Follow up care: Blue Beetle #2, Green Arrow #61 & Robin #149:
Last month I reviewed some of DC's OYL and I was iffy about whether I was going to enjoy them. So here is some follow up on those comics. Next shipment should be coming soon.

Blue Beetle #2: The new Blue Beetle, Jaime has been wandering the desert for a long time. Some memories are coming back to him. And for the suprise that awaits him home... OYL.

The verdict is a good one for Giffen, Rogers, Hamner and company. I think we have a winner here. This issue gave me a better favor of whats to come: a combination of teen angst; comedy; and good comic fun. RATINGS: STORY- 7/10 ART- 6/10.

Green Arrow #61: The new mayor Queen has plans for some big changes. Not all the citzens of Star City are ready for them and of course a Green Arrow sitting complicating things. At the end of the day awaits a special surprise for Mayor Oliver.

It is too early to full judge this story yet. Since both Judd Winick and Scott McDaniel work on Batman titles, the feel of the comic too Batman-ish. Probably due the fact that these two characters are too similar or creators are too familiar with Batman. Judd is trying to bring the "Robin Hood" back to the Green Arrow, but it is coming too Batman-ish so far. Hopefully they can overcome the similarities between the two characters and Green Arrow will shine as Green Arrow, not the second rate Batman. RATINGS: STORY-7/10 ART-8/10

Robin #149: Robin continues to investigate the death of the fake "Batgirl." The road takes him to the police station to gather evidence to prove his innocence. Of course hell breaks loose when he is spotted....

So far the comic is the best of the OYL. I love how Adam Beechen show the immaturity of Robin by letting him get caught in the police station and get his ass handed to him by Lady Shiva. Lately, most writers are making him grow up too fast. It is nice too see him fall on his face sometimes. As for the artist, Freddie Williams II, his work is growing on me. I have yet to finish his work on Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle. At first I thought it made Robin too young, but it fit with the theme of youth and inexperience. I am glad he is going to be the regular artist on this series. RATINGS: STORY- 8/10 ART- 8/10

Some night surfing: Oh it is late... and I got to work thie Memorial Day Monday. Shouldn't I be in bed. Answer is YES. Instead I was doing some night surfing instead. I found this cool little clip which I first saw on the News From Me blog. Pretty funny.

Comic geeks and sport jocks do mix: I'm not sure if you got the lastest issue of ESPN, the cover with Larry Johnson from the K.C. Chiefs. The famous James Jean did some excellent illustratons on NBA players that were X-factors during the playoffs: Alonzo Mourning; Antonio McDyess; Shaun Livingston; Richard Jefferson; and DeSagana Diop. You can check out these great pictures on his website. Plus you get an extra piece that did not make it into the magazine of Brent Berry (which I think is the best piece.)

Fantasy Blog Stock Market
Holy Smokes! I was surfing the internet and checking if anyone has been looking at my site. I noticed thet my site is listed on the Fantasy Blog Stock Market. It is a website that makes weblog into a company that has shares. I was shocked. More shocking is that my blog is worth B$1,000.... sweetness! Even more shocking is that someone has shares in my blog (about 80%). Of course only blog is only worth $3.32 a share... and it has been on a downward turn from the very begining. Ouch! So if anyone is reading this blog. Go buy shares of my blog at Fantasy Blog Stock Market and help a fellow out! Let make this blog a blue chipper!

Don't forget to wish your mom an Happy Mother's Day. For if it wasn't for mom, I would be alive reading comic books. Thanks, Mom.

More on Wolverine #41:
If you did not believe Wolverine #41 is a must buy and must read. Check these other reviews:
Comic Should Be Good.
Broken Frontier.
The X-Axis
Zilla and the Comics Junkies
Silver Bullet Comics
Pop Syndicated
Here is some websites that give you some more insight in the plight in Africa:
Conflicts in Africa
Peace Africa

ANOTHER COMIC AUCTION (and another shamless plug):
Going to have to move. So need to empty the home base. Put up some comics up for auction again. So check my auctions out and buy something!

Captain America #17, Moon Knight #1, Ms. Marvel #2, The New Avengers Annual #1, Wolverine #41:
First of all, you need to be reading the Runaways and Young Avengers if you aren't shame on you. These series is getting really good. I have hyped up these comics in my past reviews and there is no need to rehash another review...yet. On to the new stuff, I going to hit some of last month's over-hyped Marvel comics.

Captain America #17: This comic is a recent add to my monthly pulled and let me tell what a great decision that was. This current arc has Crossbones and Red Skull's daughter, SIn chasing the man who killed the Red Skull. And it is a wild ride with Captain America and Sharon not far behind.

I highly recommend this series. Ed Brubaker creates great flow and makes this comic very easy to read and enjoy. The ending feels incomplete with some loose ends, but it is done on purpose to gives the reader a sense of things to come, which works for me in this case. I am eager for more. The art is solid. Mike Perkins reminds me of Steve Epting's art. RATINGS: STORYLINE- 8/10 ART- 7/10.

Moon Knight #1: The hype machine has been all over this comic. First we have Avengers artist David Finch penciling the work. Next another author has crossover into comicdom: Charles Huston. Marc Spector has fallen on some tough times. His mind is shattered. Drugs, pain and old glory haunts his mind. All he wants to do is to become Moon Knight again...

Again this is run of the mill first issue. But since Moon Knight is a more obscure character, it is good that the audience get a good introduction. What is hard to believe is that Moon Knight has a rich back-story and I really wish that someone would annotate the first issue. Overall it is too early to judge this series. Charles has put a good first issue and I'll check out more. Of course Finch is stunning. RATINGS: STORYLINE -7/10 ART-8/10

Ms. Marvel #2: I'll be honest. I'm a Frank Cho fanboy. So should I expect anything....? The alien race, Brood has crash landed to Earth and guess who is there to greet them, Ms. Marvel. But not everything is what it seems. For the Brood aren’t the hunters, but the hunted.

The art is fair and the story is fair: a simple twist in the plot, but nothing to exciting. Can I get my money back? RATINGS: STORYLINE- 5/10 ART- 5/10

New Avengers Annual #1: One of the weddings of the year... Jessica Jones and Luke Cage finally tie the knot. Of course, the Avengers have to deal with a villains from their past. After 24 pages of bashing, Jessica and Luke are married. Lessons to be learned from this issue: 1- Tony can summon a bunch of Iron Men to do his bidding. 2- Sentry's life suck being constantly tortured by the Void. 3. Tony and Spider Woman has some beef going on. And of yea, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage got married.

Bendis is really funny. What worked in this comic was his witty banter between the characters. It alone is worth the price of admission, but with that said the whole plot is kinda a disappointing. Too much focus was placed on this battle and not on the wedding. The art is good and average. RATINGS: STORYLINE- 7/10 ART- 5/10

Wolverine #41: Over the internet there is a lot of buzz about this comic and it deserves it. This is perhaps the best Wolverine story in a long time. Wolverine is war-torn Zwarthead Africa and he is there is pick up a special package... the baby daughter of the recently murdered president. The hope of a nation is his hands. For one day, she may bring peace to a land of destruction... if Wolverine can make it out of the country with her alive...

So far this is the best comic I have read this month. It is a must read. My hat tips off to Stuart Moore and C.P.Smith for telling this great story. The emotion and thoughts of Wolverine it well portrayed in both art and word in this issue. What also is compelling is how actual the situation the setting is. There are parts of Africa were people live and are treated like this comics. There are many stories of children kidnap, brainwashed, and force to kill their parents. It is moving and I think most of the U.S. is ignorant to that tragedy. I applaud Mr. Moore and Smith effort. Strong and emotional writing with perfect complimentary art makes this a must read. RATINGS: STORYLINE- 10/10 ART-10/10

Whoa ho! The fruits of my labor has ripened!
After hours of trying to figure out how to "cut & paste" the counter code into my blog. I now have sucess. I can now count how many times I click on my own webpage. Sweetness!

It is the end of April... do you know what that means? My monthly comicbook order is coming. Just counting the days...

Washington is gorgeous. This is suppose to be a comic book blog, but I just came back from vacation. We went to Seattle, Washington... missed Emerald-con by a few weeks. Let me say that Washington absolutely beautiful. My girlfriend and I went to the tulip festival and we took some great pictures. Hope you enjoy them!

Teen Titans Go!: This blogging thing is harder than I thought. With life going full stream and little spare time, I don't know how people keep their blogs running. Well, I have been catching up with TV with the help of the evil Tivo. (Currently with Tivo, I have watch more TV efficiently than any other part of my life.) The show I am currently in love with is the Teen Titans Go! series. I must admit that this show is awesome and very well written. The roster includes: Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven. Plus they have many guest stars that really create a fun superhero universe for the Titians to play in. The character designs of the gueststars of the supporting cast are great and even better than the orginal.As I was mentioning before that the series is well written. I love how they have used by past storylines, but with a creative new twist. My current favorite is the Terra storyline. Currently Cartoon Network is playing mostly highlights from past seasons in the morning and newer episodes on Saturday night. Edited- After further reading on the internet, apparently this series is getting canned. That sucks 'cuz I was getting to enjoy this series.

Batman Annual #25, Blue Beetle #2, Green Arrow #60, Green Lantern #10, Robin #148: Well, I am finally going to get around posting some new reviews. This time around I am going to focus on the ultra hot One Year Later event that has been running through the DC world. The premise is that one year has past in the world after the Infinite Crisis and the world has changed.

Batman Annual #25: Okay, so the first review is not on a OYL book, but it is one that has gotten a lot of press and hype (enough to get a second pressing). Red Hood, er Hush, er Jason Todd has been running amuck in Gotham and torturing poor old Batman. Well, this is the issue that tells how Jason Todd survived the blast and the thousands of votes to kill Jason. (Perhaps the postal man lost hundreds of vote to save Jason.)
Storywise Judd Winick does admirable job showing Jason's pain and motives. You actually feel sorry for Jason and understand why he hates both the Joker and Batman so much. The art by Shane Davis is good and would work as the regular penciler. My only complaint is the price of $4.99. Wow can DC really jack the price. The story was good, but not 5 dollar good? RATINGS: STORY- 7/10 ART- 7/10

Blue Beetle #1: So the first Blue Beetle was kill in the OMAC series and of course to bring in a new one in his own series. To be honest, I did not really care for the character the first time. So I was tempted to pass on this one. Meet Jamie. He is your ordinary teenager in El Paso, Texas who happen to find this strange blue beetle. Of course, he runs into Guy Gardner and they fight, which ends with the realization that he is the Blue Beetle.
This issues is your standard first issue comic. It introduces the main character and his supporting cast while focusing on teenage superheroes problems. Average story with average art. Plan to check out the next issue before making final decision. RATINGS: STORY- 5/10 ART- 6/10

Green Arrow #60: It is a year later in Star City. Things have changed. Green Arrow is missing. The city is suffering from the fallout of Amsterdam Disaster. Oh by the way Ollie Queen is mayor of the city.
This premise reminds me of happened in Daredevil when he took over Hell's Kitchen. Hopefully Ollie will have better luck than Daredevil. (Since Daredevil is in jail now). I am really interested in where Judd Winick is planning for this Ollie. Call me a fanboy, but I love Scott McDaniel artwork. I love his style and storytelling. RATINGS: STORY- 8/10 ART-8/10

Green Lantern #10: I have been talk about the great job Geoff Johns as been doing for comics. He has resurrected the Flash franchise and keep me hooked on the Teen Titians. Seems like everything he has touch has turn into gold. Green Lantern has been no exception. Up to now, this series has been on an excellent direction. Unfortunately, the OYL may have slow things down... There is a bounty on Hal's head. The United Nation hates Hal. And of course Green Lanterns has a beef with Hal. Nothing is going right.
Unfortunately, OYL came at the wrong time for GL. This issue lays some groundwork for the future, but this issue itself is weakest from Geoff. But there is potential in future storylines... Sinestro. I like Ivan Reis's art. It has a strong traditional sense. RATINGS: STORY-5/10 ART-7/10

Robin #148: Robin has turned Gotchaman. Well at least the style of his costume. The issue starts with Robin finding himself in an alley with what appears to be a dead Batgirl. Of course, the dead Batgirl is really Lynx. The real Batgirl is no where to be found. Now a chase to find Robin the killer begins.
This is probably the most intriguing comic of this batch. Roam Beechan is new to me, but I think I am going to enjoy future issues by. My favorite line is when Batman replies to Robin explaining that he did not kill Batgirl, "I figure it wasn't the real Batgirl. You couldn't have beaten Cassie." Going to love Roam's humor. The art is uneven for me. RATINGS: STORY- 8/10 ART-3/10

Work has been a killer this past month and my poor blog has been neglected. My new shipment of comics will be coming soon and so much as happened this month. I am going to finally find out what happened in Infinite Crisis #5. And One Year Later comics that is getting some much press. I can't wait.

Fantastic Four 534 & 535: Who's comics is this anyways?
J. Michael Straczynski (JMS), you kill me. Ever since he has taken over this comic, it has been a battle to read his issues. Some comics I breeze through and enjoy them effortlessly. With JMS's comic it has been a major struggle, in particular the Fantastic Four and Supreme Power. But I still continue to buy both comics because of the story art by FF's Mike McKone and SP's Gark Frank.
So the Thing and Human Torch has chased to the Hulk to Las Vegas. All this happened because Child Protective Services deemed the Richards as endangerment to their children and has taken custody. The FF needs to locate the Hulk since he is godfather to the kids and could legally take the kids while the FF battled CPS. Of course, the Hulk is in rage mode and starts battling the Thing and Human Torch. Can they calm him down enough to save the kids from the CPS?
The first question I asked, "Is who's comic is this anyways?" JMS wrote a Hulk story, and mislabel this issue with a Fantastic Four label. It is full of flashbacks of Hulk's saddest moments in life. (I wish some one would tag the flash back to the appropriate comic, because I'm sure the younger reader won't remember them.) At the end, you realize the Hulk is one badd muther... and can't be beat, thus leading to the "Planet Hulk" stuff going on the Hulk's own title.
The Thing comments about a conversation to Mr. Fantastic, "Then I made a little joke and said maybe the only way to really protect the world from the Hulk if he ever goes really nuts is ta stick him in a rocket and shoot him out into space-- Let him be somebody else's problem." Of course, they actually do that anyways. Oh by the way, FF ended up not needed the Hulk as a godfather, because somebody blows up the safehouse where the kids were suppose to be, proving that the safest place for the kids is with their parent. So does this event mattered, probably not.
These issues were entertaining, but could be better. JMS continues to hurt me, but I keep taking because of Mike McKone. I loved his work on Teen Titians and wished he had stayed on. RATINGS: STORY- 5/10 ART- 8/10

Runaways 13, X-Static- Deadgirl 2, & Young Avengers 10:
When I get my latest shipment of comics, I get the aura of anticipation and glee. For me, it is my personal Christmas every month. Each comic has the potential to entertain and wow me and along with disappointment. Currently Runaways & Young Avengers are the first comics I read because they have been consistently excellent and well done. And don't forget to buy my comics, so check my auctions out.

Runaway 13: So by now, everyone should be reading this comic. The comic is awesome. I think everyone on this planet is harping how great this comic is. If you haven't read this comic, stop reading this blog and go buy it.
Princess Power AKA Molly is far away from her teammates and wakes up an unfamiliar sewer surrounded by other kids. These kids are under the control of the evil Provost. Provost uses a special collar to force children to become thieves and steal money for him. Little does he know that he has Princess Power to answer to now...
Listen, go buy this comic. You will not regret it. This comic is a single issue storyline which is rare these days, but give you a good feel how general the comic is which is fun. Adrian Alphona, the artist is excellent is capturing the energy and emotion of these characters. Brian K. Vaughan has yet to produce an issue that fails to entertain me and crave for more. RATINGS: STORY- 10/10 ART: 10/10

X-Static Presents: Deadgirl 2: Dr. Strange feels something is wrong with the world of the dead. The Pitiful One is resurrecting dead super-powered heroes and villains to help bring mayhem and death to the living. Dr. Strange knows one on person who can help him... Deadgirl. To entice the dead to help, he knows a sercet that the dead wants: how to become part of the living again.
You would think Dr. Strange who enlist of some of Marvel's heavy hitters instead of Deadgirl, but he choose with Deadgirl and we would have some of the campy-ist dialogue and situations yet. We get the Dead Sisters' book club, Ant-man fighting carpet bugs, and Sensitive Man's phobia of doctors. What more do you really need. Peter Milligan & Mike Allred style really shines. This comic shows why the X-static worked and was so popular. (I think near the end of X-static's run they were getting bored and need time off. Hopefully this will rekindle something and bring that comic back.) Nick Dragotta which is the co-artist with Mike does a good job of continuing the style of the art. Of course Laura Allred's coloring is one of my favorites. This mini-series has become of one of my favorite and will be eagerly awaiting each following issue. RATINGS: STORY- 9/10 ART- 10/10

Young Avengers 10: The Super Skrull has kidnapped the Hulking. The Hulking apparently is a skrull and the only hope for the skull empire. The Young Avengers must now muster some fire power to get him back. They head to Starks tower only to find the New Avengers out on a mission, but the new Vision is there. He locates another super-powered youth to help them battle the Super Skrull... but he is in the federal prison. Can we say jail break! And is this new person going to be a model citzen or a killer.
I was really skeptical when I first heard this comic. I thought is was another one of the new Marvel comics that was going to suck and disappear (Livewires & Spellbinders to name 2.) But this comic has really worked and I keep buying it every month. Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung did a great job creating these characters. Of course, their origins are so interesting and bring so many questions. One of the popular rumors is that Wiccan is a child of the Scarlett Witch, which will be interested to see how that pans out. Allan has a knack for bring the teenage angst and struggles while not boring the old fans (like me). Jim penciling have be good and clean. RATINGS: STORY- 8/10 ART-8/10

COMICS FOR SALE (shamless plug):
Ebay is having another one of those 10 cent listing fee deal. Sorry it ends a midnight. So I have listed some of my comics for sale. Some pretty goos deals. All comics are shipped and packaged carefully. So check my auctions out.
By the way, I got my new comics in today. Yeah for me!

It came from the movies:
I swear this story is true. A gang of art thieve steal 5 million dollars worth of painting from the Chacara do Ceu museum in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. The escaped into a sea thousands of Brazilians during Carnival. The paintings were Pablo Picasso's "The Dance" and a book by him titled "Toros" Claude Monet's "Marine", Henri Matisse's "Garden of Luxembourg" and Salvador Dali's "Two Balconies." This caper sounds like it came from the movies: able to take the painting from a high security museum and making their getaway in a crowd parade.
Reminds me of another theft in Norway. On 22 August 2004, another original of The Scream, together with Munch's Madonna, was stolen (note that Munch painted several versions of The Scream). This time the thieves targeted the version held by the Munch Museum, from where the two paintings were stolen at gunpoint and during opening hours. Of course, six people has been arrested. Remember, crime does not pay... and knowing is half the battle.

Yesterday was a good day, of course today I have to work:
Last night I went to the Coldplay concert in Houston. Let me say it was awesome. Fionne Apple was the opening act and did a good job. Her set which was probable on 30-45 minutes long was 6-7 songs long. The set included all 4 songs that I was familar with (including "Criminal" and "Shadowboxer"), so it was entertaining for the most part. The songs that I did not know was made interesting with her spastic seizure like movements.
Then Coldplay went on stage... I must admit that I haven't been to a concert in like 4 years and I missed the energy and fun live music. (I think the last concert was another Brit-pop band, Travis.) I felt like a 13 year old school girl, screaming and cheering. Coldplay did not disappoint. Chris Martin is soulful and charmastic on stage. You can't help but sing along with them. The band has been a round for 3 albums and each one has its number of hits, which allows the causal fan sing too. The highlights of this concert: "Yellow", "Scientist", Johnny's Cash's "Ring of Fire", "Spiderwebs", and "Swallow in the Sea." At the end of the concert, you are hoping they would do every song and a few more cover songs too. If you have chance to catch them live, I would highly recommend it.
And this week, my comics are coming in... I'm so excited. I'm giddy like a 13 year old.

Bone: One Volume Edition:
The title of my blog is "A month behind..." Sometimes I am a little more behind, like years... Bone finished among 2 years ago and Jeff Smith was kind enough to create 1332 page monster to contained to whole Bone series in reference sized graphic novel. (Again thank you Jeff.)

The Bone cousins are lost in a desert from getting run out of Boneville. They stumble into a land not familiar to themselves: a land full of rat creatures, little and big bugs, dragons, and of course humans. When these three bones enter this new world, it set off a series of events leading to the past to be uncovered, evil reborn, and change for better or worst.

This literature masterpiece leaves me speechless. This is what all comics should aspire to be: fun, entertaining, emotional, suspense... This comic does this without vulgarity or gimmicks. Everyone should read this comic from ages 4-99. If you were buying this comic bi-monthly, you were probably frustrated from the pace this comic was coming out. The end of every issues only causes the reader to crave for more, but in this complete dictionary sized, the reader doesn't have to wait and the price is perfect. Only listed at $39.99, but you can usually find it cheaper online or ordering from your comic book retailer. The art is fantastic. Simple clean lines express emotion and action without the need of color. (But I'm still tempted to buy Bone in color from the Scholastic Books.) Again, you must read this comic, then share it with everyone. It is that good. RATINGS: STORY-10/10 ART- 10/10