Thursday, March 22, 2012

Paul's Picks! - March 21, 2012



Well, it's that time again folks: Wednesday! And you know what Wednesday is?... Well, of course you do, you're reading a blog about comics, so you obviously know it's New Comics Day, a.k.a. Paul's favorite weekly holiday! And in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.


Welcome back friends! I hope your week has been amazing so far. Yesterday was one of those comic book days that make all of us readers and buyers glad to be a fan. Especially on the DC end of the market, three of the best titles hit shelves on the same day (JLA, Wonder Woman, and Batman or course), not to mention lots of other great stuff across the board. I knew when Wednesday rolled around that I would be facing a tough decision in terms of my pick. My wife and I recently obtained one of the new iPads last Friday, and I have since begun my trek into the world of digital comics, so this week's pick was not only affected by my stack of issues from the local shop, but also a handful of ancillary books that wound up in my Comixology app. I finished all of my issues yesterday afternoon, but it took me most of the night and this morning to finally decide on my chosen piece this week.

So what is it? Which book took the lead? In a way, no single issue did. I was (obviously) tempted to hand it over to Batman #7, which was obviously great, but in the end I decided to go with an unconventional choice: The Curse of Shazam! by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Episode 7 - The One With the Take-It-Or-Leave-It-athon

For those of you that may have missed it on iTunes, Episode 7 is up from the Ancillary Characters Podcast! Here's an embedded version for your convenience. Enjoy!



Also, let us know what you thought! Come on, guys, where's the feedback?

Buy This! - March 21st, 2012

 Every Monday Seth picks out three items that are due to ship on Wednesday and directs you toward your best bets for a quality purchase. Some times it's a single issue of a comic, other times a massive omnibus edition of a beloved series, and occasionally a figure or shiny bauble that caught his eye. Read on to find the three items you shouldn't leave your comic shop without this week.


After the shocking amount of big-name titles that shipped last week I was a little disappointed to find a relatively light week ahead of us. I suppose my wallet will be grateful for the break though. It took me a lot longer to pick titles this week than it has for past columns. I poured through every publisher hoping to find something that would match the excitement of the creator-owned releases of last week like Glory #24, Peter Panzerfaust #2, Saga #1 or Saucer Country #1. While I do spotlight a creator owned title there is nothing that reaches that level of build up. The big two have some of their premier books shipping this week but, in case you couldn't tell, I like to leave single issues of the upper-tier titles out of the column. Its' not like they need the help.

So with nothing too massive hitting your shelves this week I just picked three titles that appeal to me for whatever reason. None of these are really "buzz" books but they at least piqued my interest. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Paul's Picks! - March 14, 2012



Well, it's that time again folks: Wednesday! And you know what Wednesday is?... Well, of course you do, you're reading a blog about comics, so you obviously know it's New Comics Day, a.k.a. Paul's favorite weekly holiday! And in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.


Hello everyone! Wow, has it really been two weeks? Alas, it has, but don't worry, I'm back to provide all of the comic-loving goodness that you've become so accustomed too over the last few months. I was out of town last week on the Spring Break with some family doing a whole lot of nothing, but sadly that nothing kept me far away from my comic store, so there was no way for me to read my books and relay my pick to you all. I considered starting up a new column, which is still forthcoming, but as it turned out I was also without an internet connection. Yes, you guessed it: I was out in the hills of Kentucky living off of raw meat and dry vegetables!... Okay, maybe not, but I'm back in the land of Internet connections to give you my favorite book of this week, and I'm excited to reveal that my pick is...

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Buy This! - March 14th, 2012

 Every Monday Seth picks out three items that are due to ship on Wednesday and directs you toward your best bets for a quality purchase. Some times it's a single issue of a comic, other times a massive omnibus edition of a beloved series, and occasionally a figure or shiny bauble that caught his eye. Read on to find the three items you shouldn't leave your comic shop without this week.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled column...

Sorry for the delay this week. I could complain about work being overwhelming and getting in the way of the regularity of Buy This for the last two weeks but without my job I'd be unable to buy any of the stuff I promote on here. Last week's column was written and posted and then promptly destroyed when I attempted to edit the post on my iPad. It didn't end well. However, I did write about the new volume of Emitown as well as Hickman's new creator owned project Manhattan Projects #1 last week and at least one of those two is definitely worth your time. I'll give you a hint as to which it is... it's the one that doesn't have robot samurai in it.

Due to the lack of a column last week and the lateness of this one I'm going double sized. I'd probably have gone bigger with this week's even if it was on time because there is a ton of great stuff coming out this week.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Episode 6 - While Paul is Away Seth Will Play

Hey everyone! So Paul's been on hiatus for spring break, and it's been a bare week here on the blog... But don't worry, here's a new episode of the AC Podcast to hold you over, featuring a guest host: Jason Utes. Come check it out, you'll enjoy... AND COMMENT, PLEASE!!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Paul's Picks! - Feb. 29th, 2012



Well, it's that time again folks: Wednesday! And you know what Wednesday is?... Well, of course you do, you're reading a blog about comics, so you obviously know it's New Comics Day, a.k.a. Paul's favorite weekly holiday! And in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.


Justice League in Review


For those of you who may have already read the "epic" finale to Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's introductory arc on the best-seller from the DCnU, please don't roll your eyes when you see their title at the header for this week's pick. If I can be totally honest with you, this week's column is much less about my favorite stand-alone issue from Leap Day, 2012 and more so about the feelings that I was left with after reading the greatly anticipated conclusion to this first arc of Justice League. I'm going to try and make this as concise as humanly possible, but take into account that this article has been half-a-year in the making. So without any more build up, let's get down to the nitty-gritty, shall we?

Gotta admit, it's a cool cover.
My Expectations:


When I read the solicitations for the launch of the New 52, there is no hiding that this book was most likely sitting at the top of my most-anticipated list. I mean, get real people: a Geoff Johns/Jim Lee ongoing series? And not just any series, a Justice League book! Let's be honest DC fans, over the last few years, the JLA book had pretty much fallen off the deep end. It was stuck in Lamesville and couldn't get out. DC promised to return to us all the things that we could possible desire from a team-up book: an A-list writer, one of the most favored artists in the business, a line up of the best heroes that DC has to offer, and a villain of epic proportions. In theory, this was the perfect setup! And I couldn't have been more hyped.