Bought/Thought Dec 26th (Spoilers within)

[Dread]

Part III:

ULTIMATE POWER #9: Not the greatest, but after OMD, it is the freaking shizznit. At heart this was nothing more than a colorful fight scene, but it was stretched at least twice as long as it should have by 3 different writers all seeking to inflate it beyond it's natural length of 6 issues, tops. I am always wary of any mini or arc that is given more than 6 chapters because few can support it, as this one can't. Basically, everyone dogpiles the Hulk (gosh, never seen THAT before, Loeb), the heroes are cleared and the big shock is that Nick Fury is made to aswer for his manipulations by the Squadron, and the Ultimate heroes essentially shrug their shoulders and go, "Good riddance to that manipulating rubbish." And one of the Squadron goes with the Ultimates, and the other Squadron that Loeb brought up an issue or two ago are essentially wasted, thus proving how empty a ploy it was. As an Ultimate event, it was a failure. As a story itself, it was merely average, and overlong.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #7: Another fun, light-hearted adventure from Parker & Cruz, with a great recap page; they really are creative with them. After losing their powers a night after Xavier contacted some alien thing, the X-Men get their powers back, only without any limits, slowly losing their humanity. After saving the Maximoff twins from the 99 Sentinals, Xavier contacts the alien and forces it to undo it's genetic change before they become complete arrogant gods. I could see other writers making a moral issue of it, but this is done in the Silver Age style, so it fits. I still could think of worthier ongoings, but it works as a fun distraction, especially for a franchise like the X-Men who are almost always bleak. It is nice remembering they weren't always so.

 

[Dread]

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?

They will probably do what DC has done; allow writers to pick and choose what to keep and what to omit, and have none of them coordinate with the other. Then, ironically, Joe Q & Co. will still beat their chests over how evolved Marvel is over DC.

 

[Dread]

I channeled the power of DREAD!!!!!

I GOT THE RANNNNNNNNNNNT!

You got tha powwwwwww-wwwwaaaahhhh! Yeah!

Seriously, nice rant.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

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

WHAT!!! I AM!!!

 

[FatalEnergy]

^lol


tiny reviews for the lazy:

Captain America 33 - nice fight between bucky and iron man, bucky is gonna be the new capt. It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

DareDevil 103 - Solid issue, weird stuff goin on. Again it'll be interestin gto see where this goes.

Avengers: TI 9 - I love this book. Just a lot of fun. A lot of characters and a lot of stories. This initiative is pretty cool.

Thor 4 - I'm liking this story. Loki arrives as a woman, cool fight with the destroyer and Dr. Doom is playing a role as well. We'll see what happenes with that. oh yea and balder!

USM 117 - bleh. Im really starting to lose interest.

UFF 49 - fun story, nice art.

ASM 545 - I didn't think it was going to turn out this bad

X-men 206 - I'm enjoying MC, big reveal. we'll see what happens.


anyway kinda late but whatever.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

You got tha powwwwwww-wwwwaaaahhhh! Yeah!

Seriously, nice rant.

I think Phere's rant was better than your rant.

Can we still be friends?

 

[Darthphere]

You got tha powwwwwww-wwwwaaaahhhh! Yeah!

Seriously, nice rant.

Thank you, I try.

I think Phere's rant was better than your rant.

Can we still be friends?

You don't think, you know.

 

[GNR]

Dynamo 5 Vol.1

First of all,the price tag on this is unheard of.7 issues in SC for 10 bucks?Really?So whether you like this or not,you gotta appreciate the amount of bang for your buck you're getting.

I thought it was a great new take on the "team of youngin' heroes".Dialog was awkward during some fight scenes,but besides that it was well written all around.

This Asbar fella produced some consistent and kinetic artwork here,the page with Scrap smashing the bricks over Cynthia was a nice exclamation point.

 

[Dread]

I think Phere's rant was better than your rant.

Can we still be friends?

Sure. Opinion is opinion.

Dynamo 5 Vol.1

First of all,the price tag on this is unheard of.7 issues in SC for 10 bucks?Really?So whether you like this or not,you gotta appreciate the amount of bang for your buck you're getting.

I thought it was a great new take on the "team of youngin' heroes".Dialog was awkward during some fight scenes,but besides that it was well written all around.

This Asbar fella produced some consistent and kinetic artwork here,the page with Scrap smashing the bricks over Cynthia was a nice exclamation point.

Glad you enjoyed it. Considering the first 7 issues were $3.50 a pop, that trade really is a great deal. The price is $2.99 for the subsequent issues, though, so get onto back-issue huntin'.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Wow, Phere's rant was truly epic. I hate to be the one to douse the fires a bit, too, but the parts about how OMD was monetarily successful are kind of questionable. Someone on Newsarama posted the numbers for each OMD issue and they've consistently dropped for each part. Started at about 140,000 for the first part and was down to around 100,000 for the third part. I can only hope that sales have taken an even bigger nosedive for the final part and continue to be utterly pathetic for Brand New Day. No offense to Steve Wacker and his crew, and I do sympathize with Wacker's passive-aggressive interviews about how he has nothing to do with OMD and is just trying to tell good stories with BND, but the only way to make the people who really matter at Marvel take notice is to strike back monetarily and make them realize that ******ed moves like this lose readers. Wacker, Slott, Bachalo, and all the rest are just unfortunate collateral damage in this case. Here's to hoping for retail mediocrity from Spider-Man's comics for the foreseeable future.

 

[Dread]

Wow, Dread's rant was truly epic. I hate to be the one to douse the fires a bit, too, but the parts about how OMD was monetarily successful are kind of questionable. Someone on Newsarama posted the numbers for each OMD issue and they've consistently dropped for each part. Started at about 140,000 for the first part and was down to around 100,000 for the third part. I can only hope that sales have taken an even bigger nosedive for the final part and continue to be utterly pathetic for Brand New Day. No offense to Steve Wacker and his crew, and I do sympathize with Wacker's passive-aggressive interviews about how he has nothing to do with OMD and is just trying to tell good stories with BND, but the only way to make the people who really matter at Marvel take notice is to strike back monetarily and make them realize that ******ed moves like this lose readers. Wacker, Slott, Bachalo, and all the rest are just unfortunate collateral damage in this case. Here's to hoping for retail mediocrity from Spider-Man's comics for the foreseeable future.

I did acknowledge that OMD's hardly been a sale's juggernaut. Here is that bit of my rant:

If there is any vindication, sales for OMD, when compared with sales for ASM over the past year or so, have it the lowest it has been since 2006. Yes, Back In Black, a story where Spidey changed his costume, outsold OMD so far and likely will. That means Marvel may have oversold it's hand in negating the marriage, especially in so stupid a fashion. Slott was willing to reunite Ben Grimm & Alicia Masters in under 10 issues of material; would he be allowed with the Parkers? ASM has been in perpetual crossover mode since 2004-2005, and OMD is selling the worst out of all of those. Or most. That should say something. But it won't. The powers that be will go, "oh, 103k is a solid number, who else can we rape?"

The 3rd part of OMD in November had the lowest sales that ASM had seen in about a year, if not longer. Considering Marvel is pushing this like divine destiny, you'd think OMD would be outselling, or at least even with, "Black in Black". But it isn't, by at least a 20% drop since then. So, I concur that OMD hasn't sold nearly as well as one could have predicted within Marvel, unless their expectations were low.

DC has learned the hard way that bending over backwards to return a status quo that literally pre-dates a chunk of their current readership is not always the wisest of ideas. We have had 20 years worth of comic stories, cartoons, video games, and 3 blockbuster films with MJ as the center of Peter's universe, and that is all undone. Major step backwards, to say the least. The fact that sales seem to be showing this lack of faith, at least in some way, is a sign the entire universe isn't totally out of whack.

I really want to read and enjoy Slott's run, I really, really do. It just has suddenly become less appealing after OMD/BND.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh, I didn't read your rant. I saw everyone raving about Darthphere's, so I went back and read his. I've found that trying to catch up with Bought/Thought threads if you haven't been visiting them frequently from the moment they're created is much like trying to wrestle a raging bull to the ground with your bare hands; it sounds fun in theory, but it's pretty likely to kill you in practice.

 

[Darthphere]

Oh, I didn't read your rant. I saw everyone raving about Darthphere's, so I went back and read his. I've found that trying to catch up with Bought/Thought threads if you haven't been visiting them frequently from the moment they're created is much like trying to wrestle a raging bull to the ground with your bare hands; it sounds fun in theory, but it's pretty likely to kill you in practice.

So in your initial post were you talking about Dread's rant or mine?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yours. Also, I hate you.

 

[Darthphere]

Yours. Also, I hate you.

:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[stillanerd]

The 3rd part of OMD in November had the lowest sales that ASM had seen in about a year, if not longer. Considering Marvel is pushing this like divine destiny, you'd think OMD would be outselling, or at least even with, "Black in Black". But it isn't, by at least a 20% drop since then. So, I concur that OMD hasn't sold nearly as well as one could have predicted within Marvel, unless their expectations were low.

DC has learned the hard way that bending over backwards to return a status quo that literally pre-dates a chunk of their current readership is not always the wisest of ideas. We have had 20 years worth of comic stories, cartoons, video games, and 3 blockbuster films with MJ as the center of Peter's universe, and that is all undone. Major step backwards, to say the least. The fact that sales seem to be showing this lack of faith, at least in some way, is a sign the entire universe isn't totally out of whack.

I really want to read and enjoy Slott's run, I really, really do. It just has suddenly become less appealing after OMD/BND.

You would think that Joe Q would've learned from his competition about what happens when you mess around with continuity in order to make things simple, especially when he himself apparently has been critical of them for doing exactly that. Likewise, you would think that he would've learned the last time Marvel tried to "fix" the marriage "problem" by invalidating the past 20 years worth of comics, a.k.a the Clone Saga, and how THAT particular move nearly killed Spider-Man comics (and in some cases never has fully recovered from), especially since one of the former EIC at the time, Tom Deflaco, still works at Marvel doing Spider-Girl.

And yet, despite evidence to the contrary, he lets this happen. That's because, contrary to all of his notion about "Spider-Man being married makes him unrelatable to the target audience" BS, it's really about two things:

1. Not wanting to deal with continuity, because he and some of the writers on staff openly hate having to deal with it. Let's face it, continuity is a form of research, and nobody, writers included, like doing research. And

2. A warped sense of nostalgia, in that what these guys REALLY want to do is to tell--or in some cases retell--the same kind of Spider-Man stories that Stan Lee wrote back in the 1960s, or whenever they first read them as a kid. Or rather, the kind of stories they would've written had they been in Stan Lee shoes because, while they appreciate Stan Lee for giving them a career, they still feel they can do a much better job than he could because they are "professional writers" who are far more "educated" and consider Stan Lee a "glorified hack." Heck, as you well know Dread, that's practically what Ultimate Spider-Man is in a nutshell. But since that fad is gradually becoming old news, might as well apply to the "real" Spider-Man and not some flashy offshoot.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like doing research. I imagine there are a lot of people who like doing research, as well. A lot of them call themselves researchers or historians, but a fair number of them also call themselves writers. Since, y'know, most writers realize that a huge chunk of their job is research, with the actual writing only coming after the research is done.

 

[yenaled]

I'm an historian. It's on my business card.

Marvel should hire me.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

You'd probably do a better job of keeping everything straight than whatever system they've got in place now. Personally, I suspect it's just a chimp with a filing cabinet.

 

[BrianWilly]

I was thinking about it just now, and OMD totally had an abortion in the story. I mean, literally, a preemptive abortion. Peter is now a devil-worshiping abortionist.



Blue Beetle #22
People are going to buy OMD in droves even as they btch about it and they'll continue buying AMS in droves regardless of quality, and meanwhile spectacular comics like this aren't even going to scrape the bottom of the charts. It makes me hate you all just that little bit more.

The best parts of this weren't even Jaime and Dani Garrett flying around a volcano in Ted Kord's ship. Hell, the best part wasn't even Tovar the Lava-King. No, the best parts were Jaime's parents and how badass they are. This is just one of those rare comics where every single side character is worth the price of admission alone.

On a sidenote, am I the only one giggling at DC still printing ads for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman "MONTHLY!"...like it's the biggest deal in the world that they could actually get their flagship titles out on time? I dunno. S'funny to me.

(9.2 out of 10)


Thor #5
Pretty well-written issue. I'm still wary of Thor's more...subdued...personality these days -- I miss the heartier Odinson -- but it's not like these aren't exceptional circumstances for him that wouldn't warrant a bit more emoness, so it does make sense.

Everyone's talking about Loki becoming a woman, and ultimately it's not really a big deal I suppose. The thing is that JMS is trying to make it feel like a big deal, which just makes it seems stupid. LOOK! LOOKIT THE BREASTESES! Beyond the passable explanation and the decent dialogue for that scene, it just comes off so Girltron. But maybe it'll be less pointless down the line, I dunno. Thor is a big ****** for letting his sibling live, but at least that's also pretty consistent with the past Thor.

(7.7 out of 10)


Teen Titans #54
...I don't get it.

I mean, I do, but I really really don't. Am I just being a big ****** about this? We go through a whole lot of something, it's got great humor and the plot all sort of makes...sense...but then that ending just comes out of the granddaddy of nowhere.

Oh well. It's got naked people in tubes.

(6 out of 10)


52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen # 5
I'm still not 100% sold on the dialogue style or the anorexia art, but the events and action in this issue pretty much make up for it. Superman pulling a total Zangief throw move? Plus, while I'm not a fan of BatGod Mode, seeing Batman taking down dread god of Apokolips with morphine needles shot from a fire extinguisher was worth it in alllll the right ways.

And then Batman completely btchslapping Snapper Carr for being the biggest *****e in history on top of a big ******? It's like we just won the universe or something.

(7.8 out of 10)


52 Aftermath: Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood #3
Hey look, Gotham Central cast! Well, some of them. How I've missed you, and you weren't even gone that long for me.

This issue pretty much features more of the same as prior issues, which basically means more awesome characterization and wickedly-clever storytelling. That ending is just seriously...wicked. And Matthew Clark does gorgeous artwork, as per his usual.

And oh yeah lesbians. Too bad Renee is still being a big ****** when it comes to relationships.

(8.7 out of 10)


The Flash #235
It's getting to be a pattern with this title; the main story is nice enough and well-written enough, but the backup story about "The Fast Life" blows it all to hell with how much better it is. A part of the problem, unfortunately, is in the art difference. Williams is, at the best of times, a decent artist. And I just can't help but wonder if there aren't books out there that would use his style better than this one. I mean, there's no way the guy actually looked at Wonder Woman's crest here and thought, "Why yes, that is totally the way it's supposed to look."

I'll say it right now, I reeeeeally didn't like Bart when he was Impulse. I thought he was like a big ******. But it's always fun to play with nostalgia, and seeing him here has to illicit an awww from even the most stone-cold bastards of which I am most assuredly not.



(8.4 out of 10)


Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #4
Wh...when did this turn into a miniseries instead of an ongoing? Was I just high for the first three issues and didn't notice?

Truth be told, it's probably better that this is a finite stint, 'cause the series is already beginning to meander. What is this insect queen nonsense and why should we care? Even the most solid writing and detailed artworks -- which this book does have in spades -- can't save a plot that just doesn't seem to fit with a series. I'm sure we'll come to issue # 7 and it'll all tie together in some awesome way or whatever, but for now it's just kinda big and ******ed.

(6.4 out of 10)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

No, no, Mary Jane is the devil-worshiping abortionist. See, Christians can still like it because it's ultimately the woman's fault.

 

[BrianWilly]

Or maybe it doesn't count 'cause the baby already came out and was abandoned on a boat or something for the past ten years or so.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But the past ten years no longer exist, remember? That baby magically crawled back up MJ's uterus and died by unliving. It's the devil's work!

 

[GNR]

Proof #1-3 - Bigfoot is a guy named Proof working for an organization protecting monsters and the like from mankind.Good value,every page has factoids about real cryptozoology and lots of extras in the back.If you have a love for monsters and sci fi this book is it.

 

[Hush]

I read Batman and Superman that was neat, did anyone else? There going to get rid of all the kryptonite in the world cause Superman feels vulnerable. Silly i know but it will be really cool. Supes basically says i want to live forever.