BOUGHT/THOUGHT for January 9, 2008

[TheCorpulent1]

clones posted a review in the Early B/T. I believe my exact words in response were, "God, that sounds awful."

 

[PhotoJones]

It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read. Guggenheim's characterization is strong.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

This is probably not going to get any responses, but did anyone read Onslaught Reborn? I heard that a Heroes Reborn character comes over to the 616 universe at the end of it, and I was wondering if someone could fill me in on who it was.

 

[PhotoJones]

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Look, I want to know about it as it relates to the 616-verse, okay? I don't want some random HR dupe of a hero to show up in another comic and leave me scratching my head.

Shut up!

 

[PhotoJones]

Wikipedia.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It doesn't have anything about who comes back.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Never mind, Newsarama's posters told me that it was the HR Bucky. Who, actually, was one of the better characters from the Heroes Reborn stuff, so I don't mind her. I kind of hope she shows up in Captain America or Young Avengers and throws Bucky or Patriot, respectively, for a loop.

 

[PhotoJones]

That almost makes me wish Millar were writing something where he could use her as connon fodder.

 

[iloveclones]

This is probably not going to get any responses, but did anyone read Onslaught Reborn? I heard that a Heroes Reborn character comes over to the 616 universe at the end of it, and I was wondering if someone could fill me in on who it was.

Remember messenger + handguns = bad social ettiquette


Female Bucky was brought over.

I actually had the variant cover, but told my LCBS guy that if I'm gonna buy it, it's going to be in full Liefeld glory. He laughed harder than when I asked him if anyone self-immolated themselves over BND.

 

[iloveclones]

Never mind, Newsarama's posters told me that it was the HR Bucky. Who, actually, was one of the better characters from the Heroes Reborn stuff, so I don't mind her. I kind of hope she shows up in Captain America or Young Avengers and throws Bucky or Patriot, respectively, for a loop.

Ooops, sorry, didn't see that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I read it on Newsarama. Thanks, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

How is she any different than that female Robin? Or Catgirl, or whatever her name is?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

She's not displacing one of my favorite characters by being Bucky, in the case of the former. For the latter, I don't know; I didn't really have a problem with the girl Robin from DKR, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

No, I mean personality-wise. They all seem to be cut from the same "spunky, young heroine" cloth. Is there actually any depth to her character?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I recall liking her in the Young Allies comic that came out around the time Doom took over the HR Earth. I don't remember why, though. It was a long time ago.

Anyway, Brubaker could make her worthwhile.

 

[PhotoJones]

That's not saying much. He wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole, anyway.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

How do you know?

 

[PhotoJones]

He doesn't seem to have any interest in alternate reality anythings in CA.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Eh, if Bucky took a new "Bucky," I'd want it to be Patriot anyway.

 

[PhotoJones]

Word.

 

[Red]

Hulk #1 did not suck

 

[PhotoJones]

I know.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Thoughts: LOTS OF SPOILERS!!! (you've been warned)

Amazing Spider-Man #546: After the events of One More Day (specifically that last issue), I knew I'd hold off any of the overboard reactions until I saw what came after. I just had a feeling that good things would come out of scraping away a significant portion of Pete and MJ's life. I mean, this is going to start off with Dan Slott writing Spider-Man! How wrong can that really be??!!??

Sure enough, this first issue of Brand New Day was better than any issue of Spidey I've read all last year. From the opening pages with the "Spider-Mugger" (I loved the victim saying, "What did Spider-Man become such a @#$%?") to Peter telling off Jonah, this issue had it all. Not only that, the three backstories peaked my interest, too. Get over One More Day and get aboard some of the best Spidey writing in years. SLOTT IS GOD! 10/10

Savage Sword Of Conan Vol. 1 TPB: Four great trade paperbacks came out this week, and this is tops on my list. The first volume in this collection, these classic tales haven't been seen in over 30 years. Featuring the writing of Roy Thomas and the art of such legends as Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Pablo Marcos, and Walter Simonson, these are such classic stories. (Even Red Nails is included.) Best of all, trying to find these stories on ebay or online are quite pricey; $17.99 for 500+ pages, you cannot go wrong. 10/10

Essential Captain America Vol. 4 TPB: One bad thing that I notice in '08 is the amount of Essential trades are going to be lessened, many times only going to have one a month. (And, do we really need another Handbook? I've already got six of those.) This current Captain America volume gives readers 30 black and white issues, when Captain America shared billing with The Falcon in his own magazines. 10/10

Showcase Presents Robin Vol. 1 TPB: Classic Robin adventures, gathered from 45 different DC comics, are presented here. Showcase is really upping the ante in '08, bringing more volumes our way. Better yet, they are actually getting into stories NOT from the 50's and 60's. (Although, I noticed some Showcase volumes announced for released have been cancelled. That's not a bad thing, as releasing one a week is a bit too much. And, I'm probably the only person who was looking forward to the Showcase Presents Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew.) My lower grade for this showcase comes from the fact I'm a Marvel Zombie..a DC fan would probably award this Showcase a 10/10. 8/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 3 TPB: Representing the classic Buffy stories, I'm collecting these due to my enjoyment of the current Whedon Buffy series. I never watched Buffy in the past or read the comic; but, I've been liking the new series so much, I even ended up buying the complete series at Costco for $99.99. (Now, I just have to find time to actually watch it.) I'll withhold rating this trade, as I'm not sure how good these classic stories hold up, compared to the new adventures.

Hulk #1: '08 really has started off with Marvel heading in new directions. Sadly, I'm not that impressed with Jeph Loeb's new direction for Hulk. This issue can really be contrasted with Slott's Spider-Man to show what works and what doesn't in comics. We get the death of one of Hulk's major villians, The Abomination (with very little fan-fare), the reintroduction of The Winter Guard (two dead heroes reborn with new characters on Loeb's whim), U.S. heroes being invited into Russia (how completely unbelievable), Iron Man still being over-used with another guest appearance (I cannot believe Russia would want the headache of Tony Stark in their country), and, finally, Hulk turning out to be Rick Jones (yeah, not much of a mystery, huh?). Add to all this the U.S. heroes fighting The Winter Guard makes both sides seem completely idiotic. Color me NOT IMPRESSED! 5/10

Wolverine #61: Everything that Guggenheim and Chaykin did wrong with Blade is repeated in the pages of Wolverine. The constant flashbacks, rewriting a hero's past, is done again in it's usual boring manner by Guggenheim. Chaykin continues to have his oral obsession with making sure every character shows their teeth in almost every panel of his book. This whole idea of Logan fighting Lazaer, the angel of death, has wrought the absolute worst Wolverine story I've ever read (and, that is saying a lot). I will give credit that this last issue was better than the previous four, as the amount of flashbacks greatly diminished (and, the sense of joy that it was over). For that, I'll give it an extra point. 2/10

The Mighty Avengers #7: One thing about reading comics for so long, your appreciation (or lack of) is sometimes predetermined by what's come before. My lack of appreciation of Hulk #1 comes from my enjoyment of the vastly more original Planet Hulk storyline. And, while this issue of Mighty Avengers still sucks, it's a bit better than the Ultron story that just finished.

I don't mind the "Secret Invasion" storyline that is starting to run through some of these titles. If it leads to the end of many of the effects of Civil War, I'll be quite happy. I'm really hoping that's what the end of '08 brings. This issue has equal parts good and bad, though. Bringing back Jessica Drew was nice, especially since she'd pretty much disappeared in '07. Showing Tony Stark's lack of trust with others by recording everything Jessica said regarding the Skrulls was a nice touch.

It's too bad the bad parts of Bendis' writing is what is noticed more. I was hopeful the thought balloons were gone; but, 8 pages in, they are back, and Bendis' try at humor just fails. Next, Mighty Avengers is a bit behind the action in Bendis' other title, New Avengers. Nothing is a surprise, as we knew before this issue that Jessica joins the Mighty Avengers and the symbiotes are the major villian at the end of this issue. Also, events in World War Hulk are not acknowledged in regards to The Sentry. (Amazingly enough, I think Bendis expects other writers to incorporate all his ideas in their comics.) Finally, I absolutely hate what Bendis has done with Ares character. One of the best minis 2 years ago, that great character has been turned into a brute who's brain cannot get past ideas of killing and sex. Hmmm...the more I think about it, the more I notice that this issue isn't any better than the first six issues. 3/10

Silver Surfer-In Thy Name #3: Uggg...I love reading the adventures of the Silver Surfer; but, this story has been seen so many times before. The plot of a supposed peaceful race of aliens spreading their message to other races, only to have Silver Surfer discover the utopian paradise isn't all that it seems; the idea of another race believing the Silver Surfer is a God, because his likeness resembles the vision of their God; it's all been done too many times before to make me really care. I want the Silver Surfer that had been changed by events in Annihilation a year ago. But, instead, I've gotten this and the earlier miniseries giving the final days of the Surfer's life.

Bad writing is always having to be blantantly obvious to the parallels a writer is trying to bring to his readers. From the opening of issue #3, having the Surfer basically nailed to a cross, slaps the reader in the face with the Christ-like comparisons. More interesting would be the comparisons a reader can make to the two different races and our current political climate with regards to how countries and races try and shove their ideals on other people. It did get a bit better as this issue went on, and the appearance of Galactus wasn't expected. 7/10.

Onslaught Reborn #5: Almost a year late, Loeb and Liefeld's story FINALLY concludes. God, this is sooooo bad. It's amazing that Loeb has the reputation he does, because the more I read by him, the more I'm painted unimpressed. This 5 issue series could be nicely compared to the current House Of Avengers miniseries currently being released. That comic is so far superior in presenting a story from an alternate earth than this piece of garbage. Worst of all, Loeb tries to make his mini significant by bringing the female Bucky to the regular 616 at the end of his book. (What a slap in the face to Brubaker, who has made the real Bucky such a great, new character. Liefeld's character is like Spam compared to Brubaker's Filet Mignon.) 2/10

Nova #10: Decent issue, although not the best I've read from this great series. I like the appearance of Gamora, as she's always been one of my favorite Marvel characters, ever since I first read about her back in the old Warlock comics. I hope once the whole Phalanx thing is done, we see her back in Nova's life. I just find they make her too much of a wuss in this issue, holding back because of her love for Richard Rider. (I know others might argue that fact, considering what she was willing to do in the end.) There was also a gross-out factor to this story, with the whole birthing canal thing. Still, this issue is so much better than most of what I read above. 8/10

Ghost Rider #19: Concluding the "Revelations" storyline, Daniel Way's ends his run on Ghost Rider with hopes that the new writers can finally get this title on track. I had such hopes when Ghost Rider was announced a couple years ago as getting his own title again, just like with Moon Knight. Both series have been nothing but a humongous disappointment. This big stand-off between Ghost Rider and the "next to last avatar" of Lucifer ends rather lamely, all presented with some bad, bad dialogue and equally lame, hick-version of some local cops. Here's hoping the new writers can make things better. 4/10

Punisher War Journal #15: Thank God. This is so much better than the previous storyline, filled with flashback after flashback. Unlike anything else we see the the Punisher Max title, it's filled with great humor and a great cast of b-list animal-related villians. Sure, the art leaves a bit to be desired; but, in the end it lends itself well to this type of story. Good stuff. 8/10

 

[PhotoJones]

Amazing Spider-Man #546: 10/10

Wow.