Even More Blog Droppings, Courtesy of The "Uncanny" Daryll B! Remember The Shoppe Airs Saturdays at 6pm EST!

Reviews, Expectations, Letdowns, Insanity....

Earth 2 World's End 8-10, Earth 2 #29 - Yeah... things are unraveling fast. A couple of heroes are losing it, while one appears to have been turned to the "Darkseid". Knowing how this all turns out, somehow it is still fascinating for me to see all the foundations crumble....
 
Five Weapons Vol 1 & 2 - I know you have heard from me about Jimmie Robinson's assassins school but this is the first time I have given you a visual of the book. So now you can't say you haven't seen it as an excuse. PICK IT UP!!
 
Battlestar Galactica: The Death of Apollo #1 - Picking up where the original series ended and before Galactica 1980 began, we finally get to witness Apollo's ultimate fate. This tale of woe begins with finding another ship of weird survivors with nary a cylon in sight. ALWAYS a bad sign with this property....
 
Tooth and Claw #2 - A city lies in ruins and its most powerful mages are weakened. Opposing forces set their sights on this golden opportunity to seize control. At the same time, the mysterious hero/being steps out of the cocoon and it's a .... Yeah Busiek really got me with the reveal and damn him I got to pick up #3 now...lol
 
Shaft #1 - I told you folks to pick this up. Great initial story shadowing the Daredevil origin in some ways and establishing a bigger, deeper mythos. The art was fantastic and popped off every page. Great start for David Walker and Bilquis Evely and the titular hero.
 
New Warriors #12 - Final Issue for this version of the teen/young adult superteam and I still a little mad that the team is gone. That's a testament to the characters that I have grown with for half my life. It'll be back but like with Legion of SuperHeroes and other properties that grow on me, something will be lost until then.
 
Empire of the Dead Act Two #4 - The pieces have been placed, and sides have been chosen. Now I just waiting for that catalyst to set things off. It still feels like the book is in a holding pattern...
 
Guardians 3000 #3 - 90's Daryll is totally geeking out over this book. Dan Abnett is a master of choosing just the right elements from characters' histories to entice new readers while making old time fans salivate. And well... I need a bounty right about now...
 
Captain America and The Mighty Avengers #2 - In terms of the Axis Event, this issue was pitch perfect as heroes who weren't at "Skull Inversion Zero" notice the changes in the heroes that were. Only inevitable but this issue tapped into the core of the event more than any I have seen so far.
 
Rachel Rising #30 - Just when I thought things couldn't get stranger, Terry Moore continues to merge the mystical, demonic and normal to the point where a giant bear gets possessed by a malevolent spirit and it doesn't phase me. Yeah.... I think this book is just adding to my issues..lol
 
Avengers/X-Men Axis #7 - OK if that was Marvel's way around red tape of the FOX Movie deal....what the &^^&**&???? I not going to spoil the scene but COME ON! By now comic fanatic has heard some iteration or rumor but... that is a change to 3 characters foundations that unravels DECADES of continuity. Not happy Marvel....
 
Justice League United #7 - Thank you for undoing the confusion that was the Nu52 Legion Lost series...or at least making it relevant. And how exactly does Hawkman keep getting new armor? Oh yeah, geek analytical overload in 3, 2.... And what's the deal with Adam Strange??!!??!!?? (Told you...)
 
All New Ultimates #11 - Yeah I knew they were just fast forwarding until the end of the series. This issue confirms that. The story's pacing is going faster than Usain Bolt... NOT a good thing....
 
The Valiant #1 - As a fan of 90's Valiant, there were 3 things I have waited on/expected from the reboot: I got Sting from Harbinger. I got H.A.R.D. Corps from Bloodshot. My final piece has arrived in The Valiant with the introduction of Geomancers. What I didn't expect was the morbid way they would be introduced. But I glad that Lemaire remembered the ties between them and the Forever Brothers (Armstrong, Padda The Eternal Warrior, and now introducing Ivar The Timewalker).
 
Quantum and Woody Special - How does James Asmus keep from cracking up as he writes these misadventures? Whatever he does, he continues to successfully imitate the essence of the zaniness of Christopher Priest's creations like totally on point. I mean the money gag has been done many times before for science fiction fans but the journey was hilarious to get there. Only downside: we only got a couple of panels wit goat... Sorry insane Einstein could only sustain me so long..lol
 
Monster Man "King of Fools" - About a month ago we had Chad Hunter on The Comic Shoppe and I vowed to give his book a read and fair review. What I didn't expect was how easily readable and accessible the book is. The premise is that a man has to return to the place of his youthful learning to find lost kids. However, that place is an alternate dimension where the monsters from our movies are quite real like Dracula.
If you got a budding horror movie fan who loves to read, or even a kid that you want to expose to the joys of reading, I wholeheartedly recommend this. Hunter's love for the classic monsters comes through and ever when things get dark, the situations are done with knowledge and respect. Heck, the midst of this book, "Malachi's origin", is a combination of Empire Strikes Back with Where The Wild Things Are seen through the lenses of Monster Squad. Is the book perfect? Of course not. There will be things that you will want expounded on but...that's what a part 2 is made for..(HINT, HINT, HINT)
 
Off the book beat, did you catch Ascension? Well done SyFy Channel. For fans of the channel, there will be a lot of familiar faces amongst the crew from shows like Sanctuary, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, etc. There are more than a couple of outer space tropes here and it builds the tension up to a fever pitch until something (someone) snaps. Power struggles, sex, violence, double (triple) crosses, and science combine to form a volatile mix that hooks the viewer in. This in a lot of ways is the type of series to draw in folks that aren't science fiction fans, to watch sci-fi. Plus young hotties in bikinis and genetic theory... speaks to the geeky 13 year old in me....
 
Speaking of volatile, I have to say that Constantine has gotten better seen the pilot but the thing holding it back is the fact that Constantine feels a bit neutered. I know that he couldn't be the outright asshole that he was written as in Vertigo's Hellblazer but I have to ask why not? We had House on TV did we not??? His attitude was close to how John's was in the comics. NBC I not saying to totally change him or "make him go dark" but he can be a bit more of a bastard....
 
It took awhile but I found the replacement for Warehouse 13 in TNT's The Librarians and that's hilariously ironic because I dislike Dean Devlin and he's an executive producer. But..
 
Comedic Drama? Check.
Likeable Cast? Check.
Twisting historical moments to have a supernatural bent? Check.
Conspiracies? Check.
 
Yeah. 3 shows in and they got me watching. All I ask is give Rebecca Romjin some more competent fight training and I can take her more seriously as a "guardian". She does hold her own as our touchstone as a true outside in this world of manic magic...... Plus the show has a deathbound girl supercomputer.. how cool is that?!?!?!
 
Ok that's it for me this week. Thanks for reading. Enjoy your holidays.... and Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!