Black Panther #33 has stellar art by Andrea Di Vito and a smart story by Reginald Hudlin. T’Challa, Johnny, and Ben are captives on a Skrull planet. Storm has avoided capture and in this issue she ends up in Skrull Uptown, modeled after late 60s / early 70s Harlem.
We meet Skrull MLK, Jr. and Skrull Malcolm. Storm sides with Skrull Malcolm and prepares to sneak through the back door into the Skrull Arena where Panther and the rest of the crew have been enslaved as gladiators. It’s a great story that’s easy on the eyes. And it’s the final Comic Pick of 2007. Catch you in 2008, baby.
An interview with Ross Campbell, comic book creator known for his work as the writer and artist on Wet Moon, The Abandoned, and much more. We talk about the recent release of Wet Moon 3, future projects such as Water Baby and The Abandoned 2, as well as the X-Men, Avengers, DCU, 52, superhero movies, and tons more. Happy holidays from the AudioShocker crew!
It’s the first ever AudioShocker Comic Pick two-way tie. Last week had a fairly horrid turnout but this week had copious amounts of awesome issues. It was so tough to choose the best that I had to make a compromise.
Mighty Avengers #6 ended the delayed first arc of this series with stellar results. Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho produced a wonderful team effort that reads like a dream and looks like a comics masterpiece. Standout moments include Cho’s visualization of Ultron’s antivirus efforts, the Wasp’s heroic moment, and the Sentry’s emotional revelation.
Kyle Baker’s second issue of Special Forces came out one month after the first and delivered an equally rousing story in only 22 pages. Frankly, I didn’t expect to see this series follow up so quickly with a part-two. I’m glad it did because Baker’s interpretation of a modern day war story is thoughtful and intriguing while never slacking in action.
For those of you who follow our podcast regularly, you know that our new episodes come out every Tuesday. Well this upcoming Tuesday is Christmas and we have a special holiday gift - a nearly two-and-a-half hour interview with comic book creator Ross Campbell, writer / artist of Wet Moon, The Abandoned, and much more. We talk about past projects, current projects, future projects, and the world of superhero storytelling. Don’t miss it!
Tons of fun as we talk about Wyclef, Amanda Diva, Wu Tang, The Dream, Jaheim, Amerie, Michael Showalter, Dexter, The Golden Compass, Cocaine Cowboys, Avatar, Achewood, Immortal Iron Fist vol 1, Immortal Iron Fist 11, Mighty Avengers 6, Incredible Hulk 112, and so mucho more.
If you have been following the AudioShocker you know that I judge music based on 4 things: the beat, the video, the vocals and content. Let me break down the new Britney Spears single, Piece of Me, right quick.
The Beat - The beat is more abrasive than a Gobi Desert sandstorm. I honestly had to stop listening to the song after about 30 seconds and take an Aspirin. The track was produced by Bloodshy & Avant, the same Swedish gents that we can thank for such gems as Toxic and Me Against the Music.
The Video - This video consists of 4 things in rotation: Britney, video girls, paparazzi, and tabloid covers. The video girls are not even remotely relevant, but I suppose it’s not a pop video without them. Sidenote - Is there a union for video girls? Britney sports a post-Sabrina Melissa Joan Heart look which seems a bit out place. This video is remarkably forgettable.
The Vocals - Using a Vocoder is a crime and I hereby sentence Britney to 25-life! (That goes double for Cher and triple for T-Pain). What is up with producers and the Vocoder? There is not a single second of this track that is vocoder-free.
Please support our Vocoder Boycott. We can stop the industry from cramming over produced, untalented garbage like this into our ear holes with our wallets.
Content - The song itself can be summed up in the following statement, ‘Yall wish you were as popular with the media and paparazzi as me. However you are not and I am, so stop hatin!’ In that respect, maybe there is some witty truth in the opening line, ‘I’m Miss American Dream since I was 17′. Then again, Britney has a line about trying to be a good working mommy and being unique or something. That is funny since she is filthy rich and everyone in Hollywood is preggers. Fuck, even Jessica Alba has a baby bump now.
The bottom line? If this were a Paris Hilton video I could easily write it off and move on. However, this is Britney Spears and I expect more from my pop stars. Cowgirl up and entertain me Britney - because this shit doesn’t cut it.
Hmmph. This is the most bleak week of comic book releases since I started this feature. Well, let me take that back - New Avengers #37 may be an excellent issue. But my comic shop was shorted by Diamond Comics and didn’t receive their full shipment. Disappointing.
And this week’s pick - Punisher War Journal #14 - is not a bad book. But it’s not quite AudioShocker comic pick caliber. We follow Frank Castle and the Rhino as they both do their best to bust up a twisted menagerie of animal supervillains being controlled by the son of Kraven.
In a more perfect world every week would blow my mind with its comic releases. Alas, this week was largely a whimper.
We talk Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface, Roc Boys, Grace Potter, Hulu.com, Tin Man, Elektra, AFV, Disturbia, Hot Rod, Y the Last Man, The 99 3, Fantastic Four 552, Punisher War Journal 14, Ultimate Iron Man II 1, Wolverine 60, and so much more.
The 99 #3. The third time this series is a Comic Pick. What can I say? It’s damn good. Granted there was less competition than usual. It was just an average week for comics. Dynamo 5 #9 almost made it as Comic Pick, but at the end of the day it just didn”t deliver like The 99.
In this issue, we meet Mumita the Destroyer. John McCrea was in top form, proving that being a good comic artist is all about enhancing the flow of the story. The back up story was awesome. The baddie, Rughal, takes us on a short narrative journey highlighting his relationship with the Noor Stones. It’s an interesting piece set across history.
I have to hand it to Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa. He really brings everything together at the end. He compares the relationship between Jabbar and Mumita to therapist and patient. Looking at the story through that angle - literally seeing the therapy process come alive as a fist fight - makes the story so much more meaningful.
(And how can you go wrong with this? The first two American issues of The 99, along with two other issues, are available for free as PDFs on the99.org. That’s awesome.)
This TV strike and middle of the season thing is killing me. Metalocalypse is off. 30 Rock is off. Weeds is over. BSG isn’t on yet. I just watched the midseason ep of Heroes Season 2 - and well, it is nuts. Caution, spoiler alert.
In short: Adam gets his, Nikki gets lit up, Nathan gets capped, Elle still sucks, and Sylar gets his groove back.
In long: Putting Adam in a coffin in the same graveyard as Hiro’s dad is pretty thuggish ruggish. It is all very Cask of Amontillado. Nikki getting torched was a bit unnecessary. Nathan getting capped may have been ‘inevitable,’ but what is his mom’s power? Does she even have one? I really want to know.
Elle seriously needs to get it together. She is that crazy cute girl that you should never date, but inevitably you end up doing it anyway. A smarter man than I once said, “Don’t fuck Crazy.” In this example, Elle is the ‘Crazy’.
Sidenote: How poor of a password is ‘Midas’ for a guy with the golden touch?
Sylar getting his powers back may excite some people, but I am kind of tired of his character. All the forward tilting head, evil smile stuff is getting old. Maya’s character is pretty boring too. I was kind of relieved when Sylar ended her. Did you all catch the whole ‘Sylar is junkie’ thing at the end? Yea, it was pretty overt.
The 6 ep Heroes: Origins spinoff stopped production thanks to the Writers Guild Strike. Consequently, it may be a while till the next ep.
Quantum of Solace, All I Want, "One More Drink" by Ludacris, Uncanny X-Men #165 thru #175, Chris Claremont, and Paul Smith.
On The Next Podcast...
We've got a feeling that Podcast Episode 057 on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 is going to be extra awesome, mostly because we are extra awesome. Make sense?
Black Panther #33 has stellar art by Andrea Di Vito and a smart story by Reginald Hudlin. T’Challa, Johnny, and Ben are captives on a Skrull planet. Storm has avoided capture and in this issue she ends up in Skrull Uptown, modeled after late 60s / early 70s Harlem.
It’s the first ever AudioShocker Comic Pick two-way tie. Last week had a fairly horrid turnout but this week had copious amounts of awesome issues. It was so tough to choose the best that I had to make a compromise.
Kyle Baker’s second issue of Special Forces came out one month after the first and delivered an equally rousing story in only 22 pages. Frankly, I didn’t expect to see this series follow up so quickly with a part-two. I’m glad it did because Baker’s interpretation of a modern day war story is thoughtful and intriguing while never slacking in action.
Hmmph. This is the most bleak week of comic book releases since I started this feature. Well, let me take that back - New Avengers #37 may be an excellent issue. But my comic shop was shorted by Diamond Comics and didn’t receive their full shipment. Disappointing.
The 99 #3. The third time this series is a Comic Pick. What can I say? It’s damn good. Granted there was less competition than usual. It was just an average week for comics. Dynamo 5 #9 almost made it as Comic Pick, but at the end of the day it just didn”t deliver like The 99.
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