Another Week.

I have to start updating this more than once a week. Well considering the previous update was a month ago, one week isn’t too bad. Anyway, time to get on to the goods.

Another nice stack of books this week, and I’ll cover the indie books that I got. First was Video #2 from Stephen R. Buell. From a first time creator I’m getting more and more impressed by each issue. The issues that have shipped and that are solicited all have killer covers. It was the simple yet great cover of issue #1 in previews that caught my eye, and the premise that made me order it. In a nutshell it’s about the second coming of Christ, the chaos that ensues and a group of four friends reaction to the event. I thought that the first issue was pretty good, but I was left with the feeling that the story wasn’t going anywhere, but #2 has upped the ante considerably and it looks like it’ll be a great tale. Buell’s artwork takes a little getting used to, due to the interesting style, but it’s pretty polished. It’s good in black and white, but seeing the killer color covers makes me think that if the series was in color the art would be really eye catching. I highly recommend it to anyone who was intrigued by Chosen, but felt let down like I did or anyone looking for a companion book to The Walking Dead

Next up is Awakenings #2 from Eric Hobbs and Gabe Pena. This book unlike Video had a superb first issue. Great premise, a futuristic whodunit, where detective Spencer Straight is trying to track down a serial killer and it turns out that he might be the prime suspect. However, the second issue stumbled a little bit. The story was a still strong, but I felt a little out of sorts while reading it. Most of the story is told via flashbacks, and the scene transitions were a little hard to follow at times. Because of that I didn’t really get the whole plot until I finished the issue. Maybe if there was a little “what previously happened” paragraph, it would have jogged my memory and would have made for a much better read the first time through. In addition, Gabe Pena’s artwork is very strong here. I still recommend the series, and it looks like it’ll be a terrific ride. In a great move, Hobbs had the entire first issue available on the website and if anyone wants to contact me, due to me switching comic shops, I have two copies of #2. I can probably pass it along to an interested reader for free.

The World Cup is on and two games into the tournament and the USA team is 0-2, after two disappointing performances. They looked very outclassed most of the game by a skilled Russia team last night, and were lucky that Robert Esche had a second strong game to keep them in it. If their play doesn’t soon improve, the USA will be done in two more games. And since they won the previous World Cup in 1996, it would be a huge disappointment for the team.

Finally, to the NHL and NHLPA: SETTLE THE COLLECTIVE BARGINING AGREEMENT!