Let me state right off the bat that I'm totally worn out right now and once I'm done with this review I plan on checking out my online comic shop to place my order at the stroke of midnight(eastern standard time). So expect this review to be short and/or sucky. There, you've been warned. This comic is written by Zeb Wells.
-We start this comic out by learning that Legion's mind seems to have become more frayed than ever before. Now instead of the few split personalities he had running around his head before, he seems to have a small army in there.
-Karma is also in Legion's mind and is also able to speak through Legion's body for as long as she holds a doll(in his subconscious of course).
-Karma hands the doll off to the young girl the New Mutants originally went to Colorado to find and tries to fight off the crazies in Legion's head. Unfortunately the numbers are too much and the crazies defeat her.
-Next the crazies attack the girl and take the doll from her. From there, the crazies take control of Legion's body and have him do all kinds of evil stuff like kill people and attack New Mutants.
-The crazies want to kill Moonstar since she was there during Legion's first appearance in the original New Mutants(well, they didn't exactly explain it like THAT, but that's the gist of it). This issue ends with Moonstar(de-powered from M-Day)locked in a jail cell while Legion begins to stalk her.
And that's that. I realize I didn't really mention the actual members of the New Mutants themselves, mainly because with the exception of Karma they just stood around and looked surprised a lot. This really wasn't a bad comic book, but as a life long x-fan, I'm VERY curious as to how Legion is alive right now. I can't really lose myself in this story until Zeb reveals how/why Legion has returned.
My all-time favorite comic book x-over was the insanely great "Age of Apocalypse". Here's a fun fact, out of the thousands of comics I own, the only one that has a signature from one of its creators is X-Men Omega(Mark Waid's signature graces the cover)which was the end of the AOA epic. In that comic, in order to end the Age of Apocalypse Bishop killed Legion. Whenever any of the main characters from the AOA storyline pop up I usually pay VERY close attention, which is why Legion's unexplained re-appearance is bugging me. Legion HAD to die to conclude the AOA storyline, so I'm quite interested to discover why he's running around now.
One other little thing that I noticed was the fact that Zeb corrected Cannonball's speech in this comic. Last issue Sam was using "I" when referring to himself, in this issue he was back to the correct "Ah". Yeah, it's a little thing, but those little details tend to drive me insane, especially when it has do with a favorite character of mine like Sam. For a score I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10. Hopefully next issue will shine some light onto the hows and whys of Legion's return.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Green Lantern Corps #37
This is one comic I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Peter Tomasi has been doing a truly amazing job since he took over the writing reigns for this book, and I have no reason to believe the great storytelling won't continue with this comic. Now, on with the review!
-This comic begins with Sodam Yat completing his sacrifice and giving his life(?)to turn the sun Daxam revolves around from red to yellow. Why is this significant? Because under the light of a yellow sun, Daxamites gain the same powers as Superman! Now wielding massive powers, the Daxamites who were being forced to serve under Mongul and his faction of the Sinestro Corps want to get revenge. However, Arisia manages to quell the blood lust of the Daximites by explaining to them that they need to train in the usage of their new abilities before they charge headlong into battle. The Daximites agree to follow Arisia and she heads off with them to train.
-From there we find Lantern Ash, the GL who was sent by Scar to find the remains of the Anti-Monitor, battling some space vampires. After finishing off the space vampires, Ash is met by Lantern Saarek, who is able to speak to the spirits of the dead. Saarek tells Ash that he was also sent by Scar to find the husk of the Anti-Monitor and the two decide to travel together.
-Finally we head to Oa where the Green Lantern Corps members are trying to quell a massive prison break that has occurred there. For the most part the battle was a chaotic free-for-all so I really can't explain everything that happened. However, three important events did occur. #1, The Alpha Lanterns were activated in order to regain peace on Oa. #2, Sinestro Corps member Lyssa Drax(she's the Sinestro Corps member who was always carrying around the Book of Parallax)managed to sneak into Scar's private sanctuary where she discovered the Book of the Black. Before Drax could figure out what the meaning of the Book was, Scar snuck up behind her and turned her into a page in the Book(!). Finally, and most importantly, when it looked like the Lanterns were beginning to turn the tide of the battle, Scar decided it was time to open the "door" of Oa. This comic concluded with Scar using her massive powers to begin to literally tear Oa apart!!!
WOW!!! This comic was AMAZING!!! The last issue of this series was extremely good, but I can remember being slightly annoyed by the fact that the prison break on Oa was given so little space. This comic MORE then made up for that! Patrick Gleason, who did the pencils here really put forth a great effort in this book. When Scar raised her hands and all hell began to break loose on Oa, I literally got goosebumps! That scene was just simply awesome.
Usually when I review a comic, I'll say what I liked, then I'll add what I didn't like before I conclude the review with the score. I don't have one single complaint about this comic book. Not one. I can't think of a single thing to quibble about. This was truly a perfect comic book. Um yeah, I think you all know what the score for this comic is going to be. This comic EASILY gets a 10 out of 10 along with my very highest possible recommendation. After reading this comic book, I'm practically salivating with anticipation for the next issue, which should be a direct lead-in to the upcoming DC mega-event "Blackest Night". If you're a fan of DC Comics and have ANY interest at all in Blackest Night, you HAVE to give this comic a shot.
-This comic begins with Sodam Yat completing his sacrifice and giving his life(?)to turn the sun Daxam revolves around from red to yellow. Why is this significant? Because under the light of a yellow sun, Daxamites gain the same powers as Superman! Now wielding massive powers, the Daxamites who were being forced to serve under Mongul and his faction of the Sinestro Corps want to get revenge. However, Arisia manages to quell the blood lust of the Daximites by explaining to them that they need to train in the usage of their new abilities before they charge headlong into battle. The Daximites agree to follow Arisia and she heads off with them to train.
-From there we find Lantern Ash, the GL who was sent by Scar to find the remains of the Anti-Monitor, battling some space vampires. After finishing off the space vampires, Ash is met by Lantern Saarek, who is able to speak to the spirits of the dead. Saarek tells Ash that he was also sent by Scar to find the husk of the Anti-Monitor and the two decide to travel together.
-Finally we head to Oa where the Green Lantern Corps members are trying to quell a massive prison break that has occurred there. For the most part the battle was a chaotic free-for-all so I really can't explain everything that happened. However, three important events did occur. #1, The Alpha Lanterns were activated in order to regain peace on Oa. #2, Sinestro Corps member Lyssa Drax(she's the Sinestro Corps member who was always carrying around the Book of Parallax)managed to sneak into Scar's private sanctuary where she discovered the Book of the Black. Before Drax could figure out what the meaning of the Book was, Scar snuck up behind her and turned her into a page in the Book(!). Finally, and most importantly, when it looked like the Lanterns were beginning to turn the tide of the battle, Scar decided it was time to open the "door" of Oa. This comic concluded with Scar using her massive powers to begin to literally tear Oa apart!!!
WOW!!! This comic was AMAZING!!! The last issue of this series was extremely good, but I can remember being slightly annoyed by the fact that the prison break on Oa was given so little space. This comic MORE then made up for that! Patrick Gleason, who did the pencils here really put forth a great effort in this book. When Scar raised her hands and all hell began to break loose on Oa, I literally got goosebumps! That scene was just simply awesome.
Usually when I review a comic, I'll say what I liked, then I'll add what I didn't like before I conclude the review with the score. I don't have one single complaint about this comic book. Not one. I can't think of a single thing to quibble about. This was truly a perfect comic book. Um yeah, I think you all know what the score for this comic is going to be. This comic EASILY gets a 10 out of 10 along with my very highest possible recommendation. After reading this comic book, I'm practically salivating with anticipation for the next issue, which should be a direct lead-in to the upcoming DC mega-event "Blackest Night". If you're a fan of DC Comics and have ANY interest at all in Blackest Night, you HAVE to give this comic a shot.
Flash: Rebirth #3 + a rant on all things Flash
Once I saw this comic in my mailbox today, it automatically rocketed right to the top of my must read pile. I'm not going to make any comments yet, because I figure I'm going to have A LOT to say about this book after I give it a read. For the record, this comic is written by the awesome Geoff Johns.
-This issue begins with some cryptic stuff between someone and probably Abra Kadabra. The mystery man and Abra seem to fight, but we never find out exactly what happened... Mysterious!
-The scene shifts to the JSA headquarters where Liberty Belle is looking at statues of her parents. Suddenly the air crackles and Belle sees her father Johnny Quick seemingly asking Barry Allen to spare his daughter. Johnny then vanishes as abruptly as he appeared... Ah, mystery squared!
-From that "happy" scene we head to Iowa where Barry Allen has been placed in a containment unit while members of the JLA and the JSA try to figure out a way to cure him of his current Black Flash state. Wally tries to keep Barry's spirits up, but Barry is still dealing with his bout of self-loathing.
-Next Jay tries to cheer Barry up, but once again, no sale. Finally Bart shows up and inquires about the whereabouts of Max Mercury. After thinking MORE depressed thoughts upon seeing Bart, Barry tells Bart he doesn't know what happened to Max. Wow, and I thought Prince Hamlet was melancholy!
-Hal then brings Iris to the doom and gloom party and she tries to talk some sense into Barry. After listening to Iris, Barry suddenly experiences another pull from the Speed Force and urges the speedsters to get away from him before the Black Flash claims them.
-Hal, Wonder Woman and Superman(hey, shouldn't he be on New Krypton?)grab Barry's containment unit and fly him away from the others. At this point, lightning begins to rain down from the heavens in an attempt to strike Barry, but WW and Supes take care of that. After checking with Hal and making sure nobody was following him, Barry runs away.
-Supes pursues Barry, and Barry tells Supes the only sane thing for him to do is to return to the Speed Force before he hurts/kills someone he cares about. Needless to say, Supes tells Barry he would never allow him to basically commit suicide, but Barry tells Supes it's his decision, before leaving Supes in the dust.
-Barry begins to run as fast as he can and begins to cross through time and space, running backwards through his life before making his way back into the Speed Force, where he discovers Johnny Quick and Max Mercury. Johnny grabs Barry and winds up dying like the other speedsters who have touched Barry. Max grabs Barry's boot, against Barry's pleading, and the two of them are transported to the Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom, who it would seem is behind Barry's current predicament.
Hmm, hmm, hmm... What to say... First off, I should say that this comic was a real page turner. I really couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. Geoff really did a magnificent job of instilling some great suspense in this comic. The story was sound, and the artwork kept right up.
However, I have to say much of this comic bothered me. A lot. Now, before anybody flips out, accuses me of blasphemy, or puts a voodoo curse on me, allow me to explain. I don't like Barry Allen. Prior to his return in Final Crisis, I had very basic knowledge of Barry. Obviously I knew he was the Flash prior to Wally West, I knew he was married to Iris, I knew he was a cop, and I knew he died in a very heroic fashion. I understood all of Barry's familial connections(the Tornado Twins, Bart, etc.)and stuff like that, but I didn't really know much about Barry himself. Most of my ideas about WHO Barry Allen is is coming from this series, and for whatever reason, Geoff is writing Barry in a very whiny, almost unlikable way(to me anyway). I get it already. Things didn't turn out the way Barry expected. It seems like he still wants to be dead or in the Speed Force, or whatever the hell happens to deceased speedsters. For a guy who gained a second chance at life, Barry seems really unhappy, annoyingly so.
My other major problem comes from the "big" reveal at the end of this comic, that the Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom seems to be behind all of Barry's recent misfortune. Ever since the events of Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge, I knew the Reverse Flash would be returning along with Barry. How did I know? The way Geoff wrote out the current Zoom in that comic told me exactly what would wind up happening. I liked Zoom(Hunter Zolomon). He was a very interesting, well-written character. Now he's confined in a wheelchair so a character who's been dead for what, 20-30 years can take over the Zoom costume/name? Ugh, enough already. I've already stated my displeasure about Barry replacing Wally as the Flash, but now we're also going to bring back all of Barry's foes as well? I guess the current Trickster will be the next to go when the old Trickster returns to plague Barry.
Let me dial back the anger a bit here before I continue. I still consider Geoff Johns to be one of the top comic book writers in the business today. I love Geoff's work 99.999% of the time, but this series is just pissing me off... No matter what, Wally West did indeed exist! There was a Flash comic that ran from 1987 to 2009. Wally did a fantastic job replacing Barry Allen in those comic books. I know, I have most of that series. I guess that's the problem. Where I like the Wally West Flash, Geoff Johns is obviously a huge fan of the Barry Allen Flash. As weird and backwards as it may sound, I see Barry Allen as an impostor, one who is usurping Wally's position as the Flash. Yes, I know, Barry was the Flash before Wally was, so it's asinine to imply that Barry is stealing anything from Wally, but for practically my entire life, Wally WAS the Flash.
I have to admit, I really don't know what kind of a score I should give this comic book. On one hand, it was a real page turner, and a great read. But on the other hand, after finishing it I was really pissed... For a score I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was a very good comic that I'd recommend to anybody, however it just didn't ring true for me.
-This issue begins with some cryptic stuff between someone and probably Abra Kadabra. The mystery man and Abra seem to fight, but we never find out exactly what happened... Mysterious!
-The scene shifts to the JSA headquarters where Liberty Belle is looking at statues of her parents. Suddenly the air crackles and Belle sees her father Johnny Quick seemingly asking Barry Allen to spare his daughter. Johnny then vanishes as abruptly as he appeared... Ah, mystery squared!
-From that "happy" scene we head to Iowa where Barry Allen has been placed in a containment unit while members of the JLA and the JSA try to figure out a way to cure him of his current Black Flash state. Wally tries to keep Barry's spirits up, but Barry is still dealing with his bout of self-loathing.
-Next Jay tries to cheer Barry up, but once again, no sale. Finally Bart shows up and inquires about the whereabouts of Max Mercury. After thinking MORE depressed thoughts upon seeing Bart, Barry tells Bart he doesn't know what happened to Max. Wow, and I thought Prince Hamlet was melancholy!
-Hal then brings Iris to the doom and gloom party and she tries to talk some sense into Barry. After listening to Iris, Barry suddenly experiences another pull from the Speed Force and urges the speedsters to get away from him before the Black Flash claims them.
-Hal, Wonder Woman and Superman(hey, shouldn't he be on New Krypton?)grab Barry's containment unit and fly him away from the others. At this point, lightning begins to rain down from the heavens in an attempt to strike Barry, but WW and Supes take care of that. After checking with Hal and making sure nobody was following him, Barry runs away.
-Supes pursues Barry, and Barry tells Supes the only sane thing for him to do is to return to the Speed Force before he hurts/kills someone he cares about. Needless to say, Supes tells Barry he would never allow him to basically commit suicide, but Barry tells Supes it's his decision, before leaving Supes in the dust.
-Barry begins to run as fast as he can and begins to cross through time and space, running backwards through his life before making his way back into the Speed Force, where he discovers Johnny Quick and Max Mercury. Johnny grabs Barry and winds up dying like the other speedsters who have touched Barry. Max grabs Barry's boot, against Barry's pleading, and the two of them are transported to the Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom, who it would seem is behind Barry's current predicament.
Hmm, hmm, hmm... What to say... First off, I should say that this comic was a real page turner. I really couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. Geoff really did a magnificent job of instilling some great suspense in this comic. The story was sound, and the artwork kept right up.
However, I have to say much of this comic bothered me. A lot. Now, before anybody flips out, accuses me of blasphemy, or puts a voodoo curse on me, allow me to explain. I don't like Barry Allen. Prior to his return in Final Crisis, I had very basic knowledge of Barry. Obviously I knew he was the Flash prior to Wally West, I knew he was married to Iris, I knew he was a cop, and I knew he died in a very heroic fashion. I understood all of Barry's familial connections(the Tornado Twins, Bart, etc.)and stuff like that, but I didn't really know much about Barry himself. Most of my ideas about WHO Barry Allen is is coming from this series, and for whatever reason, Geoff is writing Barry in a very whiny, almost unlikable way(to me anyway). I get it already. Things didn't turn out the way Barry expected. It seems like he still wants to be dead or in the Speed Force, or whatever the hell happens to deceased speedsters. For a guy who gained a second chance at life, Barry seems really unhappy, annoyingly so.
My other major problem comes from the "big" reveal at the end of this comic, that the Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom seems to be behind all of Barry's recent misfortune. Ever since the events of Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge, I knew the Reverse Flash would be returning along with Barry. How did I know? The way Geoff wrote out the current Zoom in that comic told me exactly what would wind up happening. I liked Zoom(Hunter Zolomon). He was a very interesting, well-written character. Now he's confined in a wheelchair so a character who's been dead for what, 20-30 years can take over the Zoom costume/name? Ugh, enough already. I've already stated my displeasure about Barry replacing Wally as the Flash, but now we're also going to bring back all of Barry's foes as well? I guess the current Trickster will be the next to go when the old Trickster returns to plague Barry.
Let me dial back the anger a bit here before I continue. I still consider Geoff Johns to be one of the top comic book writers in the business today. I love Geoff's work 99.999% of the time, but this series is just pissing me off... No matter what, Wally West did indeed exist! There was a Flash comic that ran from 1987 to 2009. Wally did a fantastic job replacing Barry Allen in those comic books. I know, I have most of that series. I guess that's the problem. Where I like the Wally West Flash, Geoff Johns is obviously a huge fan of the Barry Allen Flash. As weird and backwards as it may sound, I see Barry Allen as an impostor, one who is usurping Wally's position as the Flash. Yes, I know, Barry was the Flash before Wally was, so it's asinine to imply that Barry is stealing anything from Wally, but for practically my entire life, Wally WAS the Flash.
I have to admit, I really don't know what kind of a score I should give this comic book. On one hand, it was a real page turner, and a great read. But on the other hand, after finishing it I was really pissed... For a score I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was a very good comic that I'd recommend to anybody, however it just didn't ring true for me.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Battle for the Cowl: Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? #1
That's one hell of a long title! I'll give this a read before I head over to the other blog tonight. I'm honestly not expecting much from this comic, I can vaguely recall not liking "Batman Dead", which was the first part of this mini. This comic is written by Fabian Nicieza, a childhood favorite of mine.
-There really isn't all that much to review here actually. This comic is basically a set-up issue for the various Bat-comics spinning out of the "Battle for the Cowl" storyline.
-Harvey Bullock will be chasing after Azrael in the upcoming Azrael comic book.
-Leslie Thompkins is trying to restart her clinic in Gotham after that dumb Spoiler/Africa business. She also has the criminal formerly known as the Cavalier serving as her bodyguard.
-Spoiler and Tim Drake/Wayne are still dancing around each other. I'm sure that they'll be more of that in the new Red Robin comic... Well, unless Chris Yost kills them both off, which IS a pretty strong possibility.
-And finally Vicki Vale has managed to figure out the identities of all of the main members of the Bat-family. Wha-huh?!? Yep, that's right. After spotting Tim's cut up face(thanks to Jason Todd)at a police ball, she remembered Bruce explaining away injuries he had recieved as Batman from playing polo. She then picked up on the obvious sexual tension between Babs and Dick, and after arriving home, she began comparing pictures of the various Bat-people to their alter-egos. Although she seems to believe her theory, she realizes that proving it will be a whole other story.
For a comic that was only loosely tied together, this was a pretty enjoyable book. The Vicki Vale story stole the show(for obvious reasons), but the other stories weren't half bad. For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10. I'd give this comic a slight recommendation just to check out the Vicki Vale part.
-There really isn't all that much to review here actually. This comic is basically a set-up issue for the various Bat-comics spinning out of the "Battle for the Cowl" storyline.
-Harvey Bullock will be chasing after Azrael in the upcoming Azrael comic book.
-Leslie Thompkins is trying to restart her clinic in Gotham after that dumb Spoiler/Africa business. She also has the criminal formerly known as the Cavalier serving as her bodyguard.
-Spoiler and Tim Drake/Wayne are still dancing around each other. I'm sure that they'll be more of that in the new Red Robin comic... Well, unless Chris Yost kills them both off, which IS a pretty strong possibility.
-And finally Vicki Vale has managed to figure out the identities of all of the main members of the Bat-family. Wha-huh?!? Yep, that's right. After spotting Tim's cut up face(thanks to Jason Todd)at a police ball, she remembered Bruce explaining away injuries he had recieved as Batman from playing polo. She then picked up on the obvious sexual tension between Babs and Dick, and after arriving home, she began comparing pictures of the various Bat-people to their alter-egos. Although she seems to believe her theory, she realizes that proving it will be a whole other story.
For a comic that was only loosely tied together, this was a pretty enjoyable book. The Vicki Vale story stole the show(for obvious reasons), but the other stories weren't half bad. For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10. I'd give this comic a slight recommendation just to check out the Vicki Vale part.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Secret Six #10
I'll start this review off by stating that I really haven't been blown away by Gail Simone's work on this series thus far. I LOVED "Villains United" as well as the Secret Six mini-series follow-up, but this series just hasn't grabbed me in the way I'd hoped it would. That's not to say this series has been awful, it's been consistantly decent to good, but it just hasn't been up to the high caliber of those prior series'. Anyway, this issue marks the start of a new storyline, so hopefully Gail can make this comic as scorching hot as she's made Wonder Woman. Now, on with the review!
-This comic begins by introducing us to a guy named Mr. Smyth, who appears to hold a number of slaves. Basically Smyth is pure evil, but he does dress rather well. That's all you need to know about him for now.
-From there we head to Bane's bedroom where he is having some wicked bad dreams. After he awakens, he heads to his bathroom to shoot up some Venom to calm himself. Upon entering the bedroom, Bane spots Scandal sitting there holding the Venom. Scandal tells Bane that she'll give him the Venom if that's what he really craves, or she'll help him kick the cravings. Bane decides not to take the Venom and Scandal hops into Bane's bed, telling him she won't leave him until the morning.
-Next we move to Ireland where Deadshot and the Banshee woman(hopefully she'll get a proper nickname soon)are waiting on some clients. The clients turn out to be Mr. Smyth and his goons. Smyth tells Deadshot he works for Mockingbird(really?!?). Upon hearing that, Deadshot agrees to work for Smyth.
-The Six, along with Smyth's goons, wind up taking a plane(along with some type of big bio-hazard container)to some place called Devil's Island. After an emergency landing, the team runs into armed rebels and after a brief battle, the rebels retreat. After the rebels leave, Smyth arrives and tells a woman he'd been keeping as a slave to run for her freedom. After the woman makes a break for it, Smyth tells Deadshot(who didn't see the woman arrive with Smyth)that the woman was an escaped prisoner and to kill her. Deadshot shoots the woman with little hesitation and Scandal checks the body and realizes that Deadshot just killed a slave who was being used for hard labor. This issue ends with the Six realizing that they are now working for slavers.
-After this comic ended there was a five page preview for the upcoming mini-series called "Justice League: A Cry for Justice". The artwork looked great, and the writer was James Robinson... Needless to say I am EAGERLY awaiting July 1st, the day this book comes out.
I've got to say, this issue was pretty good. I enjoyed this issue more than practically any issue of this series to date. The thing that really piqued my interest the most was the mention of Mockingbird. The last Mockingbird(if memory serves me correctly)was Lex Luthor, who was the mysterious leader of the Six back when his son from Earth-3 had usurped Lex's position in the Secret Society of Villains. With Lex currently slaving away for Gen. Lane in the Superman books, I really doubt that Lex is the Mockingbird Smyth was talking about. So, the question then becomes who is this new Mockingbird? My guess? Um, I don't really have one right now... All I know is that it's probably not Lex. So long as it's not that goddamn Mad Hatter, I'll be fine.
Although I did enjoy this comic, the ending kind of bothered/confused me. Why is the Six upset that Deadshot offed that slave woman? All of a sudden they're a scrupulous bunch? Deadshot is a mercenary. He kills people. That's his job! THIS fact surprised the rest of the team? For real??? For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. Besides the weak ending, this was a pretty good comic, one I'd have no problem recommending.
-This comic begins by introducing us to a guy named Mr. Smyth, who appears to hold a number of slaves. Basically Smyth is pure evil, but he does dress rather well. That's all you need to know about him for now.
-From there we head to Bane's bedroom where he is having some wicked bad dreams. After he awakens, he heads to his bathroom to shoot up some Venom to calm himself. Upon entering the bedroom, Bane spots Scandal sitting there holding the Venom. Scandal tells Bane that she'll give him the Venom if that's what he really craves, or she'll help him kick the cravings. Bane decides not to take the Venom and Scandal hops into Bane's bed, telling him she won't leave him until the morning.
-Next we move to Ireland where Deadshot and the Banshee woman(hopefully she'll get a proper nickname soon)are waiting on some clients. The clients turn out to be Mr. Smyth and his goons. Smyth tells Deadshot he works for Mockingbird(really?!?). Upon hearing that, Deadshot agrees to work for Smyth.
-The Six, along with Smyth's goons, wind up taking a plane(along with some type of big bio-hazard container)to some place called Devil's Island. After an emergency landing, the team runs into armed rebels and after a brief battle, the rebels retreat. After the rebels leave, Smyth arrives and tells a woman he'd been keeping as a slave to run for her freedom. After the woman makes a break for it, Smyth tells Deadshot(who didn't see the woman arrive with Smyth)that the woman was an escaped prisoner and to kill her. Deadshot shoots the woman with little hesitation and Scandal checks the body and realizes that Deadshot just killed a slave who was being used for hard labor. This issue ends with the Six realizing that they are now working for slavers.
-After this comic ended there was a five page preview for the upcoming mini-series called "Justice League: A Cry for Justice". The artwork looked great, and the writer was James Robinson... Needless to say I am EAGERLY awaiting July 1st, the day this book comes out.
I've got to say, this issue was pretty good. I enjoyed this issue more than practically any issue of this series to date. The thing that really piqued my interest the most was the mention of Mockingbird. The last Mockingbird(if memory serves me correctly)was Lex Luthor, who was the mysterious leader of the Six back when his son from Earth-3 had usurped Lex's position in the Secret Society of Villains. With Lex currently slaving away for Gen. Lane in the Superman books, I really doubt that Lex is the Mockingbird Smyth was talking about. So, the question then becomes who is this new Mockingbird? My guess? Um, I don't really have one right now... All I know is that it's probably not Lex. So long as it's not that goddamn Mad Hatter, I'll be fine.
Although I did enjoy this comic, the ending kind of bothered/confused me. Why is the Six upset that Deadshot offed that slave woman? All of a sudden they're a scrupulous bunch? Deadshot is a mercenary. He kills people. That's his job! THIS fact surprised the rest of the team? For real??? For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. Besides the weak ending, this was a pretty good comic, one I'd have no problem recommending.
Superman #688
On tonight's agenda we have the most recent issue of Superman. This series stars Supes pal, Mon-El and is written by the awesome James Robinson. Now that James is back at DC full time, I for one would love if he'd revisit Starman or the Shade(THE greatest supporting character in ANY comic book). Well, enough of that, here's the review.
-This comic opens by following up on the events of last issue(makes sense, right?), with Mon-El falling from the sky into the Bay in Metropolis. It seems that Mon's powers have mysteriously left him and he doesn't know how to swim. Luckily for Mon, Guardian was in the area and saves Mon from his watery grave.
-Upon reaching the surface of the water, Mon's powers return as mysteriously as they left him. As Mon and Guardian decide what to do about the sudden loss of power, the Squad K losers show up and are subsequently defeated.
-Guardian takes Mon to STAR Labs and after an examination from Dr. Light, Mon finds out that the elixir from the future that he drank, the one that is holding his lead poisoning at bay, is being attacked by his super-powers, which think the elixir is a dangerous foreign entity plaguing his body. In return, the elixir is attacking his super-powers, which explains why his powers momentarily left him. Whew. The bottom line here is that due to the turmoil within his body Dr. Light gives Mon 12 to 18 months to live.
-After leaving, Guardian asks Mon what he's going to do now, and Mon states that he promised Supes he would look after Metropolis, and that's exactly what he intends on doing, to the bitter end.
-Later in the day, Mon(in his other identity of Jon Kent)and Guardian, along with some other members of the Science Police, break that weird creature, the telepathic one with the Legion flight ring, out of the facility that was holding it captive. As they are leaving with the creature, they come across Codename: Assassin. Assassin tries to get into Guardian's head, but the creature prevents it and Guardian and Mon leave an upset Assassin behind.
-Assassin reports what happened to Gen. Lane, who tells Assassin to let the situation alone for now. Lane does tell Assassin that he will get his shot at Guardian down the road, as well as making cryptic threats about Guardian's "daughter".
-This issue ends with Mon visiting Paris and realizing that there is still a lot he wants to do with his life, and that he isn't ready to die yet.
What a wonderful comic this was. THIS is why I love James' work. I'm not sure that any other comic writer(maybe Ed Brubaker)can develop characters as brilliantly as James can. After reading this comic, how can you not like Mon-El? Although he is dying, through no fault of his own, he still insists on carrying out with the promise he made to Supes. Besides that, James also played up the stranger in a strange land aspect of Mon's character with great success.
The subplot with Guardian and the creature is interesting, mainly due to the fact that the creature is wearing a Legion ring. I'm not sure if that creature has appeared before(it may have, my knowledge of the DCU isn't complete yet), but I for one can't wait to find out more about it.
This comic was practically perfect... With the exception of the pseudo-showdown between Guardian and Assassin. After reading the "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olson Special" I was really expecting a LOT more between these two considering it was Assassin who killed the original Guardian at Project Cadmus. I guess the stare down will build anticipation for the next time these two meet, but you'd think Guardian would want to tear Assassin apart, or that Assassin would make a move to stop Guardian from stealing the creature... I guess not.
For a score this comic gets a very easy 9 1/2 out of 10. I was toying with giving this book a perfect score, but the lack of action between Assassin and Guardian really bothered me. This comic gets my very highest recommendation though.
-This comic opens by following up on the events of last issue(makes sense, right?), with Mon-El falling from the sky into the Bay in Metropolis. It seems that Mon's powers have mysteriously left him and he doesn't know how to swim. Luckily for Mon, Guardian was in the area and saves Mon from his watery grave.
-Upon reaching the surface of the water, Mon's powers return as mysteriously as they left him. As Mon and Guardian decide what to do about the sudden loss of power, the Squad K losers show up and are subsequently defeated.
-Guardian takes Mon to STAR Labs and after an examination from Dr. Light, Mon finds out that the elixir from the future that he drank, the one that is holding his lead poisoning at bay, is being attacked by his super-powers, which think the elixir is a dangerous foreign entity plaguing his body. In return, the elixir is attacking his super-powers, which explains why his powers momentarily left him. Whew. The bottom line here is that due to the turmoil within his body Dr. Light gives Mon 12 to 18 months to live.
-After leaving, Guardian asks Mon what he's going to do now, and Mon states that he promised Supes he would look after Metropolis, and that's exactly what he intends on doing, to the bitter end.
-Later in the day, Mon(in his other identity of Jon Kent)and Guardian, along with some other members of the Science Police, break that weird creature, the telepathic one with the Legion flight ring, out of the facility that was holding it captive. As they are leaving with the creature, they come across Codename: Assassin. Assassin tries to get into Guardian's head, but the creature prevents it and Guardian and Mon leave an upset Assassin behind.
-Assassin reports what happened to Gen. Lane, who tells Assassin to let the situation alone for now. Lane does tell Assassin that he will get his shot at Guardian down the road, as well as making cryptic threats about Guardian's "daughter".
-This issue ends with Mon visiting Paris and realizing that there is still a lot he wants to do with his life, and that he isn't ready to die yet.
What a wonderful comic this was. THIS is why I love James' work. I'm not sure that any other comic writer(maybe Ed Brubaker)can develop characters as brilliantly as James can. After reading this comic, how can you not like Mon-El? Although he is dying, through no fault of his own, he still insists on carrying out with the promise he made to Supes. Besides that, James also played up the stranger in a strange land aspect of Mon's character with great success.
The subplot with Guardian and the creature is interesting, mainly due to the fact that the creature is wearing a Legion ring. I'm not sure if that creature has appeared before(it may have, my knowledge of the DCU isn't complete yet), but I for one can't wait to find out more about it.
This comic was practically perfect... With the exception of the pseudo-showdown between Guardian and Assassin. After reading the "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olson Special" I was really expecting a LOT more between these two considering it was Assassin who killed the original Guardian at Project Cadmus. I guess the stare down will build anticipation for the next time these two meet, but you'd think Guardian would want to tear Assassin apart, or that Assassin would make a move to stop Guardian from stealing the creature... I guess not.
For a score this comic gets a very easy 9 1/2 out of 10. I was toying with giving this book a perfect score, but the lack of action between Assassin and Guardian really bothered me. This comic gets my very highest recommendation though.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Nova #25
This is one of those comic books I've been waiting all month to get my hands on. For the record, this is a "War of Kings" x-over issue and is written by the always brilliant team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
-This issue begins the way the last one ended, with Ego/Worldmind beating the holy hell out of Rich, who is currently in possession of the Quantum Bands of Quasar since he is no longer a Nova centurion. Rich tries to fight back(UNsucessfully)until the ghost of Quasar arrives on the scene to help. Quasar explains to Rich that the Quantum Bands are not really supposed to be used as weapons of blunt physical force, they need to be used on all levels, not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually as well.
-Rich manages to create a sanctuary for himself with the Bands and grabs a breather while trying to figure out what to do next.
-While this is occurring, Rich's brother Robbie decides to leave the control center where he was stationed by Worldmind and charges towards the scene of the conflict between the Shi'ar and the Kree in order to help any centurions captured by the Shi'ar.
-While Rich is pondering how to help Worldmind, Worldmind sends two avatars from Rich's past to help him in the form of Ko-Rel, the Kree woman who took the role of Nova while Rich was infected by the Phalanx and Rhomann Dey, who was the centurion who originally recruited Rich into the Nova Corps. Oh, and they're both dead. Just figured I'd get that out of the way.
-The two avatars explain to Rich that the problem here is the fact that Worldmind went insane, and then was corrupted by Ego. It seems that while Worldmind was trying to keep Rich sane while he was carrying around the totality of the Nova Force(remember, a human mind isn't supposed to be able to hold the entire Force)Worldmind wound up going crazy from the strain of helping Rich. The avatars conclude the conversation by explaining to Rich that he has to retake the Nova Force into himself, so that Ego can be purged from Worldmind and Worldmind can be rebooted.
-By this point Ego has broken into Rich's sanctuary and Rich turns tail and runs, trying to reach the main control hub of Ego in order to re-access the Nova Force. Rich winds up reaching the hub, but Ego takes control of all of the Nova centurions present and sends them all after Rich.
-Rich realizes that there is NO way he can defeat Ego plus a mess of centurions, so he makes a last ditch effort to reach Worldmind's personality by telling Ego/Worldmind that all along everything Worldmind has done has been in an effort to save Rich's life. Ergo, killing Rich would be contrary to Worldmind's original intentions. This logic causes Ego/Worldmind to freeze and gives Rich the time he needs to re-access the Nova Force.
-Rich returns the Quantum Bands to Quasar's ghost and hits Ego with a blast so powerful that it basically lobotomizes Ego. With Ego finally gone, Worldmind reappears to Rich and explains that after being corrupted by Ego the the personality guide(that creepy head that talks to Rich)would have to be deleted. Rich is obviously upset about this turn of events(that guide had become his friend!)and after some flowery words from Worldmind it deletes itself and uploads a new guide for Rich. The new guide? The Kree woman from earlier, Ko-Rel!
-This issue concludes with the previous Nova Prime, Malik Tarcel being tortured by Emperor Vulcan of the Shi'ar. After Vulcan has had his fun, he leaves Tarcel hanging from some chains in a prison cell. Garthan Saal, Rich's enemy from the old Nova series, shows up to rescue Tarcel from his predicament.
I'm a bit conflicted regarding how I felt about this comic. On the one hand, Rich is once again the Nova Prime, but on the other hand the original Worldmind is gone. I have to admit I really liked that bossy bastard! I'll miss you original Worldmind.
The next issue should deal with the newly re-powered Rich taking off after his brother in an attempt to save him before he runs into the deadly menace that is the Shi'ar. Plus Garthan Saal is back. Jeez, I think the last time Garthan was around was when he took Rich's place on the original New Warriors. It's been a while since I read those comics, so my memory may be somewhat off, but Garthan was the person before Rich to house the entire Nova Force in his body and wound up going totally insane from it. Personally, I'd love to see Andy and Dan craft Garthan into a Sinestro type of character. That's really the one thing Nova is missing, a recurring thorn in his side. For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was definitely a good comic book, one I'd have no problem recommending, but not quite at the level of greatness this series has attained before.
-This issue begins the way the last one ended, with Ego/Worldmind beating the holy hell out of Rich, who is currently in possession of the Quantum Bands of Quasar since he is no longer a Nova centurion. Rich tries to fight back(UNsucessfully)until the ghost of Quasar arrives on the scene to help. Quasar explains to Rich that the Quantum Bands are not really supposed to be used as weapons of blunt physical force, they need to be used on all levels, not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually as well.
-Rich manages to create a sanctuary for himself with the Bands and grabs a breather while trying to figure out what to do next.
-While this is occurring, Rich's brother Robbie decides to leave the control center where he was stationed by Worldmind and charges towards the scene of the conflict between the Shi'ar and the Kree in order to help any centurions captured by the Shi'ar.
-While Rich is pondering how to help Worldmind, Worldmind sends two avatars from Rich's past to help him in the form of Ko-Rel, the Kree woman who took the role of Nova while Rich was infected by the Phalanx and Rhomann Dey, who was the centurion who originally recruited Rich into the Nova Corps. Oh, and they're both dead. Just figured I'd get that out of the way.
-The two avatars explain to Rich that the problem here is the fact that Worldmind went insane, and then was corrupted by Ego. It seems that while Worldmind was trying to keep Rich sane while he was carrying around the totality of the Nova Force(remember, a human mind isn't supposed to be able to hold the entire Force)Worldmind wound up going crazy from the strain of helping Rich. The avatars conclude the conversation by explaining to Rich that he has to retake the Nova Force into himself, so that Ego can be purged from Worldmind and Worldmind can be rebooted.
-By this point Ego has broken into Rich's sanctuary and Rich turns tail and runs, trying to reach the main control hub of Ego in order to re-access the Nova Force. Rich winds up reaching the hub, but Ego takes control of all of the Nova centurions present and sends them all after Rich.
-Rich realizes that there is NO way he can defeat Ego plus a mess of centurions, so he makes a last ditch effort to reach Worldmind's personality by telling Ego/Worldmind that all along everything Worldmind has done has been in an effort to save Rich's life. Ergo, killing Rich would be contrary to Worldmind's original intentions. This logic causes Ego/Worldmind to freeze and gives Rich the time he needs to re-access the Nova Force.
-Rich returns the Quantum Bands to Quasar's ghost and hits Ego with a blast so powerful that it basically lobotomizes Ego. With Ego finally gone, Worldmind reappears to Rich and explains that after being corrupted by Ego the the personality guide(that creepy head that talks to Rich)would have to be deleted. Rich is obviously upset about this turn of events(that guide had become his friend!)and after some flowery words from Worldmind it deletes itself and uploads a new guide for Rich. The new guide? The Kree woman from earlier, Ko-Rel!
-This issue concludes with the previous Nova Prime, Malik Tarcel being tortured by Emperor Vulcan of the Shi'ar. After Vulcan has had his fun, he leaves Tarcel hanging from some chains in a prison cell. Garthan Saal, Rich's enemy from the old Nova series, shows up to rescue Tarcel from his predicament.
I'm a bit conflicted regarding how I felt about this comic. On the one hand, Rich is once again the Nova Prime, but on the other hand the original Worldmind is gone. I have to admit I really liked that bossy bastard! I'll miss you original Worldmind.
The next issue should deal with the newly re-powered Rich taking off after his brother in an attempt to save him before he runs into the deadly menace that is the Shi'ar. Plus Garthan Saal is back. Jeez, I think the last time Garthan was around was when he took Rich's place on the original New Warriors. It's been a while since I read those comics, so my memory may be somewhat off, but Garthan was the person before Rich to house the entire Nova Force in his body and wound up going totally insane from it. Personally, I'd love to see Andy and Dan craft Garthan into a Sinestro type of character. That's really the one thing Nova is missing, a recurring thorn in his side. For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was definitely a good comic book, one I'd have no problem recommending, but not quite at the level of greatness this series has attained before.
Superman: World of New Krypton #4
A couple of new comics arrived in the mail today, and after some deliberation I decided to give this comic a read first, mainly because of the cover. Now I know the scene on the cover almost definitely won't be inside, but still that cover won me over. This issue was written by the excellent team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka.
-We open the festivities here with Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Sodam Yat of the Green Lantern Corps visiting Supes on New Krypton as a part of a fact finding mission for the Guardians. General Zod arrives on the scene which pisses Hal off(although to be honest, what DOESN'T piss Hal off lately?). Zod gives Supes the OK to show the Lanterns around, stating that the Kryptonians have nothing to hide from the Lanterns, nor anything to fear.
-Supes, along with his buddy from the labor guild, proceeds to show the Lanterns around the planet until Supes is called away on military business.
-Zod informs Supes that some of the criminals that were banished to the Phantom Zone have escaped and are running amok on New Krypton. Zod orders Supes to have his unit maintain the perimeter around the operation site, but not to actively take part in the operation. Zod also tells Supes that his Lantern friends can observe the operation, so they can learn how Kryptonians deal with criminals.
-The operation site is a space craft building facility which doesn't sit well with Supes or the Lanterns. According to Supes labor guild buddy the ships are being built by Zod and Alura just in case the Kryptonians need them for defensive purposes. HA! After witnessing an explosion, Supes and his unit(along with the Lanterns)respond and discover the criminal was trying to steal one of the ships to escape. Hal's ring alerts him to the fact that the Kryptonian criminal is wanted by the Green Lantern Corps, so the Lanterns decide to take an active role in the capture.
-Supes and the Lanterns take the point, and the members of Supes unit hang back as per Supes orders. While Supes is pursuing the criminal, Zod secretly contacts the second in command in Supes unit and orders her to execute the criminal upon capture. Hal's ring intercepts the transmission and Supes tells his second to disregard Zod's order.
-Supes directs the criminal towards his unit and Supes second secures him, as per Supes orders. Supes prepares to hand the criminal over to the Lanterns for transport back to Oa, but Zod arrives and tells the Lanterns that New Krypton has no extradition treaty with the GLC, so any attempt by the Lanterns to take the criminal off of New Krypton will be looked at as an act of war. Hal gets pissed(naturally)but John calms him down, explaining that Zod is absolutely right. Zod does promise Hal that he won't harm the criminal and that the GLC can have him when the Kryptonians are done with him. Hal(still miffed)leaves to give the Guardians his findings.
-This issue concludes with Supes and his second visiting the captured criminal and discovering, to Supes surprise, that the criminal was unharmed, just as Zod had promised Hal. Zod arrives and tells Supes and his second that they are both under arrest for treason. I guess Supes shouldn't have rescinded Zod's orders, huh?
As usual, this was another excellent issue of this series. With the writing team here though, what do I expect? The GL stuff was excellently done(Hal was hotheaded, while John was the voice of reason), and the ending was a bit of a surprise(even though Supes sure did have it coming!). Now since I'm sure Supes won't be rotting in a jail cell somewhere, my guess is that Zod will take out Supes inability to follow orders on his second instead. I'm also guessing that the revelation concerning Zod's space ships will be playing a major role down the road in this series. That's pretty much all I have to say here. I really don't have a single critique to voice. For a score I'll give this comic a very strong 9 1/2 out of 10 along with a huge recommendation.
-We open the festivities here with Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Sodam Yat of the Green Lantern Corps visiting Supes on New Krypton as a part of a fact finding mission for the Guardians. General Zod arrives on the scene which pisses Hal off(although to be honest, what DOESN'T piss Hal off lately?). Zod gives Supes the OK to show the Lanterns around, stating that the Kryptonians have nothing to hide from the Lanterns, nor anything to fear.
-Supes, along with his buddy from the labor guild, proceeds to show the Lanterns around the planet until Supes is called away on military business.
-Zod informs Supes that some of the criminals that were banished to the Phantom Zone have escaped and are running amok on New Krypton. Zod orders Supes to have his unit maintain the perimeter around the operation site, but not to actively take part in the operation. Zod also tells Supes that his Lantern friends can observe the operation, so they can learn how Kryptonians deal with criminals.
-The operation site is a space craft building facility which doesn't sit well with Supes or the Lanterns. According to Supes labor guild buddy the ships are being built by Zod and Alura just in case the Kryptonians need them for defensive purposes. HA! After witnessing an explosion, Supes and his unit(along with the Lanterns)respond and discover the criminal was trying to steal one of the ships to escape. Hal's ring alerts him to the fact that the Kryptonian criminal is wanted by the Green Lantern Corps, so the Lanterns decide to take an active role in the capture.
-Supes and the Lanterns take the point, and the members of Supes unit hang back as per Supes orders. While Supes is pursuing the criminal, Zod secretly contacts the second in command in Supes unit and orders her to execute the criminal upon capture. Hal's ring intercepts the transmission and Supes tells his second to disregard Zod's order.
-Supes directs the criminal towards his unit and Supes second secures him, as per Supes orders. Supes prepares to hand the criminal over to the Lanterns for transport back to Oa, but Zod arrives and tells the Lanterns that New Krypton has no extradition treaty with the GLC, so any attempt by the Lanterns to take the criminal off of New Krypton will be looked at as an act of war. Hal gets pissed(naturally)but John calms him down, explaining that Zod is absolutely right. Zod does promise Hal that he won't harm the criminal and that the GLC can have him when the Kryptonians are done with him. Hal(still miffed)leaves to give the Guardians his findings.
-This issue concludes with Supes and his second visiting the captured criminal and discovering, to Supes surprise, that the criminal was unharmed, just as Zod had promised Hal. Zod arrives and tells Supes and his second that they are both under arrest for treason. I guess Supes shouldn't have rescinded Zod's orders, huh?
As usual, this was another excellent issue of this series. With the writing team here though, what do I expect? The GL stuff was excellently done(Hal was hotheaded, while John was the voice of reason), and the ending was a bit of a surprise(even though Supes sure did have it coming!). Now since I'm sure Supes won't be rotting in a jail cell somewhere, my guess is that Zod will take out Supes inability to follow orders on his second instead. I'm also guessing that the revelation concerning Zod's space ships will be playing a major role down the road in this series. That's pretty much all I have to say here. I really don't have a single critique to voice. For a score I'll give this comic a very strong 9 1/2 out of 10 along with a huge recommendation.
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