Comic Reviews: Weeks of July 28, Aug 4 & 11

DC:

Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1: Why does DC feel the need to include Ma and Pa Kent in almost every story about an alternate world of Superman? This time, the entire El family is survives the trip to Earth, and they go on to become a rich and powerful family -- but they need to send their son to live with humans? And DC seems intent on daddy issues because this book is chock full of 'em. You can see where this is going because the story always ends the same way, with Superman becoming the Superman we know: a good person with a good heart and good morals. Yawn. This is why Superman is struggling to keep readers interested. DC never tries anything new (although Straczynski and Cornell are trying -- and doing well if you ask me). If you folks want to read what I think is the best Superman Elseworlds story, pick up "Superman: Speeding Bullets." THAT, my friends, is a good Elseworlds. This is canned and predictable and disappointing.

Action Comics #891: Paul Cornell's Superman story (starring Lex Luthor) is a surprisingly well written tale. Read below for a greater description on what is easily one of the best things to come out of the Superman in the past few years.

Batman: The Widening Gyre #6: Whereas I enjoyed the mystery revealed in Grant Morrison's Batman story (where the Joker was posing as the British detective Sexton), the final page of Kevin Smith's Batman story made me angry. Batman is the world's greatest detective and he couldn't figure out this mystery? I don't buy it, and neither should you.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1: There's a lot going on with Guy Gardner, and for fans of the character, Emerald Warriors is the comic for you. Guy is front and center, and the rest of the corps takes a supporting role. There's a bigger mystery here, but if you're not familiar with what's happen in the GL Universe in the past two years, this story wouldn't make sense. Tomasi is taking tips from Geoff Johns in terms of creating rather than answering questions and this series may get frustrating after a while. But Peter J. Tomasi is easily one the best writers on staff at DC, so I would keep an eye on Emerald Warriors. Green Lantern has the most interesting band of supporting characters, and the story will make good use of them.

Marvel:

Ultimate Spider-Man #13: Painful to read, frustrating to watch, and incredibly written. This is the best story to come out of Vol. 2 of Ultimate Spider-Man. Plus, Mark Millar needs to see how a cliff hanger is done. The final page of this issue gave me goosebumps. It must get boring to read continuously positive reveiws, but Bendis keeps continuously writing incredible stories.

Ultimate Avengers 2 #6: It's great that this series wraps up just as Ultimate Avengers 3 begins because it's like seeing one piece of shit connected to another. Ultimate Avengers 2 was just an awful story. Millar wants to take the badasses of the Ultimate Universe and show what happens when you make them heroes. They play by their own rules. They do what they want. And they get the job done. (Cue AC/DC and shots of things exploding.) I enjoyed The Ultimates 1 and 2, so it's painful to see how far Millar has fallen. I asked my comic shop guy about this. He seems to think that when Millar is under pressure to turn in a story on time, he turns in mediocrity. So, we should give him no deadline? I don't think so. Millar wants to be a loose cannon, and right now he's soaring on his ego. But Ultimate Avengers 2 doesn't do anything to add to what was once an impressive resume. And if you thought this series was bad . . .

Ultimate Avengers 3 #1: . . . pick up Ultimate Avengers 3 #1. Mark Millar's idea of an Ultimate Avengers comic is to create an "ultimate" take on a 616 character, then have them create a NEW team to fight a new problem. The issue here, however, is that the problem has already been introduced in X-Men #1. Vampires. (Pause for crickets.) Plus, Steve Dillon's pencils are nowhere near as engaging as Leinil Yu's. The one positive is that we can look forward to another train wreck over the next six months. If they're not good, at least they're entertaining in their awfulness.

Misc:

Murderland #1 (Image -- Scott & Hahn): Violent, and hella entertaining, Murderland surprised me. First, David Hahn's art is incredibly clean and really off sets the violence. Stephen Scott's story is deep, introduces a new type of superhero, and creates a brand new mythos. What impressed me most about Murderland is that I had no idea what it was about (and still don't fully). It seemd like a spy story until the last six pages. Then, it became something completely different and that was when I became hooked. If every issue is this impressive, I'll continue to follow the series. I'm curious to see where this goes, so I know I'll be picking up issue #2 of Murderland.


Driver for the Dead #1 (Radical Comics -- Heffernan & Manco): at $4.99, Driver for the Dead is pricey, but is both story and art. The main concept is this: Alabaster Graves drives a special hearse, and his purpose is to bury bodies that have been cursed, infected, or vampiricized. And it introduces one of the coolest villains: Fallow. Fallow is a cowboy-zombie-demon. 'Nuff said. I was pleasantly surprised by Driver for the Dead. I recommend spending the $4.99 on this. It's worth the price.

Bannen's Book of the Weeks:

Action Comics #891: The thing that makes Action Comics so good is that for once, a writer has tried to do something different with Superman. This time, he's been removed completely from the comic. It's now "Lex Luthor's Action Comics" and I couldn't be happier. It's not so much Luthor pining about killing Superman. It's more about Luthor's quest for the ultimate weapon -- the black lantern -- and the lengths he'll go to get it. This is far more entertaining than any Superman story, and seeing as how in 9 issues, Action Comics will reach #900, I think this is all part of some big plan. I hope the end result of this story is as entertaining as its beginnings. Thank You, Paul Cornell, for injecting life into this stale universe.

Comic Reviews: Week of Feb. 17th

DC:

Batman #696:

At long last, a memorable issue of Tony Daniel's Batman. So far, the current arc has felt like a lot of complicated plotting all meant to create interest into the identity of the Black Mask. And after four exhausting, sub-standard issues, we're almost to the answer. This issue finds Dick Grayson under the influence of double mind control (you read it right: Double mind control), thanks to the Penguin, Mad Hatter, and a bit of Black Mask magic. I have to say, this has been my favorite issue so far in Tony Daniel's run on the series. He took some chances with the time line, and instead of confusing me, I ended up paying closer attention to the story, something I don't usually do with Daniel's Batman. Plus, for a character I thought I’d hate (I usually don’t like sidekicks in general), there’s never been a better Robin than Damian Wayne, and that includes Carrie Kelly. Despite this issue being better than average, I still can't wait to be done with this arc. Batman being turned into an assassin is fun and all, but seeing Batman in a False Face mask just brought back memories of better days, namely the final act of Morrison's "Three Batmen" arc.

Batman: Streets of Gotham # 9:

While this wasn’t a horrible issue, it was fairly disposable. Streets of Gotham #9 wraps up a two-part storyline by series stand-in writer Mike Benson, and thankfully we’ll have Paul Dini back soon. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to say about this one. Batman (Dick Grayson) and Commissioner Gordon take-down a John-murdering prostitute stalker, and in the end we all learn that playing with people's lives is a bad thing to do, but hitting other people in the face will solve everything. And though I can understand the need to show stories where Batman is fighting villains cut from a more common cloth, I couldn't get over the fact that the Comish doubtlessly had something better to do with his time than personally help hunt down one guy, going so far as to put himself directly in the line of fire. But whatever; nobody ever accused Gotham of being a normal place.

MARVEL:

Daredevil #505:

I don't know why I'm always surprised when I like an issue of DD. Andy Diggle has yet to disappoint, and the current arc is pretty damn phenomenal. Since taking leadership of the Hand, Matt Murdock has been busily turning the crimson-clad ninjas into an army of mini-DDs. Unfortunately, the Hand doesn't go legit that easily. So Daredevil and White Tiger head to Japan to try and convince the four other Hand bigwigs that having an American superhero in charge will return the hand to it’s former glory and restore their influence over the world. Standing in his way are multiple back room dealings, a secret shadow sect of the Hand, and Bakuto, the hot-headed leader of the Hand’s South American Operations. It’s beginning to look like DD’s tenure as Shogun of the Hand will be short-lived, which is a shame, because seeing Daredevil lead his former enemies has been just as enjoyable as watching him pummel them.

The Incredible Hercules #141:

Say it ain’t so Herc, say it ain’t so! Warning: big spoilers ahead! As if it wasn't obvious when Marvel released the solicitations for "Hercules: Fall of an Avenger," in this issue Herc meets his maker after preventing Typhon from destroying all life in the universe with the Continuum(tm) machine. We all know that Hercules, like his half-brother Ares (also recently deceased) will return someday, so for now I'm more upset over the loss of Child-aged-Zeus, who also bit the dust in this issue. Apparently, February is not the month to be a Greek deity at Marvel. I can’t help but feel that these deaths are a little cheap, as both Ares and Hercules are two of the most easily resurrected characters. But for the time being, they will be sorely missed. Despite the loss, I’m still excited to see what Greg Pak has planned for Amadeus Cho’s solo series, just so long as he keeps up with the amazing sound effects.

Uncanny X-Men #521:

To be honest, I dropped Uncanny a few months back, right around the time the Utopia crossover wrapped. I mainly bought this issue for the meditating Magneto on the cover. I'm a sucker for a story that features the ol' buckethead, even if he's not talking much. And after I took a sneak peek in the back to see why he was meditating, I figured it was worth the price of admission. This issue is mostly a lead-in to the return of Kitty Pryde, with a little bit of X-men/Fantomex action thrown-in for good measure. Why Magneto would want to return her to Earth is beyond me, but like I said, I haven't been paying attention to this series much lately. Fantomex (like Damian Wayne) is another of those Morrison-created characters that manages to entertain even when he’s being written by somebody else. So the writing here is good, not great, I'd say par for the course for Fraction's run work on the title. One thing that hasn't changed since I left the series, and was one of the primary reasons I dropped the title, is Greg Land's art. Downright laughable at time and frequently inconsistent in the details, how and why Land is still on this title is beyond me. Not that I like to see anybody out of a job, but will somebody please fire this guy until he starts drawing women without resorting to ridiculous porno faces? There’s one page in particular (you’ll know it if you see it), where Wolverine looks to be doing a little more than merely attacking his enemy from behind. I’ve read some reviews and internet commentary that gives Land the benefit of the doubt, although I can't understand why. Regardless of Kitty Pryde and the exciting last panel of this issue, I don’t know if I can suffer through another issue of Land-drawn issue of Uncanny X-Men.

Punisher #14:

It's really hard to write about the current Punisher arc without devolving into a state of enthused gibberish. If the world acted according to reason (which it thankfully does not), this arc would be falling as flat as the Punisher's short-lived tenure as a Demon Slayer. Instead, it has given the series a much-needed breath of revitalized the buzz. I can't help but feel that this story got the green light as a result of the Heroic Age. While the rest of the heroes are set to go bright n' shiny, Marvel's more tortured characters (Punisher and Ghost Rider in particular) are being pushed into darker, more imaginative territory, and I couldn't be happier. Sure, the stories are etched in shadows and violence, but they've taken out the boring, droll "grit" and replaced it with a colorful world of monsters and demons. Everything about this issue, from the bullet hole in the Punisher Skull on the front page to the inclusion of Dracula and Japanese nuclear monsters in Hellsgaard's origin story, filled me with the same joy I felt when I first saw The Monster Squad as a kid. By the time I got to the letters page, I didn't think my excitement could be any more ravenous...and then I saw the preview for next month's cover. Two words: Undead Nazis. To be honest, I haven't enjoyed a Marvel title this much since the short-lived Captain Britain and MI-13 (R.I.P.)

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #5:

This, like Punisher, is another one of those occult-leaning supernatural series that should not be as good as it is. Or was (apparently this is the last issue of the series). Between Punisher, F.E.A.R. agent, and the Last Days of American Crime, Remender is quickly establishing himself as one of the best writers of science fiction/supernatural comics. Which is why its such a shame that this will probably be the last issue of Doctor Voodoo. Worry not though; teasers for Secret Avengers have featured a shadowy figure in a long-flowing cape, and there's fairly good odds that Doc Voodoo will make the team. In any case, this issue sees the Doctor Voodoo and Doctor Doom making their final stand against an apocalypse of reality brought on by Nightmare. Like the rest of this series, everything about this book clicked. Latveria as the last bastion of reality? Show me where to sign up.

Comic Reviews: Week of Feb. 17th

MARVEL:

1. Dark Avengers #14:

Bendis and Deodato continuously outdo themselves. This issue has some of the best panel direction I’ve ever seen. Your eyes will glide smoothly across a page littered with panels that are tossed about like debris. There are a few standard nine panel pages, but the ones that require the most tension are masterfully drawn. This has been, and continues to be an amazing series. Bendis has taken the most dysfunctional members of the Marvel Universe and placed them in the unholy hands of Norman Osborn. As I read this, I thought back to Norman’s prior role as a Spider-Man villain. It’s similar to thinking about Laurence Fishburne’s role on Pee Wee’s Playhouse. You can’t really imagine him quitting his job to go back and rehash his mailman character. This is where Norman Osborn belongs -- pulling the strings of one of the darkest teams ever assembled. Credit has to be given to Joe Quesada for allowing Bendis free reign over these characters because he’s a Godddamn phenomenal story teller, and this is one of the best series ever written.

2. Doomwar #1:

I get the feeling this has been building up for a long time. Jonathan Maberry spends the entire issue putting in the exposition. This makes the issue a pretty dense read. Plus, nothing that occurs on the cover occurs in the story. My only hope is that this paves the way for five issues of non stop kick-ass-ery. The plot is pretty flimsy, and mildly echoes Avatar, so you’ll want to be prepared for some eye rolling. I would like to think that Doom’s motivation behind taking over another country is pretty simple -- he’s Doom. And he wants more. But the writing is solid, and it showcases Marvel’s more cult-loved characters, like Black Panther, and it fills in the gaps so you don’t have to go back and read to see how we got here. I’m going to give this one more issue. If there isn’t an awesome battle that relates to an idea of a “Doom-War”, I’m going to drop it. If you’re an X-Men fan, you’d like this. Otherwise, you can read a summary online.

3. Amazing Spider-Man #621:

The writers of Amazing Spider-Man have decided to include Mr. Negative in their “Gauntlet” series. Negative came on the scene during the Brand New Day story arc which completely rewrote the status quo for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. And while most newer comic book characters have the staying power of a puddle on a hot day, Dan Slott has done a good job of making the character work when he needs him to. Instead, Negative is a great addition to the Spider-Man universe. He operates similar to how the mobsters in The Dark Knight do -- he’s a representation of the deeper problems of New York. And, he’s more dangerous than a villain whose got a super powered punch (which he does -- in a brilliantly illustrated three panel sequence, he punches Spidey through the ceiling of one building, through a the wall of another, and he finally exits out of that one and falls five stories to the street). Slott also nicely resolves the problem of Carlie’s dad, and keeps readers going with “Bitch-May” (or the bitch version of Aunt May) that appeared recently. I look forward to this issue every week, and while the end of the issue teases the lizard, an ad in the comic shows who Spidey fights in March: The Vulture. Consistently one of my favorites, Amazing Spider-Man is worth the read.


DC:

1. Blackest: Night Flash #3:

I love that Geoff Johns is re-establishing Barry Allen as the Flash. There’s a great moment where Barry reveals himself to Bart, and it’s pretty damn touching. Because Johns has penned the issues, there’re more hints to the final outcome of Blackest Night, including some odd moments surrounding Eobard Thwane, also known as Professor Zoom (there’s a moment where the Brightest Day symbol displayed in DC solicits appears on his chest -- so what does Thwane have to do with Brightest Day?). In addition to that, we get more of the Flash’s rogues, led by Captain Cold, and a horrifying encounter with Boomerang’s son, Owen Mercer. Johns and Bendis are two of the finest comic writers out there right now. They’re both good at crafting incredible stories with incredible characters. Johns is working on making The Flash relevant again, and he’s got me super excited about Flash: Rebirth, and the continued Flash series beyond that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Johns pen an Aquaman: Rebirth series given his ability to resurrect the silver age heroes of the DCU.

2. Green Lantern Corps #45:

Peter Tomasi solves the problem of Guy Gardner’s red ring, but I can’t help feeling slightly cheated. It was a left field solution, not one that really tested the corps. Instead, it involved Mogo doing something no one knew Mogo could do. There’s still a minor threat to Guy’s body that needs to be fixed by a blue lantern, so we know what to expect from Blackest Night. But I’m not totally satisfied with the ending. I feel that there would be better ways to solve Guy’s dilemma that didn’t involve a secret treatment. It’s like the serials from the 1940’s. At the end of one segment, the hero’s car plummets off a cliff. But at the beginning of the next one, it’s revealed that he was able to climb out in time, roll away from the wreckage, and still defeat the bad guy. It’s a cop-out. And I hate to knock on how great of an issue this was -- because it really was -- but the ending soured it for me. However, Patrick Gleason’s art is superb. With so many different types of characters -- from humans to aliens to parasites to giant planets -- the editors of the Green Lantern universe continue to one-up themselves. I wish I had started reading this series much earlier because Johns and Tomasi have done a great job of connecting their story lines to each other. And this further shows that Blackest Night is the comic event of the year.

3. Green Lantern #51:

What the hell more can I say about this comic? If you’re not reading it, you’re a schmuck! I think Doug Mahnke threw in a few more ink lines because the art here is super gritty. My guess is that if it was intentional, it was done to mirror the grittiness of the story. Hal Jordan, in the body of Parallax, enters the Spectre (who has become a black lantern) and rips the ring out of his body. He also rips off the Spectre’s face, and Atrocitus infects the Spectre with rage to make him the red lantern Spectre. Whew! I wonder what the Green Lantern meetings are like? I see Geoff Johns sitting at a big polished table, spewing the craziest ideas while some assistant types like mad to try and get them down. From the first issue, Geoff Johns knew what he wanted to do. This is very evident. I think Green Lantern’s renewed popularity is due to Geoff Johns. Props to Eddie Berganza for letting Geoff Johns run wild in the Green Lantern universe. They definitely took a chance, and I hope they see how well it’s paid off.

MISC:

1. Incorruptible #3 (Boom!):

The dialogue in this comic was so awful it was hard to concentrate on the rest of it. We moved a bit more on the plot, and it turns out that the only way to escape from the Plutonian is to buy a one billion dollar portal to another dimension. We got a little closer to realizing why Max Damage went bad, but there’s still too much humanity about him when he’s evil. He complains about how he can’t feel anything, and what a terrible way it is to live like this . . . while he burns someone to death in an oven. The most interesting thing about this comic occurs on the last page, but it’s not enough to keep a reader hooked. I’m dropping this series as of this issue. With writing like this, it’s hard to see how anyone would stay interested.

2. The Tick: New Series #2 (NEC):

Not much to say here. If you’ve seen or read The Tick before, you’ll like these. It’s more along the lines of the cartoon where silliness took over for plot, but it has it’s moments. Plus, you get to see the Tick again, so I’m not complaining. It’s fun to read something this light hearted compared to some of the darker comics out there.

3. Joe The Barbarian #2 (Vertigo):

Morrison has planted the seed of doubt in this issue: is Joe sick and dying and just hallucinating? Or is he actually being transferred to an alternate world that uses the world around him but in different ways? I still have no idea what the hell is going on, but it’s a delightful confusion. Sean Murphy’s art shines in this issue. Joe’s rat Jack (or Chakk as he calls himself) is drawn as a great knight whose leading Joe further down the rabbit (rat?) hole. I’m intrigued beyond comprehension here. I just hope that, in the end, everything makes sense. Regardless of the ambiguity, this is a stellar series that you should be reading.

The Walking Dead: "Fear the Hunters"

by Pete Lenz

I love zombies. I am tired of zombies. It used to be that we had zombie movies. And they were plentiful, and this was good. These days, we're seeing zombies in every aspect of pop culture. They pervade every avenue of entertainment nowadays. Novels, comics, video games; they're everywhere. The zombie archetype has even evolved to the point where they don't even shamble anymore, at least, not all the time. It is 2009 and Zombies have jumped the shark. It is 1979 and Lucio Fulci has shown us, in Zombi 2 (Zombie) a zombie actually fighting a shark. Underwater. A zombie fights a tiger shark. Fulci is a seer, a zombie futurist. We have scoffed at this scene, poked fun at it. What this was, 30 years ago, was an actual, verified, postmodern allegory from the future.

Or, in other words: enjoy this gore while you can, for one day zombies will sprint after you and George Romero will make shitty films.

I continue to enjoy zombie entertainment, but my critical filter for new material featuring zombies is unforgiving. There's just too much garbage out there to do anything other. One thing I often do, when the moment permits, in the midst of any discussion about zombies and my feelings about them, is to let people know about The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead is one of the few current, and luckily, ongoing pieces of zombie pop culture worth a damn. Robert Kirkman began his series as a familiar ride through a zombie apocalypse; now nearly 70 issues in, he's pushed it into realms that I wasn't aware possible. He is in the midst of writing the masterpiece in the genre of zombie literature.



The group of characters that inhabit the world of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead have been through a lot. The group has been small, large, and middling in its numbers, and they have all suffered, whether it is physically, emotionally, or otherwise. The rotating casts of characters are never safe, and they do their best to survive the myriad of typical survivor tropes--their relationships within the group (if such a group exists), their connection to their former lives, and their connection with their own minds. As in any apocalyptic fiction the really interesting stuff comes when the characters are forced to acknowledge and confront themselves. Kirkman has given us many zombies, they are ever-present, but he continually shows with each arc and issue, that while zombies are clearly the most obvious antagonist the characters face, the rot not only occurs with the titular walking dead, but has also been systematically taking apart each character since the book's very first issue. Effectively, and I'm not the first to make such a comparison, turning Rick Grimes and his troupe over the course of their travels into a whole other sort of walking dead.

The Walking Dead reads quickly. Month after month, it is the book that I finish in the least amount of time. A few minutes at best. Part of this is due to my enthusiasm for the book, the relief that comes when I get to finally scratch the itch the previous issues' cliffhanger has left (Kirkman writes cliffhangers nearly every issue. And each time, they are wonderful.) part of it is also how Kirkman writes his dialogue - yes, people complain it is wordy and dense, and it can be, but it's also very snappy and real. It's always pertinent to the event, and chugs along with a great pace. It's also a quick read because of how spare and fluid Charlie Adlard's art is. Often, the storytelling done in this book is achieved in panels and sometimes pages of no dialogue and only character action. These moments are always effective and arresting; Adlard draws zombies and gore and fear with such precision. It's one of the greatest books to go back to, after each arc is finished, or when a new trade paperback comes out, and read in succession.

The group of characters that have banded together in this book are no strangers to the ugly face humanity has begun to wear in this new world. They have been in conflict with other living humans before, to staggering degrees of loss and misery, and once again Kirkman has written a story that shows the characters are just as vulnerable to the machinations of other survivors as they are to the zombies that color this book in its often gruesome shades.



I recently went back and re-read the latest story arc, "Fear the Hunters."

It is difficult to talk about The Walking Dead without spoilers. Like any good serial fiction plot threads and character histories weave throughout each new narrative. If you are going to be upset with reading plot details, please do not proceed.

The Walking Dead: "Fear the Hunters," Issues #61- #66.

As the characters take refuge in the church of a priest they've recently met up with, Father Gabriel, who tells them how he had to turn away hundreds of people seeking refuge when the "event" began. Rick Grimes' young son, Carl, is harboring a devastating secret and is being torn apart by the guilt stemming from it. Andrea is getting the distinct feeling that she is being watched; that the group is being stalked by a presence she feels coming from the woods surrounding the church. Dale, the group's one legged eldest member, and Andrea's lover, is bitten by a roamer (what the characters call the zombies) and hides his injury, but is suddenly accosted in the middle of the night and taken away.



The meat of this story revolves primarily around the aforementioned characters, and while several other members of the group’s stories continue here, and are affected by these events, I feel that the focus should be on the above for now.

Andrea panics when she realizes Dale is missing. The group takes action and begins to search the nearby woods, but their search is cut short for fear of attracting more roamers, or leaving the remaining members of the group back at the church vulnerable. To Andrea's dismay, Rick calls an end to the search for the day. Rick shows his concern for Dale, but explains the situation and promises Andrea they will continue to search for him.

Dale wakes up in a strange place, lying down on his back. There are a group of strangers surrounding him. A man who seems to be their leader begins to talk to Dale in a calm, detached, creepy manner. He is explaining to Dale why he's been taken. Dale, groggy from trauma doesn't understand, until it is blatantly spelled out by this man. Here is where Adlard's full page art makes the scene: We see Dale lying down on a picnic table, his good leg missing and the stump bandaged; and here it is, he realizes it as it is spoken; The group that has taken him are cannibals, and they are going to eat him.

To step away from this story for a moment, I would like to share the tag line of Lucio Fulci's Zombi "We Are Going to Eat You"



Zombies eat the living. They sometimes eat brains, but mainly they eat flesh. Any and all of it. Zombies and their affinity for brains, as far as I can remember, began with the horror comedy Return of the Living Dead. Zombies do love brains, but it should be remembered, most specifically in the genre's most brilliant film, Night of the Living Dead, that they also eat flesh. They are cannibalistic in a way. Although no longer living, they are eating what they once were. Trying to siphon life, trying to build back their rot with warm, living flesh. This is what they do. If zombies were able to speak intelligibly, they would tell you: WE ARE GOING TO EAT YOU.

As the group attempts to reconvene and rest at the church, just as everyone is exhausted and frantic, Andrea screams and the group runs outside. In an attempt to break down the characters by scaring them, the cannibals have brought Dale back and thrown him outside the church. The group runs to him, and in the process, one of them, Glenn, is shot in the leg from the woods. Fire is returned, and the group takes shelter back in the church. Rick and Abraham discuss what has happened. It is determined that since they left Dale alive, and only shot Glenn in the leg, they don't want to kill them outright. They want to scare them, they want to pick them apart, and they want to HUNT them. In true grit fashion, Rick, the group's steadfast leader exclaims the simple truth: "They don't know who they're fucking with".

Dale is hurt badly. Now missing both legs, and admits to having been bitten. Andrea and the rest of the group realize what is happening. Dale explains what the hunters are up to, how they're planning on eating everyone. Dale makes Andrea promise to take care of him once the turning begins, and with reluctance she agrees, but makes sure Dale knows just how deeply she loves him. Here is the essence of The Walking Dead: never-ending horror and grief with splashes of beautiful humanity. As Dale recollects his surroundings, Father Gabriel determines that there are only a few neighborhoods in walking distance. A few members set out to set things straight.

The cannibals are discussing their plan of action. They are filled with hubris, and feel that although this new group is larger than what they're used to hunting, they will be able to take them out regardless. Rick shows up and the group's leader allows a dialogue to begin. The leader speaks with confidence, letting Rick know that they will not let them go unharmed, that what they are doing is what they need to do to survive. The leader shares an allegory of how if a bear is starving she will eat her young to survive. If the mother bear dies, the cubs will die, but if she lives, she can always have more cubs. He then tells Rick how there used to be children in their group. And with this, shit pops off.

Rick calls out to the woods "big one, left ear" with a zip and a ping one of the cannibal's ear is shot off. Rick threatens that if anything moves, it will be shot at. Abraham walks out of the woods. The cannibal leader calls Rick's bluff. From the woods, Andrea shoots off his finger. The cannibals are disarmed, and, their leader pleads for their lives. With no reluctance, and in one of the best drawings of Rick's expression, Rick denies him. The group begins to dismember each and every one of the cannibals, making them all watch as it happens. No remorse, no hesitation. Just horror. They are doing what needs to be done in order to survive. An eye for an eye.

Rick and company return to the church. Everyone is assured that the threat is passed, and it is left at that. Dale and Rick make peace with each other, and in the night Dale begins to turn into a zombie. A single shot rings out as Andrea holds true to her promise. Rick, now falling apart emotionally, begins to tell his tale of guilt to Abraham. Of how he is at odds with how easy it was to do what they did, to slaughter the cannibals, even in the face of the danger they presented. He says to Abraham how if his son Carl knew what happened, he wouldn't know what to say, wouldn't know how Carl would be able to process that. Except, Rick hadn't been speaking to Abraham, it was Carl who was behind him the whole time. And with tears in both their eyes, Carl admits to Rick his own dark secret: he is a murderer as well.

So wraps up another horrific and elegant story in the world of The Walking Dead. This arc encompassed nearly all of what makes Kirkman's book such a wonder. Specifically how, in the face of life and death, decisions are made that make everyone compromise their own humanity.



If you're at all interested in what you've read, pick up a collection of The Walking Dead. I am confident you will not find a better piece of zombie related pop culture anywhere today. It is in a league of its own. And, if Kirkman's word holds true, he has no intention of stopping anytime soon. He has said, explicitly, that these stories will go on for years to come. I for one moan and shamble in delight at this prospect.

Mobile Comics: COMIXOLOGY

So, as it goes with technology, the comics scene in regards to digital technology, keeps on growing and expanding and reinventing itself. So here's a quick breakdown to keep up with what's going on out there as comics transform from "floppies" (monthlies) to trade paperbacks/graphic novels to whatever this new medium of sequential art will be called. For now, it's Mobile Comics.

Comixology. The easiest to explore and the most out there in the digi-cosmos. An App download-able from iTunes lets you download comics all within the context of one App on your iPhone/iPod Touch. The App originally cost a few bucks, but since Apple has changed their tune, the App is now free. Originally Apple didn't want any App where you could purchase other things through it, as if that was somehow tricking the customer. Thankfully instead of the limited free App, you can now get the full version for free.

Within it you can view lots of first issues for free, and the subsequent issues range from $.99 to $1.99. I haven't purchased one myself, as I'm still working through all the free comics, but with the likes of Matt Wagner and Mike Allred available up there, well, I might just need to catch up on my Madman Comics and this seems like a cheap option right now (seeing as there's no torrent giving me the whole discography).

There's also a new weekly installment of their first official FREE comic by David Gallagher and Steve Ellis, called Box 13. I've read the first two issues and it's very intriguing storywise, utilizes the technology very well, and has great art. This is the thing that should be keeping Mobile Comics customers coming back to the App Store every week.

They plan to offer the comics on their site (as well as other formats/phones/technologies) but for now their site is more a promotion for their comic pull list App, where you can go through the week's comics, sync up to your local (Comixology-friendly) comic store and have them pull your comics for you. That's actually pretty awesome. Along with reviews/previews, they offer spotlighted items with an occasional podcast, and some columns. It's a nice looking site and will blossom quite nicely I believe. Oh, and the App (man I'm tired of writing that word) has been in the Top 10 Apps for books since it came out, and I believe was the top download for comic Apps overall.

Oh, and PS...Jenette Kahn (of DC Comics) and Milton Griepp (of ICv2.com) are now on their board of advisors.

And for those of you sans iTunes check out Comixology on the web.