Not Your Grandpa's Aquaman

By RonOfTheEmpire

Artist: Ivan Reis; Colorist: Rod Reis

Trust Geoff Johns' writing. You read and loved his run on The Flash and Green Lantern. Don't doubt him now (Sure, there was the Green Lantern movie bomb, but that can hardly be blamed on Geoff).

Immediately, in the first issue, Geoff turns the reader's preconceived, ill-conceived and misconceived notions upside down. The writing is art, the art is poetry, and the colors are vibrant. This is the Aquaman you were meant to read (if you can find it!). Aquaman is portrayed as strong, commanding and decisive. He is, after all, the ruler of 70% of the planet (as some quaintly refer to it, the seven seas). It's about time he gets some respect, and oh! he does.

If you need more information, Newsarama's interview with Geoff Johns will shed more light on what you need to know about Aquaman. The book has even received some positive buzz from USAToday.com and NYTimes.com.

All I can tell you is this: If Aquaman can eat fish and chips, then you can read Aquaman #1. Issue #2 hits stands on October 26, 2011.

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My Kick-Ass Return To Comic Books

by Jeremy Shepherd
I remember walking into comic book stores on Free Comic Book Day before Kick-Ass had made it to the theatres. I had never heard of it, other than the controversy surrounding Hit-Girl being such a violent role for a little girl. I picked up a poster and I remember my wife asking why. I told her, "I am not sure why, but I believe this will be good." Let’s face it, the posters were horrible and did not do the movie justice.

So, I never got a chance to watch it in the theatre as per usual, being a father of two kids who, at the time, were two and four. I rented Kick-Ass when it came out on video and was blown away. In my opinion this movie was well done and well acted. I was telling everyone to watch it.
I went exploring Kick-Ass and learned that it was a movie adapted from a comic book (Sad but true that I did not know that beforehand). This got me back in to comics, so I purchased the Kick-Ass volume 1 hardcover and read it in about an hour. I also had purchased Kick-Ass volume 2 numbers 1 and 2, which is still where we stand at this point. Issue 3 will be released August 24 and is available at your local comics shop. I enjoyed them so much, and I enjoyed the different take on the story compared to the movie.
A Very Nice Guy
I found @MrMarkMillar on Twitter. Mark is a very nice guy and even tweets back occasionally. He even recommended comics of his for me to read. I have burned threw all his original works, which are all great.
Kick Ass Comic Books
First, there was Wanted, which is sick and twisted, with lots of action. The comic book is nothing like the movie and is a "must read." Wanted is about a loser who finds about a secret society of villains after his father dies. There is time travel and a lot of violence. It is very loosely based on the comic.
Kick-Ass was next. Kick-Ass is a comic about a regular guy that decides to fight crime on his own. Then finds out he is not alone when he runs into Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. The movie is a "must watch" and the comics are well worth a read as there is a different spin on the story.

Then came Nemesis. This comic is epic. It has big explosions and scenes that put a huge grin on my face. While reading it, I felt like I was watching a blockbuster movie. It's a super villain comic with many twists and turns. This comic had my mouth wide open while reading it. The rights have been sold to make it in to a movie.Superior came after. It is a Superman-like story. In the origin story, a disabled boy makes a wish and becomes the hero of the comic. It is about a little boy with super powers and all the responsibility that goes along with that. A space monkey gives him the powers! Very Good!
Mark Millar is currently working on Supercrooks. The movie rights have already been sold. There is also another title he is working on, of which nothing has been announced, but I am sure it will be good. So, after I tore through these titles, I asked Mark what other titles he'd written that he recommended:
Marvelous Comic Book Titles

• Wolverine: Enemy of the State
• Old Man Logan (This title was amazing. Made me feel like a kid reading about Wolverine again)
• Marvel Knights Spiderman
• Civil War
• Marvel 1985
• The Ultimates
• Ultimate Avengers
• Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates
• Ultimate X-Men

Mark Millar opened my eyes to what I have been missing and I have not looked back since.
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About The Author
Jeremy Shepherd is 32 years old, married, and has two children, a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. He shares with them his love for comics and the San Francisco Giants. Jeremy enjoys watching movies and TV and reading comics. You can find him on Twitter at @giantsfanj where he tweets... a lot. This is his first article for the Empire's Open Vault blog.
[UPDATED 09.01.2011: Jeremy is taking a break from Twitter.]