As you may or may not have heard, DC Comics recently made the bold decision to relaunch their comic book universe. Dubbed “The New 52″, the rebooted universe is an effort by the comic publisher to make their superheroes and stories more “modern and accessible”. The controversial relaunch will offer a fresh start for iconic superheroes and lesser known characters alike with all 52 titles being renumbered to #1.

Actor/comedian Nug Nahrgang and writer/director Andrew Cymek (Dark Rising) will be hitting The Silver Snail in Toronto every week to review “The New 52″. The pair plans to review EVERY single issue of “The New 52″ through their first story arcs.

Check back every week for more reviews from Nug & Cymek. Also be sure to follow @Nug13, @AndrewCymek and @SilverSnailTO on Twitter.

iVampire #1, The Fury of Firestorm #1, Aquaman #1, Flash #1, Justice League Dark #1, Teen Titans #1, Green Lantern: New Guardians #1, Voodoo #1, BlackHawks #1, All Star Western #1 (Nug & Cymek’s Book of the Week), Hawkman #1, Batman: The Dark Knight #1 and Superman #1

Fantastic Four #567
So Mark Millar (pronounced “Miller”) and Bryan Hitch brought us The Ultimates, one of the best books of the past decade without a doubt.  This is the 8th issue in there 12 issue of a run designed to help reinspire people’s faith in the Fantastic Four.  Having little interest in the characters for quite some time, it has been Millar’s writing that has kept me on this book this long.  By no means is this an insult to Bryan Hitch’s art, it’s remarkable how much it grows and becomes even more dynamic with each issue.  Pick up this series, the trade is out for the first story arc and I assure you you will not be disappointed.

Flash Rebirth #3 (of 6)
Geoff Johns + Ethan Van Sciver = Pick up this book! You will not regret it.

Superman and The Flash
Fine, you need more?  The Flash, Barry Allen will finally meet Bart Allen (Kid Flash aka. Impulse) and it looks like the entire JSA are out to help Barry as he deals with the revelations from issue 2.

Wolverine #74
Adam Kubert made his name in the X-Men universe and your going to see why in this book. Tommy Lee Edwards finishes up his tale, and writing duties now fall upon Daniel Way.  This issue is the conclusion of the story from #73, and is the last book before Way takes over with Dark Wolverine.  I have enjoyed this series since it relaunched back in the day.

Those are my picks for this week, until next week.

In this fourth podcast, Jeff tells us about the super important summer event that’s been keeping him busy (is it X-Men Origins: Wolverine?), Will explains how Fallout is like Metal Gear, and Lucas drinks from the precious “I ♥ Jim” mug. The dorks talk about new TV shows, bemoan the shallow ethnic diversity in superhero troupes, and debate the state of computer gaming. Prepare to be informed, amused, and offended.

Download: Dork Shelf Podcast 4 (54 MB, MP3, 78:50)
Subscribe: Dork Shelf Podcast RSS Feed
Listen:

Programme:

• 0:00 — “Vision of Art (feat. Company Flow)” by DJ Krush
• 7:00 — On movie ratings
• 17:00 — The Pirate Bay trial and piracy
• 28:00 — EA, and the dorks do Frank Caliendo doing John Madden
• 34:30 — [Unknown Song] by The Meters
• 40:00 — The Flash is so white
• 51:30 — Will on the state of PC gaming
• 74:00 — Xbox Live’s attitude toward women
• 78:00 — “Bad Luck Blues” by DJ Nu-Mark & Pomo

Discussed:

• GTA: Chinatown Wars, Henry Hatsworth, Bionic Commando, Fallout 3 DLC, BioShock
• Parks and Recreation, Dollhouse, Minoriteam
• Batman: Battle for the Cowl, The Flash: Rebirth, Preacher
• Terminator Salvation, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Wild Things, Taboo
• McG, John Madden, The Comedy Network, The Pirate Bay