We’re back from Ottawa Comiccon, have a shiplist!

Ryan here. I just wanted to let all the listeners know that the ShoppeCAST is still alive and well. We’re just in the middle of a hellish month of May here at the The Comic Book Shoppe having just finished up the Ottawa Comic Con, which was awesome! I hope everyone had fun. We’ll be back as soon as things get back to an even keel around here.

Thanks!

Ryan Clark

Title: Epic Kill #1 (of 5)

Author/Artist: Raffaele Ienco

Publisher: Image Comics

Rating: 18+

Release date: May 2012

Verdict: 8/10

I walked into the Comic Book Shoppe on Clyde Avenue the other day to pick up my subscription. I had been away for about 10 days on vacation, so I had missed the last two Wednesdays. Included in my sub were some great books like Fatale, Hell Yeah, Invincible and the Walking Dead; but there was also one other book that I didn’t recognize. It was called Epic Kill and it was the first issue of a five issue mini-series. I’d never heard of it; but as Image has been hitting it out of the park recently with hits left and right (Prophet & Glory anyone??), the boys thought it would be right up my alley. It seems like they were right.

Epic Kill seems to be a story about an 18 year old girl who is an absolute phenom in terms of her fighting/killing skills. When I first opened the book and saw that it was a dark haired unassuming 18 year old girl who is one of the greatest killers the world has ever known, I immediately thought of the female Wolverine clone from Marvel’s X-23. Especially considering that she was in some kind of institution for girls where the male guards abuse them. But even though there are similarities between the girls, Epic Kill is not a rehash of the Marvel character. It seems to be its own thing, especially considering who her main enemy seems to be. I see her as maybe X-23 meets Beatrix Kiddo with her “Bill” being even more impossible to get to.

Epic Kill is both written and drawn by Raffaele Ienco, which nowadays, is no small feat. There aren’t many writer/artists out there to begin with, let alone new guys trying to really break in. They usually try and make it as one or the other, and then later in their career they make a run at doing both. Raffaele is one of the exceptions to that rule. He’s previously published a graphic novel, Devoid of Life, through Image in 2008, and plans on doing more after this mini-series is complete. His fine penciling style coupled with his eye for action sequences make him someone I would like to watch. I’ll be back here for issue #2.

So what did you all think? Have any of you been enjoying the Image Revolution as much as I have? What other titles from Image are you excited about right now? Let us know! Sound off in our handy comments section below. Until next week…Make Mine Image!

Shiplist for May 16th is online. We’ve got more Adventure Time coming in, and a whack of other cool stuff! Check it out!

Title: Prophet #21- 24

Author: Brandon Graham

Artist: Simon Roy (#1-3) & Farel Dalrymple (#4)

Publisher: Image Comics

Release date: January – April 2012

Verdict: 10/10!!

In 1992 a handful of the most talented artists in comic book medium formed their own comic book company called Image. Now it is 20 years later, and Image Comics, on the surface, seems very different from day one, but at its core, it’s still a haven for creators and their creations. Each of the co-founders had their own personal studio or “imprint”. Todd MacFarlane turned his into a toy company; Jim Lee (Wildstorm) sold his to DC; Jim Valentino’s Shadowline is still kicking around at Image to this day. But one of the studios, Extreme, the one started by Rob Liefeld, has gone through several shifts over the years. In celebration of Images 20^th Anniversary, and in celebration of Rob Liefeld being brought back into the fold by new partner Robert Kirkman, Image has relaunched a bunch of old Liefeld books as well as the imprint “Extreme”.

The “relaunch” started with three books; Bloodstrike, Glory, and Prophet. Going against the common mode of relaunching series with new number one issues, all three of these books have come out with the original numbering. Glory started at #23; Bloodstrike at #26; and Prophet, the book we are looking at today, came out at issue #21. All three books are by different creators and all three books are nothing like they were back in the day.

I’ve read all three issues of Glory that have come out, and it’s fantastic. One of the best releases of 2012 so far. Bloodstrike is bit too much like it was in the 1990’s and hasn’t really held my interest, but Prophet, which has shipped 4 issues, is amazing. It’s really hard to compare it to existing books that I read, but so far it has me hooked. Our main hero, John Prophet, wakes up on Earth after a long hibernation period, and everything is drastically different. Not just the landscape, but the life as well. At first glance it seems like John slept for eons as evolution seems to have been working its magic on Earth-bound life. Mammals with extra limbs and mouths that open like the Alien egg sacks from Ridley Scott’s Alien film series are all over the place. Even the fish have the crazy mouths. It’s a new and confusing world for John, but he puts that aside. It’s his mission that drives him forward.

What I’m totally digging about this series, other than the cool sci-fi futuristic setting, is the complete lack of knowledge I have about what came before and how that doesn’t seem to matter in the least. This series, like the other Extreme books, looks like it wants to give us something completely different from what’s already on the shelves. Books like Wasteland over at Oni Press also deal with a far flung future with an Earth that is barely recognizable, but this series is dealing with what seems to be a post-humanity Earth. Strange species with strange customs and strange tastes seem to be status-quo here, and John Prophet’s survival skills and adaptability seem to be the only things keeping him alive and sane.

It’s kind of hard to track down copies of the first four issues, just like it’s been hard to track down copies of Glory and several new Image series. I’ve made it a bit of a mission these last few months to look at this glut of new and exciting Image comics, and just like series like Rebel Blood, Secret, The Manhattan Projects, Saga, America’s Got Powers, Hell Yeah, and Fatale, Prophet is now a permanent fixture on my monthly pull list. I needed to eBay it up in order to get the hard to find first issue, but from what I hear, a trade paperback collection is not too far out. So never fear! Affordable reprints are on the way.

So, what have you all been thinking of the amazing new series from Image? Are they grabbing your attention more than before? Any favorites? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear what everyone thinks of Image at 20 years oldJ .

Shiplist for May 9th is up, and Arkham City Series 2 figures are coming in this week, Check it out! Also, don’t forget Free Comic Book Day May 5th!

Saturday, May 5th – Free Comic Book Day. No Clix today, but come by for free comic books and a free Thor HeroClix piece!

Thursday, May 10th – What team are we on now? Build a 500 point team where every character shares an Additional Team Ability.

Saturday, May 12th – 400 Point Modern Age. Build a 400 point team based around the Modern Age construction rules. Prizes for this event include the LE #101 Iron Man for the Champion and Fellowship winners.

Thursday, May 17th – Down to Earth. Build a 500 Point team using only characters who have the Boot or Dolphin symbols. Characters may not be granted the flight ability by a power.

Saturday, May 19th – Infinity Gauntlet Sealed Tournament. Players purchase 2 boosters of Galactic Guardians and build a 400 point team out of the pieces they receive! Prizes for this event include the Runner LE Figure for the Champion, Second, and Fellowship winners, and a Time Gem 3D object to everyone upon completion of the event!

Future events TBA

Ladies and Gentlemen, your entertainment, Episode 6 of The Comic Book ShoppeCAST!

This week Jody, Jordan, and Ryan discuss upcoming store events, Previews highlights, and we answer listener mail!

Episode 6

Or you can download it from here: ShoppeCAST Episode 6
As always, please feel free to email us questions or feedback at shoppe2@thecomicbookshoppe.com with the word “Podcast” in the subject line. You can also leave comments in the section down below or on our Facebook page!

Enjoy!

Shiplist for May 2nd is up, and we’re going to have more AVX this week! Check it out!

Title: The Shadow #1

Author: Garth Ennis

Artist: Aaron Campbell

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Release date: April 18^th, 2012

Verdict: 9/10

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow Knows! Cue the ominous laugh and the musical theme, and we’re off to the races! Straight from the 1930’s radio serials, and to a lesser extent, the 1990’s Alec Baldwin movie, comes the new ongoing Shadow comic book series written by the amazing Garth Ennis (The Boys, Punisher, & Preacher) and featuring artwork by Aaron Campbell, perhaps best known as the penciler of Dynamite Entertainment’s Green Hornet: Year One series with Matt Wagner. The series debuted with some impressive variant covers (the one by John Cassaday is my favorite; pictured to the left) and with an impressive story by the stellar creative team.

The gorgeous first issue opens to a scene right out of hell. Much like in the beginnings of the aforementioned Green Hornet: Year One, this series opens with a scene from the Rape of Nanking. It describes how in between 1931 and 1945, 15 million Chinese people were massacred by the Japanese during their occupations. We see The Shadow speak of the massacre and we get a sense of where he may have obtained his dark skills. From Nanking we are treated to a display of what makes The Shadow feared by all sane men. Guns blazing and moving faster than humanly possible, we see Lamont Cranston (aka The Shadow) gun down an entire host of Japanese gangsters. What was their crime? Was this justice? Who knows but The Shadow??

I love that Dynamite has taken all these pulp heroes of old and given us a bunch of new comic series in which to enjoy them. Instead of recreating classics and having them take place today, Dynamite has taken properties like the Green Hornet, John Carter of Mars, the Spider, and now The Shadow, and made them all enjoyable while taking place in their correct time periods. I don’t want to see Lamont Cranston or Britt Reid running around in the 2010’s as some kind of reimagined action heroes/James Bond pastiche! They belong in the era of the greatest generation, and Dynamite recognizes this. All of this and getting Garth Ennis to write the series, and we have a winner. Garth is someone who not only excels at war era fiction and politics; he excels at writing mysterious men who have a dark side, but are also truly good at their core. He’s not meant to write characters like Green Lantern or Superman, both of whom are too one dimensional; but someone like The Shadow is right up his alley. I even think he would be a deft hand at scripting The Green Hornet as well. Hopefully Dynamite will be able to convince him to pen a crossover between the characters one day taking place in the 1940’s. Fingers crossed.

This new series has lots of potential. Garth seems to be crafting a story that will see The Shadow battle with Japanese gangsters as well as their American counterparts. Adventure and intrigue are afoot, and after checking out this first issue, I’ll be around for at least a few more. How about you guys? Did you enjoy Garth Ennis’ and Aaron Campbell’s first issue of The Shadow? How about the rest of Dynamite’s “pulp hero line”? Let us know. Sound off in our handy comments section below and let’s discuss the resurgence of the pulp heroes of old J