Weekly Roundup - July 4

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


This edition is actually for the comics that came out last Wednesday. I apologize for the late column. I would make excuses, but it all comes down to me being a terrible, terrible person. But! I will strive to have a Roundup for this week’s comics out this weekend. Or maybe sooner? Who knows! Now on to the blurbs.



Action Comics #11: Superman has an identity crisis and becomes a fireman. Meanwhile, the backup tells a quaint little tale from the life and times of an average Metropolis visitor.

Animal Man #11: It’s Buddy Baker vs. Buddy Baker in the conclusion to the long-running “Extinction is Forever” arc. Animal Man gains new powers and a new body from the Red and battles the body he had previously lost to the Rot. 

Avengers vs X-Men Round 7: The Phoenix Five raise the stakes and prove that they are serious about the “No More Avengers” mantra. This series finally appears to be having some serious repercussions in the Marvel universe.

Before Watchmen Ozymandias #1: Before Watchmen retells the story of Adrian Veidt’s transformation into Ozymandia with great detail. Wordy and unexciting, this book is saved from mediocrity by fantastic writing and art.

Detective Comics #11: Meh.

Dial H #3: Revelations! After a couple of issues with nice character development, the third book focuses on expanding the larger plot. It is confusing and poorly paced.

Earth-2 #3: The third issue is still focusing on the origin stories of the Earth-2 Flash and Green Lantern. Three issues is too long. The reveal at the end makes this book worthwhile, however.

Justice League International #11: This book remains in my pull list only because it is easier to wait for it to cancel than to take it off manually. It’s almost finished! Yay!


And thus concludes another exciting edition of the Weekly Roundup. Stay tuned this week for more bodacious blurbs! Earlier ancillary time, same ancillary blog!

Weekly Roundup - June 27

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

This week I found my folder overflowing with new books to read. DC let loose such heavy hitters as Justice League and Batman Incorporated, while Marvel presented the latest book in their Spider-Men event. Meanwhile, IDW stole the show with Splinter’s performance in the latest TMNT. 


Aquaman #10: Arthur Curry’s sinister past is brought to light as Mera bullies a scrawny scientist into spilling some sick gossip. Black Manta’s reason for hating Aquaman is finally revealed.


Batman Incorporated #2: Grant Morrison sings The Ballad of Talia al Ghul, recounting her rise from an ambitious young lady to the most powerful assassin in the world. This issue serves as a nice recap of the events leading up to the current run of Batman Incorporated. Bat Cow is notably--and sadly--absent.


Batman: The Dark Knight #10: With Greg Hurwitz newly at the helm, this book is the first good issue of the series. Awesome moments abound as Batman investigates the abduction of young children. Action, suspense, poetry--there’s a lot to love here.

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1: J. Michael Straczynski gives us a look at Watchmen’s whiniest character. The issue covers a lot of ground, but the pacing is superb.

The Flash #10: The Weather Wizard is introduced to the New 52. Good book. Not much else to say.

Justice League #10: The Villain’s Journey continues. David Graves shows his power and raises the stakes against the League. Meanwhile, Black Adam makes a frighteningly awesome appearance in the SHAZAM! backup. Also, tall Sivana looks just plain weird.

Justice League Dark #10: Constantine is a jerk, but we all love him anyway.

Spider-Men #2: A lot of talk in this book, but that’s okay. I can listen to Bendis’ Peter Parker banter all day.

Superman #10: Superman saves the day with the power of caring! This book is dumb.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #11: The words “dope,” “fly,” and “sick nasty” do not even begin to describe this book. Splinter kicks Foot tail while the turtles take on some local street toughs. Several pages of this issue would look amazing as a poster. Every issue brings something great to the table, and this week’s offering is no different. Like the Papa Johns guy, it delivers.


Stay tuned next week for my thoughts on Action, Detective, AvX, and more!

Weekly Roundup - June 20

Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where I describe this this week’s pulled books in one paragraph or less!



This week proved somewhat disappointing. My favorite monthly of the lot, Wonder Woman, failed to deliver, but Splinter and Comedian helped prop up an otherwise mediocre array of books. The lesser anticipated titles managed to be solid as well. And now, the blurbs.

Before Watchmen: Comedian #1: An unexpected take on one of Watchmen’s most fearsome characters. The Comedian, Eddie Blake, is portrayed less as a psychotic killer and more as a tough anti-hero who, in his heart, is a caring person. This book also wins the most frightening cover of the week award.

Green Lantern Corps #10: John Stewart is sentenced to death by the ridiculous Alpha Lanterns. His lawful good acquiescence once again stands in stark contrast to Guy Gardner’s chaotic good brashness. This story has been done to death.

Nightwing #10: A man has been found murdered by one of Dick Grayson’s escrima sticks, and a corrupt detective leads a crusade to lay the crime on Nightwing’s shoulders. A solid reintroduction to the plot derailed by the Court of the Owls story.

Supergirl #10: Supergirl girl fights a Kryptonian dragon in the mindscape of an evil Irish warlock who absorbed her consciousness. The beautiful art provides a nice look into the culture of dead Krypton.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 Splinter: Splinter kicks Foot tail while pondering the meaning of honor in light of mistakes made hundreds of years in the past. The flashbacks to ancient Japan are an interesting look into the novel twist thrown into the Turtles’ origin in this latest TMNT series.

Wonder Woman #10: Wonder Woman shares the love in the most disappointing ending to a great arc in the New 52 so far. Azzarello draws material from the likes of Care Bears and My Little Pony to round out the story that made me care about Wonder Woman.


Next week is poised to be much better with such heavy hitters as Justice League, Flash, and my most anticipated, Batman Incorporated. The second issue of Bendis’ Spider-Men event should also make for some interesting content. Stay tuned!

Paul's Picks! - June 7, 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...

Alright, alright, you got me; I totally skipped out on you all last week. All joking aside, I completely forgot that I hadn't written it until around Friday, and by then I felt like there was almost no point in going on to write it. In a week with very few issues coming out to read anyhow (those darn 5th weeks get me every time), there wasn't a whole lot to choose from in the first place. However, you're just dying to know which book tickled my fancy last Wednesday, go check out our most recent episode of the AC Podcast, where you can find not only my pick, but also Seth's and Ethan's. Fun times are sure to follow.

Now that we got that awkward moment behind us, let's move on to what you're really here for: Paul's Pick from Wednesday, June 7th. The first week of the month has become one of those that always contain some A list titles, such as Action Comics and Swamp Thing, not to mention the recent addition of some new books like Earth 2. And yet, while I had my share of topnotch series to choose from this week, I found myself somewhat underwhelmed by many of these titles. Don't get me wrong, there were some good books, but no single comic jumped out as the winner of the week. I hated the thought of just picking one, as it kind of demeans what "Paul's Picks!" is all about. Therefore, I've decided to give you all another "special edition" of the column, where I will stray from my usual choice of a single title that reigns victorious by instead picking out my favorite aspects of several books. So instead of a "pick of the week," I'm gonna give my pick of the best aspects from a handful of books. Sound good? Ok, let's get to it then...

ALERT! There are probably going to be some spoilers present, so if you haven't read the book I'm discussing, skip that segment, or you just might regret it!

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! - 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...