Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Tracie's Pull List - Week of February 1, 2011



Allow me to rant a bit before we get to this week's books...

Just as I come to the decision to drop Justice League Dark, DC announces that Jeff Lemire will be taking over as writer with issue #9 and will bring along some new team members and a closer tie to Justice League proper. NERTS. (or YAY?) That said, I'll probably still skip these next few issues just because I have no interest whatsoever in the I, Vampire crossover.

Speaking of, DC sure is going pretty crossover heavy with the New 52 lately. I get that it might be under the notion that these books have all had their opening arcs out of the way and now might be the time to pollinate readers from one book over to another book but it's starting to feel a little daunting with every new crossover that gets announced. I was enjoying having my (mostly) new universe of titles that I can read and enjoy on their own merits. I don't want to feel like I need to read bat-books I don't care about just to participate in Scott Snyder's big Owl epic or whatever's meant to be coming up in the Super-books.

Hopefully they'll be tie-ins and not actual chapters in the story, where I can skip them without feeling like I just missed a chunk of story. The OMAC/Frankenstein crossover worked out well in that each book told their own perspective of that event so if you read both, you probably got a richer experience, but as I only read Frankenstein, I got to enjoy another issue of Frankenstein that just happened to include Frankie going up against OMAC. It felt like a regular issue of the series and not a Part 2 of something I didn't read Part 1 of. That's my concern, I guess. You got a nice (mostly) clean start with The New 52, don't start falling back on old habits, making readers feel like they're "forced" to buy other books to avoid confusion. They should be able to stand on their own but if that reader feels like they're interested in finding out more about this OMAC or I, Vampire or whatever, they can hop over to that. Reward your readers, don't punish them.

And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled shopping list...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tracie's Pull List - Week of January 25, 2011



I have nothing to add to the before-the-list part of this thing. Life is lifey. Let's just get down to talking about this week's comics, okay?

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Friendly Fire Episode 21!

The Great Debate! An all out battle royal!  Who wins?  Listen!

DC's new look

Tracie forwarded me the new branding for DC Comics, that's to be released and implemented in March. Here is a bit of our conversation. If you'd like to see more about the story: Click this link.

DC's new Branding

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Robb Semi-Weekly Nerdy Journal


My geek week in review...Well I finished my first piece for art display in years! I forgot how stressful and at the same time fun doing an art project can be.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sh*t Comic Nerds Say

Awards time Again...


Its coming! 
The 84th Annual CBXF's Golden Longbox is coming... 
Possible Award Categories:

Best Character:  
Best NEW character:  
Best Oh Shit Moment: 
Worst Comic of the Year: 
Best Summer Comic Movie: 
Best Single Issue: 
Biggest Disappointment:  
Best CBXF moment:  
Best Tracie Awkward moment:

Tracie's Pull List - Week of January 18, 2011



There are some great comics out this week and they're all being written by Rob Liefeld!

But not really.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Robb's Semi-Weekly Nerdy Journal!


Well this week has had lots of ups and downs. On the top of the list, our very own Tracie felt the need to stay at a very expensive hotel. A hotel where the food is poor and the sponge baths aren’t nearly as fun as they sound. Seriously though, our Tracie was under the weather and spent some time in the hospital, but I’m happy to report she is out and doing better. Soon she’ll be caught up on her comic reading and forcing her comic book – driven political agenda on the rest of the CBXF gang. (Yeah Tracie… we know, Joss for President)

The New New 52



Or rather, The New 6.

DC is still committing to publishing 52 ongoing books so when "Wave 2" hits in May, they're going to cancel 6 books and replace them with new ones.

The books being canceled are, somewhat unsurprisingly, Men of War, Mister Terrific, OMAC, Hawk and Dove, Blackhawks, and Static Shock.

There's some bitter disappointment for me, seeing Static Shock on this list as I've been really pulling for this series to succeed and I was hoping that the addition of new writer Marc Bernardin would bring interest and sales up on the book. It's a shame that DC isn't even giving him that chance. Static's a character that should and can succeed. Hopefully it won't be too long before they give him another shot.

It's interesting that Hawk and Dove is getting the axe when it's actually still selling better than, say Captain Atom, which remains untouched. I'd happily let Captain Atom or Green Arrow take the fall, if it meant a repreive for Static.

So what's replacing these titles? More of the same, with maybe one big surprise.

First we've got the return of BATMAN INCORPORATED from Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham. DC is calling this a "fresh take" so I don't know if that means they've had to reboot/retool some things thanks to the compacted timeline of The New 52 or what.

Next, we have the long-teased EARTH 2 by James Robinson and Nicola Scott. Robinson could really use a win and EARTH 2 sounds as good a chance as any. Nicola Scott is brilliant and definitely raises the level of this series.

WORLDS FINEST is kind of an odd choice, featuring Huntress and Power Girl, trapped in "our world," trying to get back to their home in Earth 2. It's being written by Paul Levitz, who's currently penning the Huntress mini (which I guess now counts as a prelude) and drawn by the rotating art team of Kevin Maguire and George Perez.

The big surprise is DAIL H from novelist China Miéville and artist Mateus Santoluoco. I was a huuuuuge fan of when DC last tried to reboot the Dial H for Hero concept under writer Will Pfeifer and artist Kano. It's a fun concept with a lot of potential. Last time around they took it in a Twilight Zone meets 100 Bullets sort of direction. I'll be curious to see what they do with this.

G.I. COMBAT sees DC trying again to make the war comic work. In place of Men of War and Blackhawks, we get a bit of an anthlogy series split between THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT by J.T. Krul and Ariel Olivetti, UNKNOWN SOLDIER by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and artist Dan Panosian and THE HAUNTED TANK with writer John Arcudi and artist Scott Kolins. If there was just a Haunted Tank book by Arcudi and Kolins, I'd be all over it. Otherwise, I'll pass.

Finally, we get THE RAVAGERS, a Teen Titans/Superboy spin-off which, like Titans, sees the return of two more 90's Marvel stalwarts, Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill. Just who the "four superpowered teens on the run" are meant to be is up in the air. I'll be surprised if it's Fairchild and her ilk because you'd think if they were going to put them in their own book, they'd go with the Gen 13 title people already know. But odds are, with the title, Rose Wilson will be among them.

After hearing so much talk and promise of Wave 2 I was expecting more. More books, more creators we've been waiting to hear from. Anytime someone would ask about this writer or that artist, DC would just reply "Wave 2." We already knew Robinson and Scott were accounted for in this wave (and that Batman Inc would return), but for the rest, we've got more from Krul and the Gray/Palmiotti team, Levitz spinning his Huntress into an ongoing and the only real surprises being China Miéville's DIAL H and the return of Howard Mackie, which is someone everyone speculated/joked about when all the 90's Marvel hires happened in Wave 1.

I'll give EARTH 2 a chance, if just for Nicola Scott, but also in the hopes that James Robinson can recapture that spark he once had; The prospect of Kevin Maguire drawing Huntress and Power Girl is mighty tempting but I don't know how interested I am in the characters being reverted back to their pre-Crisis status somewhat (and I didn't read Levitz's Huntress mini); I'm super curious about DIAL H and just mildly curious about RAVAGERS, just because I read and enjoy Titans and Superboy. The addition of EARTH 2, DIAL H, and RAVAGERS only makes up for the loss of Static and the fact that I dropped Firestorm and Nightwing.

So I guess we're breaking even again, DC.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tracie's Pull List - Week of January 11, 2012



Did everyone have themselves a safe and happy New Years? I sure did! Until I wound up in the Emergency Room last weekend with actue renal failure. I suspect it was some time-delayed attack by the villanous 2011 in an attempt to frame 2012 for my demise but you don't get away with it that easily, 2011!!

I YET LIVE and as long as I do so, I will probably continue to write these blog posts, highlighting my comic picks for the week. Let's get at those, shall we?

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cool Nerdy Gamery with DC Universe Online

Phantom Protector (Jack), Red Rune (Robb), and Sully Hogan (Sean) fight over their date with Supergirl
Recently, friend of CBXF, Jack teamed up with Tracie, Sean, and myself on our new favorite addiction. DC Universe Online has taken tons of free time. But just some something creative comes of it, here are some screen shots that Jack too last night of Sean, Jack and myself playing. Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Robb's Semi Weekly Journal 01-04-12


Sticking with my nerd journal and my resolution... of being more creative! 

Robb's Cover of the Month for December 2011

It is the last "Cover of the Month" from 2011. And I swear this should be a tie. Both of these covers are incredible. They tell a story and make me want to read whats inside. Both artists are just running on all cylinders. But I'm leaning more towards Flash because of the creative imagery and unique power it is conveying. But let this take nothing away Jim Cheung. His cover is pure beauty as well.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Tracie's Pull List - Week of January 4, 2012



It's the first New Comics Day of the year and I have contracted some sort of Y2K12 stomach bug. Here are the comics I'll be buying tomorrow, if I don't suddenly die: