Monthly Archives: March 2010

Hello all, I’m trying something a little different with the Four Color Discount this week. We’ll see how this goes…

PEOPLE REJOICE! Here are the three little words you’ve all longed to hear…

SCOTT PILGRIM SALE!

That’s right! In celebration of the trailer heard around the world I’ve put all 5 volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s epic tale of one slacker’s search for love, Scott Pilgrim, on sale for the week, at discounts that get progressively better as the series goes on, so you now officially have NO EXCUSE not to catch up!

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1: Precious Little Life- $8.37 (30% off) Scott Pilgrim Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World- $7.77 (35% off) Scott Pilgrim Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness- $7.17 (40% off) Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together- $6.57 (45% off) Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe- $5.98 (50% off) (foil-y cover editions!)

If you’re new to the series, there’s no better time to go ahead and buy the lot! This is seriously one of my favorite comics series of the last decade, and one of the only ones that gets my blanket recommendation to everyone. This sale will run through the week, and I might add a surprise or two on Friday but I’ll try to keep it as Pilgrim-centric as I can.

Thanks!

Alan Moore may not be the greatest comics writer ever (and he’d probably tell you so himself), but he’s just so good at combining myriad influences into a unique new creation, one that feels familiar but original all the same. These tales of the “science-hero” Tom Strong draw from all the classic pulp influences, including Tarzan, Doc Savage, John Carter Of Mars, Superman, etc. It’s a relatively recent work, written for Moore’s America’s Best brand on the Wildstorm imprint. And the cavalcade of artists Moore enlists is incredible- Chris Sprouse (credited as co-creator), Art Adams, Jerry Ordway, and Dave Gibbons are all on point here, and Moore gets great work out of them. A fun read, and a real change of pace from Moore’s darker Watchmen/V For Vendetta/From Hell material. I totally love this book. Check it out!

Here’s one for fans of all ages. Writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach is best known for his television work, but his comic series The Middleman is so much goofy fun. The series (also adapted for a television series on ABC Family) follows the adventures of a young woman named Wendy Watson, who gets recruited to join the Jolly Fats Wehawkin temp agency, secretly a front for “O2STK” (the Organization Too Secret To Know), by The Middleman, to aid in his mission to “fight evil so you don’t have to”. It’s kinda like Men In Black for kids. Along the way the Middleman and Wendy go up against gangster gorillas, luchadores, and their archenemy, the evil genius Manservant Neville.

Sound silly? Sure it is, but Grillo-Marxuach pulls it all off with some great writing, and lots of little nods and winks to genre films/books/TV shows of yore (just look at the title of this collection). I spotted references to Star Wars, James Bond, Dune, Doctor Who, Planet Of The Apes, Blake’s 7, Back To The Future, Buckaroo Banzai, and more (and that’s just off the top of my head), and of course, tons of comic books. The art by Les McClaine is nice, very classic cartoon-looking, bold outlines and zipatone shading (check out the preview here).

Derek gave me a copy of this for my birthday two years ago, and it was a great gift. Perfect for (knowing, slightly older) kids, and anyone who loves cool comics!

This is the series spun out of Point Blank (which itself is spun out of Alan Moore’s run on Wildcats, but no matter), brought to you by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the same creative team behind Criminal and Incognito. Here’s where the team comes together, in this fantastic story of a superpowered secret agent desperate to be brought in from the cold. I’m hesitant to say much more though, because the twists and turns are so wild I don’t want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say I COULD NOT put this down! Great on so many levels. Do be aware that this is for “mature audiences”, full of language, sex and violence, and a fair degree of superhero hate (which I usually don’t go for, but it’s used wonderfully here).

I just love love love Darwyn Cooke, and he really gets to show off his chops here as a writer as well as an artist. The feature Batman story “Ego” is one of Cooke’s first works in comics, and it’s okay but not great, definitely an early work. The GOLD here though is the longest piece in the book, “Selina’s Big Score”. It’s just a solid heist story featuring Selina Kyle and a character named Stark (clearly based on Lee Marvin in Point Blank), and there’s nary a cape in sight. It reads like a practice run for Cooke’s adaptation of Parker The Hunter (excellent, in case you haven’t heard), and you guys KNOW it’s awesome if I’m recommending it, seeing as I have no great familiarity with the DC Universe and virtually no prior interest in Catwoman as a character. A-1 stuff here.