Paul's Picks: April 4th, 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! I'm writing to you from the mountains of Tennessee, off on a small but much needed vacation from all the hubbub of the college life. But don't worry, I may be off the beaten path, but I still found the time to dive into this weeks books. Action Comics #8, the long awaited reveal of Swamp Thing, and, of course, Avengers vs X-Men #1! The question is, which of this week's books stood out as the definitive winner of the lucrative "Paul's Pick" award? I'll have to admit, it's not one I saw coming... 

Paul's Picks, Double Feature! (Part 1) - Feb. 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 in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.

Double Feature, Part 1:

Hey there guys! A week of comic book goodness has come and gone, and now it's time for the next installment of Paul's Picks! As you have probably noticed, there hasn't been a much coming out of Ancillary Characters this week, since my partner-in-crime Seth Breedlove has left his usual stomping ground and gone down to Orlando with family. But never fear! I'm here to supply your weekly AC fix with not just one, but TWO picks for this week! You heard it, TWO PICKS!!

Okay, so maybe it's not all that exciting, but we comic readers have something to be super excited about! There has been plenty of buzz surrounding the New 52 since last August, both good and bad. But this week, the fans were provided with two issues that are both noteworthy and praiseworthy. Over the next two days, I will put up reviews for my two picks, so that all of you avid readers out there will have enough of our particular brand of charm to get you by. And so tonight, I'm going to begin with my first pick (and I'm sure many of you saw this coming): Batman #6 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

Tales from the Long Box: Year In Review

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.

Around this time last year I'd reached a sort of lull in my excitement for comics. Not just buying them every Wednesday but even reading them. The big superhero books (with a few exceptions) seemed to be in a state of either transition or had grown stale. No where was this more obvious than my pull list which by the end of December 2010 was around a meager 8 or 9 titles. Even my graphic novel/trade paperback purchasing had dwindled. All of this culminated when I sold off a large portion of my single issue collection and a bunch of my trades and hardcovers. Honestly, it was looking bleak for a while there.

Tales From the Long Box: Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne

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.

Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne

Despite the fact that supeheroes rule the comic medium these days, there is and always has been an abundance of adventure titles as well. By "adventure" I'm referencing books like Hellboy, Doc Savage, and even something like the Spirit which exists as much outside of it's man-of-mystery trappings as it does within. Recently, DC added Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. to it's publishing roster, and it serves as another perfect example of a pure adventure tale. Outside of comics there has always existed these sorts of stories. Indiana Jones sort of personifies the adventure/pulp genre. Basically what I'm saying is that there is no shortage of yarns that center around rugged dudes venturing into the unknown and defeating bad dudes using only their wits, fists and snappy one-liners.

Going Digital

We've all had the arguments over the death of print media, and more specifically comic "books". By now everyone has voiced their opinion as to which view they take. Will comics as a printed form of entertainment die? Will it outlive this tablet craze? Or maybe you fall into the they-can-co-exist camp. Whatever the case may be, the digital comics revolution has begun... or maybe it began years ago and it's just now hitting a turning point...