Hey all, X back with his last contribution to the blog this week. This was a really light comic week for me, and as such, I have hardly anything to review for this post... Just two measly comics... Not only that, but JT doesn't have anything else to review! So basically, this post will consist of two reviews, one of which is a last issue! Since I'm not expecting anybody to read this, I'm just gonna blow through these as quick as can be.
Venom #35: Crazy Eddie confronts Flash at the High School Flash was teaching at, wanting a rematch of the prior night's festivities. Before things can get too explosive between the two, the Unnamed Alien from the past few issues pops up, attacking students and teachers alike. Eddie and Flash put their differences aside and team-up to destroy the Unnamed Alien. After fighting besides Flash, Eddie decides to leave Flash alone, but threatens that he'd return if Flash proved unable to control his symbiote. Hey, good stuff here! I enjoyed this story and really enjoyed the interaction between Eddie and Flash. I don't get what the hell was going on with the Unnamed Alien, as we learned nothing about it for three issues(not even it's name!), so I'm kind of perplexed as to why Cullen Bunn included it here. Besides that though, I have no real complaints. Score: 8 out of 10.
Dark Avengers #190(final issue): Basically the Dark Avengers manage to get back to their proper Earth thanks to Alternate Reed forcing the info out of the AIM agents who were wandering around for the past few issues. In the end, US Agent, Moonstone, Ragnarok, Trickshot and that Witch woman decide to remain as a team, while Skaar takes off(good riddance, bitch) and that Spider-Man lookalike gets stepped on. And that's about as much time as I want to take on this issue. The Dark Avengers trip home was way more complicated than I spelled out above, and included slivers of time... So you should be thankful I bottom lined it, 'cause it was all sorts of weird. I'm sad to say that I'm not going to miss this series... It's been treading water for a while, and the storyline with the alternate earth went on entirely too long for my liking. Oh well. Score: 6 out of 10.
And that'll do it for this week... Here's hoping next week is a bit more lively than this week's pitiful display. Until then? X out.
Showing posts with label Venom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venom. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Best of the Rest! April 17th edition.
Hey all, X back again with a new Best of the Rest post. Between myself and JT(whose reviews with be in a blue text), there should be plenty of comics to check out. So instead of talking about it, let's get to it!
Venom #34: Yes! This is exactly what I want from this series! This issue starts off with Toxin kicking Venom's ass, which leads to the mysterious cannibal showing up to join the fight. However, Toxin is all, "Who invited you, bitch?!" and proceeds to BITE the head off of the cannibal! That in turn leads to Venom biting off one of Toxin's arms! Excellent!! Toxin shrugs that off, grows a new arm and continues the ass-kickery. Venom finally halts the assault by injecting Toxin with the serum that keeps his own symbiote under control. Toxin rushes off since his symbiote was acting up, and Venom drags his battered ass to a rooftop to recuperate and prepare for round two. So yeah, Cullen Bunn just needs to keep doing this. Every single issue. Because this issue rocked. Score: 8 out of 10.
Iron Man #8: 451 manages to get Tony his armor before Tony is murdered by Death's Head. That leads to a massive brawl between Iron Man and DH, which 451 uses as a distraction to deactivate the cloaking device the Voldi had been using to hide from the Celestials. The Celestials arrive and obliterate the planet and everybody on it. Needless to say, Tony doesn't appreciate 451's actions and announces that he would have vengeance. This issue was a meh for me. It wasn't awful by any stretch, the fight between Tony and DH was cool, and I enjoyed 451's swerve, but I'm not going to remember this issue past tomorrow. Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Daredevil #25: Matt finally comes face-to-face with one of his tormentors, a guy wearing a facsimile of his original yellow attire named Ikari(which means 'Fury' in Japanese). Oh, and Ikari? He has all of DD's enhanced senses. The two have a spectacular battle across the rooftops of Manhattan, ending up in a sporting goods shop. DD manages to set off the sprinkler system, and hopes that his foe's inexperience with his hyper-senses will cause him to become totally disoriented by the noise and falling water. And it's a great plan. Except for one thing... Ikari isn't blind! Ikari beats the ever-loving hell out of a shocked Matt, who has no choice but to turn tail and run away, all while Ikari yells taunts after him. Yeah, this issue? Awesome. I NEVER saw the swerve with Ikari having his sight coming, and when Matt realized Ikari COULD see? Amazing! I wanted to scream FOR Matt! That's how perfect the reveal was. Amazing work by the incomparable Mark Waid. Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
X-Factor #254: Hey, this "Hell" storyline is still going on... Okay... Tier decides he doesn't want to kill the Hell-Lords, which pisses Polaris off since Tier kind of has to or everybody is screwed. Meanwhile, Mephisto is unsurprisingly knocking off the other Hell-Lords, polishing off Hela right after she had killed Asmodeus. Jezebel, Possessed Madrox and Guido attack X-Factor since Jezebel needed Tier if she had any hope in defeating her father(Mephisto). That leads to a showdown between Monet and Guido. This issue was solid. Much like most of this storyline. It's okay. It's not great or anything, it's okay. To be honest, I'm to the point where I'm waiting for this storyline to just end already... Score: 7 out of 10.
Nightwing #19: So Dick Grayson is in Chicago now, as he's decided to track down and capture Tony Zucco, who, in case you were unaware, killed Dick's parents. The cops hate Nightwing because the cops in Chi-town hate costumed heroes, and Dick is broke because he won't ask Bruce for money. Because they're feuding again after Death of the Family and Damian's death. But honestly, do those two really need a reason to feud?! They're almost always pissed at each other for one reason or another! But I digress... So yeah, Dick has no money and has to take a roommate in his apartment... Because that's smart for a masked hero like Dick... Anyway, it seems Zucco, who was the person who murdered Dick's parents, is the mayor's chauffeur or something... The mayor is corrupt, it seems. On top of that, the Prankster is punishing criminals. So yeah, Dick's first issue in Chicago? Not perfect. But hey, it wasn't awful, so there's that! I have to say, even though he appeared on a grand total of one page, the Prankster seems extremely interesting. I liked the costume and I liked his brand of vigilantism. So I'll be looking forward to seeing more of Prankster and less of Tony Zucco, who was the man responsible for the deaths of Dick Grayson's parents. In case you hadn't heard... Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Dark Avengers #189: This is the penultimate issue of this series, and I have to admit, I won't really miss it... It started off with such promise, but man did it fall apart quickly... Basically Evil Dr. Strange dies when he randomly explodes. That frees Skaar from Evil Strange, so Skaar can finally attack Evil Thing. Ragnarok picks up that dimension's Thor's hammer(wait, how?!), which makes him turn into a guy who looks like the Executioner... And AIM is still up to something, but damned if I know what! Yeah, I don't have anything else to add to that issue... Score: 4 out of 10.
Nova #3: In this issue of Nova, we see our protagonist run into The Watcher. He eventually is able to see through the Watcher's eyes that there are a ton of ships in the distance, but since he doesn't know what to do with that knowledge, he heads back to Earth. On Earth, Sam's mom hints she may know about Sam using his dad's helmet and says he can talk to her about anything. After that, Sam is approached by Gamora and Rocket Raccoon, who tell him he's the last of the Nova Corps and they start training Sam. In the midst of training, the Guardians mention the army that's on the way to attack Earth, and Sam tells them he saw it, thanks to the man on the moon, so they send Sam on recon since his Nova helmet can see the cloaked ships. The issue ends with Nova getting blasted in space by the ships, so I guess they can see him. Oops. I enjoyed this issue, it was nothing spectacular but it was a solid read. Score: 6.5/10
Captain Marvel #12: This issue focuses on Cap Marvel and Deathbird's aerial fight with Cap confined to her flying bike. After a long, tough battle, Cap finally defeats Deathbird, but has to fly at the end to due so, which weakens Cap due to the lesion on her brain. Throughout the issue we see her doctor talking to another doctor, the new one having dealt with a case like this before. It turns out his patient was Captain Marvel's friend, Helen Cobb, although she supposedly died in a fire. The doctors meet Cap at home to give her some news that we aren't privy to until the next issue. The issue ends with the mysterious man in the park revealing himself to be Yon-Rogg, now fully powered due to Captain Marvel's fights with Deathbird powering him. This was another solid issue, I enjoyed the fight with Deathbird but all the Doctor mumbo jumbo kinda slowed things down for me. I'm not familiar with Yon-Rogg but after looking him up and seeing he's the one that kidnapped Carol which led to her getting her powers, I'm excited to see where this goes. Score: 7/10
Justice League #19: This issue opened with Jason Todd and Alfred talking, so yeah, that's a free point from me. The two are attacked as some mysterious man who makes his way through the scan and past Batman's retinal scanner somehow to Bats' contingency room, as he has a case with a plan to beat each member of the League. The mystery man steals Superman's case, which has Kryptonite. Batman eventually returns and Jason is beating himself up for not hearing the intruder sneak up on them but Bruce says she's just glad Jason and Alfred are okay. After some help from Aquaman and Cyborg, they aren't able to figure out how this person got in or what they were after, Batman seems to know but plays dumb. Meanwhile, Superman and Wonder Woman fight some terrorists in Kahndaq, but Americans aren't allowed there, so Kahndaq is contemplating waging war on America. Batman meets with Supes and Wondy and they discuss how they went about things when he reveals he knows their dating, and also that someone came to the Batcave and took something to hurt Superman. The issue ends with Firestorm and the Atom, two of the newest Leaguers being attacked in the Watchtower by none other than Despero, wearing a Kryptonite ring. I enjoyed this issue surprisingly. I definitely didn't expect for this review to be so long. I enjoyed seeing Jason and Alfred, so... do more of that, Geoff Johns. I also enjoyed seeing Supes and Wondy fighting crime, and the odd way they influence one another, kinda reminds me their relationship in of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Lastly, this mystery man that knows Bruce could be interesting if done the right way, I'm curious to see who he is and why he'd help Despero, since I don't think it's him. Oh, and I like the new Atom, she rocks. Score: 8/10
Alright gang, that's it for me and mi amigo. Tomorrow, expect a new type of review from X, which he'll explain then, but until now, on behalf of buddy X, this is JT, signing off!
Venom #34: Yes! This is exactly what I want from this series! This issue starts off with Toxin kicking Venom's ass, which leads to the mysterious cannibal showing up to join the fight. However, Toxin is all, "Who invited you, bitch?!" and proceeds to BITE the head off of the cannibal! That in turn leads to Venom biting off one of Toxin's arms! Excellent!! Toxin shrugs that off, grows a new arm and continues the ass-kickery. Venom finally halts the assault by injecting Toxin with the serum that keeps his own symbiote under control. Toxin rushes off since his symbiote was acting up, and Venom drags his battered ass to a rooftop to recuperate and prepare for round two. So yeah, Cullen Bunn just needs to keep doing this. Every single issue. Because this issue rocked. Score: 8 out of 10.
Iron Man #8: 451 manages to get Tony his armor before Tony is murdered by Death's Head. That leads to a massive brawl between Iron Man and DH, which 451 uses as a distraction to deactivate the cloaking device the Voldi had been using to hide from the Celestials. The Celestials arrive and obliterate the planet and everybody on it. Needless to say, Tony doesn't appreciate 451's actions and announces that he would have vengeance. This issue was a meh for me. It wasn't awful by any stretch, the fight between Tony and DH was cool, and I enjoyed 451's swerve, but I'm not going to remember this issue past tomorrow. Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Daredevil #25: Matt finally comes face-to-face with one of his tormentors, a guy wearing a facsimile of his original yellow attire named Ikari(which means 'Fury' in Japanese). Oh, and Ikari? He has all of DD's enhanced senses. The two have a spectacular battle across the rooftops of Manhattan, ending up in a sporting goods shop. DD manages to set off the sprinkler system, and hopes that his foe's inexperience with his hyper-senses will cause him to become totally disoriented by the noise and falling water. And it's a great plan. Except for one thing... Ikari isn't blind! Ikari beats the ever-loving hell out of a shocked Matt, who has no choice but to turn tail and run away, all while Ikari yells taunts after him. Yeah, this issue? Awesome. I NEVER saw the swerve with Ikari having his sight coming, and when Matt realized Ikari COULD see? Amazing! I wanted to scream FOR Matt! That's how perfect the reveal was. Amazing work by the incomparable Mark Waid. Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
X-Factor #254: Hey, this "Hell" storyline is still going on... Okay... Tier decides he doesn't want to kill the Hell-Lords, which pisses Polaris off since Tier kind of has to or everybody is screwed. Meanwhile, Mephisto is unsurprisingly knocking off the other Hell-Lords, polishing off Hela right after she had killed Asmodeus. Jezebel, Possessed Madrox and Guido attack X-Factor since Jezebel needed Tier if she had any hope in defeating her father(Mephisto). That leads to a showdown between Monet and Guido. This issue was solid. Much like most of this storyline. It's okay. It's not great or anything, it's okay. To be honest, I'm to the point where I'm waiting for this storyline to just end already... Score: 7 out of 10.
Nightwing #19: So Dick Grayson is in Chicago now, as he's decided to track down and capture Tony Zucco, who, in case you were unaware, killed Dick's parents. The cops hate Nightwing because the cops in Chi-town hate costumed heroes, and Dick is broke because he won't ask Bruce for money. Because they're feuding again after Death of the Family and Damian's death. But honestly, do those two really need a reason to feud?! They're almost always pissed at each other for one reason or another! But I digress... So yeah, Dick has no money and has to take a roommate in his apartment... Because that's smart for a masked hero like Dick... Anyway, it seems Zucco, who was the person who murdered Dick's parents, is the mayor's chauffeur or something... The mayor is corrupt, it seems. On top of that, the Prankster is punishing criminals. So yeah, Dick's first issue in Chicago? Not perfect. But hey, it wasn't awful, so there's that! I have to say, even though he appeared on a grand total of one page, the Prankster seems extremely interesting. I liked the costume and I liked his brand of vigilantism. So I'll be looking forward to seeing more of Prankster and less of Tony Zucco, who was the man responsible for the deaths of Dick Grayson's parents. In case you hadn't heard... Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Dark Avengers #189: This is the penultimate issue of this series, and I have to admit, I won't really miss it... It started off with such promise, but man did it fall apart quickly... Basically Evil Dr. Strange dies when he randomly explodes. That frees Skaar from Evil Strange, so Skaar can finally attack Evil Thing. Ragnarok picks up that dimension's Thor's hammer(wait, how?!), which makes him turn into a guy who looks like the Executioner... And AIM is still up to something, but damned if I know what! Yeah, I don't have anything else to add to that issue... Score: 4 out of 10.
Nova #3: In this issue of Nova, we see our protagonist run into The Watcher. He eventually is able to see through the Watcher's eyes that there are a ton of ships in the distance, but since he doesn't know what to do with that knowledge, he heads back to Earth. On Earth, Sam's mom hints she may know about Sam using his dad's helmet and says he can talk to her about anything. After that, Sam is approached by Gamora and Rocket Raccoon, who tell him he's the last of the Nova Corps and they start training Sam. In the midst of training, the Guardians mention the army that's on the way to attack Earth, and Sam tells them he saw it, thanks to the man on the moon, so they send Sam on recon since his Nova helmet can see the cloaked ships. The issue ends with Nova getting blasted in space by the ships, so I guess they can see him. Oops. I enjoyed this issue, it was nothing spectacular but it was a solid read. Score: 6.5/10
Captain Marvel #12: This issue focuses on Cap Marvel and Deathbird's aerial fight with Cap confined to her flying bike. After a long, tough battle, Cap finally defeats Deathbird, but has to fly at the end to due so, which weakens Cap due to the lesion on her brain. Throughout the issue we see her doctor talking to another doctor, the new one having dealt with a case like this before. It turns out his patient was Captain Marvel's friend, Helen Cobb, although she supposedly died in a fire. The doctors meet Cap at home to give her some news that we aren't privy to until the next issue. The issue ends with the mysterious man in the park revealing himself to be Yon-Rogg, now fully powered due to Captain Marvel's fights with Deathbird powering him. This was another solid issue, I enjoyed the fight with Deathbird but all the Doctor mumbo jumbo kinda slowed things down for me. I'm not familiar with Yon-Rogg but after looking him up and seeing he's the one that kidnapped Carol which led to her getting her powers, I'm excited to see where this goes. Score: 7/10
Justice League #19: This issue opened with Jason Todd and Alfred talking, so yeah, that's a free point from me. The two are attacked as some mysterious man who makes his way through the scan and past Batman's retinal scanner somehow to Bats' contingency room, as he has a case with a plan to beat each member of the League. The mystery man steals Superman's case, which has Kryptonite. Batman eventually returns and Jason is beating himself up for not hearing the intruder sneak up on them but Bruce says she's just glad Jason and Alfred are okay. After some help from Aquaman and Cyborg, they aren't able to figure out how this person got in or what they were after, Batman seems to know but plays dumb. Meanwhile, Superman and Wonder Woman fight some terrorists in Kahndaq, but Americans aren't allowed there, so Kahndaq is contemplating waging war on America. Batman meets with Supes and Wondy and they discuss how they went about things when he reveals he knows their dating, and also that someone came to the Batcave and took something to hurt Superman. The issue ends with Firestorm and the Atom, two of the newest Leaguers being attacked in the Watchtower by none other than Despero, wearing a Kryptonite ring. I enjoyed this issue surprisingly. I definitely didn't expect for this review to be so long. I enjoyed seeing Jason and Alfred, so... do more of that, Geoff Johns. I also enjoyed seeing Supes and Wondy fighting crime, and the odd way they influence one another, kinda reminds me their relationship in of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Lastly, this mystery man that knows Bruce could be interesting if done the right way, I'm curious to see who he is and why he'd help Despero, since I don't think it's him. Oh, and I like the new Atom, she rocks. Score: 8/10
Alright gang, that's it for me and mi amigo. Tomorrow, expect a new type of review from X, which he'll explain then, but until now, on behalf of buddy X, this is JT, signing off!
Monday, April 8, 2013
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!
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!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Venom #31
Last X review of the week is Venom. I'm not really sure why I'm still collecting this series actually... I guess I should blame Rick Remender for doing such a fantastic job with Flash Thompson that I keep hoping this series will turn the corner and be good again... And every issue I'm disappointed...
Venom #31
Summary: So Flash has moved into an apartment in Philadelphia and meets two of his neighbors. One is a jerk, and the other is a sassy teenager. Okay then. From there we see Flash go out on patrol and try out some different identities since he didn't want people to connect Flash Thompson and Venom together in Philly. After a long night of crime fighting, we find Flash waking up in his apartment, surprised that all of his stuff had magically unpacked. After hearing a knock on his door he opens it to find some cops. The cops tell him his neighbor the jerk) had been beaten into a coma and nobody knows who did it. Flash immediately wonders if he did it during the night. This issue ends with Eddie Brock learning that Flash had moved to Philly.
Thoughts: Meh. This comic wasn't horrible, but it really wasn't all that interesting either. Flash moves in to a new apartment Flash goes on patrol! Flash wonders if he beat his neighbor into a coma! Eddie Brock talks to an old woman! See, not the most exciting reading. I mean, it wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't something I'd go out of my way to recommend. As I said, it was meh.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Meh.
Venom #31
Summary: So Flash has moved into an apartment in Philadelphia and meets two of his neighbors. One is a jerk, and the other is a sassy teenager. Okay then. From there we see Flash go out on patrol and try out some different identities since he didn't want people to connect Flash Thompson and Venom together in Philly. After a long night of crime fighting, we find Flash waking up in his apartment, surprised that all of his stuff had magically unpacked. After hearing a knock on his door he opens it to find some cops. The cops tell him his neighbor the jerk) had been beaten into a coma and nobody knows who did it. Flash immediately wonders if he did it during the night. This issue ends with Eddie Brock learning that Flash had moved to Philly.
Thoughts: Meh. This comic wasn't horrible, but it really wasn't all that interesting either. Flash moves in to a new apartment Flash goes on patrol! Flash wonders if he beat his neighbor into a coma! Eddie Brock talks to an old woman! See, not the most exciting reading. I mean, it wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't something I'd go out of my way to recommend. As I said, it was meh.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Meh.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Venom #30
And we have arrived at the last review of this Saturday night, with that review being the thirtieth issue of Venom... Wow, who would have ever thought THIS series would last thirty issues! That's quite the accomplishment nowadays. Anyway, I actually enjoyed the last issue, which was the first time I enjoyed this series since Cullen Bunn became the writer. Let's see if Bunn can stretch his good comic streak to two issues!
Venom #30:
Summary: This issue kicks off with the Venom symbiote operating independently of Flash Thompson, who was knocked out last issue. Instead of Flash, the costume is being controlled by... um, either the symbiote itself or a demon... I have NO clue which. Anyway, Venom attacks the U-Foes and their hired goons, somehow turning the goons against the U-Foes by leaving little pieces of symbiote on them... Huh, that's new. By this point Valkyrie wakes up and rescues that incredibly annoying reporter that has unfortunately become a supporting character in this series. Valkyrie opens a portal and rescues the annoying reporter, as well as the other people the U-Foes had captured, and leads them to safety. Meanwhile, the Venom possessed goons have wrecked the U-Foes weird devices which... um, let's say opened a portal to somewhere else, just to keep things somewhat simple... So yeah, the U-Foes all get sucked into this empty void, while Venom just strolls away from the battle... Even though he was in the same room as the U-Foes and the weird portal... Yeah... Anyway, Venom lets Valkyrie know he's okay, and then makes his symbiote look like Valkyrie and the reporter so he can have a heart to heart with them... What the HELL is happening here?!? From there, the scene switches to Brooklyn, where the cops raid a home and discover a really creepy looking Eddie Brock/Toxin(!), who claims he had personal business to attend to.
Thoughts: Well, it's safe to say Bunn's good comic streak ended at one issue with a resounding thud... I mean this issue was horrible! Where to begin... I guess with this idiotic, "OMG! Venom is possessed by a demon!!!" storyline... Why in the world have we added a demon to the mix here exactly? Isn't it enough to have Flash battling with the symbiote for control? Now we have a demon thrown into the mix for absolutely NO reason I can think of... Seems like overkill to me... Then there was the demon/the symbiote showing an ability to control goons by putting a little piece of itself on them. When did Venom turn into Starro the Conqueror?! And top it all off with the end of the battle with the U-Foes, which I couldn't make any sense of... Where did the U-Foes go? Why didn't Venom get pulled in with them? What did it all mean?!? Oh yeah, and Flash was talking to symbiote version of the annoying reporter and Valkyrie! Terrible... On the plus side, Eddie Brock popped up at the end of this issue, which will hopefully lead to an Eddie/Flash showdown, which is always fun. But the rest of this issue? Ugh...
Score: 3 1/2 out of 10.
Venom #30:
Summary: This issue kicks off with the Venom symbiote operating independently of Flash Thompson, who was knocked out last issue. Instead of Flash, the costume is being controlled by... um, either the symbiote itself or a demon... I have NO clue which. Anyway, Venom attacks the U-Foes and their hired goons, somehow turning the goons against the U-Foes by leaving little pieces of symbiote on them... Huh, that's new. By this point Valkyrie wakes up and rescues that incredibly annoying reporter that has unfortunately become a supporting character in this series. Valkyrie opens a portal and rescues the annoying reporter, as well as the other people the U-Foes had captured, and leads them to safety. Meanwhile, the Venom possessed goons have wrecked the U-Foes weird devices which... um, let's say opened a portal to somewhere else, just to keep things somewhat simple... So yeah, the U-Foes all get sucked into this empty void, while Venom just strolls away from the battle... Even though he was in the same room as the U-Foes and the weird portal... Yeah... Anyway, Venom lets Valkyrie know he's okay, and then makes his symbiote look like Valkyrie and the reporter so he can have a heart to heart with them... What the HELL is happening here?!? From there, the scene switches to Brooklyn, where the cops raid a home and discover a really creepy looking Eddie Brock/Toxin(!), who claims he had personal business to attend to.
Thoughts: Well, it's safe to say Bunn's good comic streak ended at one issue with a resounding thud... I mean this issue was horrible! Where to begin... I guess with this idiotic, "OMG! Venom is possessed by a demon!!!" storyline... Why in the world have we added a demon to the mix here exactly? Isn't it enough to have Flash battling with the symbiote for control? Now we have a demon thrown into the mix for absolutely NO reason I can think of... Seems like overkill to me... Then there was the demon/the symbiote showing an ability to control goons by putting a little piece of itself on them. When did Venom turn into Starro the Conqueror?! And top it all off with the end of the battle with the U-Foes, which I couldn't make any sense of... Where did the U-Foes go? Why didn't Venom get pulled in with them? What did it all mean?!? Oh yeah, and Flash was talking to symbiote version of the annoying reporter and Valkyrie! Terrible... On the plus side, Eddie Brock popped up at the end of this issue, which will hopefully lead to an Eddie/Flash showdown, which is always fun. But the rest of this issue? Ugh...
Score: 3 1/2 out of 10.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Venom #29
Second X review for the week is the latest issue of Venom. I don't think anybody would really argue with me when I say Cullen Bunn has thus far done an abysmal job with this series for the most part. With that said, issue #28 wasn't that bad! Here's hoping Bunn carries the momentum from the last issue into this one.
Sweet, it's old school Venom!
Venom #29
Summary: We pick up from last issue and find out that Flash had faked his death in order to get the U-Foes away from him and the civilians caught in the crossfire of his battle with said villains. From there, we head to some warehouse and find that reporter, Katy, hooked up to some weird machine. The U-Foes leader, Vector, has been kidnapping people and playing mad scientist with them in order to figure out what the weird machine does. Instead of killing Katy, as it had a mess of other people, it shows her memories(?!) because, well, why not, I guess... Venom tracks down the U-Foes and Katy by retracing her footsteps and attacks the U-Foes and their henchmen, this time with Valkyrie by his side. Unfortunately, Venom and Valkyrie are still outnumbered and fall to the U-Foes. This issue ends with the Venom symbiote taking over for the unconscious Flash.
Thoughts: Eh. This was an okay comic, nothing more, nothing less. It was pretty boring at times(Flash tracking down Katy probably didn't have to be shown in such detail...), but the climatic battle was kind of fun. Cliffhanger-wise, this was an odd one, since instead of ending with Flash and Valkyrie down and out at the feet of the U-Foes, we have the symbiote taking over and preparing to attack. Anyway, this issue was better than the weird start to Bunn's run on this title(Venom vs demons?! I still don't get that...), but was a bit of a step back from the last issue.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Sweet, it's old school Venom!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Venom 27.1
Hey guys and gals, JT here with my last review of the week, Venom's .1 issue. After the Minimum Carnage storyline and the oddly confusing Hellstrom storyline, I don't know how long I'll be following this series, so hopefully this pushes it in the right direction. This will be a quick review since I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, so bear with me guys and gals.
Summary: This issue started with Flash beating the hell out of some thugs he needed info for, even when they gave up, he continues to beat them senseless. Afterwards, he visits Hellstrom at the Raft, who gloats about Flash still having a marked soul and Flash starts to get angry and is made to leave. From there he visits his Mom, as she now lives in a nursing home, then meets with a guy named AJ, who Flash bullied in High School and broke his arm because he was gay. Flash apologizes to AJ, and AJ says it's all right, but AJ's husband and AJ whisper in another room about how AJ still wakes up with nightmares of Flash attacking him, but AJ doesnt find him scary now, he just pities him. From there we see Flash sleeping that night when he wakes up with red eyes, obviously possessed, and phones for the suit. From there we see him (as a creepier, sleeker Venom, not quite Agent Venom) attack a thug he put in the hospital, then he visits Flash's mom, and creepily tells her he'll be watching her sleeping. The next day, Flash meets with Peter and they talk about how he bullied Pete, with Pete basically saying Flash had him afraid to go to school and such, but he had to move on, and Flash says he'll do the same, and announces he's leaving New York and not coming back, as this issue ends.
Thoughts: This issue was fine, I could've done without the whole "Venom possessed thing", especially since he's leaving New York now so he won't be watching over his mom as creepy Venom or whatever, but the stuff with Peter and AJ was pretty well written. I'm perplexed though because even though I liked this issue, I don't see myself following Flash to Philly, but time will tell I guess.
Score: 5.5/10
Venom: I'll watch you sleeping.
Venom #27.1
Thoughts: This issue was fine, I could've done without the whole "Venom possessed thing", especially since he's leaving New York now so he won't be watching over his mom as creepy Venom or whatever, but the stuff with Peter and AJ was pretty well written. I'm perplexed though because even though I liked this issue, I don't see myself following Flash to Philly, but time will tell I guess.
Score: 5.5/10
Venom: I'll watch you sleeping.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
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?
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.
Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1
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
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Best of the Rest! September 19th edition.
So this was supposed to be the spot I posted my third and final review of the week, with JT closing out the comic week tomorrow with his third review. But you see, I ended up posting my first review on Wednesday and throwing the whole schedule out of whack(cue JT saying something negative about me...). Since I've already posted my three reviews for the week, and don't want to leave an empty day(I won't be the first one to do that, JT will!), how's about I cobble together a quick post about ALL of the comics I read this week! Yeah, that'll work! Since I didn't really read most of these books with the idea of reviewing them in mind, I don't have any number scores for them... Instead, I'll use the good old thumbs up/thumbs in the middle/thumbs down system. What the HELL is that, you ask? Thumbs up means a comic scored somewhere in the 8 to 10 range, in other words, a good comic. Thumbs in the middle would be around 5 to 7 1/2, or an okay to meh comic. Thumbs down? You guessed it, a comic that falls in the sub-5 range, you know, a bad comic. I don't really know why I felt the need to explain that... Oh no, I'm in one of those moods where I can't stop writing! I'd better get to the meat of this post lest this intro goes on forever!!!
Let's see, we'll get started with Red Hood and the Outlaws #0... JT pretty much summed up my feelings for this one with his review, so I really don't have all that much to say here... I will say this though... If not for the idiotic Joker reveal, I probably would have given this comic a thumbs in the middle. As it is, it gets a thumbs down and likes it.
Avengers #30 was your basic Bendis/Avengers comic book. Spider-Woman and Hawkeye discussed their relationship while fighting Mr. Negative's goons... It was as exciting as it sounds. Honestly, I wasn't sure what the hell Bendis was going for here, since Hawkeye hadn't actually done anything to wrong Spider-Woman... Basically she was pissed that Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch MAY have unresolved feelings for each other... Yeah.. If you like bad soap opera-esque comic books then THIS is the comic book for you! For me, it was a thumbs in the middle, mainly because it(kind of) focused on Hawkeye, no matter how thin the story was.
Ah, finally a good one! Daredevil #18 was probably the best comic I've read this week... No, scratch that, it WAS the best comic I read this week, and if I was giving out scores this one would very likely get a perfect score. Seriously, this issue was fantastic. Mark Waid is(unsurprisingly) crafting a wonderful story here, as this issue actually makes the reader doubt DD's sanity. The entire series has been seemingly building towards this storyline, and I have to say, this issue would be a great jumping on point for new readers... Just sayin'... Oh yeah, thumbs WAY up.
Next up is Dark Avengers #181. All I can really say about this comic is that it happened... I think I've reached the point now where I just want the Bad Bolts to return to the present and the Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts/whatever they're called to finish their mission. Thumbs in the middle.
Rolling along it's Mighty Thor #20! I don't know why I added an exclamation point to that, nor why I'm thinking out loud, but let's go with it... This was another really good issue in the Everything Burns storyline(I really love that title, btw). Asgardia is still being hammered by Surtur's forces and Thor is still down and out. However, there was a slight glimmer of hope for us Kid Loki fans, as this issue kind of makes you wonder if Loki betrayed Thor, as it seemed in the prior part of this storyline, or if Loki is actually planning on saving his brother. I'll go thumbs up for this issue and fingers crossed on Kid Loki not going full blown villain.
New Mutants #49 had Nate Grey in it... That's pretty much the only positive thing I can say about it... Well, that and the fact that this issue ended the whole Evil Doug Ramsay from the future story. I've never cared for Doug no matter how much Marvel tries to show he's more than a guy with sucky powers. This story did nothing to change my opinion of Doug. Thumbs down... Sorry Nate...
Ultimates #15 was a comic I seriously considered giving a full review to, mainly due to the fact that it was getting mainstream press attention. But as you can see, I decided against that course of action... So yeah, anyway, this comic. I have to admit that I enjoyed this one. I've been enjoying the direction the Ultimate Marvel U has been going for a while now, and this was no exception. This issue, especially in the way it was told, kind of perfectly led to the whole, "Captain America is the president now!" thing. It didn't seem forced or anything, which was something I was afraid of. And I can actually see Cap, especially the Ultimate version, ESPECIALLY considering the way things have been going in the Ultimate U, deciding to become the president. It'll be very interesting to see how this experiment works out going forward. For this issue though? Thumbs up.
Oh god... Not THIS comic... Ugh, it's Venom #25... I'm actually surprised, horrified and yes, a bit impressed at how quickly Cullen Bunn took this series from a book I always look forward to reading, to something I barely want to open... Why would you want to add a supernatural element to this series?! Who sat there and thought, "You know what this series is missing? DEMONS!!!" This is kind of like the mess that Scott Lobdell made out of Red Hood and the Outlaws, in that you take the lead character and put them in a situation that makes no sense... I don't get why Daimon Hellstrom was used in this mess, I don't get why a battle between the Hell Lords is taking place in this series, I don't get any of it! Hopefully things straighten out with the upcoming Minimum Carnage storyline... Thumbs down.
And finally we arrive at X-Factor #244. This was, as usual, a good, solid issue of this series. It wasn't as good as some of the prior issues, but it was solid. I will say this though... I'm very curious to see where Peter David is going with this story... He's really breaking the team apart here, it'll be interesting to see how things shake out and who's left standing. Thumbs in the middle.
Sweet, I'm done! That means I can go back to playing Borderlands 2! Huzzah for me! Until... Um, whenever the hell my next post is supposed to be, X out!
Let's see, we'll get started with Red Hood and the Outlaws #0... JT pretty much summed up my feelings for this one with his review, so I really don't have all that much to say here... I will say this though... If not for the idiotic Joker reveal, I probably would have given this comic a thumbs in the middle. As it is, it gets a thumbs down and likes it.
Avengers #30 was your basic Bendis/Avengers comic book. Spider-Woman and Hawkeye discussed their relationship while fighting Mr. Negative's goons... It was as exciting as it sounds. Honestly, I wasn't sure what the hell Bendis was going for here, since Hawkeye hadn't actually done anything to wrong Spider-Woman... Basically she was pissed that Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch MAY have unresolved feelings for each other... Yeah.. If you like bad soap opera-esque comic books then THIS is the comic book for you! For me, it was a thumbs in the middle, mainly because it(kind of) focused on Hawkeye, no matter how thin the story was.
Ah, finally a good one! Daredevil #18 was probably the best comic I've read this week... No, scratch that, it WAS the best comic I read this week, and if I was giving out scores this one would very likely get a perfect score. Seriously, this issue was fantastic. Mark Waid is(unsurprisingly) crafting a wonderful story here, as this issue actually makes the reader doubt DD's sanity. The entire series has been seemingly building towards this storyline, and I have to say, this issue would be a great jumping on point for new readers... Just sayin'... Oh yeah, thumbs WAY up.
Next up is Dark Avengers #181. All I can really say about this comic is that it happened... I think I've reached the point now where I just want the Bad Bolts to return to the present and the Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts/whatever they're called to finish their mission. Thumbs in the middle.
Rolling along it's Mighty Thor #20! I don't know why I added an exclamation point to that, nor why I'm thinking out loud, but let's go with it... This was another really good issue in the Everything Burns storyline(I really love that title, btw). Asgardia is still being hammered by Surtur's forces and Thor is still down and out. However, there was a slight glimmer of hope for us Kid Loki fans, as this issue kind of makes you wonder if Loki betrayed Thor, as it seemed in the prior part of this storyline, or if Loki is actually planning on saving his brother. I'll go thumbs up for this issue and fingers crossed on Kid Loki not going full blown villain.
New Mutants #49 had Nate Grey in it... That's pretty much the only positive thing I can say about it... Well, that and the fact that this issue ended the whole Evil Doug Ramsay from the future story. I've never cared for Doug no matter how much Marvel tries to show he's more than a guy with sucky powers. This story did nothing to change my opinion of Doug. Thumbs down... Sorry Nate...
Ultimates #15 was a comic I seriously considered giving a full review to, mainly due to the fact that it was getting mainstream press attention. But as you can see, I decided against that course of action... So yeah, anyway, this comic. I have to admit that I enjoyed this one. I've been enjoying the direction the Ultimate Marvel U has been going for a while now, and this was no exception. This issue, especially in the way it was told, kind of perfectly led to the whole, "Captain America is the president now!" thing. It didn't seem forced or anything, which was something I was afraid of. And I can actually see Cap, especially the Ultimate version, ESPECIALLY considering the way things have been going in the Ultimate U, deciding to become the president. It'll be very interesting to see how this experiment works out going forward. For this issue though? Thumbs up.
Oh god... Not THIS comic... Ugh, it's Venom #25... I'm actually surprised, horrified and yes, a bit impressed at how quickly Cullen Bunn took this series from a book I always look forward to reading, to something I barely want to open... Why would you want to add a supernatural element to this series?! Who sat there and thought, "You know what this series is missing? DEMONS!!!" This is kind of like the mess that Scott Lobdell made out of Red Hood and the Outlaws, in that you take the lead character and put them in a situation that makes no sense... I don't get why Daimon Hellstrom was used in this mess, I don't get why a battle between the Hell Lords is taking place in this series, I don't get any of it! Hopefully things straighten out with the upcoming Minimum Carnage storyline... Thumbs down.
And finally we arrive at X-Factor #244. This was, as usual, a good, solid issue of this series. It wasn't as good as some of the prior issues, but it was solid. I will say this though... I'm very curious to see where Peter David is going with this story... He's really breaking the team apart here, it'll be interesting to see how things shake out and who's left standing. Thumbs in the middle.
Sweet, I'm done! That means I can go back to playing Borderlands 2! Huzzah for me! Until... Um, whenever the hell my next post is supposed to be, X out!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Venom #24
And this will be my last review of the week(probably...). Tomorrow is a JT day, and then it's time for New Comic Day. I've got to say, things HAVE been a lot easier here at the blog now that I'm splitting duties with that sucker my good friend, JT. Anyway, heeeeere's Venom!
Venom #24:
Summary: Venom manages to escape the currently VERY evil Daimon Hellstrom, and realizes that there was a demon inside of him... Uh-huh... Oh, and the symbiote likes having the demon in there with it and Flash, I guess the more the merrier or something. Anyway, Flash tries to puke the demon out, as that's apparently the way the army teaches soldiers to rid themselves of demonic corruption. Unfortunately, the puke plan fails, so Flash heads to that reporter from last issue, Katy Kiernan, and tells her he needed an exorcism Naturally, Katy knows a guy who can preform exorcisms(because, why not?) and the guy summons the demon, which tells him and Katy that it didn't want to be bonded with Venom because he was cramping it's style or something along those lines. With that, Flash takes control back and the exorcist tells Flash his best course of action was to force the guy who originally put the demon in Flash to undo it. For some reason Flash decides Hellstrom had put the demon in him, even though it was actually Mephisto(I think). But I guess Hellstrom is close enough being the Son of Satan and all... Even though Hellstrom's father was actually a DIFFERENT Satan... Yeah. Anyway, Flash tracks Hellstrom down to the Bronx Zoo, which is where all inexplicably evil ex-heroes tend to hang out at night. The two fight again, but Hellstrom manages to down Venom again(because Flash is apparently really dumb and didn't learn a thing from last issue) before summoning a horde of demons called, and I kid you not, the Monsters of Evil. This one ends with Hellstrom offering Venom a slot on the Monsters.
Thoughts: Yep, this issue really happened. Well, first things first, I should be up front with the fact that I'm a huge fan of Daimon Hellstrom and HATE the fact that he's randomly evil. Why don't I like Daimon's sudden switch to evil? What's more interesting, a half-demon, half-human son of the devil who turned against his satanic heritage? Or a half-demon, half-human son of the devil who embraced his satanic heritage? It's definitely the former for me. Especially since he's basically nothing more than one of Sin's lieutenants. On top of that, we have Venom possessed by a demon, that was put in him by Mephisto(or maybe Blackheart, I can't remember), with the demon not even wanting to be bonded with Flash! Weird. Does that mean X-23, Red Hulk and whoever that other person who fought Blackheart in Las Vegas are also possessed by demons that don't want to do their jobs? Plus you have the Monsters of Evil, which, to me anyway, is a really lame sounding name. I have to say, I was cautiously optimistic when Cullen Bunn took this series over from Rick Remender, but that optimism is slowly eroding away...
Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.
I really hate inexplicably evil Daimon...
Venom #24:
Summary: Venom manages to escape the currently VERY evil Daimon Hellstrom, and realizes that there was a demon inside of him... Uh-huh... Oh, and the symbiote likes having the demon in there with it and Flash, I guess the more the merrier or something. Anyway, Flash tries to puke the demon out, as that's apparently the way the army teaches soldiers to rid themselves of demonic corruption. Unfortunately, the puke plan fails, so Flash heads to that reporter from last issue, Katy Kiernan, and tells her he needed an exorcism Naturally, Katy knows a guy who can preform exorcisms(because, why not?) and the guy summons the demon, which tells him and Katy that it didn't want to be bonded with Venom because he was cramping it's style or something along those lines. With that, Flash takes control back and the exorcist tells Flash his best course of action was to force the guy who originally put the demon in Flash to undo it. For some reason Flash decides Hellstrom had put the demon in him, even though it was actually Mephisto(I think). But I guess Hellstrom is close enough being the Son of Satan and all... Even though Hellstrom's father was actually a DIFFERENT Satan... Yeah. Anyway, Flash tracks Hellstrom down to the Bronx Zoo, which is where all inexplicably evil ex-heroes tend to hang out at night. The two fight again, but Hellstrom manages to down Venom again(because Flash is apparently really dumb and didn't learn a thing from last issue) before summoning a horde of demons called, and I kid you not, the Monsters of Evil. This one ends with Hellstrom offering Venom a slot on the Monsters.
Thoughts: Yep, this issue really happened. Well, first things first, I should be up front with the fact that I'm a huge fan of Daimon Hellstrom and HATE the fact that he's randomly evil. Why don't I like Daimon's sudden switch to evil? What's more interesting, a half-demon, half-human son of the devil who turned against his satanic heritage? Or a half-demon, half-human son of the devil who embraced his satanic heritage? It's definitely the former for me. Especially since he's basically nothing more than one of Sin's lieutenants. On top of that, we have Venom possessed by a demon, that was put in him by Mephisto(or maybe Blackheart, I can't remember), with the demon not even wanting to be bonded with Flash! Weird. Does that mean X-23, Red Hulk and whoever that other person who fought Blackheart in Las Vegas are also possessed by demons that don't want to do their jobs? Plus you have the Monsters of Evil, which, to me anyway, is a really lame sounding name. I have to say, I was cautiously optimistic when Cullen Bunn took this series over from Rick Remender, but that optimism is slowly eroding away...
Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.
I really hate inexplicably evil Daimon...
Saturday, August 25, 2012
JT's Take: Venom #23
Hey Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the first issue of Venom since Rick Remender's departure. I'm on the fence about Cullen Bunn after Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and Spider-Man: Season One, but he's writing Venom, a favorite of mine, and even writers I don't like have been surprising me when it comes to a Spidey-based character. *cough* Chris Yost *cough* So let's see how Cullen Bunn fares with Corporal Flash Thompson, Agent Venom.
Summary: This issue starts off with Venom on a recon mission, after being told by Hawkeye that due to recent events that he's on probation and should not pursue anyone, he's strictly on recon missions. Venom's night starts off with him meeting up with a reporter by the name of Katy Kiernan, as she gives him info about the Department of Occult Armaments. Venom investigates but of course, things end up going haywire so he has to get involved. The Symbiotic Superhero has to do this one alone since for some reason his communication systems with the Secret Avengers are blocked while inside the building. Venom takes out a bunch of "Nazi demon-worshippers" and starts freeing their prisoners from containment pods when one attacks Venom. The seemingly possessed prisoner suddenly stops attacking when he see's the mark on Venom's soul left by Mephisto, and when Venom commands him to leave, a demon exits the prisoner's body, leaving him unconscious. Venom has no time for answers as Hellstrom appears and brings the fight to Venom. Venom somehow doesn't lose the symbiote when hit by Hellstrom's fire, which confuses Hellstrom as well, and he catches Hellstrom off guard, demanding to know his plan. Hellstrom says the D.O.A. are building him an army of volunteers and that Venom is just like Hellstrom in the sense that people are waiting for him to go rogue and come after him, just like they did to Hellstrom. He says Venom is marked by the beast and knocks Venom into the pods that house his volunteers, causing some of the liquid they are submerged in to waste onto Venom. Flash screams out in pain as the symbiote contorts his body into a giant, demonic version of Venom as the issue comes to a close.
Thoughts: Well this issue was odd... I'm not a big fan of the stuff with guys like Hellstrom and Mephisto, and I didn't care for the Circle of Four storyline, so this immediately put me off. I did like the stuff with Venom and Katy and I would like to see more of Venom and the Avengers, which I can assume will happen soon as Hawkeye finds out that Venom got involved instead of just gathering info. All in all, this was a normal average issue, I enjoyed it less that I would've liked but it's far from bad.
Score: 6/10
Katy: Anyone ever tell you that you look like Spider-Man?
Venom: I've heard that a few times. It goes in hand with "I thought you'd be bigger." Different guy, though.
Venom #23
Thoughts: Well this issue was odd... I'm not a big fan of the stuff with guys like Hellstrom and Mephisto, and I didn't care for the Circle of Four storyline, so this immediately put me off. I did like the stuff with Venom and Katy and I would like to see more of Venom and the Avengers, which I can assume will happen soon as Hawkeye finds out that Venom got involved instead of just gathering info. All in all, this was a normal average issue, I enjoyed it less that I would've liked but it's far from bad.
Score: 6/10
Venom: I've heard that a few times. It goes in hand with "I thought you'd be bigger." Different guy, though.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
JT's Take: Venom #22
Hey Todd Squad, I figured today I'd review the final issue of Rick Remender's Venom run. Since the first issue, I've called Remender's Venom, the best ongoing comic since Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl run with Stephanie Brown. Now that his run is coming to an end, let's see how things work out for our favorite Symbiotic Soldier.
Summary: This issue actually moved along rather quickly. We started out with Flash swinging around the city looking for the insane Jack O'Lantern, who survived his Joker like acid bath and is now out killing people to lure Venom to him. Jack is also doing this on Father's Day, since he believes Venom killed his father, The Crime Master. Over the course of the issue we see Flash's memories with his abusive, alcoholic father, yelling and attacking Flash and his sister. Venom finally comes to the end of the trail that Jack had left for him and enters a room to find his own Father's corpse, sitting at a table. Flash of course goes livid and smashes the table, which causes his father's corpse to lean forward and shows a bomb, which explodes and the flames hurt the Venom symbiote. Jack O'Lantern attacks Venom and is about to kill the young hero when Venom uses his symbiote tendrils to grab the gun from around the waist of his father's cop uniform. He blasts Jack and attacks him, beating him senseless, until making the choice not to be like his father, and carries an unconscious Jack that he then turns in to the authorities. From there we see Flash telling the Secret Avengers if they want to cut him he knows why, we also see Betty throwing out pictures of her and Flash, Flash's mother staring out into the sunset, and Flash finally laying down for a night's rest, as this issue comes to a close.
Thoughts: First things first, thanks to Rick Remender for an amazing comic series and making me a big fan of Flash Thompson, and making him my favorite Venom. Now, onto this issue, I loved how Flash's dad was tied in with this, and seeing Flash's rough childhood, from trying to protect his sister, being told he was in the wrong by his mother, and everything else. I will say I was genuinely surprised when he opened the door to see his Father's corpse, but I should have expected that from Jack O'Lantern, who's become a great villain in the last twenty or so issues. He's definitely like The Joker mixed with the Green Goblin which is a fun villain for a guy like Venom, and I'm glad Remender kept him around for Bunn to play with. All in all, this was a fine comic, nothing amazing, but it was a nice way to cap off Remender's run on Venom.
Score: 7.5/10
Venom #22
Thoughts: First things first, thanks to Rick Remender for an amazing comic series and making me a big fan of Flash Thompson, and making him my favorite Venom. Now, onto this issue, I loved how Flash's dad was tied in with this, and seeing Flash's rough childhood, from trying to protect his sister, being told he was in the wrong by his mother, and everything else. I will say I was genuinely surprised when he opened the door to see his Father's corpse, but I should have expected that from Jack O'Lantern, who's become a great villain in the last twenty or so issues. He's definitely like The Joker mixed with the Green Goblin which is a fun villain for a guy like Venom, and I'm glad Remender kept him around for Bunn to play with. All in all, this was a fine comic, nothing amazing, but it was a nice way to cap off Remender's run on Venom.
Score: 7.5/10
Thursday, July 26, 2012
JT's Take: Venom #21
Hey Blog readers, today I'm gonna jump right into things, because I'm very sleepy and I'm typing this review at like one in the morning and I've gone off of.... maybe five hours of sleep and I have plans tomorrow/today (Thursday). So, bare with me guys and gals, and let's get to it!
Summary: This issue starts things off with Venom infiltrating Crime Master's base. As he arrives, we see The Crime Master, Bennett Brant, explaining to his sister about how after he was killed he was revived by someone, and chosen to carry on the Crime Master legacy, a new Crime Master for each generation. The reunion is cut short when Bennett is notified that Venom is there, as we see Venom taking on Megatak, in a losing effort. Before Megatak can dispose of Venom, Venom is "saved" by Toxin, who kills Megatak so he can then kill Venom. Venom knows he can't afford to have a long fight with Toxin, but he manages to pull Eddie Brock out of the symbiote, then uses a bomb to blow the symbiote up. Suddenly, the Toxin symbiote grabs Brock and pulls him back in, which causes Eddie to go up in flames, cursing Venom for what he's done. Flash wants to help but the fire weakens the Venom symbiote, so he has to watch as Brock goes up in flames. He then heads after Betty and comes in contact with Jack O'Lantern, but before the fight can get started, a pissed off Venom knocks him into a giant vat of chemicals, Joker style. Crime Master says Jack is tough and he'll pull through, and then pulls out a sonic gun and blasts Venom. A weakened Venom crawls towards Crime Master, and Crime Master pulls out a flame gun, which pretty much makes the Venom Symbiote fall off of Flash. Crime Master, seeing Venom is on the ropes, prepares to kill Flash once and for all, when suddenly he's shot from behind by Betty. Bennett, obviously shocked, turns to his sister before falling into the vat of chemicals himself. Flash asks Betty if she's okay, but she said her brother died a long time ago. She also thanks Flash for saving her but says she never wants to see him again. The issue comes to a close with Agent Venom showing up at the Avengers space station and says he thinks it's time he comes clean.
Thoughts: This was a pretty good issue. The ending seemed rushed, what with Megatak's death and all, but seeing Eddie burn was crazy, and It's pretty much a given now he'll be back as Toxin AND he has a reason to really hate Flash/Venom. And Jack O'Lantern will face Venom in the next issue so that should be pretty awesome. I even liked how cocky Bennett was in this issue, sucks to see him go but maybe he'll be back again. Betty shooting him surprised me, although I probably should've seen that coming. All in all, this was a pretty good comic, and I'm wondering how the Avengers will accept him coming clean.
Score: 8/10
Venom # 21
Thoughts: This was a pretty good issue. The ending seemed rushed, what with Megatak's death and all, but seeing Eddie burn was crazy, and It's pretty much a given now he'll be back as Toxin AND he has a reason to really hate Flash/Venom. And Jack O'Lantern will face Venom in the next issue so that should be pretty awesome. I even liked how cocky Bennett was in this issue, sucks to see him go but maybe he'll be back again. Betty shooting him surprised me, although I probably should've seen that coming. All in all, this was a pretty good comic, and I'm wondering how the Avengers will accept him coming clean.
Score: 8/10
Eddie Brock: YOU BASTARD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
JT's Take: Venom #20
Happy Saturday Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the most recent issue of Venom, how is Flash Thompson dealing with his own personal Savage Six? Let's find out, shall we?
Summary: We start off with Flash heading home to check on his mom, he see's her apartment has been ransacked, but he's suddenly attacked by Death Adder, who slices Flash's back and manages to poison him. A poisoned and slowed down Flash fights Adder, while the apartment patrons all run over to watch. Flash eventually gets his head back in the game and regains control of the situation before making the decision to kill Death Adder so he stops coming after him. Flash regrettably snaps his neck in front of family that wouldn't get out when he told them to, then heads out looking for The Human Fly. He finds him, and Flash's mother, and Flash tortures The Human Fly, pulling off both of his wings and demanding he tells him where Crime Master is. From there we see Betty awaken in a room, where she's told via intercom to leave the room and come see The Crime Master. She enters a room that has a ton of pictures of Betty and her family, and she's met by Toxin, Jack O'Lantern, Megatak, and The Crime Master. The Crime Master tells Betty that the shrine is an ode to Betty and her brother Bennett, a man that became a mobster and lost his life in the process, and he replies that Crime is his family now, as he unmasks and reveals that he IS Bennett Bryan. Betty is clearly taken aback, as Bennett says their first act as a family once again, is to watch him murder the hell out of Flash Thompson.
Thoughts: Well that was surprising. I don't know much about Bennett Brant but needless to say that reveal surprised me. I'm wondering what his beef is with Flash though. Also, I loved seeing a more brutal side of Venom. He's kinda like Jason Todd, in the sense he's doing the things Spider-Man (or in Jason's case, Batman) won't. He's more aggressive, and has taken two of the Savage Six out of the game, so I'm wondering how far he'll go to stop the Crime Master, and if Betty will forgive him for it. Overall this issue continues to be the best ongoing since Bryan Miller's Batgirl.
Score: 8.5/10
Crime Master: You're gonna watch me murder the hell out of Flash Thompson.
Venom #20
Thoughts: Well that was surprising. I don't know much about Bennett Brant but needless to say that reveal surprised me. I'm wondering what his beef is with Flash though. Also, I loved seeing a more brutal side of Venom. He's kinda like Jason Todd, in the sense he's doing the things Spider-Man (or in Jason's case, Batman) won't. He's more aggressive, and has taken two of the Savage Six out of the game, so I'm wondering how far he'll go to stop the Crime Master, and if Betty will forgive him for it. Overall this issue continues to be the best ongoing since Bryan Miller's Batgirl.
Score: 8.5/10
Crime Master: You're gonna watch me murder the hell out of Flash Thompson.
Monday, June 25, 2012
JT's Take: Venom #19
Hey guys and gals, today we're gonna tackle the most recent issue of Venom, which is probably the most consistently good series I've read since Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl, so let's see if this issue stands up to all the hype.
Summary: We pick things up where we left off, with Flash revealing himself to Betty, who is pissed about his double life. Flash tells Betty people are after his family, and grabs Betty then web-slings off to his sister's house. He arrives there to find his Brother-In-Law, has been killed and illuminated by Jack O'Lantern, and his sister is missing. Flash drops off Betty on a rooftop to keep her safe and heads after Jack O'Lantern, who leads him to his sister. An enraged Flash attacks Jack, who manages to subdue Flash long enough to throw his sister off the top of the building, Gwen Stacy style, even mentioning how Spidey couldn't save a woman this same way. Flash gets there in time to save his sister, but Jack O'Lantern asks him if he can do a repeat performance. Venom looks up to see Betty is being held by Toxin, who jumps off with her. Flash, not wanting to leave his sister but wanting to pursue Betty is then asked by Jack O'Lantern if he's visited his mom recently. The issue closes as we see Flash's mother being wrapped up by The Human Fly.
Thoughts: Damn this issue was amazing, and there was so much action in it, it seemed like it just flew by. Just when things seem like they can't get worse for Flash Thompson, the Savage Six seem to take it even further. It looks like Venom is going to have to call in the Avengers or get help from Spidey, which may piss off the symbiote, but it's issues like this that are what comic books are all about. I've said it once, I'll say it again, if you're not reading Venom then you should be, simple as that.
Score: 9/10
Venom: No matter what happens to me, Jack doesn't walk away from this. He'll never touch my sister... Never touch Betty...
Venom #19
Thoughts: Damn this issue was amazing, and there was so much action in it, it seemed like it just flew by. Just when things seem like they can't get worse for Flash Thompson, the Savage Six seem to take it even further. It looks like Venom is going to have to call in the Avengers or get help from Spidey, which may piss off the symbiote, but it's issues like this that are what comic books are all about. I've said it once, I'll say it again, if you're not reading Venom then you should be, simple as that.
Score: 9/10
Venom: No matter what happens to me, Jack doesn't walk away from this. He'll never touch my sister... Never touch Betty...
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Venom #18
Here's a comic I'm expecting a hell of a lot from, Venom. This issue begins the Savage Six storyline.
Venom #18:
Story Points:
-After his failed assassination attempt on Crime-Master, Venom is worried about his friends and loved ones, starting with his ex-girlfriend, Betty.
-Jack O' Lantern confronts Betty at a coffee shop and Venom luckily leaps in, spiriting Betty out of there.
-However, Betty thinks Venom is a super-villain and is terrified of him.
-Venom manages to hide Betty and avoids three of Crime-Master's goons, including the Eddie Brock version of Toxin.
-Betty runs for her life, terrified by the whole situation, so Venom corners her and reveals that he was really Flash(!!!), hoping that would calm Betty down, as well as explain his recent actions.
Thoughts: I have to say, this comic was ALMOST perfect... Almost... The only thing keeping it from perfection was how brief the Toxin/Venom confrontation was... I was expecting a bit more from that, and it was just so meh... Venom was like, “Oh, Toxin is Eddie Brock now, moving on...” It seemed like that meeting should have been more important... Besides that VERY little gripe? This was a great comic.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Venom #18:
Story Points:
-After his failed assassination attempt on Crime-Master, Venom is worried about his friends and loved ones, starting with his ex-girlfriend, Betty.
-Jack O' Lantern confronts Betty at a coffee shop and Venom luckily leaps in, spiriting Betty out of there.
-However, Betty thinks Venom is a super-villain and is terrified of him.
-Venom manages to hide Betty and avoids three of Crime-Master's goons, including the Eddie Brock version of Toxin.
-Betty runs for her life, terrified by the whole situation, so Venom corners her and reveals that he was really Flash(!!!), hoping that would calm Betty down, as well as explain his recent actions.
Thoughts: I have to say, this comic was ALMOST perfect... Almost... The only thing keeping it from perfection was how brief the Toxin/Venom confrontation was... I was expecting a bit more from that, and it was just so meh... Venom was like, “Oh, Toxin is Eddie Brock now, moving on...” It seemed like that meeting should have been more important... Besides that VERY little gripe? This was a great comic.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Venom #17
First up tonight is the latest issue of Venom. I've had a couple of my fellow comic fans tell me the last page of this issue is a shocker, so needless to say, I am thoroughly looking forward to getting there!
Venom #17:
Summary: We open with Flash lying to Dr. Pym in order to get the Venom symbiote delivered to him. You see, Flash wants to kill Crime-Master(and Jack O' Lantern) in order to save his family and friends from Crime-Master's threats. While Venom is swinging towards Crime-Master's headquarters though, he's being watched by Eddie Brock... Crime-Master invites the Human Fly into his office and offers him a spot on the team of villains Crime-Master was putting together. Outside, Venom has set up and was aiming a sniper rifle at Crime-Master when he is attacked by crazy Eddie. The fighting alerts Crime-Master to the assassination attempt, and Crime-Master sends his goons after Venom, nearly killing him before he manages to escape. However, Eddie didn't escape and ends up being captured by Crime-Master and his goons. This issue ends with Crime-Master opening a biohazard container holding a symbiote and bonding Eddie with a new symbiote(!).
Thoughts: Yup, that ending WAS awesome! The rest of this issue wasn't that bad, although non-powered Eddie Brock managing to follow Venom, with Venom never knowing, was a bit of a stretch for me... Same thing with Eddie stepping in JUST as Venom was about to assassinate Crime-Master. Yeah, I get that it's a work of fiction and all, but that's a lot of suspension of belief I'm being asked for! All in all, I thought this was ANOTHER good issue of this series, as usual.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Okay, the dude with Tetris powers? Awesomeness squared.
Venom #17:
Summary: We open with Flash lying to Dr. Pym in order to get the Venom symbiote delivered to him. You see, Flash wants to kill Crime-Master(and Jack O' Lantern) in order to save his family and friends from Crime-Master's threats. While Venom is swinging towards Crime-Master's headquarters though, he's being watched by Eddie Brock... Crime-Master invites the Human Fly into his office and offers him a spot on the team of villains Crime-Master was putting together. Outside, Venom has set up and was aiming a sniper rifle at Crime-Master when he is attacked by crazy Eddie. The fighting alerts Crime-Master to the assassination attempt, and Crime-Master sends his goons after Venom, nearly killing him before he manages to escape. However, Eddie didn't escape and ends up being captured by Crime-Master and his goons. This issue ends with Crime-Master opening a biohazard container holding a symbiote and bonding Eddie with a new symbiote(!).
Thoughts: Yup, that ending WAS awesome! The rest of this issue wasn't that bad, although non-powered Eddie Brock managing to follow Venom, with Venom never knowing, was a bit of a stretch for me... Same thing with Eddie stepping in JUST as Venom was about to assassinate Crime-Master. Yeah, I get that it's a work of fiction and all, but that's a lot of suspension of belief I'm being asked for! All in all, I thought this was ANOTHER good issue of this series, as usual.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Okay, the dude with Tetris powers? Awesomeness squared.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Venom #16
Second review of the night belongs to Venom. After that awful Circle storyline, this series is still trying to regain it's footing, but I'm confident that Rick Remender will be able to bring back some of the awesomeness that we were getting from this series before that Circle storyline took place.
Venom #16:
Summary: We get this one started by finding out that Venom had been asked by the Avengers to escort a train carrying the Fly to the Raft prison where he'd be safe from the Kingpin(who the Fly stole money from). But here's the rub... The Fly tells Venom that he stole the money to care for his 9 year old son, a child who the Kingpin would undoubtedly target in order to exact his revenge on the Fly. Venom offers to move the Fly's son into protective custody, but the Fly scoffs at that, because this is the KINGPIN we're talking about! In the end, the Fly asks Venom to make sure to give a letter the Fly wrote to his son after the Fly was taken to the Raft to serve his sentence. From there, one of the guards looking after the Fly with Venom alerts Venom that one of the other two guards was dirty and working for the Kingpin... Before Venom can decide what to do, Hobgoblin(!!) attacks, killing the guards and threatening to do the same to the Fly. Venom tries to battle the Hobgoblin as best he can, but really, THIS Hobgoblin is the PERFECT foil for Venom, what with his sonic scream and flaming sword. Eventually the fight ends up on top of the train the Fly was being transported in. Venom manages to get rid of Hobgoblin, while a guard falls off the train, barely managing to hang on. That leaves Venom with a decision... Save the guard or stop the Fly from escaping... The Fly promises Venom he would turn himself back in to custody once he used the Kingpin's money to save his son, and with little choice, Venom choses to let the Fly leave, saving the guard instead. Before leaving though, the Fly implores Venom to read the letter the Fly had written for his son. This issue ends with Venom opening the letter, which simply read, “I don't have a son!”... And that my friends, deserves a ZING!
Thoughts: This was a really good comic. The action was great, the story wasn't bad, and the twist at the end? About the Fly's “son”? That was frigging brilliant! Not only was the twist written well, the art did a wonderful job of conveying Venom's reaction to getting screwed over like he was. Who knew a two-bit loser like the Fly could lead to such a great comic! Kudos to Rick Remender for that one.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Yeah, that's not something you want to see coming your way...
Venom #16:
Summary: We get this one started by finding out that Venom had been asked by the Avengers to escort a train carrying the Fly to the Raft prison where he'd be safe from the Kingpin(who the Fly stole money from). But here's the rub... The Fly tells Venom that he stole the money to care for his 9 year old son, a child who the Kingpin would undoubtedly target in order to exact his revenge on the Fly. Venom offers to move the Fly's son into protective custody, but the Fly scoffs at that, because this is the KINGPIN we're talking about! In the end, the Fly asks Venom to make sure to give a letter the Fly wrote to his son after the Fly was taken to the Raft to serve his sentence. From there, one of the guards looking after the Fly with Venom alerts Venom that one of the other two guards was dirty and working for the Kingpin... Before Venom can decide what to do, Hobgoblin(!!) attacks, killing the guards and threatening to do the same to the Fly. Venom tries to battle the Hobgoblin as best he can, but really, THIS Hobgoblin is the PERFECT foil for Venom, what with his sonic scream and flaming sword. Eventually the fight ends up on top of the train the Fly was being transported in. Venom manages to get rid of Hobgoblin, while a guard falls off the train, barely managing to hang on. That leaves Venom with a decision... Save the guard or stop the Fly from escaping... The Fly promises Venom he would turn himself back in to custody once he used the Kingpin's money to save his son, and with little choice, Venom choses to let the Fly leave, saving the guard instead. Before leaving though, the Fly implores Venom to read the letter the Fly had written for his son. This issue ends with Venom opening the letter, which simply read, “I don't have a son!”... And that my friends, deserves a ZING!
Thoughts: This was a really good comic. The action was great, the story wasn't bad, and the twist at the end? About the Fly's “son”? That was frigging brilliant! Not only was the twist written well, the art did a wonderful job of conveying Venom's reaction to getting screwed over like he was. Who knew a two-bit loser like the Fly could lead to such a great comic! Kudos to Rick Remender for that one.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Yeah, that's not something you want to see coming your way...
Monday, April 9, 2012
Venom #15
Two comics up for tonight, and to be honest, I have no idea why they ended up this low in my comic pile... I must have screwed something up when I was putting my books in order on Wednesday... Oh well, it doesn't matter now, the important thing is I FINALLY got to them!
Venom #15:
Summary: Eddie Brock is running around killing lesser known symbiotes... The scenes with Eddie really hammered home for me just how many symbiotes there are running around the Marvel U... You usually only think about Venom and Carnage, but no, there are tons of others... Anyway, getting back on track, Flash is hanging out with the Avengers onThe Watchtower The Lighthouse, and has come to the conclusion that he needs the Venom symbiote to feel whole. Naturally Flash doesn't tell the Avengers this fact, and ends up heading back to his place just in time for a visit from Pater Parker. Peter wants to know what was going on with Flash, so Flash lies and claims that he got drunk after his father's death, which is probably a better story than telling Peter that he went on a roadtrip with a known super-villain, battled the devil's son in Las Vegas and then joined a secret team of Avengers... Peter takes Flash out for coffee and while the two are shooting the breeze, Flash decides to tell Peter what was really going on with him... Until Flash's phone rings. It turns out to be his sister, which gives Flash an excuse to ditch Peter before admitting to being Venom. Flash heads to see his mother(as per his sister's wishes) and Flash's mother can tell Flash was being deceptive about something, so Flash again claims he was drunk to hide his life as Venom. From there, Flash heads back to his place and is met by his ex-girlfriend, Betty. Betty pretty much tells Flash that she was sick and tired of their on and off relationship and couldn't deal with Flash's baggage anymore, effectively breaking up with Flash... Forever!!! After Betty leaves, Flash gets a call from the Avengers to see if he was available for a mission, and with how terrible things have been going in his life, Flash is happy for the chance to bond with his symbiote and distract himself.
Thoughts: Now this was way better than that Circle storyline! The focus here was squarely on Flash(where it should be), and while there were no actually fight scenes, there were LOTS of well done character development scenes. Yeah, there were times when this one read a bit slow, but overall, I get the feeling we'll be getting the old Venom awesomeness, as opposed to what we've gotten the past 5 issues or so.
Score: 8 out of 10.
I would absolutely buy a Hank and Hank comic book... Hell, I'd buy THREE copies for every issue, and with the way Marvel releases books, that's like 9 issues a month!
Venom #15:
Summary: Eddie Brock is running around killing lesser known symbiotes... The scenes with Eddie really hammered home for me just how many symbiotes there are running around the Marvel U... You usually only think about Venom and Carnage, but no, there are tons of others... Anyway, getting back on track, Flash is hanging out with the Avengers on
Thoughts: Now this was way better than that Circle storyline! The focus here was squarely on Flash(where it should be), and while there were no actually fight scenes, there were LOTS of well done character development scenes. Yeah, there were times when this one read a bit slow, but overall, I get the feeling we'll be getting the old Venom awesomeness, as opposed to what we've gotten the past 5 issues or so.
Score: 8 out of 10.
I would absolutely buy a Hank and Hank comic book... Hell, I'd buy THREE copies for every issue, and with the way Marvel releases books, that's like 9 issues a month!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Venom #14
Last review of the night is the final part of the Venom: Circle of Four story. I'll be the first to say I'm glad this storyline is ending, because it just hasn't felt like a Venom comic... Hopefully we get a good to very good issue here, one that concludes with the death of Bad-Ass Ghost Rider... Hey, a guy can dream, no?
Venom #14:
Summary: Having given his symbiote to Red Hulk, Flash is trapped in the hell that Las Vegas had become with only a handgun. Before the demons kill him(again), oh come ON... *sigh* Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider arrives to rescue him... Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider bitches about never having agreed to give the Spirit of Vengeance to Red Hulk, and threatens to leave Flash behind, so he threatens her with a gun... You know, had he shot her in the head here Flash would have become my favorite character of all time... Meanwhile, X-23 heads to Johnny Blaze and tells him to drive his motorcycle the other way so he'd suck the Hell on Earth back to Hell. After telling Johnny what to do, X-23 is attacked by Blackheart's girlfriend. From there we see that Red Hulk/Venom/Ghost Rider and Blackheart are battling across Vegas. Being a piece of trash, Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider throws Flash out of the car they were in while he was shooting at demons... God help me, I hate her so much... Flash winds up rolling near Blackheart's gal pal, who had beaten X-23, and finds himself attacked by the demon. Blackheart's girlfriend beats the hell out of Flash and then turns to leave, which gives Flash a clear shot at the explosives X-23 stuck to the demon's back earlier. Flash shoots the explosives, which blows Blackheart's girlfriend sky-high. Back at the main event battle, Red Hulk/Venom/Ghost Rider has managed to get his hands on the mirror Blackheart used earlier to create the evil opposites of the heroes, and uses the mirror on Blackheart, creating a being of pure light and goodness. The being makes quick work of Blackheart, sending him back to Hell and ending his threat. From there, the piece of Hell loosed in Vegas vanishes, and the city returns to normal. In the aftermath Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider gets the Spirit back(BOOOOOOOOOO!), while Red Hulk returns the symbiote to Flash. Red Hulk also tells Captain America that Flash wasn't a villain, but was actually a hero. Upon hearing that, Cap decides to let Beast and Hank Pym look into the symbiote to see if they could figure out a way to keep it's more murderous urges in check, while allowing Flash to still use it. This issue ends with Mephisto having some fun tormenting Blackheart and his girlfriend.
Thoughts: You KNOW what I'm the most pissed off about, right? There was NO reason Bad-Ass Ghost Rider couldn't have been killed off in this storyline. Absolutely none. Hell, I'd have even been okay if she was killed off in a relatively heroic manner! Instead, she acted like a bitch the entire storyline, and ended up leaving with the Spirit... I would have bet good money that Marvel was going to give the Spirit back to Johnny Blaze in preparation for the new Ghost Rider movie! Instead, that unlikable, useless Bad-Ass Ghost Rider is still out there. And that sucks. Yeah, that really put a damper on this issue for me. This comic was okay and all, but it isn't something I'll be thinking back on in a few days time. It was a pretty lackluster storyline that ended in a pretty lackluster way. Here's hoping we get the awesome Venom back come next issue now that this Hell nonsense has concluded.
Score: 6 out of 10.
What the hell kind of magic pose is Dr. Strange busting out here!?!
Venom #14:
Summary: Having given his symbiote to Red Hulk, Flash is trapped in the hell that Las Vegas had become with only a handgun. Before the demons kill him(again), oh come ON... *sigh* Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider arrives to rescue him... Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider bitches about never having agreed to give the Spirit of Vengeance to Red Hulk, and threatens to leave Flash behind, so he threatens her with a gun... You know, had he shot her in the head here Flash would have become my favorite character of all time... Meanwhile, X-23 heads to Johnny Blaze and tells him to drive his motorcycle the other way so he'd suck the Hell on Earth back to Hell. After telling Johnny what to do, X-23 is attacked by Blackheart's girlfriend. From there we see that Red Hulk/Venom/Ghost Rider and Blackheart are battling across Vegas. Being a piece of trash, Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider throws Flash out of the car they were in while he was shooting at demons... God help me, I hate her so much... Flash winds up rolling near Blackheart's gal pal, who had beaten X-23, and finds himself attacked by the demon. Blackheart's girlfriend beats the hell out of Flash and then turns to leave, which gives Flash a clear shot at the explosives X-23 stuck to the demon's back earlier. Flash shoots the explosives, which blows Blackheart's girlfriend sky-high. Back at the main event battle, Red Hulk/Venom/Ghost Rider has managed to get his hands on the mirror Blackheart used earlier to create the evil opposites of the heroes, and uses the mirror on Blackheart, creating a being of pure light and goodness. The being makes quick work of Blackheart, sending him back to Hell and ending his threat. From there, the piece of Hell loosed in Vegas vanishes, and the city returns to normal. In the aftermath Bad-Ass Ex-Ghost Rider gets the Spirit back(BOOOOOOOOOO!), while Red Hulk returns the symbiote to Flash. Red Hulk also tells Captain America that Flash wasn't a villain, but was actually a hero. Upon hearing that, Cap decides to let Beast and Hank Pym look into the symbiote to see if they could figure out a way to keep it's more murderous urges in check, while allowing Flash to still use it. This issue ends with Mephisto having some fun tormenting Blackheart and his girlfriend.
Thoughts: You KNOW what I'm the most pissed off about, right? There was NO reason Bad-Ass Ghost Rider couldn't have been killed off in this storyline. Absolutely none. Hell, I'd have even been okay if she was killed off in a relatively heroic manner! Instead, she acted like a bitch the entire storyline, and ended up leaving with the Spirit... I would have bet good money that Marvel was going to give the Spirit back to Johnny Blaze in preparation for the new Ghost Rider movie! Instead, that unlikable, useless Bad-Ass Ghost Rider is still out there. And that sucks. Yeah, that really put a damper on this issue for me. This comic was okay and all, but it isn't something I'll be thinking back on in a few days time. It was a pretty lackluster storyline that ended in a pretty lackluster way. Here's hoping we get the awesome Venom back come next issue now that this Hell nonsense has concluded.
Score: 6 out of 10.
What the hell kind of magic pose is Dr. Strange busting out here!?!
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