As many of you who listen to the Why I Love Comics Review Podcast probably already know, I had to miss this last week’s show due to the loss of internet at my hose and a multi-day quest to get AT&T DSL to fix the issue.  I was off line from Friday evening to Tuesday morning.

Since I wasn’t able to take part in the show, I thought it might be fun to go ahead and share my notes on many of the books they covered here.  Unedited and served up for your reading pleasure, enjoy a minor micro comic review flood served up for your enjoyment…

Adventure Comics #8

I found this to be a very interesting prelude to the Kryptonian War.  I’m excited to see the Legion come back into a prominent role and look forward quite a bit to the new series.  I give this issue high honors for delving into the mind of General Lane just a bit.  It adds a bit of dimension to a character I haven’t cared for previously.  Nicely played.

Batgirl #8

Great story with grade “A” interactions between Red Robin and Batgirl.  Another strong issue from what has become one of my top series.  I felt guest artist Talent Caldwell didn’t display the usual penciling talent I’ve come to expect on the book.  That would be my only complaint.

Batman and Robin #10

So good.  I originally laughed when I heard the whole “Bruce lost in time” idea, but so far I’m completely digging the execution and the small character growth we’re starting to see in Damion has been awesome.  I really like the character of Mr. (Oberon) Sexton (aka Gravedigger) and actually harbor a hope this may be Bruce.

Detective Comics #862

I’m not as hot on the Cutter as a villain, but the storytelling remains strong.  It’s interesting (even if a bit confusing) how Batman and Batwoman jump back and forth in this story.  The potentially tragic end of this issue makes for a nice cliffhanger.

First Wave #1 (of 6)

I really enjoyed this one.  The combination of the Spirit and Doc Savage in the same book was just kind of cool and the art was amazing.  I really have high hopes for this series even if this first issue posed more questions than provided answers.  Here it’s got that pulp feel, but it’s just really modern cool at the same time.

JSA All-Stars #4

The art was a little strange this week.  The constant posing of Power Girl was really distracting early in the issue.  I’m totally digging the return of Sand and this continues to be a very entertaining read for the JSA.  Blowing out the eyes of King was a bit shocking, but I’m enjoying the characterization and interplay between the team quite a bit.  Anyone know more about the dimension Stargirl was dumped into?

Justice League: Cry For Justice #7 (of 7)

An odd series, start to finish for me.  Had a bit of a funky feel to it, but the pace just kept intensifying issue after issue.  Not sure if it was the art or the story, but the ending was pure adrenaline and the loss of Roy’s little girl hit me hard.  As a longtime Titans reader, that is a major blow to the family.  Cities can be rebuilt, but a heroes daughter really hit home.
Boys #40    Only one real page of shock value this time (violence was the chosen road this month), but overall this issue actually sported a bit of story.  I think it fails just a bit by relying too much on the reader already knowing all the players and group names being tossed about.  Absolutely not a series you can just jump into in my opinion, but this month (more than most) gave me hope there might be something here worth reading.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #33

I have to agree with Brant’s take from last month.  The new powers are just too much for these characters.  They have to give them up soon or come up with a heck of a better reason than they have so far.  Also, the Buffy/Angel relationship was subtle, nuanced and resolved in a really strong way within the television series.  They always fretted over it and took time to make moves.  This was to sudden and too simplistic to be solid Buffy writing. Metzler let me down so far.

Chew #9

A good example of the series.  You have your humor, your quirky culinary story elements and a couple comedic moments that have real bite.  Vampires, 3rd world dictators, funky fruit and multiple cliffhanger endings plus a very funny hinted sex scene.  What more could you want?

Mass Effect: Redemption #3 (of 4)

Twists, turns an a continuation of some nice intergalactic subterfuge.  This continues to be a fun read.  I can’t say it’s something I would go out of my way to get each month, but I’ve had fun reading it so far.  I’m hoping the twist hinted at on the final page is a surprising one.  Good, but not a standout for me.  It does have a lot of potential for a fun finale.

Sparta: USA #1 (of 6)

I’m fairly excited by this series.  It is so strange only one of two outcomes can come from it.  Total derailment or total success.  I think here there will not be an in between.  This plays nicely on the isolationist elements in society today and slaps the American heartland football driven small town concept squarely in the jaw all the while celebrating elements of it.  Sci-fi meets John Cougar Mellancamp’s small town all in one book.  I found it quite interesting.

Sweet Tooth #7

Wow, this series has turned grim but in a really, really good way.  I find myself emotionally invested in Sweet Tooth which is something I’ve come to expect from Lemire.  I’m really interested in his guardians back story and just chomping at the bit for him to go rescue our diminutive horned hero.

Witchblade #135

A nice “middle of the story” issue with an interesting meet-up between Aphrodite and Witchblade.  Hints of a worrying family seems to be a regular feature in this title.  Not overly impressed, but not underwhelmed.  Had a bit of an action adventure movie feel.  Just didn’t hit me a much as past issues.

Amazing Spider-Man #623

Loved the reference to the Electric Company and the tip of the hat to Stern, but the art is still really bad here.  There’s a sequence when he learns of Jonah’s association with Vulture where Spidey looks so lumpy it’s just scary.  Instead of a chest in many scenes it’s like he has really old sagging breasts (page 23).  It’s creepy.  Story-wise, not bad and certainly better than the last few.

Amazing Spider-Man #624

A solid issue.  I have to admit that I’m kind of into the whole Vulture story.  I like the character, but I can’t really say why as he’s pretty one dimensional.  I enjoyed seeing Spidey fill the streets with a maze of webs and actually run out.  The humor was a bit flat in places and the art is still horrific (he really needs to get someone to look at that distended chest problem he gets when swinging).  Over all, not a bad issue, but no classic by any means.

Cable #24

For a series I’ve grown to dislike over the last few months, this was a really wonderful finale to the story.  I liked the resolution with Bishop which was incredibly overdue and the interplay between Hope and Cable was much better this time.  All in all, a good issue and the first in a while I would advise not skipping as it wraps a few things up.

Dark X-Men #5 (of 5)

So glad this mini is over.  Green Goblin said it best and summed up everything in two panels, “You idiots.  I see it now… you are not important!”  Amen!  Best line of the series though came from Dark Beast when he uttered “Ah. I remember when my Tuesday nights were always like this” looking upon the piles of dead brain trust bodies.  For the depiction of X-Man, for making fun characters unlikable, for never really getting to a point, this is simply the most skipable series in years.  Don’t pass go, don’t get the trade… don’t even consider that this series happened.

Deadpool Team-up #895 (896?)

This was a better story than we have been seeing, but this is the weakest Deadpool series in my opinion.  They’re simple one-offs that strike me as pretty skipable.  If the humor were here it would work, but this just strikes me as a little flat.  The Living Monolith was the most interesting element and he was a rock statue… what does that say about the series?

Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks #1 (of 3)

This was a bit of a throw away storyline in my opinion.  Maybe it’s going to be key to fall of the Hulks, but even there it seems like a side road at best.  Lyra as the inverse “must stay calm to be powerful” Hulk just doesn’t fascinate me and I’m not a fan at all of this red She-Hulk.  Let’s just take the Rulk concept and toss it on a woman to expand the number of Hulks.  Looser!  The Wizard and his gang were the highlight of the issue if I had to pick something and the reveal of She-Hulk at the end was somewhat anticlimactic.

Invincible Iron Man #24

What a great, great issue.  A solid finale to this storyline as Tony works his way back, visits (and combats) his ghosts and delivers once again this month.  The twist at the end regarding the hard drive and his memory set up a great dynamic and was actually one of the best in story retcons I’ve seen in a while.

Mighty Avengers #34

A shockingly bad issue of Mighty Avengers.  Bad art, poor body presentation, really trivial dialogue and and overall disappointment.  It took plot elements that had been building with Loki for a while and made the throw away and the dissolution of the team was sad at best.  Loki is better than this, the team is MUCH better than this.  It didn’t have to go this way.  Yuck!

Prelude To Deadpool Corps #1 (of 5)

Despite the Liefeld presence, I actually had fun with this issue.  It wasn’t overblown, lacked a little on substance and suffered from average at best humor but overall it was a fun starter to the series.  Kinda skipable, but if you have to read it you probably won’t loose an arm like cap.

Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk #2 (of 4)

A great improvement over last month’s opening issue which I wasn’t that happy with.  The inclusion of the Marvel Micronauts (aka Microns) Arcturus and Marionette (referred to at Mari here) really did a lot to get me excited by the story.  Since they cannot use Baron Karza these days, this creepy little “son of a Hulk” would make a worth successor to his mantle for future Mircon stories.  I dug the wider impact this story seemed to have as well.  Oddly enough, I would still consider it skipable, but if you do read it I think you might just like it.

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without A Face #4 (of 4)

I so want to visit this world every month.  I loved this series and the ending issue did it justice.  From the sad fate of Robbie to Doc Ock being rejected by the Nazis to the final fate of Felicia.  Absolute reading gold.  How soon until the next mini?

Ultimate Comics Avengers #5

That was one of the most Keyser Söze evil moments I’ve seen in comics at the start of the issue with the flashback Skull story.  Man that was creepy.  I love the action adventure feel here.  This one doesn’t rest start to finish.  I enjoyed it right up to and including the “permission to speak freely” moment at the end.  Awesome!

Wolverine: Weapon X #11

Deathlok is now a terminator army?  Say what?  Not a bad bar hopping issue, but that’s kind of an overdone Wolvie story.  Would have been better if Nightcrawler had joined the pub crawl.  Kinda creep as the ‘lok entered the maternity ward.  Yikes!

I read about a half dozen more, but I didn’t jot down notes. Agree, disagree… Let me know with your comments section.  Like this extra look?  I’d be happy to share my notes after each show if there is interest.

Heh… Cool!

I had to come back and add a couple extra thoughts on the iPad as my entire opinion on Wi-Fi vs G3 has changed since I penned my blog entry this morning.  First, just after lunch I learned that AT&T plans to offer a low usage plan at roughly $15 and they plan to offer it with no contract required [details].  You can opt in or out as needed live from the iPad.

Now that is a game changer for me when considering whether or not to get the slightly higher priced 3G version.  That level of flexibility without locking me into an agreement has completely changed my opinion as the occasional cellular access could prove very useful at shows.  Nicely done Apple/AT&T… you won me over on that count.

While bumping around engadget’s site I also stumbled across this article discussing the upcoming optional keyboard dock, camera connection kit and mondo cool Apple-designed case.  This little piece of technology is looking better and better to me.

I’ve been kind of torn about whether or not I would be interested in trying one of Apple’s new iPads.  Instinctively, I’ve wanted to jump on it since the moment it was announced as I absolutely live on my iPhone and the more I tweak it out, the more I wonder how I every survived day to day without one.  Toodledo, Awesome Note and myComics alone have been almost life changing apps for me.

I’m a person who loves to take new tech and see how it can be molded to do things I didn’t think it could.  Playing with how to tie processes and hardware together in interesting ways so that the  tech can be more convenient is a puzzle my mind just seems to want to drift toward more often than it should.  I think that’s been some of the appeal of the iPad for me.  What can I make it do (CR-wise) and how could it make all this work we do each day a little easier?  Or more specifically, could it?

So many questions.  I really want to see the apps and the recent word that most if not all existing apps will work on it fills me with quite a bit of hope for its future.  I’ll admit, the possibility of reading digital comics full screen is almost enticing enough to make it an immediate “buy” for me.

I’ll give apple credit.  When it comes to making the pitch for the unit, they’re good…

I think at this point if I were being completely honest with myself, it would probably be more a question of when rather than if in terms of trying it but the jury remains out.

The puzzle of Wi-Fi versus the G3 version for the hardware has been an interesting one.  I have to admit, if it absolutely required a data plan with a cell carrier I would probably walk away as I already spend enough on my iPhone plan.  Since there is a cheaper Wi-Fi only option, I’m leaning toward pursing that route (again, “IF” I take the plunge).  Wi-Fi is so prevalent and so much of what I would do with it would only require the intermittent connectivity that the fact that it’s cheaper makes it a nice alternative.  Man, if this could somehow be tethered to the iPhone and piggy back off its plan, it would be an amazing mix.

That only leaves the decision of capacity.  Do you go 16gig, 32gig or 64gig?  Okay, 64 gig would be the obvious choice here, but the price points make it a little steep for this kind of unit.  Coming in at $499, $599 and $699 respectively, I would probably opt for middle of the road at 32gig and hope I don’t regret it later.  I fill up 8gig with my phone regularly so I can bet 16gig would be cramped living conditions.

If I take the plunge this year, I’ll share my thoughts here.  For now, they’re just thoughts, but being able to show people CR at a convention on an iPad is pretty attractive to say the least…

Cheers!

Well friends, over the last 24 hours I invested a bit of effort in catching up on all the old school social network areas tied to CR and was fascinated by just how many ways people have to actually get hold of me these days.  Making an effort to close some of the more dormant pathways is high on my agenda.

For the first time in a LONG time, I took a look at the content on our MySpace and ComicSpace pages.  At least with MySpace, Brant did some serious design work there last year.  On ComicSpace, it appears the last time I haunted those hallowed digital halls in any real way, the year was 2008…. Wow, just wow.

Both pages have now been updated, messages have been answered, friend requests have been accepted and a warning blog post/bulletin message has been left on each page letting people know we honestly don’t pass by those spots all that often.  I encouraged them to contact us in other ways and spelled out the best methods.   In the end, it just seems a shame to shut them down completely, but I also don’t want people insulted when they approach us there and don’t hear back right away.

Communication pathways is something I’ve really been working to improve at CR and I’ve been taking some decisive steps behind the scenes.  To be on the safe side, I encourage everyone to use press@comicrelated for most of the CR business these days as that copies Brant Fowler, John Wilson and myself on each message.

Honestly, it’s no wonder I feel like information overload has me some days.  If I were to stay up with the CR world completely, I would have to keep an eye on the main CR email, all the wonderful CR forum direct messages, the Facebook requests, any blog comments, those fun direct messages via twitter, the old school MySpace requests, my phone messages, my text messages, the AIM pop ups, and all those meandering ComicSpace bulletins.  I give… heh

In an effort of complete disclosure, here are your best bets if you really need me…

Text me … I always see a text as I live on my iPhone
Find me on AIM … Sometimes I’m there even when I’m not
Message me via Facebook … I’m there once or twice every 24 hours
Call Me … I pick up calls I recognize and try to return messages from calls I don’t within 12 to 24 hours

E-mail to chuck@comicrelated.com is functional, but at times can be a bit like playing the lottery.  I try and stay caught up (only 5647 email in my “in” box currently), but it’s a battle I seem to forfeit more than win these days.

This is why I’m pointing most people to press@comicrelated.  At least with this e-mail address, you have three sets of eyes looking at the flow of information and four of those six eyes are real pros at keeping the world of CR afloat.

I keep working at this aspect of the company.  Every day it’s a battle I work to win.

Over the Christmas break, I spent some time enjoying the History of Howard Stern, Part III over on Sirius Satellite Radio.  I’ve been an off and on fan of Stern over the years following him intensely for a while then wandering away only to return again months later wondering why I’ve been missing the show.  I tend to enjoy his political rants and interviews a bit more than his 13-year-old antics, but overall it always leaves me with a smile.

As I listened to his History and how the world of Stern evolved, I was surprised to find myself reminded just how much his and my philosophy mesh on one key point… the show behind the show.

The Stern show sports has a cast of friends (some odd and some lovable) and everyone who works on and around the show becomes a part of the story  in one way or another.  He explains in the History how important he felt it was to invite the fan into not just the show you hear on the air, but the culture in which it is produced, warts and all.

I’m a big believer in that though I think we have an imminently more respectable family.  Like him or hate him, if you put his content aside and look at the show behind the show  it becomes more interesting than any guest he has on the air.  In his world everyone is a star.  As I look around the CR family, I’m constantly reminded that that this is a great philosophy to live by.

CR wouldn’t be what it is today without the John Wilson, the Bill Gladman, the Brant Fowler, the Russell Burlingame, the Eric Ratcliffe, the Godron Dymowski, the Frank Raynor, the Ron Fortier, the Lisa Moore, the Katie Riley, the Chuck Kennedy, the Decapitated Dan, the Eric Adams, the David O’Leary, the Tony Miello, the Cary Kelley, the Richard Krauss, the Bill Love, the Bob Hickey, the Darren-Krista-Jackie Ringtails, the Scott Simmons, the Tim Tilley,  the Kenn Minter, the the… etc. You get the idea.

The list goes on and on and how many of these individuals have become names you know and whose adventures you follow.  That’s so much of the fun of Comic Related.  It’s not just the stories, but the world in which they come together that’s most of the fun ’round here and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cheers!

Well friends I am crawling my way back toward computer normalcy.  After recovering data from my old laptop, I ended up spending far too much of my extended vacation organizing files, backing them up  and getting the old digital house in order.  Considering I’ve let files just collect and backup (pun intended) for years, this was a mean project to take on.  I had hoped to return to my fully restored laptop today, but that was not to be.  The people repairing it needed another day to finish things up so hopefully tomorrow I’ll be back up to speed and no longer shackled to a 5 year old desktop.

During my time working, I’ve been listening to the History of Howard Stern Part III, catching up on the latest season of Dexter, checking out those recent Doctor Who specials and watching the first few episodes of the first season of Glee.

The Fox series Glee is one I can wholeheartedly recommend.  Amazing fun.  We caught five episodes tonight (our first exposure to the series) and Katie and I are hooked.

More blogging soon…

Bill Gladman, you are not alone in your computer woes.

My greatest tech fear was realized last night as I hit the 5-6 PM hour.  The computer flickered, briefly displayed the ever loving blue eyed blue screen of death and then rebooted.  I instantly knew it wasn’t good and only hoped it didn’t spell real trouble.

Guess what… It spelled real trouble!

The humor in this situation (and yes I found humor in it for some reason) is only surpassed by the fact that I was just about to back up the thing which was carrying WAY too much unrecoverable data.  I was long overdue (can you say 6 months or so) and had just grabbed a USB hard drive from Brant to move a bunch of content off.  Photos, audio, CR files… you name it and it was there.  What made matters worse, some of the last photos I ever took of my dad were also on that laptop.  To say the least I was on a mission.

It took me 24 hours, the $90 purchase of Spinrite software (thank you Leo Laporte for making sure I knew where to head for a chance to fix this) and a tricky partial install of Windows XP, but I managed to crack the door open just enough to get a USB drive in there and start grabbing my files (which I am doing now).

Let this be a lesson for any of you reading this post.  If you haven’t backed up your files recently, this is a good time to do it.  The blue screen of death could be waiting just around the corner for you too if you wait another day.  At least I can testify that the specter of computer hard drive death has a sense of humor.  I literally had the portable hard drive on my desk to start when it crashed.  Now, like refugees seeking asylum in a foreign land, my files are making the move over to my desktop computer that is constantly backed up by Carbonite.

It was a real scare, but I worked my way through it… eventually.