The Comic Couch Presents #75

Here's the latest:)

THE COMIC COUCH PRESENTS #75
Written reviews for our weekly obsession.
Special advanced review!!!

Area 10
Vertigo Crime
Christos N. Gage- writer
Chris Samnee- artist

I have yet to be disappointed by one of these Vertigo Crime books, and this one was the best so far. Gage gives us an interesting story about a cop trying to catch a unique criminal. The story deals with the art of trepanation, an old belief that if you drill a hole in your skull, you open the ‘third eye’ and are privy to extra-sensory awareness or enlightenment. Obviously, Gage read up on this subject and was fascinated by it enough to write a novel. His interest shows in the telling here as he uses it to full effect to bring us an exciting crime adventure. Samnee’s art is the best I’ve seen so far in this line of books. His sharp, clean lines delineate every character perfectly and he has a great sense of perspective. It helped to keep the mystery alive. That mystery sometimes seems to come out of nowhere, but for the most part it all makes perfect sense. Thanks DC, for the advanced copy! If any of you are concerned about what you’ll begetting when you buy this package sight unseen (it comes shrink-wrapped), then worry no more. This sucker is worth it.
4 out of 5 couch geeks.

Special Comic Couch Independent review:
Editor of the Comic Couch Podcast, Kris Carter, hands me package from some place called Silber Media. “Hey, can you review these please?” I rarely turn things down so I say yes. I get home and open it up and it’s a bunch of tiny (2 square inches!) comics and a DVD with a stick figure on it. Kris, what the #*&% is this? Turns out, there are some pretty neat comics in these little packages. We received:
Just a Man #2 & 3- a gritty western.
Marked #1- a supernatural thriller.
XO #5- a crime drama where the main character is in way over his head.
Worms #5- a freaky, supernatural (or psychological?) exploration.
Ultimate Lost Kisses#11- a powerful drama.
My Life is Sad and Funny- a stick figure DVD comic.

The true gem of the bunch is Ultimate Lost Kisses because it features fantastic art by none other that Dave Sim. Even with just inches, Dave has the ability to bring real emotion and movement to the page. The art in the other issues is kind of middling or just not allowed to do much. Just a Man was probably my favorite out of the bunch, maybe because there was more of a story with the two issues. The DVD didn’t do much for me at all. Call me snobbish if you will, but I just can’t get past the stick figures. Brian John Mitchell is the writer for all the comics and he does a good job with the various genres and characters he has to juggle. I wish he would have diverted from the first person storytelling at times, as reading all these at once made the narrators tend to blend a little. I’m not sure what the market is for these things. Most comic book readers will not give these a second glance. I suppose they could be marketed toward the artsy crowd in big cities that like to frequent out of the way museums. If you’re looking for something different though, you can’t get much different than these little buggers. They are a neat diversion from the mainstream. Go to http://www.silbermedia.com/comicsAnd check these out.

Conan: The Weight of the Crown- one shot: awesome Darick Robertson art and story! 4 out of 5 couch geeks.
The Talisman: The Road of Trials #3- if you like Stephen King, you’ll love this. 4 out of 5 couch geeks.
Aliens Vs. Predator: Three World War #1- Darkhorse continues it’s excellent line of movie franchise books. 3 out of 5 couch geeks.

GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH:

Ex Machina Volume 8: Dirty TricksWildstorm StudiosBrian K. Vaughan- writerTony Harris- artistThis latest volume of one of the most critically acclaimed series of the past decade deals with the crazies that politics can sometimes bring out of the woodwork. It shows us how dangerous, silly, ridiculous, and unfulfilling hero worship can be. Although this volume was probably the weakest of the whole series, important developments still happen and it is quite necessary for the future. Great art, great writing, you can’t go wrong here. 4 out of 5 couch geeks.
The Engineer: Konstrukt HC- this is a cool ‘Hellboyish’ original comic from Archaia Press. Really fun! 4 out of 5 couch geeks.
Ultimatum- Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four TPB: average to middling. Only get it if you’re sucked into the Ultimate line (like me, sigh!). 2 out of 5 couch geeks.
I am a Mind, and I am Beside myself with comics.
H. Jarrod Courtemanche