Picks of the Week

IRON SIEGE #1 (OF 3)

WWII with a horror twist! An outfit of U.S. soldiers captures a group of Nazis led by a high-ranking SS officer. But when they come across a deserted town with a dangerous secret, they must forge an uneasy alliance to survive an unspeakable nightmare. It's Dawn of the Dead meets Assault on Precinct 13 in Iron Siege, a three-issue miniseries presented bi-monthly in Golden Age size. With incredible artwork by Trevor Goring and covers by Tim Bradstreet.

 

BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR #513

In the wake of Shadowland, there's a new protector of Hell's Kitchen! He has no kingdom, no vibranium, and no high-tech safety net--just bloody knuckles and the will to prove himself in a foreign land where the fiercest of jungle predators stalks the most dangerous urban prey! His name is T'Challa, and in the aftermath of Shadowland, he will create a new life, a new identity, and learn what it is to be a different kind of hero. But with Daredevil gone, the bad guys are coming out to play, and a new nemesis--Vlad the Impaler--plots his bloody rise to power.

SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN DELUXE HC

Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank bring you a startling new look at the beginnings of Lex Luthor, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Lois Lane, Metallo, Jimmy Olsen, The Parasite and more of your favorite characters from the Superman family in this new, deluxe hardcover. Collecting the acclaimed six-issue miniseries!

2010 Holiday Gift Guide

Check out the Laughing Ogre Holiday Gift Guide for great gift ideas and special discounts.  You can find the guide right under New Releases.

Dara Naraghi Signing Today at Laughing Ogre High Street.

Dara Naraghi will be signing today from 5-8.  He has a short story in the DCU Holiday 2010 Special.  So be sure to swing by today and get a copy signed.

 

Picks of the Week

Lady Mechanika #1

The tabloids dubbed her "Lady Mechanika", the sole survivor of a psychotic serial killer's three-year rampage through London. Found locked in an abandoned laboratory amidst countless corpses and body parts, with her own limbs amputated and replaced with mechanical components, her life began anew. With no memory of her captivity or her former life, Lady Mechanika eventually built a new life for herself as a private detective, using her unique abilities to solve cases the police couldn't or wouldn't handle. But, she has never stopped searching for answers...
Now, brought into a case unlike any before, Lady Mechanika will have to rely on her advantage in all things occult and paranormal in order to solve the case and possibly unlock the secrets to her past!

Fables #100

In this fantastic 100-page issue, it's time to put an end to Mister Dark once and for all, and time for the Fables to return home to Fabletown. For that to happen, one of the Fables agrees to take on the Dark Man in single combat! It's big, it's epic, and if you live in New York City, you may want to take a quick vacation when this issue comes out, because things are going to get wrecked!
In addition to the larger-than-life main story, we have a FABLES prose story written by Mark Buckingham and illustrated by Bill Willingham! We have an All-Star Burning Questions section that will knock your socks off (seriously, innocent people are going to lose some socks here). We have a puppet theatre created by the unstoppably creative Mark Buckingham, a FABLES board game, sequential stories painted by Chrissie Zullo and Joao Ruas, and even more surprises in this square-bound behemoth celebrating this award-winning Vertigo series!

DCU Holiday Special 2010 #1

From the dawn of time (Anthro) to the far-flung future (Legion of Super-Heroes), sentient life has honored the winter holidays with celebrations and rituals as diverse as the universe itself! Join DC Comics - and a stellar team of writers and artists - to honor the vast and diverse holidays of the DC Universe in
6 tales of holiday cheer! Starring the aforementioned characters along with Superman, The Spectre, Jonah Hex, and Green Lantern John Stewart for a HOLIDAY SPECIAL like no other!

Employee Pick: King City #12

Brandon Graham's pun-filled urban epic King City wraps up this week with issue #12 on stands courtesy of Image comics!  Now, we've discussed this title here on the blog before, and how picking it up could be the biggest favor you do yourself this decade.  It's one-of-a-kind, snappy and off-the-wall with so much detail packed into every page that you could spend hours going over all the little hidden treasures with a magnifying glass.  Graham has an incredible passion for comics; he weathered the collapse of Tokyopop (KC's original publisher) and a bout with cancer 6 issues in and came out swinging.  Real love for the medium shines through here- we follow Catmaster Joe as he fights a demon king, masked man Pete as he falls for a water-breathing alien girl, and Korean Xombie War veteran Max as he and his girlfriend Anna battle drug addiction and PTSD.  It's a wild ride. Now, some of you folks may be the type to wait until a miniseries like this is finished so you can read the whole thing without the seemingly interminable wait between installments, and that is just fine, but THE TIME IS RIGHT AND THE TIME IS NOW to snatch this one up before there's no more copies left!

Though we're sad to see one of our favorites reach the end, Graham will be returning soon with his full-color postapocalyptic Russian werewolf epic Multiple Warheads!  Stay tuned and hang on tight, this is comics at their best!

Try Something New!!!

Did you know that Laughing Ogre sells some comics for $1?  Well, we do.  There are a number of comics you can pick up for less than the cost on "Dave's" price-hiked value menu items. $1.40 for some chicken nuggets?! Come on!  By the way, these are not terrible comics you've never heard of, it's some of the biggest names on the shelves and they are just waiting for you to give them a shot.

All Star Superman

Witness the Man of Steel in exciting new adventures featuring Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Bizarro, and more! The Man of Steel goes toe-to-toe with Bizarro, his oddball twin, and the new character Zibarro, also from the Bizarro planet. And Superman faces the final revenge of Lex Luthor - in the form of his own death! Writer Grant Morrison teams with artist Frank Quitely on this spectacular reimagining of the Superman mythos, from The Man of Steel's origin to his greatest foes and beyond.





Hellboy

Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding, Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar.

Usagi Yojimbo

The Saga of Usagi Yojimbo (Rabbit Bodyguard) takes place in turn-of-the-century Japan. The age of civil wars has barely ended and the Shogun has just established power.  The samurai is the ruling class throughout the land, following a warrior's code of honor known as Bushido.  It is a time of settling unrest and political intrigue.

Wandering across this country is a masterless samurai named Miyamoto Usagi.

Walking Dead

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.

Chew

Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective - as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest and most bizarre cases.

Check out all of these FIRST ISSUE REPRINTS for only one dollar!  There are dozens of others for you to choose from, so don't be shy in asking for recommendations from the people at your shop.  Whether you are trying to find some gifts for your fanboy/fangirl friends or looking for yourself, these $1 comics are a low risk way to venture into the unknown.  Next time you are shopping in Laughing Ogre, throw a couple on your stack, you won't be disappointed!

*Blurbs taken from Amazon

- Ryan

The Walking Dead vs The Walking Dead

While I hope everyone has at least picked up the comic version of this series, I know that is not the case.  For those of you who have watched the show and not picked up the comic, shame on you.  If you have been buying the comic in our shop and you're not watching the show, shame on us.  No matter if you end up liking one more than the other, the important part is to be in a position to make a decision.

So far in the series (we are at episode 5 of 6 in season one), there have been some departures from the comic, but a solid translation of the spirit of Kirkman's original work.  There are some things I wish they had been more loyal with and others I hope they will loosen the leash on.  While it's easy to point out the plot differences between the comic and the TV show (CDC storyline being the most obvious), I'll leave those on the back burner for now and distract you with this image of Rick smashing some zombie brains. 

The most important thing I would ask for the show to consider is the difference between comic BOOKS and TV SHOWS.  The difference being show versus tell.  While it is a good rule to generally show rather than tell your audience what is happening, the readers of the comic are used to a lot of exposition.  While this feels natural and seem-less in the written/visual version of the story, the audio/visual incarnation needs to dial it back occasionally.  The clearest instance I can think of is the fishing sequence in the beginning of the fourth episode.  This scene would have been touching had I read it, but watching it was like staring at the nutrition facts on a bottle of water: Reading the full label isn't going to tell me anything I didn't figure out at a first glance. 

Their best moments, so far, have been those without words. The silence of Rick's disorientation and bewilderment were very powerful scenes.  A great way to start your story and the impact of silent scenes have been gaining momentum since Rick woke up.  My hope is not that these will outnumber the speaking scenes, but that they realize this is how they tug at the heartstrings the best.  Words get in the way of real emotions and the cast is good enough to convey raw emotion without telling the viewers what they are feeling, don't make them. 

I don't presume to know better than anyone else out there (especially the talented people working on these amazing products), these are just my opinions at this early point in the (hopefully) long life of The Walking Dead television series.  Comparisons are going to happen no matter how much we try to avoid them.  Read the comic, watch the show, and join in the nerdy fun of complaining about how "almost perfect" isn't good enough.  Don't complain too loud, though, Dale is looking right at you, judging you with this expression...

Soon enough, every single issue of The Walking Dead is going to be reprinted.  The comic will be released weekly and be the perfect opportunity for you or friends to catch up with Rick and company.  If those don't work for you, be sure to pick up the trade paperbacks, already available.  There is no reason you shouldn't read this comic AND watch the show.

- Ryan