Book Review: The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1

Title: The Manhattan Projects, Volume 1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
Publisher: Image Comics

Synopsis (from Amazon):
What if the research and development department created to produce the first atomic bomb was a front for a series of other, more unusual, programs? What if that department was staffed by some of the greatest geniuses that ever lived? And what if those geniuses were not exactly er... right in the head?
(Collects The Manhattan Projects issues #1-#5)

What I Liked:

• Science. Bad. Very Bad.
• A bad-ass Einstein with a posse of other super-geniuses who lean more towards evil than good? Now THAT'S an awesome concept.
• I'm a sucker for stories that take real-life people or characters and put them together. This reminded me of BPRD and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but with super-genius scientists!
• I also loved the way Hickman incorporates all the scientific stuff and history into the story, as well as the way he twists all those historical figures into a Fringe-like alternate version.
• Oppenheimer. Holy crap.

What I didn't like:

• Not much I didn't like, really.
• Ok, it DOES remind me too much of Fringe, but that's not really a BAD thing.

Where to Buy it:
Kinokuniya KLCC lor. Where else?

Best of 2012: Who Says Comics Are For Kids?

This is supposed to be a blog about books. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading many books. It's not that I DON'T READ anymore, I just don't read with the same ferocity I used to in the past, when I would devour novels by the series.

These days, I still read a lot, but I've been a lot more selective with my reading. In fact, I've been reading a lot more comics and graphic novels lately... actually, ever since I got my iPad, that's pretty much 90% of my reading material these days. It's not that comics are any easier to read (I dare you to read Transmetropoliton or The Invisibles, and tell me that it's "for kids"), it's just that at this stage, I kinda like the wild imagination and creativity that some of these comics have.

Sure, some of the superhero stuff can be pretty run-of-the-mill, but even those are getting better - Mark Waid's Daredevil is superb, and Matt Fraction's Hawkeye is one of my favorite comics this year. Some of the new DC 52 (Scott Snyder's Batman and Animal Man) and Marvel NOW (Indestructible Hulk, FF) titles are pretty good too - I should know I've read almost all of them.

Anyway, enough about my reading habits. Here is a list of some of my favorite comics and graphic novels of 2012. Even if you don't usually read comics, I highly recommend you give these titles a try



Hawkeye
Writer: Matt Fraction
Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye is the greatest sharp-shooter known to man. He then joined the Avengers. This book is about what he does when he is NOT being an Avenger. Brilliantly written (by Matt Fraction) and fabulously drawn (by David Aja), this series hits the bullseye with its sharp dialogue, great humour and the most likable version of Hawkeye yet.



Hellboy In Hell
Writer/artist: Mike Mignola
Hellboy is dead, and he's in Hell. That's all you really need to know. Mike Mignola makes a welcome return to the Hellboy-verse, writing AND drawing the newly-launched Hellboy In Hell series, and featuring Hellboy in, well, Hell.



Saga
Writer: Brian K. Vaughn
I loved Vaughn's Ex-Machina and Y: The Last Man. Those two had some of the coolest premises ever (though they also had a rather anti-climatic finale), and Saga pretty much follows in that vein. It's kinda like a love story about a pair of lovers from different sides of an galactic war, and their kid. Yeah, it sounds simple, but the story and art is jsut brilliantly fun.




The New Deadwardians
Writer: Dan Abnett
This new Vertigo eight-issue series featured a new twist to the usual “zombie apocalypse” tale, setting an intriguing murder mystery in a world where in order to save themselves from being eaten by zombies, the richer half of society take a “cure” that turns them into emotionless, immortal vampires instead.



MIND MGMT
Writer: Matt Kindt
A mind-numbing, mind-bending, mind-blowing mindfuck about a mind-managing secret organisation that secretly controls the world. The story is richly detailed, with so many little Easter eggs and extras in each issue. One of my favorite comics this year, and the latest entry in my "Read this if you still think comics are for kids" list of comics for people who still think comics are for kids.



Batman: Death Of The Family
Writer: Scott Snyder
Snyder writes the awesome American Vampire series for Vertigo, and this New 52 story arc features Joker at his most chilling and psychotic best.



Spider-Men
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Despite what most "serious comic fans" say, I love the Ultimate Marvel universe because of the way they just fuck about with all the conventions in the normal superhero comics. While the new Spider-man Miles Morales still takes some getting used to, transporting the main Peter Parker Spider-man into the Ultimate universe (where he is supposed to be dead) was a brilliatn idea; and Parker meeting the Ultimate version of Aunt May and Gwen is one of my favorite comic moments of 2012.



Supercrooks
Writer: Mark Millar
This was a real hoot to read. Millar is in top form writing about a team of super-villains who get together for one last, MASSIVE heist - stealing from the greatest super-villain of all time. If you like Millar's violent, sweary Millarworld stuff, don't miss this one.



Punk Rock Jesus
Writer: Sean Murphy
I first heard about this title at the Vertigo panel at the San Diego Comic Con, where the panelists of Vertigo writers were gushing over it like it was the second coming of well, Jesus. True enough, this is a hard hitting book about a future where some corporation tries to clone Jesus Christ in a Truman Show-esque reality show, but does such a bad job raising him that he eventually becomes a punk rocker.

Honorable mentions:
- Marvel NOW: Indestructible Hulk (Mark Waid)
- Marvel NOW: FF (Mark Fraction)
- Justice League Dark (Jeff Lemire)
- 47 Ronin (Mike Richardson / Stan Sakai)
- Building Stories (Chris Ware)

A Sale Of Books And Comics

Just got back from the media preview of the MPH Distributors' Warehouse Sale. Pretty decent selection of books there.

They've got the entire A Song of Ice And Fire series for RM80 or something like that:



Got a lot of other books there as well, but frankly, I've been too spoiled by Bookxcess and the Big Bad Wolf sale to bother with the books these days.



For me, the main attraction was the comics section. the sale has a pretty good selection (almost four bookcases full!) of graphic novels and trade paperbacks, mostly DC Comics and Vertigo stuff, with a few Dark Horse lying around. Absolutely nothing from Marvel though. All going for RM13-RM50, which is a STEAL.

I saw lots of Superman and Batman titles, some great stuff like Preacher, Constantine, Hellboy, BPRD, Y: The Last Man, Fables, DMZ, Ex-Machina, Swamp Thing, some Neil Gaiman stuff, and A LOT of the usual superhero stuff.



Yup, there were some Absolute editions as well. I saw quite a few Absolute Sandman Vol II, and Absolute Batman: Long Halloween going for RM76 each. Now THAT'S a great buy. No more Absolute Watchmen and Absolute Kingdom Come though. The hoard of hoarding journalists sapu all oledi heh heh.

Anyway, the sale is open for the public tomorrow until Sunday. Here're the details and a very handy map to the sale as well!



Date: 15-18 September 2011

Time : 8am to 7pm
Tel: 603 7958 1688)
Facebook: Facebook.com/MPHDistributorsWarehouseSale

Address:
Ground Floor
Bangunan TH
5 Jalan Bersatu
Section 13/4
Petaling Jaya

Kate Strips in the Cold and White

Whiteout
Not a review.
It's a cool movie.
No wait a minute.
I mean... it's a COLD movie.
(It's set in the Antarctica, what did ya expect?)
IT was so COLD that I was practically FREEZING in the cinema.
Or maybe that was just the air-con.
Whatever.



Whiteout was also really white.
No, I mean, REALLY REALLY WHITE.
Not just that all the actors were white.
Oh wait there was ONE non-white.
Other than that, EVERYTHING was white.
There was hardly any color at all.
Even Kate Beckinsale's underwear was white
Oh yeah, it's got Kate Beckinsale.
(Who was the reason I went to watch this in the first place)



You gotta love a movie that has Kate Beckinsale,
AND has her stripping down to her undies,
Bending over to show off her er.. behind,
Before taking off her top (kenot see anything lah)
And going for a shower.
All within the FIRST TEN MINUTES.
AWESOME.
(not much of a Cleavage Rating)
(But the er.. Behind Rating was way off the scale)



Other than that, nothing else to report.
Except that it was cold,
It was white,
And it had Kate Beckinsale stripping.
Story? Just a so so thriller/whodunnit
Not THAT thrilling actually.
And I guessed whodunnit from a mile away.
I think I'll go read the graphic novel instead.

Give Me Absolute and Give Me Death!

No, this is not a post about vodka. It's about BOOKS. Yes, BOOKS. HAs it REALLY been that long since I posted about books, until you've forgotten this is (originally) meant to be a book blog? Siggghhh..

Anyway, I have so far managed to resist buying the Absolute Sandman books, even though they are unbelievably and absolutely gorgeous and I would LOVE to have the. But I didn't get them, because not only are they fucking expensive, I also already have the entire set of Sandman graphic novels. And one of them is even signed by Gaiman himself.

But when I read THIS on @neilhimself...

Todd Klein is making sure that the Absolute Death this november will indeed be absolute: LINK....

...I knew I was a goner.

You see, I may have read both The High Cost Of Living and Time Of Your Life, but I don't OWN either TP. Oh, I DO have the single issues of High Cost Of Living, but I'm keeping them nicely wrapped up and sealed, so no reading that, nuh uh.

So, an Absolute Death volume with BOTH Death stories in them would be freaking PERFECT for me. WOOHOO!

Checking out Todd Klein's website, it seems he's re-lettering the entire High Cost Of Living story for the Absolute edition, and it's looking fiiiine so far. Go check it out at THIS LINK!

Here's a sample of a reinked panel...



Woohoo! Give me Absolute and Give me DEATTTH!!!!