June 18, 2008

comic book day!

Today was a light week on releases. Here are a few books I read...

Oh!... SPOILER ALERT!

Justice League of America #22

This book was weird. Red Tornado got a new body with help from Batman, Zatana and Black Lighting. Vixen comes clean about her power issues and Black Canary tells her to "pack her knives and go" and Red Tornado goes nuts only to find out it was Amazo.

Likes: Red Arrow and Hawkgirl awe a great couple! Love their chemistry. Firestorm sitting at the round table. Bronze Tiger. I swear! Suicide Squad needs an ongoing book! Zatana. I hope she stays.

Dislikes: Black Canary being a total bitch. I seem to recall her having some secrets in Birds of Prey, and HELLO! Identity Criris?!? I love Vixen on the team and I hope the big three put the smack down Black Canary.

Angel: After The Fall: 9

This book was all kinds of crazy! I miss Fred! and I'm not sure what the ending was about but I'm intrigued.

Likes: FRED!ILLYRIA! Love both characters!

Dislikes: Gunn. Steak him already.

I have a few more books to go over and I'll post my yay or nay review later.

Posted by Roque at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2008

SWEETNESS!

Woohoo! A new customer started a saver account with The Comic Lounge! This is the bestest day!

Posted by Roque at 11:46 AM | Comments (1)

June 16, 2008

can't fight the numbers...

Well, Diamond Comic Distributors released their May monthly sales report. And Marvel whopped DC's ass with a coat hanger... and then slapped them... then spat on their face... then pointed and laugh...

here's how the publishers did sales percentage wise.

MARVEL COMICS 47.56%

DC COMICS 29.95%

DARK HORSE COMICS 6.30%

IMAGE COMICS 2.75%

Seriously, Marvel sold almost HALF of what DC did... That's pretty bad.

Here's the list of the top 20 selling books as per Diamond:

1 SECRET INVASION #2 (Of 8)MARVEL
2 FINAL CRISIS #1 (Of 7) DC
3 NEW AVENGERS #41 MARVEL
4 AVENGERS INVADERS #1 (Of 12) MARVEL
5 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 MARVEL
6 GIANT SIZE ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 MARVEL
7 BATMAN #676 DC
8 MIGHTY AVENGERS #13 MARVEL
9 BATMAN #677 DC
10 MIGHTY AVENGERS #14 MARVEL
11 JUSTICE LEAGUE O/AMERICA #21 DC
12 DARK TOWER LONG ROAD HOME #3 (Of 5)MARVEL
13 THOR #9 MARVEL
14 UNCANNY X-MEN #498 MARVEL
15 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #14 DARK HORSE
16 X-FORCE #4 MARVEL
17 X-MEN LEGACY #211 MARVEL
18 CAPTAIN AMERICA #38 MARVEL
19 JUSTICE SOCIETY O/AMERICA #15 DC
20 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #558 MARVEL

Marvel had 14 titles on the top 20 list. Poor DC had 5 and Dark Horse with 1.

Sigh... I have to admit... I was really excited to read Secret Invasion #3 this month, more than Final Crisis. AND! To make matters worse?! I'm totally more in love with Ms. Marvel than Wonder Woman! Why? Ms. Marvel is a stronger character and her support cast is great! And it's no secret that I heart Gail Simone's writing, so I feel like I'm cheating on Gail with Ms. Marvel... And to be honest, Grant Morrison is a great writer, but I always felt I had to be in his head in order to understand his story. Batman RIP? Totally don't get it, and don't get me started on Seven Solders. Secret Invasion was solid from issue 1. I even don't mind the random tie-ins.

I have to face it, Marvel is the better publisher. Maybe it's Joe Quesada and his direction, or maybe it's the "majority rules" effect. After all this, I read on Newsarama this crazy drama between Chuck Dixon (current writer of Detective Comics and Robin) and Dan Didio (senior vice president-executive editor for DC Comics) who I guess quit last week. he responded to these allegation and it read a lil somthing like this...

I did not quit.
I do not believe it had anything to do with politics.
My involvement with Robin ends with issue 174.
I think my BATO run is over with #10.
My Booster two-parter will still be appearing.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Storming Paradise continues on schedule.
For those keep score, yes, I was way ahead on both of my monthlies. Down the road perhaps I’ll offer those scripts and you folks can help out Books for Soldiers as you so generously have before.

(Storming Paradise is Dixon and Butch Guice’s six-issue Wildstorm miniseries set during in World War II. The first issue debuts next month.)

Dixon also appeared in the comments section of a post at Comics Should Be Good that questions DC editorial’s handling of Final Crisis, Countdown, Death of the New Gods, Robin, and Batman and the Outsiders.

Dixon, writer of Robin and Batman and the Outsiders, steps in to say:

Don’t blame my editors.

DC, currently, is run from the top down in a way that makes Jim Shooter’s aegis at Marvel look like a hippie commune.

He follows that a little later with:

Shooter was very dictatorial with strict rules for writing and drawing superheroes.

The difference between his reign at Marvel and the current one at DC is that Shooter was successful at raising circulation and longterm planning.

And then, when another commenter asks, “Taking a shot at Warners? At Levitz? At DiDio?,” Dixon clarifies:

Not at Paul.

Warners? The geniuses who merged with a company that was billions in the red? Trust me, most days they don’t even KNOW they own a comic company much less take an interest in running it.

On the Shooter front—

Though I saw Shooter in full fledge psychotic editorial rage a couple of times, he did provide leadership at Marvel and didn’t change the company’s direction five times in one day. And the company climbed out of the red and became vital again under his stewardship. I disagreed with many of his ideas when it came to continuity but he was at least consistant and you knew where you stood. And merit was rewarded back then. If you sold well and handed the stuff in on time you’d never go without work.

And finally (as of this morning, at least):

I’ve worked under tyrants and I can say that I’d prefer to work under a talented, knowledgeable tyrant with a successful plan than a directionless gladhander with a ouija board any day of the week.

Wow... Here's to better month for DC...

Posted by Roque at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2008

comic lounge rocks!

So, yeah. I opened an online comic books store. thecomiclounge.com (I forgot the HTML tag for web links... I know.. Bad puppy). It opened in February and its still a work in progress.

I decided to open a spot at one of our lovely flea markets because I was tired of sitting on inventory. That was in April. We are finally getting the business I wanted. At least the spot pays for itself. Sorta. Right now I'm working on getting more saver accounts. We have 4 total now. Its über exciting!

Yesterday was a fun day. I made the most money on a Saturday ever! And! Without one bloody DC comic sold. Seriously... Not one... All the books I sold where Marvel. Even my t-shirts I sold went DC. What gives? When I asked this hottie who was buying the whole Secret Invasion set, why did he not pick Final Crisis! He said "because

the whole 52 earth thing hurts my head and I can't afford their spin off titles they can't seem to put into their main books"...

Damn.

Wake up DC! Every month you're the #2 selling publisher... Stop with the exhausting cross overs and random tie in's and get back to basics!

FYI... I heart Final Crisis #2... Don't mess it up, please?

Posted by Roque at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

February 04, 2008

I love YouTube...

Posted by Roque at 12:28 PM | Comments (1)

February 04, 2007

*Sniff sniff* or NOOOOOOOOO!

Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel are leaving Teen Titans. This is the saddest day. I love everything Geoff did (except for the killing of Superboy, aging Bart and Kid Devil). He was the reason why I picked up Teen Titans... well that's not entirely true. I LOVED Young Justice (hated "Graduation Day"), and I thought how cool would Robin and his merry men would be under Geoff. Fours years later... The end is here. All good things must come to an end. This Adam Beechen guy, Geoff's replacement, seems to know what he wants to do with the Titans. Although I hear his current run on Robin's solo book sucks. I have yet to read Adams work, but I pray to god he kills off Kid Devil and brings Conner/Superboy back. My next panic attack will be when they announce the new artist on TT. Tony did a decent job after Mike left. I miss Todd Nauck. I hope he can come back and play with the Teen Titans. I loved his Young Justice run. Here's to hoping.

Posted by Roque at 07:36 PM | Comments (1)

January 26, 2007

fan boys.. Unite!

This "teaser" from DC Comics was published on Newsarama as a hint of things to come this year. I guess there are things in this picture that are clues and every fan boy out there are blowing up the forums. Me, personally, I think it has to do with Apokolips and New Genesis. Truth be told I am sooooo excited about this upcoming event, and I don't even know why I am... I can't wait for Wonder Con! Did I mention that Phil Jimenez drew this picture? He's sooooo amazing. I must meet him, maybe see if he can autograph one of my comics? Sweet...

Posted by Roque at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2006

Buffy, Season 8

Whedon Info.com has news that Joss Whedon will write a comic book about Buffy and the Scooby's after Buffy's series finale. Joss is calling it Season 8 . I'm so excited! FX just aired the "Chosen"-the last episode, and I felt so cheated. I wanted more Buffy, but there will be no more Buffy. Until October, when Dark Horse Comics releases Buffy-Season 8. I can't wait!!

Posted by Roque at 08:01 AM | Comments (5)

August 16, 2006

Bad Wizard!

Newsarama reported that Wizard Magazine fired two Wizard World staffers. First off, Wizard was a nifty underground comic magazine that featured a bunch of cool stuff for us comic geeks. Casting Call, a segment where the staffers casted comic movies we'd like to see. "How To Draw", a cool article written by Bart Sears on how to draw comics. Alas, those days have passed.

Wizard is now an advertisement whore. And Wizard World, a comic convention that's supposed to be a big deal, wasn't as a big of a success as Wizard made it out to be. The two Wizard World seniors where fired for "financial reasons" according to Wizard. But others are saying they where fired because of the crappy job they did at Wizard World.

I want Wizard back the way it was. Underground and full of nifty comic stuff. Can they find a happy medium? All I know is that I cancelled Wizard from my pull list. Who knows, if they change their tune, I might ad it back on...

Posted by Roque at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2006

Lesbian Alert!

Newsarama reported that the new Batwoman "is a wealthy (socialite), buxom lipstick lesbian who has a history with Renee Montoya, an ex-police detective who has a starring role in 52." Interesting huh?

Personally I think having a high profile lesbian character, other than Renee Montoya, in comics is really cool. It'll be fun to see what the Bat thinks about this.

Posted by Roque at 05:06 PM | Comments (2)

April 20, 2006

Justice League Heroes

Looks like the game bug is gonna bite me again really soon. Check out my new future addiction' Justice League Heroes. Let the games begin!

Posted by Roque at 06:39 PM | Comments (2)

April 05, 2006

NOOOOOOO!

SPOLIERS!

I can't believe they killed Superboy!!

What the FUCK!!!?!?

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, this issue kicked major ass! And for several reasons...

Batman... not an asshole...
Nightwing... The eternal Titans leader...
Black Adam... Hardcore!
Earths in crisis splash page... Loved it! Along with the cool easter eggs (Deborah Winger's Wonder Girl cameo? Brilliant!)
Donna Troy... The best portrayal of her leadership skills ever!
Brother Eye... Fell down go boom... Finally...
Psycho Pirate... Lost his head...
Spectre... Back with a vengeance...
Blue Beetle... Huge potential...
Superboy... What a way to go...

Now I have to wait 30 days (if it's not late...) for the Superboy Prime smack down...

Rest in peace Superboy. You where my 4th favorite comic book character ever...

Posted by Roque at 07:59 PM | Comments (1)

March 01, 2006

IC 5

Ok, I waited for Infinite Crisis 5 with such anticipation only to given a huge let down. Now don't get me wrong, it was good, it had a lot of explanation and some nice surprises, but it seem like it's dragging on and on. I re-read Crisis on Infinite Earths and I noticed how every single issue had something going on, something happening and someone dying or being reborn. COIE just seemed more substantial so needless to say I'm a bit disappointed with IC, but then again, the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

Now, I have a theory. I think Conner (Superboy) is going to be the new Nightwing. And here's why I think that...
Geoff was asked at Wonder Con if Conner was going to get his own series after IC, and his response was 'sort of".
Plus! IC set up a great team up with Superboy and Nightwing. Somethings gonna happen, I can feel it. Now i wait for another 30 days in hopes of a huge pay off.

Posted by Roque at 08:23 PM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2006

Wonder Con Wrap up!

WOW!! An amazing weekend! Here are a few highlights!
I meet J J Abrams and hot his Autograph...

I saw a scene from Clerks II... It's gonna be great!

I went to the DC Comics panel... Here a few things I learned SPOLIER ALERT!!
Checkmate's Black Queen is Sasha, White Queen Is Amanda Waller and the White King is Alan Scott! (oh and "Fire" is Sasha's Black Night... Sweeet...

Grant Morrison is gonna be the new writer on Batman... He wants the NEW Batman to be furry... I approve! The name of arc? "The Son of Batman"...

Flash wont die...

Batgirl... maybe...

2 WONDER WOMEN!!!

Hawkgirl... a Bi sexual? Maybe...

There's more on this stuff on Newsarama

Then I got to see Brian Singer... AND BRANDON ROTH!!! Brandon is so YUMMY!!! And I think he and Singer had a thang going on... if you know what I mean...

I also saw the Superman Returns trailer. AWESOME!!!

I got to see a scene from Silent Hill... Oh yeah, I may have to watch that!

I got to see a few scenes of Cars... Yeah, not sure about that one yet...

And finally, I saw Ultimate Avengers the Movie... IT KICKED ASS!!! A little slow at first, but then again, so was the comic. I suggest you go out and buy it!

I'll be back for some detailed accounts of Wonder Con later... but now, I need to get my new tattoo!!

In the mean time check out my lil photo album

Posted by Roque at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2006

Wonder Con Day 1!

I had a blast! I meet with A bunch of DC's big gun writers, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. These guys are great! Though I must admit, my inner girl came out when I was talking to Geoff. I wonder how I'll fair today? Brain Singer is doing a panel on Superman Returns... oh yeah... I'll be acting like a five your old girl. The other cool thing about Wonder Con in San Francisco is all the hot comic book bears. Two of them hit on me while I was volunteering. Heh... That was hot... One of them said... "Wanna go to the Lone Star for some cocktails and we'll see what happens... *sigh*. He was uber woofy too.

This was one the best costumes at the convention yesterday...

He was hot and a DILF!! Yummy!

Posted by Roque at 06:16 AM | Comments (3)

January 11, 2006

Umm... Eww....

Newsarama reported that this may be Spiderman's new costume... Yuck! What the hell are they thinking? Was there something wrong with Spiderman's old costume? I don't get the need to change something that's such a iconic get up like Spiderman's. Hi, remember Daredevil's armor?, Wonder Woman's disco get up? Batman-Azrel? Superman Red AND Blue? Eww!!

One of my motto's is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

That said, Marvel is known for their red hearings, so this may just be a cruel joke. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Posted by Roque at 08:53 PM | Comments (2)

October 12, 2005

Hell Yeah!

Infinite Crisis kicked ass!
The obvious spoiler alert...
In my opinion, Geoff and Phil captured the current state of the DCU in a net shell. Hell in a hand basket. From the dialog between the Trinity, the beat down the Spector is giving Gotham, The OMACS gathering around Nightwing's home town, to the ruthless massacre of the Freedom Fighters, it's all the hype come to life. The last page blew me away. That said, Dan Dido did a last minute "Crisis Counseling" session with Newsarama, which unveils the REAL cover to IC #2! Which is a spoiler in it's self for IC issue#2.


Now I have to go back and re-read COIE. I remember the ending where the old school Superman, Lois Lane and Superboy go into some kinda light thingie and they haven't been heard of since. I can't wait till issue #2. George Perez did a six page layout for that issue. It's supposed to be a 99 cent version of "The History of DC". I can't belive I have to wait to 30 days!

In other comic related news...

Villains United.... TWO Luthors!!! I swear I didn't see that coming. Knockout and Vandal Savage? HOT!! Another reason why I love Gail Simone!

House of M #7... That was such a good issue. If Marvel keeps this up, I may have to add "Son of M" to my saver...

JLA #120... Eh... it's no Geoff and Alan, but it's ok. I'm gonna give it till # 122 before I decide to drop the title or stay with it.

Nightwing #113... I liked the idea of Dick training Rose, but Devin's killing me. It's a very slow story. I hope something happens soon... I'm getting kind board with title already.

Hawkman# 46... I loved Golden Eagle... I hate the fact they made him a psycho. Ugh... Another possible great Titan down the drain.

I love Wednesdays!

Posted by Roque at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

1 more day till Infinite Crisis!

It's Infinite Crisis eve. All the crossovers and hints that have been dropped for over two years finally comes to a head. I have been waiting for this day since "Countdown". So much in fact that I have been patrolling DC's message boards, Newsarama, Buzzscope and any other comic book related web sites for as much info I can scrounge. I've never been the type of reader who likes to read the whole story and be wowed. I have to look at the last page of every book in order to see in what order it is to be read. I know, I'm sad, but hey, it's my thing.

Some of the Message Boards have the most insane (yet possible) IC scenarios.

Here are a few that I was like WTF!!!

Lois Lane gets killed...

Batman goes crazy and is sent to Arkham...

Nightwing takes over as Batman...

Jason Todd becomes the new Nightwing...

There's gonna be a new Blue Beetle...

The Anti Monitor returns...

The Ray bites it...

Damage saves the day again...

Geoff Jones answered a whack of questions on Newsarama's Q&A. I was impressed and little disappointed by some of the answers he gave. If you like spoilers, check it out. If not, I'm sure I'll hear all about IC from all the other fan boys around the world.

Posted by Roque at 07:14 PM | Comments (1)

October 09, 2005

Top 5 Artists...

So I decided it was also time to update my top 5 favorite artists. A good artist, in my opinion is almost as important as a good writer (Gail Simone and Rob Liefield anyone?). These are the following top five artists that caught my eye and can clearly tell an amazing story visually. These guys (again, in my opinion) have the ability to capture the action, drama and emotion that the writer is trying to convey to the reader. I have even taken chances on books just because of the these artists, some 9 out of ten times, they worth buying. I think I have a pretty diverse style of comics book art when it comes to story telling. I like Manga to the detail oriented.

Here they be, my top 5!

#5 Michael Turner

#4 Todd Nauck

#3 Jim Lee

#2 George Perez

#1 Phil Jimenez baby!!

Honorable mentions...

I love these guys! They are defiantly in my top 10!

Ian Churchill

Ethan Van Sciver (Some say he's a Phil Jimenez clone, but I can tell the difference between his work and Phils'

Posted by Roque at 09:31 PM | Comments (1)

Another Reason why I love Phil Jimenez...

I was checking out DC Comics.com and I just happened to find an interview with my favorite artist of all time... Phil Jimenez. He was my number 2 favorite artist (behind George Perez), but after hearing him talk, I fell in love with him as a person as well as an artist. He's the most talented artist/writer in the biz, and this interview backs it up.

And not that this matters, because it shouldn't, but I think it's great that an openly gay writer/artist is doing such a historic event for DC Comics. Infinite Crisis will impact the comic book industry for years to come... and there after. Phil Jimenez is paving the way for other openly gay comic book writers and artists to play in such a straight dominating industry. Then again, we are talking about guys who write and draw about men in tights...

Not to mention he's just so fucking adorable!

I'm kinda curious the hear what my bloggin brotha thinks of the interview. He too being a big Phil Fan himself.

Posted by Roque at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2005

Ok... I think I got it...

So a few months ago, I said that Power Girl is the daughter of Wonder Girl and Superboy... Now I have another possible hypothesis. I think Power Girl's mom is Lady Quark. I was re-reading Villains United and the part where Sinestro "mono logs" with Lady Quark about her power being of chaos and stuff, it hit. She's gotta be Power Girl's mama! It kinda makes sense. Her powers have been acting all funky for quite a while... The Psycho Pirate tells her in JSA:Classified #3 that she survived after planets lived and died and Lex, for some reason wanted Lady Quark and Power Girl.
Any Thoughts?

Posted by Roque at 07:59 PM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2005

Yeah! Comics!

I got my books today! Finally! Can I just say that Geoff Jones needs to be cloned and write all comics books in the world? Well maybe thats a bit overkill, but really, he's the best! I read Flash 225, Green Lantern 4, JLA 118 and JSA 77. He gets it! This was a huge release week for DC. I also picked up Rann Thanagr War 5, Batman and Robin 2, Action Comics 831, Hawman 44 and Nightwing 112. Can I just say I liked this issue? I kinda gave up Devin Grayson ever sense "The Titans". But Nightwing was pretty decent. I liked the direction this book is going. I may add it to my saver. Batman and Robin... yeah, not the comic I grew up with. I kinda like it. Even though the " All Star" line kinda rips off the "Ultimate" line, it does have some potential.

Till next week!

Posted by Roque at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2005

Another reason why I stopped buying Marvel...

Where the hell is Young Avengers?
See! I knew it! As soon as Marvel gets me back in, they have another late book (Ultimates any one?). ARH!! Marvel, you bastards! With all the hype that went around Young Avengers and you guys can't even deliver the book, much less a story. I may have to abandon ship. House of M and New Avengers seem to be keeping up with the pace.

Then I was reading on Newsarama that Marvel won't take returns on books, even if the book is solicited wrong (creative team), LATE, or we just plain lost interest. Eww on you Marvel!

Then again, this is another reason why I've always loved DC. (Except when Batman/Superman and Teen Titans are late... but at least they don't fall of the face of the earth!)

Posted by Roque at 06:17 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2005

George Perez! The bestest!

Yet another reason why George Perez is one of the best in the biz. Take at look at his Infinite Crisis cover. This cover is way more dramatic than Jim Lee's. You can actually see the divide between the "Trinity". God he's good!

Is it October yet?

Posted by Roque at 06:38 AM | Comments (2)

July 10, 2005

Thursday... Comic book day!

I hate holidays because sometimes comic books are shipped a day late.

As I thumbed through my comics to see which books I was going to read first to last, I was taken back by Superman 219. I wont give anything away but I was pretty shocked. I wont fully believe what I saw until after the story arc is over.

House of M... yeah, I saw that cliffhanger coming.

Villains United... I'm starting to believe Luther's Mockingbird.

JSA... I love Geoff Jones! This story was really good. Plus, I'm starting to see Black Adam in a new light.

Return Of Donna Troy... I've seen molasses move faster than this story. I love Phil, but he better do something fast or I'm gonna end up yawning like I did with Batman/Superman: Absolute Power.

Infinite Crisis had me doing some research. If "Crisis" was a space/time based story line, and "Identity Crisis" was earth/hero based story line, Then Infinite Crisis is a combo of the two. The more I read, the more I'm leaning towards Brianiac/Luther team up and being the masterminds to Infinite Crisis.

Time will tell.

Posted by Roque at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2005

Battle Pope

I was reading Newsarama and I found The Battle Pope. Awesome. A Pope that fights off demons with his sidekick "Jesus"? Ha! In your face catholic/Jesus freaks! The guy who wrote this book, Robert Kirkman is known for The Walking Dead and Marvel Team Up stuff. I may have to pick this is just to see what the buzz is all about.

Posted by Roque at 06:20 AM | Comments (3)

June 28, 2005

Ugh...

I just checked out the Rob Liefeld preview on Newsarama... What the hell is up with Robin's costume? Also, I'm not sure if Rob knows this but he even screwed up on Hawks costume. She has two different masks in the same page... ugh. And isn't Wonder Girl like 16-17 years old? She looks 20/30 something. My eyes hurt now. Thank god for Gail Simone

Posted by Roque at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2005

Comic Book day!

I only picked up 4 comics today, and get this... 3 of them were Marvel. That hasn't happened in years. Here are the books I had to read from first to last.

Teen Titans
New Avengers
House of M
House of M: Spiderman

House of M: Spiderman had more story than House of M itself. Teen Titans kicked ass! I loved how Geoff wrote Cassie in the "How Donna got killed" scenario. New Avengers... I love this book! Bendis is doing good things... for a change. What's up with Young Avengers? Is it me, or is it REALLY late?

Posted by Roque at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2005

Hmmm, I wonder...

I picked up the PRELUDE TO INFINITE CRISIS and it kinda gives the run down on where the "Crisis" started. I knew when I picked up Teen Titans 17, 18 & 19 (the whole Titans of Tomorrow story line) that the "Crisis" was mentioned and was confirmed in the prelude book. I also figured out that Power Girl might be Superboy and Wonder Girl's daughter... from the future of course. A hint was dropped in the JSA: Prince Of Darkness story line... Arion told Kara that her mom will need her help in the coming future. Not to mention OLD Lex told Superboy that he was expecting a grand child... If this is true... You heard it hear first!

Posted by Roque at 09:49 PM | Comments (1)

June 01, 2005

Sad...

I hate three day weekends. No comics till Thursday.
Eww...

Posted by Roque at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)

May 31, 2005

I'm kinda grumpy...

I just read Ale Garza's shared blog to find out that he's leaving the art chores on Batgirl. Why? He rocks! I was not liking his style on Graduation Day, but by issue 3, I was hooked. He mentions that he's got another job in the works and that we the fans might like it. Batgirl needed a strong artist to define her grim and edgy tone of her book. Pop Mhan's taking over the book when Ale leaves. Pop's art looks ok to me. More like a young Chris Bachalo if you asked me, but I don't think the art's "dark" enough. Oh well... Batgirl will go on.

Posted by Roque at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2005

Rann/Thanagar War

I hate space stories. I'm not sure why, but they just bug me.

X-Men 273? The Shi'ar stuff... hated it.

Teen Titans? Starfire's wedding... hated it.

Our Worlds at War? DC's big event a few years back... hated it.

I hate space stuff period.

That said.

I freaking loved Rann/Thanagar War!

It had all the stuff that I appreciate. Drama, suspense and Hawkman's furry chest. I'm hooked.

I can't wait till next month's issue.

Posted by Roque at 06:53 PM | Comments (1)

May 10, 2005

The Logo Defense

I just read DC's reasoning for the new logo. I guess I get it, but I still think the old one's better.

I have to point out how cool Jim Lee's big three is. I wonder (no pun intended) why the change of digs for Wonder Woman? I love her old school look. Jim Lee used that same costume design for the "Heroines of DC" limited edition print he did for Warner Bro's a few years back (it's one of my prize possessions PLUS it's #50 out of 250... and I swear being the store manager at the time had nothing to do with getting #50...). I wonder if Phil Jimenez had a hand with Wonder Woman's (old) look? He's mentioned several times how much he'd love for W.W. to get her "post Crisis" costume back. Maybe it's here to stay...

Posted by Roque at 06:58 PM | Comments (1)

May 09, 2005

Remix

Yet another reason why I love Buzzscope

Take a gander at this Remix issue. I've never laughed so hard all day.

Posted by Roque at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)

Phil, Donna and Something New...

I love Phil Jimenez.

I love Donna Troy.

I love the new (direction of) DC comics.

Put them all together, and you get the beautiful cover above. Newsarama explores Phil's "Return of Donna Troy" story and DC's reasoning behind the New Logo. Marvel has always changed their logo, so I get why DC's logo change is a big deal. It's been the one constant thing in DC for years. I like DC's new look (even though it looks like a Wonder Con logo). I wonder what else is changing in DC?

Posted by Roque at 07:40 PM | Comments (2)

R.I.P. Northstar

So Northstar died last week.

I'm pissed off.

Another reason why I hate Marvel.

Northstar had all the goods. But somewhere in the Marvel offices they decided to use Northstar as a sacrificial lamb for good drama. Like Hawkeye, Antman, Jean Grey, to name a few, all these characters meet their maker (some more than others) just to make the story seem bigger than it is. I'm not gonna lie and say I know all about the current story line in the X titles. I lost interest in the X-books (or Marvel for that matter) after the whole "Onslaught" fiasco. But was it really necessary to kill off Northstar? I know he'll be back... (hello!... Psylocke?) I just hate the idea of killing someone for story's sake...

And before I get yelled at. Yes I know, DC does the same thing. Superman, Wonder Woman and Troia where killed off just be brought back. The Difference? Both companies are guilty of killing for stories sake. But DC means business these days. They're telling stories that go past a story arc. That's the difference.

Posted by Roque at 04:46 PM | Comments (1)

May 04, 2005

Villains United

This book rocked!

*spoilers*

Gail Simone is a genius! She not only made Catman cool, but she killed of The Fiddler. I thought from the ads about Villains United that it would be all about... well... the Villain's Society. Sorta.

it was more about the Secret Six. And who the hell is Mockingbird? I have a guess that it's that Checkmate chic from the O.M.A.C. Project. I think her name is Sandra Bordeaux? It's great how DC is using their old school, quarter bin titles and turning them into major tie-in's to Infinite Crisis. O.M.A.C.? Yeah he used to be a BAD Mr. T look-a-like. Secret Six? Another comic I would pass up as I rummaged through the 25 cent bins.

DC. You doing great things... Now if we could only change the Rob Liefield thing... Then we'd be in business.

Posted by Roque at 09:44 PM | Comments (3)

M

I've been reading a lot about House of M. Marvels big summer event. The more I read about House of M, the more I thought of "Age of Apocalypse" and "Heroes Reborn". Both events reshaped the Marvel Universe to make up a story. I liked both A.O.A. and H.R. but House of M seems to be a rip off of events past. I hope Marvel doesn't screw with Young Avengers and New Avengers. I'm finally back into buying Marvel books then this happeneds. I've heard for years how Marvel wanted to make the Ultimate line into the new Marvel universe. It wouldn't surprise me if Marvel uses Wanda to turn the current Marvel Universe into the Ultimate Marvel Universe permanently.

Posted by Roque at 09:24 PM | Comments (2)

May 03, 2005

DC is doing even more cool things! I don't mean the Countdown to Infinite Crisis, or the other Mini's that tie into their big opus. They have a cool mini website called Crisis Counsling. It's updated every Monday and it gives the scoop on the goings on around the DCU that ties in with. Infinite Crisis. Check it out.

Posted by Roque at 08:32 PM | Comments (8)

*sigh*

The costs of comics went up again! at this rate, I'll have to take a loan out just to buy a few books. I can remember back in the day when comics were 75 cents...

Such is life...

Read all about the price hike here on Newsarama.com

Posted by Roque at 08:25 PM | Comments (1)

April 29, 2005

Amazing...

I went to one of my favorite websites Titians Tower and saw this link to an interview with my favorite artist Phil Jimenez. His artwork... amazing... Plus he's HOT!

He's doing the art chores for the upcoming Infinite Crisis mini series due out this October. It's supposed be a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths from back in 85. I can't wait for it to come out. Good thing I have O.M.A.C. to tide me over till then.

Posted by Roque at 09:58 PM | Comments (2)

April 27, 2005

Say it ain't so...

*sigh*
I just read from Newsarama that Rob Liefeld will be doing the art chores for Teen Titans in August for two issues...

*sigh*
Judging from the picture above of Robin, I have reason to worry. Don't get me wrong, I like some of Liefeld's work. key word is "some" But I just don't like his need to overly add accessories, not to mention his bodily proportions he draws are kinda weird.

The one thing I'm looking forward to about this two part story in August is Gail Simone! She's doing the writing for T.T. I LOVE HER! she's so awesome! I meet her in SF for Wonder-Con and she ROCKS!

While I'll miss Geoff a ton, I think the book is in great hands with Gail.

I'll still buy this book when it comes out, I just hope Rob doesn't make me shake my head to much.

Posted by Roque at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2005

24 hour race. April 23 2005...

Membership does have it's privileges. Since I've joined the Gay League forums, I've been exposed to some cool stuff. Here's a good example of that. I think this is a great idea. I might do it next year after the chemo and stuff. If anyone out there can do it and does it, please let me know how it went. Good Luck!

Posted by Roque at 06:37 AM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2005

Raise your hand if you're gay!

So I was reading the letter page of the Young Avengers issue # 2 and it looks like not one but TWO Young Avengers are gonna be HOMOS!! (Hulking and Asgardian might already be a couple) AWESOME! Only Allan Heinberg can do this... and do right I might add. There have been gays in comics but they're kinda lame. Northstar was considered the first major character to come out... yeah, the story lasted one issue. Other than Authority's gays, has there been a cool spin on gays in comics, not to mention from the teen aspect of things. Cheers to you Allen! It's because of you I even read a Marvel comic.

Posted by Roque at 08:55 PM | Comments (3)

April 03, 2005

Otherworld

My hero Phil Jimenez is writing the penciling a new comic book called Otherworld. It supposed to be a mix of the Matrix, Lord of the Rings and Tron. Not a bad combination. It Just came out this past week. Check it out and help support our gay artists and writers.

Posted by Roque at 08:19 PM | Comments (1)

The Gay Leauge

So I was surfing the web and I came across this cool website The Gay League. I just became a member. In case you wanna check out my profile, the name is Roq-It (Rocket).

This site is for the gay comic lover in us all!

Enjoy!

Posted by Roque at 08:13 PM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2005

Countdown...

Damn!

That's what I said when I put this book down. I'm not gonna give anything away, but the last page of this book was shocking! DC has done some pretty unbelievable things in recent past. Lemme give you a quick run down of a few highlights from last year till now...

1. The Justice League was "mind-swiping" the villains to make them not so deadly.
2. One of the villains they "mind-swiped" was because he raped a superhero's wife.
3. Wonder Woman is blind.
4. Brought back Supergirl from the dead.
5. Brought back Green Lantern from the dead.
6. Killed off Wonder Girl.
7. Killed off Robin's dad.
8. Killed off Elongated Man's PREGNANT wife.
9. Burned down the Clock Tower on Birds of Prey.
10. The superhero serial killer was the Atom's wife.

and that's just in the last 6 months!

DC seems to have something to prove. Marvel has always told drama'esque - action/adventure type stories. And it looks like DC is following suit. All the things that have happened in the past year in DC is supposedly something that has been in the works for the past two years. All the deaths, rebirths, re-introductions, and a ton of skeletons in the closets have been done for a grander story that is yet to be told. I for one am excited about all the things DC is doing. All of the main title books are apart of a build up to a mini series called "Infinite Crisis" do out this fall... DC has some of the best writers in comics in their house, and it looks like DC is giving theme something to write about for a change.

Before, DC was very apple pie and chocolate chip cookie'esque. Meaning very boring in their story telling. Sure they had some BAD stories to help make sales happen (Superman... Dead? Batman... Broken back? Green Lantern... A bad guy? Yeah, that was bad) But now they seem to have stories to tell that really have a propose. What a concept!

I only have one thing to say to DC... Don't Screw It Up!

Posted by Roque at 12:53 AM | Comments (0)

So long Jim! Hello Ed!

One of my favorite comic book artists Jim Lee, is done with his amazing run on Superman. loved his art work, as you can you tell with most of the art work I use, Jim Lee draws the best Superman ever! With Jim leaving Superman, I was kinda worried about who was gonna take his place. Who out there could draw Superman if not as good as Jim Lee, but at least put a cool spin on the Man of steel. The answer, Ed Benes.

Ed has been doing Birds of Prey for almost two year, and before that he had short run on Supergirl, which got cancelled. I will say that his Supergirl was pretty damn good. Jim Lee and Michael Turner do a sexy Supergirl, but Ed made her look sexy and kinda bad ass looking. In one of his pages for supergirl, he did his version of Superman... take a look...

Pretty cool huh?

You'll get a chance to see his Superman in the pages of Countdown to Infinite Crisis next week. By the way, I got an advanced copy of this book and damn! It's gonna change the DC way forever... But that's another blog entry.

Welcome to Superman Ed! I'll miss ya on Birds of Prey!

Posted by Roque at 12:31 AM | Comments (1)