Freakangels.
Gravel.
Fell.
No Hero.

There’s so much to love.

He also loves beer. And that makes me love him more.

Scottish brewery Brew Dog sent him some of their beers to review. Read about it on his blog:

Warren’s Review of Punk IPA.
Warren’s Review of Hardcore IPA.

And yeah, people reacted.

I keep loving Warren more and more. And I really wish we could get Brew Dog’s beers in the States, but I don’t think its available outside of the UK.

Anyhow, Freakangels is super good, and Warren Ellis is super good. Brian and I are both all about it.

Cool thing is that there’s now this thing that I saw on WarrenEllis.com that is now in the sidebar. (Over there ->)

It basically updates itself every time a new episode is published, and also has a pretty cool gallery of characters if you click through it.

Just figured I’d point out that its there now.

Thank you, Mr Ellis. I needed this so badly. I mean, FreakAngels is super awesome and all, but I’ve been jonesin’, nay, YEARNING for more Black Summer for some time now.

Thank you sir, you have my gratitude.

The more and more I consider the question, the more I have to view comics as an escape and a fantasy.  Of course they are fantastic, nobody can fly in real life without the aid of wind or an aircraft, but I’m thinking fantasy in terms of, “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool if…”  I guess I view comics a lot like I view video games.  You’re given an opportunity to immerse yourself in a world that bares similarities, but incredible differences to our own.  There are interesting pro’s and con’s to living in a world with superheroes.

Who wouldn’t love to live in a world where you had superheroes looking out for the good of all man-kind?  Imagine superman up there doing his thing and taking care of us?!  That would be sweet!  What about Reed Richards doing his science thing, trying to make the world a better place?  What about Batman, protecting the world from serial killers, bank robbers, and the mafia, while his alter ego donates millions of dollars to charity, and is the CEO of one of the worlds largest, and most successful companies?

The first problem with all of this, which has been addressed more and more as of late, is who gives these heroes the authority to do what they do?  Nobody.  Thats right.  Interestingly enough, this was addressed quite well in an article in The American Prospect a few months ago, specifically dealing with Warren Ellis’s book Black Summer.  Its a strange predicament because the heroes see themselves as needing to be above the law in order to protect people from threats.  This, as is mentioned in the American Prospect article, is strangely similar to the Bush regime’s stance on terrorism.  Apparently, in order to maintain law, they need to be above it.  This is problematic, as it really destroys some of the foundation this country was based on.  As a leftist among the American political spectrum, this is really appalling to me.  While reading Civil War, however, I was not struck as this being wrong.  My attachment to our heroes left me with mixed feelings, ultimately wanting the vigilantes to come out on top.  Does this align with my political beliefs and ideals?  No.  The truth is, I don’t live in the Marvel U, or the DCU (earth 1, 2, or any other).  I live here, anchored in reality, using comics as an escape from the atrocities the citizens of this planet continue to perpetrate upon one another, where we could really use a Superman, a Spider-Man, a Captain America to rally behind.

Another important problem is that the stronger the heroes, the stronger the villains we seem to see creep out of the woodwork.  Gotham City didn’t have super villains before Batman.  Marvel didn’t really have them before the Avengers.  As the heroes grew, became stronger, and ever more vigilant, the foes they defeated mirrored them.  I’ll be quite honest, were the Joker, or Doomsday, or Kingpin to approach me in a dark alley, I’d probably scream like a little girl before becoming deceased in the next few moments.  The worst we’ve got today is crackheads, serial killers, gang violence, and terrorism.  While none of these are particularly pleasant, I feel like my chances are better against a crackhead than they are against Doomsday.

Still, I don’t live in that world.  I live in the world we all live in, where the daily struggles people face are enough to call it quits.  The economy is in the tank, unemployment rates in Michigan just keep rising, and I work what would usually be considered a pretty decent job, and I feel like I live just over the poverty line.  Gas was 3.55 a gallon at the closest gas station today.  I love the ray of hope that some of these heroes have to offer us, as unrealistic as it may be.

Why do you read comics?

In his typical fashion, Warren is making Freakangels just weird enough to make certain things a surprise, but its still very much typical Warren Ellis. I don’t know how to describe it.

Just go read it if you’re a fan. I guess if you’re a fan, you’re probably already reading it. If you’re not already a Warren Ellis fan, go read it. You probably will be before its over.

Gravel #1

Captain America #35: Its pretty incredible to think that Cap died 10 issues ago. I have been thrilled with this series since I started reading it and this issue is really no exception. While this issue was relatively slow in terms of the plot, Brubaker does a fantastic job of timing the story so that it never really feels slow. Everything feels so well thought out and meaningfully placed. Another great story building issue in this fine series. This is one of those books I really look forward to every month and rarely ever lets me down. The only thing I don’t get in this issue is how drinking water incites a riot. Unless people are really really unhappy with the quality of their H2O, this shouldn’t be much of a problem. Did the Kronos corp deionize the water and force it to stop removing removing contaminants and free radicals!? EEK! With a fairly substantial background in biology, chemistry, and pharmaceuticals I will call shenanigans on this one. OR Bucky didn’t realize it and their basketball team lost in the final 4 and a few bad eggs are getting the mob mentality going… that crap happened at MSU too many times. A good issue nonetheless. Thank you Ed Brubaker, you’re great.

Kick Ass #1:  Honestly, I only bought this because I’d heard it would eventually be worth good money.  I do have a number of problems with it which I shall now conveniently list:

1. Nobody who is into Stereophonics and Snow Patrol really likes the Goo Goo Dolls.
2. No babes teach biology.  I’ve had many, many bio-you name it classes, and not a single one was taught by a babe.  Not even TAed.  They don’t exist.  This notion is a fallacy.
3. There are no equations in a high school biology class.  Certainly not enough to cover an entire blackboard.
4. Nobody wants their mother to have died a much more horrific death than they already did.  Thats just plain morbid.
5. Very few people (0), in my experience, are really into Buffy and also read Astonishing X-men.
6. It would be nearly impossible to function in daily life with a wetsuit on beneath your clothes.  It is EXTREMELY uncomfortable to wear one outside the water anyway, unless its really cold.
7. Screwing something into the back of this wetsuit would also be horribly uncomfortable.
8. A club?! are you serious?!  Does batman use a club?!  Does Daredevil use a club?! Not even Tony Stark uses a club.  Learn to fight!
9. Graffiti is usually something limited to the night
10. I don’t think many graffiti artists are carrying knives.
11. Why, if you are tagging a wall, would you risk going to jail for MURDER?!  Why not just run?!

Other than that, it was fine.  The story was actually rather catchy, and the dialogue witty.  The art was really good too.  Its just so far-fetched that its somewhat of an abomination.  Seriously, neoprene?!  Why not just grab some under armor?

Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #3. Its finally out! It was originally supposed to be out
in December, but David Petersen got caught up in other things, I suppose. Speaking of, I have an interview I did with Petersen to post soon.

Marvel Zombies 2 #5. Final issue. I’m kind of glad its over, since it was getting a bit drawn out. But hey, Zombie Thor v. Zombie Silver Surfer on the cover? Yes please. Hopefully its a suitable ending.

Daredevil #105. I’m still saying Daredevil is Marvel’s Batman. This arch has him up against his own Scarecrow: Mr Fear. I think its coming to an end soon? Yup, this issue.

X-Men Legacy #208. I’m giving this one a read, since Messiah Complex was pretty good, and the end has me interested. I can’t really see myself sticking with it for very long, but what the hey. Also: how do you change the name of a book, but keep the numbering? Seriously Marvel, wtf?

Lazarus #3. Okay, I’m not sure how I feel about this miniseries yet, but with this, the final issue, I should probably have a good idea soon. I should do a whole write-up on it once I’m done.

Okay, for the ones I’ve already read this week, continue reading.

Gravel #1. After issue #0, I knew I wanted to read this book. Its Warren Ellis, so I guess that’s no surprise. Its his take on the occult detective, I guess. Violent (no surprise), and one scene reminded me of something out of Hellboy. Imagine if Hellboy was a British occult detective/wizard/badass, and was hunting down a bunch of dudes who fucked him over, and fighting monsters and magic on the way, but written by Ellis. That should give you a pretty good idea. Super awesome.

Batman #674. Grant Morrison, after my skepticism, I would like to apologize. You wrapped this story arch up pretty neatly, oh, and you left it open for some more AWESOME.

Seriously, he explained and dealt with the three Batmen pretty well, but I still think he’s working toward something even bigger. I wasn’t too thrilled with his run on this book, but I think (now that some of the pieces are falling into place) I’m coming around.

All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder #9. Longest name for a comic ever. But hey, its Frank Miller and Jim Lee, so they could call it Crapfest Shitstorm and I’d buy it.

So this story is getting better with each issue. The newly-formed Justice League (always one of my least favorites) is pissed about Batman beating the crap out of people, and how it makes them look, so they send the Green Lantern to talk to him.

(SPOILER ALERT)

So what does Batman do? He tells Hal Jordan to meet him at one of his safehouses, and he and Robin proceed to paint the whole place (and themselves) yellow. Drinking lemonade and the whole nine. Its so fucking awesome. And then Robin beats the hell out of the Green Lantern. Its great.

The Sword. I love the Luna Brothers. The latest issue delves into how people perceive what’s going on with the titular Sword. Dara is captured by the government, and everyone is just as freaked out by her as you think they would be.

What I’m even more excited is the prospect of the next issue (or next several) actually giving the back story of the Sword and of Dara’s father, who may or may not have been several thousand years old when he was finally murdered.

Gotham Underground. I’m starting to really like this book. They finally are giving some much-needed background on several characters, introducing a mystery villain (her face was replaced by a missing puzzle piece all issue), and exactly how Bane is playing his cards is starting to come to light. I guess this all makes sense now that we’re about halfway through the miniseries, but still. Oh, and I’m even starting to tolerate Matches Malone

Batman Confidential. Another solid story arch from this book. If you’re looking for a good jumping-on book, Confidential is still a good bet. Each arch lasts a few issues, and you don’t have to have any idea what’s going on within continuity. A new arch just started, so now’s a good time to pick it up.

Ultimate Human. Still going strong. I really hope Warren Ellis keeps up the pace on this miniseries. His computer crashed nearly a week ago, so here’s hoping that doesn’t put him too far behind. He seems to be doing okay with Freak Angels…

Wolverine Origins. Deadpool still isn’t my favorite, but I liked this issue more than the last one. Please keep getting better, guys.

The Immortal Iron Fist one-shot. Subtitled “Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death”, its explaining Randall’s history with the Prince of Orphans, John Aman. This is now coming to bear in the main Iron Fist storyline, but this thing can stand alone as a revisiting of the classic character. Even a lot of the art is right out of the golden age. Oh, and Son of Frankenstein is in it. Awesome!