Has anyone here read Chew from Image? I've heard really good things about it. I picked up Irredeemable on a whim based on the reviews it was getting and wasn't disappointed, so I put in an order for the first Chew trade. I was just hoping for a few perspectives from people I know exist before I trust some CBR reviewer, heh.

Also, what other not-mainstream-superhero Marvel/DC trades do you recommend? I'm caught up on Y: The Last Man, Fables, The Walking Dead, and I'm in the midst of getting caught up on Invincible. Thoughts?

After the scheduling catastrophe that was Old Man Logan, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven have unveiled their latest project together: Nemesis.

Any thoughts, anybody? My first thought is, hey, wow, this looks really interesting. I might actually buy a non-superhero/mainstream Marvel/DC comic for once. My second thought is, hey, if I like it, I'm going to start getting more and more disappointed as the book starts coming out later and later and later, aren't I? Should I even bother?

And based on the length of time it took Civil War and Old Man Logan to come out, I'm going to have to pass. Sign me up for the collected edition in 2012, please, because for all I know that's how long it'll be before I see it.

In case you don't frequent the site on a multiple-times-daily basis like I do, you may have missed the fact that UncannyXmen.net did an update on their Forge spotlight, this time including all of his inventions...ever. Check it out. It's well worth your while, believe you me.

He's the Sentinel of Liberty, the Harbinger of Freedom, but in our reality, he's not Steve Rogers. Meet Josiah X, the new Captain America.

You see, this is a book that has some history behind it. Much of the past twelve issues has been spent dealing with the shadowy background agency called Control that no one knows much about but everyone knows it dangerous. I know, it sounds odd, right? But Dino made it work.

With Steve Rogers dead after Josiah X has inherited the cowl and shield, his position as Captain America has been solidified, yet the book is currently writerless. There are so many things that someone could do by coming onto this book. They could play up the contrast between his solo adventures and his exploits with the Avengers, bringing in Nightcrawler as a guest-star when a religion-based foe rears his/her ugly head. Delve into the subculture of New York as Josiah gets down and dirty, just like he always has, when trouble arises.

Better yet, have Josiah start to question whether he is worthy to wield the title of "Captain America." Have him get himself a motorcycle and take a Cap-style road trip, answering hotline calls all over the United States as his pilgrimage of sorts.

But heck, why do anything that's come before? Pit him against villains that have never seen the light of day at Marvel Omega. Take Paper Doll and Freak and make them Josiah X Captain America villains. Do something crazy and fun. Don't let me be the one who stops you.

It took us years to get a Captain America book at Marvel Omega. The title's open again. Don't make me wait years for the next writer, eh?

Hunter Lambright
crawler0822@hotmail.com
http://marvel.omegacen.com/submissions.html

Though I didn't get any new comics today because I'm an American (I tease, but I don't), I did get a copy of Hulk #17 and it has me thinking that if Red Hulk really is Thunderbolt Ross, then Red She-Hulk, the person they sent to control him, has to be Betty "Dead" Ross. One, she has leverage on the Hulk. Two, she has leverage on her father. Three, after Bruce confused the Marlo Harpy for Betty, it means they just brought her back up, kinda like the time Forge was mentioned twice in an issue of Astonishing X-Men before he ended up being involved, surprise, surprise.

Anyway, I'm honestly just tired of waiting to find out who's who. The mystery either better be something I totally didn't expect or else it better blow me away at this point.

December is here, so while you're out Christmas shopping or cramming for finals, make a little time for these five new books, two of which are from first-time Marvel Omega writers! Enjoy!

http://marvel.omegacen.com

Amazing Fantasy #27 · All the original Guardians of the Galaxy wanted was to keep their ship spaceworthy when they docked on this Earth-like planet, but Starhawk has other ideas. Who has set him off and what shifting threat awaits the Guardians of the Galaxy on this world? Find out in "A Day in the Life…" by Travis Hiltz in his first Marvel Omega story!

Exiles #1 · Sandman, Goblin, Husk, Wasp, Sister Grimm, and Daredevil. These six heroes have become unstuck from time and each finds themselves in the midst of heroes that they've never known in their own realities. Will they answer the call of the Tallus or will they refuse to give in? Find out in "Reality Check" by Marvel Omega newcomer, Wesley Overhults!

Heroes for Hire #6 · Danny and Luke are out on the town, but what will Danny do when he comes face to face with his toughest opponent yet—Luke Cage?! Plus, will Danny be able to save his best friend when the Livewires decide that the best way to save him is to kill him? It all goes down in "Gunpowder Burns" by Hunter Lambright!

Nova #2 · Richard Rider has been summoned to Xandar after so much time back on Earth. Will he respond to the call of his own free will or will he even be given a choice? Meanwhile, Nova's oldest and deadliest foes regroup and begin tracking down his loved ones as the Terrible Trio reforms! Check it out in part two of "The Man Called Nova" by Scott Redmond!

Tomb of Dracula #6 · Lilith introduces Frank Drake to her Shock Troop, but is that the only surprise she brought with her or will she reveal another as Colleen Wing and Misty Knight jump into the fray? Plus, the Paladin and Cloak & Dagger action continues while everything spirals downwards. Curt Fernlund brings all the action in "Blood Complex!"

And, as always, be sure to stop by the forum when you're finished reading to let everyone know what you thought so you can earn their undying gratitude!

Hunter Lambright, EiC
crawler0822@hotmail.com

http://marvel.omegacen.com

How many times has he attacked the surface world in the past six weeks? Months? Years? Yeah, I thought so. We're talking about Namor here.

The problem with Namor is that he's constantly portrayed as an angry S.O.B. when that's not anywhere close to his most interesting characteristic. The guy lives underwater, which covers, what? Three-quarters of the planet? Do you know how much room there is down there for entire societies? I think K.A. Applegate did it best in her Animorphs series, with the underwater race that scours the seabed for shipwrecks and then drags them across the seafloor to their underground/water buildings as museum exhibits. I don't want you to rip that off, but that's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

I'm suggesting two different takes on the guy since he's not with the Avengers anymore. 1.) Sea-faring exile and 2.) Political mastermind.

When Namor could be the coolest is when you kick him out of his empire because someone else has taken over and you have him searching the seven seas for something that can get him in power. In the meantime, he finds himself in the Sargasso Sea and encounters just what alien power (or is it alien?) that makes bad things happen to ships and planes in the area. He goes off into the San Andreas fault and finds a creature that has been living there for the dawn of time--just before said creatures launches its plan to evaporate all the water on earth! I just think that Namor, a crabby kind of guy, stuck in these fantastic situations, will provide enough of a contrast that it won't get boring.

Then you have the political intrigue side of things. Namor is King of Atlantis, so why is he never there? He's always on the surface world doing surface worldy things. So put him back on his throne and have him contest a man who has appeared out of the depths of the ocean, claiming to be the legitimate heir to the throne in front of Namor. And Namor knows, if the man is who he says he is, then that man is the legitimate king. And thus begins a series of political maneuvers. The people who want Namor to stay in power begin trying to off his cousin. Then the Fathom Five get involved on the behalf of the cousin, because they want Namor out of power. And it all ends in trouble for Atlantis. Too often has Namor gone to the surface world when they were in need. Will he swallow his pride when the underwater world is in need instead?

I'm not sure what's going to happen, actually, and, though no one has pitched a book based on a CfaT yet, I'm hoping someone will. Send an e-mail to crawler0822@hotmail.com for any brainstorming or pitching or questions about the site, and check out http://marvel.omegacen.com/submissions.html if you're interested in checking out any of the other book ideas we've got for you.

First off, before we get started, I’d like to point you all over to http://marvel.omegacen.com/submissions.html because Dino Pollard has done some amazing work coming up with upwards of twenty new logos for titles that have no writer. Check those out and see if any of them hits a chord, would you?

And then, once you’re back here and strapped in tight, we’re going to talk about Domino.

First off, there’s one very attractive part about formulating a pitch for Domino that people might want to consider. Your title character? She’s dibbed by me. I’m trying to give you ideas for a solo series. Thus, it’s a given that it’s okay with the dib holder that you write a solo series alongside her team adventures.

There are so many directions you can go with Domino. Maybe she’s hired by a casino director to use a little luck of her own to see if a snobby rich kid, barely into his twenties, is cheating at the games, because he has to be to be winning so much money, but, in actuality, he’s dead-Hellion Roulette’s uptight cousin who has no idea he’s a mutant. The moral dilemma then becomes whether she turns the kid in for her paycheck or she mentors him due to her own experience with relative probability manipulation.

You could also go with the straight-up assassin route. She’s good at what she does, maybe even the best there is if Wolverine is off the table. She’s strong, self-sufficient, and, well, sexy, but she can also kill you before you can beg her not to. However, when an attempt at offing an unfriendly foreign ruler goes bad, she has to ask herself, does she finish the job and maintain her identity with the government? Or does she stand by and do nothing, knowing that mutantkind will benefit if she doesn’t show her face in public?

Maybe she’s given a target, but she has one big problem: this target has long since been killed, ages and ages ago. Is it possible that this person is alive? And what happens when she confronts Matthew Risman, the scarred hitman who is trying to beat her to her undead quarry?

That’s up to you. Feel free to shoot me a pitch for an ongoing OR a mini-series at crawler0822@hotmail.com . Remember, feel free to use any of the premises I come up with as your own. They’re stories I would love to read.

Other than that, check out the above link. We’re open for ongoings AND miniseries books right now. If you can’t commit for the long haul, don’t. We understand. But if you have a five-issue arc that you can’t get out of your brain, we’ll sign you up for a mini-series. We’re a forgiving bunch here.

Hunter Lambright, EiC

Despite the fact that I've gotten about seven hours of sleep over the past three nights, I'm in the midst of unpacking my Black Friday purchases. I think this is the umpteenth (and last) time I'll be saying this, but I only just got into watching movies, like, recently, and so this Black Friday was a godsend for me. I walked in, and for two or three dollars apiece, I walked out with, Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, The Mummy Returns, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, A History of Violence, Across the Universe, I am Legend, Transformers, Vantage Point, 30 Days of Night, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and 007: Casino Royale. I also know that I'll be getting from my parents at Christmas copies of The Dark Knight, Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12, and Blazing Saddles.

Tack onto this a five-dollar copy of the What if...? Secret Wars TPB (at a twenty-dollar print tag), and my day was made. I was able to hit every store I wanted to, get everything I wanted and more, and not hit any craziness.

If it makes Black Friday fun again, I kinda like the economy the way it is.

I'm kidding...right?

First off, to all my USA LJ friends, a very happy Thanksgiving to you and whoever you're spending it with. Hopefully all turns out well. To you across the pond, thanks for giving us a reason to run away from your religious persecution and get saved by that Squanto guy, because, well, turkey tastes darn good with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and, my personal favorite, the gravy itself. You guys are the best.

I say that all with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, of course.

And tomorrow (which might as well be today, as I know I won't be sleeping tonight), I'll venture into that scary world they call Black Friday in search of two-dollar DVDs and half-price half-price (=75% off) books while avoiding the people who threaten to kill me because they think I'm eying "their" Wii. But I know I'll have a good time, death threats or not, and get a good few hours of cheap movies out of it, too.

And this weekend, sometime, I am going to catch up on sleep, tryptophan or not. And then I'll read the three $4.99 Stephen King books that I was able to get for $2.50 apiece when it's all averaged out. I'll do that starting this weekend. Any recommendations on whether to start in on Misery, Thinner, or Cujo first?

Anyhow, everyone have a great weekend. I've already navigated the horrors of Thanksgiving Day Meijer for a 25% off television that my parents wanted but didn't want to go get themselves. Maybe you'll have some good fun without spending any money, eh? Eh?

Well, it was a thought, haha.