Wow, this has been a real lackluster week here at the blog... I've basically only posted one new post every night, and most of them had nothing to do with comic reviews. While I could go and blame the post office for losing my damn package of comics in the mail, I'll instead shoulder the blame myself. I've had a lot of homework this week, the comics that have come in the mail haven't really been what I'd consider "must reads", and on top of all that, I've just been feeling lazy and lethargic. Hopefully I'll perk up a bit this coming week, and I'll be pumping out two to three new reviews every night like I used to. Daylight savings coming up helps out a lot as well, you don't know how badly I can use that extra hour of sleep! OK, enough about me, here's the back issues I've spent the past week reading thorough.
Detective Comics #618-621: This storyline featured a pre-Robin Tim Drake. Tim's parents are abducted by a strange voodoo cult in Haiti and are being held for ransom. Batman promises Tim he'll do whatever he can to track down Tim's folks, and he begins a quest that takes him from the streets of Gotham City to the ghettos of Haiti. Besides that, Tim attempts to track down a computer hacker who was stealing money from rich companies and redistributing it to the poor. This storyline was alright, nothing more, nothing less. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I'll really remember what happened in it in a months time. Score: 7 out of 10.
Batman #455-457: This was another pre-Robin appearance for Tim Drake. People in Gotham are suddenly going insane around Christmas, donning skull masks and are randomly murdering their fellow Gothamites. The crazy Gothamites have no toxins in their blood, and are not showing any type of mind control, leaving Batman at a loss as to who/what is behind the rash of killings. Tim wants desperately to take up the Robin mantle and help Batman out, but Bats is 100% against Tim following in his footsteps, telling Tim that if he goes out and fights crime against Batman's wishes Tim would NEVER become Robin. Batman wanders around Gotham trying to figure out which of his rogues is responsible for the holiday madness, while Tim manages to discover which of Batman's foes is responsible. However, before Tim can relay this information to Batman, he winds up getting captured, leaving Tim to decide if he should disobey Batman and help or if he should sit back and hope for the best. This was another pretty good Batman storyline. Once again, it wasn't amazing of anything, but it was a good solid comic with an acceptable story. It also heralds in the Tim Drake Robin era, so that's also a plus. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Detective Comics #604-607: The original Clayface brings together all of the other clay related villains in the DCU(and there's a surprising abundance of them!)for a concentrated attack on Batman. The Clayface's begin to cause chaos in Gotham, all while framing Batman and his old Outsiders teammate Looker for the crimes. What's a Batman to do? Now this was a story that I ended up enjoying a lot more then I thought I would. The antics of the original Clayface really made me laugh a few times while reading this story(especially when he was dealing with the dead Clayface #2), and the bizarre romance story between Clayface #3, Looker, Clayface #4 and a mannequin was at times laugh out loud funny. Score: 8 out of 10.
Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1-5(2006): Daimon Hellstrom goes down to New Orleans due to some troubling dreams, and winds up in the middle of a battle between his father(Satan, duh!)and the Egyptian goddess, Isis. It seems Isis is intent on trying to resurrect her dead lover, Osiris, while Satan seems to be attempting to do the same thing. It's up to Daimon to decide if he should help Isis, his father, or possibly do something neither party would expect. Before I go any further, let me tell you a little secret, I've always been a HUGE fan of Daimon Hellstrom. Yep, it's weird but true. After I read the first issue of this series, I have to admit, I was pleased. There were a few cosmetic things that bugged me about the series(where is Daimon's birthmark!?!?!?!?), but all in all the first issue was good. And then, everything went to hell(HA!!!). This was one of those cases where a writer took an established character and attempted to put his own spin on said character, but in doing so made the character almost unrecognisable. Plus I didn't really like the story. The art was great, but everything else was lacking. Maybe if you know nothing at all about Daimon you'd like this series, but I definitely did not. Score: 5 out of 10.
That's going to be it for this week. Long Live The Legion!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Quick Look at Daredevil #501
Writer: Andy Diggle. Art: Roberto De La Torre.
What Happened: This issue opens with Daredevil blaming himself for Bullseye's actions in Dark Reign The List: Daredevil. Master Izo comes along to hear DD out, but all DD wants to do is wallow in self-pity, which rapidly begins to grate on Izo. DD explains that he plans on leading the Hand, and that he'll use them as a force for good in NYC. Izo tells DD that's absurd, since the Hand by their very nature are pure evil. DD then tells Izo that the Hand require a sacrifice before they agree to follow him and DD has chosen Izo as that sacrifice, at which point Izo is ambushed by a slew of Hand ninjas. Izo puts up a brave fight, but is eventually captured. Foggy Nelson blames himself for DD's recent self-destructive actions, and Kingpin spreads the word on the streets that he's an inept crimelord, with his intent being that he wants his enemies to overlook him and fight amongst themselves until he's ready to consolidate his position as New York's top crimeboss again. This issue ends with DD seemingly killing Izo in front of an army of Hand ninjas. Upon confirmation of Izo's death, the ninjas all bow down before Lord Daredevil, undisputed leader of the Hand.
What I thought: Since this was the first issue for the new creative team on this series, I'm willing to give them a lot of leeway before I begin to complain. This issue was good, and went a long way in establishing DD as a more brutal hero. Of course that runs VERY counter to his mythos, but I'm not exactly sold that what I read in this comic happened exactly as it may have seemed. In other words, I really don't think Izo is dead. I think Izo and DD planned on his capture by the Hand, and his "death". For a guy who's been alive as long as Izo, I'm pretty sure faking his death wouldn't be all that tough, especially since DD "killed" him with a punch to the chest. Maybe if DD would have shot or decapitated Izo, I'd say, "Yeah, Izo's definitely dead.", but I think Izo faked his death in order to give DD the sacrifice he needed to gain control of the Hand. If not Izo, DD would have had to kill a random, innocent person and there's no way DD would ever do that. My guess? When Andy is finished with the "Daredevil is leading the Hand now" storyline, Izo returns and along with DD, White Tiger and Black Tarantula, Izo finally puts an end to the Hand. Good story, although I'm really not buying Izo's death at all.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
So are there ANY heroes left in the Marvel Universe who haven't turned evil/murderous in recent months?
What Happened: This issue opens with Daredevil blaming himself for Bullseye's actions in Dark Reign The List: Daredevil. Master Izo comes along to hear DD out, but all DD wants to do is wallow in self-pity, which rapidly begins to grate on Izo. DD explains that he plans on leading the Hand, and that he'll use them as a force for good in NYC. Izo tells DD that's absurd, since the Hand by their very nature are pure evil. DD then tells Izo that the Hand require a sacrifice before they agree to follow him and DD has chosen Izo as that sacrifice, at which point Izo is ambushed by a slew of Hand ninjas. Izo puts up a brave fight, but is eventually captured. Foggy Nelson blames himself for DD's recent self-destructive actions, and Kingpin spreads the word on the streets that he's an inept crimelord, with his intent being that he wants his enemies to overlook him and fight amongst themselves until he's ready to consolidate his position as New York's top crimeboss again. This issue ends with DD seemingly killing Izo in front of an army of Hand ninjas. Upon confirmation of Izo's death, the ninjas all bow down before Lord Daredevil, undisputed leader of the Hand.
What I thought: Since this was the first issue for the new creative team on this series, I'm willing to give them a lot of leeway before I begin to complain. This issue was good, and went a long way in establishing DD as a more brutal hero. Of course that runs VERY counter to his mythos, but I'm not exactly sold that what I read in this comic happened exactly as it may have seemed. In other words, I really don't think Izo is dead. I think Izo and DD planned on his capture by the Hand, and his "death". For a guy who's been alive as long as Izo, I'm pretty sure faking his death wouldn't be all that tough, especially since DD "killed" him with a punch to the chest. Maybe if DD would have shot or decapitated Izo, I'd say, "Yeah, Izo's definitely dead.", but I think Izo faked his death in order to give DD the sacrifice he needed to gain control of the Hand. If not Izo, DD would have had to kill a random, innocent person and there's no way DD would ever do that. My guess? When Andy is finished with the "Daredevil is leading the Hand now" storyline, Izo returns and along with DD, White Tiger and Black Tarantula, Izo finally puts an end to the Hand. Good story, although I'm really not buying Izo's death at all.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
So are there ANY heroes left in the Marvel Universe who haven't turned evil/murderous in recent months?
More complaining, less reviewing!
I just finished typing up a 5 page paper on the Greek and Persian empires, so it's pretty safe to say that I don't really feel like typing anything else out right now, meaning there won't be any new reviews here tonight. I do have a few books to review, including the most recent issues of Daredevil, Titans, Wolverine Origins and Dark Wolverine. Hopefully I'll find the time to get at least one of these comics reviewed and posted for tomorrow(no promises though).
Speaking of new comics, I'm still waiting for my comic order from almost three weeks ago to arrive. After waiting over two weeks, I'd finally reached my breaking point today and sent an e-mail to the USPS asking what was going on. They responded by telling me the package was "Dead Mail / Sent to Mail Recovery Center"(!?!)... In other words, they didn't know where to send the package and couldn't figure out who to send it back to... REALLY??? Are you frigging kidding me!?! *Sigh*... So now my package of comic books is being sent god knows where because some nimrod couldn't read the address on the package correctly... Now I'll wait two more days to see if they're going to contact me about what I should do next. If they don't get back to me, I think there's some kind of claims form I'm going to have to fill out. Yay, more junk to fill out! Ugh, as you can probably tell, I'm getting tired and cranky, so before I really start to go off, I think it's probably a good idea to end this post here. As always, Long Live The Legion!
Speaking of new comics, I'm still waiting for my comic order from almost three weeks ago to arrive. After waiting over two weeks, I'd finally reached my breaking point today and sent an e-mail to the USPS asking what was going on. They responded by telling me the package was "Dead Mail / Sent to Mail Recovery Center"(!?!)... In other words, they didn't know where to send the package and couldn't figure out who to send it back to... REALLY??? Are you frigging kidding me!?! *Sigh*... So now my package of comic books is being sent god knows where because some nimrod couldn't read the address on the package correctly... Now I'll wait two more days to see if they're going to contact me about what I should do next. If they don't get back to me, I think there's some kind of claims form I'm going to have to fill out. Yay, more junk to fill out! Ugh, as you can probably tell, I'm getting tired and cranky, so before I really start to go off, I think it's probably a good idea to end this post here. As always, Long Live The Legion!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What I'll be reading... Eventually.
I'm STILL awaiting my comic book order from two weeks ago... The most galling/bizarre thing is that the comic book store shipped them out two weeks ago Thursday and my package has been sitting in Philadelphia since Oct. 15th... Come on, are you kidding me? I've always been pretty good with geography, and as such, I know that Philadelphia and upstate NY aren't exactly thousands of miles apart! Yeah, the lack of new comics is starting to get to me. But enough griping, since I have a lot of HW to get to tonight, I'm not going to be able to post a review for Daredevil #501. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow. I did manage to place a comic book order a few minutes ago, and I figure I'll post what I ordered here before hitting the books.
1 Aquaman Vol 3 #10
1 Arkham Reborn #1
1 Astro City Life In The Big City TP
1 Avengers The Initiative #29
1 Batgirl Vol 3 #3
1 Blackest Night #4
1 Blackest Night Batman #3
1 Blackest Night Superman #3
1 Blackest Night Titans #3
1 Booster Gold Vol 2 #25
1 Dark Avengers #10
1 Dark Reign The List Part 6
1 Dark Reign The List Part 7
1 Dark Reign Young Avengers #5
1 Gotham City Sirens #5
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #108
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #111
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #113
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #114
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #74
1 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 #19
1 JLA Incarnations #1
1 JLA Incarnations #2
1 JLA Incarnations #3
1 JLA Incarnations #4
1 JLA Incarnations #5
1 JLA Incarnations #6
1 JSA vs Kobra #5
1 Justice League Of America Vol 2 #38
1 Nova Vol 4 #30
1 Outsiders Vol 4 #23
1 REBELS #9
1 Secret Six Vol 3 #14
1 Supergirl Vol 5 #46
1 Superman Batman #53
1 Superman Batman #54
1 Superman Batman #55
1 Superman Batman #56
1 Superman Batman #65
1 Superman Secret Origin #2
1 Teen Titans Vol 3 #76
1 Worlds Finest Vol 2 #1
I guess the question now is going to be how long is it going to take for this order to reach me... Long Live The Legion!
1 Aquaman Vol 3 #10
1 Arkham Reborn #1
1 Astro City Life In The Big City TP
1 Avengers The Initiative #29
1 Batgirl Vol 3 #3
1 Blackest Night #4
1 Blackest Night Batman #3
1 Blackest Night Superman #3
1 Blackest Night Titans #3
1 Booster Gold Vol 2 #25
1 Dark Avengers #10
1 Dark Reign The List Part 6
1 Dark Reign The List Part 7
1 Dark Reign Young Avengers #5
1 Gotham City Sirens #5
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #108
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #111
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #113
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #114
1 Green Lantern Vol 3 #74
1 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 #19
1 JLA Incarnations #1
1 JLA Incarnations #2
1 JLA Incarnations #3
1 JLA Incarnations #4
1 JLA Incarnations #5
1 JLA Incarnations #6
1 JSA vs Kobra #5
1 Justice League Of America Vol 2 #38
1 Nova Vol 4 #30
1 Outsiders Vol 4 #23
1 REBELS #9
1 Secret Six Vol 3 #14
1 Supergirl Vol 5 #46
1 Superman Batman #53
1 Superman Batman #54
1 Superman Batman #55
1 Superman Batman #56
1 Superman Batman #65
1 Superman Secret Origin #2
1 Teen Titans Vol 3 #76
1 Worlds Finest Vol 2 #1
I guess the question now is going to be how long is it going to take for this order to reach me... Long Live The Legion!
Monday, October 26, 2009
A Quick Look at Uncanny X-Men #516
Writer: Matt Fraction. Pencils: Greg Land.
What Happened: Magneto stops by the X-Men's new island base and seems like he wants to bury the hatchet with the team. Prof. X doesn't buy it for a second and proceeds to mind-blast Mags. Cyclops, who seems curious as to what Mags wants orders Prof. X to stand down so they can see what Mags wants. Mags explains that he admires what Cyclops has managed to do(uniting all of mutantkind under a single leader)and that he wants to be a part of it. Cyclops takes Mags inside to hear him out(which really angers Prof. X and Beast). Mags explains that the High Evolutionary managed to give Mags his mutant powers back, but that the machine they used was completely and irreversibly destroyed. Magneto continues to tell Scott he's proud of the way he united the mutant race, as well as revealing to Scott that he was wrong for all the years he spent thinking that mutantkind was the future of humanity. Mags tells Scott he's come to terms with the impending end of mutantkind, and Scott inexplicably reveals to Mags that there has been one mutant birth since M-day, so he still has hope that the mutant race will carry on. Mags is nearly floored by this revelation, but before he can question Scott further, Wolverine alerts Cyclops that trouble is approaching the island in the form of Scalphunter and a plane full of mutant killing predators. Scalphunter was sent by some mysterious group of people who claim they want to save mutantkind, apparently by killing all the mutants... OK... This issue ends with Cyclops ordering the X-Men to their battle stations.
What I thought: Well, this issue definitely wasn't as good as the last issue was, but it was still a very solid comic book. When Prof. X attacked Mags with little provocation I had to laugh just a little bit... How many times has Prof. X turned the other cheek when it comes to Magneto? Now all of a sudden the Prof goes rabid at the very sight of Mags? What the hell is that??? Scott telling Mags that Hope(the sole mutant born after M-day)was still alive was also kind of puzzling to me. Why would Scott entrust Mags with that sort of information? With Magneto's rather checkered past, is it really a wise move to tell him something that important? Besides the weird mischaracterizations of Prof. X and Cyclops, I have to say this comic wasn't all that bad.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Jeez, Prof. X sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day!
What Happened: Magneto stops by the X-Men's new island base and seems like he wants to bury the hatchet with the team. Prof. X doesn't buy it for a second and proceeds to mind-blast Mags. Cyclops, who seems curious as to what Mags wants orders Prof. X to stand down so they can see what Mags wants. Mags explains that he admires what Cyclops has managed to do(uniting all of mutantkind under a single leader)and that he wants to be a part of it. Cyclops takes Mags inside to hear him out(which really angers Prof. X and Beast). Mags explains that the High Evolutionary managed to give Mags his mutant powers back, but that the machine they used was completely and irreversibly destroyed. Magneto continues to tell Scott he's proud of the way he united the mutant race, as well as revealing to Scott that he was wrong for all the years he spent thinking that mutantkind was the future of humanity. Mags tells Scott he's come to terms with the impending end of mutantkind, and Scott inexplicably reveals to Mags that there has been one mutant birth since M-day, so he still has hope that the mutant race will carry on. Mags is nearly floored by this revelation, but before he can question Scott further, Wolverine alerts Cyclops that trouble is approaching the island in the form of Scalphunter and a plane full of mutant killing predators. Scalphunter was sent by some mysterious group of people who claim they want to save mutantkind, apparently by killing all the mutants... OK... This issue ends with Cyclops ordering the X-Men to their battle stations.
What I thought: Well, this issue definitely wasn't as good as the last issue was, but it was still a very solid comic book. When Prof. X attacked Mags with little provocation I had to laugh just a little bit... How many times has Prof. X turned the other cheek when it comes to Magneto? Now all of a sudden the Prof goes rabid at the very sight of Mags? What the hell is that??? Scott telling Mags that Hope(the sole mutant born after M-day)was still alive was also kind of puzzling to me. Why would Scott entrust Mags with that sort of information? With Magneto's rather checkered past, is it really a wise move to tell him something that important? Besides the weird mischaracterizations of Prof. X and Cyclops, I have to say this comic wasn't all that bad.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Jeez, Prof. X sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
It's Sunday night, which means I've got nothing!
Since the Giants game is running late, and I've got a few early classes tomorrow, I don't foresee myself reading any comics tonight, so this sorry post is going to be all I publish tonight. I'm STILL(!!!)waiting for my comic order to arrive(hopefully tomorrow???), and if it doesn't get here by tomorrow, I'll probably read/review Uncanny X-Men #516 for tomorrow night. Um, other then that, I don't really have anything to say, except that the Giants had better win this game! Oh yeah, and Long Live The Legion!
Post #1,000!!!!!!
Well, I did it. This is the one-thousandth post I've authored for this blog. 1,000 posts... Wow. I REALLY don't have a life! All kidding aside, I'm actually VERY proud that I've managed to get to 1,000 posts. When I first started this blog, I didn't think it was going to last 1 month, instead I'm still going 12 months and 1,00 posts later. Sweet. Now the question is what exactly should this post be about? I mean, usually in comic books, milestone numbers(#25, 50, 75 and 100)contain special stories. X-Men #25 gave us Magneto ripping the adamantium out of Wolverine, Batman #500 had Azrael-Batman defeating Bane, and Green Arrow/Black Canary #25 had... Well, let's skip that one! So what special thing should I do for post #1,000? Hmm, nothing is really coming to mind. Ah I know, I'll list a few of my favorite comic book related things. These are the things/people/characters/events that have turned me from a mild-mannered geek into a ranting, raving comic book machine!
The Starman series by James Robinson: Probably the best comic book series I've ever read. It should be mandatory for every comic book fan to read the full Starman run. The detail James put into not only Jack Knight(the main character)but the supporting cast is truly a thing of beauty. This is probably the series I'd be most hesitant to ever part with.
Grant Morrison's New X-Men run: If it wasn't for Grant Morrison's New X-Men run, there wouldn't even be an X-Man's Comic Blog! You see, I had quit reading comic books for a good 6 years. It was my spur of the moment purchase of New X-Men #132 that turned me back on to comic books in a BIG way. Grant's entire New X-Men run was very controversial, but wonderfully done.
Peter David: Peter is probably my all-time favorite writer. I'm sure some of you are thinking,"But I thought Geoff Johns was your favorite writer?". Yes, Geoff is my current favorite writer, but Peter is my ALL-TIME favorite. There is a distinction there. I don't think I've ever read a comic written by Peter that I can honestly say I didn't enjoy on some level. If it wasn't for Peter, there's a very real chance that I never would have started reading DC Comics. It was Peter's work on Young Justice that opened my eyes to the DCU, so for that I'm infinitely appreciative.
X-Men #25: I'm sorry, but Magneto tearing the adamantium off of Wolverine's bones and Prof. X then proceeding to mindwipe Mags is, was and always will be one of my favorite comic book moments. Nuff said.
The Age of Apocalypse Saga: Easily the greatest(and most ambitious)crossover ever done by any comic book company ever. EVER! The story was perfect, the issues almost universally tied into each other seamlessly, the artwork was consistantly beautiful and of course the Age of Apocalypse introduced my all-time favorite character, X-Man, Nate Grey. Along with Starman, the Age of Apocalypse is something every comic book fan should be required to read.
DC Universe: Last Will and Testament: If you have read this comic book and didn't love Brad Meltzer's writing and Adam Kubert's art then there must be something wrong with you! This is easily one of my favorite one-shots. The battle between Geo-Force and Deathstroke is the very definition of the word "epic".
Impulse's picture thought bubbles: This is just one of those quirky little things that I used to really get a kick out of. I don't know why Impulse thought exclusively in picture, but that one little touch is probably what endeared Bart Allen to me the most. Bart's thoughts always manage to put a smile on my face.
Hal Jordan and Sinestro's brawl from Green Lantern #25: Yeah, I'm sure I've read better fight scenes, but Hal and Sinestro's fight really sticks with me due to the sheer brutality of it. It wasn't a huge super-power blowout, there weren't explosions all over the place or a damsel in distress to save, it was just Hal and Sinestro, both stripped of their powers beating the hell out of each other until one man could no longer continue. Plain, simple and brilliant.
X-Men Legends 2 for the PSP: This is the only video game where my favorite character, Nate Grey, is playable. Although this game came out 4 years ago, I'll still occasionally fire it up, just for the sheer pleasure of taking on Apocalypse with only Nate in my party.
Stan Lee: The guy practically created the entire Marvel Universe single-handedly! What more needs to be said? Stan is probably the most important figure in the history of comic books. Yeah, I know, there were other iconic comic book creators, but to me, none can come close to approaching the body of work put forth by The Man.
I think I'll stop here at 10. Is this my definitive list of favorite things? No, of course not, these are the first 10 things that jumped into my head. I'm sure I'm missing a load of stuff, but hey, I can always save those other things for post #2,000! As always, thanks for reading and thanks for commenting, you guys are the reason I keep this blog going. Long Live The Legion!
The Starman series by James Robinson: Probably the best comic book series I've ever read. It should be mandatory for every comic book fan to read the full Starman run. The detail James put into not only Jack Knight(the main character)but the supporting cast is truly a thing of beauty. This is probably the series I'd be most hesitant to ever part with.
Grant Morrison's New X-Men run: If it wasn't for Grant Morrison's New X-Men run, there wouldn't even be an X-Man's Comic Blog! You see, I had quit reading comic books for a good 6 years. It was my spur of the moment purchase of New X-Men #132 that turned me back on to comic books in a BIG way. Grant's entire New X-Men run was very controversial, but wonderfully done.
Peter David: Peter is probably my all-time favorite writer. I'm sure some of you are thinking,"But I thought Geoff Johns was your favorite writer?". Yes, Geoff is my current favorite writer, but Peter is my ALL-TIME favorite. There is a distinction there. I don't think I've ever read a comic written by Peter that I can honestly say I didn't enjoy on some level. If it wasn't for Peter, there's a very real chance that I never would have started reading DC Comics. It was Peter's work on Young Justice that opened my eyes to the DCU, so for that I'm infinitely appreciative.
X-Men #25: I'm sorry, but Magneto tearing the adamantium off of Wolverine's bones and Prof. X then proceeding to mindwipe Mags is, was and always will be one of my favorite comic book moments. Nuff said.
The Age of Apocalypse Saga: Easily the greatest(and most ambitious)crossover ever done by any comic book company ever. EVER! The story was perfect, the issues almost universally tied into each other seamlessly, the artwork was consistantly beautiful and of course the Age of Apocalypse introduced my all-time favorite character, X-Man, Nate Grey. Along with Starman, the Age of Apocalypse is something every comic book fan should be required to read.
DC Universe: Last Will and Testament: If you have read this comic book and didn't love Brad Meltzer's writing and Adam Kubert's art then there must be something wrong with you! This is easily one of my favorite one-shots. The battle between Geo-Force and Deathstroke is the very definition of the word "epic".
Impulse's picture thought bubbles: This is just one of those quirky little things that I used to really get a kick out of. I don't know why Impulse thought exclusively in picture, but that one little touch is probably what endeared Bart Allen to me the most. Bart's thoughts always manage to put a smile on my face.
Hal Jordan and Sinestro's brawl from Green Lantern #25: Yeah, I'm sure I've read better fight scenes, but Hal and Sinestro's fight really sticks with me due to the sheer brutality of it. It wasn't a huge super-power blowout, there weren't explosions all over the place or a damsel in distress to save, it was just Hal and Sinestro, both stripped of their powers beating the hell out of each other until one man could no longer continue. Plain, simple and brilliant.
X-Men Legends 2 for the PSP: This is the only video game where my favorite character, Nate Grey, is playable. Although this game came out 4 years ago, I'll still occasionally fire it up, just for the sheer pleasure of taking on Apocalypse with only Nate in my party.
Stan Lee: The guy practically created the entire Marvel Universe single-handedly! What more needs to be said? Stan is probably the most important figure in the history of comic books. Yeah, I know, there were other iconic comic book creators, but to me, none can come close to approaching the body of work put forth by The Man.
I think I'll stop here at 10. Is this my definitive list of favorite things? No, of course not, these are the first 10 things that jumped into my head. I'm sure I'm missing a load of stuff, but hey, I can always save those other things for post #2,000! As always, thanks for reading and thanks for commenting, you guys are the reason I keep this blog going. Long Live The Legion!
A Quick Look at Green Arrow/Black Canary #25
Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Pencils: Mike Norton.
What Happened: Ollie wakes up naked in an alley in Star City with no knowledge of how he got there or what had happened to him the past several hours. Some friendly bums give him some clothing and he decides to make his way back home. Cupid dresses some guy up as Green Arrow and ties him to a bed, intending to sleep with him, but she ends up shooting him in the head instead. Ollie spots some guys robbing a grocery store and he decides to stop them, but winds up nearly getting knocked down by one of the crooks. Before the crook can shoot Ollie, several green arrows hit the crooks clothing, pinning him to the wall. Ollie catches a glimpse of an archer dressed in green on a rooftop and he decides to duck into the sewer instead of facing the green clad archer. Ollie emerges from the sewer in front of his home, and he rings the bell, which brings Speedy and Black Canary to the door. Before Ollie can enter the door, a green arrow comes hurtling towards him, but luckily Speedy shoots it out of the air with an arrow of her own. The three heroes look around and Green Arrow(?!)leaps off a nearby building, preparing to attack Ollie. Next up was the Black Canary Second Feature which instead featured Speedy telling Lian Harper a bedtime story about BC... Um, yeah...
What I thought: Well this was a train wreck! This was NOT one of Andrew's better efforts. The main story was just bizarre(so is Green Arrow trying to kill Ollie, or help him?)and don't even get me started on the Black Canary Second Feature, which didn't actually feature Black Canary at all!!! And of course we had our obligatory Cupid portion of the comic, because the series title is Green Arrow/Black Canary/Cupid now... This whole comic was just very weird... Maybe next issue things will get better, but I'm not holding my breath on that one!
Score: 5 out of 10.
You know what the funniest thing was? The next page had absolutely NOTHING to do with this scene!
What Happened: Ollie wakes up naked in an alley in Star City with no knowledge of how he got there or what had happened to him the past several hours. Some friendly bums give him some clothing and he decides to make his way back home. Cupid dresses some guy up as Green Arrow and ties him to a bed, intending to sleep with him, but she ends up shooting him in the head instead. Ollie spots some guys robbing a grocery store and he decides to stop them, but winds up nearly getting knocked down by one of the crooks. Before the crook can shoot Ollie, several green arrows hit the crooks clothing, pinning him to the wall. Ollie catches a glimpse of an archer dressed in green on a rooftop and he decides to duck into the sewer instead of facing the green clad archer. Ollie emerges from the sewer in front of his home, and he rings the bell, which brings Speedy and Black Canary to the door. Before Ollie can enter the door, a green arrow comes hurtling towards him, but luckily Speedy shoots it out of the air with an arrow of her own. The three heroes look around and Green Arrow(?!)leaps off a nearby building, preparing to attack Ollie. Next up was the Black Canary Second Feature which instead featured Speedy telling Lian Harper a bedtime story about BC... Um, yeah...
What I thought: Well this was a train wreck! This was NOT one of Andrew's better efforts. The main story was just bizarre(so is Green Arrow trying to kill Ollie, or help him?)and don't even get me started on the Black Canary Second Feature, which didn't actually feature Black Canary at all!!! And of course we had our obligatory Cupid portion of the comic, because the series title is Green Arrow/Black Canary/Cupid now... This whole comic was just very weird... Maybe next issue things will get better, but I'm not holding my breath on that one!
Score: 5 out of 10.
You know what the funniest thing was? The next page had absolutely NOTHING to do with this scene!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The best of the rest.
You know, I'm STILL waiting on my comic order from last week to arrive? It was shipped out last Thursday and has been sitting in the Philadelphia post office processing facility since last Friday!!! Um, post office guys, it's REALLY not that far from Philadelphia to Binghamton NY! Anyway, this is supposed to be a weekly column about the back issues I've read this past week, so instead of insulting the good men and women of the US postal service(maybe if I kiss up I'll get my comics...)how about I list what I've been reading.
Gotham City Sirens #1-3: This is one of those Batman Reborn series that spun out of the Battle for the Cowl storyline. Basically we've got Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn(and Riddler I guess)creating a(VERY)loose alliance in an effort to take down Hush... I think. In reality, it's kind of early for me to figure out what's going on here, especially since regular series writer, Paul Dini, wrote issues #1 and 2, and longtime X-Men scribe, Scott Lobdell wrote issue #3 which was basically a stand alone Riddler story. While I was kind of underwhelmed by issues #1 and 2, issue #3 was a fantastic comic, one that actually has me looking at the Riddler in a different, more favorable light. Mainly due to the third issue, I'll give these three issues a total score of an 8 out of 10.
Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow Graphic Novel: Batman and Green Arrow team up to take out some fat cat businessman and Poison Ivy. The story was sound, and the ending was pretty cool, but there was something about the artwork that just bugged me... Maybe it was the fact that Poison Ivy would provocatively put her finger in her mouth... In almost EVERY SINGLE SCENE!!! Alright I get it, she's a flirt! Ugh... Anyway, for a score, I'll give this one a 6 1/2 out of 10.
Detective Comics #826(Feb. 2007): This was a Christmas issue starring Robin and the Joker. Yes, you read that right, Robin and the Joker. The J-man captures Robin, ties him up in the front seat of a stolen car and proceeds to torture Robin by running over and shooting several unsuspecting Gothamites. With no Batman in sight, it's up to Robin to free himself from Joker before Joker decides to add to his Robin body count. To be honest with you, I really enjoyed this one, especially Joker's final line before he vanished. If you're a fan of Joker or Tim Drake, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a read. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Batman and the Outsiders #9(Sept. 2008): I'm not really sure when or why I brought this comic... Sometimes I really baffle myself. Anyway, this comic was about astronauts being tricked into building a huge weapon out in space, but having no recollection of what they were doing. Batman figures Brother Eye is involved and has his old teammate Looker try to read the mind of one of the astronauts, but the guy winds up dying and Looker is traumatised by the whole ordeal. And um, yeah, that was about it. This is a prime example of why you shouldn't pick up a comic book smack dab in the middle of a storyline... Score: 6 out of 10.
Catwoman #63(Feb. 2007): This was a part of Catwoman's One Year Later post Infinite Crisis storyline, and was actually pretty good. Selina recounts the events of the past year(the stuff that happened after IC), including dealing with her role in Black Mask's death, falling for the son of Slam Bradley, Sam, and ultimately getting pregnant with Sam's daughter. I actually enjoyed this story so much I'm kind of tempted to see if I can find some cheap Catwoman comics somewhere. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Punisher: The End #1: This is one of the VERY rare cases where I had already read this comic but decided to give it a reread to see how it held up. The first time I read this issue was over 5 years ago, and after posting a scan from it last night at the picture blog, I was curious to see if it was as good as I remembered it being or if it had aged poorly. I can say with total confidence that this comic still is the best Punisher comic I've ever read, the best "The End" comic I've ever read, and one of my all-time favorite comics period. Yes, it's that good. The story is magnificent, the artwork fits the style of story perfectly, and the ending still manages to give me goosebumps. Granted, this story probably isn't for everybody, the language, as well as the action, is on the mature side, and to truly appreciate the ending, you do need a pretty good understanding of Frank Castle and his plight. For me though, it is one of those very rare perfect comic books. Score: 10 out of 10.
Formerly Known as the Justice League #1-6(Sept. 2003-Feb. 2004): Maxwell Lord decides to get a group of heroes together to help the common man, so he turns to the old Justice League from the late 1980's. The team consisted of Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Elongated Man and his wife, Sue Dibny, Fire, Mary Marvel and Captain Atom, and their adventures were about as comical as you would expect from that particular group of heroes. However, I just couldn't quite enjoy all of the jokes in this mini, mainly because of how terrible things turned out for practically everybody on this team! I mean jeez, Max went nuts and killed Beetle, before he was killed by Wonder Woman, Sue was horribly killed during Identity Crisis, while her husband the Elongated Man was murdered soon thereafter by Neron. Mary Marvel went crazy and worked for Darkseid during Final Crisis and Captain Atom is currently brainwashed and working for Gen. Lane. The story was good clean fun, but I couldn't help feeling badly for all the characters... Score: 7 out of 10.
Superman: Ending Battle parts 1-8(Nov. 2002-Dec. 2002): All of the important people in Clark Kent's life begin to get assaulted by super-villains, leaving Superman to realize that one of his arch-enemies has figured out that Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same. Supes has to travel between Smallville and Metropolis, saving anybody who ever touched the life of Clark Kent, from his dentist to his High School Football coach. Supes eventually confronts the man most likely behind these events, the President of the United States, Lex Luthor, and Supes learns that although Lex does indeed know Supes secret, he wasn't the man responsible for the attacks on his friends and family. So if it's not Lex, then who is the master villain destroying the life of Clark Kent? Trust me, the answer was pretty unspectacular! This seems like one of those cases where a story could have been MUCH better, but it just never clicked like it could have. For a score I'll go with a 6 1/2 out of 10.
Well, that's going to have to be it for tonight. If you have any questions about any of these comics, or just want more information on one of them, shoot me a comment, I'll be happy to respond. Until next time, Long Live The Legion!
Gotham City Sirens #1-3: This is one of those Batman Reborn series that spun out of the Battle for the Cowl storyline. Basically we've got Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn(and Riddler I guess)creating a(VERY)loose alliance in an effort to take down Hush... I think. In reality, it's kind of early for me to figure out what's going on here, especially since regular series writer, Paul Dini, wrote issues #1 and 2, and longtime X-Men scribe, Scott Lobdell wrote issue #3 which was basically a stand alone Riddler story. While I was kind of underwhelmed by issues #1 and 2, issue #3 was a fantastic comic, one that actually has me looking at the Riddler in a different, more favorable light. Mainly due to the third issue, I'll give these three issues a total score of an 8 out of 10.
Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow Graphic Novel: Batman and Green Arrow team up to take out some fat cat businessman and Poison Ivy. The story was sound, and the ending was pretty cool, but there was something about the artwork that just bugged me... Maybe it was the fact that Poison Ivy would provocatively put her finger in her mouth... In almost EVERY SINGLE SCENE!!! Alright I get it, she's a flirt! Ugh... Anyway, for a score, I'll give this one a 6 1/2 out of 10.
Detective Comics #826(Feb. 2007): This was a Christmas issue starring Robin and the Joker. Yes, you read that right, Robin and the Joker. The J-man captures Robin, ties him up in the front seat of a stolen car and proceeds to torture Robin by running over and shooting several unsuspecting Gothamites. With no Batman in sight, it's up to Robin to free himself from Joker before Joker decides to add to his Robin body count. To be honest with you, I really enjoyed this one, especially Joker's final line before he vanished. If you're a fan of Joker or Tim Drake, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a read. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Batman and the Outsiders #9(Sept. 2008): I'm not really sure when or why I brought this comic... Sometimes I really baffle myself. Anyway, this comic was about astronauts being tricked into building a huge weapon out in space, but having no recollection of what they were doing. Batman figures Brother Eye is involved and has his old teammate Looker try to read the mind of one of the astronauts, but the guy winds up dying and Looker is traumatised by the whole ordeal. And um, yeah, that was about it. This is a prime example of why you shouldn't pick up a comic book smack dab in the middle of a storyline... Score: 6 out of 10.
Catwoman #63(Feb. 2007): This was a part of Catwoman's One Year Later post Infinite Crisis storyline, and was actually pretty good. Selina recounts the events of the past year(the stuff that happened after IC), including dealing with her role in Black Mask's death, falling for the son of Slam Bradley, Sam, and ultimately getting pregnant with Sam's daughter. I actually enjoyed this story so much I'm kind of tempted to see if I can find some cheap Catwoman comics somewhere. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Punisher: The End #1: This is one of the VERY rare cases where I had already read this comic but decided to give it a reread to see how it held up. The first time I read this issue was over 5 years ago, and after posting a scan from it last night at the picture blog, I was curious to see if it was as good as I remembered it being or if it had aged poorly. I can say with total confidence that this comic still is the best Punisher comic I've ever read, the best "The End" comic I've ever read, and one of my all-time favorite comics period. Yes, it's that good. The story is magnificent, the artwork fits the style of story perfectly, and the ending still manages to give me goosebumps. Granted, this story probably isn't for everybody, the language, as well as the action, is on the mature side, and to truly appreciate the ending, you do need a pretty good understanding of Frank Castle and his plight. For me though, it is one of those very rare perfect comic books. Score: 10 out of 10.
Formerly Known as the Justice League #1-6(Sept. 2003-Feb. 2004): Maxwell Lord decides to get a group of heroes together to help the common man, so he turns to the old Justice League from the late 1980's. The team consisted of Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Elongated Man and his wife, Sue Dibny, Fire, Mary Marvel and Captain Atom, and their adventures were about as comical as you would expect from that particular group of heroes. However, I just couldn't quite enjoy all of the jokes in this mini, mainly because of how terrible things turned out for practically everybody on this team! I mean jeez, Max went nuts and killed Beetle, before he was killed by Wonder Woman, Sue was horribly killed during Identity Crisis, while her husband the Elongated Man was murdered soon thereafter by Neron. Mary Marvel went crazy and worked for Darkseid during Final Crisis and Captain Atom is currently brainwashed and working for Gen. Lane. The story was good clean fun, but I couldn't help feeling badly for all the characters... Score: 7 out of 10.
Superman: Ending Battle parts 1-8(Nov. 2002-Dec. 2002): All of the important people in Clark Kent's life begin to get assaulted by super-villains, leaving Superman to realize that one of his arch-enemies has figured out that Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same. Supes has to travel between Smallville and Metropolis, saving anybody who ever touched the life of Clark Kent, from his dentist to his High School Football coach. Supes eventually confronts the man most likely behind these events, the President of the United States, Lex Luthor, and Supes learns that although Lex does indeed know Supes secret, he wasn't the man responsible for the attacks on his friends and family. So if it's not Lex, then who is the master villain destroying the life of Clark Kent? Trust me, the answer was pretty unspectacular! This seems like one of those cases where a story could have been MUCH better, but it just never clicked like it could have. For a score I'll go with a 6 1/2 out of 10.
Well, that's going to have to be it for tonight. If you have any questions about any of these comics, or just want more information on one of them, shoot me a comment, I'll be happy to respond. Until next time, Long Live The Legion!
A Quick Look at Adventure Comics #3
Writer: The comic book GOD himself, Mr. Geoff Johns. Art: Francis Manapul.
What Happened: While at school in Smallville, Superboy realizes that Krypto has been defeating and collecting SB's old rogues gallery and depositing them nearby for SB. SB rushes outside and scolds Krypto for potentially giving away his secret identity and placing Ma in jeopardy, but upon realizing Krypto was only trying to help, he apologizes for scolding Krypto and takes his rogues to Blackgate prison. From there, SB takes Krypto to Lex Luthor's childhood home with the hope that Krypto could pick up Lex's scent and take him to where Lex was hiding. Unfortunately, Krypto is unable to latch onto Lex's scent, so SB has Krypto take him to the best detective he knows, his best friend, Red Robin. After helping RR apprehend a crook and get a hold of a Mother Box, RR and SB head to one of Lex's old labs underneath Paris. The two do some bonding, but unfortunately for SB, RR is unable to figure out where Lex is hiding. So where is Lex? This issue ends with Lex Luthor, still aboard Brainiac's ship, deciding to head down to Smallville to retake custody of "his" property, Superboy.
What I thought: I liked this issue. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was a very good comic book. I like that Geoff is trying to reestablish Superboy in the DCU by having him meet up with all of his friends and allies again, but I'm ready for some action now! The first three issues of this series have consisted of little more then SB talking to his old teammates and friends. Although I'm hesitant to question the wisdom of the comic book GOD himself, I kind of think all of this meet and greet stuff could/should have been taken care of in the first issue, with the proceeding issues dealing with SB vs Lex Luthor or whoever SB decides to battle. But since I did like this issue, that's neither here nor there I guess. Next issue features the amazingly AWESOME Superboy Prime, the character I most love to hate, before issue #5 finally gives us the Superboy Lex Luthor showdown. I definitely can't wait for that! Oh yeah, there was a Legion of Super-Heroes Second Feature here as well, but since it didn't star my Legion(the Three-peat Legion)I really didn't feel like reading it, so I basically skimmed it.
Score: 8 out of 10.
You know, I really wish Lex and Brainiac had their own mini-series. It could be like a new age odd couple.
What Happened: While at school in Smallville, Superboy realizes that Krypto has been defeating and collecting SB's old rogues gallery and depositing them nearby for SB. SB rushes outside and scolds Krypto for potentially giving away his secret identity and placing Ma in jeopardy, but upon realizing Krypto was only trying to help, he apologizes for scolding Krypto and takes his rogues to Blackgate prison. From there, SB takes Krypto to Lex Luthor's childhood home with the hope that Krypto could pick up Lex's scent and take him to where Lex was hiding. Unfortunately, Krypto is unable to latch onto Lex's scent, so SB has Krypto take him to the best detective he knows, his best friend, Red Robin. After helping RR apprehend a crook and get a hold of a Mother Box, RR and SB head to one of Lex's old labs underneath Paris. The two do some bonding, but unfortunately for SB, RR is unable to figure out where Lex is hiding. So where is Lex? This issue ends with Lex Luthor, still aboard Brainiac's ship, deciding to head down to Smallville to retake custody of "his" property, Superboy.
What I thought: I liked this issue. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was a very good comic book. I like that Geoff is trying to reestablish Superboy in the DCU by having him meet up with all of his friends and allies again, but I'm ready for some action now! The first three issues of this series have consisted of little more then SB talking to his old teammates and friends. Although I'm hesitant to question the wisdom of the comic book GOD himself, I kind of think all of this meet and greet stuff could/should have been taken care of in the first issue, with the proceeding issues dealing with SB vs Lex Luthor or whoever SB decides to battle. But since I did like this issue, that's neither here nor there I guess. Next issue features the amazingly AWESOME Superboy Prime, the character I most love to hate, before issue #5 finally gives us the Superboy Lex Luthor showdown. I definitely can't wait for that! Oh yeah, there was a Legion of Super-Heroes Second Feature here as well, but since it didn't star my Legion(the Three-peat Legion)I really didn't feel like reading it, so I basically skimmed it.
Score: 8 out of 10.
You know, I really wish Lex and Brainiac had their own mini-series. It could be like a new age odd couple.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Quick Look at Green Lantern Corps #41
Writer: Peter Tomasi. Pencils: Patrick Gleason.
What Happened: Green Lanterns Soranik and Iolande are battling the Black Lanterns in the Green Lantern infirmary on Oa, and they aren't exactly doing a very good job of saving the injured GL's. The two Lantern's finally decide to evacuate the remaining injured GL's to the sentient GL planet, Mogo. Guy Gardner and one of the dead lost Lantern's fight, and Guy realizes he's fighting a losing battle after he burns the lost Lantern's skin away and the lost Lantern continues to regenerate. From there, Guy beats a hasty retreat to figure out what to do. Kyle is still battling his dead girlfriend, BL Jade, and Iolande tells Soranik to go and help Kyle while she continues on to Mogo. While Soranik and Kyle take on BL Jade, Arisia has to deal with three generations of her family, all former Green Lanterns. After a pitched battle, she manages to defeat her dead family members. Kilowog and several GL rookies try to hold their own against the legion of BL's, but every single GL rookie is swiftly murdered by Kilowog's old drill instructor, Ermey. Kilowog and BL Ermey battle and Kilowog manages to gain the upper hand, but he makes the possibly fatal mistake of getting too close to BL Ermey, who begins to tear Kilowog's heart from his chest. GL's Vath and Isamot wind up getting overrun by an army of BL children, but are saved by the timely arrival of one of the Indigo Lanterns, ending this issue.
What I thought: This was probably as good an issue of this series could have been during the Blackest Night x-over. Let's face it, nothing really huge can happen here. Any real major occurrences are going to take place in either Green Lantern or the main Blackest Night mini-series(both written by Geoff Johns). With that said, I thought Peter told as good a story as he could have. The only complaint I had was that the scenes switched too quickly, giving us only a glimpse of each battle. I would have preferred to have read more about Kyle, Soranik and Jade, or Kilowog and Ermey, but I think Peter was trying to show just how vast and chaotic the situation on Oa was. Oh, and the Black Lantern children were super creepy!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Hey, not for nothing, but Black Lantern Jade is telling the truth here. Kyle has a pretty abysmal track record with women.
What Happened: Green Lanterns Soranik and Iolande are battling the Black Lanterns in the Green Lantern infirmary on Oa, and they aren't exactly doing a very good job of saving the injured GL's. The two Lantern's finally decide to evacuate the remaining injured GL's to the sentient GL planet, Mogo. Guy Gardner and one of the dead lost Lantern's fight, and Guy realizes he's fighting a losing battle after he burns the lost Lantern's skin away and the lost Lantern continues to regenerate. From there, Guy beats a hasty retreat to figure out what to do. Kyle is still battling his dead girlfriend, BL Jade, and Iolande tells Soranik to go and help Kyle while she continues on to Mogo. While Soranik and Kyle take on BL Jade, Arisia has to deal with three generations of her family, all former Green Lanterns. After a pitched battle, she manages to defeat her dead family members. Kilowog and several GL rookies try to hold their own against the legion of BL's, but every single GL rookie is swiftly murdered by Kilowog's old drill instructor, Ermey. Kilowog and BL Ermey battle and Kilowog manages to gain the upper hand, but he makes the possibly fatal mistake of getting too close to BL Ermey, who begins to tear Kilowog's heart from his chest. GL's Vath and Isamot wind up getting overrun by an army of BL children, but are saved by the timely arrival of one of the Indigo Lanterns, ending this issue.
What I thought: This was probably as good an issue of this series could have been during the Blackest Night x-over. Let's face it, nothing really huge can happen here. Any real major occurrences are going to take place in either Green Lantern or the main Blackest Night mini-series(both written by Geoff Johns). With that said, I thought Peter told as good a story as he could have. The only complaint I had was that the scenes switched too quickly, giving us only a glimpse of each battle. I would have preferred to have read more about Kyle, Soranik and Jade, or Kilowog and Ermey, but I think Peter was trying to show just how vast and chaotic the situation on Oa was. Oh, and the Black Lantern children were super creepy!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Hey, not for nothing, but Black Lantern Jade is telling the truth here. Kyle has a pretty abysmal track record with women.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Uncanny X-Men #515
Writer: Matt Fraction. Pencils: Greg Land.
What Happened: We start off with a group of mutants abducting Scalphunter from his job as a short order cook, seemingly in order to feed him to the "predators". On Utopia, Cyclops admits to the rest of his leadership team(Emma, Storm, Beast, Prof. X, Namor and Iceman(???))that he really doesn't have any plan on what to do now that he has moved the remnants of mutantkind onto Utopia island. This causes Emma to get snippy, which almost leads to a fight between Emma and Storm. While this is going on, Psylocke enters the room to alert the mutants that one of the members of Beast's X-Club, Dr. Takiguchi, has apparently died of old age. Beast is naturally devastated, while all Cyclops can think about is what they should do with the body, since they obviously have nowhere to put it. Needless to say, Beast seems pissed at Scott's lack of sympathy. Later, Prof X seeks Scott out and the two discuss many things, from Scott's recent behavior to Scott's decision to return to San Francisco to speak with the mayor. Emma decides to have Danger watch over the prisoners that are still being kept at the X-Men's former base in San Fran, and Scott meets with the mayor, who tells him that she'll help him as much as she can, but that the X-Men should definitely be careful. Beast and his X-Club decide to cremate Dr. Takiguchi and neither Emma nor Scott attend the ceremony. Emma continues to be cold and distant to Scott, explaining that she is acting this way because she is trying to keep the portion of the Void that latched onto her in check. While Scott and Emma argue, Magneto(!!!!!!!!!!)arrives above the island, apparently brimming with his lost mutant powers!
What I thought: Wow... You know, before I read this comic, I already had a rant in mind that I was going to unleash upon finishing this issue up. That's how sure I was that I was going to hate this issue. After finishing this comic though, I can gleefully say this was the best issue of Uncanny X-Men Matt has EVER written! Hell, this is the best x-comic I've read in YEARS! I'm actually feeling a little bit giddy! This comic was about as close to the magnificent x-comics of the early-mid 90's that I grew up reading. Thank you Matt Fraction for restoring some of my confidence in this, my one time favorite comic series. Where do I even begin. Let's start with Cyclops. This issue was the first time in a long time where he actually acted in a manner resembling the character I used to admire so much. He wasn't an overbearing jackass, he was filled with the doubts and indecision. THIS is the Scott Summers I was a fan of during my childhood! Of course, the return of Prof. X to these pages was also a VERY welcome sight. Prof. X IS the X-Men to me, he is the mentor/father figure and he was gone/disrespected for way too long. Prof. X's character acted exactly how I would have expected him to act, he was trying to support Scott, although you could see he did have some doubts as to the current direction Scott had taken mutantkind. The tension between Scott and Beast was perfectly done as well, as the rift between Scott and Hank has been growing in recent issues and now, with the arrival of an apparently re-powered Magneto, you have to wonder how Hank, who has devoted his every waking hour to to trying to re-power mutantkind, is going to react to Magneto regaining his powers. Hell, I even liked Emma in this issue! That should say A LOT! Excellent, excellent issue here. For the first time in AGES, I'm actually looking forward to the next issue of this series, and I couldn't be happier!
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
I have been waiting almost 4 years to see this awesome scene.
What Happened: We start off with a group of mutants abducting Scalphunter from his job as a short order cook, seemingly in order to feed him to the "predators". On Utopia, Cyclops admits to the rest of his leadership team(Emma, Storm, Beast, Prof. X, Namor and Iceman(???))that he really doesn't have any plan on what to do now that he has moved the remnants of mutantkind onto Utopia island. This causes Emma to get snippy, which almost leads to a fight between Emma and Storm. While this is going on, Psylocke enters the room to alert the mutants that one of the members of Beast's X-Club, Dr. Takiguchi, has apparently died of old age. Beast is naturally devastated, while all Cyclops can think about is what they should do with the body, since they obviously have nowhere to put it. Needless to say, Beast seems pissed at Scott's lack of sympathy. Later, Prof X seeks Scott out and the two discuss many things, from Scott's recent behavior to Scott's decision to return to San Francisco to speak with the mayor. Emma decides to have Danger watch over the prisoners that are still being kept at the X-Men's former base in San Fran, and Scott meets with the mayor, who tells him that she'll help him as much as she can, but that the X-Men should definitely be careful. Beast and his X-Club decide to cremate Dr. Takiguchi and neither Emma nor Scott attend the ceremony. Emma continues to be cold and distant to Scott, explaining that she is acting this way because she is trying to keep the portion of the Void that latched onto her in check. While Scott and Emma argue, Magneto(!!!!!!!!!!)arrives above the island, apparently brimming with his lost mutant powers!
What I thought: Wow... You know, before I read this comic, I already had a rant in mind that I was going to unleash upon finishing this issue up. That's how sure I was that I was going to hate this issue. After finishing this comic though, I can gleefully say this was the best issue of Uncanny X-Men Matt has EVER written! Hell, this is the best x-comic I've read in YEARS! I'm actually feeling a little bit giddy! This comic was about as close to the magnificent x-comics of the early-mid 90's that I grew up reading. Thank you Matt Fraction for restoring some of my confidence in this, my one time favorite comic series. Where do I even begin. Let's start with Cyclops. This issue was the first time in a long time where he actually acted in a manner resembling the character I used to admire so much. He wasn't an overbearing jackass, he was filled with the doubts and indecision. THIS is the Scott Summers I was a fan of during my childhood! Of course, the return of Prof. X to these pages was also a VERY welcome sight. Prof. X IS the X-Men to me, he is the mentor/father figure and he was gone/disrespected for way too long. Prof. X's character acted exactly how I would have expected him to act, he was trying to support Scott, although you could see he did have some doubts as to the current direction Scott had taken mutantkind. The tension between Scott and Beast was perfectly done as well, as the rift between Scott and Hank has been growing in recent issues and now, with the arrival of an apparently re-powered Magneto, you have to wonder how Hank, who has devoted his every waking hour to to trying to re-power mutantkind, is going to react to Magneto regaining his powers. Hell, I even liked Emma in this issue! That should say A LOT! Excellent, excellent issue here. For the first time in AGES, I'm actually looking forward to the next issue of this series, and I couldn't be happier!
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
I have been waiting almost 4 years to see this awesome scene.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
This is for the best.
Following last night's meltdown thanks to Dark Reign The List: Avengers #1, along with the fact that my new order of comics STILL haven't arrived, I'm going to take a day off from reviewing anything. I was going to read/review Uncanny X-Men #515 and/or Astonishing X-Men #31, but after last night I'm pretty sure I won't be able to give either comic a fair shake. No, I'm going to take a day off from reading Marvel comic books and hopefully by tomorrow the bad taste Dark Reign The List Avengers left in my mouth will finally be gone. Tonight I'll probably read Gotham City Sirens #1-4 before I call it a night. I'll put reviews up for those books come Friday when I do my weekly "Best of the Rest" post. That's going to have to be it for tonight, Long Live the Legion!
Monday, October 19, 2009
A Quick Look at Dark Reign The List: Daredevil #1
Writer: Andy Diggle. Pencils: Billy Tan.
What Happened: Daredevil is in the process of becoming the leader of his longtime enemies, the Hand. However, before he is declared the leader, he must undergo certain mental and physical tests. Meanwhile, a crooked judge and two crooked cops are literally cut to pieces on the streets of NYC, and Osborn believes the Hand was behind the killings. Since Daredevil is currently leading the Hand Osborn figures DD was responsible for the deaths, so he dispatches Bullseye to kill DD. Bullseye breaches the inner sanctum of the Hand with a few HAMMER soldiers and attacks DD and the Hand. After a quick battle, Bullseye hops on a helicopter and tries to escape, but is followed by DD. Bullseye leads DD to a condemned building in Hell's Kitchen where several squatters were living. DD is perplexed by Bullseye's actions, telling Bullseye that he is always defeated by DD, and that this time won't be any different. Bullseye then explains that the rules have changed and he proceeds to set off a massive bomb in the building under DD's feet, killing over 100 squatters before retreating. We find out that it wasn't a member of the Hand who killed the crooked judge and cops, it was Lady Bullseye, at the behest of Kingpin, who ordered the killings so Osborn would target DD. This issue ends with DD swearing revenge on Bullseye and Osborn.
What I thought: This was an interesting story. I do like the idea of putting DD as the leader of the Hand(although I don't think I like the new DD inspired Hand outfits), but I'm not really happy about DD going up against Osborn. He's more of a street vigilante, not a global hero. With that said though, if this story leads to DD vs. Bullseye, I'd be more than fine with that. That is one rivalry I can honestly say I can never get enough of. This is where Bullseye belongs, tormenting DD, not working on the Avengers. DD's next move should be VERY interesting.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Ah, this is how I like Bullseye... Completely and utterly evil, not pretending to be a hero.
What Happened: Daredevil is in the process of becoming the leader of his longtime enemies, the Hand. However, before he is declared the leader, he must undergo certain mental and physical tests. Meanwhile, a crooked judge and two crooked cops are literally cut to pieces on the streets of NYC, and Osborn believes the Hand was behind the killings. Since Daredevil is currently leading the Hand Osborn figures DD was responsible for the deaths, so he dispatches Bullseye to kill DD. Bullseye breaches the inner sanctum of the Hand with a few HAMMER soldiers and attacks DD and the Hand. After a quick battle, Bullseye hops on a helicopter and tries to escape, but is followed by DD. Bullseye leads DD to a condemned building in Hell's Kitchen where several squatters were living. DD is perplexed by Bullseye's actions, telling Bullseye that he is always defeated by DD, and that this time won't be any different. Bullseye then explains that the rules have changed and he proceeds to set off a massive bomb in the building under DD's feet, killing over 100 squatters before retreating. We find out that it wasn't a member of the Hand who killed the crooked judge and cops, it was Lady Bullseye, at the behest of Kingpin, who ordered the killings so Osborn would target DD. This issue ends with DD swearing revenge on Bullseye and Osborn.
What I thought: This was an interesting story. I do like the idea of putting DD as the leader of the Hand(although I don't think I like the new DD inspired Hand outfits), but I'm not really happy about DD going up against Osborn. He's more of a street vigilante, not a global hero. With that said though, if this story leads to DD vs. Bullseye, I'd be more than fine with that. That is one rivalry I can honestly say I can never get enough of. This is where Bullseye belongs, tormenting DD, not working on the Avengers. DD's next move should be VERY interesting.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Ah, this is how I like Bullseye... Completely and utterly evil, not pretending to be a hero.
A Quick Rant about Dark Reign: The List: Avengers #1
Writer: BENDIS. Pencils: Marko Djurdjevic.
What Happened: Norman Osborn decides he wants to use his power to fix what he sees is wrong with the world, so he makes a list and begins to plan on how to implement it. Clint Barton decides he's going to kill Osborn because Osborn said bad things about him on TV and because the mutants are living on an island off the coast of California. Yeah... The Avengers try to talk Clint out of his plans, but Clint is past reasoning. Finally Mockingbird tells him she'll go with him, even though she doesn't like the idea. After a roll in the hay, Clint waits until Mock is asleep before heading off alone to kill Osborn. He breaks into Avengers Tower and dispatches with most of the Dark Avengers before he comes face to face with Osborn. Before Clint can kill Osborn, Ares knocks Clint out and this comic(MERCIFULLY!!!!!!!)ends.
What I thought: This was one of the worst comic books I've read in a LOOOONG time. I honestly can't believe I actually read this... When the HELL did Clint Barton become a homicidal maniac? Really, I'd seriously like to know. I've been an Avengers fan since I was 11 years old, and I can safely say that I have NEVER seen an Avenger this horribly mischaracterized. Jesus Christ, Clint left his wife when she allowed the man who raped her(repeatedly)to fall to his death!!! That's how strongly he felt about the Avengers "no killing" policy! I'm supposed to buy this garbage? Osborn creating his own band of Avengers is what pushes Clint over the edge??? Really!?!? Clint has always been steadfast in his belief that Avengers don't kill. And yet, Clint has to be told this fact by Spider-Man, who shouldn't even be on the goddamn team!!! This comic is definitely the current front runner for the title of worst comic book of the year, by a WIDE margin.
Score: 1 out of 10. I'd have given this comic a 0, but the artwork was much better than this awful comic deserved.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What Happened: Norman Osborn decides he wants to use his power to fix what he sees is wrong with the world, so he makes a list and begins to plan on how to implement it. Clint Barton decides he's going to kill Osborn because Osborn said bad things about him on TV and because the mutants are living on an island off the coast of California. Yeah... The Avengers try to talk Clint out of his plans, but Clint is past reasoning. Finally Mockingbird tells him she'll go with him, even though she doesn't like the idea. After a roll in the hay, Clint waits until Mock is asleep before heading off alone to kill Osborn. He breaks into Avengers Tower and dispatches with most of the Dark Avengers before he comes face to face with Osborn. Before Clint can kill Osborn, Ares knocks Clint out and this comic(MERCIFULLY!!!!!!!)ends.
What I thought: This was one of the worst comic books I've read in a LOOOONG time. I honestly can't believe I actually read this... When the HELL did Clint Barton become a homicidal maniac? Really, I'd seriously like to know. I've been an Avengers fan since I was 11 years old, and I can safely say that I have NEVER seen an Avenger this horribly mischaracterized. Jesus Christ, Clint left his wife when she allowed the man who raped her(repeatedly)to fall to his death!!! That's how strongly he felt about the Avengers "no killing" policy! I'm supposed to buy this garbage? Osborn creating his own band of Avengers is what pushes Clint over the edge??? Really!?!? Clint has always been steadfast in his belief that Avengers don't kill. And yet, Clint has to be told this fact by Spider-Man, who shouldn't even be on the goddamn team!!! This comic is definitely the current front runner for the title of worst comic book of the year, by a WIDE margin.
Score: 1 out of 10. I'd have given this comic a 0, but the artwork was much better than this awful comic deserved.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Testing, testing, testing...
Yeah, so this is going to be one of those (in)famous quickie posts that have little to nothing to do with comic books. I've got a pretty important Accounting test tomorrow which I should definitely start studying for and on top of that I'm starting to feel pretty crappy. And no, it's not because of the way the Giants and Jets played today(although that didn't help matters!), I think I may finally be catching whatever the hell everybody else has been sick with lately. On the plus side, I'm about 95% sure I should be receiving my recent comic book order in the mail tomorrow, and nothing makes me feel better faster then a box full of comic book goodness! So with any luck, I should have some reviews up for comics I'm actually looking forward to reading. If not, I'll be stuck reading what I'm sure will be another underwhelming x-comic or even worse, Dark Reign The List: Avengers #1... Please post office, don't make me resort to reading that! I think that's going to have to be enough for tonight, until next time, Long Live the Legion!
Same old, same old...
My package of comics didn't arrive in the mail today(like I was hoping)which means I really don't have anything to post tonight. Yeah sure, I could read Uncanny X-Men #515 or Astonishing X-Men #31, but I figure that would only serve to aggravate me, and so far this weekend has been nice and relaxing, so I don't want to ruin that. Tomorrow, after victories by the Giants and Jets(naturally!), I'll probably be hitting the books since I have a VERY big Accounting test on Monday and a Spanish test later on this week, so don't be surprised if I have another time wasting post up tomorrow. Hmm, that's about it for me tonight, I'm going to head over to the other blog, throw 2 new posts up and call it a night. You know, I really need a sign-off phrase to use here... You know, something like "X-Man75 signing off" or "Excelsior!" or even "Nok klek!"... Maybe I'll use "Long Live the Legion". I kind of like the idea of just yelling something random at the end of my posts. Well here goes, until next time, Long Live the Legion!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The best of the rest.
I managed to read a lot of back issues this past week. Here's a quick look at what I've been sifting through.
-Justice League of America #28(July 1989): This was a strange one... The story revolved around a date between Guy Gardner and Ice. Guy(being a gentleman)decides to take Ice to a pornographic movie theater, which is run by Black Hand(!!!!!!). Yes, the same Black Hand who is currently leading the Black Lanterns in DC's Blackest Night x-over! Black Hand had given up crime(or super crime at least)and when Guy and Ice entered his establishment, he thought they were there to arrest him for his past crimes, even though Ice and Guy had no clue who he was. Needless to say, this was definitely a comedy issue. Come on, you know you want to pick this one up out of morbid curiosity! Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Batman Annual #19: This was a Year One issue, and dealt with the first meeting between Batman and the Scarecrow. We get a full origin for the Scarecrow, along with his first defeat at the hands of the Batman. Pretty good stuff here, especially if you are a Scarecrow fan. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Girlfrenzy: JLA-Tomorrow Woman #1: This comic dealt with a character called Tomorrow Woman, who was apparently an android developed by Prof's T. Morrow and Ivo to infiltrate and destroy the JLA. We learn that although she is programed to eventually eliminate her teammates, Tomorrow Woman was conflicted. After reading this, I have to say I'm definitely interested in finding out more on Tomorrow Woman. Score: 8 out of 10.
-Rann-Thanagar War #1-6 + Special #1: Those wacky bird-like aliens, the Thanagarians decide to declare war on the science worshipping members of the planet Rann, and a whole slew of DC aliens and heroes wind up getting involved. To be honest, this mini-series really didn't do much for me. However, this mini is notable for the deaths of Hawkwoman and Jade. Score: 6 out of 10.
-Millennium #1-8: A Guardian of the Universe and a Zamaron come to Earth to create a new race of Earth-born immortals. However, the Guardian and Zamaron are opposed by the evil Manhunters, which the Gueardians had created 3 billion years ago. It's up to DC's heroes to stop the Manhunter's from killing the Chosen of the Guardian and Zamaron. This mini-series was an absolute trainwreck. Maybe it was because this series crossed over into a lot of other series(which I didn't have), or maybe it was because this was just a really bad series... I tend to think the latter is most likely the correct answer. Score: 3 out of 10.
-Deadshot #1-5: The assassin Deadshot discovers that he has a daughter he was previously unaware of, and sets out to clean out up the girl's neighborhood while starting up a relationship with the girl's mother, a former prostitute. Unfortunately, Deadshot steps on the toes of the wrong people, and has to deal with gang members, crooked cops, super-villains and Green Arrow. I thoroughly enjoyed this mini-series and I'd happily recommend it to anybody. Score: 9 out of 10.
-Batman: Face the Face TPB: This trade collected the One Year Later storyline that ran through the two main Bat titles after Infinite Crisis. It dealt with Batman returning to Gotham after a year away and relieving Harvey Dent from his role as Gotham's vigilante protector. However, Harvey isn't exactly happy to just hand Batman his job back, and soon after Batman returns, he begins to find members of his rogue's gallery dead, with all signs pointing to the supposedly reformed Harvey. This was an excellent Batman story. Any fan of Batman or Two-Face should DEFINITELY give this one a read. Score: 10 out of 10.
-Justice League of America #28(July 1989): This was a strange one... The story revolved around a date between Guy Gardner and Ice. Guy(being a gentleman)decides to take Ice to a pornographic movie theater, which is run by Black Hand(!!!!!!). Yes, the same Black Hand who is currently leading the Black Lanterns in DC's Blackest Night x-over! Black Hand had given up crime(or super crime at least)and when Guy and Ice entered his establishment, he thought they were there to arrest him for his past crimes, even though Ice and Guy had no clue who he was. Needless to say, this was definitely a comedy issue. Come on, you know you want to pick this one up out of morbid curiosity! Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Batman Annual #19: This was a Year One issue, and dealt with the first meeting between Batman and the Scarecrow. We get a full origin for the Scarecrow, along with his first defeat at the hands of the Batman. Pretty good stuff here, especially if you are a Scarecrow fan. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Girlfrenzy: JLA-Tomorrow Woman #1: This comic dealt with a character called Tomorrow Woman, who was apparently an android developed by Prof's T. Morrow and Ivo to infiltrate and destroy the JLA. We learn that although she is programed to eventually eliminate her teammates, Tomorrow Woman was conflicted. After reading this, I have to say I'm definitely interested in finding out more on Tomorrow Woman. Score: 8 out of 10.
-Rann-Thanagar War #1-6 + Special #1: Those wacky bird-like aliens, the Thanagarians decide to declare war on the science worshipping members of the planet Rann, and a whole slew of DC aliens and heroes wind up getting involved. To be honest, this mini-series really didn't do much for me. However, this mini is notable for the deaths of Hawkwoman and Jade. Score: 6 out of 10.
-Millennium #1-8: A Guardian of the Universe and a Zamaron come to Earth to create a new race of Earth-born immortals. However, the Guardian and Zamaron are opposed by the evil Manhunters, which the Gueardians had created 3 billion years ago. It's up to DC's heroes to stop the Manhunter's from killing the Chosen of the Guardian and Zamaron. This mini-series was an absolute trainwreck. Maybe it was because this series crossed over into a lot of other series(which I didn't have), or maybe it was because this was just a really bad series... I tend to think the latter is most likely the correct answer. Score: 3 out of 10.
-Deadshot #1-5: The assassin Deadshot discovers that he has a daughter he was previously unaware of, and sets out to clean out up the girl's neighborhood while starting up a relationship with the girl's mother, a former prostitute. Unfortunately, Deadshot steps on the toes of the wrong people, and has to deal with gang members, crooked cops, super-villains and Green Arrow. I thoroughly enjoyed this mini-series and I'd happily recommend it to anybody. Score: 9 out of 10.
-Batman: Face the Face TPB: This trade collected the One Year Later storyline that ran through the two main Bat titles after Infinite Crisis. It dealt with Batman returning to Gotham after a year away and relieving Harvey Dent from his role as Gotham's vigilante protector. However, Harvey isn't exactly happy to just hand Batman his job back, and soon after Batman returns, he begins to find members of his rogue's gallery dead, with all signs pointing to the supposedly reformed Harvey. This was an excellent Batman story. Any fan of Batman or Two-Face should DEFINITELY give this one a read. Score: 10 out of 10.
The end: Runaways #14
Writer: Kathryn Immonen. Artist: Sara Pichelli. If you don't want to read a very angry rant, stop reading after the review!
What Happened: Nico and Chase try to figure out what they should do now that their Malibu mansion has burned down and they're once again on the run. Chase is in a particularly miserable mood, especially after the events of the last few issues, what with his uncle's reappearance/disappearance and of course the death of Old Lace. While Nico is trying to figure out what to do with the team, Chase is mostly oblivious and he finally decides to leave, claiming he's going to scrounge up some food, although Nico is doubtful. From there we discover that Chase's uncle, Hunter, isn't dead, but was transported through another dimension back to his office, which was a very uncomfortable ride. Even though Chase was the one responsible for Hunter's trip, he still wants to help the Runaways, and he makes a phone call to the Runaway's transport, the Leapfrog. Victor picks up and Hunter offers to give the kids a place to live, no questions asked. Hunter gives a location to meet and hangs up. Victor and Karolina really want to see Hunter and hear out his offer, but Nico is hesitant to see Chase's uncle without Chase present. After some cajoling, Nico agrees to go, reasoning it's probably better to go without Chase anyway, especially considering what he did the last time he ran into Hunter. Meanwhile, Chase is wandering aimlessly through the streets of LA, when he bumps into a girl who is the absolute spitting image of his dead girlfriend, Gertrude. Chase is completely stunned and the girl walks away while Chase gathers himself and chases after her. The rest of the kids take the Leapfrog and meet up with Hunter to hear him out. Hunter offers the kids a house, money and safety, stating that when it comes to Chase he's always felt guilty that he wasn't there to protect him from his super-villain parents. In the end, Nico decides they can't take the offer because Chase wouldn't want them to. The kids leave and the conversation turns to Chase. Karolina begins to become really concerned about him, considering he has been gone for a while now, while Nico is of the mindset that when Chase is ready he'll come back to the team. And what of Chase? While he was running after Gert's lookalike, he wound up getting pasted by a van. This issue and series ends with Chase laying in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors who were trying feverishly to save his life.
What I thought: What do I think? That's a very good question... First I'm going to tackle the story itself, before I get on my soapbox. This issue was quite good. It really was. Kathryn's words and Sara's art have been(for the most part)VERY strong since they took over this series. The duel story with Hunter and the Runaways and Chase and Gert(???)were handled extremely well, and the cliffhanger ending left me absolutely craving more... However, there IS no more... This was the(very)sudden end of this series. To say that I'm pissed off about that would be a massive understatement. Here we go, get the censors ready! First off all, this was Kathryn and Sara's first storyarc in this series, and it only lasted 4(!!!)issues! What the hell!?! Couldn't Marvel have given the new creative team more then a scant 4 issues to get established before pulling the plug on this series? The fact that this series, which seemed to be heading in the right direction was canned, and yet all of the garbage BENDIS and Yost produce is happily lapped up by the masses really, REALLY pisses me off. Yep, I'm pretty steamed right now, and this blog is my sounding board. So, who's to blame for this series getting cancelled? The fans? Joe Quesada? The current creative team? Well, I'd definitely give the current creative team a pass, expecially since they only had 4(!!!)issues to work with. I really can't blame the fans, most fans probably didn't even know this series was still ongoing. No, the onus lays squarely on Marvel(for not bothering to give this series any real play)and Joss Whedon. Joss Whedon??? Yes, Joss Whedon. After the original creators of this series(Brian K Vaughn and Adrian Alphona)left, Joss Whedon was handed the creative reigns, which I thought was a great thing... At first. The way I saw it, Joss had a name, and that name would hopefully bring new fans to the series. Instead, we got 1 issue every 4 or 5 months, which effectively destroyed any possibility of new fans picking up this series(who wants to start a new series and then wait 6 months between issues?)and drove away the fans who had stuck with the series from the start. I'm honestly glad that Joss is no longer working for Marvel, because he just COULD NOT get a comic book out on time. Wow, this whole review really took an ugly turn somewhere along the line... Let me end this on a positive note. Brian and Adrian did a fantastic job through the first 40+ issues of this series. That's what I'll always remember. Not Whedon's ill-fated run on this series, and certainly not terrible first few issues of the third(and last)volume of this series. I guess I'll finish up by saying that I'm sure we'll see the Runaways again, these characters are just too good to stay in limbo for long. Keep on running.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Poor Chase. Poor Runaways fans. Poor me!!!
What Happened: Nico and Chase try to figure out what they should do now that their Malibu mansion has burned down and they're once again on the run. Chase is in a particularly miserable mood, especially after the events of the last few issues, what with his uncle's reappearance/disappearance and of course the death of Old Lace. While Nico is trying to figure out what to do with the team, Chase is mostly oblivious and he finally decides to leave, claiming he's going to scrounge up some food, although Nico is doubtful. From there we discover that Chase's uncle, Hunter, isn't dead, but was transported through another dimension back to his office, which was a very uncomfortable ride. Even though Chase was the one responsible for Hunter's trip, he still wants to help the Runaways, and he makes a phone call to the Runaway's transport, the Leapfrog. Victor picks up and Hunter offers to give the kids a place to live, no questions asked. Hunter gives a location to meet and hangs up. Victor and Karolina really want to see Hunter and hear out his offer, but Nico is hesitant to see Chase's uncle without Chase present. After some cajoling, Nico agrees to go, reasoning it's probably better to go without Chase anyway, especially considering what he did the last time he ran into Hunter. Meanwhile, Chase is wandering aimlessly through the streets of LA, when he bumps into a girl who is the absolute spitting image of his dead girlfriend, Gertrude. Chase is completely stunned and the girl walks away while Chase gathers himself and chases after her. The rest of the kids take the Leapfrog and meet up with Hunter to hear him out. Hunter offers the kids a house, money and safety, stating that when it comes to Chase he's always felt guilty that he wasn't there to protect him from his super-villain parents. In the end, Nico decides they can't take the offer because Chase wouldn't want them to. The kids leave and the conversation turns to Chase. Karolina begins to become really concerned about him, considering he has been gone for a while now, while Nico is of the mindset that when Chase is ready he'll come back to the team. And what of Chase? While he was running after Gert's lookalike, he wound up getting pasted by a van. This issue and series ends with Chase laying in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors who were trying feverishly to save his life.
What I thought: What do I think? That's a very good question... First I'm going to tackle the story itself, before I get on my soapbox. This issue was quite good. It really was. Kathryn's words and Sara's art have been(for the most part)VERY strong since they took over this series. The duel story with Hunter and the Runaways and Chase and Gert(???)were handled extremely well, and the cliffhanger ending left me absolutely craving more... However, there IS no more... This was the(very)sudden end of this series. To say that I'm pissed off about that would be a massive understatement. Here we go, get the censors ready! First off all, this was Kathryn and Sara's first storyarc in this series, and it only lasted 4(!!!)issues! What the hell!?! Couldn't Marvel have given the new creative team more then a scant 4 issues to get established before pulling the plug on this series? The fact that this series, which seemed to be heading in the right direction was canned, and yet all of the garbage BENDIS and Yost produce is happily lapped up by the masses really, REALLY pisses me off. Yep, I'm pretty steamed right now, and this blog is my sounding board. So, who's to blame for this series getting cancelled? The fans? Joe Quesada? The current creative team? Well, I'd definitely give the current creative team a pass, expecially since they only had 4(!!!)issues to work with. I really can't blame the fans, most fans probably didn't even know this series was still ongoing. No, the onus lays squarely on Marvel(for not bothering to give this series any real play)and Joss Whedon. Joss Whedon??? Yes, Joss Whedon. After the original creators of this series(Brian K Vaughn and Adrian Alphona)left, Joss Whedon was handed the creative reigns, which I thought was a great thing... At first. The way I saw it, Joss had a name, and that name would hopefully bring new fans to the series. Instead, we got 1 issue every 4 or 5 months, which effectively destroyed any possibility of new fans picking up this series(who wants to start a new series and then wait 6 months between issues?)and drove away the fans who had stuck with the series from the start. I'm honestly glad that Joss is no longer working for Marvel, because he just COULD NOT get a comic book out on time. Wow, this whole review really took an ugly turn somewhere along the line... Let me end this on a positive note. Brian and Adrian did a fantastic job through the first 40+ issues of this series. That's what I'll always remember. Not Whedon's ill-fated run on this series, and certainly not terrible first few issues of the third(and last)volume of this series. I guess I'll finish up by saying that I'm sure we'll see the Runaways again, these characters are just too good to stay in limbo for long. Keep on running.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Poor Chase. Poor Runaways fans. Poor me!!!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The awesomeness that is X-Factor #49
Writer: Peter David. Pencils: Valentine De Landro.
What Happened: This issue starts off with Rictor, Guido and Shatterstar travelling back to Detroit, after all the stuff with the Reverend Madrox. Shatterstar manages to teleport the three of them to Detroit, which is something new for him, and from Detroit he teleports the trio to Cortex. Back in the future, Jamie, Layla and the members of the Summers Rebellion defeat some Sentinel robots, while old Dr. Doom and old Cyclops have a very interesting conversation. Back in the present, Cortex attacks the heroes and manages to strangle Shatterstar with his detached arm, while knocking Guido out with a massive energy blast. With the Sentinels disposed of in the future, Jamie and company head to old Doom's lab where they discover that Doom has managed to get a fix on Cortex's position in the timestream. Doom brings Cortex to the future, and Jamie is stunned to discover that Cortex is one of his dupes. This issue ends with Doom, having overridden Cortex's original programming, telling Cortex that his new objective is to kill all mutants(!!!).
What I thought: This was easily one of the best comic books I have read all year. I'm continuously amazed by the awesomeness that is Peter David's writing. Where do I even start? This issue started out with some of the funniest dialogue you'll ever read in a comic book. Guido's conversation with Rictor was laugh out loud hilarious! The dialogue in that scene was an absolute treat to read. The way Peter managed to mix some levity into Guido's obvious discomfort over Rictor and Shatterstar's kiss was further proof that he is definitely one of the best comic writers ever. Yes, ever. From there we get some sweet fight scenes between the Summer's Rebellion and some futuristic Sentinels. The artwork was beautifully done, and I really hope Valentine sticks around this title for a long time. The conversation between Cyclops and Doom was also a thing of beauty. Doom's speech about humans, mutants and villains was just wonderfully done, and summed up humanity's hatred of mutants as well as anything I've ever read. And then there was the splendid and completely surprising ending, where Doom decides to use Cortex as his own personal weapon against mutantkind. This issue really showcases why X-Factor is not only the best x-title on the market today(by a WIDE margin), but also one of the best comic books being published today, period. THIS is the way an x-comic should be!!!!!
Score: 10+ out of 10.
There were so many awesome scenes in this comic that I honestly couldn't choose which one to post, so I just randomly turned to a page and scanned and posted this one.
What Happened: This issue starts off with Rictor, Guido and Shatterstar travelling back to Detroit, after all the stuff with the Reverend Madrox. Shatterstar manages to teleport the three of them to Detroit, which is something new for him, and from Detroit he teleports the trio to Cortex. Back in the future, Jamie, Layla and the members of the Summers Rebellion defeat some Sentinel robots, while old Dr. Doom and old Cyclops have a very interesting conversation. Back in the present, Cortex attacks the heroes and manages to strangle Shatterstar with his detached arm, while knocking Guido out with a massive energy blast. With the Sentinels disposed of in the future, Jamie and company head to old Doom's lab where they discover that Doom has managed to get a fix on Cortex's position in the timestream. Doom brings Cortex to the future, and Jamie is stunned to discover that Cortex is one of his dupes. This issue ends with Doom, having overridden Cortex's original programming, telling Cortex that his new objective is to kill all mutants(!!!).
What I thought: This was easily one of the best comic books I have read all year. I'm continuously amazed by the awesomeness that is Peter David's writing. Where do I even start? This issue started out with some of the funniest dialogue you'll ever read in a comic book. Guido's conversation with Rictor was laugh out loud hilarious! The dialogue in that scene was an absolute treat to read. The way Peter managed to mix some levity into Guido's obvious discomfort over Rictor and Shatterstar's kiss was further proof that he is definitely one of the best comic writers ever. Yes, ever. From there we get some sweet fight scenes between the Summer's Rebellion and some futuristic Sentinels. The artwork was beautifully done, and I really hope Valentine sticks around this title for a long time. The conversation between Cyclops and Doom was also a thing of beauty. Doom's speech about humans, mutants and villains was just wonderfully done, and summed up humanity's hatred of mutants as well as anything I've ever read. And then there was the splendid and completely surprising ending, where Doom decides to use Cortex as his own personal weapon against mutantkind. This issue really showcases why X-Factor is not only the best x-title on the market today(by a WIDE margin), but also one of the best comic books being published today, period. THIS is the way an x-comic should be!!!!!
Score: 10+ out of 10.
There were so many awesome scenes in this comic that I honestly couldn't choose which one to post, so I just randomly turned to a page and scanned and posted this one.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A Quick Look at Dark Avengers #9
Writer: BENDIS. Art: Mike Deodato.
What Happened: Ares follows his son and discovers that he is working with Nick Fury's Secret Warriors. Ares confesses to Fury that he doesn't know how to relate to his kid and that he also knows that if he kills Fury and the rest of the Warriors, his kid would never forgive him. After some deliberation, Ares decides to leave his son in the custody of Fury and the Warriors, but he warns Fury that if anything happens to his son, Zeus himself would punish Fury. Besides that, Osborn has locked himself in the basement of Avengers Tower and the Sentry's wife blasts Sentry in the face with a gun given to her by Marvel Boy.
What I thought: Nothing. That's what I think. I don't care about this series. If I wasn't subscribed to it I wouldn't even be reading it. Sorry, but that's all I've got to say about this issue.
Score: 6 out of 10.
How--how can I tell this comic was written by--by BENDIS? Be--Because everybody has a sp--speech impediment.
What Happened: Ares follows his son and discovers that he is working with Nick Fury's Secret Warriors. Ares confesses to Fury that he doesn't know how to relate to his kid and that he also knows that if he kills Fury and the rest of the Warriors, his kid would never forgive him. After some deliberation, Ares decides to leave his son in the custody of Fury and the Warriors, but he warns Fury that if anything happens to his son, Zeus himself would punish Fury. Besides that, Osborn has locked himself in the basement of Avengers Tower and the Sentry's wife blasts Sentry in the face with a gun given to her by Marvel Boy.
What I thought: Nothing. That's what I think. I don't care about this series. If I wasn't subscribed to it I wouldn't even be reading it. Sorry, but that's all I've got to say about this issue.
Score: 6 out of 10.
How--how can I tell this comic was written by--by BENDIS? Be--Because everybody has a sp--speech impediment.
A Quick Look at New Avengers #57
Writer: BENDIS. Pencils: Stewart Immonen.
What Happened: Osborn decides to take Dr. Harrow's deal and Harrow gives Osborn and the Dark Avengers their powers back. Before Osborn can have Spider-Man killed, Mockingbird lands a Quinjet in the street and the New Avengers beat a hasty retreat. Luke Cage is having a heart attack, so the team flies him to the Night Nurse to see if she can help. Meanwhile, Daken managed to get the scent of the Quinjet(???)and manages to lead Osborn and the rest of the Dark Avengers to the Night Nurse's base of operations. Night Nurse explains that since she can't cut into Luke's bulletproof skin there's nothing she can do to help him. The Avengers realize they need Osborn's power dampener in order to dampen Luke's powers. While they're all arguing over which one of them should surrender to Osborn and co, Luke decides that he'll surrender to Osborn himself, which would give the Avengers a chance to escape from Osborn and his crew. Luke walks outside to surrender, but ends up collapsing.
What I thought: Once again, this issue wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but that doesn't really change my fundamental problem with BENDIS and this series. First off, BENDIS' dialogue is painfully bad at times, as this issue proved. If you don't believe me, just check out the conversation between Night Nurse and Ms. Marvel. Besides that, I just don't care about this series, these characters or the situations they find themselves in... That's really a sad thing, considering the fact that I grew up reading and loving the Avengers. I can't believe BENDIS has been the driving force behind the Avengers for over five years now... Eh, what else can I say that I haven't said already?
Score: 5 out of 10.
Why the hell do all of the characters in every single one of BENDIS' comic books have to constantly repeat themselves or stutter?!?!
What Happened: Osborn decides to take Dr. Harrow's deal and Harrow gives Osborn and the Dark Avengers their powers back. Before Osborn can have Spider-Man killed, Mockingbird lands a Quinjet in the street and the New Avengers beat a hasty retreat. Luke Cage is having a heart attack, so the team flies him to the Night Nurse to see if she can help. Meanwhile, Daken managed to get the scent of the Quinjet(???)and manages to lead Osborn and the rest of the Dark Avengers to the Night Nurse's base of operations. Night Nurse explains that since she can't cut into Luke's bulletproof skin there's nothing she can do to help him. The Avengers realize they need Osborn's power dampener in order to dampen Luke's powers. While they're all arguing over which one of them should surrender to Osborn and co, Luke decides that he'll surrender to Osborn himself, which would give the Avengers a chance to escape from Osborn and his crew. Luke walks outside to surrender, but ends up collapsing.
What I thought: Once again, this issue wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but that doesn't really change my fundamental problem with BENDIS and this series. First off, BENDIS' dialogue is painfully bad at times, as this issue proved. If you don't believe me, just check out the conversation between Night Nurse and Ms. Marvel. Besides that, I just don't care about this series, these characters or the situations they find themselves in... That's really a sad thing, considering the fact that I grew up reading and loving the Avengers. I can't believe BENDIS has been the driving force behind the Avengers for over five years now... Eh, what else can I say that I haven't said already?
Score: 5 out of 10.
Why the hell do all of the characters in every single one of BENDIS' comic books have to constantly repeat themselves or stutter?!?!
A Quick Look at New Avengers #56
Writer: The Dread Lord BENDIS! Pencils: Stuart Immonen.
What Happened: We start out with Mockingbird taking the fight to Chemistro, who managed to down the entire Avengers team last issue. Mock takes out Chemistro, but is defeated by the Wrecking Crew, who arrived after Chemistro's defeat. Clint(I refuse to call him Ronin)Barton attacks the Wrecker, but that goes as well as one would expect. By this time, Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers arrive and Norman gets contacted by Dr. Harrow, who wants to cut deal with Osborn. When Osborn refuses, Harrow takes away the powers of Osborn and his team, leaving them at the mercy of about 10 c-list villains. Besides that, Loki gives the Asgardian Norn Stones to the Hood because... Well, I'm not sure why, but whatever I guess.
What I thought: Well, I've definitely read a lot worse from the Dread Lord, so that's a plus right there! With that said, this comic was still terrible, but at least it wasn't as mind-numbingly bad as some of the past issues have been. Do we really need 4 pages of dialogue between Osborn and Dr. Harrow? I mean come on, who really buys Harrow as a legitimate threat? Eh, I guess I should just be glad that I still have my sanity and leave it at that.
Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.
Yep, this went on for another several pages!
What Happened: We start out with Mockingbird taking the fight to Chemistro, who managed to down the entire Avengers team last issue. Mock takes out Chemistro, but is defeated by the Wrecking Crew, who arrived after Chemistro's defeat. Clint(I refuse to call him Ronin)Barton attacks the Wrecker, but that goes as well as one would expect. By this time, Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers arrive and Norman gets contacted by Dr. Harrow, who wants to cut deal with Osborn. When Osborn refuses, Harrow takes away the powers of Osborn and his team, leaving them at the mercy of about 10 c-list villains. Besides that, Loki gives the Asgardian Norn Stones to the Hood because... Well, I'm not sure why, but whatever I guess.
What I thought: Well, I've definitely read a lot worse from the Dread Lord, so that's a plus right there! With that said, this comic was still terrible, but at least it wasn't as mind-numbingly bad as some of the past issues have been. Do we really need 4 pages of dialogue between Osborn and Dr. Harrow? I mean come on, who really buys Harrow as a legitimate threat? Eh, I guess I should just be glad that I still have my sanity and leave it at that.
Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.
Yep, this went on for another several pages!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Still no new reviews???
Yeah, so I still won't be posting any new reviews. I've just got way too much homework to catch up on. I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll(FINALLY!)have some new reviews/stuff posted, but that all really depends on what my professors decide to throw at me tomorrow. Before I go, I figure I'll share an e-mail I received from the Marvel Comics subscription department regarding the Runaways series.
Hey, True Believers! Runaways ended with issue #14. As a courtesy, we've transferred your subscription from Runaways to New Mutants, our newest title that follows the adventures of your beloved teenage mutant super heroes in training! If you already subscribe to New Mutants, your subscription will be extended by the number of issues you had remaining in your Runaways subscription.
Um, no thanks!!! Jeez, I can't seem to get away from that abysmal New Mutants series! Needless to say, I'll be sending Marvel an e-mail requesting my remaining Runaways subscription gets transferred elsewhere, I just have to figure out which series I want to subscribe to.
Hey, True Believers! Runaways ended with issue #14. As a courtesy, we've transferred your subscription from Runaways to New Mutants, our newest title that follows the adventures of your beloved teenage mutant super heroes in training! If you already subscribe to New Mutants, your subscription will be extended by the number of issues you had remaining in your Runaways subscription.
Um, no thanks!!! Jeez, I can't seem to get away from that abysmal New Mutants series! Needless to say, I'll be sending Marvel an e-mail requesting my remaining Runaways subscription gets transferred elsewhere, I just have to figure out which series I want to subscribe to.
Liar, liar...
Yeah, so when I said I was going to have some new reviews up tonight, that was kind of optimistic I guess... I just finished watching the Jets game(BOOO!!)and I've still got a whole mess of homework to take care of, so my psychological torture at the hands of BENDIS will have to wait, which is probably a good thing! After I finish up my HW, I'll probably post two new scans over at the other blog, check for comments, read something(not sure what yet)and then call it a night. Pretty boring, no?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
To be forewarned is to be forearmed... Or something along those lines.
Since I'm feeling a bit lazy tonight, and there are some essays I should probably begin working on, I won't be posting any reviews tonight. But, and trust me on this one, that's probably a good thing! Why? Looking at my new comics pile tells me it's almost time for my least favorite time of the month, BENDIS-time! I have not one, but two(!)issues of New Avengers to read, one issue of Dark Avengers and an issue of Dark Reign: The List to read, all written by the Dread Lord himself. Reading an issue of New Avengers is akin to getting a root canal, while undergoing electro-shock treatments, all while hundreds of fire ants crawl about my body! What an odd visual... Anyway, I'm sure there are some of you out there asking yourselves, "Why read something that causes you to want to gouge out your own eyes after setting yourself ablaze?". Simply put, as much as I detest, abhor, loathe, despise and hate BENDIS' Avengers work, I can't stop reading about the Avengers. I've spent too much time, energy and money on the Avengers to give up on them, no matter how horrific things get. Yeah, so if you are a fan of the New Avengers series or BENDIS, I'd definitely recommend steering clear of this blog tomorrow night! Now with that bit of ugliness out of the way, just for the heck of it, I'm going to end this post by listing the comics I ordered yesterday and expect to have in my hands sometime later on this week. That's all for now, time to get to work.
Aquaman Vol 3 #10
Avengers The Initiative #28
Batman And Robin #5
Blackest Night Superman #2
Blackest Night Titans #1
Blackest Night Titans #2
Dark Reign The List Part 3 X-Men One Shot
Dark Reign The List Part 4 Secret Warriors
Dark X-Men The Confession One Shot
Flash Vol 2 #107
Gotham City Sirens #4
Green Lantern Vol 3 #111
Green Lantern Vol 3 #112
Green Lantern Vol 3 #113
Green Lantern Vol 3 #114
Green Lantern Vol 3 #129
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 #18
Guy Gardner #27
Guy Gardner #28
Justice League Cry For Justice #4
Justice League Of America Vol 2 #37
Magog #2
Nova Vol 4 #29
REBELS Annual Starro The Conqueror #1
Showcase 94 #7
Showcase 95 #8
Supergirl Vol 5 #45
Superman Secret Origin #1
Superman World Of New Krypton #8
Teen Titans Vol 3 #75
Underworld Unleashed #2
Underworld Unleashed #3
Wednesday Comics #12
Wolverine Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1
Aquaman Vol 3 #10
Avengers The Initiative #28
Batman And Robin #5
Blackest Night Superman #2
Blackest Night Titans #1
Blackest Night Titans #2
Dark Reign The List Part 3 X-Men One Shot
Dark Reign The List Part 4 Secret Warriors
Dark X-Men The Confession One Shot
Flash Vol 2 #107
Gotham City Sirens #4
Green Lantern Vol 3 #111
Green Lantern Vol 3 #112
Green Lantern Vol 3 #113
Green Lantern Vol 3 #114
Green Lantern Vol 3 #129
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 #18
Guy Gardner #27
Guy Gardner #28
Justice League Cry For Justice #4
Justice League Of America Vol 2 #37
Magog #2
Nova Vol 4 #29
REBELS Annual Starro The Conqueror #1
Showcase 94 #7
Showcase 95 #8
Supergirl Vol 5 #45
Superman Secret Origin #1
Superman World Of New Krypton #8
Teen Titans Vol 3 #75
Underworld Unleashed #2
Underworld Unleashed #3
Wednesday Comics #12
Wolverine Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1
A Quick Look at REBELS #8
Writer: Tony Bedard. Artist: Andy Clarke.
What Happened: This issue begins with Dox and his REBELS tracking down Dox's son, Lyrl. Lyrl tells the REBELS that his mother was killed by Dox's robot peacekeepers(who were taking orders from Starro). From there, Wildstar leaves the group to find Strata's husband and son. Meanwhile, the Khund try to launch an assault on the Dominator homeworld, which was conquered by Starro. The Khund assault fails miserably. The Omega Men, who were forced into an uneasy alliance with the Psions, are given phony Starro's to wear by the Psions. These fake Starro's are able to trick Starro into believing the Omega Men are under Starro's control. This issue ends with the Omega Men flying towards the homeworld of the Dominators, which now has a gigantic Starro covering half the planet.
What I thought: This series continues to impress me. Dox has easily become one of my favorite characters in all of comicdom. I honestly can't get enough of him and his attitude! The parts of this comic that featured Dox were golden(as always), plus the parts with the Omega Men and the Khund were extremely strong as well. I don't have anything to complain about here. Great story and dialogue plus beautiful artwork makes me a very happy individual.
Score: 9 out of 10.
I love Dox and this series...
What Happened: This issue begins with Dox and his REBELS tracking down Dox's son, Lyrl. Lyrl tells the REBELS that his mother was killed by Dox's robot peacekeepers(who were taking orders from Starro). From there, Wildstar leaves the group to find Strata's husband and son. Meanwhile, the Khund try to launch an assault on the Dominator homeworld, which was conquered by Starro. The Khund assault fails miserably. The Omega Men, who were forced into an uneasy alliance with the Psions, are given phony Starro's to wear by the Psions. These fake Starro's are able to trick Starro into believing the Omega Men are under Starro's control. This issue ends with the Omega Men flying towards the homeworld of the Dominators, which now has a gigantic Starro covering half the planet.
What I thought: This series continues to impress me. Dox has easily become one of my favorite characters in all of comicdom. I honestly can't get enough of him and his attitude! The parts of this comic that featured Dox were golden(as always), plus the parts with the Omega Men and the Khund were extremely strong as well. I don't have anything to complain about here. Great story and dialogue plus beautiful artwork makes me a very happy individual.
Score: 9 out of 10.
I love Dox and this series...
A Quick Look at Runaways #13
Writer: Kathryn Immonen. Artist: Sara Pichelli.
What Happened: Chase explains to Nico that the guy who showed up last issue couldn't be his uncle, because Chase accidentally ran his uncle down a few years back. After Chase gripes a bit, he makes out with Nico. Afterwards, Nico casts a spell on Chase's uncle and discovers that he is indeed Chase's flesh and blood. Chase's uncle, Hunter, explains that he is only there to help the kids, and to prove it he gives the kids some mysterious box the government was after, as well as helping the kids escape from some shifty government types who had set up shop outside the Runaways home in Malibu. Hunter then takes the kids to a warehouse and gives them a new Leapfrog plane. Chase repays his uncle by killing him(!?!)with the mysterious box the government was after. This issue ends with the shifty government guys torching the Runaways home.
What I thought: I found this issue VERY boring and a bit confusing. I'd been enjoying the first two issues of Kathryn's Runaways run, but this issue was all over the map... Weird boxes, shifty government types, Old Lace's corpse vanishing and Chase and Nico suddenly making out. It was all pretty bizarre. Hopefully this issue was just an aberration, and things will get better next issue.
Score: 4 out of 10.
I always wondered what would happen if a magician would evoke Abraham Lincoln's name.
What Happened: Chase explains to Nico that the guy who showed up last issue couldn't be his uncle, because Chase accidentally ran his uncle down a few years back. After Chase gripes a bit, he makes out with Nico. Afterwards, Nico casts a spell on Chase's uncle and discovers that he is indeed Chase's flesh and blood. Chase's uncle, Hunter, explains that he is only there to help the kids, and to prove it he gives the kids some mysterious box the government was after, as well as helping the kids escape from some shifty government types who had set up shop outside the Runaways home in Malibu. Hunter then takes the kids to a warehouse and gives them a new Leapfrog plane. Chase repays his uncle by killing him(!?!)with the mysterious box the government was after. This issue ends with the shifty government guys torching the Runaways home.
What I thought: I found this issue VERY boring and a bit confusing. I'd been enjoying the first two issues of Kathryn's Runaways run, but this issue was all over the map... Weird boxes, shifty government types, Old Lace's corpse vanishing and Chase and Nico suddenly making out. It was all pretty bizarre. Hopefully this issue was just an aberration, and things will get better next issue.
Score: 4 out of 10.
I always wondered what would happen if a magician would evoke Abraham Lincoln's name.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The best of the rest.
I read a lot of comic books over the course of a week. Not just the stuff that I post reviews for, but also a lot of back issues. I figured I'd use this post to give a quick rundown of the other comics I've spent the past few days reading through.
-Justice 1-12: Magnificent artwork and an excellent story, up until the end, which really fell a bit flat for me. Everything just wrapped up WAY too neatly for my taste. For a score I'd go with a 9 out of 10.
-Son of Superman: This was a prestige format Elseworlds story about(what else?)the son of Superman and Lois Lane. Basic coming of age super-hero story stuff. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-War of Kings: Ascension 1-4: A War of Kings x-over which starred one of my longtime favorite c-list heroes, Darkhawk. Good clean fun, although the massive overhaul of Darkhawk's origin did bother me a lot. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Green Arrow: Year One 1-6: This was Green Arrow's origin story and for lack of a better term, it was awesome. As a GA fan I was a bit hesitant going in, but this comic did a great job presenting Ollie's origin. Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
-Batman War Crimes TPB: This trade detailed some of the aftermath to the Batman: War Games storyline which led to the "death" of Spoiler. It was OK, but I was definitely hoping for more from this one. Score: 7 out of 10.
-Batman/Ra's Al Ghul TPB: I'm currently in the middle of this trade, and I should have it finished up by the end of the night. It's a telling of Ra's Al Ghul's origin(some of it anyway)along a Batman story set in the present. So far it's alright, but not much more.
There you go. If I can find the time, I'd like to make this a weekly post, but every time I try to do a weekly post it never works out, so I definitely won't be making any promises!
-Justice 1-12: Magnificent artwork and an excellent story, up until the end, which really fell a bit flat for me. Everything just wrapped up WAY too neatly for my taste. For a score I'd go with a 9 out of 10.
-Son of Superman: This was a prestige format Elseworlds story about(what else?)the son of Superman and Lois Lane. Basic coming of age super-hero story stuff. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-War of Kings: Ascension 1-4: A War of Kings x-over which starred one of my longtime favorite c-list heroes, Darkhawk. Good clean fun, although the massive overhaul of Darkhawk's origin did bother me a lot. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
-Green Arrow: Year One 1-6: This was Green Arrow's origin story and for lack of a better term, it was awesome. As a GA fan I was a bit hesitant going in, but this comic did a great job presenting Ollie's origin. Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
-Batman War Crimes TPB: This trade detailed some of the aftermath to the Batman: War Games storyline which led to the "death" of Spoiler. It was OK, but I was definitely hoping for more from this one. Score: 7 out of 10.
-Batman/Ra's Al Ghul TPB: I'm currently in the middle of this trade, and I should have it finished up by the end of the night. It's a telling of Ra's Al Ghul's origin(some of it anyway)along a Batman story set in the present. So far it's alright, but not much more.
There you go. If I can find the time, I'd like to make this a weekly post, but every time I try to do a weekly post it never works out, so I definitely won't be making any promises!
Friday, October 9, 2009
A Quick Look at Green Lantern #46
Writer: The comic book GOD himself, Geoff Johns. Pencils: Doug Mahnke.
What Happened: This issue opens with Zamaron, the homeworld of the Star Sapphires, under siege by the Black Lanterns. Carol Ferris(who is a Star Sapphire now)and Sinestro(who was on Zamaron trying to free captured members of his Corps), try to combat the menace of the BL's, but refuse to work together. Eventually Hal and Indigo-1 arrive and Hal explains to Carol that the only way the BL's can be destroyed is if they combine powers, which they do to some success. Unfortunately though, the BL infestation is too far advanced on Zamaron and the BL's manage to breach the Star Sapphire's power battery, forcing the retreat of the remaining Sapphires, as well as Hal, Carol, Indigo-1 and Sinestro. Indigo-1 brings the group to Korugar, where Sinestro finds Mongul, the man who tried to usurp his Corps and has conquered Sinestro's homeworld. Sinestro and Mongul battle, and Sinestro demands that the others stay out of the fight. Mongul uses his massive strength to over power Sinestro and is about to deliver the killing blow when Sinestro explains that since he designed the yellow power rings, he can always retake control of them. With that, Sinestro uses the yellow rings adorning Mongul's fingers to utterly decimate Mongul. Sinestro stops short of killing Mongul though, not wanting him to become a member of the BL's. This issue then ends with Hal and Sinestro coming face-to-face with Abin and Arin Sur, Abin being Hal's predecessor and Arin being Sinestro's one time lover.
What I thought: You know, I was a few pages into this comic and I have to admit, I was feeling a bit let down. The stuff on Zamaron just didn't really interest me much. Then the scene shifted to Korugar, and this comic picked up a thousandfold! Not only was the battle between Mongul and Sinestro amazing, the dialogue and artwork were spectacular! The last 2/3rds of this comic were absolute comic book perfection to me. Next issue's showdown between Abin Sur and his former best friend(Sinestro)and replacement(Hal)should be incredible. I honestly can't wait.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
There were a lot of great action scenes from this comic I could have posted, especially the stuff with Mongul and Sinestro, but I decided to go with this pic because Hal's line about Sinestro's hair had me laughing aloud!
What Happened: This issue opens with Zamaron, the homeworld of the Star Sapphires, under siege by the Black Lanterns. Carol Ferris(who is a Star Sapphire now)and Sinestro(who was on Zamaron trying to free captured members of his Corps), try to combat the menace of the BL's, but refuse to work together. Eventually Hal and Indigo-1 arrive and Hal explains to Carol that the only way the BL's can be destroyed is if they combine powers, which they do to some success. Unfortunately though, the BL infestation is too far advanced on Zamaron and the BL's manage to breach the Star Sapphire's power battery, forcing the retreat of the remaining Sapphires, as well as Hal, Carol, Indigo-1 and Sinestro. Indigo-1 brings the group to Korugar, where Sinestro finds Mongul, the man who tried to usurp his Corps and has conquered Sinestro's homeworld. Sinestro and Mongul battle, and Sinestro demands that the others stay out of the fight. Mongul uses his massive strength to over power Sinestro and is about to deliver the killing blow when Sinestro explains that since he designed the yellow power rings, he can always retake control of them. With that, Sinestro uses the yellow rings adorning Mongul's fingers to utterly decimate Mongul. Sinestro stops short of killing Mongul though, not wanting him to become a member of the BL's. This issue then ends with Hal and Sinestro coming face-to-face with Abin and Arin Sur, Abin being Hal's predecessor and Arin being Sinestro's one time lover.
What I thought: You know, I was a few pages into this comic and I have to admit, I was feeling a bit let down. The stuff on Zamaron just didn't really interest me much. Then the scene shifted to Korugar, and this comic picked up a thousandfold! Not only was the battle between Mongul and Sinestro amazing, the dialogue and artwork were spectacular! The last 2/3rds of this comic were absolute comic book perfection to me. Next issue's showdown between Abin Sur and his former best friend(Sinestro)and replacement(Hal)should be incredible. I honestly can't wait.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
There were a lot of great action scenes from this comic I could have posted, especially the stuff with Mongul and Sinestro, but I decided to go with this pic because Hal's line about Sinestro's hair had me laughing aloud!
An Extended Look at Justice Society of America #31
Writers: Bill Willinham and Matthew Sturges. Art: Jesus Merino.
What Happened: This issue opens with the fight between Magog and Wildcat that was brewing at the end of the last issue. This leads to a brawl between the entire team until Dr. Fate walks out of the medical lab and tells the JSA that their fight is distracting Dr. Midnite, who is in the process of trying to save the life of the near dead Mr. Terrific. The team calms down and they all go to give blood for Terrific. They discuss the information they gleaned from the few villains they captured last issue, which was basically that some mystery villain gathered all the JSA's enemies and directed them to attack the JSA, but gave them explicit orders NOT to harm Star Girl.
Flash(Jay Garrick)decides to see if he can fix the destroyed security cameras, and after some work, he manages to get a grainy image of the All-American Kid stabbing Mr. Terrific in the back several times. Power Girl, Jay and Mr. America pull Kid into a room and try to interrogate him, but Kid swears that he never left his room(even though King Chimera saw him leave the room), and that he would never stab a member of the JSA(even though the video evidence says otherwise). Jay runs off to get the video to prove to Kid he was responsible, and from there we head to the villains who escaped the JSA last issue. They begin to bicker and fight because of their loss, until Icicle arrives and tells them that his master is still expecting them to defeat the JSA. A few of them want to leave, but Icicle promises them that if they disobey his master they won't live long enough to regret their decision.
The JSA members are STILL arguing amongst themselves, with Magog complaining about the naivetè of the older members of the JSA, who just allow anybody on the team with little to no background checks. King Chimera begins to complain, which cause Jay(who was passing through with the video equipment)to take Chimera aside to try to convince him to make an attempt at getting along his teammates. Before Jay can finish the conversation with Chimera, he gets a summons from Green Lantern(Alan Scott)to meet him in the medical lab. Jay rushes over and this issue ends with Alan informing Jay that Mr. Terrific has died.
What I thought: This issue was AWESOME!!! Remember when I was worried about Geoff Johns leaving this series? Well, I'm no longer concerned. Bill and Matthew have a perfect feel for this team, these characters and this series. With the exception of Mr. Terrific dying, this issue was perfect to me. I absolutely love Magog's role as the antagonist on this team, and you know what, I find myself agreeing with nearly everything he says! The beauty of Magog is that he talks down the beloved older statesmen on the team, which should make me hate him, but how can I hate him for being 100% right?
From All-American Kid's teary denial, to Magog dressing down the entire team, to the meeting between the villains, everything in this book was done beautifully. With each passing issue, we get a few more hints as to who the evil mastermind responsible for the attacks on the JSA and the apparent death of Mr. Terrific is. Icicle describes his boss as someone not motivated by revenge, greed or power. He goes on to say that his boss is deeply and thoroughly evil, patient, fabulously wealthy and very committed. Right now I have three characters in mind who could potentially be the evil mastermind. Suspect #1 would have to be Johnny Sorrow. My reasoning for this is that Icicle has worked for Sorrow before, Sorrow is pure evil, patient and very committed. However, Sorrow has always been driven by his need for revenge against the JSA. Plus, I can't fathom how Sorrow would have been able to possess All-American Kid, turn Obsidian into a shadow egg or why he wouldn't want anything bad to befall Star Girl. Suspect #2 would have to be(and I hate to even say this)the Shade. The Shade isn't motivated by revenge, greed or power, he is patient, fabulously wealthy, and very committed, plus he does have a connection to Star Girl through Jack Knight. Shade also would have been able to turn Obsidian into a shadow egg, since controlling shadows is his power. The major problem with this theory though would be the fact that the Shade is more of a force for good then pure evil. I'd consider the Shade a tweener character, one not quite good, but definitely not evil. My final suspect, suspect #3, is a character WAY off the map, and is one that I'd bet almost nobody has even heard of. Simon Culp. Who? Simon Culp was the arch-Nemesis of the Shade from the "Starman" series. Culp can do all of the things the Shade can do power-wise, and is also pure evil to boot. What would Culp's motivation be? To frame the Shade of course! I think the Culp theory makes perfect sense, because Culp fits every one of the traits listed by Icicle. The only problem with the Culp theory is that he's dead, but when has that stopped a villain before! Of course I'm probably wrong on all three guesses, but what the hey, if I'm right, I'll look brilliant!
Score: 10 out of 10!!!
You tell 'em Magog!
What Happened: This issue opens with the fight between Magog and Wildcat that was brewing at the end of the last issue. This leads to a brawl between the entire team until Dr. Fate walks out of the medical lab and tells the JSA that their fight is distracting Dr. Midnite, who is in the process of trying to save the life of the near dead Mr. Terrific. The team calms down and they all go to give blood for Terrific. They discuss the information they gleaned from the few villains they captured last issue, which was basically that some mystery villain gathered all the JSA's enemies and directed them to attack the JSA, but gave them explicit orders NOT to harm Star Girl.
Flash(Jay Garrick)decides to see if he can fix the destroyed security cameras, and after some work, he manages to get a grainy image of the All-American Kid stabbing Mr. Terrific in the back several times. Power Girl, Jay and Mr. America pull Kid into a room and try to interrogate him, but Kid swears that he never left his room(even though King Chimera saw him leave the room), and that he would never stab a member of the JSA(even though the video evidence says otherwise). Jay runs off to get the video to prove to Kid he was responsible, and from there we head to the villains who escaped the JSA last issue. They begin to bicker and fight because of their loss, until Icicle arrives and tells them that his master is still expecting them to defeat the JSA. A few of them want to leave, but Icicle promises them that if they disobey his master they won't live long enough to regret their decision.
The JSA members are STILL arguing amongst themselves, with Magog complaining about the naivetè of the older members of the JSA, who just allow anybody on the team with little to no background checks. King Chimera begins to complain, which cause Jay(who was passing through with the video equipment)to take Chimera aside to try to convince him to make an attempt at getting along his teammates. Before Jay can finish the conversation with Chimera, he gets a summons from Green Lantern(Alan Scott)to meet him in the medical lab. Jay rushes over and this issue ends with Alan informing Jay that Mr. Terrific has died.
What I thought: This issue was AWESOME!!! Remember when I was worried about Geoff Johns leaving this series? Well, I'm no longer concerned. Bill and Matthew have a perfect feel for this team, these characters and this series. With the exception of Mr. Terrific dying, this issue was perfect to me. I absolutely love Magog's role as the antagonist on this team, and you know what, I find myself agreeing with nearly everything he says! The beauty of Magog is that he talks down the beloved older statesmen on the team, which should make me hate him, but how can I hate him for being 100% right?
From All-American Kid's teary denial, to Magog dressing down the entire team, to the meeting between the villains, everything in this book was done beautifully. With each passing issue, we get a few more hints as to who the evil mastermind responsible for the attacks on the JSA and the apparent death of Mr. Terrific is. Icicle describes his boss as someone not motivated by revenge, greed or power. He goes on to say that his boss is deeply and thoroughly evil, patient, fabulously wealthy and very committed. Right now I have three characters in mind who could potentially be the evil mastermind. Suspect #1 would have to be Johnny Sorrow. My reasoning for this is that Icicle has worked for Sorrow before, Sorrow is pure evil, patient and very committed. However, Sorrow has always been driven by his need for revenge against the JSA. Plus, I can't fathom how Sorrow would have been able to possess All-American Kid, turn Obsidian into a shadow egg or why he wouldn't want anything bad to befall Star Girl. Suspect #2 would have to be(and I hate to even say this)the Shade. The Shade isn't motivated by revenge, greed or power, he is patient, fabulously wealthy, and very committed, plus he does have a connection to Star Girl through Jack Knight. Shade also would have been able to turn Obsidian into a shadow egg, since controlling shadows is his power. The major problem with this theory though would be the fact that the Shade is more of a force for good then pure evil. I'd consider the Shade a tweener character, one not quite good, but definitely not evil. My final suspect, suspect #3, is a character WAY off the map, and is one that I'd bet almost nobody has even heard of. Simon Culp. Who? Simon Culp was the arch-Nemesis of the Shade from the "Starman" series. Culp can do all of the things the Shade can do power-wise, and is also pure evil to boot. What would Culp's motivation be? To frame the Shade of course! I think the Culp theory makes perfect sense, because Culp fits every one of the traits listed by Icicle. The only problem with the Culp theory is that he's dead, but when has that stopped a villain before! Of course I'm probably wrong on all three guesses, but what the hey, if I'm right, I'll look brilliant!
Score: 10 out of 10!!!
You tell 'em Magog!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Quick Look at Secret Six #13... Or not!
Um yeah, remember when I said I was going to read/review Secret Six #13? Well, it seems I either never brought or have totally misplaced Secret Six #12, which means I'll have to wait to read this comic until I order Secret Six #12... Whoops! I guess I'll check out JSA #31(which came in the mail today)instead.
War of Kings: Who Will Rule? #1
Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Pencils: Paul Pelletier.
What Happened: The new Chancellor Araki tries to convince Gladiator to take control of the shattered Shi'ar empire, but Gladiator refuses, reasoning that he serves at the digression of the throne, he is not the throne. The Inhumans arrive on the Shi'ar homeworld to proceed with their takeover of the empire, with the assumption being that Crystal will become the very reluctant Queen/Majestrix of the Shi'ar. Gladiator, the Shi'ar and the Inhumans hold a state funeral for former Majestrix, Lilandra, during which the Imperial Guard arrive and demand the Inhumans to leave the Shi'ar homeworld, proclaiming that with no proof of Vulcan's death, the Shi'ar surrender was illegal. Medusa snaps and attacks the Guard, which prompts the Inhumans to jump in to defend their Queen. After some tussling, Gladiator slams his fist into the ground, knocking the battling parties over, demanding they show respect for the deceased Lilandra. Crystal realizes Gladiator is the only man capable of holding the Shi'ar empire together, so she hands him the royal scepter, thus making Gladiator the Majestor of the Shi'ar. Araki heads away from the scene and transforms into Talon, who was responsible for Lilandra's death, and seems content with the fact that Gladiator is the placeholder ruler. This issue ends with the Magus watching these events play out from afar, happy with the knowledge that in the end, he'll be the one ruling over all.
What I thought: Going into this comic I was desperately hoping Gladiator wasn't going to become the Majestor of the Shi'ar, but this issue was so well written that I didn't mind when Gladiator finally embraced his destiny. I still hate the Inhumans, there's nothing that can change that. Sorry, but a space-faring monarchy just annoys the hell out of me... If the Inhumans are so advanced, why would they continue such an antiquated form of government? The ending set the right tone, with Talon and the Magus being set-up as the duel threats down the road.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Note to self: NEVER piss Gladiator off!
What Happened: The new Chancellor Araki tries to convince Gladiator to take control of the shattered Shi'ar empire, but Gladiator refuses, reasoning that he serves at the digression of the throne, he is not the throne. The Inhumans arrive on the Shi'ar homeworld to proceed with their takeover of the empire, with the assumption being that Crystal will become the very reluctant Queen/Majestrix of the Shi'ar. Gladiator, the Shi'ar and the Inhumans hold a state funeral for former Majestrix, Lilandra, during which the Imperial Guard arrive and demand the Inhumans to leave the Shi'ar homeworld, proclaiming that with no proof of Vulcan's death, the Shi'ar surrender was illegal. Medusa snaps and attacks the Guard, which prompts the Inhumans to jump in to defend their Queen. After some tussling, Gladiator slams his fist into the ground, knocking the battling parties over, demanding they show respect for the deceased Lilandra. Crystal realizes Gladiator is the only man capable of holding the Shi'ar empire together, so she hands him the royal scepter, thus making Gladiator the Majestor of the Shi'ar. Araki heads away from the scene and transforms into Talon, who was responsible for Lilandra's death, and seems content with the fact that Gladiator is the placeholder ruler. This issue ends with the Magus watching these events play out from afar, happy with the knowledge that in the end, he'll be the one ruling over all.
What I thought: Going into this comic I was desperately hoping Gladiator wasn't going to become the Majestor of the Shi'ar, but this issue was so well written that I didn't mind when Gladiator finally embraced his destiny. I still hate the Inhumans, there's nothing that can change that. Sorry, but a space-faring monarchy just annoys the hell out of me... If the Inhumans are so advanced, why would they continue such an antiquated form of government? The ending set the right tone, with Talon and the Magus being set-up as the duel threats down the road.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Note to self: NEVER piss Gladiator off!
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