American Vampire Anthology Coming In August

For a comic book series that is taking a hiatus it sure will be represented this summer.  Following the release of American Vampire: The Long Road to Hell which stars fan favorite vampire hunter Travis Kidd, who bites vampires with wooden vampire teeth, will be a 80 page anthology by some of the best writers in comic books.  The anthology will be out August 7.

Scott Snyder and Jim Lee Superman Book Has A Title

Scott Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman book now has a title and a release date.  It will be called Superman Unchained and will be out in June in time to follow the wave of The Man of Steel movie publicity.  I love Scott Snyder on Batman and am looking forward to seeing what he does for Superman and with Jim Lee on the book the art will be pretty awesome also.

Source: Newsarama

American Vampire Volume Two Review

American Vampire Vol 2
Written By Scott Snyder
Art By Rafael Albuquerque &
Mateus Santolouco

Continuing with the story of Skinner Sweet and Pearl American Vampire Volume 2 contains two stories and collects issues 6 – 11 of the ongoing comic book series.  The first story involves Skinner Sweet in Las Vegas in 1936.  There Skinner is a big mob boss in Sin City and he’s gotten up the crawl of Las Vegas Police Chief Cash McCogan.  Of course there are vampires involved and someone is pecking off certain members who lowballed the bid on the Hoover Dam and went into business with the vampires.  Thus bringing the mayhem to the city on the up rise that is Las Vegas.

The second story involves Pearl and Henry as they try to live a quiet life away from vampires and Skinner Sweet.  But Pearl who is one of The American Vampires is always on the lookout for anyone who might be coming after them.  Especially The Vassals of the Morningstar who hunt and kill vampires and the come to Pearl to ask her how they can kill American Vampires so they can use that info against Skinner Sweet.

Not to give too much away you can guess what ensues next.  Yes lots of violence and action that you have come to expect with American Vampire.  Scott Snyder gives us a pretty good Skinner story and also sets up a good story for Pearl and Henry that gets more attention in Volume 3.  I love the new characters that were introduced in Volume Two like Cash Morgan.  He is a pretty cool character and you really feel for him at the end considering what Skinner does to his pregnant wife.  The Skinner Las Vegas story was the better of the two stories as it had more action and well more blood and killing of vampires.

I did enjoy the Pearl and Henry story as it is building up to something.  They are being followed and on the run and you feel like at some point someone is going to capture them.  I like how Scott Snyder is taking his time with Pearl as you get to know her a bit and you actually get a sense of what Pearl and Henry want.  They want to live a happy life and to be left alone from the vampire hunters and the vampires.

American Vampire Volume 2 is a good collection with two stories that are pretty enjoyable and full of vampire violence for the diehard horror fan.  What is exceptional is the smart story that Scott Snyder weaves as it is apparent that he is planning something major.  You get the feel that the way the story is being told is that American Vampire is a story with a beginning a middle and an end and that the beginning has got me hooked to find out what happens in the middle.
Grade A

Severed Collected Edition Review (Mild Spoilers)

Severed
By Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft
Art By Attila Futaki

While looking for something new to read in the world of comics that isn’t in the super hero vein as, well, to be quite frank I’ve been getting a bit bored with super hero comics as the writing on a majority of them have been pretty stale and did not really interest me all that much.  Not all of them mind you.  There are some books out that have been very good and very well written that makes your gray matter do brain exercises.  On the advice of @Spaced4SimonPeg I picked up and read Severed by Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft and, well, what a story they did spin out of their very warped imagination.

The story is centered upon Jake Garron who runs away from his home in search of his father.  Jake found out he was adopted and is determined to find him.  He hitches a ride on a train where he befriends Sam.  Sam knows the ropes and helps out Jake who is only 12 years old and very naïve about the real world and dangers of 1916.  In Chicago Jake and Sam come in contact with an old man named Alan Fisher who seems too keen to help them find Jakes dad.   The problem is Alan Fisher has a dark secret.  A secret that will turn out to be a very deadly thing as Alan Fisher isn’t what he seems to be.

The Best and Worst of Geekdom 2012

2012 was a treasure trove for geeks as there was lots of stuff that came out this year to make all of us happy.  There was something for everyone and that was definitely true with the movies that came out.  2012 was definitely the year of the movies for us geeks.  It rivaled 1982 as one of the best all time for movies which was fitting since it was the 30th anniversary of the movies of 1982.  2012 had a lot of cool stuff happening during it and well it also had some pretty lousy stuff also.  So I have compiled my list of what I thought was the best and worst of 2012 and I’m sure a lot of these selections are on your lists.

Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette Are Leaving Swamp Thing With Issue 18

Scott Snyder announced yesterday that he and artist Yanick Paquette will be leaving Swamp Thing with issue 18.  This was a planned departure and not really a big surprise as Scott Snyder work load has gotten bigger with a new Superman book coming out and his duties on Batman and American Vampire among other projects coming up. Here is his announcement:

"To be 100% clear: [Paquette] and I have been planning this ending -- both an ending for us as creators on the book, and for the storyline we started way back in issue #1 -- for a long time," Snyder wrote this afternoon on Twitter. "Even before we signed on to do Swampy, we both knew it would be a limited run, as we had other projects in the pipeline we knew would eventually come to pass. But the chance to do 'Swamp Thing,' to bring back a character we've both loved dearly since childhood, was just too thrilling to turn down."

"That said, we both ended up staying longer than we'd planned, too, out of love of the character, love for the story we were getting to tell, love for our team, and above all, out of love and gratitude for you guys, the fans who've helped us do something here that many people said was impossible -- make 'Swamp Thing' a viable book in the DCU. For that, all of us on team Swampy will be forever grateful to you guys."

Swamp Thing 18 is out in March.

American Vampire Vol 1 By Scott Snyder and Stephen King Review

American Vampire
Written By Scott Snyder & Stephen King
Drawn by Rafael Albuquerque

I was tired of the Twilight and Tru Blood hunky and glittery vampires that have been around lately.  I was sick of the dump love story types that have been around and was hoping to find something more traditional.  Well I did find just that.  While perusing the aisles at NYCC this past October I happen across the trade for the American Vampire.  While looking at the cover I was intrigued by the look of it and the description as this seemed to be a different type of vampire story. In fact it seemed to be what I was looking for.

Scott Snyder and Jim Lee Team Up On Superman Project

In what is the coolest news to come out of NYCC yesterday, and told to me in the autograph line by Scott Snyder himself, was the announcement by DC Comics of a Superman project by Scott Snyder and Jim Leee which will be coming out next year.  Not much was revealed but here are a few quotes from the Superman panel.

"I've loved Superman since I was a kid, and to be working on him now, with the great Jim Lee, is simply too thrilling for words. It's a dream come true for me on every front,” Snyder said. “I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say it's the Superman story I'd write if I only ever got one chance to write the character. It's an exploration of everything I love and am fascinated by about him. Like Court of Owls for Batman, it's a character piece for Clark - it's going to challenge him to his core. And it's definitely epic in scope, with huge action and drama - the biggest and most earth shaking action I've ever done. Can't wait to see what you all think of it. Couldn't be more grateful or excited to get the chance to make this one!"

 “As a huge fan of Scott's writing, I'm looking forward to drawing Superman as much as I am reading Scott’s story as it unfolds,” Lee said. “Scott's crafted a truly epic yet personal story which will demonstrate without a doubt why Superman remains the most iconic hero of the modern age. 2013 is gonna absolutely rock!”

Of course you can read the full announcement on DC Comics The Source
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2012/10/11/jim-lee-and-scott-snyder-team-up-for-2013-superman-project