Monday, September 24, 2012

The Best of the Rest! September 19th edition.

So this was supposed to be the spot I posted my third and final review of the week, with JT closing out the comic week tomorrow with his third review.  But you see, I ended up posting my first review on Wednesday and throwing the whole schedule out of whack(cue JT saying something negative about me...).  Since I've already posted my three reviews for the week, and don't want to leave an empty day(I won't be the first one to do that, JT will!), how's about I cobble together a quick post about ALL of the comics I read this week!  Yeah, that'll work!  Since I didn't really read most of these books with the idea of reviewing them in mind, I don't have any number scores for them...  Instead, I'll use the good old thumbs up/thumbs in the middle/thumbs down system.  What the HELL is that, you ask?  Thumbs up means a comic scored somewhere in the 8 to 10 range, in other words, a good comic.  Thumbs in the middle would be around 5 to 7 1/2, or an okay to meh comic.  Thumbs down?  You guessed it, a comic that falls in the sub-5 range, you know, a bad comic.  I don't really know why I felt the need to explain that...  Oh no, I'm in one of those moods where I can't stop writing!  I'd better get to the meat of this post lest this intro goes on forever!!!

Let's see, we'll get started with Red Hood and the Outlaws #0...  JT pretty much summed up my feelings for this one with his review, so I really don't have all that much to say here...  I will say this though...  If not for the idiotic Joker reveal, I probably would have given this comic a thumbs in the middle.  As it is, it gets a thumbs down and likes it.

Avengers #30 was your basic Bendis/Avengers comic book.  Spider-Woman and Hawkeye discussed their relationship while fighting Mr. Negative's goons...  It was as exciting as it sounds.  Honestly, I wasn't sure what the hell Bendis was going for here, since Hawkeye hadn't actually done anything to wrong Spider-Woman...  Basically she was pissed that Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch MAY have unresolved feelings for each other...  Yeah..  If you like bad soap opera-esque comic books then THIS is the comic book for you!  For me, it was a thumbs in the middle, mainly because it(kind of) focused on Hawkeye, no matter how thin the story was.

Ah, finally a good one!  Daredevil #18 was probably the best comic I've read this week...  No, scratch that, it WAS the best comic I read this week, and if I was giving out scores this one would very likely get a perfect score.  Seriously, this issue was fantastic.  Mark Waid is(unsurprisingly) crafting a wonderful story here, as this issue actually makes the reader doubt DD's sanity.  The entire series has been seemingly building towards this storyline, and I have to say, this issue would be a great jumping on point for new readers...  Just sayin'...  Oh yeah, thumbs WAY up.

Next up is Dark Avengers #181.  All I can really say about this comic is that it happened...  I think I've reached the point now where I just want the Bad Bolts to return to the present and the Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts/whatever they're called to finish their mission.  Thumbs in the middle.

Rolling along it's Mighty Thor #20!  I don't know why I added an exclamation point to that, nor why I'm thinking out loud, but let's go with it...  This was another really good issue in the Everything Burns storyline(I really love that title, btw).  Asgardia is still being hammered by Surtur's forces and Thor is still down and out. However, there was a slight glimmer of hope for us Kid Loki fans, as this issue kind of makes you wonder if Loki betrayed Thor, as it seemed in the prior part of this storyline, or if Loki is actually planning on saving his brother.  I'll go thumbs up for this issue and fingers crossed on Kid Loki not going full blown villain.

New Mutants #49 had Nate Grey in it...  That's pretty much the only positive thing I can say about it...  Well, that and the fact that this issue ended the whole Evil Doug Ramsay from the future story.  I've never cared for Doug no matter how much Marvel tries to show he's more than a guy with sucky powers.  This story did nothing to change my opinion of Doug.  Thumbs down...  Sorry Nate...

Ultimates #15 was a comic I seriously considered giving a full review to, mainly due to the fact that it was getting mainstream press attention.  But as you can see, I decided against that course of action...  So yeah, anyway, this comic.  I have to admit that I enjoyed this one.  I've been enjoying the direction the Ultimate Marvel U has been going for a while now, and this was no exception.  This issue, especially in the way it was told, kind of perfectly led to the whole, "Captain America is the president now!" thing.  It didn't seem forced or anything, which was something I was afraid of.  And I can actually see Cap, especially the Ultimate version, ESPECIALLY considering the way things have been going in the Ultimate U, deciding to become the president.  It'll be very interesting to see how this experiment works out going forward.  For this issue though?  Thumbs up.

Oh god...  Not THIS comic...  Ugh, it's Venom #25...  I'm actually surprised, horrified and yes, a bit impressed at how quickly Cullen Bunn took this series from a book I always look forward to reading, to something I barely want to open...  Why would you want to add a supernatural element to this series?!  Who sat there and thought, "You know what this series is missing?  DEMONS!!!"  This is kind of like the mess that Scott Lobdell made out of Red Hood and the Outlaws, in that you take the lead character and put them in a situation that makes no sense...  I don't get why Daimon Hellstrom was used in this mess, I don't get why a battle between the Hell Lords is taking place in this series, I don't get any of it!  Hopefully things straighten out with the upcoming Minimum Carnage storyline...  Thumbs down.

And finally we arrive at X-Factor #244.  This was, as usual, a good, solid issue of this series.  It wasn't as good as some of the prior issues, but it was solid.  I will say this though...  I'm very curious to see where Peter David is going with this story...  He's really breaking the team apart here, it'll be interesting to see how things shake out and who's left standing.  Thumbs in the middle.

Sweet, I'm done!  That means I can go back to playing Borderlands 2!  Huzzah for me!  Until... Um, whenever the hell my next post is supposed to be, X out!

9 comments:

  1. Yeah, Ultimates seems to be doing pretty good right now. Putting Cap as president was definitely a bold move, but it seems to be working. I'm glad because I've always liked the idea of Ultimate. It's like a really long/epic what if.

    I guess we'll see where this all goes, but for now I'd say it's definitely a good start!

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  2. The Ultimate World is what this DCnU should've been then you could swap over the stuff that works, like Roy having both arms, to the main DC, to retcon all the stupid shit they've done.

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  3. ..There is still a litle hope for Kid loki, have you see him in that Point One teaser..

    http://www.mdcu-comics.fr/upload/news/news_illustre_1348189862.jpg

    for what I know Wiccan is going to be involved too

    By the way, What Happened with Supergirl you droped that one?

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  4. Yeah, right now Marvel seems to have an increased interest in their Ultimate Universe, which is always a good thing. It can't hurt to have another universe to look at. And agreed, Dreager. Making Cap president was a bold move, it does open up a lot of storyline elements, and it could lead to a bonanza of interesting stories... If done right...

    I still hope DC retcons the entire New 52, JT. I'd be fine with that. Honestly though, after Flashpoint, DC should have went the Ultimate way and just had two different universes, the pre New 52 one(for those of us who didn't hate the pre 52 DCU) and the post New 52 universe(for Scott Lobdell).

    Yup, I did indeed drop SG, Alien. It was okay, but since I've never been a huge fan of the character, I needed more than okay to rationalize spending the money on it. Oh, and Kieron Gillen + Kid Loki + Wiccan = take all of my money now, Marvel!!! :D

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  5. I was just wondering about the Young Avengers kids last night, after Hawkeye showed up in "Hawkeye."

    Agreed on "Avengers," "New Mutants," and "X-Factor," X. I'm cutting Peter David some slack, since it's clear he decided that it was time to clear house. I thought Strong Guy and Wolfsbahne leaving made perfect sense, but I'm sad to see Terry go. (I'm really, really hoping Monet goes, since I've disliked her since "Generation X," but I feel like David likes her, so she'll stay.) "Avengers" was just...words fail me.

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  6. Yeah, with X-Factor a lot of it may come from Marvel editorial too. I get the feeling David was probably told he had to write(at least) Havok out of the book, and figured he could use that as an opportunity to pare down that roster. Out of everybody to go so far, I think I'm gonna miss Wolfsbane the most, mainly because of her son... I think there is a lot of potential there.

    Avengers? Yeah... That wacky Bendis... I'm still puzzling over exactly what Hawkeye did that pissed Jessica off so badly! That issue just read poorly and if Clint wasn't pretty much the star of it I probably would have been way more negative.

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  7. Hey X, have you heard any word on what Marvel is gonna do with the character Nate Grey?! I fear he may disappear!...especially with his background usage in New Mutants as of late. Combine that with the final issue being #50. It has been nice to see his telepathy returning ever so slightly in the pages of NM though...he now has some potential if Marvel would stop using him in such a background player fashion. I have strong hopes he will become an Avenger. If not that, venture into the Age of Apocalypse X-force spin-off. After all, he's suppose to return there based on his history.

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  8. I haven't heard a thing about Nate actually, RadT... On the plus side at least he'll still be around, so he COULD conceivably be used in other books(X-Men or whatever), but on the negative side, I don't want to see him back in limbo again... At least he STILL is around, though. That gives me hope that something will come to him. Nate does have his fans.

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  9. Oh yeah Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch have plenty of unresolved issues, like that time she killed him, and that other time he sexed up a doombot Wanda...

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