Bought/Thought April 25th 2007

Bought:

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 29
Justice Society of America
Justice #11
52 week fifty-one
Powers Vol: 2 #24
Amazons Attack! #1
Walking Dead #37
Astro City: The Dark Age #3


Thought:
SG and LOSH #29 - The Legion takes the fight to the Dominators as they invade their homeworld. Packing big guns like SG, Cos, Mon El, and others, they're doing a pretty bang up job of it. But this issue is mainly about the Dominator responsible for all this mess, telling Sun Boy and his captured group all about his plan. It also included a tie-in to 52 as Booster comes in on his time bandit mission to swipe a cool weapon from the Dominators, which leads to death, war, and the current state of the UP we now see. (Very cool by the way.) In the end, it was all a Supreme intelligence, kick start our stagnating race, so we can be more than what we are......thing. Sure it's been done before, but, hey, I like those sorta plots. 4 out of 5. Art was kinda iffy in some places.

JSofA #5 - And the Lightening Saga continues, and two more Legionnaire's are found. The ish was decent with again, iffy art in some places, but the real story here is the revelation of Superman's time with this Legion. Seems they are bringing back the Silver age Superboy and the Legion. (though they will probably just have to refer to him as Superman like on the cartoon. Stupid legal battles! :mad: ) I like it. Bring back the Silver age, I don't care. Just do it with a bit more modern sensibility. 4 out of 5

Justice #11 - Dear God, this book is beautiful. Massive pages of heroes and villains going at it. Pissed off Aquaman. (Can't wait to see what he does to Brainiac when he finally catches up to him.) Just great, great stuff. Still, I feel the need to go back and read the other issues again. Maybe when 12 comes out. God I hate Bi Monthly books, but at least this one's on time. 5 out of 5.

52 Week 51 - "Wow, she's like ET...but with double DD's! Can we Keep Her?" Lol. Buddy's back, Adam's got some new eyes and a city full of fire giants to kill, and Kory's still got huge golden boobs. All is right with the world. Also, the big baddy is revealed as Mr. Mind. Yeah, I already knew about that too. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened when they mentioned that Sivanna had kick started his mutation or whatever.
Can't wait for the big finish. I've loved this entire series from start to finish. It's been a great ride and I can't wait for Countdown. 5 out of 5.

Powers #24 It's been so long since I had an issue of this, I forgot what was going on. Well, from what I've pieced together, Christian's little secret about being a Green Lan..I mean, Space Cop, has been revealed to Deena. (Who's got secrets of her own, and a lotta bodies buried as well.) But I guess they'll have to deal with all that later. Christian knows who killed all the heroes, and he's got take em down. Queen Noir's symbiotic demon buddy is the guy that's caused all this, and the only way to put an end to it is to kill herself, which freakin' Christian actually talks her into. (You don't see that in an everyday superhero comic.) So, she does, the Devil shows up and takes his kid on back to hell for his punishment, Which is when Walker finds out that this whole government conspiracy to bring the heroes down was all just made up by that *****e bag the weasel, which results in him, getting his ass kicked by three ex Superheroes. Decent read, seemed a bit rushed though. A lot rushed really. 3 out of 5.

Amazons Attack! #1 - Well, the art was good. That's about it. Now, I didn't mind so much the whole, Amazon's killing men, and children and crap. It'll be explained eventually, I'm just kinda sick of the show us all this crap, then explain what why approach. How about some set up? You had freak'n months show us this stuff building. Bah, I don't know. I just didn't get a good feeling with this one. 2 out of 5. Hope #2 explains just wtf is going on.

continued...
 
Walking Dead #37 - Well, this was mainly just a set up issue for how things are gonna be for the next, arc if you wanna call it that. Though this book doesn't seem to follow that way of doing things. Tyreese is leading a group to try and find a weapons depot so they can defend themselves against the *****e bags from the town should they come a callin. Maggie and Glenn got Hitched, Michonne is still trying to get over her seriously messed ordeal with the governor. Oh and it seems Lori is finally gonna go ahead and tell rick that the kid aint his. :eek: Yeah, this is what you would call a bad move. There really is no telling what he might do. Maybe he already knew about it? Maybe he wont care? Maybe he'll chop off her freakin head? Who the hell know. Man I love this book. 4 out of 5.

Astro City:The Dark Ages #3 - Another book that comes out so infrequently you feel the need to go back and read up on it so you can remember just wtf happened. But it's all good. I love Astro City. It's like Ellis' Planetary. I'll wait however long it takes to get my fix. Lots of stuff went down. Street Angel and Black Velvet are on the run cuz the crazy b***h is a contract killer. Charles has pretty much given up on everything since his wife left him. The dirty Cops don't trust him cuz he wont play ball, and IA is after him to turn the crooked badges in. And for his silence, what does he get? About seven slugs in the back. Damn. Royal ain't got it any better, the Gang wars are getting worse, and he, against his will, continues to move up the ranks. Moving up enough to become a target. And if that ain't enough, the Silver Agent just appeared in an alley, apparently on some time travel mission, which probably makes his story even more sad, when he comes back and saves the world or something, again, even though he was executed by his own government for no reason. Ha. 4 out of 5.
 
I wish Sandman would get his own series. I don't understand how a comic can be told half from Sand's POV and still make it seem like he's a neglected background character, but Johns somehow managed to do it. It's weird: Johns keeps making Sand more and more badass, but then focuses on him less and less. I want more Sand! :(

DC's comics were rife with murder this week. I'm not really liking the trend. It feels like there's some mandate for every character at DC who you thought would never kill someone to kill someone in the next year or something. Even in a comic where the message of the book is that real heroes don't resort to morally ambiguous measures--I'm talking about JSA Classified, if anyone couldn't tell--the heroic star of the issue still kills someone. It's kind of absurd.

I don't have any real reviews, I just felt like venting. :dry:
 
Well, let me put it to you this way. Yeah, we know how Alan feels about killing people in battle or something like that, and now we know how he feels about assisted suicide.
 
They need a really good Sand arc on JSA Classified he's one of the best characters by far and exploring how he is "out of his time" would be excellent.

I kind of think Alan didn't mean to kill Johnny, just hit him with a normal blast like he would anyone - just Johnny was old and died easily. Or Alan don't take no crap.
 
I think it was an accident, too. Calero's art wasn't exactly clear on the matter. That helps a little. Still, you'd think Alan would know his own strength at this stage of the game.

And yes, a JSA Classified Sand arc would rock roughly twenty-seven different kinds of ass. If they could manage to work Daniel into it as well, it'd be even better. I hate how the stupid separation between Vertigo and DC proper forces Sandy, Wesley, and all the other characters to use the Dreaming only sparingly, if at all.
 
Phaedrus45 said:
Again, that DVD interview with Stan Lee is just perfect and reflects everything you're saying. Spider-Man was almost more about Peter Parker than anything else. Stan developed the characters perfectly, and I dare say that same formula would work today. But, the writers can't do such blatant soap opera style theatrics, like Flash Thompson getting amnesia (I shudder thinking back to that terrible idea).

While I agree that having Peter marry MJ didn't kill the Spider-Man franchise, it didn't do anything to help it. One of my favorite times in the Spider-Man era was the mid-80's with Peter dating the Black Cat, the emergence of Cloak and Dagger and the Hobgoblin, and many of the other storylines. By having him shack up with just one gal, it severly limited his interaction with others. (Which is kind of true with married life. Once you put that ring on her finger, say goodbye to many of your friendships of the past.) Plus, writers kept going back to the same old tired social interactions, like Mary Jane's focus contantly being her worries over Peter's safety. Character, like Mary Jane, are not even interesting. Her own career has taken a backseat to Spidey, and she is now only interesting in Spider-Man loves Mary Jane (a comic that realizes what made Spidey popular back in the day, and a comic that readers are afraid to pick up, for fear they will appear too gay). Part of the popularity of that comic and Spider-Girl is that they have an extended social structure that continually plays out in each issue. If Gravity was given that chance, it might just succeed in the same way.
Click to expand...

Does Spider-Man actually show up and fight crime or villians in those MJ girl comics? Because I was under the impression that sort of stuff was merely a detail.

Anyway, SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE to me is something akin to SAILOR MOON. As in, something that men have sometimes watched, but rarely willingly, and rarely will they admit it.

The problem is that comic books follow the same principle with TV in that for them, romance is only about "the chase" and once the romance is finalized, the writers are utterly out of ideas and either have to recycle boring retrends or have the couple bicker, both have happened to the Parkers. I once had a fan-fic idea where MJ actually started trying to get over the apprehension she has of the Spider-Man identity (she feel for Peter, and tolerates Spider-Man, is how I always understood it, unlike Black Cat, who fell for Spidey and barely tolerates Peter) even to the point of wanting to cobble together her own costume so she can have some hot rooftop foreplay with her husband. I mean, they're supposed to be a YOUNG COUPLE and they acted like old people way too quickly, rarely are they able to have fun. In real life most women would kill to be married to a superhero and poor MJ makes it seem like a drag. I just feel it needs some imagination. And marriage doesn't mean that the supporting cast had to be abandoned. They could double date with other couples. They could have writers who could figure out that people can be friends without wanting sex from each other. They could even goldmine the school or MJ's job for new supporting characters. If they put half as much energy into trying to dig at these roots as they do for figuring out what new powers or totem **** or what to retcon, I think Spider-Man would be much better off.

The difference with GRAVITY is, again, he is not connected to any other franchise like the Avengers, X-Men, or Spider-Man. He would have to be a new franchise and not even the best writing in the universe can make fans give those books a shot. I mean, look at AGENTS OF ATLAS, or any number of books we could think of. The reason Marvel has to resort to endless guest appearences and so on with their newbies is because the market is way too hostile to support their solo's. I mean, Brubaker is an A-List writer, and him co-writing IRON FIST alongside an artist like Aja can't even get that book to sell above the Top 50. And Iron Fist is a B-List established hero. I understand what you are getting at about Gravity, I am just being a realist that the best handling of his soap opera life in the world won't make the fans any more willing to try him out. I mean even from the solicts most dimissed him as an Invincible clone.

The Thing was a solid book; but, many writers would be hard-pressed to sell him to today's reader. He really is the heart and soul of the Fantastic Four, and I used to love Marvel Two-In-One back in the day. (And, Marvel Team-Up was another favorite; but, it's failed in its various attempts at a comeback, too.) Sadly, Marvel could probably add a third Wolverine book and it would be in the top 50; but, it could probably never sell The Thing. (The only solution would be akin to DC's Manhunter, which has been renewed for a third time. They saw TPB sales made it viable to continue with that title; maybe if TPB sales of The Thing were seen before cancelling the book, it might have gotten a new life, too.)
Click to expand...

CLAWS and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS are proof Wolverine sells anything.

Yeah, probably the one thing that could have saved Gravity in his current form, even if the writing was crappy, would be a Civil War or Initiative tie-in. It did wonders for Heroes For Hire, another book that has failed miserably in Marvel's previous attempt to resurrect. If not for Civil War, I really wonder if Heroes For Hire would have made it past issue #7.
Click to expand...

Yeah, CW has become a sellable "brand", which is why Marvel is slapping it on as many books as they can no matter how dubious the distinction. If Iron Man showed up on a poster in one panel, it'd be a CASUALTY OF WAR or THE INITIATIVE tie-in at this rate.
 
I happily admit Spidey Loves Mary Jane is one of my most looked forward to reads every month. And my cousin also briefly got me hooked on Sailor Moon, but then I started to hate Manga and Anime so that ended that. Spider-Girl is also old school Spidey in every way possible, so that's the appeal there.
 
Wait, Alan killed someone? This must needs context. Wasn't he all up in arms against killing people during Checkmate?
 
It was an accident. Alan tended to the guy as he was dying and everything. I just found it highly ironic and kind of depressing that in a story where the whole theme seemed to be a return to older, more black and white models of right and wrong where the wetworks and dirty intelligence dealings of modern wars are to be consummately frowned upon, Alan winds up killing the guy who called him "the Superman before there was a Superman." Way to fumble the ball on a one-off that could've perfectly embodied that brighter, sunnier ideal they were supposed to be striving for after the darkness of Infinite Crisis. The DC universe just keeps getting darker, though.
 
Well, maybe that was the message? There is no going back. Not really.
 
I guess I'll actually have to read the damn issue.
 
I finally read last weeks and this weeks issue of 52 and the World War III. This series really started out as quite remarkable...but, it just seems to be petering out.

First, about World War III: Marvel took the concept of Civil War, and whether you liked it or not, made a humongous event out of using a war concept. DC took something even bigger by using the concept of World War III. To me, if you have World War III, it should be WORLD WAR 3! This was just one character fighting all the other characters, clearly not anyone's concept of what a World War 3 comic should be, and we've seen one bad guy fighting many heroes many, many times.

Second, the hype of 52 was suppose to be this big mystery, making the reader wonder "what is 52?" Now, after realizing it's just an ugly looking monster, it might be one of the biggest disappointments in comics I've read in ages. This was a long journey, costing the reader $140.00 after all is said and done, and "What is 52" turns out to be a story they could have told normally in 3-4 issues.

Thirdly, all the big stories that were presented, to me, ended rather lamely. (With maybe the exception of Black Adam. While DC ruined there chance of making a big concept, humongous event out of the use of the term, World War III, the story itself was solid.) Sure, there is one more issue to go; but, I'm not expecting anything too mind blowing.

Finally, looking back on what made Marvel's original Secret War so great and made the reader desperate to find out what happened to Earth's heroes was the fact they let the reader know big changes had happened in many of the regular titles. Spidey came back with the black costume, the Fantastic Four were minus Thing and had She-Hulk join their ranks, and the X-Men returned with Kitty being dumped by Colossus after something changed his feelings towards her on that mysterious planet. Marvel had a plan on what was going to happen throughout the year in Secret War, and the best indication was they made the changes happen in the regular comics without explanation. Now, 52 had some changes, but we didn't get to see any of those teasers in the regular books. (I think the writers were probably making up this crap as they were going along.) The major heroes from 52 just didn't make any appearances in the DCU, like Booster Gold and Animal Man. And, those who did make appearances didn't mention anything that happened in the past year. Heck, when OYL started, you think everyone would have been talking about World War III!!!
 
I don't think 52 is supposed to be the big ugly monster. 52 has corresponded to a lot of things in the series, most notably the number of Booster and Rip's failed attempts at stopping Mister Mind before the scene in Week 51 (one of which was in the Legion's time, which we've since learned is responsible for the current war between the Dominators and the United Planets in the Legion's comic). I think 52 is going to turn out to be the number of Earths in the post-IC Multiverse, myself. But what the major "52" of the series 52 actually is remains unrevealed. It's supposed to be revealed in Week 52.

I do agree that WWIII turned out to be pretty underwhelming, though. Week 50 was decent as a contained big battle, but the four tie-ins were awful and the event as a whole wasn't much of an event. While I'm not one to advocate yet more gigantic crossovers after the deluge we've seen lately, an event called "World War III" ought to live up to the name in its scale, and I agree, the absence of all things WWIII-related from OYL comics is just one more of OYL's many failings.
 
TheCorpulent1 said:
I don't think 52 is supposed to be the big ugly monster. 52 has corresponded to a lot of things in the series, most notably the number of Booster and Rip's failed attempts at stopping Mister Mind before the scene in Week 51 (one of which was in the Legion's time, which we've since learned is responsible for the current war between the Dominators and the United Planets in the Legion's comic). I think 52 is going to turn out to be the number of Earths in the post-IC Multiverse, myself. But what the major "52" of the series 52 actually is remains unrevealed. It's supposed to be revealed in Week 52.
Click to expand...

I thought how much I loved seeing Booster in Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes...but, then I thought how great that would have been if done earlier. To me, it's another reason why I think 52 is making things up as they are going along. And, how weird my favorite part of 52 is how the writer of Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes used the term 52 in relation to the events with the Dominators which really doesn't have much to do with the 52 series.
 
I think Waid used 52 nicely in LoSH, too. Of course, the reason we think that may be because Waid is the only writer to have referenced 52 much at all, even though it's the sprockin' explanation for how everything wound up the way it was at the start of OYL. I believe Mike Siglain actually admitted that 52 lost its way over the course of the series and WWIII was basically twisted to incorporate explanations for everything that 52 was supposed to explain but hadn't, too.
 
I don't know, I don't associate a word with the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. Because I've never heard it. Because I'm not a *****e bag.
 
Not Jake said:
I don't know, I don't associate a word with the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. Because I've never heard it. Because I'm not a *****e bag.
Click to expand...

The whole song resolves around the word "Vindicated" being screamed/sung over and over.

And you are a *****e bag.
 
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