The Flash #1
Story Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art Francis Manapul
Colors Brian Buccellato
Letters Sal Cipriano
Rating: 
Synopsis
Rebooted slightly younger and single, Barry Allen is on a date with Patty Spivot that’s crashed by mysterious soldiers. After foiling the ploy as The Flash, a dead soldier is unmasked and Barry realizes he knows him…a mystery that only deepens later when the man comes to visit Barry, very much alive and well! Continue reading
It’s time for zombies! We were going to get here eventually. I’ll say now that I don’t typically watch zombie things and I came to High School of the Dead for different reasons *cough* but from what I have seen, High School of the Dead definitely does the theme well. Continue reading
How can we describe Fear Itself so far? Well, beautiful but boring seems to be the way to go, with many retailer reporting that sales for the massive crossover have already plummeted, leaving issues collecting dust while DC’s New 52 flies out the door as fast as they come in. You can probably blame this on the events structure; Marvel is notorious for having the big events in their event minis take place in other books, but Fear Itself has been exceptionally bad about this.
Regardless, we’ve got the conclusion of July’s big teaser with the revelation of THE MIGHTY, Odin’s blessed warriors who are going in to battle with The Serpent. Continue reading
Seitokai no Ichizon (The School Council’s Discretion, sometimes abbreviated to Seizon) is a harem/comedy/parody anime aired in 2009 between October and December. A second season was announced in March of this year and I cannot wait I need it now. There are several manga series going on (one of which finished in December 2009), as well as the light novel series that started it all (which is also ongoing). The anime was done by Studio DEEN (they also did the Higurashi anime and Kore wa Zombie desu ka?).
The main characters of Seitokai no Ichizon
As I said, it belongs in the parody genre, amongst others. It parodies everything, hard and fast. Within the first five minutes of the first episode there are various references to things like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The parodies are done brilliantly and are guaranteed to make you, at the very least, smile with amusement. There are also a lot of references to other works Studio DEEN have done (which is fitting, really), like Higurashi.
Seizon parodies Death Note
Besides the humour and the blatant sexual advances, mainly by Ken but also by Chizuru, this is an incredibly touching series. Many of the episodes start with Ken making life difficult for the other members in some way, or just harassing them. However, by the end of the episode, it always shows his caring side, as he is usually shown doing all of the work he prevented the council doing during the day. He’s usually caught by the other members or one of the teachers, who tend to scold him lightly for not letting them help.
The reason for this is explored as the series goes on and I don’t want to ruin it for you. The reasoning behind it is brilliant, as is the rest of the show, and I highly recommend that you watch it, if not for the touching parts, then definitely for the humour.
Resurrection Man #1
“Pronounced Dead”
Writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art Fernando Dagnino
Colors Santi Arcas
Cover Ivan Reis, Joe Prado & Rod Reis
Rating:
Synopsis
Mitch Shelly has the power to revive from death, each time coming back with a new super power and an unknown compulsion steering him in a direction he’s unsure of. While on a plane to Portland, a mysterious figure attacks Mitch and forces the plane to crash, killing everyone on board and leaving Mitch more confused than ever.
Review
You might be saying to yourself “Chris, you mentioned reviews of Justice League #1 and Flashpoint #5! What happened to those?” Well, they sucked. REALLY hard. Not in a “Oh man, this is different and everything changed and now it sucks” way, but in a “This undermines 60 years of character development” and “They want $4 for this, nothing happened!” way. I tried to write reviews for them, but I’ve just been at a loss for words that don’t come out like a frothing at the mouth, pants on the head crazy rant. I finally gave up and started reading the rest of the New 52 books, but nothing really jumped out and wowed me. At least not until today, when I finally got my hands on Resurrection Man #1 (well, and Demon Knights #1. And Deathstroke #1. I’ll try to have more up on those later.)
Now, full disclosure: I have a soft spot for Resurrection Man. I love the character, and will forever recommend the first run of Resurrection Man as an example of how great DC Comics can be when they try something outside the norm and tell a solid story. The original book was very well acclaimed in its time, but never really caught on despite frequent plugs with JLA and stellar reviews, leaving the first run of Resurrection Man little more than a fondly remembered cult classic. Since then, the character has been relatively obscure aside from one page in Brightest Day and that issue of Supergirl we keep bringing up. So when I read that Resurrection Man was part of The New 52, I got really excited at the prospect of the character coming back for a second volume. Thankfully, that excitement has paid off in spades. Abnett and Landing knock the first issue out of the park, nailing an amazing feel for the character. For this iteration, the earlier volumes amnesia arc and Mitch’s reluctance heroism are dropped (it’s unclear if the amnesia story line that factored heavily into the first year or so of Resurrection Man still factors in to this iteration), instead creating the feeling of a lone wanderer being manipulated by forces he can’t understand. Mitch here is solemn, but not depressed; he remains a man trying to find answers and a sense of right in a world he doesn’t completely understand.
Conflict is now in the hands of a mysterious organization who seem to work for Heaven, seeking out Mitch because “his soul is past due and must be protected”. The focus of the series seems to be on how Mitch’s ability has affected his soul, which is now a prized possession. The original run is referenced more in the brief inclusion of the Body Doubles, now updated to fit in more with the current era. The two female assassins for hire are once again in pursuit of Mitch, but it’s unclear who they’re seeking him for. The book also concludes with Madame Xanadu (pulling triple duty it seems, as she’s also a lead character in Justice League Dark and Demon Knights), who seems to know that the Resurrection Man means “trouble”.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Resurrection Man is in its willingness to embrace the character’s existing lore. The entire notion of The New 52 is to introduce the characters to new readers, but we only learn of Mitch’s abilities and unknown urges. We aren’t given any sign of a backstory or past. Fine for a first issue, but possibly off-putting to a new reader, especially given that this isn’t a traditional super hero book. However, it does benefit from being one of the few New 52 books to be a “done-in-one” story, with the only dangling plot threads being set up for a longer game down the road.
This is ultimately the best of what we hoped for in The New 52; classic, existing characters getting a new lease on life without losing what makes them appealing in the first place. Not every book has achieved this well, but Resurrection Man pulls it off very nicely, creating a dark, sci-fi adventure that will keep old and new readers alike coming back for more. Don’t waste your time on the shallow changes in titles like Batman & Robin or the needless, confusing changes in titles like Superman; pick up Resurrection Man instead, and get a character you can enjoy, understand, and relate to on some level.
The Sleepytime Avengers Drank Too Much Tea, Clearly.
There was that CABLE REBORN teaser a few months back with Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness’ names attached that had us all kind of roll our eyes, but now we know it’s actually Cable crossing into…uh, The Avengers. The official title is Avengers: X-Sanction, which I guess puts it in the awkward place of an X-Men event and an Avengers event. The story features Cable, somehow surviving the events of Second Coming (a story which Loeb promises to tell) and returning to deal with The Avengers, believing they’ll have a negative impact on the future of Hope Summers somehow. You can find more info here.
I’m honestly not too fond of Cable returning to his 90s big guns commando look. I thought we’d toned down the giant shoulder pads and firearms, but with Liefeld drawing Hawk & Dove for DC, I guess the 90s are back in fashion again. Or still. Whichever.
Avengers: X-Sanction, by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness, starts this December.