Rockin’ the rock, and walkin’ the walk! Pick Of The Week goes to Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Moritat for All-Star Western #1 (DC)! Fast Five picks include The Savage Hawkman #1 (DC), Aquaman #1 (DC), Captain America & Bucky #622 (Marvel), Justice League: Dark #1 (DC), and The Flash #1 (DC). Spoilers!

Action-packed week for comics! Pick Of The Week goes to Mike Costa, Christos Gage, Chee, and Antonio Fuso for G.I. JOE: COBRA #13 (IDW). Fast Five picks include Brightest Day #20 (DC), Darkwing Duck #9 (BOOM! Studios), Thunderbolts #153 (Marvel), Green Lantern Corps #57 (DC), and 28 Days Later #20 (BOOM! Studios).

YO JOE!

Lobster Johnson takes over this episode! Fast Five picks include Hack/Slash: My First Maniac #4 (Image), Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #2 (DC), Amazing Spider-Man 643 (Marvel), Morning Glories #2 (Image), and Brightest Day #10 (DC).

Despite what it may seem, this episode is not brought to you by India Pale Ale.

In this episode, I’m joined by Art and Jesse from The Fourth Wall Comics Podcast to talk about Blackest Night (DC) and Siege (Marvel). What worked for both events, favorite tie-ins, and the future events for both publishers.

Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Ivan Reis

DC Comics

It’s no secret that Green Lantern is my all-time favorite superhero. As soon as I got past the usual big two (Batman and Superman) and discovered a whole universe of different superheroes, Green Lantern caught my eye out of the entire bunch. The thought of having a ring, the most powerful weapon in the entire galaxy, that made whatever constructs you could think of appear from thin-air tickled me pink! However, operating such a device requires lots of willpower, and well, I’ll still scream like a little girl whenever I walk through a spider web.

It’s also no secret that Geoff Johns is the biggest fan of Green Lantern too (specifically, Hal Jordan). This fanboy-turned-writer has been responsible for resurrecting Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern title for the past few years, making him shine the brightest throughout the whole DC Universe. Starting with Green Lantern: Rebirth, it’s been gaining more and more momentum after every issue. Before diving head-first into the next event after the Sinestro Corps War, you’d best know your Green Lantern history!

And that’s what makes Green Lantern: Secret Origin so great. People will constantly ask me where’s a good place to start with Green Lantern, and there’s always the chance of losing new readers when you tell them “at the beginning; issue one.” With Green Lantern: Secret Origin, you can be a new reader or a seasoned veteran and still have an awesome time reading it. Geoff Johns slightly retcons the character and gives you the definitive origin for the time being, putting every fan on the same page.

We see the beginnings of the cocky & brash Hal Jordan, as he always looked-up to his dad (a test pilot for Ferris Air), and witnessed his unfortunate demise during a fatal test flight. He always wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps, and it scared his mother because of it. As soon as he was eighteen, he signed-up for the Air Force and left his family behind, sacrificing the ties to his mother and brothers to get one step closer to flying.

From then on the story takes-off just like a Ferris Fighter Jet, as we see Hal get too full of himself and gets discharged from the Air Force, and won’t get to fly for any airfield again. We’re introduced to Abin Sur, Green Lantern of 2814, before he crash-lands on Earth and leaves Hal as his successor before dying out in the hot California desert. Jump forward to training on Oa, and Hal is slowly starting to get the hang of it.

Sinestro, Atrocitus, the Guardians, William Hand, and even Hector Hammond all make an appearance, and Geoff Johns does a wonderful job intertwining all their origins together. And how could I forget Carol Ferris? She’s in the series too, as we’re witness to the early flirting between Hal and her.

Ivan Reis does a magnificent job with the art, making the images we see the icing on the cake of awesomeness. Everything from the landscapes of the desert to the bustling city-life on Oa, it’s all is absolute eye-candy to the reader. Atrocitus looks evil and menacing, Sinestro looks smug and superior, and Kilowog looks like a drill sergeant you don’t want to mess with.

Seeds for the Blackest Night are also planted in this series, so just as the surviving five of Sector 666 are talking prophecies, so is Geoff Johns.

It truly is a fantastic series, and a must-have for every Green Lantern fan. Screw Kyle Rayner, screw John Stewart, let Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis convince you that Hal Jordan is the one true Green Lantern, and believe me when I tell you that you won’t need much convincing.

In brightest day, in blackest night, no gorgeous Green Lantern hardcover shall escape my sight…

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

Holy guacamole what a big week for comics! Pick Of The Week goes to Warren Ellis and Raulo Caceres for Captain Swing And The Electrical Pirates Of Cindery Island #1 (Avatar). Fast Five picks include The Walking Dead #70 (Image), Blackest Night #7 (DC), Irredeemable #11 (BOOM! Studios), Black Lantern Green Arrow #30 (DC), and Northlanders #25 (Vertigo).

It’s 11:11 am. Do you know where your children are?

Reminder: WonderCon this April!

No Pick this week, but we do have a hearty Fast Five to cover! Picks include Blackest Night #2 (DC), Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1 (Marvel), The Walking Dead #64 (Image), Deadpool #13 (Marvel), and Atomika #10 (Mercury Comics).

Even though there isn’t a pick, there IS a contest thanks to Rising Sun Creations! Y’all like variant covers?

Holy crap what an amazing week for comics! Pick of the week (like you all didn’t see it coming) comes from Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, Blackest Night #1 (DC). Fast Five picks include Deadpool #12 (Marvel), Batman: Streets of Gotham #2 (DC), The Walking Dead #63 (Image), Incognito #5 (Icon), and Scalped #30 (Vertigo).

A Point-Five episode will definitely be out this Sunday, that’s for damn sure!

Bloody good week for comics! Leading the pack, we have from Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis Green Lantern #37 (DC). Fast Five picks include Conan The Cimmerian #7 (Dark Horse), Doctor Doom And The Masters Of Evil #1 (Marvel), Battlefields: The Night Witches #3 (Dynamite Entertainment), Dark Avengers #1 (Marvel), and Air #6 (Vertigo).

The Sinister Six, Night Witches, and Hyperprax airships make this week awesome!

Astounding week for comics!  It was such a good week, I had FIVE top picks!  Top picks include Incognito #1 (Icon), Green Lantern #36 (DC), Wolverine #70 (Marvel), Justice Society of America #22 (DC), and Scalped #24 (Vertigo).

The one thing I gotta complain about; these holidays $%#!ing up the shipping schedule!  Blue Lanterns, Wolverine, and super villains in the witness protection program all make this week one in a million, and a killer way to kick-off 2009!