So, between work and my job (if you only knew) I’ve had time to really get back on my comic book steez. Shout out to Dragon’s Lair on Burnet and 2222, those fine folks have been taking care of my imagination for the past few months. There have been four entities that have really stood out to me since I’ve gotten back in the zone. The first is Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, a collection of books that came started in the late 80’s and just finished their run a few years back. The follow a man named Roland Deschain, a member of a famed community of defenders known as Gunslingers, as he follows an evil entity across different dimensions trying to take control of the universe. I’ve always been a big fan of King’s work, and a while back Marvel got the bright idea to make the series into a graphic novel. The series actually starts before the novels, as a kind of prequel explaining how Roland came to wander across the desert alone. The entire series has a strong gothic style and tone, and the drawings are all top notch. Can’t wait for the next issue!
The next has been Marvel’s “Dark Reign” Saga, which chronicles the rise of famed crazy man and Spider-Man foe Norman Osborne as he comes to be responsible for the security of the United States. “Dark Reign” takes place across 10+ comics, and let’s be real, I’m not gonna follow em all, so I stick to the basics: Norman’s own comic, in which he recruits a few super villains and repackages em as all your favorite heroes, appropriately entitled “Dark Avengers.” My faves in this book are definitely Norman and Daken, Wolverine’s son, who are both a bit nuts and absolutely brilliant at once. One of it’s companion piece’s is “Dark X-Men”, which takes the same format of “Dark Avengers”, enlisting some oft forgotten Mutant castaways and makes them America’s new mutant fighting force. The stars here are certainly Mimic and Cyclops, who is more so involved in the tie-in, called “Utopia”
The old school comic fan in me is loving the “Green Lantern: Blackest Night.” I caught the new Green Lantern DVD on bootleg a week ago (I know, I’ll cop it when it drops) and remembered the greatness that is the Green Lantern Corps. The whole Black Lantern idea is creepy and visually unsettling, but both are a welcome change to maybe my own personal bias against DC comics. It’s only one issue in, but something tell me I’ll have to go back and check out the “Sinestro Corps War” and the rest of the tie in books.
The last book I’ve gotten into seemingly came out of nowhere. I was reading IGN’s list of the best 100 comic villains, and one of the characters included was Lucifer. Effin’ Lucifer. I consulted the superheads (word to K. Steffans) at Wikipedia, and found the book was under the Vertigo comics imprint, meaning that is had to be at least passable. I picked up the first volume, and the very first story blew me away. IGN said it best when they explained the guy doesn’t lie, he always tells you exactly whets going to happen, and it makes for great stories. I’m already on the second volume, and the world they create with biblical references and fantastic creatures makes for a great read. I recommend all of these books, and promise you that you won’t be disappointed. And if you are, oh well.
