I Read Comic Books

Blackest Night #0 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

2009-05-08T21:25:00.001-07:00

Blackest Night #0 . . . Boy look what have I been missing!

DC Comics are often a bit confusing to me I know a lot of the characters but I don't know a lot of the stories. I've only been reading DC comic books regularly for about three or four years and have long wanted to read Green Lantern but have never been able to fit it into the old budget and for months I have heard how great the title is and all the different color lanterns that are out there and how it just sounds like great fun. I've listened to plenty of podcast's and they seem to drool over the Sinestro Corps and Green Lantern titles and I've missd it all.

Well on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2009 I knew DC was giving away a the Blackest Night #0 and I figured I'd get it and flip through it and see what it was all about. Geoff Johns' writing was awesome as usual and the art by Ivan Reis blew me away.

Page 4 and 5 stand as my favorite comic book images in quite a while (at least this month) and I absolutely love the colors.

I don't have a clue as to what all these other lanters are about besides the brief review in the back but by the end of it I have put Blackest Night on my DCBS pull list and have began to seek out Green Lantern trades. There are sometimes that you hear about stuff for so long and ignore it for one reason or another but as soon as you get a taste you get hooked . . . I am hooked on the Blackest Night series already and I will somehow have to figure out how to get Green Lantern into my pull list.

-Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

Marvel Mini-Comics free Comic Book Day 2009

2009-05-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

These images are copyright © 2009 Marvel Comics and are used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of Marvel Comics.

Last Saturday was FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2009 and there were some good things being given away this year. Among the most interesting were Marvel Comics two titles Wolverine and The Avengers. I read both of the issues this week and was happy they were both new comics the Wolverine was a retelling of his origin and seemed geared to a younger audience while the Avengers was a completely new story featuring the Avengers vs. the Dark Avengers vs. the Frost Giant Ymir. That was a fun story and I hope that it makes its way into future Avengers books and they left the ending open for such a story to happen.

The main thing about these comics are that they are smaller than normal comics by about 1/2 inch wide and about 3/4 of an inch in height. Now the thing is this doesn't bother me at all mostly we all want bigger comics to view the artwork but in the world we live in where everything is so expensive I think this format could make comics cheaper. I hope that Marvel and DC Comics try to experiment more with this maybe put out a few titles in the smaller format and see if it catches on. There would be less paper cost on the printing end and they still look great. I know some fans will rebel because the comics wont match their collections but if you put them in the same bags an boards you wouldn't even know the difference. I know that Marvel did this because they had to sell these comics to the stores cheaper than normal and that they had to cut their cost so that they wouldn't lose money in doing so. I personally think that they have stumbled upon something that can save everyone some money and make comics a little more afforable for everyone.

-Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

NOLA Cmic-Con 2009 Review

2009-05-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well last Saturday was the NOLA Comic-Con 2009 and it was a nice event. I was there promoting Strange City Heroes my webcomic/print comic. I took a few pictures and they can be found on the NOLA Comic-Con 2009 page. The convention was small but nice probably 600 people showed up and the age old saying that kids and women don't read comics is a falsehood. There were kids of all ages there and beautiful women all buying comic books . . . as well as all the boys. This was my first convention and it had its successes and failures but it was a good experience and I hope to do more of them. The highlight of the day was meeting Dave Pirner of the band Soul Asylum and having him buy my comics and ask me for my autograph.

The show was put on by Media Underground Comics , with several other dealers from the area including Magic Comics and Hobbies , Louisiana Dobleplay and from beyond the grave Crescent City Comics were there.

Mass Casualty Comics came and put on a great horror makeup display as they had people walking around bloodied and gross and they said it smelled like cinnemon.

The 501st Legion of Baton Rouge Redstick Rebellion, LA was there and had many awesome Star Wars costumes to display. And the characters walked around in full costume taking pictures with everyone and just being awesome.

Next year the show will probably be bigger and better I can't wait I hope they do this every year. Next year I hope to get to shop.

Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

NOLA Comic-Con 2009

2009-04-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow April 25, 2009 will be the first Comic-Con in the New Orleans area in many years. I will be participating promoting my webcomic Strange City Heroes A full report coming next week. And hopefully I can read some comics too.

Media Underground Comics presents NOLA Comic-Con 2009.

$5 Admission (Children 6 and under Free)

Special Guest Derec Donavan Artist For: Youngblood, Conner Hawke, Robin Annual

Tim Lattie Artist For: White Picket Fences, Return To Point Pleasant

Kevin P. Johnson Artist and Creator: Strange City Heroes

- Kevin P. Johnson

SCUD The Disposable Assassin : The Whole Shebang! Beginning - Middle - and End

2009-04-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so its not Friday and barely Saturday anymore but it is an update!

SCUD The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab can only be described with one word and that word is WEIRD! But weird is good. The Whole Shebang! takes the entire twenty-four issue SCUD comic book series and puts it all in one massive book.

I have currently read eight issues worth of the book and I have to say that I wish I had bought this when it was coming out in issue format but am more than happy to have it in this nice thick book. SCUD is a robotic assassin who comes from a vending machine and his only mission is to carry out and assassination of your choice and upon completion of this task the unit will self destruct. SCUD figures out that he will die if he kills his target and decides he doesn't want to do that. I won't spoil what he does to stay alive but it is quite interesting.

The world SCUD lives in is not typical and that is the real fun of this book. Rob Scrab creates creatures out of what seems to be any random thought that enters his head . . . I love it! There are humans, robots, dinosaurs and the things I'll call the WTF's. My two favorite WTF's are Drywall and Jeff. Drywall is the sidekick of SCUD who seems to be a burlap sack with a ton of zippers he doesn't talk words (yet) but SCUD undestands him and he has an endless supply of everything inside of him. Jeff is the target SCUD is supposed to eliminate this guy is awesome he is a monster that has a plug for a head, a large squid tied to his chest, arms for legs and hands for feet with knees that have mouths that say the craziest things and are often pop culture references. Jeff also has mousetrap hands and the ability to take random thing and add it to itself for weapons or new appendages.

The story is odd and a little hard to read a lot of in one sitting but reading an issue at a time and taking a few days off (as I'm doing) helps it sink in more and has you ready for more. The artwork is what I love most about SCUD it is simply amazing black and white drawing that I wish I could look at every day and I don't think that it ever would need color even though I've seen plenty of color covers and images of SCUD.

I don't know how this book ends and I'm in no hurry to find out because I'm enjoying the adventure so much that I wish it could go on forever.

Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

DMZ Book 5 The Hidden War

2009-04-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

This image is copyright © 2008 DC Comics and is used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of DC Comics or Vertigo Comics.

DMZ is a comic created by Brian Wood for Vertigo Comics. The premise is what happens after a second civil war breaks out in the United States and New York City becomes the DMZ. The story follows reporter Matty Roth as he tries to tell the real story of the DMZ to the Free States of America.

I buy DMZ in trade paperback so I don't get the story right away and actually I'm one trade behind but I wanted to review this book because I found it an interesting choice that Brian Wood made and also kind of risky. The Hidden War reprints DMZ issues #23-#28 and up until this point it has been all about survival in the DMZ but these six issues flip the script and make the main characters background characters and introduce new characters to the story. This seems like an odd choice to put out 6 consecutive issues of a comic that has nothing to do with the main story from the main characters point of view. I liked the book but if I was reading it monthly I'd probably be kinda upset at the turn the book took. I think these issues would have worked better as a series of one shots.

The characters that are introduced are good and have a lot of potential and should help take the story into new and interesting places in the long run. "The Militant Mob Boss Of Chinatown" story is excellent and I hope that he becomes a major player in the series. The aging Graffiti artist story was very interesting too.

DMZ book 5 overall is good stuff but I just want to be back into the main story. Hopefully book 6 is in my near future.

Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2009 Kevin P. Johnson

My Return to the blog

2009-04-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

So I've been away for a while and have neglected this blog completely. I've been working on my webcomic Strange City Heroes and have got things to a point where I can attempt to come back to this blog. The schedule for this blog will be to make a post every Friday (no set time) and if there is time post whenever possible.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #6 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1

2008-12-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

So I had heard abot this Wonderful Wizard of Oz comic coming out from Marvel Comics. Well I as a kid did not like the movie I think it was because I was forced to watch it because it always seemed to be on TV around Christmas time and all the other kids in the family seemed to want to watch it. I have not seen it in many years and didn't think I would be buying the comic book but I knew Skottie Young was doing the art and he's just so good. I didn't order it but I just happened to go into BSI Comics in Metairie, Louisiana and they had #1 so I picked it up and flipped through the pages. Man Skottie Young is good stuff and I bought it for the art alone.

So I just read #1 and its really good . . . given me new faith in the old Wizard of Oz story. The comic seems to be written for everyone, a child could read it or an adult and have fun with it and if the future issues are anything like #1 it'll be great when they release it in tradepaperback (I hope they do an oversized hardcover).

The characters look amazing and although we've only met Dorothy, The Witch of The North and the Scarecrow as for major characters I absolutely love the look of the Scarecrow and he's going to be my favorite character in the series. I'll have to hunt for #2 since I missed the order from DCBS on it but I will find it you can count on that.

Damn you Skottie Young it seems I like the Wizard of Oz now.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order December 2008

2008-12-26T21:18:00.000-08:00

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of December 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

I'm late on the blog again it's been pretty hard to work on the blog and do a webcomic at the same time but I'm trying.

Action Comics #874
Amazing Spider-Man #585
Amazing Spider-Man #586
Amazing Spider-Man #587
Batman #686
Captain America #47
Dark Avengers #2
Detective Comics #853
Green Arrow & Black Canary #17
Hulk #10
Justice League of America #30
Justice Society of America #24
Mighty Avengers #22
Moon Knight #27
Ms. Marvel #36
New Avengers #50
Spawn #189
Terry Moore's Echo #10
Uncanny X-Men #506
Usagi Yojimbo #118
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #3 (of 8)
Wonder Woman #29
X-Factor #40
X-Men Legacy #221

Comics Now #5 (magazine)

Breakdown:
Marvel - 14
DC - 7
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1
Image - 1

Breakdown of comics ordered from DCBS as of December 2008:
Marvel Comics - 300
DC Comics - 254
Abstract Studio - 9
Dark Horse -9
Image - 5
Ape Entertainment - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1
Unknown Publisher - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 51.02% of the comics ordered from DCBS and DC Comics drops to 43.12% all other indie's move up to 5.86%.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #5 - Amazing Spider-Man: New Ways To Die

2008-11-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

I love Spider-Man,
I love comic books,
This is a great comic book,
This is a great comic book about Spider-Man that I love!

To me this is old school comics in a modern world. I've enjoyed every moment of Spider-Man since One More Day (I still want Spidey and Mary Jane back married though) and each issue is just plain fun. I'm not sure where Spider-Man is going but I can't wait to get there!!

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #4 - SPAWN

2008-11-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

Spawn #185 came out with the news that Todd McFarlane would be back on the book. Now I have not read Spawn in quite a while #119 was the last issue I bought after a run from #88 -119. I missed out on a lot of Spawn over the years before #88 and after #119 but always wanted to read the entire story. Anyway I heard McFarlane would be on and Whilce Portacio would be penciling and longtime Spawn writer Brian Holguin would be writing along with McFarlane. This seemed like a great team to me. So I got in #185 and on the inside cover it say Todd McFarlane digital inks this made me happy because Todd doesn't do much art anymore (for published comics anyway) so this is a nice thing for me because I always liked his work and will take what I can get.

I read the issue and it was a pretty fast read but eventful and I'm excited to get the next issue. I had heard that this issue was the start of a reboot for Spawn and it would be a great jumping on point so I wasn't worried about being lost or anything (I had a few questions) but it seems like this is going to be a fun comic again. If you have not read Spawn #185 yet I promise you will be blown away by the end of the issue and wondering what's going to happen next.

I'm ready to be a Spawn fan again and as long as Image keeps it coming out every month I'll stay on this book for a while.

- Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order November 2008

2008-11-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of November 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

Well I've been away from the blog for over a month but I'm back to get a few in tonight.

I got my DCBS order almost perfectly down to budget which is $50 with a total cost of $53.13 and I got a decent amount of comics too.

Here's the new order:
Action Comics #873
Amazing Spider-Man #582
Amazing Spider-Man #583
Amazing Spider-Man #584
Batman #685

Captain America #46

Dark Avengers #1

Detective Comics #852

Faces Of Evil: Grundy #1 (1 Shot)

Final Crisis #7 (of 7)

Green Arrow and Black Canary #16

Justice League of America #29

Justice Society of America #23

Mighty Avengers #21

Moon Knight #26

Ms. Marvel #35

New Avengers #49

Spawn #188

Terry Moore's Echo #6

Thor #600

Uncanny X-Men Annual #2

Usagi Yojimbo #117

Wonder Woman #28

X-Factor #39

X-Men Legacy #220

Breakdown:

Marvel - 13

DC - 9

Abstract Studio - 1

Dark Horse Comics - 1

Image - 1

Breakdown of comics ordered from DCBS as of October 2008:

Marvel Comics - 286

DC Comics - 247

Abstract Studio - 8

Dark Horse -8

Ape Entertainment - 4

Image - 4

Archaia Studios Press - 3

Boom! Studios - 1

Evil Twin Comics - 1

Super Real Graphics - 1

Unknown Publisher - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 50.71% of the comics ordered from DCBS and DC Comics drops to 43.79% all other indie's move up to 5.5%.

- Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order October 2008

2008-10-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of October 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

I got back to my budget this month and sold some stuff on eBay to make up for last months over doing it whew! The only extra I got this time around is the Hulk 100 Project...I love art books so this should be pretty nice to have.

Here's the new order:
Action Comics #872
Amazing Spider-Man #579
Amazing Spider-Man #580
Amazing Spider-Man #581
Batman #684
Captain America #45
Detective Comics #851
Green Arrow and Black Canary #15
Hulk #9
Hulk 100 Project
Justice League Of America #28
Justice Society Of America #22
Ms. Marvel #34
Moon Knight #25
New Avengers #48
Patsy Walker Hellcat #5 (of 5)
Spawn #187
Terry Moore's Echo #9
Uncanny X-Men #505
Usagi Youjimbo #116
Wonder Woman #27
X-Factor #38
X-Men Legacy #219

Breakdown:
Marvel - 13
DC - 7
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1
Image - 1

Breakdown of comics ordered from DCBS as of October 2008:
Marvel Comics - 273
DC Comics - 238
Abstract Studio - 7
Dark Horse - 7
Ape Entertainment - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Image - 3
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1
Unknown Publisher - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 50.65% of the comics ordered from DCBS and DC Comics drops to 44.15% all other indie's move up to 5.2%.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #3 - The Amazing Spider-Man 3 Times A Month

2008-09-27T21:56:00.001-07:00

Well for the third Backing Boards I thought why not mention The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel Comics. I had been behind on Spider-Man comics for a while (what's new right) but was collecting all the main titles anyway and reading a bit here and there. When I heard that Spider-Man was going to only one title "Amazing Spider-Man" three times a month I had a happy thought now its all together and going to be easy to keep up. I came in on the three titles to read the "One More Day Story Arc" and although many people don't agree with the outcome of that story it has provided us all with an Amazingly fun and exciting Spider-Man title. Besides we all know that Spidey and Mary Jane will find each other again someday and everyone will be happy again.

Spider-Man is now usually the first thing I read every month when I get my DCBS order in and I've been nothing but happy every step of the way. I wish Marvel would do this with the X-Men titles all under the Uncanny banner and it wouldn't be that bad with the Avengers either one Avengers title three times a month would be ok even if it is an extra comic every month.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #2 - Moon Knight

2008-09-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

I think I have mentioned before that Moon Knight is one of my favorite characters and that his current series has been much more than less than satisfying. I told myself that if it didn't turn around by issue #20 that I'd have to consider dropping the title. I was sick of every issue being about how crazy Moon Knight is and the constant harping on it. I think we all get it and after the first story arc it would be nice to move on and keep the crazy as that back story thats always there but not the focus of everything. Issue #20 came out and it was to be a Werewolf By Night story...I was happy when I heard this because I've never read those original stories. Well the issue was great and surprisingly the first appearence of Moon Knight was reprinted in the back of the issue...it was pretty terrible but I loved it anyway because it was fun. #21 was good stuff too because the baddies are finally here and Moon Knight is back to being a hero who fights the bad guys and not just his personal demons. Hopefully this keeps up for a long, long time.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards #1 - Action Comics

2008-09-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have collected Action Comics since issue #835...but have never read an issue until #866 the first part of the Braniac story arc. That seems like a quite waste of money to me but someday I plan on going back and reading them. I decided to collect Action Comics around the time I really wanted to learn more about the DC Universe. I chose Action because I thought I needed a Superman comic and this one has been around longer than anything else. I've never been a huge fan of Superman, I like him but I just never got into him. The Braniac story seemed like a good place to jump on being I know nothing about Braniac at all this seemed like I couldn't lose. Well the story is really good through three parts (I think its 4 parts) and I do want to keep up on Action Comics now. My only complaint is that Superman looks like Christopher Reeve. I liked Christopher Reeve but I never thought he looked like Superman but I can live with it for a while.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Backing Boards - A New Segment

2008-09-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that I never have time to really get into blogging but I don't want to abandon the blog so I have come up with a new segment that I hope can get me going. Instead of doing a long review all the time I thought maybe just do a short post about something I read or something I'm thinking about in the comics realm. I'm calling these post Backing Boards and will give each post a number and try to keep it down to about one paragraph.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order September 2008

2008-09-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of September 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

I went a bit over budget this month...better sell some stuff on eBay.

Action Comics #871
Amazing Spider-Man #576
Amazing Spider-Man #577
Amazing Spider-Man #578
Batman #682
Batman #683
Captain America #44
Detective Comics #850
Final Crisis #6 (of 7)
Green Arrow and Black Canary #14
Hulk #8
Justice League Of America #27
Justice Society Of America #21
Mighty Avengers #20
Ms. Marvel #33
Ms. Marvel Special Storyteller
Moon Knight #24
New Avengers #47
Patsy Walker Hellcat #4 (of 5)
Secret Invasion #8 (of 8)
Spawn #186
Terry Moore's Echo #8
Thor #12
U Is For United 2008 Comic Geek Speak Listener Anthology
Uncanny X-Men #504
Wonder Woman #26
X-Factor #37
X-Men Legacy #218

Comics Now Magazine #4

Breakdown:
Marvel - 16
DC - 9
Abstract Studio - 1
Image - 1
Unknown Publisher - 1

Went way over budget this month with 2 extra comics and a magazine. Next month a few things will drop off and I'm going to have to maybe drop a few titles.

Breakdown as of September 2008:
Marvel Comics - 260
DC Comics - 231
Abstract Studio - 6

Dark Horse - 6

Ape Entertainment - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Image - 2
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1
Unknown Publisher - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 50.4% of the comics ordered from DCBS and DC Comics drops to 44.8% all other indie's move up to 4.8%. The Comic Geek Speak Book is bieng published by someone unknown to me at this time and I almost missed it on the order I'll updated this if and when I find out who the publisher is.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Strange City Heroes - A Webcomic by me

2008-08-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all just wanted to let you all know that my webcomic Strange City Heroes is up and running. I hope you enjoy. The comic can be found at www.strangedrawingsartgallery.com

- Kevin Johnson

My Current DCBS Order August 2008

2008-08-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late with this I've been working on my website and had to put this blog on hold for a while. So anyway here's the update.

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of August 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

Action Comics #870
Amazing Spider-Man #573
Amazing Spider-Man #574
Amazing Spider-Man #575
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
Batman #681
Captain America #43
Detective Comics #849
Final Crisis #5 (of 7)
Green Arrow and Black Canary #13
Hulk #7
Justice League of America #26
Justice Society of America #20
Mighty Avengers #19
Monster Size Hulk #1
Moon Knight #23
Ms. Marvel #32
New Avengers #46
Secret Invasion #7 (of 6)
Spawn #185
Terry Moore's Echo #7
Uncanny X-Men #503
Usagi Yojimbo #115
Wonder Woman #25
X-Factor #36
X-Men Legacy #217

Breakdown:
Marvel - 15
DC - 8
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1
Image - 1

2 less comics this month and again Marvel dominates the month holding number 1 spot. As you can tell I mostly "Make Mine Marvel" always have probably always will. I haven't bought anything from Image in a while but with Todd McFarlane back involved with Spawn I thought I'd check it out for a while.

Breakdown as of August 2008:
Marvel Comics - 244
DC Comics - 222
Dark Horse - 6
Abstract Studio - 5
Ape Entertainment - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Image - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 50% of the comics ordered from DCBS and DC Comics drops to 45.5% all other indie's move up to 4.5%. I really want to see how far ahead Marvel gets over time. I enjoy all brands of comics but Marvel is where my heart is I guess. Someday I'm going to get a complete list of all of my comics and really get an accurate count.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Star Wars: the Clone Wars

2008-08-15T21:36:00.001-07:00

Well Star Wars: The Clone Wars came out today and (drumroll please) IT WAS A OK (cymbal crash). So I went in not really knowing what to expect from this movie and it gave me plenty of the unexpected. I don't know how well this is going to do in theatres because it is kind of a filler movie and it really doesn't advance the story much but with that being said it was a fun, action packed adventure movie and it looked really good.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan and I like all of the movies Episode I - VI as well as the two Clone Wars TV series. The Clone Wars isn't going to be considered the best Star Wars movie but it does give us a great look at some characters that have not had much screen time and a new character Zero The Hutt who is some sort of gay, southern, English speaking, tattooed, Hutt that I nearly peed my pants when I heard him talk.

My only problems with the movie are this:
1 - the voices and the movement of lips really didn't match up well and I kept noticing it...I hope they fix that on the DVD.

2 - I kinda wish I had known what the Sub-Story was (SMALL SPOILER ALERT) was because it was a bit weird. Jabba's baby was kinda hokey but I understand where they are going with it because if there is an Episode VII and beyond this character will be important (I think). I guess if I had paid more attention to the trailers and website I'd have know about it but I didn't want to know much so it would be fun and it really was.

I could watch more Star Wars movies like this but I still want more live action if they are going to make more movies.

Here's to George Lucas!!! I don't care what anyone may say I like what you do my friend!

- Kevin P. Johnson

Jumping On

2008-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

So it seems to me that most people who read and collect comic books at some point get behind on their reading and then never seem to catch up. I personally am a professional at this I have years worth of some titles that I buy every month that I am several years behind on reading namely Batman, Action Comics, Detective Comics, Uncanny X-Men & X-Men Legacy and maybe there are a few others. I decided this week that its time to just "Jump On" I did this a few months ago with Spider-Man during the "One More Day" story and its worked out fine. I'm just thinking that I'm wasting money buying stuff that is just sitting here waiting to be read when I have more than enough time to read everything I get in a month but the catching up 50 issues of X-Men seems like it would take forever.

I guess the real question is why do we do this? Why is it so hard to just jump on a title? I don't ever have a problem starting in on a comic I have never read before usually within three months I know what is going on.

The point of this blog....if I buy it I'm reading it the month I get it from now on!

- Kevin Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order July 2008

2008-07-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of July 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about. This order includes two back issues that I didn't order in the last two months.

Action Comics #869
Amazing Spider-Man #570
Amazing Spider-Man #571
Amazing Spider-Man #572
Captain America #42
Detective Comics #848
Femme Noir: Dark City Diaries #4 (of 4)
Final Crisis #4 (of 7)
Green Arrow and Black Canary #12
Hulk #6
Justice League of America #25
Justice Society of America #10
Mighty Avengers #18
Moon Knight #22
Ms. Marvel #31
Ms. Marvel Annual #1
New Avengers #45
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #1 (of 6)
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #2 (of 6)
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #3 (of 6)
Secret Invasion #6 (of 6)
Terry Moore's Echo #6
Thor #11
Uncanny X-Men #502
Usagi Yojimbo #114
Wonder Woman #24
X-Factor #35
X-Men Legacy #216

Breakdown:
Marvel - 18
DC - 7
Ape Entertainment - 1
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1

Marvel dominates this month holding number 1 spot overall and pulling away quickly. DC is still falling away from the top.

Breakdown as of July 2008:
Marvel Comics - 229
DC Comics - 214
Dark Horse - 5
Ape Entertainment - 4
Abstract Studio - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 49.6% of the comics ordered and DC Comics drops to 46.3% all other indie's move up to 4.1%.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

HULK SMASH! The Incredible Hulk Movie

2008-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

This image is copyright © 2008 Marvel Comics and is used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of Marvel Comics.

So I went in to this movie with no expectations. I had been more interested in seeing the Iron Man connection and how for the first time the Marvel Universe was actually related on the movie screen. I saw it opening weekend at my new favorite even the Saturday Matenee.

This movie was awesome from the start, I decided to go in and forget that I felt the Hulk and Abomination looked like big rubber monsters. (I didn't see the first Hulk movie because of this)

Ed Norton to me looks like Bruce Banner and I'm glad he got the part and I hope he sticks around for another movie even though he's been upset that his preferred cut of the movie was not released.

This movie was action packed and great fun for all the fanboys out there with plenty of Easter Egg moments to enjoy. The best moments, THUNDERCLAP, "Hulk Smash!", Stan Lee, and the fighting.

This is one of the better comic book movies yet it wasn't the best but its a good quality movie that sits well alongside of Spider-Man 1 & 2, Batman Returns, Iron Man, X-Men 2, & Sin City.

4.75 Stars out of 5

- Kevin Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

Goodbye Michael Turner You Will Be Missed

2008-06-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

This image is copyright © 2008 DC Comics and is used as Fair Use Review images only. Image will be removed upon request of DC Comics.

Today I learned that artist Michael Turner passed away. Although I never met him I feel like I lost a friend. I enjoyed Michael's art even if some people criticized it I always loved looking at his covers. Rest in peace Michael you've left us with your art and you will be remembered always.

- Kevin Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson