I read comics so that you don't have to.

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS: CHAPTER TWO VOL. 1 (Dynamite, 2010)

Collects Project Superpowers Nos. 0-6 (cover dates June, 2009- January, 2010)

This series presents some good ideas, but they are sure taking their sweet old time to get anywhere. It just feels like a lot of nothing is happening...get on it with it already!


PROJECT SUPERPOWERS: MEET THE BAD GUYS (Dynamite, 2010)

Collects Project Superpowers: Meet the Bad Guys Nos. 1-4 (cover dates August- November, 2009)

Interesting one-shot character sketches. I especially like The Scarab's one-shot (Issue 4).



INDIANA JONES- THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OMNIBUS VOL. 3 (Dark Horse, 2010)

Collects The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Nos. 25-34 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Nos. 1-4 (cover dates January, 1985- November, 1989)

I had never read any of these issues before, and they were all pretty enjoyable. Mostly done-in-ones with the occasional 2 or 3 parter, these all flowed pretty well within Indiana Jones canon. The art by Steve Ditko is great, and I was unaware that he even worked on this series until these trades were released.




THE BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 10 (DC, 2010)

Collects Batman Nos. 16, 17 and material from Detective Comics Nos. 75-77 and World’s Finest Comics No. 10 (cover dates April/May- July, 1943)

Great reads one and all! I love Golden Age Batman, as these stories are way fun and bleed charm. Alfred debuts here is Issue 16, and is quite a bit different than he would be later on, being an amateur sleuth and all. Also in issue 16 is "The Grade A Crimes", a wonderful story about robbers who double as milkmen. The old tyme-y street lamps and two-color traffic signals also help paint this as a quaint period piece. It's funny how these things would be inserted into retro-flavored stories today to help create atmosphere, but here they are simply contemporary background things. I love it. The Joker, the Robber Baron, and the Penguin are the stars of the rogues gallery this time out.

In Issue 17's "Adventure of the Vitamin Vandals", Batman tangles with a shark. Unlike the 1966 movie, however, he uses a knife rather than a can of shark repellent. The story from World’s Finest Comics No. 10, "The Man With The Camera Eyes" is somewhat contemporary. In the tale, a man uses his photographic memory to memorize documents, written music, etc., which is referred to here as "other people's ideas". In this day and age we use the term intellectual property, but this tale shows the grey areas pertaining to theft and crime, and the perception thereof. That is what it made me think of, at least. Individual mileage may vary.

One interesting thing about these issues is that while there are 'Buy war Bonds' logos on the splash pages of most of the stories, Batman steers clears of politics for the most part. Unlike Timely's heroes (Marvel as they were called back then), Batman does not engage in fisticuffs with the Nazis or the Japanese. I am sorry if I spoiled any of the above stories for you, but comic books that are nearly 70 years old are exempt from spoiler tags.

The restoration on the Detective Comics stories seems crude, especially when compared to the great job that DC did on the core series. I would love to see DC remaster the aforementioned stories, and compile them in nice, chunky hardcovers like Marvel's Omnibus line. My cheap ass can't afford to buy 30 different Archives, plus I like the chronological by release date format of The Chronicles line.




THE BATMAN: TALES OF THE DEMON (DC, 2005 Printing)

Collects Batman Nos. 232, 235, 240, 242-244, Detective Comics Nos. 411, 485, 489, 490 and DC Special Series No. 15 (cover dates May, 1971- May, 1980)

When I was a small child, I loved Batman. I watched re-runs of the '60s TV series, watched the Superfriends cartoons, had the 8" Mego doll, the whole bit. Along the way, I was convinced that Marvel ruled and DC sucked, likely from the influence of others. The occasional glance at the Distinguished Competition's '80s output confirmed this belief. Here is where I officially and publicly rescind my disliking of DC Comics. These stories are every bit as good as what Marvel was doing at the time. Dennis O'Neil crafts some first class stories, and the artwork by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano (among others) is top notch as well.

The thing that I like the most about these issues is that while Batman fights Ra's Al Ghul physically, most of their fighting is a psychological game of cat and mouse and manipulation. It works on so many levels and is so good on all of them.

The only negative thing that i can say about this book is the modern re-coloring, which appears dark and murky. I guess that earlier printings have the original color palette. I wish that I had known that when I picked this up.




X-FACTOR: INVISIBLE WOMAN HAS VANISHED (Marvel, 2010)

Collects X-Factor Nos. 200-203 (cover dates February- May, 2010)

This was okay, but I am done with all of these X-Men offshoots. I haven't really enjoyed the non-Uncanny X-Men stuff as a whole for quite some time, and am going to stick with the flagship title only from here on out. There are just too many comics being put out by other publishers that seem more interesting than this title. I will no longer buy from habit.




SPIDER- GIRL VOL. 12: THE GAMES VILLAINS PLAY (Marvel, 2010)

Collects Spider-Girl Nos. 67-72 (cover dates February- June, 2004)

Marvel has been slowly collecting the original series in these digests. I hope that we can get the remaining 28 issues collected before all is said and done.




MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA MENACE VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Menace Nos. 1-11 (cover dates March, 1953- May, 1954)

This was Atlas' (what Marvel was called back then) answer to EC's horror titles. Stan Lee wrote most of these tales, and was assisted in the artwork department by a number of greats: Russ Heath, Joe Maneely, John Romita, Sr., etc. These are all terrific reads about zombies, werewolves, vampires, etc. Fun for the whole family...if you happen to be the Addams Family, that is.




ESSENTIAL X-FACTOR VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Uncanny X-Men Nos. 242, 243, X-Factor Nos. 36-50 and X-Factor Annual No. 3 (cover dates January, 1989- January, 1990)

Once this gets going, it doesn't stop. The first few issues in this book are fairly clunky reads, but after Louise Simonson finds her footing again, it's a fun ride. The whole Inferno crossover with Uncanny X-Men is good fun, ditto the 6 issue Judgement War arc. The only downside to this book is Walt Simonson's artwork on several of the issues. Yes, that's right, I said it. I am not a fan of his scratchy looking artwork, never have been. He has legions of fans, but I am not one of them.




SPECTACULAR SPIDER-GIRL: WHO KILLED GWEN REILLY? (Marvel, 2010)

Collects Spider-Girl No. 0 and material from Amazing Spider-Man Family Nos. 1-8 and Web of Spider-Man Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1998- March, 2010)

Spider-Girl takes place in an alternate future timeline called MC2 (Marvel Comics 2). Before the marriage (and daughter) of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson was ret-conned out of existence, this was merely a future time line. The stories in Web of Spider-Man deal with May as an infant. The Spider-Girl stories from ASMF feature Tombstone, a Spider-Man villain who debuted in the late '80s. I always thought that he was pretty cool, and that opinion is reaffirmed here.

Junk Food For Thought in 3-D

THE SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 7 (DC, 2009)

Collects Superman Nos. 12, 13 and selections from Action Comics Nos. 41-43 and World’s Finest Comics No. 4 (cover dates October- December, 1941)

Lots of fun Golden Age Superman here. From the menace of Lex Luthor to the Archer, it is refreshing to Superman fight villains instead of your garden variety thugs. The story where he takes care of a baby was hilarious, and closer to the truth than most parents would care to admit. I truly dig on the Chronicles line of softcover trade paperbacks. I just wish that they would have raised the price by a buck or two rather than cut the page count by 24 pages. Oh well, it's all good and will come out in the wash so to speak, right?

SPIDER-MAN: DIED IN YOUR ARMS TONIGHT (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 600, 601, Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 36 and selections from Amazing Spider-Man Family No. 7 (cover dates August- October, 2009).

Wow, Issue 600 already? It seems like it was only yesterday that we got #500 (it was 'late '03 or early '04), and like last week when I rode my bike to the Book Bank to buy issue 300 the day that it came out (back when Venom was cool and had teeth instead of fangs and a tongue). Always nice to see old friends (Doctor Octopus, John Romita, Jr.'s pencils) with a new spin. With its now thrice-monthly publication schedule, Amazing Spider-Man should hit #700 in just 3 years time.

ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Marvel Two-In-One Nos. 53-77 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual Nos. 4, 5 (cover dates July, 1979- July, 1981)

Marvel's Essential line of black and white phonebook sized trades have had an uptick in price of $3 while simultaneously having a slightly lower overall page count (from 500-560 to about 500). They are still the biggest bang for your entertainment buck that you will get in spite of this. I just wish that Marvel would follow DC and Dark Horse, who put page numbers on their phone books. The bulk of this book is written by the team of Ralph Maccio and Mark Gruenwald who provide excellent characterization for Benjamin J. Grimm, a/k/a the Thing, the anchor character for this title. Lots of great arcs here, lots of great artists here, this is just a lot of fun Bronze Age goodness.

SPIDER-MAN: RED HEADED STRANGER (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 602-605 (cover dates October- November, 2009)

Fred Van Lente is a solid Spider-writer, having cut his teeth with the character on the kid-friendly Marvel Adventures Spider-Man and now in the big leagues with this title. ASM remains a great read, and is my favorite title that Marvel is currently publishing.

WOLVERINE/ POWER PACK: THE WILD PACK (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Wolverine/ Power Pack Nos. 1-4 (cover dates January- April, 2009)

This was as enjoyable as the rest of the Power Pack mini-series that have come out over the last few years. I wish that Marvel would try out a full-on series with Louise Simonson and June Brigman back on board and/or drop the cute-sy, mangish artwork.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 VOL. 3: VAMPIRE STATE (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 10-15 and Captain Britain and MI13 Annual No. 1 (cover dates April- September, 2009)

A satisfying end to the title. It's a shame that this book didn't catch on, as it had a great line-up: Captain Britain, Megan, Black Knight, Blade the Vampire Hunter, Union Jack, and Dracula as a nemesis.

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOL. 4 (Dark Horse, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Creepy Nos. 16-20 (cover dates August, 1967- May, 1968)

There is a definite shift in quality from the earlier issues, with Archie Goodwin relinquishing much of the writing duty to hands less capable, ditto the artists stable. Not all was lost, as many of the greats still contributed to this series, just not as often. I have been told that the quality picks back up, and I hope so. This wasn't a bad read, but it wasn't as spectacular as the previous volumes.

ESSENTIAL PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL. 4 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 75-96 and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual No. 4 (cover dates February, 1983- October, 1984)

I started buying this title monthly with issue 92, and stuck with it well into the 140s, maybe even 150s. I bought pretty much every issue contained in this book as cheap-o back issues in the mid-80s, and it was a blast to go back and re-read these. Back in the day, I used to re-read the previous issue when a new issue came out, i.e I re-read issue 92 when 93 came out, etc. This continued until around Issue 100. I used to read my new purchases multiple times back then. These days, with trades and hardcovers, I haven't even read everything that I own once. I do have a system, though, and rotate stock religiously. I was a stockboy as a teenager, and the lesson of rotating the stock to keep it fresh is so ingrained into me, even when I put away dishes, etc., to this day. 

Bill Mantlo wrote this series until just before I started buying the title regularly, when Al Milgrom (who also handled the artwork with inker/finisher Jim Mooney throughout the entire book) took over. This is such a solid read, with great characterization and stories. Milgrom's artwork lives and dies by Mooney's solid inks. When Milgrom does his own finishes like he did in Secret Wars II, he sucks, but here he was on. I bought Annual #4 from the Book Bin on my 11th birthday that year. My Mom drove me there, and since it was a direct market retailer, they received their books 3 weeks ahead of newsstands like 7-11 where I did my regular purchases circa 1984. It was like taking a trip into the comic book buying future! The story was an even better read as an adult as it was as a child. OK, enough gushing and nostalgic rambling.

INDIANA JONES- THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OMNIBUS VOL. 2 (Dark Horse, 2009)

Collects The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Nos. 13-24 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Nos. 1-3 (cover dates January- December, 1984)

I bought The Temple of Doom mini-series off of the stands back in the summer of 1984. In the days before home video, comic book adaptations and trading cards were the only way to relive a movie, as they generally took years to appear on network television, and would often be edited like crazy when they did. That would change a year later, when we got our Beta in 1985.

On to the comics! These were all fun reads, with artwork by Herb Trimpe, Jackson Guice, and Steve Ditko. Issue 19 was particularly good, as it featured a dragon which bore a striking resemblance to Fin Fang Foom, from Marvel's late '50s/early '60s monster days. They never named him as such, but it was obviously a wink to that long forgotten tale. The Dark Horse Omnibus line is always a treat, with it's chunky page count and nice paper coupled with an appealing price point.

MASQUERADE VOL. 1 (Dynamite, 2009)

Collects Masquerade Nos. 1-4 (cover dates February- June, 2009)

More goodness from Alex Ross and the rest of the Dynamite crew. The Project Superpowers universe continues growing at a cautious pace, and my wallet is thankful for that. I am really enjoying these titles and am curious to see what happens next.

An interesting sidebar: My wife went into labor with my daughter the day that this trade came out. We went to the Dr.'s first thing in the morning and her contractions were far enough apart that we had hours before we were to report to the hospital. My wife, knowing that it was new comic book day, said we should go to the comic store and waited in the car while I picked this up. Now that is love. Would your wife let you pick up the week's new releases while she was in labor with your child? I didn't think so!

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 6/18 & 7/4/2009

UNCANNY X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Uncanny X-Men Nos. 500-503, X-Men: Free Comic Book Day 2008 and selections from X-Men: Manifest Destiny Nos. 1-5

The core UXM issues are a good read, with decent artwork. For some reason, though, I cannot stand the stubble-laden Cyclops. He has always been clean cut. Emma Frost/ the White Queen still needs to be evil again, too. The short stories from the X-Men: Manifest Destiny issues are pointless character sketches with mostly crappy artwork. 

FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: BYRNE VOL. 0 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Fantastic Four Nos. 215-218, 220, 221, Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Nos. 61, 62 and Marvel Two-In-One No. 50 (cover dates September, 1977- August, 1980)

Superb! The Marvel Team-Up issues are Claremont/Byrne in their prime. Every single story is a winner, especially the Blastaar/ Futurist "arc" in the main title.

JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN: THE PREMIERE COLLECTION VOL. 1 (IDW, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects John Byrne’s Next Men Nos. 0-12 (cover dates February, 1992- February, 1993)

OK, so I got suckered into buying this $50 hardcover less than a year after the black and white phone books came out. This is such a great read that I simply had to have it in full color and in hardcover. This is a nice package with heavy duty paper and sewn binding.

SPIDER- GIRL VOL. 10: SEASON OF THE SERPENT (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Spider-Girl Nos. 52-59 (cover dates December, 2002- June, 2003)

I got nervous when they hadn’t solicited one of these digests in a while. Once again, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Pat Olliffe deliver the goods. Oh, and my copy is cooler than yours because Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz both signed it at this year's Motor City Comic Con.

SUPERMEN! THE FIRST WAVE OF COMIC BOOK HEROES 1936-1941 (Fantagraphics, 2009)

Collects selections from Amazing Mystery Funnies (Vol. 2) No. 3, Big Shot Comics No. 1, Blue Bolt Comics (Vol. 1) Nos. 5, 10, Comics Magazine No. 1, Detective Picture Stories No. 5, Fantastic Comics No. 12, Jungle Comics No. 4, Mystery Men Comics No. 4, Pep Comics No. 3, Planet Comics No. 5, Science Comics No. 4, Silver Streak Comics Nos. 4, 7, Star Comics No. 5, Target Comics (Vol. 1) No. 11 and Wonderworld Comics No. 8 (cover dates May, 1936- March, 1941)

This is a totally sweet collection of public domain Golden Age superheroes. When I am in the right mood, Golden Age comics have so much charm that I can't get enough of them. The rawness of the artwork and the lack of refinement in the storytelling make this a blast to read. 

There are some gems in this book: The Face is a really good concept, and Project Superpowers' Death Defying 'Devil is found in his second appearance as The Daredevil. The always brilliant Bill Everett's Sub-Zero tangles with "Professor X". The Comet also pre-dates Cyclops of the X-Men by some 25-odd years, with his visor and eye beam look and powers. 

It's interesting how much Marvel swiped from the various Golden Age publishers who let their copyrights lapse. There are some stories in this book that I am dumber for having read, too. Stardust, the Super Wizard being one. It's tough to follow, and the artwork is Rob Liefeld bad. Instead of feet and the number of digits, Fletcher Hanks has trouble with necks. Stardust looks like a frickin' giraffe. 

Spacehawk, Superhuman Enemy of Crime by Basil Wolverton is enjoyable. I've got to hand it to Fantagraphics, this is a great package. It's a softcover with heavy duty uncoated paper stock with sewn binding! Unfortunately, due to the thickness of the paper and the glue required to hold the softcover on, it does not lay flat. 

The restoration was done rather interestingly. Rather than scan and clean up/ recolor old comics like Marvel does, this is straight up high resolution scans. For better or worse, you see the color limitations from the old oil based inks, the line bleed, the inconsistencies, and you know what? I love it! I like seeing this stuff spit-shined and restored, but this is like getting a mp3 rip off of vinyl. It has a different tonal quality that is somehow appealing, although I wouldn't want a steady diet of it. Whatever the case, it works here. 

This is a first rate collection and I hope that it sells well enough for further exploration. I would also like to see character-centric collections, i.e. any of the names I dropped above.

INDIANA JONES OMNIBUS: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES VOL. 1 (Dark Horse, 2009)

Collects The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Nos. 1-12 and Raiders of the Lost Ark Nos. 1-3 (cover dates September, 1981- December, 1983)

This collects the Marvel run, and the core title was a decent read. The Raiders of the Lost Ark adaptation sucked, though, with what must have been the worst art of John Buscema's career. Klaus Janson is a terrible inker, and I'm sure that he didn't help things any. I bought Issue 7 off of the stands back in '83.

THE BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 7 (DC, 2009)

Collects Batman Nos. 12, 13 and selections from Detective Comics Nos. 66-70 and World’s Finest Comics No. 7 (cover dates August- December, 1942)

Batman was the best comic around during this time period. The stories and artwork are more sophisticated than anything over at Timely (Marvel as they came to called later on). Early Batman villains are cool, too. The Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face...these are all great. A fun, economical read.

THE AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE VOL. 3: SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Avengers: The Initiative Nos. 14-19 (cover dates August, 2008- January, 2009)

This was pretty enjoyable. Dan Slott is a solid writer and has a pretty good grasp on the Marvel Universe. It's a shame that it took this many issues for this series to find its footing. I am dropping the title as I really dislike the whole Initiative angle and am no longer an Avengers completist.

X-FACTOR: SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)Collects X-Factor (Vol. 3) Nos. 33-38 and She-Hulk No. 31 (cover dates September, 2008- February, 2009)

Good stuff by Peter David and company. The artwork is done by a rotating crew and is inconsistent but competent. I appreciate the fact that this series takes place in Detroit. Marvel should let Peter David take tour of the 'real' Detroit. I'm sure he could write some insane stories if he saw what the residents see.

AVENGERS: NIGHTS OF WUNDAGORE (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Avengers Nos. 181-187 (cover dates March- September, 1979)

Absolute brilliance by David Micheline and John Byrne! Art of the highest order. Five stars. 10 out of 10. Someone needs to hand this trade to Bendis and say "Here, read this. This is how you write comic books. He would have stretched this out to like 3 or 4 trades worth of issues. 

This is the third time that I have bought this material in trade. First was the black and white "Backpack Marvel"* trade Knights of Wundagore. (*Backpack Marvels was a short-lived black and white softcover format, smaller than a standard trade, yet larger than a digest. They were released circa 2000 and vanished with 4 titles released.) Then was the full color hackjob Yesterday Quest trade, which omitted entire issues, covers, splash and recap pages, etc. Horrible. Some of those '90s Marvel trades really, really sucked. 

This one is first class all the way, though, with several DVD style extras in the back. Of particular interest is the alternate page of Avengers 182, which is way cooler than the one that was used. Boring nostalgic rambling: On one of our trips to my grandparent's cottage circa summer 1979, my brother picked up #187 at the IGA. He later gave it to me, and the cover has always stuck in my head as being super cool. I still have that comic book to this day.

DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING (DC, 1994)

Collects Death: The High Cost of Living Nos. 1-3 and Death Talks About Life (cover dates March- May, 1993, 1994)

Wow, this was the tenth printing of this book!?! This is an enjoyable Sandman tie-in that you don't have to know much about Sandman (like I don't) to understand what is going on. Not a fan of Chris Bachalo's pencils, but they are better here than they are in his more recent Marvel stuff.

SECRET INVASION: CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 1-4 (cover dates July- October, 2008) and Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Nos. 65, 66 (cover dates February- March, 1978)

This series has a decent concept but it was undermined from the get-go by it being spun out of a crossover. I have always enjoyed Captain Britain because he was a lovable buffoon, but that charm is nowhere to be found here. Still, it is nice to see the Black Knight (a/k/a Dane Whitman) back in action. This was all in all a solid read, but it has already gotten the axe, so I won't get too attached to it. The classic MTU stories from the '70s are prime Claremont/ Byrne and are worth the price of admission alone.

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 12/14/2008 and 1/1/2009

It is no secret that I hate professional sports. I don't mind it when people get together to play basketball or baseball, but dislike the idiots getting paid millions for doing nothing exceptional. My biggest issue with professional sports comes more so from the fact that public tax dollars are used to build these stadiums. Why? The Palace of Auburn Hills was built with private money, so the Pistons can consider themselves excused from my hate parade here. Some of these owners have a net worth somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion dollars, and yet we pay for their stadiums. Adding insult to injury, they then sell the naming rights and pocket the money. Worse still are the overpriced concessions, which are staffed largely by unpaid volunteers. So let me get this straight...they charge $5 for a pop and then get a tax write off for the person selling it to you, all the while I am footing the bill for the building and not getting some sort of resident discount off of my ticket. *GAAAaaAAAhhHHHHhhhhH!!* (blood vessel bursts in brain) Wake up people! The Lions losing every game makes me laugh. They should hire me. I would've lost every game and charged them significantly less to do so. I'd charge, say, $2 million to lose every game for them. I do have a solution on how to fix professional sports: change the way that players are paid. We need to go back to Roman gladiator times, people, where the losers are done away with and the winners are showered with spoils. You want to see these spoiled 'rock star' athletes play hard? Pay them $500 per game if they lose, $500,000 if they win. The game then becomes life or death. If they lose, they live in Delray, but the winners, they can live in Birmingham or whatnot.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA HEROES VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Sub-Mariner Nos. 33-42 (cover dates April, 1954- October, 1955).

This reprints Bill Everett's amazing run on the title, and his artwork is amazing and very detail oriented. This book falls under the category of "never in a million years could I afford to buy and/or find all of these issues".

ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2005)

Collects Fantastic Four Annual No. 11, Marvel Feature Nos. 11, 12, Marvel Team-Up No. 47, Marvel Two-In-One Nos. 1-20, 22-25, Marvel Two-In-One Annual No. 1 (cover dates September, 1973- March, 1977).

This phone book is chock full of Bronze Age goodness by the usual suspects, i.e. Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber, Gil Kane, Sal Buscema and many other comic book journeymen of the day.

IRON MAN: WAR MACHINE (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Iron Man (Vol. 1) Nos. 280-291 (cover dates May, 1992- April, 1993)

This is solid, entertaining stuff written by Len Kaminski, who I am unfamiliar with. The artwork varies in quality, but the pacing and action sequences are decent.

VERTIGO: FIRST OFFENSES (DC, 2005)

Collects Fables No. 1, Invisibles No. 1, Lucifer No. 1, Preacher No. 1, Sandman Mystery Theatre No. 1 (cover dates April, 1993- July, 2002).

VERTIGO: FIRST CUT (DC, 2008)

Collects Army @ Love No. 1, Crossing Midnight No. 1, DMZ No. 1, The Exterminators No. 1, Jack of Fables No. 1, Loveless No. 1, Scalped No. 1 (cover dates December, 2005- May, 2007).

These are $4.99 sampler trades that the off-brands will offer to entice new readers. Honestly, Vertigo is hardly some small indie company, though; they are merely an imprint of DC, who is owned by Warner Bros., so much like much other so-called "indie" stuff, this is merely marketed that way so that people who wouldn't buy something mainstream, i.e. DC, would buy this. Fables was enjoyable enough, but maybe not enough to make me want to buy the series. I love the cover artist, whoever he/she may be. Invisibles seemed adolescent at best. I suppose if I were 15-21 it would "speak" to me. At 35, it's been there done that, grown out of it. Lucifer was so-so. Again, I will keep my cash in fist for other things. Preacher was good, although I am not rushing out to buy it. Sandman Mystery Theatre was very enjoyable, and I did pick up the first trade of it and enjoyed it. Army @ Love, DMZ, and Loveless all sucked, and Crossing Midnight, The Exterminators, Scalped, and Jack of Fables were decent, but not enough to convince me to pick them up. I find it disturbing that these are marketed as "sophisticated" comic books. What is so sophisticated about profanity, nudity, excessive graphic violence, and titillation? To me those traits are very adolescent; hardly what anyone would rightly consider being adult literature. I tried these out for something different, and while they are certainly different from my more mainstream superhero tastes, I ultimately found them wanting as intelligent reads. My search for sophisticated comic books continues. Any suggestions?

THE ZOMBIE: SIMON GARTH (Marvel, 2008)

Collects The Zombie: Simon Garth Nos. 1-4 (cover dates January- March, 2008)

The follow up mini-series to 2007's Zombie has excessive violence, gore up the wazoo, and a '70s Horror "hero"…what in this sentence does not appeal to you? Totally enjoyable fun for the whole family! Kyle Hotz and Dan Brown (no, not that Dan Brown) deliver an impressive read that should appeal to old and new Horror comic fans alike.

THE BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 6 (DC, 2008)

Collects Batman Nos. 10, 11, and selections from Detective Comics Nos. 62-65 and World's Finest Comics Nos. 5, 6 (cover dates Spring- July, 1942).

Lots of fun Golden Age Batman reads here, with several stories featuring the Joker. There are also early appearances by the Catwoman and the Penguin. These issues are fascinating from a historical perspective and are entertaining in their own right. Still no Batcave as such yet, just the abandoned barn entrance. The Bat signal is featured here also.

INDIANA JONES OMNIBUS VOL. 2 (Dark Horse, 2008)

Collects Indiana Jones and the Golden Fleece Nos. 1, 2, Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix Nos. 1-4, Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates Nos. 1-4, Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil and Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny Nos. 1-4 (cover dates June, 1994- March, 1996).

These are all outstanding issues with superb writing and artwork throughout. Any one of these would have made a better movie than …Crystal Skull. I love the Dark Horse Omnibus format, which is smaller than a regular trade while being larger than a digest and is printed on nice paper in full color. This one weighs in at 370 pages for $24.99 MSRP.

SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERIES VOL. 1 (Moonstone, 2003)

Collects A Case of Blind Fear Nos. 1-4 and Scarlet By Gaslight Nos. 1-4 (1988, 1989).

This was a rare impulse buy for me, and luckily it panned out. This collects two mini-series originally published by Malibu Comics. Excellent writing by Martin Powell and solid black and white artwork by Sappo Makinen make this a joy to read. This trade is out of print but will be reissued Fall 2009.

SILVER SURFER: IN THY NAME (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Silver Surfer: In Thy Name Nos. 1-4 (cover dates November, 2007- April, 2008)

This was a well done mini-series that was written in a non-decompressed manner. It was almost shocking to see a modern Marvel Comic done in such a way. I just wish that Marvel would quit doing umpteen Silver Surfer minis and instead do sporadic "season" type releases while keeping the same numbering.

EX MACHINA VOL. 1: THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS (DC, 2005)

Collects Ex Machina Nos. 1-5 (cover dates August, 2004- December, 2004)

EX MACHINA VOL. 2: TAG (DC, 2005)

Collects Ex Machina Nos. 6-10 (cover dates January- June, 2005)

My friend loaned me the first trade and I loved it, so much so that I bought the first 6 volumes in one fell swoop on eBay for $20.00. I have been much more open minded and receptive to new comic book ideas in 2008 than I have been in the past, and it is paying off. This is such a great read, I cannot recommend it enough. Brian K. Vaughn has come up with another winner here, with fully formed characters and a great premise. Tony Harris and Tom Feister deliver crisp artwork that serves the story very well. This is a more sophisticated read than Y: The Last Man or Runaways (other BKV titles), yet remains accessible. This is on DC's Wildstorm imprint, whose trades are printed on nice paper stock. Why are many 'classic' DC trades and Vertigo trades printed on such crappy paper? Wouldn't DC have all of their trades made at the same place? Sorry, but my comic book fan OCD cannot stand such inconsistency...it makes me lay awake at night. Kidding!