HAPPY BDAY BOB BRYAR!!

Happy Bday Bob!!

Top 20 comics Of The year (according to Randy Lander's blog )

Top 20 Comics of the Year:
1. Chew
2. Incognito/Criminal: The Sinners
3. The Umbrella Academy Dallas
4. BPRD Black Goddess
5. Hellboy The Wild Hunt
6. Beasts of Burden
7. Usagi Yojimbo
8. Incredible Hercules
9. Batman and Robin
10. The Unwritten
11. Sweet Tooth
12. The Muppet Show
13. GI Joe Cobra
14. BPRD 1947
15. The Unknown
16. Nova
17. Guardians of the Galaxy
18. Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye
19. Agents of Atlas
20. Marvel Adventures Spider-Man

Top 20 Graphic Novels of the Year:
1. Parker: The Hunter (IDW)
2. Rocketeer Deluxe Edition (IDW)
3. Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1 (IDW)
4. Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Volume 1-5 (Viz)
5. Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 1-6 (Viz)
6. Amulet Book 2 (Scholastic)
7. Scott Pilgrim Vol 5 (Oni)
8. Johnny Hiro (Adhouse)
9. Mouse Guard Winter 1152 HC (Archaia)
10. The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack (Dark Horse)
11. Hellboy Library Edition Volume 2-3 HC (Dark Horse)
12. Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus (Marvel)
13. Criminal Deluxe Edition (Marvel)
14. Starman Omnibus Vol 2-3 (DC)
15. Empowered, Vol. 5 (Dark Horse)
16. A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (Pantheon)
17. RASL Vol 1: The Drift (Cartoon Books)
18. Pixu: The Mark of Evil (Dark Horse)
19. TMNT Collected Book Vol. 1 (Mirage)
20. Tiny Titans Vol. 1-2 (DC)

Favorite New Comic Of The Year: Chew
At the moment, my "buzz book" is Andy Diggle's run on Daredevil, which at three full issues into its run, is looking like a further evolution of the good work done on the book by Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker. And while I've lost interest in the past few months, early on this year I was quite into Mike Carey's work on X-Men Legacy. In similar "not new number one but new creative team" books there's Marvel Adventures Spider-Man by Paul Tobin and several different artists, which synthesizes some of the best aspects of the Spectacular Spider-Man TV show, Ultimate Spider-Man and Tobin's own touches to become easily the best Spider-Man book on the shelves. Then there's the new Morrison Batman & Robin, which hasn't been perfect but has been damn good, and the Vertigo resurgence with the two must-read books, The Unwritten and Sweet Tooth. Those two in particular were real front-runners for this category. And Stumptown had a great debut, but with only two issues released in 2009, it's too early to call it the best new book of the year.

But the book with the most novel premise, not to mention providing a consistently excellent read with each issue, is Chew. John Layman's been toiling in the trenches for some time now, turning out quirky gems like Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies and Puffed, but his new creator-owned Image series is far and away the best thing he's written. It's funny and strange on the surface, but there's plenty of world-building, plot detail and character development to go with it's "That is such a strange concept, I've got to read it" hook. And artist Rob Guillory has a fresh look that instantly grabs the eye, not to mention storytelling chops rarely seen in a debut. Together, these two put together the best new comic of the year.

Favorite Ongoing Series: Incredible Hercules
Pretty much everything in the ongoing series category is Marvel, with two exceptions. RASL, by Cartoon Books, is a notable exception. It ranks lowest on my list, however, not because of the quality but because of the frequency. Jeff Smith was putting out biggie-sized issues on a quarterly basis, and I was happy with that, it seemed to be a schedule he could meet. He announced this year that he was going to put out smaller issues, but bimonthly, and I knew that probably wasn't a great idea, and indeed, the flow of issues has pretty much stopped. This is a constant frustration for me as a fan and a retailer, as it makes it really hard to sell indie series, when so many of them disappear or become even more inconsistent in their scheduling, and it hurts the ability of new indies to sell as well. Folks fear getting burned again, and I can't really blame them.

Deep breath. That rant aside, the flipside of that is my other non-Marvel pick for ongoing series, Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai. Consistently on schedule, consistently excellent.

My other favorite series contenders are Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova and Agents of Atlas, and of course my winner, Incredible Hercules. None of them register very high on the Top 100, sadly.

Favorite Mini-Series: Incognito
1. Incognito
2. Criminal: The Sinners
3. The Umbrella Academy Dallas
4. BPRD Black Goddess
5. Hellboy The Wild Hunt
6. Beasts of Burden
7. The Muppet Show
8. GI Joe Cobra
9. BPRD 1947
10. The Unknown
11. Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye
12. New Avengers: Reunion (Marvel)
13. Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter (Marvel)
14. The Incredibles Family Matters (Boom!)
15. War of Kings (Marvel)
16. Atomic Robo Beyond the Shadow of Time (Red 5)

Dallas once again is in a list about Best Comics of 2009. This time the list from What Would Jesus Watch? is about the 10 Best Comics of 2009:

Let me start off by saying that I am not cool enough to read any indie comics. I love the mainstream. Sure it has its big events and gimmicks, but that doesn't detract from the quality. Especially these days. Now, I don't really expect many of you to have much context for names like Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, or Geoff Johns, I would like to hope that my recommendation of and vouching for their writing would inspire you to go out and pick up their series. Or at least the ones that I point you in the direction of.
This thing is basically going to be a rundown of the story lines that have really grabbed and captivated me this year. Some of them may have started last year, but they had to have released issues in 2009 to qualify. The numberings are important, but largely inconsequential. That's mainly because some of these series are so good that it would be incredibly difficult to say that one is better than another.

Alright, enough rambling, let's get into it.

1. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN: "WORLD'S MOST WANTED" (#8-19) - This storyline helped kicked off the "Dark Reign" that shaped the direction of the Marvel Universe this year. Matt Fraction (writing) and Salvadore Larroca (art) continued their run with Iron Man in style. This story could have easily started to drag near the middle, but it only continued to pick up speed. The story dealt with Norman Osborne trying to track down Tony Stark to retrieve the database of registered superheroes (housed in Tony's brain thanks to EXTREMIS tech) while Tony raced to delete it. Yeah, he was trying to delete his own brain. This arc led directly to the current arc, and it has been one hell of a ride. The story is collected in 2 volumes, and should be fairly easy to find. If nothing else, this will help you get more in touch with Tony Stark before IRON MAN 2 comes out in May.

2. DARK AVENGERS: "ASSEMBLE" (#1-6) - The other major storyline that started "Dark Reign" focused on the first mission of a new team of Avengers in the Marvel U. (That would bring the total to 4, plus the Initiative.) The series is written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art by Mike Deodato. Having been painted as the savior of humanity in the end of the Skrull Invasion, Norman Osborne disbanded SHIELD, and founded HAMMER. The first issue humorously deals with the fact that HAMMER means nothing. It is just another way for Osborne to intimidate those who won't play by his rules. Keeping in line with this mentality, he puts together his own team of Avengers, that includes both heroes and villains alike. But mostly villains. Some faces are more familiar than others, but they make up an interesting team, to say the least.

3. UMBRELLA ACADEMY: "DALLAS" (#1-6) - This fantastic series comes from Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance. This story follows the events of "Apocalypse Suite", the first arc in this series. Certainly a better story, it delves more into what makes these characters tick, and how broken they are. Also it features time travel, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of JFK (both preventing and ensuring it happen). The story has many twists and turns, but it all really boils down to the characters, as all great stories do. This series is one big reason why I believe that comic books should be seen as literary works.

4. SECRET WARRIORS: "NICK FURY: AGENT OF NOTHING" (#1-6) - This was one of the first series that i picked up, and continued to read regularly. Back in March, I was trying to find some series I could get in to, and this had a first issue recently out, so I decided to give it a try. I have not looked back since. Jonathan Hickman writes an extremely exciting series that follows a, you guessed it, secret team put together by Nick Fury, the bad ass to end all bad asses. Even having little to no clue who many of the characters were in the beginning, I was still able to get both excited and worried about the entrances of characters into the story. It is absolutely worth your reading, and is an extremely fun read.

5. INCOGNITO (#1-6) - Imagine the hero of your story was a horrible, horrible person, and it was not done in the charming and funny way that DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG. Imagine you were rooting for a mass murderer, who didn't have a past of just killing bad guys, the way that Dexter Morgan does. This is the general idea of INCOGNITO, ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' super-"hero" story, from Marvel's Icon imprint. This story was so entertaining and captivating that it really cemented Ed Brubaker as one of my favorite comic writers. Basically, the story follows Zack Overkill, a former super villain, who was placed in witness protection when his twin brother was killed by their former employer. The series is a fun ride, that certainly highlights Brubaker's skill as a crime fiction writer. It is especially fun to see the emergence of a hero beccause the protagonist was just bored, and it wouldn't draw as much attention to him as villainy.

6. CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN (CAPTAIN AMERICA #600, CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #1-6, WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIELD? #1) - If you are kind of person that can get around the scheduling snafus and the way that Marvel just full on spoiled the ending to this great story, then you can really enjoy the story presented by Ed Brubaker, firmly ending his "Death of Captain America" story. I'm the kind of person that can. The final issue of Reborn still hasn't come out, but "Who Will Wield the Shield?" has, but it don't matter. Once again, I love Ed Brubaker and what he is doing at Marvel. Captain America is the biggest title for the company that he is doing, and he definitely has a handle for the characters. The story began over the summer with Captain America # 600, one of the landmark issues that Marvel has been putting out this year, which have returned many series to their original numbering. It has been quite the ride, and I am excited to see how it turned out, or at least what allowed it to turn out the way it did.

7. BLACKEST NIGHT (BLACKEST NIGHT #1-8, GREEN LANTERN #43-51, GREEN LANTERN CORPS #38-45) - The big event running over at DC wass advertised with the tagline "The Dead Will Rise." And rise they did. This even got me to start reading Green Lantern, one of DC's most promising series. Geoff Johns is now 49 issues into his run on Green Lantern, and it is not even coming close to running out of steam. The core Blackest Night title only benefits from the stories told in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. If nothing else, this could serve as a great jumping on point for getting to know Hal Jordan, to prepare for summer 2011's film starring Ryan Reynolds.

8. BATMAN & ROBIN: "BATMAN REBORN" (#1-3) - Apparently Grant Morrison wanted shorter, punchier arcs to run through his Batman & Robin series. This first arc, following in the wake of "Batman RIP" and "Battle for the Cowl" which ultimately resulted in Dick Grayson taking up the mantle of the Dark Knight, and Bruce Wayne's son Damien becoming the new Robin. This first arc is extremely weird, but extremely entertaining. I had heard all sorts of bad things about what DC has been doing recently, but this series has given me the faith to start giving at least 3 bucks a month to the publisher. The dark and violent story perfectly sets up what is to come for Batman, and is essential reading, even over the solo Batman title.

9. SECRET WARRIORS: "GOD OF FEAR, GOD OF WAR" (#7-10) - Continuing from his promising initial arc, Jonathan Hickman continues chronicling Nick Fury's secret team, this time giving focus to God of Fear, Phobos, and the reaction of his God of War father, Ares, when he discovers that Fury has essentially kidnapped Phobos. The story goes more into the Dark Reign territory, making it less accessible than the former arc, but still an entertaining read. If nothing else, the reveal in issue 8 makes it well worth being on this list. It made me exclaim in surprise in a crowded area, which takes some doing.

10. FANTASTIC FOUR: "SOLVE EVERYTHING" (#570-572) - Oh look, another Jonathan Hickman arc. Fantastic 4 was another series I had some strong feelings against before starting. The premise could easily be seen as getting pretty lame, and covering the same ground over and over again. But somehow, Hickman made this series aa must read. In this first arc, he takes Reed Richards to a place where he has a decision to make between trying to solve all the world's problems, or losing his family. Richards is the smartest man on earth, or at least one of them, and this choice is difficult to make, but his decision will certainly resonate through the course of Hickman's run.

RIP The Rev

Today I woke up and entered to Twitter to recieve the news that The Rev was gone.

I'm not an Avenge Sevenfold fan, but I got friends who are, and I could feel their pain...


I know they won't read this, but all my condolences to Rev's family and friends....



Don't know what to say...


Rest In Peace Rev! WE'll miss you...


xo

Lips Like Morphine Acoustic

Gerard Way Interview...

My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way has divulged to Spinner and to Spin online that the upcoming My Chem release has inspirational roots in everything from the movie Blade Runner to his Trans Am: things that he says stand for much more than what they are, and it all goes back to the original theme the band had announced: making their "love letter to Rock'n'Roll."

"It's working class rock versus Chanel fucking handbags and red carpets and all that bullshit," Way told Spin, going along with what he had recently said about the album's fighting fame-seeking musicians.

He revealed to Spinner that the song "Trans Am," in particular, was inspired by Judas Priest (and also by The Killers, who Way says were the inspiration for a female character named "Jenny" in the song).

"Judas Priest is considered metal, but it's great rock 'n' roll. It's having nothing to do with that era of metal, the hair rock, but then having everything to do with like the birth of power-anthem metal." Way said of the genre-rebellious influence.

MCR are no strangers to fighting a musical norm and label. Because of the time in which MCR rose as a band, they were lumped into the dreaded "emo" category, a classification they have fought for years.

Perhaps this album and the risks it takes will help set MCR farther apart from the crowd.

The fact there's a song now tentatively titled 'Trans Am' is a bold thing for this band to do as opposed to our previous material," he tells Spinner of one of the tracks on the band's eagerly anticipated 2010 album. "There's something in that phrase that's obviously more than the car. But to bring something like old '70s muscle car culture into the music, that's kind of different move."

In addition to the idea of the car's time being an influence on the album, Way also cites the movie Blade Runner and notes to Spin that there's a feeling of the 1980s and a captured time and place on the record.

"...[A]esthetically or fictionally, the album has these feelings of being like a 15-year-old kid at the Jersey Shore, trying to win a Motley Crue mirror or an Iron Maiden hat, from that era when heavy metal was yet to become hair rock," Way said.

What sort of themes can listeners expect these influences to bring about?

Way told Spin, "The album has many themes. That a band and an audience can be immortal through rock'n'roll, even if just for one night. The power of believing in something. Being a survivor, running away in a positive way, leaving home in order to come back."

My Chemical Romance explain how Blade Runner, Judas Priest and a car inspired new album

Group have channelled 1980s for their next record

My Chemical Romance have revealed more details about their forthcoming fourth album.

Frontman Gerard Way said the follow-up to their 2006 concept album 'The Black Parade' has been influenced by muscle cars, the film Blade Runner and Judas Priest.

"The fact there's a song now tentatively titled 'Trans-Am' is a bold thing for this band to do as opposed to our previous material," Gerard Way told SpinnerMusic.co.uk. "There's something in that phrase that's obviously more than the car. But to bring something like old '70s muscle car culture into the music, that's kind of a different move."

Earlier in the year Way used Twitter to purchase a Trans Am car explaining that it was research for the album.

As previously reported, My Chemical Romance had revealed that the record was being influenced by MC5 and The Stooges, but Way explained how the 1980s have also influenced the album.

Talking about one of their new songs, 'Death Before Disco', Way admitted that the music of Judas Priest had shaped the album.

"That song actually reminded me in an odd way of all the best stuff of '80s what is called cock rock, but not all of it was," Way explained. "Judas Priest is considered metal, but it's great rock'n'roll. It's having nothing to do with that era of metal, the hair rock, but then having everything to do with like the birth of power-anthem metal. After 'Trans Am' that started to really bleed into the record."

As well as music and wheels, the frontman added that the 1982 film Blade Runner had played a part in the recording sessions.

"I watched a lot of Blade Runner and I watched a lot of the Making Of Blade Runner, [director] Ridley Scott was really inspiring too, just kind of his unwillingness to put the camera down and really capture something special," he said. "People were upset by that, but he was very strong in his vision and I think the band was very strong in its vision this time. That's why the record took - instead of a month and a half to do - four months to track because our barometer for great was very high."

Their fourth LP, which was recorded in Los Angeles with Bruce Springsteen producer Brendan O'Brien, is due in spring 2010.