Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol. 1

This was an OK type of book if your looking for just looney over the top culture references then this is the book for you.  The art for this book fits the story quite well, this is the first thing I have written by Sam Humphries.  I do love all of the pop culture comic references the whole narration of the first page is just awesome.  The CBR booth over looking the con floor & the Pokemon blades are hilarious.  My favorite scene in this volume is when the Wrecking Crew was getting checked off by Burger with cultural nicknames. Overall I'm intrigued but I not really impressed.  I'll keep reading but Mr. Humphries better up the anti in the next volume. 

Moonraker

I finally just finished this I know its been awhile; overall I didn’t find this outing of James Bond as enjoyable as the previous title.  That being said I do think that Moonraker has a plot that is worthy of the darker tone that the Bond franchise has taken with Daniel Craig in the staring role.  The villain Hugo Drax is similar to that of Silva in Skyfall by instigating a terrorist attack on England for its participation in WWII against the Nazi’s is a highly relevant plot due to the events of the last decade.  Again if the movie had stuck more to the source material there is no denying that this would have been an instant classic.  There is a level of tension felt in this book unlike the previous title where the reader along with Bond has mixed feelings about Hugo Drax in one chapter you admire this character & in the next you loath him; this cycle repeats throughout most of the book.  The ending is somewhat anti-climactic considering the great build up throughout the book. 

Live & Let Die

Compared to the previous novel Live & Let Die is a fraking riot.  This is an awesome book in reading this book the biggest surprise is how much this source materiel has been mined for multiple Bond films.  I came across at least three different scenes in this book that have appeared in different movies.  Part of me wishes that the Live & Let Die movie was this good but another part of me is glad the material has been mined for multiple movies.  I am really looking forward to the next volume in the series.

Casino Royale

I just finished reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.  This is nice introduction to the James Bond character.  In comparison to the movie with Daniel Craig everything is pretty much the same except for what I would consider three major differences.  The first of which is that Le Chiffre is working for the Russians since this is set in the cold war era & that the game they are playing is high-stakes baccarat instead of Texas Hold’m Poker.  The second of which is that the organization S.M.E.R.S.H. is behind Le Chiffre’s death instead of Mr. White & the Quantum organization.  The third difference is the death of Vesper Lynd is less redeeming & it makes her betrayal to Bond less of conflicting & just part of the job.   

Spider-Man: Spider-Island / Spider-Man: Spider-Island Companion

I have thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every Spider-Man book I have picked up since Happy Birthday by J. Michael Straczynski.  For a while I was reading several trades a day just to catch up.  Spider-Island felt a lot like World War Hulks & World of New Krypton; more in the vein of World of New Krypton than World War Hulks.  It’s the type of storyline that makes the hero feel obsolete in the face of adversity.  The hero has to resort to his secret identity to do what no one else is able to do.  Spider-Man doesn’t shine in this as much as Peter Parker does.  The companion is also quite good you have a Spider-Girl story that’s OK but the Cloak & Dagger story is excellent although it leaves you wanting more this would have been a great jumping on point for an ongoing series or mini-series at least about these to second stringers .  The Shang-Chi story was great frankly I had never heard of him until this series came out glad to see he’s getting a push in Hickman’s Avengers run.  One of my favorite parts in this story is spider powered M.J. because it cements her understanding of how important Spider-Man is to New York.  Even the moments of Parker swinging with his current girl Carly Cooper were awesome but it was when he shared the frame with M.J. that shows me that Slott’s got something in store for these two, he always focuses on the little things with long scaffolding story arcs & I look forward to what comes next.  This was a great story that brought b rated & even c rated characters to the forefront while giving depth to the main characters.

The Losers Book 2

The second volume of The Losers starts off with a flashback story arc about how they got screwed.  This volume also took the plot which was really grounded in the first volume & cranked up times ten.  The climax to this series is so satisfying on par with the ending of Wanted & 100 Bullets.  Even though the story gets kind of convoluted in this volume it still feels right within the context overall story.  This book also brings about so many twist that keeps you reading.  Overall this series was awesome & way better than the movie; if your a fan of the movie you'll love the first volume.  The second volume really made me a fan of this series and I wish there was more but at the same time I love the finality of the climax because it is such a fitting & satisfying ending. 

The Losers Book 1

I have always been a fan of Andy Diggle & Jock's collaboration since I read Green Arrow: Year One.  This however I feel is not their best effort.  I didn't start to feel this series until about the forth issue of the series that kicked it into high gear & it has kept the pedal to floor ever since.  Book 1 collects the 1st 12 issues of this series.  Jock's art is awesome most of the time there are a few panels scattered throughout that feel off, proportionally.  Jock also isn't the only artist on this series but he is in charge of layouts & covers his covers are way better than his interior art & look spectacular.  I picked this series up cause I have had it on my to read list since I saw the movie however 90% of the movie can be summed up in this book alone which is kind of sad.  The main premise of this series is that its a little like A-Team meets Rainbow Six meets Mission Impossible.  A black ops. team left for dead goes up against a crooked C.I.A. handler Max, who has more power & influence than J. Edgar Hoover.  By the end of the end of book 1 you see just how powerful he is without actually seeing him.  

Science Dog Vol. 1

I picked this up because it had Robert Kirkman’s name on it; The Walking Dead anybody.  Unlike Bryan K. Vaughan not everything Kirkman writes is gold with the exception of The Walking Dead.  This story reads like a missing chapter of a larger story & for that there is no real payoff to this story.  The main character is actually kind of cool & his origin is explained early on is the story but everything he does is for selfish reasons that don’t really seem fleshed out enough.  If you like a good time travel tale that is simple & straight forward then you’ll like this, but don’t expect much depth or character development.  I found out after the fact that this is spin-off of Kirkman’s Invincible series, maybe this will make more sense if I read that series as well.    

Gambit Vol. 1: Once a Thief

I just finished reading the first volume of Gambit and I must say I was surprised it was a quick read & comic wise that is usually a good thing.  If you’ve read Supercrooks I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this.  I’m not familiar with previous Gambit solo series so I don’t know how this one stacks up but I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Sin City: Hell & Back

This is the final volume of the Sin City yarns it is also my least favorite of the collected works.  This is somewhat of an odd duck in my opinion compared with the other stories.  The main character Wallace is ex-military part Rambo & part Bruce Lee.  The character from the story Blue Eyes comes back in this story.  Hell & Back is story about a reluctant hero saving a damsel in distress & the evil of human trafficking.  The main difference between this volume & all of the rest of the Sin City books is that there is a happy ending for the hero.  It just seems that Frank Miller was running out of steam by this point of the series & the final scene of Wallace & Esther driving away from Basin City never looking back seems to be a fitting way of saying goodbye to the series.

Sin City: Booze, Broads & Bullets

This is an anthology book that collects very short stories about the characters of Sin City.  The most important story in this book is Blue Eyes because it for shadows events in the final volume Hell & Back.  However it was not my favorite story within this collection.  The story Just another Saturday Night is referenced in the Hard Goodbye & explains what Marv went to jail for before the Hard Goodbye.  My favorite stories in this collection are Silent Night & The Customer is Always Right.  Silent Night shows Marv in the same light as Hartigan with a morale code protecting the innocent it is also the closest thing to a Nuff Said issue in the Sin City books.  The Customer is Always Right is the story that Robert Rodriguez filmed to show to Frank Miller before he got the go ahead to make the first Sin City movie it is an awesome little short & helps set the tone for the entire movie.

Sin City: Family Values

This is the 4^th Dwight story the 3^rd one is in the anthology book Booze, Broads & Bullets; it is referenced in this story but is not essential to understanding Family Values.  This is my favorite story of the entire series it is a basic revenge story.  Family Values is the girls of Old Town taking down an entire mob family for revenge of the death of one of their own the principle players are Dwight & Miho.  Dwight provides the dialog & backstory while Miho provides all of the rollerblading ninja action.  This has made these two characters my favorite in all of the Sin City books. 

Sin City: That Yellow Bastard

This was 1 of the 4 stories included in the Sin City movie.  This is used to be my favorite because the character Hartigan has a code of honor that surpasses any of the other characters in the stories.  He sticks by this honor to protect the innocent throughout the story.  This story also delves into the background of Nancy Callahan who is seen dancing in the background at Kadie’s Saloon.  Even though all of the main male characters in the Sin City yarns possess a code chivalry Hartigan goes above & beyond this he even rejects Nancy’s advances do to his code of honor.  This makes the end of the story that much more inevitable; since he would die to fulfill is his personal code of honor.  In my opinion this makes Hartigan the Wolverine of the Sin City stories.

Sin City: The Big Fat Kill

The 2^nd story to feature Dwight this story was included in the 1^st Sin City film as one of the yarns.  This story also introduces us to another 1 of my favorite bad-ass characters, Miho who is technically introduced in the previous book.  This story showcases her skills although my favorite story with her is still to come.  This 1 shows her as the ultimate ass kicker, a silent assassin, the ronin of old town.  This story also has shades of similarities with Frank Miller’s other work 300 including betrayal from within.  The Big Fat Kill shows that Dwight is still on the run from the events in A Dame to Kill For.  This volume ends in a cloud of gunfire that is still smoking on the last page ending sort of ambiguously without the reader knowing whether Dwight & Gail survive or not.