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Viking #1: Written by Ivan Brandon, art by Nic Klein, logo by Tom Muller

I’m sure I’m probably the millionth blogger to write and sing the praises for Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein’s first issue of Viking.  The language was steep and rich: the speech bubbles often required a second reading to get the complete meaning, something that I can say is only equaled by Jason Aaron’s Scalped, and the wider book size was also eye catching to the benefit of Nic Klein’s art.  To describe how finite Klein’s art was take a look at page four, the first full page spread spotlighting Finn and Egil. I must have spent 10 minutes examining every inch of that page, and I suggest you do the same. I’ll wait. Okay, the sky is what does it for me, you can tell its just starting to set, the perfectly straight lines behind the figures of our main characters, tells that the sun is setting to the left of the reader and its windy out.  There is no way Egil’s hair is permanently stuck like that, flowing to the right with winds coming from the direction of the setting sun, though it may not be so difficult.  God knows, when the last time these guys showered (bathed? whatever).  The best part? Its not just this page, this kind of detail is throughout the entire book.

You can buy it any of your local comic book shops, though hurry up, it sold out at the retailer level before it even came out.

1. Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #4: That MacGuffin, the wink-wink-nudge-nudge moment with the Star Trek film script, was stellar.
2. The Flash: Rebirth #1: I really like the CSI element they’re working here, along with idea of Barry Allen getting used to the new world.  Naturally, if this is done, it should resemble something like Green Lantern: Rebirth with a focus on the Flash family and focused through the lens of Barry Allen returning.  So, we’ll see.
3. Battle for the Cowl #2: That shit was violent as hell. I’m not sure why I’m reading this, I know where it ends up, but I guess the violence is the reason.
4. Secret Warriors #3: I think I have my new favorite comic.  Mix the first season of Alias and weird mind-altering powers and you have a great old school spy comic.
5. Infinite Horizon #4: Its been almost a year since the last issue, but finally Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto’s revision of the Odyssey has returned.  Probably my favorite mini-series.

I know, I know! Two posts in one day? “Jeez, Dave must have some time on his hands!” you might say.  Nah, there was this quote from Grant Morrison’s Afterword to issue one of Irredeemable that I simply couldn’t resist posting. The quote speaks not to stereotypes or prescriptions but discusses statements fans assign to writers.  The entire essay is really about how Mark Waid has torn these statements down with this book.

For some reason, towards the end of the last decade, Mark Waid was saddled with an inexplicable reputation as the Sterling Sentinel of Silver Age Nostalgia comics.  Curiously misrepresented as the defender of Kennedy-era values, the exemplar of the devoted fan-turned-pro, Waid became the go-to geek as the vogue in funnybooks turned briefly to unironically old-fashioned, Julius Schwartz-style sci-fi dad-fests.  When an aging readership cried out with one ravenous beak for a return to the days of Ollie, Barry, Hal, or Larry, Sally, Ray, Rita, Jack, Bobby, Sue, John, Paul, George and Ringo too, Mark Waid was the first guy on the editorial speed dial. Waid, it was decided, would bring the necessary gee-whiz, ‘If I wasn’t doing this for money, I’d do it for free!’ mixture of wide-eyed wonder and bug-eyed delusion the task of refreshing these pop icons of yesteryear required.

I’m not lying, there was something terrifying about this book.  Like an assault on my brain/body/story senses.  I can barely describe it, you just have to read it for yourself.

Its been a while since I’ve done one of these.  Occasionally, I’ll have one of those nerd freak-out moments on how many potentially awesome books are coming out that week.  So, this is one of those times where I’ll share.

1. The Flash: Rebirth: So, this is when they bring back everyone, and erase the last death that literally meant anything in comics.  That’s fine though, considering this is being done by the fine team that brought back Hal Jordan in Geoff Johns and Ethan van Sciver.  It may be fan-service (God, you should have heard the 40-Year Old Virgins flip out over when Bart took over as the Flash, and wanted Barry back), but with a team like these two I think I can say that this will be delivered in a classy and beautiful way.
2. Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye: Hell yeah.  Now if you want some mind-bending commentary on superheroes this is where you go.  I recently finished the first volume and thought it was humorous, thoughtful and beautifully drawn by The Other Side’s Cameron Stewart.  Have a couple of his designs he posted on his facebook.
3. Irredeemable #1: From Mark Waid and Peter Krause, this book is about a Superman-like character who eventually snaps and decides to just take over the planet.  Have an essay from Waid on the development of the book. This ought to be a real treat.

As the week goes you ought to look to what other people recommend. I personally like pretty much anything Graeme recommends, and Kevin too.

Ben Templesmith Doctor Who one-shot.  You want this.

Guys, there are seriously a shit ton of really interesting stuff coming out this week. 

1.  IMPERATIVE BUY: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe.  Considering all the movie hype, the fifth volume of this series is probably the only imperative-must have-how-can-you-go-to-New York Comic-Con-this weekend-and-not-buy-this-book.  I’ll be going to the party at Rocketship tonight after grad school.

2.  FIRST TIME: Secret Warriors #1, written by Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan “Nightly News” Hickman; drawn by Stefano Casselli.  I’ve been fired up for this series since it was first announced, being a huge supporter of everything Jonathan Hickman does. I really hope this blows up and gets people to check out his excellent Nightly News and other intelligent works.

4.  STEVEN T. SEAGLE’S NEW BOOK: Soul Kiss #1.  Fuck, and Yes.  He will be at NYCC, and “It’s A Bird,” will be the only book I bring with me this weekend to get signed.  (I don’t believe in that stuff: proof that I met a guy, or for monetary gain–because I’d never sell any of the comics I have). 

3. INTERESTING: Cable #11, written by Duane Swierczynski and drawn by Jamie McKelvie.  Normally, I wouldn’t buy a Cable comic, mostly because I think he’s the least interesting character in comics ever, but this week is a week of mainstream premieres with Hickman and Suburban Glamour creator Jamie McKelvie doing the art on this issue.  I just can’t help but be intrigued with McKelvie drawing a huge Cable with his massive gun that probably fires chainsaws.  

There’s a ton of other stuff you should buy this week, but the above is what I’m most intrigued with.  There is the Iron People.  I’m not sure what panels I’ll be covering this weekend, but tomorrow I will probably post the panels I’ll be checking out.

[via Comic by Comic].

Phonogram 2 #1: The Singles Club.

Based on the Savage Critics post, that I found today while writing one of the three ten page papers I have to do for finals for grad school. I decided this would be a nice break. 

5 Creators That I Will Buy Anything From, Sight Unseen
1. Darwyn Cooke
2. Brian K. Vaughan
3. Grant Morrison
4. Ed Brubaker
5. Joss Whedon

5 Creators That I Would Probably Buy Anything From, But Would At Least Look At First
1. Brian Michael Bendis
2. Matt Fraction
3. Geoff Johns
4. Warren Ellis
5. Greg Rucka

5 Artists Who Continually Blow My Puny Little Mind
1. Paul Pope
2. Gabriel Ba
3. Seth Fisher
4. Andy MacDonald
5. Darwyn Cooke 

5 Pretty Much Perfect Comics, If You Ask Me
1. Seven Soldiers #1
2. Scalped #1
3. Criminal vol. 2 # 7
4. Casanova # 1
5. Starman # 10

5 Comics That Changed My Life, And Why
1. The Flash vol. 3 #1 - Six years old, the woman who would be the closest thing I had to a grand mother gave it to me and forever changed my life.
2. The Dark Knight Returns #1: A gift from my gay computer teacher sophomore year of high school, I finally realized what Batman was SUPPOSED to be clearing the Adam West fog.  
3. Daredevil [the Bendis run]: Showed me the ultimate potential in what can be done in a superhero story.  Easily the best run on a superhero book ever. 
4. Its a Bird…:  A true life story about the struggle of a writer, Steven T. Seagle, and trying to wrap his brain around his new assignment: Superman and how it connects to him personally. 
5. Impulse:  A series that at the time was so intensely personal to my life, in high school, that I forever became attached to the character.  

5 Comics I Collected The Entire Run Of
1. Tom Peyer’s Hourman
2. Sandman Mystery Theatre
3. Transmetropolitan
4. Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man
5. Impulse (first 40).

5 Characters That I Wish I Could Speak Like (growing up)
1. Bobby Drake (Iceman)
2. Peter Parker
3. Wally West
4. Yorick Brown 
5. Danny Rand.

5 Minor Characters I Love So Much That I Wish I Could Write Them (and, just because, what I would do with them)
1. The Daily Planet staff (See Gotham Central. Don’t even think about it anyone.)
2. Sandman (Wesley Dodds, what happened after Sandman Mystery Theatre #70, during WW II). 
3. Iceman (Just fucking love the character.)
4. Bart Allen (Bringing him back to life).
5. Ben Urich (cause I just dig the shit out journalist characters.)

5 Items That Only Exist In Comics That I Wish I Owned In Real Life
1. Green Lantern ring
2. TARDIS (okay, okay, I’m cheating).
3. The Flash ring.
4. Bowel Disruptor Gun (I feel like everyone puts this on a meme like this one).
5. Starman’s Cosmic Rod.

5 Random Other Things That I Love About Comics
1. The Comics Blogosphere. For all those stereotypes (comic book guy of the internet by the millions), and for the sheer fact that we can get paid to write about something we all love.  How utterly ridiculous and wonderful. 

2.  These quotes on books from legitimate literary critics and journals. A sign that people are starting to take comics seriously.

3.  Grant Morrison, for just being able to throw a curve that no one has ever seen before and still manage to get whatever he wants out of a story.

4. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, just for the balls of making a super team out of literary characters.  
 

5. 52.  Just for existing.

I bought quite a bit from the last week but there are only a few things that I’ve managed to narrow it all down with. 

Grant Morrison’s Doctor Who #1: I had a bit of a hard time trying to find the first issue, after getting the second, and was pleasantly surprised to find it during a sale at Jim Hanley’s on Sunday. When I opened the title page, I was pleasantly surprised to see the chapter note detailing that the third story in this book was drawn by Bryan Hitch. The biggest hit for me was seeing a story drawn by Hitch long before he was known for either The Authority or Ultimates.  The story, featuring the Seventh Doctor, (my favorite pre-recent series), was nothing really particularly special and the art, if it didn’t say it was Hitch in the credits I wouldn’t have been able to guess, was (again) interesting to see how he’s grown.  

Criminal 2 #6: With Thanksgiving coming around means its about that time again for me to start up my Best of (insert year here) posts, and this book is in the running for my best comic of 2008. Considering last year I gave it to another noir book, Scalped, I’m feeling like I should do something different this year but honestly I don’t want to. This book, throughout the entire year, has been the best book put out there month to month.  That’s all there is to say to it.

Amazing Spider-Man #578: What? I’m reading Spidey again? Yep, Joe Kelly’s two issue stint on the series and this stellar issue written by Mark Waid and drawn by Marcos Martin (Doctor Strange: The Oath), is so expertly executed that it made me say: “that’s a Spider-Man story!” Martin fits the style of Spider-Man perfectly with his loose and flexible shapes making Spider-Man’s action feel and look natural rather than overtly kinetic like Chris Bachalo or detailed like Phil Jimenez.  I hope Waid and Kelly stick around, they’ve been great.

So, I guess we finally get the conclusion to Batman: RIP this week. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town and probably nowhere near a place where I can get the conclusion. So, Internet, don’t spoil it for me. KTHXBYE.