Avengers #2

Avengers #2: Writer: BENDIS! Pencils: John Romita Jr.

Review: This comic gets started with the Avengers searching out Noh-Varr, the former Marvel Boy and current Protector, hoping that he'd be able to use his advanced Kree technology to help them see into the future to ascertain if Kang was telling them the truth last issue. Noh-Varr agrees to help, and after a while he creates a device that can look into all possible futures. The Avengers watch the many images, and spot the one they were looking for, the future Kang warned them about where their children ended up murdering Kang's future self, Immortus. After the team watches Immortus die, the timestream begins to break apart, and Noh-Varr's machine ends up being destroyed. The fact that the timestream seemed “broken” severely concerns Iron Man, who explains to the team that if time was damaged, not only would the future be affected, but the past and present would as well. Before Noh-Varr can construct something to allow the team to enter the timestream to repair it, they are attacked by Wonder Man(!?!). Wonder Man shouts that the Avengers shouldn't have reassembled, and that the Avengers would only wind up causing more trouble then they stopped. Wonder Man beats the team up for a bit until Noh-Varr blasts him with some sort of Kree weaponry, which causes Wonder Man to retreat, but not before he threatens the team one final time. Still reeling from Wonder Man's betrayal, an alternative version of Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen(!!!)appear thanks to the fractured timestream, ending this issue.

What I Thought: Wow, this comic was Fan-freaking-tastic! This storyline is TOP-NOTCH, and the return of Noh-Varr, a favorite character of mine, was like the icing on the cake. So it's all good then? Not so fast my friends! I'd have EASILY given this comic a 10 out of 10, but Bendis's(that's right, I am officially UN-capitalizing his name, he's earned my respect again!!!)horrid dialogue really hurt my enjoyment of this comic. There were just pages and pages of unnecessary dialogue here... Where a simple yes or no answer would have sufficed, Bendis would fill scenes with TONS of unneeded wordage. For example, in one scene, Maria Hill was talking to Bucky about Kang. She asks Bucky if he knew who Kang was, and Bucky says no. Now a normal writer would have probably done something like this, Maria: “Have you read the intel reports on Kang yet?” Bucky: “No.” Maria: Explains who Kang is and what he's done to the Avengers in the past. Simple and concise. Instead Maria rambles about how she thinks Kang is setting a trap for the team, how Kang is crazy, and then they suddenly start to talk about how Tony Stark loves to make plans... I mean really!? Imagine being the significant other of Bendis and asking him what he wanted for dinner!?! Bendis: “I-I think I'd like one of those things... The thing with the skin on it. What's it called... The thing with the-the skin. Um... Not one of those little fishy guys, the skin thing... You know the thing! It-it has two legs and wings! I think-I think it's called a chickie? No wait! A-A chicken!!! That's what I want to have for dinner! A chicken... Or-or maybe one of those other things...” Okay, that went on for WAY too long, but I think I made my point! Just say you want the DAMN chicken!!! Not EVERY conversation needs to be an epic. If Bendis could only reel in his inane babble, I think this storyline might actually go down as one of my favorite Avengers stories in a LONG time...

Score: 9 out of 10. Like I said, if not for the dialogue, this comic was an easy 10 out of 10...Blah blah blah...

New Comic Day!

Hey X-Maniacs, X here with some good news! First off, it turns out that I DON'T have classes tomorrow after all, as there was some kind of mix-up with the Registrar's office. That means my first Spanish test isn't tomorrow, but is Monday, which means I have the whole weekend to study. With those three extra study days, I should easily ace that test(fingers crossed!).

On the comic book side, the good news continues, as I went to the comic book shop and picked up 11 new books. Before I go any further, let me list them, so you guys can let me know which ones you are interested in hearing about.

Young Allies #2
Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier #1
Shadowland #1
Hawkeye and Mockingbird #2
Brightest Day #5
Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1
JSA All-Stars #8
Red Hood #2
X-Men #1
Avengers #2
Fantastic Four Annual #32

So yay for me, I've got me some good comics to read! If you guys give me your picks by tomorrow, I'll probably have a post with a couple of reviews up ala JT's Rantings and Ratings(or my old Best of the Rest post... Ehrm...)tomorrow night. Anywho, I think that'll do it for today, drop me your comments to let me know what you'd like to hear about so I can get to reading! That's it, X out.

Summer School Blues!

Ugh, between the 95 degree weather outside today and the first day of classes, I am a wreck tonight! I have to say, I don't foresee myself posting many reviews here during the next six weeks, because summer school is HARD work! But then again, I kind of expected that since I'm trying to learn 5 months worth of material in just 6 weeks. Tonight for example, I have 8(!)pages of Spanish homework, and I have to try to learn about 100 vocabulary words for the first test, which is on Friday... That's THIS Friday! Oh, and I have a test every single Thursday after this week for the next 5 weeks... This is going to be a LOOOONG summer! Well, I really have to start doing some flashcards, and finish up my homework, BUT, I'm gonna post a random scan just to break up the monotony of my schoolwork.

Before I go though, I'm still trying to think of easy little posts I can put up every now and then... You know, something that I can put together in 10-15 minutes just to stay connected to the blog. I'm thinking about more random scans, or a versus type post(you know, X vs Y, who should win and why), but if anybody can think of something quick and easy, I'm more then willing to entertain it. So anyway, enjoy the scan and X out.You've got to laugh at Hal's confidence here... "She IS a woman"...(From Trinity #1, Aug. 1993)

The Random Scan of the Week, with added inane chatter!

Hey all, X finally here with some excuses, AND a random scan! So I've been pretty lax with posts, but since I'm pretty much caught up with my new books, I don't really have a whole load to blog about... Sure, I could do a big long post about the Robin comics I'm currently flying through(I'm 93 issues in now!), or the Trinity storyline, but really, who'd want to read that?! I'll TRY to post some thoughts on Green Lantern #1 some time soon, but with school starting back up again on Tuesday, we'll have to play that by ear. Besides that, I've been lounging around enjoying the CRAZY hot weather, hanging out with family, playing video games and of course reading comic books. I haven't even been here to the blog the past two days, so I'm sure I have a lot of stimulating posts on my favorite blogs to sift through after I post this. So um, yeah, that's what I've been up to. Anyway, since it IS Sunday, I still have the whole random scan thing to deal with. And with today being Independence Day in the good ol' US of A, what better character to post a pic of then... The Joker!!! Yeah sure, I could have gone and posted a Captain America scan, or even a Superman, but that would have been TOO obvious, no? Well, that'll do it for tonight, I'll talk to you guys later. X out.Leave it to the Joker to figure it all out! From Robin #85(Feb. 2001).

Invincible Iron Man Annual #1

Invincible Iron Man Annual #1: Writer: Matt Fraction. Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico.

Review: Well, first off, let me say that although this is an “Iron Man” annual, Tony Stark doesn't appear anywhere at all. Nope, this comic was all about Tony's long time enemy, the Mandarin. We begin with the Mandarin kidnapping the best Asian director he could find(as well as the director's wife). Mandarin explains that he wants the director to do a movie about his life, and that if the director says no, then Mandarin would kill not just him, but his wife as well. With little choice, the director agrees to Mandarin's bizarre request, and the Mandarin begins to tell the director his life story. According to the Mandarin, he was born to a British noble woman and a well-to-do Chinese man who was a direct decedent of Genghis Khan. Mandarin explains that his parents died in a car crash, and then talks about how he was a hero of the Chinese Communist Revolution, and a staunch ally of Mao Zedong. He recounts how he received his power rings, from a dying alien(ala Hal Jordan/Abin Sur), and how he was given Mandarin City from an appreciative Chairman Mao. After listening to Mandarin's stories, the director begins to smell a rat, and after doing some research from the Mandarin's own archives, he learns that Mandarin's mother was a British prostitute who was addicted to opium, and that his father was some unnamed john. His mother died of an opium overdose, and Mandarin wound up killing his mother's pimp before escaping the opium den. He was never close with Mao, as a matter of fact, during the early years of the Revolution, Mandarin hid out in the mountains like a coward. And instead of being given his power rings from a dying alien, Mandarin killed the alien in cold blood and stole the rings. After learning this, the director began to wonder which version of the Mandarin's life he should tell, the propaganda version, or the real one. After learning that Mandarin was abusing his wife mentally and physically, the director decides to secretly begin filming the real life of the Mandarin behind his back, while simultaneously filming the Mandarin's version whenever the Mandarin was around. As the filming progressed, Mandarin began to want more and more outrageous things added into his film, including the death of Iron Man at the end of the movie, even though that's obviously false. Finally the director has enough of Mandarin's insanity and begins to put the film together while plotting with a few other production people Mandarin had kidnapped for the movie. The night of the movie premiere, the director manages to sneak away from Mandarin's sight, and finds his wife, who is a shell of her former self. The director sneaks away with his wife, while Mandarin watches furiously as the true story of his life is shown to the theater, not his sterilized version. Mandarin destroys the movie theater and kills everybody in it, while the director's wife stabs him in the neck, killing him, before returning to the Mandarin's side. This issue ends with the Mandarin bemoaning the death of the director, since he really did respect his work, all while the director's brainwashed wife served him.

What I Thought: I wasn't really sure what to expect from a comic that spotlighted the Mandarin... I mean power-wise, he's always been one of Marvel's big villains, but he's never really gotten the respect the Dr. Doom's, Magneto's or Loki's have received. It was nice to finally get some real insight into the mind of Iron Man's greatest foe. There were some great moments here, such as when Mandarin was having the script re-written(for like the hundredth time)during his climatic battle with Iron Man. After looking at the Iron Man armor his production crew made for him, Mandarin says that it was good, and that it looked most monstrous. He then went on to tell the staff to give it glowing eyes, and huge, pointed teeth! Besides that, he also wanted Iron Man to attack old women and small children in Mandarin City, and to beg for his life through tears, offering Mandarin money, women and children for his life. All in all, this annual did a good job of really hammering home just how much Mandarin hates Tony Stark, and that even when he isn't actively pestering Stark, the Mandarin is ALWAYS obsessing over Iron Man.

Score: 8 out of 10.The Mandarin made for some surprisingly funny moments here. Who'd have thunk it!

Wednesday Thoughts.

Hey all, X here with a little post. I just got back from the comic book shop, and unfortunately I only came back with a measly 3 comics... Those comics would be The Death of Dracula #1, Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 and Captain America: The 1940's Newspaper Strip #1. I also got Streets of Gotham #13 and Superman #700 in the mail today, so that's a grand total of 5 comics. Most of the comics that I'll be receiving this week(Action Comics, Wonder Woman, Captain America, etc)are subscription comics, so I'll be waiting a good week or two for those books... Man do I have to find a way to cancel those subscriptions! So anyway, if anybody has any interest in a review for any of the 5 aforementioned comics, drop me a comment and I'll try to get a review up and posted soon. X out.

Birds of Prey #2

Birds of Prey #2: Writer: Gail Simone. Pencils: Ed Benes & Adriana Melo.

Review: This issue begins with Black Canary and Huntress taking on White Canary, who had already trounced both women last issue. White Canary once again seems to get the upper hand in the fight until Huntress manages to catch White Canary from behind. This gives BC a few free shots on White Canary, and after a few good punches to the face, BC is stunned by the look of utter hatred White Canary shoots her. By this time, Lady Blackhawk, Dove and Hawk show up, which leads to White Canary getting free in the confusion and dishing out beatdowns on Huntress and Hawk. Oracle catches a news report framing BC for the death of the man she had saved last issue, and hears police reports that indicate several police cruisers were headed to BC's location. Oracle warns BC to get out of Dodge, but by the time BC gets the message the cops had arrived. Penguin, who was lying there the entire time after being stabbed in the neck last issue by White Canary, tells the women that if they take him back to his club he'd hide them from the cops, and with no real choice, BC and company flee the scene with the Penguin, which looks REALLY bad for BC's innocence. While the Birds are retreating from the cops, Oracle gets a transmission from Creote(an old enemy turned ally from the last Birds series)where he tells her that his partner Savant had been killed, and that White Canary was responsible. Creote blames Oracle for the death before blowing his brains out. The news continues to get worse, as Black Canary's secret identity is revealed to the news agencies, which leads Oracle to realize that whoever was behind these systematic attacks against her and her team was playing for keeps. This issue ends with the Birds on the run from the police, and Oracle deciding it was time to go on the offensive.

What I Thought: Well, whoever is behind the attacks on the Birds sure isn't playing games, are they? I'm not sure who the secret villain behind the scenes is yet, although I have to think it's a former ally of the Birds gone bad. As for White Canary, all signs seem to be pointing towards her being the girl BC nearly adopted, Sin. Even as a young girl Sin was a fighting dynamo, the only problem with that is Sin was a young girl, not a grown woman the last time she was around. I guess White Canary could also be the former Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, which would make a bit more sense since she had insider information concerning Oracle and the Birds. Or of course it could be someone I'm not thinking about. But that's the fun thing about this series right now, trying to dig into the mystery to see who hates Oracle and her team SO much that they'd be willing to kill and ruin the lives of anybody who was ever associated with Oracle. I will say that I was extremely disappointed to see that Savant and Creote died here, as I kind of liked them... Especially Savant. He was a real nutjob! Well, I think I've rambled long enough about this comic, X out.

Score: 9 out of 10.That clump of hair should be the key to finding out who White Canary is.

Detective Comics #866

Detective Comics #866: Writer: Dennis O'Neil. Pencils: Dustin Nguyen.

Review: This comic tells the story of Dick Grayson in his current incarnation(Batman), as well as taking a look back at his time as Robin. Dick finds the Medallion of St. Dumas in the present, which causes him to think back to the first time he had seen the Medallion... Holy Flashback sequence Batman! Yeah, I couldn't resist... Joker steals the Medallion from a member of the Order of St. Dumas, which leads to Batman and the Order member getting into a fight. Joker manages to sneak away during the carnage, but is soon captured by Robin. The police search Joker, but don't find the Medallion, which Joker apparently stashed back at the scene of the original crime. This all ties into a story in the present involving Dick, and a man Joker framed for a theft, but that part of the story didn't do much for me, so I'm just gonna skip it!

What I Thought: I LOVED the artwork during the flashback story! It looked exactly how you'd expect a flashback story to look, bright and cartoony. Granted the artwork for the main story was extremely well done too, but I'm a sucker for that old cartoonish style. The story was good, nothing groundbreaking or anything, but a solid read. Will I remember it a month from now? Probably not, but it was a completely inoffensive way to spend a few minutes.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.I love that funky flashback artwork!