Neverwhere

This is probably one of Neil Gaiman's greatest works outside of Sandman.  Neverwhere is very similar to another story by Gaiman, Stardust.  The difference is that in Stardust Tristran Thorn embraces that word that he has ventured into where Richard Mayhew can't wait to get home to London above.  It is only when he returns to London above that he realizes everything he could have ever wanted was beneath his feet in London below.  The story is your basic group quest adventure in which Richard Mayhew is kind of just tagging along for the ride until he meets the black friars & goes through the ordeal.  Telling anymore would spoil the story for those who are not already familiar with the tale.  I really wish Gaiman would follow up this story in some way preferably with more books.  It seems that this is just a taste of what awaits in London below.  If anything this makes me want to pick up more of Neil Gaiman's prose work.

Manifest Destiny Vol. 1: Flora & Fauna

Everyone knows the story of Lewis & Clark,  it is one of the great tales of American history.  But for the majority of knowing public they only know of the story in the broadest sense.  They know that Lewis & Clark traveled with Sacagawea from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean, but the rest is sort of a mystery unless you go digging for the info.  Such is the premise of Manifest Destiny, in which the general knowledge is known about Lewis & Clark but that just serves as the foundation for this new tale by Chris Dingess & Matthew Roberts.  Chris Dingess has crafted a scary almost alien frontier for Lewis & Clark's expedition to travel through but hes has also given them a secondary assignment to mapping out & exploring the region.  Matthew Roberts art is phenomenal not in characters per-say but in the way he creates the landscape I really love the way the scenery is rendered.  This is another awesome book from Image Comics, the place to go for something different.

Sheltered Vol. 1

Children are chaotic & unpredictable in times of strife.  Sheltered a pre-apocalyptic story that is in the vein of Lord of the Flies.  Imagine if you can that the Governor from The Walking Dead is a teenager & that he is one of your best friends.  Then imagine what would happen if all of your friends & their families got together to build a community that would live off grid in case disaster struck.  Now imagine what your best friend would do in that situation.  Lucas is not the blonde haired blue eyed spoiled boy king that Joffrey was but he is dang close.  This story is allegorical in a way by showcasing what happens if children were in charge with guns.  Like the movie I Declare War which takes a childhood game & turns it into a harsh reality.  In fact part of me hopes that he is vindicated in is belief that the volcano will blow up but that it leads to his death as well because just by his actions alone he deserves to die.  Victoria is shaping up to be a bad-ass & I hope that continues.  This first volume was all set up but it is shaping up nicely I look forward to picking up the next title in this series.

2 Guns

Occasionally there are those rare moments when movies are made from books or comic books in this case that surpass & improve upon the source material.  Just a few that come to mind are Red, Kick-Ass & L.A. Confidential.  I really enjoyed the 2 Guns movie but the book was a little wordy & the big show down at the end is a little anti climactic.  That's not to say that it didn't have its good points like Deb being the Commander's daughter was a nice touch.  However the book just didn't have the comradery develop that the movie did.  If you want to see what inspired the movie pick this up, but if your just interested in a good story to kill some time the movie is good enough.

Superman, Action Comics Vol. 3: At the End of Days

Like most if not all of Grant Morrison's work this is best read as a collection or in this case a group of collections.  I can see why people reading this in single issues would be confused beyond belief it is a serious fraking mess when you look at any single issue especially the later ones.  By the end of this third volume I have to say Morrison crafted one hell of a story that is full of twist and mind fraks at every turn.  By the time you get to the third volume you begin to realize that Morrison's entire New 52 Superman run is one big Mxyzptlk story.  Except this time Mxyzptlk isn't a villain instead he is a hero of some sort, the true villain of this encounter is Vyndktvx another magician from the 5th Dimension.  Overall Morrison has crafted a Superman story of biblical proportions the only thing I wish had been left out was the references to the "Death & Return of Superman" story arc.  If that had not been referenced then it would have made this story feel like a complete reboot.  Another gem of Grant Morrison's Superman run are the back up stories written by Sholly Fisch.  Her back ups have brought this sense of wonder & awe that reminds me of the Superman I grew up with in contrast to the Superman that Morrison is crafting.  In the future I hope DC giving her full creative control of character to craft & broaden the fan-base.  I would love to see what Grant Morrison could do if DC planned a reboot where he had the ability to craft every character as he sees fit.  Morrison's true gift as a writer is in mining the material & creating something entirely out of left field.  I would really like to see a grand epic from Morrison in which he crafts a universe of characters similar to what Brian K. Vaughan & Mark Millar do on a regular basis.  If he could do that I think he would truly be on his way to being considered one of the great comic book scribes of all time up there with the likes of Alan Moore, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Superman, Action Comics Vol. 2: Bulletproof

The second volume of Grant Morrison's Superman Epic is here & I must say things are beginning to get a little clearer & I am becoming more invested in this new interpretation of Clark Kent / Superman.  One of the high points for me in this collection is the revelation that Clark's landlady is Mr. Mxyzptlk's wife I thought that was such an awesome nod to such an old adversary.  I hope that this leads to a story with Mr. Mxyzptlk in the near future.  This book also saw the origin of a parrallel earth Superman, another super-human for Kansas & the origin of the Kryptonite Man.  Clark Kent does do what I feel is such a mistake when he fakes his own death because he felt that his alter-ego had outlived its usefulness; thankfully Batman & his landlady set him straight.  I really like the zero issue in this collection for its main story The Boy Who Stole Superman's Cape it brings back a sense of awe that causes kids to idolized characters like Superman.  I like were this is going but it still feels strange & unusual but its definitely getting better.

Superman, Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel

This is the first volume of the New 52 Action Comics starting Grant Morrison's Superman epic.  Over the years Superman has had his origin told & retold.  In every retelling some of the facts are changed & enemies or specific events are changed.  When DC Comics rebooted there continuity they gave the reigns of Superman's origin to Grant Morrison to shape for a new generation.  This first volume shows us a cockier Superman in a t-shirt & jeans looking more like the Smallville version or Superboy.  Throughout the book Superman discovers his own origin about who he is, where he came from.  This story puts a new spin on who or what Brainiac is.  Several members of Superman's supporting cast are present throughout this story Sam Lane the primary antagonist of The World of New Krypton story-arc is here in a similar fashion.  Metallo's origin appears in this book along with Clark Kent's first meeting with the Legion of Super-Heroes.  Steel also makes his triumphant New 52 origin in this title & I have to say his parts of the book are some of my favorite throughout the story  In this book Clark Kent & Lois Lane work for rival newspapers.  The art is this book is some the best I have seen in a lately Rags Morales & Andy Kubert should be applauded even if you are not a fan of Grant Morrison's writing the art alone is worth giving this a look.  Overall this is a good start but since I am a product of the Post-Crisis continuity that broke onto the market back in 1985 with Crisis on Infinite Earths this is going to take some time to grow on me.  In time I'm sure Grant Morrison's origin will stand up to those of Geoff John's Superman: Secret Origin, Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright, John Byrne's Superman: Man of Steel Vol. 1 or even Jerry Siegel's Action Comics #1.  For now it is just another entry in line of Superman origins, but I will definitely be checking out part two.

  

Idolized

Thank you Watchmen even now twenty nine years later creators are still influenced & inspired by Alan Moore's take on the superhero.  Idolized embraces that influence from the first issue.  Idolized is a comic set in a world where probably about fifty percent of the population have super powers.  It also draws inspiration from reality television like American Idol,  The Voice, Tough Enough & even The Hunger Games.  Many comics today are set in the post 9/11 paranoia world but Idolized takes that & builds it into a reality scenario as part of the plot for the characters to deal with which is ingenious & a little unsettling.  Overall this is a great little mini-series if this the end for these characters so be it.  If David Schwartz decides to make a second volume then I welcome it because I was pleasantly surprised by this introduction to these characters.   

  

Saga Vol. 3

So much happens in this third volume of Brian K Vaughan's Star Wars / Final Fantasy esque Saga.  New characters are introduced while old friends grow by leaps & bounds.  Marko, Alana & their family pretty much stay in one place throughout this entire volume but all of them grow so much through personal interactions with each other.  Its like meeting up with a bunch of long lost family members after years of not seeing each other.  Like each of the preceding volumes death looms in the back ground & by the end of this volume three major characters that readers have grown to love since the beginning of the series will be dead.  Like the Song of Ice & Fire series by George R.R. Martin you'll be screaming at the book when a character that you have grown to love is killed off; Ned Stark anybody?  Like many of Brian's works this ends on a great cliff-hanger that is full of hope for the future of this series.  In this day & age where comic book movies are a dime a dozen Brian K. Vaughan is one of the only superstar creators out there that hasn't had any of his work turned into a movie or a television show.  As much as I wish this was optioned for the silver screen, I am glad that Brian & Fiona have said multiple times in interviews that Saga was made for the page & only the page.  That way it will always remain true to their vision & no one else's.  I can't wait till Saga, Book One the Deluxe Ed. is released this December.  It will contain all the issues in the first three volumes of the series, this is definitely one of the title out there on the stands that deserves to be owned in the hardcover format.

Saga Vol. 2

The second volume pulls on your heart strings like no other comic book out there.  Also who said comics were just for kids has  never seen or read this or a myriad of other titles like Watchmen, 100 Bullets or Kick-Ass just to name a few.  Those are not your kids comics they are heady titles that have deep meaning & even adult content within the pages, yes even Kick-Ass (I know your rolling your eyes but just wait for it).  This second volume pulls no punches flips so many standard things you thought you knew about science fiction out the window its baffling & cool at the same time.  Also this volume has firmly established Fiona Staples as one of my all time favorite artist.  I loved Lying Cat in this book & all I can say is I want one of my own.  Brian's writing makes you care deeply for a character even if they are only there for a few panels like the mouse medic in the final chapter of this volume his brief story had you rooting for him & broke your heart when he died.  Izabel reminds me of one of the female characters from Runaways also done by Brian K. Vaughan.  I am really looking forward to the showdown between The Will & Prince Robot IV.