From Robin #4(April 1991).
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Random Scan of the Week!
That's right, this isn't a hoax or a bad dream, this is really THE Random Scan of the Week, ONE full day early!!! I know, this is just madness! I WAS going to introduce a new weekly feature tonight, but something came up, and before you knew it, it was well past midnight, and I wasn't planning on staying up all night doing a long post. So there ya go, that's why the RSotW is here tonight. Hopefully I'll find the time to put together a nice long post for tomorrow night, but no promises... As for tonight's scan, hows about the always weird Tim Drake and the deadly Lady Shiva?
From Robin #4(April 1991).
From Robin #4(April 1991).
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Flashback Friday: May 14th
It's Friday, so it's time for another installment of Flashback Friday! Yeah, I still need to work on a proper intro for this feature... Oh well, one day... Anywho, I really haven't had the chance to read all THAT many back issues this past week, since I was studying for finals and stuff, but as always, I did manage to read a substantial amount of books, at least enough to make this post worth doing I'd say. Before I get started, a few quick things. First off, this link had me laughing, because it just proves what I've always known, I'm living with a goldmine!!! Who knows, in only 70 short years my massive comic collection could be worth MILLIONS!!! OK, that's enough of my deluded fantasies, on to the reviews!!!
Showcase '96 #12(Winter 1996): This comic contained three stories, one on Sarge Steel(which was painful), one which was a look at the life of Jesse Quick(which wasn't all that good), and the reason I brought this issue, a story on Vril Dox teaming up with Brainiac 5 to deal with the original Brainiac. This story was alright, but to be honest, this was one of those comics I definitely could have went without buying/reading... Score: 4 out of 10.
Wolverine Weapon X: Adamantium Men TPB(contained Wolverine Weapon X #1-5): The Wolverine portions of this trade were really top-notch, unfortunately, this trade didn't solely deal with the Ol' Canucklehead. So the positives here were the story(mainly the Wolverine portions), as well as Maverick(!!)showing up. FYI, Maverick is one of those obscure 90's Marvel characters that I tend to like so very much, so him appearing in this trade was definitely pleasing to me. As for negatives, the whole secondary story about the reporter who was trying to bring down the evil corporation Wolvie and Maverick were dealing with. If not for the annoying reporter stuff, I'd have scored this trade A LOT higher. Score: 8 out of 10.
Ray #21(Feb. 1996): I'm not even going to try to describe what happened in this comic, because I doubt I could... There was a whole slew of stuff pertaining to Black Condor that just flew WAAAY over my head... Get it? “Black Condor”, “FLEW over my head”? Ugh, yipes was that bad! Anyway, the comedy aspects of this issue were so strong that I actually wound up enjoying it in spite of the story. Score: 7 out of 10.
Ray #22(March 1996): This was another issue of the Ray with some really enjoyable comedy stuff going on, especially the scenes between Ray and his girlfriend(who was driving him insane!). Besides that, Ray finally meets up with his crazy little brother, Joshua, and Death Masque kidnaps Ray's mother(who STILL doesn't know Ray is her son)in an attempt to force a final confrontation with Ray. All in all, some really great stuff here. Score: 9 out of 10.
Ray #23(May 1996): And then the bottom fell out... This was by far the worst issue of this series yet. Let's just say that the long Death Masque storyline ended here and leave it at that, because this one was BAD! Score: 2 out of 10.
Ray #24(June 1996): For the most part this issue dealt with the aftermath of the catastrophe that was the last issue. Ray's mother now knows he's the Ray(but she still doesn't know she's his mom), and she has also decided to look after Joshua. Some weird woman from the future arrives and forces Vandal Savage to fire Ray from his computer job, and after Savage does as he was asked, she cuts his throat. Finally, Ray discovers his father alive and well, and not dead like he previously thought. Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.
Ray #25(July 1996): This comic takes place several year in the future, where we discover that Ray has become the most powerful being on the planet, both superpower-wise and money-wise. Basically old Ray is a major jerk, and his two best friends are Triumph(some guy who used to be on the JL Task Force)and the Flash(Bart Allen!!!). Ray has a girlfriend he mistreats, and that Bart is pining for. After really being a ass to the girl one day, she runs away from Ray crying, and Bart decks Ray, knocking him out cold. Bart then tries(unsuccessfully I might add)to put the moves on the girl, but even though old Ray is a horror, she refuses to break it off with him. Meanwhile, old Ray gets shot in the head by some of his enemies. Old Ray's girl and friends find him, and the girl convinces Bart to help her go to the past in an effort to prevent Ray from becoming the jerk he'd wind up being. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Ray #26(Aug. 1996): I'm not really sure why, but this issue is STILL dealing with old Ray in the future. Old Ray is slowly dying, but before he passes, Captain Atom(who is a being of pure energy in the future)grabs the dying Ray and transports his energy into the distant future where he offers old Ray the chance to atone for his lousy life... Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds... Score: 3 out of 10.
Ray #27(Sept. 1996): This issue is the conclusion to the pretty awful future Ray storyline. Future Ray winds up doing the right thing in the future and then returns to his body to die. Trust me, the least said about this issue, the better! Score: 2 out of 10.
Ray #28(Oct. 1996): This is the last issue of the Ray series. Basically it wraps up most of the loose ends in the series. Ray's father finally tells his mother that Ray is her thought to be dead son, Ray gets a new girlfriend in the girl from the future(the girlfriend of his evil future self)and he gets to finally have a mother to son talk with his mother. All in all, this issue was a decent way to end the series, although there was SO much more that needed closure... Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Robin #1(Jan. 1991): This was the first Robin mini-series, NOT the Robin ongoing series. Bruce feels that Tim Drake is ready to take to the streets of Gotham with him for the first time, but Tim still feels he needs more training. In order to help Tim get ready, Bruce sends Timmy to France where he could be trained by a world renowned martial arts master. Tim trains and somehow winds up getting stuck battling an Asian street gang. Score: 8 out of 10.
Robin #2(Feb. 1991): Tim rescues a former DEA agent from the Asian street gang(which we learn is lead by King Snake). All throughout this issue, Tim is being followed and watched by Lady Shiva, who wants to face King Snake since he is supposed to be the deadliest fighter in the world. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Robin #3(March 1991): Shiva finally meets up with Tim and along with the ex-DEA agent, the three join forces to try to take down King Snake's gang. Unfortunately, Snake's gang manages to get a hold of a sample of the Bubonic plague from an old Nazi laboratory and escape from Tim and company, which leads to Tim, the DEA agent and Shiva hopping an airplane in the hope that they can stop the gang members from handing the plague over to Snake in Hong Kong. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
And that's all I've got for this week. So I finally finished up the Ray books(which ended pretty poorly, considering how good the early portion of the series was), and started the Robin series('s). I actually have A LOT of Robin comics to get through, the last two issues of the first mini-series, then two other mini-series, and then the ongoing series which ran for well over 160 issues, so expect the next several Flashback Friday's to be chock full of Robin comics. Of course I'll have a few other titles thrown in, but for the most part, prepare yourself for Robinmania! That's it for this week, thanks for reading, and Long Live The Legion!!!
Showcase '96 #12(Winter 1996): This comic contained three stories, one on Sarge Steel(which was painful), one which was a look at the life of Jesse Quick(which wasn't all that good), and the reason I brought this issue, a story on Vril Dox teaming up with Brainiac 5 to deal with the original Brainiac. This story was alright, but to be honest, this was one of those comics I definitely could have went without buying/reading... Score: 4 out of 10.
Wolverine Weapon X: Adamantium Men TPB(contained Wolverine Weapon X #1-5): The Wolverine portions of this trade were really top-notch, unfortunately, this trade didn't solely deal with the Ol' Canucklehead. So the positives here were the story(mainly the Wolverine portions), as well as Maverick(!!)showing up. FYI, Maverick is one of those obscure 90's Marvel characters that I tend to like so very much, so him appearing in this trade was definitely pleasing to me. As for negatives, the whole secondary story about the reporter who was trying to bring down the evil corporation Wolvie and Maverick were dealing with. If not for the annoying reporter stuff, I'd have scored this trade A LOT higher. Score: 8 out of 10.
Ray #21(Feb. 1996): I'm not even going to try to describe what happened in this comic, because I doubt I could... There was a whole slew of stuff pertaining to Black Condor that just flew WAAAY over my head... Get it? “Black Condor”, “FLEW over my head”? Ugh, yipes was that bad! Anyway, the comedy aspects of this issue were so strong that I actually wound up enjoying it in spite of the story. Score: 7 out of 10.
Ray #22(March 1996): This was another issue of the Ray with some really enjoyable comedy stuff going on, especially the scenes between Ray and his girlfriend(who was driving him insane!). Besides that, Ray finally meets up with his crazy little brother, Joshua, and Death Masque kidnaps Ray's mother(who STILL doesn't know Ray is her son)in an attempt to force a final confrontation with Ray. All in all, some really great stuff here. Score: 9 out of 10.
Ray #23(May 1996): And then the bottom fell out... This was by far the worst issue of this series yet. Let's just say that the long Death Masque storyline ended here and leave it at that, because this one was BAD! Score: 2 out of 10.
Ray #24(June 1996): For the most part this issue dealt with the aftermath of the catastrophe that was the last issue. Ray's mother now knows he's the Ray(but she still doesn't know she's his mom), and she has also decided to look after Joshua. Some weird woman from the future arrives and forces Vandal Savage to fire Ray from his computer job, and after Savage does as he was asked, she cuts his throat. Finally, Ray discovers his father alive and well, and not dead like he previously thought. Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.
Ray #25(July 1996): This comic takes place several year in the future, where we discover that Ray has become the most powerful being on the planet, both superpower-wise and money-wise. Basically old Ray is a major jerk, and his two best friends are Triumph(some guy who used to be on the JL Task Force)and the Flash(Bart Allen!!!). Ray has a girlfriend he mistreats, and that Bart is pining for. After really being a ass to the girl one day, she runs away from Ray crying, and Bart decks Ray, knocking him out cold. Bart then tries(unsuccessfully I might add)to put the moves on the girl, but even though old Ray is a horror, she refuses to break it off with him. Meanwhile, old Ray gets shot in the head by some of his enemies. Old Ray's girl and friends find him, and the girl convinces Bart to help her go to the past in an effort to prevent Ray from becoming the jerk he'd wind up being. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Ray #26(Aug. 1996): I'm not really sure why, but this issue is STILL dealing with old Ray in the future. Old Ray is slowly dying, but before he passes, Captain Atom(who is a being of pure energy in the future)grabs the dying Ray and transports his energy into the distant future where he offers old Ray the chance to atone for his lousy life... Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds... Score: 3 out of 10.
Ray #27(Sept. 1996): This issue is the conclusion to the pretty awful future Ray storyline. Future Ray winds up doing the right thing in the future and then returns to his body to die. Trust me, the least said about this issue, the better! Score: 2 out of 10.
Ray #28(Oct. 1996): This is the last issue of the Ray series. Basically it wraps up most of the loose ends in the series. Ray's father finally tells his mother that Ray is her thought to be dead son, Ray gets a new girlfriend in the girl from the future(the girlfriend of his evil future self)and he gets to finally have a mother to son talk with his mother. All in all, this issue was a decent way to end the series, although there was SO much more that needed closure... Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Robin #1(Jan. 1991): This was the first Robin mini-series, NOT the Robin ongoing series. Bruce feels that Tim Drake is ready to take to the streets of Gotham with him for the first time, but Tim still feels he needs more training. In order to help Tim get ready, Bruce sends Timmy to France where he could be trained by a world renowned martial arts master. Tim trains and somehow winds up getting stuck battling an Asian street gang. Score: 8 out of 10.
Robin #2(Feb. 1991): Tim rescues a former DEA agent from the Asian street gang(which we learn is lead by King Snake). All throughout this issue, Tim is being followed and watched by Lady Shiva, who wants to face King Snake since he is supposed to be the deadliest fighter in the world. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Robin #3(March 1991): Shiva finally meets up with Tim and along with the ex-DEA agent, the three join forces to try to take down King Snake's gang. Unfortunately, Snake's gang manages to get a hold of a sample of the Bubonic plague from an old Nazi laboratory and escape from Tim and company, which leads to Tim, the DEA agent and Shiva hopping an airplane in the hope that they can stop the gang members from handing the plague over to Snake in Hong Kong. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
And that's all I've got for this week. So I finally finished up the Ray books(which ended pretty poorly, considering how good the early portion of the series was), and started the Robin series('s). I actually have A LOT of Robin comics to get through, the last two issues of the first mini-series, then two other mini-series, and then the ongoing series which ran for well over 160 issues, so expect the next several Flashback Friday's to be chock full of Robin comics. Of course I'll have a few other titles thrown in, but for the most part, prepare yourself for Robinmania! That's it for this week, thanks for reading, and Long Live The Legion!!!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #3(of 3)
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #3(of 3) Writers: James Robinson and Sterling Gates. Artist: Pete Woods.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: (This is continued from Superman #699)Picking up from Superman #699, Brainiac's ship is rapidly falling towards New Krypton thanks to Lex Luthor's treachery. Mon-El, who was working with the Old Legion, wants to help Supes halt the ships decent, but the Old Legionnaires try to convince him to stay with them to get the bottled cities aboard the ship to safety. Mon still refuses to help the old Legionnaires until Superman rushes over and tells Mon that his place is with the Old Legion and the bottled cities, and that he'll save Kandor from the onrushing Brainiac ship. With that, Mon and the Old Legionaries grab a few bottled cities and leave. Supes flies outside and gets in front of the runaway ship in an effort to halt it's downward spiral, but alone he proves unable to. Supergirl and Superboy, who were in New Krypton and were watching the ship head towards them, fly up and try to give Supes a hand, but once again, they are unable to halt the ship's fall. The ship ultimately crash lands smack-dab in the middle of Kandor, killing several Kryptonians. With the ship down, the bottled city inside of it(the one Lex Luthor activated in Supes #699)is still growing, and if allowed to continue it would eradicate Kandor. Brainiac 5 manages to reverse the growth of the city, but upon looking around the rubble, Brainiac 5 and Supergirl discover Superman impaled on several pieces of metal, looking quite dead. Brainiac 5 orders SG to locate Superboy and bring him over as soon as possible. Overlooking the death and destruction in Kandor is Lex Luthor, who is proudly admiring his handiwork. Brainiac comes up from behind Luthor and demands to know why he betrayed him and destroyed his ship. Lex spits in Brainiac's face and tells him that he'd never willingly side with an alien, be it a Kryptonian or a Coluan. With that, Brainiac snaps Lex's neck, killing him(!!!). While taunting Lex's dead body, several angry Kryptonians begin to approach Brainiac, intent on avenging themselves on him for all of the death he had brought to their world. Gen. Zod steps between the Kryptonians and Brainiac and tells them to stand down, since dealing with Brainiac was his duty. Brainiac tells Zod that the fight would be far from fair since Zod had his superpowers while Brainiac didn't, so Zod shoots himself with a red sun radiation gun, which de-powers him and he charges Brainiac. Back with Supes, Brainiac 5 has managed to give Supes a blood transfusion from Superboy(well, I guess it's pretty useful having a readily available clone present!), and after blasting Supes with some yellow sunlight, Supes is healed and back on his feet again. Zod and Brainiac continue their street fight, and eventually Zod manages to beat Brainiac to his knees in front of the cheering Kryptonians. Zod then pulls a gun and aims it at the fallen Brainiac's head(sideways, which makes him even more awesome in my book!)and fires off a shot... That is intercepted by the timely arrival of Superman. Supes begins to tell Zod that he can't simply murder Brainiac, blah, blah, blah, and Zod ignores Supes, ordering him arrested by the Kryptonian military. Before the military can step in, Brainiac 5 arrives and teleports over and grabs Brainiac, teleporting away with his ancestor. From there we get a few epilogues... Lex Luthor is discovered alive and well on Earth, where it is revealed that the Lex Luthor who was killed on New Krypton by Brainiac was simply a robot crated by Toyman. Gen. Lane thanks Lex for his help, and gives him a full presidential pardon for his crimes, as well as promising him something more down the road. Brainiac 5 is flying through space with Brainiac heading towards... somewhere I guess, while Mon and the Old Legion are doing the same with the bottled cities they had annexed from Brainiac's ship. And finally, Gen. Zod basically names himself as the new leader of New Krypton, since most of the ruling council had died in Brainiac's attack, to the gathered citizens of New Krypton. This issue ends with Zod declaring war on Earth, who he was accusing of collaborating with Brainiac, all while the people of New Krypton cheered his every word.
What I Thought: Wow, that was a pretty long review... Anyway, this was a lousy end to a storyline, but an awesome set-up issue for the upcoming Superman crossover, so take that for what it's worth... Yeah Brainiac was defeated, but that was really the only thing that ended here, and even that didn't really end, since Brainiac 5 had left with Brainiac heading for parts unknown. This comic was more like a prologue for the War of the Supermen story then the end of the Last Stand story. With all of that said, I did like this comic for the most part. The constant, “He's dead, no wait, he's not.” parts of this comic did tend to bug me, as Lex Luthor(by Brainiac), Superman(by Brainiac's ship)and Brainiac(by Zod)were all killed or practically killed in this comic, and every character managed to cheat death in one way or another. Of course if Lex would have died here I'd be frothing at the mouth, but still, killing and then un-killing THREE major characters in one comic is a bit much... So the next step is Supes against Zod, who has his sights set on Earth. I know I'm definitely looking forward to big things in the upcoming months from the Superman family of books.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10..jpg)
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Since I couldn't decide which scene from this comic was my favorite, I went ahead and posted them all!
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: (This is continued from Superman #699)Picking up from Superman #699, Brainiac's ship is rapidly falling towards New Krypton thanks to Lex Luthor's treachery. Mon-El, who was working with the Old Legion, wants to help Supes halt the ships decent, but the Old Legionnaires try to convince him to stay with them to get the bottled cities aboard the ship to safety. Mon still refuses to help the old Legionnaires until Superman rushes over and tells Mon that his place is with the Old Legion and the bottled cities, and that he'll save Kandor from the onrushing Brainiac ship. With that, Mon and the Old Legionaries grab a few bottled cities and leave. Supes flies outside and gets in front of the runaway ship in an effort to halt it's downward spiral, but alone he proves unable to. Supergirl and Superboy, who were in New Krypton and were watching the ship head towards them, fly up and try to give Supes a hand, but once again, they are unable to halt the ship's fall. The ship ultimately crash lands smack-dab in the middle of Kandor, killing several Kryptonians. With the ship down, the bottled city inside of it(the one Lex Luthor activated in Supes #699)is still growing, and if allowed to continue it would eradicate Kandor. Brainiac 5 manages to reverse the growth of the city, but upon looking around the rubble, Brainiac 5 and Supergirl discover Superman impaled on several pieces of metal, looking quite dead. Brainiac 5 orders SG to locate Superboy and bring him over as soon as possible. Overlooking the death and destruction in Kandor is Lex Luthor, who is proudly admiring his handiwork. Brainiac comes up from behind Luthor and demands to know why he betrayed him and destroyed his ship. Lex spits in Brainiac's face and tells him that he'd never willingly side with an alien, be it a Kryptonian or a Coluan. With that, Brainiac snaps Lex's neck, killing him(!!!). While taunting Lex's dead body, several angry Kryptonians begin to approach Brainiac, intent on avenging themselves on him for all of the death he had brought to their world. Gen. Zod steps between the Kryptonians and Brainiac and tells them to stand down, since dealing with Brainiac was his duty. Brainiac tells Zod that the fight would be far from fair since Zod had his superpowers while Brainiac didn't, so Zod shoots himself with a red sun radiation gun, which de-powers him and he charges Brainiac. Back with Supes, Brainiac 5 has managed to give Supes a blood transfusion from Superboy(well, I guess it's pretty useful having a readily available clone present!), and after blasting Supes with some yellow sunlight, Supes is healed and back on his feet again. Zod and Brainiac continue their street fight, and eventually Zod manages to beat Brainiac to his knees in front of the cheering Kryptonians. Zod then pulls a gun and aims it at the fallen Brainiac's head(sideways, which makes him even more awesome in my book!)and fires off a shot... That is intercepted by the timely arrival of Superman. Supes begins to tell Zod that he can't simply murder Brainiac, blah, blah, blah, and Zod ignores Supes, ordering him arrested by the Kryptonian military. Before the military can step in, Brainiac 5 arrives and teleports over and grabs Brainiac, teleporting away with his ancestor. From there we get a few epilogues... Lex Luthor is discovered alive and well on Earth, where it is revealed that the Lex Luthor who was killed on New Krypton by Brainiac was simply a robot crated by Toyman. Gen. Lane thanks Lex for his help, and gives him a full presidential pardon for his crimes, as well as promising him something more down the road. Brainiac 5 is flying through space with Brainiac heading towards... somewhere I guess, while Mon and the Old Legion are doing the same with the bottled cities they had annexed from Brainiac's ship. And finally, Gen. Zod basically names himself as the new leader of New Krypton, since most of the ruling council had died in Brainiac's attack, to the gathered citizens of New Krypton. This issue ends with Zod declaring war on Earth, who he was accusing of collaborating with Brainiac, all while the people of New Krypton cheered his every word.
What I Thought: Wow, that was a pretty long review... Anyway, this was a lousy end to a storyline, but an awesome set-up issue for the upcoming Superman crossover, so take that for what it's worth... Yeah Brainiac was defeated, but that was really the only thing that ended here, and even that didn't really end, since Brainiac 5 had left with Brainiac heading for parts unknown. This comic was more like a prologue for the War of the Supermen story then the end of the Last Stand story. With all of that said, I did like this comic for the most part. The constant, “He's dead, no wait, he's not.” parts of this comic did tend to bug me, as Lex Luthor(by Brainiac), Superman(by Brainiac's ship)and Brainiac(by Zod)were all killed or practically killed in this comic, and every character managed to cheat death in one way or another. Of course if Lex would have died here I'd be frothing at the mouth, but still, killing and then un-killing THREE major characters in one comic is a bit much... So the next step is Supes against Zod, who has his sights set on Earth. I know I'm definitely looking forward to big things in the upcoming months from the Superman family of books.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
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Since I couldn't decide which scene from this comic was my favorite, I went ahead and posted them all!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Superman #699
Superman #699: Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Bernard Chang.
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
Review: (You should definitely read Supergirl #52 before this comic)We start this issue off with Gen. Zod and his military men fighting side by side with the recently arrived Superman against Brainiac's robots. Supes expresses his anger at Zod for leaving Kandor aboard Brainiac's ship, just so he could attack Brainiac, but Zod gives no thought to Superman's whining. Eventually, Brainiac decides to see what all of the hubbub is about, and once Zod spots Brainiac, he makes a beeline for him and attacks. With Zod out of the picture, Superman orders the Kryptonian soldiers to hold the line against Brainiac's forces while he finds and rescues the bottled city of Kandor. Supes eventually finds Kandor and using his mental link with Tellus of the Old Legion, asks Brainiac 5 and Supergirl to report to his location. Meanwhile, Mon-El(who was trapped in some sort of Brainiac torture device)is reliving strange memories from his past, focusing on the time he was held captive by Gen. Lane and his monkey scientist. Mon-El goes over several conversations he had with Lane, the monkey and Metallo and begins to realize that while they were experimenting on him, there is a very good chance that they managed to acquire some of his DNA... Either that or the talking monkey has some sort of weird fetish concerning the reproductive organs of a male Daxamite... The more time Mon thinks about that situation, the closer he comes to regaining his consciousness. The Old Legion is still running around Brainiac's ship fighting robots, when an enormous robot strolls over ready to make them pay for their transgressions. Before the robot can make mincemeat out of them, Mon arrives on the scene(I guess he woke up)and tears the robot apart. By this point, Supergirl and Brainiac 5 have arrived at Superman's location, and he gives them Kandor and tells them to get off of Brainiac's ship and to head back to New Krypton. They go, and manage to re-enlarge the city back in the spot it was taken from. The Old Legion tell Mon that he has to go to the future with them and the bottled cities aboard Brainiac's ship. Mon is hesitant, but ultimately decides to go with the Old Legion. Superman finds Zod and Brainiac still fighting and adds his muscle to Zod, double teaming the mad Coluan. While all of this is going on, Lex Luthor takes the bottled city he stole in Supergirl #52 and begins to enlarge it, before abandoning ship. This issue ends with the rapidly enlarging city bursting through the roof of Brainiac's ship, causing it to begin to plummet towards New Krypton.
What I Thought: This issue was a little better then SG #52, but considering it was the penultimate part of the Last Stand storyline, I was kind of hoping for more. I think the problem with this story, for me anyway, is the fact that there is just WAY too much going on at once to keep the story cohesive. There's the TOTALLY unnecessary Old Legion, there's Mon and the back story(which I had all but forgotten)about him and the monkey, as well as Supergirl and Brainiac 5, Lex Luthor, Kandor, Superboy(who is hanging around for no reason I can figure), and the list goes on and on... All they really needed was Brainiac and Lex stealing Kandor, and then the Superman family responding in kind... Simple, no? Instead we get a big convoluted storyline with dozens of unnecessary characters all over the place.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
And this is the reason I'd never be a criminal in Metropolis... Imagine that sight coming at you with a full head of steam!
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
Review: (You should definitely read Supergirl #52 before this comic)We start this issue off with Gen. Zod and his military men fighting side by side with the recently arrived Superman against Brainiac's robots. Supes expresses his anger at Zod for leaving Kandor aboard Brainiac's ship, just so he could attack Brainiac, but Zod gives no thought to Superman's whining. Eventually, Brainiac decides to see what all of the hubbub is about, and once Zod spots Brainiac, he makes a beeline for him and attacks. With Zod out of the picture, Superman orders the Kryptonian soldiers to hold the line against Brainiac's forces while he finds and rescues the bottled city of Kandor. Supes eventually finds Kandor and using his mental link with Tellus of the Old Legion, asks Brainiac 5 and Supergirl to report to his location. Meanwhile, Mon-El(who was trapped in some sort of Brainiac torture device)is reliving strange memories from his past, focusing on the time he was held captive by Gen. Lane and his monkey scientist. Mon-El goes over several conversations he had with Lane, the monkey and Metallo and begins to realize that while they were experimenting on him, there is a very good chance that they managed to acquire some of his DNA... Either that or the talking monkey has some sort of weird fetish concerning the reproductive organs of a male Daxamite... The more time Mon thinks about that situation, the closer he comes to regaining his consciousness. The Old Legion is still running around Brainiac's ship fighting robots, when an enormous robot strolls over ready to make them pay for their transgressions. Before the robot can make mincemeat out of them, Mon arrives on the scene(I guess he woke up)and tears the robot apart. By this point, Supergirl and Brainiac 5 have arrived at Superman's location, and he gives them Kandor and tells them to get off of Brainiac's ship and to head back to New Krypton. They go, and manage to re-enlarge the city back in the spot it was taken from. The Old Legion tell Mon that he has to go to the future with them and the bottled cities aboard Brainiac's ship. Mon is hesitant, but ultimately decides to go with the Old Legion. Superman finds Zod and Brainiac still fighting and adds his muscle to Zod, double teaming the mad Coluan. While all of this is going on, Lex Luthor takes the bottled city he stole in Supergirl #52 and begins to enlarge it, before abandoning ship. This issue ends with the rapidly enlarging city bursting through the roof of Brainiac's ship, causing it to begin to plummet towards New Krypton.
What I Thought: This issue was a little better then SG #52, but considering it was the penultimate part of the Last Stand storyline, I was kind of hoping for more. I think the problem with this story, for me anyway, is the fact that there is just WAY too much going on at once to keep the story cohesive. There's the TOTALLY unnecessary Old Legion, there's Mon and the back story(which I had all but forgotten)about him and the monkey, as well as Supergirl and Brainiac 5, Lex Luthor, Kandor, Superboy(who is hanging around for no reason I can figure), and the list goes on and on... All they really needed was Brainiac and Lex stealing Kandor, and then the Superman family responding in kind... Simple, no? Instead we get a big convoluted storyline with dozens of unnecessary characters all over the place.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
And this is the reason I'd never be a criminal in Metropolis... Imagine that sight coming at you with a full head of steam!
Supergirl #52
School's out for me!!! I am officially done with that place until July 6th, which is when I head back to take a few summer courses so I can graduate a little bit sooner. To be perfectly honest, this has been one of my best academic years since I've returned to college. I already know I have A's in two classes(including Accounting!!!), and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to pull down A's in my other classes(provided something strange didn't happen during my finals in those classes). So all in all, I'm in a good mood. After I post the three reviews I have ready to go tonight, I plan on sleeping a good 12 hours, and then either go to the store to do some shopping, or just lounge around my apartment for the day. That second option is really pretty appealing actually... Anyway, enough of my celebratory gloating, let's get to the first review. Just so you know, all three of these reviews tonight are Last Stand of New Krypton x-overs.
Supergirl #52: Writer: Sterling Gates. Artist: Ivan Rodriguez.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: This issue begins with the General Zod and his newly freed Brainiac Revenge Squad leaving the bottled city of Kandor in order to find and kill Brainiac for all of the hardship he's given Zod and his men over the years. While Zod is tearing through Brainiac's robots, Supergirl and Brainiac 5 are wandering around Brainiac's ship hoping to find the shrunken cities Brainiac had captured. They wander around, bicker and fight robots for the better part of this comic until they discover the core of Brainiac's ship, which Supergirl proceeds to destroy, severely hampering the elder Brainiac's war efforts. With the core destroyed and Brainiac's force field down, Superman is able to get back aboard the ship, which undoubtedly spells trouble for Brainiac. While all of this is going on, Kryptonian Commander Gor is torturing Reactron in the shrunken city of Kandor in an attempt to get some answers out of Reactron as to Gen. Lane's plots against New Krypton. Reactron refuses to talk, and he winds up getting saved by Lex Luthor(!), who blows a hole in Gor's chest, killing him. Reactron is happy to see Luthor, figuring he was there to rescue him, but Luthor explains that nothing could be further from the truth, with that evil little Lex Luthor smirk of his. A little bit later, Lex leaves Kandor and enlarges himself back in Brainiac's room of shrunken cities. This issue ends with Lex grabbing one of the bottled cities and deciding that he has some sort of nefarious plan that he could use the shrunken city for.
What I Thought: There really wasn't all that much of interest going on here... Most of this comic consisted of Brainiac 5 and Supergirl bickering with one another until they FINALLY made it to the core of Brainiac's ship. The Lex Luthor stuff was good(as usual), but for me, the rest of this comic was definitely lacking.
Score: 7 out of 10.
See, if I lived in the DCU, I definitely would have voted Lex Luthor for president!
Supergirl #52: Writer: Sterling Gates. Artist: Ivan Rodriguez.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: This issue begins with the General Zod and his newly freed Brainiac Revenge Squad leaving the bottled city of Kandor in order to find and kill Brainiac for all of the hardship he's given Zod and his men over the years. While Zod is tearing through Brainiac's robots, Supergirl and Brainiac 5 are wandering around Brainiac's ship hoping to find the shrunken cities Brainiac had captured. They wander around, bicker and fight robots for the better part of this comic until they discover the core of Brainiac's ship, which Supergirl proceeds to destroy, severely hampering the elder Brainiac's war efforts. With the core destroyed and Brainiac's force field down, Superman is able to get back aboard the ship, which undoubtedly spells trouble for Brainiac. While all of this is going on, Kryptonian Commander Gor is torturing Reactron in the shrunken city of Kandor in an attempt to get some answers out of Reactron as to Gen. Lane's plots against New Krypton. Reactron refuses to talk, and he winds up getting saved by Lex Luthor(!), who blows a hole in Gor's chest, killing him. Reactron is happy to see Luthor, figuring he was there to rescue him, but Luthor explains that nothing could be further from the truth, with that evil little Lex Luthor smirk of his. A little bit later, Lex leaves Kandor and enlarges himself back in Brainiac's room of shrunken cities. This issue ends with Lex grabbing one of the bottled cities and deciding that he has some sort of nefarious plan that he could use the shrunken city for.
What I Thought: There really wasn't all that much of interest going on here... Most of this comic consisted of Brainiac 5 and Supergirl bickering with one another until they FINALLY made it to the core of Brainiac's ship. The Lex Luthor stuff was good(as usual), but for me, the rest of this comic was definitely lacking.
Score: 7 out of 10.
See, if I lived in the DCU, I definitely would have voted Lex Luthor for president!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Comic Gazing for: 5/12/10.
It's Wednesday, so it's time to go Comic Gazing! Well kind of... I'm hard at work studying for my last final this semester(YEAH!), so I really don't have much time to do all that much with this post... Since I'd rather spend what little free time I've allotted for myself tonight answering any comments you guys have graciously left for me, this is going to be the quickest Comic Gazing post I've ever done! No commentary from me, just the title of the books I'll be picking up and how interested I am in said books. So hold on tight, it's time to fly through this week's new books!
Adventure Comics #11: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
Batgirl #10: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Batman #699: Interest Level: 7 out of 10.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
Birds of Prey #1: Interest Level: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Booster Gold #32: Interest Level: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Flash #2: Interest Level: 2 out of 10.
Justice League: Generation Lost #1: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
REBELS #16: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Superman: War of the Supermen #2: Interest Level: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Titans: Villains for Hire Special #1: Interest Level: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Avengers: The Initiative #35: Interest Level: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Black Widow #2: Interest Level: 7 out of 10.
Dark Avengers #16: Interest Level: 7 1/2 out of 10.
New Avengers Finale #1: Interest Level: 5 out of 10.
Siege #4: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Wooo, that's a lot of comics I'll be picking up this week, and only one that I really don't care about! This week's tally is; Marvel 5, DC 11, with both companies putting out some MAJOR comics(The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 vs Siege #4!)! It's been a few weeks time since my pull list was up around the 20 book mark, but with books like many of the ones coming out this week, I'm sure not complaining! I mean, I have 5 of these comics listed as a 9 or higher, so yeah, this looks to be a really good comic week for me. That's it, I've still got some work to do tonight before I can rest easy, so adios and Long Live The Legion!
Adventure Comics #11: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
Batgirl #10: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Batman #699: Interest Level: 7 out of 10.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
Birds of Prey #1: Interest Level: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Booster Gold #32: Interest Level: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Flash #2: Interest Level: 2 out of 10.
Justice League: Generation Lost #1: Interest Level: 8 out of 10.
REBELS #16: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Superman: War of the Supermen #2: Interest Level: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Titans: Villains for Hire Special #1: Interest Level: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Avengers: The Initiative #35: Interest Level: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Black Widow #2: Interest Level: 7 out of 10.
Dark Avengers #16: Interest Level: 7 1/2 out of 10.
New Avengers Finale #1: Interest Level: 5 out of 10.
Siege #4: Interest Level: 9 out of 10.
Wooo, that's a lot of comics I'll be picking up this week, and only one that I really don't care about! This week's tally is; Marvel 5, DC 11, with both companies putting out some MAJOR comics(The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 vs Siege #4!)! It's been a few weeks time since my pull list was up around the 20 book mark, but with books like many of the ones coming out this week, I'm sure not complaining! I mean, I have 5 of these comics listed as a 9 or higher, so yeah, this looks to be a really good comic week for me. That's it, I've still got some work to do tonight before I can rest easy, so adios and Long Live The Legion!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Captain America #605
Captain America #605: Writer: Ed Brubaker. Pencils: Luke Ross.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: Bad Cap and his Watchdogs open this comic by attacking the men responsible for guarding the Hoover Dam, while Bucky watched helplessly. Bucky tries to reason with the hero Bad Cap used to be, but Bad Cap responds by simply going off on one of his anti-America rants. While Bad Cap is ranting, one of his men alert him that they had lost contact with the train the Falcon was being held aboard, and upon hearing this, Bucky breaks out of his handcuffs and decks Bad Cap. Bucky then grabs one of the Watchdog's weapons and shoots a few of them to thin out the ranks. The Watchdogs go to counter-attack, but Bad Cap orders them to hold their fire since he wanted to defeat Bucky himself. While that is happening, Falcon manages to derail the explosive laden train he was trapped on, while hopping a nearby Watchdog helicopter. Bucky and Bad Cap continue their battle all while Bad Cap's scientist continues to put together the bomb that was going to be used to destroy the Dam. Realizing his time was running short, Bucky begins to avoid contact with Bad Cap, causing Bad Cap to throw his shield at Bucky with the hopes to slow him down, which was exactly what Bucky was waiting for. Bucky catches the shield and throws it at the scientist by the bomb, knocking him out cold before he could put the timer onto the bomb. This action causes Bad Cap to really lose it, and he attacks Bucky with renewed vigor, just as Falcon lands the helicopter on the Dam and begins to clean up the remaining Watchdogs. Sensing the end was near, Bad Cap makes a mad dash over to the bomb and tells Bucky that although the timer wasn't attached, he could still detonate the bomb manually, even though it would kill him(not to mention all of thebpeople atop the Dam). Bucky tries to reason with Bad Cap one final time, but Bad Cap finally comes out and says that the current America is a place he can't live in, and that he'd be better off dead. Realizing Bad Cap was moments away from pulling the lever to detonate the bomb, Bucky grabs one of the Watchdog's discarded guns and shoots Bad Cap several times, causing him to plumet off the Dam to his appearant death. Later on, the FBI arrives on the scene to take away the remaining Watchdogs, and this issue ends with Bucky quietly watching as the Feds search the water for any traces of the remains of Bad Cap.
What I Thought: As usual(or maybe I shpuld say as always)this was an excellent comic book. The pacing here was just great, and the battle between Bucky and Bad Cap was extremely well done. Granted this wasn't one of my favorite Brubaker/Cap stories, but it was still better then more then 90% of the stuff I read monthly. I'm not exactly sure what next month will bring, or how Ed is going to use Bucky and Steve Rogers in this series, but needless to say, for as long as Ed is writing this series, I'll be eagerly anticipating the next issue.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
I like how Bad Cap refers to Bucky as the "worst" Bucky he had ever seen...
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Review: Bad Cap and his Watchdogs open this comic by attacking the men responsible for guarding the Hoover Dam, while Bucky watched helplessly. Bucky tries to reason with the hero Bad Cap used to be, but Bad Cap responds by simply going off on one of his anti-America rants. While Bad Cap is ranting, one of his men alert him that they had lost contact with the train the Falcon was being held aboard, and upon hearing this, Bucky breaks out of his handcuffs and decks Bad Cap. Bucky then grabs one of the Watchdog's weapons and shoots a few of them to thin out the ranks. The Watchdogs go to counter-attack, but Bad Cap orders them to hold their fire since he wanted to defeat Bucky himself. While that is happening, Falcon manages to derail the explosive laden train he was trapped on, while hopping a nearby Watchdog helicopter. Bucky and Bad Cap continue their battle all while Bad Cap's scientist continues to put together the bomb that was going to be used to destroy the Dam. Realizing his time was running short, Bucky begins to avoid contact with Bad Cap, causing Bad Cap to throw his shield at Bucky with the hopes to slow him down, which was exactly what Bucky was waiting for. Bucky catches the shield and throws it at the scientist by the bomb, knocking him out cold before he could put the timer onto the bomb. This action causes Bad Cap to really lose it, and he attacks Bucky with renewed vigor, just as Falcon lands the helicopter on the Dam and begins to clean up the remaining Watchdogs. Sensing the end was near, Bad Cap makes a mad dash over to the bomb and tells Bucky that although the timer wasn't attached, he could still detonate the bomb manually, even though it would kill him(not to mention all of thebpeople atop the Dam). Bucky tries to reason with Bad Cap one final time, but Bad Cap finally comes out and says that the current America is a place he can't live in, and that he'd be better off dead. Realizing Bad Cap was moments away from pulling the lever to detonate the bomb, Bucky grabs one of the Watchdog's discarded guns and shoots Bad Cap several times, causing him to plumet off the Dam to his appearant death. Later on, the FBI arrives on the scene to take away the remaining Watchdogs, and this issue ends with Bucky quietly watching as the Feds search the water for any traces of the remains of Bad Cap.
What I Thought: As usual(or maybe I shpuld say as always)this was an excellent comic book. The pacing here was just great, and the battle between Bucky and Bad Cap was extremely well done. Granted this wasn't one of my favorite Brubaker/Cap stories, but it was still better then more then 90% of the stuff I read monthly. I'm not exactly sure what next month will bring, or how Ed is going to use Bucky and Steve Rogers in this series, but needless to say, for as long as Ed is writing this series, I'll be eagerly anticipating the next issue.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
I like how Bad Cap refers to Bucky as the "worst" Bucky he had ever seen...
Ultimate X #2
Two last Marvel reviews tonight before I switch gears and spend the next few days reading some DC books. I'm still spending most of my time studying and such, so I'm not really sure how many reviews I'll be posting tomorrow, but I'll definitely have something up.
Ultimate X #2: Writer: Jeph Loeb. Pencils: Arthur Adams.
Last Issue: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Review: This issue deals completely with a mysterious woman named Karen Grant. We get started with Karen dying her hair black and using telekinesis to get dressed... That just seems lazy to me... She has a few pieces of her old life hidden in her room, including an issue of a magazine with the X-Men on the cover, as well as Cyclops's visor, that latter of which causes Karen to break down into tears. After composing herself, she heads to the mall where we find she's dating some mall security guard, as well as working at a clothing store. Upon arriving at work, her co-workers throw her a little celebration for being the top salesperson of the month. Karen spots a picture of herself and immediately flies into a rage when she learns that her boyfriend had it posted on his Facebook page, after she had implicitly told him to never take her picture, and especially to not put anything about her online. Karen blows her boyfriend off and heads to the food court where she is met by Rogue. The two women hug until Karen realizes that the woman in front of her wasn't Rogue, but was Mystique. Mystique explains that the few mutants left need to stick together, but Karen refuses to listen to anything Mystique says, until Karen spots Sabretooth hanging around the mall while a bunch of innocent children ran about. With little choice, Karen decides to listen to Mystique and Sabretooth, and the three head out of the mall where they are met by Karen's boyfriend, who thinking Karen was in some kind of trouble, pulls a gun on Sabretooth, which results in Tooth gutting the hapless security guard. That action puts Karen into a rage and she proceeds to pick up a bunch of cars telekinetically and smashes Tooth with them. Karen tells Mystique to leave before she suffers a similar fate, and then uses her powers to halt the security guard's bleeding while using telepathy to convince everyone around that the guard was stabbed by a man with a knife, and that the cars crashed in the ensuing carnage. Upon the cops arriving, Karen heads back home knowing that she'll have to leave and start over elsewhere, when Jimmy Hudson breaks into her house and introduces himself to her as Wolverine's son seemingly knowing that she was really Jean Grey, ending this issue.
What I Thought: Hey, I liked this issue! I was definitely disappointed that Jimmy didn't show up until the very last page, but the stuff with Karen/Jean was enough to keep me interested in this comic. I only vaguely know what happened in the Ultimate Marvel U during the Ultimatum storyline(I had stopped reading the Ultimate titles right before that storyline began), but from what I'd heard, it was pretty awful. Thankfully, the first two issues of this series has been the opposite of awful, they've been surprisingly good! While I wish this comic came out monthly instead of once every two months, I'll happily wait until the next issue comes out to see what happens next.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Yeah, that's one guy I sure as hell wouldn't want to tangle with!
Ultimate X #2: Writer: Jeph Loeb. Pencils: Arthur Adams.
Last Issue: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Review: This issue deals completely with a mysterious woman named Karen Grant. We get started with Karen dying her hair black and using telekinesis to get dressed... That just seems lazy to me... She has a few pieces of her old life hidden in her room, including an issue of a magazine with the X-Men on the cover, as well as Cyclops's visor, that latter of which causes Karen to break down into tears. After composing herself, she heads to the mall where we find she's dating some mall security guard, as well as working at a clothing store. Upon arriving at work, her co-workers throw her a little celebration for being the top salesperson of the month. Karen spots a picture of herself and immediately flies into a rage when she learns that her boyfriend had it posted on his Facebook page, after she had implicitly told him to never take her picture, and especially to not put anything about her online. Karen blows her boyfriend off and heads to the food court where she is met by Rogue. The two women hug until Karen realizes that the woman in front of her wasn't Rogue, but was Mystique. Mystique explains that the few mutants left need to stick together, but Karen refuses to listen to anything Mystique says, until Karen spots Sabretooth hanging around the mall while a bunch of innocent children ran about. With little choice, Karen decides to listen to Mystique and Sabretooth, and the three head out of the mall where they are met by Karen's boyfriend, who thinking Karen was in some kind of trouble, pulls a gun on Sabretooth, which results in Tooth gutting the hapless security guard. That action puts Karen into a rage and she proceeds to pick up a bunch of cars telekinetically and smashes Tooth with them. Karen tells Mystique to leave before she suffers a similar fate, and then uses her powers to halt the security guard's bleeding while using telepathy to convince everyone around that the guard was stabbed by a man with a knife, and that the cars crashed in the ensuing carnage. Upon the cops arriving, Karen heads back home knowing that she'll have to leave and start over elsewhere, when Jimmy Hudson breaks into her house and introduces himself to her as Wolverine's son seemingly knowing that she was really Jean Grey, ending this issue.
What I Thought: Hey, I liked this issue! I was definitely disappointed that Jimmy didn't show up until the very last page, but the stuff with Karen/Jean was enough to keep me interested in this comic. I only vaguely know what happened in the Ultimate Marvel U during the Ultimatum storyline(I had stopped reading the Ultimate titles right before that storyline began), but from what I'd heard, it was pretty awful. Thankfully, the first two issues of this series has been the opposite of awful, they've been surprisingly good! While I wish this comic came out monthly instead of once every two months, I'll happily wait until the next issue comes out to see what happens next.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Yeah, that's one guy I sure as hell wouldn't want to tangle with!
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