Alabaster Wolves #1 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Art by Steve Lieber

Have you ever gone to a place, town or whatever where you felt that it was a bad place, evil or something just wasn’t right? This is what’s happening with Dancy Flammarion. She’s a sixteen-year-old who has been chosen and sent to different places by an angel to kill evi ldoers and demons alike. In this opener, she’s in some town in South Carolina. While waiting for a bus she meets a girl, or something that looks like a girl. And that’s where the fun begins. All they needed to do was add “Dueling Banjos” to give it more of an uneasy feeling that comes off the page.

Let’s start with the writing, the characters come off the page and each has their own accent and personality. I was glad to see someone in the Deep South speaking like they’re from the Deep South. Each frame has a darkness that comes off the page, not just due to lack of light, but the feel that it gives. As for the paneling, basic squares added to this story. They didn’t try to force something in that didn’t fit that might take away from the writing. The only thing negative that I could find is my personal opinion about having the cover art match what you would get in the book. But I could have been given the variant art cover.

When I was reading this, I could say that I’ve been in the same town that she was in. I could relate with Dancy just enough to have a better feel for the story. The story itself did show the classic feel of a first issue, laying the foundation for the books to come but not revealing too much. But this one did it in a way where the story was complete but you still didn’t know the full story; that was well done. At each turn, you had a feeling of what might happen but nothing really prepared you for what comes at the end. In my humble opinion, this is a series to follow. I give it 4.5 caps out of 5.

Yesterday, I was at the Wrestlemania Axxess event at the Miami Beach Convention Center. This is an interactive event that the WWE holds before the actual Wrestlemania XXVIII. There, you get to do a lot of things, meet and ask questions of some of the wrestlers and wrestling legends, do trivia contests and many other things.

I got there and checked in with the WWE officials for my credentials. They were actually very nice and they were willing to talk to you. Going in, they had the whole area above the door decorated with the banner and the poster for Wrestlemania XXVIII, just extended out to cover just about everything. Once inside, you walked along a long hallway decorated with the different wrestlers of the under card and there were ring ropes were you could get a good picture with them. They were playing the entrance themes of the different wrestlers as well.

Now for all the items that they had going on inside. The layout was well done. You could walk around and not feel crowded. As I’m walking around, I see the legends area and who’s signing. Two of the three people are high up in the pantheon of wrestling, Jimmy Hart and Jim Ross. Jerry Brisco was there as well. If you didn’t buy a program they had a sheet that they would give you to have signed. You were also able to get a picture taken trying to reach the briefcase from the “Money In the Bank” Match, different wrestles and the championship belt. All of this was free; you didn’t pay any extra for it. At certains time, those who were signing would stop with those in line, get up and move over to where handicapped individuals allowing them to get their stuff signed. But the big thing that a lot of people had fun with was where you could pick a wrestlers entrance music and come down the ramp to the ring.

There were people there from all over the world. Most were looking forward to The Rock vs John Cena match. Others for the Undertaker vs Triple H. But of everyone I talked to, no one said they were not having a good time. In my jumble opinion, WWE did this right. I will definitely recommend that you attend Axxess. I gave this 5 caps out of 5.

Who out there knows who TNA Wrestling is?(www.impactwrestling.com) They are the other wrestling league other than the WWE. They have been around for 10 years and have been slowing gaining respect and admiration. This past Friday 4/20, I took my son to the show they had at the Ft. Lauderdale War Memorial Auditorium. This was the first time they did a show in this city and from what I saw and what Jeremy Borash was saying, it won’t be the last time they come.

Also, before the show, I had a chance to interview Bully Ray; he’s one of the top heals (bad guy for all you non-wrestling fans) in the company and in the industry. He was part of most decorated tag-teams around, the Dudley Boyz. Other than him wrestling now he also runs a wrestling school up in Orlando, Team 3D Academy (http://www.team3dacademy.com/index2.html).

Now mind you, my son is not a wrestling fan as of yet but the way the show was presented, he was able to get into it and had a lot of fun. I told him that it could be a living comic book. As the first match started (X-Division title Zima Ion vs. the champ Austin Aries) my son started booing Zima (mainly because I told him who the bad guy was). The two of the started into their fast paced match that is the hallmark of the X-Division and I was amazed how well they were able to pull off their moves. Zima was really taunting the crowd and getting a good reach, or pop, from the audience. Bully told me that if he could change anything, it would make the storylines more real. Find out whom has a problem with whom and have them feud.

The next match was the Knockouts with Velvet Sky taking on the champion Gail Kim (two of the most attractive women on the planet if you ask me). Again, they played to the crowd and everyone was into the match. My son asked me if Velvet liked Wonder Woman because her outfit kind of looked like hers.

The third match was the tag champions of Samoa Joe and Magnus versus Kazarian and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. I asked Bully Ray about the status of tag-team wrestling, “It’s a dying art form. It really doesn’t exist in the WWE anymore. There’s no one team that’s truly credible.” But these four men put on a fast paced match that had a lot of teamwork. The audience was really into this with chants of “Joe’s gonna kill you!” and “Magnus, Magnus, Magnus!” It was a real fun. Another thing I asked Bully Ray was the differences between tag wrestling and singles. “It’s weird, going from four to two. There’s no one to tag out to when you need to take a breath.”

The next few matches were solid all around. Jeremy Borash was announcing and he was also picking out the loudest fans (not really because he didn’t pick my son) to go backstage and meet the wrestlers. Also, Gail Kim was signing autographs after her match, as well as one of the most famous referees Earl Hebner. He was also taunting the people sitting ringside.

The main event was a “three-way dance” with Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy against the World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Rude. Bully Ray came out and started out addressing the audience making them hate him even more than they do. When I asked him about where his character came from, he said it was an extension of himself from his ECW days. “I don’t want them to hate me, I want them to despise me! To try and knock this chip off my shoulder.” And the crowd ate it up, booing him mercilessly. In my humble opinion the next time they’re in town, go see the show. I give it 5 caps out of 5.

The Voyages of She Buccaneer Volume #1
Red 5 Comics
Written by Heidi Hughes
Art by Bill Hughes

A story for the ages, a swarthy pirate crew, a treasure that might bring back the dead, an adventure across the seven seas and a buxom pirate captain, now that’s a pirate’s life for me! This is some of what you get in this collection from Red 5. It starts out with Sir Nigel Redfern, telling the tale of his dear captain for a warm place by a tavern fire and a nice tankard of ale. His story takes the innkeeper and the other listeners to lands far off and adventure to spare. Why can’t we get a drink that easy nowadays?

When I read this book, I fell right into the story. I could feel the mist of the ocean, smell the sea salt and hear the tide. The writing was that good and that engrossing. At the end of this book, there are still plenty of stories to be told. Each panel was able to lead you to the next scene seamlessly. It was very simply done with basic squares but very effective on what they were trying to do. The art was bright and detailed enough to match the story. This also helped draw you into the story.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to see a different take on pirate tales. How the captain takes care of her crew after earning their trust (or beating the trust into them). The adventures they have and the obstacles they overcome are straight out of most myths you could think of. Each story in this collection stands on it’s own but blend to a great storyline. If you are a pirate fan, book fan or any other type of fan, I think you’ll like this book, in my humble opinion. I give this 4.5 caps out of 5.

The Voyages of She Buccaneer Volume #1
Red 5 Comics
Written by Heidi Hughes
Art by Bill Hughes

A story for the ages, a swarthy pirate crew, a treasure that might bring back the dead, an adventure across the seven seas and a buxom pirate captain, now that’s a pirate’s life for me! This is some of what you get in this collection from Red 5. It starts out with Sir Nigel Redfern, telling the tale of his dear captain for a warm place by a tavern fire and a nice tankard of ale. His story takes the innkeeper and the other listeners to lands far off and adventure to spare. Why can’t we get a drink that easy nowadays?

When I read this book, I fell right into the story. I could feel the mist of the ocean, smell the sea salt and hear the tide. The writing was that good and that engrossing. At the end of this book, there are still plenty of stories to be told. Each panel was able to lead you to the next scene seamlessly. It was very simply done with basic squares but very effective on what they were trying to do. The art was bright and detailed enough to match the story. This also helped draw you into the story.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to see a different take on pirate tales. How the captain takes care of her crew after earning their trust (or beating the trust into them). The adventures they have and the obstacles they overcome are straight out of most myths you could think of. Each story in this collection stands on it’s own but blend to a great storyline. If you are a pirate fan, book fan or any other type of fan, I think you’ll like this book, in my humble opinion. I give this 4.5 caps out of 5.

Boom Studios
Written by Sam Humphries
Art by Jerry Gaylord

If anyone who’s reading this has never been to a convention, turn in your geek card now! In this series from Boom, we have a group of people stuck at a convention and trapped by zombies, real zombies this time. They’re trying to survive and escape this zombie apocalypse and not fall prey to the common mistakes made by the human chum in all the movies and books they’ve seen and read. And, believe it or not, there’s drama too, one character is dealing with the fact that her ex is there as well as her rebound relationship, family issues too.

Where should I start with this? Ok, the art was spot on for what the story is about. It had just enough splats, exaggerated features and scenes that take place at every convention to carry the story with no dialogue. Each panel worked and flowed perfectly to allow the reader to know exactly where to go and fill in anything that might be missing. Now to the writing, there is so much in this that you might want to read it a few times. Just like the art, there are lines that you heard at so many conventions you’ll feel you’re there. Just minus the zombies.

I haven’t read any of the ones before this and didn’t know what to expect. But I really enjoyed the story. I’ve been to conventions in two states (geographically, mentally there’s a lot more states) and I’ve seen all sorts of fans. I’d say most of the one’s I’ve met or are friends with are represented here, whether undead or living. If you don’t see your friends when you read, you need to get out more. I need to read the first two and follow this series, you should too, in my humble opinion. I give this 4.5 caps out of 5.

Star Wars: Knight Errant: Escape Book 1 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Written by John Jackson Miller
Art by Marco Castiello

Dark has given another angle of the time of Star Wars where the Sith and Jedi’s were battling it out. Here we have two brutal leaders who happen to be brothers are fighting each other, one thinks he’s a god-like figure who created the universe. The other is a leader of a suicide cult who wants to destroy anything that is controlled by his brother. In the middle we have Kerra Holt, and orphaned Jedi who is trying to save and rescue as many innocent people out of the battles and away from this area of space. Yeah, I know, fun job.

This was a different twist on what I’ve grown to expect from the Star Wars universe. Looking at the art, it is very clean and well drawn. With the colors they used, each frame can draw you in and lead you to the next frame with no problem. The paneling was well laid out. Sticking to the basics with simple squares, you had no problem and it was easy on the eyes. As for the writing, because the story is dealing with subterfuge, I got a little lost on who Kerra was and where she was going. It could have been written in of time change. Other than that, everything else flowed well on the page.

As I read this, I kind of expected to get the ending I did. Being a book one, I’m not going to get a full story. I like the fact that we, as the reader, were given a backdrop before the story unfolded. Yet, as I pointed out, when a time changed occurred, we had to figure it out as we read. That’s not for me. But I did like what they where the story was going and would like to see what happens in the coming issues. If you like the Star Wars lines, pick this up. If you don’t this could be something to introduce you, in my humble opinion. I give this 3.5 caps out of 5.