Bought Junk, Thought Junk... June 27, 2012

[JewishHobbit]

Yeah, as you can see I was not entertained this week.

I'll start by saying that I came close to buying some back issues of the new Scarlet Spider series to give it a shot but couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm trying to drop books and trying to stop spuratic spending and getting multiple issues of a title I don't know if I want to even bother with would be counter productive.

That said, I also decided to skip out on the newest issue of X-Men. Wood came on last issue and I don't think I've ever been so bored with a comic in my life. This new one came out today and it looked like much the same so I just passed. I was debating on Justice League Dark as well since it's on the fence of being dropped but I saw something inside that made me give it another go. I'll explain below..

Justice League Dark 10 - Last issue was Lemire's first and it was alright. The cast shift was startling and I was really turned off by Madame Xanadu's dismisal of the team that SHE pulled together. And I hated how she just wrote off the big horrifying threat as having been the Vampire arc that just finished when it really didn't make sense. I figured Lemire was just discarding the whole point of the team coming together in the first place to write his own story. Well, while skimming the new issue I saw Xanadu realizing that she was wrong and so that bought the title another issue for me.

The good news is that I enjoyed the issue. The vampire guy leaves (and is promised to be back whether he wants to or not) and the other two are growing on me. And seeing what Xanadu's dreams is growing into actually has me a bit more excited for what's to come. I'm glad I picked up this issue because it's turned me around on what I thought was a crappy seguay into a new writer's run.

It was a good issue... but it all goes downhill from here.

Batman Incorporated 2 - After last issue's surprising last page I was curious where the story would go. What I didn't ask for was a sudden pause in narrative to get Talia's backstory. Honestly, I was bored with the issue. It wasn't bad really, just kinda bleh. When I finished it there was nothing in it that stood out good or bad... which typically I put in the "waste of money" category. I don't buy comics to be bored by them and I try to stay away from forgetful things. This issue was utterly forgetful.

Justice League 10 - Not quite as forgetful as Batman Inc. but not much better. The main story doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, though it is, but I find myself not caring. The villain here doesn't really interest me (is he new or an old one I'm unfamiliar with? David Graves) and I just feel like Johns, who is a fantastic writer, doesn't know how to create chemistry with this team. I'm starting to think that maybe this is something akin to Bendis or Brubaker: fantastic with solo characters but not so great on teams. I just really don't care about what's going on and that'll drop the book to dropping territory very quickly. This book has been hoving just above that territory for a while now and I'm hoping this upcoming Trinity War storyline picks it up out of it.

The backup, however, was good. I am enjoying this Shazam origin story and find myself more excited for the next chapter of that than the main Justice League story. I think Johns is hitting his stride with a single character, Billy, and bouncing a supporting cast off of him wonderfully. If this were a solo title I'd be enjoying it like mad!!!

So yeah, good backup story, lackluster main tale.

X-Men Legacy 268 - This one wasn't necessarilly bad as much as it just annoyed me. A big beef of mine is when characters are uncharacteristically brash and jump to a fight for no reason, or little reason (hence my frustration at AvX). This tie-in to that event fits the bill. Carol Danvers shows up to talk to Rogue about her concerns over the Phoenix Five but Rogue attacks her and they fight the whole issue until the end where they talk for a couple panels and then Carol's whisked away to the Phoenix Five's Avengers prison... which is apparently a portion of Limbo.

Okay, I take it back... this issue WAS bad. The only thing that really redeemed it was Rogue's expression when she saw the prison. I take it this is the "Peter is appauled by the Negative Zone prison" portion of our story.

Avengers vs. X-Men... it's so original and thought provoking.

Wolverine & the X-Men 12 - Like X-Men Legacy, this issue sucked with only one small good thing in it. Here we have X-Men fighting Avengers, novel I know, and nothing really good happens in the fights, no real WOW moments, it just happens. The only thing I liked? Kid Gladiator taking down Pym and Quicksilver. Of course, then he's taken out by Wolverine in some crappy way that came accross as really stupid.

Anyhow, the main focus of the story is on Rachel Grey but it didnt' really impress me as I can barely remember any of it. She has a conflict of conscience regarding recapturing Hope for Phoenix-Cyclops and lets her go. And that's the entirety of the issue.


Best and Worst of the Week

Best: Justice League Dark - I'm so glad I bought this issue or else this week would have COMPLETELY sucked.

Worst: The rest - All of it, seriously. It's weeks like this that encourage my often consideration of just selling off all my comics and be done with the whole stupid hobby. What's the point of reading comics when the people behind them don't even take them or their history seriously? Why am I paying them to not do the characters and the creaters before them justice? I wish Marvel specifically would just go through a whole freakin' revamp line-wide so I can just drop the whole thing and be done with it.

 

[chamber-music]

Justice League Dark has a revolving cast Lemire has said with the constant core members being John Constantine, Zatana and Deadman.

Lemire said he wanted to introduce a Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark Supernatural vibe to JLD and I'm certainly getting that. Lemire writes a good Constantine and it was nice to see Boston Brand call John by his nickname conjob.

The Books Of Magic have a Lord Of The Rings style 'the one ring' thing going on with whoever owning all of them being corrupted.

The spooky interdimensional mansion complete demon Alfred was a nice touch along with the fact John won it in a card game like it was the millenium falcon.

I've not read much Deadman before but I don't really like him. Being able to possess people isn't that great and its already been shown he can be something of a redundant character in terms of powers. Atleast he has a good dynamic with Constantine I suppose.

Wasn't impressed with The Flash, League Of Gentlemen or Wolverine and The X-Men this week.

Aquaman was pretty fun even if you boiled it down its just Arthur and Mantra punching each other saying "you killed my daddy, no you killed my daddy"

 

[Lord Fanny]

I really liked Batman, Incorporated #2 if only for the fact that it felt like it was sort of saving Talia's turn into a totally heartless, evil ***** that Morrison basically portrayed her as through his Batman stuff in the past. I mean, yeah, he really just sort of blamed it on a super bit of daddy issues, but when she has the daddy that she has, it works. Though, with that being said, I'm not particularly fond of the way he kind of jobs Ra's, but whatevas.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Honestly, Morrison's run has been running so long with so many twist, turns, and details that I only remember the broad strokes. Batman has a son with Talia, the Black Glove tries to screw Batman's mind up, Batman dies during Final Crisis, Dick takes over and Damian becomes his partner, that dude who lead Black Glove returns and Joker takes him out, Bruce returns, Batman Inc begins, something about Leviathan which is apparently run by Talia.

That's what I know. The finer details I have no idea and it seems like Morrison's stortelling depends on you knowing the finer details to "get it" and I'm just getting bored by it. I'll likely really enjoy it when I sit down with it again and read it in one sweeping run but until then it's just mediocre. I'm ready to move on from his story and see what Snyder and Tomasi have going on.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Mighty Thor sucked again, and Thor himself got his ass kicked in WatXM. This is a really bad time to be a Thor fan, it seems.

 

[Shockdingo]

I'm so pissed. I remember when he made his big comeback, even before the movie, that was the first time I ever read Thor solo, and it was so great. This is where I thought we'd be by the time the movie even was announced as being in development...but then I think one of the events jostled me and I never went back.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

His comics have been great for a really long time, actually. Gillen's run, JMS' run, Oeming's run, Jurgens' run before that... the last genuinely s***ty Thor run was Warren Ellis' back in the mid '90s. Sure, the character and the series were out of commission for about 3 years or so, but even including that, Thor's been somewhere on a scale of good to mind-bogglingly awesome for about 15 years. Fraction's run doesn't seem so bad when you think of it that way.

But then you read an issue of Fraction's run and none of that matters because GOD IT'S SO F***ING AWFUL KILL IT WITH FIRE!

 

[JewishHobbit]

Is it a good time to be a fan of anyone at Marvel right now? Everyone's out of character, history's screwed up, getting whomped, etc. Iron Fist is okay but only because he's been in the background of AvX and his story is the only interesting on ein Defenders. That's about it.

Heck, I'm only buying 9 Marvel titles these days and 7 of them are X-titles. I've been so displeased with everything else that I've been dropping them like flies. Two of the three non-X-Men books might be dropped very soon (Avengers Assemble and Defendres) and the third, New Avengers, really just depends on its post AvX status.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Um... fans of General Ross are doing pretty well right now?

 

[Shockdingo]

His comics have been great for a really long time, actually. Gillen's run, JMS' run, Oeming's run, Jurgens' run before that... the last genuinely s***ty Thor run was Warren Ellis' back in the mid '90s. Sure, the character and the series were out of commission for about 3 years or so, but even including that, Thor's been somewhere on a scale of good to mind-bogglingly awesome for about 15 years. Fraction's run doesn't seem so bad when you think of it that way.

But then you read an issue of Fraction's run and none of that matters because GOD IT'S SO F***ING AWFUL KILL IT WITH FIRE!

R...really? I'm...afraid to trust again.

Is it a good time to be a fan of anyone at Marvel right now? Everyone's out of character, history's screwed up, getting whomped, etc.

Right now, I'm thinking Frank, Rulk and Daredevil are stable at the moment, but I'm afraid that...that Mr. Q is listening to my heartbeat and my hope and getting ready to unseat his gargoyle like frame from his perch and end all my positivity in a brilliant shower of blood and the sounds of screaming children and run on sentences. ...holy crap, what the hell is wrong with me? I really need that vacation from work.

 

[Splat]

It's odd that Fraction's Thor run is so bad because I loved his Thor one shots/mini series. Just give it back to KG.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Right now, I'm thinking Frank, Rulk and Daredevil are stable at the moment, but I'm afraid that...that Mr. Q is listening to my heartbeat and my hope and getting ready to unseat his gargoyle like frame from his perch and end all my positivity in a brilliant shower of blood and the sounds of screaming children and run on sentences. ...holy crap, what the hell is wrong with me? I really need that vacation from work.

Rulk is good I suppose. Bendis usually gives him a good showing in Avengers and I hear his ongoing is good. So there's one.

Isn't Punisher canceled?

And as for Daredevil, I suppose most would be happy with him. Personally, I loved the darker stories so his current status quo is very unfulfilling for me. He wouldn't make my list at all.

 

[runawayboulder]

Punisher has not been cancelled yet but the hammer could drop at any given moment.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's odd that Fraction's Thor run is so bad because I loved his Thor one shots/mini series. Just give it back to KG.

It's not, actually. The very problem is that Fraction can't properly contextualize the present-day Thor. He writes him exactly like he writes the callous, crass ancient Thor before he'd learned humility.

 

[Dread]

This is a "famine" week in the "feast or famine" schedule of big two comics. And I'll take it. Spoilers ahoy.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 6/27/12:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #688: With a feature film from Sony hitting theaters this year, the finale to a major summer blockbuster story line behind it and the 50th anniversary of the character being celebrated, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is in the midst of an interesting time. Solo writer Dan Slott has the task of following up the end to his ENDS OF THE EARTH "event" style epic with a return to normal, shorter arcs without it seeming like a let down. Fortunately, both he and tertiary regular artist Giuseppe Camuncoli accomplish this task with gusto and provide what looks to be the start of another exceptional arc in ASM.

As the cover reveals, the villain of the piece is the Lizard. By sheer coincidence (wink), this is the villain to be featured in Sony's "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" film next week. This follows course from an increase in Venom/Eddie Brock and Sandman appearances in 2007, along with Dr. Octopus in 2004 to capitalize on Sony's last two Spidey films. The last appearance of the Lizard was during the "BRAND NEW DAY" era which ran from January 2008 until October 2010, when ASM was a book divided among 3-4 writers over various months. Thus, it has been quite some time since the Lizard has been the focus of an arc, and that gap of time allows this arc to appear more fresh. It also seeks to resolve some dangling subplots, which is something the continuity-craving Slott always turns into ore for new stories. Despite having saved the planet from the Sinister Six and his fellow Horizon Labs scientists being welcomed back to NYC as heroes, Peter Parker is unable to bask in the glory because it came due to the sacrifice of his friend, Silver Sable. Not even a party thrown in Spidey's honor at MJ's new club, or a talk from the woman herself can lift Peter's spirits. When the grave of Billy Connors - Curt Connors' son - is robbed, this sparks Spider-Man into action. The result is a last ditch mission to cure Curt Conners of being the Lizard alongside former enemy Morbius and the Horizon geeks once and for all. However, it proves to be harder when imagined because simply being "the Lizard" is no longer a physical change; it is psychological. All of this is a great way to utilize previous stories while forging ahead with the ongoing serial, and involve characters both new and old in Spidey's world.

Camoncoli's artwork is up to its usual high standards alongside Klaus Janson's inks and Frank D'Armata on colors. The battle between the Lizard, Spidey, Morbius, and everyone else in the sewers looks great, as well as do the smaller scenes before. There has always been a hint of Sal Buscema in Camoncoli's pencils, who fans of the web-slinger will know drew SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN for almost 100 issues through the 90's. It remains ironic that Marvel has gone through so much to end (or more accurately, annul) the marriage between Peter and MJ when MJ still seems to function in a role similar as wife to Peter. She is always his core emotional anchor, and is always the one who tells him what he needs to hear at crucial moments. Peter's recent ex, Carlie Cooper, also makes her return here, but fans never embraced her and honestly any editor and writer has to know that the company won't allow another major Spider-relationship for some time. This issue sees Spider-Man's vow of "no one dies" put to the test as well as the hero himself venting his frustrations on the Lizard, which may be a dangerous game to play.

Bottom line? This looks to be the start of another great arc by Dan Slott on ASM featuring one of Spider-Man's A-list villains being handled in an interesting manner, with terrific arc. There's a very good reason why this title has been one of Marvel's most consistent sellers for the past two years.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #11: The exceptional IDW ongoing series by writers Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz and artist Dan Duncan continues with another installment in it's long ranged reinvention of the classic franchise. The previous issue shipped during the 5th week of May, with an issue of the micro-series taking place between issues last week. To a degree this is a bit of a development issue in which some more pieces of the puzzle are assembled, although there is so much action it is easy to miss that. While Splinter continues to fight for his life against the Shredder and his entire Foot Clan (who include his grand-daughter Karai and Alopex, a mutant ninja fox), the Turtles and their allies seek to regroup and track down the location of the missing rat. As Casey and April continue to grow closer, the Turtles run afoul of the Purple Dragons gang. While they are a hold-over from the original 1980's comics, in this series they have never appeared before; instead the debut issue was had against Old Hob's gang. The leader of the group they encounter is Angel, a purple haired inner city gal who was first created by the 4Kids produced animated series in 2003. While this series had successfully paid homage and remade creations from the original 80's comics as well as the original 80's cartoon, this issue also shows that innovations from recent times are also fair game. One can imagine this was done to allow for the series to have another major female character besides April O'Neil and Karai. While the Turtles and Casey and suspicious of a street gang, they wind up all having the same enemies and makes for an unlikely alliance. Duncan's art alongside Ronda Pattison continues to offer kinetic action sequences, new designs for old characters and success with subtle moments and facial reactions. This comic series continues to be the best thing which has happened to the TMNT franchise since it was sold to Viacom in 2010, and is worthy to be read by fans new and old.

X-MEN LEGACY #269: The AVENGERS VS. X-MEN crossover continues in this third tier X-Men series by writer Christos Gage and returning regular artist David Baldeon, which offers a conflict between Rogue and Ms. Marvel. The two have a lot of history between each other, and most of it is bad. Rogue and her team are among most of the X-Men who are aiding the "Phoenix Five" in fixing the world by providing free food, water, and power to countries world-wide as well as taking out threats such as random dictators or Sentinels. In this issue, Rogue and Iceman aid Magik (one of the Five) work on irrigating the land in China as well as helping to fix flood levies in New Orleans, only for Ms. Marvel to seek an audience with Rogue that doesn't go well. The biggest demerit of this issue is the crude method it chooses to make it's point. Ms. Marvel seeks to at least warn Rogue that the "Phoenix Five" have become so power that they will eventually become corrupted, which Rogue doesn't believe until Magik clearly shows signs of corruption at the end. The biggest riddle is if Cyclops wanted the Phoenix to join Hope to save the mutant race from extinction, why are he and his fellow "Phoenix Five" members doing nothing about that with such power and are instead performing random "good deeds"? Baldeon's artwork comes alive during the fight scene, which is a great thing to behold even if it relies on Rogue being too hotheaded to listen. While this remains a good comic overall, it never seems to hit the bar of greatness like Gage's AVENGERS ACADEMY often did and at times relies on crude story mechanics. Still, it has a set cast and offers a lot of action for the buck, and fans of Rogue can continue to have her star in a comic.

 

[Lord Fanny]

Honestly, Morrison's run has been running so long with so many twist, turns, and details that I only remember the broad strokes. Batman has a son with Talia, the Black Glove tries to screw Batman's mind up, Batman dies during Final Crisis, Dick takes over and Damian becomes his partner, that dude who lead Black Glove returns and Joker takes him out, Bruce returns, Batman Inc begins, something about Leviathan which is apparently run by Talia.

That's what I know. The finer details I have no idea and it seems like Morrison's stortelling depends on you knowing the finer details to "get it" and I'm just getting bored by it. I'll likely really enjoy it when I sit down with it again and read it in one sweeping run but until then it's just mediocre. I'm ready to move on from his story and see what Snyder and Tomasi have going on.

Well, I don't know about that. I have been following Morrison's Batman run since the beginning, but there's been a lot of pauses, and I'm not sure I remember all of the finer details. But really, all you need to know is the broad strokes in this case, I think. Talia runs this new group called Leviathan, and it's sort of her way of trying to surpass and give a big "F you" to her father. Shenanigans will ensue, I'm sure.

 

[Themanofbat]

Amazing Spider-Man #688 was pretty decent... felt better than EoTE, which I thought was solid except for some poor art... and I surprisingly dug Spider-Men #2, and I think I really like the idea that the Ultimate Mysterio has been the 616 Mysterio all along...

Still have to read Justice League Dark #10, League of Extraordinaty Men: 2009, and Morning Glories TPB Vol. 3...

 

[Phaedrus45]

16 Marvel comics this week. Here is how they stack up.

The Good

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #8

Shanower and Young finish another installment of their Wizard Of Oz series; and, I find my interest in these old Frank Baum stories just grows more with each one. New characters are constantly being introduced, and old ones keep making appearances throughout. Where last issue really brought the current storyline to an end, with this issue we get a silly little trial of Dorothy's cat, Eureka, being accused of eating on of the magic piggies. It's almost a stand-alone story, and for anyone interested, a good look at the kind of wit and humor they can expect with every book.

There were some good books put out by Marvel this week; but, if I'm being honest, this one has the most to offer.

FF #19

Picking up where the last issue of Fantastic Four left off, we get another great adventure with the FF kids. Hickman really was brilliant when he made this off-shoot book from the main story; and, I find myself enjoying the Future Foundation kids a lot more than the regular Fantastic Four. (Plus, looks like they will have a new member!) For me, this title ranks right up there with Journey Into Mystery.

Amazing Spider-Man #688

Slott is hit or miss with me. The last storyline, End Of The Earth, went on far too long; and, while a part of me could be pissed at him for killing off one of my favorite female characters, Silver Sable, there is no way I believe she's really dead. (No body = no death!) Thankfully, this issue FINALLY picks up where Zeb Wells' storyline ended a couple years ago. In the end, Conners is transformed back to human ... but, we learn that he's not really the Conners we might have been expecting. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Spider-Men #2

LOVED the first issue, and the second gave a great "who would win between Ultimate Spider-Man and 616 Spidey in a battle." The downside of this issue is the result of the battle. I didn't buy it. Still, there is some good humor, and I love seeing Peter's reaction to the Ultimate universe.

Hit-Girl #1

While we do get an appearance from Kick Ass, this title gives fans what they want: Hit-Girl! She's really the star of both the comic and the movie; and, I like that Millar is devoting the next storyline to her.

This is my last Marvel comic to be listed under The Good; and, it's right on the cusp of not getting in. While I enjoyed the book, I can see others finding it repetitious from the previous installments of Kick Ass. Yeah, it delivers what you expect and doesn't throw anything new at the reader; but, I also didn't expect that from this book.


The Okay

Wolverine and the X-Men #12

Not nearly as good as previous issues of this book. It just might be what we have to expect from the series until A vs. X is over. It's the best of the okay, though, as the writing is still good and the characters are interesting. I love how this book just isn't all about Wolverine.

Captain America and Iron Man #633

Cap's team up book starts a new storyline. It's what you can expect from Bunn. Nothing spectacular, but a decent little action tale involving Cap and the current guest hero. Plus, you don't have to worry about tie-ins or having to read other books with either hero.

Incredible Hulk #10

Aaron's run on Incredible Hulk hasn't impressed me much. It's been okay; but, it just feels like Aaron isn't the man who should be on this book. I'm still glad Pak has moved on to other stuff; as, he really stayed on longer than he should have. I'm just not feeling this book. (And, this is one of Aaron's better issues lately.)

The Ultimates #12

Maybe this book should be ranked a bit higher. There is so much termoil going on in all the Ultimate books. I love how the writers of the Ultimate line seem to have free reign to do whatever they want. (Destroying all of Washington DC was surprising.) This issue fell a bit flat for me, though. Everything rapped up a bit too nicely in the end, and I didn't feel as though Reed would have fallen for Tony's tricks.

X-Men Legacy

The neat part of A Vs. X is the battles between heroes; but, I've had enough of Rogue and Ms. Marvel. (In fact, this book suffers from too much focus put on Rogue.)


The Meh

Mighty Thor #16

I didn't find this quite as bad as others; but, still, there wasn't much to get excited about either. Fractions had much worse issues.

Amazing Fantasy #15

This is not a comic that really deserves to be under a "Meh" category; but, due to getting these reprints too many times to count, I'm disappointed that Marvel feels the need to reprint it again. (Kudos for including Amazing Spider-Man #1, though.)

Marvel Zombies Destroy #4

Please Marvel ... stop putting out these bad Marvel Zombie comics. It's only made worse by having Howard The Duck as one of the main stars of it now.

I will say I thought this issue would go under "The Bad," simply because the previous three issues were almost unreadable. This one got better, actually. I was surprised.

X-Men #31

Not much happening in this book. Wood just doesn't seem like the right person to be writing an X-Men book; and, this issue only made me wish that Colossus stayed dead. The guy has no personality, and making him into the Juggernaut did nothing to improve things.


The Bad

John Carter: The Gods Of Mars #4

The previous miniseries was much better than this; but, the art is horrible and the writing feels rushed. I'm guessing this will end Marvel's putting out John Carter books for a while, especially with the film bombing. (The film wasn't that bad. My family enjoyed it in the theater, and it was much better than any of the comics I've read.) I think Marvel would have been better served to just release these books as Graphic Novels. I don't think the comic reading public is demanding this type of comic nowadays.

Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man #3

What a lousy, confusing title for this book. It has nothing to do with the Ultimate line, and is just another way for Marvel to insult their younger readers. It's based on the Spider-Man cartoon series and is aimed at those younger viewers; but, it's just garbage for anyone older than elementary age. Tobin made the best attempt at making a comic designed for younger readers. (Sadly, those books took a turn for the worse shortly after the relaunch of Marvel Adventures, almost like Marvel told him to dumby the books down.)

 

[Phaedrus45]

I still have a while to get to my DC books. I think I've read about 7 of them; but, DC put out 18 books this week for me to read. I just have to say I think JewishHobbit missed the mark on Batman Inc. #2. I am not a fan of Morrison, and I really went into the book expecting me to not like it; but, he's completely taken me by surprise with the first two issues. I thought this one was great, and might even be my favorite comic of the week. The story stands on its own, and really gives readers an understanding of Talia while also letting us see how she's going to be effecting Batman's life in the future. Morrison hasn't been this good for a while.

 

[JewishHobbit]

After giving it more time I realize I was probably harder on Batman Inc. 2 than I should have been. I still don't think it was amazing or anything but it wasn't necessarilly bad. I'll probably enjoy it a lot once I sit down and read Morrison's whole run in a sitting or two.

 

[Themanofbat]

Amazing Fantasy #15

This is not a comic that really deserves to be under a "Meh" category; but, due to getting these reprints too many times to count, I'm disappointed that Marvel feels the need to reprint it again. (Kudos for including Amazing Spider-Man #1, though.

Did this include the other non-superhero material? Or just the Spider-Man story?

 

[Lord Fanny]

16 Marvel comics this week. Here is how they stack up.

The Good

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #8

Shanower and Young finish another installment of their Wizard Of Oz series; and, I find my interest in these old Frank Baum stories just grows more with each one. New characters are constantly being introduced, and old ones keep making appearances throughout. Where last issue really brought the current storyline to an end, with this issue we get a silly little trial of Dorothy's cat, Eureka, being accused of eating on of the magic piggies. It's almost a stand-alone story, and for anyone interested, a good look at the kind of wit and humor they can expect with every book.

There were some good books put out by Marvel this week; but, if I'm being honest, this one has the most to offer.

FF #19

Picking up where the last issue of Fantastic Four left off, we get another great adventure with the FF kids. Hickman really was brilliant when he made this off-shoot book from the main story; and, I find myself enjoying the Future Foundation kids a lot more than the regular Fantastic Four. (Plus, looks like they will have a new member!) For me, this title ranks right up there with Journey Into Mystery.

Amazing Spider-Man #688

Slott is hit or miss with me. The last storyline, End Of The Earth, went on far too long; and, while a part of me could be pissed at him for killing off one of my favorite female characters, Silver Sable, there is no way I believe she's really dead. (No body = no death!) Thankfully, this issue FINALLY picks up where Zeb Wells' storyline ended a couple years ago. In the end, Conners is transformed back to human ... but, we learn that he's not really the Conners we might have been expecting. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Spider-Men #2

LOVED the first issue, and the second gave a great "who would win between Ultimate Spider-Man and 616 Spidey in a battle." The downside of this issue is the result of the battle. I didn't buy it. Still, there is some good humor, and I love seeing Peter's reaction to the Ultimate universe.

Hit-Girl #1

While we do get an appearance from Kick Ass, this title gives fans what they want: Hit-Girl! She's really the star of both the comic and the movie; and, I like that Millar is devoting the next storyline to her.

This is my last Marvel comic to be listed under The Good; and, it's right on the cusp of not getting in. While I enjoyed the book, I can see others finding it repetitious from the previous installments of Kick Ass. Yeah, it delivers what you expect and doesn't throw anything new at the reader; but, I also didn't expect that from this book.


The Okay

Wolverine and the X-Men #12

Not nearly as good as previous issues of this book. It just might be what we have to expect from the series until A vs. X is over. It's the best of the okay, though, as the writing is still good and the characters are interesting. I love how this book just isn't all about Wolverine.

Captain America and Iron Man #633

Cap's team up book starts a new storyline. It's what you can expect from Bunn. Nothing spectacular, but a decent little action tale involving Cap and the current guest hero. Plus, you don't have to worry about tie-ins or having to read other books with either hero.

Incredible Hulk #10

Aaron's run on Incredible Hulk hasn't impressed me much. It's been okay; but, it just feels like Aaron isn't the man who should be on this book. I'm still glad Pak has moved on to other stuff; as, he really stayed on longer than he should have. I'm just not feeling this book. (And, this is one of Aaron's better issues lately.)

The Ultimates #12

Maybe this book should be ranked a bit higher. There is so much termoil going on in all the Ultimate books. I love how the writers of the Ultimate line seem to have free reign to do whatever they want. (Destroying all of Washington DC was surprising.) This issue fell a bit flat for me, though. Everything rapped up a bit too nicely in the end, and I didn't feel as though Reed would have fallen for Tony's tricks.

X-Men Legacy

The neat part of A Vs. X is the battles between heroes; but, I've had enough of Rogue and Ms. Marvel. (In fact, this book suffers from too much focus put on Rogue.)


The Meh

Mighty Thor #16

I didn't find this quite as bad as others; but, still, there wasn't much to get excited about either. Fractions had much worse issues.

Amazing Fantasy #15

This is not a comic that really deserves to be under a "Meh" category; but, due to getting these reprints too many times to count, I'm disappointed that Marvel feels the need to reprint it again. (Kudos for including Amazing Spider-Man #1, though.)

Marvel Zombies Destroy #4

Please Marvel ... stop putting out these bad Marvel Zombie comics. It's only made worse by having Howard The Duck as one of the main stars of it now.

I will say I thought this issue would go under "The Bad," simply because the previous three issues were almost unreadable. This one got better, actually. I was surprised.

X-Men #31

Not much happening in this book. Wood just doesn't seem like the right person to be writing an X-Men book; and, this issue only made me wish that Colossus stayed dead. The guy has no personality, and making him into the Juggernaut did nothing to improve things.


The Bad

John Carter: The Gods Of Mars #4

The previous miniseries was much better than this; but, the art is horrible and the writing feels rushed. I'm guessing this will end Marvel's putting out John Carter books for a while, especially with the film bombing. (The film wasn't that bad. My family enjoyed it in the theater, and it was much better than any of the comics I've read.) I think Marvel would have been better served to just release these books as Graphic Novels. I don't think the comic reading public is demanding this type of comic nowadays.

Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man #3

What a lousy, confusing title for this book. It has nothing to do with the Ultimate line, and is just another way for Marvel to insult their younger readers. It's based on the Spider-Man cartoon series and is aimed at those younger viewers; but, it's just garbage for anyone older than elementary age. Tobin made the best attempt at making a comic designed for younger readers. (Sadly, those books took a turn for the worse shortly after the relaunch of Marvel Adventures, almost like Marvel told him to dumby the books down.)

It's not my place or business to say this, I know, but dude, you seem to be the embodiment of someone who seriously needs to do some trimming of the old pull list. It sounds like you're been buying a whole lot of crap you don't like for a long time.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Did this include the other non-superhero material? Or just the Spider-Man story?

Just the Spider-Man stuff.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Angel & Faith seemed to take a turn for the worse this week. I don't know what it is about Buffy's cast, but whenever they rear their ugly heads, it seems to drop the quality of Angel's stuff. Willow shows up in this issue and s*** gets petty real quick. Willow goes off on Angel about how he destroyed magic and how he's being selfish trying to bring Giles back and how the latter is totally not at all like Willow's feverish quest to restore magic (even though both Angel and Faith point out that it totally is). But, on the plus side, we get to see some old Angel mainstays like Gunn and Connor again, which is pleasant. It really makes me wish that Angel could set up shop somewhere again and have a team around him because Gunn and Connor's return (and Kate's mention) sort of highlights the main problem with this series: Namely, Angel's being a pathetic, mewling b**** spending his days regretting everything he's ever done and his nights kowtowing to Faith. That's a bit of an overstatement, granted, since this series has been pretty good, for the most part. But it's still kind of irritating to see Angel brought so low after his own TV series did such a great job of building him into a fantastic, complex character who could move beyond his own sins and be a better man.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Worst: The rest - All of it, seriously. It's weeks like this that encourage my often consideration of just selling off all my comics and be done with the whole stupid hobby. What's the point of reading comics when the people behind them don't even take them or their history seriously? Why am I paying them to not do the characters and the creaters before them justice? I wish Marvel specifically would just go through a whole freakin' revamp line-wide so I can just drop the whole thing and be done with it.

For possible pleasure