Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 15, 2015

IMAGE COMICS

FEB150501     68 BAD SIGN ONE SHOT CVR A (MR)     $3.99
FEB150502     68 BAD SIGN ONE SHOT CVR B (MR)     $3.99
FEB150598     CHRONONAUTS #2 (MR)     $3.50
FEB158100     CHRONONAUTS #2 CVR B MURPHY (MR)     $3.50
DEC140731     FADE OUT #5 (MR)     $3.50
FEB150608     GHOSTED #19 (MR)     $2.99
FEB150620     ODDLY NORMAL #6 CVR A FRAMPTON     $2.99
FEB150621     ODDLY NORMAL #6 CVR B RICHARD     $2.99
FEB158258     POSTAL #1 2ND PTG     $3.99
FEB158259     POSTAL #2 2ND PTG     $3.99
JAN150650     PUNKS THE COMIC TP VOL 01 NUTPUNCHER     $14.99
JAN150701     REVIVAL #29 (MR)     $3.99
FEB150626     REYN #4     $2.99
FEB150487     RUNLOVEKILL #1 (MR)     $2.99
FEB150631     SECRET IDENTITIES #3     $3.50
FEB150632     SHUTTER #11 (MR)     $3.50
JAN150596     SPAWN #251 (MR)     $2.99
DEC140691     SPREAD TP VOL 01 NO HOPE (MR)     $14.99
JAN150712     STRAY BULLETS SUNSHINE & ROSES #3 (MR)     $3.50
FEB150544     SUPERANNUATED MAN TP (MR)     $17.99
FEB150488     TITHE #1 CVR A EKEDAL     $3.99
FEB150489     TITHE #1 CVR B EKEDAL     $3.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS

DEC142228     WALKING DEAD TV BUILDING SET BMB SER 1     PI
DEC142232     WALKING DEAD TV BUILDING SET LEVEL 12     PI
DEC142230     WALKING DEAD TV BUILDING SET LEVEL 3     PI
DEC142231     WALKING DEAD TV BUILDING SET MULTI-PK     PI

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 18, 2015

IMAGE COMICS

JAN150668     ALEX + ADA #13     $2.99
JAN150560     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR A MURPHY & HOLLINGSWORTH (MR)     $3.50
JAN150561     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR B SCALERA (MR)     $3.50
JAN150562     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR C SHALVEY (MR)     $3.50
JAN150563     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR D PANOSIAN (MR)     $3.50
JAN150564     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR E STAPLES (MR)     $3.50
JAN150565     CHRONONAUTS #1 CVR F OTTLEY (MR)     $3.50
DEC140723     COWL #9 (MR)     $3.99
DEC140657     DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 02 KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE (MR)     $14.99
JAN150568     INVISIBLE REPUBLIC #1 (MR)     $2.99
JAN150631     LAZARUS TP VOL 03 CONCLAVE (MR)     $14.99
DEC140674     MADAME FRANKENSTEIN TP     $16.99
JAN150586     MANHATTAN PROJECTS SUN BEYOND THE STARS #1     $3.50
DEC140677     NIGHTWORLD TP VOL 01 MIDNIGHT SONATA     $12.99
JAN150643     NIXONS PALS HC (MR)     $19.99
JAN150696     OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #7 (MR)     $2.99
DEC140684     PROPHET TP VOL 04 JOINING     $17.99
DEC140752     PUNKS THE COMIC #5 (MR)     $3.99
JAN150575     RED ONE #1 (MR)     $2.99
JAN150651     REVENGE TP (MR)     $14.99
JAN150702     REYN #3     $2.99
DEC148638     RUMBLE #2 2ND PTG (MR)     $3.50
JAN150705     SATELLITE SAM #12 (MR)     $3.50
JAN150707     SECRET IDENTITIES #2     $3.50
JAN150621     SEXCASTLE OGN (MR)     $15.99
JAN150717     SPARKS NEVADA MARSHAL ON MARS #2     $3.50
OCT140766     SPREAD #6 (MR)     $3.50
DEC140764     STRAY BULLETS SUNSHINE & ROSES #2 (MR)     $3.50
OCT140777     WITCHBLADE #181 CVR A REARTE     $3.99
OCT140778     WITCHBLADE #181 CVR B SEJIC     $3.99
JAN150725     ZERO #15 CVR A BERTRAM & MULLER (MR)     $2.99
JAN150726     ZERO #15 CVR B LEMIRE & MULLER (MR)     $2.99

Review: PUNKS: The Comics #4

PUNKS: THE COMIC #4
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS: Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
VARIANT COVER: Joe Infurnari
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2015)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

Yeah, I was late getting to the comic shop, so I am late with a review of the fourth issue of Punks: The Comics.  By the time I was able to get to the shop, the only copy left sported a variant cover by Joe Infurnari.  I really wanted the main cover, which featured a send-up of Todd McFarlane's “classic” cover for Spider-Man (August 1990).

Punks: The Comic is the revival of writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Kody Chamberlain's 2007 small press comic book, Punks.  Chamberlain produces Punks' “original art” with a cut-and-past, do-it-yourself technique and style.  Punks focuses on a quartet of cut-ups:  Dog (a bulldog head on a human figure), Skull (human skull on figure), Fist (a male fist on figure), and Abe Lincoln (images of President Abraham Lincoln's head on various figures).  It's like paper dolls and puppet theater turned inside out and inside again.

As Punks: The Comic #4 opens, Abe, Skull, Fist, and Dog return from their latest (mis)adventure.  Well, dear readers, that means the end of the latest issue of Punks, but wait...  Didn't this issue just begin?  See the stars try to end their show.  And in the “classic” Punks, Dog turns into an alien butt hole surfer, or something like that.

[Punks: The Comic #4 includes some story pages from the original Punks comix.]

Early in my reading of Punks: The Comic #4, I found something to steal for my own writing.  As they say, talent borrows; genius steals.  Who knew that a story about getting to the end of the story could be so much fun.  I think I can build at least a three-issue miniseries out of that.

In the reprint story, Punks proves that it was ahead its time, literally.  I think Punks: The Comics may be trying to match its own surreal and cockamamie beginnings.  Punks is still just scratching at the black ice surface of its potential.  I hope “mainstream” North American comics has a place for this especially funny comic book.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 25, 2015

IMAGE COMICS

NOV140585     68 TP VOL 04 RULE OF WAR     $19.99
NOV140641     ALEX + ADA #12     $2.99
NOV140562     APHRODITE IX CYBER FORCE #1 CROSS OVER SDCC EXC     $10.00
NOV148198     BIRTHRIGHT #3 2ND PTG     $2.99
NOV140643     BITCH PLANET #2 (MR)     $3.50
OCT140615     BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 02 WELCOME NOWHERE     $14.99
NOV140529     CASANOVA ACEDIA #1 (MR)     $3.99
NOV140569     CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR)     $14.99
SEP120496     DANGER CLUB #6     $2.99
OCT140735     DEATH VIGIL #6 (MR)     $3.99
NOV140534     DYING AND THE DEAD #1     $4.50
NOV140658     GRAVEYARD SHIFT #2     $3.50
JUL140494     GREAT PACIFIC TP VOL 03 BIG GAME HUNTERS (MR)     $14.99
NOV140614     MAGDALENA ORIGINS TP VOL 01 NEW PTG     $19.99
OCT140637     OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA TP VOL 01     $9.99
NOV140669     PUNKS THE COMIC #4 CVR A CHAMBERLAIN     $3.99
NOV140670     PUNKS THE COMIC #4 CVR B INFURNARI     $3.99
NOV140671     RASPUTIN #4 (MR)     $3.50
NOV140674     REVIVAL #27 (MR)     $3.99
NOV140680     SEX #19 (MR)     $2.99
SEP140750     SEX CRIMINALS #10 (MR)     $3.50
NOV130456     SUPER DINOSAUR TP VOL 04     $12.99
NOV140691     THEYRE NOT LIKE US #2 (MR)     $2.99
OCT140771     UMBRAL #12 (MR)     $3.50
NOV140701     ZERO #14 CVR A OLEKSICKI & MULLER (MR)     $2.99
NOV140702     ZERO #14 CVR B ZONJIC & MULLER (MR)     $2.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS
OCT142310     TMP NBA SERIES 25 AF     PI

Review: PUNKS: The Comic #3

PUNKS: THE COMIC #3
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS:  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2014)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

I'm just getting to the third issue of Punks: The Comic.  This series is a revival of writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Kody Chamberlain's 2007 small press comic book, Punks.  Chamberlain produces Punks' “original art” by cutting up various photographic images and compiling them to create the characters, settings, and storytelling.  Punks focuses on a quartet of cut-ups:  Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln.

As Punks: The Comic #3 opens, Abe is readying their humble abode for his family's arrival.  It's Thanksgiving, a time for family gatherings.  Skull, Fist, and Dog aren't to excited about this holiday visit.  Can they get excited about the ACLU, Sean Connery, and some Baldwin brothers?

[Punks: The Comic #3 includes some story pages from the original Punks comix and a strange interview with pre-superstar Rick Remender.]

It's a coincidence.  I was reading Punks: The Comic #3 around the same time actor Chris Pine was apologizing for the tepid reception of Jack Ryan film series reboot in which he starred, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (not the best title).  It isn't Pine's fault.  Maybe Jack Ryan movies should be based on actual Jack Ryan novels written by the late Tom Clancy and not on screenplays written by gilded studio hacks like David Koepp.

But I digress...  It's just that The Hunt for Red October, a movie based on a Tom Clancy Jack Ryan novel, plays an integral part in Punks #3.  This issue, although quite good, does not hit the highs reached by the first two issues, but #3 hints at Punks' seemingly endless possibilities for humor, satire, and farce.  Fialkov and Chamberlain have a weapon by which they can eviscerate the current social-political, cultural, and pop culture landscapes of America (and maybe even the old landscapes).

I assume both creators want to “work in this town again,” so American comics, both as an industry and as a culture, are probably safe.  That and the zealous protection of copyrights and trademarks may keep this dynamic duo from slaying comic book sacred cows.  Still, the sky's the limit for Abe, Skull, Fist, and Dog, and I'm sure they'd take a crap on the sky, too.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: PUNKS: The Comic #2

PUNKS: THE COMIC #2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS:  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
VARIANT COVER: Jeff Lemire
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

I have added a new comic book to my must-read list.  It's Punks: The Comic, and the second issue recently arrived.  This new series is actually a revival of writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Ultimates) and artist Kody Chamberlain's (Sweets) 2007 small press comic book, Punks.  Chamberlain produces Punks' “original art” by cutting up various photographic images and compiling them to create the characters, settings, and storytelling.  Punks may be part of what Wired Magazine called “cut-and-past” culture.  Punks: The Comic stars the screwy quartet of  Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln.

As Punks: The Comic #2 opens, Skull and Abe witness the arrival of “Superdog,” who drops from the sky like a falling star.  This new-fangled canine looks almost identical to Dog.  Perhaps, he will be a better roommate than plain-ol' Dog; at least, Fist agrees.  When Superdog's true colors are revealed in a yellow stream, the out-with-the-old Dog will have to stop the in-with-the-new Superdog.

[Punks: The Comic #2 includes some story pages from the original Punks comix.]

The cut-and-paste, do-it-yourself aesthetic of Punks: The Comics seems a little strange at first, but this is a comic book that gets better with each issue.  “Irreverent” does not seem to be a strong enough word to describe the kind of humor produced by Fialkov and Chamberlain.  And “witty” sure as hell doesn't hack it.

For me, the animations that Terry Gilliam created for Monty Python's Flying Circus and Monty Python, in general, come to mind when I read this comic book.  Punks is pungent and potent like British satire and as beguiling as the best of it.  Indeed, it is as if Fialkov and Chamberlain have formed their own surreal comedy troupe.  Punks certainly seems like the beast that will devour the staid yuck-yuck pamphlets that pass for humor in American comic books.

Readers looking for something truly different and truly good in comic books will want Punks: The Comic.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for November 5, 2014

IMAGE COMICS

SEP140708     68 HOMEFRONT #3 CVR A JONES (MR)     $3.99
SEP140709     68 HOMEFRONT #3 CVR B GALLAGHER (MR)     $3.99
SEP140567     AMERICAN LEGENDS #1     $3.99
SEP140574     ARTIFACTS #40 (MR)     $5.99
AUG148516     BIRTHRIGHT #1 2ND PTG     $2.99
SEP140711     BIRTHRIGHT #2     $2.99
SEP148137     BIRTHRIGHT #2 CVR B     $2.99
JUL140536     CHEW #44 (MR)     $2.99
AUG148514     COPPERHEAD #2 2ND PTG     $3.50
AUG148515     FADE OUT #2 2ND PTG     $3.50
SEP140719     FUSE #7 CVR A GREENWOOD (MR)     $3.50
SEP140720     FUSE #7 CVR B FRISON (MR)     $3.50
SEP140723     GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS #3 CVR A BROWNE (MR)     $3.50
SEP140724     GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS #3 CVR B BURNHAM (MR)     $3.50
SEP140725     HACK SLASH SON OF SAMHAIN #5 (MR)     $3.50
SEP140551     HUMANS #1 (MR)     $2.99
SEP140727     IMPERIAL #4     $2.99
SEP140594     KINSKI TP     $14.99
SEP140730     LIL DEPRESSED BOY SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TOO #2     $3.99
SEP140732     MADAME FRANKENSTEIN #7     $2.99
SEP140734     MERCENARY SEA #7     $2.99
SEP140735     NAILBITER #7 (MR)     $2.99
SEP140736     NIGHTWORLD #4     $3.99
SEP140583     PENNY DORA & THE WISHING BOX #1 CVR A GRACE     $2.99
SEP140584     PENNY DORA & THE WISHING BOX #1 CVR B LARSON     $2.99
SEP140742     PUNKS THE COMIC #2 CVR A CHAMBERLAIN     $3.99
SEP140743     PUNKS THE COMIC #2 CVR B LEMIRE     $3.99
APR140587     REAL HEROES #4     $4.99
AUG140681     SPAWN #248     $2.99
AUG140682     SPREAD #4 (MR)     $3.50
AUG140684     SUPERANNUATED MAN #4 (MR)     $3.99
SEP140757     TECH JACKET #5     $2.99
MAR140609     TEN GRAND #11 (MR)     $2.99
SEP140540     TOOTH & CLAW #1 (MR)     $2.99
JUL140586     VELVET #8 (MR)     $3.50
SEP140657     WALKING DEAD TP VOL 22 A NEW BEGINNING (MR)     $14.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS

AUG140709     ASSASSINS CREED SER 3 AH TABAI AF     PI
AUG140711     ASSASSINS CREED SER 3 ALTAIR AF     PI
AUG140710     ASSASSINS CREED SER 3 EZIO AF     PI
AUG140712     ASSASSINS CREED SER 3 SECRET ASSASSIN AF     PI
AUG140708     ASSASSINS CREED SERIES 3 AF     PI
JUL142184     HALO 2014 AF     PI
JUL142185     HALO 2014 HALO 2 MASTER CHIEF AF     PI
JUL142186     HALO 2014 MASTER CHIEF WITH CLOAK AF     PI

Review: PUNKS: The Comic #1

PUNKS: THE COMIC #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS:  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
VARIANT COVER: Rob Guillory
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2014)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Ultimates) and artist Kody Chamberlain (Sweets, Tag) revive their comic book project, Punks, with the new ongoing series, Punks: The Comic, which is being published by Image Comics.  Fialkov and Chamberlain published at least two issues of Punks via Digital Webbing in 2007.  Punks stood out because of its surreal and absurd humor and because Chamberlain produced the art by cutting up photographic images and pasting them together to create the characters and settings.

Punks: The Comic #1 features the return of Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln.  Dog is a human figure with a bulldog head pasted onto it.  Skull has a skeleton's skull.  Fist is a clenched fist on a human body, and Abe Lincoln features an iconic image of the President Abraham Lincoln head on various bodies and figures.

The story opens at the quartet's home (a dormitory?).  The misadventures begin with Dog and his “Wunderpants” and includes a visit from a girl he is trying to romance.  Her arrival coincides with an invasion of gnomes.  Will it be happily ever after or just insane as it ever was?

[Punks: The Comic #1 includes some story pages from Punks: The Summer Comic Special, which was published in 2007.]

The cut-and-paste, do-it-yourself aesthetic of Punks: The Comics goes farther than one would think.  It is not a one-note joke, but I am curious to see where the creators go with this.  This comic book concept also reminds me of those animations that Terry Gilliam created for “Monty Python's Flying Circus.”  I think Fialkov has previously mentioned that the late British television series, “The Young Ones,” as an inspiration for Punks.

Punks: The Comic is so “out there,” yet it works.  I have to admit that I am genuinely surprised by how successful the humor is, rather than merely being arty, pretentious and vague.  Also, I can't help but admire the work Kody puts into creating the art.  Readers looking for something truly different in comic books will want Punks: The Comic.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 8, 2014

IMAGE COMICS
AUG140636     68 HOMEFRONT #2 CVR A JONES & FOTOS (MR)     $3.99
AUG140637     68 HOMEFRONT #2 CVR B CHARLES & FOTOS (MR)     $3.99
JUL140467     AMERICAS GOT POWERS TP (MR)     $17.99
AUG140536     BIRTHRIGHT #1 (MR)     $2.99
JUL140533     BLACK SCIENCE #9 (MR)     $3.50
AUG148041     COPPERHEAD #1 2ND PTG     $3.50
JUN148095     COPPERHEAD #2     $3.50
AUG140545     CUTTER #2 (MR)     $3.99
JUL140539     DARK ENGINE #3 (MR)     $3.50
AUG140643     DEATH VIGIL #4 (MR)     $3.99
JUL140478     EAST OF WEST TP VOL 03 THERE IS NO US     $14.99
AUG140650     GHOSTED #14 (MR)     $2.99
AUG148040     GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS #1 2ND PTG (MR)     $3.50
AUG140654     HOWTOONS REIGNITION #3     $2.99
AUG140655     IMPERIAL #3     $2.99
JUL140557     MANHATTAN PROJECTS #24     $3.50
AUG140588     MINIMUM WAGE TP VOL 01 FOCUS ON THE STRANGE (MR)     $14.99
AUG140539     PUNKS THE COMIC #1 CVR A CHAMBERLAIN     $3.99
AUG140540     PUNKS THE COMIC #1 CVR B GUILLORY     $3.99
JUN130450     RAVINE TP VOL 02     $14.99
JUN140572     SEX CRIMINALS #8 (MR)     $3.50
JUL140575     SPAWN #247     $2.99
MAY140736     TALES OF HONOR #5 CVR A JEONG     $2.99
MAY140737     TALES OF HONOR #5 CVR B SEJIC     $2.99
JUN140583     THIEF OF THIEVES #24 (MR)     $2.99
AUG140613     WALKING DEAD ALL OUT WAR AP EDITION HC (MR)     $34.99
AUG140523     WYTCHES #1 (MR)     $2.99

IMAGE COMICS BUY-SELL

AUG140568     CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2014 #1 CVR A ALLRED     $4.99
AUG140569     CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2014 #1 CVR B SIMONSON     $4.99
AUG140570     CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2014 #1 CVR C CHARM     $4.99

Review: SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story

"Murder, my sweet?"

SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY
IMAGE COMICS

CARTOONIST: Kody Chamberlain
INTRODUCTION: Duncan Fegredo
ISBN: 978-1-60706-413-8; paperback
120pp, Color, $14.99 U.S.

Kody Chamberlain is a Lafayette, Louisiana-based graphic designer turned comic book artist. He drew a backup feature for IDW’s 30 Days of Night and was the artist on two issues of BOOM Studio’s three-issue horror miniseries, Tag. He also received critical acclaim for his creator-owned comic, Punks (with writer Joshua Hale Fialkov).

Sweets was a five-issue comic book miniseries written and drawn by Kody Chamberlain and published by Image Comics beginning in 2010. The series was recently collected in the trade paperback, Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story. Set in the days before the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, Sweets follows a grieving detective as he tries to uncover the identity of a spree killer terrorizing New Orleans.

In the story there is a killer on the loose in New Orleans, one who sometimes leaves pecan pralines at the crime scene, so he is called “Sweets.” The investigation is dropped in the lap of New Orleans Police Detective Curt Delatte, who is still grieving the loss of his daughter, Katie (Kaitlin M. Delatte) in a car crash. His boss, Lt. Palmer is not really sympathetic; he just wants Sweets found, especially with the mayor becoming exceedingly insistent that the police catch Sweets after he kills one of the mayor’s pals.

Delatte and his partner Jeff Matthews, who protects Delatte’s job and acts as a sort of filter between Delatte and Palmer, navigate the exotic streets and neighborhoods of the Big Easy. Along the way, they meet an eccentric cast of characters and discover that Sweets may act as spree killer or even a serial killer, but there is more to his game than anyone realizes.

I have to say that Sweets’ basic story will be recognizable to anyone familiar with detective fiction, films, television, or even comic books. The troubled detective, his ass of a police superior, the destined-for-tragedy partner, the absolutely nuts and/or ruthless mass killer, and the gritty setting: this all has a very loud ring of familiarity. Also, I am not as enamored with the dialogue in this series as Duncan Fegredo, who provides an introduction to this volume, is. Then, there is that crazy ending that recalls Polanski’s Chinatown and Antonioni’s Blowup.

Because the detective story is so common and well worn, a storyteller must find a unique angle upon which to execute the story, and Kody Chamberlain does. This unique angle is New Orleans. Sweets is not just another Film-Noir pretense. Chamberlain presents a fictional New Orleans that is colorful and exotic even while it is gritty. It is a city of striking eccentricities, but in places it resembles both cookie-cutter bland and decaying urban landscape. This New Orleans’ sweetness can be candy or poison.

Chamberlain also offers interesting juxtapositions of characters and of character relationships. For instance, Curt Delatte works kind of a razor’s edge. On one side is a city bureaucracy that demands justice after a favored son gets snuffed, and on the other side is an aspect of the city that doesn’t really index death by social status. Death comes for all.

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story is truly unique in crime fiction. New Orleans, however, has been done to death. I would like to see Kody do more crime comics, and I’m sure that between Thibodaux and Lafayette, he can find characters and settings to set the world of crime comics on fire.

A-

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story also reprints an interview of Kody conducted by the comic book website, Newsarama and a sketchbook section of preliminary art and thumbnails, among other things. There is also a script-to-art section, showing how the comic book went from script to breakdowns to pencil art to finished art.

The New 52 Review: I, VAMPIRE #1

"Blood in, blood out"

I, VAMPIRE #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Joshua Hale Fialkov
ARTIST: Andrea Sorrentino
COLORS: Marcelo Maiolo
LETTERS: Pat Brosseau
32pp, Color, $2.99

I, Vampire is one of the comic books to come out of “The New 52,” DC Comics re-launch of its superhero line. I, Vampire is based upon I...Vampire, which was a 24-issue storyline that appeared in House of Mystery from 1981 to 1983.

Created by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Tom Sutton, the series focused on Lord Andrew Bennett, a vampire who vowed to only drink the blood of animals and bottled human blood. In 1591, Bennett turned his lover, Mary Seward, into a vampire, but she became corrupted by the power. Seward took the name Mary, Queen of Blood and created a group of vampires called The Blood Red Moon that was bent on taking over the world. I...Vampire followed Bennett into modern times as he tried to undo his mistake and take down Mary and The Blood Red Moon.

I don’t know how much of the original I...Vampire will carry over into the new version. I, Vampire #1 (“Tainted Love”) opens in Boston with a shirtless Andrew (why?) hunting new vampires – apparently the creation of his former lover, Mary. Meanwhile, the narrative flashbacks reveal an argument/discussion between Andrew and Mary.

In spite of the shirtless vampire males and the Goth-y vamp chicks (and all those lithe bodies), I, Vampire is not DC Comics’ Twilight thing. Actually, it may be the feuding vampire version of Marvel Comics’ mutant vs. mutant thing. I almost like artist Andrea Sorrentino’s Jae Lee impersonation, although I’d prefer a more traditional art style (like Tom Sutton’s).

I think writer Joshua Hale Fialkov could do something interesting with this, especially because it ties into the DCU proper rather than Vertigo.

B

September 28th
AQUAMAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/aquaman-1.html
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/batman-dark-knight-1.html
BLACKHAWKS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/blackhawks-1.html
FLASH #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/flash-1.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/justice-league-dark-1.html
SUPERMAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/superman-1.html
TEEN TITANS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/teen-titans-1.html
VOODOO #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/10/voodoo-1.html