THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS @ THIRD EYE FOR WEDNESDAY 2/24/10

BLACKEST NIGHT #7 - THE BIGGEST EVENT OF 2009/2010 RAGES ON AS WE NEAR IT'S END! This is it, folks. Only one more to go after this one, and that's the finale! Blackest Night has proven to be one of the best events we've seen in years from either of the big 2 publishers. Geoff Johns's masterpiece has had years of subtle organic growth and build-up in the pages of Green Lantern, and when it burst out onto the racks of Third Eye last July, we knew that he'd delivered us some true comic magic. It's not often that one storyline can cross so many different audiences, but Blackest Night has everyone enthralled, folks who normally don't read DC, folks who religiously read DC, and everyone in between.. we're all hooked on this great story.This Wednesday, after what's felt like an eternity (and really it's only been a little over a month and a half), we get the second to last installment of Blackest Night. Much has happened in the pages of both Green Lantern #50 and Green Lantern #51 since those last two epic pages of Blackest Night #6 back in December. And, now, we're pumped to see where this whole thing is going. For those of you who may not have been keeping up on what's been happening since issue #6, we've seen the new "Deputy Lanterns", Yellow Lantern Scarecrow, Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, Star Sapphire Wonder Woman, Red Lantern Mera, Blue Lantern Flash, and Indigo Lantern Atom, going head to head with the Black Lanterns. We've seen Hal Jordan re-unite with the Parallax entity. And, now, in Blackest Night #7, it looks like we're going to learn the true motivations behind Nekron's return, and when it's revealed... everything is going to be changed, from the sounds of it! If you haven't yet started reading Blackest Night, we could not recommend this series enough. Whether you've been following the DCU for years, or if you're just getting back into things, we think you'd really enjoy this event. What's the scoop on Blackest Night? Ever since Geoff Johns brought Hal Jordan back, and made Green Lantern a must-read, he's been building this storyline. It really began to show itself in the pages of the Sinestro Corps War (now available at Third Eye in trade paperbacks: Sinestro Corps War v.1 & Sinestro Corps War v.2), and then from there.. the path was set. Basically, the Blackest Night is the return of an obscure, age-old villain named Nekron, the freakin' Lord of the Dead! And, Nekron's has unleashed his Black Rings, and begun the resurrections of EVERY dead DCU character you can think of. Of course, when they come back.. they're a vengeful, undead, heart-eating monster. So, imagine Dick Grayson's dead parents trying to rip out his heart, or heck, imagine DC icons like The Martian Manhunter or Aquaman smelling the fear on someone and wanting to devour it by eating their heart! This is what Blackest Night is, and if you're not yet reading it.. you really need to! So, where do I start? We currently have everything you need to get caught up on Blackest Night here at Third Eye. If you're interested in just getting the core story, we recommend this reading order for what's out so far: GREEN LANTERN #43 *BLACKEST NIGHT PROLOGUE* BLACKEST NIGHT #1 GREEN LANTERN #44 (takes place in between BN 1 & 2) BLACKEST NIGHT #2 GREEN LANTERN #45 (takes place in between BN 2 & 3) BLACKEST NIGHT #3 GREEN LANTERN #46 (takes place in between BN 3 & 4) GREEN LANTERN #47 (takes place in between BN 3 & 4) BLACKEST NIGHT #4 GREEN LANTERN #48 (takes place in between BN #4 & 5) BLACKEST NIGHT #5 GREEN LANTERN #49 (takes place in between BN #5 & 6) BLACKEST NIGHT #6 GREEN LANTERN #50 (takes place directly after Blackest Night #6) GREEN LANTERN #51 (right after GL #50, right before BN #7) BLACKEST NIGHT #7 For those of you who're already onboard, we know you're as excited as we are about this week's BLACKEST NIGHT #7! If you'd like to read more on BLACKEST NIGHT #7, click here BLACK LANTERN GREEN ARROW #30 - IS THIS THE LEAD-UP TO THIS YEAR'S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED "FALL OF THE GREEN ARROW" STORYLINE? It has been quite a while since I've been excited about Green Arrow. And, it's funny, because he's always been a favorite DCU character for me. It might be because I was introduced to him with two of the best runs on the character: Mike Grell's Longbow Hunters (a classic that still stands up today as a great piece of work) and Kevin Smith & Brad Meltzer's runs on the character when he returned in the late '90s/early 2000s. The quality on these stories, and the characterization of Oliver Queen was so on point, that I've had a soft spot for him ever since. But, for the last few years, Green Arrow has not had the best of luck. His series kind of petered out when Meltzer left. Winick had a halfway decent run, but towards the end of his run, it kinda got weak. And, I just haven't really been able to follow the character much since then. And then, DC announces their proposed FALL OF THE GREEN ARROW storyline for 2010... and I'm excited. I think this is going to be the kind of GA storyline that shows everyone why Oliver Queen is a badass character. I know that some of this is going to play out with the JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE AND FALL one-shot, and ties directly into the whole Arsenal getting his arm taken off in Cry for Justice, but I can't help but wonder.. is this Black Lantern Green Arrow issue going to have some prelude stuff for the big FALL OF THE GREEN ARROW storyline due this year? Either way, I'm excited about reading a Green Arrow comic for the first time in a while. I mean, so far, almost everything that's carried the Blackest Night banner has been a solid read. But, this one, from the preview pages we've read, and from the killer covers it's got... this one looks GREAT. Obviously, they're playing in on the fact that many DC characters that were once dead and had previously returned are now reclaimed by Nekron as Black Lanterns. And, the one thing that has been most interesting about this development, as seen in ADVENTURE COMICS #7 BLACK LANTERN SUPERBOY, is how these characters say what they really, truly believe through their Black Lantern selves. In other words, those things they'd never let be known.. they're put out for all to see. The artwork on this one looks VERY sharp, and from the preview pages, it looks like it'll be a pretty action-packed issue. Green Arrow has always been a very conflicted character, and had a bit of an edge to him, so it'll be kind of cool to see the Black Lantern aspect emphasizing it. Most of all though, I'm excited to see if this is a sign of things to come for the character, and the FALL OF THE GREEN ARROW storyline that keeps getting talked about. Click here to read a preview of BLACK LANTERN GREEN ARROW #30 BLACKEST NIGHT JSA CONCLUDES THIS WEDNESDAY WITH BLACKEST NIGHT JSA #3! One of the more underrated Blackest Night 3-part limited series tie-ins has been the Blackest Night JSA. Now, maybe it's just because I'm a big JSA fan, but I have really been enjoying this one. The entire concept of the JSA in DC nowadays is the idea of legacy heroes. Heroes from days gone past passing their mantles onto the next generation, and watching the legacy of characters like Mr. Terrific or the Sandman being carried on. I think I just came into the JSA at the right time, when Geoff Johns, David Goyer and James Robinson originally relaunched the series back in the late '90s. But, anyways, back to my point... you've got these characters who's entire being is built around the carrying on of a legacy being put face to face with their predecessors. Of course, their predecessors happen to be Black Lanterns, and want to rip their hearts out and eat them, but you know.. still a pretty heavy thing to face. It looks like this week as the series wraps up, we're going to see the JSA going toe to toe with Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman. If you're still looking for more Blackest Night goodness, and haven't tried BLACKEST NIGHT JSA, we've still got plenty of #1 and #2 in stock, so check 'em out this Wednesday! For those of you who've already been following BLACKEST NIGHT JSA, you'll have a real treat waiting with the conclusion of the series this Wednesday. Click here to read more about BLACKEST NIGHT JSA #3 MARVEL'S SIEGE EVENT CONTINUES TO TAKE THE COMIC WORLD BY STORM THIS WEDNESDAY! CHECK OUT THIS GREAT BATCH OF SIEGE TIE-INS HITTING THIS WEEK, INCLUDING THE UBER-IMPORTANT THOR #607 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY*! Okay, folks, first off, we're gonna start with the biggest of the bunch. Thor #607 is a HUGE issue in regards to SIEGE, and if you're reading SIEGE, we definitely recommend picking this one up. Even if you've been trying to avoid doing all the tie-ins, give this one a go at least, because we guarantee you're gonna be in for a treat. While I can't go into detail without dropping major spoilers, I will say that you're going to see some Asgardians getting dealt some fatal injuries... and, well, there's a very big return of a character that was prominent a few years ago in a big way. A character that we're finally going to get to see Thor go head to head with, and folks, it is going to be EPIC! Aside from all that, Kieron Gillen and Billy Tan's run on Thor has been a damn good read. They kicked off their run with issue #604, told a very cool Thor/Dr. Doom storyline that ran a nice little parallel to all the build-up to SIEGE, and now they're kicking things into major high gear with this special SIEGE tie-in. Kieron Gillen's writing is top notch, and it's obvious that he's going to be a name to start paying attention to, in the same way that writers like Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker slowly rose to prominence, we're going to see Gillen do the same, I feel. The guy is THAT good. In addition to Gillen's killer storytelling, Billy Tan is knocking out some of the best art in his career here. He's definitely gone back to the style that made us really notice him when he was working on Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire with Brubaker. So, folks, whatever you do, DON'T MISS THOR this week. You're in for a real treat, as this one is an action-packed, punch-in-the-gut kinda issue that definitely adds to the dynamic of SIEGE in a big way. And, how do we know this? Well, Marvel was kind enough to provide us here at Third Eye with an advance copy to read to show us they weren't full of it this time. Click here for a preview of THOR #607 *SIEGE* Next up on the agenda is NEW AVENGERS #62, following hot on the heels of the big splash that NEW AVENGERS #61 made with Cap rallying the troops, we get to see what happens next as the NEW AVENGERS have to deal with a surprise attack from a super-charged HOOD and his crew as they're dealing with the madness that is the Siege on Asgard! Obviously, the NEW AVENGERS are in a weakened state here, because they're scrambling to come to Thor and Asgard's aide, but, as we saw last month in NEW AVENGERS #61... there's a whole army of crazy fourth-string villains out for their blood, with the Hood leading the charge. Click here for a preview of NEW AVENGERS #62 *SIEGE* The first chapter of SIEGE that hit DARK WOLVERINE, with last month's DARK WOLVERINE #82 (still available here at Third Eye) made a HUGE splash on the last couple of pages. The issue was actually very well-written, and surprisingly, me not being a Daken fan, I actually kinda of dug the character here. I think the characterization was perfect, and to watch as he mentally deconstructs his team-mates was very cool. Those last few pages, while now, may not be suggestive to the reality of things, still provide a HUGE holy crap moment... and we can only expect things to be explained this week in DARK WOLVERINE #83. Click here for a preview of DARK WOLVERINE #83 *SIEGE* Another one of the tie-ins for SIEGE that really drove home the message that each book that ties into SIEGE is providing a relevant, meaningful push to the overall direction of the story was AVENGERS: INITIATIVE beginning with AVENGERS: INITIATIVE #31 *SIEGE PRELUDE*, where we got to see just how Taskmaster felt about being catapulted into Norman Osborn's elite Cabal of power-players. So far, the first two SIEGE tie-ins of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE have been very good, and provided us with a very cool look at the lower-level supervillains that've used the Initiative as their way to an easy payday. Well, now, their luxury cruise is up, and it's time for some serious chaos. The fact that the characters are pretty much freaking out themselves about being sent off to fight in Asgard is very cool, and somewhat humorous. But, it's the characterization and the focus put on Taskmaster that is really making the Initiative an enjoyable tie-in to read. In the previous issue, we saw how the Taskmaster saw the group beatdown of Thor as his chance to get out there, and prove his worth. And, with the focus being directly on him as one of the people who overpowered Thor... he's now more than a little worried about what comes next. Click here for a preview of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #33 *SIEGE* And, the first of Thunderbolts carrying the SIEGE banner arrives this week as well. Thunderbolts had really hit it's stride with Andy Diggle kicking off his run, and then Jeff Parker taking over the reigns. The characterization of guys like Paladin and Scourge has been top notch, and we've felt that Thunderbolts is one of those under-the-radar Marvel books that is a great read. In this tie-in, judging from the preview pages, Osborn is sending everybody's favorite covert ops team of bad guys into the heart of the kingdom of Asgard to retrieve the mythical Spear of Odin. An item that Osborn calls a genuine "game-changer" in the Siege on Asgard. I liked the first few pages of this one a lot, so I'm pretty eager to see where it goes. Click here for a preview of THUNDERBOLTS #141 *SIEGE* WARREN ELLIS (writer of SUPERGOD, IGNITION CITY, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, and much more!) DEBUTS HIS NEXT TWISTED AVATAR MEGA-HIT: CAPTAIN SWING and HIS ELECTRICAL PIRATES of CINDERY ISLAND! CHECK OUT THIS STEAMPUNK MASTERPIECE THIS WEDNESDAY IN CAPTAIN SWING #1 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* Here's one that I've been really looking forward to for the last few months, since I started seeing all the ads for it pop up in the back of Gravel, and other Avatar titles. This feels like a book that Ellis was born to write, and we cannot wait to get our hands on a copy this week. Warren Ellis is known for writing some very kick-ass science fiction comics. He's really carved out a niche for himself in this area, in particular, and from what we've seen of him venturing into steampunk on things like Freakangels, his genuine passion for the medium causes the pages of his work to practically crackle with raw energy. He practically redefined comics in the '90s with his work on series like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, PLANETARY, and the AUTHORITY, and he's been cranking out one of the most diverse, yet consistently good assortments of work since then with everything ranging from NEXTWAVE to IGNITION CITY to NO HERO, SUPERGOD and FELL. In other words, we're pretty big fans of Mr. Ellis here at Third Eye. So, when a new series of his kicks off, it's a big deal, and just judging from the cover of CAPTAIN SWING, we feel this is going to be one of Ellis's best yet. What is CAPTAIN SWING all about? Set in the year 1830, a rookie beat cop keeps seeing things that he's not supposed to be seeing. He's on the trail of the notorious serial killer, Spring-Heeled Jack, otherwise known as Jack the Ripper. But what he finds are things he can't comprehend: A crooked Bow Street Runner with a flintlock revolver, flying things that are not supposed to fly, and a violent science-charged spectral pirate ship known as Spring-Heeled Jack, commanded by a raving madman, and cold-blooded murderer known as CAPTAIN SWING, and his crew of Electrical Pirates. Generally, what it looks to be is a badass mixing of the swashbuckling pirate genre with the setting and feel of the steampunk genre. Of course, the scattered references to Jack the Ripper lead us to believe there's going to be some vicious ties to the notorious serial killer, but that could be pure speculation on our part. The preview pages do look pretty violent though. All we know is that the art on this one pops, the story looks great, and we couldn't be more excited to check it out this Wednesday. Click here to see what Blair Butler from Attack of the Show's FRESH INK has to say about CAPTAIN SWING and the ELECTRICAL PIRATES OF CINDERY ISLAND! BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 *IN BLACKEST KNIGHT PT 3* - THE COUNTDOWN TO BRUCE WAYNE'S RETURN CONTINUES, AND BATMAN'S TIES TO BLACK-HAND ARE EXPLORED! One of the best books DC's been putting out since last spring, and has not only remained one of the best, but actually gotten better with each and every issue, has been Grant Morrison's BATMAN AND ROBIN. Morrison took the concept of Dick Grayson putting on the cowl, and pairing up with the long-lost son of Bruce Wayne, Damian, as Robin, and he ran with it, injecting a fresh new dynamic and approach to the world of BATMAN and his supporting cast. Of course, part of the appeal to has been how Morrison has been rotating his artists for each 3-issue story arc, hand-picking artists that he feels best fit the mood and tone of the arc at the time. And, the end result is fantastic, you get a very cool fusing of story and art that practically leaps off the page at you, grabs you by the throat, and pulls you head first into the spires of Gotham City. The most recent story arc, IN BLACKEST KNIGHT, has been the high point of the series thus far, in my opinion. Now, I may be a little biased being that the fact that this one has some loose ties to the Blackest Night event I'm totally loving, but I really feel that Morrison has hit his stride here. I was a little apprehensive about Cameron Stewart (only being really familiar with his stuff from Seaguy) doing the art, but, he's proved me wrong, as his style suits the settings and characters being used in this perfectly. Plus, he's showing that he has the same kind of raw energy to his work that made Quitely's first three issues pop so well. What is Batman and Robin: In Blackest Knight? From what we've seen, and from what Morrison has said, the Blackest Knight story arc in Batman and Robin is the unexplored link between Bruce Wayne's supposed death, the mystery of the skull Black Hand has been carrying around, and the much-rumored Return of Bruce Wayne that will be taking place this fall in the BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE storyline. Basically, there's a bunch of unanswered questions about Bruce Wayne, his fate at the end of Final Crisis, and just what the heck he was doing in a cave at the very end of FINAL CRISIS scrawling on the wall. Now, Morrison is planning to do a limited series this spring that's either going to be called BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, and apparently we're going to see Bruce Wayne literally fighting his way through the time-stream. So far, the sketches and storyline concepts sound incredible, and we're VERY pumped to see this event. But, what we're even more pumped to see is how we're getting there, and that's what's unfolding right now in the pages of BATMAN AND ROBIN: IN BLACKEST KNIGHT. So far, we've seen some secrets revealed in a big way about Batman's death, the connection between Darkseid and Bruce Wayne's body, and some other tidbits. Now, in this week's concluding issue, we're expecting to see some BIG BIG things come to light. Click here to read an article on BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE due out this Spring Click here to read a preview of BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 *IN BLACKEST KNIGHT PT 3* COWBOY NINJA VIKING CONCLUDES IT'S FIRST OVER-THE-TOP, KILLER STORY ARC IN COWBOY NINJA VIKING #4 Image Comics has really been making a name for itself by putting out a consistent line of fresh, original, and quality comics. It really feels like they've carved out a very unique niche for themselves as the place where new ideas for comics can really flourish, and grow. One of these fresh, new series is COWBOY NINJA VIKING, and dude, this book is GREAT. It's ridiculously violent, has some very sharp dialogue and characterization, and underneath all of the over-the-top madness, it's got a rock-solid storyline with some of the sickest art I've seen. If you took a Quentin Tarantino movie on speed, and poured it onto the pages of a comic book, then you'd get COWBOY NINJA VIKING. What is COWBOY NINJA VIKING? Okay, picture this... not too far off in the future, to fight terrorism, a government program has been experimenting on people with Multiple Personality Disorder. Basically, keying in on the three dominant personalities running around in their heads, and turning them into agents of destruction known as Triplets. One of these Triplets has gone rogue though, and that's where the story of COWBOY NINJA VIKING begins. The comic is fresh, the storytelling is sharp, and the artwork makes each and every page pop. Little storytelling ideas like changing the word balloons of Triplets to identify who's talking when just add to what makes this series so fresh, and neat. The constant conflict between the Cowboy, the Ninja, and the Viking in our title character's head is pretty humorous, as you see the Viking's answer to everything is "Kill it and eat it", while the Cowboy is all about gambling and brothels, and the Ninja is the only one who has a cool, strategic head on his shoulders. All in all, this is a great series, and has carried the Third Eye Must Buy tag proudly for quite some time, we recommend giving it a try if you haven't already. For those of you who're already on board, then we know you're gonna be pumped to get your hands on this issue! Click here to read an interview with the creators of COWBOY NINJA VIKING FLASH REBIRTH CONCLUDES THIS WEEK IN FLASH REBIRTH #6 AND SETS THE STAGE FOR GEOFF JOHNS'S NEW ONGOING FLASH SERIES! FIND OUT HOW TO GET YOUR FLASH RING THIS APRIL BELOW! Okay, first off, Geoff Johns's epic re-introduction of Barry Allen to the world of comic books will be hitting it's long-awaited conclusion this Wednesday. Now, we know you guys wanna hear all about the Flash rings, and the upcoming FLASH ongoing series, but we will get to that after we talk about the awesomeness that has been FLASH: REBIRTH! It's been a long-time coming, but this week, we finally get to see the huge conclusion to Geoff Johns's incredible FLASH: REBIRTH! If anyone was the right writer to bring Barry Allen back, and make him cool, it's Johns. Johns GETS the DCU in a way that we rarely we see creators do. I mean, he took the Green Lantern, brought the title AND Hal Jordan back out of a relatively solid stint in obscurity land, and turned it into DC's biggest book. We cannot wait to see what he's got in store with the Flash, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. If you're looking to hop onboard with the Flash, then FLASH: REBIRTH couldn't be a better place. Just like he did with GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH, Johns and Ethan Van Sciver (the series artist) have added new life to the world of the Flash, his supporting cast, and his villains. In just five issues, we've seen Johns develop a very cool world for the Flash to grow in, and for bigger stories to be told. For those of you who're already reading Flash Rebirth, I'm preaching to the choir, and you're already stoked just about the fact that FLASH REBIRTH is due out this week. But, for those of you who haven't yet given Johns's unique post-modern take on the Fastest Man Alive a try, then we recommend checking out FLASH REBIRTH. We currently have all of the issues (1-5) well-stocked here, so it's easy enough to catch up. ADD FLASH #1 (new ongoing series) BY GEOFF JOHNS TO YOUR SUBSCRIPTION BOX TO RESERVE YOUR FREE FLASH RING! Now, about those Flash rings... we brought you guys the entire color spectrum of Lantern rings back in November, and now, Third Eye is delivering some more comic awesomeness with free Flash rings! For those of you who may not already be familiar with the character, one of the classic traditions of the Flash has been keeping a compact, shrunken down costume in a tiny little ring emblazoned with the Flash symbol. Now, you can sport your own Flash ring! To celebrate the release of Geoff Johns's all new, ongoing FLASH series debuting April 14th, we'll be giving away a FREE Flash ring with each copy of FLASH #1. While you know Third Eye tends to stock deep, and doesn't run out of things, we do recommend adding THE FLASH #1 to your subscription box so you can GUARANTEE that you get your FLASH ring! Just shoot us an email @ thirdeyecomics@gmail.com, and we'll add it to your subscription list for you. In addition to the cool ring, the book is going to totally kick-ass. Johns has already proved that he can do Flash right with both his early Flash work during the Wally West-era, and most recently, with FLASH: REBIRTH. We feel that this Flash ongoing series is going to be the "next Green Lantern", as in a top tier monthly book that never fails to deliver. Email us @ thirdeyecomics@gmail.com to add THE FLASH to your subscription list! Click here to read about Geoff Johns's new Flash ongoing series beginning with FLASH #1 on APRIL 14th! THE CRAZIES - READ THE COMICS, BEFORE YOU SEE THE TERRIFYING NEW FILM! If there's one thing that holds true for us here at Third Eye is we love horror movies, and if you love horror movies, then horror comics are a match made in corn syrup red heaven. Some of you may already be aware of the remake of George Romero's classic, THE CRAZIES, that's going to be hitting theaters this week. But, what you may not know, is that this Wednesday we'll see the release of a 4-issue prelude limited series that leads right into THE CRAZIES film. All four issues will be released simultaneously this Wednesday, with the entire storyline leading into the new flick due out this weekend. So, for all you gorehounds out there, give it a look this week here at Third Eye! ALAN MOORE DEBUTS HIS NEW SELF-PUBLISHED DODGEM LOGIC 'ZINE THIS WEDNESDAY! THE MASTER STORYTELLER DISHES OUT QUALITY READING ON COMICS, MUSIC, AND MORE! IMPORTED STRAIGHT FROM THE U.K TO THIRD EYE'S SHELVES! Anytime Alan Moore delivers ANYTHING, we're pretty excited to see what the comic world's mad wizard has in store for us. But, with the release of DODGEM LOGIC this week, we're very excited to see what he has in store for us now. It might be because we're big fans of the fine art of magazines, and it's refreshing to see a really cool 'zine hitting the stands in this day and age of content and information being disposable due to the digital nature of the internet. I mean, who doesn't have a magazine that they religiously followed, and kept every issue? I know that I still enjoy going back through all my old horror movie magazines and punk 'zines, as it's kind of like a print time capsule of days gone past. But, enough of my rambling, lets get onto talking about just what the heck DODGEM LOGIC is all about. What is DODGEM LOGIC? Dodgem Logic is a self-published 'zine from ALAN MOORE (you know, the guy who created everything from WATCHMEN to LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN), where you get pages upon pages of articles, comic strips, and features, many written by ALAN MOORE himself. Some of the highlights include an article on the history of Underground Comix, and their past, comic strips like Great Hipsters of History, and more. It really is a celebration of not jut comics, and the artform, but everything that is weird and wonderful about pop culture, all filtered through the very talented mind of ALAN MOORE. Make sure you pick up this piece of awesomeness this week, and take part in supporting the grand tradition of 'zines. WE WILL BURY YOU #1 DELIVERS US A KILLER ZOMBIE TALE OF TWO STRONG WOMEN CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A 1920s ZOMBIE INFESTATION! Here's a cool one that I didn't really see coming until the title caught my eye, and I did a little research, and damn, I'm excited to see what we got coming down the pike on this one. Set in the 1920s, Mirah, a woman in a loveless marriage, and Fanya, a Ukranian thief, find comfort in each other's arms, but when a combination of strange riots breaking out and complications with Mirah's husband cause things to reach a boiling point, the two women are forced to venture out on their own into a strange, new world where the dead are rising from their graves, and eating the flesh of the living. Aside from the fact that we're going to see zombies in sick ass top hats, this one just looks like a cool little zombie comic from the pages we've seen. The writing looks sharp, and the twist on the zombies is something a little out of the norm. The fact that a zombie outbreak is occurring during the economic meltdown of the '20s should add an interesting element to things, especially. And of course, the artwork on this one looks fantastic, so that just adds to the potential for awesomeness that we think this one's gonna have. GARTH ENNIS'S CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD CONTINUES TO KEEP US HOOKED.. AND DISGUSTED (in a GOOD way) THIS WEDNESDAY IN CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: THE LAST BATTLE #3 You come to expect something out of a guy like Garth Ennis. He's written some great, yet often disturbing stories like PREACHER, THE BOYS, PUNISHER MAX, and currently, CROSSED. But, man, when Ennis gets let loose in the realm of AVATAR, he really knocks it out of the park, especially in the pages of his CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: THE LAST BATTLE epic. Only two issues in, and we've seen some of the most depraved (yet humorous) panels you could expect, and now this week, he continues to shock and awe in CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: THE LAST BATTLE #3. What is CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD all about? Essentially, it's the story of the Anti-Christ, and how he's reluctant to bring out the apocalypse he was born to bring. The first storyline of CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD took place in the CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD trade paperback (available now here at Third Eye), and showed how Danny Wormwood, would rather rebel against his father's plans to bring about the end of the world, and leave the human race to it's own devices. Of course, things go crazy, and it leads us to where we are now, with a crazy depraved Pope being in charge of Hell now, and trying to bring Hell on Earth. It's a very good, well-written horror story with that trademark Garth Ennis dark humor, and disturbing horrific scenes. While we think that it's not too hard to jump aboard Wormwood with CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD LAST BATTLE #1, we do have the previous series in trade now, so if you want to catch up you can either jump on this week with CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD LAST BATTLE #1, or go back and check out the trade. VIKING #5 DELIVERS ANOTHER SLAB OF GORGEOUSLY ILLUSTRATED VIKING MADNESS, AS THIS "GOODFELLAS WITH VIKINGS" SAGA ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE 9th CENTURY CONTINUES! Another big breakout hit from last year was the IMAGE series, VIKING, which not only delivered some of the best looking artwork we've seen in a book, in a very longtime, but also a very compelling story, and fresh take on the whole "Viking" genre that's kind of exploded since Brian Wood's incredible NORTHLANDERS series began. The hook on VIKING is that it's the story of organized crime in the Viking era, and takes the concepts and ideas of classic mafia flicks, and crime noir stories and applies them to the world of Vikings. It focuses on two main characters, Egil and Finn, two of the most despicable, depraved Vikings of their time, who kill purely for profit. The story begins with them killing a group of Vikings led by a man named Knut, and stealing their cache of weapons for their own purposes, leaving one man alive to re-tell the story (think Natural Born Killers). From there the story takes us into extremely violent territory, with a very surreal art style by Nic Klein that pulls you into the story, and gives it a very crime noir kind of vibe. You want the ultimate blood and guts, death and destruction, looting and pillaging Viking comic? This is it, folks. We still have issues 1,2,3,4 all in stock, so if you haven't yet tried it, it's easy enough to hop aboard. Otherwise, I'm sure many of you have been getting antsy for the next issue of this great series, which admittedly, has taken a while to hit the stands. Here's hoping it's worth the wait! CAPCOM'S CLASSIC FIGHTING GAME DARKSTALKERS GETS THE COMIC BOOK TREATMENT THIS WEDNESDAY AT THIRD EYE COURTESY OF UDON IN DARKSTALKERS: THE NIGHT WARRIORS #1! One of my all-time favorite fighting games is getting the comic book treatment this week, and I couldn't be more stoked. Darkstalkers was a 2D fighting game in the vein of Street Fighter II, that Capcom put out back in the '90s. It was essentially Street Fighter with a crazy cast of horror-and-monster-movie themed characters. What made the game so freakin' cool was the colorful characters, the creative way their special moves were used, and even the backstories that weaved them all together. Now, UDON has made a name for themselves in the last few years for putting out a very high quality series of STREET FIGHTER comics, tribute books (including a pretty rad Darkstalkers tribute book), and more. They also have done work for many Capcom games, including Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. So, they definitely have the cred to make a Darkstalkers comic work. And, when it comes to comics based off the Capcom properties, we're not looking for the deepest storyline, but what is important is the action and the art, and from what we've seen of this new Darkstalkers series... it's colorful, it's big, and it's got tons of your favorite Darkstalkers characters beating the snot out of each other in that UDON artstyle you know and love. Click here to check out a preview of DARKSTALKERS: NIGHT WARRIORS #1 FANTASTIC FOUR #576 CONTINUES THE PRIME ELEMENTS STORY ARC THAT BEGAN IN FANTASTIC FOUR #575! PLUS, FANTASTIC FOUR #575 *PRIME ELEMENTS PT 1* BACK IN STOCK! - IS THIS THE FUTURE OF GALACTUS? Dude, Jonathan Hickman's run on FANTASTIC FOUR has been fantastic since the very first issue of his run (issue #570). He's bringing a bigger than life cosmic feel to Marvel's classic superhero family, while infusing a fresh, and exciting take on the characters. Hickman has really hit his stride though with the first part of his PRIME ELEMENTS story arc which gives us that iconic image above of GALACTUS'S corpse. What is the deal with the PRIME ELEMENTS story arc? In preparation for Marvel's new HEROIC AGE direction, Hickman is reminding us of what the FANTASTIC FOUR are really about: They're the True Explorers of the Marvel Universe, and Hickman is taking them to all sorts of new, and exciting locales throughout the Marvel Universe. He's also using this as a way to re-introduce many of the FF's classic villains. In the first part of the PRIME ELEMENTS arc, Hickman took the FF face to face with their classic foe the Moleman, who brings news of an ancient city once ruled by the High Evolutionary. Now, the city's abandoned, and some of the Moleman's Moloids have holed up there.. and what happens when you devolve a moloid? You get a regular ol' human being! You can definitely feel the sense of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby sci-fi weirdness, and sense of wonder that surrounds this storyline that Hickman and Eaglesham have been laying out. And, is it action-packed? Oh, you can definitely bet it is. This week, in FANTASTIC FOUR #576, it looks like the FF is going down to the bottom of the world to Atlantis, in PRIME ELEMENTS PT 2: THE OLD KINGS OF ATLANTIS! Click here for a preview of FANTASTIC FOUR #576 *PRIME ELEMENTS PT 2* X-MEN SECOND COMING FREEBIE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK AT THIRD EYE! GET AN INSIDE LOOK AT MARVEL'S FINAL CHAPTER IN WHAT MESSIAH COMPLEX BEGAN! We want to like the X-MEN, this is a fact. It's just something that resides in nearly every comic fans DNA. Whether we know it or not, nearly all of us have felt the constant presence of Marvel's famous mutants in our lives. Growing up in the late '80s, and early '90s, it was impossible to escape the X-MEN. I remember getting up every Saturday, sitting through the torture of crappy cartoons, and waiting for the FOX KIDS! X-Men cartoon to come on. I remember snagging up figures of characters I'd never heard of.. because they were X-MEN characters. I mean, what 9 year old knows the difference between Gideon and that Marauder with the tank body. Well, aside from the obvious lack of tank-body that Gideon had. The fact though is when something is as incredibly popular as X-MEN is, there's going to be a virtual onslaught of stories coming out that spring from the X-Lore. And, the rule of averages says that not all of them are going to be good. Well, one of the most recent that really stands out as quality stuff was MESSIAH COMPLEX, and the subsequent MESSIAH WAR, following the discovery of the first mutant born since HOUSE OF M, and now venturing into the territory of her being brought to our time. This spring and summer, the finale to what began in MESSIAH COMPLEX begins in the pages of X-MEN: SECOND COMING, and honestly, it has to be the Return of Jean Grey.. I mean, the clues are obvious. But, what's the hook? That's where I'm curious to. Anyways, this Wednesday, you can snag up a FREE copy of the X-MEN SECOND COMING preview book one-shot that has some pages of story, sketches, and more to give you an idea of what SECOND COMING is all about. So, make sure to pop in this week, and grab your's while supplies last! Click here to check out our X-MEN: SECOND COMING Checklist! Get the freebie this week at Third Eye! STAFF PICKS Steve - JOE THE BARBARIAN #2 = Grant Morrison's incredible venture into the realm of fantasy mixed with pure '80s nostalgia really shines in the second issue here. It's got a very epic "Lord of the Rings" kind of feel to it, and really kicked in the action that was lacking in the first issue. Highly recommended! Trish - PUNISHER #14 *FRANKENCASTLE PT 4* = I am loving this storyline! This new issue has Dan Brereton (the Noctrunals artist) which is totally wicked! You finally find out what the floating head guy in the crazy armor's beef with the monsters is.... which is so mean. Torma - DARK AVENGERS #14 *SIEGE*= The true nature of THE SENTRY gets explored some more in this issue, and it continues the kick-ass feel that last month's issue delivered. A SIEGE must-read. Matt - INCORRUPTIBLE #3 = Mark Waid's building a really cool universe with Incorruptible and Irredeemable, and this third issue in the series steps things up big time.