Best of the Rest! April 24th edition.

X here with the final Best of the Rest post of April.  Yep, we're almost in May!  Which is kind of surprising, because it seems like the winter JUST ended...  But yeah, summertime and all that stuff.  Anyway, this isn't a weather report, it's a comic post, so I should probably get to that.  As always, I'll toss a few thoughts on the various comics I picked up this week, followed by JT the Great, who will post a few reviews as well, only in blue text.  Um, other than that, get ready for a new Throwback Tuesday coming up tomorrow, typed up by none other than JT himself.  I'm sure he'll have something more to say on that coming up.  Okay, enough delaying, here's the first comic.

Teen Titans #19: Wonder Girl leads the Titans against Trigon, who's attacking New York.  This surprises Raven, since she was randomly brainwashing Beast Boy(seriously, where the hell did THAT come from?!), and hadn't been told an attack was coming.  Raven and Beast Boy join up with Trigon and attack the Titans, while Trigon gives Psimon(who was caught in the crossfire of this fight) enhanced powers.  The army shows up to deal with Trigon, and somehow this all leads to Psimon killing the army guys with a mind blast.  Trigon then magically disappears, while Raven seems pissed that he committed murder...  As for the Titans, they seem to think Trigon did all this to make them look bad in the court of public opinion...  First off, a confession...  I read this comic right after I read Young Avengers #4, and in plain English, the writing in YA makes this series look like crap.  Literal crap!  But, even if I hadn't read a series that's everything THIS series SHOULD be, I'd still call this issue garbage.  It made NO SENSE!!!  Trigon, the ruler of his own dimension, staged a fake attack on Earth to discredit the Titans?!  And Raven was angry that this led to murder?!  Wasn't she just mind controlling Tim a few issues back?!  In a battle between Trigon and the Titans, PSIMON is the guy who's instrumental in the finish?!  What the hell is wrong with Scott Lobdell?!?!?  Score: 3 out of 10.

Invincible #102: Thragg attacks Nolan, and we learn that Nolan was the rightful ruler of the Viltrumites by blood.  However, Nolan tries to tell Thragg that he has no interest in the throne.  That falls on deaf ears though, as Thragg is determined to kill Nolan.  However, the other Viltrumites randomly appear on the moon and attack Thragg, having heard his admission of guilt.  Nolan tells the Viltrumites to let Thragg go, and he takes over as their king.  Plus, Mark proposes to Eve.  What a weird issue...  SO MUCH happened!  I was chatting with JT, and he said it best, imagine if you missed this issue?!  You'd be SO lost come issue #103!  So yeah, Nolan is suddenly king of the Viltrumites(where did THAT come from!?) and Mark is getting married...  Okay then.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

I, Vampire #19: Last issue!  Mary comes back to life empowered by Heaven(I think...) and helps Andrew defeat Cain and Lilith, as well as save the planet.  Cain ends up with Lucifer, who intends on tormenting him for the rest of time.  Tig is still alive(WHY?!?), and still evil, and leaves with another evil vampire.  Mary dies, having fulfilled what she had to do, and redeemed herself.  Andrew pledges to go after the evil vampires with his vampire dog.  I liked this issue.  Everything wrapped up kind of quick, but this was the last issue, and that happens in finales   I'll miss this series, and I'll definitely miss Andrew and Mary.  Joshua Hale Fialkov did a good job here giving us some interesting characters.  Score: 7 out of 10.

Morning Glories #26: So I was going to review this comic, but when I was done, I legit had no idea what I had just read...  And I don't mean in a "It sucked so bad I was confused" sort of way, I mean I literally don't know what I just read...  This is a series I should probably start reading 6 issues at a time instead of monthly, 'cause it's confusing as hell!  Score: NA

FF #6: Dragon Man realizes Bentley and Medusa are gone, so Scott sends She-Hulk and Ahura to inform the Inhumans.  Meanwhile, Scott and Darla humble the Yancy Street Gang.  This one ends with the Baxter Building being teleported to the Negative Zone.  I liked this issue.  It makes me feel like I kept the right Fantastic Four series.  I like the main characters, I finally like one of the kids(Ahura), and I'm hoping this Yancy Street Gang junk goes way on the back burner now.  Score: 7 out of 10.

A+X #7: First story sees Iron Man and Beast have to face an out of control Hulkbuster(that was reprogrammed by a slick Bruce Banner), while story #2 has Iceman and Thor battling Frost Giants.  Hey, you know what?  This issue?  It was actually GOOD!!  Like, both stories!  That may be the first time that's happened since this series kicked off!  I personally liked the Beast/Iron Man tale more, but both were solid, so hey, a win for this series!  Huzzah!  Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #4: This issue starts with Superman confronting Batman about not helping find his parents in the last issue, with Superman ripping the cowl off of Batman's face in a moment of rage. Their conversation ends when Aquaman starts attacking some hunters that are hunting whales. Green Lantern, Shazam and Wondy show up, but so do the Atlanteans, and they make the major mistake of attacking Wonder Woman. They engage in a fight which leads to Aquaman calling the Kraken to deal with his allies, but Superman shows up and makes Arthur call it off, while holding him by the neck. Aquaman calls it back but makes a power play bu having his forces stand at every beach around the world, to show Superman who runs the sea. Superman retaliates by having Hal encase Atlantis in an orb which Superman, Shazam and Wonder Woman lift and move to the Sahara desert. Well damn. Aquaman meets with Wonder Woman and agrees to pull his forces back if they return Atlantis, and asks her to tell Superman he's sorry about what happened with Lois. The issue ends with Wonder Woman telling Superman of Aquaman's deal, but not mentioning his condolences for Lois, further driving a wedge between the two men. I enjoyed this issue, it really goes a long way in showing how unreasonable Superman has become, how powerful Aquaman is, and how far this Wonder Woman will go to get what or should I say who she wants. Score: 8/10

Scarlet Spider #16: This issue opens with Madame Web, Julia Carpenter's letter to Kaine from a few issues back that he never received. It basically says he should leave and go to Mexico like he planned because "she" is going to kill everyone, whoever that is...maybe Aracely? The rest of this issue takes place at the Rodeo with Kaine and his wacky cast, with Kaine mistakenly hurting Annabelle's feelings by saying they can't be together. This is interrupted by a drunk hero-turned-villain named The Armadillo (Think Rhino...but as an Armadillo..) who shows up, breaks down the walls (Jericho style!) and cries about how his girlfriend, Daisy, left him. Scarlet Spider tries to stop his reign of terror by telling him he needs to let her go, because sadly the monster's never get to be with the girl, but she surprisingly runs up and takes him back, saying she didn't think he loved her anymore because he was distant. This inspires Kaine to try to be with Annabelle, which he does after knocking out her meathead ex-boyfriend and plants kiss on Annabelle, but unbeknownst to Kaine, Kraven and his daughter are watching from afar. The issue ends with a flashback to two days ago, as we see Annabelle burning the letter for Kaine from Julia. I really enjoyed this issue, they're still doing the monster card but this was better and we got some growth for Kaine, but we see Kraven is still in the game, and Aracely's powers are being used more. And I didn't see the ending coming at all, maybe Annabells is bad news. Man, these are supposed to be short reviews!!! Score: 8/10

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #22: In this issue, Miles tries to convince Maria Hill that he's not Spider-Man, but once word comes in Venom is attacking the hospital where his dad is, she tells him he'll get there first, and to save people but wait until the Ultimates are there to face Venom. He takes off, scaling a building in front of her and pursues Venom while his mom watches on. Venom manages to absorb Spidey but Miles' mom, Rio, starts shooting Venom with a gun she picked up off of a unconscious officer, telling Venom to give back her son. Venom grabs Rio but that upsets Miles enough for him to power out, sending the symbiote flying everywhere, leaving the man in the suit vulnerable as he's gunned down by police. Surprisingly, Venom is not Eddie Brock, but a black man named Marcus Conrad. Miles checks on his mom but finds that she's been shot very close to her heart, she's clearly proud of Miles but with her dying words tells him not to let his father know, as she dies in his arms. The next day Miles wakes up at Ganke's house as reality sets in that his mother is gone. He cries and rips up his suit, yelling "No More!" as the issue comes to a close. I really enjoyed this issue, with Hill knowing Miles' secret, seeing how proud Rio was of her son, you could see her face, excellent job by Sara Pichelli. The only problem I had was the fact that the villain was basically a no one but held a grudge against Spider-Man and his family, that seemed...odd but I'm sure they'll explain why he hated them so much. We've seen Peter throw the costume away a few times, but this seemed different, although we know Miles will stay Spidey. Score: 9/10

 Man.... I really gotta make these reviews more brief! Ah, what can I say, I like to paint a picture with my words. Anyway, that's it for this week's best of the rest post. I'll be back tomorrow with a comic picked by mi hermano, X, for Throwback Tuesday, and If you thought Perry White's Magic Cigars were crazy...wait until you see what the Man of Tomorrow was doing like sixty years ago. Anyway, til then, this is JT, signing off!

Best of the Rest! Week of 3/27/13.

Hey all, X here to finish this week off with a BotR post!  Last week I was joined by my king, the illustrious JT.  This week?  This week I'm not sure if JT is here or not...  So yeah...  If he does decide to add a few comics, you'll know it's him by the blue text.  If he doesn't decide to join in?  Then just ignore everything I just typed...  Okay, with that taken care of, let's get into it.

Fantastic Four #6AU: This was the obligatory Age of Ultron tie-in issue.  Now, I'm sure you're wondering, "But X, aren't the F4 doing the whole Swiss Family Robinson thing?  How are they involved in this event?!"  To that I respond, "Marvel wants money!!!  And event crossovers equal cash!"  Basically, Black Panther somehow contacts Reed through space and time and tells him that Ultron had attacked the Earth.  The F4 leave the kids behind and return to Earth, where they are killed one by one by Ultron's droids.  Only Sue survives, and she ends up with the resistance.  I actually enjoyed this issue.  But I think it was the Ultron fan in me who enjoyed this and not really the F4 fan.  I can't help but enjoy a comic that sees Ultron masquerade as Dr. Doom, and then proceed to kill the Thing.  Yeah, there were some holes and the F4 being a part of this event felt a bit forced, but still, I liked it.  Score: 8 out of 10.

Teen Titans #18: Ah Scott Lobdell...  This issue opens with five pages of Tim Drake crying over Damian Wayne's death.  He literally cried for FIVE straight pages!  I don't know when Tim and Damian became so close, but there ya go.  From there, Tim heads to the Titans and complains about them not doing enough to protect teenage heroes.  To that end, Tim and the Titans attack the Suicide Squad since Amanda Waller had captured a teenager with powers.  But wait, it turns out Waller did no such thing, and that Tim only went after the Squad to make a mysterious deal with Waller.  And then Trigon flew through the sky on a three-headed horse.  Really!  I don't even know what to make of this series anymore...  Last issue Tim was possessed by Raven and making out with his female teammates left and right.  This issue Tim wasn't possessed by Raven...  Maybe...  Unless he was when he was with Waller...  Possibly...  So by this point, I have NO clue as to whether Tim is possessed or not...  But Trigon DID fly around on a three headed horse. Of that I am sure.  Score: 6 out of 10.

I, Vampire #18: This was the penultimate issue of this series.  All I can really say about this is that it looks like Tig finally died(YAY!!!) and Mary came back from the dead.  Again.  This issue just flat-out didn't click for me.  Of course it didn't help that Constantine-lite was hanging around.  So yeah, sadly, I didn't enjoy this one.  Still, I'll miss this series when it's gone, because the early issues were great.  Score: 4 out of 10.

Thunderbolts #7: The "team"(and I use that term as loosely as possible) are now on-board a submarine.  Flash wants to mutiny against Rulk because Rulk hasn't been forthcoming with information...  Or something.  Rulk beats everybody up, and then tells them that he had been using them to clean up areas where there were gamma bombs.  But wait!  It turns out Rulk was wrong and that somebody has been creating gamma batteries instead of bombs.  Meh.  I'm giving this series two more issues, if it doesn't improve?  I'm done.  Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.

A+X #6: Two stories in this comic, as usual.  The first one stars Wolverine and Captain Marvel.  They're playing poker, they argue a bit, a villain attacks, but ends up joining the game.  The second story gives us Thing and Gambit beating the Yancy Street gang in poker...  Yup, two stories, two tales about poker...  And yes, that is indeed very weird.  I enjoyed the Wolvie/Marvel story more out of the two, but I can't say I'd recommend either story unless you're a hardcore fan of the four characters here.  Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.

FF #5: Hey look, it's another FF comic!  In the same post!  Madness!!  This comic has nothing to do with the Age of Ultron storyline, which is especially weird, since it would make more sense for this team to deal with Ultron since they're still on Earth and all...  Anyway, Old Torch goes crazy after some guy touches his coat and tries to torch a neighborhood.  Scott and the gang end up defeating him and let Herbie watch over him.  Alex heads to Latveria to seemingly warn Doom of Scott's plans.  The reveal at the end shows us that Medusa is secretly working with Wizard...  Damn it!  This is a series that I would drop without a second thought...  If it would get bad!  Instead, I find myself enjoying this series, when I know I shouldn't!  If I'm being honest, I can see myself dropping F4 before I drop this title...  How weird is that!  Score: 8 out of 10.

Hey crew, JT  here with two reviews for the BOTR post so we can end things on a good note. So here are my reviews for Scarlet Spidey and Morbius, The Living Vampire. 

 Scarlet Spider #15: This issue featured Aracely running from Los Lobos, but she's eventually caught by the sibling Werewolves. Before they can do anything, a blood thirsty, six eyed, freaky looking Kaine shows up and engages Los Lobos. Kaine manages to rip out the brother's eye, and stabs him through the chest with his... spider...leg or whatever their called. He then pulls a Superboy Prime and rips the Werewolves arm off, causing the sister to pick up her brother and run. Kaine goes to attack Aracely but she somehow connects with him, through her powers and I guess Kaine's memories, and he sheds his horrible skin and is himself again, with a long beard and shaggy hair. From there, Aracely helps Kaine get back to his normal self by cutting his hair, going to get his tattoos redone since they've been removed due to his full body healing, and he gets back to his life, but now he knows he doesn't have to wonder if he's a monster, he definitely is. From there we see Julia Carpenter, still in her coma, whisper Kaine's name, as well as see someone else saying The Culling will soon began. No one tell Marvel that DC did a story called The Culling like a year ago. The issue comes to a close with Aracely being possessed and the Male Werewolf being killed by some old dude with a beard. (This review was way longer than I expected.) So basically, this entire story was pointless, everything is how it was before except now Kaine has given into The Other, knows he's a monster...for now, and Aracely is possessed. Score: 4/10

Morbius The Living Vampire #3: In the last issue we saw Morbius bite a chunk out of Noah the gangster's neck. He's immediately shot at but dodges the bullets until Noah's hideous girlfriend shoots Morbius in the neck. Once Morbius wakes up from...being shot in the neck, she tells Morbius to use his doctor skills to save her boyfriend or she's going to torture Morbius and kill his friends, a girl by the name of Becky, and the kid she babysits, Henry. Morbius agrees to help and fights his blood lust to do so, but Noah wakes up halfway through and attacks, so Morbius slams him down and kills him in the process. Oops! The issue ends with Noah's ugly girlfriend entering the room to see Noah dead then yelling that Morbius and his friends are dead!!!! Well...this issue was not as strong as the first two. Nothing happened in this issue either really, it was kind of filler. Morbius bit a chunk out of a dude's neck in the last issue, he tried to save him and he died in this one. So you literally could've skipped this issue if issue two ends with Morbius biting Noah and issue four starts with Noah being dead. So... yeah. Score: 3/10

And that's it for us, thanks for dropping by the check out the best of the rest post for this week, and be sure to check out my review tomorrow for Injustice: Gods Among Us #3. On behalf of my buddy X, and myself of course, this is JT, signing off!

Scarlet Spider #14

Hey guys, JT here(and X too! Move over JT, I'm crashing this here review!!!) with the last review of the comic week before the new books drop tomorrow. Today's review, is Scarlet Spider(Ugh, why did I decide to crash THIS one?!), and it's actually less of a review and more of a rant(Sweet!  I love rants!), so if you're looking for an in-depth review, you shan't find one here(That's par for the course with you, JT! :P).

Scarlet Spider #14

Summary: Aracely ran from the wolves and ran into a street gang called the Sharks, they fought the Wolves by shooting them(How else would you expect to fight werewolves?!)... Meanwhile, Kaine had a dream while dying and after fighting the fact that he's a monster, he finally gives in and agrees he's a monster, giving himself to "The Other"(UGH!!). The issue ends with Kaine sprouting forth from a cocoon with no facial hair, costume or whatever, just looking weird, claws extended and with six eyes.

Thoughts: And I thought Batman and Robin was bad.... X complains about the books he had being mediocre and I get this(Yes, I complained about the mediocre books I had this week... But at least none were painfully bad like this one!). Really? Before I jump into "The Other" stuff, let me say this. Houston must have the baddest ass ghettos ever... because not one person in the Shark gang seemed to be shocked or afraid that they were fighting legitimate werewolves... I mean, I'm from Detroit, and I don't know much about gangs, but I know a bit, and I know that if a gang was confronted by an honest to god werewolf... they probably wouldn't provoke it into a fight(See, I'm from New York and yes, we WOULD provoke a fight with a werewolf! On sight, actually! Furry bastards...). But not the Sharks.... they went to war for Aracely... and I guess Street Cred(Street Cred IS important...)... I was waiting for one of them to say "TEAM EDWARD, MUH'F***A!!!!"(HA!! I love that line...) But... I digress...

For those who don't know, this "Other" crap is from a story called Spider-Man: The Other(Makes sense), in which Peter Parker died and was reborn with new powers or something equally stupid. Anyway, it's generally regarded as a horrible story that's pretty much ignored except when Kaine returned in Spider Island, he told Pete he was reborn with new powers. Anyway, all of that aside, I don't think anyone was lobbying for the return of The Other. Especially considering as JW pointed out, Kaine's been struggling with his "monster" side for the better part of this series, so him finally moving past it, only to literally become a monster in the next issue felt like a slap in the face. I'm hoping he turns back to Kaine soon(Word!), like at the end of the next issue soon, but it really hurt the flow of the character development for me, I mean even if he is becoming a monster to protect Aracely... Kaine seemed pretty capable before he had to give in the The Other. I wasn't a Chris Yost fan before this series due to his subpar run (in my opinion) on Red Robin, but I gave this series a chance and was happy to see how well Yost did with the series and Kaine's character, but if this is gonna be a constant struggle of "I'M A MONSTER!!! I'M A BIG RED MONSTER!!!"(It's Kaine!!) I can't see myself sticking with this series, especially considering the return of The Other...ugh(Damn, one bad issue and JT is all, "I'm out!"). So yeah, all in all, not a fan of this issue or the developments here, here's hoping things go back to how they were two issues ago, as soon as possible.

Score: 1/10.  (Yup, my score would have been roughly the same.)

Kaine: NO! (I said the same thing when I saw The Other.)

Scarlet Spider #13

Hey Todd Squad, JT here with my second review of the week, this time we're gonna check in with Peter's clone, Kaine, in Houston. So let's see what the Scarlet Spider is up to shall we?

Scarlet Spider #13

Summary: In this issue we see Kaine continuing his war on crime and attacking people that are trafficking slaves. He saves a young woman that reminds him of Aracely, and we then see Aracely having a nightmare. We're also introduced to a Spanish brother and sister duo who are known as The Wolves, and their after Aracely. They believe they will be granted wishes as a reward once they return to mysterious Aracely to where she's from. They manage to find Aracely as she's out with Kaine, explaining her nightmare. They tell Kaine to give up the girl, but Kaine grabs Aracely and web swings away to the top of a building. He asks Aracely who the people are but she doesn't remember, but she lightly howls for some reason, which draws the Wolves to their location, as they've transformed into Werewolves. They attack Kaine and he manages to fight them off long enough to make Aracely escape. Kaine decides to use his claw to kill them, like he tried to due to Carnage, but rethinks it, thinking it will make him as much of a monster as they are if he kills. Kaine's moment of hesitation allows the Wolves to overpower Kaine, and leave him hurt and defeated as Aracely tries to escape on the streets but falls over, feeling Kaine's pain due to her mysterious powers. After being defeated, Kaine is hurt and laid out as the female Wolf turns back into human form and starts to lick at his wounds, taunting him as Kaine, hurt and unable to move realizes that the Wolves are actually eating him. Kaine recites a prayer in his mind as he slowly loses consciousness and this issue comes to a close.

Thoughts: This was a very interesting issue. I've been waiting to find out more about Aracely and this was a great step in that direction. I'm also liking Kaine's internal struggle, as he decides if he's still the man he used to be, or if he's the hero he wants to be. The Wolves are interesting and I'm wondering how they plan on getting wishes by using Aracely, Yost really set a lot of questions in motion which I can't wait to get answers to. I will say the ending surprised me, how is Kaine going to heal from being eaten by Werewolves... I...I don't even know what to expect, so i guess that's a good thing in terms of keeping me interested, which I definitely am after that ending.
 
Score: 6.5/10

Brother Wolf: You are Spider-Man, but not. Your scent... the same, but different.

Merry Christmas.

Scarlet Spider #12.1

Hey guys and gals, JT here with my fourth review of the week... I know right? Some kind of Christmas Miracle. Anyway, after the last awesome issue of Scarlet Spider, I couldn't skip reviewing this .1 issue, hell Kaine may be my favorite Spider character besides Pe...Ot..um... Amazi...Superi...the guy in New York!

Scarlet Spider #12.1

Summary: This issue centers on Kaine, now having found a nice life in Houston, dealing with his transition from a evil murderer to the Hero of Houston. He soon gets word that someone else has been using his old calling card, the Mark of Kaine, when he would basically grab their face and use his adhesive skin to rip the flesh off of their faces. What's worse is, he finds out via the body of a dead girl that's apparently a slave, as the slave trading is still very active in Houston. Kaine spends days looking for clues on who's behind the slave trade and finally comes across Mark Tomanaga a.k.a. The Mark, the man that killed the fourteen year old slave that Kaine found dead and marked. Kaine tells The Mark he's there to end his business, but The Mark says it's not just his business, and suddenly The Hand (?!) drop down and attack Scarlet Spider. Kaine has a bit of trouble, since unlike Peter, he has no Spider Sense, but manages to take down The Hand. The Mark uses this as his chance to attack, and surprisingly, he takes it to Kaine, but the fight is interrupted by a man in the suit and Bruiser, a giant Juggernaut like man wearing green. Scarlet Spider tries to take him on but only manages to hurt his hand. The man in the suit, known as the Arranger, says he's the Bruiser's handler as well as the Ruler of The Hand, which Kaine doesn't buy. He says he was sent by The Kingpin to deliver a message to The Mark, and The Bruiser swiftly snaps The Mark's neck. The Arranger says The Kingpin will be taking direct control of The Hand's businesses in Houston, and they tell Scarlet Spider to stay out of Kingpin's way, which obviously doesn't go over well with Kaine. The issue ends with Kaine deciding that with Great Power comes the ability to stop people like him, or how he used to be, and that's what he plans on doing,
 
Thoughts: This was a fun .1 issue. Suprisingly it wasn't just filler, i mean it was but it set up that Kingpin has business in Houston and he will be clashing with Kaine soon. Between him, the Kraven's, and that big galoot from the first issue that kidnapped Aracely way back then, Kaine is getting an interesting Rogue's gallery. I also liked how Kaine is still curious on how his friends will view him if they learn about his past, that will be an interesting road to go down if he ever tells them the kind of guy he used to be. All in all this was a nice .1 issue that had more character development and set up some stories, instead of just focusing on building for another series, like a few .1's have done in recent years.

Score: 8/10 

Scarlet Spider: With great power also comes the ability to rain down hell on those who prey on the weak, people who couldn't fight the monsters.

Scarlet Spider #12

Hola X-Maniacs, JT here with my final review of the comic week, Scarlet Spider #12. I was set to review ASM 699.1 but I wasn't aware it was basically an issue to hype the upcoming Morbius series, and while the issue was fine, I figured I'd rather review Scarlet Spider's first issue post-Minimum Carnage, now let's get to it!

Scarlet Spider #12

Summary: This issues starts off with a group of people who plan to steal some very valuable diamonds that are being held in a vault at the Four Seasons Hotel for some reason. From there we see Kaine, drunk as hell, trying to leave but Aracely is blocking the door way and holding a swear jar, demanding he puts in two dollars for swearing, but Kaine is determined to leave and go to Mexico after what he dealt with during Minimum Carnage, at least, until he passes out, after only three beers! I guess clones have a low alcohol tolerance. As Aracely and Wally pull Kaine over to the couch,  Donald answers the door and is confronted by Hotel Employee Courtney Johnson, who says she needs Kaine to check out, because a Belgian Ambassador has had the Presidential Suite booked for months and they need Kaine to vacate the room. Meanwhile in the lobby, a bunch of men wielding guns and dressed like Santa Claus tell everyone to get down on the ground. Kaine's friend, and hotel employee, Annabelle calls up to Kaine's room, interrupting the conversation between Wally, Donald and Aracely, when they say they really don't know anything about Kaine, and Aracely says they know everything. Interesting. When the phone rings, Aracely says it's Annabelle, she's scared, and Donald answers and confirms what Aracely somehow already knew. Wally grabs his gun and heads down to the lobby and Aracely follows after him, leaving Wally to try to wake up a passed out Kaine. Downstairs, one of the Santa's grabs Annabelle as a hostage, but she tells them if they want the big bucks, they should rob the man in the Presidential Suite. Back in Kaine's room, Donald pours him coffee and tries to wake him up, but a half-conscious Kaine just mutters that he's no hero, just a killing machine. In the lobby, Wally takes down one of the Santa's, but the others open fire, whereas Aracely walks up to one and tells him he's afraid, and he falls on the ground, screaming. Back with Kaine, he's now conscious and tells Donald how he's no good and how he's killed people and so many have died due to him. Donald retorts that Kaine has saved a ton of people, including himself and Aracely, and that Kaine is rough around the edges, but that's the kind of hero Houston needs. The pep talk is cut short when a Santa wielding a gun and holding Annabelle in a headlock bursts through the door, leading to Kaine beating the hell out of him, and suiting up, then beating up the Santa's in the lobby as well. When the hotel employee asks what they can do to repay Scarlet Spider for saving them and saving the hotel millions, Aracely whispers to Kaine "No Belgians Allowed", obviously so he doesn't get kicked out of his room. A confused Kaine says, he doesn't want Belgians allowed at the hotel to which they agree, perplexed. From there we see Kaine, finally feeling at home, while on the roof with Aracely, Donald, Wally and Annabelle. From there we see a letter arrive at the front desk for K. Parker, but the Woman at the front desk says they don't have a Parker registered there, as we see the envelope from J. Carpenter, aka. Madame Web Julia Carpenter as this issue ends.
 
Thoughts: First things first, awesome cover, it looks like a movie poster or something. Secondly, I'm loving Aracely. She's funny and she still has a lot we don't know about her, even a year later. She's clearly some kind of telepath but she can make others feel emotions too. Add that with the hilarious scenes of her telling Kaine to pay up for the Swear Jar and to say no Belgians, and she's quickly becoming one of my favorite supporting characters. I am curious to see what Madame Web's letter to Kaine was though, was she warning him about Doc Ock's plan? Was she trying to get him to return to New York? That's going to bother me, haha. But I enjoyed this issue, Kaine finally feeling like he has a home and having friends is a great step in the right direction for him, and Christ Yost, a man who's writing I didn't care for a year ago, has made me a fan thanks to his great job on this series. This is probably my favorite Spider title besides the main book, and that's saying something considering how many there are!

Score: 8/10 

Scarlet Spider: Uh, no Belgians. Don't let any Belgians stay here. Ever.

Scarlet Spider #10

Hey everyone, JT here with my second review of the week, and we're continuing the Minimum Carnage Mini-series in this month's issue of Scarlet Spider. Last time we left off, Carnage had escaped to a tiny universe, Scarlet Spider was trying to stop him, and Venom showed up, telling Scarlet Spider to surrender. Let's see if Kaine did that... which I doubt.

 Scarlet Spider #10

Summary: We pick up where we left off, with Kaine, extremely upset that he wasn't able to stop Carnage. Venom tells Scarlet Spider to relax, he remembers him from killing The Queen during Spider-Island, and he's there to stop Carnage, just like SS. SS tells Venom that's fine, but if he touches him again, he'll kill him. Venom says he'll keep that in mind and they discuss the tiny people that were with Carnage, when suddenly Venom loses control and the the symbiote takes over, turning him into the big, hulking Venom. With his last bit of control, Flash yells for SS to run, as Venom tries to eat SS. Kaine fights back and tries his hardest to take down Venom but he can't. Flash fights the symbiote for control as it tries to move onto Kaine, but he calms it down somehow and regains control. SS is rightfully upset at what just happened, but Venom cuts him short when they find that Dr. Ketola survived. Venom asks her where Carnage went and she said he's in a subatomic space known as the Microverse, after using that machine in the last issue, Venom says they have to go after Carnage, to which Scarlet Spider replies "@#$% That." This seems more like a JT and X crossover... Anyway, Venom says they have to go after Carnage, he's their responsibility, but SS says he's not Spider-Man and he could care less what Carnage does as long as he's out of Houston. Venom says Carnage will be back, and asks SS for help, but he tells venom to go to Micro-Land or Hell for all he cares, SS is out. In the Microverse, Carnage tells Katy Kiernan he's keeping her alive to report on what he does, he wants the world to know of his exploits, so she's allowed to live, for now. We also see that Carnage's allies seem to think he's a bit crazy as well, but they apparently need him, so they put up with him. Back in the lab, Venom is about to enter the Prometheus Pit when SS shows up, asking Venom if he really thinks Carnage will come back, to which Venom says the bad ones always do. Scarlet Spider decides to join Venom in going after Carnage as they step into the Prometheus Pit. Venom wakes up in the Microverse in a nice area with little faeries... but they quickly attack him, causing the symbiote to break apart. Venom is saved by a group of Microverse inhabitants, and they recognize Venom and tell them they need his help. Over with Kaine, we see him waking up by a yoda-like zen master, and just when it seems like things couldn't be worse for Kaine, we see that he's also by a gigantic green-bug-lobster creature that's getting ready to take out Kaine and his new friend when the issue ends.

Thoughts: It's funny, before he took over Scarlet Spider, I didn't like Chris Yost's work much, but I'll be damned if he hasn't made Scarlet Spider something I look forward to every month, and his work in this issue continues that trend. The Minimum Carnage mini has been pretty good so far, Kaine and Flash are such polar opposites that its great seeing them together, it's kind of like seeing Cap team with Wolverine, in the sense you have a guy who plays it by the book and a guy that does what he want when he wants. I enjoyed this issue, it was average, far from bad but nothing too memorable happened here. I can't wait to see what happens when Venom, Scarlet Spider, and Carnage are all at the same place at the same time.

Score: 7.5/10 

Scarlet Spider: I know another idiot who talks about responsibility a lot.
Venom: Yeah? I know a great man who does the same.

Minimum Carnage Alpha #1

Hey everyone, JT here with my last review of the week, Minimum Carnage: Alpha. So what happens when Venom and Scarlet Spider team up to take on the crazed Cletus Kasady? Let's find out, shall we?

Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1

Summary: Things start off quickly, as this issue has a cinematic feel to it. We see Cletus Kasady sitting in his cell, when he looks up and says "Yes". We jump forward three hours and see Flash "Agent Venom" Thompson and a few armed soldiers, moving through the prison, looking for the recently escaped Kasady, as well as any survivors of the slaughtering spree he went on after escaping. They discover that the glass to Kasady's cell was broken from the inside, something he shouldn't have been able to do. Venom eventually finds the prison employees, holed up in a room trying to save themselves from Kasady. Venom tells them to call the police, the F.B.I. and the National Guard, because Carnage is on the loose. We eventually see Cletus Kasady, driving a car out of town when he's caught at a police checkpoint. They tell Cletus to surrender, but he says his friends won't like that. The officer insists that Cletus steps out of the car when suddenly his throat is slit, and the rest of the officers are attacked and killed as Cletus happily drives off. Back at the prison, Venom watches the security footage of when Cletus was freed and has the prison workers zoom in, as we see a small parasite or something on Kasady. Venom also asks why they didn't reform Cletus' symbiote, like they were able to do with his, and learns that Cletus' symbiote is bonded with him on a molecular level, and has nested in his DNA, which leaves Venom shocked. He then puts in the call to Hawkeye to alert the Avengers about Carnage, then calls his very own April O'Neil. Katy Kiernan, and asks if she knows anything about really small killers. She sends him an article from her paper about something that happened in Texas with shrinking and Venom heads off towards the Lone Star State. Two days later, we see the Scarlet Spider entering a burning building (because that's what heroes do, as Kaine says) when he stumbles upon the pieces of the body of a murdered woman. He says he's killed before, but whoever murdered that woman savored it. Kaine notices one survivor, a man that seems deathly afraid of him, but Kaine grabs him anyway and they escape the burning building. We later find out that the man that murdered the lady and scared the other guy was looking for his wife, and killed her mother for fun. Kaine heads out to find the man's wife before the murderer can, and it just so happens the woman is being questioned by Katy Kiernan. Kiernan asks the woman, Dr. Ketola, about a machine that allows people to go to a sub-atomic universe. The woman denies it but Kiernan knows there's a story there, but the two are interrupted by Carnage, who wants to use the "Prometheus Pit" as it's called. He attacks the Dr. Ketola and yells that her husband says hi, when Scarley Spider shows up and takes down Carnage. Carnage, thinking this is Spider-Man in a new suit (can you blame him?) underestimates the ruthlessness of Kaine, who immediately tries to snap Carnage's neck. Carnage says he likes this new mean streak in Spidey, and attacks with his tendrils, but Kaine uses his claws (I forgot he had those!) to cut them off, which tells Carnage he's not Spider-Man. Suddenly, Kaine is taken down by a bunch of smaller super-powered people that incapacitate him long enough for Carnage to make Dr. Ketola start the Prometheus Pit, and for him to throw Katy Kiernan in it as his guinea pig. Carnage gets ready to enter when one of his tiny cohorts reminds him of their deal, he has to kill some people for them, and they give him a whole new universe to kill people in afterwards. Kaine recovers and tries to stop Carnage, but Carnage enters the Prometheus Pit and disappears. Just when things can't get worse for the Scarlet Spider, he's told to get down and surrender by Agent Venom.


Thoughts: Now THIS is what I'm talking about! That's how you start a crossover. We got a quick introduction into each characters mind, for anyone who is only reading one series, we got to see them act on their own first before we saw them team up, and Carnage was built up like the threat he should be. Plus, we got a few unanswered questions like Carnage's tie with the tiny people and who exactly they want killed, which should keep people interested. After Bunn's lackluster start to Venom, I'm really enjoying what he and Yost have started here, hopefully they can keep the momentum going. Overall, this was a nice start and a very good way to get Flash and Kaine to cross paths.

Score: 8/10 

Venom: I'm the guy. They're looking to me to lead them through this. I can't tell them how badly this guy freaks me out.

JT's Take: Scarlet Spider #8

Hey guys and gals, with the upcoming Minimum Carnage storyline staring Venom and Scarlet Spider fast approaching, I figured I'd compliment yesterday's Venom review by posting Scarlet Spider today, so let's check in with our favorite Houston-based Hero.

Scarlet Spider #8

Summary: We pick up where things left off with Kaine taking on The Rangers, they tell him to give up but Kaine has a few questions, so after causing a distraction, Kaine escapes with Zoe. Once Kaine is alone with Zoe, he asks her why she blew up Roxxon and she explains her father is up to something in Galveston. Kaine takes her word for it and the two head there, unaware that The Rangers are not far behind their trail. Kaine tears his way through Roxxon to a room where Zoe claims there are tons of dead bodies but when they arrive there they find nothing. Kaine, afraid his second chance at life is now ruined, starts freaking out and plans to get Aracely and head for Mexico. Suddenly, The Rangers show up and manage to take Scarley Spider by surprise and take him down. Before things can escalate even more, a robotic/alien (?) member of The Rangers named Fifty-One scans the room and breaks the floor, which reveals a hidden room with all the bodies that Zoe mentioned to Kaine. The Rangers realize that Kaine isn't the villain here and start to apologize but there are other things going on, as they hear screams from another room. They run see a man being experimented on but of course, everything goes wrong and he turns into a giant monster as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: I actually don't have much to say about this comic. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was passable. I'm enjoying Kaine as Scarlet Spider but I wish he had something to sink his teeth into, around issue 8 in the Venom series, Flash had done a lot more than Kaine has at this point, so hopefully Kaine can get that big story with Kraven soon...

Score: 6.5/10

Scarlet Spider: You guys, you call yourselves The Rangers... super heroes right?The Texas Twister: Yep.
Scarlet Spider: Good. This one's all yours.

JT's Take: Scarlet Spider #7

Hey guys, gals and troglodytes, JT here again, since X is.... pretty much dead to the blogging world. Made me think that he's kinda the Peter Parker of this blog, and I'm a bit gruffer, kind of like Kaine. And THAT, my friends, is how you do a HORRIBLE segue to a comic review. :-D

Scarlet Spider #7

Summary: Things kick off with The Scarlet Spider himself, Kaine, saving a woman after witnessing a huge building explosion. Kaine also saves the people on the streets below before locking lips with the grateful woman he saved. Of course, that quickly leads to her and Kaine having sex, because that's how heroes like Kaine get down, in H-Town. The morning after festivities are cut short when Kaine discovers from his recent partner that she's the one that blew up the building. She introduces herself as Zoe, before going to answer the knock at her door, which causes Kaine to suit up and go out the window. After "not caring" for hours, Kaine eventually decides to look into it, and heads back to the Roxxon building and notices it's pretty much fixed up again, even after the explosion earlier. Kaine then takes his questions to the head honcho at Roxxon, and discovers that Zoe is his daughter. Surprising right? Before Kaine can ask anymore questions, he's told to leave or else he'll have to deal with a superhero team known as The Rangers. Cause they're in Texas... so, yep.


Thoughts: This was a fun issue, it kinda flew by. I liked seeing a different kind of Spidey, and that's what we get with Kaine, the way he jumped right into bed with Zoe was both surprising and hilarious. I'm interested in seeing what Zoe's beef is with her dad and the Roxxon corp., as well as what happens with Kaine takes on The.... sigh...Rangers. God that's a horrible name. Other than that, this was a perfectly acceptable comic.

Score:  7.5/10

Kaine: I don't use computers.

Officer Wally: What are you, Amish?

JT's Take: Scarlet Spider #6

Hey X-Todd Squad-Maniacs or something...Man, that was a fast week! Seven reviews later from your truly while our good buddy X enjoyed his break, here we are. Make sure you comment how I deserve a raise in pay or something for picking up X's slack. Anyway, our final review for the week is none other than Scarlet Spider, the man who does whatever a Spider-Man won't. So let's get to it, shall we?

Scarlet Spider #6

Summary: This issue starts off with a bunch of news reports with most people praising Houston's new hero, the Scarlet Spider, who may have a bit of a temper but is still appreciated by many H-Town residents. From there we see Kaine getting a tattoo on his arm for some reason, and after that we see he's a bit peeved being called the Scarlet Spider, a name that was attributed to his "brother", Ben Reilly. He's then approached by the young woman he saved a few issues ago, Aracely, and they go to dinner, although unknown to them, their being watched by a shadowy figure. At dinner, Kaine has a few questions, like how Aracely always knows where to find Kaine, and how she can suddenly speak English. She claims it's because he speaks English, and he gives off a certain vibe, methinks we're dealing with a psychic type. Kaine eventually asks Aracely where Annabelle is, to which she replies church. Kaine heads down to the church, which has been rented out for a concert apparently... cause churches do that I guess. While there, Kaine is confronted by Ana Kraivinoff, daughter of Kraven the Hunter, and one of the people that helped kill Kaine a few years ago. She immediately attacks Kaine with a blade, which was tipped with poison and slows down Kaine as he pursues her. She then torches the church, killing some people who aren't able to escape, as Kaine is too slow to save them due to the poison in his bloodstream. Ana continues to attack Kaine, but he's much stronger than her, which gives him a slight edge, until they fall through the ceiling of the roof to the ground below. Ana, much more serious than before, states that Kaine will die again, as she's killed her own brother and will kill Kaine too. The ceiling then caves in over Ana, and surprisingly Kaine leaps in and saves her. She claims Kaine is becoming weak like Spider-Man and she escapes, but not before telling Kaine that Kraven is coming for him and will eat his heart. Kaine escapes the burned wreckage, wondering why he saved someone that was trying to kill him. Maybe he is a bit more like Peter than he though.

As the issue comes to a close we see four epilogues; the first with Kaine asking a priest for help, wondering why he's alive but not his brother who was a much better man. Basically this is a wake up call for Kaine to try to live to the standard that Reilly set. The second epilogue shows us The Salamander, a villain from a few issues ago, awaken by a mysterious man who tells him he is needed at home with "The Mexica", and that the wolves will deal with the girl. The third epilogue shows us Julia Carpenter, Madame Web, with her daughter when Madame Web suddenly falls to the ground screaming that "She's coming back, she's coming back for Kaine." And the final epilogue shows us Ana alongside her father Kraven, telling Kraven all the information she has on Kaine, about Aracely, Annabelle, his Cop and Doctor friends, and where he lives, as well that he saved her life, and playing Hero has made him soft. The issue ends as Kraven proclaims that he and Ana have hunting to do.


Thoughts: Man, this issue flew by. This, like the last issue, seemed to be more of a set up issue than anything, but it did set up a lot. We've got Kraven and Ana coming for Kaine, Kaine's questioning of if he can live up the Ben Reilly is an interesting turn, plus giving Kaine a love interest in Annabelle. Add in the fact we've got the mystery of Aracely and the Mexica and we should have some great stories down the line. Oh, and Chris Yost, don't be an ass and name a wine after yourself in a comic. Or do, do whatever you want as long as you keep Scarlet Spider better than your Red Robin run.

Score:  7/10

Aracely: I saw a commercial on tee-vee for bar-b-que. I want to eat bar-b-que with you.
Kaine: You are so weird.
Aracely: Bar-b-que!

Scarlet Spider #5

After missing issues 2 & 3(I got 4 but didn't review it, or at least I don't think I did...), we're back and giving this series another try thanks mainly to JT, who just kept pestering me to pick this series back up... Emails, comments, chats, you name it, he just kept promoting this comic... JT, this issue had better be good, my friend!

Scarlet Spider #5:

Story Points:
-The Watchdogs, a hate-group, have placed a dirty bomb somewhere in Houston. It's up to Scarlet Spider and his cop friend(whose name I'm blanking on...) to find and disarm the bomb.
-Kaine contemplates simply leaving the city, as that's the easiest thing to do, but ultimately decides on the heroic course of action and decides to stay and help.
-Kaine uses his spider-power(and I mean that literally, as he can “see” through the eyes of spiders...) to locate the bomb.
-Kaine and his cop friend find the bomb, but it's a few minutes from detonation, which wouldn't give the bomb squad enough time to arrive and defuse it.
-With 5 seconds left, and nothing to lose, Kaine simply tears out ALL of the wires in the bomb, defusing it... HA!

Thoughts: You know... There was a part of me that expected that bomb to go off, if nothing else then to add to writer Chris Yost's already impressive comic book body count... I swear, that man has killed more comic book characters than the Joker! Seriously though, this was another(in a long line) of good comics I've lucked into reading this week. I liked Kaine's thought process, as he's still not quite the complete hero like Peter, but he's getting there as evidenced by this issue. It would have been easy for him to gather his friends and vacate the city, but he didn't, which is the important thing. So yeah, so far I'm happy I started collecting this series again... Nice job, JT!

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

JT's Take: Scarlet Spider #2

Hey everyone, JT here with my take on issue numero dos of Scarlet Spider. I enjoyed the first issue a lot and since X would rather pick up Grifter and Superboy over Scarlet Spider, I figured I'd throw up a review for it, so let's see what I thought of it.

Scarlet Spider #2

Summary: We pick things up seeing Kaine leaving Houston via cab when suddenly the Medical Center where he'd dropped off the girl he rescued explodes. After arguing with himself he heads back and see's she's being attacked by a giant mountain of a man who can shoot fire. This man, named Salamander (although it's never mentioned in the actual comic), is eager to fight a hero, especially Spider-Man, but Kaine assures him he is neither. Kaine proves that while fighting the villain, and while he saves a cop from being killed by the villain, he also uses the officer's gun to open fire on this blazing behemoth. When our fiery foe tries to incinerate Kaine alive, he webs himself up to protect himself from the flames before attacking the flame fueled fighter (I rule at alliteration) and incapacitating him. He thinks about killing him but says a little voice inside stops him from doing it, and that voice is soon replaced to by cheers from the citizens of Houston. After checking on the girl he saved, Kaine is pretty much told by an officer, as well as the Doctor that Houston could use a hero like Kaine. They also say they'll have to send the girl back since she's an immigrant, but a Vigilante could continue to defend her, but Kaine turns down the offer and heads for Mexico. We finally see him at the boarder but he changes his mind, as we see he's got the girl living with him now as he tries to make a new home in Houston.


Thoughts: I really enjoyed this issue and my review doesn't do the issue justice. You really got a feel for Kaine not being a hero, but still doing the right thing. Doing things like raking the eyes of someone or grabbing a police officer's gun and shooting his foe shows that our titular character is not a full-fledged hero, but rather an Anti-Hero. I also like that he has the city behind him, the police, and possibly even the Mayor, that's an interesting position for Kaine, especially since you know it has to backfire on him soon enough. I'm loving this comic and surprisingly I'm loving what Chris Yost is doing with Kaine, I really hope he keeps it up and we inevitably get a Scarlet Spider/Venom crossover. But that's for later, as for this issue, there's nothing I didn't enjoy about it. Simple as that, I had no qualms with this issue and that's reflected in my score below.

Score: 10 out of 10.
Kaine: I'm not Spider-Man. I'm not a hero. But maybe I don't have to be a monster.

Scarlet Spider #1

Next up is the first issue of the Scarlet Spider series... Unless this scores a 10, this will probably be the first and only issue of this series I pick up until we get a writer change, but I figured why not pick it up and at least give it a shot.

Scarlet Spider #1:

What Happened: While passing through Houston, Kaine gets wind of an illegal transaction occurring at a major port. Kaine attacks the criminals at the port and beats them into unconsciousness, since he wanted the unmarked money they were trading. However, Kaine decides to take a peek into one of the crates the criminals were bringing into Houston and discovers a mess of corpses(illegal immigrants who were being sold into labor or prostitution), and one girl who was still alive, but barely. Kaine takes the girl to the hospital and then rents out a hotel penthouse with his stolen money. From there he finds himself doing heroic-type things, but doesn't want to be like Spider-Man, and wants to move to Mexico with his cash, figuring he could live happily ever after. The cops discover the corpses in the crates and while they are investigating the scene are murdered by some villain with flame-based powers. Kaine learns of the slaughter on the news, but still refuses to follow in Spider-Man's footsteps and become a hero. From there, the villain heads to the hospital to kill the girl Kaine had dropped off the prior night. As for Kaine, this issue ends with him walking away from Houston.

Thoughts: This was a good, but not great comic. The story was easy to get into, and Kaine is a character who is easy to like. He's a character who's always been the bad guy, but now has a second chance and just wants to go away somewhere, never to be seen or heard from again... Which is easier said than done since he IS a clone of Peter Parker and all. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that, as is his MO, Christopher Yost DID kill something like 20+ immigrants in this issue... It's not a Chris Yost written story unless people are dying by the bus load... That's a VERY lazy way to write... Anyway, this will be the first and last issue of this series I pick up, because, while good, it just wasn't great. Oh well, when Yost leaves the book I'll give it another shot, but for now, adiós, Scarlet Spider.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.I'll admit, Kaine cursing out the old woman did bring a smile to my face...