Bought/Thought 16/04/08

[gildea]

See for the most part I just find ennis's depiction of violence realstic, unflinching.

I agree #1 was pretty uneventful, technically fine (ennis always is) but missing something. #2 was a good step up IMO.

 

[fifthfiend]

That's a decidedly different way to go about letting out one's frustration.

It's not that different from say, "Good Lord".

Also, it's a really satisfying set of syllables to belt out when you need something to holler.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Yes, that is exactly the way it works for my own father.

I like to joke that the only Spanish I know is the kind that shouldn't be repeated in polite company, heh.

The only Romanian I know would get me beat to death in the streets lol.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's not that different from say, "Good Lord".

Also, it's a really satisfying set of syllables to belt out when you need something to holler.

I guess. I was thinking of some of the more... colorful... Christian/American exclamations.

 

[iloveclones]

Oh and for those of you who think that writing dialects is LAZY? If you like Bendis and you say some crap like that, you deserve to be slapped in the mouth for stupidity.

I don't know why you're trying so hard to tie Bendis into this discussion (unless you're Gambit8370 in disguise). But since you did, I find the use of these accents to be just as gimmicky as Bendis' real-speak. I think you don't want to admit it, because you have a soft spot for CC.

By the way, these are accents that we are talking about, not dialects like people are mis-using.

A dialect is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation . Where a distinction can be made only in terms of pronunciation, the term accent is appropriate, not dialect.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't think either the accents or Bendis' same-old, same-old dialogue are gimmicky, myself. I think the former's unnecessary and the latter's either an unfortunate lack of ability to find characters' voices or a really quirky set of ideas about those voices.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

****ing Bendis.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Eloquent, as always.

 

[Max J Power]

Criminal 2 #2
This actually came out last week, but my local store didn't get it until this week. This issue's story was a little better than the last one (which was good), and the art is still exceptional. I'm enjoying these one-shot stories a good deal so far, and I might like the book even better once the four-part arc starts.

I also bought Captain America #37, but I don't think I'm going to read it until I read the two "Death of Captain America" arcs.

And I like accents and dialects in comics, but it does seem like every character from the south says "Ah" instead of "I."

 

[gildea]

... lack of ability to find characters' voices or a really quirky set of ideas about those voices.

Personally thats what I think they both fall under.




For the record the best written scot in comics is currently wee hughie.

 

[fifthfiend]

I guess. I was thinking of some of the more... colorful... Christian/American exclamations.

It's possible that a somewhat more Americanized "Alla Hu SON of a *****ING Akbar!" has occasionally crossed my own tongue.

Yes, that is exactly the way it works for my own father.

I like to joke that the only Spanish I know is the kind that shouldn't be repeated in polite company, heh.

The only Romanian I know would get me beat to death in the streets lol.

We should start a club.

 

[Dread]

A short week but a good one in terms of quality with not one, but TWO finales to action-packed arcs involving teams of heroes battling intergalactic techno-organic threats. How did both stack up?

It is critical that you pay attention at this time; Spoiler Level is at Planetary.

Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 4/16/08:

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #6: Here it is, the big shebang, the end of the sequel to the saga that rebirthed the space genre as an interesting and sellable genre at Marvel Comics, which is a feat unto itself as even Bendis admits that Joe Q's eyes "glaze over" when you mention aliens to him. This sequel by Abnett & Lanning ("DnA") has naturally been the subject of most controversy from fans of the original by Giffen. They say it doesn't measure up, that it lacks Giffen's punch or flair, that it is inferior. And after reading this finale, I agree with all of that. That said, however, it doesn't mean that AC wasn't an enjoyable, readable, and entertaining saga. If ANNIHILATION was an A+, then this is a solid B, and really, only the strictest of parents would sneer at a grade of B. Unlike many of the "mainstream" Marvel events, there is a clear threat, a clear beginning-middle-end (even when alluding to more), and features a threat of obvious good facing a threat of obvious bad, the sort of thing that "gray" Marvel has been avoiding as they seem to have one "hero vs. hero" parade after the next.

The cover is pretty cool and iconic, although Ronan kind of looks like he is thinking, "Damn, I forgot my keys!" And while Wellinton Alves actually draws 6 pages worth of material, he is not given any cover credits. I know the credits are long, but that seemed unfair; or maybe I am used to IMMORTAL IRON FIST, which gives everyone cover credit, even if they draw fewer than 6 pages. Alves works well with Raney and his pages do not clash.

A fleet of mixed races in ships at the border of the boxed-in Kree Empire await word, and the first thing that emerges in melodramatic fashion is Nova and his crew, fresh from the last pages of NOVA, and things instantly seem to click once Nova, Drax, and Gamora are back in the thick of things, and that naturally adds fuel to the fire of people who insist that focusing on the wrong stars was a mistake. Because once Nova & Co. returned to the event and started, well, being themselves, I was thinking, "Okay, NOW it is an event!" And while I can explain the character focus choices intelligently (wanting to spread focus to faded stars), I can't fake those gut reactions.

Raney doesn't get the designs for Tyro & Warlock as well as Pellitier, but he manages well enough that things work. They quickly blaze into Hala just as Starlord & crew escape the destroyed spire, and as Ronan and his fleet are nearing. Ultron-in-Adam Warlock effortlessly takes Mantis down and the big brawl begins. Very quickly on, though, we see that Phlya is being prepped for the big take-down, and I suppose it makes sense. After all, with Moondragon's murder, you could say she personally lost the most to Ultron, who killed her himself. Everyone else lost homes or empires or whatnot, but losing a lover is classic hero motivation for a finale. The problem is that, well, she is almost following Generic Female Heroine 101, with the only aside is that she is lesbian (or bisexual, as she admits being "fascinated" by Adam later). Heck, count Whedon and even the bisexual bits are average. She needs to be told what to do when she isn't crying or whining, and gets to defeat the enemy with one all-or-nothing attack, because women aren't as stern to be pummeled into the ground as long as Annihilus pummeled Richard before the win. In essence, she is Sailor Moon, only smarter and without a talkative cat. Out of the cast, she was the one I liked the least, even alongside the equally-generic Adam Warlock, who went through the "emo angst to noble hero" phase that is predictable of every hero this side of FINAL FANTASY. I had hoped that Phyla would become stronger but at the end she really hadn't, not even after some tongue-lashings from Adam about whining last issue. I can see the clamouring for Wendell to return, and when you can't even outmatch a guy with a mullet in terms of legacies, that is not good.

But perhaps my biggest quibble is that I felt Ultron was a cooler villian than Annihilus was, perhaps because I always liked Ultron to begin with, and he had a worse take-down. He had a great design, a great evolution, a great master plan (moving from destroying countries to entire galaxy systems), and even the moment where he merges all of the Sentries into a "giant" form screamed bad-ass. And then he basically swung his arms around twice and was undone by Moon Tiara Magic, or in this case Phyla Soulsword Slash. It seemed too quick and empty. It was drawn well, and all the beats are there, and Phyla got to avenge Moondragon, but still....it felt like less than it could have been, good but not very good or terrific. Maybe if other fighters besides she and Adam were battling Ultron, it would have felt better (I know Wraith was involved, but that almost seemed obligatory because of his power, which is all he has offered the event). True, Warlock battled Ultron and got him out of Adam's form, but that was about it. I could have imagined another artist or writers having a field day with a giant Ultron, showing all of the heroes chipping away at him as he swats them and sends them flying for miles, that kind of thing. Instead what was epic just seemed too low scale, wasn't played up enough. The sort of thing Giffen would have nailed; of course, he has ages more comic experience than the novel-based DnA. They have it in them, we see it every month in NOVA, they just need time. Maybe. Ronan's conflict was compelling but compared to the last event he and Super-Skrull seemed especially wasted.

But there were still great moments. Naturally, Warlock ends up stealing every scene he was in. I thought it was clever having Ultron take out Prax like that given the opportunity, even though it seemed that had Wraith died, his loss would not have been felt. Axing off new characters before some writer can make use of them is never a good thing, but Wraith has been a misfire since the beginning. I suppose it can make one bitter that he gets to live in a story that needed a few "shock" deaths, whereas, say, a certain girl with a hammer likely won't be making it out of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE. Yes, he contributed to Ultron's take-down, but we all know Ultron will be back in some other form, so it seemed insignificant. Nova, Starlord and the others had some good moments. And I sort of like where Adam Warlock is right now, considering I never gave a damn about him 15 years ago. And GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, as well as a third installment of Annihilation, has been set up while still giving this one a sense of closure; as if it was possible, I am actually more jazzed for GOTG. And Rocket Raccoon watering that twig of Groot...sniffle...that's just touching.

Still, I wasn't terribly disappointed by this finale, just a bit underwhelmed. There is a difference. DnA are different writers than Giffen and that is known now if not before. But it still was one of the more satisfying "events" that Marvel has published this year. Will SECRET INVASION even seem half as satisfying in the end? AC was another sequel that couldn't top the original, but it still was a good ride. Hopefully if DnA write ANNIHILATION 3, they have a better grasp of who to promote as the star and that star to be more successful.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #11: That Steve Uy cover shows me why I am glad Caselli was on interiors because Uy seemed not able to handle KIA at all. And with this the first year of A:TI almost comes to a close, with at least another to come, judging by still-decent sales. It still is the best ongoing book with AVENGERS on the cover even if this finale is flawed and, once again, has some of the beats to a "dark story" that GLA would have mocked. While I am a fan of Slott & Gage and overall enjoyed the conclusion, this seemed more flawed to me than ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #6.

Slott & Gage skip around with time a bit, showing the scene at Camp Hammond after Hardball, Komodo & Cloud 9 left to "scan" the "other" MVP, noting the destruction around. They also show the kids using the Negative Zone Gate to go around and that they not only informed War Machine of the plot, but that he tried to halt the rampage there, and failed. The use of War Machine here has been up to some criticism and I have to say that I benefit from not reading much of him or caring. In this series he has, at worse, come off as Iron Man's Number 2 who claims to care about certain things, but allows a lot of dark things to happen under his watch. Seeing him as a cyborg seemed odd, and I looked at the panel three times to make sure I was seeing the same thing. I suppose armor and cybernetics are linked but it seemed like a bit much. Still, seeing all the weapons come out was a pretty cool moment, even if little came of it, and in the end War Machine tried to help, calling in the Avengers.

That leads to a final showdown with KIA in Tennessee in which Justice, leading the remaining old-school Warriors (Rage, Ultra-Girl, Slapstick, and Debrii) trying to find another way of beating KIA rather than mind-wiping the innocent MVP clone, especially since Justice no longer believes anything the Initiative is selling, and thinks it has all been a big mistake. I can't say I disagree with him. Unfortunately, neither them, or even half the Mighty Avengers who show up can stop KIA until Cloud 9 sneaks in a "Poison Gas Kiss" and the other, "purer" forms of MVP, the Spiders and Micheal Van Patrick, slap on the helmet and hit the button, and he's dusted, and much like Ultron, it lacked that Oomph that makes good scenes into classic ones. It made the most sense, but something more dramatic could have come of it, artistically. Slapstick stood his ground against KIA for a while, but was able to destablize him by destablizing him with his alien energy, which I thought was pretty cool as otherwise Slapstick really can't be hurt.

The story ends with Justice seemingly taking his team elsewhere, Cloud 9 and MVP talking about their status and tying things back to issue #1, and Hardball & Komodo still continuing to be the two coolest characters out of the whole run so far. I like them and I like them together, which is not always easy to pull off. The fate of Trauma and Tarene is still not obvious although it does seem that the latter is dead and, well, it is a shame because I liked the thing between those two as well. And naturally there is the subplot of Slapstick playing the clown but secretly having less-than-noble plans, staching the headband for himself. And that is part of where some of the dirty taste of A:TI is for some; in GLA material, Slott outright MOCKED, and rightly so, the practice of slaughtering C-List characters for the sake of the threat of the month, or in making "fun" characters into dark anti-heroes. While Slapstick is hardly Emoball, in some ways it does seem like Freakazoid joining the Justice League only to be a mole for the Legion of Doom; it doesn't sit well with such a funny character, even if it creates instant interest. I justified Slapstick "snapping" on Gauntlet for "making fun of his dead friends", but now this borders on potential villain-in-waiting. Or at least Slappy is a packrat.

On the one hand, A:TI shows that Slott (& Gage, naturally) can do straight up superhero action dramas with all the trappings and warts therein, just like the big boys, and neither are niche people on funnybooks. On the other hand, well...it can seem like watching an indie star sign up to a big production label and the product becomes more "market friendly". But we don't know what is up for the future. It isn't like death is the end for any character anymore. A:TI is still a book full of cool characters, both new and old, and a lot of secrets (who is Mutant Zero, again, with her "Zero Room"?) and a book I look forward to every month, and not in a "want to vent on it" like I do for Bendis Avenger titles, but because I do actually like it. But just because I like it doesn't mean I don't acknowledge the flaws. Still, for what may have been the ending of Slott's initial pitch for the series (back when it was a mini), things go well enough, and now that Gyrich's machinations led to all of THIS, hopefully more level heads prevail in Camp Hammond.

And as always, the issue had some great lines.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #37: With the announcement of the creative teams changing in IMMORTAL IRON FIST and some other books, re-cementing the fact that the modern creative team barely stays on a book for more than a year and a half, it hits home the fact that the 3+ year commitment that CA has had thus far is truly extrordinary, especially since the book hasn't missed a beat. Three years into JMS's ASM run, people were calling for an exit strategy, but Brubaker & Epting really haven't had too many stumbles or bumps in their long superhero & espionage saga. This is a run that will not only go down in the annuls of Comic Book History not just for the length or quality, but because Brubaker's been able to work miracles here, doing things that no writer before him or around him could have pulled off while retaining the audience's collective enthusiam, but he has. In a decade, this will be one of "those runs" that people lump into franchises like they do with Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL or Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN, and those are rare things that always must be acknowledged.

As for this month, it is quality as usual. After the last two issues of sheer action, this is a bit of a breather by Brubaker standards. Even for a "set up" month, things still happen and it feels worthwhile. Red Skull's motives are reframed, noting how his quest to destroy America utterly and completely has remained unchanged since the 40's, just now his motives are more far-reaching and successful (rather than a bwa-ha-ha supervillain plot with a death ray or something). While it was fitting and I liked it, it also seemed to counter something Skull told Lukin about being "beyond fascism". Well, no, Skull isn't beyond fascism, unless that means it simply is the means to his end, and Skull has no delusions about it (unlike most tyrants who deep down believe they are "helping" their people or country; Skull just seems to want destruction). And Faustus still seems to be a slow learner in the fact that to Skull, there are no equals; there is him and his minions, and that is it. The moment they are of no use to him, they go.

Back at the loft, Bucky gets to take some heat from Clint Barton, the toughest guy to wear a purple tee-shirt. I particularly liked how James said he "used to be Hawkeye", as if digging at Clint's newfound habit of wearing the costumes of women he sleeps with (he is wearing Echo's guise of Ronin). Clint basically gives him the routine of "live up to the mantle or I'll pummel you" and Buck is perplexed at the modern nature of hero infighting. BOY, he has a lot to learn about Modern Marvel, where superheroes beat each other more viciously than they EVER do a bonafide villain. I mean seriously, when was the last time Steve and Stark beat some crook with the same energy as they were beating each other? But that's another story. Falcon, for his money, also isn't thrilled with the idea of New Cap, but offers to team up with Bucky to rescue Sharon Carter once and for all. That also seems fitting, as Falcon was the first Cap's partner for some time, and now that gets to repeat, only the roles are a little reversed as Falcon has plenty of experience in his role now, moreso than when he teamed with Steve.

Sharon, free from Faustus' brainwashing, finds "the corpse" and she outright says it "isn't Steve", but the guy believes he is so. The first thing that hit my mind is Grand Director, who literally (and legally) changed his name to "Steve Rogers" and served as the figure during the 50's. That was where Nomad came from, who was killed earlier in the run. Grand Director also became a Neo-Nazi after Dr. Faustus brainwashed him, and who better for Skull to use as "his" Captain America? Even Wikipedia has caught on to this. I think that is great, dusting off an old villain last seen in action in 1979 (I believe) and doing something great with him now. Sure, the GD had committed suicide, but since when has death stopped anyone? Especially with Zola's genius or with time-travel tech? Brubaker's shown a deep knowledge of Cap history beforehand and this seems to be another sign of it.

The conflict between the two Cap's should be epic, moreso than such stories deserve (as it has been done a few times). It is all in the execution, and CA is a book that is executed excellently. The only niggle was the cover, which felt a little off. I preferred the old Epting covers.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #5: Another book that proves execution can surpass the general story. In the end, this issue's reveal was all but told at the end of #3 and Bendis pretty much exposed it in SECRET INVASION #1, but Reed manages to take that and make it work in an enjoyable way.

Yes, this Captain Marvel is a Skrull sleeper agent, much as #3 revealed. In a way I don't mind that only because it leaves Mar-Vell's original death intact and not mangled. On the downside, it takes some oomph out of the YA Presents story with Hulkling, even if that felt like a natural thing (and it puts the statements of, "how do you KNOW he is your father" that people told Hulking have more weight). But not only is this Skrull's body augmented to imitate Mar-Vell's perfectly, but so is his mind and memories. He truly believes he is Mar-Vell, to the point where he hates Skrulls and wants to continue his mission to protect Earth. The painting was his trigger-image, but his "injected will" from Mar-Vell was too strong, and it didn't get the reaction the Skrulls wanted; hence, why they were hunting him.

Some writers would have botched this, but Reed & Weeks hit all the notes right and it works, especially the scene with Sante at the end. The only niggle is that Reed hits home the point about "heroes not doing any REAL good" a bit too strongly, as if advocating Capt. Marvel should become an Ubermench and lead a people's rebellion, which is basically Communism. Superheroes have usually never "stopped" wars, just usually battled alongside whatever nation they were based in, but Mar-Vell sort of wanted to go above that, being an alien. But superheroes bellowing, "END WAR OR I WILL KILL YOU!" is not the answer, either, which is what Marvel did. All tyrants start out as believing that blunt force is needed to accomplish what is right without pesky delays or bickering, but it never has ended well. Still, at least this series offers a philosophical debate or two in what started as a random resurrection of yet another 70's hero.

This series is still my best example of a shaky idea, executed well enough that it is enjoyable. Which is always better than an interesting idea executed poorly, which will be SECRET INVASION. And Lee Weeks really got in some great artwork here. A solid effort all around, and I really hope the aftermath of this is not wasted by other writers. With the character and the cult, there's some potential here.

 

[Dread]

And finally...

GHOST RIDER #22: Garnering less attention but still nothing shabby, Aaron continues his workman like run on GR. Unlike Way, he isn't out to remake the wheel, just takes the character facts and expectations that are given and works with them well. Had he launched the book, GR would have been MUCH better off. Instead, he simply is patching up the leftovers of Way's retcon, but doing so in an entertaining way. Aaron would not have retconned, he would have simply worked with the elements that he has that work for Blaze, and that is the best way to do franchise work.

Blaze is protecting Lucas, the only guy who knows something about the angel Zadkiel, from some gun-toting nuns and especially in this issue, flesh-eating ghouls who haunt a stretch of highway. The action is fast-paced and Aaron & Boschi hit all the right tones, especially with a flaming finish. Aaron even works in a bit of a flashback to how Blaze got his occult book in the first place, and it works a lot better than anything Way has done. Biggest of all, he sets up the possible return of Ketch, which should make things very interesting.

Boschi's artwork is good but looked rushed in some panels, but if we got on artist's cases for occasionally rushing, then you'd have to hate the last third of Bagley on USM.

Unlike MOON KNIGHT's new writer, who is whiffing his swing, Aaron's really turned this book around into one I enjoy more every month, and I hope he lasts on it as long as possible. He seems to be enjoying himself on the letters page, which is always cool. You can tell when a writer is on a book he wants to be on, versus just to add a notch on his legacy. Boschi's art isn't perfect but it suits the style well enough that it works overall. And the covers from Djurdjevic are always terrific. Unlike some titles, where the loss of the launch team has elicited dread, on GR it has been a blessing.

 

[Manic]

Even if I bent over and accepted Southerners saying "Ah" instead of "I" (and I'll die before I accept that), Rogue is exempt. Her miniseries established that she's lost most of her Mississippi accent. People in her home town called her a Yankee.

 

[BrianWilly]

I have to say that Sam's accent irritated me in Divided We Stand as well (though not as irritating as, say, the actual issue itself. OH NOES WE'RE X-MEN!! EVERYTHING SUCKS FOR US AND THEN WE DIE AND THEN WE COME BACK AND THINGS SUCK SOME MORE!! LET'S BE ***** TO EACH OTHER!!!!! I'M EMMA I'M A BTCH! LIFE SUCKS OH WOES!!), but mostly because they were in Sam and Paige's hometown, and so every single person talked like that, which just made it stick out like the sorest thumb in the universe. I swear to Xander, every "ah" was like a speed bump. If every single person speaks the same accent, can't we just write it like they're talking normally?


Annihilation: Conquest #6
Yeah, I liked it. Really did. As I said otherwhere, the entire issue was pretty much just one long list of deus ex machinas, but they were really satisfying deus ex machinas.

We've heard the whole "rabble rabble wasn't as good as the first one rabble rabble" complaints so many times by now that those complaints themselves have become more irksome than anything about this event. Yes, it's not as good as the first one. Moving. On. It was still an incredibly gripping story with above-par characterization, pleasant twists and surprises, and a balanced resolution which still makes you want to see more and more.

And then giant robots. My heart yays.

And so the second chapter closes, and the Marvel cosmic landscape remains the single most exciting place in all of Marvel or DC to be...and, really, that's almost more than anyone could ask for. I would follow any single one of these characters (except Wraith, I suppose) in any of their future stories. I'm even in the minority of liking Quasar, not as much as the others perhaps, but I thought she played her role quite well throughout this as well. I think people were looking forward to a Richard Rider 2.0 and what they got was, well, Phyla. I was looking forward to Phyla and I got Phyla. *shrug* So there you go.

Speaking of which, I'm surprised Moondragon stayed dead. But of course, we've got time yet; there's gonna be loads of opportunity in Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming Annihilation Chapter 3 for all sorts of surprises.

(8.5 out of 10)
(7.9 out of 10 for the entire event, which unfortunately factors in Wraith's mini...)


Brave and the Bold #12
The first big arc of this series finishes, the one that all past issues have been building up to, and it's...okay. Kind of anticlimactic. I personally liked a lot of the buildup a lot more than this finish. It's just that this whole thing has been set up as a Big Fcking Deal which threatens all of existence, I mean for the love of Buffy we've got a member of the Endless going crazy on us, and then here we just fight a teeny battle on some station in the sun and against a single opponent (who looks ridiculous, incidentally), and we're done. Just sort of really anticlimactic.

I do like the use of Kryptonite and Ultraman here, though, as well as the Challengers of the Unknown getting good facetime.

(7 out of 10)
(8.1 out of 10 for the entire arc)


X-Men: Divided We Stand
OH NOES WE'RE X-MEN!! EVERYTHING SUCKS FOR US AND THEN WE DIE AND THEN WE COME BACK AND THINGS SUCK SOME MORE!! LET'S BE ***** TO EACH OTHER!!!!! I'M EMMA I'M A BTCH! LIFE SUCKS OH WOES!!

(3.9 out of 10)


X-Factor #30
Pretty standard issue of this book, which is to say that the writing is superb and the characterization is to die for, except that I just can't seem to bring myself to care about virtually any of the plot.

(7.6 out of 10)

 

[Spade]

I didn't think X-Factor really picked up until the end of the issue this month. David's a good writer, but the plot could be hitting us with a few more curveballs.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm even in the minority of liking Quasar, not as much as the others perhaps, but I thought she played her role quite well throughout this as well. I think people were looking forward to a Richard Rider 2.0 and what they got was, well, Phyla. I was looking forward to Phyla and I got Phyla. *shrug* So there you go.

I liked Phyla before AC. The Phyla that appeared in her mini-series and the AC mini-series, however, was not really that similar to the Phyla of old, as far as I could tell. She was a whiny *****ebag, whereas the old Phyla was a self-assured, confident ass-kicker who considered her brother a moron for going crazy over something as paltry as cosmic awareness. Even in the original Annihilation, we got to see her kick some ass alongside Nova when the quantum bands chose her. If we could get that Phyla back, I'd be ecstatic.

 

[Anubis]

I never really liked her all that much. Mainly because she was such a b***h to Genis when she first showed up I guess.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

She was a ***** with good reason, at least. He was a psychopath tarnishing the Captain Marvel name and abusing his power throughout the whole bloody universe.

 

[Anubis]

Yeah, but at least he still had a sense of humor. Besides, anybody with an over developed sense of right and wrong would have gone nuts when faced with the kinda s**t Genis was faced with.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That's debatable, I think. His dad dealt with cosmic awareness okay. Genis wasn't exactly the best of men before becoming Captain Marvel in the first place, either. He was the cosmic equivalent of a useless drunk.

 

[Hush]

That's debatable, I think. His dad dealt with cosmic awareness okay. Genis wasn't exactly the best of men before becoming Captain Marvel in the first place, either. He was the cosmic equivalent of a useless drunk.

That would be a great pitch to a studio exec for a summer blockbuster.

 

[Anubis]

They should call it Hancock or something.

 

[Doc Destruction]

rofl

 

[SouLeSS]

X-Factor #30
Pretty standard issue of this book, which is to say that the writing is superb and the characterization is to die for, except that I just can't seem to bring myself to care about virtually any of the plot.

(7.6 out of 10)

I was trying to figure out why I picked up and put down X-Factor 30 over 10 times since I bought it on wednesday, and this is pretty much it. Maybe next arc will be better. Arcade is just such a ... campy ...villian to me I guess.