As promised I’m going to give you a look at what you can get for Free Comic Book Day this year.  I want to thank Mike at The Core for getting these too me early enough that I could read them all so you all would know what your in for this weekend.  Because of the amount of the books to read and review the reviews will be short and sweet and to the point.

First up on my list is a reprinting of the first issue ever of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I’m sure we all remember these four characters and their master Splinter, but this was my first time actually reading the book that spawned the fame.  And folks, it’s far more adult than you would at first imagine.  Plus it is very dark and very violent.  I thought it was great, I’d definitely recommend it to teenage readers, the young ones should stay clear of this one.  These are not the same Turtles that have been in movies and TV.  If I had read this when it came out, I might actually have some of the actual comics in my collection.

I don’t know a lot about Bongo Comics but it appears to be the label that does all of Matt Groening’s characters.  This book basically has three separate stories.  Two Simpson’s stories involving Bart and Comic Book Guy with Krusty and one with Homer and Bart as superheroes.  Both are disposable and actually aren’t all that good.  I was kind of bored by them.  In the middle is a Futurama comic sandwiched between the Simpson’s stories.  Blah.. Meh… I like the Simpson’s and I kind of dig some of Futurama, but this comic stank.  It felt like a free comic.  Step it up here folks, if you’re giving it away for free, then you better entice me to keep reading.  Not recommended for younger viewers, not because of anything objectionable, it would just be too hard to keep it straight.

I’m a fan of Star Wars, I’m a fan of Dark Horse Comics, this should be a home run.  It was close but not 100%, more like it bounced off the wall and rolled into the center fielders glove.  Again I know it is suppose to be in and out and lets get back to normal, but I just wasn’t floored by the book.  Nor was my interest spiked to go buy any of the books.  Although I blame George Lucas more for that than Dark Horse here.  The art is great and the story is self contained.  I’m sure Star Wars fans apart from me will eat it up, I just thought it was too representative of the less than stellar Clone Wars Cartoon that is on the air right now.  If you flip the book over though you get four short stories one for Usagi Yojimbo: One Dark and Stormy Night that was at least linear, Emily the Strange: Emily Tree, which was exactly like you’d expect strange, Beanworld, wow, I have no idea what to say about it, and finally Indiana Jones and the Temple of Yearning, I was yearning to flip the page.  Dark Horse has a lot of good stuff, Hellboy? Godzilla?  So much other stuff they could have pulled from but instead they decided on these.  Meh… I would recommend this for older younger readers, say around the age of 10 and up.

I’m starting to see a pattern here.  Another kids comic.  I know I know get em young and keep em the rest of their lives.  It works, believe me, I got my first Spider-Man comic in 1979 and I still have it and read it with my son (it was an Electric Company Spider-Man crossover book).  This one at least is a prequel to the story that is going to be issued in the actual Cars comic, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  For one thing, car racing isn’t really high on my list of subjects that provide me with interest or entertainment, but I can see the appeal and I can definitely see the appeal with the marketing cross over with Disney, neither myself nor my kid has seen the movie, but I know who Lightning McQueen is!  This book would be perfect for younger readers though so it gets my seal of approval. 

This is so far my least favorite of the comics.  First it’s nothing but a giant advertisement for the Sonic comic universe.  Which, yeah OK, if you’re giving it away for free then give em something right?  But it’s not even a comic, it’s more words than pictures and it’s confusing and boring.  If I was a kid and I got this I would be so disappointed.  No story, barely any pictures, and no action.  Does anyone remember the Who’s Who in the DC Universe when they were kids?  I tried to collect everyone of them, and they were great, kind of like this comic book except, you know cool.  Meh, skip this one and leave it on the shelf completely, unless of course you collect everything Sonic the Hedgehog, then buy all means run and and swipe this one up.  I can recommend it to younger readers, but they better be able to read well, and a lot.

And just to let you all know that I can be un-biased this was my second least favorite so far.  I love the X-Men, I had a subscription to the comic book when I was 10 years old.  I’m even OK with the Ultimate X-Men comics that take my beloved original stories and modernizes them.  What I’m not OK with is a crappy recap of the origin of Wolverine.  I know why they did it, I mean they totally have to have a Wolverine comic book for Free Comic Book day that happens to coincide with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but couldn’t they do something cool like a reprinting of a seminal issue?  This book is totally focused on the kids and the art style in the book is my least favorite with rounded lines and day glow colors.  No grim, no grit, not Wolverine.  Meh.  I do recommend this for the younger readers who have been bombarded with Wolverine merchandising for the last four months and this may just satisfy the youngster who is too young to see the PG-13 movie being released on Friday.

And the final one for this round is The Avengers.  I liked this one second best next to the Teenage Age Mutant Ninja Turtles.  It has a pretty cool story line that actually involves the Dark Avengers which would just take too long to explain it and make sense to everyone.  Needless to say out of the other books so far this is definitely second on the list to pick up.  The art is done well, there is action on almost every page and there is Spider-Man and Venom as well as Iron Man, Wolverine and others.  Good show Marvel at least you got this one right, hopefully I can forgive you for the Wolverine travesty… hopefully.

Stay tuned comic fans, the exciting conclusion is coming in Part 2 soon!

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Here’s what’s hitting DVD tomorrow:

April 28
- American Dad!: Volume 4 (Animation, Comedy, TV) 
- Bride Wars (Comedy, Romance) 
- JCVD (Action, Comedy) This is one I’m gonna have to check out too.  Not sure what it’s all about since it just crossed my radar a couple of weeks ago, but it looks very interesting.
- Jetsons: The Movie (Animation, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi)
- Legally Blondes (Comedy)
- Marvel X-Men: Volumes 1 (Animation)
- Marvel X-Men: Volumes 2 (Animation)
- Mission: Impossible – The Sixth TV Season (Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, TV)
- Never Surrender (Action, Drama)
- Nothing But the Truth (Thriller)
- S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (Drama, Mystery, Supernatural) Well it’s finally coming out.  Donnie Darko is one of the best underground films I’ve seen in years and this sequel just doesn’t sit right with me at all.
- Sex and Lies in Sin City (Crime, Drama)
- The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume Four (Action, Adventure, Animation)
- Spin City: The Complete Second Season (Comedy, TV)
- The Uninvited (Horror, Thriller) I’ve heard good things about this one I’ll have to check it out for sure.
- What Doesn’t Kill You (Crime, Drama) 
- X-Men: Volume 1 (Action, Animation) 
- X-Men: Volume 2 (Action, Animation)

As you can see it’s pretty heavy on Marvel Animation this week, but what would you expect with a huge Marvel film opening this weekend.  I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to see this movie this weekend in the theatre!  Also to let you know this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day so in my next couple of blogs I’m going to be reviewing all the comic books available for FREE this weekend.

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Movies:

April 24
- Fighting – Not my cup of tea on this one really.  It just seems to pretty boy for me.  Give me Bloodsport.
- Obsessed – Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, really that’s probably all I need to say.  Apparently she’s or her agent has never seen Fatal Attraction or The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
- Soloist - Again, not my cup of tea at all, but I’ll probably rent it.

Music:

Spicoli’s Grill and The Reverb Rock Garden:

Friday: Diplomats of Solid Sound

Saturday: Illegal Smile with A Past Unknown and We Are Vessels

Tuesday: Britney Fox (yes that Britney Fox) with Lyin’ Heart and Grave Corps

Wednesday: Taproot with Dear Enemy, AdaKaiN and Surrender the Silence

The Hub:

Friday: The Nadas with Pictures of Then

Saturday: Hello Dave

Screaming Eagle American Bar and Grill

Saturday: Paul Holland Band

The Picador:

 Saturday: FREE SHOW with The Tanks Super Sonic Piss Lwa with Manimal

1^st Avenue Live!:

Friday: Midnight to Twelve with The Last Vegas, Cockpit and Steadlur

Saturday: The Flood with Four Story Fate and Ten Ton Halo

 Voodoo Lounge:

Friday: WAGG

Saturday: Atomic Hoss

Comedy:

Jokers:

Friday: Johnny O with Sean Brenan

Saturday: Johnny O with Sean Brenan

Art and Exhibits:

UNI Museum:

February 16^th - May 16th:  Death Perception: The Science of Forensic Anthropology

Theatre:

Strayer-Wood Theatre (UNI):

April 16th – 26th – Bertha Martin Theatre – Eurydice – I’m hoping to make it out to this show soon so I can review it for you all.

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Hey funny title eh?  Well I had to take a little bit of a break from this list for a couple of weeks to get caught up on other things but now it returns, and with out further ado, here is J.  I’m also going to stick to one letter at a time unless of course there isn’t enough to warrant one blog, but smaller doses may be easier to digest.  So here we go J.

Michael Jackson:

HIStory: Past, Present and Future – We all know how bat crazy this guy is, but he is responsible for some of the greatest songs ever committed to tape.  This is a greatest hits collection that captures all the number one songs of his solo career and a few new songs.  Despite the narcissism of putting a giant statue of himself on the cover, Mr. Jackson is undeniable in his crafting of pop songs.  You will sing along to this album, I promise you.

Jane’s Addiction:

Jane’s Addiction – This was the self titled album that has the song “I Would For You” that to this day is just as moving as it was the first day I heard it.  Jane’s Addiction changed the face of modern music in the early 90′s.  Many people will claim that Nirvana was the fire that burned down the house that hair built, but with out Jane’s Addiction and this collection of live tracks, that fire would never have been started.  This also includes live versions of songs that would appear on Nothings Shocking.

Nothings Shocking- Ah yes controversy.  Perry Farrell’s album cover design came under fire for the images he created of his girlfriend naked in plaster.  What he and the rest of Jane’s Addiction crafted underneath the cover was far more dangerous.  A musical revolution that still sounds important today.

Ritual De La Habitual – The album cover for this was eventually completely banned.  Mind you, it wasn’t all that offensive, but the music that poured out of these four men, nearly perfect.  To this day I hold this album and the first three Jane’s albums in reverence far higher on the totem pole of musical importance than Nirvana, Pearl Jam or any other 90′s artist whom supposedly paved the way for the future of music.  Jane’s was and will always be one of the greatest rock and roll bands of my generation and they have gotten back together with their original line up to tour with Nine Inch Nails this summer as well as make a stop on Farrell’s Lollapalooza that has established itself as a mainstay of Chicago in the summer.

Jellyfish:

Bellybutton – I caught “Baby’s Coming Back” on MTV one night on 120 Minutes and was immediately hooked.  Jellyfish were part of the neo-hippy pop movement of the early 90′s that saw other artists like Lenny Kravitz making headway with there Beatlesque melodies and song writing rising up the charts.  Like the first Lenny Kravitz album I bought these guys hook line and sinker.  Bellybutton is a perfect record of sugar glazed pop with a bit of a dark sense of humor just bubbling below the surface.  If you dig the Beatles, heck if you dig great melodies, amazing harmonies and wonderful songwriting, then find this gem as soon as possible.  Also check out the song “The Man I Used To Be”, simply amazing song and very important to me.

Spilt Milk – Jellyfish only released two official albums before their implosion and this was the second album.  Again perfect from start to finish.  The difference from between the two albums?  Spilt Milk was far more adventurous and saw the band expanding their vocabulary musically.  It was also a much darker record with a lot more wit and sarcasm that wasn’t as neatly buried under the surface. 

The Jesus & Mary Chain:

Honey’s Dead – Now for my hipster cred I should say that Automatic or Psychocandy were probably the most influential albums by these guys on me, but honestly, I didn’t get it until this album.  Honey’s Dead was a perfect fit for me at a perfect time.  Not to mention that I got to see them live on this tour cycle for this record.  Absolutely dark and at times very controversial album for a dark and at times very controversial band.  The Brothers Reid are back together after some time apart and I always look forward to their new output.

Joy Division:

Permant – This is a “greatest hits” compilation for what could quite easily be the most depressed band ever.  Ian Curtis the singer of Joy Division took his own life, the music is dark and haunting and Curtis’ baritone vocals are totally with out humor.  Next to Bauhaus, Joy Division is usually the second band name mentioned in goth circles as an influence.  In their short time together they were highly influential and still hold the hearts of many especially with songs like “Love Will Tear Us Apart”.  Nine Inch Nails even coverd Joy Division at one time.  Not something you through on to rock out to when your cleaning the house, but it’s definitely something you need to hear at least once.  As a side not the surviving members of Joy Division when on to form New Order who are considered very influential in the electronic music scene.

There ya go folks, Vol. 3 is up and out.  Vol 4 coming soon to a computer screen near you.

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This week is looking pretty good for new releases!

April 21
- The Burrowers (Horror, Thriller, Western) I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this movie so I’ll probably check it out sooner than later.
- Caprica (Action, Drama, Sci-Fi)
- Dallas: The Complete Eleventh Season (Drama, TV)
- Dante 01 (Sci-Fi, Thriller)
- Frost/Nixon (Drama) Another one that is on my list to see, it looked interesting.
- Hawaii Five-O: The Sixth Season (Crime, Drama, TV)
- Hellraiser: Limited Edition Box Set (Horror) If anybody is doing any early Christmas shopping this would be a wonderful gift for me
- iCarly: Season 1, Volume 2 (Comedy, Family, TV)
- Into the Blue 2: The Reef (Action)
- My Own Worst Enemy: The Complete Series (Action, Drama, Thriller, TV)
- Notorious (Single-Disc) (Drama, Music)
- Notorious (Unrated Director’s Cut Collector’s Edition) (Drama, Music)
- The Poker Club (Drama, Thriller) 
- Rhoda: Season One (Comedy, TV) 
- Ron White: Behavioral Problems (Comedy)
- Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy (Animation, Comedy)
- Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Volume 2 (Animation, Comedy, Family, TV)
- Stuart Little: The Animated Series – A Little Family Fun (Animation, Family, TV)
- Stuart Little: The Animated Series – Going for the Gold (Animation, Family, TV)
- Voyage of the Damned (Drama, War)
- Wolverine and the X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy (Animation)
- The Wrestler (Drama) I really want to see this, I’ve always been a big fan of Mickey Rourke.

So there you have it.  Get out there and see something good this week!

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Movies:

April 17
- 17 Again – I think we’ve seen this movie before haven’t we?
- Crank: High Voltage – I haven’t seen any of the other movies in the franchise, but I’ve heard they are entertaining.
- State of Play – The new Russell Crowe movie, I have no interest in seeing this in the theatre at all.

Music:

Spicoli’s Grill and The Reverb Rock Garden:

Thursday: Karaoke by Ultimate Entertainment

Friday: 3lbs of Love with Boren Naked

Saturday: The Goodyear Pimps with Grave Corps and The Sons of Many Bitches

The Hub:

Thursday: UNI Jazz Band Combos

Friday: 6 PM – Checker & the Bluetones  9 PM Barefoot Compadres

Saturday: 7 PM Toast 9 PM Damon Dotson

Screaming Eagle American Bar and Grill

Friday: Crackin’ Wise

Saturday: Major Healey

The Picador:

Saturday: Inept with Danger is my Middle Name, BackDrop, Made Anvil and Worst Case Scenario 

1^st Avenue Live!:

Friday: The Jodie Foster Connection

Saturday: Cheese Pizza with Concrete Blanket

 Fanataics Sports Bar & Grille

 Friday: Fatcat

 Voodoo Lounge:

Thursday: Mike Staebell 

Friday: Hippyzippers

Saturday: Elev8

Comedy:

Jokers:

Friday: Willie Farrell with Doug Stone

Saturday: Willie Farrell with Dwayne Clark

Art and Exhibits:

UNI Museum:

February 16^th - May 16th:  Death Perception: The Science of Forensic Anthropology

Theatre:

Strayer-Wood Theatre (UNI):

April 16th – 26th – Bertha Martin Theatre – Eurydice – I’m hoping to make it out to this show soon so I can review it for you all.

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The next two books on my list to review are Transmetropolitan #1 and Preacher #1.  Again along with the release of the Watchman movie DC is re-releasing these landmark first issues in new special editions.  While I’ve never seen the original printings of these so I can’t comment on the “special” part of the edition apart from re-introducing this comics to new fans I can tell you what I read about.

Transmetropolitan is written by Warren Ellis a name who people in comics have come to understand means good stuff.  I had heard about this book from a friend of mine and was anxious to get into it and see what it had in store for me.  The first thing that struck me was our main character here who goes by the name of Spider Jerusalem, is the spitting image of Alan Moore and I think that this is probably Ellis’ homage to Moore and the work he had done laying the ground work for other writers in the industry.  Also Spider is a recluse much like Moore is as well, but Spider is reminded of a commitment he must keep or wind up getting sued.  You see Spider is an investigative reporter that owes his publisher two more books for the advances that he was given five years ago.  So Spider heads back into the despised world of humanity to get a job, find a place to live and finish his two books so he can return to his life of isolation.

I like this book, but it is very much intended for mature readers so parents reading that keep this in mind.   Most of the comic books I’ve read in my life have a clear cut protagonist or the person you are pulling for, here Ellis tests us to see if we can find any empathy in our hearts at all for a man that despises every human being on the planet.  Interesting stuff here, I would like to eventually pick up the graphic novel and read the whole thing, but I’m afraid that will have to wait a little while yet.  So if your looking for something new (well new to you at least) I do recommend picking this book up.  I have a lot to learn yet about Warren Ellis and his style, but what I’ve read so far I’ve liked.

Next up on my list was Preacher by Garth Ennis.  I have read a lot of things about this series through the years and was hoping to have my socks blown away.  Unfortunately I wasn’t floored, but my interest was definitely upped a bit.  Preacher is the story of a Preacher who gets a little sight of the world of angels.  I’d rather not explain too much about it cause it will ruin some of the surprises in the first book here, and honestly the less you know about what happens the better.  Again like the other DC Vertigo stuff this is for mature audiences only, there is even more cussing in this book than the others I’ve read before, and if you are easily offended you’re best to just stay clear of this.

A big difference with this book than the other one I just read is that our protagonist is someone that you are pulling for.  He seems like a decent guy that got handed a raw deal.  It also involves more of the supernatural which is more interesting to me than an investigative reporter.  What I wasn’t blown away with so far was the story.  Another buddy told me that the book picks up steam in later issues and does eventually find it’s legs so I’ll probably give it a shot and see what happens with it eventually.

Both of these books were a good read, but I wasn’t floored by them like I was Swamp Thing #21 or even reading Spawn for the first time.  That’s too bad too cause both have a lot of great images and tons of potential.  I will read some more of them, but right now it’s tough to beat The Walking Dead for me.

So if any of these books interest you, or you’d like to get back in touch with your love of comic books stop down and visit Mike at The Core, tell him I sent ya.

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Here’s what’s coming out this Tuesday.  Kind of a short list really.

April 14
- Dark Matter (Drama)
- Exosquad: Season One (Animation)
- House of Saddam (Drama)
- Knots Landing: The Complete Second Season (Drama, TV)
- Malcolm & Eddie: Season One (Comedy, TV)
- North Star (Adventure, Western) 
- The Spirit (Action, Adventure) So Frank Miller the comic book guy who wrote 300 and Sin City is actually trying his hand at directing.  I haven’t heard a lot of good things about it, but I will give it a chance.
- The Spirit (2-Disc Special Edition) (Action, Adventure)
- Wings: The Complete Series (Comedy, TV)

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Movies:

April 10
- Dragonball: Evolution I’m curious about this, but not curious enough to go see it in the theatre this weekend.
- Hannah Montana The Movie Not even if your mom paid for my ticket would I go see this
- Observe and Report  Have I mentioned lately that I really get a kick out of Seth Rogen?

Music:

Spicoli’s Grill and The Reverb Rock Garden:

Thursday: Karaoke by Ultimate Entertainment

Friday: Never the Less

Saturday: Wild Card

The Hub:

Thursday: The Blend with Jascat

Friday: 6 PM – The Ramblers  9 PM Bob Dorr & The Blue Band

Saturday: 7 PM Bobby Shew with the Bob Washut Sextet 10 PM Marcus Kjeldsen

Screaming Eagle American Bar and Grill

Friday: Jascat

Saturday: WAGG

The Picador:

Friday: The Uniphonics

Saturday: The Bronx with Trash Talk, In Defence and A Verse Unsung 

1^st Avenue Live!:

Friday: Harvey Headbanger with Vicious Circle

Saturday: Inch 75 with Artifical Gray

 Fanataics Sports Bar & Grille

 Friday: Checker & the Bluetones

Saturday: LOC

 Voodoo Lounge:

Friday: Mike Staebell and Bruce Day

Saturday: Atomic Hoss

Comedy:

Jokers:

Friday & Saturday: J. Jay Boyd with Kristi McHugh

Art and Exhibits:

UNI Museum:

February 16^th - May 16th:  Death Perception: The Science of Forensic Anthropology

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As I mentioned on Tuesday Eisner Award winning comic book artist, University of Iowa alum and Iowa Resident Phil Hester was in town at Limited Edition Comics and Collectibles on the Hill in Cedar Falls to hang out, meet fans and sign some comic books.  I headed over there yesterday to sit down with Phil and ask him a few questions for the blog.  Here ya go!

I had a great time hanging out with Phil and Rob at Limited Edition Comics yesterday!  I hope you enjoy the interview and I hope you’ll keep an eye out for his work!

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