Third Eye is Fueled This Week By: Sounds: The Misfits - Earth A.D (in my opinion, the BEST Misfits album) Sights: New VENTURE BROTHERS! Tastes: Keep the Halloween candy away from me, I gotta avoid that stuff! Words: MORNING GLORIES #2 - DUDE. This book rocks. First issue was great, second one was even better! |
| SKULLKICKERS #1 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* - THE HANGOVER meets WORLD OF WARCRAFT.... Meet the next big IMAGE hit series! This book looks FRESH AS HELL! Imagine a buddy movie set in a Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy world, and that sums it up pretty well! |
 Folks, it's no secret that in the last few years IMAGE COMICS has not only reinvented itself, but has turned itself into THE premiere publisher of fresh, new ideas in comics. It all started with WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE, continued with series like CHEW and COWBOY NINJA VIKING, and now, this year, they've done it again with MORNING GLORIES and now SKULLKICKERS. Before I go any further, let me say this: if this sounds like something you're gonna be into, I'd recommend hitting us up to put one in your box, or getting in here this week to grab a copy. We're going to have plenty coming in, but the distributors have already sold out of first printings, and the book is already going to a second print. Yes, the buzz is that immense. And, while I don't anticipate us selling out before the second prints arrive, it's better safe than sorry. :) Now, onto just what the hell SKULLKICKERS is all about... in a nutshell: it's like a good buddy movie set in a Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy world. Imagine THE HANGOVER or LETHAL WEAPON meets WORLD OF WARCRAFT, and that should give you a pretty good idea of the dynamic at work here. Skullkickers revolves around two mercenaries without names. Their only ambitions seem to be blood and treasure, and the dynamic between the two is pretty entertaining. You've got your short tempered hot head, and your big, strong and silent bruiser. The book starts with the two buying into a job that goes wrong, and sends our two heroes off to somewhat save the day... while screwing up all along the way. The artwork and story compliment each other perfectly, and the fantasy world that's being crafted by the creative team here is right at home with it's setting. The dialogue is well-done, and doesn't get caught up in that annoying medevil speak that plagues a lot of comics set in the Dark Ages, ya know? I mean, personally, I hate it when there's one too many thees and thous, and it screws up the natural flow of things. The two main characters are mercs, plain and simple, and while not good guys, not necessarily bad guys either. They're both kind of screw-ups in their own way, and it's gonna be interesting to see how they shape out as characters through the series. The artwork and coloring on this one is incredible, and really brings something unique to the table. I feel that this is what IMAGE does really well, providing the slick production values to talented newcomers like Edwin Huang and Jim Zubkavich, which allows them to really shine. The look of the book is very cool, and is able to invoke mucho badassery while at the same time bringing some light-hearted comedic aspects to it. It succeeds much in the same way that the art on CHEW does, where the story can go from totally ridiculous to deadly serious in no time flat. All in all, folks, this one is going to be a hell of a series, and from what I have seen of the first issue, is a VERY strong debut. Plus, it's funny, clever, bloody, and filled with werewolves, black magic, and skeletons running around with swords and shields. It's essentially a buddy cop film slammed into Conan. It's a fresh, and interesting approach to the sword and sorcery genre, bringing in the kind of clever dialogue and storytelling you'd expect in something like CHEW, and mixing it with the tried and true standards of those Forgotten Realms books you've got stacked up at home. Check it out this Wednesday, folks, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Click here for a preview of SKULLKICKERS #1 FANTASTIC FOUR #583 *THREE Chapter One**THIRD EYE MUST BUY*- The War Of Four Cities Has Begun, and One of the Fantastic Four Will Die! This issue is the perfect spot to jump onto Jonathan Hickman's (SHIELD, SECRET WARRIORS, PAX ROMANA) incredible character-defining FANTASTIC FOUR run! Plus, THE RETURN OF DR. DOOM!  I know I've been singing the praises of Jonathan Hickman for quite some time, folks, but I really do think he is one of the best new writers that's burst out onto the scene in this past decade. He's proven himself on incredible books like Nightly News, Pax Romana, as well as Secret Warriors and the currently mind-bending SHIELD series, and for the better part of the last year, he's been making the Fantastic Four one of the most satisfying sleeper superhero comics on the stands. Now, let me get something out of the way before we proceed: most people think the Fantastic Four are lame. And, you know what? Most Fantastic Four stories have sucked. You had the Stan & Jack awesomeness of those first 100 issues, and that can't be touched. You had the John Byrne stuff which was, for the most part, pretty kick-ass, and then you had brief glimpses of greatness with writers like Mark Waid and Mark Millar giving it a whirl. But, good runs on the series have been few and far between, ya know? The sad fact of it all though is that the Fantastic Four has the potential to be one of the most compelling and interesting superhero books around. The whole idea of the book lends itself to some pretty high concepts, with the Fantastic Four kind of being the ultimate sci-fi version of Indiana Jones. And, no one, including some of the great writers mentioned above, has ever REALLY gotten the FF since Stan and Jack... until Jonathan Hickman. Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four run began with issue #570, and has quietly climbed up the charts little by little, as one of Marvel's best kept secrets. Much like books like Brubaker's Captain America (in it's early days), Fraction's Invincible Iron Man, and Bendis's Daredevil did when they first kicked off their runs. See, Hickman gets it. He's layered in some of the most interesting subplots you can think of, and has used the idea that was tossed around in CIVIL WAR of Reed Richards having 101 ways to save the world, as the root of it all. We've seen a counsel made up of thousands of Reed Richards from different dimensions, including three that rock the Infinity Gauntlet. We've seen a mentally neutered army of Dr. Dooms from those dimensions who've been subjugated into worker bees for these Richards. We've seen the Fantastic Four exploring unknown depths of Atlantis, and the abandoned Moloid's taking on Ben Grimm as their idol. And these are all just background plots driving the main stories. Each arc of Fantastic Four is a tight two-three issues, with over-arching plot points running through the series, and carrying things forward. This means that you get self-contained, well thought out stories with resolution, but at the same time, bigger plot threads to follow as things continue. And now, you have no excuse to NOT read FANTASTIC FOUR, as the biggest story arc in the run begins this Wednesday. You've seen the ads and promo cards for it. 3. The ominous number that to us as comic fans can only mean one thing: someone's gonna die. And, the arc that leads to one of the Fantastic Four biting it begins here with the aptly-titled "THREE" story arc that will be running through Fantastic Four #583-#588. The War of Four cities has begun, folks, and it's going to leave a dead FF member in it's wake. This issue serves as a perfect jumping on point for those of you who've yet to start reading Hickman's FF. Witness as the FF deals with an uprising in the Forever City of the High Evolutionary, back home in the Baxter Building Val finds her father's Bridge machine and learns the Cost of Solving Everything. And, DR. DOOM, THE DR. DOOM... returns! And if you dig this Wednesday's FF #583, you can catch up on Hickman's run with the trade paperbacks FANTASTIC FOUR by JONATHAN HICKMAN volume 1 and volume 2. We also have ALL of the back issues of his run, ranging from issue #570 up to current. Click here for a preview of FANTASTIC FOUR #583 *THREE PART ONE* MARK MILLAR'S NEMESIS #3 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* - The creator of KICK-ASS & OLD MAN LOGAN continues his SADISTIC & AWESOME evil BATMAN story! AND it's set in Washington, D.C Soon To Be A Motion Picture!  The must-read book of 2010 has been, by far, NEMESIS by the creative team of OLD MAN LOGAN, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. Millar, the writer of KICK-ASS, delivers another ultra-violent, over-the-top masterpiece with his latest series NEMESIS. And, McNiven's artwork looks sharp as hell on this. Yeah, we know it takes a little longer than normal to come out, but why rush awesomeness, right? This series is too damn rad. So, what is NEMESIS? Nemesis is essentially THE Anti-Batman. The series is set in it's own world, where there are no super-heroes, or super-villains, so Nemesis is the first of his kind. The world's first super-criminal. He's at peak physical condition, trained in several fighting styles, has loads of money, and tons of weapons at his disposal. And, instead of using all of these skills for good, he uses them instead in pursuit of being the world's most notorious criminal. The first issue begins in Tokyo where Nemesis blows up a building full of people, has the city Inspector ran over by a train, and then crashes the train to increase his death toll. This is all done in a brief intro section, which leads to Nemesis revealing his real plan: Go to D.C and bring hell down on the Chief of Police who busted his totally corrupt parents years and years ago. Now, here's the hook... with a main character who happens to be the most evil SOB the 21st century has ever seen, who's going to stand up against him? Well, the above mentioned chief of police, Blake Morrow, of course. This boils down to one thing: Blake Morrow is smart, and he's tough as nails, and he's the first time Nemesis has really truly met his match. Yes, folks, it's evil Batman vs. what essentially is a hard as nails real world equivalent to Commissioner Gordon. And, it rocks. McNiven is delivering high-energy, frenetic art much like what he did on OLD MAN LOGAN, and Millar's dialogue, pacing, and widescreen storytelling is 100% on display here. I've read some advances of the third issue, and just like the third issue of KICK-ASS, this is the make or break issue that really shows us how awesome the book is. While the first two issues have gone out of print, we've still got copies in stock here at Third Eye to catch you up, so definitely snag those this week if you haven't already hopped aboard. It's been a known fact that pretty much anything Milalr's attached to when it comes to creator owned stuff goes out of print mad fast, so don't sleep on this one. As for why we love it? Well, just like KICK-ASS brought down to earth heart and soul into a 21st century style Spider-man story, Nemesis brings the cold reality of the Batman story to the front, and shows us how the world can often be run by selfish motivations, ego and pride, and that the stability that people apply to society is as much a construct as the buildings that the title character is knocking down in his conquests. In other words, Millar has done it again. Lets hope the movie (which was recently announced) does this one justice! THOR #615 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* - NEW CREATIVE TEAM, NEW DIRECTION, GREAT JUMPING ON POINT AS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED "INVINCIBLE IRON MAN" & "THOR: AGES OF THUNDER" writer MATT FRACTION & SUPERSTAR ARTIST PASQUAL FERRY BEGIN THEIR ARC!  With this week's THOR #615, Thor is going to become a can't miss, must-read title once again. While Kieron Gillen's run was solid, it didn't have the same magic that Straczynski's run did, but we feel that the upcoming Fraction and Pasqual Ferry run is going to stomp 'em both. :) Why? The Thor Ages of Thunder one-shots that came out a couple years ago were all written by Fraction, and to this day, remain some of the best THOR stuff we've ever read here at Third Eye. Fraction knows how to really make Thor kick-ass, and delivers BIG with over-the-top action, Asgardian storm giants, and the kind of Thor who doesn't hesitate to throw his hammer through the brain of a giant ice troll. You pair that up with the amazing artwork of Pasqual Ferry, and you're in store for one hell of an epic read. This week's issue #615 kicks off a brand new story arc, and is a perfect jumping on point for the series, as it shows us an Asgard that must take it's proper place as the Golden Realm, most glorious of the nine worlds of myth. But, that means Thor's home isn't just a beacon, it's a target, and what happens to the Asgardians adn the denizens of all nine worlds, including Earth, when dark and destructive forces target that realm? Fraction looks to be bringing the same sense of awe, wonder, and strong self-contained storytelling to his new Thor run that he's brought to his fantastic works on INVINCIBLE IRON MAN. Just check out the preview, it looks ridiculously awesome. Click here for a preview of THOR #615 FLASH #5 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY*- Geoff John's crazy good new run on THE FLASH is the perfect new DC ongoing series to be reading! This book rocks! Missed issues 1-4? We've still got copies available to catch you up!  We're so hooked on Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul's new FLASH series. As a guy who grew up reading THE FLASH during the Mark Waid years, and identifying with Wally West as THE Flash, I wasn't sure how I was gonna dig the return of Barry, but, I have to admit, just like he did with Hal Jordan, Johns has completely breathed fresh air into the world of the Flash and made Barry Allen one of the raddest characters in the DCU today. This series has been one of the true highlights of the titles carrying the Brightest Day banner, and if you're either new to the DCU, or just been curious about getting into the Flash, you can't do any better than this book. It's THAT good. Johns manages to bring a very cool detectivey police forensics feel to the series, making it what he coins "superhero CSI", and when you mix that with the already interesting take he has on characters like the Flash Rogues, and Reverse Flash, you're in for a true treat. If you've missed out on the first handful of issues, we've still got limited quantities in stock to get you caught up on issues #1-#4. As for what's going on in the current arc? Well, the Renegades, the Flash Rogues from the future who work as law enforcement have basically come back and accused Barry Allen of a murder. And, the only man who can save Barry? The recently resurrected Captain Boomerang. In this week's issue we learn the shocking connection to the White Light as Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash experience a bizarre event that ties the two together. Meanwhile, the present day Rogues are going head to head with the Renegades and the Flash is caught in the middle of it all. Don't miss out, folks, this series is one of our must-reads, and continues to impress! AVENGERS TRIPLE THREAT: AVENGERS #5, SECRET AVENGERS #5 & AVENGERS ACADEMY #4 - Three FANTASTIC Marvel titles all deliver big this Wednesday! Wanna Jump Onto These? We Can Catch You Up On The Previous Issues!  Man, we've got a lot of great books coming out this week! Not just one, not just two, but THREE awesome new issues of the killer AVENGERS line-up hit this week. The first of these being AVENGERS #5, which is the true blockbuster flagship title of the Marvel Universe. Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita JR deliver big-time on this series, and have been keeping us hooked. This is the series where if you want ONE Marvel book that's a must-read to follow, Avengers is it. All of the big, universe-shattering moments spin from this book, and it serves as a very nice center-piece for the current Marvel Universe. The current storyline has already delivered us some awesomeness in the form of future Maestro Hulk, a seemingly devious future Tony Stark, Kang the Conqueror, and tons of iconic Marvel characters plucked from various alternate futures. Yes, we're seeing every single freakin' alternate future you can think of colliding into the present. Issue #4 REALLY amped things up a lot, and ended with a great twist. We cannot wait to see where things go in this week's #5. Click here for a preview of AVENGERS #5  Next up is my personal favorite AVENGERS book right now, SECRET AVENGERS. This book is, simply put, one of the best superhero books I'm currently reading. Writer Ed Brubaker (the mastermind behind the Death of Captain America and the incredible CRIMINAL/INCOGNITO series) brings a unique blend of gritty realism and over-the-top psychotronic Steranko-style espionage Marvel Madness to this book that makes it an absolute must-read. I mean, Captain America rocking the Nova helmet, the planet Mars being colonized and given a very H.R Giger-esque feel, shadowy secret societies, and an EVIL Nick Fury? What more could you want? Plus, the line-up is incredible, with each member serving a unique purpose on the team. You've got Black Widow doing the cutthroat espionage, Valkyrie as the power-house, Moon Knight as the crazed vigilante struggling to do right, the Irredeemable Ant-Man bringing comedic relief, War Machine bringing the heavy firepower, and The Beast with the science know-how... throw in Nova for the cosmic angle, and have the team led by Steve Rogers himself, and you've got yourself a dynamic book. Missed the first few issues? We've got 1-4 in stock. Catch up, and find out why this series is one of the best on the stands.  And, then finally, we've got the fourth issue of AVENGERS ACADEMY, which has proven to be the sleeper hit of the Avengers line-up. This series is VERY good, and has done a fantastic job of taking the somewhat tired "Initiative" concept and making it fresh and interesting. ABSOLUTION writer, Christos Gage, kicks ass on here, bringing in new characters that're all the young trainees of Norman Osborn who the Avengers are keeping closest out of fear of them becoming the world's next big super-criminals... the question is though, some of the young Avengers recruits might like that career option. The dialogue, characterization, and overall feel of the book has been great, and we recommend giving it a shot. We've still got copies of 1-3 in stock, so check 'em out! Click here for a preview of AVENGERS ACADEMY #4 PILOT SEASON: 39 MINUTES #1 *THIRD EYE CERTIFIED COOL* - A KICK-ASS ONE-SHOT THAT BRINGS A CRAZY NEW TWIST TO THE CLASSIC BANK HEIST STORY!  Top Cow has been taking a cue from their brothers-in-arms over at Image Comics, and started turning up the awesomeness on their titles lately. First, they've done a great job with their new ARTIFACTS book, they've brought Robert Kirkman on to do some great one-shots, and now they're kicking off some new Pilot Season one-shots to get us primed for some new series that may be kicking off this year. The first of these looks so good, I just had to give it some love on here, 'cause I'm stoked about it. This one's called 39 Minutes, and from what I've seen so far, it's awesome. The artwork looks fantastic. The premise is the classic heist story, but with a very unique twist. It's inspired in part by the real-world 1997 robbery of the North Hollywood Bank of America, and focuses on a skilled team of criminals who focus on robbing banks in small, isolated towns. Of course, this turns into a very interesting tale of betrayal and sacrifice. From the way that the story is described by the writer, it's a story about soldiers coming home from war; the inequality between soldier and military contractor; and what it means to sacrifice everything for one's country, mixed in with elements of classic heist movies like HEAT. Check it out this week! SHADOWLAND DOUBLE-SHOT: DAUGHTERS OF THE SHADOW #2 and SHADOWLAND MOON KNIGHT #2 HIT THIS WEDNESDAY!  Daredevil's gone crazy, and the whole city of New York is on it's way to Hell in a handbasket, but hey, at least we're entertained by it all! :) Seriously though, SHADOWLAND has been kick-ass from the start, and continues to keep us hooked. The tie-ins have all been surprisingly good, and this week, we get another dose of both the DAUGHTERS OF THE SHADOW and the MOON KNIGHT tie-ins. The Moon Knight one especially is fantastic, and how can you go wrong with the Daughters of the Shadow, which has also been delivering some awesomeness? Click here for a preview of SHADOWLAND MOON KNIGHT #2 Click here for a preview of SHADOWLAND DAUGHTERS OF THE SHADOW #2 |
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