So, as some of you might have heard from the news or online or any other place, this week a pretty big issue came out in comics. Usually I don’t write reviews for single issues, but I thought this would be a special occasion, and I thought this warranted it.

Fantastic Four #587, written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Steve Epting, brings the death of one of the titular four of Marvel’s First Family. I’m not going to say who it is in here, but if you want to know you can just look up spoilers just about anywhere, but I want to keep things safe in anything I write, at least a few days after release. 

All that said, read on for my review of the issue.

My last post was about Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run, and this time I’ll be doing one for the (arguably) most popular member of the X-Men: Wolverine. There are tons of comics focusing on the little fur-ball, but this one is for one of my personal favorite runs — Jason Aaron’s Wolverine: Weapon X.

As usual the article will be broken down like this:

• WHO writes/draws
• WHAT is it about
• WHEN was it published
• WHERE can I find it
• WHY should I read it
• HOW much will it cost me

So read more to see my breakdown of Wolverine: Weapon X!

So far, from all of these that I’ve done, I haven’t really given a mainstream series. It’s always been indie books (mostly from Vertigo), which is because I want to get readers familiar with books they might not pick up on their own. This time, though, I’m going to break down something quite a bit more mainstream: New X-Men. 

As always I’ll be doing this in the same format:

• WHO wrote the series
• WHAT is it about
• WHEN was it published
• WHERE can I find it
• WHY should I read it
• HOW much is it going to cost me

So click read more to see my breakdown of my personal favorite run on the X-Men.

So as readers might know, usually I present an entire series, or run on a series, in my “Comics You Should Be Reading” posts, but this time I’m just going to do a review for two trade paperbacks: The Flash Emergency Stop, and The Flash The Human Race. I’m doing both in this one post because both encapsulate a year long run on DC’s Flash series by two top names in the industry right now: Grant Morrison and Mark Millar.

Before Mark Millar became one of the comic industries most well known writers he was just a young upstart from Scotland, so who would be the one to help push his name from obscurity into who he was today? Fellow Scottish scribe, Grant Morrison. The two wrote several stories together: Skrull Kill Krew, Aztec, Swamp Thing, and this run on the Flash.

Anyway, enough into, let’s get to the review.

As before, I’m doing my comics you should be reading post. This time it’s about “Preacher”, a classic Vertigo title by familiar comic names Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. It’s a mature themed, supernatural series with a southern kick to it.

These articles are broken down in a “Who, what, when, where, why, how” manner, where I answer each question according to the series.

• WHO writes/draws it
• WHAT is it about
• WHEN was it published
• WHERE can I find it
• WHY should I read this
• HOW much will this cost, how is it collected

Continue reading to see my breakdown of this series! 

—-

Preacher

WHO?
Written by Garth Ennis, drawn by Steve Dillon (except volume four) with covers by Glenn Fabry

WHAT?
In this Vertigo series we have our “hero” the Reverend Jesse Custer gaining god-like powers from this entity that enters his body one day. Jesse decides to find out why in the hell this happened to him and how the hell he can get rid of it, but there’s much much more to it than they initially lead you on to believe. Jesse travels around the world with his best gal, Tulip, and his best bud, Cassidy, who happens to be a vampire, to stop a corrupt member of a messed up sect of the Catholic church from taking over the world. That’s one of the best descriptions I can give without giving away plot lines, but in the end, Jesse’s goal is to find God so he can punch him in the face and give him a stern talking to, like any good Texan man would to someone who’s done him wrong. 

WHEN?
The series was published in 66 issues from 1995-2000, and also had a four issue limited series revolving around the Saint of Killers character and 5 special issues. 

WHERE?
The series is complete and available in nine paperback volumes anywhere that books are sold. The series is also being re-released in Hardcover volumes that collect two volumes each.

WHY?
Alright… I know the description was kind of muddled, and I probably got some stuff wrong there because I was trying not to give away plot lines, but this is one of the most hardcore and bad-ass comics I have ever read. I automatically place it up there with my favorite books of all time, and I recommend it to anyone who is mature enough and not offended by the “Anti-Christian” themes of the book (the nature of those themes could be debated, it’s more blasphemous than anti-christian). This is also a great starting point to get into mature comics and series from Vertigo. It’s not as long as some other series, and each volume is less than $20, so it’s less money to be spent than on other books. 
There have been talks of turning the series into a movie, or a show for HBO or Showtime, but there hasn’t been any development on that as far as I know, but just in case, it’s always smart to be on top of things before that kind of stuff happens, and plus it’s just a plain old good series. 
Oh, and if you are from Texas… Jesse is pretty much the epitome of the badass guy from Texas, and he’s even got John Wayne to back him up on that one.

In short I can sum this series up as a must read for Texan comic fans that deals with Angels, Demons, Vampires, a messed up sect of the Catholic church, a guy with an “arse-face”, and lots of mature material. If any or all of that interests you, then you should check this series out. You won’t be disappointed. 

GO Rating:

For great writing, action, humor, and artwork throughout, and a compelling (and original) story, I give this classic Vertigo title a 4.5/5. It’s one of my personal favorites, and a definite must read Vertigo series. 

HOW?
There are nine TPB volumes and two of the HC re-releases:
1. Gone to Texas - $14.99
2. Until the End of the World - $14.99
3. Proud Americans - $14.99
4. Ancient History - $14.99
5. Dixie Fried - $14.99
6. War in the Sun - $17.99
7. Salvation - $17.99
8. All Hell’s A-Coming - $17.99
9. Alamo - $17.99

Comic fans out there should be familiar with the name of Grant Morrison. He’s one of the top writers in the biz right now, and my personal favorite.

His works with DC and Marvel and other companies have spanned for several decades now, and most of his stuff has been released and re-released in nice collections over the years. Most of his stuff, except for one exception that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Flex Mentallo.

Back in the early 90’s DC gave Morrison one of their series, Doom Patrol, to do with as he pleased. As well as constructing a  run that will be forever remembered by fans of the series and the writer he also created a plethora of new characters. One of those characters was Flex Mentallo, the man of muscle mystery. The characters was based on those old Charles Atlas, Hero of the Beach comic ads that featured a young man gaining massive muscles, beating the bully, and getting the girl. 

A few years after his run on the Doom Patrol comic Morrison and good friend and collaborator, Frank Quitely, put together a four issue mini-series that focused on the character, and took an interesting existential look at comics. This series has been hailed as a holy grail among comics, and has been called to be one of Morrison’s best, however it has never been collected. 

The reason was, that back when DC and Vertigo were trying to put together a collection of the series they were attacked with a lawsuit from the creators of the original Charles Atlas adverts. While DC came out of that lawsuit positively by showing that the character was a parody and by law did not infringe on copyright, they still never collected the series, and it became a lost gem in the comic world. The issues now go for up to $50 each online.

Recently, however, Grant Morrison was asked at a convention if the series would ever be collected, and he responded that he was sure it would. This wouldn’t be a big deal, however every other time he’d been asked he responded with a negative and called it a day. Comic fans and fans of Morrison, Quitely, and Flex had their hopes raised, but would it be to no avail? There was no news of a collection, and nobody could really confirm it. 

Until just now. Just today (January 4th, as I write this), DC and Vertigo announced that this fall the four issue series would finally be collected in a Deluxe Edition Hardcover (which means it’s oversized, for those unaware), and will include bonus material! We have no word yet on what that material will be, but anything is good, and quite honestly they could ship it with nothing but the issues and I wouldn’t mind at all. 

Anyhow, look out for this collection when it hits stores sometime this fall. I’m going to make a guess that the book will cost $20-$25, just for future reference. 

Recently DC and Vertigo announced that fan favorite artist Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian) would be joining Scott Snyder for a five issue limited series that focuses on a World War II era story for Snyder’s critically acclaimed hit series, American Vampire. The spin-off mini series will tie into the main series new major arc which will start with issue #13, for which Murphy has provided a variant cover (pictured).

Personally, this is a no brainer. Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy teaming up for American Vampire? Sign me up NOW!

Starting this March Vertigo will be releasing new reprint volumes of their classic, and longest running series, Hellblazer. The series will be over 275 issues by that time, and a lot of the series has either never been collected, or the collections have gone out of print, so this news is good for people who want to read some of those old stories. 

The first volume, Original Sins, will reprint the characters first appearances in Saga of the Swamp Thing as well as issues  1-9 of the series. 

Hellblazer began back in 1988 and has run monthly since then. The main character, Johns Constantine, was created by Alan Moore during his run on Saga of the Swamp Thing. The series has had acclaimed runs by numerous popular writers such as Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, and currently Peter Milligan. 

Alright, so I’ve already shown you my opinions on the top ten series you should be reading from the big two, Marvel and DC, but now I’m going to show you what’s good from the rest. I’ll be focusing primarily on Vertigo here, though, as I really don’t get a ton of books from the indie publishers. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I already get almost forty different series every month, and stuff gets expensive. SO, that said, I’ll show you what I’m getting, and tell you why I think each of these books are great ones, and then you guys, our readers, can leave comments and stuff about which series YOU think should be mentioned as the tops from Indie publishers such as Boom! Studios, Dynamite, Dark Horse, and Image (among others). 

Once again, these are all in alphabetical order, so #1 is not necessarily a better series than #5 or #10. Read on to see the books I’ve picked!

This year saw a lot of great stuff all around, from movies to video games to TV shows, but being that I usually focus on comics, I figured I’d bring what I felt was the BEST comic of 2010. 

As a bit of a broad focus I’d like to say the best of 2010 was Grant Morrison’s Batman books. Morrison did not handle just one book this year, but several: he finished up his 16-issue run on Batman and Robin, published his six-issue Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series, put out two issues of Batman that tied into, and filled some blanks in his RIP storyline from 2008/2009, and finally he launched his new Batman series, Batman Incorporated (along with a one-shot called Batman: The Return). 

It has certainly been a busy year for Mr. Morrison, and though he faced some delays in publishing, he put it all out there, and it was all pretty fantastic. His finale to Batman and Robin was probably my favorite single issue of the entire year, and I know I have never been so excited for any single issue ever before. It was fantastically written, and even though it featured work from three different artists it was perfectly executed. I loved it dearly. 

And on top of how wonderful that last issue was, the entirety of his works (previously listed) beautifully wove together a mystery, piece by piece, that showed us pretty much why Batman is arguably the greatest, and most important character in the DCU (no offense to fans of other characters, I love others, but Bats is my favorite). If you like Batman, this is a thread of stories you would kick yourself not to have read, and you better be sure to pick up Batman Incorporated as it continues off into next year. Also be sure to check out Scott Snyder and Jocks run on Detective Comics, which is sure to be a contender for one of the best ongoing runs of 2011. 

As an extension of my “Comics You Should Be Reading” posts I previously did a list of the 10 Marvel books (along with honorable mentions) that I think are their best, and that comic readers should be picking up now. As a continuation of that, I’ll also bring you my opinions of the top 10 DC series right now, so whether you want to start collecting singles and want to know what’s worth it, or if you’re looking for a new series to get into, read on to see what I think is DC’s best. 

So my main ongoing feature here at Population GO (and also on my personal tumblr) is “Comics You Should Be Reading”, where I breakdown series that I really like and tell readers why they should read them. However, I thought I would try something a tad different, and tell you all what’s on the shelves, or will be soon, that I think is worth it.

There are so many comics being published nowadays, and it’s hard for new readers to go into a comic shop and know just what to pick up (and what is worth their hard earned cash), so I would like to do a series of three guides to let you know what I think are the top ten series on the shelves for Marvel, DC, and from Independent publishers and Imprints (Icon, Vertigo). 

First, I will do one for Marvel, so here I’ll list my 10 picks for what’s out now. These are in alphabetical order, so don’t think that the first is much better than the last or the other way around! 

Read more for my suggestions:

Hello readers, I’m back with another installment of this feature, and this time I’m bringing you another Vertigo Ongoing: Fables! This is a personal favorite of mine, so I’m excited to be recommending it. 

These articles are broken down in a “Who, what, when, where, why, how” manner, where I answer each question according to the series.

• WHO writes/draws it
• WHAT is it about
• WHEN was it published
• WHERE can I find it
• WHY should I read this
• HOW much will this cost, how is it collected

Continue reading to see my breakdown of this series!