Bought/Thought 10/11

[hippie_hunter]

52 Week Twenty-Three (of 52) (DC Comics): "Black Adam! Shazam! Isis!" "What the Hell are you doing?" "Seeing if it's contagious." This week's issue of 52 continues on the story Renee Montoya, the Question, Black Adam, and Isis. Black Adam continues to expand his Marvel Family by including Osiris, Isis's brother. 52 continues to go strong and I will hate to see this series end in twenty-nine weeks. My only problem is that Osiris now comes off as a complete Captain Marvel Jr. rip-off, cripple and everything. 3/5

Annihilation #3 (of 6) (Marvel Comics): Why isn't this book Marvel's main event? This event has a much bigger impact than the Civil War going on between the heroes of the United States. The Annihilation Wave has destroyed the Skrull Empire and now the Kree Empire. In three months time, the Annihilation Wave will reach Earth, and with the vast majority of the heroes preoccupied with their petty fighting, do they really stand a chance against it? Me thinks not. 4/5

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #30 (DC Comics): Out of the comics of obscure characters that DC publishes (Hawkgirl, Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, Blue Beetle, Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, Manhunter, etc.), Firestorm is one of the best. The writing is good and fun. I hope this book never gets canceled. Though the dialogue between Jason and Ghenna is rather cheesy. 3.5/5

Green Arrow #67 (DC Comics): I love Judd Winnick's writing. I love Green Arrow. The One Year Gap story is rather cool. Ollie is trying to become one of the DCU's most powerful fighters on par with characters such as Deathstroke, Batman, Black Canary, Connor Hawke, the Question, and others. Though the AIDS thing with Mia is rather dumb. And by rather, I mean very. Mia is Speedy. Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick. Even though she is a side kick, she is a part of the superhero community. Why the hell doesn't she go to Zatanna or Zatara or someone like that and get them to say "SDIA eb eong!" or wisk away the AIDS. Or when she had the chance, go to the JLA Watchtower and use the Purple Ray of Healing. In a world where such beings and items exist, being a superhero with AIDS, a very deadly virus, is just completely unrealistic 3/5

Green Lantern Corps #5 (DC Comics): I'm not going to write a review for this book because everything Phaedrus has said, I would say. Except I like the Ion book better. The Green Lantern titles are kicking ass right now and it makes the comic book reader inside me happy to be buying all three of them. 4/5

Martian Manhunter #3 (of 8) (DC Comics): It's a good thing that this book is not sucking complete ass like Lieberman's run on Batman: Gotham Knights. It's not even bad. It's just that it could have been so much better. It's just average. Like Bilson and DeMeos' run on the Flash: The Fastest Man Alive average. Or Harras's run on JLA average. Nothing great, just a simple somewhat enjoyable read. This book should have been an ongoing (like Ion) and given to a much better writer like Greg Rucka. Oh well, at least it's good enough for me to continue with the rest of the story 3/5

Uncanny X-Men #479 (Marvel Comics): Boy oh boy another Brubaker book from Marvel. Lucky me, I am a huge Brubaker fan (I buy Captain America and Daredevil also which kick major assage). Seriously, after the Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire is over, please keep Brubaker and Tan on this book! Just replace Marvel Girl and Darwin with Psylocke and Storm and that would be the perfect line-up for this book. Anyways, this story continues to kick ass and I'm kinda rooting for Vulcan to destroy the Shi'ar Empire, they deserve it! Great writing and great art give this book a 5/5

Pick of the Week
Civil War: Frontline #7 (of 11) (Marvel Comics): Wait a minute, don't I go off all the time complaining how much this story sucks? Why the sudden change of heart? Issue seven of Civil War: Frontline is much more like the first issue of the book, a good interesting story that does not want me throw up with the completely biased liberal overtones and makes the Super Human Task Force appear to kick puppies and eat babies. How does this story get to be the pick of the week? BECAUSE SALLY GOT SO FREAKING OWNED! My f**king god she was owned! This book got me hating on Sally's character because she was one of those people who saw the right wing as evil and the left wing as all knowing and benevolent. Now she has been proven wrong, in a way that COMPLETELY OWNED her! Thank you God, thank you so much! Finally Speedball takes responsibility that even though he wasn't the one that caused the explosion in Samford, his decision was the catalyst that created it. I am excited to see where Sally's and Speedball's new paths will take them (actually I am finally excited about the two characters that I hated in Civil War: Frontline, look at that) It's about damn time this book hasn't made the side that supports pro-registration look like complete jackasses and hopefully it will continue this more centric path. If things continue like this, Civil War: Frontline could turn from Civil War's second weakest tie-in (the first being Civil War: X-Men which deals more with Decimation and The 198 than Civil War), to being one of the strongest (sorry, but mediocre and overly biased issues two, three, four, five, and six won't give it the title of the strongest tie-in) 5/5

 

[Tropico]

Annihilation #3: As I said in the Annihilation thread, this issue was awesome. I bet people are tired of hearing how much better this is than CW, but in my eyes it IS. Characters in a real war that still behave like they should. Characters RISING to the occasion and showing that underneath their foibles the stuff of heroes lives. SS' revival. Galactus as a weapon. Cosmic power as soul power, kinda hokey, but at the same time it makes sense why big G could only feed on living planets. If you don't hate sci-fi you should be reading this.

Uncanny Final Fantasy X-Men #479: So far I've been liking the story arc, not loved, but liked. I'm not so "narrow minded" to start protesting the X-Men's involment with outer space. I like sci-fi, I'm biased; but some of the cooles X-Men stories also involved space travel and/or the Imperial Guard. The Phoenix had lost another lil' piece of mana and left in Cloud's sword? Um, ok. This is like the fourth time we've found out something/one had a lost piece of the Phoenix and now it made it whole again. I guess Shi'ar Cloud's mutant power is to carry impossibly big swords and he'll be part of the team for a while.

Firestorm- The Nuclear Man #30: I'm loving this story arc. I'm not too sure about the Pionic Man, but the rest is awesome, especially how Jason keeps calling Pohzar "poser". Solid storytelling and action, it's a shame more people don't read the title.

New X-Men #31: I loved this issue and it was mostly because it reminded me of a good New Mutants story. I got transported to that time, it was that good. Action was the main word of this issue and there's nothing wrong with that when it gets done so well. I loved the warp up! It was great how they brought Elixir back and tied Nimrod back into continuity. Oh, and lil' miss Wolverine almost bit it! A Wolverine derivative not surviving something not even close to a Nitro blast? Makes her a whoooole lot more likeable in my book.

Mystery in Space #2: Star Hawkins? OMG! Now, THAT, is old. It was really cool how they tied him to Comet, but it was also a shame that it was to kill the character. This was mostly the obligatory explanatory issue so I didn't find it as compelling as the first. Still, more sci-fi, more good. Good story, great art. Some comics wish they had both.

 

[yenaled]

Mystery in Space #2: Star Hawkins? OMG! Now, THAT, is old. It was really cool how they tied him to Comet, but it was also a shame that it was to kill the character. This was mostly the obligatory explanatory issue so I didn't find it as compelling as the first. Still, more sci-fi, more good. Good story, great art. Some comics wish they had both.

I think Mystery in Space is one of the better books DC are pubishing at the moment. Any fan of Sci-Fi should pick it up.

 

[Dread]

Sales for Sept. are in and ANNIHILATION #2 sold I think around #42. That's good considering it stars a messload of characters who haven't seen a series in years, if ever, and even if cool are B-Listers at best. Still, it's competing against CW and some DC books. It should sell better. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

I agree, it's great to see heroes rise to the challenge of a catastrophe in ANNIHILATION, while they all crumble like a house of cards in CIVIL WAR. How convient that the supervillians haven't rallied against them, and their only major threat may come from Atlantis. Good lord, a Masters of Evil team could SO own right now.

For the record, not that it matters to anyone, I finally got the first two Hardcovers of INVINCIBLE, which basically have issues #1-24, plus #0 and the FCBD 2004 issue in it. But, these are about 2-3 years old, so who cares, right? I got through the first 6 issues and I'm enjoying it so far.

And yes, Sally got "owned" big in FRONTLINE #7. But Liberals ARE mighty predictable. I could pull that same trick for many of them, only inside the envelope, I'd write, "You will blame Pres. Bush." And regardless if it legitimately is his fault, they'd fall for it every time. Which, as a Democratic voter, makes it hard for me because simply blaming Bush is not an effective counter-strategy. If you disagree but offer no alternative, it's moot.

 

[Dread]

Oh, yeah, just to keep y'all informed, I just finished the first two hardcovers of INVINCIBLE, which basically had issues #0-24, plus the FCBD 2004 issue. It's an amazing book and I'm glad I dove in. Now I simply have to decide whether I want to wait until next year for the next hardcover (each hardcover has maybe 2 trades and change, and Trade #7 just came out), or grab the latest 2 trades, hunt for back issues and start reading it monthly (or as monthly as it comes out; I know since Kirkman has had more writing chores it's not always been on time). I haven't been as excited about a title in ages. For anyone who likes superhero stuff or young heroes or comic books really, dig it. Grab the hardcovers, they're easier to store than trades. Then after the first 2 HC's you'll be in the same boat I'm in.

 

[masteryoda]

Gambit is that you?

t: t: t:





:meow:

 

[Anubis]

Oh, yeah, just to keep y'all informed, I just finished the first two hardcovers of INVINCIBLE, which basically had issues #0-24, plus the FCBD 2004 issue. It's an amazing book and I'm glad I dove in. Now I simply have to decide whether I want to wait until next year for the next hardcover (each hardcover has maybe 2 trades and change, and Trade #7 just came out), or grab the latest 2 trades, hunt for back issues and start reading it monthly (or as monthly as it comes out; I know since Kirkman has had more writing chores it's not always been on time). I haven't been as excited about a title in ages. For anyone who likes superhero stuff or young heroes or comic books really, dig it. Grab the hardcovers, they're easier to store than trades. Then after the first 2 HC's you'll be in the same boat I'm in.

It's about f**king time you got into Invincible.

 

[Dread]

It's about f**king time you got into Invincible.

Yeah.

The issue if, if I go for the trades, then tracking down some of the last 2-3 issues will be a major hassle solely because the title's not a huge seller. Books like CIVIL WAR or so on that sell in the Top 50 are ordered heavilly so most huge shops may still have a copy. But INVINCIBLE I think at this point sells either barely in the Top 100 or outside so it's only like 20k, which means whatever shops order copies, they order only the ones they sell each month, and no extra for back-issue bins. It's not like, say, ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #1 where stores ridiculously overordered it and thus you can find it everywhere. Even now. First prints. No prob.

The next two trades would get me issue #'s 25-35 but then after that I'm on my own.

The HC would have at least 12-13 issues but that won't happen until '07 and I can't wait that long.

 

[Anubis]

Go for the trades man. The recent issues shouldn't be all that hard to find. The first issues are the ones that are extremely hard to find. I was lucky enough to have jumped on at #5, which is almost impossible to locate. The last issue to come out was 35. So you could grab 36 and be caught up.

 

[yenaled]

There is something I like about getting Invincible in trade. Not sure why, I used to do it with a lot of books but now only a handful.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Those early issues are damned expensive. This' one book I'll be buyin' in trades as I jumped on at 24 and missed 25.

 

[Phaedrus45]

More Thoughts:

Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #17: This could have been a better issue, if not for that fact that I've read more than my fair share of "Thing feels crappy about looking like a monster" type story that turns into "It's what's inside that counts, and beautiful people look more crappy on the inside sometimes." The story features a run-in with Absorbing Man, and really falls apart with the sappy ending. 6/10

Red Prophet Collected Edition: First, let me say I'm glad Marvel picked up the Dabel Brothers comics. I had been reading Magician, and was only disappointed by the lateness of it. I always think it's great to have a different kind of comic to read that isn't strictly about superheroes; and, Dabel Bros. certainly gives that type of entertainment. This comic is about as far from a mainstream comic as you can get. Reprinting the first two issues, it's almost more of a history lesson than an actual story, and after reading them, you still don't know who Alvin Maker or the Red Prophet are. (Although, by the end of issue #2, you get an inclination of who the Red Prophet will most likely be.) This is a book about the narrative, about understanding the motivations behind all the characters and what the times were like back when "whites" were taking away the land from the "red man." This is not a book for everyone, but I found it refreshing. I just hope Marvel doesn't screw this up, and Dabel goes the way of the Ultraverse. 10/10

DMZ #12: For most everyone, except the hardcore fan of DMZ, this is a book they can simply skip. For the life of me, I don't know why they wasted a key issue #12 with "Guide to the DMZ." If they felt compelled to put out this issue, it should have been a DMZ Special Edition, or something to that effect. Or, they could have double-sized it, and let it be the second half of the issue. 3/10

Thunderbolts #107: I absolutely love Thunderbolts, but at times I'm totally confused by what's going on. There are so many characters and so many different things happening in this book, that I found myself trying to make sense out of it half the time. Heck, I don't even remember how the Overmind fitted into this story. Basically, this issue is an "all hell has broken loose and nobody knows what to do" issue.

The problem is this: A new reader will not stick on with this book. They will recognize hardly any of the characters (heck, last time I saw the Overmind was waaaay back in the 80's in Defenders, Vol. 1) and the story is very confusing. But, what makes this a problem for newer Marvel readers is a treat for the older ones, like me, who've been around for a long time. Nicieza knows his Marvel characters, and his stories are definitely not predictable. So, while my rating is pretty high, it doesn't represent how most comic readers would probably view the book. 9/10

The Punisher #39: I haven't read any of the other reviews in this thread yet; but, I'm wondering is other people are finding that this story is really dragging. Three issues into this story, and not a lot has happened. It all just feels like set-up for the eventual confrontation between Punisher and Zakharov. I just find myself kind of bored with it now. Even showing how evil and ruthless Zakharov is with the killing of the infant took on the approach of "seen it all before." Every storyline, it seems like we're having to read how vile each of the people Frank kills are, and you just knew when the guy wanted to tell his tale about Zakharov's past that it would involve women and children being slaughtered for no good reason. 5/10

Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange #1: The first issue, "Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man," I thought was not very funny and pretty boring. But, this issue totally redeems itself to me. The first story, featuring Stan The Man and Dr. Strange, had me loving the artwork, the dialogue, and humor. But, it was the second story that had me laughing outloud. Featuring The Impossible Man, this is some of the best stuff I've read from Bendis in quite a while. Poking fun at "how much the writers have screwed up Marvel Comics," Bendis pokes fun at current storylines, from Civil War to House Of M. (My favorite line was Gwen Stacy saying, "So now I'm, like, Gwen Stacy, the ****e of the Marvel Universe!") The issue ends with a reprinting of Marvel Premiere #3. Not necessarily the issue I would have picked to have featured, but still good non-the-less. 10/10

Marvel Milestones Featuring The Legion of Monsters: It was kind of neat to read this old issue featuring the team-up (although, they ended fighting each other more than teaming up) of Ghost Rider, Swamp Thing, Morbius, and Werewolf By Night...but, this issue is really campy. In fact, if there is a reason the Legion of Monsters hasn't teamed up since, it was probably because this issue was just so ridiculous. The second story is a reprint of Marvel Team-Up #24, featuring Spidey and Brother Voodoo, and the final reprint is a Dracula tale from Dracula Lives #3. Both are decent stories if you are a Marvel fan. 8/10

Front Line #7: This issue centers around two characters in all it's stories: Speedball and Green Goblin. We relive the shooting of Speedball, and get to see what happens immediately after. Then, Norman's involvement in Civil War finally gets featured, all the while being introduced to a mystery man who is behind all of it, saying he's "the one person they'd never expect" to betray them. I like the twists from this comic, but the story also feels forced at times. 8/10

 

[Dread]

Go for the trades man. The recent issues shouldn't be all that hard to find. The first issues are the ones that are extremely hard to find. I was lucky enough to have jumped on at #5, which is almost impossible to locate. The last issue to come out was 35. So you could grab 36 and be caught up.

Sweet! I went onto the Image website and they were promoting INVINCIBLE #38 for this month so I thought the last issue out was #37. I'll probably go for the trades, especially since my LCS gives me 10% off on anything that isn't a magazine. Which means 2 trades that might normally come in at about $30 instead cost about $27, which ain't too shabby. And as I honestly don't give a rat's rear about the foreword, afterword, and endless sketches of the HC's, it's a quicker choice.

BTW, Bendis gives the intro for the first HC, and claims that Invincible is one of only TWO books that make him think, "why didn't I think of that"? If he thinks only two comic books currently should bring that reaction, then he's more arrogant than I thought. I like how Kirkman makes Invincible inexperienced without being a frickin DAMSEL IN DISTRESS like Bendy does with Ultimate Spider-Man.

In the second HC, the writer who's officially 9 months late on ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK finds the time to write an intro. Thanks, man. That book, for the record, has been pushed to the last week of December for it's 3rd issue.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Still More Thoughts:

Wolverine #7: This issue reveals a little more than past issues had. We find out why Wolverine continually couldn't remember his past and some of the tests which were performed on him, while in the present, the fight with Omega Red begins. Some things are good about the issue, like learning more about Logan's origins; but, the art still really doesn't fit this book. This artist seemed to work well with a Punisher storyline, but I can't connect with him on a Wolverine book. Plus, the dialogue is pretty silly. Even Jubilee still calling him "Wolvie" seems very immature. 7/10

Uncanny X-Men #479: Wow! Five issues in, and this is really starting to feel like a classic X-Men epic. It kind of reminds me of watching Star Blazers back in the 80's on tv. It only stands to reason that the X-Men wouldn't be able to reach their destination that is so far away in space quickly; so, we are taken along on this ride, meeting many new, interesting characters and having them all play a pivotal part in this huge story. I just have to say, I've haven't been so into an X-Men comic in such a long time. I find this even better than Astonishing X-Men, which to me is overrated. 10/10

New X-Men #31: The conclusion to the Nimrod storyline with double the pages and double the excitement. This all-out action issue finally puts Nimrod to rest; and, even though it wasn't the best story that's come out of New X-Men, it's better than many other X-Men books out there. The flaws aren't glaring; but, fans of X-Men past might not like how Forge was portrayed as rather weak. 8/10

Ultimate Power #1: I haven't gotten too far into people's reviews of Ultimate Power yet; but, I was really impressed. It was great to see Greg Land's art back with the Fantastic Four, I think Bendis did an excellent job with the dialogue, and felt this miniseries already feels better than any Ultimate miniseries before it. (Which, really isn't hard to achieve.) I love all the different elements that were brought into the first issue: The Serpent Squad, Project Pegasus, Thing's shedding skin, Reed going against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders, AND the characters from Supreme Power. All that, and it didn't feel like too much was being done in the first issue. It all blended very well together. I can't wait for issue #2. 10/10

 

[Anubis]

Sweet! I went onto the Image website and they were promoting INVINCIBLE #38 for this month so I thought the last issue out was #37. I'll probably go for the trades, especially since my LCS gives me 10% off on anything that isn't a magazine. Which means 2 trades that might normally come in at about $30 instead cost about $27, which ain't too shabby. And as I honestly don't give a rat's rear about the foreword, afterword, and endless sketches of the HC's, it's a quicker choice.

BTW, Bendis gives the intro for the first HC, and claims that Invincible is one of only TWO books that make him think, "why didn't I think of that"? If he thinks only two comic books currently should bring that reaction, then he's more arrogant than I thought. I like how Kirkman makes Invincible inexperienced without being a frickin DAMSEL IN DISTRESS like Bendy does with Ultimate Spider-Man.

In the second HC, the writer who's officially 9 months late on ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK finds the time to write an intro. Thanks, man. That book, for the record, has been pushed to the last week of December for it's 3rd issue.

I'm glad I never bothered to pick that book up. Then again, I probably wouldn't mind the wait. I mean, I am a Planetary fan.

Hey Dread, you ever see the TPB Bought/Thought Thread? Great place to discuss any trades or whatever you just read.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167924&page=46

 

[hippie_hunter]

Bump, read my Green Arrow review and tell me if I'm right!

 

[Anubis]

That would never happen. If they cure her, then they'd have to cure everybody that has AIDS/Cancer/Heart Disease/etc. It's a can of worms that can't be opened.