Year Zero is the story of low-level copyright lawyer Nick Carter who is visited by 2 aliens one day.  They quickly explain to him that the entire earth is in trouble as they’ve essentially bankrupted the entire universe.  You see in 1977 the rest of the universe got it’s first taste of Earth’s music (this would become known as the “Kotter Moment” as the bit of music was the Welcome Back Kotter theme song).  They became hopelessly addicted and have been collecting all of our music since.  Until they recently learned of our strict anti-piracy and copyright laws and realized they now owe a lot of money.  All of it.  With his alien guides, Nick has to travel the universe and save the earth from certain destruction from those who are losing all their money.  He’s also got to win his dream girl.

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Ready Player One takes place in the near future.  Earth has been mostly destroyed by various things and basically corporations rule.  But there’s one safe-haven: The Oasis.  Oasis is a virtual reality game that ultimately became a place where people lived out their whole lives.  In game currency is worth more than real countries, and you can do everything from shop to go to school in it.  Anything you could previously do in the real world, plus more is available in the Oasis, which is free to use. When the creator of The Oasis dies, he leaves a video will behind that is automatically sent to all players. This 80′s obsessed, Steve Jobs-esque character says that he has hidden an easter egg in the game and the first person to find it gets control over the company, his own personal fortune, and everything that comes with it.  So now people known as “gunters” spend their time analyzing every detail of his life and searching the game and 80′s pop culture to find clues to where the keys and gates may be.  And after 5 years of no progress, Wade Watts, a teenager and our hero finds the first puzzle.

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This review is a little different then most of what we’ve done before.  It’s not for a new book, but instead for the brand new re-issue of volume one of Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life for the first time in a hardcover and full color edition. The book about Canadian slacker Scott Pilgrim who falls for the mysterious Ramona Flowers while playing in his band Sex Bob-omb is the source for one of my favorite movies of all time, Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

The original six graphic novels were all in black and white, which added to the charm of the books, but of course there’s always a contingent that can’t stand anything in black & white. So for them and for other Scott Pilgrim fans, Oni Press is re-releasing the whole series in full color.  But don’t worry if you love the originals, the color takes nothing away.  In fact it actually is quite seamless.  I absolutely loved reading through this collection and seeing everything in color. It’s pretty great. The colors are vibrant yet muted and feel just right. Also a lot of the stuff in this book was re-created almost exactly in the film.

This new edition also includes an afterward by O’Malley talking about his life around the writing and release of this book originally, as well as character sketches and some insight into them and things like actual photo comparisons of his drawings and the real places that inspired them, as well as the original pitch.

If you never read the Scott Pilgrim books you’ve been missing out and these new releases are the perfect time to get on board and read some of the best graphic novels in recent memory. Packed with humor and weirdness and an odd sense of actual romance they’re pretty incredible.

Like I said, the color edition is super cool and is great for both newcomers and collectors.  I really loved re-visiting the early book and checking out all my favorites in full color.  There’s also some really great use of it in the Matthew Patel flashback piece.  I recommend running out and getting this right now, or clicking one of the links below to order it online.

The Dark Knight Rises is the third and final installment in director Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.  It takes place 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, in a Gotham where Batman’s name is mud after he took the blame for Harvey Dent’s actions, allowing the public to believe in the good things Dent stood for.  Perhaps one of the most anticipated films in recent memory, The Dark Knight Rises features Catwoman (Hathaway; Love & Other Drugs) joining with Batman and taking on legendary Batman villain Bain (Hardy; Inception). But before he can do any of this, he must start from scratch and rebuild himself.

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Continuum is a time traveling, sci-fi, cop show that recently premiered on Canada’s Showcase network.  It’s about a cop in 2077 (Nichols; Criminal Minds, Alias), known as a “protector” in their terminology who while attending the execution of a group of terrorists gets sucked back in time when they try to escape and winds up stuck with them in present day Vancouver.  Since only she knows what they are capable of and what they are trying to do, she is the only one capable of stopping them.

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Strindberg’s Star is the first book from Swedish author Jan Wallentin.  It’s been an international bestseller and now comes to the US in a translation by Rachel Wilson-Broyles.  The plot centers on an expert of religious symbols and Nazi history, and also ex-psychologist and current prescription pill addict, Don Titelman who is asked by a cave diver to come out to his remote cabin to examine some odd things he found in a dive where a dead body was also found.  Upon his arrival he finds the diver dead.  From there the plot has Don and his lawyer Eva exploring the world on the run from a secret society and uncovering long hidden secrets of history including norse mythology and Nazi’s.  The book is very Dan Brown-ish with some shades of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo thrown in.

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The Magicians is about high school student Quentin Coldwater. Quentin is a smart kid that feels like he’s missing something in his life.  He doesn’t really feel like he fits in his world and with his friends.  But suddenly he discovers that magic is real and he is being tested for admittance to a magic boarding school where he will learn to truly become “a magician”.  The Magicians takes us all through Quentin’s schooling and coming of age and beyond into an even more special adventure that even he could not have imagined.

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Alcatraz is a mysterious show that proposes the truth behind the closing of Alcatraz prison is that in 1963 all the prisoners and guards just vanished one night.  Now in modern day San Francisco these people are re-appearing just as mysteriously, not having aged a day.  Detective Rebecca Madsen (Jones; Sons of Anarchy) and Alcatraz expert Diego Soto (Garcia; LOST) stumble upon the happenings and a secret task force run by the equally mysterious Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill; Jurassic Park) and are enlisted to help capture some of the worst criminals of their day.  The story of the events on 1960′s Alcatraz are told alongside the modern day story as well.

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The Sitter is about Noah (Hill; Moneyball, Superbad), a college dropout who gets wrangled into babysitting for 3 eccentric kids when he wants to go to a party with his “girlfriend” (Graynor; Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist).  Being a horrible babysitter he goes to buy some cocaine for his girlfriend and this sets off a series of events that leave him and the kids on the run from various characters in New York City.

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X (also known as Exit: A Night From Hell) is a story of one escort, Holly (Bianca), who’s about to retire and start a new life in Paris, and another prostitute, Shay (Lawrence), who’s starting her first night on the job.  The two meet up for a job that unfortunately goes bad and leaves both of them running for their lives.

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