Whether you loved it (like me), or you left the cinema scratching your head, one thing’s certain – Watchmen intrigued people. I’ve leant my copy of the TPB to at least 3 people at work. It’s not bad as a ‘gateway book’ for people unfamiliar with sequential art. Sure, it’s complex, but it serves as a bold statement that comics aren’t simple. DC realise that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ work will open a lot of eyes around the world, and are wisely taking advantage of that. Out now are a few more ‘gateway book’s that can ease new readers into the scary world of comics. Even if you’ve read these Trades, you might wanna grab some for friends that find comics hard to grasp. Go here to see the complete list of 20 titles available under the After Watchmen…What’s Next? banner. There’s something for every taste, from classics like Sandman and The Dark Knight Returns to newer works such as Y: The Last Man and Identity Crisis. Below are some of my faves.
I remember struggling to catch as much of the glorious 1990s X-Men cartoon each day before heading off to school. It was surprisingly faithful to the comics of the time, and often written by comics scribes. Many people came to be aware of Marvel’s merry mutants due to this show. Now you can see them all over again, as well as the new Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, which is my fave thing on TV, along with the fun Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Press release below.
Event: William Shatner signing at Golden Apple Comics 
Top Cow Productions
Think of this title as Reverse Chucky. Instead of a doll terrorizing children, and adults alike, we have a teddy bear helping them.
The tech-mag Wired appears to be ramping up its comic book cool factor lately. You can check out 
This is a big comic in every way. It’s hard to imagine any other publisher than 
Now, granted this story isn’t going to be welcomed into the bosom of every fanboy. It’s old-timey dialogue and instantly detestable protagonists will throw some people off, but it is a simple narrative and engaging to boot. Two criminal brothers, Finn and Egil are thieves, killing and selling the goods of their victims. They’re tough guys, but with a love for their family. Between their last raid and their next, they face retribution of a swift and terrible kind, which lays the ground for the next issue well. Interspersed is a nice sequence involving a rich king and his lovely, carefree daughter. She desires adventure, and I’m sure when her path crosses with the brothers, that’s surely what she’ll find.
Okay, here’s a look at 3 recent indie first issues.
IDW’s American McGee’s Grim is a new series bringing the apparently popular game character to the printed page. Grimm is a surly pirate-like dwarf who runs amok through fairy tales, jumping on things wit his butt to put the darkness back into the tales. Yes, that’s right. I’ve heard of American McGee (yep, that’s his real name), and his games such as Alice, and Scrapland, but never played them. Grimm is currently being released weekly through GameTap.com. Written by Dwight L.Macpherson, each issue of this mini-series is focused on Grimm’s intrusion into a different genre of comics. Naturally, first up are do-gooder superheroes. I didn’t laugh once. There’s just not enough room to play with. It’s a vaguely interesting concept, as Grimm empowers the assorted baddies to defeat the ever-victorious Freedom Friends, but it’s all been done before. Lobo, the recent Bizarro arc in Action Comics, or even Justice League International have all run with this idea, but they were given more than 22 pages. Once Grimm has introduced himself in the first 6 pages, the remaining 22 are just a one-sided battle during a parade through the streets of Megalopolis. There are over a dozen costumed characters – all the obligatory homages to popular characters, but none are obviously given the time to develop character. Superheroes being surprised that they’re getting beaten just isn’t funny, by itself. Grant Bond’s art does work though, with its loose Mike Allred style and Golden Age colouring, and having Grimm rendered in a style separate from the rest of the universe is a nice touch. I’m sure MacPherson is an accomplished writer, as he’s been doing this for a while but he’s not given a lot to work with here.
The team behind Beach Studios, and 
I went to one of my comic shops yesterday and was aghast to discover that 5 books I ordered in February were now cancelled. Thanks 
Image’s 
This is one of those books I ordered from Previews simply because it looked like something different. And it certainly is. 
Top Cow’s solicitations for their July releases are now out. This is the complete list.
I have a soft spot for indie comics. At least a third of everything I order from Previews is from relatively small self-publishers. Two things struck me about this book; the gloomy yet intriguing cover and the fact that it’s from a Xeric Award winner. Published by Passenger Pigeon Publishing, Chronicles is a simple, black and white 96 page one-shot. Writer/artist Felix Tannenbaum clearly has some skills. However, what is also clear is that he’s a far better writer than an artist. Judging by the work on
comicbookjesus 