Comic Book Candy

When DC first introduced readers to Kate Kane, the character and her story were met with universal praise. Not only was the story unique for featuring a gay female super heroine, but she was headlining one of DC's oldest properties, Detective Comics, and shocking above all else? It was really good. The stunning artwork of J. H. Williams III combined with Greg Rucka's pitch perfect take on the new character made for a memorable introduction, and it was an origin that was a hard act to follow. Over the last year since the beginning of DC's New 52, Kate Kane's solo title Batwoman has attempted to live up to that legacy forged in Detective Comics. It has failed to reach the same level of quality, proving that artwork alone cannot maintain a series. Greg Rucka knows how to write women. Sadly, this is still a unique skill among comic book (and film and television) writers. Any writer, male or female that write women well (and the ladies don't do it well by default) is...

Over at my photography site I've posted pictures from the Rogues Gallery's most recent opening for artist Eduardo Risso . The exhibit will remain on display through this week into next, then it will come down shortly before September 9th when Challengers welcomes Wizard of Oz artist Skottie Young . Stop in and see Risso's work for yourself while you can! Among others, there are pages from 100 Bullets as well as Flashpoint mini Batman: Knight of Vengeance , Risso's most recent collaboration with Brian Azzarello . Did I mention these pages are always on sale for prospective art collectors? If you have yet to visit the Rogues Gallery for an opening, these images may entice you to stop by in the near future; fun, free events where you get to view comic book art and meet top creators in the industry. What more could you want? Above, cover artist Dave Johnson curiously looks at the camera. ( See more over at my photography site! )

My first Wednesday store visit in months is exciting but also depressing since I'm still behind on my books, and also terribly broke. Luckily, I have some unused credit with one of the local stores, a benefit to trading in an unwanted rare variant cover (snicker). Girl Comics #1 This book has gotten a lot of buzz recently on the "blogosphere" (I feel like a douche just typing that word). It's had a few mentions on Comics Alliance ,  which has also dubbed this week Girl Week , a focus on female characters, creators, and a hilarious look at a long history of terrible female action figures.  This mini-series has also created a lot of unnecessary controversy over the title, which can come across as painfully sweet. When you get down to it though, it is called Girl Comics because of the all girl line up of creators, unlike Gotham Sirens, which I am pretty certain doesn't refer to Paul Dini and Guillem March . First Wave #1 Another first issue this week, First...

Publisher: Dark Horse Artists: Eduardo Barreto, Stefano Gaudiano, Rick Geary, Paul Grist, Joelle Jones, Kano, David Lapham, Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba, Dean Motter, M.K. Perker, Hugo Petrus, and Sean Phillips. Writers: Brian Azzarello, Ed Brubaker, Alex De Campi, Matthew & Sean Fillbach, Jeff Lemire, Ken Lizzi, Chris Offuit, and Gary Phillips. Lettering: Ryan Hill, Tom Orzechowki, and Clem Robins If you like… Criminal, Mister X, 100 Bullets, Stray Bullets, if you take your noir black, no sugar. 2009 was clearly a good year for noir. Enter this black and white compilation of short crime stories  released by Dark Horse back in October. I’ve only recently finished the 13 tales of betrayal, seduction, violence, and of course, crime! Just glancing at a few of the creators involved made me pick this up without hesitation. Here you’ll find noir for every mood: classic, always with a twist ending; stories with confrontational subject matter; morally ambiguous characters galore...