La chute du Mur de Berlin et la déroute de l’URSS ont fracassé bien des ambitions et engendré bien des frustrations. Elles ont bouleversé l’ordre du monde, suscité un nouveau genre de rivalités et provoqué un nouveau type de ''guerre froide''. De Paris à Moscou, de Berlin à La Haye, du Havre à New York... les parrains de la mafia, les ex-nomenklaturas, les puissantes organisations financières, les magnats de l’industrie, les ripoux et espions de tous bords se toisent, s’affrontent et avancent leurs pions sur cet échiquier politico-économique plein de dangers. Agent de renseignements de la CIA, Alpha combat ces dérives meurtrières... parfois même organisées par ses propres patrons !

Since the dawn of time, a being has existed whose interaction and interference with mankind has shaped human history. His powers of time and intellect have allowed him to secretly remove certain critical days from the historical record. Their stories have never been told. Their details have never been documented. Their existence is not remembered. But the occurrences of these days have forever changed the course of humanity's evolution. These are the days missing from our existence, and they are about to be revealed. An intriguing premise for an original five-issue miniseries from writer Matz and artist Hugo Petrus published by Archaia Studios Press. As per Wikipedia, Matz is a French comics and film writer whose real name is Alexis Nolent. Nolent delivers a story that has an intriguingly European feel. There's an interesting toning back of the violence and action in a way that feels different from American comics. There's a lot of suspense and subtle excitement in the comic, helped truly by the brooding intensity of Petrus' artwork. In other words we have a creative team here that does not sacrifice the narrative flow of the story for gratuitous action scenes. For Issue #4 we get an interesting history lesson as well. Three thumbs up.

is an eight-issue miniseries commissioned as a pseudo-sequel of sorts to Avengers/Invaders for Marvel Comics for its 70th anniversary. It is a thoughtful and intimate look at a classic Marvel character, the original World War II Torch. Writer Mike Carey fleshes his characters with definition and care, with detailed artwork by Patrick Berkenkotter, drawing the title character in the Golden Age style. The fourth issue makes things more frantic and the scope becomes more sweeping as Prince Namor and his Atlanteans ent;er the picture. This is what happens when you pair a good writer with a good artist and give them the freedom to handle their material. Sparks fly and flames burn bright.

, aka Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, sometimes spelled as Elisabeth, is a Marvel Comics superheroine, most notably part of the superhero team the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK comic book (Dec. 1976), by the Marvel imprint Marvel UK. She was initially a supporting character in the adventures of her fraternal twin brother, Captain Britain, briefly substituting for him in the role. Later, she became the mutant superheroine Psylocke. Originally presented as a telepath, the character was eventually written as unexplainedly possessing telekinesis. Psylocke later possesses both abilities. This four-issue miniseries is a soul-searching journey of sorts for one of the X-Men's more interesting members.

is a ongoing comic book series written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R. M. Guéra, published monthly by Vertigo Comics. Issue #1 was published on January 3, 2007. Right away the series' style can fairly be described as a fusion of film noir and western elements in a modern setting concerning organized crime on the (fictional) Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It is a no holds barred tale about past mistakes, bold moves, and a proud people brought low by lies, violence, and corrupt men and women. The artist, R. M. Guéra, uses the colour brown predominantly, with blue and green monotones to emphasize starkness and aiming for a grimy, dirty look. Shadows, the desert and the glaring sun are used to emphasize a sort of stifling atmosphere. Aaron for his part intersperses many allusions to noir prose authors and to the western genre in the names of his characters and in his titles, in a sort of pop homage. Graphic and violent, yet among the most consistently good titles of Vertigo. Issue #33 features part four of the five-part story arc, "The Gnawing."

is an eponymous Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. The right side of his face horribly scarred, he was an officer for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, fought at Gettysburg and is normally shown wearing a tattered Confederate States Army jacket. Hex is surly and cynical, but bound by a personal code of honor to protect and avenge the innocent and is in many ways similar to Clint Eastwood's (2 similar ongoing titles from Dynamite Entertainment are also posted here in Avaxhome by yours truly, complete). Jonah Hex had his first self-titled series that began in 1977 and lasted for 92 issues and which came to be known as . Aside from this, he also had a sci-fi-based eighteen-issue limited series that had scant recognition in the US but gained critical success and acclaim in the UK and elsewhere, plus three other miniseries under DC's Vertigo imprint. The current ongoing series, Volume 2, started in November 2005. The current issue is a double-sized 50th anniversary issue.

It's not too often that movies get made into comics after the movie has been out there for a few years. Here is what MTV had to say about this official movie-to-comic adaptation: "Clint Eastwood’s iconic Man with No Name rides again in this brand new story by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Esteve Polls. I don’t care what you say about Dirty Harry, folks—The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and the rest of the “Man With No Name” films were Eastwood at his cigar-chompin’, squinty-eyed best. Well, you'll say right away it would be hard scripting a main character who hardly speaks. Polls' gritty style and the slow, deliberate development makes you feel as if the story was lifted right from the movies and it definitely reads with a cinematic style (note the wide panel layouts) and pace clearly reminiscent of Sergio Leone. You can almost hear that haunting, taunting theme. Still great stuff.

Hot on the heels of their acclaimed series 'High Moon', David Gallaher and Steve Ellis unite to reveal the secrets behind Russia's elite superhuman strike force! Red Guardian, Crimson Dynamo, Ursa Major & Darkstar - As the Winter Guard, they have sworn to protect the people of Russia. But, who will protect them when The Presence's schemes threaten to claim one of their own? Featuring an oversized all-new story and reprinting the classic Peter David and Dale Keown tale from INCREDIBLE HULK #393! 56 page one-shot with new & reprinted material. -- solicitation, marvel.com

The Hulk and the so-called Hulk Family of titles will have their own big event: . This one-shot lays the groundwork and starts it--hence the term "alpha." The title character, however, is only mentioned in passing in this issue and as the means to an end. What it mainly deals on is how the world's greatest evil minds came together to form the "Intelligencia" and this is where the creative team of Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier are at their best: making comics the Marvel way. Marvel editors would be wise to keep them on board for the duration of this crossover, and beyond. Oh, and there's a nice bonus: bios of the Intelligencia members. At the end of the comic book is a checklist of the Fall of the Hulks event. Since it will run concurrent with , I think sooner or later both will intersect...

To millions he was the ; one of the world’s most cherished entertainers and a celebrated international icon. With his untimely passing, Michael Jackson left an extraordinary and tragic legacy. Bluewater Productions paid tribute last October to his memory and legacy with a special collectors edition biography comic. The newest addition to the publisher’s critically acclaimed biography library will trace Jackson’s rise as a musical prodigy with the “Jackson 5” through his sad end. The comic book features highlights from his storied career and cover his enigmatic private life. The first printing was sold out even before its official release. Sorry for the rather poor quality; it's the only scan I could find.

A new miniseries about the Golden Age Marvel Universe, revealing the birth of the original super-heroes and the dramatic effect it has on the current Marvel Universe as we know it, from the wondrous creative team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Brubaker brilliantly makes the people from the 1940's as real as if they do really exist and just there beside you, and Epting's mastery of form and contrast that was showcased in issue #3 continues to complement's Brubaker's work as no one else can. AS I've already said, this is superb writing and and phenomenal artistry in perfect harmony. IGN gave issue #3 an "Outstanding" 9.0 rating and an Editor's Choice Award for the comics week of October 14, 2009; the current issue--Captain America arrives!--earns a "Great" 8.6 out of 10 only because the reviewer seems pointedly determined to "speak her own mind" and didn't want to be caught in the backwash of previous reviewers. One of Marvel's best among its current titles.

For me she's one of the most enigmatic characters of the Marvel Universe and now she's in another mini-series... together with other Marvel Girls. For issue #1 she's together with the Asgardian Enchantress in a tale woven to shed light on the Black Widow's origins which in turn is the subject of a current four-issue miniseries ( posted here at Avaxhome by yours truly). And it's a tie-in to Marvel's new Siege event.