The Beat that my Heart Skipped (Casanova Soundtrack)

The Beat that my Heart Skipped (Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip) is the fourth song on the Casanova soundtrack as outlined in Casanova 14. It is my favorite song on the album, no contest. The rhymes especially are great fun. The video will not embed for some reason so CLICK HERE to see it and read along below.

Every now and then I cower and I need to find empowerment
Empowerment is paramount to how I can begin to mount
A plan that I can implement
to make a dent on ignorance
Instead of drunk belligerence
and the dissidence of miscreants
Especially in this instance
with the never ending persistence
to use the words in each sentence
as if they were blunt instruments
to beat a hole in the defence
of this beauty and her innocence
which serves to just build resistance
in spite of all my good intents.

The beat that my heart skipped

This is the beat that my heart skipped when we first met
Now that I’ve heard it, it leaves me with a kind of regret
No disrespect
We just left a lot of people upset
And what we had wasn’t really what we’d come to expect

Well good god damn and other such phrases
I haven’t heard a beat like this in ages
To miss such a beat would have been outrageous
But when you heart skips a beat its ruthless and aimless

She caught my attention in her fishnets
Then she reeled me in expecting nothing more than kissed necks and quick sex
But that weren’t the case with this platinum princess
She’s attracted my interest
So I wanted to impress….
Upon her all the positive things
That come form having more than just a one night fling
But that’s something that’s easier in theory than in practice
Since pick up lines are tactics
To get prey to the mattress
And this actress
Is practiced
In shunning such theatrics
When put upon daily by tactless geriatrics

So my genuine advances are met with po-faced scepticism
Throwing complements but she just straight elects to miss them
Her lips were put on this earth for dispersing wisdom
God forbid I suggest she lets me kiss them

But I really want to know what she thinks of me
Because I’m loving every idiosyncrasy
But I ain’t one to jump through hoops to make a 1st impression
Been there, done that, learnt the worst of lessons
We want to be loved for who we appear to be instead of who we are
So I real selves take a backseat behind the pomp and the façade
And that’s as true of the rude boys, downing pints and acting hard
As of the kids shunning convention with clinical disregard

Comics Out May 14, 2008

Casanova 14. Already reviewed on this site. Twice. One of my favorite comic book issues of all time.

Serenity: Better Days 3. Fine. Whatever.



Batman 676. Not paying attention to comics news enough, I did not realize that Batman RIP was something that was going to go outside the main Morrison written Batman title into 14 other issues. I will NOT be sucked into crossover madness, so you guys are going to have to tell me what is going on in those other titles. A few things this issue. One: the new Batmobile. I see what Morrison was going for, and the idea does not seem awful or anything, but my eye cannot help but think it is the tricked out first car of the alienated comic book loving son of some rich Wall Street jerk: he took a sports car, and added bat symbols on the wheels. Lame. Also: A CD changer. Really? I know Morrison's point was to give Batman a line about a dumb criminal, but to imply the Batmobile has ANY outdated technology is just WRONG. I mean the thing is brand new. Oh, I have become that comic book guy. Moving on. The Joker scenes were pretty scary, but I felt the last page of the comic book could have been cut altogether would harming the whole at all. Finally: are we sure the title of this refers to Batman himself? Tim Callahan has a hunch the Black Glove will turn out to be Bruce Wayne's little mentioned older brother. Thematically, I want it to somehow be his FATHER back from the dead (since Batman has his own son now). In either case: is the title a red herring, in fact telling some long dead character to stay dead (which is what RIP means)?

In comic book news, Fraction is on Word Balloon, and probably some other stuff happened as well.

Casanova 14 (spoilers)

The big twist here is that this is nothing like Fraction's Iron Fist partner Ed Brubaker's Captain America, as people said -- this is not a book missing the title character. It turns out Zeph was Cass the whole time. (The clues were everywhere: she is introduced wearing a shirt that says "undercover," she says "I want to kill this guy so bad it is making my dick hard," she tells Toppo Grosso he is confusing his boy gods and his girl gods). Cass, physically altered to be a woman, had a physical relationship with Kubark, our cool killer. In the epilogue to 14 Cass returns to the prison in a heartbreaking scene and tries to quietly tell him that there were real feelings there, that is was not all an act designed to trick him. Kubark can only respond with "I'm not a faggot" -- and Cass, choked up, walks away trying to keep his feelings to himself.

Tim Callahan says this about the gender reverse in the book:

The genius of such a shocking gender reversal is twofold: (1) it undermines and mocks the typical super-spy convention of aggressive male sexuality. When Casanova, returned (through science!) to his original male appearance, confronts his former lover Kubark Benday, there's a real sense of loss and longing there. Their (as it turned out) homosexual experience was not without meaning, and Casanova's halting apology isn't enough to fill the uneasy space between the two characters. (2) the "bad" Casanova from Timeline 909 (a.k.a. our hero) replaces the "bad" Zephyr from Timeline 919 to do what's right. He not only redeems himself, but he redeems his sister by adopting her physical form. Or, if it's not complete redemption, at least it's an acceptance of responsibility.

To that I want to add this. I have argued that Grant Morrison insists that the world we live in every day is full of crazy time travel drug visions and whatnot so that his comics become more realistic than, say, Moore's Watchmen. The world of Casanova is nothing if not outlandish, but again, there is something more realistic here than in most fiction: a genuinely complex male bi-sexual relationship. Kubark's failure is that he can only see it in terms of paltry notions of sexuality that have been handed down to him: there are straight guys and there are "faggots." Fraction's point here is Sorkin's in Sports Night (in the words of Bill Macy): "Life's not really like that. Life's a more interesting place that THAT." (Because this is Matt Fraction, I fully expect Kubark to evolve in some future arc; mostly his reaction is just freshly hurt feelings here.) Fraction's "realism" is the emotional realism of Whedon, but he goes farther than Whedon does (or maybe can): though it does push some people's buttons, lots of folks -- girls and boys -- can get behind girl on girl sex between cute monster hunters. A male protagonist who becomes a female and has a relationship with another man, with emotionally messy results - that is something else, particularly with the often sexually immature demographic that reads comic books.

Did I mention Casanova 14 is the best thing Matt Fraction has done?

Neil Shyminski could probably be subtler than I on these white male gender issue points -- and I would love to hear what you have to say on this, Neil -- but that is my take on it.

Comics Out April 2, 2008

Casanova 13. I am busy putting together a list of my must read prestige books -- All Star Superman, WE3, Assault on Weapon Plus, Dark Knight Strikes Again (nothing that would surprise any of you) -- and this one is right on the top of the list. I love this book for the same reasons I love the others on that list -- at no point to I have to say things like "Oh, yeah, the Invisibles is great but the art is spotty in parts," or "Seven Soldiers is awesome but the end maybe leaves a little to be desired." I love the fluid line work and the colors -- like drawing with water. I love the crazy things the characters say: ""I'm a robot inside of a robot inside of another robot. I'm like a nesting doll that gives blowjobs steeped in existential ennui." And I love how Fraction thinks: I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" -- not really a cheat since the existence of perfect replica robot people has been a core part of this book since early on --. Let me start that sentence again. I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" to get out of the events of last issue (they were all robots) with the idea that even if you have a mad sci-fi escape maybe you should reject it for emotion and a blind faith in the power of the unique.

Punisher War Journal 18. Marvel with the product placement. Very disturbing. I have to believe it could be incorporated into the image more naturally. I mean I know they are in a guitar store, but the ad is to poorly incorporated it looks like a sticker has been placed over the art. I am not always against product placement -- people use products and GMC, for example, has some awesome product placement on 24. I don't even drive a car and now I associate the brand with the one thing that can save America. I am not saying Marvel should stop, but they should find a way to not make it so jarring. Cause it makes me hate comic books. Also, Chaykin continues to elude me.

Amazing Spiderman 555. Bachalo, on the other hand, I get. Bachalo I love. Bachalo would do a hell of a Casanova volume -- this is a guy who can do what that book needs: cute girls, and dense visual information. Check out the cover of this Spiderman issue to see how he has reached a compromise with people who say he is too cluttered: the image is a cluttered as he gets, but the colors isolate our heroes so we can see, nice and fast, what is going on. The same spare use of colors for the interior snow scenes is just beautiful and iconic. Bachalo draws a great Wolverine, though I suppose you could argue he is too cartoony. You can't argue such a thing for Spiderman. Bachalo is great for Spiderman, which is a character who needs to be a lot of fun, especially the Brand New Day version. The white borders are nice, especially with the snow, and cute girls Bachalo can draw like no man's business. Bachalo makes me want to date Betty. I know every time I write about Bachalo and cute girls -- and I write it a lot -- I sound shallow, but I think superhero comic books need cute girls and the ones that get all the attention are often no more than grotesque ... things. A note to the writer however -- grab a book on verse. There is more to writing poetry -- even Dr. Strange's speeches -- than the occasional rhyme. The use of rhythm was MAKING ME NUTS.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 13. Oh, fine. Whatever. It is not terrible. I will keep getting this book. But you cannot make me review it every month.

Angel 6. Same here.

I also picked up an AMAZING oversized Ashley Wood book -- and I love Ashley Wood -- called Zombies vs Robots vs Amazons (and Amazons is code for lesbians), but that will need its own post I think, to capture all the greatness. Hint: the genre-mash up -- and that is kind of my thing -- is good, but the ART is what makes it work.

Comics Out March 5, 2008

[little rushed today. sorry.]

Punisher War Journal 17. Chaykin continues to elude my grasp (blood that looks like Ketchup? That’s good right? I will get it soon, probably). The story is a fun one-off. Captain America, Casanova and Punisher work if the main characters are barely there, or not there at all. This is an interesting little trend. It epitomizes the idea that we do not read comics for the characters but because of the creators, which I like. But maybe it is the worlds the creators have built that replace the characters. I am still thinking about it.

Casanova. I continue to love this book, obviously. Fraction’s swiftness is really refreshing to read – things just HAPPEN. Things MOVE FORWARD. None of Whedon’s little invincible clique – everyone is in danger. Fabio Moon is amazing, and he shines here with few word balloons. The real danger in the issue is the vacuum of space and Fabio really brings it home with a great use of empty space on most of the pages. And an axe. Inspiration. In the back-matter Fraction reveals his real last name I think. I do not know if that was a secret up until now, but I did not know what it was.

Buffy 12. Buffy has sex with a girl as a PR stunt, and a pretty good one: the story was carried by several newspapers, and Joss is doing interviews (including one on Newsarama), where he is making it clear that she is not now gay – sexuality is a spectrum. That’s a nice idea to put in a comic book, and I do not think the PR stunt overly cynical – I think they handled it pretty believably, and hey, are you really going to fault a book based on cute girls fighting monsters for pandering to an audience? More importantly the story here is fun – the jokes surrounding the reveal, and the ones at the end of the issue are great. We recently had a conversation about Buffy being too dark, and this looks like a little light, which is nice. I still have a hard time developing strong feelings about this book other than that I basically like it, in part because of the art. Coming up soon – Buffy vs Fray. So if you did not get that trade paperback, get it now (it is one of Whedon’s indispensable comics works).

On Newsarama they have a whole interview with Morrison – part three just came out. Apparently, we have never really seen a New God, only their manifestations. That’s the old Morrison genius – just go all the way behind the concept and rethink it.

Click the lables to read reviews of older issues of these titles.

Review, discuss and recommend in the comment thread.

Comics Out November 30, 2007

Batman. Part four of a seven part crossover where I only have the "prelude" and this issue. I follow creators, and am not going to be suckered into buying comics by lesser talents to complete a story. I did that for like five years in the mid-90s with the X-Men and I am done with that now. Morrison's Batman continues to leave me cold. At its best it is an awesome episode of Batman Animated. I can see that he has pulled an interesting switch-er-oo with the villain, but this is not enough in my opinion. Before David Aja and Iron Fist I also would have liked the art in this issue more, but alas, no one does a kung-fu fight like David Aja.

X-Men. Part five of a thirteen part story where I only have the "prelude" and this issue. I follow creators, and am not going to be suckered into buying comics by lesser talents to complete a story. I did that for like five years in the mid-90s with the X-Men and I am done with that now, as I may have already mentioned. I get this book because I LOVE Chris Bachalo, who does what a superhero comic book artist should do: he does great iconic images of individual characters and teams, where everyone looks beautiful and fun and cool. His Wolverine looks like a bad-ass cartoon, Mr. Sinister (a faintly absurd villain I always liked) looks eeeeevil, and Storm and Cable get great poster-style full page shots. I care a lot less when iconic characters are sidelined. As for the plot, I get the feeling that the issues I missed were just filler, cause this plot has advanced virtually nowhere in four issues.

Casanova. The palindrome title sets up an issue that divides in the middle and gives symmetrical layouts on either side -- just like Alan Moore did in that "Fearful Symmetry" issue of Watchmen. The art and story are great -- I especially liked the big text panels, and when Zephyr says "page eight -- but I am rapidly running out of ways to praise this awesome awesome book. There is some smart stuff in the back on sex and comics that might make it to a commonplace book entry one day.

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. I am putting up a separate post about this issue in a few minutes. For now, let me just reiterate that I love this book because Miller is audacious, and I love this issue for the same reason. As Casanova is praised for having wild ideas on every page, I want to praise Miller for being audacious on every page -- there is almost always something NUTZ on every page, even when it is offensive or close to offensive. Like the absurdly sexy successful attorney who would have a one night stand with a guy with white skin and green hair. Or the swastika emblems on the chest of the Joker's companion, not referred to again or explained in this issue, which I LIKE. (Frank Miller always goes for absurd Nazis for bad guys because they are the ultimate evil in the pulps). Or Hal Jordan looking like an idiot with a hot-dog. (The only people Miller hates almost as much as Nazi's are cops -- and Hall Jordan is a super space cop, so there you go). Here is William Blake one more time for those who missed it: Exuberance is Beauty.

Angel: After the Fall. I got this a week late, because my comic book store under-ordered. Whedon plots but does not script. The art here is weak, but the writing is pretty good, especially because Lynch does not go crazy, as Vaughan does on Buffy, to do cute-speak with every line. Our main characters are introduced in new and persuasive formations and roles (though it took me a minute to think of Lyla to figure out why one character looked like a hologram). And Whedon solves his big problem -- this issue gives a narrative explanation, rather than one having to do with what comic book company was sold the rights to what characters -- why the Buffy and the Angel characters will remain in separate spheres. Generally I preferred Angel to Buffy, and now it looks like I might go the same direction with the comics. I do wish both books would find artists with some more flair.

In Comics News Newsarama had a report this week on Mark Millar's new project with John Romita Jr -- Kick Ass (that's the title of the comic book and not my reaction to it). It takes place in the "real world" and is about a kid who reads comics all the time and decides to put on a mask and fight crime with a baseball bat. Millar claims this premise will not be played for laughs, though the wording of the solicit (which concludes with the words "Miss out and you're an idiot") suggests otherwise. Millar on his own does not sell me on a comic, but in combination with Romita I might check it out.

Remember you can click the labels at the bottom of thus post to read my reviews of past issues of the comics that came out today. In the comments talk about your own haul this week.

Comics Out October 24, 2007

Casanova 10. I am getting tired of watching myself type "this is my favorite comic book" month after month so let's just dive into specifics. Eeeeeevil bad guys, a recipe for lamb, lots of sexy bits rendered as only Fabio Moon can, and backmatter with extra funny (Ice-T) and heart (Henry and Ray). And I forgot that Fabio himself points out the connection between the bad guys here and the bad guys in his twin brother and Casanova predecessor Ba's Umbrella Academy that I pointed out in the comics out post last week (I read a preview issue of Casanova 10 a few weeks ago).

In comics news, Newsarama has a preview-review of first part of the new X-Men crossover, written by Brubaker and drawn by Silvestri. I wasn't going to get it, but the combination of the fact that people keep telling me Brubaker is great (I have made a decision to get his Captain America run in trade), I love the X-Men, and I find myself, surprisingly, having fond thoughts about Silvestri since my review of Here Comes Tomorrow. The three factors together might be enough to put me over the edge. Is anyone else going to get this?

Comics Out September 12, 2007

Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon's Casanova #9. There is no one left who does not know I am obsessed with this book. I am rapidly running out of superlatives.

A great new character, Kubark Benday is introduced, a character Fabio refers to as "Dragonball Wolverine" in the back-matter. Sasa Lisi gets some development -- her "I came from tomorrow to save you from boring" could be the tag line for all of Casanova. I am just falling in love with Fabio Moon -- his image of Sasa Lisi is crazy fun. And all those little details. I am not going to list them all but the last panel encapsulates the tone that makes this book my favorite.

A side note: Kubark Benday talks about the awesomeness of "Sifers Valomilk, the Original 'Flowing Center' Candy Cup." At the back of the book Fraction tells you where you can order these online, but if you don't want to wait, and you live in New York City (as a lot of readers here do) just go to 108 Rivington Street (zip 10002) -- the awesome purveyors of old school candy, Economy Candy, has a bunch, plus stuff like Candy Cigarettes (can you believe those were ever legal?).

Matt Fraction and Leandro Fernandez's Punisher War Journal #11. This issue was my favorite so far. I do not think it was the lack of Ariel Olivetti's art -- I wonder what this issue would have been like if he had drawn it. This is a character study, but rather than being a high concept gimmick, it reads like a real story, because it is: it is the epilogue to the Captain America costume story, it introduces a change in the G.W. Bridge story, and it introduces a new villain in a plot that is very creepy. Fraction knows how to find the tension in each of the three stories. Fraction even gives Iron Man a line about enjoying change that makes you see how he sees Civil War, in just a few words. A solid piece of craftsmanship.

Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, and P Craig Russell's Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Other Stories. I have not yet had a chance to read this, but I did not know there was more Mignola drawn Hellboy for me -- this story collects several Hellboy shorts from Dark Horse Anthology things. This is cool.

In a related story, MATT FRACTION AND KELLY SUE HAD A BABY! Congrats! I would use exclamation marks after ALL OF THESE SENTENCES! Baby!

At Newsarama, I tried to read some interviews about the next Hulk thing, and Marvel's Skrull thing, but I got bored.

Recommend, review, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.

Comics Out August 8, 2007

Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon's Casanova #8.

The new issue of Casanova is out, and it is blue, shockingly blue. It was a shade of blue I was not expecting when Fraction sent me the black and whites and told me they would be blue. It is blue-tastic.

It is also the first, and probably last sight of a super-villain (well, not so super to tell the truth) whose name really was was inspired by my name, DOKKKTOR KLOCKHAMMER, appearing here less that two weeks after I finished at Oxford and officially became Doctor Klock. Nice timing Fraction.

Casanova 8 doubles as a great introduction for those that have never read Casanova before -- if you want to jump on, today's the day; Fraction does a great job re-establishing a lot of things without making you feel like he is re-establishing a lot of things. Cause in Casanova exposition, even review-exposition, is always fun. As Fraction himself says in the back-matter, the thing does a needle scratch through the album that is the first seven issues, remixing all of their great stuff in 16 pages. But be warned -- Casanova 8 will make you want to shell out the money for the hard-cover collection of Casanova 1-7.

As for the issue itself. It has a hilarious Dungeons and Dragons reference, a genuinely surprising ending on a couple of levels, and the art is amazing even though it is not by Gabriel Ba, which should not be possible (Fabio Moon is Gabriel Ba's twin brother if you can believe it; and I probably do sometimes) - it has a looseness that goes over well. Fraction (I think) has said that Moon brings the Pope while Ba had the Mignola in his pocket -- that's exactly right. You will love this issue.

Plus: I have seen upcoming issues and read upcoming scripts and I know stacks of secrets and I can promise you that this is going somewhere awesome, somewhere that will rival volume 1.

Buy this issue or something probably bad will happen to you.

Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #10. The White Supremacists Punisher arc comes to an end, white supremacists get the crap beaten out of them (and who does not love to see that -- that's what comics were make to to back when Hitler was setting everything on fire), little Clark really grows as a person and as a killer, and Fraction finds a hell of an ending, a hell of a thing to set between his two main characters. Also the bad guys here have an H-ray generator (hate-rays); what do the bad guys in Casanova have? An H-element generator. Interesting... (Ok, maybe not interesting, but kinda fun.... Remember when you noticed that the Philosopher's stone in Morrison's JLA was the Hand of Glory from the Invisibles -- kinda like that, but with more ... something).

Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III's Batman #667. This is a lot like Seven Soldiers #0, but slower -- Morrison and J.H. Williams team up to show you a bunch of superhero-losers (including a fat guy), then let loose the killing. There is even an image reminiscent of The Whip on the second to last page of Seven Soldiers 0. It is also a bit like Identity Crisis, with the nostalgia and dire consequences. I loved the two page title spread, Batman's appearance to the group, the two images framed in the hand, and the cruelty of the death, but I am not really feeling on board with this story. I just get annoyed at loser superheroes. It is an easy shot to take? Or I don't care? Something.... Even Williams had as many snoozer images as knockouts. Morrison's Batman is just not doing it for me, even with one of the best artists around.

AND

Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's Sugershock (Online, and for free) #1. Oh, this is a lot of fun, and Fabio Moon is just the right guy to draw this -- Cassaday is great, but I think Whedon benefits from someone more lose and energetic. You have to give Moon a lot of credit-- this guy knows how to pick who to work with. He is having a great week -- not long ago I did not know who he was and now I love him twice over. Girls, robots, rock bands, awesome. [I was told about this by a commenter a while ago, but was too busy to notice; then Alex Su reminded me today. Two quick questions -- what is the home-page for this and is there a way of being alerted when the new issue comes out so I don't miss it? I mean I know you guys will tell me, and please do, but still...]

Nothing in comics new jumped out at me.

Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.

Comics Out May 23, 2007

MATT FRACTION AND GABRIEL BA'S CASANOVA: LUXURIA, collecting issues 1-7. If you heard me freak out about the original issues, but missed the boat and could not find them, now is your chance to get them all in one of the best-looking collected hardcover editions I have ever seen. It is oversized, but not too oversized; it is a beautiful object in its own right, but it is slim and not so big or nice you feel like you are going to fuck it up just by turning the pages (I am thinking of my Absolute Authority here). Besides the fantastic content, the size and the cover design make you think if French graphic novels, if you have every seen any: The whole book was designed for this book, if you see what I mean -- it was not assembled according to some generic template, as it would have been at Marvel or DC (e.g. the gold-spined Marvel hardcovers such as Phoenix Endsong). It has some noteworthy dedicatory material, as well as three gems for epigraphs to the collection and some interesting back matter by Ba, thumbnails and such. The only thing that is missing is the back matter from the original issues, but that is a little gift I think for people who bought the originals -- Fraction was never, as he said, writing for the trade. Don't let that stop you from getting this book. You can wait for the softcover, which will be out soon, but I say jump in and get this thing if you can afford it. Here I go again: after years and years of reading comic books this is MY FAVORITE COMIC BOOK OF ALL TIME. Tonight I record the Comic Geek Speak appearance with Fraction talking about the book -- I want to talk about the dedication and the epigraphs especially -- and that will be out tomorrow or the next day.

Sean McKeever and Takeshi Miyazawa's Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane vol 3: My Secret Life. I have not gotten around to reading this yet but the earlier volumes are lovely. This is very much the anti-Casanova, all simplicity and heart. I need both in my life. Reading Spider-Man loves Mary Jane makes you a good person, probably, somehow.

Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo's X-Men 199. Bachalo art. Bachalo art is awesome. In particular I like the scritchy effects around Cable -- they look like they were done afterward, just with a marker or something. It is nice to see something that simple, like Graffiti. Plus the story is kinda fun, I guess. Next time this series is on issue 200. The second comic book I ever owned was X-Men 23. How did that happen?

Newsarama has Joss Whedon interviewing Bryan Hitch, which is quite fun (and long), and an interview up with Ed Brubaker. They also have some nonsense about a Mary Jane statue and a promo image of the Joker or Two Face or something from the upcoming Batman movie. I do not want to talk about those last two subjects -- it all looks perfectly horrible -- but you are welcome to.

Comics Out 14 February 2007

1. Grant Morrison and John Van Fleet's Batman 663 (a stand alone issue about the Joker; this is Morrison's return to the book after a hiatus of a few months)

2. Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men 20 (part two of six, and four issues from the end of the run)

3. Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova 7 (the conclusion to the first "album" [collection])

I was sent a preview of the Casanova issue, and reviewed it (very spoiler free) recently on January 22, 2007 -- check the archives. I will review Astonishing and Batman in the comments when I get the chance.

In comics news this week, Newsarama has Marvel and DC solicits out (All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder 5 will be out in May). Two other random bits of news: one from last week:

1. The Green Lantern went into the Bleed suggesting that the DCU is going to adopt the idea from Ellis fully, allowing characters to cross to and from the Wildstorm universe and beyond.

2. I have not read Spiderman: Reign; it is apparently a Dark Knight Returns take on Spiderman, which could be fun if it was parodic and done right (but it is probably not done right). At one point in the story (spoilers ho) we learn how Mary Jane died (this story is set in the future like DKR): Peter tells us that it was not just his blood that was poisoned by the radioactive spider, but all his "fluids" -- he says he was killing her every time he loved her. Radioactive Semen. I don't know if that is very funny, or very very wrong.

Review. Recommend. Discuss.

Comics Out 22 November 2006

Out this week:

Runaways 22: I continue to read this story as mere preparation for Joss Whedon taking the thing over in a few months, which I think will be fantastic. God Bless Joss Whedon and everything he stands for.

Wonder Woman 3: pop, fluffy fun, but not enough of any of those things. I would not really recommend it. Like Morrison's Batman, it would make a great animated thing for a younger audience (like Morrison's Batman the art is fun and cartoon like), but to me it feels thin.

Punisher War Journal #1: I myself was surprised to be picking up a Punisher comic book, much less a Civil War tie in, but this one is written by Casanova genius Matt Fraction, so I had no choice. It's kind of fun but the tone seems to me -- and I don't know the character very well -- a bit off, a bit imported from Casanova (and Casanova is very much unlike the Punisher, I would have thought). Stuff such as the caption box with a arrow that read "This is me" felt not so much like the Punisher. But I like Fraction and will probably read more of this. Just a note: If you pick it up, the copy with the black and white cover is not just a variant cover -- the whole issue is black and white, which surprised me (and annoyed me) when I went to read it.

Casanova #6: my big Casanova review should be online soon (so the guys who are going to publish it have told me), and I can't just do a short thing on this one issue, so let me reiterate my main point. Casanova is my favorite comic book of all time, and this issue further solidifies me in this thought. READ CASANOVA. IT WILL KNOCK YOU OUT.

In the news: Mitch has an article on Comic Geek Speak at Silver Bullet, Alan Moore will be on the Simpsons (as the owner of a cool comic book store and a rival to comic book guy), and Mark Miller had a great, huge, interview at Newsarama. Also just put up today on Newsarama -- Joss Whedon talks Buffy season 8 comics.

With Thanksgiving I won't blog until Monday, but will leave a free for all comment post up over the weekend.

Comics Out 18 October 2006

A good week for comics: Douglas Rushkoff and Liam Sharp's Testament 11, Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova 5, and a double bill of Grant Morrison's Wildstorm relaunch with Wildcats 1 (art by Jim Lee) and The Authority 1 (art by Gene Ha). I will hold of reviewing these until next week, though I may say something in the comments section.

Strong potential stuff this week, but gear up: a week from today Planetary, with the exception of an epilogue, ends (we will see the defeat of the Four, I imagine) and Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers ends with an extra large issue drawn by superstar J.H. Williams III.

In comics news this week Marvel and DC's January solicits are up at Newsarama.com.

Plus -- and I know it is not exactly comics news, but Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodreguiz are making a movie -- the trailer is up and it looks absurd, amazing. It's called Grindhouse. I would link to youtube, but it keeps getting put up and taken down so you will have to hunt for it yourselves. You won't regret it.

Comics Out 13 September 2006

CASANOVA 4 is out today. If you don't have one, two, and three just dive in. This is my new favorite book. In the news (newsarama.com) Frank Miller was on NPR talking about the American flag, and Joss Whedon is taking over the much talked about Runaways (the collections of which I will be tracking down today, if I can). Review. Comment. Discuss.