ArtisticallyChill

This week we’ve got this and a little extra somethin’ somethin’ from our trip to Keith’s Komix tonight. On top of what we had waiting for us, I added DEADPOOL TEAM-UP # 899 and Serena added SHERLOCK HOLMES VOL. 1 published by IDW. This hardcover novel features the earliest adventures of the legendary detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It features illustrations by Kelley Jones and all the short stores are presented in chronological order. Serena also picked up the SERENITY LITTLE DAMN HEROES painted JAYNE COBB maquette which Keith was nice enough to set aside for her when she saw it last week.

• ASTONISHING X-MEN # 32
• BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL # 36
• BUFFY SEASON 8 # 30
• DEADPOOL TEAM-UP # 899
• FATHOM # 9
• THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ # 1
• PROJECT SUPERPOWERS: CHAPTER 2 # 4
• SHERLOCK HOLMES VOL.1
• SKY PIRATES OF NEO TERRA # 2
• X-MEN ORIGINS: ICEMAN

PICK OF THE WEEK: ASTONISHING X-MEN # 32

COVER BY: Phil Jimenez
WRITER: Warren Ellis
PENCILS: Phil Jimenez
INKS: Andy Lanning
COLORED BY: Frank D\’Armata
LETTERED BY: Chris Eliopoulos

THE STORY:
The X-Men have fought towering, mutant-slaying robot Sentinels before. But never one quite like this. Never a Sentinel made of meat and bone, wearing the skin of one of their own deceased teammates, every technological aspect given a biological solution. And as the X-Men fight for their lives, they’re left to wonder: What could this monstrosity have to do with THE BROOD?

Anything written by Warren Ellis is always worth the wait. Since taking over the writing duties with the last story arc, I have been eagerly waiting for what Warren Ellis has planned for The Astonishing X-men team. Paired with the very talented Phil Jimenez, Astonishing X-men continues to be my favorite X-Men title. And the fact that it’s the only X-Men title on my pull list (I dropped X-men Legacy and Uncanny X-men last month) is proof of that it is my favorite X-Men title and it is also why Warren Ellis is a literary god among men.

SERENA’S PICK OF THE WEEK: THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ # 1

COVER BY: SKOTTIE YOUNG
WRITER: Eric Shanower
PENCILS: SKOTTIE YOUNG
INKS: Skott Young
COLORED BY: Skott Young
LETTERED BY: Jeff Eckleberry

THE STORY:
The epic continues! Fresh off their landmark run on THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ, superstars ERIC SHANOWER (Age of Bronze) and SKOTTIE YOUNG (X-MEN) return with L. Frank Baum’s MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ. Join new characters Tip and Jack Pumpkinhead as they’re whisked to Oz, and meet foes and friends! You’ve NEVER seen L. Frank Baum’s masterpiece like this before…

We both enjoyed THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ so it’s no surprise that Serena picked THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ out of the stack to admire the cover and flip through the book before we even checked out. Both Skottie Young and Eric Shanower have done an outstanding job showing us an OZ like we’ve never seen before.

RECENTLY ADDED TO THE LIST: DEADPOOL TEAM-UP

On a side note, I picked up DEADPOOL TEAM-UP # 899. For some reason I thought last month’s # 900 was part of the regular series and it was just making fun of all the comics that are in the hundreds. But then Keith pointed out that # 900 was the first issue of a whole new DEADPOOL series. Then he pointed out something that didn’t dawn on me – DEADPOOL is the new WOLVERINE. Think about it. Ever since Ryan Reynolds poorly portrayed Deadpool in that shitty Wolverine movie, and after a Deadpool movie was announced, Deadpool has had two new series added to it’s belt, MERC WITH A MOUTH, and just recently, DEADPOOL TEAM-UP. Looks like Marvel’s found another character to milk a few extra dollars from our wallets. So why did I still pick it up? Because Deadpool is an unpredictable and unconventional comic book character and it’s that quality that will make the stories interesting and make the readers want to read more. You don’t really need any continuity between all the Deadpool titles. Even Marvel doesn’t care to much as it makes fun of continuity by making DEADPOOL TEAM-UP’s numbering work backwards. The writers wouldn’t need to put in those little boxes to remind us what happened when because with Deadpool everything is in chaos. And a little chaos never hurts now and then.

~ LoneWolf

A nice pick up of DC titles today! As I said earlier, I’ve dropped Uncanny X-men simply because Utopia X storyline didn’t keep me interested enough to see what happens in Nation X as Magneto returns (again). I’m sure the creative team of Matt Fraction and Greg Land will do just fine as they always do but I’m just not interested in another story arc that involves the X-men and Magneto. It just feels like the same old song and dance every time.

• ADVENTURE COMICS # 3
• BATGIRL # 3
• BATMAN # 691
• BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN # 3
• BOOSTER GOLD # 25
• DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL # 11
• DEADPOOL # 900
• GENEXT: UNITED # 5
• GREEN ARROW AND BLACK CANARY # 25
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS # 41
• RED ROBIN # 5
• TITANS # 18

PICK OF THE WEEK: DEADPOOL # 900

COVER BY: Dave Johnson
WRITER: Jason Aaron
Mike Benson
Victor Gischler
Charlie Huston
Joe Kelly
Duane Swierczynski
Fred Van Lente
PENCILS: Kyle Baker
Shawn Crystal
Sanford Greene
Rob Liefeld
Damion Scott
Chris Staggs
Dalibor Talajic
INKS: Kyle Baker|Shawn Crystal|Nathan Massengill|Dalibor Talajic
COLORED BY: Kyle Baker|Rob Liefeld|Lee Loughridge
THE STORY:
Special SUPER-sized, ACTION-packed 104-page special to commemorate Deadpool’s historic 900th issue! … Wait, has it really been nine-hundred issues…? Who cares! If this collection of octane-infused stories by some of comics’ hottest talent doesn’t make you want to genuflect at the Altar of Wade, nothing will. Thrill as the Merc with a Mouth squares off against probe-happy aliens, trigger-happy mimes and one seriously unhappy fanman – and that’s just half the book! Wince as Wade bares his soul (and lots more) to a shrink who’s got major squirrels in his own attic. Thrill as he travels around the globe and then some to settle a childhood bet. And chill as C.S.I. investigators at a blood-splattered crime scene attempt to piece together why this particular “unsub” needed battery cables, Crisco oil, three stacks of adult magazines and a live chicken to pull off the hit.

Why? Because the DEADPOOL series is the only series that can get away with printing a 900th issue without having actually printed issues 17 through 899 yet. It’s something DEADPOOL would do if he were publishing his own comic. I’m pretty sure that’s how every issue of DEADPOOL gets developed and written up, the writers draft a list of situations. Cut the list into pieces, throw them in a hat, and randomly pick one out. Then after reading that situation and presenting it to the editor, the writer then asks him/herself, “What would Deadpool do?” or “WWDD?”

I ask myself that question whenever the situation calls for it. Sadly I don’t have the resources to act out my answers with no fear of the consequences.

But that still doesn’t stop me from day-dreaming about it at that point in time. ;p

~ LoneWolf