• The 3rd generation iPad is awesome, and is definitely a worthwhile upgrade over the iPad 2. The high resolution Retina display is gorgeous, and the richer color gamut is definitely welcome. The Internet has never looked better.

• Less awesome is the 3rd generation Apple TV. I am generally not a fan of jailbreaks, and have always stuck with authorized firmware images for all my devices, even those that are way too easy to crack (i.e. the PlayStation Portable). Why do I want to jailbreak my Apple TV? Well - there really isn't much to do with this little black box outside of the US and Europe since the iTunes Store is not available in this part of the world and other general features (i.e. YouTube, Vimeo) are accessible via the PlayStation3 anyway.

• Paying for one's wedding should not be done concurrently with purchasing a property. Cashflow is severely curtailed with one four or five figure bill to pay after another.

• I still have stacks of Blu-rays and boxes of comics stashed away, untouched since purchasing them. Why? Time - or rather the lack thereof. I did manage to plow through a huge chunk of the Roger Stern and Walt Simonson runs on Avengers though, and I have just started reading the World of New Krypton crossover.

• Speaking of Avengers, wasn't the movie just farking AWESOME? Hulk and Loki have never been more entertaining!

• Re-visiting The Phantom Menace in 3D does not improve the movie at all. I haven't been so sleepy in the cineplex since Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

• The only activity on my PlayStation Vita these days is updating its firmware. There isn't much to do on it having completed Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

• The only thing I am almost as excited about as my upcoming marriage and new apartment? The return of Valiant Comics! Yes - I am nuts enough to buy dozens of copies of X-O Manowar vol.3 # 1 and Harbinger vol.2 # 1 just to score the chase variant covers. Of course having autographed swag by Robert Venditti and Joshua Dysart is nothing to scoff at. :-)

• I have a copy of Magnus, Robot Fighter # 0 signed by Jim Shooter. 'nuff said
  

• Chrono Trigger is every bit as fun now as when I first played it in 1995.

• Russell Peters? Well worth the money!

• Batman Incorporated
  I am not surprised that this came back, since it's spearheaded by Grant Morrison (with art by the über-talented Chris Burnham), although I thought it was designed only as a 12-issue maxi-series. This is definitely a no-brainer for inclusion in my pull list

• Dial H
  Another attempt at revamping the old Dial H for Hero concept for the modern era? I liked Will Pfeiffer's attempt a few years ago in H.E.R.O., but it just wasn't to my liking. And making it Vertigo-lite in the DC Universe isn't something up my alley either. Then again, Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire have been earning accolades left and right for their works on Swamp Thing and Animal Man, so this might be another sleeper hit for DC Comics. For me, I am giving it a miss

• Earth 2
  The rumors swirling around the Internet was right after all - James Robinson and Nicola Scott were indeed working on a Justice Society title! I am admittedly to too big a James Robinson or JSA fan, but I will add this to my pull list simply because of Nicola Scott's artwork

• G.I. Combat
  An anthology to trot out the DC Universe's war heroes? Sounds cool enough considering the creative teams involved (with the possible exception of J.T. Krul and Ariel Olivetti - two creators whose works I strongly dislike), but I can't justify adding this $3.99 title to my pull list

• The Ravagers
  Spinning out of Superboy and Teen Titans with the creative team of Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill? Next...

• World's Finest
  This is the one that piqued my interest the most - a monthly series on the Earth 2 versions of Power Girl and Huntress stuck on Earth 1 (or whatever the heck it's called in the New 52 timeline) with stories by Paul Levitz and alternating artwork by George Pérez and Kevin Maguire? You had me at Pérez and Maguire :-)

• screen protector
• protective case that doubles as a stand
• wrist strap
• decent-sized microfiber cloth to wipe the screen with
• a tray to hold eight games and two memory cards
• 4GB memory card, which I traded in at the shop for a discount towards the 16GB card

I also bought the Japanese version of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, which brought the total sum to RM1730.

This is actually the very first launch console/handheld I had ever owned, as my previous PlayStations and Nintendos were actually bought a few years after they were released. It's nice to be able to gloat about having the PlayStation Vita, unfortunately there's no content for it, games are minimal (even if one can read Chinese and/or Japanese) and there's no one to share games with.

This is a gorgeous handheld, and it is a much more polished product compared to the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is blessed with a gorgeous 5" OLED touchscreen with a resolution of 960×544, double that of the PSP's 480×272 resolution. It's not exactly in the same league as Apple's Retina Display, but it's pretty darn close.

The Vita is also equipped with two analog sticks, a welcome relief from the single half-arsed analog nubbin on the PSP. The standard four PlayStation buttons are there, along with two shoulder buttons. Behind the Vita is a touch panel, more about this later in the article. It also comes with front and rear cameras, but the maximum resolution supported is only VGA (640×480), so it's obvious they were designed for gaming purposes only.

The touchscreen is very responsive, and is comparable to the iPhone or the iPad. Colors are gorgeous and black levels are very deep. I had transferred a few 720p MP4 videos from my PS3 to the Vita and they are absolutely stunning to look at. It should be noted that video must be encoded with the H.264 codec and the maximum resolution is 720p. 1080p content and MP4 videos encoded with other codecs (i.e. XviD) are not supported. I hope Sony is able to introduce better video playback features with firmware updates in the future, as the Vita would definitely make a great video playback device, certainly far better than the PSP.

Gone is the XMB we have come to know and love on the PSP and PS3. In its place is a near interface, known as LiveArea, where a maximum of 10 bubbles may be placed on a page. In some respects it is quite similar to HTC's implementation of Android. It isn't quite as elegant as the XMB, although I have to admit it is very easy to navigate and the large bubbles are much easier to tap at compared to iOS icons. The operating system is completely dependant on the touchscreen, the buttons are not used at all in the main menu.

Setting up the Vita is a straightforward process, and I had it connected to my secured home Wi-Fi connection in no time. All the typical network controls are there, allowing me to assign a static IP address for the device, as well as specific gateway and DNS servers. Unlike the PSP, which had a Wi-Fi hardware switch, the wireless radio on the Vita is always on, much like the PS3. This can be a drain on the battery, so I found it best to enable Flight Mode while gaming and only turning off Flight Mode when I want to sync my trophies with my PSN account.

As my PSN account is based in the US, I am unable to access the PlayStation Store at this point in time as it is currently only open to those with Japanese PSN accounts. I expect this to change by the end of February though when the Vita will be released in the US. It also has some sort of social connectivity feature called Near, but I was unable to test it at all simply becuase hardly anyone has a Vita yet.

The Vita comes with firmware 1.0 out-of-the-box, and I was prompted for a firmware upgrade immediately upon connecting it to the Internet. Upgrading to firmware 1.5.1 is identical to that on the PSP or PS3, so there's nothing new here. Based on the download time, the Vita firmware files are definitely larger than PSP firmwares, but not quite the 100+ MB packages I have had to download on the PS3.

The Vita is the very first first-party PlayStation hardware to actually have a traditional directional pad. All prior PlayStation controls opted for four separate recessed buttons in lieu of a traditional gamepad, which I thought was problematic on the PSP since it was smaller than those found on the DualShock controllers. Response from the pad is very smooth, and I had no problems busting out moves on Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the four control buttons, as they are significantly smaller than the PSP and are positioned very closely to the right analog stick, which caused me to die a coupla times during the more frenetic gunfights in Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

The top of the Vita has the power button, the Vita Card slot (all Vita games are distributed in a proprietary flash memory format known as the Vita Card), an external connectivity port for future expansion, and volume controls that are almost identical to the ones on the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 4S. Unlke the PSP, there are no slots in either side of the Wi-Fi only version. The 3G version has a small SIM card slot on the left. The Vita Card is roughly the same size as an SD card.

The bottom of the Vita has a proprietary multi-purpose port, which is used to charge the device and/or connect it to the PS3 or PC via USB, and the Vita Memory Card slot. Yes, the Vita requires a highly expensive proprietary memory card to store data. Sony's justification was that they wanted to have a uniform experience for all Vita customers, as there are many different classes of SD or MemoryStick cards out there. This is bullshit if you ask me, and it reeks as simply another attempt to gouge customers out of more moolah. Be careful with the teeny tiny Vita Memory Card though, as it is even smaller than a MicroSD card.

As with the PSP, USB charging is only possible when the device is inactive, although I have not tested if it will detect the 2.3V USB port on my Kensington car charger (which I use to charge my iPad 2 when I am on the go) as a proper power socket. Charging it to 100% takes a few hours, similar to the iPad 2. I noticed it does perform an initial quick charge, so even a quick 15-30 minute charge can get it up to 70%.

It should be noted that unlike the PS3 or PSP, the PlayStation Vita system name cannot be set manually and will adopt the name of the PSN account associated with it automatically. And here comes the main gripe for most people - the Vita only supports a single PSN account, and the only way to switch between accounts is to wipe the device and start anew.

Trophies earned in Vita games are added to your overall tally, but for some reason are not shown in the PS3, although I imagine this is but a PS3 firmware upgrade away. PS3 trophies are shown on the Vita, with Facebook integration intact. Sony has also promised Vita versions of Foursquare, Twitter and Skype in the near future.

Having just completed Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception on the PS3 only a month ago, I was jonesing for more of Nathan Drake's adventures. Needless to say most of my Vita gaming time was spent with Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Despite being presented on a handheld device, this is a full-on Uncharted game, and is approximately the same length as Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous on the 5" OLED screen, and screen captures really do not do justice to this game.

It utilizes all the various input capabilities on the Vita to full effect. Along with the traditional DualShock controls, the touchscreen may also be used for melee and stealth combat, and climbing up walls. The rear touch panel is used to zoom in with the camera or sniper rifle. Full SIXAXIS tilt sensor and accelerometer support is enabled, although only in a very limited manner on some jumping situations and for tossing grenades. The rear camera is used in a very surprising manner to solve a puzzle, which I shan't spoil here. I especially welcome the use of the touchscreen to scale the wall and rapelling with ropes as they were the usual causes of Nathan Drake's untimely death with my less than masterful jumps using the DualShock3 controller with the PS3.

Curiously enough, the Vita actually ccomes with a built-in game called Welcome Park, which is a simplistic tutorial to get gamers accustomed to its various input methods. It's similar to the way Microsoft implemented Solitaire with Windows 3.0 to familiarize users with the mouse (I'm betraying my age by even typing this sentence). Me, I play Welcome Park just for the sake of earning its trophies. Yup, this simple tutorial app has trophies of its own. :-)

The Vita game cases are similar to traditional DVD or Blu-ray cases, albeit significantly smaller in size and are bright blue in color. Most packages only contain the Vita Card, and only a sheet of paper with safety instructions on how to remove and reinsert the Vita Card. This seems like an awful waste of plastic to me, as Sony could have employed a smaller case. Still, it does occupy a lot less shelf space than its PS3 and PSP counterparts.

1. American Splendor: Another Day
2. Authority: Human on the Inside
3. Authority: Prime
4. Big Book of Horror
5. The Claws Come Out
6. Global Frequency: Detonation Radio
7. Justice Society of America: The Next Age
8. Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming
9. Loveless: Blackwater Falls
10. Loveless: Thicker Than Blackwater
11. Midnighter: Anthem
12. Star Trek: Aliens Spotlight vol.1
13. Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Last Generation
14. War Stories vol.1

1. KL Gangster - This is the first time a Malaysian production is making the list. I won't lie - I hardly ever watch local productions, be it on the big screen or on television. The quality of the vast majority of them is utter crap. So imagine my surprise at how good KL Gangster turned out to be, and how much I enjoyed it.
   
   For the record, KL Gangster is nowhere near as polished or technically competent as your typical Hollywood movie, but I am putting this movie on the list simply because of the impression it made on me, despite it's simplistic storyline, hackneyed characters, and technical shortcomings. Nevertheless, director and star Syamsul Yusof did a great job with this movie, and I was won over by the earnest performances by Shoffi Jikan and Aaron Aziz. Definitely a local success story for 2011, and I am looking forward to next year's prequel, with Ong Bak star Tony Jaa in the lead.
   
   
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - As a jaded movie-goer, it has been a long time since a Hollywood summer blockbuster is able to surprise me. I've read about this prequel/reboot of the tired Planet of the Apes franchise, and to be frank I had very little interest in it until I caught the first teaser trailer. The CGI apes were definitely impressive, and what little footage there was of Andy Serkis as Caesar was eye-catching. It piqued my interest enough to be willing to make the trip to the cinemas.
   
   105 very impressive minutes later, I have to say that the movie blew me away. It treads the line between being an intelligent sci-fi flick and an action-packed romp beautifully, without ever losing sight of its role as a prequel. If one were to discount the other entries in the series, this movie definitely works as a solid prequel to the 1968 original.
   
   
3. X-Men: First Class - And yet another surprise to round up my list of the top three movies of 2011. Despite my enjoyment of Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass last year, I had tremendous hesitation about this movie since it is yet another prequel, and worse it was being rushed with a very accelerated schedule. My impression of the X-Men movie series had soured with the god-awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and I was not expecting much here either.
   
   The opening sequence with Magneto's origins and a masterful performance by Kevin Bacon as the villanous Sebastian Shaw got me hooked very quickly. Coupled with career-making performances by Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult (among others), and the daring choice of integrating the story with the Cuban Missile Crisis made this a hugely entertaining movie. There were so many ways this could have gone wrong under a less capable director and screenwriting team, but the team of Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman managed to pull another success!

BLU-RAY

1. Disney's Beauty and the Beast 3D - The Diamond Edition 2D release made my best of list last year, so what's so great about this year's 3D re-release? This five-disc set includes everything last year's version had, so there isn't any new content per se, besides a thriumphant and awe-inspiring 3D version of the movie. I don't care what detractors think of 3D, I really do believe the added third dimension adds to the overall enjoyment of the movie when done right. It's just a terrible shame that 3D is not properly implemented most of the time, leaving viewers with a bad taste in their mouthes, so to speak.
   
   The conversion done for this movie is absolutely gorgeous, and is demo material for early adopters of 3D televisions. The ballroom sequence is more spectacular than ever, and the opening scene with Belle walking around town is totally immersive. Besides James Cameron, Disney is at the top of the 3D game, and I have nothing but high hopes for their future Blu-ray 3D releases.
   
   
2. Human Planet - BBC Earth's big release for 2011 was definitely Human Planet, an engrossing documentary on the way people around the world live in startling environments. I have been enamored with BBC Earth since I bought a copy of Planet Earth two years ago, and they keep getting with each subsequent release. The 1080i video is absolutely pristine, and the use of lossless DTS-HD MA audio is a welcome change from Planet Earth's Dolby Digital and Life's DTS-HD HR audio tracks.
   
   
3. Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology - After a very impressive, if flawed, gargantuan 14-disc DVD release back in 2003, Warner Bros gives the Superman motion picture series gets an upgrade this year to Blu-ray with his 8-disc set. Most of the shortcomings of 2006's individual Blu-ray releases of Superman: The Movie, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, and Superman Returns have been resolved, more special features have been added (mostly in HD), and the highly entertaining Look, Up In The Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman documentary has been upgraded to 1080p HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio!
   
   The audio for Superman: The Movie, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, and Superman Returns have been upgraded from lossy Dolby Digital to lossless DTS-HD MA, and this box features the HD debuts of the theatrical cuts of Superman: The Movie, Superman II (the Richard Lester version), Superman III (upgraded with a new 5.1 mix, versus the DVD's 2.0 mix), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (sadly saddled with DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio).
   
   My only gripe? The video for Superman Returns had not been remastered. It was a very early release in the Blu-ray format, and is a far cry from the stellar video quality evident in the Christopher Reeve movies.

GAMES

1. Bejeweled - Bejeweled 3 made it's debut late last year, but it was only a few weeks ago when PopCap Games finally unveiled the iOS version, oddly enough titled only as 'Bejeweled'. Make no mistake, this is a huge improvement over Bejeweled 2, with the hugely addictive Diamond Mine mode sapping many hours of my life away. Coupled with Game Center achievements and badges, this game has been killing my iPhone4's battery like there's no tomorrow. And that's a good thing.
   
   
2. Jetpack Joyride - The iOS platform chalks another notch in this list, with Halfbrick Studios' Jetpack Joyride, starring company mascot Barry Steakfries (last seen in 2010's equally addictive Age of Zombies) making a return in this twitch-based platform game that can last as long as five minutes, or as short as 30 seconds per game. I am as surprised as you are that my iPhone4 has actually become by gaming device of choice.
   
   
3. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Finally a traditional console game. Developer Naughty Dog ups the ante with this latest release in the venerable Uncharted series, with hero Nathan Drake teaming up once again with Victor Sullivan, Chloe Frazier, and Elena Fisher (plus fun new character Charlie Cutter) for another adventure, this time to find the lost city of Ubar.
   
   The graphics are gorgeous, which is a major achievement considering how good 2009's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves looked, which is still a benchmark for graphical quality on the PlayStation3. The combat system has been given a significant overhaul, with less button mashing and more focus on actual combat.
   
   My only complaint? The single-player campaign is far too short, and the final battle with Talbot is over much too quickly and way too easy. He is definitely no Zoran Lazarovich.

COMICS

1. Demon Knights - Who knew that a book featuring the likes of Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, the Shining Knight, and Vandal Savage having adventures around the medieval DC Universe would make such a good read? It certainly didn't gain any attention from me with its early promotional image of an armored Etrigan wielding some ridiculous sword. But writer Paul Cornell continues to weave a hugely entertaining story, and while I have only read the first three issues of this series I have to say this is one of the funnest book to come out of the DC Universe in a long time. Here's hoping the creative team of Paul Cornell and Diogenes Neves is able to stick with this book for the long term.
   
   
2. Life With Archie - This great series makes a return to this list this year, with the stories of a married Archie Andrews getting weirder and wonkier as the Archie Marries Veronica reality starts interjecting with the Archie Marries Betty reality. To what end I don't know, but writer Paul Kupperberg has got me hooked.
   
   I have to admit that the production quality this series has definitely faltered this year, what with the departure of artist Norm Breyfogle and the downgrade to newsprint paper stock. But the story is seriously getting amped up, leaving it at the top of my reading pile whenever a new issue appears at the comic shop.
   
   
3. O.M.A.C. - And last but not least we have Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen's O.M.A.C., a wonderful and surreal throwback to the insane Jack Kirby DC Comics titles of the 1970s. This series has been filled with a frenetic energy and fistfuls of the trademark Kirby Krackle from the very first issue, and it does not appear to be quieting down anytime soon. I still have no other how this new version of O.M.A.C. works and what Brother I actually is, but I am hooked! Unfortunately this appears to be one of those divisive love-it or hate-it type of book, and it is the lowest selling of the DC Universe New 52 books that were launched on September 2011. Hopefully it is able to maintain a loyal enough fanbase to sustain its poor sales.

• Brüno
• Cop Out
• Deep Impact
• Forrest Gump
• Gilmore Girls: Seasons 1-7
• Green Lantern
• Inception
• Independence Day
• Insomnia
• The Island
• Jackie Brown
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Edition
• The Losers
• Piranha 3D
• The Prestige
• Pulp Fiction
• Quantum of Solace
• The Social Network
• Sucker Punch
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• X-Men: First Class

10. Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men
    I have to admit I am not a fan of Firestorm. However, I did enjoy the Jason Rusch series, especially the Stuart Moore issues. And Firestorm had one of the better storylines in Brightest Day. With Gail Simone (and co-writer Ethan Van Sciver) at the helm, I had high hopes for this series. Unfortunately this was a total crash and burn, especially the way Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond are portrayed. Worst is Yildiray Cinar's pedestrian artwork, which makes the uneven story even more of a chore to read. The change in the very concept of Firestorm itself is welcome though, and I will stick around for at least the first two story arcs (unless Gail Simone decides to leave earlier)

9. Superman
   I am a Superman fanboy, and he will always have a permanent place on my pull-list. However, I find Superman to have undergone a significant metamorphosis following the DC Universe reboot. He is now a much younger and brasher character, without Ma and Pa Kent to ground him to Earth. Clark Kent never got involved with Lois Lane, although he had still died at the hands of Doomsday at some time in the past. Do I like it thus far? Ehh... no. Writer George Pérez and artist Jesus Merino delivers a well-written and well-drawn first issue, but it was unspectacular at best and downright boring at worst. As much as I love Pérez, even he has admitted he is not connecting with Superman and will be replaced by Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens from issue seven onwards. Despite my complaints, at least this isn't as bad as J. Michael Straczynski's Grounded arc.

8. Batgirl
   Another series headlined by Gail Simone, who is unfortunately saddled with Ardian Syaf, another artist who suffers from the same pedestrian flaws as Yildiray Cinar on the aforementioned Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men. I loved what Gail Simone had done with Barbara Gordon in Birds of Prey, but I have to question the wisdom of having Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl when she had developed and grown so much as Oracle prior to the reboot. Maybe it is simply me resisting to change, I am still hopeful this title would slowly grow on me.

7. Action Comics
   This was one of the more heavily-hyped titles out of the entire New 52 line-up. I love Grant Morrison, and would blindly buy into whatever peoject he is involved in. He has proven himself a brilliant Superman writer after the masterpiece that was All Star Superman. And artist Rags Morales ain't no slouch either. But... what went wrong? This doesn't feel like Superman at all. Yes, I do see the similarities to the original 1938 version as created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, but I find myself dislikiing the isolated alien approach to Superman. Yes, it is welcome to see a younger Superman who is still discovering his identity and figuring out his limits. And I do love the interaction between Lex Luthor and Sam Lane. Still, it has been getting better with each passing issue, and Morrison has promised this to be every bit as good as All Star Superman. I am more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

6. Justice League
   This is the other big one, featuring the all-star creative team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. Similar to Action Comics, it is set in the past when superheroes were just emerging in this new DC Universe, and the various mainstays of the Justice League were just starting their superheroic careers. Unfortunately not much has happened after two issues other than Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash discovering a Mother Box. The pacing is very much the typical 21st century decompressed comics that is the norm today, although I wish there is more value to the story since it costs US$3.99! Jim Lee's art sure is pretty, and Geoff Johns is known to start off slowly before building his stories up to a crescendo. I'm committed to this title so long as Johns sticks around.

5. Aquaman
   Despite not really being a fan of Aquaman, I find it a peculiar quirk of my collection that I somehow has had every Aquaman first issue since the Keith Giffen/Curt Swan mini-series from the 1980s. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis delivered a great Aquaman story during Brightest Day, and their collaboration on Green Lantern a few years ago was one of the best mainstream superhero comic being published at the time. So when it was announced they were teaming up again for this title, I was sold. Again, the first issue was uneven with nothing much happening other than Aquaman foiling a bank robbery and then being heckled at a diner. All my thoughts regarding Geoff Johns on Justice League apply here, so I am very positive for this title as well. On the record, I would have signed up for this title if it was written by Tony Bedard as well, as I loved what he did in Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman.

4. StormWatch
   I loved what Warren Ellis had done on StormWatch over a decade ago. And when they were transformed to The Authority, I loved it even more. Unfortunately writers such as Keith Giffen, Robbie Morrison, and Christos Gage couldn't deliver the goods and I have to admit I was a bit hesitant on adding this latest incarnation of the team to my pull-list. And the addition of J'onn J'onzz to the team simply sparked a WTF in my head. Nevertheless it stayed on my pull-list purely on the strength of writer Paul Cornell. I thoroughly enjoyed his recently concluded run on Action Comics, and I figured he could indeed be a breath of fresh air for the likes of Apollo, Midnighter, Jawk Hawksmoor, and the Engineer. And by golly did Cornell deliver! Any concerns I had regarding J'onn J'onzz was gone by the beginning of the second issue. Yes, it's obvious Paul Cornell is channeling Warren Ellis (he admit it himself), but he managed to avoid the "I am aping Ellis/Millar" trap previous writers had fallen into. The only weakness of this series is the inconsistent artwork by Miguel Sepulveda and Al Barrionuevo. To be honest, I feel this series would be much better under the artistic auspices of the likes of Chris Burnham, Doug Mahnke, or Steve Skroce.

3. Wonder Woman
   I have always thought Wonder Woman as a character that could either be one of the best comics around or flounder around in a directionless manner simply based on who's writing the comic. It has been more hit than miss since George Pérez revitalized the character in 1987, and subsequent writers such as John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Greg Rucka, and Gail Simone have been hitting it out of the park since. Unfortunately we also have the likes of Gerry Conway, Eric Luke, and J. Michael Straczynski on the other end of the spectrum. And now with new writer Brian Azzarello coming on board, I was once again hesitant. Azzarello is a writer that I do not know how to fully appreciate. I barely understood what he was trying to do on his run on Superman with Jim Lee, or in his creator-owned stuff such as Loveless. I thought his Doctor Thirteen Architecture and Mortality serial with Cliff Chiang was fun though, and since he is teaming up with Chiang again for this project, I figured this was worth at least a six-issue investment. Having read the first two issues, I have absolutely no doubt that this is one of the most original reinvention of Wonder Woman. Tinged with a heavy dose of horror, this is definitely a different Wonder Woman and what little has been shown of the Greek gods thus far has definitely piqued my interest to see more.

2. Demon Knights
   I was a late-comer to this. I did not pre-order this because who cares about the medieval adventures of Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, and the Shining Knight? And even though Paul Cornell is attached as writer, the concept failed to hook me. And then the first issue was released and I read some parts of it online. I quickly fell in love with the interactions between the various characters involved, and I have to say this is the best written version of Vandal Savage ever. Diogenes Neves' artwork is absolutely gorgeous and is a perfect fit to the medieval setting. What I didn't like? Those ugly Tony Daniel covers. They convey a generic action-oriented personality and tone for the book, when the story contained within offers so much more.

1. O.M.A.C.
   This was a tough one to consider when the September 2011 solicits were published so many months ago. Dan DiDio isn't a great writer, and what little I have read of his run on Outsiders was plain dreck! The promise of Keith Giffen on interior artwork is what sold the title to me, and again I figured I had nothing to lose from ordering the first arc. Right from the get go, DiDio and Giffen throws a story full of weird characters, crazy architecture, and batshit insane action sequences that would do Jack Kirby proud. The Kirby DNA is very heavily infused in every bit of dialogue and every line of ink that makes up this comic, and as a jaded comic book reader, it's tough for a superhero comic to make me go "Damn, this is a expletive deleted great book!". In terms of pure entertainment value, this is right up there with the under-appreciated Karl Kesel/Cary Nord run on Daredevil from over a decade ago. And of course it has to be the poorest selling of the entire New 52 line, clocking in sales of only 31K copies for its first issue. With such poor numbers, I have a hard time seeing this series lasting more than a year.