NOTE: The following is a first person editorial.

Every week I do a column full of comic book reviews as I've done since March 2003 and currently published at Comic Book Resources. Then, after the reviews post, I try to come over to Komplicated and expand on the thoughts and ideas listed there. Why talk about stuff at some other site? Oh, like you've never done any private projects when you're at work! Sometimes things get profound, sometimes it's gibberish, but it's always about comics … let's see what we get this week!

What? This week's reviews …

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK:Man, it's good to have Virgil Hawkins and Casanova Quinn back in action. Sure, nostalgia and conservativism are the same kinds of industry-wide cancer that brought back Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (y-a-w-n), but Milestone was taken all too soon and, honestly, Casanova is still in its inceptional arc. Aside from being a murderous lunatic before transforming into Ryan Reynolds, what has Hal Jordan done worth knowing since "Hard Travelin' Heroes?" Barry Allen has fewer actual character traits than a box of Cheerios — #ijs.

So that was entertaining to see, and as noted in the reviews today.

THE NEW 52: The first thing I noticed about all of the things I read was that missing two pages ($2.99 books now run 20 pages instead of the former standard of 22) really makes a difference. Almost everything I read (with the exception of Men of War) felt pretty much like it came to an abrupt stop, just a little short of where the narrative needed to go. Well, okay, not everything, Batwing had narrative problems all by itself, which saddened me because I'd really like for the Black characters to succeed, even if there's no Black people involved in creative. Why? One day that could be a job for an Afua Richardson or a Mark Bright or a Felicia Henderson or a Vincent Moore. One they could do with some real value attached. Anyhoo, I digress.

My overall feeling is "meh," and the stories I read in most cases didn't encourage me to look for more. I could see Men of War winning me over, I could see Action Comics developing into something, and maybe a couple of others could creep up through "meh" into accomplishing something. The day for such an event isn't today.

TOYS 'R' US: IDW is working very hard on developing books I want to buy. The Cobra Civil War is very different from what Larry Hama did, in a (mostly) good way (and one that, say, Dark Horse is not doing on Star Wars books, that should be like manna to me yet almost never make it home). I understand the business reasons behind some of the art hires from companies like Boom! and IDW, but it does a disservice to the books. Some of the artists on these books are good, but not great and that distinction means the books have a hard time stepping past being "good" to becoming "great." That said, the body counts, the mayhem, the unpredictability … it's admirable, and I enjoy it. Some of the time.

THAT'S THE NEWS, AND I AM OUTTA HERE: Not much more to say due to sleep deprivation and being at a big company event in Pleasanton.

Playing (Music): "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls

[Source: Comic Book Resources]