giant version of the steel dip pen nib and wooden handle used by artists and calligraphers. The pen will make its debut in the Skinner Auditorium of Gage Academy of Art on Sunday, January 9 from 1pm to 4pm.

The nib is sixteen inches long and made of brass-pated, hand-engraved cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A vase functions as an inkwell.

When this project was announced earlier this year it was met with heavy skepticism. Many felt a pen this size could not function because the relationship between scale and fluid dynamics. Woodring was convinced it could be done and the nib has performed well in tests with prototypes. This will be the first public demonstration of the finished product.

Woodring will be making large ink drawings (up to 4 x 6 feet) on a specially built drawing board and conversing with the audience as he works. Regulation pen-and-ink supplies will be on hand for interested audience members to use; members of Seattle’s Friends of the Nib will provide instruction for beginners.

The Giant Pen was built with finds raised through United States Artists Special Projects, 2010. Free paper, pen and ink supplies provided by Dick Blick on Capitol Hill. Special thanks also to Saint Mark’s Cathedral.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 5 2011

DC COMICS

NOV100205 ADVENTURE COMICS #522 $2.99

NOV100177 AZRAEL #16 $2.99

NOV100168 BATMAN BEYOND #1 $2.99

FEB100301 BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM $80.00

NOV100178 BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #52 $2.99

NOV100154 BRIGHTEST DAY #17 $2.99

APR100306 COVER GIRLS OF THE DCU BATGIRL STATUE $99.99

NOV100224 DC COMICS PRESENTS LOBO #1 $7.99

APR100299 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE STATUE BATMAN $80.00

APR100298 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE STATUE CATWOMAN $75.00

NOV100208 DOOM PATROL #18 $2.99

OCT100266 FRACTION TP $17.99

NOV100217 FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5 $2.99

MAR100357 HEROES OF THE DCU ETRIGAN THE DEMON BUST $70.00

NOV100211 JONAH HEX #63 $2.99

NOV100204 JSA ALL STARS #14 $2.99

NOV100251 LOONEY TUNES #194 $2.99

NOV100252 SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #5 $2.99

NOV100149 STARMAN CONGORILLA #1 $2.99

NOV100151 STEEL #1 $2.99

NOV100183 SUPERBOY #3 $2.99

OCT100274 SUPERMAN NIGHTWING AND FLAMEBIRD TP $17.99

NOV100153 WEIRD WORLDS #1 (OF 6) $3.99

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NOV100533 ANT-MAN & WASP #3 (OF 3) $3.99

NOV100530 AVENGERS CHILDRENS CRUSADE #4 (OF 9) $3.99

NOV100536 AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES #3 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100537 AVENGERS PRIME #5 (OF 5) $3.99

NOV100573 AVENGERS THOR CAPTAIN AMERICA OFF INDEX MU #9 $3.99

NOV100542 CAPTAIN AMERICA HAIL HYDRA #1 (OF 5) $2.99

JUL100684 CAPTAIN AMERICA WAR & REMEMBRANCE PREM HC $29.99

JUL100685 CAPTAIN AMERICA WAR & REMEMBRANCE PREM HC DM VAR ED $29.99

NOV100678 ESSENTIAL IRON MAN TP VOL 02 NEW ED $19.99

JUN100670 FANTASTIC FOUR RESURRECTION GALACTUS PREM HC VAR ED 53 $24.99

NOV100610 GENERATION HOPE #3 $2.99

OCT100699 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN TP VOL 04 STARK DISASSEMBLED $15.99

NOV100680 IRON MAN BY MARKO DJURDJEVIC POSTER $34.99

NOV100558 IRON MAN LEGACY #10 $2.99

NOV100550 IRON MAN THOR #3 (OF 4) $3.99

JUL100662 MIGHTY THOR OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 COIPEL CVR $99.99

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OCT100677 MMW UNCANNY X-MEN TP VOL 03 $24.99

NOV100518 OZMA OF OZ #3 (OF 8) $3.99

NOV100592 SHE-HULKS #3 (OF 4) $2.99

NOV100574 SPIDER-MAN MAGAZINE #15 $6.99

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NOV100600 WOLVERINE BEST THERE IS #2 $3.99

JUN100648 WOMEN OF MARVEL SEVEN DECADES OMNIBUS HC COIPEL CVR $125.00

JUN100649 WOMEN OF MARVEL SEVEN DECADES OMNIBUS HC DM VAR ED $125.00

NOV100618 X-FACTOR #213 $2.99

IDW from Diamond Distributors for January 5 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

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OCT100435 COMPLETE LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE HC VOL 06 $49.99

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NOV100381 DOC MACABRE #2 (OF 3) $3.99

NOV100340 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS DARK SUN #1 (OF 5) $3.99

NOV100383 EDGE OF DOOM #3 $3.99

NOV100330 FALLEN ANGEL RETURN OF THE SON #1 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100353 GI JOE ORIGINS #23 $3.99

NOV100355 GI JOE ORIGINS TP VOL 04 $17.99

NOV100396 JAMES PATTERSONS WITCH & WIZARD #8 OPERATION ZERO $3.99

NOV100375 JOHN BYRNE NEXT MEN #2 $3.99

NOV100334 SPIKE #4 (OF 8) $3.99

NOV100385 STAR TREK KHAN RULING IN HELL #4 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100398 THE SUICIDE FOREST #2 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100360 TRANSFORMERS DRIFT TP $17.99

NOV100358 TRANSFORMERS ONGOING #15 $3.99

NOV100366 TRANSFORMERS PRIME #1 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100367 TRANSFORMERS PRIME #2 (OF 4) $3.99

NOV100316 TRUE BLOOD LEGACY EDITION #1 $4.99