Amazing Spider-Man #679.1

The second(of THREE!) reviews tonight is Amazing Spider-Man #679.1... Now, I like Spidey as much as the next guy, but why the HELL does Spidey need a Point One issue?! I mean there are like 4 Spidey comics released a month between Amazing and Avenging, so why add ANOTHER?! On the plus side though, this issue was a dollar less than your normal Spidey story, so there's that.

Amazing Spider-Man #679.1:

Summary: This issue deals with Peter Parker and his fellow scientist, Uatu(no, not the Watcher... Obviously Uatu is a common name in the Marvel U), being curious about what lays behind the mysterious Lab 6 of Horizon Labs. Uatu has decided a monster was behind the door, while Peter isn't sure WHAT is behind the door, only that it tends to set off his spider-sense. Eventually Peter's curiosity gets the better of him and he changes to his Spidey duds and sneaks along the ductwork, spotting the head of the lab, Max Modell, talking to the sole occupant of Lab 6, Morbius. Spidey hops into the lab when he thinks Morbius was going to attack Max, and the two fight their way into the hallway. Uatu grabs some of his vampire hunting equipment(sure, why not) and goes to help Spidey subdue Morbius. The duo manage to defeat Morbius, but instead of praise, Spidey is lambasted by Max for sneaking around the Labs and attacking Morbius, who was only trying to cure his vampirism. Later on, Morbius is put back in Lab 6, where he continues his experiments, experiments that apparently would soon include the Lizard(!?).

Thoughts: You know, this wasn't a terrible comic or anything, but DAMN did it seem LOOOOONG! I don't know what it was, but it just kept going and going and going... It could have been worse, this could have been a terrible comic that kept dragging on, instead it was just kind of boring. In all honesty, I have NO idea why THIS warranted Point One status...

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Hey look, it's Morbius! He was drinking blood before drinking blood was cool!

Venom #13.2

Here's a comic that I normally LOVE to read, and is usually near the top of my new comic pile... Except for this month... The first two issues of this Circle of Four storyline have been REALLY lacking, as we've been focusing on the guest stars at the expense of the star of this series... The reason I enjoy this series, besides Rick Remender's above average writing is because I like reading about VENOM! Not Bad-Ass Ghost Rider, not X-23, not Red Hulk, but VENOM! Sadly I get the feeling I'll be getting LOTS of X-23 here and not much Venom...

Venom #13.2:

Summary: Surprise, surprise, this issue IS all about X-23 and Bas-Ass Ghost Rider! Needless to say, Rob Williams is the writer... Anyway, X-23 makes her way through Blackheart's lair while being heckled by her Antithesis. Yes, heckled. Meanwhile, while Red Hulk and Venom are being treated like little bitches, Bad-Ass Ghost Rider manages to save them by threatening Blackheart's girlfriend, which causes Blackheart to call all of the Antithesis's off of the hero they were currently tormenting so they could attack Bad-Ass Ghost Rider. The Antithesis's do as ordered and threaten Bad-Ass Ghost Rider, but she is soon joined by Venom and Red Hulk... Um, why? She's a BAD-ASS and needs no help! Red Hulk tries the logical strategy and tells the heroes to switch Antithesis's, hoping to confuse their enemies. Unfortunately, this works out TERRIBLY, and Venom's Antithesis kills Red Hulk(!). Red Hulk's Antithesis mortally wounds Bad-Ass Ghost Rider, but she's just too damn BAD-ASS to die immediately(you know, like Red Hulk did), and rushes off to stop Blackheart's girlfriend from destroying the talisman that was keeping Hell contained in Vegas while Venom holds the Antithesis's off. Back with X-23, she is tricked by Blackheart's smooth talking and is dropped into a pit of fire. Venom shockingly manages to kill two of the Antithesis's, but winds up being murdered by Blackheart's girlfriend. While that's going on, Blackheart is telling Bad-Ass Ghost Rider that he would use his powers to fix some mess she seemed to have made in Nicaragua... Provided she destroyed the talisman. Bad-Ass Ghost Rider does as Blackheart asks, and Dr. Strange and the presently NOT evil Daimon Hellstrom watch in horror, as they realize Hell was now free to spread across the entire planet.

Thoughts: Yup, Venom FINALLY got a chance to shine a bit here, so that's a good thing. Unfortunately, most of this comic revolved around Bad-Ass Ghost Rider... Which is, for me at least, a BAD thing. Seeing as that there are still three more parts to this story, I somehow doubt everybody died in this issue, although I WILL be holding out hope that for some reason Bad-Ass Ghost Rider DID die for real!

Score: 5 out of 10.

That's gonna leave a mark...

Wolverine #301

Last review for the night? The latest issue of Wolverine... Man, I'm so tired my introductions are all the exact same now!! Terrible!

Wolverine #301:

Summary: Wolverine is trapped between an all-out war between the Hand and the Japanese Yakuza, with his adopted daughter Amiko being held captive by the leader of the Hand. Oh, and Sabretooth and Mystique are also working for the Hand. The bastard son of the Silver Samurai is also here, as he's been dating Amiko, and he wants to try to free her. He's sporting a super high-tech Silver Samurai suit, naturally. After a WHOLE load of fighting, the Hand ninjas manage to get their hands on what they REALLY wanted out of this whole mess, the new Silver Samurai, as with his father dead, he was the acting head of the Yashida Clan, whether he knew it or not. Having Kid Samurai in their custody, the Hand ninjas(along with Mystique and Sabretooth) teleport away. Wolverine does some sleuthing and discovers where the Hand's secret headquarters was. However, Amiko follows after Wolvie, which is something that will almost definitely make Wolvie's life difficult going forward.

Thoughts: I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I just plain don't like Wolverine's adventures in Japan. Sorry. I mean the story here is pretty solid and easy to follow, but I just can't get too in to it because in the end it's ANOTHER Wolverine in Japan story. To end this review on a positive note, this IS one of the better Wolverine in Japan stories that I've read, so that's good.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Wolverine's life really sucks sometimes...

Ultimate X-Men #7

First up today is the latest issue of Ultimate X-Men. The best thing about the Ultimate version of the X-Men? No Decimation.

Ultimate X-Men #7:

Summary: This issue basically recounts Quicksilver's last few actions, which all led to the Nimrod Sentinels gaining access to Cerebro technology. Quicksilver blames his thought to be dead sister, the Scarlet Witch for this calamity, since he was following her plans... However, Wanda points out that Pietro DIDN'T follow her plans to the letter, as he boinked some random woman when he was supposed to be meeting with “God”, an action that screwed up her well crafted plans... Supposedly. Wanda tells Pietro to go and beg for God's forgiveness, so Pietro heads to Egypt, where followers of God were worshiping outside a cave. Pietro enters and begs God's forgiveness, and is granted the absolution he wanted. And who was God you ask? How about his father, the thought to be dead Magneto!!

Thoughts: I love that Nick Spencer is basically undoing all of the bullshit that Jeph Loeb did during that horrendous Ultimatum event... Now I'm I'm sure some of you are thinking that's a somewhat hypocritical thing for me to say seeing as that I'm usually such a stickler for continuity. But when it comes to Ultimatum? I say it was SUCH a terrible event it SHOULD be forgotten, and erased from continuity! I mean hell, if DC can erase their entire history, why can't I pretend Ultimatum never happened? Anyway, this was an okay comic with an ending I never saw coming, seeing as that EVERYTHING was pointing towards Apocalypse being the “God” in the cave. The Magneto reveal was a HUGE swerve that has me mildly interested in the next few issues here.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Man do I hope that's not a shapeshifter...

A word to the wise...

Okay, a quick word before we get back to the comic reviews... I recently got a new job, and as such, have a bit less time to sit around reading and reviewing comics. On the plus side, a job equals MORE comics, but on the negative side, a job also equals less free time... But job or no job, I STILL intend on reviewing every comic I pick up during the week, I just may have to be a bit brisker with the reviews. So, expect a bit less in the next several reviews, especially since I'm a bit behind as it is with my reviewing this past week. As always, if you want to know more about a comic I'm reviewing, leave a comment and I'll do my best to fill in any blanks left by my shoddy reviewing! With that out of the way, let's get back to the comics!

Supergirl #6

Last review of the night? Let's go with Supergirl... Why not?

Supergirl #6:

Summary: Still pinned to the wall in the remains of Argo City, with the city slowly drifting into the sun it was orbiting, Supergirl pretty much gives up and seems ready to accept her fate. Meanwhile, Reign teleports herself to Earth and tells a police officer to tell the greatest warriors of the Earth to meet her in the middle of Manhattan where she would defeat them. Back with SG, she has a vision of her parents who tell her not to give up, and to try to cut out a new life for herself even though Krypton was no more. Upon “hearing” that, SG manages to unpin herself from the wall and flies away from Argo City. SG returns to Earth and attacks Reign, who is a bit disappointed by SG's actions, since she was hoping SG would join with her to conquer the Earth. With that, Reign manages to erect a massive forcefield over Manhattan and has several other Worldkillers teleport to her side, much to SG's dismay.

Thoughts: Much like Thunderbolts #170, this was an issue that was saved by a strong cliffhanger. Nothing really happened in this one except for SG hallucinating(presumably) and Reign attacking the Earth. I figured this was all building towards a Reign/SG showdown, but the addition of the other three Worldkillers really added a great twist here. I can't wait to see how SG manages to defeat FOUR Worldkillers considering the fact that she was battered by ONE of them an issue ago!

Score: 7 out of 10.

As far as hallucinations go, SG's parents were really helpful!

Thunderbolts #170

Hey all, X with a duo of reviews to start off the weekend... I KNOW I need to get three reviews up and posted soon, but I just got myself a new job, and it's getting a bit tough to find the time to review comics... But fear not, I SHOULD have two reviews up today, tomorrow, and three up for Monday and Tuesday... Hopefully.

Thunderbolts #170:

Summary: Ghost finally reveals that he was secretly spying on the evil Thunderbolts and frees them from the dungeon Merlin had tossed them in to. The T-Bolts make their way up to Merlin's personal tower and take back their equipment, while Satana checks out some of Merlin's more powerful magical items. Fixer spots the Black Knight preparing to slice open the T-Bolt's time traveling tower, and fearing that they'd be stranded in the past if Black Knight was successful, he tells Moonstone to stop him... At which point Moonstone is attacked by Merlin's pet dragon. With that, the rest of the T-Bolts rush outside and take advantage of the chaos that was ensuing due to them releasing the other magical captives in Merlin's prison. The T-Bolts make it back to their tower, and are met by Merlin, who tells them that by releasing the magical beasts from the dungeon, they had pretty much damned Camelot to fall in a few years time... Whoops! Since Merlin knew the event was destined to happen, he isn't angry with the T-Bolts and offers to assist them in returning to their own time... How magnanimous of him! Merlin tells them they needed a timeless object that could tether them to their proper time period, and points out the moonstone that grants... um, Moonstone her powers. Using magic, science and the moonstone as a tether, the T-Bolts are transported forward in time, but wind up a few years away from their destination, and look out their window to see Citizen V(Baron Zemo!) and the original Thunderbolts heading to T-Bolts tower to investigate(!!).

Thoughts: I have to admit, most of this comic did nothing for me... I've never been a fan of Merlin, Arther or the Camelot stuff, so yeah, most of this issue left me unimpressed... However, the cliffhanger? Awesome! That cliffhanger probably added a full point to the score of this one! Seriously, that one page, with Zemo as Citizen V, and the original T-Bolts(/the Masters of Evil) approaching T-Bolts tower was fantastic! Those early Thunderbolts comics are among my ALL time favorites, so getting to relive them should be incredible. So while I wasn't in love with THIS issue, the next issue should be great.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Next issue should be AWESOME!

Weekly Comic News for Feb. 18th!

It's that time once again, for your favorite weekly review of comic book news, brought to you by your favorite blogger not named X-Man. This unfortunately has been a pretty slow news week but I'll give you guys the few news stories I did come by. So let's get down to business and see what news we found out over the last week.

Ravagers Roll Call

Last week I posted the picture above and asked you all to speculate on who you think the team members are. Well guess no longer, in an interview with Howard Mackie, it was confirmed the Ravagers squad will consist of Caitlin Fairchild, Beast Boy (Boooo), Terra, Thunder, Lightning, and a newcomer by the name of Ridge. We also find out some info on the upcoming crossover between Teen Titans, Superboy, and Legion Lost, known as "The Culling". We also learn that Beast Boy's change in color is due to Animal Man. Here I thought I was just so annoyed by him that I was seeing red. (Source)

DC has Doomed Mark Waid

News recently broke on Twitter that Mark Waid, writer of the Justice League "Tower of Babel" storyline had been snubbed by DC Comics. After voice-over actor Phil Lamarr (Green Lantern on JLA/JLU and Static Shock on his animated series) remarked how he wish he could have been involved in the recording of the upcoming Justice League animated move "Doom", based on Mark Waids' Tower of Babel storyline, adapted by Dwayne McDuffie, Mark Waid commented that he'd been left out as well, as he wasn't even invited to the premiere of the film. When Lamarr replied that he was shocked, Waid responded by saying "Dude, I’ll be lucky if they send me a comp DVD." Some may know that Waid has been very vocal about his displeasure with DC Comics as well as J.M. Straczynski, as well as Mark Waid being hired and fired from writing for his favorite character, Superman, over the course of a few days due to alleged office politics.

Venom vs. The Savage Six?

(The following news story includes spoilers.)
Just when I thought I couldn't enjoy Venom anymore, word has spread via the talented Rick Remender, that Venom is about to get his own Rogue's Gallery, in an upcoming five-issue story arc, we'll see Venom take on the Savage Six. The Savage Six will consist of The Crime Master, Jack'O Lantern, The Human Fly, and more, including Toxin! Also, Eddie Brock will join the cast, and apparently starts hunting to eradicate the symbiotes, and we'll also see Brock don yet another symbiote?! (read more here)

The Walking Dead are coming

To a game console near you. That's right, this week we got a few peeks at the upcoming Telltale Games Walking Dead video game. It's going to be a point and click style Horror Adventure game, so take that for what it's worth. I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead show and comic series, and I really enjoyed the Back To The Future games that were produced by Telltale Games, but I can't say I'm too interested in this personally. I'll play the demo when it's released and take it from there but this art style doesn't really get me too excited for the game. There's a picture below for those interested and more info on the game here.

Judd Winick is WINNING!

Forgive me for the outdated Charlie Sheen reference but coming up with these titles is a lot harder than you'd think. Anywho, Judd Winick, a personal favorite writer of mine that re-established Jason Todd in the DC Universe is writing not one, not two but three stories for the upcoming Bat-Family story, "Night of The Owls". Judd will bring his feline femme fatale Catwoman, the African-Batman known as Batwing, and he'll temporarily take over Batman: The Dark Knight #9 for a tie-in starring Red Robin. To say I'm excited for that is an understatement. To read more and see what Winick has to say about these three stories crossing over for the Night of Owls storyline, click here.

Nightwing 1, Marvel 0

Anyone that has picked up the most recent issue of Nightwing may notice that the former Dark Knight is laying the smack down on a bunch of thugs on this month's cover. More eagle-eyed readers may notice that Nightwing is actually beating up thugs that represent the Marvel Universe. One thug has the Punisher Logo on his jacket, another has Cap's star on his back, and the third has a Spider-Man logo tattooed on his arm. So it seems someone taking shots at Marvel comics, and it wouldn't be the first time. (Cover)

Cartoon Network gets New Teen Titans

That's right, fans of the former Cartoon Network Teen Titans show may be delighted to see we'll be getting the original voice cast back with a new Teen Titans short cartoon that will be shown in between episodes of Young Justice and the Green Lantern animated series. This new mini-series (no pun intended) will be called "New Teen Titans" and will also feature guest stars including Plastic Man, The Doom Patrol and Lego Batman. Yes, you read that right, Lego Batman. See more info as well as a trailer by clicking here.


And that's it for this week everyone, as I said, this wasn't the best week for comicbook news, but hey, I tried! As always feel free to comment and post any news I missed, and until next time this is Jason Todd, signing off.