The Fifth Beatle
The Brian Epstein Story
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Vivek J. Tiwary
Pencils by Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker
Inks by Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker
Letters by Steve Dutro
Colors by Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker
Cover by Andrew C. Robinson
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 19, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

The life of Brian Epstein, who discovered and managed The Beatles and who almost singlehandedly supplied the runway in which the band could propel itself to the greatest heights, is the subject of a dazzling, can’t put it down graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics, entitled what many thought Brian to be during his short and troubled, yet fascinating life, The Fifth Beatle.

The legend of who the Fifth Beatle actually was has been sussed out to be many other figures in the band’s folklore along with Epstein, figures like radio DJ Murray the K, who anointed himself as such in the most novelty and charming way, or long-time friends Mal Evans or Neil Aspinall, both of whom were with the band in their earliest makeups and wound up becoming key integral parts of the rich, sprawling history the group found themselves entailed in as the years went on. But to people like Paul McCartney, Brian Epstein always held the mantle and title of the Fifth Beatle. And the creators of this biographic tale feel the same way, in essence, that nobody could claim that title but Brian.

Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Peter David, Stan Sakai, Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson, Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner, Louise Simonson, David Mandel, John Byrne

Art by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon, Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker. Eric Canete, Walter Simonson, J. Bone, John Byrne
Inks by Karl Story, Bob Wiacek

Colors by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu, Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson, J. Bone

Letters by Robbie Robbins, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee. Kyle Baker, John Workman, Neil Uyetake

Cover by Darwyn Cooke
Design by Randall Dahlk
Edited by Scott Dunbier
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 2013
Hardcover | Kindle

Somewhere, Dave Stevens is reading his copy of The Rocketeer Volume 2 and smiling, as you will be when you pick this book up. To say it brings honor and respect to the late Steven’s work would be an understatement. This is comic storytelling at its finest.

Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2 #3
Written by Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker & Matt Wagner
Art by Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker, Eric Canete & Eric Powell
Inks by Karl Story
Colors by Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson & David Stewart
Letters by Shawn Lee & Kyle Baker
Covers by Darwyn Cooke & Dave Stevens
The Rocketeer Created by Dave Stevens
Design by Chris Mowry
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 30, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Rocketeer Adventures reminds me why I love comics. And why I’ll always love the traditional comic medium. No, I’m not one of those who hates digital. I have MORE than plenty of digital comics on my computer and 100% of the books that I review are sent to me via computer. But there’s something about holding a comic book in your hands. You get totally lost in the story and in the book itself. Cheers to IDW for putting together another fantastic issue of this series.

The first story in Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2 #3 is written by David Lapham with art by Chris Sprouse. It’s a great truth or dare type of story that really speaks to ANYONE reading it. The underlying message in the book is universal and applies to the audience. We can all find a piece of ourselves in this fantastic short story. It reads light, with no heavy moral issue, but when you get to the end, there’s a great “ah-ha” moment that will make you want to read it again. This is, by far, my favorite story in the issue.

Each week, MK2Fac3 and Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull list, grab some issues and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of April 20, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here. This week is kind of slow, so Henchman21 is flying solo.

Henchman21

ISSUES

Deadpoolmax #7 (of 12) (Marvel/Max – $3.99) If you had told me a year ago that a Deadpool book would be one of my favorite titles, I would have said you were crazy, but David Lapham and Kyle Baker‘s Deadpoolmax has made me a believer. Everything that readers love about Deadpool is here, it’s just cranked up. Add to it Baker’s unique art style, and you get a crazy, entertaining book that I can’t get enough of.

X-Factor #218 (Marvel – $2.99) I was talking to someone at last year’s New York Comic-Con, and they said they were looking for a socially relevant comic and didn’t know if there was one, and the first book I told them about was X-Factor. Writer Peter David uses each issue to tackle a wide variety of modern subjects, while still telling fun adventure stories with a cast of characters I have come to love. If I had a complaint about the book it is that it can’t hold onto a regular artist to save its life, but the series has maintained such a high story quality that I forgive it.