BC Refugees Blog

I know that some of you (including me) are “Burn Notice” fans, so I wanted to point out an excellent interview with series creator Matt Nix at TV critic Alan Sepinwall's blog.

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four 3: Now this is more like it, Hickman has a great sense of what makes these characters tick, including the kids. I’m very much looking forward to him taking over the main series. Wolverine 72: The “missing” Old Man Logan chapter, to be finished in a giant-size special later. It’s kind of down to a collection of clichés at this point, but done so enthusiastically that it’s still entertaining. Wolverine Origins 36: First I got bored reading the recap page, so that wasn’t a good start. Unfortunately, this is so plot driven that there’s no room for the interesting (to me, anyway) father/son dynamic between Logan and Daken. Now Daken has new claws that can kill Wolverine (and Romulus). So what? We know he’s never going to get to use them in any significant way. Daniel Way is just pushing the pieces around for whatever end game he’s got planned. I’m normally a big fan of artist Doug Braithwaite, but I thought this issue was a little hard to follow in places. X...

Jonah Hex 43: Good, but not one of the more exceptional stories they’ve done in this book. I did like the “silent” section at the beginning, though. I don’t know the original series well enough to know if the acquisition that Hex makes at the end is significant or not, but it felt like it might be. Cable 14: Bishop is starting to look silly here, as he has the girl in his possession for the whole issue and somehow fails (doesn’t even try, really) to kill her. The twist at the end is potentially interesting, but I’m ready for this to get wrapped up soon. Human Torch Comics 70th Anniversary Special 1: This didn’t work for me at all. Man vs. machine angst works fine for a character like The Vision, but the original Torch has always been portrayed as acting fully human even though he’s an android. I hope this isn’t the tack they plan to take when they bring him back later this year. Strange Adventures 3: There’s no bigger Adam Strange (and Captain Comet, for that matter) fan than me,...

I have a confession to make. I'm young. I know, I know.  You're in awe.  Never expected this confession.  It's true, though.  I wasn't around for the Berlin Wall, or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the invention of the cotton gin.  You know, the stuff you guys grew up with. But we're not here to talk about your growing infirmities.  This is a blog about comics, so let's talk about comics! When I was growing up, I was definitely a DC and Marvel guy.  The X-Men were awesome, Superman was the classic hero, you know the drill.  I think that I was actually a bit  young for the Image craze--after all, I was only, what, three when they came onto the scene?  Maybe?  Still, I knew of their existence.  Never really paid any attention to the Rob Liefeld stuff, though.  Savage Dragon and WildC.A.T.S. had television shows, and Spawn was, well, Spawn.  Youngblood?  Supreme?  What were those?  Besides, I didn't really care about Savage Dragon, WildC.A.T.S. or Spawn, so wh...

I’m writing one of these every day until I get caught up. Did I forget to mention that? Also, I’m probably going to skip reviewing the Free Comic Book Day titles at this point because Mike already did a good job and I have enough other unread material around here to stun a large land mammal. Repeatedly. (And don’t even get me started about DVDs.) Uncanny X-Men 510: The art really hurts this again, as all the women look alike, and they’re in red emergency lighting for most of the issue, and I have trouble keeping track of all the obscure characters anyway. Despite that, the plot is mildly fun and interesting, but not nearly at the same level as… Invincible Iron Man 13: …the same writer’s work here. I’m not sure if the more “grounded” science fiction just fits Fraction’s style better or there’s less interference or what, but there are interesting ideas on every page (not quite Grant Morrison level, but enough) and Norman Osborn isn’t written like a cartoon character. Hopefully the up...

Exiles 2: I still like the tweaks to the original concept, but I thought this issue was a little slow. Not that I want it to be wall-to-wall punchouts or anything but about half the issue is castle intrigue and cocktail party chatter, and apparently the timeline they’re in is similar to the ones some of the team came from so trying to keep all the subtly different characters and histories in my head felt like a little too much work. Agents of Atlas 4, 5: Great stuff here, as usual. I don’t know why there are two different artists on these issues, but the Gabriel Hardman art in #4 is superior – the flashbacks especially look great (which I also credit to the coloring.) Jeff Parker’s got some nice twists on the “they meet and fight” cliche between his team and Captain America’s Avengers, and even the recap pages are clever. For those of you following “Dark Reign” there is a major development at the end of #5. One of the best Marvel books that does not have the name “Bendis” or “Brubak...

What else did I finish reading last month?  Here’s a cross-section of various titles . . . . . . . . . WITCHBLADE #126 “War Of The Witchblade Part 2” by Ron Marz and Stejepan Sejic  (Top Cow/Image) Preface:  Now here’s an interesting concept! = In order to attract new readers to its’ titles Top Cow is giving out free books each month as part of it’s Let Us Win You Over project.  ( www.topcow.com/freecomics )  Every month it’s a different title. And they work through different comics shops each month as well.  In April the title was Witchblade #126 and one of the participating dealers was Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE (my preferred supplier) so voila! - - - I find a copy in my hands. Since the last time I explored the Witchblade series the mythology has expanded to a battle between the forces of light and dark with each side choosing its agents on Earth, hence the Darkness vs. the Witchblade.  I’m still not overly interested in this typ...

Hello, blog! I was having too much fun living the retired life with my parents last week to write, so let’s get right into May’s books and try to get them done before I get another month behind… Batman: Battle for the Cowl: The Network 1 : Not too bad, but I still don’t get the logic in replacing “Birds of Prey” with “The Network”. It seems like by the end of this issue, we’re at exactly the same place with Oracle in charge – the only difference being that Batgirl is involved. (And it may not even be the same Batgirl we’ll be getting when her new book starts, though I think it will be.) Flash: Rebirth 2: This pretty much ends up where I expected, following up on the “Black Flash” speculation from issue 1 (plus with Wally’s costume conveniently shredded so that we can tell him apart from Barry and so he’ll need a new one), but I like the explanation of the changes in Barry’s personality and the flashbacks to his CSI days. I don’t get why the super intelligent residents of Gorilla Ci...

Marvel accounts for the lion’s share of my order for August. It’s time now to take a look at the rest of Previews and conclude my threat.  ( I humbly defer back to Shane for the next write-up in 30 days on September titles - - although I didn’t mean to replace his column - - I’m content to provide supplementary information.) DC Comics SINGLE ISSUE ORDERS:  Even though the 4 Red Circle titles seem interesting (especially w ith JMS as writer) I’m going to wait and see what the response is.  I’ll browse through them when Captain Blue Hen gets their shelf copies and maybe pick up some if the artwork looks good.   I will pick up DOOM PATROL #1 just to see if Keith Giffen still has that old magic that made his 80’s run on the Justice League so entertaining.  The back-up feature in this 40 page book is Metal Men and they were an old, old favorite (although I haven’t really liked any of their revivals so far).  And I’m getting THE FLASH: REBIRTH #5 – I l...

I’m going to make good on that previous threat and share my August Previews orders here. Just like Tom Petty sings “and I won’t back down.”  Maybe this may serve as a better jump-start for some back and forth discussion on this blog site.  This is an interactive column here  - - so if you’re reading any further be prepared for some questions along with my comments (and hopefully some will elicit responses). Once you get beyond all the back-patting that Marvel engages in,  the Young Guns program is actually very helpful - - it focuses attention on newer artists who are expected to be future stars.  So I’m glad to see Marvel introduce The Write Stuff, a similar attempt to focus attention on promising writers.  While the initial group of four to be tagged with The Write Stuff have a decent portfolio of accomplishments already under their belt - - they can still be considered “new” to the Marvel Universe, so I’ll let that pass.  I’m pretty familiar with ...

POTTER’S FIELD: STONE COLD   (Boom Studios)  Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta Stone Cold is a very solid tale, a  complete in one issue crime story featuring the return of “John Doe” from the 3 issue Potter’s Field min-series.   The secretive and reclusive John Doe’s main mission is to put names and faces to  to the unknown serial-numbered corpses that end up buried in Potter’s Field, a  police-maintained cemetery for the unidentified dead of New York City. How are the apparently suicidal, homeless and unknown recently deceased connected?  - - all have been burned or mutilated to ensure non-recognition.  The trail leads to identity theft and corrupt police officers in a nicely told tale of crime  and investigation that touches a nerve - - what some will do in the name of money and extra income. Shame.   This ranks up this with the better crime tales of Brubaker and Azzaretto.  If everything is going to be this good then I ...

Time to get some blood back in this blog!  Let's take a look at some of what DC is offering in August.  It's a rather tempting month for me, with several launches that I'm really rather interested in. Adventure Comics #1 To start off, we have the launch (relaunch?) of Adventure Comics, starring Superboy.  We've already discussed this book, so I won't go into too much more, other than to note that Francis Manapul's art looks gorgeous (I have this as my desktop background right now), and that there will officially be a Legion backup (with art by Clayton Henry, who I'm not too familiar with, but a quick search looks promising).  It starts off with Starman for  few issues, but it's been confirmed that the backup will indeed be Legion-centric, with the option to launch another ongoing book if the demand is there.  I think that this title will be incredibly successful, and I've put aside most of my issues with it.  I'm looking forward to it. Doom Patr...

I’m way behind on my reading because I was sick for a few days (not Swine Flu), and because I just switched to FIOS TV and I had to watch all the stuff on my Comcast DVR so that I could return it and close the account. :-) I’m away next week visiting family, so I’ll try to get caught up from there.

I've been reading a bunch of independent stuff lately, because, well, after BC closed I decided to expand my horizons a bit, and had friends suggest stuff to me.  Some was good, some was bad, some was abominable and some was phenomenal. Sometime soon, I'm going to tell you about a comic from that last category--it's a little thing called Phonogram, being published by Image Comics.  It's currently on its second miniseries, and it is basically just the absolute best thing being published by now, and if you aren't reading it you are missing out on something incredible. However, I want to hold off an extensive review until after the second miniseries finishes publication--not because I want to make sure I love it, because I'm positive that I'll love it, but because I want to do a full examination of everything it presents. Still, it's time for me to rave about one part of what makes Phonogram incredible--its artist and co-creator, Jamie McKelvie.  He's d...

Here’s the summary of the remaining books I picked up during Free Comic Book Day 2009. I’m going to write separately about The Stuff Of Legends FCBD issue and meeting the publisher and artist.                                                    STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS  (Dark Horse):  This is a flip book, with the main story focusing on Star Wars and the backside/flipside divided between Usagi Yojimbo, Emily The Strange, Beanworld and Indiana Jones stories, with everything aimed at the “all ages” audience. At just eight pages the Clone Wars story focuses on a single battle and a unique attack strategy that works.   Jedi Master Fisto (obligatory bathrobe, and a “squid-locks” hairdo to help us remember him)...