Invincible Iron Man #516

Well, after that first review of the night, this comic doesn't really have a lot to live up to...

Invincible Iron Man #516:

Summary: During a battle with Firebrand and Crimson Dynamo, Iron Man's armor gets shut down by Justine Hammer so she could have the villains defeated by her Detroit Steel Corps. The Avengers offer Tony some assistance with his recent string of troubles, but Tony refuses any help and takes a hiatus from the Avengers. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Stane shows off the death-machine he built for the Mandarin. The death-machine fails so Mandarin beats the hell out of Stane, while Stane is unable to move a muscle to defend himself. It's then that Stane realizes that the Mandarin had done something to his mind and he decides he was going to find out what that something was. We finally discover who Spymaster was masquerading as, Pim from Stark Resilient, who murders his lover on the orders of Justine Hammer, who had decided it was time for Spymaster to come out of hiding. This issue ends with Tony barging into General Babbage's office to inform Babbage that he had won and that Tony was going to quit being Iron Man.

Thoughts: This issue wasn't that bad. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It was the definition of an okay comic. Tony quit being Iron Man, which puts the ball in the court of the Hammer girls and Babbage, Stane is trying to figure out a way to mutiny against the Mandarin after the beating he received, Spymaster was finally revealed, a lot happened to set up future events. I'm most curious to see where the whole, “Iron Man no more!” thing is going to go out of all the story elements Matt Fraction put into motion here. I mean we know Tony's still going to be doing the Iron Man thing, I'll be curious to see how he manages to hide it from the Hammers and Babbage.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Oh Mandarin... You so crazy!

Exiled #1

Two more reviews from two books that I'm expecting big things from. Basically, if either of the comics I review tonight score under an 8, I'd consider that a disappointment.

Exiled #1:

Summary: This is gonna be a tough one to get through... Okay, the New Mutants have a neighbor named Zig who has been spying on them since he could sense they weren't quite right. Meanwhile, the Desir escape from Mephisto's Hell, which leads to Mephisto telling Loki, who tells Thor, who tells the Warriors Three. Loki also tells Leah, who tells Hela, who tells... you get the picture. Anyway, Dani confronts Zig about his spying, at which time he reveals that he was actually named Sigurd The Ever-Glorious... Nope, I haven't the slightest who that is... The Desir choose that moment to attack, and are soon confronted by Hela and her forces, as well as Loki and Thor and their forces. Sigurd reads a scroll and all of the Asgardians, as well as the Desir, vanish. This issue ends with the Asgardians seemingly merged together with no knowledge of who they were... I think...

Thoughts: What the HELL was THAT?! Seriously, I have NO idea what I just read! I thought this was an AvX tie-in, but after reading it, it obviously isn't... So does that mean the New Mutants won't be taking part in the AvX festivities? Because that kind of sucks... As for the story here, I've got nothin'. I think/guess Sigurd was attacked by the Desir back in the day, and he's taking his revenge on them... But yeah, this story was a) all over the place and b) not very good. This was a huge disappointment...

Score: 3 out of 10.

What the hell is going on here...

Avengers Academy #29

Damn is it late... Damned hockey game... Anyway, the last review of the night is what would have been my Pick of the Litter for the week if AvX #3 hadn't dropped. Let's see what's up with my favorite series of 2011.

Avengers Academy #29(AvX tie-in):

Summary: The Avengers drop the kids/teens from Crazy Mutie Island off at the Academy since they didn't want to leave them alone on Crazy Mutie Island with Lord Summers and the Brotherhood out searching for Our Lord and Savior Hope... Man, I have nicknames for everything... Very annoying... Madison Jeffries and Dr. Rao have come with the Crazy Mutie Island kids to the Academy and have agreed to try to keep the peace. On the Academy side, Tigra and Hercules are staying behind to watch over things. Oh yeah, Sebastian Shaw is there as well, and has been locked in a cell that absorbs his kinetic energy. All Shaw asked for were a few books to help him pass the time... More on that in a bit. The kids mainly get along, although a few of them, namely Velocidad and Surge, are more militant and unwilling to cooperate with Academy staff and students. Several hours pass and Shaw has managed to build up a ton of energy by banging a book into his head(AWESOME!!!), which he uses to smash a hole through the bottom of his cell. Tigra and Jeffries discover what he's done and this one ends with the two realizing that they'd have to head into the sewers to catch Shaw.

Thoughts: This was a comic that had some good moments and some meh moments. The scene at the beginning with Hercules and the Academy students was good, dumb fun, and I enjoyed the interaction between X-23 and Finesse in the training room. Quicksilver's small parts in this one also pleased me. Other than that though, this issue was kind of a lot of filler with no real substance. Oh yeah, this issue also helped push forward what we got in AvX #3 with Cap not exactly acting as perfect as we've come to expect him to. All in all this was a pretty good comic, but wasn't great, as this series oftentimes is.

Score: 8 out of 10.

The facial expressions of the students MADE this scene.

Avengers vs X-Men #3

First up tonight? You guessed it, this week's Pick of the Litter, the third issue of the Avengers vs X-Men series. Last issue Hope went all Phoenix-y and bugged out, we'll see what kind of effect that action has on the brawling heroes in this one.

Avengers vs X-Men #3(of 12):

Summary: We get started with Wolverine waking up after being fried by Hope last issue. Spider-Man tells Wolverine that the X-Men had surrendered peacefully to Captain America and the Avengers(?!), which Wolvie realizes doesn't sound right at all... Iron Man and Cap are trying to figure out what to do with the mutants, with Cap considering all sorts of steps that would “keep them out of the way”... Tony RIGHTLY tells Cap that he was sounding A LOT like Tony during Civil War(in an AWESOME little piece of dialogue) as Wolvie storms over yelling that Cap had been fooled... It turns out that Magik had defeated Dr. Strange in Limbo and used a spell to make the two look like one another, which allows the X-Men a head start in finding Hope. Meanwhile, Hope is running around San Francisco, acting kind of crazy. Both the X-Men and the Avengers realize the best bet at finding Hope was Cerebra, and the only active Cerebra unit was at Wolvie's school in Westchester... Cap and Wolvie contact Rachel Grey and she tells them that she was getting five different coordinates showing Hope's whereabouts. After she's done talking to Cap and Wolvie, Rachel contacts Lord Summers mentally(!!) and gives him info on where Hope may be, warning him that the Avengers were already on the trail... TRAITOR!!! Cap splits his forces into five groups and sends them to the five locations Rachel gave them(Wundagore Mountain, Tabula Rasa, Wakanda, Latveria & the Savage Land), taking himself, Sharon Carter, Hank Pym and Wolvie with him to the Savage Land. While on the plane, Cap pulls Wolvie aside and bitches him out for going lone wolf back on Crazy Mutie Island and causing Hope to run. Wolvie comes right out with it and tells Cap that he had already seen the Phoenix destroy people he loved and knew that Hope had to die, as there was nowhere Cap could take Hope that the Phoenix couldn't locate. Seeing that Wolvie wasn't going to play by his rules, Cap attacks Wolvie(!!!!) and the two brawl in the back of the plane. The fight is pretty evenly matched, but before we get a definitive winner, Pym SMASHES Wolvie in the back(!!!!), allowing Cap to down him with his shield(!). From there, Cap tells Sharon to open the hatch and Pym kicks Wolvie out of the plane(!) allowing him to plummet several thousand feet to earth. With Wolvie out of the way, Cap instructs the plane to continue onward to the Savage Land. This issue ends with Wolvie emerging from the snow stating that it(saving the world) was all up to him.

Thoughts: Well holy shit, I didn't see THAT one coming! And yes, I realize that I used A LOT of exclamation points in that review, but that Wolverine/Cap battle NEEDED them! See, I'm STILL using exclamation points! I can't stop myself!! Okay, let's start at the beginning here... This issue actually did something I didn't expect, it made Cap look... well, it made him look kind of bad... Iron Man pointing out that Cap was starting to sound like him from during Civil War was a masterstroke from Ed Brubaker(who did the scripting here), because, in a way, it was true... During Civil War, Iron Man truly felt that he was doing the right thing, and that by locking up his friends and teammates, he was saving America. In this issue, Cap wanted to save Hope and the world, even if it meant locking the X-Men and up... That was a very nice comparison. That, coupled with the Cap/Wolvie battle actually has me thinking that for once Cap may not be 100% in the right... So yeah, that Wolvie/Cap fight... I hate to say it, but Wolverine? He's the only one who seems to see the big picture here... Lord Summers is living in a fantasy world where the Phoenix Force will restore mutantkind to their proper place on the evolutionary charts, while Cap seems to think that he can hide Hope from the Phoenix... A cosmic force... Quite frankly, and as much as it's gonna rub people the wrong way? The ONLY way to prevent the Phoenix from bonding with Hope? You have to kill Hope. And only Wolvie seems to have the stomach to do that. So that leaves me in an interesting position... The first two issues I was FIRMLY in the Avengers camp. This issue? I'm kind of leaning towards Team Wolverine, which currently consists of... well, of Wolverine and nobody else. Lord Summers is crazy, Cap is naïve, but Wolvie? He's practical. To wrap this up, this issue was pretty interesting... The beginning dragged a bit for me, the X-Men didn't really do much and I was a bit annoyed by Rachel going double agent. But the fight at the end more than made up for the slower beginning and middle. So for a score, I'm gonna go with an...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Yup, this fight right here is what got this issue such a high score... Plain and simple.

New Comic Day! May 2nd edition.

Here we go again! It's X here, once again welcoming everybody to a new installment of New Comic Day! Huzzah! There should be some really good books coming out this week, and before I even check this week's comic list I already know what this week's Pick of the Litter is going to be! As usual, I'm currently at work, but when I get free, here are the comics I intend on getting... Stormwatch #9, Teen Titans Annual #1, Amazing Spider-Man #685, Avengers Academy #29, Avengers vs X-Men #3, Daredevil #12, Exiled #1, Invincible Iron Man #516, Venom #17, Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega #5, X-Factor #235. So 11 books... And let me just come right out and say it. Most of those books? They should be awesome! Seriously, when I get my comic books home, I always put them in three piles. The ones I can't wait to read, the ones I'm interested in, and the ones I expect nothing from. This week? There are at least FIVE books in the “can't wait to read” pile, and only two in the “expect nothing from” pile. That NEVER happens! As for this week's Pick of the Litter? It is, as I'm sure most of you expected, Avengers vs X-Men #3. I've enjoyed the hell out of the first two issues and the Vs issue of this event we've gotten thus far, and I'm hoping that Marvel keeps bringing the awesome with this issue. On the other end of the spectrum, this week's Runt of the Litter is Teen Titans Annual #1. It has two things going against it. The first is a story I'm not very keen on, while the second is a painfully high price... You see kids, THIS is the ugly side of being an obsessive collector! You end up getting stuck with something you KNOW you're going to hate, but are compelled to buy it in order to keep your collection complete. Yep, I'd be a shrink's dream! And there you have it. Tonight I'll be reviewing AvX #3(obviously) and Avengers Academy #29(again, obviously!). Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to get the posts for those two books up until VERY late tonight. Like 2-3 hours later than usual. But I'll do my damnedest to make sure those reviews are up tonight. As for tomorrow it's Exiled #1 and Iron Man #516. And that brings us to the end of this post. Until later, X out.

The (not so) Random Scan of the Week!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, back in the 1980's there was an X-Men vs Avengers mini-series! But let's ignore that for now... Check out Magneto's swank-ass boots!

Ect... Week of April 25th.

And now for a new feature! We'll see how long this feature actually sticks around, as I have a tendency to get bored with new features rather quickly... Just look through the annals of this blog for proof of THAT fact! First, a bit of a backstory... Recently, due to my abject awesomeness and all, my job offered me more hours AND much higher pay, but for some genuinely sucky hours... I naturally took the promotion, but that's going to lead to less time spent on the blog as well as me possibly altering my blog posting/commenting schedule... It also means that there's NO way I'm going to be able to do more than 14 reviews a week(2 a night)... Hell, I may have to cut back to 7 reviews(a review a night) depending on how things go. Luckily, JT told me if that were to happen, he'd pick up the slack, 'cause he's such a swell guy and all. But we haven't reached that point yet. Anyway, there are some weeks(such as this week) where I pick up MORE than 14 books... For those weeks? There's this new feature. Basically I'll tell you guys what I read, what I thought about it, give the score, post a scan, and move on to the next book. That way if you read the book and want to chime in with something, you can. As with any new feature, I'm more than willing to change the format and listen to any suggestions on how to make this post better. But for now, this is what we have. Now, on with the show!

Uncanny X-Men #11(AvX tie-in):

Thoughts: I have to say, I enjoyed this issue way more than I expected to. Well, allow me to rephrase that... I enjoyed the Jugger-Colossus vs Red Hulk portions of this issue and wasn't all that fond of the rest. I thought the way the Jugger-Colo/Rulk battle ended was smart, and didn't really hurt either character's standing. Jugger-Colo had the upper-hand for most of the battle, especially while he was in full on Juggernaut mode. When he switched to Colossus mode, he was defeated. Plus he WANTED to lose, so again, no gripes about the way that fight went down. I felt Jugger-Colo could beat Rulk, but that Rulk could beat Colossus. The rest of it, especially Cyclops's ridiculous letter? I hated it. What a weird way to end this one... In the end though, this issue did give me some hope(gah, I hate even using that word now!) that these issues of Uncanny won't be all that bad.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Huh, I'd forgotten that Hope told Wolvie to kill her!


New Avengers #25:

Thoughts: This comic wasn't THAT BAD! That's probably the biggest compliment I can give to an Avengers title, written by Bendis, with this team... Yeah sure, the only member of the Avengers in this book to show up was Iron Fist, and he only popped up on one page, but hey, it didn't suck! I'm not really sure where we're going with the revelation here though... Iron Fist turns on the Avengers to join with the X-Men? But what of Luke Cage??? The Bromance EXPLODES!!! Actually, that could be epic if we get Luke acting like a jilted lover when/if Iron Fist's duplicity is revealed... Eh, regardless of the outcome, at least I can always point to this issue and say, “See that, an issue of New Avengers DID score higher than a 6!”.

Score: 7 out of 10.

???


Avenging Spider-Man #6:

Thoughts: I can't say this issue really got me all hyped up for this Omega Effect storyline... I honestly feel that Punisher should stay FAR AWAY from real heroes such as DD and Spidey due to him being, you know, a criminal and all... Now don't get me wrong, I like Punisher, I just don't like him interacting with a character like Daredevil, who should be trying to take him in on sight. Methinks I chose the wrong issue of Avenging Spider-Man to start collecting the series...

Score: 5 out of 10.

Frank has definitely seen better days... Although in fairness, he's seen worse too...


Daredevil #11:

Thoughts: Ugh, this was pretty bad... So basically, the bottom line here was that we returned to the status quo? DD still has the Omega Drive, Punisher is still on his own, and Spidey is still Spidey... I just don't get the point of it all... On the plus side, at least I didn't waste my money picking up the Punisher issue of this x-over!

Score: 4 out of 10.

Don't worry, this is the nice Punisher, he's not aiming for kill shots!

Superman #8

Last official review of the week(more on that in my next post, scheduled to go up in a half an hour!), and it's a series that I don't normally purchase. The only two issues of Superman I've picked up since the reboot was the first issue(which was terrible, imo) and the prior issue, mainly because I like Helspont as a villain and wanted to see him make his DCU debut. It was underwhelming. Still, I figured I'd give this series another shot to see how the Supes/Helspont battle concludes. Hopefully that decision doesn't turn out to be a huge mistake.

Superman #8:

Summary: This issue opens with Superman being chased after by the army, who want to capture “it”. A confused Supes tries to avoid the soldiers but ends up getting blown out of the sky. He wakes up at his desk at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent, where he is met by... ugh... Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy tells Clark that he should stop writing articles that portray Superman in a good light, as it was pissing Perry White off and with the public hating Supes for being an alien, it wasn't good for business. Realizing something was drastically wrong, Supes concentrates really hard and finds himself back in Helspont's cavern, with some sort of mind controlling creature in his mouth. Supes spits the creature out and is naturally pissed by Helspont manipulating his mind, but Helspont tells Supes that he was only showing Supes the future, as humans have a LOOONG history of hating each other for differences in belief systems, pigmentation and lifestyle, so it was inevitable that they'd eventually turn on Supes for being an alien... Huh, Helspont makes a wonderful point there... In order to deal with the humans, Helspont offers to help Supes conquer the Earth, provided Supes helps Helspont take revenge on the Daemonites who betrayed him. Naturally, Supes turns that offer down, which leads to an all out fight between the two... A fight that is VERY evenly matched(!). Eventually the battle causes Helspont's mountain hideaway to explode, at which time Supes loses track of where Helspont went, figuring that Helspont teleported away before the mountain blew. With that, this issue ends with Supes, battered and beaten, returning to his apartment as Clark Kent and realizing that he had made the mistake of letting... ugh... Jimmy Olsen stay at his place.

Thoughts: Wow, this issue was GREAT! Helspont's logic was sound and he was portrayed VERY strongly. The battle scenes were AWESOME and the Clark Kent portions of the story were kept to a minimum. Seriously, I am shocked by how much I enjoyed reading this comic. I honestly thought I'd hate this comic, which is why it was so low in my comic pile. Instead, it turned out to be one of the high points of the entire week! I never expected that, so a HUGE kudos to Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen for their work in this comic. Really, I'm kind of in a state of shock right now... This was easily one of the better Superman comics I've read since the WAY back during World of New Krypton and War of the Supermen... Color me impressed.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Helspont was a BEAST in this issue!

Voodoo #8

One more day until New Comic Day! That is actually a mixed blessing, as it means tomorrow I get a whole new crop of (hopefully) great books, but tonight I'm stuck with the bottom of my comic book barrel... Well, the best way to get through tonight is to blitz through these books, so let's do just that!

Voodoo #8:

Summary: Some members of the Blackhawks report back to their base that Black Jack had been killed by EVIL Voodoo, which causes the leader of the Blackhawks to send out a mess of Blackhawks/Black Razors to take EVIL Voodoo down. Meanwhile, EVIL Voodoo also manages to kill Agent Fallon, which leads to GOOD Voodoo attacking her EVIL counterpart. EVIL Voodoo takes on the exact look of GOOD Voodoo(to mess with her head) and the two are locked in combat when the Blackhawks/Black Razors arrive. Not knowing which Voodoo was good and which was evil, they move in to apprehend them both, at which time EVIL Voodoo attacks and kills some Razors before making good her escape. As for GOOD Voodoo, the leader of the Blackhawks walks over and offers her a job.

Thoughts: Meh. This is a series that is in desperate need of some fixing... GOOD Voodoo STILL hasn't been called Voodoo by ANYBODY, while EVIL Voodoo is called Voodoo by EVERYBODY... Which means this series is about EVIL Voodoo since the title is “Voodoo”? I guess? That just makes no sense... EVIL Voodoo needs a name change, and GOOD Voodoo needs to claim the Voodoo name as her own, although I don't see how/why she would do that... What an odd mess this all is...

Score: 6 out of 10.

That's gonna leave a HELL of a mark!