The Book of the Month for January 2012 is none other than Infinite Kung Fu (Top Shelf) created by Kagan McLeod.

A martial arts masterpiece of epic proportions!

Click here to read the written review!

Dan Dare Omnibus

Written by Garth Ennis

Illustrated by Gary Erskine

Dynamite Entertainment

A writer like Garth Ennis can be a bit of a sticky pickle for some comic book fans, for you sometimes can’t tell what you’re getting with him. Will it be something gruesome and disturbing like Crossed, or an action and adventure war story along the lines of Battlefields? One man’s bollocks is another man’s red velvet cupcake.

Me personally, I’ve been a fan of every genre he’s done, but especially love the war stories. That’s the argument I use when people tell me he’s just a one-trick pony; constantly churning out vile and over the top stories to the torture porn enthusiasts. While it sometimes may seem as such, there’s always another series, whether it’s licensed or original, that balances everything out and keeps everyone happy.

The Dan Dare Omnibus holds a special place in my heart for several reasons, and I’ve been meaning to talk about it for the longest time. When I first reviewed issue #5 back in Episode 22, it landed me on my very first press list with a comic book company. At the time Virgin Comics was publishing it, and was able to complete the first seven issue arc before the publisher went through a bit of a revamp, and sold the license to Dynamite Entertainment. In 2009 Dynamite republished the collection, and still holds the license to any future Dan Dare adventures to this day. So far, there have been no plans announced.

For those who don’t know, Garth Ennis is a World War II buff and can tell some amazing stories set in that time period. Dan Dare first appeared in the Eagle publication during the tail-end of World War II, and a lot of Brits still recognize the character today. Think of him as the British Buck Rogers, but much cooler. What Ennis was able to do in this relaunch was maintain the character’s science fiction roots, and at the same time update him for a more mature audience. I don’t mean explicit, I mean this is a war story, and it’s not how the cartoons make it out to be.

Since it’s a science fiction story involving aliens and spaceships, it takes a talented artist to infuse the World War II era look and feel to the setting. Gary Erskine does a wonderful job illustrating the different battleships and cruisers, and certainly excels at the terrifying aliens such as the Torr. The space battles and dogfights are rendered beautifully, and really excites the inner-Star Wars fan in me. The hero himself with his classic bombers jacket and lightning-bolt eyebrows truly is the cherry on top.

So if you like science fiction, if you like war stories, and you’re willing to give Garth Ennis a shot, you’ll definitely find yourself appreciating this collection. According to the internet there’s a movie in the works, so perhaps we will get a new ongoing from Dynamite somewhere down the line. Since Garth Ennis is their MVP over there, it’s only a natural fit to have him pen some new adventures, because he definitely proved himself worthy with this omnibus.

Essex County

Written & Illustrated by Jeff Lemire

Top Shelf

When one thinks of the country Canada, a few keywords that come to mind may include ‘polite’, ‘friendly’, and ‘hockey’. Some might say they’re a little too polite and friendly. They are right above us after all, sitting on prime location to strike at us if necessary with a Canadian blitzkrieg during a quiet winter evening. The only indication that we were taken over would be socialized medicine and the right to smoke the wacky-tobaccy in peace. But alas, Canada is more than just the prime exporter of maple syrup, Michael J. Fox and snow, it’s also the setting of Jeff Lemire’s imaginary hometown in Essex County in his first major graphic novel of the same name.

My first introduction to Jeff Lemire’s work was in fact Essex County, much like everyone else at the time. I remember listening to an episode of the podcast Around Comics (R.I.P.) where one of the hosts Chris was gushing about it, saying it was so much more than just a story about life on the farm. I mean, how do you try and sell a comic set in that landscape? Especially in an industry dominated by superheroes and events, the little independent guys don’t have any room to rise to the top like the exquisite crème that they are. After finally coming across a copy of the first trade paperback, Tales From The Farm, I was immediately hooked. His art style wasn’t conventional in the least; it was very loose, messy and bold, and I loved every single page because of it. His style was something I had never seen before, and yet it worked so well with the storytelling. The style and the story were a natural pairing. To even try and imagine another artist’s style for the series was ludicrous.

Eventually the Essex County Trilogy hardcover came out collecting all three volumes into one gigantic collection, and I naturally swooped-it up and devoured it all over again. Only this time I was in for a bit of a surprise; the collection had two unreleased stories in the very back along with production materials. I was so happy I cried tears of maple! 512 pages, all black and white, ready to be enjoyed all over again multiple times throughout the year (or maybe a tad-bit more spread out than that). If that wasn’t enough, the gargantuan trade paperback was just released earlier this year as well. It’s not as massive as the Bone trade, but it can still kill a small child just the same.

In the first story, Tales From The Farm, we’re introduced to Essex County and the main characters who live there. Lester, a boy who moves in with his uncle Ken after his mother died, has a big imagination and isn’t into farm life as much as he’s into playing down by the creek and creating his own comic books. His uncle doesn’t know how to connect with the boy, but the one thing that brings them together is their love of hockey. Lester starts hanging with the gas attendant Jimmy Lebeuf down by the creek, and enjoys their imaginary battles against aliens and share a love of comic books. Seeds are planted in this first story, and slowly you start seeing the rich history of the town and its inhabitants. It’s fun trying to connect the dots of who is related to whom, and how far back their family history goes.

Continuing on in Ghost Stories, you’re introduced to Lou Lebeuf who is a frail old man suffering from Alzheimer’s, going back and forth from past to present. This volume in particular is fertile with history and hockey, maintaining a perfect balance between the two throughout. Lou remembers fondly playing professionally with his brother Vinnie on the Toronto Grizzlies, until an unexpected love triangle blossoms between Lou, Vinnie, and Vinnie’s girlfriend, causing the brothers to not speak to one another for several decades. It truly is one of the saddest chapters I’ve ever read in comics, and I still feel the tears forming in my eyes when thinking about one panel in particular.

Finally, with The Country Nurse, we follow the daily routine of Nurse Annie, who travels across the county taking care of the patients in need of help. Her own grandmother helped bring orphans from the neighboring county to Essex County back in 1917 after their orphanage burned down one snowy night, further adding to the already rich back story of the place. The events of all three volumes wrap-up quite nicely in this last one, bringing families together, saying good-bye to some old favorites and even introducing a family tree for the reader to see the official history of those involved. From the first volume to the last, you do notice Lemire’s style progressing slow and steady right before your eyes, and yet it blends together quite smoothly for such a quirky style.

I’ll be bold and say Essex County belongs on your bookshelf next to Maus and Persepolis, because it is storytelling at its finest. It’s epic in scope for a graphic novel set in Canadian farm country, but it’s also something you’ll never come across again. If you do, it won’t be as good as this I can guarantee it. It brings me immense joy to see Lemire as a hot-shot writer at DC now, lending his talents to such high profile projects such as Superboy, Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE, and my personal favorite, Sweet Tooth. After reading Essex County, you’ll follow Jeff Lemire with such blind loyalty from title to title, publisher to publisher. He will be the Grant Morrison of a new generation, with his stories staying with us for a thousand years. He should be considered royalty in Canada, because he is hands-down my favorite export from that country.

Well played, Canada, well played.

Click here for past Book Of The Month selections!

 Blacksad

Written by Juan Diaz Canales

Illustrated by Juanjo Guarnido

Dark Horse

 Last week when I reviewed Liar’s Kiss for the Top Shelf selection for the month of May, something happened to me; I was bitten by the Noir bug. Now this type of bug isn’t your typical damsel in distress, nor is it lethal, but upon being bitten you will find yourself craving more and more noir stories, whatever medium be damned. That bite definitely influenced my selection this month.

Blacksad isn’t anything new to you if you live in Europe. It was originally a graphic album made for the French comics market by two Spanish creators, and later collected by Dark Horse for the comic fans over here in the states to enjoy. It follows a run-of-the-mill detective, John Blacksad, as he rights wrongs and solves mysterious in 1950-60’s America, in three different stories collected in this volume. So how does this standout from the other pulps and noirs? Simple; anthropomorphic characters with the species based on their personalities. Blacksad is a black cat who always seems to land on his feet, and is very stealthy when he needs to be. A lot of the police are some sort of breed of K9, and the shadier characters and lowlifes tend to be reptiles or other sorts of vermin. Remember those old Disney cartoons, whether it be Ducktales or Rescue Rangers? Same sort of style we enjoy here, only think of this world as a lot more grittier and adult than what you remember. There are certain situations that are rather explicit at times, but don’t let that turn you away; nothing feels forced, it all flows very naturally.

In the first story, Somewhere Within The Shadows, Blacksad investigates the murder of an old flame who he used to be very intimate with. We discover the culprit is a few million dollars above his and the authorities pay-bracket, so John has to get his paws a little dirty to make sure justice has been served, caution to the wind. This first arc really helps introduce us to this world, and has us begging for more by the last page.

The second story, Artic Nation, is my personal favorite. It deals with racial segregation in the 1950’s between the black and white animals. The white supremacist casting is spot-on, and makes it feel that much more real and enticing. Blacksad has been hired to find a kidnapped little girl, with the local white authorities being his number one suspects. What follows is betrayal, deceit, and a whole lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.

The final story of this collection, Red Soul, focuses on the Red Scare of the 1960’s, with the famous witch hunts for communist sympathizers. When Blacksad discovers one of his old teacher / mentors is swept-up with the wrong crowd, he feels it necessary to become his guardian angel. A good thing too, because someone puts out a hit on his old friend, and the shocking reason of why causes Blacksad to question everything he thought he knew about him.

The art by Juanjo Guarnido is just absolutely gorgeous to look at. The man used to work in a few different animated Disney projects, so he obviously knows how to create anthropomorphic characters that feel so natural and relatable. His watercolor work really progresses each story, and is just mind-boggling to try and calculate how long each page must have took him to produce.

As for Juan Diaz Canales, the man obviously lives, breathes, and eats noir on an everyday basis to bring us such wonderfully suspenseful stories. To have a post-WWII era as the background for each story really brings a sense of nostalgia to the reader, despite what generation they might be apart of. We learned of these events throughout history class, so to see a different interpretation of each time period is something very special.

If you’re a fan of Parker by Cooke or the criminal Criminal by Brubaker & Phillips, do yourself a favor and add this to your Noir section on your comics shelf. It’s a natural fit, and you’ll find yourself wanting to learn French just so you can see what happens in the yet-to-be-released volume four.

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Mesmo Delivery

Written & Illustrated by Rafael Grampá

Dark Horse

When I first got into comics, it was superheroes or nothing else. There was only one kind of shape and design for characters, and it was the classic cookie-cutter look of big muscles, tight spandex, and skimpy outfits for the girls. That’s the comics everyone is reading, and because of it they’ve been dominating the market for the past several decades. Like sheep we follow blindly into the comic stores to verify that Spider-Man still loves Mary-Jane, Batman has a Robin, and the Hulk is still smashing things. This is the only type of comic style we know, and slowly we’re all dying a little inside because of it.

First, there was bland. Then, there was Grampá.

Rafael Grampá is one of those boys from Brazil that is reinventing what we perceive as the standard comic book mold. He not only breaks this mold, he completely obliterates it. I first heard of him a few years ago from the 5 anthology he participated in with a couple other unknown artists; Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos, Gabriel Bá, and Fabio Moon. Yeah, never heard of any of those chuckle-heads. A majority of you first gazed in amazement at his work with the Daredevil #500 pin-up he provided featuring an old-school red and yellow Matthew Murdock. More recently, he did the fantastic Wolverine story in the first issue of the second volume of Strange Tales, which is an absolute crime that the story wasn’t considered Eisner worthy (politics, I say! Politics!).

Enough about how amazing Grampá is, let’s talk about his first graphic novel Mesmo Delivery. Originally published by Adhouse back in 2008, it just last year started coming-out under the Dark Horse banner. And when it comes to the kind of material Dark Horse publishes, this graphic novel is a absolute shoe-in. The story is a simple one of two men, one ex-boxer and one Elvis impersonator, driving a delivery truck across the country containing some sort of mysterious cargo. Only one of them knows, and it’s his job to keep it hush-hush. After stopping in a small Podunk town for some rest and milk, the ex-boxer Rufo starts getting the attention of a group of bored locals who mean business. A fight ensues, and it doesn’t go the way you’d think it would when an ex-boxer is involved. As a matter of fact, one simple fight turns into a balls-to-the-wall bloody massacre, and ends with no evidence left behind. Well, bruises and busted knuckles aside.

It’s not fair to artists to compare their perfected personal style to others, but in a case where it’s hard to describe with words a style so randy, it’s best to compare only to give you a clear vision. Think of Grampá’s style as if you blended together the styles of Geof Darrow, Frank Quitely, Gabriel Bá, Fabio Moon, Juan Jose Ryp, and Becky Cloonan. Add a dash of Asian influence, and you’ve got yourself one beautiful mindfuck on paper.

The entire graphic novel is under 100 pages (including extras and back matter), and because of it I pine for more. It does leave it open for future stories, so if they’re currently in development I cannot wait! I want more pretty pictures ASAP!

So if you’re interested in something new that ain’t your daddy’s comic book for under $10, do yourself a favor and pick-up Mesmo Delivery today. It will certainly tickle your art taste buds.

Click here for previous Book Of The Month selections!

Super F*ckers

by James Kochalka

Top Shelf

Humor in comic books can sometimes be a fickle thing. Some writers try to go over-the-top and throw every cultural reference at you mixed with a fart joke, and others try sophisticated humor, that can be lost on the majority of readers. How can you walk that fine line that makes everyone happy?

You don’t. What you do is pretend like it’s the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, and pick a side. You either produce a ‘ha-ha, funny-funny’ all-ages friendly funny book, one that would make the Comics Code Authority smile, or you go completely off the deep end and make sure it’s a Mature Readers Only title.

So while your nephew is enjoying another hilarious adventure of Scrooge McDuck by the fireplace, you can relax in your recliner and chug a few beers while enjoying Super F*ckers by James Kochalka. Hell, light-up a few joints as well to intensify the effect!

While some young superhero teams enjoy fighting crime by day and having ice cream parties by night, the Super F*ckers are the exact opposite. They are the team comprised by the kids your parents warned you not to play with. In fact, in this collection you don’t see this team fight any bad guys, only themselves. When they’re not fighting, they’re getting high, playing video games, and fucking. With team-tryouts right around the corner, you’d think some fresh blood would be an improvement for this team, but sure enough those filled with innocence and purity are shortly corrupted upon arrival.

When I tell you that this is the funniest book I’ve read in 2010, I tell no lies. Every page made me laugh out loud uncontrollably throughout, and I even was shedding a few tears (of laughter). The comedic timing, the name calling, the characters, all so amazing. Every one of them a complete asshole in their own right, with Jack Krack being the one who takes the cake hands-down. Do not let the pretty art fool you; this is definitely not for kids.

With Christmas right around the corner, I would highly recommend this book for that one comic reader in your life who likes some of Garth Ennis’ raunchier works, combined with the similar style of art from Tiny Titans. Kochalka completely blew my mind with this collection, and I think it’s safe to say that he can take-over “The Motherfucker” title from Jack Krak.

More Book Of The Month selections!

Chew – The Omnivore Edition Vol. 1

Written by John Layman

Illustrated by Rob Guillory

Image Comics

Now usually I don’t do themed Book Of The Month selections. I mean October is always fun to review a horror comic, but that’s about as usually far as I’ll go theme-wise. However when you see a holiday and a graphic novel go together like Native Americans & Pilgrims, you just have to take advantage of it. That’s why I decided to choose the first hardcover of Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory. I can’t help it if I think of Thanksgiving and eating & Chew. After you’ve read the graphic novel, it’ll all make sense to you. Trust me.

Chew debuted back in 2009 and became an instant success. So much so, that the first issue alone went back for multiple printings. Now that may be normal for some series, but for a comic nobody heard anything about? That’s pretty fantastic. The story takes place in a world where chicken is illegal. There was an avian flu outbreak that killed tens of thousands of people across the country, and the FDA is the government agency in charge of keeping the peace. The main character of the series, Tony Chu, is a police detective from Philadelphia who has an uncanny ability to get psychic impressions of anything he eats. He’s cibopathic, which means if he eats a burger, he gets the entire history of where it came from. The only food he’s able to eat to keep from getting these horrible images is beets. They’re boring, bland, and bearable. After a recent bust on a restaurant serving chicken, he’s scooped-up by a special section of the FDA dedicated to investigating food and anything weird or bizarre involving it. Along the way we’re introduced to the rest of the players; his veteran new partner Mason Savoy, the love of his life Amelia Mintz, and so on and so forth.

Each character is truly unique in this ingenious setting. While cibopaths like Tony and Mason can get a mental image of food when eaten, Amelia is a saboscrinver, who can write about food so vividly and precisely, that you can taste what she’s writing about. It doesn’t stop there! All throughout this volume you’re introduced to several characters along the same vein of Tony and Amelia, only they’re abilities are slightly different but still revolving around food. I can just imagine John Layman giggling like a little school girl in front of his typewriter, thinking up the abilities no one has dared to think-up yet.

The art in this book is to die for. Rob Guillory’s designs are fun yet action-packed page after page. Each character has his or her own quirky style, and it never strays from the original design; consistency is a dish best served warm. One of my favorite parts about the art is the things that you don’t notice at first in the background. You might catch it on the second read, and suddenly burst out laughing like I’m one to do. I don’t want to ruin the little jokes, so I’ll just leave it at this; inspect every little sign, bottle logo, or writing on papers. It’s little Easter eggs like those that add the cherry on top of this cake of awesome.

The hardcover itself is wonderful quality. Myself owning all of The Walking Dead hard covers, I’ve come to love Image’s consistency from volume to volume. It makes my bookshelves look nice, with some feel of organization and unity. And the extras in the back are well worth the purchase too; you get scripts, sketches, and the original pitch. I love me some DVD-esque extras!

So in conclusion, this series is one of my new favorites that I look forward to every month. Humor, action and romance all rolled-into one floppy comic for $3. However, it’s so good that I also plan on buying all the hard covers to lend to friends and family in the future. It’s just that good to buy twice. Of all the independent comics that have come out in the past decade, I put Chew in my Top 5, no question. It’s one of those comics that anyone can enjoy, and I’ve already had reports of people getting hooked on the plot alone, who have never picked-up a comic before in their life. We need more comics like that; fun, and a gateway comic to several thousand other stories hidden away in local comic shops across the globe, waiting to be read by virgin eyes.

This Thanksgiving, be thankful you’re not a cibopath, and pass along the stuffing to Aunt Sally, followed by the Chew – Omnivore Edition Vol. 1. She’ll like it so much, she’ll want seconds.

Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL

Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths

Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity

Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford

Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News

Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR

Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft

Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection

Book Of The Month – April – Asterios Polyp

Book Of The Month – May – Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Book Of The Month – June – Titanium Rain: Book One

Book Of The Month – July – Irredeemable Vol. 1

Book Of The Month – August – Marsh Rocket

Book Of The Month – September – Invincible Ultimate Collection 1

Book Of The Month – October – The God Machine Vol. 1

The God Machine Vol. 1

Written & Illustrated by Chandra Free

Archaia

When the Month of October arrives, I like many children have only one thing on my mind; Halloween. It’s the holiday that’s connected to free candy, good scares, and blood-curling screams. It fits the fall season quite wonderfully, and invites us to make the most of it every 31^st of October. Even the comics industry celebrates Halloween, for almost every one of their characters is in a costume of some sort anyways! The horror genre runs rampant this month, with everything from Young Frankestein (“That’s Franken-shtein!”) to Saw playing on the different channels the closer we come to the end of the month. Therefore, I thought it was only appropriate to choose something of that nature as the Book Of The Month for October.

When I first met Chandra Free, it was at WonderCon earlier this year. She was sitting at the Archaia booth next to a very enthusiastic Tom Pinchuk, and a very down-to-Earth Patrick McEvoy. She was a wonderful gal to talk to, and her pitch for The God Machine had certainly caught my attention. The issues of the comic she brought with her were all snatched-up from earlier that day, so the only art I was left with to look at was on a glossy postcard. And it was absolutely gorgeous.

Months later when I was finally able to read The God Machine, I had the unfortunate problem of turning into a warm puddle of goo every time I turned the page. The illustrations crept-out like colorful gothic spiders and infested the very cracks of my mind, plaguing me with a calm and relaxing feeling. Why had I not seen art like this before? It was hauntingly beautiful, with little bits of the anime style sprinkled in for good measure. Both the panels and the pages flow together seamlessly, as if it were once a long mural chopped-up into pages and bound together as a beautiful hardcover. If it’s one thing Archaia knows how to do right, it’s definitely hardcovers. You could only imagine my excitement when I discovered this was only the first volume, with several more on their way in these next few years. The only problem is I don’t think I can wait that long, and like the main character Guy Salvatore, I’m longing for something I cannot have. Let’s just say Chandra is very lucky she lives on the other side of the country, or else I’d be pestering her for more every single day.

The story revolves around the utterly crushed and depressed Guy Salvatore, who lost his girlfriend and is having a hard time coping with her death. Despite trying to continue living without her, he simply can’t do it. As if having to deal with high school wasn’t bad enough, he has to carry-on while experiencing several different hallucinations and visions of twisted characters, always seeming to demand something of him. One day while mourning over his ex-girlfriend’s grave at the cemetery, he’s visited by a being named Satan, who informs him that Sith really isn’t dead, and the people who caused her to exist only between the dream worlds are those dastardly gods; Good God, Evil God, and Limbo God. Does Guy buy it? Not really. Would it explain the sometimes grotesque images he’s able to see? Absolutely.

The back-up matter in the hardcover includes character biographies, and beautiful pin-ups by other artists such as Patrick McEvoy, Kat Rocha, Josh Finney and many more. Also, you get a very strange-yet-wonderful foreword by Doc Hammer of The Venture Bros. fame. All of this material is definitely worth the $25 pricetag, so be sure to go pick it up when it hits bookstores October 27^th, and enjoy it thoroughly on Halloween! It’ll be the sweetest treat you enjoy that night.

Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL

Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths

Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity

Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford

Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News

Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR

Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft

Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection

Book Of The Month – April – Asterios Polyp

Book Of The Month – May – Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Book Of The Month – June – Titanium Rain: Book One

Book Of The Month – July – Irredeemable Vol. 1

Book Of The Month – August – Marsh Rocket

Book Of The Month – September – Invincible Ultimate Collection 1

Invincible – The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1

Written by Robert Kirkman

Art by Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley

Image Comics

The past decade has been kind to superhero comic books. Not since the early 90’s comic boom have people been so interested in the medium; stopping by their local comic shops every Wednesday, sharing them with friends, and bragging at parties that they’re up to date on their Green Lantern or X-Men books (well, I brag anyways). Thanks to the help of Hollywood developing many of these properties for the silver screen, John Q. Public thinks Spider-Man is one cool dude, and they didn’t even have to read a comic!

As for the rest of us loyal readers, we’ve seen our favorite superheroes tackle every foe in every event for the past couple of decades, and still don’t seem to get bored by the same rehashed stories. Okay, well that might not be entirely true; I for one tend to tire of Hulk proving that he’s the strongest there is, or Superman never being able to kill anyone who deserves it, like Lex Luthor. However, once in a blue moon a new superhero will come along and capture the imagination of comic book fans all over the world. The best part? It’s not from the DC or Marvel universe.

Enter Invincible from Image Comics, created by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker. Now independent comics don’t tend to sell as well as superheroes from the Big Two, let alone independent superheroes. But there’s something extremely special about Invincible; it has all the elements of why we love superhero comics, only the stories and characters are completely new and fun. With this gargantuan Ultimate Collection collecting the first 13 issues, you don’t have to worry about any continuity because this new universe is all explained to you within the first few issues.

We follow Mark Grayson, your run-of-the-mill high schooler dealing with the usual issues; girls, graduation, and a crappy job flipping burgers. His dad is a well-known author, but secretly fights crime as Omni-Man, the Superman archetype of this universe. Mark is half-Viltrumite, an alien race so advanced that they travelled the universe exploring new galaxies. Omni-Man fell in love with Earth, so he decided to settle-down and become its protector and work with the already established superhero community. Mark finally gets his powers, and is introduced to the crime-fighting lifestyle, and all the perks and disadvantages that come with it. New costumes, secret identities, and romance hits Mark at warp-speed, and yet he’s still able to adjust. Kinda.

Invincible, like Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, is one of those books that people get in trades instead of the monthly floppies. Because of this, it’s considered sacrilegious in the comic book community to spoil any of the events that happen in the current issues of either titles. Just for my own safety, I won’t give away the huge twist that grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go, but I will say that things get bloody, dark, and unsettling. The best part is that you don’t even see it coming because you’re enjoying a superhero book as if it was approved by the comic code authority. That, with humor mixed in with the action, makes this title consistently enjoyable.

Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley’s art is wonderful to look at, as the action sequences are a combination of thrilling and jaw-dropping. You got your spandex of every color, costumes so tight that you can tell what religion the character is, and tons of hot superheroines. You’ll discover in the pages homage’s to certain DC and Marvel characters and villains, but in no way does it read as copyright infringement. I’m just blown away by the names of certain characters, and how they haven’t been scooped-up by the Big Two after all these years (Rex Splode, DupliKate, Atom Eve).

So yes, you can go and read another X-Men versus Magneto story for the fifteenth time in a row, or you can treat yourself to something original, fun, and still relatively new in the comics industry. It has something for everyone, so there’s no excuse. Plus you feel good for helping out the little guy.

See why Image Comics loves Robert Kirkman so much, that they made him Editor-In-Chief, and pick-up Invincible today!

Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL

Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths

Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity

Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford

Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News

Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR

Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft

Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection

Book Of The Month – April – Asterios Polyp

Book Of The Month – May – Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Book Of The Month – June – Titanium Rain: Book One

Book Of The Month – July – Irredeemable Vol. 1

Book Of The Month – August – Marsh Rocket

Marsh Rocket

Written & Drawn by Jules Rivera

www.Marsh-Rocket.com

Little known fact; before I dived into the world of comic books, I was a huge fan of webcomics. I had at least twenty different sites bookmarked, and would visit them daily. They are free, come out on a regular basis, and there’s one for whatever might interest you (most of them were about real life or video games, but the cream always rises to the top). A fun thing to do is look at the first comic that was put up, then jump ahead to the current comic just to see how much the art or story has improved after all these years. Some change drastically (Questionable Content), while some stay the same because the art may be simplistic to begin with (Cyanide & Happiness). Bottom line is, webcomics shouldn’t be treated as the redheaded step-child of comic books, because the amount of work that goes into this medium can greatly surpass multiple titles being put out by the major comic publishers of today. As a matter of fact, many of your favorite webcomics have been published in collected editions by the same comic publishers in the past few years!

But alas, on to the Book Of The Month selection for August 2010.

Marsh Rocket is one of those webcomics-tuned-published works that I’ve been talking about, only the creator Jules Rivera had that whole plan in mind from the start. Could she be ahead of the bandwagon of others switching to the published graphic novel format? Perhaps. Will anyone else let her take credit for said-possible idea? Perhaps not. Do I know what I’m talking about? No.

Moving on, Marsh Rocket made its debut on the web back in 2006, and has been going strong ever since. The first storyline has been collected in three trade paperbacks, with the second story starting-up just a few weeks ago. It takes place in the future, and deals with corporate mercenaries trying to earn a buck in a still chaotic world. The main characters we focus on are Victor Black, experienced-ex-soldier-turned-merc, Marsh Rocket, the lovable hero who gets into trouble, and Ross Tiburon, their boss who writes the checks while trying to deal with his dysfunctional family. Ross Tiburon takes over the company when his father is placed in jail after it’s discovered that he has his own team of mercenaries taking out the competition / anyone on the board of directors who might be putting the company in jeopardy. When Ross inherits the mercenaries, he figures their skills could be useful to him in the future.

Victor Black is the leader of the company’s alpha squadron with Marsh, and whatever Ross says goes. Unfortunately for Marsh, he has a loan shark by the name of The Baron on his tail due to his insufficient funds. So while the corporate mercenaries aren’t supposed to take outside jobs, you do what you need to do in order to get some extra cash. The Baron is amused at the fact that Marsh is a corporate merc, so he sends him on a mission to retrieve a briefcase of his stolen by the Zodiac Mafia. This mission takes Marsh out in the middle of the desert at the luxurious Hotel Zinnia, and it all seems to be going well until the Zodiac Mafia enter the picture, then it appears to be too much for Marsh to handle alone.

Can Marsh get the persistent bodyguard Rose off his case? Will Victor arrive in time to help him escape? Will Ross get his family’s affairs in order? Well I don’t want to give it away to you, so if you’re interested go buy the trades or read it online for free!

I had immense amounts of fun while reading this story. The action and tone capture a magnificent blend of pulp and sci-fi, with a touch of Japanese animation thrown into the mix. Fans of Cowboy Bebop and The Fifth Element will find lots to enjoy, but just keep in mind it’s not an all ages title. While I enjoyed the story just fine, what really made me fall in love was the art, and more specifically the different colors Jules plays around with every page. Black & white, then primary and secondary colors exactly where they need to be. I can enjoy a page for what seems like hours because of the combinations she uses throughout. The cherry on top is the fact that she’s all self-taught. Whatta woman!

Like I pointed out before, the entire series is free to read and enjoy online at her website www.Marsh-Rocket.com or you could do yourself a favor and buy the box set collecting all three trades. With that box set, you get them all signed along with a sketch card. It’s the whole kit-n-caboodle for a very satisfy price of $36. Plus you’re helping out such a talented artist, you feel good supporting the little guy (err, girl).

With the start of the second story arc just happening, there’s no reason to not catch-up and have it on your bookmarks. Read, love, and spread the word.

Also, if you happen to find a suitcase with a severed hand inside, please return it to Albatross as soon as possible. He’d really appreciate it.

Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL

Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths

Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity

Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford

Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News

Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR

Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft

Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection

Book Of The Month – April – Asterios Polyp

Book Of The Month – May – Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Book Of The Month – June – Titanium Rain: Book One

Book Of The Month – July – Irredeemable Vol. 1