Back to blogging, Marvel Reviews... Daredevil, Captain America, Ultimate Comics Spiderman and more!

Man, I missed this. Been busy with my real life lately that's why I haven't got any posts for a long time, and I'm still pretty busy so I'm just gonna make this quick. 

So what's up? Well, I will tell you right off the bat that its a FREAKING GREAT time to be a comics fan now. No scratch that. ITS AWESOME!

Marvel is hitting the strides with their books and they have pretty much kept pace with their own new #1s, especially with their revamped Ultimate Comics line, and a new Punisher and Daredevil series that has kept me absolutely happy every month.

Here are my picks (ongoing series and individual issues) from The House of Ideas:

• Punisher #3 (new ongoing series) by Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto - Frank Castle is back and is better than ever with Rucka writing a detective-themed and action packed book with good 'ol guns, knives, decapitations and badasserry that you can't help but scream the word awesome. Marco's art is on full force here with some of the most bad-ass action sequences in comics today featuring a high flying Vulture-Frank Castle battle in midair. Another reason why this is one of Marvel's hottest books. You gotta see it to believe it. 

• Daredevil #4 (new ongoing series) by Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera & Marcos Martin - say goodbye to the old DD. This is a fresh take on the Man Without Fear and the man behind the suit, Matt Murdock. Waid has figured this hero out completely by balancing  the life and thought-process of the lawyer and the vigilante, and is starting to become of the greatest 'Devil runs since Frank Miller's. And the art? Gorgeous. The guy has mastered the ability to illustrate Daredevil's Radar Sense partnered with simple, yet dynamic storytelling sequences. This issue has some detective work, old-school vigilantism, and a tutorial on how to defend yourself in a gut-wrenching trial. Cool.

• Captain America #3 (new ongoing series) by Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven - I have reviewed issues #1 and #2 somewhere in this blog, and that's all I need to convince you that this is a gem that you should be digging. This time, Cap fights a gigantic robot in a Captain America costume! Full of non-stop fighting, chaos, and incomparable art, (that scene where Sharon throws the shield to Cap is priceless) McNiven and Brubaker continue their streak as they make this series completely unpredictable to make fans happy. Damn, how I wish they could make this a bi-monthly series already so I don't have to wait for 30 more days for the next issue.

• Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic - after the horrible Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum, Marvel decided to reboot their continuity-free franchise for new and old readers alike. And issue #1 just hit the mark. Our heroes has to deal with an uprising threat to the US, but with little resources to back them up. Previous political overtones from Ultimates #1 and #2 are retained which sets up a connection to previous installments. Finally Esad Ribic's clean pencils blend in very well with the naturalistic dialogue and setting. Overall, a solid book that any Marvel fan (new and old) should pick up. 

• Ultimate Comics: Spiderman #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli - you might have heard this in the news. Peter Parker is dead (at least in the Ultimate Universe) and now, we got a new #1 which means a new Spiderman. And he's black! He's Miles Morales! Ethnicity aside, this is a great start. New storyline, new hero, familiar villains and new power(s) that I haven't seen before. Then throw in Sara Pichelli's stunning art and I don't know what else would make you skip this. I'm sold on this one and I believe you will too once you read it. 

• X-Men: Schism #4 by Jason Aaron and Carlos Pacheco/Cam Smith -This is it! Cyclops vs Wolverine. And it doesn't get any bigger than that. More importantly, this marks the beginning of the end of the X-Men that we all knew. By the end of this battle, the X-Men will be no more. Cykes and Logan battle it out in Utopia after a bitter disagreement, while a dangerous and powerful uber-Sentinel looks out to eradicate mutant kind. The stakes have never been higher, and the end coming closer. This is one event that you don't want to miss out on.

•  Ultimate Comics X-Men #1 by Nick Spencer and Paco Medina - I never thought Spencer's writing will work on an X-book, but damn he does it. This is not the X-Men you were used to see in the past Ultimate stories. Mutants are being tortured and hunted more than ever, and the government is behind it all - while telling people and the media otherwise - making them look good on the outside. Sinister. What a great way to set up an intriguing storyline that sees Iceman, Human Torch and Kitty Pryde take center stage. Art is not great but good enough to make me try a second issue. Can't wait for the X-Men to re-group and kick the government's skinny fat asses. 

• Fear Itself #6 (intercompany crossover) by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen - ah the event that wasn't as big as it was dubbed. But still, I can't help but follow this and see our Avengers get newly designed Tron costumes and powerful RPG-inspired weapons courtesy of Tony Stark and Odin's Asgardian warehouse after that last panel. I know they will be kicking The Worthy and Sin's asses next issue, and Thor will go one-on-one with The Serpent himself to end things once and for all. Or maybe not. Nonetheless, this is a pretty cool issue. Stuart Immonen's art is another reason why this is on my pull list.

That's it for now folks. I'll be back tomorrow with my DC New 52 Picks that should at least help you choose the titles you will be spending your money on because like most of you, I'm just an ordinary guy with a decent work who just can't get every comic book that's on the stands right now. So we have to pick carefully. 

Are we good with that? Alright.

Now back to reality.

Learn The Alphabet With Sean Gordon Murphy's Wolverine ABCs

Wanna learn the alphabet comic book style? Look no further because comic book artist extraordinaire Sean Gordon Murphy has just made sure that toddlers would learn how to speak ABCs in the most entertaining and kick-ass of ways with his cool Wolverine Alphabet illustrations, which also features several other comic book characters from the X-Men, Punisher, and Daredevil.

I wish these were used as visual aids when I was in grade school. Damn.

Check out some of my favorites from his deviantArt page right after the jump:

Click on the images for full size

 

 

Comic Book Review: Punisher MAX (Punisher: Frank Castle)

Writer: Garth Ennis

Artists:  Various

 Issues: 75 issues (on going series format)

Published by Marvel Comics (under their MAX imprint)

Yes guys, I'm still readin' some comic books and this time its the adventures of the one and only Frank Castle aka The Punisher under Marvel's MAX imprint.

The MAX imprint basically equal to DC's Vertigo line of graphic novels and essentially enables writers to create stories with a lot of explicit content. So you are right if you are thinking about a lot of foul language and sexual innuendos, because this is what this book contains together with a lot of good 'ol violence. Oh yes, The Punisher is as bad as ever before.

Take note that this Punisher comic book is set in a different timeline, apart from the mainstream Punisher novels. Here, Frank Castle , has been a vigilante for 30 years since his family's  massacre by the mob, and is responsible for over 2000 murders approximately - mafioso bosses, gangstas, KGBs, members of the Taliban, Russian secret agents, and even the small time rapists, drug dealers etc, name it. He's wasted  and punished them all.  He also ages in real time, unlike the Marvel Universe version who doesn't age a bit because of the floating timeline. 

 

Written by Garth Ennis, Punisher MAX deals with a lot of different story arcs with different themes that we see in the real world. Social topics like organized crime, child pornography, sexual slavery, abuse on women, human trafficking, illegal drug trade, war on terrorism, and politics within the police and military are just some of the real-world stories that are told in the book. It also mentions real organizations like the KGB, Taliban, Secret Intelligence Service and SAS, and are established to have connections with past conflicts like the Vietnam War, Cold War and 9-11.  And by the way, no superpowered heroes fly and swing their way in the pages, though Nick Fury makes some cameos as a burnt-out war veteran.

Ennis also explores the mind of the Punisher, his emotions and what drives him to do what he does: Is he still doing this for revenge or is he doing it because he has already turned into a heartless, violent psycho who just enjoys to see blood? Something to ponder on as you read.

And because the plot devices and emotions are real, the whole novel itself is totally engaging and enjoyable. Nice dialogues and non-stop action with the big guns will just keep you flipping the pages till you finish one story arc. I  actually found myself reading 6 issues at the beginning and got hooked for a full 3 hours and I just can't stop!  I'm about to finish the whole 75 issue series and I have just started reading it for 4 days.That's how good this comic book is, and if you haven't read a single issue yet, I highly suggest that you do because this is one of the best ongoing comic book series that has ever been released. It is The Punisher vs the real world at its finest.