Here comes the sun

Hello all,
It is amazing here in the City of the Salt. The shorts are out, the sandals are being worn, and life is good. I hope you all are doing as well.

I wanted to point some attention this week to a website I think is spiffy. A co-worker/friend pointed me towards this site. Admittedly I was skeptical at first but after checking out The A.V. Club, spinoff from The Onion, I was impressed. Sure there's a fair amount of edginess and unswerving mockery, but I also think there are some great series. Under the book tab you can find series such as Comics Panel, Better Late Than Never and the Box of Paperbacks Book Club. I found in these series some fun offbeat reads and reviews. Check it out.

I'd also like to point out that if you look at the sidebar I've added a list of nifty authors/artists blogs. Perhaps check some of those out if you have the chance. Okay Onward!

Review
Invincible Vol. 2
This volume picks up with the aftermath of Invincible's confrontation with his father Omni-Man. Mark has to grow up fast as he deals with his mom and heads off to college. Kirkman does an excellent job of balancing the super-heroes stuff with relationship drama. I found myself still invested in Mark's relationship with his mom and girlfriend Amber, even though it was very Silver-Agey. Like the Flash, Mark has to wrestle with whether he should tell her he's a superhero or not. It also reminded me of Spider-Man. Kirkman pulls from these classic archetypes in a fun way. Unfortunately I missed the urgency of Vol. 1, and the way that Kirkman defied expectations. Sometimes it was pretty predictable. Also I got pretty tired of all the expositional dialogue. I'd have preferred more showing, less telling.

Previous Volume Review: Invincible Vol. 1
Comic Series Info: Invincible

The Reading List
Books
Dangerous Laughter
The Game of Their Lives

Magazine
Vanity Fair

Comic
Captain America #49

Check Out Count: Gonna get better.

Comic Pull List: Daredevil #118, Detective Comics #853, Dynamo 5 #21, New Avengers #52, Outsiders #17, Trinity #47

Have a great week! Book Slave.

It's late kids.

Hey folks,
Excuse the late hour, the internet is being a bit difficult tonight. But really I don't think y'all are chompin' at the bit eh? Anyway Onward!

Review
Invincible Vol. 1
Been meaning to pick this up for quite awhile. I was finally spurred on by fellow co-worker Justin and thank god I did. This book was awesome. I highly enjoyed it's blend of the traditional hero story with a meta-ironic sensibility. It actually really reminded me of Astonishing X-Men/Joss Whedon. This story starts out with teenager Mark finding out he has super-powers like his father. Mark decides to become a superhero and christens himself Invincible. Throughout this first two arcs he works on his superheroics with his dad. The last few issues when he finds out that there is a superhero murderer were incredible. Kirkman is great at dialogue and humor. I'll be picking this up.

What's In My Bag
Books
In the Miso Soup
Aha-pocalypse Handbook

Magazine
Paste

Comic
Echo #6

Check Out Count: Changing all the time.

Comic Pull List:Criminal 2 #6, Daredevil #112, Final Crisis #4, New Avengers #46, Runaways 3 #3, Secret Invasion #7, Superman New Krypton Special #1, Terry Moores Echo #7, Trinity #21

Have a great week! Book Slave.