Re-Structure!

I got back from my Spring Break vacation a little while ago, and I'm settled in and getting started on reading this week's comics. Vampires, Cullings, and the Pheonix Force, OH MY!

So to get down to business, I'm changing up the way I do things around here. "But wait!" You say ever so tragically, "I fear change!" Well my friends, you'll have solace in knowing it's not that drastic of a change. Rather, a consolidation of my columns is in order so that I don't get burned out on writing these things every night. Perish the thought. So without any further pomp, here's my new weekly schedule:

Every Monday I will continue to pen my Channel Surfing column (name change pending). The format will be condensed to focus on what I thought was the greatest showing that week. Every once in a while this will also be the place I'll talk about movies and games when and if I review those.

Moving along to Wednesday, I'll head into the way-back machine to continue my musings on the early days of comics. After all, these "Digging for Gold" segments are what I created the blog for and I'm really itching to get back into this on a regular basis. In the future it will go more in-depth by focusing on individual issues as well.

And finally, Saturdays are home to my thoughts on the current week of comics. A combination and necessary slimming down of my review and news columns. I'll talk about what's happened in the industry recently as well as list my top 5 books of the week.


And that's all I've got for now. A lot of the plans I had for the blog I just can't make happen right now, but there's always a tomorrow. I quickly realized that my previous schedule for maintaining the blog left me little time to actually READ comics, and there's no fun in that. Hindsight and what have you. So for now I hope you enjoy what I do have to offer, and as always, try and stay golden.

See you at the comic shop.

Spring Break

Well, the flowers are blooming (in some places) and everyone knows what that means. I'll be headed out on fantastic journeys of the "outside my house" variety. And in doing so, the blog will have to take a back seat.

I'll be back in full force in about two weeks, so check back then for my continued thoughts on the comic book industry and all its trappings. If you feel yourself having withdrawals, here are some websites that could help keep you up to date on comic news while I'm away.

IGN Comics

Comic Book Resources


And so I bid you a heartfelt, albeit temporary, adieu. May your lives be blessed with lots capes and tights. Or something.

Stay golden!

Channel Surfing: Living in a DC Nation

Not only did this week see several shows come out of hiatus, we also have a legitimately good effort from Blade. Who would have thought?! With so many shows to review, the format has changed a little bit, so please read below for the reviews:


Blade, Episode 8 - Old Wounds, Fresh Blood
If only the entire series were like this. Makoto sits out to be replaced by a bad-ass soldier-vampire from an A.I.M. experiment leftover from the war, we're introduced to a new mutant swordsman to replace the "villain" role that Lucius once held, and best of all: no stupid vampire designs! The focus of the fighting is all swordplay, and its great, not to mention the music was noticeably engaging. The animation is still lazy at times, but far less annoying when there are other things to take your mind off it. Only four episodes left, hopefully they can keep up this level of quality!


Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Episode 40 - Mandarin's Quest
After such a long hiatus, I was expecting something more epic. A rather standard "Mandarin quests for another ring" episode that the show has done tons of times. Don't have much to say, you either like the style of the show or you don't and this episode isn't going to change anyone's mind. I just wish they would finish up the Mandarin plot and move on, honestly. Iron Man has much cooler villains than him.


Young Justice, Episode 19 - Misplaced
Speaking of epic, this is how you come back from a hiatus! I never liked Klarion the Witch Boy, but the plot line of this episode is so amazing, it doesn't much matter. You have a world-breaking plan that involves not only Young Justice but the adult Justice League as well, not to mention a Captain Marvel centric episode. Those two things are all I need to enjoy the hell out of a show. The ending was also pretty touching, and I'm interested to see where the Doc Fate plot-line is headed. This is a must watch.


Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Episode 1 - Beware My Power
Not much to say here, it's not actually a new episode, rather the first part of the pilot shown months ago. It seems promising, and I'm not sure whether or not they are trying to shoe-horn this in to movie continuity, but I still have to watch a few more episodes to decide what the verdict is on this new show. Too bad I have to wait two more weeks to get something I haven't already seen. :/


DC Nation Shorts - Aardman #2/Plastic Man in...Super Hero Sketch Artist
Short films ran during the commercials of the other shows! DC Nation is blowing my mind! This is a magnificent idea and I can't wait to watch for these each and every week. Plastic Man was hilarious and the Aardman short's quality is largely dependent on if you dig Aardman's previous work, which I do. They may not be much on continuity or run time, but this is the best reason to sit down and watch DC Nation.


The Walking Dead, Episode 17 - Judge, Jury, Executioner
If you follow my blog you know I recently started watching this show to try and get caught up for Season 2, so I had the advantage of watching most of these episodes back to back. This new episode is disappointing for two reasons: firstly they spend too much of the episode talking about matters that I don't care about, and lastly they kill off my second favorite character. I like the show, and I've never read the comic so I have no clue where they are taking the characters, but I still can't help but feel they should be moving on from the farm or risk the show getting stale. Zombie stories are about survival, and I'm not seeing much of that recently.



And that's all for this week. Quite a lot to process, right! Next month, things will get even more hectic with the release of Marvel's block of shows, but for now this is what we have to work with. If you could watch only one show right now, I'd go with Young Justice, but why not do like me and watch them all!?

Either way, until next time comics fans, stay golden.

Serial News: Hickman & Avengers

The final cinematic trailer for this summer's epic blockbuster The Avengers was released this week. I'm sure you are waiting with bated breath so it is waiting for your click just above. :)

In other news, after three years show-running the Fantastic Four franchise, Jonathan Hickman will be leaving this October. He's done a fantastic effort in making the FF relevant again, and his superb world-building has cemented Hickman's FF as the definitive version for this generation. He tragically killed off Johnny Storm, created the Future Foundation, BROUGHT BACK Johnny Storm (comics!), and wove a story on such a grand scale it's no wonder the fans love him on this title. I personally will be sad to see him go, but the question must be asked...where is he going?

Good, Bad, and Poorly-Drawn: Zombie Pirates!

This week was a slim week in the comics world, due to it being the fifth month of the week.

The world of DC had Justice League finishing up its first arc, and included a back-up featuring a character called Pandora that will become very important to the DC Universe in the coming months. Stay tuned for that!

In addition to that, several comics grow into their home stretches, like Scalped, Tiny Titans, and DC Universe Online Legends. And last but not least, the focal point of Earth-12; Terry McGinnis, returns to the comics world in the first issue of Batman Beyond Unlimited.

Marvel amps up the danger in Avenger's H.A.M.M.E.R. arc, Venom and the Circle of Four hits a thrilling penultimate chapter, Amazing Spider-Man sows the seeds necessary for the monumental Ends of the Earth event this summer, and of course the out of place modern western Six Guns releases its final issue, an expectedly underrated title that comes to a satisfying close. But lets get to the recommendations!

The Good: Top 5 Books

#5 - Venom #13.4: While I do think it was a tad over-written, this was an immensely fun comic, and I've honestly felt that way for the entire event. Lan Medina makes this issue seem more like Venom than the rest of the event, which is good. Other than the rather dubious direction they are taking Alejandra, I'm loving it and can't wait for the conclusion next week.




#4 - Moon Knight #10: Much like O.M.A.C. over at DC, the knowledge of this book's cancellation (due in issue #12) is heartbreaking because the book itself is pure quality. Maleev's sketchy style is perfect for a mind as shattered as Moon Knight, and the content of the issue was both tragic and intriguing. I don't know how they are going to wrap it all up in just two issues, but hopefully this is leading towards a bang of an ending.


#3 - Scalped #56: The final arc of this book starts off with an eight month time skip, making the issue feel like an epilogue more than anything else. This works towards the book's credit however. The art is nothing spectacular, but very nice when you take the coloring into account. The real star is the plot, which may be winding down since last issue but things may not be what they seem. With only four issues left, I'd wait for the trade, but this is a great pick to read nevertheless.



#2 - Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #7: Fair warning, the entire Ultimate Comics line is fairly inter-connected, but that's one of the reasons it works so well. With only three ongoings, its not unreasonable to pick them all up, and together they create a superb story that's building up to epic proportions. That out of the way, this is one of the best issues yet; and I can only see the quality ramping up as all out war breaks out between the People and the Children.


#1 - The Shade #5: It's appalling how little press this comic is getting. It's quite possibly one of the best things DC is doing right now, and I'm sure its selling abysmally. I urge you to change that. It's superbly written, and makes you feel a part of a fully realized world with interesting three-dimensional characters. And it has pirates who are also vampires. Is that enough to get you to go buy it? IT SHOULD BE.







The Bad: Books to Avoid

The Unwritten #34.5: I might be being a bit harsh on this particular issue because this series so far has been so phenomenal, but either way this tale seemed kind of lackluster. The story was predictable and the art (while not horrible) was bland due to the setting being war-torn wastelands for most of the issue. Not a complete train-wreck, but you'd miss nothing of value by skipping this issue.




And that's it for this week. I actually didn't find any books this week that had art SO bad I had to make note of it. But it wasn't a very big week to begin with, so go figure.

As always, let me know any feedback you have, and until next time comics fans: stay golden.