Cool Beans

My first pick is the awesome crime noir comic Criminal by Ed Brubaker and published by Icon (the creator owned label used by Marvel Comics). The first story arc spanned five issues and has been collected into a tradepaperback entitled coward. The sixth issue is on the racks now and starts a new story. Each story, features a different character and, although the characters interact, each story is independent so it's easy to jump into. This is a good comic for people who have no interest in superheroes or who are into the crime stories.


My second pick for this post is a new book called Madame Mirage published by Top Cow. It's a femme fatale story set in the future but with a 1930s romantic style to it. It's written by Paul Dini, whom was a producer and writer for Warner Brothers animated projects for years and whom writes for the awesome TV show Lost. Only one issue has come out so far but the series looks like it's going to be very entertaining. There is a promotional video on YouTube about it and I'd give that a look to see if this is something that would interest you.


My last pick for this post is a trade-paperback, Catwoman: When in Rome published by DC Comics. This is produced by writer Jeff Loeb (who writes for Heroes) and artist Tim Sale, whom when they get together produce some of the best comics EVER produced. Tim Sale has become one of my favorite artists, his sense of design and style is so cool. While this is a Catwoman book set in the DC universe, these creators really create stylish books about mystery and mood. They produced the incredible Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, which I also highly recommend.

When I was a kid I loved Superman. Most of my exposure was the movies with Christopher Reeve who embodies the spirit of my generation's Superman and the Super Friends cartoons which, well, were nice for me as a kid. When I started collecting comics when I was eight, however, I was all about Spider-Man. Superman comics just weren't that fun in the 80s. I've now broken Superman down into the 3 versions that I think work:
1. The Siegel-Schuster/Fleischer era which was so awesome with it's art deco style and it's iconic characterizations.
2. The Silver-Age/1950s anything-can-happen/15 kinds of kryptonite/loads of fantasy Superman.
3. The Christopher Reeve movies (1 & 2).
All Star Superman takes the best of all these eras and finally does Superman right again. It doesn't have have that super dense continuity that's taken over comics, all the Silver-Age fantasy is there but played straight yet not so straight that it's not fun anymore. Frank Quitely's design borrows heavily from the Fleischer era with an EC Comics Sci Fi twist. This takes the best of the 40s, 50s, and 80s and brings it all together in a comic that you don't have to follow monthly to understand. All Star Superman is a superhero book for people who like superheroes but aren't geeks about it.



I'm currently on the third trade paperback of Ed Brubakers Sleeper and I'm totally addicted. The basic plot is very similar to the Movie The Departed (which kicked ass!) but a little more espionage and, yes, it does take place in a world with superheroes, but it's very easy to forget that. This is more a crime comic than a fantasy comic and it's probably the most absorbing comic I've read this year. Everytime I finish a trade I kick myself because I didn't buy the next one. This is brought to you by the perfect team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, who I want to give credit to because everyone can see I drool over Brubaker's writing, but Phillips is really underappreciated and he really sets to mood and style of the story. This book kicks ass! There is a prequal to this comic but I really recommend people start with this first trade Out In the Cold. I haven't read the prequal yet and I'm sure it's good but the art's not by Seann Phillips and it's not really Sleeper without Phillips (I'm really picky about continuity of art). Fortunately the prequal is "choose to read" and not essential.

Todd's picks is not a hype list of new releases it's good material that has already been published that Todd is recommending. This month I want to feature some classics that are easy to find in print at bargain prices. One of my pet peeves about fanboys is that they tend to act like comics have just arrived. This irks me because a lot of what's out there right now is flashy but not as good as the hype makes out, a lot of it is so continuity based you can't enjoy it unless you're a fanboy, but more importantly, there has been awesome material that still holds up that's been published for decades!


Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1
DC Comics Publisher
Description: This is a phone book sized reprint of the earliest Jonah Hex stories. The material is printed in black and white and it looks better that way. Tony Dezuniga's artwork plays with shadow and shape

Nice!

really great!!!!



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