ArtisticallyChill

It was quite busy this past weekend through late Tuesday night as myself, Serena and several friends of Keith’s Komix helped out Keith and his family with the expansion of his store. Boxes upon boxes of cards, trades, and toys that could survive the humidity were loaded into a truck as comic books and statues were tucked safely into the corners of the store. The racks came off the walls and were power-washed and the slat walls were taken down. The thin wall that separated Keith’s Komix from what used to be a beading store came down. As the dust settled, the counters were moved and arranged in the center. The comics were all set up for New Comic Book Day and after the truck was unloaded, Keith’s Komix still looks bigger and better. With so much more room, the store will be able to display more merchandise and take gaming nights to a whole new level! Serena and I were happy to help out our favorite local comic shop, Keith’s Komix!

• BATGIRL #23
• BATMAN & ROBIN #25
• BATMAN INC. #7
• BIRDS OF PREY #14
• CHARISMAGIC #2
• DETECTIVE COMICS #878-879
• EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT IRIS: THE HIT LIST AGENDA #1
• EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ORCHID: THE HIT LIST AGENDA #1
• GOTHAM CENTRAL, BOOK FOUR: CORRIGAN
• LADY MECHANIKA #2
• OZMA OF OZ #8
• RED ROBIN #25
• TEEN TITANS #97
• THE UNWRITTEN #24

PICKS OF THE WEEK:
BATMAN & ROBIN #25

Written by JUDD WINICK; Art by GREG TOCCHINI; Cover by GUILLEM MARCH; Variant cover by J.G. JONES

The most unlikely team-up ever comes to an end. It’s the crashing finish to the brief alliance of Batman, Robin and Jason Todd, a.k.a. The Red Hood, against a common foe. After all, the three “sons of Wayne” can put their differences aside for just so long. And when one fight ends, another will begin…

DETECTIVE COMICS #879

Written by SCOTT SNYDER; Art by JOCK and FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA; Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

For years, Jim Gordon has been tormented by the possibility that his son, James Jr., might be a killer. Tonight, he’ll get the answers he’s been after. But is the truth about James even darker than the Commissioner, or even Batman, could have guessed?

SERENA’S PICK OF THE WEEK: LADY MECHANIKA #2

THERE’S A NEW LADY IN TOWN!

From the imaginative mind of Joe Benitez with colors by the incomparable Peter Steigerwald, comes this all-new supernatural action-adventure series!

The tabloids dubbed her “LADY MECHANIKA”, the sole survivor of a psychotic serial killer’s three-year rampage through London. Found locked in an abandoned laboratory amidst countless corpses and body parts, with her own limbs amputated and replaced with mechanical components, her life began anew. With no memory of her captivity or her former life, LADY MECHANIKA eventually built a new life for herself as a private detective, using her unique abilities to solve cases the police couldn’t or wouldn’t handle. But, she has never stopped searching for answers…

Now, disturbed by haunting memories from her past, LADY MECHANIKA is consumed by a need for answers and focuses all her efforts on investigating the mystery of the Mechanical Girl. The trail leads her to a traveling show run by a band of gypsies, where help might not come as easily as anticipated. But even with the aid of the Gypsy Queen, can LADY MECHANIKA discover who created the Mechanical Girl and why? And will the answers bring her one step closer to uncovering the truth about herself? 

Joe B’s good friend Ale Garza has turned in one of his best covers yet, and with the addition of Peter Steigerwald’s colors, now it is a masterpiece.

HARDCOVER PICK OF THE WEEK: GOTHAM CENTRAL, BOOK FOUR: CORRIGAN

Written by GREG RUCKA and ED BRUBAKER ; Art by STEVE LIEBER, KANO and STEFANO GAUDIANO; Cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON

Witness the gritty side of the Gotham City Police Department from their perspective, as teens dressed as Robin the Boy Wonder start turning up dead. In this final hardcover collection of GOTHAM CENTRAL, collecting issues #32-40, the dead body of Robin the Boy Wonder is found on the streets. Now the detectives of Gotham Central must try to solve the mystery of his death while dealing with Batman and the Teen Titans.

HAPPY READING!

~LoneWolf

Lots of great DC Comics in this week’s pick up at Keith’s Komix. BRIGHTEST DAY continues. A new mystery unfolds as the new BATMAN AND ROBIN confront the Joker who was posing as Oberon Sexton. I’m not liking the issues artist, Frazer Irving. Also I think the letterer, Patrick Brosseau, missed a few sound effects and the art therefore felt kinda bland without it. I don’t know if it was the artist request or the style of the letterer. No complaints about Grant Morrison’s writing though. I went a little variant crazy, picking up the variant covers of DC’s flagship titles hitting another issue milestone. My weekend is gonna be full of some great reading!

• BATMAN # 700 (M.Mignola variant)
• BATMAN AND ROBIN # 13
• BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL # 46
• BRIGHTEST DAY # 5
• BRIGHTEST DAY: THE ATOM SPECIAL
• JSA ALL-STARS # 8
• THE LAST UNICORN # 2
• RED ROBIN # 14
• SUPERMAN # 700 (E.Risso variant)
• WONDER WOMAN # 600 (A.Hughes variant)

PICK OF THE WEEK: BRIGHTEST DAY # 5

Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI • Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO • Cover by DAVID FINCH & SCOTT WILLIAMS • 1:25 variant cover by IVAN REIS

Deadman discovers the truth behind the formation of the White Lantern and what it means to the twelve returnees and the rest of the DC Universe. Plus, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Firestorm discover the price for their resurrections…and why they may be doing more harm than good to the world.

HARDCOVER PICKS OF THE WEEK: BLACKEST NIGHT, BLACKEST NIGHT: GREEN LANTERN, BLACKEST NIGHT: GREEN LANTERN CORPS

BLACKEST NIGHT Written by GEOFF JOHNS • Art by IVAN REIS and OCLAIR ALBERT • Cover by IVAN REIS and RUDOLFO MIGLIARI

As the war between the different Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends in this hardcover collecting the best–selling BLACKEST NIGHT #0-8. Now, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps lead DC’s champions into battle to save the universe from an army of Black Lanterns made up of the DCU’s deceased heroes and villains!
DC Universe 304pg. Color Hardcover $29.99 US

BLACKEST NIGHT: GREEN LANTERN Written by GEOFF JOHNS • Art by DOUG MAHNKE, ED BENES and OTHERS • Cover by IVAN REIS and RUDOLFO MIGLIARI

,,,,The Black Lanterns descend on a spectrum of Corps across the universe in this hardcover collecting GREEN LANTERN #43-52. Plus: Black Hand’s connection to the Black Lantern Corps is explained, and key plot points essential to enjoying the storyline to its fullest are revealed.
DC Universe 272pg. Color Hardcover $24.99 US

BLACKEST NIGHT: GREEN LANTERN CORPS Written by PETER J. TOMASI • Art by PATRICK GLEASON, REBECCA BUCHMAN and OTHERS • Cover by RUDOLFO MIGLIARI

Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner and John Stewart join the rest of the GL Corps in the desperate struggle to preserve the Central Power Battery and Oa itself from being consumed by the Black Lanterns in stories from GREEN LANTERN CORPS #39-47.
DC Universe 264pg. Color Hardcover $24.99 US

I’ve already collected the individual issues. But if you weren’t able to collect this series, definitely pick up these hardcovers to get caught up on one of DC’s greatest storylines since IDENTITY CRISIS!

HAPPY READING!

~ LoneWolf

So yesterday we paid a visit to Keith’s Komix since we had a busy week last week and didn’t make our usual trip to the comic book store. On top of that we got our tax returns direct deposited and decided to pick the comics we had waiting for us from last week and those put on hold. Most of these comics were the on hold because they weren’t a priority to read and were titles that I’m probably cutting out of my pull list after their current story arcs finish up.

• BATMAN AND ROBIN # 10
• BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY! # 1
• BOOSTER GOLD # 29
• CABLE # 24
• DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH # 8
• DEADPOOL TEAM-UP # 895
• DELLEC # 2
• DETECTIVE COMICS # 862
• ECHO # 20
• FATHOM # 10
• JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL # 2
• JSA ALL-STARS # 4
• MASS EFFECT # 3
• NOLA # 3 AND 4
• TEEN TITANS # 79 AND 80
• THE UNWRITTEN # 11
• X-MEN: PIXIE STRIKES BACK # 2

PICK OF THE WEEK: BATMAN AND ROBIN # 10

Written by GRANT MORRISON; Art by ANDY CLARKE and SCOTT HANNA; Cover by FRANK QUITELY; 1:25 variant Cover by ANDY CLARKE

Art sensation Andy Clarke (R.E.B.E.L.S., BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL) joins writer Grant Morrison for an exciting three-issue arc titled “Batman vs. Robin”! Why would Talia al Ghul manipulate her son Damian into taking action against Batman? Will Damian do as Mother says…or stay loyal to Dick Grayson? Plus, more on the Domino Killer, Oberon Sexton, and the menace of El Penitente’s drug cartel! Is this already the end for the new Dynamic Duo?

SERENA’S PICK OF THE WEEK: BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY! # 1

WRITER: Mike Carey
Peter David
Kevin Grevioux
Jonathan Hickman
Simon Spurrier
Frank Tieri
PENCILS: Matteo De LongisTommasso Bennato
Jon Ennis
Lost Fish
Lost Fish
Stephen Thompson
Shaun Turnbull
Gabriel Hernandez Walta
INKS: Vicente Cifuentes
Jon Ennis
Roland Paris
Gabriel Hernandez Walta
COLORED BY: Tom Brennan|Jim Charalampidis|Gabriel Hernandez Walta
LETTERED BY: Dave Sharpe

THE STORY:
Want to know what it takes to break into Marvel Comics like these guys? Then look no further than this two-part book which is a must-have for anyone wanting to be a Comic Book Breakout Star! After traveling the globe and meeting scores of talented illustrators, intrepid writer, editor and talent manager C.B. Cebulski is giving twelve rising star artists the opportunity to do their breakout work at Marvel Comics! But not only will BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY showcase the work of these up-and-comers, C.B. will also provide an insider’s commentary on how these artists got their work seen and what it was that landed them the gig. And with step-by-step submission information and a sample Marvel Comics script, these books are MUST HAVES for anyone interested in doing their breakout work and breaking into the comics industry!

Happy Reading!

~ LoneWolf