In the last few months with everything that has been happening in the comic book world I have noticed something, I have noticed that as in life so many people are negative and love to put down a comic, a character or a story line much more than they will praise it or even just say it was ok.

I've come to believe that the majority of comic book fans (not me or the people I talk comics with) are looking for something to be negative with, in fact there are a few who rip into everything from Marvel and DC yet praise all from Image or Dark horse which is clearly just because they don’t see them as mainstream so must be “cool”.

These comic book fans annoy me and I don’t mind telling you that at all, they are as bad as the music Nazi’s we all know, who love an underground band until they sign a major record deal and are then suddenly sell outs and crap, even though the first album is the same songs they were singing happily along too when no one knew who they were.

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Link: http://www.witchdoctorcomic.com/

Every now and again something happens to each and every one of us that stirs a passion inside, something that has perhaps lapsed or maybe we never knew was there.

Let me tell you a little story about a guy who had collected comics for eleven years up until the age of twenty three.

When he was twenty three his girlfriend at the time was pregnant with his first child and they had just recently moved in together after dating for around three years.

Money being low and a new house on the go with a baby due soon too, he took the adult decision (pushed and prompted by his partner at the time) to sell all his comic books and graphic novels. And that was that, he was not to even step foot into a comic book store for another decade, let alone buy a comic.

In case you haven’t already guessed, the guy I am telling you about is me; those were my comics and my fallen passion.

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As a gay man, I feel pretty strongly rooted and secure in my identity and connection to gay culture. As an avid comics reader, I feel strong in the thought that I am not overly fanboyish and can remain reasoned and thoughtful through the multitude of characters and situations I digest on a weekly basis.
So, you can imagine my concern when I find myself feeling these ideals of the structure of my personality come into question.

One such thing that I have found has the habit of doing this (not often, but casually, and recurring in such rarity that I’m always left for a momentary loop when it happens) is the comic Invincible.
For those of you who don’t read Invincible (something I’ve recently learned there are far to many of), it’s the brainchild of Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker. Following the adventures of young, new superhero Invincible (Mark Grayson) on his rollercoaster, rocket-fuelled ascendance as one of the leading superheroes in his world, the story is fraught with family drama, betrayals, teen angst; and yet it’s bold, exciting, funny and, most of all, fun.

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There are two good reasons to pick up Incredible Hulk #1 when it relaunches in October; Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri. One is a writer who has taken Marvel by storm, taking well known characters to places they've never been before, the other is a legendary artist who made a name for himself on the X-Men and was one of the famous seven that went on to form Image comics and then Top Cow. Need I say more?

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Hullo there, well this week is another Trade review with a backstory on the characters and their publishing history, this time from Image comics under the Wildstorm banner comes Gen 13: World's End, this book is written by Scott Beatty (Joker: last Laugh, Robin Year one) and illustrated by Mike Huddleston (Harley Quinn, Captain America Red White and Blue).

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Welcome to the second day of our Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) reviews, today we take a look at a relatively new book from Image; Super Dinosaur. From the brain of The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman comes this all ages book about a boy and his super-smart, super-teched, super-friend; Super Dinosaur (SD). The first issue of SD was released just a couple of weeks ago so this FCBD edition is perfectly timed to pick bring readers along for the ride right from the start. The FCBD issue is actually an origin story which was eluded to in the first issue but it's nice that Kirkman chose to reveal it here to the widest audience.

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I made no bones about how pants I thought Marvel's special Avengers teaser images were, so much so that I stopped posting them on the blog. So imagine my joy when I saw this cheeky little teaser from those rapscallions at Image Comics. Firmly taking the piss outta Marvel but effectively promoting the Image Universe's very first proper ongoing team book; Guardians of the Globe, kudos to the Image marketing team I say (not sure aboput the name though guys).

Right.

Here we go.

My first ever blog, review or whatever you want to call it on the web, so be gentle with your comments …

I thought I would start with something easy so have decided to review Issue 1# of Cowboy, Ninja, Viking from Image. This is the first Image title I have picked up as, for those familiar with the Sidekickcast (the best UK comic podcast!), you will know that I have only recently got back in to comics. On my comic crusade, I have been picking up a lot of issue ones so I can start fresh without having to pick up extensive back catalogues.

The book focuses on the main character Duncan, who has a multiple personality disorder. As is explained in the first issue, Duncan was part of an experiment to utilise his condition so he could be used to combat the war on terror. Duncan has three distinct personalities, the Cowboy, Ninja and Viking. He takes on each of these distinct personalities and there is great dialogue in the book between the three personalities, with Duncan being the medium.

The twist is that Duncan was one of many of what they call “Triplets” and the only success story. This is the set up for, what I guess, is a number of issues whereby Duncan runs into/finds/hunts the other Triplets.

I think this is a brilliant idea for a comic and applaud the creator AJ Lieberman who writes the story. The book reads really well and the story jumps from one place to the other keeping you interested throughout. The art is also fantastic (drawn and coloured by Riley Rossmo) in black and white except for the colour of sky blue, which is used to great effect throughout the issue.

It also has a different shape to regular comics, which makes it stand out on the shelf and an intriguing buy.

My advice, pick this up!