This week John and Mike sit down and talk with Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma, the creators behind the new image comic series Morning Glories. They discuss the recent sell out of Morning Glories #1, how they got started in comics, and other projects that the 2 creators are working on.

It’s movies, video games and a comic on this week’s episode! What specifically do we have to talk about? There’s the indie comic The Villain, Madden 11, The Expendables, and both Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World The Movie and The Game! So listen the episode or else…you’ll be dust by Monday!

This week brings another Book of the Month Review in the Anthropomorphic Noir title, BlackSad. What did the cast think? What did our listeners think? Listen and find out. In addition to Blacksad, Rod talks about the new AMC TV Show Rubicon, Mike discusses DC’s Emerald Warriors #1, and John talks about the Chew Omnivore Edition Hardcover. Rod and John also tell you why you need to check out Morning Glories #1. It’s an episode you don’t want to miss!

Check after the break for the full unedited reviews sent to us by our Listeners!

Joseph Compton by way of both e-mail and Comic Break’s Website Says:

Blacksad is a graphic novel like no other. I fist heard of Blacksad years ago from David Lillie (author and artist of Dreamkeepers comic) and then again when I spoke to online friend from the UK. And with so much praise surrounding it, I knew I had to get it. Though sadly, at the time I learned about it, the two books where out of print.

Luckily, now anyone can enjoy Blacksad in this beautiful over sized hardcover published by Dark Horse.

Anyone who buys this book is in for a real treat. Some may be turned off by the anthropomorphic characters, thinking this is some furry porn book, and aside from a few nude scenes, there is little to do with sex in the book. The characters as animals actually enhance there characters personality. Accompanied by the fantastic art, it really let you know more about the characters then a wall of text explaining there background. Even with simple background characters you get sense of who they are by their looks. Who wouldn’t see a sleazy bar owner as nasty pig, or a knuckle popping body guard as a rhino?

Not only is the art great, but the story is equally as great. Each story is a self contain classic Noir story, covering Murder, kidnappings, to cold war espionage. Of the three stories in this book, the second stories, The Artic Nation, is the one that sticks out the most for me.

This may not be a book for every one, but if you enjoy great noir stories, check out Blacksad.

redbeard via Comic Break’s Website says:

What Joe said!

Comic Break via the Comic Break Website says:

This is the first-ever English collection of the three Blacksad crime dramas. With 1950′s America as the backdrop, the first story is a murder mystery, the second centers on a racist organization and the third addresses the perceived threat of communism within the United States.

I love what Jim Steranko writes in the introduction about these characters not being “animals who act like people” but “people who resemble animals”. It may seem like a small distinction but this approach provides the reader instant insight into the personalities of the characters we meet.
Writer Juan Diaz Canales borrows from American detective noir films of the 30′s and 40′s. All the ingredients are here. First person narration, world weary hero, beautiful femme fatale and heavy use of flashback to reveal back stories.

What pushes this book into must own territory is Juanjo Guarnido’s gorgeous art. From Blacksad’s cluttered desk to the bustling city street, the amount of detail is stunning. I’ve been reading comics for nearly 2 decades and this is some of the best artwork I’ve ever seen.

I’m glad the Book of the Month finally pushed me into reading it. Great selection Rod!

Sam Svetlik via e-mail says:

I’d like to start off by saying I’m really impressed with Comic Break’s service.  My copy of Blacksad was delivered two days after I placed the order, and it also came with two comics and a keychain.  I’ll definitely be buying from them again, and I’ve recommended them to my roommate.

The book itself was really good, definitely worth the price.  The art was beautiful and very well detailed.  I could easily skim through this book again just looking at the pictures.  That’s not to discount the story at all.  The writing was far above average.  It got a little wordy sometimes, but that never detracted from the story.  If I hadn’t known beforehand, I would not have thought this book wasn’t originally in English.  There are one or two odd translations in the first part, but the dialogue in the second and third parts flows as smoothly as it did in its native tongue.  The only thing that really annoyed me in the comic was the racism.  The second story was good, but the premise didn’t make that much sense to me.  I mean, there just aren’t that many pure white or black animals.  It seems to me that if prejudices existed, they would be along the lines of species, like the scene in the first story where a weasel walks into a reptile bar.  The second story was really good, and racism made for a good plot element, but when I started thinking about it, it didn’t really make that much sense.  All in all, Blacksad was a great read that I would recommend to any of my friends, despite the soon-to-follow allegations of being a furry.

Herzon Mack via Facebook Says:

Best trade ive read for the year. Fantastic art and clever writing. The second tale especially; was pretty innovative. After i go through my other trades for the month im gonna go read it again. (Im not loaning it out to any friends either)

This week the gang covers a wide range of stuff to review in addition to a bunch of news items. Rod saw a movie, John talks about a video game, while Mike read some out-of-continuity comic titles. All this plus a whole lot more on this week’s episode! There’s even an impromptu talk about Hulu Plus!

The fourth and final tournament for Game Over Videogames’ Classic Game Fest 2010 has come and gone. If you missed the festivities, check out the video Mike put together for the event, which is located after the break. For more information on Game Over Video Games and The Classic Game Fest Visit the following websites:

http://www.gameovervideogames.com
http://www.classicgamefest.com

This week John talks about some Alan Wake DLC and a comic called 7 Psychopaths. Mike Reviews American Vampire #5 and Mondo Urbano Vol. 2. Rod tells us all about both of the Absolute Planetary volumes. Then the gang discusses the new DC Animated movie Batman: Under The Red Hood. What did they think? listed to the episode to find out!

So the story goes like this.  There’s this everyday normal guy working a dead end job. He’s living a dead end life. Then one morning he wakes up in a parallel world where all the things Fox News has been screaming are about to happen … start to actually happen.  Planes are falling from the sky into homes.  Flu Pandemics sweep the globe.  A dirty bomb takes out the entire city of Seattle.

Our hero wakes up the next day back in his original reality.  The sudden shift from dealing with the end of the world to being expected to have an opinion about the color of a new couch is a lot to handle.

And each morning brings another switch.  He’s pulled back and forth between the two realities.  Soon he discovers that there’s a way to use information learned in one world to help in another world. Learning about the dark connection between the two worlds as he learns what kind of man he really is.

Matt Kindt is the writer/artist that brings this story to life in this new original hardcover graphic novel from Vertigo.

I picked this book up on the ever growing word of mouth around the internet.  I love the end of the world genre of stories.  What I expected when I picked up this book was not what I got.  I was expecting something a little more escapist.  I think most survival or post apocalyptic fare falls into this trap far too often.  Focusing far too much on the clever setting they have concocted and not enough on the impact on the people who inhabit the world.

Instead of a just a survival story with sci-fi elements what I found was also an emotional examination of what it means when you come face to face with what kind of person you’re capable of being.  With each day shifting back to a normal existence our main character can’t just move forward without thinking about what he has to do to survive.  One moment he’s looting and fighting and even killing to survive and the next he’s trying to be polite around his girlfriend’s parents for dinner.

I was taken back by the examination of not only who we are but how the things that we own can block us off from what really matters in life.

Kindt’s book is a revelation.

His art handles a complicated plot line with ease and style.  The running ticker of news at the bottom of each page accentuates the constant buzz of information that we see our lives filled with.  At the end of the book I was compelled to keep the computer turned off and the distractions to a minimum for a while.

And I think that sort of introspection might actually be this books strongest achievement.

The third tournament of Game Over Videogames’ Classic Game Fest 2010 has come and gone. If you missed the festivities, check out the video Mike put together for the event, which is located after the break. For more information on Game Over Video Games and The Classic Game Fest Visit the following websites:

http://www.gameovervideogames.com
http://www.classicgamefest.com

The second tournament of Game Over Videogames’ Classic Game Fest 2010 has come and gone. If you missed the festivities, check out the video Mike put together for the event, which is located after the break. For more information on Game Over Video Games and The Classic Game Fest Visit the following websites:

http://www.gameovervideogames.com
http://www.classicgamefest.com

This week the gang is joined by Leon of the LEOG! Leon stops by to talk Scott Pilgrim Vol 6 and The movie Inception. Mike reads some books from IDW, John Talks about another video game with a misleading title, and Rod reveals which of the bazillion Avengers books from Marvel is the one you need to be reading. All this and the gang tries to not make it too obvious that they wish they were at Comic-Con.