Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2009
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 #236: I'm Off To Save The World!
I have my copy of Call of Duty: World at War for the Xbox 360 burning a hole in my hand, so I'm just going to dive into What Looks Good...
BATMAN: CACOPHONY #1 (OF 3) $3.99 (Kevin Smith / Walt Flanagan)Yes, Kevin Smith is quite possibly one of the biggest and most successful geeks out there. He's done Daredevil and Green Arrow (heck, he's the one that got me into reading the book; he opened the door and Judd Winick kept me coming back for more), so it's with almost pure, giddy, anticipation that I look forward to his take on Batman.
What's cool about this, though, is that Smith is bringing one of his own villains around, a character named Onomatopoeia that first showed his face within the pages of Green Arrow. Not much is known about this character other than he speaks the sounds of the actions he’s about to take. Other than that, not too much, but hey, this is a Batman comic that is written by Kevin Smith featuring Deadshot.
Yeah, Deadshot.
I’ve loved Deadshot since the late 80’s, so if you want to get me geeked all you have to do is give me a comic with him in it.
So, just in case you weren’t paying attention: Kevin Smith; Batman; Onomatopoeia; Deadshot.
What more could I want?
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #14 $2.99 (Judd Winick / Mike Norton)GREEN LANTERN CORPS #30 $2.99 (Peter J. Tomasi / Pat Gleason)
Everyone knows that I love both of these books, so I'll keep it short and sweet this week.
Regarding Green Arrow..., it looks like Connor is back, kind of. Maybe not. I mean it appears that he's back, but in comic books, it's just never that simple, is it? So yeah, he's back, but he may not be the Connor that we all know and love, possibly making his return bittersweet.
One of the things that I like about this book is that there's plenty of story; lots has happened since the first issue and the repercussions are still being felt. Connor was wounded in the second issue of the series (correct me if I am wrong), and we're not really seeing him back in action until now? I like that. Sure, it's decompressed story-telling, because 40 years ago he would have been shot, wounded, avenged, brought back, and recovered all within a single issue. Personally, I like how the story has evolved throughout this series without a quick resolution.
Next, we have the Green Lantern Corps, and what can I say? The Zamorans have discovered the power of the purple light, learning that it is the power of love. That's cool, and I would expect that "love" would be a natural ally of "willpower" (the power behind the green of the GLC). That said, the Zamorans have been at odds with the Guardians for a long, or at least were, in the past, so who knows what the future holds.
Now they're trying to "cure" members of the Sinestro Corps with their "love" light.
In my eyes right now nothing with the GLC can do wrong.
But you knew that, didn't you?
BRIT #9 $2.99 (Bruce Brown / Nate Bellegarde)Basically all of the major creations of Robert Kirkman have gathered to protect the Earth from the "Other Earth." You've got Wolfman, Invincible, Tech Jacket, Donald, and of course, Brit, all getting ready to punch bad guys very, very hard.
What can I say, this comic is just so much fun; you don't always realize that the story is slowly building and progressing as the title carries along as there is a lot of super-heroic fighting, but before you know it there's Brit with an entire supporting cast.
LOVE IT!
WOLVERINE #69 $2.99 (Mark MIllar / Steve McNiven)Millar had his take on Wolverine before with "Enemy of the State" and then "Agent of SHIELD" and though were big, fun, wide-screen styled action movies in comic form; that said, honestly, I didn't know that Millar had this story in him.
Let's face it, one of the things that is endearing about Wolverine is that he is unstoppable, (nearly) unkillable, and almost all-powerful. People sometimes wish they could be like that. Because of that, many writers like to play with Wolverine, throwing him into situation after situation seeing what it takes to make him break. Ultimately, in the end we know Wolverine is going to go into berserker mode and hurt a lot of people.
It's why we buy the book and we love it.
But what if Wolverine was already broken, perhaps irreparably so? Don't get me wrong, I still fully expect to see that patented Wolverine berserker mode before the end of this story, but we're coming to halfway through it and still Wolverine is a broken man.
I like it; it's a different take on the character that I'm thoroughly enjoying. In fact, in my opinion this book hasn't been this good since Greg Rucka launched the title.
What comics did you get geeked out about this week? I’d love to hear about them. Just stop by the WLG message boards (see link below) and share your thoughts!
See you next week!
Until then, peace!
-Diaz
Were Diaz's picks on the mark?
Have your say on What Looks Good at the Looking Good message board.