What Do You Mean They're Not Superheroes?!?!?: An Announcement and a Hint at Some Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Alright, for the first time in our history as a podcast The ComicDorksCast is actively taking a week off. We realize that there have been weeks where episodes were not posted but that was always because of technical difficulties. This weekend is the 4th of July. Independence Day. There are a lot of family commitments and whatnot that coincide with that and so unfortunately we'll be unable to record a show for this coming week. I (Scott) will be posting my thoughts on some of the comics I read here, on the message boards at www.fantasyshoponline.com and through my Twitter account at www.twitter.com/ScottDont if you're interested in what my thoughts are on this tumultuous week of comics.

Also, as I mentioned in the headline there are going to be some changes coming up for the ComicDorksCast and I hope that with the coming changes that you'll all feel that we're still bringing you the best in comics podcasting this side of the Mississippi!

Brief Mentions: The Future Brings Dark Days

X-Factor #45

Written By: Peter David

Art By: Marco Santucci @ Valentine de Landro

I’m finally caught up and it feels good. For along time now I have been buying X-Factor issues but not reading them. The main obstacle standing in my way was the Secret Invasion crossover. One factor (no pun intended) was that Secret Invasion was an event that I was no longer concerned about and secondly was the art. But, as always, Peter David’s storytelling continues to become more involved, more emotional, and more awesome. This last week I decided to soldier through the horrendous art and read up to this week’s current issue X-Factor #45, part 3 of Madrox’s journey into the future. This issue has made me so glad that I am finally caught up in issues. David continues to create new and exciting stories, filled with unique new characters and concepts. Jamie Madrox finds himself in the middle of the Summers Rebellion consisting of a battered Scott Summers and his daughter, Ruby. The fate of this rebellion lies in the hands of a familiar foe from long ago. The mystery of the cortex also furthers as the xf investigators frantically try to figure out the cortex’s meaning while being battled on all fronts. Marco Santucci and Valentine de Landro absolutely destroy on this art. I will never take good art for granted ever again. This is just an excellent book and has been since it’s beginning. I urge everyone to check this book out and read some amazing comic booking that is easily some of the best in the industry.

Dark Avengers #6

Written By: Brian Michael Bendis

Art By: Mike Deodato @ Will Conrad

Dark Reign has been a very fulfilling event. Many great books have come out of this event and one such book is Dark Avengers. Just the concept of the book itself is an amazing one. The head of the avengers is the “former” Green Goblin, the rest of the team consists of some of the greatest villains in the Marvel Universe and their most powerful weapon, The Sentry, has the mind of a child. In Dark Avengers #6, an Atlantean terrorist cell has attacked American soil. Norman Osborn immediately takes hold of the situation and attacks swiftly and brutally. The Cabal meets, which ultimately leads to a shouting match, and the power of The Sentry is put to use. Superhero team books are only successful if they remain interesting and hold a unique, dynamic team and Bendis definitely has that with Dark Avengers. Mike Deodato and Will Conrad do an excellent job drawing these characters and also shade the book heavily, which holds true to the “dark” theme of the book. Dark Avengers, along with many other books under the “Dark Reign” banner is excellent. The Marvel Universe becomes more and more unique with each passing issue. This is one of the first Marvel events that have really enjoyed and I hope it will not be the last.

ComicDorksCast Episode 072 - ... What is Happening?

ComicDorkscastEp072.mp3
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• The guys loved the zany science action of Uncanny X-Men #513
• Scott's Pick of the Week: Runaways #11
• Nick Fury kicked so much ass in Secret Warriors #5 that the guys are all left bruised.
• Darren's Pick of the Week: Detective Comics #854
• Scott loved Wonder Woman #33 and thinks that Gail Simone should never, ever leave that book.
• Rob's Pick of the Week: Daredevil #119
• PREVIEWS!
• Brief Mentions.
• Anticipated Books.

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "The Formula" by So Many Dynamos.

Sneak Peek Reviews for 06/23/2009

Berserker #1

Written by: Rick Loverd

Art by: Jeremy Haun

Sometimes creators make a silly decision. Rick Loverd tried first to find a home for Berserker as a television show. He should have seen the problem with that. This is a story that, in many ways, was meant for comics. In many more ways it was meant to be drawn by the likes of Jeremy Haun. This is an incredibly fun read that brings a fun nuance to what might, in other hands, be a pretty typical horror story. Berserker brings the idea of losing your temper to a new and incredible height, imagine blacking out when you get really pissed off and coming to with a couple dead bodies nearby … that’s the kind of thing that happens to characters in Berserker. This is going to be one bloody entertaining book. Fans of books like Crossed who want a book that’s a little scaled back will love this one.

Detective Comics #854

Both Features Written by: Greg Rucka

First Feature Art by: J.H. Williams III

Second Feature Art by: Cully Hamner

This is going to be the comic of the year. You heard it here first. Don’t ever forget that. Detective Comics featuring Batwoman is going to be the hottest thing since bread, I mean sure when we started slicing it was pretty cool and all but bread was a pretty big step in the first place. Williams’ art is going to quite simply put you on your ass. He has a different style for each story element in the issue. And all of it is awesome. The story is fantastic and while having read The Question Five Lessons of Blood (now available in super sexy trade paperback) will make for a more enriching experience I think that you can feel more than comfortable diving into this book and loving every single moment. There’s going to be a lot of questions and by the time the second story arc rolls around you can expect to get some answers but for now let’s just be glad that the action is on and it’s hot. The second feature of this book is also phenomenal. The Question is a character that has been begging for her own series ever since the end of 52 and now 2 full years later we can expect monthly Question stories for quite some time to come. Cully Hamner has brought his A-Game to this title and even though it’s only 10 pages you’re still going to have a lot of fun with it.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia One Shot

Written by: Matt Fraction

Art by: Marc Silvestri

It’s not often that I find myself interested in reading a Marvel “Event” these days. There have been exceptions. Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest, War of Kings … you’ll note, of course, that all of those books are about cosmic characters. So when I heard that one of my favorite writers currently working at Marvel, Matt Fraction, was going to be writing an event this summer I was immediately excited, worried, and frustrated. Excited because it’s about time that he got some face time on the big stage at Marvel as his work on Immortal Iron Fist, The Order, Uncanny X-Men, and Invincible Iron Man have been consistently amazing. I was worried because I didn’t want people to not like it and for it to have a negative effect on his career. I was frustrated because it felt like I might have to buy a Marvel event that dealt with major players and wasn’t just a super-fun space opera. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. This book is a lot of good. A whole lot of good. So much so that it would be considered, by most, to be awesome. Fraction is going to be the name on everyone’s lips for some time to come (here’s hoping that they will go back and read some of the awesome stuff that he did before he found his way to Marvel). Silvestri’s art is good, though it is quite clear that he had help (yes he has 4 people on “pencil assists” [a.k.a. drawing the backgrounds and unessential characters]). I think that if you’ve been reading Uncanny X-Men that the best part about this event is that it built out of the events going on in the title over nearly the last 2 years. So, get set for Utopia to be broken, and for the world to look at Mutants in an all too familiar way … but with even more support.

ComicDorksCast Episode 071 - The Retrospective

ComicDorkscastEp071.mp3
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• This episode the Dorks talk about Invincible, Invincible Iron Man, Action Comics Annual, The Outsiders, Batman: Streets of Gotham, and Dark Reign: Fantastic Four as well as take a look at some of the books their excited about that will ship this week and talk briefly about some other books they liked.

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "You Losin' Out" by Two Gallants.

Brief Mention(s): (Dumb Dads Make Their Daughters Sad… Or Dead.)

Supergirl # 42

Writer: Sterling Gates

Penciller: Jamal Igle

Inker: Jon Sibal

This could be one of the most underrated Metropolis books… ever. I will say this only once, so that means listen, Supergirl is, as good as all the other Metropolis books on the shelf. What this means is that Sterling Gates is giving us a quality of writing that rivals some of the best in the business. (Personally, two of my favorite writers in the business.) With that said, every time I see a person picking up Action, Superman, and W.O.N.K. and ask them if they are reading Supergirl and they say no, I turn a little grayer. (I’m going old school here.) Recognize… people. You’re missing out on piece of an epic puzzle.

(Adam Hughes)

Some of you will remember that the previous issue was pretty explosive. (You see how I did that? I learned it by watching Dayron… from afar.) This issue sheds some light on questions we were left with after issue # 41. Particularly, how the fundamental nature of certain relationships will change. Needless to say, Clark is a lucky little alien to be off planet at the moment. I can’t help but think that many relationships are about to change. Gates has definitely found a way to put our characters into impossible situations and he does this in a way that you can easily connect with. Not to say, I'm killin' cousin (or a kissin' cousin… well, that’s mostly a true story.) But you can really feel and appreciate what has befallen upon the cast of this book, which look great. You can thank Jamal Igle for that. So be smart and read Supergirl. In doubt, just ask someone who is reading Supergirl. They will tell you. (What you should be learning from me, right now!) Supergirl rules, Sterling Gates rocks, Jamal Igle rolls and together it is hardcore, man… fucking… hardcore… man. -Rob

(J. G. Jones)

(Jamal Igle... and what the hell is this? I guess we will find out.)

(Nature… possibly augmented.)

Blog Log # 2 (Quote of the Week)

“Surprise, nerds!” (As in the delicious candy, obviously.) It’s me again and “This is going to hurt you much more than it’s going to hurt me.” Yup, it’s a Quote of the Week. And yeah, it has been a while, but I have come down with a serious condition. Many folks suffer from this condition and they can be spotted in many different ways. For one, they become puffy and carry an unpleasant aroma and turn into shut-ins “Or more often, into brain-dead zombies sitting around pulling their peckers all day in some cell.” This is a serious condition that one has a slow recovery from. This condition is known a lackadisicalmitopieitis or laziness, if you want to use the street term. All I can really say is, well… “The truth. Projected against the canvas of all space and time, there is one person who could have avoided all that has happened.” That man is not me, even though it is supposed to be me. And here is the part where I hear, “You wrote the rules, mister, dontcha think you ought to play by them?” Rules… rules are like faces, they are made to be broken. All right, enough of this mushy justification crap. I know what you need and it was delivered to us from somebody’s mind, other than my own. Ready… set… go… “Keep it up, boys! Hard and fast!” Guess what comes next? Uh huh… “That’s what she said!” So there it was the first Quote of the Week in weeks and all that’s left to say is, “Nice hair, loser.” -Rob

From the Dorks' Soundtrack: A Delta Blues Revival?

Two Gallants

Album: The Throes

Song: You Losin' Out

As the ComicDorkscast episodes continue their climb in number, the more bands are also introduced. What is surprising is that week after week, I find bands that absolutely must be talked about. This week, we head to the indie rock duo from San Francisco known as Two Gallants, sharing the name of a James Joyce short story. This band is composed of Adam Stephens (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and Tyson Vogel (drums and vocals). The band formed in 2002 when both musicians were 20 years old. Prior to Two Gallants, Stephens and Vogel had been playing and writing music since they were twelve. They even self-produced two albums before their debut, but those albums are regrettably out of print. The Two Gallants first shows were played in parks, warehouses, house parties and other small “venues”. In 2004, Two Gallants came out with their first album The Throes. With this album came larger venues, clubs and even festivals. Two years later they put out their second studio album, What the Toll Tells. They kept the music coming and one year later came out with their third and recent album, Two Gallants. By this time the band had gained substantial notoriety and began to play festivals not only in the US but also in Canada and Europe. The band also gained music press attention for an incident at a performance in Houston, Texas, when a police officer investigating a noise complaint at the club Walter's on Washington allegedly attacked the band and several fans present with a taser…. Oh Texas. Despite the taser attack, Two Gallants have gone on to produce some of the most jaw-dropping blues heard in American music today. When listening to Two Gallants you can’t help but be drawn to the roots of rock, delta blues. You can almost feel Robert Johnson or John Lee Hooker on guitar. In tangent with this powerful music medium, the chord structure and finger picking style also creates a folk feel. These two genres mixed together create some the most unique and “true” music heard today. If you enjoy this band then I hope you follow them to their roots and discover what the grandfathers of music have to offer.

Albums:

The Throes (2004)

What the Toll Tells (2006)

Two Gallants (2007)

**Picture above - John Lee Hooker... Nice Socks! Enjoy!**

The Mysterious Audio Gremlins Have Struck Again

Well, we recorded a show last night ... Darren wasn't there but we went strong and Rob and Scott talked about JSA Vs. Kobra, Fables, X-Factor, and Batman as well as talking about the first 4 trades of Scalped ... but Scott's audio went missing again. Still not sure how that happens. So, on behalf of all of the ComicDorks here at The ComicDorksCast we apologize for the lack of episode this week ... it could not have been forseen ... as per usual here is the picture denoting failure, Me with a Deep Fried Twinkie:

Whatever you want: Sword

The Sword
By: The Luna Brothers

First, let me say that the Luna Brothers are hit or miss with me. I loved Ultra, but hated the Girls. I seem to be the only person who works at the Fantasy Shop that doesn't like the Girls. That being said, I went into reading Sword with a hefty amount of skepticism. It was ill placed.

I was hooked from he first comic. The story follows Dara Brighton, a paraplegic, through her day as a college student. All is well until that night at dinner. Her whole family is gathered around the table, eating, when there is a knock at the door. A gentleman who claims to know Dara's father enters the room, calls her father Demetrios, and says he wants his sword back. When her father claims not know what the guy is talking about, another man and woman enter the room. They proceed to set the house on fire and kill everyone in the room except for Dara, who only survives because a burning beam knocks her through the floor. In the basement of the house, her hand closes around the hilt of a sword, and she uses it to pull herself up. All of a sudden, Dara can walk. She runs to the river behind her house and claims to still be a paraplegic when found by the fire department.

Dara gets abducted at her family's funeral. Along with her friend, Julie, and Justin, a student of her father's, they get away. Now, Dara is in over her head. She leaps over buildings in a single bound (kind of like superman), escapes from the FBI, and hunts down the three people who killed her family. Throughout her adventures, she is able to work out that the stories her father told to his creative writing class were really about him, Demetrios.

This book has yet to fail to deliver. I eagerly await it ever month. I even can forgive the art style, which the characters look exactly the same as Ultra and Girls. Who wouldn't like this book when there are scenes like her ripping the flesh off of her stubs to reattach her legs? You heard me, there is a scene where her legs get cut off, she grabs the sword, her thighs heal over, she rips the newly grown flesh off and reattaches her lower legs. How badass is that? You're imagining it right now, but it is a hundred times better in the comic. The first trade is out in stores now; if you love a good story, go pick it up.

Blog Log #2 (Redemption of a Very Lazy Human Thing)

Brief Mention (From like a week ago or something.)


Justice Society of America # 27


Script and Pencils: Jerry Ordway


Inks: Bob Wiacek




Guess what? Geoff Johns’ beautiful run on JSA has ended. Obviously, it is a sad affair but we must forge a head through the heartache and the tears and realize that Johns will be writing our new favorite books, while continuing to deliver on the books we love so well already. Do I need to name them? No… No I need not! Now let’s get down to brass tacks.

This issue was the beginning of filler* *(I use the term filler against my will, because you should not have dropped JSA with Johns’ departure. The matter of the fact is that it is a bridge that will lead us into a much-anticipated Sturges and Willingham arrival. But sometimes you got to call it like it is.) that I believe will be a lot of fun all wrapped in some seriousness. Relationships continue to grow and old foes return. That sounds pretty JSA to me. Not to mention, how Courtney’s role as a veteran member just brings a great jolly joy to my black, black heart.

I don’t really believe Ordway needs an introduction. It’s not like he has anything to prove to anybody anymore. So why wouldn’t he be able to take the reigns on JSA for a bit and give us a story worth reading? I don’t know, you tell me. Ordway has this cast down. He knows these characters and knows how to tell a story, not to mention how pencil it, as well. Really, there is no reason why any fan of the JSA should not have read this book. Well, unless you have no soul.



Living up to Expectations (From like a week ago or something.)


The Mighty Avengers # 25


Writer: Dan Slott


Penciler: Stephen Segovia


Inks: Noah Salonga





*(Please stay tuned. After this blog log there will be an important message.)

It is no secret that I have been digging this Dark Reign thing over there at Marvel. I like the idea of a change of the statuesque as opposed to another blockbuster, full-blown event. Plus the talent working on this stuff is pretty impressive, old blood as well as new blood. What better time to have a plethora of Avenger teams? To be honest, there’s something you don’t know about me. I am too an Avenger… freelance.
One of my favorite titles that carry the Dark Reign banner is the Mighty Avengers. That is the one Bendis doesn’t write. Well he did but he doesn’t anymore. Instead we are blessed with the presence of Dan Slott. And to be Frank (Full name Major Frank Dangle) Slott is doing something I believe to be amazing with an odd group of characters all pulled together in a mysterious fashion. By mysterious I mean a dame. A dame… a dame with horns. You know the kind of dame that turns tricks. A dame that is kind of magical but too masculine for my tastes. Anyway, we find ourselves with an Avenger team, that in my opinion is the only Avenger team that resembles an Avenger team we have grown to love from the days of old. One word… Jarvis.

Due to the fact you can hear us talk about this on episode # 69 (muck it up children) I will not get to specific. I will tell you this issue reminded me why I love comics and why I love Dan Slott comics. I first caught on to Slott with a Spidey/Torch mini-series which led me to She-Hulk (awesome), and fantastic but too short Thing run (amazing), and so on right into Avengers Initiative. To me Slott is a perfect example of a fans writer. It is obvious he is a fan of comics a rewards other fans by dropping little bits of the past into the present. He also has the talent of doing this using a subtle sense of humor that I find hilarious. As you can tell I might have a man crush on Dan Slott, who I have never met. Let’s just say his writing might produce a broner.

The Mighty Avengers is a book I finally feel was made for me. Like at one of Marvel’s board meetings Dan Slott stood up and said, “How about instead of doing what we normally do, which is try to piss Rob off we give him something he wants. Like a book where Young Avengers, a funny talking god, a man carrying his lady’s name searching for redemption (and maybe a little revenge), a super hot metal chick, a smart ass… smart… ass and Jarvis. We could include a battle of wits involving two men who are too smart for their own good acting like a couple of bitches on a playground.” Thank you Dan Slott. Everybody should check out the works of Dan Slott. If you need direction drop us an e-mail, we will set you straight.

Mighty Avengers = Must Read (if you like comics)

-Rob

*And now for a very important message. (Join us in our revolution. We will not stop fighting until Pym Particles become known as Pymp Particles. Come on, you know you want this. Pymp Particles For Life!)

ComicDorksCast Episode 069 - The Word of the Day

ComicDorkscastEp069.mp3
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• Show notes later tonight
• Best Single Issue of Last Month.
• Brief Mentions.
• Anticipated Books.

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Dream On" by Depeche Mode.

ComicDorksCast Episode 068 - The Devil, RazorFist, & The Baguetteer

ComicDorkscastEp068.mp3
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• New Avengers #53 was supremely awesome!
• Darren's Pick of the Week: Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #1.
• If you're not yet reading Wonder Woman then you're missing out because Wonder Woman #32 was jaw droppingly awesome!
• Rob's Pick of the Week: Dark Reign: The Hood #1.
• Superman #688 shows that there is a whole lot more to being alive than saving the day.
• Scott's Pick of the Week: Garth Ennis' Battlefields: Tankies #2.
• PREVIEWS!
• Brief Mentions.
• Anticipated Books.

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Playground Love" by Air.

From the Dorks’ Soundtrack: A Breath of Fresh AIR.

AIR

Album: The Virgin Suicides

Song: Playground Love

One of the greatest aspects about music is it’s eclectic nature. When my iTunes is on shuffle one moment you could be listening to Mos Def’s The New Danger then the next you could be listening to the sufferings of Big Bill Broonzy. I was sorting comics yesterday for 6 hours, and for those six hours shuffle showed me some bands that the ComicsDorksCast has yet to enlighten our listening audience with. There were many bands that were contenders but around hour 4 of the sorting process, a band came on that I knew would be that band, the French music duo known simply as AIR (a backronym standing for Amour, Imagination, Rêve which translates to Love, Imagination, Dream.) Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have been creating truly unique music since 1995 and they continue to this day. Both Godin and Dunckel grew up in the city of Versailles but did not meet until college. Having different bands at the time, the two artists finally joined forces to create Air in 1995. After three years of EP releases and singles, AIR signed with Virgin Records and produces their first album Moon Safari. This album is considered some a classic album of the “chillout” genre. Since then, AIR has produced 4 more studio albums all adding new colors to their already extensive musical palette. Their most recent album was Pocket Symphony, which was released in 2007. Some moods that are associated with AIR can be described as detached, cold, dreamy, eerie, clinical, soothing, ethereal, gloomy, atmospheric, smooth, quirky, nocturnal, reflective, brooding, elegant, hypnotic laid-back/ mellow, gentle, spacey (not Kevin), sparkling, and sexy… oh yes… very sexy. As it can be easily seen, AIR is honestly a hard band to put into words. They have a strange ability to produce the most calming music on the airwaves today. They are a band that is reviving the genre of disco but with a 21st century spin. They are something new - a breath of fresh air.

The Albums:
Moon Safari
The Virgin Suicides
10,000 Hz Legend
Talkie Walkie
Pocket Symphony

The Others:
Premiers Symptômes
Everybody Hertz
City Reading (Tre Storie Western)
Late Night Tales: Air

Similar Artists:
* Trinkwasser
* Radiohead
* Jimi Tenor
* Boards of Canada
* Kid Loco
* Bent
* Nightmares on Wax
* Towa Tei
* Tim "Love" Lee
* Drum Island
* Broadcast
* Komeda
* Morcheeba
* Mono
* Stereolab
* Seeland
* Marsmobil
* Seksu Roba
* Cornelius
* Beck
* Cibo Matto

Influenced By:
* The Rockets
* Ric Ocasek
* Mark Mothersbaugh
* The Cars
* Burt Bacharach
* The Beach Boys
* Heaven 17
* Jean-Michel Jarre
* Tomita
* Perrey-Kingsley

**Air is also a comic... a coincidence?... I think not. Enjoy!