Monday, August 27, 2012

Weekly Roundup - August 22


Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!


So many books. All the books. All the books deserve all the blurbs. Now here are the blurbs. All of them. So many blurbs.

Amazing Spider-Man #692: Some loser kid gets bitten by a radioactive lightning bolt and gets these crazy powers, but then his head swells to the size of Galacticus (not literally; that was a metaphor). Can Peter Parker be the Uncle Ben that this kid needs, or will our new hero decide to take the great power without the great responsibility? Find out as the Alpha saga continues in Amazing Spider-Man!

America’s Got Powers #3: The contest continues as the conspiracy against the powered people gets deeper and more sinister. Not much happens for a limited comic with large time gaps between issue releases.

Batman Incorporated #3: Proposition: Morrison writing Batman from now on forever.

Batman The Dark Knight #12: The Scarecrow is insane, and now we know why. You’d be insane too if it happened to yoooooouuuuu.

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1: For the first time since the start of the Before Watchmen event, one of the books completely fails to understand its titular character. Dr. Manhattan does not move through time. He does not move his consciousness through time. He experiences every moment of his existence at once, all the time, forever. JMS dropped the ball here.

The Flash #12: After a jumble of disconnected, confusing, and disparate stories, The Flash finally brings everything together into a coherent plot involving the Rogues, Flash’s most colorful enemies.

Justice League Dark #12: Mystery. Shadows. Plot. Something big is going down, and Lemire is being a tease with it.

Secret Avengers #30: Max Fury wishes he were a real boy, but the blue fairy is not around to help him. Instead he seeks the aid of some Eldritch abomination.

Superman #12: Superman fights an alien cosplaying as the Predator. There are Russians, too.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13: So many mutants. So many ninjas. A handful of teens. Only four turtles. These ingredients mixed with daring adventure, insane action, emotional drama, and crazy antics make for one amazing comic. This issue exemplifies all of the traits that make TMNT one of the best ongoing series available.

A lot of books. A lot of blurbs. That’s the weekly roundup, and that’s a wrap for this week. Stay tuned for more comic commentary next week, same Ancillary time, same Ancillary Characters!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Ancillary Characters Podcast Give-Away!

Hey guys! If you've already listened to Episode 27 of the show, then you know all about this week's Give Away. If you haven't, then click on the link over on the right and go over to iTunes for a download.

Here are the details:
  The first two people to print off the flyers posted below and post them somewhere in a public place will win ANY Digital Trade or Collection of issues of their choice from Comixology (up to $10). All you have to do is:
1. Print these flyers off (in decent quality) and either post one on a billboard, etc. or make a small stack and put them in a shop where people can pick them up and go (this is preferred). We suggest specifically heading over to you local comic shop, or perhaps somewhere like a Starbucks or other local coffee shops. Yes, we realize this is kinda stereotyping.
2. Once you've done this, TAKE A PICTURE. This is your proof! Once you have the photo, you can either tweet it to us (@AncillaryTweets, link on the sidebar) or email it to us at ancillarycharacters@gmail.com.

The first two people to complete and accomplish this will be rewarded accordingly. Remember, any digital book, up to $10 is yours in exchange for the advertising!

Here are the two versions of the flyer, pick the one you prefer (or both). Click on them for a larger version.

Here's the Black version:


Aaaaand here's the white:


Alright! Good luck to you all, and if these photos quirk out on you, email us at the address above, and I can provide you with a PDF.

AC episode 27: See Rachel Rise


Paul's Picks! - August 23, 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 now for his much-anticipated pick-of-the-week...


Ah, Wednesday. That day that we comic fans look forward to all week long. Why is that? Why, it's New Comic Book Day of course. It's the day we take a break from our regularly scheduled lives and swing down to the LCS, or perhaps just browse the digital offerings and indulge on our tablets, laptops, or smart phones. No matter what your preferred method of reading, it all means the same thing: new comics. It's one of the joys of life, a chance to step outside of the mundane and escape to a fiction world where anything is possible. Yep. All that jazz.

With a thick stack of books from my local comic shop (Great Escape Comics, check it out if you're in Bowling Green, KY), there were a fair few of contenders for my Pick of the Week. Flash upped the ante this week with the Rogues. Batman: TDK continues to be great (and utterly terrifying). And, of course, the 50th Anniversary of Spider-Man brings us the origin of the Wall Crawler's new sidekick, Alpha. But remember, as in AvX (and Highlander), "there can only be one"...

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Weekly Roundup - August 15

Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!


This week brought a nice assortment of books. Although a few fell flat, the majority are quality titles, and some even went further, achieving true greatness. Read on for the blurbs.

Amazing Spider-Man #691: The poignant conclusion to the latest lizard arc. ‘Tis funny and heartfelt, like any good Spidey book.

Avengers #29: Well written, but a little too late. This book would be awesome if it lined up with what is currently happening in AvX.

Avengers vs X-Men #10: Oh snap. Ooooooh snap. We are finally barreling towards a conclusion.

Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1: Azzarello writes a great Rorschach. His journal narration is spot on. Unfortunately, the plot continues the Before Watchmen trend of shock value over substance.

Daredevil #17: A great issue for new readers. Daredevil recaps an old adventure from his early days as a vigilante, and it hits right in the heart.

Green Lantern #12: Zombies! And an ominous prophecy. Thankfully, the story continues in just two weeks with the Green Lantern Annual!

Green Lantern Corps. #12: The bloody Alpha War comes to a close, and the Guardians continue to plan for their third army to replace the corps. What jerks.

Nightwing #12: Finally, the end of the drawn out, choppy, and rather boring arc that started so long ago. Maybe the next story will be better.

The Shade #12: Probably the weakest issue thus far of an otherwise amazing series. The Egyptian pharaoh librarian villains felt contrived and awkward. Hopefully the conclusion of the series will be better.

Supergirl #12: Supergirl reunites with Kal and later gets attacked by horrifying undersea snakes. It was frightening. I was frightened.

Wonder Woman #12: This book’s conclusion will blow your mind. I did not expect it to go there, but it did, and I cannot wait to see how it plays out (I’m being vague because you need to read it yourself).

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned next week for Batman, Flash, Turtles, and more!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Paul's Picks! - August 15, 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 now for his much-anticipated pick-of-the-week...

New Comics Day came, and I'm back to share with all of you my thoughts about the one book that arose victorious as Paul's Pick! This was one of the tougher weeks I've had in a while, as there were more than 3 books that were easily deserving of a "Pick." But don't worry, I'm here to make all of the tough decisions that must be made. All the books can't win, just one book (ok, so maybe I've split it in the past, but you get the point). And so, in a very interesting turn of events, my Pick of the Week goes to...

Green Lantern #12 by Geoff Johns and Renato Guedes

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Tales From the Long Box: Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective #2



Every week Seth goes into his back issue bins, picks out a single issue, story arc, or creative run, pours through it and then writes about it. He calls it Tales from the Long Box. Though old and now either retconned out of existence or made irrelevant by the latest event, these books still share something in common... they're bagged, boarded, and a part of comics history.


Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective



Issue Two: The Black Glove

If we consider Batman & Son to be the story arc concerning Bruce meeting Damian for the first time then Black Glove would merely be the three issue story wherein Bruce and Tim arrive on the island of a wealthy, former movie director where they intend to laze about with a shoddy collection of heroes similar to Batman but are instead hunted by a mysterious killer under the direction of something called the Black Glove. However, that would leave me in a weird place because one thing Grant Morrison loves to do is go off on little rabbit trails and tell the occasional side story. There are at least five side stories here.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Paul's Picks - August 8, 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 now for his much-anticipated pick-of-the-week...

Another week, another huge stack of comics (and files of digital comics) to read. I couldn't wait to get my pulls from the LCS this week, but once I nabbed my stack, I realized that many of my books are in a strange place right now. I wouldn't say we're in a dull moment, I mean AvX is rapidly approaching its climactic end, and many series are in the middle of an arc (some more enthralling than others), but I found myself a bit disinterested in some of the titles I've been reading over the last couple of weeks. A keen example would be New Avengers by BMB. It's a good title, and it has contained some of the best tie-ins from the event so far, but when I flipped over to it on my iPad, I was a bit nonplussed. It wasn't a bad book, I guess it's just that I'm feeling the longevity of this event in the tie-ins more than anything else. The one book that I immediately lifted to the top of the pile was Scott Snyder's Batman #12, but I'm sad to say it just didn't blow me away. I think I was pulled in by all of the Twitter hype singing its praises, so once I had it behind me I was a bit let down (although the guest art by Becky Cloonan was top notch).

But never fear! There were two books that totally rocked my world this week, but as in Highlander (and the Phoenix Five), "there can be only one." And so, without further whining/yapping/introducing, my pick this week goes to...

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Weekly Roundup - August 1

Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!

Great set of books out this week. Some series begin, others end, and many still carry on. The world of comics is alive, and it’s my job to capture its essence in blurbs.

Action Comics #12: Morrison is back on his game with the introduction of the Myzxlkjxpwkldjxxslej family. Finally, Action Comics is both intriguing and comprehensible.

Animal Man #12: Rot World begins, and it is terrifying.

Avengers vs. X-Men #9: Spidey has his moment in the spotlight, and it hurts. A Colossus punch to the face is incredibly painful looking.

Avenging Spider-Man #10: Bleh.

Before Watchmen: Night Owl #2: Boo shock factor. It is forced, and it does not work.

Daredevil #16: Matt Murdock and Hank Pym share a rare and strange bonding moment. Creepy stuff goes down at Murdock’s law offices. Could Daredevil be losing it?

Detective Comics #12: The book is beautiful, but the story is awkward. But the book is just so beautiful.

Dial H #4: More exposition! Maybe that lizard guy isn’t so bad after all...

Earth-2 #4: The series is finally picking up steam after three issues of dull introductions. Grundy is rather reminiscent of the Rot in Swamp Thing and Animal Man.

Hawkeye #1: The most street level superhero book since Batman: Year One. Everything about it is amazing. Add this to your pull list.

Justice League International #12: The last issue of this book is probably the best so far. Still glad to have it off my pull list now. Maybe the Annual will be good.

Swamp Thing #12: Rot World begins, and it is terrifying.

Thief of Thieves #13: Brilliant plot twists. Redmond is a clever man.

World’s Finest #4: Boring. Generic. Bleh.

Stay tuned next week for more blurb-tastic blurbs!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Tales from the Long Box: Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective #1


Every week Seth goes into his back issue bins, picks out a single issue, story arc, or creative run, pours through it and then writes about it. He calls it Tales from the Long Box. Though old and now either retconned out of existence or made irrelevant by the latest event, these books still share something in common... they're bagged, boarded, and a part of comics history.


Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective


Issue one: Batman & Son

Let me start off by saying that over the last four or five years Grant Morrison has become my favorite superhero writer. He did this mostly through the strength of his work on the various Batman titles he's written. It could also be credited to the fact that I've taken in the bulk of his non-Batman superhero work in the last few years rather than spread out over the few decades that he's been writing comics. Basically I gorged myself on his entire back catalog of DC and Marvel fare. He has something to say and often he says it in the most intensely experimental way possible; other times it's surprisingly straight forward.