Overall- This issue deals with the after effects of the anti-life equation being unleashed upon the Earth. The unaffected heroes have banded together in 6 different locations, but can barely communicate with each other thanks to the fact that the anti-life equation is being carried by electronic waves. In other words, watch TV, go online, listen to the radio and you become affected.
There was a great scene with Green Arrow trying to fight off the herds of Darkseid's shock troopers, while calling them, "dog-ridin' totalitarian @$$####$!" Ah, Ollie, always the master politician! Unfortunately, Ollie was captured as were many heroes in this issue.
The other big revelation was that Darkseid has finally returned, taking over the human body he was hidden in and has decided on a never ending holocaust against humanity. Yep, so in this issue, things were looking at their bleakest. The heroes were scattered and losing ground, most of humanity has been brainwashed by the anti-life equation into serving Darkseid, and many heroes, including Black Lightning, Wonder Woman and apparently Green Arrow have been brainwashed into joining Darkseid's forces.
On the plus side, it was GREAT to see the Ray having a (semi)major role in things this issue, as well as the Alan Scott Green Lantern, becoming such a strong leader. I always liked Alan, and am pleased to see him assuming the mantle of power. He's been around for such a long time and it's nice to see him using his massive amount of experience to try to rally the troops. Now, with the resurrection of Darkseid, it will be very interesting to see how the heroes manage to pull this one out!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Nightwing #64
How can I end my night without reading at least one Nightwing?
Overall- Awww. A heart warming Christmas tale. Unfortunately, it really didn't do much for me. I know Chuck Dixon wanted to write a nice uplifting Christmas story, but in light of the stuff Dick was going through in the past issues, I would have much rather to have seen that continued, as opposed to a mushy holiday story.
Oh well. The story was alright, even though Dick solved the "impossible" case just in the nick of time to save a little girl and her father. A Christmas miracle I guess. My favorite part of this comic was actually the cover. I loved this cover.
The blurb for the next issue says that once again, Nightwing is going to be involved in yet another Batman crossover, this time "Bruce Wayne:Murderer". Naturally, the only parts of this crossover I have are the Nightwing ones, so I can see already, I'll have no idea what's going on. Boy, DC was sure pumping out the crossovers back in the early 2000's! As for scoring this comic, I'll give it a 5 1/2 out of 10.
Overall- Awww. A heart warming Christmas tale. Unfortunately, it really didn't do much for me. I know Chuck Dixon wanted to write a nice uplifting Christmas story, but in light of the stuff Dick was going through in the past issues, I would have much rather to have seen that continued, as opposed to a mushy holiday story.
Oh well. The story was alright, even though Dick solved the "impossible" case just in the nick of time to save a little girl and her father. A Christmas miracle I guess. My favorite part of this comic was actually the cover. I loved this cover.
The blurb for the next issue says that once again, Nightwing is going to be involved in yet another Batman crossover, this time "Bruce Wayne:Murderer". Naturally, the only parts of this crossover I have are the Nightwing ones, so I can see already, I'll have no idea what's going on. Boy, DC was sure pumping out the crossovers back in the early 2000's! As for scoring this comic, I'll give it a 5 1/2 out of 10.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Final Crisis Requiem
Overall- Coming into this comic book, I was a little dubious, because I hadn't ever read anything by the writer of the comic, Peter J. Tomasi. With that being said, I was VERY pleasantly surprised!
This issue basically detailed the life and death of the Martian Manhunter. We are shown his death, in the detail that wasn't shown in Final Crisis #1. In FC #1, J'onn is offed in pretty much one panel, in a pretty quick, almost meaningless manner. It was like the villains killed him and just simply moved on.
In Requiem, we see that J'onn went out heroically, battling until he could no longer go on. Before he died though, he was able to contact some of his closest teammates and friends, Superman, Batman, Gypsy, Hal Jordan and Black Canary, and leave a piece of the history of the Martian race buried in the recesses of their minds.
While they slept, after J'onn had perished, these five heroes went about writing down the history of the Martians, as well as the life story of J'onn himself. I thought it was a nice touch that J'onn had them chronicle his life while they slept, so he wouldn't disturb them.
Before reading this comic, I really didn't know WHO J'onn J'onzz was. I was familiar with the character, sure, but I didn't REALLY know him. After this story, not only did I feel I had a better understanding of just how heroic J'onn was, I felt badly that he was dead, because I wouldn't be able to read any new adventures with him in them.
I really liked this comic, and the closing pages with Batman and the cookie were very touching and thoughtful. I'd score this comic an 8 1/2 easily. It was a tad slow at times, but it really caused me to care about the Martian Manhunter, who I'd never given much thought to before.
This issue basically detailed the life and death of the Martian Manhunter. We are shown his death, in the detail that wasn't shown in Final Crisis #1. In FC #1, J'onn is offed in pretty much one panel, in a pretty quick, almost meaningless manner. It was like the villains killed him and just simply moved on.
In Requiem, we see that J'onn went out heroically, battling until he could no longer go on. Before he died though, he was able to contact some of his closest teammates and friends, Superman, Batman, Gypsy, Hal Jordan and Black Canary, and leave a piece of the history of the Martian race buried in the recesses of their minds.
While they slept, after J'onn had perished, these five heroes went about writing down the history of the Martians, as well as the life story of J'onn himself. I thought it was a nice touch that J'onn had them chronicle his life while they slept, so he wouldn't disturb them.
Before reading this comic, I really didn't know WHO J'onn J'onzz was. I was familiar with the character, sure, but I didn't REALLY know him. After this story, not only did I feel I had a better understanding of just how heroic J'onn was, I felt badly that he was dead, because I wouldn't be able to read any new adventures with him in them.
I really liked this comic, and the closing pages with Batman and the cookie were very touching and thoughtful. I'd score this comic an 8 1/2 easily. It was a tad slow at times, but it really caused me to care about the Martian Manhunter, who I'd never given much thought to before.
Final Crisis #1-3
OK, I've finally decided to cave and read Final Crisis. I wanted to wait until I had at least a majority of the series, but I couldn't wait anymore, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The main thing that came out of these comics was me scratching my head a lot and looking awfully confused...
I'm not going to even touch the Monitor stuff, because I have very little idea about who they are, or what exactly their role in the DCU is. What I did understand (I think)was that two factions of "Gods" battled and the bad "Gods" won, and have been hiding out on Earth, in the guise of normal humans, plotting to turn the Earth into some kind of hellish world. At least, I think that's what was going on... I could be WAAAAAAAAAAY off, because one thing I've learned about reading Grant Morrison's work is that he likes to add A LOT of twists and turns to his writing.
So anyway, Mary Marvel, who is now totally evil, somehow causes Wonder Woman to unleash something called the Anti-Life Equation, which turns the Earth into the before mentioned hellish world. I'm a little foggy as to how that happened, but I'm hoping it will be explained later.
As for the main heroes, Superman gets called into the future(I think), after Lois almost dies in an explosion at the Daily Planet, Bats is captured by the bad guys, Hal Jordan is arrested by the GL Corps, since they suspect he's gone crazy again, and Flash (Wally West) went running through the timestream with the recently reappeared Barry Allen Flash.
Needless to say, I'm as confused as can be, but the series is still young. One thing that kind of bothered me was the pacing of the story. It was all over the place! One panel, we're on Mars, then we're in Gotham, then it's a quick visit with the bad guys, then we head to NYC! Slow down, please! I think these comics would have benefited greatly from some extra pages, that way the pace would have been a little more leisurely, and maybe some more of the story could have been shown... I mean, the Martian Manhunter was killed off in like one panel! Shouldn't his death have gotten a little bit more attention here?
Anyway, breakneck pace aside, I'm cautiously optimistic about what the future issues have in store. I think I'll hold off on scoring this comic until the end of the series, because obviously there is still a lot of story to tell.
I'm not going to even touch the Monitor stuff, because I have very little idea about who they are, or what exactly their role in the DCU is. What I did understand (I think)was that two factions of "Gods" battled and the bad "Gods" won, and have been hiding out on Earth, in the guise of normal humans, plotting to turn the Earth into some kind of hellish world. At least, I think that's what was going on... I could be WAAAAAAAAAAY off, because one thing I've learned about reading Grant Morrison's work is that he likes to add A LOT of twists and turns to his writing.
So anyway, Mary Marvel, who is now totally evil, somehow causes Wonder Woman to unleash something called the Anti-Life Equation, which turns the Earth into the before mentioned hellish world. I'm a little foggy as to how that happened, but I'm hoping it will be explained later.
As for the main heroes, Superman gets called into the future(I think), after Lois almost dies in an explosion at the Daily Planet, Bats is captured by the bad guys, Hal Jordan is arrested by the GL Corps, since they suspect he's gone crazy again, and Flash (Wally West) went running through the timestream with the recently reappeared Barry Allen Flash.
Needless to say, I'm as confused as can be, but the series is still young. One thing that kind of bothered me was the pacing of the story. It was all over the place! One panel, we're on Mars, then we're in Gotham, then it's a quick visit with the bad guys, then we head to NYC! Slow down, please! I think these comics would have benefited greatly from some extra pages, that way the pace would have been a little more leisurely, and maybe some more of the story could have been shown... I mean, the Martian Manhunter was killed off in like one panel! Shouldn't his death have gotten a little bit more attention here?
Anyway, breakneck pace aside, I'm cautiously optimistic about what the future issues have in store. I think I'll hold off on scoring this comic until the end of the series, because obviously there is still a lot of story to tell.
Spyboy anyone?
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I was just wondering if I was the only person who remembers Peter David's Spyboy series? It came out a few years ago, before he signed his exclusive contract with Marvel, and I always got a kick out of it. I'm betting that I'm the only person who knows about this series though...Finally Final Crisis!
This is it, I can't wait any longer! Tonight I start to read the Final Crisis series! I've heard a lot of conflicting things about this series, I know Martian Manhunter gets killed, I hear Barry Allen makes his return and apparently, Darkseid is the major bad guy of the series. Other then that, I don't know much. I'm an expert at ducking spoilers, so hopefully there are a lot of surprises in store for me in these first 4 issues.
Once I finish the 4 Final Crisis comics, I'll probably move onto the offshoots like Revelations, Legion of Three Worlds, Requium, and whatever else I have laying around my place. I've brought so many FC related things, that I don't even know what exactly I have!
That's me in a nutshell though. I'll buy a bunch of comics, then put them someplace, and start reading something else. I actually have every one of the Trinity comics, which number about maybe 21 or so, but I haven't read any single one of them yet! I have this terrible habit of buying comics, then letting them sit around for several months on end, before eventually getting to them.
Once I finish the 4 Final Crisis comics, I'll probably move onto the offshoots like Revelations, Legion of Three Worlds, Requium, and whatever else I have laying around my place. I've brought so many FC related things, that I don't even know what exactly I have!
That's me in a nutshell though. I'll buy a bunch of comics, then put them someplace, and start reading something else. I actually have every one of the Trinity comics, which number about maybe 21 or so, but I haven't read any single one of them yet! I have this terrible habit of buying comics, then letting them sit around for several months on end, before eventually getting to them.
X-Men Legacy #216
Overall- Once again I find it difficult to put the anger I have at this comic book into words. I guess I've always been wrong. Let me explain something right now. Amongst my collection of comic books, I would estimate that I have about almost 90% of all the Uncanny X-Men, X-Men and Astonishing X-Men titles that have ever come out. I have everyone of these comics, with no holes, dating back to 1990. I've spent a lot of time and money, acquiring and reading these comics. I also have, and have read every one of the Essential X-Men comics that have ever come out. So, I think I would be a pretty good expert on a lot of the occurrences that have occurred in the X-Universe.
Prof. Charles Xavier always did what was necessary for the good of the X-Men. Did he screw up sometimes? Of course he did, that's life. Did he engage in some questionable behavior? Once again, of course he did. Now for the kicker. Prof. X was NEVER a villain. You can argue Onslaught to me if you want, but that was.....complicated.
Emma Frost was a villain to the highest degree. She used her powers to gain a fortune, then to gain a place in the Hellfire Club. Emma would constantly destroy the minds of any underling that she felt failed her, as well as attempting to kill the X-Men on numerous occasions. Emma Frost was an evil, cold hearted VILLAIN.
For this comic book to have the audacity to act as if Prof. X was the one playing God, while nothing is mentioned about Emma's sorted past is ludicrous! I don't even know what else to say here... There really isn't anything left I guess... I don't know why Prof. X is being dragged through the mud, while the real villain is living free and clear with the X-Men...
I'm telling you, if only Jean Grey would return and just slaughter Emma Frost, I would die a happy man. As for this particular comic, I can't in good conscience give it any better then a 2 out of 10, and that's even a stretch. Imagine, Emma Frost being judgemental towards Charles Xavier!!! Unbelievable...
Prof. Charles Xavier always did what was necessary for the good of the X-Men. Did he screw up sometimes? Of course he did, that's life. Did he engage in some questionable behavior? Once again, of course he did. Now for the kicker. Prof. X was NEVER a villain. You can argue Onslaught to me if you want, but that was.....complicated.
Emma Frost was a villain to the highest degree. She used her powers to gain a fortune, then to gain a place in the Hellfire Club. Emma would constantly destroy the minds of any underling that she felt failed her, as well as attempting to kill the X-Men on numerous occasions. Emma Frost was an evil, cold hearted VILLAIN.
For this comic book to have the audacity to act as if Prof. X was the one playing God, while nothing is mentioned about Emma's sorted past is ludicrous! I don't even know what else to say here... There really isn't anything left I guess... I don't know why Prof. X is being dragged through the mud, while the real villain is living free and clear with the X-Men...
I'm telling you, if only Jean Grey would return and just slaughter Emma Frost, I would die a happy man. As for this particular comic, I can't in good conscience give it any better then a 2 out of 10, and that's even a stretch. Imagine, Emma Frost being judgemental towards Charles Xavier!!! Unbelievable...
X-Men Legacy #215...
Overall- Because I'm must be a masochist, I've decided to give this comic another try... It can't POSSIBLY be any worse than the last one can it?????
Ehh... Prof. X sets up a meeting with Scott, and they talk about what a jerk X was all these years. Yeah. I get it already. Prof. X altered peoples thoughts. OK. He's one of the highest level of telepath out there, what does everyone expect, a saint?
Throughout this issue, Scott was still being the anti-Scott Summers, you know, the guy who acts nothing like the Scott Summers I've been reading about for these past several years. He hates Prof. X now. Well boo hoo. If Chuck wanted to, he could have just mindwiped the entire world several times over, to achieve the completion of his goals. But he didn't. Everything X has done, he's always had reason for. I don't know where all of Scott's holier than thou crap is coming from, but you'd think he'd have a little more respect for the man who practically raised him from his adolescent years.
What do I expect though? 3 out of 10 is what I'll give this one. Hey, I was right, it wasn't as bad as the last retched issue!
Ehh... Prof. X sets up a meeting with Scott, and they talk about what a jerk X was all these years. Yeah. I get it already. Prof. X altered peoples thoughts. OK. He's one of the highest level of telepath out there, what does everyone expect, a saint?
Throughout this issue, Scott was still being the anti-Scott Summers, you know, the guy who acts nothing like the Scott Summers I've been reading about for these past several years. He hates Prof. X now. Well boo hoo. If Chuck wanted to, he could have just mindwiped the entire world several times over, to achieve the completion of his goals. But he didn't. Everything X has done, he's always had reason for. I don't know where all of Scott's holier than thou crap is coming from, but you'd think he'd have a little more respect for the man who practically raised him from his adolescent years.
What do I expect though? 3 out of 10 is what I'll give this one. Hey, I was right, it wasn't as bad as the last retched issue!
My rant against X-Men Legacy #214
Overall- What the hey I thought, why not start to catch up on this comic series, since I think I'm about 4 months behind. Now, to see if I remember what was going on in this comic...
MOTHER####ING SON OF A #####!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even begin to form words that make any sense right now... That's how incredibly pissed off I'm feeling....... I actually was enjoying the story told in this comic book, because Mr. Sinister has always been one of my favorite villains in all of comics...
His backstage manipulations have always intrigued me. He was always there, and conceivably always will be there. Even after his defeat at the hands of Xavier, Gambit and Shaw, I just sat back and shrugged, content in my knowledge that Mr. Sinister would inevitably be back. You can't keep a good bad guy down... UNLESS YOU TURN HIM INTO A WOMAN!!!!! The last page of this book angered me more than almost any single page I have ever read.
Why the #### is Sinister a female now????? Can ANYBODY explain what ####ing purpose this revelation serves?????? I'm at an absolute loss for words here. Well not really, I sure have a lot more profanity I feel like hurling around... Why does Marvel have this BIZARRE obsession with taking established characters and changing their sex? What the #### does "Miss" Sinister bring to the table that "Mr" Sinister didn't? I'll answer that one myself, NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!
I stopped reading the new Thor series when they decided that for some reason Loki needed to become a woman. WHY??? You know what, I know why, because about 85% of the writers and editors at Marvel Comics absolutely SUCK right now, that's why. They're too damn lazy to actually create a new, strong, female character. So, since most of these hacks have no creativity, they just take established characters and drastically change them. A female Loki... You've got to be ####ing kidding me...
Now I don't want to come across as some kind of crazed sexist, because that's not the point I'm trying to make. If Marvel took the Invisible Woman and changed her into the Invisible Man, or took Jean Grey and turned her into Jean-Paul Grey, I think I would go bat#### crazy!!!!! Here's some free advise to the lazy bastards at Marvel. Instead of changing your male characters into females or vice versa, why the #### don't you go out and create some NEW female characters!!!! I'm sure it can't be that difficult! You're predecessors have been able to do it for years.
Or better yet, if they just NEEDED a Miss Sinister, why not have her working WITH Mr. Sinister??? That's the thing that I appreciate about DC Comics. Batgirl can coexist with Batman. Batgirl isn't Bruce Wayne, suddenly in female form! The same goes for Supergirl. She is her OWN person! She isn't Clark Kent, suddenly transformed into a teenaged girl. She is Kara Zor-El. Why the #### can't Marvel figure this formula out? You want a female Loki, fine, but leave the original Loki the #### alone!!!!!! I hear that Marvel has a new female version of Bullseye called Lady Bullseye out there now. I'm totally fine with that, as long as the original Bullseye remains.
If there is a God up there, PLEASE FIRE JOE QUESADA! I can't take his jack### ideas anymore... This comic will officially go down as one of the few comic books that actually offended me after I read it... Needless to say X-Men #214, you get the distinction of being the first comic I've ever read that gets a 0 out of 10. You know what the worst thing is? I still have another 3 X-Men Legacy comics sitting here that I haven't read yet...............
MOTHER####ING SON OF A #####!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even begin to form words that make any sense right now... That's how incredibly pissed off I'm feeling....... I actually was enjoying the story told in this comic book, because Mr. Sinister has always been one of my favorite villains in all of comics...
His backstage manipulations have always intrigued me. He was always there, and conceivably always will be there. Even after his defeat at the hands of Xavier, Gambit and Shaw, I just sat back and shrugged, content in my knowledge that Mr. Sinister would inevitably be back. You can't keep a good bad guy down... UNLESS YOU TURN HIM INTO A WOMAN!!!!! The last page of this book angered me more than almost any single page I have ever read.
Why the #### is Sinister a female now????? Can ANYBODY explain what ####ing purpose this revelation serves?????? I'm at an absolute loss for words here. Well not really, I sure have a lot more profanity I feel like hurling around... Why does Marvel have this BIZARRE obsession with taking established characters and changing their sex? What the #### does "Miss" Sinister bring to the table that "Mr" Sinister didn't? I'll answer that one myself, NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!
I stopped reading the new Thor series when they decided that for some reason Loki needed to become a woman. WHY??? You know what, I know why, because about 85% of the writers and editors at Marvel Comics absolutely SUCK right now, that's why. They're too damn lazy to actually create a new, strong, female character. So, since most of these hacks have no creativity, they just take established characters and drastically change them. A female Loki... You've got to be ####ing kidding me...
Now I don't want to come across as some kind of crazed sexist, because that's not the point I'm trying to make. If Marvel took the Invisible Woman and changed her into the Invisible Man, or took Jean Grey and turned her into Jean-Paul Grey, I think I would go bat#### crazy!!!!! Here's some free advise to the lazy bastards at Marvel. Instead of changing your male characters into females or vice versa, why the #### don't you go out and create some NEW female characters!!!! I'm sure it can't be that difficult! You're predecessors have been able to do it for years.
Or better yet, if they just NEEDED a Miss Sinister, why not have her working WITH Mr. Sinister??? That's the thing that I appreciate about DC Comics. Batgirl can coexist with Batman. Batgirl isn't Bruce Wayne, suddenly in female form! The same goes for Supergirl. She is her OWN person! She isn't Clark Kent, suddenly transformed into a teenaged girl. She is Kara Zor-El. Why the #### can't Marvel figure this formula out? You want a female Loki, fine, but leave the original Loki the #### alone!!!!!! I hear that Marvel has a new female version of Bullseye called Lady Bullseye out there now. I'm totally fine with that, as long as the original Bullseye remains.
If there is a God up there, PLEASE FIRE JOE QUESADA! I can't take his jack### ideas anymore... This comic will officially go down as one of the few comic books that actually offended me after I read it... Needless to say X-Men #214, you get the distinction of being the first comic I've ever read that gets a 0 out of 10. You know what the worst thing is? I still have another 3 X-Men Legacy comics sitting here that I haven't read yet...............
Nightwing #63
Overall- grumble grumble grumble..... Apparently, in a comic I don't own, Joker:last laugh #6, Dick kills the Joker, but somehow Batman revives Joker. Dick is now wallowing in self pity for having the audacity to kill Joker... I'm sorry, but if ANYBODY in the world of comic books deserves the old dirt nap, it's the Joker. Jeez, I have the "Death in the Family" TPB, and what Joker does to Jason Todd in it is absolutely reprehensible.
Quite frankly, the first thing I am going to do once I'm done posting this is to try to see if I can find JLL #6 to buy somewhere, to watch Dick finally give Joker his just dessert. Anyway, Dick is wandering around his apartment wearing nothing but his Batman boxers, which is really kind of weird... Why the hell is he wearing Batman underwear? Babs tries to talk to Dick via the computer, but Dick ignores her.
Next up is the Flash, but he can't seem to get through to Dick either. As Wally leaves, Dick finds a picture of himself and Jason Todd, which seems to convince him to continue the crusade, because after that, he's back on the streets in his Nightwing attire.
The rest of the story was a comical team up between Robin and the Blue Beetle(Ted Kord). The two of them were out looking for the leader of the Madmen, an old enemy of Beetle's. Needless to say, where ever Beetle shows up comedy ensues, but in the end Robin and the Beetle collar their man. The interaction between Robin and Beetle was pretty funny, because Robin had a real case of hero worship when it came to the Blue Beetle... Who would have guessed?!?!
I liked the stuff with Dick to a point... I can totally understand why series writer Chuck Dixon was writing Dick in the manner he was. Dick Grayson was always taught by the Batman to never cross the line and murder, but, with that being said, how could Dick be that upset over killing Joker? I have the whole New Teen Titans series, and Dick makes no secret over the fact that he considered Jason to be like a brother to him.
So, he killed the man who brutally murdered his "brother", as well as several thousands of other people. To me, that act made him more of a hero then Batman, who only captures Joker, knowing he can never be rehabilitated, as well as the fact that the Joker will constantly escape captivity, and always commits several more murders before being caught again, to continue the cycle.
If Dick finally stopped the Joker's maniacal killing rampage once and for all, he deserves a medal. Yeah, I guess I could never work for Batman, because quite honestly, killing the Joker is probably the most responsible thing a Gotham City hero could do... After saying all that, I'm going to give this comic an 8 1/2 out of 10. I really wanted to go with a lower score because of Dick's self loathing over doing what needed to be done, but the stuff with Robin and Blue Beetle was very funny, so everything kind of balanced out.
Quite frankly, the first thing I am going to do once I'm done posting this is to try to see if I can find JLL #6 to buy somewhere, to watch Dick finally give Joker his just dessert. Anyway, Dick is wandering around his apartment wearing nothing but his Batman boxers, which is really kind of weird... Why the hell is he wearing Batman underwear? Babs tries to talk to Dick via the computer, but Dick ignores her.
Next up is the Flash, but he can't seem to get through to Dick either. As Wally leaves, Dick finds a picture of himself and Jason Todd, which seems to convince him to continue the crusade, because after that, he's back on the streets in his Nightwing attire.
The rest of the story was a comical team up between Robin and the Blue Beetle(Ted Kord). The two of them were out looking for the leader of the Madmen, an old enemy of Beetle's. Needless to say, where ever Beetle shows up comedy ensues, but in the end Robin and the Beetle collar their man. The interaction between Robin and Beetle was pretty funny, because Robin had a real case of hero worship when it came to the Blue Beetle... Who would have guessed?!?!
I liked the stuff with Dick to a point... I can totally understand why series writer Chuck Dixon was writing Dick in the manner he was. Dick Grayson was always taught by the Batman to never cross the line and murder, but, with that being said, how could Dick be that upset over killing Joker? I have the whole New Teen Titans series, and Dick makes no secret over the fact that he considered Jason to be like a brother to him.
So, he killed the man who brutally murdered his "brother", as well as several thousands of other people. To me, that act made him more of a hero then Batman, who only captures Joker, knowing he can never be rehabilitated, as well as the fact that the Joker will constantly escape captivity, and always commits several more murders before being caught again, to continue the cycle.
If Dick finally stopped the Joker's maniacal killing rampage once and for all, he deserves a medal. Yeah, I guess I could never work for Batman, because quite honestly, killing the Joker is probably the most responsible thing a Gotham City hero could do... After saying all that, I'm going to give this comic an 8 1/2 out of 10. I really wanted to go with a lower score because of Dick's self loathing over doing what needed to be done, but the stuff with Robin and Blue Beetle was very funny, so everything kind of balanced out.
Nightwing #62
Overall- This issue is part of some crossover called "Joker:Last Laugh", in which the Joker has somehow managed to douse the occupants of a super human prison called the Slab with his Joker juice, turning then as homicidal and twisted as he is.
Basically, Dick breaks into the Slab, and fights with a couple of losers and nobodies, while searching for Batman, who he figures came to the Slab before he did. Honestly, I had little idea as to what was going on in the main story line of this crossover.
How did Joker manage to create an army of Jokers? Why was Nightwing the only person to enter the Slab, if a bunch of crazed villains were on the loose? Where was Batman or the JLA? Shouldn't they be on the case of something this big instead of Nightwing on his own???
I'd guess that since this is the only part of this crossover I have, those other questions are answered elsewhere. I hate those inter comic book crossovers, especially for someone like me, who is collecting these comics as back issues, so I don't really know what other comics crossover with this one... Oh well. I can't say I really enjoyed this comic, because it was just Nightwing mindlessly fighting a bunch of c-list chumps, while I had no clue as to what was going on in the big picture. 4 out of 10 is the best I can give this one, since like I said, I wasn't sure what the story was really about...
Basically, Dick breaks into the Slab, and fights with a couple of losers and nobodies, while searching for Batman, who he figures came to the Slab before he did. Honestly, I had little idea as to what was going on in the main story line of this crossover.
How did Joker manage to create an army of Jokers? Why was Nightwing the only person to enter the Slab, if a bunch of crazed villains were on the loose? Where was Batman or the JLA? Shouldn't they be on the case of something this big instead of Nightwing on his own???
I'd guess that since this is the only part of this crossover I have, those other questions are answered elsewhere. I hate those inter comic book crossovers, especially for someone like me, who is collecting these comics as back issues, so I don't really know what other comics crossover with this one... Oh well. I can't say I really enjoyed this comic, because it was just Nightwing mindlessly fighting a bunch of c-list chumps, while I had no clue as to what was going on in the big picture. 4 out of 10 is the best I can give this one, since like I said, I wasn't sure what the story was really about...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Nightwing #61
Overall- This issue deals with some of the dirtier cops in Bludhaven. Dick learns a little bit about how one of the dirty cops operate from a wanted man, but the dirty cop kills the perp that was ratting him to Dick.
Dick nearly loses it, but luckily Sgt. Amy is there to hold his temper in check. Afterwards, Dick realizes that the dirty cops he's dealing with wouldn't hesitate for a second to put a bullet in his back.
I know the write up for this issue is kind of on the short side, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy this comic thoroughly. It was pretty fast paced, and showed just how dirty some of the cops in Bludhaven really are. I'd give it a 8 out of 10.
Dick nearly loses it, but luckily Sgt. Amy is there to hold his temper in check. Afterwards, Dick realizes that the dirty cops he's dealing with wouldn't hesitate for a second to put a bullet in his back.
I know the write up for this issue is kind of on the short side, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy this comic thoroughly. It was pretty fast paced, and showed just how dirty some of the cops in Bludhaven really are. I'd give it a 8 out of 10.
Quick thoughts on Nightwing Annual #1
Overall- I read this quickly between classes yesterday, so it's not really fresh on my mind. The gist of this comic is that Bats and Nightwing think a woman is marrying millionaire husbands then killing them off to collect their money. What ingenious plan do they concoct? Why, have Dick marry her of course, so she'll try to kill him!
Dick plays up the role of Bruce Wayne's....Whatever the hell he was to Bruce at this time, ward, adopted son, something else altogether? Well the charade pays off and Dick proposes to the woman, Emily I believe her name was, and she says yes.
They go through with the ceremony, but Dick destroys the marriage certificate instead of filing it with City Hall. To make a long story short, it turns out Emily's best friend was responsible for killing off Emily's husbands, hoping Emily will take the fall for it and wind up in prison. Some friend.
Anyway, Dick figures it all out and has Emily's friend arrested, before telling Emily that they were never really married. He never does explain to Emily who he was(Nightwing) or why Bruce Wayne's billionaire son/ward(?) was investigating the deaths of her ex-husbands. Don't you think she'd be a little curious as to why Dick Grayson, playboy, was so determined to solve this crime??? Weird little plot holes aside, I liked this comic, it was a fun little murder mystery. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.
Dick plays up the role of Bruce Wayne's....Whatever the hell he was to Bruce at this time, ward, adopted son, something else altogether? Well the charade pays off and Dick proposes to the woman, Emily I believe her name was, and she says yes.
They go through with the ceremony, but Dick destroys the marriage certificate instead of filing it with City Hall. To make a long story short, it turns out Emily's best friend was responsible for killing off Emily's husbands, hoping Emily will take the fall for it and wind up in prison. Some friend.
Anyway, Dick figures it all out and has Emily's friend arrested, before telling Emily that they were never really married. He never does explain to Emily who he was(Nightwing) or why Bruce Wayne's billionaire son/ward(?) was investigating the deaths of her ex-husbands. Don't you think she'd be a little curious as to why Dick Grayson, playboy, was so determined to solve this crime??? Weird little plot holes aside, I liked this comic, it was a fun little murder mystery. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Favorite all time Comic Book Character(s)!
Wow, this is my 100th post already! That's really kind of unbelievable. I sure wrote A LOT of stuff on this blog already! First off, thanks to anybody who ever bothered to take the time to read my at times almost incomprehensible ramblings! I really appreciate it.
Anyway, I figured that since this is my big 100th post, I should do something a little different or special, like they do in the comics for a milestone issue. The question then became what do I write about to commemorate this occasion? Well, why not write about my all time favorite character!
That seemed simple enough, until I sat down and realized I don't really have a single favorite character... There have been many different characters that have been favorites of mine through out my comic book collecting life. So, instead of picking out just one character, I figured, what the hell, this is my big 100th post, I'll just list everyone of my favorites and try to explain why I am attached to each one. The first one is kind of easy...
1. Nate Grey- The namesake of this very blog. My attraction to Nate's character has little to do with his actual comic, which for lack of a better term just plain stunk most of the time, but has more to do with his character. Nate was a stranger in a strange land. He had this vast potential that he was never able to achieve, and he had a disease that was slowly killing him. All the things I listed about Nate I could easily apply to myself. When I read my first X-Man comic book, not only was I about the same age as Nate, I practically was Nate! I think I could relate to Nate more closely then I could to any other comic book character. To this day, I hold out hope that eventually some writer will bring Nate back from the dead. Hey, he is a Grey, and they have a penchant for returning from the grave.
2. Bart Allen- Some of the first DC comics I ever read were from the "Young Justice" series. Bart as Impulse was a founding member of the team, and out of all the other members, he was the one who interested me the most. Bart had an unbridled enthusiasm for life, and his impulsive nature was so enjoyable to read about. He was the little brother of the team. He would drive everybody crazy, but you could see he genuinely didn't mean to. Bart was a truly good person. His world was so black and white, he was one of the few characters who was just pure good. There was no evil in Bart whatsoever. All Bart wanted to do was help out his fellow man, because it was the right thing to do. Even after DC decided to age Bart to adulthood, he kept a lot of the qualities that really endeared him to me. Bart always knew the difference between right and wrong, and never wavered in his convictions. Bart was a genuine hero, whose great character I miss enormously.
3.Laurie Collins- "Who is Laurie Collins?", I'm pretty sure a lot of people are asking themselves that right about now. Laurie was one of the second class of New Mutants that came out of the mutant boom of the early 2000's. She went briefly by the codename Wallflower, which fit her personality to a tee. Laurie was the soul of the New Mutants. She was the shy, quiet girl, who rarely had anything to say, but when she did speak up everyone listened. I'm sure a lot of people who read the New Mutants/Academy X comics might not even remember Laurie, but that is what attracted me to her character so much. She was different. The X-school had so many different loudmouths and trouble makers, but Laurie was the opposite. She was the most realistic character there. Of course she is dead as well... She was gunned down needlessly outside the school which was supposed to be protecting her...
4.Roy Harper- Roy is one of the more complete characters in either the Marvel or DC universes. He was a sidekick to Green Arrow as Speedy. Roy, in one of the more controversial moves in comic book history was revealed to be a heroin addict. Green Arrow threw Roy out onto the streets upon discovering this shocking revelation, but thanks to Hal Jordan and Black Canary, Roy managed to kick his addiction cold turkey, showing the strength of his character. Next, he made the mistake of fathering a child with the assassin Cheshire. Roy once again did the right thing and took his daughter, Lian from her murderous mother and went on to raise her as best he could. Although Roy suffered through numerous personal triumphs and tragedies, he has always found the time to serve on several super hero teams, including the Titans and the Justice League of America, even though he doesn't have any super powers. Roy is a great example of a flawed character who continues to try to do the right thing.
5.Magneto- I probably respect Magneto more then I respect any other villain in either Marvel or DC. Magneto is a man who grew up in the Nazi death camps of World War II, and decided that his people, mutants, would never suffer the same fate so many others did in the death camps he was raised in. I always found it so difficult to side with the X-Men whenever they would cross swords with Magneto, because in so many of his arguments, Magneto was right. Humanity just would never allow mutants to become the dominant species on the planet, no matter how much Prof. Xavier and his X-Men wanted to hope to the contrary. Magneto understood the hatred regular humans had for anything they felt was different from themselves, and was willing to do anything to make sure his race was the one that survived. Where Xavier and the X-Men lived in a world of dreams, I always felt Magneto lived in the real world, which was an ugly and brutal place for mutants.
6.Nightwing- Dick Grayson basically grew up under the wing of the Batman as his first Robin. Eventually, Dick grew too old to be Batman's kid sidekick anymore, and struck out on his own as Nightwing. Although Dick will always live under the enormous shadow of the Bat, he has managed to make his own life, outside of Gotham City and away from Batman. Dick Grayson's character has probably evolved as much as any other character in any comic book. He went from Bruce Wayne's young ward, to Batman's sidekick, to a member of the Teen Titans, to the leader of the Titans, to a very successful solo hero in his own right. Dick proved that you could take an established character(Robin) and re-package them into something even better(Nightwing).
Honorable Mention
7. Jean Grey- She was always the backbone of the X-Men, and her presence is sorely missed in the X-comics right now. Emma Frost isn't half the woman Jean was.
8.Steve Rogers- The original Captain America. What more needs to be said? Cap is, was, and always will be an icon in comic books. There are not many people out there with the unwavering moral compass Cap possessed. He always did what was right, no matter how unpopular it may have been.
9.Deathstroke the Terminator- Deathstroke is probably one of the smartest villains in either Universe. Not only could he beat almost any hero hand to hand, he is a meticulous planner, oftentimes able to outsmart his opponents as well as outfight them, a deadly combination.
10.Tabitha Smith- I much rather her codename Meltdown to the other ones. Anyway, I've always liked her attitude. Tabby was just one of those girls that you knew not to mess with. I've always liked Tabitha, but hated Jubilee which is kind of funny, since they are both cut from the same cloth... Go figure.
11.Cannonball- I've always liked Sam and the entire Guthrie clan. He was always such a sincere, salt of the Earth type of guy. Sam was always the hardest worker on whatever team he was on, and I always respected that.
I could literally go on and on here, because the more I write, the more I remember other characters that I would have liked to add to the list. I think it would be best to stop here, or I'll be writing all night.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear about some characters that other people consider to be their favorites, that way, I'll have new characters to read about! Or, even if you hated some of my choices, I'd love to hear about that as well, maybe I could sway you to agree with me! Anyway, if you managed to get through this giant post, congratulations and thanks!
Anyway, I figured that since this is my big 100th post, I should do something a little different or special, like they do in the comics for a milestone issue. The question then became what do I write about to commemorate this occasion? Well, why not write about my all time favorite character!
That seemed simple enough, until I sat down and realized I don't really have a single favorite character... There have been many different characters that have been favorites of mine through out my comic book collecting life. So, instead of picking out just one character, I figured, what the hell, this is my big 100th post, I'll just list everyone of my favorites and try to explain why I am attached to each one. The first one is kind of easy...
1. Nate Grey- The namesake of this very blog. My attraction to Nate's character has little to do with his actual comic, which for lack of a better term just plain stunk most of the time, but has more to do with his character. Nate was a stranger in a strange land. He had this vast potential that he was never able to achieve, and he had a disease that was slowly killing him. All the things I listed about Nate I could easily apply to myself. When I read my first X-Man comic book, not only was I about the same age as Nate, I practically was Nate! I think I could relate to Nate more closely then I could to any other comic book character. To this day, I hold out hope that eventually some writer will bring Nate back from the dead. Hey, he is a Grey, and they have a penchant for returning from the grave.
2. Bart Allen- Some of the first DC comics I ever read were from the "Young Justice" series. Bart as Impulse was a founding member of the team, and out of all the other members, he was the one who interested me the most. Bart had an unbridled enthusiasm for life, and his impulsive nature was so enjoyable to read about. He was the little brother of the team. He would drive everybody crazy, but you could see he genuinely didn't mean to. Bart was a truly good person. His world was so black and white, he was one of the few characters who was just pure good. There was no evil in Bart whatsoever. All Bart wanted to do was help out his fellow man, because it was the right thing to do. Even after DC decided to age Bart to adulthood, he kept a lot of the qualities that really endeared him to me. Bart always knew the difference between right and wrong, and never wavered in his convictions. Bart was a genuine hero, whose great character I miss enormously.
3.Laurie Collins- "Who is Laurie Collins?", I'm pretty sure a lot of people are asking themselves that right about now. Laurie was one of the second class of New Mutants that came out of the mutant boom of the early 2000's. She went briefly by the codename Wallflower, which fit her personality to a tee. Laurie was the soul of the New Mutants. She was the shy, quiet girl, who rarely had anything to say, but when she did speak up everyone listened. I'm sure a lot of people who read the New Mutants/Academy X comics might not even remember Laurie, but that is what attracted me to her character so much. She was different. The X-school had so many different loudmouths and trouble makers, but Laurie was the opposite. She was the most realistic character there. Of course she is dead as well... She was gunned down needlessly outside the school which was supposed to be protecting her...
4.Roy Harper- Roy is one of the more complete characters in either the Marvel or DC universes. He was a sidekick to Green Arrow as Speedy. Roy, in one of the more controversial moves in comic book history was revealed to be a heroin addict. Green Arrow threw Roy out onto the streets upon discovering this shocking revelation, but thanks to Hal Jordan and Black Canary, Roy managed to kick his addiction cold turkey, showing the strength of his character. Next, he made the mistake of fathering a child with the assassin Cheshire. Roy once again did the right thing and took his daughter, Lian from her murderous mother and went on to raise her as best he could. Although Roy suffered through numerous personal triumphs and tragedies, he has always found the time to serve on several super hero teams, including the Titans and the Justice League of America, even though he doesn't have any super powers. Roy is a great example of a flawed character who continues to try to do the right thing.
5.Magneto- I probably respect Magneto more then I respect any other villain in either Marvel or DC. Magneto is a man who grew up in the Nazi death camps of World War II, and decided that his people, mutants, would never suffer the same fate so many others did in the death camps he was raised in. I always found it so difficult to side with the X-Men whenever they would cross swords with Magneto, because in so many of his arguments, Magneto was right. Humanity just would never allow mutants to become the dominant species on the planet, no matter how much Prof. Xavier and his X-Men wanted to hope to the contrary. Magneto understood the hatred regular humans had for anything they felt was different from themselves, and was willing to do anything to make sure his race was the one that survived. Where Xavier and the X-Men lived in a world of dreams, I always felt Magneto lived in the real world, which was an ugly and brutal place for mutants.
6.Nightwing- Dick Grayson basically grew up under the wing of the Batman as his first Robin. Eventually, Dick grew too old to be Batman's kid sidekick anymore, and struck out on his own as Nightwing. Although Dick will always live under the enormous shadow of the Bat, he has managed to make his own life, outside of Gotham City and away from Batman. Dick Grayson's character has probably evolved as much as any other character in any comic book. He went from Bruce Wayne's young ward, to Batman's sidekick, to a member of the Teen Titans, to the leader of the Titans, to a very successful solo hero in his own right. Dick proved that you could take an established character(Robin) and re-package them into something even better(Nightwing).
Honorable Mention
7. Jean Grey- She was always the backbone of the X-Men, and her presence is sorely missed in the X-comics right now. Emma Frost isn't half the woman Jean was.
8.Steve Rogers- The original Captain America. What more needs to be said? Cap is, was, and always will be an icon in comic books. There are not many people out there with the unwavering moral compass Cap possessed. He always did what was right, no matter how unpopular it may have been.
9.Deathstroke the Terminator- Deathstroke is probably one of the smartest villains in either Universe. Not only could he beat almost any hero hand to hand, he is a meticulous planner, oftentimes able to outsmart his opponents as well as outfight them, a deadly combination.
10.Tabitha Smith- I much rather her codename Meltdown to the other ones. Anyway, I've always liked her attitude. Tabby was just one of those girls that you knew not to mess with. I've always liked Tabitha, but hated Jubilee which is kind of funny, since they are both cut from the same cloth... Go figure.
11.Cannonball- I've always liked Sam and the entire Guthrie clan. He was always such a sincere, salt of the Earth type of guy. Sam was always the hardest worker on whatever team he was on, and I always respected that.
I could literally go on and on here, because the more I write, the more I remember other characters that I would have liked to add to the list. I think it would be best to stop here, or I'll be writing all night.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear about some characters that other people consider to be their favorites, that way, I'll have new characters to read about! Or, even if you hated some of my choices, I'd love to hear about that as well, maybe I could sway you to agree with me! Anyway, if you managed to get through this giant post, congratulations and thanks!
Oh Bart... How I miss you...
Man, this picture sure twists the knife... Here we have Bart Allen, seeing an old photo of his grandfather Barry in full Flash regalia for I believe the first time. Just the image of Bart literally looking up to Barry is very moving to me. From this moment on, I think Bart began to really understand the importance of the Flash legacy. Unfortunately, it was that legacy that ultimately took Bart's life..... Nightwing #60
Overall- OK, Officer Grayson finally gets himself a full badge, and is now officially a cop in Bludhaven. So, who does he end up with as a partner? None other then the Sgt. who was training him, Amy.
Amy invites him to dinner, which freaks Dick out because he and Babs are dating now. Sgt. Amy pulls rank on him and "orders" him to stop by her place later on. Dick tells Babs, who gives him the OK to go, but to remember who he was dating... Over at Sgt. Amy's, Dick discovers she not only has kids, but a husband as well. Relieved, Dick spends time with Amy and family, before taking off.
The next day, Sgt. Amy tests Dick to see if he's dirty, and after being satisfied that he wasn't invites him to join a secret cabal of clean cops in Bludhaven. Ha! The clean cops are so few that they have to hold secret meetings in churches! I love Bludhaven! Anyway, Dick happily accepts the invitation to join the clean cops, who are secretly putting evidence together to hand over to the feds.
I liked this development. I thought it was awfully convenient that one of the few clean cops in Bludhaven hook up with Dick, but whatever, it advances the storyline, so I'm happy. Another good issue, another 7 out of 10.
Amy invites him to dinner, which freaks Dick out because he and Babs are dating now. Sgt. Amy pulls rank on him and "orders" him to stop by her place later on. Dick tells Babs, who gives him the OK to go, but to remember who he was dating... Over at Sgt. Amy's, Dick discovers she not only has kids, but a husband as well. Relieved, Dick spends time with Amy and family, before taking off.
The next day, Sgt. Amy tests Dick to see if he's dirty, and after being satisfied that he wasn't invites him to join a secret cabal of clean cops in Bludhaven. Ha! The clean cops are so few that they have to hold secret meetings in churches! I love Bludhaven! Anyway, Dick happily accepts the invitation to join the clean cops, who are secretly putting evidence together to hand over to the feds.
I liked this development. I thought it was awfully convenient that one of the few clean cops in Bludhaven hook up with Dick, but whatever, it advances the storyline, so I'm happy. Another good issue, another 7 out of 10.
Nightwing #59
Overall- This issue was basically just a quick story about the only other mafia boss in Bludhaven(besides Blockbuster) Freddy Minh. Freddy is the the undisputed drug lord of the 'Haven, but nobody has ever laid eyes on him, Nightwing included.
Dick finally has enough and decides he is going to find Freddy and bring him to justice. Unfortunately, Freddy's underlings are terrified of ratting out their boss and won't help Dick, no matter what he threatens them with. Dick finally decides the only way to get info on Freddy is right at his house, which is a variable fortress.
Dick manages to gain access, and makes his way into a secret lab in the basement, where several doctor's are working on babies. Dick is confronted by Freddy's wife, who tells him that she killed Freddy long ago, but has kept his name alive, because of the fear it instilled into everyone on the streets of Bludhaven.
She then tells Dick that the babies are hers, created with some of Freddy's umm... Lets say "genetic materials" and leave it at that. Dick, having his answers concerning the where abouts of Freddy, leaves, not having any way of proving anything Freddy's wife told him. Heh heh heh... I liked this issue. I could see the twist coming with Freddy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless when it was revealed. I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10.
Dick finally has enough and decides he is going to find Freddy and bring him to justice. Unfortunately, Freddy's underlings are terrified of ratting out their boss and won't help Dick, no matter what he threatens them with. Dick finally decides the only way to get info on Freddy is right at his house, which is a variable fortress.
Dick manages to gain access, and makes his way into a secret lab in the basement, where several doctor's are working on babies. Dick is confronted by Freddy's wife, who tells him that she killed Freddy long ago, but has kept his name alive, because of the fear it instilled into everyone on the streets of Bludhaven.
She then tells Dick that the babies are hers, created with some of Freddy's umm... Lets say "genetic materials" and leave it at that. Dick, having his answers concerning the where abouts of Freddy, leaves, not having any way of proving anything Freddy's wife told him. Heh heh heh... I liked this issue. I could see the twist coming with Freddy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless when it was revealed. I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10.
Nightwing #58
Overall- This issue was the conclusion to the story with Shrike. It was all pretty paint by numbers, basic stuff actually. Shrike and Dick fight. Black Canary comes to the rescue. Canary winds up in deadly peril. Dick manages to save Canary and defeat the bad guy. End of story.
Well, obviously it wasn't THAT simplistic, but I was kind of hoping for a little more considering this was the conclusion to the story line with Shrike. Considering all the damage Dick had taken before his dramatic battle with Shrike, Dick really beat Shrike easily... I mean, Shrike had been shown to be this ultimate fighting machine, and then wham, Dick beats him in like 6 panels...
The issue ended with Dick and Babs sharing a kiss, which means they're an item now? With the two of them, I can never be too sure. Oh, one other thing, if they wanted to have a woman in peril for this issue, should it really have been Dinah? She's not exactly a pushover. In hand to hand combat, I would think she ranks within the top 10 in the DC Universe. Meh. I was kind of expecting better from this issue, but to me everything seemed rushed. I give it a 5 out of 10, which might just be the lowest score I've given any of the Nightwings I've read.
Well, obviously it wasn't THAT simplistic, but I was kind of hoping for a little more considering this was the conclusion to the story line with Shrike. Considering all the damage Dick had taken before his dramatic battle with Shrike, Dick really beat Shrike easily... I mean, Shrike had been shown to be this ultimate fighting machine, and then wham, Dick beats him in like 6 panels...
The issue ended with Dick and Babs sharing a kiss, which means they're an item now? With the two of them, I can never be too sure. Oh, one other thing, if they wanted to have a woman in peril for this issue, should it really have been Dinah? She's not exactly a pushover. In hand to hand combat, I would think she ranks within the top 10 in the DC Universe. Meh. I was kind of expecting better from this issue, but to me everything seemed rushed. I give it a 5 out of 10, which might just be the lowest score I've given any of the Nightwings I've read.
Classic Lex Luthor.
This took place when Lex thought Superman was Supernova, a masked hero. It gives me a chuckle, because it goes such a long way in showing what an egomaniac Lex really is! EVERYTHING has to be about him!
Nightwing #57
Overall- OK, this Shrike is someone from a comic called Robin:Year One. I'll have to be on the look out for that one. Anyway, this issue deals with the aftermath of Dick getting captured and unmasked by Shrike. Not only that, but he takes Dick's fingerprints, in order to discover his secret identity, and through that the identity of Batman.
Luckily, Babara Gordon has a computer program that feeds a false name to anybody who tries to run a scan of one of the Bat families prints. Now that Babs knows something has happened to Dick, she gets Black Canary, and the two of them go looking for Dick.
Dick manages to escape his imprisonment and beat up most of Shrike's ninja cronies, but as he confronts Shrike, he realizes there a LOT more ninjas then he originally thought. A good fun issue, that shows that Babs is really the backbone of the Bat family. She has so many measures in place looking out for Batman and his allies that without her, I think they'd all be dead by now. Fun read, that I'll score a 7 out of 10.
Luckily, Babara Gordon has a computer program that feeds a false name to anybody who tries to run a scan of one of the Bat families prints. Now that Babs knows something has happened to Dick, she gets Black Canary, and the two of them go looking for Dick.
Dick manages to escape his imprisonment and beat up most of Shrike's ninja cronies, but as he confronts Shrike, he realizes there a LOT more ninjas then he originally thought. A good fun issue, that shows that Babs is really the backbone of the Bat family. She has so many measures in place looking out for Batman and his allies that without her, I think they'd all be dead by now. Fun read, that I'll score a 7 out of 10.
Madelyne Pryor. Who she is and why you should pity her.
So, it seems that Madelyne Pryor is back to life and looking to wreak havoc on the lives of the X-Men and Scott Summers. Good. You don't know how much that pleases me. "What does that mean?" you might be asking. Well, I'm glad you asked.
After the death of Jean Grey(her first death, during the Dark Phoenix Saga) Scott quit the X-Men, and went off to deal with the death of the first woman he truly loved. While he was traveling, he ran into a beautiful red-head named Madelyne Pryor. In many ways, she reminded Scott of Jean and the two began to date. In time, Scott proposed to Maddie and they married. Not long after, Maddie became pregnant, and gave birth to a son, Nathan Summers, the man who would become Cable.
Life was almost perfect for Scott, Maddie and Baby Nathan. The three of them moved to Alaska and Scott was practically retired from the X-Men, and had a loving wife and fledgling family. However, this is where the happy part of the story ends. Scott learns that Jean has returned to life, and in one of the real scumbag moves in comic history, ditches Maddie and baby Nathan in Alaska and goes running back to Jean. Scott, along with Jean and the other original X-Men found X-Factor, with Scott barely giving his wife and child any thought at all.
Now, I'd guess that Scott's actions must have disturbed a lot of fans, because Marvel did a 180, and began to paint Maddie as the bad guy. Suddenly, it is revealed that Maddie is the clone of Jean Grey, created by Mr. Sinister, who only needed Maddie around to produce a child with Scott. On top of this revelation, Maddie decides to sacrifice baby Nathan to demons for nearly limitless powers. This all leads to the "Inferno" crossover in the late 80's. At the conclusion, Marvel has Maddie killed off, which oh so conveniently leaves Scott to take his son and get back together with Jean.
So, problem solved. Everyone forgets that Scott ABANDONED his infant son and wife, and we get Maddie out of the way, which gives us the reunification of Scott and Jean... Now, not so fast. Maddie was never originally the clone of Jean Grey. Let's get that out in the open right away. She was a powerless, regular human being. Only after Scott abandons her is she suddenly revealed as being Jean Grey's clone and having powers, which was, I'd guess only done to make Scott seem like less of a scumbag and Maddie look like the bad guy. Maddie's only real crime was that Marvel had to get rid of her in order to reunite Scott and Jean.
This wasn't the end for Maddie, as she was resurrected by Nate Grey, who was in need of a mother figure when he first arrived on our world. Maddie served as his mother figure, until writer Terry Kavanagh took over Nate's X-Man comic. For some horrible reason, one to this day I can't comprehend, he decided to transform the relationship between Nate and Maddie from mother and son into pseudo lovers. That act tarnished both characters, and the less said about that hideous act the better... Anyway, Maddie ends up dying again during the X-Man comic series.
Now it seems Maddie is back again. I personally am hoping that the writers of Uncanny X-Men, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, don't go the conventional path with Maddie's return. I'd much rather see her as a woman who was truly wronged by Scott Summers and lost her child and life thanks to him. Of course, I'm pretty sure all of Scott's horrible actions towards Maddie will be forgotten and Scott will come out looking like the good guy, with Maddie just being another villain. I really and truly hope that this isn't the case. Maddie deserves much better.
After the death of Jean Grey(her first death, during the Dark Phoenix Saga) Scott quit the X-Men, and went off to deal with the death of the first woman he truly loved. While he was traveling, he ran into a beautiful red-head named Madelyne Pryor. In many ways, she reminded Scott of Jean and the two began to date. In time, Scott proposed to Maddie and they married. Not long after, Maddie became pregnant, and gave birth to a son, Nathan Summers, the man who would become Cable.
Life was almost perfect for Scott, Maddie and Baby Nathan. The three of them moved to Alaska and Scott was practically retired from the X-Men, and had a loving wife and fledgling family. However, this is where the happy part of the story ends. Scott learns that Jean has returned to life, and in one of the real scumbag moves in comic history, ditches Maddie and baby Nathan in Alaska and goes running back to Jean. Scott, along with Jean and the other original X-Men found X-Factor, with Scott barely giving his wife and child any thought at all.
Now, I'd guess that Scott's actions must have disturbed a lot of fans, because Marvel did a 180, and began to paint Maddie as the bad guy. Suddenly, it is revealed that Maddie is the clone of Jean Grey, created by Mr. Sinister, who only needed Maddie around to produce a child with Scott. On top of this revelation, Maddie decides to sacrifice baby Nathan to demons for nearly limitless powers. This all leads to the "Inferno" crossover in the late 80's. At the conclusion, Marvel has Maddie killed off, which oh so conveniently leaves Scott to take his son and get back together with Jean.
So, problem solved. Everyone forgets that Scott ABANDONED his infant son and wife, and we get Maddie out of the way, which gives us the reunification of Scott and Jean... Now, not so fast. Maddie was never originally the clone of Jean Grey. Let's get that out in the open right away. She was a powerless, regular human being. Only after Scott abandons her is she suddenly revealed as being Jean Grey's clone and having powers, which was, I'd guess only done to make Scott seem like less of a scumbag and Maddie look like the bad guy. Maddie's only real crime was that Marvel had to get rid of her in order to reunite Scott and Jean.
This wasn't the end for Maddie, as she was resurrected by Nate Grey, who was in need of a mother figure when he first arrived on our world. Maddie served as his mother figure, until writer Terry Kavanagh took over Nate's X-Man comic. For some horrible reason, one to this day I can't comprehend, he decided to transform the relationship between Nate and Maddie from mother and son into pseudo lovers. That act tarnished both characters, and the less said about that hideous act the better... Anyway, Maddie ends up dying again during the X-Man comic series.
Now it seems Maddie is back again. I personally am hoping that the writers of Uncanny X-Men, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, don't go the conventional path with Maddie's return. I'd much rather see her as a woman who was truly wronged by Scott Summers and lost her child and life thanks to him. Of course, I'm pretty sure all of Scott's horrible actions towards Maddie will be forgotten and Scott will come out looking like the good guy, with Maddie just being another villain. I really and truly hope that this isn't the case. Maddie deserves much better.
Uncanny X-men #503
After this issue, I'm FINALLY caught up with this series!
Overall- What!!! Did somebody actually remember that Sam Guthrie had a brother who was brutally murdered practically right under the X-Men's noses?!?! I was always a fan of the Guthrie clan and Jay Guthrie's death still pisses me off to no end. His death served no purpose what so ever. It didn't help do anything. I'm so glad to see Sam actually you know, acknowledge it. For God's sake, if my own flesh and blood brother was murdered, I think I flip out completely. Sam practically raised Jay, thanks to their father dying and Sam didn't seem bothered at all by Jay's murder. On the contrary, the x-comics acted like everything was business as usual. It's about time Sam shows some emotion for his slain brother... It only took about 3 years...
So, the X-Men, or more specifically Pixie, took down the rampaging Empath. The X-Men winning battles does not please me. Wow, I sound like Magneto now. I'm fine with Pixie on the team, but there were tons of better students at the old Academy then her to take up a spot on this team. You know, like the kid I just mentioned, Jay Guthrie? Or better yet, how about Laurie Collins? Oh yeah, that's right, she was also killed for no ####ING GOOD REASON!!! Woooo. Calm down buddy... Ok, I'm back. We also find out that it seems that it is Madelyne Pryor who is the Red Queen.
I'm completely fine with this decision(I'd have preferred Jean, but Maddie's close enough), and I hope she kills Emma off and then beats Scott to death with her bare hands. I'm just really glad the Red Queen didn't turn out to be another Emma Frost. I couldn't have handled that... Since Maddie is back, I'll be ultra nice and give this issue a 7 out of 10.
Overall- What!!! Did somebody actually remember that Sam Guthrie had a brother who was brutally murdered practically right under the X-Men's noses?!?! I was always a fan of the Guthrie clan and Jay Guthrie's death still pisses me off to no end. His death served no purpose what so ever. It didn't help do anything. I'm so glad to see Sam actually you know, acknowledge it. For God's sake, if my own flesh and blood brother was murdered, I think I flip out completely. Sam practically raised Jay, thanks to their father dying and Sam didn't seem bothered at all by Jay's murder. On the contrary, the x-comics acted like everything was business as usual. It's about time Sam shows some emotion for his slain brother... It only took about 3 years...
So, the X-Men, or more specifically Pixie, took down the rampaging Empath. The X-Men winning battles does not please me. Wow, I sound like Magneto now. I'm fine with Pixie on the team, but there were tons of better students at the old Academy then her to take up a spot on this team. You know, like the kid I just mentioned, Jay Guthrie? Or better yet, how about Laurie Collins? Oh yeah, that's right, she was also killed for no ####ING GOOD REASON!!! Woooo. Calm down buddy... Ok, I'm back. We also find out that it seems that it is Madelyne Pryor who is the Red Queen.
I'm completely fine with this decision(I'd have preferred Jean, but Maddie's close enough), and I hope she kills Emma off and then beats Scott to death with her bare hands. I'm just really glad the Red Queen didn't turn out to be another Emma Frost. I couldn't have handled that... Since Maddie is back, I'll be ultra nice and give this issue a 7 out of 10.
Uncanny X-men #502
Overall- Right off the bat I had to laugh at the caption describing Wolverine as "nearly invincible". Nearly invincible?!?!?! Wolverine is INVINCIBLE. He can't be killed! He was blown up by Nitro not that long ago, and regenerated from a ####ing skeleton! If that doesn't qualify you as invincible, I just don't know what will...
Bah! The X-Men were the ones getting in all the shots in this issue. I want them to lose... Oh well. The X-chumps discover the location of the Hellfire Cult(as they are now calling themselves) and attack. Thankfully, Empath brings some pain to them as he makes his escape.
Before the X-Men attack, the Red Queen(please be Jean Grey, please)forces Empath to tell her all about Emma Frost, then proceeds to look just like her... OK... So the Red Queen is either Jean, Maddie Pryor, Emma Frost, Lady Mastermind or maybe Mystique. Or, of course someone else altogether. My money is on a new character or another Emma Frost, because Marvel hates me and wants me to be miserable.
Yep, I can see it now. The big reveal is that the Red Queen is another Emma Frost. I think that's about the time I take a hot poker to my eyes! All in all, I would have liked to see the X-Men take a beating, but that didn't happen. The story was good and has me interested in the identity of the Red Queen, which is nice, since I haven't really cared too much about the X-titles lately. At least she gives me a reason to pay attention here. Overall this issue gets a 7 out of 10.
Bah! The X-Men were the ones getting in all the shots in this issue. I want them to lose... Oh well. The X-chumps discover the location of the Hellfire Cult(as they are now calling themselves) and attack. Thankfully, Empath brings some pain to them as he makes his escape.
Before the X-Men attack, the Red Queen(please be Jean Grey, please)forces Empath to tell her all about Emma Frost, then proceeds to look just like her... OK... So the Red Queen is either Jean, Maddie Pryor, Emma Frost, Lady Mastermind or maybe Mystique. Or, of course someone else altogether. My money is on a new character or another Emma Frost, because Marvel hates me and wants me to be miserable.
Yep, I can see it now. The big reveal is that the Red Queen is another Emma Frost. I think that's about the time I take a hot poker to my eyes! All in all, I would have liked to see the X-Men take a beating, but that didn't happen. The story was good and has me interested in the identity of the Red Queen, which is nice, since I haven't really cared too much about the X-titles lately. At least she gives me a reason to pay attention here. Overall this issue gets a 7 out of 10.
Uncanny X-men #501
Overall- Here we go, with my all new, all X-Men hating "Uncanny" review! Cyclops is still not acting like himself, which other characters are starting to pick up on, so at least it's not just me. Certain comic characters are supposed to act in certain ways. Batman isn't suddenly going to start cracking wise like Spider-Man, and Scott shouldn't be this uber relaxed leader. It's just not natural...
Anyway, we have the newest incarnation of the Hellfire Club sending out their foot soldiers to beat and terrorize mutants. Unfortunately, they beat up Pixie(leave the mutant kids alone already!!!!!!!!!), who manages to return to the X-Men to tell them what's going on.
The X-Men don't take kindly to this and decide to get answers. For me, the most intriguing aspect of this issue was Empath being shown as the person responsible for inciting the violence which was leading to the attacks against his fellow mutants. He was working under the orders of a striking red head called the Red Queen... Could it be my lost, lamented Jean Grey? Has she turned to evil to strike back at those who betrayed her, Scott and Emma? Probably not, but one can still dream. My guess is it's Madelyne Pryor, or someone altogether new. Anyway, here's hoping whoever she is, she beats the hell out of the X-Men! This comic gets a 6 out of 10.
Anyway, we have the newest incarnation of the Hellfire Club sending out their foot soldiers to beat and terrorize mutants. Unfortunately, they beat up Pixie(leave the mutant kids alone already!!!!!!!!!), who manages to return to the X-Men to tell them what's going on.
The X-Men don't take kindly to this and decide to get answers. For me, the most intriguing aspect of this issue was Empath being shown as the person responsible for inciting the violence which was leading to the attacks against his fellow mutants. He was working under the orders of a striking red head called the Red Queen... Could it be my lost, lamented Jean Grey? Has she turned to evil to strike back at those who betrayed her, Scott and Emma? Probably not, but one can still dream. My guess is it's Madelyne Pryor, or someone altogether new. Anyway, here's hoping whoever she is, she beats the hell out of the X-Men! This comic gets a 6 out of 10.
Uncanny X-men #500
Overall- Hmmm... I really hate the X-Men... Not the comic, but the team. I truly hate the way Cyclops has been written as of late. He isn't Scott Summers anymore... I don't know what he is now. The Cyclops I know doesn't crack jokes and parade the fact that he is a mutant around for all to know. Cyclops is a sullen, angst-ridden leader, who is competent, but stone cold serious.
This comic was all wrong to me! Nobody behaved in the way I'd expect them to. Well, except for Magneto. Am I a bad person for rooting Mags on during the battle? I wanted him to just wipe the floor with these so called "X-Men". I wanted him to maim and kill them. Naturally he lost, as per usual, but it was such a thrill to witness Magneto back again at the height of his abilities.
I can tell these next few issues of Uncanny are going to be funny, because I'm going to be rooting hard for the bad guy's to kill these "X-Men". As far as I am concerned, all the current X-Men are Skrulls, and the real X-Men are just sitting around waiting to come back.
As I said before, I will never stop collecting Marvel Comics. I just can't. When you love something, no matter what it does to you, you just can't let it go. That's me. I just can't stop reading these comics, because it is my real hope that things will go back to normal again and I want to be there for that day.
This comic, with the exception of the Magneto battle and his alliance with the High Evolutionary, really disappointed me. I really was hoping for something much bigger in issue 500 then what was here. You know, maybe a Jean Grey resurrection??? I've been really patient, but it's time. Bring back Jean dammit! Issue #500 would have been the perfect time to do it, but alas, it was not to be... Oh well, opportunity lost. To me this issue was only a 4 out of 10, and that was only thanks to Mags showing up. The rest really sucked.
This comic was all wrong to me! Nobody behaved in the way I'd expect them to. Well, except for Magneto. Am I a bad person for rooting Mags on during the battle? I wanted him to just wipe the floor with these so called "X-Men". I wanted him to maim and kill them. Naturally he lost, as per usual, but it was such a thrill to witness Magneto back again at the height of his abilities.
I can tell these next few issues of Uncanny are going to be funny, because I'm going to be rooting hard for the bad guy's to kill these "X-Men". As far as I am concerned, all the current X-Men are Skrulls, and the real X-Men are just sitting around waiting to come back.
As I said before, I will never stop collecting Marvel Comics. I just can't. When you love something, no matter what it does to you, you just can't let it go. That's me. I just can't stop reading these comics, because it is my real hope that things will go back to normal again and I want to be there for that day.
This comic, with the exception of the Magneto battle and his alliance with the High Evolutionary, really disappointed me. I really was hoping for something much bigger in issue 500 then what was here. You know, maybe a Jean Grey resurrection??? I've been really patient, but it's time. Bring back Jean dammit! Issue #500 would have been the perfect time to do it, but alas, it was not to be... Oh well, opportunity lost. To me this issue was only a 4 out of 10, and that was only thanks to Mags showing up. The rest really sucked.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Uncanny X-men #499
Overall- So, it was (Lady) Mastermind, or one of them anyway, who was behind the fun in San Fran. This was the issue that set up the X-Men's big move to San Fran, thanks to Angel saving the mayor of the city. I don't really get WHY the X-Men are moving out to the West Coast, X-Mansion is as much a part of the team as any member, but here we go anyway...
I was happy with this story, I didn't love it, but it was OK. I liked the battle with Omega Red, but I was always a fan of Red's so I was just glad to see him again. I know that I'm being kind of short with my reviews of these comics, but it's just so hard to get into the X-Universe right now...
I pine for the X-Men I grew up reading about... The outlaw mutants, saving a humanity that hated and feared them. Not the X-Men who allowed Sentinel's to stand guard on their own front lawn... That idea was so ludicrous that I can still barely acknowledge it... ####ing Sentinel's protecting the X-MEN!!!! Insane... Hopefully the upcoming issue's, including #500 can bring some of my interest back to my former favorite comic book. This comic gets a score of 6 out of 10 from me.
I was happy with this story, I didn't love it, but it was OK. I liked the battle with Omega Red, but I was always a fan of Red's so I was just glad to see him again. I know that I'm being kind of short with my reviews of these comics, but it's just so hard to get into the X-Universe right now...
I pine for the X-Men I grew up reading about... The outlaw mutants, saving a humanity that hated and feared them. Not the X-Men who allowed Sentinel's to stand guard on their own front lawn... That idea was so ludicrous that I can still barely acknowledge it... ####ing Sentinel's protecting the X-MEN!!!! Insane... Hopefully the upcoming issue's, including #500 can bring some of my interest back to my former favorite comic book. This comic gets a score of 6 out of 10 from me.
Uncanny X-men #498
Overall- Huh, it's been about 5 months since I read an issue of Uncanny... That really says A LOT about my current feelings towards what's happened to my beloved mutants. When I was a little kid, first cutting my teeth on comic books(no, not literally), all I would read were the 4 X-titles that were out at the time, Uncanny, X-Men, Force and Factor. When I came back to comics again a few years ago, it was the X-titles that drew me back in. I may have been in the minority, but I loved Morrison's New X-Men and yes, even Austen's Uncanny team. Now, I barely even want to crack open an X-title... Even one written by the superb Ed Brubaker. Damn you Joe Quesada!!! Bring back my mutants!!! I much rather preferred the Marvel Universe chock full of muties, as opposed to the paltry 198 we now have... Anyway, enough complaining about the past, onto this issue.
I liked this comic. We get to see more about this Goddess character in San Fran, and Wolvie and co. make their escape from the Russians. The Goddess stuff I'll comment more on after I read the next issue, but I was delighted to see Omega Red show up. Some of my very earliest comic books contained Red's first appearance, I think it was around X-men 4 or so... Overall I was pleased, but I'd expect nothing less from Brubaker. I'll give this issue a 7 out of 10.
I liked this comic. We get to see more about this Goddess character in San Fran, and Wolvie and co. make their escape from the Russians. The Goddess stuff I'll comment more on after I read the next issue, but I was delighted to see Omega Red show up. Some of my very earliest comic books contained Red's first appearance, I think it was around X-men 4 or so... Overall I was pleased, but I'd expect nothing less from Brubaker. I'll give this issue a 7 out of 10.
Some more fun with Black Adam.
I just like anyone who can say with a straight face that they would cheerfully kill someone. It's one thing to say you are going to kill somebody, but to "cheerfully" do it? I can't wait for the Black Adam storyline to begin in JSA!!!
The lighter side of Black Adam.
Just the idea of Black Adam fretting over his hairline receding puts a smile on my face. "Can it be fixed?" HA!!! Oh Black Adam... When you aren't putting your fist through people's skulls, or tearing men in half in front of your embassy, you sure are funny!Nightwing #56
Overall- OK, we finally get Shrike and Nightwing face to face! But before we get to the main event, we have some sub plots to deal with... We find out in this issue that apparently Dick stayed with Babs for quite some time and was discovered by Black Canary, while he was taking a shower. Needless to say, Dick, thoroughly embarrassed, gets the hell out of there.
When Dinah asks Babs exactly what Nightwing was doing at her house and more to the point, in her shower, Babs says they were just "talking", and that nothing happened... She does later admit that she has really fallen hard for Dick, but doesn't elaborate on exactly how far things went, despite Dinah's prodding.
Meanwhile, Shrike tells Blockbuster that he recognizes Nightwing from back in his Robin days, and has some sort of a grudge. Shrike makes his move on Nightwing, luring him into a trap and catching him in a big net covered in fish hooks. Heh heh. I couldn't make that kind of stuff up no matter how hard I try! Anyway, Nightwing, now incapacitated by the net(hahaha...)realizes he knows Shrike, and thought he was dead.
That's what you call a cliffhanger ending boys and girls. All in all, I liked this issue and I must admit, any villain who literally throws a net with fish hooks at someone has won me over as a fan. Yep, I'm that easy to please! This comic gets a 7 1/2 out of 10
When Dinah asks Babs exactly what Nightwing was doing at her house and more to the point, in her shower, Babs says they were just "talking", and that nothing happened... She does later admit that she has really fallen hard for Dick, but doesn't elaborate on exactly how far things went, despite Dinah's prodding.
Meanwhile, Shrike tells Blockbuster that he recognizes Nightwing from back in his Robin days, and has some sort of a grudge. Shrike makes his move on Nightwing, luring him into a trap and catching him in a big net covered in fish hooks. Heh heh. I couldn't make that kind of stuff up no matter how hard I try! Anyway, Nightwing, now incapacitated by the net(hahaha...)realizes he knows Shrike, and thought he was dead.
That's what you call a cliffhanger ending boys and girls. All in all, I liked this issue and I must admit, any villain who literally throws a net with fish hooks at someone has won me over as a fan. Yep, I'm that easy to please! This comic gets a 7 1/2 out of 10
Nightwing #55
Overall- Once again, a good story. Shrike is being shown as an unstoppable fighting machine to set up his eventual battle with Nightwing. Interestingly, upon being shown photos of Nightwing by Blockbuster, Shrike seems to recognize him... The plot thickens...
We also find out Dick's landlady/"girlfriend"(?) survived almost being electrocuted, which leads Dick to go visit Barbara Gordon to "celebrate" with apparently a kiss... Huh??? I don't know what that was all about...
On top of that, Torque and Nite-Wing plot an escape from jail... I like Torque, but wouldn't mind not ever seeing Nite-Wing again. This issue was good, but seemed to be mainly a story development issue, with a lot of little things happening, but nothing major. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.
We also find out Dick's landlady/"girlfriend"(?) survived almost being electrocuted, which leads Dick to go visit Barbara Gordon to "celebrate" with apparently a kiss... Huh??? I don't know what that was all about...
On top of that, Torque and Nite-Wing plot an escape from jail... I like Torque, but wouldn't mind not ever seeing Nite-Wing again. This issue was good, but seemed to be mainly a story development issue, with a lot of little things happening, but nothing major. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #3
Overall- Meh. If you want to know how I feel about this comic, you're best bet is to read what I had to say about issue #2 of this series. The same basically applies here. I like the Young Avengers. Always did and always will. Same goes for the Runaways. Not even Chris Yost can screw that up, which surprises the hell out of me.
As for this comic, I only read it just to get it finished with. That's not ever a good reason to read something, but that's what I did, so I really just didn't care what happened in it, as long as Yost could hold himself off of murdering teen aged heroes, which happens to be his specialty. Since he was nice enough not to kill half the members of both teams, I'll be nice enough to give this comic a 3 1/2 out of 10. Trust me, that's me being nice...
As for this comic, I only read it just to get it finished with. That's not ever a good reason to read something, but that's what I did, so I really just didn't care what happened in it, as long as Yost could hold himself off of murdering teen aged heroes, which happens to be his specialty. Since he was nice enough not to kill half the members of both teams, I'll be nice enough to give this comic a 3 1/2 out of 10. Trust me, that's me being nice...
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #2
Overall- Just for the record, I did read the first issue of this mini-series, but because of my overwhelming hatred for the "Secret Invasion" in general and Chris Yost in particular, I've left this comic sitting around for a while now. I might as well read it now, seeing as that I did buy it... I also did love the Young Avengers, that is when they had a comic!!!
My hatred for the writing of Yost has been constant, and as far as I am concerned, he is indicative of everything wrong with Marvel Comics right now... With that being said, this comic was not as bad as it could have been. That's about the nicest thing I can possibly say about anything penned by Chris Yost, the man who destroyed one of my favorite comics... I really couldn't give a #### about this mini-series or "Secret Invasion" but this comic was OK.
I know, I know... I'm sure someone out there is thinking, "If he hates this comic/crossover/writer/company, why is he buying the comics?". Deep down in my heart, I am and will always be a fan of Marvel Comics, the REAL Marvel Comics, not the bull#### Joe Quesada (Marvel's Editor in Chief) is force feeding us and I just can't bring myself to stop collecting Marvel Comics no matter how horrible it all gets. I guess Marvel has become like a terrible car wreck on the side of the road for me... No matter how much I know I shouldn't look, I look anyway.
Anyway, for me this comic is a 4 out of 10, a score that could be considered a minor miracle, considering how much this comic had going against it.
My hatred for the writing of Yost has been constant, and as far as I am concerned, he is indicative of everything wrong with Marvel Comics right now... With that being said, this comic was not as bad as it could have been. That's about the nicest thing I can possibly say about anything penned by Chris Yost, the man who destroyed one of my favorite comics... I really couldn't give a #### about this mini-series or "Secret Invasion" but this comic was OK.
I know, I know... I'm sure someone out there is thinking, "If he hates this comic/crossover/writer/company, why is he buying the comics?". Deep down in my heart, I am and will always be a fan of Marvel Comics, the REAL Marvel Comics, not the bull#### Joe Quesada (Marvel's Editor in Chief) is force feeding us and I just can't bring myself to stop collecting Marvel Comics no matter how horrible it all gets. I guess Marvel has become like a terrible car wreck on the side of the road for me... No matter how much I know I shouldn't look, I look anyway.
Anyway, for me this comic is a 4 out of 10, a score that could be considered a minor miracle, considering how much this comic had going against it.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
DC Universe: Last Will and Testament #1
Overall- I haven't read any of the Final Crisis comics yet, they're sitting in a pile in my bedroom, but I figured I'd give this comic a read. It didn't have the Final Crisis crossover banner on it so I figured I could get away with reading this without spoiling the rest of the series for myself. Plus the fact that Brad Meltzer wrote it helped sway me to read it...
This comic put me in the funny position of not knowing exactly what to write about it. It made me really think after I put it down. What exactly would I do if I thought it was my last day alive... It's an interesting premise and it was interesting to see what each character planned to do with their last day on earth.
Some of it I totally agreed with, Wally with his family for example. While some of it I didn't see at all, Ollie wanted to be a babysitter instead of spending his final hours with Dinah? Wouldn't Roy rather be spending the time with just Lian? Other parts really made me smile though. Nightwing going to spend his time with Bats and Robin as opposed to his parents grave/Starfire really made me happy. I HATED Dick and Starfire's relationship and was glad to see him stay away from her.
All in all, this comic solidified, for me anyway, how well Meltzer writes Deathstroke the Terminator. Deathstroke is probably one of, if not my favorite DC villain, and Meltzer just writes him perfectly. Slade is a calculating, evil, vicious man. He isn't the kind of bad guy who'd stand atop a tall building calling out his enemies while rubbing his hands together and laughing manically. Slade would craft the perfect plan to defeat his enemy, then he'd go about enacting it silently. It's the smart, quiet one's you have to fear, not the loud obnoxious ones. Slade was at his @$$-kicking, evil best here. He is just one heartless SOB. Telling Geoforce he was no different then his "whore sister" did it for me. Here was poor Geoforce, pinned to a dumpster, failing his mission to avenge his sister and bleeding profusely. What does Slade do? He stands there with a condescending smile, telling Geoforce that he was and always would be a failure...
Jeez, I wanted to reach into the comic book and slug Slade myself! THAT is a real villain. A lot of times, you read a comic book and the villain just makes you roll your eyes or out and out laugh at them, but Meltzer does a fantastic job of really making you HATE Deathstroke. He's not nice. He's not likable. He's evil and that's the point. You are supposed to hate him. Meltzer does a brilliant job of eliciting this response. Even as a fan of Deathstroke, I wanted to see him lose. That's when you know a writer has done his job.
Ummmm, needless to say I recommend this comic book highly. I give it a 9 out of 10 very easily. If you are a fan of Deathstroke or even if you hate his guts, this comic is WELL worth a read.
This comic put me in the funny position of not knowing exactly what to write about it. It made me really think after I put it down. What exactly would I do if I thought it was my last day alive... It's an interesting premise and it was interesting to see what each character planned to do with their last day on earth.
Some of it I totally agreed with, Wally with his family for example. While some of it I didn't see at all, Ollie wanted to be a babysitter instead of spending his final hours with Dinah? Wouldn't Roy rather be spending the time with just Lian? Other parts really made me smile though. Nightwing going to spend his time with Bats and Robin as opposed to his parents grave/Starfire really made me happy. I HATED Dick and Starfire's relationship and was glad to see him stay away from her.
All in all, this comic solidified, for me anyway, how well Meltzer writes Deathstroke the Terminator. Deathstroke is probably one of, if not my favorite DC villain, and Meltzer just writes him perfectly. Slade is a calculating, evil, vicious man. He isn't the kind of bad guy who'd stand atop a tall building calling out his enemies while rubbing his hands together and laughing manically. Slade would craft the perfect plan to defeat his enemy, then he'd go about enacting it silently. It's the smart, quiet one's you have to fear, not the loud obnoxious ones. Slade was at his @$$-kicking, evil best here. He is just one heartless SOB. Telling Geoforce he was no different then his "whore sister" did it for me. Here was poor Geoforce, pinned to a dumpster, failing his mission to avenge his sister and bleeding profusely. What does Slade do? He stands there with a condescending smile, telling Geoforce that he was and always would be a failure...
Jeez, I wanted to reach into the comic book and slug Slade myself! THAT is a real villain. A lot of times, you read a comic book and the villain just makes you roll your eyes or out and out laugh at them, but Meltzer does a fantastic job of really making you HATE Deathstroke. He's not nice. He's not likable. He's evil and that's the point. You are supposed to hate him. Meltzer does a brilliant job of eliciting this response. Even as a fan of Deathstroke, I wanted to see him lose. That's when you know a writer has done his job.
Ummmm, needless to say I recommend this comic book highly. I give it a 9 out of 10 very easily. If you are a fan of Deathstroke or even if you hate his guts, this comic is WELL worth a read.
Hawkman=Pervert?!?!
Like those giant eyes on Hawkman's helmet aren't creepy enough, he decides to kick his creepiness level up a few notches by spying on Hawkgirl through her bedroom window. Hawkman, you are one disturbing dude...
Nightwing #54
Overall- Yay, another solid, good Nightwing comic book. A lot happened here, so I'm not going to be able to get into it all. Nightwing saves a drowning child, Officer Grayson learns that there is only so much justice a cop can hand out sometimes, so Nightwing shows up to hand out the additional justice. Dick's landlady/"girlfriend" gets electrocuted, corrupt Bludhaven Chief of Police Redhorn returns from "vacation", Dick's Sgt. meets with some mysterious men to chat about him and Blockbuster decides to eliminate Nightwing once and for all.
Whew! On top of that, I'm sure I've missed some things. THAT much happened. Chuck Dixon (the writer of the comic)was really laying out a lot of his plans for the future in this book and quite frankly, the future looks pretty good(or the next couple of issues, because this all happened in the past, so the future of this book is the past... Wow, that was really confusing, let me shut up now...). I'll give this a 8 out of 10 easy.
Whew! On top of that, I'm sure I've missed some things. THAT much happened. Chuck Dixon (the writer of the comic)was really laying out a lot of his plans for the future in this book and quite frankly, the future looks pretty good(or the next couple of issues, because this all happened in the past, so the future of this book is the past... Wow, that was really confusing, let me shut up now...). I'll give this a 8 out of 10 easy.
Nightwing #53
Overall- So, this was a part of a Batman crossover called Officer Down. I didn't know a thing about the crossover until I read this issue. It seems some dirty cop shot Gotham Police Commissioner Gordon, and the various parts of the Bat universe pulled together to find the culprit.
As always, I loved the interaction between Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. They really should have ended up together... Well, they say hope springs eternal, so who knows one day? Then again, who actually SAYS hope springs eternal???
Let me get back on track here. Besides Babs and Dick's interaction, I loved the scene with Batman and Alfred in Commish. Gordon's hospital room. Alfred tore into Bruce verbally, telling him to grow up already, before quitting on him. OUCH!!!!
Jeez, I don't know what was going on in Batman's comics at the time, but Alfred really ripped into Bats here. I've read some Batman comics in my day(not as many as I'd have liked, haven't been able to afford them yet...)and knew that Alfred was occasionally snarky, but after reading that scene all I could think was damn that was harsh!!!
I liked this story enough to decide that I'm going to go out and find the rest of the crossover. That's pretty high praise, so this comic gets a 9 out of 10. Yeah, I'm surprised I rated it that high too!
As always, I loved the interaction between Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. They really should have ended up together... Well, they say hope springs eternal, so who knows one day? Then again, who actually SAYS hope springs eternal???
Let me get back on track here. Besides Babs and Dick's interaction, I loved the scene with Batman and Alfred in Commish. Gordon's hospital room. Alfred tore into Bruce verbally, telling him to grow up already, before quitting on him. OUCH!!!!
Jeez, I don't know what was going on in Batman's comics at the time, but Alfred really ripped into Bats here. I've read some Batman comics in my day(not as many as I'd have liked, haven't been able to afford them yet...)and knew that Alfred was occasionally snarky, but after reading that scene all I could think was damn that was harsh!!!
I liked this story enough to decide that I'm going to go out and find the rest of the crossover. That's pretty high praise, so this comic gets a 9 out of 10. Yeah, I'm surprised I rated it that high too!
Justice League of America # 25
Overall- I'm just going to come right out with it. I don't know what the #### was going on in this comic! Vixen put it best, when in response to Animal Man asking what was going on she said, "Beats the hell out of me. Weird stuff."
I literally didn't have the foggiest idea as to what was going on in like 85% of this comic. By the time I finished reading it, I was dazed and confused and left with a throbbing headache! The villain is a guy named Anansi, who is an African trickster God, so I think he was deliberately trying to make the story as confusing as possible for Vixen, who is the main heroine in this story.
However, in trying to trick/confuse Vixen, Anansi did a hell of a job tricking/confusing me as well! I really can't wait for this storyline to end, which it should next issue, because I'm really lost here... I guess I have to give this comic a 2 out of 10... Now for some aspirin to deal with this headache...
I literally didn't have the foggiest idea as to what was going on in like 85% of this comic. By the time I finished reading it, I was dazed and confused and left with a throbbing headache! The villain is a guy named Anansi, who is an African trickster God, so I think he was deliberately trying to make the story as confusing as possible for Vixen, who is the main heroine in this story.
However, in trying to trick/confuse Vixen, Anansi did a hell of a job tricking/confusing me as well! I really can't wait for this storyline to end, which it should next issue, because I'm really lost here... I guess I have to give this comic a 2 out of 10... Now for some aspirin to deal with this headache...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
X-Factor # 36
Overall- Eh, this comic puts me in an awkward spot... On one hand, Peter David wrote it, so automatically, I should love it, right? Yet, I'm just not fully into the story right now.
Honestly, I think some of the problem is that I don't really like Longshot and David is relying heavily on Longshot in this story. Everytime the team runs into a bit of trouble, it's like they all look at Longshot and he uses his "reading" powers to show them what their next move should be...
I'm also not really too fond of Darwin either... Now, don't get me wrong I don't hate Darwin, but I've always seen him as an unnecessary left over from Deadly Genesis. I LOVED Deadly Genesis, but Darwin just didn't fit into the story. He seemed so uninteresting compared to Vulcan, who I'd much rather have on X-Factor. Granted, I haven't read Deadly Genesis in like 3 years, so my feelings /memory of it might be a little off, but I remember not really getting Darwin's involvement(maybe I should dig that mini-series back out again...).
I guess what I'm saying is that there are a lot of other characters I'd rather see in X-Factor right now then Darwin or Longshot. Since I am an unabashed worshiper of Peter David's writing, even though I'm not really enjoying this story, it gets a 5 1/2 out of 10.
Honestly, I think some of the problem is that I don't really like Longshot and David is relying heavily on Longshot in this story. Everytime the team runs into a bit of trouble, it's like they all look at Longshot and he uses his "reading" powers to show them what their next move should be...
I'm also not really too fond of Darwin either... Now, don't get me wrong I don't hate Darwin, but I've always seen him as an unnecessary left over from Deadly Genesis. I LOVED Deadly Genesis, but Darwin just didn't fit into the story. He seemed so uninteresting compared to Vulcan, who I'd much rather have on X-Factor. Granted, I haven't read Deadly Genesis in like 3 years, so my feelings /memory of it might be a little off, but I remember not really getting Darwin's involvement(maybe I should dig that mini-series back out again...).
I guess what I'm saying is that there are a lot of other characters I'd rather see in X-Factor right now then Darwin or Longshot. Since I am an unabashed worshiper of Peter David's writing, even though I'm not really enjoying this story, it gets a 5 1/2 out of 10.
Oh no Catman, what have you done now?
OK. I'm just going to come right out and say it, it creeps me out when guys run around cutting up other guys while not dressed. Maybe it's just me, but if someone was going to chop me up, I'd prefer it if they kept their pants on, thank you very much! Now, I'll give Catman some leeway here, he was in the wilds of Africa, so if those poachers would have stayed off his grounds, they wouldn't have been hacked up by a nude Catman...
Now, this picture is much harder to defend. We've established that the dumb poachers shouldn't have approached Catman's hunting grounds, and in doing so, they brought down his wraith. That's a given. However, why is Catman's mouth covered in BLOOD? I get the occasional blood splatter here and there, as well as the massive amounts of blood on his hands, but why is there so much blood around his mouth???!!! I mean, he wouldn't be [ahem] drinking the blood of the guys he killed right??? RIGHT!?!?!?! Nightwing #52
I kind of figured maybe I should try to get back to reading these Nightwing's again, you know, since I have like 100 still to go before I'm up to date!!!!
Overall-As usual, I liked this comic. I could just cut and paste that over and over again, because it's almost always true. This was, believe it or not, the first time I read a comic with Catwoman as one of the main characters in the story... I liked her a lot!
I really liked her crazy dream about marrying Bats, it made me laugh, because not only in the dream was Bats of course wearing his cowl, but she was masked too!!! I guess she sees herself more as Catwoman then Selina Kyle. Anyway, since this is Nightwing's book, she heads down to Bludhaven, to steal a diamond, and low and behold, runs into Nightwing, who was expecting a different thief then Catwoman.
After a group of thieves arrive to pinch the diamond, they decide to team up, since Nightwing wants nobody to steal the diamond, and Catwoman wants it for herself. Naturally, since Dick Grayson IS Dick Grayson, he and Selina share a steamy kiss, while they wait to make their move on the other diamond thieves.
In the end, Cats and Dick take out the wannabe thieves and Nightwing keeps Cats from getting her claws on the diamond. I personally would like to see a lot more of Selina in this comic, but since she had her own comic at this time(I think...) I guess that seems unlikely. 7 out of 10, thanks to Dick and Selina's great chemistry.
Overall-As usual, I liked this comic. I could just cut and paste that over and over again, because it's almost always true. This was, believe it or not, the first time I read a comic with Catwoman as one of the main characters in the story... I liked her a lot!
I really liked her crazy dream about marrying Bats, it made me laugh, because not only in the dream was Bats of course wearing his cowl, but she was masked too!!! I guess she sees herself more as Catwoman then Selina Kyle. Anyway, since this is Nightwing's book, she heads down to Bludhaven, to steal a diamond, and low and behold, runs into Nightwing, who was expecting a different thief then Catwoman.
After a group of thieves arrive to pinch the diamond, they decide to team up, since Nightwing wants nobody to steal the diamond, and Catwoman wants it for herself. Naturally, since Dick Grayson IS Dick Grayson, he and Selina share a steamy kiss, while they wait to make their move on the other diamond thieves.
In the end, Cats and Dick take out the wannabe thieves and Nightwing keeps Cats from getting her claws on the diamond. I personally would like to see a lot more of Selina in this comic, but since she had her own comic at this time(I think...) I guess that seems unlikely. 7 out of 10, thanks to Dick and Selina's great chemistry.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Flash #237
Overall- This was an OK comic. It dealt with Linda taking the kids to Metropolis, to go on a scavenger hunt. The target of the hunt was Superman's cape. While Linda and the kids were away, Wally bombed out on a couple of job interviews, as usual.
Wally did wind up helping out Supes against giant robotic Yeti in Alaska, as well as a villain named Livewire(I think...)in Metropolis. In the end, Supes and Flash, along with the kids took down Livewire and the kids didn't take Supes cape, because they considered that to be stealing. Anyway, this comic was completely inoffensive and told an alright story, so I don't have any major gripes about it. I'd give this comic a 6 out of 10.
Wally did wind up helping out Supes against giant robotic Yeti in Alaska, as well as a villain named Livewire(I think...)in Metropolis. In the end, Supes and Flash, along with the kids took down Livewire and the kids didn't take Supes cape, because they considered that to be stealing. Anyway, this comic was completely inoffensive and told an alright story, so I don't have any major gripes about it. I'd give this comic a 6 out of 10.
She can't be that stupid, can she???
I don't know if anybody remembers Kole from the New Teen Titans in the 80's, but I saw this picture and couldn't help but chuckle... First of all, Kole was a real air-head. I'm not saying that to be mean, but she was as dumb as a doornail. Anyway, for those that don't know, the guy next to her is Jericho and he is MUTE! When he was a kid, his throat was slashed by an enemy of his father, which damaged his vocal cords to the extent that he is unable to speak. The best part of this whole thing is that Kole KNOWS that! They were teammates! She knows he's mute! Why the hell would she ask him why he couldn't talk!!! Imagine what poor Jericho must be thinking! Oh well, at least I thought it was funny.... My sense of humor is kind of strange though...
Green Arrow and Black Canary #13
Overall- I have liked this comic from issue #1 and although I will admit the last issue really, really came out of left field(Dr. Sivana???Wha-huh???), I've enjoyed the series as a whole.
This issue was really no different. I liked it. I wasn't in love with it, but I liked it. The date with Speedy and Dodger was OK, even though I don't know how realistic Dodger's reaction was when Mia told him she was HIV positive. His first reaction is to make out with her? That was a wee bit odd...
Speaking of odd, Conner finally seems to be up and about, but remembers very little about his past. Not only that, but when a butcher knife accidentally stabs him through the foot(don't you just hate when that happens?), he pulls the knife out, experiencing no pain. On top of that, the wound closed up immediately after the removal of the knife. Needless to say, Ollie and Dinah figured that he should probably get checked out by some professionals. Yeah, I'd have to agree with them on that one!
I like Conner, I always did. In his own way, he's like the anti-comic book archer. By that, I mean if you look at the characters of Roy Harper, Oliver Queen and Clint Barton, the big three in comic book archery, they all are representative of the same personality type. Brash, attention seeking, womanizing, loud-mouths. Conner is like the polar opposite of the conventional archer prototype. He's more low key, thoughtful and not anything like the other three when it comes to the opposite sex(except for that weird thing with Shado...).
Anyway, I'd like to see Conner return to his former regular self. I don't think we need "Super-Conner" running around with a healing factor and other powers. That is if this is the real Conner and not a clone... I HATE clones... Anyway, on that note, I'd give this issue a 6 1/2 out of 10.
This issue was really no different. I liked it. I wasn't in love with it, but I liked it. The date with Speedy and Dodger was OK, even though I don't know how realistic Dodger's reaction was when Mia told him she was HIV positive. His first reaction is to make out with her? That was a wee bit odd...
Speaking of odd, Conner finally seems to be up and about, but remembers very little about his past. Not only that, but when a butcher knife accidentally stabs him through the foot(don't you just hate when that happens?), he pulls the knife out, experiencing no pain. On top of that, the wound closed up immediately after the removal of the knife. Needless to say, Ollie and Dinah figured that he should probably get checked out by some professionals. Yeah, I'd have to agree with them on that one!
I like Conner, I always did. In his own way, he's like the anti-comic book archer. By that, I mean if you look at the characters of Roy Harper, Oliver Queen and Clint Barton, the big three in comic book archery, they all are representative of the same personality type. Brash, attention seeking, womanizing, loud-mouths. Conner is like the polar opposite of the conventional archer prototype. He's more low key, thoughtful and not anything like the other three when it comes to the opposite sex(except for that weird thing with Shado...).
Anyway, I'd like to see Conner return to his former regular self. I don't think we need "Super-Conner" running around with a healing factor and other powers. That is if this is the real Conner and not a clone... I HATE clones... Anyway, on that note, I'd give this issue a 6 1/2 out of 10.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Secret Six #2
Overall- OK, this issue, like I'd hoped, was a little better then the last. I still don't think this comic is anywhere as good as it could potentially get, but we are moving in an upward motion.
Most of this issue deals with Catman and Batman fighting in Gotham, while the other four members of the team make their move to break Tarantula out of prison and escort her to Gotham. Batman tries to convince Catman to call off the jail break, telling Catman that if his team successfully breaks Tarantula out, a mystery villain named Junior will place a 10 million dollar bounty on the heads of each member of the Six.
Tarantula has a card of some kind that apparently certain villains really want. As for the two main parts of the story, I get that Catman isn't the F-level joke he used to be, but I thought it was a little far fetched that he was able to fight Batman to a relative standstill. No matter what, it is BATMAN, and when it comes to fighting hand to hand, he is probably one of the top 5 fighters in either the DC or Marvel Universes.
I get trying to put Catman over as a tough guy, but, and let me stress that I like Catman, I think Bats should have been able to take him easily... As for the breakout, I was OK with it, although if Bane doesn't use Venom anymore, isn't he just a powerless brawler? I was happy with this issue and will be looking forward to seeing what the next issue has in store. I'd give this comic a 6 out of 10, but I know it can still get much better.
Most of this issue deals with Catman and Batman fighting in Gotham, while the other four members of the team make their move to break Tarantula out of prison and escort her to Gotham. Batman tries to convince Catman to call off the jail break, telling Catman that if his team successfully breaks Tarantula out, a mystery villain named Junior will place a 10 million dollar bounty on the heads of each member of the Six.
Tarantula has a card of some kind that apparently certain villains really want. As for the two main parts of the story, I get that Catman isn't the F-level joke he used to be, but I thought it was a little far fetched that he was able to fight Batman to a relative standstill. No matter what, it is BATMAN, and when it comes to fighting hand to hand, he is probably one of the top 5 fighters in either the DC or Marvel Universes.
I get trying to put Catman over as a tough guy, but, and let me stress that I like Catman, I think Bats should have been able to take him easily... As for the breakout, I was OK with it, although if Bane doesn't use Venom anymore, isn't he just a powerless brawler? I was happy with this issue and will be looking forward to seeing what the next issue has in store. I'd give this comic a 6 out of 10, but I know it can still get much better.
Secret Six #1
Overall- Huh, I'll be... I didn't really like this comic. Which is really strange, because up to now, I've yet to dislike when Gail Simone writes a story about the Six... Oh well, there's a first time for everything.
Scandal was still mourning the death of her lover Knockout, and was very out of character for much of the comic. Catman was going on and on about some vague occurrence in Africa to Deadshot, who couldn't really care less. The flashback's Catman was having about Africa were REALLY weird, involving him killing poachers in the nude, with blood covering his mouth. What the hell was that all about! Ragdoll was hanging around new team member, an incredibly bland Bane. Bane was really boring here... You know, without his mask on, Bane really doesn't look that intimidating. He should make it a habit to always keep his mask on!
The story was kind of all over the place, which I guess is to be expected in the first issue of a new comic/story line. Now, once things get rolling, I'm sure this comic will pick up and the various stories will start to sort out, but right now, I'm just not feeling it. I'd give it a 5 out of 10, while hoping that things start to come together next issue.
Scandal was still mourning the death of her lover Knockout, and was very out of character for much of the comic. Catman was going on and on about some vague occurrence in Africa to Deadshot, who couldn't really care less. The flashback's Catman was having about Africa were REALLY weird, involving him killing poachers in the nude, with blood covering his mouth. What the hell was that all about! Ragdoll was hanging around new team member, an incredibly bland Bane. Bane was really boring here... You know, without his mask on, Bane really doesn't look that intimidating. He should make it a habit to always keep his mask on!
The story was kind of all over the place, which I guess is to be expected in the first issue of a new comic/story line. Now, once things get rolling, I'm sure this comic will pick up and the various stories will start to sort out, but right now, I'm just not feeling it. I'd give it a 5 out of 10, while hoping that things start to come together next issue.
Justice Society of America 19
Overall- Overall, if you call yourself a comic book fan and are not following this series, then you SHOULD be ashamed of yourself! Geoff Johns for my money is one of the few comic book writers who seem able to craft a great story every time out(Ed Brubaker is another).
This comic book from start to finish was almost perfect... Almost. The characters all reacted exactly as you would expect them to act. That's another thing about Johns, the way he KNOWS the characters he is writing about. With that knowledge, he is able to have the characters play off each other perfectly. The disagreement between Hawkman and the older guard, Alan, Jay and Ted was done to perfection.
Hawkman is fine with Gog's actions, including Gog's killing of the soldiers last issue, because as far as Hawkman is concerned, all Gog is really doing is preventing violence from occurring, by any means necessary. So if Gog kills a bunch of murdering, raping scumbags, so what?
The older guard come from the school of thought that killing is never right, especially for a being like Gog, who could have ended the confrontation in several ways that didn't result in the soldiers deaths. As the JSA splintered, Magog, the herald of Gog, sent the JSAers who didn't agree with Gog back home.
Upon arriving back home, they were met by Power Girl, who had finally escaped from Earth-2, but with the Justice Society Infinity chasing right behind her. Oh yeah, one of my favorite villains/anti-heroes Black Adam also showed up in a cameo, believing his dead wife is alive and sending him messages.
If not for the arrival of Power Girl and the JSI at the end of the issue, this comic would have been perfect. The Power Girl stuff, in my opinion, should have stayed on the back burners, since there is already enough going on with Gog. The Earth-2 stuff takes away from main story here, which is undeniably Gog. My overall score for this comic is easy, 9 out of 10!
This comic book from start to finish was almost perfect... Almost. The characters all reacted exactly as you would expect them to act. That's another thing about Johns, the way he KNOWS the characters he is writing about. With that knowledge, he is able to have the characters play off each other perfectly. The disagreement between Hawkman and the older guard, Alan, Jay and Ted was done to perfection.
Hawkman is fine with Gog's actions, including Gog's killing of the soldiers last issue, because as far as Hawkman is concerned, all Gog is really doing is preventing violence from occurring, by any means necessary. So if Gog kills a bunch of murdering, raping scumbags, so what?
The older guard come from the school of thought that killing is never right, especially for a being like Gog, who could have ended the confrontation in several ways that didn't result in the soldiers deaths. As the JSA splintered, Magog, the herald of Gog, sent the JSAers who didn't agree with Gog back home.
Upon arriving back home, they were met by Power Girl, who had finally escaped from Earth-2, but with the Justice Society Infinity chasing right behind her. Oh yeah, one of my favorite villains/anti-heroes Black Adam also showed up in a cameo, believing his dead wife is alive and sending him messages.
If not for the arrival of Power Girl and the JSI at the end of the issue, this comic would have been perfect. The Power Girl stuff, in my opinion, should have stayed on the back burners, since there is already enough going on with Gog. The Earth-2 stuff takes away from main story here, which is undeniably Gog. My overall score for this comic is easy, 9 out of 10!
Mighty Avengers 19
It says "Secret Invasion" on the cover... You know, the Skrulls love to run around saying "He loves you", but I have a funny feeling that in actuality, Joe Quesada hates me...
Overall- Just so you know, right off the bat, I was/am a huge fan of the Grant Morrison version of Marvel Boy. On top of that, the original Captain Marvel is one of the characters I have the most respect for in the Marvel Universe.
That might sound weird, respecting a comic book character, but reading about his life and death made me respect him immensely. With that being said, I STILL consider this Captain Marvel to be one of the WORST abominations that Marvel has ever come up with. A Skrull pretending to be Captain Marvel is insulting on too many levels to even count.
When Marvel Boy was brought out of mothballs during the Civil War last year, I was happy to see him again, being as I said, a fan of the character. However, now that Brain Bendis has his hands on the character, I shudder to think of what will wind up happening to him...
It's funny, because I started out as a huge fan of Bendis, I loved his work on Ultimate Spider-Man for about the first 70 issues or so and I generally enjoyed his Avengers Disassembled storyline, even though there were enough plot holes to fly an airplane through. I also thought House of M was a good story, up until the asinine ending. However, Bendis seems to have made a habit of completely ignoring what has occurred in previous/older comic books and gone on to do whatever he's wanted to, continuity be damned.
I'll continue to read about the Avengers, even though Bendis is slowly destroying everything they were originally based on, because I am and always will be a fan of the Avengers. I'm just hoping that Marvel Boy gets out of this mess called "Secret Invasion" intact and winds up far away from Bendis... Anyone who knows anything about me knows of my blind hatred of "Secret Invasion", so although Marvel Boy appears in this comic, I can't give it a grade higher then 3 out of 10.
Overall- Just so you know, right off the bat, I was/am a huge fan of the Grant Morrison version of Marvel Boy. On top of that, the original Captain Marvel is one of the characters I have the most respect for in the Marvel Universe.
That might sound weird, respecting a comic book character, but reading about his life and death made me respect him immensely. With that being said, I STILL consider this Captain Marvel to be one of the WORST abominations that Marvel has ever come up with. A Skrull pretending to be Captain Marvel is insulting on too many levels to even count.
When Marvel Boy was brought out of mothballs during the Civil War last year, I was happy to see him again, being as I said, a fan of the character. However, now that Brain Bendis has his hands on the character, I shudder to think of what will wind up happening to him...
It's funny, because I started out as a huge fan of Bendis, I loved his work on Ultimate Spider-Man for about the first 70 issues or so and I generally enjoyed his Avengers Disassembled storyline, even though there were enough plot holes to fly an airplane through. I also thought House of M was a good story, up until the asinine ending. However, Bendis seems to have made a habit of completely ignoring what has occurred in previous/older comic books and gone on to do whatever he's wanted to, continuity be damned.
I'll continue to read about the Avengers, even though Bendis is slowly destroying everything they were originally based on, because I am and always will be a fan of the Avengers. I'm just hoping that Marvel Boy gets out of this mess called "Secret Invasion" intact and winds up far away from Bendis... Anyone who knows anything about me knows of my blind hatred of "Secret Invasion", so although Marvel Boy appears in this comic, I can't give it a grade higher then 3 out of 10.
Secret Six: Six Degrees to Devestation.
I think I'll change the way I do my comic reviews, starting with this one on. Not that it matters, because the only person who will ever see this is probably me!!!
Overall- I read this comic right after taking a history midterm. Heh, midterms in October, you gotta love college! Hopefully I don't mix up this TPB with my early American History stuff...
I like this team a lot. I like the way Gail Simone writes about each one. Every character had there own chance to shine here, and that's what I really like about her writing style. No one character is relegated to the background. Catman, as the leader of the team, gets a good amount of face time, but all the other characters also have their moments where we get to see what they are made of. We even find out that Deadshot isn't the universal scumbag he seems to be, thanks to getting a chance to watch him interact with his daughter.
I can't help but get a kick out of Ragdoll... He may just be the weirdest character in either Marvel or DC. One thing that I didn't care for was the addition of the Mad Hatter to the team. I don't like him at all. There isn't much more then that to say. I was very happy when Ragdoll threw him(literally) off the team.
I liked the interaction between Catman and Cheshire, who apparently got her way and became pregnant by Catman during the Villains United mini. Deadshot was still Deadshot, the jerk of the team, and I always liked Knockout, from back in her days in Superboy's comic.
The stuff with Vandal and Scandal Savage, wasn't the best I had ever read, because since when is Vandal suicidal? I thought his whole gimmick was that he's been alive forever, and wants to make sure it stays that way. Why would he want Scandal to have a son for the sole purpose of killing him? That didn't really, make sense, but I guess we needed a strong antagonist for the series, and Vandal was chosen to be that guy. Pretty much, I liked the Secret Six team, more then I liked the story in this comic. On that merit alone, I'd give this mini-series a 7 out of 10.
Overall- I read this comic right after taking a history midterm. Heh, midterms in October, you gotta love college! Hopefully I don't mix up this TPB with my early American History stuff...
I like this team a lot. I like the way Gail Simone writes about each one. Every character had there own chance to shine here, and that's what I really like about her writing style. No one character is relegated to the background. Catman, as the leader of the team, gets a good amount of face time, but all the other characters also have their moments where we get to see what they are made of. We even find out that Deadshot isn't the universal scumbag he seems to be, thanks to getting a chance to watch him interact with his daughter.
I can't help but get a kick out of Ragdoll... He may just be the weirdest character in either Marvel or DC. One thing that I didn't care for was the addition of the Mad Hatter to the team. I don't like him at all. There isn't much more then that to say. I was very happy when Ragdoll threw him(literally) off the team.
I liked the interaction between Catman and Cheshire, who apparently got her way and became pregnant by Catman during the Villains United mini. Deadshot was still Deadshot, the jerk of the team, and I always liked Knockout, from back in her days in Superboy's comic.
The stuff with Vandal and Scandal Savage, wasn't the best I had ever read, because since when is Vandal suicidal? I thought his whole gimmick was that he's been alive forever, and wants to make sure it stays that way. Why would he want Scandal to have a son for the sole purpose of killing him? That didn't really, make sense, but I guess we needed a strong antagonist for the series, and Vandal was chosen to be that guy. Pretty much, I liked the Secret Six team, more then I liked the story in this comic. On that merit alone, I'd give this mini-series a 7 out of 10.
Calling all Flash fans!
I will readily admit to not having read the main "Final Crisis" comics, I'm waiting until the whole series comes out, so I can enjoy the whole story uninterrupted. However, DC is promoting in all of it's comics that Barry Allen has returned from the dead.
Now, where as I have been collecting Marvel Comics for about 17 years now(WOW that's a long time...)I've only been reading DC titles for about 2 years or so. In those 2 years, I've managed to acquire about 2,000 DC comics, so I have a pretty good(although not great) understanding of the DC Universe and many of its characters. Out of all the characters in the DC universe, I've tended to gravitate towards the Flashes.
This has a lot to do with the fact that the first DC comic I read was an issue of Young Justice, where I immediately became a huge fan of Bart Allen(Impulse). I wound up collecting all of the Impulse related comics I could get my hands on, including his full series, his early New Titans appearances, as well as his later Teen Titans and Flash books. From reading about Bart, I became curious about the current Flash, Wally West. I also liked Wally, and was able to get a lot of his adventures in with JLA, as well as his regular comic, "The Flash".
Well, from there I began to collect the JSA comics, to read about the "old" Flash Jay Garrick. Once again I found another character I enjoyed reading about. So, thus far, I've established I really like the character of the Flash in all his various forms. Now for the problem. I don't know much of anything about Barry Allen... I know he sacrificed his life during the big DC crossover in the 80's, I know he was a cop, I know he was married, I know Bart is his grandson and I know Wally reveres him. Other than that I know squat about him...
Barry Allen has been dead for over 20 years, which is longer than a lot of people have been collecting comic books, I know there are exceptions, but I'd say most collectors haven't been collecting for over 20 years. This brings me to the question I really wish someone could explain to me, why bring Barry Allen back at all? I would imagine all of his die hard fans who may have been disappointed by his death all those years ago have moved on to other characters and probably barely give Barry any thought anymore.
Without Barry, there are two Flashes, Wally and Jay. I'd think that two Flashes is more than enough. That leads to the next question, is the DC Universe big enough for three characters sharing the same moniker? I kind of don't think it is... That would mean that one of the three Flashes would have to go.
Jay isn't going anywhere, he is still a vital part of the JSA title. If Barry is indeed back, it would make no sense for him to be the one to go, right after returning. Which leaves Wally... Wally West has been the main Flash for roughly 20 years now, meaning that an entire generation of DC fans have grown up with him as "their" Flash. However, Wally seems to be the most likely Flash to go. As I stated above, the other two Flashes have strong reasons for not going anywhere, while Wally's life seems to be changing rapidly, as if DC is setting him up for something, and by something, I don't mean something good...
I really like Wally West. I like his family dynamic. Not many heroes have a personal life as rich as Wally's. In other words, if Wally were to die at the end of "Final Crisis", DC would be throwing away a character that is established, has a rich history and still has tons of storyline potential. I'm not sure how many fans would get behind Barry Allen as the Flash again, I know I would be very tentative to read a Barry Allen "Flash" comic in a world with Wally either gone or de-powered.
The strange thing about the rebirth of Barry Allen is the fact that DC really didn't need another Flash, they needed a KID Flash. As I said earlier, Bart was my favorite Flash as well as one of my favorite characters period, but I mainly knew him through his Impulse/Kid Flash days. Why not bring back BART Allen as opposed to BARRY Allen?
Wouldn't the DC universe be better off with two Flashes and a Kid Flash, as opposed to a world with three Flashes? The news of Barry Allen's return is obviously bothering me, but I would be very interested to hear what some other fans of any of the Flashes think.
Is it a good thing to bring back Barry at the expense of Wally? Are there a group of Barry Allen fans that have been clamoring for his return that I was unaware of? Do people really want to see Wally killed off/de-powered? Or like me, are there some folks out there who would prefer to see Bart Allen return in the guise of Kid Flash/Impulse? I would really love to get the opinions of some other fans of the Flash or even just DC comics in general. Well, this turned out to be a longer post than I intended... Anyway, if anyone could throw some comments out there I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!
Now, where as I have been collecting Marvel Comics for about 17 years now(WOW that's a long time...)I've only been reading DC titles for about 2 years or so. In those 2 years, I've managed to acquire about 2,000 DC comics, so I have a pretty good(although not great) understanding of the DC Universe and many of its characters. Out of all the characters in the DC universe, I've tended to gravitate towards the Flashes.
This has a lot to do with the fact that the first DC comic I read was an issue of Young Justice, where I immediately became a huge fan of Bart Allen(Impulse). I wound up collecting all of the Impulse related comics I could get my hands on, including his full series, his early New Titans appearances, as well as his later Teen Titans and Flash books. From reading about Bart, I became curious about the current Flash, Wally West. I also liked Wally, and was able to get a lot of his adventures in with JLA, as well as his regular comic, "The Flash".
Well, from there I began to collect the JSA comics, to read about the "old" Flash Jay Garrick. Once again I found another character I enjoyed reading about. So, thus far, I've established I really like the character of the Flash in all his various forms. Now for the problem. I don't know much of anything about Barry Allen... I know he sacrificed his life during the big DC crossover in the 80's, I know he was a cop, I know he was married, I know Bart is his grandson and I know Wally reveres him. Other than that I know squat about him...
Barry Allen has been dead for over 20 years, which is longer than a lot of people have been collecting comic books, I know there are exceptions, but I'd say most collectors haven't been collecting for over 20 years. This brings me to the question I really wish someone could explain to me, why bring Barry Allen back at all? I would imagine all of his die hard fans who may have been disappointed by his death all those years ago have moved on to other characters and probably barely give Barry any thought anymore.
Without Barry, there are two Flashes, Wally and Jay. I'd think that two Flashes is more than enough. That leads to the next question, is the DC Universe big enough for three characters sharing the same moniker? I kind of don't think it is... That would mean that one of the three Flashes would have to go.
Jay isn't going anywhere, he is still a vital part of the JSA title. If Barry is indeed back, it would make no sense for him to be the one to go, right after returning. Which leaves Wally... Wally West has been the main Flash for roughly 20 years now, meaning that an entire generation of DC fans have grown up with him as "their" Flash. However, Wally seems to be the most likely Flash to go. As I stated above, the other two Flashes have strong reasons for not going anywhere, while Wally's life seems to be changing rapidly, as if DC is setting him up for something, and by something, I don't mean something good...
I really like Wally West. I like his family dynamic. Not many heroes have a personal life as rich as Wally's. In other words, if Wally were to die at the end of "Final Crisis", DC would be throwing away a character that is established, has a rich history and still has tons of storyline potential. I'm not sure how many fans would get behind Barry Allen as the Flash again, I know I would be very tentative to read a Barry Allen "Flash" comic in a world with Wally either gone or de-powered.
The strange thing about the rebirth of Barry Allen is the fact that DC really didn't need another Flash, they needed a KID Flash. As I said earlier, Bart was my favorite Flash as well as one of my favorite characters period, but I mainly knew him through his Impulse/Kid Flash days. Why not bring back BART Allen as opposed to BARRY Allen?
Wouldn't the DC universe be better off with two Flashes and a Kid Flash, as opposed to a world with three Flashes? The news of Barry Allen's return is obviously bothering me, but I would be very interested to hear what some other fans of any of the Flashes think.
Is it a good thing to bring back Barry at the expense of Wally? Are there a group of Barry Allen fans that have been clamoring for his return that I was unaware of? Do people really want to see Wally killed off/de-powered? Or like me, are there some folks out there who would prefer to see Bart Allen return in the guise of Kid Flash/Impulse? I would really love to get the opinions of some other fans of the Flash or even just DC comics in general. Well, this turned out to be a longer post than I intended... Anyway, if anyone could throw some comments out there I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!
Flash 245
Story- Some members of the JLA/JSA, Black Lightning, Red Arrow, Red Tornado and Dr. Midnite, meet with Flash in an attempt to figure out what has caused his powers to decrease dramatically.
While the tests go on, we are treated to many flashbacks(heh, "Flash"backs), detailing Wally's growth from a Teen Titan to his becoming his own man. The tests come back to reveal that Wally can no longer safely push himself past Mach 1.
Without further testing however, the experts won't be able to figure out why this is occurring to Wally. Wally is visited by Raven, which brings on more flashbacks. After Raven leaves, Wally shares a romantic interlude with his wife Linda.
After Wally leaves, Linda is attacked by the same swarm of poisonous bees from the last issue. Flash arrives back at the house and tries to disperse the bee's, but has trouble with the sheer numbers of the bees, that is until Black Lightning arrives to help him kill off the remaining little pests.
Wally finds Linda hiding in a closet, covered with stings, and barley breathing. At the end of the issue, we discover it was the Queen Bee who was responsible for the attack. She had gained possession of a device that could channel speed energy, increasing the speed of an object or removing the speed altogether. Queen Bee envisions whole cities frozen in time ripe for her to attack.
Unfortunately for Queen Bee, the device is unpredictable and needs an extraordinary individual to harness it's powers. The issue closes with Wally running to his children, who were being watched by Jay Garrick and wife, to ominously tell them "Something's happened."
Overall- This story is moving along rather nicely, with us now knowing that it is indeed the Queen Bee who was behind the thefts last issue and the attacks this issue. Apparently, Flash's daughter Iris might be the conduit Queen Bee is searching for to power her machine. All of Wally's flashbacks seem to be leading up to something very bad... You know how they say before you die, your life flashes before your eyes? Well, this seems to be happening to Wally in comic book form... I really am hoping that Wally emerges from the events of "Final Crisis" unscathed, but this just seems to be becoming more and more unlikely. Hopefully, DC is making it really obvious that something bad is in store for Wally as a red herring, and in the end, everything will turn out alright..... I hope.
While the tests go on, we are treated to many flashbacks(heh, "Flash"backs), detailing Wally's growth from a Teen Titan to his becoming his own man. The tests come back to reveal that Wally can no longer safely push himself past Mach 1.
Without further testing however, the experts won't be able to figure out why this is occurring to Wally. Wally is visited by Raven, which brings on more flashbacks. After Raven leaves, Wally shares a romantic interlude with his wife Linda.
After Wally leaves, Linda is attacked by the same swarm of poisonous bees from the last issue. Flash arrives back at the house and tries to disperse the bee's, but has trouble with the sheer numbers of the bees, that is until Black Lightning arrives to help him kill off the remaining little pests.
Wally finds Linda hiding in a closet, covered with stings, and barley breathing. At the end of the issue, we discover it was the Queen Bee who was responsible for the attack. She had gained possession of a device that could channel speed energy, increasing the speed of an object or removing the speed altogether. Queen Bee envisions whole cities frozen in time ripe for her to attack.
Unfortunately for Queen Bee, the device is unpredictable and needs an extraordinary individual to harness it's powers. The issue closes with Wally running to his children, who were being watched by Jay Garrick and wife, to ominously tell them "Something's happened."
Overall- This story is moving along rather nicely, with us now knowing that it is indeed the Queen Bee who was behind the thefts last issue and the attacks this issue. Apparently, Flash's daughter Iris might be the conduit Queen Bee is searching for to power her machine. All of Wally's flashbacks seem to be leading up to something very bad... You know how they say before you die, your life flashes before your eyes? Well, this seems to be happening to Wally in comic book form... I really am hoping that Wally emerges from the events of "Final Crisis" unscathed, but this just seems to be becoming more and more unlikely. Hopefully, DC is making it really obvious that something bad is in store for Wally as a red herring, and in the end, everything will turn out alright..... I hope.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Final Crisis, Rogues' Revenge 3
Story- The Rogues' manage to find a device created by the Top, which is able to locate any vibrational anomalies. In other words, it manages to find speedsters, which would include the target of the Rogues', Inertia. They find him, but are surprised to see him with Zoom.
The Rogues' decide that they will still fulfill their promise to kill Inertia, regardless of Zoom being there. Zoom attacks the Rogues' on sight, mainly due to the fact that he considers all of them to be a waste of Flash's(Wally West) time. Before Zoom can kill any of the Rogues', the Pied Piper steps in and helps his one time Rogue teammates, only because he wanted to avoid anymore killing.
The Pied Piper manages to immobilize everyone there, until he is stabbed in the back of the shoulder by the recently arrived Libra. Libra stands there holding the infant son of the Weather Wizard. Libra makes a pitch to the Rogues, basically telling them to join up with him and his forces or Weather Wizard's son would pay the price in blood.
Before the Weather Wizard can make his decision, Inertia attacks Libra, hitting him with a sonic boom. After that, the baby is gone... To where? That isn't really explained... Inertia, seemingly goes completely insane, and begins to call himself Kid Zoom. He bludgeons Libra, but is stopped before he kills Libra by Zoom, who was still working with Libra and therefore didn't want Libra dead.
In response, Kid Zoom, steals Zoom's powers completely, leaving Zoom as paralyzed Hunter Zoloman once again. Kid Zoom then decides to kill the Rogues, and proceeds to attack them. His rampage is halted by the still recovering Pied Piper, who uses his flute to freeze Kid Zoom in place. While Kid Zoom is immobile, all the Rogues focus their weapons on him and blast him, killing him in the same manner they killed Bart Allen.
The Pied Piper is horrified that he was once again an accessory to a murder committed by the Rogues. Libra, who watched the entire situation, offers the Rogues a spot on his evil society. Libra also tells the Rogues that the original Flash has returned to life and he needs them to stop him. The Rogues turn him down and leave, feeling that Libra's schemes could never succeed.
The Rogues drop Kid Zoom's body off at the Keystone City PD, with the message "Tell the Flash we're even", apparently hoping that Flash will get off their case for killing Bart, since it was Inertia/Kid Zoom who orchestrated Bart's murder.
The Pied Piper ends up turning himself over to the Central City PD, muttering about the end of the world.
The Rogues retreat to a hideout and decide that if Barry Allen is indeed back, they can't retire, which was their original plan after killing Inertia. The Rogues figure that once Barry learns they were responsible for the death of Kid Flash(Bart Allen), he wouldn't rest until they were all caught.
Overall- I put some unfairly high expectations on this mini-series, so I was naturally let down in the end... I guess it would be fair to say that in the DC universe, the Flash line of comics would have to be my favorite, since Marvel doesn't really have an answer to Flash(if someone says Quicksilver, I'll burst out laughing).
Bart Allen was my favorite Flash, since it was the Young Justice/Impulse comic books that really turned me into DC comics fan. I guess I was kind of hoping for more in this mini-series, possibly even Bart's resurrection...
I was kind of exited by the concept of a Kid Zoom, who would be a great enemy to both Flash and the Teen Titans, and was very, very disappointed by his death. I always thought Inertia was a great villain, dating back to his early appearances in "Impulse".
I was also disturbed by the fact that Zoom was de-powered by the end of this mini-series... The part with Zoom really filled me with dread, because everything seems to be leading to Barry Allen replacing Wally West(my second favorite Flash) as the "main" Flash.
Zoom was Wally's most personal foe, and has no attachment what so ever to Barry. Getting rid of Wally's arch enemy(Zoom)has me really beginning to worry about what fate DC has planned for Wally at the end of "Final Crisis"...
Overall, I liked, this series, but couldn't shake the feeling that these comics only served to eliminate any villains not connected to the returning Barry Allen...
The Rogues' decide that they will still fulfill their promise to kill Inertia, regardless of Zoom being there. Zoom attacks the Rogues' on sight, mainly due to the fact that he considers all of them to be a waste of Flash's(Wally West) time. Before Zoom can kill any of the Rogues', the Pied Piper steps in and helps his one time Rogue teammates, only because he wanted to avoid anymore killing.
The Pied Piper manages to immobilize everyone there, until he is stabbed in the back of the shoulder by the recently arrived Libra. Libra stands there holding the infant son of the Weather Wizard. Libra makes a pitch to the Rogues, basically telling them to join up with him and his forces or Weather Wizard's son would pay the price in blood.
Before the Weather Wizard can make his decision, Inertia attacks Libra, hitting him with a sonic boom. After that, the baby is gone... To where? That isn't really explained... Inertia, seemingly goes completely insane, and begins to call himself Kid Zoom. He bludgeons Libra, but is stopped before he kills Libra by Zoom, who was still working with Libra and therefore didn't want Libra dead.
In response, Kid Zoom, steals Zoom's powers completely, leaving Zoom as paralyzed Hunter Zoloman once again. Kid Zoom then decides to kill the Rogues, and proceeds to attack them. His rampage is halted by the still recovering Pied Piper, who uses his flute to freeze Kid Zoom in place. While Kid Zoom is immobile, all the Rogues focus their weapons on him and blast him, killing him in the same manner they killed Bart Allen.
The Pied Piper is horrified that he was once again an accessory to a murder committed by the Rogues. Libra, who watched the entire situation, offers the Rogues a spot on his evil society. Libra also tells the Rogues that the original Flash has returned to life and he needs them to stop him. The Rogues turn him down and leave, feeling that Libra's schemes could never succeed.
The Rogues drop Kid Zoom's body off at the Keystone City PD, with the message "Tell the Flash we're even", apparently hoping that Flash will get off their case for killing Bart, since it was Inertia/Kid Zoom who orchestrated Bart's murder.
The Pied Piper ends up turning himself over to the Central City PD, muttering about the end of the world.
The Rogues retreat to a hideout and decide that if Barry Allen is indeed back, they can't retire, which was their original plan after killing Inertia. The Rogues figure that once Barry learns they were responsible for the death of Kid Flash(Bart Allen), he wouldn't rest until they were all caught.
Overall- I put some unfairly high expectations on this mini-series, so I was naturally let down in the end... I guess it would be fair to say that in the DC universe, the Flash line of comics would have to be my favorite, since Marvel doesn't really have an answer to Flash(if someone says Quicksilver, I'll burst out laughing).
Bart Allen was my favorite Flash, since it was the Young Justice/Impulse comic books that really turned me into DC comics fan. I guess I was kind of hoping for more in this mini-series, possibly even Bart's resurrection...
I was kind of exited by the concept of a Kid Zoom, who would be a great enemy to both Flash and the Teen Titans, and was very, very disappointed by his death. I always thought Inertia was a great villain, dating back to his early appearances in "Impulse".
I was also disturbed by the fact that Zoom was de-powered by the end of this mini-series... The part with Zoom really filled me with dread, because everything seems to be leading to Barry Allen replacing Wally West(my second favorite Flash) as the "main" Flash.
Zoom was Wally's most personal foe, and has no attachment what so ever to Barry. Getting rid of Wally's arch enemy(Zoom)has me really beginning to worry about what fate DC has planned for Wally at the end of "Final Crisis"...
Overall, I liked, this series, but couldn't shake the feeling that these comics only served to eliminate any villains not connected to the returning Barry Allen...
Wolverine 68
Story- Clint, not willing to let his daughter be executed by the Kingpin, decides to go save her. Logan refuses to help, stating that he won't get involved in any fights. Clint offers to double Logan's pay and tells him that Logan doesn't have to do anything but drive. Logan reluctantly agrees to the new terms, mainly because of all the good the money will do him and his family. Clint and Logan make the trip to Salt Lake City, the base of power to the new Kingpin of Crime. This is definitely not Wilson Fisk, but a newer, younger model.
The Kingpin has dinosaurs eat Clint's daughter's accomplice's, and promises an even more grisly fate for her. Clint's plan is to use the Spider Buggie's ability to climb walls to bust into the prison his daughter is being held in, without having to fight his way through the entire facility from ground level.
Upon breaking in through an upper floor wall, Clint channels his inner Ronin, and hacks away at the guards holding his daughter, by following the sounds of their voices. He finally breaks out his daughter just as the new Kingpin arrives, where he is promptly beheaded by Clint's daughter. She then smashes Clint in the face with the gun she beheaded the Kingpin with. When Clint questions what she thinks she is doing, she tells him she is taking over the Kingpin's empire and is going to solidify her power base by killing her own father. As she prepares to swing the killing blow down at her helpless father, Logan, who had been observing the situation from another room the whole time in the Spider Buggie, curses Clint for "making him do this". What this means, we'll discover in the next issue.
Overall- This comic book proves to me that when Marvel still wants to, they can produce the types of comic books that made me fall in love with them in the first place all those years ago. As I stated in a previous post, I really like alternate dimension storylines, because anything can happen in them, due to the fact that the writer has the freedom to do whatever he/she wants without messing with continuity.
All in all, this was a very good comic, even though the betrayal of Clint's daughter was heavily foreshadowed earlier in the comic, so it wasn't a total surprise... The next issue should be the turning point in Logan's life. Either he sits in the Spider Buggie and watches Clint's daughter kill Clint, or he disregards his vow of committing no violence and saves Clint's neck.
So far, Mark Millar is going a long way in winning me back as a fan with this very well crafted story. I'd be remiss not to mention the beautiful artwork of Steve McNiven. The visuals look great and the violence, which there is ALOT of, is also very well done. I'd recommend anyone who has tired of Wolverine to give these last three Wolverine comics a shot... You might be as pleasantly surprised as me!
The Kingpin has dinosaurs eat Clint's daughter's accomplice's, and promises an even more grisly fate for her. Clint's plan is to use the Spider Buggie's ability to climb walls to bust into the prison his daughter is being held in, without having to fight his way through the entire facility from ground level.
Upon breaking in through an upper floor wall, Clint channels his inner Ronin, and hacks away at the guards holding his daughter, by following the sounds of their voices. He finally breaks out his daughter just as the new Kingpin arrives, where he is promptly beheaded by Clint's daughter. She then smashes Clint in the face with the gun she beheaded the Kingpin with. When Clint questions what she thinks she is doing, she tells him she is taking over the Kingpin's empire and is going to solidify her power base by killing her own father. As she prepares to swing the killing blow down at her helpless father, Logan, who had been observing the situation from another room the whole time in the Spider Buggie, curses Clint for "making him do this". What this means, we'll discover in the next issue.
Overall- This comic book proves to me that when Marvel still wants to, they can produce the types of comic books that made me fall in love with them in the first place all those years ago. As I stated in a previous post, I really like alternate dimension storylines, because anything can happen in them, due to the fact that the writer has the freedom to do whatever he/she wants without messing with continuity.
All in all, this was a very good comic, even though the betrayal of Clint's daughter was heavily foreshadowed earlier in the comic, so it wasn't a total surprise... The next issue should be the turning point in Logan's life. Either he sits in the Spider Buggie and watches Clint's daughter kill Clint, or he disregards his vow of committing no violence and saves Clint's neck.
So far, Mark Millar is going a long way in winning me back as a fan with this very well crafted story. I'd be remiss not to mention the beautiful artwork of Steve McNiven. The visuals look great and the violence, which there is ALOT of, is also very well done. I'd recommend anyone who has tired of Wolverine to give these last three Wolverine comics a shot... You might be as pleasantly surprised as me!