Presents

Green Arrow #3 ($2.99)

Writer: J.T. Krul

Artist: Diogenes Neves

Colors: Ulises Arreola

Letters: Rob Leigh

www.dccomics.com

First off, let me start off by stating the facts….THESE COVERS TO THIS NEW GREEN ARROW SERIES ARE FREAKIN AWESOME! Mauro Cascioli has done a very impressive job with all three covers so far.  I am hoping he continues as cover artist or hey maybe one day we’ll get an entire issue drawn by this master artist.  Until then, I am very happy to own the first three issues showcasing his cover art to a new series that I am happy to say “For once, I did right to adding a title to my pull list!”

That’s right, once again J.T. and Diogenes have hit it on the head.  Storytelling and art still running in full steam.  In the previous issue of Green Arrow, they left us hanging with a “spoiler alert” possible dead Oliver Queen as an arrow flies through the forest, ending by piercing his head.  Now just like any hero in a story, you know he’s not gonna be dead otherwise story ends.  And damn it, this series better not end just yet.  Make it at least 50 issues….  As Ollie lies there on the floor, blood all gushing out, another jumps into the scene to save the day.  That man is Galahad.  He rescues Ollie by taking him to a lake in the forest while explaining that this forest has many powers, one that is healing.  Our hero is back.  Just in time for another unexplained change in which I will not spoil.

You know how I do things around here.  I don’t spoil everything.  I gotta leave something for you to read.  Especially when it’s that good.  Couple things I am happy about this new series.  A – it’s still priced at $2.99!!  That is a major plus.  I understand costs and all but really…cough cough Marvel cough cough…. B – a good story with a glorious hero and C – artwork that just adds to the story and lives by it.

Keep up the good work guys.  I look forward to the next issue.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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For readers new to Top Cow, the Top Cow First Look trade will provide an exclusive “first look” at the publisher’s latest creation in the crime noir, suspense, urban action, space horror, supernatural mystery and revenge genres. The follow titles are collected in the first volume:

One of the winners of the 2008 Top Cow Pilot Season, Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman and Afua Richardson present the first issue in their upcoming miniseries, Genius centers on the story of a young African-American military genius taking over Los Angeles’ gangs.

Written by Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) with by the art team of Jorge Lucas (The Darkness) and Felix Serrano, Sunset tells the tale of an old Vegas enforcer on a quest for revenge in his twilight years.

Writer Jason Rubin (The Iron Saint), penciler Tyler Kirkham (Green Lantern Corps), inker Sal Regla and colorist Arif Prianto of IFS, unveils the supernatural murder-mystery Mysterious Ways.

B. Clay Moore, Nelson Blake II and Dave McCaig take you deep into space horror with Black Vault.

Kicking off the newly relaunched Minotaur Press line, Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal bring you a haunting generational serial killer tale with Echoes.

Written by John Mahoney and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik with art by Thomas Nachlik present you a supernatural noir adventure about a small time criminal who discovers he cannot die with Last Mortal.

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There’s only one more week until fans far and wide will get their hands on “Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions”–for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS on September 7! As anticipation reaches critical levels, we have a handful of spectacular new images and an intense new trailer to get you even more hyped!

Get ready for the most epic Spider-Man game to date with this extensive preview of “Shattered Dimensions,” complete with your first look at some new villains and gameplay!

Pick up “Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions” for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS on September 7! Stay glued to Marvel.com and spidermandimensions.marvel.com for further information, images, videos and more as we near the game’s release!

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CRITICAL MILLENNIUM: THE DARK FRONTIER #2 (of 4)

The chronicle of one thousand years of mankind’s rise and fall in outer space continues! Traveling to the outer system colonies with pop singer Angel Rei in tow, Thomm Coney and Eryc Kartoneas witness the first test launch of the experimental engine that will propel them to their destiny! But the Blackstar drive utilizes miniature black holes to catapult vessels to other worlds, and as the test begins, Thomm finds himself wondering, “Just what happens to Earth system if a black hole doesn’t close?” While the entrepreneurs are off world, natural calamity strikes New Bombay! In the devastated slums of the Ghost Quarter, the man called the Wraith rises to power, organizing the despondent Ghosts into a fanatical terrorist regime. Their focus: The death of those who would dare take mankind to the stars!

Mature Readers (Contains Adult Content)

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Two pivotal storylines from Lady Death’s past are retold in LADY DEATH ORIGINS, providing insight into the heroine’s deep mythology.  “Abandon All Hope,” originally a five-issue series published by Avatar Press, recounts the tale of a young woman’s transformation into an avatar of death.  An additional tale entitled “Wicked” expands on this origin story, firmly establishing Lady Death against the backdrop of the Blacklands, the mystic realm she would eventually conquer.  LADY DEATH ORIGINS will be engaging, essential reading for fans and newcomers, just in time for the launch of the character’s new ongoing monthly series in December.

The pricing and format of LADY DEATH ORIGINS VOLUME ONE is as follows:

·         Lady Death Origins Volume One Softcover Edition                                    $19.99

·         Lady Death Origins Volume One Hardcover Edition                                   $27.99

·         Lady Death Origins Volume One Signed Hardcover Ltd. Edition           $34.99
(Autographed by Brian Pulido, limited to 1,250 copies)

Boundless Comics recently made waves by announcing the October release of LADY DEATH PREMIERE, a comic book available for free to customers nationwide as a precursor to the new ongoing LADY DEATH series launching in December.  The massive LADY DEATH PREMIERE promotion draws fresh attention to the fan-favorite character, setting the stage for the bold new direction – and apocalyptic-level mayhem – of Boundless’ ongoing comic and graphic novel publications.

Created by indie press icon William Christensen in 2010, Boundless Comics publishes high-quality, action-oriented comics, as exemplified by its initial release, LADY DEATH by Brian Pulido and Mike Wolfer.  For more information about Boundless Comics and their exciting new publications, please visit www.boundlesscomics.com .

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Warren Ellis’ spell-casting soldier finally gets his due in GRAVEL VOL. 3: THE LAST KING OF ENGLAND!  Co-written by industry legend Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Black Summer) and horror maven Mike Wolfer (Night of the Living Dead, Wolfskin), this third volume draws together the plot threads interwoven throughout the preceding volumes (VOL. 1: BLOODY LIARS and VOL. 2: THE MAJOR SEVEN), leading to a deadly conflict between Gravel’s ragtag team of working class mystics and Bible Jack, a psychotic rogue magician.  However, the madman raining down death on innocent Londoners isn’t Gravel’s only threat, as a more political enemy takes shape on Downing Street.  Collecting issues #15-21 of the monthly series, GRAVEL VOL. 3 perfectly captures all the grit and gruesomeness that inspired its upcoming feature film adaptation from Legendary Pictures!

·         GRAVEL VOL. 3: THE LAST KING OF ENGLAND Softcover (SEP100803, $19.99)
·         GRAVEL VOL. 3: THE LAST KING OF ENGLAND Hardcover (SEP100804, $27.99)

In November, Avatar Press also builds upon this theme of horror and violence in the continuation of its series CROSSED: FAMILY VALUES, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, NEONOMICON, WOLFSKIN: HUNDREDTH DREAM, and CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD LAST BATTLE.

·         In CROSSED: FAMILY VALUES #7, the runaway success miniseries of bad bloodlines comes to its terrifying conclusion!  In backwoods America, teenager Adeline attempts to keep the last few members of her family alive, while under assault from her Crossed mother’s army of maniacs!  Brought to you by David Lapham (Stray Bullets) and artist Javier Barreno, and available in Regular, Wraparound, Torture, and Red Crossed editions!

·         In NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD #2, that fateful sundown in the Spring of ’68 brings terror to the nation’s capitol!  As the weary National Guard maintains an unsteady peace with a throng of anti-Vietnam War protesters, they realize that one misstep could ignite a fatal firestorm of violence… leaving them in no shape to face the oncoming horde of undead cannibals!  Written by Mike Wolfer (Gravel) and John Russo, the original co-writer of the classic horror film!  Available in Regular, Wraparound, Gore, and Classic Black-and-White editions!

·         In the final issue of Alan Moore’s Lovecraftian masterpiece, NEONOMICON #4, FBI agent Brears crawls back from Hell and finds herself in the network of tunnels beneath Salem, Massachusetts.  Returned though she may be, Brears now perceives a world that most people can’t see… and she has one more terrifying thing to show us.  The award-winning master of comic storytelling, Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta), teams with Jacen Burrows (Crossed, Chronicles of Wormwood) to draw NEONOMICON to a close with Regular, Wraparound, and Book of the Dead editions!

·         Warren Ellis’ barbarian epic comes to a close in WOLFSKIN: HUNDREDTH DREAM #6.  In the face of the insidious encroachment of industry, with his comrades falling at his side, Wolfskin ingests the cursed mushroom of his war god and becomes an unstoppable force of mayhem!  But will this rage and bloodlust be enough to drive back his enemies?  By Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer, and Gianluca Pagliarani (Ignition City).  Available in Regular, Blood Thirst, Painted, Wraparound, and Bronze & Blood editions!

·         In CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: THE LAST BATTLE #5, Garth Ennis (Crossed, Preacher) and Oscar Jimenez (Gravel) toss Danny Wormwood – the reluctant Anti-Christ – for a loop in the aftermath of Pope Jacko’s attack on his dearest friend!  The sacrilege continues with Regular, Visions of Hell Wraparound, and Anti-Christ editions!

Finally, Avatar Press continues its tradition of offering retailers and fans nationwide the opportunity to acquire rare comic book variants of its most popular titles, many of which were only available previously at regional conventions.  This month’s gorgeous and gruesome selection includes:

·         CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #2 (OF 7) Sweet Treats Edition
·         CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #3 (OF 7) Cowgirl Edition
·         CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #4 (OF 7) Auxiliary Edition
·         WOLFSKIN HUNDREDTH DREAM #1 (OF 6) Motor City Edition
·         ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #2 (OF 4) Auxiliary Edition
·         SUPERGOD #4 (OF 5) Convention Edition

Avatar Press is a leading independent company which publishes a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels by some of the most talented creators in the industry.  Among their fine products are highly-regarded creator-owned titles such as Alan Moore’s NEONOMICON and THE COURTYARD, Warren Ellis’ FREAKANGELS and BLACK SUMMER, and Garth Ennis’ CROSSED and CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD, as well as licensed comic projects such as George A. Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.  For more information about Avatar Press and their publications, please visit www.avatarpress.com.

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Claudia Christian was born in Glendale, California. Her family moved to Connecticut sometime afterwards. At age five, she was bitten by the acting bug when she played a Native American in a school play. After her family returned to California, she graduated high school at 16, and set out to start her acting career. She worked in a coffee house and then at a clothing store for two years before landing her first acting role on the soap “Dallas” (1978). In her next appearance, she played Kara in the television movie, Calendar Girl Murders (1984) (TV). Her big break came when she landed the part of “Susan Ivanova” on the science-fiction series “Babylon 5″ (1994).

Her grandfather is a surgeon and her three older brothers are genetic engineers and veterinarians. Claudia enjoys listening to opera, painting, extreme sports, playing piano, collecting antiques and hosting dinner parties. She is fluent in French, Italian and German and enjoys acting in these languages. Claudia was voted “sexiest woman in sci-fi” by SFX Magazine in 1998.

Join tens of thousands of fellow fans as they converge at the Penn Plaza Pavilion in New York City at Big Apple Comic Con, October 1-2-3, 2010 to celebrate the best in pop culture. New York City’s Big Apple Comic-Con brings it all – Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Anime, Manga, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles & More! This is New York’s longest running and most widely attended Comic Con! Come see us at our new home at Penn Plaza Pavilion, 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St. in Manhattan! We are just steps away from Penn Station! This is the most anticipated move of 2010!

For more Big Apple Comic Con guest and programming updates, become a fan of BIG APPLE COMIC CON on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter by CLICKING HERE!

Save up to 15 percent off the price of tickets by ordering your tickets in advance. Tickets are more at the door.

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Join tens of thousands of fellow fans as they converge on the Austin Convention Center at Austin Comic Con to celebrate the best in pop culture. Austin Comic Con brings it all – Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Anime, Manga, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles & More! This is Texas’ best new Comic Con! Austin Comic Con is brought to you by the group who produces the most widely attended Comic Con tour!

For more Austin Comic Con guest and programming updates, become a fan of AUSTIN COMIC CON on Facebook!

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Join tens of thousands of fellow fans as they converge on the Direct Energy Centre in Canada at Toronto Comic Con 2011, March 18-19-20, 2011, to celebrate the best in pop culture. Canada’s Toronto Comic Con brings it all – Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Anime, Manga, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles & More! Toronto Comic Con is brought to you by the group who produces the most widely attended Comic Con tour!

For more Toronto Comic Con guest and programming updates, become a fan of TORONTO COMIC CON on Facebook!

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Save up to 15 percent off the price of tickets by ordering your tickets in advance. Tickets are more at the door.

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Join tens of thousands of fans as they converge on the Pennsylvania Convention Center at Philadelphia Comic Con, June 11-12-13, 2011 Wizard World Convention to celebrate the best in pop culture. Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Anime, Manga, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles & More! Philadelphia Comic Con brings it all – Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Anime, Manga, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles & More! Philadelphia Comic Con is brought to you by the group who produces the most widely attended Comic Con tour!

For more Philadelphia Comic Con guest and programming updates, become a fan of PHILADELPHIA COMIC CON on Facebook!

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Save up to 15 percent off the price of tickets by ordering your tickets in advance. Tickets are more at the door.

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BERONA’S WAR VOL. 1: FIELD GUIDE Original Graphic Novel Hardcover

From the minds of artists/storytellers Jesse Labbé and Anthony Coffey comes this epic tale of two adorable, fur-covered races doomed by their own escalating violence! The Ele-Alta and the Cropones wage war over the island of Berona’s most desirable piece of real estate: the land called Amity. Cute and cuddly on the outside, but ferocious to the core, these fuzzy fighters will continue their bloodshed no matter the cost! The BERONA’S WAR VOL. 1: FIELD GUIDE provides a great introduction to the world of BERONA’S WAR, featuring maps, devious strategies, weapons, character and troop descriptions and the history of wartime events. This is the perfect primer for the upcoming BERONA’S WAR VOL. 2: FIGHT FOR AMITY!

All Ages

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Rated M: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Publisher: Sega

Developer: PlatinumGames Inc.

Another first person shooter. Whoop-die damn do. I remember seeing something of this game during E3′s conference this year, so I was kind of expecting it, but it got blown under the carpet with all the Halo butt-fuckers who’ve been salivating for Reach to come out. All I can say to that is I hope this is the last we hear of the Spartans, or just make a game where you turn on the system and it triggers a Halo centered around Bungie that blows them all to hell! Now that that’s out of my system, onto Vanquish.

First and foremost, I suggest you take the time to go through the tutorial. It’s always a good idea to give a look at what you’re working with. In this case the controls seem similar to the Gears of War format with a little Army of Two sprinkled on top, and a little something new as a garnish. Plus the tutorial game me a sampling of the controls, graphics, and sound. Let’s hope by the end of this we have a new contender for “Bad Ass FPS of the Year.”

In this futuristic first person demo, you play Sam Gideon. He’s some type of super soldier with this high tech suit, scruffy beard, and don’t take no shit attitude. It was cool when it was done by Sam Fischer, but who’s splitting hairs here. Pretty much nothing is told of the story, save for the fact that you have to get from point A to point B. And the only thing between you and your goal is an army of robots apparently designed and manufactured by the Russians (indicated by the red and black robots you must destroy no doubt). Point A in this instance is a stone’s throw away from what seemed like the end of a board (yes, they do throw the nubes a boss). You and your team go at it with bullets flying, sparks crackling, and the occasional “Get the hell out of my way” by the protagonist when some dipshit AI gets in your line of fire.

You basically fight your way through several waves of robot enemies through the ass end of some military warehouse/complex/weapons manufacturing plant. There are several paths you can take which will give you two distinct advantages with a little playing around. One you can get a tactical advantage by taking ascending stairs to a higher vantage point, giving you the high ground in the fire fight below. Secondly, there are weapons scattered around (I found one on the walkway to the farthest right when you first get in) so you have the ability to pick up some cool aresanal that can either make big boom to wipe out several tin-cans at once, or get your zoom in and take them out systematically one by one. Ultimately, you’ll get to a cut-scene, followed by a quick fire fight, flip back to another cut-scene, and then it’s big bad.

Think Metal Gear on massive amounts of PCP and steroids. I won’t say anything about the battle but I will say I died twice before I finally took him down. And on that topic, it was refreshing to see that this started you off at the last checkpoint when you died. I actually got to enjoy the demo for once instead of dying and having to start from the beginning, or keep an eye on the upper corner for an expiration ticker to count down on me. Plus there’s a cute side character who’s some genius chick (IQ. of 138 I believe they said). I have to say that this game looks like it’ll be enjoyable equally solo or with a partner, though looking at the graphical quality and the sheer scale of the battles this will probably only be co-op online. Which is fine by me, because the detail of this game is akin to Lost Planet for me. Just a big space that wouldn’t seem right with more than one person on one television. Maybe come this October 19^th this will make a decent sized splash onto the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Controls: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It took a little bit to get used to. For some reason the default pick up button is RB/R1 and grenade throw is Y/Triangle (which kinda should be backwards), but this might be the worse of the two control schemes they give you. Plus little additives like the boost (a hopped up slide which depletes your armor strength) and AR mode (a fancy name for ssslllooowww mmmooodddeee, and also depletes your armor strength) took a while to remember that they were even there.

Graphics: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Everything looked smooth and crisp, and painstakingly meticulous. There was gloss everywhere on this game, from the way vents closed up on your suit after initiating a boost to the way your weapon seems to just transform from one gun to the next. The cut-scenes were also visually pleasing, if not short. I have to say that PlatinumGames did a very well job on this.

Sound: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The music was very battle driven and vice versa. Sound levels also fade as you enter the AR mode and the sound of your heartbeat increases. The characters voices are very distinct in this one too. It’s not such a far stretch to believe that if these were real people then this is what they would sound like.

Overall Rating: 3.67 out of 5 stars

Even though the demo is short (I got through it in about 26 minutes) it was looks like it might be a good contender for FPS o f the year. The mechanics were pretty solid for a demo (no glitching) and the battle was a huge one. Give it a little more polish and smooth out a few tweaks and PlatinumGames could be releasing a\ FPS that could become a very good multiplayer and single campaign experience.

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