Pads & Panels

Best Comic Books of 2011

Matt’s Picks

Ducktales/Darkwing Duck Series’ Finale Crossover — Imagine being a kid and watching the Disney Afternoon cartoon block when you get home from school. For thirty seconds, you’d see Uncle Scrooge having a snowball fight with his nephews when suddenly Goselyn walks up. You think “Hey, isn’t Goselyn on Darkwing Duck? What’s she doing in Duckberg?” Then, Darkwing walks up and shoots a snowball out of his gas gun. Sure, it’s just a “Happy Holidays from Disney” commercial, but you wish there was a full episode featuring a teamup of your favorite ducks. Wish no more, because Kaboom made that happen with the final issues of Ducktales and Darkwing Duck (respectively). With a captivating story by Epic Mickey‘s Warren Spector and illustration by cartoon veteran James Silvani, this story is sure to entertain and leave you with a smile on your face. (more…)

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12 Things to be Excited About in 2012

By Matt Peters

This year is scheduled to be one of the biggest of note in the world of comics, video games, and all-around geekiness. We here at Pads & Panels would like to give you twelve reasons that 2012 will be awesome. Let’s hope our Mayan overlords don’t return from outer space until we get to experience most of it. Take a look below for some of the highlights:

*WARNING, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

(more…)

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Title: The Broadcast

Publisher: NBM Publishing, Inc.

Writer: Eric Hobbs

Artist: Noel Tuazon

Rating:

Review by: Aaron Ray

Inspired by the actual panic that resulted from Orson Welles’ original 1938 broadcast of “The War of the Worlds,” The Broadcast is a short and simple story about the lengths that people will go to while protecting themselves from danger. Eric Hobbs and Noel Tuazon craft an engaging story full of relatable characters, suspense, and possibly even a moral or two in among its ink washed pages. (more…)

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Title: The Walking Dead Vol. 13: Too Far Gone

Publisher: Image

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artists: Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

“Too Far Gone,” the 13th volume of The Walking Dead, brings the set-up of Kirkman’s Washington, D.C. arc to a head. In “Life Among Them,” the group of survivors we’ve been following were taken to a walled community in the nation’s capitol. “Too Far Gone” finds them settling into their new lives, protected from the dead and living back under the constructs of society. But things are far from settled, as Rick and Co. are finding themselves with different levels of suspicion and trust, and blending in or failing to blend in (to different degrees) with the people of the community. Luckily, Kirkman gives two big moments for these relationships to come to a head, with Rick arguably going a bit too far in his role as sheriff, and an aggressive group showing up at the gates. And even with everything in motion, Kirkman finds a way to offer a twist at the end, while remaining faithful to the characters he has created.

“Too Far Gone” collects The Walking Dead issues #73-78.

Pros: Great big moments that bring things to a head for the D.C. arc. Great contention between the group and new community. Solid action all around.

Cons: That there’s not more of it. Rick’s outburst a bit overdone.

For more info, www.imagecomics.com

Pads & Panels received a copy of the book courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

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Title: The Walking Dead Vol. 12: Life Among Them

Publisher: Image

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artists: Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Volume 12 of The Walking Dead, “Too Far Gone,” is the start of a very important arc for Kirkman’s ongoing zombie epic. The first half of the trade is still packed with zombies, but by the second half they are barely seen. That’s because the group finds its way to Washington, D.C., where a large group of survivors has made it with the comforts of the old world in a walled-off community. Surprisingly, the group is welcomed with open arms, but the question becomes – do they have the trust in them to submit wholeheartedly to the group, and does the group truly have the best of intentions in mind? It’s a nice chance of pace, reminding readers that while the zombies are the catalyst for The Walking Dead, it is the people that keep us reading. It is a very important set-up for the series, and asks the important question – can this group survive in a “normal” society after everything they’ve been through? – but readers will have to wait until Volume 13 for the payoff. (more…)

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2010 Holiday Gift Guide – For the Image Comics Fan…

By P&P Staff

The Walking Dead Vol 13

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The Walking Dead is the best zombie comics series hands-down. If your significant other is a comics aficionado, he probably already has the first 12 trades. Number 13 just hit shelves, so the timing couldn’t be much better. If he’s just picking up on the AMC’s television adaption of the series, the massive Compendium (collecting trade paperbacks 1-8, or issues 1-48) is a great way to get caught up at a fair price. (more…)

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The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1 “Days Gone By” Review

By Bill Jones

The hype was there for The Walking Dead. AMC has been running promos incessantly leading up to the premiere Sunday evening, which by no coincidence was Halloween. A countdown timer ran at the top of the screen while AMC played a “Fear Fest” marathon to get people in the mood. Just days before, zombies roamed in cities around the world to get the attention of potential viewers.

And that’s all on the promotion side, not even touching on the hype from the comic community about Robert Kirkman’s phenomenal series finally getting the live-action treatment. It is, after all, probably the best zombie comic series ever written. It is filled with gory action, great characters, big moments and has lasted the test of time as its 13th trade is about to be released. So cutting to the chase, did the show’s premiere live up to the hype? (more…)

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The Walking Dead

Interview with Robert Kirkman

Interview by: Bill Jones

Robert Kirkman may be one of the greatest ambassadors to the comics medium alive. As a writer, he has created the best ongoing zombie series comics have seen in The Walking Dead, carved his own space in the realm of superheroes with the popular Invincible, and has tackled the horror-meets-superhero genre with The Astounding Wolf-Man. All of this while keeping control of his properties through the creator-owned publishing model of Image Comics. That is all, of course, in addition to his work at Marvel, where he became known for his run on Ultimate X-Men and launched the Marvel Zombies series. He also earns cred for starting his career with a concept as awesome as Battle Pope.

In addition to juggling a number of comics franchises, Robert Kirkman has been hard at work in the position of executive producer of AMC’s television series adaptation of The Walking Dead, set to debut this October, directed by Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile). Kirkman took some time earlier this month to answer some questions about his long-running zombie series and delve into the gory details of the upcoming show. Kirkman talks about seeing his comic come to life as a show, his philosophy on adaptations of his work, AMC, working with Frank Darabont, how fatherhood influences his work and what fans can expect from both the show and comic. (more…)

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Title: Invincible Volume Four: “Head of the Class”

Publisher: Image

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artists: Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Trade #4, “Head of the Class,” is the largest trade of the first four volumes, compiling six issues of the comic, plus the Image Summer Special #1. It’s also the most scattershot of the bunch. In the wake of the events of the third trade, Invincible is trying to piece together his life, both on the personal end (with his mother, school and friends) and his role as the planet’s premiere defense system now that Omni-Man has left the planet and the new Guardians of the Globe are failing to live up to expectations. The small stories included are rather amusing – such as an underwater marriage with fish people that Invincible is thrown into – but the fourth trade is one of those Robert Kirkman uses to plant the seeds of later events. So, it’s a bit of bearing with the build-up rather than receiving the payoff, but it’s still relatively entertaining. Fortunately, Ryan Ottley’s art really hits his stride around this point, and the trade provides some of the most interesting visual storytelling in the series yet. (more…)

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Title: Invincible Volume Two: “Eight is Enough”

Publisher: Image

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artists: Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The second major arc of Invincible sees Robert Kirkman turning things on their head almost as fast as it got started. The first couple issues simply feature Invincible battling some seemingly harmless threats, and even using his linguistic skills to resolve a conflict at the outer edge’s of Earth’s atmosphere. The real draws of “Eight is Enough,” however, are the introductions of the Guardians of the Globe, who are essentially parodies of popular Justice League characters, and then the (SPOILER ALERT) violent murder of all of them. And the reveal of the person who did it will ultimately turn Invincible’s world on its head, though he isn’t privy to the same information as the audience up front. “Eight is Enough” also sees the transition from Cory Walker as series artist to Ryan Ottley, who seemingly picks things up, first blending in seemingly without effort, then making the comic his own. It also contains one of the funniest panels in the series. After a friend discovers Invincible’s powers and begs, the young hero takes his guy friend for a flight, Superman style, and simply says, “This is so gay.” (more…)

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