Review- WINTER SOLDIER VOL. 2: BROKEN ARROW

WINTER SOLDIER VOL. 2: BROKEN ARROW (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Winter Soldier Nos. 6-9 (cover dates August- October, 2012)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Michael Lark

What a cliffhanger! Times like these almost make me wish that I were a monthly comic buyer, as I am dying to know what happens next after this short and sweet book ended. I almost wish that Marvel had waited and issued a thicker trade with more of a resolution to the storyline.

Michael Lark's artwork is great, and I will one day read his and Brubaker's collaboration on Daredevil (I have all three Ultimate Collection TPBs in queue). This book moves at a brisk clip, and Lark's artwork has a sort of kinetic energy to it. 

The third sleeper agent woke to a world where he no longer belonged. He manages to turn the Black Widow into his catspaw. I guess that the Black Widow uses the same formula that Nick Fury does that keeps her from aging. This is a problem for Marvel, as some of their characters are tied into specific points in history. The longer these characters last, the more outlandish the concept that they have to come up with in order to keep the character at a certain age. Suspension of disbelief and all that jazz, right? This is a thrill a minute in high adventure, folks. If this doesn't rock your socks off then nothing will.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Standard fare Marvel trade paperback.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. This has a superb coated stock, not too thick, not too thin...let's call it Goldilocks weight. Just right.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. The same high quality, thick laminated cardstock that Marvel uses on all of their trade paperbacks.

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AVENGERS: THE BRIDE OF ULTRON

AVENGERS: THE BRIDE OF ULTRON (Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Avengers Nos. 157-166 (cover dates March- December, 1977)

Writers: Gerry Conway (157), Jim Shooter (158-

Artists: George Perez (penciler 160-162), John Byrne (penciler 164-166), George Tuska (penciler, 163), Pablos Marcos (inker, 158-166), Don Heck (penciler, 157), and Sal Buscema (penciler, 158, 159). 

My Avengers don't sit around the breakfast table and spend an entire issue talking. No siree. My Avengers go out and save the world from Earth-shaking threats like Typhon (not Typhoon), Ultron, Graviton, and the then-newly hyper-powered Count Nefaria. My Avengers aren't snarky smart asses. The character development occurs during the events in the story rather than in conversation around the breakfast table. Wonder Man's crippling self doubt while in battle, The Avengers' growing resentment of Thor swooping in at the last moment and saving them time and again, Captain America's growing bitterness at Iron Man's failure in leadership and disjointed efforts as a team...these all unfold while things are actually happening. It's more fun to read than talking heads who all have the same “voice”. 

Ultron unhinging Henry Pym (Yellowjacket/Ant-Man/ Giant-Man/Goliath) and using him to copy the brainwaves of the Wasp to form his robot bride (later named Jocasta) is a grand, Oedipus Complex of a plot. In this case, he would kill the father and make a mother to marry. 

Artwork by John Byrne

George Tuska's artwork is much, much better with Pablos Marcos' superb inking than it was with Vince Colletta's. These are among the greatest Avengers comics ever made.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line of hardcovers were a sort of junior Masterworks line, with decent restoration, nice paper, and sewn binding at a much lower MSRP.

Linework restoration rating: 4.75 out of 5. There are a handful of spots, including issue 166's cover, where there is visible pixelation and/or dropped linework. Aside from those few instances, the restoration is excellent.

Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. Excellent, faithful recoloring that matches the original comic books' color palette.

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. This line of books has a thick coated stock.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5. Wonderful sewn binding that allows the book to lay flat.

Dustjacket coating rating: 3 out of 5. This has that image coated/ solid blacks not coated approach that so many publishers have adopted. It is easily scuffed and therefore loses points here in the OCD zone. Durability trumps fancy production values every time out in my world.

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Review- CAPTAIN AMERICA BY ED BRUBAKER VOL. 3

CAPTAIN AMERICA BY ED BRUBAKER VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Captain America Nos. 11-14 and 328 (cover dates April, 1987 (328) and July- September, 2012)

Writer: Ed Brubaker (11-14) and Mark Gruenwald (328)

Artist: Patrick Zircher (11-14) and Paul Neary with Vince Colletta (328)

Every Ed Brubaker book is like a can of Diet Mountain Dew. You crack it open and it is consistently excellent and never, ever disappoints. It's almost ridiculous how good his run has been, and this book is no exception. There is a new Scourge on the loose. We see a lot of old Cap supporting cast members from the Scourge arcs of the '80s return, such as Diamondback and D-Man. The always unlikable Henry Peter Gyrich also rears his ugly head. He's been brainwashed...or has he?

There is a witness relocation program for criminals who rat out other criminals, and this list has been compromised. In maintaining my spoiler-free-as-possible philosophy, I won't tell you which criminals, or the how and why of how they are ratted out. I also won't tell you who is behind the leaks, or what their ultimate motive is. You can find out spoilers elsewhere on the Internet. I'd rather give you an idea and, hopefully, nudge you into buying and enjoying this book for yourself. 

Patrick Zircher is another in a long line of phenomenal artists who have collaborated with Brubaker on his run. He has a tremendous style and his action sequences are fluid and powerful. I love character driven stories and development as much as the next guy, but I also want to see some badass throwdowns. I want my cake and I want to eat it too.

Issue 328 is included because it features the origin of D-Man. I really enjoyed Mark Gruenwald's run on the title, and there are several trade paperback collections available. If you enjoy Brubaker's run and are looking for more great Captain America stories, the Scourge of the Underworld book would be a great place to start as it ties into the events in this book.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Typical Marvel Premiere Edition Hardcover, with the same production values that the format has to offer.

Linework restoration rating for Issue 328: 5 out of 5.

Color restoration rating for issue 328: 5 out of 5.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Nice thick coated stock with a slight sheen, perfect for modern coloring. It's not quite so good for issue 328, though.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. It's glued, but it's a thin hardcover, so it's no biggie. It's not like it's going to fall apart or anything. I normally lose sleep over books with glued binding, but not with these Premiere Hardcovers.

Review- RACHEL RISING VOL. 2: FEAR NO MALUS

RACHEL RISING VOL. 2: FEAR NO MALUS (Abstract Studio, 2012 ; Softcover)

Collects Rachel Rising Nos. 7-12 (cover dates April- October, 2012)

Writer and Artist: Terry Moore

Things were set to simmer in the first book, and are now about to boil over. For those just tuning in, Rachel is clinically dead but is out walking among the living. Now her friend Jet, who has also recently died, rises from the grave (or more accurately the medical examiner's table) with a broken neck. There is some real black humor in the scenes where they are trying to keep her body together. 

There are a few reveals here, such as why the dead are able to walk and interact with the living in the town of Manson. There are also more questions heaped upon the answers. Terry Moore has served up a fresh, modern take on Horror that relies more on subtlety and tension than gore and shock. Things progress at a slower pace. This feels closer to a television series than a movie, as there are no slam bang POW! Type moments. Moore's artwork is quiet and subdued, but is beautiful all the same. 

I am interested to see where Volume 3 goes. The problem with this being a slow burning read is that the anticipation of the payoff builds the longer that it takes, and the danger of a letdown increases. Moore has been around the block a few times, and hopefully has all of this mapped out and won't fumble the ball. I have faith in him.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book is value priced at MSRP $16.99. The single issues were priced at $3.99, so you save $7 by going the collected edition route. This book is slightly smaller than the periodicals, and the covers are printed in black and white, so there's that to consider. Two of the six covers are presented in color on the front and back covers of the book. I am a wait for the trade cat anyways, but those things may be considerations for some folks so I thought that I'd throw that out there.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. This book has a decent weight uncoated stock paper which works well for black and white material like this.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding. Nothing to get excited about.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. The cardstock cover has a strange feeling waxy coating, and is thinner than a standard Marvel or DC trade paperback. It's actually more malleable and rests in one hand like a giant periodical, which is kind of cool.

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Review- The Smashing Pumpkins/ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Deluxe Edition

The Smashing Pumpkins/ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Deluxe Edition (2012; original album released in 1995)

This era of the band is near and dear to my heart, as many of my life's changes from adolescence into adulthood occurred during the release cycle and tour for this album. As corny as it sounds, I credit this album with saving my life. The album itself is the first 2 discs in the box, remastered. I scratch my head with remastering material that was originally mastered for the CD format. It does sound different, with things popping out of the mix that weren't as pronounced on the original release. This feels more like a remix or EQ tweaking than a remaster. Suffice it to say that the original album is brilliant and holds up some 17 years later. I'll keep this review focused on the extras since I would just ramble on endlessly about the brilliance of this double album.

The card that was in the shrinkwrapping on the back of the box.

It's great to finally see Methusela (Sadlands Demo) officially released, as it is one of those great songs that has always had me puzzled as to why it was never used anywhere before. X.Y.U. (Take 11) is savage, being closer to the live version musically. Autumn Nocturne (Sadlands Demo) has been a favorite of mine since I procured the silver back, factory manufactured The Mellon Collie Demos bootleg back in 1996. It was at this point that I began acquiring insane amounts of bootlegs, eventually becoming a bootleg trader in the Internet stone ages, back when dial-up connectivity made downloading prohibitive and the small but dedicated trading community traded pure sourced, non-compressed files via blank CDs. Hey kids, did you know that blank CDs once cost about $6 each and were only 74 minutes? 

Ugly (Sadlands Demo) is another one from the aforementioned Mellon Collie Demos bootleg. I am absolutely, positively thrilled to see these lost gems get a proper, official release. I have long felt that it was criminal that these treasures were buried and unavailable to the general public. Lily (My One and Only) (Sadlands Demo) is another one from the aforementioned The Mellon Collie Demos bootleg, so I've been listening to this version nearly as long as the album proper. It's a more stripped down take with the lyric “ But a constable is knocking at my door”. I always thought that Billy used constable in the early version instead of officer because it seems like the original concept for the album was a turn of the century love story. By turn of the century I mean turn of the 20^th century, by the way. 

This was the most prolific era for Billy Corgan as a songwriter, as he was shitting out song ideas that most bands would kill for. He was writing and recording so many songs that it was impossible for him to release it all, even with a double album and 5 singles with several B-sides each and a seemingly endless parade of compilations and soundtracks. Ideas fell through the cracks, such as Glamey Glamey (Sadlands Demo), which never got beyond the instrumental phase (as far as we fans know). It's a flippin' incredible riff that he left to rot. Other songs like Meladori Magpie saw the light of day as a B-side, but only the diehards hunted these down and it never got the attention it deserved. It's a charming, romantic, country tinged song. Pennies was another B-side that deserved better. I'd rank it among Corgan's cleverest songs, a snarky send off to a jilted lover played and sang in a deceptively catchy, sing-a-long manner. 

Towers of Rabble was like the Maltese Falcon of Pumpkins demos during my trader days. Everyone knew of it, no one had it, and torrents as such were new and not as expansive as they are today. It has all of the ingredients of what could have been a classic Pumpkins song, but it was never fully realized and was abandoned. One must give props to Corgan for endlessly moving forward. Once he is done with an era, he's done with it. No going back and tweaking old ideas or reusing outtakes when ideas ran out. I can't say that I would've done the same thing.

This box set qualifies as a dream come true for me. I have had some of these demos forever but have always hoped that they would someday see the light of day. That day has arrived. If you are, or ever were, a fan of the band, particularly this era, then this box set is a must buy. This is the holy grail, ladies and gentlemen. While the box sets for the first three albums have had omissions that left me wrangling my hands together, this hits every sweet spot and has the kitchen sink thrown in. There are other things from this era not on this box, but I'm happy.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love packaging and physical media, and this box set is a bonanza. The box itself has a magnetic clamp and the cover has a lacquered, layered feeling. Very strange and very cool. The booklets are all LP sized, as is the box itself. The first booklet is an expanded version of the first booklet in the CD, with tons of new liner notes and pictures including Corgan's original sketches and ideas for the pictures in the original booklet. The second booklet is an LP sized replica of the original second booklet for the CD, the lyric one. There CD's are housed in a hardcover gatefold with 6 slots (5 CDs, 1 DVD) and has a luxurious felt feel to it. There are several cardboard LP sized stills and a small card explaining the Japanning process used in constructing the album artwork. Try downloading any of this shit, torrent dwellers. The tactile sensations and overall presentation enhance the listening experience and are why I will always, always, always be a physical media dinosaur.

Review- LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: JIM APARO VOL. 1

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: JIM APARO VOL. 1 (DC, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects The Brave and the Bold Nos. 98, 100-102, 104-122 (cover dates November, 1971- October, 1975)

Writer: Bob Haney

Artist: Jim Aparo

Jim Aparo is an incredible artist. I loved his work on Phantom Stranger and the Spectre, and picked this book up based solely on my enjoyment of those titles. Needless to say, the artwork is great. Aparo is similar to Neal Adams, delivering high energy photo-realistic drawings and clear, concise storytelling. 

Bob Haney's writing impressed me a lot as well. I am not a Batman or DC expert by any stretch, but I loved his depiction of the character. He wrote some dark, hard-edged stuff dealing with organized crime and drug dealers and smugglers. This was darker than anything going on at Marvel during this time period. Haney tapped into the vibe of the times, but these comics hold up remarkably well today. 

The Brave and the Bold is a team-up title (Marvel swiped the idea for Marvel Team-Up), so while Batman is the star of the book, he co-headlines with a different character each month. There are some really cool team-ups (Deadman, the Phantom Stranger) and some pretty lame ones (Metal Men). I enjoyed every issue in this book and am looking forward to Volume 2.

DC does some befuddling line branding. They have been issuing these artist-centric collections, but there are two lines titles that I can't make head nor tales of. This one is titled Legends of the Dark Knight, as is the Marshall Rogers collection. The Don Newton and Gene Colan ones are titled Tales of the Batman. If it is confusing to hardcore comic book collectors like myself then it must be even more confusing to the mythological mainstream bookstore buyer that DC seems to be chasing. It would help if the name Batman were featured in the title so that it turns up in a search. A more streamlined titling such as “Batman Visionaries” or having one consistent title for all of the books would be more helpful to everyone. 

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- DC has done some puzzling decontenting of their hardcovers recently. They no longer coat their hardbacks, and they feel cheap because of this, They no longer use foil in the stampings on the cover, adding to the cheap look and feel. DC also no longer shrinkwraps most of their hardcovers. They are out of their mind if they think that any of us uber-anal retentive fans are going to plunk down this kind of coin on a book that some greasy troll was manhandling in a comic shop. Give me my environmentally unfriendly shrinkwrap or give me...well, not death. Maybe a headache. DC not including the covers to some of these issues simply because Jim Aparo didn't do the artwork is clowntown. Come on, DC!

Linework restoration rating: 5 out of 5. The linework looks great. There might be a dropout here or there, but nothing so glaring that I would lower the rating.

Color restoration rating: 4 out of 5. While the color palette is faithful to the original comics, it's the gradient shades which caused me to lower the rating a point. While all of these collected editions are recolored on computers, these airbrushed looking gradient shades are the product of letting the computer fill in the shapes as opposed to doing it “by hand” on the computer. Only the most anal retentive get bent out of shape by this sort of thing. I, unfortunately for DC, am among the most anal retentive comic book fans.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. This book has super thick, high gloss coated stock. While it is better than the toilet paper that DC used to use in their hardcovers, it is too glossy for this material. If it had a slight sheen instead of being high gloss it would have gotten a 5.

Binding rating: 3 out of 5. This book is over 500 pages at $49.99 MSRP and has glued binding. While it lays flat for about 2/3 of the book, it requires two hands to force it open in the very beginning and at the very end of the book. If this book had sewn binding it would lay more flat than it does, but it would also be at least $10 or $20 more. This is where it gets sticky. I would gladly pay more for a more durable, higher quality binding. Many fans are sensitive to higher price points. I can respect that.

The question then becomes if DC is aiming a $50 book at some mythical mainstream bookstore buyer who saw The Dark Knight Rises, or are they aiming for the high end collected edition obsessive snobs like myself. I freely admit that we are not a huge market, but then again, how large is the market for these types of books anyways? I wonder if they aren't alienating one camp at the expense of chasing the other.

I just know that these brick-like square books have got to go. Part of the problem of these super squared books is that they are not comfortable to hold, with their edge digging into your hand under the weight of the heavy paper stock. Not only that, but the casing is glued square to the spine, which causes the gutters to be tight and actually curl around the edge at the front and the back of the book. Sewn binding and a more rounded spine would have greatly reduced this problem. Stop the madness, DC!!

Review- WINTER SOLDIER VOL. 1: THE LONGEST WINTER

WINTER SOLDIER VOL. 1: THE LONGEST WINTER (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Fear Itself : Captain America No. 7.1 and Winter Soldier Nos. 1-5 (cover dates January-July, 2012)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Jackson Guice

I didn't follow the Fear Itself crossover, so I'll have to judge this book based solely on the events that occur between its covers and not how it fits in, or doesn't fit in, with everything else going on in the Marvel Universe at the moment. This is pretty easy to follow if you know who Captain America, Nick Fury, the Black Widow, and the Avengers are.

I loved seeing the Red Ghost and his Super Apes, even if they didn't throw down with Bucky (a/k/a the Winter Soldier) as much as I would have hoped. There are tons of great action sequences throughout the book.

Jackson Guice's artwork is great. His art is like fine wine, as it has improved tremendously with age. I have loved his work since he did Micronauts: The New Voyages, a series that needs to be collected. Since Disney owns Marvel, they should use their money and muscle to buy everything in their path until they acquire the Micronauts. The world needs Micronauts hardcovers.

The coloring is incredibly tasteful throughout the book as well. Modern computer coloring is breathtaking when done correctly. Props to Bettie Breitweiser for showing skill and taste. So yes, all is well and rosy with this series. And yes, who is the third sleeper agent? I have to read Volume 2 stat!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Standard Marvel trade paperback.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. This has decent weight coated stock paper with a slight sheen to it.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding. Nothing to see here.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. The usual laminated cardstock cover found on all Marvel trade paperbacks. It is highly durable and makes me happy.

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