Thor, God of thunder : The God Butcher by Jason Aaron art by Esad Ribic YP FIC AARON

Thor is a brash young god (just a few 100 years old!) in the age of vikings who lives for adventure and conquest, but is not yet ready to wield Mjolnir*, on of the mightiest weapons of all gods.  Thor is the God of Thunder, possessor of Mjolnir, Avenger, protector of Earth.  Thor is king of all of Asgard and the last living God in the universe thousands of years into the future.  In all these times Thor must face an enemy like he has never conceived of: the God Butcher.  A being that is so powerful he searches the cosmos to methodically, slowly, ruthlessly torture and kill entire pantheons of gods.  If he fails in this task then all of creation is threatened.

This comic is absolutely epic.  It tells three unique stories in Thor's youth, maturity, and old age and all three work to build the tension and make the story larger than life.  The three separate arcs all meet up in very interesting ways, so it isn't just pointless flashbacks to convey character. It also harkens back to good ole' Jack Kirby Thor comics that often had back up stories of young Thor.  In this case it makes the story one beyond the limits of time itself, which makes it seem a tale fit for mythology and the gods!  Plotting, dialogue, and character are all top notch, but it's the absolutely gorgeous
painted art that makes it's something really special.  Esad Ribic is a true talent and his full and beautiful images make this seem like an instant classic.  He can convey beauty and grisly horror equally well, and really brings back the awe in reading about gods and monsters. This is easily the best new book in the Marvel Comics line and a great place for new fans to start. So if you are a long time super hero fan or just want to know who the blond dude in The Avengers was, check out Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher!


You can find Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher in our catalog here.




*Which translates to "That which smashes".  AWESOME!

The Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Art by John Romita Jr. YP FIC BENDIS

The Avengers are back after Civil Wars, alien invasions, bad guys running America’s top security forces, and other assorted wackness. Now Hawkeye, Iron Man, Captain America (the Bucky one), Wolverine, Spiderman, Spiderwoman (they SERIOSULY needed both?), Thor, and Noh-Varr have to head to the future and stop a never ending war that will destroy the entire time-space continuum.

After probably the 33,467,898^th roster change we have an Avengers line up worth caring about (except for Spiderwoman and Noh-Varr. Nobody cares about them). And with the parenthetical exception all our new avengers have big budget movies coming out or have recently come out. Smart move Marvel! All imputing of crass marketing motives aside, this is an awesome roster of awesome heroes. Bendis makes good use of the heroes too and gives us plenty of super powered mega battles of EPIC proportion. When time gets all herky-jerky the Avengers have to fight foes from all sorts of alternate time streams, which gives Bendis and Romita Jr. to through in a bunch of shout outs to older Marvel stories that the super fans will appreciate (I did!). The art (as with anything Romita Jr. does) is superb. The plot is brisk and action packed and there is no drawn out soul searching or political allegories! A great read for fans of superhero comics and awesomeness

Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar Illustrated by Steve McNiven YP FIC MILLAR

Wolverine died with all the rest of the heroes, the night all super villains realized that if they teamed up all at once they outnumbered heroes about like 50 to one. However, Logan the man that once WAS Wolverine DID survive, but took a vow never to SNIKT again and lives a life as a peaceful farmer in an America run and ruined by super villains. He agrees to be the eyes for a now blind Clint “Hawkeye” Barton as they take the Spiderbuggy to across the devastated country to deliver a secret cargo. The trip will test Logan on every level to keep the beast inside.

This one has it ALL! Post apocalyptic future where all heroes were brutally murdered: check. Inbred Hulkbillys (Hillbilly Hulks): Check. The Spiderbuggy (Spider-Man’s ridiculous car he built in the 70s that could climb walls. Really. It was sort of silly): CHECK!!! A Venom Dinosaur: CHECK!!!!! Billions of other comic references punctuated with gratuitous (but gorgeously rendered) ultraviolence: Giant Check. The art by McNiven is detailed, rich, and comes alive in the many action scenes. This book is filled with great surprises, especially for serious comic fans. It’s one of Millar’s best works and one of the best if not THE BEST Marvel set in The Future comics (of which they’ve had about 345,236 by now). This won’t be for everyone because of the aforementioned ULTRAVIOLENCE, but if you like your comics hard and gritty and enjoy action and dark humor, you simply must read Old Man Logan.

Captain America: Two Americas by Ed Brubaker Illustrated by Luke Ross

Steve Rogers, the original, Captain America is back from being trapped in a mental time loop in his brain (long story), so now he has to decide if he will take up his shield or leave it in the hands of the new Captain America, his former side kick Bucky Barnes. Whoever gets to carry the shield has to fight a totally different and TOTALLY INSANE Captain America from the 1950s before he and his terrorist squadron kill millions!

This is a straightforward action showcase with a fun espionage feel. The often times heavy handed super hero obsessing over the burdens of power is kept to a minimum for loads of awesome action sequences that pay off big time. Long time super hero fans will definitely appreciate how much page time The Falcon gets, because his adventures with Captain America have long been a highlight of the series. The art by Luke Ross is superb and harkens back to the great Marvel artists of the 70s like Jack “The King” Kirby”, Gene Colan and Neal Adams. Several panels are laid out to look exactly like their work as homage. So if you want to read a classic adventure super hero tale with great art then look no further.

The Invincible Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted by Matt Fraction Art by Salvador Larroca YP FIC FRACTION

Tony Stark is a hunted man. His company is all but destroyed. His armor is functioning way below capacity. And the most powerful man in America is Norman Osborn, a super villain that has everyone convinced he’s a hero and Tony Stark is a traitor and a terrorist. Best of all he has the secret identity of every hero in America hidden in his brain and Osborn wants to scoop it out. Iron Man has to defy the government, keep his friends from being murdered, and keep out of Osborn’s grasp while he ERASES HIS OWN BRAIN!!!

Iron Man written by Matt Fraction is better than he has ever been. If you know of Iron Man from the AWESOME movies starring Robert Downey Jr. then you will feel right at home with this Iron Man. Tony Stark is funny, brilliant, but arrogant and blinded by his pride. It makes for a fun super-hero that can cause as much damage as the villains he fights. Also, this book has plenty of subtext about our own real world government and its war on terror. Like most super hero books that get political it is sometimes a little silly to see caped people being metaphors for current geopolitical unrest, but Fraction’s writing again saves the day. Most Wanted isn’t just a silly book about a man in a robot suit punching and shooting the bad guys. It’s a tense and intelligent thriller with complex characters and great twists and turns ABOUT a man in a robot suit punching and shooting the bad guys! If you liked the movies or enjoy super hero comics jump into the Iron Man books today!

1985 by Mark Millar Art by Tommy Lee Edwards YP FIC EDWARDS

No this isn’t that one they sometimes make you read in high school about Big Brother, though that one is all sorts of awesome in its own way (Hint: 1984 FIC ORWELL). Toby has always loved comic books. In fact, he obsesses over them to the point that they are the most important thing in his life. So when he sees the Red Skull looking at him from the creepy old mansion outside of town he starts to think maybe his mom is right about comics rotting his brain. But then the Vulture is on the news, and he really flies. That’s when he realizes that something horrible has happened. He always dreamed about what it would be like if all his favorite Marvel comics’ characters were real. He just never thought what might happen if it were just the villains. Now the entire world is being invaded by all the most deadly forces ever thought uo by a comic writer and only a 13 year old boy can stop them.

This book is a unique look at how comics can be a lonely outcast’s best friend and worst enemy at the same time. Toby’s obsession with comics is definitely messing up his life, but it’s only that obsession that lets him know what’s going on before anyone else and gives him the courage to try and stop it. It really is a beautiful and strange love letter to cheesy super hero comics. The art is very detailed and life like except for later in where it cuts to the Marvel Universe and things look more simple and stylized. Millar does a great job of starting to build the suspense slow with just a few villains at a time, but before long there is a army of super villains causing terrifying destruction. It is a feat for Millar and Edwards to take the incredibly cheesy evildoers of 80s comics and make them frightening but they pull it off in a big way. This is a total must read for fans of superhero books, but is clever aon original enough that even non-tights fans can find a lot to enjoy.