A new month so I guess its time for a new thread.

March started off with a small comic book week for me, but there is a lot of great stuff this month. Yesterday I picked up . . .

Detective Comics #804 - Not only is this the best Bat-book in years, the back-up story has been awesome as well.
Fallen Angel #19 - This book is so good & so original it amazes me that nobody reads it.
Intimates #5
John Constantine Hellblazer Special Papa Midnite #2
Lex Luthor Man Of Steel #1 - You can read my review over at Broken Frontier: http://www.brokenfrontier.com/review...ils.php?id=206
Walking Dead #16 - One of the greatest comics I ever read, OH MY GOD!!!! Last issue was amazing.

Marvel Team-Up #6 - Such a fun book, I highly recommend this for old school Marvel fans.
Shanna The She-Devil #2 - Just buying this for the art.
X-Men Age Of Apocalypse #1 - I was a llittle kid when AoA first came out, & thought it was amazing. I read these two new return to AoA books & dear lord did they blow. I guess when you are a kid you just don't know better.
X-Men Age Of Apocalypse One Shot - The nostalgia trip ends here, I will not be picking up the rest of these.

If you can only buy one comics this week it should be:

Teenagers From Mars - I cannot recommend enough this brilliant comic book series that nobody has read & most have never evnen heard of. Amazing art, truly original, unlike anything you have ever read. Here is a small description:
"When Macon, a young comic book artist, is targeted by the local censors for obscenity, he targets back. With the help of Max, a grave robbing thirteen-year-old, and Madison, the strong and independent punk beauty, he forms the world’s first comic book liberation army. It’s a story about kids getting in trouble and falling in love. It’s about a rolled up comic book stuffed in one back pocket with a still warm slingshot crammed in the other. It’s about making comics dangerous again."

Been a lurker for a while, but thought I would jump in this month. Hi. Haven't been to the shop this week or last week, so this also includes the last week of february.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #518 - Despite General fan feelings, I really enjoy JMS on just about any comic regardless of the gwen stacy thing.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #9 - The best X-book on the market at the moment

DETECTIVE COMICS #804 - Batman as gritty and as great as he gets.

EXILES #60 - SHould be fun with the AoA tie ins
EXILES #61

FANTASTIC FOUR #523 - Mark Waid is my favorite writer of all time
FANTASTIC FOUR #524 - it's going to be sad to see him leave this title
FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 2 HC

JLA - Kurt knows his stuff and it shows in his complex, character driven stories

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #3 - More Mark Waid!
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #4

NEW AVENGERS #4 - waiting for some good Sentry stories

NEW THUNDERBOLTS #6 - Been great so far.

RUNAWAYS #2 - Brian k. Vaughn did such a good job with vol. 1

SLEEPER VOL 3 A CROOKED LINE TP (MR) - Everyone should be reading this!

STRANGE #4 (OF 6) - More JMS

TRIGGER #4 - the second best book of the last three months

ULTIMATE IRON MAN #1 (OF 6) - I'm aware of the controversy around OSC, but I loved Ender

I can't believe how good these mini-series have been!
X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG #3 (OF 5)
X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG #4 (OF 5)
X-MEN THE END HEROES AND MARTYRS #1 (OF 6)

First issue was good enough to warrant me picking up the second
YOUNG AVENGERS #2

Collect out of obligation
ULTIMATES 2 #4
UNCANNY X-MEN #456
UNCANNY X-MEN #457
X-MEN #167
X-MEN #168
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1 (OF 6)
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #2 (OF 6)
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #3 (OF 6)
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #4 (OF 6)
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #5 (OF 6)
X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE ONE SHOT

Agreed. Well, except for the back-up story. I really Mike Mike Carey, but couldn't get into that story at all. As far as the main story is concerned, I cannot remember the last time that a Bat-book has been this good. Lapham is perfect for this book. I don't think I've ever seen anything by Ramon Bachs before, but I love the art. It fits the tone of the story so well. How long is this run supposed to last?

Well, almost no one. It really is a great book, and I'm hoping that sales pick up so that we get another TPB. (Those back issues are a bit difficult to find.) Unfortunately, there seems to be little to no promotion for this book, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it canceled sometime in the near future. (I'm surprised that it's lasted this long.) I could have done without Sachs and Violens, but the Angel stuff was great

Nice comparison between Barmejo's work here as a cross between Tony Harris and Sean Phillips. This story doesn't look like it's going to break any new ground, but it's well written with great art. I really enjoyed it.

Agreed again! This issue isn't quite as good as the last one, but I honestly don't see how he could top that one.

I also picked up...

Rising Stars #24 - The final issue. How very disappointing! This series started out really strong, but I think that Staczynski lost focus after the first story arc and never really recovered. And the long delays didn't help, either. A very predictable ending to what started out as a very original series.

Hellblazer #205 - BOOK OF THE WEEK! Holy Crap! Carey's run on this book just keeps getting better and better. This is the best that the book has been since the Garth Ennis days! Leonardo Manco was born to draw this book! And while I'm praising everyone involved, I may as well add that Tim Bradstreet is doing some amazing covers! Screw the movie! Start reading this book now! And pick up the recent "All His Engines" hardcover while you're at it!

Does anybody know what happened to the 2nd issue of Shaolin Cowboy(Due in Feb.) by Geoff Darrow? I was really looking forward to it, but it never happened.

i just finished raeding the 2nd supes/bats book and i thought it was pretty good. turner's art was pretty good and it will be interesting to see what they do with supergirl.

also read small gods vol. 1 and was pretty impressed. the artwork was great although there were a few times where the story was a bit confusing. that being said though, i can't wait for vol. 2.

I'm really glad you picked this up, it's one of the true hidden gems & most underrated comics being published. But I HIGHLY recommend that you pick up the single issues following the trade #5,6, & 7 or there will not be a second trade. It's one of the downfalls of today's market, so many people nowadays wait for the trades, that the monthly format is not supported & the book will be cancelled. Right now this is the case for Small Gods, the creators don't make a dime off of TPB sales, it's the monthlies that that help. So go out & buy the single issues, plus the second story after the trade IMO is even better.

My March List:

JSA
Green Lantern: Rebirth
JLA: Classified
Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril
Battle Hymn
Fantastic Four
Vinanarama
Seven Soldiers #0
Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight
Seven Soldiers: Guardian


Dropping:
Legion of Super-Heroes (Not as good as I hoped it would be)

Only book I picked up this week was Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. Enjoyed the first issue; will definitely be picking up the rest of the mini.

For those who are interested, we have a weekly comic book review column that usually covers 15-20 books/week. It goes up at:
http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/f.../hannibaltabu/

forgot to mention that i also read wolverine: the end which, IMO really blew.

Yeah, all that Castellini work gone to waste...

Has anyone on biweekly shipments from mailordercomics.com received their first shipment for this month yet? If so, when?

This month reminds me more and more why i'm getting less and less interested in comics...but again, I find myself gravitating towards a few great titles that make the trip to the store and paying through the nose worth it...

Legion of Super Heroes: Okay, for one, I can understand the need for a reboot of Legion. As much as I loved the Abnett/Lanning team for the past few years, their attempt at bringing the Legion "down to earth" was to write one of the worst Legion stories ever and to spit on one of the greatest Legion stories ever, one that was written at a time when Darkseid couldn't be beaten by Elongated Man. Their run from Legion Lost has been craptacular at best. The current revamp is not only a more realistic book given with the dark art tones and the mature storytelling (and by mature I mean issues that minors wouldn't consider, like getting drafted into a war and being hurled into oblivion, not some thong-clab super-babe ripping a shoplifter's head clean off), but it's also a more realistic take on the Legionnaries themselves, and the world they live in. It's suffocating to live in a perfect world, one that's free of danger and disease, where adults control everything, down to your very thoughts. Superheroics are an escape, a way to end the drudgery of such a stale and insulated life. Giving these heroes a break means literally throwing them to the wolves; it's the only way they really know they're still alive. Waid does a great job I might add, of making sure there's plenty of post-modern super-power fun without making the actual powers themselves too complex. Reinterpreting powers is a great idea, but when you've completely alienated your audience (*cough*Grant Morrison*cough*) you've failed. The only gripe I have with this book is that it's not really a good jumping-on point for people who have NEVER read Legion before, and who might not fully understand the characterizations before.

The Walking Dead: For all the praise that this book gets, it's really only average. For one, the whole "random people die at the snap of a finger* is old now, and it's really tiresome to see so many "trick" splash pages. Second, this book is EXTREMELY predictable. I can predict storylines months away pretty accurately. Third, the black and white art is suffering because there are so many characters now that look alike and it's difficult to tell them apart. But, I do love this book. The first two storylines rocked because even though you knew that everything was going to end badly at many points, you just had to empathize with the characters. They break down and cry, they scream, swear at each other, they get pissed off at the wrong people at the wrong times, in other words, they're real people, and that's what I love about this book, is that it doesn't make these people superheroes. These aren't characters who can watch their comrades get cut down like a hot knife through butter and wake up the next morning totally unaffected. You can still feel emotions lingering from last year's issues, something that Kirkman does with amazing skill without seeming overly dramatic.

Ex Machina/Y: TLM: These two debuted as being my favorite books of all time, and surely make up for most of the mediocre work that Vaughan has done for Marvel and DC, but there are minor quibbles. Sometimes I feel like he's giving us a history lesson by inserting random yet meticulously detailed trivia into each issue. It really distracts from the story at times and I hate it. If I wanted to learn something cool, I would read Wikipedia. He also takes too long to develop stories that come to an abrupt halt, and it seems like he's stretching his issues too thin just to keep the audience on their toes. I for one don't mind a little mystery or suspense, but when you're paying $3 every time to find out what happened to our intrepid heroes, you're only going to alienate a larger audience. Every issue I read is sorta blah now, but every storyline is amazing.

I blame tony moore leaving for this.


DC countdown happens this week and I'm sad because of the events that occur in it.

Just though I'd let you all know that I have the first review anywhere of Countdown To Infinite Crisis & it's a spoiler free review.

http://brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=239

Good review. I actually know nothing about this title other than that I was told to order it by my trusted comic shop owner and I did. I'm looking forward to reading it next week. By the way, thanks to all who recommended Walking Dead. I picked up the first two trades last week and they're wonderful.

I would have picked up Green Lantern Rebirth #5 IF IT WASN'T DELAYED AGAIN!!!

As for the issue. Read a previews copy. It's a beautiful comic, but I feel like a beaten girlfriend coming back for more with johns right now.

If you want to read another sneak peak

Here's popcultures' little five page preview

http://www.popcultureshock.com/inclu...911&thumbs=6#3

and 11 page preview on another site.

http://www.thecomicfanatic.com/modul...rder=0&thold=0

i am currently on vol. 8 of transmetropolitan. it started slow but has picked up in the last couple of volumes. i am not sure if i like it as much as everyone else, but i get the feeling that it will get better upon later readings.

Looks like DC is coming out with an affordable reprint line, sorta an answer to Marvel's "Essential" books. This week, Batman Chronicles Vol 1 comes out and includes the following in color: Detective Comics #27-37 and Batman #1.

Amazon has it for $10.19

I'm back into monthly books after having taken a break from them to get caught up on alot of trades and graphic novels, so my current reading list is:

-Detective Comics
-Batman
-Superman/Batman
-Green Lantern Rebirth (once that's done, I'm definitely following the new GL book)
-The Flash (starting with this week's issue)
-Ultimates 2
-Ultimate Iron Man
-Runaways
-Astonishing X-Men
-Army Of Darkness: Shop 'Til You Drop Dead

I've had to play catch up with some of those titles. In the case of Astonishing X-Men, I've only read the first trade but new printings of issues seven and eight come out this week along with issue 9 so I'm already adding it to the list.

I really like the new Army Of Darkness book. Before buying the Ashes 2 Ashes trade, I was hesitant of an AOD comic as I LOVE the movie but was skeptical of a comic based on it. However, I read the trade and was hooked. I think the new title is even better.

By the by, when does the Red Sonja book start? I've seen ads for it in the new issues of AOD and it looks interesting. Heck, how can a story about a beautiful, buxom, sword wielding red head not be interesting?

DC COUNTDOWN!!!! Anyone who reads comics must read this. I simply loved it.

Batman. While we saw the Red Hood mystery coming a mile away, the reveal was simply to perfect.

must...not....read......spoilers.