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	<title>Splash Panel &#187; Action/Adventure</title>
	<atom:link href="http://splashpanel.com/archives/category/actionadventure/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://splashpanel.com</link>
	<description>Celebrating the artform of sequential storytelling with a spine!</description>
	<pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:34:43 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
			<item>
		<title>Superpowers</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/superpowers/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/superpowers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Superhero]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[asides]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/superpowers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Superpowers interview with Alex Ross. The new series from the creators of Earth X. New series from Dynamite Entertainment. The first book I got from Dynamite was Lone Ranger, which I really enjoyed a lot. This seems to have a lot of energy which is a good thing. And the fact that it&#8217;s got both [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=11527">Superpowers interview with Alex Ross.</a> The new series from the creators of Earth X. New series from Dynamite Entertainment. The first book I got from Dynamite was Lone Ranger, which I really enjoyed a lot. This seems to have a lot of energy which is a good thing. And the fact that it&#8217;s got both Alex Ross and Jim Krueger on board is a definite must. My only complaint is the ABYSMAL graphic design for the first issue. Come to think about it couldn&#8217;t they have come up with a better logo for <a href="http://dynamiteentertainment.com/htmlfiles/">Dynamite</a>. I mean seriously, with a name like that there is room for so much more energy than that piece of shit yellow and red thing.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>The New Frontier Animated Movie</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/the-new-frontier-animated-movie/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/the-new-frontier-animated-movie/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:02:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Superhero]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[animation]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[asides]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/the-new-frontier-animated-movie/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Justice League &#124; The New Frontier Animated movie is hitting shelves next year, and I&#8217;ve got to say based on this little preview clip, I&#8217;m actually intregued to buy the book this week and really looking forward to seeing the movie. It&#8217;s the first DC animated movie that I want to watch and it&#8217;s nice [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Hb_d5Qnts">Justice League | The New Frontier Animated</a> movie is hitting shelves next year, and I&#8217;ve got to say based on this little preview clip, I&#8217;m actually intregued to buy the book this week and really looking forward to seeing the movie. It&#8217;s the first DC animated movie that I want to watch and it&#8217;s nice to see what Dan Didio, Paul Levitz, Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm actually look like.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Spider-Man: Reign</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/spider-man-reign/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/spider-man-reign/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:49:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Huff</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Superhero]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/spider-man-reign/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Mary Jane.  Aunt May.  Uncle Ben.  I couldn&#8217;t save any of you.  Never had the power.  Never could handle the responsibility.  When I&#8217;m buried beside you, will you tell me . . . why you lied to me?
Spider-Man: Reign, from writer and artist Kaare Andrews, is a powerful and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/smr.jpg" alt="Spider-Man: Reign" /></p>
<blockquote><p>Mary Jane.  Aunt May.  Uncle Ben.  I couldn&#8217;t save any of you.  Never had the power.  Never could handle the responsibility.  When I&#8217;m buried beside you, will you tell me . . . why you lied to me?</p></blockquote>
<p><em>Spider-Man: Reign</em>, from writer and artist Kaare Andrews, is a powerful and emotional journey through the tortured mind of Peter Parker as he enters the last years of his life and begins to confront everything that he has ever cared for and lost.</p>
<p><span id="more-216"></span><br />
Thirty years from now, Manhattan has become an independent and politically corrupt city-state.  In exchange for almost a decade of no crime, the people of Manhattan have relinquished their power of government, outlawed their heroes, and accepted the merciless justice of a militaristic police force, The Reign.  In a final attempt to forever secure the safety of his city, Mayor Waters is just a few days away from activating The Webb, a protective barrier which will envelope the city, allowing nothing to enter or leave.  Enraged by Mayor Waters&#8217; plan, J. Jonah Jameson, an insane and washed-up newspaper editor from days long forgotten, returns from his self-imposed exile.  He can no longer stand by and watch his once beloved people destroy themselves by cowering before The Reign, and he knows that the only way to save them is to awaken a long-forgotten hero hidden deep within a broken man named Peter Parker.</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/smr2.jpg" alt="Spider-Man: Reign" /></p>
<p>Written and illustrated by Kaare Andrews, <em>Spider-Man: Reign</em> was likened to Frank Miller&#8217;s <em>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</em> from the moment that it was first announced, but it is far more than <em>Dark Knight Returns</em> could ever hope to be.  </p>
<p>While <em>Dark Knight Returns</em> is an action-packed gritty vision of Batman&#8217;s future, <em>Reign</em> is is a turbulent and emotional tale which defines the values of humanity and what it truly means to be a hero.  Once you open the cover, you will find yourself drawn into a turbulent journey through the mind of an aged and emotionally scared Peter Parker as he attempts to justify his life as a hero and come to terms with everything and everyone that he has lost because of it.</p>
<p><em>Spider-Man: Reign</em> is a powerful, moving, and thought-provoking tale about freedom, humanity, and the responsibilities of a hero.  It is a must-have for any fan of the amazing Spider-Man.</p>
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		<title>Dark Tower Issue #1</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/dark-tower-issue-1/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/dark-tower-issue-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:46:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/dark-tower-issue-1/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
We generally don&#8217;t review anything but graphic novels on the &#8216;Panel, however every once in a while a book comes along that I actually pick up and I generally can&#8217;t let it go, The Dark Tower that was released by Marvel a couple of weeks ago is one of those books. There are at least [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href='http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/darktower1.jpg' title='darktower1.jpg'><img src='http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/darktower1.jpg' alt='darktower1.jpg' /></a></p>
<p>We generally don&#8217;t review anything but graphic novels on the &#8216;Panel, however every once in a while a book comes along that I actually pick up and I generally can&#8217;t let it go, The Dark Tower that was released by Marvel a couple of weeks ago is one of those books. There are at least three really good reasons that I can think of as to why I should have avoided this book. I&#8217;ll start off by saying that I&#8217;ve never read a <a href="http://stephenking.com">Stephen King</a> book. In fact the closest I&#8217;ve ever come to the man&#8217;s work is watching &#8216;The Green Mile&#8217;, which in my book seriously doesn&#8217;t count unless the movie was as close to the book in the same way that &#8216;Sin City&#8217; was, otherwise they&#8217;re two completely different things. Therefore I have no affinity to these characters as I would have, if say &#8216;His Dark Materials&#8217; gets made into a comic book.</p>
<p>The other point is the underhanded way in which Marvel decided to promote this book. To all those thinking that Stephen King actually wrote this, think again. We&#8217;ve been buffered by not just Peter David doing the writing but another guy above him as well, before we get to the man himself at the top. King I guess acts as more of an advisor over a lunch as they hash things out. Don&#8217;t spend too much time on this, you&#8217;ve got more important things to do.</p>
<p>In addition to that I&#8217;m not a Peter David fan. Never have been and somehow I never think I will be. Not to get personal or anything but he&#8217;s one of the very few creators that I&#8217;ve allowed his personal politics take judgement for me over his work, which is why I tend to avoid it completely. Plenty of fish in the sea, plenty of other books to read and all that. He can continue to do his thing and I&#8217;ll do my thing.</p>
<p>So you&#8217;re probably wondering why I even bothered looking at this book. The honest truth is because after all the crap that Marvel pulled above, they did one thing incredibly well and that was choosing one of my favourite artists, pairing him with one of my favourite colourists, and fortunately, together they&#8217;ve made magic on a page.<span id="more-187"></span></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t tend to wax on about the artwork very often as those days where it was artwork first have faded away (and that&#8217;s kind of a good thing mind you) however Jae Lee and Richard Isanove have created one of the prettiest books on the market. I&#8217;ve been a fan of Jae Lee, since his Image days when I went out about bought Hellshock (the first series). It had this rawness that I kinda liked. I remember thinking to myself that he&#8217;d never really hit the mainstream as his work is far too much in the acquired taste category. I think Jae must have thought the same thing because after his second Hellshock series he came back with the completely sublime Inhumans with Paul Jenkins. His artwork had changed. It became more refined. There was a softer side to his lines and he seemed a lot more confident in his work (at least that how I saw it). The Dark Tower is a LEAP forward for Jae. Every one of his lines is there for a reason. </p>
<p>So what do you do to a guy that is currently firing on all cylinders? Easy, you team him up with one of the best colourist/painters in the industry. I&#8217;ve been watching Richard Isanove since his Top Cow days. Back when Top Cow was actually a big player in the industry, they had a crop of up and coming colouring talent that no one else in the industry could even come close to (except maybe Wildstorm). With names like JD Smith, Steve Firchow, Peter Steigerwald and of course Richard Isanove, they paved the way for some of the best looking books on the market. They stood out a mile. Thing is Top Cow recognised how great these guys where that they brought out a card set based on their painted work. Richard&#8217;s moved up in the world greatly. I put him up there with Laura Depuy (yeah I know she&#8217;s married now and changed her name but she&#8217;ll always be Depuy for me), Brian Haberlin amongst many others. He&#8217;s colouring directly off of Jae&#8217;s pencils and he&#8217;s using all manner of tricks to achieve these amazing colour tones and combinations.</p>
<p>So enough about the artwork which honestly is worth the price of admission alone, what&#8217;s up with the actual story and characters? Well the good news is that it&#8217;s actually not a bad story. Seriously. I put down the book and thought to myself that I have to go out and buy the Stephen King books. I mean if the comic adaptation is this interesting, imagine what the actual book it&#8217;s based on is like. I&#8217;ve got to say I&#8217;ve never heard of the Dark Towers series of books. Seems King has been writing these things since the early 80s, so we&#8217;re getting close to 30 years in the making. </p>
<p>For me the most interesting thing about the whole story is how King has combined the wild west with a completely different world with their own codes, languages and culture. The set up is simple Roland Deschain (love that surname) is traveling across the desert for the man in black, in search it would seem of the Dark Tower. Straight away we flip back to the past and we&#8217;re shown the route to how Deschain became a Gunslinger and received his first guns. Peter David&#8217;s dialogue gets a little getting used but I&#8217;m pretty sure that&#8217;s part of the whole Dark Tower mythos here so it&#8217;s just a question of how authentic it actually all is, I&#8217;ll only be able to comment once I&#8217;ve read the books, which will keep me going until the hardcover in like 6 or 7 months time. I will say however that the pace is good although there are elements of the story that I&#8217;m unsure about but I&#8217;m attributing this to the fact that it&#8217;s still only a first issue. They&#8217;re not so much plot holes but rather incomplete information. What is going on with Roland&#8217;s mother? What are the Gunslingers in general doing? What makes Roland Deschain an important Gunslinger to follow? Why isn&#8217;t his father there to protect his mother? And the list goes on. The problem is of course that maybe some of these questions have been answered (I found out the answer of the third question by reading the back of the first novel, he&#8217;s apparently the last one), however these questions and many more were not really answered in the comic book. Even the fact that he&#8217;s trying to find the Dark Tower by hunting the man in black isn&#8217;t all that clear (once again after I read the back of the first novel). This actually makes me wonder if the book is aimed at the complete newbie Dark Tower reader or someone that&#8217;ll get intrigued and go out and buy the novels and then gain that extra understanding of the book itself?</p>
<p>As a package this comic book is very well put together. We get a nice hardstock cover, some nice paper, a backup prose story (and a map). In addition next month&#8217;s cover is shown and a few sample pages as well. I&#8217;ve got to say I LOVE it when they show next month&#8217;s cover. It&#8217;s a small thing that just gets you excited about the next installment, especially when Jae+Richard have outdone themselves yet again.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>DMZ &#124; Volume 1 &#124; On the Ground</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/dmz-volume-1-on-the-ground/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/dmz-volume-1-on-the-ground/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:22:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Political]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[War Stories]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/dmz-volume-1-on-the-ground/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I&#8217;ve got to say that this book took me over 6 months to get around to reading. This wasn&#8217;t because I was excited about reading it, this wasn&#8217;t because I had better things to read (as you&#8217;ll understand from the review) but it was mainly because the story content hits far too close to home [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href='http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/dmz-v1.jpg' title='dmz-v1.jpg'><img src='http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/dmz-v1.jpg' alt='dmz-v1.jpg' /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve got to say that this book took me over 6 months to get around to reading. This wasn&#8217;t because I was excited about reading it, this wasn&#8217;t because I had better things to read (as you&#8217;ll understand from the review) but it was mainly because the story content hits far too close to home for my liking. I&#8217;m Lebanese and therefore have see the effects of war on my country. I know what it&#8217;s like to walk through the streets of your capital and see pure destruction all around. Scorched black buildings, bullet holes the smell of burn and the uneasy nature of the whole experience.</p>
<p>What I thought I wouldn&#8217;t have to live through twice in my life I did, during the summer of 2006 as my country got levelled once again. That was around the time that DMZ came about, it&#8217;s about the fictional second American Civil war and is set in New York City.<br />
<span id="more-184"></span></p>
<p>DMZ stands for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMZ">Demiliterized Zone</a>. Unfortunately for me I didn&#8217;t need to go to Wikipedia to find this out as Lebanon used to have one. In layman&#8217;s terms it&#8217;s a buffer zone that keeps two people away from each other. This story is set in the DMZ of the second American Civil war. The story picks up thick in the middle of things with Matty Roth being taken away on his internship to the DMZ to cover a story. Things don&#8217;t go according to plan and Matt&#8217;s left stranded in the middle of the war zone. In the first issue he tries to get his employers to get him out and is disgusted by the nature of their rescue attempt which effectively sets the stage for him staying in the DMZ and being the only reporter living there.</p>
<p>The book is written by <a href="http://www.brianwood.com">Brian Wood</a>. I actually rate Brian as a creator, he&#8217;s got a certain earthiness that I really enjoy and I have stated before just how much I enjoyed Channel Zero, however I&#8217;ve got to say that DMZ is so far his greatest achievement to date and there are many reasons for this. For a start he&#8217;s actually got the room to play around with the knowledge that he&#8217;s got room to allow his ideas to grow. Let the characters breathe and let the story evolve. In most of his other works there does seem to be a little bit of restriction, this can be attributed to several things. One has always been the length of his stories. They seem to be cut short before he&#8217;s really had a chance to explore things a little more. Thankfully he&#8217;s better honed is craft to be enable him to do this particular story the justice it deserves.</p>
<p>The story starts to slowly explore the city as it is now. What&#8217;s changed, what has stayed the same. What are the new rules? I guess you&#8217;d definitely get a bigger kick out of this story if you actually knew New York City, or had the deep affection for the place that Brian has that you could appreciate what he was trying to produce. It&#8217;s a strange love story of a writer to a city to be honest. Rather than showing it in all it&#8217;s beauty Brian&#8217;s effectively destroyed it and showed how people tried to preserve it and tried to keep it relevant. Coming from a country where this fictional story is my reality it&#8217;s amazing how close he is in hitting those feelings one feels when his city lies in ruins around him, it&#8217;s a feeling I wouldn&#8217;t wish on anyone and yet millions of people know exactly how that feels.</p>
<p>The other significant part of the success of this series in my eyes has a great deal with the artist. Riccardo Burchielliâ€™s is a new name to me, however I&#8217;m extremely impressed by his style. It oozes with a certain amount of confidence and it really compliments the style that is being driven here. The stories never waver in their detail and their emotion. While his stuff isn&#8217;t Akira in their detail, it&#8217;s just him (while Akira had like a whole army drawing that stuff) he does definitely pack a lot of stuff in the pages and it&#8217;s both raw and polished at the same time. He gives the story that edgy realism while keeping with the Brian Wood sensibilities as established by the writer&#8217;s covers (that has got to be a Vertigo first, where the writer actually is the cover artist).</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re still on the fence on this series, and I can understand why you might be considering the subject matter, go to the official Vertigo website and <a href="http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=5272">download the first issue</a>, not a bad way to spend 10 or 15 minutes of your time I assure you.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Transformers / G.I. Joe</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/transformers-gi-joe/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/transformers-gi-joe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Dec 2006 08:02:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Huff</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/transformers-gi-joe/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Who are these people, Duke?
They&#8217;re Cobra&#8217;s prisoners, Optimus, their salves.  We believe they&#8217;ve done this to millions more in Europe.  We hope they have&#8230;
You hope this has happened?  To millions of your people?  But&#8230;
Optimus, if they aren&#8217;t slaves, they&#8217;re dead.
Autobots, ROLL OUT!
Transformers / G.I. Joe is not just another Transformers and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/tfgj.jpg" alt="Transformers / G.I. Joe" /></p>
<blockquote><p><em>Who are these people, Duke?</em></p>
<p><em>They&#8217;re Cobra&#8217;s prisoners, Optimus, their salves.  We believe they&#8217;ve done this to millions more in Europe.  We hope they have&#8230;</em></p>
<p><em>You hope this has happened?  To millions of your people?  But&#8230;</em></p>
<p><em>Optimus, if they aren&#8217;t slaves, they&#8217;re dead.</em></p>
<p><em>Autobots, ROLL OUT!</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em>Transformers / G.I. Joe</em> is not just another Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover, but rather a dark and war-torn recreation of the Transformers and G.I. Joe universes in tandem by writer John Ney Rieber and artist Jae Lee.  In the twentieth century&#8217;s darkest year, a world at war will find itself caught in the middle of a titanic alien conflict that has lain dormant for the last four million years.</p>
<p><span id="more-173"></span><br />
The year is 1939, and the world has fallen before the might of the Cobra Empire.  Desperate to drive back the tyrants, the United States Government plays their last hand and forms the world&#8217;s first elite strike force, G.I. Joe.  But Cobra Commander has made his own desperate play for the few remaining free territories.  He has made a deal with the Devil, a devil forged of metal and disdain, a devil known throughout the universe as Megatron.</p>
<p>The future of the free world begins to look hopeless, until a chance encounter leads the Joes to wake the dormant Autobots and their noble leader, Optimus Prime.</p>
<p>The battle for the free world has begun.  Brother will face brother, man will fight machine, and old foes will dual to the death as four of the universe&#8217;s most powerful forces collide on a tattered battlefield.  One will be victorious, one will see their dreams die before their eyes, and one will pay the ultimate sacrifice.</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/tfgj2.jpg" alt="Transformers / G.I. Joe" /></p>
<p>Unlike previous Transformers and G.I. Joe crossovers, <em>Transformers / G.I. Joe</em> does not take place during each series&#8217; canonical time period.  Instead, <em>Transformers / G.I. Joe</em> takes place during the year 1939 on an Earth that has been ravaged by World War II, where the Cobra Empire, instead of Nazi Germany, is poised to conquer the world, and ties the activation of the Transformers on Earth with Cobra&#8217;s rise to power and the formation of G.I. Joe.</p>
<p>John Ney Rieber&#8217;s story is dark, grim, and emotional, with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness for our heroes, a feeling unlike any previous G.I. Joe or Transformers tale.</p>
<p>Jae Lee&#8217;s artwork is astounding and captures the atmosphere of Rieber&#8217;s story with a melancholy war-time environment that is all too fitting.</p>
<p><em>Transformers / G.I. Joe</em> is a fresh look at both franchises and a must-have for any fan of Transformers or G.I. Joe.  A second volume was produced, but cancelled after issue #1 when the publisher&#8217;s financial troubles led it to declare bankruptcy in 2005.  Fortunately, Rieber&#8217;s brilliantly crafted masterpiece is best as a stand-alone novel.</p>
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		<title>300</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/frank-millers-300/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/frank-millers-300/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:56:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Historical]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[War Stories]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/300/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8216;300&#8242; is the greatest story Frank Miller has ever been involved with. In fact I&#8217;ll go one step forward and say that &#8216;300&#8242; is the best work Frank Miller has ever produced and will likely ever produce (I&#8217;m a natural born optimist and I&#8217;d relish reading something that tops &#8216;300&#8242;, however I&#8217;m also a realist [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img id="image166" src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/300.JPG" alt="300.JPG" /></p>
<p>&#8216;300&#8242; is the greatest story Frank Miller has ever been involved with. In fact I&#8217;ll go one step forward and say that &#8216;300&#8242; is the best work Frank Miller has ever produced and will likely ever produce (I&#8217;m a natural born optimist and I&#8217;d relish reading something that tops &#8216;300&#8242;, however I&#8217;m also a realist and this is basically Frank&#8217;s Magnum Opus). That&#8217;s a bold statement considering who I&#8217;m talking about here. The man that reinvented Daredevil and made the character one of the best around, the man who reinvented Batman and made him relevant as a character; the man who gave us all of Sin City to delve into; but I don&#8217;t choose any of those as his best work (even though they are golden), I choose this little story about &#8216;300&#8242; Spartan soldiers. First published as an oversized hardcover 7 years ago, and began serialization 2 years prior to that.<br />
<span id="more-165"></span><br />
&#8216;300&#8242; is set in 480 BC, ancient Greece and chronicles what is considered by many historians as the single most important battle in the history of humanity. These ideas of democracy and philosophy were looking dangerous for the mighty Persian Empire. These ideas had to be crushed and Xeres the self proclaimed God-King went to demand of Athens and Sparta to yield. Neither did. </p>
<p>In the time of King Leonidas, even the King was not above the law. He still had to take permission to go to battle. He was not granted this. So he decides to go for a &#8216;walk&#8217;, with his personal bodyguards of &#8216;300&#8242; Spartans and sets off to stop the mighty Persian Empire from conquering all of Greece.</p>
<p>From the very beginning of this graphic novel you know it&#8217;s different to just about anything else you&#8217;ve ever read. The first 10 pages are just epic scenes of soldiers marching. It&#8217;s a massive canvas and Miller is going for atmosphere and the iconic. It&#8217;s clear that Miller has done his homework (I know he&#8217;s really done his homework as he&#8217;s actually been to Greece and visited the Hot Gates). The culture and the ideals of the Spartans is shown sometimes in several spreads and other times in a few lines of dialogue or tiny little panels. However it&#8217;s all incredibly memorable, powerful and quotable.</p>
<p>The dialogue in this graphic novel crackles off the page. Each sentence is weighed and just sounds fucking hard. Even though I original read this years ago I can remember panels as clearly as if I&#8217;d read them yesterday. It&#8217;s like Miller stripped all the unnecessary noise from his dialogue and just gave you enough.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d be remiss if I didn&#8217;t mention the artwork. This is Frank Miller at his best, but also this is where his wife Lynn really outshines her husband. This story would not have worked as well, wouldn&#8217;t have looked anywhere near as good if anyone but Lynn had taken over the reigns for the colours. She uses a watercolour palette for this story that is a perfect compliment to the mood that Miller is trying to achieve. The image below is the cover to the second chapter and is easily one of my all time favourite images, mainly because the colours are so vibrant and so perfectly chosen.</p>
<p><img id="image167" src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/300_2_lg.jpg" alt="300_2_lg.jpg" /></p>
<p>One of the best graphic novels in any language has been made into (IMHO) probably <a href="http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/">the movie of 2007</a>. I&#8217;ve watched that trailer time and time again, picking up panels and dialogue which are stripped directly from the book. It&#8217;s an incredible adaptation in the making, I&#8217;m glad that the creators have actually been so faithful to the material. Then again there&#8217;s a reason for that, the material is one of the best the graphic novel medium has to offer. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=48-339"><strong>For more information and a preview go here</strong></a>.</p>
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		<title>Secret War</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/secret-war/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/secret-war/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Oct 2006 06:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Huff</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Superhero]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/secret-war/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
You are heroes.  More than me.  Maybe one day you&#8217;ll look around and you&#8217;ll see the world like I have to, and you&#8217;ll know I did the right thing.  Or at least you&#8217;ll understand why I did it.
Secret War, a masterpiece by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele Dell&#8217;Otto, is the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/sw1.jpg" alt="Secret War" /></p>
<blockquote><p><em>You are heroes.  More than me.  Maybe one day you&#8217;ll look around and you&#8217;ll see the world like I have to, and you&#8217;ll know I did the right thing.  Or at least you&#8217;ll understand why I did it.</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em>Secret War</em>, a masterpiece by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele Dell&#8217;Otto, is the best graphic novel ever produced by Marvel Comics.  Blinded by diplomacy and arrogance, the United States government refuses to acknowledge the imminent danger as a foreign threat continues to grow.  How far will one man go to defend his country?  The decisions made, and their consequences, will forever change one of Marvel&#8217;s most iconic legends.</p>
<p><span id="more-155"></span><br />
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones return home to find a strange woman standing by the window.  Suddenly, Cage&#8217;s apartment explodes in a bright, white light.  Cage takes the brunt of the explosion, sparing his wife-to-be.  He is rushed to the hospital where he lapses into a coma and is diagnosed with severe trauma to his internal organs.  He needs emergency surgery, but the doctors have no way of breaking his steel-hard skin.  Cage&#8217;s fate is now in the hands of God, and the question on top of everyone&#8217;s list is, &#8220;Why?&#8221;</p>
<p>When Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate), arrives, he is the first to be accused by Jones.  Her question, pointedly stated, &#8220;Do you know who did this to him?  I mean, why are <em>you</em> here?  See what I&#8217;m saying?&#8221;</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/sw3.jpg" class="imageright" alt="Secret War" />One year ago, Fury noticed an increase in the quality and power of technology held by some of the world&#8217;s deadliest villains, and he was shocked to learn that the funding for that technology came from Latveria, a new Latveria that had supposedly rehabilitated itself in the eyes of the world after the death of its former dictator, Dr. Victor Von Doom.  Despite clear evidence of the threat, the President refused to accept the reality of the situation.  After Doom&#8217;s death, the United States had sent several million dollars in aid to Latveria and even arranged the election of the country&#8217;s current Prime Minister, Lucia Von Bardas.  The President assured Fury that, if there were a problem, it would be dealt with diplomatically.  To Fury, this was unacceptable.  He had presented clear evidence that the United States was in danger, and the federal government has refused to acknowledge it.  For Fury, there was no choice between diplomacy and the safety of innocent people.  He couldn&#8217;t let this happen.</p>
<p>Fury rapidly assembled a team of the world&#8217;s greatest, yet most misunderstood heroes: Luke Cage, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Black Widow, and fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson.  With no knowledge of the mission at hand, they departed under false identities and rendezvoused with Fury to prepare for the overthrow of Latveria&#8217;s government.</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/sw4.jpg" class="imageright" alt="Secret War" />In the present, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) has been having nightmares of himself and other heroes fighting hordes of technology-powered soldiers.  He joins Matt Murdock (Daredevil) on a trip to see Cage at the hospital when they are suddenly attacked by two technology-powered villains.  Meanwhile, Steve Rogers (Captain America) barges into Cage&#8217;s hospital room after being attacked in front of his home.  He is shocked to see what has happened to his friend, and immediately lashes out at Fury screaming, &#8220;Damn you for what you did to us!&#8221;</p>
<p>Something happened on that mission one year ago.  Something that only Fury and Rogers remember.  And those who were harmed during that operation, those who lost the war, are back for revenge.  What was Fury willing to do to protect his country, and will he be able to face the consequences of his actions?  Does the end ever justify the means?</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/sw2.jpg" alt="Secret War" /></p>
<p>Brian Michael Bendis&#8217; story is a dark tale packed with mystery, drama, and action.  The dark, emotional, and character-driven drama of <em>Secret War</em> has led it to be agreeably titled as, &#8220;The Darkest Chapter in Marvel Universe History&#8221;.</p>
<p>Gabriele Dell&#8217;Otto&#8217;s art is beautifully painted on every page.  It brings the emotion of every scene to life and captures the darkness and characterization of Bendis&#8217; story in a way that I have not seen since Alex Ross&#8217; work on <a href="http://splashpanel.com/archives/kingdom-come/"><em>Kingdom Come</em></a>.</p>
<p><em>Secret War</em> is a must-have for any fan of great artwork and a great story.  It is a tale of right and wrong, of sacrifice, and of consequence, the ramifications of which will be felt for years to come.</p>
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		<title>Silent Dragon</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/silent-dragon/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/silent-dragon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:48:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Khaled Abou Alfa</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/silent-dragon/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
What happens when you mix in Andy Diggle (of The Losers Fame) with Leinil Francis Yu, the Japanese Yakuza, samurai, political backstabbing, broken alliances, all set in the backdrop of Japan in 2063? Simple answer is a little book from Wildstorm&#8217;s excellent Signature banner, Silent Dragon.

I&#8217;ll start off this review by saying that I&#8217;m a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img id="image149" src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/SilentDragon.jpg" alt="SilentDragon.jpg" /></p>
<p>What happens when you mix in Andy Diggle (of The Losers Fame) with Leinil Francis Yu, the Japanese Yakuza, samurai, political backstabbing, broken alliances, all set in the backdrop of Japan in 2063? Simple answer is a little book from Wildstorm&#8217;s excellent Signature banner, Silent Dragon.<br />
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I&#8217;ll start off this review by saying that I&#8217;m a MASSIVE Yu fan. I remember when he first burst onto the comic book scene years ago and was drawing Wolverine at the time. He was hailed the next <a href="http://whilcewetworks.blogspot.com/">Whilice Portacio</a> (they&#8217;re both from the Philippines). At the time he still really hadn&#8217;t reached his pinacle in my humble opinion. He lacked a little bit of clarity in his lines and his style had not been completely defined as far as I was concerned. It was a little messy for my liking. Over the years however he has most definitely evolved into one of the top artists working in the industry at what he does. So what exactly is it that he does so well? He creates plausible worlds. The attention to detail in his artwork is second only to Whilice Portacio. His designs are some of the most original and meticlous that I have ever seen. What&#8217;s really impressive however is the fact that the man is able to carry that level of imagination onto each and every one of his projects (all of which generally have nothing to do with the other, at least from a visual perspective).</p>
<p>This is Yu&#8217;s second attempt at a creator owned series from Wildstorm. Neither have really been knock out success stories, otherwise they would have continued the series past the initial mini. The Wildstorm Signature series has one champion at the moment (Ex Machina), which is a shame as I would have loved to continue to see the stories that could compliment this story. It&#8217;s also a crying shame, because rather than Yu pouring out his heart into these designs he&#8217;s back working for the man at Marvel to churn out Hulk vs Wolverine crossover rubbish (it might not actually be rubbish as I&#8217;ve not read it to be honest, however for me it&#8217;s a waste of some awesome talent).</p>
<p>So now that I&#8217;ve talked up the artwork enough, what do I think about the story? It should come as no real surprise that I&#8217;ve got a thing for Japanese culture, and it&#8217;s very apparent that Andy Diggle has got the same affection. Diggle has created a world that is a fusion of the best parts of ancient Japan and modern Japan. Samurai are massive robots instead of foot soldiers, temples that sit atop sky scrappers and the list goes. The story follows Renjiro, who is the cheif advisor to Japan&#8217;s greatest Yakuza warlord. Unfortunately for Renjiro, he&#8217;s fallen for the boss&#8217;s wife and the feelings are more than mutual. So much so that Lady Takara decides she can&#8217;t take it any longer and plots the assassination of her husband, Hideaki. The problem of course is that Hideaki finds out about his assasination attempt and accuses Renjiro of this act, for which he excepts his advisor to do the honourable thing and kill himself. You&#8217;d think that the story could end here, however the military (whom have taken over the government) have other plans for Renjiro and the plot begins with them bringing him back from the dead. The story spirals into a battle for the future of Japan as the government and the Yakuza are about to clash for ultimate power, with Renjiro stuck squarely in the middle of all of this. My only real gripe is the exceptionally annoying character whom he&#8217;s introduced as Renjiro&#8217;s sidekick Suki. Easily one of the most annoying characters in recent years. I found her to be extremely one dimensional. </p>
<p>As always I&#8217;m not going to ruin the ending, but needless to say it&#8217;s got a great chilling ending (otherwise I wouldn&#8217;t be mentioning it right now); the great thing about it all is that I didn&#8217;t see it creeping up on me, because right until the end of the story I wasn&#8217;t sure where Diggle was actually going with this story. Silent Dragon is a great piece of fiction, however make no mistake the real star of this show is the artwork and the character designs. They&#8217;re more imaginative than 98% of graphic novels out there and is worth the price of admission on it&#8217;s own to be honest. Anything by Yu is golden as far as I&#8217;m concerned.</p>
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		<title>Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi</title>
		<link>http://splashpanel.com/archives/star-wars-infinities-return-of-the-jedi/</link>
		<comments>http://splashpanel.com/archives/star-wars-infinities-return-of-the-jedi/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:18:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Huff</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Fantasy]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://splashpanel.com/archives/star-wars-infinities-return-of-the-jedi/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
After so long in hibernation, and with damage to the carbonite unit, there&#8217;s little hope that Captain Solo will ever regain his sight.
Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi is an adventurous and thought-provoking &#8220;What if?&#8221; tale by writer Adam Gallardo and artists Ryan Benjamin, Dan Norton, and Juvaun Kirby.  It begins in tandem [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/swirotj.jpg" alt="Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi" /></p>
<blockquote><p><em>After so long in hibernation, and with damage to the carbonite unit, there&#8217;s little hope that Captain Solo will ever regain his sight.</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em>Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi</em> is an adventurous and thought-provoking &#8220;What if?&#8221; tale by writer Adam Gallardo and artists Ryan Benjamin, Dan Norton, and Juvaun Kirby.  It begins in tandem with the original <em>Return of the Jedi</em> script, but when a rescue mission goes terribly wrong, history is forever altered.</p>
<p><span id="more-148"></span><br />
The stage is lit, the curtain rises, and the battle for the galaxy begins as we are all too familiar with.  But, what is familiar can become unfamiliar in the the blink of an eye.  You see, the future is made possible through a series of events, like a chain whose links are defined by the laws of action and reaction.  Alter a single link, and the overall position of the chain is altered.  Like the position of the chain, the future can be altered by simply altering one of the events that led to it.</p>
<p>On the desert planet of Tatooine, Princess Leia Organa, on a secret rescue mission to free Han Solo in the guise of Boushh the bounty hunter, barters with Jabba the Hutt for the bounty on Chewbacca&#8217;s head.  When Leia demands &#8220;Fifty-thousand, no less,&#8221; Jabba angrily lashes out at C-3P0, knocking him to the ground with such force that his head detaches.  Without a protocol droid to translate her attempt a Boushh&#8217;s native language, Leia is forced to remove her mask and reveal her thermal detonator.</p>
<p>Lando Calrissian, disguised as one of of Jabba&#8217;s guards, tries to stop Boba Fett from firing at Leia.  He fails, and Fett&#8217;s blast hits Leia&#8217;s shoulder, accidentally activating the thermal detonator and sending it to the ground.</p>
<p>Events begin to spin wildly out of control as Boba Fett flees with the frozen Han Solo and Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca are forced to flee the palace without Han.</p>
<p>The delay of Han Solo&#8217;s rescue will result in the death of Yoda before Luke&#8217;s final visit to Dagobah, the capture of both Luke and Leia by Imperial forces, a desperate battle with Boba Fett over the fate of Han Solo, the loss of Han&#8217;s eyesight, and a final confrontation between a father and his children.</p>
<p><img src="http://splashpanel.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/swirotj2.jpg" alt="Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi" /></p>
<p><em>Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi</em> will introduce you to a Star Wars that you never knew and never thought possible.  George Lucas&#8217;s script only lasts for one page before Adam Gallardo slightly alters one seemingly insignificant event and ignites a radical domino effect, forever altering history as we know it.</p>
<p>The &#8220;What if?&#8221; concept has been explored by almost every comic series to date. It gives us a way to experience familiar characters and familiar settings in an unfamiliar way.  Will the Empire be defeated?  Can the mission to disable the Death Star&#8217;s shield succeed without Han Solo&#8217;s leadership?  Will Darth Vader redeem himself, or will he sacrifice his own children at the will of his master?  The possibilities are endless.</p>
<p><u>Related Reviews:</u></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://splashpanel.com/archives/star-wars-infinities-a-new-hope/">Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope</a></li>
<li><a href="http://splashpanel.com/archives/star-wars-infinities-the-empire-strikes-back/">Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back</a></li>
</ul>
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