We’re open this holiday Monday, known as Colonel By Day here in Ottawa, until 5 PM. Please come in and by some comic books.

I got to do some fishing early Sunday morning with my friend Neil. It got so windy that we were chased off the lake earlier than usual but not before Neil caught his biggest largemouth bass ever and I caught my biggest smallmouth bass ever. Both fish were kept for eating. My cousin Pauline told me that she really enjoyed the fresh fish that I dropped off at her house. You can see pictures of our prize catches on the Silver Snail Ottawa Facebook page.

I got sucked into watching the 2012 London Olympic Games with Penny Sunday afternoon so I didn’t catch up on my comic book reading like I wanted.

Hawkeye #1 – This was a surprise sell-out. I ordered quantities based on how well the recent “Iron Fist” and “Hawkeye and Mockingbird” comics sold because it’s done by W-Matt Fraction and A-David Aja. I even bumped it up a few copies for curious fans wanting to try out the first issue. Still not enough. It probably wouldn’t have sold out if this comic was called Clint Barton because it’s just Clint being heroic without the costume or high tech arrows. There’s a tricky flashback sequence that confused me for a minute but other than that I really enjoyed this slice of Clint Barton’s life story.

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #2 – W-Michael Straczynski and As-Andy and Joe Kubert delve into the sordid backgrounds of the oddball duo Nite Owl and Rorschach. This issue perked up my interest in reading the rest of this mini.

Black Kiss II #1 – If there was a curmudgeon of comics or a maverick of the medium I would have to say that it’s Howard Chaykin. I remember when the first Black Kiss series hit the racks and we at the Comicshop in Vancouver had to decide whether we wanted to sell it and risk being busted by the vice squad. This is triple X-rated fare and rack copies will be kept behind the counter away from innocent eyes. Howard Chaykin indulges his kinky side in this 6-issue mini so fair warning folks.

The First X-Men #1 – W&A-Neal Adams jumps over to Marvel after doing two “Batman Odyssey” minis for DC to show us what he can do with the merry mutants. Here we’ve got Wolverine taking on the Professor X role of forming a team to help protect fellow mutants. Charles is a sixteen year old Harvard grad and Magneto is a Nazi hunter who is judge, jury and executioner. I found this kind of hokey even with the dialogue assist from W-Christos Gage but if you love seeing Logan and Sabretooth do what they do best then check this out.

Animal Man #11 & #12 – The long awaited team-up with Swamp Thing starts right here.

Swamp Thing #11 & #12 – If you smell something rotten on the racks it`s because Buddy and Alec are in the Rot trying to save the world. Now we have to wait two months to see what happens next because September is Zero Month for DC.

Peter Parker Spider-Man #156.1 – Hey, what happened to Spectacular? This is Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary, my how time flies. W-Roger Stern and A-Roberto De La Torre take Peter down memory lane to the old warehouse where he started his journey of great responsibility. Your true blue and red Spidey fan will love this.

Rasl #15 – Jeff Smith’s multiverse hopping art thief’s story comes to an end and we find out what Rasl means.

Thief of Thieves #7 – Ws-Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer explain the sting that springs Conrad’s son from the big house. The real F.B.I. should read this fun story. The start of this story made it look like the master thief was going to retire but the end of the story makes it difficult for him to walk away from his life of crime. I’m glad we’re going to get more stories about this guy later.

Ninjettes #6 – This flashback interlude story will lead into the next big story in the Jennifer Blood book. The cover for this issue is gruesome. I will never for the life of me understand why it’s okay to show a severed head in a box on the cover of a comic book but heaven forbid a nipple is exposed. That’s bleeped- up right there.

AVX #9 – Holy smokes, you won’t believe what happens to Peter Parker in this issue.

Mind the Gap #3 – I hope the cast doesn’t get too much bigger. I’m having a hard time keeping track of everybody and their connections to each other. I’m going to stop reading this when I get confused or annoyed.

Lone Ranger #8 – We see the events that set Tonto on the war path. Tragedy leads to more tragedy.

The Boys #69 – I really appreciate W-Garth Ennis explaining Butcher’s ultimate solution to dealing with the supes for us slower fans in this issue. Now I know how high the stakes are. I think this series is going to end with a classic David and Goliath showdown.

Epic Kill #4 – This tale of revenge gets even more vengeful.

Ultimate Spider-Man #13 – I’m positive I read issue #12 but I felt like I was missing something while I read this issue. The consequences of the fight that Miles had with his uncle are very very harsh. I loved how W-Brian Bendis fooled me with the meeting at the end of this issue. The UU Captain America is a real jerk.

Daredevil #16 – The cover says it all and the drama coming off the pages by W-Mark Waid and A-Chris Samnee was very powerful. Breaking up is hard to do.

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