Comic Rack

/ / Comics

It’s a new week so it must be time to talk about comics! Welcome to the RazorFine Comic Rack boys and girls. Pull up a bean bag and take a seat at feet of the master as we offer you this quick list of all kinds of comic book goodness set to hit comic shops and bookstores this week from all your favorite publishers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, BOOM!, Dynamite, Archie, Image Comics, and others.

This week includes Batman and Robin, Batwoman, Bomb Queen VI, Captain America, Deadpool, Detective Comics, Dracula: The Company Of Monsters, DMZ, The Guild, Incorruptible, Jughead, Magdalena, Red Sonja, Secret Warriors, Teen Titans, Uncanny X-Men, Usagi Yojimbo, Wildcats, the first issues of Chaos War: Alpha Flight, Firebreather Vol. 3, Kull: The Hate Witch, Traveler, Vampirella, and the final issues of Fringe: Tales From The Fringe, Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force, Madame Xanadu, Shadowland: Blood on the Streets, and Terminator 1984.

Enjoy issue #106

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The Spirit #8

/ / Comics

It begins when the Spirit catches sight of Ophelia Ottoman at the funeral of her husband, gangster Jimmy Bauhaus. Concern for the attractive widow, and a nagging suspicion that everything isn’t quite as it seems, lead the hero to shadow Ophelia and try to uncover the secret she’s hiding.

After she kills the son of one of the other crime families tensions immediately rise and our gallant hero steps in, only to discover that the death of the accused rapist and the apparent death of Jimmy might not be what they seem.

Aside from the cover (ugh, can we get rid of these “First Wave” bars at the top and bottom, please!), there’s much to enjoy here. David Hine has gotten better over the series and here seems to have gotten the tone and humor of the character just right, and the art by Moritat proves to be seductive, humorous (I love the Sprit’s smirk!), and a little bit naughty. The comic also includes another b&w Spirit adventure by Walt Simonson. Worth a look.

[DC $3.99]

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Batman: The Return

/ / Comics

Leave it to Grant Morrison to give us the worst opening and one of the worst final panels of the Dark Knight’s career both together in a single issue for the extra-special price of $5.

This Batman: The Return one-shot further sets up Grant Morrison’s latest pet project Batman Incorporated by defining roles for the rest of the Bat-crew. Or that’s what it should do. For some reason almost all of those conversations take place off the printed page. The glimpses we get, such as the dialogue between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson is actually pretty good, but sadly it’s drowned out by mutated killers, terrorists, and a secret organization operating around the world known as Leviathan.

And then there’s the mindbogglingly bad opening which gives us Frank Miller‘s iconic bat through the window scene from Batman: Year One…from the bat’s point of view. That’s right – FROM THE BAT’S POINT OF VIEW! Wow, just…wow.

There are short sequences here that work between the bookends of sheer crapola, but without a doubt everything could be handled better. For the increased price we’re given several pages of concept design for a comic that’s better off forgotten.

Joy.

At least the cover is kinda cool.

[DC $4.99]

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Avengers #7

/ / Comics

The recent launch of several new Avengers titles, and new teams, has been a mixed success. The characters I like seem stretched across multiple teams, and the dynamic I enjoyed in the old New Avengers still has yet to be replicated.

I wasn’t impressed with the first story arc of this title involving time travel, Kang and futuristic versions of Tony Stark and the Hulk. The story didn’t work for me, and it seemed the team was missing something. Maybe they’ve found it.

Issue #7 introduces the Red Hulk as a possible new member of the team. Okay, I’m intrigued. I’m a little less intrigued by the villain which will force the team to accept the Red Hulk’s help – Parker Robbins, who it seems Marvel Comics is insistent on making a cosmic level bad guy, again. His latest ploy is to collect two of the Infinity Gems (with unheard of ease, by the way) giving him immense power and the ability to bend reality.

If the story moves forward Parker should be a match for the Avengers, and a villain worthy of the team needing all the help they can get. I just hope writer Brian Michael Bendis isn’t set on putting all the gems in the hands of this two-time loser.

[Marvel $3.99]

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Fair Game

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fair Game
  • IMDB: link

Although Fair Game has the dubious honor of sharing a title with a truly awful Cindy Crawford/William Baldwin flick, thankfully that’s all the two movies have in common. Based on the true story of Valerie Plame, Fair Game focuses on the consequences of one man standing up for what he believes in, a talented woman who loses her job and reputation by no fault of her own, a government hell-bent on destroying the lives of two respectable citizens simply to change the news cycle, and how easily one piece of information can change everything.

Naomi Watts stars as CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame. After her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) takes an information gathering assignment to discover if Iraq is buying yellow cake uranium from Niger, he’s horrified to learn the truth of his findings have been perverted to help justify the United States going to war with Iraq.

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