Aquaman #01

W: Geoff Johns
A: Ivan Reis

Yup, I’m in. I kind of figured I would be but reading through issue one put it over the top for me. This is good, really good. I’ve always felt that there was a great Aquaman book out there and Johns shows a ton of promise here. He writes this issue from the standpoint of a long-suffering fan. He references the pop culture joke that Aquaman has become and throws it right back into those critics faces. Aquaman is badass and it pours out of him here. The artwork by Ivan Reis is great as usual. He really captures the power of Aquaman and the don’t fuck with me attitude a king needs. Mera is drawn tastefully and written well and should be a nice costar to this book. The villains make only a brief appearance and show just enough menace to be a threat. This book should be one of the best of the relaunch. Go get it.
9/10

Green Lantern Corps #01

W: Peter J. Tomasi
A: Fernando Pasarin

I’ve been very curious to see how the recent events in the Green Lantern family of titles would play in the new DCU. And while there have been brief mentions, new readers don’t necessarily need to know all of what has happened to enjoy the new stories. For this volume of the Green Lantern Corps, we get a nice intro to Guy and Jon trying to figure out their place on Earth. I’ve always thought that four Green Lanterns for one sector was a bit much and Tomasi appears to agree. Guy and Jon try to get jobs, fail, and contemplate a move off world. While this is going on a green covered baddie brutally kills some throwaway GL’s. This new DCU is definitely edgier than its previous incarnation. So we then get the setup to this books opening arc, who is killing these lanterns and why. The writing is done well especially with Jon. He has always been a tragic sort of character and his reasoning is played nicely here. Guy is written a tad less brash than usual which is a welcome change. The art by Pasarin is very nice and fits the tone of the story well. His characters are balanced and his world is very much alive. I liked this book a good deal and while it wasn’t the best GLC issue I have ever read, it is certainly a worthwhile addition to the run.
7.5/10

Mega Man + Portal = Awesome!

Mega Man with a Portal gun. Unfair? Perhaps. Badass? Definitely!

R2D2 Lamp

Check out this instructable on an awesome R2D2 lamp. Looks super easy and really nice when it’s all done.
http://geekcrafts.com/tutorial-tuesday-r2d2-lamp/

The Ballad of Mike Haggar

Epic does not do the above video justice. It is simply amazing. You need to watch this.

Super NintendoEmulatorSystem

You know, I had no idea that’s what NES really stood for. Check out this link to vigothecarpathian’s instrucables tutorial on how to turn your Super NES into an amazing portable gaming emulator. The work seems relatively easy to do and the end product is just fantastic. I want one. Check out the video below for a demo of the unit in action. Pure gaming bliss!

Ghostbusters Re-Release

Got a free Thursday in October? Because if you do, you should run to your nearest theater and check out Ghostbusters on the bigscreen. That’s right, the original Ghostbusters is getting a theatrical re-release on Thursdays during the month of October. Ghostbusters is truly one of the greatest movies of all time. Everything about the movie is pitch perfect. For those of us tha never got to see this on the bigscreen this is going to be an amazing experience. Check out the recut trailer below. It’s got the soundtrack from Inception played behind the film clips and it is awesome!

Catwoman #01

W: Judd Winnick
A: Guillem March

Catwoman #01 has, so far, been the most challenging book for me to review. On the one hand I really like it. On the other, it upsets me, a lot. On the plus side, the book is very well done. Winnick has crafted a story that immediately draws the reader into Catwoman’s world. We are shown the dangers and excitement in her particular line of work. We meet an interesting new character, Catwoman’s fence, who seems like she will almost play the Alfred role in this title. There is a decent little mystery
to the plot that is good enough to stick around for at least the opening arc. The artwork is very nice if rather inconsistent. I’m not sure if there is some facial “tracing” going on but there are a few panels where Catwoman looks entirely different, especially around the lips. That small quirk aside, the art really is nice. It flows well; the action makes sense on the page, and the storytelling from panel to panel is nice. However, the ending of this book left me at something of a crossroads. Without completely spoiling the last few panels, Batman shows up and the last 20 or so years of fan fiction takes place right on
the page. Now, there is nothing gratuitous, nothing that needs to be censored. But, this issue clearly illustrates that comics are no longer for kids. And that is somewhat sad to me. I know the booked is rated T so little kids should not be reading it but I wonder what books are left for them. I know there are a few out there, like Tiny Titans for example, but mainstream proper comics, not really. I’m not sure if that is good or not. I appreciate that stories are being written for me and my age group. It concerns
me about the long term growth and health of the industry. Overall, this book was very good and worth a peek.
8.5/10

Green Arrow #01

W: Jt Krul
A: Dan Jurgens

Green Arrow #01 is a mixed bag of sorts. I was really looking forward to this book mainly because of Dan Jurgens handling the pencils. Ever since the Death of Superman arc I have been a huge fan of his. His work is classic and simple with no wasted lines. His storytelling is spot on and he does not disappoint here. I love the redesign on Green Arrows costume as well. Of all the redesigns, his seems to be the most natural and sensical of the bunch. My concern with this title came from Krul continuing
to handle the writing. His Green Arrow run before the relaunch was good. There weren’t any must read moments in the series but I liked it and looked forward to it. However, with the relaunch I wanted someone new, someone to take the character in a different direction with a different voice. And to his credit, Krul does a decent job of giving us a new Ollie. It’s not one I love yet but only for the choice in dialogue. I have always pictured Ollie as an incredibly smart, well spoken individual. While he is
smart here, he is not well spoken and that took me out of the story a bit. The rest of the issue was solid and gives readers a decent intro to the new adventures of Oliver Queen. The cliffhanger is nice and hopefully sets up some exciting stories for the future.
7.5/10

Nightwing #01

W: Kyle Higgins
A: Eddy Barrows

The first issue of Nightwing does a nice job of getting readers up to speed on what has been going on in Dick Grayson’s life. His time as Batman is mentioned, his parents death is discussed and plays an important role in the plot, and his prowess as an acrobat is shown quite nicely by Barrows. I’ve always loved when the movement of a character, the flips and jumps etc, were shown by the artist. It’s been done in tons of books and I believe it really adds to the action. Barrows has a very clean style that lends itself well to this type of book. While it is a “Batman” book, it’s not nearly as dark as the core Batman titles. What struck me as average was the writing. I’m usually a writing first kind of guy but the script here by Higgins didn’t do much for me. The mystery villain is pretty obvious and his motivations seem directly on the surface. And the fact that he calls Dick the “fiercest killer in all of Gotham” yet doesn’t recognize him because of a silly little eye mask seems really stupid to me. Villains are smart. Especially ones with a personal connection to the hero. This guy leaves a lot to be desired. That said, I’ll give this book a shot since I love Nightwing. The art is really good and the story doesn’t suck. Good enough for me.
7.5/10