Hypergeek’s Hot Picks – Comic Recommendations for the Week of Thursday September 10th 2009
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Hypergeek’s Hot Picks is a weekly column on the site, where I take a look through the list of comics being released that week, and decide which ones I think are worth picking up. I then pick out the comics which I am most looking forward to, and tell readers why I think they will be that week’s hottest comics.
With most of the comics that I recommend, I have usually read a pre-release copy, and enjoyed it, or I have read a preview of the comic, and can predict that it is going to be a good read. At the end of the day though, it’s just my opinion, so don’t take it *too* seriously 
This Week’s Hottest Comic Picks
My top comic recommendations for this week! Make sure you buy them if you buy nothing else from the Hot Pick stack!
This new series is a continuation of the storylines of two of the characters from J. Michael Straczynski’s ‘Red Circle’ event. The book is really a flip-book, with the first story featuring ‘The Shield’ written by Eric Trauntmann with art by Murco Rudy, and the second story featuring ‘Inferno’ being written by Brandon Jerwa with art by Greg Scott.
Trutmann and Jerwa have previously worked together on Wide Awake, their webcomic project that recently got optioned for a movie, and I am really looking forward to seeing them work together again. Trautmann and Jerwa are two up and coming writers that you should definitely keep an eye on!
Knowing that I was looking forward to the series, DC sent me over a review copy. Unfortunately it only arrived this afternoon, so an advance review was not possible. I shall try to have one up tonight though!
Solicitation:
Elephantmen is one of my favourite series, and I am always trying to get people to read it. However, I find that people are always hesitant about picking up new titles, especially ones with an ongoing storyline. Recognizing this problem, Richard Starkings has chosen to make Elephantmen #21 into a jumping-on point for new readers. Written by Starkings, with artwork by Boo Cook, Elephantmen #21 acts as a direct sequel to the series’ first issue as it picks up on the stories of Elephantman Ebony Hide and his human friend, Savannah. This issue also sows the seeds for the next big storyline, ‘Questionable Things.’
To mark this occasion Image Comics have decided to overship this issue to make sure that it gets into the hands of as many potential readers as possible. So make sure to grab a copy!
Check out a Five Page Preview!
Solicitation:
The Unwritten is another one of my favourite series. Mike Carey and Peter Gross are producing some of the best work of their careers, and possibly one of the best comics on the shelves!
This issue is a standalone special that begins to uncover the secret history of the Unwitten. The story takes place in the India of the British Raj, when young journalist and would-be novelist Rudyard Kipling gets an offer he can’t refuse. It’s an offer that will catapult him to fame, fortune and inexorable destruction.
Check out a Five Page Preview!
Solicitation:
Last Year, Antony Johnston and Ben Templesmith wrote a really cool and incredibly gory Dead Space comic miniseries that acted as a prelude to the much acclaimed survival horror video game of the same name. I loved the comics, and then the game came out… but they didn’t make a version for the Wii !! I know that hardcore games only play 360 or PS3, but you try telling my wife that! Anyway, now that the Wii has become the most popular console in the galaxy it seems that game devs are starting to make special interactive versions of their games to tap into this absolutely humongous market of Wii owners. So was born Dead Space: Extraction, a Wii exclusive version of the game, scripted by none other than Antony Johnston himself!
Now Johnston and Templesmith are reuniting to do a comic prelude to the video game, and I for one will definitely be buying it. The first series was great, the game looked amazing, and this looks equally kick-ass!
Check out a Five Page Preview!
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The Complete Dracula #1 & #2 have both been appeared in Hot picks. I also did an advance review of issue #1 of the series where I concluded:
I was incredibly impressed with every single aspect of this book, from the writing, to final presentation. This book is the complete package. It is sheer perfection! It is the best adaptation of Dracula that you will ever read. I will definitely be picking up all five issues of this wonderful achievement in the art of comic book adaptations. I suggest you do too
Recently I was lucky enough to interview John Reppion and Leah Moore about their amazing work on this adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Gothic classic. It was a really interesting interview, and I would highly recommend checking it out!
Check out a Five Page Preview!
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If you haven’t read the conclusion to War of Kings yet, then I won’t ruin if for you. However, this one shot looks at what happens in one of the Empires after the battle is over, and takes a look at who will rule said Empire… I can’t really say much more than that
Check out a Seven Page Preview!
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Kick Ass #7
I hate to say it, but Kick Ass is… Kick Ass!
No one does bat-shit insane quite like Mark Millar, he really is a comic rock star! Every issue of Kick Ass has been ludicrously entertaining, and it just gets better and better!
In this issue the life of being a superhero starts to get very real for Dave Lizewski and friends… way too real!
Check out a Five Page Preview!
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Ultimate Comics Avengers #2
Oh, thank the gods of comics! Mark Millar is back on Ultimate Avanegers! The crappy series that Jeff Loeb wrote is but a fading memory, the future is bright and full of crazy times!
This issue follows up on the Red Skull’s revelation at the end of Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 that the Red Skull is Captain America’s son! WTF?!
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Waiting on the Trade
So, you don’t buy the weekly comics eh? Too good for the Wednesday crowd? Well, don’t worry, Hypergeek’s go you covered….
Requiem Chevalier Vampire (French for Requiem Vampire Knight) is a French language, Franco-British comic, published in France by Nickel Editions. The series is written by Pat Mills (Charley’s War, Marshal Law, and much work in 2000 AD) and has artwork by Olivier Ledroit (Sha, The Black Moon Chronicles).
Requiem Chevalier Vampire has been published in France since November 2000, and Mills & Ledroit are currently up to volume nine of the series, with with a three-volume spin-off series called Claudia Chevalier Vampire (French for Claudia Vampire Knight).
The series has previously translated into English and serialised in the U.S. edition of Heavy Metal magazine. However, the latest English translation by Panini UK is the first full translation of the original text to be publish in separate trade paper back volumes. Each volume of the Panini UK reprints will comprise of two books of the original French version of the comic. Therefore, once Panini have published their initial two TPB run of Requiem on September 10th, they will have published the equivalent of four books of the French edition of the series.
The Life And Times Of Martha Washington In The Twenty-First Century
If you have a spare $99 (or $63 on Amazon.com) this gorgeous hardcover collection is well worth picking up. Dave Gibbons has been drawing this series for over 20 years, and it is one of his greatest masterpieces. It is a really unique experience to watch him evolve as an artist as you flick through this massive tome.
The book is written by Frank Miller and starts out incredibly strongly, then gets sort of average, and by the final few issues turned into a steaming pile of crap. Still, there’s all that lovely Dave Gibbons artwork!
Click Here to See a Three Page Preview!
Solicitation:
A masterpiece nearly twenty years in the making, this archival, oversized, and slipcased hardcover volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the twenty-first century freedom fighter created by comic-book megastars Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. Her fight will take her far, from the frontlines of the second American Civil War, to the cold, unforgiving reaches of space. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights – liberty – will inspire a movement that will never surrender!
Gotham Central is the greatest DC Comics series of all time. Period! Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka together, what more could you want? The series is also beautifully illustrated by Michael Lark, and brought together here in a gorgeous hardcover collection!
If I had a job, I would snap this up in an instant. Sigh!
Solicitation:
This volume collects two separate cases of the Gotham Special Crimes Unit. The Joker terrorizes the city at Christmastime when he begins randomly executing people with a rifle, and no one from the Mayor on down is safe! A second story focuses on an old case and unfinished business for disgraced detective Harvey Bullock.
My Complete Hot Picks
Included below is the full list of comics that I am picking up this week. They are all great, and any one would be a great pick!
Please note that the below script is pulled from comiXology, and some items that were supposed to have shipped this week, but did not are still included in the list until Diamond gives them a new shipping date.
Items that are not shipping this week include:
- The Dead: Kingdon of Flies #4
- Love & Rockets New stories Volume 2
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