BLACKEST NIGHT DELIVERS THIS WEDNESDAY: GREEN LANTERN #46& BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2!1 TWO BIG BOOKS SPINNING OUT OF THIS CRAZY AWESOME EVENT!
Blackest Night continues to be one of the best damn things hitting the Third Eye racks. The storytelling all across the board continues to not only stay strong, and consistent, but even has been improving. Usually with big events, things kind of lose their way mid-way through. Not the case with Blackest Night. This one has been a solid hit, and all of the tie-in books have been A+ material.
This leads me to this week's Blackest Night Titans #2. The first issue of this REALLY impressed me. Let me start off by saying I have never been a big Titans fan. I really dug Geoff Johns's run on Teen Titans, and I've got a fond place in my heart for all the classic Marv Wolfman and George Perez stuff. But, outside of that, never been a big fan. Which is why it surprised me how into BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS I was. This was a great first issue, and as someone who hasn't been following the Titans for years upon years, I didn't feel lost at all. In fact, it was the perfect refresher and entry point into characters I hadn't paid close attention to in a very long time. Great artwork, great storytelling, I was impressed. And, hitting this week, we've got the second issue with BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2. If you missed the first one, fear not, Third Eye Faithful, we have plenty still in stock here at Third Eye for you to catch up with. Click here to check out a preview of BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2!
And, coming right alongside this week's Blackest Night Titans, is the next issue of the consistently fantastic GREEN LANTERN core title. If you're only following two books in this entire event, then this and BLACKEST NIGHT are the ones you need to be reading. In fact, Geoff Johns (who writes both), has been fleshing out minor plot points in the main series in the pages of the Green Lantern monthly. Last month, we got a nice little look at Sinestro and the Star Sapphire, and their encounter. And, for months, even before Blackest Night, we've seen Mongul slowly taking control of the Sinestro Corps. Sinestro's after Mongul, and Hal Jordan's after Sinestro.. could the two form an unlikely alliance? Well, from the sounds of things, it looks like all those Black Rings that're bringing the fallen Sinestro Corps members back from the grave are gonna put ALL three of these guys as marked men. How awesome does this sound, right? More of that solid, action-packed storytelling from Geoff Johns, paired up with some gorgeous art from Doug Mahnke. Click here to read more about GREEN LANTERN #46!
OCTOBER CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: GEOFF JOHNS, WRITER OF BLACKEST NIGHT, FLASH REBIRTH, AND MUCH MORE! PLUS, WIN A FREE COPY OF ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH
Geoff Johns has been the one man task force that's single-handedly brought the DCU back to center-stage. For the last few years, he's built a name for himself with critically acclaimed runs on everything from Green Lantern and JSA to Action Comics and The Flash.
The man has an incredible talent for taking characters that had once fallen out of favor with fans, or had never really been given the props they deserve, and making them into superstar titles. He's able to take Silver Age concepts and apply an amazing 21st Century approach to things that once may have not worked.
This month at Third Eye, we're going to be debuting our new and improved monthly Creator Spotlight. We plan on rotating this once a month, and spotlighting a different creator at the end of every month. Sometimes it'll be artists, sometimes writers, and sometimes specific teams of artists and writers that really mesh well together. We figured with how stoked everyone is about Blackest Night, we'd shine the light on Mr. Geoff Johns and some of his work you may not have already read.
Also, as an added bonus, we're going to be running a special promotion all through October, beginning this Wednesday (9/30, okay, we know it's not October, sue us), whenever you buy a trade paperback that's written by Geoff Johns, you will be given a raffle ticket for a chance to win a copy of the ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH (a $75 value) that's due out this April. We'll be having the raffle on October 31st, and the winner will be given a certificate to redeem for the ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH when it ships in April. And yes, you can get one ticket for EVERY Geoff Johns written trade paperback you purchase. So, if you get three or four trades written by the man himself, then you'll get three or four raffle tickets.
Why're we doing this? Cause Geoff Johns has written a lot of killer books, and we figure that a lot of you may have already read Rebirth, but still want the Absolute Edition, without having to buy the same story all over again. Well, here's your chance to get it... FREE!
Now, before we move on, we're going to give you guys a run down on some of our favorite Geoff Johns trades, including some lesser known ones you might not be familiar with:
The Flash: Blood Will Run - Collecting the beginning of Geoff Johns's amazing run on the Flash, Blood Will Run sets the tone perfectly for Johns's work on the Flash. I have to say that Johns's Flash stuff became my favorite Flash run of all-time, and if you're looking to find out what he was doing with Wally West before he took on Barry Allen, then Blood Will Run is where you want to begin.
Superman and the Legion of Superheroes - While Last Son was the first in Johns's awesome run on Action Comics (and a damn good start it was), Superman and the Legion of Superheroes remains our favorite Johns story in his Action run. Maybe it's because it made me appreciate how cool the Legion can be, but this was a solid story.
Infinite Crisis - The event that set the stage for the last few years of DCU history, this one is where Superboy Prime really came into his own as a pure jerk. Not to mention it brought back the multiverse in a pretty cool fashion. Johns shines on this one, big time, a sign of things to come.
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Wars - Three trades, all awesome. If you haven't read this, and you're loving Blackest Night, then you gotta check it out. This sets the stage PERFECTLY for everything that is going on right now in the DCU.
The Thing: Freakshow & The Vision: Yesterday and Tomorrow - Geoff Johns did Marvel Comics? Yup. For a very short stint he did, and they ruled. In Freakshow, Johns shows the Thing travelling across the country where he encounters Kree and Skrulls fighting over a baby Watcher. And, then in the Vision limited series, Johns adds more depth to the Vision's character in four issues than anyone has in ages.
Green Lantern: Rebirth - How could we not mention Rebirth? Johns brought Hal Jordan back in this modern classic, and it still stands as one of the best limited series of this decade. Great artwork, and great storytelling make this one an absolute must-read.
The Possessed - Geoff Johns does Horror Comics. This one is pretty cool, and has an Exorcist meets Comic Book kind of feel to it. It also shows Johns's skills when it comes to telling different stories, and is a very cool one-shot survival horror/religious horror story.
Teen Titans: A Kid's Game - This book made me like the Teen Titans. A new generation of Titans featuring Tim Drake, Impulse, Superboy, and more. The first trade starts things off with a bang, with the very memorbale incident of Deathstroke blowing Impulse's kneecaps off.
Booster Gold: 52 Pick-Up - Who would think that Booster Gold could not only carry an ongoing series, but a successful one at that? And without Blue Beetle!? Well, don't get us wrong, we love Booster, but we were skeptical. Johns manages to kick things off right as he takes Booster in and out of time, through pivotal points of DCU history. A great, fun read!
JSA: Darkness Falls - The first trade in Geoff Johns's career-defining run on the JSA. David Goyer started things off right, but it was Johns who turned this book into a big hit. Too many good story arcs to get into here, but he is single-handedly responsible for bringing characters like Black Adam, Hawkman, and Dr. Fate back to the center-stage of the DCU.
These are just a few of Johns's awesome stories, be sure to check our Creator Spotlight in the store this week to see all the cool stuff this guy has done!
BATMAN: WIDENING GYRE #2 FROM CLERKS & MALLRATS DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH HITS THIS WEDNESDAY! CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME NEW BATMAN BOOK! WE LOVE IT!
The first issue of KEVIN SMITH'S Widening Gyre book knocked our socks off. We dug Cacophony, but there were a few minor complaints we had with it. Just little stuff. Widening Gyre? No complaints, none at all. He's hit his stride with this one, and looks to be delivering some stellar stuff with this series. This one is set outside of the current Bat-continuity, so Bruce is still Batman, and Dick is still Nightwing. And, that's one of the things we really liked about the book. The dynamic between Nightwing and Batman. Nightwing is not dark, nor brooding, and Bruce has evolved into his stone cold self. So, the interplay between the two, including Nightwing reminscing about days gone past, was very good. The first issue gave us murder victims with roots and vines protruding from all of their bodily orifices, in a very bloody fashion, which then leads us straight to an Arkham Asylum that's heavily entrenched in plant-life. And, just when you think we're seeing a killer Poison Ivy story unfold, Kevin Smith brings in Etrigan, the Demon... and makes him one hell of a vicious character.
All in all, this one got off to a great start, and we're pumped to see where it goes next. Plus, Walt Flanagan's pencils have improved a lot since last year's Cacophony, and his style has actually grown on us a lot. If you missed #1, don't worry, we've still got it in stock to check out, and catch up with.
Click here for a preview of BATMAN: WIDENING GYRE #2!
ULTIMATUM HARDCOVER AVAILABLE AT THIRD EYE WEDNESDAY, COLLECTING JEPH LOEB AND DAVID FINCH'S OVER-THE-TOP MARVEL MELTDOWN EPIC!
One of last year's biggest Marvel events was the destruction of the Ultimate Marvel Universe in the pages of ULTIMATUM. The plot? Plain and simple, Magneto goes mad, gets Thor's hammer, and proceeds to bring about the end of the world. Tons of characters die. TONS. I mean, if you want to see heads being squashed, or blown off by optic blasts, then you need to read ULTIMATUM.
What really made this series a great read was David Finch's stellar artwork. Finch always shines, but drawing widescale destruction, and nearly EVERY Ultimate Marvel character you can think of, really brought out the best in him.
This week, the hardcover collecting the entire run hits, and you can now witness everything from the Blob eating Wasp, to Hank Pym biting off the Blob's head... just trust us, folks, this one is CRAZY!
DIE HARD: YEAR ONE #1 - THE OFFICIAL PREQUEL STORY TO THE CLASSIC 1988 DIE HARD FILM! JOHN MCCLANE AS A ROOKIE COP? HOW CAN YOU NOT BE STOKED TO SEE WHAT THIS ONE'S ALL ABOUT!
There are some things that are just plain and simple true in American pop culture. You always shoot a zombie in the head. Sloth loves Chunk. And, don't feed Gremlins afer midnight. Another one of those beautiful truths is that DIE HARD ALWAYS rules. ALWAYS. Even, when it's not that great, it's still pretty damn good. So, you can understand how excited I was when I found out about this official prequel to the DIE HARD films, featuring a rookie John McClane, encountering his first catastrophe.
And, I know that a lot of you are big DIE HARD fans as well. While you get a good feel for the character in the first movie, this new ongoing series from Howard Chaykin features a much rawer, ready to bust some heads John McClane, who's fresh out of the Marines and straight into the NYPD.It's set in the '70s, a decade before the first film, and features McClane dealing with the ups and downs of being a young cop in '70s New York.
Click here to read an interview with Howard Chaykin about the new DIE HARD YEAR ONE series!
ED BRUBAKER'S SLEEPER SEASON TWO TPB DELIVERS THE SECOND HALF TO BRUBAKER'S CLASSIC SUPERHERO NOIR THRILLER! FANS OF INCOGNITO, CHECK THIS OUT!
Before Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips wowed us with CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO, they cut their teeth on a very underrated cult favorite known as SLEEPER. The first trade collecting the first 12 issues of Sleeper, "Season 1", came out earlier this year. The second trade, collecting the final 12 issues of Sleeper, "Season 2", arrives this Wednesday. And, we have to say, we're stoked. It's great to finally see this masterpiece in it's entirety available in collected format.
The story? Holden Carver aka the Conductor, is a man who has been placed undercover into a criminal empire of metahumans. What's Carver's power? After his body had been grafted with an alien artificat, he has an enhanced healing power.. and more importantly, the ability to store pain he receives and then transfer it onto others. Of course, in true noir fashion, he hates his abilities, and would love to be done with them.
The path that Carver takes to rise through the criminal empire, making the rank of lieutenant is a fascinating one, and will keep you page-turning all the way through. If you're a fan of either CRIMINAL, or INCOGNITO, then you must read SLEEPER. We currently have Sleeper Season One also in stock, as well as the prequel, POINT BLANK. However, if you've already read the first season, then we know you're going already anticipating this collection.
Marvel Brings It's Pulpy Roots Back With This Week'sSHANG-CHI: MASTER OF KUNG FU - DEADPOOL VERSUS SHANG-CHI! NEW FORMAT!
Way back in the day, Marvel used to publish some of it's more edgier, and mature titles under an imprint named "Curtis Magazines." The most well-known of these was the classic Savage Sword of Conan issues. The reasoning? Well, back in the '70s, the comics code was still in full effect, and if you wanted to publish stuff that wasn't code approved, you had to go the magazine route. This is kind of what brought about the popularity of magazines like Creepy, Vampirella, and Eerie. The result? Amazing, pulpy, gritty, and violent tales that were way ahead of their time. Characters like Dracula, and Conan, along with other characters that didn't fit the traditional Marvel mold all received the big, grand, black and white magazine treatment.
Now, Marvel has brought the format back this week with the return of one of their best cult favorite characters, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. It's been a while since we've seen the Master of Kung Fu, and with the way that characters like Iron Fist and Moon Knight have been developed and evolved with modern storytelling, we're eager to see the treatment he receives. This is a special one-shot issue featuring some of Marvel's rising star talents, like JONATHAN HICKMAN (Secret Warriors, Pax Romana), Jason Aaron, Charlie Huston (acclaimed crime novelist), and more. Oh, and it also features a nice little showdown between Shang-Chi and some guy named Deadpool that seems to be making a splash, wonder who he is? :)
So, for only $3.99, you get a big thick 48 page slab of violent, pulpy kung-fu action in the grand tradition of the Marvel Mags of yore. Personally, I am stoked for this. It's something fresh, and it looks like it has some real teeth to it.
Click here to read a preview of SHANG-CHI MASTER OF KUNG FU SUPER ISSUE!
DC ANIMATED FEATURE, SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES, AVAILABLE TOMORROW AT THIRD EYE! PLUS, PICK UP THE GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT INSPIRED THE FEATURE!
DC has been releasing some very high quality animated features these past few years. From the recent (and very awesome) GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT to the Wonder Woman animated feature, they've been hitting them all out of the park. This week, one of my personal favorite stories gets the animated treatment, when SUPERMAN/BATMAN PUBLIC ENEMIES arrives.
Based off of the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness, this one is the perfect fit for the animated feature format, and we couldn't be more stoked to see McGuinesses's vibrant designs brought to life on the screen.
We'll have both the DVD of Superman/Batman Public Enemies, and the graphic novel that inspired the film, available tomorrow at Third Eye.
Click hereto watch the trailer for SUPERMAN/BATMAN PUBLIC ENEMIES!
PUNISHER ANNUAL #1 - A PRELUDE TO... FRANKENCASTLE? What is the deal with Punisher: Rest in Pieces?
This week, Punisher Annual, delivers the set-up for one of Marvel's quirkier stories this year. Personally, when I first heard mention of a "Frankenpunisher" storyline, I was kind of weirded out. I mean, I've said it once, and I'll say it again, Rick Remender's run on Punisher has been one of the best runs on the Punisher in a long time, outside of Ennis's MAX run. It's a completely different approach, but he has a very interesting way of fitting the character into the main line Marvel continuity that has had us coming back again, and again.
And, apparently, this one which synchs up with the DARK REIGN: THE LIST Punisher one-shot due out soon (with John Romita JR art too!), and the events that occur in that one-shot. From what I can gather, it involves The Punisher and Dark Wolverine putting a serious hurt on one another.
Either way, this Wednesday, the PUNISHER ANNUAL #1 is the set-up for the big events that are going to be happening with Punisher this year. All we know is it's been cryptically nicknamed Frankencastle by Marvel, and we're kind of intrigued to see just how exactly this is going to play out. It could either be REALLY awesome, or a dud. We have faith in Remender though to deliver.
Click here for an interview with Remender about his plans for the Punisher this year.
STAFF PICKS FOR LAST WEEK'S BOOKS!
Trish - SPIDER-WOMAN #1 - This was a great first issue. It reminded me of La Femme Nikita, the spy TV series. Very dark, and maturely themed, it's going to be cool to see Spiderwoman's place in the Marvel Universe develop.
Torma - INCREDIBLE HULK #602 - The artwork on this run starting with issue #601 (the perfect jumping on point) is amazing. Ariel Olivetti's incredible! This was a great issue, which gave us an old school battle royale between Skaar, the Son of Hulk and the Juggernaut. The Old Power vs. the Unstoppable.
Steve - SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #1 - I expected this to be good, but, dude, I was still blown away. I'm not a big Superman guy, but when he's done right, there's no denying that the big blue boyscout is one of this medium's most iconic characters. Geoff Johns sums it up in his re-telling of Superman's history, and the meeting between him and Lex Luthor... VERY well done!
%20going%20out%20on%20his%20own%20will%20in%20an%20assassination%20attempt%20on%20Osborn,%20was%20AWESOME.%20The%20storytelling%20was%20very%20good,%20the%20artwork%20was%20gorgeous,%20and%20dude,%20it%20was%20a%20Marvel%20fanboy%20geek-out%20moment%20every%20other%20page.%20Whether%20it%20was%20how%20Hawkeye%20(or%20Ronin,%20if%20you'd%20prefer)%20took%20out%20Venom,%20or%20the%20conclusion%20where%20we%20saw%20where%20this%20was%20all%20leading...%20it%20was%20a%20must-read%20Marvel%20book.%20<br>Now,%20this%20Wednesday,%20THE%20LIST%20continues%20in%20the%20pages%20of%20DARK%20REIGN%20THE%20LIST:%20DAREDEVIL.%20This%20one-shot%20(which%20follows%20the%20events%20of%20last%20week's%20DARK%20REIGN%20THE%20LIST:%20AVENGERS%20one-shot)%20comes%20right%20afer%20DAREDEVIL%20#500 (still in stock, if you need to scoop a copy up!), and features Norman Osborn turning his attention to Hell's Kitchen. And, fittingly, who does he send to go take out ol' Hornhead? That's right, BULLSEYE (who's been prancing around as Hawkeye, as you may already know). This second chapter in THE LIST promises a bloody and brutal fight between two mortal enemies, Daredevil and Bullseye, and it also features the first Daredevil story written by critically acclaimed author ANDY DIGGLE (creator of Vertigo's THE LOSERS, and the current scribe on Thunderbolts), along with some stellar artwork by BILLY TAN! <br>Click<a target=)
hereto check out the preview of 
