What if you suddenly found out your parents were the Avengers? Captain America? Iron Man? Scarlett Witch? Wouldn't that be cool? Now, what if the opposite were true? You're parents are super-villains in league with malevolent forces set to destroy the planet. Now, top that with the fact that you've seen these same parents kill a girl, in your name, and you may just have some secret talents that also, as yet, have not been revealed to you. What do you do? You may just have to run away and find the answers to all of your questions, and make some seriously hard decisions.
This hardcover collects all 18 issues of the first volume of Runaways, and is not only an interesting read, but beautifully drawn. It costs a lot less than trying to get all the issues individually, and despite some minor issues of the publisher not giving more margin at the spine, I'd overall applaud the production values. Now, I personally enjoyed the hell out of this book, however, I don't need to own it. However, this is a good way to get a great comic on the cheap, since it was rather underordered at the time of it's original release. If you haven't heard of this book, or have and are wondering what the big deal is, give a flip through this at your local shop, and if you aren't impressed, put it back. If you think this book might have something going for it, and believe me, it does, toss down some cash and have a good time.

Published by Marvel Comics.

Oh yeah, I've been borrowing a lot of Marvel books, can you tell? The Ultimates are the Marvel Ultimate universe's Avengers. Cap, Iron Man, Giant Man, the Wasp, Thor and The Hulk all are revealed and explored under the watchful eye of Nick Fury (the nerd's are groaning at that pun) who just happens to be Sam Jackson, but that's neither here nor there. The Ultimates are a government sanctioned agency set to stop global meta-human terrorist threats. And despite the focus on the Ultimates big guns, fans will truly enjoy guest appearances of other favorites, Quicksilver, Scarlett Witch, Hawkeye and Black Widow. And despite the familiarity of the group, don't expect the same old well-trod ground you've seen in Avengers, over and over again. The Ultimates are well-written, exciting, and don't forget pretty, thanks to Bryan Hitch's beautiful artwork. Yeah, it's a nerdly comic book lover's dream, and I don't claim it to be more than that. So, yeah, this is not a great starter book for someone who doesn't normally read comics, but it's a wonderful book for the fans who want to read something new. Also, it seems Marvel has finally put this entire volume out in 2 trade paperbacks, for the folks that don't feel like hunting down back issues.

Published by Marvel Comics.

Okay, this is a call to everyone who enjoys good art. Buy this book. It is completely self-contained, you don't need to buy #1-4, and all the work is written, illustrated and lettered by Cooke. At least, I would suggest flipping through it off the stand. If you aren't loving the art, then put it back. However, I was very taken with it, and when I hit the final story, a Batman tale, it was so beautiful I didn't start reading right away, but just took in the gorgeous art. It's rare I'll kiss this much ass unless your name's Craig Thompson, but this one is incredible. I have bought most of the preceding issues and gotten rid of them, even the ones I enjoyed, which would be all of them except for #1 by Tim Sale which bit ass. This issue definitely has a home in my boxes though. Anyone want to buy me Selina's Big Score?

Published by DC Comics.

The Red Hood introduction story concludes, after several restructurings, with as much of a whimper as it began. In fact, when I picked up the first issue, I honestly called what lame ass bullshit Judd was doing. I did keep hoping I was wrong, but no, Jason Todd, the dead Robin, is back, all grown up, and out to be the hero Bruce isn't. The type that kills the bad guys and, anyone who gets in his way. Dum, dum, dum!!! But then again, after beating the shit out of the Joker, the man who killed him, in #638, it seems Jason showed him some mercy and let him live as the Joker will be appearing in the next storyline. So much for zero tolerance, huh? And why we had to wait seven months for a dramatic reveal that was pretty obvious from #635, I just don't get that. Okay, technically, it was revealed in #638, but it was confirmed and finally came full circle this issue. Yawn! What really scares me is that this writer, who is one of 3 who are restructuring the entire DCU, has already driven me off Green Arrow and is really making me consider dropping this book as well, the book I started my collection with. Not that Greg Rucka or Geoff Johns are without their own blame or problems. The only upside to this book right now is Doug Mahnke's art, and he's already missed an issue, and I hate to say it, but phoned in this issue, in my opinion. I almost wish they would put a truly horrible artist on this thing, so I wouldn't be saying things like, "This book sucks...but it's so pretty." Please DC, let me let this book go...you know, like you did with Robin.

Published by DC Comics.

Now collected in The First Hundred Days trade paperback, this first storyline of Ex Machina is multi-layered, establishing and exploring the life of Mitchell Hundred, former super-hero "The Great Machine" and current mayor of New York City. Haunted by his failure to stop the first plane on 9/11, Mitchell decided to run for office and work within the system to make things better. The first storyline deals with simultaneous troubles for the mayor's office including publicly funded art that features a racial slur and a blizzard that threatens to grind the city to a halt as snowplow drivers are being mysteriously murdered. This seems to be the book Vaughn was waiting to write, and depending on the sales numbers, it seems to be a book that will be around for a long haul as it starts by claiming it will chronicle Hundred's four year term in office. Tony Harris' art has never been more beautiful and greatly compliments Vaughn's writing. With issue #12 just released, starting a new story, I highly recommend you give it a look. This is one of the few books I've read recently that I have been able to enjoy strictly on its own merits. You don't have to be a big comic geek to like it, you may have to be a big political geek, but that's a whole other problem.

Published by DC/Wildstorm Comics.

Things are not boding well for this book, once again. After losing my interest in the last storyline, which wasn't making any sense by the second issue, this new storyline seems to be yet another exercise by Loeb of throwing shit at the reader and seeing what sticks. Super-team, the Maximums (a half-assed Avengers parody), are busy fighting a team of baddies when Superman and Batman boom tube in to kill Giant Man, I mean, Skyscraper. Skip to what is supposed to be Gotham City where Bizarro and Batrazzo meet and team-up to investigate murders, that I believe, in bizarro-speak, Batzarro admits to committing. Jump to Batman and Superman fighting a Kryptonite Man in Tokyo who ends up being Captain Atom covered in another energy being. Meanwhile, their inner dialogue reveals they probably aren't the guys who killed Skyscraper. Then, in a graveyard, the Maximums meet up with the ghost of another dead teammate, Bowman, who says he can help them get revenge, but the Maximums must kill Batman and Superman when they find them. If they are being set up, is that really incentive for me to keep reading? Why do I care who's behind it all? And what the hell's up with the Bizarro subplot??? The only thing that makes me even semi-interested in buying any future issues of this story is the art of Ed McGuinness, which is not only great for the main arc, but is particularly suited to Bizarro. I'm giving it one more issue, and if it continues to be this muddled mess, I'm done. Again!

Published by DC Comics.

Yeah, that convoluted list of creators should give you some idea of how fucked up this book is. Now, add in that the chapters are listed as "End of Chapter" 1-4 (with it's first opening bookmark being "Chapter 5") which are accompanied by a countdown set of numbers of 5-1, and the book starts with the intro "Twenty Minutes Ago". Are you feeling my pain yet? Okay, let's get to the actual story about Blue Beetle, who has guest-starred in Birds Of Prey but hasn't been a major force in the DC Universe for years now, uncovering a conspiracy where someone has discovered the secrets of all the heroes in the DCU. Wow, this book could really re-establish the Blue Beetle character, well yeah, that is if they didn't kill him at the end of it. Besides pigeon-holing in plugs for the 4 mini-series DC is selling that will actually lead to their 5th mini-series, Infinite Crisis, this is another bad example of DC trying to make their books darker while dismissing the possibility of bringing a lesser hero to the forefront of those self-same books, much like they did with Identity Crisis. Speaking of Identity Crisis, in this book we find out that Batman has this all-seeing satellite keeping tabs on the heroes of the DCU called OMAC, so I'm forced to wonder why it took him 7 issues to find out who killed Sue Dibny in that book, and furthermore, once it was established that the heroes loved ones were in danger, he didn't make sure OMAC was trained on the loved ones of his closest associates, maybe preventing the death of Jack Drake? Just some questions, I know they can't answer, because the writing is just that bad. Back to Countdown, it does supply the very rare geek moments, like the Madmen attacking Beetle, the appearance of Sasha Bordeax, and references to Skeets, but on the whole reads horribly as characterizations are way off (Martain Manhunter being a total ass to Beetle) and there are several moments anyone even remotely familiar with comics have seen at least once ("Take care of yourself, Booster...it's what you do best.") Oh, it hurts.

And once the grand scheme has been revealed, with Maxwell Lord showing up as the Black King of Checkmate who wants to stop all the powerful meta-humans on Earth, it's own logic just implodes as: A) Max is a meta-human, which the book even mentions, and B) Non-metas such as Batman, Beetle and Booster Gold are all in the OMAC profiles. Now had Beetle responded, "So let me see if I got this straight Max, you're a meta seeking the destruction of metas who keeps detailed files on non-metas, where do I sign up? You obviously have a keen grasp on your goals." I might have started accepting that the writers realized the inherent flaws in this flaming sack of dog poopie. I am thankful that the writers did not follow in the tradition of the darker DCU by having Max violate Beetle's corpse in some way. And on that note, let's look to my ill-fated predictions for the future. If the writers were any good, the Blue Beetle Scarab, which was reintroduced in this issue, would be used to revive Beetle at some point in the future. They aren't, so it won't. I do believe they will use the Scarab to create a new Blue Beetle, which will suck, as the only thing Blue Beetle had going for him, was that he was Ted Kord, geeky loser with a recurring weight problem. My other prediction for Ted would be that his spirit bonds with the recently host-less Spirit of Vengeance, The Spectre, where the character would become the wacky next-door neighbor Spectre, playing pratical jokes on the living, sitting around at Booster's watching Love Connection when he should be out meteing punishment upon the wicked. Again, this does not fit in with the new, darker DCU and will not come to pass. So, in honor of the passing of Blue Beetle, I have made this wallpaper at 1024x768. Farewell Ted. May someone with talent bring you back to us someday.

Published by DC Comics.

Novelist Brad Meltzer weaves an interesting tale over the course of this series. When Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man is murdered, a hornet's nest is stirred up, revealing the darkest chapter of the Justice League to date. As the series progresses, more heroes loved ones are threatened as it seems someone has uncovered the secret identities of the heroes of the DCU. Overall, the story hits lots of high points, leaving the reader wondering who is behind these horrible crimes. However, Meltzer also likes to overplay his hand and go for the melodramatic (Sue's pregnancy) which would land him square in the realm of hack writer if his characterization and dialogue weren't so dead on. Also, working against the series is the sheer number of red herrings, or subplots that really go nowhere, and may be exploited in other books at a later date, but as far as this series goes, are just a lot of filler. On the upside, he really does take a chance changing how the readership will look at the Justice League from now on, not only from the standpoint of how they deal with criminals, but how they deal with one another. Honestly, the characterization, events that effect other books I'm buying, and beautiful art by Rags would normally be enough for me to buy this, at least once it was out in a trade paperback, no matter how many plot holes I can find, and really, they're not that difficult to seek out here. However, the inclusion of a graphic rape scene was so disturbing to me that I just do not feel the need to own this one.

Published by DC Comics.

As Craig mentions in his disclaimer, this book is not "the Next Book," but rather an "airline pretzels" snack. This book is, rather, a 224 page sketchbook and travelog, detailing his experiences across Europe while he went on multiple book signing tours, and an extended stay in Morocco where he was researching "the Next Book." So, why do you want this? Well, first, Craig did it, and we here at Suppository like to encourage you readers in supporting him. Now beyond the monetary reasons, it's fucking beautiful. While Craig will go into a Blankets style of cartooning at times, often when dealing with himself, here you will also see him do real drawings, drawings of people, you know, those types of drawings he "can't do." Well, Carnet has bolstered my "crock of shit" assesment of that statement. From the cities to his nature drawings, this book will leave you breathless. In fact, I dare you not to fall in love with at least one page in the book. I have a few favorites myself (pgs. 83, 89 which is so Eisner, 142, 167, 176, and 149 - who doesn't love a pretty girl?) Now, I'm not saying you have to be insane like me and carry this book around with you constantly like it's the fucking Bible, but this book is a can't lose as a coffee table book for any guest who stops in to flip through. So, it's good, it's pretty, it's 224 pages of art and journal for only $15. What's your excuse for not picking it up?
You have none.

Published by Top Shelf Productions.

This book collects Brubaker's semi-autobiographical Lowlife comics. I'd say the stories and art are much like Optic Nerve, slice of life, angsty snapshots, though more developed and real. Lowlife follows Tommy, a habitual thief, who has serious relationship problems with both his friends and lovers. Rarely humorous or even admirable, one might begin to wonder why you want to buy this book. Well, to be completely honest, for an artist, Ed Brubaker (Scene Of The Crime, Gotham Central) is a great storyteller. He crafts his stories and allows them to grow, rather than forcing them to conclusion. And while this collection doesn't form a linear story as a whole, the stories compliment each other, giving each other a greater depth and sense of place. There, if that wasn't snooty enough for you, I'll try and explain better. This is so not my type of book. I don't like Optic Nerve, and not just cause an issue comes out every six months. A Complete Lowlife isn't my cup of tea, genre-wise, but the stories are compelling, and somehow have kept me from putting this book up for sale on eBay. Also, there is that bonus, this is a collection, no waiting for future issues, you got the whole deal right in your hands. However, I must warn you not to be fooled by the "Throwing Coke" one page comic at the beginning of the book as it is not representative of the rest of the stories. It is funny though. Go buy and enjoy.

Published by Top Shelf Productions.

Time Magazine:
Best Graphic Novel/Comic Book 2003
Eisner Award Winner:
Best Graphic Novel or Original Work
Best Writer/Artist
Harvey Award Winner:
Best Graphic Novel, Best Artist, and Best Cartoonist

Did I think this book was fabulous? Of course, but how does that help you decide if you should pick up the book, right? So, I took a step back in doing this review. If I strictly was looking at a description of this book, the broad outline, I would say I'm not a big fan of this type of book. Throw in some religious overtones, and I'm in territory that I normally wouldn't bother with at all. So, no, on the surface, I'd say this book isn't for everyone. That said, after having read the book, Craig does a lot in this book. It is perhaps his most ambitious interweaving of plots/tales to date. And while he's very good at this, in all his work, and while Blankets does stay cohesive, I really feel he was pushing his own limits here. Of course, trying to condense over a decade of his life into one book (his school life, his religious upbringing, his evolving relationship with his brother, and his first love,) it must have been pretty hard not to push the limits. Also, after reading it, I am no longer shocked by other reviews that have compared Craig to Will Eisner. Blankets is that powerful and, I feel, important of a work. In fact, I'm a little mad and yes, jealous of him. The sub-head "an illustrated novel by Craig Thompson" is not at all misplaced.
Artistically, Craig's told me before that he more often does his cartooning because he can't draw people, which is, what's the phrase I'm looking for, oh yeah, a crock of shit. I don't know if it takes him too long or if it's a perfectionist problem with him, but he can do some really nice figural work. In Blankets, he chooses a comfortable shorthand (which is my crap description that I'm just gonna stick with*) for this human populated opus, but anyone bitching about it or calling the work simplified is just an ass, no wait, a stupid ass. The art is expressive and beautiful and as simple as it is intricate. I called him and confirmed that everything but the type was inked with a brush, which to me is freakin' insane. Honestly, I don't have the words or ability to deconstruct the work properly. Even though you can preview a few pages at Top Shelf, I don't think they are the best examples to showcase the complexity that exists within the book.
I need to put it on a shelf as I find myself often picking up Blankets and flipping through it. Flipping becomes studying, studying becomes reading a chapter or two, and with the book coming in at just under 600 pages, this can eat up an hour or more of my time daily. To sum up, it's so good, it's good. Also, if you click the cover or title, you can check out Craig's personal art site, doot doot Garden.

Harvey Award Winner:
Best New Talent

"Craig Thompson has drawn us a generous gift: a book which explores the ways people love, hurt and struggle to heal themselves and each other. Sure, Chuncky Rice is a superb piece of cartooning - in a single bound, Thompson has joined the front rank of American cartoonists. But more importantly, it is profoundly humane, heartbreakingly moving and utterly utterly loveable. Even if he never draws another line, this book has earned him a place in my personal top ten. But if, as I hope, this proves to be the first in a long line of Craig Thompson masterpieces, the world of comics will be a more beautiful place."
--Dylan Horrocks, creator of HICKSVILLE, PICKLE