Were Money No Object on March 9 Featuring Vertigo Resurrected, Skullkickers, And Time Bomb

The Book I Want to Buy:

Vertigo Resurrected: Finals #1

by Will Pfieffer and Jill Thompson; Vertigo, $7.99

I don’t know the first thing about the Finals mini-series.  I remember seeing it on the stands, but it was at a time when I could only afford a small number of titles, and a project like this had no chance to catch my eye, even with an artist like Jill Thompson involved.

Now, I think it might be time to correct that mistake.  Thompson’s always been a great artist (I loved her stuff on Sandman), but after reading Beasts of Burden, I want to see more of her work.  Will Pfieffer has always struck me as a decent writer, although I’ve never been a huge fan of any of his books.  Still, with Thompson on art, and a price point of $8, this book is probably worth picking up (even though I’m sure with a little dedication, I could find the original comics for less than that).

The story has something to do with college students.  I sometimes think it’s funny how little the plot descriptions factor into my decision making process for buying comics….

The Books I Think You Should Buy:

Skullkickers Vol. 1:  1000 Opas and a Dead Body

by Jim Zubkavich and Edwin Huang; Image, $9.99

Skullkickers is a really fun new comic.  This volume collects the first five issues for only $10, so it’s really a safe purchase.

The comic is about an unnamed pair of monster hunters for hire.  One is really big, and wields what looks to be the only gun in this world, while the other is an ax-swinging dwarf.  They get involved in hunting down the body of a local dignitary, and go on a quest that involves poisoners, zombies, and toothless mages.  And that’s all before the giant monster shows up.

This book is pretty funny, and is much better than it appears at first glance.  Huang’s art has that Udon look to it that doesn’t usually work for me, but grew on me as I read the comic.  I especially like Zubkavich’s use of Incredible Hercules-style sound effects.

Time Bomb TP

by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Paul Gulacy; Radical, $14.95

I have little interest in most of what Radical publishes, but every once in a while, they really nail it, with books like Hotwire and The Last Days of American Crime.  This is one of those titles as well.

At the beginning of Time Bomb, a secret Nazi city is uncovered below modern-day Berlin.  When explorers enter the city, they set off a doomsday bomb, which releases a deadly pathogen into the atmosphere, which quickly infects the entire planet.  In a last ditch effort to save the world, a group of special ops folk are sent back in time to warn people away from the city.

They mess things up though, and arrive in the middle of the war, while the city and bomb are still being built.  This is a pretty standard action movie set up, and the way Palmiotti and Gray write this, it’s not hard to envision it as a movie.

The best reason to buy this book is for the Paul Gulacy artwork.  I know he has his detractors, but I am a big fan, and his work here looks terrific.

So, what would you buy Were Money No Object?