Comics I Bought: May 24, 2007

Man what a slow week at the local comic shop. I got no new comics. None of my regulars were in and there was nothing new that I was interested in. I did pick up the latest issue (22) of "Back Issue" magazine to tide me over. It's a mag all about comics of the 70's and 80's. Meanwhile here are some reviews.

Week Twenty of my reviews of recent DC Comics.

Checkmate "A King's Game" TPB - Collects "Checkmate" issues 1-7 - Well, I only made it through one issue of this trade. Life is too short to read anymore of it.

Checkmate is a U.N. team of citizens and super heros set up to deal with super powered problems. More stuff like StormWatch but not as good. The first issue has a U.N. meeting with them voting on extending Checkmate's charter and a team of secret agents infiltrating and brutally killing some bad guys at the bad guy's hide out. It's not a good thing when I end up pulling for the villains because the good guys are so brutal, merciless, and unheroic.

Mediocre stuff. I'm going to see if I can find something better to read.

Testament "West of Eden" TPB Collects "Testament" issues 6-10 - Another trade that I only made it through one issue of. This is getting depressing. It's a good thing I was gifted these books.

At least I'll give this book credit for trying something different. It's about gods and prophets existing and how they influence life and mankind. People write stories of the gods and the gods write stories of the people. But it's all done with a heavy hand. There is not much subtlety and everyone is always having "deep" conversations. I find it all pretty awkward and neither entertaining or enlightening. Ah, well...

The Exterminators "Bug Brothers" TPB collects issues 1-5 of "The Exterminators" - Finally a trade I made it all the way through! I was hoping this one would be good because I liked some of the artist's(Tony Moore) previous efforts. He drew issues of both "Fear Agent" and "Walking Dead".

The Exterminators is about, what else, a group of exterminators who live and work near LA. The lead character is an ex-con who just started working at his mother's boyfriend's extermination business.

The book is filled with wacko characters and the plot involves mysterious deaths, shootin' up bug poison, mutant insects, a mysterious box, an assumed evil corporation, and some thugs. All in all it makes the extermination game seem exciting. Good stuff all around.

The only complaint I have is that the dialogue is a little stiff at times. I could also do without the lipstick lesbians who are obviously there for male titillation. I'm a little tired of that gimmick. But overall the writing is solid and the story interesting. Check it out for something a little different.