The Helm #2

The Helm #2 recently landed on my desk. The story of Mathew Blurdy, the unwitting chosen one, continues. The helm has accepted the fact that this chubby 30 year-old still living with his mother is indeed the chosen one. The helmet tries to lead Mathew along the path of the chosen one by helping him excercise and by giving him his first taste of real battle.

Along the way, Mathew reconnects with the ex-girlfriend who had recently dumped him. He kills an evil sorceror. He takes possesion of a mystical sword. And finally, we see that there is a someone that has become aware of Mathew and is looking to destroy him.

Overall, not a bad second issue. Not as much action as I would have liked but you can see that plenty of confrontations are in store for Mathew as he takes on his quest as the chosen one.

To top it all off, I also won a poster signed by The Helm writer Jim Hardison courtesy of my comic book source, Heavy Ink. Cheers to you Heavy Ink.

Kick-Ass is pretty kick-ass

Mark Millar‘s Kick-Ass (published by Marvel imprint Icon) has delivered and all the hype is warrented. It is the story of a 15-year-old boy who decides to become a superhero even though he has no super powers or any training whatsoever. He becomes a YouTube celebrity after a video of his exploits is uploaded. In this video he is brutally beaten by some hoodlums whom he confronts. Eventually the internets dub him “Kick-Ass.” Check out this viral video posted on YouTube.

What I like about it: a skewed take on the superhero genre, teen-angst that isn’t annoying, the possibility that there is something deeper brewing in the storyline (hinted at by the brief, utterly violent appearance of a young girl assassin at the end of the last issue.)

What I don’t like about it: over-simplified depiction of criminals. That’s pretty much the only thing I don’t like about it.

Now comes word that there is a movie version in the works. That is great, if the violence isn’t toned down. Nicolas Cage is slated to star as a cop. He better not fuck this up. This could be a chance for him to regain some of his cult status which he has hopelessly lost over the last 10 years or so as he doggedly pursued mainstream stardom. The rest of the cast are relative unknowns. The most recognizable being Christopher MIntz-Plasse who played McLovin in Superbad.

In the mean time, I am looking forward to issue #4 which is due out next week. Who is this young assassin that saved Kick-Ass in the last issue?

Welcome to Hoxford #1

I’ve had this for a few days and finally got around to reading it. “Welcome to Hoxford” is the latest book written and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. Up to know my only exposure to Ben Templesmith has been his work on “30 Days of Night” and “Dead Space.” His art is easily recognizable with it’s sparce use of muted color,  shading and characters that are not all together symetrically drawn. All of which lends his books an unsettling and disturbing look. Which works great for the horror/sci-fi genre that he usually treads.

“Welcome to Hoxford” hass all the characteristic Ben Templesmith visual elements. The story takes place at Hoxford, a privately run correctional center (owned by a Russian company) for the worst of the worst  criminals: rapists, killers. The story begins with a busload of these criminals being shipped to Hoxford where the warden welcomes them. We are also introduced to a psychiatrist who is trying to gain access to one of her patients. The gruesome murderous war vet Ray Delgado. Slowly the warden and the staff at Hoxford are revealed to have rather sinister inclinations. Great start to the series. Who is Ray. Who is behind the Russian company. And what is with the rampant canabalism?

Welcome to Hoxford

The first issue of a 4-issue series Welcome to Hoxford by Ben Templesmith was released today, which means I should get my copy from Heavy Ink probably Monday. (Why not just buy it at a shop. I save money at Heavy Ink and free shipping. Got children’s mouths to feed.) Excited to dive into it. I’ve seen some the of art in progress from Templesmith’s Flickr photostream. Check it and buy it. Will be back with a review.

And now a message from Robert Kirkman

He talks a bit about the comic book industry. Most of is new to me since I am just getting back into comics but it makes sense. He talks a little bit about the attraction that many of the Image and Dark Horse titles have for people of a certain age – people in their 30s and older, like myself. Anyway, I thinks it’s always cool to hear what an artist your are into has to say. OK, so the “how I’m going to save the business” bit is a bit heavy handed.

more about “Comic Book Resources > CBR News: VIDE…“, posted with vodpod

The Sword #10

I picked up this books after reading issue #1 on the Image Comics website. The Luna Brothers (Girls, Ultra) supply the art and story about Dara, who is in a wheelchair, who’s family is butchered in front of her by three mysterious people who are adamant that her father knows where the “sword” is. She is left for dead only to discover that her father was indeed hiding the sword. As soon as she touches the sword she regains the ability to walk and discovers she now has super powers. Obviously she decides to hunt down and kill those that killed her family. Along the way she discovers that her father was the sword’s protector and that the mysterious assasins are actually demi-gods.

Issue #10 was recently released and it shows Dara finally catching up to one of the assasins, who we’ve found out are siblings. She confronts him and discovers that he is powerless against the sword. A chase ensues through the city as they leap over buildings, cars are thrown about and finally ends on a rooftop on a beach. As she prepares to attack him it dawns on her that he is able to control water. Oops.

The storyline is great. Kill Bill vibe without the hip soundtrack and ninja assassins. Oh and with demi-gods flying around ruthlessly killing innocent people. Art is almost to polished for me. They seem to use some kind of Photoshop blur filter for a lot of their action panels. However, this really doesn’t distract me enough to not want to keep reading.

My man Dexter

I recently started watching Dexter on Showtime. In case you don’t know it’s about a serial killer who works for the police department as a forensic tech and on his spare time kills bad people. The show has garnered critical-acclaim and controversy. Michael C. Hall has been nominated for a few awards for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan, an orphan whose birth-parents where violently butchered in front of him. He was raised by a police officer who early on recognized his adopted son’s pychopathic tendencies and taught him how to “focus” those urges.
The 2nd season so far has introduced a plethora of conflicts: a detective he works with is suspicious of him, the bodies that he has been dumping off the coast are discovered and a huge investigation is launched in which is adopted sister, who is a detective herself, is involved, he is confused by his feelings toward his girlfriend and her children, he meets a woman who apparently understands the darkness within. All pretty compelling stuff. My main concern is that Dexter will become too soft which would contradict his serial killer alter-ego.

All of this is leading up to the Season 3 premiere which airs in a few weeks. On-Demand Showtime courtesy of my cable provider is sooo convenient. I just wish they had posted more than just 3 episodes in HD. And while we’re at it, why can’t I watch Sci-fi Channel in HD yet? Battlestar Galactica in HD!

Dead Space #5

This is actually a prequel of sorts for an upcoming EA video game. It is slated to be a six-issue series. I originally picked it up because of the Ben Templesmith‘s art. I’ve had to jump around issues as I try to catch up. I first got issue #3 and have since read #1, #4 and #5. Issue #6 should be released soon and I haven’t been able to find #2.

Ben Templesmith’s art is unsettling as usual and the story has been moving forward at a good pace. The story by Antony Johnston revolves around the discovery on a space colony of a mysterious, possibly alien monolith and the struggle between various shady factions trying to take control of it. You have your power hungry politician types and your religious fanatics that believe it is some sign for them. People started going homocidal/ suicidal and a weird goo type growth is discovered. And there is this thoroughly scary looking winged demons making appearances.

Since it is a prequel to a video game, I don’t expect any major resolutions in the story but regardless the art and ominous story have me hooked. One more issue to go plus I need to find #2 to fill in a few gaps. And I probably will never play the game.

The Helm #1

Found out about this book through the Dark Horse Comic-Con preview book. It’s about a schlubby young man, Mathew, who is going through a rough patch in this life: just lost girlfriend, just fired, lives with mother.

Lucky for him, he runs into a magical helmet (The Helm) at a yard sale which speaks to him and call him the “chosen one.” Once he places the helm on his head the helm retracts his statements and says it was a mistake. But Mathew will not take “no” for an answer and for one of the first times in his life he takes a proactive stance and steals the helm. To the helm’s displeasure of course.

Mathew is presented with the opportunity to be heroic and he accepts it, although a little clumsily when he is confronted with his first “test.” I liked this first issue of the slated to be 4-issue series written by Jim Hardison with art by Bart Sears and Randy Elliott. Although I do agree to some extent with other reviews that it comes off like a script for a Jack Black movie, I think the fact that it skewers the hero genre some is what appeals to me. We’ll see where this one goes.

Recent comics

I’ve recently picked up a few titles including:

The Sword

Dead Space

The Helm

I’ll be reviewing these and more in the next couple of weeks.