Best of the Rest! April 3rd edition.

Hey X-Maniacs, X here to start another Best of the Rest post.  As always, I'll toss a few reviews out there, and then my erstwhile lackey, JT, will add a few reviews.  JT's reviews will have blue text.  And yeah, enough talk, let's knock these reviews out.

Indestructible Hulk #6: Bruce and his science crew use some uru Thor lent SHIELD(that's weird...) to find some mysterious element in Jotunheim(where the Frost Giants lurk).  Thor from the past shows up(wha?!) as do Frost Giants.  Bruce hulks up, and all of this leads to Hulk lifting Thor's hammer...  Yeah, under no circumstances should Hulk ever lift Thor's hammer.  So I'm guessing either a) the hammer rose because it was heading back to Thor, or b) this is a wacky alternate dimension where anybody can lift the hammer.  Regardless, this issue seemed kind of average-ish to me.  With Mark Waid and Walter Simonson, I was expecting more than this.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Stormwatch #19: What the HELL happened to this comic?!  Ugh...  This issue was horrible, and nearly impossible to figure out...  Some aliens kill Adam One at the beginning of time(?), which alters reality(you'd think DC would shy away from doing THAT...), leading to Stormwatch being called Skywatch. with (some) different members.  It was a mess and it ended with a Lobo appearance.  So yeah, I hated it and hope that Jim Starlin rights this ship really fast.  This used to be my favorite DC comic...  Score: 3 out of 10.

Hypernaturals #10: We seem to be inching ever closer to finding out that Sublime was right and that the Quantinuum AI may just be up to no good.  Or maybe it's just trying to protect humanity...  Regardless, Sublime has had more than enough of working with the Hypernaturals and takes off.  As for Evil Sublime, he's attacking Thinkwell's homeworld.  So yeah, I finally managed to read this series, from issue #1-10, and I liked it.  DnA doing a space tale is always a good thing, and this series is no different.  Sublime is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine too.  Score: 7 out of 10.

Venom #33: This issue revolves around Toxin(Eddie Brock) battling against the mysterious(still unnamed!) cannibal from last issue.  The cannibal escapes from Toxin and ends up running into Venom.  This one ends with Venom knocking the cannibal out and coming face-to-face with Toxin.  Which is what I've been waiting for!!  This issue proved something important to me...  If Cullen Bunn stays away from all the demonic and supernatural junk, he CAN write a good Venom series!  He proved it with the U-Foes and he proved it again here.  Eddie vs a cannibal?  Flash vs the cannibal?  Flash vs Eddie?  Yes, please!  Here's hoping Bunn stays away from demons and lets Flash face the types of threats you'd expect a spider-family member to face.  Score: 8 out of 10.

Winter Soldier #17: So yeah, some stuff happens and this issue ended...  *sigh* Fine, I'll try a bit harder than that...  Nick Fury's disembodied head tells Bucky to go after the Electric Ghost, who went all Super-Joker and committed like 57 terrorist acts in one day.  Bucky ends up going to the Ghost's satellite(wait, what?!) and is defeated by her.  Oh yeah, and Bucky's elderly sidekick, Robards, defeats a mini-MODOK off panel because why not.  Yep, I'm done with this series.  This comic was as bad as anything I've read all year, and I'm not gonna waste my money anymore.  Bucky, you deserve so much better than this...  Hopefully this book gets cancelled and a better writer gets a new series down the road.  Score: 0 out of 10.  The first imperfect score in quite some time...

Ultimate X-Men #25: Jean heads to Utopia because Kitty is an arrogant bitch in Jean's mind and shouldn't be leading the mutant people.  Amen, Jean!!!  Besides that, Jimmy is plotting with Warpath from Mach 2's crew and Psylocke is plotting against Mach 2.  So basically, we have a 4 way power struggle brewing between Kitty, Mach 2, Jean and Psylocke...  Um, couldn't there be ONE male character trying to take leadership of Utopia?!  I mean, FOUR women are vying for the throne!?  Very, very weird...  Needless to say, I'm in Jean's corner, because Evil Jean is awesome.  Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.

Green Lantern #19: We pick things up with Hal Jordan who now inexplicably looks exactly like Geoff Johns for some stupid ass reason still in Black Hand's ring as he contemplates his next move. Sinestro's returned to Korugar to get help from his people to take on the First Lantern, but he shows up and feeds off of their emotions. When Sinestro manages to save his people, the First Lantern changes it so he didn't, cause he can change time or something. Anyway, The First Lantern destroys Korugar, leaving Sinestro floating through space and his planet's debris when he finds himself in front of his Yellow Lantern. Also, Hal decides to kill himself while in the ring so he can wield the Black Hand's Black Lantern powers, so he flings himself off a cliff. Well, I hated this. I don't know much about the lantern because I refuse to follow GL Corps, New Guardians and Red Lanterns to keep up with this storyline. The way he changed it so Sinestro lost after winning was a giant screw you to the readers, and it looks like Sinestro will be wielding fear again. Plus, Geoff Jordan annoys me... how do you just randomly change Hal to a pudgy faced Geoff Johns? Ugh. Score: 2/10 only because Geoff Jordan killed himself.

Green Arrow #19: After the odd cliffhanger of Ollie falling to his death in the last issue, we see Ollie survives (SHOCKING!!!) and engages Komodo in battle. Surprisingly, Oliver manages to get the drop on Komodo, but Oliver is suddenly shot with an arrow by Komodo's daughter. Komodo's unhappy about her showing up and Ollie uses the distraction of her and the police to get away. The issue ends with Oliver being picked up by his newest tech guy and pulling an arrow out of his leg before blacking out in pain. This issue fell flat for me, the first two issues started out promising but Komodo and his daughter and the mystery of Oliver's longtime dead dad is not keeping me interested. I'll probably give this series one more issue and if things don't turn around I'll end up dropping it. Score: 4/10

And that's it for this week's Best of the Rest post! I had a few books I wanted to include but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet, so ah well. Due to my busy schedule, X is going to post a scan or something tomorrow since the only two books I've read and planned on reviewing were better as blurbs than full reviews. Anyway, til next time, this is JT and his erstwhile lackey X, signing off!

Green Arrow #18

Hey X-Maniacs, JT here with my final review of the comic week, and it's issue two of Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow run. His first issue was pretty good as he basically stripped Ollie of everything, so let's see how Ollie reacts to the news that he, just like the cast of Lost, should have never left the island.

Green Arrow #18

Summary: This issue starts with Ollie in the desert, about to give up and die when he thinks back to learning how to use a Bow and Arrow and he's given some words of encouragement about not quitting from his dad, so he powers on. From there we jump back about three weeks and Ollie gets a note from the mysterious Magus, telling him to check the office of Emerson. Ollie decides to check the office, but first calls Steve Trevor and asks him to hold off the Cops, FBI and the heroes from coming after him for a murder he didn't commit, as well as give him time to try to solve this mystery hat is his new life. Trevor gives him 48 hours, because apparently he's got pull like that, then Ollie heads off to get some help. Ollie goes to some guy named Henry Fyff, he'd fired before that had a ton of potential but was fired personally by Ollie for stalking Naomi at Queen Industries. He reveals to him that he's Green Arrow and needs his help, and instead of laughing at him then selling him out to TMZ in an instant, Fyfe decides to help him, because... I have no idea. Anyway, with Fyfe helping him as his tech guy and controlling the camera's in the office to give Ollie a heads-up on anyone who may be there. Meanwhile, Komodo has apparently staged the death of Ollie's friends, Jax and Naomi, and tries to get them to sell out Oliver and track his locations. Jax says no and gets an arrow to his forehead for his loyalty, and Naomi sells him out immediately, saying she'll help Komodo. We also get introduced to Komodo's daughter, who I can best explain as a tiny, version of Lady Shiva, sans fighting skills. Back with Ollie, he searches Emerson's office and finds a secret room with a bunch of weapons, as well as a pic of Ollie's dad, Emerson and Komodo together on the Island where Oliver was stranded. Magus is also there, waiting for Ollie, and tells him to go to Black Mesa, Arizona, but Ollie wants answers. Too bad for him the police show up in a chopper and try to arrest him for trespassing at a crime scene. Ollie shoots and arrow and swings from his bow down the line, when his line is broken by an arrow, causing Ollie to drop as this issue comes to a close.

Thoughts: I'm kind of conflicted on this issue. I like the mystery of Ollie's dad's past, as well as Komodo knowing him and them all being on the island together for some reason. I found it kinda surprising that Naomi was willing to sell out Ollie, I mean Jax didn't and he died instantly so I could see how she'd be afraid, but I mean, what's gonna stop him from killing you after you help him? I mean, everyone already things you're dead... So yeah, that aside, plus the absurdity that Fyfe would help his former boss who fired him after he reveals he's a vigilante, especially since he's not even helping him for money since Ollie is dirt poor and Komodo is basically buying Queen Industries in his civilian identity. Also, I hate those cliffhanger endings. Don't show me that he's about to die in the desert then flashback three weeks and tell me I should be worried about the fact he's falling. It makes no sense... I KNOW he didn't die and if he got remotely hurt badly, he wouldn't be in the desert because he'd have never left the city. That stuff aside, I am finding myself caring a bit more about Oliver than I have since they rebooted his amazing history, so I guess that's a plus.

Score: 5/10

Fyfe: What the hell are you doing here?! You didn't come to kill me too did you?!

Green Arrow #17

Hey everyone, JT here with my second review of the week, Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow. I haven't followed this series since like issue three or so, but I figured I'd give it a chance with Lemire taking over. He claims this issue will read kind of like a number one, so let's see if Green Arrow's comic can be as good as his TV Show.

Green Arrow #17

Summary: This issue starts off with Oliver Queen, poor and beaten, walking through a desert in his Green Arrow gear, proclaiming that this whole time he was nothing but a rich and spoiled kid playing superhero, but he's a no one, and he's going to die alone. We jump back three weeks to see Ollie finding out that Queen Industries has been stolen by Stellmoor International, and Oliver wants answers. He confronts Emerson, his dad's best friend who was to hold the company until Oliver was ready, but he basically says the company suffered because Emerson was so busy having to watch after Oliver and his decisions, and how he couldn't even run Q-core, a pet project he gave Ollie to see if he was ready. Emerson hints that Queen Industries is not the only legacy that Robert Queen left Oliver, but before he can tell him, he's suddenly shot in the back with an arrow through a window. The arrow has a rope connected to it, and it's pulls back, yanking Emerson out of the window, which of course makes it look like an enraged Oliver Queen pushed him out of the window. The Security guards try to subdue Ollie, but he escapes and is ready to suit up, so he calls his friends at Q-Core, Jax and Naomi (they know he's Green Arrow) and tells them to get his suit and arrows ready, but they say "He's making us do this." and suddenly Q-Core explodes, with Jax, Naomi, and other employees in there. Oliver doesn't have time to grieve since he wants revenge, so he heads to his safehouse and gears up, when suddenly he's attacked in the base by an archer who introduces himself as Komodo. He's pretty much superior (Shout out to Doc Ock!) in every way and schools Oliver. The fight takes the two to the roof and Komodo is about to put Oliver out of his misery, causing him to die a poor, friendless man, when suddenly Komodo is tackled and subdued by a man named Magnus. He says Komodo and The Others have gotten out of line, and he throws something in Komodo's eyes that blind him long enough for Magnus to help Oliver up. The issue comes to a close as we see Magnus, a man who has had both of his eyes cut out, and he tells Oliver that he shouldn't be there, as he was never supposed to leave the island.

Thoughts: Jeff Lemire must be a fan of Fraction's Hawkeye series, cause this kind of seemed like that. The little boxes that zoom in on actions during fights, the art style was very similar to Hawkeye, and that's not a bad thing. If you're gonna emulate a series, that's not a bad one to do. Don't get me wrong though, Lemire wrote this issue very well, I enjoyed the scene of Oliver being pissed about losing everything and basically finding out via the news. I also like the mystery surrounding the island now, as well as what else the Queen Legacy had left for Oliver. But Lemire did what he said he would. he basically gutted this series, he took Ollie's friends, his business, his money and his pride all in the span of one issue, and Oliver is a character that's more interesting without those things, so seeing him bounce back will be fun to say the least. And Komodo looks to be a interesting villain, him taking down Oliver was child's play, so I'm definitely excited to see more of him in the near future.

Score: 8/10

Komodo: Just look at you... you have no idea what you could have been, do you?

The Random Scan(s) of the Week!

So I was going to post reviews for Batman: Gates of Gotham #4 and that Batman Retro 1980's comic today, but I'm just not in a reviewing mood... You see all of the reviews I post weekly, every so often I just need a break! To make up for my laziness, here are three completely random scans that I've found on my computer for some reason... I'll have those two Bat comics up, reviewed and posted come tomorrow, but for today? Enjoy the complete and utter randomness presented below.


Hawkeye is SO much > than Green Arrow it's actually a bit sad...


Vulcan makes a very valid point here.


The devil sure does have an interesting sense of style... I doubt many demons would bust out the lime green suit...

Green Arrow #11 & Superboy #7

Since Blogger seems to be up and running again(fingers crossed), I figured I'd start my summer by posting a couple of reviews, two Marvel's(which can be found here), as well as two DC's. I spent a good amount of time doing reviews(as well as getting a WICKED sunburn) after getting home from school today, so I'll be posting them over the course of this weekend. Before we get to the reviews though, I have two things I wanted to mention. The first is that I'll be using ImageShack to host the scans I put on the blog from now on. If anybody has any other FREE image hosting sites they want to recommend, I'm all ears. I tried Photobucket, but rapidly ran out of space... Besides that, I just wanted to say a quick thanks to anybody who's visited this humble little blog of mine... Last month was the first time I had over 20,000 pageviews for a single month! Not only that, but I recently got my 50th follower, so I bow to all of you, my loyal X-Maniacs. When I started this blog almost three years ago, I honestly didn't expect it to last more than a couple of months, and yet I'm still here, thanks in large part to all of you guys. So seriously, thanks! If things continue at this rate, I'll have achieved my secret goal, total and utter Internet supremacy!!! BWA-HAHAHAHAH!!!!! *ahem* On to the reviews!

Green Arrow #11:

Summary: Green Arrow, Galahad the Random Knight, Jason Blood, Dr. Midnite and Mr. Terrific all try to defend the White Lantern tree from Etrigan the Demon's horde of... um, angry vegetation. Galahad gets laid out, at which point Ollie grabs Galahad's sword and it transforms into a magic White Lantern bow... Sure, why not? Ollie uses the magic bow to blast Etrigan, who responds by transforming into a half-demon/half-plant monster... Ollie keeps firing at Etrigan the Plant Demon until he finally falls, in a rather anti-climatic scene. With that, the White Lantern tree thanks Ollie for his help and shoots white lights into the air, ending this issue...

Thoughts: I'm pretty much in shock here after reading this one... I mean what the HELL was JT Krul thinking?!? This was ALL kinds of bad. I don't even know where to begin. I KNOW Krul can write better stuff than THIS, so I'm gonna say that his hands were tied by editorial, which is what led to this... Man, it seems like anything even remotely connected to Brightest Day somehow manages to gain some of Brightest Day's sucktitude... I'll end this review by simply saying this: this was the last Green Arrow comic on my subscription, and after this issue, there's NO way in hell I'll be putting this on my pull list... So long, Ollie. It's been fun.

Score: 3 1/2 out of 10.Is Etrigan really more threatening as a Plant-Demon? Isn't being a demon enough?


Superboy #7:

Summary: Superboy and Psionic Lad head into space to investigate an alien spacecraft that had drifted into Earth's orbit. The two board the spacecraft and discover a single alien on board. The alien doesn't respond, and Psionic Lad notices that for some reason he was picking up two different sets of brainwaves from the alien. Psionic Lad warns caution, but SB is too stupid to listen and notices a plant-like creature on the alien. SB tries to pull the plant creature off the alien, so it sticks to him, forcing him to live through his worst fears(a world where he and Simon Valentine: Boy Genius had killed every hero on Earth). Ultimately Psionic Lad is able to help SB rid himself of the plant, at which point SB and Psionic Lad bring the space ship to Steel's lab. Steel tells SB that the plant creature was a relative to the Black Mercy, that the ship was full of these plants(as well as other weapons), and that the ship was headed for Smallville.

Thoughts: Not bad. The story was solid(if unspectacular), so I really have no complaints about this one. Well I do have one complaint... Why the HELL was Simon Valentine: Boy Genius helping SB destroy the world in SB's fears? Does Simon Valentine: Boy Genius have to show up in EVERY issue of this series or something?! Sheesh...

Score: 7 out of 10.What's an issue of Superboy without the obligatory Simon Valentine: Boy Genius appearance?

Freedom Fighters #8, Green Arrow #10 & Gotham City Sirens #21

We have a trio of DC books to get through today as I SLOWLY make my way through my new comic pile. I don't know what the deal is this week, but I just can't make a dent in that damn pile for nothing! I blame Brightest Day #23 personally. From now on, whenever something doesn't go my way, that's what I'll be doing. Blaming BD #23. And you know what? In most cases, BD #23 IS to blame!

Freedom Fighters #8

Summary: This series is still going on?! Okay then... We get started with Uncle Sam(recently resurrected in the dead body of Firebrand) battling the deadly menace of the Jester!!! The Jester is carrying a few magical artifacts, making him THAT much deadlier! The fight goes on for a few pages before Sam literally stops selling the beating Jester was giving him, breaks Jester's magic sword, smashes his magic lantern and steals his magic... um, hat-thing. With the Jester's supply of magic accessories gone, Sam punches the villain out, ending his threat. The rest of the Fighters all wake up(yeah, now that the battle was over! Slackers!), rescue the Vice President and strike a pose with Sam. Three days later(it says so on the page!), the Fighters hold a funeral for Firebrand, presided over by Sam... Wait, he can do THAT too?! King Bullet and his motley crew of villains tunnel their way to the surface from their destroyed underground prison and swear revenge against the Fighters... Well they better get their revenge swiftly, because this series only has a few issues left to go! This issue ends with Sam and Miss America being told by the President that due to budget cuts their team would no longer be getting government funding.

Thoughts: This review may have been rushed and a tad sarcastic(just a tad), but don't let that fool you, I actually enjoyed this issue! Not only was the physical battle between Sam and Jester enjoyable, the war of words they were having made the fight that much better. It's weird, the first 5 or 6 issues of this series didn't impress me in the least(and had the Ray not been a part of the team, I probably would have dropped the series early on), but these last 2 or 3 issues have been really good! The pacing has been brisk the past two issues(I guess due to the impending cancellation), but for this series, a quick pace really seems to work. Although the speed at which the Jester lost was a bit annoying...

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Everybody strike a pose!


Green Arrow #10:

Summary: This issue spotlights Galahad! Smell the excitement! Basically Galahad was pulled under Starwood Forest last issue, which leads to him remembering his true origin, which is basically that he was a professor of literature, his daughter died of a rare disease and he went plumb loco and checked out of reality, instead creating the fantasy that he was the Galahad of legend, and was the protector of Starwood. While Galahad is remembering all of this, the forest opens up temporarily allowing Mr. Terrific and Dr. Midnite in to assist Green Arrow and Jason Blood against the Demon. By this point, Galahad cuts his way OUT of the ground(or perhaps out of a tree, I don't really know) and rejoins the battle... So why exactly was he dragged under the Forest anyway? The heroes press the attack, but Etrigan is able to stand through it and this issue ends with Etrigan summoning a mess of evil vegetative versions of the heroes to defend him.

Thoughts: Who does Etrigan think he is? Swamp Thing?!? I really wanted to hate this comic, especially when I realized that Galahad was going to get a brunt of the page-time, but about halfway through I found myself actually getting into the story, so kudos to JT Krul for that one. Granted, it's not like I care about Galahad now, but the story was more palatable then I would have expected. There were a few things that bugged me, like how does a person go from literature professor to a master swordsman, but whatever I guess. After the reveal in Brightest Day #23, I'm not exactly sure what ANY of the stuff happening in this series means, but if you can ignore the weird continuity issues, this comic was okay.

Score: 7 out of 10.Galahad, Knight of the Forest/Professor of Literature. Same thing I guess.


Gotham City Sirens #21

Summary: Harley Quinn's march to the Joker's cell at Arkham Asylum continues as she manages to get past the last thing standing between her and revenge, Arkham guard Aaron Cash. Cash has a gun and a hook hand, making him a duel threat, but Harley manages to disarm him(of the gun, not the hook hand) by informing Cash that the Joker had poisoned and killed Cash's infant son. Cash had always believed that his son died of tetanus, but it turns out the Joker had been responsible for the kid's death during one of his MANY vacations from Arkham. Completely devastated by this news, Cash opens the doorway to Joker's wing at Arkham(he has his own WING now?!) and hands Harley his gun. Harley enters the cell and comes face-to-face with Mistah J, pointing the gun at him. Before she can fire though, Joker takes her by surprise, telling her that he had missed her... With that, Harley begins to think back to all of the horrible things Joker had done to her, but eventually begins to remember the good as well... Or at least as “good” as Joker gets. After some thought, Harley throws down the gun and hugs Joker, showing that no matter what, he'd always hold sway over her. As for the other two Sirens, they were planning to break into Arkham to prevent Harley from doing something stupid(killing Joker, saving Joker, etc). However, Catwoman becomes distracted by some cop cars driving away from Arkham, heading towards Devil's Square. Catwoman can't help but believe that whatever was happening in Devil's Square required her attention more than Harley, which infuriates Poison Ivy. Ivy tells Catwoman that if she goes to Devil's Square and doesn't try to help Harley, not only would Ivy never forgive her, they'd be SWORN enemies until the day Ivy died! Damn! Ultimately though, curiosity gets the better of Catwoman(well, I guess that's not overwhelmingly surprising since she is CATwoman!), and she leaves an infuriated Ivy on a rooftop near Arkham.

Thoughts: Wooo, now THIS was a good comic! As a matter of fact, the past few issues of this series have been surprisingly good. Like, “one of the best things I've read from DC” good! I have to be honest, I never really took to Harley Quinn at all. Out of the three leads in this series, she was always my least favorite by far. But these past few issues have shown that she's more than some annoying lackey obsessed with Joker, she's actually a capable, manipulative and calculating villain in her own right. This issue also showed how smart the Joker is, as he immediately realized that Harley wasn't there to break him out of Arkham this time, and managed to change her mind with a few simple words. I'm not sure what the future holds for this series, especially with the falling out between Ivy and Catwoman, but as long as this series remains THIS strong, I know I'll be reading it.

Score: 9 out of 10.Sworn enemies for LIFE! Now THAT'S hatred!

Quick Hits: 3/3/11

Hey X-Maniacs, I have a few comics from last week to post before I can move on to this week's batch of books. I'll be posting a standalone review for Brightest Day #21 tomorrow, so you KNOW the fangs will be out for that one! After that I think I'll post another 10 Thoughts review for the weekend, this time for the first Y: The Last Man trade. If you haven't ever read that work of art, trust me, you should. I'm two and a half trades in and saying that I've been enjoying the story would be a massive understatement. Anyway, that's what I intend on putting up the next two days. For now, here's three books that actually turned out to be pretty solid reads... Well except for one of them that is...

Amazing Spider-Man #655:

Summary: This issue begins with J. Jonah Jameson slowly going through the motions on the day of his wife's(Marla) funeral. From the moment he wakes up to the moment Marla's casket is lowered into the ground, Jameson's expression never wavers, and he truly seems to be a broken man. Peter Parker is also quite distraught at the fact he couldn't save Marla, and is haunted by dreams of all of the people in his life who have died/been killed. This segues into Spidey being confronted by the fact that his enemies always seem to come back while his loved ones remain dead. A few characters including Steve Rogers, Wolverine, Punisher and the Scourge of the Underworld(!!!!!) tell Spidey that his best bet was to simply kill his foes, that way they couldn't harm the people he loved anymore. From there Spidey spots the burglar who murdered his Uncle Ben and beats him violently, however when he looks down at the body it isn't the bugler's battered body laying at Spidey's feet, but Uncle Ben himself, who tells Spidey that he was let down by his actions. Spidey awakens with a start and decides that for as long as he was around, nobody would die. This issue then ends with a man killing a hostage to send a message to the police.

Thoughts: Well, I went out of my way to complain about my dislike of “silent” comic books during my review of Fantastic Four #588. The first half of this issue was “silent” but it worked MUCH better here than it did in the FF book. Where the FF comic could have used some words to help explain what was going on at certain points, all of the silent scenes in this comic worked perfectly, because words really weren't necessary. Marcos Martin's art did all the talking that needed to be done. You didn't need words to see that Jameson was a completely broken man, nor that Spidey was beating himself up over Marla's death. You could see that plainly in their faces. The dream sequences was also excellent, as it gave us a great glimpse into Spidey's tortured thoughts after Marla's death. Should he kill his enemies? Wouldn't that make things easier? Steve Rogers killed Nazis during WWII, which would lead Spidey to believe that in some cases killing was right, but then you had Wolverine accidentally and remorselessly killing other heroes and Punisher killing villains who weren't a threat to anybody. Ultimately it seems that disappointing Uncle Ben was the driving force for Spidey to NOT kill his foes, and the end of this comic, with Spidey swearing that nobody else would die, immediately followed by somebody dying was funny in a morbid sort of way. I mean leave it to poor Spidey to make a bold proclamation like that and then immediately be confronted by another innocent death. Once again, Dan Slott brought ALL of the awesome, and once again I'll be waiting eagerly for the next issue.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.This entire scene NEARLY pushed this comic to a perfect score all on it's own!


Green Arrow #9:

Summary: We get underway with Jason Blood, Galahad and Green Arrow confronting Etrigan in Starwood Forest. The Phantom Stranger is also there, but as usual, he doesn't lift a finger to help anybody. The trio of heroes take the battle to Etrigan, and are actually assisted by the enchanted forest itself. However, Etrigan manages to corrupt the forest and turns the forest against the heroes. Now at an even greater disadvantage due to Etrigan controlling the plant life in the forest, the heroes realize that the weird White Lantern tree in the center of the forest was being threatened by Etrigan's evil plant growth. Green Arrow and Galahad rush towards the White tree to protect it, while Blood tries to contain Etrigan. Before GA and Galahad can reach the White tree though, another tree sprouts up in front of the two heroes and unleashes a mess of giant bugs, whose only goal seems to be to break the backs of our heroes and make them humble. GA and Galahad do what they can, but the bugs overwhelm them and drag Galahad underground. This issue ends with Ollie alone and outnumbered against a horde of evil insects.

Thoughts: I actually enjoyed this comic a lot. Way more than I would have expected going into it. The battle with Etrigan was really good, the giant bugs proved to be a substantial menace, and Galahad got dragged away. I can't complain about any of that. If I had one complaint, it would be the fact that the deck is stacked SO against the heroes there really shouldn't be any conceivable way for them to win... I mean the bugs defeated GA and Galahad, and now GA is forced to face them alone, and Etrigan was MORE than holding his own against Blood, GA AND Galahad. I can't see how Blood alone can contain the Demon. For a change I'm actually looking forward to the next issue of GA!

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Somebody is about to get humbled!!!


Avengers #10:

Summary: Namor, Thor and the Red Hulk head deep into the ocean so Namor can entrust the Infinity Gem he hid there to Thor. Professor Xavier and a small army of Avengers head to the STILL destroyed X-Mansion to try to retrieve Xavier's Gem, which he had locked away in a program in the Danger Room. A program that was supposed to be unbeatable. While those Avengers are dealing with that menace, Iron Man leads Steve Rogers and another band of Avengers to Area 51 where Stark had hidden his Gem. Stark manages to get through all of the safeguards and is shocked to see the Hood already there, stealing his third Infinity Gem. Before the heroes can react, Hood swipes the Gem and teleports to the location of the next Gem, standing directly in front of Thor, Red Hulk and Namor.

Thoughts: Ugh. It seems Brian Michael Bendis was up to his old tricks again in this issue... Don't get me wrong, the story itself is actually pretty solid and would be enjoyable if it was scripted by anybody BUT Bendis. The problem here was the dialogue though... My main complaint about Bendis is that at times he seems incapable of limiting the useless banter his characters use. There were just SO many cases where random characters would simply start talking about random things that had little or NOTHING to do with the story itself! Do we really need Luke Cage and his wife discussing the fact that Noh-Varr is an alien? Or Noh-Varr questioning why Spidey uses sarcasm in his speech? Did we really need Iron Fist and Ant Man sitting on top of the wrecked X-Mansion talking about absolutely NOTHING?! I KNOW we didn't need Moon Knight and Wolverine discussing the fact that X-Mansion has seen better days! It's obvious that it had! This comic became SO tedious towards the end that I actually found myself skipping large chunks of dialogue, and guess what? Doing that didn't hurt my enjoyment of the story itself at all! Here's hoping next issue heralds the return of Good Bendis, the one who can tell a good story, who limits the number of characters he has wandering around, and who keeps the banter to a minimum!

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah......

Quick Hits: 2/2/11

Hey X-Maniacs, as promised, here's a bonus Quick Hits post. Be warned though, I go over 6 comics here, 4 DC books and 2 Marvel books, and the best score out of the bunch was a VERY mediocre 6 1/2. So yeah, not exactly the best bunch of books... But hey, good or bad, let's get on with it!

Action Comics #897:

Summary: Lex, Robot Lois and one of Lex's scientists head to Arkham since he's been getting readings that one of those black spheres was in the cell of none other then the Joker. Lex meets the Joker, who naturally plays mind games first, before revealing that he did indeed have one of those spheres. Joker tells Lex that he'd allow Lex to experiment on the sphere, provided Lex expanded its size so Joker could enter it. Lex does this and Joker nearly goes in, but is taken aback by the sphere, telling Lex that if he kept abusing the sphere there could be terrible consequences. By this point the sphere has turned white and Lex storms out, deciding he'd have that room locked down. With Lex gone, the Lois Robot throws the scientist into the sphere, where he appears to die. Lex rushes back in, and Robot Lois blames Joker, who doesn't deny it. We end with Larfleeze deciding he needed to hunt down Lex.

Thoughts: Well, I did enjoy Joker's interactions with Lex, as I expected. My problem with this comic was the fact that I just didn't understand what Joker and Lex were talking about... I mean it was fun, but I'd have enjoyed it SO much more had I understood what was going on. Oh, plus I deducted 1/2 from my final score because of the Larfleeze appearance. I REALLY hate that thing.

Score: 6 out of 10.You're a weird one, Joker...


Wonder Woman #606:

Summary: That centaur thing from last issue moves in for the kill on Wonder Woman, but WW is saved by an Amazon. The centaur kills the Amazon, which puts WW into a rage, leading to her killing the centaur. From there, WW heads to the house of her friend and discovers that her friend's son was abducted by a man-bull creature. A sign for the Morrigan was also left at the scene, telling WW and her Amazons who was responsible for the abduction. WW and crew head to a rundown temple where they are attacked by an army of reanimated corpses.

Thoughts: I just can't get into this story... I just can't. I've tried and tried, but I just don't like it. Sorry, I'm sure there are some people who are enjoying JMS's WW work, but I am definitely not one of them. The story is plodding, and I just want to know why WW has turned into what she is now. Nothing else about this story really matters.

Score: 5 out of 10.Wonder Woman: Teenage Amazon sure does have a temper!


Justice Society of America #47:

Summary: Green Lantern(Alan Scott)leaves his hospital room and heads to the emerald city on the moon, hoping to heal his broken neck. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to work. Dr. Fate has captured Thunder's soul, preventing it from passing on to the afterlife, with the hope that Dr. Midnite could fix her body so she could return to it. The rest of the team mill about trying to figure out who had killed the town's mayor and Thunder, and the man responsible, Dr. Chaos, calls Mr. Terrific and tells him that he'd help Terrific reverse the disease that was stealing Terrific's intelligence, provided Terrific freed Scythe, who was responsible for all of the devastation early on in this storyline. This issue ends with Flash(Jay Garrick), Dr. Midnite and Wildcat confronting Dr. Chaos, but learning that somebody had freed Scythe.

Thoughts: Kind of like the Wonder Woman comic, I've grown real tired of this storyline. The sooner it's over, the better. I don't like Scythe, or the whole, “super-terrorist” storyline, and I don't know WHERE Dr. Chaos even came from! So far Marc Guggenheim's JSA run has REALLY disappointed me.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.My "To do" list is nearly identical, except I have "Blackmail JT" at the bottom.


Green Arrow #8:

Summary: All sorts of people have headed to Starwood Forest to investigate it. From STAR Labs, to the JSA, to Lexcorp, to Poison Ivy. Each group of people want to see exactly what the forest is, and how it does the things it does. Meanwhile, in the forest, Green Arrow and Galahad run into Jason Blood, who reveals that he had managed to separate himself from Etrigan. Etrigan attacks the trio, but ends up getting bound by the trees in the forest. With Etrigan captured, Galahad hears some disturbance nearby and head off, finding a bunch of STAR Labs scientists studying the forest. Galahad attacks, but is confronted by Dr. Midnite and Mr. Terrific. They manage to drag Galahad out of the forest and he goes crazy, collapsing. By this time, GA arrives on the scene, scolds the JSA members and drags Galahad back into the forest. Blood decides that it wasn't right for him to separate from Etrigan, since Etrigan would have nobody keeping an eye on him and decides to try to re-bond with Etrigan. Etrigan doesn't like the idea of being stuck with Blood again, and this issue ends with the Phantom Stranger appearing before the two enemies.

Thoughts: Meh. I don't care about Galahad, GA, OR Starwood Forest. The best thing about this comic was the battle between Blood and Etrigan(who I've always been quite a fan of). Phantom Stranger? Once again, meh. This was yet another comic I just didn't seem able to get into.

Score: 5 out of 10.Um, isn't Etrigan supposed to rhyme?


Secret Avengers #9:

Summary: In order to rescue his lady love, Sharon Carter, Steve Rogers decides to meet with the man who kidnapped her, John Steele. Steele wants to exchange Carter for Shang-Chi, and Steve agrees, but naturally with a plan. Steve and Shang meet with Steele and a bunch of his Shadow Council goons, and the two sides trade, with Steve sending Shang over while Steel allows Sharon to head to Steve. With Sharon safe, the Secret Avengers burst out of a building and head towards the Council goons, while Steve attacks the much stronger Steele. Steele realizes that his numbers would eventually be overrun by the Avengers, so he reveals that he had rigged the entire building they were on top of to explode. With no choice, the Secret Avengers are forced to allow Steele to take Shang and escape. Shang winds up locked in a prison, where his father announces that he'd be absorbing Shang's lifeforce to extend his own unnatural life. This issue ends with one of the Shadow Council cannon fodder revealing that they were actually Moon Knight, who had snuck into the Council's base, giving Steve and the Secret Avengers an in.

Thoughts: This issue was okay, but I just don't like Shang-Chi... I've NEVER liked him, and I don't care about him OR his crazy father. I seem to be saying this a lot during post, but again, the sooner this storyline is over, the better!

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.You know I'm going to post the Steve Rogers fight scene in this series every time!


Namor #6:

Summary: While studying the mystical amulet worn by Loa, some demons spring out and drag Namor away. Namor wakes up in a desert and is confronted by several horrible sights, including several scorpions with skull heads, and the decapitated heads of the soldiers he led on failed attacks on the surface world. After some wandering, Namor realizes that he had been dragged into Hell by those demons, who reveal that they were the spirits of several dead Atlantian kings. Back in Atlantis, Namor's subjects, as well as Emma Frost and Dr. Nemesis are trying to figure out what happened to Namor. This issue ends with Dr. Doom strolling in, announcing that he wanted to help his old ally Namor escape from the dark realm he had been sucked into.

Thoughts: I actually liked this comic a lot. The Namor in Hell portions were much better than the parts with that annoying Emma Frost and the equally annoying Dr. Nemesis. As for Loa, I don't care about her one way or the other. My biggest gripe with this issue was the ultra vain Dr. Doom walking into Namor's throne room with the top of his head exposed... Doom ALWAYS has his head covered... ALWAYS! I've read LOADS of Fantastic Four comics(as well as other series)with Doom, and he NEVER shows his deformed head/face. Only his robots can see that, never another living being. I get that Doom didn't want to wear his cape and cowl under water, but why wasn't he wearing a full metal mask? That one little thing made me deduct a 1/2 from the final score here, because it just seemed so wrong.

Score: 6 out of 10.Why is the top of Doom's head showing?!?!?

Best of the Rest! January 15th edition.

It's time for the second Best of the Rest this week! You KNOW what that means... It means I'm getting tired of doing my normal long-winded reviews and want to take a slight break. It also means that these five comics I reviewed really didn't impress me enough to want to do full reviews for them. As a matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say that most of these books depressed me! For the record, all of these comics are from DC, so that might have a lot to do with my displeasure. Anyway, let's move forward.

Superman says: Gimme Money!
This Tuesday DC Universe Online was released on all of the major video game systems, and although I have yet to see any reviews for the game pop up yet, the owner of the comic book shop I frequent was playing it, and not only did it look good, but he was raving over it, and he's more of a Marvel guy than a DC fan. So I figured I'd look into the game and see what the pricing system looks like, since I know there is a monthly service fee associated with the game. First off, the main game itself. Since I have a PS3 and never really play anything on my computer, I'd be paying $60 right off the bat for the game itself. From there, there's a monthly service fee of $15(!), meaning if you were to buy the game new, and then pay for a year's worth of monthly fees, that comes to $240 for the year!!! That's enough for an entire video game system, or 4 new games! Now I'm a huge video game player, I spend plenty of time a day relaxing in front of my TV playing something, but I'm sorry DC, I will NEVER pay $240 for a game! A $5 service fee a month would be doable, because that would basically amount to another game over the course of the year, but for a company that loves to scream at every turn that they're keeping comics affordable for us, they sure don't feel the same way about video games! That's for sure.

Now, on to the reviews. First up is going to be Lex Luthor's Action Comics #896... I had to add the “Lex Luthor's” part of the title, because that is so awesome. We kick things off with a flashback of Lex meeting up with Scandal Savage of the Secret Six and somehow convincing her to aid him when he called her. As for what Lex had over Scandal, I don't think we ever find out. So when Scandal's father Vandal Savage attacks Lex, it should come as no surprise as to who he calls. The Secret Six attack Vandal and his goon squad and Catman manages to get his hands on the remote control that Vandal was threatening to blow Lex's building up with. With his remote gone, and his men attacking the Six, Vandal goes after Lex with an ax in an effort to just kill him. Lex begins to use the dreaded Silver Tongue of Flattery on Vandal, and in time, Vandal actually seems to be contemplating an alliance with Lex, however, this issue ends when Catman is shot in the arm and drops the remote on the ground, right on its button. As usual, I enjoyed reading this comic. It's a funny thing actually. Paul Cornell always seems to write a strong story, but that's all... I mean I've no real complaints here, except for the fact that in a few nights time, I doubt I'll even remember having read this comic. So like many issues of this series have been, this was a good, if forgettable comic. For a score, I'll go with a very solid 7 1/2 out of 10.

Next us we'll take a look at everyone's favorite comic book archer, Robin Hood in Green Arrow #7... Oh wait, I mean Oliver Queen... Imagine me mixing up Robin Hood and Oliver Queen! I mean it's not like they wear similar clothing, use the same weapons or BOTH live in a forest! Oh... Nevermind... Anyway, this issue gets underway with Ollie flashing back to the death of his parents during a loin attack when he was a child. Upon waking up, Ollie decides to take a stroll through Starwood Forest, which is NOTHING like Sherwood Forest... Nope, nothing at all... Anyway, Ollie runs into the ghost of his mother, and she tells him that he wasn't responsible for her death, since he was only a small boy when she died. Ollie still feels guilt over his inaction during her death, but manages to spring into action when a giant flaming lion approaches them. Ollie shoots some arrows at the fire lion, but alas, it wasn't really there. From there, Ollie's mother tells him to forgive himself, he seems ready to do so, and that about wraps this comic up. If ever there was a textbook definition for a “Perfectly Acceptable Comic Book,” it was this one. I mean it was a one issue story, there was some mild character development, and by the end, the main character was pretty much back where he started, physically none the worse for wear. Nothing special happened here, nothing blew me away, or anything like that, this was just a solid story. Nothing more, nothing less. And what kind of a score do we give a perfectly acceptable comic? Why a 7 out of 10, that's what!

And now we begin to head down into the doldrums... It's time to take a look at Justice Society of America #45, a comic I've been avoiding for about a month now. Back during WWII, Jay Garrick and Alan Scott came across some Nazi project where they were working on an infant to... I don't know, I'm no evil Nazi mad scientist. Do something really bad let's say. In a bizarre reversal of roles, Jay wants to kill the infant, while Alan disagrees. In the end the two men fight and Alan wins. Fast forward to the present and Jay is told by a US Senator that the being that attacked and devastated that town near Washington DC last issue was actually the infant from WWII, now calling himself Scythe. Feeling partially responsible for his inaction during WWII and for not killing Scythe in the womb(almost literally), Jay decides to leave the JSA to help the town rebuild. That was the main gist of this story, and to be quite honest with you, about as much time as I'm willing to spend on this issue. I don't like this storyline one bit, basically because I really don't like the fact that Scythe is being called a Super-Terrorist... When did super-villains become super-terrorists? If Scythe is a “super-terrorist” because he fought the JSA and wrecked some town, wouldn't the same be true of practically EVERY comic book super-villain? Besides that, I just can't seem to get into the storyline. The battle from last issue was just SO ridiculous that I've lost all interest in this storyline and can't wait for it to end. For a score, I'll go with a pretty lousy 3 out of 10.

So the last review gave a 3 out of 10, right? Well the only way to go from there is up, right? Let's see as we take a gander at Wonder Woman #605. Wonder Woman returns to her apartment and is greeted by her talking cat... *sigh* This is going to be one of THOSE issues, isn't it? The cat pesters WW, telling her she has flower arranging lessons with Anthea the following day(?!?), which WW whines about it, ultimately blasting some music until the cat leaves her alone. The talking cat and another Amazon who was living at WW's apartment discuss the finer points of football(I am NOT making this up!)while WW decides to sneak out to fly around town. WW heads to a pawn shop and tries to pawn an ancient Amazonian statue, but the pawn shop owner is only willing to give her $1,000. WW throws a tantrum and breaks things until he raises his price to $10,000... Wow... WW then takes the money to a woman and her son who escaped an abusive relationship and hands it over. The woman is thankful, and the woman's son shows WW a picture he drew of her, a picture which depicts classic Wonder Woman, not the current version. This sight makes WW feel faint, and she decides to leave. As she climbs onto the fire escape, she is met by an angry Amazon who tells her she can't just be wandering around town. As if to hammer that point home, WW is struck in the back by a spear and crashes to the ground in front of Cernunnos, a minion of the Morrigan, a group of women who don't like WW for some reason. Heh heh... And I thought JSA #45 was bad! This was... It was actually kind of hard to describe. I mean where do I start?! We had WW conversing with a talking cat, Amazons talking football, a random group of evil women, and WW basically forcing the owner of a pawn shop into giving her more money then he felt he should have to... For a comic book with 2 writers, 3 pencillers and 4 inkers you'd think things would have been better, but it sure as hell doesn't seem like it! I don't even want to say anything else about this comic. Let's just give the score, a 2 out of 10 and move on.

Man, that last review was a tough one to get through... Let's see if things get better with Batman #705. What am I saying, of course things will get better! How could this comic possibly be worse than a 2 out of 10?! We get started with Batman(Dick Grayson)and his ally Peacock battling against the Sensei and his throng of ninja assassins. The story here is the the Sensei had kidnapped Peacock's brother... For some reason. The two heroes fight for a while before they decide to run after the limo the Sensei had his men steal with Peacock's brother in it. By the time Bats and Peacock find the limo, it has been destroyed, leaving no clues to follow. From there, I-Chang arrives on the scene and regales us all with a story so boring and long that I literally find myself skipping tons of dialogue. Basically there is a Mask of the Beholder which is important for some reason. Maybe because it's evil. Or powerful. Let's say powerful... That makes the story sound more dire. So this Mask of the Beholder is really powerful and the Sensei has learned of it, and as such wants it. To this end, he kidnaps Peacock's brother because he can see glimpses of the future... I think. Back with the Sensei, he is beating the child in an attempt to force the boy into having a vision that would tell him where the Mask was located. While beating the boy, the Sensei finds a business card from Lucius Fox, and sends his goons after poor Lucius. Bats decides to leave I-Chang and Peacock alone to check up on Commissioner Gordon for some reason, and learns that Lucius had received a phone call from a man who died last issue... What?! Bats decides to check up on Lucius and discovers some people kidnapping Lucius and his family. Before he can step in to help though, he is blown out of a window by some bombs and this issue ends with the Riddler and his daughter Enigma standing over the fallen hero... Me and my big mouth... And I thought things couldn't get any worse after the last review! HA!!! There was absolutely NOTHING in this comic I can point at and say, “Well at least this was good.” This comic made NO sense whatsoever. It was just a horrible read. The story just doesn't make sense!!! What the HELL is I-Chang?! And why should I care about him?! It would have been nice if Tony Daniel filled us in on that! Man, Daniel may be a really good artist, but his writing runs on the various Bat-books he's done have just been terrible. I shudder at the thought of the next issue of this series arriving in the mail... I'm going to give this comic a 1/2 out of 10. Why a 1/2 and not just a zero or a 1? Well, because the art wasn't bad, but the story was about as bad as anything I've read in quite some time. What a mess.

Best of the Rest! Dec. 10th edition.

Woo-hoo!!! I've finished off all of the remaining papers I had to finish for school earlier tonight, which leaves me with a Chemistry test as my final real piece of business to take care of before this current semester comes to a close. With that little bit of good news, I figured, why not spread the cheer by posting a brand spanking new Best of the Rest?!? Okay, “spread the cheer” might be pushing things a bit, but since I'm full of caffeine right now and feeling relieved for the first time in weeks, let's go with that.

The Good, the Bad and the Really Good!
Well, I have finally finished off the Aquaman series... It's been a long, and at times agonizing journey, but alas, it is indeed over. Basically the series fell into three separate portions. The good, which was the first 48 issues or so, and were written by the great Peter David. The bad, which went from about #50 to 63 or so and were written by Erik Larsen. And the really good, which encompassed Dan Jurgens run from the mid-60's to the last issue, #75. I can trace my love of Peter David's writing back to my childhood and his run on X-Factor, and much of his trademark funny, but still serious, writing was found during his Aquaman run. As usual, PAD had a strong main character(Aquaman, duh!), and built an even stronger supporting cast around him, another talent of PAD. My only real gripe with PAD's run was that he relied heavily on the Atlantis Chronicles mini-series from years ago(which I never read!), which would at times leave me confused as to certain characters and events. The Erik Larsen run was... unfortunate. Larsen basically took much of what PAD built the first several issues and discarded it(including Aquaman's awesome son, Koryak), introducing lousy characters(Blubber the talking whale? Really??), and aimless stories. The only story from the Larsen issues I enjoyed, a battle between Aquaman and the villain who took his hand, Piranha Man, ended when Piranha Man went up to Aquaman and basically told him he wasn't crazy anymore, so he didn't want to fight, which ended issues worth of anonymity between the two! Talk about a letdown! Finally the Jurgen issues were REALLY good, and involved Aquaman's evil half brother Ocean Master, and Atlantis being attacked and devastated by some third-rate totalitarian country, along with the fallout from that attack. It's unfortunate DC canceled Aquaman when they did, because Jurgens really seemed to have been bringing his A-game for the series. And that's that. Aquaman can now be put away with the other zillions of comics I have laying around.

Titans Together! Or, requiem for Lian...
Next up on my hit list? The Titans series from the late 90's. I've heard mainly bad things about this series, with the exception being my sister, who as a huge Arsenal fan(that's pre-one armed, dead cat stroking Arsenal)told me the series wasn't THAT bad. Being a good sister, and knowing full well of my blinding rage at the death of Lian Harper, my sister has warned me that there are a few Lian-centric storylines in this series, meaning as I read them my mind will drift back to Cry for Justice/Rise of Arsenal and I WILL have moments of temporary insanity... Poor little Lian... DAMN YOU DC!!! *ahem* Anyway, let's move on.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Let me let you in on a little secret... I am HORRIBLE at holding onto Christmas presents until Christmas. It's terrible... Once I get the gifts I've ordered/brought for my family/friends, I want to immediately give them their presents to see their reactions. Unfortunately for me, my sister is JUST as bad as I am at holding onto gifts, which will often lead to us exchanging gifts WELL ahead of the Christmas holiday... And when I mean well ahead, how does yesterday strike you? Yes, that's right, a good 2 to 2 1/2 weeks out from Christmas, me and my sister have already done the whole, “Merry Christmas” thing. I brought her a whole mess of Wildstorm/Image comics mainly involving the WildCATS, which is her current comic book kick. That included a few Grifter full runs, some annuals, seasonal specials, mini-series and one-shots, and a trade where Captain Atom crosses over to the Wildstorm Universe. You KNOW my sister got me comics, so let me list what she got me: Batman/Scarecrow 3D, Batman/Riddler, Batman: DOA, JLA: Created Equal 1 and 2, Batman/Captain America(!), Punisher/Batman, Batman/Daredevil, Daredevil/Batman(I guess they really liked teaming up), Spider-Man/Batman, Lady Deadpool, Deadpool #1000, and the Deadpool Team-up vol. 1 hardcover. BTW, getting me Bats/Cap officially makes her the BEST SISTER EVER! Quite an awesome haul, if I do say so myself! I'm especially looking forward to reading that JLA: Created Equal thing, which looks majorly interesting & Cap/Bats, naturally. Hell, I'm dying to read most of those DC/Marvel team-up books!

Whew, that was a LONG introduction, let's get to the comics! First off is a look at Uncanny X-Men #530. This issue begins with one of the younger X-Men, Anole, coming down with some sort of strange flu. It turns out that he's not the only mutant who has taken ill, and that several mutants living on Evil Mutie Island have come down with the same sickness, including Iceman and Wolverine(!). As the doctors on the island look into things, they realize that the flu is unique in that it attacks the immune system, as well as depriving a mutant of their powers, thus explaining why Wolvie's healing factor couldn't fight off the bug. Chairman Summers closes down Crazy Mutie Island to keep the bug from spreading, which locks several mutants off the island, including Emma Frost, who along with Shadowcat and Fantomex were taking Sebastian Shaw somewhere far away where he could never bother Emma again. This issue ends with the Sublime Foundation creating their own versions of the five original X-Men and then sending them out to halt crimes. I've made no secret of my absolute HATRED of the way things have been going in the X-books side of the Marvel Universe these past 5 years now, but I can call a spade a spade when need be, and I have to admit, this was a really good comic. Much better than anything that's happened in this series since before issue #500. So yeah, for the first time in a LONG time, I'm actually looking forward to getting my hands on the next issue of this series. Image that! Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Next up we'll head to the DCU and take a look at Lex Luthor's latest adventures in Action Comics #895. We begin several hundred years ago in Europe, where we learn that Vandal Savage had built a giant temple full of traps over two glowing orbs of Black Lantern power. How did the orbs get there? The hell if I know, but let's just ignore that. Savage also knows that Lex Luthor will one day try to get his hands on Savage's orbs(huh, that sounds kind of dirty...), and that Lex's defeat will grant Savage “great happiness”... Man the jokes I could make about Lex bringing great happiness to Savage via Savage's orbs... Anyway, Savage knows all of this thanks to some wacky prophecy, he just doesn't know when Lex will appear. The centuries pass with no sign of Lex, until late in the 20th century, when Savage sees a newspaper with Lex's face on it. From that point onward, whenever the two meet, Savage is always trying to get Lex to visit his temple(to see his orbs), but Lex never shows any interest(in Savage's flirtation). Fast forward to the present, where Lex has managed to chart the ten locations of Black Lantern power left in the universe. Lex has decided that if he can change all ten Black Lantern orbs white by scanning them with his sensors, he'll get some great power or something. Lex decides to blast Savage's BL orbs from orbit with his sensor, and changes the black orbs white without ever actually stepping foot in Savage's trap filled temple. Savage sees that his orbs have been messed with, and feels robbed since he didn't get his promised “great happiness”, so he heads to Metropolis and holds Lex's building hostage. Savage tells Lex that these white orbs must be the happiness he was promised, and as such demands Lex reveal the location of the other orbs, lest Lex wants Savage to blow up his building. This issue ends with Lex secretly summoning Savage's daughter Scandal and the rest of the Secret Six for help. Hey, I really liked this issue too! I mean I've liked most of the issues in this series since Paul Cornell took over, but this one was definitely the best of the bunch for me so far. I'm still not that keen on the Lex/Black Lantern power storyline, but Savage's appearance here was really well done. And the cliffhanger which should lead to an all Savage showdown next issue left me eagerly anticipating the next issue. Oh, and as per my blinding hatred of Jimmy Olsen, I didn't read the Jimmy Olsen Second Feature, so don't ask about it. Score: 8 out of 10.

Staying with DC, here's Green Arrow #6. Green Arrow storms his former office building in order to confront the Queen, who had taken control of Queen Industries. GA rapidly takes care the Queen's goons, and arrives in her office, where he finds the Queen and her assassin Nix waiting. We get some more fighting, with GA ultimately besting Nix in battle. GA confronts the Queen, demanding to know why she thought she deserved his company, and the Queen reveals that GA's father had taken her as a lover when she was a girl. Therefore, the Queen felt that she deserved GA's father's company, since they were in love, or some such nonsense. GA decides to strangle the Queen for her words, but realizes she was probably right, so he leaves(???). This issue then ends with some roots attacking the citizens of Star City. Ugh... This comic really sucked. I mean, what the hell was the point of it? Nothing changed. I guess Ollie found out his father was fooling around behind his mother's back? But so what? How does the actions of a character who has never really been a part of the GA series matter in the least? I mean, who cares if Ollie's dad was a playa? It adds nothing. This was a totally skippable issue. Score: 4 out of 10.

Sticking with DC, here's Batman & Robin #17, written by Paul Cornell. Batman(in this case, the Dick Grayson one)and Robin arrive at a wedding where a bunch of mind-controlled people are shouting, “What are we missing?!” Batman and Robin aren't sure, so they flashback to the events leading up to this bizarre scene. It all started on a boat, where a former girlfriend of Bruce Wayne's, Una Nemo was shot through the head and killed during a robbery, falling into the waters below. Several days later, the cops fished a decomposing body out of the drink which they thought was Una's and buried it. From there, somebody dug up the body and began sending the police department morbid pieces of the body, first a finger, then the whole body, then a fingernail. After some sleuthing, Bats and Robin realize that the body wasn't that of Una, at which time the body bursts into flames. From there Bats and Robin discover a wedding invitation at the office of the chemist working on the body, and head to the wedding, bringing us back to the present. Before long, Bats realizes that the person claiming to be the chemist wasn't who they seemed, and the chemist discards their disguise, revealing Una Nemo, complete with a giant hole through her head. Umm, this comic was weird. REALLY weird. But that's kind of par for the course when it comes to the Batman books nowadays, isn't it? So while it was a really strange read, it told a relatively interesting story that held my attention throughout, so I can't fault it there. Not the best thing I've ever read, but certainly not the worst either. Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Hey look, it's that Paul Cornell guy again, this time writing Action Comics Annual #13. There are two stories here, and they both look back at the younger years of one Lex Luthor. Young Lex arrives in Metropolis and meets a young Perry White, who was working as an investigative reporter. Perry was looking into Intergang, and Lex winds up sticking his nose in the investigation, ending up getting a job with some low members of Intergang. Eventually Lex discovers a doorway in his Intergang office that leads to Apokolips and Darkseid. It seems Darkseid had heard some good things about young Lex from Desaad(who had a hand in Intergang apparently)and sets him up to work on Apokolips as a science techie. Eventually Lex tires of working for Darkseid and builds a device that he thinks will kill Darkseid. Unfortunately Darkseid doesn't die easy(we ALL know he only dies when Superman sings to him!)and sends the hordes of Apokolips after the upstart. Lex actually manages to escape back to Earth via a father box, and with his knowledge of Apokoliptian science garners several patents and makes a small fortune, beginning the Lex Luthor empire. Meanwhile, we discover that Darkseid had wanted Lex to escape so he'd head back to Metropolis and rock the boat. The other story is a quicker one, describing a young Lex meeting up with and training with Ra's Al Ghul. Ra's takes a quick liking to Lex, and teaches him much, never asking anything in return except that Lex doesn't open a mysterious box in Ra's room. Lex naturally has to know what's in the box, and with the help of Apokoliptian tech, Lex opens the box and finds a book. Hoping to find great secrets, Lex opens the book and discovers nothing but blank pages. At this point, Ra's enters the room and kills Lex for his trespass, but puts him in a Lazarus Pit, since he really did respect Lex and would have taken him as a son, had Lex not failed his test. And that's pretty much it. I really don't have all that much to say here. If you're a fan of Lex, like I am, why not give this book a look. If not, then it's easily skippable.Score: 7 out of 10.

Random Scan of the Week!Well, when you go through the trouble of getting a degree, why not tell people to address you properly.

The Best of the Rest! DC Edition...

Welcome to another installment of the X-Files... Wait, scratch that, let's try that again... Welcome to another installment of the Best of the Rest! Yeah, that's better. Sometimes the classics work the best. Unless you work for DC, and then the classics are the ONLY thing that matter! And on that inauspicious note, let me inform you all that this is going to be an all DC BotR post, so expect lots of sarcasm, angry barbs thrown towards GEOFF “SILVER AGE!!!” Johns, and almost certainly low scores. Before going through that little bit of mental anguish, first some good news!

Fishing for compliments!
So during my first(and only...)X-Files post, I mentioned that I was going to begin reading the Aquaman series from the 1990's. As of the time of this writing, I've read the first 5 issues(as well as issue #0)of the series, and so far, so VERY good! Before I go any further, allow me to state in no uncertain terms that I've NEVER been a fan of Aquaman. To me he's always been, “That guy who talks to fish and gets beat up a lot”. But being a huge fan of Peter David, I figured I'd give this series a shot, and I'm glad that I did! As is a trademark of a PAD written comic, the focus isn't only on Aquaman, but is also on the strong supporting cast that includes Aqualad/Tempest(who's been stealing the show imo)and Dolphin. So far Aquaman has lost his hand, battled a supremely arrogant 90's Superboy, complete with those awful goggles SB used to wear, and fought Lobo(!). If I had to score these first couple of issues, I'd easily give them roughly a 9 or so. They're that good! So now you know what I'll be reading later on tonight!

Okay, the preliminaries are out of the way, let's get to the reviews. First off is Secret Six #27... This issue has the two different groups of Secret Six members, Spymaster's team, which is led by Bane, and Amanda Waller's team led by Scandal Savage. Spymaster has sent her Six to conquer some alien world(I think...), while Waller has sent hers to stop the other Six. Naturally this leads to a fight, and Scandal slashes Bane's throat by accident. With her father figure bleeding out, Scandal asks everybody to stop fighting(which they do)and some native healer walks over and heals Bane. Scandal then takes her Six and quits the battle. With the other Six out of the way, Bane takes his group to invade the castle of the king of this world, but little does he know Scandal's Six has made an alliance with the king... And that's about as well as I can do with this comic... It was absolutely horrendous! I can't believe that Gail Simone wrote this travesty, because I KNOW she's a way better writer than this! What didn't I like here you ask? How about everything with the exception of the art? The story made no sense, the characters almost universally annoyed me(I am SO sick and tired of Ragdoll by this point it's not even funny!)and I don't know anything about this world these different groups of Six's are invading/helping/hanging out in. Hell, I'm still foggy as to why Bane and Scandal split up the original Secret Six to begin with! Add all of that to the fact that the absolutely worthless Black Alice is in this series and yeah, there was nothing good going on here. I hate to say it, but I'm getting the feeling that I'll dropping this series by year's end. Score: 1 out of 10.

Well, we can only go up from that last review, right? Next I'll take a look at JSA All-Stars #12. This issue is a Cyclone-centric issue, which sucks for me since I can't stand Cyclone. It seems that Cyclone's powers are gone now, so she has left the All-Stars and gone to Harvard to attend some classes. Why Harvard? I don't know, I guess because she's really smart all of a sudden. So Cyclone attends classes, and also does some experiments on her blood in an attempt to figure out why her powers were gone. Naturally, she doesn't shut down the computer when she leaves the lab, because she's actually an idiot apparently, which leads to some fellow student taking a peek at her work. Cyclone heads back to her dorm room where she bumps into... *sigh* her doppleganger. This other Cyclone still has powers, but can't remember the past six weeks. The Cyclones decide to take a walk around town(sure, why not...), where they run into the student from earlier, who seems to have developed out of control Cyclone-esque powers. While the Cyclones are deciding how to handle this problem, a third Cyclone shows up, asking what she could do to help. Yeah, so I hate Cyclone, and this issue gives us THREE Cyclones! Sheesh. Couldn't we have spotlighted ANYBODY else on this team?! Hell, why not Tomcat, Citizen Steel, Chimera, Power Girl, Stargirl or ANYBODY else!? Ugh. The best thing about this story was the fact that it ends next issue, so I only have to suffer through one more Cyclone-centric issue... I hope! Score: 6 out of 10.

Hey, it's time to take an unwanted trip back to the early 1960's as I review GEOFF “SILVER AGE!!!” Johns' Green Lantern #58. This issue starts off with Sinestro and Atrocitus searching for the avatar of rage unsuccessfully. Carol Ferris informs Hal Jordan that she intends on staying on Zamaron and taking over as Queen of the Star Sapphires, which bugs Hal since he was still trying to get in her pants. Meanwhile, the avatar of hope possesses some girl who was kidnapped by a pervert and runs around saying “All will be well”. Larfleeze tries to kill the guy from last issue that was possessed by the Predator, but is stopped by the recently arrived Hal Jordan. Hal and Larfleeze fight, but are halted when they get word from Saint Walker that the avatar of hope had chosen a host. Larfleeze and Hal head to the hope possessed girl and meet her and Saint Walker, and this issue ends with SAINT Barry Allen running over to ask Hal what was up with his recent choice in running buddies. Listen, I could care less about any comic that has the name GEOFF Johns on the cover. In my god honest opinion he has completely destroyed everything the DCU has built up over the past two decades or so. As such, reading a comic he wrote tends to turn my stomach, which naturally leads to low scores. So if you liked this issue, kudos to you. If you're a fan of GEOFF, good for you. Me? I hate everything GEOFF writes. Everything. If I wanted to read about Hal Jordan and SAINT Barry Allen, I'd pick up a few DC Chronicles trades and read about them back when they were still exciting and new. Now, whenever I see Hal or SAINT Barry, all I can think about is how screwed over Kyle Rayner and Wally West are, and I lose all ability to write an impartial review. But see, that's the best thing about this being my blog, and not having to answer to anybody, I can write whatever I want! As such, I'm only going to give this comic a score of: 5 1/2 out of 10.

Moving on, we reach Green Arrow #5. This issue begins with Green Arrow rescuing that Mary woman from the assassin, Nix. While Ollie manages to rescue Mary, he isn't able to stop Nix from gutting an innocent civilian in order to make her getaway. Ollie takes the man to the enchanted Starwood forest and dunks him into its magical waters, but instead of the man getting healed, he turns into a Black Lantern thanks to that Black Lantern Firestorm from the Brightest Day comics. Not only that, but tons of Black Lanterns suddenly pop up in the enchanted forest(including Ollie's father somehow)and attack Ollie and his buddy Galahad. Ollie runs to the magic tree with the White Lantern symbol on it and uses the tree's power to defeat the Black Lanterns. With the Black Lanterns defeated(AGAIN!!!), Ollie decides to take the fight to the woman who stole Queen Industries out from under him. Meh. I'm tired of the whole White Lantern thing, I don't care about this idiotic enchanted forest(an enchanted forest? Really? What is this, a fairy tale?!), and I was tired of the Black Lanterns SIX months ago! Besides all that, how the hell did Ollie's father pop up in the enchanted forest?! Was he buried there or something? Weird... Whatever happened to Oliver Queen, street vigilante who would walk the streets of Star City(and Seattle before that)helping citizens in need? No, now we get Green Arrow and his adventures in the Magic Forest. Next. Score: 6 out of 10.

Finally, let's take a look at Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #4. Guy Gardner, Arisia, Kilowog and that Red Lantern head to Daxam to see if they can discover whether or not Sodam Yat was alive or not. After some digging, the group learns that Sodam WAS on Daxam, but that he took a bunch of Daxamites who were worshiping him off-world in order to get them away from the widespread hatred of all things extraterrestrial on Daxam. So where is Sodam? He and his followers have landed on a new world, where Sodam has decided to forsake the Green Lantern way in order to take the Guardians to task for the fact that they were making all sorts of rules, but never bothering to see how those rules were affecting other races. Meanwhile, Guy and company finally arrive in the Unknown Sectors and are attacked by a bunch of mind controlled rookie Green Lanterns at the behest of the ultra-powerful telepath who leads the planet of Kralok. You know, this issue wasn't all that bad. I'm not sure where the Sodam Yat stuff is headed, but I AM glad that he's back to life. I still like the odd couple team of Guy, Arisia, Kilowog and that Red Lantern, and the telepathic villain in the Unknown Sector sure looks like quite the formidable threat. Add Sodam and what looks to be an eventual attack by him on the Guardians, and this series' future looks pretty bright. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

"Girl of my wet dreams!"?!?!? REALLY?!?!

Green Arrow #4

Overall: The first half of this comic gives us EXACTLY what we already saw back in Brightest Day with Ollie and the Martian Manhunter battling it out in Sherweird Forest. I mean, it was literally the exact same thing... After the Martian Manhunter leaves, Ollie decides to venture out of Sherweird and into Star City, where he saves that Mary woman from the first issue of this series from the Royal Guard(the security force Ollie's former company, Queen Industries, now employs). With Mary causing too many waves, the head of Queen Industries, Isabel Rochev, sends out an assassin to shut Mary up permanently. This issue ends with Ollie leaping into Mary's apartment in order to save Mary from Isabel's goon.

First off, having to pay for a comic that spent half the issue recapping something that happened in another comic not even 3 months old really bothered me... No, scratch that, it didn't bother me, it flat out pissed me off. Hey DC, if you wanted to reprint the Ollie/Martian Manhunter battle, then how about selling this comic at half price, since only half of it actually contained new material? So yeah, now I'm pissed. And being pissed, the overall score for this comic is going to suffer. The half of the comic that actually gave us something new wasn't even that good either! I don't care about this Mary woman, and the scene at the end was really trying to hark back to the Dinah torture scene from the old Green Arrow series, thus proving once again that while Marvel is known as the House of Ideas, DC is undoubtedly known as the House of Recycled Ideas. Meh, I'm done with this post.

Score: 6 out of 10.Hmm, this all seems so familiar...

Some Quick Thoughts on: Green Arrow #3

Green Arrow #3: Writer: JT Krul. Pencils: Diogenes Neves.

Quick Thoughts: So last issue Ollie was shot in the head with a black arrow. Instead of dying he gets saved by the spitting image of Thor. Faux Thor tosses Ollie in the waters in the enchanted forest(I can't believe I just typed that!)and Ollie's wounds are miraculously healed. Ollie asks Faux Thor who the hell he was, and Faux Thor explains that he believes himself to be the Sir Galahad of legend. The forest then does some crazy stuff and a giant shadow gets ready to attack Ollie.

Weird... I mean this comic isn't terrible, but this is SO far away from the Oliver Queen I want to read about. Ollie living in Star City/Seattle fighting street scum while romancing tons of women I like. Ollie running around in the enchanted forest? Not so much...

Score: 7 out of 10.Good old Thor.