Posted on: April 15th, 2009 Comic Quick Picks – April 15th
This week on the Comic Quick Picks I invite you all to join me in simultaneous joy and sorrow as we say goodbye to an award winning series, and just as we are saying goodbye we will also welcome back one of the greatest heroes ever in the DC universe. It’s time to celebrate some major events in the world of comic books! We will “say goodbye” to one of the greatest indie comic series’ of all time as we check out 100 Bullets #100. To cheer everyone up we’ll finish by welcoming back the greatest man to ever take on the mantle of the Flash, Barry Allen, in Flash Rebirth #1! Experience history in the making this week!
100 Bullets #100
Vertigo Books
Written by Brian Azzarello, with art by Eduardo Risso, & cover art done by Dave Johnson
“This is it. Nearly a decade in the making, the Eisner Award-winning, critically acclaimed series comes to its inevitably blood-soaked end. What final fate do agent Graves and the rest of the cast face? Who will be left standing when the gun smoke clears? Find out in the epic, final issue of the series Playboy magazine called “a meditation on money, power and morality…for our money, the best current ongoing series.”
100 Bullets stands as one of the finest comic series’ done in the last 20 years. It is critically acclaimed, having won the 2002 Harvey Awards for Best Writer, Best Artist and Best Continuing Series, and the 2003 Harvey Award for Best Artist, as well as the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story, and the 2002 and 2004 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series. The books stand out both in style and story. Stylistically, the books draw heavy influence from films like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. They are different from what most comics look like today. The stories are written by the uber talented Brian Azzarello, who you may remember from a previous Comic Quick Pick, Joker. The man knows how to craft a comic book storyline better than anyone in the business. The great thing about the 100 Bullets series’ is that they always had the eye on the big picture, even if the reader couldn’t always tell. Issue #100 marks the end of the current series as we know it, and while we all know that endings aren’t always what they seem to be in the comic world, it is still a sad time for fans. Yes, it will be very exciting to get answers to so many questions, so in that way fans will be excited about this. But it is also sad to think that we may never again see 100 Bullets in it’s present glory. Go pick this one up, and cherish this moment. You can find it at Hero Haven Comics for $2.69!
Flash Rebirth #1
DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns, & art by Ethan Van Sciver
“Following the events of FINAL CRISIS, Barry has beaten death and returned to a fast-paced world that a man out of time wouldn’t recognize. Or is it a world that is only just now catching up? All the running he’s done before was just a warm up for the high-speed race that he and every other Flash must now run, because even though one speedster might have beaten death, another has just turned up dead! This promises to be an explosive and jaw-dropping epic that will reintroduce to the modern age the hero who single-handedly birthed the Silver Age of comics! DC history will be made, and the Flash legacy will be redefined!”
First off, I just have to say that I have been anticipating this release more than any other comic in the last decade. It’s the return of the greatest Flash ever, in my opinion. Barry Allen was the Silver age Flash, a character who helped DC usher in the Silver Age of comics, almost single-handedly. The death of Barry Allen during the Crisis on Infinite Earths series is now commonly known as one of the biggest events in the DCU. While it has been implied for a while that Allen somehow survived and even that he may have returned in some form of a body, Flash Rebirth #1 is the first official appearance of Barry Allen in full Flash attire. This series promises to be one of the most epic Flash series’ ever, and I fully expect greatness from the team of Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. Lantern fans will recognize the names from their work on their recent work with the Lanterns in the Green Lantern Rebirth and their work on The Sinestro Corps War, and as great as those titles were, I would hope all of you would recognize them too! Don’t pass on an opportunity to pick up the first edition of the return of the greatest Flash ever! Pick it up at Hero Haven Comics for $3.59
I can’t overstate the importance of these two issues. It may be early, but I really believe that people will be talking about these titles when they get the hardcover treatment, and for many years to come after that. It’s the end of an era for the 100 Bullets series, and the beginning of a whole new era for the Flash! These comics are not only essentials in ANY good comic collection, they will be essential to collectors later down the road. Don’t you want to be the guy with the $100 comic book? I know I do. I have these in a special place in my collection, and hopefully you’ll enjoy them just as much as I have. Until next time comic fans…