First reviews - Comics from the week of 11/10/10

Dungeons & Dragons #1 (IDW)

     This, my friends, is the definition of a "fun" comic.  I had a huge grin on my face from page 1 all the way through to the end.  If you've ever played D&D, you'll love this book.  If you haven't, well, I'll bet you love it anyways.  It's just that good.
     The plot (by John Rogers, creator of the show "Leverage"... A personal favorite) is simple, at least so far: people keep randomly turning into "zombies," and of course always in the presence of the main characters, whom they then attack.  The fun comes in the execution, and the interplay between the characters.  In a nutshell, this is the stereotypical adventuring group - all the main races and classes are represented.  The real joy is in their interplay, which is more like what the players at the table would have if this were a game than traditional fantasy characters.  Rogers is a gamer himself, and it shows.
     As for the other essential ingredient of a comic book, the artwork... It's pretty much perfect.  I'm a huge fan of Andrea DiVito, and was super upset when he left Nova last year.  However, seeing that it was for this (and also that Nova has apparently ended), it's easy to forgive him.  The art is clean, simple, yet detailed, and the character designs are top-notch.  DiVito ranks up there with Mark Bagley and Marcus To as among the best and most consistent artists working today, in my humble opinion.
     I feel like I said a lot without really saying anything at all in this review, but the main point I want to get across is: go buy this book.  You won't regret it.

Amazing Spider-Man #648 (Marvel)

       It's been a long time since I loved a (non-Ultimate) Spider-Man comic this much.  I'm a HUGE Spider-Man fan... he's in my Holy Trinity of superheroes: it's him, Batman, and Nova (although Daredevil and Iron Fist come very close).  Anyways, I digress.  Spidey is Numero Uno in my book, and has been since I was a kid.  Among the very first non-Transformers comics I ever bought was Amazing Spider-Man #351 (ironically one of the first with Mark Bagley art), and I was hooked.  Hell, I even stuck around during the "Clone Saga," as well as all of JMS's "Spider-Totem" nonsense.  It was only at "One More Day" that I'd had enough, and even then not really.  I still tried "Brand New Day" for a time, and it was... okay.  But it wasn't "my" Spidey anymore.  With this issue (the first of the "Big Time" banner), it feels like it is again.  And it feels good.
     Right from the start, this feels like the perfect mix of classic Spider-Man, but with all the modern growth and changes.  From the Avengers deferring to his Doc Ock expertise, to Johnny Storm telling him he should be with the "big brains," to the ingenious gag that ended the threat, the opening was pitch-perfect Spidey.  Then in the next few sections, we use his hunt for a new place to live to check in on almost all of his supporting cast.  I've always maintained that he has one of the best in comics, and this issue just cemented that opinion.  Then we move on to his new job, which again is a nice step forward while acknowledging where the character has been previously.  I LOVED the bit where he was using Spider-Man experience to solve all the scientific riddles they were throwing at him.  Practical application, indeed.
     Then for our cliffhanger, we get a reappearance by a favorite villain from the past, the Hobgoblin.  He looks awesome, and hopefully is as ruthless as ever.  Guess we'll see more in the next issue.  There's also a backup story with the new Spider-Girl... it's a clever little story that ties back to the main feature, but I admit to not knowing much about her or what she's all about.  It made me curious enough to pick up her first issue if I've got a few bucks to spare, though.
     I've gone on long enough, which is a shame, because I haven't gushed nearly enough about Dan Slott's script, and I haven't managed to say two words about Humberto Ramos' artwork... Suffice it to say, this is the closest to a "perfect" comic I've read in quite some time.  Between this and the D&D comic I reviewed above, you should run, not walk, to your local comic shop and pick these up if you haven't already.

Quick D&D news: the new Character Builder

Just noticed this, and thought I'd share it for any Dungeons & Dragons players who were visiting... I'm sure you've already heard that the Character Builder is going web-based, but this is the first video I've seen of the new setup. It actually looks pretty nice... Anyways, here's the link: New Character Builder

What do you think of the new setup?

Greetings and Welcome!

Howdy, all! Welcome to my blog! Hopefully I can make your visit entertaining, and you'll come back again...

Anyways, I guess I'll start with a little about me, and what you can expect to see from this blog. My name is Frank, I'm 30 years old, and married with an almost 4-year old son. I'm an avid reader (mainly, but not exclusively, fantasy and sci-fi), comic collector (mainly Marvel and DC, but some others as well), and gamer (both video and tabletop). The content I hope to provide will include news, reviews, and maybe some actual play reports. I'd like to say the blog will get updated every day, but I really don't find that likely... We will certainly try, though.

It's morning here in Ohio as I type this, and I hope to have my first reviews up by tonight. For sure they will include last week's comics, and they might also have a review of Rachel Aaron's "The Spirit Thief" (I read this one almost 2 weeks ago, so I have to see if it's still fresh enough in my mind for a full review). Hopefully I'll see you back here then.