Rolling into the second five-issue arc, “International Flavor,” Chew‘s John Layman and Rob Guillory offer a sneak peek of what’s to come with the cover of issue #9.

Vampires with a thing for Hawaiian chicks? Tony Chu’s retelling of Lilo and Stitch? Sometimes it pains me more to see these covers, knowing that I’ll have to wait an entire four months before I will actually discover what the story entails.

In the meantime, I highly suggest that you pick up the first trade book on your way to purchasing Chew #6 when it hits your local comic book shop this Wednesday—it makes for a great holiday gift (even more so if you need to catch up on the series)!

Writer-Director Luc Besson (he of The Professional and The Fifth Element) will be adapting the graphic albums of Jacques Tardi (the brilliant French illustrator and storyteller). Now there’s a mash-up made in geek heaven.

Besson is currently in post-production on Les Aventures Extraordinaires d’Adèle Blanc-Sec, or The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Dry-White for us language heathens. And how extraordinary are those adventures? Glad you asked! Adele is a reporter in WWI Paris who ends up battling mummies, monsters, weird cults and pulpish scientists. If this sounds a little La Femme Indiana Jones, you would not be incorrect. This is the first movie in a proposed trilogy.

The film is based on a series of albums by Tardi. The albums have been published in Europe since 1976 and there are 9 in the series so far (the latest in 2007), so there’s a lot of material to pull from. I don’t read or speak anything other than English, but if you’ve got a touch of the bilingual, there’s an extraordinary fan-site on Adele that’s worth checking out. (If you’re a poorly-educated rube like me, you can still marvel at the pictures.)

In Besson’s movie, Former French weather girl turned actress Louise Bourgoin (The Girl From Monaco) is playing the title role. Variety once wrote of Louise that she has “a bod kissed by Aphrodite.” Let’s hope that bod can kick monster-butt. Angelina Jolie has raised “female butt-kickin’ action star” to a high-grossing artform so Louise and Luc have their work cut out for them.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer gets a second chance! Well, sort of.

Not to be confused at all with the rumored Buffy reboot by the rapacious Kuzuis, it has been reported that Joss Whedon‘s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic books will be translated into a motion-comic web series.

No word yet as to whether or not original cast members from the television series will appear, but casting director Jeff Shuter is already looking for voice actors to fill familiar and new roles. If you sound like Sarah Michelle Gellar or D.B. Woodside, this gig may be for you—check out the complete cast list after the jump (they’re looking for non-union).

While this good news comes after Dollhouse‘s cancellation, I have my doubts.

Read More | Sci Fi Wire

While promoting his latest film Fantastic Mr. Fox, Jason Schwartzman was swiftly quizzed on the upcoming film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series.

“I saw the first 20 minutes of it and I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in my entire life. It’s really funny, it’s really emotional, there’s a lot of romance—but the action sequences, I’ve never seen scenes quite like these. They’re really beautiful.”

Let’s hope that it lives up to his words! Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are also set to star in the film, which is directed by Edgar Wright of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead fame.

Read More | MTV

Back again with more cool stuff from around the internet. Whether your tastes run to Ralph Bakshi’s version of Robert Crumb’s Fritz The Cat, webcomics, E-Man or inappropriately sexual licensed Batman products, the internet proved a bounty of great stuff this week. Let’s take a look.

Webcomics: I love webcomics - and some day we’ll all just call them comics, right? - and I love the sites that cover them. Which means I love Floating Light Bulb. In addition to coverage of webcomics, there are lots of great insights into using them as a business, plus stuff on Google, Twitter, and more. Also, this person is smarter than me. A highly recommended site to bookmark.

Here’s a taste from a recent post. This past week featured an interview with Kez who does the webcomic War of Winds. The interview’s focus is all about webcomic creators attending conventions, hand-selling, meeting fans and making fans. It’s about the “creator as small businessperson” model. Kez also breaks down how much money can be made via her website v. conventions. “I completed one short 54-page comic as a printed side-story, which has sold well. While I didn’t start out with that story from a business stand-point, I ended that way. Out of the 50 copies I had printed, I have sold 42, gave away 2, have 3 left to sell, and 3 that were mis-printed. I bought each for about 7 dollars, sold them for $10 each, and made a profit of over $100. I will be printing more books shortly, as books sell the best at conventions.” It’s great to see someone talking hard numbers like this, instead of theory. Much, much more at the link.

Patrick McGoohan’s classic TV series, The Prisoner, is the definition of the word enigmatic. It was also an outrageous, surprising, and completely original show about identity, spies, surveillance, and more all built around a simple premise: what happens to a spy when he retires. In the case of The Prisoner, that spy, played by McGoohan, is drugged and taken to an island resort called The Village from which there’s no escape - though oh how he tries. He’s given a number (Number 6) instead of a name and he’s never quite sure who’s doing this to him: his former bosses or something more sinister. Cameras around the Orwellian Village monitor his every move as he tries to turn the tables on his captors in a giant game of spy chess. Each episode has more plot twists than a season of Lost, and while Number 6 doesn’t win, he never really loses either. McGoohan co-created the series, starred in it, wrote and directed some of the episodes. His fingerprints are all over it.

Produced in England from 1967-1968, The Prisoner ran for 17 episodes with a final episode that didn’t answer all the questions posed by the series, and good luck getting any from the temperamental McGoohan (he passed away earlier this year and took many of his secrets with him). There was no second season. No spin-off. No subsequent movie. But a lot of solid geek cred, including a couple of catchphrases for those in the know, like “I’m not a number! I’m a free man!” A very good overview of the series - with clips and more - can be found over at Palafo.

Rating: ****

Another amazing issue that will have everyone’s jaw drop by the time people reach the end. Sometimes the conclusion to a comic book story does not live up to the way it started - that is not the case here. Grant Morrison hits a big home run with the conclusion to his Red Hood story arc. The only drawback for me once again is Philip Tan’s artwork. Some of the artwork in the panels seemed rushed and murky, but Morrison saves the day for me with this amazing story. I read the preview that was released and I couldn’t wait to read this issue. After reading this issue, I’m now salivating for more.

Eduardo Flamingo proves to be a very dangerous character. When we last left off in the story, Flamingo had taken a shot at the Red Hood. The shot doesn’t kill him, which causes Flamingo to try harder to finish the job by shooting the side of Jason’s face off. He also tries to pull the mask off of Scarlet’s face (if you’ve been reading the title you know her face is attached to the mask).

Batman and Robin escape from the trap that the Red Hood put them in and they try to assist Hood and Scarlet in taking down Flamingo. Morrison writes a great line for Robin when they confront Flamingo, “I was expecting scary, not gay.” Very funny. The character appears to die at the hands of the Red Hood, but this is the comic book world, and we know that he probably isn’t dead.

Let’s visit the photo archives again, shall we?

Years ago, I had the occasion to journey to a comic book store in the Bay Area - somewhere around one of the cities near San Francisco. I had been attending a convention near the San Francisco Airport. After the show was over, I had some time to kill and some friends drove me out to a comic book store where Jean Giraud (aka Moebius!) was putting in an appearance. How could I resist that?

I don’t remember why Moebius was in town. He wasn’t at the convention, which was a Star*Reach event for retailers and publishers only. I just know that he was there - the creator of Lt. Blueberry, The Airtight Garage and dozens of other great things. And, fortunately, I had my camera with me, my then-trusty 35mm decidedly non-digital Pentax. I stood in line, I shook his hand, and he signed a giant poster for me (as he did for everyone else in line.) Here are a couple of shots from that day. My memory is that this is Comics & Comix in Palo Alto, but if anyone can confirm or correct that, the world would be a better place for all of us.

And yes, I realize the photos are better than the story, but look over there: It’s Moebius!

[Artwork: Photo of Jean Giraud/Moebius. Photo © Tom K. Mason]

Now that GM is shutting down their Saturn division, let me tell you how comic books helped me get a really nice, reliable car. Years ago, my old car went on life support and, reluctantly, since I could no longer count on my friends to keep picking me up by the side of the freeway, I had to get another one. I hate buying a car more than I hate trying to get a hotel room for Comic-Con International in March. So I needed a plan.

At the time, I was intrigued by the ads for Saturn cars. They were owned by GM but had a separate factory somewhere near Davy Crockett’s family home in Tennessee, used their own parts and built their cars using a team that wasn’t connected to GM corporate. Also, the happy TV commercials showed their smiling employees enjoying picnics in the park. It was, they claimed, a different way to make a car.

The Kick-Ass presents keep coming so fast, I feel like it’s Christmas already! First we saw the posters, now we finally get to see the teaser trailer for the film adaptation of Mark Millar’s and John Romita, Jr.‘s comic of the same title.

Seemingly pulled straight from the first few pages of the initial issue, director Matthew Vaughan translated the comic to film quite masterfully. Let’s hope the same applies for the rest of the movie!

The only thing that concerns me is that I’m still not buying Superbad‘s Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist—are you?

Read More | Comic Book Resources

In a much-too-long YouTube video, musician Reeve Carney talks about donning the red and blue bodysuit for Broadway.

“We just wanted to get up here on YouTube today to tell you something important to us, and to maybe some people who are fans of certain comic books. Okay, basically, let’s cut to the chase—we wanted to confirm the rumors going around the internet today that I, Reeve Carney, will in fact be playing Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, in the Broadway production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

Read More | Just Jared

I know that it’s been quite awhile, but remember how Sam Mendes saw a script for the film adaptation of Preacher? Apparently John Cusack wants in on it, and he seems like a pretty smart dude to be doing so.

When doing his interview rounds for 2012, Cusack was asked about if he would consider doing a comic book film (‘cause, you know, everyone’s a superhero these days). Despite his lackluster response (or knowledge) of comic books, he equivocally spoke about a film that he had been chasing that sounded awfully familiar.

“Yeah, I can [see certain comic books being made into film], there was one or two that I heard of that sounded really cool. One of them was about, I think… it’s a vampire and a killer, and they’re on the road, and it’s this really strange story. I thought that sounded pretty cool. Also some of the obscure ones, I don’t know if there are any more superheroes left… I think it might have been Preacher.”

When asked which character he would wish to portray, he said “either the vampire or the priest. One of those two guys.”

I don’t know about you, but I think that he’d make an amazing Arseface.

Read More | io9 via MTV

Rating: ****

Another great issue by Brian Michael Bendis. The artwork is good too with artist David LaFuente. I complained before about how I thought Peter Parker looked like he was 12 years old instead of 16, but that doesn’t really bother me all that much. The way he tells the story panel-to-panel is reminiscent of Mark Bagley’s work on the original Ultimate Spider-Man title. I think LaFuente is becoming more the true air to the title than Stuart Immonen. No disrespect to Immonen, but I think both Bagley and LaFuente’s styles are better fit for the characters than Immonen. I hope LaFuente stays around for a while.

Bendis continues his masterful run on the Spider-Man character, which began almost 10 years ago. It’s always fascinating to see a writer stay with a character for that long and see the amount of different stories they can tell.

In typical Bendis fashion, the plot is moving along slowly, but you’re not bored. It’s like having a fine meal and you’re slowly enjoying yourself. So far Peter is still dealing with his new house guest the Human Torch and the drama of dealing with his past and current girlfriends Mary Jane and Gwen. The villain is still Mysterio and this new hooded superhero that first appeared in issue one makes another appearance. Is this new character an Ultimate version of the Hood - the villain Bendis is using over in Avengers? Maybe the Hood is a hero in the Ultimate universe.

Back in the go-go 1990s of television syndication, everybody and his international production company was making hour-long adventure series. My weekend afternoons were filled with two of the best, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. They were fun, action-packed, never took themselves too seriously and both were thoroughly enjoyable. And they had two things in common: Sam Raimi (that’s right, the Evil Dead/Darkman/Spider-Man guy) and Robert Tapert.

But the market shifted and independent programming took a beating for a few years. Then last year, there was a surprise on my widescreen plasma: Legend of the Seeker. And it too had something in common with Hercules and Xena: Raimi and Tapert. They’d returned to New Zealand where their previous shows were filmed, and drew from the Wizard’s First Rule novels of fantasy author Terry Goodkind to craft another terrific action hour with edge-of-the-seat appeal and really nice FX. It fills that gap for me when BBC America isn’t showing Robin Hood.

Now it’s back for season 2, and the first new episode debuts this weekend (either November 7 or November 8, depending on your local listings). For me, it’s KTLA (Channel 5) at Sunday, 3pm. If you’re in NYC (which is where I always dream of being), it’s 4pm Saturday on WPIX. You can find out your own local times and station at the official LOTS website.

Rating: *** 1/2*

This issue was a lot of fun. It was fast paced and it had non-stop action, which is good for the final issue of a comic book storyline. I also enjoyed the artwork this time; maybe I just grew accustomed to it, but the artwork didn’t bother me as much here in this issue as it did in the others.

Well, I called it in my last review when I said that Kaine would interrupt the stand-off between Peter Parker and Raptor so Peter wouldn’t have to reveal his identity; however, Kaine is there to assist the Raptor - not Peter. We also the flashback to the time when Ben Reilly confronted Raptor (then known as Damon Ryder) in his house - the same house that we know will burn down and kill his family. So we have a two fights playing out back and forth - Kaine showed up during that fight as well. Writer Marc Guggenheim does a nice job of jumping back and forth between the past and the present as well as building up a suspense to final outcome of both stories.

Screwball also shows up again as Spider-Man sets her up for a fight, but it really was a planned diversion for his confrontation with Raptor. This distraction enables Peter to free Harry Osborn and his cousins so that he can change into Spider-Man. Raptor is curious as to why Spider-Man continues to show up to help “Ben Reilly.” Kaine answers that question by pulling off Spider-Man’s mask. The clone situation is explained to Raptor, but Kaine says that Peter is the clone. I think Kaine explains it this way as an excuse for Raptor to take out his revenge on Peter. Raptor may not want to attack Peter if he knew that Ben was really a clone. Just my theory on this situation.

Lionsgate provides a nice treat for fans of Mark Millar‘s and John Romita, Jr.‘s Kick-Ass, unmasking four posters for the film adaptation.

Instead of touting the actors—which include Nicolas Cage, Superbad‘s Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloe Moretz—the posters (seen after the jump) brandish the characters’ real names as well as their crime fighting alter egos. Placed next to each other (like the comics’ “Umpteenth Printing” variant), the title of the film appears in large block letters in the background.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film hits theaters April 16, 2010.

Read More | IGN

If you are anything like myself, you can’t wait for the Dr. Horrible sequel. Thankfully for folks like us, the Whedon crew adheres to our insatiable craving for all things Whedon-related, offering us a comic book chronicling the origin of Dr. Horrible’s feud with Captain Hammer.

Zack Whedon teamed up with Joelle Jones for the one-shot, which is published by Dark Horse.

“It’s a prequel to the web series, and you get to see his first of many embarrassing encounters with Captain Hammer. But the web series is really an origin story too, so this is a little prelude to that,” explains Whedon, who co-wrote Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog with brothers Joss and Jed, as well as Jed’s new wife, Maurissa Tancharoen.

Check out the first six pages of the 24-page book after the jump, then head over to your comic book shop when the full issue hits stores on November 18th.

Read More | MTV

Rating: *** 1/2

After a delay of about a month, the mini-series Captain America: Reborn continues. I’ve really enjoyed this series so far and would recommend it to non-Cap fans as a good example of a good Captain America story. After reading this issue, however, I’m starting to get a bit disappointed. We know Steve Rogers will be “resurrected” and return as Captain America, but we’ve wondered exactly how the story will end with that conclusion. Well, after reading this issue, I think I’ve got the conclusion figured out. It should be good, but I was hoping for something new and different. Maybe I’m wrong and there will be something different, but I doubt it. Before I give my theory of the conclusion, a quick recap.

The Red Skull has more than nine lives. He’s cheated death once again and is now inhabiting a new robotic body. The Red Skull, his daughter Sin, and her boyfriend Crossbones have arrived in Latveria the homeland of Dr. Doom. Doom has the machine that the Skull needs to recover Captain America, who is currently stuck in time. Sharon Carter is the key to getting Steve back; she has surrendered herself because the Skull’s accomplice Norman Osborn revealed to the media that she was the second shooter in the assassination of Captain America.

Comic book fans all over the world have experienced a great loss: Sheldon Dorf (pictured to the left of actor Warren Beatty), the founder of San Diego Comic Con, has died at the age of 76.

A victim of diabetes, Dorf had been hospitalized for about a year; he died of kidney failure in San Diego on Tuesday. Dorf started Comic-Con in San Diego after having moved from Detroit in 1970; today, the convention has turned into a media frenzy, attracting around 125,000 fans a year.

Dorf, a freelance artist and letterer, was a major contribution to the comic book industry and will be greatly missed.

Read More | The Hollywood Reporter

Celebrated comic book writer Alan Moore has indirectly caused the demise of two Kentucky librarians all while he was at home in the UK. Talk about super powers!

Sharon Cook and Beth Bovaire claim that they were fired when they refused to lend Moore’s graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to an 11 year-old girl. Pulling it from her hold list, the pair felt that it was unsuitable for the pre-teen, calling it “pornography.” If they call that novel pornography, they’ve got to check out Lost Girls!

“Residents in Jessamine county do not realize that these books that are so graphic are available in the library let alone to their children,” Bovaire said.

I’m impressed that an 11 year-old knew to pick up a Moore book in the first place. Shouldn’t they be happy that she’s reading at all? I mean, let’s celebrate the fact that she didn’t request any of the Twilight books.

The Jessamine County Library Director did not want to discuss the termination, but did say that the responsibility of deciding what a child can or cannot read rested upon the parents.

Read More | Digital Spy

Those folks over at Apple don’t stop at catering to people’s needs. This time, they’re impressing comic book fans, as the iPhone now carries an array of Marvel comics you’ve probably been meaning to catch up on.

Marvel has now made both new and classic issues available via Comixology, iVerse, and Panelfly. Whether it’s the first 25 issues of Stan Lee’s Amazing Spider-Man, Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, or Robert Kirkman‘s Marvel Zombies, finding something you’ll want to read is guaranteed. The best part of this whole deal is the fact that Panelfly, which has the most comics in its library (84), sells their comics for $0.99 (others generally charge $1.99).

Despite this more cost-effective comic book venture, nothing quite beats the sensation of walking into your local shop, digging through those boxes to find that treasured issue you so desperately want to get your fingers on. What’s a couple dollars or so when you’ve still got that?

Let’s hope the sacred Wednesday tradition of new issues stays intact as well, considering the iPhone doesn’t have that… yet.

Read More | MTV

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: I have a bias when it comes to Sergio Aragonés. I grew up reading his Marginals in MAD Magazine and later worked for a company that published his work (two graphic albums and The Mighty Magnor mini-series with Mark Evanier). During that time, I not only met him, but he once dropped by the office on a day that coincidentally was my birthday and, in the time it might take me to read an email, he drew in ink (no penciling) a breathtaking 9x12 illustration of multi-character cartoon goodness as a gift. I still have it, framed on my office wall.

So my bias goes well beyond fancrush. I was saddened that MAD Magazine went quarterly because it meant 8 fewer paychecks per year for all those freelancers associated with the magazine, including Sergio. But I knew that anyone who draws as fast and funny as he does would find another outlet for his work, and I was delighted - and surprised - to discover that it would be The Simpsons.

He’s joined Bongo Comics, and they’ve made a big deal out of his debut on Simpsons Comics Presents Bart Simpson #50, subtitled “Mad About Sergio.” Sergio writes, pencils and inks two complete stories. The first is “The Simpson Project,” about what happens when Bart and Milhouse’s homemade rocketship triggers a domino effect of international nuttiness. And the second is “Big Top Flop” where Bart and his friends sneak away from Cirque Du Lune (”the elegant art of mime and the subtle fantasy of Asian contortionists”) and try to sneak into a “real” circus. There are also two shorter gag pieces by Sergio.

Read More | The Beat

Rating: ***

A few months ago during the Battle for the Cowl series, DC Comics released accompanying one-shots that expanded on the state of Gotham City and its inhabitants during the initial disappearance of Batman. Some were good and some were bad, but one stood out as great. Batman Battle for the Cowl: Arkham was the story of Jeremiah Arkham and his attempts at recovery after the destruction of Arkham Asylum. The story was similar to the mini-series Arkham Asylum: Living Hell in that it focused more on the inmates of Arkham and not Batman. This Battle for the Cowl issue introduced us to several unseen inmates who were special to Jeremiah: No Face, The Hamburger Lady, and the Mirror Man. This is the first issue of a three part mini-series that continues the story of Jeremiah and the inmates from that issue.

The first issue of Arkham Reborn begins with the reopening of Arkham Asylum. Now I didn’t catch this until after I read the issue, but in the opening scene Jeremiah Arkham is showing off the new asylum to a group of Gothamites. Some of these characters include Commissioner Gordon, new Gotham D.A. Kate Spencer aka the super-hero Manhunter, Aaron Cash head of Arkham security, Jeremiah’s new assistant Alyce Sinner, and ....Bruce Wayne?! I had to do a Wikipedia search to discover that Thomas Elliot, who surgically altered his face to look like Bruce Wayne, escaped from his cell and is now out and about as Bruce Wayne. I think the editors should have mentioned this, as I believe this all happened in the Streets of Gotham title and I don’t read that book.

Happy Halloween! You won’t find any Halloween-themed stuff down below because thousands of other people are already way ahead of me on that. What you will find is some very nifty reading (and looking) on folks like Howard Chaykin, Frank Robbins, indie cartoonist J.R. Williams, Stan Lee, and Blackest Night. Start the ball rolling downhill…

Incognegro: Galleycat gives a shout-out to the new graphic novel by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece, making it their Featured Book of Color. This Vertigo book has “movie” written all over it, and I’m sure Diane Nelson has noticed that.

Die Hard: Those We Left Behind enjoys the new Howard Chaykin/Stephen Thompson Die Hard prequel, Die Hard: Year One, from Boom! Says TWLB of the just-released second issue: “The series is really capturing the spirit of the McClane character, with his quick wit and regular-guy attitude.”

The Avengers: James Reasoner reviews Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. “It’s also interesting to see the introduction of storylines that would resonate through the Marvel Universe for years, and in some cases, decades afterwards.” But there’s a “but” coming that you’ll have to click and discover for yourself.

Great Googly Moogly! Writer Mike McGee and artist Tamas Jakab are prepping the third issue of their creation, El Gorgo! If you’re already on board with the “world’s greatest Luchador gorilla” read no further, but if you haven’t checked out these whacked-out, Kirby-inspired, cosmic adventures yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

The creators put each issue up on the El Gorgo! website for free-reading, but they also create a print version for those of us who still like to hold printed matter in our hands. And the print version is nice too - quality paper and vibrant colors make El Gorgo leap from the page. And since he has enough power and courage to kick a dinosaur in the face, you’d better duck.

The color cover and the first 11 pages of the impending third issue - “The Hour of Dagon” - are up at the El Gorgo! site right now. They’re in black and white, but they’ll be in color when the issue’s finished.

If you’re feeling like the third issue might be too difficult a spot to join in, fear not. Mike and Tamas have posted the complete first and second issues of El Gorgo! for free-reading.

Read More | El Gorgo Site

Steve Niles is a self-proclaimed horror addict. Then again, judging by his books 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, and Freaks of the Heartland, it’s not that difficult to spot.

Taking time out of his Halloween festivities to write about his horror heroes, Niles credits I Am Legend author Richard Matheson as well as directors George A. Romero and John Carpenter among his leading inspirations.

“John Carpenter hardly has to be introduced, let alone explained, but for those of you out there who are unaware of his work go out right now and rent or buy the original Halloween and (John Carpenter’s) The Thing and see how horror is done. These two movies made on very different budgets hit every beat of what makes great horror.”

Wait a second—does that mean I ought to skip over David Slade’s $30 million adaptation of 30 Days of Night when I’m perusing Netflix?

Best of all, Niles lets us in on the most notable secret of all: how to become a sought-after comic book creator in Hollywood.

Read More | MTV

Rating: ****

Wow! Fantastic! For someone who didn’t grow up reading the Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes stories, I have nothing to compare this issue to. However, I must say that this is a great story that I think longtime fans of those stories will agree that it can stand alongside those classic tales. If you didn’t read issue one, first off, go now to your comic store and get it; second, this issue can stand alone as a great story with some amazing art work. The creative team once again is Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. They introduced us to a teenage Clark Kent living in Smallville adjusting to his super powers and discovering where they came from. We’re also introduced to a teenage Lex Luthor who has an abusive, alcoholic father whom Luthor tries kill in the beginning of our second issue.

The issue opens with Lionel Luthor driving down a highway. There is rubble on the road and he tries to swerve and hit the breaks - unfortunately the breaks are out thanks to Lex. Lionel’s car goes over the side of the highway and is about to plunge into the water when Superboy saves the day. A beautifully drawn scene by Frank, but my one complaint is that I think Superboy looks more like a 10 year-old than a teenager in that scene. Lionel survives, but not for long as Luthor is successful in murdering his father at the end of the issue.

Rating: ***

I’m a bit disappointed in this issue. After the first three issues blew me away and I proclaimed that this series was a future classic in the making, writer Geoff Johns stumbles a bit with this month’s issue of Blackest Night. For me, some of Black Lantern Firestorm’s dialogue was written poorly in the opening pages. We also jump to Gotham City for no reason other to see Jean Paul Valley aka Azrael resurrected as a Black Lantern while The Scarecrow whines about admiring the fear that the Black Lanterns are able to invoke (he can’t get scared because he’s used too much of his fear gas). Poor baby. He does have one fear of course - The Batman (cue dramatic Batman music).

This issue mostly focuses on Barry Allen - the Flash and his quest to take the reigns and try to “hold down the fort” here on Earth against the Black Lanterns. He’s with the Atom and Mera of Atlantis and he gives them a good pep talk to try to get them to step up and fight back against the Black Lanterns. The Flash then runs across the Earth continuing his pep talk and informing the other heroes of the situation. He tells them that Green Lantern is off trying to destroy the source of the Black Lanterns’ power and they have to keep fighting until that happens. 

The great thing about Stumble Upon is that you get to stumble upon some really funny webcomics. That’s how I found Mike Bannon’s Mordant Orange, a single-panel full color comic, about six months ago. A mechanical designer by day and a webcartoonist by night, Mike describes himself as “similar to a large block of wood but with slightly more hair and slightly less funny.” I thought it was time to ask him a few questions.

Tom Mason: How did you get interested in cartooning?
Mike Bannon: Probably much like anyone else. As a kid I had a bunch of Garfield collections. I used to read them all the time and try drawing Garfield. I also had an English friend who had lots of British comics as well, Beano, Dennis the Menace and all kinds of stuff I’d never heard of before. They were fantastic. But beyond that what really got me interested in cartoons was this physics teacher in high school who used to copy Far Side cartoons into course outlines and labs. I just the loved the smart, bizarre humor. I went out and got my hands on all The Far Side Gallery’s I could.
Tom: How did Mordant Orange get started?
Mike: In 2005, a friend introduced me to this thing called a blog. I started a blog like everyone else and posted all the dumb stuff on the internet that I found funny. After about two weeks of this I got bored and decided if I wanted to have a website that was worth visiting I would have to put something original up on it. So I started writing movie reviews. Which I sucked at it and quickly abandoned.

Read More | Mordant Orange

You know that the comic book world is getting its share of rape and sodomy when celebrities like Jennifer Love Hewitt are branching out into the industry. I suppose we have Hollywood and San Diego Comic Con to thank for that, eh?

The Ghost Whisperer starlet teamed up with IDW to create her comic book, The Music Box. Wow, so alluring, Jennifer.

What makes it even better is the fact that she has slapped her face on the cover of it (as I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the comic, she may also be the heroine—I don’t know), as if to say, “Even though you typical comic book consumers will walk right past my series (which is incidentally about a lame music box), I’ll plaster my good looks on it to make you at least give it a second glance.”

If you’re feeling up to the challenge of reading a seemingly-unbearable story, the issue is in stands as of yesterday, October 28th.

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