The ground rules...

Before i begin i thinks its necessary for me to explain how i intend to do this...

I'm quite a fussy comic book reader and havn't been reading/collecting all my life. i've really only started to appreciate the importance of comics over the last 6 years or so and my collection has grown considerably during this time. before that i was a very casual reader that occasionally purchased the odd Aliens trade from Dark Horse mainly due to loving the films and whole franchise.

i regret not being as interested in comics during the 90s because some of the titles being released were awesome.(X-Men Onslaught, Deadpool, Green Lantern, Justice League and Avengers for example) I put this down to simply not being made aware of major publisher's work, a lack of exposure to comics and a very non-existent local comic shop to buy them from! this has now changed thankfully, mostly due to the internet and growth of the comics industry.

When i say i'm a fussy reader, i mean i tend to buy comics on the basis of good artwork. now, bare with me, i know this seems harsh, but i think a bad comic can be saved with good pencils even if the story is mediocre. if its a good story with poor art, it can damage the appeal. a lot of people may not agree with this and have an opinion on it, but i appreciate the awesomeness of pictures, illustrations and artwork in comics, always have and always will. this doesn't mean i ignore a popular story with bad art. no. i will read a story even if the pencils are lousy, i'm just more reluctant to when compared to a comic where every page is a work of art!

Becasue of this, i will endevour to review as many comics as i can but i may be accused of restricting my opinion on the basis of comics featuring good artwork when there are hundreds of other comics available with a great story and possibly great art too.

I mostly read/collect/buy trades. i have got a nice looking shelf stacked with my tpbs and hard-covers ranging from a lot of Image, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW and other publishers. So, a pretty standard shelf i presume really. this doesnt mean i don't buy weekly single issue comics. i do, just not as much. this is partly due to the big publisher's filling their comics with adverts. this really grinds my gears as i hate seeing them in there. hats off to Image and IDW for not having them in there. however, i do read a lot of Marvel, DC etc comics in single issue format, but mostly trades as i think they look nicer and don't have adverts in!

its worth listing what i'm currently reading/collecting etc:

·THE WALKING DEAD (IMAGE - started with trades vol 1-8, now pulled as single issues)
·INVINCIBLE (IMAGE - trades)
·TRANSFORMERS, ONGOING, SPOTLIGHTS (IDW - trades & pulled single issues)
·GREEN LANTERN (DC - trades/HCs)
·ALIENS v PREDATOR: THREE WORLD WAR (DARK HORSE - pulled single issues)
·SECRET SIX (DC - trades)
·ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN (IMAGE - single issues, pulled)
·CHEW (IMAGE - trades)
·HAUNT (IMAGE - Trades)
·IMAGE UTD (IMAGE - pulled single issues)
·RESIDENT EVIL (WILDSTORM - pulled single issues)
·DARK AVENGERS (MARVEL - HCs)
·DEADPOOL (MARVEL - HCs)

Highly anticipated -
·BLACKEST NIGHT - collected edition HC
·SIEGE - collected edition HC
·ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2
·BRIGHTEST DAY
·DEATHLOK

Now i know what you're thinking. i just read anything and everything by Robert Kirkman! Who doesn't!? the guy's probably worked hard and produced some incredible ongoing series. Invincible is without a doubt my favourite comic of all. i love this superhero and can't wait for the trades to come out. long may Invincible reign.

there's prob a lot i'm not reading that i should be. in my collection i have a lot of Tranfomers and Green Lantern. they are just cool comics. I'll probably be devoting a lot of words to Transformers and the whole IDW-verse soon. i have a lot to say.

as often as i can, i'll publish the odd review of the titles mentioned above as and when i get them. it'll either be single monthly issues or the collected trade or HC.

I can't wait for Blackest Night. i wanted to wait for the collected HC simply because i didn't want my reading experience spoiled with adverts in the monthly comics!

Now then, onto the reviews...