Brand New Feature: Kiss Kids #1 (IDW)

by Chris Ryall, Tom Walts, Jose Holder, Jeremy Colwell

The trend of making youthful versions of characters for comedic purposes continues with IDW's new series Kiss Kids. Skottie Youngs' covers of Marvel Comics characters may not have been the first time that adult characters were presented in such a format, but there have been more of those types of stories since. Here the well known rock act Kiss has been transformed into a group of every day kids navigating life. The title encompasses a series of shorts that are split between writers Chris Ryall and Tom Walts. Fans of the band are sure to get more out of the issue, but there is plenty here to enjoy either way.

Paul's Picks - TMNT Action Figures (Playmate Toys)

As comic book readers and fans, we often face the scrutiny of the "grown-ups" out there in the real world. You know, the ones who go to their jobs, watch ESPN for at least 8 hours in the day, and spend their free time doing other manly, grown-up things. The look down at us with that lumberjack stare with a judging eye. Comics are for kids. Video games are for kids. And action figures are definitely for kids.

Yeah? That so? Well here's what I have to say to that!... You're right. There are comics for kids, video games for kids, and certainly action figures and other toys for kids. But this truth does not mean that adults have no place enjoying them just the same. In fact, I would daresay that we can enjoy some of these things to an even greater extent as adults, as grown-ups who fully comprehend the value of things like these. The fact of the matter is, while I may be a 26 year old married man with responsibilities, bills, and all kinds of kinds of other grown-up goodies, I love comics. I love video games. And yes, I love toys.

Are you a toy lover? Do you yearn to fill your top shelf with beautiful, colorful figurines of your favorite fictional figures? So do I. That's why this week's pick goes to, not a comic, but a set of TOYS!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figure Set (Playmate Toys)

Brand New Feature: G. I. Joe: The Cobra Files #1 (IDW)

By Mike Costa, Antonio Fuso

There are many reasons why a book gets renumbered to feature a shiny “1” on the cover. Outside of the sales boost it will likely generate, a title may renumber to signify a new direction, a complete reboot, or simply to reflect a rebranding within the company. Similar to how many Marvel titles have kept previous continuity despite featuring that new numbering, Cobra Files is not really a fresh start.

Possibly signified by retaining the same creative team with the title, G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files is a continuation of Mike Costa’s previous Cobra story. For fans of that series, the title is a must buy and it delivers on what they have come to expect. For readers who are new to the Joe universe, jumping on with the Fred Van Lente led relaunch, this will be difficult to follow.

Tales from the Long Box: Nobody Panic

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.

Nobody Panic

I recently saw a tweet from a rather prolific comic writer make mention of the fact that the comics industry has a general negative attitude about nearly everything. In other words the glass is always half empty for the average fan, and even creator. This has become only more prevalent as sales have slipped below those wild and crazy days of the mid-90's when books regularly sold in the half million range and a cancelled book was selling in excess of 80-100 K. It's completely understandable why everyone would freak out, shutter their windows, close up shop and move on to other forms of entertainment.

Paul's Picks! - April 25, 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...

Hello all! This was a big week for comics, with a slew of AvX tie-ins hitting the shelves, along with many of your typical favorites from DC, Marvel, IDW, Image, etc. I left my shop with a nice bag just full of books this week, anxiously waiting to dive in to some of my usual favorites from this week in comics. Since I'm certain that many of you are sitting there wondering which books are these "usual favorites," here's a short list: from DC, Flash and Aquaman, TMNT from IDW, not to mention my recent taking to New Avengers (although I'm not sure that one counts, as it's currently all about AvX, but who's judging?). Any way you look at it though, this is a big week for books. And so, with no more blabbering on, the definitive winner of this week's pick is...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9 by Eastman, Waltz, and Duncan.

Note: SPOILERS WILL BE PRESENT! I typically try to avoid them for the most part, but the key component to this issue can't be addressed well without them, so if you haven't read it yet and you're going to, WAIT TO READ THIS UNTIL AFTER! Thank you.

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. 

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.

Paul's Picks! - Feb. 22, 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.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz and Dan Duncan


Wait, no Aquaman? No Flash #6? I've been waiting on those two issues all month, looking forward to some really cool stuff that the Manupal/Buccellato duo have promised us from the Fastest Man Alive! Not to mention the really cool new arc that Johns set us up for last month with Arthur being stuck out in the desert. Yes, I know, very true, but the facts are the facts people, and out of a pretty tall stack of issues this week, IDW won it by a landslide. Those of you that have been with us over the last few months are surely aware of my adoration for the Heroes in a Half Shell, but please don't think for a second that I'm handing out this week's pick based solely on some pizza loving banter from my favorite turtle in orange. The truth is, there are so many things to love about issue #7 that there was really no other option than to give praise where praise is due.

Tales from the Long Box: Best of the... Rest...

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.

So it's now 2012 and by now most comic bloggers and journalists have moved on from "best of" lists. Not me! Oh no, at this rate I'll still be writing Best of 2011 lists well into next year... or until the oncoming apocalypse. Today I wanted to spotlight some books that I love but haven't found the chance/time to write about during the past few months. It's been a fantastic year, quality wise, for comics. The big two were pumping out some high quality books that were matched by the smaller publishers.

At IDW Locke & Key remains one of the most consistently good books on the stands, not just in terms of writing and art but in the wonderful hardcovers that are released soon after the story arcs wrap up. IDW also published the Rocketeer Adventures hardcover recently which collected the mini series with contributions from the likes of Mike Allred, Alex Ross, Darwyn Cooke, John Cassaday and writers like Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek. Rocketeer Adventures was in the running for best mini series of the year and if that decision had been based solely on fun and pretty visuals it no doubt would've won. It's a lovely book and the hardcover makes a beautiful addition to my library.

¡Paul's Picks!

I'm sure many of you faithful readers have recently been asking yourselves, "I wonder what books have been Paul's favorite this month?" Well, for all of you curious readers, I'm finally coming around with my weekly picks for this month! Okay, so maybe I'm a little behind on the "weekly" part, but going forward I will be faithfully posting my weekly favs and reviews for you all, starting now!

(Wednesday the 26th). When I grabbed my pulls for the day, I knew it was going to be a tough choice, with 7 great titles to read. With a lot of DC #2's like Flash and Superman, I was more than excited to get my stack home and power through them.

However, while Flash and Aquaman were both fantastic, I must admit they were beaten out by a very narrow margin by the one comic I'm pulling outside of the Big Two (*that's DC and Marvel, for those rare non-comic readers that happen to be reading this): Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 from IDW.

For those of you that may be skeptical, let me just say that this decision was not made on a whim. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm typically a DC fanboy, but even with the incredible art by Ivan Reis and the really fresh look into Barry Allen's mind by Manupal and Buccellato, I had to give it up for the "Heroes in a Half Shell." (Alert: Some mild SPOILERS ahead!!)

I have loved the Turtles since my preschool days, and I am so thankful for what Tom Waltz and Kevin Eastman have given us here. This is a teenage-mutant-ninja-origin-story for the ages! Many of us might ask, why do these guys need an origin? We've all seen the movies, we get it. Turtles go in the ooze, get big, and have a natural affinity for pizza and butt-kicking. But what Waltz and Eastman have created is much more than that. There is the skeleton of the original story, with all new twists, and a great look into what made them who they are today.

Throughout the first three issues, W & E have been weaving the story back and forth between present day and flashbacks to the when the Turtles and Splinter were mutated. They manage to work between three different points of view seamlessly, masterfully employing the "show-don't-tell" that others often fail to accomplish. A couple of reviews online stated that they found this issue confusing, and that they had trouble figuring out where the authors were going with this. Personally, I found this issue to be the best out of the first three easily. Where there was some uncertainty before about Raphael and why he is separated from the other three with no knowledge of who he is or where he came from, we finally get a good view of the story from this one.

The dialogue flows great, with some funny moments between Raph and Casey

Jones, off on their own vigilante spree. On the other side, we see some great characterization between Donnie, Leo, and Mikey. If there was a fault in the first two issues, it was the shortage of characterization for the turtles (apart from Raph, who doesn't even know who he is). W & E hit their stride in issue three, giving us some very sincere dialogue between the brothers, slowly revealing to the readers (both old and new) what makes them who they are.

Of course, any comic reader knows that a book can't stand on words alone: the art needs to ROCK. And Dan Duncan draws the TMNT like no one else! His art is gritty but beautiful, creating a world that is absolutely perfect for these characters. This is my first run around with the guy, but his art is reminiscent of some of the pencillers with a more distinct art, like Francis Manupal and Scott Kollins. As a matter of fact, I'd say he's kind of a blend between the two, but still making his own distinct print.

Even in a week with heavy hitters like Flash and Aquaman, TMNT #3 stands out as an issue that heralds an amazing story ahead of us. For the old fans, we have a rare opportunity to see this world reborn in a way that I've personally been wanting for years! Right now we're seeing their beginning, but what next? An origin for Rocksteady and Bebop? Baxter Stockman? Crang? And if you don't know any of these characters, now is the perfect time for a new reader to order a pizza, grab this fantastic book, and watch as these guys raise some shell.