Whammy

Part small town Texas drama part super hero drama; Whammy weaves together two stories to create a humorous, adventure mystery. Klive Anderson is a man of simple pleasures. He likes coffee, good sleep, his easy steady employment working in a Texas oilfield, and writing superhero stories in his journal. His roommate on the other hand is a the complete opposite. Stacey Karlisle owns the town's only coffee shop, but really it's just a front for her dope business. Differences aside they get on real good and can easily waste an evening watching Clint Eastwood movies together. Living in small town there isn't much drama to speak of but when one of Klive's coworkers is killed in a work accident, things begin to go off kilter for for him. He's unsettled and takes to writing more about villains and superheroes in his journal. When Stacey picks up his notebook one day she gets drawn into his story. Little does she know just how drawn in she's about to be. Off the wall, laugh out loud funny, and unique; Whammy is a zany western/comic adventure fantasy that readers won't soon forget about.

Watchmen

This book keeps getting better like a fine wine. This is probably the sixth time I've re-read it and damn... it's just soo badass. I love everything about it, the dialogue, the characters, the plot, the stories within a story. It is and always will be my favorite graphic novel. The characters are all so complex and wonderful, even though they're flawed as shit, you have to root for them. Watchmen is an anti-superhero novel about men in masks and what it takes to save  a world that may not always be worth saving. It's dark, complex, and gritty. I was even blown away by the movie adaptation; even though they changed the ending, the casting is perfect and some of the  scenes are frame by frame from the graphic novel. I can't recommend this book enough. Just read it already!

Ms. Marvel: Super Famous

The 5th installment in the highly acclaimed Ms. Marvel series did not disappoint. Kamala Kahn has finally become an avenger and couldn't be more excited. Well she could be, if she had time to be excited. She's struggling to balance her home life, her school life, and her superhero life. She's practically sleepwalking through everything. When she discovers that her best friend has a girlfriend she is upset, her's her boy!Trying to juggle everything is proving nearly impossible so she makes some clones to help her get through the day, only problem is they keep replicating! Now she's in more trouble than ever. Another fun installment.

Ms. Marvel: Crushed

This series just keeps getting more impressive, the third installment is no exception. In this issue Kamala saves Loki from ruining the school dance, discovers that she isn't the only inhuman with super powers in Jersey, and meets the boy of her dreams; a desi boy who her parents would actually approve of. Life is going great... until it's not. hit hits the fan in a very big day. Can Ms. Marvel save the day, is the job too big for even her? Who are the people she can trust to back her up when she needs it? Solid installment and I can't wait for the next one!

Ms. Marvel: Generation Why

The second installment of Ms. Marvel did not disappoint! We get a fun furry sidekick, a beast of a dog named lockjaw, and we get to meet Marvel superhero Wolverine! In this installment, Ms. Marvel is still battling her first and only real enemy, the Inventor. She finds out that he's been using kids as some sort of battery to charge his weird creations and she is determined to put a stop to it. She runs into Wolverine, as he's looking for one of Jean Grey's missing students. Together they find her but she's in bad shape. She's in a coma and has been used as one of the Inventor's battery things! Along the way Ms. Marvel finds out some interesting things about herself and her generation. I cannot wait for the third one. Such a fun series!!

Secrets & Shadows

I've been a little late getting on the comic train and so far my only forays into "the dark side" have been Watchmen, The Fables series, and The Walking Dead comics. So basically I'm a newbie. I was pretty pumped when I found out that my old college pal, Jon Parrish (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Secrets-and-Shadows/451460871561118), had started work on his own comic series.

When the first issue came in I was more than impressed. The artwork on Secrets & Shadows is fantastic. My grandmother, a bat-shit crazy, yet hilarious old art teacher who generally dislikes comics and graphic novels, was even captivated (which is saying something!). So this review comes with not one, but two, stamps of approval in regards to the illustrations.

As for the plot, the comic does an excellent job conveying Joseph Shaw's bitter resentment towards his father, Dark Haven's very own superhero Dark Sun. Haven City is a busy metropolis and Joseph uses the expanse of the city to hide from his haunted past. He works as a dishwasher, although he clearly is more qualified than that. He's turned down multiple job promotions because he's happy hiding at the bottom. Joseph wants to live a normal life and put as much distance between superheroes and himself, but it looks as if that might be hard to accomplish because an ominous new villain enters the scene. What happens you ask? Read the comic! It's very engaging and hard to put down. I'm eagerly awaiting the next issue to see how drastically Joseph's life might be changing. You can't hide from superheroes forever, especially when one is your father! If you're interested in purchasing (and you should be by this point) you can order the first comic in the series online at: http://secretsandshadows.storenvy.com/. So far only the first one has been published but the rest will be out in no time. So go ahead and read it, you won't regret it!