Cosplayin It- Halloween 2011

Regular C&D readers know I usually have one go to fit that changes through the years with my TK-stylee.   As Halloween creeped up though I have been talkin' with fellow cosplay enthusiasts pals @wynk & @geekpinata pictured above on what we were thinking of creating and being at parties this year.  Hearing from them and others how cool it would be to bust their interpretation of Black Canary, Poison Ivy, Nightwing and others made me think that I needed to up my game and expand beyond the ABS plastic- cosplay life.

I had a meager budget to throw at a few costumes for the different parties I was planning on attending so i decided to go real cheap on one to have more time and skrill to rock on the other.  As you can see I went with Dexter and The Flaming C.

Here is my cosplay recipe for both:
Dexter

Dexter is stronger than ever in Season 6 and though this isn't in any way an original costume, it still is rare to find more than one Dexter at a party and the variations between how you can play on it--be it lab-geek, forensic mode, pre-kill (with syringe) or post (with knife)-- and so on.  I did a mix of forensic/killer mode.  Deter really is a dope, relevant fit on the cheap.

Ingredients:
Red or dark brown wig
Green (or grey) henly
Cargo or khaki pants
Boots
Black gloves
Fake knife
Fake blood spray
Metal chain
Cardboard
Black ducktape


Instructions:  From top to bottom you need to style the wig so the hairline is high to try and amplify the forehead/eyebow area for his menacing dark passenger gaze or goofy smile.  This is cosplay afterall not just costuming so you can't just dress the part you gotta be the character.  Roll or push up the sleeves of the henly to give more attention to gloves.  I found the miami metro police ID of Dexter at a nice costume props blog.  Print it out, laminate it, cut the cardboard to frame the id and mask it up with the black tape.  Cut a slit on top to weave the chain through.  You have your id now!  Works great when heads don't recognize you as Dexter.  
Spray you self with blood across one side of your face, neck, chest and arm.  The only things I needed to buy was the metal chain $3.99 (Michael's), the fake blood spray $7.99 and bloody blade $4.99.  So this Dexter fit cost me less than $20 and shouldn't be more than $60 depending on how you rock it.  Prep time was like 20 minutes, mostly to apply blood spray right and styling the hair.  Other options: black plastic/leather apron, lab coat, syringe, clear goggles, plastic face shield, black plastic bags, fake scalpel, surgical gloves.

The Flaming C

Conan O'Brien and Bruce Timm created The Flaming C as a Superhero alter-ego when Conan visited the WB Animation Studios earlier in the year.  Since then, the character has blew-up across the interwebz and even had it's own Museum Gallery and mock panel at this year's Comiccon.  With so much love for Team Coco and the lack of quality cosplay that peeps have yet to drop you know I had to do this right.

C&D got it down like dat!!  At Comiccon this year I was fortunate to roll with my homegirl Betty Geek that snatched me a Flaming C oven mit & cape that was the start of my primary fit.  From there...here are the..
Ingredients: 
Orange hair paint   $2.99
Blue/orange/purple snowgoogles
Synthetic hair (for beard)   $2.99
Gold pimp chain   $4.99
Yellow fabric 
Industrial velcro tape 
Foam 
Cardboard
Yellow, white, orange, purple and black ducktape  $7.99
Turquoise windbreaker   $34.00
White belt    $14.99
MJ beltbuckle   $12.99
Purple shorts    $14.99
Cellphone belt holster
Fishnet stocking  $7.99
Purple socks   $5.99
White stan smith adidas
 
Instructions:  I went with just painting my hair being that some fashionista friends advised it would look better without a wig combined with facial hair-- which unless you get it professionally done-- are both uncomfortable over the course of an evening.  Let alone trying to eat and drink while gettin nasty fake hair in your mouth...ugh!  As I was shopping around for the top I couldn't for the life of me find a longsleeve shirt in that color.  I started looking at running thermals and underarmor types but none fit the look and I don't got big ass muscles to look that heroic.  

My GF pulled a Hurley windbreaker off the rack and put it on me backwards.  Perfect!!  I swear she is an undercover cosplayer (hawtie on the left).  Hand drew a stencil for the white lightning logo, white star of david and the flaming C logo in purple, black, orange and yellow.  Shit took forever to bust it right but I like how it turned out once I applied it to the jacket.  With any non-permanent type of application patience is key otherwise the adhesive will be lost and won't look as clean.

Picked up a gold bling plastic chain from a Spirit store and took off some some links to shorten it before applying to the cape.  Repurposed one of my stormtrooper shoulder armor and used an old yellow shirt to wrap around the armor.  I then used the same fabric and cut a smaller piece and adhered it to the yellow shoulder pad to make the dangling tassles.  

Since I was already wearing fishnets...I wasn't gonna be throwing on no purple speedos.  I went with some smedium swim trunks from American Apparel.  The belt and ganja buckle was from Hot Topic.  GF bought me the stockings and purple socks from H&M.  I couldn't find the sock garters so I skipped em and since I was approaching my costume budget I just used my white, clean summer sneaks instead of buyng the golf loafers.  Total price was $102 and I invested around 10 hours putting it all together.

Was it worth it?!  Hell to the muthaeffing yes.  The above pic was even picked up by Team Coco yo!
I so got the cosplay bug that I even helped the GF style a sexy Lady Vader that was fitting for Betty Geek's Superhero Stripperpole Party we rolled to.  Here is a collection my three nights of Halloween festivities:

Illest cosplay from my crew had to be Geek Pinata's Poison Ivy, handcrafted from real leaves that she individually pieced together one leaf at a time...incredible mama!  I would say the leaf count was over 600, at least three bags of glue sticks and over 40 hours of work.  Thats some ill dedication Crys and a pissed off neighbor from making their tree/bushes nekkid!  Another of my crazy nerd pals rocked an Elektra cosplay that was hand-stitched direct from cut fabric.  I am so lucky to have these beautiful geeks as my fam!!  And newfound homeboy, Jake, rocked a mean handpainted Hulk.  Seriously sick.  Last year he was the painted Venom that I saw reblogged hundreds of times over.

Alright so two more nights of Halloween Cosplay...what you got planned next??  Please share some of your party pics or dope cosplay ideas too.  Thanks y'all and Happy Halloween!  Peace.  Oh and if you are curious about all the Flaming C crotch grabbing, thats my Hip Hop steez yo!





This post was written by:
big O

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Top 10 Geeky Costumes for Women & Unisex Options

Halloween is next week and all the parties are going to start by the weekend. Ladies, are you still in need of a costume?

Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.

That quote about Halloween from the movie Mean Girls is right so I had to include it here. When it comes to pre-made costumes, there is a ton of "slut wear" available. I myself find nothing wrong with showing a little skin, but if you're going to show skin, choose something geeky rather than something generic!

Showing skin is not at all a requirement of Halloween though. There are definitely some pre-made, awesome costumes that flaunt pure geekiness rather than flesh.

Check out my top 10 geeky costumes for women:

Green Lantern


Rather than fake male muscles, show your love for Green Lantern with this female version of the full body costume. Complete with female muscular detail, it's a great way to wear something well fitting without showing skin!

Sweet Pea


I found Sucker Punch to be an outright snooze-fest. But I gotta admit, Sweet Pea's costume reminded me of some sort of bad ass kung-fu character.

Rosie


It's a little weird to have a somewhat sexy version of a beloved classic cartoon character from The Jetsons, but this Rosie costume was too cute not to share. I almost want to buy it just for the purse!

Supergirl


Classy yet still very feminine, this Supergirl costume is perfect for fans of this classic heroine.

Wolverine


Female versions of male characters usually fall flat, but it turns out that this female version of Wolverine turned out quite decent. Not a bad choice if you are running out of time for a costume!

Spider-Girl


Daughter of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Girl was the longest-running superhero book with a lead female character ever published by Marvel. Although it's not the costume from the comics, I loved this costume due to its retro style.

Kitana


Holy crap, a Mortal Kombat costume for women! I prefer Kitana's costume from MK2, but I still think it's awesome that there's a pre-made costume for Kitana, period.

Mileena


So what if Mileena has tarkatan teeth? She's a bad ass fighter and knows how to wield a pair of sais. Again, I prefer a different version of her costume, but it's not a bad choice if you are pinched for time.

Batgirl


NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA, BATGIRL! It'd be way cooler if it were a version that has pants, but with time running out it's hard to beat this decent quality Batgirl costume. Don a red wing and be everyone's favorite version of Batgirl, Babs Gordon.

Hit Girl


Maybe it's strange to dress up as a character who is supposed to be 10 years old, but there is no question that Hit Girl is one of the toughest comic book heroines around. This particular costume is the movie version, but Kick-Ass was definitely a comic book movie that succeeded at delivering the essence of her character, making this costume worthy of my #1 spot.

Bonus: Unisex Options

We don't have to be limited to costumes specified for women of course! You could always check out my Top 10 Geeky Costumes for Men for some alternative options.

My personal favorites that I would love to wear in the future include a X-Wing Fighter Pilot from Star Wars and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.

Here's some more unisex options to check out:


Stay Puft


Kick-Ass


Robocop


Boba Fett


And the pinnacle of awesome, in my opinion of course, the Imperial Guard costume. It's definitely not cheap though, so be sure you can drop this kind of cash before placing an order!


This post was written by:
Crystal

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Top 10 Geeky Costumes for Men

Still in need of a Halloween costume? Time is running out with Halloween lurking right around the corner, so putting together a costume from scratch is almost impossible at this point. Luckily, there are some decent pre-made costumes that can arrive at your door before the weekend Halloween parties start - provided that you select fast shipping of course. Seeing that we all at Comics & Dakine are a bunch of geeks, the only costumes you'll see listed here are geektastic.

Check out my top 10 geeky costumes for men:

10. Waluigi


Mario? He already gets a lot of attention. Luigi? Sure, people like him too. But what about Waluigi? Yeah, he's been voted one of the most annoying video game characters. But that mustache! It's an EVIL MUSTACHE!

9. Jawa


Star Wars costumes are popular, but usually you only see Vader, Stormtroopers, or Slave Leia. How many times have you seen someone dressed as a Jawa for Halloween? Exactly. That's what makes this pre-made option so cool.

8. X-Wing Fighter Pilot


Yeah yeah, I know. Another Star Wars costume. But yet again it's a costume that is not as common as the others I mentioned before. And how fun would it be to walk around all night randomly telling people to "stay on target"?

7. Kratos


Another one for the gamers out there. Granted, it's a little bit cooler if you have the actual muscle build of Kratos if you're going to dress up as him. But this costume doesn't completely over-do the fake muscles and it's officially licensed, making it officially perfect for God of War fans.

6. Scorpion


My favorite male character from Mortal Kombat, Scorpion. This is the first time I've seen a pre-made Mortal Kombat costume, period. In fact, I almost bought this one for myself. It's bad ass looking and perfect for a Mortal Kombat fan that wants to come correct on Halloween.

Note: a friend of mine told me the costume isn't of great quality. However, I read many reviews saying that with a little bit of finesse it can really work in a pinch, which why it still qualifies for this "last minute" geeky costumes list.

5. Thor


Why not embrace your love of comics and ride the wave of the movie by wearing this Thor costume? It's nicely made for a pre-packaged costume and carrying around the Mjölnir will make you feel like a bad ass.

4. Captain America


Yet another way to boast your love of comics and gain even more recognition thanks to the movie. Represent the pinnacle of human physical perfection, Captain America.

3. Red Skull


I already listed Captain America, but check out this Red Skull costume! Why not mix it up and be a bad guy this year? Sure, it's not really considered glamorous to be a villain known for being a Nazi agent, but the mask looks pretty amazing and horrifying at the same time. It is Halloween after all.

2. Magneto


What is it about the bad guys? They certainly have some of the best outfits. That's why I listed this awesome Magneto costume. It is the classic Magneto from the comics too, making it cooler costume than a movie version costume.

1. Cobra Commander


Cobra f-ing Commander, man. He's certainly evil and turns out, he had some schemes under his belt that could actually work. And as far as pre-made costumes go this one looks pretty damned legit, making it the number one costume on my list.


This post was written by:
Crystal

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Mixed Plate Comics- Week of 10.19.11

Dark Horse continues to drop quality titles that find their fine spines into my piles to the point they have taken the #2 spot over Marvel on publisher pulls for the month.  Here are this weeks reads playa-  Mass Effect: Invasion #1 / Nightwing #2 / Dark Horse Presents #5 / Conan: Road of Kings #5 / Wonder Woman #2 / Birds of Prey #2 / Batman #2 / Green Lantern Corps #2 / Justice League #2 / Catwoman #2 / Star Wars: Knight Errant- Deluge #3.  As for what were the sureshot grinds...

5    Nightwing #2   Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows
Good to see that some vital elements to Dick Grayson hasn't changed post-New52-- like his taste for redheads.  After squabing some with the masked mystery-killer that is on the hunt for Grayson-- Dick gets a surprise visit from a childhood friend Raya Vestri (had to let you know that isn't Babs) who is in need of his help.  As they fly over to Atlantic City, Raya informs Dick that Mr. Haly (of Haly's Circus) asked her to bring

Grayson to see him in person that same night to carry out a dying man's last wish.

After receiving the deed for Haly's Circus and learning that Mr. Haly knew all along that he was Nightwing-- Dick realizes he was being tailed by the killer who goes by the name of Saiko (slang for cool or awesome in Japanese).

Saiko leads Nightwing back to Mr. Haly-- who was tortured into revealing Dick's heroic alter ego and they brawl again.  They go evenly matched until Dick brings the roof down on Saiko the Psycho.     

Before Mr. Haly passes, he apologizes to NW into bringing him into all of this...and with that we are left with questions as to why Saiko wanted Dick Grayson dead and how that now connects with the secret of Haly's Circus.  We all know that Saiko will return yes??  Higgins and Barrows got me more into their story and made me take another look at #1 again to see why I wasn't so into it.  The answer to that-- along with some of the other #1s I wasn't feeling as much as the second issues is getting past the reintro to the character-- which for many, hasn't changed dramatically.  But for those #1s that had major shakeups- like Action, Detective, Justice League and Wonderwoman, well they just rocked.


4    Wonder Woman  #2  Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang
Azz & Chiang bring us to Paradise Island where we get introduced to a very different looking Queen Hippolyta that doesn't need to bear the same look as Diana being that she was never part of the JSA in the New 52.  Really dig the simplistic, medieval stylings of the Amazons to contrast the decadent Olympians. 

Seeing how the two daughters-- Strife / Diana interact with their mothers-- Hera / Hippolyta also serves for fabulously layered characterizations.  Thanks for that Azz!
 
We learn of Hera's deep jealousy of Zeus' many bastard children as Hippolyta warns her daughter of helping to protect Zola.  Hermes recounts the origin of Wonderwoman, perfect for not being created by the seed of a male.  As some of us already know, we learn that is not entirely true.
 
Strife attacks Paradise Island by making the Amazons attack one another and WW lassos up some truth from her only to find that Zola isn't the bastard she came looking for.

Nope, the bastard is...Diana!!  Eww, ahh, ohh...lame that some of us had to hear that spoiler from the NY Post last week..but hey at least Wonder Woman is making the news over things with more substance than hotpants. 


3   Batman #2  Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo

Love this grand scale of story being served up by Snyder and Capullo where they are not merely tinkering small changes in Batman but to the whole of Gotham itself.  We have always known of the Wayne family's ties and influence to the city and how they were instrumental in its societal & physical landscape.  Now, lets throw in the potential of some other secret society-- lets call it the Court of Owls-- and imagine how far their reach goes through Gotham.

Nice dramatic touch to have Batman believe it as a myth too.  I so love that the concept of Owlman is being fleshed out as a major antagonist to the Dark Knight and the redesign is ill!  Does resemble the Immortals from 300 some but that is genius to pull from anyhow.  Capullo's style is growing on me more and his depiction of Nightwing was on point.

Yeah, I am feeling like that cat Lincoln is associated with the Owls in some way cause yo...when does anybody ever tower over Bruce like that?  The backward sequencing from end to start to end again was a treat and the fight scene with the Owl vs. Bruce & Gotham City architecture killed me. I can't remember all of the Batbooks being so damn delish.  Mike Marts is the man.



2    Catwoman  #2  Judd Winick &Guillem March
Winick, March and Morey are blessing their creative juices all over the place leaving Catwoman fans like you and me pumping our fists in the air. So Bats does know Selina is Cats while she is unaware and doesn't seem to care of his alter-ego.  Enjoying the sensual dynamic and refreshing to see Bats get some action

rather than it just be as Wayne.

Hilarious scene when Bruce is macking on Selina when she is incognito at some mob gala and Alfred pops up from out of nowhere to inform him that he traced the call she was making. 

Though Catwoman seemed to have the ruskies in line-- all with a wig, pink bedazzled cell, whip and a firecracker-- the outro filled with Bone and his henchmen will go beyond her fill with Bats in for the save.

Poor Lola.

This is the book you wanna read that truly personifies the street-realness grit and scum of Gotham thug life. 

I really don't get why this title isn't getting more positive reviews and accolades.  Whatevs, I can be the lone torchbearer if necessary.  Keep things moving ya'll!  Only one other creative combo and title could top Catwoman for the weekly reads and that is...



1    Justice League #2    Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
Last ish we got a glimpse of GL and Bats vs Supes-- more of the same with a helping of  "the man whos never been touched"-- the Flash.  Sickness how Lee illustrates the speed battle between Flash and Supes.  Some real shit to see how truly overpowered the three are individually when matched up against Superman.

Batman eventually gets through to Kal-El through logic and reasoning (yeah those weren't in his utility belt huh?) as the four go underground to escape some military vehicles sent in to contain the metas.  We are then brought over to STAR Labs where Victor and his pops argue about his future when simultaneously the mother box goes BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Out comes a horde of Parademons chanting out For Darkseid!!!  And we see how Cyborg comes to be in this Johns & Lee production.  Justice League is a grandiose, epic, page-flipping behemoth of a read that gives us first looks of iconic heroes meeting, dealing with eachother, the general public and a force that is bigger and more powerful than any of them can handle individually.  Up next Wonderwoman.




This post was written by:
big O

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Five Six New Flavors on the Beat

If you're going to riff on one of rap's most iconic videos, you better come correct. And that's just what Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and some of his best rap friends do over a throwback posse-cut remix to the jaw-dropping "Huzzah."

Witness perfection:



While the cast of "Flava in Ya Ear" primarily stuck to tales of lyrical supremacy (save LL's odd ode to lady wrangling), Despot, Heems and Kool A.D. of Das Racist, Danny Brown, El-P and eXquire are all over the place - as are their video antics. I just can't choose my favorite part: Killer Mike standing behind El-P and four bored girls while examining the barrel of an AK-47, or Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire dropping Catcher in the Rye references while slapping a porn star on the ass.

Also hard to choose my favorite line: Kool A.D.'s "Worst rapper on this track / Third coolest" or eXquire's "Fuck the throne / Watch the project bench covered in pigeon shit."

Here's the "Flava in Ya Ear Remix" video just in case you're 16 years old:


This post was written by:
Trey

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A New Threat is Unleashed on Omega in Mass Effect: Invasion #1

BioWare and Dark Horse have teamed up in the past for some awesome Mass Effect comics (see here and here) that gave us an in-depth look at the ME universe and its characters. Now, as we wait for Mass Effect 3 to release in March 2012, Dark Horse and BioWare brings us another four-part comic series, Mass Effect: Invasion.

Any fan of the sci-fi action RPG is already very familiar with the merciless Aria T'Loak, the self-proclaimed queen of the seedy space station Omega. Set about a year after the events in Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect: Invasion reveals that despite a strained relationship with the pro-human organization Cerberus, profit prevails and Aria continues to allow Cerberus to use Omega as a supply hub. This becomes a costly mistake when suddenly dangerous creatures escape out of one of Cerberus’ transport ships and wreak havoc on the station.
This is an action packed intro that reveals some new enemies that are definitely not going to be easy to take down. The pacing and excitement is constant, and it deepens our understanding on how tough-as-nails Aria handles business on Omega. The art is solid, especially the cover art by Massimo Carnevale (poster quality!). As a huge Mass Effect fan girl, I definitely think it’s a must for all Mass Effect fans. It’s a really good way to satisfy your ME cravings until the third game comes out and will deepen your experience with the story once the game does finally release.

The issue leaves off on a great cliffhanger too. I’m trying not to spoil anything, but the Illusive Man truly is an enigma and I cannot wait to pick up the following two issues. Check a sneak peak of the first 7 pages here.

Mass Effect: Invasion #1 comes out on Wednesday, October 19th. Definitely go get it!

Side note: This is definitely not an ideal comic for anyone new to the universe. There’s a lot going right off the bat that readers would likely not know unless they have at least played Mass Effect 2. I highly recommend either playing the game or perhaps reading Mass Effect: Evolution before diving in to Invasion.

This post was written by:
Crystal

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NYCC 2011- Cosplayin It

NYCC is well known for being one of the most celebrated of all the Cons when it comes down to the art of cosplay.  After scraping through over a 100 or more photos I thought I would chronicle some of my faves that were shot during the show and of course my sweet narration that goes down your ear like honey.



We got ourselves a sick action shot of Psylocke in her Uncanny X-Force fatigues, looking to do more than just cut up a rug. And our fave demented beauty, the Scarlet Witch about to go cray-cray on our reality -- hex me baby, ah-yah! Marvel has gone beyond just being down with their cosplay fans but also helping the build an even deeper community-base and busting some of the coolest shots, pictorials and well produced photoshoots of the best fanmade custom interpretations we have seen.  Dazzler, Wasp, Domino and Dark Phoenix together?!  Whoa.  Thanks for busting your magic Judy!

Courtesy of Jay Toblante Photography

The fellas were also out doing work and gotta give big, big ups where they are due with those that truly capture the essence of a character be it the baddassery of Mr. Luke Cage or Mr. T.  Both are seriously getting it done son.

via Destructoid

Bosco Albert B.A. Barracus never looked better in the flesh since well, we had Laurence Tureaud bringing his bling to the mainstream.

Sorry Rampage, but you just couldn't handle the role.

This crazy foo not only goes over the top with multicolored feather earrings, endless bling, that ill mug, gold grenade ready to pull, but check out that crazy-ass gold-plated bazooka?! This guy is loco ono.



Muthafucking sick yo!  B.A is handling it on some other shit.  Check how amazed that chick is in the background.  Every con you usually come across a cosplayer that just stays with you hours after the show and while there were many, yes even another fab-redic Bumblebee (at 10' tall)...there was only one that took me.

via MTV Geek

Teenygeek, live NYCC, the livest one, representin B-K to the fullest, claws she pull it, bastards duckin, when she be buckin, straight X-23 no punk'n, ain't no stuntin, yes-yes- you know girl be handlin.'

Oh shit, looks like the holy spirit of Biggie just got me.  Unbelievable.


This post was written by:
big O

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Mixed Plate Comics- Week of 10.12.2011

A crap load of books to consume in Eastcoast swing week of NYCC.  Don't pubs know that we don't have that much time to read with all the juicy news feeding our mental on the daily??  Finally caught up and put these books in the library:  Suicide Squad #2 / Orchid #1 / Mister Terrific #2 / FF #10 / American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #5 / Deathstroke #2 / Shade #1 / Green Lantern #2 / Batman and Robin #2 / Demon Knights #2 / Batgirl #2 / Uncanny X-Force #16 / Batwoman #2 / SHIELD #3.  And the meanest books that I was really feeling are...

5    The Shade #1   James Robinson & Cully Hamner

Shade comes back in The New 52 with a year-long celebration of immortal, dark, brooding misadventures in his beloved Opal City.  I never caught the classic tales of James Robinson's Starman (in the queue tho) in the mid-90s but was hooked into the character of Shade in The Blackest Night Starman one-shot.

With an entourage of fly artists- Cully Hamner, Fazier Irving, Darwyn Cooke, Jill Thompson and others to share in the visuals...well, count me in for the Master of Darkness.  Scenes sweeping smoothly from his deck with Mikaal over tea, to his bed with Hope, a promenade thru the park and some shadow-puppet fun with Deathstroke. 

Robinson's conversational dialogue is delectable to the voyeur in all of us and sick to see Hamner busting his pencilwork on one of the many redesigns he took part in *pointing at Slade.  Some shit when Deathstroke's 3 page cameo is better than the last of his 2 books.  This read like many of Robinson's  best work seems to read too fast yet be gratifying enough as a fully encapsulated oneshot.  Definitely back for more in November.


4    Batwoman  #2  J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
JHW3 is back with his sequential art seduction and tantalizing panel porn.  Bom-chika-wow-wow!  From the opening flip you get modernized, future-now like storytelling of Kate Kane and her cuz breaking bones, balls and the conventional comic as we know it.  You see his influence in everything these days be it Manapul's exhilarating experimentation in typesets flowing to the art or even the signature Bat logo used for framing in

other Batfam books.  Last ish, Batwoman made a fan in Black Mask and finds another in the Department of Extranormal Ops with all of her freaky-deaky affairs.

Kate takes out Det. Sawyer for a drink and we get a well crafted panel spliced-splash of them in a bar and an onlooking Desolation Jones playing lurker (how tasty would it be to get him in the New52?!)

Batman follows up with his offer to Kane on repping Batman Inc. and is offered advice on how to avoid creating sidekicks into future supervillians.  Does that make Red Hood/Jason Todd that in the DCnU?  Hmm...  Kate investigates the point of origin to the kiddie-abductor ghost and gets washed away into the phantoms grasp.  What happens next?! 


3   Uncanny X-Force #16  Rick Remender & Jerome Opena
The Dark Angel Saga, a new school classic in the making-- hits the crescendo with Fantomex, Deadpool and Deathlok on the hunt for Archangel, his Horsemen and other followers of Akkaba.  Psylocke in captivity has hope that Warren is still within the evolving Apocalypse and makes attempts to reach out with fail.  AOA Blob make a disgustingly, nasty entrance by treating Fantomex to a tour of his innards and Deadpool jumps
into battle with AOA Iceman who goes ice-god on his ass.  The art team of Opena and White combine to flesh out a crazy barrage of visual storytelling that dresses up the script to the nines.
 
Pestilence regains consciousness, burns down Ship and Logan within it.  For like 3 pages that is...when Wolvie re-enters the stage with a slicing and dicing to end Pestilences' deadly music career.

Archangel goes the way of Dr. Frankenstein with the world-seed and shanks Betsy in the back to re-animate her as his perfect companion.  The next ish sports a cover that shows Psylocke in a very Lady Mandarin-like look.  Ah the 90's nostalgia, love it Remender!  Why do we need Regenesis?!  Thankfully, we will still have Remender the title and on Secret Avengers after this magnificent run ends at #19. 

2    Batman and Robin  #2  Peter J. Tomasi &Patrick Gleason 

All the talk of shops going down in excitement and sales with the #2s vs. #1s is understood from the major influx of casual to non-comics heads jumping in and out of the shops to be a part of DC's New 52 marketing bandwagon, but for those that have read on to at least the second ish should be pleased with story dev.  I know that I am.  For the most part each second book has been better for me being that we are past the intro& basic origin-- moving into the nitty gritty of the writers subplots and what not.  Tomasi brings us deeper into Bruce's concerns with his son's ninja-assassin upbringing via Talia and the League of Shadows. 

Gleason/Gray/Kalisz portray brooding pictures and ambiguous angles of Damian that make us wonder, is it possible for Batman to steer this Robin in a different way then his failure with Jason Todd (Red Hood)?  The intimate scenes between father and son almost seem like Bruce is getting played.  

Alfred gives Bruce some pointers and also provides us with a third party observer of the two (without the unnecessary monologue). As Batman and Robin, the duo team up in a way that looks practiced to perfection.  But when we go back to the cave and witness the odd complexities of their chemistry and bear witness to the haunting image of Damian catching and choking out a bat, that's gotta be some foreshadowing of whats to come. 

The twist of bringing in Ducard (one of Bats primary mentors -- in detective work/firearms, for more read Blind Justice and no he is not Ra's) is tight.  So Nobody is actually a mean cat named Morgan that Bruce is familiar with and oh hey, looks like Damian will be getting a new doggy!



1    Green Lantern #2    Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke
Yeah boyee!!!  Sinestro really is the greatest Green Lantern afterall.  We experience this in a number of ways by first seeing how he is able to create a ring for Hal to use (like his yellow rings of Fear), teaching Hal that acting on impulse is a limited scope in dealing with things-- like rather than saving one hawt chick falling from a bridge-- why not fix the bridge, lift the cars /people and multiple things all in unison.  Whoa. 

Johns promised at NYCC that we would be treated to Sinestro using willpower like we have never seen before.  So, so sick.  Maybe this is Sinestro realizing how much potential Jordan actually has when he single-handedly destroyed a Guardian, or this could just be his means of using Hal as a wingman for villianous deeds he is concocting. 
 
Up next, Sinestro and Hal vs the Sinestro Corps!!  So does this mean they will just be called the Fear or Yellow Corps now???!!  Mahnke is fucking incredible.


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big O

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