Sky City is in ruins, The Plutonian did it. After all, he just went rogue, right? This issue kicks-off with the story of one of his former allies (the girl you see in the cover), named Kaidan. And one of her (at least from my point of view) very first jobs as an enforcer of justice, which doesn't go too smoothly and she ends up being rescued by The Plutonian, who resembles a silver age Superman (by this point this shouldn't be a surprise) and demonstrates Waid's bond to the comic book genre and its most famous characters. It turns out that Kaidan's looking for the Plutonian's girlfriend (Lois Lane!), who spends her days smoking, alone and sank in sadness. Kaidan's out to get some answers about the Plutonian, she wants to know any kind of weakness he might have (if any, remember he's earth's mightiest being).

I was totally hooked when I saw a plot summary on Marvel's official page. Didn't know this guy was a reinvention of an old character called Mighty Destroyer (who makes a cameo in the second issue). In addition, I didn't even know that Robert Kirkman, one of my favorite writers, was on board. Plus, the MAX thingy on the cover makes me wanna check it out immediatly. Keene Marlowe is your old warhorse dying hero who's trying to take all the f@#s that make this world a dangerous place for every single being he cares for. In fact, the story kick-starts with a great fight at the top floor of a building that's wide-screen like with explosions and violence, lotsa' it, as we see the mighty destroyer punchin' and kickin' his way through villains to get rid of the menaces that will threaten the planet once he's dead. The feelin' of Keene's health deteriorating is pretty solid in this book (although Cory Walker's art is cartoonish). The super-villain line-up is pretty much an over-the-top cast, that makes the book even better, for it's a love letter to crazy-ass villains of the Golden Age of comics.

The universe that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips created for this book is simply amazing. It's a clear homage to those sickf**k pulp novels from the 30s or the 40s and the "colorful" gallery of characters that inspire creators of these last decades. I think that's one of the aspects that I love of this particular book, it has: old fashioned Ray Guns, Mad Doctors, Torture and that's incredibly nailed by Phillips' art, which, is not as "perfect" or "flashy" like other artists out there, but moody and noirish. No wonder why Ed Brubaker has collaborated that much with him. Sometimes I wonder why this sort of stuff isn't published by Heavy Metal magazine, 'coz it's the kind of stuff I'd likely read in that awesome mag. Not in everyday comics, or at least not in the so-called Big Two, which, fortunately don't dominate the whole industry, and this sort of work proves my point.

The upcoming game looks great, but I cannot deny the greatness of this book, it's just SO GOOD that I can't wait for the next issue to be released. The back story of the series (which is also the game's I think) is pretty interesting. The first pages being set in the Vietnam conflict with a unit of G.Is storming the jungle, the main character's name (at least in this story) is Peter Randall, a bad-ass lieutenant who is tough-as-nails and an enemy of the ever-dangerous communists, who is facing the threat of commies overseas enforcing freedom and democracy. Then, after some shooting, swearing and bad-ass sentences and war heroics take place, he's hired by a General to pull off a dangerous job classified BLACK that will take him and a special team to Hope, Idaho, where they're to retrieve something from a scientific complex. Then the next story picks up, this time, it's the story of a couple detectives that are tracking a serial killer that leaves no clues but horrible scenes behind him...

So far, i've liked the take on the established Marvel characters in that noir, brooding setting. Being my current favorite Daredevil and his hell's kitchen exploits, Wolverine: Noir is slowly pushing his way to the top though. His back story is very interesting, trained by a crazy irishman who traveled to Japan and brought the art of the knives and swords with him, James Logan trained with him, learned the craft and nailed the very nature of the art so you could say that's his superpower (I think obe of the reasons that hooked me to this line is the fact that they're no supowers involved). Mariko Yashida makes a solid enough appearance (although there's much more to her character), she's your average, gorgeous but dangerous, Femme Fatale. Stuart Moore's script is really, really great. I hope these series to be well written, well drawn limited projects (Can't wait for their release in paperback format). The artwork by C.P Smith blows me away every panel, I've been following this man since he worked with Peter Milligan on The Programme.

I've been following this series for months. Not really for a decade, but the Minutemen and the whole cast of characters had been growing on me since the first issue. This is a great example of what a modern pulp epic should be. This book shall be remembered as one of the greatest (and longest) ongoing series of all-time. I knew that the ending would be something astounding, and the final twist of the plot was going to be something I wouldn't forget, at least not easily. I will really miss Cole, Victor, Loop, Jack, Lono, Milo, Wylie, Remi, Mr. Will Slaughter, Dizzy, Mr. Sheperd and Agent Phil Graves. All of them strangers when I started reading this thing... All of them became "my friends" as I started diggin' 100 Bullets. I will always recommend this series, and sometimes I couldn't possibly wait for my friends to ask me about the cool interior art or the covers when we were having a conversation about comics... Now that it ended I wouldn't stop recommending it. In fact. I'll do it even more.

I was really looking forward to read this series, it was SO WORTH the wait. Thank you, Mark Waid. Okay, so after i saw a sneak peek, like, 2 months ago i was hyped as hell. Now that i've read the very first issue i'll totally recommend it without a second thought. The artwork by Peter Krause is really great, it brings to life Waid's story to the letter. It tells the tragic story of earth's mightiest superhero, a guy called The Plutonian (pretty much a Superman-based character, given Waid's love for the man of steel) Who is now hell-bent on taking down each and everyone of his former partners. Why? It seems The Plutonian has wiped off the word "morals" from his vocabulary. Things that were taught back in his childhood are now twisted and questioned. His rage was a time bomb and it just ignited and it seems taking down his former allies is just the first step... So what makes a hero Irredeemable?

There's no wonder why this story arc became pretty famous after the Sin City movie premiered in 2005. Mickey Rourke portrayed Marv in a great way, a man who didn't stop his search for the men who killed Goldie, even in the face of impending doom. Some people complain about Frank Miller's artwork, which i love, because it helps to set the mood of the book. A noir epic of romance, death and redemption. I'm sure a lot of people has already heard about Miller's run on Sin City. Back in the 90s when he was in tip-top shape and did a lot of amazing stuff for Dark Horse Comics. The Hard goodbye, is one of those great series he wrote and did draw for'em in those olden days. Although it does have a pretty graphic violence and foul language we know Dark Horse has no boundaries when giving creative freedom to their attached creators, so check it out when you have the chance. I really recommend it.

I read this series after the movie came out and found what the past of Dwight was like. First of all, he's a great character. By far, one of the greatest in the Sin City Universe. He roams the streets of Basin City a broken man, taking pictures of sordid happenings in town. We get to see he's kind of sad because of a woman (women...) Named Ava. Who's a runaway girl that ended up living with a rich man in the outskirts of the city. Then Dwight meets her in a bar and they have a noir-esque conversation, Dwight loves her, yet, she bretrayed him. She tells him to forget about her because the man she's living with is a "big cheese" and has a bodyguard called "Manute" A giant, dark, strong-as f**k cranky guy. Marv is a guest star that is good friends with Dwight McCarthy and helps him pull his crazy plan off, he's going after Ava and he will stop at nothing.

The first Elseworlds ever. Brian Augustyn had wrote the script and (the one and only) Mike Mignola did an amazing work in the pencils, the tale is set in 1880, in the Victorian era where Jack The Ripper is srtiking terror in the hearts of the population. Bruce Wayne decides to go after the serial killer dressed as a giant bat, that looks as post-goth and dark as this issue gets... The panels are eye-candy, as mignola shows what he's capable of in the story that pretty much had set-up the basics of the "Elseworlds" Concept as we know it. The story is quite gritty and has serious amounts of pulp-esque elements on it, such as a crime-ridden city, vigilantism and an earth-shattering midnight setting... I'm sure there's a reprint of this, due to it's 20th anniversary just like Batman's Arkham Asylum, it DOES DESERVE a place in your collection if you're a fan of the Batman and Mike Mignola's artwork (which is weird, but none the less nice!) And for those of you out there who're not too fond of the Elseworlds concept i strongly recommend to pick up this story and read it as many times as you can, you'll be unable to keep your eyes away from it!

The Devil's Workshop, an Elseworlds written by Howard Chaykin and illustrated by Mark Chiarello, is a tale about a "darker than ever" Batman and the famous magician Harry Houdini the cover is pretty much perfect and speak for itself, if you know at least a bit about the history of magic in the 19th or the early 20th century this is a perfect example. The artwork is great, mysterious and amazing, photograph-like that fits the batman like a glove. Also, we get to see the hilarious team-up of the short-yet-brave Harry Houdini and Bruce Wayne fighting the supernatural and unusual, if you're into the occult and into crazy Batman adventures i strongly recommend you to read this Elseworlds. Oh, sweet DC times...

I'll be doing elseworlds reviews for this whole month. I've read quite a lot of them and i decided to stand up and let ya know about them too... Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table is a two-issue mini-series, that merges the talent of Bob Layton and Dick Giordano (whose work i admire, being a Silver Age artist that made his appearance in Wanted #6) and absolutely delivers. If you're a fan of the Dark Ages setting and epic tales you'll find this delightful, and, for those of you who're not too fond of this kind of work, you might as well take a look at it, characterization is pretty much well-done, and the Batman looks great in his armor, a knight sworn to vengeance-yet-honorable who's up for something else, apart from his fellow knights that fight for the throne of england, he's out to wipe Mordred and Morgana le Fay off the planet, they were the ones that took the lives of everyone in the House of Waynesmoor after all... Enter: Talia Al Ghul, daughter of the demon's head, the commander of a frightening legion that comes from the east to conquer camelot aided by the treacherous Mordred who's hell-bent to take away the life of his father, Arthur Pendragon!

I decided to pick Scab quite a while after i finished the Holiday Special. I wanted to experience the work of Peter Milligan. I had read some a'his work in Human Target (Vertigo) And such, but i did not know SCAB was this friggin' good. I should start giving Hellblazer my two cents every month. I love the pacing skills of Mr. Milligan and the art of Guiseppe Camuncoli. Although it's not that scary, it suits the mood of the story. I liked the fact that John has a new girlfriend, she's bloody gorgeous and is concerned about John's situation... That's something, regarding his ever-naughy-not-so-nice nature. I felt a lil' bit uncomfortable when looking at the panels where we get to see John's current disease, a nasty fungi-looking thing he's trying to get rid of. How on earth will John Constantine be able to erradicate the so-called Scab!? Will Phoebe survive the epic adventure? And what kind of bussiness does John have back at his hometown Liverpool? I can't wait to read the conclusion of this great arc.

I read this series a long time ago but it's still fresh on my mind, like i had finished it just yesterday. I was frigging surprised while i was reading it, i mean, Iron Man has always been a cool character, but he absolutely had NO LUCK when it comes down to artwork, his costume looked, so, so lame. but that was just what Warren Ellis and Adi Granov came in for: CHANGE. His costume did look as an armor. Something practical, functional, robot-like... Some artists still make the same mistake with the Iron Man, they draw him like he has spandex all over his body. I think we just have to thank Adi Granov for that. Regarding Ellis' Scripture, well, hats off. This guy really knows how to write Hi-Tech epics (just read Anna Mercury, ya see what i mean) With a lot of major action sequences and hard-boiled quotes. When i finished the whole thing i was delighted, this 6-part arc felt a lot like it was the storyboard of a major motion picture with hell of a production team attached to it, Iron Man was finally on the 21st century and gues wha'? He was stronger than ever!

I reviewed The Ultimates quite a while ago, but i don't know why i didn't stopped to review the second series, anyways, behold! The Ultimates 2 in a cinema-like review, by TwilightThunder... Some people complain about the lateness of the book, some others complain about the tone of this series and some other didn't understand this thing at all. First of all, if you're a "616" Hard-core fan you're not going to like the whole thing, it's like reading The Authority for god's sake! This is a brand-new take on superheroes in the 21st century and i'm damn sure this is considered, by far the definitive series of this decade. The artwork... Oh gosh the art... Is splendid, as simple as that, i thought i was about to have and eyegasm! Hitch did nail the modern costumes of the heroes, specially Captain America's (tribute to Jack Kirby) And SHIELD officers, that looked just like GIs of a super-powered army. I didn't mind the lateness at all, a friend of mine did wait the whole damn 5 years for this series (i'm merging 1 and 2) To end and i didn't hear him complaining about this... I'd rather read something with this kind a' art rather than those of Ed McGuiness' or Joe Madureiras' freak show-like take on my beloved Ultimates. Ultimates 2 felt a lot like it was happening right now, the fight for the status quo was way crazy but nonetheless astonishing, and the fight between Captain America and Abdul Al Rahman is one of the best one-on-one, blood n' guts friggin' patriotic brawls ever seen. (thank you, old man Mark Millar) The characters are pretty much set after the first book, all you gotta do when reading the ultimate sequel of the ultimate series is sit back and enjoy. Period. The trade paperbacks are out there waiting for you to pick them up and give them a read or two (i've read it a thousand times myself) Join SHIELD and the Ultimates in the ULTIMATE fight for mankind's survival!

I was pleased when i finished this One-Shot, although i bought it in quite a high price: 24 bs, i usually get them at 13 bs but i did pay for it because i thought it was worthy (i was aware of the 3.99$ price). And god be my witness, i was friggin' right. Rob Levin and Michael Broussard are the hell of a creative team, however, this tale wasn't about Jackie Estacado but his cleaner... Butcher Joyce. It kicks-off with solid captions of Butcher, introducing himself to the readers while he's shown cleaning some messy scenes that Jackie left behind, there's a hilarious panel that involves pigs and a fact that is probably true, regarding the mobster-ridden NYC of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Then he's taken by a misterious man called Mr. Nolan, whose face is as scary as that of Judge Dredd, my goodness, if i see a man like him on the street i'll handle the secrets i'm holding even if he doesn't torture me. Nolan is looking for something Butcher did dissapear a while ago, but then again, isn't Butcher a cleaner? A man that makes things dissapear!? Who's this Mr. Nolan and what does he wanna do when he founds what he came for? Are you looking for  ACTION, MISTERY, DRAMA AND THE DARKNESS? Then what are you waiting for? GET THIS BOOK RIGHT AWAY!

I haven't finished this series but let me tell you something, i just friggin' love it. Jock's art absolutely brings Andy Diggle's great script to life. While paying a well-deserved tribute to the good ol' Losers' DC used to publish. it got cancelled after the earth-shattering events on Crisis on Infinite Earths. This brand-new take on  the Losers puts them as the hard-boiled, relentless and daredevilish team we'd likely see starring this sort of series, they got betrayed by those that employed them and now they're seeking a way to unleash their vengeance upon'em, no matter how high the stakes, The Losers are driven by some sort of force no one can match on the heat of battle, I.E. they have absolutely nothing to lose. The cast is nothing short of excellent, Diggle worked his magic on each and every member of the team, that being said. Jock was the perfect choice to illustrate them. If you're an action-junkie like me and you grew fond of movies like Die Hard or True Lies, and you're able to mix that with a multi-layered revenge plot, then this book's perfect for ya, pal!

"He’s big, he’s mean, and the last thing on earth you want is to see him smile." As my fellow user The Outsider said, The Barracuda is one a' the worst (if not the worst) villains The Punisher is to face in his MAX series. This arc is pretty special due to the fact that's not really a "street-level" Vendetta, but a corporative scandal sorta thing. A company is planning the greatest scam of the century while eliminating any possible threats using The Barracuda, Frank is set to fight one hell of a mercenary while trying to stop a corporative scheme. The action sequences are f****ing great as well as the art, these guys know how to keep the mood of the book so you don't get to see those big changes in the artwork while reading an ongoing series. (i hate those kind of books.. But anyways) Barracuda's speech pattern is pretty much the "yo, dawg" Ghetto-esque slang, which is kinda cool, take Shaq and Terminator, put them in a blender and there you have it, a nearly-indestructible-badass-mercenary with no vocabulary at all but the F word! I had a great time reading this arc, and i'm looking forward to own it in the paperback format, thank god Ennis thought in all of us TPB enthusiasts and made his run outta 6-part arcs, it's just like reading a stand-alone miniseries set in a ongoing book, crazy, isn't it?

Slavery... Human trafficking, whatever name you're likely to call it is a crime and Punisher is hell-bent on slaughtering them slavers!!! He just found a girl who barely managed to escape from her pimps and is looking desperately for protection, enter: Frank Castle. but instead of taking her with him he pitches her over a lady that works for women's rights or something like that (or was it the immigration office?) Anyways, he's clearly on a mission and he cannot be interrupted, these guys need heavy punishment and Frank's the right guy for the job. (he's enraged after what the girl told him... These guys are monsters and need to be stopped once and for all) Clearly, as you can see by Bradstreet's PERFECT cover artwork, our vigilante is pushing himself to a brand-new level of brutality. The executions of the gang head-members are kinda brutal, so don't be expecting any clean panels as Frank Castle shoots his way down to the roots of this horrible felony. P.S the ending is really shocking, so be prepared to shed a tear or two when you reach the end of it.

Hats off for Ennis script on this whole arc, it pretty much fits my definition of "black-humored epic" It kicks off with Punisher being sent to russia to finish some bussiness there, he knows this russian general called "the man of stone" Is out there and is probably anxious to lay his hands on Frank who has a task to complete that involves a nuclear silo that will likely end with losta' bullets all over the place. Also, enter: Nick Fury, the "spy supreme" of the marvel universe. Ennis wrote one of the most epic scenes in the whole damn thing, but i can't spoil you that, it'd be pretty much a crime, you have to read it to enjoy it... Back on Russia, Punisher is trying to turn the tide on the battlefield, as he takes on a nuclear base where the security is pretty tight... Cinema-like, gritty and featuring Ennis "infamous" Scripture (as well as wonderful artwork), The Mother Russia arc is almost "perfect" In every sense a' the word.