Bought Thought 12-28-11 - Marvel 2012 Calendar Edition

JewishHobbit

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Seriously, did anyone else get this free calendar that Marvel put out? It's kinda nice. I'll be hanging it up :)

Annihilators: Earthfall #4 - And the second lackluster Annihilators mini comes to a close and I'm glad. Hopefully this is their last chapter for the time being and this whole Avengers vs. X-Men thing dealing with Phoenix and Nova can launch a new, better direction for Cosmic Marvel.

I will say that I liked Gladiator's supposed sacrefice. That was a nice touch. Not a lot of people remember his faith-based powers.

Uncanny X-Men #3 - Eh, I'm glad this story is over. I don't like this take on Sinister and so far this team bores me. This arc wasn't very good (and paled in comparison to W&tXM's first arc). I'm hoping it's just an arc glitch but we'll see. Next issue promises the Phalanx and I'm a big fan of theirs so that could be cool.

X-Men Legacy #260 - And this title FINALLY wraps up its pre-Regenesis status (despite what the cover says) as well as Mike Carey's long run on the title (around 80 issues I think). Honestly, this two part arc wasn't as bad as the previous one but it wasn't much better either. I don't give a crap about Ariel or Rogue's choice (wow, big mystery there. It was revealed months ago). But it's over now and Gage is coming on with the next issue. I'm glad.

Justice League Dark #4 - I'm dropping DC titles left and right unfortunately but this one's still got my attention. I thought this was the conclusion to the Enchantress arc but it's actually next issue. The art here is gorgeous as always and the plot continues to be interesting (once the slow moving first issue got out of the way). I'm curious how this all plays out and what the fall out will be. I honestly don't know how the story is going to end.



Now besides those above I also bought issues 2-5 of The Dark Knight. I didn't bother with it before because of how late Finich's run was before and how underwhelmed I was with the first two issues of it. I just didn't want to bother with that. Well, I didn't realize that he gave up writing duties on this relaunch until a coulpe days ago and that Jenkins is the main writer. I like Jenkins and I like Finch's art so I grew curious. Then I skimmed the three issues my shop had and saw tons of guest stars and villains and I just felt interested. So I caved and bought the three issues they had and plan to pick up the first issue on ebay. I might wait to read them when that gets here or I might just google a review and go from there. We'll see.

Best and Worst of the Week

Justice League Dark 4 - This was good. Not WOW but definately better than the rest of the lackluster titles

Annihilation: Earthfall - This was pretty much a 3-way tie with the other three books. All in all this was a very disappointing week. I think this one lost out though because it had boring storytelling AND crappy art. I've wasted money on 8 or 9 issues of this book now. It sucks.


*Edit - ARRRRGGGHH!!!! :argh: I just realized I missed Children's Crusade. They're putting one in my file for me but still. ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!! :argh:
 
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Jeez, where is everybody?

Anyway.....is anybody else disappointed by Captain America as much as I am. I'll never quit the book but how many times are we going to get old WWII enemies crawling out of the woodwork or stories about Cap being turned into a skinny kid again? Bru needs to change it up or move on already, clearly his best days on Cap are behind him.

And don't even get me started on Steve McNiven. This friggin guy couldn't properly finish a 5 issue arc without it being late or finished for him??? Camuncoli had to step in and act as the hero but his pages were mixed in with McNiven's. That tells me that Steve's work was kicked back to him or scrapped for being no good. This is the exact CRAP that Marvel needs to do without now that DC is owning them in sales. Forget guys like McNiven, Cheung and Coipel. Yeah, their stuff looks pretty but they can't hit a GOD DAMN deadline to save their life. Marvel has way more quality guys at Marvel, use them!!!
 
I agree. Reserve guys who can't hit a deadline for minis or contained stories that they can finish before the first issue comes out.
 
Hey, Pacheco couldn't handle getting three issues out. This week's Uncanny X-Men #3 had three guys on pencils to get it out on time.
 
I don't know what the hell happened to that guy - he used to be awesome.
 
I picked up 4 books this week and was happy with all 4.

Angel & Faith #5- I'm really digging the new series and this one and done story was another great issue. If the last series turned you off to the character I'd suggest giving this a try.

Ultimates #5- Hickman is just killing it on this book for me. Every time the book ends I want more. Best the Ultimates has been since Millar's 2nd run ended.

Ultimate X-Men #5- Things are finally picking up and I like where things are going. I've liked Spencer's other stuff so I'll stick around for the first arc at least.

The Mighty Thor #9- 2nd issue of the new story arc and it's better then I expected it to be. Thor is not in the issue much but that just gives kid Loki more room to shine, my favorite new character of 2011. Here's hoping the story continues to build to great finale.
 
The Mighty Thor was adequate. I quite enjoyed Loki stealing Don Blake's cane.

Captain America put out two issues to make up for the delays caused by McNiven's slow, prima donna ass. Neither was all that great, but one featured art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and the other featured art by Alan Davis, either of whom I'd take in a heartbeat over McNiven--which, coincidentally, works out well for me because Davis is sticking around for the next arc. The series has been pretty underwhelming in general and especially underwhelming when weighed against the greatness of Brubaker's previous Captain America series. I'm not planning to drop it, but I can't say anything was all that interesting in either of the issues this week, least of all Baron Zemo apparently taking his place as 1) a cackling, villain-for-villainy's-sake villain and 2) a lackey to Codename: Bravo's wife, neither of which suit him at all. I was extremely happy that Brubaker seemed to forget about Zemo after s***ting all over his Thunderbolts and Born Better character growth in his previous Cap arc with Zemo but, alas, looks like he's sticking around this time. :csad:

Angel & Faith was a fun diversion from the ongoing plot. Harmony shows up and basically drags Angel and Faith kicking and screaming into an old-school mystery case, the likes of which Angel used to deal with on his show. It was a fun blast from the past, although something was obviously missing without Wesley, Gunn, Fred, et al. Still, good times. Phil Noto's art is a bit sketchy, but his layouts are strong and he's slightly better with likenesses than Isaacs.

Annihilators: Earthfall ended on something of a bland note. I like the overall message that Quasar sums up at the end: he is the line that keeps the Annihilators and all their cosmically apocalyptic power in check. I just feel like the message could've been delivered a bit better. It feels like DnA sort of phoned this one in, especially with Beta Ray Bill not giving the slightest s*** about Earth. The Rocket and Groot backup was way better, although that also got wrapped up a bit too neatly and quickly for my liking.

Aquaman was good, if a bit underwhelming. Johns has pretty well established his take on Aquaman with this arc and, to be honest, I find it to be a mixed bag. I dislike a lot of what Johns is establishing about Arthur's past, Mera's personality is weirdly b****y and aggressive, and the constant jokes about nobody appreciating Aquaman got tiresome halfway into the second issue. But it's not really bad. I'm reading it and somewhat enjoying it, and I intend to continue doing so in the hopes that Aquaman can become a big enough character again that others'll get a crack at him. I mean, Bendis' Avengers comics may suck, but they opened the door for stuff like Slott's Mighty Avengers and Gage's Avengers Academy, right?

Wonder Woman, on the other hand, is underwhelming to the point that I just feel no connection to or concern for any of the characters whatsoever. The revelation about Diana's parentage amping her "angsty b****" routine up to the nth level certainly hasn't helped, either. I prefer Wonder Woman as a dignified woman, as her name implies, not a sulking, pouty adolescent. I closed the back cover of this week's issue and thought, "Huh. I wonder if I should even bother continuing to read this." Which, of course, is usually a sign that I shouldn't. So I'm considering it dropped for now, unless something really interesting comes along in the next issue or two.

Incorruptible continues "Redeemed" from the most recent issue of Irredeemable, making this arc the first true crossover between the series. So far it's treated us to the secret origins of both Plutonian and Max Damage. Turns out they're far more connected than we ever realized. It's interesting. Not sure what to make of it yet, although nothing about their origins was disagreeable to me. I guess I'm still digesting them. I'm looking forward to how their stories intertwine over the rest of this arc, though.
 
Personally, Corpy, I think the newest issue of Incorruptible shows us Plutonian as even more bat**** crazy than we might have thought he was before. And that's even after his origin story from the first part of "Redeemed."

I did like Max's "origin," even though we haven't quite seen it yet.

On a different note, Secret Avengers #20 was made from materials hidden in Warren Ellis's Vault of Awesome. :awesome:
 
So late that the last week's comics of 2011 haven't been reviewed here until 2012. Sorry folks, Examiner takes priority because they pay me. Spoilers ahoy!

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 12/28/11:

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MICRO SERIES #2: IDW's relaunch of the TMNT franchise has proven successful in terms of sales; the ongoing series co-written/co-drawn by Kevin Eastman has become one of IDW's best sellers. The series consistently sells in the Top 100 despite DC's New 52 or Marvel's crossovers, despite a $3.99 cover price. Thus, IDW has chosen to branch out a bit with a side mini-series which focuses on one Turtle per issue. This is an homage to the one-shots which Mirage Studios released in the mid 1980's when the franchise was in it's infancy that also focused on each Turtle and also tied into the main series as well. As an added treat, IDW is maintaining the order in terms of which Turtles get which issues. The first issue of this micro-series belonged to Raphael, since he got the first one-shot in the 80's. Thus, this second issue centered around Michelangelo, the designated "party dude" of the quartet. The writer for the series remains Brian Lynch, and it seems the artist will change every issue. This issue is drawn by Andy Kuhn, co-creator of Image Comics' FIREBREATHER which debuted in 2003 and was adapted into a CGI animated film for Cartoon Network in 2010. The colors are handled by Brian Crabtree, another veteran Image colorist. While this micro-series is also $3.99 for 22 pages of story like the ongoing series is, this is already becoming a novelty compared to quite a few Marvel and DC comics priced at $3.99.

The plot of the issue is simple, yet effective and very timely. Since inception, Michelangelo (or "Mikey") is the Ninja Turtle who is most into pop culture and diving into the indulgences of the surface world. Leonardo is the stoic ninja in training, Raph just seeks out combat and Donatello is content inventing gadgets in a lab. Mikey in the end wants to have new experiences and most of all, fun. To this end he sneaks out of usual Turtle chores to watch a New Year's Movie marathon at a "grindhouse" style theater wishing his New Year's Eve could be as memorable. When Mikey stumbles upon a costumed New Year's ball at the Musuem Of Natural History, he thinks he's got it made. As with anything involving the Ninja Turtles, Mikey quickly becomes part of an action plot involving a heist of a rare gem and even an undercover cop. Naturally, the tone of the issue suits Mikey's style. There is a lot of humor and one liners, and Mikey's stereotypical memories of his brother's antics are hilarious. While the last issue paid homage to the original RAPHAEL one shot with involving Casey Jones as well as hinting of the Shredder and his minions, this issue pays homage to Mikey's original one shot tale, "The Christmas Aliens". That tale was about Mikey stumbling upon a stray kitten as well as a plot by thieves to steal the latest fad holiday gift. In the end, this is probably a stronger story.

While Kuhn and Crabtree's artwork differs greatly from that of Franco Urru and Fabio Mantovani from the prior issue, it suits the themes of Lych's story well. The costume ball naturally allows an excuse for Mikey being in a straight forward caper, as well as allows Kuhn to draw some outrageous costumes. Lynch does well to help capture the "voice" of the ongoing series, so the micro-series seamlessly slips into IDW's canon. The handling of Mikey thus far both here and in the ongoing has been impressive. At worst, Mikey is the annoying kid brother who is the most obsessed for pizza and says catch phrases more often. Handled well, however, and Mikey becomes the Turtle who is the most optimistic and fun, while still having a flair for adventure. This one shot captures that well, and it will be interesting if some of the supporting characters introduced in these issues end up showing up in the ongoing series.

IDW's relaunch of the TMNT has been one of the pleasant surprises in the comic book industry of 2011. While old school Turtle fans may be wary of what Nickelodeon and Viacom will do with the franchise in terms of animation and/or film, the IDW era of the comic series has had a spectacular debut. Ninja Turtle fans new and old should be checking this series, and the main one, out.

ALPHA FLIGHT #7: Marvel's heroes up north continue to battle against a fascist version of their homeland run by their worst (and only) nemesis. As the cover indicates, Wolverine guest stars in this issue; while Wolverine continues to be all over Marvel titles, it makes some sense to include him in his former team. Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, penciler Dale Englesham and colorist Jesus Aburtov continue to do a story which seems similar to 2006's CIVIL WAR, only taking place in Canada and starring Alpha Flight, and having more focus. This issue addresses a long held criticism of this series - the jaw dropping character shift in Heather Hudson/Vindicator. Given the revelations last issue - in which the "Unity" process literally remakes someone at the physical and emotional level - it actually is more obvious now than it should have been. Wolverine, who has long held a torch for Heather, investigates her drastic shift in character the instant he'd heard about it, which makes a degree of sense. This issue has the Flight's plan to take on the Master's government hit squad come to play, and the return of the Sasquatch. Walter Langkowski has been unable to transform into the Sasquatch since roughly issue two of this series; the power returns to him in time for the climatic final battle, which is a bit convenient. Sasquatch is played for some laughs and is almost literally a furry version of the Hulk, which is ironic since Langkowski has long struggled to separate himself from being seen as "the Canadian Hulk". The artwork by Eaglesham is brilliant, and despite the intense story, this issue balances out the seriousness and the comedy better than some earlier issues did. It revisits some old subplots between the characters while propelling them in a modern adventure, and is actually a very effective take at reviving an old, much maligned franchise. It is a shame sales did not hold long enough for Marvel to keep it an ongoing series.

ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL #4: This is the swan song of the second ANNIHILATORS mini series by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and artists Tan Eng Huat and Timothy Green II. But in a way it may also been the swan song of the “DnA” era of Marvel’s space line, which began in 2006 when they wrote the first NOVA mini series alongside Keith Giffen’s original ANNIHILATION. Thus, they have been allowed to play in a corner of Marvel with roughly a dozen or two characters for virtually four years now, which is remarkable by modern standards. At any rate, this may be the last hurrah of the Annihilators, a team of space heroes who seek to keep the universe together by beating things up. As the title suggests, this time the team – Quasar, Ronan, Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, and Ikon the Spaceknight – head to Earth to prevent the revival of the Magus, a major space villain. Silver Surfer was in the last ANNIHILATORS mini series but has left for this one, and Ronan is awfully busy in FANTASTIC FOUR/FF lately; thus, if there was a third ANNIHILATORS series, it wouldn’t make sense to have Ronan there anymore. Perhaps that is another reason why this is the end. The theme of this series is that Quasar is leader of the powerhouse team and isn’t terribly hesitant about collateral damage during disasters on other planets, but gets a bit more gun-shy when he’s on his own home world. This sometimes makes him seem like a hypocrite to Ronan and Gladiator, although Ronan’s Kree race have long been of the sort willing to sacrifice their own in droves to win a war. The Annihilators have discovered a branch of Magus’ Universal Church of Truth cult on Earth, and went about smashing it up. This resulted in a “routine misunderstanding bout” with the Avengers, which allowed the Magus time to possess millions of Americans to use as hostages.

In this issue, the Annihilators and Avengers go about with teaming up to thwart the Magus. While Ronan has surrounded earth with his Sentry robots as a final assurance Magus will not leave it (and has no problem with killing millions of Americans), some of the rest of the Annihilators are not as quick to slaughter civilians. They all pool resources and technology (such as Iron Man repurposing some Kree technology) to defeat Magus. This includes Gladiator being willing to sacrifice himself to become the host to Magus’ essence, and thus freeing all the civilians he possessed. This is naturally quite a character shift for him, as he’s often simply been the haughty muscle of whatever monarch was in charge of the Shi’ar empire. Now that’s monarch (or regent, one supposes) of the Shi’ar, he’s become a bit more compassionate to the needs of others. The Annihilators save the universe and had off into the sunset. Meanwhile, in the back-up strip drawn by Green II, Groot and Rocket Raccoon finally confront Mojo, who has had them in the midst of one of his insane TV shows for a while. They discover that the plot was actually the result of Mojo’s lackey, Major Domo, trying to fill in for Mojo who is in rehab (perhaps after the conclusion of ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE). Rocket and Groot decide to forgo the fight in exchange for a cut of the merchandising rights on themselves, which is clever.

The future of the space line is up in the air. AVENGERS VS. X-MEN this year – Marvel’s annual event – will involve Nova and the Phoenix Force. That will be written by a committee of Marvel’s hottest writers. Abnett and Lanning’s final arc on HEROES FOR HIRE – sold as the mini series VILLAINS FOR HIRE – was cut an issue shorter due to sales woes. The Nova segment in POINT ONE #1 was written by Jeph Loeb. The iconic Richard Rider version was killed off at the end of THANOS IMPERATIVE last year and it is unknown if the Nova who will show up this year is him. There are naturally still quite a few unresolved subplots from “DnA” ‘s previously ended ongoing series, both NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Neither hide nor hair has been seen of quite a few GUARDIANS characters, such as Moondragon, Major Victory, and Jack Flag – an obscure 90’s era CAPTAIN AMERICA supporting character dumped into a space book as a novelty. NOVA left no end of dangling subplots, from there being a squad of leftover “Nova Corps” members around (including Richard’s little brother Robert) to a time displaced version of Namorita (a New Warrior killed off in CIVIL WAR), to the seeming return of the villainous Super-Nova. Given how DC Comics has been running wild with their GREEN LANTERN franchise over the last few years, one would think Marvel to capitalize on NOVA, which even since the 1970’s was intended to be their counterpart. The “space line” in recent years has always had a devoted audience, the dilemma is that it is small; and the message of late 2011 was that Marvel would rather try to publish more issues of larger franchises than support smaller ones. The fact that “DnA” were only given a series of mini-series after GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and NOVA were canceled was writing on the wall.

If this is the end of their era on Marvel space, than it has sadly ended on a whimper. The writers were always more at home with Nova and Star-Lord as leads, and spent 2-3 years attaching supporting characters in the Nova Corps or the Guardians. They have attempted to follow suit with ANNIHILATORS material, but the characters don’t seem to mesh well. People scoffed when Matt Fraction threw Iron Fist into his DEFENDERS relaunch simply because he sought to write the character, but that is often better than a writer handling characters he/they are less passionate about. “DnA” have always had passion for Nova and Star-Lord, and without that, their work suffers. It doesn’t become bad, but it no longer is as great. ANNIHILATORS EARTHFALL is a better mini series than the prior one, but it hasn’t come close to matching the material that came before it on NOVA, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY or THANOS IMPERATIVE. It would be a shame to erase most of the development Nova had for years just to relaunch NEW WARRIORS whenever Marvel was in danger of losing the trademark, but who knows. Marvel will be betting on “safe” franchises in 2012, and if so, it is a shame to see anything else get the shaft.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #5-6: Two issues of Ed Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA series. Why? Apparently initial regular artist Steve McNiven ran late (and needed Giuseppe Camuncoli fill in pages to be complete), and the next regular artist - old legendary talent Alan Davis - was on time. Thus, this week sees the end of one of Brubaker's arcs and the start of another. As common for Brubaker's run on CAPTAIN AMERICA, subplots carry over throughout the run so even the end of an arc merely bridges to the next story. "American Dreamers" was a five part arc which introduced a new villain in Cap's gallery, Codename Bravo. He was another WWII era super soldier who was rivals with Cap, and wound up frozen in time for decades as well. Only while Cap was trapped in ice and was thawed out "over a decade ago", Bravo was trapped in the "extra dimensional dream world" of Jimmy Jupiter in which dreams could become real and his ideals got hardened. Bravo sees Cap as a sell out due to current American corruption, and has aligned with a fringe sect of HYDRA. Bravo is essentially a dark version of Cap himself, a theme which Brubaker has written with near disturbing repetition. Earlier issues featured Ameridroid, another "evil Cap", and prior stories during his run focused on the Grand Director (the "evil 1950's Cap") or new stabs at super soldiers. It helps that Bravo is not a literal imitation of Cap like the Grand Director and Ameridroid were, but more a dark philosophical counterpoint. The arc ends and picks up with the Davis debut issue, with the start of "Powerless". This issue actually picks up a subplot from STEVE ROGERS: SUPER SOLDIER, a four issue mini series Brubaker wrote last year. In fact, that mini is so essential to this next arc that it is a shame Marvel has continued to not offer footnotes about references to prior comics; they might actually sell more trade collections that way. While Cap himself offers the required exposition, it still would have been effective. As the title suggests, just as Cap is once again doubting his patriotism, he seems to be losing his super-soldier abilities. In the mini series, the villain Machinesmith actually reversed the serum's effects within Cap; while Steve Rogers thought he'd fixed things, apparently it is still a plague to him. Other villains who appear include Baron Zemo (who aids the new HYDRA cell but insists he's neutral) and a new version of the Serpent Squad. The art by McNiven, Camuncoli, and Davis is exceptional, but naturally Davis wins the day in terms of the most appealing artwork. Brubaker's stories often seek to test Rogers' courage and character just as much as his skills or abilities, and this next arc seems to be no exception. While WINTER SOLDIER is much anticipated next year, Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA is overall solid, even if he does suffer from some repetitive themes.

AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #8: This five year delayed, and constantly behind schedule bi-monthly mini series by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung, releases the next issue. For the record, the previous issue came out on Sept. 21st, and even on bi-monthly standards, this is a month late. This lateness has worked in Marvel's favor, as it will supposedly end next year just in time for AVENGERS VS. X-MEN, their 2012 event. Editor in chief Axel Alonso has insisted this was a happy accident and not design, and given that this issue has two credited inkers (plus Cheung) and two colorists in tow, the lateness was likely organic. The primary strength of this series continues to be the artwork, even if Cheung struggles to make faces that don't all look a bit similar - a struggle many artists have, such as Mark Bagley. The continued detriment is Heinberg's simplistic writing. He clearly wants certain characters to be right, and others to be wrong, and writes them to this end regardless of anything else, such as sense or logic. In the previous issue, the Avengers and X-Men were literally battling on who got to arrest and/or kill Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch over her crimes against the world and the mutant community - despite the fact she offered no resistance or denial and only sought to help. Surrounded by insane adults, Dr. Doom was seen as a rational counterpoint in this story, only he went about with a magical rite to gain Wanda's reality warping powers himself, to become a god. This is naturally a standard procedure scheme for Dr. Doom, who has sought to steal godly powers from no end of figures in the past, from Silver Surfer (twice) to the Beyonder. Doom vows to be a wise and peaceful dictator of the world, but the fact that he'd still be a dictator disturbs everyone, so Doom zaps the kids (and Wanda) back to the heroes. Afterward, Wiccan gives both teams a tongue lashing about how stupid and hypocritical they are being, which is precisely why those heroes have been written in such a manner for seven issues. After initially seeing the combined Young Avengers, X-Men, and adult Avengers as enemies who will forever oppose him, the new omnipotent Doom returns just to provide a climatic fight scene as well to provide the cliffhanger panel.

Perhaps the best part of this series is the theme that the adult superheroes are all simplistic, morally ambiguous and violently hypocritical to the point that they shouldn't be idealized or followed by the next generation. It would be an interesting theme to play with in regards to other young heroes, such as the Avengers Academy or Spider-Girl or the new Thunderstrike and so on. Marvel doesn't have the stones to do so in any meaningful, relevant way, however. In the end, this is an over-long, over-due and tediously plotted series with solid artwork which has all but lost most of the characters to the heaviness of the plot and the need to accomplish editorially important things. It's Eisner worthy compared to Matt Fraction's FEAR ITSELF, but it still seems obligatory to read.
 
Personally, Corpy, I think the newest issue of Incorruptible shows us Plutonian as even more bat**** crazy than we might have thought he was before. And that's even after his origin story from the first part of "Redeemed."

I did like Max's "origin," even though we haven't quite seen it yet.

On a different note, Secret Avengers #20 was made from materials hidden in Warren Ellis's Vault of Awesome. :awesome:
Yeah, I like that Waid is slowly peeling back the layers on Plutonian to reverse the initial premise of Irredeemable: this isn't the world's greatest hero gone totally mental, this is a totally mental kid who managed to masquerade as the world's greatest hero for a while.
 
A nice comic book reading weekend. I got to a ton of my comics, many that I've been ignoring for a while. Most of these will be new reviews; but, I might touch on some stuff that's been out for a while. Either way, I won't be doing my usual review style. I'll just do a quick thought and jump to the next book.

Aquaman #4

Well, it's better than most Aquaman stories; but, it still doesn't wow me in the least. I found the story a tad predictable and by the books. It's neat that DC put a big name on such a crappy character; but, the better New 52 books are ones that will get cancelled long before this one, sad to say.

Spaceman #3

This is just an odd Vertigo book. I'll hold out until for all 9 issues, as I'm a Azzarello fan; but, I can't say I'm really enjoying the offbeat style. At least it's something different.

Teen Titans #4

Maybe any Teen Titans book is cursed to suffer from mediocrity. This first storyline isn't doing much for me; and, I'm tired of comics that are starting over and having a group of superheroes unite into a supergroup after confronting some big menace that forces them to work together. I do want to like this book more than I am, simply because I like Lobdell. It's just none of these characters come across as remotely interesting or likeable.

X-Club #1

Finally got around to reading this, and I'm glad I did. It's got the kind of humor we're seeing in Aaron's Wolverine books; and, I find myself liking the Science Division of the X-Men for the first time. (Usually, they bore me to death.) Skip Uncanny, for sure, and grab this mini instead. (Plus, it's a buck cheaper!)

Justice League Dark #4

Easily, this is my favorite of the Justice League books. It blows away the much more hyped Justice League main series, as I'm never sure what's going to happen next. It sure isn't predictable! I like all of the characters, and even though DC is pushing John Constantine down our throats, this book might be where I like him best. (This book is the Uncanny X-Force equivelant of the Justice League. Witty dialogue, original plots.)

Witch Doctor: The Resuscitation One-Shot

I loved the first mini series, and this one-shot before the next mini is a nice "hold 'em over until the next mini comes out" kind of book. Plus, if you are unfamiliar with the character, it's a good jumping on point. You get a full story for only $2.99. Good stuff, Maynard!

TNMT: Michelangelo #2

Still can't believe I'm enjoying these new TNMT books so much. It's a definitely highlight of 2011. This spin-off doesn't even suffer from having a different writer. I feel like it ties in nicely with what's currently going on, and only expands on who the TNMTs are.

FF #13

I love how FF ties into Fantastic Four; and, this series is my favorite of the two. I like the young characters and the humor they present. Valerie Richards could easily be the star of her own title. My only complaint is sometimes I'm not too hot on the art.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #8

When did issue #1 of this title come out? Seems like we've been waiting forever, and it sure has to be more than every two months. Either way, it's one of my favorite Avengers stories to come out in a very long time. I love the original Young Avengers book; and, this is just as good. I really don't even mind the wait. (It sure is easier on the pocketbook. Better every two months than two a month...or like Captain America this week, two in a day!) What's best about this book is how relevenant the story is. Not only is it creating change in other books, like X-Factor; but, it's a hugely important comic to read before the next big event. I love it!

Amazing Spider-Man #676

I've been down on Dan Slott lately. Well, not really down; but, I haven't been as excited by ASM as I have when it first came out or by some of Dan's better books. Still, I must give him kudos for this one-and-down issue. It's a slight lead in to stuff coming in 2012; but, more importantly, it's a great villian versus villian story. It might even be my favorite ASM single issue of the past year.

Mystic (issues 1-4)

I was so very excited about the return of Crossgen, even though I hadn't read much of what they did before. Sadly, the first two minis were only so-so. It's too bad they didn't open the Crossgen relaunch with this book. It was fun, interesting, and I couldn't stop myself from grabbing each subsequent issue once I started. Sure, the storyline was rather predictable; but, if you tell a story well, that won't be anything that takes away from my enjoyment of a book.


Well, that's my first 11 reviews. I'll do more later, but I have to do some housework first. Gotta go back to school tomorrow. I'll be subbing for 3rd graders the rest of the week. Should be interesting!
 
Nobody seems to be going into depth on it but I'm pretty bummed about Stature. She was a good character and it's tragic she and her dad won't be together again. Their fates are crossing in a sad way.
 
Uncanny X-Men #3

What a crappy beginning to the relaunch. It had to be one of my least favorite Sinister storylines; and, frankly, I'm tired of young kids being turned into old villians. (Kind of bad timing, especially since they did it so recently with Apocalypse in Uncanny X-Force.) Even the ending with the Celestials seemed pretty ridiculous. So far, Wolverine's team is so much better than Cyclops. (And, maybe that's the problem. I'm just not high on Cyclops as a character, and I think he's proven he's not the best leader of the X-Men.)

Savage Hawkman #4

After this issue, I'm officially dropping this title. Hawkman isn't any more interesting after the New 52; and, this first storyline was as dull as can be.

Fury Of Firestorm #4

Remember when Ghost Rider started getting too weird and "out there," when they introduced a bunch of new Ghost Riders from all over the world? Kind of like a Green Lantern Corps of Ghost Riders? Or, when Loeb brought us all his different Hulks?? Well, this book didn't learn the lessons of the past, and now we are being introduced to numerous Firestorms. It's bad enough that DC is reimagining Firestorm's origins; but, they made each of the two main characters had their own personal Firestorm character; which, when combined, makes an even stronger Firestorm. It's too much. It's too ridiculous. And, really, if they wanted to start over, they should have just thrown out the idea of making both characters appear at the same time.

Game Of Thrones #4

The only reason I'm getting this comic is because I'm such a huge fan of the books and tv show. Sadly, this does not compare in the least bit to those other two. It seems to be the little things that ruin this book for me. At times, it's a bit too cutesy. Or, the people look a bit too nice, and not rugged enough.

Deadpool #48

Again, my plea to Marvel. Get Way off this title! He's clearly run his course, and every story just is missing his earlier enthusiasm. The book goes down as my most likely Worst of 2011. At times, the title has disgusted me unlike any other. The current storyline with Evil Deadpool is, thankfully, not as bad; but, I'm still bored to tears with it.

DMZ #72

About ten issues ago, I was finally ready to drop this title; but, then I learned it was coming to an end soon, and I figure I might as well stick it out and see what happens. Kind of like much of this book, not much did. And, this final issue just does the same. It's an epilogue ten years in the future, and we get an excerpt from the main characters book, while a young lady goes wandering around key points of the old DMZ.
 
Nobody seems to be going into depth on it but I'm pretty bummed about Stature. She was a good character and it's tragic she and her dad won't be together again. Their fates are crossing in a sad way.

I feel the same way. I'm just hoping she's just severely injured; because, she's always been my favorite of the Young Avengers.
 
Argggh!!! Curse me!

Having forgotten Children's Crusade I've made it a point not to read anything related until I get ahold of it Wednesday. Then I forgot and came into this thread and read runaway and Phaed's posts. Oh well, at least I only know SOMETHING happens to Stature and that she may or may not be dead. Grrrrrrrrrrr.
 
Nobody seems to be going into depth on it but I'm pretty bummed about Stature. She was a good character and it's tragic she and her dad won't be together again. Their fates are crossing in a sad way.
Meh, f*** her. She's generally been whiny and irritating while her dad is usually kind of awesome. If we can only have one, I'm mighty glad things worked out the way they did. :)
 
Argggh!!! Curse me!

Having forgotten Children's Crusade I've made it a point not to read anything related until I get ahold of it Wednesday. Then I forgot and came into this thread and read runaway and Phaed's posts. Oh well, at least I only know SOMETHING happens to Stature and that she may or may not be dead. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Sorry JH, I know you missed it on your first trip around but it's been nearly a week. I figured you might have had it by now.
 
Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time: The Eye Of The World #18

I finally caught up on this series, as I was behind since issue #11. I haven't missed much. The group still hasn't reached their destination, they are chased and attacked by foes who want them dead, and along the way they meet new and (not really) interesting people. This book drags, and it's filled with a ton of narration. I want some dang progression of the plot; and, about the only thing that's happened is that the group has been separated for the last bunch of issues. (I should have expected that. It's following many fantasy plots I've read over the years.) I'd quit this book; but, I'm thinking (hoping) that it will be done with issue #24. I've invested this much time in the title, and I might as well see it through.


That kind of does it for my most negative of reviews for the day. Onto better books now.

Secret Avengers #20

Yes, Ellis has been doing a good job with this book; but, I do have one problem with it. With a bunch of one-off stories, it just doesn't feel like we're reading anything of significance. The stories are good; but, they are also a bit forgettable. It's nice to get a story that is essentially a Black Widow solo story.

Kick-Ass 2 #6

As I said, I'm done with my negative reviews; but, I could easily see myself being able to rip this book to shreds. Thing is, I'm secretly enjoying the hell out of it. Fans like me just dig the holy hell out of Hit Girl; and, we get to see her finally in action. (It takes a bit away from the ending of the first series; but, personally, I hated that Millar ended it with that epilogue of Hit Girl giving it all up in the end.)

Frankly, I like Mark Millar. I appreciate how all his ICON comics are only $2.99; and, it perplexes me to no end why Marvel didn't try and get that extra buck out of their readers. I know I would have paid; and, I think they'd pretty much have the same readership if they charged $3.99. (If the last couple years have taught us anything, it's that decreasing the price on a comic really doesn't effect readership.) I'd love to know if that's because Millar demands they be a reasonable price. Either way, I give the kudos to him; because, the other big boys at Marvel sure aren't taking a price decrease.

Black Panther #527

The book's coming to an end; and, I'm kind of sorry to see it go. It's in no way the best thing to come out of Marvel; and, might not even make my top 10-20 .... but, I appreciate that Liss is giving Marvel readers a different kind of comic. He's more about the storytelling than the flash and bling. It's just too bad he started it all off so badly, that many of the first issue readers quickly jumped ship.

Mighty Thor #9

The book is getting better. Lots of stuff happening in this issue; but, it all flows well enough. Plus, I think Fraction has heard the glowing reviews of Journey Into Mystery, which has easily stolen the spotlight away from him; because, this story is relying a lot more on Loki lately.

American Vampire #22

A new storyline begins! And, best of all, we don't see Skinner Sweet. It's not that he's a boring character; it's just that all the storylines have relied too heavily on him and knowing what's happened before. This one feels like a great jumping on point for readers interested in giving this book a try, and especially for all the people who've come on board the Scott Snyder bandwagon. For once, you can believe the cover when it says "New Storyline." It's not just a continuation of an old one.

Captain American And Bucky #625

A new writer and a new direction. Thankfully, the book is still just as entertaining. This is the Cap and Bucky that came after the original; and, we get two stories happening at once. In the past, we learn how the original replacement Captain America died; and, in a more current time, someone is trying to kill the original replacement Bucky (now an old man).

Batman: The Dark Knight #4

The book looks good; but, there is something that just turns me off. Maybe it's that the plot is just so weak; or that it relies heavily on a new guest star each issue. In this way, I feel like I'm getting a long, drawn out Brave And The Bold adventure. If there was one Batman title I'd drop, this would probably be the one. (Oops, guess I wasn't done with my negative reviews.)
 
Meh, f*** her. She's generally been whiny and irritating while her dad is usually kind of awesome. If we can only have one, I'm mighty glad things worked out the way they did. :)

I don't recall her being whiny......at least not in Mighty Avengers.
 
Sorry JH, I know you missed it on your first trip around but it's been nearly a week. I figured you might have had it by now.

No, it was my fault. I know better, I just forgot.

My comicshop is about 30 minutes out of the way so I only go when I'm getting new things. I might have stopped in yesterday after church, since it's along the way, but we skipped out this week. So I'll just have to wait until Wednesday.

Oh well, at least I don't know details :up:
 
Secret Avengers #20

Yes, Ellis has been doing a good job with this book; but, I do have one problem with it. With a bunch of one-off stories, it just doesn't feel like we're reading anything of significance. The stories are good; but, they are also a bit forgettable. It's nice to get a story that is essentially a Black Widow solo story.

Correct me if I'm wrong but when I skimmed this issue was Steve Rogers in his Super Soldier outfit and not his Captain America outfit? I didn't think much of it at the time but in hindsight I'm thinking he was wearing the wrong clothes for being post-Fear Itself.

Batman: The Dark Knight #4

The book looks good; but, there is something that just turns me off. Maybe it's that the plot is just so weak; or that it relies heavily on a new guest star each issue. In this way, I feel like I'm getting a long, drawn out Brave And The Bold adventure. If there was one Batman title I'd drop, this would probably be the one. (Oops, guess I wasn't done with my negative reviews.)

I actually picked this up this week (along with issues 2-3) for the art and for the guest stars. I like when Batman bounces off of othe characters and I like stories that include a large number of his rogue gallory. I ended up liking the book. It's simple but entertaining for me. By no means is it as good as Snyder's run but I'd say about on par with Batman & Robin (I'm not reading Detective at the moment so I can't say much on that one beyond the first issue being good).
 
Steve uses the Commander Rogers outfit for military ops. He addressed it either in Secret Avengers or Spider-Island. I expect once he's off SA when Remender takes over, we won't see it anymore.
 
Well, that's obviously a quick story someone whipped up to cover for it. He went as a military officer to decommission Flash as Venom but wore his Cap costume for that.
 
Meh, f*** her. She's generally been whiny and irritating while her dad is usually kind of awesome. If we can only have one, I'm mighty glad things worked out the way they did. :)

In fairness, it isn't assured that she's dead. I mean, Bucky Barnes had almost the exact same "death scene" in FEAR ITSELF #3, only to be back in FEAR ITSELF #7.1. Considering that Scarlet Witch's powers can pretty much do anything at this point, and there's likely a medic between the assembled X-Men and Avengers, I am waiting until the series is finished to pass judgment. Until someone unquestioningly says that someone is dead and their every atom is vaporized by the sun, a death in comics isn't assured. And sometimes even then. Bendis has become a master at resurrecting clearly dead villains without needing to explain why; NEW AVENGERS #2 had a slew of them, as does MOON KNIGHT.

That said, I would hate for Stature to go. It would be a textbook designated corpse moment. Female character, young character, unpopular character (in that she can't sell a series by herself), out of left field, who Heinberg didn't create or co-create unlike the others. I don't think there's room for Scott Lang anymore, given that we already have Eric O'Grady as Ant-Man, Pym back as Giant-Man and even Rita ****ing DeMara back as Yellowjacket after CHAOS WAR: DEAD AVENGERS technically. Every Pym hanger on is alive again, unless he decided to take Janet's name as Wasp, since Pym ditched it. Or retire in grief, if Stature is dead. Stature is a new legacy character, like Kevin Masterson's Thunderstrike, that is a long time coming. Marvel desperately needs new blood to catch on, and icing any "young" character to me is counter productive.
 
I've not read issue 8 yet but I'm taking a guess that in some way Scott Lang is going to sacrefice himself to save her. Just a thought.
 

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