Bought/Thought 6/1--Spoilers to Come!

[WOLVERINE25TH]

BOUGHT:
52 Week 4
Action Comics 839
All New OHOTMU A to Z 5
Amazing Spider-Man 532
Annihilation: Ronan 2
Army of Darkness 7
Avengers & Power Pack 2
Batman Legends of the Dark Knight 206
Books of Doom 6
Crisis Aftermath Battle for Bludhaven 4
Daughters of the Dragon 5
Green Lantern 11
Incredible Hulk 95
Iron Man the Inevitable 6
Nextwave 5
Punisher the Tyger
Red Sonja 10
Runaways 16
Son of M 6
Storm 4
Superman Batman 26
Thing 7
Ultimate Extinction 5
Ultimate Fantastic Four 30
Ultimate Spider-Man 95

THOUGHT:
52 Week 4 - The story is building. I'll have more to say on it once the story reaches its midpoint. Hard to judge with only snippets of several stories in one issue.

Action Comics 839 - A very strange issue. Supes has new powers? And Luthor has a Kryptonian ship? This issue felt very Silver Age to me, dunno why. Not sure if I dig Supe's "updated" costume either. Guess we'll see.

All New OHOTMU A to Z 5 - Love it.

Amazing Spider-Man 532 - Because not much happened, it was hard for this issue to suck. Hopefully the next issue is a good follow-up 'cause this part has built interest.

Army of Darkness 7 - We're finally done with the cabin and going out to fight evil monsters now. Hopefully this series can get out of the rut it's starting to put itself into. And come out faster. We're sposed to be up to #12 by now.

Daughters of the Dragon 5 - A cute series with some funny bits. We'll see how it ends up.

Green Lantern 11 - I got this just to see the return of Cyborg Superman. Yowsa! I may hafta get #10 now. #9 didn't thrill me enough to get GL regular, but if the rest of the run goes like this I may have to.

Incredible Hulk 95 - And the arc is over. Meh. I didn't really care for it. We'll see if the next can catch my interest. Has to be all the aliens, I swear. Never been big on the intergalactic stuff.

Iron Man the Inevitable 6 - The Laser is back and he's out for IM's blood. That's gratitude for ya. It wasn't too bad. What started out as the main focus for the book became a minor subplot. And there really wasn't much closure with the baddies at the end. Overall, was an average story with some really crappy art. But hey, best you can get when it's the only IM to come out on time. Till now, anyways.

Runaways 16 - Oooooh, good stuff. The team's fully reunited, Wilder's on his way to getting his family back, and Molly's in trouble again. Can't wait for the next issue.

Son of M 6 - Kind of a strange end, but overall was a good book. Best thing to come out of HoM.

Superman Batman 26 - Finally, a goddam issue I can understand of this series! It was a good story, some nice witty banter. Really dug this Robin and Superboy a lot more than the first time they paired up in the book. Loeb's kid definitely had a future. Nice touching follow-up at the end there. A very good read.

Thing 7 - Art sucked, but as usual, Slott entertains. Thing takes Alicia back in time for her bday and all hell breaks loose. Of course. Too bad it ends next issue. I want to personally thank all the dumb bastards who passed this book up for one stupid reason or another. May all your collections rot and crumble.

Ultimate Extinction 5 - That's it? After all that, this is all we got? I dunno if this was modified from the delays or if this was the original story, but after all that build up this was just crap. Think Ultimate should stay away from events if this is how they're gonna go.

Ultimate Fantastic Four 30 - Johnny in danger! The Zombies busting out! The return of Doom! This book started off slow, but it's become a very high quality title.

Ultimate Spider-Man 95 - Vampires enter Spidey's world and Ben Urich gets caught in the middle. Not too bad a start, just hafta see how it ends up.

 

[danielisthor]

Superman/Batman #26 - I went and bought it as promised, i actually bought both covers, so i am not a heartless bastard. It was a very entertaining issue and i know that Conner is dead now, but were his and Tim's dialog always that funny and witty. If so, i may go back and start picking up some back issues of Teen Titans. The end story brought a tear to my eye. 10 of 10

 

[Zaptoitnow]

And just so we're clear, that was the Brood in UFF no?

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

No clue.

 

[Storm Shadow]

What are Supes new powers?

 

[Dread]

The end of the month wallet-buster is here! Somehow or other, the big two, especially Marvel, seem to have strange shipping pratices, so that some weeks are practically dead and others are recieving some 6+ books at once. Granted, I made it harder on myself with shelling out $6 for WIZARD. This month features a clash of the big two's "it" books (52 WEEK #4 vs. ASM # 532) and also what I'll call "A Tale of Two Spidey Books". Overall, good week.

Its always funny how comics are solicted for the 31st of May when Memorial Day isn't some "event" that should surprise anyone, but comes every year. Like those same morons on news stations in NY who are surprised by snowfall...in December.

As always, thick, juicey, 100% proof spoilers.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 7/1/06:

52 WEEK #4: A month's worth of issues in this yearly series and I am still on-board, and I'm hardly a DC buff. I naturally like this series because its being written well (by a committe of 5 writers, no less) and because it has a taste of "non big 3" DC characters for once; its like a Marvel event without Spider-Man, Wolverine, or Capt. America (he and Iron Man trade places for Marvel's Big 3, IMO, so it gets hard to keep track). The slowness of the issues was starting to get to me, but this issue has some action happen; Steel gets infested with some sort of techno-organic...thing, and the Question/Montoya thing boils down to a tense fight scene as they take on a massive metahuman (who looks like a cross between Killer Croc and Man-Thing; if he's supposed to BE someone, I have no clue). Meanwhile, Fire confronts Booster Gold about his "return to selfishness" regarding his actions post-Ted's death (FINALLY), and his outburst of a reply is very entertaining (and somewhat sympathetic; Booster's not as noble as many iconic heroes, but actually seems to be closer to you or I if given the circumstances; the charm of the character). Ralph visits the "Cult of Conner" that honestly believes that Superboy's coming back from the dead, and why not, since Superman could. I guess I see the appeal of this not only as a comic version of "24" or some weekly serial, but also a TV soap opera. Not every episode of a soap has a big "explosion", but just enough to keep the audience of followers hooked for each installment in anticipation. Comics have been following a soap-esque format to some degree since the 60's-70's (especially Marvel books), so it makes sense to see a modern version of it here. In a way, blending the styles of five writers means they produce something more "generic" than most of them would have written seperately, but so long as it entertains, I don't care how they do it or what they do with it (a fact Marvel often takes for granted). Another notable event is a squad of astronauts searching space for missing heroes that were lost during the "Crisis" and the Rann/Thanagarian War, flanked by officers of the military aiding them once the battered and barely-alive heroes are found. I note it because you see the exact opposite at Marvel, a sort of dynamic that Kurt Busiek captured over 2 years ago in JLA/AVENGERS. In DC, the world appreciates their heroes to the point of making them uber-celebrities. In Marvel, in contrast, the world is skeptical of heroes almost to the point of paranoid delusions. Arresting and trying Daredevil after over ten years of rescues, captured crooks and what-not just seems overly cynical, especially in a world where politicians can avoid drafts and have corrupt offices and STILL be treated like heroes. Micheal Jackson still has plenty of adoring fans, more liscence for misacts than most common citizens; why wouldn't that be afforded to someone in a cape who's been saving a city for almost a generation? In the rush to credit Marvel with always being "realistic", we forget that things like gratitude, trust, and appreciation, even to the point of "blind faith" at times, happens often enough in the real world too. The question is, which is more fun to read about for you?

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #532: "A Tale of Two Spidey-Books, Part 1" ASM has seen a dramatic boost in sales figures over the past few months; the book is selling in the Top 10, a place it hadn't been in years. Possible reason? The book has been involved with big, heavily advertised and hyped "crossover events" for nearly 2/3rds of a year. ASM has moved from THE OTHER to PRELUDE TO CW and now CW itself for at least 6+ months now. Without that, despite JSM's best efforts in shock value tactics (Sins Past, anyone? Seriously, anyone?), this book was routinely outsold by ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. Nothing about either book has changed in terms of writers, only one book needs the boost of events like a wrestler needs steroids, while the other has historically shown it can sell on its own. Guess which? Anyway, much like the last issue of WOLVERINE, this issue takes place sort of between the scenes of CW #1, as well as continued from last issue's ASM, almost to the point that an ASM reader who missed CW #1 actually wouldn't feel TOO lost and could actually follow the story; a worthy effort indeed. The title is still "Iron Man and his partner, Spider-Man", even though Spidey is the main character. I wouldn't mind it if Marvel'd actually change the title, much like when DC pared Green Arrow with Green Lantern during the 70's for many issues. Call it, "The Amazingly Invincible Spider-Man & Iron Man" or something, have a few varient covers, I bet it'd sell an extra 20,000 copies at least. Anyway, Tony Stark makes Peter an offer he can't refuse; stand with me and reveal your identity to the government and agree to registration, or risk having you and your "aiding" family arrested if you choose to stay a vigilante. Curiously, while CIVIL WAR under Millar seems to clearly push that the registration side is nastier and harsher, JMS on ASM at least makes Stark's position seem at least reasonable instead of hostile, although whether or not its the best idea is still debatable. All it seems to do is put pressure on heroes who were already doing a good job, and making their lives, and the lives of their families, more difficult. To be fair, if Millar had written a scene in which Stark basically goes, "go with my idea, or your elderly aunt and wife could get arrested by stormtrooper agents", he would have made Stark seem almost evil; JMS doesn't. The problem is that this act seems like a very unappreciative thing to do the heroes, even in the light of the "it" event with the New Warriors vs. Nitro. MJ and Peter naturally are conflicted until May offers advice, which is Peter basically "sharing with the world what he shared with them, which is how great a person he is" or something. They believe the world would embrace him if only they knew who was behind the mask, as they both did (nevermind the fact that both were originally conflicted about the reveal; "conflicted" on a national scale can be very dangerous). May also compares superheroes to members of Congress, which is very silly because Congress-members never have fist-fights with nasty supervillians who can overpower armies pretty easily, nor have ever had their lovers thrown from bridges while bombs exploded at them as a price for their service. "Retaliation" against government figures is very rare because they don't face the sort of threats that heroes do on a daily basis; the most that occurs is they may become "bystanders" of some supervillian terror act or rampage. Granted, off the top of your head, name Marvel Congress-men who have been attacked, hurt, or had their families threatened by masked supervillians, and compare that with the number of superheroes who have suffered the same, and tell me its equal, because it is clearly NOT. But I digress. The plus is that this story is very fascinating, "realistic" in a sort of overzealous, paranoid way, and it naturally questions the underpinning of the superhero genre. The major downside, though, is that it could risk Spider-Man deviating too far from what made him enjoyable in the first place; a process that has been happening steadily over the past year, and a reveal of his ID to the world is something that is VERY hard to undo. Even by retcon standards. In conclusion; CIVIL WAR is shaping up to be an interesting story, but a story that risks burning all of their bridges behind them in the name of maintaining a house-of-cards esque sales figure, and that seems very dubious and short-sighted.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #95: "A Tale of Two Spider-books, Part 2". USM, by contrast, relies on NO major events. It never has. It has never had one crossover; simply some shared continuity between other Ultimate books, sort of like what Marvel used to be so damned good at in the 80's (so good that DC, scared crapless, did the first CRISIS to streamline things). It has managed to maintain the same creative team for 95 issues and likely longer. Despite all the flaws that Bendis has in his stories, it maintains Spider-Man at his roots, and I don't just mean being young. He is not clad in armor, he is not in Stark Tower, he is not a member of the Avengers. His personal, social life is just as vital as his superhero life, and often conflicts with him. He is seen in "real world" situations, like a school, a home, a job, interacting with a supporting cast. His webbing is even still MECHANICAL. Without the last 8 or so months of crossovers propping up ASM, USM was OUTSELLING that title every month fairly consistantly. Imagine USM as Babe Ruth, with ASM right now as Barry "I am BANE!" Bonds in the race for home runs. USM can stand and triumph on its own, despite the cracks and flaws (an homage to this week's THE THING #7). ASM needed that extra juice, that edge, because without it, it didn't outsell USM, which, at least by Marvel standards (since Joe loves sales figures so much) would have stated that it was worse, yes? In fact, Ultimate right now is better at some of the classic Marvel formula than Marvel is. Whenever it tries "events", they BOMB. So they rely on tight continuity and a few titles that capture the heart of many of their classic titles, before said titles became overblown, overexposed franchise operations (like X-Men).
As for the actual issue, this seems to be the "break" story between DEADPOOL and CLONE SAGA for the trades, so it'll only be maybe 2-3 issues. It introduces Ultimate Morbius, which is good because I was getting tired of the reliance on X-Men enemies in USM. It also introduces Ultimate Blade, which makes the book seem like an issue of ULTIMATE MTU, a title Bendis obviously misses, because many USM stories have seemed simular to that format over the past 2 years. Highlights include some effective set-up with vampires, and some enjoyable Kitty/Peter and MJ/Peter conversations, marred only by Bendis' insistance that people repeat words and phrases consistantly in conversations (and if they do, Bendis' insistance that we read comics to read about the unappealing aspects of human speach, rather than escapism entertainment). Spidey vs. Vampires is set up very well, and I liked the pacing. The downside is that for some reason Spider-Man was given a spider-sense, but it never kicks in, and he's probably the easiest superhero in the Ultimate Un. to sneak up on. I mean, seriously, ANYONE can get the drop on him. With Blade in the picture and with Spidey's continual "lack of experience leading him to get spanked in his own book and need to be saved, even after 95 issues of experience" in stories being a factor, I am predicting a major save from Blade coming (who will naturally chew out Spidey for "getting in the way" or "being a useless rookie", or both). Y'know, the same schtick, which is really the only thing that holds USM back; Bendis' insistance on seeing flaws as schtick, and in not improving them. It makes USM more predictable than it should be. I could be proven wrong, though. But so far I've been reading USM so long that not much throws me. Its still enjoyable, though, and on its own merits. ASM's reliance on "events" over the period of over half a year says something important about its merits, now doesn't it?

ULTIMATE EXTINCTION #5: Solicted as a 6 issue mini and stated as such on 3 covers, EXTINCTION has been shoehorned into a 5 issue mini overnight, and you weren't meant to notice. In all fairness, I can understand part of why; Ellis is not only a horribly decompressed writer on Ultimate books, and his 3-chapter "Ultimate event" has drug on over a year later than scheduled, due to every single mini running months behind schedule. ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE started shipping in 2004, remember. Its this drag that seriously hurts the story, and in all honesty, considering how much of a "magic Hollywood bullet" solution against Gal Ak Tus the heroes have, I'd have dreaded this stuff drug out another issue. An army of Moondragon cult clones (who worship Gal and want him to eat the world) attack the Triskalon, and there is a lot of bloody fighting (one panel shows Cap behind his shield, giving a bemused reply to a comrade hero, while a soldier gets shot to bits behind him which is unintentionally hilarious). Professor X and Jean have some massive psychic "blast" planned in which they assemble the psyches of everyone on Earth against Gal, since it is a simple creature that finds being "touched" by its food distressing. Reed also uses some alternate galaxy explosions to shoot a "generic big blast" at the thing. In the end, after losing 20% of itself, Gal is chased off, finding its prey too much of an effort to bother with, when there is easier prey to be had. On the plus side, this is very much like how real predator animals work; they often seek to AVOID a fight because if they are injured, they can't hunt and thus they starve. Hence why predators seek prey that they can kill quickly and then flee (the young and the sick most often, as well as surprise). On the downside, after 2 years and some 15 issues worth of story, it all seems anti-climatic, with the previous acts seeming clunkier than ever. Nick Fury's insistance on giving Vision a message to incite other planets is also horribly silly (he believes telling other worlds that "humans kick butt" is going to do something positive), but also in character. Definately an entertaining chapter due to the massive fight sequence, but has little else, and I'm glad this thing has finally finished up after all this time. Another Ultimate "event" down the tubes, sitting beside ULTIMATE WAR and ULTIMATE SIX.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #30: Just as good as ULTIMATES 2, only it ships more frequently and it doesn't make you feel aweful about being a dirty, evil American. What's not to love? UF4 is Millar being more withstrained and creative and is his more underrated book. He starts his last arc on the title and I'll be sad to see him go; he's jazzed up this book TREMENDOUSLY since Ellis left after a year. This is the set-up chapter where Johnny comes down with a bug from the N-Zone, the Zombie Four plot their escape and Dr. Doom returns, and he's hanging out with Sue & Johnny's MOM! It sets up the arc rather tensely with the same witty dialogue and pacing that Millar is known for (Millar does much better with build-up than other writers tend to). He made Ultimate Namor an efficient threat, can he do the same to Ellis' bungled version of Dr. Doom? My magic 8-Ball says, "Ask again later". But that's still better than "No".

RUNAWAYS #16: The arc chugs along with the team divided and falling apart as the new Pride, led by a time-plucked version of Geoffry Wilder, kidnap Molly and the head cheese plans to offer her soul to get the Gibborim's back on his side again. The twist is that his partners are genuinely convinced that they're heroes and don't see Wilder's darker side. The Runaways, meanwhile, are completely falling apart emotionally. Gert and Chase seem to tearfully break up, and Nico and Victor start to bond, only for a spell to reveal that the Pride was able to eavesdrop on them by hacking into Victor, so they believe he's been a spy all along (preying on their lingering doubts that he's still controlled by Ultron and on his way to becoming the evil Victorious). They're throwing energy blasts again when who should return but Karolina, wearing what appears to be an alien wedding dress. The poor girl's got some terribly timing, or does she? Vaughan manages to tug at some emotional pins at writing his team collapsing upon themselves, and makes you wonder how it is that they can ever exist together again, much less fight the Pride and rescue Molly; basically, effective suspence. The characters sell the story more than the plot does, which is also good, because most plots are simple anyway. One Runaway is fated to die and the guessing game continues, regardless of spoilers. I'd hate to see any of them go, though, because I like all of them, so if BKV does a rare move and cops out as some spoilers say, I could forgive him. Its not all about the shocks, folks, its about the substance. Norton will be coming in soon after Alphona takes a break after the next few issues (from GRAVITY), and I can't wait to see his stab at the team. I also can't wait to see them meet the YOUNG AVENGERS. Its a good time for RUNAWAYS right now.

THE THING #7: A dead book walking, as Marvel seems to have officially slated #8 to be the last, and its sales remained rather abysmal as of last month (although #6 sold a few slots better than #5 did, although one wonders if it was because Spider-Man was the guest star). This is yet another example of a great Marvel book that has been done no favors, never advertised and made to stand out, and so it has been overlooked; Slott himself had to do all the networking for sales himself, and frankly that's terrible; he's not an advertising rep. Marvel invests money into publishing comics, they should at least be willing to invest some in making sure they SELL, a point Joe Q usually misses. This is another feel-good issue of the Thing, as he and Alicia travel back in time to Ancient Greece for her birthday, and run afoul of classical artists and Hercules. Dwyer's art is still effective for the title, although I preferred DiVito greatly. The issue is full of heart as Thing and Alicia interact like a few ex's who still care, and in the end Thing gives a great speach about why they should be together, and why everyone else expects it. And why things don't have to be perfect to be "classic", something Marvel needs a few doses of. There's no shocks, no deaths, no events or crossovers, just good honest storytelling in 22 pages a month with colorful action. A rare pleasure in Marvel these days, and its earned a truly underserved fate. I know I'll miss this book terribly.

ALL-NEW OHBOTMU #5: Didn't read much yet, but its gotten attention for officially stating that Kate Bishop takes the name Hawkeye by the end of YA #12. It also is brave enough to acknowledge some characters from NEW WARRIORS and some of Venom's later 90's mini's, stuff Marvel pretends it never published. I'll enjoy it, as usual.

WIZARD #177: Got it, didn't read much of it yet. With IC over, expect more focus on Marvel stuff.

 

[Storm Shadow]

Did you know Sins past was Joe Q's idea?

 

[Dread]

Did you know Sins past was Joe Q's idea?

Do I know? No.

If its true, am I surprised? No. Heck, last issue of WIZARD, Joe Q sounded as if he wished for the power to erase a lot of the past 25 years of Spider-book continuity to basically have Spidey single, back in school and with the same supporting cast who are all dead...wait, that's USM, which Marvel is already selling. Which Joe Q claimed would please new fans and allow the canon ASM to please "older" ones. So which is now?

And he misses the point that a lot of Spidey's past issues have been from previous editorial decisions to "jazz him up and shock people". Quesada's not the cause of a lot of Spidey's problems since the 90's, but he's not the solution.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Superman can apparently think more efficiently to the point he almost has precognicence. He knows what's gonna happen before it does just through all his other senses, which appears to have been enhanced. At least that's what I got from it.

 

[Storm Shadow]

Do I know? No.

If its true, am I surprised? No. Heck, last issue of WIZARD, Joe Q sounded as if he wished for the power to erase a lot of the past 25 years of Spider-book continuity to basically have Spidey single, back in school and with the same supporting cast who are all dead...wait, that's USM, which Marvel is already selling. Which Joe Q claimed would please new fans and allow the canon ASM to please "older" ones. So which is now?

And he misses the point that a lot of Spidey's past issues have been from previous editorial decisions to "jazz him up and shock people". Quesada's not the cause of a lot of Spidey's problems since the 90's, but he's not the solution.

Yeah, I forget where it was, but it went something like JMS said he wanted to have the kid be Pete's and then Joe said Nah lets make it...and so on.

Heres what JMS said in the last interview with newsarama.

Having said all of that, my job is as a hired hand, as any writer working on somebody else’s universe is. When I was given Spider-Man, that to me, was a trust that I had to be careful not to break. So, if starting tomorrow, Marvel were to say, “From now on, Spidey’s going to have nine legs,” I would have to find a way to work with that, because it’s their character. They own it, and I have to respect that. I trust Joe’s judgment implicitly, and if he were to say, “We have to go this way,” I’m already on board, waving a banner and beating a drum, because I trust his judgment and it’s his character.

http://www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays52.html

 

[Storm Shadow]

Superman can apparently think more efficiently to the point he almost has precognicence. He knows what's gonna happen before it does just through all his other senses, which appears to have been enhanced. At least that's what I got from it.

Thats kinda cool.

Like what Deathstroke has.

Wait also All-Star Superman...

I wonder if Johns got tha form Morrison?

 

[Dread]

Yeah, I forget where it was, but it went something like JMS said he wanted to have the kid be Pete's and then Joe said Nah lets make it...and so on.

Heres what JMS said in the last interview with newsarama.



http://www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays52.html

I can at least respect JSM's honesty. When an order comes down from the editorial department, his hands are a bit tied, as with any writer.

 

[iloveclones]

Haven't read anything yet, but wanted to let you guys know that, due to all the people talking about it, I bought Superman Batman 26. Paged through it, and it looks good.

 

[BrianWilly]

Ion #2
Not much to say, honestly; the plot progresses a bit, the mystery deepens, and the art is a lot better.

We get to see a bit of Ion's actual power, and it doesn't actually feel too different from his old Green Lantern powers other than the fact that he has no ring. There's an interesting tidbit where Kyle mentions his powers are a combo of the Central Power Battery and the Starheart, which would make sense. I wonder if that's going to be significant down the line; maybe a combination of logical science and chaotic magic is exactly what the Guardians' "experiment" is all about. It would be nice if the Guardians' return to their old stodgy, authoritarian attitudes was just a ruse, since that tends to invalidate a lot of what Winick did with them, but I dunno...mystic stuff usually feels incredibly out of place in a Green Lantern's universe.

Again, it's nice that Marz is one writing this, since his "tone" is unmistakably and unrecognizably Kyle.

(7.8 out of 10)


52 Week 4
Geez, Cassie got real crazy real quick. It's interesting that they took his wedding ring; that's the sort of thing you might expect at some sort of, oh, resurrection ritual perhaps.

I'm not too sure that I like what they're doing with this new Steel body armor thing...it's reminding me a hell of a lot of Ultimate Iron Man, and I haven't even read that much Ultimate Iron Man.

Fire confronting Booster about his new return to old attitudes was very welcome.

I'm glad Dread brought up the difference of attitude towards heroes in the DCU versus the Marvel U...it was the first thing I thought of when I read those pages of the astronauts searching for the space heroes. And this difference of attitude has been very pronounced as of late. I suppose that I just like my heroes to be respected, since the more pronounced this difference has become the more I find I favor DC's attitude. Perhaps if the Marvel heroes actually did something visibly heroic once in a while instead of just fighting each other all the time...[sarcasm]but no, then it wouldn't be very "realistic" and "edgy," would it?[/sarcasm]

(8.5 out of 10)


Superboy/Robin...er, I mean Superman/Batman #26
Wow, that was trippy.

I liked the storyline...it was a real cute sort of interlude featuring Conner and Tim like issue #7 was (which I really, really, really liked and wished we had more of in comics), but the horrifyingly schizophrenic art distracted me just about as much as I expected it to. Seriously, that one page of Liefield's Superboy just made me want to cry and cry and cry.

It was also so very, very wordy. 13 different writers in one single issue...oh boy, Conner and Tim do pretty much nothing but snark at each other for about an hour. Imagine Gilmore Girls on a truckload of ritalin and you might come close. It's the sort of thing that I would relentlessly bash any other comic for, but given the obviously special circumstances of this one, it was almost...charming.

Superboy and Robin are two of my fav characters, though, and I really liked seeing them in action one more time. And hey, it was for a very good cause. I didn't even really mind that mind-blowing continuity screwup on that last page.

(7 out of 10)


Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre
Not much to say...it's a very interesting take on the character of Crispus Allen and the Spectre both. Decent art and decent story, I'll be looking forward to the next issue.

(8 out of 10)

 

[Dread]

I'm glad Dread brought up the difference of attitude towards heroes in the DCU versus the Marvel U...it was the first thing I thought of when I read those pages of the astronauts searching for the space heroes. And this difference of attitude has been very pronounced as of late. I suppose that I just like my heroes to be respected, since the more pronounced this difference has become the more I find I favor DC's attitude. Perhaps if the Marvel heroes actually did something visibly heroic once in a while instead of just fighting each other all the time...[sarcasm]but no, then it wouldn't be very "realistic" and "edgy," would it?[/sarcasm]

And I'm glad someone replied to it. Anyway, yeah, I just recall coming to that scene and going, "Hey, DC heroes are missing and the government's actually spending time and manpower trying to FIND them? And the individual astronauts seem to genuinely CARE!? Man, if this was Marvel, we'd have a whole scene of people going 'Good riddance!' or just widespread apathy from non-connected folks (as in, non-supporting character folks)".

The thing is, Marvel's superheroes HAVE performed many acts of superheroism. How many broad daylight rescues, battles, or so on have Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Avengers, heck, even the New Warriors done? GRAVITY sort of captured sort of the "day in the life" style of NY superheroics, where a battle between some supers in midtown is almost as common as rubbernecking. And that's not mentioning past events like Kree/Skrull, Onslaught, and I'm sure others. The thing is that Marvel's world reacts differently to it. Spider-Man could stop a nasty supervillian and save civilians from falling rubble and get cursed on the street for doing it. Heck, the MU continues to shift to a place where mutants can be nailed to crosses in BROAD DAYLIGHT and no one says diddly. Meanwhile, in the real world, ethnic relations aren't nearly as extreme.

And no, I don't just mean J.J. and the DAILY BUGLE. One lone newspaper in NY surely can't be responsible for swaying much public opinion on ANYTHING. Real world example; the NEW YORK POST is a longtime newspaper in NY, has a massive readership. They're Right Wing. They endorse Pres. Bush. NY is a blue state. Most New Yorks hate him. Nothing the POST says is going to change that. Which is kind of what I liked about some of the SPIDER-MAN movies scenes. J.J. has his media vendetta, but Joe and Jane Schmoe on the street don't all hate Spider-Man.

Marvel's built itself on a certain way of telling stories, though, and the media backlash works with their themes of isolation and angst. Granted, the thought of Marvel being forever in a state of adolesence should be disturbing, but whatever.

 

[Elijya]

eh, I won't be able to get mine until next week

 

[Anubis]

Me neither.

 

[PWN3R]

Went to my shop to pick up my list today, going to pick up The Thing and Runaways, which are on my pull list, and only got The Thing.

They said something about shipments being messed up, and that Runaways would be there for me tomorrow.(Better not be lying.)


Anyways, man I love Slott. Really, I do.

The Thing #7

Even with DiVito gone, this book is plain fun. Just like Dread said, no big crossovers, no shock deaths, no Iron-suit Thing, just plain fun. As I was reading this, I couldn't help thinking this book only has one issue left, it is such a shame. I am going to miss this book, and I just want to say a big F to the U to those who didn't give this great book a chance.

ASM #532

I've stayed away from this book mostly, I've heard nothing but bad news. For some odd reason or another, decided to pick up the Civil War tie-ins, and this issue wasn't that bad. It covered what happened in Civil War #1 nicely, and Tony sold the importance of the situation. Now the whole Petey revealing himself is . Marvel does know that if Spiderman reveals himself, then wow, this book will go down. Personally, I really hope he doesn't reveal himself, because that would just be lame IMO.

But if he does, wouldnt surprise me because after all, Joe Q would use this as a way to end Spidey and MJ. Joe Q=

And oh yeah, they had the Ultimates 2 #12 poster, it was so sexy I had to get it.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I wonder how J.J would act if Spider-Man's ID went public?

 

[GNR]

Amazing Spider-Man #532-I'm one of the few who loved this issue.Everything from Tony confronting Pete about revealing himself,to Aunt May's speech to Peter was so well written.I'm a casual Spidey fan and even I felt the tensions building in this issue with Peter having so much to risk and so much to lose.JMS really gets you into Peter's head and the dilemma he's currently in.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you are planning on getting a Civil War tie-in title,ASM is thee one to get and the most worthwhile.Spidey is a big player in CW and there is so much ground to cover in the next 8 issues.

9/10

More 2mrw....

 

[GNR]

I'm going to get flamed for this but I dropped the Thing.With comics being so expensive these days,I couldn't justify buying a book where I'm uneasy about the art.DiVito is sorely missed.Not to hate on Dwyer,but his art just isn't my cup of tea.

 

[PWN3R]

I enjoyed this issue, I was surprised, everyone says ASM is lame right now.

I just don't want Spidey to reveal himself.

But from the previews of Front Line #1, it looked like he was going to reveal himself too.

 

[PWN3R]

I'm going to get flamed for this but I dropped the Thing.With comics being so expensive these days,I couldn't justify buying a book where I'm uneasy about the art.DiVito is sorely missed.Not to hate on Dwyer,but his art just isn't my cup of tea.

Yeah but for you, isnt a comic book like 5 bucks?

I can understand that, you have to drop something at that price. I feel for you man.

 

[GNR]

I'm guessing that the events which take place right after the cliffhanger in ASM will be part of what Mark Millar has been telling us about CW #2.

 

[GNR]

Yeah but for you, isnt a comic book like 5 bucks?

I can understand that, you have to drop something at that price. I feel for you man.

$4.25. JQ mentioned them adjusting the price and I hope they do it soon.