Bought/Thought August 30th. (SPOILERS!)

[Darthphere]

I await eagerly.

 

[Darthphere]

Wait, did Aquaman come out this week?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Young Avengers/Runaways #2: Seen better from the Runaways. Not much happens in this. Just some infighting and arguging between the two teams. The humor is there still though. And it's good. Particularly like how Chase introduces Tommy to Old Lace. .

You and I must have different last pages then.

 

[supermarvelman]

Ultimate X-Men Annual

It's kinda interesting how last year Gambit died and Rogue gained his powers, now it's a year later (Annual wise) and [BLACKOUT]she lost Gambits powers and has her powers back.[/BLACKOUT] I looks like Ultimate Gambit will be returning pretty soon.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

^ after reading that, I have to wonder "why didn't Larocca draw that beautifully towards the end of his run on Adjectiveless?"

And what makes you think Gambit's coming back?

 

[Kool-Aid]

Get ready for a long wait Darth.They're not collecting the entire series for a while.They're releasing 3 separate trades containing 4 issues each first.

Really? I think in the back of All-Star Superman they were promoting a hard cover that was coming out soon collecting them. I was just going to wait for that. I read the first issue when it came out, which was great.

 

[GNR]

Really? I think in the back of All-Star Superman they were promoting a hard cover that was coming out soon collecting them. I was just going to wait for that. I read the first issue when it came out, which was great.

That hardcover Darth posted isn't collecting the entire series.

 

[Dread]

Was my first day back for the Fall Semester, bare with me a little.

The last Wed. of the month is usually what I call a "wallet buster" because both Marvel and DC seem to ship most of their titles that I buy this week. Amazingly, this week was actually cheaper than the last, but only because of the CW delays and thus that was 3 comics, or $11.97, less than I expected. Yes, 3 comics is almost $12 these days, and when I see packs of YU-GI-OH cards that bring more hours of enjoyment to kids going for less, I understand why kids never bother with 'em. Plus, they are usually functionally illiterate thanks to public schools, but I digress. I'm at this point in my life where I realize I've grown up and become an adult because now all children are "punks" and I have a million, "in my day..." type stories. And I'm not even 25. But maybe it's a NY thing.

Really nothing horrid this week, although my DC books equal my Marvel and we have some "rare" titles in our midst; the bimonthly JUSTICE and the "too shexy for a schedule" ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.

Oh, and after two weeks of bellyaching, I got HUNTER/KILLER #6 yesterday because I happened to be in Manhattan and Cosmic Comics happened to have it.

Full spoilers as always. And today I'm a bit wired on insomnia and Fruit Loops, so bare with me.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 8/30/06:

52 WEEK #17: No, you haven't be sucked down a wormhole and beamed back to 1999. That is indeed Lobo gracing the cover of a DC book. Perhaps DC's most overrared and overhyped character of the 90's is back in the fold, a character who agrueably reached the same heights of Punisher and Wolverine during that period but who hasn't been able to recover in the 21st century like they did. Now, I admit Lobo can be amusing in small doses, but he is easily a one-trick pony, almost a product of a pre-teenage boy making a character for a message board RPG that has VERY loose rules. Even his creator Giffen wasn't able to predict his explosive success and even at times came to loathe the character. The cover, however, is amusing and ties into the general 52 storyline. As I said, I always felt Lobo was strongest as he began, making guest appearences. As the star of his own series, he is either funny or annoying depending on the story; for a mini he may be fine, but for a 64 issue ongoing that merely repeated itself, he was all but a waste. He's a cypher, but one of DC's most well known since the 90's. He's a big, mean killing machine that not even Superman can defeat for long and who could probably kill the entire Justice League if he wanted. Here he traps that gigantic hunter talking the "Lost in Space" trio of Starfire, Animal-Man and the eye-less Adam Strange and they're appropriately freaked. His design actually looks sleek (although dreadlocks are a bit played out by now, IMO), and the silent "space talk" sequence was hilarious without dialogue, not an easy feat. In a twist that I imagine only Morrison could think of, after an endless time of being a rotten space bastich, Lobo has suddenly joined the church, and forgone killing (but apparently not debauchery), although whether this was a lie to get into the royal Starfire's panties or whatever is unknown. The other half of the issue dealt with Lex Luthor's "All American" team of lab-grown metahumans that includes Steel's niece Natasha. It has a glaring typo in which one shapeshifter has the power to "morph into any FROM". Now, look, I make typo's all the time. We all do. But this is a professional comic of a DC event that I pay $3 to read; on THIS it looks sloppy. Hence why a human proofreader is always better than WORD-PERFECT. In the cliffhanger, AMAZING EXPLODING ROBOT FODDER MAN, formerly known as Red Tornado, winds up in Austraila muttering the numbers, "52", which naturally is another peg in the big mystery, but as we don't know what it fully is yet, I just wonder if it was thrown in to remind us that it was there, as it's been many issues since we read about it. The origin of Lobo is recanted and it's still as empty and one-dimensional as ever, but it has some charm. Plus, the fact that Wolverine is ageless and apparently was a ninja/samurai/solder/SHIELD agent/Dept. H agent, etc. who knows every martial art under the sun and who can regenerate from nukes and being burnt to a skeleton looks JUST AS RIDICULOUS if you get down to it. Lobo's an in-joke with a bad temper, cross him at your peril. And unlike Wolverine, his one-note ness is more honest, as Wolverine shifts from being well-written to becoming a cariacture of himself, depending on what you read.

Oh, and the bit about Adam Strange's reasons for why he was being extra gruff with Starfire were pretty good. People who claim that DC characters "don't act like relatable people" just haven't been reading the right characters by the right writers, or just would rather not have to reach for a metaphor. That is, they'd rather a superhero outright spend weeks on the road for a job and get used to long distance relationships than be able to "relate" or understand a space faring hero who basically does that, only with trading stars for highways. But then again, ignorance needs no rational explaination. And this is from an admitted Marvel zombie.

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #5: I like this title, and have since the beginning, but it is beleagured and I can understand why others don't. Firstly, it doesn't come out so often due to both being late atop a bimonthly schedule, and if ASTONISHING has taught me anything, it is that a comic that rarely ships loses steam. Secondly, Morrison is choosing to write mostly one-shot stories, which are fine and dandy in theory, but with 2-3 months gaps between issues, the audience can be forgiven for wanting some PUNCH or some direct LEADING to interupt the crickets. And thirdly, Morrison often chooses to reinvent some of the Silver and Golden Age "hamminess" for the 21st century, and some feel it's a wasted effort, they like modernist stuff. Plus, last issue was admittedly rather pointless, even by the standards of this title. This issue was much better than that to me, and may argueably be my favorite issue since the first, a decent feat since Superman himself doesn't actually appear. The issue follows Clark Kent as he travels to prison to interview Lex Luthor, who has just been sentenced to the electric chair for crimes against humanity, and doesn't seem the least bit miffed about it. As per last issues, Morrison uses Kent's "bumbling" to subtly save lives, although even for Superman it stretches belief that some people would believe Superman is doing feats like melting stuff or freezing inmates with ice-breath when the caped man never appears on panel and Kent was standing right in front of some of the baddies. But these are minor quibbles as it's the Luthor/Kent dialogue that drives the issue. The fact that Luthor doesn't know he's speaking to Superman's alter ego makes it all the more interesting, and it's good stuff. Not in the sort of "Bendis" like dialogue, in which a lot of words are used to tell a rather mundane, simple exchange. No, this is about Luthor's philosophy and why he hates Superman, and he even tries to use Kent as an analogy as to why Superman is horrid. It's the sort of exchange that I could have seen movie critics drooling over had it appeared in a feature film. As for the action, a prison riot ensues when Paracite goes on a rampage after absorbing ambient Kryptonian energy from Kent, who is forced to flee the thing and never gets a change to conviently split and change costume. He ends up absorbing too much energy and chokes on it, which was a little anti-climatic, but required to end the plot. Luthor then finally gets the series back on it's main plot: he's noticed full well that Superman is looking "ill" and he's so Zen because he knows his plot in #1 is seemingly going to kill Supey, so he's already fulfilled his life's goal. And of course it has some trippy Morrison super-science, but with Superman and Luthor it makes sense. A good issue in a plodding title that really needed it. To contrast, ALL-STAR BATMAN is stuck in "decompression", and that only adds to it's badness. Still, I could think of at least a half dozen titles that deserve to sell better than ALL-STAR SUPERMAN this month, but won't because stores ridiculously overorder it. I know by LCS ordered maybe twice as many ASS #5 (I love that shorthand for it...no, not in THAT way) issues than most other comics, which is good because they'll still be collecting dust on the racks next to a good half dozen or more issues of the LAST issue in a few months. Just because comics are ordered at high volume, which is where sales figures come in, doesn't mean they all sell.

JUSTICE #7: In a time where some bimonthly/late books come out and aren't worth the long wait, JUSTICE seems to prevail in a month when even ASTONISHING X-MEN wasn't it's best. In contrast, so much happens in JUSTICE that it justifies the cover price (which is less than some Marvel books, I may add, like ETERNALS). And it's good to see Ross' longtime writing collaborator finally be acknowledged by name and co-credit (WIZARD this month mentioned this), because this is good stuff. In essence, they've taken the Silver Age/SUPERFRIENDS version of the JLA and have pitted them against the LEGION OF DOOM in a fight to the finish. After about a year of buildup, the cogs are finally moving into play. Zatanna and J'onn track down Aquaman, and he's been lobotomized due to Brainiac's experiments. Hawkman & Hawkwoman trash Toyman's factory, which was building more andriod bodies of Brainiac. Batman still needs WW's Golden Lasso of Truth to starve off the effects of the "bio-worms" controlling him, as they assemble in front of the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (with Golden Age "big key" lock and all) to remobilize the team to stop their enemies. Speaking of which, as Luthor's phase of the plan has seemingly failed to outright kill the league, Grodd's taking advice from Brainiac more often. The next phase is to start attacking the loved ones of the JLA, which means the sidekicks of Ollie and Wayne, the crew at the DAILY PLANET, etc. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Brainiac was experimenting on Aquaman and the apes to discover the secret of his telepathy, and that as an "amphibian" he can regenerate from any injury (take THAT, Wolverine!) given time. The Doom Patrol also make a cameo, and have never looked better. Oh, and Capt. Marvel and Superman manage to save the Flash from running himself to death, although hope may seem lost for Hal Jordon (the only JLAer who is still out of commision from the attack, barring the injured Atom). As usual, the art is gorgeous, with some great spreads of the Fortress of Solitude and WW's "battle scars" have never looked nastier on a goddess. Much like ASS, Ross & Co. manage to take stuff that in the modern sense some would find "corny" or "outdated" and without getting all leathery, rework it in a way that both embraces it's hamminess in an unashamed way and makes it thrilling for a modern audience. Unlike some of the aforementioned titles, though, the title moves at a pace where you feel satisfied for the wait. A tale with dozens of characters as the stars can only be taken in bites. As all the people the LOD have "cured" or aided are beamed up to massive motherships, one wonders if the seeming "goodness" of the LOD is about to take a twisted turn. This'll sell in the Top 5, and it deserves to. Post 2000, the term "instant classic" is thrown around much too often these days about comic stories (usually by their writers, who of course find it's fantastic) and it usually has lost a lot of value, but for JUSTICE I think it is appropriate. And despite that, DC resisted charging you another .49 for it. Think about that for a minute, in an age where Marvel would probably increase the cover price of any Bendis or Whedon comic by .50 if they could.

HUNTER/KILLER #6: The last issue had a Jan. 2006 cover date on it, so even by that assessment, this issue is a good 7 months late and that doesn't count the last late issues. I'd given up on this title, but fate and chance brought me within grasp of it, so I bought it on Tuesday. Truth be told, it's not as satisfying as a JUSTICE issue is, but it's good enough that I didn't regret buying it. Much like some other titles, it has focused on one-shot stories that have beginnings, middles, and ends for the past 2 issues or so, as Ellis and Sam go out and track down rogue Ultra-Sapiens, and usually end up killing them despite Ellis' best efforts. Some of the adverts seem unaccurate, as this issue was slated to "reveal secrets", when all it did is set up the NEXT issue that professes to do that. And Wolf hasn't done much in several issues, unless you count a flashback in #5. But it looks like the storyline will finally reach a head last issue, which is slated for Sept. I'm not holding my breath until I see it, and I'm not convinced the next issues will ship like clockwork either. I've learned not to trust a major comic company at their word, not because I feel they lie, but because they grossly underestimate scheduling realities. Still, it would have stunk to missed out on the storyline when it was finally going somewhere (Mockingbird may be about to reveal that some of Ellis' homeschooling isn't so inaccurate, a fact we are aware of loosely). Nothing legendary, but worth a second chance. The story is solid and at least the one-shot tales connect in the end well, like the old days. Especially from people who'll undoubtedly finish out ALL-STAR BATMAN, just to laugh at it. Like me.

BTW, someone once posted that "the Ultra-Sapiens have rarely had generic powers", but I'll note that Ellis' abilities are simular to Rogue or Synch and are tailor made to be a dues ex machina sort of thing. But I'll admit some of the twists on them are effective, like the "Sheriff" here who psychically commands anyone within his radius to committ suicide. And sure, Wolf fits the "Wolverine loner bad-arse" motif, but he hasn't been overused of late so it works out better. If anything I'd agrue he's been underused, but that likely will change as the next issues come. And yes, the art is pretty, assuming it doesn't give you flashbacks of 1994 Image.

CW: YOUNG AVENGERS/RUNAWAYS #2: No, the last issue wasn't a fluke; Zeb Wells, the man last remembered for running NEW WARRIORS into the ground is doing quite well with the creative babies of Heinberg and Vaughan. And while I'm sure he did get some tips from the creators, he's the guy writing the dialogue, so I'll give him full credit. He'd have gotten flak if he bombed, so I may as well mount praise that he's done good. Some people dislike the art, but I don't. It's vibrant and the characters still look young, and it looks nice for action, what's not to like? It's interesting to me that many writers and creators at Marvel feel themselves too "sophisticated" to rely on "the ol' supervillian ploy" for a story device, they're all into hero in-fighting and gov't conspiracies, yet the equally tired device of "heroes meet for the first time and automatically beat each other senseless under misunderstandings" comes into full play, and that same Marvel editorial board finds it bloody brilliant. To be fair, the fact that these heroes are emotional, overstressed teenagers with hormonal and metahuman issues makes it slightly more believable, and in truth no harm is done and they patch up this issue. Wells does a good job of having some "dream matchups" in terms of dialogue and action between the teams. Xavin and Hulkling exchanging fists and then learning of their shared heritage (Xavin's bow is priceless), to Nico feeling the ol' love pangs for Patriot (especially since she shags Victor in RUNAWAYS' last issue, which takes place before this series, to Speed and Chase exchanging quips and dinosaurs, Molly's fascination with the former, etc. Everyone's powers are done right and the Runaways are easily justified in "holding their own" as the YA really didn't want to fight (heck, Patriot just stood there the whole fight asking them to cool it). Meanwhile, Hill gets the warden of the Cube to truck out a metahuman who can track down the Runaways in LA, and he digs out the last incarnation of Marvel-Boy, circa Morrison's mini from about 2000 or so that is best recalled for "the Kree warrior with roach DNA". He's been rewired to hunt down Xavin (a known Skrull, apparently) to find their rogues. It looks like the pair of teams have patched up in time to have an intense battle with a Kree warrior, and that's without Xavin to boot (one of the Runaways' heaviest hitters). I enjoyed the issue quite a bit, even if it twists another Morrison Marvel tale (which I never read, so I care not). You really need to give Wells praise here, everyone was bemoaning that BKV and Heinberg couldn't write this and he's done a terrific job so far. I anticipate the second half eagerly. This is probably my new favorite CW mini and one of the better things to occur due to CW, with decent issues of NEW AVENGERS being second.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #33: Give Marvel credit for sticking to a solict for once; despite some late issues of the Millar/Land run, they wanted to start the Carey/Ferry run in August, and they did. Coming off Millar's fanastic run, easily the best the title EVER had, Carey had an uphill task to fill those boots to begin with. He'd written UF4 stories before, including the recent annual. This one, however, may be one of his worse issues of those lot, and only because most of the issue is lost in inhuman alian "jargon" that us "indigenes" can't process, and thus a lot of it seems like gibberish. Names out of nowhere, foriegn terms that lack context for us, etc. this bogs the book down and is one of the downsides of the space-opera genre, you get lost in wiggy words and terms like "particle accelorator" or "warp drive" or whatever, and this is all worse. Ferry's art is energetic and great, though, and the general story itself isn't bad. Some aliens have crash landed onto Earth fleeing something, have a random fight with Reed & Sue where their leader drops her "seed", and thus leading them to storm the Baxtor Building for it. If you thought Ms. Burchill's dialogue from past Carey issues was annoying to read, you'll hate this one. Yes, I understand that an alien species would speak an alien dialect, and some of their bits were amusing. Just if you go too overboard you lose the reader in jibberish. I think the story will improve once it gets in full swing, but less of a bang for a first issue than I expected. A mild disappointment. Great art, though. Frankly I found the second annual far more entertaining.

cut for length, TBC

 

[Dread]

B/T CON'T:

ULTIMATE X-MEN ANNUAL #2: Some have mentioned a bit of a simularity to the last annual, written by Vaughan on his great run, and it runs true. Both involve heavy Rogue focus, and both have something major happen to her powers. But the crux of the story lies with Dazzler and Nightcrawler. When I first read the cover that Larocca did the art, I thought, "UH-Oh. According to his curse, this story must suck." What do I mean? Considering all the lousey issues of X-TREME X-MEN or other sub-par X-Men stories or ULTIMATE DD & ELEKTRA and so forth, I honestly believe that Larocca sold his soul to the Devil for his artistic talent, but his price is that he always draws stories that are sup-par at best overall. No artist has been connected to such a parade of shoddy stories since the 90's, IMO. I pity the poor guy. But it appears he saw an Exorcist or something, because this story is probably Kirkman's best UXM work yet, helped about 100% by the fact that he's not wasting pages of time on Magician. Kirkman tackles a subject that all of the past Ultimate X-Men writers, even Millar who launched it, ignored; the fact that after years on Weapon X before rescue, Nightcrawler would have some sort of PTSD and would be a little mentally "fragile" about some things. After overreacting to Colossus not telling him that he was gay after months (a year?) of close friendship, Kurt remains attracted to Dazzler, who he's kept vigil with since her coma at the end of Vaughan's run, which is referenced heavilly. Kirkman grasps the continuity well. He basically lies to her, kidnaps her for a bit to try to get her to fall for him, which doesn't work out well when the X-Men find out. Meanwhile, Rogue's "Gambit powers" are slowly beginning to fade, and at the end of the story she gets her original ones back, which must put a major kink into her relationship with Iceman. Nightcrawler also puts up a good fight against the X-Men considering he's only a teleporter, and has to be taken down by Rogue. Unfortunately the only bit that I didn't like was the ending, where Rogue chews him out for being a monster. Her schtick was that because she didn't "go postal" after her time in Weapon X, Kurt shows off his true inner character by displaying his (and sharing it with her via touch). But wasn't Rogue a member of the Brotherhood for a while after Weapon X? As in turning a blind eye to, and even aiding in, Magneto's attacks on innocent people, including bombing the Brooklyn Bridge during ULTIMATE WAR? Nightcrawler was emotionally messed up but he didn't hurt anyone "innocent" since he was freed from Weapon X control. Rogue has. So it was not only elitist, but inaccurate for a character like Rogue who is supposedly "making amends". Especially since in the end of RETURN TO WEAPON X, Nightcrawler has mercy on Wraith even when by all rights he would have been justified in killing him (Fury ended up killing him). I bought Kurt being mentally scarred and emotionally frustrated on top of it, but Rogue's speach was just garbage to me, plain and simple. That bit didn't work for me, and it was a shame to end such a good tale on that sort of note. There also is a 2 page "origin of Xavier's cat", which seemed to only state what was made obvious in past mentions and provide Yu a check for some rushed colored sketches. But, at least Larocca kept his curse at bay for a month.

You could argue that this issue reaked of "ULTIMATES SYNDROME", in which a random member of the team goes rogue and needs a beating, but at least Nightcrawler has a damned good excuse, ignored for quite a while. Working for Wraith and WX for that long would make you mentally scarred in the least, and he seemed to "get over it" too quickly.

I also got WIZARD #180 and am a quarter through it, and got the latest All-New Handbook, which I will enjoy as usual.

 

[Marcdachamp]

X-Factor- PICK OF THE WEEK! Wow. Wow. This is honestly one of Marvel's finest books. The noir style, the perfect artistic stylings... it reminds me of Alias with a stronger focus on a supporting cast. I love how Peter David writes this book. One moment you find yourself cracking up, the next your jaw is on the floor. PAD really knows how to write a crazy yarn. I loved Jamie's initial scenes with Theresa, M and Layla. Hell, even next issue's caption box was awesome! 9/10

Young Avengers/Runaways- Zeb Wells really deserves a lot of credit with this mini-series. He's done an excellent job of capturing the individual voices of each character, and with this diverse bunch, that's saying a lot. Both group's respective books have a unique voice, but the characters actually have a lot in common, and Wells knows that. I especially enjoyed the interaction between Molly and Speed. Very good stuff. Marvel Boy's return should be interesting as well. 9/10

Cable and Deadpool- Nicieza really knows how to balance out seriousness and comedy in this title. Cable's unflinching concern to prevent his future is quite interesting, while Deadpool's lack of care keeps the rest of the book light. I enjoyed seeing how this ties into Civil War #3, but it only made the wait for issue #4 harder to bear. The artist leaves a bit to be desired, however. At times, it looked okay, but it was just ok overall. 8/10

X-Men- I'm really enjoying Bachalo's art. It really fits perfectly with the rest of the book. It's very animated. I'm really having a difficult time deciding whether I like this better than Uncanny or not. My only qualm is that the X-Mansion is decimated AGAIN. They really need to plan this Sentinel thing better. The mansion has been destroyed how many times since they've been there? 8/10

Eternals- Really should've waited for the trade. I'm enjoying it, and it's interesting to see Gaiman tie it all into Civil War, but I just feel like it would read better that way. 8/10

Justice- The story's dragging, but the art is so beautiful it's hard to notice. The character moments are very nice. Loved seeing Plastic Man, and Superman and Captain Marvel talking about getting the Flash to an all-you-can-eat. 8/10

Black Panther- I don't get the hate for this issue. I thought it was pretty cool. Doom's very much himself, and he doesn't get taken out like a chump. I liked the Panther armor, too. 8/10

Transformers: Hearts of Steel- Crazy mini, but I'm still enjoying it. Hopefully we'll see some bots battling next issue, though. 7/10

She-Hulk- Poor, poor Andy. Didn't see that coming. How interesting. The rest? Well, I enjoyed it, but the whole Wolf-God thing kinda lost me. 7/10

 

[GNR]

JUSTICE #7: In a time where some bimonthly/late books come out and aren't worth the long wait, JUSTICE seems to prevail in a month when even ASTONISHING X-MEN wasn't it's best. In contrast, so much happens in JUSTICE that it justifies the cover price (which is less than some Marvel books, I may add, like ETERNALS). And it's good to see Ross' longtime writing collaborator finally be acknowledged by name and co-credit (WIZARD this month mentioned this), because this is good stuff. In essence, they've taken the Silver Age/SUPERFRIENDS version of the JLA and have pitted them against the LEGION OF DOOM in a fight to the finish. After about a year of buildup, the cogs are finally moving into play. Zatanna and J'onn track down Aquaman, and he's been lobotomized due to Brainiac's experiments. Hawkman & Hawkwoman trash Toyman's factory, which was building more andriod bodies of Brainiac. Batman still needs WW's Golden Lasso of Truth to starve off the effects of the "bio-worms" controlling him, as they assemble in front of the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (with Golden Age "big key" lock and all) to remobilize the team to stop their enemies. Speaking of which, as Luthor's phase of the plan has seemingly failed to outright kill the league, Grodd's taking advice from Brainiac more often. The next phase is to start attacking the loved ones of the JLA, which means the sidekicks of Ollie and Wayne, the crew at the DAILY PLANET, etc. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Brainiac was experimenting on Aquaman and the apes to discover the secret of his telepathy, and that as an "amphibian" he can regenerate from any injury (take THAT, Wolverine!) given time. The Doom Patrol also make a cameo, and have never looked better. Oh, and Capt. Marvel and Superman manage to save the Flash from running himself to death, although hope may seem lost for Hal Jordon (the only JLAer who is still out of commision from the attack, barring the injured Atom). As usual, the art is gorgeous, with some great spreads of the Fortress of Solitude and WW's "battle scars" have never looked nastier on a goddess. Much like ASS, Ross & Co. manage to take stuff that in the modern sense some would find "corny" or "outdated" and without getting all leathery, rework it in a way that both embraces it's hamminess in an unashamed way and makes it thrilling for a modern audience. Unlike some of the aforementioned titles, though, the title moves at a pace where you feel satisfied for the wait. A tale with dozens of characters as the stars can only be taken in bites. As all the people the LOD have "cured" or aided are beamed up to massive motherships, one wonders if the seeming "goodness" of the LOD is about to take a twisted turn. This'll sell in the Top 5, and it deserves to. Post 2000, the term "instant classic" is thrown around much too often these days about comic stories (usually by their writers, who of course find it's fantastic) and it usually has lost a lot of value, but for JUSTICE I think it is appropriate. And despite that, DC resisted charging you another .49 for it. Think about that for a minute, in an age where Marvel would probably increase the cover price of any Bendis or Whedon comic by .50 if they could.

Amen Dread,amen!This book doesn't get as much as praise as other bi-monthlies like ASS and AXM,but it's certainly the most deserving.

Marcdachamp!The story dragging?You shall be flogged!

 

[Jennifer Walters]

That last page means nothing Colossoal.

Spoiler

Marvel Boy did not kill Xavin. Sorry. Refuse to believe they'd just kill another Runaway so soon after this. Let alone kill one under a writer that's not Vaughn. Xavins a skrull, take more than that to take him out.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Oh, I'm sure s/he rearranged his/her organs and bones so that no permanent damage will result. It was still a "something" that happened. I predict this Marvel Boy joining one of the teams before this is said and done; with either Vic or Vision rewriting some program so he's not a slave anymore.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Hmm. He'll probably more likely join the Young Avengers than the Runaways. He fits with them more.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I was thinking that too. Maybe they can kick Kate out to make room for him. That'd be great

 

[Not Jake]

I await eagerly.

Shazam.

 

[Kotagg]

I was thinking that too. Maybe they can kick Kate out to make room for him. That'd be great

You would disrespect the True Hawkeye(tm) with that comment?!?!

 

[i'm Spider-Man]

Spoiler

Through out the entire issue, a voice is mysteriously talking to John and anyone in his vaccinity at the time. At the end while on the operating table to get Two-Gun's silver bullet removed, John suddenly levitates into air as the bullet exits his body. The voice tells him the ''full power" is his now and that he is the Star God. Jen, now realizing that Starfox was the only reason she was in love with John, still rushes down to the operating room and hugs him happily. John tells her that he's more than alive and says that he now has vast cosmic powers, that he could wisk them across the galaxy, change the course of the planets, or in a snap go back to being just plain ole John Jameson. Jen says that's good cause the Man-Wolf thing isn't really working for her. Then John says ''But I won't...unless you go first."

.... oooooooooooooooooooh!

 

[BrianWilly]

Dunno why everyone thinks it's such a slow week...I spent over $20 in comics today.

It has a glaring typo in which one shapeshifter has the power to "morph into any FROM". Now, look, I make typo's all the time. We all do. But this is a professional comic of a DC event that I pay $3 to read; on THIS it looks sloppy. Hence why a human proofreader is always better than WORD-PERFECT.

I believe that the writers are hinting that all these typos -- and there have been a lot more from throughout the series, actually -- are there for a reason. What reason? Who knows?

52 Week 17
Another week, another solid isOH DEAR GOD BUDDY BAKER PLEASE STOP STARING AT ME

.

Yeah, seriously, loved all these references to Morrison's run on Animal Man. This series hasn't been as heavy on action as it might be and has been relying on character moments to sell it more than not...and it's all the better for it.

My only real experience with Lobo was with his counterpart Slobo in Young Justice, sooooo...hopefully he'll be just as good here as he was there. I'm not really very sold on his character, but that "exchange" with Starfire was pretty good.

I'm not quite sure just what to think of Natasha Steel's arc at the moment. At first you can sort of see her side but now she's just being a fame****e. As out of character that it may be for her (in my opinion), it's canon now so...yeah. Well see how it goes.

(8.9 out of 10)


Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways #2
Still enjoying this. Everyone's got their characterizations pretty good and the dialogue is suitably snarktastic for both teams. Highlights include Xavin and Teddy's interactions, Tommy and Molly getting in trouble, and Nico acting like the cckhound that she is. I would be more annoyed at the utterly, ludicrously overdone "Two heroic teams meet, have a misunderstanding, FIGHT, then team up" cliche if the Runaways didn't already misunderstand and fight every single damn person they meet anyway.

The pro-reg side continues to act suitably dicktastic again and yeah, at this point we're all so numb to it that an absolute total of no one should be surprised at this. Kidnapping and brainwashing alien kids from another reality? Heck, by pro-reg *****ebag standards that's actually pretty mild. I never read Morrison's Marvel Boy

That last page was pretty cool, although I'm sure no one actually thinks that Xavin is dead.

(8.3 out of 10)


All-Star Superman #5
"NOBODY GETS IN LUTHOR'S WAY!!!"
"Lex. My shorthand can't handle the volume."

I adored this issue. Not just liked, and not just loved, but adored.

Morrison's clever ways of getting Clark to repeated "help" Luthor without blowing his identity was absolutely f'ing priceless. It's that cartoony, silver-ageish wink-at-the-audience sort of attitude that makes this book so damn readable. No one tries to be witty like that anymore because it might come across as cheesy or whatever, but Morrison embraces it like it really deserves to be. I haven't really been put off by the lateness of the book; the individual issues are each so episodic in nature that it's not really that big a deal.

And for all the cutesiness, Morrison writes Luthor like nobody's business. Proud, psychotic, obsessed, driven, humorous, and more besides. Hell, I think Morrison is Luthor.

And I have to say, this is the single best issue of art I've ever seen from Quitely. Clark Kent looks as dumpy and clumsy and, well, cute and vulnerable as he really should, and it's easier to see just how it is that no one recognizes him as Superman, even Lex Luthor, even when he's staring him right in the face without his glasses.

(10 out of 10)


X-Factor #10
Ooooh boy. Guido?? This can't be good.

Now with all that House of M/Civil War stuff more or less out of the way, we're kinda back in the territory of a few months ago where I couldn't really follow the plot very well and didn't care so much about the overarching...arc, but then again the characterizations are so good and the dialogue is so fun that I don't really mind.

(8 out of 10)


The Trials of Shazam #1
I really do think Judd Winick is an awesome writer, with a lot of very good ideas and great execution. On the other hand, for some reason a lot of his stuff is pretty hit-or-miss.

Thankfully, this is not one of those times. Not yet, anyway

I've been getting more and more into Captain Marvel lately thanks to 52 and JSA trades, so I've been both excited for this series and dreading it for a while. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of Winick getting rid of a lot of the classic elements of the Big Red Cheese like the timeless, old fashioned feel of Fawcett City and the "Gee whiz"ness of the Marvel family. I think those things make up more of the character than Judd realizes and I hope he's not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, so to speak. On the other hand, what is here is pretty good, pretty interesting; Judd freely says that things like Buffy and Sandman influence this series, and I love both those things and so far it's off to a good start. Fighting magic monsters and being all wizardly...it's the sort of thing that I expected from Shadowpact, but since I dropped that book I'm glad that it's here, 'cause it's a decent concept and the DCU is really fertile ground for those kinds of stories.

And hey, Billy summoning platinum TV in the Rock of Eternity was pretty cool, too.

Ultimately, Winick does have a point: people have lost touch with Captain Marvel and it's long past time to revitalize him as a character. A lot of characters from Green Lantern to Wonder Woman to Green Arrow to the X-Men have had to let go of certain mainstays of their books that may have been iconic but also really held the characters back, so it's not like something like this hasn't been done before in the medium, with varying degrees of success. And of course, I'm always the first annoying guy shouting at the writers and everyone within earshot, "PROGRESS IS GOOD! STATIC STATUS QUO BAD! AGE CHARACTERS! MAKE LEGACY CHARACTERS SUCCEED THEIR MENTORS!!" so something like this is always going to be exciting to me. But then, I look at the last page of this book, with Billy looking all old with white hair and that costume...and I wonder if sometimes something like that could go too much, too fast.

(8 out of 10)


Teen Titans #38
A lot of people seem to be getting tired of this book, but *shrug* I'm still really into it. Normally I don't like it when team members just fight and bicker have drama and soap operatic plotlines with each other a la Chuck Austen, but one of the most vital parts of the Titans was always that they were dysfuntional sidekicks getting together and becoming a family despite everything, so...I'm still very interesting in where Johns is taking this team.

Still, with all that in mind, not a lot happened in this issue. We get some awesome character moments and some one-on-one time with Red Star, but the real plot of the arc is still being set up.

That second-to-last page shot of all the Titans from the past year was really nice, and carries some preeeeeeeeeetty interesting ramifications for 52 and Black Adam in particular.

(7.9 out of 10)


Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #2
I actually really like this plot and this storyline, but I'm not particularly invested in any of these characters...yet. It's pretty good, but I'll probably just wait for the trade.

(7.7 out of 10)

 

[Darthphere]

Dunno why everyone thinks it's such a slow week...I spent over $20 in comics today.I believe that the writers are hinting that all these typos -- and there have been a lot more from throughout the series, actually -- are there for a reason. What reason? Who knows?

If spending over $30 is a slow week, **** all of you!


And does that include that repeating panel in that Black Adam/Isis issue?

 

[hippy fascist]

If spending over $30 is a slow week, **** all of you!


And does that include that repeating panel in that Black Adam/Isis issue?

He speaks the truth I spend about £25 every week . A slow week is like 2-3 titles anything more than that I'm happy with

 

[Doc Destruction]

Justice was simply amazing. I'm going to have a hard time picking a book of the week, because there were so many good titles.

For one thing...The Boys is SO DAMN GOOD IT HURTS! Jesus, what a violence bomb of a book. So many new ideas...love it. Just love it.

LOVED Uncanny. This reminds me of when the X-Men were great. Action, good characterization, good new villains...keep it up!

52 - Dread said it best. The scene between Lobo and Starfire in the vaccuum was hysterical. I personally love Lobo, when he's not being driven into the ground Venom-style.

The end of X-Factor PISSED ME OFF. It had BETTER not be what it seems, or F that book.

All-Star Superman was great fun. Just absolute fun. I'm glad more books like this are popping up, because we needed them after a decade of "grim and gritty".

Uncle Sam and the freedom Fighters is getting really interesting. I really love the new Human Bomb. About time they gave that guy a freaking personality.

 

[MaskedManJRK]

It's in a horrible delay. Thats why.

Current rumor is that the extremely negative reaction from readers and DC staff has forced DC to make Frank Miller to re-write portions of the story.

Actually, Jim Lee has admitted that it's his fault. Can't say I blame him, he was doing this, covers for IC, working with Morrison for Wildcats (and I think The Authority), and doing the designs for the DC MMORPG, the guy has a pretty big workload.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Oh, and Teen Titans and trials of Shazam were GREAT! Even with those annoying speedster twins showing up in a cameo. Damn, I just love Rose.

If you haven't picked up Shazam, try it out. THIS is how you tweak a character and make him more interesting without getting stupid about it. (I'm looking at you, Spidey)

 

[hippy fascist]

LOVED Uncanny. This reminds me of when the X-Men were great. Action, good characterization, good new villains...keep it up!

No uncanny out this week as far as I can tell

don't mind me I'm just bitter cause I can't get my comics today