Bought/Thought for 10/10/07: HEAVIEST OF SPOILER ALERTS!!

[PhotoJones]

No, he probably does do it every single day. I bet BW stops people on the street and explains to them that Whedon is his god.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If he gets bored of that, he probably has it printed on a t-shirt, too.

 

[Darthphere]

Whedon USED to be the king of dialogue, but there is only so many times you can use irrelevant pop culture/Star Wars references.

 

[PhotoJones]

I never was of the opinion that Whedon was the king of anything. He is and always been a decent writer. Some of his stuff is better than others.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He's fallen into redundancy to me. Every teenaged to 20-something girl he writes sounds like a Buffy character now.

 

[Red]

No, he probably does do it every single day. I bet BW stops people on the street and explains to them that Whedon is his god.

5 accounts of assault later and his neighbor still prefers Vaughan.

 

[PhotoJones]

Haha.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Another batch:

Wolverine #58: I'm really trying to figure out what I hate more about the Wolverine titles: The art or the story. Howard Chaykin is my most hated artist at Marvel. He has a serious hard-on for showing teeth...some kind of oral fixation, I think. Plus, as if Blade wasn't bad enough...the combo of Guggenheim and Chaykin sucked so bad there, you give them a premeire title, like Wolverine??!!?? And, the kicker is this reads just like the Blade comic, with the flashbacks to the past combined with scenes from current day. THEN, you get to the actual story of how Logan, in the past, defeated Azrael, the angel of death....I get more and more sorry I gave Punisher: War Journal such a bad grade; for, while P:WJ means to be completely ridiculous in its storytelling, you realize Guggenheim is doing the opposite and appearing the same way. Finally, to give further proof that Wolverine isn't the most overused character nowadays by Marvel, Tony Stark makes another appearance in another comic. All this is proof that Wolverine has reached a new low never achieved before. This is definitely the worst the Wolverine comic has ever, EVER, been. 1/10

X-Factor #24: After reading crap like Wolverine, it's good to know there are a few Marvel Comics you can always rely on. Captain America is one, and X-Factor is the other. Both have had a perfect run, not a bad issue in the bunch. Issue 24 is no different. The conclusion of The Isolationist storyline is perfectly told, explaining all the questions about who Joseph Huber and Nicole are. And, like with Captain America, there is always a few bits and pieces that keep the reader's interest peaked for the next issue, like Rahne's last words as she thought she was dying or what in the hell is going to happen to Siryn in regards to what was happening in the last scene with her and the grandparents who were seeking visitation rights. It's the perfect team book, as each member of X-Factor has their own distinct personas and troubles...and, they all blend together so well. Unlike with other team books, if you remove one of it's members, they would be sorely missed.

As for the 17-part back-up story, Endangered Species, I've been loving it. It's been great to see Beast take center stage, as much of the time he seems to be relegated to the background. At first I hated the idea of 8 pages at a time; but, since it's been coming out almost weekly, there has been no problem keeping up with the story (a serious problem I see in Marvel's new Marvel Comics Presents, considering it's a month in between issues). In this part, Beast gets to travel through the many different alternate realities with Dr. Strange's help, seeing how each of his personas have tried and failed in all approaches to solving the dilemma of M-Day. As Beast has journeyed in the first 15 chapters, approaching various individuals in the Marvel Universe, we've gone with him every step of the way. We've been there for each failure, and the despair he feels eminates from the page. What's funny is that this journey works with this almost weekly format. If the reader had this story bound in one collection, I think it would lose some of it's impact. By taking 4 months to tell, it makes the reader feel more clearly the length and time Hank has gone about trying to solve this very personal dilemma; and, with that, the reader emphasizes with him much more. With both tales, this is probably the best issue that comes out this week. 10/10

X-Men - Die By The Sword #1: This New Excalibur/Exiles crossover really brings home the point of how perfect the X-Factor members blend well together compared to other hero groups. With both Excalibur and Exiles, there are characters, that if they left, I wouldn't miss at all (especially New Excalibur). Many Exiles recently don't seem to fit in the group or been given very good characterization, like Spiderman 2099 or Longshot. Most of the members of New Excalibur I've never been particularily fond of, like Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, or the good-version of Juggernaut. As mentioned, if you compare both groups to X-Factor, there is a striking difference that's glaringly obvious.

As for this crossover, it's more Excalibur than Exiles, which is not a good thing. I love Exiles, even though the groupings haven't been that spectacular after their "World Tour." I hate, with a capital "H", the "Captain Britain Corps" and the absolute silliness of all things associated with them. And, as that's seems to be the focus of this tale, it looks to be no different. Even the reunion between Nocturne and Thunderbird was void of any emotion on part of the reader. I'm already praying for this title to end quickly and silently. (And, sadly, the great cover art isn't anything like the crappy art within its pages.) The only thing that makes this book seem better is if you compared it to Guggenheim and Chaykin's Wolverine. 2/10

Ghost Rider #16: A quick read with not much dialogue. It's angels and demons with Ghost Rider in the middle. I'm not going to do much of a write up for this, as it felt a bit ho-hum to me. I just think that two of my favorite characters from the 80's that have finally come back in their own books, Ghost Rider and Moon Knight, as being utilized terribly. 4/10

Spider-Man/Red Sonja #3: Yes! Back to some good fun!!! This is one of the best company crossovers I've ever read. It's well thought out, it's Spider-Man at his fun-loving best, and is just filled with action. Spidey, Venom, Red Sonja, Kulan Gath..that's a great line-up. Plus, the last couple scenes with Kulan Venom and the newly transformed enemies of Spidey made me long for issue 4. This series has given me hope that an 1) two companies can make a decent crossover and 2) with a good writer, Spidey can be back to his fun-loving old self and very enjoyable. 9/10

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24: I'm loving the covers for the regular editions of the One More Day titles. They are reminiscent of some classic covers I remember from the 70's and 80's. Most covers are rather blah and boring, only depicting a picture of a particular hero or villian, like with the Ultimate titles. (Even the variant cover of this particular issue is only a mourning picture of Mary Jane.) Unlike the fun-loving Spidey from my previously reviewed comic, this is the Spidey most readers are now familiar with: Brooding, introspective, and sullen. Don't get me wrong, this is possibly the best issue of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man I've read in all of it's 24 issues...but, I miss the Spidey I read in the 70's and 80's. Hopefully when all is said and done and Aunt May bites it again, we can get back to it again. That said, part 2 of One Day More delivers with story and art. This comic looks good...I was interested the entire time...and, I am awaiting part 3. Where The Other storyline was completely drawn out and waaaay overblown, this four-parter is much better and much tighter. 9/10

Spider-Girl #13: Thank God I don't have to see Carnage-Baby this issue. That was definitely the lowpoint in the 114 issues of Spider-Girl I have read. This issue is a set-up for future issues. Luckily, we've had a Hobgoblin free Spider-Girl comic for a while now. For a long time, he was pretty much in every issue and the series needed a serious break from him. Now, with the hiatus, I'm ready for the upcoming battle between him against Spider-Girl and Black Tarantula. As the cover for this issue shows with the chessboard (not the Zombie variant, of course), Goblin is getting his pawns in place for the eventual battle. Meanwhile, the rest of the comic is about May's personal life...and, as usual, nothing is going right. It's a good issue; but, if the faithful reader really thinks about it, we've seen everything in here numerous times before. Hobgoblin, Black Tarantula...both have made more appearances than pretty much any other villian...May have school, family, and dating issues in regards to her being Spider-Girl...that's in pretty much every issue of the 114 issue run. It's still good, and like I said, at least they died down for a while on the Hobgoblin stuff...it's just that it seriously lacks originality in story or characters. 7/10

 

[Manic]

Right, I guess Danny and Luke couldn't set up shop as public heroes for hire, since they're fugitives.

Didn't Tony say he was granting a pardon to all unregistered heroes who helped evacuate NYC? Then again, WWH hasn't ended yet...

 

[Red]

The events of NA take place before WWH.

 

[Phaedrus45]

After reading a lot of crap, like that Wolverine issue, I went back and raised my grade of Punisher: War Journal by a whole point. Now, it's a 4/10.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Didn't Tony say he was granting a pardon to all unregistered heroes who helped evacuate NYC? Then again, WWH hasn't ended yet...

I don't remember if it was a pardon, but he set aside the law and worked with unregistered heroes.

 

[PhotoJones]

I thought it was some kind of deal where if the unregistered heroes helped out, they wouldn't be prosecuted at all....if they joined the Initiative after all is said and done.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Amnesty for actions before the evac, basically?

 

[PhotoJones]

Yeah, that's what I got out of it. I could be wrong, though. I feel like I'm ****ing up with the smaller details today.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Amnesty for actions before the evac, basically?

Yes, but only if they then registered.

 

[PhotoJones]

That's what I said, dickbag.

 

[moraldeficiency]

That's what I said, dickbag.

That's it, I challenge you to a rock off!

 

[PhotoJones]

How do we do that?

 

[Red]

Do you bring your own rock or are they provided?

 

[moraldeficiency]

Damnit, go out and watch Tenacious D and the POD then come back.

The Arrangement: If you win I'll pay your rent but you'll have to put up Corps soul if you lose.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Corp has a soul?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Damnit, go out and watch Tenacious D and the POD then come back.

The Arrangement: If you win I'll pay your rent but you'll have to put up Corps soul if you lose.

**** that. I will gargle no mayonnaise, dick.

 

[moraldeficiency]

**** that. I will gargle no mayonnaise, dick.

Ha, at least someone gets it.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Hey Corp, did you see it in the theatre or DVD?