The Walking Dead # 59

Written by: Robert Kirkman

Art by: Charlie Adlard

Zombies? What are they good for? Absolutely nothing.

It’s been a strange ride in Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead”. I mean strange by the fact that most of the time, the real bad guys aren’t even dead. The zombies have mostly played second fiddle to the real flesh eating enemies; the living people around you. For the last 58 issues, Kirkman has solidfied this concept. But in issue 59, it is starting to change.

Accompanied by their new found friend and Rick’s former neighbor, Morgan, Rick and his son Carl along with the other newest member, Abraham, are on the road coming back from Morgan’s house, when they decide to go to the police station that Rick used to work at. Before going in to gather supplies, the group witness another side to Morgan. He is obviously on tilt and the group senses that he may be the next problem in a long line of problems. So, not only do they have to worry about being snacked on by zombies, but now they have to be careful around Morgan. We have already seen that he is little twisted in the past, being unable to kill his zombified kid and just letting him loose and all.

But the end of the book does bring up the next big shit storm. Abraham once spoke of a “herd” of zombies. A herd is basically a huge ass group of zombies that just roam around chomping on people. Well, it didn’t take long until we finally get to see one, and oh shit, is there a ton of them!

The herd is obviously going to be the next arc in the series, and it will bring the undead menace back into the forefront of the story. Obviously, some big things are gonna be a happenin’ soon.

As far as the writing and art goes. Stellar. And I really don’t need to elaborate. This is just one of those books that is always great and I can’t ever really think of anything bad about it.

I’m strangely disappointed by that fact…
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May contain SPOILERS!

The Walking Dead #58

Written by: Robert Kirkman

Art by: Charlie Adlard

If you are reading this on Robotpanic.com, that means several things:

1. Obviously you like comics just by reading this review

2. You like zombies.

3. You may even like zombies IN comics.

Much akin to the legendary amalgamation of peanut butter and chocolate, zombies and comics are becoming two halves of the same whole. And NO ONE mixes both ingredients as well as Robert Kirkman. 5 years into his legendary series, The Walking Dead, Kirkman has yet to let his fans down. I mean legendary series as in the fact that there is a 99.9% chance that when this zombie vs. human survivor, drama/action/thriller tale is completed, it will be regarded as an absolute must read. It will be mentioned in the same breath as Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, and Kingdom Come. I am not fucking with you.

If by some absolutely astounding reason that you read comics and ARE NOT reading this, you need to stop buying whatever issue you think you might need and pick up EVERY SINGLE ISSUE OF WALKING DEAD. By issue 1′s end, you will be hooked, or dare I say, you will be zombified? You will not be able to put this series down until you have read every available issue. So that being said, onto this month’s ish.

58 deals with the aftermath of Rick’s explosively violent outburst in issue 57. By viciously lashing back at would be road bandits, he not only saved his own skin, but his son’s, Carl, and the new found “friend”, Abraham. Discussing their various pasts, each is spilling their hearts about what it takes to survive in a world where it may come down to survival of the fittest, even in it’s most cruelest sense. Each man describes the horrors of trying desperately to save their own family, and the terror of coming to realize that they might not be able to. Each reaffirming that they are all in this together, like it or not.

Casting aside differences in pursuit of some kind of escape from the invading horde of zombies, survivors in the Walking Dead have come to realize that the undead outside might not be so terrifying as the living on the inside. Sometimes your dearest friend might just be your worst enemy or vice versa. And this is what is so great about The Walking Dead. Each issue, Kirkman manages to twist your emotions and likewise to the characters. They have been simply put through the wringer over the course of the series. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As depressing as this series is, and by god this issue is definitely one of the most depressing and emotional issues I’ve ever read, the scenes with characters just talking are far better than the ones with pure action. Characters letting loose with heart felt drama really cements this book as one of the finest stories out there. Never before have pencil and ink drawn characters felt so human and lifelike. Each character has their own voice, style and feel to them. Kirkman has a finely crafted work here, and each month it shows. Sure, there is a time when a good zombie murder spree is in order, but it is issues like this that I most look forward to. Characters sitting around and discussing life can be as beautifully chaotic.

I cannot state this anymore clearly. You absolutely MUST be reading this series.
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As I was making my weekly comic run, I noticed some cards at the check out counter. Picking one up, I found it pointed to a blog about comics called Read Comics.org. I figure it’d be something more than a few of you readers may be interested in.

It looks like the site features comic reviews, a comic book club, some comic news as well as a run down of the author’s pull list for the week. Looks like they’ve also got a podcast going which is called the Read Comics.org Podcast. Go figure. It’s great to have another site that has comics as it’s focus and they’ve got some good things to say. Go ahead and add it to your blog crawl for the day.

You can find it here.

SPOILERS!! So, you know, be forewarned!

Final Crisis #7

Written by: Grant Morrison
Art by: Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

The Final Crisis is now averted. Over the course of seven issues, the main idea of Final Crisis was the resurrection of Darkseid. By using a human host, Darkseid was able to enter our world. His main goal, as always, is to enslave the human race using the Anti Life Equation. Basically, the Anti Life Equation is the negative version of a Life Equation. Life Equation is essentially the idea of free will. Upon learning this, Darkseid basically deduced that there must be an opposite, negative form of this equation, The Anti Life Equation.

So in Final Crisis, Darkseid’s plan is to be born again on Earth and unleash his spoken version of the Anti Life Equation. In earlier issues, Darkseid unleashed the Anti Life Equation through the media, via emails, TV, internet, whatever people were sure to use. So sure enough, it works and he gains control of the world. Enter the heroes. They aren’t too happy with Darkseid’s plan, but are crippled by his might due to the fact that Darkseid created an army using the world’s population and even some of the heroes themselves. So not only are the DCU fighting Darkseid, they are also fighting amongst themselves. Last issue, Batman confronted Darkseid and went against his “no gun” code and shot Darkseid, killing him, but not before Darkseid hit Batman with the Omega Sanction. The Omega Sanction is a weapon that forces the target to live in alternate lives, with each life progressively getting worse. This helps explain the ending to Final Crisis 7. Cut to this issue. Everything has come together. The heroes have regrouped, and they plan to recreate the Multiverse using the Miracle Machine shown in earlier Final Crisis issues.

You know what? Fuck it. I don’t have enough energy to type out this huge explanation, but most likely, if you have read Final Crisis, you are confused. So I’m gonna help you out. It’ll cost you money, but what do you care? You read comics, so obviously you have a disposable income, so what is another $20? Ok, so go out and buy Final Crisis Revelations and Final Crisis Superman Beyond 3D. Revelations is good, Superman Beyond 3D is half good. I reviewed Issue 1 a few months ago. It sucked hardcore, but it at least explains where the fuck Superman was during the first 6 issues of Final Crisis. Issue 2 is actually alot better. It also helps explain the last issue of Final Crisis. So yeah, if you really want to know, you can go get those issues, or hell, just wikipedia it.

So, in conclusion, NO MORE BIG EVENTS THAT NEED WIKIPEDIA AS A REFERENCE GUIDE!

And Grant Morrison shouldn’t be allowed to write all this twisted shit in a mainstream book. Save it for the niche titles, Grant.

And lay off the fucking acid, too. Jerk.
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Wolverine #70
Written by: Mark Millar
Art by: Steve McNiven

SPOILERS!!!!!
Continuing in the “Old Man Logan” storyline, Wolverine finally reveals what happened in the past that made him give up fighting or “popping” his claws: himself.

Yep, in the past he was the reason the bad guys won. Being cleverly tricked by a certain Mysterio-us villain, Wolverine unwittingly killed his teammates, giving the upperhand to the villains of the world. After realizing his own berserker-y ways, he exiled himself from the world. Vowing to never hurt anyone again.

Some cool scenes in this book are not only the vicious and extremely bloody (How is this not a Marvel MAX series?) fight scenes, but the conversation between Hawkeye and Logan about what happened in the past. Millar’s writing really conveys that Logan is truly sorry and, in ways, suicidal, about what he has done. Once again, this story arc is proving to be one of Wolverine’s best…evar…

McNiven’s art stands out again. It is cinematic and detailed and all around really, really purty. Fight scenes are fluid and gorgeously brutal. He really has a visual idea of how this broken down Wolverine and his world look.

Millar and McNiven ought to team up much more after this.
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I put up a review of a hilarious comic entitled Tales to Suffice the other day. What I had thought to be the work of many writers and illustrators, to my surprise and admiration, was actually crafted by one man. His name is Kenny Keil and he has a blog with one of the best names I’ve ever heard. It’s called AWESOMENOMICON and you should all go check it out, for a couple of reasons.

Number one, is that he’s been kind enough to link to our review of his comic. Which is cool because, well, who the hell would have thought that would happen? When a comic book creator deems you worthy of mention…shit yeah, we appreciate that.

Number two, and the far more worthy reason, is to check out an article that Mr. Keil has posted regarding his process in creating the awesome cover for Tales to Suffice. I’m a big fan of the inner workings of artists and craftsman. I don’t care if we’re talking game designers making levels, animated specials being created, how special sci fi movie effects work or seeing some poor college drop-out draw the latest poster at Starbucks. I’m all about seeing the creative process in action and I find it inspiring.

Kenny shows the step by step methods and programs he used to bring that bad ass “robot destroying a city” cover to life. It’s worth a look to see how that beauty came to pass. After checking that out, I start regretting that we only pay in chicken sandwiches around here. I’m betting Mr. Keil could make a couple of BAD ASS visual editions to the Robot Panic.

So, go buy the comic and then show some love to Mr. Kenny Keil and check out his site!

Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspence and the like point to a particular Silver Age era of comics. They are mostly known for being the starting point for a variety of great superhero books, such as Iron Man, Daredevil, The Incredible Hulk, S.H.I.E.L.D, and others. Each issue was different and the stories collected inside could vary widely from month to month. So it is that Tales to Suffice, a new humor book from SLG Publishing, takes it’s cue from these books.

You can probably see why I would have been drawn to this comic right away. Hell, the cover could be the new banner for Robot Panic. But it’s more than the art or retro look that drew me to this particular comic. I’ve been a big fan of these “humor” style comics for a long, long time. In that monumental moment when I found my uncle’s Silver Age comic stash, I discovered a collection of issues from a Marvel series entitled “Not Brand Echh”. The comics were parodies of super-heroes, both Marvel and DC, and featured great art from the Marvel giants. It’s a topic for a different RP post, but let’s just say the zany humor, cartoon inspired art, willingness to poke fun and incredible use of satire made “Not Brand Echh” a great fit for me.

So, Tales to Suffice is definitely in this genre and does it better than most. It’s a rare thing when a comic book can get me to laugh out loud, but Tales to Suffice certainly did. And not just for it’s stories either. (more…)

I was there in that fateful year of 1992 when six idealistic artists decided to fight the man and show that creators held the true power in comics. I was one of the first in line when the new Image books hit the store shelves and the newest creations of my favorite (now ex-Marvel) artists gave us a whole new universe of kick ass superheroes. Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly there but I felt, as only a young man dreaming of becoming an artist can, that I knew these comic creators. Their characters were raw, a bit controversial and a representation of what felt like a new wave in comics. For a few years it was exactly that and the sales numbers proved it even if Rob Leifeld in a Levi’s commercial hadn’t already driven the point home.

One of my favorite books and one I considered the flagship on the new Image Comics line was Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. For a kid growing up in a very religious home, Spawn was just the sort of comic to fuel a raging fight with my mother over the state of my eternal soul. As such, I was driven to it like a moth to a flame with a passion that only teen rebellion can foster. In it, the story of a man making a deal with the devil unfolded. Over the next year, a story of Heaven and Hell was told from the point of view of a man who had been screwed by love into becoming a pawn in the game of eternity. Pretty heady stuff for a kid who just started driving.

Over the years, however, I lost touch with Spawn and would only periodically check in on the series. To my disappointment, Todd McFarlane handed over the art chores to another penciller and soon the only connection McFarlane had to his creation was a toy line and a terrible movie bearing the Spawn name. I’ve still kept up with the occasional book or two, if only to keep a thin connection to one of the comics of my youth. While some fantastic artists have graced the book, I found the story to have delved too deeply into it’s mythology and there was no way to get back in. The story of a man trying to figure out what happened and how he could get back the life he was cheated out of, had turned into a tale of a super-being waging war against Heaven and Hell. Somehow, it just wasn’t the same.

Well, turns out that over ten years, Todd McFarlane was a bit sick of it as well. So, after wrapping up the past decade of the character, it was announced that Spawn would be “rebooted” in issue 185. McFarlane would take back the writing chores and one of Image’s quasi founding members, Whilce Portico, would take over the art chores. A new Spawn would appear and the story would get back to the roots of what made Spawn the character he is. I hope Todd McFarlane remembers what that is because, quite frankly, I don’t.

After reading the first two issues of the new Spawn story titled Endgame, I’m intrigued. First off, Portico’s art is very, very good. Compared to the last year or so, anything would have been better but the new artistic direction is gritty, biting and just what the book needs. The story remains to be seen, however. While we got one hell of an interesting opening scene that ends up being the catalyst for the new arc, the book dissolved into a series of short scenes that made little sense. I realize it’s early and the story has to start somewhere so I’m not saying it’s a bad book. However, the feelings of not knowing what’s going on have been my only memories of Spawn over the last few years, so I was hoping for something that would draw me back in. With that said, we see some familiar characters from the Spawn universe after two issues, and it looks as if a new Spawn is on the verge of being revealed.

While it’s not the book that I knew from my youth, I realize those days will never return. However, I’m excited at what this new direction could become and for the potential for McFarlane to bring the series back to what made me love Spawn in the first place. Until then, I’m along for the ride. At least for a few more months. If you’ve fallen off the Spawn bandwagon like I have, this may be the chance to get back on.

A friendly reminder to go VOTE!!!!

We discussed Fallcon 2008 extensively in the most recent After Hours but here’s a video and some images from the event. Fallcon is an event run by the Midwest Comic Book Association and held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Compared to the large, extravagant events like the San Diego ComicCon or the New York event, this one certainly has a smaller, more homemade vibe going to it. The room itself was in the State Fair Grandstand, an old, cement and brick building with a large, cavernous feel. Booths and tables were set up in typical conference fashion, the only exception being the lounge area in the center of the room. Keep reading for a few shots of the hall and more…

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