THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS @ THIRD EYE FOR WEDNESDAY 4/20/11

THE WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS CONTINUES THIS WEDNESDAY IN GREEN LANTERN #65 *WAR OF THE GL CHAPTER 4* and GREEN LANTERN CORPS #59 *WAR OF THE GL CHAPTER 5* One of the most exciting GREEN LANTERN stories since Geoff Johns first began to lead into his epic BLACKEST NIGHT with the SINESTRO CORPS WARS, WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS has been keeping us on the edges of our seats here at Third Eye. And, after the awesomeness that went down a couple of weeks ago in the pages of GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #8, it looks like things are about to really set off in chapters 4 and 5 this Wednesday. What is WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS? After the events of BLACKEST NIGHT, and the follow-up of BRIGHTEST DAY, the GREEN LANTERN CORPS has been slowly coming apart from within. There's been differing loyalties shifting amongst members of the Corps, and decisions that were made during BLACKEST NIGHT (especially major ones by Guy Gardner, Ganthet, and then the inclusion of Sinestro in assisting Hal Jordan in many things) are now starting to come full circle. The story begins in the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERN prologues (in stock now) that occurred in GREEN LANTERN #63, and GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #7, and then continued with GREEN LANTERN #63 *CHAPTER 1*, GREEN LANTERN CORPS #58 *CHAPTER 2*, and GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #8 *CHAPTER 3.* And, as the Green Lanterns are at each other's throat, the rise of Sinestro is imminent. From the last chapter we read, we saw Guy Gardner, Kilowog, and Arisa dealing with the return of Parallax to the Central Power Battery. With 3,200 Green Lanterns now under enemy control, there's only 6 left with free will, and the New Guardians have been sucked into the Book of the Black. Yeah, lots of bad stuff going down for the GL Corps, Third Eye Faithful. And, after what went down in Emerald Warriors #8, we cannot wait to see where things continue to go this week in GL #65 and GL CORPS #59. Missed earlier chapters of WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS? We've got copies in stock of each to catch you up. FEAR ITSELF CASTS IT'S SHADOW ON TONY STARK THIS WEDNESDAY IN INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #503 *FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN* After reading the FEAR ITSELF tie-in that went down in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #622, I'm really stoked to see what Fraction does in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN. When you have an event as big as FEAR ITSELF, things could go either way in terms of how the tie-ins are, but I was REALLY impressed with JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY last week, so my confidence is high to see what comes next. And, then add in the fact that Matt Fraction, the same guy who's writing the core FEAR ITSELF title, is also the sole writer on INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, and that means that this tie-in requires a little extra attention, cause we're sure that Fraction is planning on dropping some FEAR ITSELF tidbits. :) What's the scoop? Fear has spread across the land and has made it's way to Broxton, Oklahoma, the little town that played home to the Asgardians for a bit, and is now on the brink of disaster. Stark Resilient and Iron Man must head into action on the eve of this cataclysmic event, as the reach of Skadi and her All-Father bring their corruption to Broxton. Will we be seeing another hammer drop in Broxton in this issue? I guess we'll find out this Wednesday in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #503. Click here for a preview of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #503 Click here for our official FEAR ITSELF Checklist. DARK HORSE PRESENTS RETURNS THIS WEDNESDAY WITH DARK HORSE PRESENTS #1 featuring FRANK MILLER, NEAL ADAMS, RICHARD CORBEN, HOWARD CHAYKIN, PAUL CHADWICK, STAR WARS: CRIMSON EMPIRE, and MORE! Folks, this is freakin' awesome. Seriously. Dark Horse Presents, for a very long time, was the standard for ground-breaking, fresh, and innovative new comics, and introduced many of us to things like SIN CITY, MADMAN, HELLBOY, and more for the very first time. Now, the fine folks at DARK HORSE have decided to bring back the world's greatest comic anthology with DARK HORSE PRESENTS #1 this Wednesday. 80 pages of pure comic awesomeness. Not only do we get the return of FRANK MILLER to comics (folks, this is the guy behind SIN CITY, 300, BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, BATMAN YEAR ONE, DAREDEVIL BORN AGAIN, ect ect) with his brand new prequel to "300", in XERXES, but we're also going to see the return of one of our favorite STAR WARS stories, CRIMSON EMPIRE, as the third and final installment of that story begins here as well. Also included in this kick-ass read is Batman legend NEAL ADAMS doing a new story called "BLOOD", comics legend RICHARD CORBEN bringing us MURKY WORLD, and the very talented Carla Speed McNeil dishing out a brand new FINDER story. This is going to be epic, and we're telling you, even if you weren't around back in the day for the original DHP, you should totally jump on and find out why this is such a good read on Wednesday. If you're a fan of many of Image's new titles, you'll love the style of stories being told in DARK HORSE PRESENTS. Heck, if you're just a fan of top shelf, uber talent in comics, you'll love this one, it's like a who's who of comics legends. ROBERT KIRKMAN, writer of WALKING DEAD, HAUNT & INVINCIBLE, debuts his newest series this Wednesday with the over-the-top insanity of the prehistoric age with SUPER DINOSAUR #1 We're huge, huge, huge fans of ROBERT KIRKMAN here at Third Eye. You may have already noticed this by the amount of praise we pour on fantastic series like HAUNT, INVINCIBLE and WALKING DEAD. So, when we hear that Mr. Kirkman is kicking off a brand new series, we tend to get pretty pumped. And, this Wednesday, out of nowhere, comes the next stroke of genius of one of our favorite comic writers with the ridiculous, rocket-launcher packing, T-Rex terror, SUPER DINOSAUR. Only Kirkman could make a book with that title work. Seriously. And, folks, lets be honest: this is what Kirkman is known for. Taking unconventional ideas, and making them work in a way that no one saw coming. You look at something like INVINCIBLE or WALKING DEAD on the surface, and it's hard to see how they could be as different as they are, but that's what Kirkman does, he takes a standard idea and turns it into something really special. With SUPER DINOSAUR, Kirkman brings us the story of a world where dinosaurs live within the depths of the Earth, and a powerful mineral that exists down below known as DynOre. And, of course, there's some very villainous folk who want that rare mineral, and the fate of the world itself rests on the shoulders of a ten year old kid, and his best friend.. a nine-foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex who loves to play video games, and runs around packing freakin' laser cannons. I've read an advance on some pages of this one, folks, and I know that it sounds pretty far removed from the world of WALKING DEAD or INVINCIBLE, but trust me: if you dig INVINCIBLE or WALKING DEAD, you will love SUPER DINOSAUR. It's all there. Kirkman's knack for dialogue, his unique take on genre concepts, and more. All wrapped into a story about a dinosaur that shoots rockets. We love it! Click here for a preview of SUPER DINOSAUR #1 THE RED ROBIN / BATMAN / GOTHAM CITY SIRENS 3-PART CROSSOVER CONTINUES THIS WEDNESDAY IN GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #22 *CHAPTER 2* & BATMAN #709 *CHAPTER 3* We're big fans of all three of the books involved in this kick-ass little 3-part story arc that continues this Wednesday in GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #22 and BATMAN #709, but we're especially big RED ROBIN fans, so that makes this one even more of a must-read. Starting last week in RED ROBIN #22, Gotham City was faced with final judgement as the Angels of Death seek to spare the city by finding one person who is without sin. After putting Red Robin through physical and emotional trials, have they found the city's salvation? What's the one thing they've learned about Tim Drake that changed their minds? Well, in GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #22, we're going to find out as the Angels of Death bring their judgement down upon Gotham City, and it's up to Batman, Red Robin, and the Gotham City Sirens to fend them off. Oh, and did we mention that Ra's al Ghul is getting involved? Make sure to snag GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #22 and BATMAN #709 this Wednesday to finish off the awesomeness that began in last week's RED ROBIN #22 (still in stock and available now!) AVENGERS #12 - THE CONCLUSION TO THE INFINITY GAUNTLET ARC ARRIVES, AS THE AVENGERS ARE TAKEN INTO THE HEART OF THE COSMIC UNIVERSE, AND INTRODUCED TO AN ALL-NEW COSMIC ENTITY! PLUS.. THANOS! We have been totally digging Bendis and Romita Jr's run of AVENGERS, and as the first year of the title comes to a close, so does it's second arc: THE INFINITY GAUNTLET! And, after the ending of last month's #11... all we can say is.. AVENGERS vs. THANOS? Holy crap, sign us up. Seriously though, you've got the Hood, you've got the Avengers, and you've got Thanos, all mixed in with what has become the flagship, blockbuster centerpiece of the Marvel Universe. If you had to pick just ONE Marvel title to follow to get a feel for the major ramifications on the Marvel Universe, and to catch the plot threads that will develop into future stories, then AVENGERS is the one. In AVENGERS #12, we watch as the Avengers are pulled into the heart of the cosmic universe, and introduced to an all-new cosmic entity. Who will wield the Infinity Gauntlet, and what price will they pay for doing so? And, what price will Iron Man pay for betraying the Avengers? Bigger-than-life, in-your-face Marvel madness the way we love it, Bendis and Romita continue to hit homeruns with their AVENGERS run, and if you want just a damn good superhero comic, then this is the title you need to be reading. Wanna hop on board the AVENGERS from the beginning? We've got issues #1-11 in stock and available now to catch you up. This has been one of our favorite series, and if you're looking for something to follow as sort of the "flagship" Marvel title, then AVENGERS is a killer choice. Click here for a preview of AVENGERS #12 HACK/SLASH ONGOING SERIES #3 HITS THIS WEDNESDAY CONTINUING THE ADVENTURES OF CASSIE HACK - A MUST-READ FOR ALL YOU HORROR-MOVIE LOVING GOREHOUNDS AT THERE! We're major fans of HACK/SLASH here at Third Eye, and whenever a new issue of the series comes out, we've gotta give it some shout-outs. Imagine Joss Whedon's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, but instead of hunting vampires, Buffy hunted "slashers", basically, every undead maniac you can think of that graced the silver screen during the '80s. The Driller Killer, Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, the Santa Killer from Silent Night, Deadly Night.. you name it, they show up in some form or incarnation in HACK/SLASH. Combining a great mix of morbid humor, ultra-violence, and clever storytelling, HACK/SLASH delivers one of the best reads on the stands each and every month, and we can't lie, it's got some of the raddest art as well. And, with the new ongoing series running under the IMAGE COMICS banner, the quality and consistency of the series has never been higher. Not reading HACK/SLASH? Wanna hop on? We've got copies of issues 1 and 2 in stock to catch you up. Wanna go further back? You can either check out the original HACK/SLASH Omnibuses, which we have all 3 of in stock now, and are great ways to check out the really early stories, or you can snag a copy of the HACK/SLASH MY FIRST MANIAC trade paperback which serves as a nice YEAR ONE-style origin story of Cassie and Vlad. Either way, if you're a horror fan, or you just plain dig good comics, you should give HACK/SLASH a shot. DC COMICS PRESENTS: LEGION OF SUPERHEROES DAMNED - A PERFECT COMPANION PIECE TO THE UPCOMING LEGION LOST hardcover We were big fans of Abnett & Lanning and Oliver Coipel's LEGION LOST maxiseries from way back in the day, and with the long-awaited hardcover release of LEGION LOST coming in June, this DC COMICS PRESENTS one-shot is the perfect way to get prepared for the series. Colelcting LEGIONNAIRES 78 & 79 and LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #123 & #124, this book has the entire LEGION OF THE DAMNED prelude to LEGION LOST. The story begins as Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5 and other heroes return to the Earth only to find it dominated by the alien race known as the Blight. How can the team stop these alien invaders when they're being picked off one by one? Abnett & Lanning have wowed us for years with their work on the Marvel cosmic stuff in books like ANNIHILATION and THANOS IMPERATIVE, and OLIVER COIPEL dropped jaws with his runs on THOR with STRACZYNSKI and most recently, SIEGE. Now, check out some of the early, ground-breaking work by these amazing creators in one of the most memorable LEGION stories ever written. SHIELD: ARCHITECTS OF FOREVER hits this Wednesday in this kick-ass hardcover collecting the entire first run of JONATHAN HICKMAN'S incredible history-meets-Marvel Universe epic. One of the most exciting series we read last year was Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver's INCREDIBLE S.H.I.E.L.D series. This mind-bending epic that conjured up memories of things like Warren Ellis's PLANETARY told an amazing tale of a history where the world's greatest inventors and thinkers were the original guardians of the Marvel Universe. In other words, who protected Earth from the Celestials or Galactus in the days before the AVENGERS? Leonardo Da Vinci... Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Issac Newton... Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Imhotep, Zhang Heng, Galileo, Nostradamus... all Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. These were the first heroes to defeat Galactus, fend off the Brood, and more. They saved the world long before Captain America or Iron Man were ever born, but the real question is what does this mean to the heroes of today's Marvel Universe? And, what does this mean to the man closely related to SHIELD: Nick Fury? Amazing stuff, folks, this is a classic in the making, and we highly recommend checking it out. The same writer who brought you total awesomeness with the new FUTURE FOUNDATION series, and has wowed us with series like PAX ROMANA, RED MASS FOR MARS, and NIGHTLY NEWS, blew us away with SHIELD. DOCTOR WHO: FAIRYTALE LIFE #1 debuts this Wednesday, giving us the story of THE DOCTOR and Amy dropped into a medieval fantasy world! Written by JACK OF FABLES Matt Sturges, and FABLES artist MARK BUCKINGHAM We're major DOCTOR WHO fans here at Third Eye, and we're always stoked to see more DOCTOR WHO comics here at Third Eye. IDW has been doing a great job of handling the license, and has really been recruiting some top notch talent to work on the adventures of the Doctor and his world. In this new 4-issue limited series, the question is asked: do you prefer an ugly reality or a beautiful fantasy? This is the question the Doctor is forced to confront in a medieval fantasy world where Amy finds herself reluctantly cast as a damsel in distress. Matt Sturges, writer of JACK OF FABLES, and Mark Buckingham, artist of FABLES, give us this brand new DOCTOR WHO tale that looks like a total blast. DAN CLOWES'S MISTER WONDERFUL ARRIVES THIS WEDNESDAY - THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED CREATOR BEHIND "WILSON", "EIGHTBALL", and "GHOST WORLD" BRINGS US MORE COMIC AWESOMENESS We're big fans of DAN CLOWES, and have been for quite some time, so whenever we see a new collection of his work, or a new book by him, we're always stoked about it. Last year, he got us big time with "WILSON", and of course, who can forget his legendary works in EIGHTBALL. Now, he gives us the story of Marshall in MISTER WONDERFUL. Marshall's been set up on a blind date with someone named Natalie. Divorced, middle-aged, newly unemployed, with absolutely no prospects, Marshall's not exactly a catch. After nearly an hour, when he's long since given up hope, Natalie appears -- apologize profusely that she went to the wrong place. She's too good to be true: a pretty young lady who actually cares about what Marshall has to say. There's gotta be a catch, and of course, during the extremely long night that follows, Marshall and Natalie are emotionally tested in ways that two people who just met really should not be. A bittersweet, captivating and hilarious look at the dating scene, Mister Wonderful is another kick-ass DAN CLOWES comic, and you should read it. UNCANNY X-FORCE #8 *BEFORE THE FALL CHAPTER ONE* - THE BEST X-BOOK ON THE STANDS KICKS OFF A BRAND NEW STORY ARC THIS WEDNESDAY AS THE SHADOW KING RETURNS We've been ranting, and we've been raving about how freakin' good UNCANNY X-FORCE is for nearly 8 issues now, and folks, we're not going to stop now. This, quite simply put, is the best X-MEN book on the stands, and stands tall as one of the best books being put out by Marvel in general. You want bigger-than-life superhero stories that carry a fresh, and modern spin while at the same time capturing the kind of adventure and excitement you remember from reading comics back in the day? UNCANNY X-FORCE is the perfect blending of the two. Now, is a great time to jump onto this book, as a brand new arc begins in UNCANNY X-FORCE #8, with BEFORE THE FALL Chapter 1. A nuclear facility has been infiltrated and taken over by the one, and only SHADOW KING. Remember him from all those classic X-Men stories way back in the day? Yeah, it's pretty awesome to see him back, and I can't wait to see Remender's spin on the character. And, now, with nuclear missiles aimed at both Utopia and New York, the lives of Earth's heroes hang in the balance. X-Force head into action, but to save the world: they gotta do some very bad things. In order to prevent a nuclear holocaust, Wolverine and his team must kill every last person working in that facility... no matter what. We cannot wait to read this one, folks, and it sounds like this will keep proving why X-Force is one of our favorite reads. Click here for a preview of UNCANNY X-FORCE #8 ZIGGY MARLEY COMES TO THE WORLD OF COMICS WITH MARIJUANMAN THIS WEDNESDAY! PAIRING UP WITH "BUTCHER BAKER, RIGHTEOUS MAKER" writer JOE CASEY and CLERKS artist JIM MAHFOOD, Image debuts this brand new graphic novel We really have no idea what this one's about, 'cause Image has been kinda hush hush on it, but c'mon.. it's Joe Casey from BUTCHER BAKER, it's Jim Mahfood, who animated the CLERKS series, and it's Ziggy freakin' Marley. How can this not be awesome? SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1,000 - Spider-man, The Punisher, and the Russian Mob? Who doesn't love a good Spidey one-shot? We're a sucker for a good team-up, and this Wednesday, we're getting a kick-ass Spidey and Punisher team-up in the pages of SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN 1,000 one-shot. Now, why am I a little more stoked about this than usual? John Ostrander is handling the writing, and I don't know if many of you remember it or not, but Ostrander had an incredible, yet short-lived run on Punisher way back in the day. Not to mention the epic work he did on the Suicide Squad in the '80s. So, seeing him return to the character, and even bring Spidey into the mix is a pretty welcome sight. I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking here, but I think this one has a lot of promise to be a fun, solid team-up one-shot for anyone who's a big Punisher or Spidey fan. THE SUICIDE GIRLS MAKE THEIR COMIC BOOK DEBUT THIS WEDNESDAY IN SUICIDE GIRLS #1 As someone who spent most of their youth kicking around the punk and hardcore scene, I remember when the Suicide Girls thing kicked off, and ran into my fair share of aspiring SG models bac kin the day. Now, I think it's a sure sign of me being old that there's a Suicide Girls comic, BUT, at the same time... it's pretty darn cool too. IDW, the publishers of recent hits like TRUE BLOOD, the DOCTOR WHO comics, and the INFESTATION crossover, are delivering this crime noir-charged SUICIDE GIRL mini-series which pits the Suicide Girls against a deranged killer, and a crazed corporate cabal. Check it out this Wednesday at Third Eye! THIRD EYE STAFF PICKS Steve - BUTCHER BAKER RIGHTEOUS MAKER #2 - A must for all of you who dig series like THE BOYS. This is the closest we're gonna get to seeing THE COMEDIAN from the WATCHMEN in his own book. Ridiculous, over-the-top, and awesome. Trish - CARBON GREY #2 - Pure comic goodness. Bloody, brutal, and gorgeous steampunk storytelling. A must read for any of you who dig the steampunk stuff. TORMA - JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #622 - An amazing tie-in to FEAR ITSELF, I think the direction of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY is perfect and brings a really cool fantasy element to the Marvel Universe. Tony (Prince Frederick) BATMAN AND ROBIN #22 - The best this series has been since the first three issues, the ending to Tomasi and Gleason's first arc was perfect.