Bought/Thought Dec 26th (Spoilers within)

[Red]

I wish you crazy kids would work it out.

 

[BrianWilly]

Not really, because you're openly gay, so that just brings out imagery I want to forget about.

Well maybe you should make a deal with the devil then.

 

[Darthphere]

So wait, this means Spider-Man is out of New Avengers and that black suit right? Right? Right?????!?!?!?!?!

 

[BrianWilly]

You'd think so, wouldn't you, except that how do you expect twenty years of continuity to take a hike and just not have to deal with the immediate consequences?

Do his teammates even remember who he is anymore? Does Tony even remember that he convinced him to unmask like last month? Does the world remember that Spider-Man unmasking was what prompted so many others to do the same? Does SHIELD still have his files? If they don't, what's to stop SHIELD from getting his files again and just finding out who he is anyway? Devil magic?

Isn't the whole point of Marvel nowadays that no hero remains unmasked anymore? They spent all that time nullifying the significance of secret identities just to say "yeahnevermind" and bring it back for Pete? So...how the assdick is this going to work?

 

[Darthphere]

Assdick FTW!

 

[Red]

So wait, this means Spider-Man is out of New Avengers and that black suit right? Right? Right?????!?!?!?!?!

That ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

Joe Q: Spidey & Wolverine on New Avengers teh best idea eva!!!!!!!!1

 

[taskmaster]

I picked up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th trades of Gotham Central during a sale my LCS had the day after christmas for 50% off, some of the best stories I've read in a while, as soon as I have some money I'll be getting the rest. I also picked up the first two trades of 52, because I didn't get the single issues, Hulk: Gray, Batman: Ego, Nightwing: A Knight in Bludhaven and Secret Origins of the JLA.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

I haven't bought a comic or posted in this forum for a year....wow....i didnt know comics turned to crap

 

[Darthphere]

Where have you been dude?

 

[Red]

He shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

 

[Darthphere]

I wonder if he knows he's a Skrull now.

 

[gildea]

This really is a sort of satanic deal type thing. Fans ask for slott, fans get slott but slott gets a complete mess to work with.

Bah!

 

[Darthphere]

You know what would be funny, if in the first issue of Brand New Day Aunt May has a heart attack and dies. LAWL!!!!

 

[CBG]

I'm telling y'all, this is actually every DC defender's wet dream in disguise.

I'm a DC reader, and I find OMD as an utter insult to the Spider-Man character.

Choosing your marriage to your loving wife or your elderly aunt?

Come on!

In addition, DC is not infallible. Their numerous character deaths (think of whomever) and severe character changes (e.g. War Games Leslie Thompkins, Cassandra Cain OYL) piss the heck out of me.

To top it all off, I'll bet most people here who've been complaining about the story actually ended up buying every single issue, too. Ahh, irony.

Not really -- I had the fortune to read it from my cousin's, who bought OMD. He since thrown them all into the trash.

 

[Kevin]

You know what would be funny, if in the first issue of Brand New Day Aunt May has a heart attack and dies. LAWL!!!!

In all honesty, that's what SHOULD happen. I said it before, Johnny Blaze needs to find spider-man and slap him.

 

[Doc Destruction]

You know what would be funny, if in the first issue of Brand New Day Aunt May has a heart attack and dies. LAWL!!!!

Perfect Twilight Zone justice ending. "It's not fair! It's not fair!"

It's also what happened in the Ghost Rider movie, so there's your precedent

 

[Doc Destruction]

In addition, DC is not infallible. Their numerous character deaths (think of whomever) and severe character changes (e.g. War Games Leslie Thompkins, Cassandra Cain OYL) piss the heck out of me.

Watch, Leslie Thompkins was faking Steph's death. Betcha, betcha!

 

[Darthphere]

They already retconned that didn't they?

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

I picked up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th trades of Gotham Central during a sale my LCS had the day after christmas for 50% off, some of the best stories I've read in a while, as soon as I have some money I'll be getting the rest. I also picked up the first two trades of 52, because I didn't get the single issues, Hulk: Gray, Batman: Ego, Nightwing: A Knight in Bludhaven and Secret Origins of the JLA.

Go get Gotham: Underworld. You'll love it!

 

[Phaedrus45]

Holy crap!!! What a buttload of comics this week! My bill came to $160.00+ bucks (of course, I got most of the collection of Books Of Magic at the very reasonable price of 5/1.00. I think I'm missing about 15 books from the entire collection.)

I did notice in the Previews that the Marvel Essential line is really being thinned out. Now, we just get one book a month, and that month's book is another f'ckin Handbook. They've already done 5 or 6 of these things...didn't they have something better they could put out??!!??)

 

[runawayboulder]

So I guess I can burn my copy of Spectacular Spider-Man #200 then? That and the Michelene/McFarlane/Larsen ASM runI collected as a kid. Good thing it's winter.
Welcome back Harry Osborn.

 

[Dread]

One More Day is now the staple example of what NOT to do for a character.

Precisely.

Dread... about May in a coma thing... in Sensational Spider-man, Madam Web helped peter talk to May one more time, and May told him to let her go., that she was ready to go, and that he should live his life.

A shame that wasn't brought up in OMD then. If May herself begged Peter to let her go and be happy and Peter chose to disobey that and ruin his marriage anyway....damn.

You don't know the half of it. Take a look at what some guy found in Marvel Spotlight:



And yet, in with ASM #545, didn't he allow for exactly THAT to happen?

Yes, he did. One always has to take anything Joe Q says with a metric ton of salt, because he changes his mind and contradicts himself so bloody often. He'll blame it on the nature of the Internet, and on obsessed fans, but when you speak before the public, that is the reality.

Dread, your review of ASM #545 was one of the most eloquent critiques I have ever read on these boards.

Thanks.

Bravo, Dread. A little long in the middle but other than that not a word wasted.

Thanks, although a few typo's note that a few words were.

Dread, I can't believe you went through that entire rant (of which I agree with you on 99.99% of it), and yet you have every intention of sticking around for BND. Why are you supporting this? Why would you rant and rave only to bow down and give Marvel your money anyway? It's asinine. If I could take you seriously before, I certainly can not now.

But you never took me seriously. You've told me that at least twice.

BND is essentially a Faustian-esque deal; fans have been begging for Slott on ASM, and how perfect he'd be for it, and after about 2 years Marvel delivers. The only problem is the status quo they set up for him is retro, cowardly, and sick, and handled in an abysmal way. I've wanted Slott on ASM for ages now. It would be an abysmal waste to toss that aside when I've stuck on ASM for a year since CW. It isn't like my one lack of buying will effect anything, the LCS will order 2-4 dozen issues or more like they always do.

If I pass on Slott's ASM, I know I will regret it. Even if the road to get there has been the comic equalivent to crawling a mile in broken glass while covered in alcohol and rhino feces.

Wow, even the devils advocate is shaken. That must have been one turd of an issue.

That is harsh; turds from certain animals can be useful to the soil. ONE MORE DAY is useful to no one but the same fogies who think Spidey went to hell when the 70's ended, much like those fogies who dismiss anything DC did since 1986. They're a minority, but apparently ones with power.

LOL, did he really say that?

Yes, Millar did. In CIVIL WAR, I believe issue #4 or so, when Nighthawk and Stature decide to leave the Secret Avengers and sign up to the SHRA, Nighthawk describes Capt. America as "an old man afraid of the future", or words to that effect. And if you think that sounds a bit out of character, you ain't seen nothin' yet from Millar on CW. He writes things as if Cap and Stark NEVER ever liked each other.

 

[runawayboulder]

Yes, Millar did. In CIVIL WAR, I believe issue #4 or so, when Nighthawk and Stature decide to leave the Secret Avengers and sign up to the SHRA, Nighthawk describes Capt. America as "an old man afraid of the future", or words to that effect. And if you think that sounds a bit out of character, you ain't seen nothin' yet from Millar on CW. He writes things as if Cap and Stark NEVER ever liked each other.

Cap and Iron Man get along about 50% of the time. Armor Wars, and Operation Galactic Storm are two examples I can think of off the top of my head. Cap vol. 1 #401 touched on their relationship.

 

[Dread]

Cap and Iron Man get along about 50% of the time. Armor Wars, and Operation Galactic Storm are two examples I can think of off the top of my head. Cap vol. 1 #401 touched on their relationship.

Oh, I know, they had their major disagreements. But by CW, they sounded like outright mortal enemies. I've seen Dr. Doom and Mr. Fantastic speak better of each other, and to each other.

 

[Dread]

Continuing onward with the rest of Marvel's offerings, which were all a lot better. Some even exceptional. It literally took reading the next 3 comics within short sucession to restore my faith in quality Marvel comics again, although I may rethink my mantra of, "we bash Joe Q for his blunders, so to be fair we have to praise his successes", because it seems the comics that do the best have the least direct influence from him. After OMD, I wonder if the great Marvel comics that came out in 2007 occured because of him, or in spite of him.

Dread's much more optimistic Bought/Thought for 12/28/07, Part II:

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #8: Christos Gage's first actual issue co-writing with Dan Slott (he hopped aboard for the Annual a few weeks ago), and I notice no distinct shift in tone for the comic, which is good; it means they're working in cohesion well. Or it could mean Gage's imput at the moment is little; we don't know how labor is divided. Millar famously clamed when he co-launched Ultimate Fantastic Four with Bendis that he "wrote about 6-8 pages per issue", hinting that Bendis did about 60% of the work. But the specifics of the arrangement for Slott & Gage is not required, so long as they keep putting out great work. From what little I have read of Gage, I know he is a stickler for working with continunity, and can be great with character interaction; both elements Slott does well, so they're peas in a pod. I should also note that Slapstick is the only character on the cover who does not appear in the issue. Eric O'Grady/Ant-Man III makes his debut in another book after his own ongoing got cancelled, and man, is it a doozy. This also marks the finale arc of Slott's initial pitch for this series, a pitch he has claimed in Newsarama interviews started as a 6 issue mini, but when he got the light for ongoing (which meant at least 12 issues and likely more, considering this still sells within the Top 25), he stretched it out a bit to include longer WWH tie-in's and probably to develop other stuff. Which is good because I can't see a book with this many characters working faster than it has on the subplots. The issue, part 1 of 4, is split between the near future, with a battered Pym running from a threat at tiny size, and the not so distant past, where the Initiative is having some triumphs and setbacks. The new recruits are basking in their successful mission to capture Dragon Man (a fave for random fight sequences), until his attraction to Komodo sparks a new fight, which War Machine ends quickly (and Cloud 9 gets some deje vu', which she doesn't know the half of). Stingray gets a few lines and those anticipating LAST DEFENDERS should note that Gargoyle still remains a background presence in many group shots. But the issue is full of development; Hardball & Komodo make their budding relationship more obvious, and later have a quiet scene in her room which is actually very tender, considering what a jerk Hardball can be at times. Komodo fears her "real self" because she is missing her legs at around the knee, and Hardball doesn't care. It was very sweet, and I needed something genuine like that after OMD #4. Not so sweet is Taskmaster, Gyrich's replacement for Gauntlet as Drill Instructor, and while I was never a fan of the old costume after UDON's redesign, Caselli makes it look great, especially the mask. Stature confronts Taskmaster and Pym and talks about her father's legacy, and it all felt very real because it plays upon the past and uses it as an advantage and foundation for NEW stories, rather than a liability like some other writers. Almost stealing the show is Eric O'Grady, who lies about Scott Lang and his own history to bemuse Taskmaster, which sparks a three-way duel between him, Yellowjacket, and Stature. People have said that Slott is geniunely trying to mend Pym's character, and this issue shows some of that. It reveals the Initiative was his idea, and I was glad he stuck up for Stature like he did when Eric suckerpunched her ("Oh the humanity!" Slott totally nailed Eric's lines. Every one was worthy of a signature quote). Slott posted on SHH and promised a scene this issue where Taskmaster would look cool, and he delivers. The only quibble is that it is almost exactly the same as BLUE BEETLE #19, which played on the logic of "giant characters have larger pressure points to exploit". I doubt it was intentional, and sound logic is sound logic. And to be fair, Peacemaker & Beetle only beat Giganta that way; Taskmaster beats three times that with three times less effort. As for the new cadets, SECRET INVASION buffs should know that Crusader is from Kirkman's last MTU arc, and is a Skrull. He was stationed near Avengers Mansion to spy on them, but then Disassembled happened and his mission was moot, so he spied on his neighbors, finding out one gained a reality-warping ring to become the hero Freedom Ring. The Skrull trained Freedom Ring for 2 weeks before leading him into battle against Iron Maniac, where FR died and Crusader took his ring, which he used to help the New Avengers beat Titannus (another Super Skrull, with powerful Trellian armor). Of course, Crusader seemed heroic in MTU, but could that have been a lie to try to manuver his way to that ring? Or could other Skrull sleepers have now "reactivated" him? I'm very curious as to where Slott takes this for the inevitable SI tie-in next year. Diamondback is also in, this story likely taking place after GIANT SIZE AVENGERS, where she was arrested with the rest of the B.A.D. Girls by Wasp, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow. And naturally the arc and villain of it are named KILLED IN ACTION, or K.I.A., which appears to be MVP's corpse with a weapon that looks like Armory's. This also interests me because it shows that the dark secrets that Gyrich & Co. have done to keep the Initiative going are about to haunt them big time (Hardball evoked it to get Gyrich to back off the cadets, another cool scene). The issue even footnoted NEW WARRIORS and the bit wheree the Initative kids lost to the Zodiak; continuity is awesome. I enjoy all issues of A:TI but this was better than a few of them. Grade A funnybook. I pity those who lost interest, because it has something for everyone if you know where to look. Great new characters, old characters handled well, good lines, good action, good art...what comics should be. Oh, and Geldoff 616? Hilarious. Maybe he's the one K.I.A. murders.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #33: Brubaker proving once again that he is one of a rare breed of writer who can write an "event" in his own book, from reviving Bucky to killing Cap and now setting up a new one, that is a change to the status quo and yet he develops it naturally and organically, so it doesn't feel like a shameless stunt. It feels like a very good story. Who'd have thunk? Guice continues to provide quality inking for Epting, filling Perkins' shoes well. I am getting tired of covers depicting someone fighting Iron Man, as they seem to pop up once a month since CW, but I'll forgive this one because the characters actually DO fight within (unlike the cover of, say, NOVA #2), and it is another one of Brubaker & Epting's great brawls. I'm not sure what sort of relationship they have with pacing fights; after last issue, Brubaker was quick to give Epting a lot of credit for specifics, but damn, this issue had a great one. I am a sucker for good action sequences and this run has rewarded that many times. We also learn that Bucky can control his cybernetic arm from afar, which he uses to escape his SHIELD cell and bring the fight to Iron Man himself. To his credit, Stark doesn't want to fight Bucky and only does so half-heartedly, but Bucky still captilizes to force a draw. The sequence has to be read to be done justice, I can't describe it. Part of me smirked when Stark shows Bucky the letter he got from Cap and claims, "I would never fake something like this", because he's faked that and more in NEW AVENGERS and other titles since CW. But, that is the fault of other writers and not Brubaker, who at least writes Iron Man as someone who isn't a complete heel. It also makes some of the promotion for the next issue funny, because it would only fool someone who hasn't been reading the title; Brubaker makes no bones about setting up Bucky as the new Capt. America, and that is precisely why it works. Because he has taken the time to build it up. Good stories cannot be rushed. Brubaker's pace is one that isn't always the fastest, and can drag at times, but usually feels natural enough so even the biggest shocks go down well. The only downside is that Alex Ross design; I have said it a billion times, but I'd have trusted Epting to come up with a better design, but I don't run Marvel. At least Epting draws that Ross design as well as he can. To those who forgot, Bucky DID steal Cap's shield in issue #27 (TKO'ing Black Widow to do so), but didn't take it with him when he went after Lukin/Red Skull a few issues back, so he still has it in storage somewhere. I liked Stark's "you won't let anyone else be the guy", perhaps a sly referral to PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL where Bucky was about to pummel Frank Castle to get him to stop dressing like Cap, only for Castle to surrender the mask/costume anyway. Or that is at least how I saw it. Brubaker is a writer who can do plenty of "Big Surprises", but unlike some other writers who claim to love those, he has the patience to build to them naturally. He's taken almost 3 years to put Bucky in the costume, but it feels so natural and "right" that it comes as a logical progression and not the shocker it is being promoted as. Some could argue Rogers' death also came off that way. The best run Cap's ever had, at least from someone who was never interested in a prior run to give the title a try. In a universe divoid of legacy heroes, Brubaker brought back the best candidate for New Cap that made sense, had similarities, and has amped him up in such a way he is now one of Marvel's coolest characters. Keep up the great work.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #2: Reed & Weeks once again proving that execution can make even the dopiest of ideas worth reading. A story that was terrible in THE RETURN I now have faith in for this mini, even when Reed randomly resurrects Cobalt Man, yes, the same Cobalt Man who died in Stamford. But he acknowledges that, so I have faith that it is part of a clear idea and direction, and not merely a poorly researched idea or a stunt. Mar-Vell is still obsessed with that French painting, especially as he has amnesia from his incident in the Negative Zone (where he often found himself during the 70's, attached to Rick Jones) and cannot access his Cosmic Aweness, which always was his dues ex machina to unravel a plot. I like that he even talks like a character from the 70's style of comics sometimes (Who else exclaims "Madness!" in comics these days?). He meets up with Ms. Marvel, a character tied to his past and whom missing his death was a great weight, and they interact together fluidly, and the past is used as a strength and not an excuse for current errors (OMD again). The right with Cobalt Man is great and the cult worshipping him gets further investigation from Nathan. Agent Heather Sante has another good scene with Iron Man and I liked that full front page of the Daily Bugle that was printed/drawn on the page. Considering Capt. America's death and all, it makes sense that the return of Capt. Marvel would spark such a media frenzy; Mar-Vell debuted "barely a year" after Cap was returned from the ice, after all. It ends on a cliffhanger when a third party has manipulated Iron Man and Mar-Vell into a battle with some Kree, who want to kill Mar-Vell to appease their honor. Reed even acknowledges ANNIHILATION CONQUEST and the bubble around Kree space, meaning this Kree ship was probably some "scout" outside of that space before the Phalanx attack (and considering how many Kree-based heroes & villains there are on Earth, and the Avengers' past involvements in their wars, it wouldn't be surprising if some Kree ships were always within the Milky Way galaxy). Weeks puts in some great art and this has been a real pleasure so far. No Marvel comic whose title begins with "Captain" seems to do wrong these days. Hopefully it can keep it up.

GIANT SIZE AVENGERS #1: Man, Wolverine looks silly in that cover by Hitch. This is a $4.99 special that includes a few enjoyable Avengers filler stories, all connected together by the Cebulski/Cheung story about a day in the life of Wasp, Ms. Marvel, and Black Widow, complete with bikinni sun-bathing and Widow-carrying. It also has a few color reprints of classic Avengers tales, "Even a Robot can Cry" and a funny Jarvis one with art by Perez. The tone of the newer stories are lighter-hearted for the most part, and some of them actually came off as bitter-sweet. "Good Housekeeping" by Noble & Nelson was one of them, detailing a battle between the classic Avengers (Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Vision, and Scarlet Witch) against some Viking Robots while poor Jarvis struggles to keep some of the antiques from being vaporized. It made me feel sad because, well, Cap is dead, Thor & Iron Man are mortal enemies, Wanda is ruined, this incarnation of Vision is also dead (and partly stuck with YA, which averages a mini per year now), and Hawkeye died and became Ronin. It felt like a shame seeing what the Avengers used to be together. Then there was the "Emperor None" story, which had some fun rapport between Cage, Logan, and Spider-Man as New Avengers; the bit that doesn't work was the random and stupid obligatory enemy. The Gyrich story was the funniest of all, and "Memorial Day" has the Avengers showing Spider-Man the true legacy of the team and to take it seriously. It is a shame that Bendis was responsible for actually writing NA, because he didn't take nearly that kind of approach to it, further noting that the original New Avengers could have worked in anyone's hands but Bendis. Perhaps not a cheap item at 5 bucks, but an enjoyable one. Being that Diamondback shows up as a cadet at Camp Hammond in A:TI #8 this week, I see this issue as a prelude to that. Out of the B.A.D. Girls, Diamondback would be the one most likely to join up, having been Cap's ex and having tried to be a heroine under his watch during the 90's.

NEW WARRIORS #7: The issue that sparked some bickering at Hype because Malin, the artist, took issue with some of the harsh words used to describe him and his art. To get that topic out of the way, I still don't believe his art is as bad as some people make it. It isn't the best; his figures are stiff, some of the breasts on his female characters are distracting to say the least, and without a colorist, telling some of his Warriors apart would have been a chore. Still, for a two issue fill-in run, he does the job fine. His style reminds me of Top Cow & Image in the 90's, which is okay for some and terrible to others. Hopefully as his career moves along he will improve. The issue is full of character development, which is always great by me. Donyell trashes some thugs before visitting his brother's grave, and runs into Silhouette, who opens some old wounds. Once the polar opposite of Dwayne and seeking to ruin his life, Donyell is now serving in his memory, which causes clashes with Sil, who originally loved Bandit because he WASN'T as obsessive as Night-Thrasher. The rest of the team, meanwhile, continues being trained by Jubilee, who at this point should be considered the unofficial leader of the team. Beak & Vincent discuss their conspiracy theory about Registration, and Sophia is asked to choose her new "power" wisely. Jono claims he picked sound basked power so he could "create" the solid sound constructs; a shame he didn't bring up the deceased Banshee, who was mentor to Generation X for years before Vulcan murdered him. Ultra-Girl is also used to introduce the Initiative's version of the Boyscounts, the "Junior Guardsmen". It makes some sense, but it feels a little creepy, at least to Justice. The media swamp her with the simple logic that will probably always debunk the Registration theory, and Ms. Marvel whisks her off. An adversay I didn't recognize jumps Donyell & Sil at the end. I'd actually like to see Silhouette join the team; she is a mutant, after all. But unless they can put their pasts behind them, that won't happen, especially as it was hinted that she registered. I prefer Medina with the art, but it was a simple, solid issue. A cast this large needs some scenes to interact and develop in-between brawls. Still one of the best surprises of 2007.

THOR #4: Speaking of surprises, this issue of Thor had plenty. Every issue of JMS & Coipel's run has been great so far, but this issue was among the best; most likely because it introduces outright antagonists for Thor. It starts with a simple and effective bit where someone sets up a mailbox for New Asgard (complete with that address, "1 ASGARD") to send Thor a town gala invitation. Asgard is filling up slowly with some nameless Asgardians, before Thor is led on a quest to find a slew of them who have suddenly been stolen from view in their mortal shells. It leads to a terrific battle between Thor and the Destroyer armor, and even the revival of the one Asgardian Thor likely wanted to keep burried most of all, Loki (who is now in the form of a woman, citing his Frost Giant blood mucking things - talk about a gender-bender). The other Asgardians flee, but Thor at the very least releases Balder from the mystical armor. The other potential "big bad" noted in the issue, who is working with Loki, is Dr. Doom. Considering Dr. Doom tried and failed to utilize Thor's hammer when it fell, and considering it accidentally freed him from the hell that Mr. Fantastic sent him too, it makes sense that Doom would still be interested in mucking with Thor at this stage. Of course, JMS wrote those issues so it simply is tying up his own loose ends, but I've seen other writers fail to do so. Whatever issues JMS had on ASM, he seems to be lacking with Thor so far. Like CAPTAIN AMERICA, the pace is slow at times, but also has the sense of allowing things to breathe, and every issue is vital and has key stuff happen. This one simply had the best fight and villians so far. Considering THOR is now selling in the Top 10, the wait has been good for him. Coipel does some of the best art of his career, too. Yet another great relaunch.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #49: Having abandoned Ult. XM, this is my last ongoing Ultimate title, which I collect probably for the same reason that I get X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. It offers straight-forward adventure stories with the title characters, something Mike Carey seems to excell in. He creates a bizarre new Red Ghost, but I would rather bizarre rather than rehash (*cough* Kirkman *cough*). Mark Brooks draws some great action as usual, and Invisible Girl once again proves that she can be the damsel-in-distress and the final-blow-landing heroine all within the same story. The team flies back from Siberia to find the city trapped within a Cube, just as Reed is finally freed of his obsession by Thanos. This is the only Ultimate book that I both enjoy and have faith in the direction, so on my pull list it stays, at least for now. Carey won't be on it forever, especially as he builds buzz on his X-Men run.