Editor’s note: Two of our regular WHAT LOOKS GOOD writers, Chris Murman and Paul Brian McCoy, have had to step away from the column, but not the site.
Chris is, and I quote, “a slacker who procreated faster than the cost of living raise.” He has a second child on the way, a boy this time, who’s diapers are taking precedence over comics for the time being. But don’t worry, Chris will soon be contributing to another column (where he doesn’t have to pay for his subject matter), SHOT FOR SHOT!
Paul has become a regular contributor to SHOT FOR SHOT and is also the column’s editor. He decided that it, WHAT LOOKS GOOD, and MONDO MARVEL combined were going to kill him, so something had to give. Unfortunately, that something was WLG. But fear not! He will still be on-board as WLG’s editor.
You couldn’t get rid of Matt Spatola with a healthy dose of penicillin, jack boots, and/or a whip. He’ll still be providing you with his brand of WHAT LOOKS GOOD goodness every third week.
Because of this assignment shuffling, Comics Bulletin is running a series of pilot entries from writers who are being considering for the column. First up is longtime Comics Bulletin writer and current editor/organizer of our TOP TEN TUESDAYS, Justin Carmona.
Please take a moment to give Justin some feedback on his column over at the message board, and come back next week for another fresh young face!
Summer has always been bittersweet for me. On one hand you have the great (and some not so great) summer movie blockbusters, the San Diego Comic Con and scantily clad babes out and about. On the other hand, I can’t stand hot weather. I live and grew up in the desert and nothing is worse than feeling sticky and sweaty a mere twenty minutes after a cold shower.
So as the season of the sun nears its end, this week we get the finale to one of the best comic books on the market today along with the release of the last summer movie that I have been looking forward to. On the bright side we get a much deserved collected reprint of one of the first works by crime comic’s most innovative creative team and a massively HUGE Omnibus collection of one of Spider-Man’s most influential and ground-breaking artists of the last twenty years. So hang on to your jungle shorts kids, as I give you this week’s list of…
WHAT LOOKS GOOD!
Detective Comics #881
$3.99
By Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla
DC Comics
This is it – the finale so twisted, so shocking we can’t even begin to give away details here! Be there for the extra-sized conclusion of the acclaimed run by Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla. DETECTIVE COMICS #881 is the issue everyone will be talking about. Believe it.
Wait, check out that cover. Didn’t Bruce teach Dick never to hit a guy with glasses? Who the hell cares? The rat-bastard probably deserved it. This is the final issue to what has been one of my all-time favorite runs on Detective Comics, as Scott Snyder and friends wrap up a series that has been a breath of fresh air for this title.
These are the guys that have put the Detective back in Detective Comics and have knocked us in the gut some truly haunting scenes. From the Joker’s brutal escape from Arkham to the return of the psychotic James Gordon Jr., this book has been one helluva rollercoaster ride. And with the Joker still running wild in the streets of Gotham and James Jr. setting his sights on his sister Barbara, you know this issue is not to be missed!
Vertigo Resurrected: Jonny Double #1
$7.99
By Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso cover by Dave Johnson
DC/Vertigo
In a story by the creators of 100 BULLETS, San Francisco P.I. Jonny Double is hired to watch over a rich man’s rebellious daughter. But after being seduced by the girl, Jonny finds himself mixed up in a scheme to plunder an old bank account that belonged to Al Capone.
I gotta tell ya, back in the day I was all about the X-Men and every book under the then brand new Image Comic’s banner. But as we grow and mature, so do our tastes. With that said, thank God for the Vertigo Resurrected line of reprints that DC has been shelling out.
These wonderfully affordable collections have allowed me to catch up on some really stellar books that passed me by when I was too busy caught up in whatever X-related event was coming out at the time. Jonny Double is one of those books I never looked twice at. That was before I knew that not all great comics need to be filled with capes and tights.
This is the first collaboration between comic noir masters Brain Azzarello and Eduardo Risso right before they set the world of crime comics ‘a fire with their hard-hitting and critically acclaimed noir series, 100 Bullets. If you’re a fan of Agent Graves and his briefcase full of revenge and redemption, then you owe it to yourself to grab this book and give it a read while the gettin’s good.
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus HC
$99.99
By David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane with Alex Saviuk, Erik Larsen, and Colleen Doran – cover by McFarlane
Marvel Comics
Whether clad in blue and red or black, or possessing spider-powers or cosmic ones, Spider-Man stands ready to face any threat! And the threats have never been greater! From his own foes – Venom, Mysterio, the Scorpion and more – to newcomers to his friendly neighborhood like Sabretooth, the Taskmaster, Magneto and the Sentinels, Spidey sure has his hands full! Good thing he’s got Mary Jane, Captain America, the Black Cat and the Hulk around to lend a hand! Featuring the pulse-pounding prose of longtime IRON MAN scribe David Michelinie and the groundbreaking artistry of the legendary Todd McFarlane! Hardcover, 848 pages, full color.
Whether it’s your first kiss, your first car or the first time you touched a boob we never forget those little milestones life has handed us. While I fondly remember all those things, there is another first that comes to mind when I think of milestones… the first time I saw a McFarlane Spider-Man.
He was dynamic, he had big bug eyes, his webbing was like a dozen cans of silly string shooting into the air, and I had never seen Spider-Man move so fluidly across a page. It’s almost as if he was gonna swing right outta of his comic and take me for some web-slinging around my neighborhood.
But not only was Spider-Man more visually exciting than he had been in years, but his stories were thrilling, accessible and most importantly… fun, something that seems to lack from a lot of superhero comics these days. This giant collection of some of McFarlane and Co. best work is totally worth the price of admission.
30 Minutes or Less
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride
, Aziz Ansari and Nick Swardson
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
In the action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.
The last must-see movie on my list of summer blockbusters opens this Friday and I absolutely can’t wait! Check this trailer out!
Really, what’s not to love? You got car chases, flame-throwers, a bank heist, and some very naughty public fellatio. Sign me up!
Till next time, I remain Justin Carmona showing all you sheik geeks out there WHAT LOOKS GOOD.
When Justin Carmona isn’t working on his creator-owned comics, Hired Gun or Dead Horizon or writing for Comics Bulletin, he can be found sniffing glue and eating paint chips behind your house.