by Jason Aaron and Howard Chaykin

reviewed by Matthew Bradley

Over the years, Wolverine has been one of the most overused characters in Marvel universe. He’s been in so many titles and has been written by so many writers that Wolverine might seem to be a stale character to some. Enter Jason Aaron, who is riding a wave of criticial acclaim from his recent work, such as The Other Side and Scalped. Can Aaron make Wolverine into an entertaining character?

Wendall seems like your average guy. He drinks his coffee early in the morning, packs his lunch box and goes to work. What makes him not so average is his job: he shoots at a man in a pit for hours. The man in question is none other is Wolverine. So, how can such a simple job go wrong?

Aaron knows how to tell a story. Wendall comes off as a believable character. Aaron conveys his troubles and good traits, yet reminds the reader that he is a not-so-innocent well. All of this is not only revealed through seeing Wendall go through his daily routine, but the brief conversations that he has with Wolverine. All of Wolverine’s spot-on deductions on Wendall are handled well. He shows a great bit of intelligence by learning about Wendall through his scent and by how he shoots. This element of the story gives the reader a deeper look into Wendall’s life without coming off as forced. The ending of the story comes across as bittersweet, which is fitting for the story. This is not some “Hero fights villain, hero wins” type of story and Aaron gets it.

Backing Aaron up is Howard Chaykin on pencils and inks. Out of all of Chaykin’s Marvel work, this seems be his strongest one to date. The drawings are a little rough, but they match the story well. His panel layouts are great as well. When Wendall enters a password on a keypad, for example, Chaykin will place the keyboard to the side of the page while it’s being entered. It’s a nice little detail that makes for some clean storytelling.

At the end of the day, Wolverine #56 is worth your money. With a great story with artwork that fits the story fantastically, this comic does not disappoint. Now if Marvel can just get Aaron on some more projects.

Okay, I’m rushing around trying to get all my Friday work done today, but I wanted to let all my stalkers know that I’ll be winging it up to Bethesda, Maryland tomorrow for the Small Press Expo! I went a few years ago, and it was a mondo good time–it’s kind of like HeroesCon in that it’s super-duper friendly. But it’s pretty much all indie types, including old buds like Chris Pitzer, Rob Ullman, and J. Chris Campbell, and new buds like Nick Gurewitch and Jeffrey Brown. Plus some guys Shelton knows named Matt Wagner and Jeff Smith–I’ll go say hey to them just to make them feel good; I know they probably won’t have anyone hanging out in their lines, poor guys. You’ll make it one day! Anyway, with luck I’ll be bringing back some more sweet HeroesCon announcements, plus a backpack full of mini-comics and other swag. If you’re hunting something and want to me to look for you, better tell me today! Wish me luck!

Remember the cool-looking life-sized Silver Surfer standee that we had in front of our booth at this past HeroesCon? Sure you do! It was a promotional item given to us to help promote the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie, and the subject of many many photographs, usually with a smiling fan attendee, taken at the show. Well, we had a couple of different ideas about what to do with it after the show, but we’re just too busy to make any of those a reality in the near future–so we decided we would give it away! That’s right, absolutely free! It’s been sitting in our warehouse, usually scaring the bejeezus out of me when I’m turning the lights on, and notice a crouching naked person in the shadows. Fill in your own “and then I see the Surfer” joke. Anyway, Shelton needs to clear some room for some different projects he wants to get underway. We thought about trying to sell it, but we decided that we like you so much that we just want you to have it.

But which one of you? We like all of you equally; don’t ask us to choose! But if you want to have this life-sized Surfer collectible for your very own, post a comment detailing why you deserve it. Did you sacrifice yourself and your love for a hot space-chic in order to save your planet from being eaten? That’s a good reason, but yours is probably different. All that we ask is that you a) keep it clean; b) be creative; and c) make sure you can actually come to our store and pick it up. We’re not interested in shipping this big thing anywhere. Also: the cardboard background is gone, but the Surfer himself is mounted on a surprisingly sturdy metal framework. It’s not just a bunch of chipboard or something.

So tell me: Why do you deserve to wield the, er, Power Cosmic?

Oh, it can, baby. Click on the little Scott Pilgrim icon for all the snazzy details, in case you missed them here. See you tomorrow night!

Oh yes, baby. Although it took a lot of standing in line (for Shelton), and a lot of helping a friend get his towed truck out of hock before the show (me), it was well worth it. I’m here to report that the newly upfitted Amos’, which before was just a very large dive, is big enough to hold a pretty darn big show, which is what this one was. But heckfire, why not just read about it on Flickr? That’s where all the photos (all 6!) are anyway. See you there, compadres!

by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Review by Matthew Bradley

I remember going into a comic shop, a few years ago, with some extra cash in my pocket, looking for something new to read. A graphic novel called Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Life stood out for some reason. I glanced through it and decided to take a chance a on it. In the end, was it worth taking that chance?

Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old slacker from Toronto, Canada. He goes about his by life by performing in a indie rock band, dating a high school girl, and well…..using his roommate’s money for random junk. Things change when he meets the girl from his dreams, in Ramona Flowers. Sounds like a typical boy meets girl type of story, right? Except, there’s one catch: in order to date her, he must battle her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Bryan Lee O’Malley knows how to bring the funny. The script that he turns out is filled with plenty of wit. What is pretty amazing about it, though, is when the story moves from a humorous tone to a more serious one. It’s a tricky task to pull off, but in the end, he nails it seamlessly. There’s also an insane amount of sheer fun in this comic. From the wild fight scenes to the little info boxes littered throughout the comic, Scott Pilgrim delivers charm in spades.

O’Malley isn’t a slouch on the art either. He has a rough, distinctive, manga-inspired style in his art, which matches perfectly with the story. His layouts convey the story well.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life is a must buy. While other companies are producing event after event, Scott Pilgrim comes across as a breath of fresh air. The writing and art alone separate it from the rest of the comic book scene. Take a chance on it.

Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? In a grossly time-consuming process, I’ve set up the all new Heroesonline Myspace identity. Do you want to be our friend? Sure you do! In this day and age, you don’t really know who your friends are–that’s where the Internet comes in. With Myspace and other similarly ingenious web-based services, you not only can have your friends identified for you digitally, but hosts of other new “friends” can find you. Why, in the last ten minutes, we’ve gotten friend requests from Angela, Phoebe, Bertha, Linda, and Candy, all of whom are apparently the same waitress at Hooters. Also 2 reggaeton bands are feeling very friendly toward us. It is our sincere hope that you are feeling friendly toward us as well: if we can’t be friends on Myspace, then how can we be friends at all?

Oh yes baby! Long time collaborators Rick Spears and Rob G will be returning to HeroesCon’s Indie Island next year. Besides the self-published Teenagers From Mars and Dead West, the pair also collaborated on Repo from Image Comics. But wait there’s more! Rick is also the writer behind Pirates of Coney Island (with artist Vasilis Lolos) and Black Metal from IDW, with artist Chuck BB. But wait there’s more! Rob G is also the artist on the cult-hit Couriers series of graphic novels with writer Brian Wood. I’m sure there’s more, but to find it out you’ll need to visit Rob and Rick’s respective sites, or the site of their publishing company, Gigantic Graphic Novels. Tell them we said hello!