Mid Ohio Con

For Mid Ohio this year the Laughing Ogre is proud to present Jeff Smith.  The creator of Bone and Rasl will be signing at our booth Saturday and Sunday, more information to follow in the coming weeks. 

Picks of the Week

 RACHEL RISING #1
Rachel wakes up at sunrise on a shallow grave in the woods and discovers the freshly murdered body in the dirt is her own. With events of the previous night a blur, Rachel seeks out her boyfriend Phillip. But Phillip has a new girl now and Rachel is beginning to suspect she rose from the grave for a reason... revenge! Don't miss the Premier Issue of this haunting new series by Eisner and Harvey Award-winning creator Terry Moore!

 PUNISHER #1
For Frank Castle death comes easy...life is where things gets complicated. Fully loaded with the Eisner winning writer Greg Rucka (Batwoman, Queen and Country, WOLVERINE) and neo-superstar artist Marco Checchetto (Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil), the BIGGEST GUN of all returns with blood on his hands and vengeance in his eyes. As New York City's body counts continue to rise, the city's streets are teeming with more methodical criminals than ever and a police force doing it's best to keep its head above water. The Punisher has returned to serve his own brand of justice with everything's he's got... but can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal? Plus bonus pages exploring some of the new personalities in Frank's life...and how closely intertwined living is with dying.

 ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #4 (OF 6)
What will become of Captain America? Where have all the X-Men gone?
And what is up with the new Spider-Man suit?  Don't miss the final chapters of one of the most talked about Ultimate events ever.

 SEVERED #1 (MR)
"NOTHING WASTED," Part One
1916. A man haunts the roads; a man with sharp teeth and a hunger for flesh. When 12-year-old Jack Garron runs away from home, he'll see how quickly the American Dream becomes a nightmare. Be there at the beginning of the series that everyone will be talking about!

Picks of the Week

 CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY #620
Think you know the story of Cap and Bucky's origins? Well, think again.  The secret story of the early days of Captain America, told from Bucky Barnes's point of view. From co-writers Ed Brubaker and Marc Andreyko with artist Chris Samnee 

 LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969
The long-awaited second chapter of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century takes place almost sixty years later in the psychedelic daze of Swinging London during 1969, a place where Tadukic Acid Diethylamide 26 is the drug of choice, and where different underworlds are starting to overlap dangerously to an accompaniment of sit-ins and sitars. Alerted to a threat concerning the same magic order that she and her colleagues were investigating during 1910, a thoroughly modern Mina Murray and her dwindling league of comrades attempt to navigate the perilous rapids of London's hippie and criminal subculture, as well as the twilight world of its occultists. Mina and her companions must prevent the making of a Moonchild that might well turn out to be the Anti-Christ.

 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #666 SPI
Super-star writer Dan Slott and fan-favorite Spidey artist Stefano Caselli are back! New York has been INFESTED and the web grows as it gets ready to explode into SPIDER-ISLAND!  Normal people are getting Spider-Powers!  But not all of them realize that with great power must also come ....you know the rest. Okay, sure we often say Peter Parker's life will never be the same. But listen, pal, we've never been more serious. Heroes and villains are crawling all over Manahttan and no one knows why. This will change everything for Pete, for Spidey...and possibly for YOU! Look at it this way...If EVERYONE'S a Spider-Man...then no one is. 

Picks of the Week

Captain America #1

Bestselling Cap writer Ed Brubaker and superstar artist Steve McNiven bring you the next huge chapter in Steve Rogers life, and it's a perfect jumping-on point for fans of the Cap movie. A funeral for a fallen friend turns into a race against time as the original Captain America makes his explosive return!

X-Men Schism #1 (of 5)

The X-Men event of the decade starts here!  It's never been a more dangerous time to be a mutant. Even with their numbers at a record low, the world refuses to trust mutantkind...and after a mutant-triggered international incident, anti-mutant hatred hits new heights. Of course it's at this moment, when the mutant race needs most to stand together, that a split begins that will tear apart the very foundation of the X-Men. From superstar writer and Marvel Architect Jason Aaron and a full roster of comics' top artists, this is an X-tale that will reverberate for years to come!

The Red Wing #1 (of 4)

To stay alive in the future, the best fighter pilots in the world not only have to perfect their skills and master their aircraft, they also have to know how to travel through time. Brought to you by award winning writer Jonathan Hickman and possibly the best new talent of the year, NICK PITARRA, the Red Wing is the story of the greatest battle in the history of the history of three worlds.

What's New In Flashpoint:

 

Lloyd's Pick of the Month

IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN

Find out exactly how Iron Man's deadliest nemesis came to be. A tale from the early days of the Marvel Universe, this saga contains secrets never-before-revealed of the first-ever meeting between the Golden Avenger and the global terrorist known only as the Mandarin! What really happened during that first encounter? Even if you've read the original comics (TALES OF SUSPENSE #50 – 55), you only know HALF of the story! Collecting IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN #1-6.

This is a retro retelling of Iron Man’s first encounter with the Mandarin.  I love (almost) all things retro. Just the feel of it!  Iron Man being one of my favorites, this story rocks, & it features early rogues and a classic east vs. west story.  I want this in IRON MAN 3.

Meghan's Pick of the Month

Uncanny X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution

Wolverine promised Cyclops that X-Force would disband. He lied. A secret society has resurrected En Sabah Nur, putting into motion events that will turn this age of heroes into an Age of Apocalypse! To hold them back, Wolverine and Archangel bring together Fantomex, Deadpool and Psylocke to form the Uncanny X-Force! Stained by their history, they are the only ones capable of making the hard resolutions necessary. A band of likeminded friends and mercenaries set to one purpose, one big ugly task: kill Apocalypse by any means.

Spot on characterization and stunning art make this a book that shouldn’t be passed up. The storyline is solid, but it’s the banter between Wolverine and his team that really makes this book shine. Also, Deadpool is a riot throughout.

Picks of the Week

 VENGEANCE #1 (OF 6)
A MOST EPIC EVIL EXPLORATION OF THE MARVEL U!
When MAGNETO of the X-Men tries to rescue a young Mutant on the run, he accidently kicks off a series of events that will shake the very Marvel Universe to it's core!  Who are the new TEEN BRIGADE?! Who are the Brotherhood and what do they want with the YOUNG MASTERS OF EVIL?! And how is the RED SKULL pulling the strings from beyond the grave? Joe Casey (AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST) joins Nick Dragotta?(FANTASTIC FOUR) for some major acts of VENGEANCE!

 

FLASHPOINT #3
FLASH QUESTION: Will Flash and his new allies be able to fix the world?

 FEAR ITSELF #4 (OF 7) FEAR
The blockbuster Marvel event of the year continues! AFTERMATH: the heroes reel in the wake of last issue's shocking finale. Thor finds himself unwelcome in two homes. Steve Rogers makes the decision of a lifetime. And Iron Man prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice. Every move the heroes make just serves to make The Serpent stronger-- and the feat he accomplishes in this issue will rock the Avengers.  

Out with the Old...

After months of ruling the tournament circuits, the infamous Jace, the Mind Sculptor will be banned.  M12 will see a replacement Jace in the form of Jace, Memory Adept.  Weigh in here in share your thoughts on the swap.

Ghostface

The island Sodo is home to the most reprehensible criminals, who live here in isolation without fear of further prosecution by the state. The only rule felons must abide by is this: never leave the island - otherwise one becomes a Ghostface, hunted and killed like a feral animal.


But when the wrongly accused threatens to shatter the very foundation of the island, a mass paranoia consumes Sodo, and the line between tormenter and prey suddenly becomes blurred...
                                                                    ***
There are few graphic story tellers who can pull me into a world as quickly as Min-Woo Hyung and this first volume of Ghostface throws you into the thick of a conflict years in the making.  For those of you lucky enough to have read the creator's previous work in Priest can continue to expect great characters, an intricate plot, and moral ambiguity from Hyung.  Those new to his work are in for a treat.  If there is only one book you pick up this week, the choice is easy; grab Ghostface off the shelf before someone else beats you to it.

Picks of the Week

 ALL NIGHTER #1 (OF 5)
Kit Bradley is a 20 year-old art student and petty criminal who knows it's time to leave her delinquent past behind, but isn't ready for the responsibilities of adulthood.  Her social headquarters is an all night diner, and while trying to put the 'off' on an on-again-off-again boyfriend, she runs into an old flame, and an enigmatic loner named Martha, who alters Kit's life forever.  Created by Eisner and Ignatz Award nominee DAVID HAHN.

 BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH THE SEARCH #1 (OF 3)
Following the events of Brightest Day, the new protector of Earth has been chosen. But one reluctant hero making his return to the DCU is trying to convince Batman, Superman and the others heroes of the DC Universe that this may not be a good thing, because he can see that things are not right and mankind's brightest days are indeed over. 

 

 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160

Does Peter Parker die?

 

 

I'm sorry, did you say you wanted more FLASHPOINT?

PICKS OF THE WEEK

 GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES #1
Afghanistan.  Marines face a never-ending onslaught of Taliban.  But even hell can get worse.  The dead are coming back to life in The Graveyard of Empires, and only together can both sides of the today's conflict survive tomorrow's undead assault.  Writer MARK SABLE (Unthinkable, Two-Face Year One) reunites with his GROUNDED co-creator, PAUL AZACETA (Amazing Spider-Man) to tell this controversial tale of terror.

 LEVEL UP GN
Dennis Ouyang's parents want him to become a doctor. But Dennis just wants to play video games. What happens when fate takes a hand - in the form of four adorable, bossy, and occasionally terrifying angels - to lead Dennis down the straight and narrow path to gastroenterology?

 ANYAS GHOST GN
Anya would give almost anything if she  could have a real friend. So she takes the first offer of friendship she gets - from a ghost! But things don't quite go the way she'd expected. 

Wait a minute, no week is complete without the Flashpoint coming at ya'.   

 

 

Picks of the Week

 MYSTERY MEN #1

The series explores the pulp-infused era of the early 1930's. Given that Timely Comics didn't debut until 1940, it's a time Marvel's books have rarely explored before. The Mystery Men are a gathering of pulp-influenced heroes. Marvel's description lists The Surgeon, The Operative, Achilles, The Revenant, and The Aviatrix as members.

IRON AGE ALPHA #1

The one true Dark Phoenix returns to the Marvel U with a vengeance!  As the earth is destroyed, Iron Man is swept into the time-stream where the only chance for survival is to gather the greatest heroes from across the eras and change the course of history! The Avengers, Fantastic Four, the X-Men and more will join Iron Man for this trip through all the ages of Marvel! Rising stars Rob Williams (DARK WOLVERINE) and Rebekah Issacs (MS. MARVEL) team up for the century-spanning epic that takes you through the Marvel Universe's greatest moments...and maybe to
its last

And because you asked for it, more of the world that is Flashpoint

One Man's Fight Against Destiny

Kidnapped as a child and trained by a band of magicians in an isolated stone fortress, Drazen is destined to seek out and defeat his own father, the renegade magician named Lancaster.

There are few villains in graphic novels who know how to make and execute a plan well.  When they do, it is certainly something to behold.  Not to tip their hand too much, but Lancaster is one of those villains.  If this were all Day of the Magicians had to offer, it would have been a decent read.  Fortunately for you, La Neve and Nizzoli brought a lot more to the table than just an intelligent villain.  There is a believable human quality in each of the main characters in this story. Their emotions, motivation, and reactions are honest and compelling.  Take the journey with Drazen as he approachs the most important day in his life.

Recommended for fans of Fables, Unwritten, and Magus

*Ryan

King, Warrior, Magician, Cursed....

Elias the Conqueror has an unquenchable appetite for power, one that will cost him everything, including his own face.  The search for his old self will bring many a parade of fantastical characters his way, both good and evil...

There are only a few things graphic novels need to earn a place on my book shelf; a solid story, dynamic characters, beatiful artwork, and well-executed scripting.  Bonus point are available for comedy, epics, martial arts or sword and sorcery. This book manages to have it all in less than 200 pages.  Do yourself a favor and flip through this book.  Everything good I could tell you about this beauty is evident regardless of which panel you turn to. 

This book is for fans of Conan, Hellboy, Northlanders, or any of their ilk

Ryan

It's International Week at Laughing Ogre!

The world is shrinking, thanks to the internet.  One of the great benefits of the Information Age is access to the creative output of other countries.  For those who have not ventured outside of the US in your reading selection, Laughing Ogre has taken this week to put together a few stops on your graphic novel travel log. 

Allison's Pick of the Month

30 Days of Night Vol. 1

This is the beginning of the groundbreaking saga! This edition features an Ashley Wood cover gallery, multi-page previews of two of the 30 Days of Night sequels by Niles and Templesmith, and much more. Experience this classic horror tale that inspired the film!

The reason I picked up this book a few years back was because of the art. Ben Templesmith is fabulous, & I was surprised by how amazing the story is. Steve Niles really hits the mark. Vampires, blood splattered snow, & characters you actually like (on both sides of the coin). Fantastic all around! If you have seen the movie and liked it, pick this up. If you have seen the movie and hated it; this is different, it’s much better, and well worth giving the series another shot. Niles made me a fan, and Templesmith just fed the fire with splattery, sketchy, terror. This is a great beginning to an amazing series.

Picks of the Week

 Fear Itself #3

The blockbuster Marvel event of the year continues!

Sin leads the most audacious attack on American soil the world has ever seen as global panic sets in and we fall sway to the power of fear itself. On Asgard, Loki hatches the scheme to end all schemes. And everywhere, the Serpent's presence is felt...never moreso than when a major Marvel hero falls at his hands. The shock ending to end all shock endings...as the cycle of evil stretching millennia is at last completed. 

Flashpoint #2

The world-changing miniseries continues! Where are the World's Greatest Super Heroes? Barry Allen is on a mission to find out or die trying - and that may be what's happening as he tries to make lightning strike twice! Meanwhile, around the submerged Paris, the pirate Deathstroke confronts Emperor Aquaman!

Delve further into the world of Flashpoint and follow your favorite characters in these Flashpoint Tie-Ins:

50 Girls 50 #1

Hot on the heels of his blockbuster New Ultimates run, FRANK CHO teams with Co-writer DOUG MURRAY (The 'Nam) and artist AXEL MEDELLIN (ELEPHANTMEN) to unleash a new universe-spanning sci-fi epic! Join in the fantastic voyage of the Space Vessel ESS Savannah and her beautiful crew as they fight their way from hostile aliens and exotic worlds, searching for the wormhole that will take them to their ultimate destination: Home.