Category Archives: General

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

The Underwater Welder Review (COMICS!)

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Here is some advice for those whom seek to become comic book readers: Follow the creators.

H-E-L-L-O everyone! It’s your cosmic comic reader from Gallifrey, Richard! If you can tell, I just made a Doctor Who reference. Why? BECAUSE I LOVE DOCTOR WHO! What does it have to do with this review? Absolutely nothing! Now, The rule mentioned up top is a rule I’ve tried to live by since I started reading comics. Mainly because it makes for a much better experience. The flip side of that is to follow characters when reading comics. However, Not every Batman, Superman, or X-Men book on the shelves is worth reading. Plus, If you follow creators, It will lead you down roads of comics you never would have been to if you’d just followed characters. One of those roads is the road of Indie comics.

If you ask any hardcore comic reader, including myself, where to find the best comics these days, They’d probably say Image, Dark Horse, or any other creator owned publisher. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love books from DC and Marvel. Heck, the majority of the books I follow are from DC. That being said, the best quality work comes from indie comic books, and I never would have discovered this if I’d only followed characters. Also, I never would have discovered this if it wasn’t for my friend Nick who works at my local comic shop, Bills Books and More.

Anyways, one of the creators I’ve started following like crazy is a guy named Jeff Lemire. A lot of DC fans might know him from his amazing comic runs on Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., or Superboy. However, some of his best work are his original comics like The Essex County books or Sweet Tooth. Recently, Lemire released a new original graphic novel called Underwater Welder. After reading it without any breaks, I can easily state that Underwater Welder is the best original graphic novel I’ve read this year! I love it so much, I’m going to call it the best of 2012 before 2012 is even over! Yea…I just did that! If someone can officially remove Pluto as a planet of our solar system, then I can do this!

So, Underwater Welder follows a character named Jack Joesph whom works as an underwater welder off the coast of Nova Scotia. Being an underwater welder is a tough gig, but Jack is about to experience one of the toughest jobs anyone could have…being a father. Now, as the story progresses, we see Jack straying further and further from the pressures of fatherhood and other personal issues. That is, until one day something…unimaginable happens to him. An experience that leads him to discovering the truth of things in his life, and turning him into a better person fit to be a Dad.

The biggest theme throughout the book seems to be the relationships between fathers and sons. A theme that hits rather close to home for me. I won’t go into the details of why, but I will say this book means a lot to me on that aspect. As far as the other aspects go, this book is just as amazing and touching. I love the way Lemire writes his characters. They seem so real to the point where you start to think these are actual people. You relate to the characters so much on so many different levels. Even when the book goes into it’s weirder more complex story beats. Plus, you really care about every single character present, and the situations they go through.

Now, in case you aren’t aware, Lemire also drew this book! His artwork might be hard for some to get into, but I found it beautiful! His artwork is very serial and stylized. Plus, with the way the story is, his artwork fits perfectly. I couldn’t see anyone drawing this book besides Lemire. I don’t think it would have the same impact if it were drawn by someone else. The fact that Lemire plays both writer and artist gives the themes more of an emotional punch when they play out, if that makes sense.

I honestly can’t find a single thing wrong with this book. I’m sure it has it’s flaws as most things do, but I fail to see anything. I am just too in love with this book to care about the flaws present, if any. At the end of the day, In my opinion, Underwater welder is a masterpiece in comic form. It tells a personal, weird, and compelling coming-of-age story about a Man on the verge of parenthood. Its a very real tale told in a Twilight Zone fashion, and its worth multiple reads.

I give Underwater Welder an easy 5/5!

For more COMICS! and comic book related news, please visit my Youtube channel, Channel23hahaha, and subscribe! Thanks and have an awesome day!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

The Dark Knight Rises Review!!!! (COMICS!)

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A fire will rise, A legend will end, and Christopher Nolan will deliver an amazing ending to his Dark Knight Trilogy! All of those….are facts!

Hey, hi, and hello everyone! It’s Richard here, and I’m incredibly, undeniably, and powerfully in love with The Dark Knight Rises! Christopher Nolan’s much anticipated conclusion has finally hit the theaters for all to see, and It’s my favorite movie of the summer! Now, before you read on, and click the picture to see Carter and I’s full review of the film, I just want to send my best wishes out to all those who suffered during the movie theater shooting in Colorado. We make a brief statement on this in the video, but I wanted to say something here as well. Add more of my thoughts on the matter then whats mentioned in the video.

You know, I don’t think I’ll ever forget when I first heard about it. I had just gotten out of my midnight showing. I was overwhelmed, excited, and incredibly satisfied with how the filmed played out. I did have some minor gripes, but nothing that could ruin the movie for me. Before we left, My friend’s buddy whom tagged along, sort of, lost his keys. We spent probably a good half hour asking around, trying to locate where the keys could have ended up. We never found them. So, after a quick trip to the Wal-Mart next door for a potty break, My friend’s buddy came back and hitched a ride home. Leaving his car in the movie theater parking lot.

I got back to my house, and texted Carter nonstop! We both seemed to really enjoy what was on screen. Though, I think I enjoyed it a bit more then he did. I went to bed, waiting to wake up and see the movie again. However, I was woken up earlier then expect, with news from my mother. “You’re not going to believe what just happened” She’d say to me. Instantly, I went from feeling excited…to not caring. The film just didn’t seem that important anymore. I still loved it as much as I did, but still.

Its crazy how life can change so fast. One minute, you could be celebrating your wedding day, and the next day could be a funeral. Its one of the scariest thoughts we can have, and to witness it happening is even scarier, especially when it happens to a loved one. However, We shouldn’t let things like this hinder us 100% from going to the movies, or even just going out. The sad truth is, anything like this can happen anytime, anywhere. We gotta stay positive, be safe, and be brave for ourselves and everyone around us.

So, once again, I want to send my best wishes to those in Colorado right now. I hope they all can get through this painful time successfully. Click the picture above, and you can checkout Carter and I’s full spoiler free review! Also, Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to Channel23hahaha for more comic book goodness! Again, be safe, stay positive, be brave, and have the best day you can. Thanks for watching and reading!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

Before Watchmen So Far… (COMICS!)

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Before Watchmen has finally arrived! Now…is it any good so far? LETS FIND OUT!

Hello everyone! Its your friendly neighborhood nerd, Richard, here! A while ago, DC Comics announced they would be releasing a prequel comic book event titled: Before Watchmen. Each series under the Before Watchmen banner would follow the characters from the original graphic novel, and what they were up to…Before Watchmen…yea. ANYWAYS! As an avid fan of the original comic, and the film adaptation, I was very excited about these books. I even expressed my excitement, much to Dan’s surprise, on an episode of The Director’s Cut. I can admit, I didn’t think a prequel, as usual, was a good idea. I mean, Watchmen is a classic in the world of comics! To many, Its the Citizen Kane of the comic book world! To create a prequel should be considered a slight against the comic book gods! However, When DC announced whom they hired to bring this event to life…I knew they weren’t playing around. It didn’t seem, to me, that they were just attempting to milk an old cash cow. When you drop names like Brian Azzarello, Darwyn Cooke, Adam Hughes, Len Wein, Amanda Conner, and Andy Kubert you can’t help but expect quality work. As of today, 4 of the 7 series have started: Minutemen, Silk Spectre, Comedian, and Nite Owl. And this is what I thought of them. ENJOY!

Minutemen #1

Written and Drawn by: Darwyn Cooke

So, Minutemen tells the tale of the Watchmen before the Watchmen. The golden age of the Watchmen world, if you will. The first issue introduces each member of Minutemen, and how the team came to be. This was one of the titles I was most excited for. Darwyn Cooke has always been known for his classic, retro style comic books. The best examples of this is his Justice League story, New Frontier, and his run on The Spirit. As expected, his work on Minutemen doesn’t disappoint at all! This is a beautiful comic, and the perfect example of what this entire event should be. Cooke’s artwork is more then a perfect fit for this series. The retro style, the color scheme, everything is perfect. I also really dug the tale being told here. I loved the way Cooke used the Under the Hood book Hollis Mason authored to introduce each character. Admittedly, It does get a bit wordy at times, but It doesn’t take away from the books magic.

5/5

Silk Spectre #1

Written by: Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner

Drawn by: Amanda Conner

One of the key aspects of the story of Silk Spectre II, Laurie Juspeczyk, is her estranged relationship with her mother, the first Silk Spectre, Sally Jupiter. That story is on full display in this first issue. The story plays out like an R-rated Teen High School chick flick. It’s not the strongest story, and it’s kind of predictable, but it’s a nice fit for Laurie, regardless. However, the best aspect of this book is the artwork. OMG! Amanda Conner is an amazing artist! I found her artwork to be very faithful to the original comic, but with a nice addition of her own style and flare. Overall, I’m interested to see what happens next, but I didn’t find it the strongest title from Before Watchmen so far.

4/5

Comedian #1

Written by: Brian Azzarello

Drawn by: J.G. Jones

The Comedian is one of the most despicable, vile, hateful, and messed up characters ever created in comics! And I couldn’t have been more excited to see how Brian Azzarello was going to write him! That being said, I was kind of disappointed by this issue. The story being told wasn’t bad, but…I wasn’t reading about The Comedian. More like his innocent twin brother. The majority of the time, we see Eddie Blake, The Comedian, playing ball and chit chatting with The Kennedy family. Then he gets verbally man handled by Jackie Kennedy! This is not the Comedian I know! However, There has always been a hidden heart to the character. A kinder side that’s never really been brought to the surface 100%. So, I can’t help but be equally intrigued by this issue. The best aspect is the artwork, again! J.G. Jones does a fantastic Job bringing the book to life. Especially during the action scene towards the end. I’ll still read more, but not really from excitement anymore. Mainly just from curiosity.

3/5

Nite Owl #1

Written by: J. Michael Straczynski

Drawn by: Andy Kubert

When I mentioned earlier that I was excited for Before Watchmen because of the creative teams DC hired, This series was the exception…sort of. Nite Owl has always been a favorite character of mine. When I first heard about Before Watchmen, I instantly wanted to know who would be tackling Dan Dreibergs’s story. When I saw Andy Kubert was doing the art, I got very excited! He has always been like a modern day Neal Adams, and I could totally see his style doing Dan justice! However, When I saw JMS was writing…I cried on the inside. And, sadly as expected, Nite Owl #1 was the weakest of all the books so far. The story isn’t exciting, nor is it terrible. Its just…there. It doesn’t feel like it needs to exist. The comic just speeds through Dan’s transformation into Nite Owl. It basically read like a rushed re-telling of the origin of Tim Drake, the 3rd Robin. Because of this, The art had no room to shine. Though, there are some amazing bits of artwork on display. However, Its not often those bits show up. I really hope this series proves me wrong come issue two, but Its exactly was I expected it to be…a big summer bummer.

2/5

Anyways,This is what I thought of Before Watchmen so far. Its not great, but its not terrible either. Each comic features amazing artwork, but the stories are a mixed bag. I’m still excited for the rest of the issues, and Can’t wait for them to come out! In the comments below, What are your thoughts on Before Watchmen so far? TELL ME NOW!! Anyways, Stay tuned for my thoughts on the next batch of Before Watchmen Books, coming soon, and don’t forget to visit www.youtube.com/channel23hahaha to checkout new videos and episodes of my awesome show: COMICS!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter Review

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If you thought you knew the entire history of ol’ “Honest” Abe….think again!

Hello Everyone! It’s Richard here, and I’d like to wish you all a happy Memorial Day! So, I’ve been thinking of ways to celebrate the day with you all. One way, we can all get together and have a BBQ in my backyard, but I have a strong feeling it might take a while for you all to get here. So, I decided a review would probably be easier. Today, I will be reviewing Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter!

No, Its not a review of the movie. I’m not cool like some people, and get to see big movies early. I wish I was cool enough, but I’m not. This is a review of the book which was written by Seth Grahame-Smith. Now, This review would probably make more sense to be published during Presidents Day, or July 4th, but I’m writing it now cause the movie comes out before the 4th. Also, Presidents day has gone by already. Plus, the book does touch on the Civil War a lot, So there is a connection!

Anyways, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter’s plot is sort of explained from it’s title. The book follows Abe’s entire life, from boy hood to his presidency, but from the “true” perspective. When Abe was a boy, he witnessed his mother’s murder at the hands of a Vampire. This was the beginning of his life long war against the creatures of the night. I won’t say much more, but trust me when I say Vampires are the key motivation, and reason, for the vast majority of everything in Abe’s life.

So, I haven’t read a good novel in quite some time. When I was younger, I HATED reading. Because of my dyslexia, It was hard for me to get into anything. I loved a lot of different stories out there, but I hated having to read them. It was a big struggle in my life, and the biggest reason I didn’t do too well in my English classes. However, I became really inspired during High school, thanks to my awesome English teacher, and began reading books all the time. It was a mixture of both comics and novels, but eventually books would end up being dominated by comics and graphic novels.

Recently, I’ve wanted to jump back into the world of novels, but I couldn’t really find the right book. I was going to start with The Hunger Games, but I wasn’t amazed by the movie enough to check it out. I might still read it someday, but not any time soon. Eventually, I would read an older article saying that Tim Burton’s newest film, Dark Shadows, was going to be scripted by a guy named Seth Grahame-Smith. Now, I’m a HUGE Tim Burton fan. He is my all time favorite film maker. I grew up with his pictures, and they inspired me to want to make movies. Also, I know the DCR peeps didn’t dig Dark Shadows much, but I really enjoyed it. Yes, I said those words! I liked The Dark Shadows movie! Deal with it!

Anyways, When I read this article, I wanted to find out exactly who this guy was. Strangely enough, the first Trailer for the movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter had been released the same day. Once I viewed that piece of action packed, Vampire Slaying awesomeness, I ran out and purchased the book immediately! Now, admittedly, the idea of Abe killing vampires is pretty ridiculous. That being said, the book was so freaking amazing!

Its a big action packed thrill ride, that paints Abe as much more of a Badass then he already was. Grahame-Smith does such an amazing Job blending fact and fiction. So much so, That I questioned whether or not a few bits in the book were true. Example, I never knew that Abe hadn’t met Edgar Allan Poe before. The only connection the two have is Abe was a fan of Poe’s work. Also, I loved how Grahame-Smith took a real historical event, and kind of turned it into a diabolical plot cooked up by the Vampires. Kind of like X-Men: First Class. That flick took the Cuban Missile Crisis, and made it the evil scheme of a group of Mutants. Very clever use of the events, if you ask me!

Probably my favorite aspect of the book is Grahame-Smith’s character work. Especially in his dialog, Grahame-Smith captures the tone, voice, and nature of every character in the book. Fact or Fiction, you just love every character! My favorite character was Henry Sturges. Probably one of the cooler Vampire’s I’ve seen in a long time. He is arguably better than Abe! This aspect was what proved to me that Grahame-Smith would be a natural at writing screenplays, and what got me even more excited for Dark Shadows and the Abe film adaptation.

What I would love to see is Grahame-Smith adapting his book in comic book form. The book, and even the movie it seems, just ooze comic book potential. He should team up with an artist like Roger Cruz or Sean Murphy, and create an Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter Graphic novel or comic series. I’d pick that up instantly! Though, It’d have to be written by Seth Grahame-Smith, or I probably wouldn’t pick it up. Overall, even though its a ridiculous idea, Seth Grahame-Smith deliver’s one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time! I highly recommend each and everyone of you go out and pick up the book! I have a strong feeling you won’t be disappointed.

I give Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter a 5/5!

PS Click on the photo! Just do it!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles?!?! (COMICS!)

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Why, Michael Bay? Can’t you do anything right? Besides explosions?

Yes, if you haven’t heard, Michael Bay is going to be rebooting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
franchise. Not only that, but he is changed a few things up. One: The Ninja Turtles are aliens. two: They possibly won’t be teenagers. Well, the whole announcement has left fans outraged, and wanting change! We didn’t really discuss it on COMICS! since we lacked an episode for two weeks, but Carter and I decided to talk about it, and get the fans opinions on the whole craziness. Also, Carter give you all a sneak peek into COMICS 2.0! We’ve made a few changes based on the suggestions given by fans, and discussions between Carter and myself. Click on the picture to check out the latest episode of COMICS! ENJOY!

Comics! With Richard and Carter, General

The Walking Dead is BACK!!! (COMICS!)

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HOLY CRAP! THE WALKING DEAD IS BACK ON TELEVISION! AHHHHHH!

Yes! The hit AMC show is back after a long and painful hiatus. Last time this happened to me was with Doctor Who series six. Both shows had mid-season finales that featured cliffhangers that almost killed me! I won’t say what those were because i don’t want to be a spoiler! Anyways, want to know what i thought of the season premiere of part 2? Click on the picture to find out! ALSO! Don’t forget to check out a brand new episode of COMICS! on Channel23hahaha every weekend! 🙂

PS Happy Birthday Dan! Hope its a great one!