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By | Tuesday, November 30, 2010 | 5:21 pm | 0 Comments | Blog > Database Updates

Congrats to the Scarecrow Tales Winner!

First of all, congratulations to Marisa from Westfield, NJ (TRO User ArrowOfApollo) who was the random winner of the Batman: Scarecrow Tales tpb giveaway. Marisa also blogs at Geek Week and has a personal website here.

Sorry for the slow announcement this time, we had to go a couple spots down the list because I didn’t get a response from the original picks. Make sure to watch your email closely after entering in a giveaway, folks!

The book will be going out tomorrow.

Some Upgrades and Tweaks

I’ve upgraded our WP_Minify plugin which may help the site load a tiny bit faster.

We’ve increased the amount of memory allocated by our private server, which should help handle larger loads. Let me know if you run into any 500 errors while browsing!

Updates and Placements:

A few database updates – not my main focus today.

Absolute Sandman 2 (Cover, tags, and publication information).

Batman: Hush (Single Volume Release, placed)

Batman: Hush Unwrapped (Placed)

Absolute Batman: Hush (Moved two spots to allow placements of the other editions)

Marvel List Progress Report:

We’ve currently got 1554 books in our offline database with full publication information complete. We’ve got about an additional 400 with partial information (no isbn numbers or edition information yet.)

I’m assuming there are at least a couple hundred more printings that will show up as we comb through various sources after we’ve finished the ones we’ve got something on now.

Then I’d like to add character tags and creator tags before uploading to the database. Every book has at least one of each of these already, but I’d like to flesh it out  bit more. I’m hoping to get this up by the end of December.

Lastly, bit of a deal alert:

A bunch of half priced DC hardcovers up on ebay plus a lot of Sandman softcovers (1-10) currently at 99 cents. These are from the same guy I buy from all the time (though he changed his seller name to “Barcodescan”) – he packs well and ships quickly. I know a couple of you haven’t read sandman yet, so that’s a good way to get into it.

I got a lot of the books of ebay a few years back myself – never regretted it.

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By | Monday, November 29, 2010 | 2:03 pm | 29 Comments | Blog > Reviews
Find This Book At:
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View our database entry
Includes Issues: Jonah Hex 13-18
Issue Dates: January – June 2007
Creators:
, , , , , , , , , 

This review contains spoilers. Skip To The Verdict? »

Continuing our journey through the DC Westerns (and the DC timeline as a whole) we come to the third contemporary Jonah Hex collection, collecting issues 13-18 of the Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti headed series.

Unlike the last trades, the bulk of this book is made by two slightly longer stories – Retribution, a three-parter with art by Jordi Bernet, along with The Ballad of  Tallulah Black, over two issues with Phil Noto – and a single issue story, I Walk Alone, drawn by Val Semeiks.

If you’ve been following along, you know that one of our very few complaints with the previous books was that they weren’t tied together by story as much as character.

It seems the creators were getting fatigued with the same formula, so we’ve got some slightly longer arcs.

It’s mostly a good thing.

As the title of the book implies, we’re getting some Origin up in here. Previously, in Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex / Welcome To Paradise, we were treated to part of the bounty hunter’s origin: his roots as a young idealistic confederate soldier, an honorable (if a bit naive man), and his perceived betrayal of his comrades to a union commander (when his only real intention was to surrender himself.)

Retribution, Palmiotti and Gray’s contribution to Hex’s past, seeks to fill in some gaps about his earlier childhood and career as a soldier. It’s hard to say exactly how well it fits with earlier stories – while not directly conflicting, it sets up some potential problems.

Here, Hex is raised by a right bastard of a father and dropped with a tribe of Apaches, where he grows into a man trained in wilderness survival and fierce battle.

There is room left for the events of the Bronze Age comics, but I feel that it’s hard to believe he could be so naive and gentleman-like after having the life he’s had here.

I admit that I always found it appealing, that Hex may have been a genuinely nice guy of relatively cultured upbringing until the Civil War and terrible events in the aftermath tore him down.

In the narrative presented here, though, he’s had the worst of the lot from the start. I suppose it explains why he’s such a darn good killer. The creators make use of the plot points quite visually, giving Hex a fair amount of play with more visceral weapons in this story.

While it didn’t quite jive with the image I’ve had of our anti-hero (keeping in mind that I haven’t read any of the uncollected stories from the “Jonah Hex” or “Hex” titles), the story itself was generally enjoyable.

It suffers a little from Dances With Wolves style plot points, and the “bad dad” character is a little overused in the creation of gruff badasses, but there are a few good twists here – and none of the semi-happy endings normally associated with such stories.

But then again, you may have predicted that things would end badly just because this is a Jonah Hex book.

Jordi Bernet does a fine job bringing the action.

His style is a bit more caricatured than realistic (nowhere near as gritty as DeZuniga or some other Hex Artists), with some thick lines and big almost-disney style eyes on girls and children.

Sometimes the faces felt a little awkward or just too cartoony for a Jonah Hex story.

While I couldn’t get into Bernet’s work as much as some of the previous artists, I don’t think he ever failed to tell the story.

There are some masterfully composed fight sequences and skilled depictions of lighting.

The second story is another origin of sorts, but this time for fan-favorite character Tallulah Black. It was my personal introduction to the lady, but based on her popularity and the strength of this story, I can assume she’ll be back. Perhaps I’m reading the birth of a new western hero – wonder if we’ll get a girl with her own series some day?

Of course, for all I know she could die in an upcoming volume!

Phil Noto, again handling his own colors, does a capitol job illustrating a hazy and disturbing tale of wrong done and avenged – while again showing exactly what we’d expect of a Hex story, at least it’s a very good one.

There are aspects of this story that I have mixed feelings about – it’s hard to find a good balance when writing a strong woman into an extremely violent and terrible world – but the terribleness is intentional and reasoned.

My feeling is that Tallulah would have been strong regardless of the darkness in her life, and it shows on page. The other girl in the story, the odd young one, helped make this one of my favorite small arcs since the Bronze Age book.

The last story, a short one again, with a square jaw’d Hex looking mighty fugly courtesy of Val Semeiks, is a welcome addition to the mythos.

I don’t want to spoil the ending for casual readers of this review, but it’s about time. Outline this text for the spoiler.

Spoiler: [ Hex is just straight up wrong here, and while it’s understandable, he’s killed a lot of innocent people and ruined some lives. And he says sorry when he finds out. Bad day! ]

For some reason, I don’t really like the shape of Hex’s face as much here, but I love the detail of Semeiks’ work.

I have to give him credit for putting down his stake and sticking with his style of drawing Jonah.

He’s becoming one of my favorite artists in these books.

The backgrounds are especially lush, with grass that just feels like grass, and forests that are never lightly implied – they’re packed with full, standing trees in every panel.

It’s impressive that all that detail never detracts from the characters interacting in the foreground (Rob Schwager‘s colors deserve credit here.)

Sadly, no DeZuniga illustrated story in this volume.

Altogether, it was a very enjoyable book. Like the previous Hex volumes, it’s very consistent in quality, never featuring a story that’s a real clunker.

Unfortunately, none of the stories are absolutely startling either.

While this makes for a very good series on average (and quickly becoming one of my favorites to sit down and read at the end of the day) I can’t give the book a perfect rating.

Verdict:
4 out of 5 stars. The Jonah Hex series continues to be a solid set of work, with consistently strong writing bringing together a strong array of artists over some rough and tumble western action.

The book benefits from some longer stories that don’t feel stretched out (that same quick shifting of action we’ve come to expect) but still doesn’t offer any true surprises in terms of plot lines.

Essential Continuity:
I’d say yes – if you’re reading Jonah Hex you shouldn’t skip this volume. I’m sure the next few books will reference and build on it.

It does challenge a long time reader to fit the events in here with existing continuity, but you probably don’t have to think too hard about it.

If you aren’t scared of spoilers, Matching Dragons (an excellent Jonah Hex blog I found after getting into this series) has a Jonah Hex Timeline. It fits in events pretty smoothly, and it seems that some of the ones told in this origin story are straight from the first “Jonah Hex” ongoing. It makes sense, though I wish that series was collected so the transition was a little easier!

Of course, I don’t know if Palmiotti and Gray told the story better – it’s possible the past one was straight up confusing. I guess I won’t know until it is collected. Get on it, DC!

Read first:
Read Showcase Presents Jonah Hex and/or Jonah Hex: Welcome to Paradise.

Follow that up with Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence and Jonah Hex: Guns of Vengeance.

Recommended supplementary reading: Showcase Presents: Bat Lash

Read next:
The next book collecting this ongoing series is Jonah Hex: Only The Good Die Young. It’s also our next stop on the DC Reading Order and the DC Westerns list.

Stay tuned for our review of that one in a couple days!

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By | Monday, November 29, 2010 | 3:56 am | 0 Comments | Blog > Database Updates

Just was looking through the DC list tonight and seeing if there’s anything out of place. Fixed a couple books.

JLA: Heaven’s Ladder (was missing JLA Prefix)

Superman: Peace On Earth (fixed placement)

While I was going through I added some books I acquired in the past couple months to “my collection”. I’ve got 1391 books now! Nutto.

That’s just DC though. I know that it’s not really great how the lists in the profile view don’t separate by book type (DC vs Marvel, or Fables or whatever.) It’s something I want to figure out at some point, but it’s a tricky one. For now I’m just using the site to keep track of my DC stuff.

Once I get the marvel list up I’ll probably make a second profile to keep track of my books there, until I’ve figured out a better way to do it. (or somehow get the cash to hire someone to help with the code.)

Doing the daily reviews has been really great, but I’m fear I’m falling behind a little in placing new and upcoming releases on the reading order. I’m going to have to catch up soon. Or maybe I’ll just commit to doing at least a couple new book placements every day.

I know some of this is because I’ve been working on the Marvel list, and that when they are both up just adding new releases on both will be a lot easier, but I still feel a little bad about it. I guess it won’t be really pressing until most of the unplaced books are actually released, though.

On a side note, I’m thinking about removing the character tags from the DC companion volumes. I like having them on the site, but they’re a little awkwardly placed on the end of the reading lists. Well, I should either remove the character tags or place them by date relative to the main reading order, so when they show up in generated lists they are where they were released. I’ll get to it at some point.

It’s 4am! Goodnight guys.

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By | Sunday, November 28, 2010 | 8:23 pm | 11 Comments | Blog > Reviews
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Half.com (Hardcover)
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Amazon (Hardcover)
View our database entry
Includes Issues: Original Graphic Novel
Issue Dates: February 1, 1990
Creators:
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This review contains light spoilers. Skip To The Verdict? »

Ah, the prize jewel of my extensive graphic novel collection!

When humble craftsman Pepe Moreno first started work on his small creation about a little known character, Batman, he never would have thought that Digital Justice would become one of the best selling graphic novels ever made, rocketing Batman into mainstream appreciation and jumpstarting a long and illustrious career.

Now, twenty years later, this classic of artful engineering seems to have not aged a day. It’s just as earth shatteringly inventive and beautiful as it was upon release.

This book was crafted entirely using computers! You might not have noticed it due to the subtlety and smoothness of much of the linework. The whole package was lovingly printed in an oversized hardcover and softcover release.

Like Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke, or The Dark Knight Returns, it’s hard to discuss such a monumentally important story without spoiling it, so we’ll just assume you’ve already read this classic and dive right into plot discussion.

In the future Gotham City, at the end of the 21st Century, mankind lives in a dystopia comparable to 1984, Brave New World, Blade Runner, the novels of Philip K. Dick, and the works of so-called “cyberpunk” writers.

Hey, would you look at that – the bookjacket even states that “Digital Justice will be compared to such dystopian visions as 1984, Brave New World, Blade Runner, the novels of Philip K. Dick, the works of the so-called “cyberpunk” writers in recent science fiction” – how did they know that 20 years later I’d be making exactly those comparisons??

They must have seen that they were sitting on something really special here.

As the book says – Welcome to Future Land!

The Batman we know is long dead and Commissioner Jim Gordon’s grandson, thankfully also named Jim in order to avoid confusion, is the only good cop on a force run primarily by computers.

Things are getting bad in future land, as the protection systems have mistakenly taken down living cops and left real crime unavenged.

Jim’s investigation eventually leads him to believe an evil mega-virus has taken control of Gotham City – the Joker virus!

The only force that can stop it? A newly reborn Batman!

The story spins through webs of action packed drama, introducing new takes on familiar characters at every turn.

Bruce Wayne has left behind a computerized Alfred, ready to serve the future fight. From the ranks of the neo-surfers, a young punk Robin joins the battle.

A voluptious popstar rises from the ranks of the mutant generation – and eventually takes on the persona of the Catwoman – but is she an ally or enemy?

Along with these inventive recreations, exciting new characters flesh out the cast: Know Man, Mob Lord, Law Man, Media Man and even an intriguing Madame X!

These iconic personas speak to the core of our digital age souls.

In fact, the entire book whispers to the fears of the 21st century man. What does mankind’s future hold? Will we all just be bits in a machine, “wetware” easily controlled by computerized sex and rock and roll?

Moreno takes our doubts and spins them into dark poetry – his Joker was a programmer:

“As time passed, his virus proved more dangerous than anyone dreamed.”

“It spread to more and more systems, accumulating core storage — and power.”

“Eventually, it became capabale of manipulating the political and media centers of this city and quickly gained near-total control!”

“Under the reign of this outlaw code, technology has been warped, from the tool of humanity… to its master! A master who has striven to delete legend, faith, and hope from the hearts of the people.”

Who among us doesn’t whimper themselves to sleep under the burden of such thoughts?

But the author is kind and gives us hope again in the form of his new alliance “Digital intelligence teamed with the cream of humanity” – Batman and Robin of course!

The final climatic meeting of these two sides, human and just vs. insane code, results in a world shaking psychedelic journey taking the reader to the edge of time, eternity itself, and beyond!

Everything is portrayed in breathtaking detail – computerized innerscapes, fantastic air-space battles, and even street level crime. Moreno displays a startling grasp of human anatomy and a touching understanding of expression- every face feels alive, the subtlety of their countenance bringing the reader deeper into this world.

There are great heights of beauty among the chasms of dark depravity necessary to bring weight to such a heavy tale.

While the story ends, far too soon for this reviewer, thankfully there is extra content in this book to help handle your craving for more.

There is a diagram for the Batcraft (Stealth VTOL Multipurpose All Weather Craft) which showcases the impressive high-tech design for this sleek futuristic vehicle.

There is also the Batsuit, complete with brain wave interface and helmet integrated micro-computer. Finally a diagram for the ominous Servocop bots rounds out this selection – I was wondering exactly how much they weighed!

The extras also include some DNA ID cards – the “character stack” showcasing some beautifully crafted portraits of our heroes and villains. Lastly, a “glossary stack” really showcases just how much creative work has gone into building this fine tuned world. Terms such as Robo-Phone and Pleasure Suit are given history and context for the interested reader.

Pepe Moreno’s impressive bio is featured in the last two pages.

As he ends – “certain that multi-media, digital entertainment is the wave of the future. He plans to be at the forefront of it.”

So rarely is an artist able to predict his own career. Moreno is a quickly recognizable name in today’s burgeoning field of digital comics and deservedly so!

As for this book, it will always go down in history as the one that showed everyone that digital comics were vastly superior to outdated analog measures.

It’s quite obviously the best graphic novel to come out of the late 80s and early 90s – probably the best Batman story ever.

Verdict:
5 out of 5. An inventive and mindblowing story lovingly wrapped in futuristic art sure to impress any reader.

Not only an amazing work of sequential art but also a classic of post-relativistic anti-modernist literature.

Essential Continuity:
This is the book that started the Batman craze of the 90s – without it we would have never gotten Tim Burton’s Batman, Batman: The Animated Series, The Dark Knight Returns, or Batman branded pop-tarts.

Read first:
Everything you need to know about Batman is right here.

Read next:
After this book, you’ll never need to read another comic again. Or want to!

Still, Batman: 3D came out the same year.

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By | Saturday, November 27, 2010 | 10:41 pm | 7 Comments | Blog > Reviews
Find This Book At:
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Half.com (Softcover)
Amazon (Softcover)
View our database entry
Includes Issues: Jonah Hex 7-12
Issue Dates: July – December 2006
Creators:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, 

This review contains light spoilers. Skip To The Verdict? »

Sometimes when I’m reading a stack of books following a single character, I’ll pick up the next one in line without glancing at the title or cover (usually a bit of a complement to the work.)

Such was the case here, and I had found myself musing on the theme of “Vengeance” long before I closed the book midway through, seeking a brief breath before moving on. Noticing

the title for the first time since picking up the volume, it seemed perfect – Guns of Vengeance. A fitting title for this collection, the second contemporary Jonah Hex trade paperback.

Continuing the ongoing written by and , the book features work by an impressive stable of artists: (in order of appearance) Luke Ross, Dylan Teague, Val Semeiks, Dan Green (on Val’s inks), Hex Co-creator Tony DeZuniga, Phil Noto (with his own colors), David Michael Beck, and Paul Gulacy. Except for Phil’s story, the colors are handled by Rob Schwager.

All the artists have a little bit different take on our mutilated mudruckin’ Hex, but no one is phoning it in here – it’s a sterling set of work.

Pretty ladies and beautiful sunsets, wide eye’d innocents and Hex’s ugly cuss, plus of course a wide variety of graphic and artfully implied violence – it’s all here and rendered wonderfully, if not quite tastefully. That might depend on your personal disposition.

As mentioned before, this is the second graphic novel release, collecting issues 7-12 of the Hex ongoing. This series often is lauded for it’s friendliness to readers hoping to jump right in, and while it’s easier than most to pick up, I’d still recommend checking out the previous trade, Face Full of Violence, first (and the classic Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex to secure maximum enjoyment.)

Back to the theme of vengeance. This is a motif close to the heart of the western and just as classic for comics. Brian made a comparison between Hex and Batman in his review of the first book, and it’s fair: Batman also burns with revenge.

But Hex isn’t as controlled or pure as the cowled crimefighter. His vengeance is a darker fire and if we were to draw parallels to superheroes we might have to look to Marvel for the closest comparisons in Wolverine, the Punisher, and perhaps Ghost Rider (who actually share at least two books.)

Hex is a bounty hunter, a job defined by the seeking of justice for some injured party. In his old days, during the Bronze Age series, he was a bit more of a forgiving fellow, leaving the killing up to the law when possible (unless really pushed over the edge, which happened a few enough times.)

Since then he’s hardened further, and the lifting of the comics code has allowed him to indulge in (mostly off camera) torture when necessary. In this collection’s first story, he responds to the offer of a fresh bounty“Since when is alive an option?”

A cold, dark man. His actions are understandable, in their way, in this world.

Understandable and mostly satisfying, quite entertaining. We as a culture are usually happy to see bad things happening to bad bad men. If there is any downside, though, it might be that the stories can be a little predictable. People get what they deserve and the details generally have to do with “how” and “why” more than “when” and “if.”

These tales of manly revenge take place across an assortment of classic stages, from boom towns gone bad to dusty deserts, snow-capped mountains and even  the dank and verdant recesses of a nasty hick (and gator) filled swamp.

This last one plays to the strengths of Noto’s coloring.

The storytelling is very good, with a time hopping pacing punctuated with the odd movie style title panel – “Hellfire Rains on Texas” or “The Jaws of Death” – lending a lighter pulpy mood to the grim events.

Similar to the first book, the stories seem to be self contained, but there’s actually a fair amount of continuity here. One particular story (actually my favorite of the bunch) features El Diablo, who discusses Hex’s meeting with Bat Lash in the past volume. This story is a continuation of plot threads left off in that same book.

I quite enjoy the treatment of the other western characters in this series, where it seems as if they are old acquaintances with long histories – a nice nod to the publications they shared for many years even if their stories rarely crossed over in the Bronze Age.

Other feelings of continuity are more subtle. A building of the character, some stories that feel like they play off classic tales (including one, Gettin’ Unhaunted that I think is a riff on a Bat Lash issue, though perhaps primarily in theme rather than direct connection.) While the stories here are good, I find myself hoping for more longer arcs and reoccurring characters.

It’s worth mentioning again how great it is to have original Hex artist Tony DeZuniga contributing to this book among all these young guns.

He really lets loose here. though one of the more tasteful when it comes to actual violence, his Hex is quite possibly the most grotesque of the bunch, yet also the most relatable.

There’s a sadness, a softness in those eyes, which coupled with the strange events of this story makes for a moving and, because this is a Jonah Hex book, slightly disturbing tale.

A problem with vengeance is that it may be short term satisfaction – the death of your enemy, the death of a killer may seem just, but it probably won’t fill the voids left by their actions. Hex isn’t sure whether he does God’s work or the Devil’s – or perhaps some wrathful combination.

It’s such that tortures Jonah Hex, but lack of fulfillment for the hunter still makes for a cruelly satisfying collection of stories.

Verdict:
4 of 5. Good wholesome violent fun, with a hint of morality play and top notch art. The stories can be a tad predictible, and might benefit from some more characters that aren’t dead or left behind by the end.

Overall, highly recommended to any fan of westerns, bloody vengeance, and fitting ends for bad men.

Essential Continuity:
Reading this book is reccomended before moving on towards the next Jonah Hex book.

No real impact on the DC Universe as a whole, as far as I can see at this time, but some amusing references to other titles of the past (including the time traveling Hex series, which will be interesting to find a spot for on our reading order if they ever collect it.)

Read first:
Read Showcase Presents Jonah Hex and/or Jonah Hex: Welcome to Paradise. Follow that up with Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence.

Showcase Presents: Bat Lash is recommended for enjoyment of the previous volume. Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo is skipable, in this reviewer’s opinion.

The 2001 El Diablo Vertigo series is great, but doesn’t tie in directly – feel free to read it at any time.

Read next:
The immediate next stop (on the DC Universe reading order, for the DC Westerns, and Jonah Hex) is Jonah Hex: Origins, collecting issues 13-18 of this series.

It’s the next stop for me as well, as I continue reviewing my way through the collected DC Universe – so stick around to check out that review in the next couple days.

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