Steve G, you’re outta here. I?ve finally taken over. That?s right; the revolution will be televised or, specifically, streamed. For the record, this website, for the week, will be called ?The Britt Report? or what I’d like to call it, ?4CR Held Hostage?. There are no demands other than you must read everything that comes out this week and make a ton of comments. Good, bad or just for vanity?s sake so you can see your name on a cool website. Just participate. Viva la Revolucion!

Scott Morse?s Spaghetti Western (Oni Press; Digest-Sized GN; Black & White with Sepia tones)
Creator: Scott Morse

Imagine going to the bank and waiting in line to make a deposit through a bank teller since you left your ATM card at home. While you stare at the floor to try to pass the time, a couple of real desperadoes in full cowboy attire walk right through the door. You?re thinking to yourself; ?Is this for real?? Or, ?Damn that Ashton Kutcher!? You’re no longer bored, are you?

Scott Morse, who has covered such diverse subjects like religion (Visitations), Akira Kurosawa (Barefoot Serpent), a robot fighting tiger (Southpaw) and regular superheroes (Elektra, Plastic Man & Batman), really channels Sergio Leone with this modern day setup of el banditos on a mission by using a sense of humanity, a touch of humor and the usual code of honor among thieves. While the words may be far and few between in this book, they are never wasted.

Morse?s art compliments the story completely. The way that his pencils give the characters a sketchy feel to them, it?s almost like looking at grainy film on a textured wall. Though, if you?re not a fan of the man?s work, the art may not be totally for you. And the page orientation is in a landscape or Widescreen format, which also gives the book a movie-ish quality. A good package all around.

Extras: A good intro by the creator and a paper slipcase that rights the book upright for proper bookcase storage. And for $11.95, it?s definitely worth a look.

H.

Britt Schramm reviews trades and graphic novels at 4CR. He also has a bi-weekly column about comics called Preachin’ From The Longbox at Moviepoopshoot.com

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Hey, how?s everybody doing? Long time no see. I know, I know it?s my bad but I?ll try to make it up to you by going daily next week. And since I?m going to try for my personal record of more than one review a week, I?ll try to keep these reviews simple and to the point. Wish me luck and here?s a taste of what?s to come. You?ve been warned.

Sleeper Volume 2: All False Moves Trade (DC; Color)
Creators: Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips

The second collection of the Sleeper monthly books (#7-12) continues to be an exercise in how to write a suspenseful adult thriller. Double Agent Holden Carver is been accused by his agency of being a traitor. But what they don’t know is that he’s actually under deep cover from orders by his boss, who’s in a coma. Since Holden is basically left hung out to dry, he struggles with a life-altering decision: stay true to his deep undercover operation or give up his morals and previous life to become the harden criminal that everybody thinks he is?

Brubaker, critically acclaimed for his hard boiled books (Scene of the Crime, Point Blank) as well as his superhero fare (Gotham Central, Catwoman), does not skimp on the grit and tone of this series. You almost feel dirty reading it. Phillips, whose work I thought defined a great Wildcats run with Joe Casey, is still on point with this title. His shady art gives this book the kind of visual depth that you usually only see on the boob tube. If you?re not reading this series, you?re definitely missing out.

Extras: None, but with the high-end quality paper used for this trade more than makes up for the $17.95 price tag.

Highly recommended.

Britt Schramm reviews trades and graphic novels at 4CR. He also has a bi-weekly column about comics called Preachin’ From The Longbox at Moviepoopshoot.com

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Stopping short of lying to you guys about its military service, this right here is known as Da Trades, the 4CR column dedicated to the collected comic book form. Sorry for missing last week but if Warren Ellis can come out with the third part of Ministry of Space over a year after number two came out, Da Trades can miss a week. So, to make up for it, this week is a special edition while keeping it at the same non-nonsense price. To commemorate this event, here?s the special edition version of the Rundown:

Sentinel: Salvage Digest-sized Trade (Marvel; Color)
Creators: Sean McKeever & UDON

Imagine you?re in a freshman in high school with nothing going for you (no money, no girlfriend, living in fear from senior hazing) and you find the remains of a mutant-hating, self-repairing robot. Sounds like good times. Not for Juston Seyfert. For him, it?s taking over his life, causing strife with his family and possibly losing the only girl that would talk to him. Ugh, that?s gotta hurt.

While this book maybe aimed at younger readers, there are some very familiar themes to almost anyone who?s been through the hallowed halls of a high school. Who hasn?t felt lost when you start something new? Or felt like a loser McKeever characterizes Juston and his friends as the typical outcast teens but without sounding stereotypically jaded. UDON?s work is kinda like a hybrid of Manga and traditional American comic art and this book does play to its strengths like the Jessie?s ?Kitty? hat reflecting her emotions, the whole mecha thing and the characters? body proportions. It doesn?t hurt that Manga is what the kids are into these days. This book is a great introduction for those readers who are afraid of the Manga scene and are looking for something very familiar to test out.

Extras: None, but for around $8 (less than the price of two Prestige books), the inherent value is more than there.

Highly recommended.

Big O Vol 6 Digest-Sized Trade (VIZ; B/W)
Creator: Hitoshi Ariga

How much of a price would you place on your memories? $50,000? $100,000? One meelyon dollars? (Sorry, couldn?t help myself.) However, for the citizens of Paradigm City, they would spend money faster than George Steinbrenner during the Hot Stove League as they?ve been stuck in an amnesia-like fog for the past 40 years and are struggling with the present while trying to remember their past. Dorothy, Roger Smith?s robotic sidekick, has been kidnapped and later recovered without her memory disc. Smith tries frantically to save get the disc but with the help of his giant robot, Big O, will he find it in time?

Big O Volume 6 is the last collection of the serialized Japanese Manga based on the hit Anime TV series. Big O has been compared to Batman: The Animated Series on its stylized look, which has been a help or a hindrance depending on who you ask. To me, the comparison was a determining factor in first watching it on Cartoon Network. After that, I was hooked. Unfortunately, the first few story arcs of the Manga were more or less a re-telling of the Anime series. That is until this one.

For once, this trade actually goes and challenges the protagonist of this series, Smith, to deal with his outright refusal to feel remorse for the loss of the past by the taking of Dorothy’s memory disc. I think that, with this book, the series was hitting its stride and was finally digging deeper than just the standard mecha Manga by fleshing out more of the characters? relationships and their own identities. Smith actually emotes about this situation rather than his normal cold reasoning. Unfortunately, the series ends with a conclusion that didn’t seem quite fulfilling (somewhat like the first Anime series run). Those who enjoyed the anime series (as well as the fans of B:TAS and quite possibly Dark Horse’s Shadow Lady) should really buy this book and hopefully do to the Manga what was done with the Anime ? let it have a second chance.

The Complete Peanuts Dailies & Sundays 1950-1952 HC (Fantagraphics; B/W)
Creator: Charles Schultz

Come on; how much of a hard sell do I have to give you for this book? I mean, this is probably the best daily strip of its time and launched numerous TV specials, movies and probably has the most recognized sequential characters in the entire world. And I still have to convince you guys that this book is a must have? OK, fine. Get ready ?cuz here it comes.

This hardcover, the first in a series collecting the entire Peanuts newspaper run, covers the first two years of the Peanuts daily and Sunday strips. All of the favorites are there ? Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Snoopy and good ole Charlie Brown. But they?re not the iconic figures that everyone knows and loves. Most of Charles Schultz?s creations are literally at their infancy. And their dialogue is not what you expect which is makes this book really great ? you actually get to see the characters develop and ?grow? into the loveable characters of our youth.

If that?s not enough for you, just look at the production values. The book is beautifully designed with care by Seth, the creator of It?s A Good Life If You Don?t Weaken, Palooka-Ville and Vernacular Drawings. (That?s great Indy cred, in case ya didn?t know.) Also, the strips are reproduced in a crisp presentation copied directly from the Schultz archives. And there is a glowing intro by Lake Wobegon?s own Garrison Keillor.

Enough already, just get this book; you won?t regret it, ya Blockhead!

The Last of the Independents (AIT/Planet Lar; B/W with tonal hues)
Creators: Matt Fraction & Kieron Dwyer

I know that this book just came out last year but I think that some people may have let this gem slip below the radar. Cole Caudle wants one last payday before he gets out of the smash-and-grab business. So he assembles his team together and plans it out to the nines. But what he doesn?t know that the hit he?s planning is a mob?s gravy train. Fraction weaves some very realistic dialog and doesn?t reduce the characters to stereotypical stick figures. Dwyer?s bare-bones art makes this book feel like a fully developed movie storyboard. The landscape format of the book adds to that feel as well. Fans of any Tarantino movie, ?A Simple Plan? or ?The Italian Job? will definitely dig this book.

Now, for a look at this week?s Trades and GNs (courtesy of The New Comic Book Release List):

Dark Horse:
Cannon God Exaxxion Stage 3 TPB

DC:
Gregory Treasury Vol 2 TPB
Orbiter SC
Terra Obscura TPB

IDW:
None

Image:
Kane Vol 2 Rabbit Hunt TPB
Walking Dead Vol 1 Days Gone Bye TPB

Marvel:
Venom Vol 1 Shiver TPB

Oni Press:
None

Viz:
Basara Vol 6 TPB
Dragonball Vol 15 TPB Shonen J Ed
Knights Of The Zodiac Vol 3 GN
Megaman Nt Warrior Vol 1 GN
Neon Genesis Evangelion Vol 3 TPB 2nd Ed
Phoenix Vol 4 TPB
Prince Of Tennis Vol 1 GN
Shaman King Vol 3 TPB
Wedding Peach Vol 6 TPB

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Welcome to Da Trades, the 4CR column dedicated to the collected comic book form. For those who weren?t with us last time, here?s the usual weekly Rundown:

It?s A Bird? (Vertigo/DC; Color)
Creators: Steven T. Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen

What would you do if you were given a choice assignment that only a few are even given a chance to do and you don?t feel that you can do it? That?s the setup for ?It?s A Bird…? a wonderfully crafted hardcover that follows Steve as he goes through both personal and professional issues when he?s asked to take over the writing duties of Superman, one of the most popular icons of the last 80 years.

It?s basically an ?indy? book with its look and feel but plays with one of DC?s most notable characters. That?s probably why this hardcover is on the Vertigo imprint versus residing in the grand ole DCU as there is no real offensive language in the book.

As far as the story itself goes, it?s solid. Seagle imbibes this story with a tone so personal that you feel like you?re reading his private journal (WARNING A Da Trades Disclaimer: Seagle states in the leaf of the dust jacket that there are only some similarities between himself and the character). Kristiansen?s painted scenes plays to the strengths of this story whether it?s an intimate conversation between Steve and his girlfriend, creating a two-page Warhol-style piece about Superman?s color scheme or revealing the origin of Steve?s repressed fears. This book is, without a doubt, one of the best books to come out in the past six months.

Extras: None, which makes the hardcover somewhat harder to justify with a $25 price tag. But, it?s money well spent.

Highly recommended.

Love Fights Vol. 1 Digest-sized Trade (Oni Press; B/W)
Creator: Andi Watson

Who says that there are no good romance comic books that are for both superhero and non-superhero fans alike? Well, whoever they are, they haven?t been reading Love Fights. This collection of the series? first six issues details the rollercoaster romance between Jack, a comic book penciller and Nora, a reporter for a superhero tabloid mag as well as their dysfunctional relationships with their circle of friends and co-workers.

Watson, whose other works include Geisha, Skeleton Key and Slow News Day, really gives this book a sense of balance between the blooming romance between Jack and Nora, the sometimes humorous situations that love puts people in and the superhero action. Fans of diverse books like Powers, Strangers in Paradise and Gotham Central should definitely check this trade out.

Whiteout (Oni Press; B/W)
Creators: Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber

With the last week?s debut of Greg Rucka penning the Adventures of Superman monthly, it?s seems appropriate to take a look back at the first book that Mr. Rucka wrote for this great industry. This collection of the original four issue miniseries starts out to be a murder story in US Marshall Carrie Stetko?s territory but ends up being a tale about surviving Antarctica?s icy cold dark embrace. It contains most of Rucka?s storytelling strengths ? strong women characterization, espionage, and lots of action. Lieber?s Carrie has a look of someone who has been worn down by both the elements and her unfortunate situation of policing the coldest continent on the planet but she has a harsh stare that reveals an unbelievable iron will. Plus, this book has a killer cover by Frank Miller. This book is a great read.

Now, for a look at this week?s Trades and GNs (courtesy of The New Comic Book Release List):

Dark Horse:
None

DC:
Batman Gotham Central TPB
Tom Strong Book Three HC

IDW:
None

Image:
Dioramas A Love Story GN
Savage Dragon Vol. 6 Gang War HC

Marvel:
Essential Tomb Of Dracula Vol. 2 TPB
Silver Surfer Vol. 1 Communion TPB
Spider-Man Doctor Octopus Negative Exposure TPB
Ultimates Vol. 2 Homeland Security TPB

Oni Press:
None

Viz:
Battle Angel Alita Vol. 3 TPB 2nd Ed Killing Angel, $9.95
Excel Saga Vol. 6 TPB, $9.95
Hot Gimmick Vol. 4 TPB, $9.95
Nausicaa Of Valley Of Wind Vol. 3 TPB 2nd Ed, $9.95
Neon Genesis Evangelion Vol. 2 TPB 2nd Ed, $9.95
Please Save My Earth Vol. 4 TPB, $9.95
Ranma 1/2 TPB Vol. 10 2nd Ed, $9.95
Short Program Vol. 2, $9.95

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Welcome to the first column of Da Trades, the 4CR column dedicated to the collected comic book form. Each week or so, this column will give you the rundown on the field?s best trade paperbacks and graphic novels. Depending on what?s available, the format will usually comprise of :

So, without further ado, let?s begin..

Invincible: Eight is Enough (Image)
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Cory Walker (Pencils/Inks), Ryan Ottley (P/I), Terry Stevens(P/I), Matt Roberts (P), Tony Moore(I), Mark Englert (P), Erik Larsen (I), Dave Johnson (P/I), and Cliff Rathburn (P/I)

Ever have one of those days when you wake up late and discover that you have to protect the Earth from a global invader while trying to get into the college that you want? Then, welcome to the world of Mark Grayson, otherwise known as Invincible. This trade, which is the second collection of the Invincible monthlies, follows the highs and lows of Omni-Man?s teenage son while he tries to figure out the whole superhero biz.

Overall, I liked this book. The first trade grabbed me and I couldn?t wait for the second one to come out. But this book felt more like a collection of Invincible stories versus a complete story arc as the flow didn?t seem to be there at all. But outside of that, the writing was great. Kirkman?s version of a well-known superteam was, at once, familiar yet different (imagine having to puke out your power in order to change into your secret identity. Nice.). Also, the penciler change (from Walker to Ottley) didn?t affect the look of the characters or the book at all.

Extras: Great intro by Erik Larsen; some good pencil breakdowns of covers; and sketches of characters appearing in the trade.

Highly recommended.

Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective Series (Nite Owl Comics)
Writer/Artist: Frank Cammuso

What? You haven?t heard of these books? They?re like a combination of part Fractured Fairy Tales, part Who Framed Roger Rabbit with a dash of childlike innocence. These books tell the story of the aforementioned Hamm as he sticks his nose into places that might make him wish that he didn?t. Cammuso?s story and animation-style art make the books feel more like the old Gold Key children?s books that inspires their covers. It?s fun stuff for all ages. Go get it, now!!

Cosmic Odyssey (DC)
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artists: Mike Mignola (Pencils), Carlos Garzon (Inks)

With all of those Hellboy fans out there (where were you for the opening weekend? I needed you, people!), you probably purchased or at least looked at this one. But for those new to the man known as Mignola, this is a book you should check out. Scripted by Jim Starlin, a veteran of many space epics, this book doesn?t really break any ground as far as the standard team of non-compatible heroes against a galaxy-threatening force. This book?s real strength is that it truly showcases Mr. Mignola?s art in a celestial light. Plus, it has DC?s own ?hellboy?, The Demon Etrigan. So, go to your local shop and take a look; you won?t be disappointed, trust me.

Now, for a look at this week?s Trades and GNs (courtesy of The New Comic Book Release List):

Dark Horse:
100 Paintings HC
Go Boy 7 Vol 1 Ready Set Go TPB
Ultraman Tiga Vol 1 TPB

DC:
Fables Vol 3 Storybook Love TPB
JLA One Million TPB New Printing
Superman Batman Public Enemies HC

IDW:
Spookhouse Vol 1 TPB

Image:
Heaven Llc GN

Marvel:
Essential Daredevil Vol 2 TPB
Marvel Masterworks Amazing Spider-Man Vol 6 2nd Ed HC
Wolverine Vol 2 Coyote Crossing TPB

Oni Press:
Love Fights Vol 1 TPB

Viz:
Ceres Celestial Legend Vol 3 TPB 2nd Ed Suzumi
Flowers And Bees Vol 3 TPB
Vagabond Vol 10 TPB
X 1999 Vol 14 TPB Concerto

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