Bought/Thought 11/07/07

[Hulkster]

You said Scott's amazing leaping visor.

 

[PhotoJones]

Did you see the book? His visor was "leaping" all over his face for most of the issue.

 

[Hulkster]

Nope I haven't read issue 23.

 

[PhotoJones]

I haven't read issue #23, either.

 

[PhotoJones]

I just saw something about The Order #4. Did that ship yesterday?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yes, it did. I purchased it.

 

[PhotoJones]

Damn. My shop didn't have it. I'm assuming it was good?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm assuming the same, since I haven't read it yet.

 

[PhotoJones]

I may have to make a special trip on my break to the shop up the street.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ugh, lucky bastage. I'd waste my whole lunch hour going to my shop and coming back to work. If there were a shop within walking distance, I'd be in that mofo every damn day.

 

[PhotoJones]

It's not walking distance, but it's a quick 7 minute drive.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Still a lucky bastage.

 

[PhotoJones]

You bough the Thor: Rebirth thing didn't you? Was there any new material in that?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Just the variant covers for #'s 1-3 in the back, followed by the Coipel cover for #4.

 

[PhotoJones]

My God, you're a ****.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I consciously thought "I'm such a ****ing ****e" as I picked it up. I walked by it a couple of times while looking at other stuff and told myself I shouldn't buy it, knowing I inevitably would.

 

[PhotoJones]

That's sad, dude. You need help.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Only more Thor comics can help me.

 

[PhotoJones]

It's time for the intervention.

 

[BrianWilly]

Huge week for me. The bag of books I carried out of the store seriously weighed actual weight. First time I'ma be posting some reviews now and some...uh, laterish. I know, I know, and I'm sorry; try to contain the pain.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer #8
Hnn.

It was all filled with awesome right up until Buffy started to talk to Faith. BKV may have Faith's voice down patter than almost anyone else and still writes a great Willow for those keeping track, but here I'm not sure anymore about his handle on Buffy.

I can accept that Buffy would be drawn into an inane comic book Misunderstanding Fight 'cause lord knows no character ever conceived could resist this inane cliche now matter how inane it is, and I can even readily accept her being immediately, physically violent against Faith 'cause lord knows she's not exactly Faith's greatest fan and they never truly got to resolve their issues in spite of the late season seven bonding. What pushes it over the edge for me is her dialogue. Her words here just...it makes with the wrong. It's too mean, too hostile; she's practically ranting. And the last time I saw Buffy go on an angry rant against an opponent that she was fighting at the moment was...well, I can't even remember. And not the least of which is because it's much easier to rant in a comic book fight than a live-action fight. Buffy will quip and banter in a fight, and she'll definitely even make stoic threats and harsh insults (and she does do all of these things in her fight against Gigi, which was great), but ranting like a madwoman possessed? I don't buy it.

Which is the only thing I don't buy about this, seeing as how the rest of the issue is masterfully told. Gigi unveils a much darker, much more callous (though not unexpected) side of herself here, showing herself as the kind of rare human that Buffy wouldn't actually mind slaying. She's a gigantic brat and self-possessed and elitist and possibly sociopathic, and none of it changes the fact that she's still Faith's friend. How things resolve next issue? I'm dying to see it.

(8.7 out of 10)


Astonshing X-Men #23
Yes.



Oh wait, sorry, what I actually meant to say was YES!!.

He is now officially one of my most favorite characters ever. It's been ever so long since I've had a new favorite character. I feel all warm inside. I should possibly get that looked into.

Buffy-watchers probably recognize the "psychic switcheroo dialogue" trick here in this issue; it was used before by Whedon on a season seven episode. Which is just fine, 'cause Whedon makes it even more dynamic and wittier this time around, and actually works better here anyway than it did on the show. "Is not courtroom drama, Katya" had me giggling like a moron yet again.

The next issue is probably gonna take forever to come out, but if the end product is as ****tastic as this one, I don't think I'll mind too much. This comic needs its resolution. It was a great run, and I'll be sorry of course to see it handed to Warren Ellis (...must...not...groan...), but it's time to wrap this mother up.

(10 out of 10)


Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Red Rain
This wasn't bad. Apparently it's really bad if you're a sticker for Red Rain continuity since, as I'm told by others, it really contradicts the stuff that was supposed to be canon in this particular Elseworlds, but I've never read that story so I have the great opportunity here to not care about that. Besides, they did say that not all the new Earths in these 52 universe are quite like what they were before.

What we do have here is a story which is told fairly well, where all characterizations are pretty decent, and we end up with a twisted tale while a gleefully twisted ending. You kinda have to wonder what the hell the point of it all is and what the heck the Challengers were even doing in the overall scheme of things, but Marz has basically taken what could have been a hilariously dumb concept and turned it into a readable and unpresumptuous short story.

(7 out of 10)


Uncanny X-Men #492: Messiah Complex Chapter 2
Meanwhile, in the X-Men story that I don't actually care about...

Aw, well, I do care. It's just happening in spite of myself.

Basically we're off to an acceptable start. The narrative seems to be a slow boil instead of rapid action, but that's alright 'cause of the sheer amount of materials that's going to cover this and just how often it's going to be covered. I'm not sure how I feel about Xavier being a whiney crybaby re: getting coldshouldered by Scott...on the one hand it rings true because Xavier, while commendable, was never truly very good at dealing with his issues. On the other hand it rings false 'cause we basically have a grown man here -- a grown old man, at that (though you wouldn't know it by looking at Tan's art) -- acting like a whiney crybaby 'cause he actually has to deal with the consequences of himself being a total manipulative arrogant jerkass. Wow, lots of adjectives in that sentence. Anyway, as long as Brubaker's actually going somewhere with this and not just doing it for unnecessary wangst, I can dig it.

What I like here is that everyone is given a role; every single chess piece has its part to play in the vast unfolding Grand Plan of the saga, from Scott to Emma to Xavier to Henry to guest-stars like Jamie and Layla and Rictor. Every conversation feels significant and every single event feels like it's setting something up to be played out at some point. I like those kinds of stories. The X-books are a community onto themselves and this can be easily utilized in a story, though often not effectively.

What I don't like here is exactly what I didn't like about the last issue: far too many characters that I have neither have any interest in nor am I given any reason to be interested in them. Warren, Logan, Kurt, and Pete fight with some Acolytes, and not only do I not know who they are because the issue doesn't tell me, I also have no idea why this even happens because the issue doesn't give me nearly enough substance about them for me to care. It's probably my own fault for napping through nearly every X-story in the last year, but still.

On a sidenote, uh, is Kitty dead? Have we seen her in this story yet? Did we just unwittingly reveal of Astonishing?

(7.4 out of 10)


Supergirl #23
...I don't get it.

Sorry, but I just don't get it.

(4? out of 10)


New Avengers: Illuminati #5
Bendis basically uses an entire issue to illustrate to us in exact detail how the enemy has been trying to spread dissent amongst our ranks and turn the heroes against each other and that they're succeeding and that now more than ever is the crucial moment where all must come together as a cohesive unit and work past the bitterness and the fear and trust each other again.

So of course the issue is going to end with everyone glowering at each other suspiciously and marching away in disgust, unable to trust their comrades. Welcome to the dystopia of the Marvel universe, where heroes do the opposite of what heroes should, will never have any significant victories, and blame their own mistakes on aliens. No smoking please.

Seriously, I was bloody bug-eyed when Tony started going "DON'T YOU SEE THIS IS WHY WE WERE ALL FIGHTING EACH OTHER." Or, alternatively, you could've been fighting each other because you people -- and I'm using "you people" in a very plural, all-encompassing sense here -- were hella daft and massive ***** to boot. These are people who should know better, but don't. Which just about sums up Marvel's last three years.

The writing itself is acceptable-ish. The Illuminati still speak far too informally for me to ever see them as anything but Bendis trying to sound like he thinks the Illuminati should, but nothing particularly sticks out as not belonging.

(6.5 out of 10)


Coming laterishly: Annihilation(s), Atom, Metal Men, Fallen Angel

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Was anyone else a little uncomfortable with how excited and enthusiastic Reed was about dissecting Skrullektra? Simmer down there, Dr. Mengele--er, I mean Richards.

 

[PhotoJones]

Was anyone else a little uncomfortable with how excited and enthusiastic Reed was about dissecting Skrullektra? Simmer down there, Dr. Mengele--er, I mean Richards.

Yeah, I noticed that, too.

Tony: "This Skrull was posing as Elekt--"
Reed: "We have to dissect it."

 

[Manic]

Do people really like Billy Tan, or am I missing the sarcasm?

I think Billy Tan is a decent artist, though not great. I really just prefer him over Silvestri. Everyone in Silvestri's art seems to be puckering up (something I simply hate about Quitely's art), and if you read the CompleX one-shot, I swear to god Emma is smirking after pulling the details of the disaster from a victim's head. Also, his 'Ron Perlman' Beast is kinda horrible.

 

[PhotoJones]

I'd much prefer Silverstri over Tan, and I don't really like Silvestri. Quitely, however, I'd take over both of them. I like him.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Astonishing X-Men- PICK OF THE WEEK! Warren Ellis, I love you, but I really don't want Whedon going anywhere. This issue was just bottled awesome through and through. This is the definitive way to write the X-Men. A small group of individuals against crazy odds and making you realize just how badass they are EVERY month. Not just Wolverine, either (I LOVED the Excalisuck comment, though!). 9/10

The Illuminati- The one I was hoping for. Good. That really gets things interesting, doesn't it, especially since each member had one of the Infinity Gems? Can't wait for Secret Invasion! 9/10

Daredevil Annual- This is great. Most of Marvel's annuals have been great buys for me. Brubaker continues with Bendis' style of good, fairly self-contained annuals with this issue. Not required reading, but a book you're glad you did read. 9/10

Messiah Complex, parts 1 and 2- Good. Not Astonishing style excellent, but good. I'm VERY impressed to see how many threads are converging. This doesn't feel like the half-assed "The Other", and that's great. I'm really optimistic about this; don't let me down, guys. 8/10

New X-Men- The calm before the storm. I liked it, and Prodigy promises some very big things that I hope live up to potential. 8/10

Beast Wars- This really feels like it's on the cusp of something great, but I feel like I'm missing too much, like there's a lot of stuff I don't know about, like Angolmois. What the hell is that? Furman, don't let me down! 6/10

Transformers Spotlight: Ramjet- A story that would've read better in the collected editions. Sadly, that's the case with about half of these. This issue was simply boring. Not much happened. If I read it in a collection with other one-off tales, it wouldn't bother me so much, but here, it just feels too mediocre. Fantastic animated style cover, though! 5/10