Bought/Thought 06/03/10 *SPOILERS*

[TheCorpulent1]

lulz, it's true.

About as weird as someone named Tarene calling herself "Thor Girl". Oh, wait.

Although "Brunnhilde" is a name most women would not be proud of, even back in Ye Olde Times.

Hey, if you're as hot as Valkyrie, you could be named "Jim-Bob" and no one would care.

 

[Dread]

I don't know about that.

Imagine you name a boy Ebenezer. He grows up to be the most handsome man ever, with bulging muscles and perfect reflexes. He can lift a bear over his head and rip a man in two. He single handedly captures Osama Bin Laden and cleans up the BP oil spill. But would all of that save him from being mocked for such a "geezer" name? No. No, it wouldn't. The moment he said his name, no matter what feat of awesome goodness he performed, there would at best be a stifled snicker from someone. And it would be only add to his internal torment.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

As a kid, no. But all of that would totally get him laid enough to put Wilt Chamberlain to shame over the course of his life. Once you've got that, does it really matter if people make fun of your name? I think he'd get over it.

 

[Dread]

Y'know what every lady would say to him? "Ebenezer? You should really think about changing your name. It's not that expensive."

Brunnhilde is just one of those names too. I don't care how hot a girl is, or whether she just chopped Godzilla in half with a broadsword, she proclaims that as her name and her reaction is either people laughing, or people pretending she never said it and just focusing on her looks/deed. It's a cruel twist of fate that a lame name can follow someone around and ruin their lives, but then again, that was the entire premise of the famous song, "A BOY NAMED SUE". Least in America, although I am sure every nation, culture, and language has some name that would be considered "awkward" to have.

Plus, given how loose Marvel's editors are, maybe some writers don't know Valkyrie's real name, don't know the connections and differences between her and Samantha Parrington, and which is which at any given moment. Wikipedia, at least, seems convinced that Parrington is the Valkyrie we have seen lately, and that the original is still dead with the 2004 Ragnarok.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Meh, they should throw out all the Parrington stuff and just have Valkyrie be Brunnhilde. Samantha Parrington's like Don Blake. She may have been a part of the character for a long time, but in the end she's basically just a footnote. No one really cares about Blake or Parrington, they care about the godly characters.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Parrington is still not her "Blake". That was Barbara Norris and she's living with Love now. To be honest I barely remember the Parrington era. And I'm the 2nd biggest Valkyrie fan in the world.


Oh and Dread. Ebenezer would prolly be running SHIELD in the 616.

 

[Dread]

In comics, names don't matter as much.

Supposedly Parrington was the Valkyrie who was part of the Initiative, which started before THOR relaunched and Thor revived all the Asgardians, which likely included the original Brunnhilde. Which means there still should be two running around unless Brunnhilde was never resurrected or Parrington just sort of stepped off. Considering they look similar, I can imagine even editors being confused and all but literally passing around a memo that says, "Do not use Valkyrie's real name or we have a lot of backlog to figure out." Unless Bendis (and ONLY Bendis) provided some throwaway reasoning and it would INSTANTLY be inserted as canon. "The other Valkyrie was a Skrull" would work instantly if he wanted to do it (and by "work" I mean "would be accepted as canon on down the line"). I mean, that's how he brought back Mockingbird, and no one can dare question that despite all the absurdities it brings (like how the Skrull would fool even Mephisto).

 

[CaptainCanada]

Meh, they should throw out all the Parrington stuff and just have Valkyrie be Brunnhilde. Samantha Parrington's like Don Blake. She may have been a part of the character for a long time, but in the end she's basically just a footnote. No one really cares about Blake or Parrington, they care about the godly characters.

Brubaker said in one of his interviews that he's really not interested in going near that whole mess, and that he's just going with this being Brunnhilde ("the one from The Ring Cycle", as he put it).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Works for me. I'm perfectly happy forgetting Parrington and Norris ever existed. Brunnhilde is the only person to wear the name "Valkyrie" that I actually care about.

 

[Franklin Richards]

That's the Valkyrie we know and love from the Defenders. As long as she remembers that continuity, I couldn't care less about this Ultimates Clone or Pre-Clone. Whatever Parrington is.

 

[Dread]

Basically, Pluto tricked Lorelei (sister of Amora the Enchantress) into basically making Parrington into a virtual copy of Brunnhilde so he could manipulate her.

Brunnhilde might be all well and good for pretty much all Valkyrie appearances that took place after THOR #3-#5 or so, but that means any appearance between 2004 and 2007 can't be Brunnhilde. Although, thankfully, the only real appearances she made between that time period were some background cameo spots in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE or being one of a gazillion characters considered for the Initiative by Stark in one of those CIVIL WAR BATTLE DAMAGE HANDBOOK SPECIAL A-GO-GO things.

Brubaker's going with the original, but also knows well enough not to touch clearing up any identity issues with a ten foot pole.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, finally got to my comicshop and only got 3 new issues, as well as 3 issues skipped last week.

From Last Week

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne 2 - Well, I think it was better than last issue but just barely. Honestly, I've enjoyed Batman & Robin, but if this is the quality that Morrison brings to Bruce Wayne I may consider dropping the Batman books. Or it could just be that between Captain America, and then this, and that Avengers Prime book... I'm just sick of time travelers trying to find their way back to today.

Second Coming Revelations: Blind Science - I think the X-Men's science team are pretty cool but I think this issue showed me that I don't like them enough to read adventures focused souly on them. It was okay and Dr. Nemesis had some good lines, but overall I was very bored. And agian, it was time travel into the future, but this had no impact on current events... just a little tangeant tale taking place during the events of Second Coming.

Thore 610 - This was actually a good issue and I enjoyed it. My one complaint was that the Thor/Ragnarok fight was very small. I suppose the idea of the true Thor just embaressing the fake one is appealing, but with the build up over the years I expected a bigger payoff. Oh well. Other than that the book was good. I've read this title hit and miss for the first year and then came back for the Siege tie-ins. I'm glad to see it's still good, and now that it's dropped from $4 back down to $3 I might consider making way in my buying habits for it.


Now on to the new stuff!

Brightest Day 3 - This was good but like the previous two issues the stories are short and thus the comic is moving at a snail's pace, even with it being bi-weekly. I find that I have absolutely no interest in Hawkman or his little chicken. I get to their scenes and I'm like but this story really is making me curious about Firestorm, so that's good. My favorite scenes though werethe Deadman/Anti-Moniter fight and the Martian Manhunter one. I'm mediocrely liking this title enough to keep me coming back, but I'm more eager for the second half of the title.

Thanos Imperative 1 - This was good but not great. I just find I am not that interested in this whole cancerverse thing. I just don't care about it. I think we've seen evil versions of heroes so often (I mean we did just see the conclusion to the Dark Avengers afterall) that I'm just bored. I liked seeing a few of the Nova Centurians show up but I hope more happens with them later, and I liked seeing Thanos back in his old duds, though I've grown to prefer his robes look better. But I was really turned off by Drax going back to a bit of his old 90's look. It just looks silly to me, especially with Bullets coming off of it. I hated it.

All in all a pretty decent issue but I just don't feel as interested in this as I was for War of Kings and the two Annihilations. I was hooked into both Conquest and WoKs by the end of the oneshot. This oneshot didn't really grasp me like that, so I expected it from this issue and still it didn't grab me. I'm hoping to like it more as the story moves on but so far I'm kinda bored.

Echo 22 - I liked this issue but found the boob holding scene kinda awkward. I did like the Ivy/Hong scene and hooted for the ending, as I hated Hong (which is good writing I suppose). And being that those two things were pretty much the entire issue I suppose it was a decent one. There's only around 8 issues left in this series and I'll be sad to see it go.

Best and Worst of the Week (not including last week):
Best - Echo - It was a good solid read that pushes the plot of the series forward. And I said the boob holding was awkward... I didn't say I didn't like it

Thanos Imperative - Not that it was bad, just that out of the three I did buy it was my least favorite. Hopefully it improves.

 

[Phaedrus45]

How do you always get Echo a week earlier than me, JH? Anyway, here are some quick reviews, since my daughter wants to get back on the computer to play webkinz.

Red Robin #13

I forgot to tell my comic shop to remove this book from my list; so, I'll probably get next month's issue, too. But, with all the $3.99 comics Marvel is putting out, it's time for me to seriously drop a few of the ones I really don't enjoy that much. I figure I've given Red Robin a good 12 issues to win me over; and, it's not done much for me.

This issue was alright. Tim has decided to get tough on crime, and he's taking out the bad elements in Gotham. First up is Lynx, who actually turns out to be an undercover police officer who is trying to take down the Dragons from within. That doesn't matter to Red Robin, though; and, he has her incarcerated.

Now, there are a few elements to this book I am slightly interested in following, like Tim's new (somewhat) girlfriend SLASH fiance. It's just I hate the Red Robin character...and, the previous storyline just seemed a bit too much like the current (and better) one running in Daredevil.

Red Hood: The Lost Days #1

We already got Jason Todd's backstory in an old Batman annual; but, this expands on it much more. (And, I don't remember a lot of that original annual; so, much of this is new to me.) This issue starts at the point that Jason is found wandering with no memory of who he is and being taken in by Ra's Al Ghul, and ends with him being thrown into a Lazarus Pit. The story is told from the perspective of Talia ... and, it's pretty well done. I thought I might be giving up on it after a single issue; but, I come away pleasantly surprised. I guess I'm going to stick with all six issues. I hope the next five don't disappoint.

Giant-Size X-Men Forever #1

I see that I'm enjoying this comic more than a couple other people who read the first volume on The Hype. This issue is not as good as others that I've read; but, it does get rid of Professor X from the X-Men's ranks, as he's taken into custody by the Shi'ar for having knowledge of their secrets and defenses. (I do like this move. Professor X just kind of bores me. Although, with him gone and Beast dead, who will really be around to look into the young death rate of mutants?)

While all the Shi'ar stuff kind of falters, the ending gets me very hyped about the next volume coming out next week. In the last scene, we see the Avengers (and, that would be a darn good team from the early 90's) will be facing off with the X-Men very soon, since they found out about the death of Beast and Tony Stark.

Finally, this issue ends with a reprint of Uncanny #108. (Which makes me think that I don't mind paying $3.99 for a comic IF they give the reader a little something extra, like this classic Claremont comic.) for the Shi'ar story, but for the ending and getting rid of Xavier.

Heralds #1

This was a really odd comic, and I just don't know what to make of it yet. I think we have seen this group of females before...maybe it was She-Hulk's all-girls team that we saw last year...and, it's kind of nice Marvel is revisiting that. But, I think readers might be surprised this should be considered one of Marvel's comics aimed at the new female readership ... probably should have been called HER-alds, like with their other comic, Her-oes.

Anyway, it was different than I expected...but, I did like seeing the return of Frankie Raye. (I'm trying to remember when was the last time we saw her. I thought she was supposedly dead; but, maybe I forgot some other appearance by her since then.) I'll give it a reserved . It really needs another issue to truly judge what direction the story is going in.

Justice Society of America #39

In 39 issues, this has been my favorite storyline of the entire series. To imagine I was going to drop the book! I just love these "doomed future" stories, where all the heroes are getting killed off in an attempt for a better tomorrow. In this, we witness 20 years in the future after the Fourth Reich has taken over the world and depowered all of the Earth's heroes and villians. Things go from bad to worse this issue, as hero after hero gets slaughtered in their attempt to fix this hellish world. Can the good guys win in the end? Will everything be put correct by next issue? Of course, we know the answer to that. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will not stay dead. But, it sure is neat to see the wholesale slaughter! t:

JSA All-Stars #7

This is my final issue of reading this title. I told my shop to drop it, as it's done nothing for me. I don't need to Justice Society books, especially one that's taken some of my favorite characters and made them completely boring. This issue features a funeral for the death of Damage. It was alright, but I really never cared for that character...and, I've been reading WAAAY too many funerals in comics these past few months.

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags Of Our Fathers #3

I liked the first two issues, but this old tale from WWII's past just got kind of ridiculous and boring. Hopefully things will pick back up with the last issue; because, I didn't like this one so much.


Gotta rush things a bit more. Daughter is getting impatient!

Brightest Day #3

A good issue, but like the one previous, not much gets advanced in the terms of storyline. This comic seems like it would be much more enjoyable read all together. At least we get a new issue in two weeks! I just want a bit more to happen. Still, the writers and artists are doing a pretty good job making this much more interesting than Blackest Night. (And, there are no tie-ins that have to be read with this book.)

Vengeance Of Moon Knight #9

This wasn't a bad issue...it just was kind of a waste, all to lead up to what we've already seen in Secret Avengers, which is Moon Knight being approached by Steve Rogers to join his new team. It's a fast book to read, as there is very little dialogue. It's nice to see Spidey teamed up with Moon Knight; but, the story is so generic that any hero could have taken either's place.

 

[JewishHobbit]

So since we're all used to the once monthly reading schedual for comics, maybe we'd benefit from waiting on every other issue of Brightest Day and read two issues at once. It may be better because the story will advance more than the current method and may feel a bit more fulfilling. I may consider doing that if I can hold off.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Nah. By publishing it bi-weekly, DC presumably decided that the best way for me to read this story is on a bi-weekly basis, so I'll read them that way.

Heralds #1

This was a really odd comic, and I just don't know what to make of it yet. I think we have seen this group of females before...maybe it was She-Hulk's all-girls team that we saw last year...and, it's kind of nice Marvel is revisiting that. But, I think readers might be surprised this should be considered one of Marvel's comics aimed at the new female readership ... probably should have been called HER-alds, like with their other comic, Her-oes.

Anyway, it was different than I expected...but, I did like seeing the return of Frankie Raye. (I'm trying to remember when was the last time we saw her. I thought she was supposedly dead; but, maybe I forgot some other appearance by her since then.) I'll give it a reserved . It really needs another issue to truly judge what direction the story is going in.

The group in this issue only has She-Hulk and Valkyrie in common with She-Hulk's Lady Liberators team. The other members of that team were Thundra, Jazinda, and the Invisible Woman, primarily, although they had a few other members for an issue or two here and there.

Also, words cannot describe how glad I am that they didn't hyphenate the title into a silly pun like that Her-oes book. I don't even see Heralds as a book particularly aimed at females. I'm sure the all-female cast will make it more relatable to female readers, but I enjoyed the issue just fine and (flabby boobs aside) I'm not female. It was good because it had a great bunch of characters and told a pretty entertaining (if somewhat odd) story.

I can even get over the birthday wonkiness. These characters have all been around for years, so if Marvel tells me they're on good enough terms to show up for Emma Frost's birthday party, I can believe it. The newest character there is Agent Brand, and we actually know she has an existing relationship with Emma and the X-Men from Astonishing. Patsy Walker alone was entertaining enough for me to put the question of existing relationships aside and just enjoy the issue.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Let's be real. Nobody would show up to that evil *****es birthday party. I hope Sue turns into Malice and puts that ****e out of our misery.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, we all know you hate Emma, Frankster. Sing a new tune.

 

[Franklin Richards]

I remember saying the same thing about Hal Jordan to you. Ah.. the Circle is now complete.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hey, I stopped b****ing about Hal eventually, didn't I?

 

[Phaedrus45]

I like how certain Hypers are associated with particular bit$%iness or pet peeves. Kind of sets them apart...and, you know there are certain buttons you can push just by making some blank statement that's meant to infuriate.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Ok, Marvel has peeved me off again!

Sky-Doll: Spaceship Collection - Book One

Normally, the Soleil line of books contain 48 pages of story for a $5.99 price. It's even how Marvel billed the books as being. This issue, we get three short-stories that are 8 pages each. In between, we get some junk fillers; but, even then, this issue is pretty small, only reaching 40 pages, much of which is crappy filler. STILL, Marvel charges $5.99 for which really amounts to 24 pages of story. Needless to say, I'm a bit irate at the whole thing.

As for the three stories, the first was the best and the last was decent. The middle one did nothing for me, though. I like the Sky-Doll series, and the first issue really reflected the sadness associated with these dolls. It's just not worth the high price of the comic; and, I miss reading a full story about Sky-Doll.

Adventure Comics #12

A new direction for this comic, as we get the early adventures of Superboy and the Legion Of Super-Heroes. Paul Levitz takes over the writing duties, and this first story is cute. But, it's not really relevant to anything currently happening in the DC universe. It should almost be called Superboy and the Legion: Year One. The good part is you get a one-off story that will give you all sorts of good feelings. There are no villians; it's just Superboy getting to go all out with a group of kids who really admire him.

 

[fifthfiend]

As a kid, no. But all of that would totally get him laid enough to put Wilt Chamberlain to shame over the course of his life. Once you've got that, does it really matter if people make fun of your name? I think he'd get over it.

Case in point: What would you expect people to have thought of a guy named "Wilt"? And yet...

Brunnhilde is just one of those names too. I don't care how hot a girl is, or whether she just chopped Godzilla in half with a broadsword, she proclaims that as her name and her reaction is either people laughing, or people pretending she never said it and just focusing on her looks/deed.

Honestly I think Brunhilde sounds sexy as hell

 

[Drz]

Hey, I stopped b****ing about Hal eventually, didn't I?

Leave Ultimate Marvel alone!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, no. It'll work its way out of my system eventually. Just be patient.

 

[fifthfiend]

The problem with not being angry at Ultimate Marvel is any time you manage not to be they do something like have the Blob eating an orphan or Red Skull (not-)raping a baby and throwing his mother out of a window or Cap goin' like YOU THINK THIS A ON MY HEAD STANDS FOR TOLERATING HOMOSEXUALS?! and you're right back to ARGRGGGGGGGGG!!!!