Sons of Anarchy #1 / Z-View

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Sons of Anarchy #1  of a six issue mini-series from Boom! Studios Writer: Christopher Golden Artist: Damian Couceiro Colors by Stephen Downer Cover Shown: Damian Couceiro

Sons of Anarchy fans will be excited to get their hands on a comic series featuring their favorite motorcycle outlaws.  Writer Christopher Golden gets the feel for the characters right and artist Damian Couceiro creates likenesses that are generally very good.  Yet for all that, something feels a bit off.

The Sons are on a mission to deliver an item to a bar.  The stop off to give Tig time to grieve at the grave of his daughter.  When Tig returns to the gang, Jax is ready to call the whole thing off.  They don’t and go to the bar where Tig gets into a fight to defend a woman getting abused by her boyfriend.  Tig beats the boyfriend down and then gets a beat down of his own from the guy’s friends.  And while Tig’s getting his butt handed to him, the Sons are watching.

 Really?  Yep.  Really.  Then Jax negotiates a peaceful resolution.

There’s a subplot about a woman on the run that ends up at the Sons’ garage looking for shelter… and a couple of hitmen known as the Ghost Brothers who are hired to find and kill her.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Hercules: The Rock & Steranko

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The picture above is the latest in a series of set photos that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has shared from location filming of Hercules: The Thracian Wars.  If you’d like to see the other photos, Coming Soon has them.

Set for a July 14, 2014 release, Hercules: The Thracian Wars is directed by Brett Ratner and based on Radical Comics series of the same name.

If Johnson’s photo as Hercules seems familiar, you probably remember seeing this version of Steranko’s cover prelim for Radical Comics or this Steranko prelim or perhaps Steranko’s finished cover.

Z-View: Zero #1

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Zero #1  from Image
Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Michael Walsh
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Cover Shown: Michael Walsh

SAVING THE WORLD. ONE MURDER AT A TIME.Edward Zero is the perfect execution machine – a spy who breaks the rules to get things done. When a stolen device appears in the center of a long-running conflict, Zero comes to retrieve it.  The problem is, the device is inside a living, breathing, bio-modified terrorist and there’s an entire army after it.

Zero is sent into a war zone on a mission to retrieve a piece of technology.  Unfortunately that technology is located in the chest of a biomodified Hamas soldier who is locked in a death battle with a similarly equipped Israeli soldier.  Zero must work his way in avoiding soldiers and find a way to neutralize one or both super-soldiers.

Zero is ruthless in getting the mission completed, but there’s more to him than just a killing machine.  And that is one of the things that makes this an interesting story.  Kot provides a framing sequence that leaves the reader with enough questions to want to come back for more.  Walsh’s art dramatizes the story with a stark bold touch that works to show the brutality in Kos’ story.

The issue isn’t for kids since it features violence and sexual situations.  Or for adults offended by either.

Rating: B+

The Devil Doesn’t Want Me

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See the mug above.  That’s Eric Beetner.  

I first learned about him from his 60 Second Book Reviews blog.  Beetner’s reviews, for the books that I’ve read, are directly in line with my thoughts. So, if Beetner likes it, it’s a good bet that I will as well.

Then I learned Eric Beetner was a writer of crime fiction and his books were all getting 5 star reviews. Now I was intrigued.  So I bookmarked Beetner’s blog.

Next I discovered this trailer for Beetner’s The Devil Doesn’t Want Me. Nice.

So I broke down and ordered Beetner’s Dig Two Graves; One Too Many Blows to the Head and A Bouquet of Bullets.  I’ve read and enjoyed and highly recommend all of ’em.

Z-View: Kiss Me Satan #1

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Kiss Me Satan #1 of a five issue mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Victor Gischler
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Cover Shown: Dave Johnson

Barnabus Black is a fallen angel.. one of the many that followed Lucifer out of Heaven and the only one who decided to return.  Only going back isn’t that easy.  Black must earn his return.  In the best of worlds that wouldn’t be easy.

Now that Black has a retrieval team from Hell on his tail things just got a whole lot harder.  Especially since he’s been given the task of protecting an old woman with psychic powers from a criminal organization led by werewolves.

Victor Gischler has set up a story that could easily become silly.  Yet, if you’re willing to by into the supernatural elements, you’re in for an action-packed thrill ride.  Juan Ferreyra’s art is a joy and walks the line between serious and cartoony to perfectly fit the story.

Rating: B

Z-View: Hit #1

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Hit #1 of a four issue mini-series from Boom! Studios
Writer: Bryce Carlson
Artist: Vanesa R. Del Rey
Colors by Archie Van Buren
Cover Shown: Ryan Sook

Los Angeles.  1955.  Crime is rampant.  Corrupt cops and judges are making it easy for thugs like Karlo “The Shark” Infantino to beat the system.  As Detective Harvey Slater says, “Just because you’re proven not guilty doesn’t mean you’re innocent.”

Slater leads a squad of cops are unofficially sanctioned to take out the criminals that the courts can’t.  So where does that put Slater and his crew?  They’re killers working outside the law.  Doesn’t that make them as bad as those they’re putting down?  What happens when clean cops start investigating them?  And how is Slater going to explain a dead cop in his apartment?

Carlson has tapped into a story with a lot of potential.  Fans of crime fiction, James Elroy, LA Confidential and the upcoming Mob City are going to be all over this.  Del Ray’s art evokes the time period and is complimented by Van Buren’s colors.  I’m looking forward to the second issue!

Rating: B+

Jake (Hell on Church Street) Hinkson is an Author to Watch!

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With just two crime / noir novels (Hell on Chruch Street and The Posthumous Man) to his credit, Jake Hinson has made a name as a new author to watch.    Both novels were well received by fans and critics alike and get my highest recommendation.  (I liked Hell on Church Street a bit more than The Posthumous Man, but they are both excellent reads so why quibble?)

Cooke To Illustrate Parker Prose Novels

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Darwyn Cooke’s two graphic novel adaptations of (Donald Westlake aka) Richard Stark’s Parker novels have been resounding successes with fans and critics alike.  So it only made sense that a third adaption, Slayground would be coming at Christmas.  

Recently Cooke, the estate of Donald Westlake and publisher IDW  announced…

For the first time, the Parker novels will be published in a deluxe, hardcover format, and with Cooke designing the series, as well as providing stunning color illustrations to accompany Westlake’s (AKA, Richard Stark’s) crime classics! The first book, The Hunter, will arrive in the first half of 2014. Additional editions will be released in chronological order thereafter.

I can not wait!

Source: Sequential Highway

10 of the Most Dangerous Space Walks Ever

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In honor of the release of Gravity, Popular Mechanics posted 10 of the Most Dangerous Space Walks Ever Done.  Here are just a three of tidbits…

#10. Hubble Repair: …Had anything gone wrong, the astronauts would have had no refuge or hope of rescue…

#9.  Gonna Need a Bigger Door:  In the early days of the space race, no one knew for sure what was required for space walks beyond a spacesuit. One thing that’s nice to have: a hatch that’s big enough to accommodate a suit that expands when no longer being squeezed by outside air pressure. In 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov almost paid for that oversight with his life when he couldn’t get back inside his Voskhod spacecraft after his historic first space walk…

#7: Sasha, I Don’t Think…: Decompression is a space station astronaut’s worst nightmare. The nightmare came true in 1997 when an out-of-control Progress cargo ship slammed into space station Mir, punching a hole in the module it struck. With alarms blaring, cosmonauts Michael Foale and Sasha Lazutkin had to use the only tool they had at hand—a kitchen knife…

Steranko Artist Editions Coming!

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The big news for Steranko fans (and fans of classic comics) is that two Artist Editions featuring the work of the legendary Jim Steranko are planned.  

The first Steranko Artist Edition will be Steranko Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the first twelve Steranko stories that appeared in Strange Tales (#151 – 162).  

The second Steranko Artist Edition will be Steranko Nick Fury and Captain America, and will package the remaining Steranko Nick Fury stories from Strange Tales (#163-168), Nick Fury: Agent of S..H.I.E.L.D. (#1, 3, and 5) and Steranko’s three issues of Captain America (#110, #111, and #113).

Thanks to Sequential Highway