I know its been a few weeks since the last Best Bang Reborn so until my schedule changes, maybe that is how things will be. I am trying to do my best to keep the blog up with some news but given that I am growing bored of comics of late and my busy schedule what you see is currently what you get. Also given the fact I just bought Little Big Planet with my birthday monies likely will not help any future blogging. Best of the best (and there are few and far between for this) are Wet Moon Vol. 4 tpb, Thunderbolts and Ambush Bug: Year None & The Amazing Spider-Man.

This Best Bang of comics comes from both Elfsar Comics & Toys and Hourglass Comics & Toys with help from Chris Nolan’s Comic Books Beta and Scans Daily for the occasional larger panel images (although I do apologize for the lack of images this week!).

Lets get right down to it!

Comics from November 19, 08

The Amazing Spider-Man #578 (Marvel)
Mark Waid just knows how to write comic books and Spider-Man. This is a fun disaster story with Spidey, throw in the Shocker and the big twist ending and you got yourself a a nice issue full of action, suspence and danger! The Best book of the week! Oh and it helps that the artwork was very classy!

Ambush Bug: Year None #4 (DC Comics)
Dan Didio mentioned at Comic-Con this year that he hates introducting Keith Giffen ’cause “He makes fun of me!” and this issue is no exception. Dan Didio is dead by page 4 after taking on all the blame for the lackluster that DC Comics has of late. Nice satire. Oh and there is a fun romp with Ambush Bug and his various miscellenous cavalcade of characters! DC needs to keep making books like this and I will slowly go back to the light!

Thunderbolts #126 (Marvel)
Now I have read bits and pieces of Warren Ellis’s run on this book and I have enjoyed the single issue by Andy Diggle that all the bits I have by Ellis. Sure Ellis set the tone but he’s the mad scientest for Marvel, its his job to start something and then piss off and let it grow, fest and bloom. Look at Iron Man’s armor for f**k sakes! This is no exception other than I prefered Diggle’s take on the characters than Ellis or even Gage’s short stink for Secret Invasion. In this weeks issue we are given a peek into life after Secret Invasion and the setup of Normam Osborne to something more (like Dark Reign, hmm?) which is appealing. Will this book get a whole new team, it seems to be leaning that way. Will Robert keep picking it up? Maybe.

Detective Comics #850 (DC Comics)
Why does it have to remind me that it is both apart of RIP and has Batman in the book on the cover? I am lost on that, I understand that concept, do they really think new readers will jump on it if it says Batman? Hmm… So this issue is decent and enjoyable. I liked Hush finally and much of this could have been on the art which I thought came back to norm with Dustin Nguyen doing a great job on this issue. Hush finally started acting like a real character in the series and I loved how he dealt with the “cub scouts” in Robin and Nightwing! Best of all was the ending with Selina which will make for a great revenge future story, I am betting.

Secret Invasion: War Machine #35 (Marvel)
I love the Winter Guard for Marvel, always have and this was a good issue for that. Does Rhodey kick some ass? Yup. Does it do it Gobot style? Nope just go old fashioned Skrull ass kicking tag teaming with the Winter Guard. Solid issue and I am not interested where this book is going to be going.

Batman and the Outsiders #13 (DC Comics)
Or should this comic be called Gotham Underground: The Sequel? Frank Tieri does a great job reminding us of what happened in his great mini-series Gotham Underground (on sale last week as well, I might note – I will be getting this week if I can $$). The Vigilante, Batgirl and The Spoiler. My biggest problem with this was that this was not an Outsiders issue unless you count that Batgirl is apart of the Outsiders but thats really about it. Also would it kill the DCU to acknowledge Batwoman into the wait… wait, I see her face on one of the screens while Batgirl is using the Bat’puter to find a new team to replace Batman (finally another book in the DCU acknowledges Batman RIP… wait a sec, this is now a batbook. *sigh*) or make a new team of outsiders? I thought that Batman asked the team to get together in case he was out by a pre-recording message? Also why would Alfred and Nightwing just kicking around the Batcave while Bats is off? Wouldn’t they be off searching for him? Kinda makes no sense but that is Batman RIP for yah! A story in its own bubble world in the DCU right next to Final Crisis and JSA’s Kingdom Come!

Scalped #23 (Vertigo)
I said it last week, wanted Bad Horse back and four panels on pages 15 & 16 buying crack, that ain’t enough for me! As much as I like the stories so far about all the other characters in the book, it was the story of Bad Horse that got me interested and involved in the comic book. As much as it worked once in Hellblazer to not have Constantine in a long story run, it is not working here for me at all mainly ’cause of the way Bad Horse had been written out of the stories of late. Being nothing but a crack junkie has done nothing but completely broken the character for me to the point that this is my last issue of a book I was LOVING. I know that not all stories should end well and I compared this to some of the darkest shows like Oz and Deadwood by HBO but at least they showed me how bad the character got and went. It has been almost four months since I last saw anything about the main character and that is too much. I can’t keep picking this up if the main character won’t be apart of the story anymore, I just can’t.

Robin #180 (DC Comics)
We find out who Red Robin is and I have to say… the General? Like WTF, I guess that makes some kinda sense in the scheme of the way the General was tied to the Robin character but does that make the character big enough to be apart of the Bat family mythos by doning that costume? Nope, not in my eyes. I was very disappointed in reading that and that was enough to throw the rest of the book off for me. This book had promise and I was into the storyline but now it just seems so gimicky and I can see that this book was on its last legs. Maybe the cancellation will bring more life back to this book if/when it returns.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #7 of 8 (DC Comics)
Unlike Annilation, this cosmic storyline for the DCU is a touch weak in a sense. I am not overly fond of either of the villains Lady Styx or Lord Synnar. I am hanging on until the end for two reasons – the characters which I like, especially the Weird, and Ron Lim’s artwork which I think has such a great throw back to the his run on The Silver Surfer and Inifity Gauntlet for Marvel. I am happy that there is ANOTHER side of the DCU cosmic stories that are NOT dependant upon the fricken Lanterns and Guardians.

Uncanny X-Men #504 (Marvel)
One reason right off the bat that I liked this issue was the Betty artwork of Terry Dodson! Now the story… well… I did like the bit with Spiral and the Sisterhood of evil mutants or such other than that, it is a big romp in Cyclops head with Emma. Was that worth a whole issue? Well I am assuming that the lack of time that Emma and Cyclops had in the new Hellfire Clubs place is apart of that (was that even explained in the last issue anywhere or did they skip that to show the nightclub scene?) and the Colossus and Nightcrawler finding faith bit seems so old hat but I guess that could be an appeal.

Deadpool #4 (Marvel)
Daniel Way has his pulse on Deadpool but I have to say that I found this issue to be a little boring, almost to the point of I knew what was going to happen on the next page each time. The jokes are fun but started to get repeatative and by the end, Zombies do nothing for me. Maybe I will skip the next issue and then check back on this book, see where its at. Also I prefered when Deadpools real face looked more horrific and less Star Trek alien like where only around the head and maybe parts of the face are different/strange/weird but the majority of the facial features are fine. Very unappealing for me. Give me ugly Deadpool please.

Magog: Kingdom Come Special 1 Shot (Dc Comics)
By all the forgotten Gods, I did not care for this character at all. I thought this had something important to tell me regarding this character and his role in the Justice Soceity Kingdom Come storyline but if he does, I just don’t care. Not a bad piece of work but for me, it did not strike home at all. I found the entire story very boring.

Trade Watch

Fables: War & Pieces vol.11 TPB
The war continues on and the Fables of Fabletown make the first strike into the heart of the Empire. Who wins? Well, I think this is best if you read the trade and win out who the winners are and who are the loosers or what was lost. Great story and I agree with what William S. told me on the phone last night that this arc was a story about Prince Charming. Also I know I am not suppose to but I felt sorry for Gepheto in the final issue of the trade – that worked for that issue, they made the big bad villain just a broken down old man who is taken off by his first true son. Very touching and enjoyable (yes I know I likely spoiled the book, now just go buy and read it!!)

Exterminator Vol 3 TPB
This is such an offbeat and bizarre book but the more I read through the issues, the more it started to make sense and in the end it finally all comes together for its grand finale. Good job by all involved and I am sorry now that is over.

Comics from November 12, 08

Wet Moon Vol. 4: Drowned in Evil (Oni Press)
I fell into Wet Moon #1 collection a few years ago and it hit with me, the characters, the story, the weirdiness of it all. The third TPB of the book is amazing and carries that thought further along. I love the artwork and the story, captured in the rapture that are there wonderfuly three dimensional characters that remind me of many people I know and have met. My biggest issue, if I were to have one, is that everyone looks so fricken good in that world but that could be that I love the artist and even when he draws someone that is not looking stunning, they look great! Check it out if you have the chance or the website:
http://www.onipress.com/display.php?type=bk&id=358
Both Marvel and DC Comics could learn a thing or three from this book for their titles!
BEST BOOK BAR NONE!

Young Liars #9 (Vertigo)
How this book keeps me interested is something I am trying to put my finger on. The characters are so bizarre and off the wall, the story so offbeat that it keeps me wondering what happens on the next page. No super powers (well, not overtly), no costumes (unless you mean like real life costumes) and no real “Save the cheerleader, save the world” kinda premise. Just a good old f**ked up story about Alien Spiders and the kids who love’em/hate’em. I think.

Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1 (Marvel Comics)
I kept telling William S. that if he saw Kevin Grevioux in person, he would not have the balls to tell him how much New Warriors sucked are not great. I didn’t when I saw him at Comic-Con sitting in someone else’s booth (a friend) and talking about this book. Now onto the comic — it is a good book. Solid storytelling, solid artwork and decent build up for the character my only thing is I thought the same on the first issue of his New Warriors run. What this book needs to do is hit a home run in the next issue else I won’t be picking this up past this single issue. I hope it does ’cause I like the concept of the book!

Green Lantern Corps #30 (DC Comics)
This was an interesting issue as the Lanterns and Guardians face off against the Zamarons and the upcoming Star Sapphire(s). I enjoyed how this became a intergalactic polticial issue with two great “nations” having a chat about the future and what the upcoming Purple Lanterns pose for the rest of the universe (given that FC and the Rann/Thanagarian war do not end it but hey, continuity in DC is so Infintie Crisis, right?

The Invincible Iron Man #7 (Marvel)
This issue had William and I pick up all the previous issues to get caught up on the current story and you know what? I did not care for the Zekel Stane storyline one bit. I thought the villain was boring and even Stark was boring and repeatative. Pepper Pots, I guess was not longer apart of The Order so she was brought back into the Stark fold. I enjoyed this single issue ’cause I think that Matt Fraction can write Spider-Man very well but overall I am not really taken back by his run on Iron Man.

Superman: Kingdom Come Special 1 Shot (DC Comics)
I really enjoyed this issue as it tied closely to the original Kingdom Come storyline and had a great character to interact with the Kingdom Come Superman. I thought the artwork fit the story and everything weaved right into the Kingdom Come book with a current DCU twist. Nice. Now will the upcoming Kingdom series / run in JSA be as good?

House of Mystery #7 (Vertigo)
As I had mentioned, I have cut down most of my Vertigo books as I flipped through many and notice few of the stories had changed or grown. The few that have are House of Mystery which has got me for both the anthology style of the smaller stories within plus the overall arc of the book. Very solid by Sturges and Willingham and I will stick this book out to see where it goes.

Eternals Annual #1 (Marvel)
It is the Eternals vs the Young Gods with a Young Gods reprint story as back-up. Not a bad issue but I did find at times it seemed rushed to get to the next conflict and a quick resolution. Again not bad but not great.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #14 (DC Comics)
I know I shouldn’t buck the trend and I should very much hate Judd Winick, the most hated writer of DC – the new Chuck Austen for the bloggers like me… but I can’t, not for a comic book and not for this book. Sure I am not a fan of his Titans run but I did enjoy his Arrow run that I picked up. I think a great deal of that was due to the STUNNING artwork by Mike Norton though. I look forward to the new team / writer who joins the book and wonder where it will all go.

Captain Britian & M13 #7 (Marvel)
Was it me or did this issue seem a bit like a weak cup’a tea? Not enough milk in it or such. I loved the bits with Blade and the new twisted Spitfire but the Captain Britian bits, Meagan seemed weak. I guess after reading the mindless ones in NextWAVE, I have a hard time taking them serious.

The Amazing Spider-Man #577 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells takes us back to the old days of The Punisher and Spidey working together, kinda. Not a bad issue at all and keeps in the tone and theme of the title. My biggest issue was with the artwork which seemed so, I don’t know, messy? I liked it but it was not an art style I would imagine coming from the House of Ideas. Too indy-like for Marvel.

Nightwing #150 (DC Comics)
I needed to see how this resolved with Two-Face and I wish I could say it was great but it really wasn’t that great. Two-Face acted unlike himself, wanting to scar New York like he was scarred *yawn* As much as I do not wish this book was ending, I can understand why it is, it lacks some direction, I have no interest in picking up the next issue at all and that is a problem. Does this mean I want Nightwing dead, nope, just some direction for the character please.

Batman Cacophony #1 (DC Comics)
Will we see issue 2? Will we see issue #3 sometime early next yr? We will see but based on the first issue alone, I have to say that I do not care for Kevin Smith writing Batman or the Joker and I am HUGE Kevin Smith fan. I found this take on both characters very boring, sure the Joker has some over-the-top lines but is that the Joker? Maybe if this was a Kevin Smith movie but it ain’t and that is my problem. I am expecting to see Batman light up a blunt in an upcoming issue and that will seal it for me. I won’t be reading this past this issue, I am sorry to say. Not enough in here to keep me onboard what-so-ever. I like my Batman Dennis O’Neil style thanks, not pass-the-blunt style.

Trade watch

JLA / Avengers TPB
Kurt Busiek and George Perez come together to bring the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes versus Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Brilliant wonderful book! Just buy it and enjoy!

The Question: Epitaph for a Hero Vol. 3 TPB
This is where the character started to come into his own under Dennis O’Neil, Denys Cowan & Rick Magyar’s run! The crossover with The Watchmen still as brilliant as it was when it came out in singles! This is another reason I wanted to write comics, reading great stories by Dennis O’Neil on The Question made me want to write! I LOVE this TRADE!

Batman: EGO & Other Tales TPB
I did not realize until after I bought this that I had read most of these stories before and they were collected together for this trade. Best Catwoman story every is collected in the trade which was great to read but I already had so that was kinda “oh” for me. Wonderful artwork, nice storytelling, great pacing, this is more a collection of how to do a story write than anything else for me!

From Vancouver Comicon:

I did mentioned I was going to give my reviews of the books I got from the con and here they are:

Sticks & Stones Halloween Special (self published)
Vampires, Death, Werewolves, Zombies and other tid bits make this a fun little self published book by Jordan Neufeld! Check out more of Stick & Stones here:
http://www.sticksandstonescomic.ca

The Gully by Adolph Gandhi & Critty Riphick
A wonderful dark story about not meeting strangers and such outcomes. I loved the cover art and the interior pages were good but I wished it wasn’t so washed out look but that is apart of the self published look, I guess. I LOVE hand drawn lettering! LOVE IT!
Check out more at:
http://www.crittyriphick.com/

You Ain’t No Dancer Vol 3 (New Reliable Press)
F**K I love this cover. The #1 reason I bought this book! Then I opened the pages and I got lost in some wonderful indy offbeat/strange/wild/fun/bizarre stories that only such an anthology can bring together. Various work from over 30 creators like Kazimir Strzepek, Becky Dreistadt & Frank Gibson and Steve Rolston to name just a few. A solid book by New Reliable Press and I think many of the blog readers would get a kick out of this book, ask for it at your local comic book shop when you go in to get yer books this week! You can check out more here:
http://www.newreliable.com/