Green Lantern #14

Hey X-Maniacs, JT here once again with another review, and today we're tackling the most recent issue of Green Lantern. After leaving off with Simon Baz, the newest Green Lantern being confronted, rather violently, by the Justice League, let's see how he deals with his first threat as a Green Lantern.

Green Lantern #14

Summary: We get things started with The Guardians discussing how soon their new third army will have taken over the entire universe, in three months time to be exact. The Guardians are called crazy by The mysterious First Lantern, who says they're doing away with souls, and souls are what make life wonderful, but the Guardians retort he only values soul's to torture them. The Lantern says it's funny, now that he's seen what monster's the Guardians have become, and when he escapes, they'll be first on his list. Back on Earth, in Dearborn, Michigan, Simon Baz is confronted by the Justice League, and quickly concedes, saying Superman could take him out by himself, but he may be able to take Batman, to which Flash replies "Yep, he's a Green Lantern." which was a great line. Simon explains that he's not a terrorist, and the ring just showed up, as he pleads his innocence. The League believe him, but ask him to remove his ring as a precaution, and Simon is fine with that. Batman reaches for his ring but a huge Sinestro construct shoots out of it yelling "DO NOT TOUCH MY RING!" which The League interpret as an attack. Simon tries to explain that he didn't do anything, but they pursue him so he runs, and manages to escape with his ring, showing he's definitely a quick learner. Baz then meets with his sister, Sira. who gives him the name and address of the person who owned the rigged van he stole. She also tells him she doesn't blame him for her husband getting in a wreck from racing with him and falling into a coma, and neither would her husband. In deep space, the trapped Guardians, or Good Guardians are still trapped when they hear someone outside of their locked room, and it's the Black Hand. He resurrects the Guardian that was killed by the evil Guardians (confusing right?) and demands answers. He discovers he's in a prison known as the Chamber of Shadows and there is no escape. From there we see inside of Black Hand's ring, as we see Sinestro and Hal Jordan, when they're approached by a cloaked man telling Sinestro he must follow him, as it's time to pay for his crime, as this issue comes to a close.
 
Thoughts: This was a pretty quick issue, and a fast read. I enjoyed the parts with Simon, him thinking he could take Batman because he was "normal" shows that he's a bit cocky and uninformed, but his construct and the way he got the league off of him shows how innovative he is, which is definitely a plus for a Lantern. The stuff with the Guardians was a bit boring, except I am curious to see the first Lantern, and see if he has any ties with any current Lanterns. Other than that, this was a fine issue, I'm excited to see what's next for Baz as well as finally getting some answers for Sinestro and Hal Jordan.

Score: 7.510 

Baz: I mean, you're Superman, even if I knew how to use this ring, you'd kick my ass by yourself. Maybe I could take Batman.
Flash: He's a Green Lantern all right!

Deadpool #1

As sure as the sun sets in the west, Marvel is releasing another first issue of Deadpool...  Counting Cable/Deadpool, this is the fifth Deadpool series we've gotten(sixth if you want to count Agent X, which was kind of the spiritual successor of the first Deadpool ongoing).  If I'm being completely honest, I'm not exactly looking forward to this comic...  The first storyline sounds, well, pretty lame.  But here's hoping new writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan prove me wrong and bring us a classic DP story.

Deadpool #1: 

Summary:  So some random necromancer has been running around resurrecting the deceased Presidents of the United States, hoping they could make the country more like the good ol' days.  Captain America ended up decapitating the ghost of Harry Truman, but that action drove the media into a frenzy, so SHIELD decided to use somebody of a lesser status to hunt down these rogue presidents, that somebody being Deadpool.  After defeating Franklin D Roosevelt in Manhattan, Pool is dispatched to Philadelphia, where many of the dead presidents had ended up.  Unfortunately for Pool, he is shot in the back of the head by Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington declares that the zombie presidents were going to tear the country apart and then start it all over again.

Thoughts:  Yep, this was about as bad as I was fearing...  I means seriously, Deadpool vs the former presidents?  Who the hell thought THAT was a good idea?!  Basically this comic was terrible.  It didn't have a good story, but it was also missing the humor that a Deadpool comic so desperately needs, especially for when the story is lacking.  Comedy IS subjective, so hopefully there are some people out there who did enjoy this series.  I just wasn't one of them.  I really don't have anything good to say about this comic, so I think I should end this review here.  Before signing off though, I will say that this series looks to be the first Marvel Now! casualty from my pull list...  I'll give this title one more issue and then wait for a new writer(s) to take over the book.

Score: 3 1/2 out of 10.

So, I guess Deadpool's whole missing healing factor thing quietly fixed itself...

AVX Consequences #5

Hey guys, JT here with the finale of AVX Consequences. We last ended thing with Cyclops telling Magneto, via some metal shavings that he was ready to be broken out of prison, let's see how things work out for Scott Summers.

AVX Consequences #5

Summary: We start things off with Magneto preparing to break Scott out of Prison, with his cohorts, Magik and Danger. The trio takes off to head to the prison and we jump over to see Captain America, Wolverine, Captain Marvel and a few more Avengers approach hope, as she's sleeping in an alley for some reason. They tell her she needs to head home as people are worried about her while she's out looking for Cable, and that they can help because they have equipment at their disposal that she doesn't. The reunion is cut short when the Avengers find out there's been a prison break. We go back twenty minutes and see Magneto, Danger and Magick breaking into the prison and freeing Cyclops from his power-dampening headgear. Before they leave, Scott wants to go "say his goodbyes", and he goes after the guys that attacked his former mutant pal. He breaks them free and has them put into a portal made by Magik, where something with Tentacles grabs them and pulls them below. Next, Cyclops walks over to the Organizer and tells him he was going to run a business that profited from Mutants, and that they plan on flattening his prison and everyone will escape, so it costs him a TON of money, and Cyclops tells him this is what happens when you try to profit from mutant prejudice. He also leaves Danger to leave a lasting impression on the Prison Organizer, in the form of a giant X cut onto his face, as Cyclops, Magik and Magneto leave via portal. Back in the present, A few of the Avengers show up at the prison, and Wolverine finds a note from Cyclops, saying he knows Wolverine is upset, but with Wolverine being the better man, he doesn't have to be, he can be the man that does what's necessary. Wolverine balls the note up and tells Captain America that Scott has indeed escaped from the prison. We also see Hope arriving home and she finds Cable waiting outside of her window, saying it's his job to watch after her, not the other way around, and he's always watching, as Hope replies "Thanks Dad." The issue comes to a close with Magneto, Magik and Cyclops suiting up, as Magneto says things are different now, with Cyclops responding that their still hated, feared and saving the world, nothing's changed at all.


Thoughts: This issue was pretty quick, but it did serve to establish that Scott is a villain now. He's not The Joker or Green Goblin but he is a Luthor-esque villain that believes he's doing the right thing, even though he's going about it the wrong way, which is fine for Scott. I'm excited to see this new dynamic for the character, and this issue really cemented him in that role for now. I didn't care much about the Hope and Cable stuff, and that really just took away from the character development with Scott, I would've preferred a bit more for Magik as well. But with Danger leaving the team after breaking out Scott, I am curious to see who else joins the "X-Tinction" team, and if Emma will side with Scott after the Phoenix Force betrayal. All in all this was a solid issue to a Mini-Series I really enjoyed, even more than AVX.

Score: 7/10

Magneto: This isn't like how it was before.
Cyclops: You're wrong. Hated. Feared. And saving the world. Tell me what's changed.

Avengers Academy #39

Well, here's a post I never wanted to do...  I've been SO high on this series, pretty much since it began.  I was able to convince a few fellow comic fans(most notably JT, who ended up typing a fantastic post on why people should read this series) to pick this comic up.  I named the series my favorite series of 2011 AND I named the writer, Christos Gage, my favorite writer of 2011.  Simply put, this is my favorite ongoing comic book series.  And sadly, this is the final issue.  There's not much more I can say here.  I will say that it was a magnificent 39+ issues and that I'm sure, on some rainy day, I'll end up pulling this series out of one of my many boxes of comics to read again, and that makes me happy.  So, for the final time, let's check out the latest issue of Avengers Academy...

Avengers Academy #39(Final Issue):

Summary:  There's not really all that much to summarize here, as this issue wrapped up a lot of the stories going on in this series...  X-23 confronted Finesse about the death of Jeremy Briggs, and warned Finesse to stay away from her since they were no longer friends, while Mettle and Hazmat finally decided to take the next step in their relationship.  Striker also ended up getting into a relationship, as he went to the prom with a kid who was inspired by his inspirational video.  Reptil and White Tiger ended up getting kind of cozy, but were interrupted by Finesse, who ended up spending time with Quicksilver.  In the end, the kids were granted enhanced Avengers clearance, and were told that the Avengers no longer looked at them as the next potential Masters of Evil, but saw them truly as the next generation of Avengers...  Well, except for Veil, who had given up her powers.  But things even worked out for Veil, who was no longer the abused wallflower at school, but was a more confident young woman.

Thoughts:  Naturally my thoughts here were pretty bittersweet...  Yes, this was yet another good to great issue of this series, but it WAS the final issue.  From here, many of the characters from this series(although not my two favorites...) are heading into Avengers Arena.  I've already added Avengers Arena to my pull list, but seriously, how long can a comic series with THAT premise possibly last?  Even with the Avengers name on it...  Oh well.  In the end, kudos to Christos Gage for finishing this series off as wonderfully as he did.  As I said in the intro, I can guarantee you I'll be reading this series again, from the first issue to the last, and loving every second of it.  Again.

Score: 9 out of 10.
 
I'll miss this series...

New Comic Day! November 7th Edition

Hey Blog Readers that are unfortunately referred to as X-Maniacs, JT here with the first half of this week's New Comic Day post. As always, I will review three comics over the next week, as will my cohort X. Everything we don't review will get a mention over at X-Man's Comic Forum. So let's get to it shall we? My comic haul this week includes Detective Comics #14, Green Lantern #14, Legends of the Dark Knight #2, Smallville Season 10 #7, Avengers Academy #39 (The final issue), Avenging Spider-Man #14, AVX Consequences #5, Deadpool #1, Iron Man #1, and Scarlet Spider #11. So with a grand total of ten comics, I have plenty to choose from. I think I'm going leave Avengers Academy for my buddy X, poetic justice since he's reviewed a majority of the issues here. I'll review AVX Consequences #5, Green Lantern #14, and Scarlet Spider #11. My review days this week are Friday, Sunday and Tuesday, so now I'll hand things over to my running mate, good ol' X!

Running mate, eh?  I DO like the sound of President X...  Although I'd be constantly watching my back with JT as my Vice President...  Anyway, as JT did indeed point out, it is time for this week's NCD post!  So huzzah!!  With JT getting a surprising 10 books(what is it, a full moon or something?!), let's dig into the old comic bag and see what I wound up with...  Hypernaturals #5, Stormwatch #14, Avengers #33, Avengers Academy #39, Avenging Spider-Man #14, AvX: Consequences #5, Deadpool #1, Iron Man #1, Scarlet Spider #11, Uncanny X-Force #33, X-Factor #246.  Hey, I edged JT out by a single comic!  I'll be reviewing Avengers Academy #39, Iron Man #1 and Deadpool #1(which I'm kind of surprised JT didn't take for himself.).  My review days are Thursday, Saturday and Monday, with Academy getting the first review of the week.  Like my VP, JT said, any of the books that aren't reviewed here, WILL get a review over at the forum, so don't forget to check that place out.  Annnnnd, that's it.  Until next time, X out.

Ultimate X-Men #18

So in the end I decided to review Ultimate X-Men instead of New Mutants(which was kind of boring) or Winter Soldier(which was FANTASTIC, but would have taken a lot of effort to write a semi-coherent review for).  Of course, I've already posted mini-reviews for both New Mutants and Winter Soldier over at the forum, as well as scores and thoughts.  So hit the forum up if you're interested in talking about those two books, or any comics really.  Anyway, last review of the week time.  Let's get to it.

Ultimate X-Men #18

Summary: Kitty Pryde successfully leads her ragtag mutant army against the Sentinel force, taking down the Sentinels and apparently ending the menace of William Stryker once and for all(we can only hope...).  While Kitty and her group are fighting for their lives, Rogue is fooling around with Quentin Quire, who can touch Rogue(or at least make Rogue think he can touch her).  After the battle, Nick Fury sets up a meeting between Kitty and the new president of the US in the Ultimate Marvel U, Captain America.  Cap basically offers Kitty a reservation for mutantkind to live on(because we all know reservations worked out SO well for Native Americans!) or a cure to their mutations.  In other words, they can live on a reservation or not be mutants anymore...  Hmm, decisions  decisions ..  Anyway, Kitty acts all aghast that Cap would dare to offer her a chance to get rid of her mutation(and all of the hatred that goes along with it) and leaves the meeting crestfallen.

Thoughts: Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it...  Is it REALLY that bad to have your mutation "cured"?  I mean living a normal life, NOT being attacked by crazed robots or wild bigots, is that REALLY a bad thing?  But naturally, Kitty acts like Cap pissed on her leg or something when he broached the subject.  Go figure.  If anything, the reservation idea should have disturbed her more, because, much like Utopia, putting a bunch of mutants in a stationary place is a recipe for disaster.  Especially in the Ultimate U, where humans hate mutants even more than in the 616(probably deservedly so due to Magneto's antics).  On top of that, my hatred of Kitty is well documented  so I don't like her as the "face" of mutantkind.  Besides those little gripes though, this comic told a good story and hopefully got rid of William Stryker.  Now let's hope he stays gone...

Score: 7 out of 10.

Oh great...  MORE Sentinels!!!

Avenging Spider-Man Annual #1

Hey guys, JT closing off my half of the new comic week with the Avenging Spider-Man annual... that's right, it's been a year already! Let's see how Spider-Man celebrated his year of Avenging.

Avenging Spider-Man Annual #1

Summary: I'm not gonna B. S. you guys with a long drawn out review. This comic was bad. We basically got two brothers, one dumb as a box of rocks, and one slightly less dumb, who are looking for an alien artifact or anything left from a battle in Central Park since that's where the Avengers, The FF and everyone else seem to fight baddies from time to time. They stumble across a box that makes everyone angry and fight, and of course Spidey realizes that everyone is angry and fighting except for the two brothers, so he pursues them. He's cut off by The Thing, who falls under the spell of the device quicker than Spider-Man does, for some unexplained reason. Anyway, the smart brother decides that having everyone fight long enough so they can rob a bank or sell the artifact is a stupid plan, so the dumb brother ditches him, and Spidey pursues him, with the Thing hot on his tail. Eventually, the dumb guy tries to sell the device but things go awry, and when he turns it back on, instead of fighting, everyone wants to hug and love one another. This leads to Spider-Man and The Thing making out.... and it doesn't really matter what else happens here.... The device gets broken, the two idiotic brothers go to jail.. The End.


Thoughts: Well this was bad.... that's not the way you sell a comic, especially an annual. Don't get me wrong, I like comedic comics, I enjoy Deadpool and Empowered and any other comic that tries to get laughs.... but this was horrible and I REALLY could've done without seeing The Spider-Thing kissing hybrid. Instead of a line of the issue, here's a Second Opinion by my buddy X.

Score: 2/10 

"Well this was a terrible comic and a terrible waste of money... No big name villains, no interesting story, and Thing and Spidey making out. I don't know what else to say about this one except don't waste your money on it! Terrible... Score: 3 1/2 out of 10."

Mighty Thor #22

This is the last issue of this series before it switches over to Thor: God of Thunder, written by Jason Aaron.  Believe it or not, Matt Fraction's Thor was the first Thor run that actually got me hooked on Thor.  I tried JMS's Thor run, but it did absolutely nothing for me.  So this issue is a tad bittersweet for me personally.  Anyway, this issue is an Everything Burns aftermath.

Mighty Thor #22(Final issue):

Summary: Odin is pissed that Thor and Loki tricked him out of his self-imposed exile to deal with the threat of Surtur.  To that end, Odin wants Thor banished from Asgardia, and decides to hold a trail for Thor in front of representatives from all the nine worlds.  Odin has the Enchantress defend Thor(since Odin was too close to the case), while Thor is defended by Hreidmar, a troll, or dwarf, or elf, or something like that...  Hreidmar was from that storyline with the dream mare things.  Anyway, Odin and Freyja leave the "court" and head to Asgard-space, where I suspect Odin has other plans...  Anyway, Enchantress makes a very good case, and points out all of the things that Thor had done wrong with his recklessness and impulsiveness, while Hreidmar counters that by saying that Thor always sets everything right.  Eventually, Balder arrives from Limbo(don't ask me what he was doing there!) and tells the gathered that Thor is Asgardia's collective warrior's spirit, and exiling Thor would be like tearing the heart out of Asgardia.  With that, Balder announces he stands by Thor, and is soon joined by the rest of Asgardia, as the Enchantress takes her leave.  Afterwards, Thor confronts Odin and inquires what this was all about.  Odin is coy and leaves, and this one ends with Freyja telling Thor that while they were in Asgard-space Odin knocked her up...  Oh that wacky Odin...

Thoughts: This issue was basically the trail of Thor.  As such, it was a bit of a recap comic.  I mean it was okay and all, but it wasn't great.  It dragged at times(mainly during the parts I had already read), but it was a pretty good comic to read heading into the new Thor series.  If you need a Thor refresher, this issue is ideal.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
 
Hey look, it's Thor!  And he's fighting various menaces!!