Please accept our apologies for Wednesday's preempted broadcast but we promise to make up for lost time with tonight's double feature show! Let's keep it terse and to the point, folks! Join Dburt, Daryll B. and Captain Kirk for The Comic Shoppe airing at 6pm. The topics on the table this time are: the crew extrapolates the true meaning behind a recent Washington Post blog entry that examines the rise of the Black nerd; DC comics has announced the 2013 release of an event comic series centered on the exchange of hero match ups with (other heroes') different villains; and with the news of this forthcoming series. the team ponders on other changes or storylines that would be would considered if they were in control of their favorite comic companies; the truth behind Joseph Gordon Levitt taking the mantle of the bat for the next Dark Knight/JLA proposition as well as additional pulp/pop related issues that are bound to come up during this Yuletide airing. Call the hosts live at 646-915-9620.
And would you believe that after the Comic Shoppe colloquium, there's still more show! At 7pm continue listening to Afronerd Radio with your hosts, Dburt and Captain Kirk. The topics-Does the untimely and tragic death of Florida teen, Jordan Davis smell like Trayvon Martin 2.0?; what's up with pop culture youth? singer, Chris Brown and Two and a Half Men actor, Angus T. Jones have respective public meltdowns; our Powerball fantasies; why the jellyfish might hold the key to biological immortality and if time permits, we will pick up on any stories left on the proverbial table from our last broadcast.
Tis The Holiday Season! Comic Shoppe @6pm & Afronerd @7pm!
And without further adieu, feel free to peruse the latest musings from The Shoppe's own Daryll B:
*muffled sounds coming from the back*
... wow. That wind outside is really howling outside today huh? Without further adieu...
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith is everything I could want in a DC series about a boy magically transforming into an adult hero by the award winning creator of Bone. Endearing, humorous, with a tinge of dramatic horror, Shazam really was made for both kids and adults and is the perfect gateway drug into comics.
Similar in nature, Power Girl: A New Beginning by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner may be more adult but has the same gateway properties. This is the book to give as an example of a fresh start for a well known character but not ignoring the previous history. Karen Starr's JSA ties and her mentor relationship with newish hero iteration of Terra were well represented here. I wish that this book was continued into the Nu-52
I feel the same about Michael Jon Carter and felt the need to pick up two of his adventures: Booster Gold: Blue & Gold by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Dan Jurgens, and Norm Rapmund and Booster Gold: Day of Death by Dan Jurgens, and Norm Rapmund. Hijinks through the DC Universe timeline with him and various superheroes are just the right medicine for a story continuity junkie like me. The way the creative teams handled the burden was almost note perfect.
I wanted to complete some of my book runs and saw Blue Beetle: Reach For The Stars by John Rogers and Rafael Albuquerque and couldn't resist picking it up. Jaime Reyes' is a major, yet minor character in his own book as his family and supporting cast of friends continued to steal the show out from under him. As a bonus, you see his first interactions with the Teen Titans, echoing what is now being shown in the Young Justice cartoon.
Going a little astray from the cartoon, Space Ghost by Joe Kelly and Ariel Olivetti is a VERY adult origin story for the 60's superhero turned 90's talk show host. Olivetti's realistic painted style captures a "Training Day" type story of betrayal, loss, revenge, and redemption. I don't think his original creators ever thought about going this in-depth with his story. However, it was well developed and that was probably the scariest Zorak I have ever seen....
Speaking of in-depth, Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder, Jock, and Francesco Francavilla is right up there with Prodigal as my favorite "Dick Grayson as Batman" stories. Two different but interconnected stories made up this hardcover colored by the themes of "would our heroes have to become monsters themselves to stop monsters?" and "are we born evil or is evil thrust upon us by circumstances?". Hell, the story involving Commissioner Gordon's son will have you needing to take a shower immediately afterwards.
On the other end of the spectrum, SuperZombies by Marc Guggenheim, Vince Gonzales, and Mel Rubi wasn't really that scary to me but did succeed in combining political intrigue, and superhero tropes. This was a "Supreme Power meets Rising Stars in the world of Dead Rising" attempt and although very ambitious, I think it missed the mark when trying to be scary.
*muffled sounds in background getting louder*
The movie might not have made as big of a splash like some intended but WhiteOut by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber is a great example of a Frank Miller influenced book that takes place far outside conventional noir surroundings. The very idea of a murder happening in a place like an Arctic Station and you being confined with an unknown killer with no escape is a great premise. Rucka and Lieber truly made this whodunit into a thriller in the vein of any Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes novel.
Ka-Zar by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert is an example of one of Mark Waid's strengths. He takes a familar hero and provides a new angle that hooks readers' attention. The corrupting influence of technology is a theme we explore today and Waid was doing that with Ka-Zar in the mid-90's. Granted we don't live in the Savage Land but the family and social issues raised are the axis in which this book is anchored.
While I loved the facelift to that classic character, sometimes the classic tales are best and as a immediate follow up to Under Siege, Avengers: Assault On Olympus by Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer, Bob Harras, Bob Hall, and Kyle Baker falls right into that category. Hercules took a horrific, near death beating by The Masters of Evil and the ramifications of healing him are the foundation for the adventure here. I really don't know why Marvel didn't collect this tale sooner but I'm glad they finally did cause it rocked from the start.
From there, I went back to the future with Amazing Spider-Man: Spider Island by Dan Slott, Rick Remender, Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli, and Tom Fowler. I have to say that I underestimated the foundations that Dan Slott laid and how well Remender followed his lead with the Venom tie-ins. Still it is hard for me to believe that NO ONE got out of Manhattan possessing spidey powers when it was essentially only security "road blocks" keeping the populace in. But this is nothing new for me because I did read Planet of the Symbiotes from the Spideyverse during the late '90s. Logistics have never been one of this universe's strengths.
*Loud audible bangs heard from door*
Finally, I picked up Franklin Richards Son of a Genius Ultimate Collection 1 and 2 by Chris Eliopoulos and Marc Sumerak to complete my shop-a-thon. With all the serious stories, it was nice to grab these 2 collections of the youngster's misadventures in the Marvel Universe. These books are perfect in tone for kids/younger readers and for everyone that has a lil kid within their personality....
*Door crashes in*
***You MOTHERLESS SON OF A..... Jump me and steal my blog time will u? I'm going to...is that my blog??? I'm going to throttle you!!!!***
Ok Folks! Seems my acidic personality has woken up. So I better run. Until next time...
***I'm going to kill you***
...Keep Fantasizing!!!Hi AfroNerd Readers. Once again in a growing effort to curb Daryll B.'s growing negativity, we at the AfroNerd Mothership have "enlisted" him into doing a set of mini reviews of his Black Friday reviews....
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