BOUGHT/THOUGHT 8/9/06 *Spoilers

[Darthphere]

It's sittin on my bed right now, I'll get to it later.

Sounds kinky.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

No wonder the Annihilation thread is so dead. Hurry up and read it, you lazy bastards.

 

[Darthphere]

I dont even have it yet, dont worry tomorrow we'll have a lenghty discourse about it. I havent been this excited about a comic in years, really.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The little summary of the plot at the beginning reminded me of what a great, science-fictiony concept Annihilation is based on. The positive universe starts expanding into the Negative Zone, so Annihilus decides he's gotta either conquer it like he's done the Negative Zone or wipe it out.

 

[The Ether]

Annihilation #1 ruled. That's all I have to say at this point.

I agree even though I haven't read the prequels the ending got me hooked.

 

[The Cleric]

who said the concept of planet hulk was weak? it is a great story, bottom line. as a matter of fact, the current issue is an excellent read. everyone who hasnt collected the series should seriously consider it.

 

[CaptainCanada]

god dammit does no one appart from me read new x-men anymore. Cue sarcastic comments

I read it. It was terrific this week.

NEW X-MEN #29

It's largely set-up, as well as an explanation for much of what has already transpired, but by the end, our heroes are imminently about to meet the enemy. There are a number of really great lines poking fun at some of the X-books' more illogical/stupid conventions (the Sentinels guarding the mansion, for example).

CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE #5

Perhaps the best issue yet. Aside from the "war poetry" thing, which is unsalvageable, every installment was awesome this week. "Embedded" has a good mystery going, as well as some interesting parallels with the Judith Miller case. We get a good look at Richards and Pym's "file 42", which looks to be a pretty imposing operation.

 

[Kool-Aid]

A Man called Kev and The Escapists were both my favorites of the week.

 

[Kool-Aid]

I forgot ANNIHILATION #1, which I will get ASAP. I also got THE NOVA CORP FILES but didn't read it yet.

Well you're there pick up The Escapists. Do you buy indie or Vertigo books?

 

[hippie_hunter]

FRONTLINE #5: Some could call this "a poor man's 52 for CW" I guess, but I still enjoy it, although this issue seemed slower than the last few and as usual, the liberalism reaches a favor pitch by the end. Urich tries to get JJJ to believe that Norman Osborn (as Green Goblin) threatened him and the paper, but Jonah does nothing, and eventually fires him for his "rantings". Urich claims he knows it was Osborn "from the eyes", but the feds say he's been in his cell. Are the feds lying? Of course they are, because this is Bush America, and Bush America is the most evil thing the world has ever known. When people preach to a choir, their points become repeated and exaggerated, and the choir eventually goes deaf. Sally is spoken to by a member of the "real" resistance (or the Punisher), but before she can get a handle on it, soldiers show up and arrest her and her paper's chief for aiding in the rogue factions (by reporting their side of the story), yet more paranoia over the current times. Newspapers, in the real world, can print front page articles detailing programs that exist only to thwart terrorists that no actual law abiding citizen would ever be effected by, and it is near impossible to stop it or arrest anyone. If anything, the fact that much of the news media has a liberal bias is a poorly kept secret. The second story has the feds all but blackmail Wonder Man into tracking down the "Atlantian spy", which seems an awkward choice as Wonder Man is hardly a detective; it'd be like asking Shang Chi to go into space and fight Kree. The last story has Speedball being rounded up to a prison that is being made for anti-registered super-beings, which is called "Fantasy Island" and built/run by robots in the Negative Zone. I wonder if these were some of the plans Reed has stashed away in some F4 issues lately. So, you're willing to send prisoners to the same zone that has monsters like Blastaar and Annihilus? How compassionate. The last story is more "beating a dead horse" gibberish about comparing Marvel's CIVIL WAR to the historical Civil War, which is tedious because the very title makes that point clear. At 70 chapters and with us nearing the midway point, I am already getting tired of the drumbeating of the ideals here. Why can't Marvel find a middle? The problem with HOM was that the moral dilemma was ignored in favor of pointless violence and scenery gazing. CIVIL WAR's problem is that it BOMBARDS you with the same moral dilemmas and points on both sides over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, and over some more, until you're BEGGING for violence and scenery gazing. Find a damned middle, man. At the very least, while A-listers are written as fanatical children who overreat, C and lower listers are getting a chance to shine, and the core titles are more thrilling than the plodding uselessness of HOM. The fun of rock bottoms are that anything else is an improvement.

Damn, Dread. You have perfectly summed up my feelings about Frontline.

 

[The Cleric]

in other words, dread, hippie wants to acknowledge the fact that he will freeload off your summaries in the near future.

 

[hippie_hunter]

in other words, dread, hippie wants to acknowledge the fact that he will freeload off your summaries in the near future.

No, not at all. I am just getting rather annoyed that instead of taking a middle ground like it should have. Frontline just turned into another Pro-Reg are a bunch of fascist bastards book. I honestly wish that there were more middle ground books like She-Hulk was.

 

[Kotagg]

No, not at all. I am just getting rather annoyed that instead of taking a middle ground like it should have. Frontline just turned into another Pro-Reg are a bunch of fascist bastards book.

That's odd - even with the 238947238942734892 posts you've made to that effect, I had no idea you felt that way about Civil War.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

No, not at all. I am just getting rather annoyed that instead of taking a middle ground like it should have. Frontline just turned into another Pro-Reg are a bunch of fascist bastards book. I honestly wish that there were more middle ground books like She-Hulk was.

But... the pro-reg people are a bunch of fascist bastards.

 

[PhotoJones]

But... the pro-reg people are a bunch of fascist bastards.

 

[Marcdachamp]

BLASPHEMY! Bullocks! You all PASSED on my pick of the week!

Spiderman and his Amazing Friends- PICK OF THE WEEK! I'll admit it: I geekgasmed over this. Then again, so did Sean McKeever. He gave us a very fun little story with plenty of eye-winks for long time fans of the show. From Wolverine being an Aussie, to a villain straight from the show, this is furthur proof that we need a DVD set of the show NOW! Oh, and it's easily one of the most fun Spidey stories I've read in a long time. Plus, we get Mini-Marvels action from Chris Giarusso! Too awesome! 9/10

Ultimate Spiderman Annual #2- Bendis really knows how to write an Annual. He gives us action, humor and stories that really make it worth it. While it isn't as awesome as last year's, or New Avengers for that matter (two perfect examples of "done-in-one" done right), it's still great. Oh, and, just like last year, Brooks totally delivers. 9/10

Ms. Marvel- Like many others, I bought this essentially because of the lack of Civil War tie-ins this week, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story and dialogue were terrific, and it really made the Pro-side seem more sympathetic. Definitly picking up the rest of the arc. 9/10

Civil War: Frontline- The politics are quite interesting. Some might say that the government is coming off as "evil", but I'm not sure I agree. The arrests in this issue are very similar to the beginning of the Iraq War. Protection of the country is a top-priority in our world today, but what are we sacrificing in turn? Very interesting stuff. Jameson is gonna have a break-down when this is all over, I swear. And Urich? Man, I'm really interested to see where that goes. I really liked Wonderman's TV spot, too. 8/10

Transformers: Stormbringer- This mini is a lot better than Infiltration. I love that Simon Furman is getting so much free reign and I can see the creative juices flowing. Wreckers and Pretenders? Sign me up! 8/10

Wolverine: Origins- Quesada... the man will draw some of the most baffling covers in existence, then out of nowhere, we'll get a master-piece like this month's. I'd buy this title just for the covers alone, because each month, there's at least one awesome one. The revelation isn't all that stunning, but it should be interesting. I really liked seeing the new wielder of Muramasa. That was very unexpected, but very much in character for Logan. 8/10

She-Hulk- I'm surprised Marvel doesn't have Civil War stamped on this and last month's issue. We're still getting some cool CW-related stuff going on, as the opener shows. Slott kind of lost me on some of the breaking of the fourth-wall; it just felt a little goofy. As for Zix's identity... HUH? 7/10

New X-Men- The artist change is very jarring, especially considering the quality I'm used to with this title. Rouleau just doesn't fit the tone, and over-all, this issue just felt like filler. It was necessary, but just not as enjoyable as usual. The Sentinel bits were great, though. 7/10

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wanted to get the Spider-Man special, but its $5 cover price and my shrunken budget prevented me from doing so.

 

[Marcdachamp]

I wanted to get the Spider-Man special, but its $5 cover price and my shrunken budget prevented me from doing so.

Well, I can understand that. I didn't even expect my shop to have it. Stuff like that they usually order very little of. I grabbed the last copy.

 

[supermarvelman]

Was that Speedball in the police station in USM Annuel #2? If so, he seems to be heavier than his 616 counterpart.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Was that Speedball in the police station in USM Annuel #2? If so, he seems to be heavier than his 616 counterpart.

Yea, it was a jab at Civil War, I love when Bendis makes jabs at what is going on in the 616 universe.

Just like last years "Warriors" arc, in one scene the police were dragging in handcuffed a lady dressed up like the Scarlet Witch, and she was screaming..."I'm Not Crazy!"
I love those jabs.

 

[hippie_hunter]

That's odd - even with the 238947238942734892 posts you've made to that effect, I had no idea you felt that way about Civil War.

Yes, I have made that point very clear. But don't take it as that I hate liberalism. I am loving it in Green Arrow. I am loving the new Creeper having Jack Rider as a liberal Bill O'Reily. I love it in books where it has the people ACT IN CHARACTER (Iron Man and J. Jonah Jameson are not acting in character).

However, Sally has gotten slightly less annoying. And I can see the Speedball story happening if someone was in Speedball's position. Frontline, while it has not been the best Civil War tie-in, has gotten better at least.

 

[Themanofbat]

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 really a Space Phantom. This probably would have been a major shock had Marvel not pulled out the rug. Thanks, guys, really. Although to be fair, as Spider-Man couldn't REALLY die in this title and they needed some big thing to revive him, it works. Plus, it allows us to focus on the smaller stars of this epic, which reads like MTU back when Kirkman was on his A-game with a solid story and solid art. Medusa violently reacts to Venom's actions by attempting to kill him, which has the other heroes interfere. Venom brakes lose and rips through it's machinery, causing it to crash onto their intended destination (maybe Battleworld, or A Battleworld). Dr. Pym is back to his 90's power levels of having access to his shrinking technology for not just himself, but all his toys so he can pull out an endless supply of items from his back, like Link from LEGEND OF ZELDA, a concept that I always felt worked. Why just stick to one theme when you can just use it for a variety of things? The Hood provides the brief narration and some amusing lines, Kraven is still spouting Hollywood one-liners and Firebird continues to be generic (although at least she is depicted praying in one panel; McDuffie knows she's a Catholic). They meet up with "Micheal" from issue one, who turns out to be Deathlok (a character McDuffie wrote shortly during the 90's). And Venom apparently isn't the only villian brought on by "Beyond", because Dragon-Man is also there! Right now I love BEYOND! because its a feel-good superhero adventure that has a bunch of random characters fighting baddies, brushing each other the wrong way and isn't mired in cynical political darkness like the rest of 616 is now during CW. For anyone who likes the sort of superhero action in THE THING or MTU, I recommend this series. It's a mini, but it's not like you can get Gravity, Hood, or Kraven III anywhere else. Kolin's art is at it's usual peak. It did seem strange that Medusa would react so violently to Spider-Man's death, but they're implying that it is because of her rigid Inhuman code of ethics, which may not believe in stuff in "jail" and "no eye for an eye". The explaination as to why her hair-whips hurt was decent. I'm liking all the characters in this bizarre opus, except for Firebird, because she's generic. She barely speaks and her only lines have almost no life to them. Maybe I'll have to wait until she narrates for an issue. Plus, for those who whine about "how Spidey and Wolverine are in everything", it looked like Spidey was only here so he could sell the cover for #1 and he's being written out (although "Spidey" was able to get up and stagger away at the end); that is, not the star at all. Considering that Marvel does even less to promote non-event mini's than they do for a new series, expect sales for BEYOND! to drop like a stone, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Errr.... what he said.

Buy this book.

NOW!!!

 

[Crimson red]

Alright someone PLEASE post Annihilation #1 spoilers in detail!
I just got to the middle east and there's NO freaking way I can get comics!

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Spoiler

Nova is shagging Gamora, Firelord is "dead", Drax is only fighting this war to get to Thanos, and GALACTUS AND SS GOT THEIR ASSES WHOOOOOPED

Not really in detail, but I got the major parts

 

[Brainiac 8]

Spoiler

Nova is shagging Gamora, Firelord is "dead", Drax is only fighting this war to get to Thanos, and GALACTUS AND SS GOT THEIR ASSES WHOOOOOPED

Not really in detail, but I got the major parts

Did they

Spoiler

kill Galactus?