Bought/Thought 3/26

[Marcdachamp]

New Avengers- PICK OF THE WEEK! Very interesting, I must say. Coupled with Mighty Avengers, I've got myself a bit of a theory:

Spoiler

So, we've got a Daredevil skrull that seems to know an awful lot about the team. Couple this with Reed Richards saying he never sent Matt to the Raft, I'm gonna say this is the same Daredevil from Breakout.

Jessica displays some interesting powers in Mighty Avengers, wouldn't you say? Funny... didn't the Daredevil that was at the Raft hire Jessica as a bodyguard? Hmmm... I think we've got two new skrull reveals.

Anywho, Mack impressed me this ish. I'm not normally a fan, but good stuff. Also... interesting development for Clint, especially with Bendis' hints about someone coming back during Secret Invasion... 9/10

Captain America- PICK OF LAST WEEK! God, I love this book. I'm pretty sure the ending is a fake-out, and I really hope it is, too. I love seeing Bucky learning the ropes as Cap, and adding his own style at the same time. One of the best books on stands right now, hands down. 9/10

Ultimate Spider-Man- A nice wrap-up. I'm glad Bendis will be using the Amazing Friends again, though. It'd be nice to see this trio really get to shine. Also, the ending was a great touch. Immonen rocks on art, as usual. 8/10

Mighty Avengers- Doom's thought balloons were a little much, but otherwise, pretty good. Bendis is really making me love Ares. Fantastic addition. And Djurdevic was a perfect choice for the Morgan Le Fay segments. I'm thinking Doom will play a major role in Secret Invasion. He won't be down and out for very long. 8/10

Daredevil- Good, but a little cliche. I liked it, but also felt a little ho hum, especially after last month's issue. 7/10

Amazing Spider-Man- Not bad. A pretty decent conclusion. Was it just me, or did Jimenez's art come off a little rushed in the Rainbow Room scene? I felt like I was reading Infinite Crisis. 7/10

 

[Blader5489]

Hawkeye gets laid again.

 

[Egotastic]

Hawkeye gets laid again.

Weren't you the one crying about untagged spoilers in another thread?

 

[kguillou]

Wait when did Reed say he never sent matt murdock to the raft?

 

[javi1024]

Amazing Spider-Man- Not bad. A pretty decent conclusion. Was it just me, or did Jimenez's art come off a little rushed in the Rainbow Room scene? I felt like I was reading Infinite Crisis. 7/10

his entire run felt rushed. as for Freak (or whatever his name was) i thought the idea of his "power":

Spoiler

constantly evolving

was really interesting, but other than that he and rest of the story was weak.

 

[Blader5489]

Weren't you the one crying about untagged spoilers in another thread?

Are you serious?

1) These threads always have spoilers.
2) The issue is out already.
3) I was "crying" about spoilers from future issues/stories that are weeks and months away.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Wait when did Reed say he never sent matt murdock to the raft?

New Avengers #9.

Iron Man: The Sentry
Reed: I don't know who that is, Tony.
IM: Last week, you sent Matt Murdock to the Raft Prison Facility to look into his case for you.
Reed: I did?

 

[El Bastardo]

Ultimate X-Men #92
- Robert Kirkman and Salvador Larroca
"Apocalypse" part 3/4 - or, as I'd like to call it:
"The Cluster**** Continues"

My LCS guy and I were talking as I was picking this up, and he remarked that I hadn't given up on the title (again) yet, and asked how it was. And that was exactly as I described it. And then said - you know, it's actually good when compared to the rest of the crap Kirkman has done to the title. This is the mantra leading up to next issue, known as "Salvation" - which is to say, Kirkman's last issue on the title, I think.

So, yes, Kirkman has continued his grand crusade to bring all things 90s into this title, and so many random threads he can't possibly tie them all up. And in the case of some threads and 90s things, he brings them in for the sake of bringing them in - I mean, come on, did Cable really need to put on armor and be known as Stryfe (in solicitations, at least) and did Xavier have to put on Onslaught-like armor and be known as Onslaught for the whole THREE PAGES before they revealed themselves to be Cable and Xavier? Really? Really?

And did we really need to see Onslaught-powerarmor-Xavier have a stupid powerarmor fight with Apocalypse and whine a whole bunch? Did we? Really?

...Really?

Otherwise, well, it leaves Kirkman one issue to wrap a whole ton of things up - which, unless the issue is double-sized, is going to be really difficult, and would be difficult even were it a double-sized issue. And this issue suffers from the same Kirkmanisms that have plagued the title - way too much dialogue, too much exposition in the form of dialogue, too much meaningless dialogue, too much random amounts of uncharacteristic dialogue. Yes, apparently Ultimate Apocalypse screams like a toddler being told about Santa Claus. "NO NO I DON'T BELIEVE IN IT IT'S A LIE!" Alas.

What's truly sad is that Kirkman had a lot of opportunities to follow in BKV's footsteps and do good things. He chose to do a bunch of other things, and that'd be fine, if those things had made sense to do. His big mark on the book could have been debuting Ultimate Cable and Apocalypse - rather large things in the grand scheme of an X-Men book - and while this is indeed his big mark on the book, it's an ill-fated mark that I don't think UXM fans are going to forget.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong.

 

[kguillou]

Originally posted by Marcdachamp
New Avengers #9.

Iron Man: The Sentry
Reed: I don't know who that is, Tony.
IM: Last week, you sent Matt Murdock to the Raft Prison Facility to look into his case for you.
Reed: I did?

Oooh yea, now i remember. Thanks. So the plot thickens i guess. Well, the daredevil that Brubaker is writing is definitely the real deal, so there's two daredevils running around. Hey remember when back when Murdock was in jail, and there was that other daredevil running around. Maybe it wasnt really Danny rand, maybe it was a skrull...not likely but maybe.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Oooh yea, now i remember. Thanks. So the plot thickens i guess. Well, the daredevil that Brubaker is writing is definitely the real deal, so there's two daredevils running around. Hey remember when back when Murdock was in jail, and there was that other daredevil running around. Maybe it wasnt really Danny rand, maybe it was a skrull...not likely but maybe.

There's no question that's the real deal, but it's an interesting development. It definitely seems to explain things a bit.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Gargoyles #8

This time, the cover actually relates to something in the book! Seriously, though, whatever the production issues this book has on occasion (most notably the schedule), I'm always glad to get an issue; really, I never expected to get any proper story continuation of Gargoyles at all. Anyway, this arc is centered on the Stone of Destiny, with guest stars galore: Macbeth, King Arthur, Griff, and the rest of the London Clan; it's nice to see the two timeless kings get acquainted. The Gargoyles themselves are almost background here to them, but it's fine; the series had nothing if not a rich cast of characters. There's a rather hard-to-follow structure to this arc; it almost feels like they took a straight narrative, then cut it up at various points and rearranged each segment, so we're constantly jumping back and forth; it's fairly coherent, though sometimes confusing. Oh, and Xanatos is up to something.

Green Lantern #29

Ivan Reis returns to do the art for the all-new origin of Hal Jordan, mixed in with plenty of "Blackest Night" forshadowing. We've basically already been told the entire plot of this issue through various monologues Hal has given in past issues of Johns' run, but it's a reasonable package, with some nice moments with Hal and his younger brother. Reis' art is, per usual, great.

Mighty Avengers #11

The second arc comes to a conclusion, rather awkwardly; as much as I've enjoyed it (and I genuinely have), the structure is just weird; every single issue is totally different in terms of setting, basically, and there's not much overall plot beyond the Avengers going to fight Doctor Doom under the impression that he attacked New York; Doom never has any larger scheme, although that's logical since he's been attacked; I was kind of expecting a larger evil plan in response to the Avengers. Irony of ironies, Doom is finally arrested and put on trial for something that he didn't actually do (not that I'm sure they don't have a filing cabinet full of other offenses to charge him with, given the opportunity now). Djurdjevic returns with three more pages of art, painted, unlike his Thor work, and he continues to draw a sexy, dangerous Morgan le Fey. Bendis begins by rewinding the clock to before Iron Man and Sentry returned last issue, showing what happened and the cause of the explosion, and then following through to the story's end. Iron Man at the end tries to make a case that Doom has actually caused him grievous damage, but this is basically a route for Doom, really; in the ultimate indignity, Sentry rips off his mask and everyone gets a gander at his face (unseen by the audience); pretty cool moment for the Sentry. Bagley's art, meanwhile, is about usual for him; standard superhero stuff, made remarkable simply by his dependability. Pretty good stuff, overall.

Ms. Marvel #25

Elsewhere, Carol breaks her previous series' record with this issue, kicking off another series of event tie-ins to prolong things for a while more (I don't mind, since Reed is good at integrating these kinds of stories into his book, and he was obviously highly involved in planning SI, given how some long-term plot elements lead into the story). On a minor note, we also get the first notable mention of any of the post-One More Day Spider-Man events (in this case, JJJ's heart attack) here. There are two Carols running around, and so Iron Man orders them both brought in so they can try to determine who is who; of course, the real Carol gets framed for murdering William, a recent love interest (Male In Refridgerator!), who was also apparently a Kree in disguise. Before that, she has an encounter with the X-Skrull from Illuminati #5 where she manages to get in a good punch or two, which is a decent showing since he and two other Skrulls almost overwhelmed the entire Illuminati. We also get some fun Silver Age-style flashbacks with Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema on art (Reed does a better imitation-Silver Age than Bendis did last issue, by the by), although I'm not really clear if there's any greater point to that story yet, other than highlighting Carol's origins (which is fair, if that's it, since this is an anniversary). Adriana Melo arrives on art (inked by Ed Benes' sister Mariah), and her stuff is pretty good, although not on the level of the departed Aaron Lopresti.

X-Men: Legacy #209

Hmm. I'm still not sure exactly what to make of this book. Magneto (apparently powerless) got called in by Exodus last issue to try and bring Professor X back, which he succeeds in doing, together with some tech support from Karima (now Malice-free). Frenzy, however, wants to kill Xavier, seeing him as responsible for blocking mutantkind's future (back when they had one); Magneto defeats her (surgical laser to the eye does bad things to the brain, it seems), provoking Exodus' wrath, triggering a psi-battle with Professor X that will lead in to next issue. With Carey at the helm, joined by Eaton and guest Billy Tan on art, it's a very readable issue, with great dialogue, but I still have no clue what this series is fundamentally about, though I trust that Carey and co. have a point; I just wish they'd make it clearer soon (although that hopefully will be the point of this first three-issue arc, after which we take a sojourn to the Hellfire Club).

Trades:

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle: Pretty good (full review here)

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152: Not yet read, but my initial thoughts on seeing the cover:

"Hmm, looks like Redwall."

Upon picking up the cover and reading the synopsis:

"Wow, this is Redwall."

 

[Darthphere]

The Bible King James Cut- I thought this was a pretty good book. Some parts were pretty bland and kind of boring but by the time you get to the New Testament, it picks up a lot. I loved the ending and hope to see this in an Absolute Edition soon.

 

[GNR]

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle: Pretty good (full review here)

A couple issues after that arc there was a nice 3 parter by the same creative team involving Tony and Bruce crossing paths in what is IMO one of the definitive Hulk/Iron Man stories out there.Should be able to find them in a dollar bin or something.

 

[Egotastic]

New Avengers #39 - The real shame here is Mack's art. I mean, sure it looks good, but is any of it his? When someone swipes that much and that blatantly that I literally wonder if there's a single page that is swipe free, that's a problem. Anyway, the actual story isn't bad. There's a lot of dialogue, but oddly enough, not a lot of trademark Bendis dialogue. It's actually pretty good. The Skrull reveal is an interesting one, and it's nice to see Echo kick some ass. I also liked the history that Logan and Maya apparently share. Hopefully we'll get a look into that sometime in the future. And aside from the questionable art, my only other complaint is that this seemed like filler. Decent filler, but filler nonetheless.

Mighty Avengers #11 - Now this is chock full of Bendisy dialogue, complete with sarcastic thought balloons. On one hand, it's cool that Bendis writes this completely different from New Avengers. On the other hand, it would be much cooler if he wrote it well. The previous few issues were pretty good. I enjoyed them. This one wraps things up too quickly and has more of those damn thought balloons than any one comic needs to have. Hopefully, this will be absorbed into New Avengers post Secret Invasion. Either that, or both will go away in favor of a single Avengers title. Whatever happens, just cancel this damn book.

 

[BrianWilly]

A ludicrously small week for me, bought-wise, but man...what a week.

Blue Beetle #25
"...We never stood a chance."

By the time I got to the end of this issue, I was crying from how good it was. I sht you not. It's not just made out of win; win is made out of this book. This has been the single best comic series of at least the entirety of the past...two years. A series that sets up the very best stories it could possibly set up and pays off in every single conceivable way. It beats out Checkmate, and Checkmate is unbeatable. Sometime this week I'm going to go and buy every single trade of this series even though I have nearly every single issue already. Someone stop me before I do this! Don't stop me. Don't ever stop me. This is why I read comics. This is why I simply do not tolerate mediocrity, there is simply no excuse for it when something like this could exist. How is it that a complete n00b comic writer could come onto the conflagration that is DC and just make veteran writers seem like they have no freaking idea what they're doing by comparison?

And because the universe truly and unfailingly hates me, of course it's ending. Rogers is taking a..."break"...while other writers attempt to tackle his shoes. I'm sorry, I know Pfeifer apparently should be known for better things than the single worst and most offensive DC miniseres of recent memory, but I just cannot look forward to his work here in any way, shape, or form. But, still, I'll try to consider that if he does even half as good a job as Rogers has done, it'll be worth it.

(10 out of 10)
(10 out of 10 for the arc)
(10 out of 10 for the entire run)


All Star Superman #10
And then this! One good thing after another. Leave it up to Morrison to make Superman literally God, and in the best way. It's stuff like this that makes me think, damnit there's really no way that Final Crisis would ever actually be bad. There's just mathematically no way. As genius a writer as this with as much incredible understanding of character and story as he does, there's just no way. Equal parts charm, humor, drama, sentiment, and cleverness, leaves you feeling better after having read it as opposed to not.

(9.8 out of 10)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Blue Beetle #25 was so goddamn awesome. This is the way to be nostalgic, DC. You don't upturn the entire universe to reinstate tired old Silver Age bull****. You progress the characters' overall arcs and legacies while paying homage to the past. I loved how cheery Ice was in the middle of a big fight with the Reach. "Hey, Bea's here! Neat! Hi, Bea!" I gotta pick up some JLI trades and get better acquainted with her. And Guy has one of the most unquestionably badass intros ever, too. "Yeah, baby girl. I'm the crazy one." Then there's the scarab and Jaime's awesomeness. God, so many great moments. I'm really, really gonna miss Rogers. I hope he comes back soon. In the meantime, the characters are good enough that I'll continue to read it in spite of his absence. Looking forward to more Traci in the next issue.

 

[sandwraith]

Ice is alive?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, she came back a while ago. I don't remember how, but I don't really care, either.

 

[Egotastic]

New Warriors #Whatever - I'm going to give this book the rest of the arc. After that, I think I'm done with it. The art is great, the characters and great, the stories...not so much. I had high hopes for the book when it started, but now it's just not doing it for me.

Proof #6 - Best book of the week, by far. This one kicks off a new storyline involving big game poachers, dinosaurs and double agents. Proof, himself, is once again at the center of the story, along with Ginger and Elvis. I can't wait to see them in action together. Awesome, awesome, awesome stuff.

 

[sandwraith]

Ah...Adam Hughes needs to draw Ice again.

 

[RockSP]

Yeah, she came back a while ago. I don't remember how, but I don't really care, either.

It happened in Birds of Prey.

 

[Blader5489]

New Avengers #39 - The real shame here is Mack's art. I mean, sure it looks good, but is any of it his? When someone swipes that much and that blatantly that I literally wonder if there's a single page that is swipe free, that's a problem.

I know at the very least those profile shots of Echo were plagiarized, specifically the shape and size of her nose.

 

[Xofenroht]

The Bible King James Cut- I thought this was a pretty good book. Some parts were pretty bland and kind of boring but by the time you get to the New Testament, it picks up a lot. I loved the ending and hope to see this in an Absolute Edition soon.

 

[RockSP]

I know at the very least those profile shots of Echo were plagiarized, specifically the shape and size of her nose.

From what?

 

[Egotastic]

From what?

EVERYTHING.