WEEKLY CRISIS UPDATE 49.50

Brightest Day Teaser Image Click here for ridiculously large version. DC unleashed a teaser image for upcoming Brightest Day storylines, as shown above. It's similar to the older Countdown teaser images they employed. Say what you will about Countdown, but those teaser images got people talking and speculating and were some of the best ads to come out of DC in a long time. Hit the jump for mild speculation on what this teaser might be hinting at. Hal Jordan - White Lantern? Biggest one is Hal Jordan in his White Lantern costume laying dead (?) in the broken White Lantern Power Battery. Hal's died before and the White Lanterns can revive the dead, so is it possible he'll die again? Likely just controversial imagery, but I suspect we'll see him wielding a white ring again at some point. Deadman Commandments Deadman is going all Moses on us with his headstone/tablet. Is he going to raise more dead, as he was attempting to do with the original Dove in recent issues of Brightest Day? Is that what the tablet/headstone with "Rise" enscribed on it means? Star City Forest Is Burning Looks like someone will be taking tips from Alfred in The Dark Knight and burning Green Arrow out of the mysterious Star City forest that sprung up in the aftermath of Blackest Night and Cry For Justice, the latter of which saw the destruction of Star City in which the forest sprung up in. And is Martian Manhunter doing the burning or is that just an unrelated shot of him doing work on Mars? Anti-Monitor Goes Galactus Cloud The Anti-Monitor is shown as a giant cloud at the top, which is similar to the Galactus cloud in Rise of the Silver Surfer. Or maybe it's a Lion King reference and he thinks Hal is Simba? I'm not sure. The big AM was shown fighting Deadman in an early Brightest Day issue, so he's definitely got some part to play in this story. I'm just not sure what the cloud visage implies, but it appears to be coming from the fire that is burning the Star City trees. Maybe Anti-Monitor comes to Earth to track down the White Lantern entity/power battery and it is located in Star City? Emerald Warriors In the top left, we see Atrocitus, Ganthet and Guy Gardner handling some kind of green casket construct. Hal Jordan's body (assuming he dies)? John Stewart isn't shown on this image nor is Kyle Rayner. Maybe one of them? They also have a lot of architecture/city building constructs there, which is why Stewart immediately sprung to mind for me with his background as an architect. Could be Xanshi related. The Hawks Hawkman and Hawkgirl are shown on the left and I assume that has to do with their trip to the new Hawkworld. Not sure what else to take from that part of the teaser. Jade Dies...Again? Jade is shown being carried by Hawk and Dove. Kyle Rayner is no where to be found with his ex-dead girlfriend unconscious and/or dead. And why Hawk and Dove? They were with Deadman recently trying to revive the former Dove. How does Jade factor into that? Something JLA/JSA related? Aquaman/Mera/Aqualad New Aqualad is obviously a reference to his upcoming debut (he was on all of 2-pages and powerless in his recent cameo). Aquaman's dead body could be Black Lantern related or Mera completing her mission to kill him or maybe Aqualad inadvertently causes it (maybe he drains moisture/water from things and accidently killed him?). As most of the revived Black Lanterns have shown signs of reverting to Black Lantern status, I imagine it's only symbolic and not an actual death again. And are those Black Manta's eyes behind Aqualad? Did he kill Aquaman? Is he Aqualad's father? What part does he play? Firestorm United Looks like the two Firestorm hosts are burying the Black Lantern version of Firestorm. Symbolic gesture of the two working together and overcoming differences? Other Oddities Magog's staff appears to be broken in the bottom right. Captain Boomerang's boomerangs are bloody and piled up near the Star City sign. Looks like the Qwardian Weaponer's shield, as shown on recent a Green Lantern Corps cover, with the White Lantern net construct Deadman used in his battle against the Anti-Monitor is on the ground near the Firestorm hosts. Star City sign on the ground. Related to the burning forest or another disaster for the city? The Inspiration And the inspiration for the above teaser is Pete Blume's The Rock.

Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews for 07/21/10 Posted: 20 Jul 2010 09:01 AM PDT New week, new comics. However, it seems like the majority of the regular weekly comics will be overshadowed by the release of Scott Pilgrim Vol 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour. With the movie and final book, Scott Pilgrim is definitely having his finest hour. Rick Chung did a great introductory guest post on Scott Pilgrim a while back for us and Matt recently had something to say on the series as well. We'll hopefully have a review out for the final volume by next week in a trade waiting column, but our regular weekly comics demand attention and Ryan and my Post-Crisis Previews are here to tackle that. Hit the jump to find out what we'll be buying and what we expect from each issue! AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #638 Written by Stan Lee & Joe Quesada Art by Marcos Martin, Paolo Manuel Rivera & Joe Quesada ONE MOMENT IN TIME Part 1 & 2 The questions have been haunting readers throughout Spider-Man’s Brand New Day and now the answers are here in four double-sized issues! What really happened at the wedding of Spider-Man and Mary Jane? What does Mary Jane know about Spider-Man today? How did ONE MORE DAY affect the Marvel U? Joe Quesada and Paolo Rivera are here to pull back the curtain and fill in every blank…but the answers may come at a cost to all that Peter Parker loves. This 4-part arc will hold answers, resolutions, and set up the course of Spider-Man's life for years to come… …and all will be revealed with a whisper. And in Part 2, it's Mary Jane's turn to come clean. What secrets has she been keeping? And who REALLY saved Aunt May? You may think you know the answer, but you're about to find out the truth! Kirk: I'm kind of dreading this issue. Amazing Spider-Man has been quite good lately and I'm confident it's primarily because they aren't dancing around the One More Day stuff or making "cute" jokes at the reader's expense about deals with the devil and other jabs. OMIT is pretty much going back into the murky waters of OMD/BND continuity garbage and I, and I assume many others, have moved on and don't care anymore. Don't really want to see them go back and throw away all the goodwill they've built up with the new direction, especially since I don't think any explanation will satisfy people. ATLAS #3 Written by Jeff Parker Art by Gabriel Hardman and Ramon Rosanas The 3D Man has been found, and if ATLAS stands with him they die with him- and even the Hidden City isn't safe from the unstoppable beings known as THE ECHO PEOPLE. The one agent who can help the most is hit the hardest! AND turn back half a century for a strange insight, the dreams of a killer robot! Ryan: I’m really torn on this series. With the announcement that Atlas will be ending after 5 issues, I’m not so sure it is worth sticking around for a story focusing on a character I don’t care for that much (3D Man), knowing that there won’t be any other stories down the road to justify my investment. Granted, I’ve enjoyed the first two issues more than I thought I would, but I’m still questioning if it would be worth it or if I’m better off waiting for trade. AVENGERS #3 Written by Brian Michael Bendis Art by John Romita Jr. The time space continuum is broken! And the Avengers must travel to the far flung future to see exactly what terrible mess their children have made of the world. But maybe, just maybe, Kang didn't tell our heroes the truth about what has gone wrong. Guest starring the Next Avengers, the Future Imperfect Hulk and the Amazing Spider-Girl! Yeah, you heard us! Ryan: I really hope that we finally get to see the Next Avengers in action in this issue after they were only hinted at in the previous issues. That was a cool draw of the debut, but seemed to be side-stepped last issue. I’m also hoping we find out why Wonder Man was acting so crazy and, hopefully, when he will get a new ongoing series (a guy can dream, right?). BATMAN BEYOND #2 Written by Adam Beechen Art by John Stanisci A mysterious new threat targets the original Batman's villains, and only Terry McGinnis – the Batman of the future – has a chance of finding and stopping him. But of a Catwoman stalks into the picture, Terry is torn between the lady she appears to be and the deadly tiger she might turn out to be! Kirk: First issue was surprisingly good. I had doubts about Beechen at first, but I'm confident I'll enjoy the rest of this series now. The Hush angle is an odd choice, but I'm willing to see where he goes with it. BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #14 Written by Paul Dini and Ivan Brandon Art by Dustin Nguyen and Ramon Bachs The anticipated sequel to HEART OF HUSH is here! Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen deliver an exciting continuation of the saga of Tommy Elliot and Bruce Wayne! Cracking under the strain of living as ""Bruce Wayne,"" Elliot plans his final, murderous revenge on Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and other members of Wayne's extended network of friends and allies. Will Dick and Damian be enough to thwart Tommy's plans – or will the end of Hush require the return of Bruce Wayne? And in the new Two-Face co-feature, writer Ivan Brandon picks up where the trial of Two-Face left off in the Manhunter co-feature! Despite his innocence, Two-Face is a man on the run, and discovers that even when he thinks he has nothing left to lose, he hasn't quite hit rock bottom! Ryan: The Heart of Hush was a simply amazing story and I’m glad to see Dini and Nguyen following-up on it. Hush has always been a compelling character, but they really took that to a higher level with some great twists and turns. It’ll be interesting to see how Dick deals with Hush in this story and just what the villain has in store for Catwoman. I cannot wait to see how this plays out. DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER #2 Written by Jay Faerber Art by Julio Brilha GUEST-STARRING INVINCIBLE! Maddie sends Dynamo 5 up against an alien menace with a serious grudge against Captain Dynamo. But is she sending them on a suicide mission? Not if a certain special guest-star has anything to say about it. Plus, the exclusive back-up series, NOTORIOUS, continues! Ryan: Dynamo 5 came back with a vengeance last issue with Julio Brilha doing an amazing job of picking up the reigns from Mahmud Asrar and Jay Faerber showing no signs of rust with his signature super team. I expect more of the same with this issue, though I’m hoping for an improvement in the back-up series, as the first installment of Notorious did nothing for me! GI JOE: COBRA #6 Written by Mike Costa and Christos Gage Art by Sergio Carrera and JK Woodward Arise, Serpentor...ARISE! In our last issue, you met the charismatic, fearsome, magnetic cult leader known as Serpentor. Now learn how he came to be what he is today...both the fantastic story his followers subscribe to, and the not-quite-as-godlike, yet no less terrifying, truth. The critically acclaimed series delivers its boldest, most shocking story yet! Ryan: The bits and pieces of Serpentor that we saw last issue was intriguing, so I’m looking forward to getting some more background on the character in this issue. There hasn’t been a single major misstep in this franchise since IDW took over, so I’ve got high hopes that this reimagining will be quite awesome. I’m also hoping that the art improves over last issue, as that was a total mess compared to the first arc in this series. HEROIC AGE: PRINCE OF POWER #3 Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente Art by Reilly Brown It's a race against time -- and eternity! -- as the Mighty Thor and Amadeus Cho try to beat the nefarious PANTHEON to all the pieces of The Ultimate Boon! The next stop on their mythological mystery tour is the realm of the ancient Egyptian gods -- and a no holds barred slugfest with SEKHMET, Goddess of Destruction! But once the sand settles, will the Prince of Power continue to side with the God of Thunder -- or with humanity? Join the New York Time Bestselling authors of INCREDIBLE HERCULES as they continue the tale of Herc’s former protégé! Kirk: The first issue was alright, but didn't really strike the same chords that Incredible Hercules did. The second one, though, was excellent. I loved the back and forth between Thor and Amadeus and Thor's, "I hate you.", line was the best thing ever. Really looking forward to more of the same this month. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #3 Written by Paul Levitz Art by Yildray Cinar The xenophobic Earth-Man was once the Legion's most despised foe, but now he's forced to join their ranks! But can his Legion teammates – particularly his one-time torture victim Sun Boy – let bygones be bygones so quickly? Ryan: I still cannot believe how quickly this series has won me over after years of never being able to get into the various incarnations of the Legion. There is just something about this creative team and their approach that is a major improvement over every previous team I’ve sampled. It looks like Earth-Man will have to prove his worth to the Legion in this issue. Now the big question is if he’ll do so using his regular powers or will he unveil that he is the newest member of the Green Lantern Corps? MUPPET SNOW WHITE #3 Written by Jesse Blaze Snider Art by Shelli Paroline Queen Piggy will stop at nothing to become ""the fairest one of all,"" so she has the Swedish Chef cook up a deliciously dastardly plan to take care of Snow White! Ryan: Writer Jesse Blaze Snider has been super cool about shooting The Weekly Crisis crew reviews copies of this series and, for the most part, I’ve been really glad that he has. The first issue of the series was hilariously awesome with Snider showing a great amount of skill in capturing the unique magic of the Muppets. Unfortunately, the second issue took a bit of a nosedive. I’m hoping this issue will be back to form as it certainly has a lot of potential! SCOTT PILGRIM VOL 6: SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR Written by Bryan Lee O’Malley Art by Bryan Lee O’Malley It's finally here... Six years and almost one thousand pages have all led to this epic finale! With six of Ramona's seven evil exes dispatched, it should be time for Scott Pilgrim to face Gideon Graves, the biggest and baddest of her former beaus. But didn't Ramona take off at the end of Book 5? Shouldn't that let Scott off the hook? Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn't, but one thing is for certain — all of this has been building to Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour! Ryan: I love Scott Pilgrim. I mean it. I’m practically obsessed with these books. My wife and I even named our pet Hamster Scott Pilgrim after the title character. While I won’t be reviewing this as part of my Power Rankings this week, I needed to remind you that the final volume of this amazing series will be coming out this week and that you need to buy it. Oh? You haven’t read the other five you say? It’s okay. You can pick up those while you are at the store too. You won’t regret it. THE SPIRIT #4 Written by David Hine and Marv Wolfman Art by Moritat and Phil Winslad New series writer David Hine comes aboard for the first chapter of ""Frostbite!"" The ultimate high has arrived on the corners of Central City, and the ghouls who deal it aren't interested in cutting the all-controlling Octopus in on the action! It doesn't take long for hot blood to hit the icy city streets! And in the co-feature, THE SPIRIT: BLACK & WHITE, Marv Wolfman and Phil Winslade show us what happens in Central City when the lights go out – every last one of them! It's a citywide blackout in black and white! Ryan: I really dug Mark Schultz’s storyline that opened this series, but I’m even more excited to see that David Hine is being tapped as the new ongoing writer. Hine’s got a creative streak a mile-wide and should have a very unique spin on the Spirit that should gel well with Moritat’s moody, atmospheric art. The his series has already taken home one Book of the Week honor on the Power Rankings and this issue has a strong chance at repeating that fate. SUPERGIRL #54 Written by Sterling Gates Art by Jamal Igle Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle continue their bold new direction for The Girl of Steel! When a vicious new threat arrives in Metropolis, it's up to Supergirl to stop the monster. But, boy, is she in for a surprise when she finds out just who this thing is and where it's from! Ryan: Bizarro Supergirl. Need I say more? That should be enough to convince you to give this one a shot. If you need more convincing, Jamal Igle is drawing it. If you need more convincing, you are probably just being a jerk who doesn’t like awesome comics. THUNDERBOLTS #146 Written by Jeff Parker Art by Kev Walker Who or what is Unit 23? Luke Cage must lead his new Thunderbolts deep below on their deadliest mission and face the horrors that mankind can become. While S.H.I.E.L.D. was shut down, a now-missing government squad was charged with guarding a cavern full of impure Terrigen crystals...and if these powerful elements morph Inhumans with wild transformations, what in the world will they do to humans? It's a volatile environment--and a bad time for a challenge to authority from The Juggernaut! Kirk: This series has been pretty solid under Jeff Parker so far. Bummed about Zemo not being the real deal, but still liking what I see and will stick with it for the foreseeable future. ZATANNA #3 Written by Paul Dini Art by Stephane Roux Until now, Zatanna and Brother Night have sparred from a distance – but that all changes when Night targets Zatanna's closest friends, provoking a magical brawl like nothing you've seen before! San Francisco might never be the same! Ryan: It has only taken two issues for this series to rise up the ranks to be amongst the finest comics that DC is currently producing. Paul Dini is writing some of his strongest work in a style decidedly different from his other superhero comics, while Stephane Roux has made great strides as an interior artist. I really cannot recommend this title enough!

Trade Waiting - Phonogram: The Singles Club Posted: 20 Jul 2010 08:13 AM PDT After last week's review of Phonogram: Rue Britannia, I was certain I needed to go back and get the second trade which I duly did and read quickly. It's interesting to hold this story up against the first one, especially as though they fit into the same universe, and showcase a few of the same players, as the structure and story are very different. It's different and I also think it's just a bit superior to the original, hit the jump to read my review and see why I think Gillen and McKelvie have finally carved a masterpiece with this comic. PHONOGRAM Vol 2: THE SINGLES CLUB 'Lyrics' by Kieron Gillen 'Music' by Jamie McKelvie Colours by Matthew Wilson Despite never really getting paid (such are the economics of independent comics), Gillen managed to snag McKelvie in to draw a second story arc in this world of phonomancers and decidedly British music. The events of this story take place in one night, Christmas Eve Eve, if you can dig it, and it really only takes a few hours from start to finish. There are seven issues to this tale, and each issue takes us through the night from the perspective of a different character. It’s an interesting was to make the narrative a bit more fractured and have emotional pay offs to moments really come issues later when you see the flip side to a conversation, what came before, came after, and what it all really means. David Kohl appears again but he only gets the one issue, this story is about the night, about the convergence of souls, and about how music is the backdrop to lives and loves and everything, really. ‘Pull Shapes’ introduces us to Penny. She’s a phonomancer who uses her magics to get people to pay attention, to heighten the enjoyment of the evening; she’s not evil just naively young and selfish. We meet her with a little dance ditty in her room and it’s hard not to see what she wants us to see. McKelvie does a spectacular job at making Penny the girl that we know we shouldn’t look at, the one we don’t even want to want to look at, but ultimately the girl we can’t take our eyes off. Penny is on her way to the club with her friend Laura. Penny is decidedly keen to see a boy, Marc, as well as have some G+T and a dance. This is her typical night out. She is hypnotically exuberant and it’s nice to see that the world can’t get her down, even though it continually tries. She’s the perpetual smile found in clubs the world over, and god bless her for it. This is a great intro issue because it’s a simple done-in-one tale, as they all will be though interconnected, and it shows us that this is a very different tale to Rue Britannia. This is vignette and character work, not quest, and it’s exceptionally well done. Gillen does the voice of Penny very well and you see that he handles all characters very much with their own style and pattern. ‘Wine and Bed and More and Again’ shows us the flip side to Penny’s worst moment of the night as we follow Marc around. He’s the pretty boy sulking in the corner because he’s haunted by the one that got away. Strange thing is, Marc actually is haunted by the memories of this girl, she who will remain unnamed. He heads to the club with his mate Lloyd but instantly sees it for the bad idea it is when he’s stuck bad in the past of those fruitful and perfect moments he shared with her. Marc must have been in love, or whatever youthful lust calls itself these days, and we can kind of see why. This is where Gillen and McKelvie score because they are able to show us those little moments that make up the wholes of interpersonal relationships. Marc only dated this girl for a handful of months but it was his everything at that time and if you’ve ever been there then you can see all the signs right there on the page. The girl is sexy and different and just a little bit slutty and everything a young bloke is looking for. It’ll take him a long time to get over this and we can see why. ‘We Share Our Mothers’ Health’ focuses on coven leader Emily Aster, who we met in the previous volume. She’s a lady who has graduated to clubbing instead of sticking to the ubiquitous youth of the club scene. She’s beyond it but gets dragged in by David Kohl, who else? She picks the scene apart with a scalpel tongue and makes sure she leaves scars on as many people as she can. Emily’s shining moment comes in the bathroom as she speaks to the woman in the mirror, the woman she has fought and repressed and been victorious over. Emily is a new version and she’s prepared to fight to make sure she’s the only one. The conversation is fantastic and then she helps out Penny’s friend, Laura, as she hides from Penny, as seen in the first issue. You see, Emily does have heart, but it’s just so much easier to keep it in check and stay in complete control. This is her world and the only way she can break through is by being crazy, not nice. The issue ends with a great dance floor moment and Emily asserting her control to be the one and only lady living in her body. ‘Konichiwa Bitches’ serves up a two-headed beast in the DJs of the evening, Seth and Silent Girl. They're a tandem team and work so well together, even when working against each other. This entire issue, except for 3 pages, plays out in a six panel grid, two across, three down. And this structure is absolutely perfect for Gillen to script witty little one page conversations between a multitude of connections of the players of the night. This issue is probably my favourite of the series as it’s incredibly funny and bloody well written. It almost reminds me of those Whose Line Is It Anyway? skits where the players would have to come into the ring and have conversations, as the buzzer buzzed they changed places, characters, conversations. It’s constantly evolving and progressing and always hilarious. That is this issue. Seth is a pretentious DJ (is there any other kind?) who constantly challenges those around him to inane and trivial music challenges that he rarely even makes open but adjudicates on anyway. We see Seth as superior and complete petty at all times and this is congruent with his character. We want to think that Seth is actually inconsequential but in a house full of music, and a decree of no magic, he is the lord of all he surveys. He controls the tempo, the pace, the truth of the evening. He is in control and we see that throughout the entire issue, and especially in one fantastic double page spread that is one of the few examples that truly warrants a double page spread. The DJ booth is the sun and the celestial bodies that orbit do so on its gravitational pull, and Seth sees himself as the god of this science, or perhaps its controlled big bang. Strangest thing is, Silent Girl is actually the one in charge. Seriously. ‘Lust, Etc.’ gives us the sad and slightly pathetic tale of Laura Heavenly. She’s a phonomancer, and a cutter, and in love with her best friend, and confused, and lost, and ultimately very sad. It is these labels, and many more, that Laura lives by. She’s not a person just a label to be identified, tagged, and observed. It’s tragic watching her just want a true reaction, a real emotion, but she can’t find one and lacks the strength to give herself one. Laura only really speaks in quotes; songs, movies, anything. She’s an echo of a pastiche and rarely aims higher in any situation. She’s the imprint a radioactive cathode tube leaves on the wall after years of warping a psyche. And she’s extremely well written, trust me, I’ve known someone just like this. They only know how to connect via an adapter of something else and it very quickly wears thin and shows you the lack of substance beneath and desperate want for something, anything, to fill that void. Gillen nails this tone of voice perfectly. It is nice that by the story’s end Gillen gives her a moment of strength to provide her own moment, her own voice. She’s owed at least that much. ‘Ready To Be Heartbroken’ is the story of Lloyd, Marc’s best friend, and a man so desperate to create the name Logos for himself that it’s really quite sad. We meet Lloyd straight after the events of the night, which is a first in this tale, but all we need to know about him has already been elucidated in the previous chapters. What’s now important is what Lloyd (yeah, I refuse to call him Logos too) does with what he has learned. Lloyd sits down on his bed amidst phonomancer letters, images, and moments and sets to work on his typewriter to create his grimoire, a magical text. We get scrapbook style pages of what Lloyd makes, his interpretation of the night, his dreams and wishes made real through cut-out text and completely open thoughts. He just desperately wants to create what has already been created, he wants to live the music and the vibe that came and went before he even knew about music. He wants a return to glory, but somehow through him. He’s an openly admitted anachronism. Thankfully, something that David Kohl passingly says to Lloyd gives him an opportunity to sample some new music. This understanding that new music is being created, and that it is good, invigorates Lloyd to finally understand that there is always a revolution of sound occurring, and the world is always ready to accept the next invitations to be the big new thing. It perpetual, there will always be more, you just have to be willing to accept it. The final issue, ‘Wolf Like Me’ is extremely likeable, and the reviews of it were one of the big reasons I decided to give this entire story a chance. Here we see David’s best friend, who has the extremely unlikeable name of Kid-With-Knives or KWK, as he sets about his night. KWK is the only character who is not a phonomancer but he has tried to pick up a few things from David. What he’s managed to glean is that you have to let the music fill you, accept it into every cell, and then just ride that high for as long as you can. KWK knows how to do this, he’s been doing it since forever. We then see the gleeful rampage of almost-parkour levels of dancing, kebabs, and lustful enjoyment KWK unleashes on his town. He howls at the moon, steps in on an emo-beating to save the day, scores some food, sneaks said food into the club, nails some shots with his friends, and then sees the prettiest girl on the dance floor. That girl is, of course, Penny and here the series comes full circle as we get the full conclusion that was missing from the first issue. KWK cuts up the proverbial rug and though I kind of think he’s a dick I can’t help but love that he gets the girl because girls like that are meant to be got. Penny’s at that right age, and of the right personality persuasion, that going home with someone is just the right medicine as a prevention for any disease. There’s a great text page of lyrics from the song and in the block letters we can see what exactly is going on with KWK and Penny. It’s a perfect, and surprisingly subtle way, to sneak in some softcore action and the final page just ends the entire night on the right note. At the end of the trade we are treated to a stack of extras; a Glossary of terms, tunes, and bands to help bridge any gaps you might be worried about. There’s a Making Of set of character sketches, both artistic and written, as well as reference photos taken by Gillen himself and then a look at the club that McKelvie built in Google Sketchup so he could keep the setting as perfectly represented as possible. We also see the monstrous wall of art McKelvie created to show the timeline of all the issues as they writhe together like serpents in a dankly lit pit. It’s awesome and scary in both excessive degrees. We also find out that Gillen drank the character’s plonk of choice as he scripted their issue, just another handy hint to all the writers out there taking notes. It’s also a delight to get all the covers for the series, a script to page comparison for one page and the B-Side advert they used, which is Seth and Silent Girl addressing the reader and asking them to come to the club. Great extras, really, A+ on this side. Verdict – Must Read. This series is a fantastic and well written set of vignettes with very real characters and that is what matters, the characters. Gillen provides us with a smorgasbord of interest and I like that so many people would each have different favourite characters, and thus favourite issues. It’s a great way of luring in many by having a hook for them somewhere in the mix. McKelvie does a great job of making each character act and speak through their eyes, their clothes, their being. The entire thing reads like a great miniseries, be it a comic or a TV show. It’s also interesting to see that this is so different from the first trade in nearly every conceivable way, and yet still feels congruent with the reality but is also shockingly possibly the better read. This is superb comics and again you don’t need to know the music to get it. So go on out and get it because most importantly I don’t think you need to know a lick about the first story to get this one, not at all. This is a sequel that’s not only better than the original but it’s also something that can be taken on its own and doesn’t really stand on the shoulders of the giant tale that came before.