Richmond Comix - The Goods

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition

2008-09-29T22:05:00.002-04:00

I've been playing role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons for almost twenty years and in that time I've seen a lot of systems and settings go in and out of fashion. The one that has been the constant is D&D. Even as TSR sat on the brink of abyss I never worried that the game would just go away. My steadfast belief was proven correct when Wizards of the Coast, the world leader in collectible card games, purchased the faltering company. WOTC has taken the D&D brand and expanded it into a multimedia and multiple game format money making machine. No matter if you prefer miniatures, video games or good old fashioned pen and paper RPG's there is something for everyone.

Over the summer the much heralded fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons was released and since then a deluge of new product has flowed from the mad geniuses at Wizards. As with any D&D release, the first wave was the three core books; the Player's Handbook (PHB), Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and the first of what I assume will be many Monster Manuals (MM).

My first experience with D&D was the Basic set that came out around the same time as second edition. It was a simplified version of the game and was great for introducing me to the game. I soon started to go looking for stores that sold gaming books and picked up the first edition Player's Handbook. It was a black and white mess of small type and hard to follow instructions. My friends and I spent hours making characters with the overly complicated rules and played for years with those books. When I finally picked up the second edition PHB it was like upgrading your Studebaker with a rocket. The rules were much easier to follow and specializing in one thing or another was way easier to figure out. Unfortunately a lot of that specialization called for extra tables and charts and long pauses in game play while we looked up some of the harder to remember rules. I completely missed out on third edition but one Saturday afternoon in July sucked me back in.

For the second year, Wizards held their “Worldwide D&D Game Day” where they send participating stores several kits so that new players and returning adventurers can come in and play a game. The kits include everything needed to play; dice, the adventure, a map and all the miniatures required for the adventure. This year they sent along a quick start rule set for 4th edition. In a word, it was amazing. The combat was so streamlined and efficient that it moved nearly as fast as an actual fight. Everyone who came to play had a fantastic time. As for the Dungeon Master's it seems that the new rules and well thought out adventures were a boon to them as well. One of the DM's we had for WWD&DGD saw the adventure module for the first time when we sat down to play and he ran it flawlessly. There were puzzles and traps and clever monsters and even going in with no prep the game was immensely fun.

Several weeks later I picked up all three of the new 4th edition books. Rarely am I impressed with packaging but even if the game inside had completely sucked the books would have been a nice addition to my bookshelf. Luckily they ended up even better than I would have imagined. I thought when I first picked them up about doing a review but I decided then that I needed to actually play the game before I could make any kind of informed decision. After a few months of running my own campaign I only have complimentary things to say about D&D 4th edition.

Unless you're running a game, there is no reason you have to buy anything other than the Player's Handbook. All the rules for character creation, combat, equipment and magic are contained in one thirty five dollar book. It's written in clear language with handy tables and art that is far superior to anything in any of the previous editions of the rules. One of the things that I found to be vastly improved was the breakdown of skills. The skill list on the character sheet had grown quite cumbersome and the specialized skill checks (use rope? Really?) were sometimes ridiculous. The new skills list has been streamlined and many skills have been bundled together as one (pick lock, detect trap, find secret door are all now listed under “Thievery”) while others have been made into feats (the language skill is now the Linguist feat). This makes deciding what kind of check to make much easier and can help relive some game delay if you happen to be playing with a rules lawyer.

My favorite new feature is the was attack powers and spells are done. Every character gets a certain number of powers, some that can only be used once a day, once per encounter or any time. This makes special attacks a normal part of gaming. Just swinging a sword at an enemy isn't nearly as cool as using your Reaping Strike at will power or your Spinning Sweep encounter power. Giving these kinds of attacks to every character class adds a whole new dimension to the game that I didn't even know it was lacking.

The feeling of epic fantasty has been increased much beyond what it once was. Making a character in 2nd or 3rd edition would net you 4-15 hit points. The lowest number I've seen so far is around 22. Bulking up the player characters (PC's) seems a little like cheating until you start playing. The first adventure module “Keep On The Shadowfell” claims to be for five characters starting at level one. I started the module with five characters of second level and they still would have died if not for a little creative dice rolling and jiggering of stats on my part. This isn't a drawback at all despite how that last sentence sounded. Creative thinking has kept my party alive more than brute strength (though there is a bit of that as well). Fourth edition seems to be streamlined for ease of play (especially for the DM) but its also designed to reward players who can think their way out of a situation. Several times my group has been in a tight spot and worked their way through it not by barreling in but out thinking the monster (and by extension me).

There are a thousand little improvements that I could touch on but the gist of it is that Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is the best upgrade so far of this venerable franchise. I can see everyone in my party continuing to play this game for many more years without getting tired, something that I can't say about any other game out there.

Hey, I just watched Fringe

2008-09-24T00:01:00.001-04:00

I have to admit, I didn't have very high hopes for Fringe. The X-Filesishness (hey look, new word!) of it seemed like a bad idea even before the latest movie didn't so much as bomb as give a tiny little Derek “I've got the black lung pop” Zoolander cough and then shuffled quietly from the mortal coil. I haven't been a fan of Lost since the premiere of the second season when I said “really, that's it?” and promptly turned off the television and “The Godzilla Witch Project”, while ambitious, left me a little cold. I suppose its unfair to J.J. Abrams to judge his latest show by his most recent standards. Those standards being that I'll be too stupid to understand it and everyone but me will love it. I'll judge him by Alias standards. Are the cliffhangers cliffhangery enough? Are the outfits small enough to make a Hilton say “Hey now, that shows a little too much skin. I have standards you know!”

Hold on. No cliffhanger and the clothes look like something normal people would wear? Great! Another show I can't watch because of my status as the lowest common... waitaminnit...

I think this could be J.J. Abrams finest project to date (not counting Felicity, that Scott Foley is dreamy!). The show mixes action, drama and humor in a way that I haven't seen out of Abrams since the days of Marshall's tech ops briefings on Alias. The cast he's assembled has pretty much astounded me. I've always been a fan of Joshua Jackson. From his early days as the plucky young Duck to his six years as Pacy on Dawson's Creek where he got to make out with Katie Holmes before she was mindwiped by the mothership. He's always had a certain roughish charm about him and in Fringe his ability to switch from kind of skeevy douche to MENSA candidate on a dime is pretty cool to watch. His father is played by John Noble, you'll remember him as the guy who tried to burn Feromir alive. Now there is a douchey move. Cooking your own son on an open BBQ pit while midgets in funny helmets look on. Well he's still crazy and as the story opens he's spent the past 17 years in a mental institution. Family issues are fantastic. Especially if you can watch them in the most Jerry Springeresque manner possible. No Springer here thankfully, just a typically dysfunctional father son dynamic that always makes things interesting. The father is looking for redemption (or possibly some clay to eat) and the son is looking for a way out of his miserable life (or possibly into the lead characters pants).

Speaking of leading ladies, the main character here is played by Anna Tory, an Australian actress I've never heard of. She isn't a traditional leading lady and by that I mean she looks like someone you could actually know. She comes across a little cold but that could be part of her FBI character (or it could be a lack of acting skills, I'm not sure yet). Either way J.J. Seems to believe in her and who am I to argue with someone who understands what the hell is happening on Lost?

Damanged Goods

2008-07-05T18:22:00.001-04:00

Another problem facing comic retailers almost every week these days
is the issue of damaged shipments. Back when Diamond ran delivery
trucks to accounts, this situation was not the large dilemma that it is
today. The boxes were loaded onto their vehicles (in our case, from
the Baltimore warehouse), and that’s where they stayed until off-loaded
at a central “drop-off” store location. Now, however, the boxes are
handled at least three times by the United Parcel Service workers as the
freight goes from the Diamond warehouse in Memphis, TN to the UPS
service center in Richmond. The standard “double wide” shipping boxes
used by Diamond were sturdy enough when they were handled by
people who were aware of what they contained…..but now they are being
moved by workers who are not necessarily aware of their contents. With
the boxes being as heavy as they are, a box can be dropped from a foot or
two and suffer enormous damage to the contents.

We pay an average of $10 per “heavy” shipping container each week,
and our freight charges usually run anywhere from $80 to $120 depending
on the size of the shipment. I think, instead of playing the Blame Game
every week (“It was Diamond employees”……”It was a dropped box”…..)
we should call for one of two things……..

1- Reduce the “weight size” of the boxes to about (40) pounds……true,
someone would have to pack more boxes each week, but it seems
reasonable to assume that there would be less damage to a lighter
box….

2- Come up with a sturdier box…..and with cardboard as expensive as
it is these days, this is the more undesirable of the two solutions…

Either way, if Diamond has fewer “damage replacements” to worry
about each week, that could free some employees to do a better job
of packing our shipments, and save quite a bit of money on Next Day
and Second Day Air shipments sending out replacement inventory….
…..just a thought….anybody else in the business have anything to
offer on this topic?

Challenges of your LCS

2008-06-22T08:47:00.002-04:00

June 2008…….I’ve been in this business for over (21) years. I’ve seen the industry at some very high points, and very low points.

Some retailers will tell you that Diamond Comic Distributors is the enemy….an idea that, even at recently as five or six years ago, I would have agreed with. By stifling the competition in comics distribution, Diamond certainly put itself in the driver’s seat. Lately, however, I’m not so sure that this is the case. And that thought bringsme to this week……check out the “major” Marvels shipping this week………..

Avengers Initiative
Captain America
Daredevil
Fantastic Four
Hulk
Mighty Avengers
New Avengers
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimates 3 #4
Uncanny X-Men
Wolverine Origins
X-Men

Don’t you think the companies could regulate the weekly releases so that not everything would come out on the same day? We have had three small weeks in a row, and now…..we get everything exceptSecret Invasion from Marvel……..shessh!!

On the weekly trip to the UPS warehouse to pick up our new comics. I have had several conversations with my friend Patrick at Velocity Comics concerning the state of the comic industry….we both came to the sameconclusion……the companies (but mainly Marvel) really don’t care about “Comic Book Shops” any more. The movies provide them with a significant bottom line, while the shops continue to demand well-written, nicely drawn comics week in and week out…how unfair for these short-sighted retailers to demand consideration and respect…..

Now, next week will be well-received at Richmond Comix. We have terms with Diamond, so I will not have to strike a check for LOTS of money, and then worry about recovering that money right away. Plus,long ago we began developing gaming as a secondary product line to offset the “ups and downs” of the comic book business. But our regular customers and subscribers will not appreciate having to budget a billion Marvels all coming in at once….over the period of our (21) years, I have seen quite a few customers who would stop collectingafter a few weeks of this madness….it gets overwhelming when $60 does not buy everything for the week.....and we didn't have $4 per gallon gas back then.

And what about the stores on C.O.D., i.e. the stores that have to pay for their shipments next Tuesday or Wednesday (this group includes the newer stores 1-2 years in business that are still trying to build their customer base). We have gone from over 5,000 shops back in the 90’s to less than 2,500 stores today…..natural selection??.... maybe…..but, just maybe, the grim reaper has some help…..a better business planwhere distribution is concerned would be a welcome change in this wacky industry……starting with the publishers themselves……….

Frank

Gaming this week

2008-03-11T20:17:00.003-04:00

This week sees the release of the long delayed Horrorclix Nightmares! For those of you who are waiting for your Heroclix prize support for the last couple of weeks, it's finally here! There's a lot of gaming happening this weekend at the Comix, let's take a look at the schedule.

Thursday 3/13-

All day play testing for Magic The Gathering! With big events coming up like the City Camps on the 23rd and the Elder Dragon Highlander on the 22nd we could all use some help tweaking our decks. Come on in at any time and play a few games to work those kinks out.

Friday 3/14-

6:30p.m. - Pokemon League – Free to play.

7:00p.m. - Magic The Gathering – $15 - Sanctioned
Booster Draft (1 Lorwyn, 2 Morningtide) Please call ahead to register as seating is limited.

Saturday 3/15-

12:00 noon – Heroclix – Free to Play.
300 point build total. At least half of your team (150 points) must be from the newest DC Heroclix set Crisis.

4:00p.m. - Horrorclix - $20
300 point build total from two sealed booster packs of the latest Horrorclix set Nightmares.

Sunday 3/16

12:00noon – Magic The Gathering - $15 – Non Sanctioned
Booster Draft (1 Lorwyn, 2 Morningtide)

Dave Stevens Passes Away

2008-03-11T19:23:00.002-04:00

Best remembered for his Betty Page illustrations and the Rocketeer, Dave Stevens died battling leukemia. He was 52.

For more information see the Newsarama article:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=149730

Quick note on the blog

2008-03-09T22:50:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that we'll be playing with the format of the blog for a bit until we know what everyone likes. Please let us know if you like or hate anything we're doing. Thanks guys!

Tommy

New Comics for 3/12/08

2008-03-09T21:20:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the NEW Richmond Comix dot com! In this space in the future we plan to bring you more reviews, more updates and maybe a few columns by some special guest writers. We'll take a closer look at the games that take place at the Comix and spotlight a few of those. I hope you'll agree with me when I say it's a good time to be a comic book fan! Let's take a look at what we'll be seeing on Wednesday.

MARVEL

AVENGERS FAIRY TALES #1 (OF 4)
C.B. Cebulski continues Marvel's critically acclaimed adaptations of fairy tales from around the world. In the first installment of the Avengers Wanda and Pietro are whisked away to Never land to play with Indians and fight with pirates. This series has been absolutely beautiful with a variety of top quality artists joining Cebulski to tell these tales. We've already seen fairy tales told through the eyes of the X-Men and Spider-Man and I can't wait to see what he does with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.

FANTASTIC FOUR #555
In case any of you missed the last issue the big news here is that Ultimates team supreme Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have come to leave their stamp on the world's greatest comics magazine. The world has become a scary place and some of the biggest brains in the world have decided that the Earth is running out of time. Kind of like a car with a weird clunking sound coming out of the engine, it's a good idea to have a spare. An old collegue of Reed's comes back into his life to recruit him to help in the final stages of building a whole new artificial Earth complete with everything we have now only no talk shows and Jerry Springer isn't allowed to come to the new world. He's like Moses in that way.

LAST DEFENDERS #1 (OF 6)
I'll admit to not being a big fan of the Defenders, they always seemed a little too silly and nonsensical. I understand that most people are drawn to the team due to it's status as a non team but if I want a team up that makes less sense than a Roman Polanski movie I'll read the Great Lakes Avengers. That being said Nighthawk is an interesting character as he seems like a guy dripping with insecurities and almost chronically lame trying so hard to be a real hero. He genuinely wants to help people and make a difference to the innocent people of the world. In this series Nighthawk asks Tony Stark to allow him to put the Defenders back together under the Initiative banner. Stark gives him the OK with a twist. Nighthawk is teamed up with people who don't really listen well and his big gun wants nothing to do with the team or the initiative. On top of all that they are officially the New Jersey Defenders. A fate worse than death as anyone who has been to Jersey can tell you.

NOVA #11
Query: If self is infected with virus of a techno organic nature and self spends all of self's lifeglow to get to the homeworld of techno organic beings who would self run into at the mall? Exclamation: Warlock!

BOOSTER GOLD #7
Booster did it! His goal in joining Rip Hunter in fixing anomalies throughout the multiverse was to save his best friend from a bullet in the face. Last issue (#0 for those without a score card) Booster finally managed to save his friend but how did that change the time line? What horrible things are in store for our heroes? Max Lord in charge of the world? Cats living in harmony with dogs? Monkeys using toilet paper? Oh Booster, you fail so gloriously it really is hard to look away.

GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #6
So when I got married it was a quiet little affair with family and close friends. We didn't have a band or spend ten grand on flowers but it went fairly smoothly and nobody got kidnapped and replaced by supervillains. Sadly that is not how things went for Ollie and Dinah. Now that Ollie has been rescued from the evil Amazonians the newlyweds finally have a chance to figure out who did what and why. Connor is still in a vegetative state and it looks like that will be the new status quo for a while. I do have to wonder about Winick's political feelings here. He's known for writing storylines that push forward an agenda. Wether you agree with him or not his stories always generate debate and push the envelope of how comic books tell stories about current events. Will Connor become a metaphor for the Terry Shaivo's of the world and if that is the agenda here will he educate or alienate? Is Winick a good enough storyteller to write that story with the same kind of voice he had when writing about hate crimes in Green Lantern? I have to say I'm looking forward to finding out.

TINY TITANS #2
And now for something completely different! Tiny Titans is a welcome breath of fresh air that smells like bubblegum and ferris wheels. The first issue was some of the most fun I've ever seen my kids have while reading. It elicited the same response from my six year old as my ten year old as my wife. It's an all ages book with a universal appeal for anyone who enjoys a little silly with their spandex.

WONDER WOMAN #18
Do you guys remember back in the late 80's when there was a big invasion in the DCU and those dominator guys with the giant red circles on their heads attacked earth and they used those stocky guys as foot soldiers. Well apparently the stocky foot soldier guys are on their own now and messing with Wonder Woman. Diana heads out into space to deal with the threat of the Khund. I think the threat of the Khund is nothing when compared to the charming man who flirts with you all day every day and being stuck in an enclosed space with him. DC promises that this issue could completely change the relationship between Wonder Woman and Nemesis forever. This two part story bring in Bernard Chang for the art chores. This is a two fold blessing. On one hand Chang is a fantastic artist in his own right and on the other this will help the Dodson's keep their schedule.

INDY

ABE SAPIEN THE DROWNING #2 (OF 5)
Ok, first of all there is no way for Abe to drown. He is part fish after all so the title of the book it a bit of a mis-lead. I also don’t remember Abe trying to drown anyone in the first issue so either I am actually remembering an episode of the Snorks and putting Abe in it or the title just doesn’t make any sense at all. Oh, Abe is investigating a drowning in his first mission ever for the B.P.R.D. and that’s where the title comes from? I knew that.

BPRD 1946 #3 (OF 5)
Speaking of first missions, this series shows the early days of the B.P.R.D. and how much trouble all those pesky Nazi’s were after the fall of the third Reich. Even with the help of some dirty commies it might be more than the B.P.R.D. can handle when dealing with Poject Vampir Sturm.

LONE RANGER AND TONTO #1
The Lone Ranger and Tonto together in the first one shot special from Dynamite! There is something dark and evil rauuning around the frontier with murder in its heart and it's up to the original dynamic duo to take care of business. But once they find this mysterious evil will they be able to stop it? This special sports a cover by Astonishing X-Artist John Cassaday.

SERENITY BETTER DAYS #1 (OF 3)
Joss Whedon is going for the trifecta of creator owned properties in a comic series. He's been hitting it out of the park with both Buffy and Angel and I don't see him slowing down a bit with Serenity. This series picks up where the last Dark Horse series ended, with the crew of the Serenity barely scarping by and trying to avoid the law. It's an odd thing I would imagine to never seem to catch a break. Always one step in front of the law and trying with all your might to put fuel in the ship and food in your belly. I guess it would be interesting to see what would happen if a job went smoothly and everyone got paid. I imagine everything would be peachy keen. Well I would imagine a happy ending if Joss Whedon weren't behind this. Having a job run smoothly with no problems seems like the kind of place Joss loves to make a mess in.

TRADE PAPERBACKS

AVENGERS INITIATIVE TP VOL 01 BASIC TRAINING
Let's throw some kids into some combat situations and see what happens! C'mon, it'll be SO much fun. Oops, that kid has no head! Thus I have explained the pathos behind the first story arc of the book that broke off more than spun out of Civil War. The characters are sometimes familiar, often times intriguing but always entertaining. I wanted so much to dislike this book but Dan Slott just won't let me. He keeps buying me candy!

DMZ TP VOL 04 FRIENDLY FIRE (MR)
I really believe that DMZ is going to be viewed as an incredibly important snapshot of where our culture is at this moment in time. Brain Wood has an amazing ability to take some far out there theories and situations and make them feel as though you are watching them on the news. It's brilliant storytelling that's intelligent, appalling and mesmerizing all at the same time. This is probably the most important piece of social commentary being published by any of the major companies (I include Dark Horse and Image in that). DMZ really is a book that everyone should be reading.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL HC
What was once my favorite time in Justice League history has been marred by the betrayal of Max Lord. His dark turn rivaled that of Dark Phoenix, Darth Vader, Spider-Man's marriage and that little kid in the Good Son. What a creepy little dude. Ah, who am I kidding, nothing Max Lord could ever do (up to and including shooting Blue Beetle in the face) could make me love these stories any less. I am positive that these early adventures of the Super Buddies will make me BWAHAHA just as easily as they did the first time.

MARVEL ILLUSTRATED
I have to admit I'm more than a little impressed with how well done the new Marvel Illustrated books have looked. Roy Thomas is a fantastic writer and his adaptations of literary classics have been spot on. The art teams on each book seem to have been picked to offer the right kind of mood rather than just pulling in someone to fill the space. Marvel is doing a great jobn with these brand new classics and I'm excited to see what comes next. This week we get nice hardcovers of the first three of the new Marvel illustrated; Last of the Mohicans, Man in the Iron Mask and Treasure Island.

New Website

2008-03-08T20:53:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone likes the new website.

This has been a long time coming, not that it took a long time, I’m just slow. The majority of what you see on the new site you can thank our good pal, Tommy. He took an idea and ran with it.

We tried to take a look at the things people acually used and slim it down to those functions. This does not mean we will not expand in the future so your feedback will be a big help. Just email us and tell us what you think, or tell Frank and Tommy.

Thanks for coming.

Preview for 2/27/2008

2008-02-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

MARVEL COMICS

RUNAWAYS #29
Once again Joss Whedon reminds us why Marvel keeps putting him on books even though he's notorious for lateness. The Runaways are still stuck at the turn of the century and in the middle of a gang war between mutants, time travelers and plain old bad guys while trying to find a way home. There are almost as many twists to this issue as there are quips as Joss continues to prove that he's one of the best writers in comics today. On a side note, old men marrying twelve year olds is gross. I'm glad that has stopped for the most part (I'm looking at YOU Utah!).

MIGHTY AVENGERS #9
The Avengers are reeling from the biological Venom attack on New York and have some shaky intelligence that someone near Latveria may have been involved. Many sources are saying that Doom was not involved but they need someone to beat up and the real bad guy in hiding in a cave with his dialysis machine. Ares VS Doom for control of the WMD's! Go Ares!

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #114
Speaking of Ares, he seems to be kind of a jerk here as he continues to torment his little brother. I have an older brother that kind of reminds me of Ares. He's older and thinks hes smarter and he likes to go into the woods with weapons and bring out really big dead things to skin and eat. Plus he doesn't really listen to any music. What is THAT about Ares? Also in this issue we find out a little more about the Black Widow but in a good way this time. She's sassy.

HULK #2
If you are anything like me, watching Iron Man get his butt handed to him makes you giggle like a little girl. If that is in fact the case then this is the issue for you! She Hulk and Doc Sampson team up with Tony on his new S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier that cost just shy of a gajillion dollars. What is the worst thing that could happen to your brand spanking new flying fortress of fascism? That's right, angry Hulk.

CRIMINAL 2 #1 (MR)
Since the first issue critics and fans alike have been talking about Criminal. In this first issue of the new expanded format we get the first of three single issue stories that all interconnect in some way. In this issue we learn more about the history of the Undertow's ever present bartender and find out how he came to be in possession of the dive in the first place. Set in the always entertaining 1970's we see Gnarly at the end of his boxing career mixed up with criminals and low life's. The new format gives Brubaker more room to tell not only the main story, but it also gives extra space to the articles and stories written as back up features.

DAREDEVIL #105
At last we get to the finale of what has been one of the most interesting Daredevil stories I've ever read. To recap, lame third string villain Mr Fear has used a variation of his fear gas to make people insane. One of those people being reformed super villain Gladiator, a man Daredevil helped save from himself. Another victim of Mr Fear's rage blackout inducing concoction is Milla Donovan, recently married to Matt Murdoch and one of the most beautifully innocent people ever to be in the life of the Man Without Fear. Milla shoves a lady in front of a subway and all of a sudden her life is turned completely upside down. This issue doesn't end at all the way I expected. I think Bru has been shopping in the character beat store at the Joss Whedon mall of writing. If happiness equals boring then I can safely say there is no boring here.

THOR #6
Oh silly Volstagg, don't you know what a toilet is? This question and several others will be answered as we get another look at how the Aesier gods are fitting in with the people in rural Oklahoma. Several of the locals tell stories of run ins with the gods and how the coming of Asgard has affected their lives. Thor muses on how he was tricked and whether or not he should bring back the most important Asgardian of all, Odin.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #119
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it in the last five minutes but Ultimate Spider-Man is my favorite current super hero title. Bendis has a knack for writing teenagers and for writing Spider-Man. The Spidey that we've seen in New Avengers is the closest thing to the “real” Spider-Man in comics for a number of years now. He's not angsty, he's quippy. A quippy Spider does a happy public make. Anywho, one of Peter's friends at school just found out she's a mutant while hanging out at the beach. On top of the trauma of bursting into flame, as soon as her powers manifest Magneto shows up! So much for night swimming!

DC COMICS

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #4
Green Arrow joins the Outsiders! Considering Ollie's past dealings with the league of assassins it will be interesting to see how he deals with being on the same team as Cassandra Cain, current Batgirl and former head of the league. I'm more interested in Black Canary's reaction the first time Cassandra walks around naked in front of Ollie. I also head a rumor that Batman is involved. I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations.

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #10
Wacky team ups gone awry as the Book of Destiny busts wide open. Brave and the Bold is consistently one of DC's top five titles every month. Mark Waid gives each character their own voice as master artist George Perez gives them all a classy and distinct look. Rarely has a creative team been so tailor made for a project but here's hoping that these two stay on this title indefinitely.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18
If you've been reading the Salvation Run mini series this issue will mean a little more to you as the Justice League take on the Suicide Squad for the hellish planet that the Squad has been dropping Earth's villains on for the past few months. If you haven't kept up with Salvation Run here's a quick recap.
CHECKMATE GUY #1: There sure are a lot of bad guys. We should use our team of ex villains to round them all up and then ship them someplace.
CHECKMATE GUY #2: You mean like a secret underground prison in the middle of nowhere with minimal security or a tiny island adjacent to an already overcrowded maximum security facility?
CHECKMATE GUY #1: I was thinking like an inhospitable planet on the ghetto end of the universe.
CHECKMATE GUY #2: I know just the one!
AMANDA WALLER: You two shut up and bring me a McGriddle!

WONDER GIRL #6 (OF 6)
Granny Goodness is everywhere. She staged a war with Washington DC that would make a cold war soviet proud, took over Paradise Island over in Countdown and still managed to find time to screw around with Wonder Girl's life. She and her Furies have spent the last five issues trying in vain to turn Cassie to the dark side.

CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #5 (OF 5)
I hope you folks aren't tired of hearing about how Renee Montoya is the best thing since jelly donuts because I think there may be a few people who haven't come over to my way of thinking yet. I've talked this book to death since I started writing this column and I really can't stress how well it is written. Greg Rucka knows this character inside and out and it shows in the way she acts and reacts. She's the most diverse character in a universe complete with alien orphans and brains floating in jars who are in love with beret wearing French gorilla's. If you missed out on this it's not too late to order the hardcover, currently in Previews FEB080240.

FABLES #70 (MR)
King Ambrose has decreed that any Fable living at the farm in upstate new York can come to live in Haven back in the homelands. When Boy Blue returns to the mundy world with that news the farm is split and debate is... uh... debated? Who will go and who will stay. Will Fly and Red live happily ever after? Will Blue and the other Red ever admit their feelings? Are you still not reading this book? Foolish mortal!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #13
Kingdom Come Superman seems to be adjusting fairly well to his new reality. He hasn't attempted to destroy the universe the way Earth 2 Superman did so he's already was cooler than that guy. It also looks like the JSA membership drive is doing great! Pretty soon they'll have as many members as that other organization. It will be the same, Hour Man will go on Oprah and tell her how in love he is with Liberty Bell while jumping up and down on the sofa. Then Jakeem will smack Oprah for having on too many stupid white people and we will all laugh as if he were Huey Freeman talking to us at a garden party. He's so articulate!

TEEN TITANS #56
In just a couple of years Kid Devil will lose his soul to the real devil. What does a kid do when he's faced with something that horrible? Does he go walkabout and have no record for eighteen years or does he throw a party. Party! While the kids try to come to grips with the Kid Devil situation the brand new Bolt appears to throw everything out of whack. Stupid party crasher.

INDY COMICS

DOCTOR WHO #1
IDW is at it again, taking a popular television show and turning out a comic that looks fantastic. I would have been happier if the Doctor was joined by Rose but if I can't have comic book Billy Piper goodness I will happily settle for Martha Jones who ironically enough is an actual DR. Based on the hit BBC show, this series follows along with the current series of the Doctor showing on the SciFi channel. If you haven't had a chance to catch this funny little show full of wit and heart and some of the best special effects $12 and a box of tuna can buy!

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #1 Of(6)
This book completely took me by surprise. We went through four times the amount of the #0 issue than I thought we would. The combination of Alex Ross' incredible painted covers and the resurrection of long forgotten golden age characters seems to be irresistible to a multitude of comic book fans.

RASL #1
This is Jeff Smith's first new creator owned work since the end of Bone. The only other thing we've seen from Smith since then was his fantastic re imagining of Captain Marvel and the Monster Society Of Evil. The book was fun, full of humor and suitable for all ages. Rasl however, is not. The main character is a dimension jumping jewel thief with issues. This is not the Jess Smith we've come to know and love with cute woodland creatures and lovable orphans. This is a new Smith and I am excited to find out who that is!

ROGUE ANGEL TELLER OF TALES #1
I didn't really pay attention to this book when it was solicited but upon doing a little research it seems that Rogue Angel is like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Librarian as the title character finds herself searching for a manuscript that will change the way the world thinks about Mark Twain. Who knew comics could be so literary? (That was sarcasm folks, please, no putting stones in my frog.)

TRADES/GRAPHIC NOVELS

BOYS TP VOL 02 GET SOME (MR)
Garth Ennis is an odd duck. He's one of the most respected writers of the past couple of decades having written many comics that have ended up on “best of” lists all over the place but he also seems to enjoy murder, violence, mayhem and putting inappropriate things in various orifices of the human body, not always voluntarily. With the Boys Ennis has made the promise to “out Preacher Preacher” and while I think he's going about it in the right way it will be a while before we see if the Boys can have the impact and longevity that Preacher has enjoyed. The morals are ambiguous and the heroes really aren't but the ride sure has been fun so far.

ORDER TP VOL 01 NEXT RIGHT THING
It amazes me that a comic can be filled with complicated and interesting characters, written exceptionally well and beautifully illustrated and yet no one is reading it. That seems to be the case with the Order as Marvel has decided to cancel it with issue 10. For those of you who missed out on this great series spawned out of Civil War let me explain. The Order is the California franchise of the fifty state initiative. Lead by Pepper Potts in a very Oracleish role as intelligence organizer and team strategist the team has tackled old soviet block terrorists, each other and had time to arrest Namor. Each issue separates the action with interview segments that give a really unique insight into the lives of each member of the Order.

FRANKLIN RICHARDS TP COLLECTED CHAOS DIGEST
My son requested an issue of Franklin Richards a few months ago. I of course gave in and picked it up and moments after picking the book up he was laughing hysterically. I kind of chuckled to myself at how easily amused ten year olds are and went about my business of being a very serious grown up type person. I had Spider-Man to read after all! He finished the comic and sat grinning until I was done with mine and then told me I had to read it. I said “sure, maybe later” and he insisted that I read it right then. I obliged him and spent the next few minutes laughing as hard as he had. I was flabbergasted! My kid knew how to find funny better than I did. “Whatta revoltin' development,” thought I as I wiped tears from my eyes (from the laughing, I wasn't crying because my kid is funnier than me I SWEAR!) I looked at him with a newfound respect. My son was a comic genius! We would be invited to Carnegie Hall, the Daily Show, perhaps get the Colbert bump. My mind was awash in the images of his imminent stardom and my coattail riding. Then he told a knock knock joke and we stared blankly at one another for a few minutes. I think he gets his comic timing from his mother.

UPDATE TO COUNTDOWN #12 AND #11
Apokolips. Red and burning, filled with screams and hyperbole. Darkseid, lord and master of this hellish place and made it inhospitable in many ways, the most devious of which is to make those who put pen to paper overwrite the opening sequence of any book that features this festering globe of suffering and humiliation. And mimes. We leave this horrible place of raw flesh and flagging comedic prose and go someplace just as horrible. Filled with a similar flaming redness and horrible swelling, we find Jimmy Olson in the shower. The less said the better. MEANWHILE ON PARADISE ISLAND: Holly, Harley and Mary are still deep undercover working with Hippolyta and no that is NOT any sort of euphemism for an island full of women doing things “under covers”. Get your mind out of the gutter. Desaad and Granny Goodness argue about something, they seem to be speaking in secret code. I think it may be because Desaad ate all the moon pies and Granny has low blood sugar issues. In other news Piper discusses why he prefers boys and Brother Eye really wants to be the Astrodome when he grows up. Everybody ends up on Apokolips where Darkseid is playing a lovely game of chess against the Bobby Fisher of the Monitors. There is a whole lot of fighting and then Triplicate Girl turns into an OMAC. Jimmy Olson still won't put a shirt on.

NEW AVENGERS #38
I am a huge fan of Brian Bendis so when I say that I think Jessica Jones and the series “Alias” in particular are the best things he's ever written I want to quantify that with the fact that I have enjoyed just about everything he's ever written. Ultimate Spider-Man (as stated above) is my favorite current super hero comic and I also read Avengers both Mighty and New and Powers every month (or two in the case of Powers) so to say I am a “fan” is justifiable if not an understatement. I have enjoyed the growth and evolution of not just Jessica Jones but Luke Cage and Carol Danvers as well. Knowing as I do how Bendis likes to really mess with his readers heads I am really afraid that one or all of these characters could end up as skrulls in Secret Invasion.

As for this issue I was overwhelmed by how much I missed Michael Gaydos drawing Jessica Jones. His version of the character will always be the definitive version for me and she looked as harassed and put upon as I remember. Last issue the Hood and his gang of miscreants busted into the New Avengers headquarters at Dr Strange's house. In the ensuing melee Jessica took her baby and didn't stop running until she got to Avengers Tower. Jarveis of course took her right in where she immediately signed the Superhuman Registration form and “sold out” as Luke would later claim when he showed up to see his daughter. The argument Luke and Jessica had right outside Avengers Tower in front of the registered Mighty branch of the Avengers seemed to me a little more tame than it should have been. I would have thought Luke Cage would have bust through the front door demanding to see his kid rather than waiting on the curb while Jessica headed outside for a chat. The right things were said; “sell out”, “you're ending our marriage”, “the sellouts assemble”. All fun stuff that made me believe that this was really it for Luke and Jess. Even the title of the issue “The Breakup” is meant to tell us that this is it for my favorite Avenger couple. I don't buy it. This seems like a premade plan to me. Jessica and the baby are safe and now Luke has a person on the inside of Avengers Tower. I think that Luke and Jessica knew that life on the run would be impossible for a baby and they came up with this plan. Jessica and baby Cage were safe in the wilds of Canada (or Ottawa, I'm not really sure) so why did they come back? The issue is addressed but not to my satisfaction. This seems like a brilliant ploy by Mr Cage to find out who the real skrulls are. Or he and Jessica are skrulls and they're plotting to destroy both teams. At this point both scenarios are just as likely.