The Shadow #2
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Aaron Campbell
Colors by Carlos Lopez
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross, Howard Chaykin, John Cassaday, Jae Lee, and Ryan Sook
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 16, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

The Shadow #2 is, to put it bluntly, a mystery. But, a really FUN mystery. Filled with action and adventure, if you liked the first issue, you’ll love the second. It’s Garth Ennis and Aaron Campbell at their best.

I have to wonder what made Garth Ennis take this assignment? Does he have a love for the character? Did he want to prove something to himself by writing a licensed book? Did Nick from Dynamite throw tons of cash at him? Who am I to say? But whatever the reason, I’m sure glad he did. I can’t imagine anyone else writing this series. It’s not too over the top on blood and guts like a lot of Ennis books are, but I’m sure that’s because of the nature of the project. It does have enough edge to it to make it feel deadly serious, and not just another watered-down version of a pulp hero. The pacing is perfect, it speeds up when it needs to and slows down and gets into the heavy story beats when you need them. Something that I LOVED about this issue was that it’s SO full of story. This isn’t something you’re going to read in 5 minutes and forget about in 10. This is a comic that your actually going to get $4+ of entertainment out of [...]

Game of Thrones
Season Two, Episode 7 – A Man Without Honor
Directed by David Nutter
Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Starring Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Conleth Hill, Carice van Houten, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Patrick Malahide, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, and Issac Hempstead-Wright

Early on in Games Of Thrones Episode 7, “A Man Without Honor,” Theon (Alfie Allen) states, “It’s just a game,” which obviously serves to comment on the series as a whole, but it also describes most of the characters’ intentions throughout the episode: each one of them is playing a smaller game in the context of a much larger and deadlier one.

Arya (Maisie Williams) and Tywin (Charles Dance) continue to be my favorite part of the show week to week. After last week’s killing, Tywin is searching top to bottom for the man who “made an attempt on his life” punishing those who aren’t giving up the proper details. The two go back and forth in another powerful scene, each trying their hardest to either get or hide information from one another. The scene is a perfect example of how the entire series works as a whole, scaled down and played out over the course of several minutes and plays for beautiful television [...]

By Lucid Crash

Choker, Vol. 1
Story by Ben McCool
Art by Ben Templesmith
Letters by Tom B. Long
Image Comics
Release Date: May 16, 2012
Cover Price: $16.99

In Choker, Johnny Jackson is a hard-boiled Private Investigator or Gumshoe and he has the cigarettes, trenchcoat, cramped messy office, surly demeanor, and the contempt for the police force that canned him to prove it. What the reader is supposed to assume is he now leads a life of obscurity blurred by booze (even if the first scene finds him spying on the mayor’s dalliances), but is about to get his one shot at public redemption when the cops call upon him to catch the drug dealer “Hunt Cassidy” he locked up years earlier.

Jackson is surely an antihero with a vulgar mouth and skeletons in the closet, but he is not without his charms. At his most human we see him caring for his kind and nerdy assistant Seaton Price. With a backstory that is highlighted by the Shotgun Police Force forcing him to take an experimental drug called “Man Plus” which is supposed to turn ordinary civil servants into robocops, Jackson evokes sympathy after being left with a serious side effect that comes to define him. A vise-like gripping hand that has a mind of its own earns him the unfortunate moniker “Choker,” and robs him of his badge and dignity after being deemed a danger to others [...]

Green Lantern, Vol. 1: Sinestro
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Doug Mahnke and Mike Choi
DC Comics
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Cover Price: $22.99

When DC relaunched their books last year with the New 52, there were a number of books that I decided to drop. One of those books was Green Lantern. I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore, so it did not make the cut. However, when the chance came to read the first trade of the new series, Green Lantern: Sinestro, I decided I would take a chance on it. I had heard that the book had improved, and I’m here to say that it has. Green Lantern is a good book again, and if you dropped it like I did, you would be remiss in picking up the first trade.

The first thing to know about the story is that most of the multi-colored Lanterns are gone. Sure, the Yellow Lanterns play a big role in the story, but merely as the antagonists, which is what they should be. The story focuses on the main Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, and his relationship with Sinestro. Hal has been stripped of his ring, and Sinestro has been re-admitted into the GL Corps, which makes no one happy. Hal’s life sucks on Earth, what with the no superpowers, and getting evicted, and not owning a car. Sinestro shows up to offer Hal a chance at redemption, and shortly the two are off to save Sinestro’s home planet [...]

Eldritch! #5
Created by Aaron Alexovich and Drew Rausch
Written by Aaron Alexovich
Art by Drew Rausch
Heart Shaped Skull
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Digital Price: $0.99

A writing shortcut to grab my attention is to pack a story full of 80′s pop culture references, quirky dialogue, tentacles, and insane violence. Add a pinch of well-placed cursing and Eldritch! delivers in all these aspects and sneaks in a surprisingly intricate horror-comedy storyline to boot. This winner of the final Zuda webcomic competition completely hooked me.

This digital comic is the fifth issue in a 6-part series. Anya and Owen Sobczek are siblings locked in an oh-so-common rivalry. Anya is a college student who is a staunch follower of science and reason. The series begins with her showing off a rad Darwin tattoo that encompasses her left arm. Owen, her little brother, is all into mysticism and magic. Owen and his buddy, Chaston Willoughby, created a small cult by inventing their own pantheon of gods and erecting a makeshift church out of a pool house. Anya and Owen couldn’t be more opposite. Their underlying conflict between science and religion drives the series [...]

Batman: Super-Villains Strike
Choose-Your-Fate Adventure Book
By Michael Teitlebaum
Tor/Starscape
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Price: $5.99

If it’s not obvious by the title and description, Batman: Super-Villains Strike is a children’s book, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not completely and utterly awesome. I mean, any book that starts off with the phrase, “You are Batman,” is a book that has already won my heart.

Batman: Super-Villains Strike is a choose-your-own adventure book, which if you don’t know what that is, it’s a story that varies based on the decisions you make at the end of each chapter, which can result in success, stalemate, or death traps. The story in this book specifically kicks off when Batman (you – still awesome) find traces of Catwoman stealing some very expensive items. When you start to track her down, however, you realize that there is no way it could actually be Catwoman because you locked her up in Arkham Asylum previously. This theme starts moving along (as long you make the right choices) to reveal the same scenarios with Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and The Riddler, as well [...]

Winter City
Written by Patrick Purcell and Carl Purcell
Art and Color by Pablo Verdugo Munoz and David Aravena Riquelme
Winter City Productions
Release Date: May 16, 2012
Cover Price: $1.99

Winter City is the physical representation of the word “gritty.” When comics like Spawn and Preacher were hitting shelves, they were always described as “dark,” “violent,” and of course “gritty.” Winter City is a love letter to those comics that set the bar for the dark places comics could take us. For their time, Spawn and Preacher shocked readers with their darkness. Now in 2012, as readers, we have become desensitized to acts of violence carried out on comic panels. It takes completely atrocious brutality to provoke a reaction from Generation Y. Winter City‘s need to emulate classic “gritty” comics, is its biggest flaw. For a comic that clearly wants to be seen as hyper-violent and shocking, Winter City is surprisingly tame [...]

Skullkickers #14
Written By Jim Zubkavich
Art By Edwin Huang
Color By Misty Coats
Image Comics
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

A portion of the official description of Skullkickers #14 reads, “Secrets revealed. The gun. The gun. The gun. The gun. The gun. The gun. The gun…” and continues on 12 more times. It is no surprise to say that this issue of Skullkickers is about one thing and one thing only. The gun. There has been much hype surrounding issue 14 since the secrets of Baldy and his gun were teased at Image Comic Expo. Well, now it’s here and rest assured Skullkickers fans, secrets are in fact revealed. Skullkickers #14 doesn’t dance around the secrets either. Questions are answered as directly as a gunshot that will leave your mind blown [...]

Conan the Barbarian #4
Script by Brian Wood
Art by James Harren
Colors by Dave Steward
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics

Release Date: May 16, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

Conan the Barbarian #4 kicks off a brand new story arc, The Argos Deception. Conan is in a weird place in his young life. Used to the life of a barbarian, he now find himself young and in love and… a pirate. Can the barbarian be tamed? Has he found the love of his life? I have no clue, but right now, all signs point to “yes.”

Brian Wood‘s writing this issue is fantastic! The issue is a wonderful character study on Conan, and that was one thing that I never knew I wanted or needed, but after reading it, I’m sure glad that I got it [...]

Scam School
Book 1
Kindle Edition
By Brian Brushwood
Bizarre Magic, Inc.
Release Date: March 14, 2012

Scam School, Book 1 is the first (naturally) of three companion ebooks to online network Revision 3‘s popular series. The premise of the show (and the book), according to the website, is that “Award-winning magician Brian Brushwood takes viewers on an inside tour of bar tricks, street cons, and scams,” and this ebook is truly kind of magical, but not for the reasons you might think. More on this later.

The book opens with a terrific Forward where Brian Brushwood recalls how he was inspired at age 8 by watching Penn & Teller, and how he wrote to Teller (with no anticipation of a reply), and received in response an incredibly instructive and inspiring letter teaching him some of the finer points of the illusion arts, including this fundamental tip: always engage an element of surprise (a tip Brushwood uses to great effect in many of the book’s scams) [...]

Halo: Primordium
The Forerunner Saga, Book Two
By Greg Bear
Tor
Release date: January 3, 2012
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle

In his second book in the Halo: Forerunner saga, the prolific sci-fi author Greg Bear begins Halo: Primordium where he left off in Cryptum, the first book. While Cryptum was told from the point of view of Bornstellar, Primordium is told in first person by Chakas, one of the humans Bornstellar hooked up with on Edyre-Tyrene, a.k.a. Earth, during the events that took place in Cryptum.

Chakas is no longer human, though, as he explains to the ones he calls the Reclaimers in his new form as an AI construct – actually, a failing duplicate of a Forerunner monitor. The Reclaimers, an ONI science team, try to retrieve information from Chakas on the Didact, a Promethean who was the supreme commander of the Forerunner military, and on the human-Forerunner war. Chakas begins his story recounting his childhood friendship with Riser, a tiny human called a Florian, and the events covered in Cryptum, where he and Riser, both following their “geas” (a sort of biological GPS installed by the Librarian to guide humans toward doing the bidding of the Forerunners) on a treasure hunt with Bornstellar, the Forerunner equivalent to a human teenager who rebels against his Builder father, to Djamonkin Crater on Earth where they rouse the Didact from hibernation [...]

Star Trek – The Original Series
Remastered Edition
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Created by Gene Roddenberry
Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Grace Lee Whitney, Majel Barrett, Jeffrey Hunter, Roger C. Carmel, Ricardo Montalban, Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, Terri Garr, Kim Darby, James Daly
Paramount
Originally Broadcast: September 08, 1966

Several weeks ago, I reviewed the first couple of seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation for our Netflix Review feature here at Geeks Of Doom. I had an enjoyable time delving into some nostalgia that I decided to take a step back further and dive into the original series of Star Trek, complete with the remastering and updated visual effects throughout all three seasons, encompassing the good (classic memorable episodes), the bad (Spock’s Brain and Season Three), and the Ugly (Space Hippies).

Commencing in 1966, Gene Roddenberry‘s creation would eventually become a franchise revered and followed by millions of fans worldwide. Despite this, the history of the original series would become affected by budgetary constraints and poor ratings in archaic scales, limiting the primary voyages of the USS Enterprise to three seasons only.

As is prevalently known, Star Trek follows the voyages of the Enterprise, on its peaceful mission of exploration into unknown areas of the galaxy – attempting to meet and contact new civilizations, and represent the interests of the Federation. Lead by Captain Kirk (William Shatner), and accompanied by First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) among many others, the team aboard the starship would become known in-universe as legendary historical figures trailblazing their way into the unknown – and create such an element of veneration associated with the ship that the name Enterprise would be assigned to the Federation’s future flag ships [...]

Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago, Volume 5
Story by Jo Duffy, Archie Goodwin, Ann Nocenti, Randy Stradley
Pencils by Bart Blevins, Sal Buscema, Jaan Duursema, Ron Frenz, Bob McLeod, Cynthia Martin, Tom Palmer, Tony Salmons, Al Williamson
Inks by Sam de la Rosa, Steve Leialoha, Art Nichols, Tom Palmer, Whilce Portacio, Ken Steacy, Bob Wiacek, Al Williamson
Colors by J. Ferriter, Daina Graziunus, Michael Higgins, Elaine Lee, Glynis Oliver, Petra Scotese, Bob Sharen, M. Wrightson
Cover Art by Cynthia Martin, Art Nichols, Petra Scotese
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 26, 2012
Cover Price: $24.99

Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith! The Nagai! Zeltrons!

Does that make me seem too overexcited for this review?

Well then, go to buggery if it does, because my, oh, my, Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago, Volume 5 is an extraordinary trip down memory lane for those of us Star Wars fans old enough to remember the closing era of the Marvel Star Wars.

The fifth part of the A Long Time Ago Omnibus reprints the final series of issues originally released by Marvel Comics – from Issue #86 August 1984 to Issue #107 September 1986. The collection represents the closing period of Marvel’s Star Wars publication, in a post Return Of The Jedi era as the Expanded Universe (as it was during that time) would begin to wane. It would not be until 5 years later when Timothy Zahn would release Heir To The Empire, his first episode of The Thrawn Trilogy, that enthusiasm would return to the Expanded Universe with a new level of enthusiasm from fans old and new [...]

Dark Shadows
Directed By: Tim Burton
Written By: Seth Grahame-Smith
Starring: Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloë Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Bella Heathcote, Christopher Lee and Alice Cooper
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: May 11, 2012

“His name was Barnabas Collins, and he was the finest man this family ever knew.”

With its unique blend of gothic intrigue, romance, and melodrama, Dark Shadows staked the soap opera status quo in the heart in the late 1960s. The series, which ran from 1966-1971, was unprecedented in daytime television for its supernatural stories filled with vampires, ghosts, witches, werewolves, and the occasional zombie or warlock. My mother would race home from high school to watch Dark Shadows, hypnotized into submission by Barnabus Collins (Jonathan Frid), 18th-century vampire and master of Collinwood Manor. With its blood-and-thunder performances and atmospheric interiors, Dark Shadows became a pop culture phenomena with 1,225 television episodes and numerous films, novels, comics, and audio dramas dedicated to the Collins family.

For those dying to revisit the creaky, cobwebbed halls of Collinwood Manor, director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood) has resurrected Dark Shadows as a 113-minute gothic comedy, written by New York Times best-selling novelist Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) [...]

Transformers: The Ride 3D
Universal Studios Hollywood
Ride previewed: April 28, 2012
Ride opens to public on May 25, 2012

Hasbro‘s Transformers films have excited the public for years now with fulfilled promises of high-speed action, fiery pyrotechnics, and intense Autobot vs. Decepticon battles on land and in the city skies above; everything you’ve come to expect from a Michael Bay production. The question is, could Michael Bay effectively translate that experience to a theme park ride? Recently I went on that ride, and I can honestly say, “Mission Accomplished.”

Michael Bay collaborated with the ride builders at Universal Creative to bring the experience from his films to life. I rode Transformers: The Ride 3D during what Universal Studios Hollywood called their Technical Preview (which just means that some aspects of the ride may not have been fully functional, but to be honest, everything seemed to work fine to me).

I’ve included an unabashedly enthusiastic post-ride video reaction and photos here below, along with a description of the ride and of the whole experience [...]

G.I. Joe #13
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Will Rosado
Colors by Romulo Farjado, Jr.
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Editors: John Barber & Carlos Guzman
Covers by Will Rosado & Tommy Lee Edwards
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe #13 is one of the best issues of the title that I’ve read in a while. The dust from the Cobra Command crossover has settled, and there’s a new status quo for the G.I. Joe team. One that’s not really all that great, actually. It’s nice to have the Joes being the underdogs for a change.

Writer Chuck Dixon has been running the G.I. Joe universe for quite some time now, and he and the audience, are quite comfortable with that, as he’s doing a great job. He consistently delivers fresh, easily accessible stories that are both entertaining and exciting. This issue is no exception. You have Cobra with the upper hand, the Joes behind the 8-ball and off on a mission that they really can’t afford. Literally. To make matters worse, the Joes have been exposed to the world at large. So, things are quite tense for America’s freedom fighters, as you can imagine. This issue is solid, action packed, and fun to read. Everything you want in an issue of G.I. Joe! [...]

Alabaster: Wolves #2
Written by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Art and Letters by Steve Lieber
Colors by Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover by Greg Ruth
Designer Amy Arendts
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a strange title pounced out of Dark Horse last month and leaped onto comic review sites (including this very one), causing critics to shout their approval for Alabastor: Wolves. People spoke of the art by Steve Lieber and the writing (the dialogue in particular) by Caitlín R. Kiernan as being strong and fresh and unique. What particularly piqued my interest, however, was just how vague folks were in describing what actually happens in the book. Most reviews I read went something like this: “It’s about a little Albino girl who speaks with a southern drawl, walking a wasteland filled with werewolves and other monsters, who talks to a bird and an angel who tells her who to kill. Oh, and she might be crazy.”

“Heck,” I thought, “I can describe a comic better then that.” [...]

The Waling Dead #97
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn
Image Comics
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

The Walking Dead #97 is the first issue in the highly anticipated “Something To Fear” story arc, which was announced back in February. Death and destruction are coming for Rick and the survivors and writer Robert Kirkman has made it clear that this time, there is a lot to lose. For several issues now, Kirkman has been building to this moment through a series of brash decisions made by his protagonists. The coming storm is the result of those decisions and to quote Wyatt Earp, “You called down the thunder, well now you’ve got it.”

When people speak about The Walking Dead, inevitably someone will bring up the point that “it is not really about zombies.” There is definitely some truth to that statement, especially in light of the comic’s current events. Issue after issue, Rick and his gang have become increasingly desperate. It is obvious that after all the loss and death, that there would be a breaking point for the survivors. In the past few issues Kirkman has depicted this despair as Rick’s veiled grasp at optimism. With food running low and winter coming the survivors have been backed into a corner. As it is with most threatened animals, instead of finding a way to escape, they simply attack [...]

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by Greg Capullo
Inks by Jonathan Glapion
Colors by FCO
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
DC Comics
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $24.99

Batman: The Court of Owls is a deconstruction of Batman and Bruce Wayne’s vision of Gotham City. The DC Relaunch provided a landscape in which writers and artists had a way to completely recreate characters and the DC Universe as a whole into their vision. Scott Snyder doesn’t exactly do this. The Court of Owls works as both a perfect starting place for new readers to comics as well as experienced readers who have kept up through the Grant Morrison saga and Snyder’s work on Detective Comics. Characters created and explored during that time period are even featured in the opening pages of this book, so it’s not a title that completely ignores its past, which, whether on purpose or not, parallels the concept of this book. And this book is quite simply a masterpiece.

In Court of Owls, Scott Snyder tells a story of how the past of Gotham City, a past unbeknownst to The Batman, has come to haunt The Dark Knight in a way that no one, other than Snyder, could have ever imagined [...]

I’m Not A Plastic Bag
Story and Art by Rachel Hope Allison
Forward by Jeff Corwin
Edited by Rebecca Taylor
Design by Fawn Lau
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Cover Price: $19.95

I’ve read comics with some pretty strange protagonists before, but this one was definitely a first. The main character of I’m Not A Plastic Bag is a large island made entirely of garbage, based on an actual place — specifically, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large spot in the Pacific Ocean which, due to currents, collects most oceanic debris. By debris I mostly mean trash that washes out to sea, water bottles, tires, plastic bags, etc., and by large I mean estimated to be twice the size of Texas. So, very, very large.

Writer and artist Rachel Hope Allison‘s book is an odd and pretty ballet. This large, unruly mass of trash (loosely resembling Aqua Teen Hunger Forces‘ Meatwad) tries desperately to interact with the beautiful oceanic landscape it exists in, only to destroy whatever it touches, meanwhile getting bigger and bigger. There are touches of the Frankenstein monster here, which I suspect is what Allison was coyly referring to in the title. It’s almost entirely wordless with beautiful colors that tastefully know when to incorporate photography and mixes crazy layouts with lovely splash pages [...]