Week of March 7th

Honorable Mention

Age of Apocalypse # 1 (Marvel)

   Humans are an endangered species...is there any hope at all?

DC Universe Online Legends # 25 (DC Comics)

   The final assault to stop Braniac...and not everyone will survive!

Defenders # 4 (Marvel)

   The Wishing Machine is discovered...and now Dr. Strange must act!

Justice League International # 7 (DC Comics)

   A bomb rips through the team causing destruction...and the death of a member!

Uncanny X-Men # 8 (Marvel)

   The conclusion to Tabula Rasa!

...and now for this weeks All-Stars!

Fairest # 1 

Company: DC Comics/ Vertigo

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Bill Willingham, Artist: Phil Jimenez, Inker: Andy Lanning, Letterer: Todd Klein, Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse, Editor: Shelly Bond

All-Star Summary for Choice:  The first thing that sticks out of this book is the extraordinary artwork of Phil Jimenez. It’s simply awesome. The second is the tagline on the series...” In which we inaugurate our bold new series of tales concerning the fairest flowers of many lands, starting with a small mystery and ending with a small miracle.” 

We are all familiar with the childhood fairytales told to us so often. However familiar we are with those stories and characters, doesn’t prepare for the wonderful visuals that leap from these pages. From the beginning we are introduced to Ali Baba, Prince of Thieves...but he is a mere footnote when compared to his companion, Jonah Panghammer...a bottle imp. Ali doesn’t get three wishes, but we, the reader, get a great read and a completely new take on some very old characters!

All-Star Quote of the Book: “I’m Captain Oakheart, Knight of the Grove, champion of the Battle of Weeping Waters, and now your executioner.”

Irredeemable # 35 

Company: Boom

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Diego Barreto, Letterer: Ed Dukeshire, Colorist: Nolan Woodard, Editors: Matt Gagnon & Shannon Watters.

All-Star Summary for Choice:  Shame on anyone not reading this book. It goes to the next level with every issue...and it’s simply astonishing to me that it’s been doing this since for thirty-five issues! This series never lets upon the twists, turns and surprises...or the jaw dropping displays of power that take The Plutonian places that far exceed the template from which he is cut (Superman).

His arch-villian, Modeus is more than just the simple mastermind trying to take over the world...he’s actually in love with the Plutonian and has figured out a way to transfer himself from one body to the next, extinguishing the life in the body prior...of course. Now he’s taken over the body of Plutonian’s woman...Bette (by Bette) and taken her powers to levels she couldn’t even dream about (one of the advantages of being a mad genius).

I mean...drawing energy from distant stars so that every punch landed against the Plutonian kills an entire star system...literally! (WTF?) Now if that isn’t an awesome display of power...I don’t know what is.

All-Star Quote of the Book: “All the misery in the world won’t stop me from taking what I’ve earned.”

Scam # 1 

Company: Comix Tribe

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Joe Mulvey, Artist: Joe Mulvey, Letterer: AndWorld Design, Colorist: Andrew Crossley, Editors: Tyler James and Steven Forbes

All-Star Summary for Choice:  Sometimes great books get by me. This one escaped me once..but fortunately, they printed it again, so I’m happy to have it, even though it’s a second printing. I’m a fan of the movie, The Usual Suspects, so the ode to the movie the cover represents drew me in...the fantastic artwork inside hooked me, the great story of heist, betrayal and revenge is keeping me.

A team of con artists and thieves come together for a job, get double crossed by one of their own...and gets a shot at evening the score years later. Sounds simple...but it’s all anything but simple. Somebody else is hunting the team and the team’s best laid plans are coming apart before they even begin. 

This book is so well written that I almost missed the fact that the team has special abilities. This intrigued me even more since the book doesn't revolve around the powers of the team, but the people they are...and the situations they are dealing with. This one was a true sleeper...and I’m glad it woke me up!

All-Star Quote of the Book: “Hurting you is like pissing on a Picasso.”

Vampirella vs. Dracula # 2 

Company: Dynamite Entertainment

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Joe Harris, Artist: Ivan Rodriguez, Letterer: Marshall Dillon, Colorist: Adriano Lucas, Editor: Joe Rybandt

All-Star Summary for Choice:  Vampires seem to be all the rage now in theaters and television...so why not comic books? I’ve been a Vampirella fan for a while but collect the books sporadically, after all...there’s just so much blood sucking I can take. This book injects new life for me as she goes up against the most popular vampire...ever.

Count Dracula has been a story rooted in legend and history, and the great part about this book is that it addresses both. The origin of Dracula is revealed and it very much starts off rooted in history, which just makes the action more intense. Add to this the fact that the story spans from 1492 to 2012 following Jonathan Harker as he seems doomed to repeat his tragic brand of history...and the hook is firmly implanted in my mouth.

A story of love, hate, death and damnation...told through outstanding artwork, what more can anyone ask from a comic about vampires?

All-Star Quote of the Book: “Count Dracula, in truth, had suffered loss and pain to span a hundred lifetimes. He shared that pain with enough people to last a hundred more.”

X-Men # 26 

Company: Marvel

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Victor Gischler, Artist: Jorge Molina, Inkers: Jorge Molina with Cam Smith, Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna, Colorist: Guru EFX, Editor: Jeanine Schaefer.

All-Star Summary for Choice:  Vampires...yup, even in the X-Men. Jubilee has been turned into a vampire and she has gone missing to seek out help on how to cope from a group of vampires called The Forgiven. If any group of vampires could be considered the good guys...The Forgiven are it. Unfortunately, this doesn’t cut any ice (pun intended) with Storm after she and the X-Men find Jubilee.

The misfortune seems to be a recurring theme since the island hideout of The Forgiven is suddenly assaulted by a cadre of hired assassins...all coming for the head of Raizo Kodo, leader of The Forgiven, forcing the X-Men and Forgiven to fight side-by-side.

The wonderful artwork and constant action makes this issue pure fun, and the injection of Deadpool, Lady Bullseye, and the Assassins Guild to the story doesn’t hurt either! 

All-Star Quote of the Book: “Specialized ammo. A capsule filled with the toxin of the Viper Orchid found in Borneo. Paralysis lasts about twelve hours. Ebay, if you’re curious.”