Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Thief Of Thieves #1
Image Comics
Kirkman, Spencer, Martinbrough & Serrano

The first issue from heavy-hitters Robert Kirkman and Nice Spencer is a crime drama that plays out a lot like the first episode of a TV show. The book carries the tagline on the front cover that there isn't anything he can't steal except the life he left behind. But does the book deliver on that premise in the first issue? Does the book provide something to stand out among the many other books that deal with tough characters set in criminal settings without superheroes? This first issue provides a good character outline and a decent story within the issue but doesn't really show that the book is going to be too fast paced or all that different from other crime books. Overall, I found the book to be a very ordinary read.

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via The Blog From Another World

Watch Video Reviews of This Week's Comics!

Are you ready for this week's comic book reviews? We take a look at Conan the Barbarian #1, Green Lantern #6, Sacrifice #3, and the New Avengers Vol. 2 TPB, and we had some pretty strong reactions! Still undecided? Take a look at our previews for Conan the Barbarian #1 and Green Lantern #6.

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Midwest Book Review

Stargazer
Von Allan
Von Allan Studio
PO Box 20520
390 Rideeau Street
Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 1A3
9780978123741, $14.95, www.vonallan.com

Dedicated to finding the answers, Elora may risk her own well being. "Stargazer" is the second volume of graphic novels from Von Allan, following Elora and her two best friends Sophie and Marni as they journey to a tower, making friends with robots and other creatures who at first don't seem so friendly. Through friendship and their own creativity, they will have to see themselves back home for adventure and much more. A fine pick for younger readers who often have daydreams of their own, "Stargazer" is an excellent and much recommended pick, not to be overlooked.

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Midwest Book Review

Salvatore Volume 2: An Eventful Crossing
Nicolas De Crecy
NBM Publishing
40 Exchange Place, Suite 1308
New York, NY 10005-2742
9781561636136 $14.99 www.nbmpublishing.com

Salvatore Volume 2: An Eventful Crossing continues the masterfully translated, English-language adaptation of a French comic saga that uses anthropomorphic characters and muted color artwork to spin the saga of a canine mechanic in search of his beloved companion. His chosen vehicle is a bizarre device, piloted with the aid of a tiny human who may as well be his pet. But one distraction after another besets him on his journey, not the least being a cute hitchhiker! Meanwhile, Madame Amadine continues the search for her lost piglet Frank, encountering an arrogant detective, while the rest of her offspring seek to make a not-so-honest living through a phony "organic" cafe and market. The absurdities mount in this wry, whimsical tale, distinctly reminiscent of the classic novella "The Wind in the Willows". Highly recommended. (Volume 2 of the English translation actually collects volumes 3 and 4 of the original French version).

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Midwest Book Review

African-American Classics
Tom Pomplun and Lance Tooks, editors
Eureka Productions
8778 Oak Grove Road
Mount Horeb, WI 53572
9780982563045 $17.95 www.graphicclassics.com

Volume 22 of the "Graphic Classics" series, African-American Classics is a graphic novel anthology adapting almost two dozen great literary short stories and poems by some of America's earliest black writers, including W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and many more. The stories selected do not shy away from troubling, complex, or life-threatening matters, but are overall suitable for readers ages 12 to adult. Each story is vividly adapted in full color by a different artist with a unique style complementing the work. The result is a solid, reader-friendly introduction to African-American literary heritage, worthy of the highest recommendation especially for public and school library collections.

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Midwest Book Review

Dawn Of The Bunny Suicides
Andy Riley
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9781452104980, $12.95, www.chroniclebooks.com

Dawn of the Bunny Suicides is a fine pick for any humor collection and particularly for those seeing prior enthusiasm for the other 'bunny suicide' cartoons. Black and white, dark humor drawings illustrate all the various unusual ways the cartoon bunny can meet its demise, offering a hilarious presentation for any cartoon, comics or humor holding.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Dawn Of The Jedi #0
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander & Duursema

The zero issue of the new Star Wars series is essentially a handbook for the new series. The book basically explains the general set-up of the Star Wars universe some 30,000 years before the films take place. Overall, the book does a good job of moving the massive amount of information and pieces into place in preparation of the new series but I was a little turned off by the price point and the absence of any story pages. Based on how dense this book is with information it sure seems like this will be mandatory reading if you want to hit the ground running when you pick up the first issue in two weeks.

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Suspended Animation Review

Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1, published by Marvel Comics, 544 pages, $16.99.

Marvel Masterworks, or Marvel Essentials? Whichever a person chooses to consume the first 20 issues (and Annual #1) of The Fantastic Four is, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential. That is, unless you judge a great comics experience by whether or not the strip is in color. If so, you will be depriving yourself of some of the great works of the medium.

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