Panel Discussion: Scans from Wonder Woman #21, Simon Dark #9, Kick-Ass #3 and More

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.

Click the pics for high res goodness!

Celebrity Cameo Corner - Red Mass For Mars #1
Not only did the artist base this character on Paul Giamatti, he based him on the first Google Image result for the actor. Can I restate again my distaste for "casting" comics? -Albo

Blood, bad t-shirts, blood, and a big freaking shark (that's bleeding) after the jump!

Composition Counts - Simon Dark, #9
Gnerd's love of Scott Hampton's art for Simon Dark is well-documented. Issue #9 serves up plenty of flashy violence which, while fun, didn't impress me as much as this lonely moment in time, as this nearly disemboweled guy waits for help to arrive. Having the light from the window hit the empty bed instead of the figure on the floor adds a touch of voyeuristic realism to the image, and allows the blood to pool into complete blackness at the bottom of the page. I'd love to own a print of this, though I'm not sure where I'd put it. -AHR

Keeping It Interesting - Locke & Key #5
This "light on, light off" approach to page layout is basically the same thing Dave Gibbons does in that famous sequence from Watchmen, but it's still a cool trick. Especially since this static conversation probably didn't sound all that visually interesting in the script. Also, click on that sucker and check out the little touch of having the lightning bug blink at the same rhythm as the flashlight. I just think it's a nice looking spread. -Albo

Movie Ripoff Alert - Locke & Key #5
Uh... Scraggly haired scary woman dressed in white emerging from a stone well? I do believe I saw this before in a little flick called The Ring. Oh, I kid I kid. I love this book and this moment spooked the shit out of me. -Albo

Banana Randomizer Award for Achievement in WTF - Wonder Woman, #21
Look, I read and enjoyed the recent WW storyline about the Amazon Queen's super Secret Servicesque bodygards. I followed it. I get that the big bad of that storyline is back, not having died by the heretofore sure-fire method of falling off a cliff. But why does this shark indicate proof positive that "she lives"? Did she kill the shark then ride to safety in it's carcass, as may be indicated by the emphasis on the open mouth? Are we meant to recognize that perfect triangle as her favorite cut of meat? And that shark wasn't there in the previous panel - did it just wash up on shore seconds before Hippolyta sees it? The seagulls and non-waterloggedness of the body would seem to indicate it's been there for a while. Oh I'm confused. Thing is, this was still my favorite part of the issue. - AHR

Crimes Against Good Taste - Kick-Ass #3
I think it's hilarious that we're supposed to like this kid but he's drawn with t-shirts that make me want to strangle him. "Whateveritis... Amagansett"??? Seriously? Maybe we're NOT supposed to like him... -Albo

Reality Check - Kick-Ass #3
This book is all about bringing a superhero into the "real world," and while this scene is actually a kinda trite I still couldn't help but smile. -Albo

Best Actor - Kick-Ass #3
Look at Kick-Ass's eyes. They aren't trying to be intimidating, they aren't afraid, they aren't anything... At best, they're bored. At worst they are the dead eyes of an utter psychopath. Both possibilities would make me think twice about tangling with this dude. It's really an alternative approach to the illustration of the moment, and I dig it. -Albo

Beat Down of the Week / Most Shocking Moment - Kick-Ass #3
It's a testament to the world that Millar spent three issues setting up that this kind of ultraviolence actually shocked me as I turned the pages. I see this kind of thing all the time in other books and never give it another thought, but these few pages had me blurting out exclamations of shock. That's something I don't do but maybe once a year. -Albo