Atomic Romance Awards

It’s the Second Annual Atomic Romance Awards! This is my special tribute to the comic books of 2008 that have earned fame or infamy in my little corner of comic fandom. The Atomic Romance Awards reflect my personal preferences so that's why some obvious choices may not appear. But before we begin I'd like to take a moment to thank She-Hulk, my Co-presenter this time around. Also, I'd like to thank all of you, my net buddies, for stopping-by Atomic Romance this last year. It's been one hell of a ride.

Now on with the show!


Best Overall Title: The Astounding Wolf-Man, Image Comics

Runner-up: Conan the Cimmerian

Best Writer: Robert Kirkman for both Astounding Wolf-Man and Walking Dead (and probably Invincible too, but I'm nont reading it right now), IDW


Runner-up: J. Michael Stryzinski for The Twelve, Marvel Comics (He could have won top honors if he had finished this series)


Best mini-series: Star Trek: Assignment Earth, IDW

Runner-up: The Age of Sentry


Best Adventure Comic: Tor, DC Comics

Runner Up: The War That Time forgot,DC Comics


Best Sword and Sorcery Title: Conan the Cimmerian, Dark Horse Comics
Runner-up: Wolf-Skin, Avatar


Best Sci-Fi: North Wind, Boom Studios

Runner Up: Star Trek: The Hollow Crown, IDW


Best Art: Chris Weston, The Twelve. Marvel Comics

Runner-up: John Byrne, Star Trek: The Hollow Crown. IDW


Best Horror: Necronimicon

Runner-up: The Crossed


Best Death: Rebecca gets accidentally slapped to death by Zecheriah the vampire, The Astounding Wolf-Man #7, Image Comics

Runner-up: Drunk Officer pulped by a propeller in Phantom Eagle #1, Marvel Comics


Best Cover: Army@Love: The Art of War #3, Vertigo

Runner-up: Amazing Spiderman #560


Worst Cover: 1985 #4, Marvel Comics

Runner Up: The Man With No Name #2, one of the greatest western characters ever is drawn to look like Bush


Best Dramatic Moment: Dynamic Man (from the 1940s) discovers interracial marriage, The Twelve #2

Runner-up: Captain Wonder at his wife’s grave, The Twelve #2


Best Butt: She-Hulk on King Size Hulk #1

Runner-up: damsel in distress on cover of Conan the Cimmerian #2


Best Animal Hero: Monkey Speedball, Marvel Apes
Rocket Raccoon, Guardians of the Galaxy


Best Geekout: Reading how Mirror Kirk assassinated Mirror Pike in Star Trek Mirror Images 1-5


Worst Costume: THE BLUE BLAAAADE!
Oh come on, could there possibly be any other choice from 2008!?

Runner-up: Jack Pot


Best Costume: Female Starhawk, Guardians of the Galaxy #5

Runner-up: The Crimson Reporter, The Twelve, Marvel Comics


Favorite Hero: Ambush Bug (If you can call him a hero)



Favorite Villain: Cranio, The Man with the Tri-Level Mind! The Age of the Sentry

Runner-up: Catman, Secret Six


Horniest Villain: King Crimson, Dark Tower, Marvel Comics



Best New Character: Ape X, Marvel Apes


Worst New Character: Jackpot


Best Fake Covers: Marvel Apes


Best Essential or Showcase Presents: Savage Sword of Conan… Ha!



Most Likely To Piss Off PETA Badger Saves the world


Best Gunfight: Brothers in Arms#4

Runner-up: Bat Lash #6


Best Formerly Ugly Aliens that Are Now Sexpots: Skrulls


Best Sword Fight: Wolfskin Annual, Avatar


Best Reprint: Dr. Who Classics, IDW


Best Cross of Hellraiser Cenobites with Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality: Army of Darkness: Home Sweet Hell


Lamest Series I’m glad I didn’t read: It is a Tie
Secret Invasion/Final Crisis and all of the spin offs


Best Single Issue: Fantastic Comics #24 Image

Runner-up; Jonah Hex #33, DC Comics


Best Comedic Moment: Ambush Bug, it turns out, is responsible for the death of Sue Dibney, Ambush Bug Year None #1

Runner-up: A Medieval wizard buys a shit-load of goods at S-mart, AoD/Xena #1


Best Free Comic Book Day Comic: Gumby… of course


Best Trade Paperback: Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991
Runner-up: Captain Carrot and the Final Ark!


Biggest Warm Fuzzy: The Medieval Silent Knight is revealed to be an ancestor of Superman’s adopted Family, Brave and The Bold #10, DC Comics.


Best Collection of Older Comics: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets
Runner-up: The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics



Best Cameo: ‘Mazing Man: Ambush Bug: Year None. #1
Nazi Super Villains in the entrance way in Berlin Building The Twelve #1


Coolest Country in Marvel Atlas Volume 2: Boca Caliente (doesn’t that mean spicy hot mouth?)


Dumbest Moment: New Gods, New Gods New Gods!



Best Monster: Giant Eyeball Demon, Iron Man Legacy of Doom #4, Marvel Comics

Runner-up: Ursus the Ultra Bear, The Age of The Sentry #2, Marvel Comics



Biggest Surprise: Ambush Bug Marries Dumb Bunny, Ambush Bug #3,


Best Golden Age Retcon: The Twelve, Marvel Comics
Runner-up: Fantastic Comics #24 Image


Worst Golden Age Retcon: Project Superpowers, Dynamite Entertainment


Worst Retcon Period: Red Sonja #29, her own Goddess set’s her up to get raped and have her family murdered.


Best Pimp Scene: Star Trek: Mirror Images #2, IDW



Best Terrorist Acronym: NACHO (Nihilist Anti-Capitalist Hate Organization) Badger Saves the World IDW


Best New Trick for an Old Dog: John Byrne doing Star Trek Comics
Runner-up: DC Fontana doing Star Trek comics


Most Ruined Character: Red Sonja
Runner-Up: The Wasp… because she’s like dead


Best Supporting Character: Cheeks the Toy Wonder (Of course)

Runner Up: Abdul Alhazred, Fall of Cthulhu, Boom Studios


Best Western: Jonah Hex


Best Nonfiction Comic: Comic Book Comics, Evil Twin


Biggest Yawn: The Flash is coming Back!!!!! Zzzzzz


Best Revival from Suspended Animation: The Creature Commandos in Action Comics #872


Best Origin Story: The Black Widow, Twelve #8
Runner-up: Ungrounded Super Agent The Twelve #6


Lamest Promotion: Those Skrull "Who Do You Trust" ads
Runner-up: What were you doing final crisis


Best Crossover: The Army of Darkness/Xena: Why Not, Dynamite Entertainment


Title I would Have Liked To Try from the Beginning But It Was Always Sold Out: Guardians of the Galaxy


Favorite Lesbian: Golden Age Black Widow, The Twelve, Marvel Comics
She was Goth before there was Goth...



Best One Liner: “Hi Lois! I’ve got a weenie with your name one it” Earth 2 Superman. Ambush Bug: Year None # 3


Best Meh Ending: Y: The Last Man.


Best Capturing of the Spirit of 1980s Comics: Amazing Spider-Girl


Best Corporate Foot-Stepping: Moonstone vs. Dynamite over the publishing rights to The Phantom.


Biggest Disappointment: Project Superpowers, The heroes have been stuffed in a jar all these years? ...give me a break...
Runner Up: What... No Poo flinging in Marvel Apes?


Congratulations to all the winners!

Quick Comic Reviews

Comic Reviews

Conan the Cimmerian #3
Conan has made is his way back to Cimmeria and he meets up with Coallan, an old flame who has grown into a strong and very attractive woman. Hot on her heels are the invading coldblooded Aesir. I like this issue a lot, probably for it’s depiction of Coallan as she represents that strong female warrior that I’ve been pining for. I’m very interested in the women of Cimmera and how they handle themselves in a fight, so this whole new story arc by Truman is refreshing. Thomas Giorello’s artwork really brings out the blacks, which I greatly enjoy and it’s reminiscent of the old Savage Sword of Conan title. Richard Corbin also provides engaging art for a flashback sequence featuring Conan’s grandfather.

Marvel Apes #2
We’ve kinda got two things gong on in Marvel Apes. The first is the fun wackiness that is an Ape-ified Marvel Universe and the other is a “what if” story in which Captain America is a villain (although if my suspicions are correct it’s not his fault). I approve of this approach, as the novelty of a Monkey Marvel world isn’t enough to carry a story. The back up tale on the history of the Marvel Ape Universe is hilarious and so are the fake covers for other Marvel Apes titles. A nod to Mutant and Masterminds’ “Earth-Ape” should be made though as Marvel is ripping it off wholesale.

The Walking Dead #52
The zombie title that’s not about zombies continues with Rick and Carl on the road. Michonne shows up just in time to save little Carl from a zombie attack and later she helps Rick deal with the death of his wife and daughter. It’s nice to be traveling, instead of stuck in the prison as in the previous story arc and its good to have tough as nails Michonne back too. I realized while reading this issue and Conan that Charlie Adlard’s art has a definite Richard Corbin influence that really fits a horror title like this. Krikman’s pacing is as excellent as always and he ends the issue on just the right note. How does he do it?

The Astounding Wolf-Man #8
Kirkman’s superhero horror comic sees Gary on the run as he’s been wrongly accused of murdering his wife. The only thing keeping him going, is his thirst for revenge over the vampire that killed his spouse and the only way to accomplish said revenge is to seek out the Were-Wolf that made him. I love how Gary set himself up all Bruce Wayne–like and how it quickly went to shit. When you are dealing with dark supernatural forces it’s hard to simply go on patrol and fight bank robbers. I love how the Saturday morning cartoon style contrasts with the evil undertones of this book. Note: Fans of White Wolf’s Were-Wolf game should be reading this.

The End League.
Is it just me or did this take forever to come out? Anyhoo, issue 4 of Rick Remender’s post-apocalyptic superhero series focus in on The Prairie Ghost this time around as he secures the services of a healer. The Prairie Ghost (who is now my favorite from this title) is strangely an appropriate cross between Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider. He’s really working for me and I feel he should have had more prominence before now. The story is a good one of desperation and survival but the art takes a right turn as Eric Canete replaces Mat Broome. I have to say I prefer Broome’s cleaner style to Canete’s. Canete’s drawings have a little of the Savage Dragon bendy bones thing going on and some super deformed traits too. Plus, it’s hard to tell what’s going in his panels. I may have to drop this title if the art doesn’t improve with the next issue.

Guardians of The Galaxy #5
I really like cosmic stuff or at least I did back in the day, but I skipped the whole Annihilation thing because I was mad about Marvel killing off the Xanderians… again. I’ve wanted to pick an issue of GOTG though but it’s always sold out. I love the original team and I’m also a fan of Rocket Raccoon and Gamora, so I figured “why not” as an issue was available. Well, I’m lost. Too much has gone on in the far reaches of Marvel space for me to track. I know most of the characters but a lot has happened to them in modern times for me to keep up. Plus, I really am not interested in the Secret Invasion crap Marvel is forcing down our throats and it’s all over this title. Crossover/event comics suck! I thought the appearance of Star Hawk was cool though. It’s funny that everybody’s costume had to be updated to look like something from the X-Men movies. They can’t be superheroes anymore I guess. They have to be “adventurers.”

Men of Mystery #72
It’s fun to read these golden age black and white reprints but frankly at ten buck a pop Men of Mystery should really be in color or a least grayscale. I particularly enjoyed the Major Midnight, Rainbow Boy and Camilla stories. It’s kinda nice to read pulpy stuff with characters I’m not familiar with as it gives me that down home serial feeling.

Star Trek Assignment Earth #5
Love it, love it love it. ST:AE is truly a fantastic comic series. This mini-series finishes out in grand fashion with a communist plot to replace Nixon as he visits China. Gary 7 and Roberta Lincoln succeed in saving the president… or do they? But all that really matters is that old tricky Dick appears to be who he is supposed to be for the sake of the timeline. John Byrne has really pulled it off with this one. ST: AE feels like a late 60s and early 70s TV show but with 20/20 hindsight. This series made me realize what a great sci-fi, espionage show Assignment Earth could have been. The AE concept should be revived as a TV show in some fashion IMO. I was skeptical about this comic but this is one of the best things I’ve read all year. Not to be missed by Star Trek fans. Side note: this great idea for a roleplaying game too.



-Swinebread

Killraven is Back… Again… sorta…

I’m feeling very conflicted about the new Killraven series that’s been announced by Marvel As a fan of his original stories in Amazing Adventures, I should be real excited, right? Well, hold the phone. Robert Kirkman is writing it, which is OK, as I like his Walking Dead comic, but it’s being drawn by Rob (Kirby of the 90s) Liefeld… ugh.



The original (1970s) Killraven stories were set 20 years after the Martians conquered the world in 2001. The Martians in this case being the same aliens from H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds returned for a second invasion and this time protected from earth’s germs. It was very wild and wahoo, as Killraven, an ex gladiator, tries to liberate the planet with his band of freemen. It had a very Gamma World-y feel with all manner of strange mutants and post-apocalyptic themes. Earth had become almost Barsoom-like. The series did suffer from a dizzying of array rotating creators before Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell got control of the title. It was cancelled before any kind of resolution, but some plotlines were resolved in a 1983 graphic novel. All these stories have been collected in Essential Killraven if you happen to care.



What hasn’t been depicted was how the Martians were overthrown and the earth liberated. As I said in my post about canceled comics, the Guardians of the Galaxy title was just about to reveal this when it got canceled. The Kirkman and Liefeld version is a whole new reality for the character

Kirkman was aware of the Killraven character before he landed the assignment but didn't know much about his back-story. "I've been reading some stuff to have a passing knowledge of it, but [the new miniseries] establishes a new continuity and new take on the character," Kirkman explained. "So, it's not going to be conflicting with any of the old stuff. I kind of just wanted to move forward with the basic concept of the character without having any kind of extra baggage."

From the CBR article here
OK, Killraven hasn’t been a big hit in the word of comics. He’s kinda a niche character that road the wave of post-apocalyptic comics of the 1970s. Plus, there wasn’t a Martian invasion in 2001, So understand why Kirkman would want to start from scratch, but there have already been other revamps of the character: the Alan Davis version and Avengers Forever version. Still, what I really want to see is how the Martians got kicked out in the original continuity but I guess… that boat has sailed for good. So, I’d be willing to shell out a few bucks for a totally revamped Killraven with crazy post-apocalyptic adventures if it weren’t for… Liefeld. Gawd, this guy art sucks. Learn perspective dude. Liefeld must be doing Killraven because Killraven is not a well-known character and so good old Rob is not gonna piss off a lot of people.



I might be desperate for Killraven stories… but I’m not THAT desperate.

-Swinebread