OFF WITH THE TOP OF MY HEAD!

WHAT'S UP WORLD?!
Happy New Year! 2010, damn I cant believe we're already a decade into the 21st century. I still want to know where the hell my damn flying car is. Think about it, during the 40's and 50's pulp sci-fi stories, 2010 was so far into the future that we all had robots, flying cars and ray guns. The truth of the matter is we're more communicative as far as cell phones, blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.. go. That's the real answer as to why we don't have flying cars.

Anyways, dig the new title to my column? "OFF WITH THE TOP OF MY HEAD!"? I needed something new for a new year and a new decade. I just picture the top of my head in a guillotine and all this useless information falling out.

So with nothing new except "Blackest Night #6" this week and I've already given you the heads up on that Monday afternoon.
I had to put a lot of thought into what the hell I was going to talk about. I didn't want to do some silly countdown of the best books or best story lines that came out in 2009. Instead I decided to talk about trades that came out this year that I think you should really get your hands on and check out.

So let's get right to it.



The Slightly Askew Adventures of Inspector Ham & Eggs.

Alright, let's be honest, this comic is awesome. All of us at Comic Book Jones are really good friends with Stephen and Lauren actually, we consider them family. Anyways, This is one book you really should get your hands on. It's the first three issues of the series in graphic novel form along with artwork and the instant message conversation that sparked the whole thing. At this point, Comic Book Jones is the only place that I know of that carries it but you can order it directly from them. Hit up either one of them on Facebook or Myspace and they will gladly hook you up. While your at it pay close attention to both Stephen and Lauren in 2010 because they're going to blow up and you don't want to miss out.



Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Upping the word count, Boom Studios' Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (24 monthly issues, $3.99 each) includes the entire text of Philip K. Dick's classic 1968 sci-fi novel. Does appending "he said gloomily" to an obviously glum character's dialogue balloon negate the premise of graphic novels—that visuals can replace text? Maybe. But Tony Parker's amazing art fleshes out Dick's wide swings between pulp wordage and insights (his electronic "Mood Organ" presages our current cornucopia of mood-altering pharmaceuticals). If you're a fan of Blade Runner but have never read the source material, this experimental adaptation should be just the ticket.



Criminal Deluxe Edition Hardcover

Criminal” collects several noir stories including “Coward,” “Lawless” and “Bad Night.” Each of the tales is by the superbly matched creative team of Ed Brubaker, who supplies dialogue for hapless-folk-in-distress, and Sean Phillips, who deftly illuminates the grim-and-gritty environs. The tales, which have sex scenes and blue language, are self-contained, but read more than one and a shared universe emerges. (“Frank Kafka P.I.,” the newspaper strip within the comic, is worthy of a spinoff.) This deluxe edition is the equivalent of a director’s cut DVD, with sketches, an analysis of the creative process and essays about crime novels and noir films.



Locke & Key Head Games

If you've missed out on this amazing series then you need to get in on the action now. Currently, the series is in it's third story arc. This trade covers the second act of the story. Without giving away too much, the story is based around a family living in a house full of keys and secrets. The fact that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son says more than enough.



The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1

For those of you sleeping under a rock for the past five years, you're given the first 24 issues in a compact paperback in the classic black and white format. This is just the tip of the iceburg as far as the story goes but for those of you how have held off because collecting all the trades or trying to hunt down all the issues isn't for you, well this little book will get you hooked just like the rest of us TWD junkies.

With that said, I'm outta here.

This is what I'm JONESIN for this week in comics!



BLACKEST NIGHT WONDER WOMAN #2
JSA ALL STARS #2
CABLE #22
SIEGE #1
SIEGE EMBEDDED #1