(Kind of...)The Best of the Rest! June 5th edition.

Hey hey, X popping in with a quick post.  A REALLY quick post!  So yeah, as I said in the last post, I've been staying away from the blog and just reading comics for fun again.  Crazy, no?  It's nice to have a little summer vacation again, I definitely need the time to recharge the old batteries.  Anyway, enough bellyaching from me, hows about I talk comics now?

-Age of Ultron #9 was horrible, as expected.  Two fucking Wolverines...  No thank you, one is enough!  The Wolvies and Sue told Pym about Ultron, and wanted him to put some sort of program in Ultron to prevent him from destroying the world or something equally dumb.  So yeah, sucktacular.  I'm still holding out hope that the aftermath will make this whole ugly experience worthwhile...  5 out of 10.

-X-Factor #257 was okay, I guess.  It was all about Layla Miller trying to wrangle Demon Madrox.  Spoiler: she does.  But he's still a demon.  Supposedly this series is ending soon, which sucks.  I'm sure PAD will bring the big guns as we get closer to the finale.  5 1/2 out of 10.

-All New X-Men #12.  What the hell, Bendis?  Seriously, what the hell?!  This series just keeps spiraling down the Bendis spiral of crap.  We get a lot of talking, Jean acting like a bitch, more talking, and Jean acting like a bitch some more.  You'd thing the first meeting between the O5 X-Men and the Avengers would be better, but nope.  Jean is still randomly reading minds, in this case Wanda's, which leads to her throwing a tantrum and then crying...  So basically Bendis has made me hate Jean, who was my favorite female X-Men.  Kudos, Bendis!  4 out of 10.

-Thanos Rising #3 finally gave me a good comic to read.  It showed us Thanos after he left Titan and gathered his pirates.  It also explained Nebula's creation, which was something I wondered about from as far back as the Infinity Gauntlet story.  So again, really good stuff here.  8 out of 10.

-Superior Spider-Man #11.  I know people like to dump on this series, but I'm still enjoying it.  A lot.  Spidey is tasked with making sure that Alistair Smythe is executed, and does his best to outsmart Smythe, but can't account for The Revenge of the Villains Spidey Brutalized!!  I'm definitely looking forward to the angry villains getting their hands(or wings) on Spidey next issue.  8 out of 10.

-I didn't read Ultimates #25 or Iron Man #11 or Stormwatch #21 yet, so I've got nothing to say about them.

-I have been reading a ton of back issues, and most of them are SO MUCH better than the new stuff!  I've been enjoying some Iron Man action from the mid-1980's, back when Tony was a drunk living in the gutter and Rhodey was taking care of business, Iron Man style.  I also finished off Christos Gage's Absolution series from 2009, and it was GREAT.  It was Brubaker good!  See, it's great comics like that which remind me why I love comics so much.  Anyway, I have some Maximum Carnage comics calling my name.  Until Next time, X out.

Best of the Rest! May 15th edition.

Hey all, X here to kick off what looks to be a pretty slim Best of the Rest post.  Both JT and I had lighter than usual comic weeks, meaning we really don't have a load of books to look at.  So yeah.  But hey, JT(whose reviews will be in blue text) will probably grace us with more than the measly one review he gave us last week...  Probably...

Nightwing #20: After some digging around, Nightwing manages to find the Prankster, who he suspects will be able to help him find Tony "The Man Who Killed Dick Grayson's Parents!" Zucco.  However, the two get off on the wrong foot when Nightwing interrupts Prankster trying to kill a corrupt businessman.  After a bit of a tussle, Nightwing ends up getting trapped in a glass box(really), with Prankster telling him the only way he'd escape was to remove his mask, thus revealing his identity.  This comic was okay, I guess.  I still think Prankster has some potential as a vigilante, even though he was coming dangerously close to becoming just another run of the mill villain.  On the positive side, Tony "The Man Who Killed Dick Grayson's Parents!" Zucco only appeared on two pages, and that makes me happy.  Score: 6 out of 10.

X-Factor #256: The team heads after Mephisto in an attempt to send him back to Hell.  Meanwhile, Tier kills all the Hell-Lords Mephisto had locked up.  Mephisto kills Shatterstar and Rictor before he is attacked by Tier.  Before Tier can kill Mephisto, Guido kills Tier, which makes Guido the new king of Hell.  Guido brings Monet back to life and then banishes her from his sight.  So yeah, wow...  This was a big miss for me...  Guido as the devil?  Tier, Shatterstar and Rictor dead?  Mephisto unable to figure out to teleport away from Tier when he was attacked?  Tier killing like 6 Hell-Lords in a small room?  Yeah, bad, bad stuff here. Score: 4 out of 10.

FF #7: Wizard and his newest incarnation of the Frightful Four(himself, Blastaar, a brainwashed Medusa, and Bentley-23, who doesn't want to be there) attack the FF.  Bentley-23 predictably betrays Wizard, which frees Medusa from Wizard's mind-control, leaving Wizard and Blastaar as the Not-So Terrible Two.  After Wizard is defeated, Black Bolt takes him into custody for brainwashing his wife(AGAIN!) and decides to have words with him...  Meh.  The story didn't really do much for me, but dammit do I LOVE Mike Allred's artwork!  Seriously, it's like the perfect art for a comic book, and you all know I don't usually care about art in a comic!  So yeah, oddly enough, if not for the artwork, I'd probably have scored this comic lower.  Score: 6 out of 10.

Thunderbolts #9: Hey, check it out, I'm still getting this comic!  Weird...  A mystery man is constructing gamma powered Crimson Dynamo units to be used in terrorist activities.  The T-Bolts manage to take down a few of the units and are able to trace the units back to the man behind them, Elektra's brother.  So yeah, I don't get why exactly I'm still collecting this series...  I don't think I've given any issue a score over a 6!  Methinks I'll be rectifying that when I get to the comic shop on Wednesday...  Score: 5 out of 10.

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1: Yon-Rogg sends Captain Marvel and her teammates after various menaces to keep them distracted so he could steal the piece of the Psyche-Magnetron that CM had stored at her apartment.  After saving her elderly neighbor from dinosaurs(way cooler than I just made it sound, actually), CM returns to her place with Spider-Woman and realizes that she had been burgled.  Spider-Woman promises revenge.  Finally, a good comic!  Huzzah!!!!!  Man this week has been brutal comic-wise for me... I enjoyed this one, and think it set-up the upcoming Avengers Assemble/Captain Marvel crossover nicely.  This feels like an Avengers story should feel, which is a nice change of pace from Bendis and Age of Ultron...  Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Iron Man #10: 451 tells Tony a story about how he first met Tony's father before Tony was born.  Basically Tony's dad went searching for 451 after learning that he and his wife were unable to procreate.  451 then makes vague comments about Tony having more parents than he knew of...  UGH!!!  What the hell is happening here!?  THIS is the story they think are going to grab movie-goers who just saw Iron Man 3?!?  Really?!  Come on, Marvel, this is a DC-esque bungle!  You're better than this!  Yeah, in case I haven't made it clear, I think this entire storyline is idiotic.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  All I know is that we better discover that 451 was lying the whole time to be an ass or something.  Anything else will be horrible.  Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.

Or, maybe JT won't review anything at all...  Huh, go figure!  I'm sure he'd blame his lack of reviews on me taking Nova #4, but don't buy JT's lame excuses!  He's a slacker!!  Slacker!!!  On the plus side, unless he somehow manages to do -1 reviews next week, he'll definitely have more reviews next week than he did this one.  But enough about that guy.  Check back tomorrow for a Throwback post by yours truly.  Until then?  X out.

Best of the Rest! May 1st edition.

Hey all, it's time for the first of FIVE Best of the Rest posts in May!  Yep, May is one of those months where we're gonna end up with five Wednesdays, so I'll be getting even more comics, which means you guys will be getting even more reviews!  So it's a win/win!  Or a lose/lose, depending on your prerogative.  Anyway, the usual rules apply here.  I'll get this party started with a few reviews, and then JT will take over with a few reviews of his own, but in blue text.  And if the last few BotR posts are any indication, much longer reviews than I've been busting out...  Seriously, JT, when did you become Mr. Wordsmith!?  I'm gonna hear it for that remark...  Anyway, let's get this party started.

Thanos Rising #2: This issue brings us a 15 (or so) year old Thanos, who is on a quest to discover why he is different from all of his fellow Eternals.  To that end, he's been dissecting various creatures, but has yet to find anything.  The girl who is still hanging around him(who I STILL say is Death), recommends Thanos ply his trade on something more complex...  To that end, Thanos kidnaps and kills two of his classmates, in the name of science.  Or at least that's what Thanos tells himself at first.  However, he soon realizes that he enjoys the torture and murder, and that when he is killing, he doesn't feel alone.  Still, Thanos craves answers about why he's different, so this issue ends with Thanos capturing and preparing to dissect his own mother.  Now THIS is more like the Thanos I remember!  Sure, the stuff with the girl/Death probably doesn't need to be in here(I don't like the idea that Death had a role in Thanos's obsession with her), but I still could be wrong about her being Death...  Who knows, maybe she's actually the woman who ends up bearing Nebula...  Regardless, this mini-series is still hitting almost all the right notes for me.  Score: 8 out of 10.

X-Factor #255: Mephisto ends up defeating the other Hell Lords and puts an end to the Hell on Earth war.  He makes himself a palace and has apparently become the ruler of not only Hell, but the entire world.  Tier decides that instead of hanging back he'd go and face Mephisto.  Mephisto is aware of this and relishes Tier's challenge.  Plus, Monet apparently dies while fighting Guido and Madrox is still a demon.  I enjoyed this issue way more than the past few Hell war issues.  Maybe that's because this storyline is coming to a close...  I don't know.  Anyway, this storyline is actually what the Age of Ultron SHOULD be.  A self contained story in one of the Avengers titles...  Just sayin'.  Score: 8 out of 10.

Iron Man #9: Iron Man hires Death's Head to help him track down 451.  However, it turns out 451 hired Death's Head first, and Death's Head leads Iron Man into 451's clutches.  This one ends with 451 revealing he had been working with Tony's old man...  Wha?!  Um, yeah, this one was weird...  I'm not even going to say anything about that ending yet...  I'll give Kieron Gillen another issue before I flip out about Tony's father working with an alien who hadn't even been around until 3 issues ago...  THIS is the story they wanted to coincide with Iron Man 3!?  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Indestructible Hulk #7: After some brawling between the Frost Giants and Thor and Hulk, one of the Frost Giants transforms into one of Bruce Banner's assistants and infiltrates the group...  Didn't know Frost Giants could do that...  The Frost Giants want access to Banner's portal technology, thus the ruse.  However, SHIELD shut the portal down, which has left Banner and company stranded.  Oh, and it turns out that Hulk actually didn't lift Thor's hammer last issue, it was only moving because Thor was calling it back to him...  Which is what I was hoping to see here.  Besides that, not much to say here.  I'm not really feeling this storyline...  It's not horrible or anything, it's just not my cup of tea.  Score: 6 out of 10.

Ultimate X-Men #26: The all-female power struggle continues!!!  Kitty and Mach 2 join forces since the US government wanted to take Utopia's land back.  Jean decides to help them since she didn't want Utopia toppled by the government, because Jean wanted to absorb the Utopia mutants into Tian.  And we find out that Psylocke has been manipulating both sides to her own ends.  I don't know what the hell Brian Wood is going for here...  He's already writing one X-Women book, why is he turning this series into another!?  And how is Psylocke able to spy on, and mask her actions from Jean, who is, presumably, more powerful that Psylocke?!  Seriously, if it wasn't for Jimmy Hudson, I would be SO done with this series...  Score: 6 out of 10.

Invincible Universe #2: Stedman's forces manage to hold off the dragon long enough for Robot to fix up Liu. Liu manages to reabsorb the dragon and teleports away, not even thanking an irked Stedman.  On top of that, Stedman's assistant dies during the dragon attack, which leads to us seeing a softer side of Cecil.  So I liked this comic...  Sue me.  What can I say, I was always a mark for Cecil, so yeah, this comic hits just the right notes for me.  Plus I've been a fan of Todd Nauck's work since Young Justice, so that helps.  Anyway, if you're a fan of little known, obscure characters, like I am, then this is a series you should definitely check out.  Score: 7 out of 10.

Detective Comics #20: In this issue we see Batman finally pursue Ignatius "Emperor Penguin" Oglivy after robbing a bank. Batman arrives at the former home of the Oswald Cobblepot and is met by the Emperor Penguin who is now a monster of a man. Having tampered with and used Man-Bat serum for speed, a serum from Poison Ivy to give him tough, bark-like skin, and venom to make him extremely strong. Emperor Penguin surprisingly beats the hell out of Batman and then ties a chain around his neck and hangs him from a tree. Batman is then saved by Cobblepot of all people, who wants his life back and is willing to help Batman to beat Oglivy. Batman takes the fight to Emperor Penguin a second time, this time fighting him as a monster instead of a man, and manages to take him down with acid and a high-powered taser. Afterwards, we see Cobblepot give Bruce Wayne back the building he'd stole from under him, renaming it after Martha Wayne, then telling Bruce he can have the spotlight, he just wants the shadows. In the epilogue we see Emperor Penguin take out the main boss in Blackgate Prison and deems himself "Emperor Blackgate". I liked this issue, Emperor Blackgate's backstory made sense, he's been built as a threat and I can easily see him taking the role Black Mask once had. This has been a pretty awesome first arc by Layman and I'm interested in what he has planned next. Score: 8/10

Earth 2 #12: In the most recent issue of Earth 2 we see the newly christened Doctor Fate finally engage in battle with Wotan. Across the world in China, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern investigate the death of GL's dead boyfriend and stumble upon a shipping container full of a bunch of dead Parademons. GL's ring notifies him that he's needed elsewhere and he heads off to join Flash in Boston while Hawkgirl continues the investigation. While the two mystical beings face off, Flash and Green Lantern run interference and keep the peace while protecting civilians and taking down the government officials that attack the heroes. Fate eventually takes down Wotan and banishes him to another dimension. Afterwards, Fate, Flash, Flash's Mom and Green Lantern, who reveals his identity of Alan Scott to his allies, offers them a place to stay, since the government knows who Jay and his mother are and are after them. Before they can take him up on his offer, Fate informs them that the evil Steppenwolf has taken control of a dangerous country named Dherain. This was a fine issue, nothing great but far from bad. My only problem was how Wotan was built as a threat in the last few issues and talked about how much better he'd become to best Doctor Fate, then he's easily dispatched in Fate's first battle as the new Doctor Fate. It hurt the credibility they'd used the past issues to establish. Score: 6.5/10

And that's it for Mr. Wordsmith! I planned on reviewing Green Arrow but due to an extremely busy weekend that leads into an extremely busy week, I didn't have the time. But it was my last issue, so sadly I don't plan on reviewing anymore issues. Now let me end this post before I give X more ammo to call me names for giving you guys detailed reviews. Speaking of which, be sure to check X's Throwback Tuesday post tomorrow for a good laugh. Til next time, this is JT, signing off!

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!

Best of the Rest! Week of 3/20/13

Hey all, X here with his final post of the week.  Yes, it's time to take a look at the Best of the Rest!  This time with 100% more JT!  Yes, mi hermano, JT, will be pitching in this week.  Probably to bring the post quality waaaaay down... But at least I'm here to bring some respectability to the proceedings.  Huh, it probably wasn't that smart to insult JT right off the bat since he'll be closing this post out, and as such will get the last word...  If I was smarter I'd delete the insults...  Meh.  So here's how it'll work.  I'll post my thoughts on a few comics, JT will post his thoughts in a different color, and then JT will close things out.  Boom, simple.  Like JT!!!  HA!!!!  *ahem*  Anyway, let's get this bad boy rolling.

Daredevil #24:  This was actually the high-point of this week's BotR post...  Which doesn't bode well as we move forward...  Basically DD is inching closer to finding out who the mystery villain who has been putting the screws to him was.  Foggy learns that he had a rare type of bone tumor, and the doctors weren't sure if it had spread or not.  Yeah, this comic is great, no doubt.  Mark Waid has a little something for everybody here.  Heroes, villains, secret plots, some drama, AND mutated dogs!  What more could one ask for?!  Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

X-Factor #253: We get some escalation in the Hell on Earth war, as the various devils begin to wage war upon each other on Earth.  Satana tries to kill Tier(because Satana is frigging AWESOME), but Tier chases her away.  Polaris decides the best course of action was to sic Tier on the Hell-Lords, since he can hurt them.  And Madrox is a demon thanks to Mephisto.  Sadly, this comic didn't really do it for me.  I mean it was all right and all, and I LOVE that Peter David showed that other heroes were involved in battling the demons, which you don't often see in a story like this, but the narrative was kind of spread all over the place...  We were in Mephisto's hell.  And on the streets.  And watching demons fight.  And in a hotel room.  It just didn't gel for me, which is very rare for this series.  But hey, I'm sure I'll be heaping praise on the next issue, so one not-so-good issue isn't a big thing.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Saga #11:  First things first, I LOVE the hell out of this series!!!  With that out of the way, I have to admit, this issue didn't really do it for me.  Basically Marco's father helped the group get away from the space baby, but at the cost of his life.  Marco and his mom naturally don't take the death well.  That's really the extent of the main storyline here.  I've got to admit, Marco's dad dying here was a bit disappointing.  I thought that character had some legs, and figured he'd slowly fade away as the issues progressed.  Instead he popped up a few issues ago and died.  If he would have stuck around a bit, the impact of his death probably would have been greater, but sadly, that's not what we got.  Even though this wasn't my favorite issue of this great series, it still wasn't bad, which shows you the quality of this title.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Invincible #101: So yeah, Eve is pregnant again.  This time though, she has a doctor who specializes in super-human biology, and learns that she can't use her powers while she's pregnant, which you KNOW will come into play down the road.  Robot hates Mark, Cecil hates Nolan, and Thragg hates everybody.  That about sums this one up.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, this issue just didn't hit the mark for me...  I don't know what the problem was, but I just never connected to this comic.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great...  Score: 6 out of 10.

Indestructible Hulk #5: Hulk manages to defeat Attuma with some help from Lemurian rebels.  Plus one of the Lemurians makes out with Hulk.  Here we go again, you know the song I'm gonna be playing...  I never connected with this issue...  Yep, again.  There was some good here, namely Attuma, who Mark Waid wrote brilliantly, but I never fell into this story.  It was okay.  But that's all.  Score: 6 out of 10.

Dark Avengers #188: Oh boy, this comic...  Um, the Dark Avengers are still trapped in an alternate Earth.  There's some sort of mystery there concerning AIM(I think...) and the Spider-Man of that world is worshiped as a god by the likes of Shang-Chi and Misty Knight...  But he gets killed by Tigra.  Oh, and Moonstone died, but came back over the course of this comic.  See, now this comic?  This comic was bad.  Not okay, just bad.  I was willing to go along for the ride at first, I've repeatedly stated that I love alternate dimensional tales, but this one simply isn't working for me.  Probably because we have like zero character development going on here. Seriously, I have NO reason to care about ANY of the Dark Avengers.  We REALLY need to get away from the main story here and shine a light on the characters on this team...  Score: 3 out of 10.

DC Universe Presents: Starfire #18: Basically we see Starfire as a slave, then free, then allowing herself to get caught so she can free more people. The former top dog that wanted to free everyone was jealous, so he attacked her and she sliced his hands off with his sword. Upon gaining the chance to free everyone, the slaves were so afraid of Starfire they just wanted her to go, which she did. So... useless story sadly, nothing really happened, if only it showed that Star's a tough S.O.B. and scares people. Sad thing is, Joe Keatinge's last issue that starred Roy Harper was pretty good. Score: 2/10

Captain Marvel #11: Captain Marvel's been diagnosed with a lesion on her brain that expands every time she flies, it's not fatal but if she continues to fly it'll wipe away her memories, so now she's using a hover-bike, which she hates. We find out that she has some mysterious man stalking her, and he's been sending a new Deathbird, dubbed Newbird by Carol to her apartment building. Carol heads off to find Newbird and engages her in a fight in the sky, with her hover-bike of course. This was a pretty good issue, Carol continues to be written likable and fun, and the story of her not being able to fly, after putting so much emphasis on her love of flying throughout the series has been great. Score: 7/10

Justice League #18: The League is looking for new members because a few of them are busy with their cities or ruling Atlantis. Possible recruits are Black Canary (She's on the BoP...), Black Lighting, Blue Demon, Element Woman, Firestorm, Goldrush, Nightwing, Vixen, Zatanna and Platinum of the Metal Men. Platinum goes crazy, predictably, and the League and candidates take her down, with the help of The Atom. By the way, Atom is a Hispanic woman now. The League ends up picking Atom, Firestorm and Element Woman over Vixen, Zatanna and Canary because they're stupid, and Nightwing isn't interested in joining. The issue ends with them finding out their recruitment files have been hacked, so someone has info on all these heroes now. Oops! I was flabbergasted that they didn't pick at least one of the three women I named... but whatever. That aside, this issue was kind of predictable, especially with Platinum's heel turn. Score: 5/10

New Avengers #4: With time running out until Earth crashes into another Earth, the Illuminati decide to go to the other planet and try to use their Infinity Gems to blow it up, since the Illuminati's Gems broke in the last issue. Once they arrive, they see on this planet the Statue of Liberty is replaced by a statue of the Master of Magnet himself, Magneto. They also see Galactus is already about to eat this planet, but instead of counting this as a win, they decide to fight his Thanos-like herald, because why not? This issue was fine and dandy until the weird ending where they decided to fight a villain on a planet that's dying... the same planet they came to destroy. Also, I was expecting more with the fallout of them mind-wiping Captain America but not too much came of that. Score: 6/10

Red Hood and the Outlaws #18: This is Lobdell's last issue of RHATO, and after surprisingly enjoying issue 19, I was looking forward to this issue. Jason came to the realization that the reason he has lashed out at Bruce and the rest of the family is because he was trying to escape his past, but he needs to embrace it instead of run away from it. We also find out his face is going to be fine in the future thanks to Alfred's handiwork. We end things with Jason finally waking up and he's about to apologize but Bruce cuts him off and hugs him as the issue ends. I really enjoyed this issue, Jason finally being welcomed back to the fold is something I've wanted for a while as a Jason Todd fan, so this issue was a huge plus for me. Plus it really made sense for Bruce, after losing Jason once, then losing Damian, I doubt he wants to risk being distant with Jason any longer. The only thing I really had a problem with was this being billed as "Requiem" issue and Damian was never mentioned once. Score: 9/10

And THAT'S how you do a best of the rest post! Not like that farce X did last week. Anyway, I can see this being a weekly thing if mi hermano is up for it, so we can knock out even more books, considering sometimes people want info on books we read but don't review. So, look forward to me guiding X like the giant idiotic man-child he is through these posts on a regular basis. So that's it for me, until my final review of the week tomorrow. So til then, for myself and X, this is JT, signing off!

X-Factor #252

And we've made it to the final X-typed review of the week!  Huzzah for that!  We'll be closing the week out with the most recent issue of X-Factor.  If this issue is anything like the prior issues of this series, the week should end on a high note.

X-Factor #252

Summary: The team(as well as Jezebel and Tier) are attacked by Pluto, who intends on being the Hell-Lord to kill Tier and become the biggest and best Hell-Lord ever!!  The group is having lots of trouble dealing with Pluto, due to him being a god and all, but are assisted by Darwin, who figured he'd help out since it was too late for him to avert the Hell on Earth War.  Unfortunately, Darwin doesn't do any better than anybody else and is taken down, Madrox and Jezebel and seemingly killed and Pluto winds up against Tier.  Pluto moves in to make the killing stroke, but is surprised by Tier, who goes feral and literally tears Pluto apart, killing him...  Or at least killing Pluto for the time being, since he was already returning to his realm by the end of this one.  Anywho, with Pluto's threat ended(for the moment), the team decides to take off and regroup.  The other Hell-Lords come across the Pluto's corpse and Mephisto decides that there was no sense in working with the other Hell-Lords and attacks them.  From there, the skies begin to bleed and Mephisto returns to his realm where we discover he had taken Jezebel and Madrox.

Thoughts: I have to say, I wasn't really blown away by this comic.  It was okay and all, but it wasn't as impressive as some of the other issues had been.  I think some of what bugged me would have to be Tier (kind of/sort of) killing Pluto...  Before this issue, Tier was an innocent kid, and X-Factor was being tasked with defending him from the various demons that were trying to kill him.  Now all of a sudden Tier can take care of himself(as well as kill beings who have god-like power!), which ratchets down the excitement of this storyline a bit for me.  I'm not as worried for Tier because I know he can kill the Hell-Lords if push comes to shove.  Plus, I didn't get how Pluto seemingly killing Madrox and Jezebel caused them to end up in Mephisto's domain...  Ah well, here's hoping things pick back up again come the next issue.

Score: 6 out of 10.

If you can't trust Mephisto, who can you trust?!?

X-Factor #251

Last review of the night is going to be X-Factor.  But you probably know that already, since the title of the post says "X-Factor"...  So yeah...

X-Factor #251: 

Summary: We kicks things off at the former site of X-Factor Investigations, where Monet beats the crap out of Darwin.  From there we head to the rest of the team, who are trying to figure out why the various Hell-Lords are trying to kill Tier.  Before the demons can attack, Madrox sends a mess of dupes out, misdirecting the Hell-Lords...  Momentarily.  Eventually, Mephisto gets his hands on Tier and is preparing to kill the boy, but is stopped when his daughter, Jezebel  stabs him in the back.  Literally!  With that, Jezebel teleports the team back to their former headquarters.  After separating Monet and Darwin, the group heads to Central Park.  Once there, Jezebel reveals that the Hell-Lords wanted to kill Tier because he was the seven billionth person born on the planet.  And whichever Hell-Lord kills him?  They'd be declared the top Hell-Lord and win a brand new car!!!  No, not really.  Well, the first part IS true.  Anyway, before the team can come up with a strategy, Pluto arrives and breaks Shatterstar's arm, warning the team that he'd do a whole lot worse unless they handed Tier over to him.

Thoughts: This was another strong issue of this series.  As usual.  I swear I say that every issue with this series...  But it's true!  This is probably the most consistently good comic I pick up.  So now we know why the Hell-Lords are coming after Tier, and the reason is perfectly plausible when it comes to Madrox and his unlucky group...  Of course Tier would be the seven billionth person born, drawing X-Factor in the middle of  massive demonic battle!  That's just their luck.  Now that we have the "whys" of this story out of the way, I'm intrigued to see how Peter David writes the team out of THIS quandary...  How in the world are they going to defeat some of the most powerful demons and gods in all of the Marvel Universe, all while trying to save the life of Wolfsbane's son?  Should be really interesting going forward.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

That's gonna leave a mark!

X-Factor #250

First review(of three!) tonight is X-Factor.  This issue begins the Hell Lords storyline that I've been looking forward to.  Still, a Hell Lord storyline in an X-comic seems... odd...  Eh, let's see how it plays out before I say anything else.

X-Factor #250

Summary:  We get this party started with Wolfsbane's son, Tier(who is twelve now), wandering around Manhattan trying to find X-Factor, as his mother had told him to do.  Unfortunately for Tier, Darwin ends up finding him before he finds X-Factor.  And Darwin has a very big gun and seems prepared to use it on Tier.  Or not, as Darwin hesitates and is run down by Wolfsbane, who tells Tier to hop in while they head to X-Factor.  The two make it to X-Factor's office and upon hearing of their plight, Madrox tells the duo they were welcome to remain with the team for as long as they'd like.  It's then that Darwin bursts in the door.  Naturally.  Darwin fights his way through the team and manages to snag Tier and puts his gun to the boy's head, telling X-Factor that by killing Tier he was saving every life on the planet.  However, Darwin realizes that he wasn't a murderer and can't shoot Tier.  Before things have a chance to calm down, Guido strolls in and begins to beat the hell(heh heh) out of his former teammates, led by Jezebel   Jezebel tells Guido to stop toying with X-Factor and to kill Tier, but before Guido can, everybody is transported to a butte(I know my geography!), where all of the Hell Lords are waiting.  They decree that one of them would kill Tier, at which point their war would be over, ending this issue.

Thoughts:  I liked this comic...  I liked it a lot, actually!  It had everything I enjoy, great dialogue, a good story, engaging characters, and great villains.  I mean, come on, you aren't gonna find better villains than the DEVIL!  And there were a load of devils here!  Mephisto, Satannish, Pluto, Hela, Satana, a who's who of the most powerful demons in the Marvel U.  And I have always been a fan of that aspect of Marvel(in Ghost Rider, Hellstorm, etc), so this storyline seems tailor-made for me.  Throw in Tier, who I like after just one issue, and you have yourself a winning combination.  So yeah, great issue that set the stage for what I'm expecting to be a great storyline leaves X a happy camper.

Score:  9 out of 10.

When Mephisto shows up, you KNOW it's getting serious!

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!

A Quick Look At... June 6th's new releases.

So I just got home from work a few minutes ago and cooked myself a pizza. I have a few minutes before the pizza cools, so now is as good as any time to break out the first “A Quick Look At...” post of the week. Since I have 8 books left to blog about, I'll do four for this post and leave four for the next post(which will probably be up tomorrow). For this week, I figured I'd go up to THREE whole sentences for each comic! I know, crazy!! Okay, enough talk, I have a pizza waiting for me, so let's get to this...

Stormwatch #10: This was the second issue written by Peter Milligan, and much like the prior issue, it was pretty good. I'm not sure where he's going with Apollo and Midnighter(since I thought it was already established they were gay, although maybe Midnighter hasn't come out yet?), but I was glad to see the guy who betrayed the team(whose name escapes me at the moment...) and Projectionist pop up here. This was another one-and-done type of issue, but as long as the stories are good, I'm fine with that format.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Morning Glories #19: This was a weird comic... It was all about Hunter being chased through the woods by a knife-wielding Zoe, who knew WAY more about Hunter's life then you'd think she should have. In the end Zoe was shot by some weirdos, which did indeed piss me off since I really like Zoe.
Score: 7 out of 10.

Invincible Iron Man #518: A LOT went on in this issue, including War Machine(who everybody thinks is dead) acting as the new Iron Man, Tony Stark publicly declaring that he was no longer Iron Man(for the ten-thousandth time), Sasha Hammer being attacked by the crazed Detroit Steel, Spymaster still trying to kill the Stark Resilient staff and Ezekiel Stane telling the Mandarin that he was no longer the Mandarin's slave... Whew. The downside of all that stuff going on is that no one thing was really focused on, so this issue was kind of a blur.
Score: 7 out of 10.

X-Factor #237: Polaris and Siryn/Banshee decide to take Wolfsbane on a road trip in order to perk Wolfsbane up. After failing, they take her to Reverend Madrox, who does get through to Wolfsbane, at which point Wolfsbane decides that she wanted to find her abandoned child. That was a great thing to read, because I am SO curious about Wolfsbane's child, and think the kid has HUGE potential. Oh, and this was a fun read, as usual. And yes, I know that took me over my 3 sentences or less decree... But hey, rules(especially mine) are made to be broken!
Score: 8 out of 10.

Okay, I think I've burned enough time for my pizza to cool off, until later, Vampire X out!

X-Factor #236

Ah, here's a series that's always good for at least a 7 1/2 for a score, X-Factor! Based on the last issue I kind of expect that trend to continue.

X-Factor #236:

Story Points:
-Shatterstar narrowly avoids getting killed by Scattershot.
-From there, the two fight some more and Shatterstar learns that Scattershot had come from Mojo's world and his actions were a part of a Mojoverse reality show.
-Shatterstar convinces Scattershot to fight him without weapons...
-In other words, Shatterstar promised not to use his weapons, while Scattershot did likewise...
-However, Shatterstar didn't promise not to use Scattershot's weapons, and ends up killing the villain with his own gun.
-And that's pretty much it.

Thoughts: First off, I liked the retro-ish cover... Yeah, that's neither here nor there, but there it is. As for this issue? I liked it. A lot. It focused almost solely on Star, which I'm just fine with. Yeah, there are like 50,000 characters on this team, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't get an issue here and there that only focuses on one character. I liked the battle between Star and Shot, and liked the way Star outsmarted his bigger and stronger opponent. All in all? Good stuff here.

Score: 8 out of 10.

X-Factor #235

Last review of the night as I FLY through my new comic pile is X-Factor. Another one of the comics I'm always happy to get my hands on. Like I said on Wednesday, I ended up getting some damned good comics this week!

X-Factor #235:

Summary: With the wannabe heroes being murdered in Seattle, Madrox and Shatterstar(in disguises that wouldn't fool a three year old, including Shatterstar's old headgear!) head to Seattle and hook up with the band of Kick-Ass-esque heroes. Madrox and Star split up and go out on patrol with a different member of the wannabes, and Star's wannabe gets murdered by some big purple guy sporting a big gun and some blades. The big guy takes Star out with ONE kick(?!) and this issue ends with Star prone on the ground with the purple guy aiming his gun at Star. We also got Longshot lapsing into a coma-like state while trying to investigate the case and Madrox and Havok butting heads over the direction of X-Factor.

Thoughts: No real complaints here. This issue was a nice, fast read, made sense and is obviously leading us to our next big X-Factor storyline. Um, yeah... That's about all I have to say...

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

I... am reviewing.

X-Factor #234

First comic up for this Sunday night? X-Factor. Man, I'm just coming up empty with the intros lately...

X-Factor #234:

Summary: We discover early on that the woman hanging out with the Isolationist is named Jezebel and that she wants to bring about the Apocalypse(the event, not the person) with Isolationist's help. Meanwhile, Havok and Polaris hang out in Central Park. The rest of the team returns to base to find Layla and Madrox standing there. Monet is furious because she feels that Layla brought Madrox back from the dead as some sort of soulless ghoul(as she feels Guido is), and flies away with Layla to exact some sort of righteous revenge. Layla manages to convince Monet that she didn't bring Madrox back from the dead and the two women kind of/sort of come to an understanding... Well, maybe a truce is a better word for their situation... This one ends with Havok and Madrox meeting up(and Havok exerting his leadership over X-Factor) and Jezebel and Isolationist beginning their nefarious scheme.

Thoughts: Not bad. This was mainly an issue of character development, as we got some page time for Monet and Layla, Havok and Polaris and even Jezebel and Isolationist. So while it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world to read, it was a good, solid read nonetheless.

Score: 7 out of 10.

The hair joke made me laugh... So sue me.

X-Factor #233

First up this weekend? How about some X-Factor? Meh, that's what I'll be reviewing anyway, so there's no turning back now...

X-Factor #233:

Summary: Some weird being meets up with Josef Huber(remember him!!) in his secret base to offer to help Josef rid the world of mutants... Meanwhile, Havok and Polaris are running X-Factor smoothly, while working with Valerie Cooper, just to make this issue that much more awesome. Finally, Layla tells Madrox about all of the recent changes that happened with X-Factor(namely the arrivals of Havok and Polaris, as well as the team working for Wolverine on retainer).

Thoughts: Yep, that's as much of a review as I can get done tonight... What? I have an early work day tomorrow! Ol X has to support his comic habit somehow! Even though that review I just did was HORRIBLE, this comic most certainly was not. As usual, Pater David gave us a great story, dropped some legit funny lines here and there, and set up some stuff for the future(the parts with Huber). All in all, really good stuff here.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Yeah, I found that bottom panel flat out hilarious... What?

X-Factor #232

The first comic I'll be reading this week with the letter “X” in the title is X-Factor. Which is probably the best series I read monthly with an “X” in it. After that pointless little aside, let's see what went on in this comic.

X-Factor #232:

Summary: This issue begins with Madrox running away from Dormammu, who has apparently succeeded in killing Dr. Strange and the Madrox from the dimension Madrox was currently trapped in. Upon getting outside, Madrox is confronted by a hellish looking version of Manhattan, overrun by demons and the like. Before Madrox can get over the shock of what he was seeing, Dormammu attacks him and goes through Madrox's mind, learning that this Madrox wasn't the same as the Madrox from his dimension. Before Dormammu can kill poor Madrox off(again!), Madrox is possessed by the spirit of that dimension's Dr. Strange, who manages to defeat Dormammu. With Dormammu's threat taken care of, dead Dr. Strange offers to return Madrox to his rightful dimension. Unfortunately, being dead and all, Strange's magic is kind of unpredictable, and while creating the portal, Madrox is stabbed in the head and dies... Again! HA!! Fortunately for Madrox, he falls INTO the portal, and returns to his proper body in the 616 Marvel Universe, where he is met by a overjoyed Layla Miller, who proceeds to have sex with Madrox(!?). This issue ends by showing us the results of alternate Strange's botched spell, as we find Wolfbane's evil daughter, evil Deathlok-Cap and... well, evil Dormammu appearing where Madrox died, thoroughly confused as to why they weren't in their proper dimensions.

Thoughts: This was a good, quick, fun read. It ended with Madrox returning to his proper universe(finally!) and also brought a few of the characters he encountered on his trek through the multiverse along with him. There's not all that much more I can add here. As usual, this was a very solid read.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

So long, Dread Lord!

X-Factor #231

Last review for the night? X-Factor. Let's get it out of the way!

X-Factor #231:

Summary: Madrox finds himself now on a world where the streets were being patrolled by massive Iron Man Sentinels. One of the IM Sentinels realizes that Madrox was an extra-dimensional anomaly and takes him to it's leader, Tony Stark. Tony tells Madrox why this world was such a mess, basically during the House of M, Wanda cast a “No More Humans” spell that decimated the human population, leaving only a few humans left to stand against the rule of the Earth's mutants. Tired of fighting a losing battle, Tony wants to go with Madrox back to the regular 616 Marvel U. Before Madrox can say anything, Tony's office is attacked by Deathlok(actually Steve Rogers!!!) and Mr. Tryp. Tony Iron Man's up and attacks evil cyborg Cap, leaving Madrox to demand answers from Tryp, who he believes knows more about Madrox's trip through the multi-verse than he was letting on. Tryp speaks cryptically, and before Madrox can glean anything useful, he's knocked out the window by Deathlok-Cap and Iron Man, and falls to his death... Or does he?!? I'll answer that one for you, no, he doesn't. Madrox awakens in ANOTHER dimension where it seems Dr. Strange(or possibly Dormammu) had become an evil Sorcerer Supreme, who wanted to kill his disciple, you guessed it, Madrox!

Thoughts: I've said this many a time around here, but it bears repeating... I LOVE alternate dimensional storylines! Especially good alternate dimensional storylines! And this storyline? It definitely fits that bill. Sure, we could have seen some more from the other X-Factor members, especially after last issue's bombshell with Havok and Polaris showing up, but the Madrox story was so good I have no real complaints.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Evil Deathlok-Cap rules all!!!

X-Factor #230

First comic to step in front of X's firing squad tonight? X-Factor, now with added Wolverine!! Yes, he's here too... Well, I have a ton of books to read still, so let's get to it.

X-Factor #230:

What Happened: With Madrox trapped in yet another bizarre alternate dimension(this one with Iron Man robots the size of Sentinels stamping through the streets), X-Factor is falling to pieces as the topic of the day(Layla bringing Guido back from the dead without a soul) is severely dividing the team. While the majority of the team bickers as only X-Factor can, Wolverine meets with Layla in the morgue keeping Madrox's dead body frozen. Wolvie inquires as to why Layla was taking Jamie's death so personal, and she reveals that she had read the journal of her future self(when she was, you know, in the future) and had learned that Guido was supposed to be dead BEFORE the battle with Bloodbath. In other words, Guido not being dead during the Bloodbath battle was most likely what led to reality shifting and Madrox dying(as it were). So in Layla's mind, resurrecting Guido ended up getting Madrox killed. After that cheerful talk, Wolvie heads into X-Factor's offices and discovers the team still arguing amongst themselves. Wolvie tells the team that since he had moved back to the area he wanted to put X-Factor Investigations on retainer since they a) had contacts in the area and b) could deal with weird, off the beaten road type stuff. The team continues to bicker, so Wolvie tells them that they were obviously lacking leadership, what with Madrox being dead and all, and offers to send in some people to help fill the team's leadership void. Naturally, the team balks at the idea of an outsider running things, at least until Havok and Polaris walk in as the leadership Wolvie was talking about(!).

The Good: There was a lot of good here actually. Peter David showed, once again, why he will go down as one of the best comic book writers EVER. The dialogue here was absolutely inspired. Not only that, but he wrote one of the better Wolverine's in quite some time. Wolvie was the perfect mixture of tough-as-nails ass-kicker and respected leader here. The art was crisp and bright. Havok and Polaris returning, although spoiled by Marvel months ago, was still an awesome moment, especially for those of us who read and loved PAD's initial run on X-Factor. I love how PAD is slowly playing out the “Madrox in the other dimensions” stuff.

The Bad: There really wasn't any... I guess there could have been a bit more action. I also wasn't sure why Layla was refusing to leave the morgue.

The Verdict: This was an excellent comic book. Definitely the best one I've read thus far this year. It wasn't perfect, but it was damn close. I honestly don't know how PAD does it... He has a huge cast of characters(at the very least 10) and yet can manage to give every single one of them a bit of time to shine. Seriously, everybody on the team got themselves a little moment of character development! Compare that to Bendis and the Avengers titles, where the characters will either all talk(but say nothing of any importance) or half the team will stand silently in the background, basically as decorations. It's PAD's ability to tell great stories, dole out oftentimes hilarious dialogue AND develop characters, even for a massive team book like this one, that has him near that vaunted Stan Lee territory as the GOAT in my book.

Score: 9 out of 10.This should be great!

X-Factor #229

Happy Christmas Eve everybody! Three comics on tap for tonight, all from Marvel. Thus far this week's comics have been rather underwhelming, so here's hoping things pick up a bit starting............. Now!

X-Factor #229:

What Happened: We finally learn more about that weird scene where we find Madrox standing over the corpses of himself and Layla on their wedding day. It appears that the moment Madrox died at the hands of Bloodbath, he somehow was transported to another dimension, one where he married Layla and Banshee hadn't died. Madrox ends up learning that it wasn't Wolfsbane who committed the murders, but her daughter(remember, in the 616 Marvel U Wolfsbane had a son), who killed Madrox and Layla at the behest of Layla herself(?!?). Wolfsbane's daughter goes to kill Madrox, since she figured she didn't properly kill him back with Layla, but Madrox manages to get away from Wolfsbane's daughter... Only to get run down and killed by a drunken Valerie Cooper... HA!! This issue closes with Madrox waking up near the corpse of another dead Madrox, this time in a apocalyptic looking world.

The Good: As always, Peter David can tell a good story AND manage to throw a couple of legit laughs in there. Val drunkenly running poor Madrox down really made me laugh for some reason... It just made perfect sense in an idiotic way... I THINK I can see Madrox's way out of this and back to his proper dimension already... The Layla who was killed was adamant about Wolfsbane's daughter killing her... Obviously THAT Layla KNEW 616 Madrox would be dying at the same time in the 616, and would somehow end up in her dimension. Is that uber-confusing? God yes... Especially the way I worded it! But I do now kind of/sort of see how Madrox is getting out of this one. I enjoyed the wedding reception and enjoyed seeing Quicksilver, Banshee, and yes, even Shatterstar with his early 90's look.

The Bad: I kind of hope that my theory isn't the way this story winds up heading, because that would make the next few issues as Madrox heads back home kind of anti-climatic for me... Drinking and driving is BAD, Valerie!!

The Verdict: I enjoyed this issue. I really did. The story was strong, the art matched it and as always, the dialogue was top-notch. No real complaints here.

Score: 8 out of 10.That panel with Madrox getting hit by the car and dupes flying everywhere was both horrible and hilarious!

X-Factor #228

Next up, X-Factor. X-Factor is still in it's pre-Regenesis mode, and will be until January(I believe). Then we get Havok and Polaris on the team(HUZZAH!!!), but lose a current member... Will it be Madrox(it sure looks like it...)? Guido? Somebody else? I guess we'll find out pretty soon...

X-Factor #228:

Summary: We get started right where we left off last issue, with Madrox laying dead at the feet of his Bloodbath possessed dupe. The team attacks the Bloodbath dupe, and after a bit of a skirmish, manage to kill the dupe. Which causes Bloodbath to jump back into his original body... Yep, he's not going away easily! Bloodbath heals his original body and attacks the team anew. Meanwhile, Hangman's son, who was rescued from Bloodbath by X-Factor, rushes outside to his father and asks him to assist X-Factor since they were in trouble. Being a criminal, Hangman says nuts to that and is ready to book with his son, at least until the boy asks if Hangman was a hero like his mother had told him or not... Meanwhile, Bloodbath reveals to the team(while beating them up) that Guido didn't have a soul, and that it was probably due to Layla bringing him back from the dead. The team wants to know if this was true, so Layla responds affirmatively. With the cat out of the bag, Layla kneels down next to Madrox and is prepared to bring him back, but first asks if anybody was going to stop her. Banshee tells her to do it while Monet warns her to stop, which is interesting since I'd have expected the two to act opposite to how they did. Bloodbath decides to stop Layla, since he couldn't really harm people without souls, and attacks the team with a renewed vigor. Before he can do anymore damage, Hangman's noose drops around Bloodbath and drags him into the air, at which time Shatterstar decapitates the villain. Unfortunately, Bloodbath hops into Madrox's corpse and throws some taunts at the team, at least until Layla starts an exorcism spell. Bloodbath panics, but is unable to find a body to jump into and is banished back to Hell, where he belongs. With Bloodbath finally gone, Layla tries to bring Madrox back, but discovers that she had waited too long to do the resurrection spell, and as such Madrox was dead for real.

Thoughts: Well this was an action packed little issue, now wasn't it? There was a lot of good here, namely the dialogue(as always), the action, the villain of the piece, Bloodbath, was a great threat who I hope we see again, and the story, while not one of Peter David's best, was solid. Now there were a few things that bugged me, namely the team ceasing their fight with Bloodbath because Bloodbath accused Guido of having no soul... I mean first of all, he's the bad guy, why the hell would you listen to him?! Secondly, who stops a battle to ask a team member if she brought one of their members back from the dead... While the villain is standing RIGHT THERE?! That whole scene seemed forced and would have been better served coming out at a different time, although I get why David did it then and there considering the end of this issue. Still, it seemed woefully out of place. So overall this was a strong comic, one that I can't wait to read the next issue of.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Yeah, let's stop fighting to discuss Guido's soul...

X-Factor #227

Man, I've had quite the row of mediocre comics... Here's hoping the latest issue of X-Factor pulls me out of the rut.

X-Factor #227:

What Happened: The Hangman leads X-Factor to the movie studio where Bloodbath(who is apparently a movie obsessed demon) had taken the Hangman's son. X-Factor enters the studio, but Hangman can't do the same since Bloodbath promised to kill Hangman's son if Hangman stepped foot inside. While X-Factor is debating strategy for finding the captive kid, Bloodbath attacks the team. Wolfsbane and one of Madrox's duplicates sneak off to rescue the kid while the rest of the team take turns being owned by Bloodbath. Wolfsbane and the dupe find the kid, but the kid accidentally shoots and kills the dupe with a gun Bloodbath had left behind. Bloodbath begins to drain the souls from the team, but since Guido apparently doesn't have a soul anymore, he simply walks over to the surprised Bloodbath and beats him to a bloody pulp. From there Wolfsbane arrives with the kid and everything seems to be in order... Until Bloodbath possesses the dupe that was killed earlier and impales Madrox with a blade(!!). This issue ends with Madrox waking up in the image from the future where he was married to Layla after Wolfsbane had attacked and killed the two... What the?!?

The Good: This issue was a very fun read. The cliffhanger was good enough to have me very interested in the follow-up issue. Bloodbath is a villain I wouldn't mind seeing stick around as a reoccurring threat. As always, the dialogue was well done.

The Bad: I have NO idea what the hell the end of this issue meant! Supposedly somebody from this team was going to die before Havok and Polaris rejoin... I REALLY hope Madrox isn't the character to go...

The Verdict: This comic was perfectly acceptable. It wasn't anything special, nor was it anything awful. It WAS better than the past couple of comics I've read, but it was by no means the best issue of this series I've ever read. One thing's for sure, I can't wait for the next issue to find out what the hell was going on at the end of this one!

Score: 7 out of 10.D'oh!!