Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2008
Who is... Michael A. Diaz?
Michael Diaz lives in Michigan, but don't hold that against him.
There he works as a Sys. Admin. while fostering dreams of one day becoming a "real" writer.
Most importantly, Michael is seriously addicted to comics, something that his wonderful wife tolerates with the patience of a saint.
He also writes this weekly column that people occasionally read.
"[O]ne of the most positive
and entertaining columns going."
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United)
WLG #179: Avenge The Cold!
Sometimes no matter what you do you just can't win.
For the last few weeks I've actually felt pretty good. I don't know if you've noticed, but the quality here at WLG has taken a turn turn for the worse. This has been for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that I somehow contracted a very nasty cold that would not go away for about four weeks. Like I said, for the past three weeks or so I've been fine, but as a nice little treat my lovely girlfriend decided that good health was just something that I didn't need so not only did she contract another cold for herself but she also passed it on to me.
Such is the price that one pays when living with a primary school teacher.
Urg.
I know that I am sounded like a broken-record but these colds keep hitting me even though I am doing my best to avoid them.
Enough whining, it's time for one of these:
SAMURAI HEAVEN & EARTH VOL 2 #1 (OF 5) $2.99 (Ron Marz / Luke Ross)I bought the first mini-series and was more than pleasantly surprised. I've heard people dog Ron Marz in the past but for me, well, all I know is that the work that he and Jim Cheung did on Scion for the now defunct CrossGen brand of comics is up there with some of my favorite comic book work EVER. I loved that book, so if Marz wrote nothing else ever again he'd still have an impressive resume. That's just my opinion.
Luke Ross did some work on Scion as well, but in the interest of being completely honest here his work on that particular book never did much for me. That said, when it came to the first Samurai mini-series I was thoroughly impressed with his work. I'm not an artist nor am I artistically inclined but his work on was lush and full of life in the last mini, hands above anything that he had done for CrossGen.
BIRDS OF PREY #100 $3.99 (Gail Simone / Nicola Scott)I haven't been with BOP since the onset, but I feel that I've been around these characters long enough to fully appreciate the fact that this book has hit its 100th issue mark.
Why do I love this book so much? Well, for one thing it is one of the most human of the books that I have read. Simone gets people, she understands how when you've grouped people together that there can be respect, animosity, tension, love, hate, and trust all at the same time. Her depictions of character interaction are, along with Judd Winick's, some of the truest I have read. Once again I have to say that this is one of the best "team" books out there because this groups of characters truly is a team of people that depend on each even if they don't always see eye-to-eye.
Here's to 100 great issues and the hope of so many more to come.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #18 $2.99 (Joss Whedon / John Cassaday)Does anyone else get the impression that Emma's strings are being pulled and tugged? True, she's been a villain before and I've never fully trusted her as a character, most likely because I don't like the way that she stole Scott away from Jean, but even with all of those irredeemable qualities I get the impression that all of this might not really be her own fault. Is she being manipulated, or could it just be that she's acting the role of traitor and might actually be a TRIPLE agent? That's what my gut is suggesting, but it's certainly not definitive.
That is what I like most about this book. It's almost too easy for someone to approach the X-Men as characters and nothing more, but Whedon has added a wonderful element of distrust and confusion and in the process has crafted some excellent and real drama. We're not seeing the X-Men take on Magneto again; true, there might be something cliched about the team taking on yet another incarnation of the Sebastian Shaw and Hellfire Club but sometimes what works works.
CIVIL WAR #5 (OF 7) $2.99 (Mark Millar / Steve McNiven)What can I say, the geeky fanboy inside of me absolutely loves watching Marvel heroes taking each other down. Personally, I'm on Captain America's side, but I get the sneaky suspicion that things won't be ending well for him. True, we still have two more issues to go, so I expect a pretty big surprise by the end of this issue if not during the next one.
Now I realize that the Marvel Universe is going to take quite some time to recover from the events of this book, but after this “Civil War” event is over I hope that we, the readers, get a break from this constant glut of crossover books. “Avengers Disassembled” was fine; heck , it got me to read The Avengers for the first time in YEARS, but then its events caused “House of M”, which again was fine, but it didn't end there either. Now “Civil War” has come about and honestly, I'm a big tired of these huge crossovers and would like some time to catch my breath.
Of course, we fanboys DO keep buying these books, and I admit I'm just as culpable as anyone else.
Anyone else feeling this way?
Still, I'm salivating over the book, so call me a hypocrite all you like. If the shoe fits...
NEW AVENGERS #25 CW $2.99 (Brian Michael Bendis / Jim Cheung)I have liked these standalone stories focusing on individual members of the team and their own specific stories during the "Civil War" crossover, most notably the "Captain American" and "Luke Cage" issues. However, the thing that has be the most excited about this book isn't so much the focus on Iron Man but rather the pencils of Jim Cheung.
I admit it now and I'll admit it ever single time: I am a pushover for Jim Cheung's work. I constantly kick myself for not asking him for a sketch years ago in Chicago while he was signing and sketching at the CrossGen booth. True, he did sign my coveted copies of Scion for me, but man, what I wouldn't give now for a small, pencil sketch of "Exeter."
*tear*
After seeing some of his work on Iron Lad on Young Avengers I am THRILLED to see what Cheung can do with Tony Stark and his modern suit of armor.
JOY!
SQUADRON SUPREME #7 $2.99 (J. Michael Straczynski / Gary Frank)I think that most of us know that the original Squadron Supreme ended with an implosion of the group, and from what we've seen in the previous series (Supreme Power) and in one of the mini-series (Supreme Power: Hyperion) it looks like eventually this incarnation of the group will be heading in the same direction. When will it start? Well, in a way it already kind of has. We've seen that Power Princess thinks that this group is an amusing use of her time until she decides that it is her turn to rule the world, and it would appear that some of the other characters are aligning themselves on one side or another.
Eventually things are going to go down, but when? Could this be the start of something bigger? True, it might be too early for that, but it's never too early to start subplots.
Either way, this book is a constantly entertaining read and I can't recommend it enough. Good stuff!
Was there something that did it for you this week? If so, stop by the What Looks Good message boards (see link below) and spread the love, my friend.
Until then,
Peace!
-Diaz
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