THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS @ THIRD EYE FOR WEDNESDAY 12/29/10

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1 - DAVID FINCH'S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ONGOING SERIES FEATURING BRUCE WAYNE DEBUTS THIS WEDNESDAY! This book is the modern day successor to Jim Lee's "HUSH". Here it is, folks. The big one. The one that we've all been waiting for since the whole new family of Bat-titles was announced. Don't get me wrong now, BATMAN INC is major, top-tier awesomeness, and DETECTIVE COMICS and BATWOMAN are delivering the goods in a big way. But, it's DARK KNIGHT, that we feel will truly be the super-star stand-out of the Batman family titles. In other words, if you're reading ANY Batman books, then this ONE has to be one of them. BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT is the traditional, straight-forward, grim take on the Caped Crusader we all know and love but with the modern twist that Morrison has applied to the character to keep things fresh, and interesting. Of course, the real stand-out here is the fact that David Finch is handling the art chores on this one, and if you read BATMAN: THE RETURN one-shot, then you know just how damn good Finch is. And, you also probably know what a big deal it is that this superstar is committing to a monthly series. From what I've seen so far, this book looks to be the modern day successor to Jim Lee's incredible HUSH storyline. In other words, this is a top tier, all-out-action Batman story set in the current continuity of BATMAN INCORPORATED, where we're going to see one of the industry's most talented artists bring some of Batman's deadliest Rogues to life on the page. Finch describes the feel of the new ongoing series as a very dark, very noir-driven book with lots of gothic, supernatural settings. The first story kicks off with a recently returned Bruce Wayne, who in between globe-trotting Batman Incorporated recruitment missions, has taken a second look at his own city, and found that an old childhood friend of his has been tragically murdered. From the way Finch describes it, it sounds very street-level, and takes Batman into a very dark direction, which is very reminiscent of some of the classic O'Neil and Adams arcs. A mix of street-level crime noir and the dark arts and demonology that will put the Dark Knight into a very interesting place. Most importantly, we feel that THE DARK KNIGHT serves as the perfect companion book to BATMAN INCORPORATED as the two flag-ship titles of the Batman family right now. The book looks great, reads great, and does not disappoint on any level. Also, the first issue of this series is a great spot to jump in fresh. The only thing we'd recommend reading prior to this if you wanted some back story would be Finch's BATMAN: THE RETURN one-shot which is still in stock here at Third Eye. Click here to read the full scoop on what's going on with Batman now that Bruce Wayne is back, what to read to catch up, and which of the new series are looking the best. MARK MILLAR (Writer of KICK-ASS, SUPERIOR, OLD MAN LOGAN) & STEVE MCNIVEN'S (artist of CIVIL WAR, OLD MAN LOGAN) NEMESIS CONCLUDES THIS WEDNESDAY WITH NEMESIS #4 - THE SAGA OF MILLAR'S "ANTI-BATMAN" COMES TO A HORRIFYING FINISH! Mark Millar brings his blood-drenched, stomach-turning Anti-Batman saga to a close this Wednesday with NEMESIS #4. And, after the horrifying events and cliffhanger of issue #3, we gotta admit: we're on the edge of our seats waiting to see how this one concludes. All we can say to those of you who haven't been reading the series is: booby-trapped womb. So, you're probably wondering just what the heck this whole NEMESIS thing is all about? Well, the writer of hit series like KICK-ASS, OLD MAN LOGAN, SUPERIOR, and WANTED, you know, that Scottish guy by the name of Mark Millar? Well, he's brought some of his twisted magic to the whole Batman arch-type with Nemesis. See, Nemesis is the world's first and only super-criminal. He is a pure and utter bastard who has only one motivation and desire and that's to cause as much pain, mayhem and suffering as he can. And much like The Dark Knight, Nemesis is an expert athlete, trained in several martial arts, is insanely wealthy, has access to all sorts of wild gadgets and high-tech gear, and is, in his own respect, a serious genius. Of course, he's also demented, twisted, and completely depraved, so there's that whole flipside as well. We learn very early on in the series that Nemesis's driving motivation is revenge on the world of law and order, specifically a Washington, D.C Chief of Police by the name of Blake Morrow. And, why is he doing that? 'Cause that's the officer who busted his corrupt and wealthy parents and caused their untimely demise (one a suicide, one a death penalty). See, the whole anti-Batman comparison? Anyways, after three issues of ultra-violence, revenge schemes, and us getting to learn just what a hard-ass Chief of Police Blake really is, and how he might be the one guy who can take Nemesis down... we're going to see how this all ends out this week in the pages of NEMESIS #4. If you want to get caught up on the series, we've got issues #1, #2 and #3 in stock to get you caught up to this week's #4. Highly recommended, don't sleep on this one, folks! AVENGERS #8 - The Illuminati Returns! The Infinity Gauntlet is Back! And, what the heck does any of this have to do with Red Hulk? The flagship Marvel U. title continues to rage on this Wednesday! Bendis and Romita continue to serve up some serious Marvel magic with their run on THE AVENGERS. Folks, eight issues in, and this book just continues to get better. Not only does it serve as the flagship "where the big stuff goes down" book of the Marvel Universe, it also delivers some of the best, straight-forward superhero storytelling going on in comics right now. You want all of those kick-ass Marvel heroes and villains you've grown up knowing and loving? This is the book to read. You want non-stop, smashmouth brawl after brawl? This is the book to read. You want fantastic storytelling, sharp dialogue, and some of the best high-energy artwork in comics right now? Avengers has got it all, folks. The current arc, which began in last month's issue #7, is focusing on a mysterious stranger who's somehow come into possession of one of the Infinity Gems, and is now using it to piece together the freakin' Infinity Gauntlet. Yes. The same Infinity Gauntlet that Thanos wore. THAT Infinity Gauntlet. And, the classic braintrust of big-time Marvel movers and shakers, the Illuminati, is re-assembling to determine who it is, and if the problem can be solved. And, as we saw last month, the Red Hulk is now involved in this whole situation. Romita does some of his best work when he does big, and you can bet when you've got the Red Hulk, the Illuminati, and the Infinity Gauntlet... you're gonna get BIG. We're stoked for this one, and cannot wait to read it this Wednesday. Not reading AVENGERS? We've got issues #1-7 in stock to get you caught up to this week's #8. If you want a solid, flagship Marvel title to follow that delivers one of the best Avengers line-ups and tones of a series, then this is most definitely the book to be reading. Click here for a preview of AVENGERS #8 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* DETECTIVE COMICS #872 *BLACK MIRRORS PART 2* - "AMERICAN VAMPIRE" writer SCOTT SNYDER & "THE LOSERS" artist JOCK continue to kick-ass on their run of DETECTIVE COMIS! READ THIS BOOK! Folks, I gotta tell you, if you're sleeping on Snyder and Jock's DETECTIVE COMICS, you are missing out. This is one of the best new Batman-family books out, and starting with issue #871, this book became a major must-read. We haven't enjoyed DETECTIVE COMICS this much since Ruck and JH Williams were featuring Batwoman in the book. Simply put, folks, if you're a Batman fan at all, and you're sleeping on DETECTIVE right now, you are missing out on just plain good comics. The title, starting with #871, is now focused on Dick Grayson, and his quest to fill the role of Bruce in Gotham City, not so much as solely a crime-fighter, but also as a crime-solver. A real detective. And, this is totally appropriate, considering the name of the title. There's a strong emphasis on the dynamic between Grayson and Gordon, who is obviously clued in to the fact that Gotham's Batman is not the same Batman he's worked with for years. Snyder brings a dark, moody, and atmospheric crime noir approach to the book, that gels perfectly with the AMAZING artwork of LOSERS artist JOCK. These two work so damn well together, and folks, I'm telling you, I know there's a lot of damn good Batman books out there, but, DETECTIVE is gonna be the sleeper that you're gonna kick yourself if you miss. This book is pure comic magic. And, I haven't even touched on the kick-ass back-up feature by Snyder and rising star artist Francesco Francavilla (who did some terrific work on BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR #513) that focuses solely on Jim Gordon. What's the current arc about? The story has strong roots in the Batman mythology, and we see classic villains like Killer Croc, Mad Hatter, and Poison Ivy referenced or evoked in some manner. There's even Gotham Central stand-bys like Jim Corrigan. Grayson is investigating murders related to a drug that seems to be derived from Killer Croc's DNA. Of course, there's much more going on here than that, and that's what really makes Black Mirrors pop. This one reminds you a lot of those dark, gothic masterpiece Batman stories of yesteryear that writers like Alan Grant would tell in SHADOWS OF THE BAT. Good, good stuff. Missed issue #871? We've got copies in stock to get you caught up to this week's #872. Click here to read our Guide to BATMAN INC and It's TIE-INs. HELLBOY: THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD #1- HELLBOY. THE VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE. HOW CAN THIS NOT BE AWESOME? It's no secret that we love ourselves some Hellboy here at Third Eye. And, when you tell us that Scott Hampton, the legendary VERTIGO COMICS artist who worked on books like BOOKS OF MAGIC, is going to be pairing up with Mike Mignola to tell a two-part story about Hellboy chasing giant bats, and then stumbling upon knowledge that there's a freakin' Vampire Apocalypse on the way. It's Hellboy meets pure classic Vampire horror in this new two-parter, and it's gonna kick some mega-ass. Click here for a preview of HELLBOY: THE SLEEPING & THE DEAD #1 CARNAGE #2 - CLAYTON CRAIN DELIVER MORE INSANE AND JAW-DROPPING ARTWORK ON THE DEADLIEST INCARNATION OF THE CARNAGE SYMBIOTE YET! Some things are worth waiting for, and Clayton Crain's incredible artwork is one of those things. And, that's why we're totally OK with a bi-monthly schedule on this new CARNAGE limited series, 'cause folks: the art in this book is some of the best looking comic art on the stands right now. And, the world of CARNAGE is the perfect corner of the Marvel Universe for Crain to tackle. His art on X-FORCE a couple years ago wowed us, and we thought that was great, but, lets face it: he draws a mean looking creepy crawlie symbiote thing. The first issue of this one brought back Carnage, but in a new, and different way that really made things fresh. We also saw a brief cameo by that old Spider-man doppleganger thing, which you know, I got a kick out of. But now, the Carnage symbiote has been separated from it's former host, Cletus Kasady, so he shouldn't be as dangerous, right? It looks like they were wrong on that one. Bloody, violent, and a total nostalgia-trip for any of you who, like myself, grew up loving Maximum Carnage and what not, this new CARNAGE limited series is kick-ass. Missed out on issue #1? We've got copies in stock, and snag a copy and get caught up to this week's #2. Click here for a preview of CARNAGE #2, and find out why we're so jazzed about Crain's art on this one. GEOFF JOHNS DELIVERS "REVERSE FLASH REBIRTH" IN FLASH #8 THIS WEDNESDAY AS THE OFFICIAL PRELUDE TO 2011'S DCU EVENT, FLASHPOINT, BEGINS! We've been loving Geoff Johns's run on THE FLASH since he kicked off the new ongoing series featuring Barry, and ever since the end of FLASH REBIRTH and the beginning of the new ongoing, we've seen the tips of the hat to one of the next big DCU events that Johns had in store for us: FLASHPOINT. We're very excited about this, because there's really nobody quite like Geoff Johns in comics that does big events justice. Blackest Night, and it's follow-up BRIGHTEST DAY, have been extremely enjoyable, and we're really pumped to see Johns using the rich tapestry of Flash stories to set up his next big epic. It's almost kind of funny, because Johns is working the same kind of magic with The Flash that he did with Green Lantern back a few years ago. First, he re-introduced the character with the REBIRTH limited series, and then he brought out a solid, well-done ongoing series that laid the groundworks for bigger things to come... and, while we don't think Flashpoint will be anywhere near the level of BLACKEST NIGHT, we do feel that it will be comparable in scale to something like SINESTRO CORPS WARS. And, hey, we're fine with that cause SINESTRO CORPS WARS freakin' ruled! Anyways, after the killer stand-alone issue of #7 last month, where we got some very cool insight into WHO CAPTAIN BOOMERANG is and what his motivations are, now, we're getting the story of Professor Zoom, his origins, and where his future lies, as the prelude to Flashpoint rages forward. Click here for a preview of FLASH #8 *THIRD EYE MUST BUY* Missed 1-7? We've got copies in stock to get you caught up, so snag 'em this week! ECHOES #1 - What happens when you learn your dying father was a serial killer? Meet Brian Cohn. He's a diagnosed schizophrenic leading a simple, uncomplicated life in Monroeville, PA. He's expecting his first child with his wife, and well, life couldn't be better for ol' Brian. And, then, when he goes to visit his estranged Alzheimer's afflicted father on his deathbed, the dying old man confesses to being a serial killer. Now Brian's faced with discovering a horrifying new side to his father and left wondering if the family legacy will continue in him. This one looks to be a kick-ass new mystery/suspense story that invokes tones similar to stuff like SE7EN, and judging from the preview pages we have seen, it looks like it's gonna deliver. Give it a look this Wednesday! JONATHAN HICKMAN'S S.H.I.E.L.D #5ARRIVES THIS WEDNESDAY, CONTINUES THE UNRAVELING OF THE SECRET SOCIETY WHERE DAVINCI, GALILEO, IMHOTEP, AND OTHER HISTORICAL GREATS WERE FOUNDERS OF SHIELD I have to tell you, guys, five issues in, and I'm just as hooked on SHIELD as I was with the very first issue. Hickman is turning into one of my biggest favorites right now as far as comic writers go, and it's freakin' great that he's putting out a few different solid books to choose from. SHIELD just happens to be my favorite of the bunch. The story of SHIELD centers around the idea that the SHIELD organization we all know from the Marvel U actually originated many, many years ago, as some sort of secret society of the world's greatest thinkers, inventors, and innovators as an effort to battle the timeless cosmic threats of entities like GALACTUS, The Celestials, and more. Hickman does an incredible job of weaving in real historical figures, such as DaVinci and Galileo, and using characters like Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards to ground them into the Marvel Universe. Dustin Weaver's art looks terrific. And, dammit, this book is just too freakin' rad. You wanna see bigger-than-life, near-cosmic level craziness featuring some of the world's greatest minds? You need to be reading SHIELD. Click here for a preview of #5, and see for yourself. We've got SHIELD issues #1-4 in stock now to get you caught up to this week's #5. GREEN LANTERN #61 *BRIGHTEST DAY TIE-IN* - The Spectre vs. The Butcher, the Rage entity?! You know this one's gonna kick ass. Geoff Johns continues his kick-ass run on GL this week with GREEN LANTERN #61, and the intriguing mystery of who's been collecting the various spectrum entities is finally revealed. Meanwhile, the Spectre gets thrown into the mix, as he comes face to face with the Butcher, the personification of rage. Johns has been doing a kick-ass job with his run on GL so far, and if you're not reading yet, and looking for a solid place to jump on, start with issue #53, as that is the first issue post-Blackest Night, and carrying the Brightest Day tag. It's a great, new reader friendly spot to hop onto what has been one of the best monthly DC Comics for the last four or five years. And, don't worry, if you need to hop on, we've got all of those issues in stock to get you caught up. As for this week's issue, what more need be said than Spectre vs. the Rage entity? This is gonna rock! CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA #1 BEGINS A NEW LIMITED SERIES BY "MARVEL UNIVERSE vs. the PUNISHER" writer JONATHAN MABERRY CHRONICLING THE HISTORY OF HYDRA One of our favorite sleeper hits of the summer was the killer, ultra-violent WHAT IF-style mini-series, MARVEL UNIVERSE vs. the PUNISHER. This I AM LEGEND take on the character was killer, and it really made us notice Jonathan Maberry's writing, with the clever approach he brought to the concept that made it into something much more memorable than just another Punisher mini-series. And, now, with this week's CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA, we have this sneaking suspicion that Maberry might be doing the same thing all over again with Cap. There's been a handful of Cap mini-series in the last few months, some good, some OK, and some not-so-swift, but, we have a feeling that Hail Hydra is going to really be a breakout amongst the bunch. The story spans the years from 1944 up to the current day, and shows us a backstory that spans back thousands of years, showing us that HYDRA is a vastly old organization which has existed in a thousand different shapes over the centuries. Each issue is going to be showing the growth and development of HYDRA beginning in the '40s, and up to where they are now, and promises to toy around with the infamous terrorist organization that's been at odds with everyone from Wolverine to Elektra to Nick Fury. From what we've read about the series, Maberry sounds like he's bringing a techy thriller meets pulp adventure kind of tone to the story with a very dark twist. We're pretty excited about this one, and have a feeling it'll be another great sleeper hit just like the MARVEL U. vs the PUNISHER mini-series was. INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #2 - BRUBAKER'S APOCALYPTIC PULP NOIR CONTINUES THIS WEDNESDAY! One of my personal favorites! Saying I'm a huge fan of the projects that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips work on together is a bit of an understatement. Between what they're doing with their return to INCOGNITO, and what they've done in CRIMINAL, it goes without saying that these guys are probably my favorite creative team working in comics today. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, does crime noir comics better than Brubaker and Phillips right now. I'd stack their work on CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO against legendary crime comics fare (which I also love) SIN CITY and 100 BULLETS any day. They're THAT good. And, why're they that good? 'Cause, they've got such an amazing passion for the genre. And, this is what really makes their stuff pop. Incognito: Bad Influences is a stand-alone series that follows up the events of 2009's INCOGNITO, which introduced us to Zach Overkill, the former henchmen of a criminal mastermind by the name of The Black Death. See, Zach snitched out his old boss, got put into witness protection, and was given a new life he absolutely could not stand. And, of course, he fell, and he fell hard, and ended up going back into his old ways... of course, his old boss wasn't too happy to find out his henchmen was still out there running around, while he was locked up in maximum security. Now, in BAD INFLUENCES, we see ol' Zach Overkill returning, but this time put into a situation where he's ...SORT OF.. working on the right side of the law. The pure pulp fiction kind of world that Brubaker shapes with this series is part of the book's appeal, and the way that he's able to set the mood and tone of a scene in such reality, and then throw in something as surreal as a talking gorilla, or a death-ray wielding maiden that doesn't age. In fact, the amount of depth that Brubaker implies in INCOGNITO, that there's a whole world to be explored, beyond Overkill's story, is fascinating. But, at it's core, Incognito, and Incognito BAD INFLUENCES, are true superhero noir stories. A protagonist that's an admittedly terrible person, and a world around him that's far worse. And, there's no happy endings. If you're a fan of darker takes on superheroes, like THE BOYS, WATCHMEN, or IRREDEEMABLE, then you should really be reading INCOGNITO. Trust us. It's the best $3.50 an issue you could spend. There's no ads, and there's even a back up column in each issue where Jess Nevins (comic and pop culture historian who did some really rad books that go into huge detail about all the real inspirations and references in Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) unearths hidden pulp fiction characters and writes about what they were and what made them so awesome. But, enough of my rambling, pick up issue #1 of INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES this Wednesday, and snag #2 while you're at it, and find out why this is one of my favorite books, two years and running. JONATHAN HICKMAN DELIVERS ULTIMATE THOR #3 THIS WEDNESDAY. THIS IS THE BEST ULTIMATE TITLE WE'VE READ SINCE MILLAR & HITCH'S FIRST RUN ON THE ULTIMATES Again, Hickman proves why he's one of my favorite writers working right now. Ultimate Thor is probably the best ULTIMATES title I've seen since Millar and Hitch's original run on the ULTIMATES and ULTIMATES 2. The book recaptures the same kind of cutting edge punch, and sense of widescreen action that Millar and Hitch's ULTIMATES runs did, and really brings back that sense of awe that many of us got when we first came upon THE ULTIMATES nearly a decade ago (which I still hold up as one of the best Marvel comics in the last 10-15 years). This book tells the story of Thor's origin in the Ultimate universe, and it's filled with wild twists. Baron Zemo's got a surprise. Nazi frost giants get clobbered by Thor. And, Ragnarok is on the way. Missed issues 1 and 2? We've got copies of both in stock still to catch you up to this week's #3. I could go on and on about the book, but just check out the preview, and you'll see what I mean. This one is action-packed. Click here for a preview of ULTIMATE COMICS THOR #3 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: TALES COLLECTS ALL OF JOSS WHEDON'S "SLAYER" SHORT STORIES, UNCOLLECTED WORKS, AND MORE! We know all of our Whedon fans here are pretty hardcore about keeping up on any comic work he's put out there. Before he began working on BUFFY: SEASON EIGHT, Whedon brought the tales of his various Slayers from different ages to the world of comics. Now, in BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TALES hardcover, all of Joss's previously printed, and some previously uncollected Slayer-related stories are being put out. This includes the story of the First Slayer, drawn by SUPERIOR artist Leinil Yu, as well as a new story featuring vampires living in the public eye, killing Slayers, and each other with art by Becky Cloonan. In other words, this one's a must for all of you Buffy fans out there. :) BULLSEYE: PERFECT GAME #2 - WHERE DOES THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS ASSASSIN GO WHEN HE DISAPPEARS? The first issue of this BULLSEYE two-parter really hooked us with it's grizzled, hardboiled crime noir approach. The one-two punch combo of Huston's pitch perfect crime noir writing style and Shawn Martinbrough's completely fitting artwork really brought a new level of depth and complexity to the character of BULLSEYE. Plus, lets face it: BULLSEYE is just plain cool. He's one of the raddest Marvel villains, with one of the raddest costumes, and one of the raddest powers. Any story that's solely focused on him can't be half bad, right? Anyways, the story focuses on the one year in between the downfall of NORMAN OSBORN and his DARK AVENGERS, and the events of SHADOWLAND where Bullseye got a Sai in his gut. Basically, the world's greatest assassin vanishes without a trace after turning down high-paying job after high-paying job, until a very low-paying contract on a washed up ball player comes into view. And, that's where Bullseye finds his next great challenge... and, hiding in plain sight, Bullseye's throwing the kind of heat that'll take off a batter's head. Missed issue #1? We've got copies in stock still for you to get caught up. Click here for a preview of BULLSEYE PERFECT GAME #2 THIRD EYE STAFF PICKS Steve - STUFF OF LEGEND: THE JUNGLE #3 - Don't you love it when you think a comic can't get any better ,and then it blows you away all over again? What a great issue. Trish - Alan Moore's NEONOMICON #3 - Alan Moore, you are seriously, seriously disturbed. And i love it. TORMA - BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 - This book is like BATMAN AND ROBIN was with Morrison but a thousand times more awesome. The way that Morrison casts Bruce Wayne outside of familiar territoriy... it really amkes for a cool story.