Chopping Block Review: Happy! #2

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Darick Robertson Publisher: Image Comics Website: www.imagecomics.com In the first issue of the odd yet fascinating world of Happy!, we saw one time cop now turned hit man Nick Sax in the worst situation. Having been shot after a hit gone wrong, he was in a mob hospital with […]

Chopping Block Review: Bedlam #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Nick Spencer Artist: Riley Rossmo Publisher: Image Comics Website: www.imagecomics.com Just in time for Halloween comes a gripping, violent tale of a mad man on the path to wellness, but is that even possible? From the team of Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) and Riley Rossmo (Green Wake) comes Bedlam, a blood soaked […]

Chopping Block Review: Happy! #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Darick Robertson Publisher: Image Comics Website: www.imagecomics.com When the teasers for this book hit the ‘net, it left many wondering what to expect. All we knew was that Grant Morrison (We 3, Superman) would be at the helm, and that Darick Robertson (The Boys) would bring the story to life […]

Chopping Block Review: The Victories #3

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: Michael Avon Oeming Artist: Michael Avon Oeming Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Website: www.darkhorse.com I have been saying it all year: Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories was going to be HUGE! I mean, look at what Oeming has done already: Powers, Hammer of the Gods, Bastard Samurai to name only a few (all of […]

Chopping Block Review: Uncanny Avengers #1

Now that Avengers Vs X-Men is in the record books, Marvel Now is here. The first series to come out the gate is the Uncanny Avengers, a book that boasts a half X-Men/ half Avengers roster. Now, the idea is kind of out there, but seeing one name as the writer put my fears at ease: Rick Remender. Along with […]

Chopping Block Review: Batman #13

The New 52 hasn’t been a really big hit with me, I want to be honest with that right at the beginning. I was picking up Justice League, Aquaman, Batman, Green Lantern, and so on at the beginning. Soon, that changed to only picking up Batman and Animal Man, and eventually I ended up dropping all my DC titles. Yet, […]

Chopping Block Review: Grendel Omnibus Volume 1- Hunter Rose

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Matt Wagner Artists: Matt Wagner, Tim Sale, David Mack, Duncan Fegredo, Mike Allred, Guy Davis, Teddy Kristiansen, Ashley Wood, Mike Huddleston and Dean Motter Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Release Date: July 2012 Website: www.darkhorse.com FOR MATURE READERS Thirty years ago, a single man shook the world of comics: a solitary man donned […]

Chopping Block Review: Archer & Armstrong #3

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Fred Van Lente Artist: Clayton Henry Publisher: Valiant Entertainment Website www.valiantcomics.com Out of all the books Valiant has producing, Archer and Armstrong has been my favorite. Though only having two issues out before this issue, I was immediately hooked by it. The drunken immortal, the fish out of water prodigy, the buddy […]

Chopping Block Review: Batman #0 (2012)

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Greg Capullo Publisher: DC Comics Website: www.dccomics.com Out of the big seven in regards to the New 52 relaunch, Batman stayed the most familiar. Sure, his costume changed a tad bit, but it was Bruce Wayne under the mask once again with his son Damien as Robin. The Batman title has been on fire as of […]

Chopping Block Review: Animal Man #0

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Steve Pugh Publisher: DC Comics Website: www.dccomics.com When the new 52 hit last year for DC Comics, there were two titles I was excited for the most: Aquaman and Animal Man. Now, you might be thinking: Animal Man? Why not Superman, or Batman, or Justice League? Well, because an Animal […]

Chopping Block Review: ParaNorman

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation I have seen trailers for ParaNorman since last year. When I saw the first one, which had a very odd song choice for the trailer and nothing to really grab the audience, I thought it was an easy pass. Then, the more I saw of the film, including the giant witch head in the […]

Chopping Block Review: Archer and Armstrong #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Fred Van Lente Artist: Clayton Henry Publisher: Valiant Entertainment Website: www.valiantcomics.com The summer of Valiant brought back four classic Valiant properties: X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong. Now, I was familiar with three of those titles, but I have never read Archer and Armstrong. When I heard about the relaunch, […]

Chopping Block Review: The Victories #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation Writer: Michael Avon Oeming Artist: Michael Avon Oeming Release Date: August 15th, 2012 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Website: www.darkhorse.com Michael Avon Oeming is one those comic book creators that grabs your attention right from the get go. I own much of his works, from his crazy popular Powers, the bloodier than hell Bastard […]

Chopping Block Review: It Girl and the Atomics #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: Jamie S. Rich Artist: Mike Norton Release Date: August 8th, 2012 Publisher: Image Comics Website: www.imagecomics.com Mike Allred’s Madman is an independent staple in the comic industry. The zany world of Frank Einstein is one of the most original, colorful worlds seen on the four-color page. The Atomics are a part of this […]

Chopping Block Review: Beasts of Burden-Neighborhood Watch

Review by Nolan P. Smith Writer: Evan Dorkin Artist: Jill Thompson Release Date: August 1st, 2012 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Website: www.darkhorse.com Back in 2005, Beasts of Burden took home a prestigious Will Eisner Industry Award for Best Short Story. In 2010, it received another for Best Publication for Teens. If you are reading this and still have no clue […]

Chopping Block Review-Axe Cop: President of the World #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: Malachai Nicolle Artist: Ethan Nicolle Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Website: www.darkhorse.com I first heard about Axe Cop in late 2010, and wow, was I blown away. Created by brothers Malachai and Ethan Nicolle, the book did something I had never seen: it put a child in the writer’s chair. You see, Malachai was […]

Chopping Block Review- Chew: Secret Agent Poyo #1

Review by Nolan P. Smith-Pastrami Nation Writer: John Layman Artist: Rob Guillory Publisher: Image Comics Website: www.imagecomics.com FOR MATURE READERS A death defying, tough as nails, secret agent rooster; if that premise doesn’t scream about the originality in comics, then I don’t know what does. Spinning out of one of Image Comic’s critically acclaimed titles, Chew, we now get a […]