I've got absolutely nothing to talk about here. So why even bother posting? Because I've posted something for the past 7 months straight now, and I fully intend on continuing that streak until I'm either dead or in the madhouse, whichever one comes first(Probably the madhouse...). Just so this post isn't a total waste(only a semi-waste), I think I'll throw out some ideas I have about adding a new feature to this blog. If anybody reads this post(I'll be shocked and impressed if anybody does!)hopefully they can give me a few comments on what idea(if any)they like.
My first idea was to just grab a couple of random comics from my ever growing comic book collection and do a quick review/write-up about them. For example, maybe I'd randomly review Uncanny X-Men #305 or The Flash #93, and then hope to get some comments from people who many have read one of those comics back in the day. This would be a good way to start some conversations about comic book stories gone by.
Idea number two is to do random lists about comic book related stuff. You see, I love lists. Yes, that's a weird thing to say, but it's the sad truth. I could do lists on favorite comic book characters, favorite writers, worst comic books of the 90's, etc. Any readers(or my other personalities)could then chime in on whether they agree or disagree with where I've listed their favorite/least favorite stuff.
Idea number three is to look at some major comic book storylines/events and give some background/thoughts on them. I could probably fill up three or four posts talking about "The Age of Apocalypse", "Identity Crisis", "Secret Wars" or dozens of other comic book events. With any luck, I could drum up some conversations with folks who want to discuss their favorite/least favorite storylines/events.
Idea number four consists of me profiling comic book characters. I'd probably stick with lesser known characters, I've always been partial to c-list heroes/villains. Anybody can be a fan of Wolverine, but how many people would proudly call themselves fans of Bolt? I'd be all to happy to spotlight some really obscure(but deserving)characters.
I'm favorably inclined towards ideas #1 or 2, but I could easily be swayed towards any of the other ideas. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated as always. It's always nice to know there are actual living people somewhere out there reading my jumbled, unhinged thoughts!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Mighty Avengers #26
I completely forgot I even had this comic laying around. I might as well give it a read now before I forget about it again. This issue is written by regular series writer, Dan Slott.
-This issue picks up from the events of last issue which saw the Mighty Avengers disguising themselves as enemies of the Fantastic Four and attacking them so Hank Pym could steal a device called the Dimensional Wave Inducer from the Baxter Building. Basically the Wave Inducer would allow Pym to open portals to other dimensions. Why the hell does Pym need to go to other dimensions? Because he's been working on something ominously called Salvation 2 in another dimension.
-Vision attacks the Human Torch disguised as the Red Ghost while Hercules attacks the Thing disguised as the Red Hulk. While these skirmishes are occurring, Amadeus Cho releases hundreds of ants into the Baxter Building disguised as Skrulls. Mr. Fantastic, fearing another Skrull invasion sends his children to Wakanda along with Invisible Woman.
-Mr. F soon realizes that his scanners were set off by ants, not Skrulls, and rushes to secure the Wave Inducer before Pym could get a hold of it. After Mr. F leaves the ants, one of the ants transforms into Pym. Pym looks around expecting to find Stature alongside him, but is surprised to find her missing.
-Instead of assisting Pym with his theft, Stature has stowed-away on the airplane transporting Invisible Woman and the kids to Wakanda. Stature reveals herself to Invisible Woman and spills the beans about Pym's plans, which causes Invisible Woman to turn the plane around.
-Pym finds Mr. F sitting in a room in the Baxter Building with the Wave Inducer right next to him. Pym tries to run over to the Wave Inducer, but can never get near it. Reed explains that Pym will never be able to get closer than halfway to the Inducer thanks to the special composition of the room they were in.
-By this point, the Human Torch and Thing have figured out they were fighting Avengers and they make their way back to the Baxter Building, figuring Mr. F and Invisible Woman were in trouble.
-Pym realizes that sound must not be affected by the room since Mr. F's voice is able to travel to him. With that in mind, Pym uses a sonic tool he was carrying with him to grab the Wave Inducer. Before Pym can drag the Wave Inducer over to his side of the room, Mr. F grabs it, which causes the Wave Inducer to teleport both itself, Pym and Mr. F away.
-Invisible Woman returns to the Baxter Building along with Stature and the kids and discovers the ants attacking vital defense systems. In a move that instantly makes me into a huge fan, Valeria Richards sends a feedback loop through the ants and into that smug bastard Amadeus Cho, knocking him on his ass and forcing him to release his hold over the ants.
-While that is happening, Mr. F and Pym are hurtling through several dimensions thanks to the damaged Wave Inducer. The two decide to momentarily table their hostilities long enough to repair the Wave Inducer. Upon fixing the Wave Inducer, Pym teleports the two of them to a seemingly empty dimension. Pym points something out to Mr. F and claims that the unseen object is the reason he needs the Wave Inducer. Mr. F immediately gives Pym the Wave Inducer and the two return to the Baxter Building where Pym collects his team and leaves with the Wave Inducer.
-Pym returns to his lab in the pocket dimension and uses the Inducer, along with Jocasta's body to stabilize his portal system. The team is shocked that Pym would use Jocasta as no more than a spare part, but Jocasta's disembodied voice assures the team that she is still around, even without a body. Pym tells the team it's time he leveled with them and he invites them to follow him while he shows them "Phase 2".
Well, I do love a good cliffhanger, and this comic sure had that. What was Pym going to show the team? I guess it was the same thing that convinced Mr. F to stand down and allow Pym to take the Wave Inducer in peace. I for one can't wait to see what convinced Mr. F to give up the fight against Pym so easily.
So far Dan is really doing a fabulous job with his characterization of Pym in this series. Dan has been writing Pym as the frigging nutcase he is. By his very nature, Pym is half crazy, and perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This issue had Pym making out with Jocasta, who is a robot created by his robot "son" Ultron, breaking into the Baxter Building to steal something, fighting Mr. Fantastic, dismembering Jocasta, all while working on something he's named Salvation 2...
Just for those of you who may not know, Salvation 1 was a robot Pym created to attack the Avengers back in the day. At the time, Pym was suspended from the team due to his erratic behavior, and he figured if he was able to "save" the Avengers from Salvation 1 they'd allow him back on the team. However his wife, the Wasp, discovered what he was planning and attempted to stop him, which led to Pym infamously striking her. Pym carried out the faux attack on the Avengers against Wasp's pleading and wound up unable to halt the robot's attack. Eventually Wasp managed to stop the robot and Pym's scheming was revealed to the Avengers. Pym was subsequently expelled from the Avengers, and Wasp divorced him... That story in a nutshell is why I'm a huge fan of Hank Pym. The guy is off the wall, out of his mind insane!
The above story is why I'm so very intrigued at what exactly Salvation 2 is all about. If Salvation 2 is anywhere as disastrous as Salvation 1, the next couple of issues of this series should be a blast to read! For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 1/2 out of 10. My favorite part of this issue? Seeing Mr. Fantastic's 2-year-old daughter completely outsmart that pain in the ass Amadeus Cho. God do I HATE Cho!!!
-This issue picks up from the events of last issue which saw the Mighty Avengers disguising themselves as enemies of the Fantastic Four and attacking them so Hank Pym could steal a device called the Dimensional Wave Inducer from the Baxter Building. Basically the Wave Inducer would allow Pym to open portals to other dimensions. Why the hell does Pym need to go to other dimensions? Because he's been working on something ominously called Salvation 2 in another dimension.
-Vision attacks the Human Torch disguised as the Red Ghost while Hercules attacks the Thing disguised as the Red Hulk. While these skirmishes are occurring, Amadeus Cho releases hundreds of ants into the Baxter Building disguised as Skrulls. Mr. Fantastic, fearing another Skrull invasion sends his children to Wakanda along with Invisible Woman.
-Mr. F soon realizes that his scanners were set off by ants, not Skrulls, and rushes to secure the Wave Inducer before Pym could get a hold of it. After Mr. F leaves the ants, one of the ants transforms into Pym. Pym looks around expecting to find Stature alongside him, but is surprised to find her missing.
-Instead of assisting Pym with his theft, Stature has stowed-away on the airplane transporting Invisible Woman and the kids to Wakanda. Stature reveals herself to Invisible Woman and spills the beans about Pym's plans, which causes Invisible Woman to turn the plane around.
-Pym finds Mr. F sitting in a room in the Baxter Building with the Wave Inducer right next to him. Pym tries to run over to the Wave Inducer, but can never get near it. Reed explains that Pym will never be able to get closer than halfway to the Inducer thanks to the special composition of the room they were in.
-By this point, the Human Torch and Thing have figured out they were fighting Avengers and they make their way back to the Baxter Building, figuring Mr. F and Invisible Woman were in trouble.
-Pym realizes that sound must not be affected by the room since Mr. F's voice is able to travel to him. With that in mind, Pym uses a sonic tool he was carrying with him to grab the Wave Inducer. Before Pym can drag the Wave Inducer over to his side of the room, Mr. F grabs it, which causes the Wave Inducer to teleport both itself, Pym and Mr. F away.
-Invisible Woman returns to the Baxter Building along with Stature and the kids and discovers the ants attacking vital defense systems. In a move that instantly makes me into a huge fan, Valeria Richards sends a feedback loop through the ants and into that smug bastard Amadeus Cho, knocking him on his ass and forcing him to release his hold over the ants.
-While that is happening, Mr. F and Pym are hurtling through several dimensions thanks to the damaged Wave Inducer. The two decide to momentarily table their hostilities long enough to repair the Wave Inducer. Upon fixing the Wave Inducer, Pym teleports the two of them to a seemingly empty dimension. Pym points something out to Mr. F and claims that the unseen object is the reason he needs the Wave Inducer. Mr. F immediately gives Pym the Wave Inducer and the two return to the Baxter Building where Pym collects his team and leaves with the Wave Inducer.
-Pym returns to his lab in the pocket dimension and uses the Inducer, along with Jocasta's body to stabilize his portal system. The team is shocked that Pym would use Jocasta as no more than a spare part, but Jocasta's disembodied voice assures the team that she is still around, even without a body. Pym tells the team it's time he leveled with them and he invites them to follow him while he shows them "Phase 2".
Well, I do love a good cliffhanger, and this comic sure had that. What was Pym going to show the team? I guess it was the same thing that convinced Mr. F to stand down and allow Pym to take the Wave Inducer in peace. I for one can't wait to see what convinced Mr. F to give up the fight against Pym so easily.
So far Dan is really doing a fabulous job with his characterization of Pym in this series. Dan has been writing Pym as the frigging nutcase he is. By his very nature, Pym is half crazy, and perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This issue had Pym making out with Jocasta, who is a robot created by his robot "son" Ultron, breaking into the Baxter Building to steal something, fighting Mr. Fantastic, dismembering Jocasta, all while working on something he's named Salvation 2...
Just for those of you who may not know, Salvation 1 was a robot Pym created to attack the Avengers back in the day. At the time, Pym was suspended from the team due to his erratic behavior, and he figured if he was able to "save" the Avengers from Salvation 1 they'd allow him back on the team. However his wife, the Wasp, discovered what he was planning and attempted to stop him, which led to Pym infamously striking her. Pym carried out the faux attack on the Avengers against Wasp's pleading and wound up unable to halt the robot's attack. Eventually Wasp managed to stop the robot and Pym's scheming was revealed to the Avengers. Pym was subsequently expelled from the Avengers, and Wasp divorced him... That story in a nutshell is why I'm a huge fan of Hank Pym. The guy is off the wall, out of his mind insane!
The above story is why I'm so very intrigued at what exactly Salvation 2 is all about. If Salvation 2 is anywhere as disastrous as Salvation 1, the next couple of issues of this series should be a blast to read! For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 1/2 out of 10. My favorite part of this issue? Seeing Mr. Fantastic's 2-year-old daughter completely outsmart that pain in the ass Amadeus Cho. God do I HATE Cho!!!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Wolverine Origins #37
With Wolvie's wayward son Daken becoming the main character over in "Wolverine"(or Dark Wolverine), this title has become Wolverine's main solo book. I'm actually glad that Wolvie is now in only one solo book(yes, I know about Wolvie First Class and Wolvie Weapon X, I just choose to ignore them!). With only one Wolvie solo title, maybe we'll FINALLY get to the bottom of this whole Romulus deal. Ah yes, Romulus... Jeph Loeb introduced the idea of Romulus back in Wolverine #50 or so(which was over two years ago!!!), but in all that time, the character of Romulus has been vague at best. Romulus has supposedly been the driving force behind all of Wolvie's actions, but other than that, we know nothing about him. However, it looks like all of that is about to change. This issue of Wolverine Origins begins a multi-part story simply entitled "Romulus". If we don't learn the history of Romulus now, I don't think we ever will! This issue is written by Daniel Way.
-We begin with Wolverine heading to Russia in an effort to finally hunt down and kill his enemy for life, Romulus. Wolverine contacts the Russian Defense Minister and tells him to put out false reports regarding Wolverine's whereabouts. Wolvie's plan is to follow Victor Hudson(Romulus' right-hand man)back to Romulus while Romulus believes Wolvie is elsewhere thanks to the false intelligence reports... Ah very clever!
-Meanwhile, Omega Red is locked up in a Russian jail. Why bring this up? You'll find out in good time...
-In Amsterdam, two crooks find the Carbonadium Synthesizer, and one crook kills the other in order to gain possession of it. A cop happens across the scene and kills the remaining crook in order to take custody of the C-Synthesizer. The cop then calls Romulus to tell him he has acquired the C-Synthesizer. Before I go any further, allow me to elaborate on exactly what the C-Synthesizer is. The Carbonadium Synthesizer is something Omega Red has been searching for for over 40 years now. The C-Synthesizer is supposed to cure the Carbonadium poisoning Omega Red is suffering from thanks to his Carbonadium coils. Wolverine(along with Maverick and Sabretooth)has always managed to keep the Synthesizer away from Red out of fear of how powerful he could potentially become without the poisoning constantly sapping his strength.
-While Wolverine is clandestinely following Victor, Omega Red receives a letter in prison which really seems to make him happy. Wolverine follows Victor to a small cabin which has a secret tunnel within it. Upon emerging from the tunnel, Wolvie finds himself at a prison. Figuring Romulus must be hiding within the prison walls, Wolvie charges in, only to find death and destruction everywhere. After searching some more, Wolvie discovers the C-Synthesizer and is subsequently attacked by Omega Red. As this issue ends, Wolvie realizes that Romulus was aware he was following Victor all along, and that Romulus lead Wolvie straight into a trap with Omega Red right in the center.
This was a good, fun issue. I've always liked Omega Red, he has a great look, and his first appearance is among the very first comic books to grace my comic collection. I also enjoyed the story, which showed us that Romulus seems to be several steps ahead of Wolverine at every turn. Poor Wolvie just can't seem to catch a break here. Every plan he comes up with to get at Romulus always ends up being countered.
Next issue should be one hell of a good throwdown between Wolvie and the now healthy Omega Red. There was a time when Omega Red was able to take down Wolverine AND the X-Men, hopefully we'll get that Omega Red and not the one who was easily defeated by Nightcrawler. For a score I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was a good story that left me eagerly anticipating the next issue.
-We begin with Wolverine heading to Russia in an effort to finally hunt down and kill his enemy for life, Romulus. Wolverine contacts the Russian Defense Minister and tells him to put out false reports regarding Wolverine's whereabouts. Wolvie's plan is to follow Victor Hudson(Romulus' right-hand man)back to Romulus while Romulus believes Wolvie is elsewhere thanks to the false intelligence reports... Ah very clever!
-Meanwhile, Omega Red is locked up in a Russian jail. Why bring this up? You'll find out in good time...
-In Amsterdam, two crooks find the Carbonadium Synthesizer, and one crook kills the other in order to gain possession of it. A cop happens across the scene and kills the remaining crook in order to take custody of the C-Synthesizer. The cop then calls Romulus to tell him he has acquired the C-Synthesizer. Before I go any further, allow me to elaborate on exactly what the C-Synthesizer is. The Carbonadium Synthesizer is something Omega Red has been searching for for over 40 years now. The C-Synthesizer is supposed to cure the Carbonadium poisoning Omega Red is suffering from thanks to his Carbonadium coils. Wolverine(along with Maverick and Sabretooth)has always managed to keep the Synthesizer away from Red out of fear of how powerful he could potentially become without the poisoning constantly sapping his strength.
-While Wolverine is clandestinely following Victor, Omega Red receives a letter in prison which really seems to make him happy. Wolverine follows Victor to a small cabin which has a secret tunnel within it. Upon emerging from the tunnel, Wolvie finds himself at a prison. Figuring Romulus must be hiding within the prison walls, Wolvie charges in, only to find death and destruction everywhere. After searching some more, Wolvie discovers the C-Synthesizer and is subsequently attacked by Omega Red. As this issue ends, Wolvie realizes that Romulus was aware he was following Victor all along, and that Romulus lead Wolvie straight into a trap with Omega Red right in the center.
This was a good, fun issue. I've always liked Omega Red, he has a great look, and his first appearance is among the very first comic books to grace my comic collection. I also enjoyed the story, which showed us that Romulus seems to be several steps ahead of Wolverine at every turn. Poor Wolvie just can't seem to catch a break here. Every plan he comes up with to get at Romulus always ends up being countered.
Next issue should be one hell of a good throwdown between Wolvie and the now healthy Omega Red. There was a time when Omega Red was able to take down Wolverine AND the X-Men, hopefully we'll get that Omega Red and not the one who was easily defeated by Nightcrawler. For a score I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This was a good story that left me eagerly anticipating the next issue.
Runaways #11
Yes, I'm one of the few people still reading the Runaways. I've been a fan of this series from the beginning, back when Brian K. Vaughn originally introduced these characters and this series was fresh and happening. Unfortunately, Brian left the series after 40 or so issues, and things have really nosedived since then... Joss Whedon's run, which SHOULD have made the Runaways a force to be reckoned with in the Marvel Universe, was plagued by LOOOOONG delays(what else is new there...), delays which really hurt the flow of the series. Soon after Whedon's run ended, the series was restarted at #1 AGAIN in an attempt to drum up sales. Now we have a new writer, and the promise to kill off one of the characters in yet another lame attempt to drum up sales... You know things are getting desperate when a company announces one of the characters in the comic book will die... Right on the cover! My gut tells me that unless new writer Kathryn Immonen can really put together a great story this book is headed for cancellation. With all that said, on with the review.
-This issue opens up with the kids planning to have a prom for themselves. Karolina is still mourning Xavin, her dead Skrull girl/boyfriend, and Klara is acting weird and distant. The other kids are seemingly too self absorbed to notice.
-Molly, Klara and Old Lace watch some TV while the four older kids begin their prom. Karolina wildly hits on Chase, and Nico sends Victor over to beak up the festivities between the two of them. Nico leads Karolina away and Karolina reveals that she is still moping over the death of Xavin. Nico gives Karolina a pep talk and manages to cheer Karolina up, and Molly asks Nico to tell the guys to lower their music since she can't hear the TV.
-At this moment, some sort of drone airplane smashes into the Runaway's Malibu mansion. The brunt of the plane crash hits the room where Klara and Old Lace were, and the other kids all rush in to help. Chase mutters an apology to his dead girlfriend Gert, the original owner of Old Lace before collapsing onto the floor. After moving the rubble the Runaways discover that Old Lace managed to shield Klara's body from any major harm at the expense of the dinosaur's life. Upon regaining consciousness, Klara flips out and attacks the other kids with plants(which is way more menacing then it sounds!), ending this issue.
I'm willing to give Kathryn time to further develop this storyline before I say anything negative here. The story was interesting(if a little bit on the confusing side)and Sara Pichelli's artwork was an improvement on the manga style of artwork that was featured in the last few issues. Like I stated before, the story was a bit on the confusing side, I have NO clue who the two folks in San Fransisco were, and I have no idea why the drone plane crashed into the mansion.
I have to say, I strongly suspected Old Lace would be the character to go, but OL was definitely not the character I wanted to see offed here. If I had my way, it would have been Molly getting flattened by that airplane. Why Molly? I'd probably rank her as one of THE most annoying comic book characters out there today. I'm sure there are plenty of fans of Molly(probably...), but I for one can't stand her. Sorry. For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10, while keeping my fingers crossed that Kathryn can return this series to the level of excellency it used to feature.
-This issue opens up with the kids planning to have a prom for themselves. Karolina is still mourning Xavin, her dead Skrull girl/boyfriend, and Klara is acting weird and distant. The other kids are seemingly too self absorbed to notice.
-Molly, Klara and Old Lace watch some TV while the four older kids begin their prom. Karolina wildly hits on Chase, and Nico sends Victor over to beak up the festivities between the two of them. Nico leads Karolina away and Karolina reveals that she is still moping over the death of Xavin. Nico gives Karolina a pep talk and manages to cheer Karolina up, and Molly asks Nico to tell the guys to lower their music since she can't hear the TV.
-At this moment, some sort of drone airplane smashes into the Runaway's Malibu mansion. The brunt of the plane crash hits the room where Klara and Old Lace were, and the other kids all rush in to help. Chase mutters an apology to his dead girlfriend Gert, the original owner of Old Lace before collapsing onto the floor. After moving the rubble the Runaways discover that Old Lace managed to shield Klara's body from any major harm at the expense of the dinosaur's life. Upon regaining consciousness, Klara flips out and attacks the other kids with plants(which is way more menacing then it sounds!), ending this issue.
I'm willing to give Kathryn time to further develop this storyline before I say anything negative here. The story was interesting(if a little bit on the confusing side)and Sara Pichelli's artwork was an improvement on the manga style of artwork that was featured in the last few issues. Like I stated before, the story was a bit on the confusing side, I have NO clue who the two folks in San Fransisco were, and I have no idea why the drone plane crashed into the mansion.
I have to say, I strongly suspected Old Lace would be the character to go, but OL was definitely not the character I wanted to see offed here. If I had my way, it would have been Molly getting flattened by that airplane. Why Molly? I'd probably rank her as one of THE most annoying comic book characters out there today. I'm sure there are plenty of fans of Molly(probably...), but I for one can't stand her. Sorry. For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10, while keeping my fingers crossed that Kathryn can return this series to the level of excellency it used to feature.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Superman #689
This was another comic that arrived in the mail for me today. I tell you, nothing can put a smile on my face quite like finding a comic book in the mailbox. That's actually kind of pathetic if you really think about it... Anyway, this issue is written by one of my favorite writers, James Robinson.
-This comic begins with Morgan Edge, the owner of WGBS(a TV station based in Metropolis), ranting against Kryptonians and Mon-El on a talk show he gave himself. While Edge tries to bury Mon-El in the media, Mon travels around Metropolis and the world preforming acts of super-heroics. Mon is trying to see as much of the planet as he can before his inevitable death.
-Tellus(who I guess is an old-school member of the Legion of Super-Heroes)thanks Guardian for freeing him from captivity, gives Guardian something that should provide him assistance for when he encounters Codename: Assassin again(I'm guessing some kind of mental defenses)and leaves to start some kind of unnamed mission.
-Later, Guardian appears on Morgan Edge's show and tells him that #1, Mon-El isn't Kryptonian and #2 that Mon-El is a hero, so there is no reason to tarnish his name. After the sternness of Guardian's words, Edge publicly apologizes to Mon.
-Next up we find out that the Prankster has been working for Gen. Lane(REALLY??? The Prankster?!?!), and that the Prankster has managed to fool Black Lightning into leaving town. Gen. Lane tasks Prankster with eliminating Steel, and this issue ends with Atlas managing to trick Steel into letting him into the Ironworks so he can apparently kill him.
This was a decent story, it really didn't advance the Mon-El/death storyline, but it did advance the stuff concerning Guardian and Steel. So this Tom guy was secretly Atlas, who has seemingly been hired to kill Steel? Huh??? Why Atlas? I thought he was supposed to be a misunderstood hero type, not a murderer for hire... And what the hell is up with Gen. Lane hiring the Prankster to be his pointman in Metropolis??? Was the Toyman unavailable? I mean come on! Gen. Lane is in charge of some sort of secret US military program and the best he can do is the Prankster??? That's just pathetic...
We also still don't know why Tellus was captured, why he choose to contact Guardian for help or what the hell he's up to. On top of that, I really don't know what the stuff with Morgan Edge accomplished. First he hates Mon-El, then after some stern words from Guardian, he loves him? What purpose did that serve? Wow, that's sure a lot of complaining about a comic I liked! To end this review on a positive note, I will say I really enjoyed the parts of this comic that focused on Mon-El and his world tour. I like Mon-El, I like the way James has been writing him, and I hope the next issue devotes more time to Mon and less time to the secondary characters. For a score, I'll give this book a 7 1/2 out of 10 and hope we get more Mon-El and less of everyone else beginning next issue.
-This comic begins with Morgan Edge, the owner of WGBS(a TV station based in Metropolis), ranting against Kryptonians and Mon-El on a talk show he gave himself. While Edge tries to bury Mon-El in the media, Mon travels around Metropolis and the world preforming acts of super-heroics. Mon is trying to see as much of the planet as he can before his inevitable death.
-Tellus(who I guess is an old-school member of the Legion of Super-Heroes)thanks Guardian for freeing him from captivity, gives Guardian something that should provide him assistance for when he encounters Codename: Assassin again(I'm guessing some kind of mental defenses)and leaves to start some kind of unnamed mission.
-Later, Guardian appears on Morgan Edge's show and tells him that #1, Mon-El isn't Kryptonian and #2 that Mon-El is a hero, so there is no reason to tarnish his name. After the sternness of Guardian's words, Edge publicly apologizes to Mon.
-Next up we find out that the Prankster has been working for Gen. Lane(REALLY??? The Prankster?!?!), and that the Prankster has managed to fool Black Lightning into leaving town. Gen. Lane tasks Prankster with eliminating Steel, and this issue ends with Atlas managing to trick Steel into letting him into the Ironworks so he can apparently kill him.
This was a decent story, it really didn't advance the Mon-El/death storyline, but it did advance the stuff concerning Guardian and Steel. So this Tom guy was secretly Atlas, who has seemingly been hired to kill Steel? Huh??? Why Atlas? I thought he was supposed to be a misunderstood hero type, not a murderer for hire... And what the hell is up with Gen. Lane hiring the Prankster to be his pointman in Metropolis??? Was the Toyman unavailable? I mean come on! Gen. Lane is in charge of some sort of secret US military program and the best he can do is the Prankster??? That's just pathetic...
We also still don't know why Tellus was captured, why he choose to contact Guardian for help or what the hell he's up to. On top of that, I really don't know what the stuff with Morgan Edge accomplished. First he hates Mon-El, then after some stern words from Guardian, he loves him? What purpose did that serve? Wow, that's sure a lot of complaining about a comic I liked! To end this review on a positive note, I will say I really enjoyed the parts of this comic that focused on Mon-El and his world tour. I like Mon-El, I like the way James has been writing him, and I hope the next issue devotes more time to Mon and less time to the secondary characters. For a score, I'll give this book a 7 1/2 out of 10 and hope we get more Mon-El and less of everyone else beginning next issue.
Green Lantern #42
Happy days are here again, Green Lantern #42 showed up in my mailbox today! After doing my Green Lantern happy dance, I eagerly tore the protective wrapper off and commerced reading. This issue is once again written by the magnanimous Geoff Johns(I'm starting to run out of adjectives to describe Geoff!).
-This issue begins with Larfleeze obtaining the object of his desires, Hal's blue ring. However, it seems that Larfleeze never actually possessed the ring, instead the ring gave Larfleeze a taste of what he wanted before ripping it away... Wow, that ring is just plain mean... After Larfleeze "loses" the ring, he attacks Hal anew, but Hal counters with an army of Green Lantern constructs, similar to the Orange Lantern constructs Larfleeze has been using.
-On the surface of the planet Okaara, John Stewart is trying to deal with Star Sapphire Fatality, his old sworn enemy. Fatality tries to get John to forgive himself for the destruction of her homeworld and plants a kiss on him. John pushes her away, and she reiterates that he needs to forgive himself before taking off.
-With Larfleeze paying more attention to Hal and his faux Green Lantern Corps, the Green Lanterns and the Guardians on the surface of the planet have begun to take the initiative and manage to break into Larfleeze's inner sanctum. Larfleeze becomes momentarily distracted by the arrival of the Guardians and their forces and Hal takes that opportunity to wrestle the Orange Power Battery away from Larfleeze. Possessing the Orange Battery transforms Hal into an Orange Lantern and his head is filled by thoughts of greed by the Battery. While Hal is distracted by the voice in his head, Larfleeze snatches the Battery back in a rage.
-Larfleeze, now totally pissed off by Hal's act of "thievery", powers his ring up to almost 8,000%(!!!)and tears into the Green Lanterns and the Guardians for their trespasses. Hal's blue ring asks him for the umpteenth time what he wishes for and Hal tells it he wishes it would shut up. The ring registers Hal's sincerity and powers him up with the power of the blue. The blue power beats on Larfleeze while simultaneously powering up the Green Lanterns present. After the rings power is expended, it leaves Hal's finger and begins to search for a replacement.
-Larfleeze is saddened by the fact that the blue ring is gone, and tells the Guardians that he can still attack them if need be. The Guardians, now tired of fighting and of the mindset that it's probably best if Larfleeze keeps the Orange Battery, as opposed to an unknown quantity, decide to strike a deal with Larfleeze. The Guardians send the Green Lanterns away while they finalize their deal with Larfleeze.
-On the surface of Okaara, Hal reveals that he saw an image of Sinestro asking for his help while he was being powered by the blue ring. The Guardians teleport to the surface of Okaara, but refuse to disclose what kind of deal they made to appease Larfleeze.
-The main story of this issue ends with us discovering that Larfleeze wanted to know where to find a blue ring, and the Guardians sending him straight after Ganthet, Sayd and their fledgling Blue Lantern Corps...
-The epilogue sets up Blackest Night with the two Green Lanterns sent by Scar to find the corpse of the Anti-Monitor finally completing their journey. The two Lanterns discover the huge Black Lantern that sprung up around the Anti-Monitor after his defeat in the Sinestro Corps War. The Black Lantern registers living beings in its proximity and the corpse of the Anti-Monitor(?)springs to life and attempts to kill the two Lanterns.
This comic was kind of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed it, but I'm so psyched for Blackest Night(which is a mere two weeks away!!!)that I really just wanted this issue/story to end so the Blackest Night festivities could get underway. I've been waiting for the Blackest Night to get started for so long that I really didn't care how the Orange Lantern story concluded. Is that a dumb way to look at things? Yes, but that's me. For a score, I'll go with an 8 1/2 out of 10. I enjoyed this issue and would happily recommend it, but in the long run I didn't really care about it.
-This issue begins with Larfleeze obtaining the object of his desires, Hal's blue ring. However, it seems that Larfleeze never actually possessed the ring, instead the ring gave Larfleeze a taste of what he wanted before ripping it away... Wow, that ring is just plain mean... After Larfleeze "loses" the ring, he attacks Hal anew, but Hal counters with an army of Green Lantern constructs, similar to the Orange Lantern constructs Larfleeze has been using.
-On the surface of the planet Okaara, John Stewart is trying to deal with Star Sapphire Fatality, his old sworn enemy. Fatality tries to get John to forgive himself for the destruction of her homeworld and plants a kiss on him. John pushes her away, and she reiterates that he needs to forgive himself before taking off.
-With Larfleeze paying more attention to Hal and his faux Green Lantern Corps, the Green Lanterns and the Guardians on the surface of the planet have begun to take the initiative and manage to break into Larfleeze's inner sanctum. Larfleeze becomes momentarily distracted by the arrival of the Guardians and their forces and Hal takes that opportunity to wrestle the Orange Power Battery away from Larfleeze. Possessing the Orange Battery transforms Hal into an Orange Lantern and his head is filled by thoughts of greed by the Battery. While Hal is distracted by the voice in his head, Larfleeze snatches the Battery back in a rage.
-Larfleeze, now totally pissed off by Hal's act of "thievery", powers his ring up to almost 8,000%(!!!)and tears into the Green Lanterns and the Guardians for their trespasses. Hal's blue ring asks him for the umpteenth time what he wishes for and Hal tells it he wishes it would shut up. The ring registers Hal's sincerity and powers him up with the power of the blue. The blue power beats on Larfleeze while simultaneously powering up the Green Lanterns present. After the rings power is expended, it leaves Hal's finger and begins to search for a replacement.
-Larfleeze is saddened by the fact that the blue ring is gone, and tells the Guardians that he can still attack them if need be. The Guardians, now tired of fighting and of the mindset that it's probably best if Larfleeze keeps the Orange Battery, as opposed to an unknown quantity, decide to strike a deal with Larfleeze. The Guardians send the Green Lanterns away while they finalize their deal with Larfleeze.
-On the surface of Okaara, Hal reveals that he saw an image of Sinestro asking for his help while he was being powered by the blue ring. The Guardians teleport to the surface of Okaara, but refuse to disclose what kind of deal they made to appease Larfleeze.
-The main story of this issue ends with us discovering that Larfleeze wanted to know where to find a blue ring, and the Guardians sending him straight after Ganthet, Sayd and their fledgling Blue Lantern Corps...
-The epilogue sets up Blackest Night with the two Green Lanterns sent by Scar to find the corpse of the Anti-Monitor finally completing their journey. The two Lanterns discover the huge Black Lantern that sprung up around the Anti-Monitor after his defeat in the Sinestro Corps War. The Black Lantern registers living beings in its proximity and the corpse of the Anti-Monitor(?)springs to life and attempts to kill the two Lanterns.
This comic was kind of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed it, but I'm so psyched for Blackest Night(which is a mere two weeks away!!!)that I really just wanted this issue/story to end so the Blackest Night festivities could get underway. I've been waiting for the Blackest Night to get started for so long that I really didn't care how the Orange Lantern story concluded. Is that a dumb way to look at things? Yes, but that's me. For a score, I'll go with an 8 1/2 out of 10. I enjoyed this issue and would happily recommend it, but in the long run I didn't really care about it.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The June Comic Report.
The month of June has come and gone. As always, here's a list of the books I reviewed during the past month, along with the score for each title.
- Fantastic Four #566- 6 1/2 out of 10
- Battle for the Cowl: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #2- 4 out of 10
- Battle for the Cowl: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #3- 5 1/2 out of 10
- X-Men Legacy #217- 5 out of 10
- X-Men Legacy #218- 4 1/2 out of 10
- X-Men Legacy #219- 4 out of 10
- Wolverine Origins #36- 8 out of 10
- Wolverine #72- 10 out of 10
- Wolverine #73- 4 1/2 out of 10
- New Avengers #53- 3 out of 10
- Mighty Avengers #25- 9 out of 10
- Wonder Woman #32- 9 out of 10
- Green Lantern #41- 9 out of 10
- Superman: World of New Krypton #4- 9 1/2 out of 10
- Nova #25- 8 out of 10
- Superman #688- 9 1/2 out of 10
- Secret Six #10- 8 out of 10
- Battle for the Cowl: Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? #1- 7 out of 10
- Flash: Rebirth #3- 8 out of 10
- Green Lantern Corps #37- 10 out of 10
- New Mutants #2- 7 out of 10
- Titans #14- 4 out of 10
- Wolverine #74- 3 1/2 out of 10
- X-Factor #44- 6 out of 10
- Batman #687- 9 1/2 out of 10
- Uncanny X-Men #511- 6 out of 10
- New Avengers: The Reunion #4- 7 1/2 out of 10
- Fantastic Four #567- 6 1/2 out of 10
- Avengers The Initiative #24- 8 out of 10
- Action Comics #868- 8 out of 10
- Action Comics Annual #12- 7 out of 10
- Green Arrow and Black Canary #21- 8 1/2 out of 10
- Booster Gold #21- 7 1/2 out of 10
- Teen Titans #71- 7 out of 10
- Batman and Robin #2- 6 1/2 out of 10
- Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2- 7 1/2 out of 10
- X-Men Legacy #225- 7 out of 10
- War of Kings #4- 9 1/2 out of 10
- Captain America #600- 9 1/2 out of 10
Those are the comics I've actually bothered to review. I've also been reading through the old JSA series, as well as some random stuff that managed to catch my eye. Last month(May)I doled out 7 perfect scores to only 2 this month(June)... My favorite comic of this month was easily Green Lantern Corps #37. Wolverine #72 was also damn good, but GLC was really special. The worst comic I had the misfortune of reading this past month was New Avengers #53, also known as the Dread Lord BENDIS strikes back! Ah BENDIS... He never ceases to amaze me. And I mean that in a bad way! The biggest surprise of the month had to be the fact that I only gave X-Factor #44 a 6 out of 10. After how red-hot X-Factor was during the early part of this year, I'm slightly disappointed by how things have been tailing off. With that said though, I'm still confident that Peter David is going to return to his usual brilliant form in that series. With Captain America: Reborn and Blackest Night getting underway this month, I'm expecting a lot more than the measly two perfect scores I handed out during the month of June.
Wonder Woman #33
This issue is the conclusion to the thus far stellar "Rise of the Olympian" storyline. However this storyarc ends, things have definitely been shaken up in Wonder Woman's world, which should make for some very interesting stories going forward. The writer here is Gail Simone.
-This comic opens with Wonder Woman returning home to Themyscira beaten and unconscious after her victory over Genocide, her insane future self. As the Amazons and WW's mother, Hippolyta, look over the beaten princess, a legion of sea monsters attack the island. Hippolyta orders WW to be taken to safety and the Amazon's attack.
-WW awakens to the sounds of war and ties hew lasso to her right hand and an axe to her left and joins the battle.
-Ares, the orchestrator of this battle, orders his creatures away from Themyscira and after the island home of Zeus' current favorites, the Olympians. Hippolyta orders the Amazons to pursue the monsters and the Amazons lend their assistance to the Olympians.
-While the battle wages all around her, WW figures that Ares is probably close by, reveling in the pain and suffering he was responsible for. WW locates Ares and buries her axe deep in his skull(!!!), seemingly killing him.
-Ares "death" halts the battle and Ares forces retreat to the waters from whence they came. Zeus takes this opportunity to show his face and to tell WW that he created the Olympians as a favor to her, so she could become a wife and mother. He also lets it slip that he murdered the god WW had made a pact with after WW had forsaken Zeus a few issues back. Upon hearing of Zeus' actions, WW lays out Zeus with a well placed haymaker to the shock and horror of her mother and the combined Amazons and Olympians.
-Needless to say, Zeus is less than happy about taking that shot to the chin, and he tells WW that as her god it is her duty to worship and obey him. WW refuses, and Zeus tells her that it is his decree that Achilles, the leader of the Olympians, is now the leader of both the Olympians and the Amazons. WW rejects Zeus and turns her back on her home. Hippolyta tries to convince WW to listen to Zeus like a good Amazon should, but WW tells her mother she can not be Zeus' puppet anymore. After Achilles promises to take care of the Amazons, WW leaves Themyscira for possibly the last time(well at least for now, I'm trying to be dramatic!).
-This issue ends with the evil Amazon, Captain Alkyone, pulling out one of those weird clay babies and revealing that Ares had put the soul of Genocide in it. Alkyone then puts her "daughter" away for safe keeping.
I'm kind of torn about my feelings regarding this comic. One one hand there were some pretty cool action scenes(come on, WW burying that axe into Ares head was simply AWESOME!), but for some reason the story just didn't click for me. I really wanted to love this issue, since I've so enjoyed this storyline, but there was just something lacking... Maybe it was the ease in which Ares was defeated(killed?). Since Ares was supposed to be the guy responsible for all of the crap WW has been through in recent issues, I would have liked to have seen WW and Ares have an epic battle(a couple of pages long at least). A nice long fight scene with Ares taunting WW before WW finally put the axe into his brain. Not just a quick "CHONK!" and nothing more...
Oh, and call me old fashioned, but I also don't like to see Zeus running around in a spacesuit. What the hell is THAT all about anyway!?! Shouldn't Zeus be running around in a toga or something? For a score I'll give this issue an 8 out of 10, mainly based on the strength of the fight scenes. Aaron Lopresti really did a fantastic job with the pencil work here and Matt Ryan's inks did a nice job of embellishing Aaron's art. While I wasn't overly fond of this final chapter of this story, I'd give the entire storyline a very strong recommendation.
-This comic opens with Wonder Woman returning home to Themyscira beaten and unconscious after her victory over Genocide, her insane future self. As the Amazons and WW's mother, Hippolyta, look over the beaten princess, a legion of sea monsters attack the island. Hippolyta orders WW to be taken to safety and the Amazon's attack.
-WW awakens to the sounds of war and ties hew lasso to her right hand and an axe to her left and joins the battle.
-Ares, the orchestrator of this battle, orders his creatures away from Themyscira and after the island home of Zeus' current favorites, the Olympians. Hippolyta orders the Amazons to pursue the monsters and the Amazons lend their assistance to the Olympians.
-While the battle wages all around her, WW figures that Ares is probably close by, reveling in the pain and suffering he was responsible for. WW locates Ares and buries her axe deep in his skull(!!!), seemingly killing him.
-Ares "death" halts the battle and Ares forces retreat to the waters from whence they came. Zeus takes this opportunity to show his face and to tell WW that he created the Olympians as a favor to her, so she could become a wife and mother. He also lets it slip that he murdered the god WW had made a pact with after WW had forsaken Zeus a few issues back. Upon hearing of Zeus' actions, WW lays out Zeus with a well placed haymaker to the shock and horror of her mother and the combined Amazons and Olympians.
-Needless to say, Zeus is less than happy about taking that shot to the chin, and he tells WW that as her god it is her duty to worship and obey him. WW refuses, and Zeus tells her that it is his decree that Achilles, the leader of the Olympians, is now the leader of both the Olympians and the Amazons. WW rejects Zeus and turns her back on her home. Hippolyta tries to convince WW to listen to Zeus like a good Amazon should, but WW tells her mother she can not be Zeus' puppet anymore. After Achilles promises to take care of the Amazons, WW leaves Themyscira for possibly the last time(well at least for now, I'm trying to be dramatic!).
-This issue ends with the evil Amazon, Captain Alkyone, pulling out one of those weird clay babies and revealing that Ares had put the soul of Genocide in it. Alkyone then puts her "daughter" away for safe keeping.
I'm kind of torn about my feelings regarding this comic. One one hand there were some pretty cool action scenes(come on, WW burying that axe into Ares head was simply AWESOME!), but for some reason the story just didn't click for me. I really wanted to love this issue, since I've so enjoyed this storyline, but there was just something lacking... Maybe it was the ease in which Ares was defeated(killed?). Since Ares was supposed to be the guy responsible for all of the crap WW has been through in recent issues, I would have liked to have seen WW and Ares have an epic battle(a couple of pages long at least). A nice long fight scene with Ares taunting WW before WW finally put the axe into his brain. Not just a quick "CHONK!" and nothing more...
Oh, and call me old fashioned, but I also don't like to see Zeus running around in a spacesuit. What the hell is THAT all about anyway!?! Shouldn't Zeus be running around in a toga or something? For a score I'll give this issue an 8 out of 10, mainly based on the strength of the fight scenes. Aaron Lopresti really did a fantastic job with the pencil work here and Matt Ryan's inks did a nice job of embellishing Aaron's art. While I wasn't overly fond of this final chapter of this story, I'd give the entire storyline a very strong recommendation.
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