Paul's Picks! - February 1, 2013

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...

Hey there friends! It's been a while, hasn't it? Alas, due to my recent relocation for my student teaching assignment, I've been forced into a comic shop dead zone. As this is the case, I am currently having to have my pulls shipped to me from my regular shop back in Bowling Green, KY, the Great Escape Records and Comics. They have been gracious enough to take on the task of shipping me my books so that I can continue buying print comics (I'll never give in, digital overlords!), but the downside is that I often have to wait weeks at a time for my massive stacks of pulls. As such, the entire premise of "Paul's Picks" has become tainted and strictly limited to the ancillary purchase that I make via Comixology. However, since this week managed to land on a shipping week, I was able to read a good stack of books, including this week's!

And man, what a week it is! As I'm sitting down to write this article, I am torn practically in two on which book best deserves my pick. I'll tell you right outside the gate, DC Comics took the cake. If you've been tuning in (as you should be) to the AC Podcast, then you'll be well aware of all the Marvel love we've been spreading around lately, myself included. But for all of the good stuff coming out of the NOW! relaunch, there is no question in my mind that DC brought their "A" game this week with two titles that may or may not be in your sights: Aquaman #16 and Batman Incorporated #7. As a matter of fact, I loved both of these books so much, I don't think I can make Sophie's choice. In other words, I'ma go with both.

Paul's Picks! - December 5, 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...

Welcome back everyone! It's a cool, cloudy Friday morning, and what better time to sit back and give you all my review for Paul's Pick this week? I've been anxious to get on and share with you all my thoughts about this weeks comics, so without a lot of fluff at the top, let's get right down to business, shall we?

Action Comics #15 by Grant Morrison, art by Rags Morales and Brad Walker

The reaction Morrison's Action Comics run here at the Ancillary Characters has been, well, mixed. Which is saying something since Seth and I typically jump at the chance to gush on all of your love for Grant's work on our favorite characters from the DCU (Batman and Robin anyone?). With that being said, there has just been something lacking this time around. The art has been hit or miss, and the be honest the stories have fallen short of what I've come to expect from one of his books, especially Superman. I mean, when you've got a series like All Star Superman to hold this up against, it has basically failed to come even close to the quality and spirit of what we know is possible.

That is, until issue 15. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few issues that struck a right note through this arc, but not one issue has taken my imagination and heart by the reigns in the way that this one did. From the very opening scene, I know that this must be the story that Grant has been wanting to tell. There have been little hints and tidbits dropped here and there ever since the first issue of the relaunch, and in the token Morrison way, all of those pieces are finally coming together for a story that is both epic in proportion and moving on an emotional level.

Paul's Picks! - November 16, 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 friends, fans, and fellow nerds! Well, maybe you're not all nerds, but I like to think we hold our own little corner of the world in all of our nerd-glory. But regardless of your affiliation, welcome to this week's edition of Paul's Picks, where I, Paul Shirley, relay to you all my favorite book from this week's hefty stack of pulls, along with my review! Are you ready? Then let's get started...

All New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen

In a week filled to the brim with quality books, I'll not lie in saying there were more than a couple of choices to go with here. Snyder and Capullo are still blowing it up over there on Batman #14, all of the new Marvel NOW! titles I read were more than solid, and there were even a few sleepers that brought their A-game, such as Batgirl #14 and Detective Comics #14 by the Great new creative team of John Layman and Jay Fabok. And yet, no other book just knocked me on my back quite as hard as Bendis and Immonen's first foray into their new title, All New X-Men.

Paul's Picks!... Is Back! - November 2, 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 friends! Wow, it has been WAY too long since I found my way on here to share my weekly thoughts with you all... Life has been coming at me pretty hard with Student Teaching on the horizon. But no more excuses, I'm here today to bring you my pick of the week, and boy is it a doozy!

In a week of very few monthly comics and a stack full of annuals, I had all but given my pick of the week to TMNT #15 (Shocker, right? You can read more about it on this week's show, download it here.). And to be honest, that issue was certainly fantastic, and I would gladly recommend it to anyone, as it is still one of the most consistently great books on the market. With that being said, at the last minute my Pick of the Week was taken by a sleeper, so to say. It's a book that  I have been thoroughly enjoying, but that has never gone above "good" to achieve the greatness that I expect out of my Pick. And that book is...

Aquaman #13 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

Paul's Picks! - September 12, 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 friends and fans! It's that time again, the day of the week that all comic-lovers so highly adore and anticipate, New Comics Day. And with that day comes the other part of Wednesday (or typically Thursday) that you all know and love: the newest edition of Paul's Picks! (Yes, yes, I know that's a bit presumptuous, but a guy's gotta keep his spirits up, right?)

September has been a bit of an iconic month for readers over the last year or so, especially in regards to DC comics. It was one year ago that the Big Heads decided to reboot the entire lineup, and thus the New 52 was born. One year later, they are releasing a month of Zero issues, which are intended to not only create a great jumping-on point for new readers, but also to answer some of the questions that long-time readers may have about the continuity in the DC universe.

As such, my own pull list was heavy laden with "0" issues, and so the one that rose to the top as my pick of the week is:

Batman and Robin by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

The interwebs have been all aflame with buzz about Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman series, which has certainly been deserved. With that being said, one of the unsung heroes of this relaunch has certainly been the high quality of the Batman and Robin series by Tomasi and Gleason. From the very first arc, introducing a new and compelling villain named "Nobody," they made it very clear that they have something special planned for the book. The interaction between the Wayne father and son is something that you can't really get anywhere else. The dynamic is played out to a point that it makes you wonder why it's not happening more in other Bat books.

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"...

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.

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.

The Dark Knight Rises: Review

Christopher Nolan's finale to his take on the Batman mythos is a giant, unwieldy thing, and it is for that reason amongst many others that I adore it. I've always felt like Nolan has an epic vision for these movies that is more reminiscent of David Lean than Frank Miller and with this chapter that opinion is forever cemented in my mind. This is Nolan doing Lawrence of Arabia with established comic book properties. Just like Lean's historical epic we have a battered, broken hero who rises, then falls and is again reborn as the man he needs to become to defeat a tremendous force.

Paul's Picks - July 11, 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...

Wow. I have to start off by saying, I'm sorry. That is, I'm sorry to all of you faithful readers who have come back to my column on multiple occasions to read my weekly pick, only to find that there has been complete silence on my end over the last month or so. And while Seth and I owe much thanks to Mr. Allen Boone for keeping the blog going with his always-entertaining "Weekly Roundup," there is a Pick-shaped hole in the content we've been providing you on the blog. I'm in the craziest part of summer, and responsibilities from the real world have kept me tied up to the extent that I haven't been able to make time for Paul's Picks...

But never fear, the drought has ended! While we Ancillary Characters have certainly been keeping everyone up to date with our weekly podcast, – which KILLED IT in downloads last month! Thanks everyone – we will hopefully be bringing you a consistent, quality output of comic-related goodies going forward. I'm back with a vengeance, and I'm here to deliver a pick alongside a review for the one book that has made the biggest impression on me so far this summer, if not since the beginning of the year. And that title is...

Paul's Picks! - May 24, 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...

The week has come and gone, and it's time for me to return to you all for my weekly installment of Paul's Picks! As I'm sure everyone noticed, there was no Pick article last week, since I was unable to obtain my pulls last week due to our trip out of town to visit family. As such, I completed the first entry into my new (for now) monthly column, titled "What If." A shout out to Allen Boone for his comment placed thereon, which is greatly appreciated. Interaction is key ladies and gentlemen, and here at the AC  we would love to hear more from you guys. After all, without you all coming and reading, what would we be writing for?

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the big reveal, the pullback of the curtain, the shocking revelation: Paul's pick from this week of comics is without a doubt...

Podcast Episode 16: Two Crotchety Old Men Reading Comics

¿What If? - The Trinity War

¿What If? 

Hello friends and fans! Welcome to a totally new addition to our blog here at the Ancillary Characters. If you're been following the podcast, then you'll be well aware of the new segment that we're incorporating in a monthly basis, which we've aptly named "What If." Much in the vein of those crazy old Marvel comics from back in the day, we take on random concepts that are either highly likely or almost impossible and give our thoughts on them. In our first installment on Episode 13, we discussed some alternate scenarios regarding the New 52. Seth revealed his elaborate corporate strategy around an Marvel Ultimate style universe for DC, whereas I revealed the mind-blowing Hipster Superman to the world of comic book fandom. As you can see, there are no restrictions on the unbridled creativity that we're tapping into.

With the first edition of "¿What If?" behind us, it's time to unveil the next step of the initiative in full on written form. To be honest, I've been looking for a new avenue for writing on the blog for some time, and when I had the idea for the What If segment, it seemed the perfect fit for both the show and the site. And so, with no more introduction, my first entry will be wild speculation and imagination surrounding...

Nice cover for a FCBD issue, huh.

DC's Trinity War - The New 52 Opt-Out


Alright, I know what many of you are already thinking: this guy's nuts. But don't jump to any conclusions, hear me out and maybe you'll see my train of thought. Two weeks ago, DC released their New 52 Special for new comic book day. However, while this issue was titled after the DC relaunch, it comes almost a year after its release last August/September, and the issue itself had very little in regards to the New 52 as a whole. The first part of the book was about Pandora, the mysterious character that Barry Allen encountered at the end of Flashpoint, who also appeared in the background of each New 52 launch issue. However, fans and readers quickly moved on from these pages to the tease concerning 2013's promised mega event, called the Trinity War. Now, we've all been speculating as to what this war may be, and the general consensus is that it will be some sort of "civil war" among the Big Three (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, of course). While we may no very little about the actual events of the event-to-come, Johns and Lee gave us a six-page view (with a four-page layout) that has intrigued fans to say the least.

Paul's Picks! - May 9, 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...

What a Wednesday! It's late Thursday night, and I'm a little bit tardy on my column for this week. It's been a long day, but after putting some grueling final exams behind me, I'm racing into summer break with reckless abandon! I'm looking at a coming week full of quality time with a massive stack of trades and hardbacks, along with my usual week's pulls, and I can't wait. But for now, I have my pick from this week ready for you all, and if you're guessing what it's going to be you're probably going to off...

Buy This! - May 9th, 2012

Another week, more comics. Hopefully everyone hit their local shops this past Saturday for Free Comic Book Day. I was amazed and delighted by the offerings at Bill's Books here in Canton. I scored a free t-shirt, bought a couple hardcovers at 50% off and, obviously, left with loads of free books. I was especially impressed with Archaia's hardcover sampler. Props to those publishers who took the time and effort to actually create new content for FCBD (Dark Horse, DC) and shame on those who didn't bother... *cough* Marvel *cough*

Big thanks to all the retailers out there who throw their hard-earned dime behind funding FCBD as well. I hope it pays off. Judging by the size of the crowd at my local shop I'm guessing for some it will. 

Paul's Picks! - May 2, 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...

Well the time has come folks. It's the first Wednesday in May, and man oh man, what a week! And for that, what a month! Not only does this week mark the release of what many sites are deeming the Best Comic Book Movie Ever Made (yet to be seen, don't gather a mob just yet), but this week in May also began two highly anticipated events in comics: namely DC's Second Wave of the New 52 and the launch of May's "Night of the Owls" crossover event in the Bat universe. And of course, we also had the release of issue #3 of one of the biggest ( if not the biggest) events Marvel has ever released in AvX, which changed from author Jason Aaron to Ed Brubaker. All in all, right now is one of the best times to be a fan of comics in the history of comic-dom. And the fun is just getting started, with 9 more issues to come in AvX (not counting a plethora of tie-ins), plus some promising new series from DC, as well as the greatly anticipated (although dreaded by some) Before Watchmen miniseries that launches in just a few short weeks. As I said, it's the golden time for fans, although it's definitely an all-out assault on the wallets of said lovers of comics.

Paul's Picks! - April 18, 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 has passed, and with it comes a whole new slew of comics to keep us here at Ancillary Characters busy with writing, thinking, podcasting and stuff. With a long list of incredible books to survey from Wednesday, April 19th, I'm here as usual to give you my well-founded (or so I think) opinion regarding my pick of the week! For those of you who have been following us here at AC for some time now, you may be pleased to hear that, thanks to Seth and my recent acquisition of an iPad, my weekly Marvel intake has greatly increased (not to mention the Image titles I'm reading monthly now. And so, both in my column and on the show, our topics will be branching out more so from the DC-heavy stuff we've been covering since the arrival of the New 52. And so, you can definitely expect to see titles from all over the spectrum of comic book publishers from now on. With that being said, I must confess that this week's pick was so fantastic that my desire to expand the column into broader horizons has been somewhat dwarfed by the sheer awesomeness of the absolute winner...

Buy This! - April 11th, 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.

If you're a regular visitor of the site then you've probably noticed the lack of content over the past two weeks. Hopefully, as of this week things will go back to normal and I'll, at the very least, manage to write my Monday column. This week is seeing a huge volume of quality books. My recent switch to digital on over half my pull list seems as though it will be paying off this week, particularly on the Image titles coming out. Marvel launches their Omega Effect crossover this week in the pages of Avenging Spider-Man and the goodness that is Remender's Secret Avengers continues this week. DC has new issues of The Shade, Green Lantern and Batman & Robin (one of the real gems of the new 52) hitting shelves.

As usual this past Saturday we posted a new episode of the AC podcast; this episode featuring Adrienne Koosed in lieu of the vacationing Paul Shirley. We talked Avengers vs X-Men, and some random event comics from the past ten years with a focus on new-reader friendliness. Also discussed was the just-released Avengers vs X-men: Infinite. If you haven't had the chance, be sure to check it out. I feel like this is where digital comics are headed in terms of presentation and really felt it was one of the best books out last week. 

Lets move on to this week's must-buys.

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.

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?