Tooth Claw Django Zorro And Thor Comics Collection Nov 13

The Comics and Cosplay crew has been getting hyped up for the next big comics events. DC Comic’s Convergence crossover event was revealed this week, and Marvel’s Secret Wars event is teasing a massive conflict with every cover it reveals. While we can’t wait to get our hands on those issues, we’re still here to bring you reading recommendations for this week! Stew Shearer recommends the trope-subverting fantasy Birthright #2, and reflects on the end of a series in Superman Unchained #9. Stew has high praise for Thor #2, and finds a satisfying conclusion of the massive battle between Justice League heroes in Batman #36. Marshall Lemon checks out Django/Zorro #1, the official sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s western revenge story, and reconnects with David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #4. Marshall also places Grayson as his favorite new series in DC’s New 52, explores Tony Stark’s narcissism in Superior Iron Man #1, and digs into the mystery of Wytches. Meanwhile, I gush over Groot in Rocket Raccoon #5, deal with an intergalatic incident in rhyme in Captain Marvel #9, and meet a girl and her T. Rex in Terrible Lizard #1. I also fell under the spell of the over-sized first issue of Tooth & Claw, a brilliant new epic fantasy series, and headed to Burnside for the latest adventures of Batgirl. Let’s get right to the recommendations with: Rocket Raccoon is a joyful standalone issue. Having Groot tell a story is just as hilarious as you might guess, and Skottie Young has punctuation and pacing working overtime to deliver engaging dialogue using only three words. Young has been both writer and artist on the series so far, but this issue brings in Jake Parker to give Young a break as artist. Parker’s style meshes perfectly with Young’s, retaining the Saturday morning cartoon feel as well as the background gags and wild explosions that have made me adore this series. Favorite Moment: “We want to hear the one with the map!” – Marla Terrible Lizard is a little simplistic at times. The military men are violent and aggressive, her father is distant and dedicated to his work, and her mother seems to be out of the picture. However, the fun premise, lovely art, and deeper themes of lonely adolescence and unexpected friendships will keep me reading. And the kaiju fights. I’m a sucker for kaiju fights. Favorite Moment: “A lot of things are built here at Cosmos Labs… but lasting friendships… not so much.” – Marla The art in this issue is beautiful. Dewey’s anthropomorphized animals, ranging from bats and raccoons to chameleons and goats, are fascinating to study. The roles of the main characters are made clear through their clothing, and the sheer detail given to background characters is staggering. Jordie Bellaire’s colors give depth to the magic of the Seventeen Cities, creating powerful spells in stark white that blossom into a rainbow, like light through a prism. It’s one of the best illustrations of magic I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to pick up the next issue of this series. Favorite Moment: “My lady- and gentle-wizards of the Seventeen Cities, we are going to repair all.” – Marla This issue is a writing feat, with almost all of the dialogue delivered in rhyming couplets. It’s even more impressive that writer Kelly Sue Deconnick is able to craft rhyming dialogue that fits the established characters she’s writing, with Cap, Tic, and Lila all rhyming in their own way. David Lopez’s art continues to deliver solid action and subtle maneuvering, creating all new-alien worlds for the intergalactic Avenger to explore – and punch! If you were looking for a good place to start reading Captain Marvel, issue #9 is a great place to jump on, as the series gears up for a new story arc. Favorite Moment: “They speak in rhyme all the time. Like a song-play along.” – Marla This issue has an authentic grad school feeling. Barbara and her new friends are probably reading PHD Comics and xkcd when their code is compiling. I’ve had a hard time getting into the DC comics universe, despite have a deep and abiding love for the Batman. Batgirl has been an easy starting point, with the new creative team taking the book in a new direction and, so far, a suite of new villains that makes Barbara’s series accessible. Of course, if you’re already steeped in Bat-lore and up on your Birds of Prey, Batgirl will be just as fun, and you’ll catch the subtle (and unsubtle) references. In either case, it’s nice to read a Bat story that’s confident enough to take the action out of the grim alleyways and darkest of dark nights. Batgirl is quickly building a cast of great new characters that I want to get to know, alongside awesome fight scenes and a compelling mystery. Even if you missed issue #35, you can jump on here and follow the action. Favorite Moment: “You are my favorite person in the entire world. Never leave me.” – Marla Several years after Django Unchained, Django is still a bounty hunter working across the western states, sending his earnings back to his wife Broomhilda. But during a job, he has a chance encounter with an elderly Diego de la Vega, who is so impressed he promptly hires Django as a “bodyguard”. But Django quickly learns the capable Diego has little need for protection. Instead, he needs a partner to assist him on a new adventure: freeing indigenous slaves captured by the Archduke of Arizona. This first issue is a fairly straightforward introduction, showing how these two characters might meet. But outside of the shock factor of this “official” sequel, it’s a surprisingly fitting match. The time period fits, and the personalities mesh nicely; Django even notes that there’s a lot about Diego that reminds him of King Schultz. But most importantly, despite the differences in their fighting styles, both characters represent similar values, so it will be very interesting to see how they work together. Even if Tarantino’s name wasn’t enough to sell you on Django/Zorro, that might be enough to make the series worthwhile. The only real difference is that the R-rated language is trimmed somewhat, but the violence and racial tensions are still noticeably high. If you can handle that, you might like this book. Favorite Moment: Printed paper? But what does one do if it burns? -Marshall Issue #4 continues the adventures of Ten between Season 4 and “The Next Doctor”, as he agrees to take Gabriella Gonzalez on “just one trip” for her help in saving the world. (Yeah, like that’s ever worked out.) The issue starts out as a slower-paced, emotional tale, as Gabby recounts a walk through an alien art gallery prompting equal parts wonder and sadness. About halfway through, the story shifts gears once the Doctor learns that a prominent artist has taken a hundred year sabbatical, fleeing to a retreat center on the moon. Investigating further, the Doctor and Gabby realize the artwork is coming to life and attacking visitors, thanks to the influence of the artist’s new apprentice. The entire issue does a great job of reflecting the beauty and melancholy that marked so much of David Tennant’s run, especially the scenes rendered from Gabby’s diary (in a different art style no less). But there’s quite a bit of humor too, as well as a little referential foreshadowing when the Doctor admits bow ties don’t look half bad. It’s quite a bit to pack into a single issue, and this is only part one of a storyline! Doctor Who fans who miss the Tennant years should definitely check this series out. Favorite Moment: “Vernon! It’s been a long time!” … “It has indeed, sir. Pleased to see you.” -Marshall While there’s a few moments hinting that Spyral is onto Grayson, that takes a backseat to the female college spy students chasing him around campus. There’s also some great bonding moments between Grayson and Helena, which may be setting us up for tragedy down the road. But when that happens, I’ll feel a far more for these characters than if we’d spent issues where they sat around morose all the time. More and more, I’m suspect that Greyson might be my favorite new series from the New 52. If you’ve complained that the New 52 is too grimdark, and haven’t read this book? I strongly recommend you check it out. Favorite Moment: “Outed to the world. Murdered. Surrounded by crazies. Maybe covered in evil mini robots that could eat my skin. And chased by college girls.” -Marshall During Marvel’s AXIS event, the world’s heroes and villains had their personalities flipped to their polar opposite. But where most heroes were cured once the threat was resolved, Tony Stark is regressing into a sociopathic narcissist. This issue opens as he activates an Extremis nanite app that gives most of New York supermodel-quality bodies. But this action has dark consequences for the city as a whole… a detail, it turns out, that Tony was fully aware of. Iron Man’s personality shift isn’t so different than the carefree Playboy that you’ve seen in the movies. But now there’s a subtle edge to his interactions that’s surprisingly chilling, especially once you realize how little he actually cares about his fellow human beings. What’s different is that his behavior is attracting the wrong kind of attention from his superhero peers, some of whom won’t allow Iron Man’s corruption to go unchecked. It’s a promising start to an opening storyline, and very soon it’s going to come to blows. Here’s hoping it only gets better from here. Favorite Moment: “I just launched the cornerstone of the new Stark Industries. I let them all feel perfection.” -Marshall It turns out that Sailor’s mother, who lost the use of her legs outside a forest years ago, already faced these creatures. While it’s not stated outright, it’s strongly implied that Sailor was pledged to the wytches that day, although what that means isn’t exactly clear. Is Sailor a sacrifice the wytches arrived to collect? Or is there something more going on here? Either way, Sailor now bears the wytches mark, and it may be impossible for her to escape. Meanwhile, the increased appearances of the wytches do have something of a Slenderman tone, even if they’re so different visually. Every time they appear they’re immensely powerful and imposing, and we don’t even know the full extent of their abilities yet. The mystery of Wytches continues to thicken, and I’m uncomfortably curious to see where it leads. Favorite Moment: “What’d you really hit?” -Marshall Favorite Moment: “I’m done explaining myself.” -Stew In the wake of his multi-issue bout with the U.S. government and their long hidden alien “hero” Wraith, Superman is faced with a final fateful decision. An alien armada from Wraith’s homeworld is barreling toward Earth and the only way to stop it is to use an injection of liquid sunlight provided by Lex Luthor to transform himself into a living bomb that can destroy them all in one fell swoop. It’s a one way trip, of course, and while I spoil the ending I’ll say that Luthor’s narration throughout the final pages is simply wonderful. Pick up issue nine and the whole series for that matter if you haven’t already. Favorite Moment: “And perhaps, now at the end, I can admit that in being the farthest thing from answer to that equation he might have been the closest we’ll come to one.” -Stew Favorite Moment: “Ssssoo, Bruce. Who winssss in a fight? Batman…. or Superman? Hahaha!” -Stew Without spoiling too much, the new female Thor spends much of the issue basically just trying to get a handle on her powers. This results in a lot of dialogue where she’s actively trying to ape what male Thor would do and say, with frequently humorous results. In fact, while there are some obvious differences, she almost reminded me of the Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel. As anyone who reads that book can tell you, that’s currently some pretty high praise. Favorite Moment: “Oh, man. Oh, wow. Quick say something badass.” -Stew