Lucifer: A Dalliance with the Damned

Title: Lucifer: A Dalliance with the Damned

ISBN: 9781563898921

Price: $14.99

Publisher/Year: Vertigo, 2002

Artist: Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston

Writer: Mike Carey

Collects: Lucifer #14-20

Rating: 1/5



As much as I don't really care for this series, it seems as though I keep getting drawn back to it. I think that I subconciously hope that it gets better. If I buy another volume, I hope that happens sooner rather than later.



The stories are hard to get through, and much of the art is not something to appreciate. As I have said before, the fonts they chose for much of the lettering strain my eyes.



As you can tell by my previous reviews, I don't have a problem with the Vertigo line as a whole. Preacher was good. Sandman was good. Fables is excellent! Why did they decide to take a crap on a title like Lucifer? This could have been good, if writers, editors and artists could have come together for a quality product instead of what was published.



For those who enjoy this title and series, I can only say that we must agree to disagree. Mike Carey did a decent job with John Constantine. Why couldn't he have given the same attention to Luficer? The series not necessarily the entity.



At the date that I have written this review, the only other trades I have given such a low rating are:

• Tales from Wonderland Volume 1 


• G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes


• Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1

That should give you an idea of how often I actually get to read a "bad" trade. I'm not sure if I will ever get around to picking-up the next volume of this series to give it one last chance, but if I do it I'll make sure I receive a deep discount either with a coupon or buy it used so I'm not wasting as much money as I already have on this series. Fortunately, I'm positive that when I bought the volumes that I have reviewed, I used a coupon from Borders from between 33-50% off the cover price. Thank goodness for small favors.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Volume 1

Title: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Volume 1



ISBN: 9781600108648

Price: $19.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2011

Artist: Agustin Padilla

Writer: Larry Hama

Collects: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #155½-160

Rating: 4/5

For Free Comic Book Day 2010, IDW published the continuation of where Marvel left off. Included in this restart of the original series happens to be the one and only Larry Hama. IDW including Hama in their original interpretation of G.I. Joe, and now the continuation of his previous series, added real legitimacy to their work… not that they needed it. I think this is what really separates IDW’s work from the former imaginations from Devil’s Due.

While Larry Hama has not missed a single step with his writing, they paired him with Agustin Padilla for the artwork. This is a far cry from the art that accompanied Hama’s writing while he was with Marvel. This combination makes for a hard to put down trade.

Unfortunately, I never got a chance to read the entire original series, so I was a little fuzzy on where things left off when issue 155½ starts. The good thing is that I was able to pick-up on things really easily and there was no problems understanding what probably happened from ending to new beginning. Just another accolade to lay at the feet of Master Hama.

There have only been a few G.I. Joe titles that I have felt IDW should not have done, this is definitely not one of those. You have all the great elements that combine to make a great G.I. Joe story. You have Cobra trying to regain its former glory, G.I. Joe getting back together to stop them and ninjas. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, it looks as though Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have traded places with one another.

Add this one to your collection and look forward to the next volume. This is going to be a great series.

The Death of Superman

Title: The Death of Superman



ISBN: 1563890976

Price: $4.95

Publisher/Year: DC, 1993

Artist: Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens

Writer: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern

Collects: Superman: The Man of Steel #17-18, Superman 73-75, Adventures of Superman #496-497, Action Comics #683-684, Justice League America #69

Rating: 2.5/5

Before the death of Superman, comic books didn’t make the news. I remember when the original Superman #75 was released, the news covered it like it was today’s royal wedding. This was the first major epic storyline of the modern day comic book. Superman was a household name synonymous with “truth, justice and the American way.” Who or what could kill Superman?

In a word: Doomsday.

A creature that could walk through the Justice League of America and still have enough stamina to deliver a beat down to Superman that nobody would ever forget. Where did it come from? Who created it and for what purpose? Unfortunately, those questions aren’t answered in this trade.

It’s a fair read, and for the original price, it’s well worth adding to your collection. I’m sure you can find it at your LCS or even a used bookstore. The art takes you back to the days before the internet, Facebook and especially Bryan Singer's awful movie. In some respects, those were the good old days.

The Guild

Title: The Guild



ISBN: 9781595825490

Price: $12.99

Publisher/Year: Dark Horse, 2010

Artist: Jim Rugg

Writer: Felicia Day

Collects: The Guild #1-3 & MySpace Dark Horse Presents #27

Rating: 3.5/5

For those who don’t know what The Guild is, I would invite you to check it out at http://www.watchtheguild.com/. It’s a hilariously
funny web series. After 4 seasons of the show, we learn about some of the
backstory with this trade.

Felicia Day is a wonderful writer, and has a firm grip on
what’s funny. I watch and read the series and I see parts of myself in the
people that make up The Guild. If
there was a member who obsessively collected comic books, I would see a
reflection.

The story of how Codex/Cyd Sherman develops is well worth
the read. The art isn’t the best, but it works well for this trade. Combined
you have a great trade that is well worth adding to your collection. If you’re
a gamer, I hope you see the humor in it as I do. If you don’t see it, you’re
taking yourself too seriously.

Add this trade to your collection. It’s an odd size, but
worth the add and the read.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2



ISBN: 9781595825537

Price: $11.99

Publisher/Year: Dark Horse, 2010

Artist: Omar Francia, Manuel Sila

Writer: Haden Blackman



Rating: 2.5/5

With the release of the new video game, so comes the release
of this new trade. The saga and the franchise continue. How they could
seriously continue after the ending of the first, I wasn’t sure. There’s a part
of me that wishes I wasn’t such a die-hard Star Wars fan.

For starters, I received the video game as a birthday
present. That same day, I sat down and began to play it. About 8-hours later, I
had completed the game. No cheats. No strategy guide. The original game took me
several days to complete, and I needed a strategy guide to get past bringing a
Star Destroyer down onto a planet. I was very disappointed in the game, but I
thought that the trade would tell a better tale.

I was so wrong.

The only part of this trade that is worthwhile is the art
and Boba Fett. If they had horrible artists and didn’t include Fett, this trade
would be totally worthless. The upside is that, unlike most of the Star Wars
trades I’ve purchased, the binding didn’t fall apart when I opened it to read.
For this, I am thankful.

If you’re curious about the story surrounding the video
game, find someone who has already bought this trade and borrow it from them.
Maybe you can check it out from your local library. Fortunately, I had a 40%
off coupon when I purchased this trade. If I had paid full price, I would have
contacted Dark Horse for my money back.

Spring Cleaning

The past few days, I've been going through my past posts/reviews and have been noticing some formatting issues. Not sure where they came from or why I didn't notice them sooner. I would ask that if you happen to see something askew, please drop a comment or send me a message/email so I can fix it.



Thank you for your help and continued support.