ADVANCE REVIEW: Skullkickers Vol.1: A Thousand Opas and a Dead Body releases on March 9th. Pre-order at Amazon and check out more info (podcasts, Skullkickers-related news, other reviews) at the official Skullkickers site. Pleasantries aside, onto the review!
In many ways, Skullkickers by Jim Zubkavich and Edwin Huang reminds me of the recent Pak/Van Lente run on Incredible Hercules. There's the fast-paced buddy-adventure, the ridiculous SFX, the goofy comedy, and a great sense of fun. That's about where the similarities end though as Skullkickers is definitely its own beast. Set in a world that will seem familiar to fans of World of Warcraft, the book tells a fun romp of two buddies doing all they can to get by. A fun gimmick that Zubkavich uses here is to not give either of his protagonists names yet, allowing their actions to define the characters. It's an experiment that mostly works, but it does make it hard to describe the book in reviews with any consistency. For the purposes of this review, we're going to call the short, feisty, hairy fella MacDwarf and the tall, pistol-slinging, bald guy Baldy. I'm just full of creativity today, aren't I?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Top 10 Funniest Panels of the Week: February 23rd, 2011 Edition
10. Avengers
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: John Romita Jr.
So Iron Man owns Area 51. Who knew? |
Labels:
Funny,
Panels of the week
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wondrous Wednesday Reviews: Fantastic Four #588, Amazing Spider-man #655, and Action Comics #898
Well, what a wonderfully woeful week where words wreak weepy ways. That kinda worked. But in all non-alliterative seriousness, today's floppy review pile was a bit of a downer with not one, but two comics focusing on the aftermath of a character death in the previous issue. The other features Larfleeze, possibly the most amusing new character of the decade. So, without further ado about strange dichotomies, I present to you this week's reviews of Fantastic Four #588, Amazing Spider-man #655, and Action Comics #898
Labels:
Action Comics,
Fantastic Four,
Floppy,
Spider-man
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
DC hilariously adbombs Marvel's site with All-Star Superman banner
Marvel doing its best to promote the competition. |
It's probably just Google Adsense promoting similar products, but I thought it was pretty funny.
Labels:
All-Star Superman,
DC,
Funny,
Marvel
Three series to try out this Wednesday: Sixth Gun #9, Skullkickers #6, and Atomic Robo: Deadly Art of Science #4
Each Wednesday I'm going highlight three series that just aren't being given enough attention by my fellow readers in the hope that some of you will expand your horizons, pick up an issue and hopefully find a new favorite!
This week, we're recommending Sixth Gun #9, Skullkickers #6, and Atomic Robo: Deadly Art of Science #4
This week, we're recommending Sixth Gun #9, Skullkickers #6, and Atomic Robo: Deadly Art of Science #4
Labels:
Atomic Robo,
Floppy,
Sixth Gun,
Skullkickers
Celebrating the Life and Work of Dwayne McDuffie
McDuffie at the Milestone launch |
However, I was raised that while still a sad event, memorials should be a happy time. A time of celebration of the dearly departed's life and accomplishments. So that's what we're going to do here today. We're going to celebrate the life of a brilliant man who could make us laugh, make us think, and make quality entertainment while doing so.
Few people outside of his dedicated fanbase know that McDuffie was a brilliant, highly educated, multi-discipline graduate student. Graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in English, McDuffie went on to do graduate work in Physics and finally ended up attending NYU's film school. It was there that he developed his trademark wit and humor, working under a pseudonym as a writer for various stand-up comedians and late-night tv comedies. Moving on from those gigs, McDuffie found himself attempting a few more serious-minded jobs, eventually ending up as a copy editor for a financial magazine, before finally landing his first comics position at Marvel Comics.
Labels:
death,
Dwayne McDuffie,
life,
News
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What Diamond Digital is, what's wrong with it, and how to fix it.
Announced on February 9th, Diamond Digital is the veritable distribution company's first foray into the digital sphere |
Normally, such an announcement would be heralded as an important step forward for the industry and forward motion towards the digital future that the comics medium undoubtedly faces. Unfortunately, Diamond's announcement was poorly communicated and led to all sorts of wild speculation, ranging from higher prices for digital editions to lack of iPad support to bizarre distribution schemes that made less sense than Diamond's previous resistance to going digital. Thankfully, due to the journalistic diligence of the fine folks at Robot6 via CBR, we have a much clearer picture as to just what Diamond Digital actually is.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Warren Ellis announces he's working on a new serial webcomic
Labels:
News,
Warren Ellis
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Triumphant Thursday Reviews! Featuring: Thunderbolts #153, Superman/Batman #81, and Uncanny X-force #5
Thanks for joining us for Thursday's reviews! Today, we've got a trio of terrific titles for your titillation.
Labels:
Floppy,
Superman/Batman,
Thunderbolts,
Uncanny X-force
Everything You Need To Know About The Thor Trailer
Well, that was a kickass trailer! For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I've embedded it below courtesy of Yahoo! movies.
Let's see what we can glean from this trailer. Annotations as follows
Let's see what we can glean from this trailer. Annotations as follows
Funniest Panels of the Week: February 16th, 2011 Edition
Wolverine and Jubilee #2
The idea of Wolverine having his tongue stuck to Colossus' shiny metal body is something that needs to be incorporated into a future storyline.
Labels:
Funny,
Panels of the week
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dissecting the Teaser Spread in ASM #654.1
Well, aside from copious hammer teasers for Fear Itself, Marvel's been letting loose with the Spidey teasers. Courtesy of the friendly people at Bleedingcool, we have a nice look at the two page spread in ASM #654.1 that foreshadows a lot of coming events for Mr. Parker.
Click to embiggen |
Of course, as with any juicy teaser like this, it's time for some baseless speculation! I broke down the two pages and cleaned them up, so let's have a look and see what we can't come up with?
Labels:
News,
Spider-man,
teaser
Three series to try out this Wednesday: Kill Shakespeare, Jennifer Blood, and Twilight Guardian
While this Wednesday certainly is a busy one, with lots of high profile releases like Green Lantern, Amazing Spider-man, and Brightest Day, I want to take some time to spotlight three other series that you might want to try out. Who knows? You could find a new favorite!
Labels:
Floppy,
Jennifer Blood,
Kill Shakespeare,
Twilight Guardian
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Titanic Tuesday Floppy Reviews: Amazing Spider-man #654, Batgirl #18, and Carnage #3
Ok, dear readers, I'm going to be doing my best to add new floppy reviews every other weekday. Today, let's take a look at Batgirl, Amazing Spider-man, and Carnage.
Top-Secret Spidey Event Stealthily Announced?
Reading through the just released Marvel solicits for May 2011, when I stumbled upon this solicit for Amazing Spider-man #660.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #660
Written by DAN SLOTT
Pencils & Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
“Parental Supervision Required”
THIS ISSUE IS PACKED!!! The SINISTER SIX versus SPIDER-MAN and the FF… and by FF, we mean ALL of the Future Foundation! Know what’s not a good place for children, even super powered kids? A full-scale battle with the world’s deadliest super villains! It’s not “Bring Your Kids To Work” Day, not a field trip, and it’s definitely not a game! This is a high stakes battle and there’s no way it will end well….
You also get part 3 of the death-defying team up of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider by Rob Williams and Lee Garbett. And also this issue…our 2nd in a series of “Infested” preludes leading to this summer’s top secret Spidey event! Phew!
40 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #660
Written by DAN SLOTT
Pencils & Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
“Parental Supervision Required”
THIS ISSUE IS PACKED!!! The SINISTER SIX versus SPIDER-MAN and the FF… and by FF, we mean ALL of the Future Foundation! Know what’s not a good place for children, even super powered kids? A full-scale battle with the world’s deadliest super villains! It’s not “Bring Your Kids To Work” Day, not a field trip, and it’s definitely not a game! This is a high stakes battle and there’s no way it will end well….
You also get part 3 of the death-defying team up of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider by Rob Williams and Lee Garbett. And also this issue…our 2nd in a series of “Infested” preludes leading to this summer’s top secret Spidey event! Phew!
40 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
Labels:
News,
Spider-man
GIANT-SIZE Postscript: Marvel's not so subtle dig at Amazons Attack
Back cover of the Incredible Hercules: Love and War TPB |
While calling Amazons Attack a bad story is like calling the Pope a bit Catholic, I got to hand it to Marvel for putting this dig in here.
Labels:
Amazons Attack,
Funny,
Incredible Hercules
Monday, February 7, 2011
Is "writing for the omnibus" the next "writing for the trade?" Part 1
Brubaker's sublime Captain America run is prime example of this new school of storytelling |
Borders Inches Ever Closer to Bankruptcy
A rapidly vanishing sight |
Labels:
bankruptcy,
Borders,
News
Scumbag Spidey
Spidey's a dick. Pretty funny spin-off of the Scumbag Steve meme that's been circling Reddit lately. If anyone finds more or something else that gives them a good laugh, let me know in the comments! |
Labels:
Funny,
Scumbag Spidey
Mega-Monday Floppy Reviews: Magus #1, Secret Warriors #24, and Heroes for Hire #3!
A bit late in posting this, but let's see how the floppies did!
Labels:
Floppy,
Heroes for Hire,
Magus,
Secret Warriors
GIANT-SIZE REVIEW - Incredible Hercules: Love and War TPB
Herc "relaxing" with Namora following the epic events of Sacred Invasion |
I think it's only fitting that the site's inaugural review be on the trade it get its onomatopoeic title from. So, let's dive into this particular volume and see what's what.
Labels:
Giant-size,
Incredible Hercules
Welcome To Crakkajamma Comics!
Smashing Namesake of the Blog |
As you will see in the coming days ahead, I'm going to have a few features that will be showing up with some regularity. First, I'm
going to have reviews for both trades and for single issue floppies. Why review trades? It's (in this blogger's humble opinion) the number one way for new readers to get into comics. Have a friend you want to get into comics? Give them a complete story, something to get them hooked and wanting more. So, at least once a week, I'm going to be doing a "Giant-Sized" review of a trade paperback from a previously concluded story arc.
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