Fantastic Four: True Story #2 (of 4) (Marvel - Cornell / Domingues)

The FF’s emergency exploration of the worlds of fiction continues as they burst through the covers of Ivanhoe and start to gather an army against the onrushing darkness. And the surprise villain behind this whole weird collision is revealed! (Warning: do not keep True Story too close to your other comic books. It may freak them out.)

When I first heard the premise of this series I put it in the blow-off pile.  But being a collector at heart, in particular of Marvel’s First Family, I knew I had to get at least one issue before I wrote it off.  As it turned out, I got issues 1 and 2.  And yes, this is not a mainstream MU book (no skrulls to be seen), but it does have a resurgence of  major villain and has some pretty cool talent attached.  So, while not for everyone, it’s not quite the throw-away book I thought it was

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Proof #11 (Image - Grecian / Rossmo / Guzowski) -

“THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO,” Part Two - Giant alligators fight a golem in New York’s sewers! A religious cult thinks that Proof is the devil! And what is an ink monkey? Sound like too much for one comic book? Then you haven’t seen Proof!

Proof has without a doubt become one of my favorite books. A fantastic blend of cop drama, comedy and supernatural thriller. Alex Grecian has solidified with “Proof-readers” his ability to tell a wonderfully detailed story and his ability to hold an audience’s attention whether it is for the issue, story arc or the entire series. Riley Rossmo and Adam Guzowski’s art continues to be the one-two punch that creates a perfect shadowy environment for “Proof- reading”.

Part two tried to keep the reader caught up with all the major players, and what it ended up doing was left us yearning for the next issue to come out.

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Superman #679 ( DC / Robinson / Guedes / Magalhges/ Ross)

“Two supermen: One, a man of yore, the other, the Man of Tomorrow! Atlas and Superman continue their all-out war, with Metropolis as the prize. But for all his power, Superman seems unable to defeat this titan of myth. With our hero down for the count, it will take another, unexpected hero to save the day.

Guest-starring Supergirl and – someone else!”

I really can’t remember the last time that every Superman book has been at the top of my pile each week they come out. It wasn’t too long ago that I was writing on this site about how disappointed I was in the Superman book and the terrible storytelling it contained. DC has finally fixed that!

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Marvel: 1985 #4 (of 6) ( Marvel - Millar / Edwards)

The villains are here—in our world—and no one can stop them! No cop, no army, no government stands a chance when the Red Skull leads Marvel’s greatest menaces into an all-out war against a world with no heroes! Young comic-book fan Toby has a plan. But does he have the will to carry it out? Find out in a story with huge repercussions in the Marvel Universe of today…and tomorrow!

I don’t know what to say, I am really enjoy this series… but this issue as a stand alone? Ouch, talk about a downer.  Imagine if the only part of The Empire Strikes Back you saw was Han getting frozen… it would be a little like this.  The writing in context of the entire series is very strong (it’s Mark Millar, duh!).  Tommy Lee Edwards art is always incredible and fits the biorhythms of this dark tale well.  In issue #4, the bad guys kick butt!  Everything from making solider melt (who remember the 80’s villian The Melter?) to the Blob eating people to the Lizard getting to be the vicious killer he is.  Crazy, Spooky and Dark!  If you buy into this though, you got to get the whole run… and I am betting a year from now, everyonw will have wished they bought into this.

Issue Grade: A-

Justice Society of America #18 (DC - Johns / Ross / Eaglesham / Gray / Justice / Massengill)

Magog is introduced into the DC Universe in “Gog” part 3! The last god of the Third World has walked the Earth delivering good will to men wherever he goes. But out of a violent confrontation comes the birth of the one being the Kingdom Come Superman must stop: Magog! Meanwhile, Starman struggles with his new role on the team and Damage celebrates his. Plus, Power Girl’s strange ordeal on Earth-2 leads her to seek out help from an unlikely source.

For me, this was a huge turn around from the let down that was the JSA Annual. Gog continues his war on war and we see the true origin of Magog.

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This marks the return of one of my favorite movies!

Sony has hired Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, Emmy-winning writer-producers on the Steve Carell version of “The Office,” to script a “Ghostbusters” sequel that would reunite Venkman, Stanz, Spengler and Zeddemore.

Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the earlier “Ghostbusters” movies and portrayed Egon Spengler in those comedies, is in post-production on next summer’s Jack Black period comedy “Year One,” which was directed by Ramis from a screenplay by Ramis, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky.

Ramis has also directed episodes of “The Office” and is involved in the scripting of the soon to be released Ghostbusters video game for all next gen systems.

“Office” episodes scripted by the duo include “The Convention,” “Traveling Salesmen,” “The Return,” “Women’s Appreciation,” “Dinner Party” and “Job Fair.”

Find all of Variety’s on their site

NewUniversal: Conquerer (Marvel - Spurrier / Nguyen / Rauch)

Five thousand years ago, civilization was held in the mighty hand of the slayer called STARR, who defended his kingdom from all invaders. But what were these invaders? Simple monsters…or something more? In this, the second one-shot story exploring the history and mythos of the NEWUNIVERSAL world, writer SIMON SPURRIER—hand-picked by NEWUNIVERSAL’s WARREN ELLIS—and visionary artist ERIC NGUYEN bring to life a history like you’ve never imagined!

Conquerer is an excellent dark fantasy story driven by great talent in the wiritng and the art, but to try to tie this is to the NewUniversal storyline is a bit of a stretch.

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Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1 (IDW - Lee / Guerra)

Stranded in a strange Museum that’s dedicated to him—and with no TARDIS in sight, The Doctor and Martha must make sense of their surroundings, hindered by one small fact—The Doctor has lost his memories of every one of his previous incarnations! With items relevant to each Doctor in their possession, The Doctor must try to use them to regain his memories before it’s too late, starting with his earliest incarnation’s memories, involving Susan, Barbara and Ian. This all-new series written by Tony Lee (Starship Troopers) features artist Pia Guerra in her first monthly comic since Y The Last Man!

For this American fan of Galifrey, reading The Forgotten struck me very much like the first time I watched the episode “The Five Doctors”.  Big Chills!

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Samurai Elf Vol. 2 :Bull’s Eye (Iberian Press - Guerra / Dias)

Ardan and Keegan reach Castel, but tempers flare as they fight their way through low life thugs, a black market pirate, two bounty-hunting dwarves, and the Horde’s most vicious death machines, The Hunters. The Horde marches the planet towards a horrific future as their enigmatic mastermind is poised to unleash his cybernetic army. They’ll stop at nothing to capture Ardan, if only he knew why. The walls are slowly closing in as Ardan finds himself in the Bull’s Eye.

Coming out in November is the second volume based in the richly developed setting of Samurai Elf.   Miguel Guerra and Suzy Dias create a world that is part LOTR fantasy, part science fantasy (think Dolph and the Masters of the Universe), part anime-feel (who doesn’t want to carry a sword that is as long and as wide as your body) with a dash of modernized details to keep it familiar to the non-fantasy fan .  The amalgamation is something recognizable but enjoyable (dark-skinned elven hotties with hoop earing and Afros here we come!)

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Wolverine #68 (Marvel - Millar / McNiven / Vines / Hollowell)

“OLD MAN LOGAN” Part 3 of 8, 50 years after the super heroes died, WOLVERINE and the blind archer, HAWKEYE, continue their journey across a ruined America. Next stop: Cedar City, Utah—home of the man who killed Magneto: the all-new, all-different KINGPIN! And he isn’t about to let Logan and Hawkeye pass without paying the toll… Plus: the secret of Hawkeye’s daughter is revealed! The biggest WOLVERINE story of the century by the best-selling creative team of the millennium continues!

In a current Marvel comicscape filled with Final Crisis, Spider-man sagas, and more mutant cross-overs than you can name, Mark Millar continues to bring one of the most refreshing storylines around. And also one of the most memorable “dark future” tales in quite a while.

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