WONDER WOMAN: DOWN TO EARTH

Greg Rucka WRITER

Drew Johnson PENCILLER

Ray Snyder INKER

Richard & Tanya Horie; Trish Mulrihill COLORISTS

Todd Klein LETTER

CREATED BY

William Moulton Marston

PUBLISHED BY DC Comics

After picking up a number of Wonder Woman trades at one of our local libraries I found myself in a time of Wonder Woman reading starting with Down To Earth.

The first issue of this collection would make a great pre-credits seaquance for a movie and if we were talking about how to approach Wonder Woman movie in a movie as a whole Greg Rucka's run on the character wouldn't be that bad of a direction to go. I would have loved to have seen Joss Whedon do that movie but I guess we will have to live with him doing Avengers. I love Mr. Whedon's work but Avengers?

This collection has everything a blockbuster movie would need. It contains an underlined theme with Ares and the protesters going for sequals and has a big fight scene at the end. I recommend this trade and Rucka's Wonder Woman books as a whole. 3 out of 5 stars. I know, I don't always do stars for my reviews but most of the time my reviews don't really resemble a "review" that often either.

REVIEW WRITTEN BY BRIAN C. WILLIAMS

WONDER WOMAN: DOWN TO EARTH

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 2010

WRITER

Jonathan L. Daris, Matthew Dow Smith, Al Davison; Tony Lee

ART

Kelly Yates, Matthew Dow Smith; Al Davison

COLORS

Phil Elliott, Charlie Kirchoff; Al Davison

LETTERS

Robbie Robbins; Neil Uyetake

EDITS

Denton J. Tipton

PUBLISHED BY

IDW Publishing

This as the first U.S. market centered Doctor Who Annual is very  hit and mess which is how I would describe the whole of the Doctor Who output from IDW. I buy any and all Doctor Who books but if these stories were not Doctor Who related I can't honestly say that I would have picked up many of what IDW has put out. I go into each book with the eyes of excitement and hope that they will get better and not just fall into the line many books based on movies or Tv shows have, a line of just getting by on the name alone.

But lets get to the stories within this annual. The first story Ground Control gets 2 stars but what stands out to me is the Doctor saying he had never seen a Time Lord regenerate before? Really? That's a little hard to take in. I don't remember him watching someone regenerate from the series but not in his whole life? So not even during The Time War? And if he was just saying he had never saw himself regenerate...why would that be that big a deal?

Story two, The Big Blue Box gets 3 stars only because it is a nice little Doctor side trip story. I love small little stories within the big epic nature of most Doctor Who stories, that's why I use to love the short page stories that once appeared in Doctor Who Magazine.

Story three, To Sleep Perchance To Scream is the type of pre-regeneration Doctor Who story done many times in many short stories and a billion times in fan fiction. Love the art by Al Davison though. He's fast becoming one of my favorite artists to tackle the Doctor Who universe.

The highlight of the Annual is the last story by Tony Lee and Matthew Dow Smith because its a nice little sidestep that also leads into the last big story of the 10th Doctor's IDW era.

Overall this Annual has a nice mix of art but for the first Annual I wish IDW had gotten more big name writers and artists for this Annual because it was a big missed chance to draw in new readers. From the materials alone I enjoyed this Annual but from a marketing mindset I'm left wondering a big WHY to the planning?

REVIEW WRITTEN BY BRIAN C. WILLIAMS

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 2010

VIDEOBLOG: CLIP FROM WILDERNESS ROAD STATE PARK

For a change here is a video clip from our trip to Wilderness Road State  Park when I went back for a visit to where I grew up.

VIDEOBLOG: CLIP FROM WILDERNESS ROAD STATE PARK

SECRET SIX: DEPTHS

WRITER Gail Simone
PENCILERS Nicola Scott, Carlos Rodriguez; Amanda Gould
INKERS Doug Hazlewood, Mark Mckenna, Bit, Rodney Ramos, Carlos Rodriguez; Mike Sellers
COLORIST Jason Wright
LETTERS Sal Cipriano, Travis Lanham; Steve Wands

PUBLISHED BY DC Comics

Even though they are not in the same tone I keep getting the same good feelings reading this trade as I once got reading Justice League books when I was in highschool. I loved those Keith Giffen Justice League International and Justice League Europe era books. Still do and would love to have every issue in trade. I get that same sort of happy here with Secret Six, though to be honest I don't know if I really can explain the comparison.

I love that at no time do you think of the Six as rehabilitaed villains. A quick flip from bad guy to good guy is always boring and since villians are almost aways better characters than heroes why waste one by making him or her into a hero? These are very human characters or as close as you get in mainstream superhero fare, which is rare in Big Two books. Well rounded, what's that? IT'S IN THIS BOOK! Something you don't see much but Gail Simone does it in spades.

I love the cast of this team and the chemistry of the realtionships makes it for me. I thought I would hate Bane on a team but I liked how he's being used here. He kind of sucks by himself anyways. He's a bottom level Batman villan who Gail Simone make you find interesting...or as interesting as Bane can be. Was actually looking to pick up another Secret Six trade Sunday at the comic shop but we got there past closing time so maybe next month?

Review written by Brian C. Williams

SECRET SIX: DEPTHS

POETRY SPOTLIGHT: JOIN ME

Phased,

Paid,

Just waiting for a day without pain to feel the sex,

Text,

WET,

Drinking from my fingers,

Look how easy this is for me,

Hate me,

Nothing matters,

This is just Me,

The daily news burns my eyes away,

Sue that fucker away,

Things going away,

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Small Poetry Collection

POETRY SPOTLIGHT: JOIN ME

BIRDS OF PREY #1-2

WRITER Gail Simone

ARTIST Ed Benes; Adriana Melo

COLORIST Nei Ruffino

LETTER Swands

EDITOR Janelle Siegel

INKERS Ed Benes; Mariah Benes

COVERS Ed Benes, Nei Ruffino; Cliff Chiang

PUBLISHED BY dc comics

One of my favorite books makes its return and thanks to my local comic shop Famous Faces And Funnies I was able to read the first two issues even though I didn't get to pick them up for a few weeks after they came out. 

The Birds returned the only way they should, in the hands of Gail Simone. She may not have been the first writer of Birds Of Prey but I really don't see myself enjoying anyone else writing this book as much as I enjoy the stories by Gail Simone. I love all of the characters but to get me to read a team book has never been an easy task. In the past it was either because I loved the artist or when I was in highschool an X-book. At one time I bought everything with an X on it. Yes, I was one of those people. I wouldn't have even read a preview of this Birds relaunch if it had returned without her in the writers chair though.

Sitting beside Gail Simone fighting through with this book is Ed Benes. In the past I haven't loved his artwork but I'm really loving what he's doing in these first two issues. It's not like I hated his artwork but I never said I really wouldn't want anyone else doing the artwork but him on a book I was buying, I really would not want anyone else on Birds, Ed wins. I'm fast becoming a bigger fan of his art by the issue.

I should mention Adriana Melo is also credited for pencils on issues 2 but I didn't even notice when I read the issue the first time and that's not saying anything bad against Melo but I think that's how it should work when a lead artist gets help or you have a fill in artist. It was simless to my reading eyes.

The four part story which starts the relaunch is somehow tied into Brightest Day? but so far I have no clue how unless its just the inclusation of Hawk & Dove to the team which is a mimual aside to the story from what I've read in the first two issues. Not to say I'm not enjoying Hawk & Dove being added to the team but I just don't think its actually a tie in, but your know, that's marketing.

Marketing practices being put away I will mention this is the only non-Doctor Who comic I buy outside of trade collections. My comic shop owner recommened #1 to me and now i'm hooked.

If you like well written stories I highly recommend Birds Of Prey which has well crafted character relationships and nicely placed action. The pacing is built like bricks to a building and each issue is floor upon floor. Now this is only after two issues but I wouldn't expect anything else after how much I loved Gail Simone's last run on the book.

As Tuesday hits I'll be keeping REVIEW WEEK going and the writing of Gail  Simone once again gets a focus as I review Secret Six: Depths.

Review written by Brian C. Williams

BIRDS OF PREY #1-2

PROJECTS UPDATE AND THE LIKE

Next week begins my big push towards the release of my second book in December. I'm going to be trying out many things to up the traffic here and on my other sites. I didn't do much of anything to promote Stereo but that's not going to be the case this time. I will release the title of the book in a few months once I have the cover comissioned and completed. Still searching for an artist as we speak. The plan of attack is by starting things off here with a review themed week here. Every day will see a new review on something I've recently read.

The Under The Training Book schedule for next week will be:
MONDAY: I review the first two issues of the relaunch of Birds Of Prey by Gail Simone and Ed Benes from DC Comics.
TUESDAY: Review week coutinues with Secret Six: Depths also written by Gail Simone.
Also on Tuesday a new poem for Poetry Spotlight.
WEDNESDAY: Review of Wonder Woman: Down To Earth.
Since it is Wednesday a Photoblog of more photos from my recent trip back to Virginia. I'll try to pick out some good one from Mar's camera.
THURSDAY: Review of Wonder Woman: Eyes Of The Gorgon.
Also on Thursday sees the return of Clean Cue City in part four. Since you asked a few times Melinda I hope its worth the wait.
FRIDAY: Review of Wonder Woman: Land Of The Dead.
SATURDAY: Review of Wonder Woman: Missions End.
SUNDAY: Review of Doctor Who: Annual 2010.

I may coutinue doing reviews daily for a while after that or just hold to the Monday Review schedule after Review Week. It's like Shark Week but with less biting and spelling mistakes. Sharks spell better than I do, fact, saw it on Discovery Channel.


The plan of attack for the rest of the year will include reviews, poems, interviews(with people more talented and interesting than me), free short stories(a few that tie into the December book and a few that don't), the first poetry collection in a long time, and lots of fun things I hope keeps people visiting daily throughout the rest of the year. I've already written more than I've every done so in a year, this year, I hope I also release more things this year to the world than ever before also. I really love writing right now, more than I ever  have, and I hope I create more than a few things that others enjoy also.
 
C.

TIRED WRITER AND CAT BUDDY

PROJECTS UPDATE AND THE LIKE