BOUGHT/THOUGHT 8/9/06 *Spoilers

[Colossal Spoons]

Not dead, but he is on the ground, unconscious

 

[Kool-Aid]

Who fought them?

 

[iloveclones]

BEYOND! #2: This fun MU romp with an eclectic band of characters by McDuffie and Kolins continues, although due to Marvel's brilliant strategy of revealing spoiler-filled solicts and covers when the first issue of a series starts, we already know that "Spider-Man" is

Spoiler

really a Space Phantom

.

I know you want to take every opportunity to criticize Marvel and their advertising, but believe it or not, some of us don't read all that stuff. I think the B/T thread is fair game to talk about anything that's happened on-panel, but you should really spoiler out things that haven't happened. Or don't talk about them.

 

[Themanofbat]

I know you want to take every opportunity to criticize Marvel and their advertising, but believe it or not, some of us don't read all that stuff. I think the B/T thread is fair game to talk about anything that's happened on-panel, but you should really spoiler out things that haven't happened. Or don't talk about them.

I agree... I didn't know that either...

 

[MyPokerShirt]

yeah i bought the first ish but decided to wait for the trade to find out what happened. goddamnit! oh well

 

[Darthphere]

Darthphere's spectacular, long awaited reviews.

Annihilation #1- In the last couple of years weve had many events come from both companies. Identity Crisis, House of M, Infinite Crisis, Civil War. I must say, Annihilation, surpasses all those series, quite easily. I havent been this excited for a comic in years and I really could go on for pages about this and I plan to (looking at you Corp and DBM). Issue #1 doesnt disappoint. The Annihilation Wave is still fighting through the galaxy and Nova and his armies do everything in their power to stop them. This is what I expect from my comics. Solid story, great dialogue, interesting characters, awesome art. I couldnt be more happy with this comic. And the final pages are really geekasm worthy and can't wait to see this series every month. 12/10.

Civil War: Frontline #5- Another solid issue from this tie-in. I really dont understand the hate coming from this title about its "liberalness" since really, this whole event is just pretty much a liberal propaganda series. Which I really dont mind being more liberal leaning. The Embedded storyline seemed to have stalled out in this issue and really went nowhere. The Accused storyline really just shows how ridiculous the Pro-Regs are. Sleeper Cell, wow, really at this point I could care less, move it along people. And of course some filler pages in the back which I dont bother reading anymore. Im liking the title, but it really needs to start speeding up. 7/10.

52 Week 14- Look we got steel on the cover. I expected a ****ing Steel centered issue, instead we get a couple of pages of "John Henry Irons:Angst ridden uncle". Most of the issue surrounded Renee and "Charlie" in Kandaq and looks like **** hits the wall. Another back-up origin this time of Metamorpho, ill stick with Wikipedia. It seems the last couple of weeks have really been focused to certain storylines and the anthology feel from the first bacth is gone. Really, though I cant complain as the story has been solid so far and the art has been good. 8/10.

Superman #655- This issue shows Clark riding on a plane on his way to Kazakhstan or whatever to interview a Doctor friend of his which her name escapes me at this moment because I could care less. We get some ncie Clark/Lana moments and really sometimes I wish he'd pick her up and bang her right on that desk. But that isnt Superman. Either way, solid set-up issue and really looking forward to this Subjekt-17 and this *****ebag sorcerer guy. 8/10

The Incredible Hulk #97- Planet Hulk continues and doesnt disappoint. This along with Annihilation and Civil War are really showing that marvel is able to make top notch comics. This issue was action packed and it seems a mutiny within the Green Scars camp will take place soon. Ill be honest, ive never been a Hulk fan, but this really has gotten me to love this character. Great stuff. 10/10.

She-Hulk #10-Or "The Continuing Adventures of Poor Pug". Guy cant catch a break. This issue shows what registration is all about, in a humurous way. Two-Gun Kid shows up and really like his addition to the cast. Pug continues to try to get Jen to see the light about her "love" for Col. Jameson and Allistair Smythe, yes him, shows up and re-awakens the Man-wolf. Great issue, looking forward to the next one which ties-in to The Two Gun Kidd special a couple of months back. 9/10.

Ms. Marvel #6-Ive been plugging this comic like crazy and I'm glad to see people picked it up, even if its just for the tie-in. SHIELD needs ms. Marvel, Wonderman, and Arachne aka Spider-WOman aka Julia Carpenter to hunt down a certain little character Joey Q has been force feeding us the last couple of years in Arana. This issue was just classic fun and Ms. Marvel and Wonderman interact so well. Arachne seems to be working for the anti-regs and it adds a whole new spin to the situation, especially with a kid. I guess my guilty pleasure continues with this title. 8/10.

Squadron Supreme #6- Thanks Marvel, for so quietely taking Gary Frank off this title. Anyway, this was actually a good issue. We got to know some of the characters like Emil Burbank and Blur has a healthy filling in this issue and oh yeah NIGHTHAWK! Good to see him back as he puts a new spin on the term "Pimp slap". This issue was actually really ood, if this continues, I may have to stay on board. Hyperion v. Redstone Round 2 next week, I dont nkow how they can top the first fight, lets hope they do. 9/10.

Green Arrow #65-Yay! Mia is back and kicking some ass along with Ollie. The backdrop was this whole O'Reilly type political debate as a plot tool to both get Winnick's political message across, and tell us some background on what happened in Star City. Ollie kicks ass as Mayor as well as he tracks down the guy who hired Deathstroke to kill him. It seems Winnick is back to the quality of his first few arcs on this title and looking forward to next issue. 8/10* 1 point Hal Jordan deduction.

Outsiders #39-Mallah and the Brain, best couple in comics. The Outsiders have been captured and Dick wasnt well a dick in this issue. A pretty awesome fight scene with the Outsiders against some clones and the Brain and Mallah cracking a couple of jokes. One thing bothered be is how Katana knows about Shift, she wasnt on the team back then. Either way, good issue and hope to see more quality from this title. 8/10 *+1 point for no Hal Jordan.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Katana did help them once, with Shift as a member, FYI.

 

[Darthphere]

Katana did help them once, with Shift as a member, FYI.

Im pretty sure Shift was gone before she showed up. Im actually positive about it

 

[Doc Destruction]

Now I have to go read it! I believe it was the Black Lightning assisted issues as well.

 

[Darthphere]

Now I have to go read it! I believe it was the Black Lightning assisted issues as well.

Yeah, I know youre talking about the issues with the old school Outisders on the cover.

 

[Darthphere]

Actually, im not so sure anymore damnit.

 

[Doc Destruction]

http://www.dcuguide.com/Out/Out3_026.php

Yep, I was right

 

[Darthphere]

Yup, it seems like it. The scene still feels weird for me though.

 

[hippy fascist]

beyond is turning out pretty good actually. I'd never heard of gravity before getting this and I'm enjoying the character. Likewaise the bit where

Spoiler

michael revealed himself to be deathlok

****ing awesome man!

wolverine origins:really ****ing dissapointed man. There's been something wrong with this since issue 1 and that's the pacing. This arc was at best a three parter but instead they dragged it out into 5. Wolverine is overexposed but is still a character I like but this...the only thing it inspired in me was apathy.

Spoiler

And the denouement was by comparison totally rushed, sabretooth, the kid.

this book has one issue left to keep it's place on my pull-list

frontline: i missed out on thunderbolts so it was nice to see what/where the prison reed was building was. That said I'm starting to get really ****ed off with speedball. I agree with him that what's going on with him is an over-reaction but he is NOT as blameless as he think he is. I don't think he should be where he is, his powers appear at least to be gone(apart from that quick spurt last issue) so he's no longer technically a SUPERhero and therefore shouldn't have to register but at the end of the day this is manslaughter at the least. He needs to start showing some remorse.

What the **** though?

Spoiler

ULRICH GOT FIRED!?!?

They handled it well with a remorsefull looking JJJ but still.

FInally the sleeper cell section. FANTASTIC. At first it felt a bit like filler but then I hit the key exchange. I'm talking of course about wonder man's statement that he

Spoiler

didn't sign up to a draft

to which the immediate reply is

Spoiler

yes you ****ing well did

Summed the whole thing up for me and why the shra is doomed to fail. This guy's endorsing registration and

Spoiler

still he doesn't know exactly what it is he signed up for, there's gonna be a lot of pissed of superheroes once they realise what this really ammounts to

more reviews later.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Not dead, but he is on the ground, unconscious

I don't get my comics till tomorrow or Monday, so I'll post my thought's on it. Man I really wish I could read it, can't believe they took out the big guy.


My only gripe with the mini's was that I don't remember Drax being so small, and for some reason, his characterization seemed off to me.

I don't know, all I know is they better tie in Super Skrull, it better not have ended like it seemed. That, Nova, and SS were great. I couldn't stand Ronan though, he is so dull.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Drax's personality and powers changed in his last mini-series, which was also written by Giffen. He's not the same, dumb Drax of old. He's more like a space ninja now. If I had to sum him up, I'd probably call him a male counterpart to Gamora.

I'd love to see Super-Skrull show up again. I hope Praxagora got it wrong and Super-Skrull was somehow taken prisoner, then freed by the United Front in Annihilation.

Also, Firelord is not dead, damn it. He's gonna be back to his old badass self soon enough, I'm sure.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Who fought them?

Sorry for the late response; it was Tenebrous and Aegis

Also, Firelord is not dead, damn it. He's gonna be back to his old badass self soon enough, I'm sure.

Well the one guy who could fix him is face down in some dirt right now

 

[SonOfCthulhu]

I know you want to take every opportunity to criticize Marvel and their advertising, but believe it or not, some of us don't read all that stuff. I think the B/T thread is fair game to talk about anything that's happened on-panel, but you should really spoiler out things that haven't happened. Or don't talk about them.

Yup, Dread's great review blew this for me as well. I had no idea we weren't dealing with the real guy. That kinda blows some of the suspence for me.

 

[Darthphere]

Im pretty sure even if he tagged it, you guys wouldve highlighted it anyway.

 

[PWN3R]

Why aren't more people buying The Escapists?

 

[Darthphere]

My store didnt have it, again.

 

[PWN3R]

 

[Darthphere]

Yeha, ill get it next week.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Why aren't more people buying The Escapists?

No clue what that is. I'm so ashamed

 

[Dread]

Im pretty sure even if he tagged it, you guys wouldve highlighted it anyway.

C'mon, this is the 21st century. NOBODY's responsible for their actions. We always find someone to blame.

And I do warn at the top about my "unlimited spoilers". That's my disclaimer, which as Kevin Smith defines in DOGMA, is "a statement made to save one's own ass." And, not to be mean, but I agree with Darth. Most folks just highlight spoilers anyway. Half the time when I have used them in the B/T in the past, I'll get someone who goes, "why use the spoilers, it's the B/T and they're annoying". Damned if you do...

Again, when Marvel gives away spoilers blatently over the Internet to far more areas then a measely message board topic at one site, everyone eats it with a spoon. Heck, Joe Q HIMSELF spilled the beans on USM #98 at SDCC. USM is written by Bendis. BENDIS! Not even their "Number One" is safe! Where is all the bellyaching over that tactic? But a small fish like me does it, and I'm the one to bark at?

Of course, one could say, "if you bemoan Marvel spoiling future issues, and you carry on that message in posts, you're just a hypocrite." And you'd be right. I can be a hypocrite. I admit it. Name me 5 others who will. Hypocrisy is part of being human, just some people are more blatent about it, and some people are bigger or smaller hypocrites. But we all are, at some point. Kind of like how everyone at some point is selfish, but no one admits it.

Whew! That said, I tracked down that issue I missed...

ANNIHILATION #1: I read PROLOGUE and the NOVA mini, so naturally I have been on board for this "mini-event" from the beginning, although getting 1 out of maybe 4 mini's (RONAN, SUPER-SKRULL, and SURFER I skipped) still may leave one a little out of the loop. Fortunately, Marvel (for a change), wisely released THE NOVA CORPS FILES, which are a psuedo-handbook style guide to all of the major players of ANNIHILATION that also serve to briefly summarize what happened in the past series and prep up ANNIHILATION #1. I bemoan Marvel when they make a bad move, but this was a good one, because it gives nice data on a score of space characters and races for us fanatics, while serving as a primer for ANNIHILATION #1. It's $4, but I am enjoying the hell out of it.

But, onto ANNIHILATION itself. I've liked the ride leading up to this, and I enjoyed this first issue. It was a shame to lose DiVito on the last issues of THE THING (aside for covers), but it appears he was pulled to draw this series (written by Giffen, who wrote DRAX and PROLOGUE), and I'd say it was worth it, because the art is pretty. Some time has passed since the end of NOVA and it appears Drax had taught Nova a bit about becoming a hardened space warrior, as he displays warrior savvy holding back the Annihilation Wave while being forced to accept that not all of his forces will survive, and some have to die so the battle can not be lost. It seems cruel, but it reminds me a bit of George Washington, who kept us from losing the American Revolution in an outright defeat long enough for the British to muck up. It also seems that the facial wound that he suffered in the last issue from Annihilus himself has formed into a scar; a rare touch in superhero books. A few times I have mentioned how I'm "not into space stuff" more often, but the more of this I've been reading, the less I mind it. Maybe it's because this is well-written space opera. Maybe it's because it offers the sort of over-the-top, heroes vs. villians sort of epic battles that CW chooses to burry in the middle of a political allegory. Yes, Annihilus has a "legitimate" aim; he sees the normal universe matter starting to infringe on the Negative Zone, so he sees himself as just "reclaiming" lost ground. But Annihilus is a ruthless insectoid warrior and isn't being played as anything BUT a villian, which is refreshing in a time when CW is going along the "blurring the line between good and bad" mantra. The fact that he's allied with the death-worshipping Thanos is also bad news. Nova, meanwhile, finds himself having a fling with Gamora in-between battles, and Drax admits to Cammi that he's only involved in the war to take out Thanos, which is his life's mission. I haven't read the last DRAX series, but I keep thinking about it, as this version seemed more toned down and interesting, reminding me of a green version of Riddick. The space war has taken heavy casualties, including much of the Skrull empire, as well as the Xandarian Corps (leaving Nova with all of their power). The former heralds are powerful beings who hold off the hordes in space, but which Annihilus and Thanos are very interested in acquiring. Meanwhile, Galactus and Silver Surfer throw down against two elder beings who were trapped in a space prison before the Wave by Galactus, as they were both from his "prior universe" and equal in power. But now they are free and they take out both Surfer and Galactus with relavtive ease, leaving Nova and the reader with a sense of dread (pun intended). This is a great series for Marvel space fans and for folks who like over-the-top superhero epics. This series could really bring Nova back into the mainstream for good, and I hope that happens. It couldn't have come at a better time. He needs to throw Nitro a beating.