The cover of this comic has been designed by none other than Jack Kirby. Featuring a Trade Paperback format, this comic is about a high school student, Peter Parker, who is attending a demonstration on radiation. As you will read the comic, you will get to know that he has been bitten by a spider that has been exposed to radioactive rays.

After the spider bite, Peter realizes he has gained great arachnid like abilities and has become a Spider Man. All you need is to spend $19.99 to buy Essential Spider-Man Vol. 1 from any comic store.

As soon as the mission starts, the action takes quite a high leap that you would be excited to note. In fact, at one point you will rather seek narration than getting engrossed in the action of gunfire and the running stuff. The portrayal of Vader is depicted as a ruthless general, who knows his job in the battlefield.

The art by Leonardi and Green completely spellbounds you with their accuracy of style. They have genuinely made the action look lifelike. This issue is undoubtedly a marked opening to this case.

Marvel Comics with its latest mini series “Thunder Strike”, the World still needs heroes, is trying to create the age old affect of the ‘Thunderstrike’ superhero comics that lasted years ago from 1993 to 1995. The hero of that series, an architect named Eric Masterson was a Thor originally and was named so after the mace who has granted him the power he possess. The original series during the period from 1993 – 95 has 24- issues, whereas the mini-series published this time has five-issues in total.

In the original series, the hero died at the end with a son behind named Kevin. In fact, he sacrificed his life so as to stop Bloodaxe’s curse. In the new series, the story takes up from where it left 15 years back. It begins with Kevin being a thug and a bullied teenage boy, furious about superheroes, who had to step into his father’s world of super heroism due to some situation. Tom DeFalco, the writer, has penned down the story in a very nice and clever way showing how Kevin started hating superheroes after the death of his father thinking them to be failures.

Ron Frenz, the co-creator of the character, who also designed the classic look of the cover did the art work of the mini-series along with Sal Buscema, and Todd Nauck. Bruno Hang, and Andres Mossa did the color. Overall, it is a series to look forward to. So, if you haven’t yet got a copy, go grab it now and enjoy the series Thunderstrike vol 1.

Although a full fledged action story, there has been a considerable amount of focus given to the relationship of a father and a son. The story revolves around the father –son duo and it is not just the story of the two that keeps you hooked on to it but also the inherent complexities of the relationship between a father and a son.

To add to this wonderful father-son story, is the art work, which is absolutely wonderful. Chris Scalf has given it a lot of work and his hard work is reflected in the outcome. The artwork completely compliments the wonderful story.

Scalf’s artwork is not just merely good but is exemplary and can be compared with that of Ralf McQuarrie’ paintings. It is almost at par with McQuarrie, only that Scalf has given more attention to the details. This is perhaps one of the most visually entertaining books published in a long time and when you add to it the wonderful story line it makes for a very good read. Even if there isn’t a movie or TV series made of this comic, this is the best visual extravaganza once can ever witness.

I have to confess that I have enjoyed the previous comics from Nick Spencer, but I doubted on the effect of the first volume of his latest book “Morning Glories”. What I felt about this book was that it possessed an air of been there, done all element to it.

I am also a very big fan of The Intimates and I wondered if I needed to read another one of those prep school comic, but just because it touched upon a subject that has already been used so many times doesn’t mean that it cannot have its own soul, its own representation of a typical subject. Morning Glories is a highly engaging book that manages to keep the fun intact throughout the read. It is primarily a fun read that explores the lives of the new students of the Morning Glory Academy and add to it some serious mystery makes it worth a read.

It is almost a perfect start to the book as it kicks off with an escape attempt at the school. There is no explanation as to what ignited these students to blow off a part of the academy for their escape. This is where Spencer unveils the core of the story. Morning Glory Academy is not what it seems to be. The story takes an interesting twist when six new students join the academy and they are absolutely clueless about what’s going on around them.

A strong story line complimented by some outstanding artwork makes this issue a very good read. Spencer has done exceedingly well to create something new and fresh out of a used platform.

You shouldn’t expect a lot from this book as nothing much happens. It is again the same where a few dead bodies turn up in suspicious manner and Scully and Mulder are entrusted with the job of finding the truth behind it. The narrative of the story is by a snowplow driver who finds a pile ruined vehicles accompanied by a heap of head less dead bodies and the heads stuck on the top of a giant pole.

There is very little time spent on the prologue as it quickly moves on to story. It leaves with a feeling that you needed a bit more time with the introduction of the characters as you move to the story. The introduction also adds another twist when another FBI pair comes into the scene and a conflict arises between the two pairs. It does add that extra bit of tension to the story.

The problem with this issue is that it has far too many resemblances to the original books. Besides, for those who have read those books they might feel a little disappointed.

With the team that created the Spider-Man/X-Men coming back together, there was absolutely no doubt that this one will be a great. Christos Gage no doubt is a great story teller but without the outstanding artwork on Mario Alberti, his books wouldn’t have had the same bite.

So, when Gage decides to give Alberti a run for his money and try to outdo his artwork, the readers are definitely all set for a classic. Such creative rivalry is a great thing in terms of outcome and as long as it is healthy, no one would complain. This book definitely has the best of both, a great story and a superbly done art work.

The story begins in the 1960s, when Spider Man meets the Fantastic Four, who have been given the task of protecting Dr. Droom. But when Namor arrives in the scene with the Atlantean army things begin to change.

During the narrative there are many occasions when the characters will be talking about their pasts and Gage has done a masterly act by ensuring that he shows every era accordingly and not just get stuck to one style. It is an absolutely beautiful experience as we go through various eras and the changes are extreme yet done very subtly.

However, there are occasions where you feel that the writing could have been better. Gage does show flashes of brilliance but at times it seems he loses his grip. But in any case the art work by Alberti is of such quality that you would not even notice the minor flaws in writing.

Based on a novel by James Patterson, this comic narrates the tales of ancient Greek civilization. The story primarily revolves around Akhenaten and his struggle for the throne and the challenges. Although this book is based on the novel by Patterson, there is hardly any weightage given to the central character of the novel. Also, this isn’t an absolutely copy of the novel as it omits a lot of sequences from the novel.

Christopher Mitten manages to show a very rugged visual of the tale and portrays ancient Egypt aptly. The three are fairly similar, but Mitten once again manages to make the elder comic characters connect. But one thing that is very evident in Mitten’s work is that it isn’t the most polished and sophisticated work that he has ever done. The most prominent thing is that you feel it has been shown in a very rough manner in terms of visuals.

Ron Randall on the other hand gives a completely opposite presentation of ancient Egypt and Howard Carter. Randall’s narration is very precise yet elaborating enough to capture the important points. Randall’s Carter is Indiana Jones minus the adventure.

Irvine also does a pretty god job and he ensures that Howard Carter doesn’t come across a dull and boring character. The only issue with Irvine is that his depiction of Carter is way too cluttered and some how the various points don’t seem to connect. On a whole it is quite an interesting read, especially for those interested in Egyptian history.

Hellcyon is the latest offering of Lucas Marangon and at the first glance it definitely looks impressive. However, a more detailed and closer inspection tells a different story altogether. It isn’t as neat as it seemed when you just skim across it.

Marangon definitely has potential and does show some flashes of brilliance. It seems he draws inspiration from several quarters and his style reminds of Otomo’s “Akira” and at the same time it also seems to be influenced by the early school of Ladronn.

Visually speaking this volume of Hellcyon is quite impressive but the overall content seems to have been gathered in bits and pieces from several sci-fi series. The characters do not to add much value to the over all plot, however one much admit that they are unique. The characters do give a sense of mystery but it isn’t projected that ways.

Hellcyon Vol. 1 has been largely inspired by several other hits of the past and Marangon doesn’t really do justice. It could very well have been a classic, but he somehow looses the plot with this one. It is really hard to accept what we get from this one because Marangon does seem to have a vision All through the book you can sense that something fascinating is awaiting, but unfortunately not much is there, except for the visual extravaganza.

There is no doubt that Marangon has talent and Hellcyon could so easily been a masterpiece, but he needs to focus more on content and depth along with the visuals.

The success of the book is evident in the initial pages of the book which show the writer’s love for the characters. He manages to make the age-old creations his own by his excellent work. Fables have characters like Snow White, Cinderella and the Big Bad Wolf living among the humans in modern New York City where they manage to establish a secret town for themselves.

This Deluxe Edition collection introduce many key players to the readers. The hierarchy and the relationship of these characters within the Fable community are then established. The work of Willingham sure need to be appreciated for the way he has reinterpreted the various characters and placed them perfectly in the modern society.

The overall story of the collection can be termed as a murder mystery and creates a great sense of anticipation for the readers for the remaining series. The next hardcover though would be available after a year as promised by Willingham which may seriously test the patience of the readers.