JT's Take: The Amazing Spider-Man #688

Hey Todd Squad, JT here again and I decided to continue our Spider-Man theme from yesterday, and jump right into things with the next arc of Amazing Spider-Man! After the Ends of the Earth storyline, I'd expect some fallout from that, plus the Lizard takes center stage for the first time since "Shed" if I'm not mistaken. So let's get to it!

The Amazing Spider-Man #688

Summary: Things start off in a big way, as we immediately jump into a sewer fight with Spidey and The Lizard. The Lizard claims he and Spidey had an agreement, which Spidey recalls, the last time he fought the Lizard, he was so spent that he couldn't pursue him, as The Lizard and his drones of followers escaped to the sewers, Ninja Turtle style! Spidey eventually pursued but could never find The Lizard and his followers, and it turns out The Lizard eventually ate every one of his followers, something that enrages Spider-Man even more.  We then jump to eight hours earlier, and see Max Modell and his employee's celebrating for helping Spidey save the world, when Peter is given an invite to Mary Jane's new club. Peter, clearly shocked that MJ now owns a club, heads over and has a talk with MJ. She tells him this party is for him, and he tells her he failed by letting Silver Sable die. He also tells her about his vow, and she says it's the stupidest thing he's ever said, he can't save everyone, he may be super but he's still human. The conversation is cut short when Carlie Cooper calls and says she has something Spidey needs to see, so Peter heads off to meet with her. Upon arriving at the cemetery, Peter see's that Billy Connor's grave has been dug up, and from what a groundskeeper witness said, the description matches Michael Morbius. An enraged Spider-Man heads to Horizon Labs and demands Modell to take him to see Morbius, and he does so. They enter and see Morbius cutting open Billy Connors and Spider-Man attacks Morbius. Morbius explains that he needs Connors DNA to perfect a cure for the Lizard, for good. Modell says that Michael's actions will not stand, and he's no longer welcome at Horizon Labs, but his serum can still be used for good to save Curt Connors. Spidey agrees and he, Morbius and Modell and two other people for some reason head into the sewers. Back in current time, Spidey and Morbius have injected The Lizard with the serum, and Modell and his scientists blast Connors with sonic blasts to start the cure, which actually works and turns him back into Curt Connors. The issue comes to a close as everyone tries to help Connors, but we see that Curt's mind is gone, and while Human, he still has the psyche of The Lizard, but seems to be playing along for now.


Thoughts: Hot Damn! This was a great comic! The twist at the end with The Lizard totally caught me off guard, and I'm a sucker for Michael Morbius, probably because he reminds me of my good buddy Vampire X! This storyline kicked things off with a bang, and I'm wondering what will happen with Curt "The Lizard" Connors does decide to strike and how Spidey will take it. I also really enjoyed the chat with Peter and MJ, it helped him realize he can't do everything and he will make mistakes, and I like the role MJ has taken as supportive best friend over love interest. All in all there's nothing about the comic I didn't enjoy. Also, the art was phenomenal. Props definitely go to Giuseppe Camuncoli for his work on this issue, the way he drew the look on Spidey's face, with one eye showing, when he found out The Lizard ate his drones was chilling. Perfect issue all around. Here's hoping the rest of this storyline is at least half as good as this issue was.

Score:  10/10

Spider-Man : Too many dead because I didn't make you a priority, Lizard! That ends here!

JT's Take: Spider-Men #2

Hey guys and gals, today we're gonna continue with Marvel's Universal cross-over featuring Spider-Man and... well, Spider-Man. After the last issue was a bit lackluster, here's hoping this issue kicks things up a bit, so let's see how it fared.

Spider-Men #2

Summary: We start off with Mysterio regaining consciousness and then sending a lifelike avatar through his portal to get rid of Spider-Man once and for all, because... closing the portal doesn't seem like a good enough idea I guess. Or maybe stealing while you know Spidey isn't in this Universe... but yeah... I'm no evil genius. Over in the Ultimate Universe, the two Spidey's question one another until Miles asks if Spidey is Peter Parker, obviously thinking of the Ultimate Version. Peter is confused so goes on the offensive, cause... yeah. Miles eventually catches Peter off guard with his Venom Sting maneuver and starts to unmask him but Peter recovers and the fight continues. The two go back and forth until Peter removes Miles mask, thankful that he isn't a younger clone of him. Miles gets defensive without his mask, since they're out in broad daylight and uses his Venom Sting again, this time knocking Spidey out cold. Peter wakes up in a holding cell met by Nick Fury, and after a long Bendis-ian explanation, Fury releases Peter Parker and formerly introduces him to Miles Morales. Fury decides to look into the time rift and sends Miles and Peter out to explain what happened to the younger Peter Parker. While flying on a helicopter, Peter asks Miles if his Universe's Peter Parker is dead, but before he can answer the Helicopter is blasted by a rocket launcher. The Spider-Men escape, and are met by the avatar of Mysterio as the issue ends.


Thoughts: Okay, so first things first, this issue was not without it's faults. I mean, Mysterio seems like a kind of lame choice to fight two Spider-Men... and Peter just attacking seemed weird, especially considering how many times he's been attacked by heroes due to a misunderstanding, but we can chalk that up to him thinking this may be a Mysterio illusion. That said, the stuff with Miles and Peter was really enjoyable. The banter while fighting, Miles being still likable, Peter wondering if Miles was a clone was funny, plus the fact Peter said Miles had a cooler costume was a nice line. Overall, I enjoyed this comic enough to continue reading it, and that's a hell of a plus after that slow first issue.

Score:  8/10

Spider-Man (Peter): And what's with your costume being cooler than mine?

JT's Take: Justice League #10 with Brightest Day Rules?

Hey X-Maniacs, JT here with the first review of the next few days, requested by you readers, a review of Justice League #10 using Brightest Day Rules! What are Brightest Day Rules you ask? Refresh your memory anyway by clicking here. Now that you're all caught up, let's get things started!

Justice League #10

Summary:  We start off with a flashback from three years ago, seeing David Graves find Mount Sumeru, which can only be found if you're near death... alrighty. In the present we catch up with Aquaman, who saves a bunch of people but is still a joke, since he's asked by reporters why he was asked to join the league, when some people have greater credentials, like Vibe. BURN! Aquaman ignores them and goes to meet up at the watchtower with the rest of the League. After finding out from Batman that a bunch of villains have been attacked, tortured and interrogated by someone named Graves, and basically knows all of their weaknesses. The team starts to implode when they find out that Batman and Superman work together outside of the league, and learn that some people, Bats, Cyborg and Superman, know the teams secrets, and others are kept in the dark. The conversation is cut short when Graves shows up at the watchtower, using Steve Trevor's access code. Wonder Woman attacks Graves asking where Steve is, but Graves basically eats her emotions when yelling "Feed me Your Loss!" Wonder Woman has visions of her mother, turned to stone, and she passes out, eyes dilated and seemingly drained of life. Superman tends to Wonder Woman as Aquaman, Flash, Lantern, Cyborg and Batman attack Graves. Graves easily disposes of the League, as he does so, we see what happened while he went to that land of the dead. He's infused with the souls of his wife and dead children and changes into the monster like being he is now, while proclaiming that the League killed his family and the world will know it. The issue comes to a close with the Justice League, taken out and knocked out by Graves.


Thoughts:  So something weird happened... I read this issue of Justice League, and I actually liked it. The last few issues have been horrible, and you can read my past reviews to see, but this one, with the evil origin of Graves, seeing Aquaman get burned by reporters, seeing the League's trust problems, I just enjoyed it. This issue honestly doesn't deserve Brightest Day Rules. Now I could try to review it with BDR, but the score would be pretty damn high, and we all know that's kinda the opposite effect of BDR. So instead I'm going to give this a straight up review... believe me, I'm kinda disappointed I didn't get to rip this comic. With all the reasons I mentioned above, added with how bad ass Graves looked, this was a pretty good comic. Now regardless of how Graves was able to live long enough to find that Land of the Dead, when he was barely able to fire a gun in the last issue, I didn't have too many problems here. I would've liked to see what flashed through the rest of the team's mind when Graves blasted them though. I did enjoy the smug look on Superman's face when he said he hangs out with Batman, but I hated how Cyborg was just spilling everyone's business. Like damn dude... I know you know everything but put a firewall up on all those secrets you're saying!

Score: Surprisingly, I'll give this issue of Justice League a 7/10!

Reporter: Why'd they pick you as a member of the Justice League? Was it right place, right time?

Well this was interesting... feel free to let me know what you guys thought in the comments, was this a really good issue of Justice League or am I just becoming soft in my old age? Until tomorrow, JT out!

New Comic Day! June 27th Edition

Hey Todd Squad, It's Wednesday so you know what that means, it's New Comic Day! Before we jump into things I wanna make an announcement. Thanks to you guys being so welcoming of me replacing that guy who used to post here, plus me cranking out reviews like I'm not some lazy guy, which I am, you'll be seeing a lot more of ol' JT, since I was recently promoted by X-Man75 to an Admin! (Pause for applause) So basically, half of this blog is MINE! BWAHAHAHA! How's that for a patsy! It's like in Lion King, everything the son touches is mine... or something. But, yeah, just letting you guys know that since I appreciate you all being so welcoming.

Also, before I get into my books I wanna apologize for not getting a review up for Walking Dead #99 but I was pretty busy during the last few days, I'm sure ya all understand. With that said, let's get into this week's books that I'm picking up. Aquaman #10, Batman: The Dark Knight #10, Justice League #10, Amazing Spider-Man #668, and Spider-Men #2. There you have it, if you ever needed proof that I'm not X-Man, there ya go, only five comics. I'll probably end up reviewing all five of those, but still let me know in the comments what you'd like to see, and whatever has the most votes I'll get up first. And yes, Justice League will still be reviewed with Brightest Day Rules!  So that's it for me guys, until tomorrow, I'm your friendly co-owner (trying it out), JT, signing off!

JT's Take: Venom #19

Hey guys and gals, today we're gonna tackle the most recent issue of Venom, which is probably the most consistently good series I've read since Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl, so let's see if this issue stands up to all the hype.

Venom #19

Summary: We pick things up where we left off, with Flash revealing himself to Betty, who is pissed about his double life. Flash tells Betty people are after his family, and grabs Betty then web-slings off to his sister's house. He arrives there to find his Brother-In-Law, has been killed and illuminated by Jack O'Lantern, and his sister is missing. Flash drops off Betty on a rooftop to keep her safe and heads after Jack O'Lantern, who leads him to his sister. An enraged Flash attacks Jack, who manages to subdue Flash long enough to throw his sister off the top of the building, Gwen Stacy style, even mentioning how Spidey couldn't save a woman this same way. Flash gets there in time to save his sister, but Jack O'Lantern asks him if he can do a repeat performance. Venom looks up to see Betty is being held by Toxin, who jumps off with her. Flash, not wanting to leave his sister but wanting to pursue Betty is then asked by Jack O'Lantern if he's visited his mom recently. The issue closes as we see Flash's mother being wrapped up by The Human Fly.


Thoughts: Damn this issue was amazing, and there was so much action in it, it seemed like it just flew by. Just when things seem like they can't get worse for Flash Thompson, the Savage Six seem to take it even further. It looks like Venom is going to have to call in the Avengers or get help from Spidey, which may piss off the symbiote, but it's issues like this that are what comic books are all about. I've said it once, I'll say it again, if you're not reading Venom then you should be, simple as that. 


Score:  9/10

Venom: No matter what happens to me, Jack doesn't walk away from this. He'll never touch my sister... Never touch Betty...

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #32

Hey guys, after my rant the other day on Red Hood and the Outlaws, I figured I may as well review something with a writer I always seem to enjoy, so let's look at issue number thirty-two or Christos Gage's Avengers Academy!

Avengers Academy #32

Summary: Things get underway with Juston, fixing his Sentinel, when he's approached by X-23, who's trying her hardest to make me not like her. Just like in the other issues, she's having a ton of thoughts on things that don't really concern her, and this time she's telling Juston he needs to shut down his Sentinel. Juston defends his Sentinel, saying he won't hurt anyone, and how it's his best friend, at some times, his only friend. X-23 mentions how it always says Destroy all Mutants, but Juston said he can't erase that from his memory without clearing the memory, which he doesn't wanna do to his friend. X-23 says he should shut it down, and Juston says that Avengers Academy is where you get a chance to be good, not judged for what you might do wrong, and if X-23 doesn't get that then she's the one that should leave. X-23 storms off and is met by White Tiger, who asks if she has a thing with Juston, because White Tiger has a crush on him. X-23 talks about how he treats the killing Machine like a pet, and Tiger asks if X-23 has ever had a pet, she says as a child she was given a puppy, grew attached to it, then was made to kill it or she'd have to watch as it was killed slowly in front of her. White Tiger asks what she did, but X-23 doesn't answer, and walks away saying it's not the same, as a Sentinel is not alive. X-23 is them summoned by Hank Pym, who tells her if she wishes to leave and join the X-Men, she may, since the Phoenix Five have been doing good around the world, but she says she will stay, she has no place in Utopia. X-23 then runs into Hazmat, who asks her if she thinks the Phoenix Five would be able to cure her, but before she can answer, Striker runs in and yells that somethings happening with the Sentinel. They rush outside to find the Sentinel powering up and telling Juston and his friends to get to a secure area, as a Phoenix powered Emma Frost shows up. She states that she is melting all the Sentinel's on the planet and this is the last one, but Juston pleads with her not to destroy his friend. After much talk, she says she'll simply erase the Sentinel's memory and they can redesign and paint it, so no one knows what it was. Juston says it's horrible, they wanna erase his mind and who he was, and the Sentinel has done nothing but try to be good, which I agreed with. Emma says she tried, but she's going to do what she has to. Pym tries to tell Juston that the Sentinel is just a machine, to which Striker replies that so is Jocasta. Hank says he's responsible for the kids and he can't let them risk getting hurt fighting a Phoenix powered being, as Juston cries that the Sentinel is his friend and he loves him. X-23 sees this and has flashbacks to her puppy and becomes enraged and attacks Emma Frost. Hank Pym says, what the hell, and stands alongside the Avengers Academy crew, telling Emma if she wants the Sentinel, she'll have to go through them, as the issue closes.


Thoughts: If you would've told me, I'd enjoy an issue about X-23 and a boy who loves a Sentinel, I'd probably have called you a liar, but damn I liked this issue. Christos Gage has been writing some excellent stories and this is no exception. Seeing X-23 change her mind when she saw how much Juston loved his Sentinel was great, as well as how he defended his friend, even when given another choice by Emma. Add that in with Striker's line about Jocasta and the fact Hazmat may try to get the Phoenix Five to cure her and this was a fun issue. I'm really looking forward to the conclusion of this two-issue story arc, as well as what's next for the Avengers Academy crew.


Score:  9/10

Hank Pym: Striker,  it's just a machine.
Striker: Jocasta's "Just a machine." Now I see why she left.

JT's Take: Avenging Spider-Man #8

Hey Todd Squad, Today's review features the epilogue of the recently ended "Ends of the Earth" storyline from Amazing Spider-Man, so needless to say, they'll be spoilers from that if you haven't finished reading. Now let's get to it.

Avenging Spider-Man #8

Summary: We kick things off with Spider-Man underwater in a scuba suit, looking for Silver Sable's body with the Avengers. Spidey is called up to talk to Captain America, who says he needs him with them while they transport Doc Ock to S.H.I.E.L.D. From there we get a quick flashback of Spidey and Sable working together to stop Dr. Doom from marrying a local princess and moving her to Latveria. Turns out Spider-Man was summoned by Sable and Doctor Strange to marry the young woman who was set to marry Doom. Turns out the woman may be the next Sorcerer Supreme, or give birth to it, so they can't allow her to marry Doom, but she was offered by her Father to Dr. Doom, cause apparently he can do that. Turns out she needs to be married to someone she genuinely loves, and she's had a crush on Spidey for years. Silver Sable offers to compensate Spidey well, but Spider-Man says he has a girlfriend. Suddenly, Spider-Man, Sable, Doc Strange and the bride-to-be are met Dr. Doom, who demands his fiancee. After a fight, Strange teleports everyone across the town away from Doom, and Spidey's admirer seems to think he's not so great anymore after seeing him get knocked around by Doom. Turns out she really loves a guy named Marek, who wants to marry her to save her, but she doesn't want him to get killed by Doom for doing so, which is why she picked Spidey, since she thought he could take Doom. They end up talking her into getting with Marek, so Spidey goes to get him and bring him to her. The two get married while Strange, Sable and Spidey hold off Doctor Doom, but when Spidey and Strange are incapacitated, Sable manages to hold off Doom on her own, long enough for Marek and the Princess to consummate the marriage, thus ending Doom's hold on her. Doom, sensing that he no longer has a use for this bride, leaves before attracting the attention of the Fantastic Four, as Spidey recounted how Silver Sable, a woman with no powers, stood toe to toe with Doom and stalled him long enough to save the day. As they drop off Doc Ock at S.H.I.E.L.D., Spidey states that they've stopped his reign of terror, and his dying legacy will be that of a crazy old man who was stopped by Spider-Man. The issue ends as Black Widow continues to search below the sea for Silver Sable and Rhino, but hasn't found either. As she continues her search we see an Octo-bot surface from underwater.


Thoughts: This issue was pretty fun, and there were a LOT of lines that almost got line of the issue, Strange, Sable, Doom, Spidey, were all written excellently in this issue, Avenging Spidey is quickly becoming a highpoint of my comic collection each month. I really enjoyed this story, It fit well in past continuity, there was comedy, it was a great send-off to Sable is she is in fact gone for good, which I doubt since they couldn't find her or Rhino, plus pretty much anytime I get to see Doom and Spidey together I'm happy. Even Doctor Strange was funny here which was enjoyable. This was nothing amazing, but it was, in the words of my buddy X, a Perfectly Acceptable Comic.

Score:  7.5/10

Dr. Doom: Doom does not bargain for what is already his.

JT's Take: Red Hood and The Outlaws #10

Hey Todd Squad, today we're gonna see what's going on with Red Hood and the Outlaws. Jason's appearance in Batman and Robin reminded me how he should be written, so let's see if we got more of that in this issue.

Red Hood and The Outlaws #10

Summary: We start things off with some big monster dude standing over a sleeping Starfire and Arsenal in a hotel room. From there we see Jason coming home from a date with some chick. Suddenly, the big monster flies through the wall of the hotel, and Jason and his date leap out of the way. Jason puts his mask on and starts shooting at the monster, cause fuck a Secret Identity apparently. Turns out the monster dude is an alien and works for Starfire and is there to get her to come back to her planet of Tamaran for help. She agrees, but only if Jason and Roy join her, so they all get teleported to a ship by her people, who also bring Jason's date. Sigh.... I can't even pretend I care... this comic... which was 2.99... was TEN PAGES LONG. The actual Red Hood story, was 10 pages long... and the comic had a back-up about Essence that was six pages long.


Thoughts: What the fuck, Lobdell? You have Jason Todd, Former Robin, Snarky character, full of potential, Roy Harper, excellent character, potential comedy character, and a hell of a fighter, and Starfire, who has ties to both and is an alien powerhouse. You can also probably pick up any other characters you want, DC isn't using Cass Cain, Wally, Grace Choi, and other great characters that are free, so.... HOW DO YOU CONTINUE TO FUCK UP THIS BOOK?! If Bryan Q. Miller or Judd Winick were writing this book, it would be the best team book coming out of DC. Instead, we get this. Stories about a magic group called the All Caste, The Unwritten, and stories where Jason Todd is either killing police officers with no mask on in front of towns people, or opening fire in the middle of a city and putting a mask on. Did you forget he's fucking famous?! Did you forget he was Bruce's ward, so he's PROBABLY been on TV with Bruce a few times. I've forgiven some of the stupid shit you've done with Jason pulling a sword out of nowhere, the Killer Croc incident with Roy, the stupid storyline with Cruz or whatever the guy who hated Starfire's name was, and everything else, but I'm done with it. You've sucessfully taken a team I was excited for, that had two of my favorite characters in the DC Universe, even when they were a red-headed pimply jerk thanks to Morrison, and a one armed Junkie thanks to Robinson and Krul, and you've made me not want to read about them.

Seeing how well Jason was written by Tomasi last week showed me how horrible he's been written since the reboot started, and to top it off, after ruining this book, as well as Teen Titans, which i dropped months ago, they've reward Lobdell by having him write Superman?! I'm done. As much as I want to support a Jason Todd series, as well as Arsenal, I'm done. I hated this story, and I won't see how it, or any of that All-Caste shit ends. I'm done reading Red Hood and the Outlaws, until they get a new, more competent writer.

Score:  N/A

Me: Fuck you, Scott Lobdell.