Near Mint Comic Show: Best of 2008

We’re picking the best comics of ’08 and we need your help

2008.  For every year older we get, it seems like the years get that much shorter.  Years, as they say, just roll by like a broken down dam.  But for us comics fans, a lot can happen in a year.  A year that saw an invasion unfold and a crisis near finality, a year that gave us a new Captain America and a … um … RIP’d Batman, a year with 3 glorious issues of All-Star Batman & Robin, can feel like a very long time.  

A Merry Comics Christmas!

As we discussed on our last episode, Christmas and comics aren’t an easy fit.  Your friends and family are unlikely to go anywhere near the sordid shopping ghetto we know as the local comic shop, so you can’t expect to get comics.  And unless you have a comics lover on your gift list or you’re willing to shamelessly pimp your hobby on your loved ones, there’s rarely an opportunity to give comics.  

Newsarama’s Comic of the Year: two options? That’s it?

It’s that time of year for ‘Best Of’ lists and various awards and a post I saw upon a quick view of Newsarama shocked me

Wrong 'Comic of the Year'.

a bit. They are asking readers to vote on Comic Book of the Year, along with Comic Movie of the Year. Normally, I would have no problem with this, but that’s why I said ‘normally’.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer – see it here!

It’s not an exclusive, but I had to give y’all this. This looks insanely good. Look for Wolverine, Sabretooth, The Blob, Gambit, young Storm and more.

We finally managed to get the video posted so have a look and let us know what you think …

Vodpod videos no longer available.

And don’t forget about Episode 7 of the Near Mint show…scroll down for details!

Episode 007 – “Lucky for You”

In the last episode before the Holidays, Ben & Josh stuff your stocking with comic talk including a postmortem on Secret Invasion (00:07:25) and Batman R.I.P. (00:28:27). Other Reviews & Previews include Ultimatum #1 (00:40:50), Joker (00:48:20), Amazing Spider-Man (00:54:50), X-Men / Spider-Man (01:00:13), Kevin Smith’s Batman: Cacophony (01:06:29) and more …

We also trim your tree with Retro Recommendations: Ultimates 2 (01:22:30) and Wanted (01:28:31), deck your halls with Twitter posts by Warren Ellis and get set  to ring in the new year with another edition of the Newbie Book Report (01:52:46).  

To listen, click here or subscribe via iTunes

To see Paul Huot’s Newbie Book Report survey, click here.

Squirrel Nut Zippers get animated at the Tupelo

Tonight, on somewhat of a whim, Paul Huot and I went to see Squirrel Nut Zippers at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, NH … and I did something completely rediculous.

The Tupelo is one of the cooler and more unique venues in Southern NH, and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, who I had heard little from since my early college days,  put on a show that blew me away.  The sit-down crowd was a bit of a mismatch for the band that hit with the rockabilly swing revival of the early 90’s but the show was pure vaudeville and  hugely entertaining.  

The capper for me was this cartoon, which was projected on a wall as the lights were dimmed and the band performed the score live …

So impressed was I, that I hung around after the show to talk with guitarist, James “Jimbo” Mathus . I told him, and I quote, (because I waited for everyone to get CDs signed and leave before talking to him, so I had some time to rehearse it.)

 “You might think this sounds weird coming from a guy at a sit-down show in New Hampshire, but I go to a lot of shows, and I play in a band myself, and I produced a show at Staples Center for a year … but the number with the cartoon was some of the dopest, most creative pieces of performance art. I have ever seen!” 

Honestly folks, this is not the type of thing I say on a regular basis so please forgive the nerdgasm, but what can I say?  It was one of those things I had a rare opportunity to say and I got inspired.  It was well received though, and Jimbo told me that the animation was choreographed to fit their song, The Ghost of Stephen Foster by Simpsons director, Raymond Persi.  

I realize this doesn’t really have anything to do with comics but if you don’t think the cartoon is pretty cool, 1. I question how into comics you are, and 2. you have no soul.

Marvel’s Secret Invasion is done…now what?

With the end of Marvel’s near year-long epic of Secret Invasion complete, now what? Well, how about some Dark Reign?

Marvel Universe ultra-scribe Brian Michael Bendis did an interview with Newsarama where he discussed the end of the Secret Invasion series and gives some clues into what is going to happen next. I think for a majority of the fans, I would say that I hope that Dark Reign is more of a running theme/storyline throughout the books and not lead toward another major event.

After House of M, Civil War and Secret Invasion, it’d be nice to have a year off from a long summer arc.

Then again, history shows that we do have events during the summer, regardless of publisher.

More on the end of Secret Invasion during the next p’cast…recorded this week!